The
rain trickled down on GQubed's head, letting him know that it was just
another day in the Matrix, same as the day before. He looked at the
growing number of his people gathered around the hardline at Vauxton
West where his surrogate family, Exodus, met daily. They were indeed a
remarkable group of operatives, and even better people. Truthfully, he
never expected there to be this many when he first set out on the quest
that lead him away from the safety and security of his former faction,
and yet here they were, all looking to him for something, anything to
do to help further their common cause.
Peace was not any
closer than it had been the day they decided to work solely toward the
goal of peace and prosperity between man and machine, and yet this
loyal group had not given up. They had fought and bled for him. They
had sacrificed and put themselves at great risk by not attacking
machinist operatives until they were themselves attacked first. They
had gone out of their way to hunt down Merovingian followers, and
Cypherites hellbent on causing mayhem and turmoil in an already hostile
world teetering on the brink of war. He had trained them to the best of
his knowledge and pushed them harder than he had ever been pushed
himself in the hope that when the time came, they would be able to rise
above their emotions and focus clearly on their combined goals both in
battle and in real life.
As his eyes moved from one to the
next he sensed that perhaps they were tired. It is indeed hard to work
so diligently for something without seeing what headway you may or may
not be making. They needed something to put their minds at ease... a
test, perhaps, to prove to themselves and eachother that all the hard
work and training would pay off, but how?
The answer came in an
a most unexpected way. His cell phone rang, and a unnamed informant
told him of a battle being waged between Machinists, Merovingians,
Cypherites and Zionites in the Appolyon region of Richland. GQubed's
stomach churned as he thought of how he loathed Richland and the
violence that it seemed to be the breeding ground for, but what better
way to test his operatives on their belief in their cause, as well as
their skills in battle. It would be difficult, no doubt, as the
Machinist would surely attack whether Exodus was fighting Cypherite or
Merovingian, but the true test would be if his people fell to the
desire to attack the Machinists first.
With a short call to all
of the Captains, and little instruction as to what they would face,
GQubed lead them into the fray. Hours later, when the smoke had cleared
and the blood had dried on the hot pavement of the poor excuse for a
nightclub's parking lot, he looked at his faction with pride. They had
not been 100% victorious in the impromtu test, but they had indeed made
him proud. War is a harsh business, but then again, that is what they
were trying to prevent. The skirmish was over and everyone had made it
out of it in good condition, perhaps a little wiser and alot more
tired, but in his eyes they had done justice for the truce that Neo had
given his life for.
He sent a short broadcast commending them
all on a job well done and with that, gave the order for everyone to
find their exits and get some rest. The Matrix would be there tomorrow,
and thankfully so would they.
