Working as an undercover operative and a scavenger in the black market industry, a lynx mercenary gets more than he bargained for when he inadvertently gets involved in a space battle against pirates.

Undercover Lynx - Space Mercenary

Being a space mercenary often puts one at odds between good and evil. For Kin Pierce, this is nothing new. In fact, the lynx pilot has seen his fair share of battles between both sides, often with him spectating. But between the good and evil factions and the cleanup afterwards, it is a nice way to make a profit.

Piloting his very own Drake-class frigate, Kin spent some time drifting about in the Beta Pindola sector of the galactic universe, casually observing the traffic flowing throughout. Occasionally, there were skirmishes between various factions, mainly the Fortuna Rebels and their enemies; majority of the time, it is the Rebels who wind up obliterated with Kin performing cleanup service in the sector.

After several skirmishes in various parts of the sector and the resulting cleanup of each one, Kin’s cargo space is eventually full, leaving the lynx to sell the majority of his haulage. What he’s picked up is mainly scrap metal and scrap electronics.

After dropping off and selling his haulage, Kin later docks his fighter inside the hangar of a Trade Station run by Lambda Corp. After walking a little distance, Kin wanders into a bar area and climbs onto one of the stool seats to take a break and hopefully gather some info about the black market activity.

“Yo, barman! Fetch me some water! No alcohol, please! Only water!” Kin requested, waving to a warthog bartender to get his attention.

The warthog just casts a nerved glare to the lynx before going to grab some water for the customer with an irritated sigh. And while Kin is waiting, he begins to check the rest of his cargo before searching around for an inconspicuous spot to change seats, though he is still seated at the bar section.

After receiving his water, Kin withdraws to a more secluded area of the bar and broadcasts a message from his tablet advertising his assistance in black market sales, interference, and delivery jobs. While he does this, he peeks up from his device and addresses the bartender again, “Hey barman! Do you have any Intel on the other sectors within this galaxy?”

The warthog responds from across the room, “Sorry kid! There is no information I can offer you regarding the other sectors. You're on your own for this one.”

No dice. Looks like Kin will have to try out some other location to gather Intel on the other sectors. The interior bar inside the Trade Station is a no-go.

Kin remains inside of the bar for a few more minutes until he takes his labs to head out. But a shadowy hooded figure suddenly wanders in to confront him directly, making Kin pause in his tracks. Already, Kin grows suspicious and backs away, slowly raising his hands up and mentioning, “What do you need? Have you answered my call?”

While Kin can already make out the figure to a black furred wolf, the figure drops his hood to reveal his battle-hardened face and turquoise eyes among the backdrop of black fur. His tail wagging softly, the black wolf requests, “I figured you were the one that sent out that call. But anyways, we need your help to patrol and section off a trade route between here and the Terekos sector. Those Fortuna thugs and their Bandit friends keep making runs on our deliveries. Would you be able to help us and drop off a package at the Fortuna base?”

Still suspicious, Kin folds his arms and implies, “What is this about - some kind of revenge assassination or something?”

“Not quite.” The black wolf goes on to introduce himself, “I’m Kim Dossinger of Bluestar Express. And I’ve been through a few skirmishes myself. We have escorts protecting us but we're gonna need heavier firepower. We were hoping you could help us.”

This news convinces Kin somewhat to join the cause, but the lynx isn't fully convinced. Still weary, Kin recalls, “What does this have to do with any black market activity? This has no relation to the black market at all.”

Realizing the situation at hand, Kim admits, “Not initially, but these Fortuna guys are allied with Black Sail, and they're one of the main factions in Black Market activity. If you can fix our problem, we will grant you everything you need for their hideout sector.”

