oo1. ORION ✯✯✯ video (city-wide announcement)

[carnem]

[When the video flickers into focus, the man in the frame is immediately recognizable to anyone who has been in Zion for more than a few months. For those who are newer, it’s not difficult to catch up on the archives. Orion is Chiron’s man, a face young and handsome-- traits intended to reconcile his representation of an anti-Oracle Councilor on a network created by the Oracle. He isn’t much more than a puppet, but he is known to have been chosen and groomed to puppet very well. His sleeveless ZDG Medical uniform exposes the sockets in his arms; this too, deliberate.

The Council needs men like him, in times like these.] Greetings, Zion, [Orion says.] Today, I greet you on behalf of the Council, twelve voices in unity. During Truce Week, the hovership known as the Erebus returned to harbour with news of a tactical crisis. Four crews of the Zion Defense Grid were attacked by the Machines. In order to maximize the likelihood of survivors and to protect our strategy, the Council scrambled a rescue effort in secret. Commander Gwisin, Captain Metzger and Captain pro tem Antilles are coming home. [His face breaks into a small smile that fades.] We have news that one survivor is returning with them.

It is not the way of Zion to silence discourse and debate. However, it’s often difficult for the Council to straddle the lines between communication, respect for the fallen, and... catering to gossip mongers.

[He shrugs helplessly. He has very nice shoulders. He probably isn’t all that helpless, really. If one hadn’t already considered Tony Stark a mere gossip monger, it’s unavoidable to consider now.]

I only hope that my fellow unplugged remember the danger, the Machine threat, the necessity of stealth in our work near the human fields. And I hope that our Native-born brothers and sisters weigh these network discussions carefully. The Council answers to you as much as to the extracted citizens of Zion. Do not view fearful speculations as divisive, or a threat to our way of survival.

[Divisive.] Take it as an opportunity to improve our city. As the Zion Defense Grid debriefs the hovercrews, intelligence will be disseminated. Thank you for your attention and your patience.

On a closing note, the Zion Defense Grid invites you now to pay respect to the soldiers slain aboard the Himalia, Medea, Horus, and Memphis. Please join me in a moment of silence to honor our fallen.

[It stretches.] A ceremony will be held next week. We must rally around our families and our friends. Thank you, Zion. And good night.

Comments

Ą̳͇̬ͪͫ͛̀͒ͧN͊̊͛̎҉̯̖ONYMOUS̫͔͐ ̄̿̎̏͗̐AUDIO

[algoritmi]

[What follows is an audio-recording: first a blast of static that is completely indecipherable, deafening interference. The next moment, the distortion clears enough to hear the roar of hovercraft engines, and the frantic rise and fall of human voices.] --aven’t reached the extraction point yet, two minutes and closing, [is the voice of the operator.]

[The pilot’s voice emerges then:] The Medea will b-- boarding proximity by then. ETA forty-eight seconds. --ey’re hailing us on comms, --order of Councilor--

--our people-- findings in the Ma--ix? [the Captain’s gravelly voice, terse, to fit with the screaming urgency of the engines.]

Insufficient-- --ata [static clutters the operator’s reply.] --for Councilor Bru--

[The Captain is silent for another fractioned instant.] All right. Prepare the transmiss-- --nd wipe the drive.

( Audio )

[sfoils]

[ And the plot thickens. Why did he think this time it'd different than last time? It almost makes him long for his long-standing feud with Chief Councilor Borsk Fey'lya.

Sadly, a career of disrespecting politicians (and never suffering significant repercussions) instilled in Wedge a need to be a cheeky bastard: ] Oops.

audio.

[carnem]

Hello Captain pro tem.

[Zayn Orion sounds wry, kind of decoratively concerned. If there's real worry in him at all, it's buried deep.]

I really hope you didn't accidentally typo all your findings onto the public network. And welcome home, by the way.

Audio > Video

[sfoils]

Hello, Orion.

[ Wedge looks positively chipper. ] The Council knows that's not the type of captain I am. They'll find all of the Durga's findings in the report, as ordered.

Thank you. It's good to be back.

video.

[carnem]

[Orion's eyes crinkle.] That's true. Excellent, [he says, sitting forward a little.] There wouldn't be much of Zion without her Defense Grid.

You probably have some concerns now.

[sfoils]

Not really, no. I'm a soldier, not a politician. I don't really care about the Council's infighting.

I just want to keep the citizens of Zion safe. And I can do that best from a cockpit.

[carnem]

Sounds practical, [Orion says. He's obviously capable of expounding at length about it, but he chooses not to. Wedge's statement pretty much stands for itself. Well, and as a good example to everyone.]

Does that mean you're going for a pilot position, or do you hope to keep the Durga?

[sfoils]

Whatever the Council decides. I'm not picky—if it hovers or flies, I can drive it. [ It's half-bragging, half-factual statement. ]

[carnem]

[Orion smiles. If he's put off by the bragging half of the statement, he doesn't let it on.] I see.

It's usually not feasible to observe sensor feed, organize tactics, and pilot all at once. Should I assume that you'd be happiest if the Council locked you in to drive?

[sfoils]

[ A flat smile. ] What is this, a job interview?

[carnem]

Nah, this is the interlude between interviews.

I'm just holding a conversation. [Orion's smile isn't flat. It's 3-dimensional technicolor. Not obviously insincere.]

[sfoils]

Alright.

[ Deadpan. ] There’s nothing I enjoy more than long walks across the shipyards. Some of my other hobbies include watching hovercrafts from the service platforms, indulging in third rate Irkallan whiskey with a scrumptious protein soup dinner, and soldering gun-light conversations on space travel.

