Halo_ The Cole Protocol Part 4

OUTER RUBBLE, 23 LIBRAE.

Thel stalked across the bridge. "All the Kig-Yar s.h.i.+ps are leaving the Rubble?" the Kig-Yar s.h.i.+ps are leaving the Rubble?"Zhar exhaled through his mandibles in an audible sigh of happiness. "Yes. Now we won't have to worry about firing on them. One less reason the Prophets may seek to d.a.m.n us when they arrive.""Contact Reth," Thel ordered, tamping down his annoyance with Zhar's obsession about the wills of Prophets. They were Sangheili-n.o.ble warriors. This dithering didn't bode well. "It is time we spoke since his escape."Zhar bowed his head and fiddled about. Thel ignored Zhar's mutterings with distant Kig-Yar, moving his way up the chain of command, until Reth's long face appeared on one of the screens.Thel faced the image. The Kig-Yar still wore bandages over the wounds Saal had inflicted on him."s.h.i.+pmaster," Reth said, the words dripping with fury. "You have stolen Infinite Spoils, Infinite Spoils, the pride of my fleet." the pride of my fleet."Thel ducked his head. "I am not here for recrimination, Reth. You will do what you have been asked. I can only do the same, for we are both soldiers of the Covenant. I have offered to stay away from your main target, but I am also going to start attacking the humans.""Do what you wish. Keep them occupied, Sangheili. The longer their eyes aren't looking toward this moon, the better."The Kig-Yar's image flicked off. Thel looked around at the nervous Unggoy, and the now petulant Zhar. "That Kig-Yar will do his best to a.s.sa.s.sinate us with words to his Hierarch," Zhar said. "Why talk to him like this, s.h.i.+pmaster? It serves nothing but to remind him that we're here."Thel ignored Zhar. "Prepare this s.h.i.+p's weapons." He walked over to a screen showing the image of their first target, a small asteroid on the edge of the Rubble with mining equipment on it.The long-barreled ma.s.s drivers could sling ingots of metal across the Rubble to wherever they were needed. The larger machines could send these slugs across the entire system, from planet to planet.They made effective antis.h.i.+p weapons in a pinch, Thel knew. He'd encountered a few repurposed ma.s.s drivers in the service of canny humans before."Destroy it," he ordered, and watched as several b.a.l.l.s of energy barreled their way across the empty s.p.a.ce between them to plow into the asteroid, ripping it apart in fiery destruction.Normally his heart leapt when dealing fire to his enemies. In this case, Thel felt as if he was merely going through the motions.He had no idea what the Prophets would think of all this. But he had to do his duty.And Sangheili knew all too much about duty and n.o.bility.It ran in the blood.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN.

PETYA, HABITAT TIAGO,.

THE RUBBLE, 23 LIBRAE.

The first attack on the Rubble came from the Infinite Spoils. Infinite Spoils.Keyes had Mike put the information up on one of Petya Petya's larger screens."They're going after the ma.s.s drivers," Juliana reported."They realize they're d.a.m.n good weapons," Keyes said. Another blow. He'd hoped that the Jackals hadn't realized the defensive potential of the mining equipment. It would have been a useful surprise.Delgado joined them, out of breath from running across the dock to get to the Petya. Petya. "They're starting the attack?" "They're starting the attack?""The Council is calling for the Rubble to evacuate to the Exodus habitat," Juliana told him. "There are s.h.i.+ps moving in to defend the ma.s.s drivers and the most populated habitats while the evacuation proceeds. Exodus is being moved toward one of the limbs of the Rubble, so that civilians can get to it by tube car. I'm initiating emergency routing, all cars are one way.""How long will it take to get everyone evacuated?" Keyes asked."A million citizens, once Exodus is docked, will take twelve hours. With me presiding. But then there is another question," Juliana said. She turned to look at the Spartans. "The Exodus can hardly go anywhere without the right data.""The Cole Protocol is absolute," Keyes said. "We cannot risk handing that over.""Not even to save a million lives?" Delgado asked."Because it risks billions more," Keyes said. "Don't even look at the Spartans, you turn and look at me. I'll carry the weight here. We cannot turn risk back on whole planets."Juliana practically hissed her next sentence. "I have not held onto the edge of rampancy for years years trying to save all this, just to watch the UNSC walk away from it." trying to save all this, just to watch the UNSC walk away from it."Keyes closed his eyes. The weight of the entire million lives felt as if they were crus.h.i.+ng his skull. He wanted to find a way to help. Anyway. But... "Juliana, there are hundreds of thousands of trained Grunts getting ready to board Jackal s.h.i.+ps, and a suspected Covenant fleet getting ready to hit this system. You calculate the odds: what would you do if you were me?"Juliana paused for a moment, running through simulations and possibilities, no doubt. "Give us something, Lieutenant. According to the records on your s.h.i.+p you're known for thinking outside the box. Now would be a good time, Lieutenant Keyes, to do some serious out-of-the-box thinking."We need your help," the AI whispered. "A last stand isn't what's needed. They need to be saved."Keyes sat heavily in a seat. He looked at the images of Unggoy Grunts lining up amid the large structures on the waterfall of liquid methane.He started flipping through the Jackal s.h.i.+p numbers. Hundreds of them perched on the ground on Metisette, except for the handful that had just withdrawn from the Rubble and were targeting ma.s.s drivers, as well as other weapons-like systems.He tapped his pen against the screen, missing the heirloom pipe he usually held. It was still back on the Midsummer Night, Midsummer Night, with all his other effects. "Juliana, the habitats and asteroids, the parts of the Rubble-you keep them all aligned, correct?" with all his other effects. "Juliana, the habitats and asteroids, the parts of the Rubble-you keep them all aligned, correct?"Keyes looked up and saw the AI nod.He looked back down at the Covenant forces. They were all on the ground.Vulnerable, if you had the right weapons.Or something close enough.Keyes stood up, and the eyes of everyone in the c.o.c.kpit tracked him. "The Exodus is not the only habitat with engines-the entire Rubble can move. Juliana is constantly keeping the entire structure of the Rubble aligned. Which means they all have engines. Which also means, given enough time, the Rubble can be used as a weapon itself as it's emptied and abandoned."Juliana hadn't seen it, Keyes realized, because it was almost a form of suicide. The AI lived for the Rubble. It was a part of her.But it was lost to them. The Exodus was how these people would survive. So why protect the Rubble anymore?Keyes pointed at the forces marshalling on the surface of Metisette. "The Covenant has destroyed us from orbit. Why not return the favor for once?"He looked over at the Spartans, and was surprised to see a trio of grins.Gray Team was in.

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT.

PETYA, HABITAT TIAGO,.

THE RUBBLE, 23 LIBRAE.

