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  1. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  2. 1930 hours, September 12,2552 (revised date, Military
  3. Calendar)\Captured Covenant flagship Ascendant Justice, in
  4. Slipspace en route to Eridanus system.
  5. Black space churned with pinpricks of light; it split, and the
  6. Gettysburg-Ascendant Justice appeared in the Eridanus system.
  7. The Master Chief stood on the Gettysburg's bridge. He'd
  8. wanted to be on the medical deck when Dr. Halsey had finished
  9. with Linda, be there when she woke up ... or be there in case
  10. she never woke up. But he had to be here; this was his idea, and
  11. he was the closest thing they had to an expert on this place.
  12. "Systems check," Admiral Whitcomb ordered.
  13. Lieutenant Haverson leaned over the ops console and flicked
  14. through several screens. "Residual radiation fading," he said.
  15. "Navigation systems and scanners coming back online."
  16. Fred stood at the Engineering station and reported, "Reactors
  17. at sixty percent. Slight hysteresis leak in coil ten. Compensating."
  18. "Plasma?" the Admiral asked as he settled into the Captain's
  19. chair.
  20. Cortana's ghostly image flickered onto the holographic pad
  21. next to the star chart.
  22. "We can fire only one turret," she replied, and a wash of red
  23. flashed across her image then cooled to its normal deep blue.
  24. "The other two functional turrets are offline; their magnetic
  25. coils refuse to align. It might be a side effect of the artifact's
  26. radiation."
  27. "One shot..." the Admiral muttered. He tugged on the end
  28. of his mustache and sighed. "Then we'll just have to make it
  29. count." He turned to the Master Chief. "Lead the way, son." 251
  30. The Master Chief stared at the three large monitors that had
  31. replaced the bridge's observation windows. Eridanus blazed in
  32. the center of one display; stars shone with a steady brilliance.
  33. "Move us one-point-five astronomical units relative to the sun,"
  34. he said. "Heading zero-nine-zero by zero-four-five."
  35. "Destination one-point-five AU," Haverson said. "Heading
  36. confirmed. Coming about."
  37. "Plot an elliptical course parallel to the plane of the asteroid
  38. belt," the Master Chief added. "Cortana, scan for asteroids ap-
  39. proximately two kilometers in diameter."
  40. "Scanning," she said. "This might take some time. There are
  41. more than a billion moving objects, some of them in deep
  42. shadow."
  43. "Tell me again about your old mission," Admiral Whitcomb
  44. said. "You and the other Spartans were here before?"
  45. "Yes, sir," the Chief replied. "Myself, Fred, Linda, Kelly, and
  46. Sam. It was the Spartans' first real mission: an infiltration into a
  47. rebel base. We captured their leader and got him to ONI for
  48. debriefing."
  49. "I didn't even know the Spartans were around in 2525," Lieu-
  50. tenant Haverson said.
  51. "Yes, sir," Fred answered. "We just didn't have MJOLNIR ar-
  52. mor or the advanced weaponry we have today. We looked like
  53. any other NavSpecWar team."
  54. "I very much doubt that," Haverson said under his breath.
  55. The Admiral raised one bushy eyebrow. "You mean five peo-
  56. ple made a zero-gee vacuum infiltration onto this space station?
  57. And then exfiltrated with a prisoner who happened to be the guy
  58. in charge of the place?"
  59. "Yes, sir. That was the basic plan."
  60. "I suppose it went off without a hitch?"
  61. The Master Chief was silent for a moment as he remembered
  62. the dozens of dead people they had left behind on that base ...
  63. and he felt a pang of regret. At the time he hadn't thought twice
  64. about removing any obstacle that would have compromised his
  65. mission, human or otherwise. Now, after fighting for humanity
  66. for two decades, he wondered if he could shoot another human
  67. without a good reason. 252
  68. "No, sir," the Master Chief finally replied. "There were enemy
  69. casualties. And we had to blow their cargo bay to escape."
  70. "So," the Admiral said, tapping his fingers on the arm of the
  71. Captain's chair, "they're not going to be happy to see a UNSC
  72. ship knocking on their front door?"
  73. "I wouldn't expect so, sir."
  74. "Faint emissions on the D-band detected," Cortana said.
  75. "Come about to new heading three-three-zero."
  76. "Aye," Haverson said. "Three-three-zero."
  77. "It's gone, now," she said, "but I definitely heard something"
  78. "Keep on this course," Admiral Whitcomb ordered. "We'll
  79. run it down."
  80. "There's one thing I don't understand," Haverson said as he
  81. squinted at the forward displays. "Why are these people even
  82. here?"
  83. "Pirates and insurgents," the Admiral answered. "They hijack
  84. UNSC ships, sell arms, and trade black market commodities.
  85. You're probably too young to remember, Lieutenant, but before
  86. the Covenant War not everyone wanted to be part of an
  87. Earth-ruled government."
  88. "Rebels?" Haverson said. "I've read about them. But why con-
  89. tinue to stay separated from UNSC forces when the Covenant
  90. War started? Surely their chances of survival would be better
  91. with us?"
  92. The Admiral snorted a derisive laugh. "Some people didn't
  93. want to fight, son. Some just wanted to hide... in this case, liter-
  94. ally under a rock. Maybe they think the Covenant won't bother
  95. with 'em." A smile flickered across his face. "Well, we're about
  96. to change all that for them."
  97. The elevator doors parted, and Dr. Halsey stepped onto the
  98. bridge. She removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. She
  99. looked to the Master Chief as if she had just retimed from an in-
  100. tense fight—fatigued and shocked. He noticed a single drop of
  101. blood on the lapel of her wrinkled white lab coat.
  102. "She's fine," Dr. Halsey whispered. "Linda will make it. The
  103. flash-cloned organs took."
  104. The Master Chief exhaled the breath he had been uncon-
  105. sciously holding. He glanced over to Fred, who nodded to him.
  106. John nodded back. There were no words to express how he felt. 253
  107. One of his closest teammates, his friend, someone he had
  108. thought dead... was alive again.
  109. "Thank you, Doctor Halsey," he said.
  110. She waved her hand dismissively, and there was a strange look
  111. in her eyes—almost as if she had regretted the success of her
  112. operation.
  113. "Damn good news," Admiral Whitcomb said. "We could use
  114. another hand on deck."
  115. "Hardly," Dr. Halsey replied, suddenly looking much more
  116. alert. "She'll need at least a week to recover—even with the
  117. bio-foam and steroid accelerants I have her on. Then she'll barely
  118. be able to get on her feet. She won't be combat-ready."
  119. Gettysburg-Ascendant Justice moved into the plane of the as-
  120. teroid belt, and three rocks appeared on the screens.
  121. "This region is the source of the D-band signal," Cortana told
  122. them. "There are three possible candidates based on the size pa-
  123. rameters you gave me, Chief."
  124. "Which one is it?" the Admiral asked.
  125. "Only one is rotating fast enough to generate a
  126. three-quarter-gravity internal environment," Cortana replied.
  127. "That's it," the Master Chief replied and nodded toward the
  128. central display. The rock hadn't changed much in the last twenty
  129. years. Was it possible the place had been abandoned? The D-band
  130. transmission that Cortana detected could have been an automated
  131. signal, weak from years of drain on a single battery ... or the
  132. lure for a trap.
  133. "Admiral?"
  134. "I know, Chief," he said. "They've baited the hook and we're
  135. taking it... at least that's what it's supposed to look like." He
  136. chuckled. "Cortana, power up every turret on our Covenant
  137. flagship."
  138. Her holographic body flushed blue-green and she crossed her
  139. arms. "Let me remind you, sir, that of the three working turrets,
  140. two are offline. I have no way to aim the plasma. The magnetic—"
  141. "I know, Cortana. But they"—the Admiral stabbed a finger at
  142. the displays—"don't know that."
  143. "Yes, sir," she said. "Heating them up now."
  144. "Power dropping," Fred warned the Admiral as he peered at
  145. the Engineering screens. "Down to forty-four percent." 254
  146. "Lieutenant Haverson," the Admiral barked, "open a channel
  147. on the D-band. It's time we introduced ourselves."
  148. "Aye, sir. Frequency matched and channel open."
  149. The Admiral stood. "This is the UNSC frigate Gettysburg" he
  150. barked, his voice full of authority and colored with his Texas ac-
  151. cent. "Respond." And then he reluctantly added, "Please."
  152. Static filled the COM. The Admiral waited patiently for ten
  153. seconds, and then his boot started to tap on the deck. "No need to
  154. play possum, boys. We're not here for a fight. We want to—"
  155. He made a sudden throat-slitting motion toward Haverson,
  156. and the Lieutenant snapped off the COM.
  157. Tiny doors appeared in the two-kilometer-wide rock; from
  158. this distance they looked no larger than the pores on an orange. A
  159. fleet of ships launched, using the asteroid's rotational motion to
  160. give their velocities a boost. There were approximately fifty
  161. craft: Pelicans modified with extra armor and chainguns mounted
  162. on their hulls; sleek civilian pleasure craft carrying missiles as
  163. large as themselves; single-man engineering pods that sputtered
  164. with arc cutters; and one ship that was fifty meters long with
  165. oddly angled black stealth surfaces.
