Chapter 691 691 Meetings On Vacation
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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The scent of coffee brought both other occupants of the ship out of hibernation just as they were entering the star system where their next stop was scheduled, so Max brought up the visual display on one wall for them to watch the phenomenon together.
"Coffee, coffee, coffee." Annabelle was chanting sleepily as she made her way to the replicator with tousled tentacles somewhat resembling bedhead.
Of course, she could control them, so their state was more of a reflection of her frazzled mind than a lack of grooming, but in this case, the concept was the same.
"Coffee will stunt your growth," Nico warned her, and the little Innu stopped suddenly just before pressing the button.
"That wouldn't be good. I can't reach the research desks properly. I can't work forever on stilts just because the tables are too high." She mumbled, then made herself a juice and a plate containing some sort of sushi rolls.
eaglesnovɐ1,сoМ "Ah, I love the replicator." She sighed at the first bite of her breakfast.
Max looked into her thoughts to see what she meant, and once he got past the happiness about sushi for breakfast, he found that her mother worked early and had signed her up for school breakfast and lunch programs, so she ate cafeteria food twice a day.
It was good food and came from the replicator, but it was carefully curated by the school's nutritionist to create a balanced daily intake for optimal learning, which was very different from optimizing it for what a bunch of seventh-grade students actually wanted to eat for breakfast every day.
"This morning, we don't have an assignment. I have a bunch of meetings with the Envoys, and I found a particularly interesting specimen for you to examine." Max explained while they ate.
"Oh, what sort of science lesson is this?" Annabelle asked.
"Call it a morning break period. There is a planet up ahead with a unique visual effect in the atmosphere that will make a great spot to stop for the meetings since the communications get garbled at high warp and long distances.
That's just rude to the Envoys, so I will be stopping the ship while I hold the meetings, and then we can carry on, and you can finish up the analysis of the route that you started on yesterday. There are a lot of factors that come into play, so I don't expect that it will be done in a single day when you haven't even learned the base material yet." Max explained.
"Got it. I will try not to get in the way while you're holding meetings." She agreed with a sloppy salute.
Nico pointed to the viewscreen on the wall. "We're here. What do you think of our layover location for the day?"
Pure joy overtook Annabelle's thoughts, and she stared at the screen in awe while her hands made happy flapping motions before she decided to grab her data tablet and start making notes of the phenomenon, just in case she wanted details to help remember it later.
Max was quite sure that this wasn't a moment that she was going to forget anywhere in the near future, but it made her happy to record it, so he didn't say anything and just let her take her notes while staring at the bursts of colour and fire that rocked the planet.
After a minute or so, he retired back to his office so that he could make the connections to get the meetings started and brought up Major Miller on his holographic projector.
"Commander, you're right on time. The Envoys are just arriving in the office for the morning meetings. How did your first day away from the ship go?" The former Adjutant asked.
"Better than expected. We have a verified report of Klem pods passing through a region, though we can't confirm their origin or trajectory. We found other signs of the Klem as well and some signs of suspicious vessels, but it hasn't been enough for a solid lead yet, so we are on our way to another possible location." Max explained.
"That's better than any of us expected. The odds that there would actually be something to trace after this long were pretty low, and if the pods were sent intentionally, the perpetrator would have done their best to hide their tracks."
Max saw the Envoys appear in the hologram as they entered the room and gave him a wave.
"Welcome, everyone. If we've all got coffee, please take your seats, and we can get started." Max greeted them.
"Good morning, Commander. I am prepared for the day. I have a coffee for now and one for later. Let's do this thing." The Innu Envoy cheered.
"And by later, she means in about three minutes from now." Max's Illithid advisor informed him from the background.
"I'm sure he already knew that. But I should ask, is Annabelle alright? Your message was a bit vague, and her mother was concerned." The Innu Envoy asked.
"She's fine. She managed to sneak aboard the new ship after learning about it. Nico had taken down most of the security because we were about to board, and she got inside. We left before we noticed her, but she was not in any danger except in danger of learning new things. We have assigned her homework assignments to be done on every topic that comes up during our mission in order to improve her frame of reference."
The Envoy looked like she was going to say something, but the Giant beat her to it. "Unfortunately, Homework, like Decaffeinated Coffee, is not a sentient beings rights violation."
The others all chuckled at the standard Innu objection to anything that forced them to sit still without being engrossed in a project, and Max smiled at the camaraderie between them.
When he first met them, he had thought that they were a bit awkward and unfamiliar with each other on a personal level, but that turned out to be the opposite of the truth. They were actually highly stressed when they first arrived since they didn't know how the humans would react to them and were getting on each other's last nerve.
Now that they had time to settle in, they were more like one large dysfunctional family.
Chapter 692 692 Good News From Home
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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The Envoys all got comfortable in their seats while Max sent over the data they had collected on the Blarg and the leads they had gained on the possible Klem origins in the region.
"Forget the Klem infestation. Does this data really show that an incurious species is starting to develop true curiosity? It looks like they're not quite there yet, but this is huge news. I don't think I've ever seen it in person, though I know of a couple of species that had evolved that way, like the Dryads, who used to be forest spirits before they evolved into one of the Curious species." The Valkia commented.
eαglesnᴏνel "It shocked us as well. We had a minor misunderstanding at the start, but they were hospitable enough, and as you see there, they even requested specific new things to try simply because they were different from anything that they had tried before.
It is possible that they are going to attempt a coup within the next few decades, though. Their curiosity conflicts with the rigid structure of their society in a major way." Max agreed.
"Fortunately, that's not my problem. We have more information for you as well. Your next stop is at a space station, where a large number of questionable deals are made. As a Reaver, you would be perfect for that position, and we won't question your purchases as long as they're not outright illegal, but there is a chance there for you to gain some notoriety within the Alliance.
They hold an underground fighting arena there, and while the results aren't public knowledge, the sorts of businessmen who might know the answers we need will be there, and they might be willing to deal with you once you have proven yourself to be worthy of their attention.
A small Company, especially one that specializes in perfectly legal and legitimate products, wouldn't do much to change their minds, but the fighters that can excel in the arena are highly respected." The Valkia explained.
That wasn't a bad option. Max read the data that they sent to him quickly and saw basically what he expected. A black-market station with a boxing arena, but for multiple species. The fights weren't to the death, just to knock out, so it wasn't anything too extreme, and a few matches could get him some respect for his strength.
Perhaps especially for his strength. Compared to most organic species, Max was a monster, and his comically overpowered physique went mostly unused in his daily life.
