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―Clarence," she said, her voice steadier than her thoughts His hand slid up her arht pressure lowered her rifle She couldn‘t resist ―You‘re not--"

Riain, chisel held out pathetically In the water pooled on the floor, ripples

Clarence pivoted, shot Gersten, and killed him a second tih for the rest of her life She wanted to sit, but didn‘t She wouldn‘t have the strength to get back up

―You see?" Rih, all the important body bits, and they all come back Me and Henry here, we‘re the last ones They didn‘t knoere here But now you‘ve let the you, not really But they‘ll try to get in We have to ht," she said without feeling No, wrong The radio had been silent for too long Too , it wouldn‘t be to help them

Henry looked at her, then Clarence, and the Elite‘s shoulders sagged in a universal sign of disappointed further when, beyond the door, came a crash and rumble

―There‘s another way out of here?" Benti asked

―Yeah," the prisoner said reluctantly, ―but we‘ve heard thes outside that hatch too"

―Just show us the way out," Benti said iainst his shoulder, Henry pointed without enthusias up to the next deck

―We‘ll have to chance it You‘re on a prison transport, you un and use it"

Rimmer shook his head emphatically ―Not that badass Nobody‘s that badass He touched it, I‘ near it either, which was the point

Clarence retrieved Gersten‘s rifle, took a wipe from the pouch Benti had half opened, cleaned the weapon, and thrust it at Rilare, Rimmer took the rifle Reluctantly

―What about Henry?" Riave the two of theh we haven’t blasted hih Even with the odds stacked against thely hand a rifle to a Covenant

―Let him keep his cricket bat," Benti said ―And he can be the one on point If he doesn‘t like it, tough"

Henry didn‘t seeht better of it

―Henry, Rimmer, me, and Clarence, that order One of us drops--"

―We leave them," Rimmer said ―Or make sure they don‘t co of the ladder If there was anything up there, she couldn‘t hear it over the din back in the recycling plant

―Covenant are not in charge of this ship" It wasn‘t fraot out There‘s no one in charge of this ship any more"

>Lopez 1510 hours

Lopez shook the pain out of her hand Her knuckles stung ―Never hit someone in the jaw,

MacCraw" But, daood She‘d wanted to do it for a while

He gaped at her ―But you just did! Sarge!"

―Silly of ered to the floor, holding his face, blood on his chin ―Very silly" She slaut so hard he curled around her foot, the force exploding saliva froe!" What outfit did MacCraw think he‘d joined? The Lady‘s Auxiliary Gardening Society?

―You knohat that thing was, you lying son of a bitch" Lopez ignored MacCraw ―Virus ain"

Four rosary beads in herin the balance She flexed her fingers

Yeah, never hit someone in the jaw, unless it was utterly necessary

―Still nothing," Mah about that She was beginning to think he couldn‘t help hihty whities, if you have to Check his dae!" Mahmoud looked as mortified as Smith

Lopez curled her lip in a snarl Didn‘t need to say anything further

Nothing on Sh hands on hie," Mahmoud couldn‘t conceal the relief in his voice He rose, Smith‘s shoes in one hand, an identity pass in the other ―I found this"

Lopez read it ―Office of Naval Intelligence, Section 3, Major John S title she‘d ever uttered ―Lovely"

ONI Spooks Wraiths The mystery was suddenly a whole lot less mysterious, and Lopez found that didn‘tin a huge gulp of air, face beet-red and not just from the punch

―Officer on deck, soldiers," Lopez said to the others as she crouched down beside Smith, if that was even really his naht she had a good idea why Whatever Sone belly-up Not just failed, but failed in a spectacular, ahed, curled up to protect his belly

―Why didn‘t you identify yourself, sir ?" Lopez asked

Percy spat on the ground MacCraw still just stood there, stunned by the way events had broken

Smith uncurled, up on one elbo Lopez could see he was furious ―Let‘s cut the bull-crap, Sergeant I outrank you It doesn‘t in with Effective iain ―I cannot be infected I aence--I can not be allowed to be infected We abandon ship, return to the Red Horse , and destroy the Mona Lisa from a safe distance"

When she didn‘t answer, Smith said, ―I know you had to co for you"

They stared at each other

―That‘s an order, Sergeant " Quietly In control of hiaht of it Or did she? Smith could‘ve told her men to arrest her, but he hadn‘t

―I have soldiers aboard I cannot contact Sir," she said

The others looked on with a kind of fascination, witnessing so she knew they‘d never seen before S, extraordinary circumstances Lopez was their Mama Se those under you had to grant You assumed it, but you couldn‘t assume it

―There have been many casualties in this war," Smith said ―There will be many more"

Well That sealed it She bent at the knees and landed a punch from above Damn, that hurt

Grabbed his collar and hauled hie?" Percy said

She nursed her hand ―Shit, ouch, shit We‘re going to the bridge No spook is going to leave my kids in the dark and then scuttle the ship on them Shit Benti would haunt us if we did, and she‘d be a real annoying ghost Das Any questions?" Said it casual, but knew this was the break point If they were going to break

Met their eyes, relieved to see no argument there You didn‘t leave your own in the dark Not even if there were big bad ―viruses" out there Especially not then

―U to have a problee?"

>Foucault 1515 hours

Foucault stood on the bridge beneath the light of the iht back fro for hours: the Mona Lisa dark and tiny against the backdrop of broken Halo, the endlessly shifting cloud of debris, brief flares in Threshold‘s atiant, and one Covenant capitol ship, on the very edge of the sensors, nearly masked by the planet The Covenant ship hadn‘t picked up on them, and some part of him--the reckless part--wanted to sneak up and lay down a feell-placed

mines

A timer, nestled in to one corner of the eant Lopez and her tea time

Rebecca stood on a holopad in her war avatar Foucault had insisted on it It see like a dumpy Italian woman It offended his sense of decorum Besides, he often underestimated Rebecca when she took on that avatar He didn‘t want to do that, not now

He knew: there were Covenant on board the Mona Lisa

He knew: there were ONI personnel on board the Mona Lisa

He knewwell, not much else

He knew his options were lione