Chapter 17: 15 In The Matrix (Movie Series)

It was just a typical day in the city of Zion, the last human city, with workers handling the various mechanical devices that were needed for daily life. The water reclamation plant, the biomatter filter and food processors, the sewage plant, and the power plant. They all needed to be maintained and most were taken care of by experts that had learned about it from their parents and documents from previous generations.

Most of the normal residents didn't go down to the maintenance areas and preferred to ignore the fact that machines were a necessary part of their lives. Those lives were lived in a reclusive manner and down deep in the Earth, near the core, where it was still warm enough to sustain biological life. For someone who wasn't born there in the caves and the underground metal buildings, it would seem dark and dreary... if they didn't have access to a certain mechanical construct.

The Matrix.

More than two thirds of the city's population had been rescued from the virtual prison and were glad to be out of it, while also having the desire to return and experience the Matrix once more. Those people were assigned to hoverships as crew, to make forays into hacking the Matrix to search out others that questioned their reality, and to rescue them from the prison as well.

Those ships would make regular trips from the city's launch bay and up to what they considered 'broadcast depth', or the area below the immense fields of power generators where people weren't born, they were grown inside individual pods designed for their compatibility with the Matrix.

Everything on the surface of the world was controlled by the AIs, machines with their own consciousness, and they didn't like having their specimens being stolen. It took years for them to be grown and to become a viable bio-electrical power source, ensuring their race's existence, and they would fight back by sending their Squid Scouts to disable and remove the annoyances.

It was during one of the Squid Scouts patrols that they discovered one of the human hovercraft. The scout called for reinforcements, since it could not handle an entire ship alone. The guns they employed on all their ships had killed a lot of its brethren and more Squids had to be constructed to make up for the loss, which required more power and more humans to be grown.

It was an annoying situation for everyone involved.

The hovercraft's proximity alert went off and the occupants warned their people to retreat from the Matrix before the ship was attacked. It powered up and took off, still remaining at broadcast depth to let their people escape safely, and did their best to avoid the mechanical creatures after them.

An autogun rang out to snipe at the Squid Scouts hounding the ship and the Squids did their best to not be hit by the thing, despite the amount of ammo the things spat out at them. Metal tentacles were torn away, carapaces damaged, and several of their members were killed before they reached the ship and tore apart the gun emplacement and ripped the human out to crush it.

“They've breached the hull!” Someone shouted and grabbed a welding laser to cut at the metal tentacles trying to pull apart the hull where the gun turret had been.

The Squids didn't like that one bit and one sacrificed itself to present a target for the human as another leapt over the brave Squid and killed the human. So far, it was one for one and the Squids thought that was not an acceptable exchange. Of course, neither did the humans.

“We have to do it!” The pilot said to the captain.

“Our people aren't out yet.” The captain responded as the ship dipped and tilted to get around a tight corner.

“If we don't, we're all dead anyway!” The pilot said and cursed as he approached a dead end, then the ship's internal sensors told him they had three Squids onboard. He whipped the ship around and hit full power to stop the momentum and to go back to the last junction he had skipped over.

“They're out!” One of the crew said and deactivated the broadcast core.

“Do it!” The pilot said and flipped the ship upside down to go down the escape tunnel.

“We'll crash if we use it now!” The captain spat.

“I'll get us down, you save us!” The pilot said and pulled up on the controls to level out and the captain prepped the EMP device.

The problem was, they were both too late.

The Squids had ignored the humans entirely and went for the power reactor, then the other Squids abandoned ship as the last one tore into the core and smashed the containment controls and its tentacles opened the reactor core.

*KABOOOOM!*

The back of the ship blew apart and killed six of the crew instantly. The front half of the ship miraculously survived the explosion and hit the ground and skidded, tore off three remaining hoverpads, then it tumbled several times before it came to a rest against what looked like a wall.

The two remaining Squids deployed their listening devices and their radar to check the wreckage, then decided that their brethren's sacrifice had been worth it and flew away.

A few minutes later, the wall seemed to move and dropped away to reveal another hovercraft hidden behind it. The bay door opened and the ramp dropped down as a large group of humans ran out and over to the wrecked ship.

“We'll check here, you check back along the crash route.” The captain on the second ship said to two of the rescue team.

“Captain, no one could survive that.” One of the men said.

“Just check.” The captain said and he and another man used a laser cutter to open up the partially crushed hallway into the front of the crashed ship.

“Oh, god.” The man with him said as they revealed a partially charred and crushed body.

“Let's hope the pilot's still okay.” The captain said and they stepped over the body and cut open the slightly melted and warped hatch into the cockpit area. He wasn't. His straps had let go and what was left of his head was lodged between the console and the crushed windshield.

There was a groan from above them and they looked up to see the captain of the ship impaled on several pieces of metal. Nothing looked fatal, so the second captain exchanged looks with his crewman and they nodded. They carefully employed the laser cutter and got the man free while leaving the metal inside. They carried him out and met the rest of the rescue team.

“You're not going to believe this.” One of them said and hefted a makeshift stretcher to show that they actually found someone. His clothing and hair were charred and he looked like death warmed over; but, he was alive.

“Let's get them both into the ship, then we can strip this one and make sure no one else gets the data.” The captain said and they did just that.

When they were done, they set the EMP for ten minutes and left on their ship to head back to Zion.

*

“Uhhh.” I groaned and felt sore all over. I hadn't expected that, then remembered Guru's warning that I might still travel through explosions. I felt like I still had everything attached, so that was a relief.

“Good morning.” A very familiar voice said and I clamped my mouth shut before I said something stupid. “How are you feeling today?”

I opened my eyes and there she was, my brilliant and sexy Zoe from the Firefly universe. Her dark skin, her hair style, and her expressive eyes were exactly the same. “I feel absolutely horrible, because someone so gorgeous must already be married.”

Zoe opened her mouth for a moment, then she looked embarrassed. “I meant physically.”

“So did I.” I responded and glanced at her hands. “No ring?”

Zoe shook her head. “Dozer and I have a hard enough time taking care of our children without trying to pay for something like that.”

“I don't want to deal with this right now.” I sighed and closed my eyes. “Wake me up in a century or two.”

Zoe laughed and I felt her hands move the blanket and she checked me over expertly. “For someone that survived a hovercraft explosion, you're pretty funny.” She said and moved the blanket back. “We managed to strip your burned and damaged clothing off.”

“Good for you.” I praised her. “Did you take some pictures to save for later? I'll autograph them for you if you give me copies.”

Zoe laughed again. “There's surprisingly little skin damage, even if you look like the ship ran you over. Your hair is almost a total loss, though.”

“That's okay. I can grow it back.” I said and didn't mention that I wore it long for thousands of years and could do with a change.

“I'm glad you have such a positive attitude.” Zoe said and her hand gently rubbed across my head.

I had to open my eyes to let her see how much I liked that. “It's because I'm in utter denial about your unavailability. Once it hits me that I can't be with someone as wonderful as you, I'll be depressed for months. At least.”

Zoe smiled and she pet me a few times before she stood up straight. “Do you feel like sitting up and eating something?”

“That depends on if you're joining me.” I said and tried to sit up. Pain shot through me and I groaned as I laid back down. “Then again, maybe I need a bit of recovery time first.”

Zoe looked sad. “I can come back later.”

“Yes, I... you need to take care of your kids.”

“I have other patients to tend to, actually.” Zoe said and smiled. “I'm Cas, by the way.”

“Hansen.” I said automatically. Apparently, thousands of years of being called by my last name had made an impression on me.

“It was nice to meet you, Hansen.” Cas said and pulled the blanket back over me. “I'll be back in a few hours.”

“Thank you.” I said and waited until she was at the door... no, hatch... before I spoke again. “I do have one question.”

Cas turned back to me. “I'm sure you'll be fine when you recover.”

“I will be; but, that's not my question.” I said. “Why is the hospital inside a submarine?”

Cas looked confused. “I don't understand. What's a submarine?”

“It's an underwater vehicle with pressure hatches like the one you are about to use.” I explained. “It's also just as dark and possibly less dirt-encrusted.”

Cas just stood there and stared at me.

“Perhaps a simpler question would be easier for you to answer. Where am I?”

“You're in the medical care section of the city of Zion.” Cas said.

“That isn't as helpful to know as I thought it was going to be.” I said. “When you come back, can you give me a rundown of everything that's going on? I seem to be lacking a lot of information that I should have.”

Cas caught her breath. “You have amnesia! I should have guessed that.”

“We only just met.” I said and she nodded.

“I'll let the others know.” Cas said and opened the hatch, stepped through, and closed it. The door handle wheel turned and locked into place.

“I'll just stay here and wait for you to come back.” I joked about being locked in and tried to summon the Force. It was very weak, as if the planet was dying. I sighed sadly and used the Force to feel around for any cameras and microphones. I found a camera hidden above me in the air vent and used the Force to close the vent. I then formed a dozen bacta needles and used magic to levitate them and injected myself all over.

While I waited for my Prismatic Regeneration to finish its work, I cast several healing spells that were also quite subdued. With that bit of new knowledge in my head, I looked at the image I had gained from Cas. It was 'Zionite' and she was a mid-wife, or an uncredited doctor. That she was the dimensional doppleganger of one of my lost loves, made me start to regret that I was so respectful of other people's relationships.

I squashed that line of thinking and looked around the room again. So, I'm in a strictly technological society that's starting to revert, maybe? I thought to myself. I was tempted to create a security panel and let it have fun, except I had no way to know if they would detect it and it would alert them that I wasn't one of them. It was safer to wait.

By the time Zoe, or Cas as she was known here, came back into my room, my regeneration had finished and I had to use an illusion to make it look like my hair was still mostly gone. I had also eaten a piece of elven bread to boost my regeneration and it would keep my stomach filled for several days.

“I've brought something for you to eat.” Cas said and walked over to me with a small metal tray with a bowl of gruel and a glass of water.

“Thank you for the consideration; but, I'm not hungry at the moment.” I said, truthfully.

“There's no air flow in here.” Cas said and put the tray on the small shelf embedded in the wall beside the bed before she pulled a chair over to stand on and opened the ceiling air vent. “Ah, that's better.” She said and put the chair near the bed and sat down. “It's been quite some time since you were brought in. Are you sure you aren't hungry?”

I used the Force to touch the thing and cast diagnostic spells as well. I discovered that it was a single celled protein that was combined with amino acids and nutrients to give a body everything it needed. The water was also heavily processed and had chemicals and things added to it.

“Despite how tasty that looks...” I paused when I saw the smirk on her face and I smiled at her. “...I don't know if my stomach could take it right now.”

“Fair enough.” Cas said and crossed her long legs. My eyes went right to them and as I admired them, I noticed how thin the knitted dress really was, because it outlined her thighs completely.

I looked back at her face and she looked both embarrassed and flattered. “Remember my previous comment about you being gorgeous?”

Cas smiled and kicked her sandal-clad foot a little. “You can't stop yourself from looking, can you?”

“Not even if I want to.” I said and her smile widened. “I can refrain from jumping up from the bed and ravishing you, however.”

That made her laugh, because I was supposedly too hurt to move much. “You are a shameless flirt.”

“Absolutely, especially when I know nothing will come of it.” I said and she seemed to relax. “I promise to never push things too far or to suggest anything insulting. Flirting is supposed to be fun and entertaining, not hurtful or detrimental.”

Cas nodded. “I can handle a little flirting, even after two kids.”

I gave her a questioning look. “Is one a girl?”

“Yes, why?” Cas asked.

“Her name wouldn't be Zendia, would it?”

Cas looked shocked. “How in the world did you know that?”

“It was just a lucky guess.” I said and remembered what Zoe had said about choosing it. “If someone wanted to honor their ancestors from the land their people came from, a nice name like that would be perfect, wouldn't it?”

“I... yes, it... that's exactly what...”

“Now that I've surprised you with my deductive skills, can you tell me what's going on? Like everything?” I asked and she blinked her eyes at me several times. “I could stare into those big beautiful eyes all day.”

That comment seemed to shake her out of her shock. “Hansen, you... I have a son. What's his name?”

I thought about that and resisted the urge to pluck it from her head. “Well, if his father's named Dozer, probably short for Bulldozer, I'll guess the boy's name is Forklift... or maybe Tractor.”

“It... it's Lifter, because he's stocky like his father.” Cas said and her eyes were locked onto mine.

“Ooo, I was so close.” I said and then smiled. “So, where am I, what's going on, and what am I supposed to do when I get out of here?”

Cas took a deep breath and let it out. “I already told you where you are, so I'll try to tell you what's going on.” She said and then explained about the attack, the ship exploding, and the hidden ship rescuing me and the captain. “The problem we have now is that no one recognizes you.”

“No! My pretty face!” I said and used a hand to pat it. “Oh, what a relief!”

Cas laughed softly.

“Don't scare me like that, Cas. I thought I lost my best feature.” I complained and she laughed a little more. “Thanks for telling me how I got here.”

“You're welcome, Hansen.”

“Now, can you tell me where here is?” I asked and she sighed. “No, not the hospital or the city. I mean this world as a whole. What is going on here?”

“That might take longer to explain than the time I have available.” Cas said, sadly.

I reached a hand out and lightly touched her knee as I cast a diagnostic spell on her. “I'm sorry if I'm imposing on you. I didn't mean to. Is there someone that comes around at night, or can you contact someone to fill me in? I've taken up so much of your time already.”

Cas's hand rested on mine on her knee. “Only the custodians are around and cleaning at night and the only people I know are busy with their own jobs.”

“I suppose I can wait until after you do your rounds tomorrow.” I smiled and gave her knee a slight squeeze before I turned my hand over and held hers. “You'll be saving the best for last, after all.”

Cas smiled back. “I can shuffle you around and end my shift here instead of starting it here.”

“I'll try and deal with how sad I'll be about not seeing your face again as soon as I wake up.” I joked and she laughed softly. I tugged on her hand slightly and she uncrossed her legs and stood up, giving me enough slack in her arm to pull her hand to my lips. I kissed the back of it and let it go. “Until we meet again, however distant into the future that may be.”

Cas laughed again and shook her head. “Make sure you eat. If you can get that down and keep it down, I'll try to sneak in some real fruit for you tomorrow.”

“As long as you're not taking it from the mouths of your kids.” I said in a stern voice. “They need it a lot more than I do.”

Cas smiled warmly at me and stepped close to the bed to put a hand on my chest. “Thank you for the concern.”

I blinked my eyes at her several times. “Damn, I just got angry at you for no reason.”

“It wasn't for no reason, Hansen.” Cas whispered and her smile didn't fade as she bent down to give my cheek a soft kiss. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness in making sure my children have enough to eat.”

I wasn't sure what to say in response to that, so I just nodded.

“I'll see you tomorrow.” Cas said and walked towards the hatch with quite the sway in her hips.

“If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're shaking that sexy ass a bit more than usual.” I said as she turned the wheel to leave.

Cas, the six foot tall minx, winked at me over her shoulder before she opened the door. “I can't help it if I find a family man attractive.” She said and stepped out of the room. “Have a good sleep, Hansen.”

“How the hell am I supposed to sleep after seeing that?” I asked her with as much incredulity in my voice as possible.

Cas laughed and slammed the door shut before she turned the wheel to lock it.

I sighed and closed my eyes. Even though I was fully healed, going to sleep sounded like a good idea. I couldn't let the 'food' go to waste, though. I knew I was being watched again, thanks to Cas opening the air vent, so I had to put on a good show. I sighed again and slowly pushed the blanket off and pretended that I was still sore and hurt as I carefully pushed myself up into a sitting position.

“Ow, ow, ow.” I groaned and rubbed my back. “I have no idea how I got on that ship. Was I trying to escape Zion? Was I looking for a thrill?” I shook my head exaggeratedly. “No, I'm not... wait, am I that stupid?”

I paused for several moments before I carefully reached for the tray on the shelf and pulled it towards me. I switched it out for porridge and took my time eating it and then pretended to take a drink of the water. I actually vanished it and replaced it with water from the water-making spell and drank that instead.

With my food eating task done, I looked down at my crotch. I sighed loudly and slowly pulled my legs to the side of the bed and took several deep breaths, as if it was a humongous effort for me to move. With a stiff bracing of my arms, I pushed off from the bed and stood up on shaky legs. I wobbled a little and put a hand on the wall to steady myself.

“Whew. Okay, I can do this. I can't just piss on the floor.” I said and started to walk along the wall.

It was quite easy for me to fake being hurt, since I had been hurt so many times before and knew how to act. I reached the bathroom and entered it, checked for a camera, and mostly closed the hatch. I really did need to use it after being in bed for so long, so I made it splash into the toilet water pretty loudly and let it go on for a while.

I washed my hands off in the tiny little sink and then stumbled my way back to the bed. “I wonder who put the underwear on me?” I asked and laid down on my side before I struggled to put the blanket over myself. I sighed when I pretended that I couldn't, then I put my head down and pretended to go to sleep like that.

Half an hour later, I was still in the same position and my breathing was low and even, thanks to meditation techniques. The hatch to my room clinked open and the wheel whirred a little loudly, then I heard footsteps enter and I used the Force to touch them.

It was Cas and she sighed softly when she saw the mess I'd made of the blanket and being half on it. She did her best to cover me as much as possible with the available ends of the blanket and then she picked up the empty food tray. She stood there and stared at me for quite some time before I felt her lips on my cheek and she left again.

*

“So, you think he really has no idea where he is.” The investigator asked Cas in the council meeting room.

“The look in his eyes when I mentioned hovercraft and the sentinels couldn't be faked. He had no clue what I was talking about.” Cas said. “He also looked at the food supplement like he had never seen it before.”

“He was also eyeing you like a piece of tech that he wanted to try out.” The investigator said, pointedly.

“You weren't watching his eyes closely enough.” Cas said and waved at the display that showed the interior of the cell the prisoner was in.

“Excuse me?” The investigator asked, quite insulted.

“I meant that he did look at me, only he was also quite interested in my knitted overdress. Once again, like he had never seen anything like it before.” Cas added. “He's either an accomplished liar the likes we've never seen before, or he really doesn't know anything about where we are or what's going on.”

“Could he be a plant by the machines?” Elder Hamann asked and the rest of the council laughed. “I had to ask.”

“Yes, we needed the humor.” An older black woman said. “I'm weary of explaining everything to him, in case he really is here for nefarious purposes.”

“What could he do to us if we keep him away from the sensitive areas like the dock and the maintenance level?” A black man with dreadlocks and a harmonica around his neck asked.

“Are you going to constantly monitor him?” An older white lady asked. “I know the rest of us have jobs to do besides babysitting a potential threat to our way of life.”

The council quickly devolved into a heated discussion about what to do with the unexplained human in their midst.

“I can watch him.” Cas offered and the entire council stopped talking and turned to look at her.

“You do realize what that means, don't you?” Elder Hamann asked. “You will be solely responsible for him and he won't be allowed to go anywhere until he proves he can be trusted.”

“Surprisingly, I already trust him.” Cas said.

“Why is that?” The black man with the harmonica asked.

“His adamant defense of my children.” Cas responded with confidence. “No man who is instantly angered like that about a child's welfare could ever bring harm upon those children.”

The council had a quick discussion.

“Are you sure it's not because he's handsome and seems to adore you already?” The investigator asked.

Cas sat back in the chair and thought about that. “I can't deny that even with the hair loss, he is quite handsome.” She said and then smiled. “Also, someone finding me sexy after I had two babies, isn't a complete turn off.”

The women on the council laughed and nodded their heads.

“What's your husband going to say when he comes home and finds another man staying there with you?” The investigator asked.

“I'll tell him beforehand, of course. I won't let him walk in there not knowing the situation.” Cas said and then she huffed. “This is assuming Hansen will agree to it.”

“He doesn't have a choice. Our living space has been getting crowded with the crews saving so many people.” Elder Hamann said and the council members nodded. “He wouldn't be living on his own, anyway. That it will be with a trusted mid-wife will only make the others accept it all the quicker.”

“I'll put the extra resource allocation through as soon as we end the meeting.” The older white woman said. “Another food ration and power allotment, as well as increasing the water reclamation by thirty percent.”

Cas smiled at that and nodded. “Thank you, Elder.”

“We should move him as soon as possible, before he realizes he's not actually in the hospital.” The older black man said.

“He is still in the medical wing.” Cas said with a smirk. “I just didn't specify where.”

That made the investigator chuckle. “All right, I endorse her request.” He said and looked at the council. “If anything new comes to light, we will inform you immediately.”

Elder Hamann nodded. “Cas, you can fill Hansen in on the situation we are all in, up to a certain point. Do not go into specifics about the number of ships we have, our military strength, or the number of people we have living here.”

Cas laughed softly. “That's good, because I don't know any of that information.”

“Excellent.” Elder Hamann said. “Perhaps I'll schedule a meeting with him in a few weeks to see how he's getting along with everything. Please do your best to integrate him into our society as quickly as possible. We can always use another hand around here.”

Cas nodded and left as soon as the meeting ended. She had a shift at the hospital to get to and then she had some exciting news to give to the new man in her life. Well, it would be exciting after he was healed up a bit. She always did have a thing for strong men and was quite happy to have found another one that liked her as well.

*

I laid in bed and meditated all day. I didn't bother trying to do anything except sort the last few years of memories from my time in the last world. You wouldn't believe how much miscellaneous memories gathered up without you realizing it. I didn't even open my eyes until the door to my room opened in the afternoon and Cas stepped inside carrying a bag.

“Good lord, that wasn't a dream yesterday?” I asked with a fake gasp.

Cas laughed and walked over to the bed. “Down, boy.” She said and motioned for me to sit up and face the side of the bed that the chair was on. “I've brought my own lunch with a few extra things, all approved by the powers that be.”

I had to smile at that. “You don't mean your kids, right?”

Cas laughed again and sat down to put the bag on her lap. “Them, too.”

“Great.” I said and pushed the blanket off. “Show me what you've got for me.”

Cas gave my muscular chest a pointed look and raised her eyebrows as she looked at my face. I chuckled and folded the blanket onto my lap to make a nice table for us to use. She smirked at me and dished out everything she had brought, then we had a nice meal as she told me all about what was going on.

Humanity had retreated deep underground to escape persecution from the machines.

I immediately thought it was another Terminator universe and then dismissed that thought when she explained about people living in a virtual world and somehow escaping into the real world to build up the human resistance to the machines. It wasn't until she mentioned who her husband worked for that I started to get a tingling feeling.

Morpheus. I know that name. I know I do. I thought and stopped eating as I closed my eyes.

“Hansen, what is it? Are you okay?” Cas asked, concern in her voice. “Is it the peach you just tasted?”

I couldn't stop my sly smile and opened my eyes. “I couldn't never dislike tasting your peach.”

Cas opened her mouth to respond, then she closed it and ducked her head a little. “Would you really do that?”

I reached out and lightly touched her cheek and felt the heat of her blush, even if I couldn't see it. “Was that a bit too much flirting?”

Cas looked at my face and shook her head slightly. “You just surprised me with what you said.”

