Travel through the galaxy

Essence is what made Edward realize, that he truly was in a different universe. He wasn't abducted and had a chance to return to Earth, but just awoke in a place where Earth doesn't exist.

Thus, he'll probably never again see his parents, family and friends. This was one of the most difficult things that he ever had to accept, as they might as well be dead.

And while he entertained the idea, that he might have died and is now in the afterlife, so he might meet them again. He knows, that this isn't the case. But not everything is bad about it, as a fledgling has to leave the nest eventually. This universe is the world outside of Edward his nest, thus he had to learn how to survive and even thrive. And to do that, he has to do things, that his family would never accept.

Just then the last of the Xenary Cruiser was taken down. Explosions and flames littered its hull, as the debris aimlessly drifted through space. Among them were the corpses of the Xenary. A reminder for Edward, that war is ruthless and painful, as well as profitable. With the battle being over and won, it was now time to discuss the contract.

Just like he expected, not even an hour after victory, he was called over to discuss with Admiral Yagun. Normally, the rewards of mercenaries would be discussed by their clients alone, but due to Edward's outstanding achievement, he had the right to participate. So leaving his gun and knife behind, as well as putting on the helmet, he followed behind the soldier that came to pick him up.

In the meantime, Yagun was finishing with the assessment of the battle. The battle over the Sograda Star System was an astounding Republican victory. And while they outnumbered and outgunned the Xenarians, the losses they took were minimal enough to be declared a great military achievement. Thus Yagun expected a raise, from admiral to fleet admiral. As he already acted as the fleet admiral in this battle, it would surely become his new rank. He however wasn't blind, and knew, that the military achievement was possible due to the unexpected capability of the young mercenary named Nebula Blue. Thus Yagun planned to reward him appropriately, to gain his favor and help in future battles.

"How much do you plan on giving him?" The vice admiral asked Yagun. He was a Krenorian from the planet of Ragan, an ocean planet. He had dark blue scales covering his body with fins alongside his arms and gills at his neck.

"Enough to satisfy him. While I know, that you Gregor, dislike mercenaries. You cannot deny, that having such a young man fight for the Republic would only benefit us." Yagun answered just in time before Gregor could repute him, as the mercenary entered the bridge.

The first thing that Edward did when standing in front of the admiral was a proper republican salute. With his right hand slightly above his right eye, legs together, a straightened back and his left arm behind it. 

"Nebula Blue, responding for duty, Sir." 

"At ease. Were you part of the Republican Army?" Yagun questioned the man in front of him. Imitating a soldier in front of an admiral shall only be done by active or previous soldiers. With the mercenary not being a soldier, Yaguns impression of the young man changed drastically. He also thought that Nebula Blue could be a deserter, worsening his opinion. 

Mercenaries had to follow certain rules placed upon them. One of the rules dictates, how they should act towards superior personnel of the army. They may use military language to speak, in order to show respect, but it has to be done alongside a mercenary salute. Which is similar to the republican salute, with the exception, that both arms should be held straight at the side of the waist.

But as Edward was a soldier, he was allowed to use the republican salute, in which he takes pride. To avoid further misunderstandings with the admiral, Edward responded. "I was part of the 113th army group under the command of General Vuscon, Sir."

"Then may I ask why you are acting as a mercenary?" 

"I was assigned garrison duties on Rexa II. The 113th army group acted as the first on duty, Sir."

Yagun was slightly stunned by the answer of the mercenary. After all, everyone in the Republican Army has heard of the Rexa II incident, better known as the Rexa Massacre. Where the there stationed army had to fight for 5 brutal days before support could be sent. During that time, over 90% of the army was massacred, with only a few strongholds left standing. Over 2 million lives were lost and the survivors were given the right to leave the army, as they went through hell and came back.

Gregor, who was sitting nearby ordered an officer to check the claims of the mercenary. While Yagun decided to discuss the achievement of the mercenary and the contract.

"We will verify your claims while discussing. Now tell me, how many ships of the Xenary have you taken down?"

"Only one, Sir."

"The cruiser. We have discussed the probability of your achievement, and we concluded, that while improbable, it's not impossible that you alone could take down the cruiser. No previous damage was given to the cruiser, so the achievement is solely yours. Thus we decided, that you will be paid 200.000 Credits and as a bonus, will have your previous starfighter refunded while keeping the Xenary Fighter. It will add up to 225.000 Credits, what do you say?"

225.000 Credits? Edward needed some time to let it sink in. It was more than he expected, but that was because there must be something behind it. The admiral probably wants to win his favor, maybe even loyalty. Whatever the reason may be, Edward will not decline the profit and let himself be guilt tripped.

