That evening, the first of the smaller ships that were being made in the remote factory system were ready to ship out, loaded with Androids, Mecha and the basics for their purchaser's requests. Even those that were going to the Alliance and would be crewed by the local military were still equipped with a basic maintenance and piloting crew of Androids, who would make the delivery on behalf of the Trading Company that produced them, and then remain on board as maintenance staff to make sure that everything kept running as intended.
It was like having a mobile mechanic and warranty service member on board at all times, to keep their purchase in good shape, and it didn't even cost them extra.
Max was hoping that the service would catch on, and they would be able to include it with their civilian ships in the future. The Android serving staff never messed up an order, and they were never late for work or hungover. They also wouldn't spill the owner's secrets or become a security risk after quitting. That alone would be a huge selling point.
There were portals open all over the region, sending a whole wave of ships off to their new owners, while Absolution filled the area with the orbital equivalent of fireworks, lighting up the star system for the cameras as they sent away the first batch of ships and made another promotional video. This one wouldn't be for the propaganda department, it would be for future sales videos, reminding customers that the Reavers could and would deliver on their promises, even when the demand was overwhelming.
It wasn't a service that anyone else offered, and finding technicians was always difficult, especially for a new product. Of course, many would prefer a more personal touch, in which case they would gladly train the employees who needed the technical knowledge, as well as providing a service manual for in house repairs, though those would not be warrantied.
It would inevitably bring even more of the Innu to their training sessions aboard Absolution, as they made up almost all the repair staff already, and while they were with the Reavers, they could be taught about a number of other fun Reaver inventions, like the Gravity Slides and Raspberry Lattes. It might seem cruel to corrupt such an innocent species as the Innu, but the payoff in loyalty would be worth the trade.
Plus, it was good for tourism.
Not all of them were being shipped out unmanned, though. Many customers had expressed the desire to come pick them up in person, for the same reason that Max was filming them leaving now. They wanted to show their planet's shuttle arriving through the Portal and then live stream them getting their new ship and bringing it back.
They would avoid showing anything classified in the walkthrough, but for the basic parts, like the exterior and some of the main corridors, there was no harm in showing them to everyone.
The military was still tracking the incoming vessels, as their change in direction had alerted everyone to their current location, but Max and many others were growing more concerned that the mistake was a trap, or a form of decoy to pull their attention away from the other attacks that the enemy had planned for the region.
If there was another group travelling at a slightly higher speed, and going straight for the border nations, then they could be there as soon as that night, and not in two more days, as the official estimates had anticipated.
Most of the first round of vessels would be going to those nations so that they would have something to defend themselves with if the sensors had missed some of the fleet, but the longer that things remained calm, the lower the chances that it had happened.
Nico had high hopes that the enemy was secretly hyper vigilant in their scouting and that their attempts to set up a secret military equipment manufacturing facility would be detected and counteracted in advance, preferably with the entirety of the fleet headed to the Galaxy, but that was just Nico being Nico, and she didn't care how likely their chances of winning such a battle were, only that it would happen where she was so that there was no chance she could possibly miss out on it.
"How are the Destroyers coming along?" The Giant Envoy asked as another of the Cruiser Class vessels was flagged as completed and waiting on pickup.
"The first batch of them is close to eighty percent complete. They're a completed hull at this point, and the weapon systems are being linked to the power sources as we speak. It should be an interesting sight to see them move under their own power for the first time, so don't worry, we will give you plenty of notice." Max replied.
The Giant shook his head. "No, what I mean is that I'm getting the feeling that we missed something important, and we're going to need those ships very soon. Do humans ever get that feeling?"
Max nodded. "All the time. I've been thinking that we might have missed part of the fleet, and if they were twenty percent faster, and on a direct course, not the decoy course that the other fleet took, then they should be here in the next few hours. The Destroyers might not be ready on time, but the Cutters and Cruisers will have a full wave out and staffed by then.
Assuming that the crews picking them up all arrive on time. I have noticed the lag in portal requests, so some of them must be running behind."
The Valkia frowned. "Is this a form of prescience? Or is it more of an educated guess based on experience and subconscious calculation?"
The Innu Envoy smirked at his confusion. "It's the second one. The Giants love to come up with worst-case scenarios in their heads and plan for them, so when we're in situations like this, they can't help but think that they've missed something and ways to prepare for the unknown."
Then the Innu looked toward the door that led to the research areas, where Nico and her team were making sure that the new ships matched the specifications which were requested by their purchasers.
"And then there are others who are just looking for a fight and hoping that the enemy shows up faster than predicted so they don't have to compete for kills."
