More of the patrons of the lounge came over to say hello once they realized that the Terminus Trading Company and Terminus Academy were one and the same. In an Alliance as large as theirs, duplicate names were commonplace, so most hadn't quickly put the two together, and the fact that the Colony Ship was human-run and not just multi-species friendly wasn't common knowledge outside of a select group.
From their thoughts, it looked like they had accepted Max as one of their own almost immediately. He ran an Academy for Elite Students, no questions asked, and many of their counterparts had sent children there, as well as many politicians that they had to deal with on more official business.
Getting to know Max and getting on his good side held nothing but benefits for them, as far as they could tell, and he was from the newest rising technological power to sign a deal with the Alliance.