The Mimic held out a data tablet, and Nico smiled at her. "Thank you for the data. This will come in handy."
The girl looked at her in confusion. She was still holding the tablet. Assuming it was a preemptive comment on Nico's part, she handed it over and watched as Nico set it delicately on the table in front of her without looking at it.
Her thought was that Nico was a bit odd, well, more than a little odd, given how she was groped the moment they met, but she never considered the possibility that Nico already had the data and had only refrained from hacking every device in the room out of courtesy, not because she couldn't.
The boss came in just then, and Max stood to shake his hand. "Boss Maddox, it's good to see you again."
The boss's daughter giggled at Max using the public name when he had used his real name when they had first met. A name which so few people, even in the business, knew.
"I hope my staff is alright. Humans are truly terrifying when they are doing business." The arms dealer laughed.
He should know he had hired nearly a dozen of them, and they had immediately entered his inner circle of Hostesses and Security officers.
"I'm sure they're alright, just a bit startled at Nico's personality. We also informed them about the misunderstanding regarding the ship refurbishment docks. The vessels don't have to be human-made, but the replacement parts will be." Max explained.
"Marvellous. Did they finish the deal?" The boss asked.
"We were just about to work out the schedule. But now that you're here, I'm certain that we have more matters to discuss, so we may be able to roll it into a larger deal if you want it off your personal books."
"What I am looking for is actually well within your capabilities. The Mimic Homeworld Fleet needs a few things, and they usually go through a network of dealers, including myself.
First, I will ask directly. Can you sell us those giant combat robots? The ones with the triple guns on top? I managed to get my hands on some combat footage, and I think that it would be enough to add a few of them to our fleet. With them on patrol, I doubt that anyone would challenge us again."
"Unfortunately, those are current-generation weapons. We don't customarily sell them outside of the Reaver Fleet." Max rejected the offer.
"What would it take to get them to our defence fleet?" The Mimic asked.
Nico smiled at him and cradled her chin in her hands as she leaned forward. "Have you considered hiring a third-party security force to patrol your star system? According to my data, the Mimics only originate from three planets in one solar system, but they are spread through the Alliance in very low numbers."
"A third-party security force instead of our military? How could we trust that they wouldn't turn on us?" The Mimic sighed, shaking his head.
"Reavers are very trustworthy. They never betray employers, as pride and reputation can't be bought with money."
The Mimics' eyes all lit up. Hiring a Reaver Company who had the weapons they wanted was even better than buying them for their own military. It wouldn't violate the agreement that they had with the Alliance, and hiring a Mercenary force was much like purchasing on credit. You didn't have to pay the full cost of the equipment upfront, but you would get all the benefits of having it.
"I didn't know that was a service that the Terminus Trading Company offered." He asked curiously.
"It's not. But Subcommander Nico is Tarith Nico of the Tarith Reaver Family, and their affiliated companies offer security services with the most current of technology, far beyond what our agreement with the Alliance would let us sell to outsiders."
The Negotiators who wrote the original deal should have been more specific in their dealings, as there was no prohibition at all on providing security forces to others, only ones declaring that they couldn't sell military weapons.
"Well, that was easier than expected. According to my estimation of our requirements, two destroyers and twelve Cruisers should be enough to defend our home system." He decided.
That was a lot of firepower, but numbers were impressive in their own way, so Max gave Nico the go-ahead, and she sent a request to her mother to get a quote on providing the security forces with the requested vessels and auxiliary accompaniment of light ships.
There was a short pause, and then a message came back from her secretary. [Madam Tarith is sleeping, but the Fire Warriors are available for a long-term deployment. One newly completed Colony Ship, two Destroyers, plus a security fleet of ten Cutters, all fully upgraded with the most recent Mecha munitions and upgrades. They're just getting out of refit and could use the work.]
The Fire Warriors were a Tarith Family business, so Nico didn't have any concerns about their reliability. Nobody was brave enough to cross her mother. Nobody.
"How about one Colony Ship, Two destroyers and twenty Cutters? All loaded with Mecha and trained troops? They're just coming out of a refit, so their gear and training are top of the line, no millennia-old gear anywhere." Nico suggested.
"A colony ship full of armed humans? That's a bit terrifying." The youngest Mimic whispered.
Nico brought up the numbers on the holographic display of the coffee table in front of the couch, and the boss nodded with wide-open eyes. It was a very large number, charged annually, but for the security of their home, they might go for it.
It would take over a decade to add up to what they were expecting to spend on upgrading their defence fleet, and it would prevent the standoff with the Alliance politicians, which would bring extra attention to the species which specialized in shady business and impersonation.
"It will take a few days before we get a final answer on that matter. It has to go through the government. But I have some personal matters as well. The Disintegrator Pistols that you carry. How much would it cost me to get a thousand of them?"
Nico showed him a number broadcast from her wrist device, and the man nodded, then tapped the device to transfer funds.
"Grey Credits? That is fine. Your purchase will be delivered to your vessel in the overhaul bay tonight."
Max and the Hostesses smirked at her tactic, implicitly assuming that he would be having his ship overhauled without even discussing the price in advance.
"I will need to make approvals for each major project of the overhaul before they begin." The arms dealer sighed. He wasn't totally sure that they wouldn't overcharge him simply because they were the only available option for a ship like his, but it was a risk that he would have to take.
If it worked out well for him, he could refer others to the service, and if it didn't, it was just another cost of building relationships. His face was impassive, but Max could tell just how excited he was to have a proper security fleet on his homeworld, and not just the Alliance Patrols that every antagonistic species had gotten good at avoiding.
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