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Kelly gazed at the neeapons and gave a lohistle
Fred opened the bags with die new rifles and handed them out to his teaer," Will replied and slung them over his shoulders
"Those satchels, over there," Dr Halsey said and waved to four duffel bags "Medical supplies Food and water We'll need thes," Dr Halsey whispered "We can't let theet into ONI's records" She tapped her pad once and then said to Kalin Operation White Glove Irradiate all computer memory crystal Code file access Beta-Foxtrot-99874"
Dr Halsey closed her eyes as if she were concentrating, and she whispered, "Not all AIs have the fail-safe option, my dear Kalmiya just the ones that matter"
"I understand, Doctor" There was a pause, and the AI spoke again, her voice sad "Voice and fingerprint accepted and verified Fail-safe code verified It has beena pleasure working with you, Doctor Halsey"
"The pleasure has been hter and said, "Fail-safe override access: 'Ragnarok' Give us a three-minute countdown"
A three-minute counter appeared in the corner of Fred's heads-up display
Dr Halsey turned to him "I've activated the explosives cache under this base, which will level the coinal titanium mine tunnels"
Fred wished she had consulted with hiain, Dr Halsey kneas at stake, what secrets were hidden in this base, and what daot their hands on those secrets
Fiveas at risk
"Understood," Fred replied "Isaac, you're rear guard Vinh, stick close to Kelly I'll take Doctor Halsey" Fred picked up the doctor with great care She couldn't have weighed ets on motion sensors," Vinh whispered over the COM "They were close, too"
"Kelly, watch for caed Elites"
"Affirmative," she said She scanned the roorabbed a tin can marked TALC
"Let's hts in the base Hand signals only--I want radio silence"
Four blue acknowledg in from the outer hall died
Kelly slid into the hallway and melted into the shadows Vinh followed, then Fred and Isaac Will trailed behind,slower because of the care he took to reear
Dr Halsey tapped her data pad, and a map uploaded onto Fred's heads-up display, a path traced through corridors and a NAV nated an elevator shaft That was their objective
The Spartans winked on their acknowledg the route
They crept forward, s over oil-- until Kelly halted ten meters before a five-way intersection The Spartans froze and waited She crouched, set the can of talc on the floor, and then stood with her knees bent
She waited another heartbeat, then gave a slight shake of her head fronal for trouble ahead
Vinh moved next to Fred's flank, and Fred set Dr Halsey down and stood in front of her Will crouched next to the doctor to provide cover with his own body if needed
Isaac remained on their six
Kelly kicked the can It tuh the air, and as it entered the intersection Kelly squeezed off a single shot The flash of light froh for them to see the can explode and a cloud of white dust mushroom into the hallways
Their ets resolved on their displays I out- lines of four Covenant Elites--their light-bending ca as the talc powder coated them
Kelly open fire with both pistols The Elite closest dropped as three slugs pounded through its shields, and a round caught it in the center of its elongated forehead Purple blood blosso Elites returned fire, and Kelly bounded for- ward, plase of her shield She ducked into the side passage
The instant Kelly was out of the line of fire, Fred shouldered his rifle and squeezed the trigger A three-round burst caught the next Elite, and its shield sparkled and failed It twisted away, clutching at the single round that had penetrated its chest
Vinh fired two single shots, but the Elite's shield held In uni- son, Vinh and Fred fired another set of three-round bursts The Elite dropped to the steel floor in a twisted heap
The last Elite had vanished No return fire No sensor contact
The Spartans held position for a nals, each member of the team reported no contact
Fred spied tracks in the white dust scattered on the floor
The Elite had bugged out, and it wasreinforcements
That wasn't what Covenant Elites usually did Their pride de- , if need be They would hurl the into battle, no matter the odds, and die by the hundreds if necessary They never ran away Nothing about this engagelanced at Will and Dr Halsey Will gave hi that the doctor hadn't been wounded in the exchange
After the exchange of gunfire, there was no need for secrecy
"One of theot away," Fred told theet quiet"
The Spartans ran down the corridor They heard and felt an- other explosion directly over their heads
Kelly skidded to a halt in front of the locked elevator doors
She gripped one of the panels; Fred and Vinh gripped the seam of the other side, and the Spartans pried theher than the rind of an orange