For the next three days, Avery's team continued to dismantle the pirates base without any interruption.

Ezra, Kasandra, Burke, and Liesel were periodically leading teams out to monitor the situation, but it seemed that the corrupt Alliance Police officers that wanted to silence them had been content with waiting until they made a move to leave.

At least they had been for some time. But on the fourth day of holding out for Avery's team to leave, the commander in charge became impatient.

Though she had several of her closest captains in on the illicit deal with the pirates, there were still other captains in the system that were upright and had no idea what their boss was up to.

However, if too much time passed, they might start sticking their noses into the "pirate" situation that their superior claimed she was dealing with.

If that happened, the chance that she and her collaborators were found out would increase. Though truthfully, she was already beaten thanks to the transmissions that Kasandra and Jasmine had sent out, she just did not know it yet.

"They don't want to let me sleep, do they." Avery groaned as he forced himself up.

Only a couple of hours into his rest on the fourth day his team had been occupying the pirate base, the unscrupulous Alliance Police officers made their move.

Tired of waiting, the commander had ordered the cruisers and destroyers to begin blasting their way through the asteroid field while the frigates and corvettes weaved their way through from multiple angles to try and prevent anyone from escaping.

And while this might have had most pirates shaking their boots, Avery was hardly worried. At most he was annoyed that his rest had been interrupted.

Entering the Dauntless' cockpit, he found Jasmine already there and just turning on the power at her station.

"Go ahead and get a call connected with the others. I start up the ship and get ready to launch."

His hands typing away, Avery initiated a quick diagnostic to make sure that all of the Dauntless' systems were working, and when everything came back green, he started up the engine and separated from the pirates' bases' airlock.

From the moment that the Alliance Police in this system had taken action against them, Avery's team had been ready to depart at a moment's notice.

"Okay, I've contacted everyone and they're ready now." Jasmine said, waiting for Avery's go ahead to bring the call up on the viewscreen.

He nodded his head to her and with the press of the button, live feeds from Kasandra's, Ezra's, Kaiden's, Liesel's, and Olivia's ships were displayed in equal sizes.

Though they had already discussed their plans broadly, now that the Alliance Police that wanted to silence them were making a move, it was necessary to pick the best path and act quickly.

"I think that going between these two frigates will be our safest option. The asteroids are densest here, and they are far enough away from the more maneuverable corvettes that we should be able to slip by before any support can arrive." Ezra said, highlighting the route he had chosen on the map of the asteroid field.

"That's true, but that area is a bit closer than I would like to the cruisers and destroyers. It's possible that they would open fire on us during the engagement with the frigates. They're weapons have a long range and enough firepower to destroy some of our group's weaker ships in one hit."

Kasandra countered Ezra's idea with her own, picking a path that would take them as far away from where the heavy hitting vessels were approaching from.

However, this had its own issues.

They would still be passing by an area where two frigates would be able to close in on them before they could escape, and the corvettes that were a part of the enemy force would likely be able to reach them while they were busy dealing with the frigates.

'The real problem is that their commander is not a complete fool. She set up their formation well so that it was as strong as possible with the forces at her disposal. And we don't have much longer to deliberate. If the cruisers and destroyers reach us, we'll be in for the fight of our lives.'

Avery pondered the best option for as long as he could, but the moment that the last member of his team that had been on duty taking the base apart was back onboard their vessel, he had to make a decision.

"We're going to prioritize getting away as quickly as possible. That means slipping through the route that Ezra chose. It does run some risks of us coming in contact with enemies' big guns, but I think our best bet is to take that chance. If it comes down to it, I'll personally lead a team to distract them. Now, everyone do your last checks and get ready to leave." Avery said confidently and commandingly.

Once he had ended the call, Avery personally contacted Kaiden to give him a specific mission.

"But you're going to need me during the battle. The ship I've got right now may not be specialized for battle, but it's still got some of the strongest firepower we've got just because it's a corvette."

"All that's true, but your vessel's real specialty is in its stealth capabilities. While you may not be able to do a sneak attack, slipping past their sensors should just be possible. We already know that that ship your commanding can get by the Alliance Police undetected if you outside of a certain range. You'll be able to escape without being noticed. And there's something that ire ally need you to do."

Although Kaiden looked upset about not being a part of the action, he understood that his assignment was of paramount importance. Depending on how things developed, it could completely change the outcome.

"Fine, I'll do it." Kaiden said begrudgingly before ending the call.

"He's really doing his best to change."

"Yes, it seems that being put in command of a crew of his own has been good for him." Jasmine said, nodding her head in agreement.

Before, Kaiden would have argued more fiercely and might have even decided to act rashly on his own. Now, however, he had a better understanding about what it meant to be a leader, and in turn understood and accepted Avery's orders more easily.

With everyone ready, Avery had Ezra lead the way since he had chosen this path while he took up the rear. This way if it came down to it, he could immediately cover them from behind if it proved necessary.

"I just wish that we could have saved all of them. What if that rotten commander and her cronies blow up the base?"

Jasmine looked back at the large carved out asteroid as it quickly became smaller in the rear view displayed on her console.

Avery's team did not have enough space for all of the pirates' captives and had left the ones in stasis pods behind.

Jasmine's hands were clenched tightly, and her eyes burned with a fierce anger. As a former member of the Alliance Police, she could not stand to see members of the force meant to uphold the law becoming just as bad as the criminals they were supposed to fight.

"We brought all those that we could. All we can do is hope that they prioritize us and don't target the base."

'For those left onboard and for our profits.' Avery thought, as his team zipped through the asteroid field.