Omega Six Five: Outbreak by Bryan James

Author:Bryan James
Language: eng
Format: epub

“Sir, just got a flash from the coms center. Loki has begun cargo ops. Engineers from Oh Six Five are prepping for EVA now. There’s a team of three getting ready to exit, and the cargo tram is powering up. And I still can’t reach Captain Montross.”

The cargo tram was a larger version of the maglev interior tram that shuttled people between domes, but was used outside the domes for cargo ops.

Drazon nodded as he stared out the large window at the rising sun, marveling at the flickering oranges and reds as they played against the hard angles of the volcanic rock; at how such a desolate, ugly terrain could look so beautiful at times.

“Okay, keep trying to raise Montross, and tell Aphrodite and Ripper to conduct a refuel on schedule. We have sunlight, and I need to have their weapons on station when we have extended scans.” He moved toward the window to watch the doors slowly retract. The two MECs had been on defensive patrol on the near perimeter for hours, and having their scanners and weapons systems on high alert drained their cells. They needed more juice soon.

Both machines approached the dome, with one taking position facing out, weapons armed. The other prepared to enter the facility. Standard defensive operating procedure. One would cover for the other while they refueled, then they would switch.

The dome vibrated slightly as the heavy metal exterior doors began retracting, sliding away from one another while a small hiss of air escaped the large airlock bay. In his headset, he heard Aphrodite’s voice transmitting.

“Ironside, this is Aphrodite. We have activated the doors and are coming in. Prepare refueling station for contact. Estimate refuel for each unit at fifteen mikes.”

Drazon pressed the transmit button on his headset to acknowledge the message to his call sign, and the world exploded.

The floor buckled and the thick glass in the dome wall vibrated like a massive tuning fork. Rhodes screamed as she was thrown to the floor and Drazon hit the deck hard, old battle instincts taking over as the alarm sirens instantly began to blare. The lights flickered, and then went out, leaving the ops center a glowing red chamber lit by sunrise and emergency lights. Smoke began to curl up from outside the dome, and Drazon heard and felt emergency bulkheads activating to seal in atmosphere and protect the integrity of the dome.

He coughed and stood, his legs wobbly and his head spinning. Drazon turned to Rhodes, who was on her knees, also coughing as smoke filtered into the room through the air filtration system. The failsafes in the atmospheric controls suddenly kicked in, slamming metal plates through the open vents and stopping the slow leakage of smoke.

Drazon limped to Rhodes, noticing as he did so that his left leg had been twisted in the fall. He cursed as he put weight on the limb, and pain shot up his thigh and into his back. He leaned over the fallen sergeant and spoke loudly to be heard over the alarms.

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