Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary - Chapter 361

Chapter 361: Chapter 361 Cover Up and New Request
“Here are the documents detailing how this matter will be concluded and the story going forward. When you’ve finished reading it, go ahead and sign it if you agree. Then we’ll hand contracts out to the rest of your team, and all of this will be over.”

Once Avery had returned to the meeting room, Cerise got right down to business and handed over a tablet to him.

Everything from the false narrative of events to the compensation that Avery’s team would receive were outlined. As well as the penalty they would face should any on his team leak the true information about what had occurred.

Of course, the records of this deal between Avery and Cerise were going to be locked away where only a select few upper ranking members of the Alliance would be able to access it.

As far as the galaxy at large would know, Avery fight against corrupt Alliance Police officers never happened.

‘Five hundred thousand Krenin for each person and one million two hundred thousand per destroyed ship. It feels like such a cheap price to put on the lives that were lost.’ Avery thought as he read the details of the compensation.

Publicly this money was being awarded to Avery’s team as a reward for completing a pirate subjugation mission. Though the real reason was so that Avery could send a death gratuity to the family members of his subordinates that lost their lives.

Still, he did not feel like any amount was truly enough here, but all he had to offer was money so he planned on sending what he could.

After reaching the end of the document and making sure that there were not any legal traps hidden anywhere within it, Avery signed his name and handed it back over to Cerise.

“Good, everything appears to be in order. Commander Triswei and the officers that conspired with her will be dealt with internally, so don’t worry about what’s going to happen with them.”

“Well, I don’t have any choice in the matter but to accept, so I’ll believe in the Alliance’s justice system to get retribution for my team members that she killed. But what I’m really curious about is how you plan on keeping thousands of members of the Alliance Police quiet. It’s not like most of that commander’s subordinates were in on her scheme.” Avery said, a curious look in his eyes.

“Yes, that does pose a slight problem, but they’ll all be offered bonuses that will serve as hush money, and they’ve been made aware that these events are to remain a secret. Their jobs will be on the line if any of them try to speak out, and even if they do, in this large galaxy it’s easy for a few voices to be drowned out.”

Avery understood what Cerise was getting at even if she did not explicitly spell it out.

No doubt that the Alliance Police was more than capable of using its influence to spread information farther and faster than a handful of individuals could.

If the truth started to come out, they could just create hundreds of other rumors to muddy the water. So long as no tangible evidence that was truly damning came out, then the truth would forever remain unclear.

‘It’s not like this is something I really need to worry about. I just need to keep things quite on my end.’

With their business completed, Avery was about to get up and leave.

At least he was, until Cerise beckoned for him to stay.

“I thought that we were done here. I’ve signed the document already. This hasn’t been easy for me, and I’ve got a lot of work to do that has been delayed.” Avery said, a slight irritation in his voice.

“Trust me, I didn’t have any desire to deal with something like this either. But while it’s not entirely unrelated, there is something else that I wish to discuss with you. Of course, you’re free to leave without hearing me out, but I think what I have to say will be worthwhile for you.”

Sighing, Avery sat back down and locked eyes with Cerise.

She had brought her entire fleet to help him out, though doing so was in the best interest of the Alliance Police, so he felt he owed to her to at least hear her out.

“To start, Commander Triswei wasn’t just dabbling in illicit deals with priates. She’d also been letting supplies from the Odium Syndicate pass through and use this system as a supply hub.” Cerise said, casually revealing another of Triswei’s crimes.

Avery was momentarily surprised but figured that if someone was willing to abuse their authority to profit off of one criminal enterprise, it was no surprise that she would have her hands in others as well.

“Did you manage to find them?”

“No, they’ve covered their tracks well, and Commander Triswei stopped carefully tracking them around eight months ago since their payments to her always arrived without issue. She already divulged everything to me without any resistance in return for avoiding the death penalty, so cataloging all of the criminal activity she let slid has been easy at least.”

Cerise explained that she had already sent a couple of ships to check out the last known location that the Odium Syndicate had been using in this system, but the place had been deserted for a couple of months. They had almost certainly moved their supply somewhere else in the system.

“So, are you trying to hire us as extra manpower to search the area? That hardly seems worth our time and a long shot at best.”

“Obviously not. If I wanted to do something like that, it would be more practical to hire thousands of zero and one star mercenaries for the same price I would need to commission your team. We’ll just wait until we catch the next odium syndicate affiliated ship that comes to the system and figure out where their stash is then. What I want from you is for a more decisive mission.” Cerise said, her lips turning up into a devious smile befitting of someone that had earned the moniker, Decapitator Witch.

As it turned out, Cerise had recently been given a new assignment directly by the Chief of the Alliance Police now that he undercover operation at the coemption was over.

“I only got three weeks of vacation after all of that. I was hoping for three months, but the Odium Syndicate which is backed by the Zatis Consortium has become too great of a problem for us to merely try and prevent their activity in the Dramid Alliance. I’ve been told to get rid of them or at least cripple them to the point where they can’t operate in our space any longer.”

However, the reason that the Odium Syndicate had persisted so far was that its roots were beyond the reach of the Dramid Alliance.

While they were not officially at war, the had been constant conflicts at the border between the Zatis Consortium and the Dramid Alliance for years now.

The Consortium liked to state that it had historical claims to some of the outer territories of the Alliance and would move in their ships to try and occupy them.

It was an ongoing campaign of theirs, and though publicly the leading figures of the Zatis Consortium condemned the Odium Syndicate, they never took any action against them since it was basically an open secret that the illegal drug trade was meant to weaken the populace of the Dramid Alliance.

“Since I’ve been the most successful at defending the border, the top brass thinks I can do something about the Odium Syndicate easily if it’s my main priority. But they’re a slippery bunch to catch within our territory, and it’s not like I can storm into the heart of the Zatis Consortium to crush them at the source. But that’s where you and your team come in.”

What Cerise wanted from Avery was to pose as a merchant and cozy up to the Odium Syndicate to figure out where their distribution hubs were and who the main dealers within the Dramid Alliance were.

“If you could find a way to take out their leadership as well, that would be ideal. Naturally, I’d be willing to pay you well for your work. Plus, I think that it would be beneficial for you. The syndicate does have it out for you after all.”

Avery’s mind raced as he considered Cerise’s request and the intricacies of it. Certainly, he would not mind getting rid of the Odium Syndicate seeing as how they still wanted Grito, and by extnedion Avery’s entire team, dead for outing their collaborators within the Cocarro System.

“Your plan sounds great, but it’s filled with holes. My team is obviously made up of mercenaries. There’s no way we’ll be able to pass for merchants. Also, I’m pretty sure that our faces are known to the Odium Syndicate. Trying to approach them probably won’t work out well for us.” Avery said, his instincts telling him that Cerise was trying to drag him into something that was more trouble than it was worth.

“Faces are easy enough to change, and with my authority I can get you and your team completely new identities without issue. As for posing as merchants, that should be possible once your carrier ship is finished being built. I heard that you’re having a cargo vessel modified to be as strong as a battleship. That will work perfectly for this mission. It’s actually the main reason I’m approaching you with this offer.”