Chapter 31

0447 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /Remote Sensing StationFermion, Epsilon Eridani System’s edgeChief Petty Officer McRobb entered the command center of Remote Sensing StationFermion .

Lieutenants² (JG) Bill Streeter and David Brightling stood and saluted³.

He wordlessly returned their salutes⁴.

The wall-sized monitors displayed the contents of the last Slipstream probes: multidimensional charts, arainbow of false color enhancements, and a catalog of objects adrift in the alternate space. Some of thenew officers thought the representations looked “pretty.”

To Chief McRobb, however, each pixel on the screens represented danger. So many things could hide inmultidimensional space: pirates, black marketers . . . the Covenant⁵.

McRobb inspected their duty stations. He double-checked that all programs and hardware were runningwithin UNSC specifications⁶. He ran his hand along the monitors and keypads looking for dust. Theirstations were in tip-top shape.

Considering what they were guarding, Reach, anything less than perfection was unacceptable. He madecertain his crew knew it, too.

“Carry on,” he said.

Since the battle of Sigma Octanus, FLEETCOM had reassigned top people to its Remote SensingStations. Chief McRobb had been pulled from Fort York on the edge of the Inner Colonies. He had spentthe last three months helping⁷ his crew brush up on their abstract and complex algebras to interpret theprobe data.

“Ready to send out the next set of probes, sir,” Lieutenant¹ Streeter said. “Linear accelerator andSlipspace generators⁸ online and charged.”

“Set for thirty-second return cycle and launch,” Chief McRobb ordered.

“Aye, sir. Probes away, sir. Accelerated and entering the Slipstream.”

FLEETCOM didn’t really expect anything to attack the Reach Military Complex. It was the heart of theUNSC military operations. If anything did attack it, the battle would be a short one. There were twentySuper MAC guns in orbit. They could accelerate a three-thousand-ton projectile⁹ to point four-tenths thespeed of light—and place that projectile with pinpoint¹⁰ accuracy. If that wasn’t enough to stop aCovenant fleet, there were anywhere from a hundred to a hundred and fifty ships in the system at anygiven time.

Chief McRobb knew, though, there had been another military base that was once thought too strong toattack—and the military had paid the price for their lack of vigilance. He wasn’t about to let Reachbecome another Pearl Harbor. Not on his watch.

“Probes returning, sir,” Lieutenant Brightling announced. “Alpha reentering normal space in three . . .

two . . . one. Scanning sectors¹¹. Signal acquired at extraction point minus forty five thousand kilometers.”

“Process the signals and send out the recovery drone, Lieutenant.”

“Aye, sir. Getting signal lock on—” The Lieutenant squinted¹² at his monitor. “Sir, would you take a lookat this?”

“On the board, Lieutenant.”

Radar¹³ and neutron¹⁴ imager silhouettes¹⁵ appeared on-screen—and filled the display. Chief McRobb hadnever seen anything like it in Slipstream space.

“Confirm that the data stream is not corrupted,” the Chief ordered. “I’m estimating that object is threethousand kilometers in diameter.”

“Affirmative . . . thirty-two-hundred-kilometer diameter confirmed, sir. Signal integrity is green. We’llhave a trajectory¹⁶ for the planetoid as soon as Beta probe returns.”

It was rare for any natural object this large to be in Slipstream space. An occasional comet or asteroidhad been logged—UNSC astrophysicists still weren’t sure how the things got into the alternatedimension. But there had never been anything like this. At least, not since—“Oh my God,” McRobb whispered.

Not since Sigma Octanus.

“We’re not waiting for Beta probe,” Chief McRobb barked. “We are initiating¹⁷ the Cole Protocol¹⁸.

Lieutenant Streeter, purge¹⁹ the navigational database, and I meanright now . Lieutenant Brightling,remove the safety interlocks on the station’s reactor²⁰.”

His junior officers hesitated for a moment—then they understood the gravity of their situation. Theymoved quickly.

