Dominique had been one of his students at the Academy-he had transferred to Luna from the Universite del' Astrophysique in Paris after his sister was killed in action. He was short, nimbly athletic, and he rarely cracked a smile-he 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 auth.o.r.ed seven physics papers on Slips.p.a.ce 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's 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's 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 test-the results were negative.

"Orders, sir?" Jagger asked.

"Continue on this heading, Lieutenant. We'll finish our patrol around Sigma Octa.n.u.s and then accelerate and enter Slips.p.a.ce."

"Aye, 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 ma.s.s was curious. It was too big to be even the largest Covenant carrier . . . yet something was oddly familiar about its shape. Sensor Outpost. The log of the large ma.s.s 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 Academy-several theoretical papers that had recently caught his interest. One, he thought, might apply to the outpost's unusual reading.

That paper had initially sparked his interest because of its author. He had never forgotten his first a.s.signment with Dr. Catherine Halsey . . . nor the names of any of the children they had observed.

He opened the file and read: United Nations s.p.a.ce Command Astrophysics Journal 034-23-01 Date:May 097, 2540 (Military Calendar) Encryption Code: Encryption Code:None Public Key: Public Key:NA Author(s): Author(s):Lieutenant Commander Fhajad 034 (service number [CLa.s.sIFIED]), UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence Subject: Subject:Dimensional-Ma.s.s s.p.a.ce Compressions in Shaw-Fujikawa (a.k.a. "Slipstream") s.p.a.ce. Cla.s.sification: Cla.s.sification:NA /start file/ Abstract:The s.p.a.ce-bending properties of ma.s.s in normal s.p.a.ce are well described by Einstein's general relativity. Such distortions however, are complicated by the anomalous quantum gravitational effects in Shaw-Fujikawa (SF) s.p.a.ces. Using loop-string a.n.a.lysis, it can be shown that a large ma.s.s bends s.p.a.ce in SF s.p.a.ce more than general relativity predicts by an order of magnitude. This bending may explain how several small objects cl.u.s.tered closely together in SF s.p.a.ce have been reported erroneously as a single larger ma.s.s.

PressENTER to continue. 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. 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 three-quarters profile. He overlaid the image on the silhouette, scaled it back a little.

It was a perfect match.

"Lieutenant Dominique, get FLEETCOM ASAP. Priority Alpha."

The Lieutenant snapped straight in his chair. "Yes, 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 Octa.n.u.s IV. That confirmed his theory. "Bring us about to course zero four seven, Lieutenant Jaggers. Lieutenant Hall, push the reactors to one hundred ten percent." "Aye, Commander," Lieutenant Jaggers replied. "Reactor running hot, sir," Hall reported. "Now exceeding recommended operational parameters." "ETA?" Jaggers calculated, then looked up. "Forty-three minutes," he replied. "Too slow," Commander Keyes muttered. "Reactor to one hundred thirty percent, Lieutenant Hall." She hesitated. "Sir?" "Do it!" "Yes, sir!" She moved as if someone had electrically shocked her. "FLEETCOM 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'd understand the logic of the situation.

"Commander Keyes," the Admiral said. "The old 'Schoolmaster' himself, 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 cla.s.sroom-and some probably thought he didn't deserve that. "The Sigma Octa.n.u.s System is about to come under attack, sir." Admiral Stanforth c.o.c.ked an eyebrow and leaned closer to the screen.

"I'm requesting that all ships in-system rendezvous with theIroquois at Sigma Octa.n.u.s Four. And any ships in neighboring systems make best speed here." at Sigma Octa.n.u.s Four. And any ships in neighboring systems make best speed here."

"Show me what you've got, Keyes," the Admiral said. Commander Keyes displayed the silhouette from the sensor outpost first. "Covenant ships, sir. Their silhouettes are overlapped. Our probes resolve them as one ma.s.s because Slips.p.a.ce is bent by gravity more easily than normal s.p.a.ce."

