My awakening was just like any other. Upon arriving in Zion Kid and I left
the Neb. After speaking to the Council they gave us permission to have a
new cabin between us. We don't know anyone else in Zion, except the crew of
the Neb, and all their cabins are full. It makes sense for us to live
together, even though we are not a couple. I like it here, life seems more
real than it has before, and I now constantly call myself by my alias.
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"Zion! Hear me!"
Morpheus stood before the crowd, and at his command they quietened. Everyone knew that something was happening, they just didn't know exactly what.
"It is true what many of you have heard. The machines have gathered an army, and as I speak, that army is drawing nearer to our home."
So the news was broken to Zion. Two hundred and fifty thousand sentinels were coming to destroy it. Their defences were being stepped up dramatically, and all ships were sent to carry out an ambush. While waiting for news of the success or failure of the ambush, Commander Locke sent out a call for volunteers to hold the dock.
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In the days that followed Morpheus' announcement, an air of panic hung about our city. People packed up their belongings and moved deeper into the caves. The mass exodus continued for many days, endless swarms of people moving past my cabin's door. I'm not packing. I'm going to fight. As I finish my latest batch of shells I make my way against the flow of the nation, trying to deliver my precious cargo to the dock. For the past few weeks I've been very confused. Even though Zion is so very different for the Matrix, and definitely for the better, I still feel half asleep. All the time. I don't know, maybe it's just my mind being lagged from lying in that pod for so long.
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Many people set out to help, including a young boy called Kid, and his friend Aquila. Kid joined the APU team, running backwards and forwards to supply the ammunition. Aquila was part of the drill team, her job was to reload the shells and bring down the huge drills being used for tunnelling by the machines.
As Kid and Aquila said farewell to each other and made their way apart, their fear of what was to come didn't let them think of the possibility they would never see each other again. Maybe that was for the best.
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I was perched between two metal struts, behind my partner, waiting for the arrival of the army. I never noticed the beginning of the hum that signalled the close proximity of the droves of attackers. When I did notice it however, it made my blood run cold. I knew then that I would never see Kid again. We were all going to die. Strangely I didn't mind. I know the truth. At least I'm dying in the Real World. If by giving my life I can leave just a handful of people alive, to continue Zion and free everyone else then my death will have been worth it. If I can bring down one sentinel, that will save one person, after all, there is a 1:1 ratio of us. If I can bring down one sentinel that's one closer to the end of the war. As I look about the dock I feel an almighty burst of feeling in my chest. Even if we win, this dock will be destroyed. I am going to be one of the last people to ever see this particular one. The hum grows louder. I peer over my partner's shoulder to look at the dock floor, to where Kid is. I'm too high up to pick him out individually, but I know that's where he is. I love him as a brother. Nothing more, but I do love him. I reflect on my time with him, and how happy I am with what I have. Or had, as the case may be. I suppress a giggle as I think of his relationship with the crew of the Neb. Every time they were due to return to the dock he managed to find out. It was obvious to me how annoyed the crew got, but he meant well. They knew he meant well. Poor Kid. Always trying to do the right thing but failing miserably. I give another giggle and my partner looks at me strangely. I quieten, and watch, as the crack in the ceiling from the drills grows larger.
"Not long now."
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The sentinels swept upon them, angered (were they angered? Angered is a human emotion, something the machines did not understand) by the assault on their fellows. As soon as the explosion had happened, a dozen of the towering attackers instantly began a rapid search for the source of the missile.
The two tiny humans realised that the break-off from the main swarm of sentinels was aimed at them. Scrambling for a decent footing, they fled towards the safety of the industrial pipes. Slipping slightly the girl threw herself through the hatch. The boy wasn't quick enough.
Aquila made her way along the pipes, listening to the crashes and crunches of the machinery above her. The screams and shouts of the victims of their violence could be heard too, although very faintly. "Please God, don't let any of those voices belong to Kid," she prayed.
Pausing for breath, she read the code off the wall to her right. B1. "Okay Aquila, B1. Base one. That's on the dock floor. You have to help the APU unit if you're ever going to see Kid again." Looking down she spotted a discarded EMP gun. Picking it up and opening the hatch she ran out into the mêlée in the dock.
The sentinels spotted the flurry of movement amongst the dead humans and the broken machines. Two of them swooped down upon Aquila. Screaming, she fired the EMP gun at them, missing one but hitting the other. The one that was still operational lunged down at her. She managed to duck, but the sentinel knocked the gun out of her hands. The outstretched tentacles of the squiddy, which were aimed for her missed, grabbing instead the steel safety railing, twisting the supports and pulling it away. Turning back around, the squiddy tensed itself for a second attack. Completely defenceless, Aquila turned and ran, but in her panic went the wrong way, towards the now unguarded drop. Preferring a fall to impalement, she pitched herself off the balcony, into the machinery below.
