He had to at leastappear in control for his crew. He was asking a lot from them . . . probablyeverything ,in fact.
His junior officers watched their status monitors; they occasionally glanced nervously2 at him, but theirgazes always drifted back to the center view screen.
The Covenant ships looked like toys in the distance. It was dangerous to think of them as harmless,however. One slip, one underestimation of their tremendous firepower, and theIroquois would bedestroyed.
The alien carrier had three bulbous sections; its swollen3 center had thirteen launch bays. CommanderKeyes had seen hundreds of fighters stream out of them before—fast, accurate, and deadly craft.
Normally his ship’s AI would handle point defense4 . . . only this time, there was no AI installed ontheIroquois .
The alien destroyer was a third again as massive as theIroquois . She bristled5 with pulse laser turrets6,insectlike antennae7, and chitinous pods. The carrier and destroyer moved together . . . but nottowardIroquois . They slowly drifted in-system toward Sigma Octanus IV.
Were they going to ignore him? Glass the planet without even bothering to swat him out of the way first?
The Covenant frigates9, however, lagged behind. They turned in unison10 and their sides faced theIroquois—preparing for a broadside. Motes11 of red light appeared and swarmed12 toward the frigate8’s lateral13 lines,building into a solid stripe of hellish illumination.
“Detecting high levels of beta particle radiation,” Lieutenant14 Dominique said. “They’re getting ready tofire their plasma15 weapons, Commander.”
“Course correction, sir?” Lieutenant Jaggers asked. His fingers tapped in a new heading bound outsystem.
“Stay on course.” It took all Commander Keyes’ concentration to say that matter-of-factly.
Lieutenant Jaggers turned and started to speak—but Commander Keyes didn’t have time to address hisconcerns.
“Lieutenant Hikowa,” Commander Keyes said. “Arm a Shiva missile. Remove all nuclear launch safetylocks.”
“Shiva armed. Aye, Commander.” Lieutenant Hikowa’s face was a mask of grim determination.
“Set the fuse on radio transmission code sequence detonation16 only. Disable proximity17 fuse. Stand by fora launch pilot program.”
“Sir?” Lieutenant Hikowa looked confused by his order, but then said, “Sir! Yes, sir. Making it happen.”
The alien frigates in the center of the view screen no longer looked remotely like toys to CommanderKeyes. They looked real and larger every second. The red glow along their sides had become solidbands . . . almost too bright to look directly at.
Commander Keyes picked up his data pad and quickly tapped in calculations: velocity18, mass, andheading. He wished they had an AI online to double-check his figures. This amounted to no more thanan educated guess. How long would it take theIroquois to orbit Sigma Octanus IV? He got a number andcut it by 60 percent, knowing they’d either pick up speed . . . or be dead by the time it mattered.
“Lieutenant Hikowa, set the Shiva’s course for mark one eight zero. Full burn for twelve seconds.”
“Aye, sir,” she said, tapped in the parameters19, and locked them into the system. “Missile ready, sir.”
“Sir!” Lieutenant Jaggers swiveled around and stood. His lips were drawn20 into a tight thin line. “Thatcourse fires the missile directlyaway from our enemies.”
“I am aware of that, Lieutenant Jaggers. Sit down and await further orders.”
Lieutenant Jaggers sat. He rubbed his temple with a trembling hand. His other hand balled into a fist.
Commander Keyes linked to the NAV system and set a countdown timer on his data pad. Twenty-nineseconds. “On my mark, Lieutenant Hikowa, launch that nuke . . . and not a moment before.”
“Aye, sir.” Her slender hand hovered21 over the control panel. “MAC guns are still hot, Commander,” shereminded him.
“Divert the energy keeping the capacitors at full charge and route them to the engines,” CommanderKeyes ordered.
Lieutenant Hall said, “Diverting now, sir.” She exchanged a glance with Lieutenant Hikowa. “Enginesnow operating at one hundred fifty percent of rated output. Red line in two minutes.”
“Contact! Contact!” Lieutenant Dominique shouted. “Enemy plasma torpedoes22 away, sir!”
Scarlet23 lightning erupted from the alien frigates—twin bolts of fire streaked24 through the darkness. Theylooked as if they could burn space itself. The torpedoes were on a direct course for theIroquois .
“Course correction, sir?” Lieutenant Jaggers’ voice broke with strain. His uniform was soaked withperspiration.
“Negative,” Commander Keyes replied. “Continue on this heading. Arm all aft Archer25 missile pods.
Rotate launch arcs one eight zero degrees.”
