"This is Sparrow requesting docking permission and refuel"
[This is Creh-2 trade hub, welcome back Sparrow docking permission granted, please observe speed restrictions and dock in hanger 2, pad 41]
"Got it"
[External communications cut, I've already sent a message to miss Alcia she'll personally pick up the package in Hanger 2]
"Alright… Take over the docking, I'll secure the package"
[Got it]
Removing his control over the Sparrow Mark returned to his normal sense of self and opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a pair of light gray eyes staring back at him, apparently the hostage had woken up at some point doing the hour-long flight back to the trade hub
'Well that was sloppy… Luckily, I wasn't flying around the place…'
Mark gave a small wave before he pushed off the wall and grabbed the harness that he had stabbed the hostage down with and used it to pull himself over to the life vest consol, after disabling it he spoke
"... Good morning, I can't remove your mask out of safety concerns at the moment, but you'll be in good hands in a few moments"
The hostage blinked a few times before she signaled towards the harness secured her to the stretcher, Mark showed a thin smile before he shook his head and clearly rejected her idea
"No can do, miss"
At Mark's refusal the hostage began struggling against the harness for a few moments before she found it futile and stopped, having found escape on her own impossible she just glared at Mark instead
"Look miss, I just pulled your ass out of bandit outpost after a 14-hour space walk, I don't want to play any games with you at this point"
Undeterred by Mark's argument, the woman began struggling again for a few moments before she tried speaking to him though the mask Mark stared at her until she finished speaking, not understanding what she was saying through the mask Mark simply nodded before he spoke
"Yeah, that's not going to happen, please be a little understanding miss"
At this point she started yelling at Mark, even with the mask covering her face Mark could still make out a few curse words, but he felt strangely content to just sit and smile at her calmly until the Sparrow shock for a moment, right after the little one's voice echoed out through his helmet
[Docking completed, miss Alcia is present along with 2 of her associates]
"Alright, let's get this over with"
Mark unsecured the stretcher with the hostage before he opened the hatch he had entered from and pushed out, magnetizing his boots as he cleared the gap to pier Mark stepped down onto it and pulled the stretcher along down to the pier with him and placed it upright
'Here she comes'
Ahead of him Mark saw Alica walking hurriedly down the pier towards him flanked by two men
"Hi Flyboy, great work as usual"
"Yeah, I know I'm pretty great"
"Do you mind if we confirm the hostage?"
"Go ahead"
The 2 guys with Alica walked over and began checking over the hostage placing numerous sensors on her before one nodded towards Alica and spoke
"It's her, she's in stable condition too"
The hostage continued struggling until one of the men showed her something on the screen of a terminal, which made her calm down for a moment before she began yelling again, the man looked over at Alica seeking her confirmation
"It's fine, there's no one here anyway… Please be mindful of your identity still, young miss"
The hostage nodded and the man began undoing the straps that secured her to the stretcher, not necessarily feeling like getting the chewing out he was sure was on its way Mark asked Alica
"So I assume we're all good?"
Alica nodded and took out a terminal which she operated for a few moments before she nodded
"Yes, I've sent the payment to your operator, as for the rest I'll take you to the high security area myself at a later date"
Mark nodded and glanced over at the hostage that had almost been released from the stretcher before he nodded and spoke
"Alright, I'll contact you in a day, a day and a half at the most"
"That's fine, are you not going to introduce me to your operator?"
"Nope… They are a little shy"
Mark disabled the magnetic lock on his boots and pushed off the pier towards the Sparrow where he pulled himself through a open hatch and pulled himself inside
"You brute, come back out here and fa—"
Ignoring the angry yelling, Mark closed the hatch before he complained
"She sure is feisty for a hostage, she's not going to fly after me and force the hatch open, is she?"
[No, she can't get a solid footing to push off the pier, a more worrying possibility would be that her fury will remain until your appointment with miss Alica]
"Well…"
[Yes, what is it?]
"Shit, that's what"
[You really do seem to have rather crude humor as of late Mark]
"Yeah, I think I am starting to get hungry…"
[Should I locate a suitable target within the trade hub?]
