He watched the four dozen other UNSC ships orbit the planet: frigates1 and destroyers, two carriers, anda massive repair and refitting station—more vessels2 than Admiral Cole had at his disposal during hisfour-year-long campaign to save Harvest. Admiral Stanforth had pulled out all the stops.
Although Commander Keyes was grateful for the quick and overwhelming response, he wondered whythe Admiral had dedicated3 so many ships to the area. Sigma Octanus wasn’t strategically positioned. Ithad no special resources. True, the UNSC had standing4 orders to protect civilian5 lives, but the fleet wasspread dangerously thin. Commander Keyes knew there were more valuable systems that neededprotection.
He pushed these thoughts aside. He was sure Admiral Stanforth had his reasons. Meanwhile the repairand resupply of theIroquois was his top priority—he didn’t want to get caught half ready if the Covenantreturned.
Or rather,when they returned.
It was a curious thing: the aliens dropping their ground forces and then retreating. That was not theirusual mode of operation. Commander Keyes suspected this was just an opening move in a game hedidn’t yet understand.
A shadow crossed the fore7 camera of theIroquois as the repair stationCradle maneuvered8 closer.Cradlewas essentially9 a large square plate with engines. Large was an understatement; she was over a squarekilometer. Three destroyers could be eclipsed by her shadow. The station running at full steam couldrefit six destroyers, three from her lower surface and three on her upper surface, within a matter of hours.
Scaffolds deployed10 from her surfaces to facilitate repairs. Resupply tubes, hoses, and cargo11 trams fedinto theIroquois . It would take the full attention ofCradle thirty hours to repair theIroquois , however.
The aliens had not landed a single serious shot. Nonetheless, theIroquois had almost been destroyedduring the execution of what some in the fleet were already calling the “Keyes Loop.”
Commander Keyes glanced at his data pad and the extensive list of repairs. Fifteen percent of theelectronic systems had to be replaced—burned out from the EMP when the Shiva missile detonated.
TheIroquois ’ engines required a full overhaul12. Both coolant systems had valves that had been fusedfrom the tremendous heat. Five of the superconducting magnets had to be replaced as well.
But most troublesome was the damage to the underside of theIroquois . When they had told CommanderKeyes what had happened, he went outside in a Longsword interceptor to personally inspect what he haddone to his ship.
The underside of theIroquois had been scraped when they passed over the prow13 of the alien destroyer.
He knew there was some damage . . . but was not prepared for what he saw.
UNSC destroyers had nearly two meters of titaniumabattleplate on their surfaces. Commander Keyeshad abraded14 throughall of it. He had breached15 every bottom deck of theIroquois . The jagged serratededges of the plate curled away from the wound. Men in EVA thruster packs were busy cutting off thedamaged sections so new plates could be welded into place.
The underside was mirror smooth and perfectly16 flat. But Keyes knew that the appearance of benignflatness was deceptive17. Had the angle of theIroquois been tilted18 a single degree down, the force of thetwo ships impacting would have shorn his ship in half.
The red war stripes that had been painted on theIroquois ’ side looked like bloody19 slashes20. Thedockmaster had privately21 told Commander Keyes that his crew could buff the paint off—or even repaintthe war stripes, if he wanted.
Commander Keyes had politely refused the offer. He wanted them left exactly the way they were. Hewanted to be reminded that while everyone had admired what he had done—it had been an act ofdesperation, not heroism22.
He wanted to be reminded of how close a brush he had had with death.
Commander Keyes returned to theIroquois and marched directly to his quarters.
He sat at his antique oak desk and tapped the intercom. “Lieutenant23 Dominique, you have the bridge forthe next cycle. I am not to be disturbed.”
“Aye, Commander. Understood.”
Commander Keyes loosened his collar and unbuttoned his uniform. He retrieved24 the seventy-year-oldbottle of Scotch25 that his father had given him from the bottom drawer, and then poured four centimetersinto a plastic cup.
He had to attend to an even more unpleasant task: what to do about Lieutenant Jaggers.
Jaggers had exhibited borderline cowardice26, insubordination and come within a hairbreadth of attemptedmutiny during the engagement. Keyes could have had him court-martialed. Every reg in the booksscreamed at him to . . . but he didn’t have it in him to send the young man before a board of inquiry27. Hewould instead merely transfer the Lieutenant to a place where he would still do the UNSC some good—perhaps a distant outpost.
Was all the blame his? As Commander, it was his responsibility to maintain control, to prevent acrewman from even thinking that mutiny was a possibility.
He sighed. Maybe he should have told his crew what he was attempting . . . but there had simply been notime. And certainly, no time for discussion as Jaggers would have wanted. No. The other bridge officershad concerns, but they had followed his orders, as their duty required.
As much as Commander Keyes believed in giving people a second chance, this was where he drew theline.
To make matters worse, transferring Jaggers would leave a hole in the bridge crew.
