487 487 Next Up, Nobody?
The next day at noon, Max was relaxing in one of the many hot tubs in the Cruise Ship area, having finally gotten rid of all the foreign dignitaries. Even Mary Tarith had left off to reinforce some of the other Tarith Reavers who were still fighting.
All that Terminus Trading Company had left to do was to finish making the orders that they had received and accept delivery of raw materials sent from Rae 5.
It was the most relaxing morning that he had enjoyed in quite some time, and he was determined to make it last for at least a few hours before someone interrupted him.
The pools near him were full of the Innu Technicians out for a midday swim on their break, reveling in the ability to stay properly hydrated even while living among a land-based species. Their versions of swimwear were getting more and more risque though, despite the fact that Max knew that skinny dipping wasn’t really a thing among their people, especially not in public.
The humans might be rubbing off on them, as tiny bikinis and tight shorts were popular among the pilots and infantry, who were usually quite proud of their bodies, even with the plethora of scars that they had accumulated over the years.
Most of the other species seemed to favor minimal coverage as well, at least the ones who were likely to enjoy the water features. Max wondered if it was an international standard, with humans being the prudes, or if it was just a case of tourists kicking back and unwinding to an extent that they couldn’t at home.
He even had time to order lunch to be delivered to a poolside table and eat before anyone bothered him. The production bays had finished up the Replicators for the ships that were present from the Border Nations, which was all that they were responsible for, and the resupply of materials would be arriving soon, requiring his permission to dock since the Admiral was off duty at the moment.
“That all looks good to me. Arrange for deliveries to be made. You can use our shuttles for the deliveries if the other ships can’t fit it into their schedules. Send me a message when the materials are unloaded and verified. The duty staff for the bay can take care of that. Do we have any more requests?”
The technician shook her head. “Nothing at all. From what I can tell, we have no specific requests once these tasks are complete.”
“Perfect, I could use a day off. Now, off you go. The sooner you finish, the sooner we can all relax.”
He was left alone again, and returned to the hot tub for another half hour, letting the jets work the tension out of his muscles, only roused from his relaxation when he saw a new set of posters going up on the notice boards that he didn’t recognize.
According to the sheet, the games room had obtained a new virtual reality simulator. A mental control Line Mecha simulation for the truly adventurous. You could run simulations from guarding against animal attacks or helping with construction tasks to a full-scale battle.
He hoped that they had toned it down enough that it wouldn’t traumatize their guests, but more importantly, he didn’t recall authorizing the renovation, so someone had spent their own energy allotment to have the software created and then put it in the public arcades.
Max looked through the ship’s logs to see where this all originated and traced it back to one of the Valkia VIP clients. They had shelled out a significant amount of Alliance Credits to the Innu Tech Nomads, who had spent their ship energy allotment to have the programs created and distributed.
pA(nD)A no ve1 Most of the guests had VR headsets in their suites, which could play the “Game,” but it wouldn’t be as immersive while the body was in rest mode as on the Mecha Simulators in the Arcades.
The muscle activation made it feel much more real and helped the body retain the memory once the event was over, which was why the simulators existed in the first place.
Since it was just Line Mecha and the standard Kepler Pattern with an added neural link, not the same as the ones that they were using aboard Terminus, Max didn’t see much risk to their security, so he didn’t do anything about it except head to the arcade and see how it was being received.
The Innu guests had control of the two machines in this arcade at the moment, with their progress displayed on a screen above the simulator, so others could watch. They were both on an engineering simulation, using the Mecha to build a bridge. Hardly a surprising pastime for the innately Tech Savvy species.
Heading up to the Arcade on the next floor, Max found one of the Valkia in the simulator, with a species he didn’t recognize in the other. They seemed somewhat human but were completely covered in clothing, and since they were immersed in the VR simulation, he couldn’t gather any more information about them at the moment.
The Valkia was in a war simulation, and the winged man was a true natural. His combat instincts were spot on, and his anticipation was incredible, but Max could see that he occasionally became frustrated with the fact that the Mecha couldn’t fly.
As a winged species, it was only natural that they thought in three dimensions, whereas a Mecha battle was largely two-dimensional, at least on a planet’s surface.
The guest exited the simulator with a huge smile on his face, and Max moved to greet him.
“What do you think of the simulators? I can have them add some additional features if you like. Perhaps a space battle, or a version of the Archangel Exoskeleton, so that winged species can fight while flying.” Max suggested.
“Oh, I have seen those exoskeletons. There was a video of your Second in Command using one to demonstrate a new capture net for dangerous species. They’re the ones that are like the technicians unit, but without the tentacles, right?” The older Valkia asked.
“That’s right. They have weaponized wings as well, so they are capable in combat but still lighter duty than the Line Mecha from the simulation.
“Enjoying combat too much is unseemly for a Valkia, but I would greatly enjoy the chance to try out one of those exoskeletons, the guest answered in a measured tone meant to hide his excitement, which was no longer socially acceptable in the Alliance since they had eliminated interstellar battles.
“I will get them on it right away. It shouldn’t take them more than a day or two to prepare it for live use.” Max agreed before waving goodbye as the man turned back to the simulator.
Humans really were a bad influence on the universe, but it was good to see the Valkia becoming a bit less uptight. Max knew from their public records that there was still plenty of crime and violence in the alliance, they just kept it contained on the planet, and the Valkia loved to be both negotiators and law enforcement officers.
Perhaps if they worked it right, they could market the Archangel Exoskeleton as new Police Equipment. Max made a note to have one equipped with nonlethal weapons and then present it to the Innu for their estimation of its marketability.
The blueprints from their podcasts were apparently making a not-so-small fortune lately, and a new piece of kit for dozens of Galaxies worth of police could catapult the Terminus Trading Company from an extreme vacation destination to a household name.