Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary

Avery had been a bit stiff when the celebration first began, but as it went on, he started to relax.

Naturally, he had received quite a few stares when arrived.

Both for his reputation and the fact that he had three beautiful women accompanying him.

Ezra had also attracted plenty of attention himself, though that was more due to his imposing figure.

Luckily, the Alliance Police officers were mostly friendly. They were people that Cerise had gathered, and she was not the type to put up with the sorts of people that would try to cause problems at a party or openly wield their authority for petty reasons.

Avery did get a few subtlety snide remarks from a couple of captains that were clearly envious of his central role in the operation. No doubt they felt that was something that the Alliance Police should have been doing instead, rather than leaving it up to mercenaries.

Still, with that being the worst of it, and most people instead congratulating him for his success, Avery mostly just ignored the small minority that did not like him.

Like that the celebration continued until it got a bit wild towards the end.

Cerise had made sure that this was a chance for everyone to unwind a little, so there was plenty of alcohol available for those who wanted it.

One lieutenant who got a bit too drunk ended up trying to hit on Liesel, and even when she told him he was married, he still persisted in his advances.

Avery was pretty sure he heard the guy say that he was definitely better than her husband as he was approaching to put an end to the situation.

Luckily, the Alliance Police lieutenant seemed to have good survival instincts despite his inebriated state.

The moment that Avery fixed him with a death glare, he went pale and quickly retreated.

"That was quite the scary face you made there. I don't know if I've ever seen you look like that before." Liesel said draping her arms over Avery from behind and resting her chin on his shoulder.

Had Kasandra or Jasmine tried to do this, they would have had a difficult time due to the difference in height, but Liesel was only around an inch shorter than Avery.

His dark thoughts surrounding the crass lieutenant were washed away almost immediately as he smelled a sweet scent coming from Liesel and felt something soft pressed against his back.

"How much have you had to drink?" Avery asked, smelling the alcohol on her breath.

"Enough to lower my inhibitions a bit, but not so much that I'm truly drunk. Otherwise, I'd probably be showering my dashing hero with kisses by now, and perhaps trying to take your clothes off."

"I'm pretty sure I saved that guy from you more than the other way around. The look on your face told me that you were moments away from getting rid of him forcefully. Also, this isn't really the place to be so intimate. How about we dance instead."

Avery pulled Liesel off of his back and escorted her to the dance floor.

After he had danced with Liesel until she was content, he noticed the expectant looks on Kasandra's and Jasmine's faces as well.

So, he danced with the two of them next, until nearly the end of the celebration.

"You three go back to the ship, I have something else I need to take care of." Avery said.

He had noticed Cerise giving him a signal that she wanted to talk.

Currently she was standing in the shadows of an alcove, presumably after slipping away from the many officers that had been hanging around her like flies the entire time.

Once Avery started to head over, she slipped out, though her intentions were clear. She wanted him to follow her without catching anyone's attention.

Soon Avery was walking through the empty corridors of the ship. He was not certain what was going on, but he was sure that Cerise would make herself known when she wanted to.

"That's not ominous."

Eventually, Avery came across a single open door that revealed only a pitch blackness behind it.

Had he not trusted Cerise, he would have thought that this was some sort of trap he was being lured into.

When he walked inside, the door quickly closed behind him with a distinct whooshing sound.

"I'm assuming you weren't followed?" Cerise asked.

"Not that I could tell. And I'm pretty perceptive." Avery replied.

"Now, do you want to tell me what this is all about? I don't really think that there was any need for all of this cloak and dagger stuff."

Cerise sighed and slumped down into a chair in the room before beckoning Avery to sit in the one across from her.

Once the two of them were facing each other, she began her explanation.

"Normally, you would be right. But some disturbing information came to light just two days ago. The Alliance Police have been compromised. I'm not sure who to trust right now."

Avery's eyes went wide when he heard this, and he sharpened his senses and fully embraced his psionic abilities.

He knew that it was unlikely, but he prepared to be attacked at any moment.

Thankfully, nothing happened. There was no one waiting to ambush them as soon as Cerise revealed this information like what would occur during similar scenes in a holomovie.

"Sorry, to put you so on edge, but considering how much this concerns you, I figure that you have a right to know. Even if most of my colleagues do not think the same." Cerise said, making it clear that she was going against the wishes of the Alliance Police as a whole.

Of course, this was not the first time that she had done so, and it certainly would not be the last.

She might have been an integral part of the organization, but she moved by her own standards of justice whenever she felt that the higherups of the Alliance Police were making the wrong call. It had gotten her in trouble before, but it has also saved a lot of lives as well.

"Okay, so the police have been compromised. In what way and to what degree? Should I be expecting another attack again like with that corrupt commander and her cronies?"

"No, nothing quite that extreme. The problem this time is mostly due to leaked information."

Cerise went on to tell Avery that the now former head of the Alliance Police's accounting department had vanished.

After hounding Cerise for weeks about all of the massive expenditures in her reports, the woman had all of a sudden stopped and gone on vacation.

At the time, Cerise had not really thought anything of it and was just glad to be done with such a nuisance.

Except, it later was discovered that the woman had been bribed an enormous sum to hand over information on the operation against the Odium Syndicate.

"Whoever the interested party is, they got basically everything. That includes your false identity and your involvement in the mission. In fact, from what we've managed to put together, that seems to have been the primary objective."

Avery narrowed his eyes as he listened.

This certainly was not good, but from the timeline of events, if it was someone within the Odium Syndicate that had found all of this out, they should have known that Ferdinand Karas was Avery Asteria by now.

That should have made his recent attack on the main base within the Dramid Alliance impossible.

"I'm almost certain that it was Delia. Anyone else doesn't make any sense, and the timing adds up. She found out about me being undercover for you and then decided to use that information to her advantage. What her end goal is, I can't be sure. But I don't think that it will be good for either of us."

"Yes, I came to that conclusion as well. And I'd honestly like to just make her disappear. But she's necessary to finish the Odium Syndicate off. As much as I'd like to stop now, we're teetering on the edge of war still. Mutagenic experiments on the populous were meant to protect is not something the Alliance Police can just let go." Cerise said, obviously frustrated and angry about the entire situation.

"What if I said that I'm done? Going back into the Zatis Consortium is extremely dangerous now. I've got to think about the safety of my crew."

"I'd understand if you did. And I would make sure that you get paid what you're owed. But I've received pressure from up high to convince you to keep going. It feels unnatural though. There's a lot at stake, but people that typically would not get involved in something like this have been contacting me almost every day to make sure I get you to follow through. Some of them have even not so subtly been threatening me."

"I believe that this Delia woman is a lot more dangerous than we first assumed. She's not just some executive of the Odium Syndicate. She has connections even within the highest positions of the Dramid Alliance."

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