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Oh God I knoho it is

She’s come back to see me The first one who ever has

Mendez cocked his head on one side "Wel , I’l be daone to ONI, but--wel , good to see you, Captain Good to see you looking so damn well, too"

"Good to see you, too, Chief" She didn’t hold out her hand to Halsey for shaking If anything, she seemed more curious about the Spartans "I’ to place the face, I used to be Spartan-Zero-One-Nine But that was a long tio"

Fred, Kel y, and Linda seemed to hold their breath for a second and then ht you were dead," Fred said "But don’t think for one ot you"

"I know," she said quietly "But now I’lossy black hair had soray streaks, but it didn’t take a lot of effort to rol back the clock and see a teenage girl, leggy and aard frorowth spurts, huddled in a surgical gown and asking Halsey just how different she would feel when she woke up after surgery

Halsey had told her the truth Al the children she’d chosen were emotional y robust and mature wel beyond their years, and Halsey had seen no point in lying to them about how painful and how persistent the side effects of the surgical enhancehten the deceived and betrayed afterward

Good grief Listen tothe the stench and after a while, the sewer smells perfectly normal

Until you step outside

Halsey had told her that if she survived the procedure, then there would be a lot of pain, and that pain would go on for months or even years

What she hadn’t told her--because she hadn’t been certain herself--was that there was another possible state, a li with a catastrophic disability or never regaining consciousness

Serin had been unlucky, like the handful of others who lived but would never serve as Spartans Some went to ONI

So much for never

Halsey had decided it was kinder to tel the others that Serin hadn’t survived rather than say she’d been shipped back to Earth, in agony and unlikely to walk again Serin Osn of abnor you were al out there and not being able to contact you" Osman clasped her hands behind her back, boots spread

"But Adosky s me here now"

She looked Halsey in the eye Halsey braced to hear soer at a stolen childhood, but Osman seemed perfectly calm, as if Halsey was of no consequence to her and the life she’d rets To either side of her, the ODSTs, silent and anonymous behind their visors,her

Naomi was now physical y shut out of this conversation It didn’t look as if that hat she intended The Spartan took an aard sidestep as if she was going to intervene, but the realization was already dawning on Halsey

The ODSTs took off their helaze wasn’t drawn to the older, dark-haired staff sergeant but to his corporal It wasn’t his close-shaven hair or the hard, lean planes of his face that , but the expression in his eyes He seemed to have reached his verdict on her

"There’s an ONI scientific survey tea to enter this sphere after we’ve completed some formalities," Osman said There was no tension in her voice at al , just a hint of weary resignation as she recited the litany "Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, I have orders to detain you and take you to the nearest secure ONI facility on charges of co acts likely to aid the enemy You are now under ht to an attorney Thefored or released does not apply Come with me, please"

For a moment, nobody breathed Nobody said a word Halsey expected to be shocked, but al she felt was a strange, cleansing sense of relief

At first she thought that it was siet to Onyx, but then she started to taste a sense of martyrdom, that she wanted punishment, and that she needed it to be public so that everyone could see just how very penitent she was

I’lad the Chief isn’t a mind reader He’d say that I still think it’s all about me, me, me

Halsey took an uncertain step forward, datapad in one hand The young marine held out his hand for it

"I need to secure that, Dr Halsey" He had a heavy Russian or Eastern European accent and looked as if he would have preferred to punch her in the face rather than just take her coht through it "And the weapon, please"

She’d forgotten she had her sidear "But you’l need this to cook" The translation software seemed much more critical than a weapon "Oh Yes This"

She handed him the pistol on the flat of her hand so he was clear she wasn’t going to do anything insane this time But as she handed the datapad to him, the Spartans caoing to defend her

"Captain, this is Catherine Halsey You know her She’s not some common criminal Do we have to do this?"

The older eant who looked as if he would have been the life and soul of the party under happier circuht her left wrist, and snapped soently that Halsey didn’t realize he was cuffing her until it was too late

Kel y spun around "Whoa, that’s not necessary--"

"It’s okay, Kel y," Halsey said "This had to happen Nobody can be al owed to get ahat I did"

"Got it in one, Doctor" The sergeant looked up at Kel y as if he felt sorry for her, as if she was a child who had to be told as tactful y as possible that the tooth fairy had a cri as her arm "Remember what happened the last tiot here?"

Kel y wasn’t going to let it go "I ounded I’d been sedated I wasn’t clubbed to the ground and dragged here by eant looked Halsey over His nae indicated A+/NO V-CIN "That’s quite a black eye you’ve got there, Doctor Vaz, put that on the DHR, wil you? Preexisting injury I don’t want anyone thinking we beat up our prisoners"

The corporal nodded Geffen gave Halsey theelse left to do