Lieutenant1 Wagner walked through metal-and explosive-detector gates and into theatrium entrance of the large, vaguely3 conical structure. Officially designated UNSCHighCom Facility B-6, the sprawling5 edifice6 had been nicknamed "the Hive."It was overcast7 in Sydney. Gray light filtered in through the crystal dome8 overhead.
He marched past officers and NCOs moving with purpose to whatever destinations occupied their time. He ignored the dis.plays of acacia trees and exotic ferns meant for the press and civilian9 tours. Today there was no time for pleasantries.
In another hour the apparent calm and efficiency of HighCom would be shattered into a billion pieces. Only a few of the brass11 knew that the UNSC's mightiest12 outpost, Reach, was now noth.ing more than a cinder13.
Wagner approached the receptionist's station under the watchful15 eyes of a trio ofarmored Marine16 MPs.
Keeping Reach's fate quiet was not the UNSC's biggest se.cret, not by a country mile.
Virtually no one in the civilian popu.lation of the Inner Colonies knew how perilouslyclose they were to losing this war. ONI Section Two had done a brilliant job of preservingthe fiction that Earth forces held their own against the Covenant17.
And what did the citizens of the Outer Colonies think? Those who hadn't fled to remoteoutposts and hidden privateer basesERIC NYLUND 99weren't in any position to make trouble. The Covenant didn't take prisoners.
"You're expected today, Lieutenant," the receptionist said. She was a young Chief PettyOfficer and looked like she didn't have a care, or a clue. But her eyes gave her away. Sheknew something. Maybe not what, but she had undoubtedly18 picked up on the increasedsecurity protocols19 ... or the haunted looks in the eyes of her commanding officers.
"Please proceed to elevator eight," she told him and returned her attention to the screenin front of her.
He made a mental note to find out who this perceptive21 erson was and see if she could berecruited into Section Three. ONI had lost a lot of good pppeople in the last few weeks.
Wagner moved to the solid steel wall, and a pair of doors parted for him. He entered thesmall room; the doors closed and locked with a whisper-quiet snik.
A fingerprint22 pad and retinal scanner extended from the wall. Wagner pressed his handonto the scanner, and a needle stabbed his index finger. They'd check his DNA23 against thesample on file. He blinked once and then rested his chin on the retinal scanner.
"Good morning, Lieutenant," a sweet female voice whispered in his ear.
"Good morning, Lysithea. How are you today?""Ver well, now that I see that you have returned safely from your mission. I assumeeveryyything went as expected.""You know that's classified," he told the AI.
"Certainly," she replied, her tone playful. "But I'll find out anyway, you know. Why notsave me the time and just tell me?"Although he generally enjoyed this tete-a-tete with Lysithea, he knew it was part of thebiometric scan, too. She scanned his brainwaves and voice patterns in response to herqueries and matched them to older responses in her memory. She probably tested hisloyalty in security measures as well—he didn't put any.thing past Section Three; theygrew more paranoid every day.
"Of"course you'll find out," Wagner rep"lied. But I still can't tell you. That would be a breach24 of security, punishable under Article 428-A. In fact," he said in a more serious tone, "I'll have to report this violation25 to my controller."100HALO: FIRST STRIKEShe laughed, and it sounded like fine bone china clinking to.gether. "You may proceed,Lieutenant," she told him.
The doors parted and revealed a corridor lined with walnut26 panels and paintings ofWashington Crossing the Delaware, Ad.miral Cole's Last Stand, various alien landscapes,and space battles.
Although he had barely felt the descent, Wagner knew he had dropped three kilometers into the planet, through solid layers of granite27, reinforced concrete, plates of Titanium-A,and EMP-hardened metal. None of this made him feel any safer, though; ONI's researchfacility on Reach had the same setup, and it hadn't done those poor bastards29 any good.
He stepped off the elevator. Lysithea whispered at his back: "Watch out in there. They're looking to put someone's head on a pike."Wagner swallowed and straightened the microscopic30 wrinkles in his uniform. He searched for a reason to delay—anything that would keep him out of the room at the end of this corridor. He sighed and overcame his inertia31. No one kept the Security Com.mittee for the UNSC waiting.
A pair of MPs snapped to as he approached the set of double doors. They didn't salute32,and their hands rested on their hol-stered sidearms. They stared straight ahead, butWagner knew that if he twitched33 the wrong way he'd be shot first and ques.tioned later.
