The Master Chief woke.
Consciousness, however, was a slight overestimation4 of his condition. His blurry5 vision came into focus slowly... but there was nothing to see except the interior of his visor.Amber6 status lights winked7 on.
Pain washed over his feet, his right thigh8, and his hand. Good. He was alive. He knew from previous experience that this was the tail end of shock ... and the stunning9, numbingeffects of that state were wearing off.
He felt the familiar weight and reactive circuits of his MJOLNIR armor surrounding him.The coppery-tinged flavor of biofoam coated his mouth, so he also surmised10 that hisinjuries had been recently treated.
And there was gravity. The press against his back was a great comfort to the Master Chief.The next time someone wanted him to go on a zero-gee op, he'd—"Welcome back," Cortana said, interrupting his thoughts. A faint light flickered11 on to hisleft.
He turned onto his side. The burns on his extremities12 pro13.tested and shot lances of painup his hand and feet.
He was in a med bay. The lights were turned down low, and he saw that he was the onlyperson occupying a recovery bed. Bio-monitors pulsed along one wall, displaying his vitalsigns and MRI snapshots.
A holographic projection14 pad stood next to his bed. Cortana'sERIC NYLUND235tiny figure, strobing with symbolic15 logic16 code, waved to him, and when he didn'timmediately respond she crossed her arms impatiently. "MRIs show no concussion17, no subdural or epidural hematomas. You must have a thicker skull18 than I thought.""Where am I?""Deck thirty-two on the UNSC frigate19 Gettysburg" Cortana told him. "Or what's left of it,anyway.""What happened?"Cortana sighed. "Are you referring to what happened since I left you on Reach? Or theoutcome of the Slipspace battle? Or do you mean what happened since that battle?""The battle, first," he said and struggled to get up. "I presume we won."Standing20 was too painful, though, and the strength seemed to have been drained from hismuscles. He eased himself back to his original horizontal position.
Cortana's pale blue light dimmed and her gaze dropped to the deck. "Blue Team successfully repaired the main-engine conduit.""I remember," the Master Chief murmured. "The repair part of it, at least. There was an explosion...""A plasma22 bolt," Cortana corrected. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Chief, but only you and SPARTANS-093, -043, and -104 sur.vived that blast."Grace, Will, and Fred were alive, but Li, Anton, and Warrant Officer Polaski had been killed in action. He remembered Po-laski's scream, then Anton's outline as the flash ofwhite-hot fire swept over the hull24.
"Acknowledged," he said as graciously as he could muster25, but he heard bitterness give an edge to his voice.
It struck him as odd that Polaski's death affected26 him as well. He'd seen thousands ofUNSC soldiers die. She hadn't hesitated to transport Blue Team on a mission that was insanely danger.ous. She had survived the battle of Reach, the crash landing on Halo, theFlood, and everything else—then she had bravely vol.unteered for this mission, too, andperhaps saved all their lives.
She might have made a good Spartan23. There were worse eulogies27.
The Master Chief sighed, called up his team roster28 on his heads-up display, and markedAnton and Li as Missing in Action.
236HALO: FIRST STRIKEHe paused to view all the others on that list; his first and best friend, Sam, was there ...and he hadn't even realized a dozen more had been listed as MIA.
He saved the changes to the roster and closed the file.
"What about Kelly and Linda?" he asked Cortana.
Cortana looked up and flipped29 the hair from her luminous30 eyes. She paced a small circleon the holographic pad and then said, "SPARTAN-087, Kelly, is recovering from second-degree burns on seventy-two percent of her body. Doctor Halsey has ac.celerated tissue regrowth with dermacortic steroids. She should be fully21 healed in a matter of days...although her mobility31 will be severely32 hampered33 until then.""And Linda?""Accessing status." Cortana paused for a full second. "Doctor Halsey has SPARTAN-058currently in medical facility alpha, three decks above us. She still has her in a cryogenic state and is presently performing exploratory surgery. She has given me several orders toprepare the flash clone banks for replacement34 organs pending35 transplant.""So she's alive?" the Master Chief asked.
"Technically," Cortana replied, "no." For a moment there was a look of genuine concern on her face—but it quickly vanished. "The doctor and Admiral Whitcomb have debatedthe risk of at.tempting36 to revive SPARTAN -058 before we reach a major medical facility.Doctor Halsey, I'm sure, will brief you when she has all the facts, Chief."John frowned at this lack of detail. He didn't appreciate Cor-tana's increasingly difficultattitude, one that had slowly shifted ever since she interfaced38 with the Forerunner39 computer system on Halo. He made a mental note to ask Dr. Halsey about Linda later...and he'd ask her about Cortana, too.