Protecting a trade route sounds like a challenging task, but if it comes with a reward like this, there is no turning back. Kin eventually accepts the offer, now fully convinced, and declares, “Ah, what the heck. I’ll join you!”

~~~~~

After paying the barkeep and retrieving his device, Kin is back out in space behind the controls of his Drake frigate. Kim, however, is in a Creon-class battle cruiser, modified for trade use. But also with the Creon are two escort ships - a Venture-Class frigate and a Pioneer-Class ship.

The trip to Terekos doesn't take long upon disappearing into the wormhole and once they emerge into the Terekos sector, the quartet is met with a post-war battlefield consisting of scattered debris and destroyed ships. Several scavengers are in the area, cleaning up the sector while other locations are in the area, all protected by powerful Stage 5 laser turrets.

“Whoa, looks like whoever was on the receiving end of the war stood no chance; the defenders weren't playing, were they??” Kin and the other pilots are equally disturbed by the sight, though the scavengers bring some relief to the fray.

Through open communication lines, the black wolf Bluestar pilot explains, “Fortuna Rebels and Bandits mixed together with several other evil factions now. It's all a deadly cocktail.”

“That explains the mass grave site here.” Suddenly, an alert appears on Kin’s radar, pointing out two red contacts coming in from the 2:00 position. However, another ship closes in from the 12:00 position with all of them making a beeline straight for the Bluestar ships. But after nearing the Stage 5 turrets of one of the other bases, the enemy ships are quickly obliterated.

“Most of these ships are low level anyway. But in numbers, they can get overwhelming.” Kim reported.

“More of them are coming,” an escort pilot reported in alarm, “watch out!”

Several Bandit ships, 5 in total, move in from various directions all gunning for the Creon-class battleship. But Kin and the escort ships were ready. Their biggest help is the surrounding Stage 5 turrets, which catches one of them in the process.

The enemy ships are a mix of Shuttles, Hornets, and Flyers, each with different capabilities. But because the Shuttle is the weakest, it is very easy to destroy. Hornets and Flyers, on the other hand, are harder.

More unexpected help arrives in the form of a materializing Overload-X Class battleship, disengaging its cloaking device to join the fray, along with an Ares-X Class destroyer. Both ships happen to be under the control of the TEF, which stands for Terran Expeditionary Force.

Altogether, the powerful fighters overwhelm the smaller enemy ships, blasting them to kingdom come. And after the post-war cleanup does Kim report, “Everything is smooth sailing on out! Appreciate the help!”

Although Kin refuses to take credit for his assistance, he still thanks the wolf for the job. Then suddenly, he receives a package - which turns out to be some kind of box.

With the job only partly finished, Kin is left behind to sweep the area when he notices numerous explosions in the distance. After hailing the Overlord-X pilot and requesting information, Kin discovers a Bandit base built in the sector, which is currently under attack by the Overload-X and Ares-X Class fighters. Oddly enough, there is only one Stage 3 Laser turret guarding the base, which is moderately damaged and under attack by the two ships.

While Kin speeds to the rescue, more unexpected backup arrives for the pair in the form of a Magnus-X Class battleship, providing more heavy firepower for the friendlies. By the time Kin makes it to the scene, the turret is already destroyed and the enemy base has sustained heavy damage. The final blow is dealt with Kin delivering an Achilles Missile to the enemy base to destroy it completely. And after the massive fireworks do the other ships fly away.

After cleaning up the area, Kin returns to find more Fortuna Rebel ships flying about, occasionally doing battle with several powerful Laser turrets that are scattered about. But with the destruction of the enemy base in the Terekos sector, that takes out a giant chunk of work to do.

“This is a total letdown.” Kin glowered, feeling cheated out of a thrill. “I was expecting better competition. These tiny squabbling ships are nothing!”

“That's the deceiving part.” One of the other pilots answered over open communication. “One is no big deal but when they swarm in numbers, that's when they get you.”

Once they're entirely finished with the enemies, Kin returns to the Beta Pindola sector via wormhole. But when he emerges, he finds the sector suddenly under attack by an enemy Shuttle-Class ship. Then he finds himself being targeted by the hostile ship along with an incoming enemy Hornet-Class fighter.

“Oh crap! Not again! I can't let this stuff go to waste!” Kin begins to panic momentarily when he realizes his weapons are primed and armed. But taking on two smaller ships with a more powerful frigate should be an easy task. However, the battle takes place in the range of several Lambda Corp patrollers who respond as backup, and together, they make quick work of the enemy ships, obliterating them to kingdom come. The battle is over before Kin even begins landing hits on the enemy!

“Thanks guys! You really helped a bunch!” Kin thanked the Lambda pilots for the swift service in their backup, and after cleaning up the area, he proceeds to the Trade Station to sell whatever he has scavenged.

After Kin makes his dropoff and collects his sales from the business, the lynx pilot makes his way over to the Fortuna Rebels base to drop off the package nearby before flying away in his Drake frigate. Seconds after he flies away, there is a huge explosion, the blast powerful enough to even rattle Kin’s frigate. Only after the vibrations wear off does Kim realize in horror, “Man, these guys want their rivals dead! Assassination included!”

Sighing, Kin runs a hand over his head and declares, “Nope, not for me. I am staying out of this from now on. If they have beef, let them have their beef. As for me, I am working solo. Keep me out of this.”

~~~~~

Kin Pierce belongs to Azuluna (ToyHouse)!