My excuses are long, but let me just say that they mostly revolve around the fact that one of the cats I've had for thirteen years, my child, got cancer and was put to sleep after much misery.
***
Death and Rebirth
Chapter Thirteen
Zion
***
Dozer stopped short when he entered the mess hall, not having expected anyone else to be there at that hour. "Well," he muttered quietly, leaning over the table beside Tank, "glad to see that you're speaking to us again."
"Tentatively," Trinity said shortly.
She took a little sip of her water, and Dozer smiled. "So what are you two talking about?" he asked, pulling a bowl from one of the cupboards.
"My test." She smirked when she saw the look on his face. "Hence the 'tentatively' part. Listen, maybe you can answer me this - how well do most people do on it, anyway?"
He sat on the end of the table and ate a few bites of his dinner before answering. "Not as well as you, that's for sure. But then, they don't normally spend their every waking moment for four months training." Trinity glared at him slightly out of the corner of her eye, but playfully. "Only about a fourth of the people who are tested pass, and not everyone is. Sometimes the captains send them straight to Zion."
"How do they tell if you pass or not, anyway?" She absently twirled her used spork between her fingers, leaving the question open for whichever of the brothers wanted to answer.
"It just depends," Tank offered. "They judge you on all kinds of stuff."
"They? Not just Morpheus?"
He shook his head a little, leaning back a ways. "No. We recorded everything you did, and we have to show it to the military officials in Zion. They make the final decision."
Not again. A little anger crept into Trinity's eyes. "So, technically, I haven't passed yet?"
"Well, officially -"
"Don't worry," Dozer cut in, seeing where she was going. "You'll pass. There's two givens in judging the tests. You get a fatal wound, you automatically fail. You kill an Agent, you almost always pass. Unless, of course, you get a fatal wound after that."
"... You sure?"
"Positive." He set his dinner to the side for the moment. "Other than that, though, they judge you on your speed, agility, how well you avoid an Agent, how creative you are in avoiding them. Other stuff, like how well you can shoot, sometimes on your fighting. Just basic skills. And for you, we also tested your motorcycle skills."
Trinity smirked. "I still don't see why they have to do it like that," she murmured.
"'Cause they can see your honest reactions that way." Tank watched her carefully, frowning a little. "C'mon, it can't be that bad."
"It was terrifying!" she blurted before she could measure her response. "I seriously thought I was going to die. I still don't know how I passed - I was just looking for the first good opportunity to get out, and praying it didn't backfire." Suddenly feeling restless, she stood form the table, taking both her own mug and Tank's to the sink, even though both were half-full. She emptied neither, and simply set them on the counter
"Don't worry about it." Dozer spoke calmly, not looking up as he finished off the last of his 'food.' "You'll stop being so scared eventually, or at least you'll learn to work through it. As for taking the first opportunity you can find, that's normal. You won't really have time to think through an entire plan in a real fight. You just have to go on instinct."
She leaned against the counter with a sigh, and ran one hand through her short hair. She reached around to the cups on the counter. She took a large gulp from her cup - and immediately spat it into the sink, coughing violently. Behind her, Tank and Dozer grimaced simultaneously.
"Tank, wh-" she coughed again, taking a sip from her real cup, "what the hell were you drinking?"
"Uh, well -" he stammered.
"Shit, Tank, it tastes like engine degreaser!"
"Well..." he scratched his head, nervously averting his eyes. "That's because it is."
She gaped at him over her shoulder. "You drink engine degreaser?"
"Well, technically, it's alcohol, but it works really well for degreasing engines, so...."
"Jesus, Tank."
"Hey." He quickly raised his hands in defense and pointed at Dozer. "He makes it, not me."
She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and glared slightly before she stopped, listening intently. "Is that the engines?" She grabbed the edge of the counter to steady herself as the ship jolted slightly and began to move.
"Hey." The door opened wider, and Apoc stuck his head in. "There you are."
