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Chapter twenty-four – Halo Lighting System First Strike Games User Manual

Page 223

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

TIME:DATE RECORD [[ERROR]]ANOMALY\Date unknown
\ Captured Covenant dropship near flagship Ascendant Justice,
in anomalous Slipspace bubble.

The faintly blue luminous walls of the Covenant dropship

pressed in, which made John feel slightly claustrophobic. It was

ironic when he stopped to think about it, because he was always

inside his skintight armor. His fellow Spartans sat in the bay be-

side him, motionless.

Fred, designated Blue-Two on this mission, was John's second

in command. He had fought in more than 120 campaigns, was a

great leader and a quick thinker. Sometimes he took the respon-

sibility of his command too seriously, though, empathizing too

deeply with any wounded member of his team.

Li, Blue-Three, was the team's zero-gee combat specialist. He

had trained extensively with microgravity equipment and mar-

tial arts at the UNSC's extreme-conditions facility on Chiron in

orbit about Mars. He was as much at home in free fall as the rest

of them were on solid land, and John was glad to have him on

this mission.

Anton, Blue-Four, had John worried. He spent most of his life

with his feet firmly planted on the ground. He'd cross-trained in

tracking, camouflage, and stealth, and had been used almost ex-

clusively on ground-based operations. More than once he had

expressed discomfort in zero-gee situations.

Will, Blue-Five, was quiet, but had never failed to complete

his mission. He wasn't always that way, though. When he was

younger he was the one with the jokes and riddles that kept the

team's spirits high. Something had hardened in him over the