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FOLLOW THE NOSFERATU
* CHAPTER 1 * - Rainfall
* 6 * - Broadast Depth
NOS / CONSTRUCT / VERITAS:
The race seems to start well, and VERITAS is beginning to enjoy herself.
She wants to win, wants to show them she can win... but is playing it
moment by moment just to be safe.
Next to her and CRYSTAL, the boys swerve back and forth to demonstrate their reckless ability.
Just concentrate on the road, VERITAS thinks as they start on a curve.
They're almost ahead.
NOS / CONSTRUCT / CRYSTAL:
CRYSTAL grins with satisfaction.
She's getting the taste of driving, CRYSTAL notes.
CRYSTAL throws a quick, secret glance at her crewmate, and smiles.
She's gotten over her nervousness, CRYSTAL guesses, relieved.
"Watch out for the curve," CRYSTAL says, and glances back at the opponent car.
She meets its driver's furious expression. She turns back to VERITAS.
"Don't speed up until we reach the corner past it...
These guys have as much skill in driving as a snail has in running... I don't want them crashing our car."
NOS / CONSTRUCT / VERITAS:
VERITAS smiles at CRYSTAL's sudden friendliness and follows her command with ease.
They cleanly pull ahead of their programmed foes with only the home stretch ahead.
"Almost done," VERITAS whispers, keeping the boys from passing from behind.
NOS / CAPT. QTRS. / JAYMAN:
Just when JAYMAN thinks his mind, his direction, his judgment, has reached its cloudiest and darkest state,
a glittering memory appears... the memory echoes in his mind... the memory of his
last visit to the Oracle...
...You will see darker times, turbulent times ahead... the Oracle had said three years ago, ...But when
the time is right, you will find your guiding light, your lighthouse in the fog...
JAYMAN remembers, and opens his tearful eyes.
He softly repeats her words, "You will find your guiding light."
Strangely, her words give JAYMAN a newfound sense of strength.
JAYMAN wipes his eyes and sits up on the edge of his bunk.
Across the room, his gaze drifts to his personal workstation, to his cap on the keyboard,
then to the main monitor, its streams of bright-green code descending like rain across the screen.
With all of the burdens and demons weighing upon his mind, JAYMAN breathes deeply and mutters.
"It's almost time."
NOS / CONSTRUCT / CRYSTAL:
CRYSTAL glances at VERITAS with a soft smile. After some difficulties at the start, the girl has managed it.
CRYSTAL is glad for her.
They are almost at the sign 'Beach', where the paved road ends and the sandy path starts, leading to the beach.
It is also the finish line.
"Congrats, Ver!" CRYSTAL says, shining, as they reach the end of the road. She looks over her shoulder to
the teens, to see their red faces and hear their curses. CRYSTAL sticks her head out of the car with a victorious smile.
"I warned you..." CRYSTAL grins at the guys, who still can't stop cursing.
The boys frown and drive along.
CRYSTAL chuckles.
NOS / CONSTRUCT / VERITAS:
VERITAS is flooded with relief as the car stops.
I did it!... Hopefully, this is a sign of good to come.
VERITAS smiles as the phone begins to ring.
Fall has to be glad... Her expectations were definitely filled.
NOS / CORE / FALL:
FALL dials CRYSTAL's phone and awaits her reply. It is time to pull them out of the CONSTRUCT and await
JAYMAN's instructions at Broadcast level.
NOS / COCKPIT / ANDROMEDA:
ANDY leads the ship to an almost cozy looking alcove in the side of the narrow tunnel. It seems like a good landing site.
She sets the Nosferatu down slowly to avoid making any unnecessary noise.
After setting the ship down, ANDY flips a few switches and unbuckles her seatbelts.
It's time to tell everybody that the Nos is at broadcast depth, ready and waiting. She turns on the intercom and tries to
make her voice sound less tired than it really is.
"We reached broadcast depth, and the Nos has been parked... The Matrix awaits us."
ANDY replaces the intercom and leans back in her seat. Going into the Matrix could be a good distraction from
everything that's been going on in her head. She can't stop rolling that weird talk with JAYMAN a bit earlier, and the grating
sound of his footsteps walking away from the cockpit, away from...
Stop it. This is not the time, ANDY tells herself, You have to pull yourself together.
It's moments like this when the memories of her life in the Matrix float up into her mind...
family dinners... school... her dog....
ANDY shakes her head with a bitter smile.
"What came over me today?" she asks the cold metal walls of the cockpit.
Her smile fades, and her eyes turn to stare at her feet.
NOS / CAPT. QTRS. / JAYMAN:
With another deep sigh, JAYMAN gets up from his bunk, steps over to his workstation, and grabs his cap
from the keyboard. With a sudden shiver, he sets and adjusts it over his cold stubbled scalp.
CLUNK... CLUNK... Squeak...
