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The ships surrounding the Gettysburg turned and maneu?vered back toward the rotating asteroid.
"Join me for dinner and we can discuss what you need. You have my word that no one will be harmed."
Admiral Whitcomb chuckled. "I have no doubt about that,
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Mister Jiles." He turned to Cortana. "If we're not back in thirty minutes, blast them all to hell."
The Master Chief linked mission telemetry with Cortana as Jiles's men met them in the landing bay—six men dressed in black coveralls with old MA3 rifles slung over their shoulders. They hesitated, then took tentative steps toward the Covenant dropship. The Chief didn't blame them—he'd have been careful, too, if he were moving toward an armed enemy vessel. One fear-induced pull of the trigger from any one of them, however, and this greeting would turn into a bloody firefight.
He closed off his external speakers and asked, "Cortana: tacti?cal analysis."
Cortana replied: "The asteroid is a typical ferric oxide composite. It's reinforced with a layer of Titanium-A armor. The armor is well camouflaged, but I spotted it with the Gettysburg's deep radar. They have a few sections with ablative undercoats as well. Radar's bouncing off those sections—so would Covenant sensors. Impressive."
Governor Jiles strolled across the deck, flipped his black fur cap over one shoulder, and shook Admiral Whitcomb's hand. Jiles nodded to Haverson. His smile vanished, however, when he looked at the Master Chief and Fred in their MJOLNIR armor. Jiles recovered his grin and bowed low to Dr. Halsey.
"There are half a dozen guards armed with old MA-3 rifles and concealed plasma pistols," Cortana whispered. "I'm also picking up a fireteam often in the side passages, watching."
"I saw them," the Chief muttered. "They're overwatch and backup, just in case. No problem."
"This way, please," Jiles said, and with a flourish he led them through a narrow corridor.
The Chief took one last look at the docking bay. It seemed smaller than he remembered it. Twenty years ago he and his team had blown off the external doors, stolen a Pelican, escaped, and left a dozen men dead on the deck.
His team had accomplished that mission without MJOLNIR armor. It hadn't been developed yet—so there was no way any?one here could have known that John and Fred were part of the team that had extracted the last "governor" of the base, the
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traitor Colonel Watts. Yet Jiles's guards glared at John as if they knew everything.
As the Master Chief stepped into the corridor, Cortana in?formed him: "This passage is from a UNSC cargo vessel, ripped out and reinforced with a bulkhead every ten meters. Airtight and tough. This place can take a lot of damage before buckling."
"Good place for an ambush, too," the Master Chief said, and kept one eye on his motion tracker.
They were being followed. Three contacts behind them, and three ahead, keeping pace.
The Master Chief had an urge to step in front of the Admiral and Dr. Halsey and clear the passage with a burst of fire. But this situation required diplomacy, something John was ill suited for. He wished the Admiral had taken John's suggestion to bring more Spartans with him. Or at least to have two of them infiltrate while the Admiral and this Jiles spoke.