“They look like they’re getting ready.” Flyers were coming out of a garage within the facility and positioning near laboratory exits. Esen stood at the fenceline, discussing the movements inside with two others from the Remainder. The protesters behind and around them were comfortably arranged in the loose chaos of the first phase.

“They’ve probably found some of the zerite phronium tags on our squoosh ammo. They’re not attached to any clear purpose, so it’s not an obvious threat, but the facility protocol is extremely sensitive.” Quietly, lab staff crossed the short distances from door to vehicle almost unnoticeably, like finishing a quick errand. “Yeah, they definitely found them. We still have more to send over the fence. They’ll want to prioritize evacuation. I don’t think they’ll be able to gather them all before they clear out. Having any extras around should help our defenses.”

Some of the flyers started leaving, soaring off unhindered. “This is it,” muttered Esen, “it won’t be long until we face control confrontation.”

“They want the staff out before the situation blows up.” They couldn’t see all the exits from where they were, but one of them was keeping count of how many flyers were leaving. There were some call-and-response chants running through the crowd, keeping people focused, connected, and courageous.

A boltball launcher squeezed through the crowd toward them, with one carrier and one attendant with ammo inside his coat. “We got whistlers,” said the ammo bearer. “Want to shoot one over?”

“Yes, I do,” said Esen.

“Okay, check this out. This isn’t backyard stock anymore,” said the carrier. He hoisted it toward the trajectory, and an adjunct assemblage of small interconnected modular construction blocks whirred into activity, Vedani stuff. This squoosh launcher could create its own tailwind, sending the boltball farther, with more accuracy. She was shown the hold, the trigger, and the trajectory. The fence was so high, this could not be a good place. Esen noticed the little embedded glint of precious material in the projectile as they loaded. She shot, and a serene smile spread across her face as it cleared. The launcher pair patted her on the back and continued threading along through the crowd. She turned her head, keeping one eye to the inside of the fence, and the other to the outer edge of their horde – feeling, like this moment, suspended between.

Out came the swarm, seemingly from nowhere. People ran bent over with arms splayed, carrying signs and gear. They flowed in from a few directions, originating from points that must have been tucked away in folds of the land, to form up outside the fence of the biological research station. This was one of the most remote areas in the high-industry Expansion 6 Federet. These people should have been seen coming from very far away. By the time the staff were aware of the situation, the demonstrators were massed outside of the fence, and there was a stadium full.

Within the facility’s established emergency response system, the combination of numbers and proximity already ranked medium threat. Their projects were sensitive, delicate and volatile, with consequences of disturbance.

The perimeter monitors became the central fascination. While lab staff were recalling their failsafe procedures, they came to stare at screens full of people. There was a pervasive hush while everyone tried to figure out what was really happening, and what they might need to do.

This piece of paper was left behind in a tent, in the great meadow.

It’s been so long since the great cataclysm of our lifetimes took away our beautiful planet of Hirylien. Some of us held the memory of that place so dear that it became our lives ever since. Now we’re the bullet in a beast too big to comprehend, eyeing the vulnerability of a power so all-encompassing that most don’t even perceive it. What we do may only be one small thing, but it was impossible until we carved our stairway step by step into the side of the mountain. This could take away only one weapon, break only one illusion, but here we, the Remainder, may very well triumph over what nearly destroyed us all. Then, we can make peace with our ghosts by giving our strength to the life which yet waits to be lived. We offer our breath so that others may breathe, as our loved ones did once, without the threat of this menace. We have forged the keys to unlock every door, discovered the fine print between the lines, examined the blueprints of it all, the documents, so many documents. The help we have – the allies, the brave hearts – it’s beyond anything we could have imagined at first – and we are also just a piece of their picture, which makes this feel more real. This is really happening. I’m thankful, so thankful, for these ordinary people who’ve left their homes because they know this is a cause for humanity; thankful for these beings of other dimensions who aligned with us, relations who want to help because they want to do something right. I hope we do right by them, and each other, and everyone. It’s better, easier that Raev isn’t here, even if this is his moment. We might actually pull this off. The cooperation that’s brought us here, that supports us here, it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. I believe.