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Post by aaroun on Oct 11, 2009 21:09:09 GMT -8
"...either I will, or the Matrix will." Aaroun said as the red code at his fingertips pulsed into purple and ran the length down his body and into the concrete at his feet.
Electricity crackled from a nearby transformer as though it was surging out of control, Caius shot a quick glance toward the source of the noise just as it exploded into a blue-white fireball. Karaa flung herself forward toward a nearby refuse dumpster as the code fragments swirled around Caius' feet. Half-blinded, Caius' fired two shots in Aaroun's direction but missed and dropped two of exiles in the crowd behind him. Realizing his error, the gunman turned to run, but the fractured concrete suddenly lurched upward and enclosed his feet and shins. "Shit..." Caius said, gripping his left knee in an attempt to un-root himself, as a small group of exiles walked past Aaroun, "The Matrix has you..." Aaroun said as he disappeared into behind the snarling faces.
Karaa stood quickly as Aaroun approached, "Aaroun..." she said as his scanned the rumbling carnage around them behind his program launcher goggles. "No time for pleasantries..." He placed his gloved hands over her arm and torso, "Stop thinking about bleeding or you may really become injured...your RSI is damaged." Her wounds began to tingle and she felt her gashes being pulled together. "Your crew is waiting for you." He stepped back and looked across to a rooftop. "Time to go."
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Post by Valaro on Oct 12, 2009 6:51:00 GMT -8
Valaro turned quickly to notice Aaourn looking his direction. He gave a quick smile and nodded to him as he hyped jumped to the building above. The Majority of Pride who were broadcasting ships in the Matrix were here fighting to protect there own. We are family he thought.
"Lets wrap this up people! Lets show them were not to be messed with!"
Valaro lifted his Deagle and fired it at an exile launching himself through the air in his direction, the bullet hit him in the collar bone but the shock of the two opposing forces was enough to break his neck and take him down. He was clear at his section. He turned and walked towards Clep and Dee.
"Clep good to see they sent you! Nice trick with that RPG! Allowed us to find you lot. Hows the Lion?"
"Its going good, always backing Tiger's ass up" Smiled Clep
"yeah well one day you'll be the one needing help and well be the ones to repay those favor's." Said Valaro while giving Clep some dap.
Valaro looked at Dee who was staring towards Karaa and a very messy section of Satis. He walked in front of her.
"Whats the matter?"
"I just saw a CYPH who was working with Norris, but aaourn seemed to hit him with some sort of electricity bolt"
"Who was it?"
"Caius. You know him?"
"All to well. I made him tremble to his knees in fear, then killed his buddy Ace. This is getting a little dangerous, Norris could be close by. I say you and Karaa take some time out you have both been in The Matrix for over 35 hours. Go back to the Tiger and get some rest. Ive called a Pride ship meeting later to discuss current events and what were going to do to find Rassy."
Valaro nodded. She was tired out form battle, her clothing ripped to shreds and covered in blood. Her own and that of the Pandora's box and exiles she had fought previously. He then looked towards Karaa who was sitting on the ground popped up against the wall. He then proceeded to walk towards her looking back to see all the operatives looking his way.
"Karaa? What happened?"
"I saw an exile who was working along with Norris before. His name was-"
"Caius right?"
"How did you know that?"
"Ive met him once before. Hes not dead trust me. Aaourn saved your life thats all. Exiles or at least that one has a lingering presence here in the system, you'll meet him again probably"
"Thats just it I don't want to meet him again!"
"OK look Karaa, today has been tough on all of us. I have to go make some perperation's, I'm ordering all of you out of The Matrix to take some rest, there'll be a ship meeting later, you can discuss it then OK?"
HE grabbed her hand he;ping her to her feet. Valaro then lifted his cell.
"Ocelet, none of them will do it activate EJP on all Tiger members except me"
"Roger that sir" came ocelets voice down the phone.
Valaro then proceeded to walk towards the brokers location to head back into the Matrix...
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Post by Ceege on Oct 12, 2009 8:01:14 GMT -8
As the fight was winding down Ceege dusted off his now dirty white trench with a sigh. There is no dirt, he thought to himself, and chuckled.
He spun round having heard a large crack and smiled to see Aaourn hacking away at the simulation rooting a poor Cypherite to the ground. He raised a small smile, and turned leaving Aaroun to his fun. He walked over to an operative he had seen on a few occasions but had never had the opportunity to be introduced.
"Hey, I don't think we've ever had the chance to be formerly introduced." Ceege said holding out his hand. "I'm Ceege."
"Nice to meet you bro, I'm Ascl3pius" they shook hands as Ceege raised an eyebrow. "Just call me Clep" he laughed.
"Alright Clep, hope to see you around some more".
"You will if you get your asses in that much trouble again" Clep teased. Ceege let out a laugh, he knew in that case he would see Clep again.
Ceege walked towards his gathering crew as Valaro went to thank Clep for his help.
"Well now, wasn't that fun" he said giving Angelis some dap. "That 3 or 4 times I've saved your ass now?"
"That's only 2" Angelis argued unable to hold back a smile. "The other times I was testing your so-called abilities." They both laughed as Ceege walked to the far side of the rooftop, looking up to the beauty of the sky in this place. If only it was real.
BEEP. His cell began to ring. He turned to face the others as he pulled out his pocket, unknown number, his eyebrows tightened in confusion as he clicked it open.
"Who is this?"
"Forgotten me already?" a brash, coughing voice said sarcastically. Ceege waited.
"You were so desperate to help out your captain back in The Matrix, who just left me to destroy you. I would have done so had I not been more interested in your precious captain. Shame you both escaped me."
The bandaged man Ceege thought. He saw Valaro talking on his cell, probably briefing Ocelet. He waved his arm to get his attention.
"But", the man continued. "That won't happen again. You see, I know you, I've had my eye on you since you were just a unaware battery being force fed your dead in your bath of goo. But unlike your captain I've never had the pleasure of meeting you face to face, until today that is."
"Who are you?" Ceege was getting impatient. Valaro saw Ceege waving and began walking over.
"It's funny how peoples paths cross. Let's just say I'm an old friend of Valaro, and I like to keep my eye on what we like to call potentials. You were once one of them were you not, that is why you are now here, fighting a war on the wrong side, under the orders of your superior."
"Ceege who you talking to? Ocelet's about to EJP you all out of here".
"Tell Ocelet to wait." Ceege quickly replied. Valaro did so.
"Ah there he is now, would you kindly put him on" the unknown man asked politely.
Ceege handed his cell to the captain shrugging as he did so. Valaro put the phone on loudspeaker.
"Who is this?" Valaro asked just as Ceege had done twice already.
"An old friend, who is keeping an eye on you and your crew. You got aware from me earlier, which is a shame as I was about to repay a gift you once gave me, one that keeps me from ever taking off these f**kin bandages!" the man yelled down the receiver. Valaro seemed to be thinking hard, trying to place the voice. "I'll be seeing you real soon captain" CLICK. BEEEEEEEEEEP. The phone went dead.
"Looks like you pissed someone off" Ceege said looking concerned.
"Would appear so, we'll worry about this later, for now you all need to go back to the ship and rest. I have a meeting with the other captains of the Pride."
"I'd rather you not stay jacked in on your own sir, seems The Pride have a few too many enemies today" Ceege replied. By now most of the Pride had left Sati's playground, presumably to their ships or back into The Matrix to the rendezvous of the captains meeting.
