The courtyard had never been this alive.

By sunrise, the main square of Haven Ring—once a cracked freight yard littered with rusted pallets—had transformed into a gathering place. Tattered banners hung between the girders, each marked with the emblem of a connected outpost. Portable generators hummed beneath the low scaffolds, feeding power to makeshift consoles and long-range transmitters.

Evelyn stood at the center, overseeing the calibration of the comm arrays. Holographic screens ...