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Entry tags:
Nikita fic: Conspiracy Theory, PG
Disclaimer: not mine
Fandom: Nikita
Length: 1000+
Rating: PG
Character: Jaden, Jaden/Alex vaguely implied
Genre: character study.
Notes: I... I don't know if this is where the show is going to go with Jaden, but it's a backstory/idea that I liked writing?
Summary: Everyone has an agenda, some of them are less obvious than others.
Conspiracy Theory
by ALC Punk!
At Division, everyone has an agenda. They might hide it, they might lie about it, they might go on and on about how Division saved them from the executioner's chair, but it was still there.
No one goes to Division willingly. Jaden knew that, even as she knew the taste of blood at the back of her throat and that feeling that her skin was going to crawl off if she didn't hit something now. That feeling had given Division its hooks into her skin.
Jaden planned to be the best, once she'd considered the up side (there wasn't one). At the top of her game, she'd have the control. Not the instructors, not Michael, not Amanda (Jaden didn't like to think about Amanda and her prying), not that itching in her skin. Percy's job was going to be hers, not that he (or anyone) knew it yet.
But letting on about her agenda? Yeah, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Jaden wasn't stupid, and she didn't know everything. Yet.
No one knew everything (except maybe Percy, and he had little black boxes to give him some help), but Jaden knew how to watch. There was no point in being one of the crowd, one of those who took orders and never tried to be different (sheep have an agenda to remain invisible).
Picking a rivalry with the new girl was a great cover for her plans. It gave her an edge to hone, and something else to think about.
It took her a few days to pin-point what felt off about the new girl, days of watching Alex, of picking little holes in her confidence before the blinding reality of it struck her.
Alex was a lie.
Jaden wasn't sure what Alex's agenda was, but she wasn't a simple recruit from off the streets. There was something too self-assured about her when she thought no one was watching. Not to mention, all the time she spent in the computer lab, her fingers typing smoothly over keys that she couldn't manage during class.
Of course, that was a sort of inspiration in and of itself. Watching Alex fumble through a simple hack spurred Jaden onto perfection in her own technique.
There were other things that stuck out. Things that made Jaden wonder if Division knew about Alex, too.
Picking a fight and twisting around to stare through the glass into the Ops Room wasn't the most subtle of tactics, but Jaden had to give it marks for the sheer audacity, even as she skulked off with bruised ribs and Thom shouting at her for being so stupid.
Alex had a secret, one that lurked near the surface when she thought no one was watching. Jaden could see it in her eyes when her head cracked against the glass (though it might have been cartoon stars).
It wasn't something she figured out right away, but Jaden was learning to be subtle herself. Shadowing Alex to Percy's office, watching her with Thom, and lurking outside Amanda's favorite cell gave her some ideas. Catching the interest in Alex's eyes when a certain name was dropped gave her another little clue.
People still talked about her. The one who failed and ran after she broke the rules.
Nikita.
It was a name Alex knew, though she'd probably deny it to her dying breath.
Jaden tucked the name away along with Alex's probable agenda, into a pocket in her mind. It wasn't knowledge that was relevant. Not yet.
She'd have to work the angles, to decide how Alex's little agenda coincided with hers (or worked against it, though if Alex's outside friend took down Percy--she seemed to want to embarrass him a lot--that worked in Jaden's favor. Then again if she managed to take the entire operation down, that was another thing entirely).
Being cautious worked to her advantage; Alex never seemed to suspect that anyone had seen through her, and Jaden wasn't going to let her know.
Hacking was in her favor, too.
It took time to work around the security on the system (Birkhoff was an ass, but he was good at what he did), but Jaden began to figure out the rhythms of the firewalls. Hacking her way in gave her drips and drabs of information. Nikita, Percy, black boxes, failed missions (those were irresistible: what made Division fail?), and the missions Percy didn't like to talk about.
