Chapter thirty-five – Halo Lighting System First Strike Games User Manual

Page 325

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CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

1820 hours, September 13,2552 (revised date,
Military Calendar)\Aboard Covenant battle station

Unyielding Hierophant.

The Master Chief accelerated his Banshee to its top speed.

There was another explosion at the temple, and plumes of

steam geysered into the air from the heat-exchange plant. The

circling formations of Banshees scattered.

John tucked as close as he could to his flier's fuselage and

coaxed every bit of speed from the craft.

A pair of Banshees swooped in, one off his port, the other on

his starboard. Their plasma weapons heated; John rolled back

and forth to throw their aim. He braced for impact... but there

was none.

The Chief craned his head back and saw the pilot of the lead

Banshee slump, slide offthe flier, and plummet to the ground. The

trailing Banshee was riderless as well... only a blood-spattered

cockpit and cowling.

Linda still had him covered—had taken out both pilots with

precise fire. She had to be close.

John scanned the area. There were spires and water-reclamation

towers, transport tubes and catwalks that crisscrossed the center of

the interior. There was a nexus of walkways near the beam of il-

lumination that ran down the center of the station, a location with

enough glare that a sniper might hide in the open undetected.

He risked keying Linda's private COM channel. "Thought

you might need a ride, so I—"

An energy mortar blasted over John's shoulder, burning the

air like a sun in close orbit and draining his shields to half. It

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