The fact that they would not become Billionaires received much less of an adverse reaction than Max had expected. The whole reason that everyone wanted their children to join an ultra-wealthy family was to get them out of the chronically broke state that they were in as menial workers, not for the actual cash.

Therefore, the non-monetary benefits that the Reavers were offering them were almost exactly what they had always wanted.

Their planet was still working almost entirely with pre-civil war Kepler technology, which made it a very comfortable place to live, but even compared to what was the height of human civilization a few years ago, Absolution was a worker's paradise.

Every worker got a housing allotment based on their family size and position, but none were crowded as they were back home. On the planet, it was normal to have all sons take one bedroom, and all daughters take the other, but the Absolution's design assigned bedrooms in multiples of two.

Not every child of a low-skilled worker would get their own bedroom, but they would never be shared with more than one sibling, a huge improvement from four or five in the same room.

They also got a replicator allowance based strictly on family size, plus a bonus from their job. The details were the most common message that Nico was receiving, as the workers simply couldn't believe that they could simply order anything they wanted off the menu or from the generic items in the database and pay by the energy consumed.

Fortunately, Nico had been prepared for the culture shock, and once all of the new staff were onboard and checked into their new homes, she activated all of the holographic emitters at once.

"Good morning, everyone. This is the first test of the shipwide emergency alert system. Rest assured that there is no emergency today, but I will go over a few of the most common concerns that have been raised over the previous day.

First of all, the matter of work uniforms. They will be provided at your place of employment if you require a uniform or protective wear. For those who do not, you will find a variety of business casual options in the Replicator system, which may be purchased using your energy allowance, should you be short on suitable clothing.

Secondly, the replicator system itself. If you would like to follow along at home, I have updated the interface to make it easier for new arrivals to get a solid grasp of how the system works. Every action now has a number next to it. For example, if I wanted to create this bottle of Reaver Rum, it would take six energy units.

That amount will come out of the food and beverage portion of your allotment, as Rum is a beverage. Please note that users will be tracked for the purposes of public safety. If you are not purchasing sufficient food for your family's needs, a health and wellness counsellor will come to visit you to ensure that your family is still healthy.

However, unless you regularly spend your entire paycheck on booze and drugs or starve your family, that won't be a concern that you will ever have to deal with.

But back on topic, should I want a meal to go with my Rum, I have a variety of options. For those following along at home, please open the Popular Items tab on your kitchen replicator.

There you will see a number of listings. Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes, Steak and Eggs, Lobster and Salmon filets in a lemon butter sauce, and Chicken Karahi make up the first page as the most requested meal items by human staff aboard the Colony Ship Terminus.

As you can see, the meatloaf is actually the most expensive item on the list. Why? You might ask. So I will break it down. The total weight of the Meatloaf and Mashed meal is just over one kilogram, while the Lobster and Salmon filets come in at a mere six hundred grams without an additional side other than vegetables.

It takes more energy to make a larger quantity of food, so while the seafood is rare and expensive when harvested from the ocean of your homeworld, it is, in fact, less difficult for the Replicator to produce.

This also goes for clothing. Larger sizes require more energy, while skimpier items require less. But make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen, the Reavers have a well-ingrained sense of decorum, and wandering around in a bikini top and mico miniskirt will earn you many strange looks, no matter how much you saved on making them.

Now, please enjoy your evening, and feel free to ask the ship's computer if you have additional questions."

Max was quite impressed with her prepared broadcast. It covered the essentials, and going by the energy usage charts, it seemed that the new arrivals were starting to get the hang of ordering meals right away, despite the fact that most of them hadn't unpacked much of anything at the moment and had to have the meal created in takeaway packaging, with disposable cutlery.

There were directions on biomass recycling printed on labels on the garbage cans, so they should be able to figure out the trash system easily enough, and Max began to relax as he scrolled through the residential zone cameras. Families were rapidly unpacking their pods, which were made of organic plastic and could be recycled by the ship's systems since they had been purchased from the planet's government.

That was one stop down, and very soon, they could be off to the next one, a tech production facility just inside of Cygnus space.

The residents there were the polar opposite of these workers, and the official applications listed an average of 0.2 dependants per worker: nearly no spouses and very few children. The place was also horribly overcrowded, thanks to a rapid decline in demand over the past decade, and they had been quite willing to part with a great number of skilled workers and researchers.

Mostly junior researchers, but that was no problem for Max. The research team from Terminus would be moving to Absolution to give them more room to work, while a smaller team would remain on the ship to take care of the essentials and new product requests, as well as the ongoing Luxury Yacht production.