Jai realized there was excitement building in the air. They'd gone from looking defeat in the eye, from contemplating a million lost lives, to realizing that Keyes had come up with a seed of a working strategy.Juliana was glowing, abstract figures flowing faster and faster over the holographic s.p.a.ce of her body. It was as if she was breathing faster and faster, as if having a panic attack, and then she slowed."I... I think I see what you're thinking, Keyes."Jai saw that Keyes had been watching her closely. "Juliana, can you help us do it?""It... it won't be easy," she said.Jai and Keyes exchanged glances. This was their best opportunity. If the AI stood in their way, it could all fall apart.Jai moved close. "Juliana, they all need you now more than ever."She focused on him, as if seeing him for the first time. "Ah, Spartan, are you worried about me?"Jai blinked, not sure what to say, and Juliana laughed. "You're worrying about me, aren't you? It's flattering, Spartan. So flattering. But what I meant was that it's going to be hard to dodge the Jackal defenses and sensors." blinked, not sure what to say, and Juliana laughed. "You're worrying about me, aren't you? It's flattering, Spartan. So flattering. But what I meant was that it's going to be hard to dodge the Jackal defenses and sensors."On one of the screens three large structures were highlighted, then picked out of the picture and zoomed."Item number one is the central processing unit for their sensor grids. A big building. Kill that, and you take out their ability to see anything coming."These other two are Covenant antis.h.i.+p weapons, mounted to keep their Redoubt safe. They'll be firing at any non-Covenant s.h.i.+ps coming in. You'll be dodging them to land. Not only that, they may be powerful enough to strike at any pieces of the Rubble that I throw at them."Jai studied them. "We'll have to jump right into the heart of the attack to disable these?""Do that," Juliana said, "and I'll rain Armageddon down on them, I promise you."Keyes leaned over and looked as well. "For this you'll need ODSTs. Can we get the Council to let us back aboard my s.h.i.+p?""I'm sure they'll be cooperative at this point," Juliana said."You'll need to be moved," Keyes said. "I can offer you s.p.a.ce aboard Midsummer Night; Midsummer Night; we have the processing power for you. That is, if Exodus does not have the power yet. I know it's not completed." we have the processing power for you. That is, if Exodus does not have the power yet. I know it's not completed.""I'm not going anywhere, I'll be staying with the Rubble," Juliana said. "To hit Metisette and the Redoubt from here will require tricky calculations. I need to ride the pieces down where I can make instant adjustments for the best effect."No one said anything for a moment.Keyes looked at the hologram. "Are you sure about this, Juliana?""I lived for the Rubble. What am I without it? And who else can do this? You all know I'm approaching rampancy. I certainly know I am." Juliana chuckled. "How many get to choose how they will die. And how few in such a poetic manner? Besides, you can't get away with all all the heroism here." the heroism here."The words hung in the air as everyone let that settle in. They were all taking similar actions, and could well share the AI's fate.Jai touched the lieutenant's arm. "The Exodus. What do we do?""Have the Petya Petya stand off by the Exodus with the navigation data. If we fail, stand off by the Exodus with the navigation data. If we fail, Petya Petya makes a run for it. The moment we're successful, though, I think we should take a risk, don't you? We give them the navigation data, to be handed over when the 'all clear' goes through. makes a run for it. The moment we're successful, though, I think we should take a risk, don't you? We give them the navigation data, to be handed over when the 'all clear' goes through. Petya Petya and and Midsummer Night Midsummer Night can pair up and cover the Exodus as it launches off to... wherever it's going to go. We go our own way. They head off into the depths of the galaxy, far from the Covenant, using random jumps." can pair up and cover the Exodus as it launches off to... wherever it's going to go. We go our own way. They head off into the depths of the galaxy, far from the Covenant, using random jumps.""We'll still face a court-martial," Jai said, curious to see what Keyes' reaction would be."We'll still have saved a million lives," Keyes said. "I think it's worth it. We keep with the Exodus, long enough to make sure its well clear."Jai stood fully up from their quick conference. "So now we move."Adriana stepped forward. "I want in on dropping to Metisette.""Adriana...""You took on the Jackal s.h.i.+p alone. You're asking me to sit this one out as well?"Mike stood up, and Jai shook his head. "Petya "Petya needs its pilot. We can't afford to lose the s.h.i.+p." The three of them hadn't worked as a team in combat since all this trouble erupted in the Rubble, but then, their missions always seemed to be a by-the-minute sort of thing. needs its pilot. We can't afford to lose the s.h.i.+p." The three of them hadn't worked as a team in combat since all this trouble erupted in the Rubble, but then, their missions always seemed to be a by-the-minute sort of thing.And Jai didn't relish the thought of trying to even stop Adriana this time out, now that she knew there was a big fight ahead on Metisette.For as long as he'd known her, Jai knew she was actually looking forward to it.

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE.

MIDSUMMER NIGHT, LEAVING EL CUIDAD, LEAVING EL CUIDAD,.

THE RUBBLE, 23 LIBRAE.

Delgado had offered his services as a pilot, and Keyes had accepted. Now Delgado trooped his way aboard the Midsummer Night, Midsummer Night, surprised by all the tight corridors, low bulkheads, and lack of confusion in the flurry of returning people on deck. Everyone had a mission: get the surprised by all the tight corridors, low bulkheads, and lack of confusion in the flurry of returning people on deck. Everyone had a mission: get the Night Night on its way toward Metisette at the highest possible speed. on its way toward Metisette at the highest possible speed.When he got to the bay of the Midsummer Night Midsummer Night Delgado was shown a Pelican. Delgado was shown a Pelican."We lost a d.a.m.n good pilot back on Charybdis IX," a grizzled fellow pilot with blond hair and a strong jaw said. His uniform had a patch naming him as Finlay."I'm sorry to hear it," Delgado said, walking around the long-tailed machine."d.a.m.n Insurrectionists," Finlay said. "Shot him right out of the sky."Delgado looked over at the blond pilot. "Is there a problem?""Yeah." Finlay threw a punch to the gut that doubled Delgado up, coughing. "I don't like Insurrectionists. You sons of b.i.t.c.hes have cost us enough-now we're covering your a.s.ses on some suicide mission?"Delgado staggered back, and Finlay stepped forward. Delgado planted his feet and head-b.u.t.ted the man in the face. Finlay staggered back, hand on a b.l.o.o.d.y nose. "You G.o.dd.a.m.ned-"He didn't get any further. Pilots and an officer surrounded him, pulling him away."I'm not a d.a.m.n Insurrectionist," Delgado said as he walked by him.One of the other pilots joined him. "He's a bit strung out by all this. He and Jeffries. .h.i.t it off pretty quickly.""Jeffries was the one who was killed?""Yeah. Nice guy. Great pilot."Delgado stopped. "I'm sorry to hear about it. But I didn't kill him."The other pilot nodded. "I know. Come on. They're going to get Finlay patched up and calmed down. For all his testiness, you can trust him in the air, you understand? But we still should give him some s.p.a.ce."Delgado nodded and followed the pilot away.The plan was to have the Midsummer Night Midsummer Night come in fast at Metisette's upper atmosphere, then decelerate by aerobraking. Once the friction of the atmosphere had slowed them down, the ODSTs and Spartans would be released. come in fast at Metisette's upper atmosphere, then decelerate by aerobraking. Once the friction of the atmosphere had slowed them down, the ODSTs and Spartans would be released.Then Midsummer Night Midsummer Night would boost up and out again, and loop back around to settle into orbit so that her Pelicans could retrieve the ground forces. would boost up and out again, and loop back around to settle into orbit so that her Pelicans could retrieve the ground forces.But there was a good chance, Delgado knew, that even if they were successful, if the Spartans and ODSTs took too long they would all still be on the surface as the evacuated parts of the Rubble came down.Then Delgado wouldn't be needed at all.The deck of the Midsummer Night Midsummer Night vibrated. The s.h.i.+p had left its berth in El Cuidad, and was accelerating toward Metisette. vibrated. The s.h.i.+p had left its berth in El Cuidad, and was accelerating toward Metisette.Here we go, thought Delgado.

