Freyr smiled sympathetically at the soldiers that towered over her. They looked well rested, considering they’d stayed up all night with Memnon. Their eyes looked aged though, like they’d seen a millennia of sorrow. It made her wonder how many times they’d had to attend the vigil before. 

“Sorry, one sec.” Freyr paused the audio on her video call with the Datius before answering them. “Are you sure you’re up to this? You’re allowed a day off.” Thebes grimaced. “Not a chance, ma’am. This is far too important.” Freyr nodded appreciatively. “It certainly is...Tech 52 will get you strapped in.” She pointed a slender finger at a bright yellow drone, hovering above some of the harnesses.

Dr Lang turned back to Rareth’s holo. She briefly considered just telling her the main reason why, but didn’t know who might be listening. Hopefully she could read between the lines. “Owing to the urgency of our investigation, I've gained clearance to modify a trillion-credit mobile research command centre. One of only three in the galaxy, it’s now ready for the new language we found inside the sim. It’s also been violated with certain military modifications, on the insistence of our Captain. The camera doesn’t do it justice, but It’s much too large to deploy from FOB - we have to coordinate from a cargo bay right now.”

Movement on the corner of her vision distracted Freyr momentarily. The large doors to the bay had rolled back, and two military transports were now rolling into the space. Leading them was an open top buggy, crewed by Captain Andersen and a few senior crew members. Freyr turned back to Rareth hurriedly. “As for the scanner, i don’t think i can swing a trip to the surface right now. Things are a bit...tense. You’ll be able to ask the Captain yourself if you like.”

The buggy stopped nearby and Andersen marched stiffly over with her aides. She noticed the Datius’ holo and addressed her first. “Datius. Have you briefed Dr Lang already?” She looked at Dr Lang. “Two dozen marines have volunteered for this mission. Can I ask you to use them?”