TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Section I
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Section II
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Section III
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Section IV
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-nine
Section V
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Section VI
Epilogue
Praise forHALO: The Fall of Reach
Copyright

HALO
THE FALL OF REACH
Eric Nylund
A Del Rey唇ook
THE BALLANTINE PUBLISHING GROUP NEW YORK

For Syne Mitchell. She watched my six, patched me up, and provided transportation to my DZ everyday
o soldier could ever ask for better support in the field . . . or a better wife.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Singled out for conspicuous merit and bravery under fire are the following personnel:
Eric S. Trautmann went far above and beyond the call of duty providing background material, editing,
reality checks, and a constant supply of caffeine and encouragement.
Bungie for making a superb game, and in particular: Jason Jones, Alex Seropian, John Howard, and
Lorraine McLees.
The brilliant tactical unit at Microsoft Franchise Development Group: Nancy Figatner, Brannon Boren,
and Doug Zartman.
Microsoft User Experience fireteam: Keith Cirillo, Jo Tyo, and Matt Whiting.
The troopers at Ballantine/Del Rey: Caron Harris, David Stevenson, Steve Palmer, Crystal Velasquez
and special thanks to Steve Saffel.

PROLOGUE
0500 Hours, February 12, 2535 (Military Calendar) / Lambda Serpentis System, Jericho VII
Theater
of Operations
ontact. All teams stand by: enemy contact, my position.
The Chief knew there were probably more than a hundred of themotion sensors were off the scale.
He wanted to see them for himself, though; his training made that lesson clear: achines break. Eyes
don.
The four Spartans that composed Blue Team covered his back, standing absolutely silent and immobile
in their MJOLNIR combat armor. Someone had once commented that they looked like Greek war gods
in the armor . . . but his Spartans were far more effective and ruthless than Homer gods had ever been.
He snaked the fiber-optic probe up and over the three-meter-high stone ridge. When it was in place, the
Chief linked it to his helmet heads-up display.
On the other side he saw a valley with eroded rock walls and a river meandering through it . . . and
camped along the banks as far as he could see were Grunts.
The Covenant used these stocky aliens as cannon fodder. They stood a meter tall and wore armored
environment suits that replicated the atmosphere of their frozen homeworld. They reminded the Chief of
biped dogs, not only in appearance, but because their speechven with the new translation software
was an odd combination of high-pitched squeaks, guttural barks, and growls.
They were about as smart as dogs, too. But what they lacked in brainpower, they made up for in sheer
tenacity. He had seen them hurl themselves at their enemies until the ground was piled high with their
corpses . . . and their opponents had depleted their ammunition.
These Grunts were unusually well armed: needlers, plasma pistols, and there were four stationary
plasma cannons. Those could be a problem.
One other problem: there were easily a thousand of them.
This operation had to go off without a hitch. Blue Team mission was to draw out the Covenant rear
guard and let Red Team slip through in the confusion. Red Team would then plant a HAVOK tactical

nuke. When the next Covenant ship landed, dropped its shields, and started to unload its troops, they
get a thirty-megaton surprise.
The Chief detached the optics and took a step back from the rock wall. He passed the tactical
information along to his team over a secure COM channel.
our of us,Blue-Two whispered over the link. nd a thousand of them? Piss-poor odds for the little
guys.
lue-Two,the Chief said, want you up with those Jackhammer launchers. Take out the cannons and
soften the rest of them. Blue-Three and Five, you follow me upee on crowd control. Blue-Four:
you get the welcome mat ready. Understood?
Four blue lights winked on his heads-up display as his team acknowledged the orders.
n my mark.The Chief crouched and readied himself. ark!
Blue-Two leaped gracefully atop the ridgehree meters straight up. There was no sound as the half ton
of MJOLNIR armor and Spartan landed on the limestone.
She hefted one launcher and ran along the ridgehe was the fastest Spartan on the Chief team. He
was confident those Grunts wouldn be able to track her for the three seconds she be exposed. In
quick succession, Blue-Two emptied both of the Jackhammer tubes, dropped one launcher, and then
fired the other rockets just as fast. The shells streaked into the Gruntsformation and detonated. One of
the stationary guns flipped over, engulfed in the blast, and the gunner was flung to the ground.
She ditched the launcher, jumped downolled oncend was back on her feet, running at top speed to
the fallback point.
The Chief, Blue-Three, and Blue-Five leaped to the top of the ridge. The Chief switched to infrared to
cut through the clouds of dust and propellant exhaust just in time to see the second salvo of
Jackhammers strike their targets. Two consecutive blossoms of flash, fire, and thunder decimated the
front ranks of the Grunt guards, and most importantly, turned the last of the plasma cannons into
smoldering wreckage.
The Chief and the others opened fire with their MA5B assault rifles full automatic spray of fifteen
rounds per second. Armor-piercing bullets tore into the aliens, breaching their environment suits and
sparking the methane tanks they carried. Gouts of flame traced wild arcs as the wounded Grunts ran in
confusion and pain.
Finally the Grunts realized what was happeningnd where this attack was coming from. They
regrouped and chargeden masse . An earthquake vibration coursed through the ground and shook the

porous stone beneath the Chief boots.
The three Spartans exhausted their AP clips and then, in unison, switched to shredder rounds. They fired
into the tide of creatures as they surged forward. Line after line of them dropped. Scores more just
trampled their fallen comrades.
Explosive needles bounced off the Chief armor, detonating as they hit the ground. He saw the flash of
a plasma boltide steppednd heard the air crackle where he had stood a split second before.
nbound Covenant air support,lue-Four reported over the COM link.TA is two minutes, Chief.
oger that,he said. lue-Three and -Five: maintain fire for five seconds, then fall back. Mark!
Their status lights winked once, acknowledging his order.
The Grunts were three meters from the wall. The Chief tossed two grenades. He, Blue-Three, and Blue-
Five stepped backward off the ridge, landed, spun, and ran.
Two dull thumps reverberated though the ground. The squeals and barks of the incoming Grunts,
however, drowned out the noise of the exploding grenades.
The Chief and his team sprinted up the half-kilometer sandstone slope in thirty-two seconds flat. The hill
ended abruptly sheer drop of two hundred meters straight into the ocean.
Blue-Four voice crackled over the COM channel:elcome mat is laid out, Chief. Ready when you
are.
The Grunts looked like a living carpet of steel-blue skin, claws, and chrome weapons. Some ran on all
fours up the slope. They barked and howled, baying for the Spartansblood.
oll out the carpet,the Chief told Blue-Four.
The hill explodedlumes of pulverized sandstone and fire and smoke hurtled skyward.
The Spartans had buried a spiderweb pattern of Lotus antitank mines earlier that morning.
Sand and bits of metal pinged off of the Chief helmet.
The Chief and his team opened fire again, picking off the remaining Grunts that were still alive and
struggling to stand.

His motion detector flashed a warning. There were incoming projectiles high at two olockelocities
at over a hundred kilometers per hour.
Five Covenant Banshee fliers appeared over the ridge.
ew contacts. All teams, open fire!he barked.
The Spartans, without hesitation, fired on the alien fliers. Bullet hits pinged from the flierschitinous
armort would take a very lucky shot to take out the antigrav pods on the end of the craft stubby
meter-long ings.
The fire got the aliensattention, however. Lances of fire slashed from the Bansheesgunports.
The Chief dove and rolled to his feet. Sandstone exploded where he had stood only an instant before.
Globules of molten glass sprayed the Spartans.
The Banshees screamed over their headshen banked sharply for another pass.
lue-Three, Blue-Five: Theta Maneuver,the Chief called out.
Blue-Three and -Five gave him the thumbs-up signal.
They regrouped at the edge of the cliff and clipped onto the steel cables that dangled down the length of
the rock wall.
id you set up the fougasses with fire or shrapnel?the Chief asked.
oth,Blue-Three replied.
ood.The Chief grabbed the detonators. over me.
The fougasses were never meant to take down flying targets; the Spartans had put them there to mop up
the Grunts. In the field, though, you had to improvise. Another tenet of their training: adapt or die.
The Banshees formed into a lying Vand swooped toward them, almost brushing the ground.
The Spartans opened fire.
Bolts of superheated plasma from the Banshees punctuated the air.
The Chief dodged to the right, then to the left; he ducked. Their aim was getting better.

The Banshees were one hundred meters away, then fifty meters. Their plasma weapons might recycle
fast enough to get another shot . . . and at this range, the Chief wouldn be dodging.
The Spartans jumped backward off the cliffuns still blazing. The Chief jumped, too, and hit the
detonators.
The ten fougassesach a steel barrel filled with napalm and spent AP and shredder casingsad been
buried a few meters from the edge of the cliff, their mouths angled up at thirty degrees. When the
grenades at the bottom of the barrels exploded, it made one hell of a barbecue out of anything that got in
their way.
The Spartans slammed into the side of the cliffhe steel cables they were attached to twanged taut.
A wave of heat and pressure washed over them. A heartbeat later five flaming Banshees hurtled over
their heads, leaving thick trails of black smoke as they arced into the water. They splashed down, then
vanished beneath the emerald waves. The Spartans hung there a moment, waiting and watching with
their assault rifles trained on the water.
No survivors surfaced.
They rappelled down to the beach and rendezvoused with Blue-Two and -Four.
ed Team reports mission objective achieved, Chief,Blue-Two said. hey send their compliments.
t hardly going to balance the scales,Blue-Three muttered, and kicked the sand. ot like those
Grunts when they slaughtered the 105th Drop Jet Platoon. They should suffer just as much as those guys
did.
The Chief had nothing to say to that. It wasn his job to make things suffere was just here to win
battles. Whatever it took.
lue-Two,the Chief said. et me an uplink.
ye aye.She patched him into the SATCOM system.
ission accomplished, Captain de Blanc,the Chief reported. nemy neutralized.
xcellent news,he Captain said. He sighed, and added,ut wee pulling you out, Chief.
ee just getting warmed up down here, sir.

ell, it a different story up here. Move out for pickup ASAP.
nderstood, sir.The Chief killed the uplink. He told his team, he party over, Spartans. Dust-off in
fifteen.
They jogged double-quick up the ten kilometers of the beach, and returned to their dropship Pelican,
scuffed and dented from three dayshard fighting. They boarded and the ship engines whined to life.
Blue-Two took off her helmet and scratched the stubble of her brown hair. t a shame to leave this
place,she said, and leaned against the porthole. here are so few left.
The Chief stood by her and glanced out as they lifted into the airhere were wide rolling plains of
palmgrass, the green expanse of ocean, a wispy band of clouds in the sky, and setting red suns.
here will be other places to fight for,he said.
ill there?she whispered.
The Pelican ascended rapidly through the atmosphere, the sky darkened, and soon only stars surrounded
them.
In orbit, there were dozens of frigates, destroyers, and two massive carriers. Every ship had carbon
scoring and holes peppering their hulls. They were all maneuvering to break orbit.
They docked in the port bay of the UNSC destroyerResolute . Despite being surrounded by two meters
of titanium-A battle plate and an array of modern weapons, the Chief preferred to have his feet on the
ground, with real gravity, and real atmosphere to breathe place where he was in control, and where
his life wasn held in the hands of anonymous pilots. A ship just wasn home.
The battlefield was.
The Chief rode the elevator to the bridge to make his report, taking advantage of the momentary respite
to read Red Team after-action report in his display. As predicted, the Spartans of Red, Blue, and Green
Teamsugmenting three divisions of battle-hardened UNSC Marinesad stalled a Covenant ground
advance. Casualty figures were still coming in, butn the ground, at leasthe alien forces had been
completely stonewalled.
A moment later the lift doors parted, and he stepped on the rubberized deck. He snapped a crisp salute to
Captain de Blanc. ir. Reporting as ordered.

The junior bridge officers took a step back from the Chief. They weren used to seeing a Spartan in full
MJOLNIR armor up closeost line troops had never even seen a Spartan. The ghostly iridescent
green of the armor plates and the matte black layers underneath made him look part gladiator, part
machine. Or perhaps to the bridge crew, he looked as alien as the Covenant.
The view screens showed stars and Jerico VII four silver moons. At extreme range, a small
constellation of stars drifted closer.
The Captain waved the Chief closer as he stared at that cluster of starshe rest of the battlegroup. t
happening again.
equest permission to remain on the bridge, sir,the Chief said. . . . want to see it this time, sir.
The Captain hung his head, looking weary. He glanced at the Master Chief with haunted eyes. ery
well, Chief. After all youe been through to save Jericho Seven, we owe you that. Wee only thirty
million kilometers out-system, though, not half as far as I like to be.He turned to the NAV Officer.
earing one two zero. Prepare our exit vector.
He turned to face the Chief. el stay to watch . . . but if those bastards so much as twitch in our
direction, wee jumping the hell out of here.
nderstood, sir. Thank you.
Resolute engines rumbled and the ship moved off.
Three dozen Covenant shipsig ones, destroyers and cruisersinked into view in the system. They
were sleek, looking more like sharks than starcraft. Their lateral lines brightened with plasmahen
discharged and rained fire down upon Jericho VII.
The Chief watched for an hour and didn move a muscle.
The planet lakes, rivers, and oceans vaporized. By tomorrow, the atmosphere would boil away, too.
Fields and forests were glassy smooth and glowing red-hot in patches.
Where there had once been a paradise, only hell remained.
ake ready to jump clear of the system,the Captain ordered.
The Chief continued to watch, his face grim.

There had been ten years of thishe vast network of human colonies whittled down to a handful of
strongholds by a merciless, implacable enemy. The Chief had killed the enemy on the groundhot
them, stabbed them, and broken them with his own two hands. On the ground, the Spartansalways won.
The problem was, the Spartans couldn take their fight into space. Every minor victory on the ground
turned into a major defeat in orbit.
Soon there would be no more colonies, no human settlementsnd nowhere left to run.

SECTION I
REVEILLE
CHAPTER ONE
0430 Hours, August 17, 2517 (Military Calendar) / Slipstream space unknown
coordinates near
Eridanus Star System
Lieutenant Junior Grade Jacob Keyes awoke. Dull red light filled his blurry vision and he choked on the
slime in his lungs and throat.
it up, Lieutenant Keyes,a disembodied male voice said. it. Take a deep breath and cough, sir. You
need to clear the bronchial surfactant.
Lieutenant Keyes pushed himself up, peeling his back off the formfitting gel bed. Wisps of fog
overflowed from the cryogenic tube as he clumsily climbed out. He sat on a nearby bench, tried to
inhale, and doubled over, coughing until a long string of clear fluid flowed from his open mouth.
He sat up and drew his first full breath in two weeks. He tasted his lips and almost gagged. The cryo
inhalant was specially designed to be regurgitated and swallowed, replacing nutrients lost in the deep
sleep. No matter how they changed the formula, though, it always tasted like lime-flavored mucus.
tatus, Toran? Are we under attack?
egative, sir,the ship AI replied. tatus normal. We will enter normal space near the Eridanus
System in forty-five minutes.
Lieutenant Keyes coughed again. ood. Thank you, Toran.
oue welcome, Lieutenant.
Eridanus was on the border of the Outer Colonies. It was just far enough off the beaten path for pirates
to be lurking . . . waiting to capture a diplomatic shuttle like theHan . This ship wouldn last long in a
space action. Theyshould have an escort. He didn understand why they had been sent aloneut
Junior Lieutenants didn question orders. Especially when those orders came from FLEETCOM HQ on

planet Reach.
Wake-up protocols dictated that he inspect the rest of the crew to make sure no one had run into
problems reviving. He looked around the sleep chamber: rows of stainless steel lockers and showers, a
medical pod for emergency resuscitations, and forty cryogenic tubesll empty except the one to his
left.
The other person on theHan was the civilian specialist, Dr. Halsey. Keyes had been ordered to protect
her at all costs, pilot this ship, and generally stay the hell out of her way. They might as well have asked
him to hold her hand. This wasn a military mission; it was baby-sitting. Someone at Fleet Command
must have him on their blacklist.
The cover of Dr. Halsey tube hummed open. Mist rippled out as she sat up, coughing. Her pale skin
made her look like a ghost in the fog. Matted locks of dark hair clung to her neck. She didn look much
older than him, and she was lovelyot beautiful, but definitely a striking woman. For a civilian,
anyway.
Her blue eyes fixed upon the Lieutenant and she looked him over. e must be near Eridanus,she said.
Lieutenant Keyes almost saluted reflectively, but checked the motion. es, Doctor.His face reddened
and he looked away from her slender body.
He had drilled in cryogenic recovery a dozen times at the Academy. He seen his fellow officers naked
beforeen and women. But Dr. Halsey was a civilian. He didn know what protocols applied.
Lieutenant Keyes got up and went to her. an I help you
She swung her legs out of the tube and climbed out. fine, Lieutenant. Get cleaned up and dressed.
She brushed past him and strode to the showers. urry. We have important work to do.
Lieutenant Keyes stood straighter. ye, aye, Mam.
With that brief encounter, their roles and the rules of conduct crystallized. Civilian or notike it or not
ieutenant Keyes understood that Dr. Halsey was in charge.
The bridge of theHan had an abundance of space for a vessel of its size. That is, it had all the
maneuvering room of a walk-in closet. A freshly showered, shaved, and uniformed Lieutenant Keyes
pulled himself into the room and sealed the pressure door behind him. Every surface of the bridge was
covered with monitors and screens. The wall on his left was a single large semicurved view screen, dark
for the moment because there was nothing in the visible spectrum to see in Slipspace.

Behind him was theHan spinning center section, containing the mess, the rec room, and the sleep
chambers. There was no gravity on the bridge, however. The diplomatic shuttle had been designed for
the comfort of its passengers, not the crew.
It didn seem to bother Dr. Halsey. Strapped into the navigator couch, she wore a white jumpsuit that
matched her pale skin, and had tied her dark hair into a simple, elegant knot. Her fingers danced across
four keypads, tapping in commands.
elcome, Lieutenant,she said without looking up. lease have a seat at the communication station
and monitor the channels when we enter normal space. If there so much as a squeak on nonstandard
frequencies, I want to know instantly.
He drifted to the communication station and strapped himself down.
oran?she asked.
waiting your orders, Dr. Halsey,the ship AI replied.
ive me astrogation maps of the system.
nline, Dr. Halsey.
re there any planets currently aligned with our entry trajectory and Eridanus Two? I want to pick up a
gravitational boost so we can move in-system ASAP.
alculating now, Doctor Hal
nd can we have some music? Rachmaninov Piano Concerto Number Three, I think.
nderstood Doctor
nd start a preburn warm-up cycle for the fusion engines.
es, Doc
nd stop spinning theHan central carousel section. We may need the power.
orking . . .
She eased back. The music started and she sighed. hank you, Toran.

oue welcome, Dr. Halsey. Entering normal space in five minutes, plus or minus three minutes.
Lieutenant Keyes shot the doctor an admiring glance. He was impressedew people could put a
shipboard AI through its paces so rigorously as to cause a detectable pause.
She turned to face him. es, Lieutenant? You have a question?
He composed himself and pulled his uniform jacket taut. was curious about our mission, mam. I
assume we are to reconnoiter something in this system, but why send a shuttle, rather than a prowler or a
corvette? And why just the two of us?
She blinked and smiled. fairly accurate assumption and analysis, Lieutenant. Thisis a reconnaissance
mission . . . of sorts. We are here to observe a child. The first of many, I hope.
child?
six-year-old male, to be precise.She waved her hand. t may help if you think of this purely as a
UNSC-funded physiological study.Every trace of a smile evaporated from her lips. hich is precisely
what you are to tell anyone who asks. Is that understood, Lieutenant?
es, Doctor.
Keyes frowned, retrieved his grandfather pipe from his pocket, and turned it end over end. He couldn
smoke the thinggniting a combustible on the flight deck was against every major regulation on a
UNSC space vehicleut sometimes he just fiddled with it or chewed on the tip, which helped him
think. He stuck it back into his pocket, and decided to push the issue and find out more.
ith all due respect, Dr. Halsey, this sector of space is dangerous.
With a sudden deceleration, they entered normal space. The main view screen flickered and a million
stars snapped into focus. TheHan dove toward a cloud-swirled gas giant dead ahead.
tand by for burn,Dr. Halsey announced. n my mark, Toran.
Lieutenant Keyes tightened his harness.
hree . . . two . . . one.Mark.
The ship rumbled and sped faster toward the gas giant. The pull of the harness increased around the
Lieutenant chest, making breathing difficult. They accelerated for sixty-seven seconds . . . the storms

of the gas giant grew larger on the view screenhen theHan arced up and away from its surface.
Eridanus drifted into the center of the screen and filled the bridge with warm orange light.
ravity boost complete,Toran chimed. TA to Eridanus is forty-two minutes, three seconds.
ell done,Dr. Halsey said. She unlocked her harness and floated free, stretching. hate cryo sleep,
she said. t leaves one so cramped.
s I was saying before, Doctor, this system is dangerous
She gracefully spun to face him, halting her momentum with a hand on the bulkhead. h yes, I know
how dangerous this system is. It has a colorful history: rebel insurrection in 2494, beaten down by the
UNSC two years later at the cost of four destroyers.She thought a moment, then added, don
believe the Office of Naval Intelligence ever found their base in the asteroid field. And since there have
been organized raids and scattered pirate activity nearby, one might concludes ONI clearly hashat
the remnants of the original rebel faction are still active. Is that that what you were worried about?
es,the Lieutenant replied. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry, but he refused to be cowed by the
doctory acivilian . need hardly remind you that it my job to worry about our security.
She knew more than he did, much more, about the Eridanus Systemnd she obviously had contacts in
the intelligence community. Keyes had never seen an ONI spooko the best of his knowledge anyway.
Mainline Navy personnel had elevated such agents to near-mythological status.
Whatever else he thought of Dr. Halsey, he would assume from now on that she knew what she was
doing.
Dr. Halsey stretched once more and then strapped herself back onto the navigation couch. peaking of
pirates,she said with her back now to him, eren you supposed to be monitoring communication
channels for illegal signals? Just in case someone takes undue interest in a lone, unescorted, diplomatic
shuttle?
Lieutenant Keyes cursed himself for his momentary lapse and snapped to. He scanned all frequencies
and had Toran cross-check their authentication codes.
ll signals verified,he reported. o pirate transmissions detected.
ontinue to monitor them, please.
An awkward thirty minutes passed. Dr. Halsey was content to read reports on the navigational screens,

and kept her back to him.
Lieutenant Keyes finally cleared his throat. ay I speak candidly, Doctor?
ou don need my permission,she said. y all means, speak candidly, Lieutenant. Youe been
doing a fine job so far.
Under normal circumstances, among normal officers, that last remark would have been insubordination
r worse, a rebuke. But he let it pass. Normal military protocols seemed to have been jettisoned on
this flight.
ou said we were here to observe a child.He shook his head dubiously. f this is a cover for real
military intelligence work, then, to tell the truth, there are better-qualified officers for this mission. I
graduated from UNSC OCS only seven weeks ago. My orders had me rotated to theMagellan . Those
orders were rescinded, mam.
She turned and scrutinized him with icy blue eyes. o on, Lieutenant.
He reached for his pipe, but then checked the motion. She would probably think it a silly habit.
f this is an intel op,he said, hen . . . then I don understand why I here at all.
She leaned forward. hen, Lieutenant, I shall be equally candid.
Something deep inside Lieutenant Keyes told him he would regret hearing whatever Dr. Halsey had to
say. He ignored the feeling. He wanted to know the truth.
o ahead, Doctor.
Her slight smile returned. ou are here because Vice Admiral Stanforth, head of Section Three of
UNSC Military Intelligence Division, refused to lend me this shuttle without at least one UNSC officer
aboardven though he knows damn well that I can pilot this bucket by myself. So I picked one UNSC
officer. You.She tapped her lower lip thoughtfully and added, ou see, Ie read your file,
Lieutenant. All of it.
don know
oudo know what I talking about.She rolled her eyes. ou don lie well. Don insult me by
trying again.
Lieutenant Keyes swallowed. hen why me?Especially if youe seen my record?

chose you preciselybecause of your recordecause of the incident in your second year at OCS.
Fourteen ensigns killed. You were wounded and spent two months in rehabilitation. Plasma burns are
particularly painful, I understand.
He rubbed his hands together. es.
he Lieutenant responsible was your CO on that training mission. You refused to testify against him
despite overwhelming evidence and the testimony of his fellow officers . . . and friends.
es.
hey told the board of review the secret the Lieutenant had entrusted to you allhat he was going to
test his new theory to make Slipspace jumps more accurate. He was wrong, and you all paid for his
eagerness and poor mathematics.
Lieutenant Keyes studied his hands and had the feeling of falling inward. Dr. Halsey voice sounded
distant. es.
espite continuing pressure, you never testified. They threatened to demote you, charge you with
insubordination and refusing a direct orderven discharge you from the Navy.
our fellow officer candidates testified, though. The review board had all the evidence they needed to
court-martial your CO. They put you on report and dropped all further disciplinary actions.
He said nothing. His head hung low.
hat is why you are here, Lieutenantecause you have an ability that is exceedingly rare in the
military. You can keep a secret.She drew in a long breath and added, ou may have to keep many
secrets after this mission is over.
He glanced up. There was a strange look in her eyes. Pity? That caught him off guard and he looked
away again. But he felt better than he had since OCS. Someone trusted him again.
think,she said, hat you would rather be on theMagellan . Fighting and dying on the frontier.
o, I He caught the lie as he said it, stopped, then corrected himself. es. The UNSC needs every
man and woman patrolling the Outer Colonies. Between the raiders and insurrections, it a wonder it all
hasn fallen apart.
ndeed, Lieutenant, ever since we left Earth gravity, well, wee been fighting one another for every
cubic centimeter of vacuumrom Mars to the Jovian Moons to the Hydra System Massacres and on to

the hundred brushfire wars in the Outer Colonies. It has always been on the brink of falling apart. That
why wee here.
o observe one child,he said. hat difference could a child make?
One of her eyebrows arched. his child could be more useful to the UNSC than a fleet of destroyers, a
thousand Junior Grade Lieutenantsr evenme . In the end, the child may be the only thing that
makesany difference.
pproaching Eridanus Two,Toran informed them.
lot an atmospheric vector for the Luxor spaceport,Dr. Halsey ordered. ieutenant Keyes, make
ready to land.

CHAPTER TWO
1130 Hours, August 17, 2517 (Military Calendar) /
Eridanus Star System, Eridanus 2, Elysium City
The orange sun cast a fiery glow on the playground of Elysium City Primary Education Facility No. 119.
Dr. Halsey and Lieutenant Keyes stood in the semishade of a canvas awning and watched children as
they screamed and chased one another and climbed on steel lattices and skimmed gravballs across the
repulsor courts.
Lieutenant Keyes looked extremely uncomfortable in civilian clothes. He wore a loose gray suit, a white
shirt, and no tie. Dr. Halsey found his sudden awkwardness charming.
When he had complained the clothes were too loose and sloppy, she had almost laughed. He was pure
military to the core. Even out of uniform, the Lieutenant stood rigid, as if he were at perpetual attention.
t nice here,she said. his colony doesn know how good theye got it. Rural lifestyle. No
pollution. No crowding. Climate-controlled weather.
The Lieutenant grunted an acknowledgment as he tried to smooth the wrinkles out of his silk jacket.
elax,she said. ee supposed to be parents inspecting the school for our little girl.She slipped
her arm through his, and although she would have thought such a feat impossible, the Lieutenant stood
even straighter.
She sighed and pulled away from him, opened her purse, and retrieved a palm-sized pad. She adjusted
the brim of her wide straw hat to shade the pad from the noon glare. With a tap of her finger, she
accessed and scanned the file she had assembled of their subject.
Number 117 had all the genetic markers she had flagged in her original studye was as close to a
perfect subject for her purposes as science could determine. But Dr. Halsey knew it would take more
than theoretical perfection to make this project work. People were more than the sum of their genes.
There were environmental factors, mutations, learned ethics, and a hundred other factors that could
make this candidate unacceptable.
The picture in the file showed a typical six-year-old male. He had tousled brown hair and a sly grin that
revealed a gap between his front teeth. A few freckles were speckled across his checks. Goodhe
could match the patterns to confirm his identity.
ur subject.As she angled the pad toward the Lieutenant so he could see the boy, Dr. Halsey noticed

that the picture was four months old. Didn ONI realize how fast these children changed? Sloppy. She
made a note to request updated pictures on a regular basis until phase three started.
s that him?the Lieutenant whispered.
Dr. Halsey looked up.
The Lieutenant nodded to a grassy hill at the end of the playground. The crest of that hill was bare dirt,
scuffed clean of all vegetation. A dozen boys pushed and shoved one anotherrabbed, tackled, rolled
down the slope, and then got up, ran back, and started the process over.
ing of the hill,Dr. Halsey remarked.
One boy stood on the crest. He blocked, pushed, and strong-armed all the other children.
Dr. Halsey pointed her data pad at him and recorded this incident for later study. She zoomed in on the
subject to get a better look. This boy smiled and showed the same small gap between his front teeth. A
split-second freeze frame and she matched his freckles to the picture on file.
hat our boy.
He was taller than the other children by a full head, andf his performance in the game was any
indicatortronger as well. Another boy grabbed him from behind in a headlock. Number 117 peeled
the boy off, andith a laughossed him down the hillside like a toy.
Dr. Halsey had expected a specimen of perfect physical proportions and stunning intellect. True, the
subject was strong and fast, but he was also dirty and rude.
Then again, unrealistic and subjective perceptions had to be confronted in these field studies. What did
she really expect? He was a six-year-old boyull of life and unchecked emotion and as predictable as
the wind.
Three boys ganged up on him. Two grabbed his legs and one threw his arms around his chest. They all
tumbled down the hill. Number 117 kicked and punched and bit his attackers until they let go and ran
away to a safe distance. He rose and tore back up the hill, bumping another boy and shouting that he was
king.
e seems,the Lieutenant started, m, very animated.
es,Dr. Halsey said. e may be able to use this one.

She glanced up and down the playground. The only adult was helping a girl get to her feet after falling
down and scraping her elbow; she marched her towards the nurse office.
tay here and watch me, Lieutenant,she said, and passed him the data pad. going to have a
closer look.
The Lieutenant started to say something, but Dr. Halsey walked away, then half jogged across the
painted lines of hopscotch squares on the playground. A breeze caught her sundress and she had to
clutch the hem with one hand, grabbing the brim of her straw hat with the other. She slowed to a trot and
halted four meters from the base of the hill.
The children stopped and turned.
oue in trouble,one boy said, and pushed Number 117.
He shoved the boy back and then looked Dr. Halsey squarely in the eyes. The other children looked
away; some wore embarrassed smirks, and a few slowly backed off.
Her subject, however, stood there defiantly. He was either confident she wasn going to punish himr
he simply wasn afraid. She saw that he had a bruise on his cheek, the knees of his pants were torn, and
his lip was cracked.
Dr. Halsey took three steps closer. Several of the children took three involuntary steps backward.
an I speak with you, please?she asked, and continued to stare at her subject.
He finally broke eye contact, shrugged, and then lumbered down the hill. The other children giggled and
made tsking sounds; one tossed a pebble at him. Number 117 ignored them.
Dr. Halsey led him to the edge of the nearby sandpit and stopped.
hat your name?she asked.
John,he said. The boy held out his hand.
Dr. Halsey didn expect physical contact. The subject father must have taught him the ritual, or the
boy was highly imitative.
She shook his hand and was surprised by the strength in his miniscule grip. t very nice to meet you.
She knelt so she was at his level. wanted to ask you what you were doing?

inning,he said.
Dr. Halsey smiled. He was unafraid of her . . . and she doubted that he have any trouble pushing her
off the hill, either.
ou like games,she said. o do I.
He sighed. eah, but they made me play chess last week. That got boring. It too easy to win.He
took a quick breath. ran we play gravball? They don let me play gravball anymore, but maybe if
you tell them it okay?
have a different game I want you to try,she told him. ook.She reached into her purse and
brought out a metal disk. She turned it over and it gleamed in the sun. eople used coins like this for
currency a long time ago, when Earth was the only planet we lived on.
His eyes fixed on the object. He reached for it.
Dr. Halsey moved it away, continuing to flip it between her thumb and index finger. ach side is
different. Do you see? One has the face of a man with long hair. The other side has a bird, called an
eagle, and it holding
rrows,John said.
es. Good.His eyesight must be exceptional to see such detail so far away. el use this coin in our
game. If you win you can keep it.
John tore his gaze from the coin and looked at her again, squinted, then said, kay. I always win,
though. That why they won let me play gravball anymore.
sure you do.
hat the game?
t very simple. I toss the coin like this.She flicked her wrist, snapped her thumb, and the coin arced,
spinning into the air, and landed in the sand. ext time, though, before it lands, I want you to tell me if
it will fall with the face of the man showing or with the eagle holding the arrows.
got it.John tensed, bent his knees, and then his eyes seemed to lose their focus on her and the coin.
Dr. Halsey picked up the quarter. eady?

John gave a slight nod.
She tossed it, making sure there was plenty of spin.
John eyes watched it with that strange distant gaze. He tracked it as it went up, and then down toward
the groundis hand snapped out and snatched the quarter out of the air.
He held up his closed hand. agle!he shouted.
She tentatively reached for his hand and peeled open the tiny fist.
The quarter lay in his palm: the eagle shining in the orange sun.
Was it possible that he saw which side was up when he grabbed it . . . or more improbably, could have
picked which side he wanted? She hoped the Lieutenant had recorded that. She should have told him to
keep the data pad trained on her.
John retracted his hand. get to keep it, right? That what you said.
es, you can keep it, John.She smiled at himhen stopped.
She shouldn have used his name. That was a bad sign. She couldn afford the luxury ofliking her test
subjects. She mentally stepped away from her feelings. She had to maintain a professional distance. She
had to . . . because in a few months Number 117 might not be alive.
an we play again?
Dr. Halsey stood and took a step back. hat was the only one I had, I afraid. I have to leave now,
she told him. o back and play with your friends.
hanks.He ran back, shouting to the other boys, ook!
Dr. Halsey strode to the Lieutenant. The sun reflecting off the asphalt felt too hot, and she suddenly
didn want to be outside. She wanted to be back in the ship, where it was cool and dark. She wanted to
get off this planet.
She stepped under the canvas awning and said to the Lieutenant, ell me you recorded that.
He handed her the data pad and looked puzzled. es. What was it all about?
Dr. Halsey checked the recording and then sent a copy ahead to Toran on theHan for safekeeping.

e screen these subjects for certain genetic markers,she said. trength, agility, even predispositions
for aggression and intellect. But we couldn remote test for everything. We don test for luck.
uck?Lieutenant Keyes asked. ou believe in luck, Doctor?
f course not,she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. ut we have one hundred and fifty test
subjects to consider, and facilities and funding for only half that number. It a simple mathematical
elimination, Lieutenant. That child was one of the lucky onesither that or he is extraordinarily fast.
Either way, he in.
don understand,Lieutenant Keyes said, and he started fiddling with the pipe he carried in his
pocket.
hope that continues, Lieutenant, Dr. Halsey replied quietly. or your sake, I hope you never
understand what wee doing.
She looked one last time at Number 117t John. He was having so much fun, running and laughing.
For a moment she envied the boy innocence; hers was long dead. Life or death, lucky or not, she was
condemning this boy to a great deal of pain and suffering.
But it had to be done.

CHAPTER THREE
2300 Hours September 23, 2517 (Military Calendar ) / Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military
Complex,
planet Reach
Dr. Halsey stood on a platform in the center of the amphitheater. Concentric rings of slate-gray risers
surrounded hermpty for now. Overhead spotlights focused and reflected off her white lab coat, but
she still was cold.
She should feel safe here. Reach was one of the UNSC largest industrial bases, ringed with high-orbit
gun batteries, space docks, and a fleet of heavily-armed capital ships. On the planet surface were
Marine and Navy Special Warfare training grounds, OCS schools, and between her underground
facilities and the surface were three hundred meters of hardened steel and concrete. The room where she
now stood could withstand a direct hit from an 80-megaton nuke.
So why did she feel so vulnerable?
Dr. Halsey knew what she had to do. Her duty. It was for the greater good. All humanity would be
served . . . even if a tiny handful of them had to suffer for it. Still, when she turned inward and faced her
complicity in thishe was revolted by what she saw.
She wished she still had Lieutenant Keyes. He had proven himself a capable assistant during the last
month. But he had begun to understand the nature of the projectt least seen the edges of the truth. Dr.
Halsey had him reassigned to theMagellan with a commission to full Lieutenant for his troubles.
re you ready, Doctor?a disembodied woman voice asked.
lmost, D嶴Dr. Halsey sighed. lease summon Chief Petty Officer Mendez. I like you both
present when I address them.
D嶴s hologram flicked on next to Dr. Halsey. The AI had been specifically created for Dr. Halsey
SPARTAN project. She took the appearance of a Greek goddess: barefoot, wrapped in the toga, motes of
light dancing about her luminous white hair. She held a clay tablet in her left hand. Binary cuneiform
markings scrolled across the tablet. Dr. Halsey couldn help but marvel at the AI chosen form; each
AI elf-assigneda holographic appearance, and each was unique.
One of the doors at the top of the amphitheater opened and Chief Petty Officer Mendez strode down the
stairs. He wore a black dress uniform, his chest awash with silver and gold stars and a rainbow of

campaign ribbons. His close-shorn hair had a touch of gray at the temples. He was neither tall nor
muscular; he looked so ordinary for a man who had seen so much combat . . . except for his stride. The
man moved with a slow grace as if he were walking in half gravity. He paused before Dr. Halsey,
awaiting further instructions.
p here, please,she told him, gesturing to the stairs on her right.
Mendez mounted the steps of the platform and then stood at ease next to her.
ou have read my psychological evaluations?D嶴asked Dr. Halsey.
es. They were quite thorough,she said. hank you.
nd?
forgoing your recommendations, D嶴 I going to tell them the truth.
Mendez gave a nearly inaudible grunt of approvalne of the most verbose acknowledgments Dr.
Halsey had heard from him. As a hand-to-hand combat and physical-training DI, Mendez was the best in
the Navy. As a conversationalist, however, he left a great deal to be desired.
he truth has risks,D嶴cautioned.
o do lies,Dr. Halsey replied. ny story fabricated to motivate the childrenlaiming their parents
were taken and killed by pirates, or by a plague that devastated their planetf they learned the truth
later, they would turn against us.
t is a legitimate concern,conceded D嶴 and then she consulted her tablet. ay I suggest selective
neural paralysis? It produces a targeted amnesia
memory loss that may leak into other parts of the brain. No,Dr. Halsey said, his will be dangerous
enough for them even with intact minds.
Dr. Halsey clicked on her microphone. ring them in now.
ye aye,a voice replied from the speakers in the ceiling.
heyl adapt,Dr. Halsey told D嶴 r they won, and they will be untrainable and unsuitable for
the project. Either way I just want to get this over with.
Four sets of double doors at the top tier of the amphitheater swung open. Seventy-five children marched

inach accompanied by a handler, a Naval drill instructor in camouflage pattern fatigues.
The children had circles of fatigue around their eyes. They had all been collected, rushed here through
Slipstream space, and only recently brought out of cryo sleep. The shock of their ordeal must be hitting
them hard, Halsey realized. She stifled a pang of regret.
When they had been seated in the risers, Dr. Halsey cleared her throat and spoke: s per Naval Code
45812, you are hereby conscripted into the UNSC Special Project, codenamed SPARTAN II.
She paused; the words stuck in her windpipe. How could they possibly understand this?She barely
understood the justifications and ethics behind this program.
They looked so confused. A few tried to stand and leave, but their handlers placed firm hands on their
shoulders and pushed them back down.
Six years old . . . this was too much for them to digest. But she had to make them understand, explain it
in simple terms that they could grasp.
Dr. Halsey took a tentative step forward. ou have been called upon to serve,she explained. ou
will be trained . . . and you will become the best we can make of you. You will be the protectors of Earth
and all her colonies.
A handful of the children sat up straighter, no longer entirely frightened, but now interested.
Dr. Halsey spotted John, subject Number 117, the first boy she had confirmed as a viable candidate. He
wrinkled his forehead, confused, but he listened with rapt attention.
his will be hard to understand, but you cannot return to your parents.
The children stirred. Their handlers kept a firm grip on their shoulders.
his place will become your home,Dr. Halsey said in as soothing a voice as she could muster. our
fellow trainees will be your family now. The training will be difficult. There will be a great deal of
hardship on the road ahead, but I know you will all make it.
Patriotic words, but they rang hollow in her ears. She had wanted to tell them the truthut how could
she?
Not all of them would make it. cceptable losses,the Office of Naval Intelligence representative had
assured her. None of it was acceptable.

est now,Dr. Halsey said to them. e begin tomorrow.
She turned to Mendez. ave the children . . . the trainees escorted to their barracks. Feed them and put
them to bed.
es, mam,Mendez said. all out!he shouted.
The children roset the urging of their handlers. John 117 stood, but he kept his gaze on Dr. Halsey
and remained stoic. Many of the subjects seemed stunned, a few had trembling lipsut none of them
cried.
These were indeed the right children for the project. Dr. Halsey only hoped that she had half their
courage when the time came.
eep them busy tomorrow,she told Mendez and D嶴 eep them from thinking about what wee
just done to them.

SECTION II
BOOT
CHAPTER FOUR
0530 Hours, September 24, 2517 (Military Calendar) / Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military
Complex,
planet Reach
ake up, trainee!
John rolled over in his cot and went back to sleep. He was dimly aware that this wasn his room, and
that there were other people here.
A shock jolted himrom his bare feet to the base of his spine. He yelled in surprise and fell off the cot.
He shook off the disorientation from being nearly asleep and got up.
saidup , boot! You know which wayup is?
A man in a camouflage uniform stood over John. His hair was shorn and gray at his temples. His dark
eyes didn look humanoo big and black and they didn blink. He held a silver baton in one hand; he
flicked it toward John and it sparked.
John backed away. He wasn afraid of anything. Only little kids were afraid . . . but his body
instinctively moved as far away from the instrument as possible.
Dozens of other men roused the rest of the children. Seventy-four boys and girls screamed and jumped
out of their cots.
am Chief Petty Officer Mendez,the uniformed man next to John shouted. he rest of these men are
your instructors. You will do exactly as we tell you at all times.
Mendez pointed to the far end of the cinderblock barracks. howers are aft. You will all wash and then
return here to dress.He opened a trunk at the foot of John cot and pulled out a matching set of gray
sweats.

John leaned closer and saw his name stenciled on the chest: JOHN-117.
o slacking. On the double!Mendez tapped John between his shoulder blades with the baton.
Lightning surged across John chest. He sprawled on the cot and gasped for breath.
mean it! Go Go GO!
John moved. He couldn inhaleut he ran anyway, clutching his chest. He managed a ragged breath
by the time he got to the showers. The other kids looked scared and disoriented. They all stripped off
their nightshirts and stepped onto the conveyor, washed themselves in lukewarm soapy water, then
rinsed in an icy cold spray.
He ran back to his bunk, got into underwear, thick socks, pulled on the sweats and a pair of combat
boots that fit his feet perfectly.
utside, trainees,Mendez announced. riple time . . .march!
John and the others stampeded out of the barracks onto a strip of grass.
The sun hadn risen yet, and the edge of the sky was indigo. The grass was wet with dew. There were
dozens of rows of barracks, but no one else was up and outside. A pair of jets roared overhead and arced
up into the sky. Far away, John heard a metallic crackle.
Chief Petty Officer Mendez barked, ou will make five equal-length rows. Fifteen trainees in each.
He waited a few seconds as they milled about. traighten those rows. You know how to count to
fifteen, trainee? Take three steps back.
John stepped into the second row.
As he breathed the cold air he began to wake up. He started to remember. They had taken him in the
middle of the night. They injected him with something and he slept for a long time. Then the woman
who had given him the coin told him he couldn go back. That he wouldn see his mother or father
umping jacks!Mendez shouted. ount off to one hundred. Ready, go.The officer started the
exercise and John followed his lead.
One boy refusedor a split-second. An instructor was on him instantly. The baton whipped into the
boy stomach. The kid doubled over. et with the program, boot,the trainer snarled. The boy
uncurled and started jumping.

John had never done so many jumping jacks in his life. His arms and stomach and legs burned. Sweat
trickled down his back.
inety-eight900.Mendez paused. He drew in a deep breath. it-ups!He dropped onto the
grass. ount off to one hundred. No slacking.
John threw himself on the ground.
he first crewmen who quits,Mendez said, ets to run around the compound twicend then comes
back here and does two hundred sit ups. Ready . . . count off! One . . . two . . . three. . . .
Deep squats followed. Then knee bends.
John threw up, but that didn buy him any respite. A trainer descended on him after a few seconds. John
rolled back over and continued.
eg lifts.Mendez continued like he was a machine. As if they all were machines.
John couldn go onut he knew he get the baton again if he stopped. He tried; he had to move. His
legs trembled and only sluggishly responded.
est,Mendez finally called. rainers: get the water.
The trainers wheeled out carts laden with water bottles. John grabbed one and gulped down the liquid. It
was warm and slightly salty. He didn care. It was the best water he ever had.
He flopped on his back in the grass and panted.
The sun was up now. It was warm. He rolled to his knees and let the sweat drip off him like a heavy rain.
He slowly got up and glanced at the other children. They crouched on the ground, holding their sides,
and no one talked. Their clothes were soaked through with perspiration. John didn recognize anyone
from his school here.
So he was alone with strangers. He wondered where his mother was, and what
good start, trainees,Mendez told them. ow we run. On your feet!
The trainers brandished their batons and herded the trainees along. They jogged down a gravel path
through the compound, past more cinderblock barracks. The run seemed to go on foreverhey ran
alongside a river, over a bridge, then by the edge of a runway where jets took off straight into the air.

Once past the runway, Mendez led them on a zigzagging path of stone.
John wanted to think about what had happened, how he got here, and what was going to happen next . . .
but he couldn think straight. All he could feel was the blood pounding through him, the ache in his
muscles, and hunger.
They ran into a courtyard of smooth flagstones. A pole in the center flew the colors of the UNSC, a blue
field with stars and Earth in the corner. At the far end of the yard was a building with a scalloped dome
and white columns and dozens of wide steps leading to the entrance. The words NAVAL OFFICERS
ACADEMY were chiseled into the arch over the entrance.
A woman stood on the top step and beckoned to them. She wore a white sheet wrapped around her body.
She looked old to John, yet young at the same time. Then he saw the motes of light orbiting her head and
knew she was an AI. He had seen them on vids. She wasn solid, but she was still real.
xcellent work, Chief Petty Officer Mendez,she said in a resonant, silk-smooth voice. She turned to
the children. elcome. My name is D嶴and I will be your teacher. Please come in. Class is about to
start.
John groaned out loud. Several of the others grumbled, too.
She turned and started to walk inside. f course,she said, f you prefer to skip your lessons, you may
continue the morning calisthenics.
John double-timed it up the steps.
It was cool inside. A tray with crackers and a carton of milk had been laid out for each of them. John
nibbled on the dry stale food, then gulped down his milk.
John was so tired he wanted to lay his head down on the desk and take a napntil D嶴started to tell
them about a battle and how three hundred soldiers fought against thousands of Persian infantry.
A holographic countryside appeared in the classroom. The children walked around the miniature
mountains and hills and let the edge of the illusionary sea lap at their boots. Toy-sized soldiers marched
toward what D嶴explained was Thermopylae, a narrow strip of land between steep mountains and the
sea. Thousands of soldiers marched toward the three hundred who guarded the pass. The soldiers fought:
spears and shields splintered, swords flashed and spilled blood.
John couldn take his eyes off the spectacle.
D嶴explained that the three hundred were Spartans and they were the best soldiers who had ever lived.
They had been trained to fight since they were children. No one could beat them.

John watched, fascinated, as the holographic Spartans slaughtered the Persian spearmen.
He had eaten his crackers but he was still hungry, so he took the girl next to him when she wasn
looking, and munched them down as the battle raged on. His stomach still growled and grumbled.
When was lunch? Or was it dinnertime already?
The Persians broke and ran and the Spartans stood victorious on the field.
The children cheered. They wanted to see it again.
hat all for today,D嶴said. el continue tomorrow and Il show you some wolves. Now it
time for you to go to the playground.
layground?John said. That was perfect. He could finally just sit on a swing, relax, and think for a
moment.
He ran out of the room, as did the other trainees.
Chief Petty Officer Mendez and the trainers waited for them outside the classroom.
ime for the playground,Mendez said, and waved the children closer. t a short run. Fall in.
The hort runturned into two miles. And the playground was like nothing John had ever seen. It was a
forest of twenty-meter tall wooden poles. Rope cargo nets and bridges stretched between the poles; they
swayed, crossed and crisscrossed one another, a maze suspended in the air. There were slide poles and
knotted climbing ropes. There were swings and suspended platforms. There were ropes looped through
pulleys and tied to baskets that looked sturdy enough to hoist a person.
rainees,Mendez said, orm three lines.
The instructors moved in to herd them, but John and the others made three rows without comment or
fuss.
he first person in every row will be team number one,Mendez said. he second person in each row
will be team number two . . . and so on. If you do not understand this, speak up now.
No one spoke.
John looked to his right. A boy with sandy hair, green eyes, and darkly tanned skin gave him a weary

smile. Stenciled on his sweat top was SAMUEL-034. In the row beyond Samuel was a girl. She was
taller than John, and skinny, with a long mane of hair dyed blue. KELLY-087. She didn look too happy
to see him.
oday game,Mendez explained, s called ing the Bell.He pointed to the tallest pole on the
playground. It stood an additional ten meters above the others and had a steel slide pole next to it. Hung
at the very top of that pole was a brass bell.
here are many ways to get to the bell,he told them. leave it up to each team to find their own way.
When every member of your team has rung the bell, you are to get groundside double time and run back
here across this finish line.
Mendez took his baton and scratched a straight line in the sand.
John raised his hand.
Mendez glared at him for a moment with those black unblinking eyes. question, Trainee?
hat do we win?
Mendez cocked one eyebrow and appraised John. ou win dinner, Number 117. Tonight, dinner is
roast turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, brownies, and ice cream.
A murmur of approval swept though the children.
ut,Mendez added, or there to be winners there must be a loser. The last team to finish goes
without food.
They children fell silentnd then looked at each other warily.
ake ready,Mendez said.
Sam,the boy whispered to John and the girl on their team.
She said, Kelly.
John just looked at them and said nothing. The girl would slow him down. Too bad. He was hungry and
he wasn about to let them make him lose.
o!Mendez shouted.

John ran through the pack of children and scrambled up a cargo net onto a platform. He raced across the
bridgeumped onto the next platform, just in time. The bridge flipped and sent five others into the
water below.
He paused at the rope tied to the large basket. It ran up through a pulley and then back down. He didn
think he was strong enough to pull himself up in it. Instead, he tackled a knotted climbing rope and
scrunched his body up. The rope swung wildly around the center pole. John looked down and almost lost
his grip. It looked twice as far down as it had looked from the ground. He saw all the others, some
climbing, others floundering in the water, getting up and starting over. No one was as close to the bell as
he was.
He swallowed his fear and kept climbing up. He thought of the ice cream and chocolate brownies and
how he was going to win.
John got to the top, grabbed the bell, and rang it three times. He then clasped the steel pole and slid all
the way to the ground, falling into a pile of cushions.
He got up and ran smiling all the way to the Chief Petty Officer. John crossed the finish line and gave a
victory cry. was first,he said, panting.
Mendez nodded and made a check on his clipboard.
John watched as the others made it and up rang the bell then raced across the finish line. Kelly and Sam
had trouble. They got stuck in a line to get to the bell as everyone bunched up at the end.
They finally rang the bell, slid down together . . . but they crossed the finish line last. They glared at
John.
He shrugged.
ood work, Trainees,Mendez said, and he beamed at them all. et get back to the barracks and
chow down.
The children, covered in mud and leaning on each another, cheered.
all except team three,Mendez said, and looked at Sam, Kelly, and then John.
ut I won,John protested. was first.
es,you were first,Mendez explained, ut your team came in last.He then addressed all the
children. emember this:you don win unless your team wins. One person winning at the expense of

the group means that you lose.
John ran in a stupor all the way back to the barracks. It wasn fair. He had won. How can you win and
still lose?
He watched as the others stuffed themselves with turkey, white meat dripping with gravy. They spooned
down mountains of vanilla ice cream and left the mess hall with chocolate encrusting the corners of their
mouths.
John got a liter of water. He drank it, but it didn have any taste. It did nothing to fill his hunger.
He wanted to cry, but he was too tired. He collapsed in his bunk, thinking of ways to get even with Sam
and Kelly for messing him uput he couldn think. Every muscle and bone ached.
John fell asleep as soon as his head hit the flat pillow.
The next day was the samealisthenics and running all morning, then class until the afternoon.
Today D嶴taught them about wolves. The classroom became a holographic meadow, and the children
watched seven wolves hunt a moose. The pack worked together, striking wherever the giant beast wasn
facing. It was fascinating and horrifying to watch the wolves track down, and then devour, an animal
many times their size.
John avoided Sam and Kelly in the classroom. He stole a few extra crackers when no one was looking
but they didn dull his hunger.
After class, they ran back to the playground. Today it was different. There were fewer bridges and more
complicated rope-and-pulley systems. The pole with the bell was now twenty meters taller than any of
the others.
ame teams as yesterday,Mendez announced.
Sam and Kelly walked up to John. Sam shoved him.
John temper flarede wanted to hit Sam in the face, but he was too tired. He need all his strength
to get to the bell.
ou better help us,Sam hissed, r Il push you off one of those platforms.

nd Il jump on top of you,Kelly added.
kay,John whispered. ust try not to slow me down.
John examined the course. It was like doing a maze on paper, only this one twisted and turned into and
out of the page. Many bridges and rope ladders led to dead ends. He squintedhen found one possible
route.
He nudged Sam and Kelly then pointed. ook,he said, hat basket and rope on the far side. It goes
straight to the top. It a long pull, though.He flexed his biceps, uncertain if he could make it in his
weakened state.
e can do it,Sam said.
John glanced at the other teams; they were searching the course as well. el have to make a quick
run for it,he said. ake sure no one else gets there first.
fast,Kelly said. eal fast.
rainees, get ready,Mendez shouted.
kay,John said. ou sprint ahead and hold it for us.
o!
Kelly shot forward. John had never seen anyone move like her. She ran like the wolves he had seen
today; her feet seemed barely to touch the ground.
She got to the basket. John and Sam were only halfway there.
One boy beat them to the basket. et out,he ordered Kelly. going up.
Sam and John ran up and pushed him back. ait your turn,Sam said.
John and Sam joined Kelly in the basket. Together they pulled on the rope and raised themselves up.
There was a lot of ropeor every three meters they pulled, they only rose one meter. A breeze made
the basket sway and bounce into the pole.
aster,John urged.
They pulled as one person, six hands working in unison, and accelerated into the sky.

They didn get there first. They were third. Each of them got to ring the bell, thoughelly, Sam, and
John.
They slid down the pole. Kelly and Sam waited for John to land, and then together they ran across the
finish line.
Chief Petty Officer Mendez watched them. He didn say anything, but John thought he saw a smile
flicker across his face.
Sam clapped John and Kelly on their backs. hat was good work,Sam said. He looked thoughtful for
a moment, then said, e can be friends . . . I mean, if you want. It be no big deal.
Kelly shrugged and replied, ure.
kay,John said. riends.

CHAPTER FIVE
0630 Hours, July 12, 2519 (Military Calendar) /
Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military Wilderness Training Preserve, planet Reach
John held on tight as the dropship accelerated up and over a jagged snowcapped mountain range. The
sun peeked over the horizon and washed the white snow with pinks and oranges. The other members of
his unit pressed their faces to the windows and watched.
Sam sat next to him and looked outside. ice place for a snowball fight.
oul lose,Kelly said. She leaned over John shoulder to get a better look at the terrain. a dead
aim with snowballs.She scratched the stubble of her shorn hair.
ead is right,John muttered. specially when you load them with rocks.
CPO Mendez stepped from the cockpit into the passenger compartment. The trainees stood and snapped
to attention. t ease, and sit down.The silver at Mendez temples had grown to a band across the
side of his closely shaved hair, but if anything he had gotten stronger and tougher since John had first
laid eyes on him two years ago.
oday mission will be simple for a change.Mendez voice easily penetrated the roar of the
dropship engines. He handed a stack of papers to Kelly. ass these out, Recruit.
ir!She saluted smartly and handed one paper to each of the seventy-five children in the squad.
hese are portions of maps of the local region. You will be set down by yourselves. You will then
navigate to a marked extraction point and we will pick you up there.
John turned his map over. It was just one part of a much larger mapo drop or extraction point
marked. How was he supposed to navigate without a reference point? But he knew this was part of the
mission, to answer that question on his own.
ne more thing,Mendez said. he last trainee to make it to the extraction point will be left behind.
He glanced out a window. nd it a very long walk back.
John didn like it. He wasn going to lose, but he didn want anyone else to lose, either. The thought of
Kelly or Sam or any of the others marching all the way back made him uneasy . . . if theycould make it

all the way back alone over those mountains.
irst drop in three minutes,Mendez barked. rainee 117, youe up first.
ir! Yes, sir!John replied.
He glanced out the window and scanned the terrain. There was a ring of jagged mountains, a valley thick
with cedars, and a ribbon of silver river that fed into a lake.
John nudged Sam, pointed to the river, then jerked his thumb toward the lake.
Sam nodded, then pulled Kelly aside and pointed out the window. Kelly and Sam moved quickly down
the line of seated trainees.
The ship decelerated. John felt his stomach rise as they dropped toward the ground.
rainee 117: front and center.Mendez stepped to the rear of the compartment as the ship tail split
and a ramp extended. Cold air blasted into the ship. He patted John on the shoulder. atch out for
wolves in the forest, 117.
es, sir!John looked over his shoulder at the others.
His teammates gave him an almost imperceptible nod. Good, everyone got his message.
He ran down the ramp and into the forest. The dropship engines roared to life and it rose high into the
cloudless sky. He zipped up his jacket. He wore only fatigues, boots, and a heavy parkaot exactly the
gear he pack for a prolonged stay in the wilderness.
John started toward one particularly sharp peak he had spotted from the air; the river lay in that
direction. He follow it downstream and meet the others at the lake.
He marched through the woods until he heard the gurgling of a stream. He got close enough to see the
direction of the flow, then headed back into the forest. Mendez exercises often had a twist to them
stun mines on the obstacle course, snipers with paint pellet guns during parade drills. And with the Chief
up in that dropship, John wasn about to reveal his position unless he had a good reason.
He passed a blueberry bush and took the time to strip it before he moved on.
This was the first time in months he had been alone and could just think. He popped a handful of berries
into his mouth and chewed.

