The Logistics staff did an excellent job of arranging a lunch buffet for the shore excursion, and the watch shifts changed at that point, giving them three Battalions on Duty instead of two, which left one available to escort tours through the forest, while the area around the waterfall and Terminus were both still adequately guarded.
"You look like you're deep in thought. Care to share?" Nico asked from a blanket on the ground where she was overseeing the crowd.
"I was just thinking about a plan I had earlier for a shuttle made based on the drones. Larger than the drones, with passenger seats and windows so that we could do tours of the wilderness from above. I would love to see what this world looks like from above when you're not entering at above terminal velocity.
I think it would be a great amenity, and it would really impress any Stations that we had dealings with if we showed up in a full custom shuttle." Max explained, laying down next to her and relaxing with his hands behind his head.
"That's an excellent plan. It wouldn't take me long to create one since I already have plans for a larger drone. You know, the one we were going to use for bombardment and resupply runs? It would be large enough for twenty passengers, which is also enough to supply a Battalion for a month on basic rations and minimal munitions." Nico suggested.
"But with huge windows. I want the passengers to be able to really see." Max clarified.
Nico thought for a second, then nodded. "We could use the transparent hull material that Terminus has for windows. It's just as strong as the existing materials, but we could create sturdy windows that extend right down to the floor, so you could lean over and look straight down or all around you. With the privacy coating that we use on bathroom stalls in use, it can be opaque, so the passengers don't freak out during entry or over unsettling scenes."
"That would be an incredible amenity." One of the Illithid announced from about twenty meters away but clearly talking to them.
"We can't all fly, but the views are incredible up there." Nico agreed.
"Oh yes, I forgot that you use a collection of flying devices. Are you not equipping them today?" The Illithid asked, walking over to speak to them from a more comfortable distance.
"I brought one with me in case of issues, but for now, I just left it waiting in my shuttle," Nico explained, which caught the attention of the Innu students.
The documentary team had brought camera drones, so they already had great footage, but everyone else had only seen the view from near the ground or during the entry.
"Can we have them for the next landing? The cool one with the tentacles. Flying with grabby tentacles would make exploring the forest so much more interesting than just walking through them. We have hover boots in the yacht, but none of us thought to bring them since we got all distracted thinking about the waterfall.
I think we're all too tired to go far today, but the next planet we visit, I totally want to fly through the forests with a sample collection suit." The Innu boy informed them.
"We can likely make some basic versions. The ones we have for the crew have welding and material printing attachments, as well as precision clamps and other tools that you wouldn't need for a nature excursion." Max reluctantly agreed.
Keeping track of flying Innu on an unknown planet would be a nightmare, even if they put trackers on them all. Max had seen missing person reports when he was young of people who went missing on Kepler Terminus, and it was fully mapped and well populated.
"There are so many things that we didn't think of in advance. It looks like we're not as fully stocked on amenities as we thought." Nico sighed, then turned her head to look at the river and laughed.
Max looked over but didn't see anything out of the ordinary, only a few of the Illithid sitting around in the shallows, as they had been doing all day to beat the heat. Their protective suits were temperature controlled, but they could feel the heat on their shell.
Listening in to the thought in the area gave away the source of Nico's amusement. A few of the Illithid had abandoned the safety of their suits and were having a water fight in the river, hidden from plain sight by their environmental suits and the distance.
Nico had spotted them using the thermal optics of her augmentic eyes while they were darting through the water using their tentacles to move with incredible agility.
"I thought at first that we had missed a mammalian species in the area. I didn't expect them to let loose and really start having fun." Nico explained to the Illithid standing next to them.
"They are younger than most of us. It is good for them to get it out of their system before they drive us all insane with their boredom." The Illithid chuckled.
[Will everyone wishing to go on the last wilderness tour of the day please meet at the top of the ridgeline where the friendly face of Colonel Ricci is waving at you in her Mobile Suit.] A Mecha's speaker declared, bringing a number of tourists running to get in on the action.
They only had a few more hours before it started getting dark, at which point they would do a twilight meal, watching the sunset hit the waterfall from the opposite side, and then they would all return to Terminus before dark.
They could remain here another day or two, but everyone was exhausted, and they had plenty of ideas for improvements, so they would move along for now and look for another stop when they could.
They also couldn't put off the meeting at the Cygnus border for much longer. A few stops would be expected, but they were on a timeline, and Max didn't want to be late for something that important if it was the sort of seditious alliance that he thought it was.
