NSWRPF Archive The Matrix: The Life of a Soldier

IC: Jaguar

Aboard the hovercraft Freedom, leaving Zion

How long had he been holding his breath, he didn't know. Jaguar slowly released a long breath, and took in some air. He hadn't realized he'd stopped breathing. Their mission was THAT serious. Deathly so, and of the highest priority. It was an impossible mission, and yet, they had no CHOICE but to succeed. Everything depended on it.

Jaguar was released from the Matrix almost two years now, and now, he was going back to free minds, but not just any mind. But those with the potential to be The One.

A chill ran down his spine. It wasn't nerves, just the realization of how crucial their mission was, and just how much was riding on their success. That they were trusted with such a mission was the highest honor Jaguar could think to recieve, and he was humbled by it. Of course, he would do his very best to make this a successful venture. Even if it cost him his life. The risk was worth the prize of ultimate freedom from the machines. Freedom for humanity, from their dormant slavery to the machines.

Despite his introspection, Jaguar did notice that River was reluctuant to enter the Matrix. This wasn't a good time for such hesitation, but then again, Jaguar had no clue as to River's history or if she'd left some personal demons behind.

Casting his darker thoughts aside, Jaguar looked at the captain, since he did have one question.

"Uhm, Captain. This might seem to be a silly question, and forgive me if something obvious has escaped me, but... how are we going to identify these potential 'Neos'?"

Jaguar maintained a calm expression and tried not to look as if he'd just asked the stupidest question on the planet.

Tag: Captain Zell, crew

 

IC: Corsair, Freedom pilots chair.

"Go ahead and switch with me, you can listen while you take us out."

*After the shimmying and contortionist moves that were required to switch the pilot and copilots stations, Corsair went to work.

First, increased power to the EM pad thrusters and pivoted the ship around slowly in a graceful turn. She was even more responsive than the last time that he was at the controls, a testament to Rivers work.
Throttling forward slowly, he observed the two APUs that were stomping into position at the mouth of the massive blast doors that he stopped a few feet short of.
They were there to guard the door when the auto turrets were offline, in case the machines broke truce and sent a sentinel their way.
Next up was a request to depart and get underway.*

"Zion Dock Control, this is Freedom. Requesting permission to depart."

*the response was quick. Since the controllers were all redpills who were jacked into a sub-net, they were very efficient and good at their jobs*

"Zion Dock Control to Freedom. Hold current position, Excalibur is not yet clear."

"Acknowledged Control, Freedom is holding station."

*Corsair grunted and shook his head. Excalibur was the successor of the legendary Hammer, and even bigger than her predecessor. While that made her not only well armored and heavily armed, it also made her an ungainly craft that had to perform maneuvers at a slower pace than a majority of the ships in the fleet.
Still, she may not be maneuverable, but she might be able to put up with more abuse than a ship the size of Freedom might be able to.

However, they had to wait a mere 5 minutes.

"Freedom, you are cleared to depart. Zion is in your debt."

"Thank you Dock Control, Freedom is to the wind."

*It was a traditional call and response, both a prayer and an affirmation, that Zions warriors would put themselves in harms way for humanity once more.
Moving down the tunnel, he pushed the throttle forward slightly. It may have been not up to protocol, but he liked to get clear of the bottleneck as soon as possible.

All the while he listened to the mission profile from Zell, the hunt for "anomalies", the second coming of One like Neo, the machine response, and so forth.
The bit of having zero backup especially stuck out in his mind. Unsanctioned or not, it sure seemed like Lok, politician that he was, had slapped together an ill-fated mission to appease either the council or some of the more "spiritual" captains, such as Zell, and it stank of a receipie that would get them all killed in a hurry if things degenerated just far enough.
He made up his mind to see what he could do about the backup situation. Orders or not, the last thing the depleted fleet needed was to waste a good ship and crew on a suicide mission.

