Chromium

4.3

Dia felt the floor shake gently under her feet when the ship landed. She couldn't see what lay on the other side, beyond that airlock, so she tried to listen. But it was a useless effort.

She turned to look at her companions: Omen, a silent shadow battle-ready with his finger on the trigger of his laser rifle, and Reyes standing with his arms crossed and his eyes half-closed, smiling lazily at her like they were about to go on a date on Nova Prime, not Daxum one of the most dangerous worlds of the system.

The difference in their behavior was almost as big as the way they dressed.

Omen wore the same tactical armor as Dia while Reyes a duster leather jacket, a weird black respirator, and a black fedora hat. 

"Put your helmet on" Omen warned when the lights over the airlock started blinking. As Reyes put on a respirator, Dia obeyed, well aware it wasn't the time of asking questions.

"Warning away team" Mitchell's voice echoed in the docking bay, so precise it almost sounded robotic. "Opening external airlock in "5...4...3"

The countdown continued, and Dia checked for the third time her rifle's ammo.

"2...1...Opening"

When the door opened Dia and Omen acted in unison, hands on their guns as they dashed outside, securing the perimeter. They moved like a well-oiled machine as if they had worked together for a long time.

"Easy guys" Reyes lazily said from behind them. "There is no one here."

Dia looked around her and realized he was right. They were on a docking platform, standing over the maze of concrete of which the city was made of. As far as she could tell there was no one nearby, the sky dark and the city's lights so far she could barely see it. But if it was true she couldn't see much, it was also true she could feel it: cold, an icy cold comparable to the worst winter on earth.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"Fideon Prime, Daxum first colony." Reyes said. "Charming place, isn't?"

Charming? Dia looked around, but all she could see were ruins.

"Computer: Information about this area." She asked the computer linked to her helmet.

"Daxum, third planet on the Ether system. Population: Human. Extraterrestrial species: Unknown. Climate: Arctic. 

After decades of overexploitation and unregulated use of fossil fuels for the excavation and refinement of heavy metals, the glaciers in the Arctic region melted as a result of global warming. The huge influx of freshwater flushing into the sea disrupted the ocean currents and led to a dramatic cooling, triggering a new ice age."

Dia winced. She heard about it: the first expansion. The empire was in dire need of resources at the time, especially fuel and metals to power and build its rising fleet. They built dozens of colonies in the system, only to discover they were too expensive to maintain after they destroyed the planets' ecosystem. And that's when the empire did what every autocratic-capitalistic regime does: it cut its losses, abandoning the system and its own people to their destiny.

However, the good news wasn't over.

"Warning!" The computer continued. "Dangerous levels of NH3(ammonia) detected in the atmosphere! Threat level: Yellow. Prolonged exposure could cause respiratory injuries. Warning! Subzero temperature detected. Threat level: Variable."

"Computer: In-depth explanation."

"Current temperature: -1 degrees. Threat level in the urban area: Orange. Estimated temperature outside the area: -90 degrees. Potential threat: Red. Leaving the area is not recommended."