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FOLLOW THE NOSFERATU
* CHAPTER 2 * - Lotus
* 5 * - Search or Sleep
POST 032 / NOS / COCKPIT / CRYSTAL:
"After all, you're the expert" Crystal heard Jayman's chuckle.
She smiled and glanced at the clock. Less than a hour till the mission, she noted with a sigh, then looked at the
screen, her eyes following the blinking little light that showed the Nos' position.
Entering the Matrix soon... and then? What follows?
Her thoughts wandered back to the day she had last been in the Matrix... Scenes appeared one by one... as clear as if
they had happened just a few hours before... Andy and her... Andy's strange look and awkward, annoying silence... All that uncertainity
Crystal had felt about her... Crystal sighed slightly, still staring at the screen... She still could smell the dusty, stale air of the old building,
see the dark, messy floors, hear the cracking sound of broken bottles from under her feet, the crunches of the stairs... She swallowed,
feeling a mixture of the upbeat excitement for the mission and the nervous uncertainty over whether everything will be alright...
Suddenly an image from her dream flashed through her mind... The red blood mixing with the rain on the pavement...
uniting as one...
Crystal shivered and desperately shook her head to get rid of the frightening vision. Her stomach cramping, she bit her
lip to stay calm and focus on the coordinates of the ship. But as if an unknown force took control of her mind, she couldn't push the images
aside... Andy... snapping at her behind the old building...
"You think you got it all figured out, but you don't. Don't answer me, Crystal..."
Andy's words, like sharp knives, echoed in her brain. Crystal stared at the displays, paralized, blinking.
Why? Why does she haunt me after all?
She closed her eyes for a moment, then looked at the dark tunnel.
Could that shadow be Andy who killed me in my dream? Or is remembering all this a sign?... A warning?... That i should
be careful?... Because someone is enraged at me and would like to see me dead?... Or is there any other meaning of my dream? Is there
ANY meaning there at all?
Smoothly taking the turn to the right, following the curve of the tunnel, Crystal took a deep breath.
She frowned. Whatever, I won't let some fuckin' shadows take over me... There's not much time left...
POST 033 / NOS / CORE / HITCHHIKER & MIRIAM:
Miriam yawned.
Lieutenant Commander Hitchhiker smiled quietly and turned to his close sisterly friend.
Like a little sister...
"Come on, sis," he said, "You look like hell... Go get some sleep."
"Yeah-yeah..." Miriam protested before another deep yawn caught her for several moments. "Aaah, maybe you're right,"
she reluctantly agreed and climbed out of the suspension chair.
Twisting his old cap more tightly to his scalp, Hitch gazed at the Core tower, and replied with his wide toothy smile,
"I'm always right."
The young woman paused mid-step to cast a sideways "Yeah, right" look.
Catching her deliberate pause in his peripheral vision, the large operator reacted with his own sideways "Okay, you got
me" look.
SMACK! Miriam smacked his massive black-skinned shoulder. "You're such a big liar!"
Hitch chuckled.
"Good night," she added with a kiss to his cheek, "and good luck with the mission."
"Thanks," he whispered, and watched her retreat from the Core towards her quarters.
Thanks, sis... Glad to have you aboard... Glad to have family aboard...
POST 034 / NOS / MIR'S & LIB'S QUARTERS / AVALON:
Avalon smiled. You can't know how happy it makes me to hear life has been good for you. I hope you'll be around
for awhile.
"Same old, same old. Life on a ship has its good times and its bad times. We've lost a few people along the way,
Fall most recently, but the battles keep on. You learn, if not to live with death, to at least ignore it for awhile."
Sitting up on the bed, she straightened her tunic, and grinned sheepishly.
"However, I haven't had the same luck with the guys as you. Is he hot?"
POST 035 / NOS / CORE / MIRIAM & HITCHHIKER:
"Good night," Miriam added with a kiss to Hitch's cheek, "and good luck with the mission."
"Thanks," he whispered.
As Miriam headed away towards her shared quarters, her boots clunking upon the deck, another yawn found her,
grabbed hold, and pushed out of her. Out of habit, she filled her cheeks with air and deflated them with a series of puffs. And suddenly,
she shivered in the growing cold, curling her left upper arm under her right hand.
Damn, it's getting cold... We must be close to broadcast depth...
MIR'S & LIB'S QUARTERS / MIRIAM:
As she passed the captain's quarters, then Hitch's quarters, Miriam could hear the chief medic's voice echoing from
her quarters.
"However," Avalon said, "I haven't had the same luck with the guys as you. Is he hot?"
Leaning against the doorway, Miriam put her hand on her waist, playfully tilted her head to one side, and smiled
widely. "Is who hot?"