He thought about the place that had been his home, his parents . . . but more and more that seemed like a
dream. John knew it wasn, and that he had once had a different life. But this was the life he wanted. He
was a soldier. He had an important job to train for. Mendez said they were the Navy best and brightest.
That they were the only hope for peace. He liked that.
Before, he never knew what he would be when he grew up. He never really thought about anything other
than watching vids and playingothing had been a challenge.
Now every day was a challenge and a new adventure.
John knew more things, thanks to D嶴 than he ever thought he could have learned at his old school:
algebra and trigonometry, the history of a hundred battles and kings. He could string a trip line, fire a
rifle, and treat a chest wound. Mendez had shown him how to be strong . . . not only with his body, but
strong with his head, too.
He had a family here: Kelly, Sam, and all the others in his squad.
The thought of his squadmates brought him back to Mendez missionne of them was going to be
left behind. There had to be a way to get them all home. John decided he wasn going to leave if he
couldn figure it out.
He arrived at the edge of the lake; stood and listened.
John heard an owl hooting in the distance. He marched toward the sound. ey, owl,he said when he
was close.
Sam stepped out from behind a tree and grinned. hat hief Owlto you, Trainee.
They walked around the circumference of the lake, gathering the rest of the children in the squad. John
counted them to make sure: sixty-seven.
et get the map pieces together,Kelly suggested.
ood idea,John said. am, take three and scout the area. I don want any of the Chief surprises
sneaking up on us.
ight.Sam picked Fhajad, James, and Linda and then the four of them took off into the brush.
Kelly collected the map pieces and settled in the shade of an ancient cedar tree. ome of these don
belong, and some are copies,she said, and she laid them out. es, here an edge. Got ithis is the
lake, the river, and here . . . She pointed to a distant patch of green. hat got to be the extraction

point.She shook her head and frowned. f the legend on this map is right, it a full day hike,
though. We better get started.
John whistled and a moment later Sam and his scouts returned.
et move out,John said.
No one argued. They fell into line behind Kelly as she navigated. Sam blazed the trail ahead. He had the
best eyes and ears. Several times he stopped and signaled everyone to freeze or hideut it turned out
to be just a rabbit or a bird.
After several miles of marching, Sam dropped back. He whispered to John, his is too easy. It not
like any of the Chief normal field exercises.
John nodded. e been thinking that, too. Just keep your eyes and ears sharp.
They stopped at noon to stretch and eat berries they had gathered along the trail.
Fhajad spoke up. want to know one thing,he said. He paused to wipe the sweat off his dark skin.
ee going to get to the extraction point at the same time. So who getting left behind? We should
decide now.
raw straws,someone suggested.
o,John said, and stood. o one being left behind. Wee going to figure a way to getall of us out.
ow?Kelly asked, scratching her head. endez said
know what he said. But there got to be a way just haven thought of one yet. Even if it has to be
me that stays behindl make sure everyone gets back to the base.John started marching again.
ome on, wee wasting time.
The others fell in behind him.
The shadows of the trees lengthened and melted together and the sun turned the edge of the sky red.
Kelly halted and motioned for everyone else to stop. ee almost there,she whispered.
e and Sam will scout it out,John said. veryone fall out . . . and keep quiet.
The rest of the children silently followed his orders.

John and Sam crept through the underbrush and then hunkered down at the edge of a meadow.
The dropship sat in the center of the grassy field; her floodlights illuminated everything for thirty meters.
Six men sat on the open launch ramp, smoking cigarettes and passing a canteen between themselves.
Sam motioned to drop back. ou recognize them?he whispered.
o. You?
Sam shook his head. heye not in uniform. They don look like any soldiers Ie ever seen. Maybe
theye rebels. Maybe they stole the dropship and killed the Chief.
o way,John said. othing can kill the Chief. But one thing for sure: I don think we can just
walk up there and get a free ride back to the base. Let go back.
They crept back into the woods and then explained the situation to the others.
hat do you want to do?Kelly asked him.
John wondered why she thought he had an answer. He looked around and saw everyone was watching
him, waiting for him to speak. He shifted on his feet. He had to say something.
kay . . . we don know who these men are or what theyl do when they see us. So we find out.
The children nodded, seeming to think this was the right thing to do.
ere how,John told them. irst, Il need a rabbit.
hat me,Kelly said, and sprang to her feet. the fastest.
ood,John said. ou go to the edge of the meadownd then let them see you. Il go along and
hide nearby and watch. In case anything happens to you, Il report back to the others.
She nodded.
hen you lure a few back here. Run right past this spot. Sam, youl be out in the open, pretending like
youe broken your leg.
otcha,Sam said. He walked over to Fhajad and had him scrape his shin with his boot. Blood welled
from the wound.

he rest of you,John said, ait in the woods in a big circle. If they try to do anything but help
Sam . . . John made a fist with his right hand and slammed it into his open palm. emember the
moose and the wolves?
They all nodded and grinned. They had seen that lesson many times in D嶴s classroom.
et some rocks,John told them.
Kelly stripped off her parka, stretched her legs and knees. kay,she said, et do this.
Sam lay down, clutching his leg. ooht hurts, help me.
on overdo it,John said, and kicked some dirt on him. r theyl know it a setup.
John and Kelly then crept toward the meadow and halted a few meters form the edge. He whispered to
her, f you want me to be the rabbit . . .
She slugged him in the shoulderard. ou think I can do my part?
take it back,he said, rubbing his shoulder.
John moved off ten meters to her flank, took cover, and watched.
Kelly emerged at the edge of the meadow, stepping into the illumination from the dropship floodlights.
ey!she said, and waved her arms over her head. ver here. You got any food? I starving.
The men slowly stood and pulled out stun batons. here one,John heard them whisper. l get her.
The rest of you stay here and wait for the others.
The man cautiously approached Kelly, a stun baton held behind his back so she couldn see it. She
stayed put and waited for him to get closer.
ang on a sec,she said. dropped my jacket back there. Il be right back.She turned and ran. The
man leaped after her, but she had already vanished into the shadows.
top!
his will be too easy,one of other men said. ids won know what hit them.Another remarked,
ish in a barrel.

John had heard enough. He ran after Kelly, but realized that neither he nor the other man had a chance to
catch her. He halted when he got close to where Sam lay.
The man stopped. He looked around, his eyes not quite adjusted to the dark, then spotted Sam on the
ground holding his bloody leg.
lease, help me,Sam whimpered. t broken.
got your broken leg right here, kid.The man raised his baton.
John picked up a rock. He threw it, but missed.
The man spun around. ho there?
Sam rolled to his feet and darted away. There was a rustling in the forest, then a hail of stones whistled
through the trees, pelting the man.
Kelly appeared and sidearmed a rock as hard as she couldnd hit the man dead center in the forehead.
He toppled and slammed into the ground.
The other children moved in. hat do we do with him?Sam asked.
t just an exercise, right?Fhajad said. e has to be with Mendez.
John rolled the man over. A trickle of blood snaked from his head into his eye socket.
ou heard him,John whispered. ou saw what he was going to do to Sam. Mendez or our trainers
would never do that to us. Ever. He got no uniform. No insignias. He not one of us.
John kicked the man in the face and then the ribs. The man reflexively curled into a ball. et his baton.
Sam grabbed the weapon. He kicked him, too.
ow we go back and get the others,John told them. elly, you be the rabbit again. Just get them to
the edge of the clearing. Duck out, and let us do the rest.
She nodded and started back to the meadow. The rest of the squad fanned out, collecting rocks along the
way.
After a minute Kelly stepped onto the grassy field and shouted, hat guy fell and hit his head. Over

here!
The five remaining men stood and ran toward her.
When they were close enough, John whistled.
The air suddenly swarmed with stones. The men held up their hands and tried to protect themselves.
They dropped and covered their heads.
John whistled again and sixty-seven children charged screaming toward the bewildered men. The men
got up to defend themselves. They looked stunnedike they couldn believe what they were seeing.
Sam smashed his baton over a man head. Fhajad was hit squarely in the face by one man fist, and he
fell.
The men were overwhelmed by a wave of flesh, beaten to the ground with fists and stones and boots
until they no longer moved.
John stood over their bleeding bodies. He was mad. They would have hurt him and his squad. He wanted
to kick in their skulls. He took a deep breath and then exhaled. He had better things to do and bigger
problems to figure outnger would have to wait.
ant to call Mendez now?Sam asked as he pulled Fhajad shakily to his feet.
ot yet,John told him. He marched onto the dropship. No one else was on board.
John accessed the COM system and opened the mail link. He linked up with D嶴 Her face appeared, a
scratchy hologram hovering over the terminal.
ood evening, Trainee 117,she said. o you have a homework question?
ind of,he replied. ne of CPO Mendez assignments.
h.After moment pause she said, ery well.
in a Pelican dropship. There no pilot, but I need to get home. Teach me to fly it, please.
D嶴shook her head. ou are not rated to fly that craft, Trainee. But Ican help. Do you see the winged
icon in the corner of your screen? Tap it three times.
John tapped it and a hundred icons and displays filled the screen.

ouch the green arrows at nine olock twice,she told him.
He did and then the wordsautopilot activated flashed onscreen.
have control now,D嶴said. will get you home.
ang on a second,John said and ran outside. veryone onboardouble time!
The children ran onto the ship.
Kelley paused and asked, ho getting left behind?
o one,John said. ust get in.He made sure he was the last on the ship, then said, kay, D嶴 get
out us out of here.
The dropship jets roared to life and it rose into the sky.
* * *
John stood at attention in Chief Petty Officer Mendez office. He had never been in here. No one had.
A trickle of sweat dripped down his back. The dark wood paneling and the smell of cigar smoke made
him feel claustrophobic.
Mendez glowered at John as he read the report on his clipboard.
The door opened and Dr. Halsey walked in. Mendez stood, gave her a curt nod and then sat back in his
padded chair.
ello, John,Dr. Halsey said. She sat across from Mendez, crossed her legs, and then adjusted her gray
skirt.
r. Halsey,John replied instantly. He saluted. None of the other grown-ups called him by his first
name, ever. He didn understand why she did.
rainee 117,Mendez snapped. ell me again why you stole UNSC property . . . and why you
attacked the men I had assigned to guard it.
John wanted to explain that he was just doing what had to be done. That he was sorry. That he would do
anything to make it up. But John knew the Chief hated whiners, almost as much as he hated excuses.

ir,John said. he guards were out of uniform. No insignia. They failed to identify themselves, sir!
mm,Mendez mused over the report again. o it seems. And the ship?
took my squad home, sir. I was the last onboardo if anyone should have been left
didn ask for a passenger list, Crewman.His voice softened to a growl and he turned to Dr. Halsey.
hat are we going to do with this one?
o?She pushed her glasses higher on her nose and examined John. think that obvious, Chief.
Make him a Squad Leader.

CHAPTER SIX
1130 Hours March 09, 2525 (Military Calendar) /
Epsilon Eridani System, Office of Naval Intelligence Medical Facility, in orbit around planet Reach
want that transmission decoded now,Dr. Halsey snapped at D嶴
he encryption scheme is extremely complex,replied D嶴with a hint of irritation in her normally
glass-smooth voice. don even know why they bothered. Who else but Beta-5 Division even has the
resources to use this data?
pare me the banter, D嶴 I not in the mood. Just concentrate on the decryption.
es, Doctor.
Dr. Halsey paced across the antiseptic white tile of the Observation Room. One side of the room was
filled with floor-to-ceiling terminals that monitored the vital signs of the childrenest subjects, she
corrected herself. They displayed drug uptake rates and winking green, blue, and red status indicators:
EKGs, pulse rates, and a hundred other pieces of medical data.
The other side of the observation room overlooked dozens of translucent domes, windows into the
surgical bays on the level below. Each bay was a sealed environment, staffed with the best surgeons and
biotechnicians that the Office of Naval Intelligence could drum up. The bays had been scrubbed and
irradiated and were in the final preparation stages to receive and hold the special biohazardous materials.
one,D嶴announced. he file awaits your inspection, Doctor.
Dr. Halsey stopped her pacing and sat. n my glasses, please, D嶴
Her glasses scanned retinal and brain patterns, and the security barrier of the file lifted. With a blink of
her eyes, she opened the file.
It read:
United Nations Space Command Priority Transmission 09872H-98
Encryption Code:Red

Public Key:file /excised access Omega/
From:Admiral Ysionris Jeromi, Chief Medical Officer, UNSC Research Station Hopeful
To:Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey M.D., Ph.D., special civilian consultant (civilian Identification
Number: 10141-026-SRB4695)
Subject:Mitigating factors and relative biological risks associated with queried experimental medical
procedures.
Classification:RESTRICTED (BGX Directive)
/start file/
Catherine,
I am afraid further analysis has yielded no viable alternatives to mitigate the risks in your proposed
ypotheticalexperimentation. I have, however, attached the synopsis of my team findings as well as
all relevant case studies. Perhaps you will find them useful.
I hope it is a hypothetical study . . . the use of Binobo chimpanzees in your proposal is troublesome.
These animals are expensive and rare now since they are no longer bred in captivity. I would hate to see
such valuable specimens wasted in some Section Three project.
Best,
y.j.
She winced at the veiled rebuke in the Admiral communiqu He had never approved of her decision
to work with the Office of Naval Intelligence, and made his disappointment with his star pupil evident
every time she visitedHopeful.
It was hard enough to justify the morality of the course she was about to embark upon. Jeromi
disapproval only made her decision more difficult.
Dr. Halsey gritted her teeth and returned to the report.
Synopsis of chemical/ biological risks
WARNING: the following procedures are classified level-3 experimental. Primate test subjects
must be cleared through UNSC Quartermaster General Office code: OBF34. Follow gamma code

biohazard disposal protocol.
1. Carbide ceramic ossification:advanced material grafting onto skeletal structures to make bones
virtually unbreakable. Recommended coverage not to exceed 3 percent total bone mass because of
significant white blood cell necrosis. Specific risk for pre- and near-postpubescent adolescents: skeletal
growth spurts may cause irreparable bone pulverization. See attached case studies.
2.Muscular enhancement injections: protein complex is injected intramuscularly to increase tissue
density and decrease lactase recovery time. Risk: 5 percent of test subjects experience a fatal cardiac
volume increase.
3. Catalytic thyroid implant:platinum pellet containing human growth hormone catalyst is implanted in
the thyroid to boost growth of skeletal and muscle tissues. Risk: rare instances of elephantiasis.
Suppressed sexual drive.
4. Occipital capillary reversal:submergence and boosted blood vessel flow beneath the rods and cones
of subject retina. Produces a marked visual perception increase. Risk: retinal rejection and detachment.
Permanent blindness. See attached autopsy reports.
5. Superconducting fibrification of neural dendrites:alteration of bioelectrical nerve transduction to
shielded electronic transduction. Three hundred percent increase in subject reflexes. Anecdotal evidence
of marked increase in intelligence, memory, and creativity. Risk: significant instances of Parkinson
disease and Fletcher syndrome.
/end file/
PressENTER to open linked attachments.
Dr. Halsey closed the file. She erased all traces of itent D嶴to track the file pathways all the way
back toHopeful and destroy Admiral Jeromi notes and files relative to this incident.
She removed her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose.
sorry,D嶴said. , too, had hoped there would be some new process to lower the risks.
Dr. Halsey sighed. have doubts, D嶴 I thought the reasons so compelling when we first started
project SPARTAN. Now? I . . . I just don know.
have been over the ONI projections of Outer Colony stability three times, Doctor. Their conclusion is
correct: massive rebellion within twenty years unless drastic military action is taken. And you know the
rastic military actionthe brass would like. The SPARTANS are our only option to avoid
overwhelming civilian losses. They will be the perfect pinpoint strike force. They can prevent a civil

war.
nly if they survive to fulfill that mission,Dr. Halsey countered. e should delay the procedures.
More research needs to be done. We could use the time to work on MJOLNIR. We need time to
here is another reason to proceed expeditiously,D嶴said. lthough I am loath to bring this to your
attention, I must. If the Office of Naval Intelligence detects a delay in their prize project, you will likely
be replaced by someone who harbors . . . fewer doubts. And regrettably for the children, most likely
someone less qualified.
hate this.Dr. Halsey got up and strode to the fire exit. nd sometimes, D嶴 I hate you, too.She
left the observation room.
Mendez was waiting for her in the hallway.
alk with me, Chief,she said.
He followed without a word as they took the stairs to the pre-op wing of the hospital.
They entered room 117. John lay in bed and an IV drip was attached to his arm. His head had been
shaved and incision vectors had been lasered onto his entire body. Despite these indignities, Dr. Halsey
marveled at what a spectacular physical specimen he had grown into. Fourteen years old and he had the
body of an eighteen-year-old Olympic athlete, and a mind the equal of any Naval Academy honors
graduate.
Dr. Halsey forced the best smile she could muster. ow are you feeling?
fine, mam,John replied groggily. he nurse said the sedation would take effect soon. I
fighting it to see how long I can stay awake.His eyelids fluttered. t not easy.
John spotted Mendez and he struggled to sit up and salute, but failed. know this is one of the Chief
exercises. But I don know what the twist is. Can you tell me, Dr. Halsey? Just this time? How do I
win?
Mendez looked away.
Dr. Halsey leaned closer to John as he closed his eyes and started to breathe deeply.
l tell you how to win, John,she whispered. ou have to survive.

CHAPTER SEVEN
0000 Hours March 30, 2525 (Military Calendar) /
UNSC CarrierAtlas en route to the Lambda
Serpentis system
nd so we commit the bodies of our fallen brothers to space.
Mendez solemnly closed his eyes for a moment, the ceremony completed. He pressed a control and the
ash canisters moved slowly into the ejection tubes . . . and the void beyond.
John stood rigidly at attention. The carrier missile launch baysormally cramped, overcrowded, and
bustling with activityere unusually quiet. TheAtlas firing deck had been cleared of munitions and
crew. Long, unadorned black banners now hung from the bay overhead gantries.
onors . . .ten hut !Mendez barked.
John and the other surviving Spartans saluted in unison.
uty,Mendez said. onor and self sacrifice. Death does not diminish these qualities in a soldier. We
shall remember.
A series of thumps resounded through theAtlas hull as the canisters were hurled into space.
The view screen flickered and displayed a field of stars. The canisters appeared one by one, quickly
falling behind the carrier as it continued on its course.
John watched. With each of the stainless-steel cylinders that drifted by, he felt that he was losing a part
of himself. It felt like leaving his people behind.
Mendez face might as well been chiseled from stone, for all the emotion it showed. He finished his
protracted salute and then said, rewmen, dismissed.
Not everything had been lost. John glanced around the launch chamber; Sam, Kelly, and thirty others
still stood at attention in their black dress uniforms. They had made it unharmed through the last
mission wasn quite the right word. More or less.
There were a dozen others, though, who had lived . . . but were no longer soldiers. It hurt John to look at

them. Fhajad sat in a wheelchair, shaking uncontrollably. Kirk and Renwere in neutral-buoyancy gel
tanks, breathing through respirators; their bones had been so twisted they no longer looked human.
There were others, still alive, but with injuries so critical they could not be moved.
Orderlies pushed Fhajad and the other injured toward the elevator.
John strode toward them and stopped, blocking their path. tand fast, Crewman,he demanded.
here are you taking my men?
The orderly halted and his eyes widened. He swallowed and then said, , sir . . . I have my orders, sir.
quad Leader,Mendez called out. moment.
tay,John told the orderly, and marched to face Chief Mendez. es, sir.
et them go,Mendez said quietly. hey can fight anymore. They don belong here.
John inadvertently glanced at the view screen and the long line of canisters as they shrank in the
distance. hat will happen to my men?
he Navy takes care of its own,Mendez replied, and lifted his chin a little higher. hey may no
longer be the fastest or the strongest soldiersut they still have sharp minds. They can still plan
missions, analyze data, troubleshoot ops . . .
John exhaled a sigh of relief. hat all any of us ask for, sir: a chance to serve.He turned to face
Fhajad and the others. He snapped to attention and saluted. Fhajad managed to raise one shaking arm
and return the salute.
The orderlies wheeled them away.
John looked at what remained of his squad. None of them had moved since the memorial ceremony.
They were waiting for their next mission.
ur orders, sir?John asked.
wo days full bed rest, Squad Leader. Then microgravity physical therapy aboard theAtlas until you
recover from the side effects of your augmentation.
Side effects.John flexed his hand. He was clumsy now. Sometimes he could barely walk without falling.
Dr. Halsey had assured him that these ide effectswere a good sign. our brain must relearn how to
move your body with faster reflexes and stronger muscles,she told him. But his eyes hurt, and they

bled a little in the morning, too. He had constant headaches. Every bone in his body ached.
John didn understand any of this. He only knew that he had a duty to performnd now he feared he
wouldn be able to. s that all, sir?he asked Mendez.
o,the Chief replied. 嶴will be running your squad through the dropship pilot simulator as soon
as they are up to it. And,he added, f they are up for the challenge, she wanted to cover some more
organic chemistry and complex algebra.
es, sir,John replied, ee up to the challenge.
ood.
John continued to stand fast.
as there something else, Squad Leader?
John furrowed his brow, hesitated, and then finally said, was Squad Leader. The last mission was
therefore my responsibility . . . and members of my squaddied . What did I do wrong?
Mendez stared at John with his impenetrable black eyes. He glanced at the squad, then back to John.
alk with me.He led John to the view screen. He stood and watched as the last of the canisters
vanished into the darkness.
leader must be ready to send the soldiers under his command to their deaths,Mendez said without
turning to face John. ou do this because your duty to the UNSC supersedes your duty to yourself or
even your crew.
John looked away from the view screen. He couldn look at the emptiness anymore. He didn want to
think of his teammatesriends who were like brothers and sisters to himorever lost.
t is acceptable,Mendez said, o spend their lives if necessary.He finally turned and meet John
gaze. t is not acceptable, however, to waste those lives. Do you understand the difference?
. . . believe I understand, sir,John said. ut which was it on this last mission? Lives spent? Or lives
wasted?
Mendez turned back toward the blackness of space and didn answer.

0430 Hours, April 22, 2525 (Military Calendar) /
UNSC CarrierAtlas on patrol in the Lambda
Serpentis System
John oriented himself as he entered the gym.
From the stationary corridor, it was easy to see that this section of theAtlas rotated. The constant
acceleration gave the circular walls a semblance of gravity.
Unlike the other portions of the carrier, however, this section wasn cylindrical, but rather a segmented
cone. The outer portion was wider and rotated more slowly than the narrower inner portionimulating
gravitational forces from one quarter to two gravities along the length of the gym.
There were free weights, punching and speed bags, a boxing ring, and machines to stretch and tone
every muscle group. No one else was up this early. He had the place to himself.
John started with arm curls. He went to the center section, calibrated at one gee, and picked up a twentykilogram
dumbbell. It felt wrongoo light. The spin must be off. He set the weights down and picked
up a forty-kilogram set. That felt right.
For the last three weeks the Spartans had gone through a daily routine of stretching, isometric exercises,
light sparring drills, and lots of eating. They were under orders to consume five high-protein meals a
day. After every meal they had to report to the ship medical bay for a series of mineral and vitamin
injections. John was looking forward to getting back to Reach and his normal routine.
There were only thirty-two soldiers left in his squad. Thirty candidates had ashed outof the Spartan
program; they died during the augmentation process. The other dozen, suffering from side effects of the
process, had been permanently reassigned within the Office of Naval Intelligence.
He missed them all, but he and the others had to go onhey had to recover and prove themselves all
over again.
John wished Chief Mendez had warned him. He could have prepared. Maybe that was the trick to the
last missiono learn to be prepared for anything. He wouldn let his guard down again.
He took a seat at the leg machine, set it to the maximum weightut it felt too light. He moved to the
high-gee end of the gym. Things felt normal again.
John worked every machine, then moved to a speed bag, a leather ball attached to the floor and ceiling
by a thick elastic band. There were only certain allowed frequencies at which the bag could be hit, or it
gyrated chaotically.

His fist jabbed forward, cobra-quick, and struck. The speed bag moved, but slowly, like it was
underwater . . . far too slowly considering how hard he had hit it. The tension on the line must be turned
way down.
He twanged the line and it hummed. It was tight.
Was everything broken in this room?
He pulled a pin from the locking collar on the bench press. John walked to the center section
supposedly one gee. He held the pin a meter off the deck and dropped it. It clattered on the deck.
It looked as if it had fallen normally . . . but somehow it also looked slow to John.
He set the timer on his watch and dropped the pin again. Forty-five-hundredths of a second.
One meter in about a half second. He forgot the formula for distance and acceleration, so he ran through
the calculus and rederived the equation. He even did the square root.
He frowned. He had always struggled with math before.
The answer was a gravitational acceleration of nine point eight meters per second squared. One standard
gee.
So the roomwas rotating correctly.He was out of calibration.
His experiment was cut short. Four men entered the gym. They were out of uniform, wearing only shorts
and boots. Their heads were cleanly shaven. They were all heavily muscled, lean, and fit. The largest of
the four was taller than John. Scars covered one side of his face.
John could tell they were Special Forcesrbital Drop Shock Troopers. The ODSTs had the traditional
tattoos burned onto their arms: DROP JET JUMPERS and FEET FIRST INTO HELL.
elljumpersthe infamous 105th. John had overheard mess hall chatter about them. They had a
reputation for success . . . and for brutality, even against fellow soldiers.
John gave them a polite nod.
They just brushed past him and started on the high-gravity free weights. The largest ODST lifted the bar
of the bench press. He struggled and the bar wavered unsteadily. The iron plates on the right end slid off
and fell to the deck. The opposite end of the bar tilted, and he dropped the weight, almost crushing his
spotter foot.

Startled by the noise, John jumped up.
hat the The big ODST stood and glared at the locking collar that had slipped off. omeone took
the pin.He growled and turned to John.
John picked up the pin. he error was mine,he said and stepped forward. y apologies.
The four ODSTs moved as one toward John. The big guy with the scars stood a hand breadth away
from John nose. hy don you take that pin and shove it, meat?he said, grinning. r better yet,
maybe I should make you eat it.He nodded to his friends.
John only knew three ways to react to people. If they were his superior officers, he obeyed them. If they
were part of his squad, he helped them. If they were a threat, he neutralized them.
So when the men surrounding him moved . . . he hesitated.
Not because he was afraid, but because these men could have fallen into any of John three categories.
He didn know their rank. They were fellow servicemen in the UNSC. But, at the moment, they didn
seem friendly.
The two men flanking him grabbed John biceps. The one behind him tried to slip an arm around his
neck.
John hunched his shoulders and tucked his chin to his chest so he couldn be choked. He whipped his
right elbow over the hand holding him, pinned it to his side, and then straight punched the man and
broke his nose.
The other three reacted, tightening their grips and stepping closerut like the dropped pin, they moved
slowly.
John ducked and slipped out of the unsuccessful headlock. He spun free, breaking the grasp of the man
on his left at the same time.
tand down!A booming voice echoed across the gym.
A sergeant stepped into the gym and strode toward them. Unlike Mendez, who was fit and trim and was
always serious, this man stomach bulged over his belt, and he looked bemused.
John snapped to attention. The others stood there and continued to glare at John.
arge,the man with the bleeding nose said. e were just

id I ask you a question?the Sergeant barked.
o, Sergeant!the man replied.
The Sergeant eyed John, then the ODSTs. oue all so eager to fight, get in the ring and go to it.
ir!John said. He went to the boxing ring, slipped through the ropes, and stood there waiting.
This was starting to make sense. It was a mission. John had received orders from a superior officer, and
the four men were now targets.
The big ODST pushed through the ropes and the others gathered to watch. going to rip you to
pieces, meat,he grunted through clenched teeth.
John sprang off his back foot and launched his entire weight behind his first strike. His fist smashed into
the man wide chin. John left hand followed and impacted on the soldier jaw.
The man hands came up; John stepped in, pinned one of the man arms to his chest, and followed
through with a hook to his floating ribs. Bones broke.
The man staggered back. John took a short step, brought his heel down on the man knee. Three more
punches and the man was against the ropes . . . then he stopped moving, his arm and leg and neck tilted
at unnatural angles.
The three other men moved. The one with the bloody nose grabbed an iron bar.
John didn need orders this time. Three attackers at oncee had to take them out before they
surrounded him. He might be faster, but he didn have eyes in the back of his head.
The man with the iron bar swung a vicious blow at John ribs; John sidestepped, grabbed the man
hand, and clamped it to the bar. He twisted the bar and crushed the bones of his attacker wrist.
John snapped a side kick toward the second man, caught him in the groin, crushing the soft organs and
breaking his target pelvis.
John pulled the bar freehipped around and caught the third man in the neck, hitting him so hard the
ODST was propelled over the ropes.
t ease, Number 117,Chief Petty Officer Mendez barked.

John obeyed and dropped the bar. Like the pin, it seemed to take too long for the impromptu weapon to
hit the deck.
The ODSTs lay crumpled on the ground, either unconscious or dead.
Mendez, at the far end of the gym, strode toward the boxing ring.
The Sergeant stood with his mouth open. hief Mendez, sir!He snapped a crisp salute. hat are you
He turned to John, his eyes widened, and he murmured, e one ofthem , isn he?
edics are on their way,Mendez said calmly. He stepped closer to the Sergeant. here are two intel
officers waiting for you in Ops. Theyl debrief you . . .He stepped back. suggest you report to them
immediately.
es, sir,the Sergeant said. He almost ran out of the gym. He looked once over his shoulder at John;
then he moved even faster.
our workout is over for today,Mendez told John.
John saluted and left the ring.
A team of medics entered with stretchers and rushed toward the boxing ring.
ermission to speak, sir?John said.
Mendez nodded.
ere those men part of a mission? Were they targets or teammates?
John knew that thishad to be some sort of mission. The Chief had been too close for it to be a
coincidence.
ou engaged and neutralized a threat,Mendez replied. hat action seems to have answered your
question, Squad Leader.
John wrinkled his forehead as he thought it through. followed the chain of command,he said. he
Sergeant told me to fight. I was threatened and in imminent danger. But they were still UNSC Special
Forces. Fellow soldiers.
Mendez lowered his voice. ot every mission has simple objectives or comes to a logical conclusion.
Your priorities are to follow the orders in your chain of command, and then to preserve your life and the

lives of your team. Is that clear?
ir,John said. es, sir.He glanced back at the ring. Blood was seeping into the canvas mat. John
had an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He hit the showers and let the blood rinse off him. He felt strangely sorry for the men he had killed.
But he knew his dutyhe Chief had even been unusually verbose in order to clarify the matter. Follow
orders and keep himself and his team safe. That all he had to focus on. John didn give the incident in
the gym another thought.

CHAPTER EIGHT
0930 Hours, September 11, 2525 (Military Calendar) / Epsilon Eridani System, Reach UNSC
Military Complex, planet Reach
Dr. Halsey reclined in Mendez padded chair. She considered pilfering one of the Sweet William cigars
from the box on his deskee why he considered them such a treat. The stench wafting from the box,
however, was too overwhelming. How did he stand them?
The door opened and CPO Mendez halted in the doorway. am,he said, and stood straighter.
wasn informed that you would be visiting today. In fact, I had understood that you were out of the
system for another week. I would have made arrangements.
sure you would have.She folded her hands in her lap. ur situation has changed. Where are my
Spartans? They are not in their barracks, nor on any of the ranges.
Mendez hesitated. hey can no longer train here, mam. We had to find them . . . other facilities.
Dr. Halsey stood and smoothed the pleats in her gray skirt. aybe you should explain that statement,
Chief.
could,he replied, ut it will be easier to show you.
ery well,Dr. Halsey said, her curiosity piqued. Mendez escorted her to his personal Warthog parked
outside his office. The all-terrain combat vehicle had been refitted; the heavy chain-gun on the back had
been removed and replaced with a rack of Argent V missiles.
Mendez drove them off the base and onto winding mountain roads. each was first colonized for its
rich titanium deposits,Mendez told her. here are mines in these mountains thousands of meters deep.
The UNSC uses them for storage.
presume you do not have my Spartans taking inventory today, Chief?
o, mam. We just need the privacy.
Mendez drove the Warthog past a manned guardhouse and into a large tunnel that sloped steeply
underground.

The road wound down in a spiral, deeper into sold granite. Mendez said, o you remember the Navy
first experiments with powered exoskeletons?
not sure I see the connection between this place, my Spartans, and the exoskeleton projects,Dr.
Halsey replied, frowning, ut Il play along a bit further. Yes, I know all about the Mark I prototypes.
We had to scrap the concept and redesign battle armor from the ground up for the MJOLNIR project.
The Mark Is consumed enormous energy. Either they had to be plugged into a generator or use
inefficient broadcast powereither option is practical on a battlefield.
Mendez decelerated slightly as he approached a speed bump. The Warthog massive tires thudded over
the obstacle.
hey used the units that weren scrapped,Dr. Halsey continued, s dock loaders to move heavy
equipment.She cocked one eyebrow. r might they have been dumped in a place like this?
here are dozens of the suits here.
ou haven putmy Spartans in some of those antiques?
o. Their trainers are using them for their own safety,Mendez replied. hen the Spartans recovered
from microgravity therapy, they were eager to get back to their routine. However, we experienced some
He paused, searching for the right word. . . . difficulties.
He glanced at his passenger. His face was grim. heir first day back, three trainers were accidentally
killed during hand-to-hand combat exercises.
Dr. Halsey cocked an eyebrow. hen they are faster and stronger than we anticipated?
hat,Mendez replied, ould be understating the situation.
The tunnel opened into a large cavern. There were lights scattered on the walls, overhead a hundred
meters up on the ceiling, and along the floor, but they did little to dissipate the overwhelming darkness.
Mendez parked the Warthog next to a small, prefabricated building. He jumped out and helped Dr.
Halsey step from the vehicle. his way, please.Mendez gestured to the room. el have a better
view from inside.
The building had three glass walls and several monitors marked MOTION, INFRARED, DOPPLER,
and PASSIVE. Mendez pushed a button and the room climbed a track along the wall until they were
twenty meters off the floor.

Mendez keyed a microphone and spoke: ights.
Floodlights snapped on and illuminated a section of the cavern the size of a football field. In the center
stood a concrete bunker. Three men in the primitive Mark I power armor stood on top. Six more stood
evenly spaced around the perimeter. A red banner had been planted in the center of the bunker.
apture the flag?Dr. Halsey asked. ast all that heavy armor?
es. The trainers in those exoskeletons can run at thirty-two KPH, lift two tons, and have a thirtymillimeter
minigun mounted on self-targeting armaturestun rounds, of course. Theye also equipped
with the latest motion sensors and IR scopes. And needless to say, their armor is impervious to standard
light weapons. It would take two or three platoons of conventional Marines to take that bunker.
Mendez spoke again in the microphone, and his voice echoed off the cavern walls: tart the drill.
Sixty seconds ticked by. Nothing happened. One hundred twenty seconds. here are the Spartans?
Dr. Halsey asked.
heye here,Mendez replied. Dr. Halsey caught a glimpse of motion in the dark: a shadow against
shadows, a familiar silhouette.
elly?she whispered.
The trainers turned and fired at the shadow, but it moved with almost supernatural quickness. Even the
self-targeting systems couldn track it.
From above, a man free-rappelled down from the girders and gantries overhead. The newcomer landed
behind one of the perimeter guards, quiet as a cat. He punched the guard armor twice, denting the
heavy plates, then dropped low and swept the target legs out from under him. The guard sprawled on
the ground.
The Spartan attached his rappelling line to the trainer. A moment later the writhing guard shot upward,
into the darkness.
Two other guards turned to attack.
The Spartan dodged, rolled, and melted into the shadows.
Dr. Halsey realized the trainer exoskeleton wasn being pulled upt was being used as a
counterweight.

Two more Spartans, dangling from the other end of that rope, dropped unnoticed into the center of the
bunker. Dr. Halsey immediately recognized one of them, although he was dressed entirely in black, save
his open eye slitsumber 117. John.
John landed, braced, and kicked one guard. The man landed in a heap . . . eight meters away.
The other Spartan jumped off the bunker; he flipped end over end, evading the stun rounds that filled the
air. He threw himself at the farthest guard and they skidded together into the shadows. The guard gun
strobed once, and then it was dark again.
On top of the bunker, John was a blur of slashing motions. A second guard exosuit erupted in a
fountain of hydraulic fluid and then collapsed under the armor weight.
The last guard on the bunker turned to fire at John. Halsey gripped the edge of her chair. e at point
blank range! Even stun rounds can kill at that distance!
As the guard gun fired, John sidestepped. The stun rounds slashed through the air, a clean miss. John
grabbed the weapon armaturewistednd with a screech of stressed metal, wrenched it free of the
exoskeleton. He fired directly into the man chest and sent him tumbling off the bunker.
The remaining quartet of perimeter guards turned and sprayed the area with suppression fire.
A heartbeat later, the lights went out.
Mendez cursed and keyed the mike. ackups. Hit the backup lights now!
A dozen amber floods flickered to life.
Not a Spartan was in sight, but the nine trainers were either unconscious or lay immobile in inert battle
armor.
The red flag was gone.
how me that again,Dr. Halsey said unbelievingly. ou recorded all that, didn you?
f course.Mendez tapped a button but the monitors played backtatic. amn it. They got to the
cameras, too,he muttered, impressed. very time we find a new place to hide them, they disable the
recording devices.
Dr. Halsey leaned against the glass wall staring at the carnage below. ery well, Chief Mendez, what
else do I need to know?

our Spartans can run at bursts of up to fifty-five KPH,he explained. elly can run a little faster, I
think. They will only get quicker as they adjust to the lterationswee made to their bodies. They can
lift three times their body weighthich, I might add, is almost double the norm due to their increased
muscle density. And they can virtually see in the dark.
Dr. Halsey pondered this new data. hey should not be performing so well. There must be unexplained
synergistic effects brought on by the combined modifications. What are their reaction times?
lmost impossible to chart. We estimate it at twenty milliseconds,Mendez replied. He shook his
head, then added, believe it significantly faster in combat situations, when their adrenaline is
pumping.
ny physiological or mental instabilities?
one. They work like no team Ie ever seen before. Damn near telepathic, if you ask me. They were
dropped in these caves yesterday, and I don know where they got black suits or the rope that for that
maneuver, but I can guarantee they haven left this room. They improvise and improve and adapt.
nd,he added, heylike it. The tougher the challenge, the harder the fight . . . the better their morale
becomes.
Dr. Halsey watched as the first trainer stirred and struggled to get out of his inert armor. hey might as
well have been killed,she murmured. ut can the Spartans kill, Chief? Kill on purpose? Are they
ready for real combat?
Mendez looked away and paused before he spoke. es. If we ordered them to, they would kill quite
efficiently.His body stiffened. ay I ask what eal combatyou mean, mam?
She clasped her hands and wrung them nervously. omething has happened, Chief. Something ONI and
the Admiralty never expected. The brass wants to deploy the Spartans. They want to test them in a real
combat mission.
heye as ready for that as I can make them,Mendez said. He narrowed his dark eyes. ut this is far
ahead of your schedule. What happened? Ie heard rumors there was some heavy action near Harvest
colony.
our rumors are out-of-date, Chief,she said, and a chill crept into her voice. here no more
fighting at Harvest. Thereis no more Harvest.
Dr. Halsey punched the descent button, and the observation room slowly lowered to the floor.

et them out of this hole,she said crisply. want them ready to muster at 0400. We have a briefing
at 0600 tomorrow aboard thePioneer . Wee taking them on a mission ONI has been saving for the right
crew and the right time. This is it.
es, mam,Mendez replied.
omorrow we see if all the pain theye been through has been worth it.

CHAPTER NINE
0605 Hours, September 12, 2525 (Military Calendar) / UNSC DestroyerPioneer , en route to
Eridanus System.
John and the other Spartans stood at ease.
The briefing room aboard the UNSC DestroyerPioneer made him uncomfortable. The holographic
projectors at the fore end of the triangular room showed the field of stars visible off the bow of the ship.
John wasn used to seeing so much space; he kept expecting the room to decompress explosively.
The stars flickered and faded and the overhead lights warmed. Chief Petty Officer Mendez and Dr.
Halsey entered the room.
The Spartans snapped to attention.
t ease,Mendez said. He clasped his hands behind his back and clenched his jaw muscles. The Chief
looked almost . . . nervous.
That made John nervous, too.
Dr. Halsey walked to the podium. The overhead light reflected off her glasses. ood morning,
Spartans. I have good news for you. The word has come down. Command has decided to test your
unique abilities. You have a new mission: an insurgent base in the Eridanus System.
A star map appeared on the wall and zoomed in to show a warm orange sun ringed with twelve planets.
n 2513, an armed insurrection in this system was suppressed by the UNSC forceperation:
TREBUCHET.
An intersystem tactical map appeared, and tiny icons representing destroyers and carriers winked on.
They engaged a force of a hundred smaller ships. Pinpoints of fire appeared against the dark.
he insurrection was put down,Dr. Halsey continued. owever, elements of the rebel forces escaped
and regrouped in the local asteroid belt.
The map tilted and moved into the circle of debris around the star.
illions of rocks,Dr. Halsey said, here they hid from our forces . . . and continue to hide to this

day. For some time ONI believed that the rebels were disorganized, and were lacking in leadership. That
appears to have changed.
e believe that one of these asteroids has been hollowed out, and that a formidable base has been
constructed within. UNSC explorations into the belt have met either with no contact or with an ambush
by superior forces.
She paused, pushed up her glasses, and added, he Office of Naval Intelligence has also confirmed that
FLEETCOM has discovered a security breach within their organization rebel sympathizer leaking
information to these forces.
John and the other Spartans shifted uneasily. A leak? It was possible. D嶴had shown them many
historical battles that had been won and lost because of traitors or informants. But it never occurred to
him that it could happen in the UNSC.
A flat picture flashed over the star map: a middle-aged man with thinning hair, a neatly trimmed beard,
and watery gray eyes.
his is their leader,Dr. Halsey said. olonel Robert Watts. The original photo was taken after
Operation: TREBUCHET and has been computer aged.
our mission is to infiltrate the rebel base, capture Watts, and return himlive and unharmedo
UNSC-controlled space. This will deprive the rebels of their new leadership. And it will provide ONI a
chance to interrogate Watts and root out traitors within FLEETCOM.
Dr. Halsey stepped aside. hief Mendez?
Mendez exhaled and unclasped his hands. He strode to the podium and cleared his throat. his
operation will be different from your previous missions. You will be engaging the enemy using live
rounds and lethal force. They will be returning the favor. If there is any doubt, any confusionnd
make no mistake: in combat, there will be confusionakeno chances. Kill first, ask questions later.
upport on this mission will be limited to the resources and firepower of this destroyer,Mendez
continued. his is to minimize the chance of a leak in the command structure.
Mendez walked to the star map. The face of Colonel Watts snapped off and blueprints for a Parabolaclass
freighter appeared.
lthough we don know the location of the rebel base, we believe they receive periodic shipments
from Eridanus Two. The independent freighterLaden is due to leave space dock in six hours for a routine
recertification of her engines. She is being loaded with enough food and water to supply a small city.
Additionally, her captain has been identified as a rebel officer thought to have been killed during

Operation: TREBUCHET.
ou will slip aboard this freighter and hopefully hitch a ride to the rebel base. Once there, infiltrate the
installation, grab Watts, and get off of that rock any way you can.
Chief Mendez gazed at them all. uestions?
ir,John said. hat are our extraction options?
ou have two options: a panic button that will relay a distress signal to a preestablished listening ship.
Also, thePioneer will stay on-station . . . briefly. Our window here is thirteen hours.He tapped the star
map on the edge of the asteroid belt and it glowed with a blue Nav marker. l leave the extraction
choice up to you. But let me point out that this asteroid belt has a circumference of more than a billion
kilometers . . . making it impossible to canvass with ONI surveillance craft. If things get hot, you will be
on your own.
ny other questions?
The Spartans sat, silent and immobile.
o? Well, listen up, Recruits,Mendez added. his time Ie told you all the twists that I know of. Be
prepared for anything.His gaze fixed on John. quad Leader, you are hereby promoted to the rank of
Petty Officer Third Class.
ir!John snapped to attention.
ssemble your team and equipment. Be ready to muster at 0300. Wel drop you off at the Eridanus
Two docks. Youe on your own from there.
es, sir!John said.
Mendez saluted. He and Dr. Halsey then left the room.
John turned to face his teammates. The other Spartans stood at attention. Thirty-threeoo many for this
operation. He needed a small team: five or six maximum.
am, Kelly, Linda, and Fred, meet me in the weapons locker in ten minutes.The other Spartans sighed
and their gazed dropped to the deck. he rest of you fall out. Youl have the more difficult part of this
mission: Youl have to wait here.

The weapons locker of thePioneer had been stocked with a bewildering array of combat equipment. On
a table were guns, knives, communication gear, body armor explosives, medical packs, survival gear,
portable computers, even a thruster pack for maneuvering in space.
More important than the equipment, however, John assessed his team.
Sam had recovered from the augmentation faster than any of the other Spartans. He paced impatiently
around the crates of grenades. He was the strongest of them all. He stood taller than John by a head. He
had grown out his sandy hair to three centimeters. Chief Mendez had warned him that he was going to
look like a civilian soon.
Kelly, in contrast, had taken the longest to recover. She stood in the corner with her arms crossed over
her chest. John had thought she wasn going to make it. She was still gaunt and her hair had yet to grow
back. Her face, however, still had its rough, angular beauty. She scared John a little, too. She was fast
before . . . now no one could touch her if she didn allow it.
Fred sat cross-legged on the deck, twirling a razor-edged combat knife in glittering arcs. He always
came in second in all the contests. John thought he could have come in first, but he just didn like the
attention. He was neither too short nor too tall. He wasn overly muscled or slim. His black hair was
shot with streaks of silver feature he hadn had before the augmentation. If anyone in the group
could blend into a crowd, it would be him.
Linda was the quietest member of the group. She was pale, had close-cropped red hair, and green eyes.
She was a crack shot, an artist with a sniper rifle.
Kelly circled the table once, and then selected a pair of grease-stained blue coveralls. Her name had been
sloppily embroidered on the chest. hese our new trainee uniforms?
NI provided them,John said. heye supposed to match what the crew of theLaden wears.
Kelly held the coveralls up and frowned. hey don give a girl much to work with.
ry this on for size.Linda held a black body suit up to Kelly long slender frame.
They had used these black suits before. They were form-fitting, lightweight polymer body armor. They
could deflect a small-caliber round and had refrigeration/heating units that would mask infrared
signatures. The integrated helmet had encryption and communications gear, a heads-up display, and
thermal and motion detectors. Sealed tight, the unit had a fifteen-minute reserve of oxygen to let the
wearer survive in vacuum.
The suits were uncomfortable, and they were tricky to repair in the field. And they always needed

repairs.
heye too tight,Kelly said. tl limit my range of motion.
e wear them for this op,John told her. here are too many places between here and there with
nothing to breathe but vacuum. As for the rest of your equipment, take what you wantut stay light.
Without recon data on this place, wee going to be moving fast . . . or wel be dead.
The team started selecting their weapons first.
hree-ninety caliber?Fred asked.
es,John replied. veryone take guns that use .390-caliber ammunition so we can share clips if we
have to. Except Linda.
Linda gravitated to a matte-black long-barreled riflehe SRS99C-S2 AM. The sniper rifle system had
modular sections: scopes, stocks, barrels, even the firing mechanism could be swapped. She quickly
stripped the rifle down and reconfigured it. She assembled a flash-and-sound suppression barrel, and
then to compensate for the lower muzzle velocity, she increased the ammunition caliber to .450. She
ditched all the sights and scopes and settled for an integrated link to her helmet heads-up display. She
pocketed five extended ammunition clips.
John also chose an MA2B, a cut-down version of the standard MA5B assault rifle. It was tough and
reliable, with electronic targeting and an ammo supply indicator. It also had a recoil-reduction system,
and could deliver an impressive fifteen rounds per second.
He picked up a knife: twenty-centimeter blade, one serrated edge, nonreflective titanium carbide, and
balanced for throwing.
John grabbed the panic button tiny single-shot emergency beacon. It had two settings. The red setting
alerted thePioneer that it had hit the fan, and to come in guns blazing. The green setting merely marked
the location of the base for later assault by the UNSC.
He took a double handful of ammo clipshen paused. He set them down and pocketed five. If they got
into a firefight where he need that much firepower, their mission was over anyway.
Everyone took similar equipment, with a few variations. Kelly selected a small computer pad with IR
links. She also had their field medical kit.
Fred packed a standard-issue lockbreaker.

Linda selected three nav marker transmitters, each the size of a tick. The trackers could be adhered to an
object and would broadcast that object location to the Spartansheads-up displays.
Sam hefted two medium-size backpacksdamage packs.They were filled with C-12, enough high
explosives to blow through three meters of battleship armor plate.
ou have enough of that stuff?Kelly asked him wryly.
ou think I should take more?Sam replied, and smiled. othing like a little fireworks to celebrate
the end of a mission.
veryone ready?John asked.
Sam smile disappeared and he slapped an extended clip into his MA2B. eady!
Kelly gave him John a thumbs-up.
Fred and Linda nodded.
hen let go to work.

CHAPTER TEN
1210 Hours, September 14, 2525 (Military Calendar) / Epsilon Eridani System, Eridanus 2 space
dock, civilian Cargo Ship,Laden (registry number F-0980W)
partan 117: in position. Next check-in at 0400.John clicked off the microphone, encrypted the
message, and fed it into his COM relay. He triggered a secure burst transmission to theAthens , the ONI
prowler ship on station a few AUs distant.
He and his teammates climbed onto the upper girders. In silence, the team rigged a web of support nets
so they could rest in relative comfort. Below them lay a hundred thousand liters of black water, and
surrounding them, two centimeters of stainless steel. Sam rigged the fill sensor so the reservoir
computer wouldn let any more water flow into the storage tank. The lights in their helmets cast a
pattern of crossing and crisscrossing reflection lines.
A perfect hiding spotll according to plan, John thought, and allowed himself a small grin of triumph.
The tech specs that ONI had procured on theLaden showed a number of hydroponic pods mounted
around the ship carousel systemhe massive water tanks used gravity feed to irrigate the ship spacegrown
crops.
Perfect.
They had easily slipped past the lone guard in theLaden main cargo bay and into the nearly deserted
center section. The water tank would mask their thermal signatures, and block any motion sensors.
The only risky element entered the picture if the center section stopped spinning . . . things could get
very messy inside the tank, very fast. But John doubted that would happen.
Kelly set up a tiny microwave relay outside the top hatch. She propped her data pad on her stomach and
linked to the ship network. in,she reported. here no AI or serious encryption . . . accessing
their system now.She tapped the pad a few more times and activated the intrusion softwarehe best
that ONI could provide. A moment later the pad pulsed to indicate success.
heye got a nav trajectory to the asteroid belt. ETA is ten hours.
ood work,John said. eam: wel sleep in shifts.Sam, Fred, and Linda snapped off their
flashlights.

The tank reverberated as theLaden engines flared to life. The water tilted as they accelerated away
from the orbital docking station.
John remembered Eridanus 2aguely recalled that it once was home. He wondered if his old school,
his family, were still there
He squelched his curiosity. Speculation made for a fine mental exercise, but the mission came first. He
had to stay alertr failing that, grab some sleep so he would be alert when he needed to be. Chief
Mendez must have told them a thousand times: est can be as deadly a weapon as a pistol or grenade.
e got something,Kelly whispered, and handed him her data pad.
It displayed the cargo manifest for theLaden . John scrolled down the list: water, flour, milk, frozen
orange juice, welding rods, superconducting magnets for a fusion reactor . . . no mention of weapons.
give up,he said. hat am I looking for?
l give you a hint,Kelly replied. he Chief smokes them.
John flicked back through the list. There: Sweet William cigars. Next to them on the manifest was a
crate of champagne, a Beta Centauri vintage. There were fast-chilled New York steaks, and Swiss
chocolates. These items were stored in a secure locker. They had the same routing codes.
uxury items,Kelly murmured. bet theye headed straight for a special delivery to Colonel Watts
or his officers.
ood work,John replied. el tag this stuff and follow it.
on be that easy,Fred said from the darkness. He flicked on his flashlight and peered back at John.
here are a million ways this can go wrong. Wee going in without recon. I don like it.
e only have one advantage on this mission,John said. he rebels have never been infiltrated
theyl feel relatively safe and won be expecting us. But every extra second we stay . . . that another
chance for us to be spotted. Wel follow Kelly hunch.
ou questioning orders?Sam asked Fred. cared?There was a slight hint of challenge in his voice.
Fred thought for a moment. o,he whispered. ut this is no training mission. Our targets won be
firing stun rounds.He sighed. just don want to fail.
ee not going to fail,John told him. ee accomplished every mission wee been on before.

That wasn entirely true: the augmentation mission had wiped out half of the Spartans. They weren
invincible.
But John wasn scared. A little nervous, maybeut he was ready.
otate sleep cycles,John said. ake me up in four hours.
He turned over and quickly nodded off to the sound of the sloshing water. He dreamed of gravball and a
coin spinning in the air. John caught it and yelled, agle!as he won again.
He always won.
Kelly nudged John shoulder and he was instantly awake, hand on his assault rifle.
ee decelerating,she whispered, and pointed her light into the water below. The liquid tilted at a
twenty-degree inclination.
ights off,John ordered.
They were plunged into total darkness.
He popped the hatch and snaked the fiber-optic probettached to his helmethrough the crack. All
clear.
They climbed out, then rappelled down the back of the ten-meter-tall tank. They donned their greasestained
coveralls and removed their helmets. The black suits looked a little bulky beneath the work
clothes, but the disguise would hold up to a cursory inspection. With their weapons and gear in duffel
bags, they pass as crew . . . from a distance.
They crept through a deserted corridor and into the cargo bay. They heard a million tiny metallic pings
as gravity settled the ship. TheLaden must be docking to a spinning station or a rotating asteroid.
The cargo bay was a huge room, stacked to its ceiling with barrels and crates. There were massive tanks
of oil. Automated robot forklifts scurried between rows, checking for items that might have come loose
in transit.
There was a terrific clang as a docking clamp grabbed the ship.
igars are this way,Kelly whispered. She consulted her data pad, then tucked it back into her pocket.

They moved out, clinging to the shadows. They stopped every few meters, listened, and made sure their
fields of fire were clear.
Kelly held up her hand and made a fist. She pointed to the secure hatch on the starboard side of the hold.
John signaled Fred and Kelly and motioned them to go forward. Fred used the lockbreaker on the door
and it popped open. They entered and closed it behind them.
John, Sam, and Linda waited. There was a sudden motion and the Spartans snapped their weapons to
firing positions
A robot forklift passed down an adjacent aisle.
The massive aft doors of the cargo hold parted with a hiss. Light spilled into the hold. A dozen
dockworkers dressed in coveralls entered.
John gripped his MA2B tighter. One man looked down the aisle where they crouched in the shadows.
He stooped, paused
John raised his weapon slowly, his hands steady, and sighted on the man chest. lways shoot for
center of mass,Mendez had barked during weapons training. The man stood, stretched his back, and
moved on, whistling quietly to himself.
Fred and Kelly returned, and Kelly opened and closed her hand, palm outhe had placed the marker.
John grabbed his helmet from his duffel bag and slipped it on. He pinged the navigation marker and saw
the blue triangle flash once on his heads-up display. He returned Kelly thumbs-up and removed the
helmet.
John stowed his helmet and MA2B and motioned for the rest of the team to do the same. They casually
walked out of theLaden aft cargo hold and onto the rebel base.
The docking bay was hewn from solid rock. The ceiling stretched a kilometer high. Bright lights
overhead effectively illuminated the place, looking like tiny suns in the sky. There were hundreds of
ships docked within the caverniny single craft, Mako-class corvettes, cargo freighters, and even a
captured UNSC Pelican dropship. Each craft was held by massive cranes that traveled on railroad tracks.
The tracks led toward a series of large airlock doors. That how theLaden must have gotten inside.
There were people everywhere: workers and men in crisp white uniforms. John first instinct was to
seek cover. Every one of them was a potential threat. He wished he had his gun in hand.

He remained calm and strode among these strangers. He had to set the right example for his team. If his
recent encounter with the ODSTs in the gym of theAtlas had been any indication, he knew his team
wouldn interact well with the natives.
John made his way past dockworkers and robotic trams full of cargo and vendors selling roasted meat on
sticks. He walked toward a set of double doors set in the far rock wall, marked: PUBLIC SHOWERS.
He pushed through and didn look back.
The place was almost empty. One man was singing in the shower, and there were two rebel officers
undressing near the towel dispensers.
John led his team to the most distant corner of the locker room and hunkered down on one of the
benches. Linda sat with her back to them, on lookout duty.
o far so good,John whispered. his will be our fallback position if everything falls apart and we get
separated.
Sam nodded. kaye have a lead on how to find the Colonel. Anyone have any ideas how to get off
this rock once we grab him? Back into theLaden water tank?
oo slow,Kelly said. ee got to assume that when Colonel Watt goes missing, his people are
going to look for him.
here was a Pelican on the dock,John said. el take it. Now let figure out how to operate the
cranes and airlocks.
Sam hefted his pack of explosives. know just the way to politely knock on those airlock doors. Don
worry.
Sam tapped his left foot. He only did that when he was eager to move. Fred hands were clenched into
fists; he might be nervous, but he had it under control. Kelly yawned. And Linda sat absolutely still.
They were ready.
John got his helmet, donned it, and checked the nav marker.
earing 320,he said. t on the move.He picked up his gear. nd so are we.
They left the showers and strode through the dock, past massive drop doors and into a city. This part of
the asteroid looked like a canyon carved into the rock; John could barely make out the ceiling far
overhead. There were skyscrapers and apartment buildings, factories, and even a small hospital.

John ducked into an alley, slipped on his helmet, and pinpointed the blue nav marker. It overlay a cargo
tram that silently rolled down the street. There were three armed guards riding in the back.
The Spartans followed at a discreet distance.
John checked his exit routes. Too many people, and too many unknowns. Were the people here armed?
Would they all engage if fighting started? A few of the people gave him strange looks.
pread out,he whispered to his team. e look like wee on a parade ground.
Kelly stepped up her pace and pulled ahead. Sam fell behind. Fred and Linda drifted to the right and left.
The cargo tram turned and made its way slowly through a crowded street. It stopped at a building. The
structure was twelve stories tall, with balconies on every floor.
John guessed these were barracks.
There were two armed guards in white uniforms at the front entrance. The three men in the tram got out
and carried the crate inside.
Kelly glanced at John. He nodded, giving her the go-ahead.
She approached the two guards, smiling. John knew her smile wasn friendly. She was smiling because
she was finally getting a chance to put her training to the test.
Kelly waved to the guard and pulled open the door. He asked her to stop and show her identification.
She stepped inside, grabbed his rifle, twisted, and dragged him inside with her.
The other guard stepped back and leveled his rifle. John sprang at him from behind, grabbed his neck
and snapped it, then dragged his limp body inside.
The entry room had cinderblock walls and a steel door with a swipe-card lock. A security camera
dangled limply over Kelly head. The guard she had dragged in lay at her feet. She was already running
a cracking program on the lock, using her data pad.
John retrieved his MA2B and covered her. Fred and Linda entered and slipped out of their coveralls,
then donned their helmets.
av marker is moving,Linda reported. ark 270, elevation ten meters, twenty . . . thirty-five and
holding. I say that the top floor.