"I'll be ok", Valaro smiled putting one hand on Ceege's shoulder, "I've still got some ammo left". The others were all now looking over confused as to why they had not been jacked out yet. Ceege could see in the back of Valaro's mind that he was slightly concerned about the mystery caller, it's a look he'd become accustomed to since his time with the Tiger but he'd learned not to argue with it.
"The first sign of trouble and I'm jacking back in to help you captain."
"I know you will Ceege" Valaro nodded at Ceege as he pulled out his phone.
"Carry on Ocelet"
The next thing Ceege saw was the rusty ceiling of a room back on board the Tiger and Karaa over him unjacking his plug. He sat up, thanked Karaa and made his way straight over to the monitor with The Matrix feed. He wouldn't leave these screens until he knew his captain was back on the ship or if he had to jack back in to help him out. He closed his eyes for a second and hoped it would be the first.
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Post by Valaro on Oct 12, 2009 12:51:13 GMT -8
Valaro awoke to see a flash of Green code, which then instantly transformed into the Megacity once more...
He walked out of the building he was in and looked around. It was night time in the Matrix. The Pride Crews has been fighting all day. Valaro seemed to get it easy compared to the rest of his crew. However this day would get worse before it got better he thought. He was thinking about Radomir. His death was a lethal blow to the crew of the Cheetah, which had only took off form New Zion two months prior. Rassy was still just finding his roots, and yet he had gone missing at what seemed like the hands of agents. Radomir was Killed in action. his crew were scattered all over the Matrix trying to find their captain. A man wearing bandages calling himself an old friend was following him trying to get his attention. And what did he want with Ceege? And to add to that a personal tormentor to karaa and dee was back. Norris, who was supposed to be dead. What was going on. He took off walking down the street, and he picked up his cell.
"Well?"
"Just as I thought let this play out and tell the gang that there to go to the usual spot near Moriah Housing Projects."
Valaro hung up his cell and put it into his pocket. He peered quickly over his shoulder and saw a shadow disappear into the alley behind him. He was being followed. He continued walking trying to piece together parts of his past hed rather forget. Alot of weird things had happened before he was awakened and even more strange things had happened after he was awakened. The break up of New Dawn. Catzi's formation of The Pride, the death of his best friend at the hands of Ace. Wait.
"Thats it" he thought.
Once again he picked up his cell.
"Where are the records kept for all deaths n the Matrix?"
"An archive called "The Mortem Obire"
"Send the coordinates to my Cell, i have something I need to look at. and tell Ceege to meet me there."
"Roger that"
Valaro continued on down the street at a steady pace being wary of his stalker...
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Post by Ceege on Oct 12, 2009 14:57:56 GMT -8
Ceege hadn't left the monitors since jacking out, fearful of what might happen to their captain. On any other day he would be confident that Valaro could fend for himself but today wasn't like any other day. Old enemies were popping up out of nowhere, no-one in the Tiger was safe and this ate away at Ceege. Knowing he had been watched by an unknown danger since his days as a blue pill ate at him even more. It made him feel something he didn't often feel since being freed. It made him feel nervous. He could have sworn he saw a repeat in the code near Valaro on several occasions but it would suddenly disappear. This mystery man has got me all paranoid he thought to himself.
Ceege had also heard tears from the crew quarters of the ship since they all got back, probably Karaa, EichDee often put on a hard brave face during times of grief. Thinking of the loss of Radomir brought a lump in Ceege's throat and he quickly looked back to focus on the Matrix code so he too didn't let any tears escape.
Ocelet got a call from Valaro and Ceege waited patiently to hear the next orders.
"Your going to The Mortem Obire" Ocelet explained.
"What's is that?" Ceege asked.
"It's a building in Center Park, downtown. It holds records of all deaths inside the Matrix, both of bluepills and redpills."
I wonder if Valaro is trying to track down our mystery friend Ceege thought to himself.
"Security?" Ceege looked hopeful at Ocelet.
Ocelet tapped his keyboard faster than a rabbit on speed and tapped one of the touch screen monitors to which a layout of the building's security routines came up.
"Hmmm, nothing too heavy. It is government controlled but that shouldn't be too much of a problem for you now should it Ceege?" Ocelet gave Ceege a humorous wink to which Ceege smiled at.
"What about the others?"
"Valaro wants them jacked in, standing by at Moriah Projects, normal spot but no rush, he wants to see how this next step plays out."
"Right then," Ceege said as he stretched his arms above his head, "I guess it's me an the cap!"
Ceege walked over to the chair room as Angelis came down the main deck ladder.
"You going in?" he asked.
"Valaro's needs me for his next move" Ceege explained.
"What no captain meeting?"
"Guess he's boycotting it this time, fancy watching the code in case you need to repay me one of those life saves you owe?" Ceege chuckled.
"It will be my most honorable pleasure to save your ass WHEN you get it in trouble." Angelis laughed back.
Angelis followed Ceege and helped him jack in.
"Seriously though Ceege, watch your ass."
Ceege gave Angelis a nod and in went the pointed metal jack.
The flowing green code quickly turned to high skyscrapers as Ceege found himself downtown at the Center park east hardline. He clicked open his phone.
"I'm in, send me the co-ordinates of this place."
Beep. It never failed to suprise Ceege how fast the Tiger's operator worked.
He put his phone back in his now shiny, white trench coat and set off in the direction of The Mortem Obire. Out of habit he checked that his Beretta's had made it into the system too. They had, he was set.
On the way to his destination Ceege glanced around and looked up at several huge glowing advertisements shining bright next to the night sky, one in particular caught his eye. "Charged Cat energy drink, it gives you the speed of a cheetah and the strength of a tiger!" He laughed out loud, sometimes he felt like the matrix had a good sense of humor and was providing him with some comedy entertainment.
After a few minutes he had reached his destination to find Valaro sat on a nearby bench, eyes closed, meditating. Ceege went over and politely coughed.
"Ceege, glad you made it safe." he said, seemingly hurried as he stood up.
"It was only a short walk, why would it not be.."
"We have company" Valaro cut him off. "I think it's our friend, the one covered in bandages."
Ceege began to look around, a angry expression filling his face.
"Patience Ceege, I think I know how to find out who he is, I have some idea who he might be and this is the place to find out" he pointed to the building infront of them.
"Right then, lets go" Ceege said and began to walk towards the big revolving door.
Valaro walked next to him, pulling out his silenced semi-automatic. He checked the magazine was full and clicked it back inside, pulling back the chamber so a bullet was ready in place and tucked in neatly back inside his holster, inside his flowing purple trench coat. Ceege tightened his golden tie as they reached the door.
As they walked through the spinning doors they took a look at their surroundings. The was a big lobby floor, with comfortable looking sofas, with several blue pills sitting around reading copies of the sentinel. At the far end was a team of four security guards near to the reception, behind which, were two big elevator doors. That's where they needed to be.
Valaro took out his cellphone and called Ocelet.
"Operator"
"Ocelet, what floor?"
"28 sir."
"Any suggestions?"
"It looks like you have four rotating security guards on the lobby floor, the two nearest to the elevators have hand held metal detectors but that's just routine for government buildings. The elevators aren't the only way though, if you feel like getting fit there's the fire stairs to the right, south end of the lobby but as these stairs are fire exit only stairs the doors are alarmed. So you could either sweet talk the guards into letting you upstairs with your nice shiny new guns, or find a way to turn off the alarm to the stairs."
"Thanks Ocelet." Valaro hung up and put the phone back in his pocket and waited a moment deciding which option was best.
"Well Ceege, we have two options." He explained them both and waited for Ceege's opinion.
"Well sir, I'm all for guns blazing but I'd rather not get a nice slick agent on our asses. How about I hack the alarm system and once all guards start running to the stairs we sneak up the elevator way."
