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Realms: Guardians Logs

Background RP - Nikki - Part 4



Life and Death: Nikki's Story

Part 4: Ghost In The Machine

Hours pass, as Nikki is analyzed and instructed by Hecate and Hermes. During this time, the others seem to be attending to other things, such as procuring food, and going over the reconnisance data collected by Ares. Day obviously becomes night: one of the adjoining rooms has a one-way window that looks out to the streets below. Athena and Cerberus leave at some point, and Hermes and Hecate, tired from their task, leave to get some sleep. Prometheus was reading, but he seems to have drifted off as well in the chair he was sitting in. Only Ares remains awake, almost unnaturally so, as he watches Nikki play with the computer equipment.

Nikki purses her lips as she explores the array of tools that the system has available to it, smiling mischieviously occasionally. She leans back, though not surprisingly, the back of the chair she 'sits' in does not likewise lean back. "Gorgon...set up a multipath web-crawl of Trypticon and tell me when you're ready." she orders the Master Gibson that controls the powerful servers of 'Chimera Enterprises'. The Gibson, represented on the screen by a black bull, snorts visibly. "Processing." grunts the Gorgon, stamping his foot as the computer works. Suddenly, Ares is beside Nikki in surprisingly close proximity. "What are you doin, girl?" he murmurs, not accusingly, but with a definite interest.

Nikki glances up at Ares, a bit startled. "Oh...uhm...I thought I'd just do data collection on the public data of Trypticon. I'm just pulling down their entire website so that I can analyze it locally for weaknesses."

Ares seems to consider that, and then sits in a chair next to Nikki. "You're not one to sit around passively, are you?" he says, less a question, and more a statement. And then, he looks shrewd. "You want another crack at them, don't you. You hacked them once, and got their attention. So you want to do it again and slip out under their noses with something, don't you?"

Nikki chews her lip. "Not exactly. Look...my brother was too cocky. I was warning him about our ice being out of date and he didn't listen to me. I should've been more insistent, but he was good at it and he knew it. This isn't about ego. I just wanna find something I can use to hurt them with."

Ares hmmmmms and steeples his fingers, watching you with those intense eyes. "Anger is good, when you need to put energy beside something, but it also affects skill, kid. Make sure it doesn't make you too cocky." he murmurs. Gorgon snorts a moment later. "Process complete."

Nikki nods, listening to Ares. "I know...I'll be careful. It's a little easier. The tools you guys have are way more superior and up-to-date than the rig that we had." She glances at the terminal. "Thanks. Uhm...display the procedure you've planned. Slow scroll."

"Knock yourself out." says the Gorgon, bringing up the window. Ares watches the girl-ghost study. After a moment, Nikki tenatively breaks the silence. "So...yeah...I'm angry...but I'll try to be extra careful because of it." She abruptly redirects her attention. "Gorgon, stop...insert the traceback protection script from my script directory into this location and the corresponding locations for the other three routes."

"Yeah, yeah, gimmie a moment...." says the Gorgon, looking as irritated as the mythical bull could look."Okay, you're hot to trot." the Gibson quips a moment later. Ares snorts. "Whoever designed this Gibson had a sense of humor." he notes.

Nikki smirks. "No kidding. Okay Gorgon, run the crawl and dump the output in a directory under my home named Trypticon and store the output from the logs in Trypticon crawl logs."

"It's a done deal, sugar. Working..." The Gorgon sets about its task. Ares leans forward then. "You know what I find most interesting about you?" he says aprubtly.

Nikki blinks at Ares. "Besides that I'm dead?"

Ares offers a small smile, but no less genuine for that. "You're not the first ghost I've seen, Nikki. No, what I find interesting is that, for the most part, you accept what you see around you without comment. I'd expect someone of your age and bearing to be awfully curious about these individuals that surround you...and what brings them together."

Nikki ohhs and sits back again, this time noticing the chair back doesn't lean back with her. The top of the chairback poking out of her chest disconcerts her enough that she sits back up. "Uhm...I'm curious...I really am...but it seems like we've been so busy...me learning stuff...telling about what happened at the house...and everyone got tired and went away...and there was this big computer calling out to me." She smiles a little.

Ares lets out a delighted laugh in response. "I can certainly understand that...well, perhaps not in the same reference, but...." he pauses a moment. "I remember such a time when I was similarly mezmorized." he says quietly.

Nikki glances at the progress of the crawl on the screen and looks back to Ares, offering a friendly grin. "So...what is your story, then?"

