When the four of them finally left their rooms, it was due to hunger. TO and DH had slept a lot longer than they thought and the emptiness in their stomachs had escalated to where they felt as though the bottom of their stomachs had fallen away and left them hollow. After checking in with Azizi to see if Constance was awake - she wasn't, and Azizi confirmed that given the vaccinations and the travelling they had done, that was normal for her species- TO decided that it was indeed time for food. They didn't know where the cafeteria would be but thanks to GiDi it seemed like they wouldn't have to go searching.

"I just messaged Pearla." They said, "She was up and about earlier than me, and she found a place for us to eat." They looked at their communicator, frowning. "She says that she's in the 'Social District', and that if we walk around the hallway here, we should find an elevator to take us there. Fourth floor, she says." they grinned, "I guess it's a bit like the rings on Okoia, but instead of the central ring being government buildings and homes, it's the..." They paused and thought about it for a moment, "Huh. I don't know what's in the center of this."

"Me neither." TO said, "Centrifugal gravity simulation is practically archaic by now and I've never studied it myself. For all I know, it could be nothing." they took out their communicator and began searching for information, but as soon as they did they saw that they couldn't access any of the normal information sources they normally would have. "That's odd."

"What is?" DH asked as they looked over TO's shoulder. Upon seeing the error message, they nodded. "Makes sense." DH said as their ears dipped back, "If Scraprock is a rogue settlement, they wouldn't be able to use the normal Galactic network."

"Great." TO muttered. "But, wait, we were able to access stuff on the screens in our room."

"Probably a closed network." DH said. "Limited information and files."

TO nodded and put away their communicator. The idea that they could be closed off like that left them feeling uneasy, though the biggest consolation was that it seemed they could contact one another just fine, so while they were cut off from the rest of the galaxy, they weren't cut off from their pod.

Eventually, they found a rough, worn, industrial style elevator. It was with dread that they allowed themself to be pushed in but as soon as it started moving TO could tell that it had been soundproofed to protect their ears from the clattering and noise that civilian elevators normally created. The buttons before them were all numbered, and names sat scratched into the metal on the side: Engine Room, Temporary housing, Permanent housing, and live-in care were there, along with different floors for various types of technology, recreation, and, of course, the social level. It moved slowly as they descended to the inner layers. Despite no stop being called for at the floors in between, the elevator seemed to stop and wait at each floor.

"Won't gravity feel stronger at the lower levels?" DH asked, "I mean, if we're getting closer to the center of Scraprock, wouldn't the center rings move faster?"

"It's likely that the inner rings move more slowly than the outer rings, so the sense of gravity stays the same." TO said after a few minutes of careful thought. "That would explain why we keeps stopping at every floor. It's probably waiting to link up to the next level."

"Pearla says she found a place we *need* to go to eat." GiDi said as they checked their communicator. Clearly, they had little concern for how the gravity here worked. "She emphasizes 'need'. I have no idea why, or what we'll be seeing there, but she's also going to meet us there."

While DH followed GiDi, pushing TO along as they went, TO finally had a chance to look around a little more. In the hallways so far there wasn't much to see but now there were windows that showed the massive array of stars and distant swirling nebulae in space. As TO got closer though, they could see that they weren't windows at all. Much like the "windows" at the CottageCore Club, which showed flower-filled fields on a breezy summer day, these windows were actually screens showing the massive void of space before them. Well, it made sense: large windows like this in space would be very expensive, and difficult to maintain. Easy enough for a synth ship, but far less feasible for a rogue settlement hurdling through space.

It wasn't long before they arrived, passing through a set of large sliding doors to reveal something that looked like a mix between the Outer Ring, and the Entertainment district on Arkane. The area was just a single short hallway, but there was a mass of booths and shops. A mix of smells and sounds permeated the area, along with a clash of colours which allowed it the excitement of the entertainment district, but with the chaos and makeshift vibe of the Outer Ring. Despite the added noise here, the sound was still comfortable to TO's ears. They didn't know how this was, given the walls were a mash of different materials, but for the moment they were just happy that their ears didn't ache with echoed sound coming from all over.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"There she is!"

GiDi's excited voice caught TO's attention and they watched as GiDi ran ahead, catching up to Pearla who was sitting at a booth with her tail tightly wrapped around a stool to keep her stable as she sat . GiDi ran up to her and caught her in an embrace before leaning forward and planting a long, tender kiss on her lips.

