Halo Lighting System First Strike Games - Manual (Page 95)

ERIC NYLUND 91
Haverson shrugged. "I see no reason to keep this information
classified at this point. Tell him, Chief."
The Master Chief didn't like how Haverson "acceded" to his
tactical command yet readily ordered him to reveal highly clas-
sified material.
"Cortana," the Chief said. "Is the bridge secure from eaves-
droppers?"
"A moment," Cortana said. Red lights pulsed around the
room's perimeter. "It is now. Go ahead, Chief."
"My team and I—" the Master Chief started.
He hesitated—the thought of his fellow Spartans stopped him
cold. For all he knew they were all dead. He pushed that to the
back of his mind, however, and continued.
"Our mission was to capture a Covenant ship, infiltrate
Covenant-controlled space, and capture one of their leaders.
Command hoped they could use this to force the Covenant into a
cease-fire and negotiations."
No one said a word.
Finally, Locklear snorted and rolled his eyes. "Typical Navy
suicide mission."
"No," the Master Chief replied. "It was a long shot, but we had
a chance. We have a better chance now that we have this ship."
"Excuse me, Master Chief," Polaski said. She removed her
cap and wrung it in her hands. "You're not suggesting that you're
going to continue that half-assed op, are you? We barely sur-
vived four days of hell. It was a miracle we got away from Reach,
survived the Covenant on Halo... not to mention the Flood."
"I have a duty to complete my mission," the Master Chief told
her. "I'll do it with or without your help. There's more at stake
than our individual discomfort—even our lives."
"We're not Spartans," Haverson said. "We're not trained for
your kind of mission."
That was certainly true. They weren't Spartans. John's team
would never give up. But as he scanned their weary faces, he had
to acknowledge that they weren't ready for this mission.
The Sergeant stepped forward and said, "You still want to go, I
got your back, Chief."
John nodded, but he saw the exhaustion even in the Sergeant's
dark eyes. There were limits to what any soldier, even a hard-