CHAPTER SIXTY.

MIDSUMMER NIGHT, EN ROUTE TO METISETTE, 23 LIBRAE EN ROUTE TO METISETTE, 23 LIBRAE.

Keyes was back on the bridge of the Midsummer Night, Midsummer Night, but this time he sat in the commander's chair. He hadn't thought about Zheng in a while. Too much else going on. but this time he sat in the commander's chair. He hadn't thought about Zheng in a while. Too much else going on.But as they thundered toward Metisette, he wondered what thoughts would've run through Zheng's mind in this same predicament.Zheng had been feared as a suicidal leader, one willing to throw his s.h.i.+p against the Covenant. An unfair a.s.sessment, Keyes knew. And ironic. Because here Keyes was now throwing his own s.h.i.+p and crew into a mission that might well have the same result.He'd promoted Dante Kirtley to Ops. Rai Li remained on weapons. A junior officer, Lieutenant Second Grade Jason Burt, managed communications.And Keyes had navigation rerouted to the commander's chair, because what they were about to do was beyond tricky."How are you doing on your end, Juliana?" Keyes asked."Slinging ma.s.s and burning fuel, Lieutenant." All throughout the Rubble docking tubes had been severed as the last of the occupants pushed their way through.Deputies with bullhorns shouted and directed traffic toward the Exodus habitat, but so did every computing device in the Rubble. They'd all been taken over by Juliana and were blaring the need for evacuation. She'd shown Keyes some of the organized chaos."I just took out the five Kig-Yar communications relays," Juliana reported. She'd used the last of her ma.s.s drivers to fire hyperkinetic slugs of metal at each of them. Now Kig-Yar comms were down to line of sight."And here comes those annoying Kig-Yar s.h.i.+ps that have been hovering around."Keyes smiled. It was a small trap for the Jackals. Knowing that they would move in, Rubble s.h.i.+ps with missiles were lurking around the ma.s.s drivers to ambush them.Juliana fed Keyes grainy video showing sparks of fire and tracers lighting up the vacuum, and the resulting return fire of plasma as Kig-Yar and Rubble s.h.i.+ps fought it out over the ma.s.s drivers."Where's the Infinite Spoils?" Infinite Spoils?" Keyes asked. That was the one he was nervous about. That Jackal s.h.i.+p could match his frigate, from what he'd seen while aboard it. Keyes asked. That was the one he was nervous about. That Jackal s.h.i.+p could match his frigate, from what he'd seen while aboard it."Keeping back. You said there were Sangheili aboard it?" Juliana asked."We saw Elites, yes," Keyes replied. "While we were retreating." A screen popped up on the arm of his chair, showing him a diagram of where that s.h.i.+p lurked. It was moving toward several of the large habitats, now thankfully abandoned.The screen jumped to video showing plasma ripping apart the large asteroids and boiling rock as clouds of air burst out along with slagged metal.Hopefully destroying those parts of the Rubble would keep that monster at bay until Keyes was done.Then he looked forward to engaging it.He shut the views down and brought up Metisette."Good luck, Juliana," Keyes said. The decoupled habitats that Juliana commanded were trailing far behind Midsummer Night Midsummer Night on a separate trajectory. on a separate trajectory.The Rubble trailed behind Hesiod in the same orbit around the sun as the gas giant. And Metisette orbited Hesiod. That meant that soon Metisette would disappear behind Hesiod from the point of view of the Rubble. Keyes was rus.h.i.+ng to catch Metisette even as this happened. His signal to Juliana, a direct line-of-sight signal, was failing even now as Hesiod's stormy atmosphere began to get between them.Juliana's trajectory was different. The pieces of the Rubble under her command were much slower. She was moving them forward from their trailing point behind Hesiod to a point where Metisette would be would be when it came out from behind Hesiod in its...o...b..t. when it came out from behind Hesiod in its...o...b..t.To be strict about it, the Rubble wouldn't rain down upon Metisette. Instead, Metisette's...o...b..t would swing the moon around Hesiod at breakneck speed right into the pieces Juliana had jockeyed into place.The effect, however, was the same.The Redoubt would be destroyed.If they all did their work.Keyes had the frigate moving so fast it was shaking. The reactor could be close to overheating, yet no one breathed a word about how hard they were pus.h.i.+ng the s.h.i.+p. They all knew they needed each additional second."ODSTs ready?" Keyes asked."Standing by," Lt. Kirtley reported."Aerobraking in four minutes. Everyone strap in and hold on."The Midsummer Night Midsummer Night was in the shadow of the moon now, streaking toward it like an arrow toward a bull's-eye. Keyes could see the swirls and outlines of the moon's clouds. was in the shadow of the moon now, streaking toward it like an arrow toward a bull's-eye. Keyes could see the swirls and outlines of the moon's clouds.It grew over the next minutes until it filled the c.o.c.kpit with its strange orange- and red-hued light. Keyes was aiming his s.h.i.+p deep into the thick atmosphere, counting on the immense friction to slow Midsummer Night Midsummer Night down. down.He'd timed this down to the millisecond, run it by Juliana, and now all he could do was let the s.h.i.+p's computers continue with the course... and hope.They'd picked up Jackal contacts, but they'd approached too fast for them to engage. They'd run right through the cordon before the Kig-Yar even realized they were there."Aerobraking!" Keyes shouted.They hit Metisette's atmosphere and the s.h.i.+p began to buck and pitch. A junior officer standing by was thrown clear across the bridge."I gave orders to strap in, d.a.m.n it," Keyes snarled as the young man grabbed someone's chair, his arm bent at an impossible angle, his face bloodied. "You're endangering the bridge crew."The man crawled away and got himself to a safe place and strapped in, moaning loudly due to his injuries.A fireball grew around the frigate, heating up as they continued to thunder through the high atmosphere of Metisette. Deck plates creaked and groaned as they readjusted. Keyes glanced at the readouts. They were losing speed. Dramatically.They were also losing hull integrity. The friction was burning off plates every second.Keyes tapped the screen. A second set of preloaded routines sprung into effect. Thrusters fired, slowing them down even further.He glanced at the topographical map of Metisette that Juliana had uploaded to his computers."One minute!" Keyes shouted. They were closing in on the Redoubt.They would be moving fast when they shot the ODSTs out. He could only hope the pods and their bodies could handle what came next. He didn't know of anyone who'd attempted dropping ODSTs in a maneuver like this.The seconds ticked by as he waited. A hull-breach alarm sounded, and Keyes looked over at Kirtley."Hull abrasions, no serious structural damage, within expectations," the lieutenant reported. The aerobraking had lost them a lot of hull, but the s.h.i.+p would hold."The ODSTs are go in ten," Keyes said. He tapped the console to give authorization.The Midsummer Night's Midsummer Night's computers took care of the rest, spitting the ODSTs out from a bay like bombs being dropped on an enemy city. computers took care of the rest, spitting the ODSTs out from a bay like bombs being dropped on an enemy city.Keyes watched them fall away like dangerous, black spores on another screen, then looked up as emergency klaxons went off."Covenant antiaircraft fire!" Rai Li shouted.Teardrops of contained plasma rose to meet their s.h.i.+p.Keyes turned off the thrusters and slammed on the main engines. All ahead full, he thought with a grimace, as plasma grazed the sides of the s.h.i.+p.The Midsummer Night Midsummer Night shuddered and clawed its way along, struggling to escape the moon's gravity and get back into orbit. shuddered and clawed its way along, struggling to escape the moon's gravity and get back into orbit."Come on, girl," Keyes found himself muttering quietly to the s.h.i.+p. "You can do it."