"You see Ceege, this is why I brought here, there are some big brains inside that party head of yours" Valaro said raising a smile as he turned and began walking to the south end of the lobby.
"Very true sir, but still, I'd rather be at Polyvinyl right now instead of having some Mummy with a vendetta following us around every corner."
"Me too Ceege, me too."
Ceege followed closely behind and as Valaro headed to the reception Ceege turned and headed to a nearby security room. Inside was one guard, with his feet up looking at his little portable TV rather than the security monitors, laughing at an episode of Seinfeld. Ceege pulled out a lockpick from his coat and picked the lock of the door in a matter of seconds. As he burst open the door the security guard jumped up, pulling out his baton but Ceege was too quick, he jumped at the nearest wall, kicked off it and landed his other foot at the back of the guards head, sending him crashing, unconscious to the floor. He looked out the glass window and saw Valaro chatting away to the receptionist. Luckily no other guards had seen Ceege's little maneuver and he quickly began tapping away at the security console.
//msfo236 security access granted /alarm test menu //execute fire stair alarm test y n? /y .. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
It worked. All the security forces on the lobby floor went darting towards the fire stairs. The receptionist too turned to see all the commotion and Valaro and Ceege both swiftly headed towards the elevators. When it soon arrived they stepped in and Valaro hit the level 28 button. As the doors closed Ceege turned to Valaro.
"So how come I get to be the one hacking boring consoles whilst you flirt with cute receptionists?"
"Perks of being a captain" Valaro and Ceege both laughed together as the elevator slowed down to their floor.
Ping!
"Here we go"
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Post by Karaa on Oct 12, 2009 19:43:15 GMT -8
Karaa unplugged Ceege and he immediately went over to the monitor and sat down, staring at the screen. Karaa sighed; something was going on with Valaro and Ceege. It seemed that the crewmates of the tiger were being targeted by the universe. People were just coming out of the woodwork with issues with someone. It seemed like the very world that they were trying hard to reestablish was throwing whatever it could at them. If things continued they way the were, they might be seeing radomir soon. Deaths had been on the decline since the truce but they still happened. The loss of Radomir was a great deficit for the pride. Karaa could see that Valaro and Ceege were the most affected. Karaa silently swore to herself that she would make sure that Rsy made it out of this mess in one piece. She patted Ceege on the shoulder before she turned and walked down the hallway to her room. Karaa could hear Dee in the engine room, tinkering with something or another. She walked into her room and shut the door behind her. She didn’t want the rest of the crew privy to the little mental breakdown she felt coming. Whenever memories from her past came to haunt her, Karaa found it hard to keep her emotions in check. Normally, she put on a smile and sometimes was able to convince even herself that she was happy. She took a deep breath trying to get herself under the tight control that she normally held. But the memories came….they always did. She felt a tear slide down the side of her face.
It was like she was back there. Karaa could feel the heavy bullet proof vest on her shoulders could feel the gun in her hands as she kicked in the door to the apartment. “FREEZE! FBI!” She had her gun trained on a man sitting at a desk. His dark brown hair swayed slightly in the breeze from the open window. He was wearing dark blues jeans and a motorcycle jacket. The man was still typing something on a laptop. “Hands in the air!” Karaa yelled. He slowly raised his hands above his head, away from the computer. The other agents swarmed into the room behind her. “Cuff him.” Her partner nodded and moved forward to arrest the target. Karaa loved the adrenaline of an arrest. She loved the fact that another individual who had the ability to harm millions was now in custody. Her partner, special agent Robertson, was placing the cuffs on the suspect when everything turned horribly wrong. The man grabbed Robertson’s arm and flipped him. The other agents swarmed forward and before her eyes she watched one man take out an entire special ops team. She opened fire as he made to finish off another agent. He dodged but the bullet grazed the side of his neck. Another landed in his shoulder. He grunted with the pain but still advance on her. “Karaa.” His voice was low and gravely. Her finger froze on the trigger. “How do you know that name?” She asked breathlessly. “I know why you sit at your computer night after night…” He smirked as he finished the sentence. As if it was some common cliché or inside joke that she should be aware of. Karaa couldn’t move, she couldn’t speak. All she could do was stare at this man before her. He looked around the small room then said, “The matrix is everywhere…” With that her brain kicked into action. “What is the matrix?” His phone rang, loud in the small room. Her gun was still trained on him. “The matrix cannot be explained, it can only be shown.” “Who are you?” She whispered. “Danny.” He whispered back. His phone never stopped ringing. “Don’t terrorists have voicemail?” she quipped, unsure what brought on the comment. He laughed a little at her joke. “You’re not as uptight as everyone thinks you are.” She arched an eyebrow, “Everyone?” “You’re pretty popular in the circles I moved in.” Karaa smirked, “I could imagine. Tell your boss that I’m coming for him. I won’t let any more innocent people get hurt because of your organization.” Danny shook his head. His phone finally stopped ringing. She heard footsteps coming down the hallway. “Our times up, but I do hope we meet again, Karaa.” He seemed reluctant to move. “I’m not letting you walk out of here.” His smile pulled up at one side, “I don’t plan on ‘walking out of here’” Karaa saw his eyes flicker to the window just as he lunged for it, Karaa opened fire. She was able to land a bullet in his leg as he fell through the window. Karaa ran to the window as more agents rushed into the room. “He's on ground level.” she shouted to them. But he was running, to the best of his ability, to a phone booth down the block. “What the hell…” And then she saw him disappear into the thin air as the phone dropped. Karaa's eyes grew wide. No, she thought rubbing her eyes. Lack of sleep she began to explain to herself but her eyes were locked on the dangling phone. “Agent Johnson.” Said a monotonous voice. Shit. Karaa turned around quickly to see Agent Norris in the doorway, her boss. “Agent Norris.” “I expect a detailed report on why you let the target get away.” Karaa pointed to the window and opened her mouth to elaborate further when Norris cut her off. “A detailed report, Ms. Johnson.” With that he turned and walked away. Shit. She cursed again.
Karaa opened her eyes and found herself back in her room. She rose to a sitting position and pushed herself up against the wall. A month after that, Danny ended up in her interrogation room. Later, after she was awakened, she had asked him about it. Karaa smiled despite herself as she laid her head against the wall. He had told her he got caught on purpose. Something about her being too stubborn to see reason. Karaa sighed. She had been on more crews then she cared to count but Danny was always with her. The tears were flowing more freely now and she could hear her own whimpers bounced off the walls.
Even though most of Zion welcomed her, she still felt like she didn’t belong there. She had killed their people, she had handed them over to the machines. The elders said she was an asset. She may be young but she had seen more action than most on this crew. When she was awakened everyone was surprised by her speed, herself included. They said that it rival that of machines and was on a level no one had seen in a redpill since the one.
Today, when Caius had her at gunpoint, she wasn’t afraid; she welcomed the encounter with death. If Aaroun hadn’t been there… she sighed. She had to be more careful, it seemed like her crewmates and friends were always busting her out of some kind of trouble. She didn’t want to be a burden to them. Radomir was a dedicated Zion operative. He never raised a hand against Zion while a bluepill. He shouldn’t have been the one to lose his life today.
A knock on the door took her away from her musings. Karaa wiped the tears from her face and tried to gather the energy to walk over to the door.
