There was a lot of work to do and TO knew this. As much as they might want, there wasn’t a lot of time for them and DH to just relax together, at least not until they had completed their task and fixed the issues in Arkane and proved that they were valuable enough to become retirees. However, before they could start their work, there were a few smaller errands they had to deal with; things unrelated to managing the insurgency.
They had to go shopping. Specifically, they had to go out and get some civilian clothing.
The day after the party, once they had their basic chores done, they headed out into their new vehicle. It was smaller than Noss’ had been and the inside was far more basic; just two back seats facing forward. They didn’t have to drive as the vehicle was self-flying. It also looked very plain, so as soon as they got out of the main political housing compound, they blended into civilian traffic easily.
“We’ll be using more pedestrian traffic mostly.” TO said as they looked over their map, “Trolleys and tubes. We’ll take this to get to the nearest shopping district. There’s two or three on the island, but the closest one seems to have the best ratings overall; it has better selection, quality, and a better level of safety.”
DH leaned against the window, watching the scenery pass by them. “You know.” they said idly, “I’m glad we’re still doing this… But why?” They turned to TO, “I really don’t want to mention anything. I don’t want you to change your mind, but if the insurgency knows what we look like, then why do we need civilian clothes? Why try to blend in at all?”
“Because the insurgency- or at least those higher in the insurgency- know what we look like.” TO said without looking up from their map, “Normal civilians don’t. We can still learn a lot from them and if we see someone acting odd around us for no apparent reason, then they might be involved with the insurgency.”
“But what if we’re attacked out in the open because we’re recognized?”
“I doubt they’d do that.” TO said, “At least not violently. It’d be too big of a risk. We’re going to a place with a lot of security, so we’ll be alright. I’d be more concerned about being poisoned. “
“Right…. So we just can’t eat out.” DH said as their ears dipped back.
“Well, we can.” TO said, “We just have to be careful. The chips will work to identify if we put anything particularly deadly into our body, so what I would suggest is eating tiny amounts and waiting to see if the chip picks up anything before continuing.” They glanced up to DH, “You brought the medkit like I said?”
DH gestured to their kit, which sat on the floor at their feet. “Yes.. it’s a little obvious-“
“First thing we’ll get is a bag then.” TO said. They went back to the map, and started looking up places where they might find a bag, “If we encounter anything poisonous, we should be able to deal with it at the moment, and then we’ll know if insurgents are at all involved with the location we’re at.” They grinned at DH, “See, I thought about it; Yes, they know what we look like, but if they reveal that knowledge, then we know who they are.”
“… So, it’s ok that we still go out and get civilian clothes? And we can still eat out?”
“I don’t see why not.” TO said.
DH gave a big smile, their ears twitching with glee before they turned back to the window. TO grinned, unsure why DH was so excited, but happy to see them so energetic, anyway.
======
The shopping district was shaped like a ring along one of the inner circles of Okoia. The buildings were lower here mostly, rising higher through each district as one got further out towards the sea. Even from inside the vehicle, there was a certain protected feeling in the area. Though the buildings were close together, TO could see a single larger road running through the center of the district along with a sort of trolley running through the center which people could simply hop on to get from one place to another faster than normal.
“That’s the parking center, isn’t it?” DH asked as they peered out the window on their side. TO leaned over to look and saw one larger building that stood a little taller than the rest. Unlike the others, it was much more plain and had no visible windows.
“I think so.” TO said as they checked their communicator. It was.
They landed on the roof of the building and waited while the building’s computer system checked the credentials of their vehicle. The speakers hidden in the vehicle's ceiling suddenly chimed before a mechanical voice rang through.
“Please prepare for vehicle movement. Please do not leave the vehicle until instructed.”
The floor beneath the vehicle shuddered as some mechanism clamped it in place and drew them into the building, plunging them into darkness as the roof closed up overhead.
“It’s a bit like when we were at the portal dock.” DH said as they looked out into the darkness, “We got locked into something, and now we’re being pulled away.”
They were right; that’s exactly what it was like. TO looked out their own window, straining the sensitive eyes to see in the darkness. There was almost no light, but they could just make out unfinished walls covered in signs and wires. It wasn’t long until the rough, chaotic mess of machinery and electronics disappeared behind a dark blue metal wall and light from blue toned lights below them illuminated the area. The walls lightened in color until becoming a very light teal once the vehicle finally stopped.
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“Please exit the vehicle.” The voice intoned.
TO released the seatbelt and reached for their bracelet before they stopped, as they remembered they wouldn’t be wearing their armor today. They had to go out in their basic uniforms and try to pretend to be civilians. When they came to the vehicle in the first place, they had been wearing their armor because anyone who saw them leave their ship would know they were synths. Now, they had already blended in with civilian traffic and they were about to leave their vehicle, protected from the eyes of others by the walls of the parking center.
They took a breath and opened the door, stepping out of the vehicle and into the very large, circular room they were now in.
