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"Of course," Ackerson murmured "Your recovery is not coone to considerable trouble to extricate you from normal NavSpecWep operations… from your recon mission to Station Delphi"

Kurt remembered the explosion on his T-PACK; he blinked and saw for a split second the dizzying blur of stars in his faceplate

"My team," Kurt said, "are they--"

"Fine," Ackerson replied "No injuries"

Kurt inhaled, feeling his cracked rib Not quite no injuries

Soed in the Colonel's expression The dark stare and hardness softened almost an imperceptible fraction

In a lowered voice, Ackerson said, "Section Three has issued you new orders" He pushed a reader across the table to Kurt

Kurt thumbed the biometric and the screen wars and then he saw his transfer orders under Colonel Ackerson The usual fields for assign protocols, and record verification were redacted

"You are now a part of a subsection of Beta-5 Division," Ackerson said, "a top-secret cell within Section Three All the events at Station Delphi were staged to bring you here in the ut the events at Delphi? Arranged by a subcell of Section Three? Soer on

But part of it made sense now The partially decommissioned Shaw-Fujikawa drive at Delphi Station was the perfect lure and the ideal excuse for aT-PACK The sensor echo the Circumference had picked up on the in-system jump was another prowler, the ship that had picked up Kurt's exhausted body--after he had been propelled on a not-so-randoh he resented the manner in which they obtained hiance of the extraction plan

"You have been classified asin action," Ackerson said "Presu cold contracted in Kurt's sto that in this instance, they ht not have been able to help him

"What is this new mission, sir?"

Ackerson stared at hih Kurt, past hieneration of Spartans"

Kurt blinked, taking in what Ackerson had just said, not quite understanding "Sir, I was under the ined years ago to carry out that mission"

"The effort to train additional SPARTAN-IIs was postponed indefinitely by Dr Catherine Halsey," Ackerson said "There were other candidates within the gene pool, but they were out of synch with her age restriction protocols And with the continuing war, her program funds were… diverted"

Kurt had always presu trained

that he and his felloere the first in ould be a long line of Spartans He'd never considered they ht be the first, and the last, of their kind

Ackerson said, "Mendez will, of course, join you"

"It would be an honor to serve under Chief Mendez," Kurt replied

One of Ackerson's brows quirked up "Indeed"

Heprotocols have been outlined as well as an iime We've learned much from the unfortunate medical processes Dr Halsey had at her disposal"

Kurt balled his hands into fists, re inside hisevery nerve as they had been reengi-neered for enhanced speed

As he read he started to grasp the opportunities and challenges of this new programentations were a quantum leap ahead of those he had received There were lower projected wash-out rates There was, however, only a fraction of the original SPARTAN prograet MJOLNIR ar called Semi-Powered Infiltration (SPI) armor syste to do more with less"

Ackerson nodded "They'll be sent on ly lower survival probabilities That's where you co as a Spartan, and all your field experience passed along to these candidates You need to ram may be the key to our survival in this war"

Kurt scanned the reader again The new genetic selection protocol expanded the pool of candidates, but there were disturbing references to behavior problems in these less-than- ideal potential Spartans

But this mission was vital to the war, Kurt sensed that And there would be CPO Mendez

It would be good to be working under his old teacher again Could the two of theeneration of Spartans?

"In ten years," Ackerson said, "with your guidance and a little luck, there will be a hundred new Spartans in the war E several of these new Spartans to help train the next classes, there will be thousands within twenty years With projected iy, perhaps a hundred thousand new Spartans will be created in thirty years"

A hundred thousand Spartans fighting for hue swam in Kurt's mind

Was that possible?

While Kurt didn't understand all the ramifications, he now understood the i of unease, however, re to die? He steeled hi he could to see they had the best training, the best equipment, be the best soldiers huh, would it be enough?

He took a deep breath "Where do we begin, sir?"

Ackerson said, "New training facilities are being constructed You will oversee the operation, and si of candidates I have an a recruits for you" He reached into his pocket and withdrew a tiny box, pushed it across the table to Kurt "One last thing"

Kurt opened the box Inside were the single silver bar insignia of a lieutenant junior grade

"Those are yours now" A faint crease of a s to haveorders froe of the entire show"

SECTION II

SPARTAN-III

CHAPTER SIX

1950 HOURS, DECEMBER 27, 2531 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ ZETA DORADUS

SYSTEM, PLANET ONYX, CAMP CURRAHEE

Kurt watched the inco Pelicans The blocky jet-powered craft were so distant they were only specks against the setting sun He hit thetheir reentry vectors They would touch down in threeregiraes, classroole and scrub plain

He had received every piece of equipment he had requested from NavSpecWep Section Three Guns, amy and weaponry had appeared as if by sleight of hand

All personnel were accounted for: six dozen handpicked drill instructors, physical therapists, doctors, nurses, psychologists, and the all-important cooks… all here except thetransports: Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez, Mendez had, a dozen years ago, trained Kurt and every other Spartan He would be invaluable in preparing the new breed of SPARTAN-III, but he wasn't going to be the solution to all Kurt's proble over every detail of the new recruits' files, Kurt discovered they didn't enetic inal selection protocols Colonel Ackerson had warned hiroup These recruits wouldn't be anything like hiinal SPARTAN-II candidates