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Kurt woke up in bed, an os his vital signs, blood coen saturation levels

He surh there was no call button, and no obvious door There was also a ca Kurt felt the familiar subsonic thruh he preferred boot-on-dirt, anywhere was better than hard vacuus over the edge Pain lanced up his side

Cracked ribs--he'd had them many times Bruises covered his pale skin; they were especially livid on his shoulders, stomach, and waist He checked in theblack stubble on his head and face He was intact… but how long had he been unconscious?

The wall slid apart and a balding man entered Curiously he wore an Arne of a colonel His dark eyes fixed upon Kurt

"Sir!" Kurt started to stand and salute

"At ease, soldier," the Colonel said

Kurt checked his motion He opened his mouth to correct the Colonel's error, but fell silent Naval NCOs were never called "soldiers," but in Kurt's experience, officers Army or otherwise, never appreciated correction unless lives were at stake

The Colonel's continued stare s contributed to his unease He was on a UNSC ship, receiving otten here, and as an Army colonel interested in him?

"I am Ja: he held out his hand to shake

This was a rare occurrence Usually no one wanted to touch a Spartan, let alone shake their hand

Kurt took Ackerson's hand and gingerly squeezed it

Ackerson Kurt knew that name There had been conversations between Dr Halsey and Chief Mendez Ackerson had couage Kurt had surmised he was not their friend

Kurt are that everyone in the UNSC had the sa hureed on how that mandate should be executed… which led to internal conflict Kurt understood this the way he understood basic precepts of a Shaw-Fujikawa translight engine He grasped the underlying theoretical principles, but the nuances and the actual application of that knowledge remained a mystery to him

Most likely this colonel was on permanent loan to ONI as a liaison officer They often recruited civilians, officers froet their job done

An Army colonel was approximately the same rank as a Navy captain, so while Kurt ary, he had to be polite, and even take orders fro as they did not conflict with previous orders

"If you are well enough, get dressed" Colonel Ackerson nodded to the night table on which was a neatly folded uniform

Kurt stood, removed the osmotic IV patch, and dressed

"SPARTAN-051, what is your name?" Ackerson asked

"Kurt, sir"

"Yes, but Kurt what? What is your family name?"

Kurt knew he had had another na That, however, was part of a life that seemed more dream than real now And that other naone along with it Still, he struggled to remember

"It doesn'tif asked, use the last name…" He considered for a moment "Ambrose"

"Yes, sir"

Kurt buttoned his shirt The unifor bolt and arrows It instead had the clasping-hand patch of the UNSC Logistical core

It bore the single pip of a private first class and two combat ribbons for Harvest and Operation TREBUCHET

"Follow me" Ackerson moved out the open doors into a narrow corridor He led Kurt through three intersections

Many Naval officers passed them, but none saluted They kept to themselves for the most part, eyes down And while a few nodded to Kurt, no one so lanced at Ackerson

Kurt's unease at this odd situation grew palpable

They halted at a pressure door guarded by two marines who saluted Kurt crisply returned their salute Ackerson gave theesture

The Colonel set his hand on a biometric reader and face, retina, and palm were simultaneously scanned

With a hiss, the door opened

Kurt and Ackerson stepped into a dimly lit twenty-meter-wide roonatures, star charts, and Slipstream space pulses strobed across the screens There were several officers and two holographic Als consulting with theure without a body A wraith

The other was a collection of diseuely recalled from one of Deja's art lessons as an example of cubist art

Ackerson whisked him across the room and to another door A second biometric scan and they entered an elevator

There was doard ee free fall, and the sensation of gravity then returned The doors opened to a catwalk that extended over inky darkness to a blank wall

The Colonel approached the blank wall, a seam appeared, and then the two sections pulled apart

"This room is called 'Odin's Eye' by the junior staff," Ackerson said "You have been teranted a code-word top-secret clearance to enter Whatever is said inside is similarly classified and you will reveal none of our conversation unless the proper code words are provided Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Kurt replied

Kurt's instinct, however, was to not enter this room He, in fact, wanted to be anyplace but in that room But he couldn't refuse

They entered

The doors closed behind them; Kurt didn't see the seam

The room had white concave walls, and Kurt's eyes had a hard ti

"Your classification code word is Talcon Forty,'" Ackerson said "Now, speak freely in here I certainly will" He gestured to a black circular table in the center of the room and they both sat

"Sir, where am I? Why am I here?"

His words seemed to evaporate as he spoke thee room