Left Hand, Sleight of Hand: Phase 2

[Legion]

Though he hid it well, as he did with all his emotions, Major Gregory Barrow was nearly frantic. He had been tearing apart the Skygate Institute for nearly half an hour now, making a great show of doing so casually as if he'd misplaced his lighter or car keys, but to no avail. It was bad enough that he had the Gamma Strike kids on an emergency mission to worry himself sick over, something that he would never let slip to anyone, even the mind-reader he was sleeping with. Now to make matters worse, he couldn't find his daughter anywhere. He figured it was likely that she was hiding from him (she would have said she was "avoiding" him, but it was really the same thing) after the argument they had earlier in the day. As soon as she'd found out where Gamma Strike was going and why, she was adamant about going along with them. Greg understood her reasons for wanting to tag along with the team. He could even appreciate them. There was no way he was sending his daughter, untrained and inexperienced, into what he suspected was about to become a firefight between the UN response team and an unknown terrorist group that clearly had the skills and equipment to take out an Army base and think they could get away with it.

He'd sooner send the Wright boy than her - though not because he was more capable in that kind of situation, which he probably was to be honest, but out of a hope that he would get shot and put himself out of Greg's misery.

A brief, but no less irritating telephone conversation with the woman at the front desk revealed that Selene had signed in this morning when she went to work, but never signed out, meaning that she had to be somewhere in the institute. The big question was, where? Greg had already checked the labs without luck. His search of the top-secret sub-levels proved equally fruitless as well. Having exhausted all of his leads, the major was just about to give up on the subtle approach and head to the nearest security office to order a sweep of the massive complex. Just as he rounded the last corner in that direction, however, he fatefully collided with someone moving the other way...

[Selene]

The second collidee, being far smaller than Gregory Barrow, was the one who took most of the brunt of the crash. There was a surprised sound and then a few moments later a little thump as the young woman fell none to gracefully on her backside, only just managing not to spill the files she was carrying all over the floor with her. She clutched them tightly in one hand, pushing back blonde hair that had fallen in her face to peer up at the man with green eyes.

There was no anger on her face, at least not for the moment, as the surprise of ending up on the floor still registered. Finally though an embarrassed flush took up residence on her cheeks and she quickly made to pull herself up. Well, that was what being in a hurry got you.

It seemed the Major's search was finally over and perhaps he'd managed to escape from his daughters wrath for the time being as none of it seemed forthcoming. "I'm sorry about that. I should have been looking where I was going."

[Legion]

While Selene's slight frame was sent sprawling by the impact of her colliding with another body in the corridor, the tall wall of muscle she ran into was more thickly built, and the impact did little more than force a startled grunt from Major Barrow's lungs. It took a few seconds for his mind to process what had just happened, during which time Greg stared down at his daughter splayed across the floor in open surprise, but when he sorted things out, his expression quickly hardened. "There you are," he grumbled, tone heavy with exasperation, as he leaned over and pulled the girl up to her feet. "You know I've been looking all over for you? I need you to help me monitor the operation. You know data collection's not my forte."

Greg made a vague gesture indicating for Selene to follow him, then started toward the elevators that would take them into the high-security sub-levels of the Skygate Institute. "Last I heard from Choroshko, everything was going smoothly," the grizzled soldier declared as they walked, his brow furrowing in a frown that cast a shadow over his features. "Given our track record, that's got me a little worried."

[Selene]

There she was? Though the question was posed silently no indication of it came across on the face, just a little smile as she was drawn up to her feet by the older man. She said nothing until they were inside the elevator, perhaps not quite as forgiving as she'd initially seemed but once they were headed down any negativity would be gone. Down was good in this place, very good. "You really need me to help?" The familiar voice chimed in the quiet space as they descended.

Major Barrow was his usual talkative self on the elevator as it descended into the restricted sub-levels of the Skygate Institute. He was quite aware that his daughter was still upset with him over his refusal to let her join Gamma Strike on their latest excursion, but not even that was enough to make him regret his decision. For now, he figured the best course of action would be to let her get over it on her own time, and talk to him again when she felt like it.

That moment came a bit sooner than he expected. He was pleasantly surprised, if a bit confused, when she asked her question, and glanced toward her with a quizzical expression. "Of course I need you to help. You're the bio-genetics expert. I can't even begin to think of how I'd do the things you do."

