Title: Rescue Run

Author: Lady Rheena

Genres: Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Romance

Rating: R

Disclaimer: If you recognise it from a fandom, I probably don't own it. That includes the world of The Matrix, all its characters and the concepts it entails. The idea of the Fleet and the Planetary Coalition are technically my own, but you'll probably recognise bits and pieces from various sci-fi media.

Chapter notes: Rescue Run is set post-Matrix, pre Reloaded. Needless to say alternative universe. Hence Neo's in full-fledged One mode, but the Neb is lacking most of its original crew. PS- does anyone know what the heck VDTs ARE? If you do, I'd appreciate an email. Oh, and any Trekkies who spot the direct line steal here (apologies to Bill Shatner) can give themselves a pat on the back and a free cookie.

Part 3­- The Nebuchadnezzar

What passed for an infirmary aboard the Nebuchadnezzar was along a little way and down another ladder. The test involved only a brief neural scan, and while the woman called Trinity scrutinised the results on a small LCD screen Dena tried to probe for information, anything that might give her some foothold with these people.

'What is VDTs anyway?'

'Something you don't want.' Trinity frowned. 'And you haven't got. The test's negative.' Piercing blue eyes travelled quickly over Dena's entire frame before resting on her face. 'Who are you?'

'Dena Reese.' Sticking out a hand, Dena was relieved to see that method of introduction hadn't vanished as she was rewarded with a brief shake from a limb that was cold and far too bony. 'Squad captain, Desperadoes, HSS Gormenghast. You?'

'My name is Trinity. What's-' then she stopped and blinked. 'Your boots look new.'

A trifle nonplussed by this abrupt change of tack, Dena glanced down at her footwear, then at Trinity's which appeared to be another half a dozen generations hand-me-down affair.

'They're a couple of years old. Any newer and I'd still have a limp. These service issue are bastards to break in, and I swear it's your feet that change shape to fit them, not the other way around.'

'And your clothes. They're…different.' Trinity half-reached out, then stopped herself. Dena felt a smile that was too patronising reach her face and modified it to friendly before stripping off her overjacket and holding it out. The other woman fingered the material in scarcely concealed wonder before handing it back.

'Service issue. They go in big for black. Camouflage, maybe, for spacesiders.'

'Space…' Trinity echoed in a whisper. 'You're- you're not from here are you?' Her gaze settled on Dena's face again with something akin to sheer awe. However anything further was cut off by a low clanking sound and a cessation of motion, followed by the arrival of Morpheus in the doorway.

'Trinity?'

She immediately turned businesslike.

'The tests came up negative. But she's…'

'What?'

'She's healthy. Like- like no one I've ever seen. Morpheus-' she stopped at his look.

'Come,' he said to Dena. 'I believe we have talking to do.'

In the mess room they were joined by the black-haired man, whom Morpheus introduced as Neo, and another chocolate-skinned, broad-shouldered man named Link who had the most impressive set of dreadlocks Dena had seen in a long while. Neo immediately took up a poise sitting beside Trinity that was best interpreted as protective, leading her to another conclusion. Link poured out cups of metal-tainted water from a distiller built into the wall and then sat on the other side of Neo. Morpheus sat at the head of the table so Dena put herself opposite the others, trying not to be unsettled by their wary gazes. Neo in particular had a certain edge to his stare that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She took a sip from the cup Link had passed to her and looked at Morpheus.

'You first,' he said simply.

'Okay.' Perhaps, she mused, the best thing to do was to lay all her cards on the table. 'I'm captain of a fighter squadron aboard the HSS Gormenghast currently docked at Phobos orbital base. I was running a preliminary scan sweep of Terra Luna in the hopper ship Mariposa in preparation for the fourth mission scheduled to take off six months from now to prospect for minerals or other useable resources on Earth's moon. On the return run I lost functionality on two of the four power intake valves on the main engines. I tried to run a skipping stone manoeuvre off the Earth's atmosphere but lost a third valve and ended up crash landing on the surface. I got a close up view of some squid machines, whatever you call 'em here, and started to head underground to avoid another encounter. I've been here for about six days by my reckoning.' Putting the cup down, she folded her arms and looked Morpheus squarely in the eye. 'Your turn, Captain.'

'Hey, hang on a second,' Neo interjected, sitting up. 'Questions first, right?'

'Yeah, like what in the hell is Phobos?' Link added.

'Second Martian moon,' Dena said, taken aback.

'Martian?' Neo echoed. His voice turned mocking. 'So you're from Mars, huh?'

