Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary-Chapter 31 - Large-Scale Raid (7)

Thanks to Kasandra's assistance, Avery was able to fully concentrate on the enemies in front of him.

He put his all into simply flying and firing his weapons. Leaving everything else to his impromptu crewmate.

Fortunately, Kasandra was a talented pilot in her own right and handled the tasks Avery had assigned her with aplomb.

She kept in touch with the other mercenaries and helped stabilize their coordination, while also handling any pirates that tried to flank the Dauntless with its powerful scatter guns.

The chaotic fight quickly slowed down, as the pirates willing to stay and fight lessened. Despite having been vastly outnumbered, the more skilled mercenaries had taken out a vastly greater number enemies than allies they had lost.

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This left the pirates' moral low, and even those consumed by rage were having a difficult time finding a justification to keep fighting when they were likely going to end up dead.

There was also the fact that the Alliance Police had regrouped and had just begun a concentrated assault on the ten large and twenty-five medium vessels that had arrived to support the pirates' escape.

In only a few minutes, the hole in the blockade would be mended, and the weaponized transport ships would either be forced to flee or be destroyed.

"Don't think you're just going to run away after staring this fight."

Feeling aggravated, Avery pursued the outlaws as they turned around and rushed towards their closing escape route.

With his three heavy laser cannons he picked several of them off before the rest got away.

A part of him wanted to chase after them farther, but if a large enough group turned around to fight him, he would be in trouble without the support of the other mercenaries in his squad.

"Now that the battle is over, can I give you my thanks?"

Turning to his side, Avery saw Kasandra facing him, with her head bowed.

He was a bit taken aback by her expression of pure gratitude, as when he first met her, she had only worn a blank expression that exposed none of her emotions.

"Well, I was just doing what I thought was right. It's no big deal." Avery said, trying to brush things off.

Of course, he was actually feeling a bit embarrassed being this close to Kasandra. Now that she was smiling at him, he could not help but notice how beautiful she was.

"Don't undersell yourself. The only person I know that would put themselves at risk like you just did is my brother. And that's only because we're family. You saved my life, and I truly am grateful. While I don't have much now that my ship's been destroyed, I promise I will do everything I can to repay you. I know you had to sacrifice all of your spoils to bring my cockpit into your cargo hold."

"Speaking of your brother." Avery said to change the subject. "What did his transmission say? I ignored it when it first came in since the battle was still going on.

"Oh, that. He was just being his usually worrisome self. I've already sent him a reply to let him know I'm okay. You shouldn't worry about it."

"Got it. Then I suppose I should probably try to dock with him. I'm sure that you'll be more comfortable on his ship than staying on mine."

However, as Avery was about to send a message to Kaiden, Kasandra stopped him. A reluctant expression on her face

"Actually, if it wouldn't be too much trouble. Could I stay here until we return to Yuson II. My brother's ship is, um... less than ideal for anyone but him. He's not very big on keeping it clean. We normally get along fine, but... I can't stand staying there for more than a few minutes at a time." Kassandra said, looking a bit embarrassed about having to reveal such an unsavory fact about her brother.

Naturally, Avery was surprised to hear this about Kaiden. The guy came off as a bit headstrong, but also a competent mercenary that was among the best in the system.

"I mean, if you want to, go ahead. My ship is not particularly accommodating, but it's got everything one needs. I'll warn you now though, that the beds in the two crew rooms are pretty small. And don't expect any fine cuisine. I've only got cheap food capsules and a basic autochef model onboard."

"That should be fine. In fact, it's better than what I had on my vessel. We had recently upgraded them and were saving money consuming nutrients packs. Any real food will be luxurious in comparison." Kasandra replied, her lips turned up into a dazzling smile.

After that, Avery continued to receive irate transmissions for Kaiden demanding his sister back, despite the fact that she had already explained things to him.

However, in between the sibling back and forth, new orders from the Alliance Police came in.

"Are they serious!" Avery said, his voice coming out a lot colder than he had expected.

The message stated that all able mercenaries were to leave the area within the maze of moons and assist with the attack on the pirates' reinforcements. Apparently, they were lacking the necessary firepower to bring the modified transports down without further compromising the blockade.

"And after we barely scraped by with our lives. Now we have to go back into the fray with large and medium vessels armed to the teeth without even being able to use the moons as cover."

Nevertheless, as much as Avery complained, he still set off towards the battlefield. The Alliance Police were known to reward mercenaries that distinguished themselves.

Avery was certain that between the bounties and rewards for taking down pirates, that he had already earned enough to pay for his father's treatment. But even after that, there were so many other things that he needed money for.

"Kassandra, are you up for helping me out a bit more?"

"Of course. I've got to pay those bastards back for what they did to my ship. I'll support you in whatever way you need."

His lips forming into a faint smirk, Avery inputted the coordinates of the battle, and the Dauntless shot off to join the fray.