Lambert winced slightly as the station groaned deep below his feet. Lights flickered all around. Then, as suddenly as the microcosm of chaos had begun, everything abruptly returned to normal.
The woman in front of him - Deidre, she had introduced herself as, resumed speaking. She seemed unconcerned by the event, so Lambert attempted to match her nonchalance. It helped that he was the one with the guns. He flicked a quick glance to his right. Six marines, wearing battle armor and armed with assault rifles, flanked him. Their weapons were held casually at the moment, attempting to appear non-threatening. Just as Lambert had instructed.
He looked back to Deidre herself. Dressed without any embellishment or, truly, any personality. Nothing notable like a tattoo or unique jewelry to identify her with, at least as far as he could see. It did seem to fit the profile of an isolationist Zoner.
She paused after concluding her explanation of the surge that had just occurred. Lambert couldn't even imagine living somewhere where such was the status quo. He'd been aboard very rough and out-of-the-way stations before, but nothing remotely compared to this.
"Interesting. I'm curious about the nature of these 'operations', actually. I understand that you're Zoners, but what exactly are you doing out here? Surely there are more isolated yet safe places to set up shop."
His mouth twisted into a slight frown, and he waited for her response.
![[Image: ZJi5U6z.png]](http://i.imgur.com/ZJi5U6z.png)