Planet Telex

"I'm sure you've gathered what we're here to do, but let me repeat it for clarity." Feathers of Silver said as she paced back and forward in front of the other two Avians. "Firstly, I want to see if Tiaris here can get access to our facilities and information with just valid Agent paperwork, and no knowledge from the inside. Secondly, I want to see if Claws of Purple can do the same, with just valid Assistant paperwork."
Tiaris giggled and gave her Mistress a light elbowing. "Real paperwork, then?"
"Yes, Tiaris. All on paper, all signed and done in triplicate." Feathers of Silver replied, motioning to the small stack of papers on the table nearby. "It'll be submitted this afternoon for processing, as well as the removal of your existing files, to prevent any biometric lookups pulling up your real records."
"And after this?" Claws of Purple grumbled, slightly unhappy that she was being made to switch roles with her Assistant for the day.
"I restore your original files, and none of this ever happened."
Feathers of Silver needed a test of the Ministry of Internal Affairs's internal security, and knew that these two would be perfect for it. Claws of Purple wasn't the important one in this plan -- it was Tiaris, the Assistant, who would be doing the most useful infiltration -- but with Tiaris able to get her owner to do anything just by waving an envelope containing a signed reassignment form, it made it a simple task to get them on board.
"This isn't an order..." Silver said, stopping between the two. "...at least not from me."
Tiaris chuckled and gave her Mistress another elbow nudge. "We can do it, Miss Silver!"
Claws of Purple grumbled, but nodded. "Okay, Director. If you think we're the right ones for it..."

Two days later, Claws of Purple received a box by Ministry courier. The empty-eyed Assistant handed off the grey carry-box and gave a polite nod, leaving Purple with the materials she'd need for the next day... and hopefully just the one day. Not deciding to alert Tiaris to it, Purple placed it on the bed and pulled the plastic lid off. Inside sat neatly folded Assistant dresses marked with her brand-new serial, eight uniforms in total, a Your New Assignment book containing information for both the new Assistant and their owner, and a silver ID card in an envelope.
"Oooh! New clothes, Mistress?" Tiaris said with a smile, suddenly appearing in the doorway. "I'm sure they'll fit great."
"Shut up, Assistant." Purple replied, taking out one of the dresses and looking it over.
"I believe that since you have that, and I have this... it means that now, you're the Assistant." Tiaris said, pointing to the Assistant ID card in the case, and then her new one in her hand, with a smile. "Don't bother putting them away yet, Hylia, as with this card, I got a message that we're to start today, and you need to act in character for it!"
Purple sighed, placing the dress down and frowning at her Assistant, who was quite emboldened by having her new ID card, matching that of a free Avian. Not that it'd last... "Fine. I'm assuming you're wearing my stuff out, then?"
"Yes, Assistant!" Tiaris sang, leaning on the door frame. "Miss Silver sent me a new jacket, though, since there were apparently spares in my size..."
"Oh, good." Purple grumbled under her breath. "The Director giving you more stuff for dressing up in, just what I need..."

Newly made Assistant dresses were always slightly itchy for some reason. Usually the wearing in period for an Assistant's new uniform tended to be a week-long journey to some star system in a pod, still full of drugs from the chipping, and so they usually wouldn't be able to care. But on this train ride, standing with all the other Assistants, Purple did quite care.
"Sector 1, Ministry of the Primus, Administration Campus."
At least she was almost there...