"All other hands on board are accounted for?" the Master Chief asked,"Yes, Chief. They are all engaged in repairs to the conjoined ships. We took tremendous damage in the expanded Slipspace from plasma bombardments and mass impacts. Bothships' super.structures, however, remain intact. The Gettysburg's reactor40 is online andoperating at sixty-seven percent capacity. Ascendant Justice's reactor is offlineundergoing repairs. Five of our sevenERIC NYLUND237plasma turrets41 require refit. And worst, Ascendant Justice's en.gines are crippled. Wehave less than three percent operational thrust.""Can the ship still jump to Slipspace? Are we stranded42 out here?""A jump is possible," Cortana said. She shook her head the way an older sister mi htwhen her baby brother asked a naive43 question. "It wouldn't do us any good, thougggh. Thealien artifact in Doctor Halsey's possession emits high levels of radiation in Slipspace.This unknown radiation even penetrates44 your suit's shields. I estimate lethal45 exposure injust under seventy-two hours. Also, that radiation would serve as a beacon46 for anyCove.nant ships prowling Slipspace, searching for us.""So we're stuck between systems.""Negative," Cortana replied, and her voice took on a new chill. "Admiral Whitcomb isquite adamant47 that we risk another Slipspace transition—regardless of the cost in humanlife. Other.wise, it would be weeks before we would be able to contact UNSC HighCommand."HighCom? Two facts suddenly clicked into place: the Admi.ral's need to contact the restof the Admiralty—no matter the price—and Dr. Halsey's attempts to revive Linda.
"What's compelling the Admiral's tactics, Cortana?"Cortana's holographic outline softened48. "I told you this be.fore37, Chief, but apparently49 itdid not stick in your semiconscious state." She then came into sharp focus and crossedher arms over her chest. "The Covenant have discovered the location of Earth."The Master Chief stood, suddenly wide awake and alert. He set aside his pain and fatigue50.
"Explain," he demanded.
Cortana outlined her discovery of the encoded subchannel within normal Covenantcommuniques. She explained how the Covenant's military orders were disseminated51 withstartling effi.ciently, and she then showed him symbols that represented the coordinatesfor Sol... and Earth.
He stood mute and listened. The UNSC had worked so hard, for so long, to preserve thissecret. It was only a matter of time; he had always known that the Covenant had to findEarth sooner238HALO: FIRST STRIKEor later. He had, however, always thought it would be later ... and never now.
The Master Chief stared at the tiny triangles, squares, dots, and bars that made up thespatial coordinates52. "We've seen these before, on Cote d'Azur.""Yes. And according to Doctor Halsey, her team on Reach found similar markings in theunderground vaults53.""What's the connection?""Unknown."The Master Chief put these facts aside for the moment; the greater meaning of thesymbols and translation he'd leave up to Cortana and ONI. The only insight that matteredto him was that the Covenant were going to attack Earth.
"Was there a timetable or any other data encoded on the sub.channel?" he asked.
"Affirmative. There's a coordinated54 series of orders to Cove2.nant warships55 scatteredacross the galaxy56 to rendezvous57 with a mobile command-and-control base they call the'Unyielding Hierophant.' When they have sufficient force, they will collec.tively make thejump to Earth."The Master Chief moved toward the medical bay's doors. They automatically parted."Where is Admiral Whitcomb?""The Admiral is currently on the bridge," Cortana replied. "But Doctor Halsey gave me strict orders that you are not to—""I don't take orders from civilians," he snapped. "Not even her." The Master Chief passedout of the medical bay and marched down the corridor.
"You know," Cortana said, her voice now coming from his helmet speaker, "your attitudehas degraded since we started this mission—even before the battle for Reach.""Noted58," he replied.
The dim white light flooding the Gettysburg's passages was a welcome change from theblue illumination the Covenant used on their ships. John was glad to have his feet once more firmly planted on the raw steel decks of a human vessel59, even if the walls of thispassage were soot-stained.
He entered the Command elevator and punched the button for the bridge. The gentleacceleration made new pain flare60 alongERIC NYLUND239his arms, and ligaments popped in his chest—but he gritted61 his teeth and banished62 thepain from his awareness63.
When the doors parted, the Master Chief paused, taking in the sad state of theGettysburg's bridge. The front viewports had been blown out and recently replaced withwelded plates of hull armor. A trio of monitors had been hastily bolted in place over them.Crystallized freeze-dried blood covered the navigation and ops consoles. Only three control stations were lit: engineer.ing, computer status, and MAC ops.
But most disconcerting was that only Admiral Whitcomb and Lieutenant64 Haverson were present on a bridge that usually needed a staff of thirty officers. The room was as still and empty as a tomb.
"Master Chief," Admiral Whitcomb said, slightly surprised.
"Sir." He stood at attention and snapped off a crisp salute65. "Permission to enter thebridge.""Granted, son," the Admiral said.
"What's your status, Chief?" Haverson asked. "Doctor Halsey told us it would be days before you recovered.""I'm one hundred percent, sir," he said.
As if she had heard this statement, Dr. Halsey opened a COM channel, and a tiny video feed popped onto his heads-up display. Her glasses reflected an ambient orange lightfrom wherever she was, and he could not see her eyes.
"John, I need to speak with you.""I'm with Admiral Whitcomb and Lieutenant Haverson, ma'am. When I'm done I can speak with you."She was silent a moment, then said, "Very well." The COM winked off.
The Master Chief felt a pang66 of regret for being so terse67 with her.
