Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary-Chapter 194 The Augmentation Expert

Two days after their discussion with Jasmine' mother, Avery, Kasandra, and Jasmine found themselves leaving Azade and heading off to the edge of the system.

Thanks in large part due to Regina's endorsement and Avery's recent advancement to become a five star mercenary, they had finally heard back from the reclusive and eccentric augmentation specialist that resided within the Coccaro System.

She only worked with people she found interesting, and Avery being a young up-and-coming mercenary that had gotten involved in several major events over the last few months was enough to pique her curiosity.

After a couple hours long trip at light speed, Avery slowed the Dauntless down and pulled up their destination on the main viewscreen.

What appeared initially looked like merely a large asteroid, but upon closer inspection, metal plating that was clearly engineered by human hands could be seen sticking out at places.

"That's quite the structure. To think that she would have an asteroid over two kilometers long, and nearly eight hundred meters wide hollowed out for her facility." Kasandra said, looking impressed and confused.

It was a lot more work to use an asteroid as a base for a structure rather than just having one preassembled.

Normally it was a technique used out on the frontier of space exploration where resources and talented construction teams were in short supply. Though, pirates also often employed this approach since it was easier to hide their bases.

However, as the person running this operation did not like unexpected visitors or solicitors, she had designed her base to be unassuming and even equipped it with thrusters and a light speed drive.

Apparently, she often moved locations to prevent people she had rejected but still wanted her services from harassing her. Though, without a hyperdrive she was always somewhere within the Cocarro System.

Currently her base was floating in orbit of one of the moons of the last planet in the system. Far from any regular traffic, considering how far it was from any of the truly important areas within the Cocarro System.

"Okay, I've sent the authorization code we received." Jasmine informed Avery.

A few seconds later, the Dauntless received a transmission acknowledging their arrival and hangar doors towards the bottom of the asteroid opened up for them.

With a few strokes on his console, Avery synced up his ship's and the base's systems and let the autodocking feature do the rest.

Once they were safely inside, the three of them got up from their seats and disembarked from the Dauntless.

Waiting outside for them was a small, spherical guidance drone similar to the one that had led them around during their stay on the Alliance Police base.

Following behind it, they were soon led into the interior of the base and brought to the sole occupant's and owner's office.

When the sliding double doors opened up, they revealed a space filled with monitors and holographic projectors.

In the center of the room, sitting at the desk, was the woman that had gained a reputation as an expert in the art of physical augmentation.

Yet currently, nearly her entire body was obscured. Covered by holographic images of scans of different lifeforms.

"Ooh, such interesting muscle structure! And this one had quite the unusual vascular system!"

Despite knowing guests were going to be arriving soon, the person that Avery, Jasmine, and Kasandra had come to see was still fully engrossed in her own passions. She had recently gotten data on several species native to a planet far away from the Dramid Alliance's territory and she was using every waking moment to study them.

While she had earned her renowned as a specialist in bodily augmentation, truthfully, she would consider herself a researcher into the biology of all manners of creatures. Offering people high-quality physical enhancements was merely a way to earn money.

"Excuse me, we're here for our appointment." Avery said once it became clear that their host was too absorbed in her work to notice them.

There was a small, panicked yelp from the woman at the center of the room, and Avery, Kasandra and Jasmine heard a few things being knocked over.

Not long afterwards, the multitude of holoprojectors shut down and revealed the owner of the base.

She was fairly short for a human, being all of only one and a half meters tall.

Her turquoise-colored hair was also arranged into a twin tail style that made her look even younger.

If it were not for the fact that certain characteristics of her body were fully developed, she easily could have been confused for a child.

'Is this really the expert we are supposed to see?' Avery thought skeptically. His first impression of the augmentation expert was not particularly good.

Still, she was supposed to be the best in the entire sector, and Avery did not want to let this opportunity go to waste.

"My apologies for that. Please, take a seat."

Chairs rose up out of the floor in front of the central desks, and Avery, Jasmine, and Kasandra sat down so that they could get down to business.

"I suppose that I should start with introductions. You can call me Dr. Raiti or Mercedes. I don't particularly care either way. And you must be Avery Asteria, Jasmine Rhinelander, and Kasandra Woest."

"Ah, actually, it's Jasmine Iralus. I changed my name a while back." Jasmine said, correcting the mistake.

"Really? My bad then. Since your mother reached out to me, I just assumed. I'll change that in my records. Though, from what I've heard, I may be needing to alter them again soon."

Mercedes gave Avery and Jasmine a knowing grin before swiftly typing into the computer in front of her. It appeared that recommending them was not the only thing Regina had talked to Mercedes about.

"Now, I understand that you're in the market for some physical augmentations, on account of how dangerous your work is. But from the messages you sent me, it's only the two of you. Kasandra, you're not looking for any work to be done?" Mercedes asked.

"No, I received some augmentations from somewhere else. I know that there can be difficulties and possible complications when switching from one expert to another."

Naturally, augmentation specialists had their own methods and often specialized tools that only they used. It was usually difficult and could be dangerous to switch where such a procedure was done.

A curious look on her face, Dr. Raiti grabbed a pair of massive, oversized glasses from her desk and put them on.

The enormous lenses that were nearly as big as her head started to light up and slight mechanical whirling sounds could be heard from them.

It was a bit unsettling, and Kasandra felt like her entire body was being looked through. Which, it in fact was.

"Hm, it seems that you had some work done by Phyninzer Medical. I believe the one that did the operation was probably Dr. Ajiter Paras. Muscle and skeletal strengthening, as well improvements to the eyes and ears. I assume you probably also had your cognitive abilities enhanced too, but I'd need to do a more complex scan to be fully certain." Dr Raiti said, accurately identifying the augmentations Kasandra had received, as well as where she got them from and who did them.

Honestly, it was a bit unnerving how much information Mercedes had been able to glean just by merely looking at Kasandra with a pair of modified glasses.

"The procedure was done well, but those are but mid-tier augmentations at best. Considering Phyninzer's pricing, I'm guessing it probably set you back about seven hundred thousand Krenin."

Mercedes was right again, and Kasandra was shaken even more. However, the sidetracked doctor soon got to her point.

"Yep, shouldn't be a problem. I can easily enough add on to the work you've already had done without any more risk than a completely unenhanced person. I promise that my skills and facilities are more than capable, should you want to." Dr. Raiti said, radiating confidence.

Kasandra had been hesitant to receive any more augmentations on the grounds of safety and the cost, but at the very least one of her worries was being eased.

Still, the price was no doubt going to be high. Dr. Raiti was renowned for her work, and there was absolutely no way her procedures came cheap. Not when they were what funded the large base she owned and the research materials she was constantly purchasing.

"If you want to do it, don't worry about the cost. I already said that I would cover it. Plus, we recently got quite the valuable contract. My account can take a few big purchases." Avery said, wanting to encourage Kasandra to do as she pleased.

This served as the last push, and Kasandra ultimately decided to take Mercedes and Avery up on their offers. She knew that it was important to take chances to become stronger when they presented themselves. Though, she was just a bit hesitant on account of her brother. Once she did this, she would most likely become stronger than he was.

"Okay, so it will be the three of you then. First, why don't you all tell me exactly what you're looking for. I offer a range of enchantments, but of course, not all of them work well together. There will simply be some options you can't choose if you want other ones."

Mercedes brought up a display of every augmentation that she offered and encouraged Avery, Jasmine, and Kasandra to pick through what they wanted. All the while giving them advice to achieve the outcomes they desired.