Violet da Costa

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"That's the Brotherhood for you. We make rules, they break them. That's why they all have to die, see?"

―Violet da Costa, 2014.^[src]

Violet da Costa (1988 – ) was an Abstergo Industries operative working alongside Juhani Otso Berg. She was also a member of the Templar Order and, secretly, the Instruments of the First Will. During her time with Sigma Team, she provided tactical support to operatives in the field and occasionally relayed orders from higher command.

Following the team's disbandment in late 2013, Violet was stationed at Abstergo Entertainment to update the company's security measures, while also aiding in the search for First Civilization artifacts.

Biography

Sigma Team

Gramática: "I tried to recruit you once, and you turned me down for Sigma Team."

Violet: "I thought I could do more good in the field."

—Gramática and Violet about her preference for field work, 2012.^[src]

A Canadian, Violet completed a bachelor's degree with a double major in mathematics and computer science and after her graduation looked for work in the intelligence community. However, she was recruited by Abstergo and while her brilliant mind attracted the attention of the Future Technology branch and its director Álvaro Gramática, she nevertheless chose to work as a field technologist assigned to Sigma Team.^[1]

In June 2012, Isabelle Ardant assigned Violet off Sigma Team to work with Gramática for six months in Paris, in order to help the scientist to unlock the secrets of the original Shroud of Eden. Gramática discovered that he was able to trigger the artefact's healing function by shooting someone in the head while they were wearing it, causing the Precursor Consus to briefly possess the healed during the process. During months, Gramática had the willing Violet wear the Shroud, each time shooting her in order to converse with Consus while Violet's wounds were healed.^[1]

On 30 November 2012, she temporary joined Sigma Team again and oversaw the team's attack on an Assassin cell in Florence, keeping the operatives updated on their progress and passing on Berg's commands. During her boss' confrontation with Adriano Maestranzi, Violet detected a bomb, but her warning came too late, with the subsequent explosion destroying the safe house and killing everyone inside, safe Berg. ^[2]

Nevertheless, the team was reformed soon after, with Violet as Berg's first recruit, tackling its first mission - apprehending William Miles in Cairo - on 12 December.^[2] On 21 December and through Consus, as Violet underwent her last seance with Gramática before being formally reintegrated into Sigma Team, they both witnessed the release of Juno from her millenary imprisonment in the Grand Temple after Desmond Miles sacrificed his life to prevent the world destruction by an incoming solar flare.^[1]

In the reformed team, Violet then served as tactical and technological support, using her keen ability to assess situations and identify priorities to tell her boss whom to kill first. In addition with her vast knowledge on technology, she also became a trained killer, her services becoming highly demanded. As such, she was frequently sent around the world to various Abstergo facilities in order to fine-tune and innovate on various operating systems, network security, and intrusion detection systems.^[1]

Phoenix Project

Berg: "Why has Violet da Costa been removed from Sigma Team?"

Laetitia: "I'm reassigning our assets as I see fit to align with the goals of the Phoenix Project."

—Berg and Laetitia discussing Violet's transfer, 2013.^[src]

In late 2013, Sigma Team was disbanded and reassigned on the orders of Master Templar Laetitia England, with Violet being sent to Abstergo Entertainment in Montreal. Her purpose there was to update the subsidiary's security measures, as it played a crucial role in furthering Abstergo's Phoenix Project, and look into various Pieces of Eden; Berg would act as her field agent in a few of these cases.^[2]

In November, while looking for the Koh-i-Noor after his mission in India, Violet and Berg searched through the memories of Darius Gift, trying to learn more about his encounter with Albert Bolden in 1927. The Templars having discovered that the last known Black Cross was also the last recorded individual to have been at some point in contact with the artifact. However, they didn't discovered anything new about the artifact from the incomplete memories they had at their disposal, putting their inquiry under indefinite hold until their Order found a descendant of Bolden.^[3]

On 17 November, Violet and Berg who had grown concerned by the threat posed by Juno and her growing number of followers, went to Paris, in order to use the Shroud to contact Consus and gain insight on Juno's motivations. Defying the orders of the Inner Sanctum, who saw Juno only as a minor nuisance, the two Templars infiltrated the facility and despite failing to drug Gramatica, were allowed by the scientist to contact Consus, who warned them about Juno's dangerousness and scheming nature. On 25 December, under the orders of Berg, Violet also delivered the body of John Standish to Gramática, telling him that they wanted him to create the body of a Precursor in addition to the Phoenix Project's main goal of sequencing the DNA of the precursors in order to unlock the Pieces of Eden.^[1]

