The moment the scouts returned, Andrew plugged the disc containing the log into a device that was disconnected from the station's network.
This was a precaution in case there was some nasty surprise waiting in the files.
The content of the video logs was not pretty as this pirate crew was way to cruel.
They tortured, raped, and killed or sold everyone they captured, and they didn't bother erasing the videos of what they had done.
After watching three of these video logs, Andrew skipped to the last entry.
They arrived in the system confident and hyped up about getting a fresh victim to play around with.
However, the moment they hailed the station to demand its surrender, a female, emotionless voice instructed them to leave or face the consequences.
The pirate crew laughed at this, but they were not laughing for long.
A moment later, all the airlocks opened, the life support went offline
The last images in the log were of the whole crew dying from exposure to the vacuum of space.
Seeing what they did previously, Andrew didn't feel sorry for them even for a moment, they got what they deserved.
The scout ship captains shuddered seeing what kind of fate they just managed to avoid by listening to their boss's warning.
-Boss, how did you know?
The commander of the scouts asked.
-On my planet, we have things called movies, and I used to watch them a lot.
I saw a similar scenario in one of them.
The moment the pirate ship started to power up with nobody to control it, I remembered it.
Andrew explained.
-Thank you, boss. You just saved all of us.
The commander said, grateful that he and his men were saved.
-I was the one that sent you there in the first place, and you are my subordinates.
What kind of boss would I be if I just left you to die?
Andrew said, shaking his head.
In his eyes, he didn't deserve any thanks for putting his people in danger.
What he didn't know was that this answer made the ex-soldiers admire him even more than they already did.
As military personnel, they were used to being sent on missions, and they saw more than once that their comrades or they themselves were left to die to accomplish a task that was of no real consequence, for no other reason than to keep the record of their commanding officer free from a failed mission report.
Seeing Andrew worry more about them than about the mission's success made them more than willing to serve him, knowing that he would not put their lives in danger for no reason.
-Lan, find me another system to settle, even if it's a bit further.
-I already have three systems for you to choose from, but all of them are more than 150 lightyears away.
Lanarine answered.
She predicted that this would be the case the moment Andrew aborted the scouting mission.
Andrew took a look at the systems displayed on the holoscreen.
-Good, we can let them choose one of these.
All three systems were uninhabited, as their previous inhabitants either killed each other off or were visited by pirates in the earlier stages, when they were still unable to defend themselves.
It was the same in many systems, and the people who survived and managed to get some subordinates were all doing their best to take over as many systems as they could.
Andrew was no exception to this, but unlike most of the system masters, he preferred to take systems one or two at a time and fully take them over, before moving to another one.
This made his territorial growth slower, but it also made it harder for others to try and take his systems from him, as attacking even one of them would require a fleet of much more than some pirate ships to even have a slight chance of success and that's not even considering the fleet Andrew was able to send out to help the attacked station.
Besides, with the invasion approaching, nobody wanted to start a fight over a system when there were more than enough for everyone to go around.
Andrew sent the scouts to have some rest, while he had to prepare to greet the newest pirate commander, that would be joining him.
He didn't need to wait long for the guests to arrive, and soon he was once again sitting in the conference module with Captain Giarna and two of her subordinates, who also turned out to be ladies.
After some explanations about the change of the system they would be taking over, he presented them with the three systems they could choose from and explained the situation with the production and support for the new station.
-Let me get this straight.
Giarna said after hearing him out.
-You will take us in, give us a system to take over and govern in your name, provide our fleet with repairs and resupply, provide us with medical treatments, and you will even support the construction of our station by sending us module parts and drones to assemble them.
For all of that, you only require me and one of my sisters to accept a slavery chip and for me to stay here as a liaison, plus some resources once we are established?
-That's the deal.
Andrew confirmed.
-Ok, what do you really want?
She asked, not beating around the bush.
-Nobody gives such conditions without wanting something in return.
She added when he looked at her with a surprised expression.
