“I needed the neck part, and this was the closest inhabited rock I could find. I was hoping to just get in and get out, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this crowded. With the space ports as backed up as they are, there’s no way I’ll be able to get out of here anytime soon.”
The robot replied, sounding none too pleased about the situation.
“Rhitheous! Some off-worlders introduced Cube to Eukaris a few years back. It is a total blast.”
Low-Tide said eagerly. He casually approached the group, expecting XM-333 to follow.
“Excuse me my fellow dudes. I don’t suppose you have room for two more bros to join this game of yours?”
“Ey! I’m right here.”
Niko said, sounding rather irritated.
“I’ll have you know I was born with these ears. That’s because I’m a mikesu. Not a human.”
“I can certainly try,” Headcase says. “What are the specifics of your condition? How far back can you remember- do you know your age, or where you come from? Things like that.”
“No, I imagine you won’t,” the shopkeep agrees. “Iacon’s not a bad city to get stuck in, though.”
“The more, the merrier!” replies one of the players. “You two know the rules, or do you need a run-down real quick?”
Graves points an excited finger at Niko. “It’s the cat ears! You have amazing hearing!” he says at about the same volume he was “whispering” at. “You see, this is exactly why cat people would make perfect spies!”
Zip and Cargo
After dropping off Kitai, the two wander outside through the crowds once more.
“I’m starting to wonder…” Zip says. "That guy didn’t seem to know who I was, much less that it’s my birthday…" He looks around. “Also what did he say? Something about chocolate and caramel? A ‘Milky Way…’ What was that about?”
Cargo lifts up his bowler hat and scratches a spot of head beneath it. “Um, yeah. So, Cybertron’s been welcomed back into the Federation of Allied Species-”
"The what?"
“It’s just a politics thing, Zip. It means we’ll see more humans and stuff around.”
"And that’s something people think is worth celebrating?"
"Well we would have to move the entire planet. And I don’t know about you but by my calculations that would mess with that entire sector of space. Much more work than running from the sun before we’re turned to slag.
Honestly, it’s a lot more fun too. Nothing like an angry sun chasing to kill you. A tragedy if you get wrecked and left behind though." Tokamak rattles off.
Broadcasting to you live from–
“Jun–Hecate! I’m from Hecate! Roaster of Hecate.” She answered, slamming a fist to her leg.
Aralysa chuckled, drinking more of her energon.
“That is certainly intriguing.” she agreed.
Stonefist grunted in response.
“How busy is this place on regular days?” he asked Maccadam.
“It looks nice, I’ll give you that. But not exactly what I’d call a nice place to stay. Too loud, too many people.”
The robot noted.
“I’ve never really been great with big groups or crowded streets.”
Niko’s ears swiveled back and flattened down in a clear sign of aggression.
“I am not a fluke!”
He shouted angrily.
“I’m a mikesu. As in the species. Of which there are many. And it’s not our fault that our eyes and ears just so happen to resemble a cat’s!”
Zip shrugs. "I like them with their far away from me and on a screen. Close up… They’re supposed to be squishy." Zip shivers.
Cargo just keeps him moving. He isn’t looking for anyone or anything in particular, but he is keeping an eye out for anyone he may recognize.
“So, this isn’t my birthday party,” glooms Zip. “Does this mean you forgot this year, too?”
“No, I didn’t-” Cargo protests. “Maybe this is a joint party. We’re celebrating the reunion with the Federation and your birthday.”
“Okay…” Zip says. “So… how many of these people are here for my birthday?”
“Um… fifty percent?”
Zip raises a brow.
“What about sixty percent?”
Zip nods. “This is acceptable.”
Graves
Graves pats Conjoint on the… ankle. “It’s okay, friend, I’ve dealt with a lot of people like this. You just need to talk gently and act like everything’s fine.”
“Well you’ve got a coincidental choice in transportation, in that case.” Conjoint mused, his hand practically glued to his chin. “You sure there’s no… Well anyway, that machine of yours is the cat’s pajamsNRK”
Conjoint cleared his throat a couple times to himself while trying to not let his big, stupid grin show through his eyes. “It’s really cool, yes, that.”
Headcase nods slowly as he processes this information. He then retrieves a datapad from his desk and begins pulling up some documents.
“Well, if there’s anything left in your memory core, I can dredge it up,” he proclaims. “But first, we need to get the usual paperwork out of the way.”
The Cube-player quickly gives XM-333 an explanation of the game’s rules:
Each team scored points by having a player hold onto the Cube for a set amount of time. This was easier said than done, as players were allowed to tackle or wrestle with each other for possession of the Cube, and the Cube itself had maneuvering jets and a rudimentary AI programmed to evade capture.
“Well, I don’t mean to brag, but mine is the most popular tavern on Cybertron,” Maccadam says, “so there’s rarely a slow day for me.”
“Yeah, but there’s so much history here, too,” the shopkeep says. “Iacon’s the oldest city on Cybertron- some of the buildings are as old as the planet itself. If they could talk, imagine the stories they’d tell…”
In their wanderings, Zip and Cargo may run into Axis and Maximus. As the two eukarians happened to be wandering the streets at the same time.
Niko sighed and his ears returned to normal.
“Thanks. I didn’t exactly build Ferrex from scratch, but he definitely looked a lot different when I got him. I designed him to be like a mascot for the band I’m putting together.”
“Man, I haven’t played Cube in ages. And I’ve never played it with bots who aren’t from Eukaris. This is gonna be stellar.”
Low-Tide said.
The bot thought for a moment.
“Where are some of these old buildings? Sounds like they might be a good and quiet place to get some repairs done.”
“Hectate, eh? I hear it’s a nice enough place. You come all the way here just to celebrate everyone becoming friends? Seems an awful lot of trouble just for a bit of dancing.”
“He’s right.” Aralysa said. “Every time I’ve been here, the place is packed. In fact, it’s rather difficult to find a day when the house isn’t packed.”
Stonefist grunted again. That seemed to be his primary way of acknowledging things. He took another long swig of his drink, emptying the container completely.
“How have things been going in Iacon these days?” he inquired to Maccadam.