“Thank you for using the Okoia parking system.” the voice said, now from speakers hidden in the walls of the room. “You are in District 3: Opulentia Galleria. Is this your preferred location? Yes or no.”
“Yes.” TO said clearly. They had looked up nearby shopping areas the day before, and had confirmed that they’d be able to find a wide range of clothing here.
A red circle illuminated on the ground, surrounding the vehicle. “Please stand outside of the red circle.” The voice said. TO and DH did as they were told, and the parking system pulled away their vehicle to another floor. As it left their sight, TO heard their communicator chime. When they checked, they had a notification, saying the exact location of their vehicle.
“We will retrieve your vehicle on your return. Please retrieve your vehicle before Hour 21. Please follow the green line to the exit.”
As the voice ended, a green line appeared on the floor, and led them towards a door in the wall, previously nearly invisible but now surrounded by a matching green light. They followed the light as instructed, through the sliding door and to a too-bright hallway that made TO squint.
“This is going to hurt my eyes.” TO muttered.
“Sunglasses.” DH said as they shielded their eyes from the light reflection on the dazzling walls, “We’ll need those, too.”
They followed the hallway until they came to a tinted glass door that showed a busy street before them where so many people walked around in so many outfits. Once again, the unordered cacophony of variety confused TO and left them dazed.
“... This is going to be our first time.” DH said. “Our first time outside on a planet. Outside in an actual atmosphere, under an actual sun, with untreated air.” They wrinkled their nose, “Do you really think it’s safe? What germs could be out there?”
“I know, but we had all our vaccinations.” TO said. Still, it would be their first time actually being outside, breathing unfiltered air. Even when they had come to their vehicle from their ship, they had been wearing their armor.
DH put their hand on TO’s shoulder. “Are you alright?” They asked.
TO nodded, “Yes, I’m fine.” They said,
“You’re lying.” DH said as they watched TO’s ears. Their own ears pinned back in annoyance.
“I guess I’m a little nervous.” TO admitted, “But there’s nothing we can do about that, right? We have to do this.”
“We could do this another day?” DH offered, “It would give you more time to get used to being here?”
TO shook their head. They had to get these minor tasks done sooner than later, and if they couldn’t overcome some mild anxiety and go outside on an alien planet without their armor on, then what kind of synth would they be? “It’ll be fine.” TO said. “We’ve been inoculated to all the localized sicknesses. The air is deemed safe for us, and this is a good part of Okoia, so we’re unlikely to be attacked here even if we’re recognized by anyone. We’ll be fine.” They realized they were rambling and talking mostly to themself, and their ears suddenly flushed. How stupid were they? Why were they so afraid?
They felt DH’s hand slip into theirs and squeeze their fingers. “I believe you.” they said, smiling. They laced their fingers between TO’s, “And since we already told one person that we’re mates, we might as well play the part… Right?”
TO felt their ears relax as their tension in their shoulders eased. “Right...” they said, squeezing DH’s hand back. They nodded and then faced the door.
They approached together; the door sliding open and letting them out.
======
The first thing they noticed was how awful and bright it was. If the lights in the halls were bad, then the light from the sun outside was unbearable. They shut their eyes as soon as the light hit and looked away.
Then they felt the heat. Obviously, TO knew that the sun provides heat to its planets, and they knew it was warmer on sunny days as opposed to cooler ones, but they didn’t expect the actual beams of light to hit their skin and make them feel like they had somehow entered a dry, hot bath. They could hear the other people around them, talking and walking along the cobblestones, but they could also hear rodents hidden in the shadows, scurrying around. They could hear birds fluttering about somewhere nearby. The air smelled so different, so strange! They could smell perfume on people walking past, salt in the air, sweat from different people all around them, and a certain freshness that they couldn’t place. As their eyes slowly adjusted and they could look around, squinting, they could see trees with red leaves nearby, and blue-green grass covering lots between shops.
The ground felt different beneath their feet; firmer, and more solid; they could feel that more through their thin shoes as opposed to the solid, metal shoes that covered their feet when they had their armor on. It made sense; there were no layers of flooring beneath them no; no other levels under their feet, no space under the floor. They were on solid earth now; walking on the surface of an actual planet. There were cobblestones… and then just dirt under that. The idea seemed so strange to TO.
Then there was the space. It didn’t feel safe to be in such an open area with no armor on.
They felt DH’s hand tighten on their own, and when they looked over, they saw DH with their hand up, trying to block the light of the sun from their eyes with their free hand. Their ears were twitching and rotating, as though trying to pick up on all the different sounds that were echoing from all around them, some so near, and some so far away. Normally, their helmets would have filtered out unnecessary noise, but without their helmets they were hearing everything at once, the chaotic mess of noise all around them attacking their hearing.
TO squeezed back, checked their communicator, and then gently pulled DH down the street.
They’d get the sunglasses first; maybe this would be easier once they dealt with the excessive sunlight.