The other disturbing part of the speech was the fact that there were reported anomalies on par with Neo. Was this another ruse by the machines? He had worked with Neo just once, but it had been a life changing experience. Neo could do things both inside and outside of the Matrix that were impossible for any other, and such an event was hardly repeatable in Corsairs mind.
Neo was a locus of the improbable becoming common, a beacon of hope in those dark times. While there were certainly talented individuals that could maybe come somewhat close to his level of power, none would ever match it, that much was certain.

Corsair suddenly cursed himself "Stupid!" He thought to himself. "There's always that third party that nobody considers. Once we jack in, im going to have to pay a visit to Hel once again..."

His own questions in his head were interrupted by the concerns and thoughts of others. River for instance seemed to have been possessed by an uncharacteristic uneasiness and tension, echoed in her voice.

"Maybe if I just did some training programs and helped Ed with the operating or something."

*Since

 

OOC: Sorry for the lack of activity. I will put up an update tomorrow evening.

 

IC: Zell

The Captain looked around and nodded at his crew.

"Valid points, all. And Jaguar I assure you that your question is not silly in the least. On the contrary, it is possibly the most important question that could be asked. And the answer is as complex and as deep as the question itself. How do you find a single being among millions? Finding a needle that has been strewn into an ocean of needles. An impossible task to say the least. But I answer you in this way. Captain Morpheus found The One by simply looking. It took him half a lifetime, granted... But he and his crew had to do things the hard way. Look for the people who seem a little off in the Matrix. People who look like something is bothering them beyond their bothersome jobs or a boring spouse and children. We are looking for the people that stand out. You will ask perhaps, "how is that different from freeing a normal mind?" The answer to that particular question is that quite simply, it isn't. But our way of looking is going to be a bit different than what Morpheus had in mind in his day. We will be looking at the ones that the machines are looking at. Since the people are still plugged into the system, the machines can read their code and see any abnormalities that we cant. I propose that we watch them closely and swoop in to scoop up the mark before the machines can get their hands on them."

Zell leaned back in his chair and gave a confident smirk. What he was suggesting had never been done before in the sense that it had been successfully executed. Where all else had failed, they would succeed, because they must. Innocent lives depended on them. Their grit and skill would be tested to their max in the days to come. He hoped that everyone... especially River, was up to the challange.

He well knew her past and understood why she was shaky upon the notion that they would be entering the Matrix once more. But she would have to get over it quick fast and in a hurry because he was going to need all hands on deck for what they were trying to pull off.

Tag all.

 

IC: Corsair, Freedom Bridge.

"...I propose that we watch them closely and swoop in to scoop up the mark before the machines can get their hands on them."

*The plan was simple enough, but nothing was ever truly simple when it came to the simulation that was The Matrix. Granted, a stakeout would be an ideal starting point, but the problem with almost every jacking into the Matrix was RSI, Residual Self Images.
Bluepills IE those still connected to the Matrix via the machine Power Plant were all accounted for by every single program within the Matrix itself, namely the infamous Agents. What that translated to was an ungodly quick response when any new RSI signals were introduced from a non-machine source.
The Truce initially meant non-connected humans who had been freed earlier, such as most of the crew, could come and go as they pleased as long as they submitted to the authority of the Agents. However, with new hostile intentions from both sides, Corsair very much doubted that their own pirate RSI would go unchecked to say the least. He had already seen the rather large barrel of an Agent .44 Magnum Desert Eagle up close once, and it was an experience he did not want to repeat again, ever.

The fact that Captain Zell omitted how they would deal with this obstacle left an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was bad enough that no backup would be available, but extended jacking in under normal pretenses? It all didn't add up. Potential fragments of Neos RSI or not, the risk was too high. He pressed Zell again, making damn sure nothing was left out.*

"So let me get this all straight. We have zero backup, leads on POSSIBLE chunks of Neo's RSI that MIGHT be floating in some bluepills, and we'll be jacking in to the matrix in the standard way?
Forgive my bluntness Captain, but unless we have some secret subroutine or anything, I'd sooner tell that bonehead Lok to go shove his head in the nearest exhaust port, burn some sense between his ears. This is sounding more and more like a suicide mission than a scout and recovery op."