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Post by Dee on Oct 13, 2009 11:41:30 GMT -8
She knocked on the heavy metal door twice. It was reminiscent of a submarine door, with the big valve in the middle of it. In the Real, wood was a thing of the past. Everything was made with stone or metal. Fresh water didn't exist anymore either; Zionites used the same water over and over again, purifying it with machines between each use. Hovercrafts like the Tiger had similar water recycling machines, though much smaller. Showers were not as frequent as in the simulation; you were lucky if you had one every week. But they were used to having oily hair and sweaty skin. No one answered. She knocked again, sending small painful shocks through her knuckles. A small voice from inside the room called out. - Who is it? - Karaa, it's Dee! I brought you something to drink! Thought we could use a bit of alcohol in the little recess, to ease the tension a little! The door opened halfway, giving sight to Karaa. Her eyes and cheeks were red; she had probably cried. She still tried to put on a "I'm okay" face, but it wasn't working so well this time. Dee's smile was washed away almost intently. - Can I come in? she asked in a serious tone. - Yeah, sure, Karaa answered, opening the door completely. EichDee stepped in the room, and placed the metal jar full of alcohol on the counter. Karaa sat back on her bed, legs crossed, but Dee stayed up, hands on her hips. - You all right? - Yeah, it's... it's just Radomir's death is hard to take... - It's hard for all of us, but don't lie to me, she said in a very serious, almost aggressive tone. You weren't crying because of Radomir. Karaa's eyes grew wide. She probably didn't know how to react to that. Dee took a step forward. - You're still lingering about if you should be with us or not. You're still feeling guilty about what happened before you were awakened. You're thinking you should've died, and not him. - I... - Get yourself together, Karaa! I know what happened to Radomir sucks, but it wouldn't have made anyone feel better if it had been you. I always thought you'd learn to get over it with time, but it's been more than a year already. And I'm sick of seeing you beat yourself down all the time. You think I haven't noticed how you stay in the back, how you hide every once in a while, or how you always come up with plans that put yourself in danger? Dee felt like she was being a bit too much on the offensive, but it was necessary, she thought. Karaa eyes were filling up with water, and her mouth was open, like she was trying to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. - What happened back then wasn't your fault, Karaa! - How can you even start to understand how I feel?! she practically screamed. How can you -- - Because at one time I was in your very shoes! Karaa's jaw was shut tight. She was looking at Dee, still confused as to if she should be angry, or just give up and cry. The young brunette sat down besides her, and joined her hands together between her knees. - I had Zionites killed too, Karaa. You know this... Dozens of them... It... Her voice was starting to get weaker. - I was used as bait by the machines, to allow them to draw out zionites who would seek to free me. Every one who tried to show me the truth was killed... When I found out, the blood on my hands was unbearable... I couldn't live with that... But Zion gave me a chance, and managed to free me... - Then... If you know so well what I feel... cried Karaa. Why do you push this on me? - Because I don't want to see you like this anymore... It's tearing you apart, and you know it... Nothing will change what happened... The only thing you can do is learn to live with this, and start walking forward again. - But... how? It's so hard... - Start by not hiding your pain anymore... Open yourself to others. We are your friends, Karaa, even though you may not think you deserve it. You already saved our butts countless times, and we are all in debt to you. Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise. Karaa turned her head towards the floor. Her cheeks were still wet, but she seemed to have stopped crying. She looked as if she was reflecting on all of it. - And I know that the fact Norris is still there doesn't help, but for now it's not our concern. If we ever do bump into him again, don't worry; we'll give him one he'll remember. You and me. - ... All right, she smiled after a moment. Thanks, Dee. - Don't worry, I've got your back! she grinned, reaching for the jar. Now let's have a little drink in Radomir's memory! * * * - What the hell were you thinking, Caius?! Phellan was walking back and forth across the room. Some lupine lackeys were behind him, and Caius and a few Cypherites operatives were in front. The atmosphere was really tense. - I should kill you for this! - Chill out, Phellan. Zion agents are dumb, they won't figure out anything. - I'm not concerned about Zion, you idiot! They made a deal with the machines! If they find out anything about our relation, were finished! Last thing I want are Agents on our asses. Why did you even had to show up back there anyway?! You compromised our entire operation! The urge to plunge his claws into Caius' throat was unbearable. Such stupidity! The cypherite looked as if nothing happened, and everything was all right. He let out a powerful growl. - Don't worry, Phellan, said Caius, hands behind his head in a relaxed manner. We've already tracked their captain, he and another of his friends are on route to the Mortem Obire, thanks to our little friend. Or should I say his little friend. Were already planning an ambush, they don't expect anything. - I hope you're right, Cypherite... Or else it'll be your last mistake.
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Post by Valaro on Oct 13, 2009 16:20:31 GMT -8
Outside The Morterm Obire
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Valaro was in a state of meditation. He had managed to clear his mind of all things that may have got in the way of the mission and his crews survival. Something necessary for a captain to be able to do. He was remembering something:
"First Mate Valaro, glad you could join us. How was the Oracle?"
"She was fine, sir. She wished for me to convey her congratulations on a job well done in stopping those Cypherites last week."
"Indeed, her thanks is much appreciated. At ease Val, take a seat we were just going over the security measures Commander Locke put in place now that we are able to Jack into the Matrix again. The gates of Zion are going to take some time to be rebuild so we are to be at the safest possible distance away from machines as this truce appears to be an uneasy one. However we have a meeting tomorrow, regarding a machine bluepill operative that captured our eye."
"I assume you refer to that female FBI agent, Dan?"
"Yes. She shows amazing potential, even more than the last one we freed. Her speed seems to rival that of Agents."
"No one is that fast. Only.."
"Well thats the info we received Val. We know that they refer to her as Special Agent in charge of Field Ops. We know her as Karaa. A Hacker alias."
"Field operative? That's surprising, the girl that was freed two years ago from them was a simple office worker. They used her as bait to draw us out, if I recall correctly."
"Yeah, I guess the machines decided to bring it one step further."
"Indeed. What is the plan sir?"
"I'm sending Dante in to try and find out the most information we can gather. I'm going to take a look for this Karaa."
"Got your eye on the pretty girl again, Dan. Not smart; this one's dangerous."
"Yeah maybe. But she has potential, and I'm not going to ignore that."
"Yes sir. I'll keep an eye here on the ship."
"Oh and Valaro. If anything should happen while..."
"Cough Cough"
Valaro opened his eyes to see Ceege standing over him.
Ceege glad to see you made it safely"...
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Post by Ceege on Oct 15, 2009 11:08:11 GMT -8
Ping. The elevator doors opened to what seemed like an endless library of filing cabinets, perfectly lined up, with only four or five bluepills flicking through files or working behind large glass office doors either side of the huge room.
"Careful Ceege, we need to keep a low profile here." Valaro said as they both stepped out the elevator. Valaro's cell rang.
"Hello old friend" the familiar husky voice said.
"You knew I'd come here didn't you."
"Of course, you're more than a pretty purple redpill" the man laughed.
"So tell me where I'm looking." Valaro was getting impatient with this guy.
"I'll tell you what, I'll give you my system name, that should get you to the right clues. Get your operator to look up the name S. Caver in the file log and Valaro...good luck getting out there alive."
CLICK. Valaro called the Tiger.
"Operator" Ocelet answered.
"Ocelet," Valaro began in a quiet voice, "I'm looking for a name in these file, S. Caver, see what you can find."
Valaro waited only a moment before his operator founded what he was looking for.
"Follow me Ceege and lets try to not to get any bluepill attention."
"Yes sir, should I keep following you should you stray towards another attractive receptionist?"
They both broke a smile as they proceeded down row after row of the filing cabinets which loomed far above their heads. They reached the one Valaro was searching for without catching any unnecessary attention. The cabinet read "System Version 6.1 "Cypherite" Death Records. T-Z.
