Okay, so how does the solar panel... work. Do they just. Set it on top of the frunk or something, where does it go, how does it hook to the battery?

The solar panel looks fairly simple to set up, and there's a slot under it for the battery to charge in. As to where they put it, it's not... immediately obvious. Morgan attempts to assist.

"I.... think it goes on top of the car, maybe?? See, there's, like, these little. Hooky thingies. Up there, and on the panel? But I'm not seeing where it hooks into the car itself. .... Do we... Swap batteries, maybe???"

"I guess that'd make sense? Attach it there, charge this battery, then swap with the used battery when needed... Is there anything about overcharging a battery, is that a thing, I've heard of that being a thing but it wasn't a thing for things that ran on batteries back on the SEEDS ships."

"I have no idea. How would we... check."

"I also have no idea! I didn't have to worry about that when I was just walking."

"..... we can just leave it up there, and if it explodes, well, we have another one? I think this is still faster than the birds if we need to stop and walk while charging. Though I guess I don't.... know how long that'd take...."

"...we'll figure it out, I suppose. Though, uh, just in case we're about to be massive idiots, let's see if we can find an instructions manual somewhere or something."

Morgan goes and looks in the trunk again.

"... I'm not seeing any instruction manuals back here..."

Back seats? Under any seats? That funny little compartment in front of the passenger seat?

The not-so-secret compartment is empty, and there aren't any manuals obviously out and about, or they'd have found them already.

They turn out to all be in the funny little compartment. Along with a little checklist that looks like it was written by Yvette herself, for... them. Huh.

...for them to read? Like... Zash and Morgan? In case she wasn't there? Is that what this is?

Zash is so incredibly in love with this woman he needs to take a moment to recover from how in love he is with her before he can call Morgan over to read the fucking checklist.

That is exactly what this is, yep. It is also color coded. Different parts of the checklist refer to different manuals, which have appropriately colored tabs opening to the correct page.

Morgan is busy with the not-so-secret compartment.

"Why didn't you tell me we had a secret compartment!!!" she says. "This is for hiding a person in, right? ... I'm going to put snacks and a water bottle in there, hold on..."

"Vernon—uh, you never met him but he was Yvette's guide—made sure we had that to hide her if needed but we used it this one time to hide me from the Julai Military Police. But come over here, there's a checklist," what's on the checklist he is maybe hugging the checklist a little bit but he should also, like, read the checklist.

"What? Holy shit!!"

She of course comes to peer over Zash's shoulder at the checklist.

The tidy color-coded checklist is mostly about regular maintenance that goes into every day stuff, and answers a lot of their questions! For example, the batteries will not allow themselves to be overcharged, and will not explode in ordinary operation. Apparently she usually would just leave the spare one charging until she swapped it out with the one in the car itself. One of the Strange Devices in the trunk is a chemical repository that holds extremely concentrated amounts of different chemicals, some of which it can combine for them, see associated manual color coded in purple for further details. Another of the Strange Devices is for fixing a flat tire, apparently, it's some kind of goo that'll fill the hole and meld with the tire itself for a firmer seal until they can get a replacement.

There are also directions to a hidden envelope of money, located under the silicon-weave fabric of the back of the passenger seat, should they happen to need it.

Zash loves her. So. Much.

Yvette Marlowe if you are dead he will bring you back and then kill you. ...and then bring you back again because HOLY SHIT HE HAS RESURRECTION POWERS and this fantasy has gotten away from him. Point is you had better not be dead, you cannot be dead, you can't can't can't—

"... Uh. You okay?"

"I need her to not be dead. I don't know what I'll do if she's dead, I can't, I can't—"

Oh man, this is so not Morgan's area of expertise.

"... We'll get moving again and see, okay? And not worry about it until we know one way or another."

He tries to take a calming breath, a slow one, because he noticed himself starting to hyperventilate and getting a panic attack right now would be the opposite of useful and would work not at all to rescue Yvette. Slow breaths, slow breaths, one after the other, focus on breathing, don't focus on anything else...

"Right. Sorry about that. Let's follow the checklist and go."

"It's cool. I... I get it."

And then NOPE they will both not be dealing with ANY FEELINGS RIGHT NOW it is time to just go.

Yeah. Yeah, they can go. As fast as they reasonably can, which is faster than if they had to ride birds, and they don't need to stop very often, so. Yeah.

She can't be dead. She can't, she can't, can't, can't, can't...