*If it made Zell angry, Corsair did not care. Second in command or no, his first responsibility was to all lives aboard, regardless of faith or misplaced fanatic devotion to duty. He had lost too many comrades that way, all because of some stupid order or because of a bad judgement call.
He had determined that if himself and the crew he served with were put in that kind of spot again, it would not turn out badly. The commanders could call it mutiny afterwards, but at least they would have a ship and a crew that was not lost due short-sightedness.

Still, if there was some miracle cure for machine detection, he had a lead to follow up, and in order to follow up on it, he would need a bit of backup.*

"However, if we do have that magic cloak captain, id like to follow up a possible lead. Whenever something of this magnitude happens within the Matrix, theres always one monkey wrench in the works with its own agenda. I suspect the Merovingian either knows something about these anomalies, or given his absolute hatred for the Oracle, he has an idea as to where she is.
Once we jack in, id like to take somebody and go press him for information. Ive dealt with that aristocratic b*****d before, so it won't be hard to twist him for some juice, as it were."

Tag: Zell, All.

 

IC: River

This is sounding more and more like a suicide mission than a scout and recovery op."

Any confidence River had felt from Zell's speech was lost in an instant.
"What?" She blurted.
Looking round at the others she just shook her head.
"No, just no." She said, turning and running out of the room. Going down the various corridors she eventually got back to the calmness of the engine room.
She did trust Zell, that wasn't the issue. The issue was that she wasn't strong or focussed enough to help make this not a suicide mission. She'd just get them killed.

TAG: any

 

IC: Zell

Zell narrowed his eyes at his second in command as River fled from the cockpit. He didn't expect that River had ever divulged the reasons why she was jumpy about entering the Matrix again, to anyone save himself. Corsair had no idea what kind of implications his words would have. But the fact that he had spoken out against Lok and inadvertently against Zell himself, was starting to irritate the Captain.

Fact was that normally Corsair was one of the more agreeable people around. He had hardly questioned anything Zell had said before. And Zell had never before let him, nor the rest of the crew down. But here they were going on their first and possibly one of the more dangerous missions and Zell had his second in command already expressing his extreme mistrust in his leadership that was almost borderline mutinous. And then there was River, who was flat out refusing to go into the Matrix. He was starting to wonder if his faith in his crew may be misplaced. The only ones who had not expressed some kind of were Kenmei, Edward and Jaguar.

He was the Captain aboard this vessel and the most experienced in leadership. These people were going to follow him or they weren't coming along. He had to make that dreadfully clear very fast.

Zell's fingers hit a few buttons and cut the power to the pads to a bare minimum, which brought them to a hovering halt. He turned to Corsair and stared him dead in the eye.

"Corsair... I, am the Captain of this vessel. If you have even the slightest misgiving about my leadership or my will to look out for my crew as a primary concern then speak now and we will turn this boat around and drop you off back at Zion. You can go about your business and I will appoint someone else as my second in command. I don't need naysayers on this ship and I sure don't need backtalk before we even leave the gates. You are a member of this crew just like Jaguar, just like Edward, just like River and Kenmei. I expect the same amount of loyalty from you as I would from anyone else. Because you are... a Soldier. Maybe it is my fault for inspiring a lax work ethic so that you don't have to see me as an officer all the time, but if you continue the route you are right now, I promise you, regardless of where we are, I will stop the ship and you can walk back to Zion and knock on the gate. Is that perfectly understood?"

Zell stood from his chair and looked down at the man in the pilot seat with hardened eyes.

"I have everything under control here. You would do well to remember that I am not a complete idiot when it comes to strategy and warfare. Things wont be the same as before. Edward and I have made sure of that fact. Now if you don't trust me...? As I stated before.. you know where the exit hatch is."

