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FOLLOW THE NOSFERATU
* CHAPTER 1 * - Rainfall
* 8 * - Clouds & Storms
NOS / CORE / FALL:
FALL sprawls in her chair, hooking one leg over the arm. An annoying bit of metal pokes into her back,
but she ignores it with practiced ease. This is her station, she has sat in it for enough hours to know its every contour.
Wriggling slightly, she confirms that the shape of her backside is indeed imprinted onto the less-than-soft seat beneath.
Sighing, FALL leans back, hands behind her head. Though she is the picture of the relaxed, she feels
anything but. The ship feels heavy with dark thoughts and anxieties, more so than usual. Something is deeply amiss.
As usual, she is an observer. FALL makes it her prerogative to stay out of all spats, break-ups, and petty arguments.
FALL: We're fighting a losing war, for Chrissakes. Surely they understand there is no time
for such melodrama!
Frowning, FALL opens her eyes a slit to glance once more over the green code. As she thought,
nothing was amiss, and all was silent in her headphones. Her gaze shifts to the two people jacked in, and to
ANDROMEDA in particular. FALL puckers her lips in thought as she observes the dark-skinned woman. Even with her
mind ensnared in a computer program, ANDY still gives off an air of angst and confusion.
FALL rolls her eyes skyward before closing them again. When CRYSTAL and JAYMAN broke up,
CRYSTAL had been almost unbearable. Almost. Moping around the ship like a sentinel had just ripped her puppy to
ribbons. FALL couldn't repress a snort of amusement, remembering the way everyone had trod on eggshells around
CRYSTAL and the Captain. She hadn't bowed to such measures, even going so far as to drop a few sardonic comments
in the vicinity of either. JAYMAN may have given her a few stern glares, but FALL had enjoyed herself far too much
at their expense to stop. It was almost a pity that CRYSTAL pulled herself together. And the Captain? Well...
Arching her back in a vaguely cat-like motion, FALL dutifully scans the code again for any approaching
dangers, before turning her dark eyes on ANDY again.
FALL: This unfolding soap opera could be just as enjoyable.
For a moment, she hesitates in her sudden plots for verbal machinations. JAYMAN didn't look too
good when he left the CORE. To her mind, the Captain was always one nail short of a coffin, but FALL can't remember
the worry lines on his forehead looking quite so pronounced. Torn for the moment, she regretfully gives up her plans
of mockery.
FALL: For now ...
The evil grin makes a brief appearance on her face before she can smother it successfully.
Nothing cheers FALL up quite so much as ridicule at another's expense. SPARKS had once called her 'callous,' before
promptly giving her a smack on the lips. They had both been smashed at the time.
Leaving her thoughts to stew in the tinny quiet of the CORE, FALL adjusts herself in the chair and
lazily continues to watch the Matrix code.
NOS / MATRIX / APARTMENT / ANDROMEDA:
Her face a mask of calmness, ANDY walks after CRYSTAL. No thought of anything but the mission
crosses her mind as she takes the first step, save for this one, I hope I can keep it that way...
NOS / MATRIX / HALLWAY:
At the far end of the dim hallway, amidst the smell of stale air and layered dust, is an old dead
elevator, its doors partly open and busted from neglect and vandalism. To the right of the old elevator, is a stairwell,
just-as-old, without lights but usable.
NOS / MATRIX / HALLWAY / CRYSTAL:
CRYSTAL glances back at ANDROMEDA, checking if she is following her. Acknowledging that she
is, CRYSTAL turns her look back at the long, dim hallway. Like the road to hell, she sneers.
Since she can't see its end, she must rely on her insticts, providing it's the right way out of the building.
Andy is so quiet lately, CRYSTAL notes, heading towards the end of the hallway.
Something must be bothering her. Just like almost everyone in the crew... What on earth is wrong with
everybody? she snaps in her head. Is this the effect of a full moon? Or is there a secret curse on the
Nos lately?
Maybe Andy knows something I don't, CRYSTAL glances at her companion.
Should I ask her?
Deep in their thoughts, without a word, they finally reach the possible exit.
"Damn," CRYSTAL frowns, facing the old, dead elevator, covered with graffiti and other
signs of vandalism. Stale, dusty air... a messy floor covered with splinters of wine bottles... spiderwebs hanging
off the ceiling... She feels like being dropped into the scenery of her old, favorite, horror computer game.
"Well, it seems we must take the stairs..." CRYSTAL looks at the also poor-conditioned stairwell
on the elevator's right.
NOS / MATRIX / HALLWAY / ANDROMEDA:
ANDY stops at CRYSTAL's side with a crackling sound. She looks down to her boots, and sees
she stepped on some broken glass.
"Nice place, cozy..." ANDY looks at the partly open elevator. "Yeah... the stairs it is.
Tell me, is it just me, or do all the good, safe, exits look like shit?"
NOS / CAPT. QTRS. / JAYMAN:
With a newfound light in his dark eyes, Captain JAYMAN readjusts his old black cap, leans forward,
and refocusses on the main screen of his workstation, depicting the encoded virtuality of late twentieth-century
metropolitan society.
