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He looked to his audience. His dark eyes rested on each one of them. He nodded, seemingly satisfiedwith what he saw.
“The Spartans are the finest group of soldiers I have ever encountered,” he said. “It has been a privilegeto train you. Never forget what I’ve tried to teach you—duty, honor, and sacrifice for the greater good ofhumanity are the qualities that make you the best.”
He was silent a moment, searching for more words. But finding none, he stood at attention and saluted.
“Attention,” John barked. The Spartans rose as one and saluted the Chief.
“Dismissed, Spartans,” Chief Mendez said. “And good luck.” He finished his salute.
The Spartans snapped down their arms. They hesitated, and then reluctantly filed out of the amphitheater.
John stayed behind. He had to talk to Chief Mendez.
Dr. Halsey spoke briefly with the Chief and the Admiral, then she and the Admiral left together.Beowulf backed toward the far wall and faded away like a ghost.
The Chief gathered his hat, spotted John, and walked to him. He nodded to the hologram of the scorchedcolony, Harvest, still rotating in the air. “One final lesson, Petty Officer,” he said. “What tactical optionsdo you have when attacking a stronger opponent?”
“Sir!” John said. “There are two options. Attack swiftly and with full force at their weakest point—take
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them out quickly before they have a chance to respond.”
“Good,” he said. “And the other option?”
“Fall back,” John replied. “Engage in guerrilla actions or get reinforcements.”
The Chief sighed. “Those are the correct answers,” he said, “but it may not be enough to be correct thistime. Sit, please.”
John sat, and the Chief settled next to him on the riser.
“There’s a third option.” The Chief turned his hat over in his hands. “An option that others mayeventually consider. . . .”
“Sir?”
“Surrender,” the Chief whispered. “That, however, is never an option for the likes of you and me. Wedon’t have the luxury of backing down.” He glanced up at Harvest—a glittering ball of glass. “And Idoubt that an enemy like this willlet us surrender.”
“I think I understand, sir.”
“Make sure you do. And make sure you don’t let anyone else give up.” He gazed into the shadowsbeyond the center platform. “Project MJOLNIR will make the Spartans into something . . . new.Something I could never forge them into. I can’t fully explain—that damned ONI spook is still herelistening—just trust Dr. Halsey.”
The Chief dug into his jacket pocket. “I was hoping to see you before they shipped me out. I havesomething for you.” He set a small metal disk on the riser between them.
“When you first came here,” the Chief said, “you fought the trainers when they took this away from you—broke a few fingers as I recall.” His chiseled features cracked into a rare smile.
John picked up the disk and examined it. It was an ancient silver coin. He flipped it between his fingers.
“It has an eagle on one side,” Mendez said. “That bird is like you—fast and deadly.”