Tron: Sacrifice

Episode Eight: Voyager

"WE HAVE A PROBLEM." Paige said to Tron as he, Mara, and Zed flanked behind him as they entered the conference room.

"Beck?" Tron asked.

"No," she turned to look at the lost program behind her, simply staring out into the dark widows. "Something else.

"I got a signal from Argon Square."

"A conduit?" Tron asked as he sat down.

"No, a new announcement from Clu." Paige handed them a tablet, and Tron looked at it and looked back at Paige in shock.

"They know?" Tron passed it to Zed.

"But how?" Zed looked at Mara with worry in his eyes.

She held out her hand for the tablet, and Zed slowly complied.

Her face and her white suit glared up at her.

"I can't let you back out there, Mara."

Mara looked at Tron.

"I think we should find out what Cyrus has been up to."

Mara blinked at Tron, "You think Cyrus has something to do with my face on the latest wanted posters? How could he have known I was taking Beck's place?"

"I don't know." Tron looked Mara in the eyes. "But I can't let you back out there, whether you are as yourself or as the Renegade. Someone leaked your identity to CLU. And I firmly believe no one here would sell you out. We're all in the same spot, and there are no communications with Argon from here in the Outlands. Cyrus knows you, Mara. He knows what happened at Able's Garage. It is not safe for you in Argon."

"Then who are you using to do your missions in Argon?"

"No one." Tron said firmly, as if daring her to argue. "We have the sub. We can find the ISOs. Our mission today is to heal Beck."

They all started at Tron with unreadable expressions.

"Before," Tron held up his hand, "you all start to voice your opinions, let Paige explain Beck's status."

Paige turned to Tron, then to Beck, who still stared out the window.

"I don't know his status."

"There we are. We don't know anything about Beck's condition."

"Well, we don't exactly know where the ISOs are either." Zed added.

"And that was a tip sourced Cyrus." Mara crossed her arms. "How is that reliable?"

"Cyrus wants something." Tron said standing up, and walking away from them. "In the past, he's wanted to be 'Tron.' He no longer wants that or else he would have killed me in Argon. But he is truthful when he needs to be."

"This is a huge risk." Paige said.

"This whole war is a risk, and CLU is playing us. He's leading us by a rope. We only got away today because he was cocky.

"But the ISOs have the key to bringing Beck back." Tron touched Beck's shoulder, but he didn't turn, and just continued to stare, unaware. "We need Beck back to win this. It is because of the ISOs that Cyrus is back. They know more about the Grid than we do and may know how to help Beck."

Mara, Zed, and Paige were silent.

"I'll follow where you take Beck." Paige said to Tron's back.

"Anyone else."

Mara sighed, "We're in, too."

"Then let us prepare."


"Zed!" Tron yelled across the room. "Did you tune up all our light cycles?"

"Yup, and all the ones in the Garage."

"All with your modifications?"

Zed smiled, "Every last one."

"Good."

Tron launched himself at Zed, his disc high above his head.

"What else have you made?"

Zed danced out of the way as Tron landed hard and tumbled into a smooth roll back to his feet.

"A few racing bikes."

Zed whipped his disc out and waited for Tron to take the first strike, and Tron accepted. He slashed away at Zed. Zed danced away and blocked Tron's next hit. Their discs hummed and sparked as Tron pushed Zed backward easily. As Zed steadied himself, Tron flipped his body over and around Zed. Tron threw out his leg and kicked Zed forward.

Zed clumsily transferred that momentum into a roll and landed back on his feet, facing Tron.

"Better." Tron remarked. "Again.

"We're working on agility, Zed." Tron continued.

Zed silently took his position as Tron watched from his.

"Can you make more of your racing bikes?" Tron asked.

"Why?"

"Clu would never see us coming, and would be left in our dust with all the harnessed power in those bikes." Tron said.

"Oh, yeah?" Zed said, waiting for Tron's move.

"'Yeah.'" Tron began a slow pace, moving Zed in a circle.

"I'm controlling your movements, Zed."

"I know." Zed replied. "Just bidding my time."

"Waiting out the first move is wise, but what if your time runs out?" Tron ran at Zed.

Zed jumped up, and Tron jumped up also, throwing his disc. Zed blocked the disc and Tron hurled into him, Tron's momentum taking Zed down. They slammed onto the holofloor. Zed swiped his disc at Tron, and Tron caught Zed wrist, and lifted his other hand to catch his own disc and brought it down to Zed's face.