“Initiating viral data scavengers,” Lieutenant Streeter called out. “Dumping main and cache memory.”

He turned in his seat, his face white. “Sir, the science library is offline for repairs. It has every UNSCastrophysics journal in it.”

“With navigation data on every star within a hundred light-years,” the Chief whispered. “Including Sol.

Lieutenant, you get someone down there and destroy that data. I don’t care if they have to hit it with agoddamn sledgehammer—make sure that data is wiped.”

“Aye, sir!” Streeter turned to the COM and began issuing frantic²¹ orders.

“Safety interlocks red on the board,” Lieutenant Brightling reported. His lips pressed into a single whiteline, concentrating. “Beta probe returning, sir, in four . . . three . . . two . . . one. There. Off target onehundred twenty thousand kilometers. Signal is weak. The probe appears to be malfunctioning²². Trying toscrub the signal now.”

“It’s too much of a coincidence that it’s malfunctioning, Streeter,” the Chief said. “Get FLEETCOM onAlpha channel on the double! Compress and send the duty log.”

“Aye, sir.” Lieutenant Streeter’s fingers fumbled²³ with the keypad as he typed—then had to retype thecommand. “Logs sent.”

“Beta probe signal on the board,” Lieutenant Brightling reported. “Calculating the object’s trajectory . . .

”

The planetoid was closer. Its edges, however, had abnormalities—bumps and spikes²⁴ and protrusions.

Chief McRobb shifted and clenched²⁵ his hands into fists.

“It will pass though Reach System,” Lieutenant Brightling said. “Intersecting the solar plane inseventeen seconds at the system’s outer edge at zero four one.” He inhaled²⁶ sharply. “Sir, that’s only alight-second away from us.”

Lieutenant Streeter stood and knocked over his chair, almost backing into the Chief.

McRobb righted the chair. “Sit down, Lieutenant. We’ve got a job to do. Target the telescope array tomonitor that region of space.”

Lieutenant Streeter turned and gazed into the rock-solid features of the Chief. He took a deep breath.

“Yes, sir.” He sat back down. “Aye, sir, moving the array.”

“Gamma probe returning in three . . . two . . . one.” Lieutenant Brightling paused. “There’s no signal, sir.

Scanning. Time plus four seconds and counting. Probe may have translated on a temporal axis²⁷.”

“I don’t think so,” the Chief murmured.

Lieutenant Streeter said, “Telescope array now on target, sir. On the main view screen.”

Pinpoints²⁸ of green light appeared at the edge of the Reach solar system. They collected and swarmed²⁹ asif they were caught in a boiling liquid. Space stretched, smeared³⁰, and distorted. Half the stars in thatregion were blotted³¹ out.

“Radar contact,” Lieutenant Brightling said. “Contact with . . . more than three hundred large objects.”

His hands started to shake. “Sir, silhouettes match known Covenant profiles.”

“They’re accelerating,” Lieutenant Streeter whispered. “On an intercept³² course for the station.”

“FLEETCOM network connections are being infiltrated,” Lieutenant Brightling said. His tremblinghands could barely type in commands. “Cutting our connection.”

Chief McRobb stood as straight as he could. “What about the astrophysics data?”

“Sir, they’re still trying to end the diagnostic cycle, but that takes a few minutes.”

“Then we don’t have a lot of options,” McRobb muttered.

He set his hand on Lieutenant Brightling’s shoulder to steady the young officer. “It’s all right,Lieutenant. We’ve done the best we could. We’ve done our duty. There’s nothing more to worry about.”

He set his palmprint on the control station. The Chief locked out the reactor safeties and saturated³³ thefusion chamber³⁴ with their deuterium reserve tanks. Chief McRobb said, “Just one last order to carry out.”

