Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary

Avery had already pulled out his terminal while speaking and set it down in front of Dorris.

On its screen was a display of one of the corvettes that Avery disabled and secured ownership rights for.

Frankly, he only wanted to keep one of them since that would already reach the limit of this class of vessel that his carrier ship had room for.

In the future, if he continued to expand his forces, he probably would not be able to have every craft under his command stored within his carrier vessel, but for now at least, he did not want to exceed its capacity.

That left him with only one real option, and that was to sell the extra ship. And he figured that he would be able to get the best deal out of Storren Corp. thanks to the business relationship they already had.

"I don't recognize the design. This clearly wasn't made by any of the notable builders in the Alliance. But the materials and construction are too good for any small no name operations I wouldn't have heard of." Dorris mumbled as she looked over the display of the corvette and checked the specifications that came along with it.

Honestly, he ability to recognize that the vessel was not from the Dramid Alliance so quickly was impressive.

Though she worked at Storren Corp., which mostly focused on shipbuilding, her position dealt with expenditures, profits, and all other aspects of money rather than the actual construction of any ships.

The fact that she was so knowledgeable about all of her company's competitors to the point that she could easily tell that this corvette had not come from them showed just how serious she was about her work, and why she had been able to earn the position that she had.

"You're correct that it's not from the Dramid Alliance. I haven't verified this myself yet, but I have it on good authority that its origins are from the Vanmir Republic. I'm sure that you'll be able to get a lot of value out of it."

Avery gave a knowing grin, telling Dorris that he understood the worth of what he was offering to Storren Corp.

More than its actual ability, what gave it greater value than another similar vessel made in the Dramid Alliance, was its unfamiliar technology.

While a lot of the Vanmir Republic corvette's systems were similar enough to what was used in the Dramid Alliance, there were some that were vastly different.

Of most interest was certainly the cloaking device that had been installed on the ship.

Cloaks on ships were not particularly used in the Dramid Alliance because sensor technology always seemed to be a step ahead of them and vastly lowered their usefulness in relation to their cost.

However, the device created in the Vanmir Republic had managed to fool even the Alliance Police.

Unlike a traditional cloak which tried to fully hide a vessel, this one was specialized in avoiding long-range detection and rendering the craft invisible to the naked eye.

Once they had gotten close enough, the Dauntless sensors had picked them up, but at that point they had already set up a wide net around the planet where the final event had been taking place on.

It would not allow for one to unilaterally attack while completely concealed, but it was impeccable for sneaking around places undetected so long as one was careful. That was undoubtably how such a large group of foreign ships had been able to get so close to the heart of the Dramid Alliance without being caught.

"So, it's from the Vanmir Republic, I'm afraid that I'm unable to assess this ship's true value. I'll need to call Ardesen so that he can have a look at it first." Dorris said after she was finished looking the corvette over.

Naturally, she could have just given Avery a number that she figured would keep Storren Corp. from taking a loss, and been done with this matter

Yet, Avery was too valuable a customer to upset by offer a lower amount that really did not take the full value of the craft into account.

Which was why she was calling in Ardesen, who was busy with his own work right now.

Except, even though he should have been in the middle of coordinating around a dozen important projects right now, Ardesen arrived astoundingly fast.

It was clear from the almost manic look in his eyes that he had dropped everything and rushed over to Dorris' office as quickly as he could once he heard about the unfamiliar technology on the ship Avery was offering to sell to them.

Avery was surprised by how fast his short legs could carry him when Ardesen ran right up to him. Outstretching all of his arms take Avery's terminal which held the vessel's information.

"Oh, fascinating. Hm, now this is interesting. I see, I see, how ingenious."

With swift motions, Ardesen looked over the display of the ship and read through the descriptions of its systems. All the while mumbling to himself whenever he came across something that caught his eye.

After he was finished, he handed the terminal back to Avery and walked around to the other side of Dorris' desk and took a seat next to her.

"If what is listed there is true, then that craft does have some significant value to us. A number of its systems incorporate different technology than we use here, and there are some that even I don't fully understand yet. I'll need to inspect the ship in person to give a full assessment."

"That can be arranged later, but the vessel is currently undergoing an inspection by the Alliance Police, so I don't have it right now. Still, even if it is an estimate, would you mind giving me a hint as too how much Storren Corp. would be willing to pay for it." Avery said, wanting to know about how much he could expect.

"I'll need to discuss this with Ardesen for a few moments. Would you two mind waiting in the other room for a bit."

Dorris then entered a set of keys on her computer, and what appeared to be a wall opened up to reveal a secret, personal lounge.

It seemed that being the Chief Financial Officer of a large corporation came with some perks.

Once they were inside the room and the entrance had been sealed behind them, neither Avery nor Kasandra went to sit down on the plush chairs or couch.

Instead, they pressed their ears up against the door to try and listen to the conversation between Dorris and Ardesen.

"Nope, I can't hear anything." Kasandra said, shaking her head in defeat.

The function of the room they were in may have primally functioned as a personal lounge, but it also served as a security room just in case the building was ever infiltrated by a hostile force.

It had been soundproofed without allowing for the slightest hint of noise to either escape or get inside. Even Kasandra's impressive hearing was unable to pick anything up outside of the room.

Having nothing else to do, the two of them looked around and found a high-quality autochef that was specialized for sweet snacks and drinks.

To pass the time, they tested out what it could make, and by the time the door opened again, indicating hat they should leave, they both had large plates pilled with confections on them in their hands.

"I see that you found my autochef." Dorris said, a strained smile on her face as she watched Avery and Kasandra brazenly eating some sweets.

"Yes, and it is really good a what it does. We have a general autochef that can handle most types of food, and while it does make delicious dishes, it can't quite beat one specialized for only one or two things." Kasandra said as she stuffed an Ariac bun into her mouth.

In lieu of restraining themselves from eating, Avery and Kasandra instead offered some of the goodies to Dorris and Ardesen.

It was not a calculated move on their part, but it did turn this meeting into a more informal one that would make negations a little easier.

"Well, there's no point beating around the bush with you two anyways, so I'll just come right out an say it."

Dorris glanced at Kasandra, specifically her ears, knowingly.

Already she had been on the receiving in of her near supernatural ability to detect lies by listening to people's breathing and heart rates and watching the smallest changes in their facial expressions and body language. It was practically pointless to try and pull one over on her.

"From our assessment, we believe that the vessel you showed us is worth around twenty to twenty-five million Krenin to Storren Corp. I can't give a more accurate amount until we've looked it over ourselves though." Dorris said, carefully watching to gauge Avery and Kasandra's reactions.

"Yeah, I think that sounds about right. I'll have it sent over to you once the Alliance Police are done with it. But if I was looking for credit instead of cash, could I expect a bit more?"

Ardesen chuckled slightly at this, having already figured that Avery would ask this. From all of his other recent interactions with Storren Corp., it was obvious that he did not care for liquid money right now and was more concerned with paying off what he owed on his carrier ship.

"Yes, I think that that type of arrangement could be made. For credit with Storren Corp. I'd say that we could offer around six million more than whatever the final assessment is."