Andrew and Lanarine entered the command center only to be greeted by Nairin and both elves all of which had serious and worried faces.
Except Terelen, who looked serious and angry.
-It's good that you came, I was about to call you.
The student said.
-What's going on?
Andrew asked, momentarily focusing his whole attention on the young woman.
-You were right about the ship that the federation left us, the droids found a few explosive charges, placed throughout the ship and its cargo hold is full of explosives and ammunition.
If these charges go off, this station will be vaporized.
Nairin showed him the footage of the charges and the ordnance in the cargo hold.
Seeing the amount of explosives, rockets, high explosive shells, space mines, and even a few dozen torpedos, Andrew got frightened, but only for a moment.
Right the next second, fear was replaced by anger.
-Is their ship still in the system?
He asked, and Lan immediately checked the sensors.
-They already jumped away.
She said, seeing that the federation ship was already a few lightyears away.
-Damn it.
Andrew cursed.
If the federation ship was still in the system he could either negotiate or threaten them to disarm the explosives, but now they were on their own.
-We can try to disarm the charges.
Nairin suggested.
-That's one possibility, but seeing how much ordnance they prepared for this occasion, we have to assume that they anticipated this course of action and have a failsafe to prevent us from doing so.
Andrew said, in deep thought.
They needed to come up with a plan to save the station and if possible the ship as well, but they had no idea about the federation technology.
-I can tow it away from the station if you want.
Terelen said as it was the best idea he came up with at the moment.
-Perhaps it will be something to try, but until we know what triggers the detonation, it's better to leave the ship where it is.
Andrew said, grateful for the additional option.
After a few minutes of thinking about every possibility he could come up with, he decided to call Runir to help with this problem.
If it was possible, he wanted to give the two girls time to consider his words, but that seemed not possible at the moment.
Just as he was about to call her, Runir and Tarina entered the command center.
The Areini extended her hand, with a pistol she held by the barrel.
-We won't need this, and we would like to take your offer.
She said returning the weapon to Andrew.
The human was surprised that they decided this quickly, but he could think about that later as there was a more pressing matter at hand.
I'm glad to hear it, but we have a bit of a problem with the frigate the federation left us.
He said and proceeded to explain the issue.
-Can you show me the charges you found?
Runir asked.
It only took one look for her to recognize the devices.
-These are Ignis charges, don't try to defuse them, Any form of tampering will set them off.
She said immediately.
-Also don't try to undock or tow the ship away.
If their sensors detect the movement of the ship they will most likely detonate as well.
-Is there a way to deactivate them without blowing up the whole station?
Andrew asked.
-There might be a way but it's risky and if it fails, the charges will go off.
She answered after a moment of thought.
-Did you throw away the uniforms, that they ripped from us?
She suddenly asked.
-No, They should still be there, I forgot to send the cleaning droids earlier.
He said, not understanding the connection between the ripped uniforms and the bombs.
-Then we might still have a chance.
The girl said, and for the first time since she entered the command center, her eyes met the human's eyes and he saw a spark of determination in her gaze.
-What is your plan?
Andrew asked, having a sliver of hope that they might survive this without losing the station.
-First I need to know if we can even pull this off.
She said and looked at the elves.
-Do you have a matter converter on your ships?
-Yes we do, but why do you need it for?
Terelen asked but didn't receive an answer as runir already turned to Nairin.
-When we were on our way to docking module 1 we passed next to some guardian drones, can you find them and pull footage from them?
-Yes I can, but why?
The girl also asked.
-If there is footage of our uniforms, and the scraps that remained of them are still available, we might be able to synthesize new ones using the matter converters.
The remains of our old ones are needed as there are some identification markings and chips in them which we can't just synthesize.
Runir explained.
-I take it, that you need the uniforms, to deactivate the bombs.
Andrew deduced.
-Yes, the chances are slim, but if I'm right, then we can deactivate them.
She confirmed.
-And what if you're wrong?
Lan asked.
-Then this station will cease to exist, but you all can take the ships and evacuate before I attempt to disarm the explosives.
If I'm successful, you will be able to return, but if I fail, you will need to start from scratch.
-I thought that you changed your mind about committing suicide.
-I did, and this is not a suicide attempt, but a chance for us both to do something useful for everyone.
Hearing her answer, Andrew nodded.
-This is our best shot right now, so you can try it if We don't find a better idea before you are ready.
-There is no better idea, if you try to disarm them or undock the ship from the station and tow it, the charges will go off.
I was taught about them in the academy, they are used to stop the enemy forces from capturing the Federation ships and destroying anyone who would attempt it.
However, there is a mechanism in these charges that prevents them from detonating if the ship is retaken by the federation or at least there should be one.
Runir explained.
-Hey, if we can't tow the ship away, then why don't we tow the station away instead?
Nairin suddenly interrupted their conversation.
-What do you mean?
Andrew asked.
-I'm thinking about undocking a few modules to be left with the ship and moving the rest of the station to a safe distance, that way, the ship won't move or be undocked and we will be safe even if it explodes.
But it depends on how smart these bombs are, will they explode if we do something like that?
The young engineer asked.
-I never heard of anyone trying this approach so there should not be any failsafe to prevent that.
Runir answered after a moment of thought.
-In that case, we will attempt both plans, that way we have a better chance to get it done or at least we won't lose as much if it fails.
Andrew decided.
-Terelen, can you take the rest of the ladies to your ship?
-Yes, there is no problem with that.
-Great, Runir, how long will it take to get ready with your plan?
Andrew asked, facing her.
-We can start as soon as we have our new uniforms.
She answered.
-Then get to it.
-Nairin, call Ilia and explain the situation to her, tell her to prepare Aelita for transport in the tank if she doesn't wake up before we are ready.
After that pull out the footage from the drones, and prepare everything to separate the modules.
-I'm already on it.
The girl answered, already working on her tasks and contacting Iliana to inform her about the situation.
Everyone rushed to start the preparations for both plans to be implemented.
Fortunately, all the markings and identification chips in the ripped clothing survived and with the help of the footage from the drones, both Runir and Tarina had their new uniforms ready within an hour.
During this time, Aelita was transferred to Terelen's ship as it would take six hours before her metamorphosis was complete.
Along with her, all the other ladies were also evacuated and both merchant ships soon left, to reach the safe distance from the potential explosion and the station's parts it would send flying in all directions.
The only people left were Andrew, Tarina, and Runir, as they were needed to execute the plan.
While both ladies would go to the docking module, Andrew's task was to separate the modules and if it was successful, to move the station as far away as possible.
-Before we start, there is one more thing that needs to be done.
Runir said, right before they were going to start.
-We need you to deactivate the slavery chips, we will both be scanned to confirm our identity, and if the scan detects the chips it will be all over.
-Alright, chips 02 and 03 deactivate.
Andrew issued a command and both ladies felt the full control of their bodies returning to them.
-Thank you, and good luck.
Both ladies said at the same time before they left.