Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary-Chapter 48 - Gathering for Battle

"We've certainly got an eclectic bunch here."

After testing out the new weapons systems on loan from the Alliance Police, Avery and Kasandra were waiting on standby as the strike team heading to the Prazan System was assembled.

The majority of the force was made up of mercenaries looking to make another big payday. The recent pirate extermination had seen most of them fattening their wallets, and they were more than happy to go for a second round. Though, this time, they were up against energy lifeforms rather than criminals.

Still, the Alliance Police were not just about to let a band of contracted fighters go off on their own without any direction. Large mercenary forces put together tended to lack coordination, and there were always a few willing to pull dangerous stunts to get in some extra kills or try and showoff.

That was where the seven top pilots the Alliance Police had in this region came in.

Each of them had been given the strongest small ships in the fleet and ordered to take command of the seven squads that the mercenaries had been assigned to.

Of course, the military craft all shared a similar design and were easily discernable as being a part of the same organization, but the same could not be said for the mercenaries.

Even vessels that had the same base model could look vastly different depending on how they had been customized.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

"Well, I'd say around sixty to seventy percent of mercs like colorful designs that stand out. People like us that are fine with subdued paint jobs are actually in the minority." Kasandra said, disinterestedly glancing at the rows of ships Avery was looking at through the view screen.

A lot of them had bright hulls, and some even had large pieces of artwork painted on them. One in particular had the figure of a scantily clad woman on the side of his ship. No doubt that actually served to keep away anyone of the female persuasion.

Soon there were only a few minutes left until the operation was to begin. At this point, all put a few stragglers that had signed up for the mission had arrived.

"We're just shy of two hundred. Do you think that will be enough?"

"Let's hope so. That queen may have seemed big, but from the past records I looked up, it's actually on the smaller size. Apparently some that went unnoticed for long enough and had time to grow were able to reach the size of a small moon."

Avery winced just imagining such a monstrosity. The one they had encountered had already been around half the size of Yuson II. A station that housed nearly six hundred thousand people. Yet it was basically an infant for its species.

If it were not for the monitoring station that had been set up there, it likely would have stayed hidden away for years before bringing ruin to an untold number of systems.

As Avery and Kasandra continued to chat, they eventually received a message from the officer in charge of their squad.

"This is Captain Ais, leader of squad one and overall commander of this operation. Begin flight syncing and prepare to enter lightspeed travel in five minutes."

With their orders received, all of the mercenaries that had been lounging around powered their ships up and got ready to depart.

Once everything was taken care of, Avery hesitantly looked towards his terminal.

Since arriving, he had wanted to contact his mother to learn about how his father was doing.

Yet, Avery had so far refrained from doing so. While it was unlikely, there was a chance that the operation would be unsuccessful and the man that had raised him would soon pass on.

If he heard such bad news now, it would undoubtably affect his performance in the coming battle.

Nevertheless, not knowing also brought with it its own worry.

"I understand where you're coming from, but I'd recommend waiting until we get back. You can share the good news of a successful job with both of your parents then. Just imagine your happy reunion in the near future and focus on making them proud by staying safe in the coming battle." Kasandra said, doing what she could to ease Avery's nerves.

Thankfully, having her next to him did help to calm him down. Having his mind off somewhere else when they were about to plunge into a fight with a horde of space monsters would only serve as a distraction.

With a deep breath, Avery prepared himself for what was to come and initiated his light speed drive.

A few seconds later, the Dauntless and the nearly two hundred other craft going off to hunt down the energy lifeforms turned into streaks of light.

When they reached the entrance to the hyperspace lane, each squad entered one at a time in order. This meant that Avery was going first and would be part of the group that would need to secure their position upon arriving in the Prazan System.

"And now we wait." Kasandra said, leaning back into her chair.

They still had around fifty minutes of travel ahead of them before reaching their destination.

"You're certainly pretty relaxed considering what happened last time." Avery said, his demeanor a bit tense.

"No reason to be on edge before the fight has even begun. Plus, I trust you and this ship to see us through. Last time we were completely on our own with less-than-ideal weapons to fight with. This is going to be a cakewalk compared to that."

Avery felt a bit touched by her confidence in him and the Dauntless. She had only been a member of his crew for about a week now, yet the two of them had grown quite close. To the point that Avery was sometimes surprised.

Not too long ago he was just a down on his luck salvager, and now he was an up-and-coming space mercenary with a beautiful and experienced copilot. Something he hardly could have imagined happening just a few months back.