“So the trains aren’t running, checkpoints have been setup on the roads, and they’re also patrolling the mountain border?” Jade asked with a sigh as she leaned against the car’s window, idly watching the buildings fly past as it took them away from Runa’s shop and into the city beyond. “It seems pretty tight.”

“It makes sense,” Trim offered with a shrug. “The panic would have created a flood of people if they couldn’t contain the outbreak. The last thing they need is for whatever Rucille has dropped to spread out of control.”

Their ride was so quiet that was almost unsettling, the silence offering nothing that could pull their attention away from the problem. If there was a hole that they could curl up and hide in on offer, Nina would have firmly placed herself at the front of the line. How responsible she was for the whole issue was something that gnawed at her. It was easy to argue that this wouldn’t have happened if the two hadn’t met, but then again, Nina couldn’t control that. Was there blood on her hands or not? Even if she didn’t think so, maybe someone else would. Emotion tended to make people irrational.

“I know it’s difficult, but is there anything else you can think of?” Svanda asked her with a frown. “Anything more than what you’ve already told us?”

Shaking her head in response, Nina’s vision was locked on her feet as a million thoughts stampeded through her head. She’d been so concerned about Rucille finding them on Areinis that she hadn’t even considered the fact that she might not have even been there. It made sense when she considered the logic, and now she was kicking herself for not thinking of it. Rucille was ultimately driven by her research, and a whole plate of test subjects for her virus right beneath her feet would have been difficult to pass up. Too difficult, apparently, and it left Nina feeling somewhat foolish. Even when Ormain had set off after them she had constantly been thinking about Rucille’s sinister smile, putting her on a pedestal as the bigger issue which loomed over the immediate problems to address. In the end, the feeling hadn’t been mutual. Rucille had shown that her priorities lay elsewhere, and Nina had been left afraid of nothing but what turned out to be an impossibility.

“We need details,” Reina said after it became obvious that Nina wasn’t going to reply. “She couldn’t bring a whole lab down with her, so her resources must be limited. We don’t know how she distributed it or how well it spreads either, so let’s just take a step back and collect what we can. Svanda?”

Svanda’s eyes narrowed as she looked across the car’s interior, eyes focused on Reina in what seemed to be protest. Nina didn’t know what kind of exchange was happening, but something was obviously going on. She would have withered under the hard gaze if she was on the receiving end, but Reina instead met it with ease before shrugging. Apparently it was enough, because Svanda eventually sighed before slumping back in her seat with a look of resignation.

“Fine,” she said, closing her eyes before placing her fingers on her temples. “You’re coming with me though.”

Nina caught Reina’s sour reaction to the counter offer, but it was quickly hidden as her attention turned to the window. Nina followed her gaze to see nothing but a bland procession of blacks and greys, so maybe it was just her way of hiding the complicated expression on her face. Not that anybody else besides Svanda seemed to notice. Saela had her eyes closed while Jade and Aline spoke to each other in hushed tones. Even Trim seemed to be lost in thought. It was an easy place to be at when you could partly blame them for Rucille’s latest stunt, but Nina wasn’t about to let it consume her. They were in a position to make a difference, and they would need to do something about it if they were going to get what Julia needed anyway. Keeping their role in the whole ordeal under wraps while doing what they could was necessary, but also difficult. It would be a fine line to tread if they didn’t want to take on any pitchforks from locals that blamed them for what had happened. They had enough people coming after them as it was.

The first step was getting into the Westworks.

Well, getting out of it to be precise. Runa had told them that it was relatively easy to secure a one-way clearance to enter the quarantine zone, but getting out was a different story. Two-way clearances wouldn’t be issued from within if her information was correct, while they were also incredibly difficult to come across outside. How they were supposed to get their hands on one, Nina didn’t know. Alan was an option that they could explore, although she was sure that Reina didn’t want to be any deeper in his pocket than she already was. What other connections The Cloud Orchestra had within Terminus was still a mystery to her, but she had a suspicion that she would be finding out sooner rather than later.

“I think our safehouse here should be secure enough,” Reina said once she turned back to the group. “Finding somewhere new isn’t going to make it any more difficult than it already is for Ormain or Rucille to track us down.”

The news was well received, leaving Nina wishing that she had some clean clothes waiting for her. At least she would be able to take a break, however short it ended up being. She’d also have to ask about how she was supposed to help the group over the next few days, but it could wait until everyone had settled down a little. Being a passenger all over again was something that she desperately wanted to avoid, and her relatively clean bill of health for once put her in a position to make that a reality.

