![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
phormthevixdjinn"Ridiculous...!" She muttered, exasperated.
The severe clack of heels on metal rang through the corridor, a staccato rhythm filling the space as she rushed through. The Administrator ran her fingers through her hair as she swept forth with intensity, lab coat fluttering in her wake with an unnatural, dramatic flourish. Despite this, the other personnel moving through the hallway hardly seemed to pay her much mind.
After all, she was always like this.
She adjusted her tinted glasses with an inward mutter. There were numerous ongoing matters that required her utmost attention. This was an unnecessary interruption, one representing a delay in the timeline. Furthermore, it was a delay that took her away from construction at a critical juncture. Progress was stalled until she could return.
Surely her superiors realized this.
The Administrator rounded one of the numerous junctions lining the subterranean passage, continuing down the hallway while following a purple line that stretched across the pristine ivory wall. Soon enough her heels clacked to a stop in front of a massive, imposing steel reinforced door, above which was printed in large, clear block letters
CRYPTOGRAPHIC QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT ROOM
With a sigh, the arctic fox removed her glass and leaned down toward a conspicuous port on the door. A series of lights flashed as she aligned her pupils with the sensors mounted there, and within moments her retinal scan had been verified. A metallic clunk echoed off the empty walls of the corridor behind her, followed by the yawning stretch of turning gears as the steel portals retreated sideways to give her passage.
She impatiently slid through the opening as soon as it was wide enough for her to pass through safely.
A deer wearing standard colored eyewear sat behind a desk, fingertips swiping and pinching through the air at the holographic displays floating above their work surface. The deer stole a glance at the Administrator as she entered.
"You're in four. They're already on the line."
The Administrator did not stop her pace as she responded, "Who is it?"
"You know I can't answer that ma'am. Secure cryptography is secure for a reason."
"Fuck," the fox muttered as she coursed down the hallway, passing a series of identical offshoot doors until she arrived at room #4.
With haste, the Administrator removed her eyewear, her watch, and her phone from her person. She slid each item into a small safe-cabinet set into the wall of an ante-room just before the entrance, painted with a gigantic "#4" in magenta. With a sigh, she hurriedly removed her earrings, placing them into the wall safe as well before closing it and punching in a one-time code. The lock clacked secure with a satisfying reply.
The door to #4 slid open.
The administrator rushed through and into the airlock, where she held her arms outstretched and remained as motionless as possible even before the doors sealed behind her. A dim pink light slowly grew more intense, a distant hum growing louder as an automated voice cut through the tide of rising sound.
"Please remain still. Now initiating entanglement screening."
"Come on, come ON." The Administrator had to fight to remain still. Beams of cohesive, pink light began to trace over her body, drawing along the contour of her frame with precision as the sound of echoing, sharp pings emanated from all angles of the room. Eventually, the sounds quieted, and the light faded.
"No entanglement contamination detected. Please proceed."
The far door of the scanning airlock opened slower than she would've liked. She turned sideways to slide through before it had fully opened. Within seconds she was finally inside the chamber. It was an almost claustrophobic, restrictively small, somehow spherical room. A smooth, featureless circle of slick white sat inlaid on the floor directly in the center of the space, which was surrounded on all sides by curved, gleaming, smooth chrome on the concave walls. A raised console, replete with numerous candy-colored buttons, was positioned just on the edge of the circular inset, between the center and the screens that lined the room. The top of the chamber was jam-packed with barely concealed equipment that powered the curved screens and captured the subject in the center. It was less than graceful in design, but what it was, was functional.
The Administrator stepped into the center circle.
The entire room lit up immediately around her. Within seconds, the cramped room had melted from view, and in its place a series of holographic windows appeared before her, hovering amid an infinite projected virtual space. Despite the infinite possibilities, she counted naught but four static, two dimensional windows floating amid the computer generated void. Noting that one of those windows presented the settings and feedback for her own presence, that meant three others were on the call.
Each of the three windows that floated in front of her was incredibly minimal. A simple projection, housing a waveform corresponding to the sounds being transmitted from another location. From left to right, they were titled "CENTRAL LOGISTICS", "CENTRAL ARCANA", and finally "CENTRAL COMMAND".
Her blood ran cold when she noticed the call was voice-only. The CQE system was fully equipped for real-time, three-dimensional holographic presence, but the waveforms on the display revealed that this feature was not active. That was a conscious choice. The lack of specific names only made her veins that much chillier.
"Ah. Good. You're here at last," A deep voice rumbled as the CENTRAL COMMAND window showed a pulsing waveform. In response to the sound, the Administrator loosened in relief, though only slightly. Whoever this was, they were from command. That was enough to make her stand up and take notice. But the voice wasn't someone she recognized. And above all else, It certainly wasn't /him/. Hopefully this wasn't anything serious.
"Yes," The Administrator replied, "I apologize if all of you have been waiting long. As I'm sure you're aware, I have an entire satellite branch to get up and running here." A chilly beat hung heavy in the air. "It's a rather daunting task."
