"Tomorrow we could all be dead. But how would that be different from any other day? This is a war. We are soldiers. Death could come for us at any time. Now consider the alternative. What if I am right? Then tomorrow the war could be over. Isn't that worth fighting for? Isn't that worth dieing for?"
Prologue: The Dream
Neo's feet pounded on the floor as he raced along the corridor. He grabbed the handle of a door and pulled back, flinging it open and dashing inside. He ran past a frozen security guard and through another door. Neo turned his head and glanced behind him.
Smith was close on his heels. Neo fired over his shoulder twice and Smith stopped to dodge. The bullets struck the pipe behind Smith's head. Neo dashed ahead and leapt over a pipe in his path. Turning left, he entered a tunnel made up of pipes. A bullet hit the pipe to one inch the left of Neo's head. Gas spurted out of the ruptured pipe and quickly spread throughout the area. Neo's phone rang.
"Neo, that's explosive gas! Whatever you do, don't fire any weapons!'
"Great, thanks Voyd."
Neo hung up and continued running. He came to a door and opened it. A man stepped out. Neo gasped.
"It was you all along!"
"That's right," the man answered. "Me."
"But why?"
"Because I am sick of this pointless fighting, Neo. You know Neo. I know what he told you. There's no hope. So the machines will hook me up, plug me in. In exchange for your code."
"Traitor!"
"Exactly. Now, this might hurt a little."
The man squared of and sent a kick flying at Neo's head. Neo grabbed his foot and twisted it, but the man brought his other leg around, smashing Neo in the face. Neo staggered backwards, and the man flipped around in the air, landing on his feet. Neo recovered and rushed to meet him.
The man punched at Neo, who grabbed his fist and flipped over him, kicking the man in the back. The man went flying into a wall. He picked himself off the floor and drew his gun.
"I tire of this game." He fired.
Neo stared in shock at the bullet in his left shoulder.
"What the hell?"
The man smirked triumphantly.
"Your powers won't work here, Neo."
He pointed the pistol at Neo's head and pulled the trigger-
-Trinity woke up with a gasp. She glanced around the cabin, and saw to her surprise that Neo was gone. She got up and walked out of the room they shared. She slowly made her way to the galley. She dragged a chair out from under the table and plopped down in it, grabbing a cup of hot coffee from the counter as she did.
"Couldn't sleep?" a voice asked, startling Trinity. She glanced up to see Rabbit, one of the newer crew members. Rabbit was a hacker, completely and wholly dedicated to changing the system from the inside. He was one of the best hackers Trinity had ever seen. But, Trinity thought with a slight smile, not as good as me.
He had a quiet, introspective personality that put those around him at ease. He was kind, thoughtful, and intelligent. He had light sandy-brown hair and was shorter than average. His eyes were bright green. He had been Trinity's best friend inside the Matrix, and his search for her after she was unplugged led him to the Truth.
"No," she answered, smiling as old memories came back. Rabbit had asked her the same question the night before she was unplugged. She had told him goodbye and walked to the Adams Street Bridge, thinking she'd never see him again. Fortunately, she was wrong.
"Why not?" Rabbit inquired.
"Nothing, just a bad dream."
Rabbit pulled up a chair across from her and sat down, staring into her eyes.
"Just a bad dream? You don't look like you had just a bad dream. Why don't you tell me about it?"
Trinity took a sip of her coffee.
"It was nothing. I just saw…"
"Yes?" Rabbit prompted.
"I saw Neo die. He was killed by someone he knew, someone he called a traitor. It felt so real, that's all." She took another sip.
"That doesn't sound too bad," Rabbit assured her. "Cheer up, it's just a dream. We've got a meeting to attend."
The Nebuchadnezzar flew through the tunnels of the past civilization's sewers. Voyd, the new Operator, sat anxiously in his chair and watched as Morpheus steered haphazardly around large rock formations and through the smallest openings. The gunner, Phoenix, sat idly nearby, flipping a coin into the air and catching it before it hit the ground.
"We're late," Phoenix reminded his captain.
"I know," Morpheus replied. "We're almost to a safe broadcast point."
Sentinel activity had been rapidly increasing in the five months since Neo had been unplugged. It was almost impossible now to find a safe broadcast point. In the one month Voyd had been operating onboard the Neb, he had seen three missions interrupted by Sentinels. Fortunately, no one had died.
Yet.
The sound of an alarm jolted Voyd out of his memories. The holoprojector showed three Sentinels swarming right at the Neb. Phoenix jumped out of his chair.
"Hot damn!" he yelled, rubbing his hands together eagerly.
"Finally, some action," he continued, sliding into the gunner's seat. Phoenix had always been this way, as long as anyone could remember. He had been on three ships before the Neb, being transferred each time after a particularly reckless stunt. Once he even had gotten fellow rebels killed. That had been on his last ship, the Logos. Then Phoenix had been transferred here, for what Commander Locke had called his "last chance."
Phoenix had bright reddish hair and numerous freckles, and those attributes in part led to his name. He was rather tall and gangly, with piercing black eyes, which were described by his last captain as "calculating and cold." The years of fighting showed on Phoenix more clearly than many others.
