Omega [REDUX]

Chapter 12

"We've got another boring field trip," Merida said to Elsa the moment she appeared from her room, red hair still frizzy. It was another routine day, except that the term exams now loomed over their heads. Once again, the rest of the team had woken up much later compared to Elsa.

So she held her dirty clothes and towel after her shower, shrugging in response. "How bad?"

"Very. It's another weapons convention trip." Merida sighed. "We got selected as a delegation to be sent there. I understand that we're in the academy and all, but most of the time these conventions have prototypes that are implemented after we're discharged, or put into divisions where we don't get to use them. It's usually useless."

"Hey, you never know," Elsa replied. "Maybe you'll get put in the Omega division when you graduate."

Merida cocked an eyebrow. "That's a joke, right? Omega?"

"Not quite," Elsa went on, "I know that around here it refers to the noobs, but despite the negative connotations it has in the academy the Omega designation usually refers to objects of the highest priority. Technically, the 'worse-off' teams are the academy's highest priority, because they also don't want you to wash out."

"They're certainly not doing much about it," Merida said, leaning her weight on one leg. "They certainly didn't do anything while we still had Ursula."

"I did say technically." Elsa shuffled her feet and looked down. "Anna was particularly affected. Heard what happened from her."

"Can't thank you enough for what happened in the canteen. You have no idea how much of a relief it was to us."

"Least I could have done."

"Not really. A lot of people don't have the guts to do that."

"Still."

"Give yourself more credit, I guess." Merida started spinning her towel idly. "You've done a lot for us. Especially for Anna. And I'm not just talking about team standings."

"It's not me. It's our effort as a team. Even when we aren't competing."

"Don't need to be politically correct with me."

"I mean it."

Merida gave her a wry smile. "Thanks. It means a lot to us."

"When's the trip?"

"Today, 0930 hours," Merida said as she walked off to the showers. "Hopefully this convention will be better."

"Maybe what you learn there could save your life one day," Elsa hollered as Merida disappeared around a corner.

"Doubt it," came the reply.

"All recruits, please secure your belongings tightly before takeoff."

The announcement was never a concern to Elsa, because she travelled light; there was hardly anything she had to carry particularly on any trip. Water and food was never a concern; she only ate at the canteen to conceal the fact that she could go without food and water for much longer than an average human being. Materials for taking notes was equally unimportant; her mind had developed to retain information for absurdly long periods of time, with a total capacity she had not tested yet.

The only problem was that it made her stand out.

"Recruit!" she heard the officer call out as they stood in line in the academy hangar, preparing to board the dropship that would take them to the city. Silently she stood at attention, looking dead ahead at the hair on the recruit's head in front of her, her peripheral vision noting the officer's brisk steps towards her. Anna stood beside her in their formation, and Elsa could tell she was worried. For what? For me?

"I called you out, recruit," the officer went on, tone growing ever more severe.

"Yes sir." Elsa looked dead ahead, already knowing where this was going. She was used to it, and luckily, she already knew how to deal with it.

"You aren't taking notes for the convention, are you, recruit?"

"No sir."

She caught Anna wincing.

"So I assume you already know every item, every prototype, and every designer that is turning up for the convention, recruit?" came the cocky undertone.

Her features remained unchanged, unblinking. "That is correct, sir."

"Is it? Well then, recruit," the officer grilled on, a wry smile forming on his face as sarcasm dripped from his words, evidently very happy with how things were going so far. "What's the first exhibit we're seeing?"

"Main attraction of the convention sir," Elsa shot right back. "PHANTOM-Class Exoskeleton, nano-weave fabric designed as a second skin, equipped with enhanced survivability modules such as hydration and bio-cell cleaning modules, in addition to tactical adjustments such as the 3rd version of the invisibility module. The prototype was designed by Corteda Industries, making its debut as its fifth incarnation of the PHANTOM series as the PHANTOM-V, the previous four having already been implemented into active UIF service."

