One In A Billion | Transformers Prime [1]

𝟎𝟎𝟑𝟖

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Belgorod, Russia 

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I paced back and forth in the dimly lit room of the abandoned monastery, rage poaching beneath the surface. My MECH operatives gathered around a makeshift table and awaited my commands with subdued tension. I could feel them staring, waiting for what to do next, but my mind could not let me move past the tragedies of before. A few days prior, we were under attack by a female insurgent, and she breached one of my bases, killed some of my best men. The fact remains: I did not know who she was, but what I was about to do might help me identify her. 

"You were unable to locate her?" I asked coolly. 

The recent attack by the insurgent had caught us off guard, forcing us to abandon our fortified base and retreat to this remote sanctuary in the heart of Russia. I clenched my fists, the memory of my previous base's breach burning like a brand in my mind. 

MECH could not stand for another failure. 

A young man donned the occasional MECH attire holding a data pad reluctantly nodded. "That is correct, sir," 

"I wouldn't have expected anything less, Naveen," the name felt acidic on my tongue, and just looking at the trembling data pad in his hand made me want to break it on his head. Naveen lowered his head in shame.

"We need to assess the situation," I flitted my gaze to Montclair, a seasoned Special Forces agent and my stalwart right-hand man. Wrapped around his leg were white bandages, courtesy of the insurgent throwing a kindjal at him which targeted his artery and caused his leg to clot. 

"Indeed," I turned back to Naveen. "Have we secured all survivors from the attack?" 

Naveen glanced up from his tablet, his eyes reflecting the weight of the grim task assigned to him. "I'll check with the AI," he replied, tapping a few commands into the device.

I impatiently watched as Naveen waited for the AI's response. Every passing second felt like an eternity, the uncertainty gnawing at my already frayed nerves. Finally, the AI's robotic voice echoed through the room. "All personnel within the MECH base have been confirmed deceased. However, a few survivors have been located."

My jaw tightened at the news, my frustration threatening to boil over. I took a deep breath, reigning in the emotions before addressing Naveen. "How many?"

"Only a handful sir," Naveen consulted the data on his tablet before meeting my gaze. "Havoc Mitchell, Wraith, and Lockwood. They all made it to safety, taking one of the MECH aircraft and going back to their respective bases after the attack." 

Montclair shook himself out of his stoicism. "And Dr. Ivanov?" 

"Safely escorted," Naveen kept tapping the data pad, before turning it off and putting it away. "He went back to Bolshevisk, to meet up with General Vassilyovich." 

At the name, I paced all the way to my desk. General Vassilyovich's base was just miles away from here. And he and I had been talking about his decade-long operation which involved a Praxina...

I carefully measured my glance around the room, noting two heavily armed MECH agents guarding the double doors made of reinforced steel, two more flanking them on both sides. I shot Montclair a look, and he nodded, beckoning a MECH agent with a metal briefcase. Instantly, the briefcase sprang open, revealing a sleek supercomputer within. I wasted no time, entering the subsystem code and allowing the machine to scan my eye for verification. With a low hum, the supercomputer booted up, its digital interface flickering to life before me.