Star Emperor

As Andrew was thinking about what he just heard, the new modules had arrived.

-We will continue this discussion later, for now, let's connect the modules.

It took them a few hours to connect them all and then they had to go to each one and reroute the command circuit from their consoles.

It would have been easier if they had the construction drones, but they were still waiting for the materials when the modules arrived and the scouting drones were first to be manufactured.

When the first construction drone was ready they had already connected most of the modules and decided to finish the rest by themselves.

Both of them were tired after running around the station as it was getting quite big now, but they still had some work to do.

As soon as they were all charged up, Andrew got the scouting drones to start scouting the system, starting with the area around the station and going outward.

He had hoped to find some hidden treasure, or at the very least to map out any hidden traps, that sometimes were found by players when this was still just a game.

The construction drones were left on standby for now as there was nothing for them to do.

On the other hand, the repair drones were busy scanning the station and compiling the list of materials and parts necessary to repair all the damaged modules.

The list was short as there was not much damage except for the solar power module which would need a new energy storage unit and some other parts to be fully functional again.

However, the repairs would have to wait as they didn't have the component manufacturing module yet.

It was a tier 2 module that could manufacture any part of the station module if it was in its database and had the required materials.

When used correctly it was able to create all the necessary parts to build a module from scratch and the repair drones could just put it together.

Andrew wanted to start the research immediately, but there were not enough materials for now to get even the cheapest research going, and considering that he would need to gather even more materials for the merchant he decided to increase the number of gathering and mining drones.

This time however he ordered a hundred gathering drones and fifty mining drones to be produced, he would order more but he didn't have enough materials for it right now.

The idea was to fill the storage modules as soon as possible and start the research.

Since he had nothing better to do right now he decided to store the items he bought and get the seeds to the hydroponics modules.

The great thing about these modules was that they were fully automated, all he needed to do was fill the seed containers, designate which plant was to be grown where, and the automated system would do the rest.

Another stop after that was the armory module he bought.

Looking around he found the module almost empty, the only things there, were an assault rifle, a handgun, a combat knife, a leg holster, and a tactical vest.

The ammunition was also scarce as he had only seven magazines for the riffle and three for the handgun.

It was not much but it was better than nothing and in case of someone boarding the station it could save his life.

The last module he wanted to see was the education module and after entering the console displayed all the subjects that he could study, they were even segregated by the class in human school at which they were thought in human school system.

This was a great help to him and he decided to study whenever he had some free time.

Andrew knew that a tier 3 education capsule could simply download the knowledge into his brain, but it would be a long time before he got to tier 3 and he didn't want to wait.

-Andrew, can you come to the command center?

His bracelet suddenly transmitted a voice belonging to Lanarine.

-I'm on my way.

He said to the device and went straight there, wondering why was she calling him over.

The moment he entered he knew that something was wrong as the alien woman looked pissed as all hell.

-Did you order 150 drones?

She asked the moment she saw him.

-Yes, what's wrong with that?

He answered honestly.

-You were supposed to speak to me before doing something like this.

She said angrily.

- Wait, you're angry because I didn't ask you about producing more drones?

He asked, finally remembering that her people were almost fanatics when it came to upholding the terms of a contract.

-Yes, It's stated in the contract that we will discuss any upgrades to the station and make decisions together.

She said, looking at him like he just committed an unforgivable sin.

-Ok, I can understand discussing things like the purchase of the modules and the decisions about the research sequence, but something like this?

Give me a break.

He said getting irritated at the sheer absurdity of the situation.

-This is also an upgrade to the station and as such, falls under the contract.

She argued stubbornly.

Andrew took a deep breath to calm himself as the words he was about to say just now would not help.

-Lan, would you tell me not to produce the drones?

He asked, a lot calmer this time.

-No I would not, but that's not the issue here.

-Then what is the issue?

You just said that you would not stop me, and we need the drones to get more resources for the research we require to upgrade the station further.

He tried to sound logical.

-The issue is that you didn't even give me a chance to agree and just did what you wanted.

Lanarine said, her voice still full of anger.

-That's just stupid.

Andrew finally snapped.

-We need the drones, and I won't wait for you to permit me to get them when I can just order them and be done with it.

He raised his voice at her for the first time since they met.

Lan however was not afraid at the moment as she was not going to just allow him to breach the contract without addressing the situation.

-Yes we need the drones, but that doesn't mean that you can just breach the contract without any consequences.

She shouted back.

-And what would these consequences be?

He asked angrily.

-If you forgot, then let me remind you that we never set any penalties for a breach of contract.

So the only thing you can do about it is to cancel the contract, which won't change anything, other than me activating the chip again and you will be back to square one.

He shouted at her losing his cool again.

This time Lanarine felt fear.

The last thing she wanted was to return to being a slave.

-If you are too dense to figure out why we have the contract in the first place then let me enlighten you.

Andrew continued.

-I came up with it to give you your freedom without having to worry about you slitting my throat in my sleep.

That's all it is, the rest of the conditions are there only because they have some sense.

He finished breathing heavily from anger.

-I would never do that.

She shouted back.

-It's forbidden in my culture to take the life of another.

-And for that, I have only your word.

He snapped back, making her speechless for once.

-Also you are a soldier, and you want me to believe that you can't hurt me?

Andrew asked still angry.

-I'm an astrogeologist, I was never trained for combat.

She protested.

-Yeah, like I'm gonna believe that any army would have a soldier and an officer no less that doesn't know how to fight.

He argued back.

Then he took a deep breath before continuing.

-This is a waste of time.

 Just tell me straight if you want to cancel the contract and if not then just shut up and don't bother me with something like this again.

He said and turned to leave.

-It's not a waste of time, and I'm not letting you leave until we settle this.

As for the contract, it was canceled the moment you breached it.

She screamed at him at the top of her lungs, if she even had any.

His behavior just now triggered her as she saw it as a total lack of respect.

Andrew turned back to her, his eyes cold as ice.

He had just about enough of this.

-Chip reactivate, dial-up control to level 7.

He ordered coldly, making Lanarine terrified.

-What…

The rest of her sentence was cut off when the chip activated and obeyed an order it was given.

Andrew took another deep breath, he didn't want to do it and he tried his best to put up with this woman but enough was enough.

-Since the contract is canceled it means that you are again my slave.

He said in a much calmer voice.

-Did you take the seeds to the hydroponics modules?

He asked, trying to focus on the more important things than this stupid quarrel.

-Not yet….

She answered, trying with all her might not to add "master" at the end of the sentence.

-Then do it now and get some rest.

In the morning I want you to scan the asteroids with the resources we need to produce even more drones and some that might contain the materials for the merchant.

-Yes….

She said, stammering again but managing to stop herself.

After giving her instructions, Andrew left.