She didn't react as she caught the other recruits turning around to her, some of them with their jaws wide open. The officer didn't react visibly, but Elsa could see it in his eyes that he was surprised, and that her words had had the desired effect. "I can list to you the other notable exhibitions on display, sir, as well as the exhibitions that no one has an interest in, and are most likely to receive the least attention at the convention. With your permission, of course."

There was a prolonged silence before the officer managed to reply, "There won't be a need for that, recruit. As you were."

Elsa resisted the urge to smile. She'd come a long way from being rescued with absolutely no prior notions of social norms and conversation ethics, but she'd developed her mind to adapt to the world she now lived in. Damn straight, she thought.

She'd mastered humour and rationality. She only had emotions to deal with left.

Elsa felt someone nudge her. Anna. She turned. The redhead gave her a mischievous smile. She returned the gesture, even as the other recruits picked up their small satchels and began boarding.

The trip was mildly boring, with nothing interesting to look out for except for the monotone humming of the dropship's propulsion engines and the air rushing past the hull. A feeling of dread loomed up within her; to begin with, Elsa was hardly interested in seeing the city. It only served to remind her of events before she had been rescued, and watching civilians carry out their happy lifestyles bolstered that painful reminder, one that she still desperately wished to forget. Discounting that fact, she still preferred to spend her time, alone, in the library, looking up for other nuggets of information she might not know yet. Being isolated from the rest of the world did that to a person; she didn't feel that she could become a normal person for as long as she didn't know something she should be knowing.

The expectation was potentially unfeasible and unrealistic, but Elsa couldn't help it.

Even when the dropship descended into the airspace of Ashton City and the sight of its gleaming skyscrapers cascaded through the portholes of the troop bay Elsa was unamused. Her features drooped into a half-sulk, even when at rest, and she leaned back into the cushioned seat that she was strapped into, trying to catch a few moments of rest before they touched down.

It wasn't helping; every sensory organ was tingling alive inside of her. Her eyes sharpened in focus every now and then, her ears picked up every single whirr from the engines, her skin bristled and tensed, her nose wrinkled as the air composition inside the hull changed according to their descent, which her tongue could also taste.

There was no way she was going to have any rest like this. Elsa sighed out loud, perhaps a little too loud.

"You okay?"

Elsa jumped, not realizing Anna had heard her. "Yeah," she replied. "I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine."

"I could be a lot worse."

"That's not the point, you know."

"Fine."

Elsa leaned back again and closed her eyes. "I'm just, tired you know? Like, I've got a bunch of anxiety problems that I have to deal with most of the time." It wasn't a complete lie, but it was definitely a half-truth. "It's decently annoying."

"Go see a counsellor," Anna said, a tinge of worry in her voice. "I used to have the same issues after my parents…" She paused, clearly trying to hold back a small sob. "You know."

"Yeah." Counsellor? I already know all about them. They're the only reason I'm still here, why I'm still sane. "I already saw a few."

"They didn't help?"

"Not exactly."

"How bad is the trauma? What triggered it?"

Elsa let the silence pass between them, mainly because she had absolutely no idea how to respond in a way that wouldn't terrify the crap out of her friend.

"I'm sorry," Anna startled her by speaking out all of a sudden, "I'm – being nosey again, aren't I?"

"You couldn't have known." Elsa tried to shrug it off, but the damage was already done. Inwardly she cursed herself; she definitely shouldn't have done that. A massive tactical oversight on her part. "I'm sorry too. It's just—"

"I understand."

They let the conversation die down between them, Elsa blaming her massive strategic failure, yet at a loss for viable alternatives. Something was nagging her to do more, but she couldn't think of anything else, nor could she find the courage to; she didn't dare try to start up another conversation just yet, for fear of further worsening the relationship they shared.

When did this happen to you? You've never paid that much attention to conversation, let alone relationships, with people before, she thought. Why do you only care now?

She shut out that part of her brain, clearing her mind of those thoughts as she tried to regain control of her mental state, regulating her breathing again. Her mind did sober up a little, but her heart definitely did not. Elsa took note of the dull, aching pain she felt, after making sure it wasn't a physical symptom.

