595 didn’t reply to Vreta - she had nothing to say to him right now. She busied herself with guiding Freyr onto and up the ladder instead. Dr Lang fumbled clumsily with her carabiner until the Agent gently took it from her and attached it to the ladder’s guide rail.

Eventually, they made it up onto the rig’s lower deck. A thin metal pathway with a support railing wound the whole way around both decks. Freyr led the way towards the front of the massive vehicle, holding on carefully to stop the wind buffeting her over the side.

They approached a solid set of blast doors in the side of the vehicle with a keypad to one side; snow was already beginning to settle in the panelling. Freyr jabbed her pass sequence into the interface and the doors swooshed open. They clanked into a cramped heptagonal room. Five of the walls were covered in consoles and screens, with a holo-interface in the centre. The door they entered through occupied another side and another door opened on their right once Freyr went in.

“[b]We[/b] need to check the simulation isn’t going to crash around our heads in five minutes time first.” Freyr answered. “And then, [b]we[/b] will try and make contact with the entity together. The rig’s energy distribution is compartmentalised, so we can set up basic monitoring and comms without turning the primary power source on. We have Marae to thank for our improved efficiency here.”

Freyr hit a few toggles on her wrist holo and the room they were filing into lit up. The screens populated with graphs and fluctuating spirals. “Comms.” Freyr announced into the room. “Dr Chanthara, you’re up.”

“We should have someone outside guarding this door. Question is - one of yours or one of ours?” 595 asked Vreta.