Chapter 119 Meeting With The Information Broker



After Erich's brief encounter with what he could only refer to as an abomination, he was pushed forward by his team towards the Customs checkpoint. Where they would have to get their passports approved in order to actually enter the world of Alpha Centauri. 

Erich had long since studied the alias by which the Empire had come up for him, and had memorized everything there was to know about it. What was perhaps the most shocking thing of all to Erich was that the Empire had long since infiltrated the Confederacy. So much so that they had agents embedded long term within each major corporation. 

Although the government of humanity was a representative republic with universal suffrage. The reality was that it was simply a Corporatocracy. Where private corporations held more power than the state. 

Elected officials were all bought out by the major corporations, who controlled practically every aspect of society. And the people, the so-called electorate, they were either too ignorant to understand this, or simply basking in the consumerist lifestyle that these corporations provided. 

Private property was virtually nonexistent, in so far that every speck of land on every world was owned by one corporation or another, and the apartments which the people lived in were rented out to them by said corporation. 

And despite not really owning anything of substance, the people of humanity seemed to be happy with their pathetic lives of what was essentially slavery. They cared more about having the newest model of the phone than they did about things like owning their own property. And, of course, these luxury items were all put on payment plans, simply because the masses could not afford to buy a new product outright every year. 

As Erich thought about what he had read, he slowly approached the encounter, where a human male stared at him with a rather stern expression on his face. Realizing that he needed to hand over his papers, Erich scavenged through his bag and found just what was needed. Where he gave them to the customs official. 

Evidently, the customs official either did not care enough about his job to do a thorough inspection, or was simply incompetent because he took a single glance at the document and stamped it before handing it back to Erich. Which allowed him to pass through the starport and into the city. 

Erich quickly followed after his unit, who was quick to remind him about the dangers of the confederacy. 

"Alright, I know I'm probably beating a dead horse here, but remember newbie, the confederacy is filled with crime, organized criminal syndicates are almost as powerful as corporations, and the two often intermingle. 

Anybody could be in one of these gangs, and anybody could be a corpo, so do not interact with anyone, even if they approach you. Because you have no idea what kind of trouble that you will bring upon yourself."

Erich nodded his head and accepted his orders, where he followed the other men in his unit further into the city. If Erich had to describe the capital of Alpha Centauri with a single phrase, it would be "a total shithole."

The infrastructure appeared to be in disrepair, with cracks all over the roads, and shut down businesses around every corner. Graffiti was more of a common sight than it wasn't, and on every street there were hookers of all kinds offering their services to whoever was willing to pay for them.

Shockingly, there were even what appeared to be children working in this profession. Erich had no idea what the age of consent was in this society, or if there even was one, but the sight of such a thing made him sick to his stomach. He ultimately decided to just keep pressing forward and ignore the horrors that was human society. 

Eventually, the group made their way across the city to a popular nightclub. One which had a line a mile long waiting for entry. Despite this, Ghost simply walked past the line and up to the bouncer, where he flashed an ID card. For whatever reason, the man simply let Erich and his team skip the lien, something which outraged many of those who were waiting for their turn to enter. 

There were no nightclubs in the Empire, because people were married off at a young age and expected to look after their families. Because of this, Erich was having a bit of a culture shock as he walked through the facility, which flashed with neon lights, while music which he considered to be absolutely unbearable blasted across the building. 

There were women who were almost completely naked, gyrating their hips on men in the most grotesque fashion imaginable, while others snorted drugs of an unknown origin off of each other's breasts. And just like the streets, there were many teens and preteens in the club participating in all of these vices. 

Erich was forced to avert his gaze every few seconds to avoid some degenerate and perverse activity that made him uncomfortable. Eventually, he and his team made their way to a VIP booth, where a large black man with a golden prosthetic arm motioned for his bodyguards to allow Ghost to sit. 

As for Erich and the rest of the men, they were supposed to standby and play the role of bodyguards for their young Executive, who greeted the large and rotund black man with a smile on his face. 

"Marcus, it has been too long. How have you been, my friend?"

Marcus shook hands with Ghost, while leering at Erich, who was anxiously keeping his head down, trying to ignore the overwhelming volume of vice that was going on around him. The fat black man could not help but question who Erich was, and why he was with Ghost. 

"Rodrigo, who's the new guy? What happened to Antonio?"

Ghost sucked on his teeth, as he dismissed the second question which the man had asked, before introducing Erich. 

"Some nasty business there, corporate secrets. Can't say much about it, but this is Rafael. He's Antonio's replacement. I apologize in advance. He's from one of the colonies, and this is all new to him." 

Marcus immediately dismissed Erich's shifty behavior when he heard the man was from the colonies. After all, the "colonies" were barren inhospitable worlds, quite literally owned by corporations.

The settlements on these worlds were company towns, where the citizens were forced to use a corporation's private currency. One which was constantly adjusted to ensure that a colonist was incapable of saving for the future.  It was a rough life, one filled with backbreaking work. Where every colonist dreamed of escaping back to Earth or Alpha Centauri, where they could enjoy a life of vice. 

It was no wonder that such a person was having a hard time getting used to the city life. Thus, Marcus simply smiled, and booted one of the girls, which wrapped themselves around his love handles out of the booth, while giving her an order to do the unthinkable. 

"Bitch, show Rafael here a good time. He has just escaped from the colonies and could use the company of a woman." 

Despite Marcus' rude gestures, the woman, who was dressed in little more than a thong and pasties, did exactly as the man commanded. She got up from her seat and approached Erich, where she grabbed hold of his hand and took him to the dance floor. 

Erich, on the other hand, was silently pleading with his eyes to Ghost so that the man could save him from this situation. Unfortunately for Erich, the mission came first, and if Ghost were to refuse Marcus' "kindness" he would immediately seem suspect. Thus, he allowed Erich to be taken advantage of for the sake of the mission.

After all, it was not as if every man sent to the CHW had not been forced to partake in many of the perversions that were considered the norm within human society. As Erich tried to hold back his tears, and attempt to dance with a woman he did not at all find attractive, Ghost posed the question to Marcus that he had been waiting to ask for some time. 

"Alright, enough with the small talk. Do you have what I want or not?"

Marcus smiled a toothy grin to reveal several of his teeth had been replaced with solid gold implants, where he then reached under the table and pulled out a briefcase. Which he quickly popped open after typing in his own code, revealing a small data file contained within. Just when Ghost was about to reach out and grab it, Marcus shut the contained, and put it away. He then spoke the words that instantly enraged Ghost for obvious reasons. 

"As you can see, I have what you need right here. However, I'm afraid I can no longer accept our previous arrangement. You see, I had to go through a lot more trouble than I initially thought to get my hands on this information. And, let's just say I'm going to need to be properly compensated for that trouble."

Ghost was furious and was quick to voice this sentiment. 

"We had a deal Marcus!"

However, despite the rage in Ghost's eyes, Marcus did not seem afraid. Instead, he simply licked his lips before saying the words that he would sorely come to regret. 

"Even then, I'm going to need you to sweeten the pot..."