Sam entered, pulled the door shut behind him, and then jammed the lock. ll clear out there.
The inner door clicked. oor open,Kelly said.
John, Kelly, and Sam slipped out of their coveralls as Fred and Linda covered them. John activated the
motion and thermal displays in his helmet. The target sight glowed as he raised his MA2B.
o,John said.
Kelly pushed open the door. Linda stepped in and to the right. John entered and took the left.
Two guards were seated behind the lobby reception desk. Another man, without a uniform, stood in
front of the desk, waiting to be helped; two more uniformed men stood by the elevator.
Linda shot the three near the desk. John eliminated the targets by the elevator.
Five roundsive bodies hit the floor.
Fred entered and policed the bodies, dragging them behind the counter.
Kelly moved to the stairwell, opened the door, and gave the all-clear signal.
The elevator pinged and its doors opened. They all wheeled, rifles leveled . . . but the car was empty.
John exhaled, then motioned them to take the stairs; Kelly took point. Sam brought up the rear. They
silently went up nine double flights of stairs.
Kelly halted on an upper landing. She pointed to the interior of the building, then pointed up.
John detected faint blurs of heat on the twelfth floor. They have to pick a better route, a way in that no
one would expect.
John opened the door. There was an empty hallway. No targets.
He went to the elevator doors and pried them open. Then he turned on his black suit cooling elements
to mask his thermal signature. The others did the same . . . and faded from his thermal imaging display.
John and Sam climbed up the elevator cable. John glanced down: a thirty-meter plunge into darkness.
He might survive that fall. His bones wouldn break, but there would be internal damage. And it would
certainly compromise their mission. He tightened his grip on the cable and didn look down again.

When they had climbed up the last three floors, they braced themselves in the corners by the closed
elevator door. Kelly and Fred snaked up the cable after them. They braced in the far corners to overlap
their fields of fire. Linda came up last. She climbed as far as she could, hooked her foot on a cross brace,
and hung upside down.
John held up three fingers, two, then one, and then he and Sam silently pulled open the elevator doors.
There were five guards standing in the room. They wore light body armor and helmets and carried oldermodel
HMG-38 rifles. Two of them turned.
Kelly, Fred, and Linda opened fire. The walnut paneling behind the guards became pockmarked with
bullet holes and was spattered with blood.
The team slid inside the room, moving quickly and quietly. Sam policed the guardsweapons.
There were two doors. One led to a balcony; the other featured a peephole. Kelly checked the balcony,
then whispered over the channel in their helmets: his overlooks the alley between buildings. No
activity.
John checked the nav marker. The blue triangles flashed a position directly behind the other door.
Sam and Fred flanked the door. John couldn get any reading on motion or thermal. The walls were
shielded. There were too many unknowns and not enough time.
The situation wasn ideal. They knew there were at least three men insidehe ones who had carried
the crate upstairs. And there might be more guards . . . and to complicate the situation, their target had to
be taken alive.
John kicked the door in.
He took in the entire situation at a glance. He was standing on the threshold of a sumptuous apartment.
There was a wet bar boasting shelves of amber-filled bottles. A large, round bed dominated the corner,
decorated with shimmering silk sheets. Windows on all sides had sheer white curtainsohn helmet
automatically compensated for the glare. Red carpet covered the floor. The crate with the cigars and
champagne sat in the center of the room. It was black and armored, sealed tight against the vacuum of
space.
There were three men standing behind the armored crate, and one man crouched behind them. Colonel
Robert Wattsheir ackage.
John didn have a clear shot. If he missed, he could hit the Colonel.

The three men, however, didn have that problem. They fired.
John dove to his left. He caught three rounds in his sidenocking the breath from his body. One bullet
penetrated his black suit. He felt it ping off his ribs and pain slashed through him like a red-hot razor.
He ignored the wound and rolled to his feet. He had a clear line of fire. He squeezed the trigger once
three-round burst caught the center guard in the forehead.
Sam and Fred wheeled around the door frame, Sam high, Fred low. Their silenced weapons coughed and
the remaining pair of guards went down.
Watts remained behind the crate. He brandished his pistol. top!he screamed. y men are coming.
You think I alone? Youe all dead. Drop your weapons.
John crawled to the wet bar and crouched there. He willed the pain inside his stomach to go away. He
signaled Sam and Fred and held up two fingers, then pointed the fingers over his head.
Sam and Fred fired a burst of rounds over Watts. He ducked.
John vaulted over the bar and leaped onto his quarry. He grabbed the pistol and wrenched it out of his
hand, breaking the man index finger and thumb. John snaked his arm around Watts neck and choked
the struggling man into near-unconsciousness.
Kelly and Linda entered. Kelly took out a syringe and injected Wattsnough polypseudomorphine to
keep him sedated for the better part of a day.
Fred fell back to cover the elevator. Sam entered and crouched by the windows, watching the street
below for any signs of trouble.
Kelly went to John and peeled back his black suit. Her gloves were slick with his blood. he bullet is
still inside,she said, and bit her lower lip. here a lot of internal bleeding. Hang on.She dug a tiny
bottle from her belt and inserted the nozzle into the bullet hole. his might sting a little.
The self-sealing biofoam filled John abdominal cavity. It also stung like a hundred ants crawling
through his innards. She pulled the bottle out and taped up the hole. oue good for a few hours,she
said, and then gave him a hand up.
John felt shaky, but he make it. The foam would keep him from bleeding to death and stave off the
shock . . . for a while, at least.
ncoming vehicles,Sam announced. ix men entering the building. Two taking up position

outside . . . but just the front.
et our package inside that crate and seal it up,John ordered.
He left the room, got his duffel, and went to the balcony. He secured a rope and tossed it down twelve
stories into the alley. He rappelled down, took a second to scan the alley for threats, then clicked his
throat mike oncehe all-clear signal.
Kelly snapped a descent rig on the crate and pushed it off the balcony. It zipped down the line and
thudded to a halt at the bottom.
A moment later the rest of the team glided down the rope.
They quickly donned their coveralls. Sam and Fred carried the crate as they entered the adjacent
building. They exited on the street a half block down and walked as quickly as they could back to the
docks.
Dozens of uniformed men ran from the dock toward the city. No one challenged them.
They reentered the now-deserted public showers.
veryone check your seals,John said. am, you go ring the doorbell. Meet us on the dropship.
Sam nodded and sprinted out of the building, both packs of C-12 looped around his shoulder.
John took out the panic button. He triggered the green-mode transmission and tossed it into an empty
locker. If they didn make it out, at least the UNSC fleet would know where to find the rebel base.
our suit is breached,Kelly reminded John. e better get to the ship now, before Sam sets off his
fireworks.
Linda and Fred checked the seals on the crate then carried it out. Kelly took point and John brought up
the rear.
They boarded the Pelican dropship and John sized up her armamentsented and charred armor, a pair
of old, out-of-date 40mm chain guns. The rocket pods had been removed. Not much of a warhorse.
There was a flash of lightning at the far end of the dock. The thunder roiled through the deck, and then
through John stomach.
While John watched, a gaping hole materialized in the airlock door amid a cloud of smoke and shattered

metal. Black space loomed beyond. With an earsplitting roar, the atmosphere held in the docks abruptly
transformed into a hurricane. People, crates, and debris were blasted out of the ragged tear.
John pulled himself inside the dropship and prepared to seal the main hatch.
He watched as emergency doors descended over the breached airlock. There was a second explosion,
and the drop door paused, then fell and clattered to the deck, crushing a light transport vessel underneath.
Behind them, large bay doors closed, sealing the docks off from the city. Dozens of workers still on the
docks ran for their lives, but didn make it.
Sam sprinted across the deck, perfectly safe inside his sealed black suit. He cycled through the Pelican
emergency airlock.
ack door open,he said with a grin.
Kelly fired up the engines. The Pelican lifted, maneuvered through the dock, and then out through the
blasted hole and into open space. She pushed the throttle to maximum burn.
Behind them, the insurgent base looked like any other rock in the asteroid belt . . . but this rock was
venting atmosphere and starting to rotate erratically.
After five minutes at full power, Kelly eased the engines back. el hit the extraction point in two
hours,she said.
heck on our prisoner,John said.
Sam popped open the crate. he seals held. Watts is still alive and has a steady pulse,he said.
ood,John grunted. He winced as the throbbing pain in his side increased.
omething bothering you?Kelly asked. ow that biofoam holding up?
t fine,he said without even looking at the hole in his side. l make it.
He knew he should feel elatedut instead he just felt tired. Something didn sit right about the
operation. He wondered about all the dead dockworkers and civilians back there. None of them were
designated targets. And yet, weren they all rebels on that asteroid?
On the other hand, it was like the Chief saide had followed his orders, completed his mission, and
gotten his people out alive. What more did he want?

John stuffed his doubts deep in the back of his mind.
othing wrong,he said, and squeezed Kelly shoulder. John smiled. hat could be wrong? We
won.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
0600 Hours, November 2, 2525 (Military Calendar) / Epsilon Eridani System, Reach UNSC
Military Complex, planet Reach
John wondered who had died. The Spartans had been called to muster in their dress uniforms only once
before: funeral detail.
The Purple Heart awarded to him after his last mission glistened on his chest. He made sure it was
polished to a high sheen. It stood out against the black wool of his dress jacket. Occasionally John would
look at it, and make sure it was still there.
He sat in the third row of the amphitheater and faced the center platform. The other Spartans sat quietly
on the concentric rings of risers. Spotlights flicked on the empty stage.
He had been in Reach secure briefing chamber before. This is where Dr. Halsey had told them they
were going to be soldiers. This is where his life had changed and he had been given a purpose.
Chief Mendez entered the room and marched to the center platform. He wore his black dress uniform as
well. His chest was covered with Silver and Bronze Stars, three Purple Hearts, the Red Legion of Honor
award, and a rainbow of campaign ribbons. He had recently shaved his head.
The Spartans rose and stood at attention.
Dr. Halsey entered. She looked older to John, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and mouth more
pronounced, streaks of gray in her dark hair. But her blue eyes were as sharp as ever. She wore gray
slacks, a black shirt, and her glasses hung about her neck on a gold chain.
dmiral on deck,Mendez announced.
They all snapped straighter.
A man ten years Dr. Halsey senior strode to the stage. His short silver hair looked like a steel helmet.
His gait had a strange lope to ithat crewmen called pace walkfrom spending too much time in
microgravity. He wore a simple, unadorned black dress UNSC uniform. No medals or campaign
ribbons. The insignia on the forearm of his jacket, however, was unmistakable: the single gold star of a
Rear Admiral.

t ease, Spartans,he said. Admiral Stanforth.
The Spartans took their seats in unison.
Dust swirled onstage and collected into a robed figure. Its face was obscured within the shadows of its
hood. John could discern no hands at the end of its sleeves.
his is Beowulf,Admiral Stanforth said as he gestured to the ghostly creature. Stanforth voice was
calm, but distaste was evident on his face. e is our AI attachwith the Office of Naval Intelligence.
He turned away from the AI. e have several important issues to cover this morning, so let get
started.
The lights dimmed. An amber sun appeared in the center of the room with three planets in close orbit.
his is Harvest,he said. opulation of approximately three million. Although on the periphery of
UNSC-controlled space, this world is one of our more productive and peaceful colonies.
The holographic view zoomed in on the surface of the world and showed grasslands and forests and a
thousand lakes swarming with schools of fish.
s of military calendar February 3, at 1423 hours, the Harvest orbital platform made long range radar
contact with this object.
A blurry outline appeared over the stage. pectroscopic analysis proved inconclusive,Admiral
Stanforth said. he object is constructed of material unknown to us.
A molecular absorption graph appeared on a side screen, spikes and jagged lines indicating the relative
proportions of elements.
Beowulf raised a cloaked arm and the image darkened. The words CLASSIFIEDYES ONLY
appeared over the blackened data.
Admiral Stanforth shot a glare at the AI.
ontact with Harvest,he continued, as lost shortly thereafter. The Colonial Military Administration
sent the scout shipArgo to investigate. That ship arrived in-system on April twentieth, but other than a
brief transmission to confirm their exit Slipstream position, no further reports were made.
n response, Fleet Command assembled a battle group to investigate. The group consisted of the
destroyerHeracles , commanded by Captain Veredi, as well as the frigatesArabia andVostok . They

entered the Harvest System on October seventh and discovered the following.
The holograph of the planet Harvest changed. The lush fields and rolling hills transformed, morphing
into a cratered, barren desert. Thin gray sunlight reflected off a glassy crust. Heat wavered from the
surface. Isolated regions glowed red.
his is what was left of the colony.The Admiral paused for a moment to stare at the image, and then
continued. e assume that all inhabitants are lost.
Three million lives lost. John couldn fathom the raw force it had taken to kill so manyor a moment
he was torn between horror and envy. He glanced at the Purple Heart pinned to his chest and
remembered his lost comrades. How did one simple bullet wound compare with so many wasted lives?
He was suddenly no longer proud of the decoration.
nd this is what theHeracles battlegroup found in orbit,Admiral Stanforth told them.
The blurry outline that was still visible, hanging in the air, sharpened into crisp focus. It looked smooth
and organic, and the hull possessed an odd, opalescent sheent looked more like the carapace of an
exotic insect than the metal hull of a spacecraft. Recessed into the aft section were pods that pulsed with
a purple-white glow. The prow of the craft was swollen like the head of a whale. John thought it
possessed an odd, predatory beauty.
he unidentified vessel,the Admiral said, aunched an immediate attack against our forces.
Blue flashes strobed from the ship. Red motes of light then appeared along its hull. Bolts of energy
coalesced into a fiery smear against the blackness of space. The deadly flashes of light impacted on
theArabia , splashed across its hull. Its meter of armor plating instantly boiled away, and a plume of
ignited atmosphere burst from the breach in the ship hull. hose were pulse lasers,Admiral
Stanforth explained, ndf this record is to be believedome kind of self-guided, superheated
plasma weapon.
TheHeracles andVostok launched salvos of missiles toward the craft. The enemy lasers shot half
before they reached their target. The balance of the missiles impacted, detonated into blossoms of
fire . . . that quickly faded. The strange ship shimmered with a semitransparent silver coating, which
then vanished.
hey also seem to have some reflective energy shield.Admiral Stanforth took a deep breath and his
features hardened into a mask of grim resolve. heVostok andArabia were lost with all hands.
TheHeracles jumped out of the system, but due to the damage she sustained, it took several weeks for
Captain Veredi to make it back to Reach.
hese weapons and defensive systems are currently beyond our technology. Therefore . . . this craft is

of nonhuman origin.He paused, then added, he product of a race with technology far in advance of
our own.
A murmur buzzed through the chamber.
e have, of course, developed a number of first contact scenarios,the Admiral continued, nd
Captain Veredi followed our established protocols. We had hoped that contact with a new race would be
peaceful. Obviously this was not the casehe alien vessel did not open fire until our task force
attempted to initiate communications.
He paused, considering his words. ragments of the enemy transmissions were intercepted,he
continued. few words have been translated. We believe they call themselves he Covenant.
However, before opening fire, the alien ship broadcast the following message in the clear.
He gestured at Beowulf, who nodded. A moment later, a voice thundered from the amphitheater
speakers. John stiffened in his seat when he heard it; the voice from the speakers sounded odd, artificial
trangely calm and formal, but laden with rage and menace.
our destruction is the will of the Gods . . . and we are their instrument.
John was awestruck. He stood.
es, Spartan?Stanforth said.
ir, is this a translation?
o,the Admiral replied. hey broadcast this to us in our language. We believe they used some kind
of translation system to prepare the message . . . but it means theye been studying us for some time.
John took his seat.
s of November 1, the UNSC has been ordered to full alert,Stanforth said. ice Admiral Preston
Cole is mobilizing the largest fleet action in human history to retake the Harvest System and confront
this new threat. Their transmission made one thing perfectly clear: theye looking for a fight.
Only years of military discipline kept John rooted to his seattherwise he would have stood up and
asked to volunteer on the spot. He would have given anything to go and fight. This was the threat he and
the other Spartans had been training for all their livese was certain of it. Not scattered rebels, pirates,
or political dissidents.
ecause of this UNSC-wide mobilization,Admiral Stanforth continued, our training schedule will

be accelerated to its final phase: Project MJOLNIR.
He stepped away from the podium and clasped his hands behind his back. o that end, I afraid I have
another unpleasant announcement.He turned to the Chief. hief Petty Officer Mendez will be
departing us to train the next group of Spartans. Chief?
John grabbed the edge of the riser. Chief Mendez had always been there for them, the only constant in
the universe. Admiral Stanforth might as well have told him that Epsilon Eridani was leaving the Reach
System.
The Chief stepped to the podium and clasped its edges.
ecruits,he said, oon your training will be complete, and you will graduate to the rank of Petty
Officer Second Class in the UNSC. One of the first things you will learn is that change is part of a
soldier life. You will make and lose friends. You will move. This is part of the job.
He looked to his audience. His dark eyes rested on each one of them. He nodded, seemingly satisfied
with what he saw.
he Spartans are the finest group of soldiers I have ever encountered,he said. t has been a privilege
to train you. Never forget what Ie tried to teach youuty, honor, and sacrifice for the greater good of
humanity are the qualities that make you the best.
He was silent a moment, searching for more words. But finding none, he stood at attention and saluted.
ttention,John barked. The Spartans rose as one and saluted the Chief.
ismissed, Spartans,Chief Mendez said. nd good luck.He finished his salute.
The Spartans snapped down their arms. They hesitated, and then reluctantly filed out of the amphitheater.
John stayed behind. He had to talk to Chief Mendez.
Dr. Halsey spoke briefly with the Chief and the Admiral, then she and the Admiral left together.
Beowulf backed toward the far wall and faded away like a ghost.
The Chief gathered his hat, spotted John, and walked to him. He nodded to the hologram of the scorched
colony, Harvest, still rotating in the air. ne final lesson, Petty Officer,he said. hat tactical options
do you have when attacking a stronger opponent?
ir!John said. here are two options. Attack swiftly and with full force at their weakest pointake

them out quickly before they have a chance to respond.
ood,he said. nd the other option?
all back,John replied. ngage in guerrilla actions or get reinforcements.
The Chief sighed. hose are the correct answers,he said, ut it may not be enough to be correct this
time. Sit, please.
John sat, and the Chief settled next to him on the riser.
here a third option.The Chief turned his hat over in his hands. n option that others may
eventually consider. . . .
ir?
urrender,the Chief whispered. hat, however, is never an option for the likes of you and me. We
don have the luxury of backing down.He glanced up at Harvest glittering ball of glass. nd I
doubt that an enemy like this willlet us surrender.
think I understand, sir.
ake sure you do. And make sure you don let anyone else give up.He gazed into the shadows
beyond the center platform. roject MJOLNIR will make the Spartans into something . . . new.
Something I could never forge them into. I can fully explainhat damned ONI spook is still here
listeningust trust Dr. Halsey.
The Chief dug into his jacket pocket. was hoping to see you before they shipped me out. I have
something for you.He set a small metal disk on the riser between them.
hen you first came here,the Chief said, ou fought the trainers when they took this away from you
roke a few fingers as I recall.His chiseled features cracked into a rare smile.
John picked up the disk and examined it. It was an ancient silver coin. He flipped it between his fingers.
t has an eagle on one side,Mendez said. hat bird is like youast and deadly.
John closed his fingers around the quarter. hank you, sir.
He wanted to say that he was strong and fast because the Chief had made him so. He wanted to tell him
that he was ready to defend humanity against this new threat. He wanted to say that without the Chief,

he would have no purpose, no integrity, and no duty to perform. But John didn have the words. He just
sat there.
Mendez stood. t has been an honor to serve with you.Instead of saluting, he held out his hand.
John got to his feet. He took the Chief hand and they shook. It took a great deal of effortvery
instinct screamed at him to salute.
ood-bye,Chief Mendez said.
He turned briskly on his heel and strode from the room.
John never saw him again.

CHAPTER TWELVE
1750 Hours, November 27, 2525 (Military Calendar) / UNSC frigateCommonwealth en route to the
UNSC Damascus Materials Testing Facility, planet Chi Ceti 4
The view screen in the bunkroom of the UNSC frigateCommonwealth clicked on as the ship entered
normal space. Ice particles showered the external camera and gave the distant yellow sun, Chi Ceti, a
ghostly ring.
John watched and continued to ponder the wordMjolnir as they sped in-system. He had looked it up in
the education database. Mjolnir was the hammer used by the Norse god of thunder. Project MJOLNIR
had to be some kind of weapon. At least he hoped it was; they neededsomething to fight the Covenant.
If it was a weapon, though, why was it here at the Damascus testing facility, on the very edge of UNSCcontrolled
space? He had only even heard of this system twenty-four hours ago.
He turned and surveyed the squad. Although this bunkroom had one hundred beds, the Spartans still
clustered together, playing cards, polishing boots, reading, exercising. Sam sparred with Kelly
although she had to slow herself down considerably to give him a chance.
John was reminded that he didn like being on starships. The lack of control was disturbing. If he
wasn stuck in he freezerthe starship cramped, unpleasant cryo chambere was left waiting
and wondering what their next mission would be.
During the last three weeks the Spartans had handled a variety of minor missions for Dr. Halsey. ying
up loose ends,she had called it. Putting down rebel factions on Jericho VII. Removing a black-market
bazaar near the Roosevelt military base. Each mission had brought them closer to the Chi Ceti System.
John had made sure every member of his squad had participated in these missions. They had performed
flawlessly. There had been no losses. Chief Mendez would have been proud of them.
partan-117,r. Halsey voice blared over the loudspeaker.eport to the bridge immediately.
John snapped to attention and keyed the intercom. es, mam!He turned to Sam. et everyone
ready, in case wee needed. On the double.
ffirmative,Sam said. ou heard the Petty Officer. Dog those cards. Get into uniform, soldier!

John double-timed it to the elevator and punched the code for the bridge. Gravity faded out and then
back again as the elevator passed between rotating sections of the ship.
The doors parted and he stepped onto the bridge. Every wall had a screen. Some showed stars and the
distant red smear of a nebula. Other screens displayed the fusion reactor status and spectrums of
microwave broadcasts in the system.
A brass railing ringed the center of the bridge, and within sat four Junior Lieutenants at their stations:
navigation, weapons, communications, and ship operations.
John halted and saluted Captain Wallace, then nodded to Dr. Halsey.
Captain Wallace stood with his right arm crooked behind his back. His left arm was missing from the
elbow down.
John remained saluting until the Captain returned the gesture.
ver here, please,Dr. Halsey said. want you to see this.
John walked across the rubberized deck and gave his full attention to the screen Dr. Halsey and Captain
Wallace were scrutinizing. It displayed deconvoluted radar signals. It looked like tangled yarn to John.
here Dr. Halsey pointed to a blip on the screen. t there again.
Captain Wallace stroked his dark beard, thinking, then said, hat puts our ghost at eighty million
kilometers. Even if it were a ship, it would take a full hour to get within weapons range. And besides
He waved at the screen. it gone again.
ay I suggest that we go to battle stations, Captain,Dr. Halsey told him.
don see the point,he said condescendingly; the Captain was clearly less than pleased about having
a civilian on his bridge.
e haven let this be widely known,she said, ut when the aliens were first detected at Harvest,
they appeared at extreme range . . . and then they were suddenly much closer.
n intrasystem jump?John asked.
Dr. Halsey smiled at him. orrectly surmised, Spartan.
hat not possible,Captain Wallace remarked. lipstream space can be navigated that accurately.

ou meanwe cannot navigate with that kind of accuracy,she said.
The Captain clenched and unclenched his jaw. He clicked the intercom. eneral quarters: all hands to
battle stations. Seal bulkheads. I repeat: all hands, battle stations. This is not a drill. Reactors to ninety
percent. Come about to course one two five.
The bridge lights darkened to a red hue. The deck rumbled beneath John boots and the entire ship tilted
as it changed heading. Pressure doors slammed shut and sealed John on the bridge.
TheCommonwealth stabilized on her new heading, and Dr. Halsey crossed her arms. She leaned over
and whispered to John, el be using theCommonwealth dropship to go to the testing facility on Chi
Ceti Four. We have to get to Project MJOLNIR.She turned back and watched the radar screen.
eforethey do. So get the others ready.
es, mam.John keyed the intercom. am, muster the squad in Bay Alpha. I want that Pelican
loaded and ready for drop in fifteen minutes.
el have it done in ten,am replied.aster if those Longsword interceptor pilots get out of our
way.
John would have given anything to be belowdecks with the others. He felt as if he were being left behind.
The radar screen flashed with blobs of eerie green light . . . almost as if the space around
theCommonwealth were boiling.
The collision alarm sounded.
race for impact!Captain Wallace said. He laced his arm around the brass railing.
John grabbed an emergency handhold on the wall.
Something appeared three thousand kilometers off theCommonwealth prow. It was a sleek oval with a
single seam running along its lateral edge from stem to stern. Tiny lights winked on and off along its
hull. A faint purple-tinged glow emitted from the tail. The ship was only a third the size of
theCommonwealth .
Covenant ship,Dr. Halsey said, and she involuntarily backed away from the view screens.
Captain Wallace scowled. OM officer: send a signal to Chi Cetiee if they can send us some
reinforcements.

ye, sir.
Blue flashes flickered along the hull of the alien shipo bright that even filtered through the external
camera, they still made John eyes water.
The outer hull of theCommonwealth sizzled and popped. Three screens filled with static.
ulse lasers!the lieutenant at the ops station screamed. ommunication dish destroyed. Armor in
sections three and four at twenty-five percent. Hull breach in section three. Sealing now.The
Lieutenant swiveled in his seat, sweat beaded on his forehead. hip AI core memory overloaded,he
said.
With the AI offline, the ship could still fire weapons and navigate through Slipstream space, but John
knew it would take more time to make jump calculations.
ome to heading zero three zero, declination one eight zero,Caption Wallace ordered. rm Archer
missile pods A through F. And give me a firing solution.
ye aye,the navigation and weapons officers said. through F pods armed.They furiously tapped
away on their keypads. Seconds ticked by. iring solution ready, sir.
ire.
ods A through F firing!
TheCommonwealth had twenty-six pods, each loaded with thirty Archer high-explosive missiles. On
screen, pods A through F opened, and launched80 plumes of rocket exhaust that traced a path from
theCommonwealth to the alien ship.
The enemy changed course, rotated so that the top of the ship faced the incoming missiles. It then moved
straight up at an alarming speed.
The Archer missiles altered their trajectory to track the ship, but half their number streaked past the
target, clean misses.
The others impacted. Fire covered the skin of the alien ship.
ood work, Lieutenant,Captain Wallace said, and he clapped the young officer on the shoulder.
Dr. Halsey frowned and stared at the screen. o,she whispered. ait.

The fire flared, then dimmed. The skin of the alien ship rippled like heat wavering off a hot road in the
summer. It fluttered with a metallic silver sheen, then brilliant whitend the fire faded, revealing the
ship beneath.
It was completely undamaged.
nergy shields,Dr. Halsey muttered. She tapped her lower lip, thinking. ven ships this small have
energy shielding.
ieutenant,the Captain barked at the nav officer. ut main engines and fire maneuvering thrusters.
Rotate and track so that wee pointing at that thing.
ye aye, sir.
The distant rumbling of theCommonwealth main engines dimmed and stopped and she turned about.
Her inertia kept the ship speeding toward the testing facilityow flying backward.
hat are you doing, Captain?Dr. Halsey asked.
rm the MAC,Captain Wallace told the weapons officer. heavy round.
John understood: Turning your back to an enemy only gave them an advantage.
The MACagnetic Accelerator Cannonas theCommonwealth main weapon. It fired a superdense
ferric tungsten shell. The tremendous mass and velocity of the projectile obliterated most ships on
impact. Unlike the Archer missiles, a MAC round was an unguided projectile; the firing solution had to
be perfect in order to hit the targetot an easy thing to do when both ships were moving rapidly.
AC capacitors charging,the weapons officer announced.
The Covenant ship turned its side toward theCommonwealth .
es,the Captain murmured. ive me a bigger target.
Pinpoints of blue light glowed and then flared along the alien hull.
The tactical view screens on the nose of theCommonwealth went dead.
John heard sizzling overheadhen the muffled thumps of explosive decompressions.
ore pulse laser hits,the ops officer reported. rmor in section three through seven down to four

centimeters. Navigation dish destroyed. Hull breaches on decks two, five, and nine. We have a leak in
the port fuel tanks.The Lieutenant hand shakily danced over the controls. umping fuel to starboard
reverse tanks. Sealing sections.
John shifted on his feet. He had to move. Act. Standing herenable to get to his squad, not doing
anythingas counter to every fiber of his being.
AC at one hundred percent,the weapons officer shouted. eady to fire!
ire!Captain Wallace ordered.
The lights on the bridge dimmed and theCommonwealth shuddered. The MAC bolt launched through
space red-hot metal slug moving at thirty thousand meters per second.
The Covenant ship engines flared to life and the ship veered away
oo late. The heavy round closed and slammed into the target prow.
The Covenant ship reeled backward through space. Its energy shields shimmered and glowed lightningbright
. . . then flickered, dimmed, and went out.
The bridge crew let out a victory cheer.
Except Dr. Halsey. John watched the view screen as she adjusted the camera controls and zoomed in on
the Covenant ship.
The vessel erratic spinning slowed and it came to a stop. The ship nose was crumpled and
atmosphere vented into vacuum. Tiny fires flickered inside. The ship slowly came about and started
back toward themaining speed.
t should have been destroyed,she whispered.
Tiny red blobs appeared on the hull of the Covenant ship. They glowed and intensified and drifted
together, collecting along the lateral line of the craft.
Captain Wallace said, ake ready another heavy round.
ye aye,the weapons officer said. harge at thirty percent. Firing solution online, sir.
o,Dr. Halsey said. vasive maneuvers, Captain. Now!

won have my command second-guessed, mam.The Captain turned to face her. nd with respect,
Doctor , second-guessed by someone with no combat experience.He stiffened and placed his hand
behind his back. cannot have you removed from the bridge because the bulkheads are sealed . . . but
another outburst like that, Doctor, and Iwill have you gagged.
John shot a quick glance to Dr. Halsey. Her face flushede couldn tell from shame or rage.
AC at fifty percent charge.
The red light continued to collect along the lateral line of the Covenant ship until it was a solid band. It
brightened.
ighty percent charge.
heye turning, sir,the nav officer announced. he coming to starboard.
inety-five percent chargene hundred,the weapons officer announced.
end them to Hades, Lieutenant. Fire.
The lights dimmed again. TheCommonwealth shuddered and a bolt of thunder and fire tore through the
blackness.
The Covenant ship stood its ground. The bloodred light that had pooled on its lateral line burst forth
streaked toward theCommonwealth , passing the MAC round a mere kilometer away. The red light
glowed and pulsed almost as if it were liquid; its edges roiled and fluttered. It elongated into a teardrop
of ruby light five meters long.
vasive maneuvers,Captain Wallace cried. mergency thrusters to port!
TheCommonwealth slowly moved out of the trajectory path of the Covenant energy weapon.
The MAC round struck the Covenant vessel amidships. Its shield shimmered and bubbled . . . then
disappeared. The MAC round punched through the craft and sent it spinning out of control.
The inbound ball of light moved, too. It started tracking the Commonwealth.
nginesull power astern,the Captain ordered. TheCommonwealth rumbled and slowed.
The light should have sped past them; instead, it sharply arced and struck her port amidships.

The air filled with a popping and sizzling. TheCommonwealth listed to starboard, then rolled completely
over and continued to tumble.
tabilize,the Captain cried. tarboard thrusters.
ire reported in sections one through twenty,the ops officer said, panic creeping into his voice.
ecks two through seven in section one . . . have melted, sir. Theye gone.
It grew noticeably hotter on the bridge. Sweat beaded on John back and trickled down his spine. He
had never felt so helpless. Were his teammates below decks alive or dead?
ll port armor destroyed. Decks two through five in sections three, four, and five, are now out of
contact, sir. It burning through us!
Captain Wallace stood without saying a word. He stared at their one remaining view screen.
Dr. Halsey stepped forward. espectfully, Captain, I suggest that you alert the crew to get on respirator
packs. Give them thirty seconds then vent the atmosphere on all decks, except the bridge.
The COM officer looked to the Captain.
o it,the Captain said. ound the alert.
eck thirteen destroyed,the ops officer announced. ire is getting close the reactor. Hull structure
starting to buckle.
ent atmosphere now,Captain Wallance ordered.
ye aye,the ops officer replied.
There was the sound of thumping through the hull . . . then nothing.
ire is dying out,the ops officer said. ull temperature coolingtabilizing.
hat the hell did they hit us with?Captain Wallace demanded.
lasma,Dr. Halsey replied. ut not any plasma we know . . . they can actually guide its trajectory
through space, without any detectable mechanism. Amazing.
aptain,the navigator said. lien ship is pursuing.

The Covenant vessel red-rimmed hole punched through its centerurned and started toward
theCommonwealth .
ow . . . ?Captain Wallace said unbelievingly. He quickly regained his wits. eady another MAC
heavy round.
The weapons officer slowly said, AC system destroyed, Captain.
ee sitting ducks, then,the Captain murmured.
Dr. Halsey leaned against the brass railing. ot quite. TheCommonwealth carries three nuclear missiles,
correct, Captain?
detonation this close would destroy us as well.
She frowned and cupped her hand to her chin, thinking.
xcuse me, sir,John said. he alien tactics thus far have been unnecessarily viciousike those of
an animal. They didn have to take that second MAC round while they fired at us. But they wanted to
position themselves to fire. In my opinion sir, they would stop and engageanything that challenged
them.
The Captain looked to Dr. Halsey.
She shrugged and then nodded. he Longsword interceptors?
Captain Wallace turned his back to them and covered his face with his one hand. He sighed, nodded, and
clicked on the intercom.
ongsword Squadron Delta, this is the Captain. Get your ships into the black, boys, and engage the
enemy ship. I need you to need to buy us some time.
oger that, sir. Wee ready to launch. On our way.
urn us around,the Captain told the nav officer. ive me best speed on a vector toward Chi Ceti
Four orbit.
oolant leaks in the reactor, sir,the ops officer said. e can push the engines to thirty percent. No
more.
ive me fifty percent,he said. He turned to the weapons officer. rm one of our Shiva warheads. Set

proximity fuse to one hundred meters.
es, sir.
TheCommonwealth spun about. John felt the change in his stomach and he tightened his grip on the
railing. The spinning slowed, stopped, then the ship accelerated.
eactor red-lining,the ops officer reported. eltdown in twenty-five seconds.
Over the speakers, there was a crackle, a hiss of static, then:ongsword interceptors engaging the
enemy, sir.
On the remaining aft camera, there were flickers of lighthe cold blue strobes of Covenant energy
weapons, and the red-orange fireballs of the Longswordsmissiles.
aunch the missile,the Captain said.
eltdown in ten seconds.
issile away.
A plume of exhaust divided the darkness of space.
ive seconds to meltdown,the ops officer said. our, three, two
hunt drive plasma to space,the Captain ordered. ut power to all systems.
The Covenant ship was silhouetted for a split second by pure whitehen the view screen snapped off.
The bridge lights went dead.
John could see everything, though. The bridge officers, Dr. Halsey as she clutched onto the railing, and
Captain Wallace as he stood and saluted the pilots he had just sent to die.
The hull of theCommonwealth rumbled and pinged as the shock wave enveloped them. It grew louder, a
subsonic roar that shook John to his bones.
The noise seemed to go on forever in the darkness. It faded . . . then it was completely silent.
ower us back up,the Captain said. lowly. Give me ten percent from the reactors if we can
manage.

The bridge lights came on, dimly, but they worked.
eport,the Captain ordered.
ll sensors offline,the op officer said. esetting backup computer. Hang on. Scanning now. Lots of
debris. It hot back there. All Longsword interceptors vaporized.He looked up, the color drained from
his face. ovenant ship . . . intact, sir.
o,the Captain said, and made a fist.
t moving off, though,the op officer said with a visible sigh of relief. ery slowly.
hat does it take to destroy one of those things?the Captain whispered.
e don know if our weaponscan destroy them,Dr. Halsey said. ut at least we know we can slow
them down.
The Captain stood straighter. est speed to the Damascus testing facility. We will execute a flyby orbit,
and then proceed to a point twenty million kilometers distant to make repairs.
aptain?Dr. Halsey said. flyby?
have orders to get you to the facility and retrieve whatever Section Three has stowed there, mam.
As we fly by, a dropship will take you and your He glanced at John. crew planet side. If the
Covenant ship returns, we will be the bait to lure them away.
understand, Captain.
el rendezvous in orbit no later than 1900 hours.
Dr. Halsey turned to John. e need to hurry. We don have much timend there is a great deal I
need to show the Spartans.
es, mam,John said. He took a long look at the bridge, and hoped he never had to return.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
1845 Hours, November 27, 2525 (Military Calendar) / UNSC Damascus Materials Testing Facility,
planet
Chi Ceti 4
How far down was the testing facility? John and the other Spartans had been confined to a freight
elevator for fifteen minutes, and the entire time it had been rapidly descending into the depths of Chi
Ceti 4.
The last place John wanted to be was in another confined space.
The doors finally slid open, and they emerged in what appeared to be a well-lit hangar. The far end had
an obstacle course set up with walls, trenches, dummy targets, and barbed wire.
Three technicians and at least a dozen AI figures were busy in the center of the room. John had seen AIs
beforene at a time. D嶴had once told the Spartans that there were technical reasons why AIs
couldn be in the same place at the same time, but here were many ghostly figures: a mermaid, a
samurai warrior, and one made entirely of bright light with comets trailing in her wake.
Dr. Halsey cleared her throat. The technicians turnedhe AIs vanished.
John had been so focused on the holograms that he hadn noticed the forty Plexiglas mannequins set up
in rows. On each was a suit of armor.
The armor reminded John of the exoskeletons he had seen during training, but much less bulky, more
compact. He stepped closer to one and saw that the suit actually had many layers; the outer layer
reflected the overhead lights with a faint green-gold iridescence. It covered the groin, outer thighs,
knees, shins, chest, shoulders, and forearms. There was a helmet and an integrated power packuch
smaller than standard Marine attery sacks.Underneath were intermeshed layers of matte-black metal.
roject MJOLNIR,Dr. Halsey said. She snapped her fingers and an exploded holographic schematic
of the armor appeared next to her.
he armor shell is a multilayer alloy of remarkable strength. We recently added a refractive coating to
disperse incoming energy weapon attackso counter our new enemies.She pointed inside the
schematic. ach battlesuit also has a gel-filled layer to regulate temperature; this layer can reactively
change in density. Against the skin of the operator, there is a moisture-absorbing cloth suit, and
biomonitors that constantly adjust the suit temperature and fit. There also an onboard computer that

interfaces with your standard-issue neural implant.
She gestured and the schematic collapsed so that it only displayed the outer layers. As the image
changed, John glimpsed veinlike microcapillaries, a dense sandwich of optical crystal, a circulating
pump, even what looked like a miniature fusion cell in the backpack.
ost importantly,Dr. Halsey said, he armor inner structure is composed of a new reactive metal
liquid crystal. It is amorphous, yet fractally scales and amplifies force. In simplified terms, the armor
doubles the wearer strength, and enhances the reaction speed of a normal human by a factor of five.
She waved her hand through the hologram. here is one problem, however. This system is so reactive
that our previous tests with unaugmented volunteers ended in She searched for right word.
failure.She nodded to one of the technicians.
A flat video appeared in the air. It showed a Marine officer, a Lieutenant, being fitted with the
MJOLNIR armor. ower is on,someone said from offscreen. ove your right arm, please.
The soldier arm blurred forward with incredible speed. The Marine stoic expression collapsed into
shock, surprise, and pain as his arm shattered. He convulsedhuddered and screamed. As he jerked in
pain John could hear the sounds of bones breaking.
The man own agony-induced spasms were killing him.
Halsey waved the video away. ormal humans don have the reaction time or strength required to
drive this system,she explained. ou do. Your enhanced musculature and the metal and ceramic
layers that have been bonded to your skeletonshould be enough to allow you to harness the armor
power. There has been . . . insufficient computer modeling, however. There will be some risk. Youl
have to move very slowly and deliberately until you get a feel for the armor and how it works. It cannot
be powered down, nor can the response be scaled back. Do you understand?
es, Mam,the Spartans answered.
uestions?
John raised his hand. hen do we get to try them, Doctor?
ight now,she said. olunteers?
Every Spartan raised a hand.
Dr. Halsey allowed herself a tiny smile. She surveyed them, and finally, she turned to John.

oue always been lucky, John,she said. et go.
He stepped forward. The technicians fitted him as the others watched and the pieces of the MJOLNIR
system were assembled around his body. It was like a giant three-dimensional puzzle.
lease breathe normally,Dr. Halsey told him, ut otherwise remain absolutely still.
John held himself as motionless as he could. The armor shifted and melded to the contours of his form.
It was like a second skin . . . and much lighter than he had thought it would be. It heated, then cooled
then matched the temperature of his body. If he closed his eyes, he wouldn have known he was
encased.
They set the helmet over his head.
Health monitors, motion sensors, suit status indicators pulsed into life. A targeting reticle flickered on
the heads-up display.
veryone move back,Halsey ordered.
The Spartansrom their expressions, they were concerned for him, but still intensely curiousleared
a ring with a radius of three meters around him.
isten carefully to me, John,Dr. Halsey said. just want you to think, and only think, about moving
your arm up to chest level. Stay relaxed.
He willed his arm to move, and his hand and forearm sprang forward to chest level. The slightest motion
translated his thought to motion at lightning speed. It had been so fastf he hadn been attached to his
arm, he might have missed that it had happened at all.
The Spartans gasped.
Sam applauded. Even lightning-fast Kelly seemed impressed.
Dr. Halsey slowly coached John through the basics of walking and gradually built up the speed and
complexity of his motions. After fifteen minutes he could walk, run, and jump almost without thinking
of the difference between suit motion and normal motion.
etty Officer, run through the obstacle course,Dr. Halsey said. e will proceed to fit the other
Spartans. We don have a great deal of time left.
John snapped a salute without thinking. His hand bounced off his helmet and a dull ache throbbed in his

hand. His wrist would be bruised. If his bones hadn been reinforced, he knew they would have been
pulverized.
arefully, Petty Officer. Very carefully, please.
es, mam!
John focused his mind on motion. He leaped over a three-meter-high wall. He punched at concrete
targetshattering them. He threw knives, sinking them up to their hafts into target dummies. He slid
under barbed wire as bullets zinged over his head. He stood, and let the rounds deflect off the armor. To
his amazement, he actually dodged one or two of the rounds.
Soon the other Spartans joined him on the course. Everyone ran awkwardly through the obstacles,
though they had no coordination. John expressed his worries to Dr. Halsey. t will come to you soon
enough. Youe already received some subliminal training during your last cryo sleep Dr. Halsey
told them, now all you need is time to get used to the suits.
More worrisome to John was the realization that they have to learn how to work together all over
again. Their usual hand signals were too exaggerated now slight wave or tremble translated into fullforce
punches or uncontrolled vibrations. They would have to use the COM channels for the time being.
As soon as he thought of this, his suit tagged and monitored the other MJOLNIR suits. Their standardissue
UNSC neural chipmplanted in every UNSC soldier at inductiondentified friendly soldiers
and displayed them on their helmet HUDs. But this was differentll he had to do was concentrate on
them, and a secure COM channel opened. It was extremely efficient.
And much to his relief, after drilling for thirty minutes, the Spartans had recovered all of their original
group coordination, and more.
On one level, John moved the suit and, in return, it moved him. On another level, however,
communication with his squad was so easy and natural, he could move and direct them as if they were
an extension of his body.
Over the hangar speakers, the Spartans heard Dr. Halsey voice: partans, so far so good. If anyone
is experiencing difficulties with the suit or its controls, please report in.
think I in love,Sam replied. horry, mam. I didn think that was an open channel.
lawless amplification of speed and power,Kelly said. t like Ie been training in this suit for
years.
o we get to keep them?John asked.

oue the only ones who can use them, Petty Officer. Who else could we give them to? We A
technician handed her a headset. ne moment, please. Report, Captain.
Captain Wallace voice broke over the COM channels.e have contact with the Covenant ship,
mam. Extreme range. Their Slipspace engines must still be damaged. They are moving toward us via
normal space.
our repair status?she asked.
ong-range communications inoperable. Slipstream generators offline. MAC system destroyed. We
have two fusion missiles and twenty Archer missile pods intact. Armor plating is at twenty percent.
There was a long hiss of static. f you need more time . . . I can try and draw them away.
o, Captain,she replied, and carefully scrutinized John and the other armored Spartans. ee going
to have to fight them . . . and this time we have to win.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
2037 Hours, November 27, 2525 (Military Calendar) /
In orbit over Chi Ceti 4
John piloted the Pelican through the exit burn of their orbital path, then sent the ship toward the last
known position of theCommonwealth . The frigate had moved ten million kilometers in-system from
their rendezvous point.
Dr. Halsey sat in the copilot seat, fidgeting with her space suit. In the aft compartment were the
Spartans, the three technicians from the Damascus facility, and a dozen spare MJOLNIR suits.
Missing, however, were the AIs John had seen when they had first arrived. All Dr. Halsey had time to do
was remove their memory processor cubes. It was a tremendous waste to leave such expensive
equipment behind.
Dr. Halsey examined the ship short-range detection gear, then said, aptain Wallace may be trying to
use Chi Ceti magnetic field to deflect the Covenant plasma weapon. Try and catch up, Petty Officer.
es, mam.John pushed the engines to 100 percent.
ovenant ship to port,she said, hree million kilometers and closing on theCommonwealth .
John bumped up the magnification onscreen and spotted the ship. The alien vessel hull was bent at a
thirty-degree angle from the impact of the MAC heavy round, but it still moved at almost twice the
speed of theCommonwealth .
octor,John asked, oes the MJOLNIR armor operate in vacuum?
f course,she replied. t was one of our first design considerations. The suit can recycle air for
ninety minutes. It shielded against radiation and EMP as well.
He then spoke to Sam over his COM link. hat kind of missiles is this bird carrying?
ait one, sir,am replied. His voice returned a moment later.e have two rocket pods with sixteen
HE Anvil-IIs each.
want you to assemble a team and go EVA. Remove those warheads from the wing pods.

on it,am said.
Halsey tried to push her glasses up higher on her nosenstead she bumped up against the faceplate of
her suit helmet. ay I ask what you have in mind, Squad Leader?
John left his COM channel open so the Spartans would hear his reply.
equesting permission to attack the Covenant ship, mam.
Her blue eyes widened. ost certainly not,she said. f a warship like theCommonwealth couldn
destroy it, a Pelican is certainly no match for them.
ot the Pelican, no,John agreed. ut I believe we Spartans are. If we getinside the enemy ship, we
can destroy her.
Doctor Halsey considered, tapping her lower lip. ow will you get onboard?
e go EVA and use thruster packs to intercept the Covenant ship as it passes en route to
theCommonwealth .
She shook her head. ne slight error in your trajectory, and you could miss by kilometers,Dr. Halsey
remarked.
A pause.
don miss, mam,John said.
hey have reflective shields.
rue,John replied. ut the ship is damaged. They may have had to lower or reduce shielding in order
to conserve powernd if we have to, we can use one of our own warheads to punch a small hole in the
barrier.He paused, then added, here also a large hole in their hull. Their shield may not cover that
space entirely.
Dr. Halsey whispered, t a tremendous risk.
ith respect, mam, it a bigger risk to sit here and do nothing. After they finish with
theCommonwealth . . . theyl come for us and wel have to fight them anyway. Better to strike first.
She stared off into space, lost in thought.

Finally she sighed in resignation. ery well. Go.She transferred the pilot controls to her station. nd
blow the hell out of them.
John climbed into the aft compartment.
His Spartans stood at attention. He felt a rush of pride; they were ready to follow him as he leaped
literally into the jaws of death.
e got the warheads,Sam said. It was hard to mistake Sam even with his reflective blast shield
covering his face. He was the largest Spartanven more imposing encased in the armor.
veryone got one.Sam continued as he handed John a metal shell. imers and detonators are
already rigged. Stuck on a patch of adhesive polymer; theyl cling to your suit.
partans,John said, rab thruster packs and make ready to go EVA. Everyone else He motioned
to the three technicians. get into the forward cabin. If we fail, theyl be coming after the Pelican.
Protect Dr. Halsey.
He moved aft. Kelly handed him a thruster pack and he slipped it on.
ovenant ship approaching,Halsey called out. pumping out your atmosphere to avoid explosive
decompression when I drop the back hatch.
el only get one shot at this,John said to the other Spartans. lot an intercept trajectory and fire
your thrusters at max burn. If the target changes course, youl have to make a best guess correction on
the fly. If you make it, wel regroup outside the hole in their hull. If you missel pick you up after
wee done.
He hesitated, then added, nd if we don succeed, then power down your systems and wait for UNSC
reinforcements to retrieve you. Live to fight another day. Don waste your lives.
There was a moment of silence.
f anyone has a better plan, speak up now.
Sam patted John on the back. his is a great plan. Itl be easier than Chief Mendez playground. A
bunch of little kids could pull it off.
ure,John said. veryone ready?
ir,they said. ee ready, sir!

John flipped the safety off and then punched in the code to open the Pelican tail. The mechanism
opened soundlessly in the vacuum. Outside was infinite blackness. He had a feeling of falling through
spaceut the vertigo quickly passed.
He positioned himself on the edge of the ramp, both hands gripping a safety handle overhead.
The Covenant ship was a tiny dot in the center of his helmet view screen. He plotted a course and fired
the thruster pack on maximum burn.
Acceleration slammed him into the thruster harness. He knew the others would launch right after him,
but he couldn turn to see them.
It occurred to him then that the Covenant ship might identify the Spartans as incoming missilesnd
their point-defense lasers were too damn accurate.
John clicked on the COM channel. octor, we could use a few decoys if Captain Wallace can spare
them.
nderstood,he said.
The Covenant vessel grew rapidly in his display. A burst from its engines and it turned slightly.
Traveling at one hundred million kilometers an hour, even a minor course correction meant that he could
miss by tens of thousands of kilometers. John carefully corrected his vector.
The pulse laser on the side of the Covenant ship glowed, built up energy, until they were dazzling neon
blue, then dischargedut not at him.
John saw explosions in his peripheral vision. TheCommonwealth had fired a salvo of her Archer
missiles. Around him in the dark were puffballs of red-orange detonationstterly silent.
John velocity now almost matched that of the ship. He eased toward the hullwenty meters, ten,
five . . . and then the Covenant ship started to pull away from him.
It was traveling too fast. He tapped his attitude thrusters and pointed himself perpendicular to the hull.
The Covenant hull accelerated under him . . . but he was dropping closer.
He stretched out his arms. The hull raced past his fingertips a meter away.

John fingers brushed against somethingt felt semiliquid. He could see his hand skimming a nearinvisible,
glassy, shimmering surface: the energy shield.
Damn. Their shields were still up. He glanced to either side. The huge hole in their hull was nowhere in
sight.
He slid over the hull, unable to grab hold of it.
No.He refused to accept that he had made it this far, only to fail now.
A pulse laser flashed a hundred meters away; his faceplate barely adjusted in time. The flash nearly
blinded him. John blinked and then saw a silvery film rush back around the bulbous base of the laser
turret.
The shield dropped to let the laser fire?
The laser started to build up charge again.
He would have to act quickly. His timing had to be perfect. If he hit that turret before it fired, he
bounce off. If he hit the turretas it fired . . . there wouldn be much left of him.
The turret glowed, intensely bright. John set his thrust harness on a maximum burn toward the laser,
noting the rapidly dwindling fuel charge. He closed his eyes, saw the blinding flash through his lids, felt
the heat on his face, then opened his eyesust in time to crash and bounce into the hull.
The hull plates were smooth, but had grooves and odd, organic crenellationserfect fingerholds. The
difference between his momentum and the ship nearly pulled his arms out of their sockets. He gritted
his teeth and tightened his grip.
He had made it.
John pulled himself along the hull toward the hole theCommonwealth MAC round had punched in the
ship.
Only two other Spartans waited for him there.
hat took you so long?Sam voice crackled over the COM channel. The other Spartan lifted her
helmet reflective blast shield. He saw Kelly face.
think wee it,Kelly said. not getting any other responses over the COM channels.

That meant either the Covenant ship shielded their transmissions . . . or there were no Spartans left to
communicate with. John pushed that last thought aside.
The hole was ten meters across. Jagged metal teeth pointed inward. John looked over the edge and saw
that the MAC heavy round had indeed passed all the way through. He saw tiers of exposed decks,
severed conduits, and sheared metal beamsnd through the other side, black space and stars.
They climbed down.
John immediately fell down on the first deck.
ravity,he said. nd with nothing spinning on this ship.
rtificial gravity?Kelly asked. r. Halsey would love to see this.
They continued inward, scaling the metal walls, past alternating layers of gravity and free fall, until they
were approximately in the middle of the ship.
John paused and saw the stars wheel outside either end of the hole. The Covenant ship must be turning.
They were engaging theCommonwealth .
e better hurry.
He stepped onto an exposed deck, and the gravity settled his stomachiving him an up-and-down
orientation.
eapons check,John told them.
They examined their assault rifles. The guns had made the journey intact. John slipped in a clip of armorpiercing
rounds, noting with pleasure that the suit immediately aligned the sight profile of the gun with
his targeting system.
He slung the weapon and checked the HE warhead attached to his hip. The timer and detonator looked
undamaged.
John faced a sealed set of sliding pressure doors. It was smooth and soft to his touch. It could have been
made of metal or plastic . . . or could have been alive, for all he knew.
He and Sam grabbed either side and pulled, strained, and then the mechanism gave and the doors
released. There was a hiss of atmosphere, a dark hallway beyond. They entered in formationovering
each other blind spots.

The ceiling was three meters high. It made John feel small.
ou think they need all this space because theye so large?Kelly asked.
el know soon,he told her.
They crouched, weapons at the ready, and moved slowly down the corridor, John and Kelly in front.
They rounded a corner and stopped at another set of pressure doors. John grabbed the seam.
ang on,Kelly said. She knelt next to a pad with nine buttons. Each button was inscribed with runic
alien script. hese characters are strange, but one of them has to open this.She touched one and it lit,
then she keyed another. Gas hissed into the corridor. t least the pressure is equalized,she said.
John double-checked sensors. Nothing . . . though the alien metal inside the ship could be blocking the
scans.
ry another,Sam said.
She didnd the doors slid apart.
The room was inhabited.
An alien creature stood a meter and half tall, a biped. Its knobby, scaled skin was a sickly, mottled
yellow; purple and yellow fins ran along the crest of its skull and its forearms. Glittering, bulbous eyes
protruded from skull-like hollows in the alien elongated head.
The Master Chief had read the UNSC first contact scenarioshey called for cautious attempts at
communication. He couldn imagine communicating with something like this . . . thing. It reminded
him of the carrion birds on Reachicious and unclean.
The creature stood there, frozen for a momenttaring at the human interlopers. Then it screeched and
reached for something on its belt, its movements darting and birdlike.
The Spartans shouldered their weapons and fired a trio of bursts with pinpoint accuracy.
Armor-piercing rounds tore into the creature, shredding its chest and head. It crumpled into a heap
without a sound, dead before it hit the deck. Thick blood oozed from the corpse. hat was easy,Sam
remarked. He nudged the creature with his boot. hey sure aren as tough as their ships.
et hope it stays that way,John replied.

getting a radiation reading this way,Kelly said. She gestured deeper into the vessel.
They continued down the corridor and took a side branch. Kelly dropped a NAV marker, and its double
blue triangle pulsed once on their heads-up displays.
They stopped at another set of pressure doors. Sam and John took up flanking positions to cover her.
Kelly punched the same buttons she had punched before and the doors slid apart.
Another of the creatures was there. It stood in a circular room with crystalline control panels and a large
window. This time, however, the vulture-headed creature didn scream or look particularly surprised.
This one looked angry.
The creature held a clawlike device in its handeveled at John.
John and Kelly fired. Bullets filled the air and pinged off a silver shimmering barrier in front of the
creature.
A bolt of blue heat blasted from the claw. The blast was similar to the plasma that had hit
theCommonwealth . . . and boiled a third of it away.
Sam dove forward and knocked John out of the blast path; the energy burst caught Sam in the side.
The reflective coating of his MJOLNIR armor flared. He fell clutching his side, but still managed to fire
his weapon.
John and Kelly rolled on their backs and sprayed gunfire at the creature.
Bullets peppered the alienach one bounced and ricocheted off the energy shield.
John glanced at his ammo counteralf gone.
eep firing,he ordered.
The alien kept up a stream of answering firenergy blasts hammered into Sam, who fell to the deck,
his weapon empty.
John charged forward and slammed his foot into the alien shield and knocked it out of line. He jammed
the barrel of his rifle into the alien screeching mouth and squeezed the trigger.
The armor-piercing rounds punctured the alien and spattered the back wall with blood and bits of bone.

John rose and helped Sam up.
okay,Sam said, holding his side and grimacing. ust a little singed.The reflective coating on his
armor was blackened.
ou sure?
Sam waved him away.
John paused over the remaining bits of the alien. He spotted a glint of metal, an armguard, and he picked
it up. He tapped one of three buttons on the device, but nothing happened. He strapped in onto his
forearm. Dr. Halsey might find it useful.
They entered the room. The large window was a half-meter thick. It overlooked a large chamber that
descended three decks. A cylinder ran the length of the chamber and red light pulsed along its length,
like a liquid sloshing back and forth.
Under the window, on their side, rested a smooth angled surfaceerhaps a control panel? On its
surface were tiny symbols: glowing green dots, bars, and squares.
hat got to be the source of the radiation,Kelly said, and pointed to the chamber beyond. heir
reactor . . . or maybe a weapons system.
Another alien marched near the cylinder. It spotted John. A silver shimmer appeared around it. It
screeched and wobbled in alarm, then scrambled for cover.
rouble,John said.
e got an idea.Sam limped forward. and me those warheads.John did as he asked, so did Kelly.
e shoot out that window, set the timers on the warheads, and toss them down there. That should start
the party.
et do it before they call in reinforcements,John said.
They turned and fired at the crystal. It crackled, splintered, then shattered.
oss those warheads,Sam said, nd let get out of here.
John set the timers. hree minutes,he said. hatl give us just enough time to get topside and get
away.