"I will look up the species that are on the roster for the fights and make sure that it wouldn't be a suicide mission. Making a spectacle of myself wouldn't help our cause at all. But I'm sure that we can find a good reason to stop in at the station for a bit while we are studying the traces in the region.
Trying to find a ship near a busy spaceport would be a lost cause, but there is a chance that we might be able to detect hints of Klem Biomass if one of the ships had come into contact with the pods or had been on the surface of an infested planet.
We will have to be a bit more covert about our scans, though, since we don't want to enrage an entire space station when we're just passing through." Max agreed.
"Just be aware that the fights are usually in uniforms and between crew members, so you can expect that they will have some sort of armour, despite weapons being banned. Full Conversion Cyborgs or mechanical beings are prohibited as well.
The Alliance has very little experience with something like Nico, and the rules regarding them usually lump them in with Androids, which aren't seen as a fair opponent since they feel no pain and can fight through so much damage." The Envoy added.
"That's fine. I'm sure she will pout, but she can take care of Annabelle while I gather information aboard the station."
The group all looked at the Innu Envoy, then back at Max. "Are you sure it's wise to leave those two unattended together?"
Even the Illithid was doing his best not to laugh at that one.
Nico stuck her head in the door with a smile. "Oh, ye of little faith. Don't worry. I'll keep our little research assistant out of trouble, no matter how much fun a good fight sounds like."
Her thoughts suspiciously went blank after that, and Max knew that she was using her System Functions to hide something from him, but honestly, he wasn't shocked. He had just mentioned getting into a fight while she was left to babysit, so there was definitely some sort of a plan brewing in that brain of hers that didn't involve idly sitting by aboard the ship.
It might involve going to the station with Annabelle or even weaselling their way into the fights to watch him, but there would definitely be something in her mind that wasn't a quiet afternoon aboard the ship.
Major Miller took out a tablet with his notes and forwarded them to Max. "We have news from the ground as well. Your rotational drops, while using burning biodiesel as bait, have been a grand success. The Cutters sprayed the bait around the edge of the perimeter while the Mecha airdropped in at their set positions, and the initial advancement is moving five percent faster than estimated numbers, with very minimal damage to the Mecha.
In addition, the first battle for the Company Commanders in charge of the Android Army seems to be a great success. Strategizing has proven to be a two-way street, and humans are taking logical advice from the Androids while adding their skills with improvisation to the mix in order to improve efficiency.
We are still in the early days, but it looks like this will not only make for a more efficient army, but it will be an incredible training session for the unit commanders and make them better leaders than they were before."
"Perfect. Make sure you have good notes of the battle tactics and communications so that we can add them to the data for the Mecha training simulators. We're awfully short on actual combat data for a mixed human and android-piloted force." Max instructed.
Chapter 693 693 Station Bound
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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Once Max's meetings with the Envoys were finished, he rejoined the other two at the viewscreen to watch the perpetual light show in the atmosphere of the planet below them. It looked like the world was celebrating something, though there weren't actually any life forms in the incredibly toxic acid that made up the majority of the planet's atmosphere.
"This is a really pretty spot. I didn't even know that such places could exist, but here, there is a whole planet full of fireworks for no reason other than that the planet got hit by an asteroid in the past that introduced an imbalance in its composition. Even though I'm going to have to write a report on this later, I don't regret stopping to see it at all." Annabelle informed him as he entered the room.
"Well, at least you understand that you aren't getting off without writing up a report. It looks like you've taken a lot of notes for it as well, so I will be expecting a good one." Max agreed.
The group watched in silence for another half hour while Max snacked on the various treats that Nico had set out on a coffee table for them, and then he finally got the motivation to get back on track.
"Say goodbye to the planet of fireworks. We're off to a black-market trading station to look for signs of the Klem pods and to make a bit of a name for the humans within this region of the Alliance." Max reminded them.
Well, mostly, he reminded Annabelle since Nico was already getting the preparations for the next leg of their journey calculated and prepared.
This leg of the journey would be much more heavily populated, with busy shipping lanes, regular interstellar travellers, and a number of portal locations, so they would have to drop their speed to avoid attracting attention. Warp ten or higher pleasure yachts and government vessels weren't exactly unheard of, but they weren't available to the sort of people who would come visit a sketchy space station known for its trade in questionable goods.
Max had considered just making the journey at high speed and dropping it for the very last leg into the station once he was close to their sensor range, but there was so much traffic that the chances of someone who had scanned them along the way stopping in and saying something was too high for comfort.
So, instead, they would be going at a comfortable warp eight. It was fast for a civilian vessel, but not insanely so, and it would only attract a little envy from those who saw the pristine vessel that they appeared to be.
"Do we have the containment shielding for the Antimatter weapons ready? This should be the first test for it, and I would like to see if an Alliance space station can see through it to detect the heaviest weapons on board." Max asked Nico as the ship began to leave its layover point.
"They should be up and running soon. I got some good data from the Blarg ships, and I think a small tweak is in order so that we fully fool the station. If it works correctly, then we should be able to hide most of the ship's primary energy weapons from their scans as well. The Orbital Lance is easily disguised as a Gravity Beam, but it isn't going to be easy to convince anyone that the Ion Cannons are anything but an offensive weapon."
Max chuckled. Their ship was armed to the teeth. There was no way that they could hide it all. But they wanted to look more like cautious travellers and not a military attack vessel. A handful of Ion Cannons shouldn't be too much of a distraction, as they were a shorter-range weapon usually dedicated to defensive actions when deployed on space vessels.
It was the Thunder Gun, currently disguised as a sensor array, and the Antimatter Torpedoes, that would cause the greatest concern, as either of them would be capable of taking out a Cutter in only a few shots.
This leg was only a few hours at warp eight, so they didn't lose a huge amount of time, but Nico still had to send out over fifty routing messages to avoid near misses with other vessels in the region. The freighters were notorious for not filing their flight plans and simply following their customary routes, so anyone who wasn't a local had to guess where they were and where they were headed at any given point in time.
It was a great relief when they reached the portion of space controlled by the space station and were guided into its docking pattern to await an airlock.
[Terminus Trading Company Private Vessel Santa Maria, you are clear to dock at hangar seven for internal parking] The staff informed them after nearly an hour of holding in position.
"You named the ship after your mother?" Max asked and got a wink from Nico in return.
"Did you want to explain to her why we still didn't have a ship or even a Mecha named after her?"
No, he did not.
"At least it's a good name, easy to pronounce." He told her with a smile that made Annabelle give them both a confused look.
eaglesnovɐ1,сoМ She didn't know much about Nico's mom, only that she presumably did have one, so the inside joke about the lively and overbearing Reaver made no sense to her.
