"...fruits were locally sourced. There are quite a few farms, a combination of traditional open-air farms and indoor production farming, that could provide us with the necessary variety of fruits. The ale could cater to multiple species but it would be predominantly be catered to humans and Inugorians. The Barral digestive system would not have problems handling the alcohol but it would require a different brewing process to make it potent enough for it to have the same effect for the Barral physiology." I explained.

It has been four days since my hunting trip with Ethan and Aoife and I was in the middle of my pitch for funding a brewery business. Mama-san really pulled through and I was making a presentation in front of a surprisingly large group. The admiral, of course, was sitting in the middle of the conference table. On his left was an older Inugorian. The Inugorian has a dark brown and black stripe pattern on his fur. One of his eyes is biomechanical but it was made to look natural. I only noticed that it was inorganic when it started glowing at points. The Ingurioan is the chief purser of the company. He was flanked by two assistants, one a human and the other an Inugorian, who was constantly feeding him data and messages.

On the right-hand side of the admiral is an extremely skinny human. The woman was seated beside mama-san who has arranged for her to sit beside the woman and from what I gather, she's the head of marketing for the company. I don't know what products Red Tiger sells but I guess that's to be expected. The company probably have other businesses that make them money. You can't expect to always have contracts lying about.

The lady looks almost emaciated but her face is a work of art. She's like a porcelain goddess. Skin as white as milk, her heart-shaped face is complemented by a high, pointy nose and pair of large, lucid blue eyes. Her wide, luscious lips were painted bright red, making it really stand out. She was wearing a smartly-cut dark blue power suit. She kinda reminds me one of those severe educators that I always see on holovids. She's also being assisted by a Barral and an augmented human.

The last of the people sitting on the table was mama-san. She went full Japanese today. She was wearing a silver yukata and her hair was made up something amazing. She had the artwork that is her hair secured by a couple of decorative hair needles. Her ever present fan was also slowly cooling her attentive face.

It was interesting that she brought the same people she was talking to last time when I passed her by when I went out for my first hunt. There were five people, two humans, an Inugorian, and two Vellager who were seated just behind her.

"What about the equipment this venture would need? If we do start a brewery, how much would the capitalization go to the equipment?" The skinny woman asked. She just finished off a bottle of ale that I gave each one of the people that could drink it early on before I started the presentation.

"If you check your holo tabs, I've sent you the estimated cost of everything that a small-scale brewery would need. I have included there possible alternatives for certain equipment if we want to do a more modern production process. Traditional fermenter tanks are a lot cheaper than those that comes with fermenting accelerators. Initial costing would also be affected if we are to use a drone workforce." I answered. Everybody was scrolling through their tab projectors, checking the numbers. I could see the lady's left eyebrow rising then looking at me.

"How different would the brewing process be between Inguorian and human ale? Would it require additional equipment? I have checked this 'pineapple' fruit and the pH level of this fruit is too acidic for our species." The purser asked. He was right to inquire. It is a common problem a lot of business owners face. Catering to multiple species tend to be more expensive that just serving one. Different species, different needs.

"I have taken that in consideration, gentle being. The equipment you have there are not only modular but also specifically designed for multi-species usage. We would need to have separate fermenting tanks and Inugorian fruits would be added in the flavoring. As of the moment, Apple and cherry are two of the brewing fruits that are bio-compatible for both species. I would not presume to tell you what to do but I would recommend that we find out if the market is amenable to both flavors before we expand. Of course, we could expand the taste profile of the product if the company should desire."

"No, you are correct. We are yet to decide if we would invest in such a venture so expanding the initial plan is impractical." The aged Inugorian agreed. He conferred with his assistants while the other seated members of the company took a moment to talk among themselves. A privacy bubble was erected so I couldn't hear what they were talking about. I looked by the door and I could see Franny leaning on it. She gave me a thumbs up which made me feel less nervous.

I was very thankful that Franny was able to accompany me for my presentation. I talked to her about my business proposition and she had a good taste of both the ale and trail mix. She agreed that it would be wrong not to capitalize on the opportunity. She's was the last push I needed to completely make my mind up on it. I was considering making a small closet brewery in the Woglinde but Franny wouldn't hear of it. She wanted me to make a go at presenting it first and if that didn't pan out, we'll be making our own ship specialty.

After a couple of minutes the screen went down and the company officers asked a few more questions. They didn't really ask anything I haven't thought about. I had thought about this for a long time. Way before working for Red Tiger.

