Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary - Chapter 370

Chapter 370: Chapter 370 Turmoil in the Yuson System
Currently on their usual patrol route, an Alliance Police officer kept watch at the ship’s long-range monitor station.

It was far from an interesting job, which most of the time ended without anything happening.

The system was not the habitat of any space monsters, nor was it within the migration route for any.

A while back there had been energy lifeforms that had spotted a few systems over which could have eventually made their way over to the Yuson System, but that possibility had been nipped in the bud quickly by a team of Alliance Police pilots and mercenaries.

Of course, pirates were the main threats to be looked out for, but after the large-scale raid several months back, their activity within the system had basically disappeared.

Some smaller groups would still rear their heads from time to time, but they hardly presented a threat.

Typically, the trader they targeted would escape or their guards would fight the pirates off.

That meant that things were fairly peaceful out in space. Though, rumors of a new shady group skulking around and trying to infiltrate one of the system’s stations had spread through the rank-and-file members of the police.

Still, that was a matter for those stationed on the colony to deal with and really had little to do with a patrol frigate like the one the woman sitting at the monitor station was assigned to.

Fortunately for her, she had found a new way to pass the time.

During her last extend break, she had gotten an implant in her left ear that was connected to her terminal and allowed her to listen to whatever was playing on the device.

This had allowed her to pass the long, boring shifts in front of a screen that almost always displayed the same thing.

Yet, as she was focusing on the audio book she was listening to instead of the monitor, she missed the moment that a cloaked vessel appeared on the edge of the ship’s sensor range.

It was only detected for a fraction of a second before moving out of range. And while only one craft had been picked up, there were many more that were still hidden. All of them making their way towards Yuson II.

However, just a half hour later, something that the officer on monitor duty could not miss showed up on the screen.

“Huh?”

Seeing what appeared to be a mass of ships, several with bounties on them, suddenly appearing the officer was understandably stunned for a moment.

At first, she thought that it might be some sort of hoax.

Sometimes criminals or kids that were too smart for their own good would create false readings called sensor ghosts to trick the Alliance Police.

For the criminals this was often used to disguise the true activity they were up to, and as for when kids did it, the reason was usually because they were bored and thought that it would be a funny prank.

However, even after the woman had chaged the sensor frequency from the standard preset and activated a program that should have filtered out most false readings, the mass of pirate ships still remained.

There were hundreds of them, perhaps even more than a thousand. With some of them even being large cargo vessels and transports that had been modified with better shielding, armor plating, and older but still military grade weaponry.

Disconcertingly, there were also dozens of stolen mercenary vessels ranging in quality. With a few being comparable to what a four or possibly even five star mercenary would own.

This was not some small group moving in, but an invasion force with enough power behind it to be a threat to every installation in the system. Usually, the only reason so many pirates would attack out in the open like this was if they planned to sweep through the system and kill practically everyone. Ransacking what they could and escaping before reinforcements from the Alliance Police could arrive.

Hastily, the officer sent an emergency alert to the bridge, and only a second later an alarm began blaring through the ship.

This was an incursion the likes of which the Yuson System had never seen before. A brazen assault by pirates on this scale happen very rarely, only once every decade or so at most.

For it to be occurring now was practically unprecedented.

Needless to say, the Alliance Police’s response was swift.

Nearly every ship in the system left their posts and began converging on the incoming mass of enemies.

Emergency requests to the mercenary association also went out, offering five times the amount that a usual pirate raid would pay.

Practically all of the forces within the Yuson System began mobilizing for battle. Though in the cases of some mercenaries and merchants, they chose to head the other direction and flee instead. There was no telling how widespread the damage might be even if the pirates were successfully repelled.

Except, not everyone believed that running away was the best option, or it was not feasible for them to do so.

It was possible that more pirates could be waiting at hyperlane entrances for those frantically trying to escape, and some ships that had been waiting for refueling could not be certain that they could leave the system and make it to the next before running out of energy.

Being lost in space was almost as bad as being attacked by priates, so some chose instead to hole up in the system’s stations that had their own defenses and hope for the best.

Naturally, with the growing panic spreading through the entire Yuson System, the port authorities were more rushed than ever as the emergency situation necessitated hastened docking for those seeking refuge, and faster departures for those trying to leave.

This allowed three ships with false credentials to slip by unnoticed when they typically would have been scrutinized more since the specifications of these vessels did not quite match their IDs.

Unfortunately, in times of chaos, mistakes were bound to be made, and no one was aware at this time that hundreds of armed assailants had just infiltrated Yuson II. And that dozens of other cloaked ships were waiting just out of sensor range, ready to assault the station if needed.

…

“I know you were trying to rest right now Urs, but the request from the Alliance Police is too lucrative to pass up on. We’ve got to take part so I’m afraid that we’ll have to take off. I’m really sorry, but I’m sure you understand. I doubt the people after those two will try anything in this mayhem.”

Having been trying to catch up on some sleep after having been monitoring Avery’s parents to make sure they were safe for the last thirty hours, Urs had left some mercenaries he trusted to keep a look out for them while he got some sleep.

Regrettably, just two hours into his rest, the word of the incoming pirate attack had come through and most mercenaries in the system were gearing up to take part.

That included the people that Urs had hired to protect Robert and Serena.

Normally they would not have broken a deal with Urs, but like most mercenaries, what they were primarily after was profit.

Their contract with Urs was not even an official one through the association, so the only penalty they would incur for abandoning it was a loss of respect from their employer.

“Fine, I can’t really stop you guys from going. But at least give me twenty minutes to get over there. You owe me at least that much.” Urs replied in a groggy but still intimidating voice.

“Okay, that shouldn’t be much of a problem. Just don’t take any longer. We don’t want to miss out on this payday. Plus, we’ve got to defend our home, right.”

Once the call had been disconnected, Urs forced himself up and began gathering up his gear.

Normally when moving around the station he only carried around items that he could conceal on his person.

This time though, his honed instincts from his long career as a mercenary were screaming at him that something was wrong.

So instead, he loaded up several bags with equipment and weapons and even slung a large laser cannon over his back.

Then his eyes went towards one corner of his closet where two items were hung up.

He had not used them once since his retirement, but they were powerful weapons that he had once been an expert with.

“If I knew something like this was going to happen, I would have kept up with my practice. I’ll just have to hope that this old body still remembers how to move.” Urs said as he grabbed the two hard light weapons and hooked them onto his belt.

Now fully kitted out and looking ready for war, Urs existed his apartment building and headed directly towards where Avery’s parents were. He was going to protect them no matter what.