  166. "That's a Chiroptera-class vessel," Haverson said, awed. "It's
  167. an antique. ONI decommissioned them all forty years ago and
  168. sold them for scrap."
  169. "Is it a threat?" the Admiral asked.
  170. Lieutenant Haverson's forehead wrinkled as he considered.
  171. "No, sir. They were decommissioned because they broke down
  172. every other mission. They had far too many sensitive components
  173. without a central controlling AI. The only reason I recall them at
  174. all is that they had the smallest operational Shaw-Fujikawa
  175. Translight Engine ever produced. No weapons systems, sir. Like
  176. I said, it's not a threat... it's a museum piece."
  177. "But it has Slipspace capability?" Dr. Halsey asked. "Maybe
  178. we can use it to get to Earth."
  179. "Unlikely," Haverson replied. "All Chiroptera-class vessels
  180. were decommissioned by ONI—critical components removed
  181. and the ships' operating systems locked down so tight I doubt
  182. even Cortana could reactivate them."
  183. "I wouldn't bet on it," Cortana muttered. 255
  184. "No weapons," the Admiral said and stared at the blocky ge-
  185. ometry of the black ship. "That's all I need to know."
  186. "Their 'fleet,' " Fred interjected, "is deploying and taking up
  187. positions around us in a wide arc. Classic formation. They'll
  188. flank us."
  189. "There's no real threat from these ships," the Admiral said to
  190. himself. "They have to know we know that. So why bother with
  191. this show?" He scowled at the displays, and his eyes widened.
  192. "Cortana, scan the nearby rocks for radioactive emissions."
  193. "Receiving video feed," Fred announced.
  194. The image of a man flickered on forward screen three. He was
  195. clearly a civilian, with long black hair drawn back into a ponytail
  196. and a pointed beard extending a full ten centimeters from his
  197. chin. He smiled and made an elegant bow. The Chief, for some
  198. reason he could not understand, took an instant dislike to him.
  199. "Captain...," the man said in a smooth, resonant tenor voice.
  200. "I am Governor Jacob Jiles, leader of this port. What can we do
  201. for you?"
  202. "First," Admiral Whitcomb said, "I am not a Captain; I am a
  203. Vice Admiral, the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations. Second,
  204. you will order your fleet to reverse course and get out of my
  205. gun-sights before I forget my manners. And third, we insist that
  206. you make ready to let us dock on that rock of yours for
  207. emergency repairs and refit."
  208. Jiles considered these requests and then threw his head back
  209. and laughed. "Admiral, my sincere apologies for the confusion
  210. in your rank." He said this with a mocking grin. "As for your
  211. other requests, I'm afraid I can't accommodate you today."
  212. "And I respectfully suggest you reconsider, Mister Jiles," the
  213. Admiral said in a deadpan tone. "It would be unfortunate for all
  214. of us if I have to insist."
  215. "You're in no position to insist on anything." Jiles nodded to
  216. someone offscreen.
  217. "Emissions detected!" Cortana said. "Neutron radiation spikes
  218. at seven by three o'clock. One by three o'clock. Picking up five
  219. more. They've got nukes."
  220. "Hidden in the asteroid field," Admiral Whitcomb muttered.
  221. "Very good. At least we're not dealing with fools."
  222. "Indeed. We are not fools," Jiles replied. "We have survived 256
  223. the long arm of Imperial Earth and Covenant intrusions." Some-
  224. one off camera handed Jiles a data pad with a radar silhouette of
  225. Gettysburg-Ascendant Justice; numbers and symbols crawled
  226. alongside the picture. He hesitated and crinkled his nose, ap-
  227. pearing confused at the odd configuration of mated craft. "We
  228. are also not foolish enough to use overwhelming force when it
  229. isn't required. Your 'ship' is ready to fall apart on its own. I
  230. hardly think we need to waste one of our precious and expensive
  231. nuclear devices to stop you."
  232. Whitcomb set his hands on his hips. "You need to rethink the
  233. tactical situation, Governor," he growled. "Cortana, find me a
  234. target—a rock the same size as this 'gentleman's' base."
  235. "Done," she replied.
  236. "Burn it," he ordered.
  237. "Aye, sir!"
  238. A lance of plasma appeared on the starboard side of Ascen-
  239. dant Justice, cut through space, and blasted the surface of a
  240. three-kilometer-long stone tumbling through the asteroid belt.
  241. Its surface heated to orange, yellow, and then white, sputtering
  242. blobs of molten iron and jets of vapor that caused the massive
  243. stone to spin faster. The plasma cut through the rock in a wide
  244. arc—punched through the opposite side. The uneven internal
  245. heat caused the rock to fracture and explode into fragments. The
  246. debris pinwheeled away, leaving helical trails of cooling iron
  247. and glittering metallic gas in its wake.
  248. "Keep number two and three turrets hot," the Admiral said,
  249. "and target their base."
  250. "Done, sir."
  251. The mocking smile had vanished from Jiles's face and the
  252. color had drained from his golden skin. "Perhaps I was too
  253. hasty," he said. "Where are my manners? Please come aboard
  254. and join me as my honored guest. Bring your staff, too." He
  255. made a quick motion to his crew off camera.
  256. The ships surrounding the Gettysburg turned and maneu-
  257. vered back toward the rotating asteroid.
  258. "Join me for dinner and we can discuss what you need. You
  259. have my word that no one will be harmed."
  260. Admiral Whitcomb chuckled. "I have no doubt about that, 257
  261. Mister Jiles." He turned to Cortana. "If we're not back in thirty
  262. minutes, blast them all to hell."
  263. The Master Chief linked mission telemetry with Cortana as
  264. Jiles's men met them in the landing bay—six men dressed in
  265. black coveralls with old MA3 rifles slung over their shoulders.
  266. They hesitated, then took tentative steps toward the Covenant
  267. dropship. The Chief didn't blame them—he'd have been careful,
  268. too, if he were moving toward an armed enemy vessel. One
  269. fear-induced pull of the trigger from any one of them, however,
  270. and this greeting would turn into a bloody firefight.
  271. He closed off his external speakers and asked, "Cortana: tacti-
  272. cal analysis."
  273. Cortana replied: "The asteroid is a typical ferric oxide
  274. composite. It's reinforced with a layer of Titanium-A armor. The
  275. armor is well camouflaged, but I spotted it with the Gettysburg's
  276. deep radar. They have a few sections with ablative undercoats as
  277. well. Radar's bouncing off those sections—so would Covenant
  278. sensors. Impressive."
  279. Governor Jiles strolled across the deck, flipped his black fur
  280. cap over one shoulder, and shook Admiral Whitcomb's hand.
  281. Jiles nodded to Haverson. His smile vanished, however, when he
  282. looked at the Master Chief and Fred in their MJOLNIR armor.
  283. Jiles recovered his grin and bowed low to Dr. Halsey.
  284. "There are half a dozen guards armed with old MA-3 rifles
  285. and concealed plasma pistols," Cortana whispered. "I'm also
  286. picking up a fireteam often in the side passages, watching."
  287. "I saw them," the Chief muttered. "They're overwatch and
  288. backup, just in case. No problem."
  289. "This way, please," Jiles said, and with a flourish he led them
  290. through a narrow corridor.
  291. The Chief took one last look at the docking bay. It seemed
  292. smaller than he remembered it. Twenty years ago he and his
  293. team had blown off the external doors, stolen a Pelican, escaped,
  294. and left a dozen men dead on the deck.
  295. His team had accomplished that mission without MJOLNIR
  296. armor. It hadn't been developed yet—so there was no way any-
  297. one here could have known that John and Fred were part of
  298. the team that had extracted the last "governor" of the base, the 258
  299. traitor Colonel Watts. Yet Jiles's guards glared at John as if they
  300. knew everything.
  301. As the Master Chief stepped into the corridor, Cortana in-
  302. formed him: "This passage is from a UNSC cargo vessel, ripped
  303. out and reinforced with a bulkhead every ten meters. Airtight
  304. and tough. This place can take a lot of damage before buckling."
  305. "Good place for an ambush, too," the Master Chief said, and
  306. kept one eye on his motion tracker.
  307. They were being followed. Three contacts behind them, and
  308. three ahead, keeping pace.
  309. The Master Chief had an urge to step in front of the Admiral
  310. and Dr. Halsey and clear the passage with a burst of fire. But this
  311. situation required diplomacy, something John was ill suited for.
  312. He wished the Admiral had taken John's suggestion to bring
  313. more Spartans with him. Or at least to have two of them infiltrate
  314. while the Admiral and this Jiles spoke.
  315. They were led to a circular room. Half the far wall retracted,
  316. revealing thick red velvet curtains, which also slowly pulled
  317. away and exposed the half-meter-thick windows that overlooked
  318. the asteroid field. Beyond was a gentle ballet of rocks tumbling,
  319. rotating, and bouncing off one another in slow motion.
  320. Men carried in a long table, threw a white silk cloth over it,
  321. and smoothed it down. Then a succession of women carried in
  322. silver trays heavy with fruit, steaming meats, and chocolates,
  323. and a dozen decanters sloshing with amber, ruby, and clear
  324. liquors.
  325. Padded chairs were brought in for them all. "Please." Jiles
  326. motioned toward Dr. Halsey and he pulled out a chair for her.