Without waiting for an answer, the Captain stalked aft towards the engine room to comfort River but give her a similar ultimatum.

tag all

 

IC: Kenmei



Kenmei watched the captain slip by him, and chuckled softly. Then his eyes narrowed slightly at Corsair, nearly hidden underneath his hair. Was Corsair not ready to die for their cause? If it was a suicide mission, Kenmei welcomed it warmly. He would gladly give his life to end the machines'.

Corsair had not been inside the Matrix for twelve years now, and he wasn't a hacker. Ed's abilities and new developments meant the crew's entering the Matrix was anything but 'standard'. He was a bit behind the times; an old soldier on a new battlefield. He obviously had no idea of the preparation put into this mission. Of the lives already lost because of it.

His voice came out with the warmth of an ice floe. "The Oracle has already told us everything we need to know, Corsair. Perhaps you should read your intel more carefully next time. Besides, do you really think she would tell you what you think she might? That she has all of the answers?"

Kenmei had a certain degree of disdain for all machines, including the Oracle. She had her uses, but she was no more than a tool to him, one that he would prefer not to rely on.

"Humans have already done the preliminary inquiries. This mission is not to gather information on the anomalies, but to extract them. We don't need the Oracle, or...Merovingian" - he twisted his words around the name with disgust-"We have no reason to trust him in any case, and if you're worried about suicide missions, that is not one you should be particularly fond of pursuing."


TAG: Bridge

 

IC: River

Breathing deeply a few times, River stood back up again. She was being childish, she knew that. It was a childish fear that was keeping her from doing her duty. If she kept being afraid then the Machines had won. Walking back along to the cockpit she almost walked into the captain.
"Zell.....sir I mean, Captain." She said. She couldn't quite meet his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Corsair didn't mean it, I know and it's not a lack of trust in you, it really is not. I reacted badly. It's just that after the war ended I thought I'd never have to go back there again, and I was fine with that, like I told you when I was.......transferred here. I didn't want to keep what happened from you, as my dad had known you inside the Matrix and he'd said you were a good man. So when I found out you'd been freed when I got out I knew that it could only mean good things."
She ran a hand through the spikey mess that was in place of her hair.
"I will go back in. I trust you and I don't want you to think that your trust in me was wrong. But that doesn't mean I can stop being afraid. Sir."

TAG: Zell, any

 

IC: Corsair, Freedom interior.

*Making a mental note to go see a military psychologist after this op for possible onset of PTSD or burnout, he considered what he had just said. Had the stress of the impending trip and his unwanted command taken THAT much of a toll on him?
He had never shied from voicing his opinion, but his last delivery had hardly been a constructive way to do so. True, he always operated in 'suspicious jerk' mode when the Matrix was involved, but then again, the crew were new talents for the most part, and the last thing they needed was some war horse going on about what might go wrong. They would have to get ready for it, not fear it.

However, as guilty as he felt, Kenmei had about as much ground to go on his little tangent as Corsair had, which was zero. He sat and nodded through his little speech, waiting for the end statement...*

"We have no reason to trust him in any case, and if you're worried about suicide missions, that is not one you should be particularly fond of pursuing."

*...before directly addressing him. For a person who supposedly had the kind of backround that he did, he sure did not retain any of those useful skills*

"Why thank you for the lesson and the insults Kenmei, ill be sure to file that away in the back of my mind somewhere, now stow the FBI intimidation act, I'm immune.

I'm rather disappointed. You and I are both detectives at the core really, and none of this doesn't spike the 'suspicious a-hole' part of your brain? I'm not saying its not happening, but when things like this crop up in the Matrix, there's always a wild card that gets played at the worst time.

I intend to deal with that wild card prematurely, whatever it may be. And I wasn't going to trust either program. I planned on tuning up Merovingian for information, and discerning what psyho-babble oracle has for me. You're free to come along of course, if you think you can still shake down a rat.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to fly this hovercraft, then I have training to get to once my relief comes. All are welcome to join of course."

