Post by trx on Oct 2, 2012 4:59:17 GMT -5
As the Baby Blue docked in New Zion she was engulfed by a swarm of yard dogs intent on repairing the battle damage. Sadly, with the hot war raging again, their services were more in demand then ever. The crew, finally standing on safe ground, breathed a collective sigh of relief having once again beaten the Grim Reaper. They then made their way to the dockside “Chill Facility†as they liked to call it. Except for TRX, who remained on the bridge desperately trying to contact the flotilla flagship to learn if they survived the decoy mission that allowed the Blue Distortion to escape.
With each repeated attempt to make contact TRX began to get more and more worried. Finally, after thirty minutes and six different attempts on various frequencies, the voice of his brave commander sounded loud and clear through his headset.
"Ps10n speaking" his leader said in a relaxed way that sounded like he had just been chilling out.
"PS1, TRX here man, are you ok?"
“Yes, definitely. We just killed at least 35 sentinels by blowing the EMPâ€, the satisfaction evident in his voice. “On the other hand Othala is getting worse, mate. She won’t come out of coma, and we found some more internal bleeding. She is strong though, and rest assured that we are doing everything we can."
TRX rubbed his forehead, and felt his eyes burning after all the stress they went through. "Get home safe Ps10n, I’ll see you when you get here"
"Always bro" replied the confident Commodore.
Rex walked through his ship towards his cabin to get his belongings, but when he got there, he sat down on his bed, and exhaled. He could hear the noises of the engineers beginning their repairs. Feeling very tired, he lay down, thinking he would just relax for a few minutes before joining his crew. Well that was the plan, but the stress of the last few hours had taken its toll and he fell asleep on the spot instead.
Meanwhile, Lyrics and Rage had arrived in the “Chill Roomâ€. Rage caught Lyrics eye and made a drinking hand signal. Lyrics chuckled at the look on his face and pictured a cartoon bubble with a question mark above his head. She gave him thumbs up, to indicate that she was in agreement with that idea.
As she found an empty table she looked around the vast room, to see if there were some familiar faces. On her right she noticed Rollguy with some friends. In the back amid a lively, spirited discussion and party, she could easily spot the irrepressible Beanix together with her former captain and some other members of his flagship crew.
Interrupting her dreamy mood, Lyrics saw Rage closing in on the table with the drinks. He put one drink in front of her and sat down while holding his own drink, and raised it saying: "To all the scrap metal sentinels we eliminated today!"
They both slammed their drinks, which was the perfect moment for Linotype to put a new round on the table he had ordered as he entered. He sat down at the corner of the table and suggested that they drink a round to Othala fighting for her life. They all agreed and proceeded to make the next round history. When Lyrics next glanced at the entranceway she saw a woman, who she indentified as Tr1ck5, TRX s wife.
Tr1ck5 seeing Lyrics’ hand signal and catching her eye smiled and made her way over to the table. "Hey there Brethren. What a situation you guys had on your hands there!"
Lyrics exhaled with a long sigh "You can say that again, Trixie!"
Trixie sat down at the table leaving only one spot open for some one to sit at it. "Where's TRX?"
Rage answered, "It could be he is still at the Baby Blue, but if not I guess he is on his way here"
Lyrics calculated the time they were there after they filed a report with Captain Niobe. "He should have been here by now Rage"
Trixie drumming her fingers on the table, decided to go and check on his whereabouts.
Linotype advised her to go to the vessel first stating, "He is probably still at the ship, hugging her", drawing a laugh from the assembled warriors. With a grin Tr1ck5 answered, "Can you blame him?" This prompted Lyrics to smile widely, because if it wasn’t for the drink she needed, she would very likely also be aboard Baby Blue hugging the keyboard of her operating station.
Tr1ck5 left the room smiling, and made her way to the Blue Distortion, berthed in the maintenance dock. As she approached the damaged vessel, wanting to board it, one of the engineers blocked her way with the words, “This hovercraft is under repair, you are not allowed to board Ma’am."
Trixie surprised by the good security around the vessel replied, "It is not Ma’am, Engineer, but Commander. My husband is the captain of this ship and is probably still inside. Besides as a Commander, I can board where I please, when I please, Thank you very much". The last part was delivered with a friendly smile to remove any sting from the comment.
"Rules are rules, Commander", the yard dog once again pointed out.
"Hmm well, since you are so persistent, I’ll ask you kindly, to make an exception, lieutenant is it? Now please step aside, and if you don’t like it, take it up with your supervisor".
The engineer stepped aside to let her onboard, although he was obviously uncomfortable about the situation.
Trick5 boarded the vessel, first checking the bridge and then moving on the mess and finally to the Captain’s cabin, where she found him in a deep sleep. She chuckled to herself, and thought a good practical joke would be to make a mock attack on her sleeping husband. The second she put her hand on his throat, TRX grabbed her wrist and returned the favor even before opening his eyes. When he opened them he saw his wife standing over him gasping for air, given the effectiveness of his throat lock.
"Honey, what are you doing?" He said as he let her go and started laughing.
Joining his laughter she replied after a second, "I was going to scare you, but that didn’t work did it? Let’s try this" as she lay down on the bed beside him and kissed him, smothering his laughter and momentarily preventing any verbal conversation.
After a few minutes, having appropriately and appreciatively greeted each other, she said, "The party is starting in 3 hrs, do you want to get in the Christmas mood and put on your formal hat with the confetti shooting out?"
TRX’s sigh said it all, but went on to comment, "I don’t feel much like partying, so I’ll leave the hat. I will take a short peak, however, as Commander Wrecker3D always throws the best parties. It is well known that the Anomalies are all dedicated party animals!"
