Chapter 1: No place like home

Zion, Gate 02

Zion HvCFT Nabonidus

11:44PM Matrix Time

It had been pretty quiet in the tunnels, as the two hovercrafts moved closer and closer to Zion territory. The Nabonidus, which was towing the Nemesis with multiple tow cables from its aft, slowly rode on its hover discs toward the city, showing no apparent lag from the extra weight. In fact, the scene was tranquil until a pair of curious shapes flew by the Nabonidus at speeds beyond that of a regular hovercraft.

These were curious craft, with four hover pads attached to panels, two on top, two on the bottom of a pair of outstretched wings. Currently, these panels were engaged in all-range mode, where the panels were opened up and perpendicular to the rest of the wings, with the pads facing outwards. These smaller craft moved around the two ships with the grace of a pair of hawks. These craft were small, the pod parts barely large enough to hold one pilot and cockpit instruments, but the way they flitted about the hovercrafts, one could've likened them to flies buzzing around a pair of bulls. Still, one could see they were heavily armed, as each wing held three high explosive missiles and a pair of rails that could emit high-powered arcs of EMP energy much like the rifles used by Zion personell, along with two machineguns that had an output equal to those of an APU's, which were mounted on the front of each craft.

These were Zion's hover fighters, otherwise known as 'Defenders' to those who fly them. Made shortly after the end of the original war, they were Zion's answer to sentinals, in case another war started, like now. And they were just as effective at taking down hovercraft if necessary.

The Nabonidus crew was fast to react, with Sparks rushing to the operator's station. "I don't know why they're here, but I don't think it's to welcome us back," he spoke through the comm. system to the cockpit, worried as usual.

Niobe and Link sat at the controls in the cockpit, as usual, and Morpheus came in shortly after. Link put on a headset and turned on the holographics monitor, which displayed the two Defenders. "Attention Zion fighters, this is the Nabonidus. State designations and purpose for being here."

One of the Defender pilots acknowledged. "This is Guardian One of the Zion Defense Force. Nabonidus, you are towing an enemy vessel toward home territory. Disengage your tow cables immediately."

"Nabonidus to Guardian One, the vessel in question is another ship of Zion. We are only helping it back home…" upon Link's mentioning that, the two fighters fired off bursts from their machineguns, which rocked the hull of the Nabonidus.

"What the-!?" Niobe jerked at the controls. The shots didn't seem powerful enough to break the Nabonidus's armor, but it did send vibrations through the hull.

"Guardian One, are you insane!!?" Link jumped.

"I'll take it from here." With a deft motion, Morpheus reached out, slipped the headset off of Link and put it on his own head. "Guardian One, this is General Morpheus of the Matrix Corps. I will not tolerate any trivial acts of intimidation on my vessel. Fire again and we will consider it an act of hostility."

There seemed to be a flash of hesitance in the Defender pilot's voice from that point on, as he realized who was on this vessel. "A-apologies General, sir! We were ordered to stop the advance of the Nemesis into Zion territory, by force if necessary."

"On whose authority?"

"This was Commander Lock's direct order."

"Good ol' Jason." Niobe rolled her eyes as she kept the ship steady.

"Consider those orders belayed. The Nemesis is under my jurisdiction, and will be regarded as a friendly from now on. Am I clear, Guardian One?" Morpheus spoke in his usual commanding tone, but there was a bit more edge to it this time around.

"Yes sir."

"Very good. You may disengage at your leisure."

"With all due respect General, it is protocol for a flag vessel to have fighter escort upon the return home," the Defender pilot replied.

Link looked up to Morpheus with an arched eyebrow and smirk on his face, one that said 'you still got it in you sir'. Morpheus himself returned the smirk, then looked toward the holographic projection of the two fighters. "As you wish, Guardian One. Move forward and maintain escort formation." When he saw the fighters move into view from the cockpit, he gave the headset back to Link.

Niobe herself flashed a grin. At least this was something new… she thought, realizing that of all the times they had gone through this procedure, not once had there been a sudden burst of security.

"Zion control, this is the Nabonidus, with the Nemesis in tow. We are on approach and request access through gate two." Behind the gate operators plugged into their chairs sat another operator, hovering over his keyboard and listening in to the conversation on his headset. His screens displayed blue code strands falling down the screen, and he logged in that the Nabonidus was incoming, then patched Link through to the control, and then monitored the procedure. Looking over the operator's shoulder, a certain man, with an African-American ethnicity and a seemingly permanent scowl observed the code with interest.

