The Matrix: Preloaded
Chapter 2:
Story 'bout a girl
"Well," Orcus began, "It started when I realized that the Gemini was too big to fit down a mechanical line."
"Orcus," Mink looked the young man in the face, "no one can pilot a mechanical line; it's impossible."
"Not anymore. You see, Mink after our last encounter with the squids, I had to remake pad rows eight, fifteen, and twenty-six, and then I realiazed that if I put on smaller pads I could create a second storage deck by removing rows six to eight. So I got the council to approve the making of a storage hatch and--"
"Orcus," Ceres said, giving him an icy glare as her eyes shifted to the young Zionite who was stepping out of the ship.
"Mifune," Orcus told her bluntly.
"But we already have an operator."
"He's the APU driver," Orcus muttered under his breath.
"I must be losing my hearing," Ceres commented. "None of the ships can possibly hold an APU; only the Gemini is big enough. Orcus, why do we need an APU?"
"Um, well...," Orcus beat around the bush but everyone knew why they needed it. "We have to go supply the Deserters." All of the crew dreaded the annual trip that the council had ordered the Gemini to make. It wasn't because they wanted an alliance with the group that had been dubbed the Deserters in Zion; it was out of kindness that the Council forced the crew to re-supply the small base as a sign of good faith. Orcus looked down into Ceres' deep brown eyes and saw the sorrow that she still harboured. I'm going to do it this year, he decided. I'm going to punch that bastard Raoul out. His train of thought was interrupted by Ceres' voice.
"Orcus, come on. I have three weeks to worry about the trip, but it's a bad idea to keep the Oracle waiting." She looked at her crew as they boarded the ship. Apache, Orcus, Mink, Daimyo, Puck, Eva, Disk, Mifune, Cypher, and Dozer all boarded the Gemini as quickly as possible, Puck loosing an excited scream at the prospect of seeing Seraph.
"He's late," Apache grinned. "Probably being escorted here by a corpsman because of what happened last night."
"Apache, sum up why my scout isn't here in three words or less," Ceres ordered him.
Apache gave her one of his patented innocent smirks and mouthed, "Bar, Kali, Deadbolt."
Sure enough Captain Conqueror and two infantrymen were escorting Morpheus and Deadbolt to the ship. "Captain Ceres, Lieutenant Orcus, I apologise for Morpheus' absence; after a night of failed attempts on Kali, I was feeling depressed and felt the need to take it out on someone."
"Needless to say, with their tempers, they both ended up spending the night in the brig," Conqueror told Morpheus' superiors.
"You need to lay off the hooch, Deadbolt," Orcus told the young Corpsman.
"Yes, Lieutenant," Lock responded.
"Lock, remember that productive little chat we had?" Ceres asked him. He shook his head and Ceres sighed. "These ranks are all in your head; Orcus is just my first mate. We don't have Lieutenants on the ship. Do you understand?" He nodded and Ceres walked onto the ship.
"Goodbye, Orcus."
"What do you call me, Deadbolt?"
"Goodbye, Lieutenant," Lock snapped to attention as the first mate boarded the ship.
***
Dear Diary,
Today was the day from hell. Okay maybe that's an overstatement but not really. I have so many problems, life just sucks when you're a poor black girl living in a bad neighbourhood.
"Dear Diary, I am a geek with so many problems. Why, oh why, won't Billy McBob take me to the dance? I am such a loser geek with no friends, I probably wasn't even worth the two and a half minutes of fun."
"You little freak!" Danielle yelled as she chased her little brother across their shared bedroom. "I am so going to tell Sarah who's been leaving her those love notes."
"Do that and I make copies of your diary and post them in the story window."
Danielle bit her lip and turned around, not wanting to go through the torment that she endured from both of her brothers and her mother daily. She wasn't pretty enough, she wasn't cool enough, she should be home to watch her brother, constant reminders that with the new supermarket down the street business was low and that being the second child she wouldn't be able to be sent to college. Not like Ted wants to go, she thought to herself. Her other brother, Ted, was an inner-city street gang leader who was more concerned with who was cutting the latest track and which peeps were trespassing in his hood than his education. It's people like him who contribute to the racism and stereotypes that I have to live with daily, she thought.
