Max gestured to the security team, and they brought out one of the new pattern materials printers, then opened the bay doors to the next bay, where a large cargo shuttle in the same organic styling as Terminus and the Cutters was waiting.
"The Materials Printer is something that we are offering to every nation in the alliance as the basis for their own advancement. With enough of them, there will no longer be a need to do all of your construction manually. You will be able to create advanced materials and components with the printer and then simply have your people assemble them.
However, the cargo shuttle was made here aboard Terminus, especially for the people of Klux. It has a decent cargo capacity, but more importantly, it has an extremely strong gravity beam. It can easily drag asteroids too large for the Station to process back to you for deconstruction.
You lack ship-building technology, but the Reavers do not. So, we will offer this cargo shuttle to you as a sign of goodwill. It doesn't have a warp drive, but for work inside your system, there is no better technology available to humanity." Nico informed the Klux delegation proudly.
"Seriously? You will just give us one of your shuttles?" Lord Joseph asked in amazement.
"Not one of ours. That one. Terminus is a Colony Ship adapted for the specific use of the Terminus Trading Company, which includes limited manufacturing facilities. It was designed and built right here on our vessel, specifically for you." Nico informed the planetary leader.
The entire Klux delegation simply stared at her and Max in shock, unable to believe that the Reavers were so far ahead of them in technology that they could simply build a space vessel on the bleeding edge of technology aboard some random trade vessel, even if it were a former Colony Ship.
"May we examine it?" One of the women in the delegation asked, taking out a simple scanning device.
"Of course. Would you like to pause the negotiations for a tour and explanation? This seems like the perfect time for it." Nico suggested.
"That would be greatly appreciated. By the way, what is that sitting beside the Materials Printer? I don't believe that we got to its description." Lord Joseph asked.
"Ah, the finest of our offerings for our new allies. The Replicator. It has the ability to turn generic biomass, like bulk crops or even food scraps, into a variety of complete meals.
It has become a staple of the kitchens aboard Terminus, as we can have it make anything on an entire menu in an instant out of hydroponically grown algae sludge. It is the fastest growing biomatter supply that we could find, but you can use anything your planet specializes in."
That stopped the delegates who were moving toward the shuttle in their tracks. Such a device was beyond belief. The conditions on Klux were harsh, and even with extensive engineering of their crops, and the devotion of the majority of their revenue to farm technology, they still struggled to grow a surplus.
But algae could be grown abundantly in any body of water, and it didn't need to be edible or appetizing if this device could make it into other food products.
"Why don't we check the ship first, and then we will make lunch with the Replicator, and everyone can sample its output potential?" Max suggested, speaking for the first time in this meeting.
"Yes, of course, Commander Keres. I look forward to trying the sort of ration pack that would appeal to a man of your stature." Lord Joseph agreed.
His sycophantic tone annoyed Max, but that was unavoidable. Reaver Commanders who controlled a Colony Ship were equally ranked with Planetary Governors on the social hierarchy, and some could generate revenue larger than a small planet's GDP by trading precious materials. More importantly, they also controlled a Mecha force that could challenge systems like Klux without even calling for reinforcements.
It was just a fact of life that weak nations would be walked over in negotiations, and Lord Joseph knew that very well. That was part of why the Reavers didn't have their Commanders lead such meetings, even though they were present. A representative could be bargained with. The man with the biggest guns was much harder to deal with.
Nico led the team to the Shuttle, explaining the features as they walked, which impressed the scientists among the Klux team.
"Tell me, Lady Tarith. Are you also interested in the fields of advanced technology?" One of the representatives asked as Nico started getting into deeper details.
"Very much so. In fact, this particular ship is my own design. Klux produces mostly food crops, so the cargo hold was designed for bulk crops to be easily loaded and unloaded, including a rotational gravity control, which can pour out the entire contents of the bay without any human intervention. But the system lacks raw materials for manufacturing, as the planet itself is very low in metals, so I upgraded the gravity beam to bring asteroids to your station." Nico told him.
The man was nearly in tears of joy at her thoughtfulness, and even Lord Joseph was staring open-mouthed at the little cyborg.
"You really did go all out to prepare for the meeting. It almost feels like we are negotiating on equal footing for the first time in my career." The Lord chuckled.
"That's how it is when you are dealing with Reavers. Every customer is important, and with the new alliance, soon many small systems will be on equal footing and share the same trade terms, so you won't have to worry about merchant vessels gouging you simply because they can."
The trade minister, who had a beam scale pin on his uniform hat, looked startled. "How do you propose that the Reavers will take over the trade routes?"
"That's going to be the easy part. We have developed a new generation of trade ships. They are much smaller than Terminus here, but they are on par with the Cutters that we carry, able to move a hundred thousand tonnes of bulk goods at Warp 10. As Warp factors are exponential, they can make the trip across the human-controlled territory in a matter of days instead of months.
Who else could compete with that level of speed for long-distance trade? No more will you have to wait months to receive products you have ordered from farther-flung destinations, and with the time saved, the cargo rates will lower somewhat for long voyages, as you are only tying up the vessel for a few days, not for months."
Nobody seemed to have a response to that. The thought that the Reavers would be able to move cargo at Warp 10 was so far beyond reason and logic that the Klux delegation couldn't process the news at all.
"Why don't we put the tour off for a bit and have lunch? It seems that this is a lot to take in, and it will be easier to digest the news over a nice meal. We will bring in the wait staff now, and you can watch as they make your orders with the Replicator. The menus are already on the table." Nico suggested, leading Lord Joseph to a table in the back of the cargo hold, which had been prepared for the purpose.
"Yes. That would be good. Do you perhaps have any Rum? I think I need a drink."
