Chapter 36 Deal of a lifetime.

After discussing the matter they decided to deploy the relay around halfway between them and Lanarine's station and around 100 000 kilometers closer to the system's twin suns.

-That should keep it safe and out of the way of any incoming asteroids or ordnance in case of another firefight 

Andrew said once they programmed the coordinates into the device.

The relay had its own propulsion system and solar panels to keep it operational, so after they told it where to go it took care of the rest by itself.

-What are we going to do with the second one?

Aelita asked, observing the device on sensors.

-Well keep it as a spare, just in case this one gets damaged or destroyed.

Andrew answered from the command chair.

He was also observing the device's journey to its deployment point.

Thankfully, it was rather quick and within five hours it arrived at its destination.

The moment it activated its main system, Andrew connected to it and within a few minutes, he saw the whole system on the sensor display and an estimated time to scan the maximum range that would take around 20 hours.

The display was so clear now that he could see every station in the system with the ones that were still active highlighted.

-Well, now you can talk with the rest of the ladies in real-time, and I think that it would be a good idea to inform them about it.

Andrew said once he was sure that the relay worked properly.

Aelita nodded and got to it immediately, while he was looking at the resource gathering information.

In the last five days, he only built two modules, and two thousand drones, and didn't start any research but the storage units were still not full.

He was even worried a bit if they would be filled up before the merchant arrived the next day.

It was another reminder for him that he was thinking too small and needed to start thinking way bigger if he wanted to compete with the other station masters out there.

However, his station was the largest in the system, according to the new sensor display.

The second biggest was only around half the size and then it went down.

Curiously, Lanarine's station was in fourth place in the size comparison, and of course, the smallest one belonged to Aelita, but hers was now a part of his station so it didn't matter.

Thinking about it he took a look at his shopping list for the next day and contemplated tweaking it a bit with some more modules, but decided against it in the end as there was a possibility that there would be another kind of module available.

But that would have to wait for tomorrow.

Thinking about it he took a look at the time and it was already late into the night, but they were both so busy and excited that they forgot to get some rest.

-I'm going to sleep, if you want you can stay and chat a while longer but you should also get some rest.

He said and got up to leave the command center.

-I will follow you shortly, I just need to say goodnight to the other station masters.

Aelita said while typing on the keyboard.

-Ok.

Andrew said and left to take a shower and get some sleep.

When Aelita arrived around half an hour later he was already soundly asleep.

She climbed into the bed and the moment she lay her head on his chest he hugged her, which surprised her, but also made her happy.

It showed that he cared about her and wanted to protect her even while asleep.

With that thought, she closed her eyes and also fell asleep.

The next morning was their usual routine.

The only thing that changed was that Aelita was spending more time chatting with the other station masters, since now they didn't have any time lag in their conversations.

Andrew didn't mind, since they had nothing to do right now other than waiting for the merchant.

Unfortunately, his worries would come true, and the storage modules would not be filled before the ship arrived.

But that couldn't be helped for now as he simply didn't have enough drones and facilities for them at the moment.

That was one of the mistakes he intended to correct this time along with many others.

The Marchant arrived as usual but this time he had an even bigger and heavier armed ship than previously, it looked like a frigate class but Andrew wasn't sure about that since he had never seen a similar vessel.

If he remembered correctly this time it should be Terelen who was visiting, which was a good sign since they had seen each other already and the trade of the items should not be a problem.

-Greetings station masters.

The droid greeted them as usual.

-Greetings, can you contact your master and ask him if he is interested in a special deal?

Andrew asked, not waiting for the droid to ask about the materials.

The droid paused for a moment like it was thinking about something, but Andrew was sure that it was contacting Terelen.

-My master will come shortly, do you have materials to trade?

Just like that the machine returned to its standard protocol.

Andrew showed it the materials list and it started calculating the value of the materials which was a lot since he was selling over 20 000 tonnes of them.

-Station master, permission to come onboard?

A familiar voice asked before the droid finished its calculations.

-Permission granted.

Andrew said seeing a familiar short, green, elf.

-What is this special deal that you wanted to propose?

The elf asked, skipping the pleasantries.

-I think it would be easier to show you, follow me.

Andrew said.

-Aelita buy the modules and items from the list, and if you want something. don't hesitate to get it.

