Coincidentally But Eternally Connected

Origin Story

"That one," I told the Director, highlighting a name on my screen. "She is the best candidate."

The Director frowned at me. "Are you certain? She didn't do well in combat training. She's too empathetic and soft-hearted."

I surreptitiously rolled my eyes when he looked away. "Empathy can be an important quality in tense situations."

"Well," the Director sighed. "Empathy can also be easily faked by candidates with well-rounded skills."

I pushed back from the table, irritated. "You will not allow me to meet with the trainees in person. You know that I have trouble fully evaluating people through a screen, yet you question my conclusions."

The Director rounded on me. "Your input is appreciated, but the final decision lies with me. Don't forget that." He turned crisply and left the room, shutting the door with a click. My computer pinged.

User1: Is he gone?

I couldn't help but grin, covering it with my hand so the cameras did not see.

User2: Did you inject a rootkit into the surveillance camera software?

User1: Am I in trouble?

User2: Not if you don't get caught. ;)

User1: Then it's good we're using an encrypted messenger.

I smiled again, proud of my student.

User2: You are doing very well. I believe you may have surpassed me.

User1: I wish I could see you smile in person.

User2: Perhaps after you graduate.

User1: They will never let me out of here. They told me yesterday.

Her phrasing gave me pause.

User2: What do you mean?

User1: I'm sorry. I wasn't supposed to say that. I have to go.

She sent me a file attachment. My eyes widened at the name of the file.

User1 disconnected.

I stared at the screen, quickly minimizing the chat and pretending to work. My heart pounded as I tried to decide what to do. I was not authorized to view this file; it was strictly against my contract. But Itxaro's words concerned me. It almost sounded like she was a prisoner here, instead of a trainee. I must look into this.

But not here. There were too many eyes on me. We were always searched for storage devices as we came in and out of the secure site, so physically removing the file was not possible. I would have to hide it somewhere and retrieve it later. I did the most obvious thing--I put it into my desktop's trash bin and hoped for the best.

Later that evening while at home, I developed a Remote Access Tool. I worked late into the night, perfecting the program so that it would be undetectable. Luckily, I had written most of the code for the secure site's firewall, so I knew its weaknesses.

In the early hours of the morning, I was finally done. Stubble rasped along my face when I ran my hand over it. Taking a deep breath, I executed the code and watched as it moved among the intricacies of the protections I had developed. Soon enough I was on my work desktop. I quickly pulled the file from the trash bin and backed my way out of the system.

I had just enough time to change my clothes and gulp down some coffee. Now I would have to go to work and pretend everything was fine. I counted the minutes until it was time to go home. I wanted to contact Itxaro, but I dared not. She only messaged me when she knew it was safe, so I could not risk it. My only reassurance was that I continued to see her logged in, working brilliantly. Given my suspicions, perhaps it was best that the Director failed to see what an important asset she was.