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE.

THE REDOUBT, METISETTE, 23 LIBRAE.

Jai felt the SOEIV slam against him as it fired rockets to reach a sane velocity right before it slammed into the ground. The front popped off, and Jai stepped out onto the surface of Metisette with his battle rifle up.Four SOEIVs had already hit the ground around him. Two ODSTs stumbled out; one fell to his knees."s.h.i.+t, I can't even see straight," he muttered over the comm channel."Can the chatter," Jai said. They'd had a brutal launch from the s.h.i.+p and a rough journey down filled with Covenant antiaircraft fire picking them off. And even Jai had been slightly rattled by the whole experience.But they were in enemy territory right now. They needed to get sharp, and quick. They had four hours of air strapped to their backs with rebreathers and tanks. They needed to get this mission wrapped up as fast as possible.The air was thick and red, and a similar eerie red fog covered everything around them. Jai continued looking around. They'd landed within a mile of their target: the spirelike building along the banks of the methane river that housed the sensor equipment, capable of spotting the Rubble.On Juliana's map it hadn't looked so imposing, Jai thought."We launched with three s.h.i.+vas," Jai radioed. "Tell me at least one of them managed to make it down." He glanced at their ID pips briefly to get their names.Mutuku was yanking on the front of an SOEIV. The front popped loose, and a fully-suited ODST fell out."Jones ate it."The other h.e.l.ljumper, Adams, yanked the other pod open. "Your bomb, sir."Jai ran over. Good. He glanced around. The other SOEIV pods must have landed all over the d.a.m.n place. They were the only ones out of fifteen supposed to hit here.They'd have to do.Jai dragged the s.h.i.+va free from the pod. A foldable frame with wheels came loose as he yanked on it."Form up." Jai grunted from the strain of shoving the frame under the large missile. Once underneath it, he pressed a b.u.t.ton, and the wheels deployed.With the two marines covering his flanks, Jai started pulling the nuclear warhead toward the building.Mutuku opened fire. Jai looked over to his right to see two Unggoy tumble to the ground, dead.Ahead, more materialized. Jai gunned them down, realizing that they were only lightly armed."We caught them off guard," Mutuku observed. "They're carrying pistols.""Good for us, then," Jai said. "Keep moving."More Unggoy Grunts came, a fast frontal a.s.sault in two waves of ten. Jai picked them off as Mutuku and Adams held off attacks from the sides.They sprinted for the building's door, which Jai kicked down. He threw a grenade inside and ducked as a cloud of debris flew out over him.Three Kig-Yar hid behind energy s.h.i.+elds in the far corner of the room. Jai left the s.h.i.+va behind and took cover around the nearest corner.Mutuku and Adams got the Jackals' attention with a burst of rifle fire; Jai threw a grenade behind them. As they turned around to s.h.i.+eld themselves from the blast Jai picked them off."We need to clear the building," Jai said."We'll hold the door," Adams said.Jai ran down the hallway that the Jackals had come from. He turned a corner, and found himself face-to-face with another. He swept the b.u.t.t of his rifle up without a second thought and caught it in the chin. The alien flew backward in a spray of purple blood.Jai barely slowed down his run.He got up a set of ramps without anything getting in his way, but as he started moving from room to room he found plenty of Grunts inside.They were armed with plasma pistols. Jai hardly bothered keeping a count. He just moved from room to room, a gray killing machine.Within fifteen minutes he'd swept the entire building. The rest of the upper floors looked to be just equipment. If any Grunts were hiding up there, they were cowering away and not going to present a problem.He sprinted back to the foyer where the two h.e.l.ljumpers waited. "How are we looking?"Adams sighted down his rifle. "A handful of Grunts made a run on the door. We dropped them. But I think there are a lot more out there gearing up to come our way."The building was half a mile upstream from hundreds of thousands of Grunts waiting to board hundreds of Jackal s.h.i.+ps. Jai curled his lip at the thought of so many Grunts attacking. They wouldn't need weapons, they could just throw themselves at the team. "There'll be more," he said.Satisfied they had the situation under control, he pulled the s.h.i.+va down the corridor. He'd spotted a thick door leading to what looked like a maintenance room.He kicked the door open and smiled. A whole room of Covenant junk-consoles, chairs, screens.He wheeled the s.h.i.+va into the heart of the room and pulled the cart out, smas.h.i.+ng it to uselessness so the s.h.i.+va couldn't be easily moved."Jai, they're pressing hard," Mutuku radioed over the sound of plasma fire striking nearby. Battle rifles clattered. "Maybe a hundred Grunts this time.""On my way soon," Jai promised.He shoved Covenant junk up against the s.h.i.+va after checking the readout on the front. The timer said they had two hours before Pelicans would be back to rescue them.Once he had the s.h.i.+va covered he left it, closing the heavy door behind him."Stowed our present away?" Adams asked from the side of the entrance.Jai held his rifle up and scanned the murk outside. A lot of dead Unggoy lay out in the mist. "Safe for now.""Now we stay put until the antiaircraft guns go down."An explosion in the distance made them jump."Well, there goes one," Jai said, checking his ammo with a sense of satisfaction.

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO.

THE REDOUBT, METISETTE, 23 LIBRAE.

