Halo_ Ghosts of Onyx - Eric S. Nylund [51]
To this, she factored in the horrific Forerunner weapon. Halo, which could annihilate all life throughout the galaxy.
And then there was the Flood, a nightmare parasite that may or may not have escaped the Halo construct, an organism that even the Forerunners had feared.
Her conclusion was irrefutable.
The UNSC, her Spartans, all the people she admired, would struggle against the inevitable. It was human instinct. But it was wrong. They could never win this war. They could only survive it. And then, only if they were very lucky.
So it was up to her to take the only logical action: run.
John and the other Spartans would never turn away from a fight, but she might be able to
convince these other Spartans, trick them if necessary, into surviving.
They were humanity's last chance to endure the coming darkness.
Dr. Halsey awoke with a start.
"Time, Jerrod. And lights, please."
The lights on the bridge warmed to half intensity.
"It is five hours fifty-seven minutes since we last spoke. Doctor. I was about to wake you.
We are close to our destination."
Dr. Halsey grabbed her medical bag and rummaged though its contents. She found a syringe of narcolytic metabolase, an enzyme that would consume all analgesic agents in Kelly's bloodstream. She removed the line from her MJOLNIR armor port and injected the
drug.
"Powering down Shaw-Fujikawa translight engines," Jerrod said. "Exit vector calculated."
Mathematics scrolled across the screens.
"Very good," Dr. Halsey said, scrutinizing his equations. "But the saddle point in the
imaginary plane should convolute here." She touched the screen. "That way we recapture the particle accelerator energy in the plasma coils."
"Yes, Doctor, but there is a risk involved with coil overload."
"Which is well within the operational limits of this craft," she countered. "Please alter the exit vector."
"Of course. Doctor." There was a touch of annoyance in Jer-rod's voice.
A slight nausea passed through Dr. Halsey as the Beatrice transitioned from Slipstream space into the normal universe.
Stars snapped on the displays, and a golden disk the size of an ancient penny shimmered center screen.
"We are approximately two hundred million kilometers from system center of the stellar coordinates provided," Jerrod reported.
"Look for planets in the habitable zone," she said.
"Doctor, we have a full system survey on file."
"Look," Dr. Halsey ordered.
"Yes, ma'am."
Kelly stirred, shook her head clear—then lightning fast she ripped through her restraints, hooked one foot around the chair base, and held up both hands, poised cobras, ready to fight.
"At ease, Spartan," Dr. Halsey said. "You're with me. Safe."
"I was drugged." Kelly looked around the bridge; her hands dropped a bit, but not completely.
"Correct. The last stage of dermacortic steroid treatment is overly stimulating. It would have been unpleasant for you." This was, of course, true, but it was nothing a Spartan
couldn't have handled.
"Where are we?"
"On Governor Jiles's ship. We have appropriated it for a new mission."
"John and Admiral Whitcomb?" Kelly dropped her hands.
"They know," Dr. Halsey said. Also technically not a lie. They undoubtedly did know that
Dr. Halsey had kidnapped one of their Spartans and stolen this ship.
Kelly cocked her head. "Doctor, this is highly irregular. There is a strict chain of command, protocols to—"
"Which were followed," Dr. Halsey assured her. "New developments occurred while you were unconscious."
It was impossible to read Kelly's expression behind the polarized faceplate of her
MJOLNIR armor. She looked, however, to Dr. Halsey, unconvinced.
"Anomalous planet found," Jerrod announced.
On-screen a world that looked like a sphere of turquoise appeared.
"Plot course and move toward it at one-half speed."
"Answering one-half full. Doctor."
"Ma'am," Kelly said and moved closer. "You will have to explain. I thought we were
bound for Earth to warn them about