Chapter 302 — The End of the First Battle
Gaius continued descending.
The atmosphere screamed around him.
Fire engulfed his armor.
Armament Haki flowed continuously throughout his body, reinforcing every limb and every surface beneath the auramite plating.
The consumption rate remained enormous.
Every second drained more of it.
And more.
And more.
Yet Gaius remained calm.
His gaze stayed fixed on the surface below while streams of data updated inside his helm.
Distance.
Velocity.
Altitude.
All changing rapidly.
The planet was approaching.
Fast.
Very fast.
Then the Iron Jetpack activated.
Blue-white flames erupted from the thrusters.
Unlike before, they were no longer being used for acceleration.
Now they pointed downward, directly against his direction of travel.
The engines roared.
Their purpose was simple.
Slow him down.
The effect was immediate.
But limited.
Even with the tremendous output of Tony's twin Arc Reactor-powered design, the momentum involved was simply too great. Gaius had fallen from orbit. No jetpack could completely negate that amount of kinetic energy in only a few moments.
Still.
Every bit helped.
His descent slowed.
Not enough to stop.
Not enough to hover.
But enough.
Enough to survive the impact comfortably.
The ground rushed upward.
Mountains.
Forests.
Rivers.
All growing larger.
Then,
Impact.
The collision sounded like a meteor strike.
The earth exploded outward.
A shockwave tore across the surrounding landscape. Trees bent violently. Loose soil blasted into the air. Rocks shattered. The ground itself cracked.
For several kilometers, creatures fled in terror.
A thunderous boom rolled across the region.
Then another.
And another.
Dust and debris rose hundreds of meters into the sky.
When the shockwave finally faded, a crater remained.
Deep.
Wide.
Its edges were fractured and broken. The center had partially melted from the heat generated by reentry. Smoke drifted upward from the impact site.
For several moments, nothing moved.
Then a blue-white glow appeared inside the crater.
The Iron Jetpack.
Its engines slowly powered down.
Dust continued settling.
A massive silhouette stood at the center of the impact zone.
Unmoving.
Untouched.
The auramite armor was blackened in places from atmospheric entry. Scorch marks covered portions of the plate.
But the damage was superficial.
Gaius took a step forward.
The crater floor cracked beneath his weight.
Then another step.
And another.
Climbing from the impact site.
The giant emerged through the settling dust cloud.
Several kilometers away, Tony Stark was already in the air.
The moment Jarvis had calculated Gaius's projected landing zone, Tony had launched immediately. Repulsors burned beneath his feet as he crossed the landscape at high speed.
Several Iron Legion units followed behind him.
Not because Tony thought Gaius needed help.
Quite the opposite.
He simply wanted to personally confirm that the giant Ultramarine had somehow survived falling from orbit.
Again.
The crater came into view.
Tony slowed.
Then descended toward it.
The dust had not completely settled yet. Smoke continued rising from the impact zone. The earth looked as though a small asteroid had struck it.
At the center stood Gaius.
Already walking.
Already moving.
As though atmospheric reentry and a meteor-level impact had merely inconvenienced him.
Tony landed near the edge of the crater.
"..."
He stared.
The crater.
Then Gaius.
Then the crater again.
The comparison somehow made the situation even more absurd.
Before Tony could speak, Gaius reached up.
His helmet released with a faint hiss. Locks disengaged. Pressure seals opened.
Then he removed it completely.
Cool air touched his face. White vapor escaped with his first slow breath.
The giant rolled his shoulders once.
Then casually waved the hand holding the helmet.
Particles of light appeared.
The helmet vanished, stored inside the Parcel System as though none of what had just happened deserved further attention.
Gaius looked toward Tony.
"Tony."
His voice was calm.
Normal.
Exactly the same as if they had met in a workshop.
Tony's mouth twitched.
"It seems falling from space didn't hurt you much."
Gaius looked at him.
"It did."
The answer immediately caught Tony's attention.
Gaius continued calmly.
"Several muscle groups were strained."
"There were also internal injuries."
Tony raised an eyebrow.
The giant had just climbed out of a crater large enough to swallow a building and looked completely fine.
"You were actually injured?"
Gaius nodded once.
"Yes."
Tony looked at him more carefully.
Now that he knew what to look for, he noticed subtle details. Tiny tears in portions of the armor's undersuit. Scorch marks.
Nothing severe.
But not nothing either.
"Do you need help?"
For a moment, Tony was completely serious. Hearing that Gaius had actually been injured made the offer instinctive.
Gaius shook his head.
"There is no need."
Tony frowned.
