Max forwarded all of the essential data that they had collected during their journey back to Rae 5 command as well and got an interesting reply from the Reavers.

There were a lot of displaced people in the Galaxy and even more who were living in overpopulated conditions on planets that had just joined the Trade Group.

Terminus had encountered dozens of star systems that were already habitable, extremely rural, and uninhabited. If they could confirm that at least one of those was unclaimed and suitable, the Reavers could begin building cities on the planets and charge relocation fees to send tens of millions of refugees there to start a new life.

It was a substantial monetary opportunity, but it was also a chance to spread humans to this side of the Galaxy in much larger numbers than they currently claimed over the next few decades.

[You know that those planets were abandoned for a reason, right? Most of them have been stripped bare, and the ones that weren’t stripped have a wide variety of plant and animal life already on them, not exactly prime locations for settlers to show up unless they’re like the Canis or the Hunters who enjoy a good fight against aliens.] Max reminded Mary Tarith.

[But we can fix that. Bring over a few asteroids and set up a Terraforming Array. It will be a great for the new technology you are trying to sell to the Alliance. I know it’s been a solid seller already, and some fights are brewing over the rights and design, but a public demonstration on a planetary scale would draw in even more customers.]

[Fine, you have a point. I will start with one of the planets that has been completely stripped of resources, and we will do a full archaeological survey as we go in case there are alien relics or leftover signs of the former occupants.

We don’t yet know what species first inhabited these worlds, so we could find almost anything, from a new alien species with lost technologies to a mined out former Narsian world.

It is somewhat likely that they stripped at least a few worlds dry in their early days of advanced technology denial, so these might have been their worlds. We don’t have enough data on what they were capable of when they arrived in this system to tell for sure.]

[That’s just an additional selling point. Rae 5 has reliable access to the Alliance’s data network now. The latency is horrendous, even with a micro portal open to a designated data access point for distant nations, but we get streams of the public data now, and your exploits are just as popular with the Reavers as they are with the Innu.] Mary Tarith informed him.

Great, he was a reality TV star even back among his own people now.

[I will pick out an appropriate system and begin the work of staging asteroids and other needed materials to begin the refurbishment and the construction of the Terraforming Array. Since these planets are already habitable or close to it, the process shouldn’t take long. We will need to bring back some minerals and make a few atmospheric adjustments.] Max relented before accepting Huntress Khan into his office for a meeting.

[Sorry to cut you short, but I will get back when the plan is ready. The Portals will be open for another week or more as we get the merchants in and out with their goods.] Max informed the elected leader of the Reavers in the Rae 5 system.

“An important friend?” Huntress Khan asked as she sat across from him with a bottle of Rum and a data tablet.

“Nico’s mother, who is also the leader of the homeworld that our Trade Group has claimed.” Max agreed.

Khan smiled. “I bet she’s an amazing woman. She must be to have a daughter like that. Tell me, is she as prideful and intimidating as her daughter?”

The question made Max shake his head with a rueful grin. “Intimidating, yes, but in a different way. I don’t think that Mary Tarith would be called prideful, though. She’s a very low-key sort of person and rarely makes an issue about her skills. Perhaps it is her age getting to her, but she doesn’t like to show off the way Nico does, and she isn’t one for direct combat.”

“So she is more like one of the Hunters’ men. Small and resourceful, with a tendency to prefer diplomacy and politics over combat.” Khan asked.

“Yes, but she is also the motherly type. I’m not sure if that translates to Hunter culture. She likes to take care of the young, see them grow, and make sure they have what they need.” Max explained.

“Interesting. One day I will take the time to learn more about how human families work. Hunters prefer to start them once they are older and less capable of combat, so the concept of motherly is one that we understand. It might be different for us since our Mothers are also Hunters, but the idea is the same. She raises the younglings along with a group of her peers and ensures that they have all the knowledge they need to grow up strong and deadly.”

“The human saying is strong and healthy, but you have met the oldest daughter of the Tarith Family, and there is no denying that she is also deadly.”

Khan poured them both a drink and turned on a holographic projection from the table that she had placed on the table.

“These are the planets we have identified as having nearby Klem or Narsian populations, and the ones in orange are populations we have identified as likely to be a good hunt. It is best that you stay away from those if you don’t want to join in on the battles.

These ones I marked in green just now are the ones that can sustain life, and the brighter they are, the better the candidate for settlement.

I heard the end of your conversation as I approached the door. It isn’t soundproofed well enough to keep out a Hunter’s hearing. I recommend that you pick this one.

The atmosphere is a mess. Our data shows that they likely killed themselves off in a cloud of toxic gas that spread all over the planet. But the mineral resources are plentiful, the waters have purified themselves over the centuries, and some plant life has returned, with no animal life at all, not even insects, as well as no harmful bacteria.

If you set up a basic array of your Terraforming Drones, you could have the planet ready in only a few months, and you wouldn’t have to disturb the ruins.”