Chapter 81 Unconventional.

Andrew had a ton of questions to ask Iliana, but this was not the time to do so.

Instead, he turned to the prisoner who was still kneeling and pressing her forehead to the floor.

-Get up and answer my questions.

He said and waited as the woman struggled to her feet.

-You can uncuff her now, she won't try anything.

Ilia said.

Hearing her confident tone, He gave her the key to the handcuffs, and soon the woman was free, but even though she didn't bow anymore, she refused to get up from her knees.

-My lord, I'm Pilot Second class, Idara of the Adurian council's space navy.

As to the attack on your station, I was ordered to recover the drone control corvette along with the fighters or destroy it if it turned out that someone captured it.

-Who ordered you to do so?

Andrew wanted to ask, but Ilia was faster.

-It was Lord Muret, we were sent to the same system and from the moment he found out about it he took command of me.

Idara explained.

-I should have known, it was him.

Ilia shook her head.

-Is he the guy you told me about?

Andrew asked, seeing her reaction.

-Yes, it's him.

She admitted with a sigh.

-Where is he right now, and how the hell did he get his hands on ships, so fast?

The human asked.

-His station is located 200 lightyears from here, as to the ships, he found a silver chest with a mid-sized fabricator inside, since then he could produce anything there were blueprints for.

The ship I arrived in was the biggest he could produce with the fabricator and even then it took over 20 days to gather the necessary resources to build it and another 7 days to build it.

The pilot explained.

-Then what's up with the Corvette?

Andrew asked.

-The moment Lord Muret could build the first ship, he could also buy one from the merchant so he did, but the ship never arrived, and then we received its transponder signal from this sector and then I was dispatched to either reclaim it or destroy it.

Idra said not hiding anything.

-Does it still send the signal to this Muret guy?

He asked.

-No, it stopped a few days ago and Lord Muret arranged for me to accompany the merchants in search of the vessel.

-Did you and that lord Muret know that attacking another station or system master, while accompanying the merchant ships is forbidden, and punishable by breaking any future trade relations?

Terelen asked.

-I had no idea about that, but I can't be sure about lord Muret.

-Whether you had an idea or not, is irrelevant, the moment, you are delivered to the merchants guild, you will most likely be tried and at best turned into a slave to be sold, or at worst, you'll be executed for damaging the merchant guild reputation and attacking someone while accompanying the merchant ships.

Tanera chimed in.

-Since that's the case, then why don't I take her in as a slave?

Andrew asked.

-That way she can serve as compensation for the damage she caused to my station since she blew up the ship I was planning to keep and there is nothing else to compensate my loss.

He explained when both elves looked at him with surprise all over their faces.

-I think, that it will be acceptable, but she still needs, to come with me to the Merchants guild, to explain everything.

Once we are done with her, and the higher-ups agree, she can become your slave.

Terelen said after a moment of thought.

-You heard him, go with the merchant and tell the whole truth without hiding anything.

Iliana ordered.

-Yes, my Lady.

Idara said bowing her head to the floor again.

-If you do not have any more questions for her, I'll be taking my leave.

Terelen said.

-It's alright, but could you wait for a moment?

Andrew said and without waiting for an answer, he left.

A few minutes later he came back carrying two more containers with raw nanites.

-Give these to the King-Emperor as a gift from me and Aelita.

He said handing over the containers to the elf.

-Are you sure?

These are more precious than you can imagine.

The merchant said, while his sister's jaw dropped to the floor.

-I'm sure, and besides, it's always a good idea to gain favor from a monarch who has given us noble titles.

Andrew smiled.

-Alright, this will definitely gain you the favor of the King-Emperor.

Terelen said and left with the pilot escorted by two droids he called to carry the containers.

Once he was gone, Andrew turned to Iliana.

-Care to explain what just happened here?

He asked.

-It's easy.

The doctor said, revealing her tattoo once again.

-This is a mark of the cast I'm a member of, which is the highest cast.

Idara is from the lower cast so naturally, I'm her superior.

Even Muret is from a lower cast than me, despite sitting on the council.

My cast is special, only the ones with the gift have the privilege to belong to it, and as far as I know, only the head of the council has a higher standing than us.

She explained.

-Then how did that guy manage to convince your family to sell you to him?

Andrew asked, not even surprised at the discovery of Ilia's true identity.

He was surprised way too many times recently and started to become immune to it.

-He used his influence in the council and my family's agreement helped him a lot in convincing two others from my cast and the head of the council to agree.

Fortunately for me, this event started before I ended myself.

If I was alive and received the council's head order, it would be much to late to do anything about it.

-Then what would happen if you received this order right now?

Andre asked.

-Nothing would happen.

She shrugged.

-I'm your slave now, so there is nothing they can do without your permission, and while I still retain my station in the Adurian society, other than you, there is nobody who can force me to do anything.

-I see.

Andrew nodded, understanding the situation and swearing to himself never to agree to hand her over.

-Chip 01, set control to level 0.

Andre said surprising the doctor.

-Why are you setting me free?

She asked, not understanding what he was thinking.

-I'm not setting you free, but you have proven that I can trust you, so there is no longer a need to keep control over you.

He answered with a slight smile.

-But let me warn you if you abuse my trust, you will regret it.

He said seriously.

Iliana's only answer was a nod as she never expected to gain his trust this fast and it surprised her greatly.

Only a moment later she understood that it was fully revealing her situation to him that made him trust her, as she had way too much to lose to betray him.

-Thank you, I'll do my best to not break the trust you have given me.

She said, before leaving for the medical module.

Only then did Andrew remember that Tanera was still standing there in shock.

-Are you alright?

He asked, waving his hand before her unblinking eyes.

This action made her come back to her senses.

-I'm alright.

She said, looking at him.

-My brother warned me that you are unconventional, but this was clearly an understatement.

She added a moment later.

Andrew laughed at this comment.

-I'll take it as a compliment.

He said with a grin.

-Now let's go back to the command center, we have a lot of work to do and I have a long shopping list to fulfill.

He said leading the way.

Tanera just followed him, trying her best to get over everything she had witnessed in the last hour.

This was her first time interacting with Andrew and despite her brother's warnings, the human managed to surprise her at almost every turn which didn't make her mood any better as she hated to be the one surprised.

Another thing she noticed almost immediately was that the human didn't react to her beauty like most other males she interacted with and she had no idea why, until she entered the command center and saw Aelita, Lanarine, and Nairin.