Chapter Five: Out the Other Side
Mia felt consciousness as she was unplugged from the Matrix. As she looked around, every single crew member was standing there, staring at her with different expressions of disbelief on their faces. As she sat up, again she thought about standing up but felt that she was shaking too bad and decided to stay sitting. She looked over at Lewis but even he was looking at her with such concern, she wondered what they were able to see? Captain Jackson spoke first and said, "Mia. what just happened?" Mia shook her head and closed her eyes trying to make the image of a smiling Agent Smith go away. She didn't answer right away and heard Lewis say, "Mia that was an Agent you spent the last 25 minutes in a room with - what the Hell was that about? What did he say - what did you say?" Mia again shook her head and answered, "I don't know what he wanted. He.He said he wanted to talk. He asked me what I did when I wasn't running from Agents or fighting the Matrix. He said he wanted to learn about being human - from. a human." She heard muttering but Captain Jackson shouted for everyone to be quiet and said, "Mia, why you and how are you going to teach a machine - an Agent, what it's like to be human?" She couldn't tell him because she herself didn't understand. So she only answered, "I don't know. Oh Gods, I don't know what the hell he was talking about! I was so scared, I hardly heard half of what he said - I thought he was going to kill me any second! Mia brought her hands to her face and realized she was still shaking. Captain Jackson reached to help her down and as she slid to her feet, he asked her, "Did he tell you his name?" Mia sighed and answered, "He said his name was Smith.Agent Smith." She heard the collective gasps as she knew everyone would know his name. Everyone knew he was the one who issued the orders and he was the most deadly of all the Agents. Captain Jackson shook his head and said, "Mia you need some rest, we'll all talk later." He walked with Mia to her quarters and watched her go to her bed and drop onto its surface. He sat in the chair and didn't say anything but watched her as she folded her hands, knuckles first over her eyes. He knew there was more to the story than what she had said out in front of everyone.
He thought she had fallen asleep when he heard her say, "How long was I out after I went through the window?" He answered, "Ten minutes at least, the Agent was waiting in the room when you came through the window, and there was nothing we could do. We knew you were unconscious so we just waited seeing what he would do. He did nothing. He stood there and waited for you to wake up. Mia, in all my years I have never seen anything like this. This is twice this Agent had gone after you and this time he catches you. He has a nice little conversation with you and then lets you go? Mia, shit like this doesn't happen. You do know I will have to let the counsel know about this? Mia could only nod but said nothing further. He sighed and got up from the chair, he had hoped to get something further from her but gave up. He stood in the doorway and said, "Mia in the morning, write up a report and I'll send it to Zion along with mine."
Mia heard him shut the door, she was grateful her room mate gave her some privacy. She ran over the whole conversation in her head and it just didn't make sense. He had kept her glasses and they were not even real. She then recalled him leaning over her and smelling her, he had told her she smelled 'nice' Why would a machine care if something smelled nice - why would He care if she smelled nice? She felt something unsettling in the pit of her stomach, maybe this was why the Oracle wouldn't read for her. She knew this was going to happen, she should have warned her. She would have never gone back in - or would she?
Several hours later, she woke with a start and looked around. As she sat up on the bed, she tried to recall her dreams, she recalled fragments of Smith leaning too close to her and whispering in her ear - she could feel his breath on her neck. She shuddered and went to shower. She got her data pad and wrote her report. She put the exact things in there that she had told everyone the night before. There really wasn't more to add and she sure as hell wasn't going to tell them about the sunglasses or that he liked her smell! No, even that was too bizarre even for her. She handed her report to the Captain and went to get something to eat. She smiled when she saw Lewis, it was nice to see a friendly face. As she sat down across from him , he said, "You had us all pretty worried there for a while. I never knew anyone who could charm an Agent before." Mia laughed as she finished her meal and then headed to her post.
