Halo_ First Strike - Eric S. Nylund [114]
"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 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 ship 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" "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 ships, 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 glasses 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. "Damn 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.
"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 flagship."
Her holographic body flushed blue-green and she crossed her arms. "Let me