Chapter 10
The Ananias hovered at the meeting place awaiting the arrival of the Logos II. Niobe's hands are clenched together, sweat visibly appearing on her brow. She's waited a long time for her replacement ship. She mapped out every detail, every conduit, and every wire and each had a purpose. And that machine, like her, was now driven by purpose to rendezvous with the Ananias. The dim glow of hover cells filled the tunnel where the Ananias waited. The headlights grew brighter from the approaching hovercraft as Niobe lowers the Ananias. The Logos II arrives and slowly lowers as well, only not as smooth. Morpheus toggles a switch above his head activating the all page aboard his ship.
"Everyone stay aboard, I'm going to the L-II. I will be back shortly."
Morpheus stands to exit his ship, Niobe fast on his heels. "I'm going with you."
"Niobe, my orders stand. Until I am finished speaking with the councilor, you are to pack your gear, I will need you to pilot the L-II once we take the trip back to the Matrix. I want you and Ghost plugged in. I'm sending the Kid with you as well. Have him monitor your vitals. Advise, Link and Node to await my orders." Morpheus continued to the ramp leading out of the Ananias without a further word.
In the dank surroundings of the tunnel, Morpheus steps out, seeing the white haired elder standing before him. He approaches him with utmost respect. "Councilor Hamaan, glad you could join us."
"The pleasure is all mine Morpheus. It's not everyday that you get to take a trip outside of Zion." The councilor was wide-awake.
Morpheus knew that time was of the essence. "Councilor, please join me. All that I am permitted to say is, the Oracle wants to see you. That's it, nothing more."
"Well, lets not keep her waiting. The two men walk back onto the Ananias. Moments later, Niobe, Ghost and the Kid are back aboard the Logos II. Sparks has resumed his seat at the Operators station. He knows that Niobe will no doubt question his piloting skills, it was just a matter of time; and that time is now.
"If it weren't for a councilor giving you this order, you'd be mopping up your own blood by now, you do know that right?" Niobe sarcastically blasts her operator.
"If I had a choice, oh dear captain; you would have flown Councilor Santa out here, not I. I am but a red nosed reindeer!" Sparks finishes his retort while spinning around to face his terminal. "Are we headed back home?"
"No, we're headed back to broadcast depth. We're there for plugged in support."
Sparks stopped typing for a moment as he looked at his captain through the reflection of the monitor before him.
"Back to the old grind I see. Hamaan's jacking in? This ought to be good."
Aboard the Ananias, Council Hamaan looks at the chair he is about to populate. Link walks up beside him. "Councilor, I'm not familiar with the training that you've received since you were last jacked in. I can run the standard combat." before he can continue, Hamaan raises a hand to silence Link.
"No training for me son. These old bones aren't made for fighting. Maybe another lifetime perhaps."
Link wasn't sure how to progress. Before he can, Morpheus interrupts.
"Councilor, I'd like to take you into the Construct before we go into the Matrix. We'll prepare for our visit to the Oracle there. Link, load us into the Construct and take us to broadcast depth. Node, monitor our status while Link is piloting."
Hamaan sits in the chair before him. It's been so long since he's jacked in, he didn't remember what the feeling was like. Link moved the spike to the back of his head. Hamaan looked up at him. "Be gentle." He closes his eyes as the spike slides into his skull. The pain he felt was numb. It felt as if he suddenly had a dull headache that instantly made his brow furl. And in an instant, the pain was gone. Now, he was alone. It was all bright white; he couldn't even tell what he was standing on. Was he even standing? Nothing but endless, white.A mix of confusion and reserved panic began to take over. He couldn't tell if he was upside down or right side up. Though there was endless space, he felt incredibly claustrophobic.
"Do not be alarmed Councilor" Morpheus was now standing behind Hamaan. "This is the Construct, our loading program." Morpheus was now in a deep purple suit, covered by an alligator skin trench coat.
Hamaan breathes a sigh of relief. "I'm an old man Morpheus. We didn't have Constructs and training programs. No Kung Fu for us. If we saw an agent, we ran. Sure we figured out that we could run along walls and jump really far. But, honestly, our saying used to be, jumping really far, only takes you so far." Having someone in this vast nothingness gave him a sense of space. His surroundings weren't creeping in on him any more.