He turned to Sam. oul have to stay and hold them off. That an order.
hat are you talking about?Kelly said.
am knows.
Sam nodded. think I can hold them off that long.He looked at John and then Kelly. He turned and
showed them the burn in the side of his suit. There was a hole the size of his fist, and beneath that, the
skin was blackened and cracked. He smiled, but his teeth were gritted in pain.
hat nothing,Kelly said. el get you patched up in no time. Once we get back Her mouth
slowly dropped open.
xactly,Sam whispered. etting back is going to be a problem for me.
he hole.John reached out to touch it. e don have any way to seal it.
Kelly shook her head.
f I step off this boat, I dead from the decompression,Sam said, and shrugged.
o,Kelly growled. overyone gets out alive. We don leave teammates behind.
e has his orders,John told Kelly.
oue got to leave me,Sam said softly to Kelly. nd don tell me youl give me your suit. It took
those techs on Damascus fifteen minutes to fit us. I wouldn even know where to start to unzip this
thing.
John looked to the deck. The Chief had told him he have to send men to their deaths. He didn tell
him it would feel like this.
on waste time talking,Sam said. ur new friends aren going to wait for us while we figure this
out.He started the timers. here. It decided.A three-minute countdown appeared in the corner of
their heads-up displays. owet going, you two.
John clasped Sam hand and squeezed it.
Kelly hesitated, then saluted.
John turned and grabbed her arm. ome on, Spartan. Don look back.

The truth was, it was John who didn dare look back. If he had, he would have stayed with Sam. Better
to die with a friend than leave him behind. But as much as he wanted to fight and die alongside his
friend, he had to set an example for the rest of the Spartansnd live to fight another day.
John and Kelly pushed the pressure doors shut behind them.
ood-bye,he whispered.
The countdown timer ticked the seconds off inexorably.
2:35 . . .
They ran down the corridor, popped the seal on the outer doorhe atmosphere vented.
1:05 . . .
They climbed up through the twisted metal canyon that the MAC round had torn through the hull.
0:33 . . .
here,John said, and pointed to the base of a charged pulse laser. They crawled toward it, waited as
the glow built to a lethal charge.
0:12 . . .
They crouched and held onto one another.
The laser fired.
The heat blistered John back. They pushed off with all their strength, multiplied through the
MJOLNIR armor.
0:00.
The shield parted and they cleared the ship, hurtling into the blackness.
The Covenant ship shuddered. Flashes of red appeared inside the holehen a gout of fire rose and
ballooned, but curled downward as it hit and rebounded off their own shield. The plasma spread along
the length of their vessel. The shield shimmered and rippled silverolding the destructive force inside.

Metal glowed and melted. The pulse laser turrets absorbed into the hull. The hull blistered, bubbled, and
boiled.
The shield finally gavehe ship exploded.
Kelly clung to John.
A thousand molten fragments hurled past them, cooling from white to orange to red and then
disappearing into the dark of the night.
Sam death had shown them that the Covenant were not invincible. They could be beaten. At a high
cost, however.
John finally understood what the Chief had meanthe difference between a life wasted and a life spent.
John also knew that humanity had a fighting chance . . . and he was ready to go to war.

SECTION III
SIGMA OCTANUS
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
0000 Hours, July 17, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSC Remote Scanning OutpostArchimedes , on the edge of the Sigma Octanus Star System
Ensign William Lovell scratched his head, yawned, and sat down at his duty station. The wraparound
view screen warmed to his presence.
ood morning, Ensign Lovell,the computer said.
orning, sexy,he said. It had been months since the Ensign had seen a real womanhe cold female
voice of the computer was the closest thing he was getting to a date.
oiceprint match,the computer confirmed. lease enter password.
He typed: ThereOncewasAgirl
The Ensign had never taken his duty too seriously. Maybe that why he only made it through his second
year at the Academy. And maybe that why he had been onArchimedes station for the last year, stuck
with third shift.
But that suited him fine.
lease reenter password.
He typed more carefully this time:ThereOnceWasAGirl .
After first contact with the Covenant, he had almost been conscripted straight out of school; instead, he
had actually volunteered.
Admiral Cole had defeated the Covenant at Harvest in 2531. His victory was publicized on every vid
and holo throughout the Inner and Outer Colonies and all the way to Earth.

That why Lovell didn try to dodge the enlistment officers. He had thought he watch a few battles
from the bridge of a destroyer, fire a few missiles, rack up the victories, and be promoted to Captain
within a year.
His excellent grades gave him instant admission to OCS on Luna.
There was one small detail, however, the UNSC propaganda machine had left out of their broadcasts:
Cole had won only because he outnumbered the Covenant three to one . . . and even then, he had lost
two-thirds of his fleet.
Ensign Lovell had served on the UNSC frigateGorgon for four years. He had been promoted to First
Lieutenant then busted down to Second Lieutenant and finally to Ensign for insubordination and gross
incompetence. The only reason they hadn drummed him out of the service was that the USNC needed
every man and woman they could get their hands on.
While on theGorgon , he and the rest of Admiral Cole fleet had sped among the Outer Colonies
chasing, and being chased by, the Covenant. After four yearsspace duty, Lovell had seen a dozen
worlds glassed . . . and billions murdered.
He had simply broken under the strain. He closed his eyes and remembered. No he hadn broken; he
was just scared of dying like everyone else.
lease keep your eyes open,the computer told him. rocessing retinal scan.
He had drifted from office work to low-priority assignments and finally landed here a year ago. By that
time there were no more Outer Colonies. The Covenant had destroyed them all and were pressing
inexorably inward, slowly taking the Inner Colonies. There had been a few isolated victories . . . but he
knew it was only a matter of time before the aliens wiped the human race out of existence.
ogin complete,the computer announced.
Ensign Lovell identity record was displayed on the monitor. In his Academy picture, he looked ten
years younger: neatly trimmed jet-black hair, toothy grin, and sparkling green eyes. Today his hair was
unkempt and the spark was long gone from his eyes.
lease read General Order 098831A-1 before proceeding.
The Ensign had memorized this stupid thing. But the computer would track his eye motionsake sure
he read it anyway. He opened the file and it popped on-screen:
United Nations Space Command Emergency Priority Order 098831A-1

Encryption Code:Red
Public Key:file /first light/
From:UNSC/NAVCOM Fleet H. T. Ward
To:ALL UNSC PERSONNEL
Subject:General Order 098831A-1 (he Cole Protocol
Classification:RESTRICTED (BGX Directive)
The Cole Protocol
To safeguard the Inner Colonies and Earth, all UNSC vessels or stations must not be captured with intact
navigation databases that may lead Covenant forces to human civilian population centers.
Ifany Covenant forces are detected:
1. Activate selective purge of databases on all ship-based and planetary data networks.
2. Initiate triple-screen check to ensure all data has been erased and all backups neutralized.
3. Execute viral data scavengers. (Download from UNSCTTP://EPWW:COLEPROTOCOL/Virtualscav/
fbr.091)
4. If retreating from Covenant forces, all ships must enter Slipstream space with randomized vectors
NOT directed toward Earth, the Inner Colonies, or any other human population center.
5. In case of imminent capture by Covenant forces, all UNSC ships MUST self-destruct.
Violation of this directive will be considered an act of TREASON, and pursuant to USNC Military Law
Articles JAG 845-P and JAG 7556-L, such violations are punishable by life imprisonment or execution.
/end file/
PressENTER if you understand these orders.
Ensign Lovell pressed ENTER.

The UNSC wasn taking any chances. And after everything he had seen, he didn blame them.
His scanning windows appeared on the view screen, full of spectroscopic tracers and radarnd lots of
noise.
Archimedesstation cycled three probes into and out of Slipstream space. Each probe sent out radar pings
and analyzed the spectrum from radio to X rays, then reentered normal space and broadcast the data
back to the station.
The problem with Slipstream space was that the laws of physics never worked the way they were
supposed to. Exact positions, times, velocities, even masses were impossible to measure with any real
accuracy. Ships never knew exactly where they were, or exactly where there were going.
Every time the probes returned from their two-second journey, they could appear exactly where they had
left . . . or three million kilometers distant. Sometimes they never returned at all. Drones had to be sent
after the probes before the process could be repeated.
Because of this slipperiness in the interdimensional space, UNSC ships traveling between star systems
might arrive half a billion kilometers off course.
The curious properties of Slipspace also made this assignment a joke.
Ensign Lovell was supposed to watch for pirates or black-market runners trying to sneak by . . . and
most importantly, for the Covenant. This station had never logged so much as a Covenant probe
silhouettend that was the reason he had specifically requested this dead-end assignment. It was safe.
What he did see with regularity were trash dumps from UNSC vessels, clouds of primordial atomic
hydrogen, even the occasional comet that had somehow plowed into the Slipstream.
Lovell yawned, kicked his feet up onto the control console, and closed his eyes. He nearly fell out of his
chair when the COM board contact alert pinged.
h no,he whispered, fear and shame at his own cowardice forming a cold lump in his belly.Don let
it be the Covenant. Don let it . . . not here.
He quickly activated the controls and traced the contact signal back to the sourcelpha probe.
The probe had detected an incoming mass, a slight arc to its trajectory pulled by the gravity of Sigma
Octanus. It was large. A cloud of dust, perhaps? If it was, it would soon distort and scatter.
Ensign Lovell sat up straighter in his chair.

Beta probe cycled back. The mass was still there and as solid as before. It was the largest reading Ensign
Lovell had ever seen: twenty thousand tons. That couldn be a Covenant shiphey didn get that big.
And the silhouette was a bumpy spherical shape; it didn match any of the Covenant ships in the
database. It had to be a rogue asteroid.
He tapped his stylus on the desk. What if it wasn an asteroid? He have to purge the database and
enable the self-destruct mechanism for the outpost. But what could the Covenant want way out here?
Gamma probe reappeared. The mass readings were unchanged. Spectroscopic analysis was inconclusive,
which was normal for probe reading at this distance. The mass was two hours out at its present velocity.
Its projected trajectory was hyperbolic quick swing near the star, and then it would pass invisibly out
of the system and be forever gone.
He noted that its trajectory bought it close to Sigma Octanus IV . . . which, if the rock were in real space,
would be cause for alarm. In Slipspace, however, it could pass hroughthe planet, and no one would
notice.
Ensign Lovell relaxed and sent the retrieval drones after the three probes. By the time they got the
probes back, though, the mass would be long gone.
He stared at the last image on screen. Was it worth sending an immediate report to Sigma Octanus
COM? They make him send his probes out without a proper recovery, and the probes would likely get
lost after that. A supply ship would have to be sent out here to replace them. The station would have to
be inspected and recertifiednd he receive a thorough lecture on what did and did not constitute a
valid emergency.
No . . . there was no need to bother anyone over this. The only ones who would be really interested were
the high-forehead types at UNSC Astrophysics, and they could review the data at their leisure.
He logged the anomaly and attached it to his hourly update.
Ensign Lovell kicked up his boots and reclined, once again feeling perfectly safe in his little corner of
the universe.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
0300 Hours, July 17, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSC destroyerIroquois on routine patrol in the Sigma Octanus Star System
Commander Jacob Keyes stood on the bridge of theIroquois . He leaned against the brass railing and
surveyed the stars in the distance. He wished the circumstances of his first command were more
auspicious, but experienced officers were in short supply these days. And he had his orders.
He walked around the circular bridge examining the monitors and displays of engine status. He paused
at the screens showing the stars fore and aft; he couldn quite get used to the view of deep space again.
The stars were so vivid . . . and here, so different from the stars near Earth.
TheIroquois had rolled out of space dock at Reachne of the UNSC primary naval yardsust three
months ago. They hadn even installed her AI yet; like good officers, the elaborate artificially intelligent
computer systems were also in dangerously short supply. Still,Iroquois was fast, well armored, and
armed to the teeth. He couldn ask for a finer vessel.
Unlike the frigates that Commander Keyes had toured on before, theMeriwether Lewis andMidsummer
Night , this ship was a destroyer. She was almost as heavy as both those vessels combined, but she was
only seven meters longer. Some in the fleet thought the massive ships were unwieldy in combatoo
slow and cumbersome. What those critics forgot was that a UNSC destroyer sported two MAC guns,
twenty-six oversized Archer missile pods, and three nuclear warheads. Unlike other fleet ships, she
carried no single-ship fightersnstead her extra mass came from the nearly two meters of titanium-A
battleplate armor that covered her from stem to stern. TheIroquois could dish out and take a tremendous
amount of punishment.
Someone at the shipyard had appreciated theIroquois for what she was, toowo long streaks of
crimson war paint had been applied to her port and starboard flanks. Strictly nonregulation and it would
have to go . . . but secretly, Commander Keyes liked the ornamentation.
He sat in the Commander chair and watched his junior officers at their stations.
ncoming transmissions,Lieutenant Dominique reported. tatus reports from Sigma Octanus Four
and also theArchimedes Sensor Outpost.
ipe them through to my monitor,Commander Keyes said.
Dominique had been one of his students at the Academye had transferred to Luna from the

UniversitdelAstrophysique in Paris after his sister was killed in action. He was short, nimbly athletic,
and he rarely cracked a smilee was always business. Keyes appreciated that.
Commander Keyes was less impressed, however, with the rest of his bridge officers.
Lieutenant Hikowa manned the weapons console. Her long fingers and slender arms slowly checked the
status of the ordnance with all the deliberation of a sleepwalker. Her dark hair was always falling into
her eyes, too. Oddly, her record showed that she had survived several battles with the Covenant . . . so
perhaps her lack of enthusiasm was merely battle fatigue.
Lieutenant Hall stood post at ops. She seemed competent enough. Her uniform was always freshly
pressed, her blond hair trimmed exactly at the regulation sixteen centimeters. She had authored seven
physics papers on Slipspace communications. The only problem was that she was always smiling, and
trying to impress him . . . occasionally by showing up her fellow officers. Keyes disapproved of such
displays of ambition.
Manning navigation, however, was his most problematic officer: Lieutenant Jaggers. It might have been
that navigation was the Commander strong suit, so anyone else in that position never seemed to be up
to par. On the other hand, Lieutenant Jaggers was moody, and when Keyes had come aboard, the man
small hazel eyes seemed glazed. He could have sworn he had caught the man on duty with liquor on his
breath, too. He had ordered a blood testhe results were negative.
rders, sir?Jagger asked.
ontinue on this heading, Lieutenant. Wel finish our patrol around Sigma Octanus and then accelerate
and enter Slipspace.
ye, sir.
Commander Keyes eased into his seat and detached the tiny monitor from the armrest. He read the
hourly report from theArchimedes Sensor Outpost. The log of the large mass was curious. It was too big
to be even the largest Covenant carrier . . . yet something was oddly familiar about its shape.
He retrieved his pipe from his jacket, lit it, inhaled a puff, and exhaled the fragrant smoke through his
nose. Keyes would never even have thought about smoking on the other vessels he had served on, but
here . . . well, command had its privileges.
He pulled up his files transferred from the Academyeveral theoretical papers that had recently caught
his interest. One, he thought, might apply to the outpost unusual reading.
That paper had initially sparked his interest because of its author. He had never forgotten his first
assignment with Dr. Catherine Halsey . . . nor the names of any of the children they had observed.

He opened the file and read:
United Nations Space Command Astrophysics Journal 034-23-01
Date:May 097, 2540 (Military Calendar)
Encryption Code:None
Public Key:NA
Author(s):Lieutenant Commander Fhajad 034 (service number [CLASSIFIED]), UNSC Office of Naval
Intelligence
Subject:Dimensional-Mass Space Compressions in Shaw-Fujikawa (a.k.a. lipstream Space.
Classification:NA
/start file/
Abstract:The space-bending properties of mass in normal space are well described by Einstein general
relativity. Such distortions however, are complicated by the anomalous quantum gravitational effects in
Shaw-Fujikawa (SF) spaces. Using loop-string analysis, it can be shown that a large mass bends space in
SF space more than general relativity predicts by an order of magnitude. This bending may explain how
several small objects clustered closely together in SF space have been reported erroneously as a single
larger mass.
PressENTER to continue.
Commander Keyes switched back to the silhouette from theArchimedes report. The leading edge almost
looked like the bulbous head of a whale. That realization chilled him to the core.
He quickly opened the UNSC database of all known Covenant ships. He scanned them until he found
the three-dimensional representation of one of their medium-sized warships. He rotated it into threequarters
profile. He overlaid the image on the silhouette, scaled it back a little.
It was a perfect match.
ieutenant Dominique, get FLEETCOM ASAP. Priority Alpha.
The Lieutenant snapped straight in his chair. es, sir!

The bridge officers looked at the Commander then exchanged glances with one another.
Commander Keyes brought up a map of the system on his data pad. The silhouette monitored by the
outpost was on a direct course for Sigma Octanus IV. That confirmed his theory.
ring us about to course zero four seven, Lieutenant Jaggers. Lieutenant Hall, push the reactors to one
hundred ten percent.
ye, Commander,Lieutenant Jaggers replied.
eactor running hot, sir,Hall reported. ow exceeding recommended operational parameters.
TA?
Jaggers calculated, then looked up. orty-three minutes,he replied.
oo slow,Commander Keyes muttered. eactor to one hundred thirty percent, Lieutenant Hall.
She hesitated. ir?
o it!
es, sir!She moved as if someone had electrically shocked her.
LEETCOM online, sir,Lieutenant Dominique said.
The weathered face of Admiral Michael Stanforth appeared on the main view screen.
Commander Keyes breathed a sigh of relief. Admiral Stanforth had a reputation for being reasonable
and intelligent. He understand the logic of the situation.
ommander Keyes,the Admiral said. he old choolmasterhimself, huh? This is the priority
channel, son. This better be an emergency.
Commander Keyes ignored the obvious condescension. He knew many at FLEETCOM thought he
deserved to command nothing but a classroomnd some probably thought he didn deserve that.
he Sigma Octanus System is about to come under attack, sir.
Admiral Stanforth cocked an eyebrow and leaned closer to the screen.

requesting that all ships in-system rendezvous with theIroquois at Sigma Octanus Four. And any
ships in neighboring systems make best speed here.
how me what youe got, Keyes,the Admiral said.
Commander Keyes displayed the silhouette from the sensor outpost first. ovenant ships, sir. Their
silhouettes are overlapped. Our probes resolve them as one mass because Slipspace is bent by gravity
more easily than normal space.
The Admiral listened to his analysis, frowning.
oue fought the Covenant, sir. You known how precisely they can maneuver their ships through the
Slipstream. Ie seen a dozen alien craft appear in normal space, in perfect formation, not a kilometer
apart.
eah,the Admiral muttered. e seen that, too. All right, Keyes, good work. Youl get everything
we can send.
hank you, sir.
ou just hang in there, son. Good luck. FLEETCOM out.
The view screen snapped off.
ir?Lieutenant Hall turned around. ow many Covenant ships?
estimate four medium-tonnage vessels,he said. he equivalent of our frigates.
ourCovenant ships?Lieutenant Jaggers muttered. hat canwe do?
o?Commander Keyes said. ur duty.
egging the Commander pardon, but there arefour Cov Jaggers began to protest.
Keyes cut him off with a glare. tow that, mister.He paused, weighing his words. igma Octanus
Four has seventeen million citizens, Lieutenant. Are you suggesting that we just stand by and watch the
Covenant glass the planet?
o, sir.His gaze dropped to the deck.

e will do the best we can,Commander Keyes said. n the meantime, remove all weapons system
locks, order missile crews to readiness, warm up the MAC guns, and remove the safeties from one of our
nukes.
es, sir!Lieutenant Hikowa said.
An alarm sounded at ops. eactor hysteresis approaching failure levels,Lieutenant Hall reported.
uperconducting magnets overloading. Coolant breakdown imminent.
ent primary coolant and pump in the reserve tanks,Commander Keyes ordered. hat will buy us
another five minutes.
es, sir.
Commander Keyes fumbled with his pipe. He didn bother to light the thing, just chewed on the end.
Then he put it away. The nervous habit wasn setting the right example for his bridge officers. He didn
have the luxury of showing his apprehension.
The truth was, he was terrified. Four Covenant ships would be an even match forseven destroyers. The
best he could hope for was to get their attention and outrun themopefully distract them until the fleet
got here.
Of course . . . those Covenant ships could outrun theIroquois as well.
ieutenant Jaggers,he said, nitiate the Cole Protocol. Purge our navigation databases, and then
generate an appropriate randomized exit vector from the Sigma Octanus System.
es, sir.He fumbled with his controls. He hung his head, steadied his hands, and slowly typed in the
commands.
ieutenant Hall: make preparations to override reactor safeties.
His junior officers all paused for a second. ye, sir,Lieutenant Hall whispered.
ee receiving a transmission from the system edge,Lieutenant Dominique announced.
rigatesAlliance andGettysburg are on an inbound vector at maximum speed. ETA . . . one hour.
ood,Commander Keyes said.
That hour might as well be a month. This battle would be over in minutes.

He could not fight the enemye was severely outgunned. He couldn outrun them, either. There had
to be another option.
Hadn he always told his students that when you were out of options, then you were using the wrong
tactics? You had to bend the rules. Shift perspectivenything to find a way out of a hopeless situation.
The black space near Sigma Octanus IV boiled and frothed with motes of green light.
hips entering normal space,Lieutenant Jaggers announced, panic tingeing his voice.
Commander Keyes got to his feet.
He had been wrong. There weren four Covenant frigates. A pair of enemy frigates emerged from
Slipspace . . . escorting a destroyer and a carrier.
His blood ran cold. He had seen battles in which a Covenant destroyer had made Swiss cheese of UNSC
ships. Its plasma torpedoes could boil through theIroquois two meters of titanium-A battleplate in
seconds. Their weapons were light-years ahead of the UNSC.
heir weapons,Commander Keyes muttered under his breath. Yes . . . hedid have a third option.
ontinue at emergency speed,he ordered, nd come about to heading zero three two.
Lieutenant Jaggers swiveled in his seat. hat will put us on collision course with their destroyer, sir.
know,Commander Keyes replied. n fact, I counting on doing just that.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
0320 Hours, July 17, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSCIroquois en route to Sigma Octanus IV
Commander Keyes stood with his hands behind his back and tried to look calm. Not an easy thing to do
when his ship was on a collision course with a Covenant battlegroup. Inside, adrenaline raced through
his blood and his pulse pounded.
He had to at leastappear in control for his crew. He was asking a lot from them . . . probablyeverything ,
in fact.
His junior officers watched their status monitors; they occasionally glanced nervously at him, but their
gazes always drifted back to the center view screen.
The Covenant ships looked like toys in the distance. It was dangerous to think of them as harmless,
however. One slip, one underestimation of their tremendous firepower, and theIroquois would be
destroyed.
The alien carrier had three bulbous sections; its swollen center had thirteen launch bays. Commander
Keyes had seen hundreds of fighters stream out of them beforeast, accurate, and deadly craft.
Normally his ship AI would handle point defense . . . only this time, there was no AI installed on
theIroquois .
The alien destroyer was a third again as massive as theIroquois . She bristled with pulse laser turrets,
insectlike antennae, and chitinous pods. The carrier and destroyer moved together . . . but not
towardIroquois . They slowly drifted in-system toward Sigma Octanus IV.
Were they going to ignore him? Glass the planet without even bothering to swat him out of the way first?
The Covenant frigates, however, lagged behind. They turned in unison and their sides faced theIroquois
reparing for a broadside. Motes of red light appeared and swarmed toward the frigate lateral lines,
building into a solid stripe of hellish illumination.
etecting high levels of beta particle radiation,Lieutenant Dominique said. heye getting ready to
fire their plasma weapons, Commander.
ourse correction, sir?Lieutenant Jaggers asked. His fingers tapped in a new heading bound out

system.
tay on course.It took all Commander Keyesconcentration to say that matter-of-factly.
Lieutenant Jaggers turned and started to speakut Commander Keyes didn have time to address his
concerns.
ieutenant Hikowa,Commander Keyes said. rm a Shiva missile. Remove all nuclear launch safety
locks.
hiva armed. Aye, Commander.Lieutenant Hikowa face was a mask of grim determination.
et the fuse on radio transmission code sequence detonation only. Disable proximity fuse. Stand by for
a launch pilot program.
ir?Lieutenant Hikowa looked confused by his order, but then said, ir! Yes, sir. Making it happen.
The alien frigates in the center of the view screen no longer looked remotely like toys to Commander
Keyes. They looked real and larger every second. The red glow along their sides had become solid
bands . . . almost too bright to look directly at.
Commander Keyes picked up his data pad and quickly tapped in calculations: velocity, mass, and
heading. He wished they had an AI online to double-check his figures. This amounted to no more than
an educated guess. How long would it take theIroquois to orbit Sigma Octanus IV? He got a number and
cut it by 60 percent, knowing they either pick up speed . . . or be dead by the time it mattered.
ieutenant Hikowa, set the Shiva course for mark one eight zero. Full burn for twelve seconds.
ye, sir,she said, tapped in the parameters, and locked them into the system. issile ready, sir.
ir!Lieutenant Jaggers swiveled around and stood. His lips were drawn into a tight thin line. hat
course fires the missile directlyaway from our enemies.
am aware of that, Lieutenant Jaggers. Sit down and await further orders.
Lieutenant Jaggers sat. He rubbed his temple with a trembling hand. His other hand balled into a fist.
Commander Keyes linked to the NAV system and set a countdown timer on his data pad. Twenty-nine
seconds. n my mark, Lieutenant Hikowa, launch that nuke . . . and not a moment before.
ye, sir.Her slender hand hovered over the control panel. AC guns are still hot, Commander,she

reminded him.
ivert the energy keeping the capacitors at full charge and route them to the engines,Commander
Keyes ordered.
Lieutenant Hall said, iverting now, sir.She exchanged a glance with Lieutenant Hikowa. ngines
now operating at one hundred fifty percent of rated output. Red line in two minutes.
ontact! Contact!Lieutenant Dominique shouted. nemy plasma torpedoes away, sir!
Scarlet lightning erupted from the alien frigateswin bolts of fire streaked through the darkness. They
looked as if they could burn space itself. The torpedoes were on a direct course for theIroquois .
ourse correction, sir?Lieutenant Jaggersvoice broke with strain. His uniform was soaked with
perspiration.
egative,Commander Keyes replied. ontinue on this heading. Arm all aft Archer missile pods.
Rotate launch arcs one eight zero degrees.
ye, sir.Lieutenant Hikowa wrinkled her brow, and then she slowly nodded and silently mouthed,
. . . yes.
Boiling red plasma filled half the forward view screen. It was beautiful to watch in an odd wayike a
front-row seat at a forest fire.
Keyes found himself strangely calm. This would either work or it would not. The odds were long, but he
was confident that his actions were the only option to survive this encounter.
Lieutenant Dominique turned. ollision with plasma in nineteen seconds, sir.
Jaggers turned from his station. ir! This is suicide! Our armor can withstand
Keyes cut him off. ister, man your station or I will have you removed from the bridge.
Jaggers looked pleadingly at Hikowa. ee going todie , Aki
She refused to meet his gaze and turned back to her controls. ou heard the Commander,she said
quietly. an your post.
Jaggers sank into his seat.

ollision with plasma in seven seconds,Lieutenant Hall said. She bit her lower lip.
ieutenant Jaggers, transfer emergency thruster controls to my station.
es . . . yes, sir.
The emergency thrusters were tanks of trihydride tetrazine and hydrogen peroxide. When they mixed,
they did so with explosive forceiterally blasting theIroquois onto a new course. The ship had six such
tanks strategically placed on hardened points on the hull.
Commander Keyes consulted the countdown timer on his data pad. ieutenant Hikowa: fire the nuke.
hiva away, sir! On coursene eight zero, maximum burn.
Plasma filled the forescreen; the center of the red mass turned blue. Greens and yellows radiated
outward, the light frequencies blue-shifting in spectra.
istance three hundred thousand kilometers,Lieutenant Dominique said. ollision in two seconds.
Commander Keyes waited a heartbeat then hit the emergency thrusters to port. A bang resonated
through the ship hullommander Keyes flew sideways and impacted with the bulkhead.
The view screen was full of fire and the bridge was suddenly hot.
Commander Keyes stood. He counted the beats of his pounding heart. One, two, three
If they had been hit by the plasma, there wouldn be anything to count. They would be dead already.
Only one view screen was working now, however. ft camera,he said.
The twin blots of fire streaked along their trajectories for a moment, then lazily arced, continuing their
pursuit of theIroquois . One pulled slightly ahead of its counterpart, so they appeared now like two
blazing eyes.
Commander Keyes marveled at the aliensability to direct that plasma from such a great distance.
ood,he murmured to himself. hase us all the way to hell, you bastards.
rack them,he ordered Lieutenant Hall.
ye, sir,she said. Her perfectly groomed hair was tousled. lasma increasing velocity. Matching our
speed . . . overtaking our velocity now. They will intercept in forty-three seconds.

orward camera,Commander Keyes ordered.
The view screen flashed: the image changed to show the two alien frigates turning to face the
incomingIroquois head-on. Blue lights flickered along their hullsulse lasers charging.
Commander Keyes pulled back the camera angle and saw the alien carrier and the destroyer were still
inbound toward Sigma Octanus IV. He read their position off his data pad and quickly performed the
necessary calculations.
ourse correction,he told Lieutenant Jaggers. ome about to heading zero zero four point two five.
Declination zero zero zero point one eight.
ye, sir,Jaggers said. ero zero four point two five. Declination zero zero zero point one eight.
The view screen turned and centered on the enormous Covenant destroyer.
ollision course!Lieutenant Hall announced. mpact with Covenant destroyer in eight seconds.
tand by for new course correction: declination minus zero zero zero point one zero.
ye, sir.As Jaggers typed he wiped the sweat from his eyes and double-checked his numbers.
ourse online. Awaiting your order, sir.
ollision with Covenant destroyer in five seconds,Hall said. She clutched the edge of her seat.
The destroyer grew in the view screen: laser turrets and launch bays, bulbous alien protrusions and
flickering blue lights.
old this course,Commander Keyes said. ound collision alarm. Switch to undercarriage camera
now.
Klaxons blared.
The view screen snapped off and on and showed black spacehen a flash of the faint purple-blue hull
of a Covenant ship.
TheIroquois screeched and shuddered as she grazed the prow of the Covenant destroyer. Silver shields
flickered onscreenhen the screen filled with static.
ourse correction now!Commander Keyes shouted.

ye, sir.
There was a brief burn from the thrusters and theIroquois nudged down slightly.
ull breach!Lieutenant Hall said. ealing pressure doors.
ft camera,Commander Keyes said. uns: Fire aft Archer missile pods!
issiles away,Lieutenant Hikowa replied.
Keyes watched as the first of the plasma torpedoes that had been trailing theIroquois impacted on the
prow of the alien destroyer. The ship shields flared, flickered . . . and vanished. The second bolt hit a
moment later. The hull of the alien ship blazed and then turned red-hot, melted, and boiled. Secondary
explosions burst through the hull.
The Archer missiles streaked toward the wounded Covenant ship, tiny trails of exhaust stretching from
theIroquois to the target. They slammed into the gaping wounds in the hull and detonated. Fire and
debris burst from the destroyer.
A smile spread across Keyesface as he watched the alien ship burn, list, and slowly plunge into Sigma
Octanus IV gravity well. Without power, the Covenant vessel would burn up in the planet
atmosphere.
Commander Keyes flicked on the intercom. race for emergency thruster maneuver.
He punched the thruster controlsxplosive force detonated on the starboard side of the ship.
TheIroquois nosed toward Sigma Octanus IV.
ourse correction, Lieutenant Jaggers,he said. ring us into a tight orbit.
ye, sir.He furiously tapped in commands, diverting engine output through attitude thrusters.
The hull of theIroquois glowed red as it entered the atmosphere. A cloud of yellow ionization built up
around the view screen.
Commander Keyes gripped the railing tighter.
The view screen cleared and he could see the stars. TheIroquois entered the dark side of the planet.
Commander Keyes slumped forward and started breathing again.

ngine coolant failure, sir,Lieutenant Hall said.
hut the engines down,he ordered. mergency vent.
ye, sir. Venting fusion reactor plasma.
TheIroquois was abruptly quiet. No rumble of her engines. And no one said anything until Lieutenant
Hikowa stood and said, ir, that was the most brilliant maneuver I have ever seen.
Commander Keyes gave a short laugh. ou think so, Lieutenant?
If one of his students had proposed such a maneuver in his tactics class, he would have given them a C+.
He would have told them their maneuver was full of bravado and daring . . . but extremely risky, placing
the crew in the ship in unnecessary danger.
his isn over yet. Stay sharp,he told them. ieutenant Hikowa what is the charge status of the
MAC guns?
apacitors at ninety-five percent, sir, and draining at a rate of three percent per minute.
eady MAC guns, one heavy round apiece. Arm all forward Archer missile pods.
ye, sir.
TheIroquois broke free of the dark side of Sigma Octanus IV.
ire chemical thrusters to break orbit, Lieutenant Hall.
iring, aye.
There was a brief rumble. The screen centered on the backsides of the two Covenant frigates they had
passed on the way in.
The alien ships started to come about; blue flashes flickered along their hulls as their laser turrets
charged. Motes of red collected along their lateral lines. They were readying another salvo of plasma
torpedoes.
There was something there, however, that was too small to see on the view screen: the nuke. Keyes had
launched that missile in the opposite directionut its reverse thrust had not completely overcome their
tremendous forward velocity.

As theIroquois had screamed over the prow of the destroyer, and as they orbited Sigma Octanus IV, the
nuke had drifted closer to the frigates . . . who had fixed their attention solidly on theIroquois .
Commander Keyes tapped his data pad and sent the signal to detonate the bomb.
There was a flash of white, a crackle of lightning, and the alien ships vanished as a cloud of destruction
enveloped them. Waves of the EMP interacted with the magnetic field of Sigma Octanus IVippled
with rainbow borealis. The cloud of vapor expanded and cooled, and faded to yellow, orange, red, then
black dust that scattered into space.
Both Covenant frigates, however, were still intact. Their shields, however, flickered once . . . then went
dead.
et me firing solutions for the MAC guns, Lieutenant Hikowa. On the double.
ye, sir. MAC gun capacitors at ninety-three percent. Firing solution online.
ire, Lieutenant Hikowa.
Two thumps resonated through the hull of theIroquois .
ock remaining Archer missile pods on targets and fire.
issiles away, Commander.
Twin thunderbolts and hundreds of missiles streaked toward the two helpless frigates.
The MAC rounds tore though themne ship was holed from nose to tail; the other ship was hit on her
midline, right near the engines. Internal explosions chained up the length of the ship, bulging the second
ship hull along her length.
Archer missiles impacted seconds later, exploding through chunks of hull and armor, tearing the alien
ships apart. The frigate that had taken the MAC round in her engines mushroomed, a fireworks bouquet
of shrapnel and sparks. The other ship burned, her internal skeletal structure showing now; she turned
toward theIroquois but didn fire a weapon . . . just drifted out of control. Dead in space.
osition of the Covenant carrier, Lieutenant Hall?
Lieutenant Hall paused, then reported, n polar orbit around Sigma Octanus Four. But she moving off
at considerable speed. Headed out-system, course zero four five.

lert theAllegiance andGettysburg of her position.
Commander Keyes sighed and slumped back into his chair. They had stopped the Covenant ships from
glassing the planetaved millions of lives. They had done the impossible: taken on four Covenant
ships and won.
Commander Keyes paused in his self-congratulation. Something was wrong. He had never seen the
Covenant run. In every battle he had seen or read about, they stayed to slaughter every last survivor . . .
or if they were defeated, they always fought to the last ship.
heck the planet,he told Lieutenant Hall. ook for anythingropped weapons, strange
transmissions. There got to be something there.
ye, sir.
Keyes prayed she wouldn find anything. At this point he was out of tricks. He couldn turn
theIroquois around and return to Sigma Octanus IV even if he had wanted to. TheIroquois engines
were down for a long time. They were speeding on an out-system vector at a considerable velocity. And
even if they could stophere was no way to recharge the MAC guns, and no remaining Archer
missiles. They were practically dead in space.
He pulled out his pipe and steadied his shaking hand.
ir!Lieutenant Hall cried. ropships, sir. The alien carrier deployed thirtyorrection: thirty-four
dropships. I have silhouettes descending to the surface. Theye on course for C矌e dzur. A major
population center.
n invasion,Commander Keyes said. et FLEETCOM ASAP. Time to send in the Marines.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
0600 Hours, July 18, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSCIroquois , military staging area in orbit around Sigma Octanus IV
Commander Keyes had a sinking feeling that although he had won the battle, it would be the first of
many to come in the Sigma Octanus System.
He watched the four dozen other UNSC ships orbit the planet: frigates and destroyers, two carriers, and
a massive repair and refitting stationore vessels than Admiral Cole had at his disposal during his
four-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 why
the Admiral had dedicated so many ships to the area. Sigma Octanus wasn strategically positioned. It
had no special resources. True, the UNSC had standing orders to protect civilian lives, but the fleet was
spread dangerously thin. Commander Keyes knew there were more valuable systems that needed
protection.
He pushed these thoughts aside. He was sure Admiral Stanforth had his reasons. Meanwhile the repair
and resupply of theIroquois was his top prioritye didn want to get caught half ready if the Covenant
returned.
Or rather,when they returned.
It was a curious thing: the aliens dropping their ground forces and then retreating. That was not their
usual mode of operation. Commander Keyes suspected this was just an opening move in a game he
didn yet understand.
A shadow crossed the fore camera of theIroquois as the repair stationCradle maneuvered closer.Cradle
was essentially a large square plate with engines. Large was an understatement; she was over a square
kilometer. Three destroyers could be eclipsed by her shadow. The station running at full steam could
refit six destroyers, three from her lower surface and three on her upper surface, within a matter of hours.
Scaffolds deployed from her surfaces to facilitate repairs. Resupply tubes, hoses, and cargo trams fed
into 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 destroyed
during the execution of what some in the fleet were already calling the eyes Loop.

Commander Keyes glanced at his data pad and the extensive list of repairs. Fifteen percent of the
electronic systems had to be replacedurned out from the EMP when the Shiva missile detonated.
TheIroquois engines required a full overhaul. Both coolant systems had valves that had been fused
from 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 Commander
Keyes what had happened, he went outside in a Longsword interceptor to personally inspect what he had
done to his ship.
The underside of theIroquois had been scraped when they passed over the prow 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 titaniuma
battleplate on their surfaces. Commander Keyes
had abraded throughall of it. He had breached every bottom deck of theIroquois . The jagged serrated
edges of the plate curled away from the wound. Men in EVA thruster packs were busy cutting off the
damaged sections so new plates could be welded into place.
The underside was mirror smooth and perfectly flat. But Keyes knew that the appearance of benign
flatness was deceptive. Had the angle of theIroquois been tilted a single degree down, the force of the
two ships impacting would have shorn his ship in half.
The red war stripes that had been painted on theIroquois side looked like bloody slashes. The
dockmaster had privately told Commander Keyes that his crew could buff the paint offr even repaint
the war stripes, if he wanted.
Commander Keyes had politely refused the offer. He wanted them left exactly the way they were. He
wanted to be reminded that while everyone had admired what he had donet had been an act of
desperation, not heroism.
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. ieutenant Dominique, you have the bridge for
the next cycle. I am not to be disturbed.
ye, Commander. Understood.
Commander Keyes loosened his collar and unbuttoned his uniform. He retrieved the seventy-year-old
bottle of Scotch that his father had given him from the bottom drawer, and then poured four centimeters
into a plastic cup.

He had to attend to an even more unpleasant task: what to do about Lieutenant Jaggers.
Jaggers had exhibited borderline cowardice, insubordination and come within a hairbreadth of attempted
mutiny during the engagement. Keyes could have had him court-martialed. Every reg in the books
screamed at him to . . . but he didn have it in him to send the young man before a board of inquiry. He
would 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 a
crewman 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 no
time. And certainly, no time for discussion as Jaggers would have wanted. No. The other bridge officers
had 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 the
line.
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 who
might qualify for navigation officer. He flipped 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 course
corrections.
He smiled and archived those notes. He might one day give a lecture on this battle at the Academy. It
would be useful to have the original source material.
There was also the data from theArchimedes Sensor Outpost. That report had been thoroughly made:
clean data graphs and a navigational course plotted for the object through Slipstream spaceot an easy
task 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 Career Service Vitae was almost twice as long as his own. He had
volunteered and been accepted at Luna Academy. He transferred in his second year, having already
received a commission to Ensign for heroism in a training flight that had saved the entire crew. He took
duty on the first outbound corvette headed into battle. Three Bronze Stars, a Silver Cluster, and two
Purple Hearts, and he had catapulted to a full Lieutenant within three years.

Then something went terribly wrong. Lovell decline in the UNSC had been as rapid as his ascent. Four
reports of insubordination and he was busted to Second Lieutenant and transferred twice. An incident
with a civilian womano details in the files, although Commander Keyes wondered if the girl listed in
the report, Anna Gerov, was Vice Admiral Gerov daughter.
He had been reassigned to theArchimedes Sensor Outpost, and had been there for the last year, an
unheard 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.
ieutenant Dominique, I said I was not to be disturbed.
orry to intrude, son,said a muffled voice. The pressure door wheel turned and Admiral Stanforth
stepped inside. ut I thought I 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 over
with age, and his white hair was thinning at the crown. Still, he exuded a reassuring air of authority that
Keyes instantly recognized.
ir!Commander Keyes stood at attention, knocking over his chair.
t ease, son.The Admiral looked around his quarters, and his gaze lingered a moment on the framed
copy of Lagrange original manuscript in which he derived his equations of motion. ou can pour me
a few fingers of the whiskey, if you can spare it.
es, sir.Keyes fumbled with another plastic cup and poured the Admiral a drink.
Stanforth took a sip, then sighed appreciatively. ery nice.
Keyes righted his chair and offered it to the Admiral.
He sat down and leaned forward. wanted to congratulate you personally on the miracle you performed
here, Keyes.
ir, I don
Stanforth held up a finger. on interrupt me, son. That was a helluva piece of astrogation you pulled
off. People noticed. Not to mention the morale boost it given to the entire fleet.He took another sip of

the liquor and exhaled. ow, that the reason wee all here. We need a victory. It been too damn
longs getting whittled to pieces by those alien bastards. So this hasgot to be a win. No matter what it
takes.
understand, sir,Commander Keyes said. He knew morale had been sagging for years throughout the
UNSC. No military, no matter how well trained, could stomach defeat after defeat without it affecting
their determination in battles.
ow is it going planetside?
ight now don you worry about that.Admiral Stanforth eased back in his chair, balancing on two
legs. eneral Kits has his troops down there. Theye got the surrounding cities evacuated, and theyl
be assaulting C矌e dzur within the hour. Theyl paste those aliens faster than you can spit. You just
watch.
f course, sir.Commander Keyes looked away.
ou got something else to say, boy? Spit it out.
ell, sir . . . this isn the way the Covenant normally operates. Dropping an invasion force and leaving
the system? They either slaughter everything or die trying. This is something altogether different.
Admiral Stanforth waved a dismissive hand. ou leave trying to figure out what those aliens are
thinking to the spooks in ONI, son. Just get theIroquois patched up and fit for duty again. And you let
me know if you need anything.
Stanforth knocked back the last of his whiskey and stood. ot to marshal the fleet. Oh He paused.
ne more thing.He dug into his jacket pocket and retrieved a tiny cardboard box. He set it on the
Commander desk. onsider it official. The paperwork will catch up with us soon enough.
Commander Keyes opened the box. Inside were a pair of brass collar insignia: four bars and a single star.
ongratulations,Captain Keyes.The Admiral snapped a quick salute, then held out his hand.
Keyes managed to grasp and shake the Admiral hand. The insignia was real. He was stunned. He
couldn say anything.
oue earned it.The Admiral started to turn. ive me a shout if you need anything.
es, sir.Keyes stared at the brass star and stripes a moment longer then finally tore his gaze away.
dmiral . . . there is one thing. I need a replacement navigation officer.

Admiral Stanforth relaxed posture stiffened. heard about that. Ugly business when a bridge officer
loses their stomach. Well, you just say the candidate name and Il make sure you get him . . . as long
as youe not pulling him off my ship.He smiled. eep up the good work, Captain.
ir!Captain Keyes saluted.
The Admiral stepped out and closed the door.
Keyes practically fell into his chair.
He had never dreamed they make him a Captain. He turned the brass insignia over in his palm and
replayed his conversation with Admiral Stanforth in his mind. He had said, aptain Keyes.Yes. This
was real.
The Admiral had also brushed aside his concerns about the Covenant too quickly. Something didn
quite add up.
Keyes clicked on the intercom. ieutenant Dominique: track the Admiral shuttle when he leaves. Let
me know which ship he on.
ir? We had an Admiral aboard? I wasn informed.
o, Lieutenant, I suspect you weren. Just track the next outbound shuttle.
ye, sir.
Keyes looked back on his data pad and reread Ensign Lovell CSV. He couldn take back what had
happened with Jaggershere could be no second chance for him. But maybe he could somehow
balance the books by giving Lovell another chance.
He filled out the necessary paperwork for the transfer request. The forms were long and unnecessarily
complex. He transmitted the files to UNSC PERSCOM and sent a copy directly to Admiral Stanforth
staff.
ir?Lieutenant Dominique voice broke over the intercom. hat shuttle docked with theLeviathan .
ut it on-screen.
The screen over his desk snapped on to camera five, the aft-starboard view. Among the dozens of ships
in orbit around Sigma Octanus IV, he easily spotted theLeviathan . She was one of the twenty UNSC
cruisers left in the fleet.

A cruiser was the most powerful warship ever built by human hands. And Keyes knew they were being
slowly 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 an
instant in the sunlight, then slithered back into the darkness. It was a prowler.
Those stealth ships were used exclusively by Naval Intelligence.
A cruiser and an ONI presence here? Now Keyes knew there was more going on here than a simple
morale boost. He tried not to think about it. It was best not to go too far when questioning the intentions
of one superior officerspecially when that officer was an Admiral. And especially not when Naval
Intelligence was literally lurking in the shadows.
Keyes poured himself another three fingers of Scotch, set his head on his deskust to rest his eyes for a
moment. The last few hours had drained him.
ir.Dominique voice over the intercom woke Captain Keyes. ncoming fleet-wide transmission on
Alpha priority channel.
Keyes sat up and ran his hand over his face. He glanced at the brass clock affixed over his bunke had
slept for almost six hours.
Admiral Stanforth appeared on-screen. isten up, ladies and gentlemen: wee just detected a large
number of Covenant ships massing on the edge of the system. We estimate ten ships.
On-screen the silhouettes of the all-too-familiar Covenant frigates and a destroyer appeared as ghostly
radar smears.
el remain where we are,the Admiral continued. here no need to charge in and have those ugly
bastards take a shortcut through Slipspace and undercut us. Make your ships ready for battle. Wee got
probes gathering more data. Il update you when we know more. Stanforth out.
The screen went black.
Keyes snapped on the intercom. ieutenant Hall, what is our repair and refit status?
ir,he replied.ngines are operational, but only with the backup coolant system. We can heat them
to fifty percent. Archer and nuclear ordnance resupply is complete. MAC guns are also operational.
Repairs to lower decks have just started.

nform the dockmaster to pull his crew out,Captain Keyes said. ee leaving theCradle . When we
are clear, fire the reactors to fifty percent. Go to battle stations.

CHAPTER NINETEEN
0600 Hours, July 18, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
Sigma Octanus IV, grid thirteen by twenty-four
aster!Corporal Harland shouted. ou want to die in the mud, Marine?
ell no, sir!Private Fincher stomped on the accelerator and the Warthog tires spun in the streambed.
They caught, and the vehicle fishtailed through the gravel, across the bank, and onto the sandy shore.
Harland strapped himself into the rear of the Warthog, one hand clamped onto the vehicle massive
50mm chain-gun.
Something moved in the brush behind themarland fired a sustained burst. The deafening sound from
ld Faithfulshook the teeth in his head. Ferns, trees, and vines exploded and splintered as the gunfire
scythed through the foliage . . . then nothing was moving anymore.
Fincher sent the Warthog bouncing along the shore, his head bobbing from side to side as he strained to
see through the downpour. ee sitting ducks in here, Corporal,Fincher yelled. e have to get out
of this hole and back onto the ridge, sir.
Corporal Harland looked for a way out of this river gorge. alker!He shook Private Walker in the
passenger seat, but Walker didn respond. He clutched their last Jackhammer rocket launcher with a
death grip, his eyes staring blankly ahead. Walker hadn said a word since this mission went south.
Harland hoped he would snap out of it. He already had one man down. The last thing he needed was for
his heavy-weapons specialist to be a brain case.
Private Cochran lay at the Corporal feet, cradling his gut with blood-smeared hands. He caught fire
during the ambush. The aliens used some kind of projectile weapon that fired long, thin needleshich
exploded seconds after impact.
Cochran insides were meat. Walker and Fincher had filled him up with biofoam and taped him up
they even managed to stop the bleedingut if the man didn get to a medic soon, he was a goner.
They had all almost been goners.
The squad had left Firebase Bravo two hours ago. Satellite images showed the way was all clear to their
target area. Lieutenant McCasky had even said it was a ilk run They were supposed to set up

motion sensors on grid thirteen by twenty-fourust see what was there and get back. simple snoop
job,the ell-tee had called it.
What no one told McCasky was that the satellites weren penetrating the rain and jungle canopy of this
swampball too well. If the Lieutenant had thought about itike Corporal Harland was thinking about it
nowe would have figured something was wrong with sending three squads on a ilk run.
The squad wasn green. Corporal Harland and the others had fought the Covenant before. They knew
how to kill Gruntshen they massed by the hundreds, they knew to call in air support. They even
taken down a few of the Covenant Jackals, the ones with energy shields. You had to flank those guys
take them out with snipers.
But none of that had prepared them for this mission.
They had done all the right things, damn it. The Lieutenant had even gotten their Warthogs five klicks
down the streambed before the terrain became too steep and slippery for the all-terrain armored vehicles.
He had the men hump the rest of the way in on foot. They moved soft and silent, almost crawling all
they way through the slime to the depression they were supposed to check out.
When they had gotten to the place, it wasn just another mud-filled sinkhole. A waterfall splashed into a
grotto pool. Arches had been carved into the wall, their edges extremely weathered. There were a few
scattered paving stones around the pool . . . and covering those stones were tiny geometric carvings.
That all Corporal Harland got a look at before the Lieutenant ordered him and his team to fall back. He
wanted them to set up the motion sensors where they had a clear line of sight to the sky.
That probably why they were still alive.
The blast had knocked Harland and his team into the mud. They ran to where they had left the Lieutenant
ound fused glassy mud, a crater, and a few burning corpses and bits of carbonized skeleton.
They saw one other thingn outline in the mist. It was biped, but much larger than any human Harland
had ever seen. And oddly, it looked like it was wearing armor reminiscent of medieval plate mail; it
even carried a large, strangely shaped metal shield.
Harland saw the glow of a regenerating plasma weapon . . . and that all he needed to see to order a full
speed retreat.
Harland, Walker, Cochran, and Fincher fell back, runninglindly firing their assault rifles.
Covenant Grunts had followed them, peppering the air with those needle guns, mowing down the jungle
as the tiny razor shards exploded.

Harland and the others stopped and hit the deck, splashing into the thick, red mud, as a Covenant
Banshee passed them overhead.
When they got back on their feet, Cochran took the round in the stomach. The Grunts had caught up to
them. Cochran flinched, his side exploded, and then he crumpled to the ground. He fell into shock so
fast he didn even have time to scream.
Harland, Fincher, and Walker hunkered down and returned fire. They killed a dozen of the little
bastards, but more kept coming, their barks and growls echoing through the jungle.
ease fire,the Corporal had ordered. He waited a second, then tossed a grenade when the Grunts got
closer.
Their ears still ringing, they ran, dragging Cochran with them, and not looking back.
Somehow they had returned to the Warthog, and gotten the hell out of there . . . or, at least, that what
they were trying to do.
ver there,Fincher said, and pointed to a clearing in the trees. hat got to lead up to the ridge.
o,Harland said.
The Warthog slid sideways then raced up the embankment, caught air, and landed on soft jungle loam.
Fincher dodged a few trees and ran the Warthog up the slope. They emerged on the ridgeline.
esus, that was close,Harland said. He ran a muddy hand through his hair, slicking it back.
He tapped Fincher on the shoulder. Fincher jumped. rivate, pull over. Try to raise Firebase Bravo on
the narrow band.
es, sir,Fincher answered in a wavering voice. He glanced at the near-catatonic Private Walker and
shook his head.
Harland checked on Cochran. Private Cochran eyes fluttered open, cracking the mud caked onto his
face. e back yet, Corporal?
lmost,Harland replied. Cochran pulse was steady, although his face had, in the last several
minutes, drained of color. The wounded man looked like a corpse.Damn it, Harland thought,he going
to bleed out .

Harland placed a reassuring hand on Cochran shoulder. ang in there. Wel patch you up as soon as
we get to camp.
They had dropships at Bravo. Cochran had a chance, albeit a slim one, if they got him back to the
combat surgeons at headquartersr better yet, to the Navy docs on the orbiting ships. For a moment
Harland was dazzled with visions of clean sheets, hot mealsnd a meter of armor between him and the
Covenant.
othing but static on the link, sir,Fincher said, breaking through Harland reverie.
aybe the radio got hit,Harland muttered. ou know those explosive needles throw a bunch of
microshrapnel. We probably got slivers of that stuff inside us, too.
Fincher examined his muscular forearms. reat.
ove out,Harland said.
The tires of the Warthog spun, gripped, and the vehicle moved rapidly along the ridge.
The terrain looked familiar. Harland even spotted three sets of Warthog trackses, this was the way
the Lieutenant had brought them. Ten minutes and they be back on base. No more worries. He relaxed,
took out a pack of cigarettes, and shook one out. He pulled off the safety strip and tapped the end to
ignite it.
Fincher revved the engine and shot up to the top of the ridgerossed over, and skidded to halt.
If not for the haze, they would have seen everything from this side of the valleyhe lush carpet of
jungle in the valley, the river meandering through it, and on the far set of hills, a clearing dotted with
fixed gun emplacements, razor wire, and pre-fab structures: Firebase Bravo.
Their platoon had partially dug into the hillside to minimize the camp footprint and provide a place
where they could safely store their munitions and bunk down. A ring of sensors encircled the camp so
nothing could sneak up on them. Radar and motion detectors linked to surface-to-air missile batteries. A
road ran along the far ridgehree klicks down that was the coastal city, C矌e dzur.
The sun broke through the haze overhead, and Corporal Harland saw everything had changed.
It wasn fog or haze. Smoke rose in columns from the valley . . . and there was no more jungle.
Everything had been burned to the ground. The entire valley was blackened into smoldering charcoal.
Glowing red craters honeycombed the hillsides.

He fumbled with his binoculars, brought them to his eyes . . . and froze. The hill where the camp had
been was gonet had been flattened. Only a mirror surface remained. The sides of the adjacent hills
glistened with a cracked glass coating. The air was thick with tiny Covenant fliers in the distance. On the
ground, Grunts and Jackals searched for survivors. A few Marines ran for cover . . . there were hundreds
of wounded and dead on the ground, helpless, screamingome of them trying to crawl away.
hat have you got, sir?Fincher asked.
The cigarette fell from Harland mouth and caught on his shirtut he didn take his eyes off the
battlefield to brush it away.
here nothing left,he whispered.
A shape moved in the valleyuch larger than the other Grunts and Jackals. Its outline was blurry.
Harland tried to focus the binoculars on it but couldn. It was the same thing he had seen at grid thirteen
by twenty-four. The Grunts gave it a wide berth. The thing lifted its armts whole arm looked like one
big gunnd a bolt of plasma struck near the riverbank.
Even from this distance, Harland heard the screams of the men who had been hiding there.
esus.He dropped the binoculars. ee bugging out, right now!he said. urn this beast around,
Fincher.
ut
heye gone,Harland whispered. heye all dead.
Walker whimpered and rocked back and forth.
el be dead, too, unless you move,Harland said. e already got lucky once today. Let not push
it.
eah.Fincher reversed the Warthog. eah, some luck.
He sped back down the hillside and hopped the Warthog off the embankment and back into the
streambed.
ollow the river,Harland told him. tl take us all the way to HQ.
A shadow crossed their path. Harland twisted around and saw a pair of stubby-winged Covenant
Banshees swooping down after them.

ove it!he screamed at Fincher.
Fincher floored the Warthog and plumes of water sprayed in their wake. They bounced over rocks and
fishtailed across the stream.
Bolts of plasma hit the water next to themxploding into steam. Rock shards pinged off the armored
side of the vehicle.
alker!Harland shouted. se those Jackhammers.
Walker huddled, doubled over in his seat.
Harland fired the chain-gun. Tracers cut through the air. The fliers nimbly dodged them. The heavy
machine gun was only accurate at reasonably short rangesnd not even that with Fincher bouncing the
Warthog all over the place.
alker!he cried. e are gonna die if you don get those missiles into the air!
He would have ordered Fincher to grab the launcherut he have to stop to grab it . . . that, or try to
drive with no hands. If the Warthog stopped, they be sitting ducks for those fliers.
Harland glanced at the riverbanks. They were too steep for the Warthog. They were stuck in the river
with no cover.
alker, do something!
Corporal Harland fired the chain-gun again until his arms went numb. It was no good; the Banshees
were too far away, too quick.
Another plasma bolt hitirectly in front of the Warthog. Heat washed over Harland. Blisters
pinpricked his back.
He screamed but kept shooting. If they hadn been in water, that plasma would have melted the tires . . .
probably would have flash-fried them all.
A burst of heat and a plume of smoke erupted next to Harland.
For a split second he thought the Covenant gunners had found their markhat he was dead. He
screamed incoherently, his thumbs jamming down the chain-gun trigger buttons.
The Banshee he was aiming at flashed, and then became a ball of flame and falling shrapnel.

