At Intergalactic Trade Station Xeno Interfare and Ware...

"So, what do you make of it?" The bartender asked Carmen as she dipped the metal proboscis-like straw of her brand new power suit into the peculiar blend of fruits, sugars, and spices being served her. The closest description she might make of it to another human would be to say it tasted like a mix of spicy strawberry, milky banana, very sweet coconut, and nutmeg. A big improvement over the weird nasty blueberry, onion, and potato-tasting thing she had the last time she went someplace to meet an xeno. That had gotten shot straight down into a hidden compartment of her old suit. The limited selection of consumables generally acceptable to human tastes, digestion, and absorption available in places like an intergalactic space station both necessitated a sort of pickiness in even the least finicky of eaters and a need to just settle for what you could get. It was often best to eat lightly and finish your business with a plan to eat something else later on your craft or back at base.

After a pause where she attempted to appear like she was deep in thought taking into careful consideration the virtues of the textures and flavors of the fruit smoothie, she brought her data pad's microphone up to her mouth piece for a translation. "It doesn't quite taste like anything I have ever had, but I think you have a winner. One of the best drinks I've had in a joint like this."

"I'll have to try to remember it if you or another one of your kind comes back here.", he remarked as he took her payment.

"Are things usually hopping this early in the afternoon? The whole hub seems busy...." She glanced around the room briefly, noting that her companion had just finished his conversation with one of their many secretive xeno associates; a small, relatively inconspicuous-looking crab guy now turning away from the only other human in the room and scuttering calmly out the bar's doorway.

"Yep, we stay busy just about all cycle during most operating hours.", the bartender clicked his mandibles as he dried a wet countertop, the translation software working rather well for once between alien and human. Unfortunately, the suits were missing a few languages in their hidden onboard computers, and there were just some that couldn't be mimicked by them. Hence the need for data pad translations.

Carmen returned her gaze to the smoothie as she went for another sip, pretending not to know or care for any xeno who may have caught it that Diego had noticed her glance. "My buddy needs to give this a try."

Diego moved over to the bar counter as casually as a man in a power suit could. "Get something good? I don't think I want to wait until we get back to Zan."

"Yep, this is alright. Intoxicating like everything else here for most races apparently, but nothing worse than a bit spicy for us." That was the thing about non-human food and drink, it was usually either drop dead after consumption or try not to vomit as you stomached some of the foulest-tasting crap you could never have even dreamed of. She continued sipping the smoothie.

Her partner in business looked at the bar keep. "I'll have what she is having."

The bar keep nodded, moving to get the ingredients. A few minutes later the two humans sat there side-by-side at the bar enjoying their silky smooth meal, waiting for another associate to show up and give them the signal for the clear. If anyone looking on thought strangely of the duo's power suits designed to look like bug armor, they were not in the mood to make waves by questioning the supposed exoskeletons out loud. Carmen could just continue to pretend to be the big orange arthropod she appeared to be, the bright color of her suit complimented with black sections on various parts. Diego's power suit was similar except it had bright yellow instead of orange and had black strips across the chest and stomach, making him look a lot like a big bee. The only things that were solid black were the visors that mimicked compound eyes, the twin audio equipment antennae that looked like bug ones, and the gliders that folded over their backs like wings. It was a very good thing for the duo that most aliens, especially those from the Galactic Core, were unfamiliar with Humanity.

Diego decided to stand up to try and spot a perhaps very short alien in the crowd of xenos standing around. The Lassaqi were a short people when crawling over the ground, but capable of standing up to nearly the height of an average human when reared up on their back quarters. A mistake as no sooner than he did, a number began to play over the loud speakers mounted directly overhead from the ceiling right over the bar counter. A most irritating, non-sensible tune assaulted his human sense of hearing, forcing him to clutch his armored head and lay back his over-extended audio antennae. Making things worse, more people were now filing their way in from outside the bar and looking at him and Carmen out of curiosity.

Carmen pulled Diego back down to his seat before laying her own antennae back. At least in his moment of pain, he still had the good sense to avoid retracting his back into his helmet. She glanced out at the thankfully non-advancing crowd before leaning in close to the bar keep. "Is there any way you might turn that music off for my friend here? He seems to be having some kind of problem."

The bartender shook his head in an oddly very human-like way. "I'm sorry, it isn't playing from our end. I took a quick look at our equipment when it started as we aren't scheduled for any music-related events for several more hours. The only other place it could come from is the central control room for the trade station...I hope whoever is up there knocks it off. I hate this overplayed crap that plays day after day and channel after channel whenever I am forced to listen to whatever happens to be available." Some things just never change across time and space.