Adriana opened her eyes inside the HEV. How long had she been out? The HEV had slammed into a building before the retro-rockets had finished their full burn, bringing it to a near stop. It had bounced down the side and hit the ground headfirst, crumpling badly. She'd been knocked out by the impact.In the dark she couldn't tell if her vision was okay, but she had a raging headache and what felt like whiplash.She slapped the cover-eject switch and the explosive bolts on the cover thudded. It hardly moved an inch, but now streams of orange light came in from around cracks between the cover and the pod.The HEV was facedown on the ground.Adriana swore.She pulled her knees up, forcing herself back against the restraints and padding, compressing it to get her feet under her.The knees of her armor ground and sc.r.a.ped against the cover, but she finally planted her feet.Then she pushed the entire HEV up, lifting it onto her shoulders. She heaved it off to the side where it landed with the restraints facing the sky. It would have been a lot easier had it landed like that, she thought.She looked around."Oh..."Tens of thousands of Grunts turned to face her, ripples of activity pa.s.sing through their ranks like wind through tall gra.s.s.Since nothing had initially popped out of the pod, they'd ignored it and continued to line up to board the giant troop carriers that awaited them in this plaza.Adriana was supposed to land outside the Redoubt, close to one of the antiaircraft emplacements. Not here."...s.h.i.+t." She dove back into the HEV as plasma-pistol shots struck the sides.The HEVs held a little bit of rocket fuel to allow soldiers to use them to easily hop over to a new location. But that required them to be standing up, in the position they were designed to land.Adriana triggered the emergency burst with the HEV lying flat anyway, and the HEV took off across the mile-long plaza. It plowed through Grunts who flew overhead in sprays of bright-blue blood, constantly thumping and s.h.i.+vering as it made its way through the tightly packed ma.s.s.The engines finally sputtered, then stopped, and the HEV ground to a halt over the icy rock.Adriana vaulted out and ducked behind it with her battle rifle in one hand, yanking a rocket launcher out with the other. She was out of the main ma.s.s of Grunts. Those still hovering couldn't decide whether to chase her or continue boarding their vessel. A ma.s.sive, purple-stained gap in the center of the Unggoy formation indicated the path the HEV had rocketed through.Some hundred Grunts finally peeled off to make a run at her. Adriana fired in short, controlled bursts, watching wave after wave of Grunts tumble forward and die.There were so many.She was quickly running out of ammunition, and now hundreds of outraged Grunts had drawn their pistols and started a second a.s.sault on her position.Just not enough ammo, she thought, checking her heads-up display. And she didn't want to use the rockets. Those were her last resort.Screw it, this was was a last-resort situation; it was her against a moonfull of Grunts. She popped up with the launcher on her shoulder and unleashed everything she had before ducking back for cover. a last-resort situation; it was her against a moonfull of Grunts. She popped up with the launcher on her shoulder and unleashed everything she had before ducking back for cover.As the plaza boiled with rocket fire, she looked for blips on her heads-up display. Some of the signals were of HEVs that were weapons caches, dropped alongside the regular HEVs. She needed one right now.She spotted one half a mile away.Adriana threw the empty rocket launcher away and dashed from the large open grounds of Grunts before they could regroup.She grinned as she approached a larger, bulky HEV that had struck into the side of one of the many tall structures that ringed the plaza. The Jackals had just grounded s.h.i.+ps and turned them into buildings, by connecting them. Almost as ramshackle and bizarre as the Rubble, she thought, as she ripped the cover off the HEV.A quad bike almost fell out onto her."A Mongoose?" she whispered. Useless. The four-wheeled ATVs just meant you were a biking target.Several Grunts rounded one of the arches of the building. Adriana picked the Mongoose up by the handlebars, using it as a s.h.i.+eld, and then ran into the small group, slamming the Grunts into the ground with it.The Mongoose worked well as a weapon, a giant four-wheeled hammer that she used to crush three more Grunts in explosions of purple blood, until the wheels had all bounced off, the cha.s.sis warped, and finally snapped.Adriana tossed the ruined machine away. Her muscles would pay for that later, but for now, there was too much adrenaline for her to notice.In the distance, a long line of Grunts moved through the mist and buildings at her.She checked her ammo and prepared for the onslaught, just as a distant explosion caught her attention.They needed all the antiaircraft emplacements knocked out. They needed it more than they needed some extra dead Grunts. No matter how many she killed, they just kept coming at her. She needed to think smarter.Adriana sprinted for the distant river of methane, visible by the fog banks created by the waterfall as it hit the warm grounds of the Redoubt.Plasma fire hit the rocks near her, kicking up steam and molten splashes that stained her armor. Adriana ran faster than she ever had before in training, or in battle.This was staying smart. She needed to find a way to rendezvous with the ODSTs trying to take out the second emplacement.In the dense fog she had to slow down a bit, but it gave her a chance to catch her breath. The motion tracker in her heads-up display, overwhelmed up to this point, cleared, and showed friendlies.Four h.e.l.ljumpers were pinned at the riverbank behind their HEVs by Grunts.Adriana ran up behind them. "What's the situation?""Two Jackal snipers. Lots of Grunts. Every time we try to break out of the fog and make a run at the antiaircraft gun they pick us off.""You have the charges ready for the antiaircraft gun?" Adriana asked. "Who's placing them?"One of the h.e.l.ljumpers raised a hand. "Dobey took one in the head on the third attempt. But I can place them.""There were supposed to be sixteen of you." Adrienne pulled out the near-empty magazine on her battle rifle and slapped a fresh one in."Ten of us made it down-we lost six trying to get up to the d.a.m.n thing."Adriana looked out into the rolling banks of orange-lit mist. Large boulders of ice and rock on the edge of the Redoubt made for good hiding places, both in the mist and outside of it."Let's stop at five attempts to charge that gun, shall we? I'll take point." She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this pace up. She could feel her blood pounding since the moment she'd stood up, surrounded by a sea of the enemy.She realized now that she almost went out in a blaze of glory, until she'd spotted the river and came to her senses.But she was still struggling to think clearly and not merely react.She took a pair of large stones and threw them out right where the boundary of the mist ended. Two sharp bursts of plasma vaporized them.That was enough for Adriana to pinpoint where the shots came from.Adriana tossed a pair of grenades in a high arc, one right after the other, using her strength to get them higher than any normal human toss could.She counted off two seconds, then radioed, "On me!"The sprint through the mist took another several seconds. She dodged waist-high pieces of rock as she made her attack. Just as she was about to burst out of the mist, a good fifty feet ahead of the h.e.l.ljumpers struggling to keep up with her, two grenades exploded behind the pair of boulders where she figured the snipers were taking cover.It was all the distraction she needed to cover the ground to the first Jackal's boulder. The Jackal was already turning to face her when Adriana brushed the long Covenant weapon he held aside and struck him.Adriana grabbed the Jackal by its feet, whipping it around, until she found a boulder and bashed him against it. The Jackal died in a spasm, its spine pulverized against the rock, its suit leaking air.Rock exploded around her, and she dove behind another boulder.Three Grunts rounded on her, and Adriana used the last of her precious ammo for three head shots, taking a deep breath before each one to center her aim. She hardly noticed their grazing plasma fire.A grenade explosion from the other sniper's position got her attention. Adriana sprinted around another boulder, rifle up and at the ready, and found a h.e.l.ljumper finis.h.i.+ng the sniper off with a handgun.The silvered faceplate turned to look up at her. "All clear," the h.e.l.ljumper radioed.One of them had gotten hit by the sniper as they'd rushed the position. But the h.e.l.ljumper with the charges was still on his feet.Rising over the haze and boulders by the river were the large tripod legs of the Covenant antiaircraft battery.Adriana pointed. "Get that thing rigged ASAP, soldier. You two, follow me, we're creating a perimeter. He rigs it, we hold it."She bent over the dead h.e.l.ljumper for his extra ammo magazines, and before she stood back up, tapped his helmet."Okay gentlemen, let's do this. We have an hour before the Pelicans return."They fanned out into the boulders, watching for more Grunts and Jackals.

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE.

METISETTE, 23 LIBRAE.