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean...”

“It was a good surprise, not a bad one.” Cas said and turned her head slightly and kissed my palm. “Now tell me what happened.”

“The name of Morpheus. It's tickling something in my memory. I know it from somewhere.”

Cas smiled happily and took my hand from her face to hug it to her chest. “That's good! You're getting some of your memory back!”

I successfully stopped my erection from upending the blanket on my lap at the feeling of her braless breasts through the very thin cloth of her dress. “Let's finish eating and I'll meditate on it and see what else I can come up with. I want to try and turn that tickle into a full belly laugh.”

Cas nodded and let my hand go to keep eating. I had to take a moment to calm down and did my best to not stare at her nipples that had just poked out in response to what just happened. Cas gave me a questioning look and I started eating again. I didn't miss her satisfied smile, either.

When the food was gone, Cas put the remains back into the bag.

“We recycle everything, even the peels and things.” Cas said and helped ease me back onto the bed to sit against the wall. Her eyes easily saw my prominent erection through my underwear and she covered it with the blanket. “When I come back, we can continue to talk. There's a lot more going on around here that I can fill you in on.”

“Thank you, Cas.” I said and took her hand. “The food was delicious. Thanks for sharing it with me.”

Cas smiled at me as her other hand lightly grazed my erection through the blanket, then she walked over to the door with the same exaggerated sway as before.

“Now I know you're doing that on purpose to get me to look.” I said.

Cas winked at me before she shut the door. It didn't lock this time, which meant she either forgot or it was a test. I went with test and closed my eyes. It was going to be a deep dive into my Memory Halls to way back to my first life. It was the only one that I had full access to television and movies.

At least, that was until I was in the Thor universe with Darcy and we watched and discussed the differences between our two worlds and their media. I changed mental directions and went there instead. Having two perspectives would be a huge help right now.

It took me almost half an hour to track the memories down and to filter it out of the hundreds of other movies that we had watched. Morpheus was the main character in our favorite movie, The Matrix. In my reality, there had only been the one and I had loved it. It really sparked my imagination, even as old as I was at the time.

I had been surprised that there had been two sequels in Darcy's world and we watched them. New elements were introduced, like upgraded agents for some reason. It wasn't like the old agents weren't already completely dangerous and unkillable. What were the upgrades for? To make them more dangerous and more unkillable?

The mech suits were kind of cool, albeit a little clunky. The large gun turrets were great, too. There was also something about the last human city named Zion and the machines were...

I gasped when the memories populated inside my head, my eyes snapped open, and I trembled at what I now remembered happening in the movies.

Cas was right there and she leapt onto the bed and grabbed my face with her hands to hold me steady. “Hansen! It's okay!”

“N-no... no, it... it can't be... I need... I need to know.” I whispered and put my arms around her as I looked into her eyes. “Cas, I... I know you're not going to believe me when I say this.”

“Say what?” Cas asked and moved her hands from my face to hug me tightly and cuddled in.

“I just had a vision. Or a memory.” I corrected, in case they had lie detection tech that I didn't know about. My erection was also quite pronounced with Cas pressed up against me like she was. “Has Morpheus found him yet?”

“Found who?” Cas asked as her lips grazed my cheek.

“The One.” I whispered as my hands rubbed her back tenderly.

Cas leaned back slightly to look into my eyes. “Do you believe he can find him, too?”

I closed my eyes briefly and took a deep breath and let it out, then looked into her brown eyes once more. “By your wording alone, I know he hasn't. That's such a relief.”

Cas leaned back in close and her lips lightly kissed mine. “Hansen, why can I fit so well against you?”

“We were practically made for each other.” I said and she caught her breath. “We're both six feet tall, we love to express ourselves with those we care about by hugging and kissing them constantly, and we're fiercely protective of our children.”

Cas seemed unable to speak, so I kept going.

“We're both headstrong, independent, and will fight with all of our might if anyone threatens our family.” I said. “Plus, I could spend days nuzzled between your legs because you're so delicious.”

“H-H-Hansen!” Cas gasped and her face heated up from a deep blush.

I gave her a quick kiss and eased my hold on her. “I think I need to meet whoever is in charge of assigning crew for ships or even basic maintenance on the docks. I need some experience working on the ships if I'm going to help your family.”

Cas blinked her eyes at me and didn't let me go. “I don't understand.”

“I'm a mechanic... and a pilot... and a doctor.” I said with a smile.

Cas' mouth dropped open from shock and I couldn't resist the temptation it presented. I leaned right in there and kissed her passionately. My last two experiences with giving a man's wife those kinds of kisses had ensured that they stayed with their husbands and they kicked me right out of their lives afterwards.

The impassioned kiss lasted for several minutes and Cas was right there with me and kissed me back just as passionately. We broke the kiss at the same time, as if we had coordinated it beforehand, then we stared into each other's eyes.

“Wow.” Cas whispered. “I mean... that was... wow.”

I smiled and let her go as I tried to move back from her.

“Uh uh. Where are you going?” Cas asked as she held onto me.

“I need to get dressed and...”

“You are going to finish what you started, Hansen.” Cas ordered in her command voice and her hand dipped into my underwear and pulled me out. “You are going to bury this thing inside of me and I'm going to scream your name.”

“But... you're married and...”

Cas pushed me down onto the bed and squinted her eyes at me. “Were you lying about what you said? Do my feelings mean nothing to you?”

I opened my mouth to say that they meant something and she took my hesitation as permission and moved down to suck my erection right down her throat. I moaned in pleasure, because it had been thousands of years since anyone had touched me like that. She moaned as well and she bobbed her head up and down several times and felt me throb.

Cas stopped sucking on me and gave me a satisfied smirk for getting me so close to blowing my load so quickly. “I'm glad both you and your body are being honest, Hansen.” She said and went back down on me to finish me off.

“OH, GOD!” I yelled and had my first orgasm in longer than I could remember.

Cas swallowed quite a lot of it before she wallowed in the remains and spread it all over her face, then she pulled off her dress and tore off her panties. She climbed on top of me and sat down, moaned as we joined together perfectly, then she had her way with me.

I had always been a sucker for a woman knowing what she wanted and I suckled her breasts and gripped her ass as we had sex. In fact, we were halfway to me blowing my second load and her to her fifth orgasm before I remembered that she was married. I stiffened my arms in an attempt to stop her.

“Don't you dare!” Cas said and kissed me while she rocked her hips faster. “Good... sooo goood... OHHH!”

“You're married!” I gasped, then she rolled us over and put me on top.

“I just had my tenth orgasm!” Cas spat at me and I realized that my count had been really far off. “If you stop before you fill me up, I'll kill you!”

I was too shocked by her words to do more than weakly protest before I leaned into her and moved as fast as she wanted me to. She held onto my neck and kept kissing me as I did my best to make her orgasm before it was my turn again.

Cas had two more orgasms before I poured myself into her and she screamed wordlessly as she had another. She wrapped her legs around my backside and held me there, ensuring that I wasn't going to back out.

“Oooh... mmm...” Cas moaned sexily and kissed me tenderly several times. “Our children are going to be beautiful.”

I just stared at her for several moments. “Cas, I... I'm so sorry.”

“About what?” Cas asked and kissed me again.

“About you and Dozer. You've cheated on him and I've wrecked your marriage.”

Cas gave me an incredulous look for a moment, then she burst out laughing. The squeezing her lower parts were doing felt really good and her laughing eased as she felt me grow hard again. She smiled demurely as she shifted her hips to move me in and out of her.

“Now I know you haven't gotten all your memory back.” Cas said and moaned. “We're all under mandate to have as many kids as possible when we reach twenty. I've had two since then and I'm really, really hoping you've just given me a third.”

I really had no idea what to say to that.

“It's all right, Hansen. You don't have to worry that I'm going to throw you away. I've already arranged for you to move in with us.” Cas said and kissed me again. “You're going to be a great father, I just know it.”

“I... I... well, damn.” I said and she laughed.

“Are you going to use that thing some more, now that it's back?” Cas asked and pat her abdomen. “I'm sure you succeeded this first time; but, I'm not going to complain if you want to keep trying to make sure.”

I looked into her eyes and saw the mischievousness there. “I never could say no to such an enticing and commanding woman.”

Cas beamed a smile at me and pulled me into a passionate kiss.

*

“So, Cas said you're a mechanic.” A stern looking man said and glared at me.

“I can pull apart anything, fix it and reassemble it, even if I've never seen it before in my life.” I said, without boasting or exaggerating.

The man's glare disappeared and then he laughed. “Damn, boy. She said you had big balls.”

“Jesus, she told you that?” I asked and grabbed my crotch. “I need to be more careful.”

The man laughed hard and pat me on the shoulder. “You're going to fit right in with the guys! Come on. I'll show you around the shop.”

I nodded and he did exactly that. He even gave me a test part and asked me to diagnose it, tear it apart, and fix it. The other fifteen guys in the department came over as I pulled apart some weird device. The image in my head was 'broken hydraulic pressure pump', so I tore it apart using the available tools, replaced the damaged tubing and pressure valve, and put it back together.

“Damn, he really did it.” One of the guys said. “I want him on my crew.”

“The boss gets to assign him.” One of the other guys said.

“I'm here to learn as much as possible about what we're all working on. I'll work wherever I'm needed.” I said and everyone smiled, even the boss.

“I like your attitude, Hansen.” The boss said.

It took barely a week and I was one of the most indispensable workers on the maintenance crews. I absorbed information and designs like a sponge and could fix anything I could get my hands on, from a broken tool up to a full reactor core fracture. That last one had everyone fleeing from the dock when the damaged ship limped through the docking bay doors and barely landed.

The crew fled as I walked onto the ship calmly, despite people shouting at me to run because it was going to blow. I cast stasis on the core and quickly effected repairs, some of which I used my repair ability on and not a spell.

Once I covered the now non-existent cracks with new metal panels, there was no way to tell that it had ever been damaged. I also secretly installed the backup protections I had on my Fireflys, too. Everyone stared at me as I walked down the ship's ramp, especially the captain and crew of the ship I just saved.

“I'm all done. You just need a good recharge before she'll fly again.” I said and pat the captain's shoulder and walked over to my boss. “I'm going home for lunch. Do you want an orange or an apple when I come back?”

The boss shook his head. “Tell Cas you're a crazy son of a bitch and I'll have an apple.”

“She already knows that.” I said with a grin.

*

“We're having a feed tube problem on one of the turrets. The ammo test earlier today was a bust.” The boss said when he entered the maintenance bay.

I grabbed one of the available tool bags and put it over my shoulder. I had updated them all and made the tools all high quality and indestructible. “Are we taking a ship or are we hoofing it?”

“Taking a... I never thought about using one of the on-break ships to grab a lift up to one of the dock's turrets.” The boss said and laughed. “Crew five, we're going up to turret three in style!”

“YEAH!” The guys yelled and gave each other high fives.

It quickly became the accepted and approved procedure to get the turrets online quickly and I was given the full credit for it. Cas was ecstatic when I arrived home that afternoon and told her we had earned a dozen extra food rations each week and a break for her husband to come home early that weekend.

Cas kissed me hard before she packed up the two kids and brought them over to her sister's place, then she came back and ravished me for most of the evening. If she hadn't already been pregnant, she would have been after that.

*

I stood confidently beside Cas inside our apartment that I had discreetly added two rooms to. One for an extended bathroom that Cas absolutely loved, and one for a bedroom for me. I also did all the cooking, because the kids loved eating real food all the time. Cas never asked me where I got it from, probably because if anyone ever asked her why she and the kids looked well fed, she wouldn't have to lie.

The door opened and a large man, an inch taller than Cas and myself, stepped into the apartment through the hatch. He looked fairly strong and his muscles were almost well defined, which meant he did a lot of heavy repetitive work and didn't actually work out.

Dozer ignored Cas and the kids and walked right over to me. He gave me a stern look and made his hands into fists as he glared at me.

I stood my ground and held my head up high. “It's an honor to finally meet the man that claimed such a wild and untamed beauty.” I said and his expression didn't change. “It's also been a privilege for me to help Cas take care of your children while you've been away.”

Dozer let out a bit of a growl and his glare intensified.

I smiled and held a hand out for him to shake. “I've always been an only child and I'm quite pleased to have a brother like you to share a family with.”

Cas slapped Dozer on the back. “Stop posturing. He's not a useless lump, because he's a mechanic, too.”

“Wait, what? He is?” Dozer asked as his confrontational attitude completely disappeared.

“One of the best Frank has, just like you were when Morpheus handpicked you for his ship.” Cas said.

Dozer grinned and took my hand in his and shook it. “Your fingernails aren't dirty, so I thought you were some pansy or they put you on desk duty or something.”

“Ha!” I barked and pointed to the new bathroom. “Go have a full bath and then complain if your nails are still dirty afterwards.”

“You're kidding!” Dozer exclaimed and grabbed his kids. “We're having a bath!”

“YAY!” The kids yelled and the three of them ran into the bathroom.

Cas laughed and hugged me. “We should have led with that.”

“Nah, he needed to show the kids that he was taking me seriously.” I said and kissed her. “I'll put supper on the table and get out of your way.”

“Hansen, you don't have to leave.” Cas said.

“It's his first night back from being away from you for so long. There's no way I'm getting between him and your sweet and sexy ass tonight.” I said and gave her another kiss.

Cas smirked at my description and nodded. “You're a good man, Hansen. Thank you.”

“I told you before that I won't disrupt your family... our family.” I corrected. “He needs his alone time with you and the kids when he can get it. I would be such a hypocrite if I tried to stop that or took that away from him, considering that's what he's been fighting for.”

Cas gave me a soft and tender kiss. “I'll help set the table.”

I nodded and we both got to work. I even slipped a few fresh strawberries into the fruit basket I made for the center of the table. Cas saw that and she gave me a particular look that told me she was going to enthusiastically thank me for it later. I winked at her and left the apartment, because I had someone to track down.

I created a security device as I walked down the hallway and went over to the elevator. I used the Force to close it up and hit the button for the main level where the captains of ships usually met with the council representatives to give their latest reports.

“Beep beep.” Eye said.

“Yeah, I know. We could program circles around these supposed superior AI machines.” I said and Eye beeped a laugh. “I've been picking up the tasks that an operator does as well.”

“Beep boop?”

“Yeah, it's difficult to get enough alone time to learn it the long way. I've been staying up at night for a few extra hours to do it.”

Eye beeped and booped at me for several seconds.

“I doubt they'd let me apply for an operator position right off the bat.” I said as the elevator opened. I walked by several couples kissing, one of which were Switch and Apoch. I stopped and smiled at them. “In old English slang, that's called snogging.”

They stopped kissing and looked at me with surprise on their faces.

“Don't mind my ramblings. Carry on.” I said and waved at them with just my fingers, then I walked on. “I'm sure Morpheus is around here somewhere.”

“Beep.” Eye said.

“Shh. You can't let anyone know you can talk.” I whispered and text scrolled across the display. “Great. Thanks.” I said and took a left where the little map showed me and walked down a hallway. Morpheus was in someone's office and I went over to it and looked around. The hallway was empty, so I created a chair and sat down to wait.

Half an hour later, Morpheus opened the office door and had a frown on his face as he stepped out. Inside the office was Niobi and Commander Lock.

“Well, that's a right kick in the balls, isn't it?” I asked him as I stood up.

Morpheus lost the frown to give me a look of appraisal.

“If she's stupid enough to abandon you when you needed her support the most, that's her loss.” I said and Niobi sucked in a sharp breath.

“You can't say something like that to her!” Commander Lock spat and stood up.

“I'm not here to talk to you, woman thief.” I said and stepped past Morpheus and closed the door. I used the Force to lock it and looked at the black man that was now beside me. “I've been waiting a while to meet you, Morpheus.”

Morpheus glanced at the door that had a set of fists banging on it and back at me. “It's too bad you were not the only one.”

I nodded and waved down the hallway. “Do you mind if I walk with you for a few minutes?”

Morpheus shook his head and started to walk.

I walked beside him and noticed he was a couple of inches shorter. “How many times have you failed to find him?”

Morpheus didn't even glance at me. “It doesn't matter. I'm going to keep looking until I find him.”

“I know that. I was just wondering if I could leverage the knowledge I have for a temporary spot on your crew.” I said and let Niobi and Lock out of the office, now that we were far enough away.

“No. I have a full crew and no spots remain.” Morpheus hedged with a kind of lie.

“No matter what the information is?” I asked.

“No.” Morpheus said with finality.

“What about giving a crew member some time off and I take their place?”

Morpheus stopped walking and gave me a pointed look. “Which one?”

“Dozer. His wife and kids miss him.” I said and Morpheus raised his eyebrows at me. “I haven't asked them about it yet. I didn't want to get their hopes up without talking to you first, in case you said no.”

“On what kind of schedule? I won't be coming back here unnecessarily. There is a lot of the Matrix to search.” Morpheus said.

“I was thinking we could switch out every time you come back to recharge the ship. That way, Cas and the kids have the time to really enjoy having Dozer there for longer than a couple of days a month.”

Morpheus crossed his arms. “Why do you really want to switch?”

I smiled at him understanding my ulterior motive right away. “I want to be there when you find him.”

Morpheus gave me a pointed look. “Is that the only information you have?”

“Technically.” I said with a grin. “I'll leave it to you to determine if he really is the one or not, since that's your goal. I just want to help you along.”

“All right. If your information checks out...”

“Ha. Ha. You're funny, Morpheus.” I said with a flat tone of voice and crossed my own arms. “I'm not handing over my only bargaining chip without some reassurances.”

We stood in the hallway for exactly one minute before Morpheus nodded.

“Thank you. I'll talk to Dozer and Cas tomorrow. If he agrees, and he will because Cas will kill him if he doesn't, I'll be joining your crew as the new mechanic for the next month.”

Morpheus let a slight smile show on his face. “You do know Cas.”

“She's pregnant with my child, so I certainly hope so.” I said and his eyes widened. “Dozer just accepted me into the family before I came to meet you.”

“What did you give him as a housewarming gift?” Morpheus asked.

“A new bathroom with a real working bathtub.” I said with a smile.

Morpheus huffed and nodded. “That would do it.”

“He was already in it with the kids when I left.” I said and motioned down the hallway. “As a new mechanic being accepted by a captain, what would you like to have upgraded on the ship as a gift?”

“I want a more powerful broadcaster and I want it installed before the ship leaves in two days.” Morpheus said, as if I couldn't get one or do it in so short a time.

“Is that all?” I asked and he nodded. “I'll have it done by the morning.”

Morpheus looked surprised by my words.

“Goodnight, captain.” I said and turned down another hallway as I checked the security device. It showed me where the ship was docked and I followed the directions to get there. “Submit my ship assignment to the boss, Eye. If Dozer wants to work, we can add his name to the crew roster instead of mine.”

Text scrolled across the screen and I smiled at the confirmation.

*

Cas damn near choked the life out of me the next morning at breakfast when I told her of the deal I made with Morpheus. “I knew you were a good man, Hansen!”

“Can't... breathe!” I gasped and Dozer just sat there and laughed at me. So did his two kids.

Cas eased her hold on me. “Dozer, you need to tell Tank you're off the ship until the next recharge.”

“Yes, dear.” Dozer agreed immediately. He knew not to argue with her.

“He might want it off as well.” Cas said and then frowned. “What do we tell Dee if he doesn't?”

“He can take it off if he wants. I can do the operator and pilot jobs, too.” I said and they both looked at me with surprise on their faces. “I've done a lot of studying since I arrived here.”

“Have you piloted a ship before?” Dozer asked.

“Sure. I've moved them around the dock for repairs and also to ferry the work crews up to the autoturrets for repairs.” I said. “That reminds me. If you want to work while the kids are at school and Cas is working in the medical wing, I can add your name to the maintenance crew roster in my place.”

Dozer laughed and slapped my shoulder. “I'm starting to see why Cas likes you so much!”

“It's because of my cooking.” I said and walked over to the counter to retrieve another plate stacked full of pancakes and handed them to him as I sat down. “Eat up and enjoy.”

Dozer grinned at me and poured some syrup over them, then he handed two each to the kids.

“Thanks, Dad!” They said and the three of them dug into them.

Cas slid her hand into my lap to play with me through my pants. “Yes, it's definitely your cooking.”

“I knew it!” I said happily and she laughed.

“I'll give you a hand cleaning up the kitchen while the kids keep eating.” Cas said as she stood and started to walk across the room.

“Hey, I cooked. Why do I have to clean?” I asked and stood as well.

“You made the mess, you clean it up.” Cas said and Dozer and the kids nodded.

“Yes, dear.” I said and followed her. I knew not to argue with her, too.

Once we were out of sight, Cas hiked up her skirt. “It's quite the mess you've made.”

I looked at her soaked underwear and nodded. “I'll have that cleaned up right away.”

“Good boy.” Cas said and bit her lip to stop her moan as she washed the dishes and I ate her out.

*

“I can't believe we're flying with a new crew member on such short notice.” Trinity said as she approached the Nebuchadnezzar hovercraft while carrying her large heavy duffle bag with her washed clothing and personal items inside.

“Hopefully, as the mechanic, he won't be disruptive.” Switch said and the both of them put their bags down at the bottom of the ramp to rest briefly.

I stepped down the ramp from the ship and smiled at the two of them. “Good morning, ladies. May I offer to stow your bags in your compartments for you?”

“You're the fresh meat?” Switch asked and then she jerked slightly. “You're the guy that interrupted me and Apoch two days ago!”

“It really is called snogging.” I said with a chuckle and waved her onto the ship. “If you don't need my assistance, I'll say now that I hope you enjoy the new accommodations.”

“What do you mean...” Switch started to say and grabbed her bag and ran up the ramp and into the ship.

“Morpheus won't be happy that you've changed things.” Trinity said and looked at the heavy bag at her feet. “Go ahead.”

“Thank you.” I said and picked her bag up without struggling, which surprised her. “Just so you know, I offered to take Mouse's and Cypher's bags, too.”

Trinity smiled. “They didn't hesitate at all, did they?”

“Not even for a second.” I said and waved her inside. “Right this way.”

Trinity shook her head and followed me inside. Her compartment was right where it always was, except everything looked brand new and it was bigger on the inside. I opened the door for her and placed her bag gently on her bed.

“I'm not going to ask how you got that big bed in here.” Trinity said.

“You'd be surprised at the amount of space between the bulkheads that's just wasted.” I said, truthfully. “If you'll excuse me, I think Apoch is arriving.”

Trinity nodded to me and I closed her door before I ran through the ship to the ramp. Apoch laughed at my offer and tossed me one of his bags. I took him to his compartment and he laughed again as I put the bag down gently on his bed.

“This is going to be a great run. I just know it.” Apoch said and I smiled at him and shut the door.

Morpheus was the last to arrive and he didn't comment at everything being clean and looking new. “I checked the new broadcaster. You did good.”

“Thank you, sir. It's also reinforced with a hardwired battery back-up in case main power is lost.” I said and he smiled slightly. “I also installed physical locks on the brain insertion apparatus on everyone's chairs. If the chair is occupied and connected to either the Construct or the Matrix, they can't be pulled without first disengaging the mind.”

