Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary

Avery watched as the Dauntless carefully landed in a designated spot within the hangar of a luxury hotel station located in orbit around Dramid.

Glancing to his left and right, he could see the excited looks on his two lovers' faces.

Today was finally the day that they would be meeting with Nianni Taador.

She had said that she wanted to reward Avery and Kasandra for braving extreme danger her to save her from Katarina and her crew.

Without the two of them getting involved, there was a high chance that she would have been abducted, and there was no telling what might have happened to her.

Though, their daring rescue was more of an excuse for Nianni to see them again, and the main reason that the famous singer wanted to meet was because of the strange connection she had shared with Avery.

"I really can't believe that I'm going to get to meet Nianni Taador in person. And in a private setting where it will only be us an her. It's like a dream." Jasmine said animatedly.

Due to the constraints of the investigative mission she had been in charge of, she had been unable to attend the concert with Avery and Kasandra.

This was definitely her second biggest regret since arriving in the capital system, only being beaten by her and Olivia falling into an enemy trap and nearly being captured.

"Yeah, I'm feeling the same way. We only got to speak with her for a bit while rescuing her, and obviously considering what was going on, it wasn't much of a conversation. Though, I do feel bad that you didn't get to see her perform in person." Kasandra said, nodding her head in agreement with Jasmine.

Right now, the two of them seemed more energetic than Avery had ever seen them before. As if they were holding back from running through the hallways so that they could see their idol just a bit sooner.

However, at the mention of missing Nianni's concert, Avery noticed Jasmine's spirits drop ever so slightly.

If they had not gotten so close since becoming a couple, he probably would not have noticed. But having lived together in the same confined space abord the Dauntless for several months now, it was only natural that he had picked up on what the subtle shifts in Jasmine's expression meant.

"Don't worry, we'll fine time to see her live again. It might be a while since we've got to return to Azade, but I promise to steer our work in the direction of one of her concerts soon enough."

Avery's attempt to help comfort Jasmine worked wonders, and her mood almost immediately improved.

The prospect of seeing Nianni perform later was enough to eliminate most of the negative feelings she had for missing the recent concert.

Perhaps as part of the reward being offered, they could get VIP tickets.

"They've really ramped up security around her. I suppose that's not surprising." Kasandra said as they arrived in the hotel's lobby.

While it had not been completely rented out and there were still other guests, the top two floors had been sectioned off completely for Nianni and her entourage.

All of the elevators expect for one had been programmed to be unable to go to these floors, and physical barriers had been erected just in case someone tried to hack their system.

In front of the single elevator that could ascend to the top two floors were two heavily armed guards that were keeping a vigilante watch out for anyone suspicious.

Without express permission, nobody was going to be able to get close to Nianni.

When Avery, Jasmine, and Kasandra approached the three guards, they held out their terminals which contained their invitations.

"Everything checks out. You can board the elevator."

Inside the elevator was another pair of guards. One entered a special code in the control panel that allowed it to ascend to the top floor where Nianni was staying while the other checked to make sure that Avery, Kasandra, and Jasmine were not carrying any weapon.

Upon arriving at the top floor, the three of them were immediately met by the sight of dozens of security officers wearing light power armor.

After the previous incident, they were making sure that nothing short of an army was going to be able to reach Nianni again.

'I guess that's just how much she's worth to the company she works for. Well, with the sales of her music, she's probably earned them several billions of Krenin.' Avery thought as they were escorted to Nianni's room.

As befitting someone of her renowned, she was staying in the most luxurious room offered by the hotel.

The floor was lined with the softest carpet that Avery had ever walked on, all of the lights were ornate and had hundreds of different settings, and there were famous pieces of artwork adorning the walls.

Sitting in the middle of the room on a clearly well-crafted and plush couch was Nianni.

As soon as she locked eyes with Avery, she smiled brightly. He was one of her savories after all.

"You can all go. I trust these people with my life. If they had any bad intentions, they would have already acted on them." Nianni said, dismissing the guards that had escorted her three guests.

With that, they were the only four people in the room. Although, there were several robots currently on standby in the corners. Most of them were servers, but a few of them were obviously designed for combat.

"It is good to see the two of you again. And this must be the member of your crew you mentioned. It's a pleasure to meet you, Jasmine."

For a moment, Jasmine looked like she was about to faint when Nianni addressed her directly and smiled.

She might have been an even bigger fan of Nianni than Kasandra, and she looked like she was on the verge of losing herself to excitement.

"No, the honor is all mine!" Jasmine replied loudly and immediately.

Nianni's smile became a bit strained at Jasmine's enthusiasm and the way that she was clearly being put on a pedestal.

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd like the three of you to treat me casually. I don't have many friends, but since Avery and Kasandra saved me, I was hoping we might be able to get a bit closer." Nianni said, her expression a bit bashful.

It was at this moment that Avery sensed something coming from the famous singer.

He was not certain what exactly it was, but it felt similar to what had occurred during the concert. However, it was on a much lower level.

"We're you just trying to influence us somehow?" Avery asked, his tone a bit more accusatorial than he expected.

"Huh?! No! Did you really sense that?!"

Nianni was surprised by Avery picking up on her psychic ability.

She quickly explained that what had just occurred was unisonous on her part and was more a fervent wish rather than actively trying to control them.

"I don't really have much control over whatever this power of mine is. But what I just did was only trying to get my true emotions across. That sometimes happens when I have strong feelings. Whether I want it to or not." Nianni said, looking dejected by what had just happened and from Avery's rebuke.

"Sorry, that was out of line. I shouldn't have just accused you of something out of nowhere. Perhaps I'm just being too sensitive because of what happened during the concert."

The atmosphere had quickly become awkward thanks to Avery's outburst.

Kasandra and Jasmine were looking between Nianni and Avery, unsure of what to do.

Normally, they would have had his side implicitly, but they had no clue what was going on, and their favorable views towards Nianni made it difficult for them to think she had done anything wrong.

"Let's just forget what just happened and sit down. I want to get the business that needs to be taken care of done first, and then we can talk at our leisure." Nianni said, trying to move things forward in a more positive direction.

Once the four of them had sat down in the middle of the room, Nianni pulled out a tablet and held it over to Avery.

Detailed on it was the amount of money that would be given to him as a reward for saving Nianni.

The total amount turned out to be close to six million Krenin.

For what they had done this was honestly an astronomical amount since they had only been active in battle for around an hour and it truthfully had not been all that dangerous to them.

This just went to show how valuable Nianni was to the record company she worked for.

"I've also prepared my own personal funds to give you some more if you want. For mercenaries like you guys, it's probably not much, but I can offer you another four million without getting into any trouble. I'm allowed to spend that much without having to worry about justifying it to my mangers."

Certainly it was tempting to take the money, but Avery had other ideas in mind.

What he wanted more was tickets to concerts and advanced notice of where Nianni would be performing ahead of when that information would typically be released to the public.

"But that's hardly fitting for a reward. I already planned on doing that." Nianni said sulkily.

"Sorry, I don't want to take your money. You said you wanted to be friends, so I don't think that it would be right. Anyway, I think six million is already enough for the work we put in."