He turned, his breath hitching in his chest. They hadn been hit.
Cochran knelt next to him. One arm clutched his stomach, and the other arm hefted the Jackhammer
launcher on his shoulder. He smiled with bloodstained lips and pivoted to track the other flier.
Harland ducked, and another missile whooshed directly over his head.
Cochran laughed, coughing up blood and foam. Tears of mirth or painarland couldn telltreamed
from his eyes. He collapsed backward, and let the smoldering launcher slip from his hand.
The second Banshee exploded and spiraled into the jungle.
wo more klicks,Fincher shouted. ang on.He cranked the wheel and the Warthog swerved out of
the streambed and bounced up the hillside, up and over, and they slid onto a paved road.
Harland leaned over and felt Cochran neck for a pulse. It was there, weak; but he was still alive.
Harland glanced at Walker. He hadn moved, his eyes squeezed shut.
Harland first impulse was to shoot him right then and therehe goddamned, goldbricking, cowardly
bastard almost cost them all their lives
No. Harland was half amazed he hadn frozen up, too.
HQ was ahead. But Corporal Harland stomach sank as he saw smoke and flames blazing on the
horizon.
They passed the first armed checkpoint. The guardhouse and bunkers had been blasted away, and in the
mud were thousands of Grunt tracks.
Farther back, he saw a circle of sandbags around a house-size chunk of granite. Two Marines waved to
them. As they approached in the Warthog, the Marines stood and saluted.
Harland jumped off and returned their salute.
One of the Marines had a patch over his eye and his head was bandaged. Soot streaked his face. esus,
sir,he said. t good to see you guys.He approached the Warthog. oue got a working radio in
that thing?
not sure,Corporal Harland said. ho in charge here? What happened?

ovenant hit us hard, sir. They had tanks, air supporthousands of those little Grunt guys. They
glassed the main barracks. The Command Office. Almost got the munitions bunker.He looked away
for a moment and his one eye glazed over. e pulled it together and fought m off, though. That was
an hour ago. I think we killed everything. I not sure.
ho in charge, Private? I have a critically wounded man. He needs evac, and I have to make my
report.
The Private shook his head. sorry, sir. The hospital was the first thing they hit. As far as who in
command . . . I think youe the ranking officer here.
reat,Harland muttered.
ee got five guys back there.The Private jerked his head toward the columns of smoke and
wavering heat in the distance. heye in fire-fighting suits to keep from burning up. Theye
recovering weapons and ammo.
nderstood,Harland said. incher, try the radio again. See if you can link up to SATCOM. Call in
for an evac.
oger that,Fincher said.
The wounded Private asked Harland, an we get help from Firebase Bravo, sir?
o,Harland said. hey got hit, too. There Covenant all over the place.
The Private slumped, bracing himself with his rifle.
Fincher handed Harland the radio headset. ir, SATCOM is good. Ie got theLeviathan on the horn.
his is Corporal Harland.He spoke into the microphone. he Covenant has hit Firebase Bravo and
Alpha HQ . . . and wiped them out. Wee repelled the enemy from Alpha site, but our casualties have
been nearly one hundred percent. We have wounded here. We need immediate evac. Say again: we need
evac on the double.
oger, Corporal. Your situation is understood. Evac is not possible at this time. Wee got problems of
our own up hereThere was a burst of static. The voice came back online.elp is on the way.
The channel went dead.
Harland looked to Fincher. heck the transceiver.

Fincher ran the diagnostic. t working,he said. getting a ping from SATCOM.He licked his
lips. he trouble must be on their end.
Harland didn want to think of what kind of trouble the fleet could be having. He seen too many
planets glassed from orbit. He didn want to die hereot like that.
He turned to the men in the bunker. hey said help is on the way. So relax.He looked into the sky and
whispered, hey better send a whole regiment down here.
A handful of other Marines returned to the bunker. They had salvaged ammunition, extra rifles, a crate
of frag grenades, and a few Jackhammer missiles. Fincher took the Warthog and a few men to see if he
could transport the heavier weapons.
They filled Cochran with more biofoam and bandaged him up. He slipped into a coma.
They hunkered down inside the bunker and waited. They heard explosions at an extreme distance.
Walker finally spoke. o . . . now what, sir?
Harland didn turn toward the man. He covered Cochran with another blanket. don know. Can you
fight?
think so.
He passed Walker a rifle. ood. Get up there and stand watch.He got out a cigarette, lit it, took a puff,
and then handed it to Walker.
Walker took it, shakily stood, and went outside.
ir!he said. ropship inbound. One of ours!
Harland grabbed his signal flares. He ran outside and squinted at the horizon. High on the edge of the
darkening sky was a dot, and the unmistakable roar of Pelican engines. He pulled the pin and tossed the
smoker onto the ground. A moment later, thick clouds of green smoke roiled into the sky.
The dropship turned rapidly and descended toward their location.
Harland shielded his eyes. He searched for the rest of the dropships. There was only one.
nedropship?Walker whispered. hat all they sent? Christ, that not backuphat a burial
detail.

The Pelican eased toward the ground, spattering mud in a ten-meter radius, then touched down. The
launch ramp fell open and a dozen figures marched out.
For a moment Harland thought they were the same creatures he had seen earlierrmored and bigger
than any human he ever laid eyes on. He frozee couldn have raised his gun if he had wanted to.
They were human, though. The one in the lead stood over two meters tall and looked like he weighed
two hundred kilograms. His armor was a strange reflective green alloy, and underneath matte black.
Their motions were so fluid and gracefulast and precise, too. More like robots than flesh and blood.
The one that first stepped off the ship strode toward him. Though his armor was devoid of insignia,
Harland could see the insignia of a Master Chief Petty Officer in his helmet HUD.
aster Chief, sir!Harland snapped to attention and saluted.
orporal,it said. t ease. Get your men together and wel get to work.
ir?Harland asked. e got a lot of wounded here. What work will we be doing, sir?
The Master Chief helmet cocked quizzically to one side. ee come to take Sigma Octanus Four
back from the Covenant, Corporal,he said calmly. o do that, wee going to kill every last one of
them.

CHAPTER TWENTY
1800 Hours, July 18, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
Sigma Octanus IV, grid nineteen by thirty-seven
The Master Chief surveyed what was left of Camp Alpha. There were only fourteen Marine regulars left
alanced against the four hundred men and women who had been slaughtered here.
He said to Kelly, ost a guard on the dropship, and put three on patrol. Take the rest and secure the LZ.
es, sir.She turned to face the other Spartans, pointed, made three quick hand gestures, and they
dispersed like ghosts.
The Master Chief turned to the Corporal. re you in command here, Corporal?
The man looked around. guess so . . . yes, sir.
s of 0900 Standard Military time, NavSpecWep is assuming control of this operation. All Marine
personnel now report through our chain of command. Understand, Corporal?
es, sir.
ow, Corporal, brief me on what happened here.
Corporal Harland hunkered down and sketched rough maps of the area as he quickly recounted the
brutal series of surprise attacks. ight hererid thirteen by twenty-four. That where they hit us, sir.
Something goinon there.
The Master Chief scanned the crude maps, compared them with the area surveys displayed in his HUD,
then nodded, satisfied.
et your wounded inside the Pelican, Corporal,he said. el be dusting off soon. I want you to
rotate by thirds on guard duty. The rest of your men should get some sleep. But make no mistakef the
Pelican gets fragged, wel be staying on Sigma Octanus Four.
The Corporal paled, then replied, nderstood, sir.He stood slowlyhe long day of combat and flight
had taken its toll. The Marine saluted, then moved to assemble his team.

Inside his sealed helmet, John frowned. These Marines were now under his command . . . and therefore
part of his team. They lacked the Spartansfirepower and training, so they had to be protectedot
relied upon. He had to make sure they got out in one piece. Another snag in an already dicey mission.
The Master Chief opened his COM link: eam leaders meet me at the LZ in three minutes.
Lights winked on his heads-up displayis Spartans acknowledging the order.
He looked around at the destruction. Thin sunlight reflected dully from the thousands of spent shell
casings strewn across the battlefield. Dozens of shattered Warthog chassis bled trails of smoke into the
hazy sky. Scores of burned corpses lay in the mud.
They have to get a burial detail down here later . . . before the Grunts got to the dead.
The Master Chief would never question his orders, but he felt a momentary stab of bitterness. Whoever
set these camps up without proper reconnaissance, whoever had blindly trusted the satellite
transmissions in an enemy-held region, had been a fool.
Worse, they had wasted the lives of good soldiers.
Green Team leader jogged in from the south. The Master Chief couldn see her features through her
reflective faceplate, but he could tell without checking his HUD that it was Linda by the way she
moved . . . that, and the SRS99C-S2 AM sniper rile with Oracle scope she carried.
She carefully looked around, verified that the area was secure, and slung her rifle. She snapped a crisp
salute. eporting as ordered, Master Chief.
Red Team leaderoshuaan in from the east. He saluted. otion detectors, radar, and automated
defenses up and running, sir.
ood. Let go over this one more time.The Master Chief overlaid a topographic map on their
helmetsdisplays. ission goal one: we need to gather intelligence on Covenant troop disposition and
defenses at C矌e dzur. Mission goal two: if there are no civilian survivors, we are authorized to
remote detonate a HAVOK tactical nuclear mine and remove the enemy forces. In the meantime, we
will minimize our contact with the enemy.
They nodded.
The Master Chief highlighted the four streams that fed into the river delta near C矌e dzur. e avoid
these routes. Banshees patrol them.He circled where Firebase Bravo had been. el avoid this area
as wellccording to the Marine survivors, that area is hot. Grid thirteen by twenty-four also has
activity.

ed Leader, take your squad in along the coast. Stay in the tree line. Green Leader, follow this
ridgeline, but keep under cover, too. Il be taking this route.The Master Chief traced a path through a
particularly dense section of jungle.
t 1830 hours now. The city is thirteen kilometers from herehat should take us no more than forty
minutes. Wel probably be forced to slow down to avoid enemy patrolsut we all should be in place
no later than 1930 hours.
He zoomed into a city map of C矌e dzur. ntry points to the city sewer system are He highlighted
the display with NAV points. here, here, and here. Red Team will recon the wharf areas. Green takes
the residential section. Il take Blue Team downtown. Questions?
ur communications underground will be limited,Linda said. ow do we check in while keeping
our heads down?
ccording to the Colonial Administration Authority file on C矌e dzur, the sewer systems here have
steel pipes running along the top of the plastic conduits. Tap into those and use ground-return
transceivers to check in. Wel have our own private COM line.
oger,she said.
The Master Chief said, s soon as we leave, the dropship dusts off and will move here.He indicated a
position far to the south of Alpha camp. f the Pelican doesn make it . . . our fallback rendezvous
point is here.He indicated a point fifty kilometers south. NI welcoming committee has stashed our
emergency SATCOM link and survival gear there.
No one mentioned that survival gear would be useless when the Covenant glassed the planet.
tay sharp,John said. nd come back in one piece. Dismissed.
They saluted briskly, then sprinted to their tasks.
He switched to Blue Team frequency. ime to saddle up, Blue Team,he called out. V back at the
bunker for orders.Three blue lights winked acknowledgement in his display.
A moment later, the other three Spartans in his squad trotted into position. eporting as ordered,Blue-
Two announced.
The Master Chief quickly filled them in on the mission. lue-Two.He nodded to Kelly. oue
carrying the nuke and medical gear.

ffirmative. Whol have the detonator, sir?
will,he replied. lue-Three.He turned to Fred. ou have the explosives. James, youl take our
extra COM equipment.
They double-checked their gear: modified MA5B assault rifles, adapted to mount silencers; ten extra
clips of ammunition; frag grenades; combat knives; M6D pistolsmall but powerful handguns that
fired .450 Magnum loads, sufficient to crack through Grunt armor.
In addition to the weapons, there was a single smoke canisterlue smoke to signal for pickup. John
would carry that. et go,he said.
Blue Team moved out. They quickly entered the jungle, in a simple single-file line with Blue-Four in the
lead; James had an instinct for walking point. The line was slightly staggered, with John and Kelly
slightly to the left of James. Fred brought up the rear.
They moved cautiously. Every hundred yards, James signaled the group to halt while he methodically
surveyed the area for any sign of the enemy. The rest of Blue Team crouched, and disappeared into the
thick jungle foliage.
John checked his HUD; they were one-quarter of the way to the city. The team made good time despite
the cautious pace. The MJOLNIR assault armor allowed them to push their way through the thick jungle
like it was a stroll through the woods.
As the team moved on, the thin mist that permeated the jungle gave way to a hard, pelting rain. The
damp ground gradually turned to mud, forcing the team to slow.
Blue-Four stopped dead and raised his fisthe signal to halt and freeze. John stopped in his tracks, his
rifle raised and sweeping slowly back and forth, searching for any sign of enemy movement.
Normally, the Spartans relied on their armor detection gear to locate enemy troops. But their motion
sensors were uselessverything moved in the jungle. They had to rely on their eyes and ears and the
instincts of their point man.
oint to Team Leader: enemy contact.amescalm voice crackled across the COM channel.nemy
troops within one hundred meters of my position, ten degrees left.
With exaggerated slowness, Blue-Four indicated the danger area by pointing.
ffirmative,John replied. lue Team: hold position.

Although the motion trackers were of no use here, thermal proved effective. Through the thick sheets of
rain, the Master Chief spotted three cold spots: Grunts in their chilled environmental suits.
lue Team: enemy contact confirmed.He added the enemy position to his HUD. stimated enemy
strength, Point?
ead, I make ten, say again, ten Covenant troops. Grunts, sir. Theye moving slowly. Double-file
formation. They haven spotted us. Orders?
John orders said to minimize contact with the enemy where possiblehe Spartans were spread too
thinly across the battle area to risk a prolonged engagement. But the Grunts were heading right for the
Marine bunker . . .
et take them out, Blue Team,he said.
The team of Grunts slogged through the mud. The vaguely simian aliens wore shiny red-trimmed armor.
Craggy, purple-black hide was visible beneath the environmental suits. Breath masks provided
supercooled methanehe aliensatmosphere. There were ten of them, moving in two columns and
spaced roughly three meters apart.
John noted with satisfaction that they seemed borednly the point man and the pair on rear guard had
their plasma rifles at the ready. The rest chattered at each other in a weird combination of high-pitched
squeaks and guttural barks.
Easy, relaxed targets. Perfect.
He gave a series of slow hand signals to the rest of the team; they faded back until they were well away
from the Gruntsfield of view.
The Master Chief opened the squadwide COM channel. heye seventy meters from this depression
He keyed a NAV point into the team topographic display. heye heading for the western hill
and will probably follow the terrain to the top. Wel fall back now, and take concealed positions along
the eastern hill.
lue-Four, youe our scouttay near the bottom and let us know when the rear guard passes you.
Take them out firsthey seem alert.
lue-Two, you have overwatch at the top of the hill.

lue-Three, back me up. Silenced weapons onlyo explosives, unless things go bad.
He paused, then gave the order: ove out.
The Spartans crept back along their path and spread out along the hill.
Johnn the center of the lineeadied his assault rifle. The team was virtually invisible in the thick
foliage, and covered by the barrelwide tree trunks of the local flora.
One minute ticked by. Then two . . . three . . .
Blue-Four acknowledgment signal blinked twice in John HUD.Enemy detected. He relaxed his grip
on the weapon, waiting
here. Twenty meters distant, the Grunt point man moved to the edge of the western hill, just
downhill from John position. The alien paused, his plasma rifle sweeping the areahen moved
slowly up the rise.
A moment later, the rest of the formation came into view, ten meters behind the point man.
Blue-Four indicator winked again.Now.
The Master Chief opened fire, a short, three-round burst. The weapon muffled cough was inaudible
over the sound of jungle rainfall. The trio of armor-piercing rounds slashed through the alien throat
protection, rupturing the environment suit. The Grunt clutched at his neck, emitted a brief, high-pitched
gurglehen fell to the mud, dead.
A moment later, the Grunt lines came to a clumsy halt, confused.
John spotted two strobe flashes, and the pair of Covenant rear guards dropped to the ground.
lue-Two to Lead: rear-guard eliminated.
it them!John barked.
The four Spartans opened fire in short bursts. In less than a second, four more of the Grunt patrol were
down, dead from head shots.
The remaining trio of Grunts unslung their plasma rifles, swinging them wildly back and forth, looking
for targets and chattering loudly in their strange, barking language. John sighted on the alien closest to
him and squeezed the trigger.

The alien splashed into the mud, methane bubbling from his shattered breath mask.
Another pair of sustained bursts and the last of the Grunts were down.
* * *
Kelly policed the Gruntsweapons and handed a plasma rifle to each of the team; the Spartans had
standing orders to seize Covenant weapons and technology whenever possible.
Blue Team fanned out and continued on their way. When they heard Banshees overhead, they hunkered
down in the mud, and the fliers passed.
Ten more kilometers of rough terrain and then the jungle stopped and fields of rice paddies stretched out
before them all the way to C矌e dzur.
Crossing these would be more difficult than the jungle. They donned camouflage cloaks that masked
their thermal signatures and crawled through the muck on their stomachs.
The Master Chief saw three larger ships hovering over the city. If they were troop transports, they could
carry thousands of Covenant soldiers. If they were warships, any direct ground assault against the city
would be futile. Either way it was bad news.
He made sure his vid and audio mission recorders got a good clear image of the vessels.
When they emerged from the mud, they were near the beach on the edge of the city. The Master Chief
checked his map readings and made his way to the sewage outlet.
The two-meter diameter pipe was sealed with a steel grate. He and Fred easily bent the bars aside and
entered.
They sloshed through hip-deep muck. The Master Chief didn like the cramped quarters. Their mobility
was restricted by the narrow pipes; worse, they were bunched up and therefore easier to kill with
grenades or massed fire. Motion sensors picked up hundreds of targets. The constant downpour from
storm drains above made the sensors useless.
He followed his electronic map through the maze of pipes. Light filtered in from aboveeams of
illumination connected to the manhole-cover vent holes. Every so often something moved and blocked
that light.
The Spartans moved quickly and quietly through the sludge and halted when they reached their final
waypointirectly under the center of C矌e dzur owntown.

With a tiny jerk of his head, the Master Chief informed Blue Team to spread out and keep their eyes
peeled. He snaked a fiber-optic probe up through the drain grate at street level and plugged it into his
helmet.
The yellow light from the sodium vapor lamps washed everything topside in an eerie glow. There were
Grunts positioned on the street corners, and the shadow of a Banshee flier circling overhead.
The electric cars parked on the street had been overturned, and the waste receptacles had been knocked
over or set on fire. Every street-level window was broken. The Master Chief saw no human civilians,
alive or otherwise.
Blue Team moved up and over a block. The Master Chief checked topside again.
There was more activity here: a pack of black-armored Grunts meandered down the streets. Two vultureheaded
Jackals sat on the corner, squabbling over a hunk of meat.
Something else caught his attention, though. There were other aliens on the sidewalkr rather,above
the sidewalk. They were roughly man-size creaturesnlike any he had ever encountered. The creatures
were vaguely sluglike, with pale, purple-pink skin. Unlike other Covenant forces, they were not bipeds.
Instead they had several tentacular appendages sprouting from their thick trunks.
They floated a half meter above the ground, as if the odd, pink bladders on their backs kept them aloft.
One alien used a slender tentacle to open the hood of a car. It began to disassemble the car electric
engine, moving with startling speed.
Within twenty seconds all the parts had been neatly arranged in rows on the pavement. The creature
paused, then reassembled the parts with blinding quickness, disassembled and rebuilt it several times
into different arrangements. Finally, the creature simply reassembled the car and floated on its way.
The Master Chief made sure his mission recorder had gotten that. This was a Covenant race never
documented before.
He rotated the fiber-optic cable to point down the opposite end of the street. There was more activity
another block away.
He retracted the probe and moved Blue Team a block farther south. He signaled the team to hold
position, then climbed up a short series of metal handholds until he was just below a manhole cover.
He cautiously sent the probe topside again, up through the manhole-cover vent.
There was a Jackal hoof directly adjacent to the probe, blocking half of his field of vision. He turned

the probe with excruciating slowness, and saw fifty more Jackals milling back and forth. They were
concentrated around the building across the street. The building resembled pictures that D嶴had shown
him years agot looked like an Athenian temple, with white marble steps and Ionic columns. At the
top of the steps were a pair of stationary guns. More bad news.
He pulled the probe back and consulted the map. The building was marked as the C矌e dzur Museum
of Natural History.
The Covenant had serious firepower herehe stationary guns had commanding fields of fire, making a
frontal assault suicidal.Why would they protect a human structure? he wondered. Was it their
headquarters?
The Master Chief signaled for Blue-Two. He pointed to the accessway that led under the building. He
held up two fingers, pointed toward her eyes, and then down the passage, and then slowly balled his
hand into a fist.
Kelly proceeded very slowly down that passage to scout it out.
The Master Chief checked the time. Red and Green Teams were due to report. He had James attach the
ground-return transceiver to the pipes overhead.
reen Team, come in.
oger: Green Team Leader here, sir,inda whispered over the channel.ee scouted the
residential section.There was a pause.o survivors . . . just like Draco Three. Wee too late.
He understood. They seen it before. The Covenant didn take prisoners. On Draco III, they had
watched via satellite linkup as human survivors were herded together and ripped apart by ravenous
Grunts and Jackals. By the time the Spartans had gotten there, there was no one left to rescue.
But the victims had been avenged.
reen Team: stand by and prepare to fall back to the RV and secure the area,he said.
tanding by,inda said.
He switched to the Red Team COM channel: ed Team, report.
Joshua voice crackled over the link:ed Leader, sir. Wee got something for ONI. Weespotted
some new type of Covenant race. Little guys that float. They seem to be some sort of explorer or scientist
type. They take things apart, then move on, like theye looking for something. They do not, repeat not,

appear hostile. Advise that you do not engage. They raise a pretty loud alarm, Blue Lead.
ou in trouble?
odged trouble, sir,e said.ut there is one snag.
nag.The word was charged with meaning for the Spartans. Getting caught in an ambush or a
minefield, a teammate wounded, or aerial bombardmentshose were all things they had trained for.
Snags were things they didn know how to handle. Complications that no one had planned for.
o ahead,the Master Chief whispered.
e have survivors. Twenty civilians hid in a cargo ship here. There are several wounded.
The Master Chief mulled this over. It wasn his choice to weigh the relative worth of a handful of
civilian lives versus the possibility of taking out ten thousand Covenant troops with their nuke. His
orders were specific on this point. They could not set up the nuke if there was civilian population at risk.
ew mission objective, Red Team Leader,the Master Chief said. et those civilians to the recovery
point and evac them back to fleet.He switched COM channels again, broadcasting to all the teams.
reen Team Leader, you still online?
A pause, then Linda spoke:oger.
ove to the docks and coordinate with Red Teamhey have survivors we need to evac. Green Team
leader has strategic control of this mission.
nderstood,he said.ee on our way.
ffirmative, sir,oshua said.el get it done.
lue Team out.The Master Chief disconnected.
It was going to be rough for Green and Red Teams. Those civilians would slow them downnd if they
had to protect them from Covenant patrols, they all get noticed.
Blue-Two returned. She opened the COM link and reported in. here access to the building ladder
and a steel plate welded shut. We can burn through it.
The Master Chief opened up the team COM channel. ee going to assume that Red and Green
Teams will remove the civilians from C矌e dzur. We will proceed as planned.

He paused, then turned to Blue-Two. reak out the nuke and arm it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
2120 Hours, July 18, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSCIroquois , military staging area in orbit around Sigma Octanus IV
hip status?Captain Keyes said as he strode onto the bridge, buttoning his collar. He noticed that the
repair stationCradle still obscured their port camera. nd why aren we clear of that station yet?
ir, all hands are at battle stations,Lieutenant Dominique replied. eneral quarters sounded. Tac data
uploaded to your station.
A tactical overview of theIroquois , neighboring vessels, andCradle popped onto Keyespersonal
display screen. s you can see,Lieutenant Dominique continued, edid clear the station, but they are
moving on the same outbound vector we are. Admiral Stanforth wants them with the fleet.
Captain Keyes took his place in his command chairthe hot seat,as it was more colloquially known
and reviewed the data. He nodded with satisfaction. ooks like the Admiral has something up his
sleeve.He turned to Lieutenant Hall. ngine status, Lieutenant?
ngines hot at fifty percent,she reported. She straightened to her full height, nearly six feet, and
looked Captain Keyes in the eye with something edging near defensiveness. ir, the engines took a real
beating in our last engagement. The repairs wee made are . . . well, the best we could do without a
complete refit.
nderstood, Lieutenant,Keyes replied calmly. In truth, Keyes was concerned about the engines, too
but it would do no good to make Hall more uneasy than necessary. The last thing he needed now was to
undermine her confidence.
unnery officer?Captain Keyes turned to Lieutenant Hikowa. The petite woman bore more
resemblance to a porcelain doll than to a combat officer, but Keyes knew her delicate appearance was
only skin deep. She had ice water for blood and nerves of steel.
AC guns charging,Lieutenant Hikowa reported. ixty-five percent and climbing at two percent per
minute.
Everything on theIroquois had slowed down to a crawl. Engine, weaponsven the unwieldyCradle
kept pace with them.

Captain Keyes sat up straighter. There was no time to spend on self-recriminations. He would have to do
the best he could with what he had. There simply was no other alternative.
The lift doors popped open and a young man stepped on deck. He was tall and thin. His dark hair
longer than regulations permittedad been slicked back. He was disarmingly handsome; Keyes
noticed the female bridge crew pause to look the newcomer over before returning to their tasks. nsign
Lovell reporting for duty, Captain.He snapped a sharp salute.
elcome aboard, Ensign Lovell.Captain Keyes returned his salute, surprised that the unkempt officer
could demonstrate such crisp adherence to military protocol. an the navigation console, please.
The bridge officers scrutinized the Ensign. It was highly unusual for such a low-ranking officer to pilot a
capital ship. ir?Lovell wrinkled his forehead, confused. as there been some mistake, sir?
ouare Ensign Michael Lovell? Recently posted on theArchimedes Remote Sensor Outpost?
es, sir. They pulled me off that duty so quick that I
hen man your station, Ensign.
es, sir!
Ensign Lovell sat at the navigation console, took a few seconds to acquaint himself with the controls
then reconfigured them more to his liking.
A slight smile tugged at the corner of Keyesmouth. He knew that Lovell had more combat experience
than any Lieutenant on the bridge, and was pleased that the Ensign adapted so quickly to unfamiliar
surroundings.
how me the fleet position and the relative location of the enemy, Ensign,Keyes ordered.
ye, sir,Lovell replied. His hands danced across the controls. A moment later, a system map snapped
into place on the main screen. Dozens of small triangular tactical markers showed Admiral Stanforth
fleet massing between Sigma Octanus IV and its moon. It was a sound opening position. Fighting in
orbit around Sigma Octanus IV would have trapped them in the gravity wellike fighting with your
back to a wall.
Keyes studied the displaynd frowned. The Admiral had moved the fleet into a tightly packed grid
formation. When the Covenant fired their plasma weapons at them, there would be no maneuvering
room.

The Covenant was moving in-system quickly. Captain Keyes counted twenty radar signatures. He didn
like the odds.
eceiving orders,Lieutenant Dominique said. dmiral Stanforth wants theIroquois at this location
ASAP.
On the map, a blue triangle pulsed on the corner of the grid formation.
nsign Lovell, get us there at best speed.
ye, sir,he replied.
Captain Keyes fought down a wave of embarrassment; theCradle stardock started to pull ahead of
theIroquois . It took up a position directly over the Admiral phalanx formation. The refit station
rotated, presenting its edge to the incoming Covenant fleet to show them the smallest target area.
otating and reversing burn,Ensign Lovell said. TheIroquois spun about and slowed. hrusters to
station keeping. Wee locked in position, sir.
ery good, Ensign. Lieutenant Hikowa, divert as much power as you need to get those MAC guns
charged.
ye, sir,Hikowa replied. apacitors charging at maximum rate.
aptain,Lieutenant Dominique said. ee receiving an encrypted firing solution and countdown
timers from theLeviathan AI.
ransfer that vector to Lieutenant Hikowa and show me on screen.
A line appeared on the tactical map, connecting theIroquois to one of the incoming Covenant frigates.
The firing timer appeared in the corner: twenty-three seconds.
ow show me the entire fleet firing solutions, Lieutenant Dominique.
A web of trajectories crossed the map with tiny countdown times next to each. Admiral Stanforth had
the fleet exchanging fire with the Covenant like a line of Redcoats and colonial militia in the
Revolutionary Waractics that could best be described as bloody . . . or suicidal.
What the hell was the Admiral thinking? Keyes studied the displays, trying to divine a method to his
commanding officer madness . . . then he understood. Risky, butf it workedrilliant.

The fleet firing countdowns were roughly timed so that the shots would be staggered into two, maybe
three, massive salvos. The first salvo wouldopefullynock out the Covenant shipsshields. The
final salvo was to be the knockout punch.
But it could only work once. After that, the UNSC fleet would be destroyed when the remaining
Covenant ships returned fire. TheIroquois and the other ships were stationary targets. He appreciated
that the Admiral couldn get too far from Sigma Octanus IV, but with zero momentumnd no room to
maneuverhere be no way to avoid those plasma bolts.
ound decompression alarms in all nonessential sections, Lieutenant Hall, and then empty them.
ye, sir,she said, and bit her lower lip.
uns: status on the MACs?Keyeseyes were glued to the firing countdown. Twenty seconds . . .
fifteen . . . ten . . .
ir, MAC weapon systems are hot!Hikowa announced. emoving safeties now.
The Covenant ships started to rotate slowly in spacelthough their momentum continued to carry them
on their inbound trajectory toward the UNSC phalanx. Motes of red light collected along the alien ships
lateral lines.
Five seconds.
ransferring firing control to the computer,Lieutenant Hikowa said. She punched a series of firing
codes into the computer, then locked down the controls. TheIroquois recoiled and spat twin bolts of
thunder toward the enemy.
The starboard view screen showed UNSC destroyers and frigates launching their opening salvo.
The Covenant fleet fired as well; angry red lances of energy raced though space towards them.
ime until that plasma impacts?Captain Keyes asked Ensign Lovell.
wenty-two seconds, sir.
The vacuum between the two opposing forces filled with a hundred lines of fire and smoldering metal
that seemed to tear through the fabric of space.
Their trajectories closed on one another, then crossed, and the bolts of fire grew larger on the main
screen.

Lieutenant Dominique said, eceiving a second set of firing solutions and times. Admiral Stanforth on
the priority channel, sir.
ut him on, holotank two,Keyes ordered.
Near the main view screen, a small holographic tankormally reserved for the ship AIinked into
operation. Admiral Stanforth ghostly image appeared. ll ships: hold your positions. Divert all
engine power to recharge your guns. Wee got something special cooked up.His eyes narrowed. o
not repeat, do notnderany circumstance break position or fire before you are ordered to do so.
Stanforth out.
The holographic projection of the Admiral snapped out of existence.
rders, sir?Ensign Lovell turned in his seat.
ou heard the Admiral, Ensign. Thrusters to station keeping. Lieutenant Hikowa: get those guns
recharged on the double.
ye, sir.
Keyes nodded as Hikowa turned back to her task. hree seconds until first salvo impact,she
announced.
Keyes turned back to the tac display, concentrating on the MAC rounds that crawled across the screen.
The fleet MAC rounds hammered into the Covenant lines. Shields flickered silver-blue and overloaded
as the super-dense projectiles rammed into the formation; several ships were spun out of position by the
impact.
uns?he called out. nemy status?
ultiple hits on Covenant fleet, sir,Hikowa replied. alvo two impact . . . now.
A handful of the shots were clean misses. Keyes winced; each one of the off-trajectory MAC rounds
meant one more enemy ship would survive to return fire.
The vast majority, however, slammed into the unshielded alien vessels. The lead Covenant destroyer
took a direct hit from a heavy round, which sent the alien ship into a lurching port spin.
Keyes saw the destroyer engines flare as her pilot struggled to regain controlust as a second MAC
round struck on the ship opposite side. For an instant, the Covenant vessel shuddered, held position,
then flexed as the hull stresses became too great. The destroyer disintegrated and scattered debris in a

wide arc.
A second Covenant ship frigatehuddered under the impact of multiple MAC rounds. It listed to
starboard and rammed the next frigate in the enemy formation. Sparks and small explosions flared from
the ships as a gray-white plume of vented atmosphere exploded into space. The shipsrunning lights
flickered, then dimmed as the pair of dead spacecraftocked in a deadly embraceumbled into the
heart of the Covenant line.
A moment later, the wrecked ships hit a third Covenant frigate, and they exploded, sending tendrils of
plasma through space. A dozen of their ships vented atmosphere and fires flickered within their hulls.
The fore view screen, however, was now filled with incoming weapons fire.
leet commander on priority channel,Dominique announced. udio only.
atch it through, Lieutenant,Keyes ordered.
A hiss of static crackled through the communications-system speakers. A moment later, Admiral
Stanforth voice calmly broke through the noise. ead to all ships: hold your positions,the Admiral
said. ake ready to fire. Transfer timers to your computers . . . and hang on to your hats.
A shadow crossed the overhead camera. On the view screen, Captain Keyes watched as theCradle repair
station, the plate nearly a kilometer on edge, rotated and started to slide in front of their phalanx
formation.
hrist,Ensign Lovell whispered, heye going to take the hits for us.
ominique, hit the scopes. Are there any lifepods outbound fromCradle ?Keyes asked. He already
knew the answer.
ir,Dominique answered, his deep voice thick with worry. o escape craft have left theCradle .
All eyes on theIroquois bridge were riveted to the screen. Keyeshands clenched with anger and
helplessness. There was nothing to do but watch.
The front view screen went black as the station passed in front of them. Pinpoints of red and orange
appeared along the back surface, metal vapor venting in plumes.Cradle lurched closer to the fleet, the
impact of the plasma torpedoes pushing it back. The station continued to move downward, spreading out
the damage. Holes appeared in the surface; the internal lattice of steel girders was exposed and, seconds
later, glowed white-hothen the view screen was clear again.

entral cameras,Captain Keyes said. ow!
The view changed as Dominique switched to theIroquois belly cameras.Cradle station reappeared. She
spun and her entire forward surface was aglow . . . heat spread to the edges, the center liquefied and
pulled away.
AC guns ready to fire in three seconds,Lieutenant Hikowa announced, her voice cold and angry.
argeting lock acquired.
Keyes gripped the arms of the command chair. radle crew bought this shot for us, Lieutenant,
Captain Keyes growled. ake it count.
TheIroquois shuddered as the MAC gun fired. On the status display, Keyes watched as the rest of the
UNSC fleet fired simultaneously. A twenty-one-gun salute three times over for those on board the
station who had given their lives.
ll ships: break and attack!Admiral Stanforth bellowed. ick your targets and fire at will. Take as
many of these bastards out as you can! Stanforth out.
They had to move before the Covenant plasma weapons recharged.
ive me fifty percent on our engines,Captain Keyes ordered, nd come about to course two eight
zero.
ye,Ensign Lovell and Lieutenant Hall replied in unison.
ieutenant Hikowa, release safeties on the Archer missile system.
afeties disengaged, sir.
TheIroquois moved away at a near-right angle from the phalanx formation. The other UNSC ships
scattered at all vectors. One UNSC destroyer, theLancelot , accelerated straight toward the Covenant line.
As the UNSC ships scattered, the MAC salvo reached the Covenant ships. The Admiral firing
solutions had targeted the remainder of the Covenant battlegroup smaller ships. Their shields sparkled,
rippled, and then flickered out of existence. Their frigates shattered under the impact of the firepower.
Holes ripped through their hulls. Wrecked spacecraft drifted lazily through the battle area.
The surprise second salvo had cost the Covenant dearly dozen enemy ships were out of the fight.
That left eight Covenant vesselsestroyers and cruisers.

Pulse lasers and Archer missiles fired, and every ship onscreen accelerated towards one another. Both
Covenant and UNSC ships released their single-ship fighters.
The tac computer was having trouble tracking everythingeyes cursed to himself over the lack of a
ship AIs the missile fire and plasma discharges strobed in the blackness. Single shipshe humans
Longsword fighters and the flat, vaguely piscine Covenant fightersove, and fired, and impacted into
warships. Archer missiles left trails of exhaust. Blue pulse lasers scattered inside the clouds of vented
propellant and atmosphere, and cast a ghostly blue glow over the scene.
rders, sir?Lovell asked nervously.
Captain Keyes pausedomething felt . . . wrong. The battle was utter chaos, and it was nearly
impossible to tell exactly what was happening. Sensor data was thrown off by the constant detonations
and the fire of the aliensenergy weapons.
can near the planet, Lieutenant Hall,Keyes said. nsign Lovell, move us closer to Sigma Octanus
Four.
ir?Lieutenant Dominique said. ee not engaging the Covenant fleet?
egative, Lieutenant.
The bridge crew paused for a fraction of a secondll except Ensign Lovell, who tapped on the controls
and plotted a new course. The bridge crew had all had a taste of being heroes in their last battle, and they
wanted more. Captain Keyes knew what that was like . . . and he knew how dangerous it was.
He was not about to charge into battle, however, with theIroquois at half power, her structural integrity
already compromised, and with no AI to mount a point defense against Covenant single ships. One
plasma torpedo to their lower decks would gut them.
If he remained where he was and attempted to shoot into the fray, he was just as likely to accidentally hit
a friendly ship as a Covenant vessel.
No. There were several damaged Covenant ships in the area. He would finish them offake sure they
could not launch any attack on their fleet. There was no glory in the actionut considering their
present condition, glory was of little concern. Survival was.
Captain Keyes watched the battle rage in the starboard camera. TheLeviathan took a plasma bolt, and
her foredecks burned. One Covenant ship collided with the UNSC frigateFair Weather ; the
superstructures of the two craft locked togethernd both ships opened fire at point-blank range.
TheFair Weather detonated into a ball of nuclear fire that engulfed the Covenant destroyer. Both ships

faded from the tactical display.
ovenant ship detected in orbit around Sigma Octanus Four,Lieutenant Hall reported.
et me see it,Keyes said.
A small vessel appeared on-screen. It was smaller than the Covenant equivalent of a frigate . . . but
definitely larger than one of the aliensdropships. It was sleek and seemed to waver in and out of the
blankness of space. The engine pods were baffled and devoid of the characteristic purple-white glow of
Covenant propulsion systems.
heye in a geosynchronous orbit over C矌e dzur,Lieutenant Hall reported. heir thrusters are
firing microbursts. Precision station keeping, sir, if I were to guess.
Lieutenant Dominique interrupted. etected scattering from a narrow-beam transmission on the planet
surface, sir. A far-infrared laser.
Captain Keyes turned toward the main battle on-screen. Was this slaughter just a diversion?
The original attack on Sigma Octanus IV had been for the sole purpose of landing ships and invading
C矌e dzur. Once accomplished, their battle group had left.
And nowhatever the Covenant purpose was groundside, they were sending information to this
stealth ship . . . while the rest of their fleet kept the UNSC forces from interfering.
ike hell,he muttered.
nsign Lovell, plot a collision course for that ship.
ye, sir.
ieutenant Hall, push the engines as far as you can. I need every bit of speed you can get me.
es, sir. If we vent primary coolant and use our reserve, I can boost the engine output to sixty-six
percent . . . for five minutes.
o it.
TheIroquois moved sluggishly toward the Covenant ship.
ntercept in twenty seconds,Lovell said.

ieutenant Hikowa, arm Archer missile pods A through D. Blow that Covenant son of a bitch out of the
sky.
rcher missile pods armed, sir,she replied smoothly. Her hands moved gracefully over the controls.
iring.
Archer missiles streaked toward the Covenant stealth shiput as they closed with the target, they
started to swerve from side to side, then spun out of control. The spent missiles fell toward the planet.
Lieutenant Hikowa cursed quietly in Japanese. issile guidance locks jammed,she said. heir ECM
spoofed the guidance packages, sir.
No other choice, then,Keyes thought.They can jam our missileset see them jam this.
un them over, Ensign Lovell,Keyes ordered.
He licked his lips. ye, sir.
ound collision alarm,Captian Keyes said. ll hands, brace for impact.
he moving,Lovell said.
eep on her.
ourse correcting now. Hang on,Lovell said.
The eight-thousand-tonIroquois slammed into the tiny Covenant ship.
On the bridge, they barely felt the impact. The diminutive alien vessel, however, was crushed from the
force. Her crippled hull spun toward Sigma Octanus IV.
amage report!Keyes bellowed.
ower decks 3 through 8 show hull breach, sir,Hall called out. nternal bulkheads were already
closed, and no one was in those areas, per your orders. No systems damage reported.
ood. Move to her original position, Ensign Lovell. Lieutenant Dominique, I want that transmission
beam intercepted.
The ventral cameras showed the Covenant ship plunge into the atmosphere. Its shield glowed yellow,

then whitehen dissipated as the ship systems failed. It burst into crimson flame and burned across
the horizon, a black plume of smoke trailing in its wake.
heIroquois is losing altitude,Ensign Lovell said. ee falling into the planet atmosphere . . .
bringing us about.TheIroquois spun 180 degrees. The Ensign concentrated on his displays, then said,
o good, we need more power. Sir, permission to fire emergency thrusters?
ranted.
Lovell exploded the aft emergency thrusters and theIroquois jumped. Lovell eyes were locked on the
repeater displays as he fought for every centimeter of maneuvering he could get. Sweat ran down his
forehead and soaked his flight suit.
rbit stabilizingarely.Lovell exhaled with relief, then turned to face Keyes. ot it, sir. Thrusters
to precision station keeping.
eceiving,Lieutenant Dominique said, and then paused. eceiving . . . something, sir. It must be
encrypted.
ake sure youe recording, Lieutenant.
ffirmative. Recorders active . . . but the codebreaker software can crack it, sir.
Captain Keyes turned back to the tac displays, half expecting to see a Covenant ship in firing position.
There wasn much left of either the Covenant or UNSC fleets. Dozens of ships drifted in space,
billowing atmosphere and burning. The rest moved slowly. A few flickered with fire. Scattered
explosions dotted the black.
One undamaged Covenant destroyer turned, however, and left the battlefield. It came about and headed
straight for theIroquois .
h-oh,Lovell muttered.
ieutenant Hall, get me theLeviathan riority Alpha channel,Keyes ordered.
es, sir,she said.
Admiral Stanforth image appeared in the holotank. His forehead had a gash across it, and blood
trickled into his eyes. He wiped it away with a shaking hand, his eyes blazing with anger. eyes?
Where the hell isIroquois ?

ir,Iroquois is in geosynchronous orbit over C矌e dzur. Wee destroyed a Covenant stealth ship and
are in the process of intercepting a secure transmission from the planet.
The Admiral stared at him a moment unbelievingly, then nodded as if this made sense to him. roceed.
e have a Covenant destroyer leaving the battle . . . bearing down on us. I think the reason for the
Covenant invasion may be in this coded transmission. And they don want us to know, sir.
nderstood, son. Hang on. The Cavalry on its way.
On the aft screen, the remaining eight UNSC ships broke their attacks and turned toward the incoming
destroyer. Three MAC guns fired and impacted on the Covenant vessel. Its shields only lapsed for a split
second; it took a round through her nose . . . but it continued toward theIroquois at flank speed.
ransmission ended, sir,Lieutenant Dominique announced. ut off in midpacket. The signal was
terminated at the source.
amn.Captain Keyes considered staying and trying to reacquire that signalut only for a moment.
He decide to take what they had and run with it. nsign Lovell, get us the hell out of here.
ir!Lieutenant Hall said. ook.
The Covenant destroyer was changing course . . . along with the rest of the surviving Covenant vessels.
They were scattering, and accelerating out of the system.
heye running,Lieutenant Hikowa said, her normal iron calm replaced by astonishment.
Within minutes, the Covenant ships accelerated and vanished into Slipstream space.
Captain Keyes looked aft and counted only seven UNSC ships intact, with the balance of the fleet
destroyed or disabled.
He sat in his command chair. nsign Lovell, take us back the way we came. Make ready to take on
wounded. Repressurize all uncompromised decks.
esus,Lieutenant Hall said. think we actually . . . won that one.
es, Lieutenant. We won,Keyes replied.
But Captain Keyes wondered exactly what they had won. The Covenant had come to this system for a
reasonnd he had a sinking feeling that they may have gotten what they had come for.


CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
2010 Hours, July 18, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
Sigma Octanus IV, C矌e dzur
It was time to arm the nuke.
The small device held the power to destroy C矌e dzuripe the Covenant infection clean off the
planet.
John carefully removed the bonding strips on the HAVOK tactical nuclear device and attached it to the
wall of the sewer. The adhesive on the black half sphere stuck and hardened to the concrete. He slipped
the detonator key into a thin slot on the unit face. There were no external indicators on the device;
instead, a tiny screen winked on his heads-up display indicating the nuke was armed.
HAVOK ARMED, flashed across his HUD. AWAITING DETONATION SIGNAL.
The device clean thirty-megaton explosiveould only be detonated by a remote signal . . . a
problem here in the sewers. Even the powerful communications package on a starship would be unable
to penetrate the steel and concrete overhead.
John quickly rigged a ground-return transceiver, placing it on the pipes overhead. He have to set up
another unit outside to relay the signal underground . . . a hot line that would trigger a nuclear firestorm.
Technically, his mission parameters had been fulfilled. Green and Red Teams would have the civilians
evacuated soon. They had scouted the region and discovered a new Covenant specieshe strange
floating creature that disassembled and reassembled human machinery, like a scientist or engineer
stripping down a device to learn its secrets.
He could leave and destroy the Covenant occupation force. Heshould leavehere was an army of
Jackals and Gruntsncluding at least a platoon of the black-armored veteransn the streets above.
There were three medium Covenant dropships hovering in the air as well. The advance Marine strike
forces had been slaughtered, leaving the Spartans no backup. His responsibility now was to make sure
his team got out intact.
But John orders had an unusual amount of flexibility . . . and that made him uncomfortable. He had
been told to reconnoiter the region and gather intelligence on the Covenant. He was positive there was
more to be learned here.

Certainly they were up to something in C矌e dzur museum. The Covenant had never before been
interested in human historyr indeed, in humans or their artifacts of any kind. He had seen a disarmed
Jackal fight hand to hand rather than pick up a nearby human assault rifle. And the only thing the
Covenant had ever used human buildings for was target practice.
So finding out the reason they seized and were protecting the museum definitely qualified as intelligence
gathering in his book.
Was it worth exposing his team to find out? And if they died, would he be wasting their lives . . . or
spending them for something worthwhile?
aster Chief?Kelly whispered. ur orders, sir?
He opened Blue Team COM channel. ee going in. Use your silencers. Don engage the enemy
unless absolutely necessary. This place is too hot. Wel just poke our noses inee what theye up to
and bug out.
Three acknowledgment lights winked on.
The Master Chief knew they implicitly trusted his judgment. He just hoped he was worthy of that trust.
The Spartans checked their gear and threaded silencers onto their assault rifles. They slipped silently
down a wide side passage of the sewer.
A rusty ladder ran up to the ceiling, and a steel plate had been welded in place.
hermite paste already set up,Fred reported.
urn it.The Master Chief stepped to the side and looked away.
The thermite sputtered as bright as an electric arc welder, casting harsh shadows into the chamber. When
it finished there was a jagged, glowing red circle in the steel.
The Master Chief climbed up the ladder and put his back against the plateushed. It popped free with
a metallicsnap .
He eased the plate down and set it aside. He attached the fiber-optic probe, fed it up through the hole.
All clear.
He flexed his leg muscles and sent the MJOLNIR armor up through the hole, pulling himself into the

next chamber with his left hand. His right hand held the silenced assault rifle as if it were no heavier
than a pistol. He braced for incoming enemy fire
othing happened.
He moved forward and surveyed the small room. The stone-walled chamber was dark, and was lined
with shelving units. Each unit held jars filled with clear liquid and insect specimens. Boxes and crates
were stacked neatly on the floor.
Kelly entered next, then Fred and James.
icking up motion sensor signals,elly said over the COM channel.
am them.
one,he replied.hey may have gotten a piece of us, though.
pread out,the Master Chief ordered. et ready to jump back into the hole if this gets too hot.
Otherwise, initiate the standard distract-and-destroy.
The clatter of alien hooves on marble echoed behind a door to their right.
The Spartans melted into the shadows. The Master Chief crouched behind a crate and unsheathed his
combat knife.
The door opened and four Jackals stood in the door frame; they held active energy shields in front of
themarping their already ugly vulture faces. The blue-white glow of the energy shield pulsed
through the dark chamber.Good, the Master Chief thought.That should play hell with their night vision.
The Jackals held plasma pistols at the ready in their free hands; the barrels of the guns moved erratically
as the aliens whispered to one another . . . then steadied as, in careful, slow movements, they moved in.
The aliens fanned out into a rough eltaformationhe lead Jackal a meter ahead of his compatriots.
The group approached the Master Chief hiding spot.
There was a slight noise: the clink of glass bottles on the other side of the room.
The Jackals turned . . . and presented their unshielded backs to the Master Chief.
He exploded from his hiding place and jammed his blade into the base of the closest Jackal back. He
snapped his right foot out, caught the back of the next Jackal head, crushing its skull.

The remaining aliens spun, glistening energy shields interposed between them and him.
There were three coughs from silenced MA5Bs. Alien bloodlack in the harsh blue-white light
spattered across the inner surfaces of the energy shields as the silenced rounds found their marks. The
Jackals toppled to the ground.
The Master Chief policed their plasma pistols and retrieved the shield generators clamped on their
forearms. He had standing orders to collect intact specimens of Covenant technology. The Office of
Naval Intelligence had not been able to replicate the Covenant shield technology. But they were
getting close.
In the meantime, the Spartans would use these.
The Master Chief strapped the curved piece of metal to his forearm. He touched one of the two large
buttons on the unit and a scintillating film appeared before him.
He handed the other shield devices to his teammates.
He pressed the second button and the shield collapsed.
on use these unless you have to,he said. he humming and their reflective surfaces might give us
away . . . and we don know how long they last.
He got three acknowledgment lights.
Kelly and Fred took up positions on either side of the open door. She gave him a thumbs-up.
Kelly took point and the Spartans moved, single file, up a circular stairwell.
She paused a full ten seconds at the doorway to the main floor. She waved them ahead and they emerged
on the main level of the museum.
The skeleton of a blue whale was suspended over the main foyer. The dead hulk reminded the Master
Chief of a Covenant starship. He turned away from the distraction and slowly moved over the black
marble tiles.
Oddly, there were no more Jackal patrols. There were a hundred Jackals outside guarding the place . . .
but none inside.
The Master Chief didn like it. It didn feel right . . . and Chief Mendez had told him a thousand times
to trust his instincts. Was it a trap?

The Spartans staggered their line and moved cautiously into the east wing. There were displays of the
local flora and fauna: gigantic flowers and fist-sized beetles. But their motion sensors were cold.
Fred halted . . . and then, with a quick hand signal, waved John to move up to his position.
He stood by a case of pinned butterflies. On the floor, facedown in front of that case, was a Jackal. It
was dead, crushed flat. There was an imprint of a large boot where the creature back had been.
Whatever had done this had easily weighed a ton.
The Master Chief spotted a few blood-smeared prints leading away from the Jackal . . . and into the west
wing.
He flipped on his infrared sensors and took a long look aroundo heat sources here or in the nearby
rooms.
The Master Chief followed the footprints and signaled the team to follow.
The west wing held scientific displays. There were static electric generators and quantum field
holograms on the walls, a tapestry of darting arrows and wriggling lines. A cloud chamber sat in the
corner with subatomic tracers zipping through its misty confineshe Master Chief noted it was
unusually active. This place reminded him of D嶴s classroom on Reach.
A branch opened to another wing. The word GEOLOGY was carved on the entry arch.
Through that arch there was a strong infrared source, a razor-thin line that shot straight up and out of the
building. The Master Chief only caught a glimpse of the thing wink and a blink then it was gone
again . . . it was so bright his IR sensors overloaded and automatically shut down.
He waved James to take the left side of the arch. He had Kelly and Fred drop back to cover their flanks,
and the Master Chief edged to the right of the arch.
He sent a fiber-optic probe ahead, bent it slightly, and poked it around the corner.
The room contained display cases of mineral specimens. There were sulfur crystals, raw emeralds, and
rubies. There was a monolith of unpolished pink quartz in the center of the room, three meters wide and
six tall.
Off to one side, however, were two creatures. The Master Chief hadn seen them at firstecause they
were so motionless . . . and so massive. He had no doubt that one of them had crushed the Jackal that
had gotten in its way.

The Master Chief got scared all the time. He never showed it, though. He usually mentally
acknowledged the apprehension, put it aside, and continued . . . just as he been trained to do. This
time, however, he couldn easily dismiss the feeling.
The two creatures were vaguely man-shaped. They stood two and a half meters tall. It was difficult to
make out their features; they were covered from head to toe with a dull blue-gray armor, similar to the
hull of a Covenant ship. Blue, orange, and yellow highlights were visible on the few patches of exposed
skin the creatures sported. They had slits where their eyes should be. The articulation points looked
impregnable.
On their left arms they hefted large shields, thick as starship battleplate. Mounted on their right arms
were massive, wide-barreled weapons, so large that the arm beneath seemed to blend into the weapon.
They moved with slow deliberation. One took a rock from the display case and set it inside a red metal
case. It bent over the case while the other turned and touched the control panel of a device that looked
like a small pulse laser turret. The laser pointed straight upnd out through the shattered glass dome
overhead.
That had been the source of the infrared radiation. The laser must have intermittently scattered off the
dust in the airlashed enough energy into his sensors to burn them out. Something that powerful could
beam a message straight out into space.
The Master Chief made a slow fisthe signal for his team to freeze. Then, with slow, deliberate
movements, he signaled the Spartans to stay alert and get ready.
He waved Fred and Kelly forward.
Fred crept closer to him. Kelly slid up next to James.
The Master Chief then held up two fingers and made a sideways cut, motioning them into the room.
Acknowledgment lights winked on.
He went in first, sidestepped to the right, with Fred at his side.
James and Kelly took the left flank.
They opened fire.
Armor-piercing rounds pinged off the aliensbody armor. One of them turned and brought its shield in
front of itovering its partner, the red case, and the laser beacon.

The Spartan bullets didn even leave a scratch on the armor.
The alien raised its arm slightly and pointed at Kelly and James.
A flash of light blinded the Master Chief. There was a deafening explosion and a wave of heat. He
blinked for a full three seconds before he recovered his vision.
Where Kelly and James had been there was a burning crater that fanned backward . . . nothing but
charcoal and ash remained of the Science Chamber behind them.
Kelly had moved in time; she crouched five meters deeper into the room, still firing. James was nowhere
to be seen.
The other massive creature turned to face the Master Chief.
He hit the button on the shield generator on his arm and brought it up just in timehe nearest alien
weapon flashed again.
The air in front of the Master Chief shimmered and explodede flew backward, crashing through the
wall, and skidded for ten meters before slamming into the wall of the next room.
The Jackal shield generator was white-hot. The Master Chief ripped the melted alien device off and
threw it away.
Those plasma bolts were like nothing he had seen before. They seemed almost as powerful as the
stationary plasma cannons the Jackals used.
The Master Chief sprang to his feet and charged back into the chamber.
If the aliensweapons were similar to Covenant plasma guns, they would need to be recharged. He
hoped the Spartans had enough time to take those things out.
The Master Chief still felt the feart was stronger than it had been before . . . but his team was still in
there. He had to take care of them first before he could indulge in the luxury of feelings.
Kelly and Fred circled the creatures, their silenced weapons firing quick bursts. They ran out of
ammunition and switched clips.
This wasn working. They couldn take them out. Maybe a Jackhammer missile at point-blank range
would penetrate their armor.

The Master Chief gaze was drawn to the center of the room. He stared for a moment at the monolith of
pink quartz.
Over the COM channel he ordered, witch to shredder rounds.He changed ammunition and then
opened firet the floor underneath the enormous creaturesfeet.
Kelly and Fred changed rounds and fired, too.
Marble tiles shattered and the wood underneath splintered into toothpicks.
One of the creatures raised its arm again, preparing to fire.
eep shooting,John yelled.
The floor creaked, buckled, and then fell away; the two massive aliens plunged into the basement below.
uick,the Master Chief said. He slung his rifle and moved to the back of the quartz monolith. ush!
Kelly and Fred leaned their weight against the stone and grunted with effort. The slab moved a tiny bit.
James sprinted forward, slammed into the stone, put his shoulder alongside theirs . . . andpushed . His
left arm had been burned away from the elbow down, but he didn even whimper.
The monolith moved; it inched toward the hole . . . then tilted and went over. It landed with a dull thud
and a crunching noise.
The Master Chief peered over the edge. He saw an armored left leg, and on the other side of the stone
slab, an arm struggling underneath. The things were still alive. Their motions slowed, but they didn
cease.
The red case was balanced precariously on the edge the hole. It teeteredo way to reach it in time.
He turned to Kellyhe fastest Spartannd yelled: rab it!
The box fell
nd Kelly leaped.
In a single bound, she caught the rock as the case dropped, she tucked, rolled, and got to her feet, the
rock safely held in one hand. She handed it to the Master Chief.

The rock was a piece of granite and glittered with a few jewel-like inclusions. What was as so special
about it? He stuffed it into his ammunition sack and then kicked over the Covenant transmission beacon.
Outside, the Master Chief heard the clattering and squawking of the army of Jackals and Grunts.
et get out of here, Spartans.
He threw his arm around James and helped him along. They ran into the basement, making sure to give
the pinned giants under the stone a wide berth, then jumped through the storm drain and into the sewers.
They jogged thought the muck and didn stop until they had cleared the drain system and emerged in
the rice paddies on the edge of C矌e dzur.
Fred rigged the ground-return relay to the pipes overhead and ran a crude antenna outside.
The Master Chief looked back at the city. Banshee fliers circled through the skyscrapers. Spotlights from
the hovering Covenant transport ships bathed the streets in blue illumination. The Grunts were going
crazy; their barks and screams rose to an impenetrable din.
The Spartans moved toward the coast and followed the tree line south. James collapsed twice along the
way and then finally slipped into unconsciousness. The Master Chief slung him over him shoulder and
carried him.
They paused and hid when they heard a patrol of a dozen Grunts. The aliens ran past themhey either
didn see the Spartans, or they didn care. The animals sprinted as fast as they could back to the city.
When they were a click away from the rendezvous point, the Master Chief opened the COM link.
reen Team Leader, wee on your perimeter, and coming in. Signaling with blue smoke.
eady and waiting for you, sir,inda replied.elcome back.
The Master Chief set off one of his smoke grenades and they marched into the clearing.
The Pelican was intact. Corporal Harland and his Marines stood post, and the rescued civilians were
safely inside the ship.
Blue and Red Teams were hidden in the nearby brush and trees.
Linda approached them. She motioned for her team to take James and get him onto the Pelican. ir,
she said. ll civilians on board and ready for liftoff.

