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Doctor Halsey considered, tapping her lower lip. “How will you get onboard?”
“We go EVA and use thruster packs to intercept the Covenant ship as it passes en route totheCommonwealth .”
She shook her head. “One slight error in your trajectory, and you could miss by kilometers,” Dr. Halseyremarked.
A pause.
“I don’t miss, ma’am,” John said.
“They have reflective shields.”
“True,” John replied. “But the ship is damaged. They may have had to lower or reduce shielding in orderto conserve power—and if we have to, we can use one of our own warheads to punch a small hole in thebarrier.” He paused, then added, “There’s also a large hole in their hull. Their shield may not cover thatspace entirely.”
Dr. Halsey whispered, “It’s a tremendous risk.”
“With respect, ma’am, it’s a bigger risk to sit here and do nothing. After they finish withtheCommonwealth . . . they’ll come for us and we’ll have to fight them anyway. Better to strike first.”
She stared off into space, lost in thought.
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Finally she sighed in resignation. “Very well. Go.” She transferred the pilot controls to her station. “Andblow the hell out of them.”
John climbed into the aft compartment.
His Spartans stood at attention. He felt a rush of pride; they were ready to follow him as he leapedliterally into the jaws of death.
“I’ve got the warheads,” Sam said. It was hard to mistake Sam even with his reflective blast shieldcovering his face. He was the largest Spartan—even more imposing encased in the armor.
“Everyone’s got one.” Sam continued as he handed John a metal shell. “Timers and detonators arealready rigged. Stuck on a patch of adhesive polymer; they’ll cling to your suit.”
“Spartans,” John said, “grab thruster packs and make ready to go EVA. Everyone else—” He motionedto the three technicians. “—get into the forward cabin. If we fail, they’ll be coming after the Pelican.Protect Dr. Halsey.”
He moved aft. Kelly handed him a thruster pack and he slipped it on.
“Covenant ship approaching,” Halsey called out. “I’m pumping out your atmosphere to avoid explosivedecompression when I drop the back hatch.”
“We’ll only get one shot at this,” John said to the other Spartans. “Plot an intercept trajectory and fireyour thrusters at max burn. If the target changes course, you’ll have to make a best guess correction onthe fly. If you make it, we’ll regroup outside the hole in their hull. If you miss—we’ll pick you up afterwe’re done.”
He hesitated, then added, “And if we don’t succeed, then power down your systems and wait for UNSCreinforcements to retrieve you. Live to fight another day. Don’t waste your lives.”
There was a moment of silence.
“If anyone has a better plan, speak up now.”
Sam patted John on the back. “This is a great plan. It’ll be easier than Chief Mendez’s playground. Abunch of little kids could pull it off.”
“Sure,” John said. “Everyone ready?”
“Sir,” they said. “We’re ready, sir!”