"... If you want to speak to authority, contact the Prime Minister. Ms. Iedereen is quite an experienced diplomat." We have you now, kabroia. The ghostly spectrogram in a portion of his field of vision displayed separate sine waves synchronizing. A wry smile crossed Tartalo's features as the information was relayed up the chain of command. He noted the immediate assignment of Operative X7B to secure the HVT by General Millheiser. Unfamiliar with that particular agent, Tartalo attempted to access their dossier only to be met with a flashing red chyron across his mind's eye that read [color=red][b]CLASSIFIED[/b][/color]. Interesting, Tartalo reflected as his attention returned to his captive audience. "Ezezagunen lurra, otso lurra. A saying ingrained in the nature of my people. Land of strangers, land of wolves." Merse's ear twitched in response to Tartalo's words. "I wonder; is Faith something you value? Is it a universal precept, or something idiosyncratic to human nature." "I acknowledge that there are higher powers even I cannot attempt to comprehend. However, the term god is used too loosely these days." "I speak not of gods, but of Faith. Gods balk in comparison to its power. With it, men can act against the grand indifference of Nature. Or the unnatural. But yes, of course. Prime Minister.. Iedereen, was it? How convenient it must be to have such an auspicious figurehead at your disposal. An official head of state upon which to foist the sword of Damocles. That was her hijacking countless novelas across the globe, wasn't it?" Tartalo's words dripped with satisfaction. "It grieves me to inform you that Ms. Iedereen has been deposed and at this very moment, she is finding herself in a situation very much like your own. Although I doubt she is dealing with someone willing to humor her as I have humored you. Now, do you have any faith in Ms. Iedereen? In her actions? Does she stand firm and allow violence to continue against her city and those she was elected by? How many have been injured thus far in this quasi-invasion? Does she cooperate and do what you have refused to do thus far, putting the people she represents before her own selfish gain? Does she attempt to shift the focus away from herself? She wouldn’t happen to have anything incriminating on you, would she?” "Nope. I'm certain she does not." Merse added with a touch a smugness. “If she is intelligent, she’ll accept whatever offer is provided and begin a peaceful transition of power. If she is lucky, she just might find that she enjoys the new hand that controls her. Now, let us see how much use for you remains. Is there anything we should know about Ms. Iedereen?"