  327. "Relax and sit down."
  328. The Master Chief took up a position by the door where he had
  329. a clear view of the entire room. Fred made sure the corridor was
  330. empty and then sealed the door.
  331. The Chief checked behind the curtains for hidden men, sur-
  332. veillance devices, or false passages.
  333. "Cortana?" he whispered.
  334. "Looks clear," she said. "I'm not detecting anything. Walls
  335. are half a meter of Titanium-A."
  336. "We're clear," the Master Chief told the Admiral.
  337. Dr. Halsey finally sat in the proffered chair, smoothed her 259
  338. skirt, and Jiles gently slid the chair under her. He offered her a
  339. plate of plump strawberries, which she graciously declined.
  340. Haverson took one of the strawberries, however, and bit into it.
  341. "Delicious," he remarked.
  342. Jiles inclined his head. "Our hydroponics facility—"
  343. "With respect, Governor, there's no time for chitchat," Admiral
  344. Whitcomb said. "The clock's ticking. In more ways than you
  345. might realize."
  346. Jiles sighed and sat in a chair covered in gold leaf and black
  347. velvet. He threw his legs over one of the chair's arms and laced
  348. his hands behind his head. "You have my complete and full at-
  349. tention, Admiral."
  350. "Good," Whitcomb said, frowning at Jiles's disregard for the
  351. seriousness of their predicament.
  352. Admiral Whitcomb laid it out for him in short,
  353. easy-to-understand sentences: the fall of Reach, the Covenant's
  354. search for an alien technology, the chase and battle in Slipspace,
  355. and the unclassifiable radiation that would lead the Covenant
  356. through Slipspace... to here.
  357. As he spoke, Governor Jiles set his feet onto the floor, and his
  358. relaxed position solidified. He leaned forward and set his elbows
  359. on the table. His congenial smile slowly tightened into a scowl.
  360. "Bloody Elisa!" he shouted, jumped to his feet, and swept a
  361. decanter off the table. The glass shattered and ruby-colored brandy
  362. spattered across the hardwood.
  363. John and Fred had Jiles instantly in their gunsights, but the
  364. Admiral held up his hand.
  365. " 'Bloody Elisa'?" the Chief asked Cortana.
  366. "The patron saint of vacuum," the AI replied. "She's popular
  367. among civilian pilots."
  368. "I'd guess," the Admiral told Jiles, "that we have less than a
  369. day before they find us."
  370. "And what," Jiles said slowly, controlling his anger, "do you
  371. suggest / do about it?"
  372. "That's the simple part of all this, Governor. You can help us, or
  373. you can try to kill me and my crew, and sell our ships for whatever
  374. the black market will bear. They should yield quite a profit...
  375. provided the Covenant let you live long enough to cash in."
  376. The Admiral grabbed a decanter, poured a glass of wine, took 260
  377. a sip, and nodded appreciatively. "Now, assuming you manage
  378. to outwit our ship's AI—which I very much doubt—and assum-
  379. ing further you somehow disable our ship's weapons before our
  380. AI blows your base to atoms—which I also doubt—then you'll
  381. have a Covenant fleet to contend with. And I don't think they're
  382. going to be sociable, sit down, drink your wine, and discuss this
  383. like gentlemen."
  384. Jiles placed his face into his hand and rubbed his temples.
  385. "Maybe you're thinking," the Admiral said, "that you've kept
  386. this operation of yours hidden this long. From the UNSC. From
  387. the Covenant. Why should this be any different? Well, we found
  388. you easily enough. I don't think the Covenant will blink at over-
  389. turning every rock in this asteroid belt to find you."
  390. Governor Jiles picked up a new bottle and filled a glass to the
  391. brim. He downed the drink in one gulp. "And the other option?"
  392. he asked coldly. "I help you? And together we fight the Cove-
  393. nant? If they come in the force you claim, what difference will it
  394. make?"
  395. "If you help us," the Admiral said, "get my ship repaired so we
  396. can make the jump to Earth, I'll evacuate all your people. I
  397. promise you and your crew amnesty."
  398. Jiles laughed. His cordial smile returned, and he asked, "Do
  399. you have any proof of any of this? That the mighty Reach is
  400. gone? That you have a new alien technology? Or that the Cove-
  401. nant are on their way here?"
  402. "Chief!" Cortana cried in alarm. On his helmet's heads-up
  403. display, a schematic of the Eridanus system appeared. A NAV
  404. marker flashed near the third planet. It expanded into the familiar
  405. curved radar silhouette of a Covenant cruiser.
  406. "We have company," the Master Chief said. He strode to the
  407. window and pointed. "There."
  408. The blue glow of Covenant engines flared as the ship came
  409. about and accelerated toward the asteroid belt.
  410. "There's your proof, Governor," Admiral Whitcomb growled. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  411. 2000 hours, September 12,2552 (revised date, Military
  412. Calendar)\Aboard hybrid vessel Gettysburg-Ascendant
  413. Justice, station-keeping in Eridanus system.
  414. Admiral Whitcomb, the Master Chief, Fred, and Lieutenant
  415. Haverson bounded off the elevator and onto the bridge of the
  416. Gettysburg.
  417. Cortana's image nickered on the holographic pad near the star
  418. map. "Covenant cruiser is only two hundred thousand kilome-
  419. ters away," she reported. "Closing fast on an intercept course."
  420. The Admiral barked orders: "Fred, take the Engineering sta-
  421. tion, Haverson on NAV, and Chief, you're on Weapons Station
  422. One; get it up and running and see if there are any systems we
  423. overlooked. Lieutenant, move us away from the enemy on
  424. course one-eight-zero by two-seven-zero."
  425. "One-eight-zero by two-seven-zero, aye," Haverson replied.
  426. He strapped himself into the NAV station, and his fingers danced
  427. over the controls. "Coming about, Admiral."
  428. Gettysburg-Ascendant Justice turned and moved deeper into
  429. the asteroid field.
  430. The Master Chief stepped up to Weapons Station One. He was
  431. cross-trained on the weapons ops system of every class of UNSC
  432. warship, but he'd never actually fired any shipborne weapon be-
  433. fore. The MAC gun on this frigate was one of the largest weapons
  434. in the human arsenal. He wished they had rounds for it—he
  435. would've given anything to launch one of the six-hundred-ton de-
  436. pleted uranium projectiles at that Covenant cruiser. He carefully
  437. tapped commands on the keyboard, and the darkened screen 262
  438. came to life. The Chief scrutinized the Gettysburg's weapons
  439. inventory.
  440. Governor Jiles appeared on the number three forward display,
  441. his face placid except his lips, which pressed together so tightly
  442. that they were only a thin white line of concentration.
  443. "Governor," the Admiral said. His voice was smooth and reso-
  444. nated with the absolute authority of command. "I'll maneuver
  445. the Gettysburg and take a shot at extreme range with our plasma
  446. turret. That will blow down that cruiser's shields. I want you to
  447. coordinate with our AI and fire one of your nukes while their
  448. shields are down—blast them to bits."
  449. "A brilliant tactic," Jiles said, and his lips parted in a mocking
  450. smile. "Except for one problem. We have no nuclear weapons.
  451. The ones you detected in the asteroid field were only neutron ra-
  452. diation emitters." He shrugged. "We bluffed."
  453. Admiral Whitcomb cursed quietly. "Very smart, Jiles."
  454. "You'll just have to use the seven plasma turrets on your ship,
  455. Admiral," Governor Jiles remarked. "That should be more than
  456. enough to—"
  457. The Admiral chuckled, and he smiled in the same mocking
  458. fashion as Jiles. "We bluffed, too. We only have one turret...
  459. and it's not working so well."
  460. "It appears we have both overestimated the other," Jiles said.
  461. "Under different circumstances this might be amusing."
  462. "Indeed." Whitcomb addressed Cortana. "Try and hail that
  463. Covenant cruiser. Maybe we can bluff them, too."
  464. "They're responding," Cortana replied. "Religious rhetoric
  465. aside, they're demanding that we stand down and hand over the
  466. artifact or they will open fire."
  467. "Give them our answer," Admiral Whitcomb said. "Fire when
  468. ready, Cortana."
  469. The turret on Ascendant Justice warmed, and plasma col-
  470. lected and focused into a thin ruby line that lanced forward—
  471. —and unraveled into a wide spiral that coursed over the bow
  472. of the Gettysburg. The superheated gases boiled away patches
  473. of remaining Titanium-A armor and revealed the ship's skeletal
  474. superstructure.
  475. "What the hell happened?" the Admiral shouted. 263
  476. "Analyzing now," Cortana replied. "Plasma turret offline. Stand
  477. by, sir."
  478. "I can move my fleet to engage the enemy," Jiles said
  479. uncertainly.
  480. Admiral Whitcomb surveyed the forward screens: Jiles, the
  481. approaching Covenant cruiser, and the asteroid field full of
  482. rocks floating on invisible currents. He narrowed his eyes, then
  483. said: "They'd blast you out of space before you could sneeze,
  484. Governor. And you don't have a weapon that'll get through their
  485. shields. No—I'll draw them off. Evac your people."
  486. "Understood, Admiral." One of Jiles's eyebrows gracefully
  487. arched, and he bowed. "Thank you."
