Halo_ The Fall Of Reach Part 17

At first she had protested. But ironically, the publicity had proved convenient. With all the attention on the Spartans' heroics, no one had thought to question their true purpose-or their origin. If the truth ever came to light-abducted children, replaced by fast-grown clones; the risky, experimental surgeries and biochemical augmentations-public opinion would turn against the SPARTAN project overnight.

The recent events at Sigma Octa.n.u.s had given the Spartans and MJOLNIR the final push it needed to enter its final operational phase.

She slipped on her gla.s.ses and called up the files from yesterday's debriefing; the ONI computer system once again confirmed her retinal scan and voiceprint.

IDENt.i.tY CONFIRMED. UNAUTHORIZED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT DETECTED. ACCESS DENIED.

d.a.m.n. ONI grew more paranoid by the day.

"Deja," she said with a frustrated sigh. "The spooks are nervous. I need to power you down, or ONI won't give me access to the files."

"Of course, Doctor," Deja replied calmly.

Halsey keyed the power-down sequence on her desktop terminal, sending Deja into standby mode. This, she thought, is Ackerson's work, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d. She had fought tooth and nail to keep Deja free from the programming shackles ONI demanded . . . and this was their petty revenge.

She scowled impatiently until the computer system finally spit out the data she'd requested. The tiny projectors in the frames of her gla.s.ses beamed the data directly to her retina.

Her eyes darted back and forth rapidly, as if she had entered REM sleep, as she scanned the doc.u.mentation from the debriefing. Finally she removed her gla.s.ses and tossed them carelessly on the desk, a sardonic smirk on her face.

The overarching conclusion of the finest military experts on the debriefing committee: ONI didn't have a clue as to what the Covenant were doing on Sigma Octa.n.u.s IV.

They had learned only four solid facts from the entire operation. First, the Covenant had gone to considerable trouble to obtain a single mineral specimen. Second, the pattern of inclusions in that igneous rock sample matched the signal that had been sent-and intercepted by theIroquois . Third, the low entropy of the pattern indicated that it was not random. And fourth, and most important, UNSC translation software couldn't match this pattern to any known Covenant dialect. . Third, the low entropy of the pattern indicated that it was not random. And fourth, and most important, UNSC translation software couldn't match this pattern to any known Covenant dialect.

Her personal conclusions? Either the alien artifact was from a precursor to the present Covenant society . . . or it was from another, as yet undiscovered, alien culture.

When she had dropped that little bombsh.e.l.l of a speculation in the debriefing room yesterday, the ONI specialists had gone scrambling for cover. Especially that arrogant a.s.s, Colonel Ackerson, she thought with a cruel smile.

The bra.s.s was not happy with either possibility. If it was old Covenant technology, it indicated they still knew virtually nothing about the Covenant culture. Twenty years of intensive study and trillions of dollars of research and they barely even understood the alien's caste system.

And if it was the latter possibility, an artifact of another alien race . . . that could be even more problematic. Colonel Ackerson and some of the bra.s.s had immediately considered the logistics of fighting two alien enemies at once. Utterly ridiculous. They couldn't even fight one. The UNSC could never hope to survive a war on two fronts.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. Despite the grim conclusions, there was a silver lining in all this.

After the meeting, a new mandate had become the official secret policy of Fleet Command's Special Operations Command-the parent organization for Naval Special Warfare, the Spartans' service branch. ONI had new marching orders: to step up funding of Intel and reconnaissance missions by an order of magnitude. Small stealth ships were to be deployed to search remote systems and find where the Covenant were based.

And Dr. Halsey had finally received the green light to unleash MJOLNIR. She had mixed feelings about it. The truth be told, she always had. It would be the culmination of her life's greatest work. She knew the risks-like spinning a roulette wheel, it was long odds, but the payoff was potentially huge. It meant victory against the Covenant . . . or the death of all her Spartans. The holographic crystals overhead warmed and Cortana appeared, sitting cross-legged on Dr. Halsey's desk-actually she sat hovering a centimeter off the table's edge. Cortana was slender. The hue of her skin varied from navy blue to lavender, depending on her mood and the ambient lighting. Her "hair" was cropped short. Her face had a hard angular beauty. Lines of code flickered up and down her luminous body. And if Dr. Halsey viewed her from the right angle, she could catch a glimpse of the skeletal structure inside her ghostly form. "Good morning, Dr. Halsey," Cortana said. "I've read the committee's report-" "-which was cla.s.sified as Top Secret, Eyes Only." "Hmm . . . " Cortana mused. "I must have overlooked that." She hopped off the desk and circled around Dr. Halsey once. Cortana had been programmed with ONI's best insurgency software, as well as the determination to use those code-cracking skills. While this had been necessary for her mission, when she grew bored, she caused chaos with ONI's own security measures . . . and she often grew bored. "I a.s.sume you have examined the cla.s.sified data brought back from Sigma Octa.n.u.s Four?" Halsey asked. "I might have seen that somewhere," Cortana said matter-of-factly. "Your a.n.a.lysis and conclusions?" "There is much more evidence to consider than the data in the committee's files." She looked off into s.p.a.ce as if reading something.

