The Spider Queen

(Nyrean Super Galaxy- Rtern Region)

(Unnamed Trading Post- The Golden Drake)

"Two hundred pounds of pure void root… freshly obtained from planet Bliss. One sniff of this baby and you'll be on a trip for decades…" a voice gleefully whispered.

"Okay maybe not decades…BUT! It will take you to a higher plane of existence. One sniff darling… that's all it takes…"

Two alien creatures sat apart from each other and were separated only by a small round table that trembled under the weight of dozens of paper bags.

One of the aliens was a tiny three feet tall creature with rat-like features.

He wore a sharp navy-blue vest with no pants, and he possessed a gold chain which was wrapped tightly around his left paw.

The entity sitting down across from him was a massive lump of wriggling flesh whose monstrous tendrils waved creepily about in the air.

Occasionally body parts would appear on the surface of his companion's body such as ears, eyes, noses, and other appendages.

"Quix… you know I never mix business with pleasure," Captain Mordred calmly spoke as he politely pushed one of the bags away from him.

"Your loss buddy," Quix whispered lazily as he used his tendril to rip open one of the bags. Bluish-white powder scattered across the table.

He leaned in closer, and a nose protruded out of the same tendril that he used to open the bag.

Quix then proceeded to sniff the powder and his entire body started to shudder as his tendrils twisted together in ecstasy.

"FUCK THAT IS SOME GOOD SHIT!" Quix laughed madly as he continued to snort the powder with reckless abandon.

Captain Mordred watched the scene with tired eyes.

If this trader did not have a habit of finding him rare cargo to sell, he would have never agreed to show up.

Nebuleans were a race of drug obsessed lunatics.

Most of them that he had met including Quix seemed to be more captivated with chasing their next high than doing anything productive for society.

Well… it was not like he was one to talk.

Captain Mordred raised up his paw and lightly tapped it on the table.

The noise broke through the daze of Quix's addled mind, and soon multiple eyes focused on the small alien.

"What were the goods that you wanted to sell me?" Captain Mordred asked with a solemn undertone to his voice.

He could not stay in this place forever. He hated to agree with the strange guest onboard his starship, but John was right.

Security was increasing by the day at the border between the Federines and the Earth Federation, so it was important to leave as soon as possible.

"Fine… fine… you are always no fun…" Quix muttered under his breath as he raised up one of his tendrils and snapped his 'fingers'.

The doors at the back of the room slid open and dozens of robotic androids stepped inside with each holding large canvas bags.

The androids moved with synchronized movements and brought the bags to the front of the room where they stood silently.

"Have you ever heard of… cows?" Quix's voice lowered as he looked around conspiratorially.

"Cows? What are those?" Captain Mordred asked curiously.

"They are an animal only found in the Earth Federation, but I have a friend who smuggled a breeding pair across the border.

Apparently according to him, the humans are obsessed with this meat. He said that certain humans consumed it daily.

Quix gestured using his tendril and one of the robot androids opened the bag to reveal a chunk of raw meat that was still covered in blood.

Captain Mordred gagged and tried his best not to throw up. The unpleasant odour filled the entire room and made it hard to breathe.

"Are you sure that humans eat that?" Captain Mordred hesitantly asked as he covered his nose and stared at the trader.

"I swear!" Quix held up his tendrils and made the universal sign for 'promise'.

"My friend does not know how they consume the meat but providing it to the humans raw should turn enough of a profit."

Captain Mordred fell silent and made a few mental calculations inside his head.

He was already going to turn a profit if he managed to sell the goods onboard his starship, but extra cash was never a bad thing.

If the humans were completely obsessed with this unpleasant smelling meat, then this could actually be the perfect opportunity.

"I see… well… in that case… I'll take half," Captain Mordred finally spoke after the giving the matter some thought.

"Only half?" Quix pouted as his multiple eyes welled up with fake tears.

"Only half," Captain Mordred was not persuaded by the disgusting sight and just as quickly the tears in Quix's eyes vanished.

"Alright then…" Quix grumbled angrily as he waved his tendril and half of the androids stepped forward with the bags still tightly grasped in their palms.

Captain Mordred reached for his communicator and sent out a message to his crew that were waiting outside the building.

[Bring two thousand dollars. A deal has been made.]

"So…" Quix leaned back in his chair and absentmindedly played with the nearest bag of drugs on the table.

"Did you hear the latest news? Apparently, the missing human whose been running from the Federines government was nearly caught a few weeks ago."

"Yeah… I heard about that… what was the bounty again?" Captain Mordred asked curiously as he placed his communicator back in the pocket of his vest.

"Five billion," Quix whispered softly as a giggle escaped one of his multiple mouths.

"You are lying… what? What did that human do?" Captain Mordred's eyes widened in disbelief as he heard the trader's words. ｂｅ𝚍ｎｏ𝚟𝚎ｌ.𝚌𝚘ｍ

Five billion dollars?

That was enough currency to ensure that you and your children and your grandchildren and your great-great-great grandchildren would never have to work another day in their lives.

No wonder every bounty hunter, mercenary and private investigator was scouring the system looking for any trace of the missing human.

Greed was powerful incentive.

"Yeah, even had one of my regulars ask me if I had seen a two-legged, fleshy creature with longish arms," Quix yawned sleepily as he spoked.

"Stupid idiot… if you ask me anyone trying to find the human based on his appearance will never see him."

"The human is probably wearing a disguise…"