Chapter 1: Critical (#4)

Lariat returned to the hangar to relay the lieutenant's order to the chief engineer. He found the maintenance team working tirelessly: they were recharging the Aimex batteries, replacing damaged parts to send them to the workshop, and replenishing ammunition for the artillery models.

Amid the hum of electric arcs and the sparks flying from the welders, automatons joined sections of the new fuselage with inhuman precision.

"Klen! How are the repairs coming along?" he asked, almost shouting to be heard over the noise.

A man as burly as a rhinoceros, with a three-day beard and a slanted cap, turned toward him.

"Captain," he replied in a deep voice, as if rising from the inside of a mountain. "We're doing the basics. Luckily, you returned before there was any serious damage."

"I'm concerned that the discharge sword isn't enough against an alpha beast."

Klen scratched his head, which was soaked in sweat from carrying parts and climbing on and off the exoskeletons. Then he fanned himself with his cap.

"There aren't many options. Maybe switching it for a plasma pulse one would give it an extra punch."

"The gas tank takes up too much space. It would slow down my Aimex. No... I need a weapon capable of penetrating a wolf-type's hide and, at the same time, preventing it from getting back up. Have you seen the recordings? If you don't burst their spine, they can follow you for kilometers, even if they're technically dead."

"I've seen them, yes." Klen put his cap back on. "Honestly, I'd rather play with these iron things than go out there doing pest control."

Lariat patted him on the back.

"Get me something good... I don't know, a sword-saw."

"Who would come up with such nonsense?" Klen scoffed. "I'll find you something useful, but I don't promise anything. Swords and axes are still the most reliable."

"Where is your boss?"

"At the back of the hangar... resurrecting the dead."

Lariat didn't need any more explanation. There was only one "dead" thing to resurrect in the entire place. He crossed the hangar at a fast pace; he didn't want to talk to Ilia any more than was strictly necessary.

Activity was frantic ever since the general's communique arrived. The automatons moved along the walls to avoid obstructing the trucks loaded with enormous bullets and missiles that were counted like treasures. Lariat knew that ammunition never increased, and each projectile cost as if it were pure gold.

As he reached the back, he heard the metallic shriek of a saw. Ilia, perched on the deck of the lieutenant's proton Aimex, was cutting a panel deformed by a beast's bite. The exoskeleton, rusty and disassembled, looked more like a mechanical corpse than a combat machine; many of its parts had already been cannibalized to repair other Aimex, leaving parts of its skeleton exposed.

Lariat pulled on Ilia's safety line. She stopped the saw, took off her protective goggles, and looked down.

"What are you doing here? I don't have time for your complaints. Can't you see I'm repairing your boss's machine?"

"I'm here on the lieutenant's orders," Lariat shouted.

"Damn..." she muttered to herself before climbing down from the fuselage. "And what's so urgent?"

"Don't think I'm here because I want to be."

"Talk fast... If they see us together, they'll think you're flirting with me."

Lariat covered his face with his hand.

"I would never go out with someone like you. I'd rather let a beast drag me into the wasteland."

Ilia poked him in the chest with a finger.

"Captain, please. We all know this tension between us is the good kind."

"Yes, the kind that makes me not want to see you again," he retorted, pushing her hand away. "The lieutenant wants you to adjust the antifreeze system. The temperatures plummet near the Nest. And to increase autonomy: we almost went critical before reentry."

"Have you been told that you're unbearable?" she asked with a crooked smile.

"You can't have a serious conversation with you. We're trying to save lives."

Ilia adjusted her safety belt.

"Always so serious. That's your problem. Women like spontaneous men with a sense of humor, and you... you're a bore."

"Are you going to do what the lieutenant asked?"

"Impossible."

"You're not even going to try?"

"I don't need to try to know." She turned to the Aimex and theatrically extended her arm. "This machine is perfect, created by the goddess of engineering Asaria Von Hoffen. Any modification would be blasphemy."

"Stop the nonsense and do it. It's a general's order."

Ilia arched an eyebrow.

"I could expand the tank... but beyond that, it could upset the balance of this mechanical miracle."

"Just do what..."

An emergency siren cut off the conversation.

Lariat ran toward his Aimex.

"Do what I told you. It's an order."

Gina's voice boomed over the loudspeakers:

"Forces, stand by..."

She didn't get to finish. The lights flickered, and suddenly, everything was plunged into darkness.

Lariat stood motionless for a few seconds, waiting for the emergency lights to activate. As soon as they flickered on, he continued his quick march.

The siren boomed again against the hangar walls, a grave echo that seemed to rise from the guts of Vulcanus. The amber lights cast broken shadows on the armor of the lined-up Aimex units. The air was thick with the smell of overheated metal and old oil.

The Ariake squad was already in formation when Lariat arrived: helmets under their arms, checking fasteners and seals one last time. No one spoke more than necessary; every word was a useless expense before facing the unknown.

Klen intercepted them before they could board the Aimex units.

"Navigation system... out," he muttered, disconnecting cables. "Main radar... out. Only short-range proximity sensors are working."

The sentence hit everyone like a stone. They would be going out virtually blind.

Lariat adjusted his suit's belt with steady hands, though inside his stomach was clenched. He pulled on the harness and climbed into his Aimex.

"Gate opening in three minutes," a metallic voice announced over the loudspeaker.

A tremor ran through the ground, as if something heavy was dragging itself on the surface, far above them. Some exchanged quick glances; others sped up their checks.

Lariat put on his helmet, adjusted the belts, and pressed the Aimex's power button. A hum ran through the cockpit, followed by the pneumatic hiss of the hatch closing with a seal. The monitors lit up: the word AIMEX shone on all the screens before showing the exterior.

The captain pressed the intercom.

"Listen up. Check indicators on my order. Proceed." Then he tapped the button on his wristband. "Aicom, system status."

"Welcome, Captain," the artificial intelligence's voice sounded more natural than ever. "Power at 70%, coolant at 50%, rising power. Ready for deployment in two minutes."

Lariat raised an eyebrow.

"Did you improve your voice simulation, Aicom?"

"Yes, Captain. According to my data, your performance improves when I meet your preferences. Using the wristband as a medium, I took voice samples from female staff and created one that would potentially be to your liking."

"Great work, Aicom."

"Thank you, Captain."

The captain returned to the intercom.

"All units: we don't know how many beasts there are," he said, adjusting his left glove, "but we have a duty to fulfill. I don't want any casualties... or the lieutenant will have a bad day."

He closed his helmet.

The mix of the orange emergency lights and the red beacons gave the hangar a macabre feel. The gates began to open with a mechanical roar.

"Ready for deployment," he ordered.

The squad positioned themselves on the elevator. Lariat looked up at the sealed gate, which was slowly beginning to open as they rose. A dusty gray glow filtered in from the surface, accompanied by a dry wind smelling of burnt earth.

"Ariake, move out," he ordered.

As the elevator ascended, each pilot watched the blackness that stretched out above them on their monitors; only the halo of the position lights announced where the exit was.

Aicom's feminine voice sounded with an unsettling serenity:

"Captain... good luck."

"Thanks, Aicom. We'll need it." He returned to the intercom. "Everyone with weapons ready. Artillery to the front: Aleph and Clipper."

The gate opened completely. Upon reaching ground level, the artillerists immediately opened fire. The flash of the shots covered everything, and alerts saturated the monitors: the radar filled with red dots.