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ERIC NYLUND
245
"And the Sergeant's nervous system is so jumbled that the
Flood couldn't force a match?"
"Correct," she said. "Further blood tests show his system
bearing traces of Flood DNA—very much dead and
noninfec-tious, but some gene fragments are intact. I believe this
is proof of a failed attempt to possess him. It also appears to
have imparted him with some curious regenerative abilities,
although I cannot yet fully confirm this side effect."
The Master Chief seemed to relax a notch from his usual ram-
rod stiff at-attention stature. This new information seemed to put
him at ease. "I think I see."
"No," Dr. Halsey told him, and she removed her glasses. "You
don't."
"Doctor?"
"Discovering how he survived is not what I wanted to discuss.
It's what happens next to Sergeant Avery Johnson."
She shut off her monitors and eased back into the chair. "I've
prepared two separate reports on this for ONI Section Three.
The first has all relevant data on my analysis and the possible
technology to counter an initial Flood infestation. The second
includes the source material: Private Jenkins's and Sergeant
Johnson's mission logs and the Sergeant's medical files."
She downloaded the reports onto two data crystals and ejected
them from the port on the chair's arm. She set the clear cubes on
the tray and gestured for John to take them. "I leave it up to you
which to deliver to Lieutenant Haverson."
"Why would I withhold any data, Doctor?" the Master Chief
asked and glanced at the crystals.
Her eyes focused past him as she struggled to find the words to
match her conflicting emotions. "For a long time I had thought
that we had to sacrifice a few for the good of the entire human
race." She took a deep breath and let it go with a heavy sigh. "I
have killed and maimed and caused a great deal of suffering to
many people—all in the name of self-preservation." Her steely
blue gaze found him. "But now I'm not sure that philosophy has
worked out too well. I should have been trying to save every single
human life—no matter what it cost."
Dr. Halsey pushed the tray bearing the data crystals toward
the Master Chief. "If you give ONI the first report, they may be