Installed more than one or two decades ago, even before HELIOS was the captain, the captain's
workstation was unique in the REBEL FLEET. The HAMMER may be the biggest ship, and the LOGOS may be the fastest,
but only the NOSFERATU boasted a secondary operating station, equipped with a single main screen for the Matrix,
half a dozen smaller monitors, and a single jack-in line, not yet wired with a head-spike connector, but
connection-ready.
As JAYMAN feels a rekindled sense of pride in this fact, he lifts the headset off one of the monitor
hooks, places it over his cap, and flips the switch to activate it. The last time he put his headset on, it was over a
month ago, during the last set of reconnaissance missions, and the target was too ingrained, too entrenched in the
system for first contact, let alone rescue.
"Hey, Mozart, do you read me?" JAYMAN speaks into his mouthpiece, using his codename for FALL
whenever they sat at their respective stations at the same time. Because sometimes, it was quicker, preferable, or
just plain easier than standing over her shoulder.
With a slight sigh, JAYMAN notes to FALL, "It's been a long time..."
NOS / CORE / FALL:
FALL jumps at the crackling voice in her ear, and instinctively turns around, legs sliding off the
chair to look presentable for the authority figure... who isn't there. Frowning, FALL hears JAYMAN's voice again.
JAYMAN: "It's been a long time ..."
Quirking one eyebrow, FALL holds down the button that lets her speak.
FALL [defensive]: "Yes it has, sir. Can I ask, are you checking up on me? I'm watching them like
a hawk, Captain. You can't ask any more than that."
NOS / CAPT. QTRS. / JAYMAN:
JAYMAN chuckles into his headset, "No, no, nothing like that..."
As his chuckle fades, he continues, "I just wanted to talk to my first officer... I think it's time for me
to let go of my personal crap, get it out into the open, and get someone else's perspective..."
He pauses briefly amidst the muted station-to-station hiss.
Finally, JAYMAN adds, "If you don't mind, I wanted to talk... about Andy and maybe Crys... and
afterwards, if you're willing... no strings attached... you can tell me what's been going on with you since we left Zion..."
NOS / CORE / FALL:
FALL pinches the bridge of her nose, stifling a heartfelt groan. Watching someone suffer from afar is
her personal form of entertainment, but being weighed down with another's emotional baggage is not from afar and
consequently not on her list of 'Things To Do Before I Am Ripped To Shreds By Red-Eyed Squiddies.'
Shifting in her seat, FALL contemplates the last quiet comment her Captain said.
FALL: What's wrong with ME? Why, the cheeky little bugger. There's nothing wrong with
me. God, if he wasn't my superior...
Uttering a mental curse, FALL habitually scans the Matrix for any dangers.
FALL [resigned]: "How can I be of assistance, sir?"
NOS / MATRIX / LOTUS:
Sitting silently upon the flower-patterns covers of her bed, Cynthia stares out the small dirt-spotted
paint-cracked window in the dim grayness of her bedroom. Gazing past the rain-splattered glass and into the hissing
diagonal rain, she fades back to the memory...
Cold and distant... slow-motion snapshots... the squeaking windshield wipers... the oldies tune from
the backseat speakers... her dad's cursing... her mom's yelling... the shocking screams... the crashing flash and burn of
blinding light... the mysterious flash of strange green symbols... and all of a sudden, the silence... the lonely upside-down
silence... except for the hissing of the diagonal rain... through the bits of smashed glass... hissing... singing... singing
her to sleep...
HONK! HONK! The harsh honking of a nearby car shakes her back to reality... the questionable nature
of reality...
Cynthia pulls off her green book bag, her blue raincoat, and her black boots. She pulls the wooden chair
away from her wooden desk, sits down, switches on her flower-painted desk lamp, and switches on her computer.
As her computer boots up, Cynthia gazes blankly into her flickering monitor, and wonders about the
puzzling green symbols... the puzzling nature of reality... puzzling...
NOS / CAPT. QTRS. / JAYMAN:
If it was any other day but today, Captain JAYMAN wouldn't have let it bother him...
But no longer feeling the need - whether temporary or permanent - to bottle up his simmering emotions
and impulsive reactions, with his new perspective of 'letting go' and 'getting it out into the open,' Captain JAYMAN finally
bursts at the resigned tone and insolent tint in FALL's voice.
"Commander!" JAYMAN orders into his mouthpiece so that the echoes of his rarely-displayed rage can be
heard from his open quarters and throughout the CORE.
"I've just about had enough of it! I've looked past it... I've held my tongue... and I've put up with your
disrespect, your rudeness, your shit, for a hell of long time... for four years! The looks, the attitude, the comments... God,
your fucking comments! For four God-fucking years!"
JAYMAN leans back in his chair and laughs, shaking his head.
"You know, I thought you could be one of the best! I thought I saw something good in you... Kan-chiang
thought he saw something good in you... Well, maybe we were both wrong... and I'm beginning to think it was a big fucking
mistake to promote you! You were a child then, and you're still a child now... You're never gonna grow up, are you! Are you,
Commander!"
With an unrestrained smirk, JAYMAN finds that he misses even relishes the exciting fire of his anger.