They finished up their patrol and were heading back to Zion when the Captain called her to the main deck. No one else was there so she knew he wanted to talk about something important. It had been over five days since her conversation with an Agent and after everyone pretty much figured out there was not more to tell, they let it drop. The crew were a good solid bunch of people and they seemed to accept what happened as much as she did. Mia sat down in the chair and waited for Captain Jackson to speak. He glided the hover craft through the maze of sewers and she knew they were only a few hours away from Zion. She had expected this and was ready, she never heard back from the counsel and nor had the Captain said anything more.
She waited in silence for him to speak, she had no idea what he would say. He finally said, "Mia the counsel wants to see you, they are curious as to why this happened and want to hear it in your own words. No one knows about this except for the crew and the counsel and they want to keep it that way. No one will breathe a word about this and I'm thinking this isn't something you'd want everyone talking about either. Mia, I know there is something else that you're not telling me, if you still don't want to tell me then that's fine. But if you ever want to talk about it, my door is always open. Mia looked at him and leaned back in the chair. She whispered, "I can't put my finger on it, it's more like a feeling. He looked at me differently, almost like he was sizing me up for something - what, I have no idea. And he did something that I've never heard anyone talk about before. He smiled. Captain Jackson shook his head in disbelief and said, "Okay, that part, I wouldn't tell the counsel. I think it wise that you didn't put that in your report. " He turned to look at her and said, "Mia, you do know the next time you go into the Matrix, he's going to be looking for you." She shook her head yes nodded and said, "I know. Now the question is, how will he do it? Is everyone else now at risk and will he separate me from everyone again. I honestly don't know but he did say we would talk again. I think maybe its best I don't go back in - period. I think maybe become an operator and stay on this side of the screen. Captain Jackson only said, "Before you start making any career changes, I'd wait and see what the counsel has to say.
Everyone rushed to the main deck as they came up to the gates of Zion. No matter how many times Mia had seen it, it always filled her with awe. She was home. The crew was excited and everyone was talking about what they were going to do. Mia lived alone in one of the lower desks and she rather liked it. She was a bit of a loner and it suited her fine. As she was gathering her gear, Lewis came up and told her some friends were getting together and asked if she wanted to join them. She said "No that she was tired and would most likely just go to bed." He smiled and said, "Another time then. As she watched him walk away, she thought 'Oh please don't let what I think is happening be happening.' She made it a rule never to date/sleep with a crew mate, if things didn't work out, it made life a living hell until someone decided to leave. She'd seen it happen to too many crews and that was her one golden rule - never get involved with a crew mate.
She wasn't sure when the counsel would ask to see her as even Captain Jackson didn't know himself. It would be too obvious right off the ship so she knew she at least had a few hours to relax. She went to her quarters and got a change of clothing, she would shower and then go to bed until they came for her. They came the next morning.
Chapter Six: Well, not exactly.
Mia followed the aide into one of the smaller meeting rooms. She was relieved to see that Captain Jackson was already there and smiled at him as she took her seat next to him. She noticed he did not smile back but looked straight ahead. This did nothing to ease the fear in the pit of her stomach.
The counsel members filed into the room and each took their seats without saying a word. Mia held her breath and waited for what seemed like an eternity before she heard her name called. She stood and acknowledged the counsel and then waited to see who would lead the questioning. Counsel member Adera spoke and said, "Mia we got your report along with Captain Jackson's of your encounter with one of the sentient programs - an Agent if you like. And frankly, we don't know what to make of it. We were hoping you could tell us in your own words what happened."
