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And though she may proclaim that she was completely loyal to Erich now, and was his woman. Erich could never be too sure. After all, once betrayed, it was damn near impossible to earn back someone\'s trust.

But this didn\'t make much sense to Erich, specifically because Mirage was currently carrying his child after they had sworn to get married. Would she really betray the father of her child, and profess her loyalty to Emrys, knowing that her child would forever be branded the offspring of a traitor?

There were many problems with this conclusion, and Erich was not certain one way or the other. But the other suspect was JT, and the two of them shared a bond that had been repeatedly forged in battle.

Not to mention JT despised the Empire, or at the very least its current and former governments for enslaving him and sending him off to fight its wars nonstop for close to a century. What reason could he possibly have to betray Erich like this?

As for a potential third suspect, it was none other than Sinaria, who was an agent of the Federation, and one who did not really care for Erich that much. Her loyalty was guaranteed by an explosive collar, which was constantly wrapped around her neck. One that would trigger with the first thought of disloyalty.

But who is to say that she did not find some way to trick this collar, or worse yet, get it deactivated without it triggering it! The very idea that he could have a disloyal companion, one who might actually hate his guts, and was no longer under his control, filled Erich\'s mind with dread.

It was while Erich was investigating the evidence on these three suspects, that Sinaria called him to her quarters. Believing that she might be admitting guilt, Erich made sure to equip his trusty sidearm, before approaching the beautiful Dark Elf\'s room, where he knocked before she permitted him entry.

Once Erich was inside, he was surprised by what he saw. The woman was completely naked, exposing her naturally voluptuous body, as she kowtowed on the floor in front of both Erich, and a plasma blade which was currently deactivated.

Erich stepped forward with a grim expression on his face and frowned. He believed this was an admission of guilt upon first inspection and was quick to voice this thought aloud.

"Am I to believe that this is your way of admitting to treason?"

However, Sinaria shook her head. And despite not looking up at Erich, she spoke of why she had taken such a shameful appearance, and given the man a weapon that could be used to end her life.

"No... I am not guilty of what you suspect I am... Even if I wished to betray you, I could not do so. This collar is no ordinary slave collar. Tia can attest that it monitors my every move, and records my every action. She would know the moment it was disabled, if that was at all possible.

But, since you believe this lowly slave is guilty of such a crime, I have decided to offer you a chance to exact the justice you wish to have.... Please... If there is so much as a part of your mind that has already judged my guilty, then put me out of my misery...."

Erich picked up the plasma sword and activated it. In all honesty, he couldn\'t bring himself to believe that either his woman or his best friend had betrayed him, and had already subconsciously determined that Sinaria was guilty.

He stared at the glowing blade for several minutes, wondering if the woman was merely putting on a display to earn his trust and conceal her actions. But before he could decide whether or not to decapitate the dark-skinned beauty, Erich heard a voice that he recognized to be Tia\'s.

"She\'s innocent, Master..."

Erich scoffed when he heard this before questioning how Tia knew this for certain.

"Oh yeah? And how can you be so sure?"

Tia\'s next words shocked Erich as she told him what she had discovered.

"Because I found the culprit... It\'s Kali... I warned you not to trust the Cabal. To the Asurans, everything has its price, including betrayal. It would appear that someone paid quite the fortune for her to scan your DNA sequence, and give it to the Germanic Star-Empire, and no, it was not Emrys who did so. I will give you three guesses whose money is behind this act of treason!"

Erich immediately knew who was responsible when he heard Kali had been bought and paid for. There was only one civilization in the galaxy who had the sheer wealth and assets to convince an Asuran Devi or Deva to do something like this.

After all, the so called "Gods" of the Asuran Cabal charged more than anyone for their services. And something like this, especially after Erich had proven he was willing to traverse galaxies to get revenge, could only be paid for by one species. Which he was quick to voice aloud as he tossed the plasma sword aside.

"The fucking Ghimderi!"

Tia\'s voice sounded amused by how pissed off Erich was as she expressed that his assumption was correct.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! Unfortunately for you, Master, Kali has already fled back to her home space, and it appears she has rallied the Asuran despots and Devas to prevent any outside invasion into their territory.

Evidently the Ghimderi must have paid her quite the premium, because no offense Master, but you\'re not exactly a threat to a Galactic Power, at least not one they would have to unify against. And we both know that the Asuran Cabal is not exactly an organization that gets along with one another.

Thus, you\'re not going to be able to get your revenge for some time... At least not if you want to enforce the ten-year ultimatum you have given to Emrys."

Erich snarled as he heard this and immediately told Sinaria that she was free to go.

"You can get dressed now Sinaria, I know who the traitor is. If you will excuse me, I need to send an intimidating message to an old friend...."

After saying this, Erich left Sinaria\'s quarters, before using his NeuroLink to contact Kali. Evidently the woman was prepared for his call, because she was wearing a lavish night gown with a gilded chalice full of Asuran Palm Wine in one of her four hands. There was a smug smile on her pretty face, as she spoke to Erich as if he were a past flame.

"Oh my? You found out much quicker than I had anticipated... Well, now that you know the truth, is there something you wanted to say to me?"

Erich was practically hissing through his teeth as he spat out the words they plagued his mind.

"We had a deal, Kali! And you went back on it!"

However, Kali\'s expression suddenly turned serious as she leaned in towards his holographic projection and spoke to him as if he were a mere child.

"Do we now? You should really read the fine print in your business dealings, Erich. I know you are young, but impulsivity is a terrible trait for a man to have.... Erich, when we signed our contract, I agreed to be your companion until we had found and eliminated the order of Sages.

It is your own damn fault that you never bothered trying to extend the contract.... I only chose to stay by your side these past few years because you are a fascinating individual, one who I wholly believe will one day become a major player on the galactic stage.

Unfortunately for you, our contract ended close to two years ago, and the Ghimderi made me an offer I simply couldn\'t refuse. There are no hard feelings between us, Erich, but business is business, and I couldn\'t put off my work forever just to stay by your side.

Besides, I didn\'t do anything other than level the playing field between you and your new enemies. It\'s not like I went out of my way to provide them with a superweapon that would give them a 100% chance of victory.

Anyway, I know how you are when it comes to your anger issues, so I\'ll give you a few years, or decades, to simmer down and vent your anger on your own people. And when you have finally calmed down, I would be more than happy to do business with you again... It has been a pleasure, love, but I am afraid business is calling, toodaloo!"

After saying this, Kali hung up, leaving Erich completely dumbstruck. He had completely forgotten the exact terms of his contract, and looked towards Tia who looked at the man like he was an idiot. Which she was quick to express.

"Master... She has a point..."