The thought about her health caused her to pause for a moment, wondering about Rucille’s latest victims as she subconsciously raised a hand to her chest. If what Rucille had injected into her was also the cause of the trouble at the Westworks, she had sympathy for each and every individual who ended up on the wrong end of it. Her experience had been something that would haunt her for the rest of her life, but the people of Terminus had always been the true target of the strain. How much worse was it for them?

If they survived, that was.

Nina was wondering if a quick death would actually be doing them a favour when Jade opened the door, stepping out onto the street without a word. She hadn’t even realised that the car had come to a halt due to being lost in thought, but now she took the opportunity to look up at their destination. The street wasn’t dissimilar from where Runa’s shop was with a string of three storey townhouses that stretched away on either side of them, but it did have charm. Painted concrete, occasional greenery, and even some timber features were all on display as Nina looked up and down the road, while there were even a few people loitering about. The buildings had their own sense of individuality, thankfully, a nice change from the bland swathe of offices they had been driving past before. If the weather was sunny she would maybe even have said that it was ideal. Clean and functional, the façades were devoid of clutter while still managing to look like homes.

The Cloud Orchestra’s slice of real estate among the array of colour was a neat strip of sky blue concrete, white steel framing the few dark windows which were spaced out across each floor. The entire design was punctuated by a bright red door that Reina was currently pushing her way through, and Nina smiled when she saw the small painted cloud sitting above it. Following the procession into the stuffy interior she was met by a staircase which took them up to the second floor, a collection of shiny grey cabinets and white benchtops forming a clean kitchen. Beside it was a simple living and dining space with a few desks pushed against the far wall, while a second flight of stairs stretched upwards to what she guessed were the bedrooms. Trim was already reaching for the windows to grant the space some much needed fresh air, but what surprised Nina was the fact that Reina had chosen to hang back by the top of the stairs.

“Now that you’re in, we’ll leave you to it,” she finally said before Svanda stepped beside her, a grim expression on her face. “Don’t go poking into anything, it’s better to keep your head down. Just wait for us.”

“Don’t want to come?” Svanda asked Trim with a wry smile. “Maybe you’d enjoy it.”

“Maybe I wouldn’t,” Trim scoffed as she opened a window before pausing. “Actually, I most certainly wouldn’t. Don’t say hi for me either.”

“Alright,” Svanda chuckled. “We’ll see you guys soon then.”

Nina watched as Reina and Svanda went back downstairs, stepping onto the street before ducking into the waiting car. Peeling away from the curb, the vehicle quickly disappeared around the corner, after which an audible sigh escaped from Trim’s lips.

“Is it really that bad?” Jade asked. “I thought it would be kinda interesting to go.”

“Don’t,” Trim replied as she sat down on the couch, shaking the fine layer of dust off the TV remote before frowning when it didn’t work. “It’s not worth it, so be thankful that you got a few days off.”

“They’ll be gone for a few days?” Nina asked. “Where are they going?”

Trim sighed as she picked a fresh battery out from a drawer in the coffee table, replacing the old one before finally switching the TV on. Looking over at Nina who stood by the staircase, she smiled to herself before patting the spot on the couch next to her.

“To get answers,” she said as Nina sat down, using the moment to put her feet up on the coffee table and sink back into the sofa. “The unfortunate part is that the answers come from a group of people who are notoriously difficult to deal with, even on Terminus. Don’t ever go along with Reina unless she asks, alright? They’ll chew you up and spit you out before you can even open your mouth, and that will only be the start.”

“Who are they?” Nina asked. She’d already guessed that The Cloud Orchestra had connections, but Trim’s comment made it seem like they were already scraping the barrel. “Why deal with them?”

“We don’t deal with them if we don’t have to, but there aren’t many people that can pull the right strings in a situation like this,” Trim said with a shrug. “As for who they are… they’re the Daerx Clan, one of the oldest and largest of Terminus’ traditional clans who operate their own slice of territory in the mountains. Together with the other top tier clans, they’re a powerhouse that could rival even the government if they wanted to. Not that they would ever form a united front, but you at least get the idea.”

“Can’t you ask a different clan then?” Nina asked after she thought about Trim’s statement, pausing to watch as Saela headed up towards the bedrooms for what she guessed would be one of her usual naps. “Why the… Daerx Clan?”

“Oh. Yeah. About that,” Trim said with a wry smile. “The Daerx Clan? They also happen to be Svanda’s family.”