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“Straight? Youare joking.” Logic symbols streamed up her body.
“I never joke when it comes to navigation,” Captain Keyes said. “You will monitor the energy state ofthat ship. The instant you detect a buildup in their reactors, a spike of particle emissions—anything—you fire our emergency thrusters to throw off their aim.”
Cortana nodded. “I’ll do my best,” she said. “Their weapondoes travel at light speed. There won’t bemuch time to—”
A bang resonated through their port side hull. Captain Keyes flew sideways. Blue-white light flashed ontheir port view screen.
“One shot missed,” Cortana replied.
Captain Keyes stood up and straightened his uniform. “Ready MAC gun, Lieutenant Hikowa. ArmArcher missile pods C1 through E7. Give me a firing solution for missile impact on our last MACround.”
Lieutenant Hikowa arched an eyebrow. She had good reason to be dubious. They would be firing morethan five hundred missiles at a single target. “Solution online, sir. Guns hot and ready.”
“Distance, Lieutenant Hall?”
“Closing in on extreme range for MAC guns, sir. In four . . . three. . . .”
An explosion to starboard and thePillar of Autumn jumped. Keyes was braced this time.
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“Fire, Lieutenant Hikowa. Send them back where they belong.”
“Missiles away, sir. Waiting to coordinate MAC rounds.”
Blue lightning washed out the view screen. Dull thumps sounded through thePillar of Autumn like astring of firecrackers going off. The ship listed to port, and it started to roll.
“We’re hit!” Lieutenant Hall said. “Decompression on Decks C, D, and E. Sections two through twenty-seven. Venting atmosphere. Reactor’s damaged, sir.” She listened to her headset. “Can’t get a clearreport of what’s going on belowdecks. We’re losing power.”
“Seal those sections. Lieutenant Hikowa, do we have gun control?”
“Affirmative.”
“Then fire at will, Lieutenant.”
ThePillar of Autumn shuddered as its MAC gun fired. Pings and groans diffused though her damagedhull. A trio of white-hot projectiles appeared on the view screen, chasing the Archer missiles towardtheir intended target.
The first round struck the Covenant ship; its shields rippled. The second and third rounds struck, andmore than five hundred missiles detonated along her length. Flame dotted the massive vessel, and hershields blazed solid silver. They faded and popped. A dozen missiles impacted her hull and exploded,scarring the bluish armor.
“Minimal damage to the target, sir,” Lieutenant Hall reported.
“But we downed their shields,” Captain Keyes said. “We can hurt them. That’s all I needed to know.Lieutenant Hikowa, make ready to fire again. Identical targeting solution. Lieutenant Hall, launch ourremote-piloted Longsword interceptor and arm its Shiva nuclear warhead. Cortana, take control of thesingle ship.”
Cortana tapped her foot. “Longsword away,” she said. “Where do you want me to park this thing?”
“Intercept course for the Covenant ship,” he told her.