In the construct sat the six Zion gate operators clad entirely in white. A red headed female pushed, pointed and dragged several boxes on the interface before her that formed pictures of the gate, the turrets, the tunnel, several trickling numbers that were statistics, and the oncoming ship. She smiled at the sight of the Nemesis coming in with the Nabonidus. Despite what happened years ago, and although it seemed to be heavily damaged, it was one more vessel that had found its way home. "Nabonidus, your request is confirmed, standby."

"Roger that control." came the response.

-----

Zion, Gate 02

Rogue HvCFT Nemesis

11:48PM Matrix Time

"Wow that was close." Blade said, as he had listened to the bout between the Defenders and the Nabonidus through his own headset.

Irvine nodded. "It's good to see Morpheus is still a man that doesn't take shit from anyone. Not even his equals or superiors." He grinned. "Neither am I for that matter."

The Nemesis slowly drifted behind the Nabonidus as the two ships headed towards Gate 02 of Zion's dock. Having been given a minimal recharge jump from the Nabonidus, it floated low. The only power in the ship was being fed directly to whatever pads it had left after Blood's assault, so it was only keeping itself hovering while the Nabonidus pulled it along. Irvine, Janus, Blade, and Anubis, were all packed inside the cockpit, looking at the Nabonidus' stern out through the shattered windshield. In the meantime, Glitch and Marley were on the main deck running diagnosis checks to determine the exact amount of damage to report to Zion's repair crews after they landed.

Over the radio, Blade, Anubis, and Janus all listened as Link communicated with Zion's gate control operaters as they ran through gate access and docking procedures. Irvine, however, was paying attention to the groans and whines coming from the Nemesis' frame. It'd always been able to take a good beating, but in the condition the ship was in now it was nearly the worse for wear. Irvine nearly cringed at every sound of the ship's structure buckling under pressure.

"Bitch took a rough trip," Irvine finally said.

"Yeah Cap," Blade answered. "You got that right."

"How long will it take them to fix it?" Janus asked.

"Who the hell knows?" Irvine replied. "I just know it better be fixed ASAP."

"Get a load of this one," Blade said, looking over at Janus.

"What are you talking about?" Janus asked.

"You ain't even been to Zion yet and you're already questioning the competence of its workers."

"All the more reason for me to wonder, no?"

"I guess you have a point," Blade conceded. He looked ahead through the broken glass, as the gate ahead opened, light pouring through and silhouetting most of the Nabonidus. "What you're about to see though, newbie," Blade continued, "will take your breath away." He then looked over at Anubis. "You too, mute."

Anubis merely narrowed his eyes, and Irvine rolled his.

"Alright, I can handle the rest from here Blade. Go in the infirmary and check on Solitaire, make sure she's okay."

"I'll do it," Anubis volunteered, earning him looks from the others, even Janus. This kind of eagerness to be of aide wasn't something they were used to, especially with the display they'd been given in the last few hours.

Irvine studied Anubis' facial features for a moment, trying to get whatever psychological hints he could as to why Anubis had jumped to the task. Finally, he nodded his head. "Go ahead. Make sure her I-V is still working right."

"Right," Anubis said, with a nod to Irvine before exiting the cockpit.

The three remaining redpills all exchanged looks. "That was weird," Irvine said.

"Yeah, not like him at all," Janus concurred.

"Ever since you got ballsy and cheated death, it's like he's gotten a boost of morale or something," Irvine added.

"Eyes forward, gentlemen. We're about to look on a sight for sore eyes, and ours are hurtin' like a mothafucka," Blade said.

As the Nabonidus cleared the gate, it rolled slightly and yawed to the left, angling out as the Nemesis was pulled behind, giving a full open view to the men in the cockpit. Taking in the view, what he saw before him put Janus into a state of awe: Zion. The last free city, and home to all free humans left on the planet. The large vastness of the dock size alone, nevermind the mechanical equipment all over the place, had him the same way as when a kid sees Disney World in person for the first time.

Humans built this...? Was all he could ask himself as he looked all around, taking in the details. He saw at least three other ships parked in the dock, conduits running all over the place, men and women walking around attending to whatever business they had at hand. And they were all soldiers, he thought to himself, not forgetting the stories he'd heard about when Zion had nearly faced its end, and civilians had volunteered to join in its defense. To him, this was amazing. Irvine and Blade, however, felt more like they'd been returning home after a very long, hard time away. It was how every ship-crew felt when they came back, but it was more special in their case.

Link's voice cut in over the speaker.

"Irvine, you hearing me?"

"Loud and clear Link, go ahead."

"Just wanted to make sure you weren't tranced out after not seeing home for so long, hehe. Alright, here's what's gonna happen. We're gonna set your ship down in one of the repair bays under us. Carefully, lower your ship's altidude by reducing the power to the pads, and do it slow, so that you're hanging under the Nabonidus. We'll handle the rest."

