Chapter 7: Response (choice)

Chapter 7: Response (choice)

Rosea Channa burst through the command center doors, her typically immaculate appearance in disarray. Her formal attire hung awkwardly, hastily donned over sleep clothes, and her hair remained partially pinned from sleep. Dark circles shadowed her eyes as she scanned the bustling war room.

"Acting Chancellor on deck!" someone called, though few personnel paused their frantic activity.

Screens covered the curved walls of the Dome's command center, displaying satellite imagery of a perfect circular void where Sector 97 had stood mere hours before. Surrounding the impossible emptiness, devastation spread outward like ripples in a pond—flattened terrain, molten earth, and fragmented military vehicles scattered like children's toys.

At the center of the chaos stood Grand Marshal Satezer, his weathered face illuminated by tactical displays as he leaned over a holographic table. Officers clustered around him, receiving rapid-fire orders with grim nods.

"Deploy the 5th Armored to establish a perimeter at these coordinates," Satezer jabbed a finger at the map. "Nothing gets in or out. I want atmospheric fighters maintaining constant surveillance patterns. If that thing moves, I want to know about it yesterday."

"Sir, the 5th is still evacuating survivors from Korchusk's eastern district," a colonel protested.

"Then pull the 3rd from the northern refugee corridor. Just get me bodies on the ground." Satezer's voice carried the weight of decades of command. "And someone get me confirmation on whether that Angel is still active."

Channa approached only when the officers dispersed to execute their orders. Satezer acknowledged her with a curt nod, his eyes never leaving the tactical displays.

"How bad?" she asked.

"Bad enough." Satezer's jaw tightened. "The Angel appeared over Sector 97 less than an hour ago. Whatever weapon it used didn't just destroy the facility; it erased it. Created a perfect circular void hundreds of kilometers wide. The shockwave reached Korchusk. Eastern districts are gone."

"Casualties?"

"In the hundreds of thousands, at minimum." Satezer's voice remained steady, but his knuckles whitened as he gripped the edge of the table. "And that's not counting what happened in Korchusk earlier."

"Earlier?" Channa's eyebrows shot up.

"Different attack. An Angel infiltrated a military command post. Killed twenty-seven personnel before our forces managed to take it down." Satezer finally looked at her. "Or thought they did. The body dissolved into golden light. Disappeared before we could confirm the kill."

Channa paled. "So we could be dealing with two Angels? Or the same one that somehow... escaped? Resurrected?"

"Unknown. Intelligence is still piecing it together." Satezer gestured to a side screen showing security footage of a humanoid figure dissolving into particles of light. "If they can resurrect, we're in deeper shit than we thought."

"What's your plan, Marshal?" Channa straightened, attempting to project authority despite her disheveled state.

Satezer tapped commands into the holotable, bringing up a series of tactical overlays. "We're implementing Contingency Hammer. Full military mobilization, planetwide. Evacuating all settlements within five hundred kilometers of the impact zone. Redeploying our remaining fleet to defensive positions around major population centers."

He switched to another display showing a network of underground facilities. "Activating our deep bunker network for government continuity. You'll need to address the Senate within the hour, then relocate to Bunker Alpha."

"And if the Angel attacks again?" Channa asked.

Satezer's expression hardened.

[What are the Grand Marshal's plans to counter the Angelic threat?

• Nuclear retaliation: The Navy's tactical nukes did nothing, but they were low-yield space-based weaponry. Inter-Continental Strike Missiles with high-yield fusion warheads might prove more effective against the Angel.

• Combined Army and Naval attack: A combined, focused strike by army and naval assets on the Angel might be enough to damage or destroy the Angel. Focused attacks from hundreds of in-orbit warships along with missile and artillery bombardment from thousands of land-based weapons platforms might prove effective.

• Both. Start with 1, then if ineffective, do 2.]