Commander Keyes accessed the service records ofIroquois ’ junior officers. There were several whomight qualify for navigation officer. He flipped29 through their files on his data pad, and then paused.
The theoretical paper on mass-space compression was still open, as well as his hastily calculated coursecorrections.
He smiled and archived those notes. He might one day give a lecture on this battle at the Academy. Itwould be useful to have the original source material.
There was also the data from theArchimedes Sensor30 Outpost. That report had been thoroughly31 made:
clean data graphs and a navigational course plotted for the object through Slipstream space—not an easytask even with an AI. The report even had tags to route it to the astrophysics section of the UNSC.
Thoughtful.
He looked up the service record of the officer who had filed the report: Ensign William Lovell.
Keyes leaned closer. The boy’s Career Service Vitae was almost twice as long as his own. He hadvolunteered and been accepted at Luna Academy. He transferred in his second year, having alreadyreceived a commission to Ensign for heroism in a training flight that had saved the entire crew. He tookduty on the first outbound corvette headed into battle. Three Bronze Stars, a Silver Cluster, and twoPurple Hearts, and he had catapulted to a full Lieutenant within three years.
Then something went terribly wrong. Lovell’s decline in the UNSC had been as rapid as his ascent32. Fourreports of insubordination and he was busted33 to Second Lieutenant and transferred twice. An incidentwith a civilian woman—no details in the files, although Commander Keyes wondered if the girl listed inthe report, Anna Gerov, was Vice28 Admiral Gerov’s daughter.
He had been reassigned to theArchimedes Sensor Outpost, and had been there for the last year, anunheard of length of time in such a remote facility.
Commander Keyes reviewed the logs when Lovell had been on duty. They were careful and intelligent.
So the boy was still sharp . . . was he hiding?
There was a gentle knock on his door.
“Lieutenant Dominique, I said I was not to be disturbed.”
“Sorry to intrude34, son,” said a muffled35 voice. The pressure door’s wheel turned and Admiral Stanforthstepped inside. “But I thought I’d just stop by since I was in the neighborhood.”
Admiral Stanforth was much smaller in person than he appeared on-screen. His back was stooped overwith age, and his white hair was thinning at the crown. Still, he exuded36 a reassuring37 air of authority thatKeyes instantly recognized.
“Sir!” Commander Keyes stood at attention, knocking over his chair.
“At ease, son.” The Admiral looked around his quarters, and his gaze lingered a moment on the framedcopy of Lagrange’s original manuscript in which he derived38 his equations of motion. “You can pour mea few fingers of the whiskey, if you can spare it.”
“Yes, sir.” Keyes fumbled39 with another plastic cup and poured the Admiral a drink.
Stanforth took a sip40, then sighed appreciatively. “Very nice.”
Keyes righted his chair and offered it to the Admiral.
He sat down and leaned forward. “I wanted to congratulate you personally on the miracle you performedhere, Keyes.”
“Sir, I don’t—”
Stanforth held up a finger. “Don’t interrupt me, son. That was a helluva piece of astrogation you pulledoff. People noticed. Not to mention the morale41 boost it’s given to the entire fleet.” He took another sip ofthe liquor and exhaled42. “Now, that’s the reason we’re all here. We need a victory. It’s been too damnlong—us getting whittled43 to pieces by those alien bastards44. So this hasgot to be a win. No matter what ittakes.”
“I understand, sir,” Commander Keyes said. He knew morale had been sagging45 for years throughout theUNSC. No military, no matter how well trained, could stomach defeat after defeat without it affectingtheir 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 twolegs. “General Kits46 has his troops down there. They’ve got the surrounding cities evacuated47, and they’llbe assaulting C.te d’Azur within the hour. They’ll paste those aliens faster than you can spit. You justwatch.”
“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 Covenant6 normally operates. Dropping an invasion force and leavingthe system? They either slaughter48 everything or die trying. This is something altogether different.”
Admiral Stanforth waved a dismissive hand. “You leave trying to figure out what those aliens arethinking to the spooks in ONI, son. Just get theIroquois patched up and fit for duty again. And you letme 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 theCommander’s desk. “Consider it official. The paperwork will catch up with us soon enough.”
Commander Keyes opened the box. Inside were a pair of brass49 collar insignia: four bars and a single star.
“Congratulations,Captain Keyes.” The Admiral snapped a quick salute50, then held out his hand.
Keyes managed to grasp and shake the Admiral’s hand. The insignia was real. He was stunned51. Hecouldn’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 replacement52 navigation officer.”
Admiral Stanforth’s relaxed posture53 stiffened54. “I heard about that. Ugly business when a bridge officerloses their stomach. Well, you just say the candidate’s name and I’ll make sure you get him . . . as longas you’re not pulling him off my ship.” He smiled. “Keep up the good work, Captain.”
