He'd never realized how much he had missed his old teammates until he had seen them again. Of course, now Blue Team was in jeopardy, but that seemed like old times as well. He couldn't have asked for better soldiers to be in trouble with.
He ran across the field, low and silent, and then jumped into the shaded hollow. Tom, Ash, and Mendez crouched next to Kelly, Linda, and Fred. They whispered to one another and drew plans in the dirt.
Lucy sat quietly next to Dr. Halsey, who glanced at Kurt and then went back to her laptop computer, examining Forerunner glyphs.
The other SPARTAN-IIIs were missing, presumably on watch.
"Glad you made it back in one piece," Chief Mendez said, and gave him an abbreviated salute. "Almost had me worried."
"Thanks, Chief. Set up a single-beam relay outside and hail the others on patrol."
"Yes, sir." Mendez grabbed a tiny antenna dish.
Linda, Kelly, and Fred all turned to Mendez when he said "sir" and then looked at Kurt.
Kurt flicked his index finger up, the wait-a-second gesture, and then he turned to Ash.
"Private."
"Sir," Ash said, and stood straighter.
His helmet was off. Sweat glistened on his head and neck. It was a serious breach of combat protocols, but SPI suits had never been designed for extended use, and Team Saber had to have been sweltering in the stuff for days.
Kurt glanced at the helmet and Ash blanched at his mistake, and immediately slipped it on.
Kurt said, "Saber jumped the gun on that ambush."
"Yes, sir." Ash snapped into precise regulation attention. "It was my fault. I felt it was the right time, that the Sentinels were about to move out of optimal firing position. That's no excuse, sir. It won't happen again."
Had Ash sensed something Kurt hadn't? Still, orders had to be followed.
"I'm counting on you to keep your team on task and focused. We clear?"
"Absolutely clear, sir," Ash replied.
Kurt then moved closer to Blue Team.
Fred set a hand on Kurt's shoulder, a rare gesture among Spartans. It spoke volumes in the language of the Spartan's tightly restrained emotions.
"We thought you were dead," Fred whispered.
Kurt clapped Fred on his shoulder as well. "There's so much to brief you on. The Sentinels, the SPARTAN-IIIs—everything."
Mendez stepped back into the shadows. "Single-beam linkup established, sir."
"… Which will have to wait a little longer," Kurt told them.
Kurt opened up his TEAMCOM to both Blue and Saber, "We're taking out that Sentinel pair before the next phase of this operation," he said. "Ash, take Saber and scout the ravine ahead. Find that tunnel you sacked in a few days ago. Dante will rig it with two satchel charges. We'll lure the Sentinels inside and then, since we can't penetrate their shields, we'll blow the place, and bury them."
Fred, Linda, and Kelly exchanged looks. Normally Fred gave orders for Blue Team.
Fred gave his team an almost imperceptible shake of his head.
"What about the overwatch?" Fred asked.
"We'll take our best shot at range," Kurt replied. "Hit it with two SPNKr missiles, which will hopefully weaken its shield enough for Linda to penetrate with a few shots."
"What range?" Linda asked.
"They never get closer than two kilometers," Kurt said.
It wasn't an impossible shot. But given variable winds, a moving target, and trying to combine fire with missile strikes… it would be highly improbable. Still, Kurt had to try something to get one step ahead of the enemy Linda considered a moment, then replied, "I have an eighty-three percent accuracy rating at that range."
"Okay," Kurt told Ash, "go. Tom, Lucy, back Saber up, then grab a pair of SPNKr launchers and rendezvous with SPARTAN-058."
His senior NCOs and Ash stood, nodded, and eased out of the hollow.
Kurt got green status light across his display. He shut down the linked single-beam network.
After the SPARTAN-IIIs had left, Kelly said, "Those kids are going to get us killed.
They're acting like they have something to prove. We could have taken those Sentinels earlier if they fol-lowed the firing order."
Kurt bristled at her words. Team Saber were his soldiers and every one of their flaws was his fault. His anger cooled as quickly as it had come. She was right.
In an even voice he told her, "They're not 'kids.' They're Spartans."
Kelly crossed her arms.
Mendez said, "I think, sir, you might want to tell them what we've accomplished here."
Kurt nodded and then explained much of the SPARTAN-III training program, and the creation of Companies Alpha, Beta, and the newly minted Gamma.
"Some of the bioaugmentations are new," Kurt explained. "The SPARTAN-IIIs' normal aggression response has been"—he searched for the right word—"enhanced in situations of extreme stress. It gives them incredible reserves of endurance and makes them near impervious to shock."
"Is that what's making them twitchy?" Kelly groused.
"No one's twitchy," he replied, then fell silent.
Kurt knew he was wrong. Why couldn't he admit it? Was he defensive because he wanted his Spartans to be everything the older Spartans were? Fred, Kelly, and Linda had decades of field experience. As the SPARTAN-III CO he had to stay objective.
"You're right," Kurt said softly. "They are twitchy. And green. What else could they be?
Fresh out of boot and thrown up against these Sentinels." He looked to Kelly, to Fred, and then to Linda. "I need your help to make sure they stay in line… and, if possible, survive this."
Linda and Fred slowly nodded.
"Sure thing," Kelly said, uncrossing her arms.
Dr. Halsey looked up from her computer. "I'd like to discuss this 'aggression enhancement,'" she said. "In fact, I have many questions about the SPARTAN-III program, like where is the rest of Gamma Company? And Beta? Or Alpha?"
"Your questions will have to wait, Doctor," Kurt replied. "We're running out of time. Lord Hood's reinforcements may not get here. Every engagement with the Sentinels teaches them more. Soon we won't be able to stop them."
"I must insist," Dr. Halsey said. Her words were as placid as smooth water, but her steely eyes bored through Kurt's helmet.
Fred stepped closer to Kurt. "I agree with Kurt, ma'am. And if I might point out, with all due respect, you are not in any position to demand anything in this tactical situation— especially after you kidnapped Kelly, circumvented the chain of command, and left us in the middle of a critical mission on the Gettysburg."
Kelly looked between them, caught in a conflicting web of loyalties.
Dr. Halsey stood. "I have already explained my actions," she said. "And the discovery of this new Forerunner technology should outweigh any so-called breach of military protocol that may have been committed."
A frosty silence filled the hollow.
Dr. Halsey had no official rank, but had always wielded considerable influence over her Spartans.