"We better go then, because the party is being held in the Matrix in Club Sphinx, not here in New Zion, we’ll just take my ship to broadcast depth with who ever wants to join from your crew, ok?"
She got up and started pulling TRX’s arm to get him to stand up.
"Ok, ok, ok, I’m coming already" he mumbled.
They went back to pick up the others, and boarded the Invindictive which quickly and stealthily made it’s way to broadcast depth, in a zone of newly installed passive defenses which would make life difficult for any marauding sentinels.
This “Party Mission†was a good chance for Linotype to gain experience as the active operator since Lino didn’t feel like partying, but as always was more then eager to learn. Lino correctly inserted the interface pins into each of the party goers under the watchful eye of Blinks, Trixie’s operator who would also over watch Lino throughout the mission. Joining Rage, Lyrics, and Rex from the Blue Distortion were Trixie, Nonmortusest, and SilverUniverse from the Invindictive’s crew.
All members of the away team jacked in the Matrix at different locations, to avoid spiking the activity at any one hard line, which would surely be noticed by Agents, if not machine operatives on a warpath, even on Christmas day.
For Lyrics it had been a long time since she had been in Matrix, so she enjoyed experiencing things from the other side of the looking glass once again. Returning to the old mantra of the jackin check list, she immediately took inventory, verifying what Linotype had loaded for her. She felt the reassuring weight of a holster on her left side, which was correct as she was right handed. Drawing the weapon, she immediately recognized it as a FM-700 Magnum. Her cellular was in the left inside pocket of her jacket and on the opposite side was her advanced PDA. When she looked down and saw the awesome boots Lino had loaded for her, she took her cellular and called in. After a few clicks the connection was established and she heard Linotype respond, "Operator" in an over the top cool manner he had probably been practicing when nobody was listening. She couldn’t help chuckling as she said, "Fine job on the loading Lino, and very, very nice boots!"
Lino still in his over the top cool voice replied, "Thank you, activity is normal, the road due east will take you to the club."
Lyrics looked around not knowing which way was east. Lino seeing her hesitation couldn’t help but say: "Hmmm, that would be to your left, rusty Matrix trotter." Blinks tried to unsuccessfully stifle his laughter in the background.
Lyrics replied with a slight "Hmphm" and broke off connection with a quick flick of the wrist that shut the lid of the cellular with a sharp click.
TRX, morphing into the simulation, didn’t have to think or call, but certainly checked if he had everything also. When he even found a pack of cigarettes in his jacket pocket, his mouth corner raised in a slight grin, giving Lino a few points for details. Gathering himself, he hyper-jumped in the direction of the Club without having to consciously think about which direction.
Tr1ck5 was already dashing through some alleys acrobatically leaping from fire escapes, and almost running on the wall faces here and there. When she came close to the club, the loud bang and the ripple of the floor indicated that TRX had landed from a full hyper jump nearby.
A cough coming from up above, directed her attention to Rage standing on the edge of the low roof of the club.
With the “Party Team†assembled at the mission target, the group entered the anteroom of the club where they found other crews waiting to pass through metal detector into the club proper. The bouncers had turned a blind eye and ear to the plaintive beeping of the detector deciding that discretion was the better part of valor when dealing with heavily armed red pills intent on having a good time. Rex seeing their frustration ambled over to the power outlet, and with a wink to the bouncer on duty pulled the plug saying, “No worries, mate. No body wants war tonight.â€
The Anomalies always threw a great party, tonight was no exception. The music was good, spun by a live DJ, an Anomaly by the name of Slikrik, his smooth voice announcing the music requests and making shout outs to the assembled party goers. The team had arrived fashionably late, the party was already well underway as every one mixed into the crowd and blended with the music.
TRX found himself standing next to Archangel, a debonair member of the EPN, whose white suit matched hair just as white. After giving Arch a hearty "Merry Christmas", he noticed Tr1ck5 in the crowd standing besides Amativa, an old friend and former crewmate, sharing a laugh.
The parties’ atmosphere was very good, the crowd was happy, and he enjoyed watching Tr1ck5 as she mingled showing off her new dreadlock hair style, his mind couldn’t help but wander to Othala not knowing her situation. He kept an eye on the stairs, to see all who entered, looking for a sign of Ps10n, or a black fedora hat which was his new trademark.
Tr1ck5, noticing TRX was still tense and intently observing the stairway said something to Amativa, and walked over to her husband and asked, "Are you ok cupcake?"
Rex tried his best to give her a reassuring smile, responded with a "Yeah" but he could never fool his pretty wife.
"Come with me babe, let’s thank Wrecker3D for hosting this wonderful party", Trixie said trying to get TRX s mind back from wherever it was wandering for at least a few minutes.
Rex's reached out and caressed his wife’s cheek, his smile finally reaching his eyes and nodded his agreement as he came back from his worries. Trixie had always known how to draw him out, he reflected as he followed his wife through the crowd to the DJ tables where Wreck stood with a microphone in hand, announcing the winner of the best dressed female contest and awarding a significant financial prize.
Rage seeing some old friends, was dancing with two ladies from his old fleet. Nonmortusest, also called Morty, by his captain, saw this as the beginning of the party, starting to loosen up. SilverUniverse was standing with his brother TheKingOfHearts telling jokes to one of his brother’s crewmates.
When Rex returned to his vantage point after he greeted Wrecker3D, he glanced at the stairs to see Ps10n coming in with a new recruit named NeoExcidious, and his fellow fleet captains Minuend and Morphesu. The entrance was a grand one letting everybody know for certain that ‘The Brethren' were in the building.