POST 036 / NOS / MIR'S & LIB'S QUARTERS / LIBERTAD:
Libertad blushed with a naughty smile on her face. She felt a bit like a kid who's being caught doing something
bad. "Err... a guy I met. My boyfriend. Or friend. Hell, I don't know. We acted like best friends all the time, except for the last
time we met. I hadn't told him my intentions until that day. When he knew I was joining, he kissed my lips and said 'You'll get
more of these when you're back.' It was just amazing." She remembered the moment. How happy she had felt. Now she realized
how much she missed him.
"Answering your question in a word: Yes. He is very, very hot... One day he invited me for dinner at his
place. I guess I arrived too early." She blushed even more, if that was possible, while seeing the scene happening again in her
mind. "His door was open, so I just came in. I found him finishing his shower. He was completely naked. You know, I liked him
before, but from that moment... mmm..."
She laughed softly and left her hairbrush aside. She was a bit worried about what Avalon had said about
death. Getting used to seeing it, to living it? Was she kidding? She didn't want to be like that.
I suppose you gotta be like that or go crazy, huh? She looked at both, Avalon and Miriam, suddenly
helpless.
"What happened to Fall? Why did she die? An Agent killed her?" she asked, hoping she hadn't annoyed them.
Although she had felt like one of those little kids who can't stop asking questions.
POST 037 / NOS / COCKPIT / JAYMAN:
Three weeks... Not good at all...
As Captain Jayman stared beyond the cockpit windshield, down the spinning and streaking sewer tunnel, his
awareness began to fade into the terrifying yet welcoming haze. He told himself that he'd close his eyes for only a minute. And
before he knew it, he fell asleep amidst the gentle roll of the ship, and the tender hum of the engines.
Three weeks... Not good at all... Not good enough... Not good enough to be captain... Not as good as
Kan-chiang... You let Kan-chiang die... Kan-chiang died... Soon you will die... You will die... I will die... Not good enough...
With a start, Jayman awoke. Back in the cockpit. Back in the ship. Back in the tunnel.
A few minutes. It was only a few minutes.
He turned to the red lines and dots on the flickering screen, and squinted at the estimated time remaining. 0007.
What? Seven minutes left?
His initial reaction was to scramble in preparation. Preparation for the mission. But he thought about it and
calmed down. There was nothing he would've or could've done to be any more prepared than he already was. Nothing. He urged
himself to relax, and eased himself back into his chair.
Without turning his head, he grinned warmly. Thanks for letting me rest.
Finally, he whispered, "Thanks."
POST 038 / NOS / COCKPIT / CRYSTAL:
Noticing that the captain had fallen asleep, Crystal couldn't help a little smile. Acknowledging that the next
quarter of the tunnel was quite straight, no curves, she set the controls for the ride along, leaned back in her seat, and fixed her
look on Jayman.
He looks so relaxed while napping...
Crystal surmised that the only times she hadn't seen any concerns on his face were when he was sleeping.
Any other times, he needed to be in charge of the duties, caring about the ship, crew, missions, making decisions, giving
commands. There had been no time for resting much.
Tension, fear and concerns... The constant concomitant of duties...
Crystal supported her head with her hands, and studied the face of the napping captain. With a soft smile, she
drifted back in time.
In the years of 095 and 096... The period she shared her room with him... Lying beside him in her huge,
comfortable, warm bed through so many nights... There were times she couldn't sleep... Then she just had watched him
sleeping, enjoying just seeing his relaxed face... Not making any moves, being afraid of waking him up...
Suddenly the frightening image of her motionless body in blood, in the rainy street of the Matrix, flashed
through her mind again, making her shiver and tremble, breathing faster. Subconsciously, Crystal grabbed her seat, swallowing,
trying to take over this terrible feeling.
Calm down, girl, calm down... her mind repeated again and again, urging her to relax and focus
on the duty. That was just a dream, she reminded herself. Just a bloody dream!
Reminding herself of duty, turning back to the control panel, she checked the displays.
The next turn is in about 2 minutes... Crystal noted and glanced at the clock. There's almost 7
minutes left till broadcast depth... 7 minutes till the mission... Till entering the matrix again... 7 more minutes of freedom...
And then? After another 7 minutes?
Hearing Jayman say something, Crystal turned to the captain, still a bit distracted.
"Sorry, did you ask something?"
POST 039 / NOS / CORE / HITCHHIKER:
Lieutenant Commander Hitchhiker studied. For the last half hour or more, he studied the city maps, the
street layouts, and the building plans for their reconnaissance mission. Hopefully, their final recon mission before first
contact. He studied the operator logs. His predecessor's final operator commands. Or lack of commands. The apartment
building. No attention had been drawn to it thus far. No Agents. So no reason to fix what ain't broke.
The apartment building rested on 3rd Avenue. Two lanes in each direction. Apparently, the plan was to
travel several blocks north to 3rd and 12th Street. From there, to travel one long city block west to the junction of 4th and
12th. Once there, to access a secure phone line. But why? He didn't get it. He just didn't understand.
