a/n:

Hello, Readers! I'm so happy with the positive response from Part 1 of this chapter! I was a Girl Guide myself, and so was keen on throwing a little of that into my story - And I hope the next few chapters do not dissapoint -

Please review, and enjoy!

-Syd

Chapter 14, Part 2

It was commonly said in Zion (much to Trinity's immense satisfaction) that to work onboard the Nebuchadnezzar was unlike being on any other ship in the fleet. Naturally, to serve under her and Neo was seen as one of the highest honours a soldier could achieve, and the legends associated with the name Nebuchadnezzar seemed to capture the imaginations of Zion's youth and seasoned veterans alike. The Freeing of The One, Cypher's Betrayal, Trinity's Ultimatum to The Merovingian… all these were tales of a crew that had once called the Neb home.

How ironic that when Trinity was younger, she used to make fun of Morpheus' impassioned speeches of 'what it was to be a crewman on the Neb,' never imagining that one day, she'd be singing the same ardent song to her own crew. She could almost hear her former captain in her mind as she begun with the standard lecture, and Neo was smiling at her the entire time, thinking the exact same thing. She'd become the female Morpheus. When they got back to Zion, he would sit down with Niobe and the two of them would snigger for hours doing impressions, Trinity thought in passing. But let them laugh. It was a captain's prerogative to be unreasonably proud of her ship, and her crew. Indeed, if delivered properly, Morpheus' old adages about Heroism and Purpose could be damned inspiring. And with her young officers stranded without electricity or radio in the middle of the dark and cold wilderness (which was quite possibly haunted with sentinels), Trinity would take inspiring in a heartbeat.

So as the junior crewmen built the fire, their operations directed by Knight's knowledgeable instruction, Trinity summoned her old storytelling skills (revived from her first decade of motherhood) and began to 'educate them about their heritage.' After all, soldiers aboard a ship like the Nebuchadnezzar should know the facts about their legendary vessel's most significant missions, free of exaggeration, rumour, speculation and other artistic licence (which were invariably prevalent in all the Zionist versions). The Neb's Last Mission seemed to be the story which drew the most interest, and so Trinity told them the details of that final day of the struggle, being careful to provide as many insights into the dynamics of a war-torn Matrix as she could recall. Indeed, it occurred to her that given the political instability of the system at present, they may find the instruction valuable in the months to come.

"Why are you telling us this?" David asked, as if reading the rather bleak thought that had just crossed her mind. "My father never spoke of these things… he's always refused to share the details."

"Morpheus didn't tell you because you weren't ready to hear it," Trinity said while dusting off her hands on her trousers, having mixed the ingredients for dinner and assigned Neo to spoon-duty. She had no intentions to suggest they may find her story useful in the field; not tonight. "Besides, it isn't a father's place to tell his son."

"Captain?"

"It just isn't how things are done, David." Trinity took a seat on a large rock next to Neo and accepted half a blanket from him. Speaking softly, "What I just told you is not common knowledge for the simple reason that the people who were there know better than to trust Zion with such intimate details. The army has always been this way; we have our secrets, and they're considered sacred, worthy of protection from scrutiny and judgement by outsiders. Not that this precludes people from speculating…"

Trinity cleared her throat and shook her head, as if to banish an unsavoury taste from her mouth. "But the truth of the matter is," she continued with Neo's arm around her, "these aren't our secrets to keep forever. They belong to the Resistance, to be passed on from Captain to crewmen, always under terms of absolute secrecy." She smiled, lighting some birch bark with one of her candles and using it to set the fire. "That being said, it should interest you to know that this crew is the first one I've ever told."

"Why us?" Knight asked.

"Because today you all ceased merely to stand in the shadows of great men. Today, you began your own story," Trinity answered as they all gathered around the roaring fire, their faces glowing orange from the iridescent flames. "Now, I can't pretend to know what kind of future is in store for us, for Zion, for the Resistance. But I do know that this night will forever be remembered… as the night that the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar, Mark IV ate bannock and strawberries around a campfire on the surface of the planet. This is a historic moment, and it's all ours."

"Trin…" Neo handed her the booze.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot." She took the bottle from him thoughtfully. "This… is something that Neo and I have been saving for… a special celebration. David, your father and I drank a good part of it the night you were born, and quite frankly it's a miracle we're still alive. I swear to God, I my earliest memory of you is from when you were two."

