3392/Meet Me at Delphi

Meet Me at Delphi
Date of Scene:	15 December 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	DarkSky sends feelers out to Oracle. The two meet and come to a mutually beneficial agreement. Oh, and SHIELD and the caped ones don't fare too badly either.
Cast of Characters:	Quake, Oracle

---

Quake has posed:
Skye had found the code a while back. It had provided an interesting diversion while she was preparing for Operation Hammerfall. What was annoying about it was the fact that a goodly portion of it was fairly incomprehensible to her, and Skye was no slouch when it came to hacking. She was, one might say, something of a genius at it.

Still, it had proved a mystery to the young woman. One that she couldn't put down. And slowly over the past few weeks she'd been plugging away at making sense of things, and only succeededing in finding out a single name, and more mystery in the matter. But it was the kind of mystery that Skye liked.

It had taken her a bit to find the place - small corner coffee shop now sporting the Starbucks sign outside *BUT* fifteen years ago, it had been the Delphi Tea Room.

The significance of the thing pleased her. Really, that's what hackers on her level were all about: the significance of the thing. And Oracle was significant.

She wasn't pleased at the cost of the coffee she'd ordered, but what the hell, right?

She had fifteen minutes before the other was due if she arrived based on what Skye had left behind. Skye expected she'd be early. Skye had been early. Hell, Oracle could already be here. If Oracle were that old man in a beanie and torn Nikes.

Skye waited.

Oracle has posed:
Those little tugs at the edges of her systems were not ignored. Barbara had confidence in her own false trails. The fact that the hacker in question actually managed to manuever around more of them than average caught her attention, though, and made her begin to do her own subtle digging. The little message left embedded in the Web for her definitely piques her interest. But she's not going for a full-on meet and greet without some serious protection, despite the fact that for all intents and purposes, DarkSky *appears* to be one of the good guys. If one follows the breadcrumbs that are left around the 'net, it looks to Oracle as if the other hacker probably got nicked and then pulled into government work. In some ways, much like Oracle herself -- only Oracle started supplying intel to The Wall in order to keep tabs on the woman so that Batman was covered eight ways to Sunday.

Arriving at the Starbucks that used to be the Delphi Tea Room, she can't help the quirked smile that turns the corners of her mouth upward. Cute, she thinks to herself. And, as promised, the brunette is wearing a Christmasy green sweater with a reindeer on the front. Every strand of her real hair is hidden by the short, soft brown waves. And she has a pair of attractive plastic-framed glasses perched on her nose as she moves into the room. Blue eyes scan the patrons -- Barbara made a point of being exactly on time.

Because she already scoped out the ingress and egress routes a couple hours ago. And because she is always ready for trouble.

Quake has posed:
Skye should probably be better at the ingress and egress things, but let's be honest, she's not really a field agent. Sure, she can shoot a gun (well, thank-you very much!), and has had all the requisite training to work in the field. She's just.. best at what she does, and what she does it hack. Plunk her ass behind a keyboard, and the girl can hack into anything.

Anything, that is until she hit Oracle. That had had her stumped. And leaving that message to 'Meet me at Delphi'.

Much like Barbara had discovered, or surmised, Skye had a murky past littered with.. well, all signs pointed to the fact that the girl likely was on the side of good, or believed herself to be, regardless of Rising Tide's agenda. One might guess that was a mistake. Or something of a surprise. Or.. Well, whatever it had been, or was, the girl had gone mostly quiet. Just those pokes here and there. A couple connections kept live. But otherwise silence. And the recent leak that DarkSky was affiliated with SHIELD. The source, IcedLotus, was knnown to be a free agent out of Asia, selling herself to the highest bidder. It meant her tidbits might be suspect at times - unless you were the one paying her. And even then, one sometimes didn't know.

Skye sits by a back window, watching the door, nursing her five dollar cup of coffee. She looks miserable and bored.. except for the fact that she flicks her gaze over to the entrance when the bell jingles announcing a new arrival. The bored look remains, but the astute might notice a faint flicker of appraisal and query there.

Oracle has posed:
Scanning the room with an inquisitive, if wary, look in her eyes as she turns away from the counter after receiving her coffee -- serious mocha latte going on there -- and when her eyes meet Skye's one soft brown eyebrow climbs her forehead. Game recognizes game, as they say.

She walks to the table, jerking her chin to the empty space. "You look like you could use your fortune told," she teases with a hint of Brooklyn to her voice. "Of course, I'm not really in the business of telling the future, but... my nana always said be careful what face you give the world, it might freeze that way and how'd you like to be stuck with a sneer for always?" Shrugging slightly, she asks, "Can I sit?"