Mia told them exactly what she had said in her report, adding a few more colourful descriptions of what was going through her mind at the time of the encounter. She hated being dishonest but she reasoned that she really wasn't lying, she was choosing to omit the more absurd parts of the conversation. She knew they wouldn't understand about the Agent commenting on her smelling nice her or even the sunglasses part - Hell, she herself didn't know what he meant. It still made her shudder to think about it and if she thought about the way he looked at her, it made her shudder even more. As she told what happened, she was constantly being interrupted to further explain things or to answer questions. Captain Jackson was also asked questions about their first encounter and then the second one. The questioning lasted all the morning and Captain Jackson and Mia had answered every question at least 10 times. She had noticed an older black man had not asked her any questions but had sat watching her and listening to everyone else question her. As the other members sat whispering, she watched as he said, "I have 2 questions for you Mia, what do you think this Agent wants?" Mia shook her head and said, "I'm really not sure. The same counsel member then said, "Answer me this, how much are you willing to risk to find out what this Agent really wants?" Mia thought the question over before she answered and said, "Well it depends on the risks and what the risks are for." He nodded and only said, "That's a fair answer." He then looked at the counsel and asked that everyone take a break and come back in 2 hours.
Mia stood and stretched, her muscles were stiff from sitting all morning. She watched the counsel members leave the room and turned to look at Captain Jackson. He only said, "I don't think there's any more ways to ask the same questions so I don't know what more they can ask of us. She particularly hadn't liked the last question but refrained from saying anything. Maybe it was nothing but she had a bad feeling.
She and Captain Jackson went to get something to eat at one of the communal kitchens and then went to check on the ship for the rest of the time. She could tell the crew was curious but no one said anything as everyone got the ship charged and ready for departure. Soon, it was time for them to head back to meet with the counsel and Mia was curious as to what they would say.
They arrived and took their seats. Mia noticed that some of the counsel members looked uneasy and she shot her captain a quick glance but he only shrugged. She had the feeling what ever it was, it wasn't good news. She could not imagine what it would be and then a thought struck her - no, they wouldn't do that - they couldn't.
Counsel member Adera looked at Mia and then said, "Mia, we have gone over everything you have told us and the one thing we keep coming back to is what you could tell the machines that they don't already know. We are curious as to what this Agent hopes to learn from you." Mia interrupted and said, "But I already told you what he says he wants to know." She heard the counsel member sigh and continue, "This may be a break through to the machines, if they want to know about us, would you be willing to take the risk and meet with this Agent again? I realize we could be sending you to your death but if this Agent has not harmed you in the past and has said that he would talk with you again, another meeting may be just what we need to find out the machines motives." Mia sat down stunned and looked at the counsel in disbelief. They could not ask her to go back in and look for this Agent. The older black man spoke up and said, "Mia, I know we are asking a lot of you but this is the first time that an Agent has made contact with someone with the purpose of gaining knowledge that didn't end in that person's death. There is nothing that you could tell him that is not common knowledge that the machines don't already know. We need to know what he wants to know and why. We can not force you to do this so we ask that you do this, for us and for Zion."
Mia heard them but before she could answer, Captain Jackson was on his feet. He looked at the counsel and said, "You are probably sending her to her death and maybe ours as well. Are we just going to send her into the Matrix and hope the right Agent will find her? Do we send her alone or do we all go in and hope the Agents say - oh they're just Mia' friends, don't kill them!" Mia could hear that Captain Jackson's voice was rising so she stood and placed a hand on his arm to calm him. He looked over at her and before he could say anything more, she answered, "I'll go. I myself want to know what he wants and why. This has been bothering me since I came back and I need to know. I think he will know when I enter the Matrix. So as long as he finds me first, I should be okay." She heard Captain Jackson start to protest but she whispered to him that it would be alright.
As they left the counsel chamber, she knew he would start his protest anew but she didn't want to hear it. She had made up her mind and was grateful when she heard the counsel ask Captain Jackson to stay an extra day.
One of the counsel members called the Captain over and she used that as her exit. She would let the Captain deal with explaining this to the crew. They would be happy to have an extra day but she knew this new assignment would not set well with many of them. She knew everyone had lost either a family member or knew someone that had and Agents almost always played a part in it.
