Temperance

*Video feed begins.

The camera drone pans down from a clear starlit sky, across a desolate shuttle terminal, to finally settle on Celia as she leans against a gantry railing overlooking the low silhouettes of a small, planetside complex. She finishes a cigarette, flicking the stub out over the railing and onto the tarmac below in a shower of orange sparks. A breeze catches her hair and the folds of her long leather skirt as she turns to the camera.*

I think my time here is done. I have what I wanted... and more.

*She sweeps her hair back from her face, fixing it behind her ears as her lips curl in subtle suggestion of a smile*

I'm no longer a slave to the bottle and what's more - I found my hacker. And what a find! Not just any hacker, but Mr Cole was a former cybercrime detective. He claimed that CONCORD had put an implant in his head that was re-aligning his neural pathways; interesting theory, but it earned him a full-time place here as a patient, so the quack meds and psychologists could make notes and justify their ridiculous paychecks.

Persuading him to share his knowledge was easy. They clearly don't have many female patients here.

*Celia looks away from the camera for a moment, a pang of discomfort passing over her face*

He gave me a datapad containing his tricks of the trade - thirty years of hacking knowledge and experience. I was quick to put it to good use...

*Celia begins to walk slowly along the gantry, her hand caressing the cool metal of the railing. The camera drone adjusts, moving backwards to keep her in focus*

I successfully hacked the computer of Dr Geveart, the useless quack shrink who's been counselling me. It was a good place to start; firewall was easy to disable, virus was easy to install. Within minutes I'd downloaded his personal logs on me. And a good job I did, too. He knew far too much, was getting far too suspicious.

*A distant rumble becomes a roar as a Gallente shuttle tears across the night sky, coming about to circle the complex. The camera drone shakes a little from the blast of the shuttle's thrusters as it makes its final decent and touches down on the pad. Celia pauses to watch, waiting for the noise to subside before turning back to the camera*

In the morning, they will no doubt find the bodies of Mr Cole and Dr Geveart. So I will take my leave now. I'm looking forward to catching up with my colleagues; it surprises me how much I've actually missed them... Vince's humour, Kimochi's outfits, Milo's eyes...

*Celia sighs wistfully, her face softening with a gentle smile as she leans over the railing, watching ground-crew scurry around the shuttle.

She reaches into her PRETA flight-jacket, takes out a small crystal hip-flask and tosses it from hand to hand thoughtfully. After a few moments she lets the flask fall over the railing, down fifty feet to the tarmac, shattering on impact.

The wind picks up, whipping her hair back across her face; through the glossy black tresses, her eyes narrow, glittering in the dark like the fragments of broken crystal on the tarmac below. She smiles, self-assured.*

I have work to get back to. Camera off.

*Video feed ends*

AWOL

*Data transfer begins - file 7740901086dekc.doc
From: seb.geveart65
To: unknown user*

Dr Sebastien Geveart
Paix de l'Esprit Private Rehabilitation Clinic
Goinard III
Nadire

***CONFIDENTIAL***

Patient: 7740901086 DeKline, Celia

111.16.05
New patient today; a capsuleer. She has submitted herself voluntarily, claiming she has severe amnesia and a drink problem. And she's going to be paying us handsomely for telling her what's wrong with her? Capsuleers obviously have more money than sense. This should prove interesting.

111.17.05
First session proper with Ms DeKline. Very amiable at first as we went over the pleasantries, but she became evasive and hostile when I asked her about her employment. It became apparent she was no longer willing to co-operate in the session, so I recommend she spend some time to herself around the facility. She agreed and spent the rest of the day painting in E-Block.

111.21.05
My patient is going through the most difficult stage of drying-out; her mood swings are extremely erratic, she has attacked staff and she is shaking badly. All part of the process. She has agreed to my recommendation that she does not board her capsule for the duration of the program.

111.29.05
Ms DeKline makes good progress; she has abstained from alcohol for nearly a fortnight. She has kept her mind occupied by learning to play the harmophone; this is very encouraging. Now she is more relaxed and her mind isn't fuddled with booze, I might be able to get some sense out of her.

111.31.05
Ms DeKline still refuses to indulge me with any details of her occupation, family or friends. I'm beginning to suspect she may be involved in the underworld and she is no doubt aware that many patients here are from the CONCORD stations in the system. Still, what she has revealed of her background has proven very interesting; most peculiar for a Brutor, she is in denial of her racial heritage and thinks of herself as Gallentean. It's as if she's trying to escape from something, but she can't because she doesn't know what she's running from. I'm beginning to enjoy this - she is far more interesting, and attractive, than those boring cops moaning about cabin-fever.

111.01.06
Just when I thought I was getting somewhere, she clams up again. I've established that she must have experienced some deep trauma as a child and her amnesia is a defence mechanism - she had the nerve to call me an amateur and that she had figured that out for herself. She refused to talk about her childhood; she snapped, saying that was a matter only Milo could help her with. When I asked her who he was, she just glared at me and denied saying anything. She is so frustrating.

111.07.06
My patient has now gone 22 days without drinking and appears to be coping well. She has been spending a lot of time in the facility gym and in her quarters playing her harmophone. Her temper has subsided and she is occasionally pleasant company. But she still has a passive, vacant look about her; unfortunately, I have made no further progress on discovering the trauma that haunts her.

111.14.06
Whilst my patient's progress with her alcoholism has been commendable, I have all but given up with her psychiatric evaluation; she simply does not trust me enough to open up. This week I noticed she has been spending time with another patient, Lance Cole. He's an ex-cop who spent too long working on the consoles in the cybercrime division. He's delusional, thinks CONCORD are trying to reprogram him. They talk for hours in the common room; if Ms DeKline is indeed a criminal as I suspect, they may have a lot to discuss.

111.16.06
It has been one month since we admitted the patient and I'm pleased to say that she has successfully overcome her addiction to alcohol. It is unfortunate that we can't help with her underlying issues, but we have done all we can; the patient's deliberate evasive attitude makes progress virtually impossible. Still, it is my hope that with a clearer head, a more positive outlook and her natural determination, she will discover and confront whatever lurks within.

Ms DeKline has expressed satisfaction with her own progress and the help offered by myself and the staff here. In fact, just this morning she told me confidently that she didn't need me anymore; something I can only take as a compliment!
She has stated her intention to discharge herself at the end of this week.

*Data transfer ends - connection terminated*