The Spider Queen

(Zrudread University)

(Imperial Food Court- The Soldier's Well)

Zrudread University had several cafeterias and restaurants scattered around the planet that students could enjoy.

Being an intergalactic school meant that there was a great need for diverse meal options and menus to be available.

Some species could only digest liquid matter while others had to consume metallic substances to gain nutrients.

Mendolesa warriors were omnivores but generally had a strong preference for bloody meat which meant that their meals were often served rare or raw.

The Imperial Food Court was the name given to an area with a collection of restaurants geared towards the human palate.

It was quite the popular socialisation spot among the freshman students as it was located fairly close to the club district.

This was Sophie's first time visiting the food court as she typically made meals at home with Cleo.

But after that exam….

She needed to treat herself with some good old fashioned junk food.

Despite the words of encouragement from her mentor, it was still not a good feeling to know that you didn't succeed.

Well, it did seem that with the adjusted grading scheme she would be able to pass the exam with decent to high marks.

Sophie consoled herself and then checked her communicator for any messages.

She only had a few contacts on her device, so it did not take long to scan her entire recent chat history.

"Astrid wants to know when my exams finish. Qiana and Cleo are both inactive," Sophie absentmindedly muttered as she walked towards a nearby restaurant.

"And Rachel just sent me a few pics…."

Sophie's eyes widened and she immediately closed the tab window before checking her surroundings to make sure that nobody saw.

Despite going to separate universities, Sophie had maintained semi regular contact with the Quafes girl who was eager to stay in touch.

Rachel missed her friends from the university entrance exam and planned to visit them during the break at the end of the semester.

Now Sophie did enjoy talking to her old friend but there was just one tiny problem...

For some reason Rachel would send her naked pictures of the new avatars she had designed!

Why Rachel would keep sending these nudes to Sophie was a question that the hybrid girl had yet to figure out.

What she did not realise was that it was not sexual in nature for Quafes to send naked avatar pictures to their friends.

In fact, most would seek out the opinions of others when designing a new form to mimic.

Quafes had no concept of gender or shame as shape shifting into a human disguise was more akin to wearing a hat.

Or simply showing off a new outfit to a friend.

Sophie did not want to be misunderstood so she had told Cleo about the situation and her girlfriend had told her not to worry about it.

Hence Sophie just gave the images a cursory scan and wrote out a few lines of improvements she would make to the models' facial features.

It was now the evening and most of the students mulling around the food court were just getting a quick bite to eat before preparing to head off to the club district.

The fashionable women wore racy tops and low-cut skirts while the dapper gentlemen were outfitted with black dress pants and a sophisticated suit and tie.

A line snaked its way through the tables and chairs, so Sophie joined the line and waited patiently for her turn.

Luckily, the menu was visible from her spot so she could see all the various options.

Sophie planned on ordering the greasiest cheeseburger on the menu and a large portion of fries.

Health be damned!

It was time to treat herself.

Outside of the exams, Sophie had actually received some good news from her father about her request.

The duke had led a small fleet of starships to planet Calypso just a few days ago and singlehandedly captured most of the pirate crews.

Edward the merciless had put up a decent fight but the gap between the void stage and the god stage was simply insurmountable.

The death of the de facto head of the pirate society broke the courage of the remaining survivors and many simply surrendered.

Sophie's dad didn't go into much detail about what happened to them afterwards but reassured his daughter that the slaves in the market had been freed.

As for the slaves who had already been sold…. no ledger list or records could be found so it was unlikely that the duke's men would be able to track them down.

Only a few lucky pirates had escaped but these minor crews would not longer be able to threaten that particular sector of the galaxy.

Sophie was overjoyed when she heard the news.

Slavery was by far one of the vilest acts one could commit against another sentient creature.

The line was moving a bit faster with the change of a new shift crew and Sophie soon found herself talking to a bored looking man wearing a green uniform.

"What can I get you today?" he yawned sleepily and reached for the cash register.

"I'll have an ultimate animal style beefy cheeseburger covered with butter and a side of large fries," Sophie replied enthusiastically.

"And a strawberry milkshake!"

Apparently, her good mood did not infect the minimum wage employee as he simply sighed heavily and then typed in the order on the computer.

"That will be five Enas, Will it be cash or credit today?" he asked in a lazy drawl.

Sophie swiped her card and then headed for the side of the restaurant to wait for her meal to be ready.

Soon the monstrous meal came into view and Sophie had to stop herself from drooling in public over the delicious feast.

Two soft fluffy buns with small sesame seeds scattered across their surface.

Two meaty patties fresh off the grill and dripping with the special house sauce.

Green lettuce and plump juicy tomatoes completed the mouth-watering sight.

The entire calorie nightmare was covered with a light sheen from the butter spread evenly around its outer surface.

The fries were golden and crisp with a heavy sprinkle of kosher salt to complete the appearance.

Sophie couldn't resist taking a small bite out of a fry and widened her eyes in disbelief at the firm texture that hide a delicious soft tasting interior.

The food court was quite large, so Sophie easily found a spot without any nearby students and dug into the meal with great relish.

Healthy eating?

A good diet?

Calorie counting?

All of those thoughts flew out of Sophie's mind as she tasted the meaty and juicy flavour of the beef patties.