The Master Chief wanted to relax, sit down, and close his eyes. But this was often the most dangerous
part of any mission . . . those last few steps when you might let down your guard.
ood. Take one more look around the perimeter. Let make double sure nothing followed us back.
es, sir.
Corporal Harland approached and saluted. ir? How did you do it? Those civilians said you got them
out of the cityast an army of Covenant, sir. How?
John cocked his head quizzically. t was our mission, Corporal,he said.
The Corporal stared at him and then at the other Spartans. es, sir.
When Green Team Leader reported that the perimeter was clear, the last of the Spartans boarded the
Pelican.
James had regained consciousness. Someone had removed his helmet and propped his head on a folded
survival blanket. His eyes watered from the pain, but he managed to salute the Master Chief with his left
hand. John gestured at Kelly; she administered a dose of painkiller, and James lapsed into
unconsciousness.
The Pelican lifted into the air. In the distance, the suns were warming the horizon, and C矌e dzur was
outlined against the dawn.
The dropship suddenly accelerated at full speed straight up, and then angled away to the south.
ir,he pilot said over the COM channel.ee getting multiple incoming radar contacts . . . about
two hundred Banshees inbound.
el take care of it, Lieutenant,John replied. repare for EMP and shock wave.
The Master Chief activated his remote radio transceiver.
He quickly keyed in the final fail-safe code, then sent the coded burst transmission on its way.
A third sun appeared on the horizon. It blotted out the light of the system stars, then cooledrom
amber to rednd darkened the sky with black clouds of dust.
ission accomplished,he said.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
0500 Hours, July 18, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSCIroquois , military staging area in orbit around Sigma Octanus IV
Captain Keyes leaned against the brass railing on the bridge of theIroquois and surveyed the devastation.
The space near Sigma Octanus IV was littered with debris: the dead hulks of Covenant and UNSC ships
spun lazily in the vacuum, surrounded by clouds of wreckage: jagged pieces of decimated armor plate,
shattered single-ship fuselages, and heat-blackened metal fragments created a million radar targets. The
debris field would clutter this system and make for a navigational hazard for the next decade.
They had recovered nearly all the bodies from space.
Captain Keyesgaze caught the remnants of theCradle as the blasted space dock spun past. The
kilometer-wide plate was now safely locked in a high orbit around the planet. She was slowly being torn
apart from her own rotation; girders and metal plates warped and bent as the gravitational stresses on the
ship increased.
The Covenant plasma weapons had burned through ten decks of super-hard metal and armor like so
many layers of tissue paper. Thirty volunteers on the repair station had died piloting the unwieldy craft.
Admiral Stanforth had gotten his in. . . but at a tremendous cost.
Keyes brought up the casualty figures and damage estimates on his data pad. He scowled as the data
scrolled across his screen.
The UNSC had lost more than twenty ships, and those that survived had all suffered heavy damage;
most would require months of time-consuming repair at a shipyard. Nearly one thousand people were
killed in the battle, and hundreds more were wounded, many critically. Add to that the sixteen hundred
Marine casualties on the surfacend the three hundred thousand civilians murdered in C矌e dzur at
the hands of the Covenant.
Some in,Keyes thought bitterly.
C矌e dzur was now a smoldering craterut Sigma Octanus IV was still a human-held world. They
had saved everyone else on the planet, nearly thirteen million souls. So perhaps it had been worth it.
So many lives and deaths had been measured in this battle. Had the balance of the odds tipped slightly

against themverything could have been lost. That was something he had never taught any of his
students at the Academyow much victory depended on luck as well as skill.
Captain Keyes saw the last of the Marine dropships returning from the planet surface. They docked with
theLeviathan , and then the huge carrier turned and accelerated out of the system.
ensor sweep complete,Lieutenant Dominique reported. think that was the last of the lifeboats we
picked up, sir.
et make certain, Lieutenant,Keyes replied. ne more pass through the system please. Ensign
Lovell, plot a course and take us around again.
es, sir,Lovell wearily replied.
The bridge crew was exhausted, physically and emotionally. They had all pulled extended shifts as they
searched for survivors. Captain Keyes would rotate shifts after this next pass.
As he looked at this crew he noticed that something was different. Lieutenant Hikowa movements
were crisp and determined, as if everything she did now would decide their next battle; it made a
startling contrast to her normally lethargic efficiency. Lieutenant Hall false exuberance had been
replaced by genuine confidence. Dominique almost seemed happyis hands lightly typing a report to
FLEET- COM. Even Ensign Lovell, despite his exhaustion, stepped lively.
Maybe Admiral Stanforth was right. Maybe the fleet needed this win more than he had realized.
They had beaten the Covenant. Although not widely known, there had been only three small
engagements in which the UNSC fleet had decisively defeated the Covenant. And not since Admiral
Cole had retaken Harvest colony had there been an engagement on this scale. A complete victory
world saved.
It would show everyone that winning was possible, that there was hope.
But, he mused, was there really? They won because they had gotten luckynd had twice as many ships
as the Covenant. And, he suspected, they had beaten the Covenant because the Covenant real objective
hadn been to win.
Naval Intelligence officers had come aboard theIroquois immediately after the battle. They
congratulated Captain Keyes on his performance . . . and then copied and purged every single bit of data
they had intercepted from the Covenant planetside transmission.
Of course, the ONI spooks left without offering any explanation.

Keyes toyed with his pipe, replaying the battle in his mind. No. The Covenant had lost because they
were really after something else on Sigma Octanus IVnd the intercepted message was the key.
ir,Lieutenant Dominique said. ncoming orders from FLEETCOM.
ut it through to my station, Lieutenant,Captain Keyes said as he sat in his command chair. The
computer scanned his retina and fingerprints and then decoded the message. He read on the small
monitor:
United Nations Space Command Priority Transmission 09872H-98
Encryption Code:Red
Public Key:file /lightning-matrix-four/
From:Admiral Michael Stanforth, Commanding Officer, UNSCLeviathan / USNC Sector Three
Commander/ (UNSC Service Number: 00834-19223-HS)
To:Captain Jacob Keyes, Commanding officer UNSCIroquois / (UNSC Service Number: 01928-19912-
JK)
Subject:ORDERS FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION
Classification:SECRET (BGX Directive)
/start file/
Keyes,
Drop whatever youe doing and head back to the barn. Wee both wanted for immediate debriefing by
ONI at REACH Headquarters ASAP.
Looks like the spooks at Naval Intelligence are up to their normal cloak-and-dagger tricks.
Cigars and brandy afterward.
Regards,
Stanforth
ery well,he muttered to himself. ieutenant Dominique: send Admiral Stanforth my compliments.

Ensign Lovell, generate a randomized vector as per the Cole Protocol, and make ready to leave system.
Take us out for an hour in Slipstream space, then wel reorient and proceed to the REACH Military
Instillation.
ye, sir. Randomized jump vector readyur tracks are covered.
ieutenant Hall: start organizing shore leave for the crew. Wee heading back for repairs and some
well-deserved R and R.
men to that,Ensign Lovell said.
That wasn technically in his orders, but Captain Keyes would make sure his crew got the rest they
deserved. That was the least he could do for them.
TheIroquois slowly accelerated on an out-system vector.
Captain Keyes took one long last look at Sigma Octanus IV. The battle was over . . . so why did he feel
like he was headed into another fight?
TheIroquois plowed through a haze of titanium dustondensed from a UNSC battleplate vaporized by
Covenant plasma. The fine particles caught the light from Sigma Octanus and sparkled red and orange,
making it look like the destroyer sailed through an ocean of blood.
When there was time, a HazMat team would sweep the area and clean up. In the meantime, junk
ranging in size from microscopic up to thirty-meter sections ofCradle till drifted in the system.
One piece of debris in particular floated near theIroquois .
It was small, almost indistinguishable from any of a thousand other softball-sized blobs that cluttered
radar scopes and polluted thermal sensors.
If anyone had been looking close enough, however, they would have seen that this particular piece of
metal drifted in the opposite direction from all the other masses nearby. It trailed behind the
acceleratingIroquois . . . and edged closer, moving with purpose.
When it was close enough, it extended tiny electromagnets that guided it to the baffles at the base of
theIroquois number-three engine shield. It blended in perfectly with the other vanadium steel
components.

The object opened a single photo eye and gazed at the stars, collecting data to reference its current
position. It would continue to do this for several days. During that time it would slowly build up a
charge. When it reached critical energy, a tiny sliver of thallium nitride memory crystal would be ejected
at nearly the speed of light, and a minute Slipstream field would generate around it. If its trajectory was
perfect, it would intercept a Covenant receiver located at precise coordinates in the alternate space.
. . . and the tiny automated probe would reveal to the Covenant every place theIroquois had been.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
1100 Hours, August 12, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
Epsilon Eridani System, Reach UNSC Military Complex, planet Reach, Camp Hathcock
The Master Chief steered the Warthog to the fortified gate and ignored the barrel of the chain-gun that
was not quite pointed in his direction. The guard on duty, a Marine Corporal, saluted smartly when John
handed over his identification card.
ir! Welcome to Camp Hathcock,the Corporal said. ollow this road to the inner guardpost and
present your credentials there. Theyl direct you to the main compound.
John nodded. The Warthog tires crunched on gravel as the massive metal gate swung open.
Nestled in the Highland Mountains of Reach northern continent, Camp Hathcock was a top-level
retreat; heads of state, VIPs, and top brass were the facility normal occupantshese and a division of
veteran, battle-hardened Marines.
ir, please follow the Blue Road to this point here,the Corporal at the inner gate instructed, gesturing
at a point on a wall-mounted map, nd park in the VisitorsParking area.
Minutes later, the main facility was in sight. John parked the Warthog and strode across the pleasantly
familiar compound. He and the other Spartans had covertly made their way up here during their training.
John suppressed a smile as he remembered how many times the young Spartans had commandeered
food and supplies from the base. He inhaled deeply, smelling pi隳n pines and sage. He missed this
place. He had been away from REACH for far too long.
Reach was one of the few places that John considered afefrom the Covenant. There were a hundred
ships and twenty Mark V MAC guns on the orbital stations overhead. Those guns were powered by
fusion generators, buried deep within REACH. Each Mark V could propel a projectile so massive, and
with such velocity, he doubted if even Covenant shields could withstand a single salvo from them.
His home would not fall.
Tall fences and razor wire encircled the inner compound of Camp Hathcock. The Master Chief stopped
at the inner gate and saluted the MP there.
The Marine MP looked over the Master Chief in his dress uniform. He snapped to attentionis mouth

dropped open and he stared unblinkingly. heye waiting for you, Master Chief, sir. Please go right on
in.
The guard reaction to the Master Chiefnd the medals on his chestas not uncommon.
First word of the Spartans and their accomplishments had spread despite the cloak of secrecy ONI had
tried to surround them with. Three years ago the information had gone public at Admiral Stanforth
insistenceor morale purposes.
It was hard to mistake the Master Chief for anything other than a Spartan. He stood just over two meters
tall and weighed in at 130 kilos of rock-hard muscle and iron-dense bone.
There was a special insignia on his uniformed as well: a golden eagle poised with its talons forward
ready to strike. The bird clutched a lightning bolt in one talon and three arrows in the other.
The Spartan insignia was not the only thing about his dress uniform that called attention to him.
Campaign ribbons and medals covered the left side. Chief Mendez would have been proud of him, but
John had long ago stopped keeping track of the honors that had been heaped upon him.
He didn like the flashy ornamentation. He and the other Spartans preferred to be inside their MJOLNIR
armor. Without it, he felt exposed somehow, like he left his quarters without his skin. He had grown
used to the enhanced speed and strength, to his thought and actions melding instantaneously.
The Master Chief marched into the main building. Outwardly, it had been designed to look like a simple
log cabin, albeit a large one. Its inner walls were lined with Titanium-A armor plate, and underground
were bunkers and plush conference rooms that extended a hundred meters below the earth and into the
mountain of rock.
He rode the elevator to Subbasement III. There, he was instructed by the Military Police attendant to
wait in the debriefing lounge for the committee to summon him.
Corporal Harland sat in the lounge, reading a copy ofSTARS magazine, nervously tapping his foot. He
immediately stood and saluted as the Master Chief entered the room.
t ease, Corporal,the Master Chief said. He glanced disapprovingly at the thickly padded couches
and decided to stand.
The Corporal stared at the Master Chief uniform, nervous. Finally he straightened and said, ay I ask
you a question, sir?
The Master Chief nodded.

ow do you get to be a Spartan? I mean His gaze fell to the floor. mean, if someone wanted to
join your outfit. How would they do that?
Join? The Master Chief pondered the word. How hadhe joined? Dr. Halsey had picked him and the other
Spartans twenty-five years ago. It had been an honor . . . but he had never actuallyjoined . In fact, he had
never seen any other Spartans other than his class. Once, shortly after he raduatedfrom the
training, he had overheard Dr. Halsey mention that Chief Mendez was training another group of
Spartans. He had never seen themr the Chief.
ou don join,he finally told the Corporal. ou are selected.
see,Corporal Harland said, and wrinkled his brow. ell, sir, if anyone ever asks, tell them to sign
me up.
The Military Police attendant appeared. orporal Harland? Theye ready for you now.A set of
double doors opened on the far wall. Harland gave John another salute, and nodded.
As the Corporal got up and strode toward the doors, he passed an older man on his way out. He wore the
uniform of a UNSC Naval officer, a Captain. John sized the man up quicklyolished shoulder
insignia, new material. The man was a newly ordained Captain.
John stood at attention and snapped a precision salute. fficer on the deck,John barked.
The Captain paused, and looked John up and down. There was a glint of amusement in his eyes as he
returned the salute. s you were, Master Chief.
John stood at ease. The Captain nameeyes, J.as embroidered on the dress-gray tunic. John
recognized the name immediately: Captain Keyes, the hero of Sigma Octanus.At least, he thought,one of
the surviving heroes.
Keyes glanced at the Master Chief uniform. His eyes lingered on the Spartan insignia, and then on the
Master Chief serial-number tag just under the stripes of his rank emblem. A faint smile appeared on
the Captain face. t good to see you again, Chief.
ir?The Master Chief had never met Captain Keyes. He had heard of his tactical brilliance at Sigma
Octanus, but he had never met the man face-to-face.
e met a very long time ago. Dr. Halsey and I He stopped. ell. I not allowed to talk about it.
f course, sir. I understand.

The Military Police attendant appeared in the hallway. aptain Keyes, youe wanted topside by
Admiral Stanforth.
The Captain nodded to the attendant. n a moment,he said. He stepped closer to the Master Chief and
whispered, e careful in there. The ONI brass are He searched for the right word. irritated by
the end results of our encounter with the Covenant at Sigma Octanus. I keep my head down in there.
He glanced back toward the debriefing-chamber doors.
rritated, sir?John asked, genuinely puzzled. He would have thought the UNSC top brass would be
elated by the victory, despite its cost. ut we won.
Captain Keyes took a step back and cocked a quizzical eyebrow. idn Dr. Halsey ever teach you that
winning isn everything, Master Chief?He saluted. oul excuse me.
John saluted. He was so confused by Captain Keyesstatement that he kept saluting as the Captain
walked out of the room.
Winningwas everything. How could someone with Captain Keyesreputation think otherwise?
The Master Chief tried to recall if he had ever read anything like that in any military history or
philosophy texts. What else was there other than winning? The only other obvious choice was losing . . .
and he had long been taught that defeat was an unacceptable alternative. Certainly, Captain Keyes didn
mean that they should havelost at Sigma Octanus?
Unthinkable.
He stood silently for ten minutes mulling this over. Finally the Military Police attendant entered the
waiting room. heye ready for you now, sir.
The double doors opened and Corporal Harland came out. The young man eyes were glazed and he
trembled slightly. He looked worse than he had looked when the Master Chief had found him on Sigma
Octanus IV.
The Master Chief gave a curt nod to the Corporal and then entered the debriefing chamber. The doors
closed behind him.
His eyes instantly adjusted to the dark room. A large, curved desk dominated the far end of the
rectangular room. A domed ceiling curved over his head, cameras, microphone, and speakers positioned
like constellations.
A spotlight snapped on and tracked the Master Chief as he approached the desk.

A dozen men and women in Navy uniforms sat in the shadows. Even with his enhanced eyesight, the
Master Chief could barely make out their scowling features and the glistening brass oak leaves and stars
through the glare of the overhead light.
He stood at attention and saluted.
The debriefing panel ignored the Master Chief and spoke among themselves.
he transmission that Keyes intercepted only makes sense translated this way,a man in the shadows
said. A holotank hummed into operation. Tiny geometric symbols danced in the air above it: squares,
triangles, bars, and dots.
To the Master Chief, they looked like either Morse code or ancient Aztec hieroglyphics.
will concede that point,a woman voice in the darkness replied. ut translation software comes up
empty. It not a new Covenant dialect that wee discovered.
r a Covenant dialect at all,someone else said.
Finally one of the officers deigned to notice the Master Chief. t ease, soldier,he said.
The Master Chief let his arm fall. partan 117, reporting as ordered, sirs.
There was a pause, then the woman voice spoke up, e would like to congratulate you on your
successful mission, Master Chief. Youe certainly given us plenty to consider. We would like to pin
down a few details of your mission.
There was something in her voice that made John nervous. Not scared. But it was the same feeling he
had going into combat. The same feeling he got when bullets started flying.
oudo know, Master Chief,the first male voice said, hat not answering truthfullyr omitting any
relevant details will lead to a court-martial?
John bristled. As if he could ever forget his duty. will answer to the best of my abilities, sir,he
replied stiffly.
The holotank hummed again and images from a Spartan helmet recorder sprang into view. John noted
the camera IDt was his own. The images blurred forward, then stopped. A three-dimensional image
of the floating creatures he had seen in C矌e dzur hung in the air, motionless.
layback, loop bookmarks one through nine, please,the woman voice called out.

Instantly, the holographic image animatedhe alien quickly took apart and then reassembled a car
electric motor.
his creature,she continued. uring the mission, did you see any other Covenant speciesrunts or
Jackalsnteract with them?
o, mam. As far as I could see, they were left alone.
nd this one,she said. The image changed to his firefight with the gigantic armored aliens. t any
time did you see these things interact with the other Covenant species?
o, mam The Master Chief reconsidered. ell, in a manner of speaking, yes. If you could
review the recording at time minus two minutes from this frame, please.
The holo paused and then blurred backward.
here,he said. The video played forward as the Master Chief and Fred examined the crushed Jackal in
the museum.
hat impression in this Jackal back,he said. believe it is the armored alien bootprint.
hat do you mean, son?a new man asked. His voice was older and rough.
can only offer my opinion, sir. I am not a scientist.
ffer it, Master Chief,the same scratchy voice said. , for one, would be very interested to hear what
someone with firsthandexperience has to say . . . for a change.
There was a rustle of papers in the shadows, then silence.
ell, sirt looks to me like this Jackal simply got in the larger creature way. There no attempt to
move it, and no deviation in the path of the following footfalls. It simply walked over the smaller alien.
vidence of a hierarchical caste structure perhaps?the old man murmured.
et move on,the woman again spoke, her voice now laced with irritation.
The holo image changed yet again. A stone object appearedhe rock the Master Chief recovered from
the museum.

his stone,she said, s a typical igneous granite specimen but with an unusual concentration of
aluminum oxide inclusionspecifically rubies. It is a match for the mineral specimens recovered from
grid thirteen by twenty-four.
aster Chief,she said, ou recovered this rock She paused. rom an optical scanner. Is that
correct?
es, mam. The aliens had placed the rock in a red metallic box. Visible spectrum lasers were
scanning the specimen.
nd the infrared pulse laser transmitter was hooked up to this scanner?she asked. ou are certain?
bsolutely, mam. My thermal imagers caught a fraction of the transmission scattered by the ambient
dust.
The woman continued. he rock sample is roughly pyramidal. The inclusions in the igneous matrix are
unusual in that all possible crystalline morphologies for corundum are present: bipyramidal, prismatic,
tabular, and rhombohedral. Scanning from the tip to the base with neutron imagers, we produce the
following pattern.
Again, a series of squares, triangles, bars and dots appeared on the view screenymbols that again
reminded John of Aztec writing.
D嶴had taught the Spartans about the Aztecsow Cort廥 with superior tactics and technology had
nearly obliterated an entire race. Was the same thing happening between the Covenant and humans?
ow, then,the first male voice interjected, his business with the detonation of a HAVOK tactical
nuclear device . . . do you realize that any additional evidence of Covenant activity on C矌e dzur has
been effectively erased? Do you know what opportunities have been lost, soldier?
had extremely specific orders, sir,the Master Chief said without hesitating. rders that came
directly from NavSpecWep, Section Three.
ection Three,the woman muttered, hich is ONI . . . it figures.
The old man in the darkness chuckled. The faint glow of a cigar tip flared near his voice, then faded.
re you insinuating, Master Chief,the older man said, hat the destruction of all this vidence,as
my colleges would call it, happened becausethey ordered it?
There was no good answer to that question. Whatever the Master Chief said was sure to irritate someone
here.

o, sir. I am simply stating that the destructionf anything, including any videnceis a direct
result of the detonation of a nuclear weapon. In full compliance with my orders. Sir.
The first man whispered, esus . . . what do you expect from one of Dr. Halsey windup toy soldiers?
hat quite enough, Colonel!the older man snapped. his man has earned the right to some
courtesy . . . even from you.
The older man lowered his voice. aster Chief, thank you. Wee finished here, I think. We may wish
to recall you later . . . but for now, you are dismissed. You are to treat all information you have heard or
seen at this debriefing as classified.
es, sir!
The Master Chief saluted, spun on his heel, and marched to the exit.
The double doors opened and then sealed behind him. He exhaled. It felt like he was being evac from
the battlefield. He reminded himself that these last few steps were often the most dangerous.
hope they treated you well . . . or at least decently.
Dr. Halsey sat in an overstuffed chair. She wore a long gray skirt that matched her hair. She rose and
took his hand and gave it a small squeeze.
The Master Chief snapped to attention. am, a pleasure to see you again.
ow are you, Master Chief?she asked. She stared pointedly at the hand pressed to his forehead in a
tight salute. Slowly, he dropped his hand.
She smiled. Unlike everyone else, who greeted the Master Chief and stared at his uniform, medals,
ribbons, or the Spartan insignia, Dr. Halsey stared into his eyes. And she never saluted. John had never
gotten used to that.
fine, mam,he said. e won at Sigma Octanus. It was good to have a complete victory.
ndeed it was.She paused and glanced about. ow would you like to have another victory?she
whispered. he biggest wee ever had?
f course, mam,he said with no hesitation.
was counting on you to say that, Master Chief. Wel be speaking soon.She turned to the Military

Police attendant waiting at the entrance to the lounge. pen these damn doors, soldier. Let get this
over with.
es, mam,the MP said.
The doors swung inward.
She stopped and said to the Master Chief, l be speaking to you and the other Spartans, soon.She
then entered the darkened chamber and the doors sealed behind her.
The Master Chief forgot about the debriefing and Captain Keyespuzzling question about not winning.
If Dr. Halsey had a mission for him and his team, it would be a good one. She had given him everything:
duty, honor, purpose, and a destiny to protect humanity.
John hoped she would give him one more thing: a way to win the war.

SECTION IV
MJOLNIR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
0915 Hours, August 25, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
Epsilon Eridani System, Reach UNSC Military Complex, planet Reach, Omega Wingection
Three secure facility
ood morning, Dr. Halsey,D嶴said. oue fourteen point three minutes late this morning.
lame security, D嶴Dr. Halsey replied, gesturing absently at the AI holographic projection
floating above her desk. NI precautions here are becoming increasingly ridiculous.
Dr. Halsey threw her coat over the back of an antique armchair before settling behind her desk. She
sighed, and for the thousandth time, wished she had a window.
The private office was located deep underground, inside the mega Wingof the super-secure ONI
facility, codenamed simply CASTLE.
Castle was a massive complex, two thousand meters below the granite protection of the Highland
Mountainsombproof, well defended, and impenetrable.
The security had its drawbacks, she was forced to admit. Every morning she descended into the secret
labyrinth, passed through a dozen security checkpoints, and submitted to a barrage of retina, voice,
fingerprint, and brainwave ID scans.
ONI had buried her here years ago when her funding had been shunted to higher profile projects. All
other personnel had been transferred to other operations, and her access to classified materials had been
severely restricted. Even shadowy ONI was squeamish about her experiments.
That all changedhanks to the Covenant, she thought. The SPARTAN projectnpopular with the
Admiralty, and the scientific communityad proven most effective. Her Spartans had proven
themselves time after time in countless ground engagements.

When the Spartans started racking up successes, the Admiralty reticence vanished. Her meager budget
had mushroomed overnight. They had offered her a corner office in the prestigious Olympic Tower at
FLEETCOM HQ.
She had, of course, declined. Now the brass and VIPs that wanted to see her had to spend half the day
just getting through the security barriers to her lair. She relished the ironyer banishment had become
a bureaucratic weapon.
But none of that really mattered. It was just a means to an end for Dr. Halsey . . . a means to getting
Project MJOLNIR back on track.
She reached for her coffee cup and knocked a stack of papers off her desk. They fell, scattered onto the
floor, and she didn bother to retrieve them. She examined the mud-brown dregs in the bottom of the
mug; it was several days old.
The office of the most important scientist in the military was not the antiseptic clean-room environment
most people expected. Classified files and papers littered the floor. The holographic projector overhead
painted the ceiling with a field of stars. Rich maple paneling covered the walls and hanging there were
framed photographs of her SPARTAN IIs, receiving awards, and the plethora of articles about them that
appeared when the Admiralty had made the project public three years ago.
They had been called the UNSC uper soldiers.The military brass had assured her that the boost to
morale was worth the compromised security.
At first she had protested. But ironically, the publicity had proved convenient. With all the attention on
the Spartansheroics, no one had thought to question their true purposer their origin. If the truth ever
came to lightbducted children, replaced by fast-grown clones; the risky, experimental surgeries and
biochemical augmentationsublic opinion would turn against the SPARTAN project overnight.
The recent events at Sigma Octanus had given the Spartans and MJOLNIR the final push it needed to
enter its final operational phase.
She slipped on her glasses and called up the files from yesterday debriefing; the ONI computer system
once again confirmed her retinal scan and voiceprint.
IDENTITY CONFIRMED. UNAUTHORIZED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT DETECTED.
ACCESS DENIED.
Damn. ONI grew more paranoid by the day.
嶴she said with a frustrated sigh. he spooks are nervous. I need to power you down, or ONI
won give me access to the files.

f course, Doctor,D嶴replied calmly.
Halsey keyed the power-down sequence on her desktop terminal, sending D嶴into standby mode. This,
she thought, is Ackerson work, the bastard. She had fought tooth and nail to keep D嶴free from the
programming shackles ONI demanded . . . and this was their petty revenge.
She scowled impatiently until the computer system finally spit out the data she requested. The tiny
projectors in the frames of her glasses beamed the data directly to her retina.
Her eyes darted back and forth rapidly, as if she had entered REM sleep, as she scanned the
documentation from the debriefing. Finally she removed her glasses and tossed them carelessly on the
desk, a sardonic smirk on her face.
The overarching conclusion of the finest military experts on the debriefing committee: ONI didn have
a clue as to what the Covenant were doing on Sigma Octanus IV.
They had learned only four solid facts from the entire operation. First, the Covenant had gone to
considerable trouble to obtain a single mineral specimen. Second, the pattern of inclusions in that
igneous rock sample matched the signal that had been sentnd intercepted by theIroquois . Third, the
low entropy of the pattern indicated that it was not random. And fourth, and most important, UNSC
translation software couldn match this pattern to any known Covenant dialect.
Her personal conclusions? Either the alien artifact was from a precursor to the present Covenant
society . . . or it was from another, as yet undiscovered, alien culture.
When she had dropped that little bombshell of a speculation in the debriefing room yesterday, the ONI
specialists had gone scrambling for cover. Especially that arrogant ass, Colonel Ackerson, she thought
with a cruel smile.
The brass was not happy with either possibility. If it was old Covenant technology, it indicated they still
knew virtually nothing about the Covenant culture. Twenty years of intensive study and trillions of
dollars of research and they barely even understood the alien caste system.
And if it was the latter possibility, an artifact of another alien race . . . that could be even more
problematic. Colonel Ackerson and some of the brass had immediately considered the logistics of
fighting two alien enemies at once. Utterly ridiculous. They couldn even fight one. The UNSC could
never hope to survive a war on two fronts.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. Despite the grim conclusions, there was a silver lining in all this.
After the meeting, a new mandate had become the official secret policy of Fleet Command Special

Operations Commandhe parent organization for Naval Special Warfare, the Spartansservice branch.
ONI had new marching orders: to step up funding of Intel and reconnaissance missions by an order of
magnitude. Small stealth ships were to be deployed to search remote systems and find where the
Covenant were based.
And Dr. Halsey had finally received the green light to unleash MJOLNIR.
She had mixed feelings about it. The truth be told, she always had.
It would be the culmination of her life greatest work. She knew the risksike spinning a roulette
wheel, it was long odds, but the payoff was potentially huge.
It meant victory against the Covenant . . . or the death of all her Spartans.
The holographic crystals overhead warmed and Cortana appeared, sitting cross-legged on Dr. Halsey
deskctually she sat hovering a centimeter off the table edge.
Cortana was slender. The hue of her skin varied from navy blue to lavender, depending on her mood and
the ambient lighting. Her airwas cropped short. Her face had a hard angular beauty. Lines of code
flickered up and down her luminous body. And if Dr. Halsey viewed her from the right angle, she could
catch a glimpse of the skeletal structure inside her ghostly form.
ood morning, Dr. Halsey,Cortana said. e read the committee report
which was classified as Top Secret, Eyes Only.
mm . . . Cortana mused. must have overlooked that.She hopped off the desk and circled around
Dr. Halsey once.
Cortana had been programmed with ONI best insurgency software, as well as the determination to use
those code-cracking skills. While this had been necessary for her mission, when she grew bored, she
caused chaos with ONI own security measures . . . and she often grew bored.
assume you have examined the classified data brought back from Sigma Octanus Four?Halsey asked.
might have seen that somewhere,Cortana said matter-of-factly.
our analysis and conclusions?
here is much more evidence to consider than the data in the committee files.She looked off into
space as if reading something.

h?
orty years ago a geological survey team on Sigma Octanus Four found several igneous rocks with
similarhough not identicalnomalous compositions. UNSC geologists believe that these samples
were introduced onto the planet via meteorite impactshey typically are found in long-eroded impact
craters on the planet surface. Isotopic dating of the site place those impact craters at present minus sixty
thousand years Cortana paused as a hint of a smile played across her holographic features. though
that figure may be inaccurate due to human error, of course.
f course,Dr. Halsey replied dryly.
have also, um . . . coordinated with UNSC astrophysics department and discovered some interesting
bits archived in their long-range observational databases. There is a black hole located approximately
forty thousand light-years from the Sigma Octanus System. An extremely powerful pulse-laser
transmission back-scattered the matter in the accretion diskssentially trapped this signal as this
matter accelerated toward the speed of light. From our perspective, according to special relativity, this
essentially froze the residue of this information on the event horizon.
l take your word for it,Dr. Halsey said.
his rozen signalcontains information that matches the sample from Sigma Octanus Four.Cortana
sighed and her shoulders slumped. nfortunately, all my attempts at translating the code have failed . . .
so far.
our conclusions, Cortana?Dr. Halsey reminded her.
nsufficient data for complete analysis, Doctor.
ypothesize.
Cortana bit her lower lip. here are two possibilities. The data originates from the Covenant or another
alien race.She frowned. f it another alien species, the Covenant probably wants these artifacts to
scavenge their technology. Either conclusion opens several new opportunities for the NavSpecWep
am aware of that,Dr. Halsey said, raising her hand. If she allowed the AI to continue, Cortana would
talk all day. ne of those opportunities is Project MJOLNIR.
Cortana spun around and her eyes widened. hey approved the final phase?
s it possible, Cortana,Dr. Halsey replied, amused, hat I know something you don?

Cortana wrinkled her brow in frustration, then smoothed her features to their normal placid state.
suppose that is a remote possibility. If you like, I can calculate those odds.
o, thank you, Cortana,Halsey replied.
Cortana reminded Dr. Halsey of herself when she had been an adolescent: smarter than her parents,
always reading, talking, learning, and eager to share her knowledge with anyone who would listen.
Of course, there was a very good reason why Cortana reminded Dr. Halsey of herself.
Cortana was a martAI, an advanced artificial construct. Actually, the termssmart anddumb as applied
to AIs, were misleading; all AIs were extraordinarily intelligent. But Cortana was special.
So-called dumb AIs were engineered to function only were misleading; within set limits of their
dynamic memory-processing matrix. They were brilliant within their fields of expertise, but were
lacking in reativity.D嶴 for example, was a umbAIncredibly useful, but limited.
Smart AIs like Cortana, however, had no limits on their dynamic memory-processor matrix. Knowledge
and creativity could grow unchecked.
She would pay a price for her genius, however. Such growth eventually led to self-interference. Cortana
would one day literally start thinking too much at the expense of her normal functions. It was as if a
human were to think with so much of his brain that he stopped sending impulses to his heart and lungs.
Like all the other smart AIs that Dr. Halsey had worked with over the years, Cortana would effectively
ieafter an operational life of seven years.
But Cortana mind was unique among all the other AIs Dr. Halsey had encountered. An AI matrix
was created by sending electrical bursts through the neural pathways of a human brain. Those pathways
were then replicated in a superconducting nano-assemblage. The technique destroyed the original human
tissue, so they could only be obtained from a suitable candidate that had already died. Cortana, however,
had to have the best mind available. The success of her mission and the lives of the Spartans would
depend on it.
At Dr. Halsey insistence, ONI had arranged to have her own brain carefully cloned and her memories
flash-transferred to the receptacle organs. Only one of the twenty cloned brains survived the process.
Cortana had literally sprung from Dr. Halsey mind, like Athena from the head of Zeus.
So, in a way, Cortanawas Dr. Halsey.
Cortana straightened, her face eager. hen does the MJOLNIR armor become fully operational. When
do I go?

oon. There are a few final modifications that need to be made in the systems.
Cortana leaped to her eet,turned her back to Dr. Halsey, and examined the photographs on the wall.
She brushed her fingertips over the glass surfaces. hich one will be mine?
hich one do you want?
She immediately gravitated to the picture in the center of Dr. Halsey collection. It showed a handsome
man standing at attention as Admiral Stanforth pinned the UNSC Legion of Honor upon his chest
chest that already overflowed with citations.
Cortana framed her fingers around the man face. e so serious,she murmured. houghtful eyes,
though. Attractive in a primitive animal sort of way, don you think, Doctor?
Dr. Halsey blushed. Apparently, shedid think so. Cortana thoughts mirrored many of her own, only
unchecked by normal military and social protocol.
erhaps it would be best if you picked another
Cortana turned to face Dr. Halsey and cocked an eyebrow, mock stern. ouasked me which one I
wanted. . . .
t was a question, Cortana. I did not give you carte blanche to select your arrier.There are
compatibility issues to consider.
Cortana blinked. is neural patterns are in sync with my mine within two percent. With the new
interface wel be installing, that should fall well within tolerable limits. In fact Her gaze drifted and
the symbols along her body brightened and flashed. I have just developed a custom interface buffer
that will match us within zero point zero eight one percent. You won find a better match among the
others.
n fact,she added coyly, can guarantee it.
see,Dr. Halsey said. She pushed away from her desk, stood, and paced.
Why was she hesitating? The matchwas superb. But was Cortana predilection for Spartan 117 a result
of him being Dr. Halsey favorite? And did it matter? Who better to protect him?
Dr. Halsey walked over to the picture. e was awarded this Legion of Honor medallion because he
dove into a bunker of Covenant soldiers. He took out twenty by himself and saved a platoon of Marines

who were pinned down by a stationary energy weapon emplacement. Ie read the report, but I still
not sure how he managed to do it.
She turned to Cortana and stared into her odd translucent eyes. oue read his CSV?
reading it again right now.
hen you know he is neither the smartest nor the fastest nor the strongest of the Spartans. But he is the
bravestnd quite possibly the luckiest. And in my opinion, he is the best.
es,Cortana whispered. concur with your analysis, Doctor.She drifted closer.
ould you sacrifice him if you had to? If it meant completing the mission?Dr. Halsey asked quietly.
ould you watch him die?
Cortana halted and the processing symbols racing across her skin froze midcalculation.
y priority Alpha order is to complete this mission,she replied emotionlessly. he Spartanssafety
as well as mine is a Beta-level priority command.
ood.Dr. Halsey returned to her desk and sat down. hen you can have him.
Cortana smiled and blazed with brilliant electricity.
ow,Dr. Halsey said, and tapped on her desk to regain Cortana attention. how me your pick of
our ship candidates for the mission.
Cortana opened her hand. In her palm there was a tiny model of a Halcyon-class UNSC cruiser.
hePillar of Autumn,Cortana said.
Dr. Halsey leaned back and crossed her arms. Modern USNC cruisers were rare in the fleet. Only a
handful of the impressive warships remained . . . and those were being pulled back to bolster the defense
of the Inner Colonies. This junk-heap, however, was not one of these ships.
hePillar of Autumn is forty-three years old,Cortana said. alcyon-class ships were the smallest
vessel ever to receive the cruiser designation. It is approximately one-third the tonnage of the Marathonclass
cruiser currently in service.
alcyon-class ships were pulled from long-term storagehey were designated to be scrapped, in fact.
TheAutumn was refit in 2550, to serve in the current conflict near Zeta Doradus. Their Mark Two fusion

engines supply a tenth of the power of modern reactors. Their armor is light by current standards.
Weapon refits have upgraded their offensive capabilities with a single Magnetic Acceleration Cannon
and six Archer missile pods.
he only noteworthy design feature of this ship is the frame.Cortana reached down and pulled off the
skin of the holographic model as if it were a glove. he structural system was designed by a Dr. Robert
McLeesofounder of the Reyes-McLees Shipyards over Marsn 2510. It was, at the time, deemed
unnecessarily overmassed and costly due to series of cross-bracings and interstitial honeycombs. The
design was subsequently dropped from all further production models. Halcyon-class ships, however,
have a reputation for being virtually indestructible. Reports indicate these ships being operational even
after sustaining breaches to all compartments and losing ninety percent of their armor.
heir duty record?Dr. Halsey asked.
ubstandard,Cortana replied. hey are slow and ineffective in offensive combat. They are somewhat
of a joke within the fleet.
erfect,Dr. Halsey said. concur with your final selection recommendation. We will start the refit
operations at once.
ll we need now,Cortana said, s a Captain and crew.
h yes, the Captain.Dr. Halsey slid on her glasses. have the perfect man for the job. He a tactical
genius. Il forward you his CSV, and you can see for yourself.She transferred the file to Cortana.
Cortana smiled, but it quickly faded. is maneuvers at Sigma Octanus Four were performed without an
onboard AI?
is ship left dock without an AI for technical reasons. I believe he has no compunctions about working
with computers. In fact, it was one of the first refit requests he put in for theIroquois .
Cortana did not look convinced.
esides, he has the most important qualification for this job,Dr. Halsey said. he man can keep a
secret.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
0800 Hours, August 27, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
Epsilon Eridani System, FLEETCOM Military Complex, planet Reach
This was the third time John had been in this highly secure briefing room on Reach. The amphitheater
had an aura of secrecy, as if matters of grave importance had regularly been discussed within its circular
wall. Certainly, every time he had been here, his life had changed.
His first time was his indoctrination into the Spartans lifetime ago. He recalled with a start how
young Dr. Halsey had looked then. The second time was when he graduated from the Spartan program,
when he had last seen Chief Mendez. He had sat on the bench next to himhere the Chief was sitting
now.
And today? He had a feeling that everything was about to change all over again.
Clustered around him were two dozen Spartans: Fred, Linda, Joshua, James, and many others he had not
spoken to for years; constant battle had kept the tight-knit Spartans light-years apart for more than a
decade. Dr. Halsey and Captain Keyes entered the chamber.
The Spartans stood at attention and saluted. Keyes returned their salute. t ease,he said. He escorted
Dr. Halsey to the center stage. He sat while she stood at the podium.
ood evening, Spartans,she said. lease take your seats.
As one, they sat down.
ssembled here tonight,she said, re all surviving Spartans save three, who are otherwise engaged
on fields of combat too distant to be easily recalled. In the last decade of combat there have only been
three KIAs and one Spartan too wounded to continue active duty. You are to be commended for having
the best operational record of any unit in the fleet.She paused to look at them. t is very good to see
you all again.
She slipped on her glasses. dmiral Stanforth has asked me to brief you on the upcoming mission. Due
to its complexity and unusual nature, please disregard your normal protocol and ask any questions you
have during my presentation. Now, on to the business at hand: the Covenant.
Holographic projectors overhead warmed and sleek Covenant corvettes, frigates, and destroyers

appeared in a neat row on Dr. Halsey left. On her right were a collection of Covenant species, roughly
one-third their normal size. There was a Grunt, a Jackal, the floating, tentacled creature John had seen on
Sigma Octanus IV, as well as the heavily armored behemoths he and his team had bested.
A spike of adrenaline burned through the Master Chief at the sight of the enemy. Intellectually, he knew
that the images were not real . . . but after a decade of fighting, his instincts were to kill first and get the
details later.
he Covenant are still largely unknown to us,Dr. Halsey began. heir motivations and thought
processes remain a mysteryhough our best analysis points to some compelling hypotheses.
She paused, and added, he following information is, naturally, classified.
e know that the Covenantur translation of their name for themselvesre a conglomerate of a
number of different alien species. We believe that they exist in some kind of caste structure, though to
date the exact nature of that structure remains unknown. Our best guess is that the Covenant conquer and
bsorba species, and adapt its strengths into their own.
he Covenant science is imitative rather then innovative, a by-product of this societal bsorption,
Dr. Halsey continued. his is not to say that they are lacking intelligence, however. During our first
encounter they gathered computer and network components from our destroyed ships . . . and they
learned at an astonishing pace.
y the time Admiral Cole fleet arrived at Harvest, the Covenant initiated a communications link and
attempted a primitive software infiltration of our ship AIs. In a matter of weeks, they had learned the
rudiments of our computer systems and our language. Our own attempts to decipher Covenant computer
systems have only been partially successful, despite our best efforts and decades of time.
ince then they have made increasingly successful forays into our computer networks. That is why the
Cole Protocol is so important and carries the punishment of treason for failure to comply. The Covenant
may one day not need to capture a ship to steal the information within its navigational databanks.
The Master Chief stole a glance at Captain Keyes. The Captain cupped an antique pipe in one hand; the
Navy officer puffed on it once, and stared thoughtfully at Dr. Halsey and the examples of the Covenant
vessels. He slowly shook his head.
s I stated earlier,Dr. Halsey continued, he Covenant are a collection of genetically distinct groups
in what we believe is a rigid caste system.She waved toward the Grunts and Jackals. hese are most
likely part of their military or warrior casteot the highest ranking caste, either, given how many are
sacrificed during ground operations. We believe there is a aceof field commanders, which we are
currently calling lites.

She stepped toward the floating, tentacular aliens. e believe these are their scientists.As she moved
closer, the figure animated; the image showed the creature disassembling an electric car of human
manufacture. John instantly recognized his own battlefield recording.
She pointed to the giant armored creatures. his was recorded on Sigma Octanus Four. A heavily
armored warrior superior to either Grunts or Jackals.The massive aliens also sprang into motion,
lumbering into combat, until Dr. Halsey froze the images in place.
She turned and strolled back to the podium. NI hypothesizes at least two additional castes. A warrior
capable of commanding ground forces and possibly piloting their ships, and a leadership caste. We have
deciphered a handful of Covenant transmissions that refer to She paused, checking notes on the data
screen in her glasses. Ah, yes. rophets.We believe that these Prophets are in fact the leadership
caste, and that they are viewed by the Covenant rank and file with an almost religious reverence.
Dr. Halsey removed her glasses. his is where you come in. Your mission will involve these so-called
Prophets, and will be executed in four phases.
hase one. You will engage the Covenant and sufficiently disable, but not destroy, one of their ships.
She turned to face Captain Keyes. leave that in the capable hands of Captain Keyes and his newly
refitted ship, thePillar of Autumn .
Captain Keyes acknowledged her compliment with a curt nod. He tapped the stem of his pipe on his lips
thoughtfully.
The Master Chief was unaware of any Covenant ship ever being captured. He had read the reports of
Captain Keyesactions at Sigma Octanus IV . . . and considered the odds of actually capturing a
Covenant vessel. Even for a Spartan, it would be a difficult mission.
hase two,Dr. Halsey said. partans will board the disabled Covenant shipeutralize the crew, and
crack their navigation database. We will do precisely what they have been trying to do to us: find the
location of their home world.
The Master Chief raised his hand.
es, Master Chief?
am. We will be given mission specialist personnel to access the Covenant computers?
n a manner of speaking,she said, and looked away. will come to that point in a moment. Let me
assure you, however, that these specialists will cause you no serious complications during this phase. In
fact, they will prove rather useful in combat. Shortly, you shall have a demonstration.

Like Captain Keyesstatement that winning wasn everything . . . Dr. Halsey reply was another
puzzle. How would such computer specialists not be a liability to the Spartans in combat? Even if they
could fight, it was unlikely they be anything but weak links in combat. If they couldn fight, the
Spartans would be forced to baby-sit a vulnerable package in a hot combat zone.
hase three,Dr. Halsey said, ill consist of taking the captured Covenant ship to their homeworld.
Several questions immediately formed in the Master Chief mind. Who would pilot the alien ship? Had
any one ever deciphered the Covenant control systems? It seemed unlikely since the UNSC had never
captured one of their ships before. Were there Covenant recognition signals that had to be sent when
entering their space? Or would they just steal their way in-system?
When a plan had so many missing pieces of data, the Spartans had been trained to stop and reconsider its
effectiveness. Unanswered questions led to complicationssnags.And snags led to injuries, death,
and failed missions. Simple was better.
He held his questions, though. Dr. Halsey surely would have planned for these eventualities.
hase four,she continued, ill be to infiltrate and capture the Covenant leadership and return with
them to UNSC-controlled space.
The Master Chief shifted uneasily. There was no intel or reconnaissance of Covenant-held space. What
did a Covenant leader Prophetven look like?
Chief Mendez had told him to trust Dr. Halsey. The Master Chief decided to hear all the details before
he asked any further questions. To do so might undermine her authority. And that the last thing he
needed the other Spartans to see.
And yet, there was one thing hehad to clarify. The Master Chief raised his hand again.
She nodded toward him.
r. Halsey,he said, ou did say apturethe Covenant leadersot eliminate them?
orrect,she replied. ur profile of Covenant society indicates that if you were to kill one of their
leader caste, this war could actually escalate. Your orders are to preserve any captured Covenant leaders
at all costs. You will bring them back to UNSC headquarters, where we will then use them to broker a
truce, possibly even negotiate a peace treaty with the Covenant.
Peace? The Master Chief considered the unfamiliar word. Was that what Captain Keyes had meant? The
alternative to winning wasn necessarily losing. If you chose not to play a game, then there could be

neither winning nor losing.
Dr. Halsey took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. ome of you already suspect this, but I shall state it
anyway for emphasis. It is my opinion, and that of many others, that the war is not going well . . .
despite our recent victories. What is not widely known is how badly it is going for us. ONI predicts that
we have months, perhaps as much as a standard year, before the Covenant locates and destroys our
remaining Inner Colonies . . . and then moves against Earth.
The Master Chief had heard the rumorsnd promptly dismissed themut to hear the words from
someone he trusted chilled him to the core.
our mission will prevent this,Dr. Halsey said. She stopped and frowned, lowered her head, then
finally looked up at them again. his op is considered extremely high risk. There are unknown
elements involved and we simply do not have the time to gather the required intelligence. I have
persuaded FLEETCOM not to order you on this mission. Admiral Stanforth is asking for volunteers.
The Master Chief understood. Dr. Halsey was unsure if she would be spending their lives or wasting
them on this mission.
He stood without hesitationnd as he did so, the rest of the Spartans stood as well.
ood,she said. She paused and blinked several times. ery good. Thank you.
She stepped away from the podium. e will meet with you individually within a few days to continue
your briefing. I will show you how you will get our computer experts on board the Covenant vessel . . .
and I will show you the one thing that will let you get through this mission in one piece: MJOLNIR.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
0600 Hours, August 29, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
Epsilon Eridani System, UNSC Military Reservation
01478-B, planet Reach
The firing range was uncharacteristically quiet. Normally, the air would be filled with noisehe sharp,
staccato crackle of automatic-weapons fire; the urgent yells of soldiers practicing combat operations;
and the barked, curse-laden orders of drill instructors. John frowned as he guided the Warthog to the
security checkpoint.
The silence on the combat range was somehow unsettling.
Even more unsettling were the extra security personnel; today, there were three times the normal number
of MPs patrolling the gate.
John parked the Warthog and was approached by a trio of MPs. tate your business here, sir,the lead
MP demanded.
Without a word, John handed over his papersrders direct from the top brass. The MP visibly
stiffened. ir, my apologies. Dr. Halsey and the others are waiting for you at the P and R area.
The guard saluted, and waved the gate open.
On survey maps, the combat training range was listed as NSC Military Reservation 01478-B.The
soldiers who trained there had a different name for itPainland.John knew the facility well; a great
deal of the Spartansearly training had taken place there.
The range was divided into three areas: a live-fire obstacle course; a target practice range; and the P&R
Prep and Recoveryareahich more often than not doubled as an emergency first-aid station.
John had spent plenty of time in the aid station during his training.
The Master Chief walked briskly to the prefabricated structure. Another pair of MPs, MA5B assault
rifles at the ready, double-checked his credentials before they admitted him to the building.
h, here at last,said an unfamiliar voice. et go, son, on the double, if you please.
John paused; the speaker was an older man, at least in his sixties, in the coveralls and lab coat of a ship

doctor. No rank insignia, though, John thought with a twinge of concern. For a moment, the image of his
fellow Spartansery young, and clubbing, kicking, and beating un-uniformed instructors into
unconsciousness flashed into his memory with crystal clarity.
ho are you, sir?he asked, his voice cautious.
a Captain in the UNSC Navy, son,the man said with a thin-lipped smile, nd Ie no time for
spit and polish today. Let go.
A Captainnd new orders. Good. es, sir.
The Captain in the lab coat escorted him into the P&R medical bay. ndress, please,the man said.
John quickly disrobed, then stacked his neatly folded uniform on a nearby gurney. The Captain stepped
behind him and began to swab John neck and the back of his head with a foul-smelling liquid. The
liquid felt ice-cold on his skin.
A moment later, Dr. Halsey entered. his will just take a moment, Master Chief. Wee going to
upgrade a few components in your standard-issue neural interface. Lie back and remain still, please.
The Master Chief did as she said. A technician sprayed a topical anesthetic on his neck. The skin tingled,
then went cold and numb. The Master Chief felt layers of skin incised, and then a series of distinct
clicking sounds that echoed through his skull. There was a brief laser pulse and another spray. He saw
sparks, felt the room spin, then a sense of vertigo. His vision blurred; he blinked rapidly and it quickly
returned to normal.
ood . . . the procedure is complete,Dr. Halsey said. lease follow me.
The Captain handed the Master Chief a paper gown. He slipped it on and followed the doctor outside.
A field command dome had been assembled on the range. Its white fabric walls rippled in the breeze.
Ten MPs stood around the structure, assault rifles in hand. The Master Chief noted these weren regular
Marines. They wore the gold comet insignia of Special Forces Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
Helljumpers.Tough and iron-disciplined. A flash of memory: the blood of troopsust like these
soaking into the mat of a boxing ring.
John felt his adrenaline spike as soon as he saw the soldiers.
Dr. Halsey approached the MP at the entrance and presented her credentials. They accepted them and
scanned her retina and voiceprint, then did the same to the Master Chief.

Once they confirmed his identify, they immediately salutedhich was technically unnecessary, as the
Master Chief was out of uniform.
He did them the courtesy of returning their salute.
The soldiers kept looking around, scanning the field, as if they were expecting something to happen.
John discomfort grewot much spooked an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper.
Dr. Halsey led the Master Chief inside. In the center of the dome stood an empty suit of MJOLNIR
armor, suspended between two pillars on a raised platform. The Master Chief knew it was not his suit.
His, after years of use, had dents and scratches in the alloy plates and the once iridescent green finish
had dulled to a worn olive brown.
This suit was spotless and its surface possessed a subtle metallic sheen. He noted the armor plates were
slightly thicker, and the black underlayers had a more convoluted weave of components. The fusion
pack was half again as large, and tiny luminous slits glowed near the articulation points.
his is the real MJOLNIR,Dr. Halsey whispered to him. hat you have been using was only a
fraction of what the armor should be. This She turned to the Master Chief. is everything I had
always dreamed it could be. Please put the suit on.
The Master Chief stripped the paper gown off andith the help of a pair of techniciansonned the
armor components.
Dr. Halsey averted her eyes.
Although the armor components were bulkier and heavier than his old suit, once assembled and
activated, they felt light as air. The armor was a perfect fit. The biolayer warmed and adhered to his skin,
then cooled as the temperature difference between the suit and his skin equalized.
ee made hundreds of minor technical improvements,she said. l have the specifications sent to
you later. Two of those changes, however, are rather serious modifications to the system. It may take . . .
some getting used to.
Dr. Halsey brow furrowed. John had never seen her worried before.
irst,she told him, e have replicated, and I might add, improved upon the energy shield the
Covenant Jackals have been using against us to great effect.
This armor had shields? The Master Chief had known that ONI research had been working on adapting
Covenant technology; Spartans had standing orders to capture Covenant machines wherever they could.

The researchers and engineers had announced some breakthroughs in artificial gravityome UNSC
ships were already undergoing trials with the grav systems.
The fact that the MJOLNIR armor possessed shields was a stunning breakthrough. For years, there had
been no luck back-engineering Covenant shield tech. Most in the scientific community had given up
hope of ever cracking it. Maybe that why Dr. Halsey was worried. Maybe they hadn worked out all
the bugs.
Dr. Halsey nodded to the technicians. et begin.
The techs turned to a series of instrument panels. One, a slightly younger man, donned a COM headset.
kay, Master Chief.he tech voice crackled through John helmet speakers.here an activation
icon in your heads-up display. There is also a manual control switch located at position twelve in your
helmet.
He chinned the control. Nothing happened.
ait a moment, please, sir. We have to give the suit an activation charge. After that, it can accept
regenerative power from the fusion pack. Stand on the platform and be absolutely still.
He stepped onto the platform that had held the MJOLNIR armor. The pillars flickered on and glowed a
brilliant yellow. The pillars started to spin slowly around the base of the platform.
The Master Chief felt a static charge tingling in his extremities. The glow intensified and his helmet
blast shield automatically dimmed. The charge in the air intensified; his skin crawled with ionization. He
smelled ozone.
Then the spinning slowed and the light dimmed.
eset the activation button now, Master Chief.
The air around the Master Chief poppeds if it jumped away from the MJOLNIR armor. There was
none of the shimmer that normal Covenant shields had. Was it working?
He ran his hand over his arm and encountered resistance a centimeter from the surface of the armor. It
was working.
How many times had he and his teammates had to find ways to slip past a Jackal shield? He have to
rethink his tactics. Rethink everything.

t provides full coverageDr. Halsey voice piped through the speakers.and dissipates energy
far more efficiently than the Covenant shields the Spartans have recovered, though the shield is
concentrated on your arms, head, legs, chest, and back. The energy field tapers down to a hair under a
millimeter so you don lose the ability to hold or manipulate items with your hands.
The lead technician activated another control, and new data scrawled across John display.here a
segmented bar in the upper corner of your HUD,he technician said,ight next to your biomonitor and
ammunition indicators. It indicates the charge level of your shield. Don let it completely dissipate;
when it gone, the armor starts taking the hits.
The Master Chief slipped off the platform. He skiddedhen came to a halt. His movements felt oiled.
His contact with the floor felt tentative.
ou can adjust the bottom of your boot emitters as well as the emitters inside your gloves to increase
traction. In normal use, you will want to set these to the minimal levelust be aware your defenses will
be diminished in those locations.
nderstood.He adjusted the field strengths. n zero-gee environment I should increase those sections
to full strength, correct?
hat is correct,r. Halsey said.
ow much damage can they take before the system is breached?
hat is what you will learn here today, Master Chief. I think youl find that we have several challenges
in store for you to see how much punishment the suit can take.
He nodded. He was ready for the challenge. After weeks spent traveling in Slipspace, he was long
overdue for a workout.
John slid back his helmet visor and turned to face Dr. Halsey. ou said there weretwo major system
improvements, Doctor?
She nodded and smiled. es, of course. She reached into her lab coat and withdrew a clear cube.
doubt youe ever seen one of these before. It is the memory-processor core of an AI.
ike D嶴
es, like your former teacher. But this AI is slightly different. I like to introduce you to Cortana.
The Master Chief looked around the tent. He saw no computer interface or holographic projectors. He

cocked an eyebrow at Dr. Halsey.
here is a new layer sandwiched between the reactive circuits and the inner biolayers of your armor,
Dr. Halsey explained. t is a weave of additional memory-processor super-conductor.
he same material as an AI core.
es,Dr. Halsey replied. n accurate analysis. Your armor will carry Cortana. The MJOLNIR system
has the nearly the same capacity as a ship-borne AI system. Cortana will interface between you and the
suit and provide tactical and strategic information for you in the field.
not sure I understand.
ortana has been programmed with every ONI computer insurgency routine,Dr. Halsey told him.
nd she has a talent for modifying them on the fly. She has our best Covenant-language-translation
software as well. Her primary purpose is to infiltrate their computer and communications systems. She
will intercept and decode point-to-point Covenant transmissions and give you updated intelligence in the
field.
Intel support in an operation where there had been no reconnaissance. The Master Chief liked that. It
would level the playing field significantly.
his AI is the computer specialist wel be taking onto the Covenant ship,the Master Chief said.
es . . . and more. Her presence will allow you to utilize the suit more effectively.
John had a sudden flashIs handled a great deal of point defense during Naval operations. an she
control the MJOLNIR armor?He wasn sure he liked that.
o. Cortana resides in the interface between your mind and the suit, Master Chief. You will find your
reaction time greatly improved. She will be translating the impulses in your motor cortex directly into
motionhe can make you send those impulses.
his AI,he said, ill beinside my mind?That must have been what that pgradeto his standardissue
UNSC computer interface had been for.
hat is the question, isn it?Halsey replied. can answer that, Master Chief. Not scientifically.
not sure I understand, Doctor.
hat is the mind, really? Intuition, reason, emotione acknowledge they exist, but we still don

know what makes the human mindwork .She paused, searching for the right words. e model AIs on
human neural networksn electrical signals in the brainecause we just know that the human brain
works . . . but not how, or why. Cortana resides etweenyour mind and the suit, interpreting the
electrochemical messages in your brain and transferring them to the suit via your neural implant.
o, for lack of a better term, yes, Cortana will be nsideyour mind.
am, my priority will be to complete this mission. This AIortanaay have conflicting
directives.
here is no need to worry, Master Chief. Cortana has the same mission parameters as you do. She will
do anything necessary to make sure that your mission is accomplished. Even if that means sacrificing
herselfr youo accomplish it.
The Master Chief exhaled, relieved.
ow, please kneel down. It time to insert her memory-processor matrix into the socket at the base of
your neck.
The Master Chief knelt. There was a hissing noise, a pop, and then cold liquid poured into the Master
Chief mind; a spike of pain jammed into his forehead, then faded.
ot a lot of room in here,a smooth female voice said. ello, Master Chief.
Did this AI have a rank? Certainly, she was not a civilianr a fellow soldier. Should he treat her like
any other piece of UNSC-issued equipment? Then again, he treated his equipment with the respect it
deserved. He made sure every gun and knife was cleaned and inspected after every mission.
It was unsettling . . . he could hear Cortana voice through his helmet speakers, but it also felt like she
was speaking inside his head. ello, Cortana.
mm . . . I detecting a high degree of cerebral cortex activity. Youe not the muscle-bound
automatons the press makes you out to be.
utomaton?the Master Chief whispered. nteresting choice of words for an artificial intelligence.
Dr. Halsey watched the Master Chief with great interest. ou must forgive Cortana, Master Chief. She
is somewhat high-spirited. You may have to allow for behavioral quirks.
es, mam.

think we should begin the test straightaway. There no better way for the two of you to get
acquainted than in simulated combat.
o one said anything about combat,Cortana said.
he ONI brass have arranged a test for you and the new MJOLNIR system,Dr. Halsey said. here
are some that believe you two are not up to our proposed mission.
am!The Master Chief snapped to attention. up for it, mam!
know you are, Master Chief. Others . . . require proof.She looked around at the shadows cast by the
Marines outside the fabric walls of the command dome. ou hardly need a reminder to be prepared for
anything . . . but stay on your guard, just the same.
Dr. Halsey voice dropped to a whisper. think some of the ONI brass would prefer to see you fail this
test, Master Chief. And they may have arranged to make sure you doegardless of your performance.
won fail, Doctor.
Her forehead wrinkled with worry lines, but then they quickly disappeared. know you won.
She stepped back, and dropped her conspiratorial whisper. aster Chief, you are ordered to count to
ten after I leave. After that, make your way to the obstacle course. At the far end is a bell. Your goal will
be to ring it.She paused, then added, ou are authorized to neutralize any threats in order to achieve
this objective.
ffirmative,the Master Chief said. Enough uncertaintyow he had an objective, and rules of
engagement.
e careful, Master Chief,Dr. Halsey said quietly. She gestured at the pair of technicians to follow her,
then turned and walked out of the tent.
The Master Chief didn understand why Dr. Halsey thought he was in real dangere didn have to
understand the reason. All he needed to know was that danger was present.
He knew how to handle danger.
ploading combat protocols now,Cortana said. nitiating electronic detection algorithms. Boosting
neural interface performance to eighty-five percent. I ready when you are, Master Chief.
The Master Chief heard metallic clacks around the tent.

nalyzing sound pattern,Cortana said. atabase match.Identified as
s someone cycling the bolt of an MA5B assault rifle. I know. Standard-issue weapons for Orbital
Drop Shock Troopers.
ince youe n the know,Master Chief,Cortana quipped. assume you have a plan.
John snapped his helmet visor back down and sealed the armor environment system. es.
resumably your plan doesn involve getting shot . . . ?
o.
o, what the plan?Cortana sounded worried.
going to finish counting to ten.
John heard Cortana sigh in frustration. John shook his head in puzzlement. He never encountered a socalled
smart AI before. Cortana sounded . . . like a human.
Worse, she sounded like acivilian . This was going to take a lot of getting used to.
Shadows moved along the wall of the tentotion from outside.
Eight.
There was a snag in this mission and he hadn even reached the obstacle course. He would have to
engage his fellow soldiers. He pushed aside any questions about why. He had his orders and he would
follow them. He had dealt with ODSTs before.
Nine.
Three soldiers entered the tent, moving in slow motionlack-armored figures, helmets snug over their
faces, crouched low, and their rifles leveled. Two took flanking positions. The one in the middle opened
fire.
Ten.
The Master Chief blurred into motion. He dove from the activation platform andefore the soldiers
could adjust their aimanded in their midst. He rolled to his feet right next to the soldier who fired
first, and grabbed the man rifle.

