Tee sat in the back seat of the cab. After the kneecapped guard named Sterrick had been flown off, another vehicle had been called in, and again they’d marveled at the way transportation worked here. They’d wondered how the architecture functioned here. The floors hung above each other with hundreds of feet in between, so initially Tee had figured that every floor was no thicker than a city’s skyline could be. However, looking at the floor above them when they passed an airlane, the realized this was far from the truth. City blocks were almost cuboid, as thick as they were long. Every city block was like an ant hive, dug through with tunnels and housing. The top surface was only scratching the… well…

Because of this, and the fairly low surface area combined with the large population on each floor, vehicles had to be able to fly by any part of a floor -- bottom, top and sides -- in order to pick up passengers. Where possible, people would embark on floor walls, where piers and berths jutted out from the walls by the thousands. Some buildings had landing pads on the roofs. Sometimes, a vehicle would descend to street level to pick someone up, but it wasn’t done much. Maneuvering between the tall buildings was a hassle, and more than a little dangerous. Aside from the possibility of collision with a careless driver, the driverless cabs were, apparently, often hijacked by people hitching a ride between floors. Tee saw more than one cab with someone who’d strapped themselves to the top of the car, precariously swaying back and forth as the vehicle took off. 

This had led to vehicles that were a lot more boxy than the ones they were used to, with a central tube for passengers so the vehicle could rotate this way and that while the passengers stayed upright. It was an odd system, but it seemed to work. They’d told the other guard -- whose name turned out to be Checks -- to sit in front. Tee didn’t trust their captive for a second, and made sure Checks was fully aware of the pistol pointed at his spine. While they flew between the floors, Tee interrogated him, about this place, about the Queen. They needed the Queen of Black-62 to cooperate, because it was their best lead to finding Ellis, and Tee was more than prepared to tear the whole city apart to find him and Mal. Starting at the top was a lot more efficient than hiding and going native, they felt. Dangerous? Sure. Did they care? Absolutely the fuck not. 

They pulled the hoodie a little tighter. It wasn’t the warmest item of clothing, and it had a lot of bumpy parts to it that poked and prodded, which Tee realized were all kinds of modifications that, presumably, one would have to be connected to to make use of. They’d have to consider getting some of those if they were going to be stuck here for a while. Tee had always been a proponent of transhumanism as a potential avenue to deal with the frustration that was their own body. It had never felt exactly right, and research into hormone therapies had made it very clear to them that this was not an avenue for them. But here? Maybe there were options. 

Tee shook their head. Focus. They were probably going to be going into a hostile environment with a hostage, and they needed to be sharp and on-mission. Asking the Queen for help was harder to do from a position of aggression, but the other option was submission. Beg for help or demand it? Tee took a deep breath. They were not in the mood to beg. They were here to fix things, and anyone getting in their way was going to get their shit kicked in.

The compound came into view, something Tee only knew because Checks pointed it out. The Queen’s castle, or palace, or lair, or whatever she wanted to call it, seemed to be very unremarkable from a distance, a collection of buildings on top of the floor that, presumably, went a lot deeper. The only reason you could even tell they were all part of the same complex was the fact that they were all built from the same light concrete, and that there was only one entrance for people coming in on foot, with an incredibly large steel door at the front, the intimidating kind. Tee couldn’t help but wonder what kind of drama Queen ran this floor. Were looks so important to her? Was it all for show or was it for her ego? They were about to find out. There was a massive mural spray-painted on the wall, part unintelligible graffiti. But they recognized what looked like a swarm of drones, and a slogan. “THE QUEEN SAYS: ‘FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT’.” Well, that was clear, at least. Ish. 

The cab landed in front of the building, one of the few places where doing so was easy. The landing pad in front of the Queen’s compound was elevated so pedestrians could easily go about their way without fear of being caught in a vertical car accident. The descent was smooth, and Tee hadn’t even realized they’d landed until there was a slight jolt. 

