MF Max Intel Ch. 06-10

Max Intel: Melinoe Chapter 8 - Rockers

Agatha, Soumii, and Mossira met with the Ornalith to begin the inspection, planning, logistics, and costs of the refit. Agatha tasted their emotions and felt only excited expectations with no dark intentions. She let Mossira and Soumii know of her findings via a pre-selected hand signal.

Soumii introduced herself to the obvious leader of the Ornalith, "Greetingss! I am Adminisstrator Ssoumii, Mayor of Freeport. Thiss iss my head of ssecurity, Mossira, and my advissor, Agatha."

The leader of the Ornalith procession spoke in a deep, powerful, resonant voice, "Hello Mayor Soumii, Star Child Agatha, and Warrior Mossira. I am Ambassador Bhegguc of the Ornalith Dictorum. We have received your initial plans and, still having the original blueprints of this station, we need only take a quick tour to see the current state of it and we can have three estimates for you to include an austere, mid-level, and luxurious level of refit within 4 days time."

The Ornalith was, like his species, a sleek, marble-skinned creature. Each Ornalith had unique green, blue, and gray patterned lines around a sturdy body that more resembled a large, polished river rock of Terra. Three short, stout legs were equally spaced around the bottom of this rotund body, and they seemed to have a ball like joint halfway down that could pivot and bend in any direction, giving the creatures surprising lateral mobility.

At one end of this pebble body and directly over the most developed of the three legs was an upturned extension of slightly lesser girth with substantial three jointed arms, two arms to each side and one arm located slightly lower and centered to the front of the being, below a thick neck and three eyed head which also seemed to have ball-like joints.

The creatures stood approximately 2 meters tall when fully erect or could flatten themselves out to just a third of that height should circumstances require. It seemed the Ornalith varied between 270 to 320 kilograms among the adults present.

Bhegguc further replied, I wish to convey the Dictorum's pleasure in doing business with you and," it paused for a moment before continuing, "I have been given a dictate from our Prime Dictatus, the Honorable Chigurg, to invite you to sit with him at the Dictorum's Ruling Table for dinner this evening for food and festivities."

Soumii and Mossira looked to Agatha who smiled and nodded. Soumii then accepted, "Thank you Ambassador Bhegguc for conveying the dictate. Please inform Prime Dictatus Chigurg we will be most pleased to attend."

Agatha then asked Bhegguc to accompany her to her office and, upon acceptance of her offer, Agatha then pulled Bhegguc to the side as each of the Ornalith with him were assigned a guard/guide and shown around the facility...which ended up being about a 3-hour trek.

0o0

"Would you like some tea, Ambassador? Or perhaps some wine?"

"Wine would be wonderful!" Bhegguc looked around at the somewhat spartan meeting room and nodded appreciatively, politely keeping his thoughts about the austere quarters to himself. "Thank you."

Agatha went to pour some of the better wine available in Freeport, which was surprisingly good.

Agatha was a Star Child, and her actions were beyond his understanding. If just a small portion of the old tales were true, she was one of the most potent and possibly most dangerous entities in the known universe--perhaps even rivaling John Blake himself. As such, she was beyond him. Though, her guise as an advisor on a mining station soon to be trade station and diplomatic way station truly confused him.

Agatha sensed his emotions and after pouring the wine and bringing it to the table, sat across from him and smiled, "You are confused." She said as she placed the bottle between them on the table.

Bhegguc spoke carefully, "I admit, I am, Star Child. You are a member of the preeminent star faring species of the Universe and yet, you serve others. Please forgive, but my feeble mind has difficulty understanding."

Agatha nodded, "I am as you say. But I am still a baby by Onieran standards. I was found by and accepted into the family of my wife, Captain Dame Max Anders. Through her I have learned of unconditional love and acceptance."

Agatha took a wistful pause before continuing in a soft voice, "The only appropriate response is to return that love and acceptance: which I do. I should also mention I am First Secretary to the Exquisite Lady Jooniper Anders, Terran Ambassador to the Minor Empires."

Bhegguc did a formal bow to the First Secretary, "And that family now owns this station."

"Yes. And that brings me to an issue that has come to my attention."

Bhegguc's three ears and eyes were instantly riveted to every nuance of speech and body language this ultimate life form expressed, "Yes? An issue?"

