Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary

Burke sat in a meeting room across from the highest-ranking officer of the Alliance Police in the Etania System.

The man was an old acquaintance by the name of Hartel Beniel. When Burke and Doyle had just been starting out, he had still only been at the rank of lieutenant, but now he was a commander.

"I'm guess that things are not looking very good for me, are they?" Burke said with his head drooping.

His normally slicked back black hair was currently a horrible mess, and his orange eyes that usually had a clear strength to them were surrounded by black circles and devoid of life.

"I wish I could sugarcoat it, but yes, Doyle has caused a bigger mess than you can hope to clean up this time. I've sent out some of my troops deal with the aftermath of the battle. From what I've heard, nearly all of the ships that your partner took with him have been destroyed or went missing. Same with the personnel. They all died or fled. Miraculously, the only one still alive is Doyle himself."

Learning his childhood friend had not died was a small comfort to Burke, though his feelings were complicated on the matter.

He had specially asked Avery to spare Doyle if he could, and by some act of fate, his request had been fulfilled.

Yet there was nothing else left from the battle.

More than two thirds of his fleet had been destroyed or were in the hands of men that had deserted Doyle and were guaranteed to have bounties put on their heads. Most likely they would resort to piracy to get by from now on since they still possessed relatively powerful vessels and it would be the easiest avenue for them to go down.

As a mercenary leader of a decent sized company, this was not only a major embarrassment, but a massive liability.

Burke would be held somewhat responsible for Doyle and his follower's actions.

Jail time was unlikely since he had not personally committed any crimes, but no doubt there would be massive fines to pay to both the Alliance Police, that had been forced to get involved in this matter, and the Mercenary Association itself. In the worst-case scenario, Burke and the other remaining members of his company might see their mercenary licenses revoked.

'If I don't lose my license, a demotion would certainly be in order. They might knock me all the way back down to being a two star. But even in the best possible scenario, with the lightest of punishments, I'm not sure I or any of those under me will be able to survive as mercenaries.'

Reputation was an important part of being a mercenary. Those that were known to be problems tended to get less and lower paying work.

Even if the fines and penalties against him and his company were the absolute minimum the Alliance Police and Mercenary Associate could give, the massive black mark on his group's record now would deter most people from wanting to work with them.

Money was also going to be a massive issue no matter what. Doyle had not only lost more than a third of their forces but also sabotaged the rest to prevent Burke from chasing after and stopping him.

Reparation, repairs, his members pay, replenishing equipment, and buying new ships, it was all too much to do with the funds that Burke currently had.

'I'll probably need to sell all of the vessels I own and use whatever money is left to send off everyone with as much as I can. This is definitely the end of us.' Burke thought, his heart heavy at the thought of losing everything he had built up over the years.

If there was any solace in all of this, it was the fact that Doyle had at least failed to kill Avery or any members of his team.

One of their ships had apparently been destroyed which was not great, but no loss of life on the victims' side would make it easier.

"It's not to late to try and fight through the legal system if you want. I'll give you what assistance I can for old times' sake." Hartel said, wanting to do something to help out.

The dismayed expression on Burke's face did not suit the man in his opinion. He had not lost his life so there were still things that he could do. Though the situation might have been difficult, he would have to push through it.

"No, I don't want to disgrace myself any further by dragging this out. I can't put my subordinates that have been nothing but loyal to me, and Avery's group through that. I'll accept whatever punishment is decided for me without resistance."

"I understand. I'll try to lighten things on my end as best I can. You hold some responsibility for what happened, considering that the men in involved were your co-leader and subordinates. However, you were not directly involved and even warned those other mercenaries when you found out what Doyle planned to do. That will surely be taken into consideration."

Burke nodded his head robotically. Just going through the motions.

Everything seemed so bleak and lightless right now. Throughout his entire life, he had never felt quite like this. Not even after so many people, including Doyle's family, had died because company had failed to fully eradicate a band of pirates in the past.

Yet, as he was busy reading over and signing documents pertaining to the incident to help speed up the proceedings, a sudden message came in for Hartel that surprised him.

Immediately he composed a response to his adjutant out in the field for confirmation before going forward.

A few seconds later, he received a call rather than merely a message.

"Should I leave?" Burke asked, knowing that this might be a sensitive matter he should not be privy to.

"No, this involves you. I'm not sure exactly what is going to happen but brace yourself."

For a moment Burke wore a confused look on his face. At least until the captain contacting Hartel explained what was going on. It seemed that Avery had asked the Alliance Police to connect him directly to Burke.