Chapter 76 The System Master (part 6)

An hour later the incoming ships jumped in about 5000 kilometers from the station, which was very close in space terms.

Immediately all the weapons directed that way targeted the vessels while Lanarine was conducting scans on them.

-Open a channel.

Andrew said to Iliana who took the communications console.

-This is stationmaster Andrew Sparrow, you have intruded into my territory.

State your identity, affiliation, and purpose for coming here.

He said the moment the comms channel was opened.

However, no answer came from the ships. even after they waited for about 5 minutes.

-I Repeat, This is stationmaster Andrew Sparrow, you have intruded into my territory.

State your identity, affiliation, and purpose for coming here.

He repeated the message.

-Ilia, are they receiving the signal?

Andrew asked, not sure why the ships would just be sitting there without answering his hails.

-Yes, they are receiving.

The doctor said.

-There are also life signs on board the Corvette, three of them.

Lan added before he could even ask 

He nodded in acknowledgment.

They waited another 5 minutes before Andrew spoke again.

-This is stationmaster Andrew Sparrow, you have intruded into my territory.

State your identity, affiliation, and purpose for coming here.

Failure to comply will be treated as an act of aggression and dealt with accordingly.

He said and turned to Aelita.

-Have you found a way to take them out without destroying the ship?

Andrew tasked her with it as this ship would be a great boost to their defenses if they could capture it with minimal damage.

-The only way I have right now is to target their reactors, but it will most likely destroy the ship, or target the bridge, but then we will need to repair the damage before we will be able to use it.

The girl explained.

-I wish I had a better idea, but their shields make the scans inaccurate.

-Don't worry, you are doing a great job.

Andrew praised her and turned to Iliana.

-Any response?

-None, they are keeping the radio silence, but this doesn't make any sense.

Why come here and park right smack in the best firing range of the station armaments, then proceed to ignore our hails?

The woman asked.

-I take it that your people don't usually do stuff like that.

-Yes, this is strange, normally they would be the first ones to initiate communications and even if not, they would answer the hail immediately.

Ilia explained.

-Aelita, Lan, is the ship damaged in any way, I'm especially interested in their comms array.

Andrew asked, thinking of this possibility.

-No the ship is fine, there is no damage to it as far as the scans show and their comms array is working fine.

The engineer answered.

Hearing this, Andrew aimed one of the railguns and fired it, missing the ship by around 200 meters, and then he opened the channel once more.

-This is the last warning, failure to answer will be treated as an act of aggression, and your ship will be destroyed.

He said.

-Why did you shoot?

Lanarine asked surprised that he suddenly opened fire.

-It was a warning shot, it sent a message that I'm serious about blowing them up if they don't comply.

Andrew explained.

They waited a few more minutes, but there was no answer.

-I have had my fill of their silence.

Andrew finally said, losing his patience.

-Aelita how many railgun rounds would it take to break through their shields?

He asked, targeting the bridge of the ovoid ship.

-Their shields are stronger than our tier 2 shields, so it might take a few shots, but I'm unable to tell how many at the moment.

-Then let's find out.

Andrew said and opened fire before anyone could say anything.

The human fired one railgun after the other, waiting each time to see the result.

The Corvette class ship shields lit up from the incoming fire, but after three rounds they still held.

-Sensors show that their shields are about to fail, I estimate one or two more shoots before they are down.

Aelita informed him.

She could now predict such things with the data showing how much the shields weakened after each hit.

-Why aren't they firing back?

Why don't their fighters react?

Andrew asked suddenly as the fourth round took down the shields of the Adurian vessel.

Then he stopped firing.

-Lan where are the life signs on board the ship?

Andrew asked.

-They moved to the back of the vessel, but I have no idea why.

She said.

-Aelita, order the drones to bring this ship into the Hangar 4.

Andrew said, contemplating a possibility, that just popped up into his head.

-But why?

The girl asked, surprised at his decision.

-Because if I'm right, then we just got ourselves a ship and some fighters for free.

He answered getting up and heading for the hangar.

-Join me once you're done with the drones.

Ilia, be ready to receive patients.

with these words, he was off.

Andrew was waiting in the hangar where he was joined by the two ladies and a contingent of 20 guardian drones, while another 20 drones were guarding all the exits.

Up close, the ship was enormous, but compared to the ships Andrew saw in the game, it was a small vessel, barely 100 meters in length.

-Ilia, you stay here with half of the drones, if there is a need for you I'll call.

Andrew said and a moment later he and Aelita approached the ship.

The engineer took a few minutes to open the airlock, then she followed behind the human, with a taser in her hands, while Andrew held his P 90.

The first place they went to was the bridge.

Once there, they deactivated weapons, shields, and engines.

-Lan where are the Lifesigns?

