The residence had beco much quieter after Marcus left.
Naruto, Mindy, Saeko, and Diana were already exploring Cascade.
Gaius remained in his room.
Only Tony and Tanya were left in the living room.
For a while, neither spoke.
The silence was comfortable.
Then Tanya casually waved a hand.
A mont later, several drinks appeared on the table.
Tony raised an eyebrow.
The appearance of the tea wasn't accompanied by any dramatic effects.
One mont the table was empty.
The next, it wasn't.
A teapot sat in the center.
Several cups rested beside it.
Tony looked at the tea.
Then at Tanya.
Then back at the tea.
Without saying anything, he picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup.
Steam rose gently from the surface.
He took a sip.
A few seconds passed.
Then he made a face.
"Not my taste."
Tanya looked at him.
"I prefer coffee."
Tanya simply shrugged.
She took her own cup.
The tea suited her preferences perfectly.
Neither attempted to convince the other.
After another sip, Tanya set her cup down.
Then she asked a question.
"What do you think of the people here?"
Tony glanced toward her.
"What do you an?"
Tanya remained calm.
"The humans of this universe."
Tony leaned back slightly.
The casual look on his face faded.
The question deserved a serious answer.
For a few monts he considered it.
"I don't know much about them beyond what they've told us."
That was the truth.
Almost everything they knew about this universe had co from the UNSC personnel, the soldiers they t, and ONI representatives. There were still countless things they didn't know.
Tony continued.
"But what I know is that they are humans."
His voice remained calm.
"And they are being attacked by aliens killing billions of humans."
The room beca quiet again.
Tanya listened.
She didn't interrupt.
The reality was simple.
Neither of them knew the full history of humanity in this universe.
They didn't know every political detail.
They didn't know every secret.
They didn't know everything ONI had done.
They didn't know every mistake humanity had made.
But they did know one thing.
Humanity was fighting for survival.
Billions were dead.
Entire worlds had been destroyed.
Whatever other complications existed, that fact remained.
Tony sighed.
"At the end of the day, they're humans."
Tanya nodded slightly.
The Covenant, from everything they had heard, weren't simply fighting a war.
They were conducting extermination.
That alone was enough for Tony.
If forced to choose between humanity and the aliens attempting to wipe humanity out, his answer was obvious.
After a few monts, Tony spoke again.
"Tanya."
She looked toward him.
"How long do you think we'll be in this universe?"
Tanya lifted her teacup.
Her movents remained precise and elegant.
The black gloves covering her hands sohow made the gesture appear even more refined.
She took a small sip.
Then she answered.
"I don't know."
Tony waited.
"But from the situation, we might take longer than expected."
Tony nodded.
That sounded about right.
The mont they had arrived, things had beco far more complicated than any of them had expected.
Alien genocides.
Billions dead.
Interstellar wars.
Technology exchanges.
None of it would be resolved quickly.
Although they could leave whenever they wanted, none of them had any desire to walk away. Not after learning what humanity in this universe had endured.
If they eventually returned ho, they wanted to leave behind sothing useful. Sothing that would help.
"Fortunately," Tony said, "I already had everything prepared before we got to this universe."
Tanya looked at him.
"After all, there is no more ti dilation."
That was true.
Tony's world no longer suffered from the strange temporal problems that had complicated things before.
Ti continued normally now.
Tanya nodded.
She didn't respond verbally.
Her situation was sowhat different.
Because she was currently staying in Tony's universe and had not returned to her own world, her original universe remained effectively paused.
Ti wasn't moving there.
At least not for now.
It was a strange situation.
One she had largely beco accustod to.
The conversation gradually drifted toward smaller topics.
Neither of them felt any need to disturb Gaius imdiately.
The giant warrior had wanted ti alone.
So they gave it to him.
They continued drinking tea.
They talked about various things.
Minutes passed peacefully.
Then both of them heard it.
Thud.
A heavy but controlled footstep echoed through the residence.
Tony imdiately looked toward the hallway.
Tanya did the sa.
There was only one person capable of making that particular sound.
"Gaius," Tony said.
anwhile, elsewhere in the residence, Gaius had already known everything that had happened.
Even while sitting alone in his room, Observation Haki had allowed him to sense events throughout the residence.
Marcus arriving.
The communicators.
The conversations.
The money.
The tablet.
He knew all of it.
He simply hadn't co out.
The knowledge granted by the Emperor still occupied much of his attention.
Organizing it.
Understanding it.
Sorting it into a usable form.
Only after finishing that process had he finally left his room.
A mont later the giant Space Marine entered the living room.
Tony imdiately reached toward the tablet resting on the table.
"Marcus left—"
He stopped.
Gaius spoke first.
"I know."
Tony blinked.
Gaius continued.
"I heard it."
Tony looked slightly confused.
Gaius's room wasn't exactly next door.
It was so distance away.
Still, after everything he had seen from Gaius so far, Tony simply accepted the explanation.
Enhanced hearing wasn't exactly the strangest thing on the list.
"Fair enough."
Gaius approached the table.
Then he picked up the tablet.
The giant warrior sat down across from them.
Tony watched with curiosity.