Quake has posed:
Skye is either very right on this one, or very wrong. However, there are only so many choices to make, and when the mention of fortune telling comes up, Skye knows she's met her mark. A ghost of a smile hovers on the edges of her lips.

"Oh, I could use a soothsayer. Sit. I don't own the seats. The coffee mostly sucks and costs a fortune, though."

Not that Skye has any place judging coffee. She's only just recently acquired a coffee maker - having lived on vending machine coffee and instant, and both of those mostly cold as is her wont while she's coding.

Oracle has posed:
Settling into the chair across from the other woman, Barbara -- or the brown-haired, blue-eyes, slightly darker-skinned version of her -- smiles. "Doesn't it always?" she asks of the coffee.

"So... you've got my attention. Now the question becomes, why did you want it?"

Quake has posed:
Skye hugs her mug of coffee with both hands before picking it up to sip. "I can count the people as good as I am or better than I am in the world on one hand. And even then, we shift around some. Nothing I can't figure out once I seen it. But you?"

Skye shakes her head, and takes another sip before putting the mug down.

"I wanted to see who I was up against." She allows herself a negligent shrug. "And.. see if maybe we could come to some sort of understanding."

Oracle has posed:
"An understanding?" Barbara queries, sipping carefully from her coffee. And she smiles faintly. "I've done my homework... the fact that you consider yourself 'up against' me is a telling one. Do you view everyone as a threat or an enemy to be bested?"

Quake has posed:
Skye tilts her head at Barbara. "We don't generally play well with others. You know that, right? This?" She gestures between them, "Doesn't happen. Too many secrets can get out. When all you have is who you are in real life? You don't spread that around. So.. maybe? I don't know. I mean, are you an enemy?"

Skye hadn't run across Oracle in hte usual places. Nowhere that smacked of an affiliation to raise her hackles. But sometimes that denoted the best free agents. Folks who really /would/ sell anything and everything to the person with the highest bid. Skye was pretty sure that wasn't what she was up against here, but still, she had to be careful. Especially as that really wasn't her world anymore. Not as it had been. And, since Hammerfall, likely wasn't going to ever be again. She could live with that, though.

"I'd actually meant I'd like to learn from you if I could. I'm not too proud to admit when I don't know something. And what did your homework tell you?" Here Skye bristled ever so slightly. Depending on who or what Oracle represented to looked to, who and what Skye was would be a problem.

It was a slow waltz the two did. And someone had to step out of turn.

Oracle has posed:
Tilting her head, Barbara studied the other woman. Body language says a lot, and what it tells her about Skye is that the other young woman is used to having to prove herself -- at least in her own mind. "There are a great many who don't play well with others, in a variety of ways," she points out mildly. "But somehow.... I have the notion that you're not one of those. Most recent rumor has it that you're affiliated with SHIELD. Though the source on that one is questionable at best, .... based on the amount of intel it required to pull together a worldwide raid on Hydra, I'd say that if you're NOT their pet hacker then we both should be pretty damn afraid."

Pulling in a slow breath, Barbara takes another sip of her coffee and sets it on the table, her hand around the cup as she leans on her elbows. "If you *are*, then .... I think we should probably have a discussion that is a little less dancing around the topic and a little more lay-it-on-the-table -- at least in terms of who is the good guy and who is the bad."

Quake has posed:
Barbara earns a head tilt of recognition. "Fine. You've done your homework. You realize how few people know that's me? Not just who I am, but that I'm the one who organized that. Even in SHIELD." There was no sense hiding it at this point. It won her no points to lie, and lost her a whole lot else.

"So. You know a lot more about me than I do about you. I'm guessing, given that, if you were still planning on dancing we'd not be talking and confirmation of those rumours would have hit the net about five minutes before our metting time. Just close enough to make sure I was here and unable to do much about it."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara smiles faintly. "Very few people have studied your code the way I have recently. So ... I don't think there are half a dozen coders in the world who'd see your fingerprints on it the way I did." She shrugs slightly. "I have no interest in outing you -- it seems to me that you're doing the world a favor. It's the main reason that I was willing to meet you when you left your invitation. You work on that side of line and I work somewhere slightly to the left of that line," she admits rather teasingly.

Quake has posed:
Skye shrugs, and sips her coffee. "If I were that far to the right of the line, I wouldn't be here. Let's just say I have my reasons." Like she's seen a lot more of what Rising Tide is about. And Hydra? Well, Hydra is self-explanatory. She grins. "Most of them think I'm the IT girl." Them being SHIELD. When Skye says how few know it was her, she's not talking only about DarkSky, but about Skye Johnson as well.

