Chapter 247 — Humanity
The hologram of Margaret Parangosky disappeared without another word.
The blue light above the table faded slowly until only the normal room lighting remained.
Silence followed.
Not the tense silence from before.
A heavier one.
The words she left behind still lingered inside the room.
Humanity that is endangered by extinction.
Naruto looked down slightly.
Mindy stayed unusually quiet beside Saeko.
Even Tony had stopped.
The atmosphere inside the conference room had changed completely.
Before, this had felt like first contact with another military force.
Now it felt like they had stepped into a human civilization in another world, one that was slowly losing a war.
Gaius stood silently near the table.
Behind the golden helm, his expression hardened slightly.
Humanity.
Not the Imperium.
Not his own universe.
But humanity nonetheless.
He had seen civilizations collapse before. Entire worlds burning. Refugees fleeing dying systems. Endless war consuming population after population.
And now this universe faced the same thing.
Different enemy.
Different history.
Same suffering.
His massive armored form remained completely still, but his thoughts sharpened.
If humanity in this universe truly stood on the edge of extinction…
Then this matter could no longer be treated lightly.
Across from them, Marcus Hale finally released a slow breath.
Only now, after Parangosky vanished, did he fully realize how tense his body had become during the conversation.
He lifted one hand and wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead.
He respected Admiral Parangosky.
Every UNSC officer did.
But with ONI, respect and fear usually existed together.
Especially with someone like Margaret Parangosky.
Marcus lowered his hand slowly and looked toward the group again.
This time there was no suspicion left in his eyes.
Caution still remained.
But now it mixed with something else.
Respect.
Especially when he looked at Gaius.
The video alone had changed everything.
The battlefield.
The speech.
The sheer overwhelming strength.
Marcus had spent years around military personnel, marines, officers, even Spartans from a distance.
He knew what real soldiers looked like.
And Gaius had carried that same presence.
Just far heavier.
Marcus straightened slightly.
"Since Admiral Parangosky ordered me to introduce you," he said calmly, "I'll start there."
He stepped toward the center of the conference room.
Immediately, the large holographic table flickered back to life.
Blue light spread across its surface.
First Earth appeared above the table.
Then the Moon.
Then the rest of the solar system.
The projection continued expanding outward rapidly.
Planet after planet appeared.
Then entire systems.
Then even more.
The hologram kept growing until a massive three-dimensional star map floated above the center of the room.
Dozens of systems glowed across the projection.
Lines connected them through trade routes, military routes, and slipspace travel lanes.
Some systems glowed blue.
Others glowed red.
Many red.
Naruto stared upward slightly.
"There's… that many human worlds?"
Even though he already knew the Imperium in Gaius' universe ruled countless human worlds, seeing so many displayed clearly in front of him still felt strange.
And compared to the Imperium, this civilization was still much smaller.
Marcus nodded once.
"Yes."
His voice remained calm.
Tired.
"Or there used to be."
The room quieted again.
Marcus raised one hand slightly.
Several systems dimmed.
Others vanished completely from the map.
"Humanity expanded beyond Earth centuries ago," Marcus explained. "Inner Colonies. Outer Colonies. Industrial worlds. Agricultural worlds. Military worlds."
Another section of the map turned red.
"Then the Covenant found us."
The moment he said the word Covenant, hatred appeared clearly in Marcus' eyes.
Not loud hatred.
Not emotional rage.
The colder kind.
The kind built slowly over years of war.
Tony narrowed his eyes while studying the hologram carefully.
The pattern was obvious.
Human territory was shrinking.
Systematically.
Marcus continued.
"They destroy colonies one by one. Sometimes fleets survive long enough to evacuate civilians."
His gaze shifted briefly toward the walls of the station around them.
"Most of the people on this station came from worlds that no longer exist."
Saeko slowly crossed her arms.
"Is it conquered?"
Her tone remained calm, though part of her was hoping the answer was not what she thought it was.
Marcus looked toward her.
And with a single word, destroyed what she had been hoping for.
"No."
He enlarged one of the destroyed systems.
A holographic image appeared above the map.
A planet.
Burning.
Massive glowing cracks stretched across continents.
The oceans boiled away.
Entire cities vanished beneath firestorms.
Then the image shifted again.
The planet's surface had become dark and smooth like melted stone.
"The Covenant glasses planets," Marcus said quietly.
"They bombard worlds from orbit until everything burns."
Nobody interrupted him.
Marcus continued speaking in the same controlled military tone.