The doors slid open and Checks looked back at them with a questioning look in his eyes, to which Tee responded with a nod. They both got out, and Tee realized that the slight shake to the car was due to a clamp with an exaggerated lightning bolt stenciled onto it, which began to hum softly. They turned back to Checks and motioned for him to keep going. The gun was still pointed at him, hidden in one of the hoodie’s overly large pockets. 

The front gate was the only way in for pedestrians, sure, but all over the compound, Tee noticed panels opening and closing, drones and vehicles entering and exiting all over, and most of them, as far as they could tell, unmanned. The Queen was running a highly automated system, and Tee wondered how far that kind of network could span in a world like this. As they approached, they noticed several patrolling guards, as well as cameras that spanned the perimeter wall. There was even a small moat, which seemed ridiculous. This place was definitely a Queen’s castle. 

“Look,” Checks said, “you wanna talk to the Queen, yeah?”

“Yes,” Tee said quickly. Soon, one of the guards would probably recognize Checks and fail to recognize Tee, and they’d have to make a decision. They weren’t in the mood for small talk. Clearly, neither was Checks. 

“Look, you turn yourself in, and you can just talk to her. You seem desperate, she’s got a soft spot for desperate people. Maybe she’ll forgive you for kneecapping Sterrick, too.”

“Would you take that risk?” Tee hissed through their teeth.

“Me? Yea, but I got a deal with a guy from the Resurrectors.” What the hell did that even mean? 

“Say that, hypothetically, I don’t,” Tee said. Checks shrugged and kept walking. “What would you say my odds are if I surrender?”

“Higher than if you go in guns blazing, I can tell you that,” Checks said, casually. The guards had finally noticed them, and Tee walked a little closer to their hostage. These men seemed to be well trained. They didn’t wave, they didn’t say anything, only stood to attention, their boxy rifles at the ready but not yet pointed at them. Tee bit their lip. 

“What kind of guarantee do I have that you’re not just going to shoot me immediately?”

“I’ve seen that kind of desperation before.” Another shrug. “I empathise. The Queen might do too. People always get her wrong.” More riddles, more questions, and more doubts. Tee took a deep breath, then sighed. 

“I’m keeping my gun. Tell them.” Tee pulled the gun away from their prisoner’s back, who visibly relaxed. Checks raised both his hands, and Tee realized that this was the moment of truth. They were going to either get help, or regret trusting someone. 

“Checks, Black, Oh Four Five One,” Checks said loudly, and the two guards visibly relaxed and nodded at the two of them to get closer. Checks looked at Tee over his shoulder. “Don’t do anything stupid with that gun. You threaten the Queen and you’re going to be dead so fast your ancestors will get whiplash.” Tee nodded. 

“Who’s the visitor? Where’s Sterrick?” the nearest guard asked, clearly still suspicious. She seemed to be the higher ranked of the guards, and gave a hand signal to two patrols coming from either direction. They stopped, but didn’t turn around or leave. Great. 

“Sterrick’s on his way to medical,” Checks said casually. “Small skirmish. No other casualties. No civvies.” The woman nodded, but said nothing, waiting for the rest of the story. “This one is here to talk to the Queen. They’ve got urgent questions that couldn’t wait.” Checks looked at Tee again. “Armed and unwilling to give up weapons.”

“Stupid,” the guard said. “One wrong move and I turn you into greasepaint. With me?” She turned on her heel and walked off. Checks nodded at Tee to follow her, and went his own way. Tee wondered if they’d see him again. He’d been cooperative so far, and he had been a good shield. Mostly. Without him there, someone they knew by name, they felt more exposed, even with the gun in their pocket. They’d checked it in the cab. It was a strange design, immediately recognizable to them as a gun, but if there was a safety, they couldn’t see it. It had a dial on the thumb side, which they hadn’t fiddled with, and a very small button above the trigger that tingled when their finger touched it. 