The Admiral listened to his a.n.a.lysis, frowning. "You've fought the Covenant, sir. You known how precisely they can maneuver their ships through the Slipstream. I've seen a dozen alien craft appear in normal s.p.a.ce, in perfect formation, not a kilometer apart." "Yeah," the Admiral muttered. "I've seen that, too. All right, Keyes, good work. You'll get everything we can send." "Thank you, sir." "You just hang in there, son. Good luck. FLEETCOM out." The view screen snapped off. "Sir?" Lieutenant Hall turned around. "How many Covenant ships?" "I'd estimate four medium-tonnage vessels," he said. "The equivalent of our frigates." "FourCovenant ships?" Lieutenant Jaggers muttered. "What canwe do?" "Do?" Commander Keyes said. "Our duty." "Begging the Commander's pardon, but there are do?" "Do?" Commander Keyes said. "Our duty." "Begging the Commander's pardon, but there arefour Cov-" Jaggers began to protest. Keyes cut him off with a glare. "Stow that, mister." He paused, weighing his words. "Sigma Octa.n.u.s Cov-" Jaggers began to protest. Keyes cut him off with a glare. "Stow that, mister." He paused, weighing his words. "Sigma Octa.n.u.s Four has seventeen million citizens, Lieutenant. Are you suggesting that we just stand by and watch the Covenant gla.s.s the planet?" "No, sir." His gaze dropped to the deck.

"We will do the best we can," Commander Keyes said. "In 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."

"Yes, sir!" Lieutenant Hikowa said.

An alarm sounded at ops. "Reactor hysteresis approaching failure levels," Lieutenant Hall reported. "Superconducting magnets overloading. Coolant breakdown imminent." "Vent primary coolant and pump in the reserve tanks," Commander Keyes ordered. "That will buy us another five minutes." "Yes, sir." Commander Keyes fumbled with his pipe. He didn't bother to light the thing, just chewed on the end.

Then he put it away. The nervous habit wasn't setting the right example for his bridge officers. He didn't 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 them-hopefully distract them until the fleet got here. destroyers. The best he could hope for was to get their attention and outrun them-hopefully distract them until the fleet got here.

Of course . . . those Covenant ships could outrun theIroquois as well. as well.

"Lieutenant Jaggers," he said, "initiate the Cole Protocol. Purge our navigation databases, and then generate an appropriate randomized exit vector from the Sigma Octa.n.u.s System." "Yes, sir." He fumbled with his controls. He hung his head, steadied his hands, and slowly typed in the commands. "Lieutenant Hall: make preparations to override reactor safeties." His junior officers all paused for a second. "Aye, sir," Lieutenant Hall whispered. "We're receiving a transmission from the system's edge," Lieutenant Dominique announced.

"FrigatesAlliance and andGettysburg are on an inbound vector at maximum speed. ETA . . . one hour." "Good," Commander Keyes said. That hour might as well be a month. This battle would be over in minutes. are on an inbound vector at maximum speed. ETA . . . one hour." "Good," Commander Keyes said. That hour might as well be a month. This battle would be over in minutes.

He could not fight the enemy-he was severely outgunned. He couldn't outrun them, either. There had to be another option. Hadn't 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 perspective-anything to find a way out of a hopeless situation.

The black s.p.a.ce near Sigma Octa.n.u.s IV boiled and frothed with motes of green light. "Ships entering normal s.p.a.ce," Lieutenant Jaggers announced, panic tingeing his voice. Commander Keyes got to his feet. He had been wrong. There weren't four Covenant frigates. A pair of enemy frigates emerged from Slips.p.a.ce . . . 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 t.i.tanium-A battleplate in seconds. Their weapons were light-years ahead of the UNSC's. "Their weapons," Commander Keyes muttered under his breath. Yes . . . he ' two meters of t.i.tanium-A battleplate in seconds. Their weapons were light-years ahead of the UNSC's. "Their weapons," Commander Keyes muttered under his breath. Yes . . . hedid have a third option. "Continue at emergency speed," he ordered, "and come about to heading zero three two." Lieutenant Jaggers swiveled in his seat. "That will put us on collision course with their destroyer, sir." "I know," Commander Keyes replied. "In fact, I'm counting on doing just that." have a third option. "Continue at emergency speed," he ordered, "and come about to heading zero three two." Lieutenant Jaggers swiveled in his seat. "That will put us on collision course with their destroyer, sir." "I know," Commander Keyes replied. "In fact, I'm counting on doing just that."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

0320 Hours, July 17, 2552 (Military Calendar) / UNSCIroquois en route to Sigma Octa.n.u.s IV en route to Sigma Octa.n.u.s 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 . . . probably in control for his crew. He was asking a lot from them . . . probablyeverything , in fact. , 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. 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 before-fast, accurate, and deadly craft. Normally his ship's AI would handle point defense . . . only this time, there was no AI installed on theIroquois . .

