Star Ship Girl Era: My Shipgirls Are Too Overpowered

Chapter 284: Orbital Fire?

Eirenne’s investigation into the ruined plaza did not end with the device’s destruction.

The first conclusion had been simple enough. Hask Renn had attempted to open something linked to an abyssal space, and Cassian’s precision strike had destroyed the device before the breach fully formed. That was the part everyone could understand.

The rest was less comfortable.

Several drones remained in Vortan Redoubt after the haze thinned, moving through the scorched plaza and the surrounding streets while hazard teams worked from the edge.

The central device was gone, but residue still clung to the ground in dark patches that did not behave like normal ash.

When floodlights touched it, the substance pulled back slightly, not enough to be called alive, but enough that nobody wanted to step closer.

Aurelian watched the feed from the Black Crown while Eirenne guided the drones deeper into the damaged district.

"Do you need support?" he asked.

"Not directly," Eirenne replied. "At this point, I am only confirming whether anything remains active. Sending people inside would create unnecessary risk."

"That sounds like a yes to keeping everyone out."

"It is."

Astra stood beside him, her gaze fixed on the display. "The haze is thinner, but not gone."

"No," Eirenne said. "It is losing cohesion. Whatever Hask Renn called through was not fully anchored, and the device’s destruction interrupted the process. Without a stable anchor or enough fear to feed on, the remaining haze is collapsing."

Rhoswen’s feed appeared from the quarantine edge. Her armor had been cleaned twice, and she still looked annoyed by the process. "So the thing is dead?"

"Not dead," Eirenne said. "It’s more like it is unformed, repelled, broken before arrival, but I am not sure which word is most accurate."

"That is not very reassuring."

"It was not meant to be."

Aurelian studied the central crater. "Could it have possessed people?"

Eirenne paused, and that pause made the room feel colder.

"Possibly. The old Vhaloric records are unclear, but they describe certain abyssal entities as lacking proper bodies in normal space. To remain here, they require anchors. Living minds can serve as anchors if weakened or overwhelmed."

Rhoswen’s expression darkened. "So all those civilians in the plaza..."

"Were likely meant to become fuel, hosts, or both."

No one spoke for a moment.

The idea was worse than a normal weapon. A bomb killed and left ruins. Poison spread and left bodies.

This was something else, something that turned fear itself into a door and used the living as handles.

Aurelian’s voice became quieter. "How many people could it have taken?"

"I do not know," Eirenne said. "The device was unstable, so perhaps only those closest to it at first. But if it had gained strength, the haze might have expanded through the city."

Elowen joined the channel from Larkspur Haven, her face tense with exhaustion. "If the haze spread into dense districts, cleanup would become much harder. Even if the entity failed to fully enter, the psychological and biological damage could linger. We need to isolate everyone exposed to the central field and screen them carefully."

Cassian was already listening through the command network. "Do it. No exposed civilian or soldier leaves quarantine until cleared."

Rhoswen looked at the medical tents beyond her field. "Even the rescued ones?"

"Especially the rescued ones," Elowen said gently. "Not because they did anything wrong, but because we need to make sure they’re safe."

Rhoswen nodded slowly.

Aurelian could tell she did not like it, but she understood.

The next question was what to do with the district itself. Cassian had already used a precision strike, but the central residue remained.

Sending people in would risk contamination.

Waiting could allow hidden remnants to settle into the ground, water, machines, or people who had been too close.

Destroying the entire district would be simple, but it would erase evidence, damage the city, and frighten the population.

Cassian did not rush.

He asked Eirenne, Elowen, Meridian, and the family hazard officers to speak first.

Their opinions did not perfectly match, but they pointed in the same direction.

The breach had been stopped early. The residue was dangerous, but contained. The central plaza and several nearby buildings could be cleansed without destroying the city, provided no organic teams entered until after the first stage was complete.

Drones, sealed mechs, and remote-controlled carrier craft could handle most of the work. After that, Elowen’s teams would use controlled atmospheric treatment and soil removal methods.

Aurelian listened carefully.

This was not like the other novel’s situation, where a whole planet had fallen past saving. Karven Spire was damaged, but still alive.

The breach had not spread beyond one city district. There were millions of people nearby who could still be protected.

That meant the answer was not annihilation.

It was containment.

Cassian agreed.

"Prepare a cleansing cordon," he ordered. "No living personnel inside the inner zone. Use drones and remote mechs only. If the residue reacts violently, we escalate."

A family officer asked, "To orbital fire?"

"If necessary," Cassian said. "But not before."

Aurelian respected that restraint. It was not softness. Cassian had the weaponry to turn Vortan Redoubt into glass if he had to, and everyone knew it.

But having power did not mean using it whenever fear appeared. If the Arcturus family wanted to rule here after the battle, they needed to show they could tell the difference between necessary force and easy force.

Eirenne sent the first group of remote units into the plaza.

The machines moved slowly, spraying pale stabilizing mist ahead of them. Where the mist touched the black residue, the substance curled, hardened, and turned brittle.

Some of it cracked like burned glass. Some sank into itself and released a faint whisper over the audio feed, prompting the drone operators to mute their channels immediately.

Rhoswen grimaced. "I hate that sound."

"You are not alone," Astra said.

Aurelian looked toward Eirenne. "Can the sound affect operators?"

"Not through filtered audio. I am adding further delays and distortion to all feeds."

"Good."

Meridian’s voice entered the channel. "Several drone processors are showing abnormal memory noise. I recommend disposal after mission completion."

"Agreed," Eirenne said. "Nothing that enters the inner zone returns to general service."

Rhoswen looked almost relieved. "Good. I didn’t want those things walking around later."