Part 28 (1/2)

Linda's medical data winked on a display along with the entire Spartan roster: a long list of every Spartan's current operational status. Only a handful was left, almost every one of them listed as WOUNDED IN ACTION or MISSING IN ACTION.

”No KIAs?” Dr. Halsey murmured. She touched SPARTAN034's entry. ”Sam is listed as missing in action. Why would that be? He died in 2525.”

”ONI Section Two Directive Nine-Three-Zero,” Cortana replied. ”When ONI went public with the SPARTAN-II program, it was decided that the reports of Spartan losses could cause a crippling loss of morale. Consequently, any Spartan casualties are listed as MIA or WIA, in order to maintain the illusion that Spartans do not die.”

”Spartans never die?” she whispered. Dr. Halsey swiveled out of the contoured chair and pushed the monitors out of her way with a sudden violence. ”If only that were true.”

There was so much to do and so little time left for her, the Spartans, and the human race. She could do something, though. She'd save them one person at a time, starting with Linda, then Kelly, and then a handful of very important others.

Of course, it meant betraying everyone who trusted her-but if that was the only way Dr. Halsey could save herself, and her soul, then she'd do it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT.

1930 hours, September 12,2552 (revised date, MilitaryCalendar)Captured Covenant flags.h.i.+p Ascendant Justice, Ascendant Justice, in Slips.p.a.ce en route to Erida.n.u.s system. in Slips.p.a.ce en route to Erida.n.u.s system.

Black s.p.a.ce churned with pinp.r.i.c.ks of light; it split, and the Gettysburg-Ascendant Justice Gettysburg-Ascendant Justice appeared in the Erida.n.u.s system. appeared in the Erida.n.u.s system.

The Master Chief stood on the Gettysburg's Gettysburg's bridge. He'd wanted to be on the medical deck when Dr. Halsey had finished with Linda, be there when she woke up . . . or be there in case she never woke up. But he had to be here; this was his idea, and he was the closest thing they had to an expert on this place. bridge. He'd wanted to be on the medical deck when Dr. Halsey had finished with Linda, be there when she woke up . . . or be there in case she never woke up. But he had to be here; this was his idea, and he was the closest thing they had to an expert on this place.

”Systems check,” Admiral Whitcomb ordered.

Lieutenant Haverson leaned over the ops console and flicked through several screens. ”Residual radiation fading,” he said. ”Navigation systems and scanners coming back online.”

Fred stood at the Engineering station and reported, ”Reactors at sixty percent. Slight hysteresis leak in coil ten. Compensating.” ”Plasma?” the Admiral asked as he settled into the Captain's chair. Cortana's ghostly image flickered onto the holographic pad next to the star chart.

”We can fire only one turret,” she replied, and a wash of red flashed across her image then cooled to its normal deep blue. ”The other two functional turrets are offline; their magnetic coils refuse to align. It might be a side effect of the artifact's radiation.”

”One shot. . . ” the Admiral muttered. He tugged on the end of his mustache and sighed. ”Then we'll just have to make it count.” He turned to the Master Chief. ”Lead the way, son.”

The Master Chief stared at the three large monitors that had replaced the bridge's observation windows. Erida.n.u.s blazed in the center of one display; stars shone with a steady brilliance. ”Move us one-point-five astronomical units relative to the sun,” he said. ”Heading zero-nine-zero by zero-four-five.”

”Destination one-point-five AU,” Haverson said. ”Heading confirmed. Coming about.”

”Plot an elliptical course parallel to the plane of the asteroid belt,” the Master Chief added. ”Cortana, scan for asteroids approximately two kilometers in diameter.”

”Scanning,” she said. ”This might take some time. There are more than a billion moving objects, some of them in deep shadow.”

”Tell me again about your old mission,” Admiral Whitcomb said. ”You and the other Spartans were here before?”

”Yes, sir,” the Chief replied. ”Myself, Fred, Linda, Kelly, and Sam. It was the Spartans' first real mission: an infiltration into a rebel base. We captured their leader and got him to ONI for debriefing.”

”I didn't even know the Spartans were around in 2525,” Lieutenant Haverson said.

”Yes, sir,” Fred answered. ”We just didn't have MJOLNIR armor or the advanced weaponry we have today. We looked like any other NavSpecWar team.”