Rex quickly made his way to his leader, shrugging a bit, indicating what took him so long.
"See, safe and sound just as I told you", Ps1 remarked.
"Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re here bro, but what took you?â€
“I had some troubles finding a quiet spot, as sentinels kept searching for us. Listen T, Othala is holding on by a thread. Things do not look good. We must make our way back to New Zion, where she has a better chance of surviving, with all the medical facilities there. I don’t want to break up your party here, but you better go back to docks also, in case we loose her. Her husband isn’t jacked in, he is by her side in Sick Bay, holding her hand. He’s very upset. Anyway, we are two hours away from home."
"Ah good man, we are only a short distance away, so we will leave in an hour and a half."
"Good, we are on our way now T. I’ll see you on the dock, and say a little prayer bro. She needs all the help she can get.â€
"Will do Ps1"
While Minuend and Morphesu blended in the party, as they were aboard their own Hovercrafts somewhere else in the vast network of tunnels, Rex watched Ps10n walk back up the stairs in his black winter coat with matching fedora. He looked over his shoulder as he reached the top of the stairs standing still for a moment, then disappearing to the left followed by the young recruit.
TRX went upstairs to the skybox for some privacy. As he looked down on the partying redpills below him he called Hern21on his cellular.
Hern picked up seeing it was TRX on his caller ID, and began talking before he brought the phone all the way up to his ear "Let’s get the party started! For the love of Trinity man, I was diverted to another hard line, because the closest was too busy. grrrrr!"
"Hey, hurry up dude, I’m not going be here long, you wouldn’t believe what my crews been through today, not to mention what happened to myself"
"You ok, T?" said Hern now more serious.
"I am, but Othala isn’t man, she's hurt bad and..... Just get here man".
"On my way, bro."
*dial tone*
Outside of Club Sphinx, the world seemed empty. A black starless sky blanketed the city and the street lights bathed everything; streets, cars, buildings and even people in a greenish glow. Walking by the club, you wouldn’t know that inside were a hundred dancing redpills. A casual observer might notice an occasional redpill entering the building, accompanied by a blast of music from the clubs sound system as the door opened. As Sphinx was a 24/7 club, the locals were accustomed to music sounding from there at all hours.
A more astute observer, particularly an operator skilled in deciphering the green waterfall of Matrix code would definitely notice the activity in Club Sphinx and the local area. For instance, an operator might have noticed a group of three redpills approaching the Club from the direction of the “Heart of the City†Hotel to the west and an alternate group of four approaching the club from the east. The signatures from the group of three all matched known Merovingian operatives. The group approaching from the east were viscous looking. They dispersed into a mutually supportive attack formation at a hand signal from the apparent leader. Their clothing was slightly different as well, mostly black with some sporting black bandanas as well. Their signatures did not match known Zion operatives. A quick search revealed that these redpills that had been awaken by Zion under the terms of the truce, but convinced to further the goals of the Machine Overlords. Even the Merovingian had redpills working for his organization.
The groups disappeared again in opposite directions. The view was calm again for a minute, until Hern landed in front of the door, as he had been hyper-jumping from building to building to get to the club. As he stood up from his energy absorbing crouch, he immediately cloaked himself, making use of the stealth skills he had learned as an operative. He entered the building covertly, as a small group of people were leaving, thereby avoiding the necessity of opening the front door himself. The cloak state was very good, but not perfect. A very careful observer might notice a vaguely human figure from the interference pattern his silhouette made with the background. But the people just leaving and those mingling in the front lobby where more interested in having a good time then in ferreting out a stealthy redpill. Even the guards at the club’s metal detectors were distracted, choosing to engage in a not too bright conversation instead of watching for trouble. Hern, seeing that the guards were non-attentive, laughed to himself as he moved to stand directly between the hapless duo and uncloaked with a big smile on his face. The look on the guard’s faces was priceless as they stumbled backward startled by the materialized phantom.
Hern laughed loudly addressing the guards, “Relax boys, I don’t want to have to cut your throats, because you freak out and draw your weapons trying to shoot me now. OK?â€
Both guards managed to nod agreement, as Hern backed through the metal detector, opening his coat to reveal he was fully stocked with daggers. Hern assured the guards he only brought his “pocket knives†to the party to the sound of the protesting metal detector, which allicited a second nod of acceptance from the “dynamic†pair.
Walking down the stairs, the first of his close acquaintances he saw was Tr1ck5. He greeted her with two kisses on the cheeks and a smooth, "Hey, Vanilla Queen" accompanied with a big smile. "Where's my bud?"
Tr1ck5 simply turned slightly to the right and pointed to the skybox, where you could see the outline of TRX behind the slightly blinded windows.
Hern’s large hand totally covered Tr1ck5’s left shoulder, as he softly squeezed it, saying "Get some drinks, and I’ll join you with T"
Before going back up the stairs and make a right to the skybox, he winked at some ladies he knew, and peace signed some buddies.
As Hern rounded the corner into the tight hallway leading to the entrance of the skybox, he saw TRX with his back against the wall, standing on one foot, the other pulled up with the heel against the wall to keep balance, his head slight downwards, and his fedora tilted forward, while exhaling smoke from under his hat.
Hern tipped Rex’s hat upward so he could see his face and greeted him with a "Hey Bro" in a playful tone. Rex smiled a bit, and replied with a "Yo" without looking Hern in the eyes.
Hern wanted to break the ice as always. He had been there from the beginning, watching Rex grow strong as he ascended to captain status a few years back. "What? You’re going to stand here examining the gum on the floor all night Captain?"
