By the time that Max had picked out dinner and drinks, including one that doubled as a Cyborg Nutrition Supplement, he could sense Nico coming from the Technician's bays with a sense of anticipation on her mind.
They had all been working nonstop for the last few days, too engrossed in their work to sleep, so he was sure that at least her mind needed a break, even if her body could keep going indefinitely. She did have a System Function that reduced the amount of sleep that she needed, but he wasn't sure how well it worked or even if it was still active after her conversion.
He suspected that it was since she always seemed to be awake except for the rare time that he would catch her sleeping beside him, but he would have to ask her about it later to verify.
When he finally saw her coming, Max was glad that he had taken a moment to put on something nice since Nico had changed from her coveralls into a slinky black dress in a strange satin pattern that looked somewhat like a leaf.
"You look lovely today, as always." He greeted her with a smile, stepping to the door to activate the auto opener so they could enter.
"Thank you, it's our newest development in sustainable living. The Silk Leaf Tree. We hybridized it from a handful of samples, and this dress is made of a single leaf, cut, and stitched into a gown that is not only durable but recyclable and edible.
"Edible clothing?" Max asked, startled out of his previous train of thought.
"Possibly for emergencies only. I mean, the thought is interesting, but do you really want to eat someone's dirty laundry?"
Max laughed and punched in the code to set the room to the starry night on a grassy hilltop that he had selected for their relaxed dinner and set out the blanket and picnic basket that he had chosen.
"Oh, I like. Excellent choice."
Nico settled in next to him as he opened up the basket, checking out the top layer with amusement.
"You really did go all out." Nico whistled as she saw the selection of fresh fruits that made up the top of the basket.
"Oh, it gets better. You can't call it a romantic dinner under the stars if there is no dinner." Max informed her, then began to unpack the basket, bringing out small sandwiches, sliced meats, cheeses, and then a selection of pie and cake squares, followed by the wine.
"Watch out, Commander. At this rate, they will make a proper noble of you yet. Very impressive, and you even properly matched the wine to the meal." Nico commended him, then moved in for a kiss.
Max was breathless by the time she pulled away to begin the meal, choosing to move to his lap and feed him random bits more often than she took anything herself, other than swigs of the Nutritional Supplement drink.
The bottle said that it was Spiced Rum flavored, and it was made by the Reavers, so Max was certain that was likely the correct label, but watching her drink it straight from the bottle gave the whole scene a slightly surreal feeling like they were Pirates or Outlaws putting on an act, not respectable Reavers relaxing between trade negotiations.
Come to think of it, Reavers weren't really respectable, and they themselves had probably killed a few too many people to call themselves innocents, so perhaps it wasn't an act at all.
The dinner and the flirting continued right up until the Admiral sounded the thirty-minute warning for departure, meaning that all of the guests had been back aboard the ship for half an hour already and had started to settle into their daily routines.
The spot that Max had chosen wasn't particularly close, even at Warp 5, the maximum speed that Terminus could maintain without using a portal to travel, so they would have some time in transit, but that was part of the joys of traveling via Cruise Ship.
The last thing that they wanted was someone dropping in to see what they were up to when they were in the middle of an experimental weapon or technology test. Not only would it be awkward, but it would also make things difficult for the Reavers as a whole, as whoever saw them would assume that the entire Reaver Nation would have access to whatever they had seen and were simply holding out on their allies.
Of course, they really were holding out, but the good stuff that the others were holding back was a full two development generations behind what they were testing. This reminded Max that they needed to send some of these goodies to the Moon Base on Rae 5 to be optimized for mass production and distribution.
Especially the augmentic armor, and the flat space technology, now that they had enough that every combat crew member had one.
The Reavers would love that particular bit of tech. Maybe not his mother-in-law, since she was the only one that had it at the moment, but the rest of the millions of Reavers would appreciate it.
"What can we send off to Uncle Lu when we arrive at the test location, and what do we still not have an upgrade for?" Max asked Nico as she rested with her head in his lap.
"We can send them the first generations suits and watches, as well as the upgraded Plasma Rifles that use the bioelectrical packs, the previous generation of replicators that we're replacing with the ones derived from the Terraforming device, and I think that's it for now. The rest of our gear is either at their standard or only one generation ahead, which means we're still testing it." Nico informed him, then pointed at a star.
"Look, I found our old house."
Max did a double take. She was right. That was Kepler Terminus that the screen had just panned past. Max had totally forgotten that they were watching a recorded video on the walls and not the scene from outside the ship. It was good to let these pleasant distractions take his mind off reality for a moment.