"I kinda like the left of the line. I'm just not stupid enough to think I can live there anymore. It doesn't mean I don't appreciate its need sometimes."

Oracle has posed:
"I find it interesting that on the one hand you're acknowledging that occasionally the vigilante and hero crowd gets things done but still essentially telling me I'm stupid for helping them," Barbara admits on a chuckle. "But... I suppose you're not the first person to think so."

She offers thoughtfully, "You've got your reasons and I've got mine.... I'm just not sure where it leaves us. What is it that you want to learn from me? The kind of coding that I do?"

Quake has posed:
Skye blinks. "Wow. That's what you got out of that? No. I said I can't live there." Clearly there were things about Skye that Barbara /hadn't/ learned. Like the whole recruitment speech that included 'this or a six by four cell for as long as we can possibly keep you there', with the implication that hell would freeze over first if they could manage it. It hadn't been the best recruitment speech SHIELD had made.

Oracle has posed:
Now the brunette looks very curious. And then her brain pieces it together and she nods slowly. "So you *did* get nicked," Barbara says quietly. "I wondered." It solves that small riddle, at least.

"Right then... so, you work on the side of law and order now, turned White Hat. Which makes me like you even more, quite frankly. You were brave enough to try to make this meet, and you haven't run screaming from the room or posted online that you bagged the urban legend known as Oracle." She smiles. "I figure it garners a little trust. Tell me what I can do for you."

Quake has posed:
Skye snorts, barely containing a laugh. "If I made a post like that, ever, we wouldn't be having this conversation, and we both know it. I outed corporate filth."

She doesn't deny the being nicked part; it's not only true, but denying it leaves her with a certain amount of cred.. Not that Skye is as upset about her life these days as she was in the initial weeks and months of working at SHIELD.

She's frank, though, when she tells Barbara, "I like what I saw of your code. I wouldn't mind learning more of what you've done. Besides, I'm pretty sure there will be occasions where having each other as a connection won't go amiss." Skye's lips twists over a smirk. "I've kept a finger here and there for just such occasions."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara nods at the assertion we wouldn't be having this conversation. She'd have been gone at the first hint that something was pear-shaped. Her smile holds the same edge of amusement that her blue eyes do. "I can't argue that having one another as contacts would be... both helpful and potentially prudent," she acknowledges. Her hands cradle her cup still, and she studies Skye quietly. "Given who you work for, I'm going to trust you a little more... because if you're going to learn what I do, it could potentially cause you blowback. What did you think of the code you were perusing?"

Quake has posed:
If Skye's eyes, and minimal head shake didn't tell the tale, the low whistle she gives most certainly would. "Motherfucking Sweet is what I thought. Where'd you learn that anyway? I mean, I can piece together just about anyone's shit given enough time, but yours?"

There's another of those head shakes.

"Barely touching the edges of it. It's like.. like a whole other language in there."

More coffee is sipped, and the young woman grins. "You know, I rarely drink this stuff hot. It's pretty vile no matter the temperature." She chuckles as she says it, and puts her mug down, fingers still playing along the sides of the vessel. "I should ask the same, since you seem to have been checking me out." She looks, and sounds, pretty confident in her own work, though.

Oracle has posed:
Barbara chuckles quietly at the comment about coffee. "That's why I only drink lattes -- more milk and sugar than coffee, just enough caffeine to the hit. If I have to, I'll drink it black, but... bleah." She rolls her eyes rather expressively and then adds, "I think your code ranks in the top 5 in the world." Her tone is matter-of-fact but praising. "I think... that I can help make you better. But I'm a little.... let's call it WARY of doing that, given your current employment." There's a wicked twinkle in her eye. "After all, they're the people I keep tabs on for the intel I need. Why make things harder on myself?"

Pursing her lips, she adds quietly, "You're not wrong. There are whole other languages in there. And they're not Earth-based." The bombshell lays on the table between them. "I didn't learn it. I created it."

Quake has posed:
"Well, I hope I made it harder for you to et that intel," Skye murmurs, given she's recetly combed the systems and locked almost all of the holes she could find - some small few left for.. well, reasons. There were always reasons to leave holes behind when you ran with Intel. Sometimes you didn't want to just 'hand' what you needed someone else to have, especially given that sometimes those entities were technically your enemies. "Damn. Now you've got me worried."

She ponders that, fingers tapping along the side of her coffee mug. "I don't really l ike the stuff much at all. But those energy drinks will kill you." Her attention wandering back down her recent work, pondering, before returning her attention to Barbara. "Top five, huh? I'd say that's about right." She's really not one for false modesty. "But I'd like to be better."