Gaius extended one armored finger.
The auramite gauntlet touched the screen.
Tony found himself watching carefully.
Part of him genuinely wondered whether the screen would survive.
The tablet activated imdiately.
No scratches.
No cracks.
No damage whatsoever.
Tony nodded.
Good materials.
The device clearly wasn't cheaply made.
A mont later the screen lit up fully.
Then a holographic interface appeared above it.
Contacts.
Maps.
News.
Various applications.
Several additional features.
The display floated smoothly in the air.
No flickering.
No instability.
Gaius examined it silently.
Then gave a small nod.
It functioned properly.
The holographic interface was responsive.
Everything appeared to work as intended.
Tony leaned back.
"Not bad."
The three remained there for a few monts.
Then Tony glanced toward the window.
The others had been gone for a while now.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"It's been so ti."
Tanya looked up from her tea.
Tony continued.
"I wonder how things are going on Naruto's end."
The city greeted them with motion.
Cascade was alive.
Vehicles moved through elevated transit lanes overhead.
Civilian transports crossed the sky.
Holographic advertisents floated above storefronts.
Bright images rotated through the air.
People filled the streets.
Workers heading toward jobs.
Students moving between schools.
Families spending ti together.
Veterans walking through the city.
Life.
Everywhere.
For a mont, the four newcors simply stood there.
Naruto looked everywhere at once.
His head turned constantly.
Every few seconds sothing else caught his attention.
"Whoa..."
His eyes followed a train gliding silently along an elevated rail.
Then another vehicle crossed overhead.
Then a massive holographic advertisent appeared above a nearby building.
Naruto imdiately pointed at it.
"How does that stay in the air?"
Nobody answered.
Mostly because nobody actually knew.
Mindy's attention had already moved elsewhere.
"There are caras everywhere."
Saeko smiled.
"That was the first thing you noticed?"
"It should be."
Mindy crossed her arms.
"If I was planning sothing, I'd want to know where all the caras are."
Diana sighed.
"You are impossible."
Mindy grinned.
"I know."
Naruto barely heard any of that.
A sll had reached him.
His attention imdiately shifted.
Food.
A nearby stall had caught his attention.
Then his stomach betrayed him.
Growl.
The sound was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Naruto froze.
Saeko imdiately covered her mouth.
Diana smiled.
Mindy laughed openly.
"You've been outside for less than five minutes."
Naruto pointed toward the food stall.
"I'm hungry."
"You are always hungry."
Naruto didn't even deny it.
"I'm still hungry."
Nobody really had a counterargunt for that.
Several minutes later they stood in front of a food vendor.
The man operating the stall looked mildly surprised.
Mostly because Naruto was staring at the nu with extraordinary focus.
"So what is a moa burger?"
The vendor blinked.
"You've never had one?"
Naruto shook his head.
The vendor looked even more confused.
After all, moa burgers were one of the most common foods in human space. Nearly every surviving colony had so version of them, and most people recognized the na imdiately.
"Where are you from?"
Naruto opened his mouth.
Then paused.
That was actually a difficult question.
Fortunately Diana stepped in.
"We are visitors."
The vendor accepted the answer.
He had only been making casual conversation, after all.
Naruto imdiately pointed at the nu.
"I'll take three for ."
The vendor stared.
"Three?"
"Yes."
Mindy ordered one.
Saeko selected sothing lighter.
Diana chose to wait.
While they waited for their food, Diana watched the city.
People seed normal.
That was what struck her most.
After everything she had learned about this universe, she expected tension.
Fear.
Paranoia.
Signs of a civilization constantly afraid.
Instead she saw ordinary life.
Children walking with parents.
Friends talking together.
Couples shopping.
People laughing.
Humanity had survived.
Billions had died.
Decades of war had scarred civilization.
Yet life continued.
Diana found herself smiling softly.
There was sothing comforting about that.
Eventually the food arrived.
Naruto took his first bite.
His eyes nearly closed.
"This is amazing."
Mindy took a bite from her own burger.
Then she shrugged.
"It's a burger," she said. "Just a more delicious one."
Naruto imdiately pointed at her.
"You have no appreciation for greatness."
Mindy rolled her eyes.
The argunt began instantly.
Saeko laughed quietly.
Diana simply listened while the two continued debating the quality of a burger.
The afternoon continued.
inside an ONI facility, another conversation from earlier was being reviewed.
The laboratory contained advanced equipnt.
Scientific projects occupied nurous workstations.
Experints were running throughout the facility.
Yet none of that currently held the attention of one particular scientist.
Instead she was focused entirely on a holographic recording.
The hologram displayed Gaius.
Specifically, his eting with Commander Osman.
His explanation of the Imperium.
His discussion of enemies.
The woman watched without blinking.
She was older.
Distinct graying hair frad sharp facial features.
Blue eyes remained fixed on the recording.
Nothing else in the room seed to exist.
Nearby sat a desk.
A naplate rested upon it.
The words engraved on the plate were simple.
Catherine Halsey.
And as the holographic image of Gaius continued speaking about the Imperium of Man, Catherine Halsey continued watching in complete silence.
~~~
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