*With that, he turned back to the controls and jammed the throttle forward, the ship slightly lurched but didn't send loose items flying like they had in the past.

He was angry. Angry at himself for being sarcastic for no good reason, angry at Lok for his usual half-thought-out planning, and angry that the stupid machines had put them all in this situation. The truce was in place, everything was apparently fine, so why did the war have to go and start again? The bloodshed could have been abated at any point had the automatons figured out that so long as their end was kept up, the humans would keep theirs.

Hoping that he would get a minute alone with Zell to account for his actions, he also made a mental note to ask Eddie to go over some coding that had been a pet project of his. He would take delight in using it in the Matrix, for if it were successful, it would be a nasty game-changer, and possibly give the AI of the Matrix their first taste of a real emotion: fear.*

Tag: All (somebody want to take over piloting the ship? lol)

 

IC: Kenmei


Corsair obviously had little idea about the preliminary work that had gone into this mission. Of course, without knowing anything about Kenmei, he couldn't possibly know that most of the information gathered about it had been due to the efforts of Kenmei and a few others. If Corsair thought he was only bringing his FBI experience to the party, he was sadly mistaken.

"It was no insult, XO." Kenmei retained his calm. "I just think a real detective would have realized by now that this mission wasn't a spontaneous whim. If you think all avenues of information have not yet been explored, I suggest you discreetly ask the captain exactly how this team was put together."

He slid into the chair next to Corsair smoothly. "If you'd like I can take over from here". Kenmei had no friends or family. He spent the whole of his time at Zion learning, or teaching young Zion how to play chess. Piloting came naturally to him, and he had picked it up in no time.

"The mission is to find the anomalies. Loose ends have been dealt with, and contacts have already been established."

He chuckled slightly. A single "hmm". "If you think I would jump into any mission without taking all of the factors into account, you've obviously never seen my history. I can assure you, for the time being, no such wild card exists. Whether or not that remains true is yet to be seen, but as for now I would keep it to myself or go to the captain in private, and focus on the mission at hand."

Really, to think a police detective thought he was on the same level as himself.
[image=http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u175/demon-lover-julia/Light%20Yagami%20screencaps/light170.jpg]

 

IC: Zell

Zell stopped suddenly when River nearly plowed into him.

He listened with a sympathetic ear to what she had to say. She wasn't the kind of person that would need a stern reprimand like Corsair. A more delicate approach was needed here and Zell, being the leader that he was, knew what he had to do.

He placed a gentle hand on Rivers shoulder as she finished, and spoke in a soft, understanding tone.

"River, there is no need to be sorry. We are all human after all. I understand your misgivings about returning to the Matrix. Believe me. But you can't live in the past like that. Things wont repeat themselves again like that. I understand that returning is a pretty harsh thing to do even now. But we need you on this one. I am going to need your skills and will be depending on them. And believe me, you have nothing to worry about in the fear department. If you weren't scared about the prospect of this mission then I would have left you in Zion for a full medical examination. It is alright to be scared sometimes. As long as you don't freeze up at the defining moment."

Zell patted her shoulder and took a step back.

"We won't be within broadcasting range for an hour or two, get some rest and relax. Mull over what you need to and come back strong. I need you at 100%."

Zell gave one of his rare smiles and turned to go back to the cockpit. He found that Kenmei had taken the helm and was speaking to Corsair logically, even if it did sound a bit like a condescending tone. It was something that Zell admired about Kenmei.

If Zell could be considered a rock in his physical and verbal demeanor, then Kenmei would definately be classified as Ice. He spoke logically and with reason. His speech reflected a cool, calm confidence in his skills. Some people would call that ego. Zell preferred to see it as a warm reassurance that he had yet another very skilled member aboard his vessel. Kenmei never let his thoughts get muddled with variables of what ifs and could be's because he always took into account those things upon his first observations. He was methodical. Smooth in his actions. Albeit a little blunt at times but it was simply his personality.

