forum ENCOM OS-12 | OxO | Closed unless you're a fellow Program/User/ISO | Stalkers get a free Light Runner

Started March 25, 2021 by @murphysgirl

tune

(Sure!)

Nora, characteristically, was early; Bit floating by her head, she had positioned herself in the alley between the buildings, hidden in plain sight.
"I wonder if he's going to show," she said to Bit, who simply bobbed up and down. In truth, she was more nervous than she'd admit. What if he didn't, and she was left with no answers? Anxiety was not typically something that fed into her code, but tonight, that was different.

Cor wasn't as early as Nora was and arrived closer to the designated time though was still a bit early. “Well, I have to admit I'm not surprised that you're here already.” he chuckled as he derezzed his lightcycle and walked up to her.

Nora nodded, unsure of what to say that would make the greeting easier - but then again, they weren't friends. Just two programs working together. What did it matter if she cut right to the chase?
"Do you have the data?" she asked, while Bit bobbed happily over to Black Light.

“Of course.” he nodded, pulling out the data cube. “No one else knows about it or has even seen it.” Cor assured her.

"Good." She stepped closer to him, batting Bit away from his head. "Let's go over it again, shall we?"

Cor nodded and opened the data cube. He had removed the original encryption shortly after delivering the original copy and put his own on this one as a precaution, but that meant he could decode it quickly.

Nora watched him work, trying to think of a game plan, but she had none. Anything even slightly out of the ordinary on the shipping container, and whoever was trying to get this information would be suspicious. They would be shut out completely. It was a fine line they were walking.
"This data," she said aloud. "Does it have the serial number of the container?"

Cor shrugged as he leaned against one of the buildings and sorted through the information. “Not sure… Not sure if it will even help if it does. I didn't see any numbers on the actual containers in the warehouse.” he admitted… Though he couldn't remember if he really looked either.

"Z- I mean, a program I used to know had a system of being able to track containers," Nora said. In truth, she had only caught glimpses of the system and overheard him and Gem talking about it. From what she had been able to make out, it hadn't been for anything nefarious, mostly just for tracking shipments and other luxury goods. "If you were able to find the serial number, I could track it."

Cor paused for a moment at the near name dropping and raised a brow behind his visor as he glanced up at her. He knew she wouldn't tell him who that program was even if he asked so he just hummed in acknowledgment and nodded slightly. “I see. You're welcome to help me look.” he told her. “If you trust this program’s system, it couldn't hurt to try it out.”

"I'm not as good with code as you are," she admitted, and it was true. Her knowledge of this sort of thing was limited, as she had been hired as eye candy rather than a technology consultant. "Though if you tell me what I'm supposed to be looking for…"

Cor smirked, almost chuckling, at her comment on his skill. Being a search and messager meant that he had to know at least the basics of coding… but he couldn't help himself sometimes and just had to delve deeper into the information he was given. “I’m just looking for specifics on the actual shipping data right now. If there is still a serial number for that container, it’d be in here.” he told her.

"Okay," she said tentatively, not knowing whether or not to keep watching him or to stand guard. She wasn't sure what she was looking for; she just hoped she would know it when she saw it.
"Bit," she said, "keep a lookout."
Yes. Bit zoomed away down the alley, towards the main street.

Cor hummed softly in acknowledgment and continued searching for any hint of the information they were looking for. He couldn't help but smile a little at the Bit as it left them alone. It was a bit of a soft spot for him, even though he never had one of his own.

"What are you smiling about?" Nora asked, her figurative shields going up, immediately suspicious. While there was more curiosity in her tone than sharpness, the words still had a slight bite to them.

“Oh, it's nothing.” he assured her, not bothered by her tone. “It’s just… I appreciate how devoted your Bit is. That you let it help you on jobs like this.” Cor said to help her calm down a bit, though there was some honesty in his statement.

"Well - of course it can help," Nora said, taken aback. "What else would we do for a lookout?"

“Take it easy, ‘Roura. I meant it as a compliment.” he almost chuckled. “It’s got to be very nice to have someone or something watching your back like that.” Cor pointed out as he tapped on a small square of data before looking closer at it.

Nora's expression softened slightly. It had been so long since she'd had a program to rely on, rather than just… a floating creature with a mind of its own. While it was true that she appreciated Bit, sometimes she realised a real program might be better.
At least he's calling me 'Roura rather than 'sweet cubes', she thought dryly, glancing around before bending over to peer at the data. She had no idea what she was looking for, scanning the strings of code for anything that resembled a serial number.

Cor wouldn't admit it, but he might have been a little jealous that she even had a Bit to help her out. While he’d been doing this job completely on his own was a little more preferable considering it was safer to be a loner but he didn't mind the company.
“I think I'm on to something here.” he told her, shifting slightly so she had a clear view of the code.

Nora nodded. She could make almost no sense of it, and it frustrated her. Code had never been one of her strengths, and yet she wasn't about to admit it out loud.
"Tell me what I'm looking at," she said tentatively.

Cor raised a brow slightly but nodded before pointing at one section of data. “Ok. So when something gets shipped anywhere, there are checkpoints where the containers and data get confirmed and cleared to continue. This shipment had to go through a lot of them, but because it's Clu’s army, it was given the go-ahead anyway.” he explained, looking a little thoughtful. “Clu probably scheduled this part so it would go on even without him.”

Nora nodded. That made sense. "Does it say where its next destination is - or was?"

“Unfortunately, no. It doesn't have that kind of information until it reaches the next checkpoint… Or if there even was one.” he admitted, shaking his head slightly. “And backtracking to the last site will only give us the same data we have. So I'm going to have to dig a little more but I think I’m on the right track to finding a serial number.” Cor told her, hoping that he was right.