The alien destroyer was a third again as ma.s.sive as theIroquois . She bristled with pulse laser turrets, insectlike antennae, and chitinous pods. The carrier and destroyer moved together . . . but not toward . 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 Octa.n.u.s IV. . They slowly drifted in-system toward Sigma Octa.n.u.s IV.

Were they going to ignore him? Gla.s.s 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 -preparing for a broadside. Motes of red light appeared and swarmed toward the frigate's lateral lines, building into a solid stripe of h.e.l.lish illumination. -preparing for a broadside. Motes of red light appeared and swarmed toward the frigate's lateral lines, building into a solid stripe of h.e.l.lish illumination.

"Detecting high levels of beta particle radiation," Lieutenant Dominique said. "They're getting ready to fire their plasma weapons, Commander."

"Course correction, sir?" Lieutenant Jaggers asked. His fingers tapped in a new heading bound out system. "Stay on course." It took all Commander Keyes' concentration to say that matter-of-factly. Lieutenant Jaggers turned and started to speak-but Commander Keyes didn't have time to address his concerns.

"Lieutenant Hikowa," Commander Keyes said. "Arm a Shiva missile. Remove all nuclear launch safety locks." "Shiva armed. Aye, Commander." Lieutenant Hikowa's face was a mask of grim determination. "Set the fuse on radio transmission code sequence detonation only. Disable proximity fuse. Stand by for a launch pilot program." "Sir?" Lieutenant Hikowa looked confused by his order, but then said, "Sir! 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, ma.s.s, 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 Octa.n.u.s IV? He got a number and cut it by 60 percent, knowing they'd either pick up speed . . . or be dead by the time it mattered. to orbit Sigma Octa.n.u.s IV? He got a number and cut it by 60 percent, knowing they'd either pick up speed . . . or be dead by the time it mattered.

"Lieutenant Hikowa, set the Shiva's course for mark one eight zero. Full burn for twelve seconds." "Aye, sir," she said, tapped in the parameters, and locked them into the system. "Missile ready, sir." "Sir!" Lieutenant Jaggers swiveled around and stood. His lips were drawn into a tight thin line. "That course fires the missile directlyaway from our enemies." "I 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 from our enemies." "I 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. "On my mark, Lieutenant Hikowa, launch that nuke . . . and not a moment before." "Aye, sir." Her slender hand hovered over the control panel. "MAC guns are still hot, Commander," she reminded him.

"Divert the energy keeping the capacitors at full charge and route them to the engines," Commander Keyes ordered. Lieutenant Hall said, "Diverting now, sir." She exchanged a glance with Lieutenant Hikowa. "Engines now operating at one hundred fifty percent of rated output. Red line in two minutes." "Contact! Contact!" Lieutenant Dominique shouted. "Enemy plasma torpedoes away, sir!" Scarlet lightning erupted from the alien frigates-twin bolts of fire streaked through the darkness. They looked as if they could burn s.p.a.ce itself. The torpedoes were on a direct course for theIroquois . .

"Course correction, sir?" Lieutenant Jaggers' voice broke with strain. His uniform was soaked with perspiration. "Negative," Commander Keyes replied. "Continue on this heading. Arm all aft Archer missile pods.

Rotate launch arcs one eight zero degrees."

"Aye, 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 way-like 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. "Collision with plasma in nineteen seconds, sir." Jaggers turned from his station. "Sir! This is suicide! Our armor can't withstand-" Keyes cut him off. "Mister, man your station or I will have you removed from the bridge." Jaggers looked pleadingly at Hikowa. "We're going todie , Aki-" She refused to meet his gaze and turned back to her controls. "You heard the Commander," she said , Aki-" She refused to meet his gaze and turned back to her controls. "You heard the Commander," she said quietly. "Man your post." Jaggers sank into his seat.

"Collision with plasma in seven seconds," Lieutenant Hall said. She bit her lower lip. "Lieutenant Jaggers, transfer emergency thruster controls to my station." "Yes . . . yes, sir." The emergency thrusters were tanks of trihydride tetrazine and hydrogen peroxide. When they mixed, they did so with explosive force-literally 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. "Lieutenant Hikowa: fire the nuke." 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. "Lieutenant Hikowa: fire the nuke."

"Shiva away, sir! On course-one eight zero, maximum burn." Plasma filled the forescreen; the center of the red ma.s.s turned blue. Greens and yellows radiated outward, the light frequencies blue-shifting in spectra.