“Aye, sir.” Lieutenant Hikowa wrinkled her brow, and then she slowly nodded and silently mouthed,“ . . . yes.”
Boiling red plasma filled half the forward view screen. It was beautiful to watch in an odd way—like afront-row seat at a forest fire.
Keyes found himself strangely calm. This would either work or it would not. The odds26 were long, but hewas confident that his actions were the only option to survive this encounter.
Lieutenant Dominique turned. “Collision with plasma in nineteen seconds, sir.”
Jaggers turned from his station. “Sir! This is suicide! Our armor can’t withstand—”
Keyes cut him off. “Mister, man your station or I will have you removed from the bridge.”
Jaggers looked pleadingly at Hikowa. “We’re going todie , Aki—”
She refused to meet his gaze and turned back to her controls. “You heard the Commander,” she saidquietly. “Man your post.”
Jaggers sank into his seat.
“Collision with plasma in seven seconds,” Lieutenant Hall said. She bit her lower lip.
“Lieutenant Jaggers, transfer emergency thruster controls to my station.”
“Yes . . . yes, sir.”
The emergency thrusters were tanks of trihydride tetrazine and hydrogen peroxide. When they mixed,they did so with explosive force—literally blasting theIroquois onto a new course. The ship had six suchtanks strategically placed on hardened points on the hull27.
Commander Keyes consulted the countdown timer on his data pad. “Lieutenant Hikowa: fire the nuke.”
“Shiva away, sir! On course—one eight zero, maximum burn.”
Plasma filled the forescreen; the center of the red mass turned blue. Greens and yellows radiatedoutward, the light frequencies blue-shifting in spectra28.
“Distance three hundred thousand kilometers,” Lieutenant Dominique said. “Collision in two seconds.”
Commander Keyes waited a heartbeat then hit the emergency thrusters to port. A bang resonatedthrough the ship’s hull—Commander Keyes flew sideways and impacted with the bulkhead.
The view screen was full of fire and the bridge was suddenly hot.
Commander Keyes stood. He counted the beats of his pounding heart. One, two, three—If they had been hit by the plasma, there wouldn’t be anything to count. They would be dead already.
Only one view screen was working now, however. “Aft camera,” he said.
The twin blots29 of fire streaked along their trajectories30 for a moment, then lazily arced, continuing theirpursuit of theIroquois . One pulled slightly ahead of its counterpart, so they appeared now like twoblazing eyes.
Commander Keyes marveled at the aliens’ ability to direct that plasma from such a great distance.
“Good,” he murmured to himself. “Chase us all the way to hell, you bastards31.
“Track them,” he ordered Lieutenant Hall.
“Aye, sir,” she said. Her perfectly32 groomed33 hair was tousled. “Plasma increasing velocity. Matching ourspeed . . . overtaking our velocity now. They will intercept34 in forty-three seconds.”
“Forward camera,” Commander Keyes ordered.
The view screen flashed: the image changed to show the two alien frigates turning to face theincomingIroquois head-on. Blue lights flickered35 along their hulls36—pulse lasers charging.
Commander Keyes pulled back the camera angle and saw the alien carrier and the destroyer were stillinbound toward Sigma Octanus IV. He read their position off his data pad and quickly performed thenecessary calculations.
“Course correction,” he told Lieutenant Jaggers. “Come about to heading zero zero four point two five.
Declination zero zero zero point one eight.”
“Aye, sir,” Jaggers said. “Zero zero four point two five. Declination zero zero zero point one eight.”
The view screen turned and centered on the enormous Covenant destroyer.
“Collision course!” Lieutenant Hall announced. “Impact with Covenant destroyer in eight seconds.”
“Stand by for new course correction: declination minus zero zero zero point one zero.”
“Aye, sir.” As Jaggers typed he wiped the sweat from his eyes and double-checked his numbers.
“Course online. Awaiting your order, sir.”
“Collision with Covenant destroyer in five seconds,” Hall said. She clutched the edge of her seat.
The destroyer grew in the view screen: laser turrets and launch bays, bulbous alien protrusions andflickering blue lights.
“Hold this course,” Commander Keyes said. “Sound collision alarm. Switch to undercarriage cameranow.”
Klaxons blared.
The view screen snapped off and on and showed black space—then a flash of the faint purple-blue hullof a Covenant ship.
TheIroquois screeched37 and shuddered38 as she grazed the prow39 of the Covenant destroyer. Silver shieldsflickered onscreen—then the screen filled with static.
“Course correction now!” Commander Keyes shouted.
“Aye, sir.”
There was a brief burn from the thrusters and theIroquois nudged down slightly.
