Variel
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Post by Variel on Mar 3, 2008 17:46:53 GMT -5
As Variel closed her eyes and tried to relax, her thoughts continued to race with maddening intensity. She hadn’t been inside the Old Zion Dock command tower since the day that Tyndall called her into Lock’s office; the day they informed Variel that she had been transferred out of the defense technician station that she loved, and into active duty as a Matrix operative. After the meeting, Variel had pushed past her colleagues as she rushed out of the tower, struggling to mask her dismay and bitter disappointment. And fear . . .
But that was years ago, and now she was spending every waking moment back in the tower. Since arriving in Old Zion after its destruction by the Machines, she had been working virtually nonstop with Shimada and other EPN operatives to salvage and restore as many of the Dock systems as possible. Variel’s prior experience in Command was proving invaluable to the group’s reconstruction of the city’s fortifications. She oversaw the process of rummaging through scorched computers for scraps of intact programming, and Variel’s team had managed to pull together a respectable amount of operating software. Unfortunately, the most critical system backups they uncovered were all heavily encrypted. Predictably, her outdated admin passwords didn’t get her very far.
Resolving the software security was a frustrating and agonizing process, and as always, time was against them. Then, incredibly, like a bolt from the blue, Commander Lock dropped into the lap of EPN. Variel couldn’t believe it . . . she hoped she could, somehow, convince him that . . .
“Variel?”
She started awake and caught her bearings. They were seated on the floor against the wall in an otherwise-empty medical facility corridor. The garish temporary emergency lights that were strung down the hallway made her blink as she glanced over at Shimada. “Yeah?”
“You sure you’re okay to do this? You seem a little tired.”
“I’m fine,” she replied with a weak smile, drawing her hand across her forehead. “I’m just . . . it’s been a long couple of weeks.”
Shimada looked at her with concern. “We can get you in to see him some other time, you know.”
“No,” she said firmly. Variel rose to her feet and tried to summon some energy. “There’s no time.”
Shimada looked up at her skeptically. “Have you ever thought that you might be working too hard?”
“Not really,” Variel replied, rubbing the back of her neck. “I’ve been working too hard to think.”
Shimada tilted her head in mild rebuke and looked like she was about to say something, but the door opposite them opened and the attending medic emerged. Variel pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “How is he?”
“Charming as ever,” the doctor said dryly. “Don’t be too long.”
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Vesuveus
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Post by Vesuveus on Mar 3, 2008 21:35:36 GMT -5
((Does this mean Deadbolt has been found?))
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Variel
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Posts: 536
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Post by Variel on Mar 3, 2008 23:33:32 GMT -5
((Yep. This is the live event where EPN detected the distress signal on the surface. You find out in this Zion mission that it was Lock. In a subsequent mission, you get this message from him from a computer . . .))
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Variel
Administrator
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Posts: 536
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Post by Variel on Mar 4, 2008 13:40:38 GMT -5
“Hello, Commander.” Variel moved around the medical equipment and stood by the bedside chair. She tried to conceal her surprise at how tired he looked: in all the years she had known Jason Lock, she had never seen him in a state of vulnerability. She found it strangely unsettling.
“Variel,” he said quietly, his eyebrows rising slightly. Even severely wounded, he managed to receive her as if he were seated behind his imperious desk. “They told me you were coming. Please sit down.”
“It’s been a long time, Commander. Thanks for seeing me.”
“Of course,” he said. “As you probably heard, my schedule is rather open for visits these days.”
Variel smiled despite herself; at least his sardonic humor was unchanged. “How are you feeling?”
Lock sighed as he looked down at his bandaged, broken body. “Better. They’re doing the best they can for me under the circumstances. How have you been since . . . we last spoke?”
“Still fighting the fight, Commander.”
“We knew you would be an outstanding field operative, even though it was hard for you to hear at the time.”
“Was it that obvious? I thought I had a better poker face, Commander.”
“We knew you a little better than that, Variel.”
She considered her words carefully. “Joining EPN and leaving all that behind was a difficult choice.”
“But the right choice?” asked Lock quietly, holding her gaze.
“I believe that it was.” Variel paused, noting with satisfaction the tranquil conviction in her own voice. “Commander, I need to ask you something. We’re trying to get the Dock defenses up and running again. The system back-ups in the tower vaults were salvageable, but we need the most recent command-level passwords . . .”
