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Halo Lighting System First Strike Games User Manual

Page 29

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ERIC NYLUND

25

Fred grabbed a launcher, a pair of rockets, and a roll of tape

from the 'Hog. "We'll be needing these when we hit the Cove-

nant on the other side of the ridge," he explained. "Each of you

secure a launcher and some ammo in a Banshee."

Joshua and Kelly stopped what they were doing and turned to

face him.

"Permission to speak, sir," Kelly asked.

"Granted."

"I'm all for a good fight, Fred, but those odds are a little lop-

sided even for us. . . like ten thousand to one."

"We can handle a hundred to one," Joshua chimed in, "maybe

even five hundred to one with a little planning and support, but

against these odds, a frontal assault seems—"

"It's not going to be a frontal assault," Fred said. He wedged

the launcher into the cramped Banshee cockpit. "Tape."

Kelly ripped off a length of tape and handed it over.

Fred smoothed the adhesive strip and secured the launcher in

place. "We'll play this one as quiet as we can," he said.

She considered Fred's plan for a moment and then asked, "So,

assuming we fool them into letting us into their lines ... then

what?"

"As much as I'd like to, we can't use the tac-nukes," Joshua

mused, "not in the far valley. The intervening ridge isn't high

enough to block the EMP. It'll burn out the orbital defense

generator."

"There's another way to use them," Fred told them. "We're go-

ing to board the cruiser—right up its gravity lift—and detonate

the nuke inside. The ship's shields will dampen the electromag-

netic pulse."

"It'll also turn that ship into the biggest fragmentation grenade

in history," Kelly remarked.

"And if anything goes wrong," Joshua said, "we end up in the

middle often thousand pissed-off bad guys."

"We're Spartans," Fred said. "What could possibly go wrong?"