While Aelita and Jalina were busy refueling the other two generators needed to activate the shipyard's defenses.
Andrew returned to the ship with Arien and went back to the station.
The moment he entered the command center, all the ladies wanted to give him a report at once.
-Calm down, allo of you.
He said, quieting them down as he was unable to understand what they were trying to say.
-Lan, how far out are our guests?
He asked.
They will arrive within four hours, and there is no chance that they are not coming for us.
Their course will bring them right here.
Lanarine said.
-Nairin, what's the status of our defenses?
-It's green across the board, but I have no idea if we can take on this many ships at once.
What's more, I finished going through the maintenance logs of the heavy frigates, and they were in worse shape than we originally thought; their main weapons were off-line, their shields were at half strength at most and their other systems were wrecked, that's why it took them so long to get here and why theu got defeated so easily.
She reported everything.
-That may be true, but we also didn't use our full strength against them, and now we have even more fighters.
Andrew tried to calm her down.
He knew the implications of these discoveries but didn't let them cloud his judgment.
-Sarill, were there any communications from the incoming fleet?
He turned to the comms console.
-No, there was none. Should I hail them?
-Not yet.
-Runir, status of the fleet?
Andrew asked another question.
-Both warships are ready to go, the same with all the fighters, and we have 26 gunships converted for railguns in the system, which are also ready to go.
She reported.
Andrew nodded with approval at her report.
-Tarina, what's your take on this situation?
He turned to the diplomat.
-I can only think of three things they might want from us since they are Adurians.
The first and most obvious is Iliana, followed by the corvette and its drones, and the last one might be the pilot that was sent to the merchant's guild.
Tanira stated.
-It might be all of these or only one.
We won't know unless we contact them.
She shrugged.
-Very good.
Andrew praised everyone.
- Send 50 battle droids to the shipyard, along with 50 guardian drones for good measure.
Add weapons and armor for Aelita and Jalina, who will be staying there for the time being.
Andrew ordered, and soon the droids, along with the drones, were being transported by gunships to the shipyard.
Sarill, open a channel to the incoming ships.
Lets find out what they are after this time.
Andrew said, sitting in the command chair.
She immediately sent hails to the ships, and too her surprise, they answered almost immediately, like they were waiting for this.
An Adurian male's face showed up on the main screen.
-This is system master Andrew Eagle. You are approaching my territory; state your business and affiliation.
Andrew said, adding the affiliation part at the last moment, as there was a small chance that these guys had nothing to do with the Muret guy.
-Greetings, System Master.
I'm Captain Rodill from the Adurian Council Space Navy.
We are approaching your territory acting on orders given to us by Lord Muret.
Our objective is to retrieve Lady Iliana and pilot second class Idara, whom we believe are in your care, along with the two ships that are the property of the Adurian Navy.
The captain said calmly, like he didn't just utter the most ridiculous demand Andrew had ever heard.
-We hope that you will cooperate with us in these matters, if not for any other reason than to avoid unplesantries.
The Adurian added a moment later.
Andrew almost laughed in his face, hearing their demands and threats.
-First of all, captain, there is only one ship as the other one was destroyed by it's pilot.
Idara is also not in my as you called it, care.
She was taken by the merchant's guild for questioning.
As for the Drone control corvette and Iliana, they are here, but I have no intention of giving them away to anyone, so you might want to turn around and get back to wherever it is you came from.
He responded to the captain's words.
-System Master, do you want to cause yourself trouble, especially with the invasion fast approaching?
The captain asked, not changing his calm tone for even a moment.
-The question is, do you really want to lose a fleet while getting nothing in return?
Andrew answered with his own question, and it was the first time he saw Rodill lose his calm composure.
-That's a fine joke.
Do you really think that there is a chance of you destroying ten warships with what you have?
What's more, do you want to risk it all for a woman and a ship?
The captain's voice was now amused.
-I assure you, captain, that I can take down your fleet.
As for doing so for a woman and a ship, they both belong to me now, and no one will take anything that's mine without my permission.
With that said, it's time for you to decide if you want to die a meaningless death over the orders that you can't carry out.
Or will you listen to what I said and go back?
The choice is yours, captain and I hope you will choose wisely.
Andrew said before ending the connection.
-What do you think, Ilia?
Will they turn back?
He asked, startling the woman standing behind his chair.
-How did you know I came here?
She asked, wondering if he had the same kind of gift she did.
-You smell like the medical module, since you are always coupt up in there.
He answered, surprising her.
-I have no idea if they will go back, but I'd like to ask you to spare as many of them as possible if they dont.
She answered his question, deciding not to go deeper into the topic of her smell.
-Is there a reason I should spare them if they attack us?
Andrew asked, a bit surprised at the request.
-Yes, there is.
Rodill is my friend's brother, and I dont want him to die if it can be helped.
Additionally, the crews of these ships are simply carrying out their orders, and I see no reason to kill them all because of that.
She answered.
-Then maybe you would like to try and order them to stand down?
That way, we can avoid conflict altogether.
The human suggested.
-I'd love to do so, but they won't listen to me.
Their orders come from Muret, which means that he used the council's influence to send them on this mission.
Even I can't order them to stand down.
The only one capable of that is the head of the council.
Ilia explained.
-Since that's the case, and I dont see them changing course, dont blame me if they get killed, but I'll try to avoid killing them all if it's possible.
Andrew promised.
-Thank you.
-Dont mention it, but what will you do with them once they are captured?
-If you manage to capture them, then they will become your prisoners, and as the member of the highest cast here, I will be able to order them to serve you.
That way, they will survive and you will have some more ship crews to man the ships.
-Will they listen to you?
-They will, especially if you manage to capture them.
Remember what happened when Idara saw my mark?
-Yeah, she became much more cooperative.
Andrew answered.
-That's putting it mildly, but the same rules apply to these guys, so the moment you capture them, they will all belong to you.
It would also help if you could disable their ships instead of blowing them up.
Iliana explained, seeing that Andrew agreed to her request.
-Like I said, I'll try to capture at least some of them.
As for their ships, I would also like to add them to our fleet, but I don't think we can simply disable them all.
That is if we can even disable them at all.
Also, if at any moment, the station is at risk of losing shields, I'm going to wipe them out.
Andrew warned her.
He was willing to give them a chance at her request, but not if it meant putting the station at risk.