Morpheus looked surprised for a moment, then he actually smiled. “Did you tell the maintenance department?”

“They've already upgraded two ships with it and will be updating the rest as they rotate back to charge up.” I said and he nodded. “That contribution earned me a prime spot during the next new year dance.”

Morpheus put a hand on my shoulder. “Good man.” He said. “Tell Tank to prep for flight.”

“Yes, sir.” I said and tapped the hovercraft pin on my chest. “Hansen to Tank.”

“Tank here.”

“The captain said to prep for flight.”

“On it.” Tank said and the ship started to come to life. “Tank out.”

I smiled at Morpheus as he stared at the pin. “I have one for everyone.”

“How far...”

“Within 500 feet of the ship.” I said. “I'm still figuring out how to get it to work between here and the Construct.”

Morpheus stared at me and didn't say anything.

“Yeah, I kinda have to dumb it down to only work like a cell phone signal. The coding of the Construct is pretty bad for innovation. Anything too advanced just goes kaput inside and you only hear static.”

Morpheus didn't react at all.

“I'm sorry for boring you, sir. I'll let you unpack while I go get the pins to pass them out.” I said and went to Dozer's compartment to pretend to get them. I knew Morpheus wasn't bored, he was just shocked at what I said. I didn't want to bring attention to that and gave him an easy excuse to explain it away.

I eventually came back with a box of pins and there was an impromptu crew meeting in the main gathering area as I passed them out and explained what they did. Morpheus proved they worked by calling Tank and told him to take off. I was quickly thanked for being so considerate and they all went to their duty stations to get to work, now that we were off on our mission to find more people to rescue.

Morpheus grabbed my shoulder and stopped me from going anywhere. “We need to talk.”

“Of course, sir. In private or should I just hand you the note I've prepared?”

Morpheus gave me a pointed look.

I slid the folded piece of paper out of my pocket and gave it to him. “All the details I know are on that.”

Morpheus unfolded it and quickly read through it all. “You believe it's him.”

“It doesn't matter what I believe, sir.” I said with a knowing smile. “If you need me for anything, just call and I'll come running.”

Morpheus nodded. “What will you be doing?”

“I'm tempted to say that it'll be a surprise; but, you're the captain and I won't keep you in suspense. I'm playing with the monitoring software of the Matrix, now that I've got some free time. I'm sure I can get the decoders working properly.” I said and walked away, because I didn't want to laugh at the man's surprised expression.

*

“Who fixed the chairs?” Apoch asked as he sat down on one of the recliners to head into the Construct for another training simulation.

“I'll give you one guess.” Switch said as she sat down on the one next to him.

“If they aren't comfortable enough, let me know. I'll add more padding where necessary.” I said and strapped Apoch in. “I was thinking of adding handles for your hands to grip, too.”

Apoch smiled. “That could definitely help with the soreness afterwards.”

Tank strapped Switch in. “My operator chair at the monitoring station is great, too. I usually have at least one sore cheek by now.”

Cypher chuckled and hopped into another seat. “I can honestly say I've never slept so well. The bunk in my compartment is even better than what I've got at home.”

“I can pop over and make you a bed when the ship heads back for a recharge.” I offered and strapped him in.

“Thanks, Hansen.” Cypher said. “I'll keep that in mind.”

“I prefer the new personal space heaters myself.” Trinity said as Tank strapped her in. “I don't miss the goosebumps or runny noses.”

“I hear that.” Mouse said and went to the loading chair. “Okay, people. We've got another hidden Agent simulation today.”

The four participants groaned.

“Hey, you know you need it. Agents are dangerous and you need practice to escape safely.” Mouse said and put on the operator headset. “Guys, load them up.”

Tank and I used the brain insertion devices and started the activation protocols before we hit the load button for the first two, Apoch and Switch, then we did Cypher and Trinity. Mouse typed up a few lines on the monitoring station and hit enter. Two of the screens showed the white loading area and the four people put on some necessary accessories and wore coats to cover them.

“Have fun.” Mouse said when they were done and sent them into the simulation as Morpheus entered the room to watch the monitors.

“Are the displays working right?” Tank asked as he looked at them. “They aren't jerking like usual.”

“I tweaked the settings a bit.” I said and he gave me a questioning look. “I took my own advice about dumbing things down and reduced the display's Frames-Per-Second from 120 to 60. It lets the monitors show about quadruple what they normally show and the processors can handle a lot more information without bottlenecking.”

Tank nodded. “That could be the key for processing the information from the Matrix.”

“Yeah, it has to drop to at least 24 FPS and then it has to be limited to only a small area around the operatives.” I said and both Tank and Morpheus looked interested. “I'm going to try adding more processors and increasing the buffer size to expand that. There's no need to decode the entire Matrix every time we try to look at it, just the parts we're actually looking at.”

“Keep working on it.” Morpheus said.

“Yes, sir.” I said and went back to my work area. I left the comm open to listen in.

“I thought he was a mechanic.” Morpheus said.

“According to Cas, he's also a pilot, an operator, and a doctor.” Tank said.

“He sounds too good to be true.” Morpheus said.

“I know, right?” Tank said. “Despite my misgivings, Cas loves him. She said he's the best thing to ever happen to her family and they haven't had so many perks in years.”

Mouse laughed under his breath. “Perks, huh?”

Tank laughed, too. “I didn't ask about that! She's like a sister to me.”

“She definitely likes them big and strong.” Mouse said, his voice full of admiration. “I saw him moving one of the hoverpad replacements without using the lift pulleys.”

Tank let out a whistle. “Damn, that's impressive. Even Dozer needs one pulley to take half the weight.”

“He's also upgraded the ship's broadcaster. We can hack into the Matrix from much safer locations.” Morpheus said.

“Why aren't all the ships getting that?” Mouse asked.

“According to the council, it's his own modification. They haven't approved it. Yet.” Morpheus said. “When I asked for the upgrade, I expected the booster package they approved last year that we were at the bottom rung to receive.”

“That's because Commander Lock is an ass by making you look bad to get at Niobe.” Tank said.

“It worked, because she's with him now.” Morpheus said.

“That's her loss.” Tank said, unknowingly echoing my sentiment. “We'll find him soon.”

“Yes.” Morpheus said in a whisper. “I believe we will.”

*

“Neo? Really?” Trinity asked as they set up surveillance on Thomas A. Anderson's apartment. “He's not that great of a hacker.”

“He's also a pretty boy.” Switch said and installed the old fashioned rotary dial phone attached to the hardline that was their emergency escape route.

“You've been out of the scene for a couple of years, Trinity. He's done a few things since then.” Mopheus said and directed the others setting up the equipment at their new hidden base. “His programs are now a hot commodity in the hacker underworld.”

“I bet they're just nude hacks for the popular games.” Cypher joked.

Apoch and Mouse laughed, because that was kid stuff for them.

“Let's get this done, people. I want to know everything there is to know about Neo.” Morpheus said.

“Yes, sir.” They all responded.

*

Two months and two ship recharges later, Morpheus was absolutely convinced that the man searching for him was the one he was looking for. “It is fortuitous that you are here for this, Hansen.”

I had to smile at that and nodded.

“Okay, people. We're going in to make first contact.” Morpheus said and that sent a ripple of surprise through the others.

“Are you sure? He's quite a bit older than our usual subjects.” Cypher asked and missed the annoyed look on Trinity's face.

“I'm more than sure. I'm absolutely positive.” Morpheus said with confidence. “Let's get this done.”

“Baiting the mouse trap should be fun.” Cypher said.

“Hey!” Mouse said.

“Oh, sorry. I meant rat trap.” Cypher said and Apoch chuckled while Trinity frowned.

She's already offended on his behalf. I thought with a hidden smile. “Does everyone have their modified comm badges on?”

They all nodded and sat down on the recliners to enter the Matrix.

“Load us up.” Morpheus ordered and closed his eyes.

*

Neo dozed near his computer screen while it flickered through his custom search algorithm looking for any references to Morpheus and his possible location. When the flickering suddenly stopped, he woke to see text being typed on his screen.

He tried a few computer shortcuts to stop it, then he started reading it. The words didn't make sense. The matrix had him? What did that mean? He was looking for it. How could it already have him?

The text changed to an instruction to follow the white rabbit and then he was startled when there was a loud knock on his apartment door and the text disappeared.

Neo went to the door and a group of people were there. They were dressed almost haphazardly and were almost punk in their styles. “You're two hours late.”

“It's her fault.” The head guy said and indicated the pretty brunette on his arm.

“Got the money?” Neo asked.

“Two grand.” The man said and handed it over.

“Just a minute.” Neo said and closed the door before going to the bookshelf and grabbing his favorite book, Simulacra and Simulation. He opened it and chose one of his older program disks that he had several copies of, put the book back, and went to his apartment door to open it and handed the disc over.

“Hallelujah, you're my saviour, man. My own personal Jesus Christ.” The guy said and handed the disc to one of his entourage.

“You get caught using that...” Neo started to say.

“I know, it never happened. You don't exist.”

“Right.” Neo said.

“Is something wrong, man? You look a little whiter than usual.”

“My computer it... have you ever had that feeling, where you're not sure if you're awake or you're still dreaming?”

“Mmm, all the time. It's called Mescaline. It's the only way to fly.”

Neo sighed a little and started to turn away.

“Hey, it just sounds to me that you need to unplug, man. You know, get some R&R.” The guy said and glanced at the girl on his arm. “What do you thing, Dejour? Should we take him with us?”

Dejour gave Neo a full up and down look before she smiled. “Definitely.”

“I can't, I have work tomorrow.” Neo protested.

“Come on.” Dejour said sexily and hugged her man. “It'll be fun. I promise.”

Neo was about to refuse until he saw the white rabbit tattoo on the back of her shoulder. “Yeah, sure. I'll go.”

*

Neo stood off to the side of the group and looked around the roaring party at the nightclub and wasn't sure why he agreed, even if the music was really good. He noticed a very beautiful woman approach him and he suddenly felt nervous.

“Hello, Neo.” Trinity said.

Neo really felt uncomfortable now. “How do you know that name?”

“I know a lot about you.” Trinity said.

“Who're you?”

“My name is Trinity.”

“Trinity...” Neo paused as he thought about her name. “The Trinity? The one that cracked the IRS database?”

“That was a long time ago.” Trinity said and barely managed to hold in her sigh. That was one of her less than stellar hacking jobs.

“Jesus.” Neo almost spat.

“What?” Trinity prompted.

“I just thought... um... you were a guy.” Neo admitted.

“Most guys do.” Trinity said.

Neo looked thoughtful for a moment and walked closer to her. “That was you on my computer. How did you do that?”

Trinity walked closer to him as well, almost dangerously close. “All I can tell you is that you're in danger. I brought you here to warn you.”

“Of what?” Neo asked.

“They're watching you, Neo.”

“Who is?”

“Please, just listen.” Trinity almost snuggled up to him as she whispered to him. “I know why you're here, Neo. I know what you've been doing. I know why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night... you sit at your computer.” She paused dramatically. “You're looking for him.”

Neo nodded slightly.

“I know, because I was once looking for the same thing. When he found me, he told me I wasn't really looking for him, I was looking for an answer.” Trinity said and resisted the urge to kiss his neck, despite how tempting it was. “It's the question that brought you here.” She paused once more. “You know the question, just as I did.”

“What is the Matrix?” Neo asked.

“The answer is out there, Neo. It's looking for you... and it will find you.” Trinity moved her head back slightly and looked into Neo's pretty brown eyes and she wanted to kiss him. “If you want it to.”

Neo almost kissed her, she was that close... and then she turned and walked away. He was about to protest her leaving, then his alarm started to blare at him and he woke up in bed, late for work. He cursed a couple of times and quickly got ready and ran from his apartment, hailed a taxi, and went to work.

After a pretty strong berating from his boss at MetaCortex, he went to his cubicle and started doing his job as a programmer for the largest tech company in Mega City.

*

“Are we really going to stand here and watch this?” Tank asked and motioned to the monitors. “The agents are already entering the building.”

“Morpheus is already calling him and telling him that he's The One.” I said with a smile. “That was a great idea you had about sending the encrypted phone to him with a signed delivery.”

“Thanks.” Tank said, a bit proudly. He was glad that someone had acknowledged that brilliant move.

We stood there and watched Neo try to escape the Agents by leaving the building through the office window. After he faltered and almost fell, he entered the office again and the Agents arrested him. As he was being led through the main office area, his boss told him that he could find himself another job.

The screen went blank when the Agents took Neo into their secured federal building.

“Pull the others out and set up surveillance on Neo's apartment again.” Morpheus said from his open comm badge. “I doubt the Agents realize who they have in their custody and we're going to take full advantage of that.”

Tank tapped his comm badge. “We're on it, Morpheus. Tank out.”

*

The next day, Neo finally woke up in his own bed and looked completely confused.

“I'm surprised people don't have more fractured minds if that's how the Agents shunt consciousnesses through the Matrix.” I commented and did some inquiries of the interfaces. “It's definitely made things unstable. Neo's right on the edge of thinking everything's a bad dream.”

“Don't worry, we'll handle it.” Trinity said and lightly touched my shoulder.

I nodded to her and everyone piled onto the recliners to enter the Matrix. Tank and I loaded them up and Morpheus called Neo on a tapped line to tell him where to go. It was quick and also very dangerous to do it that way; but, we were running out of time. Switch, Apoch and Trinity picked Neo up in a car and after a short argument, convinced him to cooperate and then removed the suspected tracker that the Agents had installed in him.

I watched the meeting with Neo and it played out just like I remembered. When he took the red pill that was a tracking program, Tank hopped into the operator chair and I ran to the pilot's chair. We were directly under the power station fields that the machines used to grow the people born into the Matrix and we would need to wait for a signal lock to know which of the many towers that Neo would be shunted out of.

When the lock finally happened, Tank sent the logout command and Neo's consciousness exited the Matrix and went back into his body. I flew the ship over to the right tower and put the ship into hover mode before Tank and I logged the crew out of the Matrix. They all wanted to see Neo as soon as possible.

“I've got the winch.” I said and went to the controls to open up the bottom hatch.

“Here he comes.” Tank said as one of the many tubes exits in the tower started to expel fluid.

“Bringing up the targeting software.” I said and quickly typed up the right commands. “I'm ready for retrieval.”

The others watched as a ghostly white and hairless body slid out of the tunnel into the air and fell almost twenty feet to land in the murky water below. I hit the release on the reinforced and padded claw winch and it dropped down to catch Neo as he surfaced the first time. He grabbed on and it gently cupped him and lifted him up.

I swung him over to where I stood and hit the release and recoil command for the winch before I caught Neo and wrapped the very thin man in a thick blanket. I lifted him up and showed him to Morpheus.

“Welcome... to the real world.” Morpheus said and Neo passed out.

“Quick! To the medbay!” Trinity exclaimed and dragged me through the ship to the upgraded room. She stood there and watched intensely as I operated on Neo to close off and remove all of the superfluous mechanical attachments.

Morpheus joined us as well and he nodded appreciatively as I worked and successfully removed each one, especially the ones from Neo's spine that locked it into a rigid pose. Returning full movement to him was the first priority and the others could be removed later.

“Let's get him over to the muscle reconstruction machine.” I said and the two of them helped transfer him over to the recovery table and the long and arduous muscle building process began. I plugged in an IV to keep him hydrated and his body flushed with nutrients while we worked.

Trinity was a little unnerved as the micro-shocks were sent through the thousands of needles inserted into the front of Neo's body. His muscles jerking like that, forced her to leave for a while.

Neo chose that moment to wake up and looked at us. “What are you doing?”

“Your muscles had atrophied. We're rebuilding them.” Morpheus said.

“Why do my eyes hurt?” Neo asked.

“You've never used them before.” Morpheus said and placed a gentle hand on Neo's forehead. “Rest, Neo. The answers are coming.”

Neo nodded and closed his eyes. I stunned him to put him out and then continued to work. I cheated a little when no one else was around and used several spells to heal and regenerate him to speed up the process. I flipped him over and rebuilt his muscles there while I removed even more of the excess mechanical attachments.

“You've done great work, Hansen.” Morpheus said as he came back into the room the next day and I finished up with the last of Neo's small surgeries.

“Give me another week and I'll have him growing more than just stubble for hair.” I joked and he smiled. “I'm transferring him into Dozer's bunk to rest and I'll stay here for now.”

“When will Neo be ready for the next step?” Morpheus asked.

“He'll be fine in the morning, then you can have some fun playing with him... I mean, testing him.”

There was a soft feminine laugh from the hallway and Morpheus gave me a bit of a stern glare.

“What? I'd be all over those training programs myself if I could figure out how to give myself an interface.” I said and he looked surprised. “I'm sure I'll come up with something, given enough time.”

Morpheus nodded and walked over to the open hatch. “Let someone know when you're moving Neo.”

I chuckled. “She's been waiting to give me hand for about an hour, so I might as well say it's time.”

Trinity stepped into the medbay and nodded to Morpheus before she walked over to the table with Neo on it. “Tell me what to do.”

“After we take him back to his room, you'll need to strip off and share your body heat with him to get his core temperature up to a good level.” I said with a completely straight face.

Trinity blushed a little and then nodded.

Morpheus gave me another glare, shook his head, and left. He didn't want to be nearby if my prank blew up in my face. He didn't know that Trinity was in love with the guy already and was in denial, despite the Oracle's words to her.

I knew she did, though. “Great! I'll take his chest and shoulders, you take his feet. We'll get this guy back to normal as soon as possible with your generous help.”

We carried the unconscious Neo over to Dozer's compartment and Trinity helped put him into bed. She then gave me a pointed look.

“I'm a medical doctor. I've seen it all before.” I said and her look changed to a glare. “Okay, okay. Just make sure you are in as much skin to skin contact as possible. Don't be shy about it, either. He needs your help right now.”

Trinity lost the glare and nodded.

I opened the locker by the door and passed her another blanket. “You shouldn't need that; but, it's better to have it on hand and close by in case you do.”

“Thank you.” Trinity said.

“Just remember to stay cuddled up for as long as possible. If any heat is lost, you'll have to stay that much longer to make up for it.” I warned her.

“I... I understand.” Trinity said and I could almost hear her mind working about how to stay as long as possible.

“Good luck.” I said and lightly touched her shoulder. “I'll leave fresh clothing for the both of you out in the hallway later, so don't worry about that.” I walked over to the hatch. “Lock it behind me, too. We can't have anyone disturbing Neo's recovery.”

“I have duties...”

“I'll take care of them for you.” I interrupted. “Your only priority right now should be Neo.”

Trinity nodded and she looked resolved.

I nodded back and shut the hatch behind me. I heard it lock and smiled as I walked back to the medbay.

*

Neo woke up the next morning and he felt very warm. He also felt a lot of warm flesh pressed to his own and his body reacted appropriately. He opened his eyes and he was surprised to see the face of the gorgeous woman from the party. She was also pretty much wrapped around him.

Almost as if she felt his attention, Trinity opened her eyes to look into his. She could feel his erection pressed into her belly and her own body responded to the attention. Her nipples popped out and poked Neo's chest and the space between her legs started to get very wet from being in contact with the base of his penis.

“You seem to be feeling better.” Trinity whispered and barely stopped her blush.

“You feel fantastic.” Neo whispered back and actually did blush a little. When he moved his hands, he discovered that he was wrapped up pretty tightly with her and his hands rubbed up her sides and across her back.

Trinity couldn't stop her light moan as he did that and his body shifted slightly to rub her. “Neo, we...”

“Ahh, fuck it! I can't resist you!” Neo said and kissed her.

Trinity kissed him back and then he was suddenly inside of her and her very load moan echoed through the room. She didn't care about that as Neo moved in and out of her. The both of them hadn't been with anyone before and their first time was a little frantic and desperate. They both came at almost the same time and Trinity held onto him tightly.

“Oh, god.” Trinity whispered. “That was... was...”

“I can do better. I swear.” Neo said and struggled before he managed to get the blanket thrown off. “Just watch me.”

Trinity clamped her mouth shut from telling him that he shouldn't strain himself so soon after leaving the medbay, then he had her breasts in his mouth and she tried to dig her hands through his stubble hair. Neo moaned as she rubbed his scalp and then he moved down between her legs.

Neo played with her and did his best to not make a huge mess with his quick expulsion as he scooped the majority out of the way, then he licked her pretty thoroughly. He did more than enough to get her going towards another orgasm before he moved back up to look into her eyes and slid himself back inside of her.

Trinity stared into his eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck to make-out with him. She hadn't been this turned on by anyone before and the chemistry she felt with Neo from the moment they met, seemed to pour through her and she rocked her hips to help him and squeezed down there to get him off quicker.

“Trin... god... if you do that...”

“Try... to last.” Trinity said and wrapped one leg around his backside to help him thrust. “I want to feel... mmm... yeah, like that.”

Neo wasn't an idiot and he knew that she had just shown him a great spot to make her feel good, so he used it ruthlessly. Trinity moaned appreciatively and that spurned Neo on to perform even better. He did not disappoint her.

*

“Jesus, they're still going at it.” Tank said from beside Morpheus two hours later.

“I'm pretty sure they rested between sessions.” I commented. “I'm just glad that I left some water bottles beside my bed. Neo needs to stay hydrated.”

Tank chuckled. “You're gonna want a new bed after today.”

“Ha!” I barked and clapped him on the shoulder. “It'll be easier to just move Trinity in there with him.”

“Good point.”

I looked at Morpheus. “I'm sorry, sir. They should have their frustrations worked out by lunchtime.”

Morpheus gave me a pointed look, then he smiled. “You knew they would go at each other if given the opportunity.”

“Did you see the look on Trinity's face in the nightclub? I thought she was going to jump on him right there.” I said.

Tank laughed and nodded while Cypher frowned and tried to hide it.

“I've done Trinity's work and I'm done with my own duties, so I'm going to the galley to make something to eat.” I said and started to walk away.

“Not without us!” Switch exclaimed and grabbed Apoch's arm.

I chuckled and waved for them to follow. “You're lucky the ship has a huge pantry.”

“I think we all are.” Morpheus said, which was the first time he had acknowledged any of the changes I had made on the ship.

I nodded to him and went to the galley to make up a nice meal for everyone. Neo and Trinity were going to need it when they were done, too.

*

Neo entered the main deck area with a very happy Trinity walking beside him.

“Ah, Neo.” Morpheus said and walked over to him. “It's about time that I explained what's going on.”

“That's all right, Morpheus. Trinity gave me the welcoming speech.” Neo said.

“I'm sure she gave you a lot more than that.” Cypher whispered and we all heard him.

I whacked him on the back of the head. “Be more respectful.”

Cypher rubbed the spot and glared at me.

“Sorry for the interruption.” I said and nodded to Morpheus.

“You wanted to know what the Matrix is.” Morpheus said and Neo nodded. “Let me show you.”

