Chapter 3 - Best among the best

Keeping up the conversation, Gordon said, "You see, one of the hunters has already taken aim at Christina, who knows how many more."

Michael proudly raised his head to the ceiling "I'm not afraid of them, all the more it would be very nice to kick these arrogant rich kids in the ass"

Gordon shook his head. "If you're not afraid for yourself, think about your parents. I'm sure Christine's boyfriends have many ways to hurt them. Think about your Sister. She seems to be successfully building a career at WarMax Trade. Do you really want something to happen to her? "

Hearing about his relatives, Michael's ardor instantly cooled down "I don't think they can do something serious. After all, the law is on my side, right?"

Gordon, Adam and Drake looked at Michael in silence for a few seconds, after which they laughed loudly. Through laughter and tears Drake said "Haha. Um.. Ha.. Michael, I didn't think you were so naive, the security service is really mostly acting in the bounds of decency, but a few bribes, a message to a few important people and voila, nobody else cares about the fate of the petty engineer and his family. "

Confused by the laughter of his friends, Michael just replied, "Okay, Okay, I get it, stop laughing, I don't think about Christina anymore."

Adam nodded "That's right, right now you should focus all your attention on learning and getting merit. You don't want to end your life as a simple engineer of a small ship that will patrol the distant borders. "

Hearing this, Michael shook his finger toward Adam "No no no and no. Tyler Gilmore came to us in one of the engine tuning classes. He is the chief engineer of [Aspiration], Tyler saw my skills and immediately invited me to his ship after completing my training. "

Drake said in surprise, "Were you invited to the [Aspiration] too? It turns out that we will both work on this ship. "

Michael also replied in surprise, "Looks like the two of us were lucky, who called you on the ship?"

Drake said, "Nobody called me. It's just that the teacher from my department appreciated my skills and he recommended me there, after a while I was accepted. "

Hearing the two of them, Adam sighed, "You two are really lucky to get on the same ship. Unfortunately, the training at my department will not end soon. At first I will enter the planetary defense army on one of the planets, and in a year I will be sent to some space battlefield. I think only after 2 years, I will be allowed to choose a place of service "

Drake patted his friend on the shoulder "As far as I know, there will be no major conflicts in the near future, so you will most likely be sent to destroy the bugs or you will join the colonialists, in any of these options, I do not think that you will be in any danger."

Michael nodded, "Yeah, and after 2 years, Drake and I on the Ship will definitely have the right to speak out. I think the Captain should not mind taking another soldier aboard the ship."

Adam smiled sadly, and then remembering Gordon asked "Gordon! We all pour out our souls here, and you sit silently. Have you already been sent somewhere? "

Gordon shook his head "I decided not to associate my career with the military sphere"

Drake, Michael and Adam opened their eyes wide "But you dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot in the navy, and then maybe even a pilot of a full-fledged spaceship"

Gordon shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes you need to change your dream so that life sparkles with new colors. Recently I realized that such total supervision strains me too much. I want to have power over myself. Even if I transferred to an officer, still someone would restrict me "

Michael shook his head. "I understand you in a way, but you are losing so many positive aspects. Achievements, influence, good money, career advancement, social security, etc. "

Drake agreed with Michael "No offense to you Gordon, but you're an orphan. You don't even have any support. Where will you go? It is unlikely that you will be happy to work as some kind of clerk or dig in the mines "

Adam thought about something and suddenly his face showed even greater shock "Do you really want to become a mercenary?"

Gordon smiled. "Not really. After graduating from the academy, I want to buy my own shuttle and start a carrier career. "

Drake looked at Gordon doubtfully. "Are you sure? Although I will not deny that if you are lucky, then you can really earn more than a pilot in the fleet, but it is worth considering the risks, as well as the moment that you do not have money for the ship "

Gordon nodded. "I've already considered this point. Some banks issue loans for small ships, and given the fact that I will graduate from the academy with honors and become the owner of a platinum medal, I think I will have no problems getting a loan "

Michael asked in surprise, "Platinum medal? Platinum is really expensive, but do you want to pledge your medal? Man, even I have never stooped to such a gamble "

Adam sighed, "Okay guys, we can't talk him out of it. I can see from his look that he has decided everything. Well, I wish you good luck and hope that you will succeed "

Michael and Drake also sympathetically wished the best and went about their own business.

Gordon smiled bitterly and lay down on his bed. He realized that such a gamble really has many risks, but given that he has such a system, it will really be easier for him to be a so-called freelancer.

While serving in the Navy, there will be no problem with obtaining scientific points, but there will be a problem with how to implement them. I think it will come as a surprise to the command that the pilot will begin to understand topics that far exceed his responsibilities and capabilities.

