Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary-Chapter 88 An Unexpected Addition
’Deputy Chief Camila. That’s the same person that the Storren Corp. execs told me about. What’s her stake in this, and why would she go out of her way to target Jasmine?’
Avery could hardly fathom why an upper-ranked officer in the Alliance Police that was stationed in a completely different sector would have it out for him.
The only reasons he could think of were wild and outlandish. Practically conspiracy theories.
’This is certainly annoying, but as long as I the systems she has jurisdiction over, it should be fine. She’ll only have so much sway in other places. Plus, thanks to my Silver Cross of Heroism, I’m pretty highly regarded now. No one in the Alliance Police will want to come at me directly unless they’ve got some damning evidence I committed a major crime.’ Avery thought.
He figured that there was no use poking a hornet’s nest without a real reason. All he had was suspicion that a certain deputy chief was targeting him, nothing more. Acting on these suspicions would only lead to trouble.
Still, there was Jasmine to worry about. Avery was uncertain if the harassment she had been receiving would be the end of it. There was always the possibility she might end up dead in a dark alley within the colony someday.
"You’ve told us your situation, but what are you expecting us to do about it? If you hired us as security, we could probably get rid of the guys following you, but that might not be the end of it. And we can’t stay here and protect you forever. We’re mercenaries. When the profitable jobs dry up in one place, we need to move onto the next." Kasandra said bluntly.
While she was grateful for Jasmine helping Avery by preventing any sort of false accusation of him being in league with the group that attempted to steal the SCXD-011, that was not enough of a reason for them to drop everything and protect her for the rest of their lives.
For several seconds, Jasmine remined silent. She was panicking and racking her mind for some way out of the unfortunate circumstances that had befallen her.
Eventually, she came to one conclusion. She had desperately come here since she felt she had no one else to rely on. If that was the case, then she might as well leave.
"Please take me with you. I’ve lost my reason for being here, and I don’t want to stay if things will just continue as they have. I’m sure that I can be helpful. I know a lot about Alliance Law, and I’m decent in a fight thanks to my training as an officer. I’m begging you, let me join your crew."
Jasmine bowed her head so deeply that she nearly hit herself on the table they were sitting around.
To say the least, Avery and Kasandra were surprised. They never expected her to ask to join them. Being a mercenary was not for the light of heart.
The job entailed killing other people. Often ruthlessly. That was how they made their money.
’Well, she was a member of the police, so I’m sure she already put whatever qualms she had about killing behind her. Still, being a mercenary is vastly different from being a part of the Alliance Police.’
However, despite Avery and Kasandra warning her about the dangers and difficulties of being a mercenary, Jasmine still looked determined.
"I joined the police in the first place because I wanted to uphold the law and make the Alliance a better place for people. If I can’t do that anymore, I can at least help you eliminate space pirates. That’s a large part of what being a mercenary is about, right?" Jasmine said, a righteous fire still burning in her eyes despite how haggard she was.
"What you said is true, but that’s not all mercenary work is. Sometimes we might to morally questionable things for money. We’re not heroes of justice or anything. Our goal is simply to make a sizable profit wherever we can."
Kasandra attempted to curb Jasmine’s expectations, but in response, the other woman simply said," Then I’ll be the group’s conscience and keep us on the straight and narrow. I don’t know the exact amount, but the two of you just earned a great deal recently fighting pirates and energy lifeforms. Both major threats to the Alliance and its citizens. I’m sure that we can find plenty of opportunities to help people and make money."
"Okay, just calm down. As the captain of this ship, I’m the one that ultimately gets to decide whether you join or not. I’m certainly indebted to you since you put your life on the line to help me. If you just want us to take you somewhere else, that’s easy enough, but joining the crew might be difficult. I have Kasandra onboard already after all." Avery said looking towards his partner.
He was uncertain how she would feel about another woman being on the ship. Even if he had no intention of doing anything.
"It’s fine if she joins us." Kasandra said with a sigh. "This ship is certainly sophisticated enough that another set of eyes and hands could be helpful during battle. And I won’t deny that her being a former member of the police isn’t useful. So, if you don’t mind letting her, I think she’ll make a decent addition to the crew. But are you ready for what this entails, Jasmine? You know what it will mean for you to join Avery’s crew, right?"
Both Avery and Jasmine wore the same confused expression for a moment, before Jasmine suddenly looked away and her face turned red.
Avery was still out of the loop but decided to pay whatever was going on little mind. He figured that it was something personal that only women needed to worry about and there was no need for him to get involved.
’I’ll let them work it out amongst themselves. That’s what my instincts are telling me is best.’ Avery thought, letting the two of them talk while he engrossed himself in the cup of tea in front of him.
Once they seemed to be finished, Avery officially welcomed Jasmine aboard as a supporter.
"I suppose that you’ll need a room from now on then. We’ve still got one open so you can hav-"
Avery stopped midsentence as he remembered why no one was using the currently unoccupied room. It was where he had stored the seven corpses that had been aboard the vessel when he found it. And since Jasmine was the one that had come out to take them as a member of the police, obviously she knew about this as well.
"Don’t worry about it. I’ve dealt with worse than what occurred here before. As long as the room has been cleaned, it will be fine by me." Jasmine said, noticing Avery’s hesitancy.
Yet he merely shook his head and turned towards Kasandra with pleading eyes.
"Kasandra, would you let her bunk with you for a couple of days. We were planning on getting the two rooms refurbished to be more accommodating soon anyway. I’d kind of feel bad to make her sleep in there."
"Sure, that’s fine. I bet you’ll feel more comfortable with someone nearby anyway. You haven’t been getting much sleep lately, have you?"
With heavy bags under her eyes, it was apparent to anyone that saw her that Jasmine was sleep deprived.
Naturally, knowing that you were being followed around and suspecting that someone had broken into your apartment would put anyone on edge.
"Yeah, it’s been over a week since I got a full night’s sleep. For the last couple days, I haven’t been able to fall asleep at all unless I kept my hand on a laser pistol beneath my pillow." Jasmine confessed, a notable exhaustion overtaking her now that things had been settled.
"Well, we’ve got a meeting with the other members of our group coming up in a few hours. Why don’t you get some rest until then, or if you feel like you need more, you can sleep longer. You don’t need to worry about anyone following you anymore. My ship is as secure as can be, and I promise you that no one will be sneaking onboard."
After receiving Avery’s reassurance, Jasmine felt truly at ease for the first time since she left the Alliance Police.
"Thank you." Jasmine whispered in a faint and bashful voice before following Kasandra to the room that they would temporarily be sharing.
Now that things regarding his newest crew member were wrapped up, Avery headed to the cockpit as he originally planned and pulled out his terminal to search the galaxy map for suitable locations for his band of mercenaries to head too next.
Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.
’Well, it can be any of these systems anymore.’ Avery thought, eliminating any areas that the deputy chief that had it out for him had jurisdiction of.
He then checked the Mercenary Association site for any guard request for traveling merchants. If they were going to be heading somewhere anyway, they might as well get paid along the way.