"..What if they drop us? Or we fall out of the air?" Blade asked.

"We've been through a lot of shit in the last few hours, a free-fall to end it all isn't sounding so bad right now so don't let my mind wander on the subject," Irvine answered. Blade looked over at Janus.

"I'd go with his idea," Janus said. Blade nodded in agreement.

Following Link's instructions, Irvine reduced the power to the pads keeping the ship afloat ever so slowly, and there was a little bit of swing play in the tow cables once the power had been cut and the Nemesis' weight was being held up by the cables alone, causing the ship to rock back and forth a bit while hanging under the Nabonidus. It made Janus a little bit nervous, but it would have done the same to anyone else.

"Alright Link, we're just a buncha swingin' dicks down here, whenever you're ready," Irvine said into the radio.

"Copy that," Link replied. The Nabonidus was navigated over to one of the open repair bays on the dock, until it floated directly above it. Then, it slowly lowered itself down, setting the Nemesis down neatly into the landing space. It touched down on its landing gears with a rock, having never retracted them from the crash landing earlier.

"The Nemesis is down in repair bay one," the dock controller confirmed.

"Roger that. Releasing tow cables," Link said. With a loud *CLICK*, the tow cable locking mechanisms disengaged from the Nemesis, and the cables were then automatically rolled back up into the Nabonidus' hull.

"Alright Irvine, you're good to go," Link said over the radio. "We're gonna land this ship, we'll be over with you shortly. Morpheus says to wait up before you go anywhere."

"Got it," Irvine said. He then shut the radio off, and sat for a moment. He breathed in, held it, and then let out a long exhale. He felt like he used to when he was just about to walk out the door to go out on a date, back during his days as a bluepill. Nervous would be an accurate way to describe it. He looked over to Blade, and then Janus.

"So. This is it. We're finally back."

"I'm not expecting any warm welcomes though," Blade answered.

"You and me both. Let's get everyone together and wait on the deck. If anyone's got a snide remark for my crew, we'll take it in stride."

"Yes, Sir!" Blade said, somewhat enthused. "C'mon Janus, let's go round up the gang."

Janus nodded, and followed Blade out of the cockpit. Before getting up to join them though, Irvine reached up behind his head and felt around, pulling a small, tattered book out from a small space between hardware modules. It was his Captain's log. He opened it, and flipped through its pages as though it were a flip book before closing it and looking at the cover once more. As he leaned over to push himself up off of the chair, he tapped his forehead with the book.

"Time to report in to the Council," he said to himself as he left the cockpit.

----

Tunnels of the Real
Resistance HvCFT Rebellion
12:07AM Matrix Time

Django, Resistance fleet Captain of the Rebellion, looked over the transmission one more time. It was a series of coordinates not very far from one of Zion's gates, and it was sent as a burst transmission from the Nosferatu. No message recorded, no instructions. Just coordinates. Any attempts made to contact Blood's ship, either by radio, coded message, or encrypted transmission, had failed. No responses were received. Why isn't he answering? What's at this location??

"Orders, Captain?" asked Jax. He was the Rebellion's crew assist, and was one out of the total five crew aboard the small-class vessel. Aside from himself and the Captain, there were two other redpills, and Cable, the ship's Operator.

Having been snapped out of his trance, Django looked over at Cable's screens, looking over the coordinates again. He covered the microphone on his headset with his hand. "Cable, forward those coordinates through to the ship's navcom."

"You got it," Cable answered, and with a few quick keystrokes, it was done.

Django took his hand off of the mic. "Jax, take us to the coordinates you see before you on the navcom. Apparently there's something Blood wants the fleet to see."

Little did Django know, Blood wasn't summoning the fleet to show them anything. Rather, he wanted to be found.

----

Tunnels of the Real
Resistance HvCFT Nosferatu
12:37AM Matrix Time

The damage wasn't just on the exterior. The entire Nosferatu was in critical condition. Everywhere in the ship, sparks were popping from damaged breakers and conduits. Lights that had been strung up around the ship had either fallen and smashed, or shut down all together from the EMP. In the total darkness that was inside the ship, the only light provided was whatever there was given off from the small fires burning throughout the ship. With the structural damage the ship had sustained from being used to smash a hole into the ground for tunnel access, being hit by rockets, and then plowing headfirst into the ground and leaving a trench in its wake, it was a miracle that the ship wasn't torn to pieces when it crashed.

