BXBX NOVEL Chapter 159: | 159 | Complications
\'I have to solve it fast. The incoming reinforcements should be able to handle it. But will they be able to do it swiftly?\' He thoughtfully questioned, wondering what he should do about it. There were many options he could pick, some better, some worse.
The easiest and better option was ordering Laplace to take care of the south. However, this would mean that the United Navy wouldn\'t be able to handle a simple task without relying to the dragoness. He didn\'t wish for them to be over reliant on his lover.
"Sending more forces would quickened the pace of our victory. But it might make things more complicated." He muttered under his breath. "Another easiest option would be blowing everything up in the southern colony, but it would do more bad than good."
"Besides, it would be a disaster to the reputation of the United Navy. I don\'t want others to see us irredeemable genocidal monsters. That\'s a path I don\'t want to cross." He shook his head, denying his ridiculous and dangerous ideas.
Before Abraham could continue thinking about the matter, several knocks resounded from his door. He turned his gaze forward, curious as to who it was.
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*
"Get in," He responded to the knocking, which made the door opened, revealing the appearance of an ally. The edges of his lips rose as hope had finally dawned upon him. "Vice Admiral Charlotte, I thought you were resting in your home?"
"The last operation you were in was problematic to handle. I was confident that you needed a lot of rest." Abraham uttered to the aloof-looking lady in front of him. Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows after hearing him and responded. "I was made aware of the troubles in the south."
"Oh, you mean the southern colony? Well, it is a troubling matter that requires a lot of work to solve." He sighed as he could only imagine himself wasting his braincells onto finding a solution for the southern troubles.
"I am already aware that the final operation in the war against the Colonial Dominion of Terra is on the horizon. I know that we must solve the problem in the south as fast as possible." The more Abraham heard the words of Charlotte, the more he furrowed his eyebrows.
"While I\'d like to hear about your opinion regarding the south, I can\'t send you there after the northern operation. It hasn\'t been long since you returned from the north. Deploying you to the south would be a failure on my part." Abraham didn\'t agree on the deployment.
"But it must be done, Abraham. With the assistance of the UNS Trinity of Solace, more pressure in the south would be relieved, subsequently quickening the pace of our victory. We must defeat the southern rebels as quickly as possible." Charlotte stated her reasoning.
He couldn\'t counter it as it was the truth. The problematic rebels must be taken care of without severely affecting the timeline they had in their war against the Colonial Dominion of Terra. Abraham was faced with a troublesome situation, and he knew that he needed to be witty.
"Okay, okay..." After a short while, he sighed as it was difficult to handle the south without deploying more forces on it. "But the UNS Trinity of Solace will be merely deployed to assist in bombarding rebel-gathering areas."
"Affirmative, Fleet Admiral. I shall do so as you command." Charlotte nodded with a smile and saluted before Abraham. On the other hand, the middle-aged man shook his head, wondering whether she was a workaholic-type of woman.
Most would loved to be in vacation after fighting through a hard-fought battle in the northern seas. The tropics of the island of Crescere were great. An excellent relaxing vacation. Though, it seems that his Vice Admiral was the opposite.
The battlefield seems to be her place.
\'I guess there\'s a reason why she got quickly promoted to become the Vice Admiral.\' Abraham quietly thought to himself, gazing at Charlotte. He had heard about her exploits in the north. How she had commanded the UNS Trinity of Solace to take down five medieval battleships on its own.
It was something worthy enough to be written in the history books. Especially when the Inquisitors of Europa aided the enemy fleet amidst the battle. Without them, things would have gotten easier, though there was no what-if in this foreign world.
However, like before, Abraham couldn\'t keep thinking inside his mind as another couple of knocks resounded from the door of his office. He and Charlotte turned their eyes towards it, before he gave his response.
"Enter." After hearing his permission, an intelligence officer entered the fleet admiral\'s office intending to give important information about the southern colony. It was a confirmed intelligence they had recently received from the Forward Operating Base.
