Cyberpunk: Spartan Walker

The self-healing foam filled John's abdominal cavity. This thing also hurts, as if a hundred ants were crawling inside the body. Kelly pulled out the bottle and bandaged the wound. It'll be fine in a few hours, she said, holding out a hand to him.

John felt a little weak, but he still grabbed her hand and stood up. Those bubbles saved him from bleeding to death, and at the same time prevented the onset of shock. Or at least delayed it.

A car is coming, Sam reported. Six people entered the building. Two were standing guard outside, but they were just at the front door.

Stuff our goods into the boxes and seal them. John ordered.

He left the room, picked up his backpack, walked to the terrace, tied one end of a rope securely, and threw the other end down. John slid to the ground, took a second to scan his surroundings for possible threats, and then tapped the microphone near his throat—a signal that all was well down there.

Kelly rigged up a pulley, tied the box to a rope, and pushed it off the patio. It fell quickly and hit the ground hard.

After a while, the entire team was sliding down the rope.

They quickly put on protective clothing. Sam and Fred pushed the box and followed the others straight into a nearby building. They eventually emerged from another exit half a block away from the house and hurried to the dock.

Many people in civilian clothes were running towards the city, but no one paid any attention to them.

The team walked into an empty public bathroom.

Everyone, check the air tightness of your clothes. John said, Sam, you go to the 'ring bell'. Meet us in the transport ship.

Sam nodded and ran out of the bathroom, two C-12 charges slung over his shoulders.

John took out the emergency beacon, set it to green signaling mode, and threw it into an empty storage closet. If they couldn't escape, at least the UNSC would know where the rebel base was.

Your clothes are torn. Kelly reminded John, We'd better get on the boat before Sam sets off the fireworks.

Linda and Fred checked the box for air tightness and shipped it out. Kelly walked in the front, John behind.

They boarded the Pelican transport ship, and John assessed its firepower - the ship had a pitted, blackened hull - it was too old, a pair of outdated 40mm cannons. The rocket launch module has been dismantled. Overall, the ship has very weak firepower.

There was a flash of light at the far end of the pier. The roar rolled along the deck and went straight into John's belly.

He looked over and saw a huge hole in the airlock door in the distance, filled with smoke and broken metal pieces everywhere. The dark space of space appeared before his eyes. With a deafening scream, the air in the port quickly formed a hurricane. Men, cargo, and debris roared out of the breached airlock.

John grabbed a support and pulled himself into the transport ship, preparing to seal the hatch.

He saw the emergency door coming down from above the broken airlock. Then, a second explosion sounded, and the emergency door paused, then fell directly to the ground, crushing a light transport ship underneath.

Behind them, another huge airlock door was closing, dividing the entire port from the city. Dozens of workers were still struggling on the ground trying to escape, but they never made it.

Sam ran over from a distance, unscathed under the protection of the airtight black protective suit. He ran into the ship through the Pelican's emergency gate.

We opened a back door, Sam said with a smile.

Kelly started the engine. The Pelican transport ship flew up, passed through the deck, and flew from the hole into the vast space of space. Then, she increased the power input value of the spacecraft to the maximum gear.

Behind them, the rebel base looked like any other boulder in the asteroid belt, except that it was spewing air and its spin was becoming unstable.

After flying at full speed for about five minutes, Kelly reduced the engine power output. We will be at the extraction point in two hours, she said.

Check on our prisoners, John said.

Sam opened the box and said, There's nothing wrong with the airtight suit. Watts is still alive and his pulse is stable.

Very good. John muttered. The spasmodic pain in his ribs became more and more serious, and he couldn't help but grin.

Is there any problem? Kelly asked, Is the biochemical self-healing foam working?

No problem. He replied without even looking at the wound, I can hold on.

He knew he should be happy, but in fact he only felt tired. There seemed to be something wrong with this operation. He thought of the dead dock workers and citizens. None of these people were their intended targets. Besides, are all the people on this asteroid rebels?

But, as the sergeant major said. He had obeyed orders, completed his mission, and brought his team members back alive. What else could he want to do?

John buried these questions deep in the deepest recesses of his soul.

No problem. He patted Kelly on the shoulder and said with a smile, What's the problem? We won.

****

Time: Date record [(error)] The date of the anomaly/correction is estimated to be 0450 hours on September 12, 2552 in the military calendar

On board the captured Covenant flagship Justice, heading to the slip space of Eridanus.

There was a buzz when Dr. Halsey opened the door, and the Master Chief walked into the clean room.

You want to see me, doctor? He quickly glanced around the room - he saw sets of closely connected surgical equipment. There were reflective grooves every meter in the sloping bulkheads, inside which were placed strange, orange Yellow work light.

Dr. Halsey has five monitors mounted on the armrests of an exam chair in the room. She sat in a chair with her legs crossed, a huge keyboard resting smoothly on her knees. On a nearby tray were several half-drunk cups of coffee, made of Styrofoam that seemed ready to fall off at any moment.

She motioned to the Master Chief. You completely ignored the doctor's advice and walked around before you fully recovered.

I'm fine, ma'am, he replied.

She hummed in disbelief. John - I never knew you could tell such a big lie. I'm going to receive telemetry from your armor, right now. She swiveled a monitor on her chair so he could see the screen Fluctuating and unstable physiological signals. You went into shock due to burns, bruises, broken bones, and internal bleeding. The only sleep you've had in the past week has been in a coma caused by your injuries, and you still say you're 'okay'?

He stood silently.

Good, I guess you're aware of your flaws better than anyone else. She turned the monitor back, I want to talk about your report on the Halo. I've put together a slightly more complete document based on the threat. General Turcon's retelling of your experience, Cortana's mission report, Locklear's, Tommy's mission logs, and a portion of Private Manuel Mendoza's strange mission log. (End of Chapter)