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ERIC NYLUND
177
Haverson drummed his long fingers across his chin, thinking.
"Very well, Chief."
"I got your six, Master Chief," Locklear said and unslung his
assault rifle.
The Spartan nodded to Locklear and marched down the ramp.
The Chief wanted them on board the dropship for two reasons.
First, if this was a trap and they were all caught out in the open,
he wouldn't have time to save them and himself. Second, if the
Covenant were here, waiting, then Haverson and the others had
to get away and get Cortana back to Earth. He could buy them
the time to make it out alive.
At the bottom of the ramp, he hesitated as his motion tracker
pinged off a single signal. There—thirty meters ahead, just be-
hind a large boulder: The friend-or-foe identification system
tagged the contact as neither Covenant nor UNSC.
The Chief drew his pistol, crouched, and crept forward.
A private COM channel snapped on: "Master Chief, relax.
It's me."
Another Spartan stepped out from the cover of the rock. His
armor—while not as battered as John's—was covered with
scuffs and burns; the left shoulder pauldron had been dented.
The Master Chief felt a surge of relief. His teammates, his
family, hadn't all been killed. He recognized the Spartan from
his voice and the subtle way he glanced right and left. It was
SPARTAN-044, Anton. He was one of the unit's best scouts. The
two stood there a moment and then Anton moved his hand, mak-
ing a quick, short gesture with his index and forefinger over the
faceplate of his helmet where his mouth would be. That was
their signal for a smile—the closest any Spartan got to an emo-
tional outburst.
John returned the gesture.
"Good to see you, too," John said. "How many are left?"
"Three, Master Chief, and one other make up our team.
Apologies for the disabled FOF tag, but we're trying to confuse
the Covenant forces in this area." He looked again to his left and
right. "I'd rather not give a full report in the open." He motioned
toward the shadows of the cliff face.
John flashed his acknowledgment light and the two Spartans