Carth's magical adventure, ROUND TWO, MOTHERFUCKERS!

[Carthrat]

"Possibly. It has, on occasion, had this weird reaction with fish and made people feel like they're choking," replies Carthrat. "You're not, of course, but your nerves are somewhat overlapped by those of a fish, and your body starts to wonder where your gills are.

It's only a sensation, I suppose, and it shouldn't have an effect so long after lunch."

[Anastasia]

"Right," she says, shrugging.

A moment later, the barkeep comes with your drinks and items. The Jingo glows greenly through the tall beer glass it sits in...

[Carthrat]

"Ignore the colour, it's quite good," says Carthrat, taking a shot of Tequila. "And, as luck would have it, tests run on my metabolism give me an infinitely higher alcohol threshold than the average guy. Takes the fun out of drinking games, though.

Now, we'll go somewhere else to eat, this place only sells chips and live snails. But there are a couple things I should show you."

Carthrat points at another table, with a trio of catlike females and a doglike male sitting around it. "Those are known as Shirans. It might intrest you to know that they introduced cats and dogs onto this planet. They can hear everything I'm saying right now, because those ears are damned effective. Yeah, you. I'm talking to you.

They won't care, of course. Look at them, they're completely wasted. If you ever run into a Shiran, forcefeed it alcohol or something.

They have a pack society; one male and a bunch of females. The lucky git. If I wasn't human, I'd be a Shiran.

Oh, and despite what I said earlier, never kill or even hurt a Shiran, at least if you're off Earth. Here, nobody gives a damn, but the Shiran empire has extremely long arms and eyes.

And, and. We're sitting in a corner table near a fire escape. Which means we can see everything and leave if we have to. Whenever someone might be after you, and you end up inside, sit in the corner near an exit."

[Anastasia]

Rachel nods as you go on, taking in the animalistic Shirans as she sips her drink. "Selena!" she gasps after he first sip. Shaking her head and putting the drink down, she says, "So...does that mean evolution isn't accurate? If things were mixed up by random aliens dropping off creatures onto the planet..."

[Carthrat]

"Yes, but no. Let's just say Earth is a special case and leave it at that," replies Carthrat, shrugging.

[Anastasia]

"Alright," she says, picking up the strange drink for another go at it.

"This...I'd almost say it tastes like fish if it were dipped in apple sauce..." she mutters after another sip.

[Carthrat]

Carthrat chuckles. "It does, but it'll grow on you. By the time we leave this club, you'll want to take a bottle with you."

[Anastasia]

"I'll take your word for it," she murmurs, taking another sip. "So...where are we going for dinner? Some place that serves hamburgers from Venus, maybe?"

[Carthrat]

"Naw, they'll want credits, and all I have is yen," replies Carthrat. "We'll probably go to some Italian restraunt or something.

Hey, do you know what those things are?" says Carthrat, pointing over at a bunch of scaled humanoids with three arms and eyestalks.

[Anastasia]

"Italian...Does that mean pizzas with squid and spaghetti with bonito flakes?" she says as she takes those creatures in. "No, I can't say that I have. What are they?"

[Carthrat]

"Wouldn't have a clue," replies Carthrat. "There's all kinds of weird shit I've never seen before.

Ah, and you see those three walking in just now?" he continues, pointing over at three figures walking in the door. "Those are Cherians. Opinions are divided about them. Look, they're all fuzzy right now and you can't make out what they are?

They're psychic beings, and they happen to be the best traders and negotiators in the galaxy. Which is owed likely to the fact that they appear as the most sexually desirable form possible to the viewer."

[Anastasia]

Rachel stares for several seconds and the violently turns away, shaking her head.  "Ugh, can we talk about another species, if you don't mind?"

[Carthrat]

"Heh. I'll teach you a trick later to block out the influence. I taught it to myself after seeing my late wife one too many times," replies Carthrat, chuckling darkly.

"Another species.. we should talk about the second-most-common race to humans, which are Pharions.

You'll see 'em everywhere, they're like.. hmm. elves with wings, yeah. Human/Pharion relationships are more common that some'd like, especially those goons in the Council of Racial Interaction.

You won't see any here, though. Strict guidelines. Humans aren't allowed on any Pharion-owned planets, and vice versa. It's, uh, quite complex."

[Anastasia]

Just as you finish that sentence, a cry echos through the bar. "CARTHRAT TANEWAKI? From across the bar, a large, tall, floating humanoid robot issues forth commands. His head is a dull yellow and human like, as is the rest of his metallic body.

With a start, you realise that creature is a CAR 24 - A bounty catching robot used by some types of guilds to capture dangerous bounties. Not known for subtley or skill, they often attempt to capture the target at first sight, ignoring all else.

Most serious hunters view them as a crass joke, but a well equipped one can wreck havoc.  

"SURRENDER OR BE TAKEN." A gleaming hand cannon his pointed in your general direction as it speaks.

[Carthrat]

"Split, Rachel. Meet me back at the car," Carthrat says quietly.

Carthrat runs through his mental bank of information on the CAR 24, tensing himself for the imminent fire as he does so.