Nico moved the ship into position and entered the hangar, which was suspiciously clear of all other vessels, despite the busy nature of the station.
Max listened closely to the thoughts of the nearby security staff to see what was going on and make sure that they weren't going to be ambushed or robbed while they were there. The first minute or so was all business, just making sure they were docked and that the ship's hull was properly cleared of contaminants, followed by a quick inspection of the ship's equipment to make sure it wasn't a hazard to the station.
None of that was surprising, but what followed was. They had suffered a Klem attack on the station after a vessel with contraband biomass had dripped on the exterior of the station and small but vicious bugs had burrowed inside.
They definitely had the information that he needed, and he just had to convince them that Santa Maria was no more than a slightly over geared company vessel.
Chapter 694 694 Black Marketeer
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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After a few minutes of scans, the station's flight control officer informed them of their approved status, and the warnings on the displays inside their ship faded away.
[Welcome to Archibald Station. You are clear to depart your vessel, Santa Maria. An escort and welcoming committee will be waiting for you.]
"Make the little one an augmentic suit. Then, we should all go out together, just set the ship to automatic defence." Max told Nico quietly.
"I'm way ahead of you. There is an Android Pilot in the cockpit who will be waiting here, and I will start making the suit for Annabelle now. It looks like there are a lot of places to go shopping, so we can look around while you listen for whatever caught your attention earlier." She agreed.
Annabelle was overjoyed to get a new suit of armour that was as cool as this one, and she was happily hopping around the room, getting used to her enhanced strength.
"Calm down before we exit. If you are going to attract unwanted attention, we will have to leave you aboard with an Android to make sure you're doing homework." Max warned her.
"Got it. I will test the limits of the suit later. I promise I won't be a nuisance, and I will stay close to Lead Researcher Nico." She agreed in a hurry, so Max didn't change his mind about letting her off the ship.
Once everyone was in their armour with their helmets stowed in the flat space, Max led the group down the walkway to where a small group of alien dignitaries was waiting for them.
"Forgive our formality. We haven't had any prior dealings with the Reaver Trade Group, or any humans, for that matter." The spokesperson greeted them.
That explained the empty bay. Max had gotten so used to being around the Envoys that he had forgotten that nobody inside the Alliance was actually familiar with his species or the treaties that they had signed with the Alliance. The information was public but not something that was a focal point of most people's news feeds.
"I am Commander Keres Max of the Terminus Trading Company, a Reaver Company, and part of the Reaver Trade Group. This is my Subcommander Tarith Nico, and Annabelle, family to one of our crew members along for the ride." Max replied politely.
"I am Darryl, and this is my brother Darrell. We are the Liaisons to foreign visitors here aboard the Archibald Station. Does your Company have Alliance Credits, or would you prefer to trade for local units?"
Max nodded to Nico, who took the hint and brought out a small cluster of crystals from her flat space. "We have Alliance Credits, but we prefer to shop locally. How are your exchange rates for a pattern seven Warp Crystal Cluster, tuned for compatibility?"
The locals here were not much taller than Max but with four arms and a long, hairless tail. Their facial features were blocky like they were crudely carved sculptures, but expressive. Even without reading their minds, Max could tell that the Liaison was very excited to see the Warp Crystal.
"We can offer seventy percent of the wholesale value without any paperwork or ninety percent of wholesale if you can document where the crystals came from." He agreed.
Max had expected the man to drive a hard bargain, but he started out with a reasonable offer right from the initial conversation. That would make dealing with merchants here much easier than usual.
"I have documentation. Terminus Trading Company produces these Crystals." Nico informed him with a smile.
"Is that so? Perhaps our two species will get along very well." The four-armed man practically cheered.
Changing the entire crystal array was one of the few ways to actually change a ship's warp signature, so for a Black-Market station, who would presumably have a good reason to want to hide a ship's signature, getting a supply of new Warp Crystals with no associated vessel was a godsend and worth far more than wholesale value.
Nico handed over the crystals in a containment barrier to hold in the dangerous radiation, and a technician rushed forward to inspect them. The tech was an Innu, and she stopped in shock when she saw Annabelle since she was expecting three humans, but her curiosity about the Crystals wasn't delayed for long.
"Yes, very good. These are indeed balanced for use together. They can be installed in any vessel under one hundred meters in length with very minimal tuning to the ship's nacelles. The Crystal Array is also suitable for low warp vessels in larger sizes, but not for a Portal Capable class of ship." She informed her boss.
"Can your Company supply such Crystals?" The Liaison asked hopefully.
"For the right price, we can arrange the creation of a Warp Drive for a World Ship. We have the facilities and technology." Nico replied.
The technician got so excited that she actually launched herself forward and hugged the petite Cyborg before collecting herself.
"Sorry. We've been waiting on Crystals for a few of our ships for a long time now. The manufacturer that we work with is way behind, and we're not a high priority like the Government contracts." She explained sheepishly.
"That's fine. We are quite used to excited Innu. Tell me, have you heard of Coffee?" Max asked.
If they were going to make trade arrangements with the Black Market, he was going to make sure that he got the best possible trade deal that he could.
"Is that a new form of warp crystal balancing agent?" She asked.
"No, it is a beverage. I can have a sample created by our Replicators if you would like. It has proven to be incredibly popular with the Tech Nomads and other Innu aboard our ships." Max explained.
Those words calmed the fears of most of the Station staff. If these strange aliens called humans had a good relationship with the Innu and catered custom beverages to them, then they should have a good idea of how things really worked in the world.
"Tell me, Commander Keres. What is a Reaver? What role in society do they fill among the humans?" One of the men in the back of the group asked.
eαglesnᴏνel He looked like a security officer, but his thoughts said that he was an enforcer for the ship's shadier activities, so Max answered fairly honestly.
"We are both transport and acquisition specialists. We are very good at getting hard-to-find products with very few questions asked, and we can deliver them all over our species' territory without any interference from Government forces. We also produce a large number of items ourselves these days since there were no other reliable and trustworthy sources."
The big goon smiled at Max's answer and nodded his head toward someone outside the room.
"In that case, perhaps you could find us Warp Drive Crystals for six Barge Class ships? Unused and unrecorded would be a necessity for this order." The enforcer asked.
"That isn't a problem. We have some in stock, as long as I understand your definition of Barge Class correctly. They are roughly one kilometre in length and only need a warp seven rating. If they need to be tuned for higher speeds, I will need to have them custom-made, which could take a few weeks." Max agreed.
