((Disclaimer stuff. Yay. Well, as I'm sure you know, the Matrix dosen't belong to me, nor does Zion, or any other of the nice places and characters, etc. I'm sure you realize that I know this, but it's polite to say so, doncha think? All the made-up names are of my creation. If they correspond with any existing Matrix characters, it's completely coincidental.))
"Razor, are you sure that you're alright?" A young woman, perhaps twenty five years of age, stared at the operator of the Nautilus with a sharp, green-eyed gaze. Leto didn't miss much, and she wasn't about to leave Razor to be the operator if he wasn't fully top-notch and ready to take on the challenge. When the crew went into the Matrix, they depended strongly on Razor to be on his toes.
The ship was a hovercraft, not a particularly large one, nor very small. It was in excellent condition, giving the impression that it was either very new, or very well cared-for. The latter was the case. This crew had not been together for as long as some, but they worked together amazingly well.
The Nautilus was navigating along the dark and hazy tunnels that stretched for what seemed like an eternity away from Zion. This part was extremely narrow, and riddled with debris. There was no sign of any sentinels nearby, but that could always change in seconds. They always kept a close watch.
"I'm fine, Leto, I swear," The tall, lanky, dark-haired young man replied dryly. He slid into his chair and began flipping on screens to the correct channels, preparing to hack his crew-mates into the Matrix. They were going to attempt to get someone out this time. It was their main objective lately, Zephyr had apparently decided. He had been watching this one for some time.
"If he says he's fine, then leave him be, Leto," Another young man, this one with blonde hair, interrupted as he walked past. He flashed Razor an unimpressed look as he did so. "There'll be no convincing him otherwise."
"Well, if we get nearly killed by agents, I'll know who to come after," Leto said, a cold glare quickly replacing the concern in her eyes, as she stalked on by Razor and followed after the blonde.
"Nearly killed by agents? Whaddya mean, Leto, we always almost get killed by agents," Orion grinned, as he came in from another part of the ship. He seemed to be a little older than the rest, maybe thirty or so. "On the off-chance that we do get killed, we won't be able to come back to get him anyway. It's a no-win situation."
Leto rolled her eyes in the direction of her green-clad ship-mate, but decided not to reply. "Helios, is Zephyr coming?" She asked the blonde directly, now ignoring both Orion and Razor.
"He's coming. Echo should be bringing us up to broadcast depth about now," Helios answered as he held onto a railing as the ship pitched a little, and then came to a gentle stop.
"We're ready to go," A girl, about seventeen years of age, came walking back from the front shortly after. The captain was right behind her. Zephyr was not overtly impressive, not especially tall or imposing at a glance. However, this calm man dressed in a rather formal blue outfit had the air of one who was decidedly in charge. His auburn hair was brushed neatly aside, as it always was. His expression was serene, but there was a bit of fire in his otherwise calm hazel eyes.
The girl looked around at those assembled, her dark brown eyes taking on a pleading look as they finally landed on the man behind her. "Wait...I'm going, too, this time," She said quickly.
"Excellent landing, Echo, but no, you're not," Helios piped up in a rational tone. There was no disagreement to this among the others.
"But, captain!" Echo begged as she looked up at Zephyr. "I can go. I can help!"
"Next time, Echo," Zephyr said, smiling at her. His tone left no room for argument. "Keep an eye on Razor for us," He shot a glance at Razor, who cleared his throat and turned back to his work.
"But...," Echo trailed off as Zephyr stepped around her and went to join the others. "Razor," She went to stand behind the operator who was also the second-in-command.
Razor could tell that she wanted him to argue, but he was going to do no such thing.
"Sorry, Echo, but I have to agree with Captain on this one," He said without looking up at her.
Echo sighed. "Fine," She relinquished flatly, and decided to go over to help the others prepare. She wasn't going to be left out of these missions forever. One of these days she'd convince them that she was useful for something other than piloting the Nautilus.
Once they were all ready, Echo headed back over to stand with Razor. He didn't really like people standing over his shoulder when he was trying to work, but he left her alone for the moment.
"Looks like our little pal is going to cooperate," Razor commented to himself as he scanned through the screens of scrolling code. He'd been watching this one almost as much as Zephyr had, and he expected this to go smoothly. He wasn't about to say so, as he knew that the moment he did, everything would go wrong.
"Alright people," Razor spoke up to the rest of the crew, "Here we go."