The red leader grinned even wider, puffing out his chest as the wave ofpliments continued. His ego was soaring higher than his fighter ever could. Each cheer, each word of praise, seemed to add anotheryer of smugness to his expression.


    Carlos leaned against the doorway for a moment, watching the scene unfold with an amused smile. He could see exactly what kind of man the red leader was, confident, talented, and very aware of his own reputation. The sort of person who lived for praise and admiration.


    After a moment, Carlos decided to interrupt the celebration. Clearing his throat loudly, he stepped forward. "Ehem," he began, drawing the group''s attention. "I see you guys are having fun. Mind if I join?"


    Theughter quieted down slightly as the group turned to look at him. The red leader raised an eyebrow, his expression a mix of curiosity and mild annoyance at the interruption.


    "And who might you be?" the red leader asked, looking Carlos up and down. His tone wasn''t hostile, but it carried the unmistakable air of someone sizing up a potential rival or an unwanted guest.


    Carlos smirked, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked closer. "Name''s Carlos," he said casually, ncing around at the group. "I''m with Rex''s crew. You know, the guy who turned that Tier 4 beast into sushi and took down half the battlefield while you were busy dodging flying fish."


    The room fell silent for a moment, the red leader''s confident smirk faltering slightly. The mention of Rex was enough to shift the atmosphere, and a few of the engineers exchanged awkward nces.


    The red leader cleared his throat, regaining hisposure. "Ah, yes. That guy," he said, his tone dripping with forced nonchnce. "Well, I guess he did alright down there. But let''s not forget, it was my squadron that kept the skies clear and gave your buddy a fighting chance."


    Carlos chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh, no doubt about it. You guys did great up there," he said, his tone light but teasing. "Still, I''d say Rex did most of the heavy lifting. I mean, fighting a Tier 4 beast head-on? That''s a little different than ying tag with flying fish, don''t you think?"


    The pilots and engineers stifled nervousughter, unsure whether to side with Carlos or their captain. The red leader''s face flushed slightly, but he forced a grin.


    "Well," the red leader said, his voice rising slightly as he tried to regain control of the conversation, "not everyone can be a lone wolf, running around and fighting monsters. Some of us have responsibilities, like leading a squadron and keeping everyone alive. That''s the real challenge."


    Carlos raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening. "Responsibilities, huh? Is that what you call telling war stories and drinking with your fan club?"


    A ripple ofughter spread through the group at Carlos''s jab, and the red leader''s grin turned into a tight smile. "Well, we all have our ways of unwinding," he said, his tone a little sharper now. "But tell me, Carlos, what exactly do you do in Rex''s crew? Or are you just here to hang around and make jokes?"


    Carlos shrugged, his tone as casual as ever. "Oh, you know. I dabble in this and that. Fix things. Build things. Keep people alive. Just a few minor responsibilities." He nced at the red leader with a sly grin. "And sometimes, I drop by to keep the ACE of the fleet from floating away on his own ego."


    The group erupted intoughter at that, and the red leader''s face flushed redder than his fighter. He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, one of the engineers stepped in.


    "Come on, Captain, don''t take it so seriously!" The engineer said, patting him on the back. "We all know you''re the best!"@@novelbin@@


    Carlos chuckled, taking a seat nearby and grabbing a drink from the table. "Rx, Captain," he said, raising his ss in a mock toast. "I''m just messing with you. You did good out there, real good. But maybe save some of the bragging for after we''ve all had a chance to catch our breath, huh?"


    The red leader hesitated for a moment before letting out a grudging chuckle. "Fair enough," he said, though his tone was still a bit stiff.


    As the group returned to their drinks and banter, Carlos leaned back in his chair, a satisfied smirk on his face. He wasn''t sure why, but there was something oddly entertaining about keeping people like the red leader in check.


    It was the little things that made these moments bearable while the bigger battles loomed on the horizon.


    After a few minutes of drinking, Carlos decided to break theughter-filled lull. He leaned back in his chair, swirling his drinkzily before taking a sip. "So," he began, smirking slightly, "what do you guys do around here to pass the time? Anything fun, or is it all just sitting around and trying to look important?"


    The red leader let out a loud groan, mming his ss down onto the table. "Fun? Hell, there''s nothing fun to do here! And don''t even start about girls!" he eximed. "They''ve got their own private quarters! They don''t even breathe the same air as us anymore!"


