John approached the pedestal located the closest to the wall around the spot where Alina left.
What immediately caught his eye were the traces left on the object - it seemed that Boskovitch was rushing and touched the pedestal with her hands still covered in Jackie's blood. Marks left by her hands were in several spots, which confirmed she actually tinkered with the interface moments before the barrier around the room was erected again.
Marlow did not know if it was by a pure luck, or maybe Alina was not completely honest with them about her knowledge concerning alien systems they interacted with, but it was pretty impressive she managed to get them trapped inside, while fleeing by herself.
Of course, there was still a chance it was just a coincidence, and that she simply panicked after triggering something, yet with every passing second, John felt this scenario was less likely, and - rather than that - actions taken by Boskovitch were intentional. Such assumptions came from the way how the pedestal interface was left - screen was completely static and Marlow's interaction was not causing anything to happen, feeling as if it was either locked or damaged.
John scratched his head as he continued investigation, trying to figure out what occurred here - since the top panel of the pedestal was not reacting to his touch, major started looking for a way to restart it forcefully. However, after trying several ideas, the only option that seemed to make the most sense was finding restart option on the other pedestal, or just use the other one to access the system responsible for erecting the barriers. Either way, this meant Marlow had to leave this very interface for now, and focus on the another one.
After approaching the next pedestal, he quickly noticed with a huge relief that this one was fully intact and did not have any signs of being tinkered with. Of course, it still meant he needed to learn how this interface works, but it was much easier to him than having to repair a piece of alien equipment.
With that, John touched the top panel on the pedestal, which activated the interface, displaying numerous symbols and shapes - all of these had to be translated and understood. Knowing that, major started activating relevant apps on his PEC to perform necessary actions. However, the moment he turned on the translation app he made with Keira, Marlow felt a strong pain in his head - strong enough to make him temporarily numb.
The app got locked, displaying a message "It's nothing personal, just business." Seeing it, John was sure that Alina trapped them intentionally, and - for all the time spent with them - she was using them to gain access to the data needed to understand the main functions of the underground, which would allow her to find a way out with Jackie's PEC. Moreover, knowing that Boskovitch was looking for their colleague's implant, Marlow theoretized the device might have contained some information she could also use for getting out.
Whatever it was, John had other problems to deal with right now - first of all, he needed to regain control of his own PEC which was affected by a virus from Alina, causing a huge strain on his brain and blocking him from using the implant properly. Ultimately, if he was unable to enable full usability again, it would mean rendering the group unable to leave the area, thus likely causing them to die in a matter of days unless someone was to find them.
While he did not want to admit it, Marlow found it amazing for anyone to be able to sneak in any type of malware to his PEC like that. This meant that Boskovitch must have been really skilled in that field, and it was quite possible she was able to tinker with more stuff - John could not easily tell when exactly did she upload the virus, meaning she could also be aware of the alien app major had, which was yet another troublesome topic.
Regaining control came in first, and he had to take quick actions in case this software could spread and wreak havoc in his PEC, subsequently being able to damage his brain. The starting point was figuring out all the sections that were affected and shutting down all of the connected apps, if at all possible.
Based on his experience, Marlow would expect it to be something capable of replication and infecting other sections once triggered. From the looks of it, following the quick investigation he did by creating a separated area, the root was within the translation app and did not manage to affect any other sections yet. Seeing that, John noticed his chance, and - instead of going the standard way of shutting down the app, disconnecting, and then adjusting the code on inactive app - started fighting Alina's virus live.
It was an offensive move he hoped could allow him to track her down - seeing how it triggered upon Marlow activating the app next to an interface, it might have been that Boskovitch still kept an eye on them via malware, which meant they still could have connectivity between their PECs. If this was the case, Alina could still be not far away and John could potentially retaliate with his own software.
- She's not bad - major thought to himself, while analyzing the strings of code and counterattacking with his own - But still has room for improvement it seems - he added after finding a critical hole in her software - And here we go.
Marlow regained the full control of his PEC, and was now able to easily get rid of all the code Boskovitch left. However, removing it would mean completely cutting off the connection, which he did not want - not at this point at least, therefore - instead of immediate deletion - he attempted to forcefully break into her implant.
A quick attack allowed him to get inside, yet knowing the skills of his opponent, John knew his time was limited until Alina realizes, thus he started downloading as much data as possible. Then, around one minute from the moment he managed to get in, the connection was completely cut off.
