Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary

By the time that Avery had reached the Dauntless, Regina’s security forces had already narrowed down which vehicle was likely to be the one transporting Kokkas’ body.
Of all the transport that had brought in goods like food, only one had abruptly departed.
It had happened just a little more than thirty minutes after Kokkas left his post, lending more credibility to the fact that this vehicle was indeed the one they were after.
"There were a few others that left when the estimated timeframe, but they are not likely to have any connection to the murder. Either they are too small to transport the team that attacked Kokkas, or they belong to those that I find reputable. Of course, I’m having them all monitored by satellite just in case." Regina said over a call with Avery.
"Thanks, for the information. I’m at my ship and we’ll take off immediately. For Jasmine’s sake, I promise to get this done quickly and smoothly."
"I hope that is the case. Trouble seems to follow you wherever you go so I hope that we’ve already experienced enough for one day." Regina said before hanging up.
Glancing at his terminal, Avery could see that she had already sent the data on the vehicle they were after.
Right now, it was being tracked by planetary sensors and orbital satellites.
To keep an eye on a single vehicle, it almost seemed like overkill.
"I guess this is what happens when you piss off the leader of an entire world. Not that I’m complaining, because I want to crush these bastards for what they’ve done just as much as she does."
When he reached the Dauntless, the main ramp was already extended and ready to welcome him inside,
Once onboard, he headed straight for the cockpit.
Kasandra was already waiting for him there, having taken up the copilot’s seat.
It had not been her position for several months now, but she had seamlessly slipped back in.
"All preflight checks have already been completed. As usual, the ship’s in perfect condition. All that’s left to do start the thrusters and head out." Kasandra said.
"Good. We’re a few minutes behind our targets, so let’s get going. We can’t let them get away with what they’ve done. Especially when they going to serve as steppingstones to let us take down the big fish behind what happened to Jasmine."
Avery punched a few keys on the main console in front of him and then grabbed ahold of the controls.
Slowly at first, he brought the Dauntless up until it was several kilometers in the air.
"We’ve just received clearance to go."
"Got it. Brace yourself for a bit of g-force." Avery said as he pushed the Dauntless to rapidly accelerate.
There was a bit of turbulence at first due to them flying through atmosphere, but Avery corrected for this quickly.
Soon they were spreading across Azade’s sky at an extremely fast pace. The landscape below them looked like it had blurred together, and even larger structures that were in the distance would fall behind them just a moment later.
"Looks like Ezra’s Specter has linked up with us."
Kasandra displayed the view from the port external cameras, and a distinct dark gray vessel was displayed.
It was a bit smaller than the Dauntless, but Ezra’s customized craft was deceptively powerful for its size.
For this mission, Avery had only mobilized their two fastest ships, and four of their members.
Still, Avery figured for something like this, that would be more than enough.
He, Ezra, Kasandra, and Olivia were likely his team’s strongest fighters. They could handle a small group of ruffians flying a planetary vehicle. In fact, this level of force was probably already excessive.
"Ah, our escorts are here." Kasandra said, noticing a pair of high-speed Azadian vessels joining them.
These ships were usually only deployed for rapid response for emergencies and did not have much in the way of weapon systems since they prioritize speed.
However, they were the only type of craft Azade had that could keep up with the Dauntless and Specter.
It was not long before they caught up to the vehicle that was presumed to be carrying Kokkas’ body.
What they were chasing down was just an average food transport vehicle only meant for travel within a planetary atmosphere. There was no way it would be able to outrun advanced spacecraft like the Dauntless and Specter.
’Let’s see exactly what’s going on inside.’ Avery thought, his eyes flashing orange for just a moment.
Though he was still not particularly adept at controlling his power at will, a peek for a couple of seconds was within his ability.
Except, while he was able to confirm that this was most definitely their target, he wished that he had not looked at the flow of energy inside.
He had seen several masses of energy that were clearly people cutting up something inside the vehicle.
Though he felt sickened by it, he recognized what was going on. The people that had abducted and killed Kokkas were now dismembering his body to make it easier to dispose of.
"Tell the Keepers of the Peace to send them a message asking them to stop and land. When they don’t, we’ll open fire with the Dauntless’ EMP blaster and catch them with our tractor beam."
Avery was already expecting their target to resistance and prepared for the eventuality.
As he had figured, the vehicle tried to speed away the moment the Keepers of the Peace made contact. With what they were in the middle of doing, it would not end well if they were inspected by the planetary authorities.
Of course, it was impossible for their vehicle to get away from the Dauntless and Specter.
"Target locked. Firing now." Avery said without a hint of nervousness.
It only took a single hit from the Aida EMP MK VII to knock the vehicle’s systems out. Being only for planetary use, it lacked the shielding necessary to hold out against such an attack.