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	Exception To The Rule (Conclusion)
	Posted By: REB	Date: 7/13/03 5:30 p.m.
	In Response To: Exception To The Rule (Continued) (REB) (Continued from previous post) "Loop, make an one-eighty!" asked Sirius from the right turret. "You kiddin'?" "I'm dead serious!" "The ship's gonna crack open." "Just do it dammit!!" Slowly, Loop turned the ship upside down, giving Sirius the chance of shooting down a sentinel that was rapidly approaching to the left side of the ship, outside the right turret's range. On the cockpit, the old potential, who wasn't wearing his seatbelt, rolled all the way to the ceiling. Midas looked down at him and asked him if he was alright, but all he got for response was a mumbling about a kickass simulation and someone named Leela. "Poor old man." Sirius, on the other hand, was euphoric: that was the last sentinel! He kicked the floor, punched the ceiling and screamed at the top of his lungs while the ship continued to turn around, slowly, back to it's original orientation. His celebration was cut short when he saw, hiding among the ruins, another sentinel. After taking down most of the sentinels, facing another one shouldn't be a problem for Sirius - but it was a problem, a big one. This wasn't just another sentinel, this was the very last one; the difference between life and death for he and his friends depended on whenever he destroyed it or not, and for Sirius, the story of his life could be resumed to: "The guy who always ruined everything at the last minute." His hands began to shake; cold sweat poured down on his face, but he didn't do anything to let the sentinel know he was aware of it's presence. The mechanical creature flew from one building to another, trying to keep a low profile. Finally, the sentinel started chasing the ship and Sirius targeted it. Feeling the blood pounding in his temples, he pulled the trigger and then: click! Sirius pulled the trigger again, but the reaction was the same: click! "I can't belive this!" he screamed and pulled the trigger over and over. Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! The sentinel landed on top of the ship and started to drill a hole in the hull. Midas and Loop exchanged looks as the alarm sounded and they heard over the communicator Sirius voice saying the last thing on Earth they wanted to hear: "I'm outta ammo!!" "Can you fly close to that building, so it doesn't hit us, just the sentinel?" asked Midas to Loop. "You just read my mind." Loop turned the ship ninety degrees and flew just a couple of feet away from the building, but the sentinel saw what was about to happen and jumped out of the ship on time. After the Marathon passed the building, the sentinel returned and continued drilling the hole. Being a cargo ship, the Marathon had a weak hull. Midas knew it would take just a few more seconds to the sentinel to breach in. Desperate, he ordered Loop to crash the ship. And for the first and last time, Loop didn't questioned Midas' judgement. The old potential, not caring much about the imminent crash as it would be the end of the simulation, noticed the reflection of Magik's face on the glass. Not that she didn't look beautiful, but on the real Marathon she looked spectacular and here on the Matrix she looked... unperfect. Midas saw also Magik's face on the glass and turned to see that the old potential wasn't wearing his seatbelt still. He unlocked his own belt and rushed to lock the old potential's belt, then he rushed back to his seat. The sentinel saw that the human pilot was repeating the tactic to scare it away, but the sentinel though it could get into the ship before they reach that other building. Just another cut with the laser... Both Midas and the sentinel ran out of time. When Midas woke up, he felt numb and yet in pain and cold. Loop, Sirius and even the crazy old potential were looking at him. The cockpit was a mess. "Anybody hurt?" he had to ask. "We're cool," replied Loop. "Stay calm, don't move. You're gonna be fine." "The sentinel?" "He promised to send us a postcard from Hell" said Sirius. "Whatta 'bout the old lady?" "It barely stands on one piece. But after a few repairs, I think we can take off on auxiliary power," said Sirius. "Great... Now I can die in peace." "You can give us that pleasure on some other time, captain," replied Loop. "Where's the ship doctor?" asked the old potential. Loop gave him a hard look and answered: "Magik was our doctor. Now she's dead, thanks to you!" The old potential was about to give Loop a piece of his mind, but Sirius said to Loop first: "How can you be so sure?" "What do you mean?" Sirius went back to the main deck and turned on one of the monitors that wasn't cracked. The rain of green code appeared on the screen. "Look, they haven't done anything yet," Sirius pointed out to Loop. "They're lying still!" "No, they're moving - they're just doing it at a slower pace than us. You see, time doesn't pass at the same rate on the Matrix as it does on the real world. Sometimes it's faster, sometimes it's slower. Right now the machines must be concentrating all their processing power on the invasion to Zion, that's why the Matrix had slowed down considerably." "So we still got a chance to rescue Magik?" "And save Midas life. But we must hurry - this lag won't last forever." TO BE CONCLUDED...

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Replies:

	Fan Fiction: Exception To The Rule	REB	7/11/03 6:24 p.m.
	Exception To The Rule (Continued)	REB	7/12/03 11:15 a.m.
	Exception To The Rule (Conclusion)	REB	7/13/03 5:30 p.m.
	Re: Exception To The Rule (Conclusion)	ukimalefu	7/20/03 7:04 p.m.
	Re: Exception To The Rule (Conclusion)	REB	7/21/03 1:58 a.m.
	Re: Exception To The Rule (Conclusion)	ukimalefu	7/22/03 5:17 p.m.
	Re: Exception To The Rule (Conclusion)	REB	7/23/03 2:14 a.m.

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