[carnem]

Sounds romantic, [Orion answers, easily in kind. He's as comfy with deadpan as he is with Skye's Intensity.]

I took you more for a career type, but I can pass this along. I can probably even find you some companionship, if you'd prefer that kind of activity to a vertical move.

[sfoils]

What, you think I'm serious?

[ Wedge shakes his head. ] A rebellion is never a career, lad. We do what we must because we can. That's how we get to stay alive.

I didn't become a General for a pension. And I'm not going to become a Captain for it either.

[carnem]

[Orion takes a moment to reply, his eyes moving left and right across the screen, a little confused in the way that people get when they're not sure they're being understood.]

Are you saying that you don't enjoy long walks across the shipyards, you don't want your pay, or you don't want Captaincy? [Given that the entire society is built on a barter system, the term pension doesn't apparently hold much meaning for the Councilor's man.] I'd appreciate it if you left rhetoric by the wayside for a few minutes. I think you're trying to make a point, but it's getting in your way.

[sfoils]

[ A clench of his jaw. ] I'm saying that I'm getting tired of having to explain myself to you, Orion, and you twisting my words. I didn't spend over a decade in there, doing the exact same thing I will be doing out here, only to be questioned and misunderstood by a Counselor's lackey.

I'm good at what I do—and what I will be doing—because I don't play political games. Everything that I am and will be is written in that application. If any Counselors have more questions, they can come to me.

[ A pause. ] And for the record, yes, I do enjoy long walks across the shipyards. It reminds me of what I'm fighting for.

[carnem]

I didn't mean to upset you, [Orion says, promptly apologetic.

It's as if he'd never threatened or twisted Wench's words at all. As if.

However, he seems frank enough, when he says,] I just honestly wanted to know if you, personally, preferred to be a captain or a pilot. They don't ask that sort of thing on the application. As far as I'm aware, you're passionate about both, but they didn't make you choose in the world you came from.

[sfoils]

I'm not upset. Trust me.

[ An exhale, a loosening of his jaw. ] Me, personally? A pilot. But not of Zion's hovercrafts: the Incom T-65 X-wing, a one-manned snubfighter, was my specialty on my Matrix.

So, professionally, captain. We have plenty of kids who want to fly. People with enough experience to be captains? Not so much.

[carnem]

[Though Wedge looks upset, Orion evidently thinks better than to ask.] I read a little about the spacecraft of your world, [he answers.] It was definitely a different experience.

And you're absolutely right about that. Plenty of kids who want to be captains. Experience, less so.

[sfoils]

[ That's the great (and worst) thing about being the embodiment of the :| emoticon: people assign their own preconceived notions of what they think your emotions are, not necessarily what they actually are. ] Does that mean someone in the Council did look over my engine schematics? Nuclear is a good idea for an alternative fuel source, even if you're all afraid of it.

Someone has to teach these kids how to fly. Even if I have to do it aboard a bridge.

[carnem]

[The explicit 'getting tired of having to explain myself' statement sandwiched between sarcasm and sighs might color one's perception of that emoticon as well, but there is certainly a happy kind of tired. That Orion would apparently be happy to leave Wedge with.]

No, it just means I understand the military of your world is different to the Zion Defense Grid. As for your proposal, I believe someone is looking at it, but I'd hesitate to speak on the behalf of our experts. I will say that we've stuck with geothermal energy for this long partly because the technology to change isn't readily available. You've seen the amount of scrap we have to reintegrate. [His cheek twitches.] It's regrettable.

[sfoils]

It's regrettable, yes. But the more we keep relying in said scraps, the harder we'll find it to move away from them.

[ Why must forward thinking always be met by bureaucracy and the stagnation that's the status quo? Wedge understands that humanity had to make do with what they had, but is living in the shadows of their past mistakes all they can do? Kosala is a perfect example that humans can do more than just exist. ] I don't expect the Council to approve of me taking a ship to hunt for some uranium, no. But someone up there must realize that magnetism limits our hovercrafts to...ah, forget it.

text;

[algoritmi]

zion has͟͏͕͎̘̤̟͍ͅ ̢̙̝̮͕l̜̹̀ong l͔͖͍̦ea̡̨͙̮̮̰̞̗̭̫̬r͚͎̲̫͙̞̘ͅn̼͉̯̠̹͢͡ed to live withi͇͢͢n̰̰̼͖̪̰̗͔̲ its lim̷̙̭̰ì̯͓̕t̵̻͇͍̲̞̬̰̀͜s̘̪̩̲. i know̶̙̹͇͓̭͕͜͠ͅ it's a s͖̞̪͈͟h̨̯̦̲̺̤͢ͅo̶̹̫͖̱̳̕͜ck for you.

[sfoils]

Limits it set for itself by refusing to acknowledge sentience in its own creations.

[ Impassive. ] So now we're forced to wallow in the ruins of our own civilizations.

[algoritmi]

to be rea̗͓̫͉̲͎̠listic, tha͜ṭ̨̳͉̠͙̘ wasn't zion.

humankind l̸̼̭͎͈o͕n̥̝̤̟̺g predates this city.

changͥ̃ͦͬ̋̊e̟͇̲̼̬̹ͯ̀ͅ is d̳͔̜̽́if̦͇͚͇̻͎͋ͩͧͩ̈́̃ͅf͓̫̮̘̳̖̹̎̅̒̾ͣ̍ͬï̻̩͔̥̻̅ͮ͌cu̺̝̙̼̹͚l̡ͭ̈́t̺̗̥̯͛, isn't i̛t?