Okay people. Here's the next bit. A very wonderful person emailed me asking for an update. As I will be attending a fetish convention over the weekend, I figured I should post this before I jet off. I also hurt my back the other day and had to go to the emergency room. Currently, I am pretty woozy from painkillers, so this could be incoherent. Alas, they aren't even hardcore painkillers. See what happens when you lead a drug free lifestyle? Any little thing just knocks you on your ass.

The website of the convention I'm going to is www.fantasm.org. Feel free to visit. Suspension show on Friday! Or maybe Saturday. I don't remember. I'm high.

Xixie

Trinity pulled the jack from Morpheus' head. Her expression was one of inquiry. After years, the two commanding officers didn't have to speak.

"Pusher found something."

"What?" her impatience was palpable.

"We'll discuss it in a moment Trinity. Pusher's not even out yet."

Trin glanced over to the jacked in Pusher. He appeared to be sleeping. She noted how he hadn't changed at all over the years. He still wore the same contented expression when at rest. It was the face he always had just before she kicked him out of her bed.

Rolling her eyes, she walked over to his prone form. As Tank made the call, she pulled the jack out of his head.

He had barely had time to sit up before Trinity was asking for information. "Jesus, Trin. Your boy's not even in the Matrix. You can wait for a minute."

Her eyes narrowed, but she remained silent. Turning on her heel, she walked towards the door. "When you two are ready to talk, I'll be working in the engine room."

While she really had no specific work to do, Trinity figured she could at least run a diagnostic on the heating system. That hadn't been done in a while. As she passed the mess hall, she noticed Neo getting a tin of water. He had his back to the door, so Trinity paused to watch him without being noticed.

Trinity was aware of the annoyance she was causing the crew. Even Morpheus, who usually backed her decisions no matter what, seemed off put by her extreme protectiveness. Musing, Trinity moved down the hallway without speaking to Neo. It was difficult to go from the in control, logical, second-in-command to the woman in love with the one man every machine on the planet wanted to kill.

The Oracle had told her that she would fall in love with the One. She had also told her that she would be the only person who would truly see him as himself, rather than a savior. She was to watch him. Make sure he didn't let others overextend his powers. She was the One's safety valve. She had prepared herself for Zion. Neo was far too noble to refuse any of the council's demands. Trinity, however, would be there to mediate. To say no when Neo couldn't. She knew it wouldn't make her popular, but it would keep Neo alive. That was all she cared about.

Even Morpheus thought of Neo as more of a weapon than a crewman. Who could blame him? He had seen Neo do things that no one had even imagined. Even Trinity, at first, had been in awe. Then one day it just changed. They were in the Matrix; it was a not so random joint attack on an Agent stronghold. An agent had pushed Dujour off the side of a skyscraper just as he fired a round straight at Neo's heart. Morpheus himself had been speechless as Neo simply jumped over the bullet and off the building. The bullet had turned mid air, rushed back toward the agent who turned into the corpse of a construction worker. The agent was dispersed, but Morpheus, Trinity, Choi, and Gavel stood looking at the edge of the building. Choi, who thought his lover was dead, began to dial his Operator when Neo floated Superman-style onto the top of the building holding onto Dujour's right arm. He slowly lowered Dujour, before landing himself.

While everyone from Morpheus to Dujour stared at Neo, Trinity felt no surge of awe. She simply felt the same relief she always felt once a fight was over and she could see everyone was out of trouble. Choi, wrenching himself free of his stupor, rushed to Dujour's side. Then turned to look again at Neo, who, oblivious, was scanning the surrounding code for signs of agent activity. Trinity had walked to his side, at the same time phoning Tank to order an exit.

As if everything were normal, Neo looked down into Trin's eyes for a second before turning for directions to his captain. The looks of raw admiration had been disconcerting. As Trinity disconnected her phone she noticed the uncomfortable stares and Neo's silence.

Placing one hand on his arm, she had spoken to the group. "The exit is on the corner of Bell and Bennett. We should get there immediately."

Her tone had been enough to snap Morpheus out of his revery. It was still very new to him. Finding the One had been his goal for so long, he could hardly believe that he had actually succeeded.

Once the group was safely ensconced at the abandoned record store which housed the hardline, Choi had spoken. "I wondered why you had us contact Neo. He seemed too old to free. You didn't mention that you had found the One."

Trinity sensed that Morpheus was about to go into a long description of the events that led up to Neo's realization of power. Glancing at her lover, she could see his discomfort at being the center of attention. So, breaking into the conversation, "We didn't mention it, and you shouldn't either. There's no way to keep you out of the loop now, but Neo doesn't need Zion breathing down his neck just yet. So you have to keep this to yourself."

Dujour and Trinity had been friends for years. Ever since the girl had been unplugged. She knew that she could trust her with Neo's secret, but didn't want to go through the whole creation myth while Neo was in earshot. Neither of them liked the resurrection bit, and, well, the part of Judas was played by the Gavel's ex-lover. Perhaps more than one person was too closely connected to the whole thing to spill it out in the harsh unreality of the Matrix.

Trinity had used a new program, designed by Neo, that allowed ships to network their constructs. She had used this program to explain later, about Neo. The crew of the Circe were the first to learn of Neo. The Deviance had been the second.

Trinity finished the diagnostic just as Morpheus arrived.

Looking up, "Ready to tell me anything yet, or should I start on the engine coolant system?"

Morpheus let out a breath before speaking. "Trinity, we should talk."

Finally, thought Trinity. It was about time he confronted her about their differing views on Neo's uses. Morpheus was like a father to her, and, in turn, he considered her a daughter. Neo, however, was more like a straight recruit. In Morpheus' eyes, fate had drafted Neo at birth. All other concerns should be secondary to Neo's desire to destroy the Matrix.

Trinity realized that Neo could only do this if he kept a sense of connection to the human world. He was her connection; she might as well be his.

"Pusher found that the machines have designed a new type of agent. It is female in appearance, and Neo is its target."

Trinity, who had expected as much, nodded. "So we keep Neo out of the Matrix until we can learn more about the new threat."

Morpheus remained silent, then, "Trinity, Neo is the One. He must face these agents eventually. He will prevail."

Quietly, Trinity responded. "He's already died once. Isn't that enough? You can't expect him to be god. Yes, he's the One, but we have to take every precaution."

"Trinity. You're not thinking as a soldier in this manner."

She looked directly into Morpheus' eyes. "No. I'm thinking as a woman. I will not allow anyone, even you, to overlook the fact that Neo is a person, not a weapon. We can't just throw him at every obstacle, hoping that he will blindly overcome outrageous odds."

She paused for a second. "Neo would never tell you, or anyone else for that matter, no, if he thought he could save lives. I will."

"Trinity. I, more than anyone, know Neo's importance to the Resistance. I would never seek to endanger him recklessly. He has to face the new agents."

Trinity sighed, recognizing the salience of the argument. "I know that. But I, more than anyone, know Neo's importance to me, not the Resistance, not the countless, unaware masses still stuck in the Matrix, but to me, personally. Sometimes, he has to just be a man."

Morpheus knew that Trinity was correct. That they were both correct. "You can accompany Neo into the Matrix on his next outing. You will be in command and can order an exit whenever you feel it necessary. I will have Pusher work with the code, perhaps he can recreate some of it from memory. Then Neo could experiment with it in the Construct before having to face it in the Matrix. We will move down from broadcast depth for at least 4 days. Then we will allow Neo to enter again."

Trinity nodded.