The doors silently swung inward.
He entered, and the doors closed behind him and locked. Wagner recognized most of thebrass seated at the crescent-shaped table: Major General Nicolas Strauss, Fleet AdmiralSir Terrence Hood34, and Colonel James Ackerson. Vice35 Admiral Whit-comb's chair was empty.
Another half-dozen officers were also present, and all were of command rank, whichmade Wagner nervous. Each had display tablets set before them, and even upside down, Wagner recog.nized his preliminary report and video records.
Wagner saluted36.
General Strauss leaned forward and snapped off his display. "Christ! Did we know they had so many damn ships?" HeERIC NYLUND 101banged a fist onto the table. "Why the hell didn't we know about this? Who in ONI let thisone slip by?"Ackerson leaned back. "No one is to blame, General—except the Covenant, obviously. I'mmore concerned with our response to this incursion. Our fleet was decimated."Ackerson's reputation preceded him. Wagner had heard about the lengths to which he'dgone in the past to make sure his own operations got priority over Section Three's. Hisrivalry with the SPARTAN37-II program leader, Dr. Catherine Halsey, was the stuff oflegend. Wagner thought Ackerson had been reassigned to a front-line post. Apparentlyhe'd squirmed out of it. That was trouble.
Admiral Hood straightened and pushed his display away and finally acknowledgedWagner. He returned the salute. The Ad.miral was impeccably groomed38, not a silver hairout of place on his head, and yet there were dark circles under his eyes. "At ease,Lieutenant."Wagner tucked his hands behind the small of his back and moved his feet slightly apart,but otherwise didn't relax a mil.limeter. One was never at ease when in the presence oflions, sharks, and scorpions39.
Hood turned to Ackerson. "Decimate is the wrong word, Colonel. We would have been decimated if we lost one ship out of every ten." He voice rose slightly. "Instead, we lostten of our ships for every one that managed to limp away. It was a total disaster!""Of course, Admiral." Ackerson nodded, pretending to listen, and his eyes flickered40 over the report again. His eyebrows41 raised as he noticed the time and date stamp. "There's one thing, how.ever, I'd like answered first." His glassy glare locked onto Wag.ner. "The time difference between the events in this report and now..." He trailed off, lost in thought."Congratulations, Lieu.tenant2. This is a new speed record from Reach to Earth.Espe.cially when I know you took the time to perform the legally required random43 jumps before returning to Earth.""Sir," Wagner replied. "I followed the Cole Protocol20 to the letter."That was a lie and everyone in this room knew it. ONI was al.ways bending the ColeProtocol. In this case, it was probably102HALO: FIRST STRIKEjustified because of the value of the intel. Still, if they wanted to crucify him, all they hadto do was check the time logged on his Prowler's engines and do the math.
Hood waved his hand. "That's hardly the issue.""I think it is," Ackerson snappe"d. Reach is gone. There's nothing between Earth and theCovenant now except a lot of vacuum—that and whatever secrecy44 we can preserve.""We'll review Section Three's practices later, Colonel." Ad.miral Hood turned to Wagner."I've read your report, Lieu.tenant. It is extremely detailed45, but I want to hear it from you. What did you see? Are there any details you thought too sensi.tive to include in your report? Tell me everything."Wagner took in a deep breath. He had prepared for this and he related, as best he could,how the Covenant ships appeared in the system, the valiant46 efforts of the UNSC fleetdefending Reach, how they failed and were systematically47 destroyed.
"When the Covenant slipped onto the surface of Reach with their tactical forces and tookout the orbital-gun generators— that was the end. Well, I saw only the start of the end.They glassed the planet, starting with the poles."Wagner, who'd two years ago had a third of his body burned by Covenant plasma48 and notonce screamed or shed a tear, paused and blinked away the moisture blurring49 his vision. "I trained at the Naval50 Academy on Reach, sir. It was the closest thing I had to a home inthe Outer Colonies."Hood nodded sympathetically.
Ackerson snorted. He pushed away from the table, got up, and moved to Wagner's side."Save the sentimentality, Lieutenant. You say they glassed Reach. Everything?"Wagner detected anticipation51 in the Colonel's tone—as if he wanted the Covenant to have destroyed Reach.
