ASUNCION

HABITAT, INNER RUBBLE, 23 LIBRAE

Keyes watched his people being herded toward gates. They huddled together and stared down at their feet as they moved forward. Men in gray

uniforms, rifles slung at the ready, moved about the edges, pushing the crew back into line toward the five checkpoints the rails led everyone toward.

The

Midsummer Night had been docked with an asteroid. From the cargo bay they'd all been herded out at gunpoint,' down a long corridor in the endcap of the habitat, and walked out into the interior.

But the tall rails, all enclosed in chicken wire with razor wire wrapped around that, effectively prevented them from walking out into the habitat until they'd passed through five stations. Humorless-looking officials stood by small podiums in the stations with computer pads.

"Stay single file," a guard shouted.

The lines formed up, people jammed against each other, wondering what came next. They were face-to-face with the enemy: Insurrectionists.

Captured.

A woman in a black uniform with yellow trim walked up to a dais mounted over the gates. She brushed back a long lock of black hair, then folded her arms at the small of her back in a sort of parade rest.

When she spoke her voice was amplified so that the entire crowd could hear her. "Welcome to the habitat Asuncion," the woman said.

Keyes leaned back and looked up at the far side of the asteroid's interior, far on the other side from where he stood. Patches of gardens and trees could be seen. It was odd, seeing something almost pastoral in a megastructure like this.

"And welcome to the Rubble," the woman continued. "My name is Maria Esquival. I am here to help orient you to your new situation."

Keyes was surrounded by his remaining bridge crew. Lt. Dante Kirtley had folded his arms and was watching the woman, but Junior Grade Rai Li

checked out the crowded crew, looking worried.

Behind Keyes loitered a handful of ODSTs, with Faison standing in their midst. He raised an eyebrow at Keyes.

Maria Esquival continued her speech. "After the destruction of Madrigal, as we escaped into the asteroids and rocks here, we had some very tough decisions to make about who we would become: refugees struggling to exist, fighting over scraps? Or a civilization?

"We chose civilization. We worked hard to build the Rubble. We worked hard because we knew we had something to build. A world like nothing the UNSC has ever known, with its strict hierarchies and militaristic command."

Keyes looked over at Dante, who rolled his eyes. "More Insurrectionist bullshit," the comms specialist muttered.

"Free of the trappings of being a colony, we reinvented ourselves from the ground up. The Rubble is a technocracy. All of its municipal functions, all its laws, are voted on by our members. Some of us are Insurrectionist, some of us are refugees from Madrigal. Others are miners who were here from the beginning. Some are smugglers who made it here from the Inner Colonies. All are welcome.

"We mean that. All are welcome to have the right to vote. This includes you, crew of the

Midsummer Night."

Esquival paused to let that sink in. In the crowd, Kirtley leaned back toward Keyes. "They all vote on everything. Like even security? That'd be insane."

"Because we believe in freedom, the Rubble invites you to join our democracy. You have a choice in what happens next to you. You can choose to turn your back on the imperialist nature of the UNSC. Many of you may have come from Outer Colonies. Colonies that fell to the alien Covenant while the UNSC took their time to enact methods of dealing with the aliens. Colonies that you know were not as well protected as they could have been, because the UNSC's loyalties are to Earth first, the Inner Colonies next, and the Outer Colonies last. Here in the Rubble, you are equal among all."

Rai Li sniffed. "How many crew you think are going to buy that crap?"

Keyes looked out over the crowd of heads. How many crew were survivors of border colonies, or had family in the Outer Colonies?

He thought of his sister for a second, a twinge of pain at the thought of her dying without UNSC protection, out there alone in the Outer Colonies.

Or maybe, Keyes suddenly thought, maybe they'd survived. Just like the Rubble had.

The idea captured him for a second, and then Keyes shook himself. No, he had to remember what the Covenant was really about. The Rubble was some strange anomaly ...

"Too many." Keyes rubbed his jaw, thoughtfully. "And can you blame them? We have no options. We're stuck out here. Behind the lines. They might as well start trying to find allies, figure out what the new game is. We're refugees, now."