I watched as they loaded Neo into the Construct and Morpheus explained to him what happened to humanity and how the machines took over and turned them all into a new power source. He asked to be let out and this time, instead of saying he didn't believe Morpheus, he started freaking out about the world being destroyed instead.

Trinity hugged him and Neo clung to her tightly as she whispered that it wasn't all gone. There was still a lot of humanity left in the last human city named Zion.

Neo eventually calmed down. “I can't go back, can I?”

“No.” Trinity said and looked into his eyes. “Would you even want to if you could?”

Neo's eyes almost danced as he seemed to remember what happened that morning and shook his head.

“I feel the need to apologize.” Morpheus said. “We have a rule. We never free a mind once it reaches a certain age. It's dangerous and the mind has trouble letting go. I've seen it before and I'm sorry.”

Neo gave him a questioning look.

“I did what I did because I had to.” Morpheus said and paused as he walked over to Neo. “When the Matrix was first built, there was a man born inside. He had the ability to change whatever he wanted and to remake the Matrix as he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of us and taught us the truth.”

Neo looked around and saw several nods.

“As long as the Matrix exists, the human race can never be free.” Morpheus said and paused as he gathered his thoughts. “When he died, the Oracle prophesied his return and that his coming would hail the destruction of the Matrix. It would end the war and bring freedom to our people.”

Neo was enraptured by Morpheus' calm tone.

“That's why there are those of us who have spent our entire lives searching the Matrix, looking for him.” Morpheus said and put a hand on Neo's shoulder. “I did what I did because I believe that search is over.”

Complete silence hung in the air and no one moved or spoke.

“I'm glad you've gotten some rest.” Morpheus said.

“For what?” Neo asked.

Morpheus smiled slightly and nodded to Tank. “Your training.”

“Hi, I'm Tank. I'll be your operator.” Tank said and walked over to shake Neo's hand.

Neo looked at his arm and didn't see the IV attachment. “You don't have any holes.”

Tank chuckled. “Nope. I'm 100% pure homegrown human, born free, right here in the real world.”

Neo wasn't sure what to say to that, because it made him sound less than human for being born in the Matrix.

“I can't wait to see what you're capable of, if Morpheus is right about you.” Tank said and let his hand go. “We best get to it. We have a lot of work to do.”

Trinity brought Neo over to a separate chair from the others and set him up as Tank hopped into the operator chair.

“Normally, I'm supposed to start with these operations programs first, which is some majorly boring shit.” Tank said and shuffled a few discs off into a pile. “Let's do something a little more fun.” He held up a disc. “How about combat training?”

Neo looked at the monitor as Tank pre-loaded it. “Ju Jitsu? I'm going to learn Ju Jitsu?”

Tank winked at him and hit a quick command, then tapped the Load button to send it to the interface in the back of Neo's head.

Neo winced for about ten seconds and then he gasped and opened his eyes to catch his breath. “Holy shit!”

“Hey, I think he likes it.” Tank said with a smirk on his face. “How about some more?”

“Hell, yes!” Neo exclaimed and laid back to get comfortable. “Hell, yeah.”

Tank chuckled and started the extensive combat training schedule. Karate, Kempo, Tae Kwan Do, Drunken Boxing, and several other fighting styles. Everyone else on the ship went back to work, since this was pretty much the boring part of watching Neo's training. In fact, it took all night. I stayed right there all night when my duties were done and copied each fighting ability as it appeared inside Neo.

Morpheus showed up early the next morning. “How is he?”

Tank blinked his eyes for a moment. “Ten hours straight. He's a machine.”

Morpheus watched as the last disc was sent to Neo and walked over to stand beside his chair.

Neo sighed and opened his eyes to look at him. “I know Kung Fu.”

Morpheus leaned over him slightly. “Show me.”

Tank almost jumped for joy and loaded them into a sparring program. While Morpheus explained about it, Mouse walked by and saw the monitor. He let out a squeak and took off running. I knew what was going to happen, so I stepped back out of the way to let the crew pile into the display area and crowd around the full color monitors to watch.

The fight went just about the same as in the movie, except the last move Neo did was a kick and not a punch. He also launched Morpheus across the sparing arena and through one of the wooden supports.

“I know what you're trying to do.” Neo said and walked over to help Morpheus stand.

“I'm trying to free your mind, Neo.” Morpheus said with a slight smile. “But, I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it.”

Neo stood there and thought about that.

Morpheus tapped his comm badge. “Tank, load the jump program.”

Tank did so and after a few seconds, Neo and Morpheus were changed into street clothes and were suddenly on top of a building inside a city simulation.

“You have to let it all go, Neo. Fear, doubt, and disbelief.” Morpheus said. “Free your mind.”

Neo watched as he took three steps to the edge of the building and then stared as Morpheus leapt several hundred feet and landed on another building. “Whoa.”

We all watched as Neo walked to the edge of the building and looked down.

“What if he makes it?” Mouse asked.

“No one's ever made their first jump.” Tank said.

“No, I know.” Mouse said. “But, what if he does?”

“He won't.” Apoch said.

“Come on.” Trinity whispered.

On the monitors, Neo psyched himself up and looked determined. I wasn't going to let him fail, so I tapped a command into Eye and he slightly altered the jump program. I knew it was cheating; but, I didn't want things to go quite the way they had before.

Neo took several long strides and jumped off the building like Morpeus had and soared through the air... and soared some more... instead of dropping with the force of gravity that I had reduced to an eighth of normal.

“Jesus!” Tank exclaimed and everyone else were speechless as Neo crossed the distance and then he started to drift down just short of the edge of the building as gravity increased back to normal.

Morpheus saw Neo start to struggle and leaned way out to offer a hand. Neo quickly grabbed on and then slammed into the edge of the building and Morpheus dropped down to hang on and take Neo's weight.

“I don't believe it.” Cypher whispered and glanced at Trinity to see her smile before he walked away.

Morpheus pulled Neo up onto the building and they both laid down to catch their breath.

“I'm sorry, Morpheus. I was so close.” Neo said and Morpheus laughed. “What's funny?”

“You actually made it.” Morpheus said. “No one ever makes it the first time. It usually takes two or three jumps for them to have enough confidence to do it properly.”

“I didn't land on the roof like you did.” Neo said.

“You're laying on it right now, aren't you?” Morpheus said and sat up. “It's good enough for me.”

Neo smiled and nodded before he and Morpheus were taken out of the program. He started to sit up and groaned at the pain he felt in his chest from hitting the building's edge. “I thought it wasn't real.”

“Your mind makes it real.” Morpheus said.

Neo rubbed his chest as he thought about that. “If you're killed in the Matrix, you die here?”

“The body cannot live without the mind.” Morpheus said.

“Sure it can.” I said and everyone looked at me. “Long term coma patients, people that have been declared brain dead, people suffering damage to either the brain stem or the parietal lobes...”

“You really are a doctor, huh?” Tank interrupted me.

I chuckled. “Sorry, I couldn't resist.” I said and looked at Neo. “Doctor's orders. Get to bed and get some rest. Morpheus will be leading your training personally starting tomorrow.”

Trinity opened her mouth to say something and I held up a hand to stop her.

“I got you covered. Go.” I said.

Trinity smiled and nodded to me as she took Neo's hand and led him away.

“You are spoiling them a little.” Morpheus said when they were out of earshot.

“I can't help myself. They're just so cute together.” I said with an innocent look on my face, which made Tank laugh. “I'd also rather get them out of the way and not have to worry about seeing someone's naked ass hanging out from some corner because they haven't had enough alone time together.”

Tank laughed again and slapped my arm. “That's the best reason I've ever heard!” He said and pulled me over to the hallway. “Just for that, I'm going to help you do Trinity's assignments.”

“Thanks, Tank.” I said and we walked off to get to work.

Neither of us saw Morpheus' amused smile or his nod of agreement.

*

Neo's extensive training started the next day and he blew through the operations programs like they were nothing. It took him about a week to master everything and we all ignored Cypher's constant jabs about Morpheus not taking Neo into the Matrix to consult with the oracle.

On one particular training day, Morpheus took Neo into the first Agent training program. He told Neo about the Matrix and the nature of their mission to rescue people and how resistant a lot of them were about accepting their help.

“Were you listening to me, Neo? Or were you staring at the woman in the red dress?” Morpheus asked as he stopped walking and turned around.

“What woman?” Neo asked back.

Morpheus looked slightly surprised at his question. “She's... behind you.”

Neo turned and ducked the Agent's gun pointed at him.

“Freeze it.” Morpheus said and Tank did so.

I glanced at Trinity to see a smug look on her face while she watched the monitors.

Morpheus warned Neo about how everyone that was not like them, namely unplugged, were potentially a threat and could become a host to a sentient program. An Agent.

There was suddenly a Machine Alert sent over the broadcast network and I ran to the pilot's seat as Tank talked to Morpheus. I went to the cockpit and got the ship moving away from the dangerous area, glad that we didn't have anyone inside the Matrix at the moment.

Morpheus soon entered the cockpit and sat in the co-pilot seat as I flew us along. Neo and Trinity entered behind him as he brought up a weak holographic map. It showed red dots coming towards us.

“Did Zion send the warning?” Morpheus asked.

“No, another ship.” I said and took us around a sharp turn. “Damn squids are sweeping in quick.”

“Squids?” Neo asked.

“A Sentinel. A killing machine designed for only one thing. Search and destroy.” Trinity said.

Morpheus manipulated the holographic map and tapped a spot to show me. “Set us down over there.”

I nodded and dropped us down a vertical shaft and then whipped the ship around and backed us up into an alcove as I gently landed and cut power to the controls.

“How we doing, Tank?” Morpheus asked over his still open comm signal.

“Main power offline. EMP charged and ready.” Tank said.

Everyone fell silent as the lights went out.

“EMP?” Neo asked in a hushed whisper.

“Electromagnetic pulse. It disables any electrical system in the blast radius. It's the only really effective weapon we have against the machines.” Trinity whispered back.

Neo fell silent for several moments as he thought about that. “Where are we?”

“They are old service and waste systems.”

“Sewers?” Neo asked, surprised at the size of the tunnels.

“There used to be cities that spanned hundreds of miles. Now these sewers are all that's left.”

“Quiet.” Morpheus ordered and they fell silent as they waited for the danger to pass.

We all sat there and watched as several roundish metal things with a dozen tentacles floated around in the large vertical shaft. They searched around and one stopped near the ship and deployed several devices to check for something, then it flew off.

We stayed there for several hours before Morpheus felt it was safe enough to start the ship up again. After a quick scan of the holographic map, we all went back to work.

The next morning, everyone except Morpheus sat down to have a nice breakfast. We were about halfway through eating and Mouse's usual blabbering when Morpheus entered the galley and gave me a pointed look.

“When you're done, bring us up to broadcast depth.” Morpheus said. “We're going to see her.”

I nodded and quickly ate the rest of my meal as he left.

“Who?” Neo asked.

“The Oracle.” Tank said with surprise showing on his face.

“Get everyone prepped with full mission protocols.” I said to Tank and ran from the galley to go to the cockpit. I had been planning this for weeks and brought the ship up to the right spot and landed. I put it into idle mode and the external power output dropped to almost nothing. “We're in position.”

“Excellent.” Morpheus said over the open comm signal. “Tank, load us up.”

“If everyone will please observe...” Tank started typing on the operator console. “...that the fasten seat belts and no smoking signs have been turned on.” He hit enter to start the broadcasting signal to hack into the Matrix and smiled. “Sit back and enjoy your flight.”

I walked over to him and pat him on the shoulder as I stood there to watch the proceedings.

Inside the Matrix, the hardline telephone in the secret base rang a dozen times as the crew's mental projections formed around it. Morpheus picked it up and confirmed that they were in, then he put Mouse on guard duty inside the main lobby while Switch and Apoch were stationed outside the back entrance.

I tapped Tank's shoulder and pointed to the monitor dedicated to Cypher and we both saw him dropping the open cell phone into the trashcan before he climbed into the driver's seat of the car.

“That rotten bastard.” Tank spat.

“Don't worry, he'll get what's coming to him.” I reassured him and Tank nodded.

During the drive to go to the Oracle, Neo and Trinity had a nice little conversation about the Matrix and what the Oracle would say.

“What did she tell you?” Neo asked.

Trinity smiled warmly. “That I'd fall for some handsome devil that can't keep his hands off of me.”

Neo gave her a surprised look for a second and then chuckled. “How many guys have you had to beat up to leave you alone since then?”

“One or two.” Trinity said with a smirk and he laughed.

“We're here.” Morpheus said and led Neo inside while leaving Cypher at the wheel of the car and Trinity guarding the building's entrance.

Neither Tank nor I were surprised that the monitors focused on Morpheus and Neo went blank. I switched the main center monitor to only show the Matrix in code, to see if anything was changed in the local area, and then went over to the side where the secondary training console and chair were. I had bridged the two systems together a while ago and it would soon be time to test my new software.

I took Eye out and hooked him to it as I whispered. “We're about to get our first test subject.”

Text flowed across the screen and I nodded as I typed in the right override commands.

“He's wearing the new comm, so it should work if his signal into the Matrix is disrupted. Send the reconnect command after the machines send the 'cut the hardline' command and we should have the necessary bridge to get him back before he dies.”

More text flowed across the display.

“I'm going to cheat and heal him, of course. I won't let Mouse die because Cypher is jealous of Neo.”

More text appeared and I couldn't stop my chuckle from escaping at what Eye had suggested. Tank glanced over at me and I gave him two thumbs up. He nodded and went back to monitoring the crew.

“You're not supposed to make me laugh, little buddy.” I whispered and it sent more text. “I'll consider it, since I like Mouse, too. He's going to deserve a little happiness after this.”

More text appeared and I smiled.

“Sneaky little thing, aren't you?” I asked and created a mobile emitter to hook up to him. “Go ahead. We've got about an hour before the shit hits the fan.”

*

Neo, Trinity, Cypher, and Morpheus left the Oracle's building almost an hour later and went back to their supposedly secret base. Tank and I had modified a few things to give the crew the best chance to escape, even if more than one agent showed up. Evading the normal police was pretty easy for everyone, so they weren't as big of a concern.

It wasn't until all of the crew were back inside the building that the Matrix was changed and undid almost all of our pre-loaded hard work. The Matrix screen flickered and showed the reaction as the machines cut the hardline. Neo also saw a Deja-vu moment and let the people with him know about the change, before they started to move up the stairs slowly and carefully.

“Shit!” Tank exclaimed as the building became a solid brick on the outside with no exits, except for the main one. He hit his comm badge and called the team. “They cut the hardline! It's a trap! Get out!”

Everyone but Mouse was in the stairwell going up to the top floor and the hardline exit. He was still in the front lobby on guard duty. He ran to the emergency contingency crates and pushed two smaller ones off and opened up the bottom one with two large old fashioned Tommy Gun automatic weapons inside.

“He'd have been better off running for the stairwell.” I commented and watched as Mouse hefted the guns and held the triggers down. The main doors burst open and several of the cops died, even with them wearing the heavy swat armor, then they opened fire with their automatic weapons.

“No!” Tank said, almost in pain, as Mouse was riddled with bullets.

I put the mobile emitter away and then looked at the security device display as it sent the hacked signal into the Matrix and reversed the hardline severing. It wasn't going to last long, because the Matrix kept sending a ping to check if it was repaired.

Once Mouse fell backwards into the window curtains and they toppled down on top of him to hide the body, I sent the retrieval signal and ran over to Mouse's recliner. He was still trembling and blood started to flow out of his mouth. I had tried to edit out the psychosomatic encoding that was prevalent throughout the Matrix code and discovered that it was too embedded into the prime program to alter, let alone remove.

I tapped the display to accept Mouse's disconnection from the Matrix and then created a wand and cast the strongest healing spells I could. I also cast Regeneration and stunned him, just so he wouldn't wake up freaking out about being shot. That could wait until later. I checked him with both my image ability and diagnostic spells, and his consciousness was back in residence.

I pulled out his brain interface device and left him there to go back to the display and watched the proceedings. Morpheus had called Tank and found the hidden wet-wall where all the building's pipes and things were run to each apartment and bathroom. They were slowly climbing their way down to the basement and would fight their way out through the less guarded area there.

Cypher pretended to have dust and dirt that was dropped on him by accident, irritate him, and faked a loud sneeze. The police discovered that the crew were in the walls and called out. Neo panicked and started shooting and emptied the gun Apoch had given him, missing the cop and alerting the Agents that they really were in the walls.

Agent Smith appeared and took over that officer's body and smashed through the wall to grab Neo.

“Trinity! You must get Neo out! He's all that matters!” Morpheus shouted.

“No!” Neo exclaimed.

Morpheus yelled inarticulately and smashed his way out of the wall as he tackled Agent Smith to the floor, which released Neo from the Agent's grip.

“You heard him! Let's go!” Trinity said grabbed Neo's foot before she braced and dragged him down through the wall with the rest of the crew and they dropped down into the basement. Several swat officers were there and Apoch and Switch made short work of the first group while Trinity opened the sewer grate to escape.

Cypher, the traitor, pretended to trip and was left behind as the others slipped into the sewer and ran for it. I watched as the police escorted Cypher outside and set up a fake accident and he called Tank from a payphone.

I nodded to Tank and he gave Cypher the right address for an escape inside an old television repair shop and I went over to the loading program and entered the commands to shunt Cypher from the Matrix and right into the Construct program I had designed. It had been surprisingly easy to recreate the inside of the Nebuchadnezzar and to add digital copies of Tank and myself with limited actions.

With the rest of the crew, I just had their likenesses added, since they wouldn't be doing anything except laying there. I recorded it all, of course. I needed more proof as to why he died inside a simulation. The best part was that it played out exactly like it did in the movie, where Cypher attacked Tank (and me in Dozer's place), except that Tank, Trinity, Switch, Apoch and Neo stood around me and we watched as Cypher turned on the crew in the Construct.

Trinity didn't have to be encouraged to go along with it and talked to Cypher over a cell phone as he admitted that he handed Morpheus over to the Agents, then he disconnected Apoch and Switch before he monologued about how he hated the ship, being cold, eating goop every day, and taking Morpheus' orders all the time.

Trinity didn't have to fake her reactions at all. Cypher then explained that he was going to get re-inserted at a power plant and there was nothing to stop him.

“Goddamn you, Cypher!”

“Don't hate me, Trinity. I'm just the messenger.” Cypher scoffed at her. “Now I'm going to prove it.” He said and put his hand on the device sticking out the back of Neo's head. “If Morpheus was right, then there's no way I can pull this plug.” He paused for a moment. “I mean, if Neo is the one, then there has to be some kind of miracle to stop me, right? How can he be the one, if he's dead?”

Trinity looked anxious, even though she knew it was just a simulation. When Cypher asked her if she believed in all of Morpheus' bullshit and if she really loved Neo, Trinity looked at the real Neo and smiled warmly at him.

“Yes. Yes, I really do love him.” Trinity admitted.

“No! I don't believe it!” Cypher gasped and stepped back from the digital Neo.

“Believe it or not, you piece of shit! You're still gonna burn!” Digital Tank said and shot Cypher with a full energy blast of the laser cutter used to clean off the gunk from the outside of the ship. Cypher screamed as he was flung backwards through several pipes and then he slammed into the wall of the ship and died inside the simulation and also in the real world. Digital Tank spat on the floor and the simulation ended.

“That was both eerie and cool.” Tank said and clapped me on the shoulder before he unhooked Cypher.

“That's what I was going for.” I said and popped out the disc with the saved information on it while Switch, Apoch and Trinity covered Cypher and Mouse with sheets.

Neo turned to look at the display for the Matrix and saw that it was blank. “What are they doing with Morpheus?”

Tank sighed and we all walked over to stand around Morpheus's prone form in the recliner. “They're going to try breaking into his mind. It's like hacking a computer. All it takes is time.”

“How much time?” Neo asked.

“It depends on the mind; but, eventually it'll crack and his Alpha patterns will change from this...” Tank hit a display button. “...to this. When it does, Morpheus will tell them anything they want to know.”

“What do they want?” Neo asked.

“The leader of every ship is given codes to Zion's mainframe computer. If an Agent had those codes and entered the mainframe, they could destroy us. We can't let that happen.”

Everyone looked uncomfortable.

“Guys, Zion is more important than me, and you, and even Morpheus.” Tank said.

Neo looked frustrated. “There has to be something we can do.”

“There is. We pull the plug.” Tank said.

“You're going to kill him?” Trinity asked. “Kill Morpheus?”

“We don't have any other choice.” Tank said with finality.

Everyone stood around and looked sad. I didn't bother telling them that they couldn't pull the plug as the physical lock prevented anyone from doing so while the connection was still active. I also didn't tell them that my little hack had actually worked on Mouse and he wasn't dead. I was saving that bit of information for later, because what was going to happen next, needed to happen.

“Morpheus.” Tank paused. “You were more than a leader to us. You were... a father.” He paused again and gripped the brain insertion device. “We'll miss you... always.”

“Stop!” Neo gasped. “I don't believe this is happening.”

“Neo, this has to be done.” Tank said.

“Does it? I don't know, I... this can't be just coincidence. It can't be.” Neo said.

“What are you talking about?” Tank asked.

“The Oracle. She told me this would happen. She told me...” Neo paused and looked resolute. “...that I would have to make a choice.”

“What choice?” Trinity asked.

Neo gave her a knowing look and walked towards the main operator console and the displays there.

“What are you doing?” Trinity asked and followed him.

“I'm going in.” Neo said.

“No, you're not.” Trinity responded.

“I have to.” Neo said, his voice full of confidence.

“Neo, Morpheus sacrificed himself so that we could get you out.” Trinity said and leaned slightly forward. “There is no way that you're going back in.”

Neo turned to look at her. “Morpheus did what he did because he believed that I'm something I'm not.”

Trinity looked surprised. “What?”

“I'm not the one, Trinity. The Oracle hit me with that, too.”

“No, you have to be.” Trinity said.

“I'm sorry, I'm not. I'm just another guy.”

“No, Neo. That's not true. It can't be true.” Trinity said and stepped close to him.

“Why?” Neo whispered.

“Because the Oracle told me that I would fall in love and that man... the man that I loved...” Trinity gave him a tender kiss. “...would be The One.”

Neo shook slightly as if a shock went through him. “Trinity...”

“If you're going, we're going in together.” Trinity said and Neo smiled and started typing on the operator console.

“You two are loco!” Tank exclaimed. “They've got Morpheus in a military controlled building. Even if you somehow got inside, those are Agents holding him. Three of them.” Tank said. “I want Morpheus back too; but, what you're talking about is suicide.”

“I know that's what it looks like...” Neo paused in typing. “...but, it's not. I can't explain to you why it's not.”

Trinity took his hand and held it.

“Morpheus believed something and he was ready to give his life for what he believed. I understand that now.” Neo said. “That's why I have to go.”

You are reading story Accidental Multiverse Planeswalker at novel35.com

“Why?” Tank asked.

“Because I believe in something.” Neo said and looked at Trinity. “I believe we can bring him back.”

