-All forces, let them have it.
I don't care if you blow them up. I want them gone.
Andrew ordered, and not even a second later, every ship, fighter, and all the station's and shipyard's weapons systems targeted the enemy ships and opened fire with deadly effect.
The destroyer that targeted the shipyard was almost cut in half when the energy weapons from the installation hit their mark, burning through its shields in less than a second and ripping through its hull.
Both frigates were not much better off.
After receiving attacks from the fleet and the station, they quickly became hole-ridden floating wrecks without any power or atmosphere on board.
The last destroyer fared better as it only received attacks from the gunships and three of the Adurian corvette class vessels.
However, its luck lasted only a few seconds longer as two squadrons of fighters came in for their attack and dropped bombs on it, taking out its weakened shields and heavily damaging the ship.
The last blow came from Tanera's ship, piercing straight through the enemy ship's bridge and ending the battle.
The whole thing didn't last more than a minute, but the battle was not entirely one-sided as Andrew's forces lost close to a dozen fighters, two gunships were heavily damaged by the destroyer's rail-guns, and one of the Adurian corvette's received some minor damage to it's engines, by a lucky shoot of the enemy frigate.
The damage and casualties reports came in seconds after the battle ended.
Luckily, there were no deaths in Andrew's forces, but they did have a lot of injured, especially from the two damaged gunships.
At least a dozen of his people would need to be placed in the tanks for more than a few days, while the others would need medical assistance and some time to recover from their injuries.
-Good work, everyone.
Return to the station for now; damaged ships are to be sent to the shipyard for repairs.
Iliana will take care of the wounded.
Andrew ordered.
-What about the enemy ships?
Nairin asked.
-Send droids to clear them out, and if they can be salvaged, then do so; if not, then just turn them into resources.
Andrew decided, and soon the gunships brought a few dozen of battle droids to the wrecked enemy ships.
-How is the situation at the other stations?
-Drevon already disabled the ships that went for his station and is now boarding them to take them over.
Rhuneek also took out the enemy ships and is in the process of sending the battle droids to take them over.
As for Zira, she didn't even get to fight; the enemy ships changed course and are escaping.
Lanarine reported.
All stations report no casualties and only minor damage to a few gunships.
Sarill reported a moment later.
Considering the enemy forces they just faced, this was an astounding victory, however, it could also be attributed to the enemy targeting mainly the station and ignoring the fleets.
If it was a different situation, Andrew's forces would suffer much higher casualties and he was almost certain that he would have lost a few ships in this battle.
-Andrew, we are being hailed by the merchant ship.
Sarill reported a moment later.
-Put it on the main screen.
However, this time as well there was only audio.
-System master, thank you for your help.
The female voice said.
-Well, they attacked my forces, so we had to defend ourselves.
Andrew responded.
-I won't complain about your way of dealing with them, but I would like to ask you to help me repair my ship, if possible.
-I'll send some drones to take your ship to the shipyard for repairs.
Andrew said, and nodded at Nairin, who sent the drones immediately.
-I would also like to ask if you are the galactic supervisor from the merchant guild?
The human added.
-Yes, I am. How do you know that?
For the first time, Andrew heard surprise in the supervisor's voice.
-I would prefer to discuss this matter face to face, so if you would accept an invitation to my station, It would be great as I think we have a lot to talk about.
Andrew said.
-Supervisor, please hear him out; it's very important.
Tanera suddenly chimed in to their conversation.
-You're a merchant, what are you doing here?
The supervisor asked, surprised once more.
The sensor array on her ship was also damaged, so she was unable to detect other merchant ships in the vicinity.
-It's a long story, but the gist of it is that Lord Andrew was blacklisted unjustly and there is proof of that in his possession.
The elf tried to explain.
-Fine, I will hear you out, but you better have a good reason for being in a blacklisted territory.
The female voice said.