"Danielle, Bobby, it's time to go!" her father called up the stairs.
"Yippee, Grandma's house!" the nine-year-old boy called out as he ran down the stairs.
Danielle wasn't that excited about going to her grandmother's house. They went once a week. She was more excited about seeing those strange people who were constantly visiting the apartment two doors down. Every week a new group would come. Each group dressed in expensive clothes and designer sunglasses. Her mother disliked them, claiming that they were strange. Her brothers thought that they were freaks, but her father only commented on their speed and efficiency. "They move with a purpose," was all he would say when asked about them. To be truthful she was becoming a bit afraid of them. They had been studying the space race in Social 201 and Danielle was having strange dreams that involved her moving along with these people. These dreams started when she learnt about an Irish terrorist called Orcus and a trafficker called Ceres and their effects on the space race. They were involved in these dreams somehow. They were looking for her, but it didn't feel like a dream that was the problem, it felt more real than life.
***
"Captain, we are at broadcast depth," Disk announced to the otherwise silent room. He cracked his fingers and spun his chair around. Ceres looked like she was lost in a dream world. Probably the stress of having to go to the Deserters' base.
"All right, here's how it's going to work. Orcus, you take Puck, Eva and Morpheus to the Oracle. Mink you're driving, Apache and Daimyo guard the hard-line, and Cypher, you're on agent scouting duty."
"What a surprise, can't send your boy-toys so you send me. I guess chicks stick together 'cause Daimyo has an easy job too." He dodged icy glares from Mink only to be caught by Ceres' eyes.
"And who exactly is my boy-toy, Cypher?" the captain demanded, looking the man up and down.
"Well you know that you, um, ah, can't really deny that you a have an attraction to him," he stuttered "you know, Or..."
"Or what Cypher?" Puck smiled maliciously.
Satisfied that Cypher had dug himself so deep that if it was a real hole, he'd be in what was once China, Daimyo decided to intervene. "Shut up, Cypher," he told the man before gasping and appearing in the construct.
Ceres looked into the construct program and saw the usual RSI's as well as some fresh ones. Apache was in his standard ribbed black shirt, dark pants, and leather jacket. Ceres smiled as she saw him putting on the white cowboy hat which had become his trademark. He was the only Calgarian in Zion and damned if he wasn't proud of it. Daimyo had on his usual black suit complete with a grey shirt and tie, dark gloves and a matching trench. His hair was tied neatly in a bun and he explaining to Mink why he reloaded his guns. Mink, on the other hand, now had streaks of blonde in her otherwise black hair and was wearing a form-fitting vinyl tank top cut off at the bust and pants made of leather. Puck wore a red blouse that she left open at the belly button and an open black leather vest; she also wore elbow- high fingerless gloves and a knee-length skirt. Eva wore a white turtleneck under a black denim jacket and leather pants. All of them were wearing sunglasses but Eva's were tinted pink. Orcus wore a shirt, denim trench coat and denim pants -- all black. His hair was neater and the growth on his face was gone save a small moustache and goatee. Morpheus looked... well, unique. He wore a burgundy shirt and suit with a lime green tie and a black leather coat tailored in alligator skin style. His curly hair had been straightened and the matted beard that he kept was now groomed perfectly.
"Oh, God!" Disk exclaimed. "Look at Cypher."
Ceres held back a laugh. In his one of his ever-present attempts to prove he was hip, Cypher had changed his RSI to look like a punk. He wore a black long sleeved tee that was ripped on the sleeves. Over that he had a shirt that was covered in safety pins that read "The Sex Pistols" and had a silhouette of Sid Vicious on it. He also had ripped cargo pants and knee high combat boots, but the clincher to this outfit was a three foot blue Mohawk that appeared on his other wise shaved head. The little patch of fuzz on his face was also blue. Orcus laughed at him then picked up the phone
"We're in".