His ears pick up the familiar metallic groaning of his ship, as his legs feel the noticeable shift in the deck level.
The Nosferatu has finally touched down at the first broadcast point in the northernmost section of
grid D-5 (see sewer map), under the delicate piloting of his lieutenant, ANDROMEDA.
JAYMAN swings the door to his quarters open, exits, and then swings it back shut.
NOS / MAIN DECK / JAYMAN:
JAYMAN turns to see CRYSTAL and VERITAS still plugged into
suspension chairs 2 and 4
(starting from the starboard side), while FALL monitors their residual self-images in the Construct.
JAYMAN walks over to FALL and places a hand on her shoulder.
"Fall, tell them to stay put. Andy and I will be joining them in the Construct... And call Andy...
I'll outline the plan to everyone shortly."
With his eyes focused on the Operator monitors, JAYMAN formulates the reconnaissance
mission in his mind... and visualizes the target, Cynthia Peterson, also known as "Lotus"... But just as anxiously,
he secretly waits for the sound of boots to approach the catwalk platform above and behind him... and waits for
the sound of boots to come down the ladder...
NOS / CONSTRUCT / CRYSTAL:
CRYSTAL notices her phone ringing.
"Our operator is missing us..." she notes quizzically, turning to VERITAS. "I think fun is over for a while..."
CRYSTAL answers the call.
"Hey, what's up? You can't manage things without us?" she jokes, leaning on the car.
NOS / CORE / FALL:
FALL nods almost imperceptably at JAYMAN's instructions as she turns her attention to CRYSTAL's
teasing voice. With a roll of her eyes, she answers.
FALL: "You wish, you adrenaline junkie. Anyway, Captain says to stay put. He's coming in, and
Andy's joining him. Sounds like you've got a world of fun coming your way!"
FALL closes the line and hits the button for the ship intercom. It crackles metallically.
FALL: "Andy, to the Core. Andy, to the Core."
NOS / COCKPIT / ANDROMEDA:
"Andy, to the Core. Andy, to the Core," the intercom creaks.
ANDY raises her head to it and frowns. Not that she is surprised by the call. She spent the last few minutes
anticipating it and dreading it. As much as she wants to jack in and let loose, she knows what going on a mission means.
ANDY picks herself up to climb down to the CORE.
NOS / CORE / ANDROMEDA:
ANDY steps in and sits in a random chair (the center suspension chair 3).
"It's colder in here," she says and wraps her arms around herself.
ANDY barely looks at JAYMAN, afraid her face might show something it should'nt,
afraid that FALL will start with her nasty remarks.
"What's the objective?" ANDY asks in a flat voice.
NOS / CONSTRUCT / CRYSTAL:
"What!" CRYSTAL's eyes widen with sudden surprise. She glances at VERITAS instinctively, as if waiting
for some kind of confirmation that what she heard on the phone was true.
Jayman and Andromeda are going to join them in the Construct, CRYSTAL wonders.
Why? He never entered the Construct when I was here to train the newbies. And now he does. Moreover not alone.
Her thoughts are rushing. If they are at broadcast depth, they can get into the Matrix. If not, why
will they need company from the ship? She can manage VERITAS' training alone. Or doesn't JAYMAN trust her to be able to do that?
Is this the truth? However, he's been acting strange recently. He wasn't the same man he used to be.
There's something he's hiding, CRYSTAL guessed. Something he didn't tell her either.
The recent smile disappears from her face, replaced by a helpless expression. She raises her eyebrows.
There's no time to think about it, CRYSTAL reminds herself. Anyway, the fact that JAYMAN
might not trust her enough, very much bothered her.
Adrenaline, CRYSTAL sneers in mind. Shit, this guessing game is a fucking adrenaline-source indeed.
Even before she could say anything, the call ends. FALL didn't wait for her answer at all.
CRYSTAL sighs, staring at the car, listening to the beeping sound of her phone.
NOS / CORE / JAYMAN:
Finally, after a momentary eternity, JAYMAN hears the sound of boots step onto the catwalk platform
above him... climb down the ladder behind him... and step around him to the center suspension chair on the opposite side
of the CORE column.
“It’s colder in here,” ANDY says from behind the cable-wrapped steel-plated column.
JAYMAN wonders how many other meanings she might have meant.
“What’s the objective?” ANDY adds flatly.
JAYMAN turns towards his preferred chair, the nearest suspension chair on his left
(chair 5) beside VERITAS (chair 4), and looks up.
“Our primary objective is our final reconnaissance of Lotus, before we make first online contact...”
(JAYMAN paces to his chair, and gazes uneasily at ANDY) “...and our secondary objective is to begin your training
as a first-contact specialist like Crystal...” (JAYMAN looks away) “...I’ll outline the details to everyone when we plug
into the Construct...”
JAYMAN climbs into his suspension chair, removes his cap, and places it on his chest.
