"That took longer than I thought it would, but we finally got it out of them.."
Their captives had been incredibly tightlipped about who had hired them considering their current situation.
Thanks to Kasandra’s ability to detect lies though, Avery and Tuuali were able to narrow down the people that actually knew anything fairly quickly.
There had been two captains and the lieutenant of the fleet’s commander who took his own life to avoid capture that knew exactly who had hired their group.
Everyone else was in the dark even if they tried to say otherwise to obfuscate the information.
These people were professionals at their jobs, and no doubt they had ever considered losing.
Unfortunately, their intel was horribly wrong.
Like so many others before them, they had believed that the Intrepid was just a cargo ship with extra armor.
"I can’t believe that you made them watch as you launched their comrades out of an airlock, though. Us rcenaries may do so unsavory things from ti to ti. Yet that was definitely further than I thought you would go. You look like an upright young man, but your more cold-hearted than I thought." Tuuali said, seeing Avery in a different light after watching him interrogate their prisoners.
"Well, there’s almost nothing I won’t do to protect my crew. Also, you make it sound like I’m so sort of remorseless villain. Yes, I launched a few dozen people out of an airlock, but no one actually died. There was a ship waiting just outside to collect them before anything bad happened. They were only out in space for a second or two tops."
Avery had figured that physical torture would have been ineffective against the three hardened enemy leaders.
Maybe if they had a couple of weeks, it would be possible, but there were only two days before they would hand them over.
Drugs that forced people to tell the truth were out of the question as well, as each of them had implants that were designed to counteract such harmful substances.
Doctor Raiti could have removed these devices, but even an expert like he would need more ti than they had.
The implants were in their brains, hearts, and along their spines.
All of them attached in such ways that it would kill the person if they were taken out forcefully. It would have been a delicate and ti-consuming procedure for Doctor Raiti to remove them all from even just a single individual.
Still, Avery had co up with his sowhat unorthodox thod by thinking about the character of their attackers’ leaders.
While the commander of the fleet had offed himself, his lieutenant had surrendered and his only terms were that his comrades’ lives be saved and those injured receive dical treatnt.
That ant that he cared about his companions’ lives. So, if Avery pretended to kill them one by one in a vicious way, he would be likely to talk.
Fortunately, this tactic had worked, though, it had taken longer than Avery had expected.
It was not until he had jettisoned the thirty-seventh person out that the man had cracked. At that point he had been fully convinced that Avery would actually kill every single one of the captives if he remained quiet.
The sa trick was pulled with the other two captains that knew who had hired them since Avery had kept them all separate.
He actually started with the lieutenant for each of the captains, telling them that he had refused to speak so he had no worth.
Naturally, the man had been gagged to avoid letting him communicate with his compatriots as he was shot out into space. Then swiftly collected so that he did not die.
This little ruse worked, and considering that all three of them had given the sa information, it was likely to be true.
"TO think it would be Treolaus Aerospace that hired those goons. I don’t know what a large company like them were thinking. They were one of the latest groups to join, but did they really think that doing sothing like this would let them get ahead." Tuuali said, shaking her head.
Avery had also been surprised to hear the familiar na that was among the top ten shipbuilding corporations in the Dramid Alliance.
However, he was not particularly shocked to learn that they were willing to hire so goons to do their dirty work for them.
Treolaus Aerospace were the ones that had hired Jack Huxley who turned out to be working for Clarien and Rook.
He had aided in the plot to steal the experintal competition vessels, though thanks to Avery, Liesel, and Cerise, their plans had been mostly foiled.
Still, Jack Huxley had gotten away in the end, along with Treolaus Aerospace’s ship.
Naturally, the company had denied any knowledge of their chosen pilot’s actions and intentions.
Avery figured that at least soone high up in the company was probably complicit though. And the recent encounter with the group of thugs they had hired only enhanced his suspicions of them.
’I won’t be able to act on it right now. But I know to be more wary of them in the future. Plus, I can hand the information over to Storren Corp. I’m sure that Dorris will be more than happy to use whatever ans at her disposal to get a leg up on one of their main competitors.’
Ultimately, Avery felt satisfied with what he had been able to learn. Although, Tuuali looked exhausted and fed-up.
She may have been an excellent rcenary, but she was clearly not used to the type of integration that Avery had run.
The team she was a part of did focus mostly on space monsters after all. So, it made sense that they had less experience dealing with situation like this one.
"I think that a good al is in order after all of that hard work. We’ve got so quality fresh fruit and vegetables from Azade stored away. Along with so choice frozen ats. Our stocks are limited, but I figure that it would be fine to serve so to an important guest."
Tuuali lit up when she heard this and began rushing Avery along. It was rare to be able to eat a al not out of a food capsule or nutritional pack when out in space. Fresh ingredients took up a lot of space and required proper storage facilities. Things that most vessels did not have an abundance of.
When the two of them arrived at the officers’ lounge where the fancy al would be served, Avery imdiately spotted Liesel and Casey eating at one of the tables.
Other than the two of them, the room was devoid of other people at the mont.
Liesel turned towards Avery and got up out of her seat, but she sat back down when she saw that he was with Tuuali. She figured that he was working right now, so she just flashed him a quick smile and then got back to her al.
’I’ve already made her wait long enough. I guess it’s about ti to get things started.’
"Would you mind waiting for for just a couple. Of minutes. There’s sothing that I need to do right now." Avery said, motioning towards Liesel.
"Sure, do what you need to. I don’t mind so long as I get the food I was promised."
Tuuali scampered away to the table, and a robotic server began bringing out dishes for her.
Seeing that his guest was preoccupied and happy, he walked over to Liesel and sat down across from her.
"I’ve got sowhere to be, so I’ll be taking my leave."
Casey tactfully got up and left the two of them alone. She was plenty clever and able to read the room. Also, she was happy to help in whatever way she could, now that her best friend was finally about to get the chance that she had been waiting for.
"To what do I owe the honor of our illustrious leader gracing with his presence." Liesel said in an exaggerated manner.
Avery had been about to open his mouth to speak when he was caught off guard by Liesel’s playful words.
While his mind raced for how to respond, only around a second passed before he decided on what to do.
"Oh, but the honor is all mine. Unsuitable a partner as I may be, I was hoping to ask for the company of a fair young lady to co with on a walk about the ship. There are still many interesting places that I have only had ti to glance at briefly and would like to explore further."
Despite being the one who had started the conversation in such a manner, when Avery matched her energy, she could not hold it in and started laughing.
"That’s certainly an odd way to ask a girl out on a date. I think that you’ve been watching too many romance holomovies."
"Perhaps I have. But what do you say? Once we’ve finished up here and get going again, would you like to spend so ti together?" Avery asked.
"Yes, I think that I would like that very much. I was about ready to ambush and pounce on you if you didn’t make a move soon."
Avert smiled awkward at this, but it was easy enough for him to imagine this happening.
Liesel had made her feelings and intention very clear to him. By bringing her onto his team, he had essentially already accepted her. It would be both foolish and cruel to make her wait any longer.
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