Lord of Annihilation

"Say, do you think those bastards will raid us today?" Zaine asked his partner, who was walking alongside him.

Sporting a weary expression with dark circles underlining his eyes, Felix gave an exaggerated sigh and replied: "I sure wish they don't. I've been on duty for most of the last week and really need some sleep right now."

"It's been tough." Zaine encouragingly patted his partner's back. He then turned his head and looked into the deep, dark space that had been haunting them for the last month.

Zaine and Felix were fresh graduates, who had received orders to report to BC-Lawson, one of the flagship battle-cruisers that were in charge of securing and protecting the frontline against the invaders. They were also part of the batch of recently awakened humans.

Due to the horrendous defeat against the invaders, the Alliance had fully realized the importance of the awakened humans. Individually, they might not be strong. But the soul power possessed by them was indispensable. 

Only soul power could contest with soul power. No other known form of energy was capable of destroying it.

As such in a frantic attempt to gather awakened humans and draft them as soldiers, Zaine and Felix made the cut. Having arrived aboard the battleship over a month ago, their lives were nothing short of being hellish!

'Ah…I'm so tired. I just want to go home.' Zaine quietly wished.

He was very exhausted. 

Every day was filled with a series of duties and responsibilities that were taxing to both his mind and body. Furthermore, the uncertainty of the attacks and the mental pressure exerted by the invaders further taxed his spirit. 

Grumble!

Felix's face slightly reddened in shame. 

"That was my stomach begging me to eat." He spoke while holding onto his stomach. Zaine laughed at his partner's comical actions and replied.

"Then let's go the mess."

Felix flashed an awkward smile and nodded his head.

--------------

Holding onto a metal plate filled with steaming rations, Zaine slightly nudged Felix on his arms and spoke

"Let's sit at that table." He pointed towards a long table at the corner of the Mess Hall.

The Mess Hall aboard the BC-Lawson was quite large. It had the capacity to accommodate almost 500 people at any given time. It was operated by robotic helpers which were controlled by the ship's AI and was pretty much open 24/7. 

The food consisted of the standard military ration; porridge, meat, vegetables, and soup. Its taste was lackluster, but was hot and filled the stomach. 

Not that anyone complained.

Sitting at their desired table, Felix looked around and commented.

"Not a lot of people here today."

"What did you expect? It's around 3 AM Earth Time, right now." Zaine blandly replied, his mouth stuffed with a spoon.

Seeing his partner's lack of table manners, Felix frowned and said.

"Don't talk while eating. You're spitting food everywhere." 

"Who cares? I'm too hungry." Zaine shrugged.

Not willing to argue with his partner, Felix shook his head and quietly started to dig into his food.

"Goddammit, this tastes terrible," Zaine grumbled.

"Heh, be glad that you have something to eat. With the severe shortage of manpower that the Alliance is facing right now, I doubt that we will receive our next supply." 

Zaine's body stiffened. With a worried expression on his face, he asked: "You serious?"

Felix grimly nodded his head. Leaning closer to his partner, he lowered his voice and spoke.

"I overheard our unit's Captain speak with the Commander of this ship, earlier today. They were discussing abandoning this frontline and moving it back."

"What?! What about us?!" Zaine yelled.

"Shh! Be quiet." Felix hurriedly spoke. His face turned grimmer and grimmer as he continued: "With the distance, this frontline is from the Alliance HQ, they find it a waste to continuing holding this line. I mean, there is nothing but light-years of uninhabited space between here and the Middle-Rim sector. There is no point in holding this line."

With a despondent voice, he continued: "My guess is that they will order us to watch their backs while the more important assets of war are transported out. As you know, it's the perfect time to strike while the enemy is retreating. With the intelligence the invaders have shown, I doubt they will miss this opportunity."

"Bu-But! That means we will have to face a crazed assault of the invaders!"!" Zaine slammed his fist against the table and yelled: "There's no way we can survive that!"

"Quiet down! Do you want to be charged with mutiny?!" Felix hurriedly tried to calm his partner. 

Due to the matter of General Eyler abandoning his post and fleeing in the middle of the war, the Alliance had then enforced strict codes against desertion and disobedience of the order. 

Soldiers who showed any signs of mutiny were dealt with swiftly and harshly. With a bullet to the head.