"What's going on?"
"Morpheus and Niobe found a clear route back to Zion. We're going home early. Better start packing."
***
It hadn't taken more than twenty minutes for Trinity to pack all of her things. That left her with nearly three hours to sleep, but she was barely able to use it. After perhaps an hour of restlessness, she fell into a light slumber, but woke at the slightest jolt of the ship. After waking perhaps a dozen times, she finally gave up, and dragged herself up to the cockpit.
She sank down against the wall behind Niobe's pilot chair, briefly locking eyes with Morpheus when he noticed her presence. "You should be sleeping."
"Took me forever to fall asleep. Then I kept waking up."
Niobe shook her head and laughed a little. "You know, you probably get insomnia more than anyone else in the fleet." It got Trinity to grin a little, though Niobe didn't see it.
"You should still try to get some sleep. It'll be the middle of the night when we get there. There's going to be a lot to do before you'll be able to get any sleep."
"I'll risk it."
***
No one had told her what Zion was like, not beyond a few minor details. A quarter million people, a Council of twelve running the place, and it only looked third-world. But other than that, she really had no idea what it was like.
She had a loose picture in her mind, but it was based off of every sci-fi and post apocalyptic movie she had ever seen - not off of what anyone in reality had told her, and certainly not from anything she had actually seen. All she could picture was something along the lines of layers upon layers of long, low caverns, with catacomb rooms carved from the rock. Simple, maybe, but what else could you build in a reality such as this?
She jumped suddenly, startled from her doze as a loud buzzer on the front console sounded. She panicked for a moment, thinking it was the sentinel alarm until Niobe put on a headset and entered in a quick command on a nearby computer.
"This is the Nebuchadnezzar, requesting access through gate two."
Trinity scrambled to the front of the cockpit, holding on to the back of the chairs for balance. They were both staring at something straight ahead, but all she could see was more of the black tunnel. There was a quiet murmur from Niobe's earpiece, and suddenly she found herself squinting against a too-bright thread of light that appeared at the far end of the tunnel. Zion, she realized. They were going into Zion. She straightened up immediately, willing her eyes to adjust to the widening beam of light.
When they finally made it past the massive gate, she leaned closer to the windshield for a better look. A half-dozen or so other gates, each with a bridge connecting it to what she assumed was the command station. Taking another step and leaning closer still to the window, she could ee ships docked below the bridges, and -
"Trinity," Morpheus laughed, gently pushing her back, away from the window.
Niobe carefully piloted the ship farther into the dock, and down to one of the empty landing bays. "Go get your stuff," she instructed, powering down the ship. After a long moment of being rooted in her place, Trinity was able to process the words, and bounded down to the lower deck.
***
"Ow!" Tank yelped as his shoulder was roughly slammed into the wall. He dragged himself from his position face first in the pillow to see who had woken him so carelessly.
"Get up!" Trinity thrust his boots into his stomach, drawing another, quieter protest. "We're in Zion."
He groaned as she left, sitting up to drag the old boots onto his feet. The loud creak of her door opening, and closing a moment later drifted into his room. She stopped outside of his door again, while Morpheus and Niobe passed by in the hall.
"Hurry up."
"Oh, take it easy, the city's not going anywhere." He finished tying one boot, and started on the other, a bit more quickly.
She crossed her arms impatience. "I thought you were a morning person, Tank."
"This is not morning," he grumbled. "This is the middle of the night!" He grabbed his bag and followed her out, muttering all the way.
"Okay, Trinity." She and Tank stopped, letting Niobe and the rest of them catch up. "I'll take you to get registered so we can get you a room."
"She's staying with my family," Tank muttered, leaning against the wall with closed eyes.
Niobe frowned a little, flipping a few switches on a nearby control panel. "Are you sure your parents won't mind?"
"Positive." He jumped a little as the wall behind him moved, and stood straight. "They said they miss having people around anyway, since Zee moved out." He looked a bit grumpier then. "Don't know why they would miss her, though, she's completely - OW!"
