route_1065 | (no subject)

Who: Dist (

ortion), Dr. Kato (

katostrophic), and Nagi Naoe (

unkinder)
Where: Goldenrod Rocket base, Division D in the labs
When: 10/13
Summary: Dist and Kato want to test Nagi's skills and make sure they're being used in the right places if they decide to give him some serious computer work down the road.
Rating: PG
Log:

[It's been a rather ordinary day down in Division D so far. Dist and Kato have been working diligently on their various projects, but today they've set aside some time for something a little more pressing. With Nagi back in town, they finally have the chance to test him on the special console they prepared some weeks ago.

When Dist was talking about Nagi, Kato brought up a good point that they need to make sure he won't be able to hack into extremely important information down the road if he's going to work in the labs. After all, Team Rocket is filled with plenty of untrustworthy people so it's good to be safe than sorry. Thus, they put together a console with various levels of virtual locks and encryptions of their combined designs. Depending on how far Nagi can get, they'll know how well to lock away their own files, and they'll also know just how good Nagi is at it. So in actuality, it's just as much of a test on their security skills as it is Nagi's hacking skills.

So not too long after texting with Nagi, Dist finishes up his quicker tasks on the to-do list and tracks down Kato to give him the news. He wasn't exactly very far from the main office though, as expected.]

Ah, there you are, Kato. It looks like Nagi is going to be able to make it down here today. Are you ready to test him?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The way Kato asks Dist that is worse than if he came over and physically struck Nagi for his efforts. Still though, he sits there in silence and says nothing, not looking back up at either one of them again. He doesn't dare look at the computer, either, not wanting to even see the paused test, knowing that he likely only had a minute or so to complete that fourth failed attempt.

Instead he remains totally silent, on the verge of completely shutting down to avoid any further complications. This was a complete disaster, and suddenly he just wants to be anywhere but here.]

[Dist doesn't answer right away, instead looking down on the trembling boy in front of him. The more he studies this in silence, the more he considers everything that happened today. Nagi did give up, and Dist is forever going to be annoyed about that, but he also blew through the low and medium difficulty locks without much trouble despite his lack of knowledge of the technology.

He can tell Nagi doesn't feel good about being defeated by their security system though, and that maybe earns him a couple points. It's good when someone realizes they messed up and regrets their actions. Plus, he was able to remain fairly composed up until the end despite his frustration...

Finally, if even Kato—extremely critical as he is—feels Nagi performed decently despite his screwups...

Maybe just this once he'll have to cast his personal problems with it aside.]

I suppose you're right. He excelled at the easier locks, and even those were tough enough to keep seasoned hackers out. Not an easy feat, especially decoding them in the time frame Nagi did.

[He's...trying, but it's hard to not sound bitter at the same time.]

[It's rather obvious to Kato that, despite his words, Dist is still rather aggravated about this whole affair. To his credit, however, he seems to be keeping it in check. They can talk about this once Nagi is out of the picture, after all, and he'll be able to vent all his frustrations properly.

Besides, he's starting to grow rather tired of Nagi's strong-and-silent routine. He's good at answering when spoken to, admittedly, but Kato would like to see if he's capable of answers that don't border on monosyllabic.]

How do you think you went with that? Give us some feedback on your performance - what was easy, what you struggled with, etc. If we're going to employ you, we need to know what your strengths and weaknesses are.

[This time, he's obviously directing his question at Nagi, tilting his head down so that the boy will be able to see his eyes through his glasses. The test has allowed him to get a glimpse of Nagi's abilities, of course, but he'd like to see what he has to say for himself.]

[As to be expected, he doesn't answer promptly. Mostly because he's still coming down from the stress of the test, the sweat on his face growing cold as he sits there uncomfortably, working to pull himself into something impassive and stony. Something that can't be so easily seen through and judged. And when Nagi shuts down, he really shuts down.

His expression is hard to read now as he keeps his attention on the computer, his chest rising and falling steadily as he slowly gets his breathing back to normal. Those glittering blue eyes of his are hard to see now, too, both averted and slightly shrouded by the lock of hair trying hard to hide them.]

It...is like you said. The first locks were easy. I did fine, to...start.

[Nagi responds stiffly, emotionlessly almost. It's clear that he's keeping his emotions tied down somewhere, leaving little else to be read from his body language alone.

The truth is, he can't do this as well here. He's not used to using these computers with his hands, or even so much relying on his eyes or sense of touch alone. Before, he didn't even have to move. This was the first time he had tried something like this without telekinesis to aid him.

It was jarring, and he didn't like it.]

I nearly had those codes solved every time. I...just ran out of time.

The last ones...were difficult. Very difficult.

[His voice jumps in his throat at the end, and he stops again, saying nothing more. It's only a half lie, but one he has to tell. He just...can't crack those codes.]

[Dist watches Nagi closely as he makes his case, as if he's looking for any more potential signs of weakness. But he's not finding many- the boy is quite skilled at keeping his emotions in check for the most part, as he observed before.

His gaze briefly shifts to Kato, showing he's struggling somewhat to remain neutral on this, but he eventually takes a moment to just...breathe. Be professional here, Dist. Be the ever-capable Division Head that you are.]

It's true, you did come close on several occasions. [Both he and Kato could tell that from watching.] And that is more than many can say.

Though from what you're telling us, your weakness seems to lie in the final stretch. You do not perform well when placed in a high-pressure situation, is that it? From what we observed, you simply shut down when the pressure became too great for you to handle.