"Thank you, Mr. Mayon. That was an interesting business proposition. For the first matter you have brought us, I could confidently say that we are interested and will be looking at producing the trail mix we have sampled in mass quantities. We agree that the three percent increase in the production expense of it compared to the current market standard is negligible and will not be considered as a factor. Just a clarification, Mr. Mayon, this is not the finished product, correct?" The admiral asked, waving his unfinished bar.

"No sir, it's not. That's for sampling purposes. The finished product will have an organic expander for its inner core. Depending on the nutritional requirement of the customer, we could increase or decrease the nutrient content of the expander. A discussion of how much the expander will bloat will also have to be decided upon. As of the moment, the expander is set to bloat at three times its size and would completely break down in four hours. That could easily be changed."

The trail mix by itself is not very filling, even if it was healthy. I used an organic expander which is a type of edible that when it makes contact with gastric acid, it would balloon to a set size. A bar of trail mix would make the consumer feel like they ate a light meal. Not heavy enough that it would make them feel stuffed and not too light that they would feel hungry again after a while. Given that the target market is soldiers, that's a pretty damn important consideration.

"Excellent. We did get some very pointed messages from First Sergeant Sokolov and his men. His squad even offered to help fund the production if was deemed necessary. Thankfully, we don't need to dip in their pockets. We have a spare warehouse that is currently not housing anything important. I don't think it would take much to convert it into a production one.

For your proposition for this 'ale' you have us sampled, we would deliberate on it and would inform you in a couple of days. Personally, I think that it is worth to test the market with a limited production batch but that is yet to be decided on.

It that all, Mr. Mayon?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you gentle beings for allowing me some of your valuable time." I said then bowing to towards the table. The group upped and chatted while they made their way out of the room. I took a deep breath of relief. I was not that confident about what reception I was going to get and was gratified that I got a serious meeting with those who actually can make things happen. I was dreading that they would point me to a mid-level administrator.

"Mr. Mayon?"

I snapped from my reverie to see the admiral striding towards me. He was being followed by mother's shell. She was using the same body when I first met her. Apparently, she had her arm replaced. Her coat is spotless too.

"Yes, Admiral? Thank you again for your time. I was not expecting that the top beings to be present in my presentation." I honestly admitted.

"You can thank mama-san for that. She was very convincing in having us judge your presentation." the admiral replied with an amused look. I could see mama-san conferring with the gaggle of people that followed her around. She looked decidedly different when talking business. It was jarring to see the serious side of my hostel manager's persona.

"Anyway, do you have any plans for the moment?"

"Uh... no sir. I don't. I suppose I would go catch a holovid or something after this presentation but nothing concrete." I was confused as to why he was asking me about my itinerary. You would think that he has better things to do than to inquire about my plans.

"Good. I would like to invite you to accompany me to a nearby park. Somebody wants to meet you." The admiral mysteriously said. I wanted to ask who but if wanted to tell me, he would have.

"Oh, okay. I mean, of course. I would be glad to." The admiral didn't wait. He just waved me to follow then walked briskly out of the conference room. I hurried to catch up with him. I fired a quick message to Franny telling her of my sudden departure. We were supposed to meet Musaka later and goof around some.

We stepped out of the Red Tiger head office and into the bright sunlight. The head office is a massive affair. It was located just outside of Tyr. Architecturally, it's very different from what you see downtown. The building it wholly modern. Straight lines, metal panelings, automated systems, the works. The building itself is three floors high. I asked Franny why it only has three floors and she explained that it was all it needs. Most of the personnel work on ships. Only the administrative side of the company works in Tyr.

We made our way towards the reserved parking spaces. There were some very expensive lev cars on display and the admiral's didn't disappoint. It was a sleek, black car. It probably costs as much as a shuttle. Maybe even more expensive.

We piled inside the car with me sitting beside mom. The interior of the vehicle was even more luxurious. Leather padded seats and every kind of convenience you could pack inside a car. Like before, mom started passing out drinks. The admiral took a glass of whiskey and I accepted a small bottle of beer. The expensive kind.

"How are you fitting in the Woglinde? quite exciting first month for you, isn't it?"

"I'm fitting in well. Franny and the other guys in the galley have been super. They've helped me out and are training me right. They kept me alive during the boarding action." I answered truthfully. I was really thankful for my crew.

"It is good to hear that. I was a little concerned that you would not be able to adjust during combat but according to the reports I've read, you did well. I am impressed but I shouldn't have been. You've been under fire before and you were still able to keep your wits about you. Not a lot of people can say that, more so those that don't expect to be under such duress."

"I'm kinda surprised too. I've knocked around some like any teenager but dodging laserfire is very different from getting socked in the face."

