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."

- Live from the Squid Research Lab

"Welcome aboard. All passengers with CQ-80 devices can press to display the Deepsea Metro map. ... Leave nothing behind."

- C.Q. Cumber's speech on the train before looping

C.Q. Cumber is a character in the Octo Expansion. He is a translucent blue sea cucumber (likely a sea pig) wearing a train conductor's hat. He is an employee of Kamabo Corporation, serving as the conductor of the Deepsea Metro, and is shown interacting with Cap'n Cuttlefish.

He was first shown in the 2018-03-08 Nintendo Direct explaining the usage of the subway map to Agent 8.

Octo Expansion
"Take care out there. "

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. Once aboard, C.Q. Cumber introduces himself to the Captain and the Agent and adds 1,000 CQ Points to the CQ Card.

At each station, C.Q. Cumber instructs Agent 8 of the objective, hazards, and requirements of the upcoming test. If Agent 8 continues to talk to him, C.Q. Cumber 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 (for example, causing an 8-Ball to fall off of the stage), then C.Q. Cumber informs them of this before declaring the test failed.

Following the defeat of the final boss, C.Q. Cumber mentions that Kamabo Co. has ceased to exist. Despite this, he assures Agent 8 that the Deepsea Metro is still running, allowing Agent 8 to complete any tests that they missed.

Trivia

 * His name is a pun of his species name, "sea cucumber".
 * Despite being an employee of Kamabo Corporation and, by extension, the Telephone, Hisashi Nogami has stated that C.Q. Cumber is "not a bad guy", only "faithful to his duties."
 * C.Q. Cumber can sometimes be seen climbing on the wall near the entrance of a test chamber. If the player shoots ink at him, he will fall and land on his back. It is possible to flip him back over by turning into an octopus and jumping while touching his body.
 * According to Iso Padre, C.Q. Cumber is a close friend of his.
 * Iso Padre also says that C.Q. Cumber "works his tail off morning, noon, and night."
 * Sometimes when in the test fee room, C.Q. Cumber can be seen flattened out, with spider-like legs or with his front legs stretched and waving.
 * In some stations, creatures similar to C.Q. Cumber can be found.