"Of course," Command chimed in, a note of empathy in the voice. "We appreciate you're on a tight schedule. And to that point, how are things progressing on site? Can we expect that the facility will reach nominally operational capacity soon?"
The Administrator's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Construction and deployment are continuing according to the anticipated schedule," she stated without enthusiasm. "While we have quite a bit of work to do in order to get most of the labs and mech bays online, those have always been long term goals. Living quarters, support functions, and engineering are all fully functional and ready to go. That includes the Distributed Arcana Battery Array. We brought it online 72 hours ago, and it has performed admirably in diagnostics. As for the rest of the facility, I anticipate another two months for us to be fully kitted and prepared for the operations expected of a satellite location."
"Excellent!" Command intoned with genuine excitement. "Wonderful, miss Administrator. We're delighted that work continues apace. As you realize, despite its remote location, your site remains of critical strategic importance. In particular, providing support and safety for the surrounding area will be of the utmost significance moving forward."
"I suppose that must be true, though it is hard to grasp the critical strategic importance of anything in the surrounding," her retort was thick with snark. "But it isn't my place to question our deployments. What is my place, though, is to wonder what exactly this is all about."
Another overflowing pause choked the line. All waveforms were still.
Eventually, Command ventured to break the tension. "I'm not sure what you me-"
"Spare me, please. You didn't call me to Cryptographic Quantum Entanglement so you could get a progress report on the staff quarters. A bog standard status update could be easily and securely communicated via the eyewear."
The Administrator bristled slightly. The CQE chamber was specifically designed to exclude transmission across the standard organization network, was completely impervious to electronic or acoustic eavesdropping of any kind, and was entirely opaque to any and all nanites. She knew that the only reason this conversation was happening in this chamber was because someone very high up wanted to ensure everything remained completely, unquestionably private.
Another beat of silence smothered the air around her.
"To the point as always, I see," Command uttered, a sigh inherent in their voice. "You never were one for pleasantries."
"It's your latest side project, Polymayhem," A new voice now, brimming with an almost imperceptible echo of unseen power. She might not have recognized the voice, but she recognized the hallmark. Sure enough, it was Central Arcana.
"And which project would this be," The Administrator returned without pause.
"I believe," A lighter voice replied, intertwined with an almost sing-song cadence, and more than a passing hint of obvious playfulness. The waveform for Central Logistics pulsed and jumped with each almost flirtatious word, "Your team is referring to it as 'Lightning In A Bottle'? Hrm? Ring a bell, darling?"
"Wait," The Administrator, for all her deadpan stoicism, was caught off guard. "What about that project? What about Lightning In A Bottle?"
"Well, simply put dear, we all have... shall we say, concerns? Quite a few concerns, really!" Logistics practically cooed her condescension. The Administrator almost recoiled physically to hear it.
"This project has been cleared at the highest levels," The Administrator offered forcefully. "I was informed that all operations and measures proposed were both considered and approved without qualification."
"Your determination was premature," the bouncing waveform from Central Arcana leapt higher than the other two ever had. The overtones of reverb behind the voice were just barely perceptible. The vixen noted, though, that it was enough to be annoying. "Simply put, a proper risk assessment was never executed to our satisfaction."
"What the HELL are you talking about."
"The target," Arcana continued, "is simultaneously irrelevant and dangerous. Given the fact that we do not require this asset in any way, the potential risk of acquiring her is unacceptable."
The Administrator had to restrain herself from smashing her fist into the CQE console. "This is ridiculous. This asset is incredibly valuable. Even if we were to ignore the value she would bring to this organization, the demonstration of the Arcana Battery Array is incredibly imp-"
"Weeeellllll," a high pitched, dismissive note of patronizing venom playfully drifted through the voice channel as Logistics continued to taunt The Administrator. "That's kinda-sorta another little problem right there, sweetheart, now isn't it? Hooking up some unknown magical trollop to our brand new Array is, well, reckless? Wouldn't you say?"
"The Distributed Arcana Battery Array," Command offered directly, "is far too valuable for us to venture on this unnecessary operation, Miss Administrator. The entire point of the satellite site has been the realization of that Array. Anything that might put it in jeopardy is unacceptable. Your initial project description completely failed to mention the use of the Array for this endeavor."
"Preposterous," The Administrator countered. "The entire operation relies on the Array operating as intended. This will allow us to demonstrate the Array's competency while simultaneously securing the asset. This is an efficient and direct path to both objectives. The Array is more than capable of handling this operation. Our Chief Engineer has staked her reputation on this."
"This hypothesis is unproven, and gambling the Array on this foolish endeavor is simply unacceptable," Arcana once again spoke with a force that vibrated beyond her compatriots. "There is no telling how the Array will behave under these circumstances. And beyond this, the entire operation is unnecessary. We have no need of this asset whatsoever."
