Page 11 of Cyborg's Tether
With practiced ease, his cybernetic implants interfaced directly with the system. Lines of code scrolled across his vision as he probed deeper into the mysterious data stream.
What he found made his organic eye widen. The stream contained snippets of classified research data, schematics for experimental cybernetic enhancements, and...was that a personnel file? This had to be connected to the saboteur they were hunting but decoding it all was beyond his capabilities.
He needed Amaya.
Xavier found her in her lab, hunched over a tangle of circuits and wires. She didn’t notice him enter, too absorbed in her work.
“Amaya,” he said.
She jumped, nearly knocking over a delicate piece of equipment. “Xavier? I didn’t hear you come in.”
“My apologies. I require your expertise.”
Her expression revealed curiosity. “What is it?”
He hesitated. He trusted Amaya but involving her could put her at risk. Still, he needed her skills. “I’ve discovered something. A hidden data stream in the facility’s systems.”
Amaya’s eyebrows shot up. “Hidden? How?”
“Encrypted. Beyond my ability to decode.” Xavier’s deep voice carried a hint of frustration. “I believe it may be connected to our saboteur.”
Amaya’s fingers twitched, already itching to dig into the mystery. “Show me.”
Xavier led her back to the control room, bringing up the data stream on the main display. She didn’t look away from the screen, taking it all in. “This is incredible. The encryption is unlike anything I’ve seen before. It’s going to take some time to crack.”
“Can you do it?”
She nodded, seeming confident about that. “I can, but we’ll need to be careful. If this is connected to the saboteur, they might have ways of detecting our intrusion.”
He nodded. “Agreed. We’ll need to work quickly and discreetly.”
For the next several hours, they hunched over the terminal together. Amaya interacted with the interface, writing and rewriting decryption algorithms on the fly. Xavier provided support, his enhanced senses alert for any sign of discovery.
As the facility’s day cycle faded into night, she let out a triumphant cry. “I’ve got it.”
The encrypted data resolved into clear text before their eyes. Xavier leaned in, his organic eye widening as he examined the contents.
“Thesearepersonnel files, and not just any personnel. High-level scientists, security personnel...even Dr. Vex.”
Amaya’s face paled. “Why would someone be collecting this information?”
“To identify targets,” said Xavier grimly. “Or to find weaknesses to exploit?”
As they dug deeper, they uncovered more, like schematics for experimental weapons, Security protocols for the facility’s most sensitive areas, and buried beneath it all, coordinates for what appeared to be a hidden base.
“This is bigger than just sabotage,” whispered Amaya.
His cybernetic implants hummed as he processed the information. “We need to alert Dr. Vex immediately.”
She bit her lip. “Wait. What if...she’s involved?”
He turned to her with a frown. “What do you mean?”
“Her file was in there too,” said Amaya. “And she has the highest level of access. If someone was going to orchestrate something like this...”
Xavier grunted. The thought had occurred to him as well, but hearing Amaya voice it made it real. “We can’t rule out any possibilities. For now, we keep this between us.”
She nodded, her expression showing a bit of fear. “What’s our next move?”