"I am truly thankful for the payment and the bonus, Sir. Let the Republic live long and prosperous."

"The Credits will be sent over to your account. You may return to your quarter. There will be a mercenary transporter waiting at the Sevulla System, there the contract terminates."

After returning to his room, Edward finally had time to relax. He first removed his helmet and checked on the wounds. The feeling in his left arm returned a while ago, but there was occasional pain and weakness. Now they were fully healed, with the only reminder being the holes in the space armour. Next, he took off the armour as well, leaving him in a black full-body suit, while the armour compiled together to take less space and be easier to carry.

Lying down on the bed and watching the stars through the monitor, Edward drifted into a well deserved sleep, while waiting for the cruiser to reach the Sevulla System, which was about three hyperlanes away from the Sograda System.

But just an hour later, Edward was woken up by a knocking on the door. A soldier informed him, that they have reached Sevulla System. A lone blue star lay in the centre with only an asteroid belt and a starbase to offer company. 

The Starbase appeared to be made of two components. The top, which looked like an enormous flattened sphere, and the bottom, which looked like a cone. The top held various living spaces and military instruments, while the cone housed important life support machines. All around the starbase drifted various defensive platforms as well as ships, that use the starbase as their HQ.

Sevulla System was a so-called choke point that one has to go through if he wishes to reach other star systems. Thus it was of high military and economic importance, which explained the heavy armaments.

Among the various ships was a grey rectangular ship with various hangars and five enormous thrusters, that were nearly half its size. It was a mercenary transporter, with its only job being, to move starfighters as fast and cheaply as possible. Thus it was equipped with a weak hull and no weapons, but large engines and many hangars.

Edward, once again in armour, started the Xenary Starfighter that he had stolen and left the Republic Cruiser. His mission was accomplished and the money earned, now he just had to get back home. Next to him, various other starfighters made their way towards the transporter. They were a randomized bunch, with some being faster, some larger and some bulkier. From the viewpoint of the transporter, it was like a swarm of different shaped and coloured starfighters made their way towards them. Each of the starfighters got assigned to a hangar and landing space, making it possible to fit as many as possible.

In the hangars, various members of the ground crew were showing every mercenary their assigned space. Every one of them was wearing a spacesuit and walked with the help of magnetized boots. The Transporter had only a little oxygen, mostly just in the living space, and no artificial gravity. This also meant, that mercenaries either had to go to special rooms where they could breathe, or stay in their fighter and wait until they reached the enclave.

Edward decided to wait in the Xenary Starfighter, as it had an interior space instead of just a cockpit. Even thou the chair was uncomfortable, as it wasn't made for humans, lying down sideways could elevate the problem, thus Edward tried to once again get a bit of sleep. After all, now the worst part of mercenary work began, the long way back to the enclave, which could last up to 12 hours.

The reason why space travel takes so long is simple. Space is vast, and moving from one system to the other can take several years, unless one uses hyperlanes. They are a special space in between systems, that are of lesser density compared to other places and thus it is possible to travel at FTL speed. But the entrances to the hyperlanes are fixed at their coordinates, thus a spaceship moves in FTL through the hyperlanes, and then has to travel to the next hyperlane at their sublight speed. This takes up the majority of the time, as travelling in FTL speed takes up five to ten minutes, while travelling through a system can go from as short as 15 minutes to even an hour.

Thus going through three hyperlanes took about an hour, but to reach the mercenary enclave from Sevulla Systems, it requires one to take over 50 hyperlanes. So, while the mercenary transporter is faster than the Republic Cruiser, it may still take about 12 hours.

Edward spent the time mostly sleeping, but he had to eat something in between, which was the only time he left the Starfighter. One of the rooms with oxygen was a lounge on the upper decks, where food could be bought while enjoying the view of the galaxy. The food was just a grey-coloured nutrient sludge that cost half a credit. It is the most commonly available food that can last someone for a day. Edward likes to compare it with something like a kebab, thou way less tasty, but probably healthier. Edward also uses the price of the nutrient sludge to determine the value of a credit, as it was too bothersome for him to learn galactic economy to determine it. So simply said, food that he calls Workers-Food costs about half a Credit in the galaxy, while on Earth it costs about five dollars. Thus one Credit should be as valuable as ten dollars, meaning that Edward, who earned 225.000 Credits, could be considered a millionaire.

"I should have enough to live a simple life. But there's no way I could do that. After all, I want to be powerful, so 200,000 credits is just the beginning. I will be satisfied once I reach a billion credits!"