Lock drew in a shallow breath, spreading his hands on top of the threadbare covers. “Variel – ”
“Commander,” she persisted, leaning forward. “We’re sitting ducks without the rail guns online . . .”
“Variel,” he said more firmly, leveling his eyes with hers, “you know that I absolutely cannot give you those passwords.”
“I don’t see why you can’t,” she said. “Even if the Council still considered those back-ups as secret, why wouldn’t they declassify them under these circumstances?”
“Perhaps they would, Variel. But until I hear otherwise from the Council, those back-ups are strictly classified.” He arched an eyebrow as he added, “I might even feel bad about this if I didn’t know that you would eventually hack the encryption anyway. Or engineer a better system from scratch.”
“A better system? Commander, we don’t have time . . . those back-ups are worthless to Zion now. They’re a matter of life or death to us.”
“Trust me,” Lock said, raising his voice slightly and glancing meaningfully down at his broken, bruised body, “I am acutely aware of just how vulnerable we are, and I hope you figure something out very soon, for both our sakes. However, those passwords are for Zion Command officers only. I am a Zion Command officer . . . you are not.”
He said it evenly and without malice, but it stung her nonetheless. Internally, Variel fought the impulse to retort, “I’m not a Zion Command officer because you sent me to the front lines!” Instead, she stared back at him, her delicate features expressionless. “In that case,” she said after a moment, “it looks like I have my work cut out for me.”
“You’re a resourceful person and a talented programmer, Variel,” Lock said without a shred of sentimentality. “It’s why we felt so strongly that you should serve as an operative in the Matrix. As it turns out . . . well, our loss was EPN’s gain.”
Suddenly feeling even more exhausted than before, Variel rose and turned to the door. “I should get back . . . .” She placed her hand on the latch as she said, “When you get to New Zion, please send Tyndall my regards.”
“I will. I know that she misses you a great deal. We all do.” Variel closed her eyes for a moment before she opened the door. “Get better soon, Commander.”
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Vesuveus
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Post by Vesuveus on Mar 5, 2008 6:12:23 GMT -5
((Always nice to learn a friend's roots. I like the subtelty of the story.))
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Variel
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Post by Variel on Mar 5, 2008 14:32:39 GMT -5
((Thanks! Given Variel's background, I thought Lock's presence with EPN might provide an opportunity to compose a vignette about their interaction. Also, being stuck in Old Zion with the restoration of the systems is a convenient RP reason for me being so delinquent lately!))
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Variel
Administrator
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Client Intake Coordinator
Posts: 536
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Post by Variel on Mar 5, 2008 14:37:03 GMT -5
Variel walked briskly away down the poorly-lit corridor without waiting for Shimada. “That didn’t take long,” Shimada said as she scrambled to her feet. “How did it go?”
Variel stared straight ahead. “It didn’t.”
Shimada trotted a few steps to catch up with Variel. “How can that be? Why?”
“Because he’s a pig-headed, narrow-minded idiot,” she replied with quiet disdain.
“What did he say to you?" said Shimada as she touched Variel’s arm. "What happened?”
Variel stopped and exhaled, her shoulders dropping. “Nothing . . . it’s nothing . . . ” Her face softened as she looked at Shimada. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out. I don’t know what I was thinking; it was stupid to try to get those passwords out of him.”
Shimada shook her head. “It was a long shot, but it wasn’t stupid.”
“Either way,” Variel smiled wearily as she started walking, “I guess I’m headed back to the drawing board.”
Shimada walked with her towards the elevator shaft that would take them back to the Dock, back to the insistent, neverending chaos of rebuilding. After few moments of reflective silence, Shimada said, “You know, we’ve never really talked about the path that brought you here, not that it’s any of my business.” Shimada paused, looking for the right words. “But whatever it was, Variel . . . I just want you to know that I’m really glad that you’re here. We wouldn’t be able to do this without your help.”
Variel glanced over at Shimada. “Thanks,” she said, hugging herself against the chill of the empty corridor. “I’m glad I’m here too.”
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Vesuveus
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Post by Vesuveus on Mar 5, 2008 18:17:44 GMT -5
. . . I just want you to know that I’m really glad that you’re here. We wouldn’t be able to do this without your help.” Variel glanced over at Shimada. “Thanks,” she said, hugging herself against the chill of the empty corridor. “I’m glad I’m here too.” /tear We love you, Variel!!
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