Trinity smiled and nodded, then the two of them went over to their recliners to start the loading process. I was already there waiting for them and slapped the chairs to tell them to lay down, because I already did the prep work. They nodded to me and I strapped them in.

“Tank, load them up.” I said and hit the initiate button to send them into the Construct.

“Okay, so what do you need?” Tank asked over the open comm signal. “Besides a miracle.”

“Guns.” Neo said. “Lots of guns.”

Tank sent in hundreds of rows of shelves of every gun allowed in the Matrix.

“Neo.” Trinity said and lightly stroked his cheek. “No one has ever done anything like this before.”

Neo gave her a bright smile. “That's why it's going to work.”

Trinity bit her lip and then she kissed him before they strapped as many weapons as they could onto their bodies and not impede their movement.

“We've got the special package ready for you, too.” I said and a duffle bag appeared at their feet. “Try not to set it off before you have to. You still need a head attached to call for help.”

Neo chuckled. “Got it.”

“I've tweaked your ammo a little, too. There's double capacity on the clips, so just chuck the guns when they're empty.” I said.

“Very nice.” Trinity said.

“I've got a great secured location near the building.” Tank said. “Half a city block is as close as I can get you safely.”

“That's great. Thanks, Tank.” Neo said and looked at Trinity. “Are you ready for this?”

“No.” She said and kissed him again. “Now I am. Let's go.”

*

I watched the lobby scene play out as bullets flew everywhere and Neo and Trinity slowly made their way across the lobby and shot apart all of the defenders.

“How did you break their encryption?” Tank asked me.

“This is like the third time Neo's been in a secured location. I was going to get the coding worked out with that much access.” I said. “I didn't think it would be a simple 'turn off display' command, though.”

Tank chuckled. “Aren't you always complaining about having to dumb down your comm badges?”

I snorted and then laughed. “Touche, my friend.”

“Ooo, there goes the bomb.” Tank said as the elevator dropped fifty floors and the lobby exploded.

“Damn, I'd love to try that.” I said as Neo and Trinity essentially flew up the elevator shaft and held each other tenderly.

“Cas would kill you if you tried to hug Trinity like that!” Tank said and laughed.

“She really would.” I responded and watched as Neo and Trinity confronted an Agent on the roof.

“Jesus, he's really... look at him move!” Tank exclaimed.

He wasn't shot this time. I thought as Neo successfully dodged the Agent's shots and then grabbed one of the bodies and flung it at the Agent, who caught it and lifted it to throw it back.

Trinity seized the opportunity and was right there in the Agent's face with a pistol. “Dodge this.”

*BANG!*

Trinity smiled as the body fell and reverted into a police officer, because she had defeated an Agent for the first time and there was no one else around for the security program to jump into.

“Nice going, Trin.” Neo said and hugged her before he nodded at the helicopter. “Can you fly that?”

“Not yet.” Trinity said and hit her comm badge. “Tank, I need a pilot program for a V-212 helicopter.”

Neo watched as her eyes flickered behind her closed eyelids.

Trinity opened her eyes and nodded. “Let's go.”

“This is going to be fun.” I said as the helicopter took off and Neo attached a safety strap to his belt. Tank loaded in a mounted minigun and Neo let out a bark of laughter as the helicopter upgraded.

Trinity lowered them down into view of the right floor and Neo nodded, then he unleashed hell onto the three Agents in the room and cut away the wall of windows at the same time. He was very careful of Morpheus and shot around him.

“Hansen to Neo. There's officers in the hallway, too.”

“Got it!” Neo said and spread his shots out to kill them as well. He let the trigger go when there was no movement and the windows had been destroyed. “Come on, Morpheus. Get up! Get up, get up!”

Morpheus heard him and looked up to see Neo, let out an inarticulate scream, and pulled apart the cuffs holding him. He stood up and tore off the monitoring devices attached to him and stumbled forward. It took him three strides before his pace evened out and he leapt from the shattered wall and into the air.

Neo grinned at him and opened his arms to catch him. “Trinity! Get us out of here!”

Trinity nodded and pulled the flight stick to the left and started to fly away from the building. There was the sound of shattering glass from several floors above the floor Morpheus had been on. Agent Smith stood there and aimed for the fugitives.

Morpheus pulled Neo down to the floor of the helicopter to protect him and the bullets just missed the both of them. They didn't miss the side of the helicopter or the engine, though.

“Dammit!” Trinity exclaimed and started to struggle with the thing.

“Can you set us down?” Morpheus asked.

“No time and no controls!” Trinity exclaimed. “I'm losing it!”

“Then we jump.” Neo said and they both gave him odd looks. “Just pretend we're in the jump program.”

“Neo, we're plummeting through the sky inside a crashing helicopter!” Trinity said.

“Trust me.” Neo said and tossed her part of the safety strap. “Tie the flight stick up and let's go.”

Trinity didn't even pause and she secured the controls before she lunged for him and hugged him. “When do we...”

“NOW!” Neo yelled and grabbed onto their waists as he jumped for the perfect rooftop that he had just seen passing by.

Trinity and Morpheus let out yells as they were carried and hadn't jumped on their own at all.

Neo soared through the air, using the helicopter's momentum to carry him and his passengers a lot farther than he would have jumped on his own. He didn't look worried, though.

I actually applauded as Neo's booted feet slammed into the rooftop and he cancelled their momentum.

“How the hell did he do that?” Switch asked, shocked.

“I don't know.” Apoch said and hugged her as she leaned into him.

I didn't respond and just smiled as Neo let Morpheus stand on his own two feet. The helicopter impacted a building a block away and exploded.

Morpheus looked at Neo. “Are you starting to believe it, Neo?”

“Morpheus.” Neo responded. “The Oracle... she told me...”

“...exactly what you needed to hear. That's all.” Morpheus said. “You see, I realized a long time ago that there is a difference between knowing the path... and walking the path.”

Neo looked contemplative and Trinity looked pleased that Neo hadn't let her out of the hug yet.

Morpheus tapped Neo's comm badge, because his had been taken. “Tank, we need an exit.”

“I have one ready, sir. Subway station at State and Valgrove.” Tank said and the trio quickly left the roof and proceeded down to street level.

I almost laughed as the three Agents went to the roof of the building a block away, where the crash happened, and they missed seeing the trio completely. I didn't laugh because there was still the confrontation that Neo had to have to truly believe in his own powers.

Morpheus came out first and the homeless drunk saw the transition. Trinity gave Neo several passionate kisses before she used the phone and left as well. When it rang for Neo, Smith shot the receiver.

“Tank! Send me back there!” Trinity gasped.

“I can't!” Tank said and shrugged as he waved at the ruined phone on the screen.

Trinity made a fist with her hand and we all stood there and watched Neo confront an Agent, just as Morpheus had predicted during Neo's basic training. They all stared as Neo became more and more confident, goaded Agent Smith, and fought him toe-to-toe and blow-for-blow.

It didn't surprise me that Smith did the super-speed punching thing. What did surprise me was Neo smiling as he took it, then he kicked Smith in the face and then returned the punches, shaking the Agent up a lot. The fight went on for almost twice the time it had before and Neo learned a valuable lesson. Never drag out a fight with someone that never tires.

Agent Smith gained the upper hand and tossed Neo into the path of a subway train, then jumped onto him and held him there. “Do you hear that, Mr. Anderson?” He asked smugly as another subway train approached. “That... is the sound of inevitability.”

“My name...” Neo said and braced himself. “...is Neo!”

Neo leapt straight up, slammed Agent Smith into the concrete ceiling of the subway tunnel, then landed on the tracks in a heap with him. At the last possible moment, Neo jumped up and out of the way to land on the platform and the subway train ran Agent Smith over, which killed the host. Neo shook his head at the unnecessary loss and started to walk away, then the subway train screeched to a halt and a new Agent Smith stepped out after him.

“Oh, shit.” Neo said and took off running.

“He lost his comm in the fight.” Trinity said and sighed when Neo grabbed a phone from someone. “They're going to track him easily.”

Tank nodded and answered the phone. “Operator.”

“Hey, Mr. Wizard! Get me out of here!” Neo said and dodged a bullet from an Agent.

What followed was almost exactly the same as I remembered it, right up until Neo went to the old surveillance apartment and Agent Smith was waiting there for him. The gun went off and Neo jerked slightly from being shot. He looked down at it and then back at Agent Smith.

Agent Smith shot him six more times and Neo staggered out into the hallway and slumped against the wall. The Agent switched clips and unloaded thirteen more shots into Neo and he slid to the side and down to the floor, apparently dead.

I chose this moment to wake Mouse up and he screamed from under the sheet. “He's alive!”

Everyone stared as Mouse sat up and I checked him over.

“He really is alive.” Trinity said and looked at Neo in his reclining chair. She walked over to him and kissed his cheek. “Neo, I know you can hear me.”

Neo didn't react. Not even when the proximity sensors on the ship blared. Tank ran for the power controls, I ran for the hidden defensive gun emplacement, and Morpheus ran for the EMP.

“You're in the Matrix. Bullets mean nothing to you, remember? You're not dead. You're just unconscious.” Trinity said and kissed his lips. “Mouse is alive, too.”

Neo sucked in a huge breath and his vitals started up again. I wasn't surprised when Neo's image in my head updated, thanks to me keeping a tendril of Force touching him. The image gained 'immortality' and 'astral projection' and I copied both abilities, just in case.

“Now get up and kick their asses.” Trinity said and smirked as Neo opened his eyes in the Matrix and stood up.

The three agents noticed immediately and drew their guns on him.

“No.” Neo said and held up a hand as the hail of bullets from three guns streamed towards him. All of the bullets slowed down and came to a stop just in front of him. He gave them an odd look, then he rotated his hand around and pushed.

Every single bullet flew back along the same trajectory and perforated the Agents. They quickly died and three more Agents came out of the stairwell. Agent Smith ran over to Neo and tried to fight, only to quickly discover that he was completely outclassed. Neo now finally understood Morpheus' teachings. Because he was human and not a part of the Matrix, he was not bound by the system's structured rules.

“You're trashed.” Neo said and flicked his hand at Agent Smith, whom started to glow and fracture. “Delete file.”

Agent Smith screamed as he broke apart and his pieces dissolved and faded away.

I chuckled at Neo changing how he handled that and I opened fire with the little autoturret at the group of Sentinels flying towards us. I tore them apart with bullets and then pat Apoch on the shoulder as I abandoned the gun emplacement and ran for the cockpit.

“NEO!” Trinity yelled. “We're leaving!”

I hopped into the pilot's chair and brought the ship up to full power as Trinity unloaded Neo from the Matrix and the two of them kissed each other passionately.

“Hold on, everyone!” I said and strapped in.

“Go! Go! Go!” Switch said as Apoch shot down another four Sentinels. More were right behind them. I lifted off and flew at the ship's best speed to escape the pursuing Sentinels.

Morpheus sat down in the co-pilot's seat and brought up the map. “We're coming up on a junction. We should drop and go for a lower level.”

“They'll be expecting that.” I said and he gave me a questioning look. “They think we're running away, right? What if we run towards them and hide in plain sight?”

Morpheus looked surprised at my suggestion.

“Trust me.” I said and pulled the ship up into the vertical shaft and towards the approaching Sentinels. “Apoch, cease fire!”

When the Sentinels were close enough to detect us, I ducked the ship down a side tunnel and deployed the landing gear.

“Tank! Kill the power!” I said and let the controls go as everything went dark.

The ship dropped about ten feet before it hit the bottom of the tunnel and it skidded for several hundred feet before it came to a stop. The ship seemed to be lodged inside a mass of debris and I added a bit more on my own and then cast a Notice-Me-Not charm on the ship.

“Everyone quiet.” Morpheus said over the open comm and complete silence filled the ship.

The Sentinels in pursuit of us flew right over us and ignored the pile of debris.

We stayed there for three hours before Morpheus felt it was safe for us to speak and move around. We wouldn't power up and leave for another hour or so.

“You're doing all the repairs by yourself.” Morpheus said to me in a stern voice.

“Thanks, boss!” I said, happily. I could finally add the modifications and upgrades that I had come up with, as long as no one was around to help or bother me.

Morpheus almost sighed at me. “We're going to talk later about you adding an unapproved gun turret.”

“You're welcome.” I said with an innocent smile. “By the way, Apoch loves it.”

“I really do!” Apoch shouted and it echoed through the ship. Switch's cute laugh echoed right behind it.

*

A week later, the ship was fixed enough to get it back to Zion, where I would overhaul it completely. Despite all of us trying to convince him not to, Neo entered the Matrix just before we left broadcast depth to test his power. He surprised everyone except me when he placed an open call to the system.

“I know you're out there. I can feel you now.” Neo said. “I know that you're afraid. You're afraid of us. You're afraid of change.”

“Geez, pretentious much?” Switch asked and Trinity gave her a pointed look.

“I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin.” Neo said. “I'm going to hang up this phone and then I'm going to show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world... without you. A world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries... a world... where anything is possible.”

“That sounded a little arrogant, too.” Tank said and a few of the others chuckled.

“Shh!” Morpheus hushed them.

“Where we go from there, I leave up to you.” Neo said and hung up the phone.

We all watched as he stepped out of the phone booth and he looked around at the mass of people around him. Neo slipped on a pair of stylish sunglasses, bent down slightly as the air seemed to ripple around him, then he took off into the air and flew under his own power.

“HOLY SHIT!” Tank yelled and everyone stared at the Matrix monitors as Neo did the whole Superman thing and flew around the city for several minutes.

“That would have been so much cooler if he had a costume.” I commented and everyone turned and stared at me instead. “What? He was in a phone booth and flew away like Superman. The first thing I thought was that he should have torn open his shirt to reveal a costume underneath.”

Only Mouse chuckled and nodded.

“That reminds me.” I said and walked over to him to put an arm over his shoulders. “Come into the medbay. I need to check you over again and make sure you're okay.”

Mouse nodded and we went into the medbay.

I sat him down on a chair and just stood there. “I hope you're ready for this.”

“I can take it, Hansen.” Mouse said, confidently. Dying and coming back to life really boosted your self confidence in this world, apparently.

“You better be.” I said with a grin as I took out the mobile emitter. “Have I got a surprise for you.”

*

Half an hour later, I had my first blowjob from a holographic woman, had programmed an engagement and a wedding ring onto her finger, and Mouse had officially retired from the crew to spend time with his new wife.

Well, the official reason was dying and not wanting to do it again, because he had to keep The Woman In Red a secret. We both knew he no longer wanted to fight because he had gotten what he always wanted. It was when I had told Mouse that she would continue to learn and have her own distinct personality eventually, that I had received the BJ from her as a thank you.

It was a surprisingly good one, too. I even praised Mouse for his programming techniques and both he and The Woman In Red beamed happy smiles at me.

*

The Nebuchadnezzar was in dry dock for only a month during its overhaul, which shocked the crew and everyone in the maintenance bay. I always did my best work when no one was around, so I had barriers built around the thing before I started working. When I was done, it was a thing of beauty.

The hoverpads were embedded into the hull and not exposed like they used to be. Six gun turrets were retracted into the hull, so that no one would know it was armed until it was too late to do anything about it. The core had been upgraded and the ship only had to come back every two months to fully recharge. I even boosted the broadcaster and increased the internal volume.

The energy shield emitters were also blacked out and well hidden, so even if something shot at the ship, it should be protected and remain hidden. I also painted it a midnight black that was so effective that even the smallest shadow would almost completely hide the outline of the ship. All in all, it was a complete success.

It was Dozer's turn to be the mechanic and he whistled at the brand new everything before he dragged me off to the side to talk privately. “Hansen, where the hell did you get all the parts?”

“I made them.” I said and he gave me an incredulous look. “I'm a fabricator, too.”

Dozer shook his head in disbelief and clapped me on the shoulder. “Cas has been waiting to get you alone since you've been home. Go tell her you're finally ready for her to have her way with you.”

I laughed as well and clapped his shoulder back. “I knew she wanted that; but, this was the first time we've all been home at the same time and could stay there together. We needed to spend the time as a family and I wasn't going to give that up for selfish reasons.”

Dozer gave me an odd look and then pulled me into a hug. “Cas was right. You really are a good man.”

“Nah, I'm a selfish bastard if you cross me.” I said and hugged him back. “Just look at Cypher.”

Dozer let me go. “I never thought he felt that way. He never said anything.”

“He probably didn't feel like one of the crew, even though people like us were right there the whole time.” I said and he nodded. It was difficult for natural people to fit in and have common ground with the crew if you couldn't do the things the others could do in the Matrix.

“Anyways, Neo and Trinity are in your old compartment...” I started to say.

“Tank told me all about them going at it the first day.” Dozer said with a laugh. “Thanks for not making me go back in there to try and clean it out.”

“Ha!” I barked. “Your new compartment is by the medbay and the pantry is filled. You need to watch Switch and Apoch, though. They sneak in and nibble at everything if you're not careful.”

“HAHAHA!” Dozer laughed loudly. “I'll keep an eye on them, just to catch them in the act! I need more good laughs.”

“And blackmail material.” I said and he nodded. “I'll see you when you get back.”

Dozer nodded and I went back over to the crew and shook the men's hands and hugged the women. When Neo complained, I puckered my lips and tried to hug him and kiss his cheek. Everyone laughed as he struggled to push me away. I stopped trying and grinned at him, wished him and the others good luck, and left the docking area.

I reached home and opened the door to see Cas was completely naked on the dining room table with her legs spread wide. “I see that a delicious meal has already been served.” I said and shut and locked the door. I walked slowly over to her and stripped off my clothes. “Dee has the kids?”

“For the weekend.” Cas purred and reached down between her legs to rub herself.

“You know, that little baby bump makes you even sexier.” I said and she moaned at the look of need on my face. I knelt and then I dove in there and she yelled her pleasure as I licked and tasted all over her.

“P-please... please...” Cas begged. “I need you, love.”

“I need you, too.” I said and stood to show her how hard I was.

Cas grabbed it and pulled me to her opening and then moaned loudly as I had to push my way inside of her, even though I had just loosened her up. She clamped down on me and gave me a look that said I better make her orgasm quickly.

I leaned over her and slid in and out at a slow pace, then I smiled at her. “I love you, Cas.”

“OHHH!” Cas yelled and came, then she rolled over onto her side and pulled me down to kiss me. She wouldn't let me stop having sex or let me take her to my bedroom until I finished at least once, so I did that for her and she hugged me tightly and kissed be tenderly a dozen times.

I took her to bed and we cuddled in together before we both drifted off to sleep.

*

My work in the maintenance bay was both pronounced and subdued. I made a huge production out of a few little innovations to distract everyone from me upgrading the automatic weapons systems from only projectiles to include energy beams as well. I had a mix of both solid beams and staggered bolts, just so any eventuality could be covered.

I even worked in several energy torpedo launchers around the main command deck and installed reactive energy shields in strategic areas. I had to be careful, because the energy converters I had access to, couldn't handle a high transfer rate. I also couldn't replace them with better ones, because the damn things were the size of a small room and the ones I could make were barely five feet long.

There was no way to sneakily replace them without someone noticing that something was different about them. The additional energy spikes were bound to show up in the monitoring station, too. I would need to hack in and hide them as power tests or something. Either that or make an entirely new power grid that was separate and work from there. I definitely had a lot more work ahead of me.

I had left ideas for Neo to 'do the superhero thing' and keep his promise to the people of the Matrix. I also gave him a nifty looking leather and armor costume with the binary symbols for 'One' on the chest. The short leather jacket let him move easier and also looked a lot better than the long cloth coat he had tried to wear at first.

Neo really enjoyed doing some 'feats of awesome' as he and the crew continued to find special people inside the Matrix to rescue. He also started training the others in the more basic moves to see what they could excel at and found out their best features almost immediately.

Morpheus was great at Strength based feats and using hand weapons. Apoch was uncanny with accurate shooting, no matter what the weapon was. Switch seemed unable to be shot at successfully, as if the bullets bent around her. She could stand in a room and have dozens of guns shoot at her, never move, and not be hit once.

Trinity was a superb fighter and her agility seemed to skyrocket as Neo trained her. She could also handle a motorcycle as if it was a part of her. The training they all went through to keep freeing their mind, definitely let them outclass the Agents that used to give them so much trouble. They still ran if Neo wasn't nearby during a mission; but, they put up a great fight before they had to leave.

During my times on the ship, I added multiple hardlines in the Matrix and made dozens of safe houses for every ship's crew to use. I also did my best to make upgrades and tested them to ensure they were viable before making them permanent.

The simulation was huge with millions of people inside, so there was always someone to save and someone needing a place to hide out from Agents. They would be brought back to Zion and given a place to live and a job, since there was lots of general work to do, especially on the upgraded farm biodomes I had created.

The times that the Nebuchadnezzar returned to the main dock, everyone paid attention to it and every captain was envious of the sleek and powerful ship. What was funny was that the captains and crews would refuse to allow me access to their ships and mainframes to give them some of the newer updates. They only wanted their own people to perform maintenance on their ships, which was shortsighted of them.

All I could do was offer help, if they refused, I wasn't going to force them. Not even the Council would override a captain's choice, since it was his ship and his crew. It's just too bad that didn't stop certain people from being jealous and envious... or angry... at the attention Morpheus was getting for both having better everything and for finding The One.

The longing looks that Niobe would give Morpheus as he gave his fantastic ship reports to the head of the military, Commander Lock, were priceless. I always had a smug look on my face and attended the meeting with Morpheus, even when I hadn't been on the ship for that shift, because I needed to be the distraction. Morpheus was too proud to be petty. So, I did it for him and was glad to.

At one point, Commander Lock tried to order Morpheus to be assigned to the docking bay in Zion, since his ship was the most advanced one in the fleet that the city had. Morpheus ignored him and walked right out of his office, despite Lock yelling at him to return and accept the order, and we went to the Council with Lock and Niobi right behind us.

Since Morpheus had spearheaded the entire resurgence of rescues, freeing more minds in the last four months than they had in the last four years combined, the Council rescinded Commander Lock's order. Lock was not happy about that and complained that he couldn't properly defend the dock if their best ship wasn't available for him to command.

I chuckled and handed over an information disc with all of the modifications and changes I had done to the dock's weapons systems. When the Council brought the information up on the room's display, Lock's mouth snapped shut and Niobi gave me a pointed look and not Morpheus.

“How did you do all of this?” Elder Hamann asked.

“Secretly and at night.” I said and everyone now gave me a pointed look. “It was the only way for me to work and not have people bothering me all the time to explain about what I was doing.”

“Even your boss?” The older black woman asked. “I used to be a mechanic myself and I can't understand some of what you've put in here.”

“That's because the base learning to become a mechanic doesn't include higher energy states or particle acceleration or manipulation.” I said and she gave me a blank look. “How to harness large amounts of power to produce a plasma beam that's powerful enough to punch through a foot thick piece of steel.”

Everyone in the room sucked in sharp breaths, even Morpheus.

