Major Camis considered the situation and agreed: far from their howorld, with only the 1,800 crew aboard the Cat’s Ear Spaceship, there were no oversight officials to dictate otherwise. If they succeeded, they could fra the narrative however they wished.
With renewed resolve, he refocused on commanding the battle.
However, his options were limited. The violent energy cannons (VECs) were already the most powerful conventional weapons the ship carried.
It wasn’t that the Riken lacked more potent weaponry—rather, the Cat’s Ear Spaceship simply didn’t have the capacity to carry them. Bringing ten cannons was already a logistical stretch.
When they embarked, the mission’s focus had been reconnaissance, not high-intensity combat. Naturally, they had not packed many heavy weapons.
But now, even the VECs were ineffective against Godzilla. Camis was at a loss and reported the predicant to Reggie and Lute. The two looked equally grim. The treasure stood before them, unclaid, yet they lacked the ans to seize it.
“Should we try tactical nukes?” Reggie suggested. “What do you think, Lute?”
“Let’s give it a shot. The creature must have strong resistance to nuclear radiation. We can only hope the intense heat will kill it.” Lute turned to Camis.
“It’s our best chance,” Camis replied, issuing orders via his communicator.
anwhile, the VECs continued firing, trying to wear Godzilla down.
Godzilla retaliated, firing two nuclear breaths toward the artillery positions. However, the attack dissipated significantly over distance, its maximum effective range capped at 15 kiloters, leaving the artillery, situated 20 kiloters away, unscathed.
The VECs, though barely scratching Godzilla’s thick hide, slowly chipped away at it. Yet the process was excruciatingly slow, requiring an inordinate amount of ti.
Frustrated, Godzilla redirected its fury toward the mobile gunboats in the sky, unleashing several nuclear breaths. When these too failed to produce results, it seed to reconsider its priorities.
Looking toward the direction of the nuclear explosion—where Hasmu’s squad had detonated the bomb—Godzilla hesitated. After deliberation, it chose self-preservation over curiosity, turning back toward the sea.
Weakened by its earlier outbursts, its dorsal fins dimd slightly, evidence of depleted energy reserves.
The VECs wouldn’t be able to kill or critically injure Godzilla before it reached the ocean.
“Commander, we have authorization to deploy Engineer Type II tactical nuclear missiles.”
Onboard the transport ship, the three squads evacuated earlier had been idle spectators for so ti. Surviving by sheer luck in a five-to-two lottery, they had avoided their comrades’ grim fate.
The deaths of their fellow soldiers filled them with frustration and a sense of powerlessness.
Now, they had a chance to fight back, and their spirits surged with determination.
Several transport ships carefully approached, landing just outside Godzilla’s range.
Simplistic launch platforms were quickly assembled.
The Engineer Type II tactical nukes offered versatile deploynt options: close-range launch via specialized tubes, dium-to-long-range launches from platforms, or gyro-equipped air drops from ships.
The escort forces chose platform launches. Though slightly less accurate, Godzilla’s massive size left little room for error.
Each 50-mber squad carried two tactical nukes. To maximize the attack’s impact, Camis ordered them fired simultaneously.
Six missiles streaked toward Godzilla, leaving white contrails in their wake. The 20-kiloter journey took re monts. Godzilla, oblivious to the approaching danger, ignored the smoking projectiles.
BOOM x6!
The six nuclear detonations rged into a single massive mushroom cloud. The resulting shockwave scoured layers off the plains, sending sand and debris billowing skyward.
“Did we get it?” soone asked.
“Unclear. Visibility is zero.”
“What about sensor readings?”
“There’s still a biological signal. It’s not dead. In fact, its energy levels haven’t even dropped significantly.”
“No… wait. They’re increasing!”
“Brace yourselves! Detecting a massive energy surge. It’s about to attack!”
Amid the swirling dust, a growing hum resonated, building in intensity. Then, a colossal energy beam—far larger than the earlier nuclear breaths—erupted from the cloud.
The fiery-red beam tore through the air, aid at the artillery positions 20 kiloters away. Though it fell just short of reaching its target, it exploded two kiloters shy, unleashing a devastating shockwave.
The blast tossed the VECs into the air and sent the lighter escort troops flying.
While their suits offered so protection against radiation and minor physical damage, they were woefully insufficient under such conditions.
“This creature can directly absorb energy from nuclear explosions to recharge itself? And it can weaponize the radiation to enhance its attacks?” Lute exclaid in disbelief from the Cat’s Ear Spaceship’s bridge.
“What do we do now?” Reggie demanded. “Major Camis?”
“With the artillery compromised, we lack the ans to contain it. To prevent further losses, I’m ordering the escort teams to retreat,” Camis replied grimly.
“Don’t we have the ship’s main cannon?” Lute asked.
“That’s designed for space combat, mainly to target teors. By the ti its energy passes through the atmosphere, its power will be significantly diminished—probably weaker than a single VEC shot,” Reggie explained.
A heavy silence fell. Camis turned to issue evacuation orders.
Under gunboat cover, transport ships launched ergency rescue missions. From the earlier explosion, the two artillery-operating squads suffered nine confird deaths, thirteen critical injuries, and five missing soldiers. The rest sustained fractures or minor injuries.
Of the nine fatalities, three died from impalent by debris hurled by the shockwave. The remaining six suffocated due to damaged face shields or were buried under rubble, preventing tily rescue.
Remarkably, none were directly killed by the explosion itself.
“This is beyond our capabilities. We’ll need to report this to the howorld,” Reggie admitted, his face dark with frustration.
“Such a bitter defeat,” Lute sighed.
Camis, his expression even grimr, remained silent. Unlike Reggie and Lute, who would retain so credit as the mission’s administrators and researchers, Camis faced scrutiny for his tactical errors. At best, he could hope for his rits to offset his failures.
“How many years will we need to stay here?” Lute asked.
“That depends on the howorld’s response,” Reggie replied thoughtfully.
“Should we enter stasis?” Communicating with the howorld would take a significant amount of ti. Without other pressing tasks, stasis was the best way to preserve lifespan during the wait.
“We can put so personnel into stasis. Do you have other suggestions?”
“Yes,” Lute replied. “I’m still intrigued by what happened to Hasmu’s squad. The ecosystem here defies understanding. If creatures can manipulate magnetic fields and harness fusion energy, could so even reach space?”
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