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ERIC NYLUND
267
sword singleships, and the odd stealth Chirvptera-class vessel
appeared on screen.
"Jiles's fleet," Haverson stated. "And he has us exactly where
he wants us—dead in the water."
"Incoming transmission," Cortana said. "Piping it through."
"Admiral Whitcomb?" Jiles's rich and resonant voice flooded
the bridge. "Can I be of some assistance? A tow, perhaps, back to
our base so we can expedite repairs to your ships?"
"That would be most kind of you," the Admiral said and eased
back into the Captain's chair.
Two Laden-class cargo ships came alongside the Gettysburg
and attached; their engines rumbled.
"I don't understand," Haverson whispered. "He had us."
"No, he didn't," Admiral Whitcomb replied. He scowled and
added, "Governor Jiles may not like it, but he needs us now. The
Covenant aren't going to send just one ship. After this one goes
missing for a while, there'll be more. A lot more. This is only the
start of the battle, son."
John and his six remaining teammates sat in the Gettysburg's
machine shop. The room was large enough to fit a Longsword in-
side, and the walls, ceilings, and deck had robotic arms tipped
with welders, multitools, and hydraulic presses. Three of the
arms had high-intensity spotlights directed onto the walls and
provided a clear, cool, indirect illumination that the Master
Chief found soothing after having one too many plasma blasts
etch his retinas.
They were here because Admiral Whitcomb had ordered the
Spartans to repair their equipment and get at least six hours of
sleep. The machine shop was a solid room, reinforced, and un-
likely to breach in case they were attacked again.
Linda sat in the corner with her helmet, back torso, and shoul-
der MJOLNIR armor sections removed.
Fred and Will used two robotic arms to hold her armor in place.
They swapped out damaged plates and components with the
spare parts they'd found in ONI's CASTLE facility on Reach.
Angry red scars crisscrossed Linda's pale body—the only
external trace of her double transplant operation. Against Dr.
Halsey's advice for strict bed rest, Linda had hobbled down here