The CloudWolf Chronicles: At Any Time
(( The following is based during Chapter 8.2.5 of The Matrix Online ))

//Part 1

By the time the captain had arrived the city of Zion was already a shadow of its former self; walkways which should have been filled with hurried worshippers laid bare; tradesmen, housewives, children, all gone. The move to New Zion had been swift once the populace had been informed of the renewed danger of war. And who could blame them? Cowering in caves waiting for your own death can have a profound effect on one's confidence in a location's safety.

Indeed, the reality of the situation was clear to any who had stayed behind. Old Zion had quickly become a temporary base of operations for Zion Command and nothing more. And even that was only due to the necessity of certain transfer protocols.

Regardless, CloudWolf felt more at home here than he ever could in the new city. For all its silence and solitude, Old Zion was still his home. His place of hope.

That was until the attack.

It was morning, or at least it was according to the Inter-Matrix Chronological Uplink. The Captain had decided to take a moments downtime from his volunteer work helping Tyndall and the other control personnel direct defensive operations inside the simulation and found himself at one of the central platform's rounded observation docks. Both hands lay firmly on the metal railing as he took a deep breath and admired the view. The blue glow of the reconstructed comms tower, although dimmed due to the low powered state of the evacuated city, gave the interior of the metallic dome an almost underwater like appearance and tranquillity. A slight breeze whistled as it darted from supply container to supply container and seeing his operator, Piper, wave from the docked Leviathan in the distance soon had him smiling for the first time since they arrived.

It didn't last. The weight of the explosion rippled through the entire substructure of the dock, almost knocking CloudWolf off his feet. It had come from his left. Gate 6.

As he shot around, the captain could see flames and blackened smoke already beginning to slither their way into the air. It was then he knew exactly what was happening; a Cypherite attack. No doubt a diversionary tactic while they made their way to some main objective.

He had to act quickly, make his way back to the control centre and help protect Zion Command. Shooting Piper a quick support signal CloudWolf began running full pelt back up the way he'd so casually strolled only minutes beforehand.

//Part 2

On his journey back across the walkway there had been several more explosions; each shook the foundations of the platform and sent the captain stumbling along and ducking from the rubble that would descend from the ceiling's still fragile outer casing. Before long the blue aura from the comm uplink was almost indistinguishable against the intertwined reds and blacks of the bombings.

As he arrived back at the main building, the door at which he was heading towards suddenly flew off its hinges as the unconscious body of a well built masked man came bursting through the metal. Those who stepped out afterward were none other than CloudWolf's own crew mates Asurik and Ijakings, along with a large group of support personnel.

"Asu! Ija!" The captain shouted as he ran.

"Captain!"

"Thank god you're alive sir!"

The two of them involuntarily sounded off with a casual salute once they caught sight of their mentor. Although not strictly required in the Zion Military Structure, it had become a popular gesture during meetings within The Matrix and was more a sign of respect than any representation of the chain of command.

"There's no time for pleasantries I'm afraid guys, this place is in serious trouble and you need to get the hell out of here before things get any worse."

"Whadda mean 'we've' gotta get out? What about you?!" Asurik was as blunt as always.

"The Cypherites must be targeting the dock's gates for a reason. Something's on its way. Something big."

They all knew exactly what the captain was alluding to. Everyone had seen the files on the sentinel force poised and ready just in case Zion broke the truce. They just hoped it would never come to that.

"Now bombs may be enough to knock out the primary lock down procedures but you can bet your *CENSORED* they already know about the backups."

"To take care of that as well as the perimeter defences, they need direct access to the system."

"Via this control centre" Ijakings finished the thought.

"Right. And I've got to stop them. Alone."

"With all due respect sir, we're not leaving without you." Ija had spoke with conviction.

"He's right Cloud, we aint going nowhere!" Asurik's response, although certainly more direct, had contained the same deterministic value as his crewmate's.

"No, your job right now is to get these innocents to safety, ASAP."

Before they could argue back the captain quickly shot them a look which could only be described as saying 'just shut up and listen'.

"Now Piper's making her way up to this level via the bay 7 stairwell, meet up with her and take the X58 maintenance passage all the way to the New Zion emergency escape route, any other survivors will be there waiting."

Asurik saw his opening

"But..."

Seeing that the hard boiled commanding officer approach obviously hadn't worked CloudWolf dropped the act.

"Please, get out alive. For me."

The tone was soft and meaningful; there was little else his crew could do.

"Understood."

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now go!" He shouted with authority and yet the softness remained.

Following their orders the two men began to lead the survivors along the walkway. But not before turning to catch a glimpse at their captain as he entered the command centre, knowing it might have been the last time they ever saw him.

//Part 3

[PENDING]