Eirik looked over the bleeding man hanging from Jesper's free hand. The other was holding on to the strap of his backpack

"Who is this?" Eirik asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"1 grade A idiot who cannot handle his drink and doesn't know when to stop talking shit," Jesper explained as he shook the man who groaned in response.

"You did this?" The question was directed at Jesper, who shook his head. "I stopped it Eirik. He was picking a fight with 5 TA soldiers near the sleazy bar in the old docking area. I didn't think we would see him again."

"Again? Who is it?" Eirik was curious. There was no one on the station with him besides Freja, Las'Tai, and his brother. Trasti was with his family, They had prospered since Trasti had Eirik relocate them. They were running a thriving poultry farm with a respectable side business of basic home repairs.

"Jimmie." Jesper's voice was fairly neutral, but Eirik noted the hint of disgust.

"I thought he left the first chance he got?" Eirik was fairly surprised. He hadn't seen the idiot since he came back to this station. "Throw him in detention, let him sleep it off I will talk to him tomorrow. Now, you wrote in your message you have found the last names for your company?"

"Yes, Eirik. I found the last people I need. You can move forward, I already passed out their orders. They will spread out in 5 ships, and spread out in between the planets with a garrison stationed and await further orders. As soon as the initial chaos dies down, the 3 of them will return here for some rest and relaxation, 2 of them will then go out and take over the watch duty with the 3rd ship being an emergency backup. They will take turns being the 3rd group. Nothing will make a move on our territory without us knowing and moving to prevent it." Jesper responded.

"Good man. We need to stay on our toes in the beginning. The war will distract everyone soon enough. Once it is over, Our claim will have been unchallenged for long enough that we can claim the right to the systems and planets within. With 9 habitable planets backing us up, we are large enough to be recognized as more than an upstart empire.

We will continue training anyone that wants to be trained. General start-up of new training every month, on the regular. That should help slow down the waves of recruitment. Once the flow is somewhat stable, we can start expanding. And we have to make sure we garrison soldiers on their home planet as much as possible. I remember that was one of the main complaints in the Terran military, always being stationed away from home. We rotate the officers and commanders to prevent stagnation and corruption. Performance review with every rotation."

Eirik was focused and ready. Finally, true freedom was within his grasp. It would not slip away!

___________________

Jimmie slowly woke up. He remembered being thrown out of the bar/brothel for being drunk and disorderly. Some guys had laughed at him and he had decided to teach them a lesson. The rest was a blur.

His head was spinning and his body was screaming in pain, but he was alive. That's when he realized he was resting in a cot. "Oh no. Did I get arrested last night?" He slowly got to his feet, wishing he had a beer. Ever since Eirik lost the arm, he had been looking for ways to get close enough to kill him. Screw what Dalle wanted. Eirik was a lucky bastard that needed to be put in his place.

When he lost the arm, Jimmie thought he would finally be humbled, but he heard from people on the station that Eirik was growing out a new arm thanks to a wonderful treatment that had been refined by Knud, the doctor. He had almost destroyed his datapad when he read that message. He was busy traveling to meet Dalle, he left as soon as they arrived at the station after their last battle. He had been able to report more than Dalle hoped and had been handsomely rewarded.

But like every time, he pissed the money away on booze, drugs, and whores, living an unsustainable lifestyle to show off. "When I kill Eirik and take his place, his money, and his woman, THEN people have to respect me." He thought in his hangover haze. Moving over to the cell, he tried calling the guard.

"QUIET DOWN THERE! THE CAPTAIN IS SPEAKING ON LIVE BROADCAST TO THE ENTIRE TERRAN EMPIRE!" The guard shouted down the corridor leading to Jimmie's cell.

"THEN AT LEAST TURN IT UP SO WE CAN HEAR AS WELL!" He shouted back and he heard the volume increase.

_____________________

"Hello, Terra. Hello, every other Terran colony and settlement out there." Eirik sat straight up and down on a simple three-legged stool with no backrest. For the occasion, he was wearing a black uniform jacket with the emblem of his new empire woven in gold string over the left pocket. He quite liked the contrast, and the image was magnificent. 3 wolves running in silhouette over the words *Living Free*

"At this point, I do not need to introduce myself. You know me from my victories against the Plyxii, My exploits during the Drumixa wards. And lately, my victories against the Kloxna." He stopped for a moment to take a sip of water from a glass outside the frame.

"But I do not hijack the broadcast signal to bring good news this time. I come with the opposite. I am done. Done being the puppet of the military leaders, done being a tool. That is why I am announcing that this is the end." Taking a deep breath, Eirik dove into the subject matter at hand.

"I have amassed enough ships, wealth, and planets with loyal populations to announce that I am seceding from the Terran Empire as of this moment. I am creating a new empire. The empire of "Libertalia Mercantus" Home of the free traders. Where everyone is welcome to come and settle the land, the government is merely there to keep the wheels turning, and you are free to make your own fate, provided you keep the peace."

With a deep sigh, Eirik continued, "However, as this war between Terra and the Kloxna is partly my fault, Libertalia Mercantus offers its hand in a military alliance to Terra. We can defend ourselves and would not be a drain on resources. On the contrary, we are in possession of extensively upgraded and improved version of existing Terran military tech. We will expect a diplomatic envoy soon. Coordinates and borders of our empire will be displayed for the next hour."

David turned off the camera and Eirik released a breath he did not realize he was holding. "Did I really just do that, David?" Eirik blinked rapidly a few times as if waking up from a dream.

"You, 'Rik. You did do that." David laughed as Eirik put on a pout. "Come on, what's wrong?"

"So anticlimatic!!!" Eirik growled. "Months of preparation for a feeling of... meh. MEH!"

David started laughing harder and wheezed out "Don't worry, I think the reactions across the galaxy are plentiful!"

He was not wrong.

In the stations prison, the guards had their hands full trying to subdue an enraged Jimmie.