"What brings you here?" Abraham calmly asked the intelligence officer, who straightened her back and saluted to the fleet admiral before answering. "I am here to report significant intelligence regarding the southern colony."
Hearing her, he raised his eyebrows, wanting to know how significant the information was. With this in mind, he nodded his head and uttered. "Okay, report everything to me. I\'d like to know about this intelligence of yours."
"Understood, Sir." The intelligence officer nodded with glee while Charlotte merely stepped aside into the background. She observed the intelligence officer with interest, also desiring to know of the intelligence they had gained from the southern colony.
"I\'ll start, Fleet Admiral. Not too long ago, an SRU squad arrived in the Forward Operating Base with cargo. The content were slaves who wanted to return to where they came from. These slaves had already been confirmed to be innocent, so they were brought into the FOB."
"However, one of these slaves had information regarding the rebellion. Her name was Minaru, a member of the Kitsune Tribe. A clan of Beastfolk adept in the arts of illusion. According to her, the so-called rebellion had already existed before our entry into the southern colony."
"It appears that they were bidding their time for freedom, and our intrusion into the south threw a wrench in their plans. Their plans were to create a country for all Beastfolks if their revolt had been a success. Though, we destroyed the system they wished to liberate themselves from."
"According to the Kitsune, the reason of the revolt was simple. It was their change to regain their freedom, and build something for themselves. Naturally, how they went on with this plan of theirs was far beyond heinous. As such, many Beastfolk like her abandoned becoming members of the rebels."
"Through this, we can conclude that a vast network spanning the entirety of the southern colony had already been established. We have underestimated them. Not only that, they might also be led by a Beastfolk, and naturally... To deal with the rebellion, we must deal with the one leading it."
The intelligence officer concluded her report, and what followed was silence. Abraham and Charlotte were consumed by their thoughts. The fact that the rebel network had been established meant that they needed to strategize an actual offensive.
Otherwise, casualties would be fall upon their reckless attacks against the rebellion.
"Are you suggesting assassination?" Abraham questioned with raised eyebrows. The intelligence officer nodded calmly, knowing what she was suggesting to the fleet admiral. Assassination wasn\'t new for the United Navy. But it was the first against an organized rebellion.
"Can\'t we open diplomacy with the leader of the rebellion?" He asked as there might be a way to peacefully end the trouble without unnecessary bloodshed. Charlotte looked at him for a second and shook her head. "With how they act, it might embroil them even further."
"It\'s the same as admitting weakness. And these guys love seeing their adversary weakening before their eyes. It would be correlated to their foolish strategies working against us." The vice admiral explained.
Abraham nodded in understanding as what she had said made sense. The actions of the rebellion were far from rational. They might be organized, yeah. But that wouldn\'t meant that they would be logical. The rebels scattered throughout the southern colony were maddened, so doubt was understandable.
"I see... It seems that it is unavoidable. Call in the SRU 01, I have a mission for them." He ordered with determination since what needed to be done, must be done.
...
Meanwhile, in the heavens above the southern colony, an RQ-170 Sentinel was observing the situation within the capital of Austerus. It was capturing image, footages, and intelligence data, sending it to its mothership, the UNS Ceaseless Skies.
It carefully inspected possible rebel strongholds along with armories scattered throughout the capital city. It was also analyzing the possible building where the center of command of the rebels dwelled. After all, if found, it might be able to call in a strategic airstrike.
Back to the UNS Ceaseless Skies, a drone operator glanced at the intelligence data and immediately sent it to the intelligence officers. The possible strongholds and armories were quickly investigated, cross-referenced with various sources.
"Ten likely-strongholds of the rebels had been confirmed, Captain Himmel." An intelligence officer reported to the captain, who nodded in understanding and gazed through the reinforced windows of the Advanced Airship before giving an order.
"Send out an MQ-9 Reaper for a strategic airstrike. Give it the coordinates of the ten strongholds."