"I guess we will have to make due.", Carmen sighed. She looked again at the crowd then nudged Diego, who had recovered from the unpleasant surprise but was still tensed up.

He leaned closer to her. "What is it?"

"This music wasn't supposed to be playing. The bar keep says it is coming from the central control room and is as confounded about this as we are. We need to get out of here."

"What about the associate?" Diego looked around worriedly.

"I think he has some explaining to do. We need to consider the possibility that we have been compromised. No, we need to act on it. Can you get up?" She braced to help support him. It was then that she saw them out of the corner of her visor. Some among the staring crowd had moved in, the others looking on in what seemed to be glee.

"Did someone say something about 'possibilities'?" A tall, bright emerald green mantid-like being with white-edged chitin plating stood too close to a seated Diego, swaying hypnotically while eyeing him from top to bottom and back again with golden eyes.

"Maybe.", Diego said confused while trying to look around him/her/it.

"I have to admit, I have been looking your way ever since I came in here after the music started. And well, you look like someone who knows how to have a good time...and how to give it."

"Diego....", Carmen whispered. "Lets go."

They stood and started towards the door, only for the mantid type to grab Diego's arm in a clawed clasp. "Why don't you dance with me?"

"I am with my friend here. Sorry, I wouldn't want to leave a buddy behind." Diego wanted this scenario to be over as soon as possible. He continued to try to glance and moved past the disturbingly hypnotic alien.

"Looks like they are already...handled." Those golden eyes lit up with a smirk that would be recognizable to any race. Diego looked over at Carmen, who could be seen dealing with her own freak. There were too many people blocking their way now, having circled around the floor to make way for the dance. Maybe he could buy time while moving them closer to the doorway and keeping an eye out for the associate. If Carmen did the same, they might be able to make a break for it after a few minutes without too much trouble. He would just have to trust that given the situation, she would come to the same conclusion on her own.

Diego looked deep into Golden Eyes' eyes, feigning interest and beginning to also sway. "It's not how my kind normally moves on a dance floor, but I'll give one of..whatever this dance is. Just the one."

Golden Eyes returned the stare deep into his visor while reaching out and gripping his shoulder with one grasper. "One is all I need to sweep you off those bipedal feet."

Before he could react, the creature pulled a strange vial full of pink liquid out from under a wing, popped the cork and waved it around under his face and down to his abdomen. The fluid quickly vaporized upon hitting the air and the being leaned in, beginning to sway more intensely. "Now show me how your kind moves."

Carmen endured the awkward advances of a giant, blazing-red, freakish ant intent on distracting her long enough to reach under a loose chitin plate for something. It kept shifting uncomfortably enough to be noticed even though the twitches were very slight, causing it to favor turning one particular side to the disguised human. She waited for it so she could catch it off guard. Just as it was about to make the move, it was rudely and intentionally knocked onto its pained side by a huge and overly excited murderous-looking moth. The would be assailant hissed in horrid pain, curling up into a ball on the floor.

"May I have this dance?" The moth confidently extended a fuzzy clasping arm which appeared to actually be its foreleg. Carmen glanced around the room real quick, seeing Diego still swaying with the weird mantid.

"Sure, why not." She gave a brief nod and took the brazen dancer up on its offer, as ready to take to the floor once more as she was going to be. It responded by opening short, sharp mandibles and extending twin-spined proboscises, curling them up onto the sides of its face as if giving her a wide smile.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Murder Moth twirled her about and pulled her in close with surprising strength, agility, and grace. This was actually something of a workout without giving any more power to her suit, but she managed to keep up; even unfurling her armor's dark glider "wings" whenever the creature would flare the crimson eyespots on its own. A Swirl of black and orange human and of white, black, and red insectoid glided across the dance floor in front of a whole room of onlookers, some whom had stopped their own dancing to watch. All while slowly maneuvering away from the jerk on the floor.

After a few of these sets of moves, it leaned in during one of the pulls and whispered, "I am sorry, but as great as this is, we need to talk." Carmen stopped, still in the moth's embrace.

Murder Moth continued, "The Lassaqi associate you were supposed to see is missing. I was sent instead to find you and your partner."

Good and bad news, Carmen thought to herself. "We need to get him away from that weirdo over there, they and that freak you knocked over earlier both came onto us just as we were about to try to leave on our own."

That made the big moth shoot its long fuzzy antennae up in alarm. "That guy who targeted you appeared to have something on him, but I didn't see anything strange about that green and white Mantikon when I forced my way in. If they were working together then we need to act fast."

Carmen leaned in even closer, head nearly at Murder Moth's thorax. "Just act natural like we were doing before and slowly move together to him." They started to make their way, hand in grasper, rocking to the beat of another bad song playing on the speakers all while dodging and denying requests from other interested bar patrons to relieve the moth of Carmen and a few of the reverse.

