Due to Aelita's condition, the crate opening was postponed, as Andrew knew that it was one of her favorite activities.
The merchant was not too happy about it, but she understood the reason and agreed to wait.
With Iliana watching over Aelita, Andrew got back to work.
Other than going to the command center once in a while, and visiting Aelita, he spent the rest of his time in the design module, working on some adjustments to the station.
Two days passed like that, with nothing noteworthy happening.
-Ladies, please vacate this module.
Andrew said as soon as he entered the command center on the morning of the third day.
-Why? What's going on?
Lanarine asked, confused by his sudden request.
-Because it will be rebuilt along with the combat control module.
He dropped the bombshell, surprising everyone present.
-For the next three hours, if you want to continue your work, you'll need to do it directly from the modules that you need for it.
Or you can just take a break.
He said while uploading the new design to the construction and repair drones.
-Either way, you have exactly 5 minutes to leave the module, before the drones take it apart.
Andrew said activating the timer and leaving the module.
What he wanted to do was to merge the command module and the combat control module, to make them more practical and remove the need for relocating every time there was a battle.
The idea was a good one and it only took him 2 days to design the new module, by using the blueprints and holo projection of both modules to figure out the way to merge them into one.
Andrew thought that it would be harder to do, but it turned out that the design programming was mostly automated and all he needed to do was to rearrange both modules and merge them on the holo display.
Then the program took over and started to run simulations, suggesting adjustments to the design.
If one knew what they were doing, the whole design could be done in a few minutes, but since Andrew was a total amateur, it took him two days to finally get the design that he liked and the system accepted without any suggestions.
Neither Lanarine nor Nairin complained and they just left, one moving with her work to the sensor module, while the other went to the Hangar 1 to watch the droids repair the pirate's ships.
Once the time was out, the construction drones disconnected both modules, and the repair drones started to disassemble them, removing every part.
The whole thing took around an hour, and then the reassembly prowess started.
The two modules were now being rebuilt into one and there were some additions that Andrew made into the design.
The main one was that, other than the command chair, the rest of the stations were designed to stand or their seats were uncomfortable.
So he added new comfy chairs to each station, and he also changed the layout of the consoles, moving the most important ones closer to the command chair, while at the same time, giving everyone some additional space to move around.
The last two additions were the space suit compartments and weapons compartments, he placed in the new module.
Andrew was seriously contemplating adding the armory compartment to the new module but decided against it in the end as there was only minimal chance of them being boarded again, considering all the station defenses.
Instead, he added a food storage compartment and docked the sanitation module right next to the new command center.
The last addition was the living quarters module, which was also docked to the new command center.
Three hours later the new module was connected to the station and it looked even better than Andrew had thought.
-This is great.
Lan said the moment she sat in her new station and rotated in her chair.
-It really is a big improvement.
Nairin commented, walking around their new command center and looking at all the stations and additional compartments.
-I'm glad you like it.
Andrew smiled, hearing their approval.
Other than working on the new command center, he also kept his promise to Sarill and Jalina, buying them their own education modules.
He could have just told them to use the one he already had, but he wanted them to learn the knowledge from their homeworlds.
In the end, he had no idea if the creators, won't get the bright idea to send them all back home, one day.
There were still a few hours left before Aelita finished her transformation or whatever that was, so Andrew decided to kill some time by going back into the education module and tackling more martial arts scenarios as he neglected this aspect lately.
However half an hour into his session, he received a call from Lanarine.
-Andrew, we have three ships incoming, one of them is Terelen, but I have no clue who the other two are.
The Dranixian luitenent informed him.
-I'm on my way.
Andrew deactivated the scenario he was currently trying to clear and rushed to the command center.
When he arrived, Lanarine, Nairin, and Tanera were there.
The young engineer was still wearing her workout clothes, showing that she also rushed there when she was informed about the situation.
The girl was doing her best to fill in for Aelita while she was in the regeneration tank, and Andrew was more than happy with her performance.
Additionally, Sarill and Jalina came a moment after he did, to see if there was anything they could help with.
