“Would you mind looking intimidating for a moment while I pick some materials up?” Graye asked as the truck approached the pass. “We should be fine, but you never know what will turn up in this forsaken place.”

“It’s the least we could do,” Reina smiled as she looked over at Svanda and Trim. “Alright with that?”

Nina watched as Svanda hauled the assault rifle off her back before moving to one side of the flatbed, perching on the edge with one leg dangling over the side. Trim, to Nina’s surprise, turned off the stereo before opening yet another compartment at the rear, withdrawing a silver submachine gun with T&TERM etched down the barrel. After loading a magazine with a practiced motion, she sat down on the opposite side. It wasn’t a pulse weapon like the pistol that she carried in her tracksuit, and Nina was relieved to see that someone else also carried something a little more orthodox.

It’s tactical, she had said when asked about the stereo. Just what else was hidden in there?

She turned her attention to the pass which had appeared in the distance. Any scenery at all was welcome after they had driven for what had seemed like hours across an endless desert, Trim’s playlist still rolling when they reached a river that snaked through a series of rocky red hills. After stopping for quick a break they had continued, following the flow of water in the direction of the pass.

From what she could see, Sandscale Pass dwarfed the settlement they had left behind. Straddling the river that the road was following, the inner city of earth-coloured stone buildings was surrounded by a ring of dilapidated wooden structures. She guessed that the largest of them was still only three or so stories, but there were quite a few of them. People walked on rickety bridges that stretched across the river which was about ten meters wide, while crudely crafted barges and boats lined each shore. On the opposite bank from the road they travelled on was a group of tough looking men tending to a small herd of livestock, their skin baked brown by a desert sun that was now on the return trip towards the horizon.

“I hate this place,” Aline moaned as she withdrew a pistol from underneath her dress before standing up to face the town. “So many creepy people.”

“Want to visit the local anthill instead?” Jade laughed as she nodded off to the side. Nina followed her gaze to see a large hill in the distance, a black structure emerging from the top. She guessed it was a couple of kilometers from the pass - close enough to keep an eye on what was happening, but far away enough to be clear of the rabble.

Aline frowned but decided not to respond, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as her gaze scanned the approaching town. Like the town had attracted their attention, their approaching vehicle had also attracted the attention of many people who were in and around the shanties on the fringe of the pass. Cold and curious gazes were aimed in their direction as their activities stopped to investigate the strange truck and the equally strange passengers.

Nina pressed her elbow against her ribcage, the solid feeling of the pistol in her jacket comforting her. She wouldn’t have thought it a few weeks ago, but she was glad to have it with her. Svanda, Trim, Jade, and Aline were all openly carrying their weapons now, an imposing deterrent to anyone who had any thoughts about the truck or its occupants. Reina looked unfazed, a confident smile still hanging on her lips as she stood with her arms folded in the centre of the tray.

When the smell hit her nose as they arrived at the edge of the structures, Nina tried not to react. It was horrible, a stifling mix of decay and waste combined with the heat of the late afternoon. The dry breeze had been carrying it away from them before, but there was no escape now. Jade pinched her nose before shrugging when Aline glared at her. People lived in this, but it seemed like she didn’t care about offending them.

“Where are you headed?” Reina asked Graye. If the conditions were bothering her, her expression didn’t show it.

“Need wood,” he responded as he nodded in the direction of a barge that floated on the side of the river in the distance. Nina assumed she was looking at the correct one because it was stacked high with logs.

“You always seem to need wood,” Reina sighed.

Graye shrugged in response as the truck continued to pass by a series of huts and tents, although hut was generous term in some cases. Cloth and whatever other scrap people had managed to find was shoved in gaps, draped over ropes, and stretched over crude frames in the large majority of them.

“Where does the wood come from anyway?” Nina asked as she looked around. Since they had been here, she hadn’t seen a single tree.

“There are dead forests upriver, relics of the past from when the land wasn’t so bad.” Reina explained. “They cut them down and then float the logs downstream on barges.”

Nina nodded before examining their surroundings. Jade had removed her fingers from her nose as the quality of the residences improved a little, at least they now looked solid and functional. The throbbing of the engine still drew curious gazes from the windows as they passed, but Nina had begun to ignore them as her eyes focused on the barge that was now only some fifty meters up the road.

“Graye,” a man with large muscles and tanned skin said as the truck pulled up beside the barge after turning around. His straggly black hair that was caked with dirt seemed to compliment his bent nose and the fact that he was missing a few teeth. “Back again with some interesting cargo I see.” His eyes scanned over the group, leering as much as he thought he could get away with before Svanda openly clicked the safety on her rifle.

“Fifteen at the usual rate, take it or leave it,” Graye responded while ignoring the silent exchange between the two groups. He fished around in a pocket inside his shirt before withdrawing a group of coins and dropping them on the tray.

The man’s eyes moved from Graye’s face to the pile of coins before quickly glancing at Svanda’s rifle. He nodded before sliding the coins off the tray into his outstretched hand and whistling to a group of men in black rags who sat under a shade cloth on the other side of the road. Springing into action, they headed for the barge and began to carry logs to the truck, Nina and her group stepping off onto the dusty street to vacate the space.

“Want us to hang around?” Reina asked.

“We’re fine from here now that the price is sorted,” Graye shook his head as he tapped his pocket, Nina realizing that he was also carrying a gun. “We’ve got our own tricks if we need them, thanks for the escort.”

“No problem,” Reina smiled as she signaled to the rest of the group. “Alright, let’s head to Juicer then. Eyes peeled for anything funny please.”

“Tires,” Graye reminded her.

“Tires,” Reina nodded before turning on her heel and leading the group up the street.

