They descended through the clouds, and the Mediterranean Sea spread out beneath them in brilliant shades of blue. Flocks of greater flamingos waded through shallow waters, chasing after seafood. Three hawks circled above, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The wind pushed against the jets as they cut through the air.

  Irene's face appeared on their menu screens. "We've finally made it out of Europe and will clear the sea in a few hours. We'll proactively commence descent procedures to simplify our landings when we arrive."

  "Understood," Roan said. "Speaking of which, you mentioned us investigating the Sahara Desert, but that thing's vast. Do you have a more precise location for us? A country? A city, maybe?"

  "I do. Apparently, previous squadrons seem to have narrowed it down to somewhere between Algeria and Niger. The problem is that the base is underground and buried deep in sand."

  "How are we supposed to find it then?" Ravine asked. "Seems like it could be anywhere between those countries."

  "I've thought about it, and Aria is our best bet. She might have lost her physical body, but she still has knowledge of all the maps and understands navigation better than anyone else."

  The drone's voice came through with slight static. "Wow, what a way to put me on the spot." Aria chuckled. "Well, the problem isn't finding the base itself, as our captain said. The base is an underground facility only accessible through a precise entrance used by Saharian researchers. I think they used to have an old entrance before, but they had to change it after it was destroyed by the old US government to slow them down in whatever they were constructing."

  "So if I follow your train of thought," Zhon said, "it would be possible to enter the base if we reverse-searched from the actual entrance. Is that right?"

  Stolen story; please report.

  Aria paused. "That is exactly what I was saying, yes." She turned her attention to Irene. "Is that why you wanted to separate us into two teams, Captain?"

  "It would save us considerable time and take minimal effort to regroup after finding the actual entrance."

  Roan shrugged. "Sounds like a plan to me. What do you think, Rav?"

  "On paper, the plan sounds fine; however, I feel like things will be more complicated than that." She seemed to rub her chin thoughtfully despite being sealed in the mech. "Aria, you said the entrance was only accessible by the Saharians. Do we have an ID pass key in our possession? I doubt we'd be able to enter without it."

  "Squadron 9 found one, and one of its members stored it in his inventory. His name was Nix. His serial number is still in the database. If you want, I can start tracking based on his model signature. That way, the closest team can retrieve it before joining the rest."

  Irene nodded. "That would be of great help."

  "On it now!" Aria said enthusiastically.

  As they continued their descent, the sea drew closer and the fauna became clearer. Seagulls flew alongside them, struggling to keep pace with the jets.

  "It's nice that for once we can just admire the scenery instead of getting attacked all the time," Roan said, putting his hands behind his neck in a relaxed posture. "It feels like the first real break we've gotten since we arrived on this planet."

  "Tell me about it," Zhon agreed. "When it's passive, Earth's fauna is actually kind of adorable. It's too bad we can't fully admire it, though."

  "Yeah, I could watch those ducks down there all day," Aria said with awe in her voice.

  "Don't worry. Once this mission is done and we're heading back to the Mother Ship, let's take a trip exploring everything together, yeah?" Zhon suggested.

  "That would be awesome! Right, Rav?"

  Ravine smiled. "I must admit it would be quite enjoyable!"

  Aria's tone shifted to focus. "Okay, I managed to track Nix down. The data has been sent to all of you already!"

  "That was quick! Good job, Aria!"

  The drone's eyes closed in satisfaction. "Don't mention it. That's what I do."

  Several moments passed before Irene announced, "We're approaching Algeria. As I said, automatic functions are now deactivated, so be careful."

  "Got it," Ravine confirmed.

  "If you're ready, then follow me." Irene suddenly accelerated to insane speeds, reaching land within seconds before transforming her mech back to hovering mode. "From here on out, everybody looks sharp. Things could turn bad in a heartbeat."