“Ok, sure thing. We’ll just talk later.” 595 flipped from smiling sweetly at the Speaker to fixing Freyr with the trademark glare she knew so well now. Freyr withered a bit from the giddy heights of privilege under the Agent’s gaze, but still had the presence of mind to dismiss her team. “It’s alright - I’ll be fine, you guys go on ahead. I’ll catch up.” Freyr smiled encouragingly to the people around her as the Speaker led her away.

Freyr didn’t feel comfortable enough to take a seat when the strange Rothian led her into the room. So she just stood awkwardly opposite the speaker, fingers interlocked in front of her waist, listening for Roth’Orsa to begin.

She nodded politely at the Speaker’s first question, then chuckled morosely when she realised what this was about. “I know they will force me to tell them whatever i tell you.” Freyr ran a hand through her hair and looked into the distance for a moment. The weight on her shoulders was unbearable, and she had no idea which choice was right at this point. It was all just too much. 

Eventually, Freyr turned off her implants. She blinked a couple of times to clear the cloudiness from her vision before looking back at the Speaker. 

“I don’t [b]know[/b] anything about them, is the short answer. Ever since being inducted into the government I’ve heard...stories, I guess, about shadows controlling the Cradle from New Antioch, or somewhere beyond the Border. But I never gave them any serious thought until this all started. Now, they own my department and who knows what else, and the Agent has barely left my side for weeks.” Freyr stopped and sighed, breathing deeply to calm herself. She massaged the bridge of her nose, then chopped her hand down in front of her.

“There is [b]something[/b] going on behind the scenes, I can feel it. But everyone, including me, is too terrified to do anything. Who knows what they’re capable of? I have...people, counting on me to stay alive and figure all this out.” [i]Do not cry, do not cry - not in front of the Speaker.[/i] Freyr thought to herself.