"No, it's fine for now… I really just want to get registered at the mercenary guild and get out of here…"
[Understood]
-
'Maybe I should have taken the little one up on that offer…'
Mark walked down through the filthy hallway of the trade hub, Alica had given him an address where he was to meet her which was closer to the high security section of the trade hub, he hadn't even arrived and he was already in a bad mood
'Hopefully this is over and done with quickly… Might get a snack on the way back to the hanger…'
As he continued towards his destination, Mark noticed the hallway, shops and people gradually getting more and more… Well, clean looking
'... I can literally feel the net worth rising. What is this, an American suburbia?'
Soon Mark arrived at the address Alica had provided and found what looked like a fancy café, feeling a little out of place wearing his black vacuum suit Mark still just walked in through the front door before he scanned the sparsely populated café for Alica
'There she is… Damn, didn't know she had anything but tank tops in her wardrobe…'
Alica had changed her usual outfit, which consisted of a white tank top and gray cargo shorts, to what Mark could best approximate as a power suit, her long usually messy black hair was even finely combed and made up in a high ponytail, she sat looking into a terminal in her lap even as Mark walked over, it was only when he sat down she looked up
"Oh, hi Flyboy… Do you want a drink before we go, my treat"
"Sure"
Mark reached up and unlocked his helmet from the neck portion of his suit by twisting it to the side before he placed it on the table, then he removed the metal holster from his hip which held the ballistic pistol he had brought after getting paid and placed it on the table. Catching a glance of Alica's face and literally smelling the anxiety on her after he placed a loaded firearm on the table, Mark should a thin smile and apologized
"Sorry about that, for what it is, I didn't mean that as a threat"
"...Right, what do you want to drink, shall I get the menu for you?"
"Nah, I'll take one like the one you are having"
"Okay"
Alica knocked on the table twice which displayed a hologram, she deftly manipulated it and selected a drink before she touched her terminal to the table for payment
"You really surprised me, I mean I had half expected you to get captured or worse with that batshit plan your operator proposed"
Mark raised his hands and simply responded
"I am amazing, I know… I've never met another person with my abilities either, so do tell me if you met someone like me"
Alica showed a smile at Mark's joke (He was honest, completely) as she asked
"And how do I even know if I meet a man like you?"
Mark flashed a smile and answered with a dry chuckle
"You won't… Oh, maybe from their handsome appearance?"
Alica laughed at Mark's joke (He was still completely honest and not joking) before she asked
"Well since I only know one of you at the moment… Can you do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Can you meet with my employer after we're done at the guild?"
"Sure thing, as long as it doesn't take too long"
"It won't, a few minutes at most"
"Alright"
After drinking Alica's treat (which tasted something like the mix between a cold brew coffee and a green ice tea) Mark walked along her down the streets of the high security section of Creh-2 trade hub, while the streets were spotless and almost picturesque with small public parks growing actual plants there were almost no one walking around besides the two of them
'...Either this is an ambush… Nah, it's like the little one said, the security station really has deteriorated in this system…'
Mark reasoned that the only reason that weren't more people on the streets was because the amount of people with a high security pass able to either dock in hanger 1 or pass the security checkpoint Alica had gotten Mark through as her guest was almost none
'Well, with the 2nd hanger almost empty too it makes sense… I'd have left a dangerous place too if I had the means and a high security pass too… Well, unless my job depended on it…'
"Here we are"
Alica gestured to a glass sliding door with a large reception hall laying behind it, Mark nodded and followed her into the lobby, it reminded him of a high-end hotel, smooth polished stone tiles, comfortable chairs and sofas placed along the walls and uniformed staff standing at the desk with a near permanent service smile
"Hello and welcome to the mercenary guild of Creh-2 trade hub, miss Alica and mister Mark, I assume?"
Alica nodded and spoke
"Yes, we're here for a registration"
The female receptionist nodded and walked out from the counter before she gestured towards a door
"Please follow after me for your registration, mister Mark"
Mark glanced at Alica who gave a nod, letting out a sigh he followed after the receptionist and spoke
"Just Mark is fine"
"Understood"
Walking out of the reception and down a hallway, Mark asked the receptionist
"You don't look all that busy, is work slow at the moment?"
The receptionist nodded
"Yes, however while business have been slow for a few years we still have a steady flow of both mercenaries and job postings"
"Oh really?"
"Yes, while jobs like VIP escorts and outpost patrol jobs have all but dried up, there are still plenty of bounties and trade convoy escort jobs"
'This girl has no scent… a saint? No, it's an android…'
"Is something wrong, Mark?"