Morpheus grins cordially. "I can assure you that we are now better equipped to handle a threat while on the inside. Which is why you need to be armed, sir." Morpheus reaches into his pocket and retrieves his cell phone. He dials his own ship.
Node clumsily picks up the headset and taps the on channel.
"Op.operator."
Morpheus' familiar voice can be heard in the headset. "Node, how long until we reach broadcast depth?"
Node looks at the proximity readings and relay's the info to Morpheus. "6 minutes sir. And the Logos II is following right behind."
"Good. Load the weapons rack and munitions program. Tell Link that once we arrive at broadcast depth to resume his operators position."
Node, already scanning the file tree for the gun racks answers, "Loading momentarily. And I'll let Link know sir."
Inside the construct, Morpheus moves closer to Hamaan as the weapons racks begin rushing passed them. Hamaan is clearly fascinated by the events he's partaking in.
"If only resources were this accessible in the real world, eh Morpheus?"
Morpheus nods his head, "Indeed councilor. If only." He turns his back to the elder, reaching for several weapons to conceal under his coat. He grabs one more handgun and turns to hand it to Hamaan. He notices that the normally modest dressed elder is now wearing a long, cashmere coat over silk khaki pants and an Egyptian Cotton shirt. Interesting choice, he thought to himself.
"This is for your own protection Councilor." Morpheus has his hand outstretched, 9mm Beretta in hand.
Councilor Hamaan pulls a 6 inch ivory handled, titanium blade from the rack, flips it into the air, and catches the tip of the blade in the palm of his hand. He grabs the blade and spins it quickly before flipping the handle back to his palm, sheathing it at his side. Morpheus is impressed.
"Just a little trick I picked up years ago. I'll be fine with this, thank you." Councilor Hamaan is confident enough to which Morpheus relents and replaces the Beretta back on the shelf. Just as he is about to reach for his phone, it rings. He puts it to his ear.
"We're here, Morpheus". Link had resumed his post.
Morpheus looked to his right, then his left methodically. "Give Sparks the location of the Hard-line. Load us in."
The Ananias hovered at the meeting place awaiting the arrival of the Logos II. Niobe's hands are clenched together, sweat visibly appearing on her brow. She's waited a long time for her replacement ship. She mapped out every detail, every conduit, and every wire and each had a purpose. And that machine, like her, was now driven by purpose to rendezvous with the Ananias. The dim glow of hover cells filled the tunnel where the Ananias waited. The headlights grew brighter from the approaching hovercraft as Niobe lowers the Ananias. The Logos II arrives and slowly lowers as well, only not as smooth. Morpheus toggles a switch above his head activating the all page aboard his ship.
"Everyone stay aboard, I'm going to the L-II. I will be back shortly."
Morpheus stands to exit his ship, Niobe fast on his heels. "I'm going with you."
"Niobe, my orders stand. Until I am finished speaking with the councilor, you are to pack your gear, I will need you to pilot the L-II once we take the trip back to the Matrix. I want you and Ghost plugged in. I'm sending the Kid with you as well. Have him monitor your vitals. Advise, Link and Node to await my orders." Morpheus continued to the ramp leading out of the Ananias without a further word.
In the dank surroundings of the tunnel, Morpheus steps out, seeing the white haired elder standing before him. He approaches him with utmost respect. "Councilor Hamaan, glad you could join us."
"The pleasure is all mine Morpheus. It's not everyday that you get to take a trip outside of Zion." The councilor was wide-awake.
Morpheus knew that time was of the essence. "Councilor, please join me. All that I am permitted to say is, the Oracle wants to see you. That's it, nothing more."
"Well, lets not keep her waiting. The two men walk back onto the Ananias. Moments later, Niobe, Ghost and the Kid are back aboard the Logos II. Sparks has resumed his seat at the Operators station. He knows that Niobe will no doubt question his piloting skills, it was just a matter of time; and that time is now.
"If it weren't for a councilor giving you this order, you'd be mopping up your own blood by now, you do know that right?" Niobe sarcastically blasts her operator.
"If I had a choice, oh dear captain; you would have flown Councilor Santa out here, not I. I am but a red nosed reindeer!" Sparks finishes his retort while spinning around to face his terminal. "Are we headed back home?"