"Are you even aware of the target at all?!" The administrator shouted, exasperated. "If this succeeds, we will have access to a LITERAL GENI-"
"IRRELEVANT," the voice boomed over the Administrator, reverberating tones seeming to shake the very chamber around her. "This is not the first of her type we have encountered. The asset is redundant to our organization, and frankly, we have no need for her. Even a cursory examination of her dossier reveals that this will be a fight. Frankly, I consider it would be a conflict you are unlikely to win, particularly with the experience and resources currently at your disposal. Even if you do succeed, the potential gain is minimal. If you fail, our progress is set back considerably."
The administrator tightened her fists silently.
"I must object, vehemently," The vixen struggled to level her voice. Despite her efforts, the quavering cracks of frustration were made all too obvious as she spoke. "While I am unaware of the full extent of the Arcana Division's resources, I cannot in good conscience consider that the asset in question is of no value to this organization. Beyond her capacities, beyond her abilities, consider for a moment that if we do not find a way to bring her to our side, then someone else will add her to theirs."
The chamber thrummed with mechanical silence for a long, widening moment.
"This is not speculation on my part," she continued. "Reconnaissance revealed quite clearly that we are not the only group which has placed her under surveillance. There is a very real possibility that if we do not move to secure this asset, and soon, that she will be wielded against us."
The humming tone of background equipment underscored the tightening quiet once more.
Eventually, after another stretched moment had past, the soft tone of Central Command slowly loosened the atmosphere, "Ah, of course, Miss Administrator."
"We fully acknowledge your assessment in this matter. We do understand that the asset represents a threat, should she align with those who would wish us harm. Yet at the same time, it seems unlikely that any of our would-be assailants could bring her to heel, yes? And from what the dossier indicates, she seems incredibly unlikely to interfere with our affairs, should we give her a wide berth. Which is why..."
"Which is why," Logistics oozed into the conversation smoothly, "it's so foolish to force a confrontation, darling."
The Administrator felt her heart beginning to race at this point. Her entire plan was starting to unravel before her eyes. She was going to be cut off without so much as a chance to prove herself, and after she had already been assured that her plans had received the green light. She felt utterly helpless. She felt trapped.
She felt...
Flashbacks of long nights, secluded in the basement of an academic lab, came surging into her mind unbidden. Of her, alone, cut off, and secluded. Of isolation. Of worthlessness.
Flashbacks of being abandoned down there. Of being cast off, for her lack of contribution. For her lack of impact.
The Administrator shook her head slowly to throw the images off her mind.
"We," The fox was starting to stumble now. "We fully intend to extend a formal, direct offer before w-"
"Ohhh, but it won't work, now, will it?" The Administrator watched as the waveform on Logistics' readout bounced playfully. Even that seemed to mock her. "It's fairly clear that this little bundle of dynamite has no interest in playing nice with anyone but herself. And so you'll be forced to fall back onto your so-called plan B."
"Which will succeed. Unquestionably." The Administrator stated with confidence. She had to find her footing again, or this was all over. "Our Commander has designed an extensive and remarkably potent program for this occasion. We've constructed a custom isolation chamber to minimize any possibility of a breach. Every measure has been taken to ensure safety and success. We've built in tolerances far beyond the norm. This plan goes beyond anything we've ever done before for such a target."
"Mmmhmm, you certainly ARE spending a lot of money and resources on this, it's true." The Administrator gritted her teeth silently in anger as Logistics continued to stab her verbally, slicing her with soft words. "But consider for a moment that your little plan involves directly exposing this unpredictable asset to our... most special of friends. Which means that our very, very valuable assistant will be interfacing with this uncontrolled - and by all accounts, extremely angry - barrel of volatile magic?"
"We've accounted for that. The Commander is requesting a subroutine be spun out, rather than deploying the entire program."
"But this still would demand you send in a fragment, does it not? Meaning that the network itself would be touched by this mystic hussy? Meaning the network would be vulnerable? You know for a fact that we simply can't allow that kind of risk, now, sweetheart."
"For the love of - We're SANDBOXING the operation! Given the physical isolation measures we're taking we need some way to actually deploy a PAYLOAD to the target. Hardlight reconstruction and nanite dispersal is not only the only option, it remains the BEST option."
"Is it, though, honey? Really?"
"I'll thank you to refer to me by my title, for fuck's sake."
"My, my. Alright, doctor."
"You FUCKING B-"
"ENOUGH," The words from Central Command were rigid without being violent. "Bickering like this affords us nothing. Polymayhem, we fully appreciate that you've invested a substantial amount of time and effort into planning this operation, and I further recognize that you were given explicit approval from Command previously. But given the risks involved, and the fact that the potential benefit is less than previously understood, we may need additional time to determine the best course of action."
"Sir," The vixen was practically shaking at this point. "I'm begging you to reconsider. This has been meticulously planned. It's an operation in the interest of our organization from the perspective of safety, for the sake of bolstering our Arcana resources, and for the purpose of demonstrating the Array. In spite of what the wider Arcana Division may have encountered in the past, adding this asset to our organization is an undeniable benefit. We can make this happen."
Another silent pause choked the chamber for far too long.