His eyes burned. He hadn't slept since they'd been boarded, running from place to place to make sure things went smoothly.

Now it was over. Everything was over.

He'd read about POWs in past wars, unlucky bastards who'd been the first shot out of the air and stuck in a camp for the length of a war.

If he lived, he'd be one of those footnotes.

Maria Esquival cleared her throat. "But, as you are UNSC, and have a checkered background, there are some concessions that have to be made when integrating you into the population of the Rubble.

"You will have to swallow a motion tracker, in the form of a pill. This will let the Rubble's AI monitor and track your location. You will have to report for counseling and you will be assigned a case officer who will review the integration process. However these things are a small price to pay for your freedom."

Keyes wished he had his pipe to fiddle with. He had to leave it aboard the ship, along with any other personal effects or objects as they were moved to Asuncion.

"Those of you who wish to become citizens, have only to ask when you reach Processing. You will be split off to a separate location. Those of you still loyal to the UNSC, who refuse the pill, we will, of course, be forced to jail you."

With that, Esquival turned around and left her perch. The large lines staggered forward.

"A lot of them are asking for citizenship," Faison said from behind Keyes.

"Can't blame them," Keyes said. "One can understand what's going through their minds."

"You're not going to do anything about it?" Faison asked.

"We're trapped. We have nothing. What do you want me to do? They're doing the rational thing."

Faison grabbed Keyes by the shoulder. "Either we're soldiers or we're not. Defeat or not, we should never forget that, Keyes.

Give them a speech. Say something to counteract all that, because whatever this is you're doing right now, this isn't leadership. Where's the man who had us all jump out of that freighter?" Say something.

Keyes cleared his throat, then jumped up onto the railing. He wobbled for a second. "Crew of the

Midsummer Night,"

he shouted.

The snaking line paused. And Keyes suddenly felt like a blank sheet of paper. Nothing came to him.

Faison punched his shin, and Keyes sucked his breath in. "Crew of the

Midsummer Night, we have had a hard blow, I know. Some of you, after hearing all this, will have a hard choice to make.

"Just know this. No matter who we are, or why we give our service, we all joined to fight a common enemy. The people here, although they fled the destruction of their own world, think that the Covenant can be allies. The same creatures that destroyed their world. I think this is an illusion. So I hope that you will, if the time ever comes, stand by my side again if the need calls for it. With no hard feelings. I will not be joining their citizenry. I remain ready to fight the Covenant and protect humanity, as I swore to do when I joined the fight. As did you all."

Keyes got back down.

There was only silence. Rai Li finally shook her head. "That was an awkward speech."

"Doesn't matter," Faison said. "What mattered was that he gave it." And Keyes knew he was right; he was stumbling toward being the leader they all wanted ... and needed.

Keyes grabbed Faison by the shoulder. "By the way, why are so many ODSTs at the front of the line? They look like they're going to be citizens."

Faison nodded and looked Keyes in the eye. "Well, of course.

You know the Helljumpers: first in and all that."

He gave the last word in emphasis. Then he winked.

Keyes got it. He could still trust Helljumpers to be Helljumpers. Faison was just making sure he got men out into the general populace in case they needed them out there.

"You've got company," Lt. Kirtley said.

Maria Esquival and several black-clad men pushed through the crowd of crew toward Keyes.

"Lieutenant Jacob Keyes, I gather?" Esquival said.

"Yes ma'am," Keyes replied.

"No more speeches."

Keyes laughed. "I thought we were all equals here." Esquival tilted her head. "You just announced you gave up the right to citizenry, right?"

"Yes..."

One of the black-uniformed men punched Keyes in the stomach. Faison stepped forward, but Keyes waved him back as he coughed.

"Then I'm pleased to report I'm under no obligation to treat you as a citizen, Lieutenant Keyes." Esquival smiled. "The problem is, you have a position of power over your men. Such speeches, while admirable, are given from that position of power. Many possible citizens might feel compelled to go to jail who wouldn't otherwise."

"It'll all end," Keyes said. "When the Covenant gets bored of whatever game it's playing here."

Esquival sighed. "You're so sure of yourself. The war with the Covenant is something the UNSC somehow started back on Harvest, we're sure of it.

