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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

0600 Hours, July 18, 2552 (Military Calendar)

UNSC Iroquois ,that although he had won the battle, it would be the first of ma Octanus System

He watched the four dozen other UNSC ships orbit the planet: frigates and destroyers, two carriers, and astation-- his four-year-long can to save Harvest Adh Co response, he wondered why the Adically 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 systehts aside He was sure Admiral Stanforth had his reasons Meanwhile the repair and resupply of the Iroquois was his top priority--he didn’t want to get caught half ready if the Covenant returned

Or rather, when they returned

It was a curious thing: the aliens dropping their ground forces and then retreating That was not their usual mode of operation Coame he didn’t yet understand

A shadow crossed the fore camera of the Iroquois as the repair station Cradle e square plate with engines Large was an understatement; she was over a square kilometer Three destroyers could be eclipsed by her shadow The station running at full steam could refit six destroyers, three from her lower surface and three on her upper surface, within a matter of hours

Scaffolds deployed from her surfaces to facilitate repairs Resupply tubes, hoses, and cargo trams fed into the IroquoisIt would take the full attention of Cradle thirty hours to repair the Iroquois , however

The aliens had not landed a single serious shot Nonetheless, the Iroquois had al the execution of what so the "Keyes Loop"

Colanced at his data pad and the extensive list of repairs Fifteen percent of the electronic systems had to be replaced--burned out from the EMP when the Shiva ines required a full overhaul Both coolant systems had valves that had been fused fronets had to be replaced as well

But e to the underside of the IroquoisWhen they had told Cosword interceptor to personally inspect what he had done to his ship

The underside of the Iroquois had been scraped when they passed over the prow of the alien destroyer

He knew there was soebut was not prepared for what he saw

UNSC destroyers had nearly two meters of titanium-a battleplate on their surfaces Coh all of it He had breached every bottoes of the plate curled away fro off the daed sections so new plates could be welded into place

The underside was mirror smooth and perfectly flat But Keyes knew that the appearance of benign flatness was deceptive Had the angle of the Iroquois been tilted a single degree down, the force of the two ships i would have shorn his ship in half

The red war stripes that had been painted on the Iroquois ’ side looked like bloody slashes The dockmaster had privately told Commander Keyes that his crew could buff the paint off--or even repaint the war stripes, if he wanted

Commander Keyes had politely refused the offer He wanted them left exactly the way they were He wanted to be reminded that while everyone had admired what he had done--it had been an act of desperation, not heroism

He wanted to be reminded of how close a brush he had had with death

Commander Keyes returned to the Iroquois and marched directly to his quarters

He sat at his antique oak desk and tapped the intercoe for the next cycle I am not to be disturbed"

"Aye, Commander Understood"

Commander Keyes loosened his collar and unbuttoned his uniform He retrieved the seventy-year-old bottle of Scotch that his father had given him from the bottom drawer, and then poured four centimeters into a plastic cup

He had to attend to an even ers

Jaggers had exhibited borderline cowardice, insubordination and coe in the books screamed at hi man before a board of inquiry He would instead merely transfer the Lieutenant to a place where he would still do the UNSC soood--

perhaps a distant outpost

Was all the blame his? As Commander, it was his responsibility tothat hed Maybe he should have told his crehat he was attebut there had simply been no tiers would have wanted No The other bridge officers had concerns, but they had followed his orders, as their duty required

Aspeople a second chance, this here he drew the line

To ers would leave a hole in the bridge crew

Commander Keyes accessed the service records of Iroquois ’ junior officers There were several who h their files on his data pad, and then paused

The theoretical paper on mass-space compression was still open, as well as his hastily calculated course corrections

He sive a lecture on this battle at the Acadeinal source material

There was also the data frohly ational course plotted for the object through Slipstream space--not an easy task even with an AI The report even had tags to route it to the astrophysics section of the UNSC

Thoughtful

He looked up the service record of the officer who had filed the report: Ensign William Lovell

Keyes leaned closer The boy’s Career Service Vitae was al as his own He had volunteered and been accepted at Luna Acade already received a coht that had saved the entire crew He took duty on the first outbound corvette headed into battle Three Bronze Stars, a Silver Cluster, and two Purple Hearts, and he had catapulted to a full Lieutenant within three years

Then so Lovell’s decline in the UNSC had been as rapid as his ascent Four reports of insubordination and he was busted to Second Lieutenant and transferred twice An incident with a civilian woh Coirl listed in the report, Anna Gerov, was Vice Adned to the Archimedes Sensor Outpost, and had been there for the last year, an unheard of length of time in such a res when Lovell had been on duty They were careful and intelligent

So the boy was still sharpwas he hiding?

There was a gentle knock on his door

"Lieutenant Dominique, I said I was not to be disturbed"

"Sorry to intrude, son," said a muffled voice The pressure door’s wheel turned and Adht I’d just stop by since I was in the neighborhood"

Admiral Stanforth was much smaller in person than he appeared on-screen His back was stooped over with age, and his white hair was thinning at the crown Still, he exuded a reassuring air of authority that Keyes instantly recognized

"Sir!" Co over his chair

"At ease, son" The Adered a inal manuscript in which he derived his equations of ers of the whiskey, if you can spare it"

"Yes, sir" Keyes fumbled with another plastic cup and poured the Adhed appreciatively "Very nice"

Keyes righted his chair and offered it to the Adratulate you personally on the miracle you performed here, Keyes"