She looked over at him across the space, her own expression just slightly blank, not pleased or angry with his answer. "I'm sure you could find someone to handle things around here. As it so happens I do have my own work to do." There was the slightest hint of her displeasure with him creeping into her tone now but it stopped far short of outright hostility.

Selene's words caught Greg slightly by surprise, and for a moment his ashen brows climed up his forhead, before settling into a frown. Her own work to do? "What kind of work do you have that's more important than supporting Gamma Strike's operation? Those four boys are putting their lives on the line." His own voice was taking on an edge now, his irritation ringing out clearly in the confined space of the elevator.

"Yes, out there!" She said, making a sweeping gesture with her hand. Whatever that was supposed to mean. It was becoming clear that her earlier anger with him was returning, though until the doors opened there was nowhere else to go. But before he could answer she had bowed her head slightly, that blonde hair of hers falling around her face to hide it for the moment.

Indignation flashed through the major's steel-blue eyes momentarily, before he drew in a deep breath and forced his swelling anger down. Honestly, sometimes this girl could be impossible. She must have gotten that from her mother. "Listen, Selene," Greg sighed at length, dropping a hand onto her shoulder. "I know you want to be out there with them, but we've gone over this. You can do more for them from here."

The smaller frame started slightly as that hand came to rest upon her shoulder, though it could be put down to built up nerves after what had happened that morning. But she didn't look up right away, lifting a hand and brushing it over her eyes as if wiping something away. Eventually she muttered. "But it's not fair..."

The girl's father knew she wouldn't like the answer to her last statement, but it was the only appropriate response there was: "Life isn't fair sometimes, Selene." Greg fell silent for a moment, then smiled and patted his daughter's shoulder just as the lift slowed to a halt and the doors rolled open. "Come on, we've got work to do." He stepped off the elevator and started in the direction of the command and control room. "Last I heard, the team found the base abandoned on arrival. Hopefully by now they've figured out what the hell is going on over there."

Like she didn't know that. Who was this annoying old guy anyway? They couldn't be lovers or friends from that attitude. Mentor perhaps? Mere superior on the chain? Whatever it was she merely nodded bit glumly, swallowing any reply she might have though to counter and followed him. "Right." Hopefully by now they were little smears on on the concrete.

The major led his daughter through the narrow corridors of the subterranean facility, saying little more along the rest of the journey. It wasn't long before they passed through a final door, into what was apparently a well-equipped observation and mission control centre that rivaled or perhaps surpassed anything even the military had. Greg moved immediately to a large screen set front and center on the far wall of the room, which was separated into several display windows showing the camera views and vital readouts of each of the Gamma Strike operatives on the mission. At present, they appeared to be groping around in some kind of darkened space, likely as blind as it looked from the mission observers' end. The grizzled Army officer muttered a soft curse under his breath at that.

Selene said nothing either, her mind on other things perhaps, like memorizing the way down so she could get back to the elevator in a timely manner. The room wasn't at all surprising, after all she'd probably been here before. Well, she supposed that here was going to have to be good enough. She stood just slightly back, looking over each different screen and the darkness there. "That doesn't look good." And silently and imperceptibly, she began to weave exactly what he would need to see.

"No, it's not," Greg muttered to the illusionary likeness of his daughter as he folded his arms over his chest and frowned at the screen. Suddenly, as if willed by the very intensity of his stare, whatever chamber Gamma Strike was in was suddenly illuminated as someone inside hit the lights. All of the displays blurred when the team members' heads snapped up nearly in unison, revealing a ring of armed men nearly surrounding them on catwalks far above their heads. "Shit!" the major spat, hitting a button on the nearby console that would open communications with the team. "Get to cover! Fast!"

When the displays suddenly lit up so quickly Selene gave a requisite gasp of fear at the sight of the rows of armed men that swung into vision. Of course it was terrible, those were surely her friends and/or coworkers out there. While the Major barked his commands, and his daughter momentarily gaped at the sight, an invisible figure moved to the nearby computer terminal and began to do his work.

[Lilly]

It was an unspoken truth that the virtual world was her domain. Everything that had to do with computers, the internet, technology, was her to know, to discover, to play with as she saw fit. There was rarely a day that went by when Lilianna McDougal did not retreat into her virtual world to pursue whatever work it was she did in her 'off' time... now that she actually had off time. The people in the institute were still strange to her... strangely kind. But despite their constant requests that she abandon their vast computer system, they had yet to find a way to keep her out of there... and so long as they could not forcibly keep her out, she intended to keep returning to her virtual playground. After all the institute's system was far more interesting than the regular internet or even the city's system. The customs of the people here were still strange to her. She didn't understand social graces. She didn't understand hobbies or sports or free time. Everything outside of her virtual world was strange to her.

