Terminus certainly lived up to its expectation.

Besides its massive treads, the ATV had now parked, engine still running. The enormous metal walls of the mobile city loomed over them, as large as any imperial skyscraper or military base. From a distance, the smooth metal sides of the city lacked detail, just gray metal walls. But as one was up close, they would see the fine details; clothes hanging to try, windows open for people to look out, balconies that people walked on, and even decorations like posters left on the sides. One small group of friends were even having a barbecue on one of the balconies, enjoying one of the best views the Coalition had to offer. Casper slowly got out of his, sore from the wild ride, and cracked his back and neck. With the horrible crick out of his bones, he ruffled through the rucksack that he got back in Tracks, and took the journal he acquired. The journal of the late Ekko, now at his side.

Sprag too had the same idea, as she got up she cracked her neck as well, her vertebrae made an even louder popping noise that resounded in the hollow confines of the ATV. “Beat ya!” She boasted, “Anyways, give Vram a minute, she just needs to call the gatekeeper, they’ll let us in… Til then, just enjoy the view.” She said, looking out the window to the village that was just a short walk away, with its cube shaped buildings and Coalition aligned populace.

In the driver seat, Vramosa could be heard talking with someone on the other line, ready to open the door.

“Right… So it’s like a loading bay?” Casper asked, looking down at Sprag. He hadn’t noticed before, especially during the ride, but her large fluffy tail had several purple leaves and twigs, lost among the fluff. Arborpathy took many forms, looks like Sprag’s was focused in her tail.

“Yeah! There are a lot of entrances, a ladder here and there, a hatch at the bottom, rooftop access. But for vehicles like ours-” She said, speaking fast and quick, she smacked the side of the ATV, “We have to use the garage! Located in the stern! That’s the back of the ship if we’re going with nautical terms, they work with Terminus though.” Sprag paused for a moment, holding her tail like a pillow.

The pause was long enough for Casper to finally get a chance to speak over her. “That makes sense yeah.” He smiled and nodded, “Weird to have cars inside of what is basically a giant car though. But I get it… You also seem to know a bit about boats.”

“Yeah, Gray Ham likes to build model ships in his free time. So he taught me the terms. I only know the sides of the boat though.”

The oceans of the world were mostly giant mangroves or swamps. Boats had little use in the modern era… Such knowledge would be deemed worthless by most. “The front is the bow right?”

“Yes! You’re smarter than I thought, we should quiz each other for money some time! Til then,” Sprag said, pointing to the opposite window, towards Terminus. The loud noise of the backdoor opening echoed across the field. With the loud sound of groaning metal and whirring gears, the back opened like a giant metal drawbridge; Terminus was now open! “After this, Vram, Cho, and I are heading back to the Blood Fount. That’s the Holy Diver’s HQ. Not the first name I would’ve picked, but it was the name the founder gave it over a hundred years ago. Be rude to change it, eh?”

“I figured that.” Casper was finally starting to parse Sprag’s fast paced language. With one last ride, this one far smoother than the others, Vramosa drove the last stretch, circling around to the back. A huge surprise that she could drive with such ease and care for her passengers. Watching the outside move around him, Casper looked out, his balance momentarily thrown off as the ATV hit the ramp up into the garage.

The garage was what one would expect, an open area with several vehicles parked here and there, in fine order. Not as big as Casper expected, but certainly big enough to have a good number of machines in it. A few bikes, an ATV or two like the one they were in, and even cars based on those in the Pre-Bloom era. A few Coalition members sat beside their cars. Chatting, some of them ready to drive off now that the door was open, and others doing maintenance on them. “Favorite parking spot, where are you.” Vramosa joyfully said to herself.

Another thing that Casper didn’t expect was just how casual everything felt. Especially with what he had heard and seen of Imperial cities. Where there was a restricted way of life. Here, the best way to describe everyone’s disposition amongst themselves was ‘casual.’ Not too serious nor too relaxed. As the ATV’s engine died down as Vramosa parked, everything was quiet, other than the distant chatter of Coalition members.

To the chatter, Casper contributed, asking his first question to Sprag. “So… Now what?”

