"Good," Irene said, projecting a holographic map for them to see. "We have been assigned to go into the Great Sahara Desert as soon as possible."

  Ravine gave her a puzzled look. "The Sahara? Why there?"

  Irene glanced at her, then back at the map. "I was getting to that, Ravine. According to the data we received from Mother Phoenix, there's a hidden base that Squadron 6 was supposed to investigate. Due to their lack of self-regulating components, some of them perished when their circuits overloaded." Her expression darkened. "Others weren't so lucky during the search—they were attacked and eaten by hive worms."

  "Do we have any data on those?" Roan asked.

  Irene placed a hand on her left hip. "As a matter of fact, yes." She pulled up a video feed from a member of Squadron 6 named Syan. The footage showed a trail of sand following her moments before a massive worm erupted from beneath the surface, attacking her. The feed cut to static at the moment of her demise.

  Irene closed the feed. "As you can see, although they're very agile and dangerous, they always roam just beneath the surface before attacking. That's why during this operation we'll be separated into two groups. That way, as we pinpoint the exact location of the base, we ensure we have each other's backs."

  She closed the map and paused, looking at them. "Any questions?"

  "Two, actually," Ravine said. "First, what are we looking for in that base? Second, how are we supposed to get there? The Sahara Desert is literally on another continent, and there's no way we can swim there." She looked at her hands. "We can adapt and move faster than any human could, sure, but even then, the time we'd waste getting there would be meaningless—and that's without counting the creatures we might encounter trying to cross the ocean."

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  Irene smiled, closing her eyes. "As expected of you, always so skeptical. Fine." She gestured as she spoke. "To answer your first question, this base contains data on what caused humanity's very last war, as well as schematics for lethal weapons being developed by the Saharians, who were willing to sell to anyone if the price was right."

  Roan rubbed his chin. "Weapons? What kind of weapons would be valuable enough for governments to throw money at the Saharians?"

  Irene shrugged nonchalantly. "That's what we'll try to figure out. Most modern weapons were accessible to all countries by that time."

  Ravine nodded slowly. "I see. But what about my second question? How do we get there?"

  Irene projected another menu showing robot-like machines. "Since we're going overseas, I took the liberty of requesting four hybrid mechs from the Mother Ship. They should arrive in a couple of days. My estimate will be clearer as they approach."

  "Do we need to learn how they work?" Roan asked. "Because that could be another few days of preparation."

  Irene waved her hand dismissively. "There won't be any need for that. Apparently, the mechs connect directly to your nervous core for movement and coordination. In other words, you can move as you always have."

  Ravine smirked. "Hopefully, this time you don't decide to crash mid-flight."

  Roan laughed. "One can only hope."

  "In the meantime," Irene continued, "we'll use the time we have left here to go over each of our skillsets while also determining which of us could work best together—all while having Zhon repair us, of course. That way, as soon as the mechs are ready, we can roll out."

  Ravine and Roan nodded in unison. "Yes, ma'am!"

  After several minutes had passed, Zhon finally stepped out of the room, the drone cradled in his hands. His expression was unreadable, and the drone remained motionless.

  Ravine's eyes widened. "Did she? I mean—" she coughed, composing herself. "Did it not...?"

  Zhon didn't answer, his expression unreadable.

  Suddenly, a single droplet of water traced down Ravine's left cheek.

  "No way... no," she whispered.