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CHAPTER ONE

0622 hours, August 30,2552 (Military Calendar) UNSC

Vessel Pillar of Autumn, Epsilon Eridani system near Reach Station Gaers nimble despite the bulky MJOLNIR combat armor that encased his body The blade traced a coraceful arcs in the air The few re Naval personnel on the deck turned pale and averted their eyes--a Spartan wielding a knife was gen- erally accompanied by the presence of several dead bodies

He was nervous, and this was inal objective--the capture of a Covenant ship--had been scrubbed in the face of a new enemy offensive

The Covenant were en route to Reach, the last of the United Na- tions Space Coholds

Fred couldn’t help but wonder what use ground troops would be in a ship-to-ship engagement The knife spun

Around hiear, and prepped for combat, their efforts redoubled since the ship’s Captain had personally co area to brief the team leader, SPARTAN-117--but Fred was already squared away Only Kelly had finished stowing gear before hier It hung there for several seconds, perfectly still

A subtle shift in the Pillar of Auturavity caused the knife to tip Fred plucked it frole deftfilled his storavity fluctuation ed course--another complication

Master Chief SPARTAN-117--John--marched to the nearest COM panel as Captain Keyes’s face filled the screen

Fred sensed a slight - nal from Kelly He opened a private COM freq to his teammate

"Looks like we’re in for h I think I’ve had enough surprises for one op" Kelly chuckled

Fred focused his attention on John’s exchange with Keyes

Each Spartan--selected froe and trained to the pin- nacle of enetic, and cybernetic As a result, a Spartan could hear a pin drop in a sandstorm, and every Spartan in the room was interested in what the Captain had to say If you ’re going to drop into hell, CPO Mendez, the Spartans’ first teacher, had once said, you ood intel

Captain Keyes frowned on the ship’s viewscreen, a nonregula-tion pipe in his hand Though his voice was calht as he outlined the situation A single space vessel docked in Reach’s orbital facilities had failed to delete its navigational database If the NAV data fell into Covenant hands, the enemy would have a map to Earth

"Master Chief," the Captain said, "I believe the Covenant will use a pinpoint Slipspace juet their troops on the station before the Super MAC guns can take out their ships This will be a difficult estions"

"We can take care of it," the Master Chief replied

Captain Keyes’s eyes widened and he leaned forward in his command chair "How exactly, Master Chief?"

"With all due respect, sir, Spartans are trained to handle difficult missions I’ll split my squad Three will board the space dock and make sure that NAV data does not fall into the Covenant’s hands The reroundside and re- pel the invasion forces"

Fred gritted his teeth Given his choice, he’d rather fight the Covenant on the ground Like his fellow Spartans, he loathed off-planet duty The op to board the space dock would be fraught with danger at every turn--unknown eneravity, useless intel, no dirt beneath his feet

There was no question, though: The space op was the toughest duty, so Fred intended to volunteer for it

Captain Keyes considered John’s suggestion "No, Master Chief It’s too risky--we’ve got to et that NAV data We’ll use a nuclear , and detonate it"

"Sir, the EMP will burn out the superconductive coils of the orbital guns And if you use the Pillar of Autumn’s conventional weapons, the NAV database e--they may obtain the data"

"True," Keyes said and tapped his pipe thoughtfully to his chin "Very well, Master Chief We’ll go with your suggestion

I’ll plot a course over the docking station Ready your Spartans and prep two dropships We’ll launch you--" He consulted with Cortana"--in five minutes"

"Aye, Captain We’ll be ready"

"Good luck," Captain Keyes said, and the viewscreen went black

Fred snapped to attention as the Master Chief turned to face the Spartans Fred began to step forward-- --but Kelly beat him to it "Master Chief," she said, "permission to lead the space op"

She had always been faster, damn her

"Denied," the Master Chief said "I’ll be leading that one

"Linda and James," he continued "You’re with me Fred, you’re Red Tearound operation"

"Sir!" Fred shouted and started to voice a protest--then squelched it Noasn’t the time to question ordersas much as he wanted to "Yes, sir!"

"Now make ready," the Master Chief said "We don’t have much time left"

The Spartans stood a moment Kelly called out, "Attention!"

The soldiers snapped to and gave the Master Chief a crisp salute, which was promptly returned

Fred switched to Red Team’s all-hands freq and barked, "Let’s ear stowed in ninety seconds, and final prep in five et me current intel on the drop area--I don’t care if it’s just weather satellite io"