Chapter 268 — The Value of Knowledge
The holographic conference room remained silent.
Three figures occupied the space.
Admiral Margaret Parangosky.
Commander Serin Osman.
And Dr. Catherine Halsey.
The three women appeared around the holotable as life-sized holographic projections. A large table occupied the center while various data windows floated nearby, displaying reports and supporting information.
The silence lasted several seconds.
It was Halsey who finally broke it.
"I assume both of you have read the report."
Neither Osman nor Parangosky answered immediately.
The report itself had not been particularly long.
The implications were another matter entirely.
Eventually, Osman spoke.
"Is everything in this report accurate?"
For perhaps the first time in quite a while, genuine disbelief had found its way into her thoughts.
Not because of the weapon.
ONI had seen powerful weapons before.
The Covenant possessed them.
Forerunner technology possessed them.
Humanity had spent decades facing technologies capable of destruction beyond conventional military expectations.
A rifle capable of killing a soldier was not enough to shock her.
The power pack was.
That was the part that kept drawing her attention.
The fact that it could be recharged repeatedly.
The fact that it could absorb energy from multiple sources.
The fact that infantry forces equipped with it would require dramatically less ammunition resupply than conventional UNSC units.
Those implications stretched far beyond a simple firearm.
Across the table, Parangosky remained silent.
Her expression stayed as calm and controlled as ever.
But she was waiting for the same answer.
Halsey looked at both women before giving a small nod.
"It is accurate."
The room fell quiet once more.
Commander Osman leaned back slightly.
"You're telling me this weapon from Gaius's civilization uses a rechargeable power source that can remain operational for years and can even recover energy from environmental sources?"
"Yes," Halsey replied.
Osman's eyes remained on her.
"And you're certain?"
"I've personally examined it."
Another brief silence followed.
Admiral Parangosky was the first to speak.
"Then the weapon itself is almost secondary."
"That's my conclusion as well," Halsey said without hesitation.
Parangosky folded her hands together.
"The real value is the power technology."
"Not only for weapons," Halsey added.
That immediately drew the attention of both women.
Halsey continued.
"The principles behind the power pack could potentially be adapted to drones, vehicles, remote facilities, survival equipment, and long-term field operations."
She paused briefly.
"Anything that depends on portable energy storage."
Neither Osman nor Parangosky interrupted.
Because they had already arrived at the same conclusion.
If the report was accurate, they were not looking at a better rifle.
They were looking at an entirely different approach to military logistics.
And that could be worth far more than the weapon itself.
The room remained quiet for several moments.
Eventually, Parangosky spoke again.
"What should we exchange for it?"
The question was directed toward Halsey.
Despite their complicated history, Parangosky trusted Halsey's professionalism.
If Halsey was presenting the technology with this level of seriousness, then she had already examined it thoroughly.
Across the conference room, Osman remained silent.
She possessed considerable authority within ONI.
More than most.
But compared to the two women sitting before her, she remained the junior participant.
Parangosky was the head of ONI.
Halsey was arguably humanity's most accomplished scientist.
Osman's role here was different.
She had been among the first people to establish contact with Tony Stark and Gaius.
And whatever decision emerged from this discussion, she would likely be the one responsible for communicating it.
Halsey considered the question carefully.
"The lasgun itself is valuable."
She paused.
"But if we're discussing equivalent value, then we shouldn't focus on the weapon."
Parangosky's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The power pack."
Halsey nodded.
"The power pack."
Several sections of her report appeared beside her hologram.
"The weapon is useful."
She gestured toward the floating data.
"The energy technology is transformative."
Supply chains appeared.
Logistical projections.
Deployment simulations.
Complex models created from her analysis.
"If we can understand and reproduce even part of this technology, it would affect far more than infantry weapons."
She pointed toward one projection.
"Vehicles."
Another.
"Remote outposts."
Another.
"Emergency power systems."
Another.
"Long-duration military deployments."
The projections disappeared.
Osman glanced toward her.
Parangosky remained expressionless.
Halsey continued.
"If we intend to exchange something of equivalent value, then first we need to understand what they actually need."
She folded her arms.
"This technology came from Gaius's civilization."
Her eyes moved between both women.
"If we want to determine what would be valuable to them, then we need a better understanding of their world."
Parangosky looked directly at her.
"Wasn't Osman's conversation with Gaius enough?"