Andrew asked through the comms bracelet.

-They are in the aft cargo bay, but before you go looking for them, I would appreciate it if you swung by the engineering and powered down this ship, It's bad for my mental health, constantly worrying about it blowing up.

She answered.

-Consider it done, and we can do so from the bridge.

Aelita said and pushed a few buttons, powering the ship down.

-Thank you, oh and the fighters seem to power down as well.

The woman said.

-If so then bring them to the hangar as well, we are going to find whoever is on this ship, so keep an eye out and inform us if they move.

Andrew said and motioned for Aelita to follow him.

They went through the corridors checking every compartment on their way, just in case someone or something was hiding there.

It was better not to get jumped from behind, even if they were in full space armor.

A few minutes later they arrived at the aft cargo bay, but other than a few crates, some tools, and parts there was nothing there.

-Lan are the life signs still in the cargo bay?

Andrew asked through the communicator.

-Yes and they are close to you, according to the scanners it should be around 5 meters in front of you.

Lanarine answered looking at the internal sensors reading.

Now that the shields were down and the whole ship was powered down, the scans became much more precise.

Andrew looked around and found nothing.

-Lan, five meters in front of me there is a bulkhead and nothing else, are your readings right?

He said, not able to find anything.

-I'll switch to thermal sensors, wait a moment.

Lanarine said.

-It's the same, they are 5 meters in front of you.

She said after looking at the thermal display.

-There might be a hidden compartment behind this wall.

Aelita said coming closer to look at the wall.

-Here, she pointed at a spot that looked almost identical to the rest of the wall, but the color was slightly darker.

-Open it up and step to the side.

Andrew said redying his weapon.

She did as told and pressed the square before jumping back and raising her teaser.

With a slight hiss, the wall slid to the left revealing a hidden compartment with three beings inside it.

All of them were definitely female, and humanoid, the smaller two were hiding behind the slightly bigger and most likely older being, who held a metal rod of some kind in her hands.

-Stay away.

The armed alien said, trying her best to seem intimidating, but the fear in her voice and the trembling of her body were enough to betray her fear.

Seeing this scene Andrew lowered his weapon.

-Calm down.

He said raising his hands in a peaceful gesture.

-I'm not going to hurt you if you don't try to hurt me.

-Why should I trust you?

The girl asked not lowering her weapon.

-Do you have any other choice?

Andrew asked.

This surprised the girl and after a moment of thought, she lowered the rod.

She realized that she had no chance against the two beings in full armor and with ranged weapons.

-Alright, I surrender.

She finally said.

-Good, then drop the rod and come out.

Andrew said, still doing his best not to do anything threatening.

The girl did as she was told, but instead of coming out immediately, she turned to the smaller girls and helped them up, supporting them as they limped out of the compartment.

-Are they injured?

Andrew asked immediately upon seeing the scene.

The bigger girl only nodded.

-Ilia, come to the aft cargo bay, we have two injured here.

-On my way.

Came the answer.

-Aelita help her put these two down and let's wait for Iliana before we move any further.

He said, guessing that the girls would accept help from a fellow female faster than from a male.

-Alright, she said holstering her taser and taking off her helmet.

Seeing that Aelita was a female like them, the older girl dropped her guard down a little.

With Cheroni's help, she put the two girls down gently.

The two younger girls tried their best to hide their pain, but they still hissed when they moved.

-Who's injured?

At this moment Iliana arrived, wearing her space suit and a first aid kit in her hand.

-These two.

Andrew pointed to the girls lying on the floor.

They immediately tensed up, upon seeing another person arriving.

-Calm down, she's a doctor and will take care of your injuries.

Aelita said gently, seeing the girl's reaction.

Iliana took off her helmet and came closer to the two injured girls.

-Hi, I'll need to see what's wrong, but if it hurts tell me immediately and I'll stop.

She said gently, kneeling next to the girls.

It took a moment before she got back up and turned to Andrew.

-They are both in bad shape and need treatment, can you carry them to the medical module?

She said not revealing any of the details of the girl's condition.

-Alright, and while you are at it, check the third one as well.

Andrew said and turned to the oldest girl.

-You heard the doctor, We will carry them to get treated, alright?

He asked, doing his best to sound calm and gentle.

The girl nodded in agreement.

-I want to come with them.

She said a moment later.

-Alright.

He agreed and knelt to pick one of the girls up, while Iliana took the other one.

Aelita on the other hand helped the oldest girl as she was not standing steadily anymore.

-Lan, station all 40 guardian drones in the hangar and set them to maximum security level.

Andrew said over the comms.

-Alright, but why do you need them there?

She asked.

-Just to be sure that there are no more surprises.

Andrew answered.

After which they all left the ship.