Rex pushed himself from the wall, and stood up straight, meeting Hern’s gaze with a dead serious look in his bright albino eyes.
"I have a very bad feeling about this Hern", and then told his friend what had happened and how Othala was fighting for her life.
After finishing the story Rex returned to leaning against the wall lost once again in his thoughts.
"Listen up T; you have an hour left, to be at this party. There is nothing you can do right now. Your lovely wife is downstairs waiting for you, and most of your friends are here. It’s Christmas. Now get on your feet, chest forward, head up, and at least give the impression to every one here that you’re enjoying the party, and worry about Othala when you get back to New Zion. OK?"
The words did not lift Rex’s mood. Hern let his friend stand there for a full minute, before grabbing him by the coat collar and pulling him forward to get him to stand up straight.
"Rex, Look at me"
Rex looked him in the eyes from under the outlines of his hat. Seeing he had the Captain’s attention, Hern slapped him on his upper arm, to buck him up. "T, brother, give me that black eye you promised me for Christmas. Remember, half a year ago, during our ‘Hangover Monday Duel’, when I delivered that nasty kick to your nuts. You always loose, those duels, being the only one with a hangover."
After two seconds of total silence they burst out laughing. They wished each other a Merry Christmas. Together they made their way downstairs to the dance floor.
With Rex in a more festive mood, the two friends joined Tr1ck5 in the corner, where a comfortable chesterfield couch was placed with some chairs and a table. Other members of the factions The Brethren and ‘Enhancing Ones’, noticed the gathering and made their way through the dancing crowd, to sit with them.
As they drank their refreshments, everyone started talking with each other, telling each other funny stories. Others talked shop, particularly debating the merits of the various Marital Arts systems and the efficiency of the various moves. As in fishing stories the antedotes traded were usually exaggerated, and spiced with a bit of humor here and there.
The party continued. Hern did his impression of a very ugly looking exile, using his Disguise module. The module was a pair of glasses and attached headband, which could transform the wearer’s appearance into whatever was loaded in its memory. Next he transformed into an Agent and yelled out, “You are not authorized in this area!’. The phrase was programmed into the Agent’s kernal, every operative worth their salt had heard it at least once in their career. The crowd favorite however was of a woman with white skin, purple hair, vicious and ugly looking, dressed in a red see through top, and a thong under it. From of the couch, TRX yelled out; "Hern, you freak!" Tr1ck5 was laughing so much, she thought she'd died right there.
Despite his lightened mood TRX couldn’t help to check his phone, and saw that it was time to jack out and start the return journey to New Zion.
Everyone left in the direction of the stairs saying goodbye to friends as they went.
Upstairs the body guards stepped aside, and were glad that the party was beginning to break up.
Once outside, they all split up, everyone heading to his or her own hardline, where they had entered the Matrix.
Tr1ck5 returned to the hardline to the east of the club. Hyper-jumping from building to building as she went. Finally she leapt down to street level in front of a pair of doors leading into and apartment. As she landed, the doors opened and she was rushed by four Merovingian operatives. Although she managed to incapacitate one with a Dim Mak strike to the throat, the other three overwhelmed her and dragged her back into the building.
In the meantime rest of the party goers found their hardlines and returned to the Invindictive. The green operator Linotype, started to wonder what had happen to Tr1ck5, as she had not returned yet. He opened the general frequency on the ship, asking: "Blinks? I’m starting to ask myself where your Captain is, she still hasn’t returned."
"Did you call her on her cell yet Lino?"
"Yes sir, twice, but no answer"
"Hmm, I’ll be right there."
Blinks returned to the broadcast station, where Lino had started to remove the insertions pins from the away team.
"Did you see any activity in the Matrix?" asked Blinks as he stepped through the door.
"Activity? What activity?" reacted TRX alarmed.
"Not that I’ve seen Blinks" said Lino.
Blinks found this strange, simply saying "Weird"
Blinks' fingers flew over the keyboard, typing strange combinations, trying to pick up Tr1ck5’s signal. He typed every command he knew, was unsuccessful at acquiring her signal. "Captain TRX, I need some one to go in the Matrix, and check out things there, to confirm what I think I see"
TRX didn’t hesitate, immediately lay back down in the chair, determined to find his wife. "Load up a SMG/Kung Fu ability profile and make sure I have a full load of ammo for my Dual Nishiki Furies.â€
Blinks rapidly programmed in Rex’s desired load-out and provided the Dual Furies with a large number of spare clips as Lino inserted the pin into TRX’s head. Blinks then arranged to have TRX enter the Matrix at Tr1ck5’s intended destination. He then got Rex on the cell and started to explain. “Captain, I have discovered a disruption in the Matrix at about the time you all were returning from the party. It looks like a white hallway door was opened in the vicinity of the East hardline. You need to find that door and see if that is correct.â€
"Ok, which door?"
"Enter the second door on your left, across the street from the East hardline. Then walk through the building corridor to the other side to where there is a door to the stairway, I think that is it"
"Ok, call you back when I get there."
TRX followed the directions and got back on the cell to Blinks when he reached the door and asked, "This door?"
"Yeah, that must be it, try to open it"
TRX turned the handle, but it was locked solid, which he passed on to Blinks.
"Wait a second Blinks, you said this is a white hallway entrance?"
"Of some kind, yes", Blinks replied.
"Well, let’s open this door then. I have a key to enter the white hallways which I purchased at the Zion archive broker in Moriah Projects. I don’t want to brag, but it cost one hundred million bucks, and required the authorization of Zion Controller Tyndall who only releases the key to the most trusted operatives"
Blinks started to cough, because he inhaled some of his water he was drinking. "Say what?"