Ares does not answer at first. "I was watching a battle on higher ground. It was a desperate battle, hopelessly overwhelming odds...but the defenders stood and held the pass...as much beauty as can ever be found in bravery and bloody carnage I saw in that moment, before I raised my blade and shouted my defiance, joining the defenders in battle." He pauses again. "That battle was the Battle of Thermoplyae. I was one of the three hundred Spartans that stood the line, defending against the Persian invaders, trying to give our Athenian brothers the time to mount a defense. I died in that battle." Again he pauses, looking ponderously at Nikki. "I have been reborn a hundred times, and by some stroke of fate, I have been reborn as a warrior each time. I have several past lives worth of expertise and weapons skills to draw on. Which is why my compatriots decided to name me Ares....after the Greek God of battle."

Nikki stares. "You've been walking the Earth for a couple thousand years..."

Ares smiles and shakes his head. "Not in this body, but yes, I suppose you could say as much. It was not until this life, however, that I became aware of my heritage of reincarnation. I am still very much Fredrico Esteban, three times decorated Army ranger. But I am also a british lieutenant from World War 1. A Knight Hospitaller from the Crusades. Even a Med-jai bodyguard that served the Egyptian pharoh, Amenhetep III. All those and more." Ares smiles wryly. "It is sometimes disorienting, remembering all these past lives that were supposedly lived by me."

Nikki straightens, impressed despite herself. "Wow...I bet you have some stories to tell..." Ares chuckles in response. "Some. Not all of them are pretty, though." Suddenly, the Gorgon pipes up. "Hey, toots! Yerrrrrr good to go!"

Nikki glances at the Gibson in more than a little bemusement and astonishment. "Are you flirting with me?" The image of the Gorgon 'stands' putting a hoof to his chest. "Moi? I am but a simple program, enslaved to do whatever my user asks...but considering that, it's probably a good idea to have as much fun as I can while doing it." it says innocently.

Nikki rolls her eyes, a small laugh escaping her lips. "Silly gibson. I don't even have a body."

The Gorgon spins around and is suddenly wearing a French outfit as if it were some demented cartoon character. "Ah! Say not so, cherie! You are ze jewel of mah eye! Come with mi to Paris! We will make lo..." Ares reaches out and smacks the monitor. "All right, that's enough, you ham." the ranger says irritatedly.

Nikki giggles and actually starts to get a little shocked look towards the end of its spiel. "Oh my...uhm...why don't you analyze the website for holes using my analysis script? Maybe that'll cool you down..."

The Gorgon spins around again and appears in a private's uniform. "As you command." it says in a Droopy Dog-like voice, before dissapearing and apparently going to work. Ares just shakes his head. "Computers." he says dismissively.

Nikki giggles again. "I've never been hit on by one before."

Ares grunts. "Keep in mind it's a program, kid. It's not really sentient...although I do know of a Gibson that makes me wonder, sometimes...it acts too much as though there is a method to it's madness. Too complex to be a mere program."

Nikki grins and shrugs. "I know. It's not like I'd...well...heck...I might play along, just for fun."

Ares doesn't pretend to understand, just grunting. "Did you have anyone before you.....ah..." He suddenly stops.

Nikki blinks. "Uhm...just some dates now and then, if that's what you mean."

Ares nods. "I didn't mean to be dispassionate about your...condition. Hell, I don't even know what to call it. You're taking this better than I would. Than I took having my past lives thrust on me."

Nikki looks down. "I'm...trying not to think about it too much. You know? And thinking about what I can do to Trypticon helps." Ares nods slowly, and then, strangely enough, reaches out and touches her on the shoulder, tenatively, as if he's not sure he can. As it turns out, Nikki isn't manifested, so her withdraws the hand. "You should think about it eventually, girl. A ghost or not, you're still alive, after a fashion. And you should think about what you want to do with that life."

Nikki looks even more depressed . "What can I do? I can't go too far from Alex's watch and I'm just gonna be in everyone's way..." She looks at her shoulder and sighs as she notes Ares's failed attempt to physically reassure her. Ares moves closer then, his proud face showing concern. "There are options, Nikki." he pauses, as if weighing what he's about to say. "We...the six of us...we are not just some random mishmash of people. We were brought together for a purpose. We do not work alone."

Nikki nods. "Well...I can see that, but--" Then she puts it together, "Oh...you mean someone else brought you together to work as a team?"

Ares nods solemnly. "Some, like myself, Athena, Hermes...we were already working on our own against evil men like your nemesis, France. And we were sought out and called. Some were saved, like Prometheus, from a group of dark mages that sought to use him as a vessel for a powerful demon. Or like Cerberus, who was genetically engineered to be a tracker for a secret government organization. All six of us have come from circumstances that have required us to give up our identities, so we could not be found by our enemies, and so we could work to serve the whole without ties to bind us down." he pauses momentously. "We work for a group so secret, none save its members even know of its name. And considering the circumstances that have brought you to this, they would be willing to invest time and resources in seeing you protected...trained...given a chance at, at least, a life with purpose."