1 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

2 lieutenants   

n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员

参考例句：

• In the army, lieutenants are subordinate to captains. 在陆军中，中尉是上尉的下级。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lieutenants now cap at 1.5 from 1. Recon at 1. 中尉现在由1人口增加的1.5人口。侦查小组成员为1人口。 来自互联网

3 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 salutes   

n.致敬，欢迎，敬礼( salute的名词复数 )v.欢迎，致敬( salute的第三人称单数 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• Poulengey salutes, and stands at the door awaiting orders. 波仑日行礼，站在门口听侯命令。 来自辞典例句
• A giant of the world salutes you. 一位世界的伟人向你敬礼呢。 来自辞典例句

5 covenant   

n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约

参考例句：

• They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
• The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。

6 specifications   

n.规格；载明；详述；（产品等的）说明书；说明书( specification的名词复数 )；详细的计划书；载明；详述

参考例句：

• Our work must answer the specifications laid down. 我们的工作应符合所定的规范。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This sketch does not conform with the specifications. 图文不符。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 projectile   

n.投射物，发射体；adj.向前开进的；推进的；抛掷的

参考例句：

• The vertical and horizontal motions of a projectile can be treated independently.抛射体的竖直方向和水平方向的运动能够分开来处理。
• Have you altered the plans of the projectile as the telegram suggests?你已经按照电报的要求修改炮弹图样了吗?

10 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

11 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 squinted   

斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看

参考例句：

• Pulling his rifle to his shoulder he squinted along the barrel. 他把枪顶肩，眯起眼睛瞄准。
• I squinted through the keyhole. 我从锁眼窥看。

13 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

14 neutron   

n.中子

参考例句：

• Neutron is neutral and slightly heavier than the proton.中子是中性的，比质子略重。
• Based on the neutron energy,the value of weighting factor was given.根据中子能量给出了相应的辐射权重因子的数值。

15 silhouettes   

轮廓( silhouette的名词复数 )； （人的）体形； （事物的）形状； 剪影

参考例句：

• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• They could see silhouettes. 他们能看得见影子的。

16 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

17 initiating   

v.开始( initiate的现在分词 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员

参考例句：

• He is good at initiating projects but rarely follows through with anything. 他善于创建项目，但难得坚持完成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Only the perchlorate shows marked sensitiveness and possibly initiating properties. 只有高氯酸盐表现有显著的感度和可能具有起爆性能。 来自辞典例句

18 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

19 purge   

n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁

参考例句：

• The new president carried out a purge of disloyal army officers.新总统对不忠诚的军官进行了清洗。
• The mayoral candidate has promised to purge the police department.市长候选人答应清洗警察部门。

20 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

21 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

22 malfunctioning   

出故障

参考例句：

• But something was malfunctioning in the equipment due to human error. 但由于人为的错误，设备发生故障了。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• Choke coils are useful for prevention of malfunctioning electronic equipment. 扼流圈对于防止电器设备的故障很有帮助。 来自互联网

23 fumbled   

（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

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

24 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 inhaled   

v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. 她合上双眼，深深吸了一口气。
• Janet inhaled sharply when she saw him. 珍妮特看到他时猛地吸了口气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 axis   

n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线

参考例句：

• The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
• The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。

28 pinpoints   

准确地找出或描述( pinpoint的第三人称单数 )； 为…准确定位

参考例句：

• The bombs hit the pinpoints at which they were aimed. 炸弹精确地击中了目标。
• There's really no point in arguing about pinpoints. 为芝麻绿豆般的小事争论实在毫无意义。

29 swarmed   

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

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

30 smeared   

弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上

参考例句：

• The children had smeared mud on the walls. 那几个孩子往墙上抹了泥巴。
• A few words were smeared. 有写字被涂模糊了。

31 blotted   

涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干

参考例句：

• She blotted water off the table with a towel. 她用毛巾擦干桌上的水。
• The blizzard blotted out the sky and the land. 暴风雪铺天盖地而来。

32 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。

33 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

34 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。