Why go through all the trouble to get to the second line when there was a perfectly good hardline upon
entry?
They could've easily used a phone-line splitter. Or better yet, they could've just as easily hooked the phone
to the laptop, and then the laptop to the hardline. If there was a situation with Agents, the operator would've detected
anything odd. Out of the ordinary. A sound. An image. A glitch. Anything. Unless. Unless something else was going on.
Was Fall playing games here? What was she going to--
He knitted his thick eyebrows. And then he shrugged the idea away with the shake of his head. He'd never
know. He didn't want to know. At least not yet. Not now.
Less than ten minutes. More specifically, less than seven.
POST 040 / NOS / MIR'S & LIB'S QUARTERS / AVALON:
"What happened to Fall?" Avalon mused softly, smiling sadly at the new crewmates in front of her.
Standing up from Miriam's bed, offering it back to her, Avalon straightened her shoulders and looked Libertad in the eye.
"She was tired of living and assumed everyone else was. Fall tried to kill Andromeda, but Veritas struck
her down. The blow from Veritas killed Fall. Sometimes that happens." Avalon shrugged her shoulders slightly. "The stress
from this life builds up into a psychotic episode. Sometimes you see it coming, sometimes you don't. It's not entirely uncommon,
but this was the first one to result in death in a while."
Stretching her arms behind her back, Avalon smiled wearily. As she began to walk towards the door, she
said, "Good night, ladies. I hope you have sweet dreams of hunky males."
POST 041 / NOS / MIR'S & LIB'S QUARTERS / MIRIAM:
"Good night," Miriam replied as she dropped herself in her little bed against the cold bulkhead, and smiled
wearily. "You too."
As the single-armed martial-arts expert unbuckled her boots, pushed off her ragged pants, and curled against
her pillow, she tugged the grey covers over herself, and swept several strands of curly shoulder-length hair from her brown eyes.
Libertad's last question stuck in her mind.
"An Agent killed her?"
Miriam didn't know it back then, but the terrifying black Demons ten years ago were the same terrifying Agents
she might have to face very soon. Might have to. And would have to. So soon. She would never forget the deep dark voice that
pierced her and her twin brother.
"We're here to cleanse your souls," the Agent had said.
"No, get away from us!" her twin brother yelled, suddenly clutching his heart.
"Or else what?" the Agent taunted, taking a solid step closer.
And suddenly, she shivered under her bed covers, curling her left upper arm under her right hand. She hoped
all her years of recovering and growing and training, with her Zion instructors and coaches, with Million and Hitchhiker, would be
enough. It would have to be.
Gazing hazily at Libertad on the other bed, against the other bunkhead at a right angle to her own, Miriam
sleepily searched her face, her expression, her dark eyes. She thought she could see something. She thought she could sense
a real fear in the shy teenager. She was going to ask her something. To ask if she was okay. But before she did, her exhaustion
finally dragged her eyelids down and swiftly pulled her into dreamland.
POST 042 / NOS / MIR'S & LIB'S QUARTERS / LIBERTAD:
Libertad's eyes were wide open. She had faced the idea that she would probably be unable to sleep that
night. Avalon's words about Fall were sounding again and again inside her head. She was scared of insanity, of going crazy
someday and trying to hurt the others.
She laid on the mattress, looking at the metal wall. She was exhausted. It had been a long day, her first
day as a crew member. Everyone had been nice to her, but she felt overwhelmed. It was too much. Too much responsibilities
for her. She felt helpless. In moments like that, she missed the Matrix. Inside everything was so easy. She would always have
somebody to do things for her, she had nothing to worry about. She was rich, cute and intelligent, she had it all...
Not all and you know that, she thought.
She wished that Rodin was there. He would have said something to cheer her up. She would have laughed
and hugged him and then, he would have rocked her in his arms until she would have fallen asleep.
Her eyes closed, but it didn't matter anymore. She was seeing Rodin.
POST 043a / MATRIX / LOTUS' BEDROOM / LOTUS:
The start of another long night...
As Cynthia sat in her wooden chair at her wooden desk, her flower-painted desk lamp shone a harsh circular
area upon her keyboard. Click-click-click. Except for the phosphorous flickers of her screen, the rest of her room was cast into
relative blackness. Click-click-click. Her fingers tapped strings and phrases and melodies of alphanumeric characters. Another
flash struck through her memory...
The crashing flash and burn of blinding light... the mysterious flash of strange green symbols...
Another afternoon. Another night. Another search. Another stranger. She gazed at her screen alias.
>> Lotus:
Click-click-click. She typed another string.
>> Lotus: What are these green symbols I remember?
Nothing.
Click-click-click. Another search. Another board. Another post. Another question.
>> Lotus: What are these green hieroglyphs I see?
Nothing.
Puzzling green symbols... so puzzling...
Click-click-click. Another click. Another key. Another minute. Another hour.
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