After making his decision, Andrew left.
He was not happy about this whole thing, but on one hand, he wanted Iliana to be happy, while on the other hand, accepting adurians might be very risky, especially if Muret was at the head of the council.
That's why he left the decision to her, instead of forcing her to accept his.
On his way to the command center, Nairin contacted him, and she sounded very excited when she asked him to come to the star-gate hangar.
With a bad feeling about it, he decided to go, since at least now she was informing him about what she was doing instead of keeping it a secret.
-So what did you want to show me?
Andrew asked, entering the hangar and seeing that the gate was already active.
-Wait for a moment.
The student said.
-Alright, you can come in.
She said to her bracelet, and a moment later, Theresa Moore walked out of the gate, making Andrew's jaw hit the floor.
-What.., how…
He was unable to decide which question he should ask first.
-Do you remember the blink drive the GPF used?
Nairin asked with a prideful grin plastered on her face, seeing his reaction.
Andrew only nodded, still trying to get over the fact that it took her only a few days to figure out how to transport people through the star-gate.
-It turns out that one of its systems is used to stabilize the matter during the transfer.
If they lacked this system, they would arrive here in pieces, much like the tomato we tried to transport through the gate at the beginning.
We adapted this system for the gate, and it works; we can now send people and any organic matter through the gate as we please.
The downside is that it limits the gate work duration to about five minutes at a time.
Nairin explained with pride.
-I'm impressed, you made something that existed only in a TV show and solved its main issue in less than a month.
-Thank you.
She smiled.
-Now, can you explain to me how you brought Theresa here from the Milky Way galaxy?
I seriously doubt that this gate has enough range to go all the way there.
Andrew asked, still as impressed as a moment ago.
-Actually, a spin-off of the TV show gave me an idea about this, and the same stabilizing system made it possible.
We place a gate in the Rodill system as well as in the Alpha Pictoris system, and the last one in the Sol system.
I asked Vulcan to write a program that used the gates as relays, and the stabilized wormhole can be used through the intergalactic wormhole, allowing us to transport everyone and everything throughout the empire, as long as there is a gate in the system we want to visit or send supplies to.
Have you tried this on a planet's surface?
Andrew asked, having a great idea about utilizing this new technology.
-We didn't try that yet.
The student shook her head.
-We are still waiting for some parts to build a stargate on Earth, and the first thing that will be sent will be a rat, which one of the farmers caught.
Theresa explained.
She was amused at his shocked expression when she arrived, but she was not any better when they did it for the first time.
-Alright, Nairin, activate this thing and send me back.
I have a lot of work to do over there.
She turned to the young engineer.
Andrew was not that happy to see her go so soon, as it had been a while since he had seen her, but there was too much work to do, so they were unable to have some time to themselves.
-I want you to do extensive tests on this device.
We need to know everything about it before we start using it throughout the whole empire.
Andrew said right after Theresa went back.
He was worried that there might be some dangers to its usage that they simply hadn't found yet, and if there were, he needed to know about them.
On the other hand, this was a great breakthrough for the empire as the moment the gate network was established, they would be able to go between the stations at will and transport any supplies anywhere.
It was also a great way to evacuate a station that was under attack, and it was a much safer alternative than an escape ship, which could be destroyed.
Andrew left Nairin with her work, going to the command center to have a look at the territories that were annexed as well as at the size of his current fleet.
This time, he made it to the command center, but unfortunately, he could not take a look at the data he was interested in.
-Good timing.
Aelita said as soon a he entered.
-The Five Races Federation diplomat's ship has just arrived.
She said, pointing at the main screen, on which the ship was displayed.
Andrew recognized the vessel instantly.
-Don't let them dock; if they want to get here, send a shuttle for them.
He ordered immediately, surprising everyone present.
-But why?
Aelita asked, not understanding his sudden orders.
-Because it's not the first time this ship visited this system, and the last time we were almost blown up.
Andrew's voice turned colder when he recalled how close they were to dying back then.
-You mean it's the ship of that minister, what's his name, who took Tibrana back to the federation?
Lanarine asked, turning pale after recalling the events right after this ship had left.
-Yes, it's the ship that brought Minister Darge last time.
Andrew confirmed.
-I don't want his ship anywhere near any of our installations, and if they reject the idea of us sending a shuttle, tell them to leave.
Andrew said, looking at Sarill, who was managing the comms as usual, despite already having a full team of comms officers under her command.
The girl simply liked her job, and despite being more than capable of leaving it to her subordinates, she still preferred to do it herself whenever she could.
-They got the message and are hailing us.
She said a moment later.
-Let's see what they have to say, put them on the main screen.
The moment the connection was established, Andrew recognized the Minister who almost blew his station up the last time he was here.
-What is the meaning of this? Why are we forbidden from docking?
Darge asked angrily.
-We have a Federation Diplomat on board who wishes to speak to you face-to-face.
-You can blame yourself for that.
Andrew said calmly.
-I didn't appreciate the extra gifts that you left the last time, and this time there won't be any chance for you to try again.
As for the Diplomat, if they wish to see me, then, as the message stated, we will send a shuttle for them.
If you decline, then there is nothing to talk about, and you can leave immediately.
The human didn't beat around the bush; he didn't like the alien minister and would be more than happy to see him leave.
As for what the federation wanted from him, he could not care less, as far as he was concerned, they had nothing to offer and had used any opportunity to attack his territory they came across.
-You're telling me that I came all this way for nothing?
An angry female voice was heard, right before another person came into view.
-Hi Tibrana, long time no see.
Andrew said, without changing his expression even a little.