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NOS CREW HISTORY
Mini-Short Story
Year 099 A.Z. - One Year Ago
Pod-Birthday Dinner - Crystal
* 2 * - Kitchen Revelations
CRYSTAL'S QTRS. / CARRIE:
With a proud smile on her face, CARRIE raises her head and looks at CRYSTAL, then JAYMAN.
“I’m glad you like it.”
And I’m glad you’re both distracted by the food and not asking further questions that are hard to
answer, CARRIE thinks to herself.
"What was the question again?" CARRIE hears JAYMAN ask.
Definitely distracted. Good. Very good.
“I asked how life is on the Nos. But you don’t have to answer, I suppose it’s all about kicking ass and
the goop. Especially the goop. How can you eat that thing every day, it’s disgusting.”
CRYSTAL'S QTRS. / CRYSTAL:
Enjoying the delicious, unusual taste of the creamy soup, smiling, CRYSTAL glances at CARRIE.
"How can you eat that thing every day..." CARRIE asks.
There are so many things in life you have to get used to, CRYSTAL answers in her mind, remembering
the sad and painful events in the past. All the pains and suffers, the losses and deaths...
Suddenly, CRYSTAL feels ashamed for having fun here, when many people she knows have to deal with such
tragedies... Not being able to hide her feelings, her smile fades and she stares at her plate for a long moment...
CRYSTAL'S QTRS. / JAYMAN:
As CARRIE innocently talks about "kicking ass and the goop," Captain JAYMAN turns to his lieutenant
commander, CRYSTAL, and witnesses the bright light fade from her sparkling eyes. He has a good idea of what she's
thinking...
The failed mission... The tragic drowning of Valkyrie just a week ago... just a teenager... not much
older than Carrie...
JAYMAN places his left hand on CRYSTAL's right and squeezes it.
"Come on, Crys," he says reassuringly. "There's enough pain and sadness throughout the year, every
year... But this is your day, your birthday... Let's celebrate it."
JAYMAN smiles warmly.
CRYSTAL'S QTRS. / CRYSTAL:
CRYSTAL glances at JAYMAN's hand on hers, then turns her look at him. Her slight but grateful smile
meets his warm, reassuring one.
God, I still love his smile...
CRYSTAL stares at him for a moment, her thoughts wandering back to the old memories.
This gentle touch... The way he looks at me... This smile... Still makes me shiver... Why can't I
get over the past? After three years...
CRYSTAL sighs and nods.
"You're right..." she smiles. "Sorry."
Then CRYSTAL turns to CARRIE.
"Why don't you tell us what's up in Zion? We spent too much time away... "
CRYSTAL'S QTRS. / CARRIE:
Seeing CRYSTAL’s sudden change of mood, CARRIE realizes how silly the question is.
You stupid girl, what can you know about their lives and problems? You complain all the time that
life in Zion sucks, but they're out there, in very unpleasant environments, dealing with cold difficult missions,
with each other…
CARRIE hears JAYMAN’s reassuring words. She sees CRYS smile again. And she knows that her big sis will
probably never get over the past, get over him. That he will always have a special place in her heart.
Which is a very good thing since you keep on saying things you shouldn’t say.
CRYSTAL asks, "Why don't you tell us what's up in Zion? We spent too much time away..."
Zion… Always the same, always boring, yet always fascinating. So many people, so many interesting
places. But it’s not paradise…
“Same old, same old… Every morning I wake up and it’s like groundhog day, same day all over again.”
And you’re complaining. Again.
“But it’s not so bad, after all. I went to the market yesterday and found many interesting things.
I had no idea that you can buy almost everything there. Illegal most of the time,” She smiles. “From books to drugs.
Exactly what bored soldiers need. Be sure I’ll take you two there before you leave.”
So during your next mission, you'll have the opportunity to either get high or more intelligent.
“And how long do you plan to stay this time?” she asks.
CRYSTAL'S QTRS. / JAYMAN:
With CRYSTAL returning to her smiling and chatting mood, JAYMAN takes another spoonful of creamy
broccoli soup.
Not bad at all.
He swallows another spoonful, as CARRIE asks him her question.
"Well, we've already been here about a week," JAYMAN glances at CRYSTAL. "We should be leaving in a
few days... I was hoping to find a sixth member to join the crew... but maybe next time..."
He takes another tasty spoonful.
"By the way," JAYMAN turns to CARRIE, "I've never really had a chance to ask you before... You've been
free for about a year... And you're eighteen, right?... What are your thoughts about the war? Ever given any serious
thought to joining a crew?"
CRYSTAL'S QTRS. / CRYSTAL:
Relieved that CARRIE didn't apologize for her question, CRYSTAL listens to the chat between
CARRIE and JAYMAN, ladling her soup in silence. She really doesn't want CARRIE to feel uncomfortable. After all, CARRIE
is the one who lives her life on Zion, so it's natural for her to be curious about life on a ship.