"How soon could you have them to us if they were in stock?" The man behind the wall asked.
"If you can open a portal to Absolution, the World Ship class vessel that we have in Alliance space right now for a research mission, I can have them delivered today. If they need to go through an intermediary, have them place the order and open the portal. I will approve the delivery as soon as payment is made."
A tall Valkia with jet-black wings stepped out from behind the wall with a smile.
"In that case, welcome to my Archibald Station. I will have the payment ready for you in Gray Credits within the hour. They can be redeemed at any of the seventeen thousand linked markets, and the map of their locations, as well as the access code, are included on this membership card."
Max took the card and scanned it into his memory using Nico's System Function that he was borrowing, then placed it in his flat space for safekeeping.
"Nico, if you would kindly get these Ladies and Gentlemen some coffee and send the order through for processing so that it is ready when the portal opens."
Chapter 695 695 Trade Accomplished
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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Their hosts brought out a group of tables while Nico recovered some beverages from inside the ship and set them out for everyone to enjoy while they waited.
"Is this the beverage that you know as coffee? This is incredible, and it seems to be a gentle stimulant. Tell me, is it addiction-forming?" The leader of the station's representatives asked.
"It might be among other species, but it isn't among humans. The Innu are extremely fond of it when mixed with cream and raspberry juice, as your Technician is enjoying. The juice and the coffee combine to form an intense stimulant for them, to the point that many species will find them insufferable until they calm down a little. But, for extended shifts, it is a staple of human forces and shifts workers." Max explained.
"You really should warn people before you make the Innu more hyper, but in this case, I think it will be fine. The dosage is limited, and it isn't having an extreme reaction on any of the other species present." The host shrugged.
eαglesnᴏνel His beeper went off seconds later, confirming that the money was ready to be transferred to the Terminus Trading Company, and a portal was opened to their World Ship for a shuttle to pick up parts to bring to the repair facility.
Absolution was right on top of the order and even sent out a shuttle to meet them to save the time of docking and then leaving again, so they were in and out in under three minutes, with the money transferred and linked to Max and Nico's personal data so that they could shop while they were here.
"Your Warp Crystals are on their way back. They have been loaded into your vessel by our shuttle, and the payment is confirmed." Max informed the boss behind the station's shadier activities with a smile.
"Efficient. I like that. If every company was as easy to deal with as the Reavers are, my life would be a lot more pleasant. You have no idea how many of them like to delay and over-promise." The black-winged Valkia sighed.
"Then it's good that we met. We can provide a wide array of items, and as non-Alliance members, we are free to work with a wider variety of customers without it causing any international incidents or investigations.
Once I have a chance to make sure that the rest of your linked associates are as upstanding as you are, perhaps we can work something out to have you serve as an intermediary. We have a number of advanced technologies, and a company can only make so much money selling to their own people."
Max sensed the boss's amusement at his deduction, but the black marketeer seemed more than willing to make a deal with the humans that would skirt the very edges of what would get him in real trouble with the Alliance while still earning himself a reasonable few billion credits in commissions.
"Why don't the lovely young ladies accompany our Technician and some others to explore the markets while you and I go see some of the finer sights of the station? From the medical analysis that our sensors ran on you, I have an attraction that I think you would greatly enjoy.
I suspect that your Subcommander would as well, but the rules prohibit cybernetic augmentation of that level during the contests." The Valkia suggested.
"That sounds like an excellent idea. I have been looking for a challenge to help break past my limits for a while now, and I think that your station might be just the thing to help me along my journey." Max chuckled.
What he was hoping was that the System would find some inspiration and upgrade the durability of his body to allow it to progress further since he was at the cap for strength already and very close to the total bonus cap that his body could sustain.
Unless his whole body, or at least his bone structure, got a makeover, he wouldn't get much stronger or faster than he was now, but his mind was already capable of much more.
Sure, he could borrow Nico's ability to allow him to pilot without using his body, but that wasn't the path that he was after. Max wanted to be the very best because his body was at the peak of humanity, not because his mind could bypass the rest of his flesh to pilot the Mecha without them.
"In that case, we will split up, and Miss Nico can take Annabelle to find a souvenir aboard the ship and explore the station's more interesting points from the viewpoint of an Innu and a researcher. Should I bring a sample of human snacks for our walk?" Max suggested.
"We have sampled your coffee, so this time, I will provide the refreshments. Follow me to the lower decks, the evening show is about to begin, and we have a defending champion that is well worth watching. He is a member of the Titan species, like these men here, but from the main branch and not the local planet.
Their original home grew much larger creatures than average, and they are often over four meters tall while remaining impressively agile.
Tell me, do humans enjoy the art of gambling?" The Valkia asked.
"Far more than they likely should. We gamble on nearly everything. Even our military units like to compete with each other for their results." Max laughed.
"So humans are still not at peace internally? How did you get the Alliance brass to accept you as trade partners?"
Max smiled at the man's clear confusion. "I think it was more to do with our technology than our culture. We made friends with a number of Alliance civilians, and they served as an intermediary to license patents for us before we brokered an official deal, and the Alliance Government was becoming wary of what we might do if they outright refused us.
We could have sold to other factions, but they were concerned that we might have become your competition and sold unlicensed products to the general citizenry or flooded the market with free-to-use patents in an attempt to drive under the major Corporations."
The Valkia frowned. "Humans can be that ruthless?"
"That is only the beginning. Once we have incited them to blind rage with patents that undercut their market share, we can use the Alliance laws to cover ourselves if the Corporations attack us in retaliation. After all, we didn't legally do anything wrong, and without any sort of deal, we had no obligation to not attempt to collapse the economies of entire Galaxies."
"And then when they have attacked and lost, you keep the remains of their gear as research materials and move on to the next target. I see where you are coming from. I like it. It's got a very Hunter-like brazenness to it. Not many recently advanced species have the gumption to push the Alliance Government in any way, so it is a unique pleasure to find one that we have so much in common with."
The group walked out of the hold, leaving Nico and Annabelle with a small group of Technicians and a handful of security officers to carry their bags while shopping. They would soon regret that decision, Max was certain. Nico had way too much money, and Annabelle liked shiny objects.
Chapter 696 696 The Arena
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
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The route that Max's guide took him on led through the back passages of the ship, staying out of sight of the general population, but it was by no means empty.
There were a large number of stalls back here, selling all sorts of questionable items from many different systems. Even while reading the vendors' minds, Max couldn't determine what all of the devices did since he lacked some of the knowledge of the technical language that was necessary, but it seemed like this was the one-stop shop if you really needed ship parts and didn't like to be questioned.