Unfortunately for the stranger now accessing the computer system, it meant that the virtual path to the information he wanted was not open. Having finished with a long, grueling session where the scientists once more tried to understand how her abilities worked (and failed miserably she might add), Lilianna had descended into the familiar comfort of the computer network. She viewed it in much the same way normal people viewed a city or a street or a room. She watched and listened, used to the regular sort of activity which went on in her virtual 'city'. So she was instantly aware when something was different... when someone unwelcome tried to gain access. If she'd had motor control over her body at the moment she detected that strange activity, Lilianna would have smiled.

No... She wasn't Lilianna, not anymore, not now. Now she was Phage.

Let's play a game...

.>Argus execute script thetag27_

The console the stranger was trying to access offered him a helpful error message to inform him that the network was not answering him as he wished it would. The helpful message it offered him was: Network resource unavailable. Please try again or specify a different path to the resource.

Invisible fingers paused, hovering over the keys of the console in the control room deep within Skygate Institute, the error that presented itself was not something expected and the screen was given a look that would have felled something made of flesh and blood. It wasn't that he was stupid but computers were not something he specialized in and half the reason he'd infiltrated as far as he had was specifically to avoid this type of thing. So what was going on? He was partially dividing his attention, and the blonde figure behind him spoke in response to something said as he tapped a few keys. It was so unfortunate that computers didn't respond as well as humans did to sharp pointy things.

Phage was well pleased. This was one of her favorite scripts, but not one she had often had a chance to experiment with. Most of the time she was doing the hacking, rather than the counter hacking. Clearly the person on the other end of this game wanted something. She was fairly sure they weren't supposed to have it, and she intended to make it as difficult for them as possible. She would see if they were as skilled as she was at this game of hacking the network. Maybe after this she would finally have the proof she needed that the network was too insecure and the people of the institute would finally let her implement greater security measures. But there would be time for all of that later.
For now the computer responded to the stranger trying to access the network once again in a similar manner to the one it had before. This time, however, there was something quite off about the message... mostly the fact that it didn't sound anything at all like an error message a computer would generate.

What's the matter with you? The new screen read. Can't you read? I told you, you can't access that. Go away.

There was not much the stranger could do with this computer that would give the person on the other end any kind of challenge. He was not an avid user of these machines and knew nothing of hacking into them or even how they really worked. He had, however, been given a rather sophisticated program that would do most of the work for him, even if this eventuality had not been completely foreseen. Despite how little he might have known even he knew that second message was no the work of a computer in this sort of network but if someone was on to him then he was in serious trouble. A glance back told him the other real occupant of the room was still busy with his children on the other end of the screens and so he turned back to his own. Another key was pressed and the program on the flash stick began to work a way around the block towards the information it had been sent to retrieve.

[Lilly]

Phage likely would have found herself quite bored if not for that program which the stranger had just begun to run. Of course the game had not gone on for so long that she realized she was dealing with an amateur. The program was evoked quickly enough that she believed she had a real challenge on her hands. If she had been in her body, she would have grinned. Here was where the real game began.

.>Argus, record access and data logs_
.>Do not discontinue until the abort command is given_

.> Confirmed_
.>Logging started_

So began a virtual dance. While the sinister fingers of the stranger's program probed into the dark, virtual recesses of the Skygate Institute's network, Phage danced an invisible dance to block each and every one of them. Neatly constructing walls here. Delicately crafting traps there. Expertly turning her opponent away with a practiced sort of ease. And all the while little messages appeared on the screen to remind the stranger that there was someone playing a game with him. Messages like Is that the best you can do? and I could do this in my sleep.

The one who had created the program hadn't really been given parameters to tackle this sort of job and there were simply limits on how much a program with no one behind it could do. The responses the defender got were generally straightforward, obvious, and logical; they were good but lacked creativity or finesse, and no doubt she would have quickly enough discovered that she was either dealing with a bot or someone who had no vision. Even though the stranger was not the one controlling the strings of the program it had been given into his hands, this was his job, and each time a new message flashed onto the screen he got just the slightest bit angrier. If he could have seen his opponent they would have already met his blades but as it was he was forced to sit and maintain his illusion, all the while fingering one of the slender knives that he carried on his person. If he ever found out who this opponent was he vowed to slaughter them without hesitation.

