The announcement that they were putting new development on hold in order to focus on the order for a custom yacht had exactly the opposite effect that Max had been hoping for. Even more people than usual were crowded around the exit to the Cruise Ship area, looking for permission to head to the development bays to see the work in progress.

If it were like the other projects, that would involve Nico and the Innu debating minutia back and forth for hours on end while they tried to perfect their product, but the Yacht project was not really a new development to them, only a new shape for their existing technology, like a model year update on vehicles.

Because of that, the design work was already done, and there was nothing to watch, but they couldn’t very well tell the guests on board that they could do the job in a single day, even with their entire development team on the task.

The biggest concern of having others find out too soon was accusations of slipshod engineering and a potentially dangerous untested product that was slapped together to meet a deadline. It would ruin their reputation, even if it were the way that militaries all over the Galaxy modified new weapons and technologies in the field.

The team had built the basic hull first so that they could add the custom touches after the initial walkthrough, and that turned out to be the right call, as once he understood just how large a human-built Cutter was, the client wanted some of the rooms redesigned and resized for better ergonomics, and flow.

Humans would get a sense of that just through the virtual reality simulation since it was designed for the way their minds worked, but he didn’t really get it until he touched everything for the first time.

In the bay, it wasn’t a big deal to move the room bulkheads since there was no flooring or anything else installed yet, so they got to the redesign and then worked out a few new color schemes for the crew and guest quarters so that everything could be visually identified.

The crew uniforms would be designed to match both the common areas and their own quarters, but they would clash against the decor of the private bedrooms, highlighting the fact that anyone other than the butler and maids did not belong there.

That structure was part of his culture, which had started from a parasitic fungus that merged with mammals. Everything had to have structure and a specific place, or it bothered them to no end. According to the client, his people were well known as the decorum and ritual experts of the Alliance, as well as talented structural engineers, but lousy architects since their need for structure kept them from truly harnessing creative talents.

Nico thought it was highly amusing that there were precisely nine servants for each noble on board, as well as multiples of three for every duty station, but the client insisted that it simply must be that way, no matter how the humans usually did things.

That meant that what would normally be a vast expanse of cargo or visitor space was instead dedicated to staff quarters at the rear of the ship, but enough room was left for them to load shuttles and other small craft for leisure activities.

The Terminus pattern Shuttles already had a smooth lower hull for easy atmospheric entry, so with a small redesign, which included retractable top plating at the rear of the vessel, they could be repurposed as a leisure watercraft with an open rear sundeck and provisions for towing a variety of water toys.

The shuttle would have to use its gravity control systems to move in the water since thrusters were out of the question, but even fifty knots was way more than most species were willing to endure while dragged behind a boat on skis.

All of the little things that came up after the initial design took them two more days. Days when the rest of the guests who came to supervise the new technology development slowly went crazy about being excluded from the process because it was a private client and not a production design.

Finally, the client and the design team relented and let the others in to see the completed vessel before it began space trials.

“The hull design is based on a classic human vessel, Patent obsolete, slightly modified for aesthetics, so we didn’t need to begin structural tests from the beginning. The interior is fully custom, but the Warp Drive and Shielding Technologies are Terminus Trading Company Standard models.” Nico introduced them to the ship when the viewing port to the bay opened.

“Behold, the Lord Governor Moop Edition Luxury Yacht, by the Terminus Trading Company. Patents have already been verified, and we are ready to begin the very first power up of the engines.”

“What will be the official designation of the vessel once it is launched for public consumption?” One of the engineers asked while admiring the vessel’s hull lines.

“It will be sold as the Lord Governor Moop Edition Luxury Yacht by the Terminus Trading Company. No licenses for third-party construction will be considered, but the interior color schemes may be ordered from a preset collection of approved patterns.” Nico informed the group.

A few of the others gave him appreciative looks. Getting his name on a new yacht line by a trending designer was an impressive feat, and it would make him somewhat famous among the luxury yacht crowd.

Only so many people could afford a Cutter as a private yacht, but on the scale of the Alliance, that number was over a million. Still exclusive enough to be the envy of the common citizen but common enough to ensure that there would be a few more ships of his design sold.

“Might we all join you for the test? The drive technology is a tested and proven design, as is the basic hull, so it shouldn’t be an issue, right?” One of the lawyers in the group asked.

“Unfortunately not. I only brought my nine servants with me for the mission here, so I do not have the appropriate number of staff to properly entertain guests at the moment.” The Governor sighed.

“We can provide you with a small crew of Terminus Trading Company employees if you wish to bring a few friends aboard, or we can open a micro portal for you to bring a ship crew from home,” Max suggested.

“Oh, that would be lovely. There is nothing quite like having your own people around. I will arrange a crew for the ship, and we can leave this afternoon after lunch.” The Lord Governor agreed.