"Very true yet you've acquitted yourself well. Granted, your shooting scores are abysmal. I expect that you have done something to remedy that, hm?" I blushed at the question. I didn't know that he got a copy of my scores.

"Oh... ah, yes. I still suck at shooting but I got this now." I opened my jacket wider so he could see my bandolier. He squinted at it then gestured to give him a knife. I obliged and drew one and handed it to him. He lifted it to his face to look at it closely, slowly turning it around. I'm not sure what he was expecting. It's a throwing knife. There was nothing special about it.

After perusing it for a short time, he handed it back to me. I resheathed it one motion, almost unconsciously. I was really getting good at that.

We talked a little bit more but I was awkward the entire time. I was not comfortable talking to the admiral like I was talking to, let's say, T. He doesn't really give that gregarious vibe.

Thankfully, we got to our destination before I ran out of conversational staples. I had a set of questions that I've saved for the very thing.

The car parked itself on an open parking space. We got out to find ourselves in a very well-maintained children's park. There were multiple species of juveniles running around, playing. I could see the kids swinging from the play ropes and some were playing break the fortress. The park attendants were all attentive, making sure none of the children were doing something that could injure them.

I followed the admiral as he threaded his way through the grounds, towards the picnic tables. There were a few families there eating or playing around. It was all very relaxing, really.

The admiral approached a table with a woman and child. A petite woman wearing a blue and gold sari stood up to receive the hug of the smiling admiral. The woman has high cheekbones and a hawking nose, making her look regal. Her smooth brown skin matches the color of eyes.

"Mr. Mayon, this is my wife, Lakshmi." He said while holding his wife's hand. I bowed towards the lady.

"and this is my daughter, Anaya. She's the one who wanted to meet you." A girl was peeking from behind her mother. Lakshmi said something softly to her then pushed her towards me.

The little girl looks about five or six years old. Like her parents, she has soft brown skin. Her rounded face was a bit dirty, probably from playing around. Her deep brown eyes were looking everywhere except me. She was also playing with long chestnut hair which was braided. She was squirming but she didn't hide.

"Hullo."

I immediately dropped down to her level and smiled.

"Hello to you too little lady. How can I be of service?" I haven't much experience with kids but I'm a great people person and a kid is a person. I spoke softly and gave all my attention to her. she squirmed some more but then looked directly in my eyes.

"Thank you for saving me."

All of the pain that I have endured until this moment from the time all this craziness started, it was worth it. That look of genuine gratitude belied the mumbled utterance that came with it. I softly laid my hands on her cheeks, looking at her face. The last time I saw her, fear disfigured her. She had a bruised eye and she was trembling all over. This happy, albeit embarrassed, child in front of me is safe from pain and danger. If I could go back during that time, I wouldn't change anything. Those five words she said meant more to me than she could possibly ever imagine.

"Anytime, princess." I answered. She beamed a wide smile at me then ran to her father. I was left feeling emotional. Ever since I lost my eatery, I’ve been focusing too much on how much I have lost. I’ve been moaning and griping internally on how could the universe do this to me. Me! The guy who pays his taxes properly and early. I should have been rewarded, not punished. Seeing the little girl that I’ve somehow saved made me feel that maybe I wasn’t being punished at all.

“You’re her hero, you know. She’s been asking about you since her rescue. I would confess that had you not lost your eatery, I would still have asked my husband to offer you a position, just to make my daughter happy. I was afraid that her experience would traumatize her, even after getting help from an Inugorian mentalist. She has been somewhat downhearted after her rescue but she is strong, she was back to her happy ways after a week. Seeing you just helps her erase any lingering ghosts of her abduction. I thank you for that.” Lakshmi said to me. I didn’t see her sidle up to me while I was talking with her daughter. She dabbed a kerchief on the corner of her eyes. It must have weighed down on her, knowing that her daughter had been through so much at such a young age. We watched as her daughter monopolized her father’s attention, gesturing wildly while sharing her day to her smiling dad. I felt sorry for the admiral. It was obvious that he deeply cared for his family yet his job takes him far away from them.

“I’m just happy that she’s okay. I didn’t think I was going to survive the encounter. I’ve no experience fighting for my life. I’ve always been good at talking my way out of a confrontation. Right time at the right place, I guess.” I explained. Lakshmi took a seat on a nearby bench and I sat beside her.

“It has always been my fear that my daughter would get caught up in Shyam’s work. We have tried to keep that violent world from intruding into our daughter’s life but it was not enough. She was almost taken from us. We have learned from that experience. Painfully so.” Lakshmi softly narrated. I felt bad for her. Nobody wants to see their children hurt.

