"Keep an eye out for the Kenjah's spacecrafts." Montwik ordered as he made his way back to the bridge. "Sir, all nuclear missiles have made an impact. We lost communication with the Capitol City and another sixty-seven Class One cities. Twenty four Class One cities report that there was no sort of attack on them and they report that they are safe." Bolius announced. "Get the names of the twenty-four cities on the main screen. What about the other cities?" Montwik asked Bolius. "All Class Two and Class Three cities are safe, sir." He replied. "What sort of death toll are we looking at?" He asked Bolius. "We do not have any sort of information, sir. All units, or whatever is left of them, are probably trying to regroup themselves and trying to make communications. We have lost contact with all seventy air base stations inside the blast zones. Two hundred ground stations are non-responsive. All the stations outside the blast zones are responding. We are coordinating our rescue missions with them." Bolius said. "But our estimation puts about two billion civilians dead and one million soldiers along with them." He replied. "Two billion?" Montwik asked, shocked. "Yes, sir. As you know, a majority of the population lived in these cities, and I do not believe this to be some sort of coincidence, sir. The Kenjah must have chosen these cities due to their high population levels. Among the destroyed cities are Defton, the Financial Hub of Photrox; Trapster, the main energy producer in the southern provinces, Donton, the manufacturing hub of the North Eastern Provinces; Ares, the main defense hub of Photrox and an anomaly to the list, a massive Class Three city, Green City, which accounts for thirty percent of the food supply to Photrox. Of the remaining cities, Aero City is the largest and is also the administrative capital of the Southern Central Provinces." Bolius reported. "We will be setting up our temporary capital in Aero City. As far as my knowledge goes, Aero City is isolated and has a very good self-sufficiency level, yes?" Montwik asked Bolius. "Uhh... Yes, sir. It has most of the essential industries and also is a major food exporter in the region. It is also a major city for space exploration. Hence, it has quite a lot of docking and landing stations, sir." Bolius replied. "Please land all the Beta ships in Aero City. And arrange transport for us to travel to the Kenajah's palace. Do we have any word from our administrative council?" Montwik enquired. "Yes, sir. They made it out with the first wave of evacuation. I already sent instructions to take them to Aero City and set up a base there." Bolius replied. "Take us there." Montwik repeated. "Where are we with the Kenjah's army?" Montwik asked. "Their areal fleet has disappeared along with the Kenjah, sir. A weak ground force is guarding the palace. It would not take much time and gun power to get through their defense, sir. We will order a strike as soon as we regroup. We will concentrate all the other troops on rescue and relief efforts, sir." Montwik replied.
"What is your plan now?" I asked Montwik as the both of us walked to his cabin at his request. "Our first and foremost problem would be food and water for the remaining population. The loss of Green City is a huge setback for us, and as Bolius mentioned, it was not at all coincidental that it was our largest food supply. We will be issuing orders to step up the food production in Aero City and the other cities as well. Our manufacturing capabilities are down. So, we need to construct new factories and industries as soon as possible. We will be going through the areas we can set them up. We do have about seven billion people left. And a few million of our soldiers. We will manage to survive." Montwik replied. "What about us? The humans?" I asked him. "This is what I called you for. So, we initially planned on transferring the humans to the Capitol City but that now it is not on the map anymore, we need another city to transfer them to. Aero City would have been my first choice but with the influx of our population itself, their resources would be strained. The city would not be able to provide for so many people. There are about six million of humans left according to the estimates of our men. Hence, it would be better if the humans were transferred to Lockertown, the nearest Class Two city to Aero City. Lockertown does not have docking facilities. And as we have planned before, we would be transferring only half of your population, that is three million. So, I will instruct one of the Beta ships to unload in Aero City, come back and load the human population and dock at Aero City and we will arrange for transfer shuttles to Lockertown. Do not worry, Rithvik. We will make sure the humans will be well taken care of. But please allow us two days to make the necessary arrangements for the living quarters. And about a planet for you, let's have that discussion sometime else, Rithvik. With this sudden turn of events, we do have a lot on our hands right now." Montwik said. "No issues, Montwik. And thank you for your help. Could not have made it at all without you." I replied, standing up and giving him a firm handshake.
Holder knocked on the door and walked in. "It is a tragedy, isn't it?" Montwik asked him. Holder nodded. "The troops are ready for the assault on the palace." Holder said. "Do we proceed?" He continued. "Yes. Maim, do not kill. Capture as many people as you can find and throw them behind bars. And shut down the whole research and development division. Put all the scientists in separate cells. Completely isolate them. We have some work for them in finding a new planet. After that, I need you to bring all the prisoners to Aero City and organize an air strike with the deep tunnel missiles. Blow the palace out from inside out. You are in charge of this, Holder. Prepare your men and get going. I want you to be there as soon as the ground assault is over. You will take charge of the Palace Area after the ground assault. Good luck." Montwik said.
"You're right, Rithvik." Montwik said. "We did bring this upon ourselves."
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