In February 2014, Sigma team temporarily reformed to retrieve the Precursor box from Assassins Harlan Cunningham and Arend Schut in Rotterdam. Violet once more took on her role as tactical support and objected when Berg decided to confront Cunningham by himself, but her worries were dismissed. The mission went awry when Sorkin was overpowered by Schut in hand-to-hand combat and used as a shield against snipers.^[2]

Schut managed to take out multiple Sigma Team members, following which he dropped a smoke bomb and escaped; Violet subsequently issued a call for extraction. Nevertheless, the mission was at least a partial success, as Sigma Team did succeed in recovering the artifact. Berg later ordered Violet to compile the relevant parts of the audio logs and send them to Laetitia, in an effort to have Sigma Team hunt Assassins once again.^[2]

In May of the same year, Violet was called by Berg from Essen, Germany about another artifact, the Ankh of Isis. At his request, she looked into the relic, but after some searching concluded that it probably did not actually exist, being pure misinformation spread by the Assassins. Berg then asked Violet to keep an eye out for any info on the Ankh, in the hopes that it might lead back to the Assassins.^[2]

Security breaches

"She's ahead of schedule on security upgrades and firewalls, but Helix is a target for Assassins, Erudito, and... the First Civilization consciousness. So there have been some setbacks."

―Laetitia on Violet's progress, 2014.^[src]

Due to periodic attempts from outsiders to access the Helix servers, Melanie Lemay had a proprietary detection system implemented in early August, with Violet handling the logistics. Over the next few weeks, she and her security team discovered a number of unauthorized data packets that were entering and leaving the servers. They subsequently decrypted and decoded them, revealing a number of audio, video, and text files of sinister origins. On 21 August, Violet alerted Melanie to the threat and promised to keep her updated as they learned more.^[4]

Sometime later, Violet observed a security breach unlike the ones she had seen before; seventeen servers were compromised simultaneously in perfect unison, each via completely separate backdoor programs. While the perpetrator did not take anything, they scanned almost everything, from genetic memory archives to raw DDS data, leading Violet to conclude they were looking for something.^[4]

When Violet discussed the incident with Melanie later that day, she shared her theory that some kind of AI was living in the network, moving freely between servers. Both women decided to attend a meeting regarding the security breaches in the evening.^[4] Upon learning more about the Instruments of the First Will and Juno, Violet grew worried that Juno would become unstoppable if humanity ever achieved "Singularity", a fusion of humans and machines.^[2]

Although Berg received Laetitia's permission to reform Sigma Team permanently in October, Violet could not accompany them as she was still busy securing Abstergo Entertainment. Berg decided to join her instead, to ensure her safety, as the building was a target for various groups.^[2] On 13 October, discovering that the Assassins were planning an attack on Paris facility, Violet dispatched the Sigma Team there and contacted Álvaro Gramática to warn him. However she was too late, as the Assassins were already attacking Gramática's laboratory, which they destroyed using explosives, destroying the Shroud and nearly killing Gramática in the process.^[1]

Cormac's memories

ACRG-Melanie Violet — Violet speaking with Melanie

In early November, a Helix research analyst triggered a virus while exploring the genetic memories of Shay Cormac. After ejecting them from their Animus, Violet escorted them to Melanie as the other employees evacuated. While she initially intended to destroy the genetic memories to solve the problem, Berg intervened, wanting to study them instead.^[2]

Violet then recruited the analyst into helping her reboot the Helix in the bunker so they could access Shay Cormac's memories, but they were initially unable to reach it due to the virus also affecting other operating systems, preventing them from using the elevator. Over the next five days, she oversaw the analyst as they continued reliving Shay's memories, while simultaneously attempting to restore the building's servers and security.^[2]

When the analyst finished reliving Shay's memories, Violet and Berg asked them to upload the footage to the Assassin network, revealing themselves as Templars. They later invited the analyst up to Melanie's office, thanking them for their work, before presenting them with the opportunity to join the Order. Although Berg implicitly threatened to kill them if they refused, they did give the analyst time to think on the offer.^[2]

Hunting the Shroud

ACS Templar Meeting 5 — Violet and Berg holding Shaun and Rebecca at gunpoint

Violet, along with Berg and the rest of Sigma Team were tasked with assisting Isabelle Ardant with finding another Shroud located in London for the Phoenix Project. She and Berg confronted Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane when they cornered Ardant in her office; right before the pair of Assassins were going to be killed, a series of explosions gave them both a chance to escape.

