Freyr pantomimed thinking for a second, stroking her imaginary beard. “I’ve never been up on stage at a music thing before.” She raised one eyebrow as the singer, not too far away now, ripped his sweat-drenched shirt off, swung it around his head and chucked it into the crowd. A dozen arms reached out to grab it at the front. The band started playing slower but harder as they transitioned from one song to the next.

“Ah, there you are!” A voice called out from the throng around them. Alderney pushed through the crowd and stepped aside to let Wallace through. She’d somehow changed her stola for a lightweight purple jumpsuit. “You’re all wet! Good, well, I think we should head back inside now. I’m afraid we’re attracting a bit of attention…Dr Lang?”

Freyr pushed through the crowd towards the stage. Liquid from the bottle she’d stolen spilled all over her mask when someone’s elbow jogged her as she tried to drink. “Hey, cool outfit!” Someone shouted in her ear. “You’re an amazing crowd, and we’re Precept. You’re listening to the early 21st, right here on Réunion beach!” The singer shouted as the song ended. “This one is for our new government - fuck you!”
The band started [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYGY6B0Xv5I]playing again[/url], playing with new vigour. Lights shone up into the sky from around the stage, and large gouts of smoke puffed out and around the ensemble. Freyr pushed on towards the front.

Wallace just smiled as Freyr ran away, then looked at the two Rothians. “I’m going to put a shield out, but we should really leave soon. Want to head back to the ship and I’ll collect Dr Lang?” As she spoke, a subtle oil-slick bubble extended from the partly visible Cradle ship to encompass the concert within it. If you were listening carefully, you could hear a sound like undersea cables being pulled taut.