"Okay."
They finally left the workshop compartment and went to the lounge compartment. They sat on the same loveseat as last time with each other's cats resting on their laps.
"Meow." Lucky looked up at Gloriana with a pleading expression.
"Oh, you're such a cute and sophisticated cat, Lucky!" Gloriana playfully fed him an exotic. "Do you approve of me? Do you think I'm a good woman for Ves?"
"Meow!"
Ever since Ves boarded the Stellar Chaser, Lucky entered into a paradise. Not only did he have Clixie to relieve his boredom, the exotics that Gloriana fed him were much more expensive and potent than the barely worthless space rocks that consisted of his usual diet!
As far as he was concerned, Ves should already shack up with Gloriana so that the supply of expensive exotics would never stop!
In the meantime, Ves found Clixie to be surprisingly companionable to him. As soon as she realized that he understood her, Clixie began to regard him fondly!
"Miaow."
"Oh, you want me to scratch you behind your ears? Okay."
"Miaow miaow."
"I'll tell Gloriana that you want more fish in your diet."
"Miaaaow."
"Hehe. You're so soft and fluffy. Lucky doesn't really have fur, so hugging him is like hugging a metal pipe!"
Once they had their fill of pampering each other's pets, they began to address something of import.
"Are you still serious about this grand expedition of yours?" She asked.
"I haven't changed my mind. I still intend to visit the wider galaxy. Don't you want to go anymore?"
"I still want to!" She quickly replied. "It's just that if we take such a lengthy multi-decade trip, I want our starting conditions to be as perfect as possible. A ship like the Stellar Chaser won't cut it for the expedition we have in mind. Only a fully-fledged factory ship will enable us to keep up our mech production no matter where we go. We also need plenty of strong escorts to protect such a valuable ship, as well as ourselves!"
"The expense is enormous." He said. "There's no way you can pay for it, right?"
She shook her head. "No. I've approached my mother and some of the Wodins and they've all told me that they aren't willing to bankroll such an expensive expedition. They think I can make just as much progress at home where they don't need to waste so many hex credits. They don't understand!"
"Then.. maybe we should settle for something cheaper and less modest."
"NO! Absolutely not! That's unacceptable, Ves! We are not going to enjoy our sweet time together on a tiny rustbucket that won't offer enough room to raise our six children!"
Ves decided to ignore her comment about having six children. "Then what options do we have?"
"I've figured out two different solutions. The one I came up with earlier is to solicit external investors. We are basically pledging investors a share of our future earnings in exchange for a hefty investment up front. Much like any other business."
That did not sound attractive to Ves!
"What about the other option?"
"I only came up with this when you revealed your capabilities to me. Instead of attracting external investment that comes with a lot of strings attached, we should instead earn all of the money ourselves by selling enough masterwork custom mechs to wealthy Hexer clients!"