"Sir," Wagner replied. "Before I jumped to Slipspace, I wit.nessed the poles destroyed,and approximately two thirds of the planet's surface was on fire."Ackerson nodded, seemingly satisfied with this answer. "So everyone on Reach is gone,then. Vice Admiral Whitcomb. Doc.tor Halsey, too." He nodded and added, "Such atremendous waste." There was no sympathy in his voice.
"I could only speculate, sir."ERIC NYLUND103"No need," Ackerson muttered. He returned to his seat.
Strauss sighed. "At least we have your special weapons pro14.grams, Ackerson. Halsey'sSPARTAN-IIs were such a great sue—"Ackerson shot the General a look that could have blasted through battle plate.
The General halted midsentence and snapped his mouth closed.
Wagner stood absolutely still and stared straight ahead, pre.tending he hadn't seen sucha gross breach of military protocol. A General knuckling52 under to a junior officer?Something ex.traordinary had just been revealed —there was some kind of backup plan on a par10 with the SPARTAN program, and Acker.son was behind it. The Colonel suddenlyhad a lot of juice.
Wagner continued to feign53 ignorance—and no matter what, he didn't meet ColonelAckerson's gaze. If Ackerson suspected that he'd caught on, the bastard28 would have himerased to pre.vent42 his secret from getting back to Section Three.
After what seemed a century of uncomfortable silence, Admi.ral Hood cleared his throat."The Pillar of Autumn, Lieutenant Wagner. Was that ship destroyed? Or did she jump?There is no mention in your report.""She jumped, sir. Telemetry indicates the Autumn was pur.sued by several enemy ships,however, so her fate can only be speculated upon. I did not mention the Pillar of Autumn in my report, as that ship is on Section Three's Secure List.""Good." Hood closed his eyes. "Then there is, at least, some hope."Ackerson shook his head. "With all due respect to my prede.cessor, Doctor Halsey, thespecial weapons package on the Pil.lar hasn't got a chance in hell of accomplishing itsmission. You might as well have shot every one of them in the head and gotten it over with.""That will be enough, Ackerson," Hood said and glowered54 at him. "Quite enough.""Sir," Wagner ventured. "The Colonel may be correct... at least in his mission assessment55.Our agent on the Pillar of Au.tumn signaled us before the end. He regrettably reportedthat a104HALO: FIRST STRIKEsignificant number of Spartans56 went groundside to defend Reach's orbital guns.""Then they're dead," Ackerson said. "Halsey's freaks have fi.nally lost their luster57 ofinvincibility."Admiral Hood set his jaw58. "Doctor Halsey," he said slowly and with deliberate control,"and her Spartans deserve the ut.most respect, Colonel." He turned to face him, but Hoodstared through Ackerson. "And if you wish to keep your newly ac.quired position on theSecurity Council, you will show them that respect, or I will personally kick you from here to Melbourne.""I merely—" Ackerson said.
"Those 'freaks,' " Hood said over his protest, "have more confirmed kills than any three divisions of ODSTs and have gar.nered every major citation59 the UNSC awards. Those 'freaks' have personally saved my life twice, as well as the lives of most of the senior staffhere at HighCom. Keep your bigotry60 in check, Colonel. Do you understand?""My apologies," Ackerson muttered.
"I asked you a direct question," Admiral Hood barked.
"Sir," Ackerson said. "I understand completely, Admiral. It will not happen again." His face burned bright red.
Wagner, however, didn't think this was the color of shame. It was anger.
"The Spartans," Hood whispered. "Doctor Halsey. Whit-comb. We lost too many goodpeople on Reach. Not to mention dozens of ships." He pursed his lips into a razor-thinline.
"We should send a small recon force to see what's left," Gen.eral Strauss suggested.
"Not wise, sir," Ackerson replied. "We must pull back and re.inforce the Inner Colonies and Earth. The new orbital platforms won't be online for another ten days. Until then, our defense61 pos.ture will be far too weak. We'll need every ship we've got.""Hmm," Admiral Hood said. He placed both thumbs under his chin as he considered bothpositions.
"Sir," Wagner said. "There is one additional item not covered in my report. It didn't seem exceptionally important at the time, but if you're debating a recon mission, I thought itmight be pertinent62."ERIC NYLUND 105"Just spit it out," General Strauss said.