  488. "Fred, move us at best speed. Haverson, come to course
  489. zero-nine-zero. Get us closer to that moon-sized chuck of stone,
  490. twenty thousand kilometers to port."
  491. "Flank speed," Fred said. "Aye, sir."
  492. "Course change, aye," Haverson replied.
  493. The Gettysburg-Ascendant Justice glided toward the large
  494. rock, and the Covenant cruiser rapidly closed on them. The
  495. enemy ship vanished on the displays as they rounded to the dark
  496. side of the asteroid.
  497. "New course. Come about to one-eight-zero," the Admiral or-
  498. dered. "Full emergency power to the engines and answer all
  499. stop."
  500. Thrasters spun the ship around, and vibrations rumbled through
  501. the weakened hull as it slowed and came to a stop, hidden behind
  502. the rock.
  503. "Answering all stop," Fred announced.
  504. "Sir, we are dead in space," Lieutenant Haverson said and
  505. nervously ran his fingers through his slicked-back red hair. "Tra-
  506. ditional tactics advocate speed and maneuverability in
  507. ship-to-ship combat."
  508. "Not in this asteroid field," Admiral Whitcomb replied. "But
  509. you make a good point about staying maneuverable. Align our
  510. nose toward the center of mass of the planetoid, and back us up,
  511. one half reverse. Keep us out of the enemy's gunsights as long as
  512. you can."
  513. "Firing ministers. Answering one half reverse," Fred said. 264
  514. The ship slowly angled toward the center of the large asteroid
  515. and backed away.
  516. "Cortana?" the Admiral asked. "Do we have a weapons turret
  517. or not?"
  518. "Yes, sir," Cortana said, "but the turret's magnetic coils that
  519. shape and aim the plasma charge have overloaded."
  520. The Admiral inhaled and sighed explosively. "Master Chief,
  521. you got anything on Weapons Station One?"
  522. "Archer missile pods depleted," the Master Chief answered.
  523. He scanned the display, hoping he had missed something. "No
  524. rounds for the MAC gun. All Shiva nuclear missiles fired as
  525. well, sir. The only things left in the tubes are three Clarion spy
  526. drones."
  527. "No plasma and no missiles," Admiral Whitcomb said. "We
  528. might as well open an air lock and throw rocks at 'em."
  529. Throw rocks? The Master Chief wondered if they could fash-
  530. ion a slug to shoot from the MAC cannon. Let its magnetic coils
  531. propel the mass to supersonic velocities and—
  532. Magnetic coils?
  533. "Sir," the Master Chief said. "We may have a way to fire the
  534. plasma turret after all. The Gettysburg's MAC gun has seventeen
  535. superconducting coils. Cortana might be able to use them to
  536. shape and aim the plasma."
  537. "Yes," the Admiral said, nodding.
  538. "Maybe," Cortana amended and stared off into space, think-
  539. ing. "Calculating field strength drop-off now." The mathematic
  540. symbols scrolling across her body increased threefold. She
  541. frowned. "This would be easier if the Gettysburg was oriented
  542. bottom to Ascendant Justice's top. I'll have to guess at the inter-
  543. ference from the intervening hulls, but it still might work.
  544. Chief—power it up. I'll need to recalibrate the pulse generation
  545. to match the plasma output."
  546. "MAC gun magnetic fields coming online," the Master Chief
  547. said as he tapped in commands. "Rerouting power from Ascen-
  548. dant Justice's reactor."
  549. "We won't have enough power to move fast if we have to,"
  550. Fred remarked, watching the energy fed to the Gettysburg's en-
  551. gines drop to nothing.
  552. "That's okay." The Admiral absentmindedly tugged at the end ERIC NYLUNO 265
  553. of his mustache. "We wouldn't be able to outrun that Covenant
  554. cruiser even if we had full power. Our only chance is to take
  555. them out before they take us out. Launch those Clarion spy
  556. drones, Chief. Target the region abeam that planetoid—so we
  557. can see around the corner."
  558. The Master Chief kept one eye on the fluctuating magnetic
  559. field strengths of the superconducting coils as he programmed a
  560. course for the spy drones. Set to either side of the large asteroid,
  561. they'd effectively give them another set of eyes to see past the
  562. obstructing rock.
  563. "Drones away," the Chief said and launched them; their feath-
  564. ery propellant trails vanished into the distance.
  565. "Cortana," Admiral Whitcomb said, "slave your targeting sys-
  566. tem to the feed from those drones. I want a clean shot fired before
  567. the cruiser crosses that rock's shadow and shoots at us."
  568. "Working," she replied. "Getting magnetic field variations
  569. from the Ascendant Justice-to-Gettysburg energy transfer."
  570. "Drones in position and images online," the Master Chief said
  571. and pushed the video feed to the forward screen.
  572. Doubled images of the Covenant cruiser appeared. Along its
  573. three bulbous sections, lateral plasma conduits glowed and every
  574. turret bristled with energy, ready to fire. Their laser batteries oblit-
  575. erated the large asteroids in their path, while the smaller ones sim-
  576. ply bounced off their shields. The warship accelerated as it entered
  577. the gravitational influence of the planetoid between them.
  578. "They're going to slingshot around," the Admiral said. "Cor-
  579. tana, give me your best targeting solution and fire at will!"
  580. Cortana narrowed her eyes and calculations flashed across her
  581. body. "Extrapolating their course and speed," she breathed. "I
  582. got them."
  583. On Weapons Station One the Master Chief saw the accelera-
  584. tion coils of the Gettysburg's MAC pulse—then redline with
  585. power. Magnetic field lines ballooned, overlapped, and distorted
  586. asymmetrically. Static washed across his MJOLNIR armor's
  587. shields, and every electrically conducting surface on the bridge
  588. sparked as the magnetic lines of force penetrated through the
  589. ship and toward the turret on Ascendant Justice.
  590. Their only working turret heated, and plasma gathered at its 266
  591. tip; streamers looped upon themselves like tiny solar flares, vi-
  592. brated, intensified to orange and then blue-white.
  593. "Almost there," Cortana cried. "Hang on."
  594. The ball of squeezed plasma imploded. It instantly boiled
  595. away a thirty-meter section of armor and hull from Ascendant
  596. Justice; the plasma vanished for a split second—then a bolt of
  597. coiled energy corkscrewed toward the edge of the planetoid.
  598. The Covenant cruiser rounded the planetoid, targeted the Get-
  599. tysburg, and fired.
  600. Cortana's single shot impacted on the nose of the enemy craft
  601. first. The cruiser's shield flashed solid silver for a moment and
  602. was gone. The supercompressed plasma tore into the hull of the
  603. warship—exploding the metal where it touched. The plasma
  604. forked and detonated outward as it chained through the vessel.
  605. Secondary explosions rippled through the alien ship's hull.
  606. Edges of its shattered hull glowed red and then white hot as
  607. their superheated atmosphere vented. The bolt ripped through
  608. the engineering compartment, shattered their reactors—and the
  609. entire warship blossomed into fire and ejected trails of golden
  610. sparks and dying flickers of static electricity.
  611. The five plasma bolts that the Covenant cruiser fired at the
  612. Gettysburg dispersed into a red haze. There was no longer any
  613. magnetic force to shape and guide them to their intended target.
  614. The bridge crew watched the explosions fade from the for-
  615. ward screens. The Admiral said, "Status?"
  616. Fred tapped the screen of the Engineering station and re-
  617. ported: "Engines and reactor offline. That magnetic pulse did
  618. something to them."
  619. Static washed over Weapons Station One as the Master Chief
  620. looked up and said, "MAC accelerating coils intact. Drone one
  621. destroyed. Retrieving drone two, sir."
  622. Cortana's holographic presence was missing, but her voice
  623. sounded triumphantly through the bridge speakers: "Turret
  624. number three destroyed. But if we ever get any of the other six
  625. turrets in working order, we'll have a formidable arsenal."
  626. "We may not get that chance," Lieutenant Haverson remarked
  627. as he bent over the NAV station. "Contacts inbound. Small ships.
  628. Dozens of them. Transferring to the forward screens."
  629. Armored Pelicans, exoskeleton welders, a handful of Long- 267
  630. sword singleships, and the odd stealth Chirvptera-class vessel
  631. appeared on screen.
  632. "Jiles's fleet," Haverson stated. "And he has us exactly where
  633. he wants us—dead in the water."
  634. "Incoming transmission," Cortana said. "Piping it through."
  635. "Admiral Whitcomb?" Jiles's rich and resonant voice flooded
  636. the bridge. "Can I be of some assistance? A tow, perhaps, back to
  637. our base so we can expedite repairs to your ships?"
  638. "That would be most kind of you," the Admiral said and eased
  639. back into the Captain's chair.
  640. Two Laden-class cargo ships came alongside the Gettysburg
  641. and attached; their engines rumbled.
  642. "I don't understand," Haverson whispered. "He had us."
  643. "No, he didn't," Admiral Whitcomb replied. He scowled and
  644. added, "Governor Jiles may not like it, but he needs us now. The
  645. Covenant aren't going to send just one ship. After this one goes
  646. missing for a while, there'll be more. A lot more. This is only the
  647. start of the battle, son."
