Disclaimer: This is getting boring x_x. Please refer back to chapter 1! Except for this: The characters Nemisis and Nitro both belong to Issie. Do not steal them. Nor mine for that matter, but especially not hers. :[
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In one of the many Zion control centres an auburn haired woman sat at a computer, a younger man watching over her shoulder. As she reached to touch a point on the screen, calling up more information on their subject, the man spoke quietly.
"So what do you think then, Sequana?" he asked, his voice slightly hoarse. Sequana glanced up, shrugging.
"She seems to be doing fine, no sign of any agent activity around her. Not yet, anyway."
"I don't know whether that's reassuring or not," he sounded amused. "Do you think she's ready for unplugging yet?" Pulling up a chair, he sat beside Sequana, looking at the screen. "How long have you been watching her for? And how old is she?"
"She's fourteen. We've been watching her for around six months, but she's been suspicious of reality for a lot longer than that. She's coming on well, definitely becoming aware of the matrix, but it's hard to say." Sequana stopped talking for a minute, and then frowned at her companion. "Hey, Magni, why don't you stop asking me questions and take a look at her information? What do you think?"
She watched as Magni read over the coppertop's stats, gently pressing the touch-sensitive screen to call up more information. He sat back after a minute, glancing at Sequana. "Hmm, perhaps you're right to wait. I'd give her a couple more years before we bring her out - we might be wrong about how ready she is. What does she call herself?"
"Shadow. She hasn't been hacking very long, that's probably why the agents haven't picked up on her." She stood up, closing down Shadow's information as a younger woman came to take her place. "Hi, Whisper. I managed to actually close down my work this time." She smiled cheerfully.
Whisper laughed and sat down, her silvery blonde hair falling over her shoulder. "Thanks 'Ana. Hey Magni. How's it going with you two?"
"I'm just fine." Sequana picked up her bag, winking at the two. "I'll leave you two, shall I?"
Magni watched her leave, pulling himself up to sit on the desk beside Whisper. Tapping at her keyboard, she logged in to information on the coppertop that she had been watching. After a few minutes of sitting watching her, Magni spoke again, bored. "How's your pre-freed brat doing?" He didn't speak unkindly, leaning over Whisper's shoulder to look at the screen.
"He's doing great!" Whisper jumped up, hitting the 'print' command on her computer. "I think he's ready to come out!" As the thin sheet of paper, scarcely seen in the computerised city of Zion, was fed out from Whisper's printer, she picked up a pen and leaned over the sheet. In an untidy scrawl, she scribbled on the top of the sheet:
'COPPERTOP NAME - Tsunami
AGE - 18
LOCATION - Dublin, Ireland
DISK FILE - DI758'
She folded the page up, slipping a computer disk into the centre and went to the door. "Hey, you!" Collaring a young, newly freed girl she gave her the small package, along with specific instructions, "Take this to Commander Lock. Now. And make sure you don't lose the disk inside it, alright?"
The girl nodded quickly, looking terrified, and ran off clutching her package. Magni, watching, chuckled slightly at the girl's expression as Whisper gave her orders. Whisper was a formidable woman if you didn't know her, but when you did... well, she was all sweetness and light. "Hey, Whis'," he called softly, sliding off the desk as she came over.
"You going to the party tonight?"
Whisper giggled. "Of course I am! You mean, am I going with -you-?"
"Well, maybe." Magni gave a lopsided grin, waiting hopefully. Whisper giggled again, reaching for his hand. "Said I would, didn't I? I'll see you at the Temple later."
"I'll walk you to your room - I've got nothing better to do."
As the couple walked towards Whisper's apartment, Magni frowned, thinking. He was a rookie at the Zion Coppertop Control, as it was affectionately known throughout Zion. He had originally worked as a medic on The Isis along with Sequana, but after a sentinel attack the ship had been too badly damaged and had been destroyed. While Sequana went on to work in Zion, Magni had transferred to The Anubis as a temporary medic whilst the official one, Marie, was in the Zion med bay. ~Ironic, ~ he thought idly, smiling wryly. He had been kicked off the ship when she returned, to put it bluntly, and had sought out Sequana, finding her happily living in Zion. That had only been a few months ago, and he was now working at mastering 'Coppertop Control'.
"So, Whis, what was that disk for?" He asked curiously.
"It had Tsunami's details on. Everything that Zion had on him, I saved to that disk. Now Lock can input that to his own computer to decide what he thinks about getting him out. It's an old-fashioned way of doing it, but it works," Whisper explained patiently, lacing her fingers with Magni's. "I hope Lock decides to get him out."
