Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary

"We didn't do as well as I would have liked in the last two events." Avery grumbled.

It was now the third day of the competition, and the fourth event had just ended.

During the third event that was essentially a complicated target shooting competition, Avery had ended up taking fifth place.

This was in large part due to those in the lower rankings naturally deciding to work together without even needing to contact each other.

Obviously, the representatives from Ravasz Dynamics and Stifur had received the same treatment since they were in the upper rankings as well. The others worked together to steal any targets that they went after.

However, Ravasz Dynamic's ship was built with a primary focus on speed, so they were still able to keep ahead of the others and still scored third place despite the interference.

As for Stifur, their bulky and slow vessel was at a disadvantage in this type of contest, so the others did not pressure them as much as they did Avery and Ravasz Dynamic's.

This allowed them to just barely take fourth place thanks to their expert marksmanship.

Unfortunately, the next round which had just occurred on the third day of the competition had not gone particularly great for Avery either.

He did better than during the previous one, earning fourth place this time, but the event had been a troublesome one.

It had involved the simulated mission of having learned valuable intel against an enemy force and needing to return to a safe zone to relay the information without being caught.

There had been advanced minefields to navigate, squads of hunters using military grade equipment searching for the competitors, and even a swarm of deadly space monsters to fight through.

Honestly, it had been one hell of a trial.

Mostly likely the organizers wanted it to be a bit more intense than the ones before it since it was the only one of the day, since the rest would be taken by interviews of the pilots and the next day would be fully dedicated to the promotional concert and other media events.

With the end of the fourth event, Avery had been pushed back to third place overall, with fourth not too far behind him.

At the top was still Ravasz Dynamics, with Stifur having taken the second position by ranking first in the latest competition.

Just as before, the pilot behind Stifur's ship had seemed to possess an uncanny insight into what the event would entail and completed the objectives nearly flawlessly.

"They've got to be cheating. I just know it." Kasandra said, gnashing her teeth as she watched the token representing the Dauntless drop down and Stifur go up.

It was frustrating to say the least.

They had tried hard and done their best, but things never quite worked out for them.

Getting second place in the first two events had been acceptable, but now they were starting to slip. If they did not start doing better during the next part of the competition, then their position as one of the frontrunners would be lost.

"Well, just have to start trying harder. Our competition is fierce, so it was obvious that things weren't going to be easy. At least after today, we'll know who we're up against."

In around six hours, the interviews with the pilots of each competing corporation was going to occur.

The plan was to go one at a time, starting with the lowest rank and moving towards the top.

Obviously, the organizers believed that this would create the most suspense and increase watch time of the interview.

If they revealed who the pilot of the top contender was right at the start, plenty of people would be satisfied with just knowing this and would likely just look up the rest later if they were interested.

What they were doing was an obvious tactic, but one that would be effective for retaining the public audience's attention.

"You're slated to go third to last. Are you still thinking of trying to make a big impression?" Kasandra asked.

She knew that Avery wanted to use this competition that was being broadcast throughout the Dramid Alliance to get his name out there.

The large carrier ship he had ordered from Storren Corp. was going to need a lot more crew members than their group currently had.

Of course, if they just wanted regular people, that would be easy enough. All Avery would need to do was offer a position with decent pay and those interested would come running.

Except, he was looking to recruit at least some individuals that were already well-versed in their fields of expertise. And a bit of fame could go a long way towards enticing such people.

"I haven't decided yet. It might be better if I try and act overly friendly and attempt to come over as an affable person. More people are bound to be drawn to our team that way."

Avery knew that he was not the most outgoing person in the world when it came to interacting with others.

The people that already followed him did so because he led by example and had proven time and time again that he would fight for them against any odds.

Yet, this would not work to reach the majority of people. Only those that he had personally helped out like Olivia and Burke, or sought him out like Ezra, realized that he had the potential to be a great leader.

His charisma that drew in people would not translate well just from a broadcasted interview.

"Hm, I don't think you need to do anything special. More people doesn't actually mean that they'll be any good. Just be yourself. Those with good eyes will see your worth." Kasandra said, nodding her head with a pleased look on her face because of the advice she had just given.

Avery could not help laughing since he could understand exactly what she was thinking right now

"Okay, I guess I won't make a fool out of myself on camera. We only need a few thousand recruits. When I think about it, that number sounds like a lot considering our size now, but I suppose if I'm considering the size of the Dramid Alliance's total population, it's not that many."

With his mind made up, Avery decided not to worry about how the interview would go. Instead, he focused his energy on a bit of practice. Urs had put him through some rigorous training, and he had ended up embroiled in a number of dangerous incidents, but there were still things he was lacking in. There was always room to improve.

But, as Avery was running some intensive simulations, a call came in from Jasmine. This was not at their regularly scheduled time for an update, so he knew that it must have been something important.

Once he answered the call, before he could even give a greeting, Jasmine started talking.

"Avery, we've come across something a lot worse than we we're expecting. I want to discuss it with you before proceeding with the investigation."

From the tone of her voice, Avery could tell what Jasmine had uncovered was serious. And that she was incredibly tired.

"Are you sure that you shouldn't take a break first. You must have been working har-"

"I appreciate your concern, but this isn't the time for it. I know this might be a bit paranoid, but I don't want to say anything over comms just in case. Ezra, Kaiden, and I are going to board Ezra's ship and head out to these coordinates. Meet us there and we'll talk in person."

After he had agreed, Jasmine ended the call.

"I haven't seen her looking that distressed since we help her out with the people following her. It looks like we've gotten ourselves into a bigger mess than we were anticipating." Kasandra said, a hint of concern on her face.

"Yeah, if she's that shaken up, I can't even imagine what it is. We might need to consider pulling out from the job Regina gave us. Even if it means retuning the money we already got." Мy Virtuаl Librаry Еmpirе (М V L Е М Р Y R) аpprесiаtеs yоur rеаdеrship аt thе sоurсе.

Even though he had been directed to stay where he was in the private hangar assigned to the competition participants until it was time for the interviews, Avery sent an emergency request to leave and did not take no for an answer.

Back out in open space, he input the coordinates that Jasmine had given him and activated the Dauntless' light speed drive.

A few minutes later, he reached the designated location.

It was just outside of a large station that was not particularly active at this time. At least compared to other places in the capital system.

Just a couple dozen seconds after his arrival, he watched the Specter appear from the other side of the station.

Avery understood this to be a cautious move by the three of them. They had stayed hidden in a place where they could monitor the coordinates they had sent just in case Avery had been followed.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Avery said, his lips twisting into a grimace.