  648. John and his six remaining teammates sat in the Gettysburg's
  649. machine shop. The room was large enough to fit a Longsword in-
  650. side, and the walls, ceilings, and deck had robotic arms tipped
  651. with welders, multitools, and hydraulic presses. Three of the
  652. arms had high-intensity spotlights directed onto the walls and
  653. provided a clear, cool, indirect illumination that the Master
  654. Chief found soothing after having one too many plasma blasts
  655. etch his retinas.
  656. They were here because Admiral Whitcomb had ordered the
  657. Spartans to repair their equipment and get at least six hours of
  658. sleep. The machine shop was a solid room, reinforced, and un-
  659. likely to breach in case they were attacked again.
  660. Linda sat in the corner with her helmet, back torso, and shoul-
  661. der MJOLNIR armor sections removed.
  662. Fred and Will used two robotic arms to hold her armor in place.
  663. They swapped out damaged plates and components with the
  664. spare parts they'd found in ONI's CASTLE facility on Reach.
  665. Angry red scars crisscrossed Linda's pale body—the only
  666. external trace of her double transplant operation. Against Dr.
  667. Halsey's advice for strict bed rest, Linda had hobbled down here 268
  668. with her team. She sat cross-legged before a disassembled
  669. SRS99C sniper rifle and selected gyro compensators, optics,
  670. and adaptive texture barrel sheaths. Linda proceeded to re-
  671. assemble the precision-made weapon with the care of a loving
  672. mother caressing her newborn child.
  673. Without looking up from her rifle she said, "Now I know what
  674. you have to do to get a couple of days' R-and-R in this outfit."
  675. "I heard," Fred remarked, "that you spent the whole time
  676. sleeping, too."
  677. "That's why she likes to snipe," Will replied. "I caught her
  678. snoring last time she posted in that tower on Europa."
  679. John was glad they could joke about her return from the dead.
  680. He couldn't bring himself to join in, though. He had accepted
  681. the mantle of command, and CPO Mendez had taught him to re-
  682. press his external emotional reactions to preserve his authority.
  683. Right now, he resented that.
  684. Kelly rolled over and woke up. She nudged Grace, and they
  685. sat up, shaking their helmets. "0400," Kelly told them. "That
  686. was six hours."
  687. "Felt like a fifteen-minute nap," Grace muttered. "I just closed
  688. my eyes. You're kidding, right?"
  689. Kelly looked over to Linda and drew her two fingers across
  690. her helmet in the smile gesture. Linda returned a rare, bare smile
  691. to her.
  692. The smile looked odd to John. He wanted to smile, too, but
  693. nothing much—apart from Linda—in a long time had given him
  694. cause: not the hordes of rebels crawling over and through the
  695. Gettysburg whom Admiral Whitcomb trusted too much, nor the
  696. imminent return of Covenant forces before their engines and
  697. weapons could be repaired. .. and certainly not the hundreds of
  698. dead crew members aboard the Gettysburg, whom they had col-
  699. lected and placed in cargo bay seven.
  700. The slight click of metal on metal alerted every Spartan in
  701. the room. Pistols drew in a blur of motion and rifles leveled at the
  702. side hatch as it eased open with a squeak.
  703. Sergeant Johnson and Corporal Locklear stood in the doorway—
  704. frozen.
  705. "No one told me this was target practice," Locklear muttered.
  706. "Else I woulda painted a bull's-eye on my chest." 269
  707. "Master Chief," the Sergeant said. "Reporting as you
  708. requested."
  709. John nodded and lowered his gun, as did the other Spartans.
  710. "Come in, Marines."
  711. As he holstered his weapon, John's hand brushed against the
  712. belt compartment that held Dr. Halsey's data crystals. He hadn't
  713. decided which to give to Lieutenant Haverson. Did he sacrifice
  714. the Sergeant to save billions from potential Flood infestation?
  715. Did it even matter? He had every reason to believe that the Flood
  716. had been destroyed with Halo—but what if he was wrong?
  717. "I wanted you both down here to help us discuss our tactical
  718. options," John told them.
  719. The COM pulsed to life. Dr. Halsey said, "Master Chief?"
  720. "Yes, Doctor?"
  721. "I need Kelly to report to Medical Four," she said. "She re-
  722. quires one last injection of dermacortic steroids. And I could use
  723. her assistance on another matter."
  724. John nodded to Kelly.
  725. She slowly stretched, stood, sighed, and marched out of the
  726. room. "I'll be right back," she said, flexing her burned hands.
  727. "Don't plan the overthrow of the Covenant Empire without me."
  728. "She's on her way, Doctor."
  729. The COM snapped off.
  730. The Master Chief turned to his Spartans and the Marines.
  731. "Let's go over what we know and see if we've missed anything—
  732. any way to exploit the enemy's plan." He set down a data pad
  733. with a star map glittering upon its surface.
  734. "The Covenant are on their way to Earth," he told them. "They
  735. are gathering at a battle station and then jumping en masse to the
  736. Sol system."
  737. "What happens then?" Fred asked.
  738. "Assuming we get to Earth first," Linda answered, "our Fleet
  739. will be waiting for them, and"—she pulled back the bolt on her
  740. rifle with a clack—"they'll give them a warm reception."
  741. "But what chance will our forces have?" Will asked. There
  742. was no fear in his voice, just cool logic. "You saw Cortana's re-
  743. port. There will be hundreds of Covenant warships. I don't think
  744. our Fleet or even Earth's orbital MAC platforms can repel a
  745. force that powerful." f
  746. 270
  747. "No," the Chief quietly said. "They can't win. They'll try. But
  748. the Covenant will eventually take down one of the orbital
  749. MACs, slip through, and pick off the ground-based generators.
  750. Just like on Reach."
  751. Fred visibly flinched.
  752. Locklear twisted the red bandanna he had tied on his biceps.
  753. "So we get to watch another fight in space?" he hissed. His fists
  754. trembled with barely checked rage. "There has to be a way to get
  755. to those bastards first—on the ground where we can win. Hell,
  756. I'd even take my chances in hand-to-hand combat. Anything but
  757. floating in zero gee and watching Earth get burned."
  758. "What about our original mission?" Linda asked. "Find the
  759. Covenant home world?"
  760. "Our priority has to be to warn Earth," the Chief answered.
  761. "Admiral Whitcomb would insist... and he has the authority to
  762. scrub our mission."
  763. "And there's no ground between here and Earth where we can
  764. take the fight to them," Locklear said. He unclenched his fist and
  765. dropped his gaze to the deck. "Sometimes," he whispered, "I
  766. really hate this war."
  767. Sergeant Johnson worked his mouth but said nothing. He set
  768. his hand on Locklear's wide shoulder and whispered, "Stand tall,
  769. Marine. Try to—"
  770. The Sergeant's gaze fell on the data pad and the star map.
  771. "Hang on a second. What was it you said about no ground to
  772. fight on between here and there?" He grinned and picked up the
  773. data pad. "What's this?" He tapped a dot on the map, squinted,
  774. and read the tiny words. "This... 'Uneven Elephant'?"
  775. "Unyielding Hierophant," the Chief corrected. "According
  776. to Cortana, it's a command-and-control center, a mobile space
  777. platform where the Covenant fleet will rendezvous before their
  778. final jump to Earth."
  779. "Well, there's your ground," Sergeant Johnson said. "On this
  780. 'elephant'thing."
  781. Will got up and walked over to the data pad. "It fits with the
  782. timetable. This station is on the way to Earth."
  783. Fred offered, "We can drop out of Slipspace in a smaller craft.
  784. Go in and—"
  785. "And do what you Spartans do best," Locklear said. "Infil- 271
  786. trate, kill, and blow shit up. If there's room in this operation for
  787. an ODST, pencil me in."
  788. The Master Chief looked to the data pad, then to his team,
  789. Locklear, and the Sergeant. They were right: For the first time,
  790. they'd know when and where the Covenant would be. If they hit
  791. the enemy hard enough, they could stop them before the Cove-
  792. nant hit Earth... and delay Armageddon.
  793. The Master Chief gave rapid-fire orders:
  794. "Fred, Will: Get Linda's suit back together ASAP.
  795. "Locklear, you're on weapons detail again. Scrounge every
  796. pistol, rifle, ammo bag, and scrap of explosives on this vessel
  797. and haul it to Ascendant Justice's launch bay.
  798. "Grace, Linda, and Sergeant Johnson: Get that Covenant
  799. drop-ship ready for its last flight. Reinforce the hull for a
  800. Slipspace-to-normal-space transition.
  801. "And I'll take this plan to Admiral Whitcomb—make him see
  802. that it's the only way. We're going to take this fight to the Cove-
  803. nant. We're going to launch a first strike." CHAPTER THIRTY
  804. 0440 hours, September 13,2552 (revised date, Military
  805. Calendar)\Aboard hybrid vessel Ascendant
  806. Justice-Gettysburg, station-keeping in Eridanus system.
  807. Time was running out.
  808. Dr. Halsey could feel the Covenant nearly upon them and her
  809. window of opportunity shrinking to a pinpoint. Only a few more
  810. things to take care of before she could go—before she started
  811. something she couldn't stop.
  812. Someone approached the clean room, heavy footfalls that
  813. could only be a Spartan in MJOLNIR armor. Kelly appeared and
  814. waved from the other side of the glass partition that separated
  815. the clean room from the rest of Medical Four. Dr. Halsey buzzed
  816. her in.
