第186页

　　“Chief!”  Cortana  said.  “Get  back!”
　　Thanks  to  the  warning,  he  was  already  backing  through  the  hatch  when  the  lift  appeared  from  below,  and  the  Elite,  seated  in  the  plasma  turret,  opened  fire.
　　Special  Ops  Officer  Zuka  ’Zamamee  fired  the  Shade.  The  energy  cannon  took  up  most  of  the  platform,  leaving  barely  enough  room  for  the  Grunts  who  had  helped  the  Elite  wrestle  the  weapon  aboard.  The  bolt  flared  blue,  hit  the  hatch  as  it  started  to  close,  and  slagged  half  the  door.
　　He  felt  elation  as  the  waves  of  energy  slashed  through  the  air  toward  his  target.  Soon,  victory  would  be  complete,  and  his  honor  could  be  restored.  Then  he’d  deal  with  the  tiresome  Grunt,  Yayap.
　　It  was  going  to  be  a  glorious  day.
　　“Damn!”  the  Chief  exclaimed.  “Where  didthat  come  from?”
　　“It  looks  like  someone  has  been  tracking  you,”  Cortana  said  grimly.  “Now,  get  ready—I’ll  take  control  of  the  elevator  and  cause  it  to  drop.  You  roll  a  couple  of  grenades  into  the  shaft.”
　　’Zamamee  saw  the  energy  bolt  hit  the  hatch,  experienced  a  sense  of  exhilaration  as  the  human  hurried  to  escape,  and  felt  the  platform  jerk  to  a  halt.
　　The  Elite  had  just  fired  again,  just  blown  what  remained  of  the  human’s  cover  away,  when  he  heard  a  clank  and  the  lift  started  to  descend.
　　“No!”he  shouted,  sure  that  one  of  the  Grunts  was  responsible  for  the  sudden  movement,  and  desperate  lest  the  human  escape  his  clutches.  But  it  was  too  late,  and  there  was  nothing  the  smaller  aliens  could  do,  as  the  elevator  continued  to  fall.
　　Then,  even  as  his  target  vanished  from  sight,  and  ’Zamamee  railed  at  his  subordinates,  a  couple  of  grenades  tumbled  down  from  above,  rattled  around  the  floor,  and  exploded.
　　The  force  of  the  blast  lifted  the  Elite  up  and  out  of  his  seat,  gave  him  one  last  look  at  his  opponent,  and  let  him  fall.  He  hit  with  a  thud,  felt  something  snap,  and  waited  for  his  first  glimpse  of  paradise.
　　Cortana  brought  the  lift  back  up.  The  Master  Chief  had  little  choice  but  to  step  onto  the  gore-splattered  platform  and  let  it  carry  him  toward  the  service  corridor  above.  Cortana  took  advantage  of  the  moment  to  work  on  the  escape  plan.
　　“Cortana  to  Echo  419,  come  in  Echo  419.”
　　“Roger,  Cortana,”Foehammer  said  from  somewhere  above,“I  read  you  five-by-five.”
　　The  Master  Chief  felt  a  series  of  explosions  shake  the  elevator,  knew  the  ship  was  starting  to  come  apart,  and  looked  forward  to  the  moment  when  he  would  be  free  of  it.
　　“ThePillar  of  Autumn  ’s  engines  are  going  critical,  Foehammer,”  Cortana  continued.  “Request  immediate  extraction.  Be  ready  to  pick  us  up  at  external  access  junction  four-C  as  soon  as  you  get  my  signal.”
　　“Affirmative.  Echo  419  to  Cortana—things  are  getting  noisy  down  there  .  .  .  Is  everything  okay?”
　　The  elevator  shook  again  as  the  AI  said,  “Negative,  negative!  We  have  a  wildcat  destabilization  of  the  ship’s  fusion  core.  The  engines  must  have  sustained  more  damage  than  we  thought.”
　　Then,  as  the  platform  jerked  to  a  halt,  and  a  piece  of  debris  fell  from  somewhere  up  above,  the  AI  spoke  to  the  Spartan.  “We  have  six  minutes  before  the  fusion  drives  detonate.  We  need  to  evacuatenow  !  The  explosion  will  generate  a  temperature  of  almost  a  hundred  million  degrees.Don’t  be  here  when  it  blows!”