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

Page 246

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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

TIME:DATE STAMP [[ERROR]] ANOMALY\Revised date
estimated 0450, September 12,2552, captured Covenant
flagship Ascendant Justice,
in Slipspace en route to
Eridanus system.

Dr. Halsey buzzed the door open, and the Master Chief en-

tered the clean room.

"You wanted to see me, Doctor?" He quickly looked the room

over—taking in the adjoining surgical suites, and the strange or-

ange sterile-field lamps set every meter into reflective recessions

in the tiled walls.

Dr. Halsey had clamped five displays onto the arm of one of

the contoured examination chairs in this room. She sat

cross-legged in the chair and balanced a large

alphanumeric-symbolic keyboard on her lap. Perched

precariously on the side tray were Styrofoam cups of half-drunk

coffee.

She waved the Chief forward. "I see you are ignoring sound

medical advice by moving before you have fully healed."

"I'm fine, ma'am," he replied.

She snorted in disbelief. "John—I've never known you to tell

an outright lie. I'm picking up telemetry from your armor, right

now." She swiveled one of the monitors on her chair so he could

see erratic biosigns pulsing on the screen. "What with the burns,

contusions, fractures, and internal bleeding, you should be in

shock. The only sleep you've gotten in a week was unconscious-

ness brought on by your wounds. And you say you're 'fine'?"

He stood and said nothing.

"Very well. I suppose you know your limitations better than

anyone else." She turned the display back around. "I wanted to