“We made it,” Jade said with a sigh of relief as she looked down towards the jumble of browns and greys below them, arms spread out as she shot through the sky. It was the first thing that anyone had said since they stood in a circle around the gaping hole which served as the exit from their most recent mess, but for once Nina didn’t mind. Her sombre mood was the main culprit, but it wasn’t like she was the only one who seemed downcast either. Jade and Aline simply lounged around during their descent instead of performing their usual routine while Trim hadn’t even turned the stereo on. Nina thought that it could have been a process specific to Terminus, but then again it could have simply been weariness. It was definitely weariness on her part, but if that extended to the rest of the group or not she didn’t know.
“Yeah, I’m here,” Alan said, Nina looking over to see that he was already speaking on the phone. So much for waiting until they landed, she thought, but then again his time was probably a lot more valuable than hers was. “Southstone, the western pad. Send a car… wait make that two.”
“How generous,” Reina said with a smile. Like the rest of the group she had returned to wearing her standard gear, the blue sweater and white pants painting a stark contrast to the bland palette below. The deep purple sky which featured a permanent writhing mess of angry black and grey clouds above them, however, couldn’t be more different. Nina had read about it briefly while she had been back at the office, but being up close to the real thing was a little more harrowing than she thought it would be. Even now she could see intermittent streaks of lightning fan out through the rolling clouds as though they were alive, but strikes against the ground were thankfully infrequent.
“Nothing like home,” Svanda said as she fell in beside Nina, torn between observing the urban sprawl below them and the natural wonder above before eventually rolling onto her back. “It’s always like this, a constant reminder that nature can be truly terrifying if it wants to be. Not that you’re going to get struck by lightning or anything.”
Nina thought that it was very possible considering the luck she was having but decided not to comment in favour of surveying the land below. Underneath them was what seemed to be an orderly city which was studded with bright lights, a large red circle which they had positioned themselves above seeming to be their target. Off to what she guessed was the north was a jagged brown mountain range which was also bathed in a generous amount of light, while far off in the distance she could see another patch of urban development. She didn’t know why they were so far apart, but Svanda would probably be able to fill her in if she asked later. For now she was satisfied to make out what she could on her own, however, and despite her initial scepticism she was quickly reaching an interesting conclusion.
It really wasn’t that different from Caecus.
Unlike the gargantuan towers of Luem that challenged the skies, the sprawl on Terminus was much more modest. Buildings of concrete and steel which she guessed were between ten and twenty stories high were clustered around a centre, while the surrounding buildings slowly decreased in size like a gentle gradient. Between the orderly rows of grey were what seemed to be roads, and the orderly processions of white and red lights which travelled along them was comforting. Alan had asked whoever was on the other end of his call to send cars, and as a result she was cautiously optimistic. She could do this, this was her element. Orderly, monochromatic, and functional, even the dark weather reminded her of home. It was a good start at least, but the fact that she was carrying a pistol which was manufactured here served as a quick reminder that everything wouldn’t be as it seemed. If she was to believe the stories she had heard about the plate before, Terminus was a grim industrial powerhouse which favoured traditional technologies over the technological wonders that she had seen in Luem.
“At least it isn’t raining, for once,” Trim joked, lazily spinning around as she sat on her stereo. It was just about the only piece of equipment that had made it this far besides their weapons considering that everything had been abandoned on Zaffre’s before they had skipped their usual accommodation on Areinis. Considering what it carried, it was probably the most vital piece of equipment too. Nina would have killed for a day off and some clean clothing right now, but she was under no illusions that Reina would be hitting the brakes for a breather. Alright, maybe not kill, but something close to it.
Stolen story; please report.
