Halo_ The Fall of Reach - Eric Nylund [132]
“Fire, Lieutenant Hikowa. Send them back where they belong.” “Missiles away, sir. Waiting to coordinate MAC rounds.” Blue lightning washed out the view screen. Dull thumps sounded through thePillar of Autumn like a
string of firecrackers going off. The ship listed to port, and it started to roll. “We’re hit!” Lieutenant Hall said. “Decompression on Decks C, D, and E. Sections two through twenty-
seven. Venting atmosphere. Reactor’s damaged, sir.” She listened to her headset. “Can’t get a clear report of what’s going on belowdecks. We’re losing power.” “Seal those sections. Lieutenant Hikowa, do we have gun control?” “Affirmative.” “Then fire at will, Lieutenant.” ThePillar of Autumn shuddered as its MAC gun fired. Pings and groans diffused though her damaged
hull. A trio of white-hot projectiles appeared on the view screen, chasing the Archer missiles toward
their intended target. The first round struck the Covenant ship; its shields rippled. The second and third rounds struck, and more than five hundred missiles detonated along her length. Flame dotted the massive vessel, and her shields blazed solid silver. They faded and popped. A dozen missiles impacted her hull and exploded, scarring the bluish armor.
“Minimal damage to the target, sir,” Lieutenant Hall reported. “But we downed their shields,” Captain Keyes said. “We can hurt them. That’s all I needed to know. Lieutenant Hikowa, make ready to fire again. Identical targeting solution. Lieutenant Hall, launch our
remote-piloted Longsword interceptor and arm its Shiva nuclear warhead. Cortana, take control of the single ship.” Cortana tapped her foot. “Longsword away,” she said. “Where do you want me to park this thing?” “Intercept course for the Covenant ship,” he told her. “Sir,” Lieutenant Hikowa cried. “We have an insufficient charge rate to fire the MAC guns.” “Understood,” Captain Keyes said. “Divert all power from the engines to regenerate gun capacitors.”
“May I point out—” Cortana said and crossed her arms “—that if you power down the engines, we will be inside the blast radius of the Shiva warhead when it reaches the Covenant ship?”
“Noted,” Captain Keyes said. “Do it.”
“Capacitors at seventy-five percent,” Lieutenant Hikowa announced. “Eighty-five. Ninety-five. Full charge, sir. Ready to fire.”
“Fire at will,” Captain Keyes ordered.
“Missiles away—”
A javelin of blue-white energy from the Covenant ship slashed at thePillar of Autumn . The beam struck, and cut through the hull. ThePillar of Autumn slid into a flat spin as the explosive decompression knocked the ship off course. As theAutumn spun, the Covenant energy beam carved a spiral pattern in the hull, shredding armor and puncturing deep into the ship.
The ship lurched sickeningly as the beam played across the portside Archer pods; the missiles detonated in their tubes. Keyes was nearly thrown from the command chair as the deck bucked beneath him.
He tightened his safety straps and scowled at the tactical displays. “Damage report!” he yelled, his voice competing with the dozens of hazard alarms that blared through the bridge speakers.
Cortana brought up a holographic view of the ship and flagged damaged areas in pulsing red. “Port launch and storage bays have been breached—fires on all decks, all sections. Primary fusion chamber is breached.”
ThePillar of Autumn tumbled out of control.
“Cortana, get us straight and level. We have to fire our guns!”
“Yes, Captain.” Her body became a blur of mathematical symbols. “This is an extremely chaotic trajectory,” she said. “Atmosphere still venting. Hang on. There. Got it.”
ThePillar of Autumn righted herself. The Covenant ship centered on the main view screen. This close Captain Keyes saw how huge the ship was—three times the mass of a normal cruiser. There was a pod mounted on the top deck; it swiveled and tracked thePillar of Autumn , bringing the turret to bear. It