第32页

　　The  ODST  was  coiled  and  ready  to  pounce  ...  or  come  apart  like  an  antipersonnel  mine.  Some  men  broke  under  pressure  and  wouldn't  fight.  Some  snapped  and  disregarded  their  own  and  their  team's  safety  for  blind  revenge.  Add  that  to  the  Hell-jumper's  fierce  pride  and  one  had  a  volatile  mix.  The  Chief  had  to  establish  his  authority  over  the  man.
　　"Get  onto  the  Pelican,"  the  Chief  told  him.  "We  only  have  a  few  minutes  while  we're  on  the  far  side  of  this  moon.  Grab  any?thing  we  can  use:  extra  weapons,  ammunition,  grenades.  Keep  linked  up  to  my  COM  so  you  can  hear  the  briefing."
　　Locklear  stood  there,  glared  into  the  Chief's  faceplate,  and  tensed.
　　Sergeant  Johnson  opened  his  mouth,  but  the  Chief  made  a  subtle  cutting  gesture  with  his  hand.  The  Sergeant  kept  whatever  he  had  to  say  to  himself.
　　The  Master  Chief  took  a  step  closer  to  Locklear.  "Was  my  or?der  unclear,  Corporal?"
　　Locklear  swallowed.  The  blue  fire  in  his  eyes  dulled  and  he  looked  away.  "No."  His  body  slumped  and  he  shouldered  his  ri?fle,  accepting,  for  now,  the  Master  Chief's  authority.  "I'm  on  it,  Master  Chief."  He  went  to  the  hatch  and  dropped  into  the  Pelican.
　　To  say  this  team  was  mismatched  for  a  high-risk  insertion  op  was  an  understatement.
　　"So  how  do  we  get  a  Shaw-Fujikawa  drive?"  Polaski  asked.
　　"We  don't,"  John  replied.  "But  we  go  after  the  next  best  thing."  He  moved  to  the  ops  consol  and  tapped  the  display.  The  scan  of  the  Covenant  flagship  appeared  on  the  viewscreen.  "This  is  our  objective."
　　52 HALO:  FIRST  STRIKE
　　Haverson  frowned.  "Chief,  if  we  approach  that  ship  we'll  be  blown  out  of  the  sky  before  we  can  even  think  about  engaging  them."
　　"Normally,  yes,"  the  Chief  replied.  "But  we're  going  to  rig  the  Pelican  as  a  fireship—we  load  it  with  Moray  mines  and  send  it  out  ahead  of  us.  We'll  have  to  remote-pilot  the  Pelican,  but  it  can  be  accelerated  past  the  point  where  a  crew  would  black  out.  It'll  draw  enemy  fire,  drop  a  few  mines,  and  let  us  slip  by."
　　Polaski's  expression  hardened  into  a  frown.
　　"There  a  problem,  Warrant  Officer?"
　　"No,  Master  Chief.  I  just  hate  to  lose  a  good  ship.  That  bird  got  us  off  Halo  in  one  piece."
　　He  understood.  Pilots  got  attached  to  their  ships.  They  gave  them  names  and  human  personalities.  The  Chief,  however,  never  fell  into  that  trap;  he  had  long  ago  learned  that  any  equipment  was  expendable.  Except,  maybe,  Cortana.
　　"So  we  get  close  to  the  flagship,"  Haverson  said  and  crossed  his  arms  over  his  chest.  "Are  we  going  nose  to  nose  with  a  ship  with  a  thousand  times  our  firepower?  Or  are  you  planning  an?other  flyby?"
　　"Neither."  The  Chief  pointed  to  the  flagship's  fighter  launch  bay.  "That's  our  LZ."
　　Polaski  squinted  at  the  comparatively  tiny  opening  in  the  belly  of  the  flagship.  "That's  a  hell  of  a  window  to  hit  coming  in  this  fast,  but"—she  bit  her  lower  lip,  calculating—"technically  pos?sible  in  a  Longsword."
　　"They'll  launch  Seraph  fighters  to  engage  the  Pelican  and  the  Longsword,"  the  Chief  said,  "and  to  do  that,  they'll  have  to  drop  that  section  of  their  shields.  We  get  in,  neutralize  the  crew,  and  we  have  a  ship  with  Slipspace  capability."