Mulan Part 6

General Huā Part 6

The black tide gradually approached as the defenders descended into solemn silence. It seems that there was no hope as even with a large number of humans gathered for the final line of defense, the aliens still outnumber the humans by at least ten times because the aliens have grown over time as well. If the aliens break through this final line of defense, the final territories behind them will be laid to waste after which the capital will fall! Xiao Huā’s family just so happened to live in one of the territories near the capital!

As the black tide approached, Xiao Huā gradually noticed a large black mass embedded near the center of the tide. It was much larger in size than all the mother ships on the human’s side, and it was in the shape of an egg. A black mass of aliens swam back and forth around the egg shaped mass as if they were a school of fish swimming around their reef. Meanwhile, a constant stream of aliens swam out from the egg shaped mass to join the ever increasing army of aliens. It was clear that the egg shaped mass was the alien mother nest.

Nuclear weapons were launched with the nest as the target as soon as it was spotted, but a blanket of alien covered the nuclear missiles before they reached their target. Although one could see the explosion within the blanket of aliens, it did not matter much as the number of aliens were simply a speck in relation to the entirety of the alien army.

Xiao Huā pulled out her plasma rifle from a compartment of her mecha as she gripped it tightly in anxiety just like most of the other soldiers. Seeing how even nuclear weapons did not have much of an effect, it was clear that the might of a single soldier in a mecha will not amount to much.

“Xiao Mu, is there anything we can do to stop this army? Is there anything nearby we can use? At this rate, we are all going to perish!” Xiao Huā questioned Xiao Mu in desperation.

“Retrieving data from database … Retrieving data of surrounding scanners … Xiao Mu has detected a massive star nearby. The star is unstable due to ravaging and its destruction can easily be triggered by even a single nuclear weapon’s detonation. It may turn into a black hole after destruction which can wipe out this alien army as the aliens have no warp gate technology to use to escape,” Xiao Mu responded.

Xiao Huā perked up in excitement when she got the news as she hurriedly asked, “That’s what we need! Xiao Mu, where is that star? I’ll tell the command to fire nuclear missiles at it as soon as possible!”

Xiao Mu then silently displayed the location of the star to Xiao Huā. Xiao Huā then compared the location on the map and found the direction where the star was in reality. She stared out at the black tide that was closing in from the distance. The map clearly pointed out that the unstable star was behind the black tide, to be more precise, behind the mother nest. It was clear that no nuclear weapons were going to shoot through that mother’s nest.

Xiao Huā frowned before she gritted her teeth in resolution. Xiao Huā turned back flew towards the spaceship while her team mates looked at her in confusion. She requested entry to resupply before making an absurd request.

“Please hand me one nuclear weapon.”

The staff could only stare at her in shock before Xiao Huā quickly told them her plan to detonate the star. The staff looked at Xiao Huā as if she were crazy and refused to give her the nuclear bomb as the mission she had planned was an impossible one. It was then a familiar voice rang out, “Give it to him. I will make sure he won’t die.”

General Sheng walked in with his mecha as he commanded the staff to prepare a nuclear bomb for Xiao Huā. Xiao Huā gratefully looked over at General Sheng while also confused over what he meant. However, she had no time for that as she knew the tide will soon collide with the defense line. Hence, the staff delivered a nuclear bomb held inside a metal box to Xiao Huā who inserted it into a hidden compartment on her mecha. Xiao Huā then told Xiao Mu to attach a regular remote bomb along with thrusters on the box as Xiao Huā launched back into space. General Sheng silently watched Xiao Huā fly off before commanding, “Provide cover fire for her. Help her break through.”

The staff on the spaceship saluted in acknowledgement as General Sheng went to launch back into space. Not long after, a couple of spaceships began firing nuclear missiles towards the breakthrough point that Xiao Huā had chosen. At first, there was not much effect as the layers of aliens soaked up the damage; however, with multiple spaceships all firing at the same spot, the aliens at that spot eventually thinned out. Although the aliens had lots of lives that they could mindlessly sacrifice, it was not like they were dumb. They were intelligent enough to save their resources, especially since the spot that the nuclear missiles were aiming at was not their mother nest.

Not many noticed the single mecha silently closing in on the black tide as it was simply a speck in the vast outer space. No one noticed another mecha silently trailing after that mecha either.

As Xiao Huā got closer and closer to the black tide, the true looks of the aliens were revealed in full glory. The aliens were ugly, black scaled monsters that consisted of many variations ranging from octopus with tentacles to wolf-like predators with black bat wings. However, Xiao Huā had no time to worry about how the aliens looked as she noticed that they began to close in on her location. It seems that they had noticed her and deemed her to be free food. Xiao Huā solemnly commanded, “Xiao Mu, activated the turbo booster. Let’s get through them in one go.”

“Affirmative,” Xiao Mu responded as a box on the back of the mecha gradually unfolded to reveal a jet pack.