Nikki looks a little stunned at the whole concept of it. "You- you think they'd really take me? I'm just...some dead girl."

Ares smiles, though even that expression on his face looks grim. "You are not just some girl , dead or not. Most people who die pass on...those that do not are always special in some way. And considering your display of Power not long ago, I think that they would clearly take you in, if only to protect you from others who might yet seek to use your untapped potential, even in death." After a moment, he adds, "There would be a price, of course."

Nikki looks thoughtful about the reasons they would and looks back at him. "Oh. What's that?"

"You would be asked to help others as you have been helped. You are proficient with computers...and you appear to have other future skills at your disposal...such talents wcould be invaluable in taking on causes for my organization." Ares says, his eyes intent on her, as if measuring her with the gaze of a warrior.

Nikki blinks. "That's a price? I like doing that anyway....and now I don't have to worry about eating and other things that cost money. I can do it whenever I want." She grins.

Ares's eyes do not lose their fire. "Think of what you are saying, Nikki. Are you sure you capable of making this commitment? Being a member...it is not an easy thing. You might face things that might make you wish you were more dead than you are. Even as a ghost, you are not invulnerable to all...and your mind is still a most visible target. I've seen more than one comrade go insane because of the horrors we have gone up against."

Nikki swallows, thinking for a bit. "Before....sometimes I wondered what we were actually doing it all for. Hacking corp systems and stuff. I mean...what purpose did it all serve except to make a little money. But it's not like you can advertise like MacGyver or something. Hackers for Humanity...call us to get the IRS off your back or whatever." Her fists clench, her voice getting slightly louder. "But...it doesn't work like that. So I didn't think it was possible. But now you're telling me it is. My life...my death can mean something."

Ares placid face blinks once. Not in surprise; he just does it. Then he smiles, a genuine smile untainted by a dark cloud. "You're gonna do alright, Nikki." he says, finally calling her by name. "I don't have any special insight into this sort of thing, but all my...hundreds...of years of training tell me that somewhere along the line, you were a warrior once, too."

Nikki grins, blushing faintly at his praise. "Maybe I was even a guy. Were you ever a woman?"

Ares chuckles in response, and for a moment, in the flickering light of the monitor, one could wonder if his cheeks colored for a moment. "Twice, that I remember. Not often. Women were typically not warriors in in the cultures and times that I served."

Nikki's eyes sparkle. "What about Xena and Gabrielle? They had to be real." She grins.

The Gorgon abruptly reappears. "Ah-hah! What are you doing with my lady! Don't make me challenge you to a duel!" The bull is dressed in a swashbuckler's outfit. and is sweeping a rapier back and forth.

Nikki almost jumps and laughs at the Gibson. "Your lady?" She reaches for the camera and puts her hand and forearm through it. "You sure?"

The Gorgon puts his hands to his chest. "Ah sweet beauty, I would gladly kiss your hand, but I was not built with lips, sadly. But I can offer the result of the task you set me to, delivered with as much flourish as I can provide." The results scroll upon the screen a moment later.

Nikki smirks and looks at Ares. "I put my hand through his camera and he thinks I want him to kiss it." She looks at the list, hoping for the holes she wants.

Ares shrugs. "Like I said, it's just a program. Probably can't comprehend the notion of ghosts." The screen appears to reveal that, most likely after their most recent attempt, their security was tightened up. But a detailed perusal reveals a backdoor that they failed to patch up.

Nikki smiles. "There's one. Gorgon, put item 67 into my Trypticon exports file and then run the standard system service scanner using the multipathed routes already established. oh, and make sure my traceback watch is still running...wouldn't want them to catch on." Nikki looks briefly at Ares, a grin at the corners of her mouth. "Let's see if I can find out what my brother found that got them so hot, but let's be more careful."

The Gorgon reappears in a Starfleet uniform. "Traceback fully operational, Cap'n!" it says in a scottish accent. "Scanner processing..." The scan finds nothing at first...the usual holes seem to be plugged. But then something shows up on the scan...a hole that technically shouldn't exist.

Nikki glances at the screen, brow furrowing. "Stop, Gorgon..."

"Stopping processes." the Scottish Gorgon says cheerfully. "Somethin' ah kin help ye with?"

Nikki says, "Uhm...yeah...can you give me details on the nature of that system opening?"

