"Morpheus! Glad you could make it! Grab a pillow, take a seat, we're almost done with this game." Soren waved Morpheus in, smiling. "Hey Niobe, you ready to meet your match?"
"You'll never beat me Soren. Not in this world." Niobe shot back coolly.
"Why do I have the feeling this game is going to get much hotter?" Ice asked, before glancing at Roland.
"I don't know, Ice. Because you're no longer the only woman here?" Soren asked, before almost falling over from avoiding an attack on his legs.
"All right, come on guys. What are we playing?" Roland asked, shuffling the deck.
"All work and seriousness isn't good for you, Roland." Morpheus commented, sitting down between Niobe and Ballard.
"How does five card stud sound to everyone?" Ice asked, gaining a round of nods.
"Let's do this." Ballard agreed, to everyone's amusement.
"How many ships are in the fleet altogether?" Neo asked randomly as he lay on the bed half on and half off of Trinity.
Trinity was soothingly running her fingers up and down Neo's scalp while he rested his head on her chest, a protective arm across her midsection. They had come back from the gathering somewhat exhausted from the drinks, dancing, and uncountable conversations with everyone they had passed on their way back to their room. Needless to say, the sexual energy that had been so built up that it was ready to topple had dissipated more and more with each new person until it had become barely evanescent. Much like a flame when there is no more wick to burn. When they had finally gotten into their room, Trinity had lain down on the bed first, only to have Neo practically collapse in exhaustion atop her, his head on her stomach. He had moved to a more comfortable position next to her, and was now asking questions that seemed to come from nowhere and have no real point to them.
"Ten, including us."
After a moment, Neo murmured, almost to himself, "There's so much I don't know," Before scrunching his head down into his shoulders and pushing his arm out straight, stretching. As he resettled himself, he snuggled his head up against Trinity's chin.
"Everyone learns what they need to in time. Some people learn faster than others due to extenuating circumstances, but when you need to know something, the explanation will be given. It can be hard for some people to continually explain common knowledge to a newbie, but we have to remember that they don't know what we do. We have to tell them."
After a few moments of comfortable silence, Neo again spoke. "How does someone become a captain of a ship?"
"Looking to being one, Neo?" Trinity inquired, a smile playing across her face.
"No. I much prefer Morpheus' leadership, but I was just wondering."
"Well, there are several ways. One is that your previous captain is killed and if you are the second-in-command, you can be promoted. Another is that you must do something enough times for the Council to notice, or do something amazing and gutsy to catch their attention."
"What did Morpheus do?" Neo murmured.
"He pulled off one of the most widely spoken of unpluggings in the history of Zion." Trinity replied softly.
"Who's was it?"
"Mine."
Neo lifted his head from her chest to look her in the eyes, curiosity written across his face.
"What happened?"
"Oh come on, you asked me for confirmation on who I was the moment I said my name. I had the entire White House after me. The FBI, the NYPD, not to mention the agents, were all searching for me. It's amazing how small New York becomes when you piss off the United States government. I had been searching so madly for Morpheus, and at the same time, I was typing in all of these codes for the IRS on the web. I still remember what I was doing to this day." Trinity paused momentarily, causing Neo to ask,
"What?"
"I was sitting at my desk in my bedroom, a mug of tea next to my computer, typing all of these different passwords while sinking under firewalls that just seemed to appear. Suddenly, my screen went blank and then it went white. I had cracked the IRS database. I sat there stunned for almost five seconds before I saw the trace being run on me at the bottom of the screen. I was so far into the files that it was a race between who would win- myself or the government. I had to cover my tracks while getting out at the same time. It must've taken me three minutes to do, and by then, I had been found out for almost 90 seconds. Before I could shut my computer off, the screen went black again, this time; words began to fall onto the screen asking about the Matrix. I was given a location and time to meet before I ran out of my room, four hundred dollars in my pocket and a coat to stay warm.
"I ran all night, catching bus after bus, going as far south as I could. It took me four hours to find the goddamn club, and by then, I was such a wreck, I was jumping at the slightest sound. I met Morpheus and Apoc that night, and I was told that I would be given the answers soon. I took the red pill at the club before following Morpheus out. Smith, Jones and Brown were waiting outside with eight cops. I learned how to run that night. We ran from warehouse to store to anything for twenty minutes, dodging agents and later sharpshooters. I ran right into an agent during that escape, and almost had my neck broken, but Morpheus shot him. We got away and I was unplugged right afterward."
"Let me guess, it was the topic of Zion for quite some time, wasn't it?" Neo asked, smiling gently.
"Yeah, only about two years. My story gave Morpheus recognition while he was on the Artemis. Ghost's story gave him almost too much attention for him to bear. He's generally a reclusive person, only really holds a conversation with either his crewmates or myself, and suddenly, he had many people wanting to speak with him."