Diego managed to look away from Golden Eyes, who was starting to succumb slightly to whatever it had released into the air. Several nearby aliens who had hung close by in a group had stumbled away and passed out in a corner before they could get in on the action. Once he started feeling dizzy, the mantid creep started trying to lead him slowly to the door while keeping up the swaying dance, apparently not as affected by the gas as others. But dizziness made it hard to focus on the bug and he held his ground, slowing his movements to buy time for whatever this was to either wear off or make him pass out himself in plain sight of others. Whoever this was, they were not eager to finish him in the bar. Across the room through blurry eyes he managed to spot Carmen slowly moving hand in chitinous gripper toward him with a moth monster.

The bright lights and loud sounds of the pub started to send throbbing pain through his head. Clutching his helmet once again, he muttered out loud without realizing it, "I think I need to sit down awhile."

Golden Eyes, though in a bit of a wobble itself, perked up with an intense look. "I can take us someplace more private where you can rest."

"Nah, I think I will just sit at the counter and get a water.", he started to move but nearly fell over, being caught by somebody. Somebody was a man-sized spider thing, their spiny brown, black, and purple body and legs wrapped around to cradle him like a prey captured.

"Well, didn't I get lucky today?" The spider, which was somewhat intoxicated by drink, stroked Diego with those long, spindly legs. He panicked, squirming and turning, and threw a blind punch into the air. He hit something. The spider released him, he staggered and dropped to the ground. Sitting up instead of passing out, he blinked. There rising up off the floor directly across from him, Golden Eyes now had a cold, evil look to go with pained, angry hisses.

"You are out of it, Grunx. Too much drink and here I am having to haul you off to our place to chill out. You are coming with me." The mantid turned to apologize to the unharmed but surprised spider before grabbing Diego and pulling him to his feet and out toward the door.

"That is not my name and you are not my mate or roommate. Let me go!" Diego prepared for another swing. "You should have left me on the floor!"

Golden Eyes swung the dizzy man around, catching both hands and wrists in a clasping bind, leaving him face to face with the red ant that had managed to get up by now. "We got one, lets go.", the ant freak growled while rubbing under his side.

"I don't think so.", an orange and black fist flew out of no where and landed upside Ant Freak's head. It stumbled backwards into the fuzzy arms of Murder Moth, who grinned at it with that same twisted smile and excitement Carmen had seen before. The moth held Ant Freak with one grasper, and shoved the other deep underneath the loose plating on its side and started rooting around while the ant screamed.

Diego kicked backwards, nailing Golden Eyes in the joint of a leg, forcing it to loosen its grip momentarily. He made the slip and jumped around to deliver a swift kick right into the mantid's abdomen before falling flat on his butt, sending them both to the floor again. Carmen kicked back its wings, revealing a few more vials before delivering a swift kick to the creature's head. She attempted to nab them when a drunk yelled "Fight! Three beauties fight, your winner dates your losers!"

Somehow this made sense to the drug-addled crowd and they began to spread around the five combatants, two of which were either knocked out or fainted already. Murder Moth, having wrestled and tucked away a vial retrieved from Ant Freak, looked out at the crowd. "We are beautiful, but we already had our dates!"

"It is early in the night, babe! You've got more to go!" Another unappealing xeno pointed in their own direction and that of a group of its equally ugly friends.

Somebody punched that guy, then the the whole room erupted into chaos. Species bit, kicked, punched, clawed, and spiked one another. One even pulled out a laser gun it had somehow smuggled into the trade station on its person and yelled, "I will end this, you fuckers! All you fuckers! And then the lovelies are mine! I'm the only fucker!" It stumbled around drunk while waving around its weapon haphazardly.

Diego had pulled himself up to his feet despite still being a bit groggy. He whispered a lament to Carmen, "We may need to activate defense protocols to get out of this." She nodded in agreement. They risked being found out for what they really were, aswell as causing more damage than was desirable and If this went further south, the risk wasn't just to the mission but to human operations and relations in general. But they had no choice, even in death they would pose a problem.

Both gave the silent command to their power suits. Both felt the weight of the suits lighten as power levels rose, heard the tiny sounds of small gears which had been more muted before, aswell as a crackle as shielding went up. Claws unsheathed from what had appeared to just be fingers and toes on the armor, and wings unfurled and shot out long bladed spikes.

The outward effects of none of this escaped the attention of Murder Moth. It stepped back, flared its eyespots, and fluttered in place a bit before finally steadying itself; seemingly anxious, frustrated, and extremely excited at this turn of events. It watched and listened as both humans leaned forward and bellowed a roar followed up by the slow but powerful beating of now fully outstretched wings. An angry Diego, tired of being manhandled, screamed for everyone to fucking move out of the way and let them pass. When some of them didn't and pressed forward, they were knocked every which way as the duo barreled, spun, and high-kicked drunken, drugged up, dangerously stupid, egotistical beings left and right.