But that was not the end.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------
"Zion! Hear me!"
Morpheus stood before the crowd, and at his command they quietened. Everyone knew that something was happening, they just didn't know exactly what.
"It is true what many of you have heard. The machines have gathered an army, and as I speak, that army is drawing nearer to our home."
So the news was broken to Zion. Two hundred and fifty thousand sentinels were coming to destroy it. Their defences were being stepped up dramatically, and all ships were sent to carry out an ambush. While waiting for news of the success or failure of the ambush, Commander Locke sent out a call for volunteers to hold the dock.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
In the days that followed Morpheus' announcement, an air of panic hung about our city. People packed up their belongings and moved deeper into the caves. The mass exodus continued for many days, endless swarms of people moving past my cabin's door. I'm not packing. I'm going to fight. As I finish my latest batch of shells I make my way against the flow of the nation, trying to deliver my precious cargo to the dock. For the past few weeks I've been very confused. Even though Zion is so very different for the Matrix, and definitely for the better, I still feel half asleep. All the time. I don't know, maybe it's just my mind being lagged from lying in that pod for so long.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
Many people set out to help, including a young boy called Kid, and his friend Aquila. Kid joined the APU team, running backwards and forwards to supply the ammunition. Aquila was part of the drill team, her job was to reload the shells and bring down the huge drills being used for tunnelling by the machines.
As Kid and Aquila said farewell to each other and made their way apart, their fear of what was to come didn't let them think of the possibility they would never see each other again. Maybe that was for the best.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
I was perched between two metal struts, behind my partner, waiting for the arrival of the army. I never noticed the beginning of the hum that signalled the close proximity of the droves of attackers. When I did notice it however, it made my blood run cold. I knew then that I would never see Kid again. We were all going to die. Strangely I didn't mind. I know the truth. At least I'm dying in the Real World. If by giving my life I can leave just a handful of people alive, to continue Zion and free everyone else then my death will have been worth it. If I can bring down one sentinel, that will save one person, after all, there is a 1:1 ratio of us. If I can bring down one sentinel that's one closer to the end of the war. As I look about the dock I feel an almighty burst of feeling in my chest. Even if we win, this dock will be destroyed. I am going to be one of the last people to ever see this particular one. The hum grows louder. I peer over my partner's shoulder to look at the dock floor, to where Kid is. I'm too high up to pick him out individually, but I know that's where he is. I love him as a brother. Nothing more, but I do love him. I reflect on my time with him, and how happy I am with what I have. Or had, as the case may be. I suppress a giggle as I think of his relationship with the crew of the Neb. Every time they were due to return to the dock he managed to find out. It was obvious to me how annoyed the crew got, but he meant well. They knew he meant well. Poor Kid. Always trying to do the right thing but failing miserably. I give another giggle and my partner looks at me strangely. I quieten, and watch, as the crack in the ceiling from the drills grows larger.
"Not long now."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------
The sentinels swept upon them, angered (were they angered? Angered is a human emotion, something the machines did not understand) by the assault on their fellows. As soon as the explosion had happened, a dozen of the towering attackers instantly began a rapid search for the source of the missile.
The two tiny humans realised that the break-off from the main swarm of sentinels was aimed at them. Scrambling for a decent footing, they fled towards the safety of the industrial pipes. Slipping slightly the girl threw herself through the hatch. The boy wasn't quick enough.
Aquila made her way along the pipes, listening to the crashes and crunches of the machinery above her. The screams and shouts of the victims of their violence could be heard too, although very faintly. "Please God, don't let any of those voices belong to Kid," she prayed.
Pausing for breath, she read the code off the wall to her right. B1. "Okay Aquila, B1. Base one. That's on the dock floor. You have to help the APU unit if you're ever going to see Kid again." Looking down she spotted a discarded EMP gun. Picking it up and opening the hatch she ran out into the mêlée in the dock.
The sentinels spotted the flurry of movement amongst the dead humans and the broken machines. Two of them swooped down upon Aquila. Screaming, she fired the EMP gun at them, missing one but hitting the other. The one that was still operational lunged down at her. She managed to duck, but the sentinel knocked the gun out of her hands. The outstretched tentacles of the squiddy, which were aimed for her missed, grabbing instead the steel safety railing, twisting the supports and pulling it away. Turning back around, the squiddy tensed itself for a second attack. Completely defenceless, Aquila turned and ran, but in her panic went the wrong way, towards the now unguarded drop. Preferring a fall to impalement, she pitched herself off the balcony, into the machinery below.
But that was not the end.
