The guild receptionist looked at her screen with narrowed eyes.

“Three A Class ships, two B Class ships and one C Class ship, is that correct?”

I mean… I wasn’t keeping score but if that’s what the records show then I guess so? But I’m surprised I was credited with the kill for the corvette since it was Samson who got the last hit on it, right?

Or maybe because it’s a larger sized ship so they just credit everyone who was involved in taking it down?

Oh whatever, I wasn’t going to say no to money.

Seeing me nod, she then tapped a few more keys before a screen projected in front of me.

“Total reward for them will be ninety five thousand Credits, please confirm the amount.”

Wow… Ok, I know you get paid five thousand for A Class ships and fifteen thousand for B Class ships… If I do the math it would mean… C Class ships net you a good fifty thousand Credits?!

Holy crap, that’s easy money right there! How much would you be paid if you can take down a D Class ship?!

Wait… Then again… I suppose the difficulty is trying to find a pirate group who even have a C Class ship in the first place.

If pirates get their hands on any ships bigger than B Class, it either means they’re stealing and repurposing them or someone’s intentionally selling these ships to pirates.

From what I know, most pirates simply take civilian ships before repurposing them with modified weapons to make them combat ready, which is why most pirate ships can’t match up against actual ships designed for combat even in a one on one fight.

Their shields and firepower would mostly be inferior to combat ships and have a higher tendency to break down as well.

That’s why they usually resort to ganging up on their targets and ambush tactics in their fights.

I’m not sure if the situation is the same in this universe but there were pirate factions where they had quite a sizable force and were capable of even going toe to toe against the military with enough preparations.

There was an event on the online version where players had to pick a side and we engaged in a week-long war with pirates on one side and the military on the other side duking it out.

Pretty epic even if I say so myself.

With almost a hundred thousand Credits richer, I stepped away from the counter where the others were waiting.

I looked at Samson, “Fifty thousand Credits for that Corvette?”

He tilted his head, “Yes? You helped me take down that shield right? Of course it would be normal to be split between us.

Wait… Split? So that means if there were two of us and it’s split two ways… The actual amount you could get was a hundred thousand?!

Well, I guess you need to be able to take down a ship that size on your own first to enjoy that kind of money by yourself.

Amber gave the others a look, “So I assume we’re all done here?”

Samson nodded, “If you’re interested in hunting some pirates with me, I’ll be setting off in the morning tomorrow. Just give me a call through your terminals and we’ll link up.”

We then separated and Amber immediately wrapped her arm around mine.

“So what are we going to do now? I can suggest some things if you want?”

I raised an eyebrow, “Does it involve the two of us in bed?”

“Oh, I wasn’t thinking of that but I wouldn’t mind if you like to do that too~”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I cleared my throat, “We can do that tonight… So what do you have in mind?”

“Well, when you come to a new place, of course you’ll have to try the food right?! Actually… On second thought… I’d rather eat your food but let’s go get some drinks at least!”

“You know where to get drinks here?”

“Of course not but it’s easy! Just follow the drunks!”

“Can’t argue with that I suppose… Lead on then.”

We stepped out of the guild and into the streets of the station. The guild branch we had gone to was right beside the hangar so we have not explored much of the place yet.

Even though we haven’t gone very far, the first thing I realised was the presence of armed guards patrolling around the station.

I’m not even talking about some police officers walking around with a blaster holstered on their waist, but actual military personnel walking around with rifles slung across their back.

“It feels like there’s a martial law in effect or something,” I muttered.

Amber turned to see where I was looking at but grinned when she saw those guys.

“Oh, nah. I mean sure they also act like patrols for the place but remember there’s a military ship floating just outside? These guys are just on shore leave.”

“Wow, they still have to work as guards while on their leave? That’s harsh.”

She shrugged, “I dunno, I’m not a military person from the start. Wanna know a secret?”

“What?”

“I don’t like them. Many of them look down on us Mercs so it’s better to just stay away from them.”

“Eh? Why?”

“Pfft, for a lot of reasons. They think we’re not good enough to join the military and are nothing but a bunch of vigilantes. As if the Mercenary Guild isn’t an actual recognised entity throughout the known systems. They don’t even understand that we value our freedom more and dare to say we are just disorganised and lack discipline. Fuck them.”

“I didn’t know you harboured such enmity for the military.”

“You have no idea, Tera…”

Hmm? She sounded a little different at the end there… Did something happen between her and some military guys that made her hate them that much?

“Should I ask?” I wondered aloud.

She sucked in a breath before exhaling, “It’s… It’s fine, not that important anyway…”

That definitely doesn’t sound like it’s not that important… But I knew better than to push so I just let it go for now.

Amber seemed to want that as well since she pointed down one of the streets, “Look, look! I bet we could find a good place down there!”

I raised an eyebrow at the dark alley that she just pointed at before turning to raise an eyebrow at her.

“Really? Why the seediest and darkest place that you can see here? Did you forget that we literally witnessed some guy getting beaten up for possessing illegal stuff when we came in here?”

“Yeah, but we don’t have any illegal stuff do we?”

“That’s not the point though…”

“But the best booze is found in these seedy and dark places!”

“That’s… Err…”

I wanted to tell her that wasn’t true either but I don’t know if that was a fact in this universe. Maybe the best alcohol here really was found in those types of places?

She then tugged on my arm, “Come on, it’ll be fine! I’m here, remember?”

“No, no… It’s precisely because you’re here that I worry… I’m going to bet that people in those dark and seedy places are going to approach us with unsavoury intentions the moment we step in there…”

She blinked at me, as though needing a moment to process what I just said to her.

“Wait, are you… Oh, you’re serious. Err… Tera… You know it’s fine to just shoot those guys right?”

“Err… Wouldn’t that be murder?”

“Pfft… You might need to care about that if you’re in the inner systems but out here? Fuck, you’d be lucky to find someone who cares. Just dump their bodies somewhere and no one would know. By the time they find out, you’re probably already off the station somewhere else.”

I just stared at her.

She nodded, “I’m not kidding. This is how it’s like for places like these. You could be just living your life one day and the very next, you come across some crazy guy who decided you looked at him wrong and you get shot dead. Then no one even knows you’re dead until like a year later or something. This is already something that happens back on Theeve station, Tera, much less over here.”

“That doesn’t sound reassuring…”

She shrugged, “We’re all used to it. That’s why we should live a little you know? We’re already putting our lives on the line as Mercs already. Today we could be drinking and partying in a bar, tomorrow we could find ourselves falling in a pirate ambush and getting shot out in space. That’s just how it goes.”

I suppose the mortality rates are pretty high here huh? I guess I can understand a little of Amber’s sentiments where she just lives however she wants and doesn’t hesitate to grab what she wants… Like me for example.

Well… I couldn’t help it, so I turned and grabbed her by the waist before kissing her on the lips.

People die easily here? I’ll just have to make sure the people I care about don’t in that case.