Lord Joseph's question made all of the staff from Terminus laugh. This is a Reaver ship. How could we not have Rum? Putting aside the fact that we have replicators, just think of where you are.
"Of course we do," Max told him, taking the flask he had created out of the flat space and taking a sip before passing it over.
The tradition was one of trust, showing your guest that the bottle wasn't poisoned, but from the look on the planetary leader's face, it wasn't necessary. He simply needed the drink as soon as possible in hopes that it would help his brain recover from the shock that he had received.
Joseph finished the flask of Rum in one long swallow, then accepted the staff's lead to his seat at the round table they had prepared for lunch.
"That is a fine Rum. Where did you get it?" He asked curiously, staring at the empty flask, which was made out of some sort of plastic he didn't recognize.
"It is from the Replicator, as is the flask. That is why it is plastic and not metal. The replicators only make organic matter, so plant-based polymers are the basis for all dishes and containers it creates.
You can place your own in the machine and let it create food on top of them if you like. That is what our kitchens do because it saves on waste and energy usage.
You can keep that flask if you like. The replicator can make more with only a few seconds' wait." Max explained.
"So, everything that you are serving at this meal is artificial?" One of the staffers from Klux asked.
"Recombined, yes. Everything here was made on board Terminus, from the meal to the dishes and even the table that we are sitting at, which was created with the Materials Printer." Nico informed him.
That startled the delegation, but a second later, the dishes started coming out. Nico had picked what she called a surf and turf dinner. Steak and Lobster with an assortment of sides on a huge platter were placed in front of every dignitary seated at the table, filling the air with a delectable aroma that was making the Klux officers' mouths water.
Everything was in limited quantities on the planet, and there weren't many species of domestic animals that could survive the planet's conditions, so while they regularly ate fish, the steak was a rare delicacy.
"Eat up, please. This is all from the replicator, so with moderate energy usage, you can make meals like this out of any sort of base biomatter that you can provide. I think that it will be a big hit on the planet, even if your first order is only enough for a few locations." Nico suggested.
"Does it also make plain sorts of dishes? The tastes of most citizens of Klux tend toward the very basic, thanks to thousands of years of cultural development." One of the officers asked.
"We could have made it a simple meatloaf and mashed potatoes with steamed vegetables if that is your preference. We even have a variation that uses oatmeal as a filler in the meatloaf because it reminded one of our technicians of the way his mother made it at home." Nico told him with a chuckle.
That made all of the Klux officers smile. They did the same thing because the meat was expensive, and their government officials had an image to maintain. Luxurious meals, while the general population was on simple rations during lean years, wouldn't go over well with their egalitarian ideology.
Max nodded to the staff, who made the three simple dishes they had planned to suggest for just this reason. Meatloaf, shepherd's pie, and a plate of samosas. The last one was a bit spicy but still simple enough to make and vegetarian, which the locals would more likely be used to.
The Corporal working as a waiter, placed them in the middle of the table, and Nico pointed with her fork. "Feel free to sample them. We can adjust the recipes if they aren't to your tastes."
All of the units sold would have protective software in them that would prevent tampering and alterations so that Alliance members didn't start pumping out inferior knockoffs and damaging the reputation of the Reavers who had distributed the Replicators.
That did mean that they weren't easily user serviceable, but the Reavers would be happy to honor the warranty and replace them should one of them malfunction. It didn't take them much to make them anyhow.
Each of the dignitaries sampled the three new dishes on the table, looking pleased with the offering, and giving envious looks toward the Replicator.
"Can it do bulk orders? The tradition here is communal meals, so stew in ten-gallon pots would be more convenient than these lovely individual dishes." The Minister of Agriculture asked while he eyed the Samosas with greed.
"Yes, ten gallons at a time isn't an issue. You can even use your existing pots. The replicator even has the advantage of creating the meal at temperature, so nothing will get cooked to the bottom of the pot, or you can use it to create raw ingredients for your staff to cook in the traditional manner if that is your preference."
The Minister nodded. "That will definitely help with acceptance. We can feed the machine ground grasses and algae, as you do, and have it produce whatever we are short on until we have generated the funds to make them more mainstream. Then we can slowly switch to using them for everything.
But with the new shuttle and the Materials Printer, it shouldn't take us long to turn things around. No more than a year or two if we can get trade vessels here."
"I am glad you see things our way. You will find that the Materials Printer is very versatile, and as you can see, this one is industrial scale, capable of replacing an entire assembly line.
We can offer you this one as a bonus, as well as the first Replicator, and then we can sell you even more before we leave if you want to fully outfit the space station."
That caught their attention.
"So, we could have an industrial station, on par with the first-tier nations, starting today? We could start selling the dishware that our planet was famous for on a large scale again. When we still got regular trading ships, it was the major export of the planet, and the hand-painted porcelain went for very good prices." Lord Joseph announced.
Max looked up the dishware that they were talking about and found that it came in two varieties, one was a delicate porcelain with hand-painted designs on it, and the other was a meteoritic alloy version with an enameled surface, which was well-known among the commoners of other planets as being virtually indestructible.
Max waited while the Ministers all shared appreciative nods about the proposal. It only took them a few minutes to come to a consensus before Lord Joseph turned to Nico with a smile on his face.
"Let's see that Trade Agreement. Klux would like to become a signatory to your Alliance, even if it means we need to send men to war to keep the peace."