Wagner swallowed and resisted the urge to meet Ackerson's eyes. "When the Covenant destroys a planet, they typically move their large warships63 closer and blanket the worldwith a series of crisscrossing orbits to ensure that every square millimeter of the surface is covered with plasma bombardments.""I'm painfully aware of Covenant bombardment doctrine64, Lieutenant," Hood growled65.
"What of it?""As I indicated, they started at the poles, but took in only a few ships. They were spreadthin along the equatorial latitudes66, and no additional ships were inbound. In fact, a large number of Covenant ships abandoned the system, in pursuit of the Pillar of Autumn?'
Ackerson waved his hand dismissively. "Reach is glassed, Lieutenant. If you had stayed towatch the whole show, they would have burned you down, too.""Yes, sir," Wagner replied. "If, however, there is a recon mis.sion, I would like tovolunteer for the duty."Ackerson got up and strode to Wagner. He stood a centimeter from his face, and theireyes locked. Ackerson's gaze was full of poison. Wagner did his best not to recoil67, but hecouldn't help it. One look and he knew this man wanted him dead—for whatever reason: that he had heard of Ackerson's alternative program to the SPARTAN-IIs, that he didn'twant trouble over Reach... or maybe, as Lysithea had warned him, that he was just lookingfor someone's head to impale68 on a pike.
"Are you deaf, Lieutenant?" Ackerson asked with mock con4.cern. "Some kind of hearingloss due to combat action?""No, sir.""Well, when you push the limits of Slipspace in those little Prowlers, you risk all kinds ofradiation damage. Or maybe the trauma69 of seeing Reach destroyed shook you. Whatever your problem, when you leave here you are to visit the infirmary. They are to give you a clean bill of health before you return to active duty." He shrugged70. "There must besomething wrong with you, Lieutenant, because you do not seem to understand me even though my words are crystal clear.""Sir.""Let's try this, then. We are not wasting a single UNSC ship to106HALO: FIRST STRIKEconfirm what we have already seen a dozen times before: Reach is gone."He inched closer to Wagner. "Everything on it is blasted to bits, burned, glassed over, and vaporized. Everyone on Reach is dead." He jabbed a finger into Wagner's chest for emphasis. "Dead. Dead. Dead."
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1
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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tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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con
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| n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的 | |
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sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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overcast
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| adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天 | |
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dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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civilian
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| adj.平民的，民用的，民众的 | |
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par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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mightiest
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| adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的 | |
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cinder
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| n.余烬，矿渣 | |
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pro
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| n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者 | |
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watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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protocols
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| n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划） | |
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protocol
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| n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节 | |
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perceptive
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| adj.知觉的，有洞察力的，感知的 | |
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fingerprint
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| n.指纹；vt.取...的指纹 | |
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DNA
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| (缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸 | |
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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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violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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walnut
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| n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色 | |
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granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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bastard
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| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
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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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microscopic
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| adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的 | |
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inertia
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| adj.惰性，惯性，懒惰，迟钝 | |
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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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twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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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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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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spartan
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| adj.简朴的，刻苦的；n.斯巴达；斯巴达式的人 | |
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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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scorpions
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| n.蝎子( scorpion的名词复数 ) | |
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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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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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systematically
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| adv.有系统地 | |
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plasma
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| n.血浆，细胞质，乳清 | |
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blurring
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| n.模糊，斑点甚多，（图像的）混乱v.（使）变模糊( blur的现在分词 )；（使）难以区分 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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52
knuckling
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| n.突球v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的现在分词 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝 | |
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feign
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| vt.假装，佯作 | |
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glowered
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| v.怒视( glower的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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assessment
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| n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额 | |
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spartans
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| n.斯巴达（spartan的复数形式） | |
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luster
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| n.光辉；光泽，光亮；荣誉 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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citation
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| n.引用，引证，引用文；传票 | |
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bigotry
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| n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等 | |
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61
defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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pertinent
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| adj.恰当的；贴切的；中肯的；有关的；相干的 | |
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63
warships
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| 军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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65
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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66
latitudes
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| 纬度 | |
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67
recoil
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| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
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impale
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| v.用尖物刺某人、某物 | |
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69
trauma
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| n.外伤，精神创伤 | |
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70
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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