"I don't," Magni smiled, not speaking seriously. "What if you like him more than me?"
"Of course I won't!" Whisper laughed. "I'll probably never meet him - he'll be freed onto a ship, and you know how hard it is to distinguish one coppertop from another."
"True." Magni nodded and continued walking, coming to a halt as they reached Whisper's apartment. "See you tonight, then?"
"You know it." Whisper smiled at her long-term boyfriend, her slim body resting against his as she hugged him. "Bye." She hurried into her apartment, her loose hair swinging behind her.
Sequana sighed as she wandered around Zion, thinking over her days work. The coppertop that she was currently monitoring, Shadow, had won her curiosity. ~Not many fourteen year olds live alone, ~ she thought, taking a bite of her wafer. ~I'll have to see her once she's out, I'd like to meet her. ~ She closed her eyes momentarily, remembering her own life in the matrix. It had been all right - until about a year before she was unplugged. That was when the hell started. She winced, lost in memories.
"Ana? Are you alright?" Sequana opened her eyes, seeing a concerned face before her. She frowned slightly, recognising the woman as her friend Nemisis, Captain of The Millennium.
"Yeah, I'm fine Nem," she muttered, sighing again. "What about you? Why are you in Zion? None of the other ships are."
Nemisis hugged her friend gently, watching her in concern for a minute. "The Millennium needs re-fuelling. And we hit a squiddie attack a few days ago where she took a bit of damage. Thought I'd kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, positive," she insisted. "I was just a bit down, but I'll be alright. I'll have to be, for the party tonight."
"Ooh, yes, the party." Nemisis' eyes lit up. "Nitro and I are going together. What about you?"
"Don't remind me about couples." Sequana made a face. "I've had to deal with Whisper - I work with her - and Magni, who you know, for weeks. Since Magni left the Anubis, in fact." She leaned against the railing, staring at the milling crowds around them. Nemisis took her arm, starting to lead her through the crowd. "Why don't we go to the mess hall? I'll give you an hour to get drunk and pour out your woes. It always used to help with you."
Sequana grinned and allowed herself to be led. "Am I really that predictable? Honestly Nem, you should have let me know before. I might have changed my habits."
Nemisis looked over her shoulder sceptically, smiling. "Knowing you, I doubt it."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In one of the many Zion control centres an auburn haired woman sat at a computer, a younger man watching over her shoulder. As she reached to touch a point on the screen, calling up more information on their subject, the man spoke quietly.
"So what do you think then, Sequana?" he asked, his voice slightly hoarse. Sequana glanced up, shrugging.
"She seems to be doing fine, no sign of any agent activity around her. Not yet, anyway."
"I don't know whether that's reassuring or not," he sounded amused. "Do you think she's ready for unplugging yet?" Pulling up a chair, he sat beside Sequana, looking at the screen. "How long have you been watching her for? And how old is she?"
"She's fourteen. We've been watching her for around six months, but she's been suspicious of reality for a lot longer than that. She's coming on well, definitely becoming aware of the matrix, but it's hard to say." Sequana stopped talking for a minute, and then frowned at her companion. "Hey, Magni, why don't you stop asking me questions and take a look at her information? What do you think?"
She watched as Magni read over the coppertop's stats, gently pressing the touch-sensitive screen to call up more information. He sat back after a minute, glancing at Sequana. "Hmm, perhaps you're right to wait. I'd give her a couple more years before we bring her out - we might be wrong about how ready she is. What does she call herself?"
"Shadow. She hasn't been hacking very long, that's probably why the agents haven't picked up on her." She stood up, closing down Shadow's information as a younger woman came to take her place. "Hi, Whisper. I managed to actually close down my work this time." She smiled cheerfully.
Whisper laughed and sat down, her silvery blonde hair falling over her shoulder. "Thanks 'Ana. Hey Magni. How's it going with you two?"
"I'm just fine." Sequana picked up her bag, winking at the two. "I'll leave you two, shall I?"
Magni watched her leave, pulling himself up to sit on the desk beside Whisper. Tapping at her keyboard, she logged in to information on the coppertop that she had been watching. After a few minutes of sitting watching her, Magni spoke again, bored. "How's your pre-freed brat doing?" He didn't speak unkindly, leaning over Whisper's shoulder to look at the screen.
