Halo Lighting System First Strike Games - Manual (Page 55)

ERIC NYLUND 51
"So what's the plan?" Locklear asked. "Slingshot orbit—then
what? We just going to talk all day, Chief?"
"No," the Chief replied.
He glanced at Polaski and the Sergeant. He could count on
her, and though he was suspicious of exactly how Sergeant John-
son had avoided falling to the Flood, he was willing to give the
man the benefit of the doubt. Haverson? He wouldn't trust him,
but the man knew what was at stake, and he wouldn't interfere.
Probably. Locklear was another story, though.
The ODST was coiled and ready to pounce . . . or come apart
like an antipersonnel mine. Some men broke under pressure and
wouldn't fight. Some snapped and disregarded their own and
their team's safety for blind revenge. Add that to the
Hell-jumper's fierce pride and one had a volatile mix. The Chief
had to establish his authority over the man.
"Get onto the Pelican," the Chief told him. "We only have a
few minutes while we're on the far side of this moon. Grab any-
thing we can use: extra weapons, ammunition, grenades. Keep
linked up to my COM so you can hear the briefing."
Locklear stood there, glared into the Chief's faceplate, and
tensed.
Sergeant Johnson opened his mouth, but the Chief made a
subtle cutting gesture with his hand. The Sergeant kept whatever
he had to say to himself.
The Master Chief took a step closer to Locklear. "Was my or-
der unclear, Corporal?"
Locklear swallowed. The blue fire in his eyes dulled and he
looked away. "No." His body slumped and he shouldered his rifle,
accepting, for now, the Master Chief's authority. "I'm on it,
Master Chief." He went to the hatch and dropped into the
Pelican.
To say this team was mismatched for a high-risk insertion op
was an understatement.
"So how do we get a Shaw-Fujikawa drive?" Polaski asked.
"We don't," John replied. "But we go after the next best
thing." He moved to the ops consol and tapped the display. The
scan of the Covenant flagship appeared on the viewscreen. "This
is our objective."