Chapter 237: | 237 | Containment
Standing in the bow of the capital battleship, UNS Trinity of Solace, Laplace gazed upon the City of Dawn, to which was blockaded by the Fleet of Aegis. The blockade of both sea entry and airspace assured that nearby cities wouldn't be affected by the psychic phenomenon in Dawn.
Otherwise, it would have been troublesome if other cities were also affected by the psyche-magicraft.
The United Military would have to partake in extreme measures by then, undertaking strategies that would be scrutinize in the future to come. They were fortunate that whatever scattered the psyche spells hadn't thought of extending their tendrils into nearby cities.
At any rate, with the authority bestowed by her husband, Laplace didn't hesitate to deploy United Military as hesitance would be nothing more but foolishness. It was to ensure that the problem doesn't become worser than it currently was.
"The first part of the containment should be under process. The United Military would start the magic detoxification of the population by setting up camps throughout the City of Dawn."
"I'm lucky that the Research and Development Department were quick to produce an anti-psyche spell with the help of their strange machines." Laplace sighed to herself as anything psychic-related was too complicated for her. The only solution she could find was having the first caster disband it.
But even if the spell was disbanded, there would still be traces of its mana stuck in the bodies of those affected by it. So, it wasn't an assured solution to the problem. The United Military was smart, and planned a strategy against it. Through them, a cure became the priority.
And now, the containment would begin to scatter the cure throughout the population of the City of Dawn.
Before the dragoness could continue with her thoughts, the phone within her pocket rang. Taking it out, a voice escaped the phone, coming from one of the communication operators of the Forward Operating Base within Dawn City.
*Major Laplace, the first phase of the containment procedure is nearing its completion. The population of the city has been marginalized and the military has gotten control of everything. It shouldn't take long before the anti-spell gets administered to the populace.*
"That's good... How about the reactions of the United World Government? Are they opposing the martial law?" Laplace questioned, understanding that her extreme maneuver left no chances for the World Government to understand.
*There are some resistance in politicians here and there, but the United Military has successfully assured your control over the city. No one and nothing should be opposed to the martial law. If there was, it should be the culprit.* The words of the communication operator echoed.
"I see... Thank you for your hard work. I'll begin the second phase of the containment." Laplace responded with a smile before cutting off the call. Afterward, she decided to call for the UNS Jaeger of the Blue Seas. It was time for the deployment of special operatives.
The phone rang for a short moment, though someone from the other side quickly picked it up.
*What are your orders, Major Laplace?*
"Begin the phase two of the containment, send in the hounds." Laplace ordered for the enactment of the second phase. It was the phase that would assure that the trouble doesn't start anywhere in the United World Government ever again. They would be capturing the culprit.
*Affirmative, starting the phase two of the containment procedure. The Cerberus will be deployed in the specified coordinates of the target, Major Laplace.* The communication operator from the UNS Jaeger of the Blue Seas immediately replied and relayed the orders to the commanding officer of the warship.
"Thank you," Laplace uttered as the breeze of wind passed through her body swaying her silver hair left and right. It was calming despite having a large amount of arsenal surrounding a metropolis of over hundreds of thousands.
The communication between the two soon got cut off and silence perpetuated the bow of the capital battleship. Now that she thought about it, Tiamat should be with her. Though, the little lizard seemed to have disappeared.
"My little lizard has already become a rebel." Laplace muttered, not accepting the fact that her daughter was growing up fast. It has been merely months and the little one was already rising up against her. As expected of kids, they always want to be independent.
'Wait, was I a rebel?' The dragoness thought, questioning the memories from her childhood. She didn't start as the liberating Dragon of Destruction. There were times where she would steal some livestock from nearby villages or burn fortresses down for the heck of it.
'I guess she got it from me.' Laplace lightly snickered to herself, seeing a little version of herself as Tiamat. Though, the little lizard was milder than young Laplace. The dragoness from before was more of a bastard than anyone else.