Sometime later Berg and da Costa found the Shroud hidden in a vault under Buckingham Palace and retrieved the Shroud from its resting place, only to be attacked by Hastings, Crane and Galina Voronina. Violet attempted to shoot Voronina when she was getting the upper hand against Berg, but was tackled by Crane. She then attempted to shoot Shaun after he had killed Ardant only for Rebecca to once again intervene, this time taking the bullet for Hastings. Violet retreated with the Shroud and left Berg and the recently arrived Sigma Team behind to complete the mission.

Violet later met with Álvaro Gramática, learning his intentions for the Piece of Eden: to recreate a member of the First Civilization. Álvaro then left her in his lab to report to Alan Rikkin. After he left, Violet called out to Juno, whose presence was in the room, stating that she did as she was asked and that she was scared. Juno told her not to fear her, to which Violet clarified that she wasn't scared of Juno, but instead she was scared for her if anyone found out what Juno had been doing. Juno simply stated that Violet had played her part well and that she would not only save her, but save all of humanity.^[1]

Recruiting Bolden

In 2016, Violet went to Baltimore on behalf of Otso Berg, to met with André Bolden, a seventy-two years old veteran of the Vietnam War and a descendant of Albert Bolden, a Black Cross who was the last known owner of the Koh-i-Noor. The Templar lied to the old man, telling him that Abstergo wanted him to sign in a special program for veterans with mental issues, such as Bolden's PTSD, promising that thanks to a device that allowed the company to enter minds, they would finally give him peace.^[3]

Once Bolden accepted her offer, the two traveled to the Abstergo facility in Philadelphia, where Violet introduced her new recruit to Berg and the Animus technician Caitlin Gift. After a brief talk, the old man was conducted to the Animus room by Gift. Meanwhile, the Templars took place behind some monitors in another room to watch the memories as he relived them, with Violet asking her boss if he ever considered telling the truth to Bolden. That by sending him back to 19th century, to witness the meeting of Black Cross Solomon Bolden with the Flemish Jan van der Graff in North Africa, the Templars' true goal wasn't to cure him of his PTSD but to at last find back the Koh-i-Noor whereabouts in Bolden's DNA. However, upon emerging from his first session, during which they incidentally discovered that his ancestor wasn't Solomon but van der Graff, Bolden immediately realized that he had been lied to and escaped thanks to the Bleeding Effect, with Berg telling the security to let him go.^[3]

Still a mole for the Instruments of the First Will, Violet uploaded a trojan horse on the servers, to divert Bolden data to them, while Berg left for Bolden's hotel, to convince him to come back. Telling the curious old man that their mission was very important and promising not to lie to him again even if he had to keep the whole truth from him for his own protection, Berg secured Bolden's cooperation once again. Back at the facility, the three Templars and Bolden confered on the implications of what they had learned in the Animus. The fact that Dre, while wearing the Bolden name, was possibly not affiliated with the main Bolden bloodline due to him being a descendant of van der Graff and not Solomon Bolden. To Violet who asked what they knew about van der Graff, Caitlin replied that he was mentioned in the journal of Tavis Olier but an incredulous Violet pointed the fact that according to the Templar records Solomon's predecessor was believed to be dead by 1805. Berg then told them that there was only one way to solve this mystery, Bolden had to go back into the Animus.^[3]