“Hull breach40!” Lieutenant Hall said. “Sealing pressure doors.”
“Aft camera,” Commander Keyes said. “Guns: Fire aft Archer missile pods!”
“Missiles away,” Lieutenant Hikowa replied.
Keyes watched as the first of the plasma torpedoes that had been trailing theIroquois impacted on theprow of the alien destroyer. The ship’s shields flared41, flickered . . . and vanished. The second bolt hit amoment later. The hull of the alien ship blazed and then turned red-hot, melted, and boiled. Secondaryexplosions burst through the hull.
The Archer missiles streaked toward the wounded Covenant ship, tiny trails of exhaust stretching fromtheIroquois to the target. They slammed into the gaping42 wounds in the hull and detonated. Fire anddebris burst from the destroyer.
A smile spread across Keyes’ face as he watched the alien ship burn, list, and slowly plunge43 into SigmaOctanus IV’s gravity well. Without power, the Covenant vessel44 would burn up in the planet’satmosphere.
Commander Keyes flicked45 on the intercom. “Brace for emergency thruster maneuver46.”
He punched the thruster controls—explosive force detonated on the starboard side of the ship.
TheIroquois nosed toward Sigma Octanus IV.
“Course correction, Lieutenant Jaggers,” he said. “Bring us into a tight orbit.”
“Aye, sir.” He furiously tapped in commands, diverting engine output through attitude thrusters.
The hull of theIroquois glowed red as it entered the atmosphere. A cloud of yellow ionization built uparound the view screen.
Commander Keyes gripped the railing tighter.
The view screen cleared and he could see the stars. TheIroquois entered the dark side of the planet.
Commander Keyes slumped47 forward and started breathing again.
“Engine coolant failure, sir,” Lieutenant Hall said.
“Shut the engines down,” he ordered. “Emergency vent48.”
“Aye, sir. Venting49 fusion50 reactor51 plasma.”
TheIroquois was abruptly52 quiet. No rumble53 of her engines. And no one said anything until LieutenantHikowa stood and said, “Sir, that was the most brilliant maneuver I have ever seen.”
Commander Keyes gave a short laugh. “You think so, Lieutenant?”
If one of his students had proposed such a maneuver in his tactics class, he would have given them a C+.
He would have told them their maneuver was full of bravado54 and daring . . . but extremely risky55, placingthe crew in the ship in unnecessary danger.
“This isn’t over yet. Stay sharp,” he told them. “Lieutenant Hikowa what is the charge status of theMAC guns?”
“Capacitors at ninety-five percent, sir, and draining at a rate of three percent per minute.”
“Ready MAC guns, one heavy round apiece. Arm all forward Archer missile pods.”
“Aye, sir.”
TheIroquois broke free of the dark side of Sigma Octanus IV.
“Fire chemical thrusters to break orbit, Lieutenant Hall.”
“Firing, aye.”
There was a brief rumble. The screen centered on the backsides of the two Covenant frigates they hadpassed on the way in.
The alien ships started to come about; blue flashes flickered along their hulls as their laser turretscharged. Motes of red collected along their lateral lines. They were readying another salvo of plasmatorpedoes.
There was something there, however, that was too small to see on the view screen: the nuke. Keyes hadlaunched that missile in the opposite direction—but its reverse thrust had not completely overcome theirtremendous forward velocity.
As theIroquois had screamed over the prow of the destroyer, and as they orbited Sigma Octanus IV, thenuke had drifted closer to the frigates . . . who had fixed56 their attention solidly on theIroquois .
Commander Keyes tapped his data pad and sent the signal to detonate the bomb.
There was a flash of white, a crackle of lightning, and the alien ships vanished as a cloud of destructionenveloped them. Waves of the EMP interacted with the magnetic field of Sigma Octanus IV—rippledwith rainbow borealis. The cloud of vapor57 expanded and cooled, and faded to yellow, orange, red, thenblack dust that scattered58 into space.
Both Covenant frigates, however, were still intact. Their shields, however, flickered once . . . then wentdead.
“Get me firing solutions for the MAC guns, Lieutenant Hikowa. On the double.”
“Aye, sir. MAC gun capacitors at ninety-three percent. Firing solution online.”
“Fire, Lieutenant Hikowa.”
Two thumps59 resonated through the hull of theIroquois .
“Lock remaining Archer missile pods on targets and fire.”
“Missiles away, Commander.”
Twin thunderbolts and hundreds of missiles streaked toward the two helpless frigates.
