Nina’s gaze drifted across the room that they had stepped into.

It’s a bit messy, isn’t it? She thought to herself as she eyed the unattended counter that was littered with paperwork, a withering pot plant dangling next to a rusted attendance bell. In the corner sat a green sofa setting that contrasted with the bare walls which were painted in the same shade of blue as the exterior. With a large coffee table that was covered with a random assortment of magazines sitting in the middle, it looked as though nobody had used this reception room in quite some time.

“Let’s go and see Euris,” Svanda said as she strode across the hardwood floor and through a door behind the counter. Nina noted the surprisingly fragrant air that strongly contrasted with the appearance of the reception room as she followed. Moving down a corridor, her gaze drifted through the open doorways which they passed, noting the similar appearance of the other rooms. What seemed to be an office, a break room, and a server room all sat in varying forms of neglect.

Was it even possible to run an office this poorly? She thought as they reached the end of the corridor, turning into a room which sat next to a flight of stairs that ran up to a heavy steel door on the second floor. To her surprise, unlike the other rooms, this room was clean, with a small desk sitting in the centre of the room with two chairs.

Sitting in one of the chairs was a short woman that she hadn’t seen before. With a short mop of black hair, a short black lab coat which featured a few too many straps, and a pair of thin glasses to match, Euris looked like a cross between a back-alley doctor and a controversial fashion designer.

“Take a seat,” said Reina who was standing behind the other chair, nodding as Svanda left. “This is Euris. She does most of the techy stuff here.”

“Nice to meet you,” Euris said as Nina sat across from her. On the table between them sat a silver box which was covered in a series of tubes, some of which were connected to an armband which she passed to Nina. “This is a biometric reader. We need your data so we can create an armband for you and slot you into the system.”

“Am I supposed to just agree to this?” Nina asked as she looked from Euris to Reina. “I don’t know anything about you, anything about this machine, or anything about this world.”

“That’s true,” Reina replied, unfazed by Nina’s response. She paused for a moment before Nina heard a small sigh emerge from Reina’s lips behind her.

“Let’s do it this way then,” she said as she walked around the chair to face Nina. “Give me a fake,” she said to Euris as she outstretched her arm, watching as a red armband was given to her.

“You have two options. The first is to take this fake red armband and take it wherever you want. If you’re lucky, you might find someone on the red floors that will take you in, although the fact that you are unregistered makes you a bit of a liability. If the suits find you with a fake, you can deal with the authorities yourself.”

“Can’t you just send me home?”

“It’s possible for you to return to where you were, but to be frank, you probably won’t be able to do it without us,” Reina said as she tossed the armband in Nina’s lap. “The second option is to work for me. I will cover the expenses of creating a legitimate identity for you and loan you the money required to upgrade your band to orange clearance. Once you’ve paid it off, you can keep it and do whatever you want.”

Walking to the door, Reina turned her head over her shoulder. “Think about it, you should be fine outside with that armband for the rest of today at least. If you want to join us, ring the bell in the reception. Euris, let’s go.”

Nina sat and watched as Reina and Euris climbed the stairs that were just outside the room before disappearing behind the heavy door, leaving her in silence.

I didn’t even get any more answers, she thought as she remained in the chair. What was she supposed to do? She understood that Reina had put her in a position where she was dependent on others, but how was she supposed to escape from it?

Before she knew it, she had pushed her way through the front door of The Cloud Orchestra’s building and was on the street, the red armband wrapped around her bicep. Turning onto Main West, she idly gazed at the assortment of shops, stalls, and other establishments as she wandered by, oblivious to the strange looks that she was attracting.

The more she thought, the more she realised that there were really no alternatives to accepting Reina’s deal. Although she briefly considered taking the first option and disappearing into the depths below them that were the red floors, Reina’s comment about The Cloud Orchestra being the ones that could take her home pulled her back.

“Yo, newbie.”

Waking from her trance, she turned to see that she had stopped in front of the red-haired woman’s stall that they had passed earlier.