Nina fell in behind Reina who casually strolled up the centre of the street with a hand in each pocket, Svanda and Trim on each side of her with their weapons hanging loosely by their sides. Jade and Aline flanked them in turn, forming a V-formation of sorts with Nina and Saela tucked in behind. Saela had been noticeably quiet during the trip, but Nina wasn’t going to be the one to try and coax her out of her shell. She instead turned her attention to the streets which were becoming increasingly busy as they moved closer towards the centre of town. Peddlers along the river presented fresh fish while shopfronts on the other side displayed a variety of baked goods, stone trinkets, cloths, and other homewares. If nobody had told Nina that this plate was a prison, she would have thought it to be a normal town. A technologically inferior town, but still a normal town.

“Where does all this stuff come from?” she asked.

“People are surprisingly adaptable when they need to be,” Trim said. “You have to remember that Sandscale Pass has been here for over a thousand years, and with that remember that the vast majority of people here aren’t actually from the plate above.”

In other words, not criminals.

Jade, who was walking on the side furthest from the river, idly tossed a coin to a person sitting at a stall before grabbing a pair of what looked like bread rolls from the pile that sat before him. She passed one to Nina before taking a bite of the other herself.

Nina followed Jade’s example and took a tentative bite of the roll. It was bland with a slightly sour taste, the texture grainy as though sand had been mixed in.

“Still as bad as I remember them to be,” Jade frowned as she tossed the roll to a child who was sitting on the edge of the road as they walked. “That’s a sandscale roll, made from ground sandscale husks. Tastes like crap but they’re nutritious enough to keep you going, and sandscale plants grow everywhere. This place is called Sandscale Pass for a reason.”

Nina took a second look at the roll before passing it to a hopeful child that had been trailing in their wake since they had seen Jade discard her roll. She smiled as she saw the child wheel away in delight at the free meal before turning her attention back to where they were heading. The group turned a corner and continued to walk down the centre of what seemed to be a main street as they neared the centre of the town.

“We’re back,” Reina said to two men that flanked the door they were approaching. It was a large building on the corner made from heavy red stone, ‘JUICER’ painted in a decorative fashion above the door with white paint. Nina immediately noticed the pistols that openly hung from their belts.

“The Cloud Orchestra,” one of the men smiled as his gaze passed across the group before stopping on Nina. “She one of yours or are you vouching?”

“One of us,” Reina replied as she pushed her way through the door, the rest of the group filing in behind her. Nina observed the interior of the building, which was surprisingly clean compared to what she had seen during their walk over. The red stone had been polished on the inside, and tiles made of wood covered the floor in a zigzagging pattern. Lamps that were covered by yellowed glass hung from the ceiling, although there were only a few of them which left the interior dim.

“Electricity?” she asked as her sweep around the room continued. It seemed like a hotel lobby of sorts, or a bar. Nothing like the lavish settings she had seen in Luem, but comfortable. Small round tables dotted the floor while a stone counter ran along the back of the room next to a staircase. The man behind the counter looked half asleep, but she couldn’t blame him considering that they were the only people there.

“Generators,” Svanda replied as they crossed the floor in the direction of the staircase.

“Barkeep,” Reina smiled as they neared the counter. “Seven of the special, we’ll be upstairs.”

The man nodded and watched with disinterest as the group climbed the stairs. Once they reached the top, Nina stepped out to see that the top floor of Juicer was an open rooftop sitting area. With views over parts of the city that weren’t obstructed by taller buildings, a roof was supported by columns of red stone which left the space open to the breeze.

“I’m starving,” Trim sighed as she took a seat at the largest table which sat in the centre of the empty space. “The drive across really takes it out of you.”

“At least the kitchen isn’t busy,” Svanda smiled as she sat beside her.

The group half chuckled and half breathed a sigh of relief as they all sat down before stretching out, watching as the man from downstairs appeared with a tray of cold drinks. After he set them down, he withdrew while ignoring Nina’s curious glance.

“Who are these people?”

“Network, of course,” Reina replied. “Nobody else that I know of is bold enough to install generators down here and keep the fuel supply running.”

“How does Graye keep his truck running?”

“Biodiesel. He makes it himself from…” Reina paused as an animated discussion drifted up from the street below.

“What do you mean, no?” came a voice. “You think you can openly flaunt a few pistols around and nobody will do anything? I think it should be pretty obvious to you who we are.”

“I think it’s very obvious who you are.” Nina recognized the voice of the guard at the door. “And that’s why I’m warning you to not try anything.”

“Do you want me to go and knock on the door of the anthill over there and tell them that I have a problem?”

Nina’s ears pricked up. It was as though the second voice was also familiar, but she didn’t know where it was from. She watched as Jade stood up and quietly walked in the direction of the railing.

“I can tell from your dress that you aren’t on official business,” the guard sighed. “That means you don’t want them to know that you’re here either.”

“It also means that I can knock down the… oh? You! Yeah, you up there!”

Nina had a bad feeling about this.

“See? I told you they were here,” she heard the man say. “You, up there! If you’re here, that means Nina's here right?”

She saw Jade tense, her hand gripping the railing as she looked down to whoever was having the conversation below. Before she knew it, she had stood up and walked over to the railing, placing one arm on Jade’s shoulder while looking at the people on the street below.

“That’s who I wanted to see,” Captain Ormain smiled. He was dressed in casual desert gear, as were the five other people that stood behind him. The fact that they all had varying styles of hair in the same black, however, confirmed that this was a group of people she was supposed to be avoiding.

Ormain chuckled as he examined her expression.

“Let’s have a chat, shall we?”