She spent the rest of that day walking around Zion and watching the people. When she got back to her quarters, there was a note saying they were going to leave first thing in the morning. She sighed and crawled into her bed. The one thing she loved about her quarters was the bed, and it was big and soft. It wasn't long before she felt sleep claim her and she dreamed. She dreamed that she was talking with someone and he was standing very close to her whispering in her ear. She could feel his breath on her neck and she found that she was aroused. In her dream, she kept saying, "No this can't be happening, it can't be." She woke with a start right before her alarm went off and sat up. She shook her head and thought it had been a long time since she had a nightmare and that one certainly counted as one.
She made her way to the ship and was checking her equipment when she heard the rest of the crew come in. She knew the captain was already there and when all the crew reported, he called a meeting on the main deck. As he told them of their new assignment many of them looked over with various mixtures of curiosity but not the open hostility that she had expected. When the captain was done, he asked if anyone had any questions. Lewis spoke up and said, "I knew, we knew something like this would happen. Agents don't just talk with people and then let them go. He's up to something and you're going to be the bait to find out what. And for the record, I don't like it." Captain Jackson looked around and said, "Well for the record, I don't like it either."
They headed out, Captain Jackson had a favourite place he liked to broadcast from. It had lots of exits and the sentinels didn't patrol there often. She still didn't know how this was all going to play out - would they just walk in and hope that this Agent decided it was a good day to talk?
Two days later they were in position and the Captain was satisfied with the ships location, he would broadcast. Now, they had to figure out how they were going to try lure the Agent without anyone getting killed. The crew was all gathered around and everyone was tossing in various suggestions but nothing felt right. They couldn't just show up and wait to see what happened, could they? Mia shook her head and felt like that was the best alternative. She didn't want to endanger the crew any more than necessary. It was settled that the regular crew of six including her would go into the Matrix and if an Agent showed up, then they would deal with it.
Mia had thought about meeting Agent Smith again and what that would mean. She tried to recall but although she was having dreams about him, she could never really remember them all, just fragments and feelings. There was something about they way he invaded her personal space that she found disturbing but she had the feeling it was more than that. But what it was, she wasn't sure.
Mia felt consciousness as she was unplugged from the Matrix. As she looked around, every single crew member was standing there, staring at her with different expressions of disbelief on their faces. As she sat up, again she thought about standing up but felt that she was shaking too bad and decided to stay sitting. She looked over at Lewis but even he was looking at her with such concern, she wondered what they were able to see? Captain Jackson spoke first and said, "Mia. what just happened?" Mia shook her head and closed her eyes trying to make the image of a smiling Agent Smith go away. She didn't answer right away and heard Lewis say, "Mia that was an Agent you spent the last 25 minutes in a room with - what the Hell was that about? What did he say - what did you say?" Mia again shook her head and answered, "I don't know what he wanted. He.He said he wanted to talk. He asked me what I did when I wasn't running from Agents or fighting the Matrix. He said he wanted to learn about being human - from. a human." She heard muttering but Captain Jackson shouted for everyone to be quiet and said, "Mia, why you and how are you going to teach a machine - an Agent, what it's like to be human?" She couldn't tell him because she herself didn't understand. So she only answered, "I don't know. Oh Gods, I don't know what the hell he was talking about! I was so scared, I hardly heard half of what he said - I thought he was going to kill me any second! Mia brought her hands to her face and realized she was still shaking. Captain Jackson reached to help her down and as she slid to her feet, he asked her, "Did he tell you his name?" Mia sighed and answered, "He said his name was Smith.Agent Smith." She heard the collective gasps as she knew everyone would know his name. Everyone knew he was the one who issued the orders and he was the most deadly of all the Agents. Captain Jackson shook his head and said, "Mia you need some rest, we'll all talk later." He walked with Mia to her quarters and watched her go to her bed and drop onto its surface. He sat in the chair and didn't say anything but watched her as she folded her hands, knuckles first over her eyes. He knew there was more to the story than what she had said out in front of everyone.