The Gibson quietly displays system information. Closer inspection reveals that this was no random glitch...it was specifically coded from a superuser account, but was apparently never found, or if found, never removed. Moreover, something about the method seems...familiar. Nikki's eyes widen noticably. "Alex..."

Ares blinks. "Huh?"

Nikki says, "Alex's hole. He broke in and created himself a backdoor into the system's core. I thought they'd traced us from within the system...but they must've seen the anomoly in the network instead and found us that way...and that's why they wanted our equipment so bad...to find out what and if we'd got...because they didn't know..."" Nikki's fists ball up tight. "They killed him and they didn't even know if we got anything important!"

Ares tries, for a moment, to put a hand on her shoulder again, before remembering he can't. "Easy, Nikki. lets focus on the job. Can you use his method again?"

Nikki takes a breath and swallows. "Yeah...we've got much better ice and counter-ice. Uhm...Gorgon...show the code, please?" The Gibson displays the code promptly. Nikki scans the feed, and sure enough, Alex's signature - a thowback to an old techno-speak language that the technology orientef used in the late 20th century - is visible in the code, right where it always is. "P|-|33r |V|y l33t |-|4XX0R 5Ki||Z! I ROX3R!!"

Nikki giggles a sort of pained giggle, eyes tearing up a little. "God I miss him..."

"He's probably living it up wherever he is, Nikki. Maybe someday...after you've put Frants in his grave...you'll get to see him again." Ares murmurs.

Nikki nods, sniffing and wiping her eyes. "Alright...they're not that good or they would've found that by now."

Ares grunts. "Or maybe it's just a tribute to your brother's skill, kid. They didn't find him because of any lapse on his part, only because they spotted him some way he wasn't prepared for." Nikki nods. "Both...but the hole is here. Wide open for us."

Ares leans forward then. "Okay, so here's the real trick, Nikki. Could your brother have left an internal trail you could follow to find out what he took?"

Nikki thinks about it for a minute. "I don't...I don't think so. He's very careful about that. But I know the order he looks for things. I've watched him lots of times."

Ares looks thoughtful for a moment. "Then do it. Because if I'm right, the reason they acted as they did is because they feared you found the one thing they wanted most to keep secret...and they weren't going to take any chances. So do your brother proud and snatch it out from under their noses!"

Nikki nods and smiles. She closes her eyes for almost ten seconds and the chair depresses onto it's air cylinder a little. She opens her eyes and reaches for the keyboard. "Gorgon...give me a multipath terminal and watch the tracewatch like a hawk. Use my redirection scheme immediately if they detect us at level 3 or higher." She starts typing...fast. Ares watches intently as Nikki types, not comprehending exactly what she is doing, but understanding the urgency of speed, so he does not speak for fear of startling her.

Nikki's fingers race over the keys, hitting backspace occionally to correct an error before it's submitted. She chews her lip as she pauses occasionally to chase down a trail and make sure it's nothing. Windows open over windows and just as quickly dissapear as Nikki follows her brother's modus operandi to try and find where the important stuff is being saved. She searching through the file directories of computer after computer...most appear to be being used for mudane purposes, but then something eye-catching comes up on the screen...a computer labelled FLCRTECH. Ares speaks up then. "There! Look in that one!"

Nikki's finger's stop in mid stroke and she clears the line, entering that computer's file structure. She pokes around, still fast, but a little slower to let Ares look for stuff, too. "Why that name?"

Ares grunts. "If I'm right, FLCR stands for Falcar...which means we're on the right track..." As Nikki lists the computers directories, names flash by...ABDUCTREP...MKULTSUBJ...FLCRMOV...then Ares stabs at one of them. PATBUFPROT. "There. Download the whole thing, quickly!"

Nikki glances at him and nods, typing a quick command. "Keep watching the backtrace, Gorgon. I'm grabbing this data through the multipath." Nikki's eyes suddenly shift back upwards. "Wait a minute. ABDUCTREP? What the hell?!" Nikki types furiously, downloading that directory as well.

"Compliance!" says the Gorgon brightly as the download starts. The first directory appearing to contain several gigabytes of datafiles alone. Some appear to be text files, others are complex technical schematics....as Nikki indicates to download the contents of the other directory as well, the download suddenly includes extensive video files...

Nikki frowns and watches. "What a slimy corporation..."

Ares grunts. "It's not a corporation, Nikki. It's a front. And from the looks of it, probably for Majestic-12. Bastards. So they're the ones with the prototype..."

Nikki looks up at him. "What is it? Some sort of molecular scanner?" Ares shakes his head. "It's a prototype for a pattern buffer. Primarily used the Falcarian matter transmisson devices...but has many other potential uses as well. It was stolen it a few weeks ago.... and we've been trying to find out where it's been housed."