Ceege kept an eye out as Valaro quickly hunted through the folders.
T. Casper "Avalie" J. Caul "Jax" S. Caver "Thanatos"
Found it! Valaro thought to himself as he pulled the file out the cabinet. Thanatos. No, it can't be.
"Heads up, bluepill at 6 o clock" Ceege warned. Valaro began reading faster.
S. Caver also goes by his hacker alias "Thanatos", murdered June 16th 2005 due to Hvcft destruction. Body not recovered from crash site. Death caused by a Zion ship known as Hvcft Knight near sector 8. Possible captain responsible, Mr. Keating, hacker alias "Danny".
"I remember this. It was days before the Lion freed Karaa." Valaro began speaking out loud. "Several ships including The Tiger were hunting down a possible Cypherite threat after the captain and crew disappeared from Zion. The captain, Thanatos, was a close friend of mine in Zion, I didn't want him to die but they opened fire on The Knight first, no-one could've survived..."
A bluepill came round the corner behind them before Ceege could warn Valaro. "BREAK IN!" he screamed as his face began to morph into a new shape, dark shades began to appear and he seemed to grow taller. BANG! Ceege shot him in the head before the poor man could turn into an Agent.
"Time to go," Ceege pulled Valaro up, who was still trying to figure out how this mystery man could possibly be Thanatos and why the man had waited till now to contact him. They began sprinting to the elevators but when they saw the doors slide open they quickly changed direction towards the fire stairs having seen the two Agents revealed. Ceege kicked open the door CRUNCH! splinters flew everywhere. They had only one option, the roof. They could already hear security guards entering the ground floor stairs. They both began to launch up the stairs as two bullets hit a emergency only sign just behind them, the sounds of the shots seemed to be from the agents handguns but neither turned to check.
A normal blue pill would be out of breath by the tenth flight but to a red pill air was something breathed only in the real world.
"There!" shouted Valaro who was the first to catch sight of the roof door and he ran up to it slamming his arm into the exit bar throwing the door open.
"Shit," said Ceege running to the buildings edge, "the other roofs are too far!"
"Tiger if you can see this, we could do with your help." whispered Valaro to himself.
"You are not authorised in this area" an agent called out behind them. "Prepare for execution".
Ceege unloaded his weapon at the agent as the second appeared, knowing it was useless but out of options, it would slow them down, if only for a second. That's all they needed, suddenly rising up from the buildings edge was a military chopper with EichDee in the drivers seat and Angelis and Karaa in the open back dock.
"CEEGE! Jump!" Valaro shouted, seeing the chopper in front of him.
Ceege spun around to see his fellow Tiger crew there at the rescue. Both him and Valaro hyper jumped towards Karaa's and Angelis' outstretched arms and each grabbed on as the chopper turned sharply to get away from the agents oncoming fire.
Angelis pulled Ceege in. "Told you to watch that ass of yours."
"Was just testing you" Ceege smiled.
The chopper flew over megacity towards Richland.
"Thankyou crew" Valaro called out over the sound of the helicopter. "I couldn't ask for a more perfect set of friends to be part of the Tiger".
"Our pleasure captain." Karaa replied.
"So did you get what we went for sir?", Ceege asked turning to Valaro, "if you say no, we can always ask the agents politely tomorrow."
"No need" Valaro answered. "I got what we needed." But he stopped there. Ceege was desperate for answers about this stalker. He wanted to know why he was trying kill his captain, who he was and what part, if any, he had in the kidnapping of Rsy. They weren't jacking out just yet, they still had to catch up with the other crews and see what progress they had made. Anyway, Ceege was too fired up to jack out just yet, he would press on, now with his fellow crew by his side.
The helicopter touched down on a rooftop near Moriah Housing Projects. They all stepped out ready to meet with the gathering of other Pride crews four floors down.
* * *
Somewhere close by.
"You'll have to excuse Caius" Thanatos began, "he was never one for timing."
"I thought you had an ambush ready!" screamed Phellan, his fists slamming down on a nearby desk.
"Like I said, his timing is not the best, it seems Agents got there before we did" Thanatos was remaining very calm, rubbing the bandages on the side of his face.
"Listen Thanatos, I have several people in the next room who are ready to rip out the throats of you Cypherite scum, you're going to ruin this operation due to your own pitiful games and I for one..."
"Now now," Thanatos interrupted. "Threats are not very nice."
Thanatos suddenly lept out his chair, ran over to the Lupine leader, grabbed him by his throat and slammed him up against the wall, some of his bandages falling away from his face as he did so.
The frightened Lupine looked down into the Cypherite's melted face, still sticky and covered in mutilated flesh and large burn holes.
"I didn't go through near death, years stuck in a moldy sewer pipe, only able to jack with a broken RSI so Machine scum didn't find my hideout in the real, just so I could get picked off go you Lupine exile bastards. Watch who you're threatening or it is you who may find yourself without a throat." he lowered the exile and wrapped his face again before walking out the door.
"I'll be in touch." Thanatos called back and then was gone.
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Post by Dee on Oct 18, 2009 1:13:29 GMT -8
The helicopter turbines slowed down, and eventually came to a stop. The night became calm again as she shut down the final systems of the chopper. A frisky breeze went through the cockpit by the open doors on the side. The rest of Tiger had already left towards the building, and had disappeared in the roof exit of the heliport. That was close, EichDee thought as she rested her head on the seat. When they saw on the screens that Valaro and Ceege had company coming their way, they had to intervene. Had it been exiles or humans, they could've probably held their own. But when they saw it was Agents, she had to act. Not only did they overpower them completely, but they couldn't afford being caught by machines doing illegal activities to the Truce. After a sigh of relief, she took off her pilot headset, opened the door and stepped out of the chopper. She adjusted her blouse's collar wings correctly over her suit, and headed towards the building. * * * The room was already filled with Pride operatives. All the crews had regrouped here, in Moriah Project, a district in the center of Richland. The territory was allowed to redpills, meaning no machine operative could just bust out of nowhere, and start shooting things up. They were under Truce jurisdiction here, and were safe to meetings of such scales. Some were still uneasy about it, probably due to the fact they were there back during the war, where such meetings were practically impossible. The young woman entered the room, most eyes turning to her. Some saluted, some waved, some tip their hat. Valaro gave her a smile and nodded. Everyone was here; Pylat's crew, Namroc's crew, what was left of the Cheetah, and of course the Tiger. - Dee, I was just thanking the Tiger for saving out asses back there, said Namroc. We really owe you one. - Well I have to admit we didn't expect you to be all captured, actually, chuckled Dee. But you're welcome. - And we have to thank Clep and Aaroun for saving ours, too, smiled Ceege. I guess that's why we have multiple crafts; we back ourselves. - And leave no one behind, said Valaro. - This brings us back to our objective number one, said Pylat. Finding Captain Rassy. - With the recent events, the Cheetah crew is very disorganized, said Acebie. With Rassy missing and Radomir dead, it's very hard to mobilize our efforts efficiently. - For now, continued Jumpjack, Acebie and myself are leading what is left of our crew, but it is difficult. Finding Rassy is a high priority. - Agreed, said Telemancer. - Won't the Logos II be joining us? asked Karaa. - No, Captain Niobe doesn't want to attract more heat about them helping us, explained Fluvirus. - They'll keep helping us in the background, pointed Pylat. - So I hear you have news about Rassy, Dee? asked Ascl3pius. - Indeed. She stepped forward and threw the small metallic pin on the table. Everyone gave a hard look, not really knowing what was going on. She cleared her throat. - This is some sort of RSI synthesizer, she started to explain. It emits a fake RSI through the matrix, which appears on our screen displays. This is more than