"Distance three hundred thousand kilometers," Lieutenant Dominique said. "Collision in two seconds."

Commander Keyes waited a heartbeat then hit the emergency thrusters to port. A bang resonated through the ship's hull-Commander 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't be anything to count. They would be dead already. Only one view screen was working now, however. "Aft 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 . One pulled slightly ahead of its counterpart, so they appeared now like two blazing eyes. Commander Keyes marveled at the aliens' ability to direct that plasma from such a great distance. "Good," he murmured to himself. "Chase us all the way to h.e.l.l, you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.

"Track them," he ordered Lieutenant Hall. "Aye, sir," she said. Her perfectly groomed hair was tousled. "Plasma increasing velocity. Matching our speed . . . overtaking our velocity now. They will intercept in forty-three seconds."

"Forward 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 hulls-pulse lasers charging. Commander Keyes pulled back the camera angle and saw the alien carrier and the destroyer were still head-on. Blue lights flickered along their hulls-pulse lasers charging. Commander Keyes pulled back the camera angle and saw the alien carrier and the destroyer were still inbound toward Sigma Octa.n.u.s IV. He read their position off his data pad and quickly performed the necessary calculations. "Course correction," he told Lieutenant Jaggers. "Come about to heading zero zero four point two five. Declination zero zero zero point one eight."

"Aye, sir," Jaggers said. "Zero zero four point two five. Declination zero zero zero point one eight." The view screen turned and centered on the enormous Covenant destroyer. "Collision course!" Lieutenant Hall announced. "Impact with Covenant destroyer in eight seconds." "Stand by for new course correction: declination minus zero zero zero point one zero." "Aye, sir." As Jaggers typed he wiped the sweat from his eyes and double-checked his numbers.

"Course online. Awaiting your order, sir." "Collision 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.

"Hold this course," Commander Keyes said. "Sound collision alarm. Switch to undercarriage camera now." Klaxons blared. The view screen snapped off and on and showed black s.p.a.ce-then 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 onscreen-then the screen filled with static. "Course correction now!" Commander Keyes shouted. screeched and shuddered as she grazed the prow of the Covenant destroyer. Silver shields flickered onscreen-then the screen filled with static. "Course correction now!" Commander Keyes shouted.

"Aye, sir." There was a brief burn from the thrusters and theIroquois nudged down slightly. "Hull breach!" Lieutenant Hall said. "Sealing pressure doors." "Aft camera," Commander Keyes said. "Guns: Fire aft Archer missile pods!" "Missiles away," Lieutenant Hikowa replied. Keyes watched as the first of the plasma torpedoes that had been trailing the nudged down slightly. "Hull breach!" Lieutenant Hall said. "Sealing pressure doors." "Aft camera," Commander Keyes said. "Guns: Fire aft Archer missile pods!" "Missiles away," Lieutenant Hikowa replied. Keyes watched as the first of the plasma torpedoes that had been trailing theIroquois impacted on the impacted on the prow of the alien destroyer. The ship's 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. 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 Keyes' face as he watched the alien ship burn, list, and slowly plunge into Sigma Octa.n.u.s IV's gravity well. Without power, the Covenant vessel would burn up in the planet's atmosphere.

Commander Keyes flicked on the intercom. "Brace for emergency thruster maneuver."

He punched the thruster controls-explosive force detonated on the starboard side of the ship. TheIroquois nosed toward Sigma Octa.n.u.s IV. "Course correction, Lieutenant Jaggers," he said. "Bring us into a tight orbit." "Aye, sir." He furiously tapped in commands, diverting engine output through att.i.tude thrusters. The hull of the nosed toward Sigma Octa.n.u.s IV. "Course correction, Lieutenant Jaggers," he said. "Bring us into a tight orbit." "Aye, sir." He furiously tapped in commands, diverting engine output through att.i.tude thrusters. The hull of theIroquois glowed red as it entered the atmosphere. A cloud of yellow ionization built up 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. entered the dark side of the planet. Commander Keyes slumped forward and started breathing again.

"Engine coolant failure, sir," Lieutenant Hall said. "Shut the engines down," he ordered. "Emergency vent." "Aye, sir. Venting fusion reactor plasma." TheIroquois was abruptly quiet. No rumble of her engines. And no one said anything until Lieutenant was abruptly quiet. No rumble of her engines. And no one said anything until Lieutenant Hikowa stood and said, "Sir, that was the most brilliant maneuver I have ever seen." Commander Keyes gave a short laugh. "You think so, Lieutenant?" If one of his students had proposed such a maneuver in his tactics cla.s.s, 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. "This isn't over yet. Stay sharp," he told them. "Lieutenant Hikowa what is the charge status of the MAC guns?"

