The High Chancellor left immediately after the repair vessel, but on a different course, one that would lead him one galaxy over from where the repair ship was headed, assuming he didn't change course once he reached open space.
[Nico, tell me what we lost. I'm certain he didn't leave without scrubbing the system.]
Max was already looking through the ship's computer, searching for missing or recently deleted data, in case something could be salvaged.
[It looks like the only thing he cleaned was surveillance logs of his vessel and his team. The data we scanned about it is gone, but everything else, including the repair logs of the yacht, is intact.
There are no glaring inconsistencies, they just changed their appearance to be nothing. I could find a few spots where others were clearly talking to nothing, but no sign of the High Chancellor.] Nico reported.
[And your own memory?] Max asked.
[I couldn't get a very good look at the vessel myself, they were careful about that, but I know what it looks like, and a bit about the Warp Field.
Not enough to replicate it, but enough to give me a clue as to where to start.]
Overall, that was better than expected. Max had been worried that they would remove much more than the Chancellor and his team, but it seemed that the Innu weren't concerned about Terminus gaining knowledge of their civilian vessels.
He took it as a small sign of trust since the world ships that had interacted with humans before had blocked all forms of scans, even of their smaller shuttles.
[Traffic Control, what do we have left on the schedule for today?] Max asked, now that the important parts of his concerns had been settled.
[Commander, all arrivals are complete, we have one cargo barge still unloading in the port side bays that will be leaving within the hour. All other vessels aboard have expressed their intent to remain for the journey.]
[Inform me when the barge has departed. We will be departing for the Cygnus border as soon as we are loaded.]
[Yes, Commander.]
Max sent a signal for Nico to meet him at the bay they had locked off for the Code Vermilion shipment and left his office in the aft section of the ship.
Uncle Lu hadn't spoken a word about what they were getting, but Max assumed that the two crates were the new Mecha and a collection of spare parts. He couldn't wait to see what the modified design turned out to be.
Nico and Inquisitor General Ming met him at the door, and Max gave the Inquisitor a confused look, wondering how the man knew that they were going to be there.
"I was waiting here for you two to arrive. I knew your curiosity wouldn't hold out long after locking down an entire bay to receive a shipment from the base." He explained.
"Alright then, let's see what we have." Max sighed, knowing that it would be more trouble than it was worth to try to keep secrets from the Inquisitor.
The two metal boxes weren't the same size, and only one seemed large enough to hold the Mecha, so that is where Max started.
The whole front of the storage box swung clear of the crate with an input of his handprint, revealing the long-awaited Titan Class Mecha in all its glory.
The statuesque Samurai knight stood tall at a full forty meters to the top of its helmet, with a long-nosed red Tengu mask on its face under matte black armor.
The Laser lenses in the shoulder pads were clearly visible, and the lower forearms held six barrels each, encased under Armored plating, which combined to made up the new Disruptor-based main weapon.
Beside the Mecha stood an assortment of weapons. A long sword, a short sword, a shield, and a retractable Halberd.
Then there was an odd-looking pair of pistols that Max hadn't expected, as pistols hadn't been on any of the design outlines.
A hologram of Uncle Lu appeared in front of Max, smiling in the relaxed manner everyone was used to seeing.
"Greetings Nico and gentlemen. I am sure you have questions, so I programmed this short introduction video for you.
Most of the design specs are as we discussed. You can explore those at your leisure. The melee weapons all have energy fields over the blades, with randomized, rapidly rotating frequency patterns to prevent countermeasures from rendering them ineffective against Interstellar vessel shielding.
The swords are self-explanatory, but the shield carries an internal power pack, based on the biological energy storage units you discovered. It is very much a prototype, so I expect data if you do use it. The Halberd is much like the swords, but it has an Ion Cannon built in to give your enemies a nasty little surprise. The pistols are simple Ion Destroyers, in case you run short on other weapons.
The shielding unit has been upgraded from the super heavy Mecha, linking three modules together in order to withstand the level of incoming fire it is expected to receive.
I will leave the rest to you, and advise you to open the other crate if you haven't already done so. Knowing Commander Keres, he went straight to the good stuff, while Nico is losing her mind because I shielded the boxes so she can't examine the contents until they are open."
The last bit made both men laugh, while Nico just shrugged in agreement. If the Titan Class Mecha wasn't so amazing, she would have already ripped the other box open just to see what Uncle Lu had hidden from her.
"The other box can wait a few seconds. I am not moving on until this beauty is humming under my fingers." Max advised, then ran to the side of the crate to climb the internal ladder which led to the cockpit of his new Mecha.
With a short leap from the wall to the Pilot's door, Max stepped inside, finding himself looking at the interior of a tiny luxury apartment.
"Welcome, Pilot Max, to the Titan Class Mecha Cleansing Light. This unit is now coded to your unique genome and will function for no other without your permission.
Please note the presence of a stasis pod with the finest healing technology available under the bed for your exclusive use. Here, nothing short of total obliteration should be capable of ending your life." Uncle Lu's voice greeted Max as he entered.
"Well now, isn't that something? Let's get this beauty powered up." Max told the empty cockpit in front of him, then headed for the command station.
