Free Torian Reclamation 3: Test of Fortitude by Andy Kasch

similar to argim in taste but with a dryer, pleasant bitterness.
    The cabin was positioned directly between the two dag drives. When they lit up with an orange fire, Alan nearly dropped his drink. The video screens were so clear it was easy to forget you were safely tucked away deep in the hull of the ship. Suddenly the stars around them were displacing themselves, swirling, blending together and separating again in unpredictable patterns. So that’s what it looked like to bend space. And the three of them felt …nothing. It was so smooth they could have been in a theatre watching it all on a simulation.
    Then the tour started. Trodenmark first showed them through both civilian and military barracks, and then the mixed socializing areas. The Mparians they met along the way were all extremely cordial, military and non-military personnel alike.
    Approximately one-third of the crew was female. Mparians resembled Earthlings in many ways physically. The males were stockier and more muscular; the females had pleasantly rounded features including small but noticeable busts. They wore clothes not much different in design than the climate-controlled outfits most Torian humans took to, except the material was thinner. You could tell they weren’t used to having visitors and were thrilled to be hosts. Plus, they were all excited to be coming home after being away for a year. Everyone was always smiling.
    The way Mparians smiled was unique. They were a dark-pigmented species with soft skin almost resembling that of humans, except it was tougher and rumpled on their faces, especially around their foreheads. Alan figured it was natural protection for their larger eyes. Their normal expression seemed to leave the middle of their mouth in a naturally open position. But when they smiled, the middle of their mouth closed and the corners opened, exposing teeth on both sides of their wide noses. And the smiles were so genuine they were contagious. It would be difficult not to like Mparians. That was a desirable attribute for a trader to possess.
    Trading. That was the sole purpose of this massive vessel, to become a profitable interstellar business. The Measure was, at its essence, a giant travelling storefront. Jumper and Kayla were understandably captivated by that aspect of it.
    Trodenmark walked them into a large circular room that he referred to as their primary datacenter. A team worked here around the clock devising strategies based on their catalog of goods and customer profiling algorithms. These Mparians were serious businesspeople. They didn't do anything half-assed, and were diligent to a fault in exploring merchandising opportunities. Every supplier of goods had been profiled and studied intently. Every supplier was a potential customer of something else. It was the crew of The Measure’s purpose in life to discover what and bring it to them. Thus far, they had established trading relationships with 14 different worlds, counting Tora.
    It always started with supply. Trodenmark explained that the worlds the Mparians contacted were less resistant to solicitations from buyers. It made sense to Alan. People are usually open to generating more income. Converting the sellers into buyers of other goods was phase two. That part was still in the beginning stages, but already four different races had placed orders for goods in The Measure’s catalog.
    According to Trodenmark, the workmanlike approach of every member of their merchant team would ensure their eventual success. On their second run, they expected to double their customer base and further expand their catalog, becoming instantly profitable in so doing.
    Next to the primary datacenter was a small room with a holographic trading game. It was Trodenjo’s brainchild, described by his brother as an innovative way to train merchants. The Measure employed two full-time programmers just to maintain and improve the game scenarios. They had successfully created a virtual galaxy in