'I was born on Ganymede,' she replied in a similar vein. 'I just work from Mars.'

Her blithe tone made his smile vanish.

'You are human, right?'

'As human as you, from what I can gather.'

'Are you saying you're from outer space?' Link exclaimed. 'Like, you know, an astronaut?'

Unable to help smile at his use of the antiquated term, Dena nodded.

'You could say that. Technically I'm a grade one combat pilot, certified to drive anything space going that has engines and or thrusters, along with virtually every atmospheric plane there is. But mostly I work spaceside. I find too much time on planet and I get claustro.'

'She's telling the truth,' Neo suddenly announced, glancing at Morpheus. That something about him that had been bothering her hit Dena like a smack on the face. Psi. In Terran produce? Well, why not?

'Hell, no one can make up a story like that, even if you've completely lost your mind,' Link said. He stared at Dena for a moment more and then broke into an incredulous grin, shaking his head. 'I'll be damned. Just wait till they hear this back home!'

'Don't you people have any records at all of the Martian colonies?' Dena asked.

'We have very limited records of any kind,' Morpheus informed her. 'We're not even sure what year it is.'

'3422,' she responded promptly. 'Standardised dating system, that is. Don't ask me to convert to planetary scales, I haven't done that since high school.'

'Holy shit,' Trinity muttered. Then she too broke into an amazed smile. 'How? How can there be humans on other planets?'

'The process of Martian terraforming began in the early 2050s,' Dena said, dredging up her history classes. 'There were several fully self-sufficient domed colonies- that is, colonies living in airlocked domes, sci-fi style- and by the mid 2100s you could walk about on Mars without even a facial breather. Ganymede and Callisto followed, then the other Jovian moons, the gas mining platforms on Jupiter and Saturn…I'm really freaking you guys out, aren't I?'

'In all this time, nobody thought to come down here and look for anyone?' Neo asked.

'Do the words devastating global war mean anything to you? Opaque pollutant cloud layer? Repeated massive thermonuclear detonations?' Dena leaned forwards slightly towards him. 'Everyone on the colonies thought life on Earth was extinct. Old spacers tell stories about the planet-wide graveyard of humanity's greatest folly. I remember in the Academy my whole class got spooked by the one about the ghosts of old soldiers and machines that snare anyone who flies too close to the outer ionosphere.' She shook her head. 'I don't know how you people survived…'

It was at that point Morpheus began to talk. He had a quietly enthralling voice and Dena found herself hanging on his every word- in fact he rather reminded her of her old Ops instructor at the Academy, who had the same ability to hold a room full of people on tenterhooks with attention. But the story was as far from the operations procedures and protocols as Mercury was from Pleiades. He was very thorough, very precise and certainly minced no words. When he finally stopped it was all she could do to keep breathing.

'It sucks, doesn't it?' Neo broke the silence by saying.

'And it's been a helluva lot more'n a hundred years,' Link added. 'Think someone screwed up their math somewhere along the line.'

'Yeah,' Dena managed, dazed. 'Someone sure did.'

There was a long, pained pause. Morpheus ended it by standing.

'Link, plot a course to Zion. I want us there as fast as humanly possible.'

'Aye sir.' Link rose and gripped Dena's shoulder briefly as he went out. The gesture touched her and she summoned the courage to look up.

'I suggest you get some rest,' Morpheus said to her, not unkindly. 'I doubt you'll get much of a chance for any once Commander Lock hears about you.'

'Deadbolt's interrogation, huh?' Neo said, flashing Dena a boyish grin. She decided that if he did possess any psi rating then he- perhaps the entire Terran population- was unaware of it. But there was definitely something there, or she was an asteroid's aunty.

'I'll show you a cabin you can use,' Trinity said, also rising. 'We've got spares.'

'What happened to the rest of your crew?' Dena dared to ask. 'This is a big ship. You seem understaffed.'

'That's…a long story. It can wait.' By now they were next to a heavy door that opened via a hard twist of an ancient motorized locking mechanism. 'Here. Get some sleep. You look like you need it.'

'Thanks.' Dena stepped inside, paused and looked back. 'Trinity.'

'Yes?'

'Neo is…different, isn't he? I'm probably asking the wrong person-' and she had the satisfaction of seeing a small blush colour the other woman's cheeks '-but there's something about his eyes. Am I right?'

'He is different,' Trinity agreed, lowering her eyes. 'He is the One.'

'The one what?'

'The One. I'll explain later. You should rest.' Then she turned away and was gone before Dena could think of anything else to say to her.