Chapter 35 Has the Foundation Gone Mad

Trying to Contain It with Flesh and Blood 35: Has the Foundation Gone Mad?

Trying to Contain It with Flesh and Blood After seeing the Foundation’s enormous air formation, neither Nick Fury nor Coulson looked relieved.

Instead, their expressions became even more solemn.

Both men were military experts.

So the moment they saw the Foundation’s large number of V-44X Blackfish transports, they immediately understood what the Foundation intended to do.

They were preparing to deploy ground forces against SCP-096.

There was no other reason to send that many V-44X transports.

“The Foundation has lost its mind!” Even Coulson, normally the most easygoing person in S.H.I.E.L.D., couldn’t help exclaiming.

“Why are they sending ground troops in there just to die?” His shock was completely understandable.

SCP-096 had already survived a nuclear strike.

Would conventional weapons really matter against something like that?

Deploying large numbers of infantry against it seemed no different from sending people to their deaths.

How could the Foundation be this reckless?

Fury and Coulson had originally believed the Foundation was finally arriving to clean up S.H.I.E.L.D.’s failed containment attempt.

Instead…

It looked as though they had come to commit suicide.

The final trace of hope in their hearts disappeared the moment they saw the massive Foundation transport formation.

In truth, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s operation against SCP-096 had also been intended to test the Foundation.

Their original thinking had been simple.

Even if S.H.I.E.L.D.

failed to contain the anomaly, the Foundation would still be there to handle the aftermath.

And if the Foundation refused to intervene?

Then that would prove the organization’s strength wasn’t nearly as great as S.H.I.E.L.D.

had feared.

Even if the containment operation failed, S.H.I.E.L.D.

could then petition the federal government to take control of the Foundation.

If they were actually authorized to absorb the Foundation, the benefits would be enormous.

And even if that failed, they could at least pressure the Foundation into sharing anomaly intelligence and divert some of the resources originally intended for the Strategic Security Administration.

From that perspective, even heavy casualties could be considered worthwhile.

Nick Fury might be the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

and fundamentally aligned with the side of order, but as the head of such a massive intelligence organization, he was also an experienced political operator.

He frequently judged situations in terms of gains and losses.

When sacrifices were necessary, Fury could be extremely decisive.

If several hundred lives were enough to reveal the Foundation’s true strength, then in his view, the price could be justified.

After all, if justice truly demanded it, Fury wouldn’t hesitate even if the person being sacrificed was himself.

But despite all his calculations, there was one thing he had never expected.

The Foundation had indeed stepped in to clean up the mess.

But they were sending large numbers of ground troops.

This was SCP-096!

A creature that had endured a nuclear blast!

What exactly were infantry supposed to accomplish against that?

Could they really contain it?

S.H.I.E.L.D.

had already deployed enormous firepower.

AC-130 gunships.

An Apache attack helicopter squadron.

An A-10 ground-attack squadron.

A self-propelled artillery group.

A brigade-scale formation of M270 multiple-launch rocket systems.

And finally, even a B-2 bomber carrying a tactical nuclear weapon with a yield of roughly five kilotons.

None of it had worked.

SCP-096 had simply continued moving as if nothing had happened.

And now the Foundation was sending special forces?

What good were they supposed to do?

Wouldn’t they simply become more victims of the Shy Guy?

A combined S.H.I.E.L.D.

and U.S.

military operation had already thrown overwhelming firepower at SCP-096 and still failed.

Yet the Foundation intended to use conventional ground forces to contain something that could survive a nuclear strike?

How could that possibly succeed?

Even Nick Fury began shaking his head.

The entire thing gave him the absurd impression of someone trying to imitate a master strategist while completely misunderstanding the situation.

“The Foundation has gone insane.” Fury couldn’t help mocking them.

“An anomaly that even a nuclear weapon couldn’t stop…” “And they’re sending special forces in to die?” “Don’t they understand this is a suicide mission?” Alexander Pierce, standing nearby, agreed.

“A mission doomed to fail.” He sighed.

“What a waste of good soldiers.” “They know they’re walking into certain death, and they’re still going.” Hearing that, Fury’s expression showed a trace of regret as well.

“They’re good soldiers.” “It’s a shame the Foundation is throwing them away like this.” Although Fury strongly disagreed with the Foundation’s decision, he still respected the courage of its Mobile Task Force operators.

Anyone willing to advance despite knowing they were likely to die deserved respect, even from an opponent.

But this created another problem.

How was S.H.I.E.L.D.

supposed to propose taking over the Strategic Security Administration after this?

Pierce, on the other hand, found himself taking the Foundation even more seriously.

As expected of an old and powerful organization.

They were willing to sacrifice pieces when necessary.

And Ethan…

Pierce’s opinion of him rose considerably.

This was a commander willing to make ruthless decisions when required.

Judging by the size of the deployment, the Foundation was sending several thousand people— An elite combined-arms force roughly equivalent to a brigade.

And Ethan was apparently willing to sacrifice all of them?

Whether it was Fury or Pierce, both reached essentially the same conclusion.

The Foundation was sacrificing a piece to preserve the greater whole.

This was obviously a political show.

There was no chance the containment operation would actually succeed.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

had already lost so many people trying to contain SCP-096.

If the Foundation simply refused to act, S.H.I.E.L.D.

would have every excuse it needed to criticize them afterward.

But now the Foundation was clearly stepping in.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

had sacrificed lives trying to contain SCP-096?

Fine.

The Foundation had also sent thousands of personnel into the field.

If the Foundation suffered devastating casualties and still failed, how could S.H.I.E.L.D.

then turn around and petition Washington to take over the organization?

Wouldn’t that look like bullying an organization that had just sacrificed itself trying to clean up S.H.I.E.L.D.’s mess?

S.H.I.E.L.D.

was already a huge organization, but it still didn’t possess absolute control over the federal government.

If it behaved too greedily, other factions within Washington would absolutely resist.

And so— Whether it was Nick Fury, the S.H.I.E.L.D.

director willing to use ruthless means for what he believed was right…

Phil Coulson, the experienced field commander…

Or Alexander Pierce, the calculating HYDRA conspirator…

Not one of them believed conventional Foundation forces could contain SCP-096, the Shy Guy, after it had already survived a nuclear weapon.

To them, this entire deployment was nothing more than a political performance staged in response to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s failure.

No one believed the Foundation could succeed.

No one— Except the Mobile Task Force operators themselves.