Then, he surprised her when he burst out laughing.
At first she was surprised but after a moment she got irritated.
-What's so funny?
She asked, angrily.
Her two sisters tried to calm her down, knowing way too well that she had a short fuse.
-You are not the first one to ask about it, and it's getting funny.
Andrew finally explained once he stopped laughing.
-The thing is that there are no hidden conditions; the agreement is what it is without any hidden clauses or whatever.
And if you think that it favors you too much, then look at it from my perspective.
Andrew said, seeing all three guests stunned at his words.
-I get personnel, a small fleet, and another system to add to my territory, plus materials, once you are established for the negligible price of some modules, ship parts, and some fuel.
He explained.
-Do you still think I won't profit from this deal?
The three pirate ladies were stunned once more when it finally got across that they would profit him much more than he would profit them, without any additional conditions.
-If you put it that way, then I agree to the conditions you stated.
Captain Giarna said, after thinking it over once more.
-Good.
Normally, we would immediately provide you with a beginning module to start building the station.
However we are a bit stretched with the production at the moment, so we will go a bit differently about it this time.
Andrew said, pointing at the map of the system they had chosen to settle in.
-There were station masters there before, so you will need to find a beginning module in the system and take it over.
Then your task will be to gather all the stations from across the system and add their modules to your new station.
After this, we should be able to start supporting you with module parts to expand the station.
He explained the idea.
-And what if there are no beginning modules left intact in the system?
One of the ladies asked.
-Then you will have to gather all the stations as planned and wait for a new beginning module to be produced for you.
-There is no point in wondering about it; either way, we all get what we need.
Giarna said, ending the discussion.
-Let's get it over with and start building our new home.
She added.
-Tiza, you will become the station master, she decided on the spot.
-Yes, sister.
The nominated woman accepted without any hesitation.
From there, it went quickly as both Captain Giarna and Tiza got implanted with slavery chips, and the two ladies were left sending the coordinates of their new system to the rest of the fleet while ordering the most damaged ships to go to the main station for repairs.
Andrew left Tarina to show their new guest her quarters and around the station while he went back to the command center.
-Don't you think it's strange that all the pirates who come here to join the territory are led by females?
When they were attacking us, they were usually led by males.
Lanarine asked the moment he entered the command center.
-Now that you mention it, it is a bit strange, but I suspect that most of the pirate fleets commanded by males got wiped out one way or the other.
Andrew answered.
-Why would they be wiped out?
Nairin asked, surprised at his words.
-It's only a theory for now, but in most species, the males tend to be the more aggressive ones, or at least that's what I think.
Males also tend to use the method that works, and if you consider that many pirate raids were actually successful at the beginning, they most likely continued to raid until they found a station master who was better armed and wiped them out.
You could say that the same thing happened in this system: the males wiped themselves out with the last one, who most likely killed most of the others, being killed by me.
Then I managed to win with all you ladies, and that's why I'm alive right now.
Andrew explained as best as he could.
Their further discussion on this subject was interrupted by Tanera.
-Andrew, could you come to the storage module? It's important.
She said over the comms.
-I'm on my way.
He answered and got up to leave.
-We can continue this discussion later.
He said to the ladies in the command center and left.
-What did you find to call me all the way here?
Andrew asked, approaching the elf who was standing next to a few opened crates.
-See for yourself.
Tanera answered pointing at the crates she was standing next to.
The moment Andrew saw what was inside, his jaw dropped.
-Why aren't these on the list you gave me?
She asked.
-Jalina was the one who opened these crates, and she most likely didn't know what these are, and added them to the list as unknown items.
Andrew said, wanting to kick his own ass for not coming here sooner to take a look at the treasurers.
Before him were three tier 5 matter converters, one for organic and two for non-organic matter, and to top it all off, there was also a small tier 4 fabricator right next to them.
At this moment, he didn't know if he should laugh or cry.
These items could have helped him a lot during the last few days, but instead, they were locked in the storage module, collecting dust.