"Capacitors at ninety-five percent, sir, and draining at a rate of three percent per minute." "Ready MAC guns, one heavy round apiece. Arm all forward Archer missile pods." "Aye, sir." TheIroquois broke free of the dark side of Sigma Octa.n.u.s IV. "Fire chemical thrusters to break orbit, Lieutenant Hall." "Firing, aye." There was a brief rumble. The screen centered on the backsides of the two Covenant frigates they had broke free of the dark side of Sigma Octa.n.u.s IV. "Fire chemical thrusters to break orbit, Lieutenant Hall." "Firing, aye." There was a brief rumble. The screen centered on the backsides of the two Covenant frigates they had pa.s.sed 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 direction-but 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 Octa.n.u.s IV, the nuke had drifted closer to the frigates . . . who had fixed their attention solidly on the had screamed over the prow of the destroyer, and as they orbited Sigma Octa.n.u.s 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 Octa.n.u.s IV-rippled with rainbow borealis. The cloud of vapor expanded and cooled, and faded to yellow, orange, red, then black dust that scattered into s.p.a.ce.

Both Covenant frigates, however, were still intact. Their shields, however, flickered once . . . then went dead. "Get me firing solutions for the MAC guns, Lieutenant Hikowa. On the double." "Aye, sir. MAC gun capacitors at ninety-three percent. Firing solution online." "Fire, Lieutenant Hikowa." Two thumps resonated through the hull of theIroquois . "Lock remaining Archer missile pods on targets and fire." "Missiles away, Commander." . "Lock remaining Archer missile pods on targets and fire." "Missiles away, Commander."

Twin thunderbolts and hundreds of missiles streaked toward the two helpless frigates. The MAC rounds tore though them-one ship was holed from nose to tail; the other ship was. .h.i.t on her midline, right near the engines. Internal explosions chained up the length of the ship, bulging the second ship's 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't fire a weapon . . . just drifted out of control. Dead in s.p.a.ce. but didn't fire a weapon . . . just drifted out of control. Dead in s.p.a.ce.

"Position of the Covenant carrier, Lieutenant Hall?" Lieutenant Hall paused, then reported, "In polar orbit around Sigma Octa.n.u.s Four. But she's moving off at considerable speed. Headed out-system, course zero four five."

"Alert theAllegiance and andGettysburg of her position." of her position."

Commander Keyes sighed and slumped back into his chair. They had stopped the Covenant ships from gla.s.sing the planet-saved 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.

"Check the planet," he told Lieutenant Hall. "Look for anything-dropped weapons, strange transmissions. There's got to be something there."

"Aye, sir."

Keyes prayed she wouldn't find anything. At this point he was out of tricks. He couldn't turn theIroquois around and return to Sigma Octa.n.u.s IV even if he had wanted to. The around and return to Sigma Octa.n.u.s 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 stop-there was no way to recharge the MAC guns, and no remaining Archer missiles. They were practically dead in s.p.a.ce. ' engines were down for a long time. They were speeding on an out-system vector at a considerable velocity. And even if they could stop-there was no way to recharge the MAC guns, and no remaining Archer missiles. They were practically dead in s.p.a.ce.

He pulled out his pipe and steadied his shaking hand.

"Sir!" Lieutenant Hall cried. "Dropships, sir. The alien carrier deployed thirty-correction: thirty-four- dropships. I have silhouettes descending to the surface. They're on course for Cote d'Azur. A major population center."

"An invasion," Commander Keyes said. "Get 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 Octa.n.u.s IV , military staging area in orbit around Sigma Octa.n.u.s 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 Octa.n.u.s System.

He watched the four dozen other UNSC ships...o...b..t the planet: frigates and destroyers, two carriers, and a ma.s.sive repair and refitting station-more 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 Octa.n.u.s wasn't 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 priority-he didn't want to get caught half ready if the Covenant returned. was his top priority-he didn't want to get caught half ready if the Covenant returned.

Or rather,when they returned. 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't yet understand.

A shadow crossed the fore camera of theIroquois as the repair station as the repair stationCradle maneuvered closer. 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. 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.