Summary
Disputes over the temple treasure complicate the party's alliance with the resistance, but Medina's rescue remains the priority. The group boards a commercial living skyship only to be caught in a Hive raider attack before it can execute its seizure plan.
Detailed Narrative
The party returns to the resistance's City 6 base with rescued captives and the temple's enormous treasure. The military diversion has gone well, and several Nardic bases have been badly damaged. The resistance begins dispersing freed people in smaller groups through safer parts of the undercity.
Success immediately creates political friction. Resistance leaders argue that the temple's wealth was extracted from the local population and should materially support the uprising. Baby and Gaby resist surrendering the treasure and are evasive about its true amount. The dispute does not destroy the alliance, but it changes the tone: the off-world rescuers are now clearly also profiteers, and the resistance no longer treats their motives as purely altruistic.
The party decides not to spend weeks methodically clearing City 6. Medina remains the priority, and the strongest intelligence points to the capital. They need transport that can plausibly move through Nardic-controlled airspace.
They board a massive commercial living skyship carrying hundreds of passengers and crew. The vessel is both a means of transportation and an opportunity for Baby's constant reconnaissance/theft. The party spreads across decks while assessing crew, access routes, and how the ship might eventually be commandeered.
Before they can execute a clean seizure plan, a new enemy appears: Hive raiders, insectoid attackers distinct from the Nardic regime, crash into/board the ship from the rear. The attack forces the party into an unexpected defensive role alongside the Nardic-aligned crew and armed stewardesses.