"And even if you don't like the order, what can we common folks do? It's either obey now and die sooner, or disobey now and die later." Felix chuckled despondently

Hearing his partner's words, Zaine who had stood up with much anger and gusto, sat back down with a defeated expression.

"What's the point in even fighting, if the Alliance can abandon us whenever they like? If they can do it now, what's the guarantee that they wouldn't do it in the future?" Zaine mumbled, to which Felix did not reply.

A grim atmosphere was present at their table. Neither of them had the appetite to continue eating and absent-mindedly watched as their food grew cold.

{Attention to all soldiers, immediately report to the Main Hanger!}

{I repeat! Attention to all soldiers, immediately report to the Main Hanger!}

The loud announcement of the ship's AI woke the both of them from their daze. Hearing that order, they quickly shoved the rest of the food down their throats and rushed towards the Main Hanger.

"Just when I thought I could get some sleep," Felix muttered.

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The duo arrived at the Main Hanger in record time. Looking at the holographic screens displayed in the air, they quickly identified their unit's location and rushed over.

"Zaine! Felix! Where the hell did the both of you go?!" Captain Hartman, the one in charge of their unit hollered. He was a middle-aged man with graying hair. Sporting a thin mustache on his short face, he looked every bit intimidating as a leader.

"We—" Felix was about to reply when he was interrupted by the Captain.

"Don't care! Fall in line!" 

'Crazy bastard.' Zaine and Felix mumbled within their heads and obediently fell in line. 

They belonged to a twelve-man unit in charge of guarding Sector-12 of the frontline. Zaine and Felix operated their respective mech which was of the Space-Warrior Class. 

As the name suggests, the mechs were of the space-type and were frequently employed in zero-gravity battles. Being fresh graduates, the duo did not have any practical fighting experience and were limited to virtual battles.

"Catch some sleep?" Hawk, one of his squadmates asked Felix. Hawk was on the senior soldiers of the team.

Felix rolled his eyes in response and replied with another question: "Any idea, why everyone was summoned?"

"Nope, we got no clue! However, looking around us, it seems like we are finally going to kick some alien ass!" Rosa, another squadmate who was also a fresh graduate excitedly spoke.

"What?" Zaine absent-mindedly mumbled.

"Oh, grow a spine Zaine! Aren't you excited?!" she smacked Zaine on his back and asked.

Zaine recalled his discussion with Felix from a few moments ago and his face rapidly turned pale. He hurriedly looked at the latter and saw him sport a similar expression.

Just as he was about to speak, Captain Hartman bellowed.

"ATTEN-HUT! " 

"Listen up ya' worthless maggots! Pay attention!" Captain Hartman yelled and displayed a holographic screen.

"Orders have arrived from the peeps above! You maggots are finally going to see some real action!" 

"At 0400 hours, we will be deployed to face those damned things in frontal combat! We will be taking the fight to them! Are you clear?!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" the squad bellowed.

"Now, if I catch any one of you trying to sneaky, or see any signs of showing desertion. I will not hesitate to pull the trigger and shoot your worthless, maggot-ass to oblivion!"

"You will fight! And continue fighting until I tell you to stop!"

"DO YOU UNDERTAND?!" Hartman thundered.

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"Speak up and show some balls, MAGGOTS!" 

"SIR, YES, SIR!"

"That's better." Hartman nodded his head. He then looked around and continued with his instructions: "Now then, get to your mechs and start…"

BANG!

A sudden explosion shook the entirety of the hanger. Many of the soldiers lost their footing and the belts holding the heavy military armaments snapped.

"Ah!!" "Help me…" before some of the soldiers managed to scream, their bodies were crushed by the weight of the armaments.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Continuous explosions shook the entirety of the battleship. Sirens and red lights started blaring, with the mechanical voice of the AI reading the damage reports.

"Wh-what's happening?" Zaine staggered onto his feet while grabbing onto a metal pole. Fortunately, Zaine's squad was relatively close to the walls of the ship, thus saving them of the unfortunate fate of being crushed underneath the hanging mechs and spaceships.

"Lo-look over there!" Rosa screamed shrilly, pointing her finger towards the large doors of the hanger.

Zaine's and Felix's pupils shrunk with shock.