Chapter 62 20 ships.

The rest of the day went by peacefully, with all three occupants of the station doing their own thing.

Lanarine was scanning the asteroids and this time she chose to have a go at the biggest one she had ever tried to scan.

Iliana on the other hand was cooped up in the medical module, reading everything she could find about Humans, Cheroni, and Dranixians.

She was also the most surprised, that the human who was now her master, kept his word and allowed her to be the station's doctor, not requiring anything from her, other than her doing her job, which suited her just fine as medicine was her greatest passion.

Andrew on the other hand was busy with the virtual training, doing his best to clear the whole 200 scenarios meant for Aikido training.

The scenario's difficulty rose along with the number of scenarios he had accomplished, and with difficulty also rose the number of the opponents and their skill levels.

The next morning, Lanarine called Andrew to the command center.

-The fleet commander and the diplomat had joined together, and are continuing on their way here, they should arrive tomorrow morning.

She said and showed him the sensor data.

-Good, I will be ready for them, when they arrive.

Andrew said, confidently.

-However, we might have a problem soon.

Lan displayed the long-range data from their surroundings.

-At least twenty ships are coming our way, and the first ones will arrive at the same time as the diplomat and the fleet commander.

She explained.

Andrew studied the scan data and saw three groups of ships coming their way.

The first group was comprised of 4 ships, the second one had 7 and the last one had 9.

-If they all arrive at once, we will be in trouble, but if they arrive one group at a time, we can win this.

He said, already planning how to take care of the enemies.

The first group would not pose any threat, but the other two were a different story, especially since he could not replenish his ammunition before the merchant arrived.

-Contact the two of them and tell them that they need to either get here as fast as possible, or they need to stay clear of the station for now.

Andrew said, knowing that if they got into the middle of a firefight between his station and the pirates, they would most likely get ripped apart.

Lanarine didn't waste any time and immediately contacted the two ladies.

-What happened? Why are you calling?

The diplomat asked the moment she answered the hail.

-We have 20 ships coming this way and the first 4 will be here at almost the same time, you two will reach the station.

So either turn back and get some distance, or abandon the stations for now and get here as fast as you can in a few modules that will keep you alive.

Lanarine explained their options.

-What?

Where did this come from?

The fleet commander asked.

-While doing the scan I also got my eye on the surrounding area and that's how I detected them, we don't have a lot of time so you need to decide quickly.

I don't want to have you two stuck in the middle of a firefight with the pirates.

Lan said.

-Wait, you intend to fight them?

The diplomat asked, not believing what she just heard.

-Yes, there is no other choice, whether they take this station or destroy it, we are next and there is no way in hell we can defend ourselves against them if we lose this station.

She said, not even thinking about it.

-I'm transferring all the cannons from mine and doctor's stations to this one along with all the shield modules and power modules, to increase our chances.

-Alright, we will dich our stations and come to you as fast as we can.

-I'll have drones ready to catch you the moment you are in range, if my math is correct, you should be able to reach this station in less than 12 hours if you use the maximum trust of your drones to gain speed.

-Alright, we need to get to work now, see you in 12 hours.

The diplomat said and closed the connection.

-Good job.

Andrew said.

-It's not over yet, I need to call the student and tell her what is going on.

Lan said, initiating the call.

-Could you start transferring the modules?

She asked him before the connection was established.

He only nodded and went to work.

The additional cannons would be useful as well as the shield generator modules, but the solar power modules were not exactly needed, considering that the first generators were being fabricated at the moment and he would soon have more than enough power.

Lan's station had 12 cannons, while Iliana's had 8 of them, which was quite the number when added to his 48.

Additionally, he took all 85 shield modules from their stations as well as the hydroponics modules of which both of them had 2 each, their beginning modules were also taken along with their personal storage modules of which they had one each.

Andrew thought about taking the rest of their modules but decided against it.

Not that he didn't have the time for it, but he decided that if need be, he could use the two stations as a shield.

Lanarine and Iliana were not happy with this idea but ultimately, they agreed that it might be necessary and they were pleased that he at least took the most important modules from them.

With this, they were as ready as they could ever be to warmly greet the incoming pirates.

-Do we even stand a chance of defeating them all?

Iliana asked when she was informed about everything.

-I can't promise that, but we have a way better chance than trying to surrender to them.

In the end, I destroyed a few of their ships, and I doubt they will just let that slide.

Andrew said.

If he still only had one railgun, then they would be destroyed by the second or third group, but since he now had 4 of them, they stood a chance, but only if no more pirates were coming after the three groups.

-They sure picked a moment to show up.

Lanarine said, trying to hide her fear.

-Yes they did, and you did a great job detecting them.

Andrew praised her, then turned to the doctor.

-How are the stimulants I asked for coming along?

-It will take at least two more hours to produce them since they are all for different species, and this time I did the simulations, they are safe for all of us.

Iliana said.

Andrew asked her for stimulants since neither of them would be getting any sleep that night or the next one, and they would still need to be at their peak performance.

-Let's all get some rest while we can.

One of us will stay up to have an eye on everything while the other two go get some rest for now, we take turns every three hours, after that, we won't be having much rest until all of this is over.

-I'll take the first turn.

Lanarine volunteered.

-I have some scans to finish anyway.

She added.

-Alright, I will take the second one, and Iliana will take the third.

With these words, he got up to leave.

-If there are any changes, wake me up, no matter if it's my turn or not.

He said and left.

Iliana also left but this time she had her beginning module to sleep in and she missed her bed a lot along with all her clothes and other personal items.

The only one left in the command canter was Lanarine, who continued with her scan but looked at the incoming pirates' moves every few minutes and she also monitored the two ladies who were on their way.

Andrew went for a shower and to bed, he was having a hard time falling asleep at first but soon he fell into an uneasy sleep.