log; you won't find faith or hope down a telescope

[bifroster]

GOVERNMENT WORK SUCKS // OTA

Jane groaned and laid her head down on her desk.

She knew the answers, but she had to put on a good show. Any delay that she could give this government, the better, because it would give the resistance a better chance to catch up or surpass them in solving this portal technology. It was the most she could do, as outright sabotage was proving to be harder to do with theoretical work and she did not want to risk something exploding on them—or worse, accidentally working.

If you’re a fellow government worker, feel free to sympathize. If you’re a government overseer, feel free to prod her. Or explain why you’re looking over her shoulder, because if you’re not either one of those, then why are you in her lab?


SNEAKING AROUND // OTA

The Mission Impossible theme song was not playing inside her head as she snuck down hallways and into various rooms, using a fabricated badge to unlock doors and computers along the way. She was a serious mole that took her double agent role very seriously. She was collecting information for the resistance and she was not secretly getting a thrill from it.

The building was supposed to be empty, but of course, anything can happen. If you should happen to stumble upon her, are you friend, foe, or uninterested janitor?


WHAT IN THE WORLD? // CLOSED TO LOKI

Jane could not believe this. She stared at the address in her hand. She looked up at the building in front of her. If the person who won her bid at the auction was Loki, she was going to scream. The possibility of that happening were astronomically low—she ran the numbers—but since when did statistics and probably ever work in her favor?

God, what she wouldn’t give for Darcy and one of her tasers.

Comments

[kid_flash_found]

He'd been at this a long time, on this Earth longer than he'd managed to stay put anywhere else. That made him invested, and while he was trying to keep up appearances, he hoped maybe things would change soon.

"I haven't talked to a lot of people, but even back before, getting here tended to be a surprise. I didn't expect it, but the government was sure willing to step in and take advantage of the situation," Bart said. And that was as close as he usually would come to expressing disapproval, because you never really knew who was listening.

"I think the higher-ups just want answers, and they assume that if they keep pushing, someone will figure it out. It's like the patrols and everything else. We do enough of whatever, it's supposed to bring results. Just try not to be a squeaky wheel in this big machine. That's my job."

[bifroster]

Jane, by this point, was wondering who was listening and how. Hence her pushing the envelope a little bit there, but she understood his caution. They all had to be wary of how they threatened their overlords/bosses.

“I’ll try not to, but they could have been more polite and understanding about the whole thing. No one chose to be here, any more than anyone asked to be born. I’d certainly be more cheerful in the morning if I had a team who just wanted to learn and discover alongside me, not meet some impossible demand from higher ups who haven’t left their offices in years.”

[kid_flash_found]

"Oh, be real, doc," Bart said, giving her a sly grin. "If you could substitute 'lab' for 'office,' you'd happily be one of those folks who never see the sun unless it's work-related."

He's seen how Jane gets when she's elbow deep in research chasing down some anomaly. At least the kinds that won't result in someone getting to play involuntary lab rat.

"The higher ups are never reasonable. It's like one of those unwritten laws of the universe."

[bifroster]

May he never lose his ability to grin like that.

“Of course. Doing science all day would be a dream come true, if I could get funding without any strings attached.”

As she said many times, she’s no biologist of any sort. But if she could research black holes and prove theories and help humanity understand the world better? God, she would love that.

“Someday I am going to find a law book and make that a law.”

[kid_flash_found]

"In the mean time, if you find any way to predict porter activity, or maybe reroute it, I'd love to hear about it," Bart said.


He's used to finding ways to smile while the world burns. He doesn't know what else to do, really. Running is his thing, and if he could make that be more useful, he would. Connecting with other folks in the resistance while representing the government was a challenge, but one he'd been uniquely suited for. Being able to be in multiple places at once with his glitches was something nobody else could easily duplicate.

"I'd read that book, too."

[bifroster]

“That’s one of my goals. I’m even looking into a way that people could be anchored into this world if they wanted, so they won’t get randomly taken back.”

She has notebooks and programs and even the making of a portable device that could tap into the energy fields that the porters are tapping into (if that theory is correct). She is pulling out all the stops on these projects and her research and she is not slowing down.

And meeting people like him, who won’t give up when the going gets tough, is all the fuel she needs to keep working despite the obstacles in her way.

“I’ll write a dedication to you.”