Trinity briefly glanced away from the opening port to see Tank rubbing the back of his head and glaring at Dozer. "What the hell was that for?"
He shook his head a little. "She's your sister. That's the kind of thing that got you grounded when you were younger, remember?" He pushed him a little to get him moving when the ramp had completely lowered. "And besides, she's not that bad."
"Easy for you to say," he said, grumbling again as he readjusted the heavy bag on his shoulder. "She actually likes you."
***
"Okay, I got it." Tank pulled the old key from the door and slowly opened it. "Hey, Trinity. I got it."
She gave one more long look to the seemingly endless cavern below, and moved away from the railing. Inside, she left the heavy bags on the table, and practically collapsed into the nearest chair. "So there's actually a bottom to that thing, huh?"
"Yeah. You can't see it at night, though."
Trinity leaned her forearms against her knees, breathing more heavily than she should have been. "Why am I so worn out?"
"'Cause," he said, taking his bag off to his room and returning. "You just walked about twenty times farther than you ever have in your entire life. C'mon." He took her bag from the table, and started off to the back of the apartment again. "Zee's room is this way."
"Shouldn't we tell your parents that we're here?"
"Let them sleep." He set her things down at the foot of the bed. "Bathroom's out and to the left. Feel free to get something from the kitchen if you want. G'night." He left, closing the door, while Trinity was barely able to pull of her boots before falling asleep.
***
"Zee, Honey, leave that alone," her father admonished.
"It's for school," she replied absently, her typing never faltering.
"Zee, it's Sunday, leave it alone and come sit down."
"And just as soon as you two are done cooking and Cas shows up, I will." She stopped briefly, staring t the clock on the screen with a frown. "Is she even coming? She should have been here half an hour ago. She didn't say anything to you, did she?"
Her father checked the digital wall clock a second time as he wiped his hands dry. "She should be."
"I called her last night," her mother added. "She said she was coming." She sighed, turning off the burners on the stove. "I hope she's not sick."
Zee drummed her fingers impatiently on the desk for several seconds. She was just about to resume her typing, fingers just over the keyboard, when someone knocked loudly at the door. "Finally." She quickly saved what work she had done, and stood from her seat. "I'll let her in."
"Speak of the devil," her mother said with a small smile, pulling plates out of the cupboard.
"You're late, Cas," they heard from around the corner. "You were supposed to be here half an -" There was a brief moment's silence, then Zee suddenly burst into laughter. "You're back!" Both parents rushed to the front door to see what all the commotion was about.
"C'mon, Zee," he smiled, lifting her off the ground in a hug. "Is that any way to talk to my wife?"
"Dozer!" His mother swept him up in a hug as son as Zee was willing to let go. "I thought you weren't coming in for a few days."
"Yeah, but we found a clear path back. Came home early."
"Well," his father wondered, peering outside. "Where's your brother? He's not still at the dock, is he?
"No, we came in last night. He's not up yet?"
Zee rolled her eyes, muttering, "Oh, that little -" as she ran to the back of the apartment.
"Well," Cas said, pulling the door closed as they too headed for the back of the house, "glad to see those two getting along so well."
Zee just stood in Tank's doorway for a moment, shaking her head in frustration. Typical Tank thing to do, show up in the middle of the night and not tell anyone. Just typical. So, she figured, he deserved what he was about to get.
"OW!" He practically jumped from the bed, tangling himself in the sheets. "Why the hell does everyone keep hitting me!?"
"You should have told us you were here!"
He glared at her and briefly at his parents, standing just inside the door, and lay back down pulling the pillow over his head. "Gowwaway."
"Tank, get up!"
"Go wake up Trinity," he grumbled, barely heard under the pillow.
"Who?"
"She's been asleep for sixteen years," he complained, as if he hadn't even heard her question. "She doesn't need any more!"