He thought she had fallen asleep when he heard her say, "How long was I out after I went through the window?" He answered, "Ten minutes at least, the Agent was waiting in the room when you came through the window, and there was nothing we could do. We knew you were unconscious so we just waited seeing what he would do. He did nothing. He stood there and waited for you to wake up. Mia, in all my years I have never seen anything like this. This is twice this Agent had gone after you and this time he catches you. He has a nice little conversation with you and then lets you go? Mia, shit like this doesn't happen. You do know I will have to let the counsel know about this? Mia could only nod but said nothing further. He sighed and got up from the chair, he had hoped to get something further from her but gave up. He stood in the doorway and said, "Mia in the morning, write up a report and I'll send it to Zion along with mine."
Mia heard him shut the door, she was grateful her room mate gave her some privacy. She ran over the whole conversation in her head and it just didn't make sense. He had kept her glasses and they were not even real. She then recalled him leaning over her and smelling her, he had told her she smelled 'nice' Why would a machine care if something smelled nice - why would He care if she smelled nice? She felt something unsettling in the pit of her stomach, maybe this was why the Oracle wouldn't read for her. She knew this was going to happen, she should have warned her. She would have never gone back in - or would she?
Several hours later, she woke with a start and looked around. As she sat up on the bed, she tried to recall her dreams, she recalled fragments of Smith leaning too close to her and whispering in her ear - she could feel his breath on her neck. She shuddered and went to shower. She got her data pad and wrote her report. She put the exact things in there that she had told everyone the night before. There really wasn't more to add and she sure as hell wasn't going to tell them about the sunglasses or that he liked her smell! No, even that was too bizarre even for her. She handed her report to the Captain and went to get something to eat. She smiled when she saw Lewis, it was nice to see a friendly face. As she sat down across from him , he said, "You had us all pretty worried there for a while. I never knew anyone who could charm an Agent before." Mia laughed as she finished her meal and then headed to her post.
They finished up their patrol and were heading back to Zion when the Captain called her to the main deck. No one else was there so she knew he wanted to talk about something important. It had been over five days since her conversation with an Agent and after everyone pretty much figured out there was not more to tell, they let it drop. The crew were a good solid bunch of people and they seemed to accept what happened as much as she did. Mia sat down in the chair and waited for Captain Jackson to speak. He glided the hover craft through the maze of sewers and she knew they were only a few hours away from Zion. She had expected this and was ready, she never heard back from the counsel and nor had the Captain said anything more.
She waited in silence for him to speak, she had no idea what he would say. He finally said, "Mia the counsel wants to see you, they are curious as to why this happened and want to hear it in your own words. No one knows about this except for the crew and the counsel and they want to keep it that way. No one will breathe a word about this and I'm thinking this isn't something you'd want everyone talking about either. Mia, I know there is something else that you're not telling me, if you still don't want to tell me then that's fine. But if you ever want to talk about it, my door is always open. Mia looked at him and leaned back in the chair. She whispered, "I can't put my finger on it, it's more like a feeling. He looked at me differently, almost like he was sizing me up for something - what, I have no idea. And he did something that I've never heard anyone talk about before. He smiled. Captain Jackson shook his head in disbelief and said, "Okay, that part, I wouldn't tell the counsel. I think it wise that you didn't put that in your report. " He turned to look at her and said, "Mia, you do know the next time you go into the Matrix, he's going to be looking for you." She shook her head yes nodded and said, "I know. Now the question is, how will he do it? Is everyone else now at risk and will he separate me from everyone again. I honestly don't know but he did say we would talk again. I think maybe its best I don't go back in - period. I think maybe become an operator and stay on this side of the screen. Captain Jackson only said, "Before you start making any career changes, I'd wait and see what the counsel has to say.
