Halo_ The Fall of Reach - Eric Nylund [49]
to conserve power—and if we have to, we can use one of our own warheads to punch a small hole in the barrier.” He paused, then added, “There’s also a large hole in their hull. Their shield may not cover that space entirely.”
Dr. Halsey whispered, “It’s a tremendous risk.”
“With respect, ma’am, it’s a bigger risk to sit here and do nothing. After they finish with theCommonwealth . . . they’ll come for us and we’ll have to fight them anyway. Better to strike first.” She stared off into space, lost in thought.
Finally she sighed in resignation. “Very well. Go.” She transferred the pilot controls to her station. “And blow the hell out of them.”
John climbed into the aft compartment. His Spartans stood at attention. He felt a rush of pride; they were ready to follow him as he leaped literally into the jaws of death.
“I’ve got the warheads,” Sam said. It was hard to mistake Sam even with his reflective blast shield
covering his face. He was the largest Spartan—even more imposing encased in the armor. “Everyone’s got one.” Sam continued as he handed John a metal shell. “Timers and detonators are already rigged. Stuck on a patch of adhesive polymer; they’ll cling to your suit.”
“Spartans,” John said, “grab thruster packs and make ready to go EVA. Everyone else—” He motioned to the three technicians. “—get into the forward cabin. If we fail, they’ll be coming after the Pelican. Protect Dr. Halsey.”
He moved aft. Kelly handed him a thruster pack and he slipped it on.
“Covenant ship approaching,” Halsey called out. “I’m pumping out your atmosphere to avoid explosive decompression when I drop the back hatch.” “We’ll only get one shot at this,” John said to the other Spartans. “Plot an intercept trajectory and fire
your thrusters at max burn. If the target changes course, you’ll have to make a best guess correction on the fly. If you make it, we’ll regroup outside the hole in their hull. If you miss—we’ll pick you up after we’re done.”
He hesitated, then added, “And if we don’t succeed, then power down your systems and wait for UNSC reinforcements to retrieve you. Live to fight another day. Don’t waste your lives.” There was a moment of silence.
“If anyone has a better plan, speak up now.” Sam patted John on the back. “This is a great plan. It’ll be easier than Chief Mendez’s playground. A bunch of little kids could pull it off.”
“Sure,” John said. “Everyone ready?” “Sir,” they said. “We’re ready, sir!”
John flipped the safety off and then punched in the code to open the Pelican’s tail. The mechanism opened soundlessly in the vacuum. Outside was infinite blackness. He had a feeling of falling through space—but the vertigo quickly passed.
He positioned himself on the edge of the ramp, both hands gripping a safety handle overhead.
The Covenant ship was a tiny dot in the center of his helmet’s view screen. He plotted a course and fired the thruster pack on maximum burn. Acceleration slammed him into the thruster harness. He knew the others would launch right after him,
but he couldn’t turn to see them.
It occurred to him then that the Covenant ship might identify the Spartans as incoming missiles—and their point-defense lasers were too damn accurate. John clicked on the COM channel. “Doctor, we could use a few decoys if Captain Wallace can spare
them.” “Understood,”she said. The Covenant vessel grew rapidly in his display. A burst from its engines and it turned slightly. Traveling at one hundred million kilometers an hour, even a minor course correction meant that he could
miss by tens of thousands of kilometers. John carefully corrected his vector.
The pulse laser on the side of the Covenant ship glowed, built up energy, until they were dazzling neon blue, then discharged—but not at him. John saw explosions in his peripheral vision. TheCommonwealth