"Neither do you," Trinity said quietly from the door. She smirked when he peeked at her from under the pillow before pulling it back. "Oh, come on Tank, get up. You can sleep tonight."
"Who's your friend?" his mother asked, quickly looking her over.
"Trinity," he mumbled, coming out from under the pillow just a little bit. "We pulled her out a few months ago."
She smiled briefly to his collective family.
"This is Mom," he mumbled, pointing her out. "Aurora, Shadow, call her whatever. Dad, Virgil. The one Dozer's glued do is Cas." Both rolled their eyes at this. "And the whiny one with the screechy voice -" he pulled the pillow back for protection just as Zee hit him, again "- is Zee."
Trinity smiled again and went over to Tank. "Seeing as how you're up for introductions," she began, pulling the pillow well out of his reach, "you should be ready to face the day - so get up."
"C'mon," Zee said, pushing him into a sitting position, "I'm hungry."
"You'll have to wait," Virgil said. "We didn't make enough food for seven people."
Numerous groans erupted from the group as he led them out to the kitchen.
***
"She's the one you had been watching, right?" Cas asked, as she helped to cook all the extra food.
"Yeah." Dozer was also helping. He checked the clock again. "Someone want to go tell her she's going to use up all the hot water?"
"Take it easy," Trinity said as she briefly poked her head in, drying her hair with one of the family's raggedy old towels. "I'm done."
"Enjoy a hot shower for a change?"
"Yes." She went back to her room to get dressed.
"So tell me something about Trinity," Shadow began. "What exactly did she do to get Morpheus' attention?"
"Just luck that we found her." Tank was only now starting to wake up, but was still resting lazily on the nearby couch. "But he started thinking she was the One after a while."
Shadow was quiet fore a moment, eyeing her son carefully. "She's not then?"
"We have no idea."
"Hasn't he taken her to the Oracle?"
"Yeah, but we have no idea what she said. When she came back, she just stayed in her cabin for a day or two. She hadn't said a word about it."
"But she doesn't know Morpheus thinks that," Dozer added. "So don't mention it to her."
"Little late for that," she said suddenly, seeming to appear out of nowhere. She dug through a cabinet for a mug. Finding one, she filled it at the sink and leaned against the counter, meeting each gaze, some worried, some shocked. "Look, the Oracle told me about it. And just for the record, I'm not, so stop worrying." She sat at the table across from Zee, as if nothing had happened. "So other than that, can I assume I still earned being unplugged?"
Everyone else sat in stunned silence for a minute before Dozer answered, "You cracked the IRS. That'll get anyone unplugged."
Shadow stared at her, not noticing that the food was ready and that her son and daughter-in-law had turned off the stove and were setting out extra dishes. "You cracked the IRS?"
Trinity nodded, cheeks flushing a little.
"On your own?"
"Yes," she muttered hesitantly. "A few days before I was pulled out. It's not that big of a deal." She turned a slightly darker shade of red.
"It's a huge deal, Trinity." Shadow was nearly beside herself. "I didn't even consider trying it, ever, even knowing what was in it. I never considered anything like that."
Trinity looked up, confused, her blush fading. "What do you mean?"
She moved away from the wall, setting her own cup on the table. Her bracelets jangled as she turned her arm and pushed up her sleeve, revealing a small, black plug just below her elbow. She grinned a little when the younger girl's eyes widened and she sat up straighter. She let the sleeve fall back. "I was unplugged when I was fifteen, from the Neb."
"How long were you there?"
"Twenty-three years."
Trinity frowned a slightly, working out the math in her head. "They let you stay on the ship when you were pregnant – three times?"
"Just for a while," she assured her.
"You take some time off after about six months," Virgil explained. "Stay here for a while, then go back on the ship."