Everyone rushed to the main deck as they came up to the gates of Zion. No matter how many times Mia had seen it, it always filled her with awe. She was home. The crew was excited and everyone was talking about what they were going to do. Mia lived alone in one of the lower desks and she rather liked it. She was a bit of a loner and it suited her fine. As she was gathering her gear, Lewis came up and told her some friends were getting together and asked if she wanted to join them. She said "No that she was tired and would most likely just go to bed." He smiled and said, "Another time then. As she watched him walk away, she thought 'Oh please don't let what I think is happening be happening.' She made it a rule never to date/sleep with a crew mate, if things didn't work out, it made life a living hell until someone decided to leave. She'd seen it happen to too many crews and that was her one golden rule - never get involved with a crew mate.
She wasn't sure when the counsel would ask to see her as even Captain Jackson didn't know himself. It would be too obvious right off the ship so she knew she at least had a few hours to relax. She went to her quarters and got a change of clothing, she would shower and then go to bed until they came for her. They came the next morning.
Chapter Six: Well, not exactly.
Mia followed the aide into one of the smaller meeting rooms. She was relieved to see that Captain Jackson was already there and smiled at him as she took her seat next to him. She noticed he did not smile back but looked straight ahead. This did nothing to ease the fear in the pit of her stomach.
The counsel members filed into the room and each took their seats without saying a word. Mia held her breath and waited for what seemed like an eternity before she heard her name called. She stood and acknowledged the counsel and then waited to see who would lead the questioning. Counsel member Adera spoke and said, "Mia we got your report along with Captain Jackson's of your encounter with one of the sentient programs - an Agent if you like. And frankly, we don't know what to make of it. We were hoping you could tell us in your own words what happened."
Mia told them exactly what she had said in her report, adding a few more colourful descriptions of what was going through her mind at the time of the encounter. She hated being dishonest but she reasoned that she really wasn't lying, she was choosing to omit the more absurd parts of the conversation. She knew they wouldn't understand about the Agent commenting on her smelling nice her or even the sunglasses part - Hell, she herself didn't know what he meant. It still made her shudder to think about it and if she thought about the way he looked at her, it made her shudder even more. As she told what happened, she was constantly being interrupted to further explain things or to answer questions. Captain Jackson was also asked questions about their first encounter and then the second one. The questioning lasted all the morning and Captain Jackson and Mia had answered every question at least 10 times. She had noticed an older black man had not asked her any questions but had sat watching her and listening to everyone else question her. As the other members sat whispering, she watched as he said, "I have 2 questions for you Mia, what do you think this Agent wants?" Mia shook her head and said, "I'm really not sure. The same counsel member then said, "Answer me this, how much are you willing to risk to find out what this Agent really wants?" Mia thought the question over before she answered and said, "Well it depends on the risks and what the risks are for." He nodded and only said, "That's a fair answer." He then looked at the counsel and asked that everyone take a break and come back in 2 hours.
Mia stood and stretched, her muscles were stiff from sitting all morning. She watched the counsel members leave the room and turned to look at Captain Jackson. He only said, "I don't think there's any more ways to ask the same questions so I don't know what more they can ask of us. She particularly hadn't liked the last question but refrained from saying anything. Maybe it was nothing but she had a bad feeling.
She and Captain Jackson went to get something to eat at one of the communal kitchens and then went to check on the ship for the rest of the time. She could tell the crew was curious but no one said anything as everyone got the ship charged and ready for departure. Soon, it was time for them to head back to meet with the counsel and Mia was curious as to what they would say.
They arrived and took their seats. Mia noticed that some of the counsel members looked uneasy and she shot her captain a quick glance but he only shrugged. She had the feeling what ever it was, it wasn't good news. She could not imagine what it would be and then a thought struck her - no, they wouldn't do that - they couldn't.