Tiaris grinned to herself as she took a seat in the monorail car, a luxury usually not given to Assistants. The ride was not long, but being able to do it in relative comfort was new to her...
"Sector 1, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Block C."
Tiaris rose from her seat as the monorail came to a halt, electro-magnetic breaks hissing with heat as the doors opened. The internal terminals for the Ministries weren't quite as busy as the main transit hub she left Purple in, but there were still enough Avians milling to and from the massive complex to allow her to blend in.
She headed towards the secure entrance, which would let her into the facility. She'd never been through one of these checkpoints before -- a claustrophobic, single-file line only allowing access through a remotely-unlocked turnstile. A single guard sat in an office inset into the wall, with a glass screen between them and those entering.
"Swipe your ID, please." Said the guard, voice giving away how tired they were of saying it today.
Tiaris did as she was told, slipping her ID card from her jacket pocket and pressing it squarely up against the glowing pad set into the turnstile.
"Talons of Grey, right?" The guard asked, eyes flicking over the screen before her. "The system hasn't seen you before, but it says you're an Agent, Third Class..."
"Yes, that's me." Tiaris replied, with a confident smile. "I'm a transfer from off-world. Hazen III, frontier."
"Ah!" The guard said, unlocking the turnstile. "That explains it, sometimes it takes a few months for the full files to be transferred... sorry about that."
"No problem." Tiaris said, pushing through the gate. "Have a nice day."

Purple shifted around a little in her grey dress, clinging to the folder she was holding in an attempt to not try and scratch herself. Not only wouldn't it help, but it was unbecoming of an Assistant, and she didn't want to garner any more attention than she had to. Fortunately, the Ministry of the Primus office was full of Avians like her, and so she should be able to blend in relatively well, once she got inside...
"ID card." The guard behind the checkpoint said, holding out his hand.
Purple instinctively went to open up her jacket to retrieve her ID card, but found herself grabbing at air. "Yes, um..." She finally remembered that Assistant dresses had a small pocket on their left hip, and retrieved the card to pass over.
"Just a moment." The guard replied as he scanned, an eyeridge raised. "FC4 Hylia... commissioned yesterday."
"I... yes, that's right." Purple responded, fidgeting with the corner of the folders.
The guard passed the ID card back and Purple muttered in relief as he stepped aside to let her through. "Lifts are down the hall."
Purple walked past, her attempt at looking calm fading once she thought the guard's gaze had turned away, pace turning brisker in the hope that she could get to the lifts before anyone else noticed her.

Tiaris smiled at the Assistants who had gathered into the lift with her. They were going to find her an empty desk, courtesy of the section manager, who was very displeased to hear that the decorated Agent from the frontier that had been transferred was not welcomed with everything already prepared, and apologised profusely for the transfer documents not being processed correctly. Of course, she had no decorations, and there was no transfer paperwork, but Tiaris found it easy to lie to the bureaucrats.
It was something about the chip, Tiaris had gathered, that let her do it with such confidence -- once Feathers of Silver had given her authorisation to do everything but physically harming another, Tiaris had found herself with the ability to blatantly lie without effort. She was just doing as she was told, after all, and that was what good Assistants do.
"I'm not particularly picky about the view, but I find it helps me work." Tiaris said, grinning a little. "Something without too much sun, if you can manage it."
The two Assistants looked at each other, the relatively easy search for an empty cubicle now becoming an almost impossible one for a window-side desk. "I don't think ther-" One started, before a glare from the other silenced them.
"Would it be okay if we found you somewhere else while we find a suitable permanent location, Agent?"
Tiaris emulated the best frown she could, but nodded. She didn't want to be too mean to the Assistants, but she also knew that a real Third Class wouldn't just settle for a cube... "Sure. Somewhere to keep my stuff for a few days is fine."