The Administrator was desperate. "I would not be here in this desiccated asshole of a desert if I did not think that, not only is this possible, but that this is NECESSARY."
The vixen gripped the control panel in front of her for dear life. The circulation to her fingers was practically cut off. Every second felt like an eternity.
"I'm sorry, Poly," Command intoned softly. "There's too much here that could go awry. It's better that we keep our head down, at least until the site is fully online. Consider the project tabled for now."
"Command, signing off."
With little additional fanfare the holographic displays flickered to nothingness one after another, leaving The Administrator alone in the silent, cold chamber.
The secure doors to the CQE department groaned as they slid open. The arctic fox who slid between the yawning halves of the opening doors did so much more slowly than she had entered minutes ago. As she shoved her glasses clumsily back onto her face, and rebooted the interface, she let out a heavy sigh. However, her morose inner reflection was interrupted unceremoniously.
"Hey," A deep, smooth tone. Powerful, but gentle.
The Administrator straightened her pink glasses on the bridge of her nose as she looked upward at the towering hyena leaning against the corridor wall across the hall. She must've been waiting there the whole time, she reflected.
"Commander," She stated dryly.
"What was that all about?"
The vixen's gaze darted to the side, uncomfortably. "It was nothing. A standard construction report."
The hyena leaned forward off the wall with half a grin etched into her lips, "In the CQE room? Gimme a break."
"Yes, well. It WAS a CQE communication, so perhaps you ought to keep your nose out of it, yes?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." The Commander lifted up her gigantic paws, waving them slowly palm-out in a display of non-aggression. "Claws back in, there, girl. I knew whatever this was, it wasn't fun. So I'm just here to check in on you, yeah?"
Poly ran her fingers through her hair instinctively. She fought to suppress a sniffle in her voice, unsuccessfully.
"Oh Dee. I'm sorry. It's just... They just..."
The hyena stepped off the wall slowly, reaching out to pull the smaller fox into her arms. She wrapped her strong embrace around the much more diminutive vixen, pulling Poly's lab coat up against her own uniform. "Hey, hey it's okay. Just take it slow."
The Administrator looked up into the hyena's eyes with a clear note of sorrow in her expression. Not a bawling, inconsolable fit of emotion, but rather a look of utter deflation and defeat. It made the Commander unnerved. Poly never looked like this.
"Command just axed Lightning In A Bottle, Dee."
"Wait... What?"
"After all that time and effort, Logistics and Central Arcana said something to Command, and now they're telling us the project's a no-go."
"But we've been at this for months! The Array just got up and running like, a few days ago!"
"I know. I know!" The fox went almost slack in Dee's arms. "They said the risk was too high. That they didn't want to risk the Array in contact with the target. That they didn't want to risk the Network in contact with the target. And that it was simply not worth the effort, even if we did pull it off."
The Commander furrowed her brow in confusion as she gave the vixen a reassuring squeeze. "Babe, that's bullshit and you know it. You and Mekkie have been working this thing from all angles! And how could it be 'not worth it'? This is the score of a lifetime!"
The Administrator shrugged limply, even while in the hyena's arms. "I just... I have no idea. Central Arcana said that this isn't anything new. That we've encountered this before, apparently. I suppose they've got experience here I wasn't aware of. They consider the asset redundant."
"I mean, for fuck's sake, even if she's the second or third, it'd still be pretty valuable to have her on our side, yeah?" Dee ran her massive, strong paws along Poly's back gently, massaging and comforting her companion as best she was able. "Something stinks about this, girl."
"I'm not so sure. I think they just... I think they legitimately have no interest in the project. That's all." The arctic fox heaved a heavy, dwindling breath from her chest as she slowly leaned against the hyena's bust. "So we're right back where we started. Small, insignificant, useless. Dee, this was our shot to actually bring something to the organization that benefited everyone. Something that might actually let us become a real part o-"
"Hey. Hey, no," Dee put a fingertip to the fox's lips gently. "None of that, okay? You're worth it, and you're worthy, no matter what. Even if we are stuck in the middle of nowhere building gigantic magic batteries for who knows what reason, we're still doing our part, okay? And you belong, not just here, but as a larger part of this whole. And you belong with me, got it?"
The Administrator let out a tiny, weak, wordless squeak. She was at a loss for words. The arctic fox nodded her head gradually, in a manner that told Dee that while she had heard what the hyena had said, clearly her brain would not let her believe it.
"I'll tell you what, though," The hyena rumbled quietly, her grin returning as she gave the vixen a squeeze. "Think of how much crow they'll have to eat when it turns out the plan goes off without a hitch?"
The arctic fox quirked her brow slightly as she cast a quizzical look upward toward her companion. "They've told us to park the project, Dee."
"Yeah, they have."
The hyena leaned down low enough to whisper into the vixen's ear.
"But what if asked for forgiveness, instead of permission?"
The severe clack of heels on metal rang through the corridor, a staccato rhythm filling the space as she rushed through. The Administrator ran her fingers through her hair as she swept forth with intensity, lab coat fluttering in her wake with an unnatural, dramatic flourish. Despite this, the other personnel moving through the hallway hardly seemed to pay her much mind.
