Halo_ The Fall of Reach - Eric Nylund [112]
She continued, absorbing the data from the Master Chief’s files. She learned of the augmentations he and the other Spartans were made to endure; the brutal indoctrination and training they had received; and how he had been abducted at the age of six, and a flash clone used to replace him in an ONI black op.
All of it had been authorized by Dr. Halsey.
Cortana paused for a full three processor cycles churning this new data through her ethics subroutines . . . not comprehending. How could Dr. Halsey, who was so concerned for her Spartans, have done this to them?
Of course—because it was necessary. There was no other way to preserve the UNSC against rebellion and Covenant forces.
Was Dr. Halsey a monster? Or just doing what had to be done to protect humanity? Perhaps a little of both.
Cortana erased her stolen files. No matter. Whatever the Master Chief had been through in the past . . . it was done. He was in Cortana’s care now. She would do everything in her power—short of compromising their mission—to make sure nothing ever happened to him again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
0400 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) / UNSCPillar of Autumn , in orbit around Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military Complex
Captain Keyes tapped the thrusters of the shuttle podCoda . The tiny craft rolled and thePillar of Autumn came into view.
Normally, Captains did not ferry themselves around the space docks of Reach, but Keyes had insisted. All unauthorized personnel were restricted to a narrow flight path around thePillar of Autumn , and he wanted to take a careful look around the outside of this ship before he took command.
From this distance, thePillar of Autumn could have been mistaken for an elongated frigate. As the shuttle pod moved closer, however, details appeared that betrayed the ship’s age. ThePillar of Autumn ’s hull had several larger dents and scratches. Her engine baffles were blackened. The portside emergency thrusters were missing.
What had he gotten himself into by signing up for Dr. Halsey’s mission?
He moved within a hundred meters and circled to the starboard. The shuttle bay on this side was sealed off. Red-and-yellow hazard warnings had been painted on metal plates that had been hastily welded over her entrance.
He closed to ten meters and saw the plate was not a solid sheet of metal—he could see armored ports, heavily reinforced . . . almost solid titanium A. Honeycombed throughout this section were the round covers of Archer missile pods. Captain Keyes counted: thirty pods across, ten down. Each pod held dozens of missiles. ThePillar of Autumn had a secret arsenal to rival any real cruiser in the fleet.
Captain Keyes drifted toward the stern and noticed concealed and recessed 50mm autocannons for defense against single ships.
Underneath were bumps—part of the linear accelerator system for the ship’s lone MAC gun. It looked too small to be truly effective. But he would reserve judgment. Perhaps, like the rest of thePillar of Autumn , the weapon was more than it appeared to be.
He certainly hoped so.
Captain Keyes returned to the port side and drifted gently into the shuttle bay. He took note of three Longsword single ships and three Pelican dropships in the bay. One of the Pelicans had double the normal armor plating and what looked like grappling attachments. A serrated titanium ram decorated the dropship’s prow.
He touched down on an automated landing platform and locked the controls down. A moment later the shuttle descended belowdecks and was cycled through the airlock. Captain Keyes gathered his duffel bag and stepped onto the flight deck.
Lieutenant Hikowa was there to meet him. She saluted. “Welcome aboard, Captain Keyes.” He saluted. “What do you think of her, Lieutenant?” Lieutenant Hikowa’s dark eyes widened. “You’re not going to believe this ship, sir.” Her normally
serious face broke with a smile. “They’ve turned it into something . . . special.” “I saw what they did to my starboard shuttle bay,” Captain Keyes remarked sourly. “That’s just the start,”