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"Ma’aot a unique problem"
"That’s an unusual word for you, Staff"
"It’s an unusual situation"
"Just tel me they’ve not acquired orbital nukes"
"I think Spenser would have ot a co I think Naomi needs to hear as wel "
Os I need to hear?"
"Oh yes"
"Like I’ve said before--we’ve got no secrets in Kilo-Five We’ve got to trust each other to do this kind of job"
Mal half-turned to Naomi and hesitated, one of those short human pauses that was an eternity for an AI BB was used to knoas coht far faster than a human and his awareness was literal y everywhere at once But he had no idea where this was leading, and it both scared and thril ed hiot there first He didn’t seem to relish that
"Naomi," he said "Your father’s stil alive He’s on Venezia"
BB wasn’t expecting that at alIt shocked hio, but because he didn’t know already
How had he rounds of al the Spartan-IIs So He took five nanoseconds to trawl through al his databases again, every casualty list, every criminal record, every census, and stil came up blank on Sentzke
Now al he could do was observe Nao with bad news Like the ODSTs, she didn’t turn a hair at operational surprises, but personal ht her off balance She’d hold her breath and alather herself and look i that now
"I don’t know if I even remember him," she said at last "How come he survived? And why is he on Venezia?"
So this hat Vaz insisted he’d do if Mal didn’t He was going to tel her about her father BB could see fro in Vaz’s temples that the worst was stil to come
"He’s part of the anti-Earth rebel ion," Vaz said "He’s on the terrorist watch list, Naomi"
CHAPTER TWO
I SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THIS BEFORE, BUT WHAT DO SANGHEILI EAT? I DON’T MEAN NUTRITION WE KNOW THEIR PHYSIOLOGY WELL ENOUGH NOW TO KNOW HOW TO KEEP THEM ALIVE I MEAN THE CULTURAL ELEMENT IN THIS--WHICH DISHES COMFORT THEM? WHAT REMINDS THEM OF HOME AND CHILDHOOD? DON’T THINK I’M GOING SOFT I HAVE MY REASONS FOR ASKING
(DR IRENA MAGNUSSON, ONI RESEARCH FACILITY TREVELYAN, TO COLLATION SERVICES, OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE)
ADMIRALS’ INSPECTION, UNSC INFINITY: SOMEWHERE IN THE OORT CLOUD Parangosky could tel everything about a warship frouarded moments when she deviated from the inspection plan and wandered off on her own
"Ma’a petty officer cae in the opposite direction "It’s easy to get lost in Infinity She’s nearly six kilo and held up her datapad like a security pass "I know, Richardson, I’ve got the blueprints I’l be fine Worry about Ad to want to take a supply trol ey, then,to be down for a few hours and it takes forever to walk around Hang on"
He had a point She stopped, leaning on her cane until she heard a se and stop just behind her It looked like a narrower version of a golf buggy Richardson jumped down from the seat and held out his hand to help her clientle hio and put a col ar and lead on Ad into mischief, do we?"
Richardson took the hint She heard his boots fading behind her, listened tocrew that she was heading their way, and started the buggy If she’d read the deck plan correctly, she was heading for the engineering section at the stern, in the opposite direction to the cook would be there and nobody was expecting her Least of all Catherine Halsey A scientist who didn’t exist on a ship that didn’t exist: Parangosky could keep Halsey declared dead and out of contact with al but Infinity’s handpicked crew for as long as she liked
Infinity had sed so osky had to cooperate with Fleet and accept joint control No wonder this ship cost so much She could see it al around her Every scrap of Forerunner technology that they’d recovered over the years had gone into Infinity The ship should have been ready to deploy by now, but then so akin to a miracle had happened: Onyx had yielded a treasure trove of even y that the artificial world had held hidden
It er worth the pain No hijack and escape to Onyx--no gaok to instal and reatly iation were just the first things plucked fro what other tactical advantages were stil waiting for the Trevelyan crew to unearth
An excellent result Just e needed But you’re still in perave Parangosky her own unexpected tactical advantage Nobody would hear her distinctive gait and the tap of her cane She rode down the passage toward a faint glow of light, a little too , tunneled consciousness for her liking She shook it off, daring death to interfere with her plans, then checked her datapad for the latest on Phil ips Oshelios; there was no official word froosky couldn’t si he wanted to tel her--not yet, anyway
My responsibility My idea to co-opt Phillips for the mission So now’s the time to see if it can actually present us with an opportunity
She drove past sealed doors and hatches bearing tens like CABLING OUT and SAFETY GEAR MUST BE WORN A ship in refit was a dangerous environradual y resolved into detail, picking out long horizontal runs of titaniu delicate, translucent, shi away in an instant like an apparition
As hard-hats went, Huragok were extraordinarily pretty