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CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
0637 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Epsilon Eridani Systenals on motion tracker," the Master Chief said "They’re all around us"
The passageway behind the Master Chief and Blue-One swar Bay Nine, ahead of them The Master Chief saever, not all the blips were hostiles Four Marine friend-or-foe tags strobed on his heads-up display: SGT JOHNSON, PVT O’BRIEN, PVT BISENTI, and PVT
JENKINS
The Master Chief opened up a COM channel to thehten them up Concentrate on one Jackal at a time--or you’ll just waste your aeant Johnson said, startled "Sir, yes sir!"
"Blue-One," the Master Chief said "I’ to open up the Circumference like a tin can" He nodded toward the Pelican in the adjacent bay "Give renades over the top"
"Understood," she replied "You’re covered, sir" She pri around the pressure doors, and threw them behind the Jackals
The Master Chief pushed off the wall--propelled hirenades detonated and caught the Jackals on their backsides Blue blood spattered on the insides of their shields and across the deck
The Master Chief crashed into the Pelican’s hull He pulled hiot into the cockpit, released the docking cla thrusters once to break free
The Pelican lifted off the deck
The Master Chief said over the COM channel, "Marines and Blue-One: take cover behindbay
A dozen Jackals poured in through the passage that Blue-One had just left
The Master Chief fired with the Pelican’s autocannon--cut down their shields and peppered the aliens with hundreds of rounds They exploded into chunks; alien blood twisted crazily in zero gravity
"Master Chief," Linda said, "I’nals on the motion tracker, inbound fro"
The Master Chief opened the Pelican’s back hatch "Get in," he said Blue-One and the Marines piled inside
The Marines did a double take at Blue-One and the Master Chief in their MJOLNIR armor
The Master Chief turned the Pelican to face the Circuhted the autocannon on the ship’s forward viewports--and opened fire Thousands of rounds streah the thick, transparent s He followed up with an Anvil-II h the prow and peeled the craft open
"Take the controls," he told Blue-One
He slipped out the side hatch and jumped to the CircumferenceThe inside of the ship’s cockpit was scrap metal He accessed the computer panel in the floor deck and located the NAV database core It was a cube ofto cause so much trouble
He shot it three times with his assault rifle It shattered
"Mission completed," he said One small victory in all this mess The Covenant wouldn’t find Earthtoday
He exited the CircumferenceJackals appeared on the level above the bay His motion tracker blinked with solid contacts
He jumped back into the Pelican, strapped himself in the pilot’s chair, and turned the ship to face the outer doors
"Blue-One, signal the docknal sent," she said "No response, sir" She looked around "There’s a manual release by the outer door" She et this one, sir It’s er, Blue-One Keep your head down I’ll draw their fire"
She launched herself out the back hatch
The Master Chief tapped the Pelican’s thrusters and the ship rose higher in the bay--up to the second level The upper decks were the mechanic bays; the area was littered with ships that were partially disassees of repair It was also where a hundred Jackals and a handful of Elite warriors aiting for him
They opened fire Plasma bolts scored the hull of the Pelican
The Master Chief fired the chain-gun and let loose a salvo of reen blood splashed and flash-froze in the icy vacuum
He hit the top thrusters and dropped down to the lower level--slammed the ship back into a berth for cover
Blue-One crouched by the ht and stars beyond "You’re clear for exit, Master Chief We’re ho display appeared--right behind Linda He had to warn her--
A bolt of plasma struck her in the back Another blot of fire blazed her from the upper decks and splashed across her front She crumpled--her shields flickered and went out Two more bolts hit her chest A third blast smashed into her helmet
"No!" the Master Chief said He felt each of those plasma bolts as if they had hit him, too
He moved the Pelican to cover her Plas its outer skin
"Get her inside!" he ordered the Marines
They ju armor, and pulled her inside the Pelican
The Master Chief sealed the hatch, ignited the engines and pushed the into space
"Can you fly this ship?" he asked the Marine Sergeant
"Yes, sir," Johnson replied
"Take over"
The Master Chief went to Linda and knelt by her side Sections of her armor had melted and adhered to her Underneath, in patches, bits of carbonized bone showed He accessed her vital signs on his heads-up display They were dangerously low
"Did you do it?" she whispered "Get the database?"
"Yes We got it"
"Good," she said "We won" She clasped his hand and closed her eyes
Her vital signs flat-lined
John squeezed her hand and let go "Yes," he said bitterly "We won"
"Master Chief, come in" Captain Keyes voice sounded over the COM channel "The Pillar of Autumn will be in rendezvous position in one minute"
"We’re ready, Captain," he answered He set Linda’s hand over her chest "I’m ready"
The instant the Master Chief docked the Pelican to the Pillar of Autumn , he felt the cruiser accelerate
He took Linda’s body double time to a cryo chamber and immediately froze her She was clinically dead
--there was no doubt of that Still, if they could get her to a Fleet hospital, theyshot--but she was a Spartan
The med techs wanted to check him out as well, but he declined and took the elevator to the bridge to report to Captain Keyes
As he rode inside the lift he felt the ship accelerate port--then starboard Evasive maneuvers
The elevator doors parted and the Master Chief stepped onto the bridge
He snapped a crisp salute to Captain Keyes "Reporting for debriefing, sir"
Captain Keyes turned and looked surprised to see himor maybe he was shocked to see the condition of his armor It was charred, battered, and covered with alien blood
The Captain returned the Master Chief’s salute "The NAV database was destroyed?" he asked
"Sir, I would not have left if ood," Captain Keyes replied
"Sir, ion?" The Master Chief glanced at the hts between Covenant and UNSC warships in the distance "I lost aout thereso," she said After a moment she looked back and shook her head
"I see," the Master Chief replied There could be worse deathsbut not for one of his Spartans
Floating helpless Slowly suffocating and freezing--losing to an eneht
"Sir," the Master Chief said, "ill the Pillar of Autumn rendezvous with my planetside team?"
Captain Keyes turned from the Master Chief and stared out into space "We won’t be picking them up,"
he said quietly "They were overrun by Covenant forces They never made orbit We’ve lost contact with them"
The Master Chief took a step closer "Then I would like permission to take a dropship and retrieve them, sir"
"Request denied, Master Chief We still have a mission to perforer Lieutenant Dominique, aft cah the Reach Syste UNSC ships fled before theed to outrun the Covenant were blasted with plasma and laser fire
The Covenant had won this battle They were lassed the planet; the Master Chief had seen this happen in a dozen cans This tilassing a planetwith his people still on it
He tried to think of a way to stop themto save his teammates He couldn’t
The Captain turned and strode to the Master Chief, stood by his side "Dr Halsey’s mission," he said, "is more important than ever now It may be the only chance left for Earth We have to focus on that goal"
Three dozen Covenant craft moved toward Gamma station and the now inert orbital defense platforhtiest weapons in the UNSC arsenal--with plasuns melted, and boiled away
The Master Chief clenched his hands into fists The Captain was correct: there was nothing to do now except complete the n Lovell, give me our best acceleration I want to enter Slipstream space as soon as possible"
Cortana said, "Excuse ates are inbound on an intercept course"
"Continue evasive et ation syraphic body
The Master Chief continued to watch as the Covenant ships closed in on them
Was he the only Spartan left? Better to die than live without his teaainst the Covenant--and vengeance for his fallen co randomized exit vector per the Cole Protocol," Cortana said