It took a while for Tarina to calm down, and Andrew waited patiently for this moment as he needed her input on the matter of the federation.
-What do you think they will do now?
He asked, once she was calm and could think rationally again.
-To be honest, I have no clue.
Sha shrugged.
-Sending these ships here, only to capture me, Runir, Nairin, and Aelita, makes no sense at all if they have so much trouble maintaining their fleets.
Two engineers, no matter how skilled, can't change this situation, and executing Me and Runir would gain them nothing since we are already exiles.
The only thing I can think of that would truly benefit them is to take back the frigate and capture the corvette class ships that we have.
But if they are so desperate that they would resort to this, their situation must be truly desperate.
The diplomat answered.
-I would have to ask Runir about it, but the whole thing about plundering the station is also suspicious.
As far as I know, there was not one case of plundering by the federation's fleet in the last 150 years or so.
She explained her doubts.
-The more I think about this, the more it looks like someone or something is influencing the federation to go against us, but that's impossible; there is no way that they would allow themselves to be used like this.
Not to mention that if someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes, they would have to be powerful enough to subdue the whole federation, which would make them more than powerful enough to deal with us without even breaking a sweat.
Considering all that, it makes no sense to use the federation to deal with us, and as far as I know, we didn't piss off anyone this powerfull, or we would most likely be dead by now.
-Well, there is also the possibility that someone acted on their own accord by sending these ships, but I can't see any motive that would justify doing so.
Andrew said, considering every possibility, no matter how unlikely they were.
-Guys, if you are looking for the one responsible for sending them here, then it's Minister Darge.
Nairin interrupted their discussion pointing at the screen where she found the signature under the order itself.
Both Tarina and Andre felt stupid at the moment, for not realizing that an order had to be signed.
-This explains who did it, but why did he do it?
The diplomat asked, unable to find a reasonable explanation for such action.
-I doubt that we can figure that out without asking him directly, and even then, I doubt that he would tell us the reason.
Andrew said.
-Did you find any more useful data so far?
He asked Nairin.
-I have found a list of their ships, if that's of any use.
She said, opening the file.
Seeing the content of the file made Andrew turn pale.
The federation even now had over three thousand ships at their disposal, ranging from corvette class all the way to heavy cruisers.
Fortunately for them, the federation didn't have the personnel to man this many vessels at the time, but it would be only a matter of time before they gathered enough of their people to do so.
The other factor in all of this, preventing the federation from sending more ships their way, was the fact that they had enemies close by with not much weaker fleets, and there was also the small matter of the invasion, which was due to start in a few days.
So the three heavy frigates were most likely all they could spare for the moment.
Then, Andrew saw a file with the crew list of the ship; this data was pulled off.
He opened it and was shocked once more.
-Is this some kind of twisted joke?
He asked, not expecting an answer.
When he saw the age of the crew and their ranks, everything clicked into place.
These were not crews from the federation navy; these were cadets from their academies that were about to graduate, before they were all scattered.
-Did we just slaughter three ships' worth of cadets?
Tarina asked in a trembling voice as most of these people were not much older than she was.
-It looks like it.
Andrew confirmed in a grim tone.
Then he opened the captain's log once again and went back a few days, only to discover that this was their first mission, and it was also their final exam.
This confirmed everything he suspected the moment he opened the crew list.
These guys were so arrogant because they didn't even graduate and had no idea about the reality of serving on a ship.
They made almost every mistake they could have made because they had no experience in real combat, and their heads were filled with the indoctrination that everyone was beneath them, making them view Andrew and his people as not much more than animals and expecting them to bow to them once they arrived in the system.
This also explains their panic once they were under fire and the delay in returning fire.
Considering all that, the fact that they shot down 16 fighters and took out almost 40 battle droids showed their potential that was now lost forever.
-This bastard sent them on a suicide mission, but I can't figure out why he would do something like this.
Andrew finally said with a sigh.
There was nothing he could about it now.
-Would they have surrendered if I offered it to them once they lost their shields?
He asked Tarina.
She only shook her head.
-Federation academies teach that it's better to die in battle than to dishonor the family, the academy, the navy, and the whole race by getting captured.
This was all he needed to know, and the feeling of guilt he felt at the moment vanished as it was kill or be killed situastion.
-I know that this might not be the right time to ask, but why are you and Runir still alive if this is what you were thought?
Nairin asked, as shaken at the discovery as her companions.
-It's ok, and the reason is that we still had a task to accomplish, which is the only exemption from this rule.
Then, when we were exiled, we received poison in one of the three envelopes, to end ourselves, but Andrew intervened and gave us a new reason to live for, and we took the chance; we had nothing more to lose at that point.
Tarina explained, barely able to believe that not too long ago she had wanted to kill herself for no other reason than that she was exiled.
Only now did it fully sink in that the federation never cared for her, Runir, or anyone else for that matter, and the best proof was the three ship crews of cadets that were more or less sent to their deaths.
These were the cadets that were meant to be the future captains and admirals, and now they were all dead because of some stupid order that made no sense at all.
The three of them spent the next hour going through the downloaded files, but anything older than two weeks ago was from before the event, and the only thing they found of value was the starmap showing the way to the federation and containing all the data on their territories.
When they were done, Andrew informed everyone about their discoveries.
The reactions were mixed, but most of the people were terrified at what they had just done and disgusted with the federation for forcing them to do it.
Luckily, everyone got over it rather quickly, as there was nothing they could do about it now, and they also had other things to worry about, as they were nowhere close to being ready for the invasion, and their time was running out.
On this note, Andrew was surprised that they didn't see any refugee ships till now since the intel he got from the merchant said that they would start showing up at any moment.
However, this was the least of his worries, as he had to finish helping with establishing the two stations and build another one before the invasion started, while at the same time, expanding his own station and trying to start building a fleet.