The rest of the descent was uneventful, Nina satisfied to take in the sights with a lack of enthusiasm that surprised even herself. The large red circle which she had spotted from above turned out to be their eventual destination after all, and after shrugging off the disinterested gaze of what Svanda told her were the local police they stepped out onto the street. It didn’t look too different from Caecus, although the differences were still noticeable. More steel and less concrete made up the buildings which were a jumble of straight edges adorned with glass, while the atmosphere felt a little cruder. The cars that whizzed by were certainly modern though, mostly polished metal lozenge-shaped vehicles in a range of blacks and greys. She couldn’t see anything through the heavy tint on the windows as they cruised past, but she’d already guessed that they were self-driven. Too orderly and precise to be human controlled, the traffic seemed to ebb and flow as a single organism in an almost eerily smooth manner.
At least it wasn’t cold. Her jacket was more than enough to keep her comfortable despite the grim-looking weather, while the air was also surprisingly clean. She had thought that it would have been dusty or polluted considering the plate’s reputation, but it seemed as though she was wrong. If anything, it was crisp, although she did detect a hint of something in the air. Metal, maybe, if that was even a thing. Maybe it was just the moisture.
“Considering that the rest of our negotiations have already been agreed upon,” Alan said as he watched two cars detach themselves from the procession on the street before pulling up beside them, “I’ll be leaving you to it. You know where to find me when the time comes.”
Nina and the group watched as Zhannah opened the rear door of the lead car for Alan, a sleek black bubble-shaped sedan with dark tinted windows. The first thing that she noticed was how quiet it was, no visible vibration or thrum from a motor at all as it sat motionless even when Alan climbed inside. Zhannah and Rop hopped in after him, and after closing the door the car peeled away from the curve, effortlessly gliding along the slick black road before seamlessly merging into the procession of traffic.
It would seem that Caecus still had a long way to go.
“Let’s go then,” Reina said before opening the door to the second car, disappearing inside before anyone could reply. Nina was initially sceptical about how seven people were supposed to fit in what she considered to be a normal sized car, but her questions were soon answered as she ducked inside. Apart from where the door was, a long C-shaped seat ran around the interior, the cream leather with timber trim simple but tasteful. The lack of driver as she suspected gave them plenty of space to move around, although she was still intrigued about how the vehicle was powered. Her initial search for an engine bay had proved fruitless, but she was already suspecting that the car was electric. It was either that or some other foreign kind of propulsion that she hadn’t heard of, which wasn’t as farfetched as it sounded. New technology was nothing surprising to her anymore, and every new plate seemed to have secrets that she couldn’t have ever dreamed of.
“Congratulations, traveller,” Trim said with a smirk as she slid in beside her. “You’ve seen every plate.”
“Does it really count as seeing them all?” Jade asked as she ducked inside before closing the door behind her. “Isn’t it more like… scratched the surface?”
Nina would have almost missed the car peeling away from the side of the road if she hadn’t been looking out the window, the ride just as smooth on the inside as it looked to be from the outside. Jade’s comment caused her to briefly think about what experiences the rest of the group had from the different plates, and also if any had been as dangerous as this one. Not that Reina would tell her they had been, probably. She probably knew that Nina was already concerned enough without any more worries being heaped upon her.
“How many times have you all done this?” she asked, turning her attention away from the street outside. There was hardly any pedestrian traffic out, although the few people she did see had silver hair like Svanda’s and wore drab black jackets. If getting around by car was as easy as it seemed to be, she understood why it was that way too. No point walking if you didn’t need to. At least the buildings that lined the street seemed to be reasonably familiar, glass windows framed by a familiar mix of concrete and steel. It seemed to be more office space than residences, but she would find her answers sooner or later. As industrial as Terminus might be, such a well-oiled machine required administration just like any other.
“You forget,” Reina answered. “It’s nothing new and nothing special, just work. Do you remember how many times you travelled to work? How many times you caught the train?”
“…No.”
“It’s just like that,” Reina continued with a smile. “The travel becomes routine. This is who we are, what we do. These trips are our specialty. And if you stick with us, sooner or later, you’ll feel the same way too.”
As the car eased into the procession of traffic and whisked them away into the bustling city beyond, Nina tuned out before staring at the streets beyond, silently wondering if that was what she wanted.