Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary

After Avery and his companions had finished up their business at Storren Corp. the six of them promptly left the building and began heading back towards the hangar where their ships were waiting.

"I've got eyes on them now. No doubt this that it's them." A cloaked and hooded man said into a communications device as he watched Avery's group from a far.

"Good. Keep on them and make sure that they stick to the expected route. We're nearly done preparing here. They will not get away from us this time."

…

"Ah, I wish we could have stayed longer. Ardesen is quite knowledgeable, and he had a collection of old technology I really wanted to see for myself." Vi'ivando said while they all waited at an electromagnetic tram station.

Grito nodded along in agreement, but Avery, Kasandra, Jasmine, and Kaiden all wore sour expressions.

They had already indulged the three Baccigans for over an hour. Staying any longer to listen to their technobabble would have been aggravating for them.

"Well, I'm sure that you can find some time to meet again later. You'll be staying here in the capital system anyway." Jasmine said to Vi'ivando.

He was only a temporary passenger, and now that they had reached his destination, it was simply a matter of Vi'ivando making the necessary arrangements to stay before he was out of their care.

"Yes, I suppose so. I'd almost gotten used to sticking around with all of you, but the excitement is a little too much for me at my age. While you're still here I'll continue to visit to keep up with my nephew. Though, this is nearly the end for me."

Vi'ivando looked a bit melancholic, however, he knew that his future was not with Avery's band of mercenaries.

He had enjoyed the advanced lab built on Olivia's corvette and spending his time with Grito. Still, this was not his life. He was a researcher and an educator. Those were his callings, and he was not so adventurous that he wanted to continue galivanting amongst the stars. He would be content staying in the Dramid System.

Soon enough, the next tram heading to their destination arrived, and Avery's group quickly boarded the public transportation vehicle.

There were not many other people with them on account of the time.

While there was no simulated day or night cycle on Dramid III, it was currently a part of the day when there was not too much traffic. Those that had already been up since earlier were resting now, and the people that were getting on with their days had already gotten to their jobs or whatever else they would have been heading.

That was not to say that the car that they got on was devoid of anyone else. With a population of over thirty million, there were always people moving from place to place on this colony.

"Am I the only one getting a bad feeling here?" Avery whispered so that only Kasandra and Jasmine, who were both sitting next to him could hear,

The car that they were in had been filling up with more people over the last three stops they visited.

Now it was filled with a bunch of individuals that were covering themselves with cloaks and hoods.

Normally it would not be particularly disconcerting to see a few people covered like this, but there were now over a dozen of them, and no others beside Avery's group were in the same car.

If they did not have so many enemies, Avery might not have been quite as suspicious as he was. However, there were plenty of groups and organizations that wanted to get even with them. It was easy to imagine that this was some kind of setup for an attack against them.

"Yeah, I've been getting a bad feeling too. All of their heart rates are accelerated. Like they're on edge and anticipating trouble at any moment." Kasandra replied, her keen sense of hearing picking up on subtle clues of the cloaked individuals agitation.

Collectively, the six of them agreed to get off at the next station and figure things out from there.

Unfortunately, they never arrived.

Partway through its route between stations, the tram that they were on suddenly came to a stop. They were now stuck in the middle of the tracks with no way to leave.

Flashing signs started to display that an error had occurred and an automated message played over the intercom telling all passengers to remain calm while the situation was assessed and dealt with.

In the couple moments of confusion during the unexpected stop, each of the cloaked figured pulled out laser pistols and pointed them at Avery and his companions. Keeping them hidden behind their cloaks to avoid the tram's cameras but exposed enough that Avery's group could see them.

"Now, all of you just need to remain calm and nobody will need to get hurt." The man standing closest to Avery's team said.

'I wonder who they're working for. Iniquus' family, the Odium syndicate, Snyder Heavy Industries, or maybe they're Storzen's guys.' Avery thought, hardly perturbed by the situation.

He was keeping a close watch on everyone's movements and was ready to act at a moment's notice.

Before he might have been a bit unsettled, but now he had some of the best bionic augmentations in the entire galaxy. He was certain that he could react swiftly enough even from his current position.

Except, things took a turn for an unexpected when the leader of the cloaked group stated his demands.

"Kaiden, Kasandra, both of you stand up and come over here. Don't offer any resistance unless you want your friends here to find out how painful a laser wound to the chest is."

Up to this point, Avery had figured that these goons had come from one of the many organizations that had a grudge against them.

Yet if that was the case, it made sense why they were singling out Kasandra and Kaiden.

Of course, Avery was not just going to let these people take two members of his team. Especially considering that Kasandra was his lover and Kaiden was her brother.

"Who the hell are you? Do you really think that I'll just let you take away my subordinates like that?" Avery said, angrily wanting to draw attention away from Kasandra and Kaiden and to himself instead.

Thankfully, his tactic worked, and the man in charge turned towards him.

"Now that's a surprise. I didn't think that the two of them would ever be following someone else. Let alone a young'un like you." The man said mockingly.

He then removed his hood and revealed his face.

It was not one that Avery recognized, but the pair of light brown feline ears atop his head made it clear that he was a Felis Therianthrope.

Glancing at the other members of his gang, Avery now spotted slight bulges showing from their heads and backs. Mostly likely every single one of the hooded individuals were the same species as Kasandra and Kaiden.

"Fahad!"

Recognizing the man, Kasandra said his name with a voice laced with more malicious than Avery had ever heard from her before.

When he glanced over at her, he saw that her expression was filled with hostile. As was Kaiden's.

Obviously the two of them knew this man, and it was not under friendly terms.