Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary

While the host of the program had clearly been trying to insinuate that Avery's spot in this competition was undeserved since he had essentially forced Storren Corp. to accept him. Avery's assertion that he was currently the third in rankings put a decisive end to this line of questioning.

It would be difficult to try and say that he was unqualified when he was so close to the top. And in a roundabout way, it would end up insulting the other competitors currently ranked below him.

If he was not good enough, how could any of them be considered skilled enough.

Fortunately, the host was not too invested in this subject since he had only been trying to drum up a little controversy to increase interest. As was his job.

Of course, if there was a chance that it might blow back in his face, he was certainly not going to continue.

"Circumstances might have forced us together in this endeavor, but my relationship with Storren Corp. is plenty strong. In fact, I've found their work to be impressive enough that I've recently ordered a sizable carrier vessel from them." Avery said, changing the topic.

Seeing that there was another story here, the host latched onto it just as Avery wanted.

This was his chance to advertise that he looking for crew members to man his new ship.

He did not come right out and say it, but the host went ahead and asked the question for him.

"Yes, I've already assembled a strong core team, but I am still looking for new members. I have ordered quite the large craft after all." Avery responded lightheartedly.

There was no reason for him to make any sort of impassioned plea or give detailed information on how many people he was looking for or their qualifications.

Right now, he just wanted to get the idea in people's head. Time was on his side since it was still going to take a while for the carrier ship to be completed, and for him to gather enough funds to finish paying for it.

Still, he had managed to accomplish his goals here and get through the interview pretty much unscathed.

Some people out there might be cursing him because of his luck in stumbling across the Dauntless, but dealing with some envy was often the price of renown.

They would not know how hard he worked to cultivate the skills he had now, and that owning an advanced vessel was only part of what had brought him to where he was.

After a couple of light wrap up questions, Avery's interview came to an end.

Once he was off stage and out of view from the cameras, he exhaled deeply in relief.

Although he had been prepared, being broadcast on such a large network had been nerve wracking.

'Well, it's over now, and I probably won't need to make another major appearance like this unless I win.' Avery thought as someone led him back to the waiting room he had been using before.

A part of him wanted to head directly back to the Dauntless, but he was worried that he might miss out on the start of the next interview if he walked all of the way back to the hangar.

In second place was Stifur, and truthfully the individual that he was most interested in.

He had his suspicions that they were cheating somehow and wanted to know exactly who it was.

"Kasandra, are you there?"

"Yep, I'm hearing you loud and clear." Kasandra responded.

Since he would want her input on their top two opponents, the moment Avery had sat down in his waiting room, he pulled out his terminal and called her.

They did not have to wait long for the next contestant to appear on stage. To keep the people tuned into the program, there was not too much down time between each interview.

When he caught sight of the pilot representing Stifur's face, for the second time this day Avery recognized the person on sight.

Except, the man that had just come on stage was not a widely known actor like Jack Huxley. Instead, he was a mercenary with enough renown that Avery knew of him.

Since he was in the business, he had made sure to memorize the names and characteristics of every six and seven star mercenary in the Dramid Alliance.

He lived in a massive galactic power, that was for sure, but there were still few enough mercenaries that had reached the top two ranks that he was able to remember them all.

"Leader of the Black Pearl Squadron, and six star mercenary, Atlas Himmel." Avery said, both in surprise and awe.

As a top-ranking mercenary, he was well known within the mercenary community.

Avery may not have been an expert on the man's exploits, but he knew that he was the leader of an elite group composed of around thirty active members.

Their claim to fame was from their participation in a number of border skirmishes with the Zatis Consortium.

Every member of his team was a five or four star mercenary in their own rights. Making the group truly formidable.

Avery could understand now how the pilot of that bulky ship was able to perform so well. The man that Stifur had chosen was undoubtably an expert.

'It's also far more plausible now to believe that he had pulled everything he had done so far through skill alone. Though, my gut's still telling me that he and Stifur are cheating somehow. His performances have just been too perfect. Even for someone of his ability.' Avery thought.

He asked Kasandra to weigh in as well, and her opinion was the same as his.

Having impeccable insight was one thing, but Atlas clearly knew what each of the events was going to entail before it happened. Otherwise, he would not have made subtle mistakes that were clearly fabricated to try and cover up his foreknowledge.

Still, he was obviously a formidable opponent whether he was cheating or not.

Knowing what some of the events were ahead of time was hardly advantageous. The target hunting event being one of them. Yet, even with interference from the lower ranks, Atlas had still beaten Avery during that round.

"I see how it is." Avery grumbled by the end of Atlas's interview.

The host had mostly praised the man and his impressive capabilities.

Unlike with Avery, he never once tried to bring up anything scandalous, despite the fact that anyone could have suspicions of Atlas cheating.

"I guess that I was the easier target."

Avery may have been an up and coming five star mercenary, but Atlas had a much longer career in the field and dozens of more notable achievements to his name. No doubt that there were few willing to question him.

With the second-place interview wrapping up, it was finally time for the reveal of Ravasz Dynamic's pilot.

From the start, they had been the frontrunner. Not once having lost their first place spot and only briefly having shared it with Avery after the second event.

Everyone wondered who exactly the top pilot in the competition could be.

Considering that Avery in third place was a five star mercenary, and Atlas in second place was a six star, there were plenty wondering if first place might be held by one of the handful of seven star mercenaries in the Dramid Alliance.

However, the pilot that Ravasz Dynamics had chosen to represent them turned out to not be a mercenary at all.

Instead, she was a hero of the Dramid Alliance. The only currently living Recipient of the Alliance Platinum Cross of Heroism. The highest honor anyone could earn for their actions on the battlefield.

"Isn't she still with the Alliance Police?! What is she doing here in this competition?!" Avery shouted out loud in utter shock.

The aging woman whose black hair was starting to gray was likely the most famous member of the Alliance Police currently active. Or at least, she was.

Yet, as Avery looked her up, he found that she had retired right before this competition. No doubt so that she could take place in it as Ravasz Dynamic's pilot.

The implications behind this were massive.

Someone of her renown was in a different league compared to the rest of the competitors.

'This is basically the Alliance Police saying that they've already made their decision and that this whole competition was for show.'

Since Ravasz Dynamic's was currently in first place and there was little to no chance of them ranking less than third at this point, the overall victory was almost certainly going to be given to their company.

Considering who Ravasz Dynamic's pilot was, the panel of judges that came from the Alliance Police that would be awarding points at the end, were most likely to go with the vessel their former peer was piloting. It was doubtful that they would be able to contain their biases.