She stopped, took a deep breath, visibly calmed herself, brought her hands together in front of her on the table, looked at the Nigerian and then again at Breece.

“I will put bullets between the eyes of any who deny humans freedom over our own minds and bodies,” Kate said. “I will set bombs beneath their buildings. I will burn down the homes of any who try to limit our rights or use force against us.”

She took another breath.

Breece opened his mouth to speak, to say something calming.

She raised a hand, cut him off.

“What I won’t do,” Kate said, her eyes locked with his, “is use force, or coercion, against people who are fundamentally on our side. Who are the same as us.”

The Nigerian went frosty at that. “They’re not the same as us. They’re sheep, most of them, letting it happen to them. We’re wolves, taking the risks, taking on the fight that they won’t.”

Breece raised his hand to forestall his friend, to stop him from triggering Kate further.

Kate sliced her hand through the air in frustration. “Don’t start with that fucking separatist sheep and wolves bullshit with me, Akindele!”

“You may not call me that name.” The Nigerian started to stand.

“Whoa, whoa!” Breece held out both hands, placatingly. “Easy, both of you.”

Kate turned to him. “Cancel the op.”

The Nigerian sat back into his chair. “You’re turning soft, Catherine,” he said. “Like I’ve never seen you before.”

Breece looked at his friend. “Shut it for a minute, OK?”

He turned back to Kate. She was still staring at him.

“This separatist bullshit isn’t right,” She said. “Everyone has the potential to upgrade. We’ve been arguing it for years. But we’ve never attacked people on our side.”

Breece sucked in a deep breath, let it out again. “It’s not an attack,” he said. “It’s an encouragement. We’re pushing them to fight for their rights.”

Kate scowled.

Breece went on. “Kate, if you want to sit this one out… No problem at all. You’ve done plenty for the cause. You’ve more than earned a break.”

Kate‘s frown deepened. “I don’t want to sit this out. We cancel the op. Let the protesters go their own way. You saw what we did out there. Those people lost their minds. That’s offensive action, and that’s for use against our enemies.”

Breece shook his head silently.

Kate leaned back. “What happened to unanimity for ops?”