The guard walked next to them with their back straight, and led them through the compound. There were guards all over, and Tee quickly realized that they’d never have survived attacking this place. They would’ve gotten overwhelmed, overrun through sheer numbers, and every inch of the compound was either guarded physically or had a camera on it. The whole place ran like a well-oiled machine, they noticed. There were non-combatants all over, some who were moving cargo, and a lot of them carrying tablets and similar. This place looked like it was a company, a military base and a public living space, all in one. Everyone was doing something somewhere.

They were led through several halls and hallways, until they finally got to a door. The guardswoman kept an eye on them while she opened the door with a kind of card. Inside was a large table that had what seemed to be a holographic display of a city block, and a very large man standing behind it. He looked like he could probably throw Tee across a room without breaking a sweat. He was dressed casually, a black shirt that must have been custom made. His entire right arm was covered in tattoos, lines that looked like a circuit board. He looked up at the guard. 

“Guest for the boss, Shakes,” she said.

“Boss’s busy.” 

“I know, that’s why I brought ‘em to you.” The large man, Shakes, nodded. He was somewhere in his fifties, and if it wasn’t for the cold gleam in his eyes, Tee would have easily considered him to be some kind of enforcer. He waved his hand in the air making a complicated gesture, the tips of his fingers leaving faint trails as if he was painting the air itself. The display blipped out of existence. 

“What d’you want?” Shakes said, eyeing Tee. 

“I need to talk to the Queen. Something happened in her… territory, and I need to ask her about it,” they said, a lot less self-assured now that they were actually talking to someone in charge. “It’s important.”

“I’m sure it is. Boss is busy. What happened in ‘er territory?”

“Some kind of port--” Tee began when the door behind them slid open again and they immediately stepped sideways. Their sudden movement had caused Shakes’s hand, and the guard’s, to immediately go to their weapons. 

A woman stepped into the room. If it wasn’t for the heels, she would’ve been Tee’s size. Her brown hair was up in a bun, giving her a stern look, exacerbated only by a face that seemed to have been sculpted with sharp, high cheekbones and calculating eyes. When Tee looked into those blue pools, it was like the woman could read her mind. She was clearly the Queen, which would have been obvious from the outfit if nothing else, a white turtleneck with a black knee-length jacket. She had an air of authority to her that could make a city block kneel. The woman scanned her up and down, and squinted. 

“Who are you?” she asked, frowning. She looked like she was about to ask another question, but was interrupted when a small drone whirred over her shoulder and immediately the Queen’s eyes flicked to Tee’s pocket, and then up at their face again. “Gun,” she said. 

Everything happened at once. Shakes’ gun left his holster in reflex. In response, Tee immediately threw their hands up. “Wait!” they shouted, just in time for the gunshot from the guardswoman’s gun to drown out the sound of their voice. The force threw them forward into the large table, slamming into it hard before falling to the floor. 

“Fuck. Shakes, Mara. That was a bit of an overreaction, wasn’t it?” the Queen said to them in a very calm tone of voice. She seemed completely unfazed by the sudden and short burst of violence. 

“S’rry, ma’am,” Shakes said.

“Told them not to make a sudden move, ma’am,” Mara said, but her heart wasn’t in it. “Don’t abide threats to you.”

“Very kind, but you know I can take care of myself.” The Queen’s voice was softer than Tee had expected from her, they realized as they drifted away. The hole in the middle of their chest bloomed in a throbbing pain, though that was quickly starting to go away, too.

“Made me jumpy,” Shakes said, “Somethin’s off about them. Ma’am.” Well, he wasn’t wrong there. Tee didn’t belong here. And now, it seemed like they were going away.

“How’d they even get here?” the Queen said, kneeling next to Tee, and looking down at them with eyes whose sharpness hid a subtle hint of kindness. “Who are you?” she mumbled to herself, and then looked up at Shakes. “Get them a Deadstone and spool up a courier. I’ve got questions.”