Vreta had been considering getting some rest when he suddenly received the notification for a call, and the caller herself was someone who immediately caught his eye: Freyr Lang. In truth, she was someone he had intended to contact himself, eventually. He had just intended to lay low for a few days, but having that opportunity present itself so quickly was not something he wanted to ignore. She was clearly a scientist who worked closely with the Cradle. By helping her as much as he had, he was already well on his way with ingratiating himself with her, which could prove a boon to his goal of learning more about the Cradle. Still, considering the other factors involved with CraSec and the Outremer government, he would have to play this well. 

Vreta had the call routed through his neural implant as an overlay with the call information appeared in the corner of his vision. He patiently allowed Dr. Lang to speak, despite her rather rambling approach to a greeting. Even with his own goals aside, he could genuinely understand why one in her position would be so out-of-sorts. When it was finally his turn to speak, he made sure to keep his tone calm and soft. “Of course. You can call me Vreta. Rothian names are not…quite the same as those of Humans. As for what happened I…just want to start by saying that I am so sorry for what you are going through. I can hardly imagine it. I know it might not have seemed that way back in the Cradle, but you have to understand I was a soldier many years ago. In such dangerous, stressful situations, I know I can seem rather…detached. It is a mental defense mechanism that is trained into us. Now that we are in safety, though, I just want to say that I do feel for you. No being deserves to suffer through such a thing, and I promise I do want to help you.”

With some degree of hesitation in his voice, Vreta continued. He wanted to make sure to convey that this was not his preferred answer, but the situation was forcing it upon him. “But…are you sure this is a conversation you want to have remotely? I heard the Skinners were involved in all of this, yes? From my understanding, they are a criminal group, right? Terrorists? I apologize if this is offensive, but I do find digital security on this world to be…lacking by Rothian standards. For a topic as personal to you as this, I wouldn’t want a group like that to catch wind of it. Who knows how they might use it against you, and…you never know who might be listening in on a call like this?” Vreta warned, his words carrying a double meaning. His reason for not wanting to speak about it over a call was genuine, though it was not the Skinners he was concerned about. Regardless of whether or not she picked up on the subtext, though, his stated reason was a valid concern.

“Would you rather talk in person?” Vreta asked.