Yet...
Their goal...
Was so near... yet so far...
The leader glanced upon the scraps hovering in the space, containing with the broken limbs and what not. He almost could hear the final shout of his soldiers before they joined the stars. It was the place where his allies rested and probably it would be the same for he himself.
It was fate, that he would be welcomed with a premature demise to his glory.
Soundlessly a mech traveled to the back of Scholes. Scholes on his mech was unaware of the uninvited guest, likewise the remaining allies were.
Looking at how the beast was having a fun time playing with his mates, Scholes was enraged as it was none other than pure blasphemy to the military. He gave a tap on the interface and launched the energy shooter!
The beam landed upon the dark shell of red-tailed beast accurately, causing little flash in the void which later revealed the unhurt beast after fading away. The strike did not cause damage but unnecessary attention as a result.
The beast was alerted of Scholes's existence and it seemed displeased with its large bloodshot eyes.
Scholes maintained his position and let the beast charge towards him. His hands were away from the handle, unintended to make a move.
The red tail was shining brightly in the dark like the sun.
The distance between them was decreasing rapidly as the silhouette of the beast grew clearer on Scholes's projection. For some reason, he felt inner peace upon the scene.
Perhaps, he would be joining the stars with his allies here.
He thought with a weak smile on his face.
But he would not want to make a pointless sacrifice. It might be a meaningless attack on the beast with his firepower alone but he was a pilot and as a pilot, one would fight till the end.
The report regarding the beast had been successfully sent to their base. Arwa the commander should have received it at this moment. And this was a little relief for Scholes.
At least he had done something. He had fulfilled the last few responsibilities being the leader of the scouting team. And now, he would fight till the end, to die in glory as what true pilots would do.
His eyes were glowing with spirit as he looked at the charging beast. His fingers landed upon the interface as his nose formed frost on the visual. He was waiting, waiting for that very second the beast made contact with his mech. Some may ask why he did not try to evade, it was simple - one did not evade oneself from a strike coming with a supreme speed like this.
But little did Scholes know, there was one mech right behind him, firmly attached like a remora with the same exact posture as his mech.
It was Ye Chong.
Ye Chong stared at the approaching beast calmly. His former plan was to wait behind this mech for the moment the beast attacked it, but miraculously the pilot of the mech somehow read his mind and had lured the beast to himself.
Would that mean Ye Chong had been discovered?
That did not matter. He wanted a hunt and he was there to get it.
He looked at the beast that seemed to be decelerating drastically as losing its glow. Its muscles were also deflating, looking feeble than before.
"That should be a side effect of its biological behavior," Mu stated, which fit Ye Chong's speculation, "Under normal circumstances, an overly excited organism would suffer from a rather undesirable side effect after the end of the strong energy influx."
"Mhm, all its attributes are dropping." Ye Chong seemed rather agreeable in this, "Too bad, we would have a better chance if the beast took out the two mechs first."
"Your proposition is grasping," stated Mu indifferently.
Well as grasping as it may sound, it was just a proposition, which came out of Ye Chong's mouth randomly. The war field was always ever-changing to him, he could not make a bargain when there was an opportunity fair enough.
Ye Chong's pupils shrunk as he anticipated the arrival. He was well-prepared for an assassination.
Scholes's eyes were soulless. His heart was pumping slow. His mech was in a typical battle stance, where it had shield on the left and sword on the right while making a slight bow on its body.
The beast was too fast! It was at least a few times faster than Scholes. He did prepare himself to embrace the attack but the speed was still a shocker to his eyes. The beast was so fast that its silhouette had lost its shape, turning blurry like an illusion.
It is time!
"Hah!" Scholes shouted as he pulled the trigger. All the trainings he had undergone years before were meant for this moment!
The cabin was roaring with the alarms, the flashing red lights were intensifying the atmosphere.
His mech had been penetrated, as expected from the tail. But Scholes did not bother his leaking air as he punched in the following command smoothly.
