The Boss looked Max over as he stepped out, then nodded in appreciation of the suit before tapping at a device in his hand. "It looks like your Flat Space is properly locked, according to Alliance standards, so we are clear to enter. A guard will be inside to verify your status, a precaution against someone trying to pressure me into gaining access to their enemies."

Max smiled to let the Valkia know that it didn't bother him. "It's good to have proper security. Too many businesses have simple loopholes to exploit or laughable levels of physical security since they were only expecting the Innu to try to hack their servers."

The bodyguard who followed the Boss into his office stopped walking in shock when Max said those words, then tilted his head as if looking at Max from a new angle would help him understand.

"Does that mean that you physically came in and took someone's computers? That is genius. You could unlock them at your leisure. It would be a bit tough to pull off, though." He announced.

"Oh, nothing so civilized. We simply killed everyone on the planet and then took our time gathering the data that we needed. Once they had a death sentence hanging over the planet for rebellion, there really was no good reason we shouldn't take all the data that we could find, even if it wasn't related to others who might have assisted them in their actions." Max explained.

Both other men in the room flinched at the casual mention of wiping out an entire planet's population, and Max nearly lost his carefully crafted composure when the bodyguard gave a silent prayer of thanks to his Boss for making friends with the scary new people.

"Now, the rules are simple. All business done directly inside the lounge pays a five percent fee to have the Market arrange the details, there is no violence allowed, and no recording equipment is permitted." The bodyguard explained before opening the door to let the two higher-ranked men go through first.

The man on the other side of the door nodded at the Boss and gave him a quick wand scan, then moved on to Max for a slightly more detailed scan, then gave him a smile.

"I hope you can stay around for the continuation. I made a lot of money betting on you before my shift started today."

Max chuckled. "I'm not sure how long we will be welcome after today. The entire Innu population is down at my ship right now, stimmed out of their minds and having some sort of mass collaboration party."

The security guard chuckled. "On the contrary, they will likely thank you since you got them all in one spot. I know your species is new to the Alliance, but the Innu are generally regarded somewhat like that Toddler who won't stop asking questions. They're too sweet to hurt them to make them stop, so you just have to suffer with it forever."

That was actually a pretty good description of them, Max thought. Even though they were like bees buzzing in his head, it was impossible to stay mad at them, and they were always doing their best to make things they thought you would like. It reminded him of kids trying to please the adults around them. Only with more guns. At least when they were working with humans. historical

Perhaps he should be nicer to the Innu. It was a behaviour pattern that he recognized from his childhood in this life. Kids with the worst parents tried their hardest to get praise and recognition, even though they knew it likely wasn't going to happen. The Alliance viewed the Innu as an annoyance, so they tried even harder to be useful and befriend everyone, not realizing that it was the exact behaviour that got them the reputation in the first place.

What he said out loud was: "The Innu are surprisingly compatible with human culture. We segment experimentation into a portion of the day as a work task or a hobby, and they can let it all out in a controlled manner, so they don't go crazy as they did here the moment that they found something new with nobody to stop them."

The Boss considered that for a moment. The Innu Technicians were essential to the function of the station. Nobody else could do what they did. If the humans had a way to keep them balanced, he needed to either learn it or find some humans for his station.

"Everyone, welcome Commander Keres of the Terminus Trading Company, a human exploration and trade group that brokered their species' first agreement with the Alliance." The Boss called out into the room, drawing the attention of all of the social leaders present.

"Now, that is a rare treat. I heard that they made the new crystals for my ship as well. Welcome, Commander Keres. I am Prince Nunya of the Myceloid. Have you perhaps met one of my species before? You don't seem surprised or overwhelmed by the species here."

Max nodded politely at the Myceloid Prince. "Indeed, I have. We run a multi-species academy on a Colony Ship called Terminus. The Clone of Emperor Ahmed is one of our students. Interesting personality, if I do say so myself."

The Myceloid's skin turned a bit more blue than its original creamy white colour, and Max sensed shock and amusement in his thoughts. "So you are with THAT Terminus. With the Academy for the Elites and the lucky ones. Tell me, is the lady Medusa as charming in person as her reputation?"

Max chuckled. "Indeed she is. She doesn't seem to realize it, though, which is part of her charm. I suspect that the Emperor is actually more smitten with her tentacles than her personality, though."

Prince Nunya chuckled at the reference while his drinking companions burst into laughter and clapped him on the back. "It's a Myceloid thing. They're all obsessed because the tentacles look like the reproductive organs that their species have developed, long dendrites that they shake to pollinate when they wish to make an offspring that is not a clone."

The Prince was definitely blue now, and he thumped his companions solidly on the chest. "Don't take it the wrong way. It's not some fetish, think of it like how many species enjoy the sight of large chest mounds, even when they are not mammalian, so they serve no evolutionary purpose."

That didn't really help his case, but his species reproduced asexually for the most part, and Max could tell that it was a visual preference, like the false faces they created, not a sexual preference.

"Don't worry about them. I believe you."