"Freeport is not only a trading station and smelting plant but is also now a diplomatic vessel operating under the M.E Concordat. I say that to express our understanding that anything that occurs on this diplomatic vessel falls under the auspices of Ambassador Jooniper Anders and this station is now Terran Federation soil."

"We have learned, through back channels, that at least one of the Ornalith who will be working on the refit is an agent for an interstellar crime syndicate called 24k. Their mission is to place tracking and surveillance devices around the station as well as strategically place explosive devices which they would be able to control. The reason for this seems obvious and I believe you understand it is also obvious why we cannot allow this to happen."

Bhegguc was aghast, and deeply afraid. "I assure you Star Child, the Dictorum has no hand in this what-so-ever!"

Agatha held up her hand, "Relax, Ambassador. I am convinced that is truly the case. And please, just Agatha by you and everyone else is what I would prefer. I just wanted you to know that I will be looking into the minds of everyone who works on this station to root out any and all agents of this criminal organization and I will be taking steps to deal with them. I consider this a personal matter as it will threaten my family. I am letting you know as a matter of professional courtesy."

Bhegguc shuddered at the thought of what a Star Child, even a young one, could do to someone who threatened something they held dear. After a moment he replied, "No one of our species would ever question anything an Onieran did, Agatha. Having said that, I deeply appreciate your candor and willingness to share your understanding of the situation. I will certainly pass on this information to the Prime Dictatus as a matter of courtesy."

0o0

Towards the end of resupply from Oxbow Agatha asked, *Would it be possible for the next Ambassadorial visit be to the Ornalith Dictorum? And if so, in what time frame?*

Joon asked Astrid, *How long will we be visiting your Auntie*

*Anything over 3 days would be too much, though she would never complain.*

*Agatha, we can be there in 15 days' time.*

0o0

"Ambassador Bhegguc. I have just been in contact with the family who are currently vacationing in Terran space and Ambassador Jooniper Smith has informed me she will be dropping by on an official visit in 15 days' time. If the Ornalith Dictorum would be interested, she would love to do one of her music videos showcasing your culture and helping to open up new markets for interstellar trade and tourism."

--She can speak to family members from across the Galaxy in real time. Powerful indeed!--

"I also wanted you to know we have some unfinished business with the Terran Federation and one of their military vessels will be docking with us soon. It is my hope the Dictorum will not feel it is anything but a commercial exchange. We have secured one of their ships and need to return it. Will that be a problem?"

"I will let the affected agencies know as soon as we are finished, Star....Agatha."

"One last thing, the Ashanath will be delivering 10 of their best and largest military grade power cores for installation into Freeport." Agatha handed a computer chip with the specifications of the drive units to Bhegguc, "These are self-contained power cores and need only proper installation with circuitry capable of handling their power output."

"Thank you, Agatha. I will review these specifications with the power team and we will incorporate this information into our quotes."

"About that, Ambassador, we will just be going with the luxurious bid so don't waste your time on the others. Also, as you know I can read minds, we will accept a 25% profit margin for your people after all real costs are accounted for. We will make 7 payments of equal measure."

"One at the beginning, and five others, one at each 20 percent completion mark, and one when the contract is finished and a final inspection has passed...including a short ftl hop. This way your people have little to no capital outlay and we hold most of their profit margin in hand to ensure our satisfaction."

Additionally, I would like Mayor Soumii to be involved in the coding of and layout of all electronic interfaces. She will work closely with your overseers as she will be the ultimate authority on the refit. I would also like no stratification of opulence between the social or political classes or species in the M.E. or T-Fed. Everyone from Ambassadors to family members of the merchants to guests at the station are to have the best possible furnishings, workspaces, and personal spaces."

Bhegguc raised an eyebrow, "These requirements could easily raise the cost to near a trillion credits, will that be a problem?"

"25% profit, after actual costs, and no it won't be a problem. If your agencies would prefer to be paid in rare metals just let me know and I will see what can be accommodated."

"How opulent?"

"Top of the line."

Bhegguc nodded, "I will inform all the vendors so they can plan accordingly."

0o0

"Mayor Soumii, there is a priority call for you from an Admiral Harris."

Soumii immediately walked to her holo-vid and accepted the call. "Admiral Harriss! To what do I owe thiss unexsspected pleassure?"