"Is there anything that the Reavers outright refuse to deal with?" The Valkia asked as they walked, and the assistants pointed out various rare items for sale.
"Only sentient beings and a few highly damaging substances. We don't have a problem with most things, but some addictive substances will ruin an entire population without any upside, so we don't deal with them at all. It's just too low for us.
The Companies also take in a lot of freed slaves, refugees, and other downtrodden sorts, so dealing in slaves ourselves would rightly cause a revolt among our crews. We don't always go out of our way to end such situations, but we will give a discount for that sort of mission as long as we can determine that it's not a scam trying to take out a competitor." Max explained.
"That is good. If you are going to do business with a man, you need to know what his bottom line is. When you cross a man's bottom line, it should never be an accident. You can't explain away such a thing. It will lead to an eternal grudge. So, knowing the things that a man simply will not accept is paramount to a working relationship." The Valkia boss agreed.
"What about you? What things won't the Black Market deal with?"
"We do some sales of workers, but we have a standard for them. If they are mistreated beyond our codes, we will repossess them. It gives us a bad name if someone sees a worker we sold in bad shape or being treated too lowly. We also don't deal in planet killers. We will sell weapons to take out ships, but we don't sell weapons to take out cities and countries."
That made sense, in a way. It might not be completely in line with the Reavers' code, but finding a perfect match was unlikely with such different cultures.
"If you are dealing with Reavers in the future, a finders fee to get them a worker is acceptable and normal, but some of the captains will take it personally if you offer to sell them a bonded worker. As long as the worker is willing, they won't have many problems paying you a finders feel for them though." Max suggested.
"Ah, so that is how it works. Free workers, not indentured. That makes many things clearer now. How do you deal with debts for training, then?" One of the assistants asked.
"The same as any other debt. They either work it off or pay it off later if they leave. If a debt is owed to a Reaver Company and a worker switches, we collect from their new employer, and then they can pay it back at their new job."
Max stopped then to admire a handheld plasma torch with a variety of settings, designed for industrial use but outlawed by the Alliance because of its unstable nature.
"How much do you want for the torch? I collect these little curiosities of abandoned design." Max asked the merchant sitting on a rug in an alcove of the back hallway.
"Five hundred grey credits, no less." The man demanded and moved to keep a close eye on his goods.
"That's fair. You have a deal." Max agreed and transferred the credits to the man's wrist device without hesitation.
Nico would love that oddball plasma projector. It wasn't like anything that Max had seen before, so it might give her team some inspiration when developing new technology, even if this version was inherently unstable.
They walked along the corridors until they reached the end of a hallway and passed through a thick steel door with two armed guards on either side of it, making sure that nobody without clearance could come in or go out of that particular exit.
eaglesnovɐ1,сoМ On the far side was an office with a large glass window that overlooked what seemed to be a stadium with an octagonal ring in the center for tournament fights. It was much larger than the ones that Max had seen for boxing matches, likely due to the expected sizes of the combatants, and there were a pair of scantily clad four-armed women and a short announcer with a prodigious beard standing in the middle of the floor.
"Welcome everyone to the Friday Night Fights. As you know, this is the peak of our weekly rotation, where the best fighter of the night will challenge our reigning champion for a chance at ten thousand grey credits in prize money and the honour of being named King of the Ring.
You have ten minutes left to arrange your bets, so I will go over the basics of the rules again for those who are new here or were too drunk to listen last time. First up, no weapons of any sort. Even claws must be either sheathed or trimmed. Secondly, no armour will be allowed during these tournaments. If you want to see that, come back for our monthly no holds barred matches that will start fifteen days from now.
Finally, when the horn sounds, or the referee calls the fight, you stop. Any fighter that does not heed the referee will be dealt with by security.
Now, if you're all ready to start the night's entertainment, we will begin our night's schedule with Gorlock the Destroyer versus Tiamat the Wonderful."
Max chuckled at the stage names and burst into laughter when he saw the pictures that were put up.
"They go all out for this, don't they? There is a type of wrestler in my home world that wears that sort of bright costume and mask. They're great entertainment." He asked the boss of the underground fighting arena.
"It's a similar concept, but this is a bare-knuckle fight. Most of them end by knockout, but pinning your opponent and forcing them to tap out is also acceptable. These two are hybrids from the Giant species, and they are great showmen. They fight here at least once a month for the cash, and they always request to fight each other." The Valkia chuckled.
So, it was most likely a staged fight, but that was no shock to Max. You couldn't expect an underground fighting ring to be completely honest and impartial. But as he scanned through the night's fights, he noticed that most of these fighters had never fought here before, so they likely weren't ringers, and they were here to actually compete for the money.
"Would you like to be on the roster? I can bump one of my in-house fighters and get you a spot." The Valkia offered.
"That sounds like a lot of fun. Pick whatever opponent you like. I don't need the money, but human soldiers like me are always up for a good fight." Max agreed with a smile.
That was exactly what the Envoys had been hoping for, a chance to impress the locals with the strength of his species and gain some respect so that they would be easier to deal with in the future. He had likely done that with the Warp Crystals, but being known as great fighters couldn't hurt their reputation.
Chapter 697 697 First Round
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
+ - Turn on Reset
The Valkia in charge of the Black Market here on the station tapped at his wrist device for a moment, and the announcer suddenly looked down to receive a message. His professional look turned to a smile, and he lifted the microphone to his mouth.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the audience, hold your bets. The fights will go on as scheduled, but up first, we have a challenger in the ring. The big boss has found what he claims is a worthy fighter to overturn our reigning champion, a mighty warrior from a species called Humans.
Now, I am told that they aren't the largest of species, but you all know that size and might aren't always the same. Their species fought a Lead Huntress to a standstill and is well known among the Government sorts for their violent tendencies that saw them denied membership, despite holding hundreds of patents.
I would like to welcome to the ring Commander Keres of the Terminus Trading Company, and his opponent, the six-time champion, unseated only one month ago, Jericho."
Max smiled and shook his head at the Valkia, who just shrugged. "If you want to impress them, you need a real opponent, not some amateur that we pulled from the crowd to get his ass kicked."
Max stepped out of the room and onto the balcony, then hopped down to the ring using the gravity control function of his armour. It only took a second to stow it and leave himself in a pair of cargo pants and combat boots, with a tank top on. The rest of his outfit was stored in his flat space, and he wouldn't need it for a fistfight, so Max decided to just stay as he was.
"Forget the fight. I'm more interested in where he found that armour." The announcer laughed as the crowd cheered for Max's arrival.