"No, we're headed back to broadcast depth. We're there for plugged in support."
Sparks stopped typing for a moment as he looked at his captain through the reflection of the monitor before him.
"Back to the old grind I see. Hamaan's jacking in? This ought to be good."
Aboard the Ananias, Council Hamaan looks at the chair he is about to populate. Link walks up beside him. "Councilor, I'm not familiar with the training that you've received since you were last jacked in. I can run the standard combat." before he can continue, Hamaan raises a hand to silence Link.
"No training for me son. These old bones aren't made for fighting. Maybe another lifetime perhaps."
Link wasn't sure how to progress. Before he can, Morpheus interrupts.
"Councilor, I'd like to take you into the Construct before we go into the Matrix. We'll prepare for our visit to the Oracle there. Link, load us into the Construct and take us to broadcast depth. Node, monitor our status while Link is piloting."
Hamaan sits in the chair before him. It's been so long since he's jacked in, he didn't remember what the feeling was like. Link moved the spike to the back of his head. Hamaan looked up at him. "Be gentle." He closes his eyes as the spike slides into his skull. The pain he felt was numb. It felt as if he suddenly had a dull headache that instantly made his brow furl. And in an instant, the pain was gone. Now, he was alone. It was all bright white; he couldn't even tell what he was standing on. Was he even standing? Nothing but endless, white.A mix of confusion and reserved panic began to take over. He couldn't tell if he was upside down or right side up. Though there was endless space, he felt incredibly claustrophobic.
"Do not be alarmed Councilor" Morpheus was now standing behind Hamaan. "This is the Construct, our loading program." Morpheus was now in a deep purple suit, covered by an alligator skin trench coat.
Hamaan breathes a sigh of relief. "I'm an old man Morpheus. We didn't have Constructs and training programs. No Kung Fu for us. If we saw an agent, we ran. Sure we figured out that we could run along walls and jump really far. But, honestly, our saying used to be, jumping really far, only takes you so far." Having someone in this vast nothingness gave him a sense of space. His surroundings weren't creeping in on him any more.
Morpheus grins cordially. "I can assure you that we are now better equipped to handle a threat while on the inside. Which is why you need to be armed, sir." Morpheus reaches into his pocket and retrieves his cell phone. He dials his own ship.
Node clumsily picks up the headset and taps the on channel.
"Op.operator."
Morpheus' familiar voice can be heard in the headset. "Node, how long until we reach broadcast depth?"
Node looks at the proximity readings and relay's the info to Morpheus. "6 minutes sir. And the Logos II is following right behind."
"Good. Load the weapons rack and munitions program. Tell Link that once we arrive at broadcast depth to resume his operators position."
Node, already scanning the file tree for the gun racks answers, "Loading momentarily. And I'll let Link know sir."
Inside the construct, Morpheus moves closer to Hamaan as the weapons racks begin rushing passed them. Hamaan is clearly fascinated by the events he's partaking in.
"If only resources were this accessible in the real world, eh Morpheus?"
Morpheus nods his head, "Indeed councilor. If only." He turns his back to the elder, reaching for several weapons to conceal under his coat. He grabs one more handgun and turns to hand it to Hamaan. He notices that the normally modest dressed elder is now wearing a long, cashmere coat over silk khaki pants and an Egyptian Cotton shirt. Interesting choice, he thought to himself.
"This is for your own protection Councilor." Morpheus has his hand outstretched, 9mm Beretta in hand.
Councilor Hamaan pulls a 6 inch ivory handled, titanium blade from the rack, flips it into the air, and catches the tip of the blade in the palm of his hand. He grabs the blade and spins it quickly before flipping the handle back to his palm, sheathing it at his side. Morpheus is impressed.
"Just a little trick I picked up years ago. I'll be fine with this, thank you." Councilor Hamaan is confident enough to which Morpheus relents and replaces the Beretta back on the shelf. Just as he is about to reach for his phone, it rings. He puts it to his ear.
"We're here, Morpheus". Link had resumed his post.
Morpheus looked to his right, then his left methodically. "Give Sparks the location of the Hard-line. Load us in."