The last, though, is what hits her hardest, the young woman giving Barbara a most serious look, exhaling with a soft puff of breath. "Fuck me. You created it? Where the hell have you been on the scene, and why weren't you on my radar before now?"

Oracle has posed:
Babs neither confirms nor denies whether Skye's work has made hers harder. Not that Skye likely expected her to. Wait for it... wait for it.... Whaboom! There it is.

"I've been... around. I wasn't much interested in hacktivism. My first hacks were for personal reasons." The Batcomputer is your FRIEND when it comes to info-gathering. "I do what I do to protect my people -- they're the masked variety, and if they are compromised, it's a problem. So I have made a point not to *be* on anyone's radar," she admits.

Quake has posed:
"Fair enough," Skye nods. "Having run into a few of the masked sort, I can appreciate that." Probably not the same masked sort, but the principle is there. Better safe than sorry. Skye ironically the holder of more secrets now than she ever had in her past life, and even more ironically, reluctant to share any of them. Also for reasons that would have made past her roll her eyes.

It's funny how the world works that way sometimes.

"Wow. Still, you created that? Pretty impressive stuff. And I won't lie, your reasons are sound for not wanting to share it. Doesn't mean I still dont want to. But I'm guessing bad things happen if I poke around much further in it on my own?" Yeah, Skye's still back on created it, and how the hell can I learn to do that. Not that Skye was shabby herself. No formal schooling or training? Self-taught? She'd been something of a wunderkind herself. The young woman knew exactly how impressive it all was.

Oracle has posed:
"Created it," Barbara confirms. "And yes, if you'd gone much further, there would have been repercussions." Because any good hacker would have expected that. "Some are very subtle, others not so much. I wouldn't be averse to teaching you.... at least a good bit of what you want to know. But in all honesty, I *can't* teach you what I've done specifically... both for all the reasons we both have and for the fact that your computers, even *their* computers don't have access to the hardware capable of running what I've done."

Barbara sighs quietly. "Giving away this much of my secrets is ... rather more painful than I expected. But you're probably one of the few who would really understand that I'm not just saying that. My hardware includes specialty chips not from Around Here that are fully integrated along with the languages that came with them into my systems."

Quake has posed:
Ah.. there it is. Skye nods with appreciation. "Damn. I see. So, pretty fucking superior to silicon chips and all that. You deconstructed what you had and juiced it up, huh? Damn. That's pretty fucking A." Yes, Skye has a potty mouth. We've established that. "Fine. I'll take what I can get.. I've no doubt some of that is transferrable. And if not, I'll find a way to.. well, deconstruct you, so to speak."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara laughs outright, her amusement not at Skye's expense so much as at her enthusiasm. "You can try... but I'm pretty sure that I'm covered. I... didn't have to deconstruct what I had. I have access to the aliens themselves for integration purposes, when I need it." She shrugs a little. "Let's just say being willing to protect Kryptonians has a few perks."

Quake has posed:
Skye's nose crinkles. "Somehow I don't think that's fair. And I meant adapt what could be used on.. ah hell, now I'm going to be all cranky knowing I'm running on subpar equiupment. But yeah, you said our systems won't run a lot of it. No reason I can't figure out how to scavange the bits I cam make work with what I have."

Then she grins outright, "I could be convinced to protect a few Kryptonians."

Oracle has posed:
Blue eyes crinkle at the corners as Barbara grins. "I'm reasonably sure you could, but... you know, that then puts some of that tech into the hands of the government. Not sure anyone on this PLANET is ready for what that could mean," she comments. "I do have some things that will help you do what you're hoping to do -- make your teams more secure, safer. And in truth, the tech to do that already exists.... it's just bleeding-edge tech."

Quake has posed:
The young woman considers, and has to admit, "Yeah. Much as I love some of them, there are things I wouldn't want SHIELD having its hands on. Still, you've mad skills and I so want to pick a few of them." Skye's grin is infectious. "Bleeding edge, huh? Wonder just how insulted a couple of scientists I know will be if they haven't gotten there first. I'm game, though." She seems willing to let much of the other go. For all the reasons.

Oracle has posed:
"Some of what you need, I'm shocked and amazed SHIELD doesn't already have -- it *is* Stark Tech." Barbara wrinkles her nose, remembering him at the Wayne gala. The thought makes her have to stifle a giggle, remembering the society biddies. "Anyway -- yes, I can definitely teach you some of the coding techniques I use, especially with layered encryption. But... there's a cost." She tilts her head. "You're going to have to trust me not to abuse the back door into SHIELD."

Quake has posed:
Skye chokes back a laugh. "Have you *met* Tony? I know exactly why we don't have everything he does. Not to mention, he's just as likely to slip things in a person doesn't want as anyone else." She seems terribly amused. "I do like him, though.."