Upstairs in one of the slightly sunnier parts of the institute Bill Evers gave a sigh as a little notification chimed at him across the computer screen he was current working at. "Looks like she's at it again." The woman at the desk next to him made an unhappy sound of her own. It had taken nearly the entire team to write a code that would knock that computer girl out of the system and each time they had to modify it or it wouldn't work on her a second round. It was starting to frazzle them all and it was making them all more than a little testy with their new resident. The only warning Lilianna would get was 'STAY OUT' before the boot code had come to knock her off her virtual perch.

.>Priority Interrupt: Network connection lost_

God damn it! Those... IDIOTS!

.>Run program skygate05

.>Priority Override: Re-establish network uplink_
.>Accessing...
.>Uplink reestablished.
.>Logging interrupted. Resume?_

Shit!

.>Scan most recent data activity_

She was going to have to do something about that annoying little code. They refused to increase security, but they could apparently be bothered enough to be a thorn in her side. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do to prevent herself from actually being ejected from the network at the moment. By the time she got back, it was too late. The stranger had already had his path cleared for him. The only thing she could do now was determine what it was that had been accessed, altered or... taken? This was...

Oh no...

With the stranger already having won the battle due to her unexpected ejection from the network, and her being very limited in the activity she could manage at the moment before the lax security team would take notice a second time, there was only one thing left to do.
Reaching out with her virtual fingers, Phage seized a connection to the computer of Bill Evers himself.

.>Establish audio uplink_
.>Uplink established_

Suddenly the voice of the outraged teenage exploded out of the man's speakers. "What are you doing! I wasn't hacking the system! Someone else was! I was trying to stop them! And thanks to you, they just successfully made off with data that's supposed to be classified!"

Bill jumped when that voice came over his machine, cutting into the normally quiet space and getting him several looks from other desks around the office. Needless to say he was stunned, it wasn't like he was supposed to know! After a few moments of silence he pointed to the woman next to him. "Get security on the phone now...."

This post has been edited by Lilly on Jun 14 2009, 03:54 PM

[Legion]

While the Major observed the goings on of Gamma Strike through the cameras and audio his daughter stood just a step back from him and watched over his shoulder, her emotional state rising with each passing moment, very likely having a hard time watching her friends being shot at and in risk of very mortal danger. The small computer screen to the side flashed an invisible message and a key was withdrawn, the breached system left as it had been before.

As shots rang out across the audio once more the young woman in the room couldn't contain herself any longer and she gave a little cry, tears very suddenly on her face if her companion cared to look. But before he could do much more of anything else she made a slightly erratic gesture toward the screens showing the battle. "I'm sorry! I'm a girl and I'm emotional!" And she turned and hurried out, the door opening and closing very definitely behind her, leaving the Major quite alone with the voices of his team.

When he heard the small, strangled cry in his daughter's voice, Major Barrow turned to face the young woman in the back of the C&C room with confusion written across his features. That confusion cracked open into an expression of shock when Selene exclaimed that she had to leave because of her... gender? - shortly before dashing out of the room. Now, that was odd. Sure, he'd seen his daughter act irrationally out of emotional impulse from time to time, but... What a weird thing to say.

When his initial surprise faded, he turned back to one of the multinational security force technicians manning the consoles in the control room. "Hold down the fort for a couple minutes, alright? I'll be--" Another crack of automatic gunfire cut him off in mid-sentence, followed by a second cry from Selene - this time originating from the speakers that they were using to listen in on Gamma Strike's radio communications. "What the hell is this?" the grizzled officer growled under his breath.

The major didn't have to wait long for the answer to that question, as Gabriel's camera jerked upward with the motion of his body diving for cover and everyone in the control room caught a glimpse of the blonde-haired teenager that, until seconds ago, had been standing no more than ten feet behind them. "Selene...?" It was the second time in the space of a minute that Greg had been brought up short, but he quicky recovered and practically dove across the nearby equipment panel for the microphone. "Selene Regina Brodrick, what the fuck are you doing there?!" he bellowed into the mic loudly enough that the feedback his voice caused forced the communications technician to rip the headphones away from his ears, cursing under his breath.

It didn't take long for a second thought to hit him, immediately on the tail of the first blow to his psyche struck by the sight of his daughter in the middle of a firefight. Again. If she's there, then who was...? he wondered. Then he remembered: "I'm a girl and I'm emotional!" Definitely not something his daughter would say...