"Mayor Soumii, I wanted to let you know the Terran Federation has come into a bit of a financial windfall just recently and we will be purchasing the entire amount of Tyrenium we discussed earlier. I was also authorized to purchase any Titanium you might have on hand if we can agree to a price?"

"Let me check our inventory, Admiral." Soumii quickly looked at another hologram and noted the latest inventory showed 1,000,000,000 tons of pure Titanium already smelted into blocks. "Admiral, I sshow we have one billion tonss of smelted Titanium at 99.9999% purity. As a special, one-time deal, I can sell it to you as a favored customer for 5 trillion. That comes to only 5,000 credits a ton which is a laughable price for smelted Titanium, but you caught us at a time we are cash poor and need the money for our refit."

Charles' jaw dropped. "We will take the whole lot! That will fulfill all of our ship building and station upgrade requirements in one stroke at a landslide of savings! Are you sure you want to sell us the lot at only 5,000 credits a ton? That is only one twentieth the going price!"

Soumii smiled, "We wissh to enssure no regretss concerning our preferred trading sstatuss. Sso we have a deal, 500 tonss of Tyrenium and 1,000,000,000 tonss of Titanium for a total of 5,015,000,000,000 creditss due upon resceipt. We will load your docked ship'ss hold with as mucsh ass can fit, leaving the resst to be transsferred to your incoming vesssel. May I inquire ass to when I may expect them?"

"Commodore Phillips should be arriving in system within the day. I will inform him of the new payment and ore shipment and there should be no problems. Call me if you have any concerns. And, Mayor Soumii, thank you. The Terran Federation will not forget your kindness in our time of need."

"Conssider uss a part of the team, Admiral Harriss."

0o0

Finally! Some good news!

Admiral Harris was as happy as he could possibly be, given the current crisis with the attack from a vastly superior force out on the outer rim. He had just made a deal that saved T-Fed twenty trillion credits in capital outlay.

With the watershed income of 36 trillion credits from the crime families, T-Fed's balance sheets were going to be cash flush and be able to fund not only the projects for the outer rim colonies, but the Kintark acquisition, Olympus expansion, and the ship building program without putting the Federation deep into debt. Lynette was going to fuck him senseless when she got back home.

Charles quickly called Commodore Phillips.

"Commodore, sorry to interrupt you, Sir. But Admiral Charles Harris is on coms wishing to speak with you."

Jim Phillips rubbed his eyes as he awoke, "Yes, pipe it through to my quarters, thank you."

The T-Fed sigil disappeared in an instant and Admiral Harris smiled, "Commodore, I apologize for waking you, but I know you would want to be informed. The deal with Freeport has changed somewhat. You will be picking up the ship which will be filled with 500 tons of Tyrenium but you will also be packing in one billion tons of Titanium. Upon receipt you are now authorized to transfer a total of 5,015,000,000,000 credits from the account you have been given into the Freeport account discussed previously. Do you have any questions?"

Jim's eyes focused, "How am I going to get a billion tons of ore on one Battleship?"

"Use every nook and cranny. Use hallways you can detour around. I don't care how you do it, but we need all of it, so make it happen."

"T-Fed must have gotten a steal of a price, pun intended."

Charles leaned back in his padded chair, his eyes sparkling as his mustache twitched, "Indeed we did, Commodore. Indeed we did. Let your crew know they will be granted extended leave when they get back in compensation for their troubles."

Jim smiled, "That will go a long way, Admiral. Thanks for the olive branch."

"One more thing, Jim. There is an unknown entity onboard Freeport that has very strong, magical like powers. Goes by the name of Agatha and is First Secretary to the Ambassador of the Minor Empires. Treat her carefully and with respect. We suspect, with a wave of her hand, she can disable your entire crew at a distance. We cannot afford to antagonize her in the midst of this deal and it remains to be seen if she is an ally or not."

Jim raised an eyebrow, "Are we looking at another Lion?"

"I wish I knew. We have intel on the ground but keep out a sharp eye."

"Aye, Admiral. Sharp eye and courtesy it is."

0o0

Back on the Dierdra, Agatha was informing the family about the developments on Freeport.

Howard blinked. "You mean the family owns the largest ore processing plant in the entirety of known space and is refitting it to the tune of over a trillion dollars...and you just got the Terran Federation to pay for it including a 4 trillion-dollar profit? On top of the 4 trillion from the crime families?"

