Lv. 426

Pinky is directed to a private docking bay, shared only by four other ships that are strikingly similar in design to Pinky, but smaller—just enough room for a pilot and copilot—and each a different color. The vermilion red ship is Vera’s. The others are gold, green and violet blue.

To Cass’ relief, the Star Vixen squad does not greet our heroines personally as they disembark. There is only the repair crew letting you know Pinky is in good hands. If anyone has doubts, the Mini-K’s offer to guard the ship (though if Kurumi wants them to tag along, they will).

Once out of the docking bay, you notice a coffee house full of humanoids that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and numbers of limbs and eyes. The only human here is the baristi. Despite the apparently busy hour, the man is able to serve 20-or-so customers in under a minute.



Whatever is in that iced coffee of his, it’s quite popular. Some of the customers tip the baristi with stacks of green dollars and gold coins, all of which have an "$" printed or embossed on them.

Most of you might not have any money on you because, well… you don’t need it. Star Vixen is paying all of your expenses, so as usual, all of you can get by financially without effort. Sure, half of you cheat death so often it’s a wonder you can even get the occasional bathroom break. But money? It’s the one thing none of you worry about.In addition to iced coffee, hot coffee and shroom coffee, there are several vegan meals. There is a table in the middle of the room with exactly nine seats and a tiny "fairy bar" on the end. The rest of the room is extremely crowded, with every table occupied and many people standing, mingling, and seemingly uninterested in that one available table. (Perhaps you need a fairy in your party to sit there?)

AT A TABLE TO OUR HEROINES’ LEFT, there’s a yellow squidling—a boy with a rotund head/body, complete with a propeller beanie the width of his waistline, rubbery arms, and overall-shorts with eight pant legs to accommodate each tentacle. He’s wearing four pairs of Chuck Taylor All-Stars. "Mom, pass the ketchup."

His mother is a pink squidling clad in a teal dress, teal heels, and a matching ribbon on her hairless head. She sits demurely cross-tentacled. "Please and thank you," she hints to her son as she hands him a red bottle. "You’re welcome," says the boy as he shakes the bottle at his fries and squirts out more ketchup than could possibly fit in that bottle.

Mother lightly shakes her head in time to some wah-wah-wah-wahhh trumpet notes, then bites into a tomato as one would bite an apple.

---

ON THE BAND-STAND, the six-legged Gigakitten playing the drums skips a beat to give the Saturnbeeked trumpeter a look.

Before they play again, a young woman with bunny ears and a cotton tail poking through the rear of her leotard whispers something to the players. They nod. Kurumi understands this to mean that the band takes requests.

---

THE BARISTI’S COUNTERTOP sparkles and shines from our heroines’ extreme generosity. To Luna, it probably looks like a dragon’s lair! No matter how far out of the way the baristi needs to zip, he fetches the non-coffees with enthusiasm.

He blushes at Thundra’s compliment. "Shucks, ma’am," he says as he adjusts his bow tie. He then blushes even more when Luna mentions how coins affect her dress. "I’ll be no less grateful should your tip pooch out my wallet, ma’am."

Kurumi and Pira get a whispered ‘thank you,’ despite Pira’s tip being especially generous. The baristi doesn’t want to interrupt her conversation with Cass.

AT A TABLE TO OUR HEROINES’ RIGHT, a Middleaged Mutant Vampire Turtle sinks his fangs into a straw dipped in a glass of tomato juice. The Shewolfubus at his side sips from a smoothie glass. Her smoothie is red with green, yellow, purple and orange swirls. The vampire bonks himself of the head. "Blah. I could’ve had a V8."

None of our heroines know what a V8 is. Or why all of these corny lines seem to project toward them while every other conversation is a barely audible murmur. And it happens again:

AT AN ADJACENT TABLE, a rollerskating fembot delivers a pizza to a two headed zombie in a suit. "One extra large Red Herring Pizza for Frank’n’Ben Stein!" the waitress announces in a metallic voice.

She lowers a fish-shaped beet-and-tomato pizza onto the table.

The scarred, square-jawed head looks disappointed. The balding bespectacled head explains to the waitress, "My brother thought you served fish here."

"We do." The fembot gestures toward some customers who just walked in.



