Freyr nodded feverishly. “Exactly. We need answers. This could be our last chance.” She turned from Vreta to look at the Agent, who stood with one arm vaguely extended towards the transit station. 

The arm dropped, clapped against her thigh. 595 cocked her head slightly and took one step forward. Vreta was acting quite uncharacteristically. The Rothian she knew would have jumped at the chance to get out after everything they’d just experienced.

“What’ve you done with the real Vreta, huh?” 595 asked, then chuckled grimly. None of this was making any sense. They said in the Vault that the Cradle could sense the Navigator, so why was it still fighting? She hated to admit it, but Freyr’s brilliant mind seemed more capable of solving these mysteries than all of the Institute’s codex fragments. That was one of the reasons 595 had been attached to the scientist in the first place. 

Not the main reason, but one of them.

She had to keep Freyr alive for now, but there was no guarantee the Vault was any safer than in the sim. At least if she was still logged in here, they might be able to preserve her somehow...But 595 had been summoned back to Alpha! She couldn’t be in two places at once.

A sleek chrome train pulled silently up to the station. Some of the internal lights were flickering, but otherwise it looked ready to go. “Well?” Freyr asked, hands on hips. She felt sick with anxiety, but pure adrenaline and the hope of finding out about her family drove Dr Lang on.

595 sighed. “Fine! What about you?” She asked, looking at Dr Girard. “I’ll be Ok, but I have to get out of here...I’m sorry…” The junior researcher sniffled, stumbling towards the transit station.

“Ok. Tell the Vault we’re en route to GCHQ.”