We talked for a while, Lakshmi sharing a little about Anaya. I found out the kid is some kind of artistic genius. She plays multiple instruments and could paint better than somebody that graduated from art school. I was surprised and not a little embarrassed when she told me that Anaya made a painting of me. Lakshmi invited me to come back tomorrow here in the park so that Anaya could present me her painting. I readily agreed and felt a little proud that somebody found me worthy of a painting.

I spent a couple of hours just talking with the admiral and his wife and also playing with young Anaya. She was bashful at first but warmed up to me the more we played together. I showed her how to make a good sandwich from the cooler that they brought. She was hopping up and down with excitement, wanting to make the sandwich herself. We decorated a plate with some fruit cutouts. I know how to make a few so we had some apple swans floating majestically in front of a coleslaw hedge. Anaya didn’t want to eat the browning slice of swan apple and ran around showing it to her playground friends.

Eventually, it got late enough that the family decided to call it a day. I promised both Lakshmi and Anaya that I would visit them again here for the next two days before I have to report back to the Woglinde. It seems that I’ve sparked an interest in cooking in Anaya and told them that for the picnic tomorrow, I’ll be bringing something special for them. Anaya was excited and couldn’t wait for tomorrow.

Two people, whom I would assume as bodyguards, appeared out of nowhere to escort the family back to the admiral’s luxurious car. I couldn’t understand how I could miss the bodyguards especially since one of them was a Barral.

I decline a trip back to the hostel and shook the admiral’s hand. I gave Anaya a peck on the cheek and bowed to her mother.

I checked my chronometer then called my rental car to pick me up. I think I still have enough time to catch tonight’s feature vid, Maximus against the Overlords. Taggan Alsta is a freakin’ good actor and I was looking forward to seeing his newest work.

***

“No, you have to spread it evenly. Good! That’s it. Looks great, eh?” I was teaching Anaya how to properly make Cubano sandwiches. She was sloppily slathering mustard on her sandwich so I had to correct her.

It was a sunny day and the park was full of life. As usual, there were gaggles of kids running around, finding mischief everywhere. I think there were more attendants today. I brought a food crate with a portable sandwich grill. I thought that it would be a great idea to show Anaya how to make my favorite sandwich though I didn’t let her touch the grill without my supervision. I was afraid she was going to burn a finger. Lakshmi also participated in our small cooking class by making her own sandwich alongside her daughter. Anaya was bragging how much better looking her sandwich is.

After toasting the sandwiches, we dug in. Pork shoulder was not available when I visited the market earlier today so I tried Antuana meat and it worked just as well, if not better. I marinated the meat for a few hours and the meat turned out perfectly savory.

“It’s yummy! Can I make some more!?” Anaya shouted. Her mouth was covered with mustard but she was busy eyeing the bread and meat.

“Of course, you can have as much as you want.” I was a bit surprised at how fast she worked through the large piece she made but Lakshmi just smiled and wiped her mouth. I helped her use the grill and made a couple of sandwiches. I asked if it was possible for Lakshmi to call the bodyguards because, for the life of me, I couldn’t find them. A Barral. A three meter giant of a being and I can’t find him. Unbelievable.

Like yesterday, they came into being from out of nowhere when I was not looking. I thought my heart was going to leap out of my throat when I turned back with the wrapped sandwiches to find them a step or two away from me.

I gave them a steaming sandwich each with the one for the Barral a heck a lot larger. I got nods for thanks. I had to look at Anaya to make sure that she was not messing around with the grill and when I turned back, the bodyguards were again gone. I was resigned with them doing that appearing and disappearing act.

When we were done eating, I played fortress with Anaya and some of the other kids in the park. I was always the monster besieging the fortress and Anaya was always the heroic forest sentinel, defending her people from the Inugorian-eating alien. I didn’t mind and I was having some fun playing around with children. It was a very different experience for me.

Eventually, it was starting to get dark and the parents of the children in the park were popping one after another to pick up their brood. Lakshmi bundled up the takeaway sandwiches I made for them then we made out goodbyes. The pouting Anaya didn’t want to leave yet but her mother was firm.

I waved them goodbye from the corner as they levitated away, almost getting squashed by the Barral’s lev cycle. I think the bodyguards were messing with me.

I sigh in contentment and took a look again at the small painting the Anaya made me. It was remarkable how well she had done it. She had one good look at me before I was turned into road pancake. There were a few flattering features in the likeness she made, a sharper chin, a well-styled hair, and a better-contoured nose but it was still me. Damn, I look good in this. I’m going to have it vac-framed then mounted in my cabin. I bought a rug and some other decorative knick knacks but this would be my centerpiece.

