第165页

　　"I  wanted  you  both  down  here  to  help  us  discuss  our  tactical  options,"  John  told  them.
　　The  COM  pulsed  to  life.  Dr.  Halsey  said,  "Master  Chief?"
　　"Yes,  Doctor?"
　　"I  need  Kelly  to  report  to  Medical  Four,"  she  said.  "She  re?quires  one  last  injection  of  dermacortic  steroids.  And  I  could  use  her  assistance  on  another  matter."
　　John  nodded  to  Kelly.
　　She  slowly  stretched,  stood,  sighed,  and  marched  out  of  the  room.  "I'll  be  right  back,"  she  said,  flexing  her  burned  hands.  "Don't  plan  the  overthrow  of  the  Covenant  Empire  without  me."
　　"She's  on  her  way,  Doctor."
　　The  COM  snapped  off.
　　The  Master  Chief  turned  to  his  Spartans  and  the  Marines.  "Let's  go  over  what  we  know  and  see  if  we've  missed  anything—  any  way  to  exploit  the  enemy's  plan."  He  set  down  a  data  pad  with  a  star  map  glittering  upon  its  surface.
　　"The  Covenant  are  on  their  way  to  Earth,"  he  told  them.  "They  are  gathering  at  a  battle  station  and  then  jumping  en  masse  to  the  Sol  system."
　　"What  happens  then?"  Fred  asked.
　　"Assuming  we  get  to  Earth  first,"  Linda  answered,  "our  Fleet  will  be  waiting  for  them,  and"—she  pulled  back  the  bolt  on  her  rifle  with  a  clack—"they'll  give  them  a  warm  reception."
　　"But  what  chance  will  our  forces  have?"  Will  asked.  There  was  no  fear  in  his  voice,  just  cool  logic.  "You  saw  Cortana's  re?port.  There  will  be  hundreds  of  Covenant  warships.  I  don't  think  our  Fleet  or  even  Earth's  orbital  MAC  platforms  can  repel  a  force  that  powerful."
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　　270 HALO:  FIRST  STRIKE
　　"No,"  the  Chief  quietly  said.  "They  can't  win.  They'll  try.  But  the  Covenant  will  eventually  take  down  one  of  the  orbital  MACs,  slip  through,  and  pick  off  the  ground-based  generators.  Just  like  on  Reach."
　　Fred  visibly  flinched.
　　Locklear  twisted  the  red  bandanna  he  had  tied  on  his  biceps.  "So  we  get  to  watch  another  fight  in  space?"  he  hissed.  His  fists  trembled  with  barely  checked  rage.  "There  has  to  be  a  way  to  get  to  those  bastards  first—on  the  ground  where  we  can  win.  Hell,  I'd  even  take  my  chances  in  hand-to-hand  combat.  Anything  but  floating  in  zero  gee  and  watching  Earth  get  burned."
　　"What  about  our  original  mission?"  Linda  asked.  "Find  the  Covenant  home  world?"
　　"Our  priority  has  to  be  to  warn  Earth,"  the  Chief  answered.  "Admiral  Whitcomb  would  insist...  and  he  has  the  authority  to  scrub  our  mission."
　　"And  there's  no  ground  between  here  and  Earth  where  we  can  take  the  fight  to  them,"  Locklear  said.  He  unclenched  his  fist  and  dropped  his  gaze  to  the  deck.  "Sometimes,"  he  whispered,  "I  really  hate  this  war."
　　Sergeant  Johnson  worked  his  mouth  but  said  nothing.  He  set  his  hand  on  Locklear's  wide  shoulder  and  whispered,  "Stand  tall,  Marine.  Try  to—"
　　The  Sergeant's  gaze  fell  on  the  data  pad  and  the  star  map.  "Hang  on  a  second.  What  was  it  you  said  about  no  ground  to  fight  on  between  here  and  there?"  He  grinned  and  picked  up  the  data  pad.  "What's  this?"  He  tapped  a  dot  on  the  map,  squinted,  and  read  the  tiny  words.  "This...  'Uneven  Elephant'?"
　　"Unyielding  Hierophant,"  the  Chief  corrected.  "According  to  Cortana,  it's  a  command-and-control  center,  a  mobile  space  platform  where  the  Covenant  fleet  will  rendezvous  before  their  final  jump  to  Earth."