Halo Lighting System First Strike Games - Manual (Page 303)

ERIC NYLUND 299
and titanium plates underneath showed through. Without their
reinforcements, the craft would have disintegrated on the rough
ride through Slipspace.
"Covenant C & C responding to our request," the copied
Cor-tana informed him. "Ferry en route to take us in for repairs.
They were a little confused about which warship we belong to,
but I simulated static to cover our ship's registration ID. They're
too busy to take too close a look at us."
The Master Chief returned inside the dropship. "We're get-
ting towed," he told Blue Team.
Linda came up to him and made a circle in the air with her in-
dex finger. John nodded and turned around so she could visually
inspect his MJOLNIR suit. Computer diagnostics were fine, but
his Spartans didn't take any chances with their armor. Especially
not in an evacuated environment.
"You're good," she told him.
John then returned the favor and examined her suit. Fred and
Will had done an excellent job integrating the replacement parts
into Linda's armor. Aside from their pristine condition, they
were a perfect match.
He patted her on the shoulder and gave her a thumbs-up to in-
dicate that her armor was in working order.
"Ordnance load out," Grace said and unraveled the duffel
bags they had tied to the hull. The packages had been wrapped
with lead foil, layers of thermal padding, and then a layer of
utility tape. "Heavy or light?" she asked.
"We go in heavy," John said. "Except Linda."
Linda started to object, but he explained, "We'll need you to
hang back and cover us with your sniper rifle. I want you fast and
deadly. Take a close-range weapon, extra ammo, and whatever
you need to keep your sniper rifle working in the field."
"Roger," Linda said. Her voice was cold, hard, and brittle.
This was the voice John had heard as she reported in while snip-
ing targets around the team. John sometimes found it a little too
cold... but he knew this was a good sign. Linda was preparing
to do what she did best: kill with a single shot.
"The rest of us will take whatever we can carry. Once we're in I
have a feeling we won't be able to come back. If we have to, we
can always lighten our load."