第200页

　　John  looked  to  Will,  Fred,  and  Linda,  and  they  all  shrugged.
　　He  pushed  the  acceleration  stripe  to  full  velocity,  and  the  dropship  entered  a  high  orbit  around  the  splotchy  moon,  arcing  around  to  the  far  side,  where  the  battered  Gettysburg  waited  for  them.
　　But  only  the  Gettysburg.
　　"Where's  Ascendant  Justice?"  John  whispered.
　　CHAPTER  THIRTY-SIX
　　1825  hours,  September  13,2552  (revised  date,  Military  Calendar)\Aboard  UNSC  vessel  Gettysburg,  near  Covenant  battle  station  Unyielding  Hierophant.
　　The  Master  Chief  and  Blue  Team  stepped  off  the  lift  and  onto  the  bridge  of  the  Gettysburg.
　　"Sir—"  John  started  to  salute  Admiral  Whitcomb,  but  neither  the  Admiral  nor  Lieutenant  Haverson  was  there.
　　The  only  two  on  the  bridge  were  Sergeant  Johnson,  who  stared  at  the  forward  viewscreens,  and  Cortana,  whose  holographic  fig?ure  burned  bright  blue  and  streamed  with  code  symbols  and  mathematics  beyond  John's  comprehension.
　　Sergeant  Johnson  turned  toward  them.  He  looked  the  Spar?tans  over  and  frowned,  noting  that  not  all  of  them  had  returned.
　　"I'm  not  sure  what  that  thing  is."  The  Sergeant  nodded  to  view-screen  one,  centered  on  the  Covenant  command-and-control  sta?tion.  "Don't  look  like  any  'uneven  elephant'  to  me—more  like  two  squid  kissing.  Whatever  it  is,  damned  glad  it's  going  to  blow  up.  Nice  job—almost  as  good  as  if  we  sent  in  the  Marines."  One  corner  of  his  mouth  quirked  into  a  smile.
　　"Where's  the  Admiral?"  the  Master  Chief  asked.  "And  Lieu?tenant  Haverson?"
　　The  Sergeant's  half  smile  vanished,  and  his  eyes  darkened.  He  moved  to  Weapons  Station  One.  "I'll  show  you.  A  Clarion  spy  drone  is  nearly  in  position."
　　The  center  viewscreen  fuzzed  with  static  and  then  resolved  to  show  the  Ascendant  Justice  moving  out  of  the  shadow  of  the  moon.  The  once  formidable  Covenant  flagship  was  a  wreck;  its
　　ERIC  NYLUND
　　329
　　hull  was  breached  in  a  dozen  places,  its  skeletal  frame  exposed,  and  only  a  handful  of  plasma  conduits  flickered  with  life.
　　"I  don't  understand,"  the  Chief  said.  He  stepped  closer  to  Cortana's  hologram.  Being  near  the  real  Cortana—not  one  of  her  fragmented  copies—reassured  him  that  everything  was  un?der  control.  "What's  going  on?"
　　"Stand  by,  Chief,"  she  replied.  "I'm  attempting  to  attune  As?cendant  Justice's  Slipspace  drive  to  the  Gettysburg's  mass  and  profile."
　　"That's  what  we  were  up  to  while  you  were  off  sight-seeing,"  the  Sergeant  told  him.  "We  pulled  the  Slipspace  matrix  out  of  our  piggybacked  ship  and  slapped  it  into  the  Gettysburg."
　　John  wheeled  and  faced  the  viewscreens.  Ascendant  Justice  couldn't  jump?  Then  why  was  it  headed  straight  toward  the  Covenant  fleet?  A  decoy?  He  glanced  at  the  countdown  timer:  2:09  left.
　　"Not  a  decoy,"  he  whispered,"...  a  lure.  Sergeant,  get  a  signal  to  Ascendant  Justice.  Bounce  it  off  that  spy  drone  if  you  have  to."
　　"Roger,  Chief,"  Sergeant  Johnson  said  and  tapped  in  com?mands.  An  error  warning  blared.  He  shook  his  head,  puzzled,  and  tried  again,  carefully  retyping.
　　"Linda,  take  the  NAV  station.  Fred,  you're  on  Ops.  Will,  give  the  Sergeant  a  hand  at  Weapons  One."