As powerful and durable as it was built, the Nosferatu was down and unable to pick itself back up. On the main deck where everyone would plug into the Matrix, the crew was gathered, waiting in the darkness and the dim light of the fires for a rescue they weren't sure was even going to arrive. Blood layed back in one of the plugin chairs, cuts on his head and arms sustained from the crash bleeding. Sideways was hunched over his consoles, having hit his head during the crash. Balthasar was propped up against the wall, sitting on the floor, his eyes half open. Sonia and Leon lay on the floor, holding each other. Nitro sat on a crate with his head in his hands.

"Who's coming for us...?" Nitro asked.

"I don't know... whoever got the transmission first I guess," Blood answered.

"We crashed almost forty-five minutes ago," Sideways added. "Been sitting here waiting to get ripped apart by sentinals."

"What if that happened to the others? What if no one shows up because they were all attacked by squids?" Nitro asked, almost frantically.

"Shut up Nitro," Balthasar growled. "You're slipping into hysteria, and you're wounded. Keep your trap shut before you start scaring the rest of the crew, help's gonna be here soon."

Leon turned his head to face Balthasar from where he was laying. "Hey Bal, why are you so confident? You trying to bullshit us into a positive mood?"

"No, dipshit. I know we're going to be rescued. You know why? Because I'm not meant to die here. I'm going to live to get my chance to fight that Janus again and put his face into the street. I'll kill him dead," Balthasar said, with death in his voice. There was a scowl on his face as he finished his sentence, and he spit a wad of blood into the steel grating floor plate.

"Yeah well... help better come quick before sentinals do find us. I'm sure our little stunt chase woke up every machine from here to Zero One," Sonia quipped.

Blood narrowed his eyes, darted them around, and then looked up as though he was trying to see the outside tunnel ceiling through the ship's topside.

"What's the matter, Blood?" Sideways asked.

"Shut up!" Blood hissed in a whisper. "I'm trying to listen."

A low, muffled buzzing tone slowly but gradually got louder and louder, and soon the Nosferatu crew realized it was a ship.

"See? I told you someone would find us," Balthasar said triumphantly, standing up and brushing himself off.

"Yeah, but how do we know it's one of ours?" Leon asked, as he and Sonia sat up.

"Because no one else knows we're here," Blood said. "It's gotta be one of ours. Sounds like a small one."

"That means it's either the Rebellion or the Vendetta," Sideways said.

----

Tunnels of the Real
Resistance HvCFT Rebellion
12:37AM Matrix Time

"Holy shit..."

Django didn't want to believe what his eyes were seeing. Unfortunately this wasn't the Matrix, so he didn't have that luxury. As the Rebellion hovered in its place, the Nosferatu layed before it, dug into a ditch that extended far past the ship like a scar in the earth, indicating that it had dived into a crash and dug itself into a trench as it came to a stop. It was still steaming from the outside, with various locations sparking and popping with electrical short circuits all over. Riddled with bullet holes, the entire outer frame appeared to be seriously damaged, with bends and twists and ruptures in the armor all over the ship. The legendary Bloodsucker, flagship of the pirate fleet, looked as though it had been used as a weapon to batter a giant with, and then left to rot.

"What the hell happened?" Jax asked, bewildered by the sight.

"I have no idea. But we're gonna find out," Django answered. He put on his headset. "Cable, are you seeing this?"

"I can't believe it, but yes, I am seeing the Nosferatu in a *fucked up* condition on my screens right now."

"You're very observant. Now tell me what the scans say."

"The ship's got no power in it at all, it's hot, and there are people inside. I count six people on infrared scans."

"That means they're alive by some miracle. Cable, I want you to send an encrypted transmission to the rest of the fleet, have them gather on this location."

"You got it," Cable answered, and got to work.

Django turned to Jax. "Get us landed. We gotta get Blood's crew out of there. By the time the others get here I want our tow cables ready so we can get the 'Nos out of here and someplace more... safe."

"You think we can repair it?"

"You better believe it. Not only is the Nosferatu the flagship and symbol of our cause and will to fight, but I don't think anyone else wants to put up with Blood or his crew on their ship."

"Understood," Jax said with a nod. "Right away, Sir."

----

Tunnels of the Real
Resistance HvCFT Vendetta
1:22AM Matrix Time

"And then he launched an EMP charge at your ship and it nose dived into the ground? At top speed?" Raven asked astoundedly, repeating what Blood had just said to him. Blood himself was sitting in a chair, with the rest of his crew crowded in around the main deck, while Raven and his own crew, except for Kahn, who was piloting the ship, listened in.

"Yeah, the fuckin' weasel," Blood muttered reluctantly. He hated having to admit Irvine won their little duel. "Sneaky son of a bitch, wait til I get my hands on him..."

