Navigating the tourists was getting easier every time Max did it, and soon he found himself in front of a crepe stand that had been set up near the base of the world tree in the nose of the Cruise Ship.
The root system of a World Tree was like nothing Max had ever seen before. It was a semi-sentient living being that lived almost entirely off of photosynthesis and water, but it adapted its roots to attract other species, who would drop foodstuffs for it to absorb for additional nutrients.
That meant that the walkways were all wooden. There were benches, flower gardens, artificial rivers, and much more that the tree thought would be attractive to the species on board.
They didn't stop at one level, either. The three levels below the base of the tree were all engulfed in the roots to a distance half again, as large as the crown that filled the hollow vertical void of the atrium that had been turned into a terrarium.
A number of the Shin were relaxing in the garden near the crepe stand when Max and the ladies stopped in to get a breakfast snack, so he stopped to say hello.
"Excellent work on the World Tree. I must say, it is a unique marvel among all of humanity. The gardens that you made with the roots are truly impressive." Max congratulated the tree man.
"Not that we had much to do with the roots themselves. We just built the gardens, and the World Tree filled in the rest on its own. Even the water features aren't really made of water. They are sap from the world tree, and if you watch, it is much like a slime creature, and it will move to pick up dropped food to absorb as nutrition." The Shin replied with amusement.
"That's pretty cool. We have self-cleaning technology, but self-composting and recycling are new. Have your holiday with us been otherwise enjoyable? I do hate to make anyone work on their days off." Max asked.
"Planting a new world tree is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of us, and all of this real soil is amazing. I have sent pictures back to the homeworld, and they thought that humans might actually be benevolent gods until I sent them the footage of your battles." The Shin laughed.
"I hope they were prepared. You can't just send random people live-action battle footage without warning them." Nico giggled.
"We warned them, but they didn't understand the word Mecha, I don't think. They freaked out when they saw the artillery start firing through the lens of the Drone footage. It was amazing. They think that the humans are terrifying, but a lot of them are eager to come here and enjoy the facilities. The war footage should be enough to keep them all on their best behavior.
"Have you ever seen human gardeners in action?" Mary Tarith asked.
"Oh, yes, the shaping and the binding and trimming. They're like sadistic barbers of your species, right? But the results that they come up with are to die for. I might even let one or two of my branches be trimmed if I could look that good." He told her.
"If you want to find out, let me know. I specialize in flower arrangements and Bonsai trees." Mary answered with a smile that made the Shin shudder.
"We will have to update the dictionary once we get home. The bonsai tree is a new word, but the implications are terrifying now that I know what it is."
"Would you like to join us for a formal dinner with the human dignitaries?" Max asked.
"Thank you but no, definitely not. Politics are not my thing at all." he denied directly.
"I don't blame you, I feel the same way, but as Commander, I have to be at every one of them."
With their snack finished, Max led the group through the ship, checking in with everyone and collecting compliments on their fashion sense.
That killed enough time that they could head to the dinner, where a pair of butlers were on duty to take his coat, as well as the ladies' shawls, before calling staff to lead them to their seats. Max was impressed by the professionalism of their new staff. He was a bit worried that they wouldn't manage to present a properly high-class front for such multi-nation meetings, but this one was going very smoothly, even with the variety of guests that they had invited.
"Lord Commander Keres, it is good to meet you. I am Lord General Samwise, Lord General Kirkland sends his regards, but unfortunately, he is occupied at the negotiations for the Omwat homeworlds and is unable to attend tonight." An older Cygnus noble with a tobacco-stained gray handlebar mustache greeted him.
"It's hardly reasonable to expect to keep him on call as my own personal negotiator. It is good to meet you, and I hope that you are enjoying your stay here aboard Terminus."
The old General smiled happily. "It has been a highlight of my long life. To think that I would see so many new things in one mission. Alien Engineers, machines that make elaborate dinners with the press of a button, Cutters doing Warp 10, and talking trees."
"All of the nobles stuck back on the homeworlds that won't get updated to the new technologies for years will be incredibly jealous of your experiences, but I am sure that we can make a spot in the production queue if you want one for your officers mess aboard the vessel you arrived on," Max suggested, stealthily sending the order to the production bays to reserve the Lord General a replicator.
"Oh, you are too kind, Lord Commander. I would be in your debt if it were possible. Ship's rations never sat well with me, and I am told that this will be an extended mission."
"Consider it done. Now, have you met Governor Lucci of the Border Nations? He is the planetary governor here, a most tragic position to be in, but we hold high hopes that his world can recover from the invasion in good time." Max said, turning the conversation to bring the nearest guest into their conversation, a tactic that he would be using all night long.
"Yes, we were talking earlier about some business. They are short on many things right now, and Cygnus is in a position to deliver. With the help of the Reavers and their fantastically fast new ships, that is." The Lord General replied, then pulled in even more nobles while Nico and Mary split off to chat with the other ladies.
The dinner went smoothly, and when it was time for the dessert course, Max couldn't help but notice Mary Tarith's excitement. She had actually had the staff make her famous birthday cake for him in large enough quantity to serve the entire room.
"This will be a treat, gentlemen. The dessert today is not from our world-class replicators but hand-made by the lovely Lady Mary Tarith." Max informed the room, bringing a round of polite applause as the cake slices were set out in front of them.
"I can feel my diabetes acting up already." One of the Border Governors laughed, looking down at the cake.
"It is sweetened with a unique plant from Kepler 142. It tastes sweet, but there is no sugar at all in the cake. If you can take a few slices of bread, the cake is safe enough to eat." She replied.
That was a good hint she had given out, assuming it was true. He just had to find the sweet plant that was not sugar from Kepler 142, and he would have one of the secret ingredients.
