You really surprised me.

​ The battle was over far sooner than I had imagined. The royal forces of Alpha Devon soon regained control of the entire mine. The rebels from the northern sector were now prisoners. As the slaves from the southern sector were not engaged in the fight, we were safe. But a profound uneasiness settled in my gut. With Alpha Devon in command of the mine, our hard-won control evaporated. What would he do with us now, as military representative? I had to talk to him. I made my way to the temporary command center. Dawn was fast approaching, and a leaden blanket of clouds was pressing down upon the landscape. The jagged outlines of the mine were softened in the grim, grey light. The air was still heavy with the acrid smell of gunpowder and the ever-present stench of coal dust. The wooden shack that serves as the command center is lit from within, its windows casting long, rectangular pools of light onto the ground. Two soldiers in dark green uniforms were lounging near the door, their rifles