Chapter 2:
Story 'bout a girl
"Well," Orcus began, "It started when I realized that the Gemini was too big to fit down a mechanical line."
"Orcus," Mink looked the young man in the face, "no one can pilot a mechanical line; it's impossible."
"Not anymore. You see, Mink after our last encounter with the squids, I had to remake pad rows eight, fifteen, and twenty-six, and then I realiazed that if I put on smaller pads I could create a second storage deck by removing rows six to eight. So I got the council to approve the making of a storage hatch and--"
"Orcus," Ceres said, giving him an icy glare as her eyes shifted to the young Zionite who was stepping out of the ship.
"Mifune," Orcus told her bluntly.
"But we already have an operator."
"He's the APU driver," Orcus muttered under his breath.
"I must be losing my hearing," Ceres commented. "None of the ships can possibly hold an APU; only the Gemini is big enough. Orcus, why do we need an APU?"
"Um, well...," Orcus beat around the bush but everyone knew why they needed it. "We have to go supply the Deserters." All of the crew dreaded the annual trip that the council had ordered the Gemini to make. It wasn't because they wanted an alliance with the group that had been dubbed the Deserters in Zion; it was out of kindness that the Council forced the crew to re-supply the small base as a sign of good faith. Orcus looked down into Ceres' deep brown eyes and saw the sorrow that she still harboured. I'm going to do it this year, he decided. I'm going to punch that bastard Raoul out. His train of thought was interrupted by Ceres' voice.
"Orcus, come on. I have three weeks to worry about the trip, but it's a bad idea to keep the Oracle waiting." She looked at her crew as they boarded the ship. Apache, Orcus, Mink, Daimyo, Puck, Eva, Disk, Mifune, Cypher, and Dozer all boarded the Gemini as quickly as possible, Puck loosing an excited scream at the prospect of seeing Seraph.
"He's late," Apache grinned. "Probably being escorted here by a corpsman because of what happened last night."
"Apache, sum up why my scout isn't here in three words or less," Ceres ordered him.
Apache gave her one of his patented innocent smirks and mouthed, "Bar, Kali, Deadbolt."
Sure enough Captain Conqueror and two infantrymen were escorting Morpheus and Deadbolt to the ship. "Captain Ceres, Lieutenant Orcus, I apologise for Morpheus' absence; after a night of failed attempts on Kali, I was feeling depressed and felt the need to take it out on someone."
"Needless to say, with their tempers, they both ended up spending the night in the brig," Conqueror told Morpheus' superiors.
"You need to lay off the hooch, Deadbolt," Orcus told the young Corpsman.
"Yes, Lieutenant," Lock responded.
"Lock, remember that productive little chat we had?" Ceres asked him. He shook his head and Ceres sighed. "These ranks are all in your head; Orcus is just my first mate. We don't have Lieutenants on the ship. Do you understand?" He nodded and Ceres walked onto the ship.
"Goodbye, Orcus."
"What do you call me, Deadbolt?"
"Goodbye, Lieutenant," Lock snapped to attention as the first mate boarded the ship.
***
Dear Diary,
Today was the day from hell. Okay maybe that's an overstatement but not really. I have so many problems, life just sucks when you're a poor black girl living in a bad neighbourhood.
"Dear Diary, I am a geek with so many problems. Why, oh why, won't Billy McBob take me to the dance? I am such a loser geek with no friends, I probably wasn't even worth the two and a half minutes of fun."
"You little freak!" Danielle yelled as she chased her little brother across their shared bedroom. "I am so going to tell Sarah who's been leaving her those love notes."
"Do that and I make copies of your diary and post them in the story window."
Danielle bit her lip and turned around, not wanting to go through the torment that she endured from both of her brothers and her mother daily. She wasn't pretty enough, she wasn't cool enough, she should be home to watch her brother, constant reminders that with the new supermarket down the street business was low and that being the second child she wouldn't be able to be sent to college. Not like Ted wants to go, she thought to herself. Her other brother, Ted, was an inner-city street gang leader who was more concerned with who was cutting the latest track and which peeps were trespassing in his hood than his education. It's people like him who contribute to the racism and stereotypes that I have to live with daily, she thought.