Covering her tracks always took more time than the initial foray, but Jaden wasn't about to tip her hand this early in the game. From what she could tell, it was going to take a concerted effort to undermine Percy and topple his regime.
She was just the person to do it, though (she acknowledged the irony that this Nikita was going to make her job simpler). Jaden liked the thought of being in control.
It wasn't something she let herself think about a lot--wearing a smug smile only worked when you were standing on the mat, taking someone else down for their own mistakes. Besides, Amanda was watching for those sorts of tells.
Sometimes, Amanda scared Jaden, with her poise and her certainty--the way she looked at you as though you were an interesting new experiment for her to pull the wings off of. Jaden didn't have to wonder what Amanda's agenda was, Amanda found them all fascinating test subjects for a doctoral thesis she was never going to publish. Couldn't really let the academic community in on her little pecadillos, after all.
Following Alex seemed a good idea at the time. Too late, she realized Alex was planning to use her. Jaden could almost admire her ruthlessness, even as she pretended to believe Alex's little story.
He touched me. They won't believe me. I need your help.
No please, because they both would know the lie in that phrase.
Jaden agreed, feigning worry over being exposed while secretly enjoying the chance to slip into Alex's trust. Just that little bit, and Alex probably thought she was simply using Jaden. But mutual blackmail was an ugly concept, and Jaden could trade in secrets when she had to.
She didn't have to, not yet.
But there would be a day when Jaden would tell Alex the truth, when Amanda, Michael, Percy--all of them would have to give way for someone new. Someone better than them. They should have spotted Alex for the lie that she is, but they hadn't.
Nikita and Alex were both pieces of their Achilles heel, and Jaden planned to use them.
After all, she was taking the long view, as Percy must have, once upon a time.
-f-
Fandom: Nikita
Length: 1000+
Rating: PG
Character: Jaden, Jaden/Alex vaguely implied
Genre: character study.
Notes: I... I don't know if this is where the show is going to go with Jaden, but it's a backstory/idea that I liked writing?
Summary: Everyone has an agenda, some of them are less obvious than others.
Conspiracy Theory
by ALC Punk!
At Division, everyone has an agenda. They might hide it, they might lie about it, they might go on and on about how Division saved them from the executioner's chair, but it was still there.
No one goes to Division willingly. Jaden knew that, even as she knew the taste of blood at the back of her throat and that feeling that her skin was going to crawl off if she didn't hit something now. That feeling had given Division its hooks into her skin.
Jaden planned to be the best, once she'd considered the up side (there wasn't one). At the top of her game, she'd have the control. Not the instructors, not Michael, not Amanda (Jaden didn't like to think about Amanda and her prying), not that itching in her skin. Percy's job was going to be hers, not that he (or anyone) knew it yet.
But letting on about her agenda? Yeah, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Jaden wasn't stupid, and she didn't know everything. Yet.
No one knew everything (except maybe Percy, and he had little black boxes to give him some help), but Jaden knew how to watch. There was no point in being one of the crowd, one of those who took orders and never tried to be different (sheep have an agenda to remain invisible).
Picking a rivalry with the new girl was a great cover for her plans. It gave her an edge to hone, and something else to think about.
It took her a few days to pin-point what felt off about the new girl, days of watching Alex, of picking little holes in her confidence before the blinding reality of it struck her.
Alex was a lie.
Jaden wasn't sure what Alex's agenda was, but she wasn't a simple recruit from off the streets. There was something too self-assured about her when she thought no one was watching. Not to mention, all the time she spent in the computer lab, her fingers typing smoothly over keys that she couldn't manage during class.
Of course, that was a sort of inspiration in and of itself. Watching Alex fumble through a simple hack spurred Jaden onto perfection in her own technique.
There were other things that stuck out. Things that made Jaden wonder if Division knew about Alex, too.