The MAC rounds tore though them—one ship was holed from nose to tail; the other ship was hit on hermidline, right near the engines. Internal explosions chained up the length of the ship, bulging60 the secondship’s hull along her length.
Archer missiles impacted seconds later, exploding through chunks61 of hull and armor, tearing the alienships apart. The frigate that had taken the MAC round in her engines mushroomed, a fireworks bouquetof shrapnel and sparks. The other ship burned, her internal skeletal structure showing now; she turnedtoward theIroquois but didn’t fire a weapon . . . just drifted out of control. Dead in space.
“Position of the Covenant carrier, Lieutenant Hall?”
Lieutenant Hall paused, then reported, “In polar orbit around Sigma Octanus Four. But she’s moving offat considerable speed. Headed out-system, course zero four five.”
“Alert theAllegiance andGettysburg of her position.”
Commander Keyes sighed and slumped back into his chair. They had stopped the Covenant ships fromglassing the planet—saved millions of lives. They had done the impossible: taken on four Covenantships and won.
Commander Keyes paused in his self-congratulation. Something was wrong. He had never seen theCovenant run. In every battle he had seen or read about, they stayed to slaughter62 every last survivor63 . . .
or if they were defeated, they always fought to the last ship.
“Check the planet,” he told Lieutenant Hall. “Look for anything—dropped weapons, strangetransmissions. There’s got to be something there.”
“Aye, sir.”
Keyes prayed she wouldn’t find anything. At this point he was out of tricks. He couldn’t turntheIroquois around and return to Sigma Octanus IV even if he had wanted to. TheIroquois ’ engineswere down for a long time. They were speeding on an out-system vector at a considerable velocity. Andeven if they could stop—there was no way to recharge the MAC guns, and no remaining Archermissiles. They were practically dead in space.
He pulled out his pipe and steadied his shaking hand.
“Sir!” Lieutenant Hall cried. “Dropships, sir. The alien carrier deployed64 thirty—correction: thirty-four—dropships. I have silhouettes65 descending66 to the surface. They’re on course for C.te d’Azur. A majorpopulation center.”
“An invasion,” Commander Keyes said. “Get FLEETCOM ASAP. Time to send in the Marines.”
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1
covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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bristled
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| adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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turrets
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| （六角）转台( turret的名词复数 )； （战舰和坦克等上的）转动炮塔； （摄影机等上的）镜头转台； （旧时攻城用的）塔车 | |
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antennae
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| n.天线；触角 | |
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frigate
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| n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰 | |
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frigates
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| n.快速军舰( frigate的名词复数 ) | |
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unison
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| n.步调一致，行动一致 | |
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motes
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| n.尘埃( mote的名词复数 )；斑点 | |
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swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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lateral
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| adj.侧面的，旁边的 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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plasma
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| n.血浆，细胞质，乳清 | |
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detonation
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| n.爆炸；巨响 | |
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proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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velocity
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| n.速度，速率 | |
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parameters
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| 因素，特征； 界限； （限定性的）因素( parameter的名词复数 )； 参量； 参项； 决定因素 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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torpedoes
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| 鱼雷( torpedo的名词复数 )； 油井爆破筒； 刺客； 掼炮 | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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archer
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| n.射手，弓箭手 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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spectra
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| n.光谱 | |
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blots
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| 污渍( blot的名词复数 )； 墨水渍； 错事； 污点 | |
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trajectories
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| n.弹道( trajectory的名词复数 )；轨道；轨线；常角轨道 | |
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bastards
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| 私生子( bastard的名词复数 )； 坏蛋； 讨厌的事物； 麻烦事 （认为别人走运或不幸时说）家伙 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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groomed
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| v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗 | |
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intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hulls
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| 船体( hull的名词复数 )； 船身； 外壳； 豆荚 | |
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screeched
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的过去式和过去分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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42
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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43
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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46
maneuver
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| n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略 | |
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slumped
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| 大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下] | |
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48
vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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venting
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| 消除； 泄去； 排去； 通风 | |
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fusion
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| n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接 | |
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51
reactor
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| n.反应器；反应堆 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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53
rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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54
bravado
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| n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能 | |
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risky
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| adj.有风险的，冒险的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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thumps
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| n.猪肺病；砰的重击声( thump的名词复数 )v.重击， （指心脏）急速跳动( thump的第三人称单数 ) | |
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60
bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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61
chunks
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| 厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分 | |
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62
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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63
survivor
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| n.生存者，残存者，幸存者 | |
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64
deployed
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| （尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用 | |
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65
silhouettes
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| 轮廓( silhouette的名词复数 )； （人的）体形； （事物的）形状； 剪影 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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