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Where Kelly and James had been there was a burning crater that fanned backward . . . nothing butcharcoal and ash remained of the Science Chamber behind them.
Kelly had moved in time; she crouched five meters deeper into the room, still firing. James was nowhereto be seen.
The other massive creature turned to face the Master Chief.
He hit the button on the shield generator on his arm and brought it up just in time—the nearest alien’sweapon flashed again.
The air in front of the Master Chief shimmered and exploded—he flew backward, crashing through thewall, and skidded for ten meters before slamming into the wall of the next room.
The Jackal shield generator was white-hot. The Master Chief ripped the melted alien device off andthrew it away.
Those plasma bolts were like nothing he had seen before. They seemed almost as powerful as thestationary plasma cannons the Jackals used.
The Master Chief sprang to his feet and charged back into the chamber.
If the aliens’ weapons were similar to Covenant plasma guns, they would need to be recharged. Hehoped the Spartans had enough time to take those things out.
The Master Chief still felt the fear—it was stronger than it had been before . . . but his team was still inthere. He had to take care of them first before he could indulge in the luxury of feelings.
Kelly and Fred circled the creatures, their silenced weapons firing quick bursts. They ran out ofammunition and switched clips.
This wasn’t working. They couldn’t take them out. Maybe a Jackhammer missile at point-blank rangewould penetrate their armor.
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The Master Chief’s gaze was drawn to the center of the room. He stared for a moment at the monolith ofpink quartz.
Over the COM channel he ordered, “Switch to shredder rounds.” He changed ammunition and thenopened fire—at the floor underneath the enormous creatures’ feet.
Kelly and Fred changed rounds and fired, too.
Marble tiles shattered and the wood underneath splintered into toothpicks.
One of the creatures raised its arm again, preparing to fire.
“Keep shooting,” John yelled.
The floor creaked, buckled, and then fell away; the two massive aliens plunged into the basement below.
“Quick,” the Master Chief said. He slung his rifle and moved to the back of the quartz monolith. “Push!”
Kelly and Fred leaned their weight against the stone and grunted with effort. The slab moved a tiny bit.
James sprinted forward, slammed into the stone, put his shoulder alongside theirs . . . andpushed . Hisleft arm had been burned away from the elbow down, but he didn’t even whimper.
The monolith moved; it inched toward the hole . . . then tilted and went over. It landed with a dull thudand a crunching noise.
The Master Chief peered over the edge. He saw an armored left leg, and on the other side of the stoneslab, an arm struggling underneath. The things were still alive. Their motions slowed, but they didn’t
cease.
The red case was balanced precariously on the edge the hole. It teetered—no way to reach it in time.