While Dre was further exploring his ancestor's memories, da Costa questioned the wisdom of Berg's trust in Bolden, surprised by his behavior as he didn't strike her as the trusting type to which Berg playfully replied that it was hurtful as he trusted her. Through the old man, the Templars witnessed the death of Solomon Bolden and the capture of Jan van der Graff in Tripoli by men of Sultan Selim III while he was trying to steal the Koh-i-Noor for Napoleon Bonaparte. However, Bolden had a rough time in the Animus and his health began to deteriorate. As Berg rushed to the Animus room to see if Dre was alright, Violet asked if he planed to tell him everything now that he had heard about the Piece of Eden, but Berg angrily replied that the priority right now was Bolden's well-being. The need for medical support allowed another mole of Juno, Freddy, an Abstergo medic, to become closely involved with the Templar hunt for the Koh-i-Noor.^[3]

Dealing with Freddy

Later that night, as Berg decided it was time to tell the truth about the Templar Order to Bolden and have a chat with him over a drink in a bar, Violet went to a secret meeting with Freddy in a parking. She chastised him for asking to meet her, as it was a danger for their cover, before asking him what he wanted. Freddy told her that Bolden was a danger to their cause and needed to be dealt with and revealed that the other Instruments were panicking due to Berg being too close to finding the artifact. As Violet was telling Freddy that killing Bolden was a very bad idea because they needed the old man alive to find the stone and because it would raise the suspicions of her boss, the most dangerous man in the World in da Costa opinion, Berg suddenly called to tell her that there had been an attack.^[3]

While the two Instruments were meeting, four men tried to murder Bolden in a drive-by shooting but the attempt was foiled by Berg who saved his asset and executed the killers after he jumped into the moving car from one its window. After hanging up, Violet once again chastised Freddy for having recklessly put them both in danger as she believed that Berg now knew that the Templars had a mole in their midst. What they didn't knew, was that it was in fact Berg himself who hired the hitmen through a proxy, to play the act of the savior after revealing the disturbing truth to Bolden and secure the veteran's loyalty by "saving" his life.^[3]

As requested, Violet met with Berg at the facility, the latter asking why she brought Freddy with her, the mole pretexting that she thought he needed medical assistance. The fearsome Templar told Freddy to take care of Bolden before greeting Gift, whom he also called and asked to come, claiming that he had decided to push forward their research without delay due to the recent attack. Returned to the Animus, Bolden had difficulties to go through the ruthless questioning Jan van der Graff underwent in the hands of Selim's agents before witnessing his ancestor meeting with Olier, who was infact alive but also prisoner of the Ottomans.Back at the bar in front of which he was attacked, Bolden was having a drink when Violet joined him. Asking him if he was okay after he shared the agony of van der Graff, Violet also told Bolden that they still needed himand she was glad that Berg told him the truth about the Order. Eventually, she gave him Albert Bolden's Templar pin stating that Berg wanted to gave it to Dre himself but was occupied elsewhere.^[3]

Following the discovery of Caitlin Gift's body in the facility, strangled by Freddy when she stumbled upon da Costa's syphon on the Animus servers after hours, Violet was called back. To confuse the issue, Violet told Berg that according to the security caches it was Caitlin who turned the camera off and uploaded the data to a unknown party before being murdered. Asking to speak to her in private, Berg entrusted his fellow Templar with the investigation, tasking her to find the source of the data syphon. When Violet apologized for not catching abnormalities in Gift's background, Berg revealed to her that he didn't believe in Gift's guilt and that he suspected the work of moles covering their tracks. He then sarcastically told a dumfounded Violet that it was either moles or the Black Cross killing a corrupt Templar.^[3]

During Bolden's last delve into the Animus, the Templars learned that Jan van der Graff was trained and inducted into the Order by Olier during their imprisonment and that after his escape, the flemish almost recovered the Koh-i-Noor before losing it to a team of Assassins. However, while they were sharing a drink in the bar several hours later, Bolden privately revealed to Berg that while he was disconnected from the Animus he saw that his ancestor secured the artifact, having tricked the Assassins.^[3]

Later, Violet and Berg found the body of Freddy disposed in Berg's office. Still unaware of Violet's true allegiance, Berg then stated to her that they couldn't trust anyone, with the mole replying to him that no, they couldn't.^[3]

