Page 31 (2/2)

"Aft cameras," the Admiral ordered

On screen he saw fire explode out the opposite side of the cruiser The warship tilted and rolled belly-up, plas the interior from stern to stem until it reached the fusion core The ship detonated in a ball of flame An instant later the explosion twisted and curved as the warped Slipspace field swept away all traces of the enemy ship

Lieutenant Haverson exhaled and wiped his brow "Excellent , Admiral"

"Don't waste your breath on victory speeches yet, son" The Admiral scrutinized the tactical display and spotted the other ship "There We've got a new target"

He pointed to a ship half obscured in the plas about it Seraph fighters dived and intercepted plas fireballs deflected the iot a smart Captain," the Admiral muttered "So we can't use the same trick twice"

Five explosions rattled Ascendant Justice, and the ae flickered

"Meteor impact," Cortana replied "We just lost plasht and below has been lost The structural integrity of this ship, sir, is in danger of imminent collapse"

"Another minute, Cortana," the Admiral told her and continued to search the tactical display "We either take out that carrier here--where their shields can't regenerate--or we face them in normal space"

He tapped the TAC map "Gotcha! Cortana, come about to zero-three-zero by one-four-five, calculate the fastest accelera- tion and deceleration burns this ship can handle to get us to this object, and move this ship ASAP"

"Yes, Admiral"

Lieutenant Haverson looked at the map and located what the Admiral pointed at "That object is just part of a Covenant ship, the aft section of a cruiser"

The Admiral nodded "Exactly, Lieutenant Cortana, how's the structural integrity of our ship's nose?"

"Sir? The nose?" Cortana paused, then reported, "Intact, sir

Most of the da us into direct contact with that hunk of metal, Cortana"

"Aye, sir," Cortana replied

Ascendant Justice accelerated toward the broken Covenant ship, and then slowed The tarships touched; there was a slow grinding noise that echoed along the ship's frame

"Contact," Cortana reported

"Perfect," Admiral Whitcomb replied "New course three-two-zero by to-zero Flank speed Lieutenant, charge any plaset this ship ready for full reverse power"

Ascendant Justice--Gettysburg turned andthe broken hull of the other ship be- fore them

They accelerated on a collision course

The turrets on the Covenant carrier heated to white hot--but they held their fire

"Eight thousand kilometers to enemy ship," Cortana announced

"Hold this course, Cortana"

"Six thousand kiloripped the railing again with his sweating hands

"Two thousand kiloines rumbled, and the hull of Ascendant Justice shuddered

The wrecked Covenant ship on their nose screeched as itsat the faster velocity It pulled free of Ascendant Justicetumbled directly toward the enemy carrier

"Mass impact on carrier in four seconds," Cortana said

"Three seconds"

The carrier fired its plase, punched though its armor and hull, and melted the alloy

The mass, however, continued forward, shattered and molten-- but its velocity was undi to starboard

The carrier's hull breached along a dozen rents, and atold flames The launch bays chained with explosions

"Fire all weapons, Lieutenant!"

Ascendant Justice fired its re turrets Plasma cut into the carrier and sliced it to the core Every deck flashed with fire and became an inferno

"That's the best we can do," Adet us out of here Transition to norraphic silhouette blackened with swar Slipspace matrix"

Blotches of inky black welled within the sea of fire Tiny stars winked on within those pools of darkness The plased atmosphere faded, and the eneines," the Adazed at the blackness and stars "Nohere the hell are we?"

SECTION 5

MASSACRE AT

ERIDANUS SECUNDUS

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

TIME-DATE RECORD [[ERROR]]ANOMALY\Date

unknown\ Captured Covenant flagship Ascendant Justice, in anomalous Slipspace bubble

The Master Chief woke

Consciousness, however, was a slight overestimation of his condition His blurry vision ca to see except the interior of his visor Ahts winked on

Pain washed over his feet, his right thigh, and his hand Good

He was alive He knew from previous experience that this was the tail end of shockand the stunning, nu off

He felt the faht and reactive circuits of his MJOLNIR ared flavor of biofoam coated his mouth, so he also surmised that his injuries had been recently treated

And there was gravity The press against his back was a great comfort to the Master Chief The next tiee op, he'd-- "Welcoht flickered on to his left

He turned onto his side The burns on his extremities pro- tested and shot lances of pain up his hand and feet

He was in a hts were turned do, and he saw that he was the only person occupying a recovery bed

Bio-ns and MRI snapshots

A holographic projection pad stood next to his bed Cortana's tiny figure, strobing with syic code, waved to him, and when he didn't immediately respond she crossed her arms impatiently "MRIs show no concussion, no subdural or epidural heht"

"Where a" Cortana told him "Or what's left of it, anyway"