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Bates sat in waiting as he had been for the last twenty minutes. After telling Stanforth about what he and the Spartans had found, he was sure that he would discuss it with ONI. But he was surprised it was taking this long. Something potentially this important shouldn't take this long. He had been awaiting the Admiral's call for quite some time when Dr. Dan Jenkins walked in. His face was beet red and he was shaking with rage. He held a handful of papers that were crumpled, and he tightened his grip when he saw the Lieutenant Colonel. "Do you have any idea what that maniac soldier of yours almost did?!" Jenkins yelled. Bates merely looked at him, and awaited the response. "He could have killed that poor damn girl! Her legs could have been broken, he could have seriously bruised the ligaments!" Jenkins threw the papers to the ground. "He was damn lucky I was there to stop him though!" Bates clearly knew it was time to tell Jenkins what ONI had told him was 'need to know' information. "Jenkins, the Spartans are not regular soldiers," Bates began. "I can see that! That damn girl should have been killed instantly by the blast. I'm told that the MJOLNIR technology provides plasma protection, but she should at least have some broken bones." "Yes, I know," Bates said, taking in a deep breath and preparing to stand up. "You see, Doctor, the Spartans have received a great deal of, I suppose you could say, 'training.' What I'm about to tell you-" Bates was cut off as his intercom buzzed. Bates keyed it and awaited Hughes voice. "Sir, Admiral Stanforth broadcasting, alpha priority on an encrypted channel. Must be really important, took me five minutes to work my way through the encryption, but the picture may be a bit dicy because of it," Hughes voice sounded mechanical through the intercom. "Thank you, Lieutenant," Bates replied. "Doctor, if you'll excuse me, we'll have to speak at another time. This is of the utmost importance, and as you most likely understand, confidential." Jenkins yelled out in rage, and moved toward the door. It opened and the two marine guards turned around. Jenkins shoved one out of his way, and began moving in a quick stride down the hall. The door closed, and Bates locked it. Bates turned on his vid-phone, and a silhouette looked back at him. "I was expecting Stanforth. I thought this was a military operation," Bates said. "Not anymore," the silhouette replied. "This is a matter for intelligence, not for one of Stanforth's idiotic military operations." The silhouette italicized operations, lacing it with sarcasm. "So the operation is a go?" Bates asked, hopeful. "In a sense," the silhouette began. "We will be sending the Spartans in using a stealth Pelican, called a Raven. You will remain behind in the Heracles and monitor the activity in the area. Once the area is reconnoitered, the Heracles may move in for military assistance, the Raven may fall back, or the Spartans may continue with the operation as they see fit." "So we're sending in the only chance the human race has in a ship small enough to be run over by a cruiser, assuming that the stealth technology works, and that whatever they find can wait the hour it will take for us to reach them in Slipstream, assuming that the Heracles will be able to handle it?" Bates asked, skeptically. The silhouette sat there silently for a moment. "That is correct," the silhouette replied. "The Raven will arrive at your position within the hour." With that the vid-phone snapped off, and Bates was alone with his thoughts. "Teff was right about this," Bates said to himself. "It certainly will be a leap of faith." With that he stepped over to the papers Jenkins had hurled to the floor and examined them. Teff and his Spartans sat in waiting. He had not been this excited about a mission since his first operation on the Advocate, and it wasn't even necessarily on yet. He knew that Bates had only gone to speak with the Admiral about a half-hour ago, but he needed to find out whether or not the mission was on. He had asked Hughes to give him a call at the moment he thought Bates had received his answer from Stanforth. When the beep from the intercom on the wall came, he leaped from his seat and was to the intercom before Hughes had begun talking. "He just received a call from someone, but I'm not sure who," Hughes began. "But it must be important, given the security precautions surrounding it." "Thank you, Lieutenant," Teff said, stepping away from the intercom. "I'm off duty now," Hughes voice came through again. "No need for that Lieutenant stuff now, you can call me Jim." Teff stepped back toward the intercom, confused. "Thank you, Jim," Teff said after a moment's hesitation. Teff moved toward the door, his men watching his steps knowing where he was headed. All of them, but Dawson's, whose eyes were situated on something on the floor. Teff began to step toward him, but he stopped himself. He needed to find out about the mission, Dawson could wait. In the mean time, he would find out more about Amber's status. Teff stepped out the door and headed toward Bates' quarters. Teff walked to the guards who immediately let the Spartan in. Bates stood there mulling over some paperwork, and raised his head as Teff walked in. "I have some good news and I have some bad news," Bates began, before Teff had a chance to speak. "The good news is that ONI is letting us go forward with the operation. There will be a Raven here within the hour, but that can wait for the briefing." "I'm glad, sir," Teff replied, a smile on his face. "But what's this about bad news?" "Jenkins is submitting a request for a court martial hearing on what happened in Amber's room," Bates said, handing the paper that he was holding over to Teff. He scanned it quickly and saw that everything seemed to be filled out adequately to get a hearing. "So he calls it attacking a fellow soldier, does he?" Teff asked, giving a slight chuckle. "I call it helping out my fellow man. This will be shut down in court quickly after our training is explained." "That's the problem, Master Chief," Bates said. He only called Teff by his rank when he was gravely serious. "If they find out about the Spartan training there's going to be a lot more trouble for you. Although you were never told, what was done to you was not by the hand of the UNSC, but illegally by ONI operatives." Teff stood there for a moment, dumbfound. "But if it was illegal, how could they do it?" Teff asked. "Because, they knew the power of the Covenant. They knew that the Spartans were the human race's only chance, and they knew that no one in their right mind would submit a child to the Spartan program considering the risks they would be taking. Those altering drugs could have killed a lot more of you then they did, I'm surprised that more then half of you survived." Teff understood it all. Why he had never heard of anyone other people asking to be part of the Spartans. Why no one else had the strength, speed, or reflexes of them. "The past can't be changed. And if the UNSC considers my team illegal, product of criminals, or whatever they want to call it, then so be it. Until then, I will continue to serve under them," Teff said, staring with intensity at Bates. "You're a good man, you know that Teff?" Bates said, smiling. He gave him a light pat on the back. "Just know that if this hearing comes up, I'll be in your corner with you. Even if I get court marshaled too." The intercom beeped, and Hughes voice came over it. "Sir, we have an incoming Raven wishing to board, should we comply?" Hughes asked, confused. "Yes, Lieutenant. Welcome them aboard and see to it none of those ONI spooks leave the docking bay. We don't want them wandering around in our ship," Bates said, releasing the intercom. "Get your team together as quickly as you can, and I'll talk to the ONI spooks. We won't have time for an official briefing. I know you want to get on that Raven as fast as possible, so I'll keep it short when you get there." "Yes sir!" Teff yelled, saluting the Lieutenant Colonel sharply. Bates returned the salute, and Teff walked towards door. "Teff," Bates began. The Spartan turned to face him once more. "I hope you're right about this. Otherwise this leap of faith could lead to a whole lot of dead Spartans." "Believe me, sir," Teff began. "Like I told the good doctor. My ways always work. The only problem this time is finding out if I'll be alive to see them work." |
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