- She noticed - major sat on the ground with a slight grin on his face, thinking to himself - A bit too late though - he added as he started browsing through the files he got his hands on.
- John, can you hear me? John? - it was Martin who started calling him - Are you alright? Our PECs were behaving weird...
Marlow was so focused on fixing the case of his own PEC that he did not hink about the possibilities of others being affected by exactly the same thing - fortunately, his counterattack made Alina's PEC disconnected, also releasing the other two from her clutches.
- It was Alina - John informed the other two - She installed a type of malware on our PECs, which activated once we tried to use the translation app. It seems she wants us trapped here, so we either die out of starvation or be delayed to inform about what she did.
Johnson and Krawczak looked at each other.
- Meaning she is yet another saboteur? - Martin asked - So she was playing with us?
John told them about the data he managed to steal from Alina, where he found information about her cooperating with Jackie, which confirmed that the man's PEC was her target here, alongside data John's group would find about the underground facility.
- It means she completed both targets - Andy said that with a wry face - And she also got us trapped here so we cannot warn anyone...
- The part about being trapped is not quite - John replied - Or rather, will not be a case in a moment. When I broke into her PEC, I also got my hands on the footage from the safety recorder, which she either did not manage or forgot to delete completely, so I have clues about what she exacly did to the interface. I require a moment to review it, but that should be enough info to open the path.
- Don't you think she might want to try and stop us somehow, though? - Martin raised a concern - You having this data isn't a good thing for her, right?
Johnson did have a valid point on that matter, yet Marlow could think about a completely different approach he would take if he was her:
- You are right here, Martin. This data getting leaked may prove to be a big problem to whoever she is working for, but trying to turn back now and attempt to stop us somehow seems like a too risky bet for Alina. The sole fact she went with such an underhanded method means she doesn't feel she would stand a chance in a fight against us. In my opinion, running away gives her more options. Still, I don't plan to let our guard down obviously.
With that said, John gaves instructions to Martin and Andy, and all three of them worked on separate pedestals - Marlow focusing on finding a way out, while the other two investigated remaining options interfaces offered.
Reviewing the notes, and subsequent unlocking of the interface of pedestal previously used by Alina took John nearly thirty minutes, then finding settings to open the way was another fifteen minutes. However, even after getting hold of this information, he did not decide to lower the barrier for now - rather than that, he wanted to spend more time on learning about the interfaces so they could gain a good control of the facility, which would ultimately make everything in the area much easier for everyone. This was actually a bet Marlow made in order to gain advantage for the members of the expedition over any organizations involved in this undertaking, even if it meant being unable to catch Boskovitch.
- Having a solution for opening the way is reassuring - Martin spoke after John shared his plan - I'm not really sure we should let Alina get away like that, though. Also, I don't know if it's only me, but I've been feeling kind of weird for some time now. At first, I thought it was because of the virus in my PEC, but it still continues.
- Okay, so you are basically saying we should just leave? - John summed this up - I mean, I get where you come from, yet still, we don't know how easily anyone can get back here later on. I think we should use this opportunity as much as possible, even if it's risky.
- If I may, major - Andy joined in the conversation - Can we decide on time limit at least, then? I'm usually the last one to complain, but this feeling Martin mention, I think it's the same for me. My head still hurst, and my body seems weakened.
What his companions were saying was concerning for Marlow, who also not felt being at one hundred percent, yet his focus on the target he set for himself would always drive him through the worst condition, therefore he might have been simply more resistant than the other two. Still, even though he wanted to continue, the group's condition was not something he could just disregard.
- Ok, let's focus on finding anything related to safety systems first - he told others - As long as we find a way of opening secure paths, further investigation will be possible. We will continue for maximum of thirty minutes, and then we are going to lower the barriers and get out of here.
Martin and Andy looked tired, but both nodded in agreement to John's plan, and started working on their assigned jobs. Luckily for them, they identified the correct interface before the deadline, not only enabling them to disable traps and blockages, but also providing the group with the layout of the underground.
Of course, they still did not have enough knowledge of the system to be able to adjust the positions of the floors - as these were definitely movable, their individual shapes, or any other advanced settings, yet their current level of understanding was enough to safely leave the area.
All of that made Marlow convinced it was now the moment to lower the barriers and go back to the surface, though they obviously needed to make an additional stop and pick up the rest of the team on the way.
Fortunately, having a much better map of the facility now, finding and reaching Rashid and others was no longer a challenge.