He said to the girl before he led the merchant to the storage module with all the crates.

-I will.

Aelita said before they left the command center.

-What's in the crates?

Terelen asked seeing the containers.

4 space armors.

400 Tier 4 level 2 regeneration solutions.

1 Rail cannon

20 AI chips

30 rounds for the rail cannon.

1 tier 4 level 2 regeneration tank.

Andrew recited the whole item list, omitting only the two relays.

-How did you get this?

The merchant asked surprised.

-There aren't supposed to be any items of such high tiers in this universe, at least for now.

The elf continued deep in thought.

-Well there are some and they are the special deal I want to propose.

Andrew said, trying his best to not react to the words this universe, as it seemed that there were multiple universes in a similar situation as theirs.

-Normally, I would have to confiscate these, but since you got them and moved them to your station then by the merchant law they belong to you.

Where did you get them from anyway?

-I salvaged them from the pirate ship I took out, you know the one that was hellbent on taking you out.

-Ok got it, then what's your proposition, I assume that you want to trade these items.

The elf said as that was the only logical conclusion.

-Yes I want to trade them, but not for credits, I want to trade them for Items I can use.

As you can see, most of the items here were not designed for my species so I want to exchange them, can you do that?

Andrew asked, he was not sure if the trader could do such trade.

-I can, but there are some restrictions on that and I can only give you tier 3 level 4 items at best, so you would lose a lot in this trade and I have no idea how to compensate for your loss.

The elf said.

-Then can you trade me some upgrades and modules I haven't done the research for yet?

Andrew asked, having an idea.

-I can and they will work, but you will need to do the research either way so it's not like you gain something from it.

The elf said, worried about the unfair deal as the merchant law forbade that kind of practice.

-That, 's where you are wrong.

Andrew said with a sad smile and told the merchant about his health issues that he needed to solve.

Hearing the story, the merchant figured out that it would be a great help for the human to get his hands on the tier 3 items and modules.

-I understand, now tell me what you need and I will try my best to accommodate you.

Terelen said.

-I want the tier 3 medical module with the highest-tier regeneration tank you can provide all the upgrades needed to use it and a supply of regeneration solutions for the tank.

For that, I propose this tank and all 400 solutions that I found and I'll even add my medical module since I won't be needing it with the new one.

The elf thought for a moment and consulted his tablet, looking over some data.

-Deal.

He finally said.

-But you can keep your module, I propose that you use it as a spare.

The elf grinned.

Andrew nodded.

-Now for the armor, I want to get a space armor for myself and another for Aelita, tier 3 ones would do just fine.

The human said.

-You are going to lose a lot, selling me four armors and only taking two in return.

The elf said.

-Then get one for Lanarine as well.

Andrew decided that it was better than nothing.

-Agreed.

The elf said while pushing some buttons on his tablet.

-Now for the railgun, it has 30 rounds, and it's made for ships, so I want to trade it for a workshop module.

Andrew said, remembering that Aelita wanted one of these.

-I can only give you a tier 2 module for that, but I will add all the upgrades, how does that sound?

Terelen asked.

 He started to like this human, mostly because he didn't make much fuss and did his best to keep the trade fair even to his detriment.

This was rare and Terelen's race valued such business partners.

-We have a deal.

Andrew answered.

-That only leaves the AI chips and the ship itself if you want it.

The human said.

-Before you even ask, I can't give you AI chips for the ones that you have.

This is something that you need to research yourself.

The elf said.

-Then what could you offer for the chips and the ship?

Andrew asked.

He was already happy with his gains from this deal, so anything useful was just a bonus.

-I'll offer you a rail gun module for the station and 10 tier two shield modules.

The elf offered.

This was a great deal, since he couldn't get the AI he would upgrade his defenses.

-Deal.

Andrew said.

-Great, then if you don't have anything more, I will take my leave.

The elf took two steps and stopped.

-Oh I nearly forgot, the modules will arrive with the ones that you will buy, but the items, will be brought during our next visit, is that alright?

The merchant asked.

-It's acceptable.

Andrew said, still more than happy with this deal.

One week sooner or later didn't mean much anymore as the regeneration tank he just bought would be able to heal him in one session so he could wait for it.

In the end, both elf and a human were convinced that they just made a deal of a lifetime