    Carlos raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the sudden outburst.


    "Yeah, I remember when that happened," one of the younger engineers chimed in, nodding solemnly. "Something about some pilots almost... you know, trying to rape one of the female engineers."


    Carlos''s smirk vanished, reced with a grim expression. "That''s... messed up," he muttered.


    "Oh, now that you mention it, I remember hearing about that," the red leader added, scratching the back of his head ufortably.


    "They say the saint saved her before anything could happen. And after that, one of the saintess''s bodyguards—" He winced and shifted awkwardly in his seat. "Well, uh... let''s just say the guy impaled those bastards. Through the ass. Killed them right then and there."


    Carlos blinked. "Through the...?" He trailed off, his lips twitching as he imagined the red leader''s difort wasn''t entirely hypothetical.


    One of the engineers let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head. "And now, because of that, we''re stuck in a permanent sausage party. It''s just dudes, dudes, and more dudes! There are even rumors going around that some guys here have decided to, you know. He nced around and lowered his voice. "Switch sides."


    The red leader spat out his drink,ughing so hard he nearly fell out of his chair. Carlos, on the other hand, leaned back and let out a long, exaggerated sigh. "Don''t worry about it," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "It''s the same everywhere. Even I''m surrounded by nothing but sausages back on my ship."


    The red leader perked up at that, his face lighting up. "Ohhh, old man! So you''re one of us!" He threw his arm around Carlos''s neck, pulling him into a dramatic hug as fake tears welled up in his eyes. "The pain! The loneliness! Truly, we''re all suffering in this cruel, sausage-filled universe!"


    Carlosughed, though hisugh was tinged with the bitter truth of his own words. "Yep," he said with mock resignation, "the universe has been really unfair to us."


    But before the group could dive deeper into their shared misery, a soft, feminine voice cut through the air like a melody.


    "Hello, gentlemen. May I borrow him for a while?"


    The voice frozen everyone in ce. It wasn''t just the tone; it was the sheer femininity behind it, a sound none of them had heard directed at them in far too long. All heads turned toward the source of the voice.


    Standing in the entrance to the hangar bay was a stunningly beautiful woman. She had a graceful, feminine charm that made her look both elegant and approachable, with long golden hair that shimmered under the hangar lights.


    Her alluring, well-developed figure seemed to defy the standard military uniforms, and atop her head were a pair of soft, cat-like ears that twitched ever so slightly.


    Her mere presence was like a critical hit to the brains of every single man in the room. Pilots, engineers, and mechanics alike stared at her in stunned silence, their mouths slightly agape.


    "O-O-Of course, ma''am!" The red leader stammered, immediately releasing his hold on Carlos''s neck and stepping back like a guilty child caught red-handed. "You can take this... uh, traitor with you!"


    Carlos blinked, ncing between the red leader and the woman before turning to her with a raised eyebrow. "Traitor?"


    The woman smiled gently, tilting her head slightly to the side. "Mmm?" she hummed, her cat-like ears twitching as she gave an expression so cute yet mature that it practically short-circuited the younger engineers.


    The red leader and the rest of the men, however, were too busy trying to collect their thoughts to respond. They had been renderedpletely speechless, their brains in overdrive trying to process the sheer presence of the woman before them.


    Carlos, however, simply squinted at her through his drunken haze. He staggered to his feet, wobbling slightly as he pointed a finger at her. "Oh? Sharon!" he eximed, his words slightly slurred. "Fancy meeting you here!"


    Sharon raised an eyebrow, a yful smile tugging at her lips.


    Carlos stumbled a step closer, nearly tripping over his own feet. "Since when did you have a twin? Are twins a thing now? Is that, like,mon or something?"


    He attempted another step but failed miserably, his drunken state causing him to sway dangerously. Sharon stepped forward, steadying him with a single hand on his shoulder.


    "Goodness," she said with a slight chuckle, her voice carrying a yful warmth. "You''re even drunker than I thought."


    Carlos waved her off weakly. "I''m fine, I''m fine," he mumbled, though his swaying said otherwise.


    Behind them, the red leader and his group could only watch in stunned silence, their brains still rebooting from the impact of Sharon''s presence. One of the younger engineers finally whispered, "She''s... real, right? Like, not a hallucination?"