After all, she was always like this.
She adjusted her tinted glasses with an inward mutter. There were numerous ongoing matters that required her utmost attention. This was an unnecessary interruption, one representing a delay in the timeline. Furthermore, it was a delay that took her away from construction at a critical juncture. Progress was stalled until she could return.
Surely her superiors realized this.
The Administrator rounded one of the numerous junctions lining the subterranean passage, continuing down the hallway while following a purple line that stretched across the pristine ivory wall. Soon enough her heels clacked to a stop in front of a massive, imposing steel reinforced door, above which was printed in large, clear block letters
CRYPTOGRAPHIC QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT ROOM
With a sigh, the arctic fox removed her glass and leaned down toward a conspicuous port on the door. A series of lights flashed as she aligned her pupils with the sensors mounted there, and within moments her retinal scan had been verified. A metallic clunk echoed off the empty walls of the corridor behind her, followed by the yawning stretch of turning gears as the steel portals retreated sideways to give her passage.
She impatiently slid through the opening as soon as it was wide enough for her to pass through safely.
A deer wearing standard colored eyewear sat behind a desk, fingertips swiping and pinching through the air at the holographic displays floating above their work surface. The deer stole a glance at the Administrator as she entered.
"You're in four. They're already on the line."
The Administrator did not stop her pace as she responded, "Who is it?"
"You know I can't answer that ma'am. Secure cryptography is secure for a reason."
"Fuck," the fox muttered as she coursed down the hallway, passing a series of identical offshoot doors until she arrived at room #4.
With haste, the Administrator removed her eyewear, her watch, and her phone from her person. She slid each item into a small safe-cabinet set into the wall of an ante-room just before the entrance, painted with a gigantic "#4" in magenta. With a sigh, she hurriedly removed her earrings, placing them into the wall safe as well before closing it and punching in a one-time code. The lock clacked secure with a satisfying reply.
The door to #4 slid open.
The administrator rushed through and into the airlock, where she held her arms outstretched and remained as motionless as possible even before the doors sealed behind her. A dim pink light slowly grew more intense, a distant hum growing louder as an automated voice cut through the tide of rising sound.
"Please remain still. Now initiating entanglement screening."
"Come on, come ON." The Administrator had to fight to remain still. Beams of cohesive, pink light began to trace over her body, drawing along the contour of her frame with precision as the sound of echoing, sharp pings emanated from all angles of the room. Eventually, the sounds quieted, and the light faded.
"No entanglement contamination detected. Please proceed."
The far door of the scanning airlock opened slower than she would've liked. She turned sideways to slide through before it had fully opened. Within seconds she was finally inside the chamber. It was an almost claustrophobic, restrictively small, somehow spherical room. A smooth, featureless circle of slick white sat inlaid on the floor directly in the center of the space, which was surrounded on all sides by curved, gleaming, smooth chrome on the concave walls. A raised console, replete with numerous candy-colored buttons, was positioned just on the edge of the circular inset, between the center and the screens that lined the room. The top of the chamber was jam-packed with barely concealed equipment that powered the curved screens and captured the subject in the center. It was less than graceful in design, but what it was, was functional.
The Administrator stepped into the center circle.
The entire room lit up immediately around her. Within seconds, the cramped room had melted from view, and in its place a series of holographic windows appeared before her, hovering amid an infinite projected virtual space. Despite the infinite possibilities, she counted naught but four static, two dimensional windows floating amid the computer generated void. Noting that one of those windows presented the settings and feedback for her own presence, that meant three others were on the call.
Each of the three windows that floated in front of her was incredibly minimal. A simple projection, housing a waveform corresponding to the sounds being transmitted from another location. From left to right, they were titled "CENTRAL LOGISTICS", "CENTRAL ARCANA", and finally "CENTRAL COMMAND".
Her blood ran cold when she noticed the call was voice-only. The CQE system was fully equipped for real-time, three-dimensional holographic presence, but the waveforms on the display revealed that this feature was not active. That was a conscious choice. The lack of specific names only made her veins that much chillier.
"Ah. Good. You're here at last," A deep voice rumbled as the CENTRAL COMMAND window showed a pulsing waveform. In response to the sound, the Administrator loosened in relief, though only slightly. Whoever this was, they were from command. That was enough to make her stand up and take notice. But the voice wasn't someone she recognized. And above all else, It certainly wasn't /him/. Hopefully this wasn't anything serious.
"Yes," The Administrator replied, "I apologize if all of you have been waiting long. As I'm sure you're aware, I have an entire satellite branch to get up and running here." A chilly beat hung heavy in the air. "It's a rather daunting task."
"Of course," Command chimed in, a note of empathy in the voice. "We appreciate you're on a tight schedule. And to that point, how are things progressing on site? Can we expect that the facility will reach nominally operational capacity soon?"