"Well, we've already been here about a week," JAYMAN glances at CRYSTAL.
Yeah, a week...
CRYSTAL wished many times to spend more than a week on Zion, after being stuck on the constantly
cold and dark Nos, or being stuck in the programmed reality of the Matrix. But this time, she is glad to leave the city and
get back to the ship soon. Especially after all that has happened lately, all the pain that she has experienced concerning
the failed mission and Valkyrie's funeral...
Now Zion feels like being trapped in a cage, no escape of pain...
CRYSTAL couldn't help it, but anywhere she looked in the city, she thought she saw people staring at
her, their eyes blaming her, as a reason for the failure, for the recent tragedy. Since the funeral, CRYSTAL felt like she
was suffocating here, starting to believe that what they thought was true, that she really had something to do with
that poor girl's death. She wants to get out of this prison of guilt and suffering... She wants to forget everything...
But she can't get rid of the feeling... Even if today is her birthday, she isn't as cheerful as she shows. Sadness and
remorse lies beneath her smile.
Glancing at JAYMAN, and hearing CARRIE's chatting voice, she forces another fake smile.
I have no right to spoil their fun... Especially since they want me to enjoy myself tonight... I
shouldn't hurt them...
Taking a spoonful of the creamy soup, CRYSTAL turns to CARRIE.
I promised her after all...
"Ever given any serious thought to joining a crew?" JAYMAN asks CARRIE.
Damn Jay, why did you have to ask that? CRYSTAL desperately frowns in her mind. I don't
want her to think about joining any crew at all... I couldn't bear the constant fear of losing her too... No way... And as long
as she considers me a sister, I'll do everything to prevent her from joining...
CRYSTAL'S QTRS. / CARRIE:
Hoping that CRYSTAL stopped thinking about the bad things, if only for a while, CARRIE focuses on her
conversation with JAYMAN.
"Well, we've already been here about a week," he says. "We should be leaving in a few days... I was
hoping to find a sixth member to join the crew... but maybe next time..."
A great example of a man that loves his job, it seems. Duties, duties, and duties, is it all he ever
thinks about? People like him were called workaholics in the Matrix. Well, the circumstances are far different from the dream
world, but he’s on leave, isn’t he?
Another train of thought runs through her head. She still can’t understand the world she is living in. She
doesn’t understand why her big sis joined the crew. War isn’t only a man’s thing but still… That’s what it's all about, the
damn war, a quiet voice reminded her.
"I've never really had a chance to ask you before..." he continues. "You've been free for about a year...
And you're eighteen, right?... What are your thoughts about the war? Ever given any serious thought to joining a crew?"
That was the question that she never wanted to answer. That was the question she heard from JAYMAN’s
mouth. Say something, preferably the truth. You’re not one of them…
“I hate this fucking war. That says it all. The answer to your second question is: no. Wanna know why?
I have work to do here. I watch the ships dock every once in a while, either full of sad, desperate, so-called soldiers, or
dead bodies. I also fight, captain. With myself, with people that might need my help.”
Now where did that come from? She is angry. Furious. Why did he ask that question? Was she angry
with him or with herself? Was it the war, the city?
“Don’t ask me about the war. Ever. And try to forget about it. At least for today.”
Calm down. Be calm. She looks at CRYSTAL. Damn war, look what you’re doing. Preventing us
from being truly happy, being ourselves, humans…
“Next time remind me to force you to smoke ganja or something… You'll be in a better mood. Crys, dear,
it’s your fucking birthday, smile! Aren’t you happy that you managed to survive for 7 years?”
She smiles. A sad smile. Lucky 7, sis.
CRYSTAL'S QTRS. / JAYMAN:
JAYMAN glances from his plate to CARRIE and back down again, as he witnesses his innocent questions
transform her into a burning firestorm, her flushed cheeks starting to match her deep red dress.
You're not unlike Fall and others her age... he notes silently. You don't think I hate this?...
I'm enraged by this war as much as you are... You don't know how many friends and comrades I've lost to this war...
But like Kan-chiang taught me, you can't fight this enemy with blind rage... In the Real World or the Matrix, if you can't
think clearly, you're as good as dead...
CARRIE tells him, “Don’t ask me about the war. Ever. And try to forget about it. At least for today.”
Don't worry, no more questions... I have your answers...
Then CARRIE turns to CRYSTAL, “Next time remind me to force you to smoke ganja or something…
You will be in better mood. Crys, dear, it’s your fucking birthday, smile! Aren’t you happy that you managed to survive for
7 years?”
Letting her dark sarcasm wash past him, JAYMAN offers a tender smile.