"Time has run out, Zed."

Zed only smiled and caught Tron's chin with his other fist, and pushed Tron away as Tron's grasp on him slacked.

"Not yet."

"Lucky shot." Tron said as Zed picked himself off the floor. "No soldier would have stopped his killing swing. They won't give you time to think."

"True, but what does this have to do with my bikes?"

"Simple," Tron stated. "Stay on the bike and CLU won't have a chance to derez you."

Zed shrugged, and his arm shot out, powering his disc with incredible speed. Tron ducked and threw his disc at Zed.

Zed leapt up over Tron's disc, and landed down, bending his knees to absorb the force of the landing and rolled off to the side as his disc came around back to him.

The lift opened, and there Mara stood, hands on her hips, eyebrows raised, and Zed missed his disc.

Tron charged Zed, his disc ready and humming, but Zed looked up too late. Tron smashed into Zed's chest with great force and knocked the wind out of him. Zed landed hard on his back, and Tron stood above him.

"Distractions, Zed." Tron said in a low voice so Mara could not hear them.

"I know, I know."

Zed got up slowly and Tron handed Zed his disc, as Mara came forward.

"I thought we were supposed to be preparing the sub for the dive."

"We are." Tron said calmly. "I thought it best to run through a session with Zed. He's coming with, you know, and he hasn't had as much practice as you or the training that Paige endured."

"Okay," Mara said. "But Paige has Beck ready, and I am ready."

"I'll be down in the bay in a few." Tron said.

Zed left with Mara in the left.

"He's stalling." Mara said in a softer tone than she was just using before.

"I know." Zed rubbed his aching shoulder he'd fell on. "It is like he thinks we can replace Beck in training."

"Yeah," Mara said, "but think about. Beck was his first friend in the past how many cycles since CLU betrayed Flynn, and then after Cyrus went berserk. I think I shouldn't have been so hard on him back there."

"That's Tron we're talking about." Zed stated. "I'm sure the guy can take it. He'll be better when Beck is back."

"Yeah. I hope so." Mara stepped off the lift, and Zed followed behind.

Tron stepped away from the intercom.

Zed's faith in him was uplifting, and Mara's hard work was light to him, but he himself had to agree with Zed. Perhaps he was treating them too much like they were like Beck; like they could take anything he could dish out to them.

Tron promised himself he'd go easier on them and wait for Beck to return to normal before any real training started. With Beck's help, training the mechanics would be far easier, and Beck would understand his coworkers' limits and strengths.

He stepped into the lift, and descended to the bay.


"Beck, careful!"

Paige rushed by his side as he slipped and almost fell into the water. She caught his hand and he slammed into the cool, wet surface of the sub with a moan.

Then his disc flashed, and Paige gasped as the simulators threatened to fail, but they miraculously came back online, the protective grid lines fading out.

Paige pulled Beck up and he got up like his fall never happened. Paige followed close behind with a frown.

If those simulators are malfunctioning, Beck doesn't have much time left. With his disc exposed, it could deteriorate, and Beck's programing would be lost to the Grid.

With Beck inside, Paige helped strap him in his seat as Mara, Zed, and Tron came aboard.

Beck gently tugged on the straps.

"Off." He said simply.

"I promise I'll take them off when we've gotten into open sea, Beck."

He looked at her mournfully, as Paige began to strap herself in the seat next to his.

"Tron will let us know when it is safe." Paige added when she saw Beck fidgeting against the straps.

The sub gave a mighty lurch and Beck looked up worried, and his hand gripped Paige's.

"Beck."

Beck turned to face her.

"It's going to be alright."

He stared at her, his expression softening, his body relaxed, and he stopped pulling at the straps.

Tron and Mara were at the controls and Zed spouted off a check list. Mara and Tron flipped various switches above their heads as Zed read them off, and finally, Tron gave the all go and Mara urged the sub forward, out of the bay, and into the trench to the Sea of Simulation.

"Cabin lights off," Tron said as he flipped on the sub search lights, and Zed turned off the cabin lights.

"Wow..." Zed gasped as they all looked at the computer's screen that activated in front of them.

The turbulence from the sub caused the water in front of them to erupt in bubbles, as the force of the tunnel shot them forward into open sea. The bubbles cleared and Mara slowly accelerated the speed as their momentum died.

