第168页

　　She  watched  Locklear  carefully,  gauging  his  reaction,  and  saw  that  he  pulled  away  slightly  at  this  last  remark;  it  had  hit  home.
　　"And  what  the  hell  am  I  supposed  to  do  with  it?"
　　"Keep  it  safe,"  she  told  him.  "Guard  it  with  your  life,  because  if  the  Covenant  ever  get  it,  they'll  be  able  to  jump  through  Slipspace  a  hundred  times  faster  than  they  can  now.  Do  you  understand?"
　　Locklear  closed  his  large  fist  around  the  crystal.  "Not  really,  Doc.  But  I  can  take  care  of  it."  He  paused  and  wrinkled  his  forehead  in  confusion.  "But  why  me?  Why  not  ask  one  of  your  Spartans?"
　　"  'My'  Spartans,"  Dr.  Halsey  replied  in  a  whisper,  "could  be  ordered  to  hand  it  over  to  Lieutenant  Haverson.  And  he'd  risk
　　ERIC  NYLUND
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　　getting  it  back  to  ONI  Section  Three—even  if  he  had  to  gamble  that  the  Covenant  might  get  it."
　　Locklear  snorted.  "Well,  as  much  as  I  don't  like  El-Tee  White-bread,  I'd  hand  it  over  if  ordered,  too.  What's  the  big  deal,  any?way?  We're  almost  home."
　　"Almost,"  Dr.  Halsey  repeated,  and  she  gave  him  a  slight  smile.  "But  the  moment  you  jump,  this  crystal  emits  radiation  like  a  signal  flare.  The  Covenant  will  find  this  ship  ...  and  maybe  this  time  they'll  win  the  battle  in  Slipspace."
　　Locklear  grimaced.
　　She  held  his  steely  gaze  a  moment  and  then  finally  let  go  of  his  hand.  "So  I  know  you'll  do  whatever  it  takes  to  prevent  this  object  from  falling  into  enemy  hands."
　　He  nodded  grimly.  "I  read  you,  Doc.  Loud  and  clear."  There  was  a  hint  of  respect  in  his  voice.  "I  know  what  I  have  to  do  ...  count  on  it."
　　"Good,"  she  said.
　　The  elevator  doors  parted.  Locklear  stuffed  the  crystal  into  his  ammunition  vest,  and  Locklear  wheeled  the  table  into  the  Gettysburg's  launch  bay.  "Where  do  you  want  her?"
　　The  bay  was  a  beehive  of  activity:  A  hundred  of  Governor  Jiles's  crew  jogged  to  and  from  passages  carrying  data  pad  schematics  and  field  multiscanners;  robotic  dollies  carried  fat  Archer  missiles,  spiderlike  Antilon  mines,  and  slender  pods  of  deuterium  fuel  for  the  Gettysburg's  auxiliary  reactors;  three  Longsword  fighter  craft  were  being  repaired;  exoskeletons  thud?ded  along  the  deck,  carrying  plates  of  titanium  and  welding  them  in  place.
　　"There,"  Dr.  Halsey  told  Locklear.  "Take  her  to  that  ship."  She  pointed  to  Governor  Jiles's  Chiroptera-class  vessel.  It  sat  on  the  deck  looking  like  a  sleeping  bat.  Its  oddly  angled  stealth  sur?faces  blended  into  the  shadows.
　　Locklear  shrugged  and  pushed  the  loaded  gurney.
　　Dr.  Halsey  halted  by  the  ship's  port  hatch.  It  was  sealed  so  tightly  that  no  seam  could  be  discerned.
　　She  retrieved  the  thermal  printout  from  her  coat  and  rechecked  its  contents.  She  then  touched  a  recessed  button  on  the  hull,  and  a  tiny  plate  slid  aside  revealing  an  alphanumeric  keyboard.  Dr.  Halsey  typed  in  a  long  string  and  pressed  ENTER.
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　　The  hatch  parted  with  a  hiss.
　　She  smiled.  "Not  even  Cortana  could  crack  their  crypto,  in?deed."  She  waved  Locklear  inside.
　　Locklear  obliged  her  and  pushed  the  gurney  into  the  ship.  Dr.  Halsey  followed,  secured  the  examination  table,  and  escorted  Locklear  outside.  She  turned  and  headed  back  into  the  vessel.