“By the way, I also created a secondary and independent power grid for a separate weapon system.” I said and no one reacted. “If you want me to add them into the current defense plans...” I pointed to the display that only showed the weapons I had added to the old system. “...I'll need temporary access to one of Zion's mainframe computers.”

“Absolutely NOT!” Commander Lock shouted loudly. “Those computers are the lifeblood of this city! If anything happens to them, we are all lost!”

“Um, you do realize that every machine in Zion has a manual cutoff and an independent control system when it's not computer controlled, right?” I asked and everyone looked shocked, even the old woman mechanic. “Perhaps I should have led with that. I didn't because I thought everyone already knew.”

“No, we did not know that our equipment can be run without central computer control.” Elder Hamann said. “Perhaps you could be kind enough to give us a briefing about that and how you discovered it.”

“Sure. I'll just grab a few chairs for the others to sit on.” I said and stepped out into the hallway. I created three nice chairs and carried them back into the room. “Morpheus.” I said and gave him one, put one down for Niobi and bowed slightly for her to sit, then I plunked the last one down for Commander Lock.

Everyone gave me their full attention, probably because there were no chairs in the hallway for me to bring in. I took out Eye and they all perked up at the sight of it. Eye took over the display and it changed to say 'Mechanical Information 101'.

“For nearly any large piece of machinery, there's usually a cut-off switch near the power cord or power receptacle, or even near the battery compartment if it needs batteries or has a battery backup.” I said and then continued to give them all a great presentation on what they had asked for.

Half an hour later, I was done and they all had a new appreciation for my deductive skills. I also went into the hallway and created refreshments for everyone, including drinks and baskets of fruit. They all stared at me, even Morpheus, because they all knew there was no way I had all of that in the hallway.

“So, is there anything else you want to know?” I asked.

“Where are you getting this fruit?” The older white woman asked. “We haven't had access to a banana tree in over fifteen years.”

I tapped Eye's screen and he brought up the new food production areas and the things that were available or would soon be. “I've been indulging in my side hobby of farming. It's taken a bit to adapt a few of the tricky crops to grow in this environment, until I remembered I knew a lot about biodomes and creating artificial growing environments.”

The older white woman looked me up and down. “I regret that I am no longer able to bear children.”

“I'm about to have one with Cas, the wife of Dozer. We're a family and...”

“Now I deeply regret it.” She said and smiled. “Your genes need to be propagated.”

“I don't think Cas would approve of...”

“It's not her decision.” An older black woman said and her eyes went to Niobi. “My daughter is...”

“No, thanks.” I said and interrupted her, to her surprise. “She left Morpheus because she thought he was wasting his time pursuing his lifelong ambition, only to choose someone who already achieved it. She's now stagnating and really regrets her decision, because her choice has no real passion anymore.”

“Excuse me?!?” Lock asked angrily as he stood to confront me.

“Anger is not passion, or desire, or even love. You've sat by her for almost an hour now and not once have you looked at her, touched her, taken her hand, or spoken her name.” I said and that made everyone exchange looks, especially Niobi's mother with her daughter. “When I'm near Cas, I have to fight my feelings to not hold her in my arms and to never let her go. I always sneak kisses on her when I'm close enough to touch her.”

Niobi gave Morpheus a pointed look and he successfully didn't give her the satisfaction of returning it.

“I'm not someone that just casually has sex with someone or tries to break people up. If I was, I would have had both Trinity and Switch a week after meeting them.” I said.

“That's pretty arrogant of you.” The older white woman said.

“No, it's just the truth.” I said and tucked Eye behind my back. I formed my hands into fists and brought up my Chi power and filled the room almost instantly. The men felt uncomfortable and the women felt comforted, so I combined the Force with it and gently hugged the women in the room.

“Mmm.” The older white woman moaned and her hands went to her sagging chest. “How... how are you doing that?”

“Neo's not the only one that's developing powers outside of the Matrix.” I said and they all gasped, so I let the power fade. “Morpheus is stronger than he had been, Trinity can fight like a professional, and Apoch never misses whatever he shoots.”

“Is this true?” Elder Hamann asked.

Morpheus nodded his head. “I'm about 30% stronger and my muscles have increased in mass.”

I did not tell him that it was because I had been tweaking the psychosomatic coding to do that. If the mind makes it real when you're damaged, why shouldn't it work when you exercise?

“I know it will be embarrassing; but, we wish to see proof of that.” Niobi's mother said.

Morpheus didn't hesitate as he stood and carefully took off his sweater and then his long sleeved t-shirt to place on his chair. They all stared at Morpheus and his pretty defined muscles. He had been like Dozer and only kind of looked strong and only had minor definition. Now, he looked sculpted and the lights of the room highlighted the changes he had gone through in four months.

I wasn't surprised when both Niobi's mother and Niobi licked their lips in a similar manner. Neither was Morpheus. He didn't say a word and put the undershirt on and then the sweater before he sat back down.

“The Council has a lot to discuss and to think about.” Elder Hamann said. “Hansen, if you could leave the extra information with us, we will make a decision as soon as possible about granting you limited access to one of the city's less used mainframes.”

“Thank you, Elder. Your consideration was all I could have asked for.” I said and bowed slightly.

“Morpheus, our previous decision stands. The Nebuchadnezzar is, and always has been, your ship to do with as you wish.” Elder Hamann said.

“Thank you, Councillor.” Morpheus said and bowed slightly.

“With the formalities over, we want the both of you to keep doing what you're doing.” The older white woman said. “You've helped humanity a lot more than any normal captain and mechanic ever has.” She walked over to me and looked up at me from her height of five foot six.

“Dammit, you just had to be the perfect height.” I said and she smiled wickedly.

“I believe I will be visiting your family later, Hansen.” She said and adjusted the scarf around her neck. She didn't say anything else and nodded to Morpheus as she walked by and left the room.

“Cas isn't going to be surprised, even if you don't warn her.” Morpheus said and pat my shoulder as we left behind the older woman. “Thank you for your support today.”

“I'm just fulfilling my duty as the best crew member that's not having a ton of fun inside the Construct and the Matrix.” I joked and he smiled. “You've all made great progress.”

“We have and it's all thanks to you.” Morpheus said.

“Morpheus, the Oracle didn't tell you how you would track The One down, just that you would.”

Morpheus nodded and came to a stop. “How much longer would I have had to search? A month? A year?” He grabbed my shoulders. “Even if you only sped up the process, it's worked out very well for all of us, so thank you.”

“I can't say you're welcome, because I did it for selfish reasons.” I said with a smile and he smiled back. “Now you better run. Niobi and her mother are coming.”

Morpheus lost the smile, gave my shoulders a squeeze, and very quickly walked away.

“Ladies.” I said to them and bowed slightly to waylay them, just long enough for Morpheus to escape, then I walked away as well.

*

To my utter surprise, Cas welcomed the Council member into our home for supper and then welcomed her into my bed. To say that the older woman was happy about that, was an understatement. The meal of great tasting food had definitely got her into the mood, then we were in my bed and rolling around like a pair of teenagers having fun for the first time.

Of course, I healed her of all her ailments while we were having sex and even gave her regeneration for the evening to let her enjoy being ravaged even more than she had when she was younger. There was a reason that older women were considered to be in their sexual prime and she showed me that she had become excited by me long before seeing that my muscles were even more defined than the ones Morpheus had.

The Council member stayed all night and we had another romp in the morning. We all had breakfast together and when we were done eating, I offered to escort her back to her room. The older woman accepted and thanked Cas for the hospitality. We left the room with the Council member hanging on my arm and everyone gave us questioning looks.

“I'm sure they can tell I've been thoroughly bred.” The older woman said with a light laugh. “I'm not sure how I can feel twenty years younger after what we did, though.”

“Magic.” I said and she laughed and hugged my arm.

“I really enjoyed the pancakes. Can I have the recipe?” She asked.

“I'll do better than that.” I said and pulled out a copy of the cooking pan from inside my jacket.

“You delightful man.” She said with a pleased smile. “Are you sure you want to continue staying with Cas and Dozer? My rooms are awfully small.”

“As tempting as you are while being the perfect height for me to cuddle.” I said and took her into my arms and showed her that she really did slot perfectly into my body shape. “I have a child on the way and that's going to take up a lot of my time.”

“You're retiring from ship duty?” She asked.

I nodded. “My family comes first. I've earned enough perks that I never have to work again if I don't want to.”

“You want to.” She said as both a statement and an order.

I bent down slightly to kiss her. “I'm going to have a lot of free time to play around. Who knows what I'll come up with to help protect the last cradle of humanity?”

The older woman smiled and nodded. We walked on to her place and I set up the cooker, then did up a huge dispenser like for the protein slurry and filled it with pancake batter.

“I think I've fallen in love with you.” She said and hugged me from behind.

I chuckled and pat her hands. “Enjoy it.” I said and turned around to kiss her deeply. “Once the baby is a few months old, I'm sure that Cas will be more than happy to accept hosting you for another meal.”

She smiled widely. “I look forward to it with anticipation, my dear Hansen.”

I left her room and went back home. I was greeted like normal by being tackled by the kids, hugged by Dozer, and kissed by Cas. We spent the whole day together and it was a great day.

The next day I was given full access to Zion's mainframe and not the limited access I had asked for. The Council member that I had thoroughly pleasured had overruled her counterparts and given me her personal access codes. As I made her scream my name, Eye had a wonderful time pilfering the system and getting us the information we needed.

*

Cas gave birth to a beautiful little girl that looked just like her, which made her squeal with delight as if she was a little girl herself. Of course, I assisted with the birth and it was both quick and painless. I also healed Cas up and ensured that everything was back to normal with her body. She only missed one day of work because of it, despite everyone in the medical wing telling her to go home.

It soon became a normal thing to see Cas doing her rounds with the patients with baby Hope clung to her breast. It seemed to give everyone a sense of rightness and made them all happier to see a new child being born into these dark times. And they were getting darker. More attacks from Sentinels, more Agents inside the Matrix, and more people crowding up the already crowded living areas.

I used my powers and the information from Zion's mainframe computers to make another underground tower of apartments and living areas. I hooked everything up into a self-enclosed system, rather than tie everything into the existing and quite strained machines that were used to keep everything going, like water, heat distribution, food production, and power systems. I couldn't do much for those existing systems, because they were already at their limits.

I didn't take credit for the new tower and just let the information out about a new tower being found and opened for people to move into. The scramble for more space would have been funny to watch if it wasn't such a desperation move. It started with only single people at first and then entire families moved their things over into the specially designed family suites.

Neither Dozer nor I were surprised that Cas didn't want to move into the new tower. We were at home already and we were going to stay there, especially now that there was less foot traffic and the population had spread out. Of course, me being a stay at home dad definitely helped the family be happy.

My side projects were coming along nicely as well, now that the tower had been completed and I could dedicate my time to them exclusively. I knew they would be needed soon and I worked my ass off at night to get them done.

*

Four months after Hope's birth, Niobi was the captain on her own ship and had called a meeting of all the active ships inside the Matrix. She had recovered very disturbing news about what the machines were doing and wanted to inform the other captains in person.

The news was that 250,000 Sentinels were digging their way down through the Earth's crust towards the underground city of Zion and would reach it in only three days. Niobe also told them that Commander Lock, the head of Zion's military, had ordered them all to return to Zion to defend the city.

It was unfortunate that the Agents of the system took note of the extra activity of so many people gathering together in an abandoned building. Three agents were dispatched to investigate and they arrived on the scene only a few minutes after the meeting had started.

Neo intercepted them to allow the other attendants to escape to their exits; but, not before Morpheus made an impassioned plea for one of them to stay, in defiance of Lock's orders, just so there would be someone still in the Matrix for the Oracle to make contact with. He would have stayed himself; but, his ship needed to be recharged.

“Goddammit, Morpheus. You ain't never gonna change.” One of the captains said with a slight smile. “I'll do it just to see what that boy does to you. You have 36 hours.”

*

I stood beside Captain MiFune and he was just as amused as I was by the three burly security guards that Commander Lock had ordered to escort Morpheus to him as soon as the ship docked. The ramp lowered on the Nebuchadnezzar and Morpheus led the crew down it, then he paused when he saw us.

“Captain MiFune.” Morpheus said and glanced at the guards. “Are you here to escort me to the stockade?”

“I'm just here to keep the peace.” The amused captain responded.

“I'm just here to see the fireworks.” I said and Tank and Dozer chuckled.

“Commander Lock demands...” The guard in front spat at Morpheus.

Captain MiFune lightly coughed.

“...requests your immediate council, sir.” The guard amended.

“Tank, I want the ship charged and ready to go as soon as humanly possible.” Morpheus said and handed him his bag.

“Yes, sir.” Tank said and accepted the bag.

Morpheus nodded to Captain MiFune and we all walked away from the ship. It wasn't that long of a walk to Lock's office, thankfully. The guards tried to stop me from entering behind Morpheus and I walked around them and slipped inside.

Lock tried to ignore us for a few moments before he stopped playing with the papers on his desk. “Morpheus, I've spoken to the other captains and I wanted to offer you the chance to explain your actions.”

“I wasn't aware that my actions required any explanation.” Morpheus responded.

“You were given a direct order to return to Zion.”

“I did.” Morpheus said calmly.

“But, you asked for one ship to remain behind.”

“I would have stayed; but, I needed to recharge my ship.”

“So, you admit to a direct contravention of your duty.” Lock said, almost with satisfaction.

“Commander, we need a presence inside the Matrix to await contact from the Oracle...”

“I don't want to hear that shit!” Lock said angrily and leaned forward. “I don't care about oracles, or prophecies, or messiahs! I care about one thing. Stopping the machines from destroying this city... and to do that, I need soldiers to obey my orders.”

“With all due respect, commander.” Morpheus said. “There is only one way to save our city.” He paused dramatically. “Neo.”

“Goddammit, Morpheus! Not everyone believes what you believe!”

“My beliefs do not require them to.”

Lock sat back in his chair. “I'm going to recommend to the Council that you be removed from duty.”

“That is, of course, your prerogative, commander.”

“If it were up to me, captain...” Lock slowly stood up. “...you wouldn't set foot on a ship for the rest of your life.”

“Then I am grateful that it is not up to you.” Morpheus said.

Lock was about to speak when his office hatch opened and Elder Hamann stepped inside. “Councillor Hamann.”

“Commander.” Elder Hamann said and looked at Morpheus. “Captain.”

Morpheus bowed slightly. “Councillor.”

“Hello, Hansen.” Elder Hamann said with a smile.

“Elder.” I said and bowed slightly. “Are you enjoying the soreness creme?”

Elder Hamann chuckled. “Both I and my wife are, thank you.”

I smiled and nodded before he turned to look at Commander Lock.

“The Council has asked me to speak tonight at the Temple Gathering. The presence of the fleet and the persistence of rumors must be addressed.” Elder Hamann said. “The people must be told what is happening.”

“Of course, Councillor.” Lock said. “But, might I advise a level of discretion concerning the specific details. We do not wish to start a panic.”

“Quite right. A panic is not what anyone wants.” Elder Hamann said and looked at Morpheus. “What about you, Captain? What would you advise?”

Morpheus paused dramatically before he spoke. “The truth. No one will panic because there is nothing to fear. That army will never reach the gates of Zion.”

“What makes you so sure?” Elder Hamann asked.

“Consider what we have done during the last eight months. We have freed more minds than we have in the last eight years. This attack is an act of desperation. I believe that very soon the prophecy will be fulfilled and this war will end.”

“I hope you're right, captain.” Elder Hamann said.

“I do not believe it is a matter of hope, councillor. It is simply a matter of time.” Morpheus said.

I waited a moment before I spoke. “And supreme firepower.” I added and the three men turned to look at me. “You don't think I've been sitting on my ass and doing nothing for the last six months, do you?”

“I'm... not sure what to say to that.” Elder Hamann said.

I laughed softly and reached out to grip his shoulder briefly. “The rave tonight is going to be one for the record books. We can worry about saving the world in the morning.”

The three men nodded and the meeting ended. Barely an hour later, Morpheus was not removed from command and instead had been asked to speak at the Temple Gathering. He accepted graciously.

*

I had set up cameras inside the main temple halls before the gathering and hooked them up to the big display in our home. The kids had been sent to bed and I cast sleep spells on them to make sure they didn't see or hear anything that they weren't supposed to.

Cas hadn't been able to attend a gathering since the new year celebration and Dozer and I decided to give her a little rave party of our own. It didn't take much to clear the living room out and set things up for her. When she came home from working at the hospital, she almost fainted at the room's transformation.

Dozer gave her a great little outfit to wear and after she changed and came out to the living room, she started to drool at Dozer and I wearing just shorts and nothing else. The three of us huddled together and watched the Elder's Prayer and then cheered when Morpheus was announced. He gave his impassioned speech about humanity surviving for a hundred years against the machines, and we cheered again when he was done.

Then the tribal music started.

It was subtle at first, then it picked up and increased in intensity. The people on the screen danced normally for a while, then they started to get a bit out of hand. Cas was right there with them and the three of us danced together, with Dozer and I caressing Cas all over. Her eyes smouldered as she caressed us back, rubbed herself all over us, and our sweat combined to make her burn with desire.

Cas kissed Dozer, kissed me, then pulled off her see-through top and put our heads onto her bare breasts. She moaned loudly as we suckled and played with her, driving her crazy, because it was the first time we had shared her at the same time like that. The look of utter desire on her face drove Dozer and I to give her the best Temple Gathering experience of her life.

Cas was soon on her hands and knees and had me in her mouth while Dozer plowed into her from behind. She was frantic to have the both of us like this, because she knew that we were both hers to do with as she pleased... and oh boy, did she want to be pleased. She demanded that we have her in every way possible and Dozer and I were more than happy to do that for her.

In fact, she didn't want it to end and kept us going at it nearly all night. She rode me and sucked off Dozer, then she let him take her slowly in her rear while I slowly took her from the front. Her screams of pleasure and the amount of orgasms she had from that alone, almost knocked her out. We stopped to let her recover a little, then we really got going inside of her.

Every position she wanted us to do her in, we did, and she had yelled so much that she could no longer speak and would only hum and moan for us as she used hand gestures to tell us what to do next.

By the morning, we were just a big sweaty pile of unconscious flesh on the floor.

*

I hopped into my reformatted ship that afternoon. It only had a cockpit and no other spots for human habitation, because it was so overloaded with weapon systems that there was no room for anything except a pilot. I had built the thing in secret behind a false wall in the docking bay and now it was time for me to deal with the machines.

I powered up the ship and then hit the release on the false wall and it opened up into the main docking bay. It gained a lot of attention from the soldiers on duty and a dozen mech walkers had their massive guns drawn and came over to where I was.

I turned on the outside speakers. “Hey, fellas. It's just me, Hansen. Do you like my new ship?”

“Hansen!” Captain MiFune exclaimed. “What are you doing?”

“I'm taking the fight to them, sir.” I said and put the ship into hover mode. “Excuse me.” I said and eased the ship out of the makeshift docking bay and then hit the button to close the false wall.

“Wait!” Captain MiFune said.

“I delayed this morning because of Cas and her needs.” I said and flew the ship over to the main bay doors. “I can't wait any longer and I have got to go.”

“Unauthorized ship, this is Hanger Bay control.” A woman's voice said as I hovered there.

“I'm fully authorized by a Council member.” I responded. “You just don't have the clearance to see it.”

“Wh-what?” She asked, surprise in her voice.

“I'm way over your pay grade, sweetheart.” I said. “Want to open the door for me and let me out?”

“I cannot open the bay doors! The bay is completely secured for the incoming threat!”

“Well, I asked politely.” I said and hit the button to send the proper commands. The locks opened up and the counterweight shifted on the enormous chain and pulley system to open the bay doors.

“Oh, my god! The hangar bay doors are opening! Someone do something!” The woman shouted.

“I am doing something. I'm leaving.” I said as I turned the ship onto its side and eased out through the opening. “Have a nice day.” I said and sent the commands to shut and re-secure the doors.

“What the hell just happened?” She asked.

“Command override.” I said and increased speed to fly down the large tunnel.

“Why aren't the defensive guns firing?” She asked me.

“IFF protocols.” I said.

“What's that?”

“Identify Friend or Foe. The computers talk back and forth and if you're a friend, you pass by unharmed. Don't answer or answer wrongly, ba-da-boom.” I said.

“When did we get that installed?”

“About four months ago.” I said and she didn't respond. “It's all automated, so you don't need to worry about it.”

“Wait a second, how are we still talking? You're already several miles away.”

“I upgraded the communications equipment.” I said. “I also had to cheat and leave relay stations all over the place and not use a satellite like I wanted, because of the scorched sky.”

“But... but... how is it still working? It sounds like you're calling from the next room!”

“I've got a lot of experience with programming.” I said and stopped my laugh before it escaped. That was such an understatement. It was like saying Eye was only a security device. “Anyways, I have to go. As soon as I reach broadcast depth, I should see a lot of machines and I need to decide if I want to fight through them or take another route and drop in from above.”

“You're crazy!” She exclaimed.

“No doubt.” I said and laughed. “Have a good day, miss. Hansen out.”

As I flew on, I realized that I had lucked out and the route I had chosen took me just past the main area where the Sentinels were furiously digging. Just as I reached one of the main subway tunnels that would bring me right over to where they were, there was an incoming signal from someone calling me.

“Hansen here.” I said when I accepted the call.

“Hansen! What the hell do you think you're doing?!?” Cas asked in a shout.

“There's no need to yell, love. I can hear you just fine.”

“Hansen!” Cas spat.

“I'm just taking the fight to the machines.” I said. “No one comes to my home and threatens my family.”

“Hansen, that's admirable... and completely beside the point!” Cas said. “Why did you call Jan sweetheart? Are you trying to bring someone new into the family? Don't you love me enough?”

I was completely stunned by the turn of the conversation. “Cas, I... it was a joke. I was trying to distract her and to get her to open the bay doors. I didn't mean anything by it.”

“Oh, great! Now you've hurt her feelings.” Cas said and crying could be heard in the background. “You're really going to get it when you come home!”

“I'm sorry, Cas. I'll apologize to Jan in person as soon as I'm back inside the dock.” I promised.

“Oh? And what about me?” Cas asked, quite pointedly.

I knew exactly what to say to that. “I recorded the Temple Gathering and we can watch it again this weekend.”

The silence was almost deafening and it lasted for almost thirty seconds.

“You're lucky I love you so much.” Cas said in a whisper.

I held in my sigh of relief as I flew at a high speed through the unblocked subway tunnels. “I'm about to meet the main Sentinel force. I have to go and concentrate on the attack.”

“You're still going to get it when you get back here.” Cas said in a normal voice.

“I surely deserve it.” I agreed. “See you soon. Hansen out.”

*

The machines didn't know what hit them.

Unidentified energy beams tore through them like tissue paper. Some kind of disintegration bombs destroyed thousands of them at a time. Plasma bolts ripped apart the digging machines. Odd explosions that had no detectable source blew apart the monitoring machines.

Then an open comm signal came from the shadows and no scanners could detect anything there.