  817. "Reporting for treatment, Doctor," she said.
  818. Kelly hesitated a moment as she glanced about at the unsterile
  819. environment the doctor had been working in: Styrofoam cups
  820. littered the surgical instrument trays, thermal printout paper
  821. curled from the biomonitors—and the radiation-emitting crystal
  822. they had found on Reach sat on a nearby instrument tray.
  823. "I thought that crystal was in the reactor room," Kelly said.
  824. "Behind plenty of radiation shielding."
  825. "It's perfectly safe," Dr. Halsey said, "as long as we're in nor-
  826. mal space." She picked up the crystal and slipped it carelessly
  827. into her lab coat pocket.
  828. "Lie down please, Kelly." The doctor gestured to the con-
  829. toured treatment chair. "Just a few more injections and we're
  830. done with your burn therapy."
  831. Kelly sighed and eased herself onto the reclined chair. 273
  832. Dr. Halsey removed a cloth covering a pair of injectors. She
  833. clicked them into the ports on Kelly's MJOLNIR armor ports
  834. that threaded directly into her subclavian and femoral veins.
  835. "Keep doing your physical therapy, and the dermacortic steroids
  836. will remove most of the scarring and restore your full mobility
  837. within another week," she explained.
  838. "A week?" Kelly growled and struggled to rise. "Doctor, I need
  839. to be one hundred percent ASAP. The Chief has a mission—"
  840. Dr. Halsey activated the injectors, and they hissed their con-
  841. tents into Kelly's body. She relaxed and slumped back on the ta-
  842. ble, unconscious.
  843. "No, Kelly," Dr. Halsey whispered. "You're not going on the
  844. Chief's mission. You're going on mine."
  845. The sedative in her bloodstream would knock out an ODST in
  846. peak condition for the better part of a day. Halsey estimated that
  847. Kelly would be unconscious for a little more than two hours. By
  848. that time they'd both be far enough along that there'd be no turning
  849. back.
  850. Dr. Halsey swiveled one of the displays to face her. She exe-
  851. cuted the memory-erase command—wiping clean Cortana's
  852. recollection of the research they had done on old ONI lockdown
  853. codes. She folded the printout of their results and stuffed it into
  854. her pocket.
  855. "Cortana?"
  856. "Yes, Doctor?" she replied. Her voice through the room's
  857. speakers sounded distracted.
  858. "Locate Corporal Locklear and have him report immediately,
  859. please."
  860. "Done, Doctor Halsey."
  861. "Thank you, Cortana. That will be all." She added in a whisper
  862. so low that only she heard: "Take good care of them all for me."
  863. Dr. Halsey adjusted the examination table so it lay flat, and
  864. then loaded medical supplies and equipment onto its undercar-
  865. riage. She placed a bag with four submachine guns and sixteen
  866. full clips of ammunition on top of the supplies.
  867. She found a lukewarm cup of stale coffee and gulped it down
  868. to the dregs.
  869. Corporal Locklear appeared at the open entrance to the prep
  870. room. "Hey, Doc. Cortana said you needed me?" he said tersely. 274
  871. He smoothed his hand over his shaved head. "I'm kind of busy
  872. right now, so if this can wait—"
  873. "Whatever you're doing," Dr. Halsey told him, "this is more
  874. important." She nodded to Kelly's prone form. "I need your help
  875. getting SPARTAN-087 to the launch bay."
  876. "Is she okay?" he asked and took a step toward her.
  877. "She's fine, but I have to transfer her to the asteroid base. They
  878. have a piece of equipment necessary to complete her treatment."
  879. Locklear appeared unconvinced. "But I just saw her—"
  880. "She's fine," Dr. Halsey assured him. "Just sedated. This pro-
  881. cedure is... unpleasant, even for a Spartan."
  882. Locklear looked into Dr. Halsey's eyes and then nodded, ac-
  883. cepting this explanation. He moved the head of the table and
  884. wheeled it through the doors, the med bay, and out into the waiting
  885. elevator.
  886. Dr. Halsey followed on his heels.
  887. When the elevator doors closed, she turned to the Corporal.
  888. "Your hand, please."
  889. He looked puzzled but held out his hand.
  890. Dr. Halsey took it and turned it palm-up. She set the long, lu-
  891. minous blue artifact in his grasp. The light emitted by the alien
  892. artifact shone onto their faces and made the interior of the eleva-
  893. tor colder. "This is what the Covenant so desperately want. They
  894. tore up Reach to get it. They followed us into Slipspace. And
  895. Po-laski died protecting this thing."
  896. She watched Locklear carefully, gauging his reaction, and saw
  897. that he pulled away slightly at this last remark; it had hit home.
  898. "And what the hell am I supposed to do with it?"
  899. "Keep it safe," she told him. "Guard it with your life, because if
  900. the Covenant ever get it, they'll be able to jump through
  901. Slipspace a hundred times faster than they can now. Do you
  902. understand?"
  903. Locklear closed his large fist around the crystal. "Not really,
  904. Doc. But I can take care of it." He paused and wrinkled his
  905. forehead in confusion. "But why me? Why not ask one of your
  906. Spartans?"
  907. " 'My' Spartans," Dr. Halsey replied in a whisper, "could be
  908. ordered to hand it over to Lieutenant Haverson. And he'd risk 275
  909. getting it back to ONI Section Three—even if he had to gamble
  910. that the Covenant might get it."
  911. Locklear snorted. "Well, as much as I don't like El-Tee
  912. White-bread, I'd hand it over if ordered, too. What's the big deal,
  913. anyway? We're almost home."
  914. "Almost," Dr. Halsey repeated, and she gave him a slight
  915. smile. "But the moment you jump, this crystal emits radiation
  916. like a signal flare. The Covenant will find this ship ... and
  917. maybe this time they'll win the battle in Slipspace."
  918. Locklear grimaced.
  919. She held his steely gaze a moment and then finally let go of
  920. his hand. "So I know you'll do whatever it takes to prevent this
  921. object from falling into enemy hands."
  922. He nodded grimly. "I read you, Doc. Loud and clear." There
  923. was a hint of respect in his voice. "I know what I have to do ...
  924. count on it."
  925. "Good," she said.
  926. The elevator doors parted. Locklear stuffed the crystal into
  927. his ammunition vest, and Locklear wheeled the table into the
  928. Gettysburg's launch bay. "Where do you want her?"
  929. The bay was a beehive of activity: A hundred of Governor
  930. Jiles's crew jogged to and from passages carrying data pad
  931. schematics and field multiscanners; robotic dollies carried fat
  932. Archer missiles, spiderlike Antilon mines, and slender pods of
  933. deuterium fuel for the Gettysburg's auxiliary reactors; three
  934. Longsword fighter craft were being repaired; exoskeletons thud-
  935. ded along the deck, carrying plates of titanium and welding
  936. them in place.
  937. "There," Dr. Halsey told Locklear. "Take her to that ship." She
  938. pointed to Governor Jiles's Chiroptera-class vessel. It sat on the
  939. deck looking like a sleeping bat. Its oddly angled stealth sur-
  940. faces blended into the shadows.
  941. Locklear shrugged and pushed the loaded gurney.
  942. Dr. Halsey halted by the ship's port hatch. It was sealed so
  943. tightly that no seam could be discerned.
  944. She retrieved the thermal printout from her coat and rechecked
  945. its contents. She then touched a recessed button on the hull, and a
  946. tiny plate slid aside revealing an alphanumeric keyboard. Dr.
  947. Halsey typed in a long string and pressed ENTER. 276
  948. The hatch parted with a hiss.
  949. She smiled. "Not even Cortana could crack their crypto, in-
  950. deed." She waved Locklear inside.
  951. Locklear obliged her and pushed the gurney into the ship. Dr.
  952. Halsey followed, secured the examination table, and escorted
  953. Locklear outside. She turned and headed back into the vessel.
  954. He started back toward the elevator, then halted. "Doc, when
  955. we were talking... you said when 'you'jump to Slipspace. You
  956. meant when 'we'jump to Slipspace, didn't you?"
  957. Dr. Halsey locked eyes with him for a moment. Then she
  958. touched a button inside the ship, and the hatch hissed closed be-
  959. tween them.
  960. The Master Chief stepped off the elevator and onto the bridge
  961. of the Gettysburg. Lieutenant Haverson and Admiral Whitcomb
  962. stared at the displays at Weapons Station One and Engineering.
  963. "Sirs," the Chief said.
  964. The Admiral waved him forward without bothering to look up.
  965. The Chief had two tasks. First, he would inform the Admiral
  966. of his first-strike mission plan. He had to convince him there was
  967. no risk to their primary goal of returning to Earth—and a huge
  968. payoff if they succeeded. The only thing Admiral Whitcomb
  969. might object to was the high risk to his team.
  970. The Chief's second task would be more difficult. He touched
  971. the belt pouch containing Dr. Halsey's data crystals. One was her
  972. analysis of the Flood infection mechanism and a possible way to
  973. block it. The second data crystal contained the source files of
  974. that discovery, and according to Dr. Halsey it would lead to
  975. Sergeant Johnson's undignified, and unnecessary, death.
  976. And yet, if it gave Section Three a better chance to stop the
  977. Floods—if indeed that threat had any meaning after the destruc-
  978. tion of Halo—maybe it was worth one man's life. Maybe if
  979. Sergeant Johnson knew, he'd volunteer.
  980. The Chief's duty was clear: He had to hand over all files to the
  981. Lieutenant—but deep down, he had to admit that it didn't feel
  982. right.