“Now what? I just told you, me and the others are going back to the Blood Fount. Don’t know what you are going to do. Go hang out with your boyfriend here.” She said, pointing to Rakkan as he continued to be locked in slumber. With her other hand, she opened the back of the ATV and hopped out, her small feet making a faint clange against the metal floor.

“Right… Should we wake him up.” Casper said, crossing his arms. Then, after a sudden burst of realization, added, “He’s not my boyfriend!”

“Yeah, watch this!” Sprag nodded from the outside of the van. In a calm, slow voice, she called to the sleeping lion, with five simple words. “There’s a fight going on.”

Then, just like that, Rakkan hopped up with all the energy to be expected of him, nearly bonking his head against the ceiling. “Count me in! Where is it?! I never back down from an oppurtunity! I-” He paused, then looked out the window, then over to Casper and Sprag. Then to the driver’s seat where Vramosa and Cho were now leaving… The wheels in his head finally started to spin. “We’re not in Tracks anymore are we? I slept the whole ride.”

With that unexpectedly easy task over, Casper hopped out. “That was… Easy? You coming, Rakkan?”

“It works every time.” Sprag said, “No fighting going on, we just happened to need you up. I’ll fight you if you want though, we’ll bet money on it!”

“I can’t fight you!” Rakkan dismissed, “You are so small and twiggy. I would obliterate you! You can’t use your guns and shooty things either! Oh course I’m just teasing you.” Rakkan followed her and Casper outside, his giant build making a louder sound as he jumped off. “But what’s say you two? Go to the mess hall while we’re here? I owe some friends a meal! The food here is far better than any of the Imperial rations they hand to their soldiers!”

“Pass.” Cho called the other side of the van, beside Vramosa, the two of them clearly ready to head back to their HQ, wherever it lied in the confines of Terminus. “I don’t eat the food there.”

“I also need to get my medicine.” Vramosa said.

Sprag, however, nimbly climbed up upon Rakkan’s back. Looking like a squirrel shaped backpack, with the massive height difference between the two. Rakkan didn’t seem to mind though, it was like carrying a child. “Y’know, screw the Blood Fount, I’ll take you up on that offer for food, big guy.”

With two going to the Blood Fount and two going to the mess hall, that left Casper. He had worked up a great hunger in the past few days. One that had been lingering within him even when he ate in Tracks. “…Uh… Right…” Was all he could say, not making eye contact with either of the parties, scratching the side of his face.

“Then we’ll see you at the Blood Fount later, Sprag.” Cho said, walking off and away, breaking away almost instantly from the group.

“Don’t be too long.” Vram hummed, waving goodbye to her squirrel friend. “I’ll get sad if you’re gone too long.” With her soft eyes, she looked at the visibly nervous Casper. “Don’t hang your head too low, Sphynx. Grayham would love to meet you, so stop by later if you can.”

Casper then looked to Rakkan and Sprag, journal still in his arms, trying to find the right words for the stream of info presented to him. “Yeah, I’m going to take some time to get my barrings here. We’ll get lunch later, right?” He said, with a thumbs up, a smile back on his face, acting as a mask for his wavering heart.

Rakkan looked down on Casper, confusion suddenly on his face. “No use for me now that we’re here, eh? That’s hurtful, friend.” He shook his head, frowning.

“That’s not what I meant!” Casper replied.

“I joke, I joke, don’t worry! You’re not in the best of moods, yes? An episode of sorts, yes?” Rakkan quickly said, realizing Casper might not be the best person to make such jokes with. With a gentle pat on the shoulder, he reassured Casper. “But don’t forget, I owe you a lunch! Rakkan never goes back on a promise!” He sound, pounding his chest. But, before he could keep rambling, Sprag nudged the side of the lion’s head, up from her perch. Looks like Rakkan had no choice but to follow the silent orders of his rider. “Ow! I’m going… But, take care, friend! Just remember: There is little sign up process when you serve under the Coalition, unless you wish to join their subdivisions, like the Holy Divers or Oryctes. So don’t worry about being turned away just yet! The leader is a very kind soul, you’ll know when you meet her. Keep it up!”

Those words of encouragement were… Encouraging. Enough to put a bit of spark back in Casper’s heart. But, they were all Casper could get from him, before the lion and the squirrel stormed off. A childish pair of soldiers. A dangerous pair.