"Billions dead across multiple colonies."
The number settled heavily inside the room.
Billions.
Not millions.
Entire populations erased.
Another section of the map turned red.
"Some worlds lasted days."
Another.
"Some lasted hours."
Naruto stared at the burning holographic planets.
The earlier refugees suddenly made far more sense now.
Families fleeing entire destroyed worlds.
Children losing homes.
People surviving only because evacuation ships escaped before the Covenant arrived.
Mindy had gone unusually quiet.
Even she looked disturbed now.
Saeko kept staring at the destroyed colonies silently.
Tanya watched the map carefully with narrowed eyes.
Unlike the others, her thoughts immediately focused on military analysis.
Interstellar war.
Religious extermination.
Superior enemy fleets.
Planetary destruction.
The scale alone was horrifying.
Diana finally spoke.
"And humanity is losing?"
Marcus gave a humorless smile.
"Yes."
No dramatic denial.
Just honesty.
"We survive battles sometimes."
Another system dimmed red.
"But every year the Covenant pushes deeper."
The room grew quieter again.
Gaius remained completely silent beside the table.
Red holographic light reflected across the gold of his armor.
Burning worlds.
Refugees.
Humanity collapsing slowly under an enemy with superior technology.
Under the helm, his expression hardened further.
Then Marcus continued.
"Fortunately," he said, "although humanity is on the verge of extinction due to Covenant technological superiority, they still sometimes choose ground combat."
Tony raised an eyebrow immediately.
So does Gaius.
Marcus noticed their reaction.
"That's where our advantage begins," he continued.
"The Spartans."
Tony frowned slightly.
"Superior technology… and they still land troops?"
From Tony's perspective, that made little sense.
If the Covenant truly dominated space warfare, then orbital superiority alone should already decide most conflicts.
Why risk ground battles?
Why create opportunities for resistance?
Marcus nodded.
"Yes. Covenant space technology is far superior to ours."
The holographic map shifted again.
Now Covenant ships appeared above human fleets.
Large.
Heavily armed.
Their weapon systems tore through UNSC formations repeatedly across multiple battle simulations.
Marcus continued.
"We still don't fully understand why they commit to ground combat so often."
Tony touched his chin thoughtfully.
That bothered him.
Strategically, it made no sense unless the Covenant had specific objectives planetside.
Religion maybe.
Artifacts.
Resources.
Or arrogance.
Mindy finally spoke.
"What about the Spartans?"
Marcus looked toward her.
The moment Spartans were mentioned, something changed in his expression.
Respect.
Awe.
"They are humanity's ultimate super-soldiers," Marcus said.
"They can turn ground battles around almost by themselves."
Then his gaze shifted briefly toward Gaius.
"And they're big."
He added.
"Compared to normal people."
Naruto blinked. "Wait… how big?"
Marcus adjusted the projection again.
Beside the hologram of a standard UNSC marine, another figure appeared.
The difference was immediate and hard to ignore.
The second figure, a Spartan, stood significantly taller and wider. Its entire body was covered in heavy green armor, designed more for protection and function than appearance. Even standing still, it carried a sense of weight and pressure, like the air around it had become heavier.
Marcus studied the comparison for a moment before speaking.
"Special forces," he said. "Heavily augmented soldiers."
That was all he could say with certainty. Most details about Spartans were still classified.
"Stronger. Faster. More durable than normal humans," he added after a short pause.
Tony's eyes stayed on the projection, carefully scanning the armor's structure.
Powered armor.
Military-grade design.
Built for function, not appearance.
No unnecessary details. No wasted space.
Just clean engineering meant to enhance performance and survival on the battlefield.
Even from a glance, the design was already something he wanted to understand further.
Marcus continued.
"They're faster, stronger, tougher than ordinary humans."
Then he glanced toward Gaius again unconsciously.
"But…"
He stopped himself there.
Naruto noticed.
"But what?"
Marcus hesitated for a moment.
Then answered honestly.
"Compared to him…"
He looked directly at Gaius now.
"I don't think Spartans are on the same level."
The room went quiet again.
Marcus was not insulting Spartans.
Far from it.
To UNSC personnel, Spartans were legends.
Humanity's greatest warriors.
But the footage they had seen earlier had already made the difference obvious.
The sheer physical strength alone was absurd.
Tanya folded her arms.
"How many Spartans exist?"
Marcus answered immediately.
"Not enough."
That answer alone said plenty.
~~~
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