Silanon
Four Thousand Club
It had been nothing more than just a small exercise. After getting rid of his gear, Ray had found his way back to one of his favorite places in the mansion. Flanked by several average computers, his own one had awaited him eagerly. The ventilators had buzzed lodly as soon as he had pressed the power button, welcoming him in his very own world. A world full of numbers, logical chains, and your own knowledge as the only border to see. A world, where things were either right or wrong. A place were something either did its job, or did not. A place exactly how he liked it. Complex, confusing, but conquerable by pure will and skill alone.
He had chosen a rather easy approach this time, only taking a few paths through the jungle of data he wasn't officially allowed to use. It was not really necessary to find his information like that, since he would have been ok with just a few information from the official data bases. But what fun was there in using the same resources as anyone else? Sooner than later, he had found what he was looking for - whatever the military knew about the first man to be hit by Rays shot on a real mission, he had found it behind firewalls and security programs other people called safe. He made a mental note to warn the militaries archives that their computer defenses were utter garbage, then ended his read. He stopped most of his programs, opened one of the newspaper's websites out of pure curiosity. And suddenly, the small exercise became a gigantic strike, shattering his good mood and satisfaction from the successful mission behind him. One single word was enough to let the world pause for a moment when the fox held his breath in disbelief.
"Fifteen."
A single number, spelled out like an indictment. His fingers danced over the big mechanical keyboard, when he double-checked the news. Triple-checked, until it was clear that it had not been just a typo.
"Fifteen", called every news website out there as if they knew he was watching. "Fifteen."
He shook his head, his all-present smile vanished behind a facial expression as if the world fell apart in front of his eyes. He remembered the words of the Colonel, the warning to not let any missile get lost. And shook his head again, stroking through his white fur with his left paw.
This was his place. Just how he liked it, things were either right or wrong. They did what they were made for, or they did not. And when the fox realized that he himself belonged to the latter category, it made him wish that he just would disappear from one moment to the other. He had checked the boxes, hadn't he? Sixteen of them, all closed how they were supposed to be transported. But he had only checked one of them closely. Logical deduction, how he was been told to do it - causing things he could not even imagine at this point. Wasted lifes, just because he had been too sure about himself to check the other fifteen boxes aswell.
"Fifteen."
That was one less than they had needed to recover. One less than necessary to make sure nothing terrible happened. He jumped out of his chair, not even logging out. Sprinting to where he expected Murphy to be, he passed whomever got in his way.
"Fifteen."
He had to inform the Colonel, although he probably knew best himself. He needed to ask him where he had to fly to to get things done correctly. One simple mistake couldnt be the end, could it? They would have had time enough to call the team back if things were terribly wrong, right?
"Fifteen."
There was no thought that could calm him down.
"Fifteen."
The number that from now on would always be remembered together with his failure. He ran even quicker, almost bumping into one of the staff members. Murphy would know how to call the Colonel. He would know what to do, where to go. Alex always did.
He had chosen a rather easy approach this time, only taking a few paths through the jungle of data he wasn't officially allowed to use. It was not really necessary to find his information like that, since he would have been ok with just a few information from the official data bases. But what fun was there in using the same resources as anyone else? Sooner than later, he had found what he was looking for - whatever the military knew about the first man to be hit by Rays shot on a real mission, he had found it behind firewalls and security programs other people called safe. He made a mental note to warn the militaries archives that their computer defenses were utter garbage, then ended his read. He stopped most of his programs, opened one of the newspaper's websites out of pure curiosity. And suddenly, the small exercise became a gigantic strike, shattering his good mood and satisfaction from the successful mission behind him. One single word was enough to let the world pause for a moment when the fox held his breath in disbelief.
"Fifteen."
A single number, spelled out like an indictment. His fingers danced over the big mechanical keyboard, when he double-checked the news. Triple-checked, until it was clear that it had not been just a typo.
"Fifteen", called every news website out there as if they knew he was watching. "Fifteen."
He shook his head, his all-present smile vanished behind a facial expression as if the world fell apart in front of his eyes. He remembered the words of the Colonel, the warning to not let any missile get lost. And shook his head again, stroking through his white fur with his left paw.
This was his place. Just how he liked it, things were either right or wrong. They did what they were made for, or they did not. And when the fox realized that he himself belonged to the latter category, it made him wish that he just would disappear from one moment to the other. He had checked the boxes, hadn't he? Sixteen of them, all closed how they were supposed to be transported. But he had only checked one of them closely. Logical deduction, how he was been told to do it - causing things he could not even imagine at this point. Wasted lifes, just because he had been too sure about himself to check the other fifteen boxes aswell.
"Fifteen."
That was one less than they had needed to recover. One less than necessary to make sure nothing terrible happened. He jumped out of his chair, not even logging out. Sprinting to where he expected Murphy to be, he passed whomever got in his way.
"Fifteen."
He had to inform the Colonel, although he probably knew best himself. He needed to ask him where he had to fly to to get things done correctly. One simple mistake couldnt be the end, could it? They would have had time enough to call the team back if things were terribly wrong, right?
"Fifteen."
There was no thought that could calm him down.
"Fifteen."
The number that from now on would always be remembered together with his failure. He ran even quicker, almost bumping into one of the staff members. Murphy would know how to call the Colonel. He would know what to do, where to go. Alex always did.