The Administrator's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Construction and deployment are continuing according to the anticipated schedule," she stated without enthusiasm. "While we have quite a bit of work to do in order to get most of the labs and mech bays online, those have always been long term goals. Living quarters, support functions, and engineering are all fully functional and ready to go. That includes the Distributed Arcana Battery Array. We brought it online 72 hours ago, and it has performed admirably in diagnostics. As for the rest of the facility, I anticipate another two months for us to be fully kitted and prepared for the operations expected of a satellite location."
"Excellent!" Command intoned with genuine excitement. "Wonderful, miss Administrator. We're delighted that work continues apace. As you realize, despite its remote location, your site remains of critical strategic importance. In particular, providing support and safety for the surrounding area will be of the utmost significance moving forward."
"I suppose that must be true, though it is hard to grasp the critical strategic importance of anything in the surrounding," her retort was thick with snark. "But it isn't my place to question our deployments. What is my place, though, is to wonder what exactly this is all about."
Another overflowing pause choked the line. All waveforms were still.
Eventually, Command ventured to break the tension. "I'm not sure what you me-"
"Spare me, please. You didn't call me to Cryptographic Quantum Entanglement so you could get a progress report on the staff quarters. A bog standard status update could be easily and securely communicated via the eyewear."
The Administrator bristled slightly. The CQE chamber was specifically designed to exclude transmission across the standard organization network, was completely impervious to electronic or acoustic eavesdropping of any kind, and was entirely opaque to any and all nanites. She knew that the only reason this conversation was happening in this chamber was because someone very high up wanted to ensure everything remained completely, unquestionably private.
Another beat of silence smothered the air around her.
"To the point as always, I see," Command uttered, a sigh inherent in their voice. "You never were one for pleasantries."
"It's your latest side project, Polymayhem," A new voice now, brimming with an almost imperceptible echo of unseen power. She might not have recognized the voice, but she recognized the hallmark. Sure enough, it was Central Arcana.
"And which project would this be," The Administrator returned without pause.
"I believe," A lighter voice replied, intertwined with an almost sing-song cadence, and more than a passing hint of obvious playfulness. The waveform for Central Logistics pulsed and jumped with each almost flirtatious word, "Your team is referring to it as 'Lightning In A Bottle'? Hrm? Ring a bell, darling?"
"Wait," The Administrator, for all her deadpan stoicism, was caught off guard. "What about that project? What about Lightning In A Bottle?"
"Well, simply put dear, we all have... shall we say, concerns? Quite a few concerns, really!" Logistics practically cooed her condescension. The Administrator almost recoiled physically to hear it.
"This project has been cleared at the highest levels," The Administrator offered forcefully. "I was informed that all operations and measures proposed were both considered and approved without qualification."
"Your determination was premature," the bouncing waveform from Central Arcana leapt higher than the other two ever had. The overtones of reverb behind the voice were just barely perceptible. The vixen noted, though, that it was enough to be annoying. "Simply put, a proper risk assessment was never executed to our satisfaction."
"What the HELL are you talking about."
"The target," Arcana continued, "is simultaneously irrelevant and dangerous. Given the fact that we do not require this asset in any way, the potential risk of acquiring her is unacceptable."
The Administrator had to restrain herself from smashing her fist into the CQE console. "This is ridiculous. This asset is incredibly valuable. Even if we were to ignore the value she would bring to this organization, the demonstration of the Arcana Battery Array is incredibly imp-"
"Weeeellllll," a high pitched, dismissive note of patronizing venom playfully drifted through the voice channel as Logistics continued to taunt The Administrator. "That's kinda-sorta another little problem right there, sweetheart, now isn't it? Hooking up some unknown magical trollop to our brand new Array is, well, reckless? Wouldn't you say?"
"The Distributed Arcana Battery Array," Command offered directly, "is far too valuable for us to venture on this unnecessary operation, Miss Administrator. The entire point of the satellite site has been the realization of that Array. Anything that might put it in jeopardy is unacceptable. Your initial project description completely failed to mention the use of the Array for this endeavor."
"Preposterous," The Administrator countered. "The entire operation relies on the Array operating as intended. This will allow us to demonstrate the Array's competency while simultaneously securing the asset. This is an efficient and direct path to both objectives. The Array is more than capable of handling this operation. Our Chief Engineer has staked her reputation on this."
"This hypothesis is unproven, and gambling the Array on this foolish endeavor is simply unacceptable," Arcana once again spoke with a force that vibrated beyond her compatriots. "There is no telling how the Array will behave under these circumstances. And beyond this, the entire operation is unnecessary. We have no need of this asset whatsoever."
"Are you even aware of the target at all?!" The administrator shouted, exasperated. "If this succeeds, we will have access to a LITERAL GENI-"
"IRRELEVANT," the voice boomed over the Administrator, reverberating tones seeming to shake the very chamber around her. "This is not the first of her type we have encountered. The asset is redundant to our organization, and frankly, we have no need for her. Even a cursory examination of her dossier reveals that this will be a fight. Frankly, I consider it would be a conflict you are unlikely to win, particularly with the experience and resources currently at your disposal. Even if you do succeed, the potential gain is minimal. If you fail, our progress is set back considerably."