Counsel member Adera looked at Mia and then said, "Mia, we have gone over everything you have told us and the one thing we keep coming back to is what you could tell the machines that they don't already know. We are curious as to what this Agent hopes to learn from you." Mia interrupted and said, "But I already told you what he says he wants to know." She heard the counsel member sigh and continue, "This may be a break through to the machines, if they want to know about us, would you be willing to take the risk and meet with this Agent again? I realize we could be sending you to your death but if this Agent has not harmed you in the past and has said that he would talk with you again, another meeting may be just what we need to find out the machines motives." Mia sat down stunned and looked at the counsel in disbelief. They could not ask her to go back in and look for this Agent. The older black man spoke up and said, "Mia, I know we are asking a lot of you but this is the first time that an Agent has made contact with someone with the purpose of gaining knowledge that didn't end in that person's death. There is nothing that you could tell him that is not common knowledge that the machines don't already know. We need to know what he wants to know and why. We can not force you to do this so we ask that you do this, for us and for Zion."
Mia heard them but before she could answer, Captain Jackson was on his feet. He looked at the counsel and said, "You are probably sending her to her death and maybe ours as well. Are we just going to send her into the Matrix and hope the right Agent will find her? Do we send her alone or do we all go in and hope the Agents say - oh they're just Mia' friends, don't kill them!" Mia could hear that Captain Jackson's voice was rising so she stood and placed a hand on his arm to calm him. He looked over at her and before he could say anything more, she answered, "I'll go. I myself want to know what he wants and why. This has been bothering me since I came back and I need to know. I think he will know when I enter the Matrix. So as long as he finds me first, I should be okay." She heard Captain Jackson start to protest but she whispered to him that it would be alright.
As they left the counsel chamber, she knew he would start his protest anew but she didn't want to hear it. She had made up her mind and was grateful when she heard the counsel ask Captain Jackson to stay an extra day.
One of the counsel members called the Captain over and she used that as her exit. She would let the Captain deal with explaining this to the crew. They would be happy to have an extra day but she knew this new assignment would not set well with many of them. She knew everyone had lost either a family member or knew someone that had and Agents almost always played a part in it.
She spent the rest of that day walking around Zion and watching the people. When she got back to her quarters, there was a note saying they were going to leave first thing in the morning. She sighed and crawled into her bed. The one thing she loved about her quarters was the bed, and it was big and soft. It wasn't long before she felt sleep claim her and she dreamed. She dreamed that she was talking with someone and he was standing very close to her whispering in her ear. She could feel his breath on her neck and she found that she was aroused. In her dream, she kept saying, "No this can't be happening, it can't be." She woke with a start right before her alarm went off and sat up. She shook her head and thought it had been a long time since she had a nightmare and that one certainly counted as one.
She made her way to the ship and was checking her equipment when she heard the rest of the crew come in. She knew the captain was already there and when all the crew reported, he called a meeting on the main deck. As he told them of their new assignment many of them looked over with various mixtures of curiosity but not the open hostility that she had expected. When the captain was done, he asked if anyone had any questions. Lewis spoke up and said, "I knew, we knew something like this would happen. Agents don't just talk with people and then let them go. He's up to something and you're going to be the bait to find out what. And for the record, I don't like it." Captain Jackson looked around and said, "Well for the record, I don't like it either."
They headed out, Captain Jackson had a favourite place he liked to broadcast from. It had lots of exits and the sentinels didn't patrol there often. She still didn't know how this was all going to play out - would they just walk in and hope that this Agent decided it was a good day to talk?
Two days later they were in position and the Captain was satisfied with the ships location, he would broadcast. Now, they had to figure out how they were going to try lure the Agent without anyone getting killed. The crew was all gathered around and everyone was tossing in various suggestions but nothing felt right. They couldn't just show up and wait to see what happened, could they? Mia shook her head and felt like that was the best alternative. She didn't want to endanger the crew any more than necessary. It was settled that the regular crew of six including her would go into the Matrix and if an Agent showed up, then they would deal with it.
Mia had thought about meeting Agent Smith again and what that would mean. She tried to recall but although she was having dreams about him, she could never really remember them all, just fragments and feelings. There was something about they way he invaded her personal space that she found disturbing but she had the feeling it was more than that. But what it was, she wasn't sure.