John brutally yanked the weapon away from the soldier. There was a loud cracking sound as the man
shoulder dislocated. The wounded trooper stumbled forward, off balance. John spun the rifle and
slammed the butt of the weapon into the soldier side. The man exhaled explosively as his ribs cracked.
He grunted, and fell unceremoniously to the floor, unconscious.
John spun to face the left-flank gunner, assault rifle leveled at the man head instantly. He had the man
in his sights, but he still had timehe soldier was not quite in position. To John enhanced senses,
amped up by Cortana and the neural interface, the rifleman seemed to be moving in slow motion. Too
slow.
The Master Chief lashed out with the rifle butt again. The trooper head snapped back from the sudden,
powerful blow. He flipped head over tail and slammed into the ground. John sized the man condition
up with a practiced eye: shock, concussion, fractured vertebrae.
Gunner number two was out of the fight.
The remaining gunner completed his turn and opened fire. A three-round burst ricocheted off the
MJOLNIR armor energy shield. The shield recharge bar flickered a hairbreadth.
Before the soldier could react, the Master Chief sidestepped and slammed his own rifle downard.
The trooper screamed as his leg gave out. A jagged spoke of bone burst through the wounded man
fatigues. The Master chief finished him with a rifle butt to his helmeted head.
John checked the condition of the rifle, andatisfied that it was in working orderegan to pull ammo
clips from the fallen soldiersbelt pouches. The lead soldier also carried a razor-edged combat knife;
John grabbed it.
ou could have killed them,Cortana said. hy didn you?
y orders gave me permission to eutralizethreats,he replied. hey aren threats anymore.
emantics,Cortana replied. She sounded amused. can argue with the results, though She broke
off, suddenly. ew targets. Seven contacts on the motion tracker,Cortana reported. ee
surrounded.
Seven more soldiers. The Master Chief could open fire now and kill them all. Under any other
circumstances, he would have removed such threats. But their MA5Bs were no immediate danger to
him . . . and the UNSC could use every soldier to fight the Covenant.
He strode to the center pole of the tent, and with a yank, he pulled it free. As the roof fluttered down, he

slashed a slit in the tent fabric and shoved through.
He faced three Marines; they firedhe Master Chief deftly jumped to one side. He sprang toward them
and lashed out with the steel pole, swiped out their legs. He heard bones crackollowed by screams of
pain.
The Master Chief turned as the tent finished collapsing. The remaining four men could see him now.
One reached for a grenade on his belt. The other three tracked him with their assault rifles.
The Master Chief threw the pole like a javelin at the man with the grenade. It impacted in his sternum
and he fell with awhoopf.
The grenade, minus the pin, however, dropped to the ground.
The Master Chief moved and kicked the grenade. It arced over the parking lot and detonated in a cloud
of smoke and shrapnel.
The three remaining Marines opened firepraying bullets in a full-auto fusillade. Bullets pinged off
the Master Chief shield.
The shield status indicator blinked and dropped with each bullet impacthe sustained weapons fire was
draining the shield precipitously. John tucked and rolled, narrowly avoiding an incoming burst of
automatic-weapons fire, then sprang at the nearest Marine.
John launched an openhanded strike at the man chest. The Marine ribs caved in and he dropped
without a sound, blood flowing from his mouth. John spun, brought his rifle up, and fired twice.
The second soldier screamed and dropped his rifle as the bullets tore through each knee. John kicked the
discarded rifle, bending the barrel and rendering the weapon useless.
The last man stood frozen in place.
The Master Chief didn give the man time to recover; he grabbed his rifle, ripped off his bandolier of
grenades, then punched his helmet. The Marine dropped.
ission time plus twenty-two seconds,Cortana remarked. lthough, technically, you started to move
forty milliseconds before you were ordered to.
l keep that in mind.
The Master Chief slung the assault rifle and bandolier of grenades over his shoulder and ran for the

shadows of the barracks. He slipped under the raised buildings and belly-crawled toward the obstacle
course. No need to make himself a target for snipers . . . although it would be an interesting test to see
what caliber of bullet these shields could deflect.
No. That kind of thinking was dangerous. The shield was useful, but under combined fire it dropped
very quickly. He was tough . . . not invincible.
He emerged at the beginning to the obstacle course. The first part was a run over ten acres of jagged
gravel. Sometimes raw recruits had to take off their boots before they crossed. Other than the paint
was the easiest part of the course.
The Master Chief started toward the gravel yard.
ait,Cortana said. picking up far infrared signals on your thermal sensors. An encrypted
sequence . . . decoding . . . yes, there. It an activation signal for a Lotus mine. Theye mined the field,
Master Chief.
The Master Chief froze. He used Lotus mines before and knew the damage they could inflict. The
shaped charges ripped though the armor plate of a tank like it was no thicker than an orange peel.
This would slow him down considerably.
Not crossing the obstacle course was no option. He had his orders. He wouldn cheat and go around. He
had to prove that he and Cortana were up for this test.
ny ideas?he asked.
thought you never ask,Cortana replied. ind the position of one mine, and I can estimate the
rough position of the others based on the standard randomization procedure used by UNSC engineers.
nderstood.
The Master Chief grabbed a grenade, pulled the pin, counted to three, and lobbed it into the middle of
the field. It bounced and explodedending a shock wave through the groundripping two of the
Lotus mines. Twin plumes of gravel and dust shot into the air. The detonation shook his teeth.
He wondered if the armor shields could have survived that. He didn want to find out while he was
still inside the thing. He boosted the field strength on the bottom of his boots to full.
Cortana overlaid a grid on his heads-up display. Lines flickered as she ran through the possible
permutations.

ot a match!she said. Two dozen red circles appeared on his display. hat ninety-three percent
accurate. The best I can do.
here are never any guarantees,the Master Chief replied.
He stepped onto the gravel, taking short, deliberate steps. With the shields activated on the bottoms of
his boots, it felt like he was skating on greased ice.
He kept his head down, picking his way between red dots on his display.
If Cortana was wrong, he probably wouldn even know it.
The Master Chief saw the gravel had ended. He looked up. He had made it.
hank you, Cortana. Well done.
oue welcome . . .Her voice trailed off. icking up scrambled radio frequencies on the D band.
Encrypted orders from this facility to Fairchild Airfield. Theye using personal codewords, tooo I
can tell what theye up to. Whatever it is, I don like it.
eep your ears open.
always do.
He ran to the next section of the obstacle course: the razor field. Here, recruits had to crawl in the mud
under razor wire as their instructors fired live rounds over them. A lot of soldiers discovered whether
they had the guts to deal with bullets zinging a centimeter over their heads.
Along either side of the course there was something new: three 30mm chain-guns mounted on tripods.
eapons emplacements are targeting us, Chief!Cortana announced.
The Master Chief wasn about to wait and see if those chain-guns had a minimum-depth setting. He had
no intention of crawling across the field and letting the chain-gunsrapid rate of fire chip away at his
shields.
The chain-guns clicked and started to turn.
He sprinted to the nearest tripod-mounted gun. He opened fire with his assault fire, shot the lines that
powered the servoshen spun the chain-gun around to face the others.

He crouched behind the blast shield and unloaded on the adjacent gun. Chain-guns were notoriously
hard to aim; they were best known for their ability to fill the air with gunfire. Cortana adjusted his
targeting reticle to sync up with the chain-gun. With her help, he hit the adjacent weapon emplacements.
John guided a stream of fire into the gunsammo packs. Moments later, in a cloud of fire and smoke, the
guns fell silent . . . then toppled.
The Master Chief ducked, primed a grenade, and hurled it at the closest of the remaining automated
weapons. The grenade sailed through the airhen detonated just above the autogun.
hain-gun destroyed,Cortana reported.
Two more grenades and the automated guns were out of commission. He noted that his shields had
dropped by a quarter. He watched the status bar refill. He hadn even known he had taken hits. That was
sloppy.
ou seem to have the situation under control,Cortana said, going to spend a few cycles and
check something out.
ermission granted,he said.
didn ask, Master Chief,she replied.
The cool liquid presence in his mind withdrew. The Master Chief felt empty somehow.
He ran through the razor fields, snapping through steel wire as if it were rotten string.
Cortana coolness once again flooded his thoughts.
just accessed SATCOM,she said. using one of their satellites so I can get a better look at
what happening down here. There a SkyHawk jump jet from Fairchild Field inbound.
He stopped. The automatic cannons were one thingould the armor withstand against air power like
that? The SkyHawk had a quartet of 50mm cannons that made the chain-guns look like peashooters.
They also had Scorpion missilesesigned to take out tanks.
Answer: he couldn do a thing against it.
The Master Chief ran. He had to find cover. He sprinted to the next section of the course: the Pillars of
Loki.
It was a forest of ten-meter-tall poles spaced at random intervals. Typically, the poles had booby traps

strung on, under, and between themtun grades, sharpened sticks . . . anything the instructors could
dream up. The idea was to teach recruits to move slowly and keep their eyes open.
The Master Chief had no time to search for the traps.
He climbed up the first pole and balanced on top. He leaped to the next pole, teetered, regained his
balancehen jumped to the next. His reflexes had to be perfect; he was landing a half ton of man and
armor on a wooden pole ten centimeters in diameter.
otion tracking is picking up an incoming target at extreme range,Cortana warned. elocity profile
matches the SkyHawk, Chief.
He turnedlmost lost his balance and had to shift back and forth to keep from falling. There was a dot
on the horizon, and the faint rumble of thunder.
In the blink of an eye, the dot had wings and the Master Chief thermal sensors picked up a plume of
jetwash. In seconds, the SkyHawk closedhen opened fire with its 50mm cannons.
He jumped.
The wooden poles splintered into pulp. They were mowed down like so many blades of grass.
The Master Chief rolled, ducked, and flattened himself on the earth. He caught a smattering of rounds
and his shield bar drooped to half. Those rounds would have penetrated his old suit instantly.
Cortana said, calculate we have eleven seconds before the SkyHawk can execute a maximum gee turn
and make another pass.
The Master Chief got up and ran through the shattered remains of the poles. Napalm and sonic grenades
popped around him, but he moved so fast he left the worst of the damage in his wake.
hey won use their cannons next time,he said. hey didn take us outheyl try the missiles.
erhaps,Cortana suggested, e should leave the course. Find better cover.
o,he said. ee going to win . . . by their rules.
The last leg of the course was a sprint across an open field. In the distance, the Master Chief saw the bell
on a tripod.
He glanced over his shoulder.

The SkyHawk was back and starting its run straight toward him.
Even with his augmented speed, even with the MJOLNIR armore never make it to the bell in time.
He never make it alive.
He turned to face the incoming jet.
l need your help, Cortana,he said.
nything,she whispered. The Master Chief heard nervousness in the AI voice.
alculate the inbound velocity of a Scorpion missile. Factor in my reaction time and the jet inbound
speed and distance at launch, and tell me the instant I need to move to sidestep and deflect it with my
left arm.
Cortana paused a heartbeat. alculation done. You did say eflect
corpion missiles have motion-tracking sensors and proximity detonators. I can outrun it. And it
won miss. That leaves us very few options.
The SkyHawk dove.
et ready,Cortana said. hope you know what youe doing.
e, too.
Smoke appeared from the jet left wingtip and fire and exhaust erupted as a missile streaked toward him.
The Master Chief saw the missile track back and forth, zeroing in on his coordinates. A shrill tone in
his helmet warbledhe missile had a guidance lock on him. He chinned a control and the sound died
out. The missile was fast. Faster than he was ten times over.
ow!Cortana said.
They moved together. He shifted his muscles and the MJOLNIRugmented by his link to Cortana
moved faster than he ever moved before. His leg tensed and pushed him aside; his left arm came up
and crossed his chest.
The head of the missile was the only thing he saw. The air grew still and thickened.

He continued to move his hand, palm open in a slapping motions fast as he could will his flesh to
accelerate.
The tip of the Scorpion missile passed a centimeter from his head.
He reached outingertips brushed the metal casing
nd slapped it aside.
The SkyHawk jet screamed over his head.
The Scorpion missile detonated.
Pressure slammed though his body. The Master Chief flew six meters, spinning end over end, and
landed flat on his back.
He blinked, and saw nothing but blackness. Was he dead? Had he lost?
The shield status bar in his heads-up display pulsed weakly. It was completely drainedhen it blinked
red and slowly started to refill. Blood was spattered across the inside of his helmet and he tasted copper.
He stood, his muscles screaming in protest.
un!Cortana said. efore they come back for a look.
The Master Chief got up and ran. As he passed the spot where he had stood to face down the missile, he
saw a two-meter-deep crater.
He could feel his Achilles tendon tear, but he didn slow. He crossed the half-kilometer stretch in
seventeen seconds flat and skidded to halt.
The Master Chief grabbed the bell cord and rang it three times. The pure tone was the most glorious
sound he had ever heard.
Over the COM channel Dr. Halsey voice broke:est concluded. Call off your men, Colonel Ackerson!
Wee won. Well done, Master Chief. Magnificent! Stay there; I sending out a recovery team.
es, mam,he replied, panting.
The Master Chief scanned the sky for the SkyHawkothing. It had gone. He knelt and let blood drip
from his nose and mouth. He looked down at the bellnd laughed.

He knew that stainless-steel dented shape. It was the same one he had rung that first day of boot. The
day Chief Mendez had taught him about teamwork.
hank you, Cortana,he finally said. couldn have done it without you.
oue welcome, Master Chief,she replied. Then, her voice full of mischief, she added: nd no, you
couldn have done it without me.
Today he had learned about a new kind of teamwork with Cortana. Dr. Halsey had given him a great
gift. She had given him a weapon with which to destroy the Covenant.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
0400 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSCPillar of Autumn , in orbit around Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military Complex
Cortana never rested. Although based approximately on a human mind, AIs had no need to sleep or
dream. Dr. Halsey had thought she could keep Cortana occupied by checking the systems of thePillar of
Autumn while she attended to her other secret projects.
Her assumption was incorrect.
While Cortana was intrigued with the unique design and workings of the shipts preparation barely
occupied a fraction of her processing power.
She watched with thePillar of Autumn camera as Captain Keyes approached the ship in a shuttle pod.
Lieutenant Hikowa left to greet him in the docking bay.
From C deck, Captain Keyes spoke over the intercom: ortana? Can we have power to move the ship?
I like to get under way.
She calculated the remaining reactor burn-in time and made an adjustment to run it hotter. he engines
final shakedown is in theta cycle,Cortana replied. perating well within normal parameters. Diverting
thirty percent power to engines; aye, sir.
nd the other systemsstatus?Captain Keyes asked.
eapons-system check initiated. Navigational nodes functioning. Continuing systemwide shakedown
and triple checks, Captain.
ery good,he said. pprise me if there are any anomalies.
ye, Captain,she replied.
The COM channel snapped off.
She continued her checks on thePillar of Autumn as ordered. There were, however, more important
things to consider; namely, a little reconnaissance into ONI databases . . . and a little revenge.

She dedicated the balance of her run time toward probing the SATCOM system around REACH for
entry points. There. A ping in the satellite network coordination signal. She broadcast a resonant carrier
wave at that signal and piggybacked into the system.
First things first. She had two loose ends to take care of.
While she and the Master Chief had been on the obstacle course, she had commandeered SATCOM
observation beacon 419 and rotated it to view them from orbit.
She reentered the back door she had left open in the system, and rewrote the satellite guidance thruster
subroutine. If the system was analyzed later, it would be determined that this error had altered it to a
random orientation rather than a planned position.
She withdrew, but left her back door intact. This trick might come in handy again.
The other loose end that required her attentions was Colonel Ackersonhe man who had tried to erase
her and the Master Chief.
Cortana reread Dr. Halsey recommended test specifications for the MJOLNIR system on the obstacle
course. She had suggested live rounds, yes. But never a squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, chainguns,
Lotus mines . . . and certainly not an air strike.
That was the Colonel doing. He was an equation that needed to be balanced. What Dr. Halsey might
have called ayback.
She linked to the UNSC personnel and planning database on Reach. The ONI AI there, Beowulf, knew
her . . . and knew not to let her in. Beowulf was thorough, methodical, and paranoid; in her own way,
Cortana couldn help but like him. But compared with her code-cracking skills, he might as well have
been an accounting program.
Cortana sent a rapid series of queries into the network node that processed housing transfer requests. A
normally quiet nodehe overloaded it with a billion different pings per minute.
The network attempted to recover and reconfigure, causing all nodes to lag, including node seventeen
personnel records. She stepped in and inserted a spike wedge, a subroutine that looked like a normal
incoming signal, but bounced any handshake protocol.
She slipped in.
The Colonel CSV was impressive. He had survived three battles with the Covenant. Early in the war,
he received a promotion and volunteered for a dozen black ops. For the last few years, however, his
efforts had focused on political maneuvers rather than battlefield tactics. He had filed several requests

for increased funding for his Special Warfare projects.
No wonder he wanted the Master Chief gone. The Spartan IIs and MJOLNIR were his direct
competition. Worse, they were succeeding where he failed.
At best, Ackerson actions were treason. But Cortana wasn about to reveal all this to the ONI
oversight committee. Despite the Colonel methods, the UNSC still needed himnd his SpecWar
specialistsn the war.
Justice, however, would still be meted out.
From the ONI database, she masqueraded as a routine credit check and entered the Colonel bank
accounto which she wired a substantial amount to a brothel on Gilgamesh. She made sure the bank
queries sent to confirm the transaction were copied to his home immediately. Colonel Ackerson was a
married man . . . and his wife should be there to receive them.
She cut into his personal E-mail and sent a carefully crafted messageequesting reassignment to a
forward areao personnel. Finally, she inserted a hostrecord, an electronic footprint that identified
the source of the alterations: Ackerson personal-computer pad.
By the time Ackerson was done untangling all of that, he be reassigned to field duty . . . and get back
to fighting the Covenant where he belonged.
With all loose ends neatly tied up, Cortana rechecked thePillar of Autumn reactor; the shakedown was
proceeding nicely. She tweaked the magnetic-field strength, and part of her watched the output from the
engines for fluctuations. She inspected all weapons systems three times, and then went back to her own
personal research.
She considered how well the Master Chief had performed this morning on the obstacle course. He was
more than Cortana could have hoped for. The Master Chief was much more than Dr. Halsey or the press
releases had indicated.
He was intelligent . . . not fearless, but as close to it as any human she had encountered. His reaction
time under stress was one-sixth the standard human norm. More than that, however, Cortana had sensed
that he had a certainhe searched her lexicon for the proper wordobility. He placed his mission and
his duty and honor above his personal safety.
She reexamined his Career Service Vitae. He had fought in 207 ground engagements against the
Covenant, and been awarded every major service medal except the Prisoner of War Medallion.
There were holes in his CSV, though. The standard black-out sections courtesy of ONI, of course . . . but
most curious, all data before he entered active duty had been expunged.

Cortana wasn about to let a mere erasure stop her. She traced where the order to erase that data had
originated. Section Three. Dr. Halsey group. Curious.
She followed the order pathwayrashed into layers of counter code. The code started a trace on her
signal.
She blocked itnd it restarted a trace of the origin of her block.
This was a very well-crafted piece of counterintrusion software, far superior to the normal ONI
slugcode. If nothing else, Cortana liked a challenge. She withdrew from the database and looked for an
unguarded way into ONI Section Three files.
Cortana listened to the hum of coded traffic along the surface of ONI secure network. There was an
unusual amount of packets today: queries and encrypted messages from ONI operatives. She peered into
them and unraveled their secrets as they passed her. There were orders for ship movements and
operatives outbound from Reach. This must be the new directive to send scouts into the periphery
systems and find the Covenant. She saw several ships docked in Reach space docksNI stealth jobs
made to look like private yachts. They had cute, innocuous names: theApplebee ,Circumference , and
theLark .
She spotted something she could use: Dr. Halsey had just entered her laboratory. She was at checkpoint
three. The doctor waited as her voice and retina patterns were being scanned.
Cortana intercepted and killed the signal. The verification system reset.
lease rescan retina, Dr. Halsey,the system requested, nd repeat today code phrase in a normal
voice.
Before Dr. Halsey could do this, Cortana sent her own files of Dr. Halsey retina and voice scans. She
had long ago copied them and occasionally they came in handy.
Section Three verification opened for Cortana. She had only a second before the doctor spoke and
overrode the previous entry access.
Cortana, however, was a lightning strike in the system. She entered, searched, and found what she
wanted. Every piece of data on SPARTAN 117 was copied to her personal directory within seventy
milliseconds.
She withdrew from the ONI database, routing all traces of her queries back to her Ackerson host.

She closed all connections and returned to thePillar of Autumn . One quick check of the reactores,
operating within normal parametersnd she sent a complete report to Lieutenant Hall on the bridge.
Cortana examined the Master Chiefcomplete CSV. She scanned backward through time: his
performance data on the obstacle course, and the debriefing he had given at ONI headquarters.
She paused and pondered the signal the Covenant had sent from Sigma Octanus IV. Intrigued, she tried
to translate the sequence. The symbols looked tantalizingly familiar. Every algorithm and variation of
the standard translation software she attempted, however, failed. Puzzled, she set it aside to examine
later.
She continued, absorbing the data from the Master Chief files. She learned of the augmentations he
and the other Spartans were made to endure; the brutal indoctrination and training they had received;
and how he had been abducted at the age of six, and a flash clone used to replace him in an ONI black
op.
All of it had been authorized by Dr. Halsey.
Cortana paused for a full three processor cycles churning this new data through her ethics
subroutines . . . not comprehending. How could Dr. Halsey, who was so concerned for her Spartans,
have done this to them?
Of courseecause it was necessary. There was no other way to preserve the UNSC against rebellion
and Covenant forces.
Was Dr. Halsey a monster? Or just doing what had to be done to protect humanity? Perhaps a little of
both.
Cortana erased her stolen files. No matter. Whatever the Master Chief had been through in the past . . . it
was done. He was in Cortana care now. She would do everything in her powerhort of
compromising their missiono make sure nothing ever happened to him again.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
0400 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSCPillar of Autumn , in orbit around Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military Complex
Captain Keyes tapped the thrusters of the shuttle podCoda . The tiny craft rolled and thePillar of Autumn
came into view.
Normally, Captains did not ferry themselves around the space docks of Reach, but Keyes had insisted.
All unauthorized personnel were restricted to a narrow flight path around thePillar of Autumn , and he
wanted to take a careful look around the outside of this ship before he took command.
From this distance, thePillar of Autumn could have been mistaken for an elongated frigate. As the
shuttle pod moved closer, however, details appeared that betrayed the ship age. ThePillar of Autumn
hull had several larger dents and scratches. Her engine baffles were blackened. The portside emergency
thrusters were missing.
What had he gotten himself into by signing up for Dr. Halsey mission?
He moved within a hundred meters and circled to the starboard. The shuttle bay on this side was sealed
off. Red-and-yellow hazard warnings had been painted on metal plates that had been hastily welded over
her entrance.
He closed to ten meters and saw the plate was not a solid sheet of metale could see armored ports,
heavily reinforced . . . almost solid titanium A. Honeycombed throughout this section were the round
covers of Archer missile pods. Captain Keyes counted: thirty pods across, ten down. Each pod held
dozens of missiles. ThePillar of Autumn had a secret arsenal to rival any real cruiser in the fleet.
Captain Keyes drifted toward the stern and noticed concealed and recessed 50mm autocannons for
defense against single ships.
Underneath were bumpsart of the linear accelerator system for the ship lone MAC gun. It looked
too small to be truly effective. But he would reserve judgment. Perhaps, like the rest of thePillar of
Autumn , the weapon was more than it appeared to be.
He certainly hoped so.
Captain Keyes returned to the port side and drifted gently into the shuttle bay. He took note of three

Longsword single ships and three Pelican dropships in the bay. One of the Pelicans had double the
normal armor plating and what looked like grappling attachments. A serrated titanium ram decorated the
dropship prow.
He touched down on an automated landing platform and locked the controls down. A moment later the
shuttle descended belowdecks and was cycled through the airlock. Captain Keyes gathered his duffel
bag and stepped onto the flight deck.
Lieutenant Hikowa was there to meet him. She saluted. elcome aboard, Captain Keyes.
He saluted. hat do you think of her, Lieutenant?
Lieutenant Hikowa dark eyes widened. oue not going to believe this ship, sir.Her normally
serious face broke with a smile. heye turned it into something . . . special.
saw what they did to my starboard shuttle bay,Captain Keyes remarked sourly.
hat just the start,she said. can give you a full tour.
lease,Captain Keyes said. He paused at an intercom. ust one thing first, Lieutenant.He keyed the
intercom. nsign Lovell, plot a course to the system edge and move thePillar of Autumn on an
accelerating vector. We will jump to Slipstream space as soon as we get there.
ir,Lovell replied. ur engines are still in shakedown mode.
ortana?Captain Keyes asked. an we have power to move the ship? I like to get under way.
he enginesfinal shakedown is in theta cycle,Cortana replied. perating well within normal
parameters. Diverting thirty percent power to engines; aye, sir.
nd the other systemsstatus?Captain Keyes asked.
eapons-system check initiated. Navigational nodes functioning. Continuing systemwide shakedown
and triple checks, Captain.
ery good,he said. pprise me if there are any anomalies.
ye, Captain,she replied.
e finally have an AI,he remarked to Hikowa.

ee got more than that, sir,Hikowa replied. ortana is running the shakedown and supervising Dr.
Halsey modifications to the ship. We have a backup AI to handle point defense.
eally?Keyes was surprised; getting a single AI was tough enough these days. Getting two was
unprecedented.
es, sir. Il see to the initialization of our AI as soon as Cortana is through running her diagnostics.
Captain Keyes had meet Cortana briefly in Dr. Halsey office. Although every AI he had met was
brilliant, Cortana seemed exceptionally qualified. Captain Keyes had posed several navigation problems
and she had figured out all the solutions . . . and had come up with a few options he had not considered.
She was somewhat high-spirited, but that was not necessarily a bad thing.
Lieutenant Hikowa led him into the elevator and punched the button for D deck.
t first,Hikowa said, was concerned with all the ordnance on board. One penetrating shot and we
could explode like a string of firecrackers. But this ship doesn have much empty spacet full of
braces, honeycombed titanium-A, and hydraulic reinforcements that can be activated in an emergency.
She can take a tremendous beating, sir.
et hope we don have to test that,Captain Keyes said. He checked that this pipe was in his pocket.
es, sir.
Their elevator passed through the rotating section of the ship and Captain Keyes felt his weight ease and
a flutter of vertigo. He grabbed hold of the rails.
The doors opened and they entered the cavernous engine room. The ceiling was four stories high,
making this the largest compartment in the ship. Catwalks and platforms ringed the hexagonal chamber.
ere the new reactor, sir,Hikowa said.
The device perched within a lattice of nonferric ceramic and leaded crystal. The main reactor ring was
nestled in the center of what appeared to be two smaller reactor rings. Technicians floated nearby taking
readings and monitoring the output displays on the walls.
not familiar with this design, Lieutenant.
he latest reactor technology. ThePillar of Autumn is the first ship to get it. The two smaller fusion
reactors come online to supercharge the main reactor. Their overlapping magnetic fields can temporally
boost power by three hundred percent.

Captain Keyes whistled appreciatively as he scrutinized the room. don see any coolant pipes.
here are none, sir. This reactor uses a laser-induced optical slurry of ions chilled to near-absolute zero
to neutralize the waste heat. The more we crank up the power, the more juice we have to cool the
system. It is very efficient.
The smaller reactors flickered to life and Captain Keyes felt the ambient heat in the room jump, then
suddenly cool again. He removed his pipe and tapped it in the palm of his hand. He would have to
rethink his old tactics. This new engine could give him new options in battle.
here more, sir.
Lieutenant Hikowa led him back into the lift. e have forty fifty-millimeter cannons for point defense,
with overlapping fields of fire covering all inbound vectors.
hat is our least defended approach vector?
ottom fore,she said, long the lay line of the MAC system. There are very few gunnery placements
there. Transient magnetic bursts tend to magnetize the weapons.
ell me about the MAC gun, Lieutenant. It looks under-powered.
t fires a special light round with a ferrous core, but an outer layer of tungsten carbide. The round
splinters on impactike an assault rifle shredder rounds.She was talking so fast she had to pause
and take a deep breath. his gun has magnetic field recyclers along the length that recapture the field
energy. Coupled with booster capacitors, we can firethree successive shots with one charge.
That would be very effective against the Covenant energy shields. The first shot, maybe the first pair of
shots, would take down their shields. The last round would deliver a knockout punch.
take it you approve, Lieutenant?
o quote Ensign Lovell, sir, think I in love.
Captain Keyes nodded. notice we have several single ships and some Pelican dropships in the bay.
es, sir. One of the Longswords is equipped with a Shiva nuclear warhead. It can be remote-piloted.
We also have three HAVOK warheads onboard.
f course,Captain Keyes said. nd the Pelicans? One of them had extra armor.

he Spartans were working on it. Some sort of boarding craft.
he Spartans?Captain Keyes asked. heye already onboard?
es, sir. They were here before we got on board.
ake me to them, Lieutenant.
es, sir.Lieutenant Hikowa stopped the elevator and hit the button for C deck.
Twenty-five years ago Captain Keyes had helped procure the Spartan candidates for Dr. Halsey. She had
said they might one day be the best hope the UNSC had for peace. At the time he assumed that the
Doctor was prone to hyperboleut it appeared that she been correct. That didn make what they had
done right, though. His complicity in those kidnappings still haunted him.
The elevator doors opened. The primary storage bay had been converted into barracks for the thirty
Spartans. Every one of them wore MJOLNIR battle armor. They looked alien to him. Part machine, part
titanut completely inhuman.
The room was filled with motionpartans unpacked crates, others cleaned and field-stripped their
assault rifles, and a pair of them practiced hand-to-hand combat. Captain Keyes could barely follow their
motions. They were so fast, no hesitation. Strike and block and counter-strikeheir movements were a
continuous stream of rapid-fire blurs.
Captain Keyes had seen the news feeds and heard the rumors, like everyone on in the fleethe
Spartans were near-mythological figures in the military. They were supposed to be super-human
soldiers, invulnerable and indestructiblend it was almost the truth. Dr. Halsey had shown him their
operational records.
Between the Spartans and the refittedPillar of Autumn , Captain Keyes was beginning to believe Dr.
Halsey long-shot mission might work after all.
aptain on the deck!one of the Spartans shouted.
Every Spartan stopped and snapped to attention.
s you were,he said.
The Spartans relaxed slightly. One turned and strode toward him.
aster Chief SPARTAN 117 reporting as ordered, sir.The armored giant paused, and for a moment,

Keyes thought the Spartan looked uncomfortable. ir, I regret the unit was not able to ask your
permission to come aboard. Admiral Stanforth insisted we keep our presence off the COM channels and
computer networks.
Captain Keyes found the reflective faceplates of the Spartanshelmets disconcerting. It was impossible
to read their features.
uite all right, Master Chief. I just wanted to extend my regards. If you or your men need anything, let
me know.
es, sir,the Master Chief said.
An awkward moment of silence passed. Captain Keyes felt like he didn belong heren intruder in a
very exclusive club. ell, Master Chief, Il be on the bridge.
ir!The Master Chief saluted.
Captain Keyes returned the salute and left with Lieutenant Hikowa.
When the elevator doors closed, Lieutenant Hikowa said, o you think mean with all due respect to
the Spartans, siron you think theye . . . strange?
trange? Yes, Lieutenant. You might act a little strange if you seen and been through as much as they
had.
ome people say theye not even humans in those suitshat theye just machines.
heye human,Captain Keyes said.
The elevator doors parted and Captain Keyes stepped onto his bridge. It was much smaller than he was
accustomed to; the command chair was only a meter from the other stations. View screens dominated
the room, and a massive, curved window afforded a panoramic view of the stars.
tatus reports,Captain Keyes ordered.
Lieutenant Dominique spoke first. ommunication systems are green, sir. Monitoring FLEETCOM
Reach traffic. No new orders.Dominique had gotten his hair shorn since he had been on theIroquois .
He also had a new tattoo around his left wrist: the wavy lines of a Besell function.
eactor shakedown eighty percent complete,Lieutenant Hall reported. xygen, power, rotation, and
pressure all green lights, sir.She smiled, but it wasn like beforen automatic gesture. She seemed

genuinely happy.
Lieutenant Hikowa took her seat and strapped in. She gathered her black hair and tied it into a knot.
eapons panel shows green, sir. MAC gun capacitors at zero charge.
Ensign Lovell finally reported: avigation and sensor systems online, Captain, and all green. Ready for
your orders.Lovell was completely focused on his station.
A small hologram of Cortana flickered on the AI pedestal near navigation. ngine shakedown running
smoothly, Captain,she said. ll personnel onboard. You have half-power now if you wish to move
the ship. Fujikawa-Shaw generators on-line . . . you can take us into the Slipstream at your pleasure.
ery good,Captain Keyes said.
Keyes surveyed his crew, pleased at how they had sharpened up after Sigma Octanus. Gone were the
bleary, haggard expressions, and the tentative, nervous mannerisms.
Good, he thought. Wee going to need everyone at the top of their game now.
The crew had been briefed on their missionart of it anyway. Captain Keyes had insisted. They were
told they would be attempting to capture Covenant technology, with an aim to disabling one of the
aliensships and bringing it back intact.
What the crew didn know were the stakes.
pproaching Reach system edge,Ensign Lovell reported. eady to generate a Slipstream
aptain!Lieutenant Dominique cried. ncoming Alpha priority transmission from FLEETCOM HQ
at Reach . . . sir, theye under Covenant attack!

SECTION V
REACH
CHAPTER THIRTY
0000 Hours, August 29, 2552 (Military Calendar) / narrow-band point-to-point transmission:
origin UNKNOWN; termination: Section Three, Omega secure antenna array, UNSC HQ Epsilon
Eridani System, Reach Military Complex
PLNBPriority Transmission XX087R-XX
Encryption Code:GAMMA
Public Key:N/A
From:CODENAME:COALMINER
To:CODENAME:SURGEON
Subject:PROGRESS REPORT/OPERATIONHYPODERMIC
Classification:EYES ONLY TOP SECRET (SECTION III X-RAY DIRECTIVE)
/file extraction-reconstitution complete/
/start file/
Secured space-dock repair bay. CorvetteCircumference undergoing final stealth upgrades. Shipyard
records successfully altered.
Queries detected from transient AI. Operation deemed AT RISK of being uncovered.
As per contingency plan TANGO: ship registration numbers scrambled; hard isolated from dockside
computer network; counterintrusion software implemented; Alpha security protocols enacted onboard.

Just as you called it, sir. Don worrys far as the station computers are concerned,Circumference
never even existed.
/end file/
/scrambledestruction
process enabled/
PressENTER to continue.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
0447 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
Remote Sensing StationFermion, Epsilon Eridani System edge
Chief Petty Officer McRobb entered the command center of Remote Sensing StationFermion .
Lieutenants (JG) Bill Streeter and David Brightling stood and saluted.
He wordlessly returned their salutes.
The wall-sized monitors displayed the contents of the last Slipstream probes: multidimensional charts, a
rainbow of false color enhancements, and a catalog of objects adrift in the alternate space. Some of the
new officers thought the representations looked retty.
To Chief McRobb, however, each pixel on the screens represented danger. So many things could hide in
multidimensional space: pirates, black marketers . . . the Covenant.
McRobb inspected their duty stations. He double-checked that all programs and hardware were running
within UNSC specifications. He ran his hand along the monitors and keypads looking for dust. Their
stations were in tip-top shape.
Considering what they were guarding, Reach, anything less than perfection was unacceptable. He made
certain his crew knew it, too.
arry on,he said.
Since the battle of Sigma Octanus, FLEETCOM had reassigned top people to its Remote Sensing
Stations. Chief McRobb had been pulled from Fort York on the edge of the Inner Colonies. He had spent
the last three months helping his crew brush up on their abstract and complex algebras to interpret the
probe data.
eady to send out the next set of probes, sir,Lieutenant Streeter said. inear accelerator and
Slipspace generators online and charged.
et for thirty-second return cycle and launch,Chief McRobb ordered.
ye, sir. Probes away, sir. Accelerated and entering the Slipstream.

FLEETCOM didn really expect anything to attack the Reach Military Complex. It was the heart of the
UNSC military operations. If anything did attack it, the battle would be a short one. There were twenty
Super MAC guns in orbit. They could accelerate a three-thousand-ton projectile to point four-tenths the
speed of lightnd place that projectile with pinpoint accuracy. If that wasn enough to stop a
Covenant fleet, there were anywhere from a hundred to a hundred and fifty ships in the system at any
given time.
Chief McRobb knew, though, there had been another military base that was once thought too strong to
attacknd the military had paid the price for their lack of vigilance. He wasn about to let Reach
become another Pearl Harbor. Not on his watch.
robes returning, sir,Lieutenant Brightling announced. lpha reentering normal space in three . . .
two . . . one. Scanning sectors. Signal acquired at extraction point minus forty five thousand kilometers.
rocess the signals and send out the recovery drone, Lieutenant.
ye, sir. Getting signal lock on The Lieutenant squinted at his monitor. ir, would you take a look
at this?
n the board, Lieutenant.
Radar and neutron imager silhouettes appeared on-screennd filled the display. Chief McRobb had
never seen anything like it in Slipstream space.
onfirm that the data stream is not corrupted,the Chief ordered. estimating that object is three
thousand kilometers in diameter.
ffirmative . . . thirty-two-hundred-kilometer diameter confirmed, sir. Signal integrity is green. Wel
have a trajectory 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 asteroid
had been loggedNSC astrophysicists still weren sure how the things got into the alternate
dimension. But there had never been anything like this. At least, not since
h my God,McRobb whispered.
Not since Sigma Octanus.
ee not waiting for Beta probe,Chief McRobb barked. e are initiating the Cole Protocol.
Lieutenant Streeter, purge the navigational database, and I meanright now . Lieutenant Brightling,
remove the safety interlocks on the station reactor.

His junior officers hesitated for a momenthen they understood the gravity of their situation. They
moved quickly.
nitiating viral data scavengers,Lieutenant Streeter called out. umping main and cache memory.
He turned in his seat, his face white. ir, the science library is offline for repairs. It has every UNSC
astrophysics journal in it.
ith navigation data on every star within a hundred light-years,the Chief whispered. ncluding Sol.
Lieutenant, you get someone down there and destroy that data. I don care if they have to hit it with a
goddamn sledgehammerake sure that data is wiped.
ye, sir!Streeter turned to the COM and began issuing frantic orders.
afety interlocks red on the board,Lieutenant Brightling reported. His lips pressed into a single white
line, concentrating. eta probe returning, sir, in four . . . three . . . two . . . one. There. Off target one
hundred twenty thousand kilometers. Signal is weak. The probe appears to be malfunctioning. Trying to
scrub the signal now.
t too much of a coincidence that it malfunctioning, Streeter,the Chief said. et FLEETCOM on
Alpha channel on the double! Compress and send the duty log.
ye, sir.Lieutenant Streeter fingers fumbled with the keypad as he typedhen had to retype the
command. ogs sent.
eta probe signal on the board,Lieutenant Brightling reported. alculating the object trajectory . . .
The planetoid was closer. Its edges, however, had abnormalitiesumps and spikes and protrusions.
Chief McRobb shifted and clenched his hands into fists.
t will pass though Reach System,Lieutenant Brightling said. ntersecting the solar plane in
seventeen seconds at the system outer edge at zero four one.He inhaled sharply. ir, that only a
light-second away from us.
Lieutenant Streeter stood and knocked over his chair, almost backing into the Chief.
McRobb righted the chair. it down, Lieutenant. Wee got a job to do. Target the telescope array to
monitor that region of space.
Lieutenant Streeter turned and gazed into the rock-solid features of the Chief. He took a deep breath.

es, sir.He sat back down. ye, sir, moving the array.
amma probe returning in three . . . two . . . one.Lieutenant Brightling paused. here no signal, sir.
Scanning. Time plus four seconds and counting. Probe may have translated on a temporal axis.
don think so,the Chief murmured.
Lieutenant Streeter said, elescope array now on target, sir. On the main view screen.
Pinpoints of green light appeared at the edge of the Reach solar system. They collected and swarmed as
if they were caught in a boiling liquid. Space stretched, smeared, and distorted. Half the stars in that
region were blotted out.
adar contact,Lieutenant Brightling said. ontact with . . . more than three hundred large objects.
His hands started to shake. ir, silhouettes match known Covenant profiles.
heye accelerating,Lieutenant Streeter whispered. n an intercept course for the station.
LEETCOM network connections are being infiltrated,Lieutenant Brightling said. His trembling
hands could barely type in commands. utting our connection.
Chief McRobb stood as straight as he could. hat about the astrophysics data?
ir, theye still trying to end the diagnostic cycle, but that takes a few minutes.
hen we don have a lot of options,McRobb muttered.
He set his hand on Lieutenant Brightling shoulder to steady the young officer. t all right,
Lieutenant. Wee done the best we could. Wee done our duty. There nothing more to worry about.
He set his palmprint on the control station. The Chief locked out the reactor safeties and saturated the
fusion chamber with their deuterium reserve tanks. Chief McRobb said, ust one last order to carry out.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
0519 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSCPillar of Autumn , Epsilon Eridani System edge
Something was wrong.
John felt it in his stomach first: a slight lateral accelerationhat became a spin strong enough that he
had to brace his legs. ThePillar of Autumn was turning.
Every other Spartan in the storage bay felt it as well; they paused as they unloaded equipment from
crates and readied the cryo tubes for their journey.
The lateral motion slowed and stopped. ThePillar of Autumn engines rumbled like thunder through
the hull of the ship.
Kelly approached him. ir? I thought we were accelerating to enter Slipspace?
o did I. Have Fred and Joshua continue to prep the tubes. Have Linda get a team and secure our gear.
Il find out what going on.
ye, sir.
The Master Chief marched toward the intercom panel. He hated being on spaceships. The lack of control
was disturbing. He and the other Spartans were just extra cargo in a space battle.
He hesitated as he reached for the intercom. If Captain Keyes was involved in some tricky maneuver or
engaging an enemy, the last thing he needed was an interruption.
He pressed the button. ortana? Wee changed course. Is there a problem?
Instead of her voice, however, Captain Keyes spoke over the channel: aptain Keyes to Spartan 117.
He replied, ere, sir.
here been a change in plans,Keyes said. There was a long pause. his will be easier to explain
face-to-face. I on my way down to brief you. Keyes out.

John turned and the other Spartans snapped to their tasks. Those without specific orders checked and
rechecked their weapons and assembled their combat gear.
They had all heard the Captain, however. The sound receivers in their armor could pick up a whisper at a
hundred meters.
And the Spartans didn have to be told this was trouble.
John clicked on the monitor near the intercom. The fore camera showed thePillar of Autumn had indeed
turned about. Reach sun blazed in the center of the screen. They were heading back.
Was something wrong with the ship? No. Captain Keyes wouldn be coming to brief him if that was the
case. There was definitely a snag.
The elevator doors opened and Captain Keyes stepped off the lift.
aptain on the deck!the Master Chief shouted.
The Spartans stood at attention.
t ease,Captain Keyes said. The expression on the Captain face suggested that asewas the last
thing on his mind. He smoothed his thumb over the antique pipe the Master Chief had seen him carry.
here is something very wrong,Keyes said. He glanced at the other Spartans. et talk in private,
he told the Master Chief in a low voice. He walked to the monitor over the intercom.
ir,the Master Chief said. nless you wish to leave the deck, the Spartans will hear everything we
say.
Keyes looked at the Spartans and frowned. see. Very well, your squad might as well hear this now,
too. I don know how they found Reachhey bypassed a dozen Inner Colony worlds to get here. It
doesn matter. Theyare here. And we have to do something.
ir? hey
he Covenant.He turned to the intercom. ortana, display the last priority Alpha transmission.
A communiquflickered on screen, and the Master Chief read:
United Nations Space Command ALPHA PRIORITY TRANSMISSION 04592Z-83

Encryption Code:Red
Public Key:file /bravo-tango-beta-five/
From:Admiral Roland Freemont, Commanding Fleet Officer, FLEETCOM Sector One Commander/
(UNSC Service Number: 00745-16778-HS)
To:ALL UNSC warships in REACH, JERICO, and TANTALUS systems
Subject:IMMEDIATE RECALL
Classification:Classified (BGX Directive)
/start file/
Covenant presence detected on REACH system edge coordinates 030 relative.
All UNSC warships are hereby ordered to cease all activities and regroup at rally pointZULU at best
speed.
ALL SHIPSare to enact the Cole Protocol immediately.
/end file/
ortana has picked up ship signatures on thePillar of Autumn sensors,Captain Keyes said. he
cannot be sure how many because of electrical interference, but there are more than a hundred alien
ships inbound toward Reach. We have to go. We have our orders. The Section Three mission has to be
scrubbed.
ir? Scrubbed?John had never had a mission canceled.
each is our strategic headquarters and our biggest ship-building facility, Master Chief. If the shipyards
fall, then Dr. Halsey prediction of humanity having only months to survive will shrink to weeks.
The Master Chief normally would never have contradicted a superior officer, but this time duty
compelled him. ir, our two missions are not mutually exclusive.
Captain Keyes lit his pipen defiance of three separate regulations of igniting a combustible on a
USNC ship. He puffed once and thoughtfully examined the smoke. hat do you have in mind, Master
Chief?

hundred alien vessels, sir. Between the combined force of the fleet and Reach orbital gun
platforms, it is almost guaranteed there will be a disabled ship my squad can board and capture.
Captain Keyes mulled this over. here will also be hundreds of ships exchanging fire with one another.
Missiles, nukes . . . Covenant plasma torpedoes.
ust get us close enough,the Master Chief said. unch a hole in their shields long enough for us to
get on their hull. Wel do the rest.
Captain Keyes chewed on his pipe. He tucked it into the cup of his hand. here are operational
complications with your plan. Cortana has been running thePillar of Autumn shakedown. We have our
own AI, but by the time we get it initialized and running this shiphe battle may be over.
see, sir.
Captain Keyes gazed a moment at the Master Chief, then sighed. f there is a disabled Covenant ship
and if we are close enough to itand if wee not blown to a million bits by the time we get there, then Il
transfer Cortana to you. Ie flown ships without an AI before.Captain Keyes managed a weak smile,
but it quickly disappeared.
es, sir!
el be at rally point Zulu in twenty minutes, Master Chief. Have your team ready by then . . . for
anything.
ir.He saluted.
Captain Keyes returned the salute and entered the elevator, puffing on his pipe and shaking his head.
The Master Chief turned to his teammates. They halted what they were doing.
ou all heard. This is it. Fred and James, I want to you to refit one of our Pelicans. Get every scrap of
C-12 and shape a charge on her nose. If Captain Keyes downs a Covenant shield, we may have to blast
our way into the ship hull.
Fred and James replied, ye, sir.
inda, assemble a team and get into every crate ONI packed for usistribute that gear ASAP. Make
sure everyone gets a thruster pack, plenty of ammo, grenades, and Jackhammer launchers if we have
them. If we do get on board, we may encounter those armored Covenant types againhis time I want
the firepower to take them out.

es, sir!
The Spartans scrambled to make ready for the mission.
The Master Chief approached Kelly. On a private COM channel, he told her, rate thirteen on the
manifest has three HAVOK nuclear mines. Get them. I have the arming cards. Ready them for transport.
ffirmative.She paused.
The Master Chief couldn see her face past the reflective shield of her helmet, but he knew her well
enough to know that the tiny slump of her shoulders meant that she was worried.
ir?she said. know this mission will be tough, but . . . do you ever get the feeling that this is like
one of Chief Mendez missions? Like there a trick . . . some twist that wee overlooked?
es,he replied. nd I waiting for it.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
0534 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSCPillar of Autumn , Epsilon Eridani System
ThePillar of Autumn detonated its port emergency thrusters. The ship slid out of the path of the asteroid,
missing it by ten meters
he Covenant plasma trailing them did not. It impacted the city-sized rock and sent fountains of
molten iron and nickel spewing into space.
Nine of the ten teardrop-shaped Covenant fightersicknamed eraphsby ONIodged the asteroid
as well. The tenth ship slammed into the asteroid and vanished from the bridge view screen.
The other single ships accelerated and swarmed around thePillar of Autumn , harassing her with pulse
laser fire.
ortana,Captain Keyes said, ctivate our point defense system.
ThePillar of Autumn 50mm cannons flashedhipping away at the Covenant shipsshields.
lready engaged, Captain,Cortana said calmly.
nsign Lovell,Captain Keyes said. ngines all stop and bring us about one hundred eighty degrees.
Lieutenant Hikowa, ready our MAC gun and arm Archer missile pods A1 through A7. I want a firing
solution that has our Archer missiles hitting with the third MAC round.
n it, sir,Lieutenant Hikowa replied.
ye, sir,Ensign Lovell said. nswering engines all stop. Coming about. Brace yourselves.
ThePillar of Autumn engines sputtered and died. Navigational thrusters fired and rotated the ship to
face the real threat Covenant carrier.
The enormous alien craft had materialized aft of thePillar of Autumn and launched their single ships.
The carrier had then launched two salvos of plasmahich Captain Keyes had only shaken by entering
the asteroid field.

Cortana maneuvered the massivePillar of Autumn like it was a sporting yacht; she nimbly dodged
tumbling rocks, used them to screen Covenant plasma and pulse laser bolts.
But thePillar of Autumn would emerge from the asteroid field in twenty seconds.
iring solution online, sir,Lieutenant Hikowa said. AC gun hot and missile safety interlocks
removed. Ready to launch.
ire missiles at will, Lieutenant.
Rapid-fire thumps echoed though thePillar of Autumn hull and a swarm of Archer missiles sped
toward the incoming carrier.
AC gun is hot,Hikowa said. ooster capacitors ready. Firing in eight seconds, sir.
must make one small adjustment to your trajectory, Lieutenant,Cortana said. ovenant single ships
are concentrating their attacks on our underside. Captain? With your permission?
ranted,Keyes said.
iring solution recalculated,Cortana said. ang on.
Cortana fired thrusters and thePillar of Autumn rotated belly uprought the majority of her 50mm
cannons to bear on the Covenant Seraph fighters underneath her.
Overlapping fields of fire wore down their shieldsunctured their armored hulls with a thousand
rounds, tore through the pilots with a hail of projectiles, and peppered their reactors. Nine puffs of fire
dropped behind thePillar of Autumn and vanished into the darkness.
nemy single ships destroyed,Cortana said. pproaching firing position.
ortana, give me a countdown. Lieutenant Hikowa, fire on my mark.Captain Keyes said.
eady to fire, aye,Lieutenant Hikowa said.
Cortana nodded; her trim figure projected in miniature inside the bridge holotank. As she nodded, a time
display appeared, the numbers counting down rapidly.
Keyes gripped the edge of the command chair, his eyes glued to the countdown. Three seconds, two,
one . . . ark.

iring!Hikowa answered.
A triple flash of lightning saturated the forward view screen and bled in from the viewport; three whitehot
projectiles crossed the black distance between thePillar of Autumn and the Covenant carrier.
Along the side of the carrier, motes of light collected as they rebuilt the charges of their plasma weapons.
Archer missiles were pinpoints of exhaust in the distance; the carrier pulse lasers fired and melted a
third of the incoming missiles.
ThePillar of Autumn rolled to starboard and dove.
Captain Keyes floated in free fall for a heartbeat, then landed awkwardly on the deck. The crenellated
surface of an asteroid appeared on their port cameraeters awayhen vanished.
Captain Keyes was grateful that he never had time to initialize thePillar of Autumn AI. Cortana
performed superbly.
The trio of blazing MAC rounds struck the carrier. The shield flashed once, twice. The third round got
throughutting the ship from stem to stern.
The carrier spun sideways. Her shields stuttered once, trying to reestablish a protective screen. A
hundred Archer missiles struck, cratered the hull, blossomed into fire and sparks and smoldering metal.
The alien carrier listed and crashed into the asteroid thePillar of Autumn had just narrowly avoided. It
stuck there, hull broken and cracked. Columns of fire blossomed from the shattered vessel.
Captain Keyes sighed. A victory.
The Spartans, however, would not be taking that ship into Covenant space. It wasn going anywhere.
ortana, mark the location of the destroyed ship and the asteroid. We may have a chance to salvage her
later.
es, Captain.
nsign Lovell,Captain Keyes said, urn us around and give me best speed to rally point Zulu.
Lovell tapped the thrusters and rotated thePillar of Autumn to relative space normal with Reach. The
rumble of the engines shook the decks as the ship accelerated in-system.

TA twenty minutes at best speed, sir.
The battle for Reach could be over by the time he got there. Captain Keyes wished he could move
through Slipspace for short, precision jumps like the Covenant. That carrier had materialized a kilometer
behind thePillar of Autumn . If he had that kind of accuracy, he could be at the rally point nownd be
of some use. Any attempt to jump in-system, however, would be foolish at best. At worst, it would be a
fatal move. Jump targets varied by hundreds of thousands of kilometers. Theoretically, they could
reenter normal spaceinside Reach sun.
ortana, give me maximum magnification on the fore cameras.
ye sir,she said.
The view on the forward screen zoomed inumped and refocused on planet Reach.
Twenty thousand kilometers from the planet, a cluster of a hundred UNSC ships collected at rally point
Zulu: destroyers, frigates, three cruisers, two carriersnd three refit and repair stations hovering over
them . . . waiting to be used as sacrificial shields.
ifty-two additional UNSC warships inbound to rally point Zulu,Cortana reported.
hift focus to section four by four on-screen, Cortana. Show me those Covenant forces.
The scene blinked and transferred to the approaching Covenant fleet. There were so many ships Captain
Keyes couldn estimate their numbers.
ow many?he asked.
count three hundred fourteen Covenant ships, Captain,Cortana replied.
Captain Keyes couldn tear his gaze away from the ships. The UNSC only won battles with the
Covenant when they outnumbered the enemy forces three to one . . . not the other way around.
They had one advantage: the MAC orbital guns around Reachhe UNSC most powerful nonnuclear
weapon. Some called them uperMAC guns or the ig stick.
Their linear accelerator coils were larger than a UNSC cruiser. They propelled a three-thousand-ton
projectile at tremendous speed, and could reload within five seconds. They drew power directly from the
fusion reactor complex planetside.
ull back the camera angle, Cortana. Let me see the entire battle area.

The Covenant ships accelerated toward Reach. The fleet at rally point Zulu fired their MAC guns and
missiles. The orbital Super MAC guns opened fire as wellwenty streaks of white hot metal burned
across the night.
The Covenant answered by launching a salvo of plasma torpedoes at the orbital gunso much fire in
space that it looked like a solar flare.
Deadly arcs of flame and metal raced through space and crossed paths.
The engines of the three refit stations flared to life and the platelike ships moved toward the path of the
flaming vapor.
A plasma bolt caught the edge of the leading stationire splashed over its flat surface. More bolts hit,
and the station melted, sagged, and boiled. The metal glowed red, then white-hot, tinged with blue.
The other two stations maneuvered into position and shielded the orbital guns from the fiery assault.
Plasma torpedoes collided with them and sprayed plumes of molten metal into space. After a dozen hits,
clouds of ionizing metal enveloped the place where the three stations had been.
They had been vaporized.
The last of the Covenant plasma hit the hazecattered, absorbed, and made the cloud glow a hellish
orange.
Meanwhile, the fleet opening salvo and the Super MAC rounds hit the Covenant fleet.
The smaller ship-based MAC rounds bounced off the Covenant shieldst took three or more to wear
them down.
The Super MAC rounds, however, were another story. The first Super MAC shell hit a Covenant
destroyer. The ship shield flashed and vanishedhe remaining impact momentum transferred to the
shiphe hull rippled and shattered into a million fragments.
Four nuclear mines detonated in the center of the Covenant fleet. Dozens of ships with downed shields
flared white and dissolved.
The other ships however, shrugged off the damage; their shields burned brilliant silver, then cooled.
The surviving Covenant vessels advanced in-system third of their number were left behind . . .
burning radioactive hulks or utterly destroyed by the Super MAC rounds.