"Why?"
Gaius answered simply.
"I am already healed."
Silence.
Tony stared at him.
"..."
Then looked at the crater.
Then back at Gaius.
"..."
Then back at the crater again.
"How long ago?"
Gaius considered the question.
"The moment I began walking."
Tony stared.
Then realized what that actually meant.
A few seconds.
Only a few seconds.
The injuries from atmospheric reentry had healed while Gaius was climbing out of the crater.
Tony shook his head slowly.
At this point, he was not even surprised anymore.
Gaius looked toward the sky.
"The remaining Covenant ships."
"They may attempt to escape."
With their Fleetmaster dead and their flagship destroyed, confusion would already be spreading throughout the Covenant fleet.
The reminder immediately brought Tony's attention back to the battle.
His expression became serious.
"Right."
He turned toward the horizon.
"Jarvis."
"Status."
A moment later, the AI replied.
"The remaining Covenant vessels are accelerating away from Cascade."
Tony narrowed his eyes.
"Running?"
"Affirmative."
"Slipspace signatures are beginning to form."
That immediately got Tony's attention.
If they escaped, they would carry information back to the Covenant.
Information about Cascade.
About the Planetary Defense Lasers.
About Gaius.
About everything.
Tony made a decision instantly.
"Ready the PDL network."
"Already prepared, sir."
Tony nodded.
"Then fire."
Far across Cascade, the Planetary Defense Lasers responded.
Brilliant columns of light erupted upward. The beams crossed the atmosphere in seconds and vanished into orbit.
Tony and Gaius watched the distant streaks climb toward the heavens.
Several moments later, Jarvis reported the results.
"Impact confirmed."
"Multiple Covenant vessels destroyed."
A brief pause followed.
"Three Covenant ships remain operational," JARVIS reported.
Tony folded his arms.
"The surviving vessels have scattered and are no longer maintaining formation," JARVIS continued.
"They are attempting an emergency withdrawal."
Another pause.
"Estimated slipspace jump in forty-three seconds."
JARVIS was able to make the estimate because of the slipspace data he had analyzed and the information he had absorbed from Cascade's detection stations.
Tony's eyes narrowed.
Too long for the Covenant.
Just enough time for him.
"Fire again."
JARVIS hesitated.
"The laser batteries are running hotter than recommended."
"If fired immediately, damage to several installations is probable."
Tony shrugged.
"We can repair the batteries."
"The Covenant can't repair being dead."
A short pause.
"Understood."
Across Cascade, the Planetary Defense Lasers fired again.
Several batteries visibly overloaded. Cooling systems strained. Power conduits glowed.
But the beams still launched.
Multiple pillars of light pierced the sky.
This time the wait was shorter.
Jarvis spoke.
"Direct hits confirmed."
"All three vessels destroyed before slipspace transition."
A brief pause.
"Scanning."
Several seconds passed.
Finally, the report arrived.
"There are no remaining Covenant vessels within the Cascade system."
Silence followed.
The battle was over.
Tony slowly exhaled.
Then turned toward Gaius.
"It seems we won."
Gaius looked toward the now-empty sky.
Then gave a single nod.
"Yes."
For several moments neither spoke.
The battlefield was still burning. Emergency services would be busy for days. Repairs would take weeks.
But the immediate threat was gone.
Then Gaius raised one hand.
Particles of light appeared.
A moment later, a small object materialized in his palm.
The storage device.
The one Tony had designed.
The one that had spent several minutes consuming the Covenant flagship's databases.
Gaius held it out.
Tony accepted it immediately.
The moment it entered his hand, he studied the device carefully.
Then a slight smile appeared.
"With this..."
He looked toward the sky where the Covenant fleet had once been.
"We'll finally get a clearer picture of the Covenant."
"Their military."
"Their logistics."
"Their command structure."
"Their operations."
He turned the device over in his hand.
"And if we're lucky..."
A more interested expression appeared.
"There might be technology data in there too."
"Covenant weapons."
"Ship systems."
"Navigation data."
"Maybe even engineering archives."
Gaius nodded.
"A reasonable possibility."
Tony looked at the device again.
The Covenant had arrived intending to destroy Cascade.
Instead, they had lost an entire fleet.
A flagship.
And now potentially their own secrets.
Tony could not help smiling.
"Parangosky is going to love this."
Gaius looked toward the distant sky.
"The battle is finished."
"But the war is not."
Tony's smile faded slightly.
He nodded.
"Yeah."
The Covenant would come again.
Both of them knew it.
But next time, humanity would be waiting with far more knowledge than before.
~~~
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