Juno's lieutenant

In February 2017, Berg and Violet were sent to Hong Kong, to investigate a former Phoenix Project site cleared out months ago and transformed into an archive office where Assassin bodies were found gruesomely butchered. On site, Violet reported to him that there were no eyewitnesses, as the guard assigned to the office was found garroted in his bathtub while the employees were given the day off due to a local festival. Still unaware of the Instruments existence, Berg was perplexed as to why a small unidentified army appeared to be defending an Abstergo archive against the Assassins. Spotting several policemen, the Master Templar then ordered Violet to use her cantonese mastery and bribe the chinese to leave the site as it was until morning, and and told her that he was going back to his hotel room for the night. Unkwown to da Costa, Berg had secretely embraced the role of Black Cross after the events in Philadelphia, wary of the existence of a third column within the Templar Order, and intended to investigate on his own.^[5]

One month later, back in Montreal, da Costa engaged in small talks with Berg, trying to learn if he discovered anything about the Instruments' involvement in the events that transpired within Hong Kong. However, Juhani was still confused as to how Assassins evidently came across a greater equipped force in what amounted to an administrative location. When Violet asked if Álvaro Gramática told him anything useful, Berg replied that the Phoenix Project director swore that there was truly nothing of interest in the office and that no special Templar forces guarded it. As the mole casualy asked if he suspected a leak, they were interrupted as both of their phones - along with those of every Templars' around them suddenly rang - displaying the Black Cross symbol.^[5]

Several days later, Violet da Costa was squabbling with Jasdip Dhami in the Instruments' HQ, after the Assassin turncoat was sent to threaten Berg in order to make him stop his investigation. Violet and Jasdip argued over how Berg was treated, with Violet being angry that her friend had been harmed so brutally as she believed that in time Berg would join them. Jasdip countered, telling the Templar that she was overstepping and that it was only Juno's right to decide who was worthy to see Eden reborn. At this moment Juno appeared to her two lieutenants in an overhead monitor, stating that she had discovered that the Koh-i-Noor was last seen in Spain. While Dhami guided Elijah, Desmond Miles' son to inform the crowd of cultists of their mistress' success, Violet warned Juno about the young Sage. She believed that his place was in a cage as the boy was his father's son and would inevitably betray the Isu. Juno discarded her lieutenant's warning, stating that the boy was happy to play his role in service of her grand scheme.^[5]

Death

"Now I know who I can trust, I am cauterizing this wound. The infection is cut out, the fever broken. And your blasphemy against humanity is over."

―Berg to Violet before executing her, 2018.^[src]

After Juno's defeat, Violet and the Instruments were confronted by Berg and the arriving Templar troops. Learning of her betrayal, Berg took Violet's gun while she was distracted and shot her, leaving her to bleed out.^[5]

Personality and characteristics

On the whole, Violet is a rather blunt and straightforward individual, who has little patience for people that do not follow her orders. Much like her boss, she does not appear to think very highly of Melanie, mocking her by calling her a "super-chipper overachiever". Violet's mean-spirited sense of humor made itself apparent elsewhere as well, as she continually referred to the analyst as "numbskull", without them having really done anything to merit that nickname.^[2]

Though she is a member of the Templar Order, she is secretly another pagan follower of The Instruments of the First Will. This means she worships Isu's as deities, more specifically Juno. She also believes that humanity are meant to be the servants of the Isu beings. She may even believe that by doing her loyal service to The Instruments of the First Will, she will be awarded with life inside The Grey.^{[citation needed]}

Her relationship with her boss is notably better, likely due to the amount of time they have been working together. Violet is also a self-professed history nerd, as demonstrated by her excitement when Berg described the Viking raid on Lindisfarne, which he had relived through one of his ancestors' memories.^[2]

Trivia

In Assassin's Creed: Rogue, Violet wears a badge depicting Aveline de Grandpré.
Violet is a fan of the British science-fiction series Doctor Who, referencing it in one of the database entries.
Violet had done some research into Digital Cognizance Imprints, having studied the Kaczmarek case in 2013.
Following the completion of Assassin's Creed: Rogue's storyline, Violet could be found in Abstergo Entertainment's bunker, though she could not be interacted with.
It is unknown how long she has worked for Instruments of the First Will, whether she infiltrated Abstergo as their agent or became indoctrinated after joining Abstergo and the Templars.
Despite being shot by Otso Berg at the end of Assassin's Creed: Uprising, Da Costa is indicated to be still alive in the second edition of Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide which acknowledges the events of Resurrection Day.