Chapter Text
Tiso slinks the murky liquid in his mug, watching as it steams. A delicious cup of coffee, to which he is currently not interested in drinking. His suit is tight against him and his helmet is sat next to him on his lonely table for one. On his hip is his trusty phaseshield, currently deactivated, but ready to go at any moment.
The restaurant is filled with other bugs in space suits. The barmaid, an unattractive, rusty robot on annoyingly squeaky treads, approaches his table in the corner of the room. He grits his mandibles, chittering nervously, and takes a sip, punching the bot when it passes by. The platters resting on its arms wobble but its “advanced” technology keeps the liquid in the bottles from spilling. “Fucking bots.” He mutters, rolling the mug around between his gloved palms.
A group of astrominers are gathered around a few tables, covered in sweat and grease, and dressed in their orange and white uniforms with the all too familiar logo of Hallownest imprinted on their back. The barmaid delivers two platters full of bottles to their table and they cheer as they grab their bottles and drink them down quickly. Tiso looks at the map on his table, covered in coffee stains, and he traces the route of his future travels.
There are about twenty more stops between him and his destination: the Coliseum, a place where bugs, not robots, can prove their strengths. He fidgets with his shield for a moment and then takes another sip of the liquid. Thank the King for his technological advancements, and his ability to make coffee contain even more caffeine. He can’t imagine what his great, great, great (how many greats has it been? How long have they been detached from their home planet?) grandparents survived without this void black drink.
The quiet tap of his foot and chattering of workers is interrupted by the door to the bar being pushed open, not the usual swing that the regulars did when they came in. He frowns, chugging the rest of his coffee, and folding up his map, to tuck in the pocket of his suit.
The restaurant has gone quiet as everyone looks at the new entry, a robot. It holds a metal sword with a phase attachment on the blade, allowing it to be lethal both on and off. It wears a heavy backpack on its back and has an unfamiliar brand pressed into its shoulder as well as the Hallownest seal on its upper chest. Its pixelated face, which is composed of only its eyes, is squinted in a smile as it waves at the other inhabitants of the bar. Tiso approaches the bot, pissed that this fucking bot is in his territory (His territory, that just so happens to not be owned by him at all, and is instead an imaginary ring that goes in a hundred meters in every direction).
He eyes the strange harness it’s wearing, as well as the mask on its head. It’s wearing a rebreather and has a voice box under its chin, the usual place for a bot, but it has a secondary one on its lower legs. If it wasn’t for its exposed face, he wouldn’t have been able to tell it was a robot.
The disgusting bundle of wires and sheet metal is too distracted with the locals to notice Tiso approaching it, fists balled, fangs bared, and it turns just in time for Tiso to throw a punch at it. The awful sound of crunching, but Tiso realizes that the robot's head is still intact.
The next few moments are a blur, as Tiso realizes that his hand is broken, and quite possibly his wrist as well. The robot turns to him, tries to catch him but misses, and a moment later, he falls and slams his head against the cold, metal tiles of the bar’s floor, and his consciousness is terminated.
Well, that was an awful idea, but surprisingly not his worst. He can only hope he'll wake up on the floor of the bar, but unfortunately, for one of the first times in his life, he isn't going to get what he wants.