Irene, Zhon, and Aria continued their search for the second entrance, their mechs hovering across the scorching sands.

  "You know, Captain, I started thinking about something," Zhon said pensively.

  Irene's curiosity was evident in her tone. "What about?"

  "Since we arrived here, we've never really had any direct contact with Mother Phoenix. There's no real way to contact her, and yet when she was on Earth, she used to be in constant contact with other androids—they were all connected. Do you think she just... may not care about us anymore?"

  "What are you trying to say?" Aria asked. "That she sent us here to die or something?"

  Zhon shook his head. "No, not at all. If that was the case, I think the other squadrons would have figured that out by now, don't you think?"

  "Then what are you suggesting?" Irene asked.

  Zhon looked up at the sky. "I'm not sure myself, but don't you think it's kind of weird that every place we've been sent to has given us exactly what we were looking for in terms of information? First, it was the factory with the radiation levels that showed us the dead human bodies with old android models. And now it's a secret base in the desert where we could find whatever... I don't know, it's just weird."

  Irene turned her mech to look in his direction. "Well, it makes sense. This information came from previous squadrons that knew these places but just didn't make it through. Don't think about it too much. I'm sure she has her reasons for not contacting us directly. Plus, her directions are all we really need to carry out the mission."

  A beep came from Aria's drone. "It seems we're closing in on the entrance."

  "Good. Let me contact Ravine and Roan to see where they are in their search." After a few seconds, Irene activated her comm. "Ravine, Roan, how's it looking on your side?"

  After a brief crackle, Ravine's voice came through with wind howling in the background. "We just retrieved the ID from our comrade's body. Roan and I are heading toward our entrance."

  Irene caught the sound of rushing wind. "Seems pretty windy on your end. Are you all right?"

  "Oh, that? I gave my mech to Roan."

  "So you're walking?"

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  "Not exactly."

  Irene sighed. "You know what? I don't want to know, as long as you're both safe."

  "Got it." After a short pause, Ravine added, "Also, please tell Zhon that Roan might need some maintenance. We had to face some worms, and his arm got pretty roughed up."

  "I'll let him know. We'll be careful to look out for those as well. We'll contact you once we're on point."

  "Yes, ma'am." The transmission cut out.

  "Well, how are things on their end?" Zhon asked.

  Irene chuckled. "They recovered the ID, so I'd say they're doing pretty well, considering. Although..." She paused.

  "Although what?"

  "Looks like you're going to have some work to do once we regroup. We're down one mech, and Roan lost an arm."

  Zhon shook his head. "These guys, I swear. How do they always manage to come back severely damaged?"

  Aria laughed. "Stop pretending like you hate it. You always use those times to gloat about your repair skills."

  "What can I say? I am very talented, after all."

  After several more minutes, Aria announced, "Okay, the entrance should be right around... here."

  They looked around and saw nothing but sand.

  "Um, are you sure? I see nothing here," Zhon said.

  Aria used her pointing laser. "It should be right here." The beam indicated a patch of sand indistinguishable from the rest.

  "Maybe it's under the sand," Irene suggested. "Aria, help me remove it."

  "Got it!"

  They joined forces, using their mechs' arms to quickly clear the area. After about ten minutes, they had removed enough sand to reveal ruins covered in debris.

  Aria sighed. "Well, looks like they were the ones with the good entrance after all."

  "Let's join them. We have no time to waste."

  "All right, let's make this quick." They accelerated across the sand, leaving trails of smoke behind them.

  A transmission came through from Ravine. "Captain, we've found the entrance. However, something's weird."

  Irene's tone sharpened. "Go on."

  Roan's voice joined the channel. "It seems like we're picking up multiple living beings inside, but the place is shut."

  Irene stopped her mech abruptly, leaving a vast screen of sand in her wake. "What?!"

  Ravine continued, "It's like these beings are all in the same place, which doesn't make sense."

  "Can you pinpoint their exact location?"

  "Not from where we are, I'm afraid."

  Irene nodded to herself. "Got it. Stay where you are for now—we're on our way. If we're walking into enemy territory, we'll need all the help we can get, so fixing Roan comes first."

  "Well received. We'll be on the lookout until you arrive."

  The transmission ended with a crackle.

  Back at the entrance, Ravine paced back and forth while Roan remained in the mech.

  "Why didn't you tell them about the voices coming from inside?" Ravine asked.

  Roan turned the question back on her. "Why didn't you? How can one explain such things casually, you know?"

  Ravine placed her hand on the metallic entrance door, brushing her fingers across its surface. Her voice became anguished. "So much anger. These voices aren't really saying anything, and yet... It's almost as if I can feel the pain and anger behind them." She turned to the mech where Roan sat. "What do you think it could be? Humans have long been gone, right?"

  Roan nodded. "No doubt about it. We've faced many weird things so far, but nothing has made me as nervous as I am right now."

  She looked down. "Why can we feel what we don't understand? I have a bad feeling about this."

  "Yeah," Roan said quietly. "Me too."