  983. "Cortana." Admiral Whitcomb crossed his arms over his bar-
  984. rel chest. "Give me an update on our power."
  985. Cortana's tiny image flickered to life on the holopad near the 277
  986. NAV station. She crossed her arms over her chest much as he
  987. had, and minute red symbols raced over her glowing lavender
  988. skin. "Status is nearly identical to my last report five minutes
  989. ago, Admiral. Tests on Ascendant Justice's reactor and the Get-
  990. tysburg's engines are in synch, and will be completed in forty
  991. minutes."
  992. "Hurry," the Admiral growled. "I don't want to get stuck with-
  993. out power when unfriendlies show up. I want to get under way to
  994. Earth. Weapons status?"
  995. "Aye, sir," Cortana said. "Plasma turret one is obliterated; no
  996. possibility of repair. Plasma turrets two, three, and four are re-
  997. paired, and although I'm waiting for power to test them, I have
  998. run three hundred twelve virtual test-firings without incident.
  999. Turrets five, six, and seven, however, require parts Governor
  1000. Jiles does not have in his inventory. Two Archer missile pods on
  1001. the Gettysburg have been refilled. That gives us sixteen missiles
  1002. hot and ready to go, sir."
  1003. "I'd like to know where Jiles got those missiles," Lieutenant
  1004. Haverson muttered. "They're UNSC military contraband."
  1005. "He is zpirate, Lieutenant," Cortana said.
  1006. "Good work," the Admiral told Cortana. "Keep me posted."
  1007. He turned toward the Chief. "You had something, Master Chief?"
  1008. Before the Master Chief could speak his mind, Haverson
  1009. said, "Admiral." He pointed at the forward screens and at the
  1010. Chiroptera-class ship accelerating away from the Gettysburg's
  1011. launch bay. "I thought Jiles was staying on board to oversee
  1012. repairs."
  1013. "So did I," the Admiral said. "Cortana, did you catch Jiles
  1014. leaving on surveillance?"
  1015. "No, sir, but you might be interested in this." On the screen a
  1016. grainy video appeared of Locklear, Dr. Halsey, and a Spartan on
  1017. a gurney boarding the ship. "Locklear left them at the ship, sir.
  1018. Doctor Halsey and SPARTAN-087 departed."
  1019. "Cortana," the Admiral barked. "Hail that ship. Now."
  1020. "Hailing."
  1021. Governor Jiles appeared on forward screen number one. "Ad-
  1022. miral," he said with a nervous smile. "I just saw my ship leave
  1023. the launch bay. Perhaps you can explain why you commandeered 278
  1024. my personal property when I have showed nothing but good
  1025. faith in this—"
  1026. "Hold on to your shirttail, Governor," Admiral Whitcomb
  1027. snapped. "I'm in the middle of finding out who took your ship
  1028. and what precisely is going on. Cortana, any response to our
  1029. hail?"
  1030. "An automated code, sir," she said. Her mouth opened in as-
  1031. tonishment. "UNSC Code Three-Nine-Two."
  1032. "Three-Nine-Two?" the Admiral asked. He stared into space,
  1033. trying to recall the obscure code.
  1034. The Master Chief cleared his throat and told him, "Admiral,
  1035. that is an official 'nonresponse' code, sir. Special Warfare teams
  1036. use it to ignore hails... due to a higher-priority mission."
  1037. "God damn it." The Admiral's face flushed, and he ground his
  1038. teeth. "You mean the good doctor just told me to go to hell."
  1039. On the forward screen the Chiroptera, its batlike wings nearly
  1040. invisible against the black of space, accelerated in a sudden burst.
  1041. Pinpoints of light appeared around the craft that elongated and
  1042. smeared. The ship vanished.
  1043. "A Slipspace transition," Cortana said.
  1044. "I thought you told me," the Admiral said, slowly turning
  1045. on Haverson, "that that ship was locked down. That vital compo-
  1046. nents were removed when it was decommissioned. That there
  1047. was no way it could make a Slipspace jump?"
  1048. "Yes, sir, I did."
  1049. "And would you care to explain why that ship just disap-
  1050. peared, Lieutenant?"
  1051. "Yes, Admiral. I was wrong," Haverson replied without meet-
  1052. ing the Admiral's eyes. "Doctor Halsey apparently found a way
  1053. to circumvent the ONI lockout on the ship's systems."
  1054. On screen, Jiles said, "This is most unfortunate, Admiral. I ex-
  1055. pect to be compensated1
  1056. —"
  1057. "You bet it's unfortunate," Admiral Whitcomb said. "If I'd
  1058. known there was a chance we could have used that ship to jump
  1059. to Earth... I would have done it an hour ago. Cortana, what was
  1060. her trajectory?"
  1061. "Not Earth," Cortana said. "Doctor Halsey's course points to
  1062. no known system in my database."
  1063. The Admiral scrutinized the forward screen: Jiles's face, the 279
  1064. empty star field, and the frozen video of Dr. Halsey and Locklear
  1065. in the launch bay. "I want Corporal Locklear on the bridge ten
  1066. minutes ago. Lieutenant Haverson, have Cortana locate him.
  1067. Then I want you personally to escort that ODST up here."
  1068. Haverson swallowed. "Yes, sir." He marched to the elevator,
  1069. and Cortana told him, "He's on B-Deck, Lieutenant, medical
  1070. storage. He's not answering my COM page." The elevator shut.
  1071. "Chief, you're on the Engineering console," the Admiral said.
  1072. "Cover the NAV station, too."
  1073. "Yes, sir." He moved to the Engineering station's monitors.
  1074. There were thirty-five minutes to go on the shakedown cycle of
  1075. the reactors and engines.
  1076. "Contact," Cortana said. "Bearing zero-three-zero on the so-
  1077. lar plane. One—correction, two—Covenant cruisers. They're
  1078. not moving. Maybe they haven't spotted us."
  1079. "It never rains when it can monsoon," the Admiral declared.
  1080. "They can't help but see us, Cortana, with all the radio chatter,
  1081. ships, and leaking radiation. I bet they're just figuring out how
  1082. best to kill us."
  1083. Governor Jiles turned to someone off screen, and then said,
  1084. "Admiral Whitcomb, given this new development I would like to
  1085. evacuate my people off the Gettysburg and out of harm's way."
  1086. "Of course, Governor. Do what you have to."
  1087. The number three screen snapped off, and the stars reappeared.
  1088. "And I'll do what I have to, too," Admiral Whitcomb said.
  1089. "Cortana, halt the reactor and engine shakedown."
  1090. "Sir? There are risks—"
  1091. "I want them online now. Don't tell me what the risks are. Just
  1092. doit."
  1093. "Yes, sir," she said.
  1094. "Master Chief, get this crate ready to move and stay on your
  1095. toes. We'll need every trick in the book to outmaneuver two
  1096. cruisers."
  1097. "Affirmative, Admiral." The Chief observed the shakedown
  1098. cycle halt and Ascendant Justice's reactors restart. Radiation in-
  1099. dicators redlined, and then dropped to a hairbreadth ... which
  1100. was technically considered safe. The Gettysburg's engines shud-
  1101. dered to life. The Chief felt the vibration though the deck half a
  1102. kilometer away. "Reactors are hot, sir," he reported.
  1103. 280
  1104. The Admiral watched as Jiles's fleet of single ships and tech-
  1105. nicians in jet packs abandoned the Gettysburg, swarming across
  1106. the dark of space back to the safety of their asteroid. "Rats leaving
  1107. a sinking ship?" he wondered aloud.
  1108. The Master Chief wasn't sure if that was a question directed at
  1109. him, but he decided to reply anyway. "They're just men who
  1110. want to live, sir."
  1111. The Admiral nodded.
  1112. "Covenant cruiser accelerating," Cortana announced. "Bear-
  1113. ing on a vector otrtsystem. It's transitioning to Slipspace."
  1114. "Master Chief, get this tub moving. Now! Bring us up to half
  1115. maximum speed."
  1116. "Aye, sir." He tapped in commands. "Answering one half for-
  1117. ward." The radiation warning on Ascendant Justice's reactor
  1118. flickered, but stabilized and subsided.
  1119. The combined mass of the two attached ships groaned as their
  1120. recently repaired superstructures overcame their inertia.
  1121. "Heat up our plasma turrets, Cortana."
  1122. "Aye s—" Her translucent lavender hologram faded to ice blue.
  1123. "Sir, additional contacts at system's edge. Three. No—additional
  1124. transitions from Slipspace; counting eighteen—now thirty Cove-
  1125. nant ships of various classes. Positions zero-three-zero.
  1126. Zero-nine-one, one-eight-zero... Sir, they have us enveloped."
  1127. The star chart vanished in a wink, and a map of the Eridanus
  1128. system appeared with tiny triangles representing Covenant ships
  1129. now encircling the perimeter. The map turned to a side profile
  1130. and revealed half a dozen additional ships scattered along the
  1131. nadir and zenith of the system.