Picking a fight and twisting around to stare through the glass into the Ops Room wasn't the most subtle of tactics, but Jaden had to give it marks for the sheer audacity, even as she skulked off with bruised ribs and Thom shouting at her for being so stupid.
Alex had a secret, one that lurked near the surface when she thought no one was watching. Jaden could see it in her eyes when her head cracked against the glass (though it might have been cartoon stars).
It wasn't something she figured out right away, but Jaden was learning to be subtle herself. Shadowing Alex to Percy's office, watching her with Thom, and lurking outside Amanda's favorite cell gave her some ideas. Catching the interest in Alex's eyes when a certain name was dropped gave her another little clue.
People still talked about her. The one who failed and ran after she broke the rules.
Nikita.
It was a name Alex knew, though she'd probably deny it to her dying breath.
Jaden tucked the name away along with Alex's probable agenda, into a pocket in her mind. It wasn't knowledge that was relevant. Not yet.
She'd have to work the angles, to decide how Alex's little agenda coincided with hers (or worked against it, though if Alex's outside friend took down Percy--she seemed to want to embarrass him a lot--that worked in Jaden's favor. Then again if she managed to take the entire operation down, that was another thing entirely).
Being cautious worked to her advantage; Alex never seemed to suspect that anyone had seen through her, and Jaden wasn't going to let her know.
Hacking was in her favor, too.
It took time to work around the security on the system (Birkhoff was an ass, but he was good at what he did), but Jaden began to figure out the rhythms of the firewalls. Hacking her way in gave her drips and drabs of information. Nikita, Percy, black boxes, failed missions (those were irresistible: what made Division fail?), and the missions Percy didn't like to talk about.
Covering her tracks always took more time than the initial foray, but Jaden wasn't about to tip her hand this early in the game. From what she could tell, it was going to take a concerted effort to undermine Percy and topple his regime.
She was just the person to do it, though (she acknowledged the irony that this Nikita was going to make her job simpler). Jaden liked the thought of being in control.
It wasn't something she let herself think about a lot--wearing a smug smile only worked when you were standing on the mat, taking someone else down for their own mistakes. Besides, Amanda was watching for those sorts of tells.
Sometimes, Amanda scared Jaden, with her poise and her certainty--the way she looked at you as though you were an interesting new experiment for her to pull the wings off of. Jaden didn't have to wonder what Amanda's agenda was, Amanda found them all fascinating test subjects for a doctoral thesis she was never going to publish. Couldn't really let the academic community in on her little pecadillos, after all.
Following Alex seemed a good idea at the time. Too late, she realized Alex was planning to use her. Jaden could almost admire her ruthlessness, even as she pretended to believe Alex's little story.
He touched me. They won't believe me. I need your help.
No please, because they both would know the lie in that phrase.
Jaden agreed, feigning worry over being exposed while secretly enjoying the chance to slip into Alex's trust. Just that little bit, and Alex probably thought she was simply using Jaden. But mutual blackmail was an ugly concept, and Jaden could trade in secrets when she had to.
She didn't have to, not yet.
But there would be a day when Jaden would tell Alex the truth, when Amanda, Michael, Percy--all of them would have to give way for someone new. Someone better than them. They should have spotted Alex for the lie that she is, but they hadn't.
Nikita and Alex were both pieces of their Achilles heel, and Jaden planned to use them.
After all, she was taking the long view, as Percy must have, once upon a time.
-f-
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I'm really hoping the show starts acknowledging the lack of subtlety and someone catches on!
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Thanks for posting.
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This sort of became my own personal fanon about three weeks ago, and I've almost assumed everyone knows it already a few times.
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I'm really really hoping the show picks up more complexity for Jaden--apparently the actress hasn't been available?--but I'm not holding my breath. :/
Part of the Division blindness, I think, is that... er, they're arrogant and not expecting it from a recruit--especially one like Alex? I don't know. It's sad.
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This is great. I love the tack you've taken here and I choose to accept this as prevailing head-canon.
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