Omega:Below Zero

"I can’t wait to tell you all the horror stories about that cage.“Alyssa peeked through the window, lit by thousands of small stars. Blocking the largest star, the sun, was the once-large Terekon Space City, turning smaller with each millisecond.She gave a long sigh.For the past sixteen years, she had called that cramped, black, star-shaped object home. This is it,” she whispered. ”I’m free.“softly tapping her belly.”And you... you’ll be born free.”

Only a day ago, this young, extremely naive girl had fallen into deep thoughts, leading her toward the saddest option: aborting her first child.now It was not like she wanted that. Quite frankly, she adored the idea of becoming a mother, even as young as sixteen. Unfortunately for her, just a few months ago, Terekon changed its child policies.and just Two days ago, she had witnessed the unpleasent cruelty of that new policy.

Alyssa’s own aunt, Ellie, had been pregnant all along, unknown to the whole civilization. Even her husband, Robert, was not aware—or at least he claimed not to be. Ellie, wanting to keep her unborn child, made a natural decision and went into hiding.g.

Three long days she had been missing until finally she was found by enforcers, the ones who keep law in Terekon. They wore scary black masks with an ancient lightning mark on the left hand, above a gleaming gold plate.

The worst thing was that Ellie’s own husband was an enforcer, and he discovered her in the cooler room, a small closet-like area where food used to be hidden back when Star Market was still running. Each dorm had one under the floor. It was a good spot, considering they were no longer given energy.

Robert, along with enforcers Two and Four, brought Ellie to court.Now, court in Terekon meant Her Highness and only her: the third Empress of Terekon, Diana.And what did Robert do after that?He claimed that it was not his unborn child, putting all the blame on Ellie’s shoulders.Now, it was not like he had a choice. Robert was not ready to go Romeo-and-Juliet style. He knew what the outcome would be.So what was it?

What did the Empress do with the captured Ellie to scare Robert, leading him to make a statement that, for the people around Robert, sounded completely bogus?Terekon was a small community, and the idea of Aunt Ellie possibly cheating sounded impossible.

A rule-breaker

Back when Alyssa was born, having a child was illegal. On the other hand, the punishment was only community service and double work. Not that there was much work on a floating space island anyway, just endless cleaning and acting like you were doing something to please the enforcers.

Regardless, due to people like Alyssa’s mother breaking the laws, they kept getting stricter, from prison sentences to life sentences, and now, the newest policy was execution.

Now, there was one other way.As the Empress echoed it nicely:My dear people, gods give second chances, but in order for that, you have to do better.

So each commandment was called a Direct.These new policies were as follows:Direct 37:do it by your own hand.Following that wasDirect 38:death by Ice Door.in simple terms, you either kill your own baby, preferably by pill, or in later cases, after she is born, or you are blown out of the Ice Door leading your body to float in endless space.Sadly, Ellie was not keen to do the first one, choosing the latter.

The Empress was more than happy to show her strength and remind all citizens what happens once you break the rules.In the end, Robert pulled the Ice Door lever, sending his wife and her unborn baby into floating darkness.

And the worst part was not only that Robert had pulled the lever, killing his wife and her unborn baby, if the child truly was his. The entire Terekon had been forced to watch through the wide glass at the launch station, including Alyssa.Two lives ended that day

Alyssa’s tears started flowing as she remembered her aunt and the fate that would have waited for her if she had stayed.

It was inevitable.

Due toDirect 34, all females were rationed only 1,500 calories daily. Her belly would show eventually, considering she was already so thin, her bones showing from her sides.

Tears gathered even more as Alyssa’s mind flowed to the reason she had even ended up in this place, with this chance to live freely.Yesterday, she had nearly committed an unbelievably cruel act. She intended to abort her baby before it would be too late.

as she stood at his fathers door, preparing her mind for a confession, she heard something behind the door.Now Alyssa was not the type to eavesdrop on others Raised with Belief of solitude but there she was doing exactly what she dispaised.On her defence inside her mind There was war which had led her completly frozen as the voices carried through door

“Captain, I simply cannot verify this under any scale, but the logical conclusion still stands that Aidor should be destroyed.”

