Wallace turned her head a fraction of an inch to look at Marae. She smiled, then gulped, stretched her jaw, and spoke back to her in a flawless Rothian tongue. “Greetings. I’m honoured to meet you, Marae’Ano. Your reputation precedes you. My name is Wallace, Plenipotentiary for the great world of Outremer. Have you been well-treated?” To Freyr, the Plenipotentiary’s voice continued to be understandable and the same tone as before. Her lips just no longer matched what her implants were feeding back to her. 

Skopec clanked up next to her. “I can’t allow you to break lockdown on a whim and ride around with her. It’s not safe.” His voice was low and vitriolic. Freyr turned her head and looked up at him. She realised that his body language was that of a man who’d been frustrated in an argument not long before. Wallace noticed him squaring up to the scientist, and politely interrupted Marae’s answer, back in Human tongue.

“Sorry, Marae. Sergeant - leave the poor woman alone please. She’s been through enough.”

Skopec gritted his teeth, which gradually turned into a strained smile when he realised he would need to try a different tact with this mysterious woman. He turned towards Wallace. “I will have to inform my commanding officer about your arrival, ma’am.”

“They already know I’m here.” Wallace replied, a an air of superiority wafting across her crystalline face.