She sips her coffee as she listens to the cost of this little venture - the liquid already cooled to the point where it's more recognizable as her coding drink. "Wow. You don't ask for too much, do you? You know it's my job to watch that, huh?" Of course Barbara does. That's why it's the price. "So. You trust me not to be an asshole, and I trust you not to be an asshole, and while we maintain plausible deniability, we have each other's back? Am I hearing that right?"

Skye peers over the edge of her coffee.

Oracle has posed:
"You are hearing that exactly right," Barbara agrees. "For what it's worth to you, my role is literally to monitor. Should something catch my eye that has escaped yours because you're inside the situation, it would let me warn you. At least, that's the hope. And I'll cover the back door with my own code so it can't be used by anyone but me. It'll auto-sever if either of us is hacked."

Quake has posed:
Skye nods thoughtfully. "There are some few reasons to leave a hole here and there. But I think we both know that's not what you're talking about." She nods again, weighing matters in her mind. "Well, wouldn't be the first time I went outside the box. And I like the sounds of it. Not just for the training."

There's a grin from the woman. "Weird. I'm sitting here mostly in the same spot as you. No real reason to trust my gut on this, and all the reasons not to, and still thinking it's the right thing to do. You know, for some value of right." She gives a negligent shrug. "To bastardize a phrase from those we both know and love to hate, two heads are better than one? Count me in."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara's gaze on Skye is amused, but serious. "I give you my word that I will not be an asshole. I will, obviously, take advantage of the intel that I glean, but it will never bounce back on you or your team. I may color outside the lines, but you can count on my word to have your back and theirs if it's needed."

Gotta love it when a plan comes together. Barbara sips her coffee and murmurs, "Out of curiosity... how good are your eyes in the sky? Do they let you use the NSA sats up there?" The wicked grin might be a warning or just a tease.

Quake has posed:
Skye grins back at Barbara. "I don't always play in the box. I can appreciate it in others." She does ponder the other. "Not so great, the eyes. At least not that I've had my fingers on." And she's had her fingers on a lot lately. Mind, she wasn't *poking* with those fingers. She'd actually been doing her job.. with a couple minor exceptions. Like the bits of personal code she'd left behind to ensure she'd always be able to get back into SHIELD. Hydra was never happening again. (and other bet hedging was always a good idea). "Why?"

Oracle has posed:
"Well, I rather thought that with what you've all been up to, seeking out Hydra? You might be interested in a few *other* back doors that I'm willing to share with you. To help you keep tabs on certain places a little more easily." Barbara shrugs slightly. "I've got a secure set of sat feeds, some of which are actually NSA feeds -- their coders are pretty decent, but... not on your level." That's her assessment of them, anyway. "Fair trade, you think?"

Quake has posed:
There's a slow nod from Skye. "Decently fair. Anything remote has its value in deniability." Skye was beginning to think a certain number of its agents - like herself - were chosen specifically for their willingness to walk this fine line in the sand and straddle two worlds. It left SHIELD open to entirely larger worlds than within the bounds of its official mandate. Plus, Skye had seen some of that deniability in action with Gothic Lolita. "I could most definitely use that info." Hydra was still out there.

Oracle has posed:
Barbara nods. "So, my dear.... training, new eyes in the sky, and someone to have your back. Not bad for a day's work, I'd say?" Although right now her focus is still mainly Gotham, this opportunity and another that she's pursuing have the potential to make Oracle something of a global watchdog all by her lonesome. Barbara is... a little amused at that thought. Dammit... she hates having to tell Dick he was right. And she won't have to tell Bruce, he'll just know. It's like the man's a seer sometimes.

Quake has posed:
And for her part, Skye's secured information she couldn't get otherwise, and while it is technically outside the box, SHIELD will benefit. Fury has looked past her ways in the past enough to suggest to Skye she's still within the grey area of acceptance. And even if she weren't, the girl still holds a few personal principles close and tight. This one she's willing to take a chance on. Gut or intuition, sheer stupidity - whatever you wanted to call it - Skye was feeling pretty solid with her decision. The question remained what she did next. However, that one she still had time to decide on.

"Great day. I presume we'll be in touch?"

They had each other's call now. That was the easy part. This had been the hard. It was all uphill from here.

Oracle has posed:
"Definitely." Barbara smiles as she stands. "I'll work on some exercised for you, geared toward getting your brain wrapped around the multi-layered protocols." She smiles. "Looking forward to talking with you."

Quake has posed:
Skye's mug of coffee is lifted in mock salute and by way of goodbye. Today? Was a good day. A very good day.