"No wonder the Bloodsucker's so smashed up. What entertainment we've been treated to tonight!" Raven exclaimed.

"What are you talking about Raven, how do you get entertainment out of this?" Blood snarled.

"Would anyone here like to explain what I mean? A show of hands?" Raven asked, a bit enthused.

"What he's saying," Axe began, while swiveling around in his chair at the consoles, "Is that we basically got a fireworks show inside the Matrix, and then hours later, we get a story about how Irvine stuck it to ya."

"And, dare I say it," Arius added, "Not only did Blood get it, but Balthasar was also dealt a beating in the same night. Not such a morale booster for our little group here." Raven said "Heh," and Blood understood why he seemed like he was laughing. He wasn't making light of the matter, he was being sarcastically negative about both incidents, and Blood didn't look happy upon realizing it. Neither did Balthasar, for that matter.

"I oughta beat your ass, Raven.." Blood growled.

"Yeah, I've got your back," Balthasar added, staring at Arius like he was ready to brawl.

"Yeah, well, there won't be any mutinies while I'm around. Not on my ship," Raven replied, sternly. Although he didn't really care, Blood knew Raven had a point. It was his ship, after all, and thus, his say was above everyone else's.

"And as thick as the tension is, I'd love to jump into the construct and go at it with either of you, but we don't have time for fun and games right now. We've gotta focus on repairing your ship," Raven added.

Blood nodded. "Yeah, right. After we tow it out of here, we need to go to the surface."

Magnus looked at Blood as though he was crazy. "Why do you want to go back up there after what you just went through?"

"Simple. We need to pay a visit to the Osiris' crash site. There's a good deal of parts there to salvage for the repairs."

----

Zion Dock

Repair Bay

12:00AM Matrix Time

The hatchway opened not long after, with the crew- Irvine, Blade, Janus, Anubis, Solitaire (her arm in a sling), Marley and Glitch, marching down the ramp as if they owned all of Zion. Besides Janus and Anubis, who had never seen Zion before, everyone had warm expressions on their faces and no one could hold back smiling. They had been gone for far too long, and had now just returned to the city they had all lived and fought for years ago.

Irvine was the first to speak, after inhaling some air. "There is no place like home, indeed," he announced.

"I hate to break the moment for you Captain, but I see a lot of security..." Blade pointed toward all the security guardsmen that stood along the dock, all armed with EMP rifles, almost like sentries. "…and no maintenance crew." His arms swept around them to show no one else on the dock. There wasn't even equipment sitting nearby.

Irvine sighed at that. He dug through the pants pockets of his uniform and fished out two curious items: what looked to be a primitive lighter and a box that contained several hand-made cigarettes. He pulled out a cigarette from the box, and then stuck the cigarette in his mouth. "I wonder why they came out to greet us."

"Maybe it's your vibrant personality," Solitaire commented sarcastically.

"Very funny. Hold still." With a quick movement, Irvine struck the lighter across Solitaire's arm cast and brought it up to light the cigarette. The renegade ship captain then seemed to relax even more, inhaling the fumes and breathing out. "I wonder what they're really up to… They can't really expect us to just stay here on the dock…" He thought out loud.

As if on cue, Glitch's eyes had caught onto something moving down the dock. "Hey, it's the welcoming committee!" he said jokingly.

Everybody's attention then focused past the guards to one particular man marching toward them with two escorting guards flanking him. And at the same time, everybody froze. They all recognized the man at the front.

Irvine did as well, and a cruel smile formed on his face. "Looks like we made somebody's shit list." He observed the larger-than-usual scowl on the lead man's face, which he could see despite distance. Nonchalantly, Irvine strolled over to a nearby crate and leaned against it, as if pretending to not notice as the three men came up to him.

As if to counter the lead man's scowl, Irvine gave off a smug grin and took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Wait, wait, wait, I get it: Lock, Stock and Barrel," he pointed to one man after another with the cigarette butt. "Am I right? Huh?" he laughed at his little joke.

Commander Lock, commander-in-chief of the Zion military force, did not look amused at the pirate's humor. Instead, he stopped no more than a few feet from Irvine's face, his eyes trying to pierce through Irvine's own and bring the man down. "Give me a reason why I shouldn't throw you and those other renegades into a hole somewhere and throw away the key, 'Captain'," he snapped, his voice showing nothing but pure disgust upon the word 'Captain'.

"Oh come on Deadbolt, you don't honestly mean that." Lock's glare intensified three fold at the mention of his much hated nickname. Irvine's smile grew when he saw that part of the Commander had not changed, and he got up. "Aren't we still friends?"