likely the reason why multiple RSI's of Rassy appeared all over town. Now, this comes from an exile named Phellan that we encountered in Sati's Playground. Wether or not this is true is still a matter of concern, but if according to him, there are dozens, maybe even more, spread all accross the city. This is where it gets complicated. If what he said is true, inside each of these emitters is a code fragment. That fragment is part of a code that contains a single coordinate; Rassy's location. Now, I'm sure you guessed it... If we want to find Rassy, we'll have to recuperate all these pins to get the code. The crowd got slightly noisy. Some were calling bullshit on it, some were saying it was a waste of time. After a few moments, Pylat called order back. - Wether or not this is true doesn't matter, he said. This is still our only lead, and we should follow it. - But it's non-sense! argued a member of Namroc's crew. We can't run around town for weeks, maybe months, looking for pins?! - It is our only solution for now, said an unknown voice. Everyone turned towards the newly arrived crew, and most were stunned. A lot went into military salute. - Please, at ease my friends, said the woman. - We weren't expecting you, ma'am! said Valaro. The late twenties african-american woman was smiling at her subordinates. Still as stunning as ever, Catzi stepped towards the circle. Her gold outfit made her literally stand out from the rest of the people there, like the sun piercing through the clouds. It was the impression she always gave. She had that quality, that gift that always made everyone feel like everything would be okay, that they would get through the dusk into a new dawn, even if things looked as if there wasn't any solution. - I came here as soon as I heard the situation, she said with a smile. But Pylat is right. This is our only lead, and we must follow it if we are to get to the end of this. - I'm not so sure, said Valaro after a moment of hesitation. - What is it? she asked. - Ceege and I have been followed for the last day or so. A man, covered in bandages. I believe he might be linked to all of this. - Yeah, you jacked in with Ceege to go and find out what you could in the Morterm Obire, said Dee. Did you find out anything? - ...No, we didn't. It was a dead end. He's lying, she thought. After all the time she spent with Valaro, she was able to detect when he was lying. But it wasn't a habit of his, to hide things from his crew. But recently, he had been distant. He kept things to himself. He even risked everyone's lives a few weeks back, had beaten Ceege to the ground, and shot Pylat in the stomach. EichDee was beggining to have suspicions. What is happening with him these days..?- Well, maybe he is connected to all of this, Catzi said. But for now we have no proof of this. The emitters are still the best lead we have, and we will follow it. I will seperate the districts among the crews, and go from there. We need to cover the most ground as possible in the shortest time possible. I hear the machines are already covering the downtown area. - But, I'm sure that guy -- - Val, if he is related to this case, he'll pop up again sooner or later, intervened Dee. - If he insists, began Catzi, he can take one or two men and investigate it. The rest, concentrate on the pins. * * * - So, how do we do it? asked Angelis. The crews had dispersed, and each were taking a minute or two to settle things between them. Catzi had separated the city into sections, and each team had to search a specific RSI location. More had poped up according to her, and there were now more than fifteen locations. - I'll go investigate our friend, see if we can find anything else about him. - "Else", huh, smirked Dee. So you did find something... - No, I... Hands on her hips, EichDee was starring straight at her captain. After a sigh, he shrugged. - I can't say anything right now, Dee. Please understand. - ...Right. Suit yourself. - Anyway. Ceege, you're with me. - Yes sir! he chuckled. - Dee, take Angelis and Karaa, and head for the location Catzi gave us. - The airport, right. At that, Valaro turned around and left the room, Ceege saluting casually before he followed him. The airport, she thought. Usually, the airport was the kind of place you didn't want to go - yet another location under close machine surveillance. It was located northwest of the city, thirty minutes from downtown. At least, if all went well, this time the machines wouldn't mind them looking around a bit. - So we take the hardlines? asked Karaa. - Nah, grinned Dee. We have a chopper!
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Post by Karaa on Oct 18, 2009 9:17:44 GMT -8
Karaa frowned as she watched Valaro and Ceege walk away. Who was this bandaged man? Why was Valaro reluctant to say anything about the man and what he found in the machinist archive? Valaro seemed to be more secretive then she remembered him being when on the Knight with Danny. Danny She sighed. “Are we using the Hardline?” Karaa asked to try and distract herself from her current train of thought. “Nah, we have a chopper!” said EichDee enthusiastically. Karaa smiled and shook her head. EichDee kept her sane. After the little intervention Karaa realize something that she had been oblivious to before. She wasn’t alone. She had the Tiger. Karaa climbed into the back of the chopper as EichDee slipped into the cockpit and Angelis slipped into the co-pilot seat and put on the headset. EichDee began checking the systems as Angelis put in the coordinates for the airport. Karaa leaned against the back wall of the chopper and slid down to the floor. She laid her head back on the cool metal of the wall of the chopper. Whatever tomorrow brings I’ll be there… she smiled, the line was reminiscent of one of the songs she use to listen to as a blue pill. Danny, she thought, I am trying. EichDee turned to look over her shoulder, “Ready Kar?” “You know it!” Karaa yelled back. A huge smile spread across EichDee’s face. Karaa laughed to herself, EichDee and her hardware. “Let’s do it!” Came Angelis’ voice from the cockpit. With that the blades started spinning drowning out all other sounds. *** EichDee cut through the sky with precise movements while Karaa adjusted her headset for the fifth time, trying to keep it from falling off. “Dee, are they going to let us land or should we find a parking lot?” asked Karaa. “We should be ok to land in one of their less frequented fields. Remember Kar, the machines are actually helping us on this one.” “Right.” Karaa replied. EichDee push some buttons and then was asking for permission to land in one of their unused airfields. “Hold for verification.” EichDee gave an audible sigh. After a few minutes the tower operator’s voice crackled back on. “Permission granted, airfield 5.” “Understood.” Responded EichDee. With that EichDee began to swing the Chopper over to field 5. Karaa looked out the opened door to see the airport terminal. This could go really well for the tiger or horribly wrong.
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Post by Valaro on Oct 25, 2009 15:26:54 GMT -8
Several Minutes later at a Hardline in Westview
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A green trickle of code began to appear at the Gracey Heights Hadline. Valaro was leaning against the Wall nearby awaiting Ceege's arrival. Ceege flew out of the Hardline and turned around to face Valaro.
"We go ahead then Captain? Speaking of which where are we going?"
"This guy claims to be Thanatos. The guy that killed Danny. If that's true then hes started using some old contacts. I know a guy who may be able to help. Goes by the name of Valentino, low level crime boss here in Gracey. Lets go pay him a visit."
Valaro and Ceege began walking along the side walk. As they were walking Valaro started to think.
"I used to come down here alot Ceege, during my blue pill life. In fact it was near the fight club were heading to, that I first saw him. Lots changed since back then. But this place sure hasn't. I used to spar alot. Its how I learned to look after myself. I thought through alot of guys. I almost became "Bare fist" Champion. If I hadn't lost that fight, I might not be a red pill today. I guess fate as it seems isn't without a sense of Irony."
"Heh heh Yeah" exclaimed Ceege
"I learned alot of tricks around here, was introduced to smart people. Street smart people, not the real smart guys like those in Downtown. They knew people. The people who had information. And as you know knowledge is power, so im going to do what I used to do when Thanatos wanted me to whack a guy. Find out who knows where he is and go get him."
"Wow wow wait a second. Are you telling me this Thanatos guy not only killed Danny, but you used to work for him?"