Inside the room, the Captain tried to posture himself, hiding his frustration as he looked at Tony.

“Incredible how you can construct sentences like you’re some kind of royal highness. One last time I’m asking you—can we land on Earth? Yes or no.”

Tony, understanding the severity of the situation, let out a deep breath.“The answer will always be political. Let me translate it into a metaphor from Earth’s old history.”

“Once upon a time, there was a secret group. Members and supporters, all with a noble purpose. Their target was to assassinate an archduke.”

“A simple bombing of the archduke’s convoy proved difficult and resulted in failure. This led to civilian casualties. But by coincidence—unfortunate for some, fortunate for others—the archduke had decided to personally assist the wounded.“”Unfortunately, the instructions led the vehicle to stop in the wrong location.”

“Even more unfortunate for the archduchess... one of the assassins had also chosen to stop in that same district.“”This led to the death of the archduchess.”

Years of training and brutal choices had shaped the Captain into someone capable of functioning in extremely difficult situations, but even his mirror began to crack. He simply did not believe the notes coming from Tony’s mouth.

The Captain, the second most influential person within Terekon, and this engineer showed no respect for orders, let alone the law.

The level of intelligence in Tony may have driven his ego into the clouds. And now the question was whether the Captain could tolerate his disrespect for authority.

Tony’s blue eyes remained fixed on the Captain’s dark eyes in silence. At any moment, Tony knew the Captain might snap. He was gambling with his life, trusting that the title of “the wisest man” would protect him from the fate his sister had been condemned to the day before.

But why—why did Tony answer with political responses in metaphors?

There is a saying: wisdom has a limit, and that boundary cannot be crossed.

The answer “yes” is wrong, and the answer “no” is also wrong.

Tony, like the Captain, understood how little time Terekon had left.

But what is the middle point in all of this?

Tony’s eyes widened. Maybe the Captain smirked in a way that said: you might have just bought your life back.

Tony continued.

“What if we make a compromise? We use Atlas and strike directly at the serpent’s nest. It would work. It has to work x3.”

He stood up, eyes full of hope, as if he had just solved the hardest hieroglyph before he could properly begin to sing.

The Captain raised his hand as a signal for attention followed by deep breath.Tony... I’m asking. In my language. Slowly. And carefully.”

Like i have tried to imply we cannot be 100% sure whether the Mother System is shut down. All logic of course suggests that it should be.

Imagine our situation—energy reserves are nearly depleted, and we are still rationing and storing what remains. How could a system, without anyone maintaining it or even producing energy, continue to function for 300 years?

On a theoretical level, it cannot.

On the other hand, the data on the Mother System is so weak that no archive contains a complete understanding of how it operates.

But one thing is certain—if it still has the capability to run, then we will not set foot on Earth for even a second.And because of that hypothesis, we cannot be certain of anything.Skepticism is a disease in wisdom.And I, as a person who possesses morality, cannot condemn the last surviving human faction to possible extinction.

“But Captain, what do we actually know from the archives?”

Once again, the Captain felt completely reset—yet at the same time, partially convinced. Tony had clearly found a direction.But at the same time, he still did not understand basic clarity of explanation.“Hell, I’m a soldier, not an archivist,” he replied tiredly.

Tony sat back down into his leather chair, staring at his own reflection in the glass for a moment, thinking how he could simplify the tone for the Captain.Then he spoke again.

“Me—I will lead a team to Earth. Directly into Delta. If the system is still active, I will either shut it down or die trying to shut it down.”

“Either way, Terekon will not be allowed to land on Earth.” and i Will not take blame as human race eraser.

And those few words from her father yesterday had changed her direction. Now, in the spaceship, Terekon had completely faded into the darkness of vast space.

“I’ll work hard in Delta,” she murmured, wiping her face. “I’ll earn my place in Earth City.