The liquor arrived in a wooden decanter shortly after that. I was surprised to find it pitch black like coffee when I poured it into a glass. The girls told me not to bother pouring any for them until I tasted it. It was bitter and sweet at the same time, with a scent of pepper. One of the most peculiar drinks that I had ever tried. After swallowing and waiting a few seconds, I gave them the all-clear. After that we sipped slowly as our eyes wandered to take in the amazing jungle city around us.
The place was overpopulated compared to most space stations. However, the way the natives traversed their vertical structures made the city look alive like a busy anthill. They had colorful clothing in most instances, and there was a wide variance to fur color as well.
Our server was teal colored but bluer near her hands and feet. She wore the establishment’s green uniform which consisted of shorts and a sleeveless shirt that revealed some midriff.
The fisherman had light brown fur and wore yellow pants. He was shirtless but had on a cone shaped hat that resembled those worn in the rice fields on earth. It made we wonder if this species could suffer from sunburn. Though the sky was cloudless there wasn’t much glare on the water. Something in the atmosphere diffused the sunlight effectively.
I spotted many more fur colors on other servers and those moving around on the nearby trees. Red, orange, dirty yellow, cobalt blue, but green and teal seemed the most common. I was uncomfortable asking if these were racial distinctions. Some body variations appeared common with each. For example, the red ones tended to have bigger ears. The blue ones looked more bowlegged in their gait. And the orange furred girls had the smallest foreheads.
"Portia, you haven't said a word since we arrived in this restaurant," I said to her. As a still picture she was stunning in her perfect beauty. Too artificial to be real, like the bleached and airbrushed face on the cover of a magazine. Her limited movement and lack of personality diminished that fact considerably.
"I am here for security detail only," she informed me. "Until asked a question, I am unlikely to join in the socializing unless instructed to do so. Is there something that you need from me?"
"A smile?" I asked, feeling the warmth in my body from the Peggy liquor.
To my surprise, Portia parted her lips into what would have been a toothy grin, if she were human. In place of teeth were two shiny silver pieces of metal, one above one below. It was delightful for me to see personally, especially in my current mellow state. But it might scare the shit out of the locals.
"Thank you," I told her. "Now don't smile again while we are in this city. It will probably creep these furry little hotties out."
"Furry little hotties?" Lin asked with a barely detectable slur. Then Nancy laughed in a way to let me know that the drink was getting to her, too.
I couldn’t help but think back to the good ole days. Actually, those days weren't very good at all. Only our social visits were nice. The ones provided by the Thesphilians to keep our morale up for their competitions. In the night club settings of their temporary and fluctuating recreational center, we had a tendency to get our drink on surprisingly good. Later, after being stranded on a real island, Nancy was practically accused of being an alcoholic. With all that we've been through, we could all be hard core drug users instead. I had no problem with my girls going overboard with their drinks today. I was prepared to carry them back to the ship myself if necessary, one over each shoulder like sacks of seed.
I knew Portia was likely stronger than me due to her robotic build. I pictured one of my wives passed out and being carried by the android instead. That would surely tip someone off to her true nature. And provide some embarrassment for which ever woman had to suffer that shame.
Our fish had been caught and prepared to our liking while we weren't even paying attention. The timing was perfect. Our bottle of spirits was half empty and our bodies were craving an energy source to keep our evening going.
The heads and tails were left on the fish. That wasn't much of a big deal. We had to clean our own to eat before on the island. The sight didn't diminish our appetites. The body of each creature that had been caught from the lake and then thoroughly cooked was fluffed up with an abundance of meat ready to be eaten by hand. They looked like a sea version of Jiffy Pop. Everything was lightly seasoned and delicious.
"Can we go up to the bar level now?" Nancy asked, the glaze had mostly faded from her eyes.
"I recommend the consumption of more clear fluids before partaking of additional intoxicating beverages," Portia said in her robotic polite manner. Her soft sweet tone resembled a pleasant voice message intent to