"My Company makes it. It's available for public purchase in a light armour configuration, so if you're interested, have the boss make the arrangements later." Max told him, not realizing at first that the microphone would broadcast it to the whole crowd.
"Not only a renowned Commander, but a savvy businessman as well, it seems. But can he fight? Let's welcome Jericho to the ring." The announcer replied.
The side door of the ring swung open, and a massive man entered the octagon. Standing just over four meters tall and sharing the same blue skin that the Narsians had but having four arms and a much more powerful build, the former champion was a monster of a man, no matter the species.
"Do you think you can even land a blow above my knees, little man?" The mighty Titan laughed as the ring girls held up the betting odds displayed on their cards.
"Care to wager on it? We might not be allowed to bet in the cage, but a little wager between us shouldn't break the rules." Max countered.
It was not allowed for you or your close companions to bet on your match in the ring since it could be used as a way to get rich by throwing the fights. That meant that most of the fighters would actually make less on their own fight than they did on every other fight that night unless their bets were way off, but it kept the fights a bit more honest.
"I'm taking my title back tonight since you gave me the chance to fight. How about we go double or nothing? Ten thousand Grey Credits." The Titan suggested.
"That works for me. Ten thousand Grey Credits." Max agreed and held out his wrist device to the Referee to hold for them during the fight.
If there was any constant in a fight, it was that the Referee was required to look impartial, so he could be trusted with the money until the fight ended. He would likely want a tip for his service, but that was no big deal to either of these fighters, and the credits were quickly verified, much to the joy of the crowd.
"Combatants, get ready. Fight!" The Referee called once they moved to face each other and then leaped back to the wall of the cage and out of the way.
Four mighty fists came rushing down at Max, much faster than an unaugmented human but far slower than Max was capable of.
He launched himself upward at the Titan's chest and threw a hard right uppercut into the tough blue hide, sending his opponent flying up into the air to crash against the cage.
The crowd roared in shock and appreciation as the former champion was thrown from his feet, but he didn't fall. Once he hit the wall, he pushed off with two arms and charged at Max, crouched low, like a Gorilla, so he could use two hands to balance while the other two attacked.
Max braced himself for the attack and rapidly blocked the flurry of punches, then rolled right, in between his opponent's chest, and kicked up into his ribs, aiming for the same spot that he had punched.
The kick stood the Titan up straight, and Max spun into the air with a kick to the back of his knee that sent him crashing down.
The Titan seemed to have flexibility issues due to the extra arms, so Max went for the back and wrapped his arms around the Titan's neck, aiming to choke him out.
He was violently slammed into the mat when the Titan flopped over backward, and it loosened his hold just enough for the man to pull him free and throw him across the ring.
Max twisted in the air and leaped ten meters up to get the timing right for his next attack.
Once he reached the apex of his jump, where his momentum naturally came to a halt, the Titan leaped up and grabbed him, just as Max had predicted. Against a lesser opponent, that would be the end of the fight. They would be pinned in place and pummeled. But Max was the stronger of the two of them, and when he grabbed the Titan by the wrists, the two hairy arms, each larger than Max's thigh, twisted around and released him.
Max's follow-up kick was thwarted by the Titan tossing him again, this time at the ground, so he couldn't get a bounce off the wall of the ring, and again the Titan launched a four-handed flurry of attacks at him.
Even though he could block them, his arms were getting numb and sore from the constant impacts until, eventually, one punch slipped by and hit Max in the ribs with a sickening crunch of a broken bone.
He healed incredibly quickly, but that would still be sore for hours, assuming that he didn't break any more bones during this fight. The Titan pressed his advantage while Max hugged his left arm to his side to avoid stressing his ribs while the nanobots set them in place and began to mend them.
Missing flesh and burn damage took ages to repair, but broken bones were just a single line that needed fixing, and the System could fix that sort of damage much more easily than organ or muscle damage, like the bruise that was spreading all across Max's torso.
Max flicked a kick up to the Titan's chin that sent him reeling and took the time to circle his opponent and let his body recover from the damage it had taken. This species was incredibly durable. Max's last kick would have taken the head off a human or even a Klem warrior, but it had only cracked the Titan's jaw.
They traded a few more testing blows, both cautious of their opponent's power, while the timer counted down and the three minutes of the first round came to an end. The Referee didn't step between them but moved closer and yelled out his orders when the bell marking the end of the round rang.
"Break! Fighters, return to your corners. We will have assessment medics and water waiting for you.
What a fight this is shaping up to be. The mighty Jericho will be facing the second round for only the second time in his career and against the diminutive human challenger known as Commander Keres.
The odds are updated, and your bets may now be placed for the intermission break. We will return to the match in two minutes, so be sure to return to your seats on time."
Chapter 698 698 Fight
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
+ - Turn on Reset
A small woman with powder blue skin and long black hair stood by Max's assigned seat with a water bottle and a rag filled with ice.
"No medicine between rounds, but I can press down swelling if you're having issues seeing. What do humans need?" She asked.
"Ice is good. On the ribs, please. It will help with the bruising and numb the pain a little." Max replied with a forced smile while he considered how exactly he was going to knock out an opponent like that.
"We also serve as your coach if you need us. The armpit of the lower arms is a weak spot, and if you hit it hard enough, you will wind him. It is nearly impossible to knock a Titan out with a hit to the head, but if you aim for the spot just above the clavicle where the neck muscles meet, you can do it.
It looked like you didn't know before. You should be fast enough to hit it. Even though your striking to the ribs wasn't exactly wrong, it is the best way to wear him out enough that he will drop his guard and let you at his vital spots.
"Got it. I'll take water." Max agreed and opened his mouth for her to spray a mouthful from the bottle on him. It was mildly citrus flavoured, likely to make it easier to drink, and at room temperature, so it didn't cause cramps. They had prepared everything just right for the fight, and Max took a second to listen to the thoughts of everyone here to see if that was normal.
It seemed to be, and he even caught a few flashes of how the blue-skinned Titan had been defeated before. The current champion had gotten him into a chokehold, much as Max had done, but he was large enough that he couldn't be thrown off so easily.
That wasn't going to help him here, but it would help him later since he had an idea of how the champion fought after watching other people's memories of the fight.
"Good Luck." The corner assistant cheered Max on as the Referee motioned both fighters back to the middle of the ring.
The Titan was smirking, likely having gotten some hasty advice on how to fight a human from the assistant in his corner, and the second round started with a ring of the bell.
The Titan tucked his lower arms tight across his chest, blocking both of the vital spots that the assistant had pointed out but opening one vital weakness that almost all bipedal males shared. Max smiled as his Targeting Function marked six possible weak spots on the Titan's body and then recommended a combination of strikes that would be more likely to take him down.