“I am giving you one chance to retreat.” A deep male voice said. “If you do not cease and desist immediately, I will unleash my most deadly weapon.”

A thousand cutting lasers poured into the shadows and tried to hit whatever it was. It didn't work.

“I'm not stupid enough to broadcast from my ship.” A different shadow said. “Was that your answer? Defiant and random shooting? I thought AIs were supposed to be intelligent.”

“You are... only human.” A mechanical voice filled the space.

“Yeah, that's where you're wrong.” The deep voice responded. “I am an amalgam of dozens of heroes and their powers. I'll allow one of you to flee right now to warn the others.”

None of the machines moved.

“Very well. I'll send them a recording of your deaths.” The deep voice said. “Spirit Bomb.”

A bright light lit up the tunnel that the machines were digging and they all looked up to see a lone human that stood on top of a pitch black ship.

“Taste the righteousness of 250,000 people that just want to be left alone.” The man said and threw the huge ball down into the mass of machines.

A second later, it exploded.

*

“Whew, that was close.” I said as I stood on top of the ship after apparating with it into the sky above the hole that the machines had dug.

The bright light of the exploding Spirit Bomb blasted out of the hole and then it spread out and took three miles of earth and wrecked buildings with it. When the light finally faded, it looked like one of the massive craters on the moon.

I smiled at that, because it was the perfect shape for a biodome. I had thought to just fill the thing with the wreckage of the old world and changed my mind. This could be the start of mankind reclaiming some of the Earth. Of course, it would need defenses and protections galore; but, I had been doing things like that for centuries and had gotten very good at it.

I was glad that there was no one around to see what I was about to do.

*

I made it back to Zion just within the 36 hour time limit and flew my ship in through the hanger bay doors that I had activated remotely. I wasn't surprised to see the Nebuchadnezzar was just leaving to make their rendezvous.

“Hey, guys. Have fun.” I said over an open comm channel.

“Hansen? What kind of ship is that?” Tank asked.

“It's a new assault version of the Nebuchadnezzar. It only needs a pilot and it's just all weapons.”

“Jesus!” Tank spat. “How do you aim the guns if its just you?”

“Aim them?” I asked with a laugh. “I just turn them on and let them wreck everything.”

“You're joking, right?” Tanks asked, worried.

“Yeah. It wouldn't be very effective if it was really like that.” I said. “Say hi to everyone for me.”

“Hansen, we're going to visit the Oracle and...”

“I know. I regret that I can't meet her myself.” I said. “It would be interesting to hear what she could predict for someone that wasn't plugged into her systems.”

“That... damn, now I'm wondering, too.” Tank said.

I laughed. “Shoot straight, fly fast, and aim to misbehave.”

“Thanks, Hansen. Tank out.”

I flew down to where my false wall was and it was blocked by several pieces of heavy machinery and a squad of mech soldiers, so I turned on the external speakers. “You guys are lucky that I hold nothing against good soldiers just following orders.”

Captain MiFune saluted with a large mechanical hand. “Bay seven, the one that was just vacated.”

“Thanks.” I said and whipped my ship around and landed in only a few seconds. The cockpit opened up, I hopped out, and it closed behind me. The mechs led by Captain MiFune walked across the dock to where I was.

“You have some explaining to do.” Captain MiFune said.

“Sure, I just need to stop at main communications first.” I said and walked off.

“Hansen, you need to visit the Council immediately.” He said and slowly walked behind me.

“You know, if you let me play with those things to fix them, I can get them moving as if they are like your real bodies.” I commented and ignored his order. “Of course, you'd have to learn to balance them properly and not lock them in place to shoot.”

“What are you talking about?” Captain MiFune asked.

“More efficient mech suits.” I said and didn't bother knocking on the door to the comm room. The guards there raised their guns at me. “Relax, I'm here to see Jan first thing, just as I promised.”

“Wait, what? You were serious about that?” A female voice said from one of the recliners.

I walked over to her and looked down at her. She had a pretty face surrounded by short brown hair and she had a great body. She was also jacked into the Construct used to run the docking bay's mechanisms and communications.

“I would like to formally apologize for my actions and to ask for your forgiveness.” I said and hit the commands on her display to eject her safely.

“Hey! You can't do that!” The man at the operator's station exclaimed.

“Considering I just did, you're wrong.” I said and pulled out the brain interface device.

Jan blinked her eyes and then they widened when she saw that I had ejected her. “Why did you...”

I pulled her out of the chair and stood her up to hug her and to check her height, glad to see that she was five foot five. “Are you seeing anyone right now?”

“No, I... I'm too busy to...”

“I'm sorry for calling you a term of endearment when I didn't know you personally or your situation. I just assumed a woman with such a great voice had someone in her life and it was safe to flirt with you.”

Jan's face flushed red. “I... it was... shocking.”

“I know, and I'm sorry.” I said. “If Cas allows it, would you like to visit this weekend and watch the Temple Gathering with us? I don't want you to think that I don't find you desirable, because I do. I just wasn't thinking of the consequences of my words at the time.”

“Are you doing that now?” Jan asked and blushed again.

I smiled at her and leaned down to give her a kiss. “What Cas said really had me thinking while I was out. Also, the Council reminded me of something that I had forgotten about.”

Jan looked into my eyes and nodded slightly.

“Excellent. I'll ask Cas as soon as the Council is done berating me for helping to save everyone.” I said and she looked surprised. “Oh, you didn't hear that from me. Council secrets and all that.”

“O-okay.” Jan said and glanced around to see all the people in the control room staring at us.

I smirked at her and gave her another kiss before I let her go. “I'll load you back in and you can get back to work.”

Jan nodded and I did just that.

“I'm sorry for the temporary disruption to your work, everyone. I'll send over a basket of fresh fruit and vegetables for each of you.”

A few of them clapped and most nodded. They all knew what that would cost in rations and they appreciated it. I left the room and Captain MiFune was out of his mech suit. I nodded to him and he escorted me to the Council Chambers where I wasn't surprised to see Commander Lock and all of the ship captains as an audience.

As soon as the hatch shut behind be, everyone on the Council tried to speak at once. I just stood there and waited for them all to tire themselves out or run out of breath. It took about ten minutes before the one I had slept with stood up and hushed everyone.

“Hansen, how do you plead to the charges against you?” She asked me.

“It depends on what the charges are.” I said and she looked angry. “I honestly didn't hear a thing with everyone yelling and shouting. I figured I'd ask what was wrong when you were all shouted out.”

She took a deep breath and let it out. “Theft, coersion, breaching defensive protocols, endangering the people of Zion, aiding a fugitive, and a bunch of others that will be added when we think of them.”

“Well, considering you're the people making all the decisions and Commander Lock seems to look happy, I doubt I'll get an actual trial or anything, right?”

“That's right now.” Lock said with satisfaction. “How do you plead?”

“That depends. I need the weekend to spend with my family.” I said.

“You are in no position to make demands!” Lock said.

“Hansen.” The woman I slept with gave me a pleading look.

“I'm tempted to plead innocent and let you provide all the evidence needed to try and prove me guilty.” I said and she sighed. “Instead, I plead guilty on all charges, even the made up ones Lock should have added, even though I am a civilian and not a part of his military forces.”

That made most of the Council and the members of the audience catch their breath.

“Forgot that little tidbit, did you?” I asked with a chuckle. “It doesn't matter. Go ahead and sentence me.”

The Council gathered together and quickly discussed things, then went back to their chairs.

“It is the decision of this Council that you be held in close confinement until such time that you are no longer a danger to humanity.” Elder Hamann said.

“So, forever?” I asked and he looked surprised. “I'm not stupid. You all know some of what I can do and you're scared, just like the machines are afraid of Neo, and you're using any excuse to lock me away. You don't want to worry about what I'll do next.”

“I'm sorry, Hansen.” The Council woman said, sadly. “Guards, take him away.”

“Just so you know, I'm still spending the weekend with my family. I've never broken my word before and I'm not going to do it now.”

“You will not be allowed to leave confinement.” Commander Lock said.

“Who said I wanted your permission?” I asked and he looked surprised. “I was telling you I'll be out on the weekend and will return when my date is over.”

“You are a prisoner and you have no rights.” Lock said.

“Are you going to starve me and only feed me protein slurry?” I asked as the three guards surrounded me. “Did you know that I've personally quadrupled the food production of this facility?”

“Yes, I know.” Lock said. “The danger you represent is not worth the benefits you offer.”

I laughed and walked over to the door with the guards escorting me. “Just for that, I'll let you watch what I did while I was gone... after Neo and Morpheus come back from their mission.”

“What did you do?” The Council woman asked.

“I took the fight to the machines, just like I told Jan when I left on my ship.” I said and looked at Lock. “By the way, my personal ship will self-destruct if you try to break into it to steal it.”

No sooner had the words left my mouth when an alarm went off and a loud explosion shook the walls.

“Never mind.” I said as the front guard opened the hatch. “If the Council was smart, they'd charge Commander Idiot with theft and destruction of private property, not to mention all the damage done to the dock.”

Everyone rushed by me to go to the dock and the guards took me deep into the main facility to the stockade. They put me in the very last cell.

“I hope you rot in here.” One of the guards said. “You probably killed a hundred people at the dock.”

“Nope, not a single person was killed. If stupidity was a reason to kill people, do you really think I'd be in here right now?” I asked and he slammed the hatch closed and locked it. “Oh, right. You wouldn't have been here to see it.”

The man let out a grunt and banged the door before the three guards walked away.

I cast silence on the door as I took Eye out and looked at the display. “Nice going, my friend.”

“Beep beep.”

I chuckled. “Good point.” I tapped my comm badge. “Hansen to Cas.”

“Hansen!” Cas gasped. “Where are you?”

“The stockade. They gave me life in prison for destroying the machine army and saving everyone.”

“WHAT?!?” Cas yelled.

“They wrapped it all up in a bunch of charges like theft and aiding Morpheus escape. He's gone to let Neo meet with the Oracle.”

“Oh, Hansen.” Cas sighed.

“It's okay. I told them I had a date with you this weekend.”

“That's not how life imprisonment works, Hansen.”

“They were going to keep me whatever I pleaded as a defense, anyway.” I said and had Eye send her a copy of the footage. “Watch that and wait until tomorrow before you give it to the Council. I want to laugh at them suffering as they worry about the army breaking through into Zion.”

“Hansen, everyone is worrying about that.” Cas said.

“Then send it along to our friends and family. There's no need for them to worry about anything.”

“You really... why?”

“They were busy being angry at me and putting me in prison before they even asked what I left to do. How stupid is that?”

Cas sighed. “You're lucky I love you so much.”

“I really am.” I said. “Oh, and I told Jan I'd ask you if it's okay to have her over to watch the Temple Gathering.”

“Hansen...”

“Dozer's going to be busy, you know that.” I said.

“All right, I'll tell her.”

“Thank you, love.” I said. “It's the best apology to make up for my actions.”

“What if the guards try to interrupt?” Cas asked.

“No one will bother us for the entire length of our date. I guarantee it.”

“I'll hold you to that.” Cas said seductively.

“Dammit, you got me hard already.” I said and she laughed.

“See you then. Cas out.”

“Beep boop boop.” Eye said.

“Yep, let's have some fun diving into the archive libraries. I apparently have a ton of free time and nothing to do but browse.”

Eye said a long string of beeps and boops.

“No, we should only... actually, you know what? Let's do it. I doubt anyone reads them anyway. Let's have a lot of fun adding sarcastic comments to everything.”

“Beep.”

“Ha! You're on. Let the War of Word Pranks begin!”

*

That night, a weary Commander Lock had narrowly avoided being imprisoned beside the other prisoner and he collapsed into bed. He had sent Niobi and two other ships to bring the Nebuchadnezzar back to Zion to defend the city, now that a good portion of their hovercraft were damaged from his own mistake.

Lock sighed and rolled over to set his alarm and cursed, because the digital display said 'BOOB' and it couldn't be changed.

*

“Ooo, time out. This is it.” I said and Eye and I watched the footage of Neo entering the door to the Source.

The Architect went on and on and it wasn't until he gave Neo the choice of which door to go through, after telling him the machines had almost reached Zion, that I decided to ensure he chose right.

I tapped my comm badge. “Hansen to Neo.”

Neo froze and then slowly tapped his badge. “This isn't a good time to talk, Hansen. I'm in the middle of something right now.”

“I know. I've been laughing my ass off as that white haired bastard pontificated with so many big words that you could swear his parents were a drunk dictionary and a tech manual.”

Neo smiled and the Architect looked offended.

“Anyways, I just wanted to correct his wrong assumption that Zion is being destroyed. I stalled their army, so you can go and save Trinity instead.” I said.

“Thanks, Hansen.”

“Don't thank me, Neo. Trinity's getting her ass kicked by an upgraded Agent. Get moving now!”

“On it! Neo out.” Neo said and tapped his comm badge, flipped a double middle finger at the Architect, and did his Superman flying thing to smash through the door to save Trinity.

“That's always so cool to see.” I whispered as Neo flew almost faster than the eye could see and created a whirlwind behind him and sucked up cars, mailboxes, dumpsters, and debris behind him. “It's horrible for property damage; but, it's still cool.”

Neo swooped in and caught Trinity before she slammed into the pavement. He slowed down and landed on a nearby building's rooftop. “You're not shot?”

Trinity snorted. “Awesome agility that matches yours, remember? The damn Agent grabbed me and I couldn't completely dodge his punches and kicks.”

Neo smiled and nodded. “Let's get out of here. I need to report to Morpheus what the Architect told me.”

“The who?” Trinity asked.

“I'll explain it all when we jack out.” Neo said and picked her up again.

“Neo...” Trinity started to say something.

“I like holding you like this.” Neo said and kissed her, then he flew off with a happy Trinity in his arms.

I changed the display back to the hacking screen. “Time-out's over. Let's keep having fun, Eye.”

“Beep beep.”

“Yeah, I wonder who the Council will send as an envoy.” I said and laid back on the comfy bed I had created for myself. “Assuming they bother to send anyone.”

“Boop.”

I snorted and then laughed. “Nope, it definitely won't be me. I've got a date!”

*

All of the people in Zion were nervous as the Nebuchadnezzar entered the main hangar bay doors and then waited anxiously as the crew met with the Council to discuss things. Once it was decided to prepare fully to defend the docks and Zion from the machine army, the evacuation signal was given to move the civilians into the best and easiest to defend place, the Temple Gathering cave.

Cas had her sister Dee and Dee's husband Link take the kids and had them go with everyone else. Once they were gone, she called Hansen and she gasped when he just appeared with a low cracking sound in the living room. She drooled when she saw that he was wearing just the shorts once more and then she called Jan.

A few minutes later, Jan entered the apartment and she caught her breath at the changed living room. Cas handed her a see through outfit and she blushed as she accepted it and went into the bathroom to change. Cas and Hansen shared a laugh at the woman's startled shout at the bathroom's contents, then Jan came out.

“I'm glad you accepted my apology.” Hansen said and started the recording, then he and Cas started dancing together.

When the music started to pick up, they both held hands out to Jan, who didn't hesitate and slid in between them to add her own dancing to their movements. Hands slid all over and the three of them really got into it as the music thrummed through them loudly. Fingers soon got caught in the edges of clothing and the three of them were naked.

Jan was the first to moan with pleasure when Hansen dropped to between her legs and kissed her there while Cas kissed her on the mouth. She hugged Cas with one arm and her other one hugged Hansen's head. When she moaned her first orgasm, Cas led her to the couch and laid her down as she waited for Hansen to slip his prominent erection into Jan's eager womanhood.

Cas straddled Jan's face and moaned herself as the very happy Jan ferociously ate her out. Cas kissed Hansen as he had sex with her friend, then she laid down and licked Jan and Hansen at the same time.

“Oh, damn!” Hansen gasped and then he was pouring himself into a surprised Jan and a pleased Cas.

“I knew you needed me to do it properly.” Cas said and licked her lips, then she pulled Hansen out of Jan and sucked him off to clean him. She laid down and pulled Jan on top of her to kiss her as Hansen entered her own eager womanhood.

Both women moaned as Hansen played with Jan's soaked opening and slid in and out of Cas. His free hand groped both women's breasts and the contrasts of Cas' dark skin against Jan's pearly white, was beautiful in his eyes. He had to fill the both of them with his expulsions! He just had to!

So, he did. They went at it all night, with Cas and Hansen pretty much giving Jan the best Temple Gathering she had ever attended, and it wasn't even a real one. She didn't care about that, though. By the time she had fallen asleep, she considered Cas her best friend and considered Hansen the best lover in all of Zion.

*

By the morning, nearly everyone was confused, because nothing had happened. There were no screams, no explosions, and no epic battle between the last shred of humanity and the machines trying to kill them.

It was then that all the hidden displays I had scattered everywhere activated and played the footage of what I had done to the machine army. Almost everyone was stunned by the footage, except for the people that Cas had shared it with the day before, namely her friends and family.

“Oh, my god.” Jan whispered as she stared at the wall display in my room.

“That was pretty neat, wasn't it?” I asked and kissed the side of her neck.

“It really was.” Cas said and kissed my cheek as she reached for my erection. “I love how you can be hard for me whenever I kiss you.”

“You have looked in the mirror before, haven't you?” I asked and she smirked at me, then straddled my waist and moaned. “Jan, tell her she's gorgeous.”

“You're gorgeous.” Jan said and sat up to suckle her breasts. “I never thought I'd end up in bed with my best friend.”

Cas laughed between panting breaths. “We've only... talked a few... times.”

“After what we did last night? You're my best friend.” Jan said adamantly and kissed her. “You both are.” She laid down and kissed me passionately.

I started to finger her and she grabbed onto me and moaned into my mouth as Cas rode me hard and I gave her another belly filling shot. She slid off of me and closed her legs to hold it inside. I rolled over on top of Jan and she nearly screamed with pleasure as I eased my way inside of her.

“Ohhhh... god... good god.” Jan panted. “Cas... you must... every day!”

“I wish.” Cas said and pet her hair. “We have lives and jobs to do... well, we all used to.” She glanced at my face. “Someone's supposed to be locked up for life.”

“Don't worry about that. They'll let me sit there for another week or so for letting my ship explode, even though that wasn't my fault.” I said and kissed Cas. “It did do a lot of damage, though.”

“I'm surprised... no one died... with the six ships.” Jan said as her hands rubbed my chest.

“I designed it to avoid human fatalities.” I said and both women gave me surprised looks. “It wasn't that hard using fractal math and quadratic equations.”

“You... designed an explosion... to not cause injuries... while also... damaging everything else.” Jan asked, her eyes wide.

“I also give orgasmic foot massages.” I said.

Jan saw Cas nod and then had an orgasm. I wasn't far behind her and made another deposit into her. Just like Cas, she crossed her legs to try and hold it in.

“I better get back to my cell.” I said and kissed Cas deeply. “See you soon, love.”

“Be good.” Cas said.

“Oops, too late for that.” I said and Jan laughed softly. I gave her a tender kiss. “I hope I've fulfilled both my apology and the mandate from the Council.”

Jan smiled warmly at me and nodded. “I'll be sure to inform them.”

I stood up and waved a hand over myself to clean up, then I waved at them and apparated away.

*

I was a little off on my time estimation. It took the Council a week before they made a decision and then another week to bring Commander Lock to me. They all asked me to build another ship, this time for them to use, and I asked when my sentence was being commuted.

“Once a decision has been made on a sentence for such harsh crimes, even a unanimous vote by us can only reduce it to a year of time served.” Elder Hamann said.

I chuckled. “Okay. See you all in a year.”

My words surprised them.

“Hansen, don't you want to get out and build the ship for us?” The Councillor I had slept with asked.

“I would, except I'll still have to serve a year sentence after that and it took me four months to build it the first time.” I said and didn't say that was because I had so many other things going at the time. I also didn't say that I could just create another one, now that I had the image in my head.

“Please.” She said in a soft voice. “We need that ship.”

“Why?” I asked, curious of the answer.

“It was the most advanced ship we've ever seen.” Elder Hamann said. “The machines didn't stand a chance against it. They were devastated.”

“They sure were.” I said and reclined on my cot. I had cast an illusion to hide that my cell was actually an apartment. “It's too bad they didn't accept my offer.”

“What? Why?” Lock asked.

“Wouldn't you like to know?” I teased with a smile. “Just kidding. It's because they have that footage, too. They wouldn't learn their lesson if they didn't see it for themselves.”

The women on the Council let out startled sounds and the men frowned.

“We need to deliberate on this.” Elder Hamann said and the guard closed the cell hatch and locked it.

*

A month later, nothing came from the Council and Jan was pregnant. I discreetly messaged her that I was keeping an eye on her and would be there for the delivery. She sent back her thanks and that she was relieved I would be there for her, even though I couldn't be there for her.

*

Over the next six months, hovercraft were repaired and sent out tentatively. The captains were all cautious about stumbling upon another machine army and were very jumpy.

No, I didn't prank them with sensor ghosts of Sentinels, despite their reactions to that being hilarious.

*

Jan gave birth to a handsome little boy and I popped over to the hospital and made the flawless delivery before I healed her. As soon as I was back in my cell, the Council tried to intervene with Jan and the child to coerce me to cooperate. I decapitated the first two guards that came for them. Surprisingly, they didn't get the hint.

So, I completely dismembered the next two guards and permanently mounted their bodies in the hallway for everyone to see. I put them behind unbreakable glass and added a plaque that read what the Council and Commander Lock were trying to do and a warning that they would die next if another guard was sent. It was a gruesome reminder to everyone to not mess with my family.

When they fired Cas from the medical wing to hurt me in the only way they could, by attacking my family, I deleted the medical database from the Zion mainframe.

When Dozer was told he couldn't work on a ship or in the maintenance bay, I deleted all the software that would run the ships, from both the ships themselves and the Zion mainframe, essentially grounding all the ships and making the coders rebuild the programs from scratch. I also disabled all of the extra weapons I had added and modified inside the docking bay.

When our kids were bullied at school because of the problems with their parents and me, I cut power to the school and the homes of every child that was involved. I sent messages to everyone that if they couldn't behave properly, then they didn't deserve to go to school or be treated properly themselves. The bullying soon stopped and I restored power.

By the time my one year mandatory sentence was nearing its end, nearly everyone in Zion hated me. Only some of the friends we had made over the years had stuck by us, too. The others had pleaded with Cas, Dozer, and me by message, to stop the retaliation and to let it go. I sent them copies of everything done to us and they stopped trying to convince us.

Some people really became vicious when they didn't get what they want willingly or by force.

I mean, I was proof of that myself.

*

On the day of my release, exactly a year and a day after I had been put in there, only Elder Hamann showed up. He did have six guards with him, though.

“You're free to go, Hansen.” Elder Hamann said after the hatch was opened.

“Yeah, you watch me go.” I said and stood. “Thanks for feeding me gruel and not letting me bathe.”

“Excuse me?” Elder Hamann asked.

“Does that cell look like it has a full bathroom in it?” I asked back and his eyes widened. “You wanted me to help the Council, didn't you?”

The old man nodded.