"There is only one reason I'm not arresting you now, traitor, and that's only because I know you're not stupid. You wouldn't just come back here and expect clemency." Lock stated. "Now tell me why you are here."

"Oh that's simple. We heard Christmas was coming to this end of the world, so me and my bunch decided to drop by for the holidays." Irvine smarted off, placing the cigarette back in his mouth.

Lock glanced at either of his two very burly guards and signaled them. The two, which Irvine had designated 'Thug' and 'Goon', moved to either side of Irvine now. "Do not press me Captain; I do not tolerate renegades in the least. For the last time, tell me why you are here before I impound your ship and arrest you and your crew for treason."

"You know Deadbolt, that tight-ass attitude of yours isn't going to win over the hearts of any ladies. It certainly didn't do any wonders for a certain yon female captain who…" Irvine started to smart off again.

Before he could continue, 'Thug' interjected, moving to position himself in front of Lock as if to block Irvine's banter. "You will speak to Commander Lock as…" he started to snap off. The rogue captain simply blew a puff of smoke into the man's face. 'Thug' winced and coughed, tears starting to form in his eyes even as he was unused to such a vapor.

Irvine took the cigarette out of his mouth and patted 'Thug' on the side. "You like it? It's a special weed we found growing in the unknown regions. Unlike smoking in the matrix though, it's actually beneficial to you. We found it clears the throat up and allows you to breath easier. It also lacks the addiction properties of nicotine and that other junk."

Following up, 'Goon' grabbed Irvine by the shoulder in a display of force, but the captain simply took the cigarette and smudged it on that man's hand. A sizzling sound soon followed and the man snapped his hand off with a yelp of pain.

With both lackies detained from action, Irvine turned back to Lock. "As I was saying Deadbolt, nobody likes a stiff guy. Both men and women avoid them like sentinels, and nobody really takes them seriously. You need to loosen up and relax some, take a few out of your ass, you know?"

Lock looked as though he were to spontaneously combust. "Do NOT take me for a FOOL, scum! I do not know how you convinced 'General' Morpheus to drag you out of whatever pit you were damned to, but it will not work one me! If it were up to me, I would have had your ship and crew shot down the moment you left that gate!"

Irvine just let out another puff. "And that's precisely the reason why it's not up to you, sir," he said as smugly as ever.

The Commander was about to open his mouth and yell something next, but he never got the chance. "That is quite enough, Commander," came a familiar voice. Lock and Irvine turned to see Councilor Hamann making his way toward the four men, with Morpheus right next to him. When they came up to them, Hamann nodded toward Irvine. "Captain, I see you still haven't lost that young defiant spirit of yours."

"Councilor Hamann, it's good to see you're still in good health." Irvine complimented. "But I didn't expect a member of the council to see the return of the Nemesis personally."

Hamann laughed. "No need to be so formal my boy, General Morpheus has explained everything to me." Morpheus nodded at Irvine, who also nodded back. "And in my opinion, it's always good to see more of our own return home. Especially lively people like you and yours."

Irvine's smile couldn't help but return at the councilor's words. "I'll take that as a compliment, Sir."

"Councilor, will you please explain to me why this… this renegade who disobeyed orders and rebelled against this city has been allowed to return?" Lock demanded, but kept his attitude in check as this was a member of the council he was addressing.

"Has the defense force been monitoring Matrix activity up until now, Commander?" Morpheus inquired.

"Yes, but I hardly see why…"

"Then you are no doubt aware of the anomaly that occurred only hours ago, the white coding that has suddenly appeared in the Matrix."

Lock arched an eyebrow. "And I am supposed to believe, 'General', that the crew of the Nemesis had something to do with that 'anomaly', as you call it."

"In the last several days, many things have happened to the Nemesis, and this recent phenomenon seems to be tied to one of its crewmembers. Whether you believe it or not, Commander, I and many others have seen what has happened, and I believe there is more to this than meets the eye." Morpheus explained with the same dominating tone he had used on the Defender pilot earlier.

"Aside from that," Irvine started, with a triumphant grin, "We've been working for Zion this whole time."

Lock had a double take. "..What?"

"Yeah, that's right. Zion needed someone to watch the Resistance without taking part in its rogue activity, or being mandated to attack them on sight. So, yours truly was given the task."

Not only did Lock look surprised, but so did everyone else aside from Hamann and Morpheus. It seemed as though Irvine had kept his own crew in the dark about the assignment.

"We couldn't tell you, or my own crew even, because we had to make sure everyone thought we were NOT part of Zion, considering a possibility of there ever being a leak in Zion's OpSec. Sorry you didn't get that memo," Irvine said with a grin.

