Chapter 2: Omega

Frida adjusted her suit's belt and hurried out of the locker rooms, her helmet tucked under her arm. Her Aimex was waiting for her in the center of the deployment area, surrounded by mechanics and dockworkers who were running back and forth, preparing weaponry. The emergency beacons cast incessant red flashes, coloring every corner of the hangar with alarm: a constant reminder that up there, the enemy roamed freely.

She sped up her pace for the final stretch.

"I'm taking the axe, old man Klen!" she shouted at the head mechanic as soon as she was within earshot.

"Who are you calling old, kid?"

"You equip the axe, you insolent man, and remember who has the highest rank here." She stood in front of him, getting on her tiptoes. Even so, she barely reached his chest.

Klen smiled ironically.

"Puberty didn't do its job, Major."

"This is no time for jokes, you ridiculous old man."

The mechanic raised an eyebrow but gestured to his team.

"I adjusted the axe's electrical pulses. Don't overdo it: it now consumes more energy."

The Aimex's descent cable lowered from the cockpit... and stopped a meter from the ground with a screech. Frida and Klen looked at each other: he with a mocking grimace, she with a look that could cut steel.

"Did you do that on purpose?"

"Of course not, Major." He raised his hands. "Something must have jammed the cable. And we don't have time to check it."

A forklift passed by them with Frida's massive axe and stopped nearby. The crane began to lift the weapon to mount it on the Aimex's mechanical arm.

"I swear, if I find out it was your doing, I'll hunt you to your death."

She approached the cable, stretched her arms, and managed to touch the stirrup with her hand... but her foot was too far away to reach it. She cursed under her breath and turned to Klen, who was barely containing his laughter.

"Help me." She extended her arms toward him.

Klen held her by the waist and lifted her as if she weighed nothing. Frida put her foot in the stirrup, and before the cable could lift her, she gave him one last warning.

"Forget this. That's an order."

Klen stood at attention with feigned solemnity.

"Aye, Major."

Frida entered the cockpit, put on her helmet, and adjusted her belts and anti-shock system. The power-up vibrated under her feet, and the word Aimex appeared on the central monitor.

In a corner of the screen, Gina's face appeared.

"Major, the data recovered by the Aicom units on the surface confirms open combat. Numerous enemies... indeterminate quantity."

Frida smiled calmly.

"Don't worry, rookie. That's exactly what I expected."

A thunderous noise shook the hangar ceiling. Rocks and dust fell from the exit tunnel. Before she could say anything else, the power was suddenly cut, silencing the systems and turning off Gina's image. Without power, going to the surface became almost impossible.

"Damn it! What the hell is going on up there?"

The emergency lights came on, bathing the hangar in an unsettling red. A clear reminder: they were trapped.