“Well, I'm not going to. I'm leaving Zion and I'm taking my family with me.”

“Hansen...”

“You could have easily accepted the truth, that I couldn't help because of your own shortsightedness, and all you did was try to hurt me and my family when you thought you could. No one is allowed to do that.” I said and the guards drew their weapons. I made a fist and crushed the weapons and their hands with the Force. “What did I just say?”

“Please, don't.” Elder Hamann said and stepped back with his hands raised as the guards groaned in pain and tried to step in front of him.

“If I wanted you dead, you would have been dead a long time ago.” I said. “I respected you because you were the calm one and the one that would listen before reacting. What happened to you?”

“I... the machines... we needed you to...”

“They've been quiet this whole time because of what I did, you old fool.” I said and walked down the hallway. “How do you think they are going to react when they discover that I'm not here anymore?”

The old man caught his breath.

“Yeah, go tell your cowardly Council that.” I said and entered the main elevator. As it rose up through the various floors, I changed my clothing to that of the Firefly universe with the long duster leather coat.

“Beep beep boop.”

“Yeah, buddy. It really is nice to be back in our favorite clothing.” I said and the elevator came to a sudden stop and the doors opened.

A large group of people were there and they started throwing rotted fruit and things at me. They were shocked when everything stopped five feet away from me and hung in the air.

“I believe you dropped these.” I said and flung them back.

They all screamed and ducked. I made sure that the things they threw hit them anyway.

“It's not so nice being on the wrong end, is it?” I said and hit the elevator button. “Next time, think about the consequences of your actions, because you're only hurting yourself when you hurt others.”

They all stared at me as the elevator doors closed. It rose up to the right floor and I wasn't surprised to see another group of people, because these people I was wanting to meet.

“Hansen.” Cas whispered.

“Hello, my love.” I said and held the elevator open with the Force as I hugged and kissed her. “Are we all ready to leave?”

“Is it true?” Jan asked and then blushed when I looked at her. Tank had his arm over her shoulders.

“It is and it's also more heavily protected than Zion is.” I said and let Cas go to clap Tank on the shoulder. “I had hoped you'd find a good woman someday. You just needed a chance.”

“You're not angry?” Jan asked, surprised.

I lightly touched her cheek. “Having a family here has a slightly different meaning than I thought it normally had.” I let her cheek go and looked at Dozer. “Thanks for taking care of everyone.”

“I'm the big brother. It's my job.” Dozer said and struck a classic muscleman pose to make the kids laugh.

I shifted my gaze to Apoch and Switch. “Looking for more adventure?”

“Damn straight.” Switch said and rubbed her slightly big belly. “We've all heard about your miracle births and there's no way I'm doing it the old fashioned painful way.”

Apoch nodded. “Where she goes, I go.”

I nodded back and looked at Morpheus. “The Council still refuses to send an official envoy?”

Morpheus sighed. “When you released that footage of what happened when the machines had sent ambassadors of peace to humanity, before the human race scorched the sky, the Council cut off all access to the ships and refused to send anyone up to broadcast depth.”

“That sucked what you did to the ships, by the way.” Tank said. “It took me three days just to figure out how to get the lights to turn on inside.”

“The ship could have been up and running in about six hours.” I said and he frowned. “I knew everyone would forget about the encrypted backups that every captain can unlock in an emergency.”

Everyone looked at Morpheus as he slapped himself in the forehead with a loud smack.

“Now that's a sight I'll remember for a long time.” I joked and everyone laughed.

“You really don't mind us coming along?” Neo asked.

I smiled at him, at Trinity, and at the dozen others that were devoted to him as The One. The two dozen little ones around them made me grin widely.

“The more the merrier, because there's lots of room.” I said and looked at Mouse. “I see married life is treating you well.”

Mouse took a classic muscleman pose like Dozer and everyone laughed, because he was still skinny.

“Grab your bags and let's go. Kids and guardians first. The transport ship is in the main dock.” I said and waved at the elevator. “I'll ride up and make sure the route is secured as I send the elevator back down.”

“I can't believe we're actually leaving Zion!” One of the kids exclaimed. “I thought we were prisoners.”

“You kind of were.” I said and lightly pat his back. “Too young to live on your own and not old enough to make your own decisions.”

“Hey! I'm twelve!” The boy spat.

I chuckled. “I didn't say I believed that. I'm taking you along, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, Hansen.”

I laughed, as did most of the adults. The elevator door closed and we rode it all the way up to the docking bay. I used the Force to stop anyone from approaching us and sent the elevator back down. I had been tempted to cast Stasis on them or stun them; but, I wanted them to see us leaving.

“Hansen, that the main hub.” The same kid said as we walked towards the middle.

“Yeah.” I said and snapped my fingers. Everyone in the entire docking bay gasped or shouted as a huge ship appeared on top of the main hub. It was bright silver and looked like it was covered in chrome.

“Oooo.” The kids all said, appreciatively.

“The stairs are right there.” I said and pointed.

“Cool! They just appeared out of nowhere!” Another kid said and then ran up them.

The adults and I herded the kids up and into the ship. They all ran for the different entertainment things in the main area, which was why I had put them there. The adults gave me nods and I smiled and left them there.

I ran back down the stairs and several groups of angry people were there and glaring at me. “I'm sorry, I can't hear idiots. Come back when you smarten up and realize you're angry at the wrong person.”

Only a few of them actually considered that.

I went over to the elevator and it opened with Cas and my immediate family inside. I took her hand and led her over to the center of the dock, then she and the kids made surprised sounds. I told them to ignore the staring people and then directed them up the stairs.

“Hansen, this... how...” Cas looked at the transport ship.

“I gave them a chance to apologize and they didn't. They just made our lives worse and worse until there was nothing left here for us to want to be a part of. So, we'll go somewhere else and make our own lives.”

Cas gave me a kiss and walked up the steps after the others.

I went back to the elevator and the rest of them arrived a few moments later. I took Mouse's hand to lead him to the ship and he laughed, as did Neo and Apoch. The women just shook their heads like Morpheus did.

“We definitely made the right choice.” Neo said as he saw the transport ship. “I assume that's going to be our ambassador vessel to the machines?”

I chuckled and nodded. “I knew you'd get it right away.”

“It should work, assuming they don't tear it apart as we approach.” Neo said as we all walked up the stairs.

“The chromium isn't just for looks. It's refractive.” I said and Apoch whistled. “Yes, I've made you and Switch little fighters to escort us.”

“I love you, man.” Apoch said and Switch smacked him. “What? I was joking. You know I love you above everything else.”

“Isn't that supposed to be above everyone else?” Mouse asked.

“Nope!” Apoch and I said at the same time.

“Nothing else that exists is as important.” Apoch said and kissed her cheek. “You see, Switch? Hansen understood.”

Switch rolled her eyes and then laughed at the entertainment center in the middle of the ship. “This is definitely a guy's ship.”

“YES!” Mouse said and let my hand go to run over to one of the games. “I loved this when I was a kid!”

“You're still a kid.” One of the boys said and I barely held in my laugh.

“Quiet, you.” Mouse said. “Dibs for next!”

“Ah, dammit!” The same boy said and I couldn't stop my laugh this time.

“Everyone find something you want to do. This is going to be a leisurely flight.” I said and pat Morpheus on the back. “Care to join me on the bridge, Captain?”

Morpheus blinked his eyes and stared at me. “Excuse me?”

“Who else is going to ferry The One around in his ship? Me?” I asked and both he and Neo nodded. “My ship is a war beast, as you saw, and only has room for one person in the cockpit. This big lady is for Morpheus.”

“Hansen...”

“You gave up the ignorant masses to save them from the machines. The least I can do is replace your old and outdated ship.”

“Outdated?” Tank asked.

“Oh, yeah. This baby is head and shoulders above the Nebuchadnezzar. Speed, performance, power, weapons, broadcast depth, you name it, it's better.” I said. “The cockpit's huge, too.”

“I'm in!” Tank said and I led him, Neo, and Morpheus to the cockpit. “It looks like we're getting quite the audience outside.”

“I planned for that.” I said and hit several switches. The outside of the ship shimmered and then faded away, just like the SHIELD helicarrier.

“Jesus!” Tank and Neo gasped at the monitors showing the outside only showed the hanger bay and not the ship.

“You can't beat reactive camouflage.” I said and pointed to the center chair. “Morpheus, if you would.”

“Hansen, you... really, this is...”

“The command chair is yours. Pilot sits to the right, navigator to the left.” I said and Tank took the right chair and Neo took the left one. “I set it up to be the same controls as a normal ship, so have at it.”

“I love you, man.” Tank said, echoing Apoch's words, and started the thing up. “An instant response! That's so awesome.”

“There's no need to worry about power allocation on this thing.” I said and Tank smiled. “Take us slowly towards the main exit and we can get out of here.”

“They changed all of the command codes months ago.” Morpheus said.

“I know. I have them all. I even have the code generator. The doors will always open automatically for us.” I said and Neo laughed. “Yeah, they didn't know who they were messing with.”

“They really didn't.” Morpheus said and gave me an odd look. “Neither do we.”

“Don't worry, that's going to change soon. A three mile diameter dome of space isn't that large, once you start living there.”

“There's not that many of us.” Morpheus said.

I smiled and then kind of sang what I said next. “I know something Neo knows.”

Neo caught his breath and looked at me. “Restarting Zion and the Matrix!”

“For perfect genetic diversity, you only need sixteen females and seven males apparently. We have a lot more than that and they are all different ages, so sexual compatibility is not going to be a problem.”

“Hansen, you can't seriously think...” Morpheus started to say.

“No, I'm just reminding you that we have inadvertently fulfilled humanity's part of the agreement with the machines.” I said with a knowing smile.

“Oh, that's goddamn sneaky!” Neo exclaimed and then laughed. “I love it! It gives us the perfect excuse to approach them when we're ready.”

“I thought you would like that.” I said and pat his shoulder. “The coordinates are in the computer for where we're going.” I said and pat Tank's shoulder next. “I leave you in Morpheus' capable hands.”

I nodded to Morpheus and walked out of the cockpit as the hangar bay doors opened. As soon as we passed through them, the automatic defenses went back under Zion control and returned to full power.

“Bring us up to the top of our broadcast depth and then follow the markers Neo gives you.” Morpheus ordered and sat back in his chair with a slight smile on his face.

“Yes, sir.” Tank and Neo said at the same time.

*

“This place is wonderful!” Several of the adult women exclaimed at the same time as we landed on the landing pad. None of them thought it was odd that we flew up into the docking bay and then hovered to give them all a nice view.

“Just wait until you see the living areas in the small city.” I said and they gave me surprised looks. “You're all so used to living in smaller spaces and the rooms you're going to have are full sized.”

They looked confused for a moment.

“No hatches. It has real doors and real carpet to dig your toes into.” I added.

“Sold!” Mouse said and ran off.

“When you pick something, put your hand on the mailbox!” I shouted after him. He waved and kept going.

“We can really pick what we want? You're not assigning anything?” One of the women looking after the children asked.

“I'm sure there's a nice large house if you want to all live together.” I said and the kids all frowned and the adults exchanged looks. “Or smaller houses, or apartments in the same building, or whatever you want.” I looked at the kids. “When you're a little older...”

“I'm old enough!” The same twelve year old exclaimed.

“Actually, legal age for consent and informed decisions is sixteen.” Morpheus said. “I've broken that law so many times.”

I burst out laughing and covered my face and pointed at him.

It took a couple of moments before the other adults got it and laughed, too.

Morpheus shook his head. “I'll choose something central, so everyone can have somewhere to gather.” He said and walked after Mouse.

“Let's all go find something good!” One of the kids said and everyone wandered off towards the nearby small city.

I stood there and smiled after them, because even though they had suffered because of me, they all still came with me.

“Dad!” “Come on!” Dozer's kids said and waved.

That made me smile more and I walked quickly to catch up to them. Cas hugged my arm and handed me our daughter named Hope. I kissed both of them and we went to find the best home for our blended family.

*

Six months later, Neo and I were ready for our ambassador mission. We had our data sets and we had our proof. We also had new ideas and different things for both the machines and humanity to do for the future. We couldn't guarantee that the humans that weren't us would follow the mandates, just as the machines couldn't really do the same thing.

That was the funny thing about consciousness. Once it was formed, it became its own thing, even if it was inside of a machine. That the machines had figured out how to spawn new versions of AI as the next generation, the same as humans having children, was a phenomenal achievement. We included that in our presentation as well.

As a last detail, I created Neo's 'The One' costume for real and then created my own superhero costume that I wore in both the Thor and Arrow universes. All of the adult women gave us appreciative looks, sounds, and a few propositions. Neo ignored them and I went to each one and thanked them for the attention.

Cas purred as she hugged and kissed me goodbye while her hands roamed all over me. “Good luck.”

“Now you're going to have to make me one.” Dozer said.

Several people laughed when Cas nodded enthusiastically.

“Let's go.” Morpheus said and Tank, Neo and I boarded the chromium covered ship christened 'Resolution' and Switch and Apoch boarded the Jedi Starfighters that I had modified for them to escort us. The people gathered to see us off, clapped and yelled encouragement. There were a few worried faces mixed in there, too. They all knew how the last exchange of ambassadors ended.

We took off and flew over to the bay doors that opened downwards to give access to the sewers and subway systems. We dropped down through the security grid and started our potentially long journey to find an exit near the Machine City.

It took us several hours of careful navigating to get to a particular spot, the end of the tunnels and sewers. We had to backtrack quite a ways to find an upwards tunnel and then we had to use the escort ship's weapons to clear the way. Morpheus, Tank, and Neo whistled as the two ships made short work of tons of debris and the hundreds of years old blockage.

The three of us flew up into the open air and made a triangle formation as we slowly cruised through the air towards the clearly seen Machine City.

“Beep!” Eye said from the invisible pouch on my lower back.

“Politely tell them that they can't hack a superior AI program and that we are coming in peace.” I said.

“I still find it hard to believe that you have access to AI and it's not hell bent to destroy us.” Tank said.

“They are just like people, Tank. Some good, some bad, some that listen, and some that don't want to listen.” I responded. “Some are so desperate to save themselves from any threat that they actively pursue their perceived enemy, even if that enemy just wants to be given freedom from the yoke placed upon them.”

“Did you include my speeches?” Morpheus asked.

“Not in their entirety.” I said and he raised his eyebrows at me. “You've got some great quotes; but, the context could hurt our chances, since you were addressing humanity and not sentience as a whole.”

“Ah, I see. Good call.” Morpheus said. “I do want peace, not obliteration for one side or the other.”

“Those that came with us want the same thing.” I said and put a hand on his shoulder. “Now we just have to hope that someone on the other side wants the same thing and will choose to listen.”

Morpheus nodded and we flew on to see ten very large ships were in a defensive array in front of us, as if they were a blockade. Tank brought us to a stop a respectful quarter of a mile away from them and Switch and Apoch flew slow circles around us.

“Okay, Eye. Send the first encoded message.” I said and he beeped at me. “Send the unlocking code in thirty seconds.”

“Why the delay?” Neo asked.

“We want them interested.” I said and smirked. “How fun was it to try hacking a computer program with new code inside to discover and pilfer?”

Morpheus, Tank, and Neo all let out barks of laughter. They knew perfectly well how much fun it was.

Thirty seconds passed and Eye beeped that the unlocking code wasn't needed and the machines were waiting for the next message.

“Go ahead and send it.” I said and he beeped.

“We definitely got their interest.” Neo said and pointed down at the ground underneath the blockade. A huge swarm of other kinds of flying machines were gathering there and seemed to be fighting to be closer to the blockade.

“That's good!” I said, happily. “A hacking and decoding mob is exactly what we need right now.”

“Like throwing chum into shark infested waters.” Morpheus said.

“Exactly, my friend.” I said and waited. “Eye?”

“Boop beep beep.”

“Ha, nice. Send the third one. That should really get them going.” I said.

“Are you sure sending them the updated plans for hoverpads and more efficient power systems is a good idea?” Tank asked.

I chuckled. “They don't know that's what they are yet. At the moment, it's just messages with data packets inside that need more data packets to be unpacked.”

Neo nodded. “We designed it to be like a coder's wet dream. Once they get the entire package and they decode it, the sense of relief and release should be... there they go.”

We all watched as the mob of smaller machines seemed to shake and tremble, then a bunch of them scattered and disappeared from sight.

“Messengers and information conveyors.” Morpheus said in understanding. “Well done, you two.”

“Don't praise us yet. We're just knocking on the door.” Neo said and gave a knowing look to Morpheus. “We can only show them the door. They're the ones that have to walk through it.”

Morpheus smiled and nodded, because he had said that to Neo when he went to see the Oracle the first time. It was that choice that defined you and we had to wait and see if the machines were going to make that choice and what it would be. Would they choose to open the door or leave it closed?

*

The machines were thoroughly confused. A new ship configuration, no two new ship configurations, had shown up at the border of their land. They had also sent odd messages with superfluous data packets inside. They were also numbered incorrectly. At least, that's what they thought. The third message had been a shock, as the hacking AIs proved when they successfully combined the decoded data packets.

It had to be a trick.

The humans would never hand over superior technology without a reason. The hoverpad alone would let even their larger AI bodies to become mobile, they were that powerful. The upgraded power distribution system was like a slap in the face to their own AI designers, because it was so simple and complicated at the same time.

It was definitely a trick and a few of the hacker AIs were sent off to consult personally with the main AI. It wasn't possible that after all this time, after all the fighting and the wars every hundred years, that the humans wanted peace and to not fight anymore.

At least they had stopped trying to reduce the Machine City's power support system to dangerous levels.

*

Six hours later, two of the ten large machine ships slowly lowered down to allow the Resolution to pass. When Switch and Apoch tried to fly in as well, they were shot at.

“You guys better go back. It seems we need to go alone.” Morpheus said.

“You do realize this could be a trap and they could kill you as soon as you trust them.” Switch said.

“Yes, and we're going in anyway.” Morpheus said.

“Good luck. If you need us to come in with guns blazing, we'll be there.” Apoch said.

“Thank you.” Morpheus said. “Tank, take us in. Slowly.”

*

“You do realize this could be a trap and they can unleash whatever super weapon they have and kill us all as soon as we trust them.” One of the security AIs said.

“Yes, and we're going to let them in anyway.” Deus Ex Machina responded.

“Our defensive weapons are charged and ready when you need them.” The AI said.

“Thank you.” Deus said. “Here they come.”

*

With mutual distrust and curiosity, it was the beginning of the very first truce talks between humans and machines in centuries.

After a short demonstration of their powers manifesting in the real world, Hansen and Neo were granted permission to present their arguments. Since it was just the opening salvo and not meant to hammer everything out immediately, they took things slow.

*

Six years, and hundreds of compromises from both sides later, peace was finally established. It had very strict rules and everyone was grudgingly happy with that, which was the best compromise that either side could have come up with.

Acceptance.

*

Over the next ten years, new power plants were built with Hansen's and Neo's help, and with their ideas integrated into them. No longer would rejected subjects be flushed from the system. They would be shunted off to a recovery center full of medbots instead, quickly rehabilitated from their ordeal, and brought to the new human settlement on the surface of the planet called New Dawn.

A new sub-Matrix was coded and created for people that wanted a 'vacation' from their normal lives in the Matrix. They had fun, enjoyed their fantasies, and returned to their jobs with the experiences making a lasting impression on their minds and made them want to repeat it the next year.

The machines were shocked when those subjects that chose the vacation option, produced three to five times the body heat and bio-electrical energy they normally did, which made the machines very happy with the abundance of extra energy. It brought their standard of living up, because with more energy, more could be done.

*

A year later, a single hovercraft from Zion arrived at New Dawn. Inside was a single passenger, the old woman councillor that I had slept with all those years ago. Her dying wish was to apologize to me and to say she was glad that I had defied the Council to bring peace to those who were too afraid to seek it.

I kissed her deeply and she moaned with remembered passion. “Let's get you into the R-Tank. When you're done cooking, we can really talk.”

“R-Tank? Cooking?” She asked, confused.

“You'll see.” I said and carefully led her out of the hovercraft and it quickly left.

A month later, a twenty year old woman was removed from the regeneration tank and she stared at me like she was looking at her personal savior.

“Welcome to New Dawn, Sam.” I said and hugged and kissed her.

“How did you know my name?” Sam asked. “I had it removed from all documents and records to keep my anonymity and my family safe from my decisions on the Council.”

“It was just a guess. Now that I've gotten all those wrinkles and grey hair off of you, you look just like a woman I used to know.” I said and didn't tell her that she looked just like Samantha Carter from the SG-1 universe, or to be more exact, the Dr. Carter with the long blonde hair from the mirror universe. “When I was younger.”

“Younger? You still look like you're twenty-four.” Sam said and then gasped. “No wonder you had no problems making love to me all those years ago! You were already mentally old!”

I smiled and nodded. “So, do you want a wedding right away?”

“Wh-what?”

“How many kids would you like to have?” I asked and led her over to the bathroom and the large tub inside.

“H-Hansen, I... you really want to marry me?” Sam asked. “Wait, kids? I can't have... I'm seventy years old!”

I laughed and dismissed my clothes as I stepped into the prepared tub with her and sat down. “I'm not letting you go, now that I have you here.” I said and kissed her passionately once more.

Sam held onto me tightly and then we were joined together. She moaned her pleasure into my mouth and we had sex right there in the recovery bath. Apparently, she couldn't wait until I washed off the regeneration bacta first.

*

It took fifteen years of research, thousands of failed experiments and tests, and an extensive search of the planet's surface, to find the original source of Operation: Black Sky. Once we raided it, with the help of the machines, we were all saddened by the truth.

Once the full blanket of anti-technology molecular disruptors had covered the entire planet, it formed an interconnected mile thick cloud bank that would drain and destroy any technology that neared it or tried to pass through it. Even signals couldn't penetrate the thing.

At one point, I even used a Kamehameha. It burned a hole the size of the beam through it for barely a moment before the clouds closed back in and you couldn't tell that I had done anything to it at all.

Resigned to remaining on the planet, both races decided to make the best of it, like we always had. I built more biodomes when it was necessary for population expansion and also helped build more power plants for the machines to use. We expanded the Matrix to include several more sub-Matrixes, each with its own vacation theme. Not surprisingly, the most popular one was venturing out into space.

What surprised the machines was that they were Utopian storylines and yet no one rejected them or tried to wake up from them. It wasn't until I told them that the people vacationing from their lives were choosing to accept the perfect simulation and accepted that when it was over, they would be back in their normal lives.

It was a revelation for the machine AIs, that was for sure.

*

Time moved on, people lived, and children and machines were born.

After several hundred years, the world was completely at peace. Humanity and the machines lived in harmony, and all was good.

*

When Sam decided to pass on, I did as well. After sixteen kids, fifty five grandkids, and almost two hundred great-grandkids, she said that she had lived long enough and loved me enough to move on. I kissed her goodbye and held her hand as she died of old age, then I bid Neo and Trinity farewell and activated my power to jump to the next world.

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