He stares blankly and quietly at the patterns of cables and catwalks above him.
“Fall, load us up.”
NOS / CORE / FALL:
FALL watches with interest, the uneasy glances between ANDY and JAYMAN.
The tension in the CORE is thick enough to cut with a knife, but for once she bites her tongue.
Nodding to her captain, she paces to his side and slides the jack-in needle into his head with practiced ease.
Eyes sparkling with curiosity, FALL gestures for ANDROMEDA to lie back in her seat to be jacked in.
NOS / CORE / ANDROMEDA:
ANDY listens to JAYMAN's explanation of their mission, but her thoughts fight to keep from drifting away.
She can't help but notice JAYMAN's glance at her.
He's not comfortable with me being here. Shit. I didn't think this would happen.
ANDY leans back in her chair. She smiles a bitter smile and says, partly to herself, "Yeah... plug us in."
NOS / CORE / FALL:
Once ANDY is jacked in, FALL hops into her chair and opens a new program in the CONSTRUCT,
effectively uploading JAYMAN and ANDY as well.
She takes a moment to listen to the utter stillness in the Nos. The silence, such that it is,
is all encompassing, like a shroud. Pod-born operators are few and far between -- freed men and women either
want to fight in the Matrix or not at all. What makes FALL special is her ability to deal with the outside world.
If the ship were attacked by Sentinels right then, most would panic. FALL would not, which set her apart from
most of her pod-born comrades.
Shaking herself from her reverie, FALL focuses her attention on the image translation on the monitor.
NOS / CONSTRUCT / CRYSTAL:
The scenery changes with a flash. The gray road, the rusty sand, the blue sky, the unique smell of the
ocean, and the cherry-red Mazda, everything disappears. All CRYSTAL can stare at is the sharp, maybe a bit painful,
whiteness of the CONSTRUCT. She blinks uncomfortably for a moment.
The process has been started, she notes, Fall interrupted the program. And that means...
CRYSTAL closes her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath.
What's going on here, she wonders, frowning.
CRYSTAL wishes she could be out of the CONSTRUCT, alone with JAYMAN, to clear up this situation.
If he wasn't satisfied with her work, he should rather tell her... She recalls the last two missions. Failures.
Might Jay blame me for that, she wonders. She sighs again, desperate. If I could turn back time...
NOS / CONSTRUCT / ANDROMEDA:
ANDY closes her eyes and her upper body lifts a little as a sharp, familiar pain cuts through her.
She always hated this part of jacking in.
ANDY opens her eyes, and automatically blinks against the empty white CONSTRUCT.
She sees CRYSTAL standing there and smiles at her.
NOS / CONSTRUCT / JAYMAN:
With an electric jolt that reminds him of a sudden elevator shift, JAYMAN quickly adjusts to the change,
from the blackness behind his closed eyelids to the ultra whiteness of his new environment.
Standing in a circle of leather contrasting starkly against the featureless Construct, JAYMAN eyes his crew
in the same clockwise order as they lay in their suspension chairs - VERITAS to his left, ANDROMEDA straight ahead, then
CRYSTAL to his right.
JAYMAN turns to CRYSTAL, "Hope you don't mind... Since you're already here, I figured it would be easier
for you to shift into the Matrix, rather than unplug and plug back in."
His crisp tie blazing in bright red, JAYMAN continues.
"Now for our next mission..." (he gestures towards ANDY) "... As I told Andy on the Outside, our primary
objective is our final recon of Lotus, before we initiate online contact with her..." (he turns to CRYSTAL) "... So like the
previous reconnaisance missions last week, Crystal will enter the Matrix and monitor Lotus' activity on the internet,
verifying her suitability for contact, her daily routine, et cetera..." (he looks down, pausing briefly but seriously) "... But
unlike those missions, Andy will join her..." (he turns to ANDY) "Our secondary objective is for Andy to begin her first-contact
training under Crys..."
In the briefest of moments, JAYMAN is torn... torn between the unexplained need to keep ANDY from going,
and the inevitable necessity of letting her go, to strengthen his crew... But as captain, his crew was his utmost responsibility,
and a reflection of his command... Their burdens were his burdens, and their failures were his failures... The last two rescue
missions were his failures...
My failures...
JAYMAN turns to the newest crewmate, "Veritas and I will exit, so this time..." (he turns to ANDY and
CRYSTAL) "... you two will have to be partners..."
Through his mirror-reflective shades, JAYMAN focusses on his lieutenant, "Don't worry, Andy, I have
complete confidence in you... and Crys... Crys trained under Sky, and Sky was one of the best..."
For another moment, JAYMAN's mind drifts to his memories of his former commander, Sky... her sunny
blonde smile, her unforgettable wit, her undeniable skill with a sword... and her unimaginable death...
JAYMAN repeats in a whisper, "... One of the best..."
JAYMAN snaps back to the present.
"Any questions?"
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