John's firm words landed and silenced everyone completely, cutting through Cissel's spiralling self-reprimand and halting Ricky's frantic self-doubt.
Ricky was mentally scrambling, trying to squeeze his mind for an answer as to how John knew he was a PARIE, and exactly how long he had been sitting on that information. The answer came swiftly with John's next calm statement.
"I've already investigated the two of you thoroughly," John said, his voice level and devoid of judgment. "I knew Ricky was a PARIE since our early days at the academy. To be frank, I didn't know what the word actually meant at the time, but now the picture is clear."
He turned his gaze toward Cissel, his eyes unblinking. "I want to know and hear all about your powers, your backstory, and the circumstances of your return... Everything. And you too," he added, shifting his focus back to Ricky, "I want the full history. No more redactions."
