Max took a moment to decide where he was going to go first. The question was if it was to collect the Innu Envoy or if he should head straight to the meeting area to welcome the members of the Valkia Royal family.
If the Envoy was that desperate for coffee, she likely already knew, and that meant the other Envoys should be brought along as well. So, he planned to intercept her on the way.
"Let's stop for coffee, then intercept the Innu ambassador and everyone who is trying to stop her from hiding from her work for the day. We will bring them all along with us to the reception area on the docks, where the next guests will be arriving.
I think that will be the most time-efficient course of action, and if I am right, we will all want to be caffeinated for this." Max explained.
"Well, no soldier turns down caffeine or a nap, so we're in. It sounds like this is going to be the highlight of the day, but do you think it will be enough to stop the cameras from annoying everyone else to death?" General Tennant asked.
"I can almost guarantee it. Especially for the Alliance news operations. Compared to some boring meeting of political leaders, this is going to be much more juicy gossip."
That was loud enough for a few nearby paparazzi to hear him, as Max had intended, and they scurried off to find reinforcements and subtly tail Max and the others to the meeting area, in case it wasn't the same spot that they were expecting.
He had said that it was big news, but that didn't mean that it was some top dignitary. The pop idols had all arrived from the VIP civilian docks, but the politicians came in from the military side and didn't appear directly in the public eye.
Which direction they went would tell the paparazzi a lot about what sort of important news they were about to receive, but to their great confusion, not only did Commander Max order coffees to go from a corner shop, he ordered two Innu specials with it, extra raspberry, extra espresso, and then turned toward the residential areas.
The mystery was solved when he met up with the Envoys, who were walking down the street together, but then they all got into a private transport and took off faster than the reporters could arrange to follow.
"The VIP public docks, they're headed straight for them, get all our people there now," the reporter ordered his underlings.
They didn't know what sort of story they had stumbled on, but if it was big enough to make the Commander of the Terminus Trading Company smile and assume that the cameras would be off of him, it had to be galaxy shaking huge news.
The Innu Envoy nearly vibrated with joy as she sipped the second latte, after having downed the first in a single long gulp.
"So, what is this big news? I know there is a ship under government protection coming, but that's it, they didn't tell us anything else." She asked.
"I think it would be more fun to learn as it happens, but the air of authority of the Envoys is important, so I'll give yo the heads up now. The Valkia Presidet's daughter is about to announce her engagement to the Crown Prince of somewhere called Salamat. He seems important, and the two of them are all over each other, to the point that even the Illithid have noticed stopped their discussion with the Elder to see if they've been drugged." Max explained.
"Oh, that is huge news. Salamat is a Galaxy within the Valkia territory. The Crown Prince is filthy rich, set to take over an entire Galaxy, and apparently he's one of the most eligible bachelors in the entire species. His every move is enough to make news and trending videos, so if they're coming here to announce their engagement, they're about to become one of the most popular power couples in the Alliance.
If nobody knew who the Terminus Trading Company was you would instantly become famous by association, just because they picked you. But because you're already one of the most popular vacation destinations in the known universe, you can expect your resort facilities to be packed with requests for at least two months.
If there are plans to open more, you should likely do that now, and have them open by tomorrow, because you've got about two hours before the booking lines go insane."
The other Envoys nodded in agreement, and the Valkia Envoy looked a little jealous.
Max smiled at the black winged man. "Is she that much of a beauty that it's a shame to see another man steal her heart away?"
The Envoy laughed. "Not on my behalf, I'm a good friend of the President, her father. I had hoped that my son might have a shot, but if she's gone for some big shot playboy, there's nothing to be done about it."
The others all laughed at his optimism. They might be family friends, but she was way out of his son's league. The boy had mediocre ambitions, talent and appearances. Not bad, but certainly not the sort of guy who would attract the attention of the greatest supermodels of his species.
"Well at the very least, I can get myself into a few photos with her to make the boy jealous. We do have priority to greet them as they enter, do we not?" He asked.
"Of course. Who else on this ship could usurp my authority to welcome VIP guests? If anyone, it would be Nico, but she's busy with a gaming tournament at the moment, and she won't be finished for some time. We're safe on that front." Max laughed.
"Man, it's good to know all the right people. Now, let's go get ourselves in the news for a split second before the big news is out. Do you think that they will enter together or separately?"
Max thought about that for a second, then smirked. "I have asked them to come out separately for a quick greeting, and then they can go to each other for a touching show of love. Their PR manager is eating is up, so I don't think it will be an issue."
