Parallel Vol. 6

Chapter 16: Chaos in the Base

Five minutes before the explosion: 10:53 pm.

HQ Outskirts.

Ayumi's brows furrowed as she watched Cassia. Perhaps because he wanted to check on his mech's maintenance, the alien general suddenly switched directions toward the maintenance facility. She quickly sent Natsu and Suzuki warnings, but only Natsu responded. The latter replied she was climbing the elevator, and it seemed Suzuki was in a place that blocked external signals.

Praying that nothing went wrong, Ayumi signalled Takahiro Ken, who stepped forward in a massive rhino-themed silver bombardier. "Prepare to light a path."

Takahiro nodded and switched his vision to a targeting system. Under his gaze, a three-meter wide, red path appeared between their position at the forest's edge, through the grass, and to the nearest chain-link fence. "Missiles primed and ready. Firing on command."

Ayumi's brows tightened even further when Cassia, as she guessed, truly entered the maintenance facility. The drone did not dare follow him inside, so it flew upward and peered through a window on the upper floors. From there, Ayumi's heart caught in her throat when Cassia glared at the ceiling without rhyme or reason.

Ayumi did not see Suzuki on the ceiling through the feed, which only made her feel worse. Suzuki's stealth was activated. If Cassia could sense him, they had severely underestimated the pilot! She dreadfully watched as Cassia pointed his rifle at the ceiling and shouted something.

Without hesitation, she shouted, "Fire!" and dashed out of the forest.

"Roger!" With a deep breath, Takahiro initiated his mech's offensive protocols. The massive mech's arm-mounted missile racks began to rotate, revealing hundreds of small, sleek projectiles ready to be unleashed. "Fire!" The mech's arm cannons roared to life, unleashing a barrage of missiles that filled the sky like a swarm of angry hornets. The projectiles streaked toward the minefield, each armed with a specialized payload designed to neutralize the deadly devices.

Usually, such raucous mayhem would have alerted the aliens, but Ayumi was not worried. No. The second Suzuki got discovered, she knew what that madman would do. BOOOM! Sure enough, her drone feed cut off, but not before she heard an explosion like the thunderclaps from the gods. In the distance, a gigantic, fiery mushroom burst into the sky, illuminating the minefield as Takahiro's missiles struck true.

Explosions erupted across the minefield as the missiles found their targets! Shrapnel and smoke filled the air, creating a chaotic maelstrom of destruction. Mines detonated quickly, their deadly blasts causing shockwaves that rattled the ground.

"Move! The general's last known location is the maintenance facility!" Ayumi charged across the field with gritted teeth, the others following closely behind. She was worried about Suzuki, but she knew the mission came first. So, she quickly sent a message asking him to confirm his status and then focused on the charge.

As they neared the fence, Ayumi smiled when she saw the massive tsunami wave crash into the facility, bringing with it death and destruction.

***

Following the explosion, Natsu peered through the visor of her combat suit as a lone figure flew out of the building and crashed through the neighbouring facility's roof. Before she could move, Natsu paused, a mixture of awe and dread filling her eyes as she witnessed the approaching wall of water. The immense tsunami, towering high above the horizon, was a force of nature, unlike anything she had ever encountered.

As the tsunami surged forward, its colossal wave crashing down the river, Natsu's heart pounded in her chest. The chain-link fence surrounding the base offered no resistance to the unrelenting riverine assault.