[Admiral Drake, get as much data as you can about the Warp Field on that fast-moving ship. The technology should be similar to ours, and I want to know how they're getting the vessel to move at such a ridiculous speed.] Max ordered, heading for the docks to meet the vessel when it arrived.
Each numerical increase in Warp Factor was an exponential increase in speed, meaning that while travel at warp 12 was over two hundred times faster than warp 4, traveling at over warp 40 meant that their new visitor didn't even need to use a portal, he could simply fly here from his home galaxy in a matter of hours.
A few million light years was no deterrent for that level of technology, which made Max wonder exactly what sort of parent the Innu students had upset.
The ship didn't even need to use their technology to regulate its hull temperature, it did that itself as it glided into the bay next to the damaged yacht, and three men emerged from the sleek vessel.
All of them were Innu by species, but two were exceedingly large, over 2.5 meters tall, while one was wearing what Max understood as the equivalent of a Tuxedo.
"Greetings, I am Commander Keres of the Terminus Trading Company, operators of the vessel Terminus." Max greeted the guest, who was carefully inspecting his yacht for signs of hull damage.
"The High Chancellor thanks you for your hospitality, and your care in preventing his wayward children from causing any more trouble. He would also like to warn you that all recordings of the vessel he arrived in will be automatically expunged by our onboard Artificial Intelligence when we depart.
We do apologize for the inconvenience, but it is a matter of intergalactic security." The man at the leader's right hand informed Max.
Nico looked somewhat crestfallen, and the wealthy man, identified as High Chancellor smiled at her.
"You are an interesting creature, aren't you? You can't have the secrets of Hyper Warp Technology though. Your galaxy has barely made it to warp ten, it is far from time to allow you free reign of other Galaxies, especially given your propensity for weapons development." The Innu High Chancellor informed Nico.
"But it was such a wonderful idea." Nico sighed, and the man laughed at whatever he had inferred from their interaction.
Max thought back to what Nico had been doing, but he couldn't quite understand what they were talking about until the thought entered the Chancellor's mind. Sending an Artillery Shell toward a planet at high warp and simply letting it impact.
The result would be devastating, and a molten core planet would incur a seismic event on a scale that would totally reorganize its tectonic plates, while a solid cored planet would simply shatter with the energy dispersed by the impact.
"Nico, remove that thought from your mind. Even for our rather violent and backward Galaxy, that is most definitely a war crime." Max instructed her, while both Nico and the High Chancellor laughed.
"I can see why you are so high-stress. Humans and their descendants are strange species. The yacht yard has informed me that they will be here soon with the spare parts, I do hope that we didn't offend your staff by not allowing them to make an emergency repair." The guard at the Chancellor's right hand spoke to Max on his behalf, while the Chancellor himself returned to inspecting the yacht for damages, making mental notes of everything down to small bits of food on the carpet and a handprint on the window.
"Stress is a natural state for us, it helps focus the mind and motivates us to better ourselves, to reduce the stress level," Max informed the guard.
"Interesting. I see the validity of the process and have used similar coding when creating semi-intelligent programs in the past. Tell me, what do humans do when their stress level lowers to the point that their productivity begins to fall?" The guard asked, going directly into nerd mode when the conversation turned to a topic he could relate to, as the Innu that Max had met were all liable to do.
"We are instinctively driven to find another challenge when one is completed, so the stress level never drops too low until our entire backlog of intended lifetime achievements is complete," Max informed him.
"Hmm, so there is a state of planned obsolescence among humans? Retirement I believe the other species call it." The guard asked while Nico and the other two boarded the yacht to do a more thorough inspection.
"Yes. Retirement is standard for our species well before the age of physical inability. Normally we choose new tasks, moving from a physical career to family life, or starting a new career, but some with high levels of achievement are held up as role models and heroes for the species, and spend their time teaching and motivating the next generation." Max told him.
The guard took out a digital notepad and began writing Max's observations in it quickly with an increasingly large smile on his face.
"I am feeding that information to our Nanny bot. I have an infant child that seems to be unmotivated by the existence of technology and I feared that he would become mediocre. Perhaps your methodology of constant goal setting toward a defined outcome will help keep him on track." The guard said with a smile.
"You have an infant, and you are already concerned?" Max asked.
"We can commune with technology from birth. Normally Innu infants spend all their time learning about the technology around them, gathering knowledge that they will use all their life. My child only seemed interested in the parts that directly related to his life in the mundane world. You see, we split our consciousness as we work, into multiple data streams plus our physical interactions with the world.
"Oh, I see. So, he only cares about the physical world, and the multiple streams of data he is capable of are only tools for him to use to that end. Perhaps you would like to have him focus on mechanical engineering? Children who are talented with physical objects, their interaction and design are often sent that way among the humans." Max suggested.
"An Innu inventor? It's not impossible, though we are better known for maintaining and improving what others make." The guard said thoughtfully.
Dealing with aliens was a strange experience, but Max was starting to get the hang of the Innu and their ways.
"The inventory of the Yacht is complete. Tarith Rage has provided us with the information on the Crystal Matrix combinations that the Terminus is capable of producing, and they would be capable of replacing the damaged components, were they not under warranty.
I will add that data into the Innu travel data system so that any other vessels in the vicinity with problems that could be resolved by the facilities in the Rae 5 System or aboard Terminus will know who to contact." The High Chancellor informed Max.
That sounded a lot like they had earned a new customer for the Reavers, one with nearly unlimited resources, and a massive population, even if they were understandably reluctant to come anywhere near this Galaxy.
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