Tank, meanwhile, sat at the end of the table, head resting on crossed arms as he eyed the food, still waiting on the stove. It was ready to be served and eaten, he knew, and yet, for some reason, no one was making any effort to do so. But he couldn't figure out why. His parents were wonderful cooks, especially considering their limited resources to use. And here he was, having gone months without a decent, or even different meal. Dozer hadn't had anything good either, and Trinity, never. Yet both were still sitting, Trinity talking with his parents, and Dozer was just listening, occasionally talking with Cas. He glanced at the food again, and decided he wasn't waiting any longer.
"To make a long story short," he said loudly, interrupting Trinity's question, "Dad was the Neb's operator, they met, and the rest, as they say, is history - let's eat." He didn't wait for someone else to get the food, and took two pots from the stove.
All six of them stared at him vacantly, annoyance and anger barely detectable.
"What?"
After another long stretch of silence, Shadow finally moved to take the other two pots from the stove, and set them down on the table. "Virgil left the ship when Dozer was born, started teaching here. And when my Unbelievably Tactless Son was four, they wanted to make me captain, but I spent too much time away from this place already. I would practically never see any of my friends or family again if I accepted. I've been teaching for the last thirteen years." She sat down and watched Tank pour a large spoonful from every pot onto his plate. "Although we seem to be better at teaching some things than others."
"I resent that."
***
"Where are we going?" Trinity asked as she, Tank and his parents waited for the main elevator to reach their level.
"Restaurant down in the lower levels," Virgil said. "You'll like it."
The doors slid open after another minute, and Tank hit the panel button when they and the rest of the small crowd entered. "They've got pretty much everything you could possibly make with what we have. "You name it, they probably have it."
"Most of it is synthetic," Shadow added, "but it doesn't taste half bad."
Trinity leaned against the wall, letting them carry on their conversation, and just listening. She let her eyes wander around the elevator, watching everyone. There were a few other families, some of them big. One was just a man and a little girl, sitting on his shoulders. There were some people her age, probably going to some restaurant as well. There were a few crewmembers, fresh from a ship, as well. Only four, though, which was strange because the military levels were below them, and most everyone in the fleet lived there. She looked a little closer, and suddenly realized that she knew one of them. "Ghost?"
The youngest of them spun around, and smiled in surprise when he saw her. He set his bag down, and joined her across the elevator. "Trinity, hi. How long have you been here?"
"A few days. You?"
"About an hour." He gestured to his crew, all of whom were watching him. "We're going down to the military quarter."
She looked over his shoulder to his crew, then back to Tank's family. "Hold on." She left him for a moment and went to Tank, speaking to him quickly. He nodded after a moment, and she came back. "Listen," she started, "we're going to dinner, down in the lower levels. Do you want to come when you're done unpacking?"
"Sure," he smiled. "I can't cook anyway."
***
She glanced towards the door again, beginning to get annoyed. "What's taking him so long?"
"Is this his first time here?" Virgil asked, following her gaze to the nearby entrance.
"Yeah."
"Then that explains it. He's probably got someone showing him the basics of everything, how things work – stuff like that. It can take a while. He'll show up, don't worry."
She sighed, staring uselessly at the door again. She waited a few seconds longer, and Ghost suddenly walked in, looking around the room in search of them.
"Ghost!" His head snapped around at her voice, and he quickly scanned the tables. Trinity stood from her chair a little and waved at him. "Over here!"
He came over, jogging a little, and sat in the open seat next to Trinity. "Hello," he said politely, and somewhat formally.
"This is my ships operator, Tank, an his parents, Shadow and Virgil." Ghost nodded to each of them, smiling a little. "Everyone, this is Ghost. He's from the Logos."
"They're twins," Tank said, seeming more interested than he should have been.
"Twins?" they both asked simultaneously.
"What do you mean?" Ghost finished.
"It's just what we call people who were unplugged on the same day."