"Are you listening, Commander? Because if you aren't, I'd be doing a great service to the crew if I finally
kicked your ass off my ship! Since I don't think they'd miss you at all!"
NOS / CORE / FALL:
Ears ringing, FALL blinks at the ensuing silence. Never, in four years of service, has she been yelled at
by the Captain. It takes a few moments for the angry words to penetrate her thick defences, but when they do, they spark
an anger deep within. She can barely think for the tempest of rage storming through her mind. Every muscle in her body is
taught, thrumming with the urge to fight; adrenaline pumps in her veins and she can barely see past the red cloud over
her eyes. Teeth clenched, she clicks the communication button open.
FALL [tight and quiet]: "Excuse me, sir, but you're blocking the line. Should Crys wish to call me she
will find the signal to be engaged. If you want her and Andy to end up dead by Agents, then by all means continue to
scream. Their blood will be on your hands. Otherwise, disconnect yourself so I may continue with my job of taking care of
them while they're completing your mission."
The second click as she releases the button seems to echo throughout the CORE. Technically, the ship
lines and Matrix communications do not cross, but FALL decides JAYMAN deserves one last chance to back out before she
lets all her wrath break on him like a storm.
NOS / MATRIX / HALLWAY / CRYSTAL:
Chuckling, CRYSTAL looks at ANDROMEDA.
"Well, you've hit the point," CRYSTAL smiles. "Sometimes I wonder if Fall has to do anything with it... to
entertain herself..."
A sudden noise breaks the silence around them. CRYSTAL immediately whirls towards the direction
of the sound.
NOS / MATRIX / HALLWAY / ANDROMEDA:
ANDY presses her back flat against the nearest wall, her hand holding one of her guns and aiming at the
source of the sound. Her other hand silently signals CRYSTAL to get behind her.
ANDY quickly looks around the room, to see if there are any windows or doors that she missed.
There are none.
Without another sound, ANDY mutters, "Shit."
NOS / MATRIX / HALLWAY / CRYSTAL:
Annoyed by the sudden change in ANDROMEDA's behaviour, CRYSTAL throws a piercing look at her.
What does this girl think to direct me what to do, CRYSTAL sneers.
I'm the lieutenant commander and second officer on the Nos, she is just a lieutenant after all. I've been on the ship
for more than 6 years... She's been on board for only 4 years. And this is Andy's first-contact training after all...
and not mine... Damn, I have enough troubles without this... Why did Jay pair me up with her?
CRYSTAL hasn't had any troubles with ANDY yet, so she wonders why she acts like this now.
CRYSTAL turns her look to the origin of the noise, placing her free hand on her gun.
Another little noise, and... A rat pops out of the garbage in the corner.
CRYSTAL bursts out in sudden laughter, easing her hold on her weapon. Looking at ANDROMEDA's
ready-to-fight position and scared expression, CRYSTAL can't deny getting a little satisfaction after the previous
annoyance.
"Rat-hunting, huh?" CRYSTAL chuckles.
NOS / MATRIX / HALLWAY / ANDROMEDA:
ANDY lowers her gun-holding hand and takes a step away from the wall. She shakes her head at her
own foolishness, smiles, and raises her eyes to meet CRYSTAL's.
"Sorry 'bout that. Old habits die hard."
ANDY shifts her posture to a more relaxed one and laughs.
"Shall we continue?"
NOS / MATRIX / HALLWAY / CRYSTAL:
Another sudden mood-change, CRYSTAL notes. She shoots a barely noticable, suspicious glance
at ANDY. Is this girl playing with me? Or am I just paranoid?
Managing a smile at ANDY's excuse, CRYSTAL nods, and turns back to the dark stairwell.
"Let's focus on the mission," CRYSTAL suggests, taking two steps toward the stairs.
"Damn, it's dark as hell..."
NOS / MATRIX / HALLWAY / ANDROMEDA:
I wonder if she'll tell Jay about me, jumping to protect her from a mouse like an idiot. A mouse!
I should have known better. Better to be safe than sorry, anyway. That's what my mom always used to say... My mom.
Yeah, right. Step into the dark corners of your own thoughts in the middle of a mission, Andy! That's one way to get the
captain's attention.
ANDY glares at CRYSTAL for a second, then quickly places her gaze elsewhere.
I wonder if she knows what goes on in my mind.
"Well, then," ANDY says, wiping the grim expression off her face, and along with it, her silly thoughts.
"Where exactly are we suppose to be settling? Never mind. Best if you just showed me. After you."
ANDY follows CRYSTAL the rest of the way in silence.
NOS / MATRIX / STAIRWELL:
CRYSTAL and ANDY are located on the third of five floors. With all the shattered windows boarded up,
and without any workable lights, a stale and dusty darkness fills the stairwell. The bottom of the stairwell leads to the first
floor main lobby, where the four front windows and the front double doors are also boarded up, in a similar claustrophobic
darkness. On the right wall, overlooking a narrow alleyway, two more windows are boarded up. But on the left wall,
overlooking another alleyway, one of the two boarded windows shows signs of trespass. The faded gray afternoon light
filters through this partially covered window.
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