...
Meanwhile, somewhere in the skies of the City of Dawn, an Osprey was soaring through the clear azure expanse with a path in mind. Inside the transport aircraft was a Cerberus Platoon, the private military of the Atlas Corporation.
The Cerberus was an elite private military force of the Atlas Corporation. It was a classified one, not meant to be known by others outside of the corporation and the highest of the World Government. It was comprised of the best of the best from all organizations within the United Military.
Whether it'd be from the United Marines, United Army, Navy SEALs, Delta Force, Rangers, and the Special Response Division. These personnel had their identities bolted into the archives of confidentiality, forever forgotten by society.
In simpler terms, they were amongst the best weapons of the United World Government and the Atlas Corporation. The warriors that would strike everything in their path under the authority of the UWG. The only one that could deploy them was the Director, and the Authority.
The platoon leader of the Cerberus soon got up from his seat. He gazed at his colleagues and comrades before briefing them of their mission. It was classified, so most didn't know the entirety of the mission at hand. They merely had tinge of intelligence from their handlers.
"Alright, the top has given us a mission to take down a bastard that tried to mind control Dawn City. The metropolis is currently under containment procedure to cure the population, but the culprit is still out in the open, free from the consequences of their actions."
"Luckily, the intelligence division already got a target painted for us. So, we don't have to worry finding them out ourselves. The culprit and the target for this mission is this woman. A beastfolk, and a refugee that made landfall a couple of months ago."
"The intelligence division have been investigation this woman for quite a while. Despite being a refugee from the Frontier, she rose fast in the elite circles of Dawn City. She's part of the fox family within the beastfolk species, and she appears to be a beauty for the beastfolk population."
"At any rate, she has become popular not only because of her quick rise to wealth, but also her compassionate acts of donating money into supporting the beastfolks who had recently arrived in Dawn City. In simpler terms, she got them on her side."
"Her name is Viagra, and she's always surrounded by a security personnel 24/7. They always surround her, and most of them seemed to be from the Special Response Division." The revelation of the Special Response Division brought grunts to his colleagues.
"Anyhow, the mission is to capture the target and exfil from the location without anyone noticing. We have to be fast in our operation as the moment we get discovered, problems would flood us like a tsunami." The platoon leader of Cerberus merely smiled at the reactions of his subordinates.
"Am I understood?" He questioned his comrades as they nodded at the same time. "Affirmative, Sir." Their words resounded in the metallic interiors of the transport aircraft.
"Alright, why don't we begin the operation?" The platoon leader smirked as the pilots quickly opened the ramps of the Osprey. The red lights emanating in the background turned green, announcing that it was time for them to take a dive.
"I already said this before, we have to be quick. Don't waste any more time and take down any hostile you might encounter." He gave his final remarks as the Cerberus operatives dived out of the Osprey, falling into the azure heavens that expanded beyond the horizon.
...
On the other hand, back to the Prime Minister's office, Charlotte and Mercedes were dumbfounded by Tiamat's emergence. The little lizard was really the daughter of Laplace. The way she appears out of nowhere was akin to that of her mother's antics.
"What do you mean about feeling bad?" Mercedes furrowed her eyebrows as she didn't feel bad about being left in the dark by her own subordinates. She just felt a bit betrayed, that was all there was.
Though, Charlotte had a completely different reaction. It seems that her priority was something else.
"Wait, what? How am I an auntie? I'm not that old." Charlotte couldn't believe the words that escaped the little lizard. She considered herself as a young fertile lady who hadn't reached the age to be called an Auntie. When did she become a middle-aged woman?
Tiamat and Mercedes turned their gaze towards the Prime Minister as they couldn't understand her reaction against age. Noticing their eyes pointing at her, Charlotte lightly coughed and changed the subject like a naturally born liar.
"So, it was Laplace that enacted the martial law, huh? I hope that we'd receive some explanation about this."