Purple was relieved at the lack of internal security in the Primus's offices. Of course, it wasn't the building complex that the Primus herself was in, but it was where she needed to deliver these documents. Inside was a compilation of reports for the Primus's advisers that she'd prepared right before Feathers of Silver approached them with her plan, and whether she was Claws of Purple or FC4 Hylia, they still needed to be handed over. Purple just hoped that they'd be read late enough that "Agent Claws of Purple" existed again to get the credit for it...
"Delivery for the Advisory Office." Purple said as she approached one of the administration desks on the first floor, responsible for document intake.
The Assistant behind the desk tilted their head slightly in confusion, looking at the folder. "Advisory Office?"
"Yeah, the Primus's advisory office." Purple responded. "Am... am I not in the right place?"
"We don't take mail for the Advisory Office here..." The Assistant responded, as if Purple was doing something obviously wrong.
Purple looked around, looking for some sort of sign saying where Advisory Office mail went, but as was the norm in primarily Assistant-occupied areas, the walls were bare. "How am I supposed to know that?"
The Assistant blinked a little. "You just... should."
Purple stomped her foot in frustration and turned around to head back to the lobby to find the Advisory Office directly, but found herself walking into a pair of black-uniformed guards, laser rifles hanging from their chests. "Uh, sorry, I'm just..."
Purple only realised they weren't there by accident when one of them grabbed her shoulder to keep her still, and the other ripped the folder from her hands.
"You, Assistant. Make sure this ends up where it needs to go." The latter guard said, dropping it on the administration desk.
"Yes, Ma'am." The Assistant behind the desk replied, gathering up the folder and disappearing, leaving Purple alone with the guards.

Tiaris leaned back in her office chair, the Assistants running around to gather her stationary and equipment for her new cubicle. It felt good to be waited on for once, Tiaris thought, but she did also remember that she had a task given to her here.
"Hey, Assistant." She said, as one of them dropped off a set of writing pens. "I need to access some documents, kept paper only. Who do I talk to in this building for that?"
"Uhm..." The Assistant placed down the black box of pens, and straightened herself out. "Records is usually really busy, but if you go down there with a request form, they usually let you fetch it yourself if you need it in a hurry..."
"Thanks." Tiaris replied. "Could you fetch me a few of those forms? I know what I want, so I might as well go do it while you two set everything up here for me..."
"Yes, Ma'am." The Assistant responded, disappearing off to locate some.
As Tiaris laid back again, she had to wonder how Claws of Purple's day was going...

Purple glanced around the dark room, wanting nothing more than to be outside of it. The single hanging light and the bare table with a single seat was a familiar sight to her, but not a comfortable one when she was the focus of it. The guards stood as she sat, with what Purple could recognise as an Agent standing in the back, observing. Her file, freshly printed, sat open in front of her, only a few pages long.
"I-I swear, that's me!" Purple said, pointing at the photograph on the front page, and then at the matching serials on the page and her dress.
"We've been having trouble verifying that." One of the guards said, leaning over the table that Purple was sitting at. "You're not showing up on the Mesh, which raises some questions."
"I... I don't know why that would be the case..." Purple mumbled as it dawned on her that of course she wasn't. "It must just be a bug in the system, and I have lots of tasks to do for..." -- Purple paused, thinking of Hylia, and swallowed her pride -- "...for my owner, so I need to leave..." She winced at the hole she was digging -- if the Agent were at all competent, they would be able to see right through her...
"It might be a misconfiguration, since your behaviour is very erratic for an Assistant, even a Class C."
Purple gave a nervous chuckle, shifting around in her ever so slightly itchy dress. "Yeah, um, that might be my owner's doing. She wanted to ease me in to the chip, you know! Maybe she accidentally disabled the Mesh networking... I'll ask her to fix it when I'm home, I promise!" Purple winced at the hole she was digging -- there was an Agent standing in the shadows behind the guards, and if they were at all competent, they would be able to see right through her...
"That'd be too late." The Agent piped up, stepping forward. "Class Cs on the Homeworld don't have long off the Mesh before the chip is permanently disabled, and the Assistant expires. Assuming your configuration was done soon after the delivery date marked on your file, you should be dead."
Purple opened her mouth to speak, but only frantic mumbling came out as she realised that her identity was falling apart. "I... no, I..."
"Who is your owner, anyway?" The Agent asked, pulling away the file so that Purple couldn't read it. "Maybe they can give us some answers."
Purple went pale as the Agent pulled away her only information source, not having taken the time to memorise Tiaris's new name, nor even her own identifier as Hylia. She didn't expect this much trouble, after all... "I... I don't know..." Purple said, stuttering under the pressure. "She... didn't tell me."
"Mmmh." The Agent said, somehow satisfied with that answer. "Let me guess, you use a title instead? I know the kind. No matter."
Purple sighed in relief as the Agent turned around. "Can... can I go now?"
"No." The Agent replied, opening a box concealed in the dark, and pulling out a chip terminal, a little black box with a very dense keypad on it. "Got to make sure you don't just up and keel over on the street, first."