The waitress then skates to another table, announcing her delivered dish: "One Line of Corn!"

---

ON THE BANDSTAND, the Gigakitten drums a tiddy-boom-tshhhh! and gets such a look from the Elephantine keytaurist.

Luckily the awkward silence is broken by Kurumi’s request for local club tunes.

[ +- ] BFD Rock Solid

The Shewolfubus is quick to get on the dance floor. The Middleaged Mutant Vampire Turtle is slow to join her, so she dances with the bunny girl.

"Blah! I could’ve had a hot date," laments the Vampire Turtle.

The baristi pauses to look at the extremely generous tip from the princess. It is a single coin, but worth—

—the baristi zips away-and-back, whips out an abacus and moves its beads about.

Upon confirming (at a glance) that the princess and her friends have all been sufficiently served, the baristi puts up a sign that says
BACK IN 5 MONTHS.

He then zips away, and zips back with a suitcase in each hand, smiles at our heroines, and zips away again. A pair of swinging doors part, swing, and stop… and that is the last you see of the baristi (unless you come here again in five months or so).Pira doesn’t even notice the baristi collecting his tips and leaving. She is so focused on Cass’ response that the fighter is able to understand the space commander’s every word!

Our heroines enjoy a moment’s peace, sipping coffee and talking about romance.


Meanwhile… ON THE DANCE FLOOR, the Shewolfubus and Bunny Girl are soon joined by the Middle-Aged Mutant Vampire Turtle and the Fembot Waitress. The turtle-man does his best to make robotic moves like the waitress.

"Blah!" He says in amazement, "I’m doing the robot."

"I have only agreed to a dance," the fembot asserts.

---

AT AN ADJACENT TABLE, a Hunchbackian in jeans and a leather jacket shambles his way toward the two-headed Frank’N’Ben Stein.

"Daah… it’s the Quaz," Frank says to his brother. Ben smiles politely. "Hi, Quazie."

"Aaaaaaay," Quazie replies, giving the brothers his trademark two thumbs up.

Starstruck, Frank says, "Two thumbs up! One for each of us."

Ben pretends not to know his other head. He asks the Quaz, "Would you like a slice of Red Herring Pizza?"

Frank counteroffers, "Or how about a Line of Corn?"

"Naw, that stuff gives me the line of shits." Quazie helps himself to a slice of pizza. "How’s things at the casino, gents?"

"Nobody won my money," Ben replies, "not without me winning more back. And your business?"

"Eh," Quazie shrugs. "I get a lotta time outdoors, but I think this planet’s got Stealth Wasps or something. I got stung. Didn’t see a nest… or… what bit …mmm." He takes a bite of pizza. His facial expression sours as he slowly chews.

"Daah, you okay?" Frank looks at Quazi, then looks to his brother.

The Quaz swallows and gives a thumb up. "Ayy," he says half-heartedly. "I slept on the train ride back. Feelin’… good as…"

Ben notices Quazie is starting to sweat a little.

"…as…"

The turtle-man—now dancing with the Shewolfubus—stops doing the robot (dance). "Blah!" he blurts, but is otherwise speechless. The wolf-woman also stops dancing. Her snout scrunches.

"…as… shit."

Frank’N’Ben rise as the Quaz slumps face-down in the pizza.

His head suddenly twists. Imploring eyes beg his muscular two-headed friend: "KO me," he whispers. Of course his friends don’t attack him. "KO me…!"

The hump in Quazie’s back starts to throb—!



-ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF OUR HEROINES’ TABLE, a mother collapses to the floor!

"Mom!" "What’s wrong?" her son and daughter cry out. Their mother warns them, "Stay back!"

On the dance floor, the Shewolfubus slowly backs away from her dance partner. "Blah! My back hur—BLAAAHHKH!!!"

Bits of shell burst from the turtle-man’s back! He staggers—and his eyes begin to glow a purplish hue.

The mother fish’s fin swells and puffs and blows up like a balloon!

—Quazie’s hunched back expands, stretching the rear of his black leather jacket until it bursts like a giant zit! …and out pops a wind-up key!

—and from the mother fish, another wind-up key!

—and another from the turtle-man’s shell!

"Blah! Round one… FIGHT!!"