As his friends said, he clearly does not want to sit in offices or dig in mines, and while wandering through space and delivering various things, he can calmly explore the vastness of the unknown.

Sighing again, Gordon closed his eyes and, not paying attention to the surrounding bustle, plunged into a sweet dream.

About 2 months passed, Gordon, along with all the graduates of the military academy, stood in a wide square. Adhering to strict discipline, each cadet is like a bayonet that does not sway even when the wind blows.

Finally, after the solemn anthem of the Republic, the director of the Academy spoke up "Dear graduates. Today is a significant day for you. Today is the day when you stop being children and become real responsible people. "

"All of you have done a great job. Some are a little worse, and some have even exceeded our expectations. Let's greet them with me…. "

The director called the names of various people, after which these people went up to the podium, spoke a few words, received an award, and left.

Half an hour later, it was Gordon's turn.

"Finally, pilot cadet Gordon Stanfield, amazes even experienced fighter pilots with his skills. Please come up to me. "

Gordon walked quickly to the old man, who was waiting for him with a smile on his face. The old man shook hands with Gordon and said, "Congratulations, boy, on your achievement of the highest academy award."

After these words, the old man said into the microphone "Gordon distinguished himself in all tests, showing the highest piloting skills, as well as excellent theoretical knowledge. Therefore, by decision of the Academy Council, a unanimous decision was made to award Gordon the Platinum Medal and personal engraved weapon. Congratulations to our third prize-winner "

To loud applause, the old man stuck a round platinum medal on Gordon's chest, after which he handed him a rectangular box with a weapon lying on a velvet fabric.

The old man said sadly in words "Unfortunately, such a skilled pilot decided not to associate his career with the space fleet, but even so, we wish you all the best and success in your future adult life. Gordon, could you say some encouraging words for the first year and graduates of the academy? "

Gordon nodded, walked over to the microphone and spoke up "Many of you are looking forward to your upcoming adult life, some of you are thinking about how to pick up a beautiful girl or guy, and some are worried about your future after leaving the academy."

"To be honest, I also worry about my future, even more than you, but at one point, I realized two important things. First, this is that I do not want to associate my life with the army and second, no matter who I turn out to be in a year, 5 years or even 10 years, I still have to keep investing in myself. "

"Power, money, girls or even love - you can't get it just with a snap of your fingers or expecting that all this will fall from the sky. NO! All this requires knowledge, experience, skills. "

"And all this can be got by constantly investing in yourself. Be better, be stronger than your past!"

After completing his speech, the old man began to clap his hands, and with him, all the cadets. Bowing slightly to everyone, Gordon came down from the podium and, without waiting for the completion of the ceremony, went to his room.

Going inside, he first took off the medal and examined it. Shiny gray metal flat circle. The obverse is engraved with a spaceship that takes off from some planet. Along the edge was written the following "Medal for the completion of pilot training with honors. Gordon Stanfield cadet pilot 176 space year "

Putting the medal on the table, Gordon began to examine the personal weapon presented to him. The law on regulating weapons in different countries and colonies is quite different and depends on the general situation.

For example, in the Republic of Hens, and on the planet Krul 2, it is allowed to carry personal non-automatic weapons. Also, these weapons should not exceed certain size. In general, the population of the republic can safely carry only pistols in cities.

All cadets of the academy are required to take a shooting course and are also required to wear and take care of the weapons that are temporarily issued to them by the academy. And only after graduation, the most outstanding receive an award weapon, while the rest must part with their partner.

Gordon held a sleek, streamlined silver pistol. This is a fairly expensive energy weapon that can fire either lethal beams of energy or shock projectiles that can stun a person with 1 shot.

This pistol is convenient to shoot at close and medium distances. If you aim well, this weapon can even be fired at long distances. In addition, the damage inflicted by this weapon can penetrate a well-armored target.

Unfortunately, this pistol also has disadvantages. Besides the fact that this pistol is quite heavy 2kg, it is impossible to fire continuously with this weapon, since the cost of such powerful shots allows only 12 shots to be fired.

After exhausting the energy in the pistol, you need to either wait a minute until the weapon has completely cooled down, and the battery is recharged, or the user just needs to change the battery, which can be conveniently disconnected by simply pressing a button.

There is also an option to leave a supply of energy for 1 shot. In this case, it will only take half a minute to reload the pistol.

Having enjoyed the aesthetic look of the weapon, as well as the engraving with its initials G.S. with gold, Gordon finally [Analyzed] his weapon.

[Analysis done. Information about the pistol "Polaris Zet-13" has been received]

[Received 56 Science Points]

Quickly reading the information about the pistol, Gordon also noticed that the model of this pistol was modified, and instead of 1 minute or 30 seconds, it would take Gordon 40 seconds or 15 seconds to reload his pistol.