And those many years had paid off. Phoenix was one of the most accurate rebels in the fleet. He had trained with Ghost for a month before being transferred, and had learned well. He brought up the targeting computer, centered his brackets on the first Sentinel, and fired.
The machine exploded in a burst of flame. The other two separated and each came at the Neb from opposite directions. Phoenix shifted his focus to the left and fired off another round, striking the second Sentinel directly in the head. The machine crashed to the floor.
The third Sentinel darted in close, too close for weapons. Phoenix fired anyway, but clearly missed. The Sentinel raised itself up to attack.
"You missed!" yelled Voyd, reaching for the EMP.
A large boulder came crashing down on top of the final Sentinel. Phoenix smirked.
Niobe, commander of the Logos, dropped the papers onto the table.
"These geotherms confirm the last transmission of the Osiris. The machines are digging."
Murmuring ran throughout the room.
"They are boring straight down from the surface to Zion."
"They'll pass all the perimeter defenses!" cried a shocked Ice, captain of the Gnosis.
"How many are there?" inquired another rebel more calmly.
"About a quarter of a million," answered Ghost, Niobe's partner.
"That can't be right," muttered Ice disbelievingly.
"And why not?" asked a new voice. "One Sentinel for every man, woman, and child in Zion. That sounds exactly like the thinking of a machine to me."
Morpheus walked into the room, followed by Neo, Trinity, Phoenix, and Lynx, most of the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar. The other two crewmembers, Fallen Angel and Rabbit, had already made there way inside and greeted their friends with a now.
"Captain Morpheus," acknowledged Niobe, while she shot a cold look at Phoenix, who was hanging near the back, avoiding the glances of Ghost and his former captain.
"Niobe," Morpheus replied. He continued talking to the gathered rebels. Neo suddenly had a strange feeling. "What is it?" asked Trinity. He only motioned for her to remain downstairs as he went up.
A knock on the door startled Tyger out of his reprieve. He opened the viewing slat to see only a darkened face, guarded from view by bright headlights from behind.
"I'm looking for Neo."
"Never heard of him," answered Tyger.
"Will you give him this?" asked the face, handing over a package. "You see, he set me free."
"Fine," answered Tyger. "Now piss off."
At that instant Neo came up the stairs.
"What did he want?"
"How did you know someone was here?" asked Tyger, handing over the package.
Voyd glanced at the screens in alarm. He wasn't ready for anything this big. He had only gotten this job last month! Better call someone and warn them…
Voyd was one of the Believers. When Captain Morpheus had returned the Zion and announced he had found the One, many rebels had flocked to join up with him. Few had been accepted. At first, Voyd had not, because the Neb already had an Operator. But after Tank had died in a Sentinel attack, Voyd had eagerly re-applied and gotten the job.
Voyd had long, black hair that hung down to his shoulders. His eyes were also jet-jet-black. At all times he had an expressionless face, no matter how he felt inside. He appeared calm, but he was boiling with turmoil on the inside as he dialed Lynx's number.
Neo looked up at Tyger.
"Get out of here," he ordered. "Agents are coming." Tyger asked no questions, just took off for the basement to warn the others.
Lynx's phone rang. It was Voyd.
"What is it?" she asked, worried about what would make her lover interrupt an important meeting.
Morpheus was asking one of the rebels to stay and wait for a message from the Oracle. Lynx turned around and walked away a bit to continue the conversation.
Lynx was another veteran fighter. She was one of few rebels who had been fighting as long as she had without inheriting command of a ship. She simply had no ambition too command, she told others. The truth was she would not order fighters off to their deaths. Lynx had transferred to the Neb to fight alongside the legendary Morpheus at first, but later had come to believe in Neo.
Lynx had long black hair that fell past her shoulders, and dark brown eyes. She stood above average female height, and was thin and agile. Lynx wore a black shirt and black leather pants, along with a black cloak. At her side were two pistols.
"There are soldiers coming your way. And they've staked out the sewers. You guys will have to fight your way out. Good luck."
"Shit. Thanks for the warning." She hung up.
"The Calvary has arrived, ladies and gentleman," announced Lynx. At that moment, Tyger ran down the stairs. "The Feds are here!"
The crowd of rebels broke for the exits. Trinity turned to Morpheus.
"What about Neo?"
"He can take care of himself," answered Morpheus. "We're gonna split up. I'll take Rabbit and get to the streets. Trinity and Lynx, you two put your considerable talents to use and assist our fellow rebels. Phoenix, I think it's time for you and Fallen Angel to have some male bonding time. Let's go, troops."
Lynx smiled. She could see why Morpheus was one of the most loved rebels - his choices showed excellent consideration. He would be able to watch over the weakest fighter of their crew. Phoenix and Fallen Angel's fighting styles - gunplay and hand to hand, respectively - complemented each other perfectly. And Trinity, well, Lynx had never really gotten along with her. She had the feeling the older woman didn't like her. Maybe their first "real" battle together would bring them closer.
There was a banging on the door, and three Agents, Jackson, Hewitt, and Levine stood in the doorway facing a calm Neo.
"The Anomaly," stated Levine.
"Should we proceed?" asked Jackson.
"Yes," replied Hewitt. "He is still,"
"Only human."