Chapter 120 – A Shadow Has Appeared

Inside the Syn-Fibra offices, Milea's private lab.

In a room filled with the quiet hum of machinery, Milea and the Seldia corps captain, Grain, stood together.

"What's up? Calling me over like this out of nowhere."

At Grain's question, Milea silently worked the console in her hands, unfolding a large holographic monitor into the space before them.

Displayed there -- the raider's "large red Makina" that Letaria had destroyed the other day. And alongside it, the three-dimensional data of the "mysterious small reconnaissance unit" and the "slender machine's severed right arm" recovered back at the Restful Sector.

"Take a look at this."

As Milea made further adjustments, sections of each machine's model glowed blue on the hologram, magnified and highlighted.

"...This is... the internal frame's joining specifications, the generator bypass structure... you're saying they're 'the same standard'?"

At Grain's words as he studied the hologram, Milea nodded quietly.

"Yes. And it's not just that."

As she updated the data further, a string of components sharing eerily similar design philosophy -- reinforcement plating behind the armor, transmission circuitry -- lit up one after another in red highlight.

"None of these parts exist in any established manufacturer's database."

Grain understood immediately what she was getting at.

"So the large machine the raiders' leader was piloting, and the mystery recon units lurking in the Restful Sector -- they're using the same proprietary parts standard, is that it..."

Grain rested a hand on his chin, deep in thought.

"That large machine had zero matching data in any database either. At first I figured it was some junk patchwork job pulled together on the black market, but the deeper I dug into the analysis, the more the structure turned out to be far too refined for that. Large as it was, its solo combat specs outclassed the standard military Makina from every major manufacturer."

"Hmph... in that case..."

Sensing something oddly hesitant in Grain's murmur, Milea tilted her head.

"What is it?"

Grain seemed to mull it over for a moment before speaking, his tone heavy.

"...Actually, a request came through to the Seldia Bureau. A demand from the autonomous station 'Coroshe,' for the return of that large machine's wreckage."

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Milea picked up the cup on her desk, took a sip of the warm tea inside, and asked quietly.

"Coroshe... you mean that Coroshe?"

"Yeah."

Coroshe was an old, aging station, one with a considerable history as far as autonomous space zones went. It had existed as an independent entity even before the current federation was formed, and even now, incorporated into the federation, it still held onto a notably strong degree of independent self-governance.

The place had been steadily falling into decline as it aged, but rumor had it that in the past few years, a massive influx of capital from some up-and-coming company had funded a large-scale renovation.

"According to the formal complaint that came through Coroshe's own Bureau... 'this is the wreckage of a prototype Makina stolen from a corporation under Coroshe's autonomous jurisdiction, and prompt return is requested.'"

"Return of a prototype Makina... So then, would this be a machine belonging to that company based out of Coroshe -- 'Argria'?"

Argria. An up-and-coming military manufacturer rapidly gaining influence within Coroshe these days.

Originally little more than a small subcontractor producing Makina parts, it had undergone explosive growth over the past few years, with rumors that it had begun independently manufacturing Makina under its own proprietary specifications.

"Good chance of it. ...Though at this stage, we still can't say for certain that the mystery machines that showed up in the Restful Sector were Argria's doing as well."

"True enough... So, are you going to comply with the return request?"

"Yeah. On paper, it's a legitimate, formal request. There's no clear grounds to refuse it."

"In that case, we should really run a thorough materials analysis on the internal systems and frame one more time before we hand it back. Could you talk to the Bureau about bringing the wreckage to my lab in the meantime?"

"Got it. Leave it to me."

Listening to Grain's reply, Milea gazed at the wreckage of the large red Makina floating in the hologram.

On the surface, it had simply been raiders attacking a civilian ship. But beneath that, another shadow was beginning to show through.