[Not a problem, Terminus. We have a waiting list of applicants that we can pick from among the refugees, so at least a few Battalions of Infantry shouldn't be an issue, and we have lots of trained staff for domestic positions and ship logistics if you don't care what nation they come from.] The Moon Base replied.
[Make it as varied as possible. We get a lot of alien tourists, and I want them to experience the full spectrum of human culture and genetic variation so they aren't surprised at any of our stops.] Max informed the base.
[If your precision Portal Function is working, open an interior Portal at these locations in six hours. We will have your staff assembled since it is now early morning in the Capital.]
The location was for a public promenade in the Capital city on the plains, and six hours from now would make it the middle of the afternoon there when he was scheduled to pick up his new crew.
That wasn't much time for them to pack, but the Reaver standard was much like the Military. They would arrive with only a single duffle bag worth of gear, which most of them kept packed at all times. They might swap out a few items if they had time, but if they got a short-notice deployment offer, they didn't want to miss out because they didn't have their gear ready.
The city even offered a packing and storage service, where the contents of an apartment would be loaded into storage for them so that they could take off the moment they got an offer and not have to worry about their belongings or rent payments.
A Gig Economy, Dave would call it. Thinking of him made Max sentimental, and he scheduled dinner with him and the kids, who he hoped had been adjusting well to life aboard a Reaver ship instead of in the slums of Kepler Terminus.
The Infantry were going to be shocked when they arrived aboard Terminus, as there were no standard infantry racks anywhere on the ship. Instead, they would be assigned the simplest of barracks, which still had small single rooms, instead of the three high bunks in a communal room which most ships assigned to the lowest of priorities.
Originally, that had been a storage bay, and then it was made suitable for a Mecha Battalion before being upgraded to house any potential Refugees that they might pick up, so they had more than enough space for their new Infantry, no matter how many the planet managed to organize for them.
[Good news, Nico. Tell the ladies that we are going to receive testers for your new infantry armor designs. I ordered an Infantry Regiment from Rae 5 along with more staff.] Max told his second in command.
[Perfection. We have all sorts of new toys for them to work with, and we are short on all sorts of Technicians and logistics personnel. The Innu will be overjoyed that they don't have to wait for testers anymore. I will steal some from the existing infantry that is aboard the ship so that I don't mess up the new arrivals.]
They were going to need more Shuttles as well if they ever wanted to actually deploy this Infantry without loading them alongside a Mecha Battalion in a Cutter, but that could wait for later. Until they finished their outreach work here in the Death Wind Territory, they likely wouldn't be engaging in a full-scale planetary invasion.
The new Cutters were securely at the dock now, and the Transports had departed, leaving their cargo attached to the space station and unoccupied while they queued for the increasingly long line to pass through the portal. Once they got motivated, the Mercenaries were in action surprisingly quickly, and they formed a double file line to depart for Rae 5, being just narrowly capable of passing through the portal that way.
[Exterminators, your presents have arrived. They are on the same spur as Terminus and are currently unoccupied. I will meet you there in five minutes to code your biometric information into the locks.] Max informed Commander Arnold and his teams.
[Now that's what I call service. Same-day delivery of fully equipped warships with all the bells and whistles. I'm not sure if my ancestors would be proud of me or weep at the loss of all the savings they had accumulated.] The Mercenary laughed.
These were all in the Cargo pattern, which wasn't really unexpected, given their speed. So, they would only be able to load a single Company of Mecha without losing Cargo space, instead of a full Battalion with no additional major cargo storage, except the materials for repairs.
Max jogged out to the dock doors, joined by Nico and a team of Technicians, who would program the initial biometric data and command codes for the four ships.
"They really went all out. The delivery order says they each have a full Company of mixed Mecha aboard. One hundred Line Mecha, fifty Corvettes, thirty Crusaders, and twenty Infernus Pattern Fast Attack Crusaders in every Cutter. The Reavers aren't willing to sell the Thunder Pattern Super Heavy Mecha yet, so this is the absolute best loadout that money can buy.
They must have some additional connections beyond simple money after all these years, or they wouldn't have gotten approval for four Cutters with all new Mecha on a single night's notice." Nico whispered to Max before they passed through the barrier at the bay door, which blocked all sound from the other side.
"Good to know. I hate being surprised by our own deliveries." Max told her with a wink and led the team out into the corridor.
Max led the team out into the corridor, where the Exterminators had split into four groups, each with roughly two hundred fifty Mercenaries, each headed by a grizzled veteran who should be the one nominated to become the Exterminators' newest Captain.
"Welcome to your new homes, ladies and gentlemen. I am sure you have all been frantically pleasuring yourselves to the specs all day, so I will cut the niceties short and have your Captains line up at their chosen door to input their biometrics and pick a name for their new vessel." Nico greeted the Mercenaries.
"Why do you have to call me out like that?" Someone laughed from the middle of the crowd, but the four Captains stepped forward without hesitation, picking the doors closest to themselves.
In theory, each ship was identical, but they had clearly thought about which one they wanted in advance, as they were standing in a specific order near the doors instead of being arranged around their Commander as they usually would.
Nico activated all four door controls and brought them into programming mode at the same time. "Place your face in front of the sensor and both hands on the tablet. That is the basic biometric lock, and then you will be able to set passcodes and additional users once you are granted rights as the Captains."
The process barely took a second, and all four doors opened.
"I know none of you want to wait until the entire crew is programmed in to begin the tour, so head in now, and the Captains can sort everything later."
"Now, Commander Arnold, which vessel should we tour? I will add you to all four vessels as an administrator, and you can set your passcodes now." Nico suggested as the last of the crew members ran past them into their new homes, each carrying a single dufflebag.
