Chapter 4: Virii
Virii slumped back down into his chair. He had been in the office all evening and just when he thought he could sneak away from it all, his friend Munikc had to call. Virii didn't like lying to Munikc about how much he actually knew. The little bit Virii did know would not help Munikc but it could prove to be a liability. Virii let loud a long sigh as if trying to release all the pressure and stress that had built up over the day.
Virii's office was one of the largest of the compound for the council of Zion. He was offered a job in the council for his exploits and despite his reluctance was one of the more powerful members. The office itself was not extravagantly decorated, save the wall to his left his collection of sharpened blades and pistols, the only true remaining proof that he was once a great warrior on the edge of the system. No longer were Virii's days filled with plugging into the matrix and fighting agents of all varieties, but with tedious meetings about ships that flew cargo from point A to B. Any action related news seemed distance and never seemed to touch him like his previous life had. Valiant hero to dull politician in the brief span of a matter of months. Virii sighed again and tried to place himself in a trance to try and recover his composure and regain his strength.
Pixel, Virii's secretary and closest confidant, walked in to find Virii in a deep trance in his plush red leather chair behind his desk. Finding her boss in this position brought a smile to her face and made her feel at ease, though just being around Virii was cause enough for that. She walked towards the desk and placed on the pile of other papers, the most recent intelligence reports he had requested. Hopefully he would find in the morning to read them she thought to herself. Finding the blanket that Virii kept neatly folded in the closet, Pixel covered her boss up. Pixel smiled to herself at how peaceful he looked and then left the room, turning off the lights as she did so.
The city of Zion slept unaware.
Morning for Virii brought no relief. His presence was requested at the military briefing room and so there he went in a state of disarray. Pixel tried as best she could to get Virii totally awake and ready with only moderate success. She managed to straighten his coat and get him a cup of coffee.
"What would I do without you Pixel?" said Virii after he had a few swigs of the coffee and appeared to return to the living.
"Not a whole lot Virii." she replied with a grin and then left him at the door to the council's main office.
The meeting was long and boring and Virii had trouble concentrating on what was transpiring. The machine attacks on Zion ships had been steadily increasing over the last month, with the machines pushing farther and farther into Zion controlled territory. Normally this would have been have been a break from the monotony of the rest of his days, but a thought in the back of his mind was troubling him. The frequency and apparent perfection in application of these events could only sway his mind that there was something else bigger than these events going on, possibly someone or something dictating these events. Rubbing the weariness from his eyes, he decided that he really needed a break tonight and decided to ask Pixel if she would like to go out to dinner with him to blow off some steam. It would be a distraction from the events going on around him but he knew things still weren't looking up.