Vanessa Hardcastle

Director Vanessa Hardcastle worked at the Cheviot Hills site of the Vault in the 21st century.

Biography
By the 21st century, Hardcastle worked at the Cheviot Hills branch of the Vault, for a long enough time to develop a cocky personality and to see firsthand the experience of scientist Miles Werbiansky.

In March 2011, Hardcastle didn't document the deaths of Patricia and Zufran after they were disintegrated by Helicron matter gun, as they didn't have families and that "all the relevant procedures were carried out afterwards".

After Giles and Archie arrived from P.R.O.B.E. to investigate the deaths, Hardcastle was busy when the security guard Donovan got the duo to identify themselves. Shortly after, Hardcastle arrived in the foyer after Donovan contacted her via a radio, where she offered to have them wait so a guided tour could be set up — a ruse to stall them — but they saw right through it and insisted on the investigation. Hardcastle took them to one of the warehouses, showing them many artefacts stored there, but Giles wasn't interested. She then explained to him about the deaths, but he wasn't convinced by Hardcastle. She then took them to the cold storage, where she told them of a young girl, Abigail — a werewolf — who had been killed and then stored in the Vault, Hardcastle opening the freezer that contained the girl's body for dramatic effect, but Giles was disgusted. He asked to see the Vault's inventory, so she took the duo to Werbiansky, and he gave Giles the binder containing the inventory. Upon spotting the Cyberon drug on the list, Hardcastle and Werbiansky took Giles and Archie to the low risk storage, were the Cyberon was kept.

Much to their surprise, they dicovered one of the crates of Cyberon — that had been propped on its side to serve as a chair — had leaked and the Cyberon was free, causing Hardcastle to put the facility into lockdown, but the procedure wasn't carried out due to Donovan being taken over by Cyberon. As they returned to the warehouse, Vanessa summoned a group of four guards to protect them. After the cyberwolf appears and killed one of the guards, Vanessa went with the surviving guards, Werbiansky, and Giles while Archie ran in a different direction to distract the hybrid. After Archie reunited with them, and Giles managed to convince the Cyberon to shut down as it posed a risk to the survival of Cyberon, Giles told Hardcastle that he would be including everything in his report. After Giles and Archie left, Vanessa did a set of rounds — thankful for still having her job and being able to see how her poor actions cost people their lives — finishing at the cold storage, ordering Hernandez to be at ease, and speaking to Werbiansky. Much to the trio's surpise, Abigail awoke inside her freezer, crying for help. (PROSE: A Worthy Successor)

Personality
Vanessa was cocky, with "boundless confidence", and a tendancy to show off. After the Cyberon incident, it acted as a wake up call, alerting her to the damage her cockiness caused. (PROSE: A Worthy Successor)

Appearance
Hardcastle was a large-framed woman, who wore a white blouse, black blazer and skirt, and high heels. (PROSE: A Worthy Successor)