Halo_ Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe - Eric Nylund [68]
“Yeah, so . . .”
“So . . . tell me what I’m thinkin’. Finish my thought,” Jonah urged, wanting nothing more than to hear the words from Roland’s mouth.
“No.” Roland didn’t want to give his partner the satisfaction.
“Just say it,” Jonah poked. “Let’s hear it.”
“You think they’re the same,” Roland relented, knowing the conversation would continue to spiral if they didn’t move on quickly.
“Right. Brutes. Elite. They may pose different problems, but when it comes right down to it, they’re the same damn thing—targets. Big ones. Small ones. Smart ones. Dumb ones. Who cares—just point us at ’em, give us some weapons that go bang, some knives that cut like butter, and a brain-load of semiaccu-rate intel, and we’ll cut ’em loose, scrape ’em off our boots, and march on to the next batch.”
“You always find a way to make mass murder sound so simple—almost poetic.” Though it was a hard and fast fact of their lives, Roland had always been amazed—not perturbed, not put off, just amazed, maybe even a little amused—by Jonah’s flippant attitude toward death.
“As if you have any objections,” Jonah huffed.
“Don’t get defensive—wasn’t a complaint, just an observation.” Roland finished cleaning his pistol and passed the cleaning kit to Jonah before offering, “I‘ll take first watch,” and lifting himself up to view the valley below.
“So, I’m a sociopath, huh?” Jonah spit, a hint of feigned sadness in his voice.
Roland stopped just before the lip of the ridge and turned back toward Jonah. “Doesn’t mean yer not a helluva guy, Jay. Just means I wouldn’t trust you ’round my kids.”
“You don’t have kids.”
“Then I guess we don’t have to worry about it.”
Jonah laughed as Roland repositioned himself for a clear view of the valley.
The two Spartans spent the rest of the night alternating between keeping watch and taking hour-long power naps to ensure they would be functioning at optimum combat efficiency during their steadily approaching engagement against the Covenant.
The next two days were spent observing the Covenant base camp in preparation for their assault. Troop movements and specific interactions between the various alien species were noted and checked against known patterns. The number of individual soldiers, including their rank, was marked and prioritized by threat level. Locations in and around the camp were assigned specific designations based upon their placement and estimated purpose.
Finally, as the sun dropped below the horizon on the third night, Roland and Jonah made their way to the camp’s perimeter.
FOUR
________________
“ ‘GREAT JOURNEY,’ HUH? WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT IT?”
* * *
“—that wasn’t so bad,” Jonah finished his thought after taking a few seconds to ensure he had everyone’s attention.
The few remaining Elites and the smattering of Grunts all turned and lifted their gaze to take in the sight of the lone human standing before them.
THE TWO Spartans had entered the camp not ten minutes prior, silently overtaking a trio of sleeping Unggoy before slipping into a small two-room storage facility.
They quickly recapped their plan of attack: Roland would trigger his av-cam unit and slip about the base, planting charges on four reactor cores spread across the compound. Meanwhile, Jonah would enter the barracks, utilizing flash bangs and a fancy, new ONI energy disruptor to disorient the Covenant inside before entering and eliminating all enemy targets within. As soon as Jonah engaged the barracks contingent all hell would break loose.
If the Spartans had done their job right, the sudden, furious nature of the attack