"He's doing great!" Whisper jumped up, hitting the 'print' command on her computer. "I think he's ready to come out!" As the thin sheet of paper, scarcely seen in the computerised city of Zion, was fed out from Whisper's printer, she picked up a pen and leaned over the sheet. In an untidy scrawl, she scribbled on the top of the sheet:
'COPPERTOP NAME - Tsunami
AGE - 18
LOCATION - Dublin, Ireland
DISK FILE - DI758'
She folded the page up, slipping a computer disk into the centre and went to the door. "Hey, you!" Collaring a young, newly freed girl she gave her the small package, along with specific instructions, "Take this to Commander Lock. Now. And make sure you don't lose the disk inside it, alright?"
The girl nodded quickly, looking terrified, and ran off clutching her package. Magni, watching, chuckled slightly at the girl's expression as Whisper gave her orders. Whisper was a formidable woman if you didn't know her, but when you did... well, she was all sweetness and light. "Hey, Whis'," he called softly, sliding off the desk as she came over.
"You going to the party tonight?"
Whisper giggled. "Of course I am! You mean, am I going with -you-?"
"Well, maybe." Magni gave a lopsided grin, waiting hopefully. Whisper giggled again, reaching for his hand. "Said I would, didn't I? I'll see you at the Temple later."
"I'll walk you to your room - I've got nothing better to do."
As the couple walked towards Whisper's apartment, Magni frowned, thinking. He was a rookie at the Zion Coppertop Control, as it was affectionately known throughout Zion. He had originally worked as a medic on The Isis along with Sequana, but after a sentinel attack the ship had been too badly damaged and had been destroyed. While Sequana went on to work in Zion, Magni had transferred to The Anubis as a temporary medic whilst the official one, Marie, was in the Zion med bay. ~Ironic, ~ he thought idly, smiling wryly. He had been kicked off the ship when she returned, to put it bluntly, and had sought out Sequana, finding her happily living in Zion. That had only been a few months ago, and he was now working at mastering 'Coppertop Control'.
"So, Whis, what was that disk for?" He asked curiously.
"It had Tsunami's details on. Everything that Zion had on him, I saved to that disk. Now Lock can input that to his own computer to decide what he thinks about getting him out. It's an old-fashioned way of doing it, but it works," Whisper explained patiently, lacing her fingers with Magni's. "I hope Lock decides to get him out."
"I don't," Magni smiled, not speaking seriously. "What if you like him more than me?"
"Of course I won't!" Whisper laughed. "I'll probably never meet him - he'll be freed onto a ship, and you know how hard it is to distinguish one coppertop from another."
"True." Magni nodded and continued walking, coming to a halt as they reached Whisper's apartment. "See you tonight, then?"
"You know it." Whisper smiled at her long-term boyfriend, her slim body resting against his as she hugged him. "Bye." She hurried into her apartment, her loose hair swinging behind her.
Sequana sighed as she wandered around Zion, thinking over her days work. The coppertop that she was currently monitoring, Shadow, had won her curiosity. ~Not many fourteen year olds live alone, ~ she thought, taking a bite of her wafer. ~I'll have to see her once she's out, I'd like to meet her. ~ She closed her eyes momentarily, remembering her own life in the matrix. It had been all right - until about a year before she was unplugged. That was when the hell started. She winced, lost in memories.
"Ana? Are you alright?" Sequana opened her eyes, seeing a concerned face before her. She frowned slightly, recognising the woman as her friend Nemisis, Captain of The Millennium.
"Yeah, I'm fine Nem," she muttered, sighing again. "What about you? Why are you in Zion? None of the other ships are."
Nemisis hugged her friend gently, watching her in concern for a minute. "The Millennium needs re-fuelling. And we hit a squiddie attack a few days ago where she took a bit of damage. Thought I'd kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, positive," she insisted. "I was just a bit down, but I'll be alright. I'll have to be, for the party tonight."
"Ooh, yes, the party." Nemisis' eyes lit up. "Nitro and I are going together. What about you?"
"Don't remind me about couples." Sequana made a face. "I've had to deal with Whisper - I work with her - and Magni, who you know, for weeks. Since Magni left the Anubis, in fact." She leaned against the railing, staring at the milling crowds around them. Nemisis took her arm, starting to lead her through the crowd. "Why don't we go to the mess hall? I'll give you an hour to get drunk and pour out your woes. It always used to help with you."
Sequana grinned and allowed herself to be led. "Am I really that predictable? Honestly Nem, you should have let me know before. I might have changed my habits."
Nemisis looked over her shoulder sceptically, smiling. "Knowing you, I doubt it."