-What do you intend to do with this, Sophia, when you catch her?
Arien asked.
She was sitting on board Andrew's flagship.
The ladies insisted that one of the Admirals should go with him, and they didn't budge, no matter what he said.
-If I even catch her, she knows that she has a lot to pay for, and I doubt she wants to fall into my hands, so the chances of catching her alive are minimal at best.
Andrew replied.
-However, hypothetically, if I manage to capture her, she will pay for what she has done to me in the past and what she tried to do to my empire now.
As to how?
I will think about it if I manage to capture her.
Andrew said, but his expression told the Admiral that whoever this Sophia was, it was better for her to die than to land in his hands.
For as long as Arien knew him, she had never seen such hatred in his eyes.
The fleet was on its way, and there were no problems so far.
The two territories they had to pass through were on high alert, but that was nothing to be surprised about, when there was an armada flying through their territory.
It took the fleet two days to reach the border of the Rose Association territory.
Thanks to the maps provided involuntarily by the GPF, Andrew knew where the main system was, and he didn't want to give his opponent any time to prepare.
The last thing he needed was for Sophia to call in reinforcements.
Thankfully, she didn't have the relays like he did, so even a fleet as big as his could travel through her territory without being spotted if it steered clear of any star system at a range of more than three lightyears.
Sophia Hajduk was just enjoying her lunch with some of her alien friends.
Despite being placed in another galaxy, she enjoyed food from Earth, not only through her hydroponics modules, but also thanks to becoming friends with her merchant, who bought it for her on the market as soon as it became available.
They were just laughing at her stories about getting the Lantean Empire's Emperor into trouble many times before, and her newest scheme that sent the GPF's fleet after him.
The moment she learned that it was Andrew, she knew that she needed to dispose of him or he might seek revenge for what she had done.
The moment the alarm blared and the command center's crew announced an incoming fleet, she turned pale.
The food in her mouth, which she had enjoyed just a second before, suddenly tasted like sand.
She sprinted to the command center.
-Status?
She demanded the moment she arrived.
-My lady, there is a fleet of a thousand ships approaching the system, and they will arrive within ten minutes.
A slave who was in charge of the sensors reported.
-Where did this fleet come from?
Sophia asked.
-Unknown, no station or patrol reported any sighting of this fleet until it arrived here.
The slave answered.
Hearing this, she had a bad feeling about the situation.
-Battle stations, scramble the fleet, and recall all available ships as soon as possible.
Additionally, prepare my destroyer for immediate departure.
She added.
A thousand ships were a lot, especially since most of her fleet was on petrol and she had barely a hundred and fifty ships in the system.
So she decided to be prepared in case she had to run for her life.
The ten minutes were the longest in her life, and the information she received from her fleet was not what she hoped for.
The patrol fleets were already en route, but it would take them between an hour to over six hours to return, and even then, they were individually not strong enough to pose a threat to the approaching armoda, since every patrol fleet consisted of twenty vessels.
When Andrew's armada jumped into the system, the sight was awe-inspiring.
A thousand warships bristling with weaponry, and what's more, they were not the standard configuration ships.
-Hail them.
Sophia ordered, her voice a bit shaky from fear.
She didn't give the order to open fire, counting on talking her way out of this situation, or at least stalling until her fleets returned.
-Hey there Sophie, long time no see.
A human male she could swear that she had never seen before answered the hail.
However, only one person was calling her Sophie, which she hated, by the way.
-You changed Andrew.
She replied, trying very hard to sound casual.
-Yeah, it turns out that all it took was to stop being poisoned and a bit of work.
He smiled, but there was no happiness in this smile.
This was the first time she heard about him being poisoned, but it didn't matter now; she knew what he was here.
-Did you come for a chat or something else?
She asked, hoping to gain enough time for reinforcements to arrive by simply talking.
-I owe you for what you did in the past and for sending the GPF fleet my way.
Andrew's voice turned ice-cold, and his eyes burned with rage.
This was the first time Sophia had seen him like that, and she had a hard time connecting a handsome young monarch with the fatso she helped her friend to torment.
-What are you going to do about it?
She suddenly asked with a challenge in her voice, not believing that he would attack.
-If you touch me, Alex will never forgive you.
She added, hoping to play on his feelings for her younger sister.
-I'll worry about that when I find her.
Andrew said and cut the transmission.
At the same moment, the whole station shook as the shields flared up from impacting ordinance.
The imperial fleet opened up with everything they had, targeting the station defenses and fleet at the same time.
Six of Andrews Cruisers targeted the hangars, which were placed on a substation, and fired their main weapons, ripping through the shields and destroying the installation with most of the drone fighters still inside.
Compared to any of the Lantean systems, this one was lightly defended, and even though the defenses and the fleet returned fire immediately, they were taken out in less than five minutes.
Sophia's technology level was at the pinnacle of tier three, while Andrew was nearing the pinnacle of tier four, with additions of their original designs and some tier five tech.
The disparity was simply too great.
The fleet in the system was cripled, with only a few ships destroyed, per Andrew's orders.
Even though he wanted Sophia to suffer, he didn't want to wipe out everyone in her territory, especially since he found information that most of her subordinates were slaves.
Soon, the battle was over, the defenses were taken down, the fleet was crippled, and even the station was damaged as the fleet took down its shields and took out all defenses along with the shield modules.
The destroyer, docked to the station, was not spared as its engines were targeted.
Then the harder part of the plan began as the boarding parties entered the ships and the station.
Armed with stun rifles and tasers, the droids took down everyone they found and cuffed them before carrying them to one area.
The same took place at the station, but there, Andrew led the assault team.
Using his power armor, he tore through the defense drones and droids like they were training dummies.
Behind him, over two hundred battle droids did the same, switching from live weapons to stun weapons depending on whether they were facing organics or droids.
The station fell in two hours, leaving only the command center as the sole point that had not been taken over yet.
-Sophie, open up and surrender, there is nowhere for you to run.
Andrew commanded through the communications channel as the door was sealed from inside.
-If you won't leave, I'll kill every one of my slaves.
Sophia's desperate and filled with fear voice responded.
-I really don't care, if you want to kill them, then be my guest, but you are not leaving here in any other way than in handcuffs or a bodybag.
It's your choice.
Andre called her bluff.
What she didn't know was that the slaves were placed near the jammers he brought to prevent this exact scenario.
To force the slaves to commit suicide, they would need to hear the command, so if the command never came, there was nothing to worry about.
-This is your last chance, open this door and surrender, or I will open it, and then the surrender option will disappear.
Andrew threatened, hoping that some rational part of her would decide to submit rather than die.
-So you don't care if I kill them all and then myself?
She asked a bit too loudly, which was strange, but Andrew attributed it to her fear.
-Why would I care for the lives of the strangers, as for you, I couldn't care less for your life.
Andrew answered.
Just then, the door hissed open and Sophia, along with the entire crew surrendered.
However, the woman Andrew hated had a triumphant smile on her face.
-You see, sis, he has turned into a total dictator and a monster who does not care for anyone's lives.
She said proudly to the person displayed on the main screen.
Andrew's jaw hit the floor when he saw that person; it was Alex.