ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

Failure. Yet again. How many times now? Too many to think about.

Danielle sat at her plain white desk and toiled away at her latest research on fusion reactor technology. She brushed a speck of dirt from the antibacterial surface with her free hand, absent-mindedly, while she turned through the pages of her notes. Underlined at the bottom of one of the pages was her current challenge. The fuel source she used for her tests produced insufficient energy. She needed something extra potent.

Various scientific equipment and other research notes from her peers cluttered her desk space. A clay pot with primroses sat to one side, producing a faint but alluring honey scent. Danielle loved the smell of primroses. It reminded her of her childhood home and family. She dearly missed her parents.

Danielle relocated to Black Metro a year ago for the vast research opportunities the dark city offered. Six months after the move, her home town became annexed with the empire. Due to her work’s highly confidential nature, opportunities to catch up with her family were scarce. They called it a potential conflict of interest. She was allowed a single ten-minute call each month, which was monitored by security. She planned to return home once she completed her research.

The computer screen flickered under the dimly lit room, which diverted her gaze to the displayed time. It was getting late, but long work hours with little rest were nothing new to Danielle. It was another ordinary day in a not so ordinary world. While she was not the most organised of individuals, she took great pride in her responsibilities as a Black Metro technologist. One day she hoped her research would highlight a solution to provide a source of safe and clean energy for the world.

She wheeled her chair back slightly and leaned against the backrest, while her amber eyes defocused, gazing toward the cloud-white ceiling. The tension in her upper body loosened as she reached upwards to stretch, improving her circulation. Another day done. She powered down the computer and opened one of the desk drawers to deposit her research notes before heading for the door. Punching in her unique identity code, she exited the lab. On auto pilot, she turned back to check that all the lights dimmed down; the sensors had detected that, yet again, she was the last person to leave.

The echo of her boots against the tiled marble flooring resounded as Danielle traversed the white underground corridors and made the ascent toward the lab’s exit. She passed not a single soul until she reached the entrance lobby. A stout night watch security guard stood to attention by the front doors. He had a scar across his left cheek which appeared to result from a slash wound having left its mark. He watched as Danielle accessed her locker, removing her brown leather rucksack and swapping her lab coat for her thick purple sweater. It fitted snugly over her wiry frame. Denim trousers and jet-black boots completed her attire. She wore her golden hair in a ponytail, which she let down as she crossed to the security checkpoint.

After scanning her identification card and showing it to the guard, she was ushered through an archway, which screened her possessions. Upon passing the final check she was given a curt nod, the green light to leave the premises.

“Take care getting yourself home now, Danielle.”

Danielle smiled.

“Thank you, Max, I shall.”

She found it a little strange that people were both electronically and manually checked when leaving the building. She could understand for entering the premises of course, but the security measures in place remained consistent even to leave. It was true that classified research was carried out at the Oakland Laboratory and employees were forbidden from taking any of their research outside. Still though, the security guards were more alert as of late. The atmosphere was tenser. It was as if they were afraid of something escaping the lab. As for what that something could potentially be, Danielle had no real clue, nor did she care all too much. She was too focussed, to the point of obsession, on her research to concern herself with what may or may not be happening around her, much less in the wider world.

But that would all change in time as circumstances would drag her into the midst of a great conflict, where she would become a key player in the game that was being played.

Conclusion

Stay tuned for next month when I release the next chapter!

Mission complete – Overlord Drakow signing out.