Picket Fences out In Space - Transformers Series

3. Love a Good Quest

Nightbeat and Dex walked into the space-pub, flanked by their transport, Sky Lynx. Sky Lynx has separated his crawler and was now in his "Lynx" mode in order to take up less space in the establishment. Sky Lynx was nothing if not considerate.

The floors were sticky with unknown residue. The air was full of...complicated odors, as well as organic sloshing and grunting sounds. They were greeted by an Octopus-like being, moving mugs up and down the slanted bar. Presumably, the bar being raised on one side would accommodate patrons with different-lengthed legs. Seated in the booths were creatures of all heights and creeds, insects to giants, mechanical to non-mechanical. In one corner was a creature seemingly composed exclusively of vegetable matter. It was sipping on steaming water, and shaking and giggling as if it was the most pleasurable moment of its life.

"What can I get for you fellas? We' got synthi-caff, Rodeon, Ideon, and Energon, or Nucleon if you're looking for strong stuff."

"Just synthi-cafe for me and the dog," replied Nightbeat, "and this guy needs some nucleon, pronto."

"You got it, tall ears," said the Octopus-esque barista with a wink. Or at least, Nightbeat thought it was a wink. It's possible that this species blinks one eye at a time. It's also possible that neither of those orbs on her head were actually eyes.

"Dog...Tall ears..." grumbled Sky Lynx to himself.

The Alien Barista operated a complicated machine on the back wall with three of her arms, twisting knobs and pulling levers. She pulled three diminutive crystals out from under the counter, and held them under the machine as servings of steaming black and purple liquid rushed into them. Surely those little cups weren't their order?

Sure enough, those arms holding the tiny crystal cups swung back around and set them down on the bar in front of Nightbeat and Dex. They stuck in place by the slime dripping her tentacles. Dex very quickly downed his cup. "This is insufficient," Dex said, looking up at Nightbeat.

"Miss? Do you have nucleon cubes?"

"A whole cube? Sure, I can get you one. But you'll have to pay upfront. They're hard to get your hands on arounds here. Eight-hundred deca-shanix."

"EIGHT-HUND—"

Sky Lynx quickly covered Nightbeat's mouth with his paws. "Right. Eight-hundred deca-shanix is about the going rate these days, isn't it? I'll be happy to cover it. Is credit ok?"

"That depends..." The barista stopped tending to the other patrons with her many arms and laid them on the bar in front of the trio. "...What kinda credit ya got, sugar?"

Sky Lynx ejected a plastic card from his month. "Autoblack," the lynx answered confidently.

"Ooooooh, easy-peasy! Just give me a second in the back and I'll run this for ya." She grabbed the card greedily with multiple tendrils, and slithered through a door behind the counter, leaving several patrons at the bar completely unattended, allowing drinks to spill over onto the floor.

"Are you sure you can cover that? Just for some guy we just met..." Nightbeat was, as always, more curious than tactful.

"Helping a bot in need is a worthy use of any resources! Resources I am all but guaranteed to have again. Once my acting career picks back up again, as it is destined to."

"Oh good grief. We gotta find some other way to cover that tab before the space debt collectors haul your tail off to dragon prison."

A patron sitting next to Dex whom happened to look like a giant earth fly tapped their shoulder.

"Hrmmmm I would likezzzz to offer youzzzz a zzzzzugzzgezzzzzchin."

Dex was too frightened to respond, so they patted Nightbeat's arm to get his attention. Nightbeat turned in his chair to listen to the fly.

"The Quezzzzting board zzzayzz there izzzz a one thouzzzzand deca-shzzanickzz reward for a lozzd gem on planet zzzzzporium." The fly gestured toward a tack board covered in colored paper, with various jobs and rewards listed. Then the creature grabbed its drink and flew from its chair towards the door. At that moment, one tentacle shot out from the back room and wrapped itself around the fly-creature's neck. With a swift crack, the fly's head popped clean off, leaving ropes of green wetness all over the floor.

"Sorry y 'all had to see that," said the barista, returning with Sky Lynx's bill and card. "In this part of space, that's what we do to people who dine-and-dash. I'll get that cleaned up in a jiffy."

The trio looked at each other, terror in their eyes. "No problem," said Nightbeat, his voice cracking. "By the way, would you happen to know the way to Sporium?"