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John and the other Spartans stood at ease.
The briefing room aboard the UNSC DestroyerPioneer made him uncomfortable. The holographicprojectors at the fore end of the triangular room showed the field of stars visible off the bow of the ship.John wasn’t used to seeing so much space; he kept expecting the room to decompress explosively.
The stars flickered and faded and the overhead lights warmed. Chief Petty Officer Mendez and Dr.Halsey entered the room.
The Spartans snapped to attention.
“At ease,” Mendez said. He clasped his hands behind his back and clenched his jaw muscles. The Chieflooked almost . . . nervous.
That made John nervous, too.
Dr. Halsey walked to the podium. The overhead light reflected off her glasses. “Good morning,Spartans. I have good news for you. The word has come down. Command has decided to test yourunique abilities. You have a new mission: an insurgent base in the Eridanus System.”
A star map appeared on the wall and zoomed in to show a warm orange sun ringed with twelve planets.“In 2513, an armed insurrection in this system was suppressed by the UNSC force—Operation:TREBUCHET.”
An intersystem tactical map appeared, and tiny icons representing destroyers and carriers winked on.They engaged a force of a hundred smaller ships. Pinpoints of fire appeared against the dark.
“The insurrection was put down,” Dr. Halsey continued. “However, elements of the rebel forces escapedand regrouped in the local asteroid belt.”
The map tilted and moved into the circle of debris around the star.
“Billions of rocks,” Dr. Halsey said, “where they hid from our forces . . . and continue to hide to this
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day. For some time ONI believed that the rebels were disorganized, and were lacking in leadership. Thatappears to have changed.
“We believe that one of these asteroids has been hollowed out, and that a formidable base has beenconstructed within. UNSC explorations into the belt have met either with no contact or with an ambushby superior forces.”
She paused, pushed up her glasses, and added, “The Office of Naval Intelligence has also confirmed thatFLEETCOM has discovered a security breach within their organization—a rebel sympathizer leakinginformation to these forces.”
John and the other Spartans shifted uneasily. A leak? It was possible. Déjà had shown them manyhistorical battles that had been won and lost because of traitors or informants. But it never occurred tohim that it could happen in the UNSC.
A flat picture flashed over the star map: a middle-aged man with thinning hair, a neatly trimmed beard,and watery gray eyes.
“This is their leader,” Dr. Halsey said. “Colonel Robert Watts. The original photo was taken afterOperation: TREBUCHET and has been computer aged.
“Your mission is to infiltrate the rebel base, capture Watts, and return him—alive and unharmed—toUNSC-controlled space. This will deprive the rebels of their new leadership. And it will provide ONI achance to interrogate Watts and root out traitors within FLEETCOM.”