The vibrant bar in the casino is a hub of activity, the sounds of exuberance, mixed with the stench of desperation gently wafts in from the various table games and slot machines. A diverse crowd of humans and other species enjoy their drinks and chat animatedly. On one side, towering five-meter tall windows offer a stunning view of Inancent, the blue star that Halo Space Station leisurely orbits around. On the opposite end, an old acquaintance of the bartender sits on a stool, entertaining him with stories from his recent visit to the Aether Processing Station.

The spacer leans forward on his stool and lowers his voice, "Let me tell you, the rules about no deodorant and washing with special unscented soap before exiting our ship were just the beginning.” The spacer sat up straighter and got a touch louder and more animated with each syllable as he declared, “They went so far as to have us do some crazy colon cleanse!" He Pauses for a moment to take a swig of his drink. "But that wasn't even the strangest part…”

The bartender interrupts, “Wait, a group of xenos requiring you to do a colon cleanse wasn’t the strangest part? Did they follow-up with an anal probe?”

The spacer gives the bartender an exasperated look, “OK, maybe the colon cleanse was the strangest part, but while we were on board their station, I had this weird sensation that they were talking about us right in front of us and we couldn't understand a word."

"They probably were," the bartender chuckled, while wiping down a glass.

“Wait! What? How?”, the spacer splutters.

The bartender smiles knowingly, "The Zhians have their own scent language that can convey general tones and ideas. The universal translator can't even begin to decode it."

“Really?”, is the spacer’s one word question.

“It’s not a full language, but yeah they can pack a lot of information into scents. That’s the real reason they make you undergo that whole decontamination procedure, cleansing ritual, or whatever they want to call it.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Those lizards are something else," the spacer remarked. "At least they tend to keep to themselves for the most part.”

“Yeah, I never hear of them going further out from their home world than to visit their only space station,” the bartender remarks agreeably.

“Can't say the same for those damn Ilex though. They tried to board us just a sector out from there,” stated the spacer.

“What did you do?”, the bartender questioned.

The spacer took another sip of his drink before replying, “We ran! We had just done an overhaul on our engines to get a little more power out of them, and it was a good thing to or who knows what would have happened."

"I’m glad you guys managed to get away," the bartender commented. "Let’s just say that they're not exactly known for their hospitality." The bartender continues, “Heck, a group recently docked here and one of them wandered into the Casino. He literally growled at me while baring his fangs. It was like some kind of low budget B-movie holo-vid.”

“He growled at you. What caused him to do that?“

“He didn’t appreciate that I offered him something as weak as a light beer.”

The spacer smiled, “He may have had a point, but were you scared?”

“Only a little,” replied the bartender showing more bravado than he likely had in the moment. “After all, no one is stupid enough to start anything in this casino. The bald man would have taken care of that problem permanently. No one, and I mean no one messes with anyone on the boss's turf without his consent.”

Now it was the spacers turn to chuckle, “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that. Any other strange happenings here on Halo?”

"Yesterday some Strayons docked here at the station," the bartender practically boasts. "Now there's a fascinating bunch. About a quarter of a meter shorter than us, ridiculously fuzzy and cute. If they weren't so smart, you'd want to take one of them home as a pet." He paused and shook his head before adding, "But don't let appearances fool you none - they're shrewd bastards. I swear they were actually calculating the odds on the various games here at the casino. One of them even left with a few extra credits, though I'm sure he spent it elsewhere on the station."

"Interesting times we're living in.", stated the spacer while taking another long draw from his drink.

The bartender agreed with a nod and motioned for another customer to come forward and place their order.