Yet a small bit of encouragement was more than enough.

…And once more, Casper was alone.

The Sphynx paced through the garage, passing car after car, person after person. No idea where he could possibly start. The first objective was to find someone who knew what they were doing or had some good position in the group. The Holy Diver’s was one option… The Oryctes group Rakkan mentioned. Maybe even the leader of the Coalition… As lofty as that sounded. His plan felt more and more ridiculous the further into it he got.

Then, his eye caught him, standing next to a door. Right in the direction Casper was headed. He was a very thin, effeminate man… Or girl? It was hard to tell, with their thin build and flowing white woolly hair. Their curling horns, brown fur, and oval pupils gave away their species. A Dahu. Awassi Sheep Dahu to be more specific. The man had a peculiar coy smile on his face, his yellow eyes staring at Casper as he approached. The second thing Casper noticed about him was how expensively dressed he was. A lavish black and white pinstriped suit. Nice and well maintained.

His calm posture, his coy smile, and his relaxed disposition, Casper couldn’t put a finger on it, but something about him felt off. That was the best way he could put it. An uneasy tension that he felt as those yellow eyes stared right into him.

The sheep got off the wall and walked around Casper, his hooves tapping on the ground with a calm and carefree step. Then, with a friendly voice, he spoke, a womanly tone that could be mistaken for a girl’s voice. “Newcomers are far more common than you might thing. Enough so that the village below is home to many of our members. So be at ease.” Swiveling on his hooves with the grace of a dancer, he laughed quietly, “Casper was it, yes?” In his hands was a small leather bound journal. The one Casper just had in his hands.

It was only then that Casper realized the loss of it, taken right from his hands, he responded only with confusion. “What?! How did you-?” He stepped forward to grab it, only to be side stepped. He had no spoken defense. Anything he said, like ‘I need that’ and ‘that’s mine’ would technically be lying.

“You wish me to return it?” The sheep asked, raising a brow. “Is it yours?” He flipped through the pages, mostly blank, but a lot of messy writing at the beginning. A journal that was left incompeted before its time. “Ekko… A number of days ago, one of our especially vocal members went missing. He only went out for a short trip. Said he’d be writing what he saw down.” The fancily dressed man twirled a finger through his fluffy locks, then grinned, casting his foreboding gaze back to Casper. “Well, I guess I know what happened to him… Or I can assume what happened. Care to explain?”

Those yellow eyes… A metaphorical sword was now hanging by a thread above Casper’s head. Knowing full well to speak the truth, even if it wouldn’t be believed, Casper explained, “He was killed… An Amalgamate killed him near the town of Tracks. I was there.” It was just a few days ago, yet it felt so long ago. “I’ve been planning to visit the Coalition, so I used this as an opportunity. By returning the journal here, since I couldn’t bring his whole body.”

The sheep paced around Casper once more. The Sphynx did his best to pay attention to him, lest he steal something else; his hand was even on the grip of his gun, making sure it wasn’t seized. The coy sheep nodded, “Something to mourn him by? I see… The Imperials do it with their IDs, the Holy Divers carry on their ally’s weapons… The Xha-Laotan do it with their ally’s jewelry. Likewise, the whole of the Coalition does it with whatever they can to remember the fallen.”

Casper had nothing to add to that. But then, to his surprise, the sheep handed the journal back.

“I suggest you bring it to our leader on the bridge. Tell Awassi sent you.” He walked off with a swagger. “Take a tour first, why don’t you?”

An awassi named Awassi, how curious… Casper took the journal, taking a big sigh of relief. It felt as though a gun to his head was holstered. Putting the journal back into his rucksack, he noticed something was added to the bag, sticking out of the zipper. It was a folded up flier… Quickly, Casper unfolded it.

A map, several actually. One from the side of Terminus, the other from an aerial view. Not only that, but written on the side of it, was a small note. Written in elegant writing.

“It’s easy to get lost here. You’re new, use this.” -Awassi

Awassi looked over his shoulder, locking eyes with Casper once more. Then, continued to walk off without a care in the world.

Casper pocketed the map, then turned back to his destination. “Awassi…? Who are you?” He said, before stepping forth, into the beating heart of Terminus.