-You want to tell me that this wormhole leads back to my home galaxy?
Andrew had trouble comprehending what he was hearing and he was not the only one as Theresa stood next to him, her jaw on the floor.
-That's right, the only match for the star patterns on the other side is a Milky Way galaxy.
Alpha Pictoris to be exact, which according to the data in your education module is about a hundred light years away from your home system.
Vulcan confirmed.
-This has to be some kind of a joke and if it is, it's not funny.
The human said shaking his head.
He had already gotten over the fact that he would most likely never see his homeworld again or at least not for a long time, only to find out that Sol system was within FTL jump range.
-Boss, that's not all.
According to what I know, the origin planets of all species taking part in the event should have been cleared out.
Any sign of the previous inhabitant's civilization should have been erased and the planet should be returned to its original state.
However, the Sol 3 is still orbited by hundreds of artificial satellites and something resembling a crude space station.
The IA informed him, displaying Earth on the main screen.
-The merchants told us the same thing, but somehow, the Five Recess Federation managed to get their home worlds, or at least some of them and they found their civilization as it was along with their fleets.
The same could be said about Adurians, they also got their home world back, and their civilization was not erased.
Tanira chimed in, surprising everyone.
They remembered what they were told by the merchants, however only now that it was pointed out, did they stop to think about it.
-There is something wrong with all of this.
Andrew finally said, after digesting the information.
-Sarill, tell the tugs, to stop taking the ships from the other side and return here.
Runir, I need a gunship for a reconnaissance mission.
Vulcan, can you interface a gunship with a stealth upgrade for a station?
Nairin, prepare twenty older model combat droids, and ten scouting drones.
The ladies got to work immediately, while Vulcan ran a simulation to determine the compatibility of the stealth upgrade with the gunship.
-Sorry boss, but the gunship design is incompatible with the stealth upgrade, however, the drone control frigate is compatible, and it's capable of carrying more droids and drones if you so desire.
Vulcan said once he got the results of the simulations.
-Good, prepare it, and build me three drop pods capable of going through the atmosphere and allowing their cargo to reach the ground in one piece while you're at it.
The human said.
-What do you want to do?
Theresa asked finally getting over the shock.
-I want to send a reconnaissance team to Earth.
Their main goal is to determine the state of our civilization, planet side and I also need to get some information from my father's home.
Her answered.
-You…
Aelita wanted to ask something but stopped.
-Yes, I want to know who poisoned me and I also need some other information about my so-called family.
Andrew confirmed, guessing immediately what she wanted to ask about.
-Could you send a drone to London?
Theresa asked, with hope in her eyes.
-Sure, the third group will land in London, but you need to get me the coordinates, of whatever you want to investigate.
He agreed immediately, not seeing a problem to check something for her since he could.
The preparations took four hours to complete.
-Captain if you don't want to go then just say the word, there are many volunteers ready to take your place, and nobody will think less of you.
Andrew said to the captain of the corvette before the mission.
-Boss, this is a dream come true for me.
The captain said with a broad smile, which looked grotesque with his alien face.
He was one of the crew members of Arien's fleet before they joined Andrew.
-I always wanted to be a scout pilot in the military and now I have the chance to not only be one but also be the first one in the territory to use a stealth ship, enter the potentially hostile territory, and drop recon teams onto a planet.
There is no way I'm backing out.
The alien shook his head.
This convinced Andrew.
He would not send anyone for this mission if they didn't want to go, but since the captain was adamant about it, he agreed.
Andrew already got the coordinates from Theresa, who wanted to know if her home was still there and he added the two sets of coordinates for the second team to visit.
One was Alexandra's home and the other was his own.
The last team was tasked with retrieving any kind of data they could find on any devices they could find.
Their goal was to get as much data as possible.
For this purpose, Vulcan recommended putting a small satellite in orbit and sending a fourth drop pod with a transmitter.
This would minimize the power usage needed to send the data as well as make it harder for anyone to find the signal.
However, the most important thing was that the ship could simply drop the pods along with the satellite and withdraw, lessening the risk of being caught.
Additionally, all the drones and droids were equipped with solar panels as well as cables in case they found a power source, which would allow rhythm to recharge themselves.
This was Aelita's idea.
-Since you want to get the data then the longer they stay in operation the more data we can collect.
She said when she told Andrew about the idea.
Finally, the ship launched and after testing its stealth capability, it went through the wormhole.
Fortunately, the Sol system was not inhabited and there was nothing there at the moment, not even a ship, however, there was a station in the Alpha Centauri system which was extremely close at only four and a half light years distance.
The problem with that was that the ship could not use stealth during the FTL flight and there was no way to hide the energy signature of its jump when it arrived at its destination.
Anyone who had the Sol system in their sensor range would immediately know that a ship jumped into the system.
This made the mission very dangerous.
-Andrew I think that at least three factions detected the shop entering the FTL once it left the wormhole.
Lanarine said, looking at the data.
-What's their reaction?
-They sent out a few ships to the Alpha Pictoris system, they will arrive within an hour.
Lan answered displaying the ships on the main monitor.
Some frigates and a few corvettes were coming in the direction of the wormhole, but nothing that could threaten their hold on the system.
Especially since Andrew decided to add more defensive satellites once they discovered its importance.
-Runir, alert the fleet, if they try to get to this side of the wormhole, call for their surrender if they refuse…
Andrew shrugged.
Everyone knew what he meant and the fleet was already on standby as well as the satellites and Rodill's station.
According to one of Vulcan's simulations, it would take a fleet of destroyers or a cruiser to even threaten their hold on the system on this side.
However, the other side was a different story.
The forces heading there now were not a threat but a large enough fleet of frigates and corvettes could take the system and hold it, forcing them into a stalemate.
The next hour was full of tension as the ships approached the system.
However, what happened the moment they entered the Alpha Pictoris shocked everyone.
The first group of a frigate and two corvettes arrived and started looking around, soon discovering the defense satellites near the wormhole entrance, but before they could do anything another group of two frigates and a corvette arrived and immediately opened fire.
Soon the third group also jumped in and joined the fray.
-Was there any communication between the fleets?
Andrew asked, surprised at the immediate hostilities between the three factions.
-There were none.
Sarill shook her head.
-Well then let's introduce ourselves, open a channel to all three fleets.
Andrew said.
-Why would you want to do that?
Nairin asked.
-They have seen the satellites already, so there is no reason for us to hide any longer, and I want to claim that system.
He responded.
-The channel is opened.