Tiaris found it quite easy to convince the overworked Avian at the counter of Records that her request was urgent, yet simple enough that she could find it herself. Finishing it off with an empathetic "it's small, and I don't want to add to your workload" meant that not only did the staffer allow her access, but they did so with gratitude -- and without even checking her ID, at that.
The Records Office's storage was rows and rows of rolling shelves all stuffed into a single large room, each rolling shelf stacked full to the brim of files and paper. It didn't have the quiet order of the long-term Archives, but the documents here were certainly of more immediate use to the Ministry (and its potential enemies), and was the target of the whole exercise.
"Hmm... 250... 251... 252..." Tiaris mumbled as she walked down one of the rows, target document ID memorised and playing back in her head until she came across it. "Ah! Here we go."
She pulled the shelves back towards her and locked them in place, leaving a gap that she could stand in to find her document. She flicked through the stacked shelves inside, pulling out two folders. One was a mundane one on civic planning, the one she said she was here for, and the other was Feathers of Silver's very own personnel record. Switching the internals and placing the other back meant that Tiaris now had an innocent looking folder full of incredibly sensitive information, and nobody was the wiser...
"How long am I allowed to keep these out for?" Tiaris asked the records staffer as she left, yellow folder in hand.
"We ask people to bring them back within the week, but with how many I have to do... goddess, I don't care if you keep the damn thing forever." The staffer responded, mildly despondently.
"I won't rush, then." Tiaris replied with a smile. "Take care of yourself."

Purple could do nothing but sit there and tremble as the Agent placed the terminal against her head. She knew it wouldn't connect, because there was nothing there, and that was when she knew that the hole she had dug for herself might be the one she'll be buried in.
"There... there isn't a chip." Purple blurted out, as the Agent tried for the third time to connect. "I'm undercover. I'm an Agent, I can prove it, just..." Purple pulled away from the terminal, knowing what it could do if there really was something in her head. "...get that thing away from me."
The guards instantly raised their rifles, but the Agent waved them down. "That's an interesting story to switch to." The Agent said, stepping back and placing the chip terminal on the desk. "New file, not even fully filled... sloppy, but maybe good enough to get access to the target..."
Purple slumped back down against the uncomfortable chair. "Claws of Purple, Agent Third Class, Ministry of Internal Affairs."
The other Agent smiled a little and retrieved her datapad from the table kept in the shadows. "Claws of Purple? Let me just pull you up..." The Agent tapped on the screen with her claws, and placed it down once it started searching. "See, here's the thing, I'm only a Second Class, but I know one thing..."
The datapad beeped in an unhappy tone, and the screen turned red, as it failed to pull up any Agent of that description.
"...an Agent would never denigrate themselves by putting on that uniform."
Purple's eyes went wide as the datapad said she didn't exist -- of course she didn't, Feathers of Silver said she removed the existing documents on purpose. There was no way to prove that she was who she said she was.
"She's not got a chip, she can't tell us who she is, can't tell us her owner..." One of the guards said, rifle raising slightly. "Smells like a spy to me."
"I think she's just escaped from the facilities and just trying to hide it. Too sloppy for a spy." The other said. "Agent, what do we do?"
The Agent looked the trembling Purple up and down, and held up a finger as soon as she attempted to speak. "Send her to intake. See if they get the job done the second time around."
Purple stood up in a panic, almost pushing over the table. "Just... just ask the Director!"
The Agent put an arm out to prevent the guards from restraining her. "And what, pray tell, is the Director's name, Assistant?"

