At this point I am going to start switching viewpoints: from 3rd person, to Nexus, to other members of the crew. This is starting in 3rd, I'll mark where I change it to avoid confusion. Eventually it will all be in third person as the focus pulls back from Nexus' arrival to the bigger picture, but now it's at a point of transition.

Three members of the crew had remained inside the dining room during Nexus' episode.

The first was a thin, pallid man entering his thirties. His tied-back hair was jet black, and a goatee grew on his chin, his face angular and seeming forever hungry for something. He had not looked up from his bowl when Nexus had crashed, even though the box of equipment she had managed to upset in the process tipped and emptied its contents in a clattering chorus of crashing sounds.

The other two looked up from their synthesized meals. The woman was of Asian descent, somewhere in her mid-twenties. Her eyes were cool and dark though she looked towards the door with a slightly troubled look on her face.

The final person was different, in that no plugs adorned his body. His Middle-Eastern features became strained as the sound of tumbling equipment reached his ears, and he had nearly vaulted from the table at that moment.

The woman regarded him with amusement. "Relax Aiglos," she chided gently. "New kid just has to get her sea legs. I seriously doubt that anything left in the open like that is terribly fragile anyhow." Aiglos shot her a resentful look for her apparent lack of concern for his equipment, but reluctantly settled back into his chair to finish his meal.

A young man in his early twenties came bursting back into the room. "That kid is really freaked out," he declared. "She took one look at the date on the wall and just about had a stroke." He grinned. "And if I didn't know any better, I'd say she just cursed Play-dough. You think she' could've figured this thing out already?" He turned and looked at the thin man. "Oh, shit, you do, don't you?"

The pallid man lifted his head for the first time and, looking directly at the newcomer, spoke. "We had suspected something like that would happen, Trans. From what I heard, she witnessed an anomaly that occurred a couple of months ago when the incident with the Nebuchanezzar crew." All of this came out in a monotonous voice.

"She saw the One?" The boy's brows lifted in skepticism. "Loki, come on. That's just an urban legend."

Loki smirked "Nevertheless, she saw it. A lot of people saw it. This just happens to be one of those that managed to evade detection long enough for us to get her out." His eyes were like ice chips as he surveyed the younger man. "Just because you're free doesn't mean you can- or should- close your mind to the unknown." The boy blushed angrily at this verbal lashing.

"Try to look semi-approachable for the meet and greet, OK Loki?" the woman broke in before Trans could retort. "I think this is weird enough already for the kid."

Loki grinned despite himself. "Yes, dear."

KOI

"Yes dear."

I rolled my eyes, smiling slightly at the playful jab. I never used to be this way, at least not in my other life. I had always been that girl who had to be the biggest badass; skipping class, smoking pot in the alley by the school…hacking into every server I could get my digital hands on.

I changed a lot when I became free; perhaps I just grew up a little. Loki and Medea remember my early days, so they seem to find it amusing when I slip into the role of the ship's matriarch, telling everyone to play nice with the new recruits and so forth.

But this recruit was different. Medea had spotted her in a chat room, and sent her an IM to test her commitment to the idea that the rules of her universe were not as they appeared. Apparently, she had come from a class of programmers that we typically refer to as the Firewall group: people with great computer skill, but wouldn't see the truth if it bit them in the ass. The Matrix is actually a well-known concept among them, but those who speak of it find themselves ostracized by their peers, who absolutely refuse to see computers as anything more than tools that can be disposed of at a whim.

The human race has learned since then. Yet so many continue to live in ignorance of their own fragility.

Loki had been the one to find the difference between this girl and the rest of her peer group- she was a philosophy minor. This might seem insignificant, but it meant that she would be open to the possibilities if she ever chose to see them. She was more likely to be able to handle it something that was 'out there'.

And there was something else. Medea and Loki had been whispering about something for the last few weeks, while Nexus had been recovering. Her REM waves had indicated an unusually high level of activity while asleep. I heard little, but there were snatches where I thought I heard Medea muttering about dreams.

Medea came into the room. Skylla, our gunner and general tech, was helping her support a very shaky, wide-eyed Nexus, who had a blanket wrapped loosely about her shoulders. Her hands were shaking, but it was not extraordinarily obvious. She was managing to hold herself together, though; one couldn't really ask for much else.

Her pale green eyes swept the room, looking at each of us. Medea proceeded to introduce the crew. "This young man who just sprinted inside is Trans. He's been with us for almost a year now." She inclined her head towards each member of the crew as she got to them. "Aiglos is our operator, and you just met Skylla outside…Loki and Koi here," I gave a little wave, "are the first and second officers of this ship. I myself am the commanding officer."

"Now, this will sound confusing, but I am going to explain everything. Aiglos, I…"

Nexus suddenly broke in. "I have a question." Medea stopped her introductory spiel immediately, and Nexus continued. "I want to know what year it is."

Silence.

"If the reality is fake, then the date is probably fake. So…?"

I answered. "No one's really sure. It's been so long since calendars were kept…and we can no longer depend on the skies to be a timekeeper." Nexus stared, looking increasingly alarmed.

Medea took her by the arm. "Come on, I'll show you." As they walking out of the dining room, Medea called over her shoulder. "Aiglos, we're going to need the construct ready in five." Aiglos nodded, rising from his seat to join them. After a moment, the rest of us followed. Breaking in a new recruit always proved to be an interesting event, and no one wanted to miss it.