"You know," JAYMAN recalls in the gentlest of voices, "this war began because one brave soul was born
inside the Matrix who possessed the vision and courage to free the first rebels and foster this resistance against the
Machines..." He looks at his plate, "I joined the Nosferatu because I believed in Kan-chiang, just as he believed in the
captain who freed him, and he believed in the captain who freed him, and so on..." He turns back to CARRIE, "They believed,
as I do, that our slavery cannot be tolerated, must never be tolerated... that our freedom, our mission to free human minds,
means more than any individual crewmember or commander or captain, means more than you or me feeling sad or desperate
or angry..."
Restraining his emotions both hateful and hopeful, JAYMAN glances back down to his plate.
"I'm enraged by this war as much as you are... But it's a necessary war..."
I don't expect everyone to understand...
JAYMAN turns to CRYSTAL and squeezes her hand once more.
"And if we survive another seven years, or seventy-seven years, I'd be lucky to have you fight by
my side."
CRYSTAL'S QTRS. / CRYSTAL:
Listening to the conversation between JAYMAN and CARRIE, full of tension, CRYSTAL stares at her plate
uncomfortably, hating the way this talk is going. She almost wants to scream "Stop this!", jump off the table, and
rush into her bedroom to be alone in silence, to break away from this tension.
"Crys, dear, it's your fucking birthday, smile!" CARRIE says.
However she tries, CRYSTAL can't force a smile after all she has heard, witnessing the two friends
she loves most, disagree in this way. Fortunately, there's no time to react to CARRIE's question as JAYMAN starts to speak
from his point of view, in a calm manner, which both surprises and reassures CRYSTAL. Playing with her spoon, his words
sinking into her mind, CRYSTAL glances at CARRIE first, then JAYMAN, and finally stops to look at her spoon.
"I'm enraged by this war..." JAYMAN says.
So am I, she notes.
His warm hand suddenly moving on hers again, CRYSTAL almost jumps from surprise, his unexpected touch
like an electric jolt, making her shiver. But whether it's a good or bad shiver, she can't decide, it feels like both. Her heart
beating faster by the sudden startling move of his, she turns her astonished look to him, just hearing him say,
"And if we survive..."
She stares at him, not being able to utter any words, her mind racing to figure out the real meaning of
his words. Somehow, his remark raises some strange feelings in her. It didn't quite sound like a quote between friends,
rather as a hidden confession.
Hell, Crystal, push these thoughts aside, she snaps at herself.
She eyes JAYMAN confusedly, desperately resisting the enjoyment of his touch, which feels so good.
"I'd be lucky..." he continues.
Damn, she frowns fumingly in her mind, you're making my situation more difficult, taking
advantage of my devastation, my weakness because of these recent tragedies, by telling me such nice words, subconsciously
teasing me with your supportive touches... It makes me wonder and think about things I shouldn't... I mustn't...
My God, why is life so complicated? she sighs.
Uncomfortable, CRYSTAL forces a smile and immediately bows her head, staring back at her plate.
JAYMAN's hand still resting on hers, burning her skin, a memory flashes through her mind. It's de ja vu... Error in the
system, as they would say in the Matrix. That's right, this is an error in HER system. His touch feels as good as it did
back then... in that bar at her first-promotion's celebration... when he had taken her hand to lead her to the road to heaven...
the same pleasant sensation...
No, it's not right, she sighs again, helplessly. It's something I mustn't feel. Forbidden. Raising old
affections is not right... We agreed to go on as friends... only as friends... And one mustn't feel like this about her friend
at all...
Or am I just seeing things that aren't there? she wonders, shooting a secret glance at him, ashamed
of herself. Maybe I'm overreacting to his kindness... Damn, a side effect of weariness!
With a barely noticeable sigh, CRYSTAL pulls herself together, and moves her hand out of his hold to
free herself from his touch.
"Umm, I don't think I want to fight for seventy-seven years..." she jokes finally to break the awkward
silence, still puzzled a bit. And then taking a spoonful of soup, she changes the topic, "I think you two have made me wait
long enough... Now let me see the presents at last!"
CRYSTAL'S QTRS. / JAYMAN:
"Umm, I don't think I want to fight for seventy-seven years..." CRYSTAL jokes, then demands,
"...Now let me see the presents at last!"
Captain JAYMAN lets his tender smile burst into warm laughter.
"Hahaha! Now THAT's the Crys I know and love! But first," he raises a finger, "let me try to finish my
plate."
The captain wolfs down half a dozen more creamy scoops, then with a grin, looks up at the teenaged
blonde.
If I can take Fall's sarcasm, I can take yours... I've heard it before and I understand it...
But for now, let's forget about it...
"Carrie, you wanna go first?" he asks. "It'll give me more time. I definitely wanna finish this good soup..."
And when I finish it, Crys, my present will knock your socks off! And who knows, maybe your
pants too!
To be continued...
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