Vanessa
Vanessa was a scientist working in the Landing Operations Control Center of the National Space Center. In the year 2003, she was involved with the launch of the Beagle 2.
She was a direct descendant of Charles Darwin, which later caught the attention of Abstergo Industries, as she could be used in their Project Legacy.
Biography
Beagle 2 Interception
- "Done and done. Computer's in its bag, systems normal, and best of all... nobody suspects a thing."
- ―Vanessa stealing the communications of the Beagle 2.[src]
In around 1998, Vanessa was contacted by Robert Getas, who showed great interest in the LOCC's missions. After being offered a large amount of money, Vanessa agreed to work with him; though over the five years they kept in contact with each other, they never met face to face.
During the holiday season of 2003, Vanessa stayed at the control center with several of her colleagues, as they nervously awaited news of their landing spacecraft, Beagle 2, which had been launched six days previously. Vanessa intercepted the Beagle 2's signal, and secretly routed the results and control codes to her own laptop. To everyone else, the Mars Express mission was slated to have been a failure.
Immediately after, Vanessa left the building to deliver the laptop to Robert Getas. Though she had researched his appearance, she had trouble spotting him in the crowd, which amused Robert. The two of them sat together and amiably began discussing Vanessa's payment, as well as the Beagle 2's actual progress.
Capture
As she and Robert left the cafe, Vanessa laughed at the irony of her trading off the Beagle 2, as she was a descendant of Charles Darwin, and the spacecraft had been named after the HMS Beagle, which had carried Darwin in the expeditions that had led him to formulate the theory of evolution.
Robert stared at her a moment, before proposing a new deal for Vanessa to work for him at his office. She was hesitant, as the money he had just paid her was more than enough for her retirement, but the man was eerily insistent.
Robert advanced on her, saying that "money is too easily spent", and that the two of them could "make history" together. Even as Robert insisted that he would fly her with him back to his facility, Vanessa was unnerved by his sudden interest. However, she was equally hesitant to refuse, as Robert still had connections with the money she had been paid.
Upon stepping backwards, Vanessa bumped into a large man, who covered her face with a cloth, presumably soaked with a drug or sedative, causing her to lose consciousness.
Personality and characteristics
- "I must stop missing important moments in their lives, but for today, I need to be here."
- ―Vanessa thinking of her children.[src]
Vanessa was a friendly and industrious young woman, who was quite dedicated to her career. She was skilled enough to steal the Beagle 2 communications without any in her workplace noticing, and was successfully able to act innocent, despite her nerves at being caught.
Though Vanessa doted on her two young children Matthew and June - to the point that she was even teased for the "shrine of kid photos" she built on her desk - her relationship with them was distant; something she always regretted. As such, she did not hesitate to agree to trade off the Beagle 2 to Robert Getas, as he promised her enough money to never have to work again.