The rest of the trip passed by in a blur; after a quick dismount and a brief stretch of walking through the airbase Elsa found herself nearing the end of her journey onboard a private bus chartered for them. Anna sat next to her, leaning on the window pane and gazing idly at the scenery that passed by. Elsa's mind unwittingly wandered to her, desperately trying to figure out if she'd angered Anna in any way.

The prospect, as unwilling as she was to admit it, was terrifying.

"Recruits, we've arrived at the SunTec Expo," came the accompanying officer's voice as the bus ground to a halt under the shade of the drop off point, a torrent of posh-looking vehicles trailing past them. "Dismount ASAP. We don't want to be holding up traffic."

Elsa watched the first recruits who dismounted suddenly pull their clothes a little tighter. Cold. It's cold outside. The phenomenon was new to her; she had to manually check for the presence of such a sensation online and in the library, and she'd only just mastered the identification of such a sensation on another person's body.

It had become a problem for her, only because she herself could not feel cold.

A gust of wind brushed roughly past her cheeks as soon as she stepped off the bus, confirming her initial deductions. Is this frigid? Chilly? I guess I'll never know, she thought, as she watched Anna don a leather jacket, pulling it closer to her body.

"You're remarkably adverse to cold," Rapunzel noted as their team congregated outside the bus bay. Elsa looked down at herself, forgetting entirely that she was still wearing a white tank top and trousers; she'd evidently forgotten that there was a dress code. More noticeably, her outfit left a lot of her skin exposed.

"I'm used to it," she replied casually.

"You live in winter environments often?"

Elsa didn't reply. If only you knew, Rapunzel. If only you knew.

As their delegation strolled into the convention center Elsa noted how out of place she looked, in comparison to the blazers and dresses that adorned everyone else in the convention, and the semi-formal attire that the other recruits wore. Mentally she noted down fashion sense to the list of things she had yet to master.

The hall was abuzz with conversation and camera flashes, and Elsa had trouble keeping all of the sensory input out. It didn't help that her senses were meant to take in as much input as possible, and she had to fight the urge to curl up into a ball and hide away in a corner. She focused her energy on rational processes, noting down every exhibit they passed, along with its specifications and developer details, hoping that the distraction would alleviate the sensory overload.

She caught Ursula laughing out of the corner of her eye. She didn't flinch, mainly because she expected that reaction. That's what you get for dressing like that—

"Ladies and gentlemen, the show highlights section is about to begin," the audio system blared over the buzz that continued to fill the hall. "Please proceed towards the main circle before the highlights begin."

"That's our cue, recruits," the officer called out. "On my lead. Let's go."

"Always the professional about this, huh?" Anna said as she nudged Elsa, nodding towards their officer. "Frankly I think he's trying too hard."

Elsa gave a smile in response, in part due to her joke, in part because she was just glad Anna wasn't mad at her. "Scrub."

Their delegation gathered around the circle's border, watching as the presenter walked up the stage amidst rounds of polite applause, to which he took a bow and adjusted his business suit. "Thank you, thank you all for coming," he began, "and thank you all once more for your support for our company."

"Boring enough yet?" Merida asked, moving over towards Elsa and Anna. "This is why I say coming here is useless."

"I second that," Belle jumped in. "This is just a complete waste of time."

"Shut up, Belle," Anna said, her grin betraying her intentions, "otherwise they're going to hear you."

"Meh, it's not like they can do anything."

"They could dock a bunch of demerit points on your record."

"Nah, the officers are just a bunch of scrubs who want to get themselves promoted while doing as little work as they can."

"Seems fair." They shared a laugh.

Elsa shifted her own feet and looked on at the demonstrator, who had brought up the equipment that he was presenting in the duration their conversation had taken place. It was the show highlight indeed; Elsa recognized the PHANTOM-V suit. May as well see if it looks better in the flesh – that doesn't seem to be the right word for it though…

"Before we begin the demonstration proper," the presenter continued, "I'd like to showcase one of the suit's most outstanding features: versatility." With a flourish he gazed across the audience, seemingly looking for something—

—and his eyes laid upon Elsa. "You there, young lady. And the red-haired one beside you. I'd like you to come up and try on the suit."