”I very much doubt that,” Haverson said under his breath.

The Admiral raised one bushy eyebrow. ”You mean five people made a zero-gee vacuum infiltration onto this s.p.a.ce station? And then exfiltrated with a prisoner who happened to be the guy in charge of the place?”

”Yes, sir. That was the basic plan.”

”I suppose it went off without a hitch?”

The Master Chief was silent for a moment as he remembered the dozens of dead people they had left behind on that base ... and he felt a pang of regret. At the time he hadn't thought twice about removing any any obstacle that would have compromised his mission, human or otherwise. Now, after fighting for humanity for two decades, he wondered if he could shoot another human without a good reason. obstacle that would have compromised his mission, human or otherwise. Now, after fighting for humanity for two decades, he wondered if he could shoot another human without a good reason.

”No, sir,” the Master Chief finally replied. ”There were enemy casualties. And we had to blow their cargo bay to escape.”

”So,” the Admiral said, tapping his fingers on the arm of the Captain's chair, ”they're not going to be happy to see a UNSC s.h.i.+p knocking on their front door?”

”I wouldn't expect so, sir.”

”Faint emissions on the D-band detected,” Cortana said. ”Come about to new heading three-three-zero.” ”Aye,” Haverson said. ”Three-three-zero.” ”It's gone, now,” she said, ”but I definitely heard something” something” ”Keep on this course,” Admiral Whitcomb ordered. ”We'll ”Keep on this course,” Admiral Whitcomb ordered. ”We'll run it down.”

”There's one thing I don't understand,” Haverson said as he squinted at the forward displays. ”Why are these people even here?”

”Pirates and insurgents,” the Admiral answered. ”They hijack UNSC s.h.i.+ps, sell arms, and trade black market commodities. You're probably too young to remember, Lieutenant, but before the Covenant War not everyone wanted to be part of an Earth-ruled government.”

”Rebels?” Haverson said. ”I've read about them. But why continue to stay separated from UNSC forces when the Covenant War started? Surely their chances of survival would be better with us?”

The Admiral snorted a derisive laugh. ”Some people didn't want to fight, son. Some just wanted to hide... in this case, literally under a rock. Maybe they think the Covenant won't bother with 'em.” A smile flickered across his face. ”Well, we're about to change all that for them.”

The elevator doors parted, and Dr. Halsey stepped onto the bridge. She removed her gla.s.ses and rubbed her eyes. She looked to the Master Chief as if she had just retimed from an intense fight-fatigued and shocked. He noticed a single drop of blood on the lapel of her wrinkled white lab coat.

”She's fine,” Dr. Halsey whispered. ”Linda will make it. The flash-cloned organs took.”

The Master Chief exhaled the breath he had been unconsciously holding. He glanced over to Fred, who nodded to him. John nodded back. There were no words to express how he felt.

One of his closest teammates, his friend, someone he had thought dead... was alive again.

”Thank you, Doctor Halsey,” he said.

She waved her hand dismissively, and there was a strange look in her eyes-almost as if she had regretted the success of her operation. ”d.a.m.n good news,” Admiral Whitcomb said. ”We could use another hand on deck.”

”Hardly,” Dr. Halsey replied, suddenly looking much more alert. ”She'll need at least a week to recover-even with the biofoam and steroid accelerants I have her on. Then she'll barely be able to get on her feet. She won't be combat-ready.”

Gettysburg-Ascendant Justice moved into the plane of the asteroid belt, and three rocks appeared on the screens. moved into the plane of the asteroid belt, and three rocks appeared on the screens.

”This region is the source of the D-band signal,” Cortana told them. ”There are three possible candidates based on the size parameters you gave me, Chief.”

”Which one is it?” the Admiral asked. ”Only one is rotating fast enough to generate a three-quartergravity internal environment,” Cortana replied.

”That's it,” the Master Chief replied and nodded toward the central display. The rock hadn't changed much in the last twenty years. Was it possible the place had been abandoned? The D-band transmission that Cortana detected could have been an automated signal, weak from years of drain on a single battery . . . or the lure for a trap.

”Admiral?”

”I know, Chief,” he said. ”They've baited the hook and we're taking it... at least that's what it's supposed to look like.” He chuckled. ”Cortana, power up every turret on our Covenant flags.h.i.+p.”