Tiaris didn't even return to the desk that the Assistants had set up for her, instead just packing the files into her bag and heading down the lift to leave before anyone noticed anything she had done.
"Good afternoon, Agent." A staffer said as they walked in to the stopped lift, hit the ground floor button out of habit, and stood beside Tiaris.
"Afternoon." Tiaris replied, caught slightly off-guard. Avians usually ignored Assistants, but of course, she wasn't one of those right now... "Keeping busy?"
"Yes, Agent." The staffer replied, adjusting their blazer slightly. "The Accord expects nothing else of me."
Tiaris chuckled, and gave the staffer a nod as the lift came to a stop at the ground floor and they parted ways.
"Easy." She mumbled to herself, shuffling her messenger bag further up her shoulders and walking out the exit.
All to do now was to meet Feathers of Silver, and her job was done.

Claws of Purple hung her head as the guards held her by the arms, escorting her down the hallway. If the Agent interrogating her had asked any other question, she could have answered -- but not that one. The Second Class didn't get it that the Director's identity was a highly secured piece of information, where you couldn't even admit you knew it in the abstract without being dragged in front of a firing squad. And this following of protocol was going to get her dragged away to somewhere that she didn't even want think about.
"Please... Please don't send me there..." Purple begged the guards as she was pulled along. "I'm an Agent, I swear, all my files will be restored tomorrow, I can assure you..."
"Shut up, Assistant." The one on the left said, with a grumble. "We're tired of your story changing, so don't say another word."
"But it's the tru-"
The guards stopped, the right one letting go, only for the left to press Purple roughly against the wall. "Tangerine, could you shut her up?"
The other guard -- Tangerine, Purple guessed -- happily obliged, producing a small roll of fabric tape from a pocket on his belt, and a cable tie from another. Before Purple could protest, her beak was forced closed by the guard holding her and taped around by the other, her reaching up to pull it off halted when they turned her around to bind her wrists with the cable tie, pulling hard enough that Purple could almost feel her hands go numb.
"Come on." Tangerine commanded as the other pulled the captive away from the wall and pushed her forward. "We don't have all day, and unless you want to spend all night in Intake..."
Purple grunted against the tape silencing her, wrists wriggling against the tie cutting into them. There really was nothing she could do now...

"Ah, Tiaris. Glad to see you're in one piece." Feathers of Silver smiled, leant back comfortably on a park bench, book on her lap.
"That's Talons of Grey right now, ma'am." Tiaris replied with a chuckle, holding out the folder for the Director to take.
"Of course, yes." Silver took the folder and placed it on top of her folded book, opening it up and flicking inside. "This is it. Good job, Talons of Grey."
Tiaris gave a little bow. "Thank you, ma'am. May I sit?"
Silver closed the folder and dropped it safely in her bag, before shuffling over to give Tiaris plenty of room. "According to everyone today, you're a free Avian, so... I don't see a reason not to."
"Nobody even questioned me, it was really strange." Tiaris said, as she sat down and looked over the nature reserve Silver had said to meet in. "As an Assistant, everyone wants to know what you're doing, where you're going..."
"Yes, well. A Ministry jacket helps, you know." Silver said, flicking back a page in her book to remember what she was reading. "Speaking of Assistants, wasn't that Hylia of yours supposed to be here earlier?"
"She's probably sitting on the train system somewhere." Tiaris muttered. "Without me, I am sure she's as lost as a ladybug."