"Get over here, son," the Admiral said. He returned his atten.tion to the clear plastic walldotted with stars and the diamond symbols that represented UNSC military outposts inthis region of space. "We're in something of a tough spot."He marched to the Admiral and Haverson and studied the chart with them. "Cortana'sbriefed me, sir. The Covenant know Earth's location and are on the move, most likelypreparing a massive attack.
""That's the gist68 of it, I'm afraii"d,Haverson said, and the Chief240HALO: FIRST STRIKEnoticed deep circles of fatigue ringing the younger man's eyes. "To complicate69 matters,we can barely navigate70. We've been working around the clock to restore our ships, butwe'd need an engineering crew of a hundred and a space dock to get these wrecks71 into fighting shape."Admiral Whitcomb frowned at the Lieutenant's dour72 assess.ment and added, "Another trick is that the crystal we picked up on Reach emits radiation in Slipspace. Enough to killeveryone after only a few more hours of exposure.
"But we're hanging on to the alien device. It changes the prop73.erties of Slipspace, as you already saw—but with one more twist. In the few minutes we were in that tangledversion of Slip-space, we traveled here"—he drew a tiny circle on the map, cen.tered on their position—"which under normal circumstances should have taken us days.""We attempted to briefly74 jump again," Haverson added, "but nothing extraordinary occurred. This unusually long jump may have been caused by the energy added toSlipspace by our battle with the Covenant.""In any case," Admiral Whitcomb said, "if we learn what makes this crystal tick, it'd give us a hell of an edge on the Covenant.""I see, sir."The Chief scrutinized75 their location—not quite the definition of the middle of nowhere,but close. He noted that there were three star systems within the circle.
Haverson also peered at the chart. He touched one of the star symbols within their range,and statistics scrolled76 along.side the object. He sighed. "This system was glassed in 2530,so there's no chance there would be anyone to help us there. And the other two systems. .." He shook his head. "Uninhabited.""Hell," Admiral Whitcomb said and tugged77 on his mustache, "we pulled out of this region of space almost as soon as the war started. The Covenant came in, burned Eridanus and the other Outer Colonies, and then moved on without batting an eye.""Eridanus?" The Chief stepped closer and touched the data scrolling78 next to the tiny star."I know this place." He turned to the Admiral. "And there is a human colony there, sir— just not one that the UNSC cares about anymore. If I had to guess, I'd betERIC NYLUND241that the Covenant never found it, either. We might be able to ex.pedite repairs there."The Admiral stared thoughtfully at him. "You sure? Sure enough to bet our lives and Earthon that hunch79, Chief?"The Master Chief looked again at the tiny dot on the map.
It wasn't Eridanus he was thinking of. It was the surrounding asteroid80 belt ... and a mission he and his team had executed twenty years ago.
"Yes, sir. I'm sure."
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1
covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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anomalous
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| adj.反常的；不规则的 | |
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overestimation
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| [经] 过高的估计 | |
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blurry
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| adj.模糊的；污脏的，污斑的 | |
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amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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stunning
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| adj.极好的；使人晕倒的 | |
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surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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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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extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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pro
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| n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者 | |
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projection
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| n.发射，计划，突出部分 | |
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symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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concussion
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| n.脑震荡；震动 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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frigate
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| n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰 | |
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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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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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plasma
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| n.血浆，细胞质，乳清 | |
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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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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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eulogies
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| n.颂词，颂文( eulogy的名词复数 ) | |
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roster
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| n.值勤表，花名册 | |
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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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luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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mobility
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| n.可动性，变动性，情感不定 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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hampered
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper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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pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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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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interfaced
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| 界面上的，界面的 | |
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forerunner
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| n.前身，先驱（者），预兆，祖先 | |
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reactor
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| n.反应器；反应堆 | |
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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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stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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naive
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| adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的 | |
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penetrates
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| v.穿过( penetrate的第三人称单数 )；刺入；了解；渗透 | |
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lethal
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| adj.致死的；毁灭性的 | |
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beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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adamant
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| adj.坚硬的，固执的 | |
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softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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disseminated
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| 散布，传播( disseminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
coordinates
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| n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等 | |
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53
vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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coordinated
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| adj.协调的 | |
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warships
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| 军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只 | |
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galaxy
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| n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物) | |
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rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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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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flare
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| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
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gritted
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| v.以沙砾覆盖（某物），撒沙砾于( grit的过去式和过去分词 )；咬紧牙关 | |
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banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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awareness
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| n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智 | |
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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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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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pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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terse
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| adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的 | |
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gist
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| n.要旨；梗概 | |
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complicate
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| vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂 | |
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navigate
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| v.航行，飞行；导航，领航 | |
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wrecks
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| n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉 | |
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72
dour
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| adj.冷酷的，严厉的；（岩石）嶙峋的；顽强不屈 | |
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73
prop
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| vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山 | |
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74
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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75
scrutinized
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| v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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76
scrolled
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| adj.具有涡卷装饰的v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的过去式和过去分词 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕 | |
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77
tugged
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| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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78
scrolling
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| n.卷[滚]动法，上下换行v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的现在分词 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕 | |
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79
hunch
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| n.预感，直觉 | |
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80
asteroid
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| n.小行星；海盘车(动物) | |
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