The sound of a wave rushing into shore crescendoed till it was unmissable. That meant the Aquarii could tell there was something incoming. A distributed double handful of the very tallest among them were wearing cloaks, and they began to glow with color. Those around them noticed, and all the chants changed to, “We Won’t Stand For This!” As the chants continued, people bent over again and splayed their arms as they shuffled around. The horde parted to create aisles of visibility around each glowing figure, resembling a stadium crowd even more. Once lines of sight and areas of effect were established, people helped each other lay down on their backs, linking hands and arms in their sections.

Some of the Hirylien Remainder stayed standing, at their anchor corners and the fenceline. In the distant sky, Esen could now see points of emerging visibility: military hovers approaching in the distance. It had been a while since the last escape flyer took off from inside, like the lingering expectation after the last kernel of popcorn. Once the legion was laying stationary on the ground, the chanting subsided and the sound of long waves rose again. The dots in the air came closer, and the glow of the cloaked figures grew brighter.