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He checked his rifle. The ammo counter read full, but he hit the magazine release and visually confirmed it. He slapped the clip back into the receiver. This simple operation cleared his head.
He detected four blips on his motion tracker—they glowed green, indicating fhendlies.
Kelly, Vinh, Isaac, and Will jogged up next to him, weapons ready.
"What is this?" Will whispered. The golden glow reflected in his helmet's faceplate.
ERIC NYLUND 143
"Careful," Fred warned them. "Filter the light. Go to black-and-white image enhancement."
He got four blue acknowledgment signals, and then Fred switched to BWIM display. Funny that he hadn't thought of that for himself. Only when the safety of his team was at stake did he think clearly.
Dr. Halsey ran along the tunnel and halted, panting, next to the Spartans. "Yes," she said, wheezing. "Yes, this must be it—what Ackerson was searching for. And most likely"—she glanced at the roof—"what they are looking for, too, I imagine."
Dr. Halsey ignored the curious symbols and the light, and strode into the new corridor. "Hurry," she told them. "I fear we've set something in motion, and our visitors upstairs might know it, too."
Fred assembled his team to form up around Dr. Halsey. Kelly took point, and the rest of them created a loose box around her.
Dr. Halsey handed Fred his missing gauntlet. He took it and wriggled his fingers into the armor, pulled it snug, and sealed the locking collar around his wrist. Diagnostics ran and confirmed that his armor was whole again. His motion tracker pulsed on his heads-up display.
The hallway changed as they continued down its length. The golden light faded along the ceiling, and inky black covered its expanse; tiny stars winked on and twinkled. Fred added color to his display; he wanted to see this. Moons wheeled overhead; silver-gray orbs, pockmarked with meteorite impacts, spun in wide orbits. Along the walls, tall green bamboo-like grass sprouted and grew up the curved surfaces.
Dr. Halsey brushed her fingertips along the wall, and the grasses wavered at her touch. "Semisolid holography," she said without halting. "No visible emitters. Interesting. We should in?vestigate this later," she said and increased the pace of her stride. "If there's time."
The holographic environment cycled to an arid moonscape: deep craters and sterile light; it became a volcanic world with lava flowing alongside them. The air wavered with heat. In each transformation the golden symbols remained on the walls, lead?ing them through the illusions.
144 HALO: FIRST STRIKE
The corridor emptied onto a landing that overlooked the largest room Fred had ever seen.
Kelly stepped onto the landing, looked, and waved them forward.
They stood on one of a dozen tiered levels that encircled the room; there was no railing. Fred leaned over the edge. It was at least one hundred meters to the floor below. The room was ap?proximately circular and three kilometers in diameter. The floor was blue and seemed to shift as a billion tiny tiles flexed and re?arranged themselves into frustratingly familiar patterns. The ceiling was a dome with a holographic golden sun, blue sky, and cottony clouds that morphed into spheres, puffy pyramids, bars, and cubes. And in the center of the floor was a pedestal flickering with a faint light.