The left arm first withdrew itself, while the shield sprung upon the face of the beast. Under the shield, the mech's sword awaited.
Thup! The shield slammed the beast right in the face. Scholes was feeling joyful of the first step succeeding. It took him a while to plan this. The shield would be an undercover for his lethal attack!
He made a swing.
It's the end! The end!
His sword was feeling light however. The expected blow was not there. His mind blanked the moment he realized he missed.
That was his only opportunity to save his mates.
And he failed.
He tried everything yet it turned out to be pointless. The beast was too fast. He was very sure that the sword was right on the waist of the beast, nevertheless he missed. The beast could doge his attack despite the injury.
Scholes could hardly say a thing, as his swollen eyes looked at the screen in disbelief. His hands were gripping the control panel, so tight that the blood flow had been held, paling.
"No way..." he muttered, his head was wailing like the alarm in the cabin. "Impossible..." He could not figure how it happened.
He wanted to run for his mates but that beast... was there, not too far ahead, hovering... in pieces... with its head facing right at Scholes. The reddish eyes had dimmed out. The pieces seemed to be made by a highly sharp blade.
What had happened?
What had happened in the world?
Scholes looked at the surrounding in bewilderment. Nothing alive was around.
Then... how... how di-
"Leader! L-leader! Take a look! Radius vector at 44 degrees, photon mode!" The surviving mate shouted in excitement.
Vector to 44 degrees...
Turn on photon visualization...
Scholes made the adjustment accordingly, ignoring the wailing alarm.
And there he saw a strange-looking mech zooming away from the scene. Because of the limited resolution of photon mode projection, he could not make out the exact appearance of the mech, all he saw, was its tiny back of various colors.
...(Meanwhile)...
"Well, Mu, we finally got food." It was not a wild goose chase after all. Han Jia was indeed given a large food supply in the beginning but most of them had been consumed during the course in the last few days. Ye Chong probably would be starved till death if he did not get himself supplied soon enough.
The run was successful and he got what he wanted. He managed to discover one storing unit of nutrient capsules among the scraps before he left the field. And sure he was feeling great.
"Mhm, still, Ye, we need to find a place with actual supply. Furthermore, we need to obtain a reliable reference on our current coordination," said Mu.
"So... you need this you say?" Ye Chong pointed at the few pieces of mech entangled in thorns. These almost disposable components seemed to contain the important information both Mu and Ye Chong needed. Apparently they were once a part inside the processor.
"Yes, Ye. But first we have to remove the microchip inside."
"Remove?" Ye Chong looked at the giant piece and wanted a confirmation, "Mu, you mean, you need me to take the tiny piece out of this giant metallic object?" He could do any parts without problem, except for the processor, which was known to be the most complicated component in a mech. Removal of certain components would require extreme care and skills.
"You are correct."
"There is no facility specialized for this. There is no tool and all I have is a pair of giant mechanical arms and you want me to take the piece out? It's like asking me to make a club sandwich with Han Jia's daggers. The piece will shatter before I even placed a finger on it."
"I know it is challenging, but Ye, we have no other option," stated Mu calmly, indirectly highlighting the fact that ranting would not help the situation. "To increase the success rate, I suggest you to take a few more pieces. If it breaks, it would be a practice for a better chance on the next. You did take my suggestion without consideration, it is motivating."
Ye Chong looked at the floating pieces resting in Han Jia's giant hand. He could not help but to sweat.
"Oh, by the way, Ye, I have a good news for you."
"What kind?" All Ye Chong had in mind was a feasible method to remove a tiny piece out of the broken component. His reply was half-baked just to keep the conversation going.
"Shang's reorganization seemed to be completing and according to our agreement, we would be having a switch. He would be by your side for the next Hundred And Fifty Three days. Enjoy while it lasts."
"Which part of that equals to good news!?" muttered Ye Chong. Shang was so influential that mentioning his name alone could give Ye Chong headache.