Halsey shook her head.
"No."
"The information was significant."
She paused briefly.
"But it was broad."
"Useful for establishing context, not for understanding requirements."
Several files appeared beside her hologram.
"The Imperium spans millions of worlds."
"They fight multiple enemies."
"They possess super soldiers called Astartes, who are at least equivalent to our Spartans, if not stronger."
"They've lost much of their technological knowledge."
"We already know all of that."
Her gaze sharpened.
"What we don't know is what they currently lack."
"What they consider valuable."
"What problems they are trying to solve."
"And what knowledge they would actually be willing to exchange for."
The room fell quiet again.
Because she wasn't wrong.
Knowing a civilization existed and understanding its needs were entirely different things.
Halsey continued.
"At the moment, we're negotiating from a position of incomplete information."
"If we want an effective exchange, we need better data."
Osman understood immediately where the discussion was heading.
Halsey wasn't asking for access to ONI systems.
She wanted access to Gaius and the otherworlders themselves.
Direct questions. Clear answers. Real observation.
An opportunity to properly understand the civilization behind their technology, instead of working from fragments and vague reports.
After all, Halsey's presence on Cascade had only been approved under strict conditions.
Parangosky had initially opposed the deployment outright.
The risks were obvious: unknown individuals, unknown technologies, and an outer colony far from immediate support.
In the end, a compromise was reached. Halsey was allowed to go—but only under one condition: cooperation. Full professional conduct. No unilateral action. And a focus on the technology exchange, not personal pursuit.
Parangosky looked at her directly.
Neither of them spoke for several seconds.
Both understood what was being said beneath the surface.
Finally, Parangosky broke the silence.
"Remember, Halsey."
"They're from another universe."
Her tone remained calm.
"Do not push too far."
Halsey met her gaze without hesitation.
"I know what I'm doing."
Parangosky didn't immediately respond.
Whether she agreed or not remained difficult to determine.
Eventually, she gave a small nod.
The meeting had reached its natural conclusion.
One by one, the holograms vanished.
The connection ended.
Halsey remained standing alone.
For a few moments, she simply stared at the now-empty conference room.
Her thoughts had already returned elsewhere.
To the workshop.
To the lasgun.
To Tony Stark.
And most importantly—
To Gaius.
Because despite everything she had learned so far, she still felt as though she had only scratched the surface.
Eventually, she returned to her assigned residence within Cascade.
Earlier, she and Tony had agreed to continue their work the following day.
The remainder of the evening passed quietly.
Morning arrived once again.
Tony Stark and Gaius Maximor Thassor made their way toward the workshop.
This time, however, they were not alone.
Naruto and Mindy walked alongside them.
The reason was simple.
They were bored.
The workshop project sounded far more interesting than spending another day with nothing to do.
Neither Tony nor Gaius had seen any reason to refuse.
As a result, both had simply come along.
The morning air remained cool as they approached the workshop.
When they arrived, Halsey was already inside.
Jarvis had granted her access earlier.
Tony had already authorized the necessary permissions.
Inside the workshop, Halsey continued examining data at one of the workstations.
The workshop hummed quietly around her.
Holographic displays floated overhead.
Analysis reports continued updating in real time.
Simulation results scrolled across various screens.
Naruto was the first to notice her.
He slowed slightly.
"Who's that?"
Mindy looked over as well.
Her curiosity was immediate.
Tony glanced toward the workstation.
"Dr. Catherine Halsey."
He continued walking.
"One of the scientists working with us on the technology exchange."
"Oh."
Naruto nodded.
That explanation was straightforward enough.
Mindy looked toward Halsey again.
A scientist.
Meanwhile, Halsey had already noticed the newcomers.
Her attention briefly shifted toward Naruto.
Then toward Mindy.
Neither seemed remotely concerned about being inside a workshop filled with advanced technology.
Considering everything she had witnessed over the past several days, that was becoming surprisingly normal.
Tony continued deeper into the workshop.
"Morning, Doctor."
Halsey looked up from the workstation and gave a small nod.
"Good morning."
Beside Tony, Gaius offered a slight nod as well.
The giant warrior remained as calm and composed as ever.
~~~
PS: Only one chapter today, I had a pretty busy day.
But I'm curious… how do you think Halsey would react if she truly understood the Warp, the Immaterium, and the existence of the Primarchs?
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