"What happened?"
"He mowed down fifteen cops with only one handgun- which was 12 rounds, mind you. It was what most would have called a suicide fight, but he got out. He spoke quite often with me about how the faces of the innocent could haunt his mind after that day. I remember spending hours sitting in his room, listening to him go on and on. It was mind shattering to know someone like him could be so torn up about something we do daily, only to a much lesser extent. I've known him since the day I first went into Zion. We view each other as brother and sister since we were unplugged on the same day, and because of that, we often open up to one another when we trust no one else. The day he first told me of the faces haunting his mind, I realized just how human we are."
"What do you mean?" Neo inquired curiously.
"I had never really dwelled on the subject of death or murder before that day. I have killed countless people in my time, and I have learned only through Ghost on that one day, how I have to become unfeeling when I go into the Matrix. Because if I didn't, I knew that I too, would have my dreams haunted by the faces of people that I had killed in the Matrix. Innocents. Ghost was stronger mentally than I was at the time, he could deal with those faces, but I couldn't. If they had haunted me, I would've caved. I learned that from him, to be cold inside to kill. After fifteen years of that, I had become cold even outside the Matrix as well. Then Morpheus sat me down in front of the console one day to watch your coding. The rest you know."
"Mmmm. Okay, I'm officially exhausted. All in favor of sleep?" Neo asked, his voice tickling Trinity's skin.
"I am." Trinity replied, moments before drifting off.
Neo awoke slowly, blinking his eyes in the darkness of his and Trinity's room. Lifting his head slightly, Neo found that they had shifted in the night. Almost completely in fact. Neo was now on his back and Trinity lay sprawled atop him. Funny word to describe Trinity-sprawled. Neo mused, a smile flickering across his face before he felt Trinity take a deep breath- a signal that she was waking up. As she lifted her head to look at Neo's face, Neo couldn't help but smile at the groggy face looking at him.
"What?" Trinity mumbled, voice thick with sleep.
"Nothing. You look like such an anti-morning person right now it's scary."
"I hate mornings in Zion. Everyone is always wide awake, and moving around, and I just want to sleep until noon." Trinity groaned, rolling off onto her back. Neo followed her and moved his body over hers.
"Well, I don't want to sleep until noon, but staying in bed until then seems like a lovely idea." Neo commented, a playful note in his voice.
"Neo, since when are you playful?" Trinity asked, blinking the sleep from her eyes at the reality of the situation.
"Since I was alone with you," Neo paused to move his lips against her neck, causing a smile to blossom on her face. "Since I danced with you," Neo kissed her jaw softly. "Since right now."
Trinity said nothing as Neo closed his lips over hers in a desire-provoking kiss. Lifting a hand to cup his cheek, Trinity slid her other down his back to pull his shirt off. When you have no time to be passionate on a ship, you take the chances you are given while on leave. Even if you are so tired you just want to sleep for forever. Trinity knew that the moment they returned to the Nebuchadnezzar, it would be all professionalism. It wasn't fair, but it was their life. Ignoring all other thoughts, Trinity allowed herself to be lost in the warmth spreading throughout her body, from the heat in her neck, to the tingles in her fingertips.
Nothing can ruin this, Was Neo's last thought before a loud knock sounded on the door. 'Cept for that. Neo kissed Trinity once more before releasing her, the fire of want burning in his eyes as she stood to answer the door. Neo watched as Trinity opened the door slightly and proceeded to hold a short conversation with whoever was outside before closing it again.
"Who was that?" Neo asked, propping himself up on his elbows.
"It was Morpheus, we're leaving. They fixed the Neb much faster than was expected." Trinity explained before moving to her bag where it lay on the floor.
Pulling out her normal attire, Neo watched as Trinity undid the knot holding her dress together, allowing it to fall to the floor. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of every inch of skin being exposed. Trinity turned her head in question before watching Neo rise to walk over. Clasping his hands around her, Neo pulled Trinity's body up against his, watching her facial reaction to his body against hers.
"When are we leaving?" He asked softly.
"An hour." Trinity replied, her voice short on breath.
"Plenty of time." Neo replied, before silencing any argument with a kiss.
Sliding his lips over Trinity's, Neo felt her pushing him backwards towards the bed. Her hands dropped to his pants, pushing them down before letting them drop to the floor. Stepping out of them, Neo fell onto the bed with Trinity, taking pleasure in the soft yet defined curves of her body, losing himself in her contours, sliding hands over taut muscles flexing beneath the skin. Making love after being denied an entire night when he had fiercely wanted to be with her was much like exiting the eye of a tornado and going back into the chaos. Moaning softly into her mouth, Neo climaxed, feeling utter euphoria- a far cry from the anguish that would be to come.