That was a fine question. What did he want for his birthday? He had ignored a couple of birthdays since becoming a Pilot, but the ones he did celebrate in the past were a source of mental trauma for him.
"Why don't you pick whatever you think I will like? I don't really do birthdays."
Nico raised her hands with the index fingers crossed in a gesture that children use to ward off evil and unwanted things. "Oh no, you are the Commander, and we have thousands of staff members and soldiers under your command right now.
A Commander's birthday is a big thing, and most Companies make it a statutory holiday, with almost all duties canceled for the day. You can't just ignore it. The crew would get offended."
She had a point, the Commander's birthday was a big deal even in most Mecha Regiments, and since the Reaver Companies were basically nations to themselves, the leader's birthday was one of their biggest holidays.
"You can organize the party as you like. Seriously, I don't care what the theme is. Just make sure it is enough to keep the crew happy and talk to the group leaders to ensure that the shifts are altered for the day as an official holiday." Max reluctantly agreed.
"That's the spirit. Now, let's head out to meet our Guests. They will be arriving by a portal, so we will be arranging transport for them to and from the meetings, as well as a security detail, which will give us a chance to show off our new augmentic suits." Nico informed him.
They had just arrived in the cargo bay designated for portal arrivals and business meetings when a new thought occurred to Max. His birthday was also Nico's birthday.
"What are you planning for your birthday celebration? Since we are born on the same day, if I can't escape a birthday party, neither can you." Max insisted.
"Why would I avoid a birthday party? I look amazing in a princess dress. But this year, it will be a crew-only celebration, while yours will be for all of our assembled guests and friends since we will be in the middle of a negotiation." Nico teased.
"Fair enough. I am sure that the Innu won't let you get off without some sort of celebration. They do celebrate birthdays, don't they?"
"They Innu have a fun birthday tradition. To mark the celebrant's entire home with their new age. Balloons, signs, even the plates for their meals will have their new age marked on them."
That did sound like a lot of fun, and Max hoped that they would make it a crew-wide thing. A few of the veterans might take offense to having their age broadcast, but if it were just in their own quarters, it would only be seen by their friends and a few close subordinates, not the thousands of members who would be joining the celebration for Max's birthday.
"Wait, are we telling them our real age or sticking with the modified version that is on all of our documents?" Max asked before Nico could cause a scene for her own entertainment.
If he didn't clarify, there was a very real chance that she would actually put his age since rebirth on the walls. He didn't feel that age anymore, not since all of his memories had returned, giving him a lifetime of experience, the same as Nico was born with, so the thought of reverting to a younger age just made him feel even more disconnected from his childhood in this life.
"It's been a long time since we had the minds or bodies of someone our own age, so we will stick with what is on the paperwork, which makes this your eighteenth birthday. An important one for Reavers, though you jumped the gun a little, and we won't be bringing in any Senior Officers to give you an official rank and position in the Company."
The thought of that was enough to make Max laugh. Who would even be qualified to grant him an official position in the Terminus Trading Company? An outside Reaver force? Maybe the Admiral? Certainly, it wouldn't be Nico, no matter how much she might enjoy the prank.
"And what do you want for your birthday?"
Max's question brought a smirk to Nico's face, and a strange combat song that he recognized as a battle chant of the Reaver forces blocked her thoughts from his detection.
"I have already made plans to get what I want for my birthday. No peeking into my thoughts, no matter how easy it is with your new skills." She reprimanded him.
"Fine, keep your secrets. I will find out soon enough." Max agreed and sent the Admiral directions to follow the Border Fleet back to the meeting location.
The journey wasn't a long one, and they were there by evening, just before the negotiation teams were scheduled to arrive, after a few hours' worth of delay, as they prepared more materials for the upcoming deals.
The Materials Printers would hold low value to the Border Nations, as they had access to a version from their Cygnus allies, but the Replicators would be in high demand, so the Reavers arranged more raw materials to be sent to Terminus, as well as some other civilian technologies that they thought the locals would like.
While Max was preparing to meet the new arrivals, Nico was involved in a deep technical discussion with one of the Innu technicians, the new Bear hybrid Technician Darla, and one of the Shin. They had all been informed of the upcoming birthday holiday and the party plans that would involve the whole ship, and they all had ideas on how to make it better from the viewpoint of their own culture.
Nico had explained the Innu's tradition, but Darla wanted them to assemble a moonlight walk through the woods, a tradition on her planet for birthdays, to help them align themselves with the stars, according to the big woman.
Shin tradition had nothing for birthdays, as they only celebrated seasonal changes, but the talk of a forest aboard the ship was enough to catch the aliens' attention, and they wanted to convert a cargo bay with holograms and actual living trees.
The Replicators could do the task, but it would be a huge waste of biomass, in Max's opinion, to convert an area just for a party.
Fortunately, the Shin had thought of that objection. They suggested that it might be better to convert a forward section in the cruise ship, which was currently an unused space with vast armored windows overhead. The forest could extend the height of the ship, and their unique abilities with plants could grow a World Tree, three hundred meters tall, to extend the height of the open central column.
It would be a masterpiece of botany worthy of any planet's praise if they could pull it off, but they only had a few days until his birthday, and they would be busy dealing with negotiation teams until then. Even a basic party would be cutting it close.
"Fear not. We have friends arriving to enjoy the luxury of your soil rooms, and they can bring all the tools we need." The Shin informed them.
"Excellent. There are more Innu coming as well since this is a long holiday on our homeworld. If we put the Commander's birthday celebrations in the feed, I bet we can fill the Cruise Ship." The Tech Nomad turned employee informed Nico with a giggle.
"I will take care of the scheduling, and I have rooms planned for any delegates that we might receive from the humans. Go ahead and advertise, but warn them that we might run short on hangar bays if they're all bringing private ships, so be sure to book space in advance if they're staying for an extended period."
Nico was definitely taking this whole birthday celebration over the top, but it would be great to see their ship full for the first time.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m