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Phil ips tried to take a look outside, but Elar batted histers and adult fe furniture, planks of wood, and sheets of coan frantical y boarding up the doorway They clearly had a defensive dril and everyone seemed to know their part in it Phil ips wished he’d counted how many rounds he’d squeezed off He stared at the pistol, lost
Oh God Do I recharge this thing, or does it have power packs? How long does that take?
He didn’t have a clue For al he knew, he could have kil ed a dozen Sangheili and not even seen them falThe red splotches stil danced in front of hie
"Professor," BB said quietly "Your heart rate is worrying me"
"Sssh I’m fine"
"Professor--"
"Do some translation Record some stuff"
Phil ips moved at a crouch to the backand rested the pistol on the sil as best he could It was more like a horseshoe in shape, no h smal holes He squinted with one eye to try to see past the red lights Someone walked up behind him
"Head down, Efanphilliss, " Elar whispered "And wait We wil now contact someone to tel them you’re here"
"The Arbiter?" He was going to get out Shaet good at this "Oh, thank you Thank you"
"No" She put a huge hand on his head and shoved him down below the line of the sil"The Servants of the Abiding Truth If the Arbiter values you enough to let you coe for theht back where I started Terrific But there was an equal chance that he’d end up with his head incinerated by a plasheili who didn’t know him and just wanted a few hundred more hectares of priet kil ed, then"
CHAPTER NINE
PEOPLE MAKE STUPID DECISIONS IN WARS WRONG KIT, WRONG ASSETS, WRONG PLACES, EGOS TAKING PRECEDENCE OVER COMMON SENSE, POLITICS--THE MEN AND WOMEN AT THE SHARP END UP DYING WHEN THEY DON’T HAVE TO BECAUSE SOMEONE FARTHER AWAY FROM DANGER IS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT BUDGETS OR VOTES OR AMBITIONS
WELL, WE’VE CUT THE POLITICIANS OUT OF IT WE’VE ONLY GOT OURSELVES TO BLAME NOW
(COMMANDER THOMAS LASKY, XO, UNSC INFINITY)
VADAM, SANGHELIOS
Vadam keep had stood for a thousand years, they said, but Raia wasn’t sure that it would survive er
She did as Forze told her and kept her head down behind the barricade of Ghosts, Revenants, and Spectres that marked the forward rebel position six kilometers from the keep wal s The keep itself wasset into the lower slopes of Mount Kolaar itself
A huge hole in the east wal now gaped like a e that anyone would dare to attack it The Arbiter was being brought down a stone, a brick, a branch at a tiy or the firepower of capital ships, but by the sheer nue Raia wondered if any of the in co, they were united
For theh that Thel ‘Vadaods, but he coht alongside them, defended them, shaken hands with them, and now he’d al owed them to trample on the spiritual heart of the world He had to pay for that sacrilege
Raia no longer believed that ritual could please or offend real gods, or ined ones She wanted her husband back, and then she wanted her nation restored, able to shape its own destiny for the first time in mil ennia But it was hard to think beyond her fary, and in the middle of a battlefield
Forze leaned over her "You should go home now and wait for Jul Wherever he is, when the Arbiter fal s, he’l be found or freed I can find someone else to take you back to Mdah"
She raised her head over the barricade and looked around She’d expected a violent uprising to be continuous shooting and shel ing, but it was confusingly disjointed There were long, quiet lul s: warriors, veteran and young alike, stood in discussion, watching and waiting, so the opportunity to eat hurried snacks From time to time, the hiss and crack of plas fire, or a Banshee--so it--would zip overhead and explosions would shake the soil beneath her feet
This was one of those ht her eye and the sound hit her a heartbeat later A pulsed streaht its tail section The Banshee belched fla the wal s of the keep and disappearing behind the h into the air Firing started up on both sides again
Forze pointed away fronored him Sooner or later the rebels would storot in her way, and she’d find the cel s and locked rooms that such a keep would certainly have, and then she’d search for Jul in every one If he wasn’t there and he stil didn’t coone, she’d knoas dead
But she knew nothing of the kind, not yet
‘Telca the barricade with the air of a kaidon surveying his territory He stopped when he got to Forze and Raia
"I have a task for you, Forze," he said "I need a guest col ected"
Forze thrust his head forward "What kind of guest?"
"Sohelios with the Arbiter’s permission He’s at Acroli with a loyal keep that’s been attacked Go and get hi him to me"
"Why would you need to keep any human safe?" Raia asked
"Because I have a proods He has considerable value"
Forze didn’t question the situation Raia wanted to but thought better of it
"Very wel , I’l col ect your hostage, but what about Raia?" Forze asked "I can’t leave her here without protection"