Lord of Annihilation

Inside the command center of the BS-Lawson.

"Pardon me, sir? We're retreating?" High Commander Lockhart replied feeling stupefied.

"That's right, Commander. The Alliance has decided to pull back the front lines. We will abandon these borders and set up a new defensive around the Middle-Rim." The light-silhouette of a man wearing a suit answered.

"I object, sir! We will be giving up dozens of resource-heavy planets to those bastards! Who knows how much they will improve once they get their hands of it?" Lockhart objected.

Retreat? They simply can't do so!

The reason Mankind had heavily invested in the Outer-Rim planets and was currently defending the majority of the territory was due to the exotic resources present in these planets.

Much of their technology including warp drive, the advanced mechs, and droids, the Planetary-Class weaponry were dependent on these resources for their manufacture and maintenance. 

If the invaders were the get their hands on these exotic minerals and metals, their rate of progress would explode. At that point, Mankind will have no chance at winning!

"Indeed. We cannot give those resources up." The holographic projection of the man nodded his head.

"That's why we are going to blow them up." He concluded.

"Blow them up?" Lockhart absentmindedly mumbled.

"That's right, Commander. If we humans cannot have those resources, we shall not allow anyone else to possess them either." The man nonchalantly said.

"As we speak, the 'Little Doctor' is headed towards the Outer-Rim planets rich in exotic resources."

Boom!

High Commander Lockhart felt an explosion occur inside his head. He was shocked.

'Little Doctor? THE Little Doctor?! That Molecule Disruptor Device that was unanimously banned from ever being used!'

Little Doctor was the nickname for the Planetary-Class weapon, the Molecule Disruptor. It was capable of creating a special field, inside which all electrons will lose the ability to bond or share. All forms of interactive forces will be rendered nullified. Furthermore, this field would spread farther and farther, with more physical objects that it came in contact with.

In short, it had the effect of breaking down all types of physical objects at an atomic level!

Upon its inception, The Alliance unanimously came to a decision of sealing it and had decided to never use it. The level of destruction caused by this weapon was simply too great, so much so, that it was feared that its disruption field would expand infinitely, destroying every physical matter in existence. 

"Bu-But sir! That's too dangerous! What if--"Lockhart hurriedly tried to convince the man otherwise.

"We know, Commander. We understand the risks much better than you do. But fret not, for Miss Reyna has personally made some changes to improve its controllability." The man assured.

It seemed that Reyna's unrelenting efforts had finally paid off. She had succeeded in simulating a workable solution to contain the effective range of the Molecule Disruptor.

Lockhart took his word for assurance and sighed in relief. Wiping the cold sweat that had involuntarily formed atop his forehead, he asked.

"Then when do we start our retreat, sir?" 

"Your orders are effective immediately. The remaining Planetary-Class weaponry will be evacuated first. You and your men shall hold the frontline until they enter warp."

"Understood, sir! I shall begin now." Lockhart saluted and the projection of the man in suit disappeared.

Turning around, Lockhart slumped on his chair. He could still feel his heartbeat with nervousness. 

'To think, the Alliance has decided to unseal that abomination. It seems humanity's situation is very desperate.' He thought in worry.

Calling his personal assistant, he passed her his orders. The AI broadcasted the order and the soldiers started to effectively move.

Minutes passed with Lockhart being in deep thought.

'No matter what happens, I need to get out of here alive. I will use the opportunity when the Space-type mechs are facing the enemy, to retreat.'

'Yes, this is not running away, but a tactical retreat. Those men are simple cannon-fodders compared to me. My importance to the Alliance is very important.'

His mind started to wander, as greed rose within his heart.

'In fact, they might even make me the Head of Military. With that bastard Eyler gone, there is no one to compete with me for the position.' A sly smile formed on his face.

His tense and nervous mood lifted and was replaced by ambition. Getting up from his seat, he started to speak to the officers within the command center.

