第4页
“That is very unlikely, Ship Master. We doubt the humans have the means to follow one of our vessels through a jump. Even if they do, why would they send only a single cruiser? Is it not their way to drown us in their own blood? No, we think it’s safe to surmise that this ship arrived in the system by accident.”
The words dripped with condescension, a fact which made the Ship Master angry, but couldn’t be addressed. Not directly, and certainly not with the Prophet present, although ’Fulsamee wasn’t willing to cave in completely. “So,” ’Fulsamee said, careful to direct his comment to ’Ikaporamee alone, “you would have me believe that the interlopers arrived here entirely bychance ?”
“No, of course not,” ’Ikaporamee replied loftily. “Though primitive by our standards, the creaturesare sentient, and like all sentient beings, they are unconsciously drawn to the glory of the ancients’ truth and knowledge.”
Like all the members of his caste, ’Fulsamee knew that the Prophets had evolved on a planet which the mysterious truth-givers had previously inhabited, and then, for reasons known only to the ancients themselves, subsequently abandoned. This ring world was an excellent example of the ancients’ power . . . and inscrutability.
’Fulsamee found it hard to believe that mere humans would be drawn here, the ancients’ wisdom notwithstanding, but ’Ikaporamee spoke for the Prophet, so it must be true. ’Fulsamee touched the light panel in front of him. A symbol glowed red. “Prepare to fire plasma torpedoes. Launch on my command.”
’Ikaporamee raised both hands in alarm. “No!We forbid it. The human vessel is much too close to the construct! What if your weapons were to damage the holy relic? Pursue the ship, board it, and seize control. Anything else is far too dangerous.”
Angered by what he saw as ’Ikaporamee’s interference, ’Fulsamee spoke through gritted teeth. “The course of action that the holy one recommends is likely to result in a high number of casualties. Is this acceptable?”
“The opportunity to transcend the physical is a gift to be sought after,” the other responded. “The humans are willing to spendtheir lives—can we do less?”
No,’Fulsamee thought,but we should aspire to more. He again clicked his lower mandibles, and touched the light panel. “Cancel the previous order. Load four transports with troops, and launch another flight of fighters. Neutralize the interloper’s weaponry before the boarding craft reach their target.”
A hundred units aft, sealed within the destroyer’s fire control center, a half-commander acknowledged the order and issued instructions of his own. Lights began to strobe, the decks transmitted a low frequency vibration, and more than three hundred battle-ready Covenant warriors—a mix of what the humans called Elites, Jackals, and Grunts—rushed to board their assigned transports. There were humans to kill.
None of them wanted to miss the fun.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------