Protocols & Hearts

Chapter 3

August 25, 20XX. Approx. 10:54 a.m. Classified Military Base.

The events of the previous afternoon and evening replayed in Aelia's mind like a film stuck on repeat as she went through the motions of her work. She found herself drifting off, mentally rewatching each scene. Most of it had gone so smoothly, almost effortlessly, and she still felt a surge of pride and excitement at having been part of such a big occasion.

After they had parted ways following their talk, she hadn't seen or heard from Ghost for the rest of that day and into this morning. Not that she was necessarily expecting to, but his absence played on her mind nonetheless. A few times she caught herself checking her phone almost unconsciously, as if hoping to find a text or call from him that never came.

By now it was mid-morning, and she gave herself a little mental shake. This wasn't helping her focus on the tasks at hand. Whatever was or wasn't going on between her and Ghost would have to wait - she had work to do, and allowing her thoughts to wander down that path all day wouldn't get it done.

Lack of sleep was taking its toll, as Aelia found herself yawning frequently as she stared bleary-eyed at her computer screen. She hadn't quite adjusted to the early mornings her new work demanded, but there was too much to do to linger in bed. For now, her focus needed to be on decrypting the USB drive they had retrieved from Brȧulio. While the team would be examining its contents first, cracking the encryption was step one.

She had multiple decryption programs running simultaneously, monitoring their progress as configurations and algorithms cycled through possible combinations. Jotting notes on a note pad beside her, she held pages up to compare values on-screen before adding to her equations. As clues emerged, her mathematical scribblings grew more elaborate, spanning additional sheets of paper she stuck around her workspace and onto the whiteboard.

Lost in her work, she nearly missed the beeping from her computer announcing a breakthrough. Spinning back around, she typed the solution to one of the problems into the prompt that had appeared. The system churned momentarily in response before file windows began rapidly popping up, one after the other. She had done it - she was in. Excitement and relief pushed through her exhaustion as she dug in to explore what they had finally gained access to on that encrypted drive. Though tired, the challenge of the puzzle and promise of discoveries to come kept her alert and energized for the next steps.

Unable to resist a quick scan of the newly-accessed files before reporting her progress, Aelia studied the contents with intense focus and care. Flipping through her written notes and mental checklist, she double and triple checked that everything aligned - file dates, sizes, embedded metadata - all appeared consistent with her expectations based on the encryption patterns. So far, so good.

Satisfied with her initial analysis, a smile of triumph and relief broke across her face. After hours poring over logarithms and algorithms, her perseverance had paid off. Grabbing her laptop, she sprang up from her seat, too eager to share the news to wait another moment.

As she hurried out of the lab, one of the soldiers at the door called after her in exasperation. "Where's the fire? You know you're not supposed to leave without an escort!"

She glanced back over her shoulder, still beaming. "I got in! Be right back, dude!" Without breaking stride, she waved off his reminder about protocol. For now, nothing could dampen the thrill of success - there would be time for regulations later. Victory had come, and she couldn't contain her excitement a moment more.

~

Breathless from sprinting through the labyrinthine corridors of the base, Aelia spotted Ghost up ahead walking with his usual measured pace and inscrutable expression. Still buzzing with energy and adrenaline from her breakthrough, she couldn't contain her excitement a moment longer.