“Name’s Sem, take a seat,” she said as she pointed to a wooden crate which was next to the chair that she currently sat in. Watching as Nina sat next to her, the pair sat in silence for over a minute as they watched the people pass by.

“You said no, eh?”

“You can tell?”

“Of course,” Sem laughed. “You’re out here in your original clothes with a fake band.”

“Is it that easy to see that this is fake?”

Sem stood up as someone approached the stall, briefly ignoring Nina as she haggled over a few pieces of fruit. Completing the sale, she turned back to Nina, grabbing her hand before placing a collection of silver discs from the transaction in her palm.

“Most shop owners can’t tell with a glance because they use band scanners during transactions. Stalls like this, however, don’t use them so I can spot a counterfeit. I know you aren’t an unsavoury character, but unfortunately, most of the people who use fakes are.”

“Why are you giving me this?” Nina asked, referring to the thin discs in her hand.

“There’s fifteen credits there. I’m not giving them to you, I’m lending them to you. Walk to the north along the street until you see the Talewood Arms, then go inside and ask to see Hala and Cross. They can give you some of the answers that you are looking for.”

Thinking that it was a better plan than nothing, Nina stood and thanked Sem before heading back into the street.

“Don’t pay more than two credits for a drink!” Sem yelled from behind her, oblivious to the faintest of smiles that her comment had created at the corner of Nina’s lips.

It didn’t take long for Nina to find the Talewood Arms. The façade which stretched up for at least ten floors showed that they were all part of the same establishment. As the name had suggested, Nina pushed her way through one of the many doors to find herself in a tavern.

One of the things that Nina had found strange about JE-22 was the combination of old and new. It was strange to the extent that it was difficult to even understand what kind of technology was in use. Futuristic looking machines and designs sat next to facades that seemed like they had been pulled from a medieval era. Neon signs that reminded her of the past were intermingled with rusted metal billboards and bright LED displays as she had walked down the street.

Ignoring the curious gazes as she crossed the floor towards the bar, she placed her hands on the countertop and waited until the greasy-looking man which was tending it moved in her direction.

“I’m looking for Hala and Cross.”

The bartender swiped a casual gaze across her outfit and band before pulling an empty glass out from below the counter.

“It’ll cost you a drink.”

“Fine,” she said as she watched the bartender fill the glass up with what seemed to be some form of ale from a tap.

“Five credits.”

“Sorry, but I only have two.” Nina dropped two of the discs that Sem had given her on the countertop and waited for a reaction. With a nod, the man took the discs and placed the drink on the counter.

“Fifth floor. The pair with brown hair in the back corner.”

With a smile as thanks, Nina took her drink and headed for the stairs. After climbing enough to make her break a sweat, she finally arrived on the fifth floor of the tavern. Unlike the lower floors, there seemed to be less people here. Fanning her vision out across the dim wooden interior that would have looked at home in a medieval fantasy movie, she looked for the pair. Hushed tones with occasional laughter traveled through the large space as Nina slowly wandered towards the back of the room. With not many people to look between, she soon identified the pair of women and headed towards them.

Noticing her approach, the two turned to face her. With tanned skin and matching white shirts, the pair could have probably passed as sisters. Although both had shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes, one was a little taller while the other looked slightly more powerful.

“Isn’t this interesting,” the taller one said as she assessed the approaching Nina.

“No mistaking it is there,” the other one replied.

“It’s been a while since we saw someone from Caecus,” the pair said in unison to Nina.

“Caecus?”

“Caecus is what the people here call your home, a few floors up that way.” The shorter girl smiled as she pointed towards the ceiling, taking a drink from one of the few glasses on the table that still contained something.

“How do you know?” Nina paused as the two chuckled to each other before the taller one pulled out a seat between them.

“The way you dress, the way you talk, your hairstyle, and your band. You have fresh from Caecus written all over you.”

“I see,” Nina said as she sat down in the offered chair. She paused as she took a glance at each of them, noting the yellow bands that they wore. “I was told that you could help me with some answers.”

“I would hope so.” The shorter one laughed as she pressed a button that sat in the middle of the table.

“After all, we’re from Caecus too.”