"Missed me, did you?" She asked with a grin once they pulled away. "It was only a night."

"I don't want to be away from you for even a single night!" GiDi protested their ears flicking down, their eyes growing wide in an obvious pout.

"Why didn't the two of you stay together?" TO asked once they caught up with the two.

"I went to sleep much earlier." Pearla said. "I was exhausted, so they just gave me a room and I went to sleep. I figured someone would tell GiDi where I was, but it was all so chaotic once we got here." She turned back to GiDi, placing her hand on their arm. "You're ok though?" She asked. She glanced quickly at TO again, "Everything is ok? You weren't alone all night were you?"

"They were with Tham and I." They said. "Everything is ok. The idiots managed to do this magical thing called 'communicating' and-"

"Shush you." TO said, nudging Avery with their elbow. They looked back to Pearla but their attention was taken by the cook behind her. The cook originally had their back to the others but as they turned to set down a tray of food TO realized that the cook was actually a synth.

"You're a synth!" DH said, staring at the cook with big eyes.

"Not quite." The cook said, their ears twitching with amusement, "NuChilacian."

"Flit must have been busy!" GiDi said softly. "They sent you here too?"

The cook's ears twitched in confusion, "Flit?"

"Yeah, the retiree that got us out of the training centre."

the cook shook their head, ears perking up once more, "Ah, no, I didn't come here from a training center." They said, "I was on assignment."

"Your placement?" DH asked, "On Arkane?"

They shook their head again, "No no, on Assignment. I finished my placement." They gestured to the food, "Doesn't matter. Pearla here ordered food for all of you, and it's just about ready."

Pearla grinned, "I was looking for a meal myself when I found this place." She said, "This is Ramanar. They run this little stand."

"It's as big as it can be, given the location." They said with a grin, "But to be fair, I very much doubt there's a market for my kind of food on most planets."

"I dunno, I like it." Pearla said.

DH brought TO to a lower table at the end of the stand where they could eat comfortably in their chair before sitting on the stool next to them. "Your kind of food?" DH asked.

"You'll see." they said as they set another tray down next before TO. "But even if I cooked more mainstream food, I imagine if I tried to open a place on any planet, I'd be arrested pretty quickly." They forced their lips into a grin, their ears up and flicking back slightly, "I'm a wanted felon after all."

"A wanted felon?" GiDi said, stopping just as they reached towards the tray of food. "What did you do?"

"What did I actually do, or what are the charges?" They asked. "For the former, I exist. I think, and I act for myself. The charges are murder, but I didn't do that." They frowned, their ears flicking slightly, "well, correction. I have killed people, but that was in the line of duty. I didn't murder the person who I'm charged to have killed."

"Front lines?" TO asked, "I thought front line synths didn't do a placement."

"Not front lines." They said with another amused ear twitch. "Sometimes, Decon will promise a synth bodyguard to the ruling families of planets he takes over. A sign of faith, status symbol, and a way to protect the families that bow to him. That's where I was before I got away." They nodded at the tray before TO "Go ahead though: eat."

TO lifted the lid of the tray, and immediately the smell hit them, wafting upwards and drawing them forward. After going back to the tasteless cubes the scent of flavored food made their mouth water. The bowl was filled with a collection of multicoloured shapes, some of which had obviously different textures, and some which seemed to have an almost identical texture as the cubes they ate in training and on the ship. To the side of the dish, there was a single long stick. TO took it, and skewered a green, round piece of food, and popped it into their mouth.

Crunchy outside, soft inside. Slightly sweet. They had to bite into it with their teeth, but after doing that the rest of the morsel seemed to dissolve on their tongue, a new flavour emerging as it did, and a satisfying fizzing rising up as the crunchy part melted into the soft. Their eyes widened as they tried to hold the morsel in for as long as possible to enjoy the flavor longer but all too soon the flavour was gone and they had no choice but to swallow what was left.

Wordlessly, they stabbed another piece - this one red and shaped like a triangle. it was slightly shiny and when they bit into it a jelly-like substance spread over their tongue - one which was almost savory and sweet at the same time.

It was by far the best food they ever ate, and for the next twenty minutes they sat there, entirely focused on the meal before them.