Halo_ The Fall of Reach - Eric Nylund [65]
“I understand, sir,” Commander Keyes said. He knew morale had been sagging for years throughout the UNSC. No military, no matter how well trained, could stomach defeat after defeat without it affecting their determination in battles.
“How is it going planetside?”
“Right now don’t you worry about that.” Admiral Stanforth eased back in his chair, balancing on two legs. “General Kits has his troops down there. They’ve got the surrounding cities evacuated, and they’ll be assaulting Côte d’Azur within the hour. They’ll paste those aliens faster than you can spit. You just watch.”
“Of course, sir.” Commander Keyes looked away.
“You got something else to say, boy? Spit it out.”
“Well, sir . . . this isn’t the way the Covenant normally operates. Dropping an invasion force and leaving the system? They either slaughter everything or die trying. This is something altogether different.”
Admiral Stanforth waved a dismissive hand. “You leave trying to figure out what those aliens are thinking to the spooks in ONI, son. Just get theIroquois patched up and fit for duty again. And you let me know if you need anything.”
Stanforth knocked back the last of his whiskey and stood. “Got to marshal the fleet. Oh—” He paused. “One more thing.” He dug into his jacket pocket and retrieved a tiny cardboard box. He set it on the Commander’s desk. “Consider it official. The paperwork will catch up with us soon enough.”
Commander Keyes opened the box. Inside were a pair of brass collar insignia: four bars and a single star.
“Congratulations,Captain Keyes.” The Admiral snapped a quick salute, then held out his hand.
Keyes managed to grasp and shake the Admiral’s hand. The insignia was real. He was stunned. He couldn’t say anything.
“You’ve earned it.” The Admiral started to turn. “Give me a shout if you need anything.”
“Yes, sir.” Keyes stared at the brass star and stripes a moment longer then finally tore his gaze away. “Admiral . . . there is one thing. I need a replacement navigation officer.”
Admiral Stanforth’s relaxed posture stiffened. “I heard about that. Ugly business when a bridge officer loses their stomach. Well, you just say the candidate’s name and I’ll make sure you get him . . . as long as you’re not pulling him off my ship.” He smiled. “Keep up the good work, Captain.”
“Sir!” Captain Keyes saluted.
The Admiral stepped out and closed the door.
Keyes practically fell into his chair.
He had never dreamed they’d make him a Captain. He turned the brass insignia over in his palm and replayed his conversation with Admiral Stanforth in his mind. He had said, “Captain Keyes.” Yes. This was real.
The Admiral had also brushed aside his concerns about the Covenant too quickly. Something didn’t quite add up.
Keyes clicked on the intercom. “Lieutenant Dominique: track the Admiral’s shuttle when he leaves. Let me know which ship he’s on.”
“Sir? We had an Admiral aboard? I wasn’t informed.”
“No, Lieutenant, I suspect you weren’t. Just track the next outbound shuttle.”
“Aye, sir.”
Keyes looked back on his data pad and reread Ensign Lovell’s CSV. He couldn’t take back what had happened with Jaggers—there could be no second chance for him. But maybe he could somehow balance the books by giving Lovell another chance.
He filled out the necessary paperwork for the transfer request. The forms were long and unnecessarily complex. He transmitted the files to UNSC PERSCOM and sent a copy directly to Admiral Stanforth’s staff.
“Sir?” Lieutenant Dominique’s voice broke over the intercom. “That shuttle docked with theLeviathan .”
“Put it on-screen.”
The screen over his desk snapped on to camera five, the aft-starboard view. Among the dozens of ships in orbit around Sigma Octanus IV, he easily spotted theLeviathan . She was one of the twenty UNSC cruisers left in the fleet.
A cruiser was the most powerful warship ever built by human hands.