All four mechs touched down on the burning sands of Algeria. Irene's white and gold mech turned to face the others.

  "We made it safely. As you've noticed, we've landed in the city that was once called Biskra in Algeria."

  The team surveyed their surroundings—vast expanses of sand extending to the horizon, punctuated by the skeletal remains of stone buildings half-buried in dunes.

  "This used to be a city?" Zhon said. "Looks like everything got swallowed by the sand. There used to be palms here, right? We don't even see those anymore."

  "An unfortunate reminder that time moves on no matter what," Irene replied.

  "I guess you're right."

  "Aria, can you guide us to the underground facility?"

  "Of course, although it would be easier if you gave me control of the mech... if that's possible."

  "Easily fixed."

  The system announced: "REQUEST ACCEPTED! TRANSFERRING CONTROL TO DRONE MODEL BR4!"

  A loading screen appeared, then: "TRANSFER SUCCESSFUL! DRONE BR4 IS NOW IN CONTROL!"

  "Follow me. It's to the east from here," Aria said. "Watch your step—we don't know what could be under this sand."

  As they hovered over the dunes, Zhon looked around nervously. "I can't believe people could live in this temperature, you know? I'm not even outside yet, and I already know I don't want to be."

  Roan laughed. "You know, this is probably one of the calmest parts of the Sahara. People actually used to come here on vacation because of the oases and palms... not that we can see most of it now."

  "This place is nothing like it used to be," Ravine observed, noting the broken palms scattered across the landscape, their dead trunks poking through the sand.

  As they continued hovering, a message appeared on Roan's system: "ENHANCED HEARING ACTIVATED."

  Roan heard a loud humming emanating from below. "Do you guys hear that?"

  Irene stopped, her tone concerned. "Hear what?"

  "It's like I hear humming down there, as if power is running or something." He pointed downward.

  "That would be the underground base," Aria confirmed. "Yes, power is still running inside it."

  "But how?" Zhon asked. "Shouldn't it be down by now? Even if it was powered by solar energy, these panels would be buried deep in the sand, right?"

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  Aria nodded. "You're correct. There was a time they used solar panels, until they found a way to store that energy in batteries that convert it into actual power while using minimal consumption. These batteries are said to be able to provide power for at least a hundred years. Crazy, right? They've got a whole system that switches them once one is about to run out."

  "But it's bound to end at some point, right?" Ravine asked. "Surely it can't go on forever."

  Aria made her mech shrug. "Don't know, and it really doesn't matter in our case as long as we can get to the other side."

  "Yes, let's focus on the task at hand," Irene said. "Aria, I know you can see the layout leading to both entrances. Are you able to tell which one is new and which one is old?"

  Aria shook her head. "I wish I could, but the maps I have don't mention it. I do see how to get to them, though."

  "That's more than enough. Can you send the data?"

  "Already on it!"

  The system displayed: "DATA TRANSFER IN PROGRESS..." followed seconds later by "DATA TRANSFER COMPLETE."

  "I've transferred it to Ravine and you, Captain. I don't think we all need it since we'll follow your lead, Captain, and as for Ravine... well, I trust her with the map as well. No shade, Roan, hehe."

  "Talk about having no faith, huh," Roan said. "Okay, Rav, I guess I have no choice then."

  "We'll take the path going northwest. You guys take the one going southeast, which means you'd be closer to Nix. His location is already added to your map."

  Roan's tone became teasing. "Aria, did you choose the other path because you knew you wouldn't have to pick up the ID from his corpse?"

  Aria laughed. "I have no idea what you could be talking about." The mech shrugged. "I guess I just chose right, huh?"

  "Yeah, right. All right, Rav, I guess we should go or else we'll be done way after they've finished their part."

  Ravine sounded unimpressed. "Is this a game to you?"

  "If we're going to scorch in a desert and be at a disadvantage, then yeah, let's make it fun!"

  "Oh, and Ravine," Zhon interjected, "don't hesitate to use the Sphere of Grace I gave you. I know you already set them up with Roan, but if you feel like you have no choice, they're a real lifesaver."

  Ravine nodded. "We'll make sure to keep that in mind."

  "Well then, let's get going," Irene said. "Comms are always open in case something happens."

  "YES, MA'AM!" they all responded before heading their separate ways.

  A few minutes into their journey southeast, Roan asked, "So, which objective do you think we should go for first? The underground corridor seems to lead somewhere closer than wherever that body is, you know."

  Ravine thought for a moment. "I think retrieving the body comes first. It'll make us waste time whether we find the right entrance or not if we don't do it first."

  Roan clapped his mech's hands together. "That makes sense. Let's do it like that then."

  As they continued hovering over the sand, Ravine's eyes narrowed at her map display. "That's weird. I could have sworn we were getting closer to the corpse. What's going on? Let's hurry up!"

  She thrust her mech forward at increased speed, and Roan followed. After several miles, the red dot on the map appeared to circle them.

  "I think I understand what's going on," Roan said slowly.

  A giant worm erupted from the sand, its mouth lined with endless rows of teeth rotating like a chainsaw. On its back, Nix's body lay motionless—only his upper half was visible, the rest presumably consumed or fused with the creature.

  "Looks like you were right," Roan said. "Something was wrong."

  "Prepare for battle. This one's going to be tough—I can feel it."

  Their mechs climbed higher as the system announced: "WARNING! THREATS LOCATED! WEAPONS ACTIVATED! BATTLE MODE ACTIVATED!"

  Smaller worms burst from the sand around them, surrounding the two mechs.

  Roan chuckled darkly. "And looks like he brought friends. Great."

  Ravine's voice carried an irritated edge. "Give me a break!"