With a lightning-fast rush, Max drove a hard punch forward and directly into the Titan's groin, bringing him to his knees, and then followed up with a left hook to the throat and an uppercut to the left eye that laid him out on the mat.
"Break! It's over. He's done!" The Referee announced while the Titan curled into a ball.
The sturdy alien lifted Max's hand in victory while the crowd roared in a mix of celebration and rage. The Titan had been a heavy favourite for obvious reasons, and Max had defeated him in what might be the dirtiest possible way.
"Your first match winner, Commander Keres of the Terminus Trading Company. We can add that to the list of accomplishments of their species. Not even a Giant can hit hard enough to bring a Titan to their knees with a groin punch." He announced into the microphone while the Titan wheezed and slowly climbed to his feet.
Max wasn't sure what he meant by that until he listened to the Titan's thoughts. Their species had a protective bone that guarded their reproductive organs like a jockstrap, and Max had broken that bone with his punch before knocking him out with the throat punch, hitting exactly where the nerve cluster was.
The former champion clapped Max on the shoulder once he had recovered and made it back to his feet.
"I underestimated the power behind a Human. Your species is impressive, little man."
"Thanks. But don't expect all humans to be that tough. I'm a Commander for a reason, and I'm quite a bit stronger than the average fighter, even for my species. I must say, though, Titans are incredibly durable. If I had hit a Giant in the face like that, I would have broken his neck." Max agreed, accepting the compliment.
"You wouldn't have had to hit a giant nearly that hard. Go easy on the amateurs. It will look bad if you kill someone on your way to the final round." Jericho declared, just close enough to the Referee for the microphone to pick it up.
The audience burst into laughter at the insinuation since there were a number of Giants fighting here today, but the fighters who were watching knew he wasn't lying. The very first hit of the fight, the punch that threw Jericho across the ring, would have been the end for almost all of them.
Their ribs would have buckled under the impact force, and they wouldn't have gotten back up after hitting the wall. They had underestimated the pure power that Max could put out, thanks to his increased speed, and none of them were looking forward to fighting him.
Max headed for the edge of the ring, and the boss sent down the same young woman who had been in his corner of the ring but was now dressed in a long, flowing black dress to escort him back up to the VIP booth.
She gently took Max's hand, and he felt a sense of connection like someone was trying to look into his mind but failing. She looked shocked at the failure, and Max gave her a wink, letting her know not to say anything until they were out of the public eye.
They walked into the booth, with its one-way mirrored windows, and the boss asked about it immediately after the door closed.
"Might I ask, what were you thinking of that has my assistant so shocked? She's seen nearly everything imaginable while working with the fighters." The Valkia asked curiously.
"Nothing at all. That's why she's shocked. I have some resistance to mind reading abilities." Max laughed, then flopped down on the couch to let his ribs heal before it was time to fight again.
"Your species gets more and more curious every time I ask you a question. I'm afraid that if I keep asking questions, then next, you'll tell me that you know the secret to eternal youth." The boss laughed.
"Do you count rejuvenation treatments? The data that we collected from the Envoys suggests that the ones we have developed will work on a wide variety of species. Using them, we can expand our lifespan from seventy or eighty years to nearly two hundred." Max told him.
"Seriously? Do you have any idea what that knowledge would go for here in the Alliance? Even if it worked on a few species, being able to reduce the decay rate due to aging would keep vital personnel alive for decades longer so that their knowledge wasn't lost. How did your species never leave their own Galaxy with that sort of technology? Shouldn't you have run out of space?" The assistant asked, rapid-fire in the fashion of the Innu, though she didn't appear to be one.
"You greatly underestimate the lethality of the indigenous species in our Galaxy. We haven't even filled a third of our Galaxy's potential yet. Perhaps you have heard of an invasive species called the Klem that appeared within the Alliance? They were taken from our Galaxy and released here for some unknown reason." Max asked.
"Yes, we know more than we would care to about that particular species. But we can talk about that later. There are fights to watch now. You can place bets with my assistant if you are so inclined." The Valkia agreed.
Chapter 699 699 Urgent Message
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
+ - Turn on Reset
The next matchup was the originally scheduled first matchup, so Max declined to bet on this one and simply sat back to watch the show. It was artful, and they weren't pulling the punches as much as Max had suspected that they would, leaving the ring a bloody mess by the time the first round had ended.
Although he knew that they were just putting on a show for the crowd, one of them would still advance to the later fights that night, so Max watched carefully to gain more information on how they moved, what moves they seemed to know and not know, and the general level of agility that they displayed.
Once you factored in another twenty percent for how much they were likely holding back, it gave a solid baseline on what he could expect in a fight with them.
"It's not often that we see an actual soldier in here, other than a few security guards who turned to mercenary work." The Valkia sitting beside Max chuckled as he watched the human observe the fight.
"It's always good to take in more information about potential opponents. It's just as true for the ring as it is for business. Going in blind never ends well." Max agreed.
"Well, put. I will admit that I went in mostly blind today, and it was a risk, but it seems to have paid off in the end. I got the Warp Crystals that I had been searching for."
Max chuckled. "I wasn't totally blind. I did get the heads up from our contacts within the Alliance about the nature of your business. I didn't know what you needed, but it was clear before I arrived that we would be able to help each other."
Just then, both Max and the Valkia got an alert on their wrist devices.
[Max, come to floor three, shopping district. We have a Klem issue.] Nico reported.
The Valkia jumped to his feet and looked at Max in a panic, unsure as to what to do about the situation since he was entertaining a VIP guest.
"We are looking for the source of the Klem in the Alliance Territories. I will go with you and help clean this issue out as well as search for the source." Max informed him while removing his armour and an Archangel Exoskeleton pack from his Flat Space storage.
He had practiced enough that the suit went on in seconds, with the pack of the Exoskeleton mounted to his back and the wings folded for mobility in limited confines.
"Come with me then. We were already infested once, and we thought that it was entirely cleared out, but it seemed like we had missed something.
The original infestation came from a cargo ship, which had collided with some sort of organic pods in space and had biomatter on its hull. The repair crews did all the work while the ship was docked, but we found out later that the species could survive in the void and had hatched some small creatures which ate into the station's internal areas.
They were vicious things, and when they managed to kill a few visitors to the ship and drag them to a hidden area, they produced a larger and more vicious variant within hours." The Valkia explained.
"It gets much worse than that. If they are not stopped, they will strip entire planets bare and create variants which can face off against the Hunters' Suits. They are a scourge on my Galaxy, and there is no way that they should have appeared anywhere near here." Max told him with a grimace.
