When Eirik, Jesper, David, Knud, Bjørn, and the 4 troopers walked down the ramp to the *Void Wolf*, they attracted a lot of attention. It's not every day you see 9 men in oversized siege armors leave a ship of unknown affiliation. No one was worried since they did not carry ranged weapons (as far as people could see) and people assumed they were just paranoid about personal security.
Just like the last Terran station, a law officer and his deputies approached Eirik and his group, holding out his hand to signal them to stop. Eirik didn't stop. He kept walking until he was forced to stop unless he wanted to tramble the poor officer. Looking down on the man, who to his credit did not flinch, Eirik spoke through the helmet microphone.
"Is there a particular reason you are blocking my way, officer?" With the helmet blocking out his features and the sharp purple light that had been installed in the helmet lenses, the robotic quality his voice took on when using the helmet microphone, and the vastly increased size on account of the armor made for a very imposing and intimidating sight.
"Papers and a reason to enter the station wearing... whatever Frankenstein creation you guys are wearing." The officer was able to keep his voice calm, but the way his eyes kept flicking between the men told Eirik that he was hyperalert, scanning for any movement that might indicate weapons.
"Papers is out the question. You can direct that request to the Terran ambassador on the station. As for the reason for the armor?? The Emperor of Libertalia cannot wander the streets, open for attack, like any regular civilian. These 8 men are my personal guards." Eirik could not keep the slightly smug tone out of his voice as he presented himself and the officer reacted appropriately.
Within seconds he was in feverish radio contact with his CC* demanding answers and getting none beyond the name of Eiriks ship as the official flagship of Libertalia Mercantus
"I need to confirm the registered name of your ship, sir." The officer finally said, gesturing towards the ship behind Eirik.
"Of course. David, would you do the honors? Eirik answered magnanimously.
David moved without saying a word, turning around and walking over to the ship. The officer quickly followed David over to the underside of the ship and scanned the little chip hidden underneath a panel When he had scanned it, he nodded to himself and hurried back to Eirik.
"Everything seems to be in order, is there any way we can be of service during your stay, your...Highness?" It was obvious the officer had no idea how to handle a person so much higher than him in the pecking order.
"Eirik, or sir, will do fine," Eirik said and moved to pass the deputies, but one of them stuck an arm out, trying to stop Eirik. "Everyone surrenders their weapons before they get to enter!" The young deputy said, full of confidence and self-righteousness.
Eirik turned his head to look at the officer who had gone pale at the sight. "Keep your dog on a leash, officer. I do not have time to teach the proper manners!" Eirik growled and shoved the young deputy aside, causing the young man to stumble and fall flat on his ass.
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
With that, Eirik and his group went into the station. Their shields made the trip a little difficult, as they added to the already formidable bulk of the PESSA suits. They were also the center of attention wherever they went, but no one approached them. They started their search by splitting up into groups of 2, Eirik going alone, as always.
_____________________
Las'Tai was busy training Narvik in combat. His strange physiology made for both an advantage and disadvantage. On one claw, he was nimble and fast, making it almost impossible to hit him. On the other claw, he seriously lacked in physical strength, making it easy to shrug off his hits unless he put everything he had into it, which tired him out in less than 2 minutes. So, Las'Tai was busy trying to increase his cardio, mixing it with some strength training to try and bulk him up.
"This is very heavy!" He moaned as he tried his best to finish the strength training. Las'Tai had to bite her tongue to not laugh. 15 kilos lifted with 4 arms and he complained about it being heavy.
"You should see how much the Terrans lift if you think this is heavy." She remarked, being careful to not show any humor at his situation.
'"I would like that! It would give me perspective." Narvik said and put the barbell back in its rack.
"A shame Bjørn isn't here. Soldier! Show Narvik how much weight a real warrior lifts!" Las'Tai called out to one of the soldiers that remained on the ship. The man waddled over, his legs wobbly after a long run, and started adding weight to the barbell. He didn't stop until he reached 105 kilos (roughly 230 pounds) and laid down on the bench to start his set. While he trained, Narvik stood in stunned silence and stared blankly, or as blankly as compound eyes can stare.
When the soldier finished, Las'Tai turned to Narvik. "There is your perspective." She said in a chipper tone and started removing weights so she could do a set of her own.
"That was more than twice what I weigh!" Narvik sputtered
"I know. I have no delusion that you will lift that much. But I want you able to lift at least 25 kilos before I consider your strength training to be complete!" Las'Tai retorted.
Narvik looked crestfallen as he picked up a 5-kilo dumbbell and started doing reps with one arm, switching arms whenever one of them got tired.
_____________________
Jesper was walking through the market with Knud, arguing over where they needed to go. Knud wanted to go the safe route, buttering up the local merchants and hope they could wrangle some information of them that way. Jesper wanted to hit up the dirtiest, sleaziest bar they could find and just buy their way to information.
They ended up meeting in the middle and did a small tour of all the regular drinking establishments, with little to no luck. Most patrons had only heard of Dalle in mention and none of them knew anything of value.
Knud managed to force his will through after that, and they started the long and tedious process of entering the good graces of the merchants.
_____________________
David and Bjørn were walking along the different docking areas, talking to the different crews, trying to find any information on Dalle they could get their hands on. Beyond a few tall tales and a story of recruitment, they came up empty-handed. Frustration setting in, they decided to try the flourishing black market you could find on any Terran station. Knowing the issue existed had only caused the Terran Empire to ignore it, as long as it did not disturb the public peace.
____________________________
Eirik had very different ideas compared to his crew He was heading straight for the station commander. As an Emperor, Eirik had the power to simply ignore most laws, provided he never stepped too far over the line. Much like a diplomat, he was basically untouchable. Not that he wanted to abuse it. He merely appreciated the effectiveness with which he could get things done with his new title.
The guards in front of the office door tried blocking his access, but they knew they had no chance of stopping him, as long as he was wearing that armor. He pushed them aside and opened the door to the station commander's office.