The crew laughed, and Knight punched David's shoulder affectionately as the shy co-pilot dipped his head to hide a smile.

"As for what's left of it… there are no grandchildren yet, so tonight will have to do. Someone I used to work with… a great man… made this stuff back a long, long time ago. Back when Neo here was nothing but a twinkle in Morpheus' eye… the war was all but lost, and Hope was thought to be nothing but the last refuge of a few crazy, rogue soldiers. And on the mission when Neo was freed, this great man was killed. Not by a sentinel or an agent, but by one of Us, which is probably the worst death a rebel soldier can imagine. Dozer was our medic, and one of my good friends. He gave his life to the fight… and I'm sure that had it not been for his saving my ass all those years ago, none of us would be sitting here today." Trinity blinked back her emotion, surprised to find herself near tears. She hadn't thought about Dozer in a very long time. "I think that, given the circumstances, he'd want you kids to have it."

She passed the booze around, and each member of the crew poured a small amount into their mugs. Trinity was left with the bottle, which she held up in a toast. "To fallen friends, and what they died for; to the future."

As expected, all four of the younger officers only barely managed to choke the awful stuff down, and Neo and Trinity shared a private chuckle watching them cough. This, more than anything else, was their rite of passage. "They don't make it like this anymore," Neo said, clanking his mug against his wife's bottle. "We used to use this stuff to degrease engines."

"And to disinfect wounds, and unclog pipes," Trinity added. "It has more uses than duct tape."

Neo laughed and nodded his agreement. "I don't know why we ever stopped making it. It'll be the end of an era when the last of it's gone."

In an uncommon display of affection in front of the crew, their fingers interlaced and Trinity put her head on his shoulder. Neo held it there in a protective and comforting gesture, wondering which one of her old drinking friends she was missing. So many of them were dead. So many of them, he'd never even met.

"Okay," Neo said finally, gently to ease her out of it. "Now, from what I remember, this initiation ritual has a Q and A period, right?"

"No, Morpheus just invented that part to keep me awake," Trinity answered. "If it hadn't been for 'Q and A,' and of course, you… I probably would have frozen to death."

"What?" Knight asked. "When?"

"I was delirious for the better part of this story, so Neo can tell it better than I can. Here, everyone give me your sticks if you're hungry."

Trinity cocooned the thick gruel-dough around the end of each branch, and then dipped the gob in a glaze of sugar, strawberry and water. "Okay, cook this over the flames until it's golden brown," she instructed, passing them around and then licking her fingers clean. "Personally, I like them a little burnt."

"So what's this about freezing to death?" Knight prompted. "And Q 'n A?"

"It was a long time ago… after I deleted Agent Smith in the hallway of that building on Wells and Lake," Neo began. "We triggered the EMP just in time to save the crew. Or," he sighed, "what was left of us. Morpheus, Trinity, Tank and myself. But while we were making repairs, another swarm of sentinels attacked. We didn't have enough power left for another pulse, but we managed to outrun them, making a final crash landing on the surface. In winter. Past the outskirts of the fields. Tank didn't make it, and Trinity was hurt in the crash…"

Neo trailed off for a moment, remembering how much blood Trinity had lost that day. He could still feel it on his hands, soaking the sleeves of his sweater. Panic-stricken, he'd wrapped her in blankets and held her in his arms as the wind blew snow and ice through the gaping breeches in the hull. The first time he'd ever told her he loved her was after that crash. Trinity was shivering against his chest, barely conscious, and after kissing sensation back into her lips, he'd told her everything, terrified that it was his last chance to do so.

Even near death, she was the most striking woman he'd ever seen. Diamond tears froze in the corners of her eyes, frost sparkling on the tips of her eyelashes. And as always, Trinity possessed him with a gaze of pure sapphire blue. "Do you know how long I've wanted to tell you how beautiful you are?" he'd asked, numbed fingers stroking her hair. And she shook her head… no. She didn't speak, but she smiled. Tell me, Neo. Tell me every detail.

"Well, just looking at you doesn't do it, Trin," he'd murmured into her ear. "Staring is the only way that makes any sense. And trying not to blink, so I don't miss anything? I can't be close to you without wanting to touch you. And I can't touch you without wanting to touch you more. I love you, Trinity. I love you so much."