"Wha—" Anna looked hesitantly at Elsa, and for a moment even she was taken aback. But then she recovered, simply cocking an eyebrow as she stepped forth from the crowd, using a free hand to drag Anna along with her despite the small but urgent protests.

"Relax," she said. "You'll be fine."

"I definitely hope so," came the reply. "These are prototypes after all."

"Come on, come on," the presenter coaxed, "don't be shy." Elsa cast a glance at the team of engineers next to the two suits on display, stoic looking yet appearing confident, although she could tell they were nervous by the way their eyes betrayed their true emotions, the way their fingers fidgeted with the grip on the suit.

She stepped up to don the suit, to which the engineers draped the nano-weave across her bodice as the presenter carried on with his pre-planned lines. "The PHANTOM-V suit is the successor to the PHANTOM-IV incarnation, with many significant improvements made to enhance its combat ability…" Elsa could feel the unique texture of the nano-weave as it made contact with her exposed skin, how the fabric was tight but easy on the skin, how the hexagon structure of the nano-weave was strong yet light. She stood still as the engineers finished attaching the nano-weave sheets to her body, fully covering her before moving to attach the chest and back piece.

"The gauntlets you see here," the presenter continued, "possess shock dynamos that gather energy with each impact, which charges the battery for the Tier 5 Electromagnetic Pulse module attached to the suit." Elsa brought her own gauntlets up for her to see, gazing across the well-crafted design. She turned to glance at Anna, who was a mere few feet away. Before she realized what she was doing she gave Anna a thumbs-up.

Luckily for her, Anna returned the favour.

"Perhaps the most revolutionary technology we have implemented into this suit is the neural interface; it's non-intrusive, but it works. Participants," the presenter said as he turned towards them. "Please bring up your shields."

Shields? What—? Before she could do anything her arm moved upwards involuntarily, and form her gauntlet sprung a layer of energy, forming a rectangular shield. The action brought forth a round of resounding applause for the audience. "See?" The presenter gesticulated wildly with a stupid grin on his face.

"Where are the default energy shields?" someone from the audience yelled out.

"Ah." Now the presenter looked decently apologetic. "Because the suit was meant for stealth and reconnaissance missions, we replaced the full-body shields with the smaller version mounted on the gauntlets. Nonetheless, the nano-weave is strong enough to withstand a large variety of ammunition fired at point blank range."

Elsa stretched her arms, testing the weight of the energy shield mounted on her left arm, when she heard a small burst of static in her right ear. "This thing working?" Anna's voice floated through her helmet.

"Yeah, sure is," she responded. "Like I said, you got nothing to worry about."

"Thanks a lot," Anna went on. "This was, like, really cool and all, and—"

A series of deafening explosions rocked the convention hall, the shockwave throwing Elsa off her feet and crashing into the ground. Screams filled the air as she shook her head clear off the concussive effects, blinking in an attempt to concentrate, pushing herself into an upright position as the ringing in her ear continued. Above and around her, black blurry shapes mounted the upper levels of the convention hall, the bursts of flame from the barrels of their weapons clearly visible amidst the chaos, the unknown assailants now firing into the ground.

Shit.

"What the hell was that?" she heard Anna yell. "Elsa? Are you there? Talk to me!"

"I'm still here," she responded, raising the shield in front of her instinctively, as if to ward off anything that might come flying her way as she gazed dumbly at the chaos of people trying to escape around her. "We need to get out of here—"

"Such an amazing display of innovation," she heard a thunderous voice boom across the hall. Elsa turned towards the sound, gazing at the source, which to her horror was levitating a good three metres above the ground, with what appeared to be electrical bolts shooting off from his palms. "It's a pity that none of you are getting out alive."