Once they stepped out of the hangar, the noise of a busy space station immediately assaulted their ears. Max turned to Nico with a rueful smile, and the little Cyborg giggled.
"It's been a while since we were somewhere so loud and rowdy, hasn't it? Our own ship is so calm with all those Alliance sorts that we might have forgotten how much noise Reavers make just enjoying life." She laughed.
"You have a point. It's like just being around them calmed down our crew. Not completely, but they're much more quiet than they used to be. I don't even think I've seen a report of anyone being attacked with a broken bottle this week. That was always a reliable standby for the drunkards since they had the bottle anyhow."
"Kebabs and Falafels. Come and get them. They're hot and ready. Why don't you take a break from walking?" A food cart vendor called as they passed.
"We're off to the Tarith Family dinner. We can't be eating before we get there." Nico laughed.
"Bah, that's not for hours yet, is it? It's still early morning on that side of the planet. How about you? I know you want Kebabs." The man continued, turning away from them to another Reaver walking by.
They walked a few more stalls down, and a stall selling a collection of jewellery caught Max's eye. Precious metals didn't mean much in an age of replicators, but they still held some value. The chains and rings were more popular for their design than the materials these days.
"That's what you need. Rings. You never wear any, and I keep forgetting, so we should get you some." Nico suggested.
"Excellent call, Miss. While some might think that they're just for fashion, a good ring actually serves many purposes. I've got some here with hidden compartments, some with transponders or communicators, and a fine selection of stainless steel skull rings, just in case you want to punch someone in the face." The vendor agreed.
The man had a good point. A nice solid ring on your finger made it much more satisfying when you punched someone in the face.
"Perhaps I should get a crest made for the Terminus Trading Company. We've got a logo, but I don't have an official ring. Do you do custom designs?" Max asked.
"Indeed I do. If you have ten minutes and a picture of your logo, I can design up a ring and have the replicator print it out for you." He agreed.
The Terminus Trading Company logo was simple. Just the letters TTC arranged around a large Y, in the fashion of the old East India Company logo. Unfortunately, the planet East India had fallen to the Narsians centuries ago, but their logo and memory were still featured in many Kepler movies.
"Oh, that's a nice easy one. So many new companies want to go all high-tech and make a three-dimensional holographic projection as their logo. It's cool, and I've got rings specifically to project that sort of thing, but there's just something about a good signet ring. Not only is it stylish, but you can use it as a stamp so that others can confirm your correspondence.
The vendor spent a moment creating the signet, with a raised emblem, to use as a stamp should Max want to do something as archaic as stamping a wax seal on a letter. But more practically, it would leave the company logo on his victim's forehead, should he use it as a weapon. That was the sort of thing that you wouldn't soon forget.
"That is excellent. I need one made to fit myself, one for Miss Nico, and then another twenty in assorted sizes. Plus those two stainless steel skull rings there." Max decided.
Max tried the rings on, then put his new signet between them and admired how his hand looked. It was a good look, and it added a bit of flair to his daily style. When he got back to Absolution, he would have to get Nico to design him some rings that had multiple functions, like the hologram emitter or perhaps a flat space, if she could make them that small.
"Well, we should get to the shuttle. It was good to meet you." Max said goodbye to the ring maker and then followed Nico to the elevator.
He could sense that she was entertaining the thought of breaking into the labs since Uncle Lu was on the surface and not there to stop her, but even she realized that they simply didn't have enough time, and if she missed the shuttle, she would be caught for sure.
"Don't bother. He's got more than enough issues with security between that grandniece of his and the Innu researchers here on the base. He doesn't need you adding to it the one that that he finally leaves the lab." Max chuckled when he heard Nico sigh.
"Fine, let's go have dinner. I will try to convince Uncle Lu to let me have the good stuff when I see him next time."
As soon as the elevator doors closed, Nico's mind was off of taking an illicit tour through Uncle Lu's lab and onto dinner with her family. Max had only been to a few of these, even including the one during the break when they went to her house on Kepler Terminus during their time at the Academy.
Max decided to keep silent as her mind wandered to how her mother had called him Samantha because they didn't list gender or sex on the notification form. She had been so happy to have another girl coming to visit since she had twin boys and a husband with her at home all the time.
Well, that last part wasn't quite right. Her husband spent most of his time gone, but nobody ever really mentioned it or questioned where he went. Even Nico didn't know the full story, and the old man had some sort of System Function to keep Max from finding out on his own.
Max didn't have much hope of finding out his secrets tonight, but just the chance to talk to the man was intriguing. He seemed to know everything and everyone who mattered.
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