Such was the intimacy of the simulation, that Freyr’s feeling of anguish carried over to her real body. It was if she’d just sneezed in one place and found herself in another. She saw the harsh lights of the Barb’s staging area above, with a drone hovering in the corner of her vision. Quite like the rig, she could hear klaxons sounding in the distance. 

When her vitals indicated it was safe, the drone lowered slightly and freed her from the harness. The familiar faces of a junior researcher and Masgard Xandrus loomed over her, cutting out the light. “Dr Lang, are you alright?” Masgard asked, giving her hand a light squeeze. At first she struggled to speak, her throat bone-dry. “The...uplink.” She croaked, carefully levering her body into a sitting position on the table. Someone handed her a bottle of water, which she drank greedily.

“The uplink!” She shouted once she was able. She took Masgard’s hand and jumped down unsteadily onto the floor.

“We tried to retrieve the full packet as soon as it became available, but the console went dark before we could.” Dr Zimmermann called back, from the holo-map across the room. Several of the scientists who had previously been in the simulation huddled around him, but looked to Freyr for direction. She felt her face and fists crumple up. “No!” She snarled, swiping a toolbox off a work table and onto the floor. It opened with a crack and metal tools clattered out.

She crouched on the floor with her head in her hands, trying to gather some thoughts. After a moment, Freyr reached into her pocket for another pill, and watched it jiggle in her shaking hand before swallowing it down.

“Everyone is out. Cut the link NOW!” Someone commanded over the loudspeaker. “Someone tried to hack us.” Masgard offered helpfully, crouching next to Freyr and patting her back. “Come on, let's get you sat down so someone can take a look at you.”

As Freyr accepted help getting shakily back to her feet, she spotted 595 levering her legs over the side of her harness table nearby. The Agent nodded at her, seemingly distracted.

“Rig self-destruct complete. Closing connection with the FOB now.” Dr Wetherall announced.