Nico's thoughts said that she was already moving stuff between bays so that she could make the new ships since the client that had ordered the yacht in their current bay wasn't here yet to pick it up. He was on his way, but with all of the incoming visitors, he wouldn't arrive for a day or two, depending on what system he was coming from.
The Envoys were all gushing over the innovations of the new shuttle, how innovative it was, and how unique to human culture such a design was. Many other species used fluid shapes or organic inspirations, but only the Hunters used Biomechanical space vessels.
Now that he was inside, Max noticed this vessel was much more insidious than he had thought. While it looked harmless and welcoming to the untrained eye, Max could easily pick out where Nico had meshed Hunter's design philosophy with Klem morphology to create a uniquely capable vessel.
Both designs had survived thousands or millions of years of evolution, trial and error, so the philosophy was correct, but looking at an interior hatchway that vaguely resembled the protective structure of a Klem underground nesting area was vaguely unsettling.
The overall design, though, there was no mistaking it. She had totally based the default shape settings on old human movie versions of alien spaceships.
[Seriously, Nico, a flying saucer?] He thought at her.
[Hey, it is perfectly valid, and the Alliance uses it as a shuttle shape. Just wait until you see the Dragoon Attack Fighter setting] She thought back, laughing in her mind as she waited for him to see it.
The Dragoon Attack Fighter was a primary unit of a video game villain species, and the design resembled nothing more than a rocket-propelled horse phallus. Officially it was supposed to be the remains of a mystical tree, but that wasn't what anyone saw when they looked at it. It even had an external shield matrix that looked like veins and not bark. It was a running joke in the gaming community but well within the adjustability of the shuttle's outer hull.
[I wonder who the first person to discover it will be?] He replied, receiving only more laughter in response.
The crew had sent them a pilot in case the shuttle had to be sent back to the ship, and they seemed much more interested in making a good impression on the big boss and the guests than making adjustments to the default hull shape, so it might not be on this trip, but eventually, someone would find the option, and then it would show up with alarming regularity afterward.
That was just human nature.
A crew member passed around drinks while the shuttle gently glided out of the bay, giving no hint of motion until a slight vibration started as they began to enter the atmosphere.
"At this point, I would like to ask all passengers to either secure themselves to one of the provided handles or a chair for entry into the atmosphere. Turbulence can be somewhat unpredictable, and the gravity systems are not guaranteed to eliminate all external forces." The flight Hostess informed everyone politely.
The Huntress moved to stand beside Max, who had leaned against the wall, holding one of the embedded grips, while the rest of the guests took their seats for the next few minutes, staring out the windows as they realized how far they had gone in the short time that they had been admiring the ship.
"I like human ships. Making an entry on your own feet is so much better than being locked into a chair. But what do you do in case of a crash landing?" The Huntress asked.
"There is a safety net built into the hull. If the gravitational forces exceed what is likely to cause injury, airbags will be deployed along the walls, along with a secondary gravity field, to prevent injuries to the occupants.
It is standard in most human vessels because it also comes in handy if the ship is attacked. We heal fairly easily though, so a little jostling won't set them off. I don't think any of the species that are present are exceedingly fragile though, so I haven't adjusted it." He explained.
The vibration turned to a proper shaking as they passed through a dense storm cloud in one of the areas that were still being terraformed and then smoothed back to the unnoticeable standard once they were in the lower atmosphere and closer to the target.
"Human ships are more advanced by the day. I have seen the footage from your last generation shuttle when it was first launched, and it certainly wasn't this smooth. Even my cousin's yacht, purchased from you, isn't this smooth, and it has been overengineered for luxury. No wonder the major corporations are all in a full-out panic about your species joining the marketplace." The Giant Envoy commended the trip as the hangars came into sight.
"Market disruptions are a source of both opportunity and crushing downfall, depending on your own ability to adapt. Without adaptation, forest life goes extinct, and so should corporations." The Dryad Envoy agreed.
"You know, that was shockingly profound market advice. I got the impression that your species didn't care much for such things?" Max asked.
"We don't care for them, but that doesn't mean we don't understand them. We prefer the laws of nature, much like the Hunters do, though we don't deliberately come in and unbalance them for our own entertainment." She shrugged.
"The Dryads believe that all Patents should end with the death of the Patent holder, as would seem natural to their species." The Giant's Lawyer added so Max would understand.
"Which most species fear would lead to the patent holders of basically every important product being assassinated and a successor filing a new patent until nobody dared to either kill the patent holder or file for that patent again." Max guessed.
"Your species wouldn't do it?" The Dryad asked curiously.
Max gave him a rueful smile before responding. "My species quite regularly kill corporate competitors, even though the patents won't change hands. What use is holding a patent on a good if nobody is alive to make it? We prefer to make new things of our own, not take over others' accomplishments, at least as much as possible."
"Like a Drake taking over a Bear's territory. He has no use for a bear's den." The Dryad nodded in understanding.
"You know, for such a peace-loving species, you have a strong grasp of natural brutality," Max replied with a smile.
"We love nature, not peace. There's a difference. It's just that fighting between sentient species isn't natural, so we don't practice it."
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