Delgado avoided looking over at his copilot. He didn't want the UNSC pilot seeing the pale look of fear on his face as they bucked and kicked their way through the thick atmosphere of Metisette.Keyes had come at the moon fast, used its soupy atmosphere to burn off their speed, then sped back up into orbit to loop back around and drop the Pelicans off.Several smaller Kig-Yar s.h.i.+ps had come after them, but most of the troop carriers that had lifted off Metisette were staying well clear of the UNSC frigate.The Kig-Yar s.h.i.+ps attacking them were small, but then so was Keyes' frigate. Keyes was drawing them off, away from the drop zone.It was mostly working.As long as the antiaircraft guns didn't fire when Delgado and the five other Pelicans came in over the Redoubt, this insane, highly fragile plan would work.Delgado watched as the clouds parted, and slammed his Pelican hard right to avoid a ma.s.sive Kig-Yar troop carrier climbing up and away from the complex.He wobbled back on course, looking over to the right to see another Pelican with a sheered tail diving and tumbling its way toward the ground."That was Finlay," someone radioed.Delgado came in low over the remains of the anti-aircraft emplacements with a smile, and touched down in front of the large spirelike building. The other Pelicans made similar flare-outs and landed in a row.He fumbled for a second when trying to find the switch to lower the ramp, but the copilot was on it. The moment the ramp hit the ground, boots stamped their way up and into the Pelican.Delgado turned around to see both Spartans standing behind him. Their armor was hardly recognizable: dented, carbon burned, peeling and flaking from heat and plasma and abuse.They looked as if they'd fought through h.e.l.l itself, Delgado thought.h.e.l.ljumpers snapped themselves in along the sides of the bay. Several hung out the back of the Pelican, firing back at a solid ma.s.s of Unggoy who started to flood the area. Plasma filled the air and slapped the sides of the Pelican.The Spartans looked back, then tapped Delgado on the shoulder. "That's everybody. Go go go," he heard Jai yell over the radio. "The s.h.i.+va has ten minutes."Delgado had the time up on a counter in his heads-up; he knew d.a.m.n well how much time they had.He rammed the engines up full and pulled out over the Redoubt, moving upriver as fast as he could as h.e.l.ljumpers fired their last few bursts from the closing ramp.Once well clear of the Redoubt, and with the cabin depressurized, Delgado began a slow spiraling climb with the other four Pelicans.A giant flash of light filled the inside of the Pelican. In the distance the s.h.i.+va went off. As the initial blast faded, they could see the plume of the explosion reaching up into the sky, slowly turning into a giant mushroom.Then Delgado's slow spiral took it out of sight.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR.

THE REDOUBT, METISETTE, 23 LIBRAE.

Reth sat at a table as a healer checked him over. He'd been inside a command center when the ma.s.sive explosion occurred, and since many of the Kig-Yar s.h.i.+ps grounded to make the skeleton of the Redoubt were fighting s.h.i.+ps, he was therefore well s.h.i.+elded. He'd been safe.But he'd gotten a high dose of radiation.The healer left him with pills to take, and Reth stalked his way up to an enclosed balcony carved out of a large airlock. The Redoubt was a mess. It was a good thing they were moving out to take the Rubble, he thought. Rebuilding this would be expensive.There were Unggoy leaders wanting to see him, shocked by the damage the humans had done and wondering what it meant for the timeline they had in mind for their continuing development of Metisette as a world for themselves.Reth growled.Humans.When the Prophet set him on this task, Reth had done it to raise his profile, and that of the Kig-Yar. He'd also enjoyed the guilty pleasure of working with the humans. Their profit-minded goals and Kig-Yar-like love of trade and smuggling and piracy had meshed. He'd been slightly disappointed to have to destroy the humans throughout the Rubble as the endgame of this grand experiment.Now though, he wondered if the Prophets weren't right. The humans were unconscionable reprobates, too dangerous to let live. The Prophets' call for their extermination was starting to make sense to him.Reth looked forward to taking the Rubble. Even more so, to getting the Exodus and the location to their homeworld on it.He'd happily burn it all for the Prophet, now.Reth left the balcony and donned a long cloak, his air supply for the walk across the plaza, and a pair of plasma pistols. He walked out in the plaza where droves of terrified Unggoy stood.They'd all been dosed with antiradiation meds. Many had died in the blast, but Reth had had those bodies bulldozed away, and cleared the way for Unggoy waiting in the lower warrens to line up and get aboard the troop carriers. He had only lost a few thousand to the bomb, thankfully, as the communications and scanning station was miles upstream of the core Redoubt plaza.It was time to repay the humans for their deeds, he thought, as he walked toward his shuttle and several of his senior Kig-Yar officers.Unggoy were shaking and looking up into the sky. It was growing brighter.Reth stopped and looked up. Giant fireb.a.l.l.s were streaking down, growing larger and larger.The humans had taken out the antiaircraft batteries and his ability to see see... to see this this coming. He ran for his shuttle, shoving frightened Unggoy aside. coming. He ran for his shuttle, shoving frightened Unggoy aside."Go!" he screamed at his pilot in the c.o.c.kpit. "Get off the ground!"The shuttle fired its engines and started to rise, and Reth saw the first giant mound of rock slam into the Redoubt.But where had they come from? he wondered, as the shock wave threw his shuttle aside and dashed it against the side of one of the large buildings.The wreckage of the shuttle slid to the ground as debris and rock rained down on it.A dazed Reth looked up through the cracked gla.s.s of the shuttle; he stared directly up at one large fireball that plummeted right at him.It was irregularly shaped, he thought, with large docking collars sticking out of one side, melting away into slag as the heat deformed them.A piece of the Rubble, he realized just before it struck, vaporizing everything in an immense release of hyperkinetic energy and destruction.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE.

METISETTE ORBIT, 23 LIBRAE.

Thel looked at the glowing, cratered remains of the Redoubt from orbit. "Nothing remains of Reth's fleet. There is no sign of Reth himself, either."A stillness descended on the bridge of the Infinite Spoils Infinite Spoils as both Zhar and Thel contemplated the destruction the humans had wrought on Metisette. as both Zhar and Thel contemplated the destruction the humans had wrought on Metisette."And now what, s.h.i.+pmaster?" Zhar asked. "We have destroyed prime targets in the Rubble; the rest has dashed itself against Metisette."Thel looked at the Unggoy working for them, and thought about Saal, brooding somewhere deep inside the s.h.i.+p."Some might say we have done our mission well, Zhar. Do you think the Prophets will believe it when they arrive?"Zhar looked at him, his mandibles flexing slightly as if tasting the air for clues as to what Thel might want as an answer. His once proud mind had become erratic in the face of the idea that the Hierarchs may have had differing goals, and that they'd gotten caught in the middle of some machination between the Prophets of Regret and Truth.Thel knew that Sangheili honor demanded they rise above it. He cleared his throat. "Reth's invasion fleet is in disarray. The Hierarchs will not be happy if we stand here and let the last of the humans escape with the location to Earth and the only chance all these loyal Unggoy have to live."Thel looked at the Unggoy on the bridge as they paid close attention to him, without looking directly at him. So maybe Sangheili could could play politics, Thel thought to himself, or at least set aside the desire for direct combat for a bit, despite the fact it coursed through their blood. play politics, Thel thought to himself, or at least set aside the desire for direct combat for a bit, despite the fact it coursed through their blood."What do you mean?" Zhar said."The Hierarchs want loyal subjects and true believers," Thel said. "I cannot imagine what would happen to all these surviving Unggoy if they do not try to take that asteroid in which the humans are trying to evacuate the system."Unggoy eyes balefully watched Thel pace the bridge now.Zhar coughed. "Their lives would all be forfeit."Thel nodded. "They would indeed." He turned to the Unggoy in the room. "Tell your surviving brothers to board the Exodus asteroid. We will provide cover for the action, but then stand clear. That human s.h.i.+p is too much of a match for this ungainly Kig-Yar boat."He walked over and shut off the screen showing the ruins of the Redoubt. "The Unggoy will take the asteroid, or die trying."If the Hierarchs were to let any of them live, there was no other option.Zhar got up and walked over to Thel. "If the ill.u.s.trious Hierarchs cannot agree on these things, what else do they disagree on, and what else might just be Prophet manipulation, s.h.i.+pmaster?"Thel grabbed Zhar's arm, and Zhar growled. But Thel looked his fellow Sangheili in the eye and whispered, "Such thinking lines the path to heresy. Do not indulge in it."Zhar pulled free and left the bridge.

CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX.

HABITAT EXODUS, THE RUBBLE, 23 LIBRAE.