The administrator tightened her fists silently.
"I must object, vehemently," The vixen struggled to level her voice. Despite her efforts, the quavering cracks of frustration were made all too obvious as she spoke. "While I am unaware of the full extent of the Arcana Division's resources, I cannot in good conscience consider that the asset in question is of no value to this organization. Beyond her capacities, beyond her abilities, consider for a moment that if we do not find a way to bring her to our side, then someone else will add her to theirs."
The chamber thrummed with mechanical silence for a long, widening moment.
"This is not speculation on my part," she continued. "Reconnaissance revealed quite clearly that we are not the only group which has placed her under surveillance. There is a very real possibility that if we do not move to secure this asset, and soon, that she will be wielded against us."
The humming tone of background equipment underscored the tightening quiet once more.
Eventually, after another stretched moment had past, the soft tone of Central Command slowly loosened the atmosphere, "Ah, of course, Miss Administrator."
"We fully acknowledge your assessment in this matter. We do understand that the asset represents a threat, should she align with those who would wish us harm. Yet at the same time, it seems unlikely that any of our would-be assailants could bring her to heel, yes? And from what the dossier indicates, she seems incredibly unlikely to interfere with our affairs, should we give her a wide berth. Which is why..."
"Which is why," Logistics oozed into the conversation smoothly, "it's so foolish to force a confrontation, darling."
The Administrator felt her heart beginning to race at this point. Her entire plan was starting to unravel before her eyes. She was going to be cut off without so much as a chance to prove herself, and after she had already been assured that her plans had received the green light. She felt utterly helpless. She felt trapped.
She felt...
Flashbacks of long nights, secluded in the basement of an academic lab, came surging into her mind unbidden. Of her, alone, cut off, and secluded. Of isolation. Of worthlessness.
Flashbacks of being abandoned down there. Of being cast off, for her lack of contribution. For her lack of impact.
The Administrator shook her head slowly to throw the images off her mind.
"We," The fox was starting to stumble now. "We fully intend to extend a formal, direct offer before w-"
"Ohhh, but it won't work, now, will it?" The Administrator watched as the waveform on Logistics' readout bounced playfully. Even that seemed to mock her. "It's fairly clear that this little bundle of dynamite has no interest in playing nice with anyone but herself. And so you'll be forced to fall back onto your so-called plan B."
"Which will succeed. Unquestionably." The Administrator stated with confidence. She had to find her footing again, or this was all over. "Our Commander has designed an extensive and remarkably potent program for this occasion. We've constructed a custom isolation chamber to minimize any possibility of a breach. Every measure has been taken to ensure safety and success. We've built in tolerances far beyond the norm. This plan goes beyond anything we've ever done before for such a target."
"Mmmhmm, you certainly ARE spending a lot of money and resources on this, it's true." The Administrator gritted her teeth silently in anger as Logistics continued to stab her verbally, slicing her with soft words. "But consider for a moment that your little plan involves directly exposing this unpredictable asset to our... most special of friends. Which means that our very, very valuable assistant will be interfacing with this uncontrolled - and by all accounts, extremely angry - barrel of volatile magic?"
"We've accounted for that. The Commander is requesting a subroutine be spun out, rather than deploying the entire program."
"But this still would demand you send in a fragment, does it not? Meaning that the network itself would be touched by this mystic hussy? Meaning the network would be vulnerable? You know for a fact that we simply can't allow that kind of risk, now, sweetheart."
"For the love of - We're SANDBOXING the operation! Given the physical isolation measures we're taking we need some way to actually deploy a PAYLOAD to the target. Hardlight reconstruction and nanite dispersal is not only the only option, it remains the BEST option."
"Is it, though, honey? Really?"
"I'll thank you to refer to me by my title, for fuck's sake."
"My, my. Alright, doctor."
"You FUCKING B-"
"ENOUGH," The words from Central Command were rigid without being violent. "Bickering like this affords us nothing. Polymayhem, we fully appreciate that you've invested a substantial amount of time and effort into planning this operation, and I further recognize that you were given explicit approval from Command previously. But given the risks involved, and the fact that the potential benefit is less than previously understood, we may need additional time to determine the best course of action."
"Sir," The vixen was practically shaking at this point. "I'm begging you to reconsider. This has been meticulously planned. It's an operation in the interest of our organization from the perspective of safety, for the sake of bolstering our Arcana resources, and for the purpose of demonstrating the Array. In spite of what the wider Arcana Division may have encountered in the past, adding this asset to our organization is an undeniable benefit. We can make this happen."
Another silent pause choked the chamber for far too long.
The Administrator was desperate. "I would not be here in this desiccated asshole of a desert if I did not think that, not only is this possible, but that this is NECESSARY."
The vixen gripped the control panel in front of her for dear life. The circulation to her fingers was practically cut off. Every second felt like an eternity.