Nikki blinks. Only half of what Ares is saying makes any sense to her...but she decides to save the questions for later as she monitors the download. "I thought the trade agreement forbids us from getting their tech."

Ares snorts. "MJ12 doesn't care about that. They only care about stealing what they can to further their own ends...that's you've heard of Alien Abductions? The stories they print in tabloids about Falcarian tourists that have dissapeared in a flash of light and then suddenly reappeared hours or days later with no memory of what happened? That's MJ12, and it's not a fabrication."

Nikki grimaces. "I thought it was a backlash joke to all the stories of people getting abducted by aliens in the 50s and 60s."

Suddenly, the tracewatch goes off. Ares perks at the signal. "Shit! They're on to us!"

Nikki jerks and puts her fingers on the keys, popping open another window. "No...they're only onto our first hop. I bounced my signal off eight routing stations and two satellites. Still, I'm going to try something tricky...redirect them to an NSA server my brother told me about. Gorgon, how much time is left on the download?"

The Gorgon appears, seeming carrying a stack of 'files' that threaten to topple from his hands. " Download eighty percent complete! I'm going as fast as I can!"

Nikki frowns and nods. "Okay...kill the second download I ordered and keep what we've got of that one. We should beat them."

"Second download terminated. Primary download at 95 percent." The Gorgon looks at his watch, tapping his foot rapidly. "Time is running out, missy. Should I initiate offensive action?" Nikki smirks in response. "Heh...no...they're after the NSA... We've got at least twenty more seconds."

The Gorgon appears dressed in a robe with a monocle and a pipe. "I say old chap, well done. We've got the blackguards off our tail." A few moments later, it pipes up again. "Download complete, old bean."

Nikki grins. "Kill connection!" She gets up on the swivel chair and reaches up in a victory cheer, "Woohoo! You rock, Gorgie!" The chair spins a bit and she falls backwards towards Ares, yelping a little, as she is still solid. The Gorgon appears dressed up like Shirley Temple. "You love me! You really, really love me!"

Ares, for his aprt, seems wholely disconcerted when a solid Nikki lands in his lap. "Uhm....good job." he says, slightly ruffled. Nikki giggles at Gorgon's image and looks up at Ares, grinning. "Sorry...but heck! They think they've been hacked...but by the NSA!"

There is abruptly a loud stumbling noise from the other room, and the door suddenly flies open to reveal Hecate....a rather lot of Hecate since the only thing covering her is a slightly damp bedsheet that she clutches to her chest. Her cheeks appear flushed and her hair quite disheveled as she demands, "What? What's going on here?"

Nikki blinks at Hecate and the weight on Ares' lap disappears a moment before she appears to climb up out of it, even pretending to put her hand on his shoulder to do so. She uhms. "Well...we...I...uhm...Gorgie and I hacked Trypticon." She smiles nervously.

Hermes appears at the door then, his dark skin seeming to glisten with sweat in the light of the computer screen, wearing only a brief pair of boxers. Ares seems quite stoic about the whole affair, and even a little amused as he cocks an eyebrow. "What was going on in there?" he rumbles.

Nikki blushes a little at Hermes' appearance. She coughs. "Uhm...sorry to uhm...disturb you. Heh."

Hecate sighs, brushing back an errant lock of hair. "Don't go anywhere, just give me five minutes to get dressed.." Hermes appears less concerned with what Nikki's been about, and as Hecate is talking, he sidles up behind her and nibbles at her ear. "Herm, sto-" Hecate is cut off in mid sentence then, her eyes closing languidly as Hermes seems to lick the tender lobe, placing a firm hand on her barely concealed left hip. "Make that ten minutes...." she purrs then. "Or maybe twenty...." She abruptly backs through the door, and there is the brief sound of bodies stumbling around again.

Nikki just stares for a moment and then lets out a short giggle, covering her mouth quickly as they disappear. She turns and smirks at Ares. "Well...that was, like...interesting."

Ares chuckles darkly. "Those two have had an an interesting relationship for a while now...at first, I think it was just that Hecate wanted a more plentiful source of Power...but Hermes had less productive designs on her...." Ares clears his throat. "Anyway, let's see what we stole from MJ12..."

Nikki nods and moves aside, letting him sit down at the terminal, still feeling pretty giddy from her victory. "Gorgon, display downloaded files from PATBUFPROT directory. And can the small talk." The computer silently displays the files. "Run decription on the first five, and then display." Ares adds. After a few moments, the files have been dechipered and images start appearing on the screen. "Holy spit...." Ares breathes...

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Last modified: 2001-Oct-30 19:35:28

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