With the introductory haggling out of the way and the basics of human society explained, all the envoys settled in to begin going over the offers they were willing to offer humanity.
Max started with the most obvious choice, the Alliance itself, presented by the Valkia.
The terms were fairly simple. No direct sales of military equipment, but the Reavers would begin being able to purchase all non-military products at standard Alliance rates but would be required to charge the standard ten percent sales tax on completed goods that they sold to Alliance members, to be paid to the governing council. Patented plans and raw materials were exempt, and only finished goods were taxed by the Alliance trade scheme, so it worked out very well for Max and the Reavers.
pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 It meant that they could access large numbers of new products, and they could sell their completed goods into the Alliance without interference. Still, it wouldn't greatly affect their major revenue stream, which was licensing patents for others to produce.
Max showed it to the others in his group and forwarded it to the Innu Tech Nomads for them to go over. They were the local experts on Alliance trade schemes and dealt with most of the group's trading with the Alliance, so their opinion carried more weight than most.
[There's a bit of trick language on the seventeenth page. The text looks like it only requires you to pay on goods sold to the Alliance, but they want a cut of all completed goods sold by the Reavers everywhere.] The Innu informed Max well before he had reached that point in the document.
[Highlight it and send me a modified version of the text that is more favourable to us. Do the same for any other clauses you find that would be a hindrance to our work.] Max texted back.
Once he finished his read-through of the Alliance document, he left the Innu to work on it and picked up the Dryad Document. It was less than a page long, stating that they would let the Reavers buy whatever the Alliance let them buy at market prices, but they required access to public natural spaces on Reaver-controlled worlds under the same terms that were set for Reaver Civilians.
"I don't think I even need to get a second opinion on this one. Well, technically, I already have two other opinions available confirming that it's a plausible deal, so I will gladly sign this one now." Max confirmed.
The Dryad seemed satisfied with the deal and quickly returned to talking to the Shin about plants while the rest of the group was getting ready for a long day of negotiations.
"If you wish, our employee can show you to the World Tree while the rest of the deals are worked out. We will forward you copies as they become available, so you are not out of the loop." Max suggested to the distracted Dryad.
"Ah, yes, that would be excellent. What are your policies on room sharing? I may wish to stay a few days."
"As long as it doesn't exceed the stated capacity of the room, we allow it. But as a foreign dignitary, courtesy demands that we offer you free room and board for the duration of these negotiations, so do feel free to arrange for the staff to get you settled into a room of your own." Max replied.
"We do appreciate good hospitality. Are there more rooms like the Shin are in?"
"Of course. Not many, but there are more soil rooms and also fully holographic rooms if a simulated forest or natural environment is more to your liking."
"That sounds interesting. I believe I will give it a try. My thanks, Commander Keres, and I look forward to our future interactions." The Dryad replied before following the Shin from the meeting room.
"He did better than expected, given that there is a world tree on this ship. We had a wager going on how long it would take him to flee the room and go looking for a branch to sleep on." The Giant chuckled.
"Just getting them to wear clothes and show up in public can be a struggle. Bunch of oddballs they are." The Valkia agreed.
The Innu returned the Alliance offer just after Max started reading the offer from the Volga. Their offer was frankly insulting, and not a single part of it was worth salvaging, so Max set it aside once he had finished reading it and presented the list of proposed changes to the Alliance agreement.
"These are the changes our experts request to be made to the first proposal that you have presented to us. Please read them through and give them your consideration." Max requested, handing over the data tablet with the updated agreement to the Alliance representatives.
That brought him to the offer made by the envoy with powder blue skin. He had taken off his helmet now and displayed a face reminiscent of the Hunters' masks, all smooth but with a mouth and two bloodshot eyes. He equipped a pair of goggles soon after removing the helmet, so his species must have developed to be nocturnal and sensitive to the lights in the room. Unfortunately for them, he couldn't lower the lighting much more, or it would interfere with the reading of the data tablets since the Alliance-made units lacked backlight like the Reaver units used.
This agreement had very little about trade, only a single page like the Dryad document. However, it included a clause on not invading each other's territories, with a detailed list of star systems that were inhabited by the alien species and a blanket agreement for them not to attempt to settle in this Galaxy.
Honestly, nobody in their right mind wanted to settle in this Galaxy's unclaimed territories, given how violent the neighbours were likely to be, so it was probably not going to be an issue, to begin with.
None of the galaxies that were included in the alien's list were immediate neighbours of this one, so the chances that Humans would try to colonize them were very low. It made the call a simple one, but Max sent it off to be vetted by the Innu and Mary Tarith as well.
"Now, we have a little time while the experts vet the documents, so would you all like some refreshments? We have quite a variety, from tea and Juice to more elaborate and even alcoholic concoctions." Max offered.
"Now that's the offer I've been waiting for. I have heard great things about the Reavers' Rum." The Huntress laughed, finally seeing a positive note to her day of politics.
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