Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary-Chapter 41 - Trouble Brewing (2)

"The Prazan System, huh. There's pretty much nothing out there. Why do the Alliance Police want me to go there?"

After Jasmine told Avery about the mission she had been asked to present to him, he was naturally confused.

Around twelve parsecs away was an uninhabited system that was devoid of just about everything.

Long before people started traveling into the expanse of space, the Prazan star went supernova and all that was left now was a neutron star.

Other than a rarely used hyperspace lane that only a few seasonal traders used to bring in luxury goods, it was completely unremarkable.

"Well, the Alliance Police have an autonomous monitoring station set up in the system to make sure no pirates or opposing powers try to set up a base there. However, it didn't send in its scheduled transmission a few days ago." Jasmine explained.

"Okay, but why do they want to send me to check it out? It's probably just a malfunction. Just send a technician to fix it. This is hardly mercenary work."

"Naturally, the Alliance Police already did so, but the crew of the ship that left to investigate have also gone silent. Seeing as how there might be a hostile force at work, they want to send a mercenary that can handle themselves in a fight, if necessary."

Avery accepted this reasoning, but still wondered why the police did not just send one of their own fighters.

While she was not privy to all of the details, the Alliance Police were apparently in a bit of a bind over the recent pirate activity and failure to fully eradicate the outlaws.

A number of their ships were still being repaired, and they did not have the capacity to spare any due to increased patrols to maintain the image of safety in the system.

'That's probably a surface level explanation they gave to her, but I bet there's more at play here. Still, I can't very well refuse a direct request. Especially since there is going to be a lot less work in the system now that the pirates have been driven out.' Avery thought, considering his options.

He turned to Kasandra and asked her opinion on the matter, and she agreed that the request sounded fine as long as the pay was good.

Obviously, mercenaries did not work for free or out of the goodness of their hearts. They required compensation of some kind for their services.

"From what the officer that approached me to speak with you on this matter said, the request reward will be eighty thousand Krenin, along with reimbursement for any ammunition you use while on the job. And although this is not payment per se, Deputy Chief Ikla will apparently speak with the Mercenary Association and try to have you advanced to a three star mercenary should you complete this mission."

Visit ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience.

Avery's eyes grew wide when he heard this.

Eighty thousand Krenin for such a simple job was practically unheard of, plus his expenses for ammunition were being covered.

Then there was the rank up to consider. Normally it was necessary to successfully complete forty jobs and be a mercenary for at least a few months before the association would rank anyone up.

Zero to two star mercenaries were considered the novice ranks by most. Only once an induvial reached three stars, were they considered an experienced mercenary.

The pay for any request they accepted went up by a staggering amount. While a two star mercenary could expect to be paid six thousand Krenin a day for their services, a three star typically earned more than three times that amount.

There were also other boons, such as access to better weapons and information, though Avery had little use for the former considering his ship was designed for high-end military use.

'Still, being offered something like that must mean the Alliance Police think there is some real danger to this mission. They've already presumably had some loses.'

However, even while weighing his options, Avery already knew that he was be accepting the request.

Mercenaries that did not take any risk usually ended up going bankrupt. When a profitable job with some extra benefits attached to it was presented, it would be stupid not to take it. Especially since it was coming from a reputable source like the Alliance Police. If Avery stopped trusting them, he might as well leave for one of the neighboring powers.

"Okay, I'll accept. Have it sent through the Association so its official, and I'll get right to it."

A slight smile and look of relief on her face, Jasmine pulled out her terminal and sent a message to her superior.

Before she even had time to bring up the next topic she was here to discuss, Avery received a notification from the Mercenary Association about the job.

After quickly looking it over to make sure everything was in line with what Jasmine had told him, he accepted.

"Now, what is this unofficial subject you wanted to tell me?"

For a few moments, Jasmine fidgeted and looked around nervously, before taking a deep breath to calm herself. She could get into some trouble if certain people found out about what she was going to divulge to Avery.

"First, you did not hear any of this from me." Jasmine said, waiting for both Avery and Kasandra to give their assurances before continuing.

As mercenaries, it was part of their job to keep secrets for their clients when necessary. So, they easily agreed not to say a word of what she was about to say to them.

"Let me preference by saying that it's not the branch of the Alliance Police operating in the Yuson System that's done so, but an investigation into you as the perpetrator of the tragedy that happened on this ship has been opened."

Avery was confused for a couple seconds after Jasmine said this. When they had first met, she grabbed all of the ship's data and assured him that he would be cleared of any wrongdoing. Since nothing else came up about the issue in the past few months, he figured that everything was fine.

"That doesn't make any sense. When those people died was before I had every left this station for the first time. There's obviously records of that. It would have been impossible for me to have anything to do with it." Avery said, understandably upset.

"I know, and I don't think it will go anywhere. It's probably got something to do with the other matter I wanted to discuss. From what I've heard, some upper-level executives from Storren Corp. have recently come to Yuson II. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you what they want."