Crossing over the border back into the Dramid Alliance turned out to not be as easy as Avery had been hoping for.
When they were halfway through Zatis Consortium space on their return, a patrol stopped them for suspicious behavior.
Avery had the right credentials, but just originating from the Dramid Alliance was enough for the authorities to initiate a search of the ship.
With a war going on, normal rules were out the window. The Zatis Consortium's authorities did not even really need a reason to search whatever vessels they wanted to.
Naturally, Avery could not let them onboard the Intrepid. It would be basically impossible to hide that his ship was in fact not a cargo vessel if subjected to a thorough search.
Instead, he ordered that they open fire.
What ensued was a harsh battle where they were forced to destroy seven Zatis Consortium patrol ships.