As he strode into the cockpit he placed a hand on the back of the pilot chair that Kenmei now occupied.

"Kenmei, bring us to broadcast depth as soon as you can. If you want some second grade spots theres a crumpled up map that Commander Lok gave us when we left, behind your chair. I figured you had some better locations scoped out. Corsair, I'd like to have a word please."

Zell stepped back out of the cockpit as quickly as he had stepped in and walked to his own cabin. As he arrived he began to pack up the gear that he had brought with him earlier, into their respective spots in the tiny room. He waited for Corsair to come in behind him and shut the door.

tag all

 

IC: Corsair, Captains quarters aboard Freedom.

"...Corsair, I'd like to have a word please."

Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

**** Although it was a short walk from his position to the captains quarters, he certainly had a lot to go over in his own head before he got a well-deserved chewing out*.[/i]

Am I getting old already? Whats gotten into me? Since when do I worry? Ive been through the worst of what incompetence can do, and nobody aboard is incompetent. Granted, ive made no bones about the fact that I think Lok is an imbecile, but I can see where interperitation can be a boon here, and I know very damn well better.

So what is it? Is it just the amount of missions ive been through? A latent instinct to actually form a family? Its got to be the idiot higher ups at Zion forcing an unwanted ship on me. I never asked for it, I made it a point to not....

*If his sudden realization could have had a sound effect, the sound of two freight trains colliding would have been appropriate.*

You idiot! You've forgotten to look out for everybody else, instead throwing a self pity party in your brain! Knock it the hell off and get out of your head pal, there are bigger things to worry about than your selfish desires.

*With this in mind, Corsair closed the door behind him in the Captains quarters. He had a lot to own up to from the outset, and better to do damage control now rather than later where it could really affect morale. He liked to think that despite the relatively short time he had worked with Zell, he had built up a trust and camaraderie with the man that was felt by the rest of the crew, and it was his duty to preserve that above his own petty issues.

With that in mind, he stood clear of the door but close, in case they needed to spring into action, folded his hands in front of him, and bowed his head a bit in genuine embarrassment and humility, although he still maintained eye contact with Zell.Not a hard stare, but the kind that would hopefully would convey his honesty.*

"Sir, I apologize for my lack of leadership by example thus far. I know it is uncharacteristic, and I have no excuse for my attitude. I should have known better than to voice my own misgivings about our orders or operational status in front of the crew. I hope that my comments were not perceived as mutinous or anarchic in any fashion.

Truthfully, I don't know whats wearing on me and why its cropped up now of all things, but I'll keep it to myself for the duration sir, and I can assure you that once we return to Zion, ill submit to psychiatric evaluation before assuming com *cough*

*Corsair faked a hacking coughing fit and clearing of his sinuses before continuing, giving him time to give himself one more mental reminder*

Shut UP you old war horse! Quit making it about yourself! Breaking the news that you're a dixie X-O is NOT going to help things any, so stow it! Like he needs to know that this will be your only combat tour with him!

*The term Dixie was a holdover from the plugged in lives of individuals who were military personell before taking the now infamous red pill. It signified a one-use deal, and had become an insult. It stemmed from the fact that there was an abnormal amount of young officers in command positions who seemed to serve only one term at their lower ranks, hence the comparison to disposable utensils and cups.

Continuing on, he straightened up from his "coughing fit" and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Pardon me. Anyway, as I was saying, I have no excuse sir. I have every ounce of trust and faith in you and this crew sir, despite what my own personal beliefs are when it concerns the supreme commander himself, sir."

*Corsair remained motionless, but mentally braced for a verbal beat-down*

Tag: Zell.

