The Ouroboros needed repairs badly. Dare decided to set the ship down in a seemingly abandoned location in the Desert of the Real. The ship had been neglected for too long. The excursions in the Matrix tied up all of the crew’s time. Dare ordered the crew to begin repairs immediately. Since Dare and I did not have enough mechanical knowledge to fix the complex systems of the ship, we stood back and let the rest of the crew so their job. Dare retired to her quarters for the duration of the repairs, which lasted for a few days. She wrote in the ship’s logs and her private logs, and worked on whatever else needed her attention. However, I was restless from living in a confined space for so long.
I walked over to Dare’s quarters from my room. I knocked on the door. “Yes?” Dare asked. “Captain, may I talk to you?” “Certainly, please come in,” Dare replied. I opened the door and stepped in, to see Dare sitting at a wooden chair with the ships logs displayed on the dimly lit screen. “Requesting permission to leave the ship and explore the surrounding area.” I said. Dare looked at me for a second and replied, “It’s dangerous out there.” “I know”, I replied. Dare got up and held out a GPS transponder, “take this, I will monitor your movements from here. If you are not back in one day I will assume that you have been hurt.” I strapped the transponder to my left arm. “Thank you, Captain” I replied. “Godspeed”, Dare said as I left.
I gathered some gear for my travels, and walked toward the Ouroboros’ hatch. I took one final look at the ship, and opened the door. A gail of cold air rushed into the ship. I took a step outside onto the cold, hard ground, and closed the hatch. I looked around at the landscape. The sky was it’s usual thunderous gray self. Ahead of me was a large building, obviously fortified from a battle with the machines. Wreckage lay around the Ouroboros. It was a wonder Dare found a place to land.
Seeing as the building in front of me was the only building that was partially standing, I headed off in that direction. This must have been the site of a huge battle. Abrams battle tanks lay in ruin next to the remnants of strange armored cyborgs. The cyborgs looked like giant bugs, with at least 8 legs, meant for travel over rough terrain.
I came upon the side of the fortified building. A wall appeared to have been erected around the building. I placed my hand upon the wall. It was cold to the touch, and must have been made out of composite steel. I started to walk along the wall, trying to find an entrance of some kind. I walked along the wall for almost an hour, and finally came upon something. One of the cyborg-bugs was perched in front of the wall, frozen. I stepped closer, and looked at what it had been doing.
The cyborg was using a laser drill to burrow a hole through the wall. It looks like it was successful, but shortly after it must have been hit by an EMP blast. It never moved out of the way. I looked inside the crudely cut hole. It dug all the way down into the building. Seeing as there was no other way to get into the building, I climbed in. the hole was barely big enough for me to fit. I had to crawl on all fours to make it through. After almost 15 minutes of crawling, I reached the end.
I crawled out the end, and stood up. It was pitch black. Luckily, I had brought along flares. I lit one, and the room became instantly bright. The building resembled an old-world military barracks. Humanoid cyborgs lay everywhere on the ground. Remnants of bones litter the floor next to the machines. I begin walking, and I hear the crunching of metal and bones beneath my feet.
Above my head are signs. One points to the left, saying, “ARMORY.” I was intrigued by this, and went down that hallway. I came upon a door, just as my flare began to fade. The hallway was pitch-black once again, as I fumbled through my survival pack looking for another flare. I felt around and eventually grabbed one. I took it out and struck it against my leg. Light, again.
A keypad was positioned next to the door. I tapped a few buttons, and they made a clicking sound, but….nothing. I was just about to give up when I decided to just push the door, and, to my amazement, it creaked open. I walked carefully inside, and saw row upon row of gun racks…..all empty. Disappointed, I returned to the main hallway and continued on. I reached a new sign saying, “BASE COMMANDER à”. I took a right, and came upon a locked door. The door as weakened from decades of rot and rust.
I kicked the door as hard as I could, but dust just slid off it into a small could. I kicked again, and heard a creak. The third time I kicked the door, the lock gave way with a smash and the door bashed into the side of the room. I walked in, and saw the usual office attire…a desk, a high back executive chair, a flower pot, which must have contained a flower at one point, and picture frames. I went forward to look upon the pictures. When I got to the desk I looked down to grasp one of the frames, when I saw a skeleton, still neatly composed.
I walked over to the back of the desk and crouched down. The person was in a fetal position. “He must have died scared out of his mind…” I thought. He was leaning against the desk. In one hand, he held a picture that faintly resembled a family through all the dust. In the other hand, he held a fairly large revolver, with intricate engravings. As I was about to grab the revolver, (for my weapon of choice was a revolver in the Matrix), I noticed a small book. “Must be his diary”, I said to myself. I hadn’t talked at all since I was there, and my voice seemed small and alone as it echoed through the base. A chill ran down my spine.
I picked up the diary and gingerly opened to the first page. The first few pages described the life aboard the base, and this person was indeed the base commander. I flipped through the diary to the last page. I began to read it……
“I hear them everywhere; their metallic footsteps echoing through the hallway. They keep banging against the door. I don’t know how long it’s going to last. I never dreamed that it would all end like this. There are only 5 bullets left in my gun, but I’ll save one, they’ll never take me.....”
That was the last entry in the diary. I placed the diary back where it was. I leaned down to get the revolver, and I looked to my left, at his skull. There, right next to the temple was a neat, small hole, no bigger than a quarter….
I decided not to explore the rest of the base. It reeked of death, and fear. I came out the same way I went in. Back through the hole. I squeezed by the cyborg’s head near the entrance. Then, I started my journey back to the Ouroboros. I had seen enough for one day. I looked down at my prize. The gun was exquisitely crafted, an object of pride for any man….
I opened the hatch of the Ouroboros and silently snuck in, for everyone was asleep. I placed my survival pack back on its holster in the loading area, and walked to Dare’s quarters. I knocked quietly on the door. A half-asleep Dare replied, “yes…” “Sorry for waking you Captain, just wanted to let you know that I was back”. I replied. “Did you find what you were looking for?...” “Yes....yes, I think I did…..” “Goodnight Captain” I said “Goodnight”, Dare replied.
I headed back to my room. I entered my quarters, and placed my revolver on the small corner table I had salvaged from our church operation. I climbed into my bunk, face-first. I let out a deep sigh, and closed my eyes, wondering how someone would find me…..with the revolver in my hand…….
