Astral Realms - A New Dawn

Vindril and that person were now slowly and carefully descending a flight of stair they had found hiding behind the circular and highly technical desk that was right in the middle of that room. After things have calmed down between them, thanks to no small amount to his mastery of the coercive arts, they had disabled the cameras by working together. Or better, they made sure to cause a little bit of commotion in the program that was running those security measures so that they slither inside and scoop around the place.

The meagre appearance they saw in that room the moment they stepped inside made Vindril question his sanity. Had they just entered the wrong one, after all the troubles they had gone through in order to do so? He couldn’t believe. No. That couldn’t possibly be it. He could feel it. They were in the right place to investigate. The frequent visit by more than one Instructor or Empire personal made it so. So why was that room so…deserted? That absolutely made no sense whatsoever.

They evidently were missing something.

And after rummaging around the room, and fiddling with that suspicious-looking desk, which glowed as soon as their hands touched the cold surface, they found out exactly what.

A staircase, long and dark, was running all the way into the earth. Vindril had no doubt whatsoever that they would certainly find the answers they were looking for at the other end of it. Whatever they’ll be able to reach it was another thing entirely.

Now that they had reached a hypothetical middle point, judging by same distance that seemed to separate the entrance from the hidden room that waited for them at the base, Vindril’s right hand retrieved once again the pocket knife, the only weapon he currently had in his possession, and gripped it tightly. He didn’t know why he wasn’t feeling good about that whole thing, but he just couldn’t shake away the feeling that something bad was about to happen. Or maybe that little encounter with the guards had left him way more agitated than he was showing. He couldn’t’ tell. Still, it was better to be prepared for a confrontation than risking getting caught vulnerable and unprepared. And, if he really had to come up with an excuse for his behaviour, holding that small blade within his fingers managed to instil in him a sense of security that was all but unpleasant.

As they eventually reached the bottom, a light immediately popped up, illuminating the whole room. Fortunately, it seemed that nobody was waiting for them downstairs. Vindril stowed the pocket knife in the front pocked of his trousers. He was relieved there was no need to use it, after all. It was not like he ached for those type of confrontations. He would have never backed down from one, however. To show weakness, was equivalent to die. And he certainly wasn’t going to let some random son of a bitch decide whatever he should live or die.

Those thoughts aside, the interior of the room was completely different from the one above. For example, it was packed full to the brim with complex technology that was worth a fortune to the right buyer. And it also looked a neuralgic point of communication of some sort. So it was no wonder that person immediately targeted the computer on the right, the one that looked the most expensive in the whole room.

Vindril’s heart almost jumped out of his chest when he saw how direct and careless that person probed around that piece of tech until it powered up. Were they out of their mind? What if that computer was guarded by some complex defence mechanism that couldn’t be deactivate in time? What if an I.V. was guarding that whole room? Yet he was certainly not a novice.

A light appeared over them. Then the projection of the control screen manifested itself in all its details. It was silently waiting to receive a command of any kind.

The person immediately typed in a line of command that Vindril immediately recognized. Even if he wasn’t all that versed in that particular field of expertise, it wouldn’t have taken a genius to understand what was going on. They were trying to bring down the defensive measures the computer would have surely activated the moment they tried to directly access the information stored in it. Problem was, it was complicated. Their hands, which were typing furiously, showed how hard that was.

After some seconds, the person began to curse under their breath. “…Shit. Shit.”

Vindril clenched his hand. Well, that certainly wasn’t encouraging. “What? What’s going on.”

“…”

“Are you going to answer-”

“This computer is guarded by some complex firewall. Now shut up. I need to concentrate. We don’t have much time left.”

“…Then use this.”

After reaching for the belt around his pants, he grabbed one of the many small gadgets hanging there. It was a minuscule thing, that didn’t look all that powerful or important. Nonetheless, that person reaction clearly mimicked the true value of it.

“…How do you have that thing?” they asked, grabbing Vindril’s arm. Not even the voice disruptor that was masking their voice could have done something to hide the sheer shock they were feeling.

“That’s not important.”

The grip tightened. It seemed that person really wanted to have some answers. Too bad Vindril wasn’t willing to. At least for now.

