They were four drinks into the evening festivities, and both Sill and the Government Official were beginning to get a bit tipsy when the first wave of Nico's revenge hit the airwaves that evening.
[Breaking news. A confidential source has sent us damning evidence that a senior government official attempted to send a team of mercenaries to force out shop owners in the Business District, starting the events that led to a brutal gunfight with planetary police.
We have in our possession a series of electronic communications, including bank transfers, that verify the alleged corruption case. Our reporters are on scene at his home, we will cut to them now.] The news broadcast above the bar announced.
Everyone nearby had turned to watch as the distinctive 'breaking news' logo came up on the screen, and many of them were requesting the documents on their data slates and other devices, so they could see for themselves what the news had uncovered. The official next to Max turned to see if he had anything to do with it, but Max was watching the screen, looking intent on not missing anything, though he already knew what had happened, and was more focused on the thoughts of the man whose face was in the small display while the screen showed the exterior of his home.
Only a few minutes later, a woman and three kids came running out, screaming and crying, a touching scene for the news cameras, who didn't know what had happened yet.
Then only seconds after they came outside, multiple police vans and an ambulance arrived, pushing through the reporters and storming into the building.
[I don't think he took the news well.] Max informed Nico.
[Don't worry, They've got a top-notch security system, I reactivated the healing protocols, and he should be just fine once he's out of surgery.]
"Turn on channel 107 on the other screen. Tonight has gone crazy." One of the guests shouted.
The bartender complied without question, used to random demands by wealthy customers, but it wasn't a sports game that they wanted to be turned on this time, another senior politician was being slapped in public by a young woman, who had a child in a stroller behind her.
[Initial reports say that he has refused to pay child support for the love child with his mistress. What caused today's scene is unknown, but sources report that he might be linked to the leaked documents on government corruption that came out just minutes ago.] The subtitles read.
The Government Official looked at Max and Nico in horror. There was no way that any documents could have been leaked, their security was much too tight for that. The thief would have been caught in milliseconds, long before they had a chance to transfer the documents to a news organization.
"What did you do?" He whispered to the two human Commanders, who didn't look the least bit surprised.
"Why would we need to do anything? We run a trading company with an annual profit margin ten times the GDP of most planets. We don't have to do anything for half the Alliance to try to get into our good books. Give it a few days, and I'm sure that everyone involved in the situation will have their dirty laundry on prime-time news." Nico replied with her best professional smile.
The Official sighed, and his work phone dinged with an incoming text message informing him that an unregistered spacecraft had just left the atmosphere with an unknown number of occupants and immediately went to warp after passing through the planet's main portal.
"So, some are named and shamed on the news, some have fled, and I suspect that even more will suddenly go missing over the next few weeks as more information spreads. It looks like framing you for some murders is only the tip of the iceberg." He sighed.
"But on the bright side, it's not your problem tonight. Look how easy it's gotten to make sure nobody thinks we got special treatment by the government." Max consoled him.
"Honestly, I doubt that anyone will even remember that you were involved by the time that morning rolls around. Political scandals simply don't happen here, and two in one day, one of which nearly ended in a high-ranking official's self-inflicted death, is practically the scandal of the century." He replied with a roll of his eyes.
Nico smiled and pulled him to his feet.
"In that case, we need to dance. Sill, do you know how to dance? This one looks easy, you can just follow along with the crowd."
"I've never danced a day in my life." Sill admitted.
"That's fine. I bet we can find you a teacher. How about you? Would you like to teach this lovely young shopkeeper how to dance?" Nico asked one of the guests at the bar next to them.
The young man blushed, and his single nostril flared in lust as he saw the lovely young woman in front of him, and Max chuckled at Nico's attempt at matchmaking. Sill worked at a Black Market furniture shop, and her family ran a coffee shop, while the man in front of her owned a nearby resort, worth hundreds of billions of credits.
It was something like a Cinderella story, only this Cinderella would normally have never received an invitation to the ball.
"Of course, how could I turn down a lady in need?" He replied, taking her hand and leading Sill off to the dance floor.
"Now, let's dance." Nico laughed as she dragged the hapless official onto the floor, leaving Max and Nala to trail behind them.
"She's remarkably confident, isn't she?" Nala asked as they reached the dance floor.
"Nico takes exactly what she wants. Plus, she never gets tired, so she can dance all night. There is no way I could keep up with that level of energy, so I just let her do her thing, and then I'll find her later in the evening when she gets bored and starts getting creative." Max laughed.
While the five of them enjoyed an evening of dancing and drinks, halfway across the planet at the resorts that had been booked for the majority of the guests aboard Terminus, thousands of confused human soldiers who hadn't been watching the news while they were on vacation found that they were suddenly very popular with the locals and the other guests alike.
Not only that, but everyone had been upgraded to the all-inclusive VIP package, and the resorts were going all out to make sure they had the time of their lives. They had no idea why they suddenly rated such great treatment, but they would never say no to a free upgrade.
It was only the next day at breakfast that they saw the replays of the news from the Business District and realized that Commander Max had been putting in the good word for humanity, and pushing their coffee business, which made the Innu among the vacationers inordinately happy. There wasn't a coffee shop in the resorts that they were staying at, but there might be soon.
After all, a caffeinated Innu was a happy Innu.
