Zion attempted to put an emergency firewall system in place to protect their network interfaces from the Machines, but the Machines quickly bypassed the new System, and inserted viral routines into the Zion network, impairing their communication system.
As a fall-back plan, Zion established a temporary network uplink, that they could use to get data directly out of the simulation.
The Machines began attacking Zionite extraction points, seeking to prevent Zion from "unplugging" more humans from the pods.
The Merovingian stole tunnel mapping data from Zion, and used this information to keep the General's Sentinels from being found by Machine patrols in the Real. The Merovingian informed the General that he must stay within certain designated areas, or be shut down by an override command.
In the Matrix, the Merovingian verified the allegiance of other powerful Exiles, including Yttri, Amber, Cerulean, Madame T, and the Auditor. The Exile named Synn insisted on more protection from Agent intrusion.
Cypherites continued stealing information from Zionite data clusters, despite increased resistance from Zion.