Claws of Purple knew all of this infrastructure existed, and, hell, she'd even sent a few dozen people to it, but it was all so terrifying up close. The "Intake" of the massive Assistant processing facilities covered a city block by itself, full of space for delivery vehicles, a public transport terminal, and even a light spacedock. Usually the Assistants she had signed the documents for would have come through either public transport or the spacedock from another Sector, but she was being delivered 'by hand'.
The high security section was reserved for Assignments to be undertaken by force. Mostly captured exotics and punishment assignments, it was somewhere that free will was designed to be extinguished whether the subject wanted it or not. The rest of Intake was volunteers or those Assigned who walked in themselves, and were calmly sedated and sent for chip installation, but here it was likely you would end up knocked out by a stun rod before getting too far in.
"Mmff." Purple tried to beg through the tape again, but it was no use. After being thrown out of the transport van by the two guards, feathers on her arms and cheek getting crushed and cracked, before being hauled up and dragged along by two more far stronger Avians, she didn't really expect anyone to care to listen.
"Got a misfire here." One of the guards said at a checkpoint.
Purple winced, guessing at what that meant.
"Been a while since I've seen one of them. Bring 'em through."
The entry gate slid open slowly, made of huge reinforced steel bars welded in a cross pattern, ensuring there was no way out. The doors inside were lighter, Purple knew, but every regular door was still steel, and each one eventually led to one like this, meaning that unless you were let out, you would stay.

After a half hour waiting, Tiaris's laughter turned into concern. Claws of Purple wasn't stupid, she wouldn't get lost for long... and she frequented this park all the time, so she knew where it was.
"...can we find out where she last used her ID card or something?" Tiaris asked, getting visibly nervous. "I'm afraid something has happened to her."
Feathers of Silver frowned a little, and put away her book. "Yes, that is also my concern. We can find out where she was last seen... but my datapad doesn't have that authorisation."
"Will the Ministry computers have it?"
"Yes, with my login." Silver stood up and slung her messenger bag over her shoulder, buttoning up her coat and looking at the sunset through the trees. "She's not going to show up, so let's go. There's a field office nearby."
Tiaris stood directly after and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

The inside of the processing facility was worse than Purple had ever imagined. The hallways seemed to be purposely designed to be maze-like and confusing, linking the innumerable 'chipping' rooms and medical suites inside the complex. Every door was a solid piece of steel, remotely electronically controlled, and each kept clean and somehow free of the desperate talon marks that Purple would expect in here. Multicoloured strip lights on the ground directed each occupant to where they were to go next, the pattern in movement suggesting that Purple's current colour was red, the path winding deeper in and further from the freedom of the outside.
"Requesting authorisation for door double zero four nine alpha." One of the guards dragging her along said into a shoulder mic, reading the label of the door where the eerie red lights terminated.
The door opened a few seconds later with a whirr, and Purple was shoved inside, stumbling and falling down without even her arms to break the fall.
"Wait here." The guard said, before the door closed shut, removing the light from the cold and empty holding cell.

"You did what?" Feathers of Silver yelled, causing the Agent they summoned to shrink back into their chair.
"I sent a misfire back to Intake, according to policy." The Agent replied, far more timid than when they were the one asking the questions. "She had a valid Assistant file, and no chip, and tried to impersonate an Agent!"
"You call this a valid Assistant file?" Silver said, throwing the file marked 'FC4 Hylia' down onto the table. "It's two days old, and has no supporting information! An obvious plant!"
"I don't know, sometimes it takes a while for all the information to end up in the system..." The Agent replied, shrinking back a bit. "They were an Assistant, wearing an Assistant uniform... why would any Agent dress up like that and humiliate themselves in public?"
"Because I told them to!" Silver barked, rubbing her head in frustration. "They were a spy."
The Agent went a bit pale as they realised what was happening. "But... but they couldn't even tell me your name, Director, which a Third Class would surely know..."
"A Third Class also knows that saying it will get them executed, or worse."
The Agent fell silent, looking down at the file. "...so they were an Agent."
"Yes! And you sent them to get a damn chip in their head!"
Tiaris stepped forward, putting her hand on Silver's shoulder. "Where did you send them? Can we call them back?"
"No, we can't." Silver replied, with a sigh. "This happened hours ago, and Intake processes misfires first. All we can do is make sure they don't get loaded onto an interstellar transport ship on the other end, now..."