"Yeah. Not very many people know what I used to do. Your the only one on Tiger other than Eichdee who knows, and for the time being id like it to stay like that. Im not into the whole feel sorry for me because I have had some ups and downs in my past. Its hard for Karaa and Dee. But we have to be strong for them Ceege."
"Uh captain, your sounding a little strange today, but your words are an encouragement"
Valaro and Ceege arrived outside a run down building with yellow paint. The wood was rotten. the neon sign was half glowing. The window was boarded up where it had been smashed in some drunken bar brawl that had taken place years before. On the sin above them it read: "Fight Club". There was a small poster in the window which read "Are you the One? Come in and Find out". The two men walked inside the building. Valaro nodded to Ceege who walked over to a bar stool and sat down. Valaro walked over to the bar and sat down.
"Double scotch please. On the cold icy rocks darlin"
The lady turned quickly, her face in shock. She looked at Valaro.
"Oh My God, is it really... you?"
Valaro stared at the blonde haired girl for a moment. He looked her up and down. She was wearing a garter dress, with stockings, and had a feather hairpiece in her hair. He slowly raised his hand up to his sunglasses and took them off and set them on the counter.
"Yeah its me"
"I never thought id see your bastard face again!How long has it been 7 years?"
"10 actually"
"You really are a bastard."
"Yeah. Look Sam I don't want to fight, I just need to see him."
"Oh yeah just like that you wanna see him. Used to be you and I would go upstairs and you'd make love to me before you ever wanted to see him. He send you off to work for Caine? Ace?"
"No. Its business Sam i need to see him please."
"Fine. Go see your precious mentor, apparently I dot even mater. Like I never existed"
"It wasn't like that."
Valaro picked up his glasses and looked over to Ceege, signalling for him to follow him. They entered through a door at the back of the bar, and proceeded to the lower floor. Valaro stopped before entering the next door.
"Ill handle them" he said as he opened the door and moved in quickly.
"Handle wh...." Ceege was grabbed from behind and couldn't break free he looked to see two armed henchmen holding him, he looked back into the room to see Valaro. Time slowed down. Valaro punched a henchman in the head knocking him to the floor, launching through the air he laid a kick on the second henchman who was running at him. He put his hands into his pockets and took out two Westek .40 calibre handguns and fired at the two henchmen taking them down instantly. he turned and fired at the two men holding Ceege. The two .40 calibre bullets ripped through bone and flesh taking them down. Time returned to normal where Ceege saw Valaro standing in his usual formal pose looking towards a man who was smiling at him.
"Chris my lad. How are ya?"
"Been better Tino. Learned a few moves since we last spoke, could maybe be The One after all."
Ceege smiled a little as he walked into the room behind him.
"Captain?"
"Ceege meet Valentino. Tino for short. The lowest scum of the Megacity. Tino this is... Doesn't matter, now im sure you have an idea why im here."
"Im guessing you want me to give up Samantha. Aint happen Chrissy boy she the finest piece of ass ive had since that little bitch I had before her.
Valaro smirked and looked towards Ceege.
"Im going to give you five seconds then I break your ribs one after the other until you tell me what I want to know."
"OK. Shes great in bed. Specially when she does that..."
Valaro struck like a bullet with his fist hitting the man in the lower rib breaking it. he starting coughing and spitting blood.
"Don't make me do this, Tino, Cause I have better things to be doing."
"COUGH, OK, COUGH This guy following you, hes Thanatos, or so he says but I haven't spoken to him, its just a rumour I heard upwind I swear"
Valaro took off his trench and through it to Ceege. He was wearing a purple waist coat with a black shirt and green tie similar to Morpheus. He had black leather gloves on with exposed fingers. He cracked his knuckles and struck the man a second time in the top rib nearer his heart. The man in agony fell onto the ground struggling to breathe.
"Don't make me hit you again Tino, because next time I will kill you."
"Your frigin crazy. I always knew you were a cold hearted bastard!"
Valaro went to hit him again in the chest.
"WAIT! Please. Theres a guy, goes by the name of Morello, in Kedemoth over in Richland, he has been tipping this guy off, he know that its not.... UUGH!"
A bullet hit the man in the head killing him immediately! Valaro looked up at the small window behind him to see a leather trench coat running off into the distance.
"Damn, we gotta get to this Morello before he does. Back to the hardline now!"
Valaro grabbed his Trench coat and started running with Ceege towards the hardline...
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Post by Karaa on Oct 26, 2009 15:57:38 GMT -8
Around the same time at the airport.... ------------------------------------------------------------
Karaa raced through the airport narrowly missing an elderly woman with her yapping lap dog, spinning out of the way and jumping through a luggage cart she stumbled but kept up the pace. Damn, this was not smart to be here during the busier hours. But then again, she thought, the machines are on our side…this time. Karaa pressed the phone back to her ear to hear ocelet screaming “RIGHT! TURN RIGHT NOW!” Karaa pushed a couple out of the way and turned right down a hallway. Lights blared promising refreshment or much needed amenities. Karaa turned to look around her; her gaze scaled the ceiling and combed the floor. “Ocelet?” Karaa asked. “Hold on. It’s not moving anymore.” “Where is it?” whispered Karaa. “Below you.” Below… Karaa looked down and once again combed the floor with her eyes. Must be in the basement levels. EichDee rushed up next Karaa putting her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Angelis was right behind her, throwing himself against the wall taking deep breaths. “Kar?” wheezed EichDee. They had been running all over the airport following the moving rsi signal of Rsy. The pin was turning out to be impossible to find and on top of everything else the team had to keep a lookout for a trap. “Its below us.” The whole team was still waiting for Ocelet to tell them what to do. “Holy Shit! Karaa GO!” Karaa took off down the hallway; she could hear EichDee groan as Angelis pushed himself off the wall. “This thing is insane.” Came Ocelet’s voice into the receiver. “Maybe its attached to something?” Karaa suggested. “Possibly. It would have to be something fast. Left Kar!” Karaa turned left and found herself faced with a wall and two doors on either end of the hallway. Restrooms. “Which way?” “….Men’s room.” Answered ocelet barely keeping the laughter out of the response. Karaa groaned internally then went to push the door open. “Karaa, you cant-“Angelis voice was cut off as the door swung shut. Karaa glanced around the small room as some of the men ran out while others just smirked. Eichdee came through the door next, “God, its smells in here.” “What’d you except?” karaa quipped. “Ocelet? Where is it?” “It looks like it’s in the ventilation system…how it got up there from the basement, don’t ask.” “Guys you cant just bust into the men’s room!” Angelis was behind them now holding the door open. EichDee look over to the two guys still in the restroom and said, “Bathroom is close boys, get out.” One left immediately, stumbling over himself and sliding past Angelis. The other man was taller and more filled out. He took his time walking to the door and locked eye’s with Karaa before exiting. “It’s in the vents.” Said Karaa. “Great.” Said EichDee sarcastically. “Who wants to go up?” EichDee glanced at Angelis and he just shook his head. "Thats all you and Karaa." Said Angelis. Karaa snickered and turned to EichDee, "So what do you think, Dee?"
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Post by Ceege on Oct 28, 2009 18:09:23 GMT -8
Ceege and Valaro were in full flight to Kedemoth, their trench coats billowing behind them, Ceege like a black and white blur and Valaro like a purple flash in the morning sunrise that was glinting off their shades. "Captain!" Ceege shouted, still running full pace, "you gotta fill me in on all this shit, I'm so lost!" he laughed. "What's not to get?" Valaro called out from ahead. "I thought Danny's crew supposedly killed Thanatos and his crew? According to that file anyway. But you just told me Danny was killed by him. Karaa once told me Danny's ship was destroyed by a sentinel attack. She was pretty cut up by it. And to top it off, Thanatos is your old boss??"