Astrid smiled, "Yes, dad. And that doesn't include my family assets we have access to, which, at the last audit, amounted to about 2 trillion."

Mercedes sat down for a moment. "You mean, the family has assets now totaling over 10 trillion credits with multiple money-making assets that likely means those credits will probably never be touched?"

Astrid smiled and nodded, looking lovingly at Nike, "And that's not all."

Mercedes looked at Astrid and asked, "What do you mean?"

Astrid smiled and looked at Nike, playfully scrunching her nose at her sister, "Our resident Djin here can scope out uninhabited planetary bodies and basically mine gold, silver, copper, diamonds, rubies, or any other elements she wishes at near instantaneous speed. Did you happen to notice the barrels of copper, gold, and silver in the cargo hold while you were there?"

Howard nodded, "It looked like those metals, but I was not sure. Must be a couple tons of each."

"Took me an interminable amount of time to get them. The asteroid belt we were in at the time had already been mined. What was it, Emma, two minutes?"

Howard chuckled and just shook his head.

"Freeport needs a Xenobiologist and doctor as well as a security martial arts instructor. Freeport will be the new center for trade and diplomacy in the Minor Empires as well as eventually being our home base of operations." Astrid continued, "I am looking for very prominent people in those fields, mom and dad. Are you interested?"

Mercedes almost wept with joy, but she visibly constrained herself, looking to her husband for his reaction. Howard asked, "Who will be my students?"

Joon spoke up, "Everyone from Largath to Slarmians, Bracht to Nethrilla, Skerawk to Trankarans, daddy. Basically, all the members of the Minor Empires as well as a Marine contingent. Each species to be responsible for keeping the peace and enforcing the laws of Freeport with their own citizens with cross species support."

"My fighting style does not fit all known species."

"Which means you will have to study and develop adapted fighting styles. You would become the father of integrated martial arts among the species."

"You are talking about a hell of a lot of work, baby. I am getting a bit long in the tooth for all that."

"Yes, but you would only need to teach two or three from each species. They can then become the teachers and you can just oversee them."

Agatha added, "And I am working on your bodies to restore your youth. If you think on it, I am sure you have begun to notice some changes already."

Samira then joined in, "And mom, you would become the foremost authority of xeno medical biology and treatments for the entirety of known space."

Mercedes then asked, "What about med stations, supplies, skilled assistants, beds, quarantine facilities?"

Max then smiled, "Pretty sure we can scrounge up everything you could possibly need. Might need to visit some bargain shops though to keep costs down."

With that the whole family rolled.

Paula pinged everyone, *Dinner is served!*

German Bread Dumplings were served with a Bourbon mushroom and onion gravy. The base was made of hardened bread, cut up into small chunks and soaked in hot whole milk (from Agatha who gave it some of her essence). To that combination crumbled bacon, fresh parsley, and fresh ground nutmeg were added, mixed, and rolled into a ball. The balls were then lathered with a thick gravy made of chopped and sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onion, and a hearty Bourbon mixed with equal parts beef broth which was thickened with flour upon heating.

These dumplings were served to the side with Rinderrouladen, or German beef rouladen. A Grainy mustard was slathered onto thinly sliced beef, followed by lightly cooked, thick cut, bacon, onion slivers, and a sandwich sliced dill pickle sleeve. They were rolled up, set with a toothpick, and deep fried before being put into the oven to braise until all the flavors melded together.

These rounds were served on a bed of red cabbage which had been quick sweated with red wine, caramelized sugar, and sour vinegar before the addition of tangy apple bits.

To the side in a glass cup was some warm, thick, and creamy Griessbrei. Made with (Agatha's) milk, vanilla, and sugar, which was brought to a boil before the semolina was added and the mixture set to simmer, letting it thicken. Paula had topped it with cinnamon and brown sugar.

To drink, Paula had created a mulled wine with a good German fruity red wine to which she added orange and lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, and cloves. She let it simmer first and then left it to steep, resulting in a deep, flavorful mulled wine. It was served warm with orange slice garnishes.

For desert, Paula had made a very rich and decadent German chocolate pie with just the right amount of sweetness from the white and brown sugar which balanced out the slightly bitter semi-sweet chocolate chips. Honey roasted and lightly salted pecans added a satisfying crunch while coconut flakes provided the perfect amount of texture.