Not long after, the jet pack lit into action as Xiao Huā felt a huge surging force hit her mecha. Then, her mecha zoomed straight ahead at a rapid speed, leaving a beam of light behind her. It was then that most soldiers noticed the lone mecha breaking through the enemy defenses, but they only saw it for moments before the mecha pierced through the black tide. Then, the thinned out hole of the black tide repaired itself as crowds of aliens closed in on Xiao Huā, but Xiao Huā had left them far behind. Although humans will suffer heavy losses fighting the aliens head on, human technology can easily allow for humans to outrun the slow aliens if they have no burdens to defend.

As Xiao Huā zoomed through the aliens, she pulled out her plasma gun and began to fire rapidly in front of her, clearing as much aliens in her path as possible. Xiao Mu also began to launch tiny missiles at the aliens from small compartments that were detached one after another from the mecha after its usage. It may have seemed long, but the distance was shorter than Xiao Huā imagined because the turbo boosters really did their job well. Soon, Xiao Huā had pierced through the black tide completely and pulled a fair distance away from it.

It was then that Xiao Huā took a sharp turn to head to the dimly glowing star nearby. The glowing smoke ring around the star was like a flag signifying its coming demise. Xiao Huā rapidly approached the star as the hidden compartment with the nuclear bomb was prepared for launch. Then, Xiao Huā stopped a fair distance away from the star because getting any closer might melt her mecha. Then, she told Xiao Mu to launch the bomb.

The hidden compartment was then shot out of the mecha as it headed towards the star. Xiao Huā silently watched as the compartment melted away on its way to the center of the star, revealing the bomb within. The small thrusters attached to the nuclear bomb then switched on, propelling the bomb into the midst of the star. Xiao Huā closed her eyes and took a deep breathe before commanding, “Xiao Mu, do it.”

Then, Xiao Huā quickly spun around and dashed off towards the mass of alien heading in her direction. Although Xiao Huā couldn’t hear any explosion coming from behind her, the affirmation from Xiao Mu that the bomb has been detonated was all she needed to know. Now she must get out alive or perish together with the aliens.

It wasn’t long before Xiao Huā crossed paths with the alien as they all began to swarm her. Although Xiao Huā fought back with all her might, there were simply too many aliens and her mecha began to take damage from all directions! Just when Xiao Huā thought she will be drowned by the alien waves all alone, a brilliant flash of light struck the aliens in front of her, dicing them apart. A couple of explosions happened nearby which also cleared out chunks of aliens, revealing an open space where a single familiar mecha was calmly floating. His red eyes glowed in fury as he diced the aliens to pieces with his two yellow light sabers. It seemed that no one can stop him from reaching his destination. Eventually, the mecha stopped in front of Xiao Huā’s mecha as it continued to dice the aliens apart. Xiao Huā couldn’t help but stare in shock as she questioned meekly, “General Sheng, why are you here?”

General Sheng continued to dice the aliens apart before stating gently, “I will not leave you behind.”

A bubbly feeling arose in Xiao Huā’s heart before she remembered that she was still on the battlefield. Hence, Xiao Huā continued to fire her gun and missiles as General Sheng kept the aliens away from her.

The fight seemed to have lasted a long time and it seemed that it would continue forever. Suddenly, red alerts from Xiao Mu appeared all over Xiao Huā’s holographic screen as Xiao Mu began to deploy energy barriers one after another. General Sheng’s mecha suddenly approached Xiao Huā’s mecha rapidly and hugged her mecha from the back before a grunt of pain resounded. A hidden wave seemed to have hit Xiao Huā’s mecha as it jolted, causing her screen to fizz out for a bit as her mecha seemed to have malfunctioned for a bit before returning to normal. Even her holographic disguise disappeared after the shock wave. A lot of aliens also froze in their spots as if they had sensed danger.

Then, as if a switch was flipped, all matter in the surround disregarding if they were living or not began to slowly drift towards a single direction. To be more precise, they all began to be pulled towards a certain direction by gravity. With a glance, one would notice that a black hole has formed in place of the nearby star, and it had already gathered enough mass to affect a fair range of its surroundings. Masses of aliens could not control themselves as they involuntarily moved towards their demise. Even the mother nest could not escape as it began to slowly shift towards the black hole.

Of course, Xiao Huā was also part of the group being slowly sucked towards the black hole. Xiao Huā knew they had to get out fast or else they will never be able to get out once they enter the black hole’s trajectory. Hence, Xiao Huā hollered for General Sheng to go, but she was met with no response.

Xiao Huā glanced back to see a badly damaged mecha slowly floating towards the direction of the black hole. An occasion alien or two crashed into it but there was no response. The red light from its eyes had already faded away and his swords were long gone.

“Sheng!” Xiao Huā cried out as her heart palpated in anxiety.

Xiao Huā rapidly flew up to General Sheng’s mecha and held on to it as she commanded Xiao Mu to attach supports to bind General Sheng’s mecha to her mecha’s back. The pulling force seemed to have grown with the extra mass on her back, but Xiao Huā disregarded that as her heart had already made the resolution that she must bring him back with her no matter what. Otherwise, she would be buried together with him here. He did not leave her behind, and she will not leave him behind.

Xiao Huā commanded Xiao Mu to activate all the hidden thrusters she had requested to be installed on her mecha. It’s time for Xiao Huā’s desperate attempt to escape, and the gravity of the situation was very heavy.