historical

The talk after that turned to all the various items that the Humans might like, both from what they were allowed to purchase from the Alliance and what they might be able to get their hands on from the Black Market without it being traced back to the Station by the Envoys on their ship.

The presence of government workers made transactions on the wrong side of the law more than a little problematic, especially when the Envoys almost certainly knew where Commander Keres was and what he was supposed to be up to when he wasn't talking with the Station Boss.

That didn't mean that they couldn't do it quietly later, once he was on his way and the deals were organized, but to do them right now would just bring way too much trouble their way, and most of these people were pretending to be upright and moral legitimate businesspeople.

Once the initial caffeine rush was over, Max got up to return to his ship and made sure that Nico would be ready and they didn't lose Annabelle in the chaos.

[Don't worry, Boss. I've got her right here. I sold the rights to produce the coffee-based beverage group to the Station for on-station use as well. The Logistics and Development Departments don't want you to tell the Big Boss until they've made backups, though, in case he makes them delete it.]

[Once they've got the identification codes for the products, they can just download it from our ship anytime they want, even if the backups are deleted. But you have a point. It's better if we are not at the Station when they find out that we Caffeinated the Innu.]

[Oh, and I should probably mention that we also taught the Titans how to make energy drinks from their available pre-workout materials. That might be important too.]

[You're trying to make them hate us, aren't you? I just managed to sell them a Terraforming Array, don't do anything else that might ruin our working relationship with the Black Markets.]

Max could sense that Nico was laughing at his response right before she sent him a video. A group of Titans had prepared a vibrant green drink and were working out at the Gym while a large group of hyper Innu cheered them on. Once their set ended, and they were visibly worn out and sweating profusely, they chugged down a litre of the neon green slurry, shouted "GAINS," and went to do another set.

If that was how they were using it, they should be fine, as long as nobody died of a heart attack from overdosing on the stuff. The second bit of the video was just a more depressed-looking version of the first, where they ate mouthfuls of pills and some sort of nutrient bar before returning to their workout.

[I will be there soon, get everyone ready for our departure, even if they start crying and begging for more research time.] Max instructed as he said his goodbyes to the patrons of the VIP lounge and promised to make special arrangements for them should they want to visit Terminus for a vacation in the future.

"So, I can see the Academy where the young Emperor is studying?" The Myceloid Prince asked, practically vibrating with excitement, but more for the chance to see the Headmistress than anyone of his own species.

"The Academy is off limits to everyone but students at the moment for obvious security and student focus reasons, but on their off days, there is a good chance to run into anyone from the Academy inside the Cruise Ship area of Termins.

Perhaps if you wait a few months until they have finished their observational module on the Klem pacification and the rebuilding of invasive species-damaged planets, you could take an interstellar highlights tour during their next long break.

The Headmistress set up a very good one last time, and it was all the rage with parents of the students."

"Of course, of course. One simply doesn't walk into an Elite Academy. I got ahead of myself. I will look up the schedule and get ahold of the bookings agents aboard Terminus." He backtracked as he realized that Max had seen right through his intentions.

The Station Boss escorted Max out and down the hallways that led to the hangars with a nervous look on his face in anticipation of what he would find there.

"Relax, Nico calmed them down so that we could leave on time. They have had time to examine all the new things that we brought with us, so they should be busy trying to modify and improve on them for a little while. That will bring some peace to your Station as long as we got all the bugs out." Max laughed.

"Don't remind me. Even a Freighter Beetle infestation will give me the creeps from now on. And they're not even hostile. They're just gluttonous."

That was right. The sentient insect species of the Alliance were all friendly and benign species. Meeting them with a human crew would be an interesting experience since the immediate and visceral reaction of his crew was going to be to squish them, and that would just be seen as a horrific act by basically every other intelligent species.

He could deal with that when the issue came up. Max had no idea what part of the Universe the insectoid species were from anyhow, so there was a chance that the humans might not even meet up with them in his lifetime. With millions of inhabited planets, the odds of meeting any specific group were pretty low unless they took an active role in diplomacy, which it seemed that the insects did not.

There were only a few lingering Innu around when they all made it to the ship, and those last few were all on duty right now and supposed to be in the hangar areas, much to the Station Boss's relief. Telling off his workers only made them sulk, and happy workers were loyal workers.