Halo_ The Fall of Reach - Eric Nylund [103]
He chinned the control. Nothing happened.
“Wait a moment, please, sir. We have to give the suit an activation charge. After that, it can accept regenerative power from the fusion pack. Stand on the platform and be absolutely still.”
He stepped onto the platform that had held the MJOLNIR armor. The pillars flickered on and glowed a brilliant yellow. The pillars started to spin slowly around the base of the platform.
The Master Chief felt a static charge tingling in his extremities. The glow intensified and his helmet’s blast shield automatically dimmed. The charge in the air intensified; his skin crawled with ionization. He smelled ozone.
Then the spinning slowed and the light dimmed.
“Reset the activation button now, Master Chief.”
The air around the Master Chief popped—as if it jumped away from the MJOLNIR armor. There was none of the shimmer that normal Covenant shields had. Was it working?
He ran his hand over his arm and encountered resistance a centimeter from the surface of the armor. It was working.
How many times had he and his teammates had to find ways to slip past a Jackal’s shield? He’d have to rethink his tactics. Rethink everything.
“It provides full coverage—”Dr. Halsey’s voice piped through the speakers.“—and dissipates energy far more efficiently than the Covenant shields the Spartans have recovered, though the shield is concentrated on your arms, head, legs, chest, and back. The energy field tapers down to a hair under a millimeter so you don’t lose the ability to hold or manipulate items with your hands.”
The lead technician activated another control, and new data scrawled across John’s display.“There’s a segmented bar in the upper corner of your HUD,”the technician said,“right next to your biomonitor and ammunition indicators. It indicates the charge level of your shield. Don’t let it completely dissipate; when it’s gone, the armor starts taking the hits.”
The Master Chief slipped off the platform. He skidded—then came to a halt. His movements felt oiled. His contact with the floor felt tentative.
“You can adjust the bottom of your boot emitters as well as the emitters inside your gloves to increase traction. In normal use, you will want to set these to the minimal level—just be aware your defenses will be diminished in those locations.”
“Understood.” He adjusted the field strengths. “In zero-gee environment I should increase those sections to full strength, correct?”
“That is correct,”Dr. Halsey said.
“How much damage can they take before the system is breached?”
“That is what you will learn here today, Master Chief. I think you’ll find that we have several challenges in store for you to see how much punishment the suit can take.”
He nodded. He was ready for the challenge. After weeks spent traveling in Slipspace, he was long overdue for a workout.
John slid back his helmet visor and turned to face Dr. Halsey. “You said there weretwo major system improvements, Doctor?”
She nodded and smiled. “Yes, of course. ” She reached into her lab coat and withdrew a clear cube. “I doubt you’ve ever seen one of these before. It is the memory-processor core of an AI.”
“Like Déjà?”
“Yes, like your former teacher. But this AI is slightly different. I’d like to introduce you to Cortana.”
The Master Chief looked around the tent. He saw no computer interface or holographic projectors. He
cocked an eyebrow at Dr. Halsey.
“There is a new layer sandwiched between the reactive circuits and the inner biolayers of your armor,” Dr. Halsey explained. “It is a weave of additional memory-processor super-conductor.” “The same material as an AI’s core.” “Yes,” Dr. Halsey replied. “An accurate analysis. Your armor will carry Cortana. The MJOLNIR system
has the nearly the same capacity as a ship-borne AI system. Cortana will interface between you and the suit and provide tactical and strategic information for you in the field.”
“I’m not sure I understand.