Tron reached up and activated the rear propellers, and the sub's outer vents opened around the propellers as they slide out from their compartments on either side. Mara eased off on the power as the propellers began to spin and they shot forward.

"Activate the code scrambler, Zed." Tron said as they neared closer and closer to Argon.

"Done," Zed said after pushed the red button on his console.

"Visibility check?"

"Fifty percent, and dropping." Zed replied reading his monitor. "Activating external sensors. – Sensors at twenty percent, fifty, eighty-five, ninety-three. External sensors fully loaded."

"Depth, Mara?"

"500 meters and raising. 600."

"Pull us up to 500 meters. I don't want to run into any underwater hills."

Mara complied and Tron checked the internal operations, like air ventilation and such. When all was well, Tron flipped a switch and Paige looked up at the sudden light.

Then Tron's voice came on the intercom, "We have reached open sea. You may unbuckle your seat belts."

"Zed, I want external and internal sensor tests every half Pectro. Mara watch out for CLU's ships on the radar, and notify me if something occurs. I'm going to check on Beck."

"Aye, aye, Captain." Mara said and flipped on autopilot. "But where are we headed?"

"The computer has logs of suspected underwater caverns and sightings of ISO activity." Tron brought up the information and passed Mara the tablet. "Enter those coordinates into the sub computer and set courses for each."

Tron stood up and opened the pressure door.


Beck remained in his seat after Paige undid the straps.

"Paige?" He said watching her. "Where are we going?"

"To find help."

"Who's in trouble?" He got up, as if to go and help.

"No one's in trouble, Beck." Paige said. "We're looking for medical help to get your disc back in order. To help you, Beck."

"But the revolution?"

"The revolution will still be there when we get back."

"But Tron said it was important."

"It is important." Tron said, walking to Beck and putting a hand on his shoulder. "But we need all the programs we can get, and you are special, Beck."

"Special? How?"

"You've helped me out a lot in the past." Tron said, "And you became a good friend to me, Beck. An accident left you in this condition, an accident that I take full responsibility for, and I am doing all I can to insure you recover."

Beck smiled, but then it faded as his eyes rolled up toward the ceiling and his body crumpled.

"Beck!"

Tron and Paige both lunged to Beck's side and Paige rolled him on his stomach, where they both witnessed the simulators on his disc fail.


Dyson crept along the ledge, looking down.

"Of all the places to meet, why did you pick this spot?"

"Simple, really."

A program moved from his enclosed position, the shadow cast by a ventilation installment.

"I like to see everything; as much as possible, so I cannot be tricked into ambush. Why do you ask? Afraid of the heights?"

Dyson raised an eyebrow, and turned to look at the cloaked program.

"Your tip on the new Renegade as earn CLU's utmost attention." Dyson said ignoring the program's question. "Considering how CLU's attention is mostly focused on finding Tron, it is an amazement that anyone could spark his interest."

"Ahh," the program said in a low voice. "But I don't think you took the trouble to contact me because CLU's found a new quizzical item to obsess about that he cannot solve.

"If you will excuse me," the masked program said walking to the edge close by Dyson, "I have other business to attend to."

"I have a proposition for you." Dyson said quickly, but the program stopped because Dyson sounded so confident.

"Oh?"

"You have an interesting insight on Tron's rebel force." Dyson said. "And I'm in a tight spot that I'd really rather avoid."

Dyson waited for the program to respond, but the only break in the silence was the whistle from the wind that pulled on the program's long cloak.

"I need to find Tron."

The program laughed cruelly, low and harsh. Dyson didn't need to explain for the program to fill in the blanks.

"A tight spot with the big boss, I see." The program laughed again. "Not bringing CLU the results he expected?"

Dyson grimaced angrily, "Can you help me, or no?"

"Depends."

"How long do you need?"

"What do I get in return?" The program asked.

"My chief scientist has taken a rather large fall from grace," Dyson smiled a small smile, remembering how he'd found himself face-to-face with the scientist, telling Dyson he wanted out after a particularly gruesome experiment. "That is, if you have the will for it."

The program's laugh unsettled Dyson, as the program walked toward him with his hand extended.

"I'll see what I can do about your…predicament," he said as they shook hands on it. "In the meantime, be patient. It will take...time to meet these needs, but trust me when I say I will deliver."