I strode back to the podium, my heart pounding in my chest. The crowd's clamor faded as I approached, their eyes locking onto me with a mix of fear, curiosity, and confusion. The silence that followed was heavy, pregnant with unspoken questions.

Taking a deep breath, I gripped the edges of the podium, my knuckles turning white. "We will not stay here to endanger you, if that is your wish," I declared, my voice carrying across the room with more strength than I felt. "We will take our people and go. But..." I slammed my hand down, the sharp crack echoing through the room. Several people jumped, their faces etched with surprise and unease. "I know that each and every one of you owes Alec your lives."

My gaze swept across the sea of faces, searching for Marlene. I found her at the back, her hands resting on the shoulders of a man with a weathered face and hard eyes. Dave. With a quick gesture, I summoned him to the stage.

I wrenched Dave around to face the crowd, my fingers digging into the greasy fabric of his shirt collar. Gasps rippled through the assembled townsfolk as they recognized the former raider leader, the man who had once threatened their very existence.

"Tell them, Dave," I snarled, my breath hot against his ear. "If Alec hadn't stopped you, what would have happened to these people?"

Dave's lips peeled back from his yellowed teeth in a feral grin. "We'd have butchered every last one of 'em that resisted. Taken what we wanted, who we wanted. Burned this whole fuckin' town to ash."

I released him with a shove, sending him staggering. Turning back to the podium, I slammed my fist against the weathered wood, the crack echoing like a gunshot.

"There it is," I bellowed, my voice raw. "Alec saved all your lives. Every man, woman and child in this room would be dead or worse if not for him."

The impact of my words was visible. Some shifted uncomfortably, shame coloring their cheeks. Others remained defiant, their jaws set and arms crossed. But I could see the first cracks appearing in their resolve, the seeds of doubt taking root.

In the tense silence that followed, I knew the battle for their trust and cooperation was far from over. But as I stood there, facing down their fear and prejudice, I felt a flicker of hope ignite in my chest. It was a start.

"How about you, Dave?" I pressed, turning back to the former raider, grabbing him by his shirt once more and pulling him forward. "You've known what Alec was since the moment you stood here on trial, isn't that right?"

He nodded, his eyes meeting mine unflinchingly. "True, that's true. Wasn't hard to figure out."

"And you, a hardened criminal, out for only yourself—"

"That's a bit fuckin' harsh," he retorted, but I cut him off with a sharp gesture.

"Someone who kills and pillages and murders with abandon, what do you think of Alec?"

"Leggo of my fuckin' neck, and I'll tell you," he growled, his voice low and dangerous.

I released him, shoving him forward with a snort of derision.

Dave sauntered forward to take my place, his movements languid and insolent. He leaned against the podium, surveying the room with a smirk. Ragger's growl reverberated in the charged air, but Dave paid the warning no heed.

"Look, I ain't a saint," he began, his voice rough and unpolished. "I ain't ever pretended to be a saint. I've done what I had to do to survive, and I'm not sorry for it. But..." He paused, his brow furrowing as he sought the right words. "Having said that, I don't think I'd have turned out that way with a bit of hope. I was never very good at making decisions, honestly. It's a real wonder that I ended up leading a group of raiders. Sheer luck, or unluck, that."

He fell silent for a moment, his gaze distant as he lost himself in thought.

"You are all better folks than me, I know that, you know that. We can put that out in the open, that's a'ight, really. But you all, all of you, had some hope. You had each other. You turned out a bit better than I did. But..." His voice softened, a note of wonder creeping into his tone. "Alec saw something in me, and he spared me. And he saw something in all of you, which is why he stayed here with you. I don't know about y'all, but that gives me hope. And I'll tell you something else—I fought him, out there—" He pointed, past the walls, past the gates beyond.

"On your front door. I have never fought such a vicious beastie in my life. I was wholly prepared to die. But then... I didn't. And yeah, I had my suspicions when y'all put me on trial. But Alec, he looked past everything, and saw me. Saw somethin' in me. Nobody's ever done that before, not since before Starfall."

He straightened, his eyes boring into the crowd. "Alec saw past the surface. Past the filth and cruelty and bloodstained hands. He saw a man where no one else bothered to look. And if he could do that for me..."

Dave jerked his chin at the townsfolk, his expression challenging. "Imagine what he sees in all of you. The potential. You'd be fools to throw that away."

"I don't know about y'all, but that gives me a bit of hope. A desire to be a better man. And if you've got someone that has to bring monsters—" He pointed at the changelings, who scowled at his term for them. "—and real monsters—" He jabbed a thumb towards his own chest. "—and humanity together, you're gonna need someone who sees all sides. The man that can see past masks and monsters to see what we can't see ourselves. I don't know about y'all, but I'm sick of this life. I'm sick of hiding, I'm sick of running, I'm sick of disrespecting the memory of my lil' Allie's daddy by justifying doing horrible shit, day in and day out."

He looked back at me. "I'm done fuckin' runnin'. We got a chance to take the fight to them? If it comes down to staying here or leaving with you, I'm going with you."

Dave turned back to the crowd, his voice carrying across the chamber. "Most of my crew'd kill to get into a proper outfit. They'd make damn good grunts. Need shit done? Pay 'em well, and you'll have their loyalty, through and through."

I stepped back to the podium, shouldering Dave aside.

"That's a discussion for another time," I said, my words tumbling out in a rush. "Look, we have something here. We do - our group back home, they know all about AEON. We have files we've collected from military installations. We know how to activate it, interface with it, run it, transport it, control it. And look!" I swept my arm around the room. "Look how many of your fellows, people you've lived and worked beside for years, were Turncoats all along! They never hurt you! Bent down in the dirt, just like you. Shouldered the load, just like you. This is a turning point, a chance to actually do something! But we need Alec! Alec is the key to defeating-"