The rebels who helped to recover the fallen and gathered the lonely yellow cores returned to the carrier. She avoided eye contact with them fearing they would see and feel how much she failed them as their princess and ally. Noticing Roskavna's form from the corner of her eye, Paeosfu lifted her head.

"This belongs to you. Thanks," the officer said, handing Paeosfu the yēoñogou. It had returned to a small size and the orbs were firmly attached to the center piece. "We couldn't find your original staff, and your bike was beyond repair. Cheer up, Princess. You have a new toy you can tinker with."

She gave Paeosfu a heavy pat on the shoulder before stepping onto the carrier herself. The vehicle rocked under her weight, but the hovering pads fired on high and quickly stabilized it. She signaled for them to move out.

Once they gained enough speed, Roskavna clapped her hands and pulled them apart to read the holographic report. She informed the rebels over the soft whirring of the motors, "Out of a hundred and nine rebels, forty-three have made it out alive. We've recovered fifty-one cores. I'll have a team return for a second recovery sweep. If you see your name, we leave base at my signal." A wave of moans and curses swept the vehicle as rebels saw their names appearing on the hologram.

Roskavna closed her hands into fists at the end of the report. She cleared her throat. "Heads up, T. We saved all the civilians. It was the dirty soldiers and their cheap tricks that took out our own."

The officer straightened up and slapped her shoulder with the palm of her hand. 

The rebels who could do the same repeated the motion. "The resistance is building. Soon we'll have more among our ranks. Those we saved would want to repay us with arms." She beamed. "Be happy, T. We've moved forward in the resistance against the Third and Fifth Rulers!"

Continue to Chapter 2