 

IC: Zell

Zell leaned against the wall of his quarters and crossed his arms as he listened intently on what his second in command was saying to him. The words rang true and spoke of honesty and remorse for a few stupid actions. Both men apparently didn't know what Corsair's deal was, but Zell had an idea of what might be nagging him.

He raised his eyebrow slightly at the coughing fit but remained silent until the other man was finished speaking.

"Corsair.... between you and me, Lok is an idiot. He is arrogant and thick headed. But fact of the matter is, he is still the Commander. Everyone on board the Freedom "answers" to me and I answer to him. Thats just the way it is. We don't have a lot of choice in who our military superiors are but while we are out in the thick of things we do things our way. I couldn't care less what he wants us to do in accordance to protocol. The only real piece of information that we are even going to be sticking to is the tactical specs, in that we are short handed and that we follow the main aim of the mission."

Zell remained against the wall as he rubbed his eyes wearily.

"You were right though, while we do what we want out here once we leave the city, you cant say things like that in front of the crew. Worrying like that makes them edgy, because we all know what is at stake here. I understand the concerns you have, because I had them as well. I kind of still do. But my faith in the crew has to be absolute, or we fail before we begin. Your behavior thus far has been rash and uncontrolled, and one that I would associate with the stresses and rigors of a man who had been given an unwanted command...."

The fact that Zell had said command instead of something else would tell Corsair that he knew exactly what was driving the man insane. The Captain gave Corsair a knowing look as he glanced up.

"You didn't think that they would send you on one tour with me and my ship and then pluck my second in command upon return without informing me before hand, did you?"

Zells face remained impassive as he said this.

tag Corsair.

 

IC: Corsair, Captains quaters.

"You didn't think that they would send you on one tour with me and my ship and then pluck my second in command upon return without informing me before hand, did you?"

*As as impassive as Zell looked, it did not inhibit the permeation of the fact of the matter. The had told him, something that Corsair would rather have not had them do.
Corsair was not so lucky. The fact that his impending command was not news to the captain registered on his face slightly, a slight raising of the eyebrows, a tic at the corner of his mouth.
At that point he decided to give it up. The stoneface had been broken, period.*

"I guess not captain. I didn't want to turn myself into a Dixie officer as it were, since we both know how that can kill morale. But then again, my own selfish stress reared itself in another way.

My questionable attitude, it will stop sir, you have my word on that. The needs of this crew and ship outweigh my own petty problems.

*He winced slightly as he felt his left knee tense and pop as he slightly shifted his weight. It was another war wound, a trick knee that would pop like a knuckle occasionally. He had learned to accept it by now, but it didn't make it any less annoying.*

"Not to change the subject of course, but as I said earlier, I would like permission to take one of the crew and go shakedown a certain old program for information once we jack in Captain. Kenmei may think it a waste of time, but the sad truth is every time that something of this magnitude happens within the Matrix, that dinosaur of code tends to insinuate himself in a situation at the worst time.

Id rather take him out of the equation early, and given his hatred for the Oracle, hes got to at least have an idea as to where she is. I was thinking maybe Jaguar would be ideal, give him a taste of the kinds of swerves the Matrix could throw our way."

*For the first time since he closed the door, Corsair relaxed, resting his shoulders against the bulkhead, placing the weight on his non trick knee*

Tag: Zell.

 

IC: Zell

The Captain considered the thought carefully. While he had never been in the presence of the Merovingian, he had heard the stories of the program like everyone else. He was a ruthless trafficker of information and trade within the Matrix. To his knowledge, only once had anyone ever gotten anything from the Program without an equal exchange. Zell didn't covet meeting the "man" but Corsair may have been onto something with his idea.

Truth was that they simply didn't have a lot of information to go on. The greatest source of information in the Matrix was the Merovingian, but the main issue that Zell could forsee was that, in going to the Merovingian, the machines may in fact be tipped off as to the Humans plans. In searching for information alone they might give up their only source of surprise and tip the balance of peace back into the brink of all out war once again. That was simply unacceptable.

