Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary

Once it had been confirmed that there were only two lifeforms, one human and the other Baccigan aboard the Dauntless, the airlock leading onto Iniquus' orbital station opened.

On the other side, Avery saw two dozen guards lined up in two rows ready to escort him.

All of them were armed to the teeth with high quality laser rifles and wearing laser resistant combat armor.

Most of them had blank neutral expressions on their faces, but the two at the front were clearly glaring at Avery. His presence here was obviously not welcome.

'I suppose that's to be expected since my group killed some of their comrades and thwarted their boss' plans.' Avery thought, glancing at each of the soldiers and assessing their capabilities.

Eventually the man he had spoken to before that had identified himself as Iniquus' aide appeared and addressed Avery.

"It seems that you're upholding our agreement well. But are those weapons necessary."

The aide eyed the laser pistol at Avery's hip and the laser rifle slung across his back.

"Yeah, I think so. Just in case. You weren't planning on having all of your guards disarm, were you?" Avery said, his lips turned up into a wry smile as he looked at the two dozen guards, wondering if they would actually discard their own weapons.

"I see your point. Very well then. We did not specify you arriving unarmed in our agreement. Just don't make any sudden moves. Our troops are ready to react to any perceived threats."

With an apparent nonchalance, the aide gave Avery approval to bring his weapons. He was massively outnumbered anyway, and if everything went accruing to plan, then he would never get the chance to use them in the first place.

Lightly kicking Grtio to urge him forward, Avery and his supposed captive followed behind the aide as the man led them to his master.

Twenty-two of the two dozen guards walked alongside them, while a single pair stayed behind to guard the airlock the Dauntless was currently docked at.

'Ever the cautions bunch aren't they.' Avery thought, observing the movement of the enemy troops.

Of course, after everything Avery and his companions had done to impede Iniquus' plans, it was no wonder he was being so cautious.

After a long walk down several corridors, their group finally stopped in front of a large door that presumably had the master of the station waiting behind it.

'I'd bet all my money that the path they took us is not the fastest way here. So, they want to disorient me as well.'

Considering all of the turns they had taken; Avery was confident that he had been led around the station to prevent his escape. Naturally, he already figured that his enemies had no intention of letting him go. And he was absolutely correct in this notion.

Eventually the large door in front of Avery opened up and revealed a large lounge that could only be considered opulent.

All of the furniture inside was top class, and there was a large aquarium running along the back and side walls filled with alien aquatic life Avery had never seen before.

It was certainly beautiful and went to show just how much money and power the owner of the station possessed

Had he not been in the heart of enemy territory, Avery likely would have acted like a country bumkin and plastered his face against the glass and intently watched the creatures swimming around in the large tank for hours.

Instead, he kept a confident smile on his face as he approached the single man sitting on an ornate sofa in the middle of the room.

Another sixteen guards were in attendance, standing around the edges of the room. Bringing the total number of enemy combatants up to thirty-eight.

"As requested, I've brought Grtio with me. I'd like the rest of my money now." Avery said once he was standing not too far away from Iniquus.

"Straight to business I see. Are you sure that you would not like to sit and enjoy some refreshments with me first? I'd like to build up a relationship with a famous four star mercenary that is the most recent recipient of the illustrious Silver Cross of Heroism."

Despite how friendly Iniquus was acting, Avery could tell by the look in the large man's eyes that he did not see another human being in front of him. Avery was just another insignificant pawn waiting to be subjugated from his point of view.

"As much as I appreciate the offer, I don't want to stick around any longer than I have to. I'll hand over Grtio after I receive the payment and then be on my way."

"Oh, I'm afraid that that won't do. You won't be leaving here for a while. Just like all the other mercenaries I've met up to this point, you've been easily lured in by the promise of money. How predictable."

No longer caring to keep up any sort of cordial façade, Iniquus motioned to the soldiers in the room and all of them pointed their weapons at Avery.

"You're outnumbered and outmatched. I'd recommend giving up if you don't want to experience any pain. You'll soon be joining their ranks, so I would hate for your future comrades to have to hurt you." Iniquus said mockingly.

From his expression it was easy to tell that he actually wanted Avery to resist. To end up beaten down and crushed for his amusement.

"So, you've decided to reveal your true colors. Though, I already knew that you were this kind of guy, but you might be even sicker than I thought."

Avery was hardly surprised by this sudden betrayal This had always been how he expected things to go down. In fact, he figured that Iniquus would try to threaten him right from the beginning rather than trying to act nice at all. Of course, he figured that the food and drink, as well as the conspicuous chair he had been offered were all traps.

"Unfortunately, you've made one grave error." Avery said, hardly fazed by the weapons pointed at him.

"Oh, and what might that be? Your friends waiting outside in their ships? Even if they do attack, it will be impossible to breach this station's defenses before the Alliance Police arrive and arrest them. And by the time they come looking for you, you'll already be subservient to me."

Iniquus was undoubtably confident and had no problems gloating with Avery and listening to what he believed to be groundless confidence. This would all just make his downfall all the sweater in the end.

Yet Avery was not bluffing. He had come prepared for this exact situation and was ready to point out the greatest flaw in Iniquus' plan.

"No, my companions certainly are going to be of help, but they will not be the reason for your defeat. It will be due to your conceit. Loyalty isn't something that can come from being controlled."

As soon as Avery said, this, the bindings that should have been keeping Grito restrained released.

Grito then activated a device that had been concealed on his body.

Most of the guards that had their weapons trained on the pair were moments away from opening fire when an unbearable pain assaulted them. The implants in their heads had suddenly activated and were going out of control.

Within just a few seconds, all but four of Iniquus' guards had fallen to the floor uncurious. They were the only ones that were following him of their own accord. While the others had all been kidnapped mercenaries. Mercenaries whose implants had just been disabled.