第62页

　　And  what  did  the  citizens  of  the  Outer  Colonies  think?  Those  who  hadn't  fled  to  remote  outposts  and  hidden  privateer  bases
　　ERIC  NYLUND 99
　　weren't  in  any  position  to  make  trouble.  The  Covenant  didn't  take  prisoners.
　　"You're  expected  today,  Lieutenant,"  the  receptionist  said.  She  was  a  young  Chief  Petty  Officer  and  looked  like  she  didn't  have  a  care,  or  a  clue.  But  her  eyes  gave  her  away.  She  knew  something.  Maybe  not  what,  but  she  had  undoubtedly  picked  up  on  the  increased  security  protocols  ...  or  the  haunted  looks  in  the  eyes  of  her  commanding  officers.
　　"Please  proceed  to  elevator  eight,"  she  told  him  and  returned  her  attention  to  the  screen  in  front  of  her.
　　He  made  a  mental  note  to  find  out  who  this  perceptive  person  was  and  see  if  she  could  be  recruited  into  Section  Three.  ONI  had  lost  a  lot  of  good  people  in  the  last  few  weeks.
　　Wagner  moved  to  the  solid  steel  wall,  and  a  pair  of  doors  parted  for  him.  He  entered  the  small  room;  the  doors  closed  and  locked  with  a  whisper-quiet  snik.
　　A  fingerprint  pad  and  retinal  scanner  extended  from  the  wall.  Wagner  pressed  his  hand  onto  the  scanner,  and  a  needle  stabbed  his  index  finger.  They'd  check  his  DNA  against  the  sample  on  file.  He  blinked  once  and  then  rested  his  chin  on  the  retinal  scanner.
　　"Good  morning,  Lieutenant,"  a  sweet  female  voice  whispered  in  his  ear.
　　"Good  morning,  Lysithea.  How  are  you  today?"
　　"Very  well,  now  that  I  see  that  you  have  returned  safely  from  your  mission.  I  assume  everything  went  as  expected."
　　"You  know  that's  classified,"  he  told  the  AI.
　　"Certainly,"  she  replied,  her  tone  playful.  "But  I'll  find  out  anyway,  you  know.  Why  not  save  me  the  time  and  just  tell  me?"
　　Although  he  generally  enjoyed  this  tete-a-tete  with  Lysithea,  he  knew  it  was  part  of  the  biometric  scan,  too.  She  scanned  his  brainwaves  and  voice  patterns  in  response  to  her  queries  and  matched  them  to  older  responses  in  her  memory.  She  probably  tested  his  loyalty  in  security  measures  as  well—he  didn't  put  any?thing  past  Section  Three;  they  grew  more  paranoid  every  day.
　　"Of"course  you'll  find  out,"  Wagner  replied.  "But  I  still  can't  tell  you.  That  would  be  a  breach  of  security,  punishable  under  Article  428-A.  In  fact,"  he  said  in  a  more  serious  tone,  "I'll  have  to  report  this  violation  to  my  controller."
　　100 HALO:  FIRST  STRIKE
　　She  laughed,  and  it  sounded  like  fine  bone  china  clinking  to?gether.  "You  may  proceed,  Lieutenant,"  she  told  him.
　　The  doors  parted  and  revealed  a  corridor  lined  with  walnut  panels  and  paintings  of  Washington  Crossing  the  Delaware,  Ad?miral  Cole's  Last  Stand,  various  alien  landscapes,  and  space  battles.
　　Although  he  had  barely  felt  the  descent,  Wagner  knew  he  had  dropped  three  kilometers  into  the  planet,  through  solid  layers  of  granite,  reinforced  concrete,  plates  of  Titanium-A,  and  EMP-hardened  metal.  None  of  this  made  him  feel  any  safer,  though;  ONI's  research  facility  on  Reach  had  the  same  setup,  and  it  hadn't  done  those  poor  bastards  any  good.
　　He  stepped  off  the  elevator.  Lysithea  whispered  at  his  back:  "Watch  out  in  there.  They're  looking  to  put  someone's  head  on  a  pike."