“Heyy, we are doing things.” Freyr pouted at Nirann, still thinking. She didn’t want this person to think they’d been sitting on their thumbs this whole time.

“I agree, Marae. We should monitor them from a distance. If they are part of a Cradle entity, they could be advanced beyond our capabilities to handle if we rush in.” She continued.

Wallace weighed them all up with her eyes individually, sucking her cheeks in around another piece of sweet pastry. Freyr began to feel a little uncomfortable again, and squirmed a little under the Plenipotentiary’s gaze. 

Eventually, Wallace gulped the pastry flesh down and smiled widely. “Excellent. I think that’s all I needed to hear right now. I will speak to the Datius and my colleagues in the government. We are technically in a ‘transitional authority’, but there are a few immovable rocks who won’t be changing seats that I can connect with. As I said, you’ll likely be moved from this black site to some kind of mobile command centre. It’ll be harder for terrorists to corner you that way.

“What about the rest of my division? Not everyone was taken to the safe house.” Freyr asked. She had lost too many people already - keeping everyone together seemed like the best way to preserve life. Safety in numbers.

“I’m sure we can figure something out. I’m told that your headquarters has been evacuated, with the equipment decentralised and most personnel working from home. But if you want to bring them all, that's something we can discuss. Now…” Wallace sat up, perching elegantly on the edge of the chaise longue. “With our business concluded for now, do you want to see what's happening up on the surface?” Wallace's eyes flashed with an impish excitement.