"Yeah, humans don't eat rodents. Well, except for rabbits. I think it's just novelty." Realizing that maybe someone as foreign to humanity as Korax needs a little more explanation, Nick adds: "People buy it
because it's strange. New experiences, I guess."
Once they get down to Deep Solar 3, Nick does have the new experience of eating a fried rodent tail (on a stick!). It's not great. Okay, it's awful. But hey, novelty!
Nick and Korax's journey of novelty continues down into a smaller sub-wing of the station, where a lot of merchants have gathered. All sorts of goods are put up for sale here. Glittering jewelry, three-eyed alien pets, hand-woven rugs, salvaged electronics- the list goes on. It's rather crowded, and there's the scent of some kind of alien incense wafting through the air.
And somewhere in it, Nick spots a familiar face. "Hey, now
that's a properly fried snack! Tomatillo is probably better than rat tail." Korax and him had ran into M'Elme Lan'thar, the
Prize's resident expert on plant biology, and a plant herself. Carabello had reviewed her file before: she was competent, still young by her species' standard, and relatively new to the ship. Just like Nick, in a way. "You go by Elm, right? I'm Nick." He leaves off the 'Captain' part, because that title takes some getting used to. Still not quite comfortable with it.
"What brings you to this... what is it, a bazaar?" He gestures to the crowded, mercantile space around them, and smiles. "
This place."