"Danielle, Bobby, it's time to go!" her father called up the stairs.
"Yippee, Grandma's house!" the nine-year-old boy called out as he ran down the stairs.
Danielle wasn't that excited about going to her grandmother's house. They went once a week. She was more excited about seeing those strange people who were constantly visiting the apartment two doors down. Every week a new group would come. Each group dressed in expensive clothes and designer sunglasses. Her mother disliked them, claiming that they were strange. Her brothers thought that they were freaks, but her father only commented on their speed and efficiency. "They move with a purpose," was all he would say when asked about them. To be truthful she was becoming a bit afraid of them. They had been studying the space race in Social 201 and Danielle was having strange dreams that involved her moving along with these people. These dreams started when she learnt about an Irish terrorist called Orcus and a trafficker called Ceres and their effects on the space race. They were involved in these dreams somehow. They were looking for her, but it didn't feel like a dream that was the problem, it felt more real than life.
***
"Captain, we are at broadcast depth," Disk announced to the otherwise silent room. He cracked his fingers and spun his chair around. Ceres looked like she was lost in a dream world. Probably the stress of having to go to the Deserters' base.
"All right, here's how it's going to work. Orcus, you take Puck, Eva and Morpheus to the Oracle. Mink you're driving, Apache and Daimyo guard the hard-line, and Cypher, you're on agent scouting duty."
"What a surprise, can't send your boy-toys so you send me. I guess chicks stick together 'cause Daimyo has an easy job too." He dodged icy glares from Mink only to be caught by Ceres' eyes.
"And who exactly is my boy-toy, Cypher?" the captain demanded, looking the man up and down.
"Well you know that you, um, ah, can't really deny that you a have an attraction to him," he stuttered "you know, Or..."
"Or what Cypher?" Puck smiled maliciously.
Satisfied that Cypher had dug himself so deep that if it was a real hole, he'd be in what was once China, Daimyo decided to intervene. "Shut up, Cypher," he told the man before gasping and appearing in the construct.
Ceres looked into the construct program and saw the usual RSI's as well as some fresh ones. Apache was in his standard ribbed black shirt, dark pants, and leather jacket. Ceres smiled as she saw him putting on the white cowboy hat which had become his trademark. He was the only Calgarian in Zion and damned if he wasn't proud of it. Daimyo had on his usual black suit complete with a grey shirt and tie, dark gloves and a matching trench. His hair was tied neatly in a bun and he explaining to Mink why he reloaded his guns. Mink, on the other hand, now had streaks of blonde in her otherwise black hair and was wearing a form-fitting vinyl tank top cut off at the bust and pants made of leather. Puck wore a red blouse that she left open at the belly button and an open black leather vest; she also wore elbow- high fingerless gloves and a knee-length skirt. Eva wore a white turtleneck under a black denim jacket and leather pants. All of them were wearing sunglasses but Eva's were tinted pink. Orcus wore a shirt, denim trench coat and denim pants -- all black. His hair was neater and the growth on his face was gone save a small moustache and goatee. Morpheus looked... well, unique. He wore a burgundy shirt and suit with a lime green tie and a black leather coat tailored in alligator skin style. His curly hair had been straightened and the matted beard that he kept was now groomed perfectly.
"Oh, God!" Disk exclaimed. "Look at Cypher."
Ceres held back a laugh. In his one of his ever-present attempts to prove he was hip, Cypher had changed his RSI to look like a punk. He wore a black long sleeved tee that was ripped on the sleeves. Over that he had a shirt that was covered in safety pins that read "The Sex Pistols" and had a silhouette of Sid Vicious on it. He also had ripped cargo pants and knee high combat boots, but the clincher to this outfit was a three foot blue Mohawk that appeared on his other wise shaved head. The little patch of fuzz on his face was also blue. Orcus laughed at him then picked up the phone
"We're in".