She only came here to look for help as the system was still flagged as safe for merchants, and she didn't have any other choice in the matter as it was the only such territory she was able to reach with the damage her ship suffered.
-Thank you, and while you're on the line, Tanera, please go to the shipyard and pick up the supervisor once her ship is placed in the dock.
Andrew said, happy at the opportunity to clear his name.
Not long later, Andrew greeted the supervisor at the docking module.
The only thing he could tell about her was that she was a humanoid and had quite a sexy figure.
The rest was obstructed by her space suit with darkened visor, so he had no idea how she looked like.
He guided her and Tanera to the conference module, where Tanera told her story, and he showed her the video from the interrogation of his two prisoners.
After that, he showed her the footage from an assassination attempt on his life and the battle his droids had to take part in with the additional assassins in the docking module.
The supervisor watched the footage without moving even an inch, seemingly unable to believe what she was looking at.
-As you can see I was blacklisted unjustly and even attacked by members of the merchant guild.
Andrew said the moment the last video ended.
-Now I want to know what are you going to do about it?
The supervisor looked at him, moving for the first time since he started presenting evidence of his innocence.
-It seems that this galaxy's guild members have become corrupt, and they need to be replaced.
Your trade privilege is reinstated immediately as this evidence proves everything you claimed and you will be compensated for your losses and for the attack on you and your station.
Furthermore, you also saved my life and, as far as I know lives of other merchants for which you have never received the reward that is due for such acts.
The supervisor said.
-Also, please accept my apologies for all the trouble my subordinates have caused you.
She stood up and bowed slightly as an apology.
-Apologies accepted, but I would like to know what I should do with these two, and I would appreciate it if I could get my slave back.
Andrew said, remembering that Idara was still in the guild's custody.
Not that he needed the pilot as much as he did before, but it was still better to have one more, especially with the fleet he was planning to build.
-I'll take the two prisoners with me when I leave, and be assured that they will answer for their crimes, most likely with their lives.
As for your slave, she will be returned as soon as possible.
The supervisor promised.
-Andrew, the scan of the merchant destroyer just ended.
We have all the resources needed to repair it, but the repairs will take around a week.
The frame is thankfully in one piece, but the hull and engines are barely holding together, the sensor array is so damaged that it will be faster to install a new one, over half of the weapons systems are destroyed, and that's only the beginning of the repair list.
Aelita said over the comms.
-Alright, use whatever materials you need to repair it, and you might also want to start working on a shopping list.
Our trading privileges were just reinstated.
Andrew said.
-Alright, but that will have to wait until I come back.
Aelita responded.
-See you soon.
She added, and ended the call.
-You heard her; it will take a week to repair your ship, and I don't think you will want to wait this long.
Andrew said, turning to the supervisor.
-You are correct; I don't have a week to wait for my ship.
But I also don't need to wait.
Tanera is here, and she can take me to the local headquarters in her ship, or I can use one of the ships left by the two idiots you captured.
The other one will be a part of the guild's compensation for all the trouble its members have caused you.
However, I need to be sure that the guild's sensitive data and equipment are removed before you will be able to use it.
The supervisor said.
-I see no problem with that.
Andrew agreed, as this gave him another frigate class ship for his fleet.
-Since we agree, I'll take Tanera with me as an escort, and she will come back later to restart trade with you and deliver the rest of the compensation.
-Of course, it will also take some time to compile a list of modules and materials we want to buy for all my stations.
Andrew said, with a hint of happiness in his voice.
This would accelerate building the new station by a lot, and expanding the rest would also be much easier, not to mention that he would not need to wait for the empire's merchants to arrive before he could get the materials he was running low on, especially the explosives he needed to make more bombs and missiles for his fighters.
-We will be departing as soon as we remove all the sensitive materials from your new ship.
The supervisor stated and got up from her seat, signaling that this meeting is over.
-If you need any assistance, just let me or anyone on the station know.
Andrew also got up and escorted both merchants to the docking module.