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ERIC NYLUND
133
objective. He'd leave the long-range strategies to Generals and
Admirals. It was time to concentrate on what he did best.
The walls hummed as thick metal bolts inside the lockers re-
tracted, the sound of heavy oiled steel sliding over steel. With a
final thump, the sound ceased.
Kalmiya said, "Lockers open and safeties disabled, Spartans.
Help yourselves."
"Secure the outer door, please," Fred told her.
The door to the hallway eased shut and locked, and Will
moved to Fred's side. Each Spartan opened one of the wall lock-
ers, standing to the side in case there was some leftover booby
trap within that Kalmiya had failed to disable.
Fred peered inside and saw a rack of handguns. They weren't
the standard-issue HE pistols; these had oversized barrels—
easily 30 percent larger and longer—and they had grips of
self-molding plastasteel. He picked one up and hefted it—its
balance was barrel-heavy, to be expected from an unloaded
pistol. He found three boxes of clips at the bottom of the locker,
opened one, and took out a clip. Whatever this new handgun shot,
it was high caliber, slugs the size of his thumb. He slid the clip
into the gun, and it secured with a satisfying click.
Now it was perfectly balanced, far better than the
standard-issue sidearm.
He secured the weapon and turned to see what Will had found.
Will examined a plastic-wrapped rifle. He removed the rifle
from the locker, ripped off its sheathing, and shouldered it. He
nodded with satisfaction.
Unlike the MA5B, this rifle had a longer barrel and stock,
with a cutdown muzzle shroud. A scope was mounted on an op-
tics railing along the top of the rifle. Will hefted a clip and in-
serted it into the receiver.
He shouldered the rifle again and peered through the scope.
"Auto zoom, nice."
Will and Fred then traded and inspected the new weapons.
Fred liked the feel of this new rifle, but wondered how much
punch it had—enough, he hoped, to make the trade-off of having
fewer rounds in the clip worth it.
They filled two sacks with the new pistols, rifles, and ammu-
nition, then moved to the footlockers and lifted the lids.