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But

―To heck with it" She was in charge

Benti leapt to her feet, grabbed her relob Clarence lunged at her Too late Pulled another pin and lobbed it Watched it bounce off the glob as she threw the last Henry surged up beside her, over her, cricket bat at the ready He stooped and grabbed a handful of Riht

―Let‘s go, no!" Benti didn‘t wait to see where the final grenade had landed She

grabbed Ri fro behind the Ri the hatch shut behind theundy had stopped screa, at last

>Foucault 1616 hours

―Major Smith is secure on board," Rebecca announced to Foucault, and part of him wanted to say,

―So what?" The screens showed the Covenant ship readjusting its course to intercept the there, dead, but with all sorts of life aboard it About to be extinguished

Foucault inclined his head slightly, his only acknowledgment of her words He had no wish to meet Smith at the moment Or any other moment

―What should we do with him?"

―Let‘s keep hi while

Rebecca seeht leave it at that, and then ventured, ―Doesn‘t it help to know the major may have acted on his own? ONI isn‘t responsible for this This was never meant to happen, and the very fact we‘re here shows that ONI is acting in good faith He‘ll be court-martialed Maybe even worse"

Foucault wondered if she was right, if he should take some comfort from that fact Someone would pay At soht of the two pods and of all the Marines whofor them, the only chance for survival

―No No, it doesn‘t" A new kind of hell A fresh bout of nightmares to keep him up He wondered in a distant kind of way if it‘d all fade in tiive up his command

―Smith may have acted on his own, as you say Or heorders, and Section 3 will now use hioat and wash their hands of the "

Atheesture Under the circuiving hi She‘d told Foucault about the Section 3

operative she‘d sent with Lopez‘s squad The one tasked with cleaning up any messes Perhaps she envisioned the same terrible dilemmas Or perhaps not Anyway, she‘d sent an operative and he‘d fought back by opening a narrow line of retreat for Lopez Whatever happened, it was beyond their control now

―Politics Survival" He said the words like curses

Rebecca watched hi, this copy of a person?

―The survival of humanity is paramount, Commander"

Rebecca needed a better speechwriter Lopez would never forgive hihty years Neither would he

The timer since last contact was now replaced with a status feed on the loading of the Shiva missile Anotherdown on the up a detonation within the transport Slipspace splinters I think the slipspace engine has been ruptured We need to withdraw before it goes completely"

When he didn‘t respond: ―Sir, we need to withdraw to a safe distance"

―No Not yet"

―Sir--"

He felt old Tired

But still

―No We stay" He are of the attention of the bridge crew on hi, their own fate in the balance ―We stay until the last second We don‘t abandon our own"

Until we have to

>Benti 1616 hours

In the afterht she‘d heard Foucault on the intercoood luckHad he? Really?

Those words echoed in Benti‘s ears In her bones In her feet pounding the corridor floor She‘d always defended the co fun at hiood luck, so long, nice knowing you" She felt sick to her sto, the sound of pursuit on their heels, ―is the pods At least we have sos were tired, were heavy, but she couldn‘t stop, had to keep going; knoas behind the to Henry‘s arm as he ran, like a child to a parent The hand on Henry‘s ar ―They did that to us To us I mean--ere never meant to--how could they--" Even out of breath he didn‘t stop talking ―I‘rowled and shook his aro, didn‘t shut up ―I only sold stolen goods That was all I never--"

Benti tossed a look over her shoulder Clarence behind her, stone-faced and focused, unflinching at the walls groaning beside him and at the rumble and explosion they left behind

―What way--?" Intersections and junctions flashing by She had no map, but now there was no

useful ersLots of graffiti scrawled in blood now Some of it by prisoners before they‘d become part of the Flood, some of it after, all of it unreadable at that pace

Henry looked at Benti expectantly, loping alongside with ease He could have left the of hience and awareness in those eyes

The Elite dipped his head, and said so A question

Given the circu

Benti slowed a mo hands

―Hey, what are you--"

His hands were aler Nodded at her, lower jaws quivering, but kept his cricket bat

―You‘re a lousy shot," she answered Ri!"

Clarence drew up beside her as she sped up again, and the look he gave her lad,

suddenly, that she had Henry at her back

>Lopez 1620 hours

―Is this a hull?"

―No, sir!"

Lopez pulled her last grenade and tossed it down the hall at a cluster of for in the darkness In her mind, the foret trashed anyway--"

The explosion blew out the rest of her words

>Benti 1620 hours

The unh the dying ship, the floor shivering beneath Benti‘s feet, distinct froe, she thought Had to be Re to her step They weren‘t the only ones left If they could just get to Ma would be okay She knew it, had to at least ure luh it, taking out the knees while Clarence, in sync, shot out the chest, and Henry clubbed it with his bat as they fled past They had no tih They dropped down ladders and sla only to delay as following No ti a lot of attention A huge following Benti had never been so popular in her life Is it ?

―Reload!"

The voice in her headset e, oh at last!

―MacCraw!"

―Benti!" A pause and gunfire before the sarge spoke again ―Who you got?"