If the Klem just reappeared, it meant that they had likely been on the station all along, hiding from their sensors until they had built up the strength to fight back.
[We are on our way. What do you know about the Klem infestation?] Max sent to Nico as the Valkia led him to an elevator which was cleverly disguised as a wine cabinet.
[The silent alarms just went off on my escort's radio, and the signature is large. I think that it just arrived at the station. They have their sensors on high alert for more Klem, and now the guards are in full panic mode, wondering where they're going to show up.]
So, there was no definite location yet. That made things much more difficult, but with the boss here, they would have access to every sensor on the station, and they should be able to track it down in a matter of minutes.
The Valkia looked longingly at the equipment that Max had put on to deal with the Klem, and a smirk came over Max's face. The Valkia were suckers for the Archangel Exoskeletons since they worked with the species' natural wings and put an energy barrier around their body, as well as providing limited but highly lethal weaponry.
With a thought, he detached the one from his back and held it out to his new business partner.
"I still have an energy barrier built into my suit, and I doubt I will need to fly while within the station. Take this. It's military-grade and will take a direct hit from a Plasma Cannon without failing.
"Military grade meaning built to the minimum specification by the lowest bidder?" The Valkia asked, but he gladly took the suit from Max and tried to decipher how to equip it.
"Precisely. But it was meant to augment organic troops up to the level of a light armoured unit, so the minimum standard is pretty good, and it can even improve your flight agility since it was intended to be a flying unit, to begin with."
Max took the unit back and deftly equipped it onto the Valkia, taking the time to ensure that none of the man's feathers were crushed when he attached the suit's wings to the organic ones.
"There you go. It's got a neural link, so just think of activating the unit, and it will turn on." He explained.
The shimmer of the energy barrier surrounded the Valkia, who gently lifted off the ground with the gravity control before making a tight loop in place and then landing back on his feet.
"Truly impressive for a species with no wings. But I have seen you fight, so I can see how the need for extreme mobility would have been a priority for your species. Your partner and my chief of staff should be just ahead."
Chapter 700 700 Source Of The Signal
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
+ - Turn on Reset
Nico and Annabelle were waiting with the station staff when Max arrived, and Nico started right in on what they already knew.
"The station scanners don't detect Klem inside at the moment. It looks like they are on a vessel outside the station, but there is some sort of interference that is keeping them from detecting them.
I think it's some sort of containment field that was supposed to hide them entirely, but either they hatched and damaged it, or the field is of substandard quality. Unfortunately, it's good enough quality that we can't tell if it's a ship that already docked or one of the dozens that have recently come up from the planet beneath us."
The Valkia winced at that suggestion. If the Klem presence came from the surface, they had bigger issues than just cleansing them from the station.
The crew chief turned to the boss and handed over a data tablet. "This is everything that we know about the ships which are here and the ones that are in the system waiting to dock."
Just as Nico had done, Max used her skill to quickly scan all the data and check for anomalies before referencing them against the data that they had already collected. It was a tedious process, but Nico was on it as well, so between them, they might find something of note.
There was a moment of silence as everyone went through the data that they had available, and the crew members adjusted the sensors, trying to get a clearer picture of where the signal was coming from.
"Is the station locked down right now? If someone docks or leaves, it could completely change the search and spread the Klem to an unknown destination." Max asked.
"Yes, we have flagged the dock procedures for a one-hour hold. It's under a maintenance cover story, so we have a bit of leeway while the systems are supposedly inspected and repaired, but not much more than that."
"That should be enough. Our shuttle doesn't have the same powerful sensors that our larger ships do, but since it's of a completely different design, there is a chance that it will find the way around a barrier designed to block your Alliance standard sensor systems." Max informed the station boss.
Nico was already on it, running through every scan that she could, and within a minute, she had a lead.
"I think we have it. Inside the Cargo hold of the ship docked at bay thirty-seven. That's where the blocking signal is originating, and once it's down, we should be able to pinpoint the Klem presence."
The Crew Chief cursed and then tapped frantically at his wrist device, followed by frowning.
"Our teams were unloading that bay. They're not answering the comms right now." He informed the group.
"Oooh, does that mean Field Trip?" Annabelle asked eagerly.
"I think it does. Stay close to Nico, just in case something happens. If it gets dangerous, we will have someone bring you back to the shuttle." Max informed her.
The little Innu gave a fist pump and then pulled a large energy blade from the Flat Space device on her suit. "Nico got this for me. Don't worry. I can take care of myself."
All of the adults chuckled at her certainty. She didn't actually know much about the Klem other than what was in the homework that she had been assigned, and she hadn't watched an actual fight against them, so she had no idea what sort of horrors she was up against.
But in her mind, with the augmentic armour on, she was every bit as good as a Magical Girl from her favourite morning cartoons, so she should definitely be able to chop up the bad guys with her sword.
The whole group ran toward the bay while Max carried Annabelle in his arms. Her anti-gravity system could keep up with a running speed, but she was too easily distracted and kept going off course, so he had opted to simply grab her and bring her along instead of letting her veer off into various shops when she saw something shiny.
"You need to work on your focus to work the gravity control with a straight Neural Link. It follows your attention and intentions, so when you focus on new things, it turns you around." he reminded her as they ran down the hallway.
"Oh, right. I was wondering what was going on. It was like divine providence wanted me to have those things. I was just suddenly headed for them as if it was meant to be."
[Nico, make a note. Tell her mother to limit her credit dispersal. We have a major impulse shopper on our hands.]
Nico burst into laughter at Max's message but didn't bother to fill in the confused crewmen on what was so amusing. She just kept running until they got close to the designated location and found a large amount of blood in the hallway and a severely injured crewman lying next to the control panel for the locked doors to the docked ship.
"Did anything get off the ship?" The boss asked urgently.
"No, sir. We fought it back, but there are three others heavily injured in the hall unless they made it to the medical bay." He replied.
The Crew Chief gave him a shot from the first aid kit he was carrying and then waved a medical device over him that sent out an energy field that started to knit the surface flesh back together, slowing the bleeding.
It was top-tier Alliance healing technology, and the guard should survive, though he would need augmentics since he had already lost limbs. The Alliance could regrow them for him, but a prosthetic was more cost-efficient and quicker to implement, so it was the choice of employer hospitals.
Two of the team members who were with the Crew Chief ran around the corner, where the blood trails led, and came back an instant later, shaking their heads. The crewmen had bled out before they could make it to the first aid kit in the hallway.