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“So, what do you know about Derrax? I haven’t had time to start researching it yet.” Max asked over dinner.

“There really isn’t much to know. It is an isolated nation, a minor shipbuilder of merchant freighters a few generations back of Kepler technology, and kept deliberately neutral by its neighbors.” General Yaakov shrugged.

“They view color as frivolity, so all their buildings are plain concrete, even the houses. Everyone on the planet covers themselves from shoulders to ankles at all times, and they don’t do physical greetings.

I am told that it is due to fear of foreign diseases, but the habitable planets aren’t exactly a vacation spot, they had fully industrialized them before recovering advanced technology and environmental illnesses are still rampant.” Admiral Drake added.

“The system was settled by accident, a colony ship hit a wandering meteor and became disabled. Emergency protocol sent it to the nearest habitable planet, where it crash landed and woke the surviving expedition members.

They lost most of their experts and tradesmen, as well as their military forces. But their agronomy and industrial manufacturing volunteers mostly survived, so they made a settlement and focused on just getting by until they could recover enough to become interstellar again.

The Cygnus Trade fleet was the first to discover them, so the Cygnus Empire holds a high level of respect in Derrax.

I hate to say it, but you might end up being the spokesperson again, Lady Tarith.”

Inquisitor Ming’s explanation gave Max a lot more to go on, and he now had enough that he could pick out the details he wanted to know in advance, so he didn’t embarrass himself.

They were here as the Terminus Trading Company,  and no Mercenary group would take a cargo without at least knowing about their destination.

At least no reputable one.

After a few seconds, Inquisitor Ming continued. “Derrax reminds me of a prison colony more than anything. Conditions were hard, and they fought to survive at first, but even now the population is strictly regulated and lives under a heavy layer of obscure laws. I wouldn’t bother getting to know the civilians, and they likely won’t let us meet any of them anyhow.

The way most of us are dressed is fine, but they might have a collective heart attack if a Reaver showed up dressed as a princess.

Their sense of humor is atrocious. But dressed as everyone was before dinner they won’t have an issue.”

“Other than hugs, are there any other social taboos that we should know about in advance?” Max asked.

“Follow Yaakov’s lead and embrace your Nobility. Like the Cygnus forces, they put a very high value on pedigree.” The Inquisitor shrugged and the conversation fell silent for a moment.

“Have you gotten your team all settled into their bay yet? I saw the messages about the hab blocks going in, but the bays were pretty spartan.” General Yaakov asked Max.

“We are settled in very well. All we are missing is fresh provisions for the freezer that we inherited. We have lots of supplies, but if we can get fresh and frozen food on Derrax the troops would appreciate it.” Max informed him with a smile.

“Derrax has a lot of milk production because they need the leather for their industrial production. We should even be able to get them ice cream if you really have a working freezer.” Yaakov told him with a sly wink.

“One hundred square meters are currently dedicated to frozen foods, forty to fresh, but there are another two hundred Units recognized as being underutilized in the kitchen layout. I am certain we can find room for ice cream.” Nico agreed.

Max was starting to like these undercover missions. There was never ice cream on a regular deployment.

This dining room looked like the sort of place for the creamy treat too. It was part of the original crew area, with actual carpet on the floor, a long mahogany table, and matching carved wooden chairs.

There were deep red tapestries and paintings on the walls, lending the room an air of elegance that Max wasn’t used to, but from the other’s memories, this was normal for a Command Staff dining room.

Max was certain to be seeing a lot of this particular decor since the ship didn’t have a dedicated war room and General Yaakov enjoyed the ambiance of this room.

It was a little dated and worn with age, but that somehow made it better, in a strange way.

Maybe it was just because of the older officers in the room, but brand-new furniture just wouldn’t feel right.

The dinner ended with a round of bread puddings, served with whipped cream. Both Nico and Yaakov looked excited to see it, but the other three didn’t immediately see the appeal of the exceedingly plain dish. It came up on the regular rotation as well, and it wasn’t one of the favorites.

It wasn’t until Nico poured Rum all over the bread and dropped the whipped cream on top that Max understood the brilliance of this dish.

The sweet burn of cheap black Rum, mixed with crumbled cake and sweet cream was an excellent combination. Even the serving staff seemed intrigued at the revelation, so the alteration to the dish must not be a Kepler standard, but an old family recipe.

“It is a Cygnus idea, but it’s too good not to try.” General Yaakov explained as he ate, waving his spoon to emphasize his point.

“My grandmother makes a caramel with a lot of Rum as the sauce, but this isn’t bad.” Nico agreed.

“Oh, I know that one. My ex-wife makes a Rum caramel, but she serves it with ice cream.” Admiral Drake informed them with a nostalgic smile.

With the meal finished, Yaakov sent one of his staffers to get some data tablets and the other Battalion Commanders.

“They can opt-out of dinner, but not the tactical meeting afterward. The meetings on Derrax shouldn’t take long, but as our first stop of the mission, we all need to get on the same page before we arrive.”

He might as well have made the whole event mandatory, but that wasn’t his style. It also gave the two Generals and the Admiral a bit of extra time to work their way through the bottle of black Rum while there were only a few people in the room.

Once the others arrived with their assistants the bottle would only last one more round at best.