The fire popped and crackled Neo back into reality, his thumb gently rubbing his wife's hand. He pulled her closer as he resumed his story. "Anyhow, we were stuck on the surface for over ten hours before the Logos finally saved us. In the meantime, Morpheus told old stories of all the great, ancient war heroes. And to keep Trinity awake, he let her ask any questions she wanted to about his life. Things that he wouldn't dream of telling anyone else under any other circumstances."

"Like what?" Hawk-Eye enquired, sitting on the ground and hugging her knees up to her chest.

"Oh, like what his name was the Matrix."

"Well, what was it?" David asked eagerly.

"You know better than to ask me that." The Captain pointed to her trinity of candles. "I also took a solemn vow of secrecy."

Knight spoke up. "Well, what was yours, then?"

She stared at him for a long time. He was sitting Indian-style on the ground, blanket in his lap, carefully picking at the hot bannock's syrupy brown crust. "Knight," she said lightly. "Tell me… are you hypothermic?"

"Well, no."

"Can you feel your legs?"

With a disappointed sigh and slumped shoulders he admitted, "Yes, Trinity. I can feel my legs."

"Then you don't get to play Q and A."

"But I did burn myself on the bannock," Knight argued, presenting his sugar-coated fingers as evidence. "And those rocks were heavy. Kirk was faster than I thought, and it wasn't easy to sneak them all back to the bushes before you got here."

"You didn't even do that. I was here the whole time." Trinity blew some flames off her supper and set it aside to cool. "Désolé, mon petit prince de la nuit, but you will have to be halfway to heaven before you get that secret out of me."

"May I ask something?" Kirk chimed in.

Trinity gave her operator a nod, and popped a strawberry in her mouth before passing the bag around.

"Well…" he hesitated, fumbling nervously before coming out with the question. "After the war ended, for months everyone thought you and Neo were dead. And then Captain Morpheus found you both in the Matrix. But that's all anybody knows. What happened in the Machine City? Why did the Machines send you back?"

Trinity felt her husband's body tense, and he slid his hand free of hers. Neo didn't look at her, he just stared straight ahead, a frown worrying his brow. Trinity remembered that Rorie had asked her father the exact same question once; she had to have been ten or so. Daddy, why did you come back? It was too complex a question for such a young girl, asked so innocently over breakfast one morning. They'd both been caught off guard, though Neo hardly showed it. And Trinity would never forget what his answer had been.

"I came back to take care of you," he had told their daughter seriously.

"That doesn't make any sense," Rorie challenged. "I wasn't even born yet. And even if I were, why would The Machines send you all the way back here… just for me?"

"Just for you! Can you think of anyone more important?" Neo asked her. "Can you think of one person in this entire city who is more special to me than you are?"

Rorie thought about this for a few moments, and without a word, she returned her attention to her breakfast. Neo must have thought he'd made his point, because he smiled at Trinity knowingly, telling her an entire story without speaking a single word. They both knew that he'd given their daughter the only answer that mattered, the only real answer to that question. Nothing else was of any consequence.

It was only when Neo rose to leave and kissed them both goodbye that he realised the issue had not been completely resolved.

"No. I don't believe you," Rorie said pensively. "There must have been another reason."

Even then, she was a realist. Neo had nothing else to say, so he gave her a second kiss on the forehead and wished her a good day at school. Then, just before he left, Rorie turned in her chair and called back after him.

"But… if it is true... if they sent you back to take care of me… then you're doing a really good job, Dad."

If Trinity could have, she would have bottled whatever perfect combination of emotions she'd seen expressed in Neo's eyes at that moment. To this day, only Rorie could give him that much joy. Try as she may, Trinity couldn't even come close.

If only it were possible to take Neo back with her to this memory, Trinity thought as she watched him gaze into the fire, if only to have him reclaim a small fraction of his previous happiness. But he was troubled now, his mood beyond repair. No, they would not tell the crew. This was one story that was better left untold, and if possible, unremembered.

a/n: Just b/c Neo and Trin don't want to remember doesn't mean we can't ! ... Ch 15: Flashback : What happened after Neo and Trinity "died" in 01?