More of the patrons of the lounge came over to say hello once they realized that the Terminus Trading Company and Terminus Academy were one and the same. In an Alliance as large as theirs, duplicate names were commonplace, so most hadn't quickly put the two together, and the fact that the Colony Ship was human-run and not just multi-species friendly wasn't common knowledge outside of a select group.

From their thoughts, it looked like they had accepted Max as one of their own almost immediately. He ran an Academy for Elite Students, no questions asked, and many of their counterparts had sent children there, as well as many politicians that they had to deal with on more official business.

Getting to know Max and getting on his good side held nothing but benefits for them, as far as they could tell, and he was from the newest rising technological power to sign a deal with the Alliance.

"I hear that the humans are almost as fond of the Innu as the Myceloid are, but for different reasons. Do you really integrate them into your Development teams with no incurious species as a buffer?" A large man that Max had originally thought was Blarg, going by the abundant build, asked.

"We actually don't have any incurious species in our research departments at all. Traditionally, they were all human, and now we have added some Innu, plus a Hunter and the part-time services of a Shin when the developments relate to botanical topics. What good would an incurious species do in the research lab?" Max asked.

All of the people in the room looked at him strangely when he asked that, and it seemed that he had missed something obvious, but their minds just couldn't quite fathom the concept.

"Without an incurious species, how do you market test? Or ensure the safety of the staff? What if something blows up?" One of the businessmen finally asked in an incredulous tone.

"We have safety protocols and best practice operating procedures. Both species are perfectly capable of following them, and injuries are quite rare during our development process. Many of our products are actually designed to blow up since we are a major military force in our home Galaxy, but we don't actually market test. If we found a good use for it, someone else will too, so we just make it available when it is complete." Max explained.

Their marketing strategy horrified half of the people in the room but made the other half consider forming a business relationship with the humans. Disruptive marketing wasn't really a thing among most Galaxies in the Alliance. The mere concept of a Trade War horrified them, and they were so bound to their traditions that they wouldn't dare to step on someone else's turf like that.

In Max's opinion, it was holding back their development, and they could have been thousands of years further ahead of humanity by now if they hadn't stifled inventions in the name of not disrupting the market.

When he first proposed marketing Luxury Space Yachts, it was mentioned to him that there was a void in the market. Max had taken that as demand exceeding supply, but if his guess was right, it also held the meaning of being able to accommodate another supplier without overlapping anyone else's market share.

"Since it seems that I have missed a few of the cultural nuances in the Alliance, might I ask a question?"

The Black Market Boss nodded in the affirmative, and a handful of others seemed eager to find out what Max would want to know.

"When a research team develops a new product that is similar to an existing product but significantly more user-friendly or cost-effective, how is the situation usually handled? You see, we came up with a Terraforming Array not long ago that can completely rework a planet in under a year's time.

We vetted the design with the Envoys and double-checked that there were no issues with interference regarding other manufacturers' patents, but when we released it on the market, we were immediately attacked by a handful of competitors.

Not in the marketplace, but physically attacked. Needless to say, that didn't end well for them, but did we miss some convention of polite behaviour?"

The Boss of the Black Market burst into laughter while the patrons of the lounge stared at him.

"You released a planetary terraforming array for under five hundred billion credits. Just the interest on the loan that your competitors offer for their services is over a trillion credits a year per planet. You basically crushed their business overnight, there was a run on their stocks, and they lost hundreds of pending deals the moment that the availability of your array was announced.

Forget competing. You very nearly drove their families to suicide. I don't think it was a cultural issue but a pricing model issue. For as long as I can remember, there has only been the same handful of Terraforming Companies, and they are all in it together to fix prices and make a fortune off generations of colonists.

I'm sure the Envoys informed you that the price of your array was less than the price of the ticket to get to the planet, correct?" historical

Max nodded at the Boss's assumption. He had indeed heard that. But the point of his line of questions was only partially to find out about the culture of the Alliance. Each of the people in this room could afford a private planet at his price. How could they not hold the Terminus Trading Company, and through them, humanity as a whole, in high regard when they made such an opportunity possible?

The VIP Lounge was for doing business, and that's what Max was doing. Business, in the most human way possible. By the least scrupulous and most efficient way imaginable.

Boss Archibald realized that Max had actually been after new customers a second after seriously answering the question and turned an appreciative smile toward Max.

"I don't suppose that you also have those in stock, do you?"