A man named Cephaus - Recursion - 4/20/06

**Ghost**

We have another officer joining Merrit for Liaison duties. His name is Cephaus. Over time, you'll come to know him, and count on him, like we do. We can never have too many good men. :: Ghost

Cephaus

"My name is Simon Petros. Well, that was my name before that fateful night. Even after all this time, I still find myself referring to the name that once identified me. Then again, I’m quite fond at reminiscing.

"I was one of the top negotiators in the Mega City Police Department. I was in the force for twelve years, and there wasn’t a day that went by where I wasn’t kept on my toes. I have done countless negotiations, too many to count, but this night was different. It was approximately 11 P.M. on a Friday when I received the phone call at my apartment. There was a report of a hostage situation in an abandoned building at Stamos. Even worse, the suspected culprit was reported to be the same person who was responsible for the deaths of two men some weeks earlier. He was on every 'Wanted' flyer in the office, and now it was my job to negotiate to this madman. I was always nervous heading to the scene. Years of experience doesn’t change human emotion. However, this particular night I had an odd sensation. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but when I stepped out of my car and prepped myself, it didn’t seem like the countless other times.

"I immediately noticed how run-down the building was. Why on earth would he decide to hold hostages here?

"Just as I was about to start the negotiation, gunshots were fired from inside. As I ducked for cover behind my car, I couldn’t believe that he would already kill the hostages. Apparently he wasn’t in the mood to talk. As the S.W.A.T. team was ready to kick down the door and enter the building, I saw something that would deny any form of logic. I saw a man, presumably the man who just killed his hostages, jump out of the top story window and landed on the ground in perfect balance. The building was at least six stories high, no man could jump from that height and survive, never mind land as gracefully as he did. He turned and looked at me, and for a moment we locked eyes, and he began to sprint off into the night. I wasn’t about to let him go easy. Luckily, I was a marathon runner back in high school, and I was pretty **bleep** good, too. I threw off my coat and began chasing right behind him. I was running at top speed, and this guy seemed like he was gaining distance with each step. I don’t think I ever saw someone run as fast as him. I could tell he knew this neighborhood well, but unfortunately for him, I knew the entire MegaCity like it was my backyard as well.

"I wasn’t sure if he knew I was still in eye view of him, but at this rate I would lose him fast. I saw him turn into an alleyway up the road. When I got there, I saw him running towards a high fence. Finally, a dead end, but I knew this was going to end in gunshots. As I pulled out my gun and began to shout to him, I saw my second bizarre sight. He seemingly jumped over the fence like it was a mere hurdle. I wouldn’t even classify that as a jump, it was more like flying, something along the lines of how Superman took off. At this point I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or seeing things, but I was compelled to figure out what the hell was going on. I spotted a nearby door and shot the lock off and hurried through to the other side. When I busted out, I realized we were all the way in Manssen. I ran out onto the street to see if I could spot him, but I figured he was long gone by now, until I heard a ruckus down the block. When I got there, a person told me he saw a man running past him and made a quick right down another alley. After frantically running for what it seems like a ghost, I spotted him near a phone booth. Then, comes the third strike of the night. I saw him supposedly talking on the phone, and then he saw me and yelled something about a General’s demise, and the next instant, he... disappeared. This time no flying around, I physically saw him vanish from sight, as the phone dangled around. As you all know, three strikes and you’re out, and I hit the ground harder than a pound of bricks.

"I woke up the next day in a bed, but it wasn’t my bed. It wasn’t even my apartment. My head was aching; I must have hit it when I passed out the night before. When I looked to the right, I noticed a woman standing there. I asked her who she was, and she replied her name was Niobe. I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or not, or if last night even happened, but she told me what I saw wasn’t a dream, and how she was lucky she got to me first before 'they' did. I told her nothing was making any sense, but now I know it wasn’t meant to make any sense, at least, not to me. When I felt better, she explained that the hostages that night were really allied to her, and the gunshots fired were not from the man I was chasing, but from her. No wonder he jumped out the window. He wasn’t running from me or the police, but from her. Over the course of the day, I learned what no man should learn, about... the Matrix. It was almost too unbearable to comprehend, but what I saw last night couldn’t be explained any other way. Later that evening, when I was up from bed and feeling much better, Niobe offered me the choice of freedom from the system. I didn’t ask many questions. I don’t think I could continue living the way I used to, and presumably I couldn’t. They would be at my apartment when I came back, and she assured me it was something that I did not want to go through. Now that I think back on it, I wasn’t sure if she was looking out for my well being, or if she was worried about hers, but either way I accepted the responsibility and took the Red Pill.

"Looking ahead, Niobe took me to Zion, where I was appointed to and met by the Zion Council. I didn’t have much time to look around, but from what I saw, it was an unbelievable site. Niobe assured me that I would become more acquainted in the future, but for now it was business at hand. During my meeting with the Council, I learned a great deal of information regarding the current situation within the Matrix. It turned out Niobe saw me chasing what I now know was the Merovingian operative that night. She was highly impressed with my reflexes and wit in tracking down the operative. The Zion Council also learned of my previous job as a negotiator, and asked me to undertake an important role within the Matrix. They currently had a ZionZion operatives would report to. A liaison to put it simple. I was told my experience in negotiating in my Blue Pill life would help greatly in becoming an additional liaison, as well as my quick reflexes. I had to go through some preliminary requirements, such as additional interviews with the Council, including Merrit, the current Zion liaison officer.

"The next day, I was called back to the Council and received the good news that I would indeed be an additional liaison for Zion. They also mentioned that they were considering a third and final spot for an additional operative and that when the time comes, that I would be there to vote on this matter. I later found out that I would be boarding the Crew of the current liaison officer and Niobe herself; the Logos II. I guess you may find it comical that I’ve remained a negotiator in a sense. But I couldn’t be happier. I was never too good in the intimidation factor. I guess fate is not without a sense of irony.

"I was Simon Petros, but now you may call me Cephaus, the voice of power, the voice of hope, the voice... of reason."

Arachnis

Welcome to the ranks.

SystemCtrl

We're looking foward to working with you in the future Cephaus.

Welcome to Zion. :smileyhappy:

Mustang

We've met before.

Welcome, Cephaus.

**Midnight**

Welcome to the ranks. SMILEY

Look forward in seeing what you bring to the table.

Beanix

Nice to see Ghost made it Official, again, Welcome to Zion :womanwink:

Beanix

EDIT: Double post :womansad:

Stupid Hovercraft -_-

Message Edited by Beanix on 04-21-2006 01:26 AM
Message edited by Beanix on 04/20/2006 16:26:33.

Dodge_THIS

Cephaus wrote:
I was appointed to . . . the Zion Council.

Zion appointed a fresh redpill to the Council? Fools!

**Lesona**

Hm. Another one for the grinder.

Carlisle

Welcome! The Royal Guard is at your disposal for the defense of Zion and enforcing the will of the council.

**deLeon**

Welcome home.

**Roukan**

Another target.

**SwiftShadow**

Welcome to Zion Cephaus. I am looking forward to work with you. You are in a good crew with Niobe, Ghost and Merrit to your side.

SwiftShadow - TheDevoted

Kenge

Hello there, I am Kenge of The Yakuza. Welcome come to the fight Cephaus. I hope to see you around... soon.

Message Edited by Kenge on 04-21-2006 12:27 PM
Message edited by Kenge on 04/21/2006 11:27:55.

AkanE

*Reinsertion process initiated ....

*Searching target ...