This only served to anger Lock more, but that anger was quelled by the presence of Councilor Hamann. Morpheus continued: "I have already re-instated the Nemesis back into the Matrix Corps. Captain Irvine and his crew are now under my jurisdiction, and they will be treated accordingly by all members of the defense force."

"Just because you are 'General' now doesn't mean you can speak to me in such a manner, Morpheus. Whatever this man and his crew have done in the Matrix, it can not and will not excuse their crimes against Zion, and as one charged with the defense of this city, it is my duty to carry their punishment out…" Lock shot back.

"Considering that he was acting as a spy for us, regardless of what he did, which we know wasn't againt Zion in any way, there will be no punishment handed out," Hamann said.

"You cannot be serious, councilor." Lock exclaimed.

"I am quite serious. By any chance, Commander, are you familiar about the tale of the Prodigal Son?" Hamann asked.

Lock hesitated to answer. "No councilor, I am not."

"Pity. I'm sure you would understand more if you were. You should read it sometime." Hamann nodded at him, then to Morpheus and Irvine. "Now if you will excuse me gentlemen, I have a meeting with the council to attend to. They will be expecting a full explanation later, General." He looked at Morpheus. "As well as one from you, Captain." He glanced at Irvine.

"Yes councilor." Morpheus and Irvine both said simultaneously. They looked at each other after that, and both smirked a little. "We will be there." Morpheus said.

Hamann nodded, and looked at Irvine one more time. "Good. You have three hours to settle in Captain. That's as much time as the council will give you." Irvine acknowledged, and Hamann gave a flat smile to him. "And welcome back." He said, and walked away.

Commander Lock watched as the councilor walked back down the dock, his anger diminishing back into his perma-scowl. "I will admit this much, Morpheus." Lock said, glancing back at him. "Well played." He walked back down the harbor, with 'Thug' and 'Goon', who were stunned by all that had happened, following not far behind.

After Lock disappeared, Irvine finally relaxed, letting out a long puff of smoke. "What took you so long? I thought that guy was going to kill me for sure."

Morpheus chuckled. "On the contrary, I think you did fairly well keeping the Commander occupied. As for my delay, I had to secure my own ship before I could do anything else."

"I'm a little curious though."

"About what?"

"Did you notify Councilor Hamann before we got here, or was this all a big coincidence?"

Morpheus just smirked. "That I won't tell you."

Irvine wasn't sure if he liked that response, but it satisfied him. He noticed the bemused grins on Janus and Anubis' faces. "What the hell do you two find so funny?" he asked them.

Janus was the first to speak up. "When you guys told me about this Lock character, I had the image of some fire breathing dragon that ate machines. But seeing him now, he's just like Howard on a bad day."

"Who's Howard?" Glitch asked, which was what everyone was wondering.

"My old boss in the Matrix. He was a good guy, but he needed to loosen up sometimes." Janus explained.

Irvine then looked at Anubis. "And you?"

Anubis gave Irvine his usual cold stare at first, but figuring that the captain had already gotten enough from Lock, he decided to explain. "Just somebody I knew from a long time ago. That's all." He said.

"I'll take that." Irvine replied, turning back to Morpheus. "Any orders, General?"

"Besides what the Councilor has told you, no. Your crew will be allowed to settle into Zion, and I'll make sure housing will be provided." Morpheus replied. "But remember to meet me in front of the Council's chambers in three hours Captain." He then turned and walked away.

Irvine looked back at his crew and clapped his hands together. "You heard him, everybody's free to settle back in. I don't know about you all, but I'm going to need a real drink."

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Zion

City Town Sector

2:30AM Matrix Time

It was just going into two and a half hours since the Nemesis had gotten back into Zion. Everyone seemed to be adjusted back to civilization, despite the long absence from the city, and were all off doing their own separate things. Captain Irvine, Janus, and Glitch were back at the Dead Duck, getting drunk on whatever the tavern put out as an alcoholic beverage, while Blade and Marley had both gone into the city to get in touch with their own families, and Solitaire was out somewhere doing her own thing. Not that Anubis really cared about any of their activities, it was just a habit he picked up in the Matrix. In order to survive like that, he had to know what everyone, friend or foe, was doing at all times. And that led to another habit: knowing one's environment.

So I went from one hole in the ground to another. Go figure…he thought skeptically. He had been spending the last half hour wandering around Zion at random, going past the various levels of apartments, shopping areas, recreational points and the like. Compared to the interior of the Nemesis, the place was large and very spaced out, but the overall condition of the area reminded Anubis of Richland and Westview back in the Matrix, where he was used to working: bland, decayed and chock full of people. No matter where Anubis went, no matter what color he came across, everything seemed to be faded or broken down in some way, almost like the city had been destroyed in a war or two only to get rebuilt again. Anubis wouldn't realize the irony of that thought until much later.