Valaro slowed his pace so he was by Ceege's side, they had both slowed down and Valaro had that serious look behind his dark shades.
"Ceege, Thanatos is the reason I can now call myself a redpill. Shortly after he was freed he helped me escape the bonds of this place." Valaro sighed. "I couldn't, didn't, want to believe it when I heard he may be responsible for Cypherite activity. And when the Knight found his ship it broke my heart to see them take it down."
"Damn, that's a tough deal".
"You're telling me. Anyway, like that file said his body was never recovered, a part of me hoped he had survived, and that some day he'd show up renouncing his betrayal. Maybe even join me on The Tiger"
Ceege's mind flicked to the small Tiger painting on the side of the ship and he couldn't help give a smile of honor to be a part of that ship.
Valaro paused for a moment for them both to hyperjump over a building in the way of their path and when they landed with a crack of the floor the other side, he continued.
"Danny was still captain of the Knight and EichDee, who was now First Mate aboard the Tiger, received a stress signal from his ship whilst we were doing some routine pipe mapping. We informed The Lion, partly for the fact that they were broadcasting nearby but mostly for the fact that I knew Karaa was onboard at that time and she had become very close to Danny since he freed her. When we arrived to the Knight's location we were shocked to find the Knight completely destroyed, and by the looks of the wreckage it seemed like a sentinel bomb attack. Since then Zion has asked the machines for a guilty party but they deny any involvement. It's pointless anyway..."
"Well how do you know it was Thanatos that destroyed the ship?" Ceege asked, still a look of confused frustration on his face but also a desperation to know the answers.
"Because," Valaro began, he slowed down to a stop. "I received a private broadcast from someone claiming to be an old friend, claiming responsibility. And the message ended with, the freedom I gave you now has it's price."
Ceege had stopped too. He was shocked at what he was hearing. "But why haven't you told anyone?"
"I couldn't be sure," Valaro replied, turning from Ceege and looking at the fake sun rising, it's warmth hitting his face feeling so real. "I spent months sweeping those nearby pipes trying to find any side that he was alive but with no luck. And how could I tell Karaa. She was so broken, still is. And so am I, my old captain dead due to the man who gave me my freedom. The same man who is supposedly running around playing games with us. With all our crew. What if he's responsible for Rassy's capture and Radomir's death too? I don't know if the time came whether I could face him, bring death to his door."
Ceege walked over and placed a hand on his captain's shoulder.
"Captain, I'm with you and The Tiger is with you. And so is The Pride, we are family. But I think it's time to be honest with the rest of the Tiger. Karaa needs to know, she needs some closure. She won't hold it against you."
"I hope you're right Ceege." He turned and smiled. "You're a good crew member to have on my ship."
"Who wouldn't want me on their ship, I'm the life and the soul of the party!" They both laughed but it was cut short by Valaro's cell ringing.
"Ocelet."
"Captain, the others have found the location of another of Rassy's signals at the airport, they're in pursuit."
"Thankyou Ocelet, keep us informed."
He closed his cell. "We must go Ceege. If this guy is Thanatos then I remember him being pretty damn fast."
They were about to turn and run once more when Valaro's cellphone rang again. Unknown number. Shit. He hit loud speaker.
"Thanatos." Valaro stated.
"Ah, no suprises anymore" the same familiar voice spoke. "I'm disappointed, as your old Sammy was that you weren't there to give her the pleasure she was after."
"Why Thanatos? Why are you doing this? We were once friends, more than that, you were like a father to me, you showed me the truth, set me free."
"FREE!?" Thanatos shouted. "This is not free my boy. This is a prison. For years your precious Zion have been abandoned me. Left me to rot on the surface!"
"That's not true. We searched for months for you. Even though you betrayed us."
"Betrayed you?! Haha. You know what? I think it's time for a revelation. I've had enough of this game now, it's getting boring, I think it's time you learned something about old Thanatos. But first you need to beat me to Morello. If you do, maybe he'll have some answers on me, and if you make it, you have my word that I'll back every piece of truth he offers you."
Click. The line went dead.
"Well," Ceege began, "I'm glad this air isn't real, else we'd have a pretty hard run ahead of us."
"Let's go." Valaro said as they both began sprinting to Morello's club, a faint glow of yellow code around them as they sped away with all the speed they could muster.
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Post by Dee on Nov 2, 2009 12:45:56 GMT -8
Turning another corner, the metal air vent's corner pressing into her kidney, EichDee gave herself another push and barely managed to make it past the turn. Ahead was even more very tight tunnels to follow. The metal was very cold, this being the air conditioning vents network of the entire airport complex. She sighed. - Come out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs... She could hear Angelis and Karaa chuckle to the comment through her earpiece. She had connected it to her cell phone, since picking it up would be tough in the conduits. - Just keep going, McClane, you're almost there, laughed Karaa. Being the smallest of the crew - barely reaching 5'6" - Dee was the perfect candidate to take some quality time in the freezing metal tunnels. But even for her, the task proved difficult; ventilation conduits were not as big as they seemed in the movies. With a sneeze, she looked at the data pad in her hand. The signal was coming from straight ahead. She resumed moving. After a few minutes, she came to a grid. Taking an innocent look through it, she kept on going. Suddenly, she stopped, reverse a bit, and looked better. The room looked like a small security center, with lots of CCTV screens and computers. A security officer was sitting at the desk, back turned at Dee. But what had attracted her to the scene were the two Agents standing behind him; A man, and Agent Pace. She couldn't see their face, but it was only logic - the only female Agent was Pace. - Several redpills have landed in a helicopter, and have entered the airport terminal, said the male Agent. Should we intercept them? - No, answered Pace. I have been warned of their arrival, they are the Rossepilole sent by Zion to track their missing Captain, the one we agreed to assist in finding. For the moment being, they are allowed to search here, as long as they do not interfere with any of our operations, or try anything else but look for their partner. - Understood. - Keep them under close surveillance, she then said to the guard, who seemed rather confused. Agent Pace left the room, leaving only the two men. The other Agent turned his head around, towards the ventilation grid. Dee barely had the time to move aside. She could hear the Agent leave through the door, shortly after. * * * Karaa was tapping her foot on the ceramic floor. She was about to call Dee to know where she was now, but at that moment, she started to come out of the vent. With their help, she got out safely without breaking her face. There was a strange squeaking sound though, but Karaa didn't know where it was coming from. - Did you find it? asked Angelis. - Yeah, I did. - Great! said Karaa. Where was it? - See for yourself. At that moment, Dee threw something at Karaa. By reflex, she caught it. It felt big, soft and hairy. When she looked at her hand, she screamed. The little pin was tied around the neck of a rat. Angelis and EichDee started laughing, while Karaa was trying hard not to let go of the little creature. - Well I guess this explains why it was moving around so much! she said, handing it back over to Dee with disdain. - Yeah. I guess that's Phellan's idea of a joke. But I have bad news... - What is it? - We've got company. Norris is here, and he's following our movements. Karaa felt her stomach tie up. - You're kidding, right? - No. He was here, with Pace. - Did he find out who we are? asked Angelis, becoming nervous. - I don't think so. It didn't seem like he actually saw us on the tapes, but it's a distinct possibility... - So... what do we do? - I don't think we can leave... not without those tapes. If we let them there, at anytime he could see us, and compromise the whole thing. - But we can't steal them, either, added Angelis. You said they are monitoring us. That means they will know we did it. Either way, we're in trouble. - Yeah, I agree... nodded EichDee. So what do we do now?
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