It was when Carmen performed a high kick though while standing and twirling on wing spikes that Murder Moth lost all the self control and discipline it had displayed since first setting its blood red, compound, binocular eyes on the duo. Humans it hadn't even had the pleasure of a proper introduction to and didn't even know the names of, humans it might never see again given the fact that it had just gone weak in its appendages and clumsily stepped onto one of the larger vials of pink liquid that Golden Eyes had been packing. It skid while slipping on the clear glass, collapsing on the floor as the vial broke and the contents near immediately overwhelmed every creature in the bar except the humans, and oddly enough the bar keeper. Whom could be found hiding in a cabinet near the floor behind the countertop if one had the strength to get up and look for them.

Carmen and Diego stopped, looked at each other dazingly and stumbled back to the counter, Carmen accidentally kicking the last vial of Golden Eyes' mystery toxin to the bar seats. Reaching down, she flopped over and fell to her knees and attempted to grapple for it, barely managing to pick it up and place it inside a hidden sealed armor compartment. Planting her feet down and pulling herself up on her haunches, she wrapped her arms around her knees and sat a moment to get her bearings; looking like an insectoid gargoyle statue with her wings and spikes still spread out. She struggled to pull herself up onto a seat, finding Diego clutching once again his head while leaning on the counter.

"Your first one is a rough one, regardless of whether you are one of the rare species that can shrug it off enough to just sit down and wait for it to wear off; as apparently you two are, or one of the majority of races that just falls unconscious immediately.", the Bartender spoke through a gas mask as he stood up off the floor and went to wash his graspers. "How about one of those smoothies for each of you like you had earlier? You both look like you could use it right now, eating something sugary seems to help most. It's on the house."

Carmen and Diego both managed a nod and the bar keep got to work fixing the concoction, this time with extra sugar. Carmen whispered into the microphone of the very same data pad she had used to talk earlier when she had first sat down. Before her and her partner's mission had gone to straight to hell with a hand basket. "So the mask...is it NORMAL to have to worry about toxins being sneaked into trade station bars?"

The bartender looked at her a moment before fixing the second drink. "It is not an every day problem in every bar, but do this job out in space long enough in places where various races and factions commonly meet to negotiate and do business and you will see enough of these events to react in time to protect yourself. Most of the time, anyways. I still have neurological troubles sometimes from years of it. Fortunately for you and everyone else here, that pink crap isn't the worst toxin I have seen used in a bar and doesn't do any lasting damage that I know of, and you can actually build up a tolerance for it. Those sleepy folks there? They will be back up in about 2 hours max."

The two humans took their smoothies, gave a polite thanks and extended their suits' proboscis straws into them. Glancing down, Carmen realized that the hand holding the smoothie still had its claws out. Taking another sip, she looked at Diego and saw one of his hands clutching his helmet like an eagle grasping a fish, as he peeked through the fingers while drinking to avoid a headache-inducing exposure to the bar's light. It seemed a minor miracle in that moment that the music had stopped. And it was because of that that they were able to pick up on the sounds of distant arthropods making their way toward the bar.

The bar keep looked at them, the doorway, and down at their claws. Taking the hint, Carmen leaned over to Diego. "We have company, retract your claws and spikes and look non-threateningly alive."

They both deactivated their defense protocols, bracing the countertop as the force pulled the weaponry in. Smoothing their antennae out, each attempted a casual appearance at the bar with Diego gathering the strength to stand up and lean against the countertop, staring off to the side as if nothing going on mattered and butter wouldn't dare melt in his mouth. Carmen simply turned around in her seat and took a sip of her smoothie, calmly gazing past the piles of bodies as the trade station's head of security and a large group of guards came through the bar's entrance.

"All of you with your graspers in the air where I can see them!" The head honcho of the security forces barked shrilly. Carmen, Diego, and the bar keep all put such up.

Head Honcho continued, "Group One, secure and search the bar keep." He glanced in the bar keep's direction. "Sorry Tathis, you know how it is." Bartender 'Tathis' nodded.

"Group Two, secure and search the yellow and black creature standing there. Group Three, secure and search the orange and black thing staring past these bodies like our killer." Head Honcho proceeded to send groups four, five, and six to search the perimeters, guard the entrance of the bar, and go on stand-by respectively. A med team was dispatched to do an examination of everyone before either moving them to a med bay ward with security, or straight to a prison cell pending interview. Time to wait and play it cool.