Plasma charges collected on the lateral lines of the Covenant ships. They fired. Fingers of deadly energy
reached across space . . . toward the UNSC fleet.
One Covenant ship sat in the center of the pack, a gigantic vessel, larger than three UNSC cruisers.
White-blue beams flashed from its prow split second later five UNSC vessels detonated.
ortana . . . what the hell was that?Keyes asked. ovell, push those engine superchargers as hot as
you can make them.
unning at three hundred ten percent, sir,Lovell reported. TA fourteen minutes.
eplaying and digitally enhancing video record,Cortana said.
She split the screen and zoomed in on the huge Covenant ship, replaying the video as the large ship
fired. The Covenant energy beams looked like pulse lasers . . . but tinged silver white, the same
scintillation effect that they seen when their shields were hit.
Cortana switched back to view the doomed UNSC destroyerMinotaur . The lance of energy was needlethin.
It struck the vessel on A deck, aft, near the reactor. Cortana pulled the view back and slowed the
record frame by framehe beam punctured through the entire ship, emanating below H deck by the
engines.
t drilled through every deck and both sets of battleplate,Captain Keyes murmured.
The beam moved through theMinotaur , slicing a ten-meter-wide swath.
rojected beam path cut through theMinotaur reactors,Cortana said.
new weapon,Captain Keyes said. aster than their plasma. Deadlier, too.
The large Covenant ship veered off course and accelerated away from the battle. Perhaps it didn want
to risk getting too close to their orbital MAC guns. Whatever the reason, Keyes was grateful to see it
withdraw.
The UNSC forces slowly scattered. Some launched missiles to intercept the plasma torpedoes, but the
high-energy explosives did nothing to the stop the superheated bolts. Fifty UNSC ships went up like
flares, burning, exploding, falling toward the planet.
The orbital Super MAC guns firedixteen hits and sixteen Covenant ships were blasted into flame and
glittering fragments.

The Covenant fleet split into two groups: half accelerated to engage the dispersing UNSC fleet; the
remainder of their ships arced upward relative to the plane of the system. That group maneuvered to get
a clear shot around the cloud of vaporized titanium from the refit stations. They were going to target the
orbital guns.
Plasma charges collected along their sides.
The orbital guns fired. The super-heavy rounds tore through the clouds of ionized metal vapor, leaving
whorls and spirals in the haze. They impacted eighteen incoming Covenant shipsipped through them
like tinfoil, with enough momentum to pulverize their hulls.
Six Covenant ships cleared the interfering cloud of vapor. They had a clear shot.
The Super MAC guns fired again.
Plasma erupted from the sides of the nearby Convent ships.
The Super MAC rounds hit the vessels and obliterated the enemy.
The streams of plasma, however, had already launched. They streaked toward the orbital guns
impacted and turned the installations into showers of sparks and molten metal.
When the haze cleared, fifteen of the Super MAC orbital installations remained intact . . . five had been
vaporized.
The Covenant ships engaging the fleet turned and fled on an out-system vector.
The remaining UNSC ships did not pursue.
ncoming orders, sir,Lieutenant Dominique called out. ee being ordered to fall back and
regroup.
Keyes nodded. ortana,he said, an you give me damage and casualty estimates for the fleet?
Her tiny holo image coalesced in the display tank. es, Captain,she said. She cocked an eyebrow at
him. re you sure you want the bad news?
Damage estimates scrolled across his personal screen.
They had taken heavy lossesn estimated twenty ships remained. Nearly one hundred shattered and
burning UNSC vessels floated, lifeless, in the combat area.

Captain Keyes realized that he was holding his breath. He exhaled. hat was too close,he murmured.
t could have been closer, Captain,Cortana whispered.
He watched the retreating Covenant. Once againt was too easy. No . . . it had been anything but
asyfor the UNSC forces, but the Covenant were certainly giving up far earlier than in any previous
battle. The aliens had never stopped once they engaged an enemy.
Except at Sigma Octanus, he thought.
ortana,Captain Keyes said. can the poles of planet Reach and filter out the magnetic interference.
The view screen snapped to the Reach northern pole. Hundreds of Covenant dropships streamed
toward the planet surface.
et FLEETCOM HQ online,he ordered Lieutenant Dominique. opy this message to the Fleet
Commander, as well.
ye, sir,Lieutenant Dominique said. hannel connected.
ell them theye being invaded. Dropships inbound at both poles.
Dominique sent the message, listened a moment, then reported, essage received and acknowledged,
sir.
The Super MAC guns pivoted and firedhattering dozens of the Covenant dropships in the shells
supersonic wake.
The remains of the UNSC fleet split into two groups, moving toward either pole. Missiles and MAC
guns fired and blasted the dropships to bits. The poles were punctuated with thousands of meteoroids as
the bits of hull burned up in the atmosphere.
Hundreds must have gotten through, Keyes thought. Reach had been invaded.
ncoming distress signal from FLEETCOM HQ planetside, sir,Lieutenant Dominique said, his voice
breaking.
n speakers,Captain Keyes said.
here are thousands of them. Grunts, Jackals, and their warrior Elites.he transmission broke into
static.hey have tanks and fliers. Christ, theye breached the perimeter. Fall back! Fall back! If

anyone can hear this: the Covenant is groundside. Massing near the armory . . . theye White noise
filled the speakers. Captain Keyes winced as he heard screams, bones snapping, an explosion. The
transmission went dead.
ir!Lieutenant Hall said. he Covenant fleet has altered their outbound trajectory. . . . theye
turning.She rotated to face the Captain. heye coming in for another attack.
Captain Keyes stood straighter and smoothed his uniform. ood.He addressed the crew in the calmest
voice he could muster. ooks like wee not too late after all.
Ensign Lovell nodded. ir, ETA to rally point Zulu in five minutes.
emove all missile safety locks,Captain Keyes ordered. et our remote-piloted Longsword into the
launch tube. And make sure our MAC gun capacitors and boosters are hot.
Captain Keyes pulled out his pipe. He lit it and puffed.
The Covenant were, of course, after the orbital guns. Their suicidal frontal chargehile almost
effective enoughad been just another diversion. The real danger was on the ground; if their troops
took out the fusion generators, the Super MAC guns would be so much floating junk in orbit.
his is bad,he muttered to himself.
Cortana appeared on the AI pedestal near the NAV station. aptain Keyes, I picking up another
distress signal. It from the Reach space dock AI. And if you think this she gestured at the incoming
Covenant fleet on screen is bad, wait until you hear this. It gets worse.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
0558 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSCPillar of Autumn , Epsilon Eridani System
The mission had just encountered another snag.
It never entered the Master Chief mind that he would fail to achieve his objectives. He had to succeed.
Failure meant death for not only himself, but for all the Spartans . . . every human.
He stood at the view screen in the cargo bay and reread the priority Alpha transmission Captain Keyes
had sent down:
Alpha priority channel: To Fleet Admiralty from REACH Space Dock Quartermaster AI8575
(a.
k.a. Doppler) /
/triple-encryption time-stamped public key: red rover red rover/
/start file/
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED
Item:Covenant data invasion packets detected penetrating firewall of REACH DOC NET.
Counterintrusion software enacted. Resolution: 99.9 percent certainty of neutralization.
Item:Initialization of triple-screening protocol discovered the corvetteCircumference /Bay Gamma-9/
isolated from REACH DOC NET.
Item:Covenant ships detected on inbound Slipstream vector intersecting Bay Gamma-9.
Conclusion:Unsecured navigation data on theCircumference detected by Covenant forces.
Conclusion: VIOLATION OF THE COLE PROTOCOL.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED.
/end file/

He replayed the distress call from Reach groundside FLEETCOM HQ.
. . . Theye breached the perimeter. Fall back! Fall back! If anyone can hear this: the Covenant is
groundside. Massing near the armory . . . theye
The Master Chief copied these files and sent them over his squad COM channel. They had a right to
know everything, too.
There was only one reason the Covenant would launch a ground invasion: to take out the planetary
defense generators. If they succeeded, Reach would fall.
And there was only one reason why the Covenant wanted the shipCircumference o plunder its NAV
databasend find every human world, including Earth.
Captain Keyes appeared on the view screen. He held his pipe in one hand, squeezing it so tight his
knuckles were white. aster Chief, I believe the Covenant will use a pinpoint Slipspace jump to a
position just off the space dock. They may try to get their troops on the station before the Super MAC
guns can take out their ships. This will be a difficult mission, Chief. I . . . open to suggestions.
e can take care of it,the Master Chief replied.
Captain Keyeseyes widened and he leaned forward in his command chair. ow exactly, Master
Chief?
ith all due respect, sir, Spartans are trained to handle difficult missions. Il split my squad. Three will
board the space dock and make sure that NAV data does not fall into the Covenant hands. The
remainder of the Spartans will go groundside and repel the invasion forces.
Captain Keyes considered this. o, Master Chief, it too risky. Wee got to make sure the Covenant
doesn get that NAV data. Wel use a nuclear mine, set it close to the docking ring, and detonate it.
ir, the EMP will burn out the superconductive coils of the orbital guns. And if you use thePillar of
Autumn conventional weapons, the NAV database may still survive. If the Covenant search the
wreckagehey may obtain the data.
rue,Keyes said, and tapped his pipe thoughtfully on his chin. ery well, Master Chief. Wel go
with your suggestion. Il plot a course over the docking station. Ready your Spartans and prep two
dropships. Wel launch you he consulted with Cortana in five minutes.
ye, Captain. Wel be ready.

ood luck,Captain Keyes said, and snapped off the view screen.
Luck. The Master Chief always had been lucky. He need luck more than ever this time.
He turned to face the Spartans . . . his Spartans. They stood at attention.
Kelly stepped forward. aster Chief sir, permission to lead the space op, sir.
enied,he said. l be leading that one.
He appreciated her gesture. The space operation would be ten times more dangerous than the ground op.
The Covenant would outnumber them ten to oner moreut the Spartans were used to taking the
fight against numerically superior enemies. They had always won on the ground.
The extraction of theCircumference database, however, would be in vacuum and zero gravitynd they
might have to fight their way past a Covenant warship to reach the objective. Not exactly ideal
conditions.
inda and James,he said. oue with me. Fred, youe Red Team Leader. Youl have tactical
command of the ground operation.
ir!Fred shouted. es, sir.
ow make ready,he said. e don have much time left.
The Master Chief regretted his unfortunate choice of words.
The Spartans stood a moment. Kelly called out, ttention!They snapped to and gave the Master Chief
a crisp salute.
He stood straighter and returned their salute. He was intensely proud of them all.
The Spartans scattered and gathered their gear, racing for the dropship bay.
The Master Chief watched them go.
This was the mission the Spartans had been tempered for in mission after mission. It would be their
finest moment . . . but he knew that it might also be their last moment.
Chief Mendez had said that a leader would be required to spend the lives of those under his command.

The Master Chief knew he would lose comrades todayut would their deaths serve a necessary
purpose . . . or would they be wasted?
Either way, they were ready.
John tapped the thrusters and rotated the Pelican dropship 180 degrees. He pushed the engines to full
power to brake their forward momentum. ThePillar of Autumn had dropped them while she had been
cruising at one-third full speed.
They need every millimeter of the ten thousand kilometers between them and the docking station to
slow down.
The Master Chief had taken the Spartan modified Pelican, rigged with explosives. The station would
be locked downvery airlock sealed. They have to blast their way in.
He glanced aft. Linda checked one of the three sniper rifle variants she had brought. James inspected his
thruster pack.
He had picked Linda because no other single Spartan was as efficient at long-range combat. And that
what the Master Chief wanted:long -range combat. If it came to hand-to-hand combat in zero gee with
hordes of Covenant troopers . . . even his luck wouldn hold out too long.
He had picked James because James had never quit. Even when his hand had been burned off, he had
shrugged off the shockt least for a whilend helped them dispatch the Covenant behemoths on
Sigma Octanus IV. The Master Chief would need that kind of determination on this mission.
He took a long look out the front of the Pelican. Their sister dropship initiated a burn and hurtled toward
Reach.
Kelly, Fred, Joshua . . . all of them. Part of him longed to join them in the ground action.
The radar panel blinked a proximity warning; the Pelican was one thousand kilometers from the docking
ring.
The Master Chief tapped the thrusters to align the dropship. He squelched the proximity alert.
The alert immediately re-sounded. Strange. He reached for the squelch againhen stopped as he saw
the space around the Pelican change. Motes of green light appeared, pinpoints at first, which swelled like
bruises on velvet black space. The green smears lengthened, compressed, and distorted the stars.

Slipstream entry point.
The Master Chief cut the Pelican engines, slowing them for impact.
A Covenant frigate materialized a kilometer from the dropship nose. Its prow filled their view screen.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
0616 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSC Pelican dropship, Epsilon Eridani System near Reach Station Gamma
race for maneuvering!the Master Chief barked.
The Spartans dove for safety harnesses and strapped in. ll secure!Kelly shouted.
The Master Chief killed the Pelican forward thrusters and triggered a short, sudden reverse burn. The
Spartans were brutally slammed forward into their harnesses as the Pelican acceleration bled away.
The Master Chief quickly shut down the engines.
The tiny Pelican faced the Covenant frigate. At a kilometer distance, the alien ship launch bay and
pulse laser turrets looked close enough to touch on the view screen; enough firepower to vaporize the
Spartans in the blink of an eye.
The Master Chief first instinct was to fire their HE Anvil-II missiles and autocannonsut he checked
his hand as he reached for the triggers.
That would only attract their attention . . . which was the last thing he wanted. For the moment, the alien
vessel ignored themrobably because the Master Chief had shut down the Pelican engines. But the
ship also seemed dead in space: no lights, no single ships launched, and no plasma weapons charging.
The dropship continued toward the docking station, their momentum putting distance between them and
the frigate.
Space around the Covenant ship boiled and pulled apartnd two more alien ships appeared.
They, too, ignored the dropship. Was it too small to bother with? The Master Chief didn care. His luck,
it seemed, was holding.
He checked the radarhirty kilometers to the docking ring. He ignited the engines to slow them down.
He had to or they would crash into the station.
Twenty kilometers.
Rumbling shook the dropship. They slowedut it wasn going to be enough.

Ten kilometers.
ang on,he told Linda and James.
The sudden impact whiplashed the Master Chief back and forth in his seat. The straps holding him
snapped.
He blinked . . . saw only blackness. His vision cleared and he noted that his shield bar was dead. It
slowly began to fill again. Every display and monitor in the cockpit had shattered.
The Master Chief shook off the disorientation and pulled himself aft.
The interior of the dropship was a mess. Everything tied down had come loose. Ammunition boxes had
broken open in the crash landing and loose carriages filled the air. Coolant leaked, spraying blobs of
black fluid. In zero gravity, everything looked like the inside of a shaken snowglobe.
James and Linda floated off the deck of the Pelican. They slowly moved.
ny injuries?the Master Chief asked.
o,Linda replied.
think so,James said. mean, no. I good, sir. Was that a landing or did those Covenant ships take
a shot at us?
f they had, we wouldn be here to talk about it. Get whatever gear you can and get out, double time,
the Master Chief said.
The Master Chief grabbed an assault rifle and a Jackhammer launcher. He found a satchel. Inside was a
kilogram of C-12, detonators, and a Lotus antitank mine. Those would come in handy. He salvaged five
intact clips of ammunition but couldn locate his thruster pack. He have to do without one.
o more time,he said. ee sitting ducks here. Out the side hatch now.
Linda went first. She paused, andnce she was satisfied the Covenant weren lying in ambush
motioned them forward.
The Master Chief and James exited, clung to the side of the Pelican in zero gravity, and took flanking
positions at the fore and aft ends of the dropship.
Space dock Gamma was a three-kilometer-diameter ring. Dull gray metal arced in either direction. On

the surface were communications dishes and a few conduitso real cover. The docking bay doors
were sealed tight. The station wasn spinning. The dockmaster AI must have shut the place up tight
when it detected the unsecured NAV database.
The Master Chief frowned when he spotted the tail end of their Pelicanrumpled and embedded into
the station hull. Its engines were ruined. The dropship jutted out at an angle; its prow and the charges
of C-12 that were supposed to have blasted them into a Covenant shipow pointed into the air.
The Master Chief started to drift off the station. He clipped himself to the hull of the dropship.
lue-Two,he said, olice those explosives.He gestured to the prow. The motion sent him gyrating.
es, sir.James puffed his thruster pack once and drifted up to the nose of the Pelican.
The Spartans had trained to fight in zero gravity. It wasn easy. The slightest motion sent you spinning
out of control.
A flash overhead reflected off the hull. The Master Chief looked up. The Covenant ships were alive now
ances of blue laser fire flashed and motes of red light collected on their lateral lines. Their engines
glowed and they moved close to the station.
A streak crossed the Master Chief field of vision in the blink of an eye. The center Covenant frigate
shields strobed silver; the ship shattered into a cloud of glistening fragments.
The orbital guns had turned and fired on the new threat.
This was a suicide maneuver. How did the Covenant think they could withstand that kind of firepower?
lue-One,the Master Chief said. can those ships with your scope.
Linda floated closer to the Master Chief. She pointed her sniper rifle up and sighted the ships. ee
got inbound targets,she said, and fired.
The Master Chief hit his magnification. A dozen pods burst from the two remaining Covenant ships.
Trails of exhaust pointed right at the Spartansposition. There were tiny specks accompanying the pods;
the Master Chief increased his display magnification to maximum. They looked like men in thruster
packs
No, they were definitely not men.
These things had elongated headsnd even at this distance, the Master Chief could see past their

faceplates and noted their pronounced sharklike teeth and jaws. They wore armor; it shimmered as they
collided with debrishich meant energy shields.
These must be the elite warrior class Dr. Halsey had conjectured. The Covenant best? They were about
to find out.
Linda shot one of the EVA aliens. Shields shimmered around its body and the round bounced off. She
didn stop. She pumped four more rounds into the creatureitting a pinpoint target in its neck. Its
shields flickered and a round got through. Black blood gushed from the wound and the creature writhed
in space.
The other aliens spotted them. They jetted toward their location, firing plasma rifle and needlers.
ake cover,the Master Chief said. He unclipped himself and clung to the side of the dropship.
Linda followedolts of fire spattering on the hull next to them, spattering molten metal. Crystalline
needles bounced off their shields
lue-Two,the Master Chief said. said fall back.
James almost had the explosives rigged to the nose free. A shower of needles hit him. One stuck the tank
of his thruster harnessenetrated. It remained embedded for a split second . . . then exploded.
Exhaust billowed from the pack. The uncontrolled jets spun James in the microgravity. He slammed into
the station, bouncedhen rocketed away into space, tumbling end over end, unable to control his
trajectory.
lue-Two! Come in,the Master Chief barked over the COM channel.
anontrol Jamesvoice was punctuated with static. heyeverywhere There was more
static and the COM channel went dead.
The Master Chief watched his teammate tumble away into the darkness. All his training, his superhuman
strength, reflexes, and determination . . . completely useless against the laws of physics.
He didn even know if James was dead. For the moment, he had to assume that he wasut him out of
his mind. He had a mission to complete.If he survived, then he get every UNSC ship in the area to
mount a search and rescue op.
Linda shrugged out of her thruster harness.

The suppressing fire from the aliens halted. Covenant landing pods descended toward the station,
touching down at roughly three-hundred-meter intervals.
A pod landed twenty meters away. Its sides uncurled like the petals of a flower. Jackals in black-andblue
vacuum suits drifted out. Their boots adhered to the station hull.
et pave a path out of here, Blue-One.
oger that,she said.
Linda targeted spots their energy shields didn coveroots, the top of one head, a fingertip. Three
Jackals went down in quick succession, their spacesuits ruptured by her marksmanship. The rest
scrambled for cover inside the pod.
The Master Chief braced his back against the dropship and fired his assault rifle in controlled bursts. The
microgravity played havoc with his aim.
One Jackal leaped from his covertraight towards them.
The Master Chief switched to full auto and blasted his shield with enough rounds to send the alien flying
backward off the station. He spent the clip, reloaded, and got out a grenade. He pulled the pin and
lobbed it.
He threw it in a flat trajectory. The grenade ricocheted off the far side of the pod and bounced inside.
It detonated flash and spray of freeze-dried blue vented upward. The explosion had caught the enemy
on their unshielded sides.
lue-One, secure that landing pod. Il cover you.He leveled his rifle.
es, sir.Linda grabbed a pipe that ran along the station and pulled herself hand over hand. When she
was inside the pod, she flashed him a green light on his heads-up display.
The Master Chief crawled toward the prow of the Pelican. As he crested the ship he saw that the station
was swarming with Covenant troops: a hundred Jackals and at least six Elites. They pointed toward the
Pelican and slowly started to advance on their position.
ome and get it,the Master Chief muttered.
He pulled two grenades from his satchel and wedged them into the C-12 on the nose of the ship. He
pushed off and propelled himself back to his teammate.

She grabbed him and pulled him into the interior of the open pod. Bits of a dozen dead Jackals pasted
the inside.
oue got a new target,he told her. pair of frag grenades. Sight on them and wait for my order to
fire.
She propped her rifle on the edge of the open pod and aimed.
Jackals crawled over the Pelicanne of the Elite warriors appeared as well, maneuvering in a harness,
flying over the ship. The Elite gestured imperiously, directing the Jackals to search the ship.
ire,the Master Chief said.
Linda fired once. The grenades detonated; the chain reaction set off the twenty kilograms of C-12.
A subsonic fist slammed into the Master Chief and threw him to the far side of the landing pod. Even
twenty meters away, the sides of the craft warped and the top edges sheared away.
He looked over the edge.
There was a crater where the Pelican had been. If anything had survived that blast, it was now in orbit.
e have a way in,the Master Chief remarked.
Linda nodded.
In the distance, where the station curved out of view, more Covenant pods landednd the Master
Chief saw the silhouettes of hundreds of Jackals and Elite fighters crawling and jetting their way closer.
et go, Blue-One.
They pulled themselves toward the hole. The detonation had blown through five decks, leaving a tunnel
of ragged-edged metal and sputtering gas hoses.
The Master Chief called up the station blueprints on his display. hat one,he said, and pointed two
decks down. level. That where bay nine and theCircumference should be, three hundred meters to
port.
They climbed into the interior and into B deck corridor. The station emergency lights were on, filling
the passage with dull red illumination.

The Master Chief paused and signaled her to halt. He pulled out the Lotus antitank mine from his satchel
and set it on the deck. He set the sensitivity to maximum and triggered its proximity detectors. Anything
that tried to follow them would get a surprise.
The Master Chief and Linda gripped the handrails along the corridor and pulled themselves up the
curved hall.
Flashes of automatic-weapons fire flashed in the low light, just ahead of their position.
lue-One,the Master Chief said, head, ten metershere a pressure door open.
They quickly took positions on either side of the door. He sent his optical probe around the corner.
The docking bay had a dozen ship berths on two levels. The Master Chief spotted a few battered
Pelicans; a station service bot; and in berth eleven, a sleek private craft held in place by massive service
clamps. Where the ship name should have been painted on the prow there was only a simple circle.
That had to be the target.
Two berths aft, four Marines in vac suits were pinned down by plasma and needler fire. The Master
Chief turned his optical probe and saw what was pinning them down: thirty Jackals were in the forward
portion of the bay, slowly advancing, under cover of their energy shields.
The Marines tossed frag grenades. The Jackals scrambled for cover and turned their shields.
Three silent explosions flashed in the vacuum. Not one of the Jackals fell.
Another explosion rippled through the deckehind them. It shook the Master Chief bones in his
armor. The Lotus mine had detonated.
They didn have much time before the Covenant force outside caught up with them.
The Master Chief readied his assault rifle.
ake those Jackals out, Blue-One. Il make a break for theCircumference .
Linda gripped the edge of the pressure door with her left hand, propped her rifle across it, and curled her
right hand around the trigger.
here are a lot of them,she said. his may take a few seconds.
A flicker of a contact appeared on the Master Chief motion trackerhen vanished. He turned and

brought his assault rifle to bear. Nothing. ang on, Blue-One. I going to check our six.
Linda acknowledgment light winked on.
The Master Chief eased back down the passage ten meters. No sensor contact. There was just dim red
light and shadows . . . but one of the shadows moved.
It only took an instant for the image to fully resister: a black film peeled away from the darkness. It was
a meter taller than John and wore blue armor similar to that on Covenant warships. Its helmet was
elongated and it had rows of sharp teeth; it looked like it was smiling at him.
The Elite warrior leveled a plasma pistol.
At this range, there was no way the creature would misshe plasma weapon would cut through John
slowly recharging shields almost immediately. And if John used his assault rifle, it wouldn cut though
the alien energy shield. In a simple exchange of fire, the alien would win.
Unacceptable. He needed to change the odds.
The Master Chief pushed off the wall and launched himself at the creature. He slammed into the Elite
before it had a chance to fire.
They tumbled backward and crashed into the bulkhead. The Master Chief saw the alien shield flicker
and fade
e hammered on the edge of the alien gun.
The creature howled soundlessly in the vacuum and dropped the plasma weapon.
The Elite kicked him in the midsection; his shield took the brunt of the attack, but the blow sent him
spinning end over end. He slapped his hand against the ceiling and stalled his spinhen dove under the
Elite follow-up attack.
The Master Chief tried to grab the alienut their weakened shields slid and crackled over one another.
Too slippery.
They bounced down the curved length of the passage. The Master Chief boot caught on a railing,
twisted lance of pain shot up his legut he halted their combined momentum.
The Elite pushed away and caught a railing on the opposite side of the passage. Then it turned and
sprang back toward the Master Chief.

John ignored the pain in his leg. He pushed himself at the alien.
They collidedhe Master Chief struck with both fists, but the force slid off the Elite shields.
The Elite grabbed him and threw him. They both spun into the wall.
The Master Chief was pinnederfect: he had something to brace against in the zero gravity. He swung
his fist, used every muscle in his body, and connected with the alien midsection. Its shield shimmered
and crackled but some of the momentum transferred. The alien doubled over and reeled backward
nd its hands found the plasma weapon that it had dropped.
The Elite recovered quickly and aimed at the Master Chief.
The Master Chief jumped, grabbed its wrist. He locked his armor glove articulationt became a vise
clamp.
They wrestled for control. The gun pointed at the alienhen the Master Chief.
The alien was as strong as the Master Chief.
They spun and bounced off the floor, ceiling, and walls. They were too evenly matched.
The Master Chief managed to force a stalemate: the pistol now pointed straight up between their bodies.
If it went off it would hit them bothne shot at point-blank range might collapse their shields. They
both fry.
The Master Chief whipped his forearm and elbow over the creature wrist and slammed it in the head.
For a split second it was stunned and its strength ebbed.
John turned the gun into its facequeezed the firing mechanism. The plasma discharge exploded into
the creature. Fire sprayed across its shields; they shimmered, flickered, and dimmed.
The energy splash washed over the Master Chief; his shields drained to a quarter. The internal suit
temperature spiked to critical levels.
But the Elite shields were dead.
He didn wait for the plasma gun to recharge. The Master Chief grabbed the creature with his left hand
is right fist struck an uppercut to the head, a hook to the throat and chest, three rapid-fire strikes with
his forearm to its helmethat cracked and hissed atmosphere.

The Master Chief pushed away and fired the pistol again. The bolt of fire caught the Elite in the face.
It writhed and clawed at nothing. The Elite shuddered . . . suspended in midair; it twitched and finally
stopped moving.
The Master Chief shot it again to make sure it was dead.
Motion sensors picked up multiple targets approaching down the corridororty meters and closing.
The Master Chief turned and double-timed it back to Blue-One.
Linda was where he left her, shooting her targets with absolute concentration and precision.
here are more on the way,he told her.
einforcements have already arrived in the bay,she reported. wenty, at least. Theye learning,
overlapping their shieldsan get a good shot in.
Static crackled over the Master Chief COM channel:aster Chief, this is Captain Keyes. Did you get
the NAV database?The Captain sounded out of breath.
egative, sir. Wee close.
ee bound in-system to retrieve you. ETA is five minutes. Destroy theCircumference database and
get out ASAP. If you cannot accomplish your mission . . . Il have to take out the station with thePillar of
Autumn weapons. We are running out of time.
nderstood, sir.
The channel snapped off.
Captain Keyes was wrong. They weren running out of time . . . time had already run out.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
0616 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSCPillar of Autumn , Epsilon Eridani System near Reach Station Gamma
The plan started to fall apart almost the instant thePillar of Autumn launched their Pelican dropships.
ring us about to heading two seven zero,Captain Keyes ordered Ensign Lovell.
ye, Captain,Lovell said.
ieutenant Hall, track the dropshipstrajectories.
elican One on target to dock with station Gamma,Lieutenant Hall reported. elican Two initiating
descent burn. They are five by five to land just outside FLEET HQ
aptain,Cortana interrupted. patial disruption behind us.
The view screen snapped to the aft. Black space bubbled with green points of light; the stars in the
distance faded and stretched Covenant frigate appeared from nowhere.
ieutenant Dominique,Captain Keyes barked, otify FLEETCOM that we have unwanted visitors in
the backyard. I respectfully suggest they reorient those orbital guns ASAP. Ensign Lovell, turn this ship
around and give me maximum power to the engines. Lieutenant Hikowa, prepare to fire the MAC gun
and arm Archer missile pods B1 through B7.
The crew jumped to their tasks.
ThePillar of Autumn spun about, her engines flared, and she slowly came to a halt. The ship started back
toward the new Covenant threat.
ir,Cortana said. patial disruptions increasing exponentially.
Two more Covenant frigates appeared, flanking the first ship.
As soon as they exited Slipstream space white-hot line streaked across the blackness. A Super MAC
gun had targeted them and fired. The Covenant ship only existed for a moment longer. Its shields flashed
and the hull blasted into fragments.

heye powered down,Captain Keyes said. o lights, no plasma weapons charging, no lasers. What
are they doing?
erhaps,Cortana said, heir pinpoint jumps require all their energy reserves.
weakness?Captain Keyes mused.
ot for long,Cortana replied. ovenant energy levels climbing.
The two remaining Covenant ships powered upights snapped on, engines glowed, and motes of red
light appeared and streamed along their lateral lines.
ntering optimal firing range,Lieutenant Hikowa announced. argeting solutions computer for both
ships, Captain.
arget the port vessel with our MAC gun,Lieutenant Hikowa. eady Archer missiles for the
starboard target. Let hope we can draw their fire.
Lieutenant Hikowa typed in the commands. eady, sir.
ire.
ThePillar of Autumn MAC gun fired three times. Thunder roiled up from the ventral decks. Archer
missiles snaked through space toward the Covenant frigate on the starboard edge of the enemy formation.
The Covenant ships fired . . . but not at thePillar of Autumn . Plasma bolts launched toward the two
closest orbital guns.
ThePillar of Autumn MAC rounds struck the Covenant ship once, twice. Their shields flared, glowed,
and dimmed. The third round struck clean and penetrated her hull aftent the ship spinning
counterclockwise.
The orbital MAC guns fired again streak of silver and the port Covenant vessel shattered split
second later the starboard ship exploded, too.
But their plasma torpedoes continued toward their targets, splashing across two of the orbital defense
platforms. The guns melted and collapsed into boiling molten spheres in the microgravity.
Thirteen guns left, Captain Keyes thought. Not exactly a lucky number.

ieutenant Dominique,he said, equest FLEETCOM to send all arriving vessels in-system to take up
defense positions near our guns. The Covenant is willing to sacrifice a ship for one of our orbital guns.
Advise them the Covenant ships appear to be dead in space for a few seconds after they execute a
pinpoint jump.
ot it, sir,Lieutenant Dominique said. essage away.
ieutenant Hikowa,Captain Keyes said. end the destruction codes to those wild missiles we
launched.
ye, sir.
elay that,Captain Keyes said. Something didn feel right. ieutenant Hall, scan the region for
anything unusual.
canning, sir,she said. here are millions of hull fragments; radar is useless. Thermal is off the charts
verything is hot out there.She paused, leaned closer, and a hank of her blond hair fell into her face,
but she didn brush it aside. eading motiontoward Gamma station, sir. Landing pods.
ieutenant Hikowa,Keyes said. epurpose those Archer missiles. New targetsink with Lieutenant
Hall for coordinates.
es, Captain,they said in unison.
iversion, distraction, and deceit,Captain Keyes said. he Covenant tactics are almost getting
predictable.
A hundred pinpoints of fire dotted the distant space as their missiles found Covenant targets.
icking up activity just out of the effective range of our orbital guns,Cortana said.
how me,Captain Keyes said.
The titanic Covenant vessel Keyes had seen before was back. It fired its brilliant blue-white beam
lance across spacehat struck the destroyerHerodotus , one hundred thousand kilometers distant. The
beam cut clean through the ship, stem to stern, bisecting her.
hrist,Ensign Lovell whispered.
A salvo of orbital gun rounds fired at this new target . . . but it was too far away. The ship moved out of
the trajectory of the shells. They missed.

Another beam flashed from the Covenant vessel. Another ship carrier, theMusashi as severed
amidships as it moved to cover the orbital guns. The aft section of the ship continued to thrust forward,
her engines still running hot.
heye going to sniper our ships,Keyes said. eave us nothing to fortify Reach.He took out his
pipe and tapped it in the palm of his hand. nsign Lovell. Plot an intercept course. Engines to
maximum. Wee going to take that ship out.
ir?Lovell sat straighter. es, sir. Plotting course now.
Cortana appeared on the holographic display. assume you have another brilliant navigational
maneuver to evade this enemy, Captain.
thought I fly straight in, Cortana . . . and let you do the driving.
traight? Youare joking.Logic symbols streamed up her body.
never joke when it comes to navigation,Captain Keyes said. ou will monitor the energy state of
that ship. The instant you detect a buildup in their reactors, a spike of particle emissionsnything
you fire our emergency thrusters to throw off their aim.
Cortana nodded. l do my best,she said. heir weapondoes travel at light speed. There won be
much time to
A bang resonated through their port side hull. Captain Keyes flew sideways. Blue-white light flashed on
their port view screen.
ne shot missed,Cortana replied.
Captain Keyes stood up and straightened his uniform. eady MAC gun, Lieutenant Hikowa. Arm
Archer missile pods C1 through E7. Give me a firing solution for missile impact on our last MAC
round.
Lieutenant Hikowa arched an eyebrow. She had good reason to be dubious. They would be firing more
than five hundred missiles at a single target. olution online, sir. Guns hot and ready.
istance, Lieutenant Hall?
losing in on extreme range for MAC guns, sir. In four . . . three. . . .
An explosion to starboard and thePillar of Autumn jumped. Keyes was braced this time.

ire, Lieutenant Hikowa. Send them back where they belong.
issiles away, sir. Waiting to coordinate MAC rounds.
Blue lightning washed out the view screen. Dull thumps sounded through thePillar of Autumn like a
string of firecrackers going off. The ship listed to port, and it started to roll.
ee hit!Lieutenant Hall said. ecompression on Decks C, D, and E. Sections two through twentyseven.
Venting atmosphere. Reactor damaged, sir.She listened to her headset. an get a clear
report of what going on belowdecks. Wee losing power.
eal those sections. Lieutenant Hikowa, do we have gun control?
ffirmative.
hen fire at will, Lieutenant.
ThePillar of Autumn shuddered as its MAC gun fired. Pings and groans diffused though her damaged
hull. A trio of white-hot projectiles appeared on the view screen, chasing the Archer missiles toward
their intended target.
The first round struck the Covenant ship; its shields rippled. The second and third rounds struck, and
more than five hundred missiles detonated along her length. Flame dotted the massive vessel, and her
shields blazed solid silver. They faded and popped. A dozen missiles impacted her hull and exploded,
scarring the bluish armor.
inimal damage to the target, sir,Lieutenant Hall reported.
ut we downed their shields,Captain Keyes said. e can hurt them. That all I needed to know.
Lieutenant Hikowa, make ready to fire again. Identical targeting solution. Lieutenant Hall, launch our
remote-piloted Longsword interceptor and arm its Shiva nuclear warhead. Cortana, take control of the
single ship.
Cortana tapped her foot. ongsword away,she said. here do you want me to park this thing?
ntercept course for the Covenant ship,he told her.
ir,Lieutenant Hikowa cried. e have an insufficient charge rate to fire the MAC guns.
nderstood,Captain Keyes said. ivert all power from the engines to regenerate gun capacitors.

ay I point out Cortana said and crossed her arms that if you power down the engines, we will
be inside the blast radius of the Shiva warhead when it reaches the Covenant ship?
oted,Captain Keyes said. o it.
apacitors at seventy-five percent,Lieutenant Hikowa announced. ighty-five. Ninety-five. Full
charge, sir. Ready to fire.
ire at will,Captain Keyes ordered.
issiles away
A javelin of blue-white energy from the Covenant ship slashed at thePillar of Autumn . The beam struck,
and cut through the hull. ThePillar of Autumn slid into a flat spin as the explosive decompression
knocked the ship off course. As theAutumn spun, the Covenant energy beam carved a spiral pattern in
the hull, shredding armor and puncturing deep into the ship.
The ship lurched sickeningly as the beam played across the portside Archer pods; the missiles detonated
in their tubes. Keyes was nearly thrown from the command chair as the deck bucked beneath him.
He tightened his safety straps and scowled at the tactical displays. amage report!he yelled, his voice
competing with the dozens of hazard alarms that blared through the bridge speakers.
Cortana brought up a holographic view of the ship and flagged damaged areas in pulsing red. ort
launch and storage bays have been breachedires on all decks, all sections. Primary fusion chamber is
breached.
ThePillar of Autumn tumbled out of control.
ortana, get us straight and level. We have to fire our guns!
es, Captain.Her body became a blur of mathematical symbols. his is an extremely chaotic
trajectory,she said. tmosphere still venting. Hang on. There. Got it.
ThePillar of Autumn righted herself. The Covenant ship centered on the main view screen. This close
Captain Keyes saw how huge the ship washree times the mass of a normal cruiser. There was a pod
mounted on the top deck; it swiveled and tracked thePillar of Autumn , bringing the turret to bear. It
glowed electric white as it built up another lethal charge.
ire when ready, Lieutenant Hikowa,Captain Keyes ordered.

iring!Thunder rumbled belowdecks. AC rounds away.
The shells struck the Covenant vessel; Archer missiles impacted . . . only a handful got though her
downed shields.
ortana, crash-land our Longsword on that bastard. Set timer delay on the nuke for fifteen seconds.
fterburners on,Cortana replied. mpact in three . . . two . . . one. She down, sir.
ThePillar of Autumn sped past the Covenant ship.
ieutenant Hall, divert any power you can muster to the engines.
ringing secondary reactor back online, sir. That gives us fifteen percent.
ft camera on center screen,Captain Keyes ordered.
The Covenant ship slowly turned toward thePillar of Autumn and its turret tracked their position. For the
first time in his life, Keyes prayed that a Covenant ship shields would hold.
The alien ship became a flash of white light; its outline blurred. Their shields held for a split second as
the Shiva warhead detonatedinside its protective aura. The shockwave rebounded off the asymmetrical
shape of the shields just before their collapse. Jets of energy exploded outward at three different angles.
Thunder and plasma roiled into space . . . cleanly missing thePillar of Autumn .
The light faded and the Covenant flagship was gone.
Captain Keyes puffed again on his pipe and tapped it out. Maybe now they had a chance to rally what
remained of the UNSC fleet and defend Reach.
ongratulations Captain,Cortana said. couldn have done better myself.
hank you, Cortana. Is there a planet nearby?
eta Gabriel,she said. ourteen million kilometers. Practically next door.
ood. Ensign Lovell, plot a course for a slingshot orbit. Reverse our trajectory back in-system.
ir,Lieutenant Dominique interrupted. ncoming transmission from Reach. It the Spartans.
n speakers, Lieutenant.

Static hissed from the channel. A man voice broke through.bad. Reactor complex seven has been
compromised. Wee falling back. Might be able to save number three. Set off those charges now!
There was a series of explosions . . . more white noise, then the man returned.e advised Pillar of
Autumn, groundside reactors are being taken. Orbital guns at risk. Nothing we can do. Too many. We
will have to use the nukesStatic washed away the transmission.
aptain,Cortana said. ou need to see this, sir.
She overlaid a tactical map of the system on the main view screen. Tiny triangular red markers winked
on the edges: Covenant shipsozens of themeentered the system from Slipspace.
ir,she said, hen the guns around Reach go down. . . .
here will be nothing left to stop the Covenant,he finished.
Captain Keyes turned to Lieutenant Dominique. et those Spartans back online,he said. ell them to
evac ASAP. In a few minutes, it going to get very nasty around Reach.
He took a deep breath. hen raise the Master Chief on a secure channel. Let hope he has some good
news for us.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
0637 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Station Gamma
ultiple signals on motion tracker,the Master Chief said. heye all around us.
The passageway behind the Master Chief and Blue-One swarmed with blips. So did docking Bay Nine,
ahead of them. The Master Chief saw, however, not all the blips were hostiles. Four Marine friend-orfoe
tags strobed on his heads-up display: SGT. JOHNSON, PVT. ORIEN, PVT. BISENTI, and PVT.
JENKINS.
The Master Chief opened up a COM channel to them. isten up, Marines. Your lines of fire are sloppy;
tighten them up. Concentrate on one Jackal at a timer youl just waste your ammo on their shields.
aster Chief?Sergeant Johnson said, startled. ir, yes sir!
lue-One,the Master Chief said. going in. Wee going to open up theCircumference like a tin
can.He nodded toward the Pelican in the adjacent bay. ive me a few grenades over the top.
nderstood,she replied. oue covered, sir.She primed two frag grenades, swung around the
pressure doors, and threw them behind the Jackals.
The Master Chief pushed off the wallropelled himself in the zero gee across the bay.
The grenades detonated and caught the Jackals on their backsides. Blue blood spattered on the insides of
their shields and across the deck.
The Master Chief crashed into the Pelican hull. He pulled himself to the side hatch, opened it, and
crawled in. He got into the cockpit, released the docking clamps, and tapped the maneuvering thrusters
once to break free.
The Pelican lifted off the deck.
The Master Chief said over the COM channel, arines and Blue-One: take cover behind me.He
maneuvered the Pelican into the center of the docking bay.
A dozen Jackals poured in through the passage that Blue-One had just left.

The Master Chief fired with the Pelican autocannonut down their shields and peppered the aliens
with hundreds of rounds. They exploded into chunks; alien blood twisted crazily in zero gravity.
aster Chief,Linda said, picking upthousands of signals on the motion tracker, inbound from all
directions. The entire station is crawling.
The Master Chief opened the Pelican back hatch. et in,he said. Blue-One and the Marines piled
inside.
The Marines did a double take at Blue-One and the Master Chief in their MJOLNIR armor.
The Master Chief turned the Pelican to face theCircumference . He sighted the autocannon on the ship
forward viewportsnd opened fire. Thousands of rounds streamed from the chain-gun and cracked
through the thick, transparent windows. He followed up with an Anvil-II missile. It blasted through the
prow and peeled the craft open.
ake the controls,he told Blue-One.
He slipped out the side hatch and jumped to theCircumference . The inside of the ship cockpit was
scrap metal. He accessed the computer panel in the floor deck and located the NAV database core. It
was a cube of memory crystal the size of his thumb. Such a tiny thing to cause so much trouble.
He shot it three times with his assault rifle. It shattered.
ission completed,he said. One small victory in all this mess. The Covenant wouldn find Earth . . .
today.
He exited theCircumference . Jackals appeared on the level above them in the docking bay. His motion
tracker blinked with solid contacts.
He jumped back into the Pelican, strapped himself in the pilot chair, and turned the ship to face the
outer doors.
lue-One, signal the dockmaster AI to open the outer bay doors.
ignal sent,she said. o response, sir.She looked around. here a manual release by the outer
door.She moved toward the aft hatch. l get this one, sir. It my turn. Cover me.
oger, Blue-One. Keep your head down. Il draw their fire.
She launched herself out the back hatch.

The Master Chief tapped the Pelican thrusters and the ship rose higher in the bayp to the second
level. The upper decks were the mechanic bays; the area was littered with ships that were partially
disassembled in various stages of repair. It was also where a hundred Jackals and a handful of Elite
warriors were waiting for him.
They opened fire. Plasma bolts scored the hull of the Pelican.
The Master Chief fired the chain-gun and let loose a salvo of missiles. Alien shields blazed and failed.
Blue and green blood splashed and flash-froze in the icy vacuum.
He hit the top thrusters and dropped down to the lower levellammed the ship back into a berth for
cover.
Blue-One crouched by the manual release. The outer doors eased open, revealing the night and stars
beyond. oue clear for exit, Master Chief. Wee home free
A new contact on the Pelican targeting display appearedight behind Linda. He had towarn her
A bolt of plasma struck her in the back. Another blot of fire blazed her from the upper decks and
splashed across her front. She crumpleder shields flickered and went out. Two more bolts hit her
chest. A third blast smashed into her helmet.
o!the Master Chief said. He felt each of those plasma bolts as if they had hit him, too.
He moved the Pelican to cover her. Plasma struck the hull, melting its outer skin.
et her inside!he ordered the Marines.
They jumped out, grabbed Linda and her smoldering armor, and pulled her inside the Pelican.
The Master Chief sealed the hatch, ignited the engines and pushed them to full thrustocketing into
space.
an you fly this ship?he asked the Marine Sergeant.
es, sir,Johnson replied.
ake over.
The Master Chief went to Linda and knelt by her side. Sections of her armor had melted and adhered to

her. Underneath, in patches, bits of carbonized bone showed. He accessed her vital signs on his heads-up
display. They were dangerously low.
id you do it?she whispered. et the database?
es. We got it.
ood,she said. e won.She clasped his hand and closed her eyes.
Her vital signs flat-lined.
John squeezed her hand and let go. es,he said bitterly. e won.
aster Chief, come in.aptain Keyes voice sounded over the COM channel. hePillar of
Autumnwill be in rendezvous position in one minute.
ee ready, Captain,he answered. He set Linda hand over her chest. ready.
The instant the Master Chief docked the Pelican to thePillar of Autumn , he felt the cruiser accelerate.
He took Linda body double time to a cryo chamber and immediately froze her. She was clinically dead
here was no doubt of that. Still, if they could get her to a Fleet hospital, they might be able to
resuscitate her. It was a long shotut she was a Spartan.
The med techs wanted to check him out as well, but he declined and took the elevator to the bridge to
report to Captain Keyes.
As he rode inside the lift he felt the ship accelerate porthen starboard. Evasive maneuvers.
The elevator doors parted and the Master Chief stepped onto the bridge.
He snapped a crisp salute to Captain Keyes. eporting for debriefing, sir.
Captain Keyes turned and looked surprised to see him . . . or maybe he was shocked to see the condition
of his armor. It was charred, battered, and covered with alien blood.
The Captain returned the Master Chief salute. he NAV database was destroyed?he asked.
ir, I would not have left if my mission was incomplete.

f course, Master Chief. Very good,Captain Keyes replied.
ir, may I ask that you scan for active FOF tags in the region?The Master Chief glanced at the main
view screenaw scattered fights between Covenant and UNSC warships in the distance. lost a man
on the station. He may be floating out there . . . somewhere.
ieutenant Hall?the Captain asked.
canning,she said. After a moment she looked back and shook her head.
see,” the Master Chief replied. There could be worse deaths . . . but not for one of his Spartans.
Floating helpless. Slowly suffocating and freezingosing to an enemy that could not be fought.
ir,the Master Chief said, hen will thePillar of Autumn rendezvous with my planetside team?
Captain Keyes turned from the Master Chief and stared out into space. e won be picking them up,
he said quietly. hey were overrun by Covenant forces. They never made orbit. Wee lost contact with
them.
The Master Chief took a step closer. hen I would like permission to take a dropship and retrieve them,
sir.
equest denied, Master Chief. We still have a mission to perform. And we cannot remain in this system
much longer. Lieutenant Dominique, aft camera on the main screen.
Covenant vessels swarmed though the Reach System in five-ship crescent formations. The remaining
UNSC ships fled before them . . . those that could still move. Those ships too damaged to outrun the
Covenant were blasted with plasma and laser fire.
The Covenant had won this battle. They were mopping up before they glassed the planet; the Master
Chief had seen this happen in a dozen campaigns. This time was different, however.
This time the Covenant was glassing a planet . . . with his people still on it.
He tried to think of a way to stop them . . . to save his teammates. He couldn.
The Captain turned and strode to the Master Chief, stood by his side. r. Halsey mission,he said, s
more important than ever now. It may be the only chance left for Earth. We have to focus on that goal.
Three dozen Covenant craft moved toward Gamma station and the now inert orbital defense platforms.

They bombarded the installationshe mightiest weapons in the UNSC arsenalith plasma. The guns
melted, and boiled away.
The Master Chief clenched his hands into fists. The Captain was correct: there was nothing to do now
except complete the mission they had set out to do.
Captain Keyes barked, nsign Lovell, give me our best acceleration. I want to enter Slipstream space as
soon as possible.
Cortana said, xcuse me, Captain. Six covenant frigates are inbound on an intercept course.
ontinue evasive maneuvers, Cortana. Prepare the Slipspace generators and get me an appropriate
randomized exit vector.
ye, sir.Navigation symbols flashed along the length of her holographic body.
The Master Chief continued to watch as the Covenant ships closed in on them.
Was he the only Spartan left? Better to die than live without his teammates. But he still had a mission:
victory against the Covenantnd vengeance for his fallen comrades.
enerating randomized exit vector per the Cole Protocol,Cortana said.
The Master Chief glanced at her translucent body. She looked vaguely like a younger Dr. Halsey. Tiny
dots, ones, and zeros slid over her torso, arms, and legs. Her thoughts were literally worn on her sleeve;
the symbols also appeared on Ensign Lovell NAV station.
He cocked his head as the symbols and numbers scrolled across the NAV console.
The representations of Slipspace vectors and velocity curves twisted across the screenantalizingly
familiar. He seen them somewhere beforeut he could not make the connection.
omething on your mind, Master Chief?Cortana asked.
hose symbols . . . I thought I had seen them somewhere before. It nothing.
Cortana got a far off look in her eyes. The marks cycling on her hologram shifted and rearranged.
The Master Chief saw the Covenant fleet gathered around planet Reach. They swarmed and circled like
sharks. The first of their plasma bombardments launched toward the surface. Clouds in the fire path
boiled away.

ump to Slipspace, Ensign Lovell,the Captain said. et us the hell out of here.
John remembered Chief Mendez wordshat they had to live and fight another day. He was alive . . .
and there was still plenty of fight left in him. And he would win this waro matter what it took.

SECTION VI
HALO
EPILOGUE
0647 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
UNSCPillar of Autumn , Epsilon Eridani System edge
Cortana fired thePillar of Autumn autocannonsargeting a dozen Seraph fighters harassing them as
they were accelerated out of the system. Seven Covenant frigates were now locked into the pursuit. She
dodged a volley of pulse laser fire, using the ventral emergency thrusters.
She pushed the damaged secondary reactor to critical levels. They had to build up more speed before
activating the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight generators or the jump to Slipstream space would fail.
She rechecked her calculations. Under the Cole Protocol, they would be jumping away from Earth . . .
but it would not be a totally random heading.
The Master Chief had been right when he said that he recognized the shorthand navigation symbols on
the NAV display.
Cortana accessed the Spartansmission logs. She sifted through the data, and filed it into a secondary
long-term storage buffer. When she reviewed the database of his mission reports, Cortana learned that
Spartan 117had seen something similar on the Covenant vessel he had boarded in 2525. And againhe
symbols almost looked like those on the rock he had extracted from Covenant forces on Sigma Octanus
IV. ONI reports on the symbols found in the anomalous rock had defied cryptoanalysis.
Keyesorder to plot a navigation route sparked a connection between this data; she accessed the alien
symbols, and rather than compare them with alphabets or hieroglyphics, compared them to star
formations.
There were some startling similaritieslong with a number of differences. Cortana reanalyzed the
symbols and accounted for thousands of years of stellar drift.
A tenth of a second later she had a close match on her charts6.2 percent.

Interesting. Perhaps the markings in the rock recovered on Sigma Octanus IV were navigation symbols,
albeit highly unusual and stylized onesathematical symbols as artistic and elegant as Chinese
calligraphy.
What was there that the Covenant wanted so badly that they had launched a full offensive against Sigma
Octanus IV? Whatever it was . . . Cortana was interested, too.
She compared the new NAV coordinates with her directives and was pleased with what she saw; the
new course complied with the Cole Protocol. Good.
The Covenant frigates fired their plasma again. Seven bolts of fire streaked toward thePillar of Autumn .
She dumped the coordinates to the NAV controls and stored the logic path that led to her deduction in
her high-security buffer.
pproaching saturation velocity,she told Captain Keyes. owering Shaw-Fujikawa Translight
generators. New course available.
The Covenant frigates aligned with their outbound vector. They were going to try to follow thePillar of
Autumn through Slipspace. Damn.
The Shaw-Fujikawa Translight generators tore a hole in normal space. Light boiled around thePillar of
Autumn and she vanished.
Cortana had plenty of time to think on the journey. Most of the crew were frozen in cryo for the trip.
Some of the engineers had elected to try to repair the main reactor. A futile gesture . . . but she lent them
a few cycles to try to rebuild the convection inductor.
Had Dr. Halsey been on Reach when it fell to the Covenant? Cortana felt a pang of regret for her creator.
Maybe she had gotten away. The probability was low . . . but the doctor was a survivor.
Cortana ran a self-diagnostic. Her Alpha-level commands were intact. She had not jeopardized her
primary mission by following this vector. There were, unfortunately, sure to be Covenant ships when
they arrived . . . wherever they arrived.
The Covenant had followed them into Slipstream space. And they had always been faster and more
accurate than UNSC navigators in the elusive dimension.
Captain Keyes and the Master Chief would get their chance to disable and capture one of those vessels.

Their uckhad so far defied all probability and statistical variations. She hoped their defiance of the
odds continued.
aptain Keyes? Wake up, sir,Cortana said. e will enter normal space in three hours.
Captain Keyes sat up in the cryo tube. He licked his lips and gagged. hate that stuff.
he inhalant surfactant is highly nutritious, sir. Please regurgitate and swallow the protein complex.
Captain Keyes swung his legs out of the tube. He coughed and spat the mucus onto the deck. ou
wouldn say that, Cortana, if you ever tasted this stuff. Ship status?
eactor two has been fully repaired,she replied. eactors one and three are inoperable. That gives us
twenty percent power. Archer missile pods I and J rows serviceable. Autocannon ammunition at ten
percent. Our two remaining Shiva warheads are intact.She paused and double-checked the MAC gun.
agnetic Accelerator Gun capacitors depolarized. We cannot fire the system, sir.
ore good news,he grumbled. ontinue.
ull breaches patchedut the majority of decks eleven, twelve, and thirteen are destroyedhat
includes the Spartansweapons locker.
re there any infantry weapons left?Keyes asked. e may need to repel boarders.
es, Captain. A substantial number of standard Marine infantry weapons survived the engagement.
Would you like an inventory?
ater. What about the crew?
ll crew accounted for. Spartan 117 is in cryo sleep with the Marine and security personnel. Waking
bridge officers and all essential personnel.
nd the Covenant?
el know in a moment if they were able to track us, sir.
ery well. Il be on the bridge in ten minutes.He eased out of the tube. getting too damn old to
be frozen and shot through space at light speed,he muttered.

Cortana checked the status of the waking crew. There was a minor flutter in Lieutenant Dominique
heart, which she corrected. Otherwise, status normal.
The Captain and crew assembled on the bridge. They waited.
ive minutes until normal space, sir,Cortana announced.
She knew they could see the countdown timer, but Cortana noticed that the crew responded well to her
calm voice in stressful situations. Their reaction times generally improved by as much as 15 percent
give or take. Sometimes, human imperfection made calculations maddeningly imprecise.
She ran another check on all intact systems. ThePillar of Autumn had taken a tremendous beating at
Reach. It was a wonder it was still in one piece.
ntering normal space in thirty seconds,she informed Captain Keyes.
hut down all systems, Cortana. I want us to be dark when we hit normal space. If the Covenant did
follow usaybe we can hide.
ye, sir. Running dark.
The view screen filed with green light; smears of stars came into focus. A purple-hued gas giant filled a
third of the screen.
Captain Keyes said, ire thrusters to position us in orbit around the planet, Ensign Lovell.
ye, sir,he replied.
ThePillar of Autumn glided around the gravity well of the moon.
Cortana detected a radar echo ahead, an object hidden in the shadow.
As the ship rounded the dark side of the gas giant, the object came into full view. It was a ring-shaped
structure . . . gigantic.
ortana,Captain Keyes whispered. hat is that?
Cortana noted a sudden spike in pulse and respiration among the bridge crew . . . particularly the Captain.
The object spun serenely in the heavens. The outer surface was gray metal, reflecting the brilliant
starlight. From this distance, the surface of the object seemed to be engraved with deep, ornate

geometric patterns.
ould this be some kind of naturally occurring phenomenon?Dominique asked.
nknown,Cortana replied.
She activated the ship long-range detection gear. Cortana holo image frowned. ThePillar of Autumn
scanning systems were fine for combat . . . but for this kind of analysis it was like using stone tools.
She diverted processing power away from ancillary systems and channeled it into the task.
Figures scrolled across the sensor displays.
he ring is ten thousand kilometers in diameter,Cortana announced, nd twenty-two point three
kilometers thick. Spectroscopic analysis is inconclusive, but patterns do not match any known Covenant
materials, sir.
She paused and aimed the long-range camera array at the ring. A moment later a close-up of the object
snapped into focus.
Keyes let out a low whistle.
The inner surface was a mosaic of greens, blues, and brownsrackless desert; jungles; glaciers and vast
oceans. Streaks of white clouds cast deep shadows upon the terrain. The ring rotated and brought a new
feature into view tremendous hurricane forming over an unimaginably wide body of water.
Equations scrolled furiously across Cortana as she studied the ring. She checked and rechecked her
numbershe rotational speed of the object and its estimated mass. They didn quite add up. She ran
through a series of passive and active scans . . . and found something.
aptain,Cortana said, he object is clearly artificial. There a gravity field that controls the ring
spin and keeps the atmosphere inside. At this rangend with this gear can say with one hundred
percent certainty, but it appears that the ring has an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere and Earth-normal
gravity.
f it artificial, who the hell built it . . . and what in God name is it?
Cortana processed that question for a full three seconds, then finally answered: don know, sir.
Captain Keyes took out his pipe, lit it, and puffed once. He examined the curls of smoke thoughtfully.
hen we better find out.

They stand alonendauntedefore the mightiest enemy in the universe.
But these are no ordinary men.
They are SPARTANS . . .
PLUMB THE THRILLING DEPTHS OF HALOS SECRETS UNFOLD AND THE ACTION
BEGINS . . .
HALOThe Fall of Reach

A Del Rey唇ook
Published by The Ballantine Publishing Group
Copyright 2001 by Microsoft Corporation
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the
United States by The Ballantine Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and
simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
Bungie, Halo, Xbox, and the Xbox Logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Used under license. 2001 Microsoft
Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Del Rey is a registered trademark and the Del Rey colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
www.delreydigital.com
ISBN 0-345-45134-1
First Edition: November 2001

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