With a laugh Rex responded; "You heard me"
TRX took the key out of his pocket, inserted it in the lock and turned the key. He opened the door, and saw the white hallways.
"Be right back", were his last words.
Blinks scanning the Matrix code, watched TRX as his signal disappeared the instant he entered the portal and closed the door behind him.
With each repeated attempt to make contact TRX began to get more and more worried. Finally, after thirty minutes and six different attempts on various frequencies, the voice of his brave commander sounded loud and clear through his headset.
"Ps10n speaking" his leader said in a relaxed way that sounded like he had just been chilling out.
"PS1, TRX here man, are you ok?"
“Yes, definitely. We just killed at least 35 sentinels by blowing the EMPâ€, the satisfaction evident in his voice. “On the other hand Othala is getting worse, mate. She won’t come out of coma, and we found some more internal bleeding. She is strong though, and rest assured that we are doing everything we can."
TRX rubbed his forehead, and felt his eyes burning after all the stress they went through. "Get home safe Ps10n, I’ll see you when you get here"
"Always bro" replied the confident Commodore.
Rex walked through his ship towards his cabin to get his belongings, but when he got there, he sat down on his bed, and exhaled. He could hear the noises of the engineers beginning their repairs. Feeling very tired, he lay down, thinking he would just relax for a few minutes before joining his crew. Well that was the plan, but the stress of the last few hours had taken its toll and he fell asleep on the spot instead.
Meanwhile, Lyrics and Rage had arrived in the “Chill Roomâ€. Rage caught Lyrics eye and made a drinking hand signal. Lyrics chuckled at the look on his face and pictured a cartoon bubble with a question mark above his head. She gave him thumbs up, to indicate that she was in agreement with that idea.
As she found an empty table she looked around the vast room, to see if there were some familiar faces. On her right she noticed Rollguy with some friends. In the back amid a lively, spirited discussion and party, she could easily spot the irrepressible Beanix together with her former captain and some other members of his flagship crew.
Interrupting her dreamy mood, Lyrics saw Rage closing in on the table with the drinks. He put one drink in front of her and sat down while holding his own drink, and raised it saying: "To all the scrap metal sentinels we eliminated today!"
They both slammed their drinks, which was the perfect moment for Linotype to put a new round on the table he had ordered as he entered. He sat down at the corner of the table and suggested that they drink a round to Othala fighting for her life. They all agreed and proceeded to make the next round history. When Lyrics next glanced at the entranceway she saw a woman, who she indentified as Tr1ck5, TRX s wife.
Tr1ck5 seeing Lyrics’ hand signal and catching her eye smiled and made her way over to the table. "Hey there Brethren. What a situation you guys had on your hands there!"
Lyrics exhaled with a long sigh "You can say that again, Trixie!"
Trixie sat down at the table leaving only one spot open for some one to sit at it. "Where's TRX?"
Rage answered, "It could be he is still at the Baby Blue, but if not I guess he is on his way here"
Lyrics calculated the time they were there after they filed a report with Captain Niobe. "He should have been here by now Rage"
Trixie drumming her fingers on the table, decided to go and check on his whereabouts.
Linotype advised her to go to the vessel first stating, "He is probably still at the ship, hugging her", drawing a laugh from the assembled warriors. With a grin Tr1ck5 answered, "Can you blame him?" This prompted Lyrics to smile widely, because if it wasn’t for the drink she needed, she would very likely also be aboard Baby Blue hugging the keyboard of her operating station.
Tr1ck5 left the room smiling, and made her way to the Blue Distortion, berthed in the maintenance dock. As she approached the damaged vessel, wanting to board it, one of the engineers blocked her way with the words, “This hovercraft is under repair, you are not allowed to board Ma’am."
Trixie surprised by the good security around the vessel replied, "It is not Ma’am, Engineer, but Commander. My husband is the captain of this ship and is probably still inside. Besides as a Commander, I can board where I please, when I please, Thank you very much". The last part was delivered with a friendly smile to remove any sting from the comment.
"Rules are rules, Commander", the yard dog once again pointed out.
"Hmm well, since you are so persistent, I’ll ask you kindly, to make an exception, lieutenant is it? Now please step aside, and if you don’t like it, take it up with your supervisor".
The engineer stepped aside to let her onboard, although he was obviously uncomfortable about the situation.
Trick5 boarded the vessel, first checking the bridge and then moving on the mess and finally to the Captain’s cabin, where she found him in a deep sleep. She chuckled to herself, and thought a good practical joke would be to make a mock attack on her sleeping husband. The second she put her hand on his throat, TRX grabbed her wrist and returned the favor even before opening his eyes. When he opened them he saw his wife standing over him gasping for air, given the effectiveness of his throat lock.
"Honey, what are you doing?" He said as he let her go and started laughing.
Joining his laughter she replied after a second, "I was going to scare you, but that didn’t work did it? Let’s try this" as she lay down on the bed beside him and kissed him, smothering his laughter and momentarily preventing any verbal conversation.
After a few minutes, having appropriately and appreciatively greeted each other, she said, "The party is starting in 3 hrs, do you want to get in the Christmas mood and put on your formal hat with the confetti shooting out?"
TRX’s sigh said it all, but went on to comment, "I don’t feel much like partying, so I’ll leave the hat. I will take a short peak, however, as Commander Wrecker3D always throws the best parties. It is well known that the Anomalies are all dedicated party animals!"
"We better go then, because the party is being held in the Matrix in Club Sphinx, not here in New Zion, we’ll just take my ship to broadcast depth with who ever wants to join from your crew, ok?"
She got up and started pulling TRX’s arm to get him to stand up.
