The night blanketed the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in 2024.
Above a decrepit building turned personal lab, Irfan Shah stood gazing at the scattered stars, half-obscured by the neon glow of the distant city.
His right eye, an advanced prosthetic, pulsed faintly with a bluish light—directly linked to his personal AI system, LUCIA.
The night was warm and damp. The faint scent of rain lingered in the air as Irfan reviewed the constant stream of data projected into his vision.
Lines of code floated gently, but suddenly—an anomaly.
A pulse of unfamiliar frequency flickered across his retinal display.
"LUCIA, reanalyze that signal," Irfan murmured under his breath, his voice calm but sharp.
"Anomaly confirmed. Source: Unknown. Frequency irregularities detected,"
LUCIA's voice responded inside his mind, clinical and unwavering.
Irfan's heart began to race subtly.
He narrowed his gaze, magnifying the data:
a 1420 megahertz frequency—
the hydrogen line.
Not random noise. A structured, repeating pulse.
Not natural.
The realization tightened in his chest.
A signal from space.
Perhaps… something—or someone—trying to reach out.
Without hesitation, Irfan tapped the communication device lodged behind his ear.
"Aina."
Only one name crossed his mind.
It only took a few seconds before a voice crackled to life.
"Irfan? What's going on?"
Aina Farisha's voice came through, slightly breathless.
He kept his tone steady, masking the tension.
"Come to the lab. Now. I've found something… something big."
There was a brief silence on the line.
Then, with a hint of urgency, Aina replied, "On my way."
Irfan returned to the terminal.
On the main screen, LUCIA displayed ongoing decryption processes.
Whatever this signal was—it wasn't meant for the average satellite.
It was intentional. Directed.
Minutes later, the door to the rooftop creaked open.
Aina stepped in, her jacket damp from the misty drizzle, her dark hair tied neatly.
Always prepared, always sharp.
Not only was Aina an expert hacker, but also a close combat specialist—a rare mix of precision and strength.
Without wasting words, she crossed to Irfan.
"Show me."
Irfan explained quickly, pointing to the holographic data floating above the console.
Aina's eyes gleamed with interest.
She knelt beside the equipment, pulling a compact tablet from her bag, fingers flying across the screen.
"Sending the signal logs to my system," she muttered, launching decryption scripts.
Lines of encrypted packets unraveled slowly.
The signal, it seemed, carried hidden data—compressed, encrypted, deeply embedded.
They had stumbled upon a message.
Minutes stretched into a thick silence.
The rain tapped insistently on the roof above.
Then—
A soft beep.
Aina exhaled slowly.
"Got it."
On the screens, a single file appeared:
PHALANX_Prj1_DOSSIER
Both of them exchanged glances.
"Phalanx… what is that?" Aina whispered.
Before Irfan could answer, the lights flickered.
The screens dimmed.
The lab plunged into emergency red lighting.
LUCIA's voice echoed sharply in Irfan's mind:
"Warning: Intrusion detected. Initiating lockdown protocols."
Aina was already standing, pulling a compact knife from her belt—a reflex.
Irfan tried the exit panel; no response.
"We're locked in," he said grimly.
In the distance, heavy footsteps echoed through the stairwell.
Not one. Multiple.
Irfan activated his prosthetic's thermal vision.
Three distinct heat signatures moved closer, all armed.
"They're coming," he whispered.
Aina's jaw tightened.
"Phalanx," she said simply.
There was no other explanation.
In the dim, pulsating red light, Irfan realized:
they had triggered something bigger than they had ever imagined.
And now, they were trapped in a web spun far beyond their control.