This is not our war, we just got caught up in it. It's your war. While you all fight to the last man with your brotherhood of arms, we've built something here. I don't know if the UNSC has noticed, but the Covenant is comprised of a number of varying races. Many of these were allowed into the

Covenant. We here in the Rubble are looking for ways humanity can join their ranks. As a junior race, perhaps. But we're adept. Lieutenant Keyes, we'll work our way up." ,

Keyes shook his head. "You conspire with the enemy."

Esquival sighed. "Take him and his bridge crew to the jails. Get them out of here."

They zip-tied his hands, and then led him off. Several junior officers started applauding, but it died out nervously after a few seconds.

Chapter THIRTY-ONE

SOMEWHERE NEAR HABITAT CARIBO INNER RUBBLE, 23 LIBRAE

Jai eyeballed the Insurrectionist smuggler in the distance. They'd been tagging along far behind it until it had docked.

Now he flew in the weightless vacuum toward it.

He struck the surface, absorbing the impact with his knees. Even as he rebounded, he threw a magnetic grapple at the hull to stay attached.

Adriana hit the hull next to him. She grabbed his leg with one hand to stop him from bouncing back off. She had a large plastic case tucked underneath the other arm.

Jai looked at her helmet. "What does Mike have for us today?"

"Electromagnetic pulse bomb. Mostly harmless -- except to anything electronic aboard the

Kestrel.

It'll wipe it all clean," Adriana said. She opened the case and pulled out a large, disc-shaped device that looked like a landmine. "He's been saving this one."

With a thud the EMP attached itself to the hull. Adriana leaned over it and tapped out a code. "It talking to you, Mike?"

"We're live," Mike reported. "Now get well clear of that thing. The EMP pulse is strong enough to fry a whole ship. Usually our armor can recover from those bursts pretty quickly, but it will still knock out your MJOLNIR briefly if you're too close. I want to wait until we're all back aboard and well clear before -- "

Jai spotted movement. "We have company. They're coming from the airlock."

Two black space suits, hardened-looking affairs, coasted quickly at them. A burst of flame from their backs jetted them down the hull even faster.

"Hostile or curious?" Mike asked.

Muzzle flash answered that; the two suits had machine guns in either hand.

Adriana bent down and leapt at them, pulling out her battle rifle and firing. Her rounds sparked and pinged off well-hardened material and the two suits curled up in a ball.

"They were expecting us," Jai said.

"We've been here a while, it's obvious something's happening," Mike replied. "Not too surprising they've rustled up a response of some sort. I'm jockeying

Petya in closer."

"No," Adriana said. "Get ready to hit the EMP; we don't want to give these goons a chance with it. They've probably raised the alarm. We also don't want to give them time to get the data off the ship somehow."

She grunted as she smacked into one of the suits.

Jai leapt at the second one while paying out the rope on his grapple with one hand. He didn't bother shooting at the man until they collided. He ripped the rocket pack off the back of the combat space suit and threw it away, did the same with the man's two guns, then yanked himself back toward the smuggler with the line.

The black suit hung still, unable to move anywhere.

Adriana had smashed in the faceplate of their other opponent. The man's dying breath hung in the air between the two, a crystalline and fading cloud.

She threw the suit away, the motion pushing her toward the hull.

"Four more of them," she said. The glare of their packs marked them, flying right at them from the asteroid.

"Let's get out of here."

With all the strength available to them from the combination of their physique and the MJOLNIR powered armor, they crouched and leapt for the

Petya, over a mile away.

Halfway across, Mike triggered the EMP bomb with a dramatic electric fireshow that crackled across the

Kestrel's hull.

It also left their chasers immobile, their electronics burnt out by the invisible wave of electrical energy the bomb had released.

Jai's headsrup display flickered slightly. "Cutting it close, Mike?"

"A little," came the response.

Chapter THIRTY-TWO

THE REDOUBT, METISETTE, 23 LIBRAE

The first trio of Unggoy to turn the corridor walked right into Thel's line of fire. Short bursts of plasma struck them in the center of their torsos.