The holding cell was pitch black and completely bare. The lack of light and Purple's restrained movement made it feel massive, despite it only being a few meters a side. She didn't bother to find the extent of the room, her complete exhaustion from struggling against whoever was dragging her meaning she just remained still, laid out on the ground where she was thrown down.
It was only a few minutes before the door opened again, but the total silence made it feel like hours.
"Get them up." A voice said, before two pairs of hands grabbed her by the arms and yanked her back up to her feet. "Put it on."
Purple didn't even resist as she felt the leather hood pulled over her beak and pressed against her face, the back clipped together close to her neck and midway up her head, leaving the lower part unobstructed for the chipping. It blinded and silenced even any small muffled protests she'd gather, the hood designed to keep subjects quiet and disoriented. The begging for freedom usually made the Avian chipping them uncomfortable, after all.
Without any further words Purple felt herself dragged down the hallway again, two sets of footsteps in time with another set trailing, probably whoever commanded they grab her. It wasn't far before she was pulled into another room, where the other pair of footsteps moved forward a few metres before stopping.
"Strap her in."
Pushed into a padded chair with cold metal restraints being snapped closed around her neck, ankles, and wrists, Claws of Purple knew this was the end of the line. She shifted slightly to try and get comfortable, but could only guess that it wasn't meant to be comfortable.
"Dismissed."
The two sets of footsteps left and the door shut, leaving just Purple alone with the other Avian.
"Hmm, a misfire, aren't you?"
Purple shook her head as much as the metal band around her neck would allow.
"Oh? That's what your record says, and your entrance scans certainly show no chip..."
Purple couldn't open her beak to even try and protest as the Avian slowly plucked a few feathers from the back of her head.
"No scar... someone overlooked you, didn't they? Don't worry, I'll make sure you get the treatment you deserve. Just feel lucky that you're staying Class C and we don't have to rip out those tailfeathers of yours..."
Purple whimpered into the restrictive mask, shaking her head again as she heard the other Avian loading a chip into the device that would install it in her head.
"Just hold still, this won't hurt a bit..." The other whispered into Purple's covered ear, before she felt a jab in the arm and everything went black.

Feathers of Silver pushed open the double doors of the break room, walking through and allowing them to flap closed. They'd arrived at the processing facility a while ago, with Tiaris being left in the staff break room while Silver found out exactly where Claws of Purple ended up.
"Purple went through about an hour ago." Feathers of Silver said, sitting down to the table with Tiaris. "She's just finishing up in recovery now, and they'll bring her out here."
Tiaris stared quietly into her tea as she mixed it with a spoon. "This wasn't exactly how I expected this to go..."
"No, neither did I." Silver replied, leaning back on the staff break room chairs. "But there's no reason to worry about her. We can't take the chip out, but we can..." Silver gestured a little, trying to think of the right word. "...disable some of its effects."
"Can she still be an Agent?" Tiaris asked, a little despondently. "I didn't think you could undo what the chip does..."
Silver tapped a claw against her knee, deciding how much to reveal to the Assistant. "Cognitive suppression takes a month or two to have long-term effects, worst that'll happen is a few days of spotty memories."
"You didn't tell me if she'll lose her position." Tiaris snapped back, before sighing and returning to stirring her now rather cold tea. "Sorry, Miss Silver. Just... I didn't mean for this to happen when I suggested it..."
"She will keep her position, of course." Silver paused. "We actually had a project to put chips in Agents, to enhance them in the field, but... turned out that outside of the trial group, nobody would agree to it, lest they turn into Assistants..."
"Okay." Tiaris sighed again, leaning down to stare deeper into her tea. It wasn't even good tea, since it came from the break room machine, but simply having it there helped. "I just... wanted her to walk around in a dress for a bit, not end up thrown in a chipping facility."
"Chip or not, she did reveal some important things..." Silver responded, drumming her talons against the table. "I completely expected her to have no problems. But it seems we're stricter on the Assistants than the Agents..."
"And yet we're the ones with the chips that track our every thought..."
"Speaking of..." Silver said, turning around as she heard noise down the hall.
The double doors opened again, revealing a slightly staggering Assistant being held up by a white-coated Science Division doctor.
"Director, ma'am, here is the Assistant you asked for." They said, as Tiaris rushed up to help prop up the Assistant. "FC4 Hylia, Class C."
"Yes, thank you." Feathers of Silver said, walking up to them. "You are dismissed. And you, Purple, lets get you home."
The new Assistant only blinked in confusion as the default settings of the chip obliterated any mention of her former identity.
"Right. Hylia, I mean. Let's go home."
The tired-looking Assistant gave a single nod before stumbling along as Tiaris helped her walk.