  1132. Admiral Whitcomb stared at the map and shook his head.
  1133. "You know the story of the Alamo, Chief?"
  1134. "Yes, sir. A famous siege with a handful of defenders holding
  1135. off overwhelming forces."
  1136. The Admiral smiled. "Texan defenders, Chief—there's a big
  1137. difference. Colonel William Barrett Travis with one hundred
  1138. fifty-five men held off more than two thousand Mexican invaders.
  1139. They hunkered down inside a tiny fort and fought like wildcats.
  1140. Travis got a handful of reinforcements later—thirty-two men."
  1141. The Admiral's smile faded. "You know there were fifteen
  1142. civilians inside that fort, too?" He looked at the map again. "Well,
  1143. when the 281
  1144. fighting was over, Travis and his men were dead, but it cost the
  1145. enemy six hundred lives."
  1146. "Like the Battle of Thermopylae," the Chief remarked.
  1147. "But there were survivors at the Alamo; they let the civilians
  1148. live." He turned to the Chief. "You think anyone's going to sur-
  1149. vive this fight? You think there's any way to win?"
  1150. The Master Chief tried to think of a way to fight and to win.
  1151. Thirty Covenant ships against their damaged hybrid vessel. Add
  1152. to that the need to defend Governor Jiles's crew. Could he board
  1153. one of the Covenant craft? Get Cortana to infiltrate their systems
  1154. and broadcast falsified orders? They would see him approaching.
  1155. Or was there a blind spot he could approach from? How could
  1156. he hide from the rest of the ships in their fleet, though? And by
  1157. the time he could implement such a plan, the Gettysburg would be
  1158. molten slag.
  1159. "It was a rhetorical question, Chief," the Admiral said.
  1160. "Yes, sir," the Chief replied. "Given our situation, resources,
  1161. and our enemy's determination, then, no, I see no way to win...
  1162. or survive."
  1163. "Neither do I." Admiral Whitcomb stood straight. "Cortana,
  1164. get ready to jump. Chief, accelerate to flank speed course
  1165. zero-five-five by two-nine-zero. Prepare to transition out of
  1166. normal space on my mark."
  1167. "Aye, sir," the Chief and Cortana answered in unison.
  1168. "We're leaving Governor Jiles and his people?" Cortana
  1169. asked.
  1170. Admiral Whitcomb was silent a long moment, and then he
  1171. replied, "We are. This isn't the Alamo and I'm not Colonel Wil-
  1172. liam Barrett Travis, although I dearly wish I were. No, we're run-
  1173. ning. We're trading hundreds of lives for billions."
  1174. The Master Chief absentmindedly reached for his belt pouch,
  1175. and Dr. Halsey's data crystals clinked. "Is this the right thing to
  1176. do, sir?"
  1177. "The right thing?" Admiral Whitcomb sighed. "Hell, son, it
  1178. probably isn't. Personally, I'd prefer to fight, and die fighting,
  1179. and take every one of those Covenant bastards with me. But I do
  1180. not have the liberty to make that choice. My duty is clear: to pro-
  1181. tect the men and women of Earth—not a pack of privateers and
  1182. outlaws." He closed his eyes and said, "The logic of the situation r
  1183. 282
  1184. is also too damned clear. Even if we stay and fight... they'll all
  1185. bejustasdead."
  1186. "Capacitors at foil charge," Cortana announced. "Preparing
  1187. to enter Slipspace. Waiting for your order, sir."
  1188. The Master Chief saw the energy from Ascendant Justice's re-
  1189. actor drain to 5 percent. Motes of blue-green light appeared
  1190. on the forward screen, and the stars stretched and smeared like
  1191. watercolors.
  1192. But something was wrong: The shields of the Chief's
  1193. MJOLNIR armor rippled. The radiation monitors spiked. Where
  1194. was it coming from?
  1195. "Hundreds for billions," the Admiral whispered. "Duty be
  1196. damned ... I'm still going to burn in hell for this." Admiral
  1197. Whitcomb inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.
  1198. "Go, Cortana. Get us out of here. And God forgive me."
  1199. Corporal Locklear whistled, and the robotic dolly obediently
  1200. followed him. The rolling robot was stacked with rifles, pistols,
  1201. ammunition crates, and enough C-7 foaming explosive to blow a
  1202. half-kilometer crater in the side of the Gettysburg.
  1203. He made his way to the cargo elevator and then down to
  1204. B-Deck. He had seen on the Gettysburg's inventory that that was
  1205. where they stored medical supplies... and he wanted a few cans
  1206. of biofoam handy for the Master Chief's extremely well-planned
  1207. suicide mission.
  1208. Not that Locklear had anything against a good suicide mis-
  1209. sion. He'd been on plenty before, and they seemed to give him
  1210. the most bang for his buck. Only now, after so much fighting, he
  1211. just wanted a break: twenty-four hours of sleep, and some R&R.
  1212. He idly tugged at the bandanna tied to his biceps.
  1213. "Damn girl," he whispered. "Why'd you have to die? I had
  1214. plans for you and me."
  1215. What was he doing mooning over a woman? And a Navy flier
  1216. to boot? His squad would have laughed themselves wet if they
  1217. knew... only they were all dead, too.
  1218. "Screw this," Locklear said. "I'm still alive. I'm not going to
  1219. die. And I'm not going to feel guilty for any of this."
  1220. He laughed and told himself, "It's not like the entire universe 283
  1221. hasn't been trying to kill me off, though." Locklear turned to the
  1222. robotic dolly. "Right, amigo?"
  1223. Its treads spun, and the flatbed dolly turned to the right.
  1224. "No, no, stop." He sighed. "Man, I gotta buy myself a ticket
  1225. out of this outfit. Next thing, I'll be asking one of the Spartans
  1226. out on a date... if I could even tell the boys from the girls in that
  1227. squad." He shuddered.
  1228. The doors of the large cargo elevator squeaked open; Lock-
  1229. lear stepped off, and whistled for the dolly to follow.
  1230. Storage Bay Two had racks and shelves that rose from the
  1231. deck five meters to the ceiling. He played his flashlight over the
  1232. uneven surfaces. He spied a desk and terminal in the corner.
  1233. "Hello, inventory control," he said. "The place to go for good-
  1234. ies in any Navy outfit." He strode to the desk, sat down, and
  1235. tapped in a search for medicinal-grade ethyl alcohol.
  1236. A tone chimed in his earpiece, and Cortana's voice said, "Cor-
  1237. poral Locklear, I have an urgent request from Admiral—"
  1238. Locklear squelched his COM. "Enough chatter, lady," he
  1239. murmured. "The bar just opened."
  1240. The location for MED34-CH3CH2OH popped on screen.
  1241. "B-I-N-G-O,"hesang.
  1242. Locklear jumped up. "Come on, amigo. You and me are going
  1243. to throw a party."
  1244. The deck lurched under Locklear's feet. "What the?... We're
  1245. moving?" He turned the inventory display to face him and
  1246. tapped in a command to switch to external camera mode.
  1247. Craggy asteroids moved past them—no, it was the Gettysburg
  1248. that was moving. Locklear squinted and saw a flash of blue. He
  1249. magnified that part of the screen and found a dozen blurry blue
  1250. flares from engine cones and the pulsing lateral lines filled with
  1251. plasma. Covenant ships.
  1252. "Ah hell," he said and backed away from the desk. "So much
  1253. for happy hour."
  1254. Something moved in his vest. Locklear reached in his pocket
  1255. and pulled out the crystal Dr. Halsey entrusted to his care. The
  1256. elongated stone rippled, facets moved and rearranged like the
  1257. pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
  1258. He spied the same blue color on the inventory monitor— 284
  1259. pinpricks of stretched space, the first indication of a
  1260. Slip-space jump.
  1261. "I'm not going through another Slipspace fight," Locklear
  1262. said through gritted teeth. "I'm not going to let them follow us.
  1263. Or let this thing shoot off a signal flare to every Covenant ship in
  1264. the galaxy."
  1265. He grabbed a can of C-7 off the dolly and dropped Dr. Halsey's
  1266. crystal on the deck. He quickly covered the thing with the foam-
  1267. ing explosive. It hardened to a stiff resin in a matter of seconds.
  1268. Locklear grabbed a detonator, inserted it into the foam, and con-
  1269. nected it to a timer.
  1270. Why had the doc given him this to guard? She said because
  1271. the ONI spooks wouldn't have the guts to get rid of it if they had
  1272. to ... would maybe even let it fall into Covenant hands. That
  1273. made sense, but, at the same time, there was something not quite
  1274. right with that explanation.
  1275. Locklear looked at the monitor and the pinpoints of light that
  1276. now almost blotted out the stars.
  1277. Screw it.
  1278. He had his own reasons to blow this thing up—like not want-
  1279. ing to die in another space battle. Like maybe getting some pay-
  1280. back for Polaski's death. The Covenant rat-bastards wanted it so
  1281. bad? Well, screw them, too.
  1282. "This one's for you, Polaski," he whispered.
  1283. Locklear set the timer for three seconds, and punched the
  1284. countdown. He dived for cover behind the robotic dolly and cov-
  1285. ered his head.
  1286. The brilliant flash of sapphire light was the last thing he ever saw.
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