As an assassin, he had learned to blend in with crowds and just be another nameless individual going about his daily life. Crowds were good things, because chances were nobody recognized you from the norm, even the ones that had seen your mugshot or wanted poster couldn't pick you out. But here, it was different. For some reason, Anubis was having trouble with all these people, feeling as though he were drowning. He wondered why he had this problem, finding no logical answer.

Even if he did have an explanation, it didn't help the fact there were people everywhere. One crowd after another, Anubis made his way through the city to lord knows where, now trying to find some dark corner or alley way to stand in and restore himself. As he made his way through the crowd, he became aware that several people had noticed him. He couldn't count all of them, but he found a good portion of them to be females. Just great, he thought. While nobody would recognize him in a crowd, Anubis always had the trouble of being too easy to distinguish. The reason? It could've been just his looks (blonde hair and blue eyes seemed to be in shortage these days) or the way he walked, but whenever he went anywhere, someone had a tendency to pick him out from the rest. He considered it a liability when he was in the Matrix, and even though nobody cared what he was before, he still felt the same way. Anubis had been in the business too long for that kind of internal working to just drop away. He needed out, and he needed it now.

At last, he found a calm spot. A small clearing near the edge of a walkway, with an elevator nearby. Anubis made his way there and gained enough personal space to relax some. His panting soon turned back to stable breathing, and the inferno in his head died down too.

And this is just another day? Anubis mind quipped as he looked over the catwalk, further into the depths of the city. There were people well below him too, on various levels, like ants or termites in a tunnel network. It was apparent to the recently freed redpill that he would not get used to this place so easily, and he hoped it wouldn't augment his effectiveness in the Matrix.

"Well, well, you are mortal." Anubis turned to the back to scowl at whoever spoke up to him, but when he recognized it to be Janus, he settled for a sneer. "Having trouble?"

"What do you want?" Anubis snapped off.

Janus raised his hands up. "Calm down Anubis. It's hard on me to." He walked over to where Anubis was standing and looked down the different levels of Zion. "Amazing how you can gather so many people in such a place like this. And I haven't seen any police or security around too."

"They're there. They're just not recognizable." Anubis said.

"How do you know?" Janus wondered, looking at Anubis.

"It was my job to know." Anubis replied matter-of-factly.

"Right." Janus acknowledged, and then continued to look at the city. "Must feel weird to you, standing this close to a narcotics detective without being in handcuffs or having any money in your pocket."

"Any weirder for you standing next to a serial hitman without a katana blade against your neck?" Anubis inquired.

"I'm just saying it all feels like a dream now. A few days ago, I would've been out to arrest you, and on the other hand, you would've tried to kill me, but now here we are, standing by each other as two soldiers in 'the last free city'. Don't you feel the irony in all this?" Janus asked.

Anubis nodded a little. "I have. Half of me is wanting to throw you over this ledge." He didn't have to look to see Janus wince. "I'm not going to do it."

"Like you could anyway." Janus shot back.

Anubis didn't give him as much as a side glance. "It's strange… In the Matrix, I had no trouble with crowds, I used them whenever I could to elude the authorities. Now though… It's somewhat exhausting."

"Technically, it's our first time." Janus informed. "We've only been out of the Matrix a few weeks, and we spent them all on either the Nemesis or back in dreamland."

"Worst part of it is it's the same for everything else. Before you came out, I had to almost learn how to walk all over again, let alone get adjusted to the five senses I never used before." Anubis said.

"You think it was easier for me?" Janus asked.

"No. I just wonder what else we'll have to go through before we're up to the rest of them." Anubis nodded to all the people below them.

Janus sighed. "Well, I heard Neo was only out of the Matrix for only six months, and he managed to adjust well." His expression brightened for a moment. "At least I get to lose my virginity all over again.." Anubis leered at him, which amused Janus a little bit. "But seriously, I think we'll be alright here. If Irvine and the others could get used to this place, then we can too."

"I suppose you're right." Anubis said.

"You know I am." Janus said. "Say, lemme ask you something."

"What?" Anubis asked.

"Why'd you rush off to help Solitaire so fast before?"

Anubis would have glared at Janus, but he merely glanced instead. "Because the rest of you were boring me in that cockpit."

Janus got a laugh out of that. "Well, come on, maybe I can talk somebody into getting you a drink at the Dead Duck."

Anubis wasn't sure if he felt like a drink now, especially with that council meeting not far away. But, he decided to take Janus up on it. "A drink would help…" For some reason, he was starting to feel a little better.

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