"Mistress?" Tiaris asked, leaning over Claws of Purple lounging in their seat. "Is everything okay?"
"Hm? Oh, yes." Purple replied, snapping back to reality. "Just reading something. You know, with the..."
"The chip, Mistress?"
Purple resisted the urge to scratch at the still-tender scar on the back of her head. "Yes."
"Oh, okay. I guess I'll have to get used to you doing that too." Tiaris held out the tray she was holding, a plate of biscuits and a cup of tea on top. "Miss Silver said to bring you lots of things to help you recover."
"Mmh." Purple took the tray and placed it down on her lap, idly nudging at one of the biscuits with a talon. "Hey, Tiaris?"
"Yes, Mistress?"
"Does the buzzing ever go away?"
"After a week or two, Mistress." Tiaris replied, picking up an empty glass from Purple's side table. "The colours in your peripherals will also go after that, as well."
"That's not been bothering me so much, fortunately." Purple said, snapping a biscuit in two and nibbling on it a little. "It does feel weird having everything... processed beforehand. I know it's there, even if Silver disabled it all..."
"You get used to it." Tiaris stepped up from the carpet to the kitchen beside the lounge, placing the cup in the sink. "Even if I'll tease you about it sometimes..."
Purple grumbled as she ate the biscuit, half in annoyance that she was chipped, and half in an embarrassment at her Assistant being able to remind her that they were nearly one and the same. "At least I have my own dresses to wear, not the Ministry loaners..."
"Yes, you do, Mistress." Tiaris said with a smile. "Miss Silver said that we should try and keep a normal schedule during your recovery, and..."
"Don't even think about it, Assistant." Purple replied with a growl. "It's going to be a while until I put them back on."
"Iiiiis it, Mistress?" Tiaris sang as she descended back down into the lounge, leaning over her Mistress's chair. "Tell me, Hylia..."
"I wouldn't actually mind a while in it..." Purple said, absentmindedly, before realising what had happened. "H-hey! Tiaris!"
"Yes, Mistress?" Tiaris sang back, innocence dripping from her voice. "I didn't do anything..."
"You used a... a... thing! In the chip!" Purple replied, clearly flustered. "That isn't fair, take it out!"
"But you find the idea good, so why would I take it out? You like it, don't you, Hylia?"
"No, I... n-no... nngghh, yes, I like it..."
"Much better." Tiaris leant down and kissed her Mistress on the forehead. "You should finish your tea, so I can put more things in that head of yours, Mistress..."
Purple crossed her arms in a huff, skin under her feathers flushed red. "You can't, you're just teasing. You just asked Silver to put that in."
"Oh, no... someone left something lying around, Mistress." Tiaris said, producing the small 'Your New Assignment' booklet that Purple had pulled from her Assistant crate and discarded. "Access codes, debug commands, everything... this book is very useful."
"What?! Give that here!" Purple exclaimed, snatching the book back, teacup shaking enough to spill a little. "I didn't say you could have that!"
"Give it back, Hylia..." Tiaris whispered, giving her Mistress another kiss on the forehead as the Avian timidly handed it back. "There we go. Good Assistant."