As Nico got all of the chaos sorted out and the humans introduced to the myriad of cultures that had arrived in the last few hours, doing her best to keep things under control, using data pilfered from the various ships which had visited Terminus in the past, or were here now, Max made it to the stage to give the first speech for his birthday celebrations.

“Welcome everyone to Terminus, home of the Terminus Trading Company and official ambassador of the humans to the Alliance. It is good to see such a wide variety of faces here to celebrate my birthday.

Today I will be celebrating my eighteenth birthday, the age at which even the slowest developing of human cultures consider their citizens to be adults.

We have a variety of events planned, and all amenities of the ship are included in your room fees for this week, so let loose and enjoy anything that you see. If we can accomplish it, and it doesn’t break any laws, we will do our best to provide it to you.”

Max’s last line caused a round of laughter from the crowd that had assembled by the stage, and he stepped aside, letting a holographic dance show begin while staff moved through the crowd with snacks and drinks.

The contents were clearly listed, as some species that had arrived with the Innu busses couldn’t tolerate alcohol or various foods, but that didn’t calm the enthusiasm of the crowd at all.

The dance show that was playing in the hologram was all Kepler citizens, enhanced well beyond regular human standards, and performing gravity-defying moves that had the crowd in awe of the physical abilities of humanity.

Max made his way through the crowd, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries while the party atmosphere spread through the ship.

The older infantry soldiers had been pressed into duty as security, though the crowd was peaceful so far, and they were more of an armored tour guide than anything.

Putting them into the augmentic armor might have been a mistake, as most of the Innu hadn’t watched the live streams where the design was explained by their technicians, and the guards were all swarmed by excited tourists, eager to find out more about their armor, and the flat space technology in their new watches, which held weapons, in case they were actually needed.

Among the crowd, Max managed to find one of the representatives of the Border Nations, who had arrived by shuttle only minutes earlier, according to the ship’s data.

“Welcome to Terminus. I am sorry we didn’t put on a proper welcome for you, but as you can see, things are a bit hectic here for my birthday, and everyone is occupied keeping Terminus at full readiness.” Max greeted the older woman and her two much younger assistants.

“No offense taken. We didn’t send any advance notification. We just snuck over when we saw all of the alien vessels. This is quite the sight. Is that normal for your ship?” She asked.

“Not really. We usually aren’t nearly this busy, and some of these species are visiting us for the first time. This Galaxy is a restricted area for them, and a vacation here is akin to war tourism, going to an active conflict area to see what the locals live like.” Max explained.

“I see. I can understand why they might view us that way. Normally they don’t respond to communications at all, so the chance to meet and interact with them is a novel experience for us. It will also help convince others that your goal of mutual defense and nonaggression has a valid basis in the situation as you are experiencing it.

The Mercenaries have mostly been a threat because of their penchant for taking missions to attack outposts, so if they aren’t going to be doing that anymore, there is a very slim chance that the Border Nations will consider taking some of them off the embargo list.”

Max smiled at the good news. “Glad to hear it. The more of us that can work together, the less we have to spend on our militaries, and the more that we can spend getting our citizens up to standards.

The Reavers have a number of valuable new technologies to that end, and you will have a chance to experience them tonight. All of the food and drinks here have been made by our Replicators, so you have an opportunity to enjoy the luxuries of one of the most important pieces of new tech that we are offering to our allies in advance.

They can make all of this out of nearly any sort of biomass, and I am sure that an ambassador can see the advantage to that.”

Max handed the woman a flute of champagne and a small plate of spiced fried mushrooms that the Innu were particularly fond of.

“Oh, this is divine. Where did the recipe come from?” The ambassador asked.

“You see the pink-skinned aliens with the tentacles for hair? This mushroom recipe is one of theirs. The mushrooms are a species that was known to the Kepler Empire, but the combination of spices comes from their homeworld. We can include it in the programming of the Replicators that you order if you choose to join the Trade Group.” Max offered.

One of the assistants chuckled. “See, this Reaver knows how to properly bribe an official. No threats or cash. You give them things that they can’t obtain on their own.”

Max shook his head. “This isn’t a bribe. It is a normal menu item here aboard Terminus that everyone has access to. That makes it a negotiation tactic and not a bribe.”

The two young assistants looked dubious, but once they tried the mushroom bites, they were as hooked as the senior was.

“There will be a grand banquet later, available at every food service station aboard the ship, so feel free to indulge in anything that you would like to try and enjoy your time here aboard Terminus. You are welcome to return in the evenings after the meetings as well, as I see that you have managed to procure a suite on the fifth floor.” Max reminded them, then moved on to talk to the Shin, who were gathered together with huge containers of some mysterious liquid that was making the sapling on the main floor grow to enormous heights in a matter of minutes.

“Commander, I told you we could grow you a world tree in time. Well, almost in time since everyone showed up so early. But the nutrients are in, and we have modified its genome to reach the desired growth parameters, so it will be on the top floor by the end of the night. It will also give off a healing aura, a form of nonvisible light that stimulates other plants to self-repair and maintain their peak growth state for extended periods of time.” The Shin leader informed Max as he approached.

“That is incredible. Though maybe I shouldn’t be as surprised by the abilities of your flora since I have met you, and your entire species is beyond what humans considered possible even a few years ago.” Max replied.

“Just wait. We have planted moonflowers as well, and once they finally open, it will be incredible. They are bioluminescent, and many consider them a treasure of genetics.” The treelike alien replied with pride.

“It is a true honor to have you here aboard Terminus. None of this would have been possible without your assistance.”