“Now is not the time.” he said. “So stop wasting time and let me go. As you’ve just pointed out, we don’t have time to waste. So take it and use it. I’ll tell you later, if I feel like it.”

“…I still want answers. And I’ll have them, one way or another.”

“Yeah, yeah. Now get a moving.”

That person shook their head in frustration. Still, they eventually proceeded to insert that minuscule object in one of the many ports that were on the computer’s surface. In a fraction of seconds, the diagram of a ghost appeared on the screen, signalling that the program inside the object was working its magic. And when the load bar that was under it had reached the other side, the firewall came crushing down. They were in.

A list of files quickly appeared on the displayed screen. By their titles, much of them were just useless information on the compound’s expenses and the Academy’s supply lines. Others instead were just listed as a series of numbers that didn’t seem to hold any particular meaning. But, at the other side of the screen, hidden in plain sight among a group of unimportant files, there was one with a curios name: LOST.

“There.” said Vindril, pointing the file out. “Open that file.”

Without wasting any more time, that person entered the correct command line. Now, under normal circumstances, the computer would have displayed whatever it was ordered to. It would have been completely unheard of, not to say impossible, otherwise. And yet, as if that piece of technology was animated by something, the file that came out of the holographic projector resembled a madman’s rumbling. Vindril smiled frustrated. Of course it was coded. Of course it wasn’t going to be so simple.

“Ahhh, fuck. Of course its encrypted. Now what the fuck are we supposed to do? Is there even a way to decipher it?”

“…I don’t know. But it’s pointless to argue about it.”

“So what? Are we just-”

“No.”

Vindril’s eyebrows shot up in sudden confusion. He didn’t have the necessary knowledge, or tools, to crack open the code that was encrypting that file. And by the way that person had answered him, they didn’t too. So what was even the point of taking a file that couldn’t be read? That just seemed a waste of time and resources. Wouldn’t it better to find something else to take?

“I don’t think it’s worthy our time. We should find something else.”

They completely ignored him and began copying the file into a small metal object. That must have been an older model of-

“We are out of time. We have to go.”

“Wait. Can’t we like-”

“No.”

“Oh, come on. I’m sure we can-”

“Feel free to stick around if you like. I don’t care. But I will not wait for you.”

Vindril cursed out loud, looking dejected. “Ah! Alright. Let’s go.”

The person didn’t even bother to reply. Instead, they simply turned around and walked back the long staircase, ready to face whatever they might have encountered on their way back.

Vindril shrugged. That was not how he had envisioned things would turn out. But he also guessed that they weren’t going back emptyhanded, so that must have counted for something…right?

//////

Vindril trailed after that person in complete silence as they zigzagged their way back to the building they were staying in. The silence that was also reigning all around, even if they were surrounded by buildings that were full of life, was almost giving him the creeps. But all that paled in comparison to the utter confusion he was in. What was that person hoping to achieve by coping that file? To his knowledge they didn’t have the necessary know how to crack it open and take possession of its secrets. But then again, it was not like he knew them or what they were capable of. To be honest, he didn’t even know if there was a man or a woman under that armor. Maybe there wasn’t even a person in there. So how could he judge their capabilities with so little information?

He sighed. Of course he couldn’t. Still, he couldn’t help but feel like they had just wasted a good night sleep.

Eventually, they reached their destination. And they did so without alerting anybody. They had to repeat that whole blackout thing in order to do so, but it was worth the extra trouble. Not a living soul seemed to have noticed their disappearance. Good. That was good news.

As they stepped inside the dark corridor once again, Vindril pondered if he should stop them before they went back inside their room. He didn’t know their name, nor he knew their intention. But worst of all, he didn’t know how they were going to proceed with that file and whatever was needed to crack it open. IF it was even possible.

However, a gigantic yawn made him reconsider. He was tired. And his clothes were sort of dusty after all that crouching down they had done. So he simply bid them goodnight and went inside their room. In the next days he would try to uncover and resolve every little thing he encountered on his path. But for now, the mattress was calling him. And he had no intention of ignoring its tempting call.

A few minutes later he laid in his bed; or what looked like it. Sleep quickly took him after he laid there with his entire outfit still on.