Seeing their willingness to be useful, Andrew delegated Sarill to the weapons console and Jalina to the communications.
He also told Tanera to take the second command chair, placed on his right side, which she happily agreed to.
With that done, he took a look at the data displayed on the tactical map placed right in front of him.
Three ships were indeed coming, and one of them was an elf who was too early for his scheduled visit, while the other two ships were of an unknown design.
-Rise shields.
Andrew said, calmly.
He refrained from powering the weapons systems for now.
Nairin immediately activated the shields and cut power to anything that was not essential, in case she needed to recharge the shields.
This was one of the first things Aelita had taught her to do in case she was indisposed.
-Jalina, hail Terelen, let's see what's going on.
He ordered and the young woman did as he asked.
Andrew could have done it himself and it would be much faster since she was struggling with the controls for a moment before she found the right ones.
However, he decided to be patient as this was her first time using them in a real situation so she was a bit stressed about it.
Additionally, it was a good learning experience for her, and they had the time so there was no need for haste.
-Chanel opened.
She finally said after a moment of struggling with the controls.
-Thank you.
He smiled at her, making her a bit calmer as she expected to be reprimanded for taking so long.
-Terelen this is Andrew, what's going on? And who are your companions?
The human asked, a moment later.
-Sorry for the unannounced visit, but I was ordered by the guild to come earlier and to bring these two ships with me.
They are from the Five Races Federation and apparently, they have some business with you.
The merchant said over the comms, his voice apologetic.
-No problem, I just hope it won't end up like last time.
Andrew said, reminding him of the incident from a week ago.
-It shouldn't, these guys gave the guild a guarantee that they won't start any trouble with you.
As far as I know, they just want to conduct whatever business they have with you and leave.
-And what's the guarantee?
Andrew asked, curious about what they offered to have the merchant bring them here.
-Their access to the merchant guild, if they start any trouble, they will permanently lose the right to trade with the guild, and you should know that it is a great blow to anyone even at this stage.
Andrew gasped, hearing about the guarantee.
Nobody would willingly lose the possibility of trading with the merchants as it would leave them far behind everybody else.
-Oh, and the penalty for making trouble is not restricted to these two ships and their home systems, it's for the whole federation.
Terelen added after a moment of silence like he just remembered about it.
This surprised him even more as this was a harsh penalty that would most likely result in the destruction of the federation further down the line.
-Alright I get it, so what do they want?
Andrew asked, despite knowing that there was only one thing they could want from him.
-That I was not told, but they insisted on meeting you personally and discussing the deal face to face.
It has something to do with their diplomatic etiquette or something.
The elf answered.
-Alright, I'll see what they want when you get here, see you then.
Andrew said, cutting the conversation short.
-See you shortly.
Terelen said before closing the channel.
-Runir, Tarina, come to the command center as soon as possible.
He activated his comms bracelet right after the communication with Terelen had ended.
The two girls arrived a few moments later.
They were surprised by the summons to the command center but they had no other choice than to obey.
-Why did you call us for?
Runir asked once they arrived.
-We have two federation ships coming here with the merchant, and I want to know if the federation diplomatic etiquette requires a face-to-face meeting.
Andrew explained the situation.
Both girls were surprised at this development.
-Yes, the etiquette requires a personal meeting for the most important negotiations.
The lesser issues are usually taken care of through the communication channels as it would be wasteful to go back and forth for some minor issues.
Tarina answered his question, hoping that her cooperation would make things a bit easier for the negotiations.
In the end, if everything went smoothly, they might get out of here along with her holiness or at the very least get Tibrana out of here.
-Thank you.
Andrew nodded appreciatively at her cooperation.
-If you are interested, the ships will arrive in about an hour, so you can go tell Tibrana about it.
He said, allowing them to live, which they did, and just as he predicted they went straight to Tabrina's module to inform her about everything.
-Chip 07, decrease control to level 3.
Andrew said to his comms bracelet.
-Thank you.
A moment later, he received this short message from the girl.
This surprised him.
-Did she learn some humility?
He thought to himself but soon focused on the incoming ships again, trying to come up with a plan for every eventuality.