Kikai had been happy to develop connections with PAULDRONS. She certainly had a personal interest in advocating for the rights of nonhuman sophonts, especially given her resemblance to a local pet species. But she never expected them to contact her on behalf of a seemingly unrelated organization. Still, once she got the news, she quickly informed the GALAX-E Girls, to form a consistent and financially sound response.
The situation certainly called for one.
"NEIGHSA is funding us?!" cried Ditzy, so surprised her eyes had aligned. "Why?"
"The Gates will eventually lead to the Moon Base," Kikai said as she looked over a printout of the offer. "It seems they have incorporated that into their plans and abandoned rocketry as their primary means of reaching your moon in favor of the Gates. That frees up their budget for human moon bases, Moon-to-Ares travel, and well, us."
The girls shared looks ranging from confusion to concern to intrigue. "So," said Golden Harvest, "how much money are we talking about?"
"Well, the money is not going to 'us' directly, but instead sent to equipment suppliers like the Atlazan Institute, the Company of D.R.E.A.M.S., and Fancy Industries. And scholarships, since they figured out that most, if not all, of you are teenagers."
"... It was the memes," deadpanned Blue Oyster, "wasn't it."
"... They aren't denying that."