"This upcoming battle is crucial for humanity. Our strategy is simple!"

"We are going to hit them and we are going to hit them hard! Those things will never know what's coming!"

"After this battle, the names of you men and woman will forever be remembered, as the ones who dealt the first blow against those creatures!"

"You shall become the light that shone through humanity's darkest times! You people shall be the light that pierces the heavens!"

"Are you with me?!" Lockhart yelled.

"SIR, YES, SIR!" 

Hearing their impassionate response, Lockhart showed a brilliant smile on his handsome face, but snickered inwardly: 'Hehe, you shall become the stepping stones on my path to success!'

Outwardly, however, he continued.

"Now then, let's show squash those bastards like the ants they truly are…"

BANG!

Just as his words fell, a tremendous explosion rocked the entire vessel. All systems started to blare with warnings, as the people inside the command center suffered varying levels of injuries.

Lockhart, however, started at the scene before him with a shocked gaze. The screen in front of him showed a scene that was happening outside the spaceship.

Battering the hull of the BC-Lawson were hundreds of golden-colored 'mechs'. 

Each mech was almost 20m tall, with shining golden armor. They possessed an armored head, set within which were a pair of diamond-like black eyes. Two arms held onto what seemed like a sword and a shield, and two legs fitted with small-wing like protrusions allowed them to maneuver. On their back were two pairs of wide wings.

However, the thing that shocked Lockhart wasn't its looks, but the reading he was seeing on the screen.

Each of these 'mechs' was showing signs of life.

They were alive.

-------------- 

Hiding behind a half-collapsed wall, Zaine and his three other squadmates stared at the large holographic screen showing the other side of the Hanger door with panic.

"Those fu*king bastards got the jump on us!" Captain Hartman growled. 

"Oh my god… Within just a few minutes, they have decreased the shield integrity by 43%!!" Felix muttered. 

"At this rate, we will die within the next five minutes!" Hawk exclaimed.

"We're going to die. We're going to die. We're going to die." Clutching onto her head, Rosa started muttering to herself.

"Shut up! We are not going to die!" Captain Hartman bellowed.

"What should we do Captain?" Felix who was a calm and rational person by nature asked.

"After those bastards are done with the shields, they will punch a hole through those large doors. The insides will de-pressurize and all of us will be sucked out." He spoke grimly.

"We just need to get inside our mechs! We can then survive!" Zaine suddenly echoed.

"That obvious, dimwit! Question is, how are you going to find you mech within this clusterfu*k of a situation?" the Captain retorted.

Zaine immediately shut his mouth. He hadn't thought that far yet.

The battleship was currently being battered on all sides by the invaders. At the intensity that the ship was shaking, the mechs, spaceships, ammunitions, all types of objects stored within were being thrown about. 

Furthermore, the walls and rook had caved in certain locations, blocking much of the originally spacious hanger.

Even the dying screams of the soldiers that were originally hard periodically was no longer heard. Most of them were crushed under the weight of the armaments that were being thrown around.

In fact, if it wasn't for Zaine's squad being in a relatively isolated position and them hiding behind a half-collapsed wall, they might have also lost their heads in the chaos.

"Still, the dimwit was half-right. We cannot stay here forever and must make it towards our mechs." Hartman spoke. Turning his head around, he gazed at the 12 members of his squad and asked.

"Any ya' maggots got any brilliant ideas?" 

Silence.

"What'chya sitting around like rocks for? Come on, speak up!" Hartman yelled.

"Si-sir, I think I have an idea." Zaine raised his hand and said shakily. He then proceeded to explain his plans.

Captain Hartman's face grew darker and darker.

"That is by far the most terrible idea I've ever heard!" he bellowed.

Zaine lowered his head and prepared himself for the row of insults that would follow.

"But at the same time, it's brilliant! We shall do as the dimwit said!" 

"Now move those maggot asses! Let's make those ant-bastards choke on our corpses!"