"Ok, ok, ok, I’m coming already" he mumbled.
They went back to pick up the others, and boarded the Invindictive which quickly and stealthily made it’s way to broadcast depth, in a zone of newly installed passive defenses which would make life difficult for any marauding sentinels.
This “Party Mission†was a good chance for Linotype to gain experience as the active operator since Lino didn’t feel like partying, but as always was more then eager to learn. Lino correctly inserted the interface pins into each of the party goers under the watchful eye of Blinks, Trixie’s operator who would also over watch Lino throughout the mission. Joining Rage, Lyrics, and Rex from the Blue Distortion were Trixie, Nonmortusest, and SilverUniverse from the Invindictive’s crew.
All members of the away team jacked in the Matrix at different locations, to avoid spiking the activity at any one hard line, which would surely be noticed by Agents, if not machine operatives on a warpath, even on Christmas day.
For Lyrics it had been a long time since she had been in Matrix, so she enjoyed experiencing things from the other side of the looking glass once again. Returning to the old mantra of the jackin check list, she immediately took inventory, verifying what Linotype had loaded for her. She felt the reassuring weight of a holster on her left side, which was correct as she was right handed. Drawing the weapon, she immediately recognized it as a FM-700 Magnum. Her cellular was in the left inside pocket of her jacket and on the opposite side was her advanced PDA. When she looked down and saw the awesome boots Lino had loaded for her, she took her cellular and called in. After a few clicks the connection was established and she heard Linotype respond, "Operator" in an over the top cool manner he had probably been practicing when nobody was listening. She couldn’t help chuckling as she said, "Fine job on the loading Lino, and very, very nice boots!"
Lino still in his over the top cool voice replied, "Thank you, activity is normal, the road due east will take you to the club."
Lyrics looked around not knowing which way was east. Lino seeing her hesitation couldn’t help but say: "Hmmm, that would be to your left, rusty Matrix trotter." Blinks tried to unsuccessfully stifle his laughter in the background.
Lyrics replied with a slight "Hmphm" and broke off connection with a quick flick of the wrist that shut the lid of the cellular with a sharp click.
TRX, morphing into the simulation, didn’t have to think or call, but certainly checked if he had everything also. When he even found a pack of cigarettes in his jacket pocket, his mouth corner raised in a slight grin, giving Lino a few points for details. Gathering himself, he hyper-jumped in the direction of the Club without having to consciously think about which direction.
Tr1ck5 was already dashing through some alleys acrobatically leaping from fire escapes, and almost running on the wall faces here and there. When she came close to the club, the loud bang and the ripple of the floor indicated that TRX had landed from a full hyper jump nearby.
A cough coming from up above, directed her attention to Rage standing on the edge of the low roof of the club.
With the “Party Team†assembled at the mission target, the group entered the anteroom of the club where they found other crews waiting to pass through metal detector into the club proper. The bouncers had turned a blind eye and ear to the plaintive beeping of the detector deciding that discretion was the better part of valor when dealing with heavily armed red pills intent on having a good time. Rex seeing their frustration ambled over to the power outlet, and with a wink to the bouncer on duty pulled the plug saying, “No worries, mate. No body wants war tonight.â€
The Anomalies always threw a great party, tonight was no exception. The music was good, spun by a live DJ, an Anomaly by the name of Slikrik, his smooth voice announcing the music requests and making shout outs to the assembled party goers. The team had arrived fashionably late, the party was already well underway as every one mixed into the crowd and blended with the music.
TRX found himself standing next to Archangel, a debonair member of the EPN, whose white suit matched hair just as white. After giving Arch a hearty "Merry Christmas", he noticed Tr1ck5 in the crowd standing besides Amativa, an old friend and former crewmate, sharing a laugh.
The parties’ atmosphere was very good, the crowd was happy, and he enjoyed watching Tr1ck5 as she mingled showing off her new dreadlock hair style, his mind couldn’t help but wander to Othala not knowing her situation. He kept an eye on the stairs, to see all who entered, looking for a sign of Ps10n, or a black fedora hat which was his new trademark.
Tr1ck5, noticing TRX was still tense and intently observing the stairway said something to Amativa, and walked over to her husband and asked, "Are you ok cupcake?"
Rex tried his best to give her a reassuring smile, responded with a "Yeah" but he could never fool his pretty wife.
"Come with me babe, let’s thank Wrecker3D for hosting this wonderful party", Trixie said trying to get TRX s mind back from wherever it was wandering for at least a few minutes.
Rex's reached out and caressed his wife’s cheek, his smile finally reaching his eyes and nodded his agreement as he came back from his worries. Trixie had always known how to draw him out, he reflected as he followed his wife through the crowd to the DJ tables where Wreck stood with a microphone in hand, announcing the winner of the best dressed female contest and awarding a significant financial prize.
Rage seeing some old friends, was dancing with two ladies from his old fleet. Nonmortusest, also called Morty, by his captain, saw this as the beginning of the party, starting to loosen up. SilverUniverse was standing with his brother TheKingOfHearts telling jokes to one of his brother’s crewmates.
When Rex returned to his vantage point after he greeted Wrecker3D, he glanced at the stairs to see Ps10n coming in with a new recruit named NeoExcidious, and his fellow fleet captains Minuend and Morphesu. The entrance was a grand one letting everybody know for certain that ‘The Brethren' were in the building.
Rex quickly made his way to his leader, shrugging a bit, indicating what took him so long.
"See, safe and sound just as I told you", Ps1 remarked.
"Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re here bro, but what took you?â€
“I had some troubles finding a quiet spot, as sentinels kept searching for us. Listen T, Othala is holding on by a thread. Things do not look good. We must make our way back to New Zion, where she has a better chance of surviving, with all the medical facilities there. I don’t want to break up your party here, but you better go back to docks also, in case we loose her. Her husband isn’t jacked in, he is by her side in Sick Bay, holding her hand. He’s very upset. Anyway, we are two hours away from home."
"Ah good man, we are only a short distance away, so we will leave in an hour and a half."
"Good, we are on our way now T. I’ll see you on the dock, and say a little prayer bro. She needs all the help she can get.â€
"Will do Ps1"
While Minuend and Morphesu blended in the party, as they were aboard their own Hovercrafts somewhere else in the vast network of tunnels, Rex watched Ps10n walk back up the stairs in his black winter coat with matching fedora. He looked over his shoulder as he reached the top of the stairs standing still for a moment, then disappearing to the left followed by the young recruit.
TRX went upstairs to the skybox for some privacy. As he looked down on the partying redpills below him he called Hern21on his cellular.
Hern picked up seeing it was TRX on his caller ID, and began talking before he brought the phone all the way up to his ear "Let’s get the party started! For the love of Trinity man, I was diverted to another hard line, because the closest was too busy. grrrrr!"
"Hey, hurry up dude, I’m not going be here long, you wouldn’t believe what my crews been through today, not to mention what happened to myself"
"You ok, T?" said Hern now more serious.
"I am, but Othala isn’t man, she's hurt bad and..... Just get here man".
"On my way, bro."
*dial tone*
Outside of Club Sphinx, the world seemed empty. A black starless sky blanketed the city and the street lights bathed everything; streets, cars, buildings and even people in a greenish glow. Walking by the club, you wouldn’t know that inside were a hundred dancing redpills. A casual observer might notice an occasional redpill entering the building, accompanied by a blast of music from the clubs sound system as the door opened. As Sphinx was a 24/7 club, the locals were accustomed to music sounding from there at all hours.
A more astute observer, particularly an operator skilled in deciphering the green waterfall of Matrix code would definitely notice the activity in Club Sphinx and the local area. For instance, an operator might have noticed a group of three redpills approaching the Club from the direction of the “Heart of the City†Hotel to the west and an alternate group of four approaching the club from the east. The signatures from the group of three all matched known Merovingian operatives. The group approaching from the east were viscous looking. They dispersed into a mutually supportive attack formation at a hand signal from the apparent leader. Their clothing was slightly different as well, mostly black with some sporting black bandanas as well. Their signatures did not match known Zion operatives. A quick search revealed that these redpills that had been awaken by Zion under the terms of the truce, but convinced to further the goals of the Machine Overlords. Even the Merovingian had redpills working for his organization.
The groups disappeared again in opposite directions. The view was calm again for a minute, until Hern landed in front of the door, as he had been hyper-jumping from building to building to get to the club. As he stood up from his energy absorbing crouch, he immediately cloaked himself, making use of the stealth skills he had learned as an operative. He entered the building covertly, as a small group of people were leaving, thereby avoiding the necessity of opening the front door himself. The cloak state was very good, but not perfect. A very careful observer might notice a vaguely human figure from the interference pattern his silhouette made with the background. But the people just leaving and those mingling in the front lobby where more interested in having a good time then in ferreting out a stealthy redpill. Even the guards at the club’s metal detectors were distracted, choosing to engage in a not too bright conversation instead of watching for trouble. Hern, seeing that the guards were non-attentive, laughed to himself as he moved to stand directly between the hapless duo and uncloaked with a big smile on his face. The look on the guard’s faces was priceless as they stumbled backward startled by the materialized phantom.
Hern laughed loudly addressing the guards, “Relax boys, I don’t want to have to cut your throats, because you freak out and draw your weapons trying to shoot me now. OK?â€
Both guards managed to nod agreement, as Hern backed through the metal detector, opening his coat to reveal he was fully stocked with daggers. Hern assured the guards he only brought his “pocket knives†to the party to the sound of the protesting metal detector, which allicited a second nod of acceptance from the “dynamic†pair.
Walking down the stairs, the first of his close acquaintances he saw was Tr1ck5. He greeted her with two kisses on the cheeks and a smooth, "Hey, Vanilla Queen" accompanied with a big smile. "Where's my bud?"
Tr1ck5 simply turned slightly to the right and pointed to the skybox, where you could see the outline of TRX behind the slightly blinded windows.
Hern’s large hand totally covered Tr1ck5’s left shoulder, as he softly squeezed it, saying "Get some drinks, and I’ll join you with T"
Before going back up the stairs and make a right to the skybox, he winked at some ladies he knew, and peace signed some buddies.
As Hern rounded the corner into the tight hallway leading to the entrance of the skybox, he saw TRX with his back against the wall, standing on one foot, the other pulled up with the heel against the wall to keep balance, his head slight downwards, and his fedora tilted forward, while exhaling smoke from under his hat.
Hern tipped Rex’s hat upward so he could see his face and greeted him with a "Hey Bro" in a playful tone. Rex smiled a bit, and replied with a "Yo" without looking Hern in the eyes.
Hern wanted to break the ice as always. He had been there from the beginning, watching Rex grow strong as he ascended to captain status a few years back. "What? You’re going to stand here examining the gum on the floor all night Captain?"
Rex pushed himself from the wall, and stood up straight, meeting Hern’s gaze with a dead serious look in his bright albino eyes.
"I have a very bad feeling about this Hern", and then told his friend what had happened and how Othala was fighting for her life.
After finishing the story Rex returned to leaning against the wall lost once again in his thoughts.