"I'm sorry, Poly," Command intoned softly. "There's too much here that could go awry. It's better that we keep our head down, at least until the site is fully online. Consider the project tabled for now."
"Command, signing off."
With little additional fanfare the holographic displays flickered to nothingness one after another, leaving The Administrator alone in the silent, cold chamber.
The secure doors to the CQE department groaned as they slid open. The arctic fox who slid between the yawning halves of the opening doors did so much more slowly than she had entered minutes ago. As she shoved her glasses clumsily back onto her face, and rebooted the interface, she let out a heavy sigh. However, her morose inner reflection was interrupted unceremoniously.
"Hey," A deep, smooth tone. Powerful, but gentle.
The Administrator straightened her pink glasses on the bridge of her nose as she looked upward at the towering hyena leaning against the corridor wall across the hall. She must've been waiting there the whole time, she reflected.
"Commander," She stated dryly.
"What was that all about?"
The vixen's gaze darted to the side, uncomfortably. "It was nothing. A standard construction report."
The hyena leaned forward off the wall with half a grin etched into her lips, "In the CQE room? Gimme a break."
"Yes, well. It WAS a CQE communication, so perhaps you ought to keep your nose out of it, yes?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." The Commander lifted up her gigantic paws, waving them slowly palm-out in a display of non-aggression. "Claws back in, there, girl. I knew whatever this was, it wasn't fun. So I'm just here to check in on you, yeah?"
Poly ran her fingers through her hair instinctively. She fought to suppress a sniffle in her voice, unsuccessfully.
"Oh Dee. I'm sorry. It's just... They just..."
The hyena stepped off the wall slowly, reaching out to pull the smaller fox into her arms. She wrapped her strong embrace around the much more diminutive vixen, pulling Poly's lab coat up against her own uniform. "Hey, hey it's okay. Just take it slow."
The Administrator looked up into the hyena's eyes with a clear note of sorrow in her expression. Not a bawling, inconsolable fit of emotion, but rather a look of utter deflation and defeat. It made the Commander unnerved. Poly never looked like this.
"Command just axed Lightning In A Bottle, Dee."
"Wait... What?"
"After all that time and effort, Logistics and Central Arcana said something to Command, and now they're telling us the project's a no-go."
"But we've been at this for months! The Array just got up and running like, a few days ago!"
"I know. I know!" The fox went almost slack in Dee's arms. "They said the risk was too high. That they didn't want to risk the Array in contact with the target. That they didn't want to risk the Network in contact with the target. And that it was simply not worth the effort, even if we did pull it off."
The Commander furrowed her brow in confusion as she gave the vixen a reassuring squeeze. "Babe, that's bullshit and you know it. You and Mekkie have been working this thing from all angles! And how could it be 'not worth it'? This is the score of a lifetime!"
The Administrator shrugged limply, even while in the hyena's arms. "I just... I have no idea. Central Arcana said that this isn't anything new. That we've encountered this before, apparently. I suppose they've got experience here I wasn't aware of. They consider the asset redundant."
"I mean, for fuck's sake, even if she's the second or third, it'd still be pretty valuable to have her on our side, yeah?" Dee ran her massive, strong paws along Poly's back gently, massaging and comforting her companion as best she was able. "Something stinks about this, girl."
"I'm not so sure. I think they just... I think they legitimately have no interest in the project. That's all." The arctic fox heaved a heavy, dwindling breath from her chest as she slowly leaned against the hyena's bust. "So we're right back where we started. Small, insignificant, useless. Dee, this was our shot to actually bring something to the organization that benefited everyone. Something that might actually let us become a real part o-"
"Hey. Hey, no," Dee put a fingertip to the fox's lips gently. "None of that, okay? You're worth it, and you're worthy, no matter what. Even if we are stuck in the middle of nowhere building gigantic magic batteries for who knows what reason, we're still doing our part, okay? And you belong, not just here, but as a larger part of this whole. And you belong with me, got it?"
The Administrator let out a tiny, weak, wordless squeak. She was at a loss for words. The arctic fox nodded her head gradually, in a manner that told Dee that while she had heard what the hyena had said, clearly her brain would not let her believe it.
"I'll tell you what, though," The hyena rumbled quietly, her grin returning as she gave the vixen a squeeze. "Think of how much crow they'll have to eat when it turns out the plan goes off without a hitch?"
The arctic fox quirked her brow slightly as she cast a quizzical look upward toward her companion. "They've told us to park the project, Dee."
"Yeah, they have."
The hyena leaned down low enough to whisper into the vixen's ear.
"But what if asked for forgiveness, instead of permission?"
no subject
Date: 2025-12-31 05:19 am (UTC)Thank you, very much, and very earnestly.
She'd be the first to say she sort of fell backward into the organization. But that being said, when it comes to this particular job, she is learning the meaning of "Suffering From Success" to some extent. Maybe even to the point where she feels it being a punishment, perhaps?
(Also, I just want to say that I appreciate your even reading any of this. And especially for your feedback. Thank you <3 )