After several hours and even more headaches, Eirik bid goodbye to the diplomat, turned and took Freja out dancing for the rest of the night, much to the diplomat's annoyance.

"And here you told me you were tied up by matters important to the function of this little Empire of yours." He remarked snidely as he got up to leave with his bodyguards.

"let me share something with you, Smith." Eirik smiled broadly as he spoke. "When I am happy I can run this empire efficiently. In order to be happy, I need my woman to be happy. If she is not, she will make sure I know she is unhappy. which, in turn, makes me unable to focus on being a good leader for my people. Therefore, keeping my woman happy is of crucial importance to the continued prosperity of growth of Libertalia Mercantus." With that, Eirik led Freja away as Jesper emerged from the shadows of the restaurant.

"Wherever you wish to go, sir." Jesper gestured towards the exit with a neutral expression on his face.

"Are there any...*nighttime accountants*, on this station? I have some frustrations I would like to relieve." Smith said hesitantly, opting to go for the innocent slang word for prostitutes.

"High-track*, Low-track**, or Escort***?" Jesper responded. The station had grown enough for the clientele of such services, having diversified to an extent that made all 3 types of working girls needed. It was not without reason it was the oldest profession known to man.

"Escort, if available," Smith said, a hint of the earlier arrogance sneaking into his voice again, now that Eirik was not challenging his authority with every sentence.

"We have a madame on the station. I trust she will be able to supply you with whatever you need." Jesper replied cooly before he added, almost as an afterthought "We might not be a great empire, but we take great pride in it. Don't make the mistake of underestimating us like the pirates that preceded your arrival."

"What pirates? We received no calls for aid?" Smith said slightly confused.

"Call for aid?? For a few pirates?" Jesper stared at the man in disbelief before he started roaring with laughter and walked towards the exit, signaling the diplomat to follow. His laughing didn't die down for almost a minute, and it returned in full strength as soon as he looked at Smith and his entourage. After the 3rd time Jesper started laughing his heart out, Smith was sufficiently annoyed to break the icy silence he had maintained since leaving the restaurant.

"What on Terra could be so funny about calling for aid against pirates?" he said sourly as he stopped to look at Jesper.

Jesper wiped a tear from his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. "Sir, all but a single ship in our possession is the result of boarding against pirates and the enemies of Terra. The day before your arrival we suffered 3 separate pirate attacks containing multiple ships each. All together, we managed to capture no less than 4 of the pirate ships while having to destroy the last 7.

Calling for help against some idiot pirates?? I had to laugh, sir, and I offer my deepest apologies." Jesper had managed to get his laughter under control as he spoke and even managed to sound sincere in his apology. It was bullshit, of course, but Eirik had ordered best behavior towards the diplomat. It was also the reason that Jesper was playing babysitter. Eirik believed, rightfully so, that Jesper would not hesitate to summon every single soldier under his command, to his position, if he deemed it needed. And perhaps even if he didn't, just as a show of force.

With that, He led the diplomat towards the only professional escort service, so far, on the station. This was going to get them some good dirt on the diplomat. perhaps even his bodyguards. Sure, it wouldn't be helpful now, but at some point in the future... "What about you 2?" Jesper innocently directed to question towards the 2 bodyguards. "It's on the house...?" The faces like kids on Christmas told him they would accept. Enjoying the same perks as the boss was a rare thing and they did not hesitate to jump at the chance.

Jesper smiled and felt immensely pleased with himself. He might not be the smartest man, but even he had flashes of inspiration sometimes. Eirik had been smart to come to an agreement with the owner of the escort service, a tough, no-nonsense elderly lady who had approached Tina about permission to open said escort service. He had agreed on the condition that she monitors her clients at all times, secretly if needed. Any requests for tapes with footage would be generously compensated either through credits or through the promise of future favors.

She had also requested to purchase the services of Eirik's soldiers as bouncers but Eirik had refused that idea. Instead, He offered her the protection in exchange for a 15% discount for his men, bringing the price range down into the affordable range for the regular soldier in his little empire. It would still be a serious expense, but it would not cripple their private economy.

The elderly lady ran the escort service with strict but fair rules. Jesper led them inside and saw grins on their faces. They would be happy here until Eirik was ready to send them back to Terra.

________________

Eirik was walking down to the prison. The guards had told stories about Jimmie's strange behavior and he wanted to find out what was up. from day 1, the young man had struck him as a source of trouble. It was time to get to the bottom of this.

Eirik opened the door and returned the salute the guards sent his way. "Is he ready?" He asked the guards who grinned. "Oh yes, all yours, Captain."

Eirik nodded and walked down to the only cell currently occupied. They had called him just before arriving at the karaoke bar and he had promised Freja it would be a very short side trip. Time to be a man of his words.

When he opened the cell door, Jimmie was sitting on the only chair in the room, securely held in place by copious amounts of duct tape.

Closing the door behind him, Eirik spoke, "Why did you go berserk, Jimmie? And what secret are you trying to hide from me?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I was still drunk and confused when I woke up." Jimmie's head was slumped over, and he did indeed look like the poster child for a hangover, but Eirik felt something was off.

"Jimmie," Eirik said as he started fishing for something in his pocket. "Freja made me promise this would be a short visit, but you and I both know I'm too curious a man to leave at this point. Usually, I would have the guards interrogate you for endless hours while depriving you of sleep, the cycle of day and night, and proper nutrition while letting time do the work for me." Eirik pulled a lighter out of his pocket and flicked on the flame. before he grabbed Jimmie's head with his free hand and forced it upwards so he could look into Jimmie's eyes

"But with my promise to Freja, I don't have that kind of time!" Eirik moved the flame of the lighter towards Jimmie's left eye.

"waitwaitwaitWAITWAITSTOP!!" Jimmie went from docile to full-blown panic in less time than it took to blink, and Eirik stopped the lighter less than 2 centimeters from his eye.

"Start. Talking." A thousand words would have carried less threat and Jimmie started rambling everything he knew. Dalle's last hiding place, the plan to infiltrate Eirik's crew so he could help plan a hit on Eirik, his jealousy over Eirik's success in life, and his future plans to sabotage the new empire from within, everything.

When he was finally done talking Eirik let go of him, flicked the lighter shut, and left the cell without a word. He decided to not drink tonight. He needed to remember this. But he was still going dancing with Freja. Only the gods knew what she would do if he stood her up tonight, on the night of the personal victory.