He looked back up at his XO and considered a bit further.

"I don't know Corsair. He is dangerous at the best of times and it isn't like we have Neo to back us up here. If we want something from him it isn't like we can walk into his club and turn him upside down until his lunch money falls out. He is possibly the most well guarded program in the Matrix. Getting to him will be tough enough, and then we have to think about leaving alive. It isn't a 2 person job. The whole crew would be in on that one. If we did get out of all of that alive then we might have also tipped off the most dangerous of information traffickers that we are looking for people. Which in turn can make it back to the collective ears of the machines. It's a huge risk and I am not sure I can consent to that level of drastic measure right off the bat. We will have to wait and see how things go with Edwards program and how well it works within the Matrix. From there we can decide the best course of action."

Tag Corsair.

 

IC: River

After talking to the captain, River went to the small cell-like room that served as her quarters. It was closest to the engine room, and it had a small sink. River went over and splashed some water on her face. She leaned on the sink and breathed in and out, eyes closed as she calmed down.
Splashing a bit more water on her face and her hair River turned to go back to the cockpit. She ran the last bit and joined the others.
"Sorry about that. Don't know what came over me. I suppose that's what you get when you fall asleep in a pool of engine grease, poor attitude."
She leaned against the wall, doing her best "everything is fine" pose.

TAG: any

 

IC: Corsair, Captains stateroom.

*He listened to Zells concerns, which were well founded, and weighed them against his own experiences. While the Merovingian was certainly charismatic and forcefull of will, Corsair had never seen him do anything but puff his figurative digital chest out, swear in french, and try and confuse the situation, both when he was plugged in as a cop and when he was freed.
No, it was his minions that were the ones to worry about, and even then, experience revealed them to be a mostly limited threat. Most of the exile programs he kept in his employ would go down with sufficient force (IE, a bigger bullet), or had a specific killcode or factor, the predominant one being silver and "Holy Water". The exception of course where those twins that could de-materialize at will, but he speculated the only reason that they had no apparent weakness is because nobody dared to take them on sufficiently.

Still, despite his experience, it was not his call. The best he could do was advise, inform, and back up the captain.*

"We will have to wait and see how things go with Edwards program and how well it works within the Matrix. From there we can decide the best course of action."

*Corsair nodded. Although he was tempted to point out that the Exiles that might get hostile were nowhere near as dangerous as the Agents themselves, not only was Zell the captain, he had a point. Despite retaining his badge (it was surprising what it got you), Corsair was not a cop anymore, was twice as vulnerable. No matter how much and/or forcefully a hunch poked at the back of his mind, he couldn't just go into a place and start shaking down an individual for information without significant backup. Programs within the matrix tended to react differently than the average plugged-in individual.*

"Of course captain. Although I will say this, even if he is unwilling to provide us with even a shred of information, his 'wife' seems ever at the ready to undercut him.
However you're right. If it gets too nuts, then we should consider paying him a little visit, but until then we just stakeout the select individuals.
I hate to cut and run, but River isn't the only one who needs a refresher to bolster their jacked-in skills. Perhaps I should invite her along specifically in addition to my usual open invitation, the Hogan's Alley program might just be the confidence booster that she needs."

*Corsair listened to the captains last remarks, then disembarked the stateroom*

Tag: Zell, All

 

IC: Zell

Zell nodded thoughtfully at the comment about the Merovingians wife. From the stories he had heard that was very true. For someone that trafficked information such as the Merovingian, Zell was surprised that he didn't see his greatest weakness was normally standing right next to him. Something that Zell would definitely keep in mind should they have a confrontation.

But people had things to do here and now. And so Zell's attention wrenched itself back to the present. He simply nodded once more, signaling the end of the meeting. As Corsair left, Zell picked his way back up to the cockpit and sat back down in the copilots chair. The captain turned to Kenmei and glanced at his monitors.

"How far out are we?"

tag kenmei