"Nope, everything's good"
"Alright, please let me know if I can be of assistance"
Mark continued following the android receptionist and the two arrived in a small room with a single table and two chairs, first impression reminded Mark of an interrogation room, however on second glance it was clearly more luxurious furnished
"Please take a seat, then we can start the interview process"
'Great, hopefully the story I ironed out with the little one is good enough…'
Spewing his practiced story for about half an hour Mark started out somewhat nervous, however at the end it became increasing clear to him that any way to fail this interview was to outright incriminate oneself
"Alright Mark, you have passed the interview section, please rest assured that all personal data have been permanently deleted of all guild records"
"Okay, I take it the next stop is more engaging?"
The receptionist android showed a smile and nodded
"Yes, the remaining 2 test are simulated combat flying and personal combat ability respectively"
"Alright, finally some action"
Following the receptionist into a large room, Mark saw a large black box. As the receptionist android gestured towards it and the side opened up
"Please enter the simulator, you will be granted 5 minutes to configure the controls before the test starts"
"Is there any health monitoring or automatic over G shut off on this thing?"
"Yes, both are enabled"
"Can you shut both off?"
"Yes, however verbal consent is required"
"I give my consent to shut off both the health monitor and automatic over G function"
"Acknowledged, modifications to test parameters have been applied"
Stepping into the simulator, Mark configured the controls before he indicated he was ready for the test to start and a moment later the surrounding walls blurred before a complete hologram lit up and perfectly simulated the cockpit of a small fighter
"Alright, time to light the fires and kick the tires"
-
In a large conference room located in the mercenary guild, 3 people sat and watched a holographic display projected from the middle of the round table they were sitting around, the first person was a large blurry man with two large scars running across his face, the next was Alica and the final person was the hostage Mark had rescued only a day prior. Besides the 3 people a guild reception android stood next to the rescued hostage that was also flanked by 2 large military grade combat androids outfitted in black suits, the 3 had watched the holographic display for some time before the scared man asked
"Why are the health readings disabled?"
A moment passed before the guild receptionist answered
"Because the tester, Mark, requested it. Along with the automatic over G shut-off on the simulator"
The man clicked his tongue before he muttered
"What a complete freak… can you overwrite the test to turn the monitors back on?"
"No"
The large scared man's face flushed red with anger as she snapped back at the receptionist android
"Why not!?"
The guild receptionist turned towards the man and looked right into his eyes before it spoke again, this time with any kind of service smile present
"The social status you enjoy does not grant you permission to interfere in any guild matters, if any interference of any guild matters is detected at any of our 18.191 locations inside this kingdom, The Intergalactic Mercenary Guild is will impose a standardized penalty and pull out of your kingdom for the next 150 years"
The man clicked his tongue once more and leaned back in his chair before he crossed his arms as his face reddened further from embarrassment at having lost himself like that
"I apologize, I meant no disrespect towards the guild… I simply got a little too heated at this fantastical display…"
The service smile on the guild android returned before it took a step back, a moment passed before the hostage Mark had rescued asked
"Is that bru… I mean, is mister Mark really doing anything that unusual, sir Kruban?"
The large scared man, Kruban nodded before he pointed towards the hologram
"That maneuver there, at the speed he's going he is pulling almost 20 G's, that means 20 times normal gravity is pushing down on his body while he's doing it and from what I can tell he's been averaging around 12 G's the entire test"
"Is that something even you are unable to do, sir Kruban?"
"Yes, however it isn't really a matter of skill at that point, not that he isn't a real good pilot young miss… It is simply biological impossible to pull off those kinds of maneuvers without being physically enhanced in some way"
"I see…"
The group of 3 continued watching Mark's display in silence until around 10 minutes later where Mark passed with flying colors to nobody's surprise and the hologram shut off
"I hope your spectating experience has been pleasant, dear guests, Mark is now moving onto the physical combat portion of his examination. Do you wish to observe it in person?"
A movement of silence followed before the voice of the young miss echoed out in the conference room
"Sure, we would be delighted to"
"Young miss!"
"Miss Marie, please reconsider"
Even though both Kruban and Alica urged her, miss Marie, daughter of the Steel Marquis simply continued to show a perfect smile as she looked at the guild android that bowed a few moments later before it spoke
"Understood dear guest, please follow after me to the weapon range"