From the moment the evacuation protocols had blared into life, Karl Simon's day had been a blur of tubes and long lines, waiting to board a habitat he'd never heard of until today. And it was a habitat that was going to jet them toward a new system. Away from home.A home that was under attack.It reminded him of the day the Covenant attacked Madrigal: the same nervous lines of people, hushed rumors, and fear that hung in the air.At the very end, Karl had been shuttled to the Exodus in a cramped supplies freighter. He'd looked out the pilot's windows and seen the craters and pitted surface of what looked like a tiny moon.The Exodus was six miles of potato-like asteroid, with a diameter of two miles. The freighter was a fleck of dust next to it, and the Exodus filled the windows as far as they could see as they approached it.We did this, Karl had thought with a momentary flash of pride.He'd been hustled to what felt like a stadium near the core of the s.h.i.+p, moving through miles and miles of corridors, following instructions on a card that had been handed to him in the shuttle.A hundred thousand other refugees, their murmuring echoing around the walls and ceilings, all had a.s.signed chairs that matched numbers on their cards.But now, the moment Karl sat, an usher appeared. "Karl Simon?""Yes?""Volunteer for the Rubble Defense Force?""Yes." Karl had signed up during the early days of the Rubble, when they'd been looking over their shoulders every day, expecting the Covenant to return."Come with me."The usher led Karl out of the rows of chairs with restraints where everyone else was being ordered to buckle in. Outside, the usher pointed down a corridor. "Follow this all the way to the end. They need you there."It was a mile, which Karl walked as fast as he could, slightly out of breath when he reached an open bay near the front of the asteroid where thirty men with rifles and handguns stood, guarding the entrance. A grizzled old miner looked him up and down. "Volunteer Defense?""Yeah.""You have certification in hand-to-hand combat and firearms training?"Karl nodded. The minder handed Karl a datapad and a handgun. "We have an estimated three thousand Unggoy who've managed to get inside, more expected. You're drafted. The doors behind us lead to the control center, the bridge, of the Exodus. The aliens do not get past here. Understand?""Yes, sir," sir," Karl said, and took up position just as the floor started to shake. Karl said, and took up position just as the floor started to shake."What the h.e.l.l is that?" one of the other men shouted, holding a machine gun up as a seven-foot-tall man in gray armor turned the corner.They all stared as the half-ton, armor-clad human walked up to them."I have something the bridge crew needs," he said, and held up a small black chip casing in his gauntleted hand. "Mind letting me through?"The Rubble Defense Force stepped aside, one of the large miners politely holding the door open for the giant, armor-clad soldier to step inside.

CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN.

MIDSUMMER NIGHT, NEAR HABITAT EXODUS, 23 LIBRAE NEAR HABITAT EXODUS, 23 LIBRAE.

The bridge crew of the Exodus habitat hailed the Midsummer Night. Midsummer Night. Keyes looked over at Lt. Burt on the comms. "Patch them through." Keyes looked over at Lt. Burt on the comms. "Patch them through."Midsummer Night had been covering the slow flight out to the edges of the system to prepare for a Slips.p.a.ce jump for almost a day now. Unggoy and Kig-Yar fighters had dogged and hara.s.sed them the whole way, pockmarking the surface of the asteroid and occasionally scoring hits on the frigate, but unable to stop them. The desperate Grunt boarding parties left Keyes nervous. He'd had to make a snap decision to have the Spartans hand over the nav data, but all indications were that the Rubble Defense fighters were keeping the Grunts pinned down. And more importantly, well clear of the c.o.c.kpit. The Grunts, with their methane tanks and nowhere to go once the Exodus entered Slips.p.a.ce, would eventually choke to death. Keyes had decided the million lives were worth the small risk. There'd been enough Colonist deaths by the Covenant so far. It was time to rescue some of them. He had no idea of what trouble might lie ahead for him from this decision, but the lives saved would be worth it. had been covering the slow flight out to the edges of the system to prepare for a Slips.p.a.ce jump for almost a day now. Unggoy and Kig-Yar fighters had dogged and hara.s.sed them the whole way, pockmarking the surface of the asteroid and occasionally scoring hits on the frigate, but unable to stop them. The desperate Grunt boarding parties left Keyes nervous. He'd had to make a snap decision to have the Spartans hand over the nav data, but all indications were that the Rubble Defense fighters were keeping the Grunts pinned down. And more importantly, well clear of the c.o.c.kpit. The Grunts, with their methane tanks and nowhere to go once the Exodus entered Slips.p.a.ce, would eventually choke to death. Keyes had decided the million lives were worth the small risk. There'd been enough Colonist deaths by the Covenant so far. It was time to rescue some of them. He had no idea of what trouble might lie ahead for him from this decision, but the lives saved would be worth it.They were far now enough out to enter Slips.p.a.ce.An engineer appeared, his overalls dirty, bags under his eyes. "Lieutenant Keyes, I apologize, but the Security Council insisted I contact you."The Rubble's Council. Keyes had almost forgotten about them. "What's wrong?""The Exodus will not be able to make the trip. We don't have the range and engine power. We expected more time to bring more engines online. With a Covenant fleet supposed to arrive, we have to go with what we have now. And what we have now, well, they'll burn out, or if we make lots of small jumps, it will literally take centuries to cross the galaxy away from where Covenant or UNSC people would ever dare venture, as we originally planned."The man looked defeated."The Council knows?" Keyes asked."Yes. They're debating what to do." The engineer looked down at the floor."But the Exodus can make a journey, just not as far as originally intended?" Keyes confirmed.The Council didn't want to return to the colonies. Would they be hardheaded enough to risk Exodus and everyone in it to try and leave the Covenant and colonies behind anyway?"Yes." The engineer met his eyes. Keyes realized the engineer was worried about the same thing."Put me through to the Council," Keyes ordered. He thought about the last time he'd given a speech.Forget trying to sound stirring, he thought. Just lay it out. His duty was to convince the Council to head toward the Inner colonies. It was their best bet for survival.The screen filled with the members of the Security Council. The Rubble wasn't working as a technocracy right now, not while being herded into their spots all throughout the Exodus asteroid.This was their leaders.h.i.+p. And Keyes had to influence it."h.e.l.lo, I'm Lieutenant Keyes, of the Midsummer Night Midsummer Night," he said with a faint grin. He locked his arms behind him. It was a cla.s.sroom habit, and it would keep him from reaching for the pipe which he'd found sitting in his belongings, thankfully untouched. "I'm a fighting man, but as commander of this s.h.i.+p, I know something about holding people's lives in my hands. I won't bulls.h.i.+t around. You have enough engine power to reach an Inner Colony quickly, where there will be some measure of protection, and access to resources. The other option is to risk a slow, long journey out to a destination that has neither, but in which you retain your own power."I don't know what the UNSC will do, and I can't guarantee that all of you with Insurrectionist ties will be given a pa.s.s. But remember, you have a million lives you're deciding for. A million lives who could make a difference in the future fight against these b.a.s.t.a.r.d aliens who destroyed the Rubble. Unless you choose to let the Covenant win."Keyes looked at them all, and Maria Esquival stood up. "We took a vote," she said, "before you called."Keyes sucked in his breath.She quirked a faint smile. "We're aiming to reach the 18 Scorpii system. If you would escort us, Lieutenant.""Of course," Keyes said. "Make random jumps out, until we clear the asteroid of Grunts. We want to make sure not a single one remains alive before we turn toward the Inner Colonies." His after-action report was going to be d.a.m.ning enough. Showing up with an asteroid full of evidence... well, Keyes figured he'd be spending time behind bars again soon. But he couldn't turn his back on a million lives. He couldn't leave them for the Covenant. Not again.Maria nodded. "We have teams combing Exodus thoroughly."Keyes waited until the screen flickered off, then looked around at his bridge crew. "It's still tricky," he said. "Don't let those breaths out. We have to hope Petya's Petya's computers can keep us in sync." computers can keep us in sync.""Actually," said a voice from the back of the bridge. "We ditched Petya Petya."The Spartan at the back pulled his helmet off. It was Mike. He held out a chip."This what I think it is?" Keyes asked."Navigation charts." Mike sat down by Keyes' old console. "I ran simulations on syncing our two s.h.i.+ps. The odds weren't good. Made more sense to dump the freighter. I pressed your crew into service; we off-loaded a lot of the more useful cargo into your bay. We also cut loose a couple of Pelicans to make some room."Keyes raised an eyebrow. "And I authorized this when?"Mike plugged the navigation data in, dumping star chart information into the s.h.i.+p's computers. "I took some liberties. Time was short when you showed up. Jai and Adriana lent a hand; they're still stowing things. A good price for the data, losing just a couple Pelicans, Lieutenant Keyes, don't you think?"Keyes straightened out his back, holding in his private smile. "Don't ever try to run my s.h.i.+p for me again."The Spartan did not reply, but plugged in a random vector out of the system. "We're going in the same direction. I carried these personally on a disk from their s.h.i.+p to this one. Can't be intercepted. Will you give the order?"Keyes looked out into s.p.a.ce through the windows of his bridge. "Send them the signal. Engage Slips.p.a.ce drives."All across Exodus engines flickered to life, and the asteroid struggled its way into Slips.p.a.ce, ripping and clawing its way into a hole in the universe.It was ungainly, but the asteroid managed it, and Midsummer Night Midsummer Night followed, leaving behind the remains of the Rubble. followed, leaving behind the remains of the Rubble.

CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT.

METISETTE ORBIT, 23 LIBRAE.

Bonifacio drifted in orbit around Metisette. The batteries on his pod were close to dead, and condensation dripped off the portholes.He'd seen the destruction of the Redoubt from orbit, the asteroids raining down into the atmosphere.Since then things had been quiet.The air was getting thick inside the pod, and it was hard to breathe. Occasionally he heard Kig-Yar voices on the radio and sometimes fast Unggoy chatter, but none of them would respond to his calls for help.Not even calls back to the Rubble had been answered. He'd pleaded and begged, even offered rewards, but gotten only static.He sat in place hugging his chest, when a loud pipping sound caught his attention.Bonifacio moved over and looked at the scans.A bulbous-headed s.h.i.+p had appeared in orbit nearby, expertly dropping out of Slips.p.a.ce in a way no human s.h.i.+p could.Another flashed into s.p.a.ce behind it, then another, and another. An entire Covenant fleet materialized in front of Bonifacio.This would be a new group of Covenant. Ones who hadn't shut him out, Bonifacio thought. He moved to the radio. He'd surrender. Yes, he'd be a tool of the Covenant, a slave to them, but he'd live.Yes, he'd live.He grabbed the microphone and hailed the large cruiser moving nearby, and kept calling it until he saw it change course.Bonifacio's heart skipped.He'd done it. He'd survived. He was going to get picked up. He smiled as he watched the cruiser pick up speed, and then frowned.It was still picking up speed. It was moving so close that he could see it from the windows of his pod, growing larger every second.A ball of energy gathered underneath the s.h.i.+p. Bonifacio screamed and put his hand up against the slimy, wet porthole as if to ward off the plasma that lashed out and struck his tiny pod.The ma.s.sive Covenant cruiser plowed through the vaporized remains as it adjusted its...o...b..t.

CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE.

INFINITE SACRIFICE, METISETTE ORBIT, 23 LIBRAE METISETTE ORBIT, 23 LIBRAE.

Thel got to his knees and bowed to the pair of Hierarchs before him on the bridge of the Infinite Sacrifice. Infinite Sacrifice. An honor guard of five Sangheili guards arrayed themselves around their floating chairs. An honor guard of five Sangheili guards arrayed themselves around their floating chairs."Rise," the Prophet of Truth said. "You ordered the Unggoy to storm the human vehicle after the Kig-Yar Reth's death?""Yes, Hierarch," Thel said. "It was a chance to get the location of their homeworld. But we know now the Unggoy and any Kig-Yar that were with them have failed.""How is that?" the Prophet of Regret asked."Their air would have run out by now."The heavy crowns of the Hierarchs bobbed as they considered that. "Indeed," Truth said. "We are left only with Kig-Yar who imagined they were helping humans, at Reth's orders. Potential traitors, all of them. And these Unggoy as well, breeding outside the law. Traveling without permits."Regret shook its head. "A mess.""A mess that revealed much," Truth hissed.For a moment, an uncomfortable silence hung in the air. Then Regret nodded at Truth. "We will destroy all the traitors."Thel felt his neck tighten. He'd failed to appreciate the situation, and now he would pay the ultimate price for his mistakes. The Hierarchs would have his head.Vadam would suffer. His lineage would be suspect.The floor beneath his feet felt as if it wavered, and then Thel stiffened. Zhar was moving forward.The Sangheili warrior had drawn the bar of his energy sword, but not yet unleashed it."Zhar," Thel hissed, horrified. Zhar seemed to be struggling with himself."So you will kill us too, s.h.i.+pmaster?" Zhar cried out. "Like animals? After all we served. How can I suffer such a dishonor? My line's dishonor?"The honor guard drew their energy pikes, the ends s.h.i.+mmering with contained blue plasma.Zhar took another hesitant step forward, and Thel pulled out his sword and turned it on. "Zhar?"His old friend looked back at him. "I have already drawn," he said. "I will not stand and let them dishonor me.""I have drawn as well," Thel said sadly.Zhar leapt forward, but Thel jumped as well, slamming into his side and spearing Zhar through the throat with his sword. It sizzled and spat Sangheili blood.Thel threw Zhar against a wall, then decapitated him with a swift swipe.He stared at the mess of blood and Zhar's body, then turned back to the Hierarchs, setting his sword down on the ground away from him.What else could he have done? Thel wondered. Zhar had forced him into it. To step toward the Hierarchs with a sword in hand was madness.Regret looked shaken, but composed himself and piloted his chair out of the large bridge. "What madness Sangheili honor can be," he muttered as he left. "They should be careful, lest they lose their way."But Truth looked at Thel with a.n.a.lytical eyes. "Tell me your name, n.o.ble warrior.""Thel 'Vadamee," Thel said.Truth moved closer, the honor guard moving with him. "You live. Say nothing of what happened here.""Yes, Hierarch," Thel said."Report to the s.h.i.+pmaster-he will find you lodging until we return to High Charity." High Charity." Truth also left the bridge. Truth also left the bridge.Thel waited until they were well clear, then stood. He didn't look at Zhar's body as he walked to the large, Sangheili s.h.i.+pmaster to get his instructions.This mission was over, and Thel was grateful. He wanted a s.h.i.+p to command that was part of a fleet, not off on its own. But leading a mission, away from the Prophets where his decisions could or could not risk their wrath...Thel 'Vadamee never wanted to be in that position again.