"It's pretty uncommon," Shadow elaborated, "just because it's so dangerous." Noting their raised, slightly concerned eyebrows, she went on. "All right, do you remember what the red pill did, specifically? It disrupted your carrier signals, which allow you to interact with everything in the Matrix. That's how you find the person you're unplugging, you look for the location of the signals that are going haywire. But because they're malfunctioning, you can't tell whose it is unless you already know. So if two people are unplugged to different ships at the same time, they might pick up the wrong person… or they might both go after the same person. Then the other would drown."
Trinity and Ghost both paled slightly at the implications.
"Yeah," she nodded, looking a bit grim. "They try to work it so that it doesn't happen, but things don't always work out. Seems to have been the case with the two of you."
The food came then, and after Ghost ordered, Trinity though to ask him something. "Did you captain have you take the test?"
He leaned back in the old chair and ran both hands over his still-fuzzy head, ruffling what little hair he had. "Yeah. Three days ago."
"How'd you do?"
"Pretty well, I think I passed." He seemed to fade out briefly, drawing back into his mind. But, finding the memories their less than pleasant, he shook his head and turned back to face Trinity. "So how'd you do?"
She sighed heavily and took a long, slow drink of water. She gave him no reply.
He frowned a little. "You couldn't have been that bad…."
"Actually, I killed an Agent." Her head stayed down, and her eyes stayed closed. She didn't see the looks of surprise that circled the table, but she knew they were there.
"…You did not….
"Actually, she did," Tank said, still eating.
"How?"
"I jumped from one roof to another, I shot him when he followed me."
"Yeah," Virgil confirmed. "They can't dodge bullets in midair, they have to be able to brace against something."
"So…." Ghost shifted in his chair to look at her more directly, confusion written all over his face. "If you did so well, why do you seem… like you don't want to talk about it?"
"Because that goddamn test –" she looked furious, revolted by just having to talk about it "- was the scariest shit I've ever had to go through, and I want as much distance between me and the memory as possible."
"That bad, huh?" Shadow asked. Somehow, she was being sympathetic to Trinity's anger without looking down on her.
"I kicked Morpheus when he told me it wasn't real," she grumbled cynically, starting on her dinner.
"She did," Tank confirmed, before anyone had a chance to claim any disbelief.
"I'm just glad it's over." She finally relaxed a little, loosening up at that very knowledge. "I can just be on the ship without having to worry."
Virgil and Shadow both tensed visibly, exchanging hesitant glances. "Trinity… didn't anyone tell you?"
It was pure denial that kept her from recognizing this right away. It was obvious – the looks, the posture, the tone of voice – this was something she wasn't going to like, and she could guess what it was. "Tank," she began accusingly, "what didn't –"
He nearly jumped away from her, instantly defensive and avoiding her lethal glare. "Look, I just thought," he stammered, sweating bullets, "that, y-you know, um –"
"Trinity," Shadow murmured, soothingly.
Trinity continued glaring at Tank, angry as hell for not mentioning this new thing that would keep her from joining the crew as a real member. She'd been through enough to earn her place, and this seemed like it would be the straw to break the camel's back.
"Trinity." Virgil now. Finally, Trinity turned away from Tank, glare ebbing slightly, and met his eyes. "You're guaranteed a place in the fleet now, they just want to give you a little extra training before that."
"I've already been trained," she snapped.
"Professionally, at the academy."
She was trying very hard to control her temper. "Morpheus told me that if I passed, I wouldn't have to train here."
"Not as long as someone who didn't pass," Shadow assured. "They'd have to train for a year or two, you only have to go for two months."
A long, low growl emanated from Trinity's throat, and she turned away.
"Two months?" Ghost asked. "That's it?"
"Two months."
"And there's nothing else?" Trinity asked, to be sure. Her head was tilted down, eyes closed. "Then we can be on the crew, no trouble, same as anyone else?"
"You're captains might keep you out of more dangerous situations for a while, just until you have more experience. But yes, other than that. That's it."
Finally, Trinity sighed, and went back to her dinner. "This'll all end up being worth it?"
"Definitely."
***
Yeah, took too long. I know.
R+R : )