Chapter 554: 554 Esteemed Guest

Nico was overjoyed to get to decorate their new Captains. She was so happy, in fact, that she brought the Tech Adept Harness and a toolkit in case Marcus wanted a makeover of his cyborg shell.

Unfortunately for her, he wasn't that brave, and the makeover ended with just a fashion adjustment, the Reaver version of having a new suit tailored.

"There we go. I could do better if you'd just let me tweak that outer shell. Even Luke let me do his nails and eyeliner." Nico reminded Marcus as she finished.

"He actually makes a good Captain Harkness, though. I prefer my natural looks."

Nico raised an eyebrow and waved a hand in his general direction, reminding him that he was just as artificial as she was, though not nearly as high-tech, so his best argument for not letting her program tattoos and a tan into his synthetic skin was just that, an excuse.

"You've had your fun. Thanks for the help, Nico. They should go visit their crew before we get too busy." Max thanked her, then shooed the two relieved Captains out of the office.

"You're no fun. But I do have fun things for you to do today. We've just received an advance arrival for the registration process. Some crazy Mushroom Guy named Ahmed. He's a riot to talk to, but everyone keeps bowing to him, so I think he's properly important and not just wealthy." Nico informed him.

Max searched the thoughts on board Terminus until he found the man in question. Ahmed Bin Saladin was a Myceloid Emperor in charge of over a hundred populated planets, all from the same base genetic stock as his family's spores. Emperor was more of a nickname than a position, though. The wealthiest Myceloid preferred to be referred to as businessmen, or heads of family, even if their family was billions of people.

They had originally populated planets much like the Klem by blowing spores into space, but the Myceloid weren't hostile or violent and simply adapted their own spores to their new home where possible or faded into either extinction or obscurity if it wasn't.

These days they had the full suite of terraforming available to them, so they did like every other civilized culture when they wanted to inhabit a new planet, which made an entire population from one base stock a rare thing, showing the age and power of their family.

He was with a younger version of himself in the gardens by the World Tree. Not really a child, per se, but a cutting, or a clone, the way you would do with a plant. From what Max could glean from his bodyguards' thoughts, that was the common way to pass down an inheritance in their culture. However, by Alliance law, the clone was considered an entirely new person, so they needed education and background to prove themselves to society.

The process also built another layer of expertise on what they had and helped keep them current with new technologies and cultural developments so that they didn't lose touch with the younger generations by living and cloning themselves in safety and seclusion.

Ahmed, in both versions of himself, preferred to be addressed by his bare name and got mildly annoyed with all the bowing and sucking up that people did when they recognized him, so Max led Nico to the front of the ship while briefing her on the situation.

Max kept listening as they walked and learned one more important fact about Ahmed. He identified as male, despite the species reproducing asexually through self-germinating spores.

The fact that everyone was avoiding getting in his way became clear when Max found the pair and their guards at the ice cream stand in the garden, which was usually packed full of people at every hour of the day and night, all alone in a bubble of calm.

He walked right up and extended his hand to greet the Myceloid dignitary with a smile.

"Welcome to Terminus. My name is Keres Max, and I am told you are here to determine if you wish to enroll in the Academy."

The Myceloid gave him an intrigued look and slightly awkwardly matched the handshake gesture. It was a custom among the species, but his station meant that everyone bowed to him, and nobody would dare attempt to touch him, so Ahmed had become a bit rusty with the process.

"Headmistress Medusa is an old friend of mine. When she was still in school, she won a contest to design a government building on one of the planets I own." He explained.

"Then you are guaranteed to start the semester with at least one friend on board, and she will have all the insider knowledge you could want," Max replied with a chuckle.

There was a lot more to their friendship being replayed in the man's memories, most of it very boring and professional, but it seemed that they actually worked together a lot. Most of her reputation in the Alliance for brilliant architecture had been bankrolled by Ahmed and sold to interested parties all over the Alliance after it was constructed.

A mutual benefit to both of them, though Max would usually call that a Business Partner and not a friend.

"Would you like a tour? The teachers only arrived today, so they're not prepared for visitors yet, but there is no reason I couldn't show you around. I did give the final approval for the design, so I know where everything is." Max offered.

"How many revisions did Medusa go through on this one?" Ahmed asked curiously.

"At least six before she presented it to me the first time, and I don't know how many more before she actually built it. I picked my favorite color scheme and left the rest to her." Max explained.

"That's the best way when dealing with an artist. If you interfere too much, it never feels right, like it was forced or limited. The artistry and life of it get lost somewhere along the way." The oligarch agreed.