Chapter 243 — Who are you?
Inside Hangar Bay Three, nobody moved carelessly.
The air itself felt tense.
Marines kept their rifles raised while station workers slowly backed away from the center of the hangar. Red emergency lights continued flashing across the metal walls and floor, painting everything in dim crimson light.
The newly arrived group stood together near the center of the bay.
And every person reacted differently.
Gaius did not look at the weapons first.
He looked at structure.
Formation.
Spacing.
Positioning.
The soldiers were spread carefully across the hangar entrance while others held elevated positions near cover points. Even the way they aimed their rifles showed discipline and training.
This was not a militia.
Not pirates.
Not undisciplined guards.
A professional military force.
His conclusion came immediately.
A highly advanced human civilization.
Interstellar level.
Possibly engaged in large-scale warfare judging from the station's military layout and alert response speed.
Gaius remained still.
Not passive.
Not relaxed.
Deliberate.
Beside him, Tanya's blue eyes moved constantly across the room.
Angles.
Distances.
Kill zones.
Cover positions.
She immediately understood one important fact.
They were standing inside a confined metal corridor system connected to the hangar.
If fighting began, movement would become limited.
But that did not concern her much.
Her stance shifted slightly, reducing her exposed profile instinctively.
No fear crossed her face.
Only calculation.
Ready to act the moment things went wrong.
Tony observed the station differently from the others.
Unlike Tanya, who focused on the soldiers and possible threats, his attention immediately went toward the technology around them.
He studied the walls and how they were reinforced. His eyes tracked the lighting systems across the ceiling, then shifted toward the energy flow running beneath the station floor. Even the weapons carried by the nearby soldiers caught his attention.
They were compact.
Advanced.
Clearly human-made.
The design philosophy was different from anything he knew, but the engineering behind it was real and practical, not alien.
After only a few seconds of observation, Tony arrived at the same conclusion as Gaius.
This was a high technological human world.
And the station itself was military.
Naruto reacted differently from the rest of the group.
His attention immediately went to the soldiers.
Not their weapons.
Their fear.
The marines looked tense, their rifles held tightly as they watched the newcomers. Several of them stood ready to fire the moment anything felt wrong.
And strangely enough, Naruto understood that feeling better than most people would expect.
Slowly, he moved his hands slightly away from his sides.
Not as surrender.
Not out of fear.
Just enough to show he was not preparing to attack.
He stayed quiet for a moment, instinctively glancing toward the others while waiting to see how they wanted to handle the situation.
Diana stepped forward slightly beside him.
She understood the atmosphere almost immediately.
Not just the tactical side of it, but the people themselves.
The fear.
The pressure.
The hesitation spreading through the room.
The soldiers were trained professionals, but they were nervous, and everyone there understood how dangerous nervous soldiers could become. One wrong move from either side could start a fight nobody truly wanted.
Diana kept her posture calm and steady.
"We are not your enemy," she said evenly.
Diana's words were not demanding or threatening. She was simply trying to keep the situation from breaking apart.
The marines still did not lower their weapons. However, a few of them hesitated after hearing her calm tone.
Saeko stayed silent beside the group.
Her focus was on movement alone.
Who was nervous.
Who was steady.
Who might fire first if something went wrong.
Her posture shifted slightly, subtle and controlled. Not aggressive, just ready. If violence started, she would react immediately.
At the front of the marine formation, Lieutenant Marcus Hale kept his rifle steady as he studied them.
Everything about the situation told him this was dangerous.
The giant armored warrior alone was enough to trigger every defense alarm in his mind.
On top of that, the way they had appeared, through a portal that ignored normal Slipspace travel, should not have been possible at all.
Nothing about this made sense.
Marcus finally spoke again, addressing Diana directly.
"Then why did you intrude into our station?"
His voice was controlled, but tight with tension.
Tony answered before anyone else could.
"We can't control where we appear."
Marcus frowned immediately.
"What does that mean?"
For a moment, no one responded.
Then Gaius stepped forward.
Not aggressively.
Not dramatically.
His steps made a heavy thud against the metal floor due to his sheer weight.
Only enough to show he intended to speak.
Under the red emergency lights, the massive armored figure seemed even larger as he approached. The auramite armor reflected the light in heavy golden tones, and the halo-like construct behind his head remained perfectly still, as if unaffected by gravity or motion.
His black eyes stayed calm.
Cold.
Focused.
"Put down your weapons first," Gaius said evenly.
A brief pause followed.
"Otherwise, I will retaliate."
The words were simple.
Not emotional.
Not angry.
Just direct.
And that made them feel heavier than any shout.
The atmosphere in the hangar changed immediately.
Tanya reacted first, her stance tightening slightly as her attention sharpened on the soldiers ahead. Not fear, calculation. Readiness.
Mindy's hand subtly shifted closer to one of her pistols, her posture controlled but clearly prepared for sudden escalation.
Saeko adjusted her footing as well, quiet and precise. Her eyes tracked the marines carefully, reading their reactions. She wasn't looking for a fight, but she was no longer ignoring the possibility of one.
None of them wanted violence.
But they were still surrounded by armed soldiers with rifles aimed in their direction.
And Marcus noticed the shift instantly.
The entire room felt like it was one wrong breath away from collapsing.
Especially with the massive armored figure standing at the front. Gaius didn't move much, but his presence alone made the space feel smaller, heavier, more dangerous.
Even without knowing who or what Gaius truly was, Marcus understood something clearly.
If fighting broke out here, it would not end cleanly. It would be fast, chaotic, and it would cost his people their lives.
He could already see it in his mind, his marines caught in a fight against something they didn't understand, dying before they even had a chance to adapt.
That was something he could not allow.
He slowly raised one hand toward his marines.
"Lower weapons."
For a moment, there was hesitation.
Fingers tightened on grips. Eyes stayed locked on the strangers.
Then the order took hold.
One by one, rifles began to lower.
Not fully relaxed.
Not safe.
But no longer aimed directly at the group.
The tension inside the hangar eased slightly, like pressure being released from a sealed chamber.
Tony quietly let out a breath.
Good.
Nobody died.
That alone counted as a successful outcome.
He already knew Gaius well enough to understand something important: Gaius was not built for long explanations or negotiations. When decisions mattered, Gaius acted. When details mattered, Tony usually stepped in.
So Tony stepped forward slightly.
"Okay," he said in a casual tone, trying to keep the atmosphere from tightening again. "Now that things are calmer, maybe we can actually talk properly."
Marcus didn't relax. His eyes stayed locked on Tony, measuring him.
"Who are you?" Marcus asked.
A short pause.
"And why are you here?"
~~~
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