Chapter 32 — The Omega Probe
Location: FOB Echo Point - Quarantine Bunker 03
Time: 04:13 | Day 14 of Infection Collapse
The Omega-class infected sat motionless, shackled in a reinforced chair bolted to the floor of Bunker 03. Four layers of metal mesh and ceramic plating lined the walls, the lights dimmed to keep it docile. Even with restraints, its presence bent the air. A former soldier once—now something else.
Logan Hale stood on the other side of the reinforced glass, arms crossed, jaw tight. Beside him, Dr. Moraru typed into a slate tablet, her eyes shifting between vital scans and the creature's slow, rhythmic breathing.
"Heartbeat is irregular, but stable," she said. "Whatever this is... it shouldn't be alive. Or at least not this coordinated. But there are spikes here," she pointed, "exactly during auditory triggers."
Logan glanced at the data feed. Neural spikes every time boots echoed or gunfire was heard in training exercises.
"Reflex memory," he said. "Conditioned response."
Reaper One entered the chamber behind them, armored boots heavy against the floor.
"The other prisoners are cleared. This is the last threat in containment."
"We found this thing leading an ambush team," Logan muttered. "Not charging. Leading."
He tapped the comms.
"Begin auditory test."
Through the speaker system, a recorded voice called out a military command in Russian: *"Front line! Cover and move!"
The Omega's head twitched.
"Again."
*"Front line! Cover and move!"
The Omega straightened slightly in its seat. Its eyes, once black and bloodshot, now flared a dull, focused red.
Reaper One raised his weapon.
"It's responding."
"No sudden moves," Logan said. "Let it play out."
Suddenly, the Omega tilted its head toward the speaker.
It spoke.
The voice was distorted, dry and metallic, but the words were clear: "Holding perimeter. Awaiting backup."
Everyone froze.
Moraru's fingers hovered over her tablet. "It... spoke."
"That wasn't mimicry," Reaper said. "It understood."
"It remembered," Logan whispered.
He pulled up the System.
> [INFECTED RESPONSE LOG: CLASS OMEGA #014]
[COGNITIVE RESPONSE CONFIRMED]
[TACTICAL MEMORY RETENTION RATE: 43%]
[RECOMMENDED ACTION: Retain Subject for Full Memory Mapping]
"Keep it sedated," Logan ordered. "No more verbal cues. Schedule a full probe run. And Moraru… double the guards."
She nodded, her face pale.
---
Location: Echo Point - Strategy Room
Time: 07:32
The table was cluttered with reports. Wraith, Dumitrescu, Petrescu, and Hammer sat across from Logan as a map of the eastern perimeter blinked with red triangles.
"New pattern data from the Omega capture shows overlapping patrols in Sector 7," Wraith explained. "They're hunting in layers. First line locates us. Second closes in. Third is heavy ordinance."
Hammer scratched his head. "That sounds like a standard recon-in-force operation. But they're dead."
Petrescu looked up. "They're not. Not entirely."
Logan scanned the wall display: a tactical nest inside a water treatment facility east of Suceava. Heat spikes. Ground disturbance. Indirect communications bouncing from captured civilian antennas.
"That facility was Ukrainian military before the collapse," Dumitrescu said. "Signals intel. Possibly a listening post."
"We raid it," Logan said. "This isn't about survival anymore. It's about initiative."
He accessed the command terminal.
> [WAR CREDITS AVAILABLE: 1,734.7]
[DEPLOYMENT ORDER INITIATED: STRIKE FORCE OMEGA-ECHO]
> [UNITS SUMMONED: • Phantom Squad Bravo (Tier II) – 180 WC • Rhino Two (Mechanized BTR) – 250 WC • Drone Interceptor Recon Package – 120 WC]
[REMAINING CREDITS: 1,184.7]
"We hit them before they hit us," Logan said. "Wraith, lead recon. Phantom Bravo goes in once we breach. I want that facility cleansed and searched."
Hammer nodded. "I'll get the drones airborne."
Reaper One entered with Petrescu, both already armored.
"Heavy support stands ready."
Logan looked around the table.
"One step forward. That's how we stay ahead."
Everyone rose.
Operation Redveil had begun.
---
Location: Sector 7D - En Route to Target Time: 10:54
Rhino Two moved down the cracked asphalt road with Phantom Bravo riding in silence inside. Dust and low mist coated the landscape. The smell of mold and burned rubber never fully disappeared.
Wraith watched the tree line. "Drone feed picking up... bodies. Strung up. Message for someone. Maybe us."
"Keep eyes up," Phantom Leader said. "We breach hard and fast."
The team crossed into the facility perimeter ten minutes later. Half-flooded, overgrown, partially collapsed. But the underground was intact.
And it was waiting.
> [CHAPTER END]