The Klux delegation had already been given time to go over the agreement before Terminus arrived. They weren't asking for any modifications, so this signing process was more of a formality than a negotiation. They weren't in a position of power to be demanding more and were honestly flattered that the Reavers would even consider letting them join such a Trade Alliance.
The official document was placed on the table after the meticulously cleaned plates were gone. Lord Joseph didn't waste any time verifying that it was the same as the digital copy he had received, then signing.
The document was then scanned and uploaded, letting all the Reavers know that Klux was now a member of the Trade Alliance, along with an attached note that they would soon have high-end and highly durable common-grade dishes for trade, as they had in the past.
That got positive attention from both Cygnus and the Kepler Free Territory, both of whom had a lot of rebuilding to do inside their territories after the recent battles. Such common things as dishware might not seem like much, but when you were struggling for resources to rebuild critical infrastructure, being able to bring your citizens the necessities from a foreign location was a great benefit.
"Let's go over and show you the details of the Materials Printer. This one has been modified for the particular way that Klux prefers to do their manufacturing, with each process overseen by a separate human instead of having everything automated.
Of course, that is still an option, but the twenty-station quality control design is unique to the units we have made for your planet." Nico explained.
Lord Joseph admired the machine from every possible angle, then looked at the small pile of meteoritic ore sitting nearby for the purposes of demonstrations.
"May I? I have the design plans for the hardened dishes, assuming that this unit is compatible with the Mark 2 Constructors Files?" He asked.
That machine was obsolete by nearly three thousand years, and wasn't even a Materials Printer. It was an automated forge. But the files were so simple that the Materials Printer could analyze and transform them in a matter of seconds.
"Please input them into the main console, and the machine will convert them into modern formats for Materials Printers," Nico said with a grand gesture while Max signaled for Ore to be moved to the feed input side of the Materials Printer.
As expected, the process was quick and simple, and the printer extrapolated the desired material from the raw ore that was provided. Unlike the old version, which was painted with hard enamel, the Materials Printer would simply color and coat the outer layer of these ones, leaving a surface no softer than steel.
It could make a separate enamel coating to be applied on top, but it was simpler to save the step and form it at the same time.
Fifteen seconds after the data was input, the machine began to glow with energy, and the safety railings blocked the area where the work would take place. A minute after that, thousands of sets of dishes sat neatly on the floor, waiting to be boxed for shipment.
"It seems that we forgot to input data to put them in boxes. But that's a small oversight. Check them out and let us know if you find any quality issues with our products." Nico shrugged, seeing the dishes sitting on the floor.
"A small issue is no issue at all. If they were boxed, we would have to take them out to quality-check them before shipment. This way, we can box them on our own and ship them out. Is this the limit, or just the amount of material that you had on hand?" Lord Joseph asked.
"Just the amount of available material. The Materials Printer can make entire armor pieces for Super Heavy Mecha if it is programmed with the data, and they weigh dozens of tonnes each." Nico explained.
That impressed the delegation enough that they didn't have any more questions, except about the actual dishes that it had created. They appeared to be exactly the same as the ones from the original plans, but the method of creation was so different that they had a hard time believing that it wasn't a trick.
Eventually, they resorted to using an energy knife and cutting one of each dish apart to check the cross-section, finding that they did indeed meet quality control standards and weren't just an imitation that looked similar.
"At the price listed, we have enough spare funds to purchase six more units of the Materials Printers to complete the manufacturing lines of our Space Station, as well as one hundred units of the Replicators to go to the busiest locations in each city on the planet.
How long will it take to have those delivered?" Lord Joseph asked.
That was a slightly larger order of Replicators than Max had expected since he had thought that they would be more resistant to the technology, given their very structured culture, but Nico was ready for the request.
"We have the Printers ready now, and we can have the Replicators ready tonight. If you would like to make the credit transfer, we can unload the Materials Printers now and load the Replicators in your new shuttle when they are ready tonight. It is fully capable of repeated atmospheric entries without damage."
"Yes, that would be perfect. I will send a Piloting Crew here for instructions on the controls and navigation equipment since ours is a bit antiquated, so their training might not be sufficient, and we will begin assembling the Materials Printers right away.
That will take some time anyhow, as we need to disassemble the old production lines to install them, but we should be able to have it all ready in the morning for the first shift."
The Lord was certainly ambitious. They had just signed the deal, and he was planning to have the factory online the next morning with entirely new technology. Max put that down to enthusiasm until Nico shared an incoming message to the planet with him. Cygnus had placed an order for over a million units to be sent to one of the planets that they had just taken under their wing.
The damage to the planet must have been fairly severe, or the Cygnus Lords were looking to make a closer tie with Klux, which was going to be near their new borders when everything was settled.
Either way, it wasn't Max's problem. They had made their deal, and it was time to move on to the next system once the delivery was finished.