"Listen up T; you have an hour left, to be at this party. There is nothing you can do right now. Your lovely wife is downstairs waiting for you, and most of your friends are here. It’s Christmas. Now get on your feet, chest forward, head up, and at least give the impression to every one here that you’re enjoying the party, and worry about Othala when you get back to New Zion. OK?"
The words did not lift Rex’s mood. Hern let his friend stand there for a full minute, before grabbing him by the coat collar and pulling him forward to get him to stand up straight.
"Rex, Look at me"
Rex looked him in the eyes from under the outlines of his hat. Seeing he had the Captain’s attention, Hern slapped him on his upper arm, to buck him up. "T, brother, give me that black eye you promised me for Christmas. Remember, half a year ago, during our ‘Hangover Monday Duel’, when I delivered that nasty kick to your nuts. You always loose, those duels, being the only one with a hangover."
After two seconds of total silence they burst out laughing. They wished each other a Merry Christmas. Together they made their way downstairs to the dance floor.
With Rex in a more festive mood, the two friends joined Tr1ck5 in the corner, where a comfortable chesterfield couch was placed with some chairs and a table. Other members of the factions The Brethren and ‘Enhancing Ones’, noticed the gathering and made their way through the dancing crowd, to sit with them.
As they drank their refreshments, everyone started talking with each other, telling each other funny stories. Others talked shop, particularly debating the merits of the various Marital Arts systems and the efficiency of the various moves. As in fishing stories the antedotes traded were usually exaggerated, and spiced with a bit of humor here and there.
The party continued. Hern did his impression of a very ugly looking exile, using his Disguise module. The module was a pair of glasses and attached headband, which could transform the wearer’s appearance into whatever was loaded in its memory. Next he transformed into an Agent and yelled out, “You are not authorized in this area!’. The phrase was programmed into the Agent’s kernal, every operative worth their salt had heard it at least once in their career. The crowd favorite however was of a woman with white skin, purple hair, vicious and ugly looking, dressed in a red see through top, and a thong under it. From of the couch, TRX yelled out; "Hern, you freak!" Tr1ck5 was laughing so much, she thought she'd died right there.
Despite his lightened mood TRX couldn’t help to check his phone, and saw that it was time to jack out and start the return journey to New Zion.
Everyone left in the direction of the stairs saying goodbye to friends as they went.
Upstairs the body guards stepped aside, and were glad that the party was beginning to break up.
Once outside, they all split up, everyone heading to his or her own hardline, where they had entered the Matrix.
Tr1ck5 returned to the hardline to the east of the club. Hyper-jumping from building to building as she went. Finally she leapt down to street level in front of a pair of doors leading into and apartment. As she landed, the doors opened and she was rushed by four Merovingian operatives. Although she managed to incapacitate one with a Dim Mak strike to the throat, the other three overwhelmed her and dragged her back into the building.
In the meantime rest of the party goers found their hardlines and returned to the Invindictive. The green operator Linotype, started to wonder what had happen to Tr1ck5, as she had not returned yet. He opened the general frequency on the ship, asking: "Blinks? I’m starting to ask myself where your Captain is, she still hasn’t returned."
"Did you call her on her cell yet Lino?"
"Yes sir, twice, but no answer"
"Hmm, I’ll be right there."
Blinks returned to the broadcast station, where Lino had started to remove the insertions pins from the away team.
"Did you see any activity in the Matrix?" asked Blinks as he stepped through the door.
"Activity? What activity?" reacted TRX alarmed.
"Not that I’ve seen Blinks" said Lino.
Blinks found this strange, simply saying "Weird"
Blinks' fingers flew over the keyboard, typing strange combinations, trying to pick up Tr1ck5’s signal. He typed every command he knew, was unsuccessful at acquiring her signal. "Captain TRX, I need some one to go in the Matrix, and check out things there, to confirm what I think I see"
TRX didn’t hesitate, immediately lay back down in the chair, determined to find his wife. "Load up a SMG/Kung Fu ability profile and make sure I have a full load of ammo for my Dual Nishiki Furies.â€
Blinks rapidly programmed in Rex’s desired load-out and provided the Dual Furies with a large number of spare clips as Lino inserted the pin into TRX’s head. Blinks then arranged to have TRX enter the Matrix at Tr1ck5’s intended destination. He then got Rex on the cell and started to explain. “Captain, I have discovered a disruption in the Matrix at about the time you all were returning from the party. It looks like a white hallway door was opened in the vicinity of the East hardline. You need to find that door and see if that is correct.â€
"Ok, which door?"
"Enter the second door on your left, across the street from the East hardline. Then walk through the building corridor to the other side to where there is a door to the stairway, I think that is it"
"Ok, call you back when I get there."
TRX followed the directions and got back on the cell to Blinks when he reached the door and asked, "This door?"
"Yeah, that must be it, try to open it"
TRX turned the handle, but it was locked solid, which he passed on to Blinks.
"Wait a second Blinks, you said this is a white hallway entrance?"
"Of some kind, yes", Blinks replied.
"Well, let’s open this door then. I have a key to enter the white hallways which I purchased at the Zion archive broker in Moriah Projects. I don’t want to brag, but it cost one hundred million bucks, and required the authorization of Zion Controller Tyndall who only releases the key to the most trusted operatives"
Blinks started to cough, because he inhaled some of his water he was drinking. "Say what?"
With a laugh Rex responded; "You heard me"
TRX took the key out of his pocket, inserted it in the lock and turned the key. He opened the door, and saw the white hallways.
"Be right back", were his last words.
Blinks scanning the Matrix code, watched TRX as his signal disappeared the instant he entered the portal and closed the door behind him.