C.Q. Cumber

"This is C.Q. Cumber, a humble sea cucumber who works as a subway conductor and guide to the underground test facility. Despite his mysterious looks, this diminutive dude is a total pro and takes his job quite seriously. Whenever you're in trouble, try talking to him."

- Squid Research Lab

C.Q. Cumber is a name that refers to many individuals in the Octo Expansion. They are translucent blue sea cucumbers wearing a train conductor's hat. They are employees of Kamabo Corporation, created for the sole purpose of operating the Deepsea Metro.

They were first shown in the 2018-03-08 Nintendo Direct with one individual explaining the usage of the subway map to Agent 8 and interacting with Cap'n Cuttlefish.

Octo Expansion
Upon receiving a CQ-80 and a CQ Card from the Telephone, Cap'n Cuttlefish and the newly christened Agent 8 board the Deepsea Metro's train. Once aboard, they meet a C.Q. Cumber, who introduces himself to the duo and adds 1,000 CQ Points to the CQ Card.

At each station, a C.Q. Cumber resides in the starting room where the equipper is located, and if he is spoken to, he instructs Agent 8 of the objective, hazards, and requirements of the upcoming test. If Agent 8 continues to talk to him after he has shared all of his advice, he will tell them to "take care out there", implying that he does care about them at least somewhat. If Agent 8 either fails the test's requirements or does something that precludes the possibility of completing the objective (such causing an 8-ball to fall off of the stage), then C.Q. Cumber informs them of this, declaring that the test has been failed, and causes the bag on their ink tank to explode with enemy ink, splatting them.

If the player returns to the Deepsea Metro after the defeat of the final boss, C.Q. Cumber mentions that Kamabo Co. is in a state of disarray. Despite this, he assures Agent 8 that the Deepsea Metro is still running, allowing Agent 8 to complete any tests that they missed.

After the player reaches a new line, C.Q. Cumber will award the player with 500 C.Q. Points.

Trivia

 * Despite being an employee of Kamabo Co. and, by extension, Commander Tartar, Hisashi Nogami has stated that C.Q. Cumber is "not a bad guy", only "faithful to his duties."
 * Sometimes, C.Q. Cumber climbs on the wall near the entrance of a test chamber, rather than being situated on the ground. If he is hit with enough ink, he will fall and land on his back. After enough time has passed, he will flip back over, though it is possible to manually flip him back over by turning into an octopus and jumping while touching his body.
 * Iso Padre says that C.Q. Cumber "works his tail off morning, noon, and night."
 * Sometimes, when the player first enters the equipper in the starting room of a test chamber, C.Q. Cumber may assume one of three strange poses: being completely flattened out, stretching his front legs and waving with them, or stretching all of his legs and standing on them in a spider-like position. He will always return to normal when the player selects their weapon.
 * In some stations, creatures similar to C.Q. Cumber can be seen in the background.
 * Floating objects similar to Polly Pockets seen in some tests include a figure similar to C.Q. Cumber.

Etymology
Their name is a pun on their species name, "sea cucumber", plus the international wireless (radio) code of CQ signifying an invitation to begin a conversation.