“Sir!” Captain Keyes saluted55.
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 andreplayed his conversation with Admiral Stanforth in his mind. He had said, “Captain Keyes.” Yes. Thiswas real.
The Admiral had also brushed aside his concerns about the Covenant too quickly. Something didn’tquite add up.
Keyes clicked on the intercom. “Lieutenant Dominique: track the Admiral’s shuttle when he leaves. Letme 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 hadhappened with Jaggers—there could be no second chance for him. But maybe he could somehowbalance the books by giving Lovell another chance.
He filled out the necessary paperwork for the transfer request. The forms were long and unnecessarilycomplex. He transmitted the files to UNSC PERSCOM and sent a copy directly to Admiral Stanforth’sstaff.
“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 shipsin orbit around Sigma Octanus IV, he easily spotted56 theLeviathan . She was one of the twenty UNSCcruisers left in the fleet.
A cruiser was the most powerful warship57 ever built by human hands. And Keyes knew they were beingslowly pulled out of forward areas and parked in reserve to guard the Inner Colonies.
A piece of shadow moved under the great warship, black moving on black. It revealed itself for only aninstant in the sunlight, then slithered back into the darkness. It was a prowler.
Those stealth ships were used exclusively by Naval58 Intelligence.
A cruiser and an ONI presence here? Now Keyes knew there was more going on here than a simplemorale boost. He tried not to think about it. It was best not to go too far when questioning the intentionsof one’s superior officer—especially when that officer was an Admiral. And especially not when NavalIntelligence was literally59 lurking60 in the shadows.
Keyes poured himself another three fingers of Scotch, set his head on his desk—just to rest his eyes for amoment. The last few hours had drained him.
“Sir.” Dominique’s voice over the intercom woke Captain Keyes. “Incoming fleet-wide transmission onAlpha priority channel.”
Keyes sat up and ran his hand over his face. He glanced at the brass clock affixed61 over his bunk—he hadslept for almost six hours.
Admiral Stanforth appeared on-screen. “Listen up, ladies and gentlemen: we’ve just detected a largenumber of Covenant ships massing on the edge of the system. We estimate ten ships.”
On-screen the silhouettes62 of the all-too-familiar Covenant frigates and a destroyer appeared as ghostlyradar smears63.
“We’ll remain where we are,” the Admiral continued. “There’s no need to charge in and have those uglybastards take a shortcut64 through Slipspace and undercut us. Make your ships ready for battle. We’ve gotprobes gathering65 more data. I’ll update you when we know more. Stanforth out.”
The screen went black.
Keyes snapped on the intercom. “Lieutenant Hall, what is our repair and refit status?”
“Sir,”she replied.“Engines are operational, but only with the backup coolant system. We can heat themto fifty percent. Archer66 and nuclear ordnance67 resupply is complete. MAC guns are also operational.
Repairs to lower decks have just started.”
“Inform the dockmaster to pull his crew out,” Captain Keyes said. “We’re leaving theCradle . When weare clear, fire the reactors68 to fifty percent. Go to battle stations.”
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1
frigates
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| n.快速军舰( frigate的名词复数 ) | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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civilian
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| adj.平民的，民用的，民众的 | |
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covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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maneuvered
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| v.移动，用策略( maneuver的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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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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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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overhaul
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| v./n.大修，仔细检查 | |
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prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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abraded
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| adj.[医]刮擦的v.刮擦( abrade的过去式和过去分词 )；（在精神方面）折磨（人）；消磨（意志、精神等）；使精疲力尽 | |
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breached
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| 攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反 | |
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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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deceptive
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| adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的 | |
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tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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slashes
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| n.（用刀等）砍( slash的名词复数 )；（长而窄的）伤口；斜杠；撒尿v.挥砍( slash的第三人称单数 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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heroism
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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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retrieved
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| v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息） | |
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scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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flipped
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| 轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥 | |
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sensor
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| n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官） | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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busted
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| adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词 | |
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intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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exuded
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| v.缓慢流出，渗出，分泌出( exude的过去式和过去分词 )；流露出对（某物）的神态或感情 | |
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reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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sip
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| v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量 | |
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morale
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| n.道德准则，士气，斗志 | |
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exhaled
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| v.呼出，发散出( exhale的过去式和过去分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气 | |
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whittled
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| v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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sagging
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| 下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度 | |
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kits
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| 衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件 | |
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evacuated
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| 撤退者的 | |
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slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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51
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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replacement
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| n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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warship
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| n.军舰，战舰 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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affixed
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| adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章） | |
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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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63
smears
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| 污迹( smear的名词复数 )； 污斑； （显微镜的）涂片； 诽谤 | |
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64
shortcut
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| n.近路，捷径 | |
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65
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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66
archer
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| n.射手，弓箭手 | |
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67
ordnance
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| n.大炮，军械 | |
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68
reactors
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| 起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆 | |
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