False Gods | The Prime Archives #3 ✓

ten

Stella scowled at the frost creeping up her shoes. The cold was intrusive. It wormed its way through the thick material of her boots and pricked her toes. She wished their mission had taken them somewhere warmer.

She also wished the mission hadn't gone down the way it did.

While she had been prepared for a fight, it wasn't what she wanted. Had it been up to her, she would've opted to reason with them. She would've been able to convince them to surrender without hurting any of them.

That was wishful thinking. With Jaegers accompanying her, peace was never an option. Nothing ever was when they were involved. Their stark, white outfits and shaded helmets didn't tell the full story of their harsh nature.

The new addition to their team didn't seem to be the most diplomatic of figures either.

Her brain was still struggling to comprehend him. She had never seen so much ability in one person. It was amazing. Frightening, even. And, quite frankly, it shouldn't have been possible. She wasn't sure how Dr. Johansson and Zeo Labs had accomplished it.

It made her wonder what else they were developing...

That thought would have to wait for later, though.

While Orion might have been a force to be reckoned with, he wasn't enough to stop the escapees. They had fled in their van, darting off into the forest like a bat out of hell. She had sent a few Jaegers after them. After hearing them being attacked by Victor over their comms, she realized they weren't going to be caught.

Stella winced, already feeling a headache coming on.

General North was not going to be happy. He demanded perfection at all times. Allowing even just a few Primes to escape was not perfection.

The mission hadn't even been a complete failure. But that wouldn't have mattered to the director of Atlas.

She couldn't return to The Acropolis without capturing the rest. Luckily for her, she knew they wouldn't get far. After all, where could they go? The nearest town was thirty-minutes away, give or take. With their warship and vehicles tailored to navigate the snowy terrain of North Dakota, they would catch up to them in no time.

There was no need to panic. Not yet.

She glanced at Orion. He was standing by himself, his face pointed forward, and his expression blank. There was no way to tell what he was thinking—that is if he was thinking at all. She wasn't sure how the inner machinations of an artificially created human worked.

He wasn't purely human, but he wasn't a robot either. His existence intrigued Stella to no end.

She wondered why he hadn't gone after the others. With his skill set, he would have had a better chance of stopping them than the Atlas agents. Then again, she never told him to. It seemed that he only operated off of commands.

Almost like a dog. Or an AI.

She didn't have time to worry about how he ticked, though. There were more pressing matters at hand.

Rubbing her temples, she made her way over to Lucky and Angus. The two of them were talking next to one of the armored trucks parked in the snow. They both fell silent upon seeing their team leader approaching them.

Lucky stood at attention, his face taut and hands clasped behind his back. Angus was a lot more relaxed. Or, rather, nonchalant. He lifted his chin at Stella and crossed his arms across his broad chest.

"Well, that was a shit-show if I've ever seen one." He snorted.

His long-haired friend shook his head at him. He offered Stella an apologetic look. "What he means is that the mission could've...gone a tad bit better."