Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary

The following day, Avery and his entire team headed for the capital planet of Dramid.

When it finally came into view, all of them had their breaths taken away.

Covering the entire surface of the planet was man made structures. There was not a centimeter of the place that had not been incorporated into the worldwide city the capital had become.

That was not to say that there were no plants or bodies of water. Just that everything had been made by design.

Dramid was a true ecumenopolis, and the center of power for the Dramid Alliance.

"We've been given permission to land. Preparing systems for atmospheric entry." Jasmine said.

Normally it took a few days for requests to land on the planet to go through.

The entire planet was packed and there were always people coming and going for one reason or another.

Fortunately, the member of the Alliance Assembly representing Azade had vouched for them and sped up the process.

The diplomatic building that Azade owned had its own large hangar where guests could land their vehicles. Allowing for Avery and his team to avoid having to find space in one of the crowded public hangars.

"Wow, there are some many massive spires. It's like everywhere is the same as Azade's capital." Avery said, his eyes wide as he took in the enormous feats of engineering sprawling across the surface of Dramid.

Every bit of space was being utilized. With giant towers reaching high into the sky and continuing deep into the ground.

Then there were vehicles flying all around in orderly lines.

There were projected lanes snaking through the massive city with each one being designated for different sized vehicles. With naturally, the larger ones being far fewer considering how congested the world was.

Getting Olivia's corvette through was a bit difficult due to the space constraints, but eventually, Avery's team made their way to Azade's governmental building.

This was where their representative and their staff lived while the Assembly was in session, and a place to house other diplomats and guests when the opportunity would arise.

Upon landing, several guidance bots came to greet Avery and his companions and began leading them through the building.

Their group was comprised of Avery, Kasandra, jasmine, Ezra, and Olivia. Everyone else was staying on the ships.

'I asked Kaiden if he wanted to come along, but he said he wasn't interested. I think that he's trying to use this time to get to know Olivia's crew better and practice for when he becomes the captain of his own corvette.' Avery thought as they walked down the halls of the building.

Most of the walls doubled as windows, so the city above and below was visible as they made their way to their destination.

It was an impressive view, and every one of them would slow down occasionally and just stare out at the sights before them. This was something none of them had seen before and was wholly different from any colonies or even Azade.

"Whoa. That buildings has a giant tree growing out of it!" Olivia shouted when they rounded a corner and the most unique structure they had seen so far came into view.

"Yes, that is the governmental building of Forencia. The home world of the Vensians. A species highly in tune with nature and capable of influencing plant life through psychic abilities." One of the guide robots said, taking Olivia's outburst to be a question.

This small interaction was the spark that led Avery's team to begin asking about every building within view.

Soon they had the guide robots spilling facts about each of them. Slowing their progress of reaching their destination further.

Eventually, an actual person came out to get them, and they all realized that they probably should have shown some restraint considering where they were.

Being led by a living guide now, there were no more detours that slowed them down.

When they reached the office of the Alliance Assemble representative, they expected to be met with a stern and scowling individual. After all, they were here on official business and had ended up messing around for far too long and kept them waiting.

Yet, what happened instead was beyond anyone's expectations.

The moment the doors to the office opened, a bright blur rushed out and grabbed onto Jasmine.

Everyone stood there baffled for a few seconds as they watched a woman with light blonde hair grabbing onto Jasmine and hugging her tightly.

"Aunt Esme!" Jasmine said in surprise when she recognized the person embracing her.

"Oh, I'm glad that you still remember me. You've grown up so much since the last time I saw you." The woman said, pulling back and smiling at Jasmine.

While their facial features and hair colors were different, they both had the same striking purple eyes. A clear indication of their familial bond.

"So, what's with that shocked look on your face? Did you not know that I was going to be here? Ah, Regina must not have said anything on purpose."

During their meetings with Jasmine's mother, she had merely told them that they would be meeting with Azade's representative. Never mentioning them by name.

It would have been possible to look up who it was since it was a matter of public record, but none of them had bothered. There had been plenty of other matters to deal with, and seeing as how Jasmine's mother trusted the person, they never felt the need to look into them.

'Maybe we were too lax, though I suppose that this will make things easier considering she knows Jasmine and seems to have a good relationship with her.'

However, Avery started to rethink this notion when Esmeralda's attention turned towards him.

Unlike the warm smile she had greeted Jasmine with, she was practically glaring daggers at him.

"So, you're the mercenary that my sweet little Jasmine ran away from home with. I'm Esmeralda Rhinelander. The Alliance Assembly Representative of Azade. I… look forward to working with you."