I slid the painting back into its case then grabbed the crate. There was still enough for a few slices. I’m going to make a few more and share it with mama-san. She always has a great appreciation for good food.

I was walking towards my rental in the parking lot when my ArmComm started going crazy. It was beeping loudly and flashing. I quickly set my crate down and pressed the transmit button. A small holo of mother was projected from my device.

“Emergency recall, emergency recall. All crew members are to report back to the ship immediately. Report to your department heads upon return. Emergency recall.”

Fuck! I’ve been taught about how this situation may happen and I was supposed to be ready to drop everything I’m doing and report back to Woglinde at best possible speed. I slung the crate’s strap on then ran towards my car as fast as I can. I threw everything in the backseat then had the car rush me towards the space taxi ports. I was pulling out the parking lot when I saw a couple of guys talking animatedly, one was screaming at his ArmComm. I could see all three had the Woglinde insignia on the back of their jackets. I had the lev car make a hard stop in front of the group. I was surprised to see that it was first sergeant Sokolov and two other guys.

“Get in!” I shouted from the front. The three troopers didn’t wait and jumped in the car. We were already speeding down the highway by the time the mercenaries were properly restrained.

“Hey, you’re the trail mix guy, right? They told us they’re going to be replacing our normal load outs with that. Great job man.” Sokolov said once he got a good look at me. Of all the things I was expecting to hear him say, that was the last thing I would have thought to hear.

“Uh, yeah, thanks. Anyway, what the hell is going on?” I asked.

“No idea. You guys know anything?” Sokolov asked the other two.

“Nope.”

“I never know anything, remember?”

“There you have it, we know squat.” Sokolov said with confidence. He sat back then started fiddling with his ArmComm. The two others were rummaging through my food crate.

“You seemed to be awfully relaxed about this.” I commented. I was amped with adrenaline, ready to do… well, anything .

“It’s always the same shit. Hurry up and wait. They want us back like yesterday but I doubt that we’re going do anything soon. You’ll get used to it.” The first sergeant replied. He didn’t even bother looking up from his ArmComm.

The other two guys were munching on the Antuana meat, making quick work of it. I thought about saying something but decided against it. It’s not like I could finish them myself.

I was going to ask something to Sokolov when my ArmComm beeped. Franny was calling me.I hit the projector.

“Where are you now?” Franny was in her serious mode. It would be a bad idea to crack a joke for the moment.

“I’m on my way. We’re about six minutes away from the taxi bays. The rental is refusing my commands to break speed limits.”

“That’s fine but don’t take a taxi. The Woglinde has a shuttle waiting. It was supposed to pick up a few things but that could wait. Who’s with you?” Franny asked.

“First sergeant Sokolov and two of his guys. I figured that they needed a ride.” Sokolov leaned over to stick his face in front of my projector.

“Hey, beautiful. Miss me?” He winked at Franny’s image. She snorted, not even looking at Sokolov. I think she’s also in a car.

“You wish. Maybe if you take baths more often I would be more interested.”

“Hey, I resent that. I can’t help it if my natural musk drives you crazy.”

“Stop now before I barf.”

“Yeah keep saying that. You know you can’t resist me.”

“Would you get your mug off my holo!? I’m trying to talk to my assistant here.” Franny huffed. Sokolov gave her one more wink before sitting back.

“Where were we? Oh yeah, assemble by the shuttle. We’ll lift off as soon as we get the signal.” Franny instructed.

“What the hell is happening, Franny? You know what’s going on?” I asked. Sokolov and the two other guys perked up at the question. They were also curious about the emergency recall.

“A New Worlder fleet just smashed through the Pegasi system defense force. A heavily damaged merchanter drone transitioned in system a few minutes ago. The New Worlders are corralling the local population. Galactic Council will throw a large liberation force to take it back as soon as they get word and you can be damn sure they’ll be wanting us there. We’re contractually obligated to. I’m thinking that we’re assembling a quick reaction fleet. It wouldn’t take long before we get some communication via quantum entanglement so get your ass back in the galley.” Franny explained.

“Damn.” I said after a pause. We’re going on a fleet engagement and possible planetary assault.

“See you soon.” Franny cut her comm. There was silence in the car as we contemplated on what she had shared.

“I was wrong.” Sokolov suddenly said.

“What?”

“I said it was probably nothing to worry about. I was wrong. Those nutty New Worlders are bad news. I’m gonna call my people.” Sokolov started messing with his ArmComm again. The two other guys at the back stopped eating and were also messaging people.

Damn it. We’re going to war.