Episode 31: The Best Way to Counter Alien Creatures is to Unleash Our Own (Part 2)
Of course, just as Elena said, this glorious first overseas(?) expedition—put differently—was the same as mobilizing massive supplies, personnel, and a fleet with zero experience under our belts.
For example, right before the sturdy fleet, with a Minotaur-class cruiser as the flagship, departed from the spaceport in response to the Milano-VI satellite base's distress call.
-Whoosh, beep!
"Hm?"
-"……I'm sorry, Consul. Part of the Minotaur's internal power system wiring shorted out and burned up, so it's currently immobile."
"Not the real deal."
Something like the 200-meter giant space cruiser's power system acting up, forcing hasty repairs before retrying departure.
-"Hey, why don't we have any food?"
-"Huh?"
-"We prepped combat rations aboard for emergencies like this!"
-"Well, it's not a vacation, so no helping it…… So what's on the menu?"
-"Seafood bibim sauce with dried pollack stew."
-"Hah, kitchen staff, ATTENTION!"
-"You little shits, STRAIGHTEN UP!!"
Not long after launch into space, improper food supplies led to the marines and crew throwing fits.
Besides those minor issues, all sorts of unexpected accidents cropped up everywhere, delaying our arrival at the satellite base by a full day or more than planned……
Anyway, excluding those trivial problems, the rest of the preparations were that much more thorough.
The satellite base survivors, pissed about our late arrival, freaked out over comms—but only for a moment.
-"All ships, switch to bombardment posture. The things on this satellite lack orbital strike capability."
-"Understood!"
-"Guns 1 through 12, fire as soon as ready. Missiles on command HQ order."
-……BOOMCRASHBOOM!!!
"Impressive display."
"Even amid the chaos of the great rebellion, it's the foundation that kept the Empire's territory intact."
"Oh ho."
Once our fleet's cruisers and destroyers reached the satellite's orbit, they unleashed 150mm and 100mm railguns, plus tactical nukes, for full orbital bombardment.
-"Clear!"
-"Now's the time—release stasis on the Black Scourge in the drop pods."
-"These are the ones the Consul meticulously modified. They won't attack friendlies, so no worries."
-"Demonia forever!!!"
-"Leeeeroooy!!!"
After orbital strikes wiped out the Red Scourge horde gathered near the mineral base on the resisting satellite.
Deploying our onboard Black Scourge legions turned the red tide into a black oil wave crashing over them.
The surviving base personnel, who'd been cursing us out moments ago, now gushed.
-"We believed in you, CONSUuuuL!!!"
-"Whoa, for real?"
-"Kkirorororok!"
"Everyone's switching stances artistically, huh, Assistant?"
"If they don't change behavior there, they'll end up as red waves swept by the black tide."
"Ah."
"Plus, with the brutal orbital barrage just overhead, only an idiot wouldn't see this as the obvious move."
"Fair."
As Elena said, they swiftly praised us over comms.
At this point, I felt confident our branch's first large-scale op since formation was going pretty successfully.
Of course, just like on Milano-V, the satellite's Red Scourge had burrowed massive underground tunnels.
-"Hey, Demonía Branch Chief. Scanners detect at least 800,000 Red Scourge still hunkered underground!"
"Hmm."
-"If we don't wipe the tunnel bastards, we can't use the satellite—and all its resources get looted!"
Conversations popped up like, "We gotta smash the tunnel lurkers to complete the request without loose ends."
The cross-verification gallery I'd left open showed the same reactions.
After sweeping the surface clean, I pondered how to handle the ant-nest-like underground tunnel network.
Meanwhile, on-site personnel pitched their own solutions……
-"Just flood the tunnels and drown 'em?"
-"Where the hell do we source that much water? Forgot this is a thin-atmo satellite?"
-"Not water—pour super concrete or something……"
-"Red Scourge claws and strength rip through latest reinforced armor plating. Real super concrete might work, but it sets instantly in open air."
-"Poison gas to wipe 'em out? That's a common tactic."
-"No, mister—this ain't our satellite, it's another company's."
-"Pesticide OUT!"
-"Gotta resume mining post-incident, so that kinda thing……"
"Why do they all wanna contaminate vast areas or render it unusable?"
"Standard way to deal with Red Scourge tunnels, Doctor."
"I see."
Every idea wrecked the satellite for use, which would leave our first client interstellar corp sobbing.
I ordered them to cut the nonsense and planned to do like before: extract the 'queen,' inject a Chimera-made fake-Scourge synapse creature.
On-site marines and crew, slated for deployment, balked: "Taking a whole satellite means insane nest defenses!"
To their reactions, I tilted my head like they spouted nonsense……
"Why shove our precious troops into their home turf, where orbital support can't reach?"
-"Uh……"
"So what's the plan, Doctor?"
"Simple. Spray a virus mixing genes we used to turn Red Scourge into Black—make their nests and allies attack them."
"Hmm."
Just execute the 'kill each other starting now' op, I shrugged casually, pulling out a custom virus bomb I'd whipped up for fun before.
Of course, being a 'for fun' creation, real-world use meant shorter duration than designed, narrower range, etc.
Plus other minor issues—it seemed lacking to me……
-"Not collapsing tunnels or damaging the satellite meaningfully…… but repurposing the Red Scourge?"
-"Done right, we can use their tunnel network to make mineral collection easier……?"
"Assistant, Assistant—their eyes look a bit rolled back."
"Avoids the massive damage costs inevitable in Red Scourge extermination."
"Capitalism, huh!"
Compared to alternatives, damage was overwhelmingly less—'damage cost' figures dropped whole orders of magnitude.
Soon after floating the idea, the interstellar mining corp that commissioned us begged: extra pay if we did it this way.