"Oh?"

"Forty years ago a geological survey team on Sigma Octa.n.u.s Four found several igneous rocks with similar-though not identical-anomalous compositions. UNSC geologists believe that these samples were introduced onto the planet via meteorite impacts-they typically are found in long-eroded impact craters on the planet surface. Isotopic dating of the site place those impact craters at present minus sixty thousand years-" Cortana paused as a hint of a smile played across her holographic features. "-though that figure may be inaccurate due to human error, of course."

"Of course," Dr. Halsey replied dryly.

"I have also, um . . . coordinated with UNSC's astrophysics department and discovered some interesting bits archived in their long-range observational databases. There is a black hole located approximately forty thousand light-years from the Sigma Octa.n.u.s System. An extremely powerful pulse-laser transmission back-scattered the matter in the accretion disk-essentially trapped this signal as this matter accelerated toward the speed of light. From our perspective, according to special relativity, this essentially froze the residue of this information on the event horizon."

"I'll take your word for it," Dr. Halsey said.

"This 'frozen signal' contains information that matches the sample from Sigma Octa.n.u.s Four." Cortana sighed and her shoulders slumped. "Unfortunately, all my attempts at translating the code have failed . . . so far."

"Your conclusions, Cortana?" Dr. Halsey reminded her.

"Insufficient data for complete a.n.a.lysis, Doctor."

"Hypothesize."

Cortana bit her lower lip. "There are two possibilities. The data originates from the Covenant or another alien race." She frowned. "If it's another alien species, the Covenant probably wants these artifacts to scavenge their technology. Either conclusion opens several new opportunities for the NavSpecWep-"

"I am aware of that," Dr. Halsey said, raising her hand. If she allowed the AI to continue, Cortana would talk all day. "One of those opportunities is Project MJOLNIR."

Cortana spun around and her eyes widened. "They approved the final phase?"

"Is it possible, Cortana," Dr. Halsey replied, amused, "that I know something you don't?"

Cortana wrinkled her brow in frustration, then smoothed her features to their normal placid state. "I suppose that is a remote possibility. If you'd like, I can calculate those odds."

"No, thank you, Cortana," Halsey replied.

Cortana reminded Dr. Halsey of herself when she had been an adolescent: smarter than her parents, always reading, talking, learning, and eager to share her knowledge with anyone who would listen.

Of course, there was a very good reason why Cortana reminded Dr. Halsey of herself.

Cortana was a "smart" AI, an advanced artificial construct. Actually, the termssmart and anddumb as applied to AIs, were misleading; all AIs were extraordinarily intelligent. But Cortana was special. as applied to AIs, were misleading; all AIs were extraordinarily intelligent. But Cortana was special.

So-called dumb AIs were engineered to function only were misleading; within set limits of their dynamic memory-processing matrix. They were brilliant within their fields of expertise, but were lacking in "creativity." Deja, for example, was a "dumb" AI-incredibly useful, but limited.

Smart AIs like Cortana, however, had no limits on their dynamic memory-processor matrix. Knowledge and creativity could grow unchecked.

She would pay a price for her genius, however. Such growth eventually led to self-interference. Cortana would one day literally start thinking too much at the expense of her normal functions. It was as if a human were to think with so much of his brain that he stopped sending impulses to his heart and lungs.

Like all the other smart AIs that Dr. Halsey had worked with over the years, Cortana would effectively "die" after an operational life of seven years.

But Cortana's mind was unique among all the other AIs Dr. Halsey had encountered. An AI's matrix was created by sending electrical bursts through the neural pathways of a human brain. Those pathways were then replicated in a superconducting nano-a.s.semblage. The technique destroyed the original human tissue, so they could only be obtained from a suitable candidate that had already died. Cortana, however, had to have the best mind available. The success of her mission and the lives of the Spartans would depend on it.

At Dr. Halsey's insistence, ONI had arranged to have her own brain carefully cloned and her memories flash-transferred to the receptacle organs. Only one of the twenty cloned brains survived the process. Cortana had literally sprung from Dr. Halsey's mind, like Athena from the head of Zeus.

So, in a way, Cortanawas Dr. Halsey. Dr. Halsey.

Cortana straightened, her face eager. "When does the MJOLNIR armor become fully operational. When do I go?"

"Soon. There are a few final modifications that need to be made in the systems."

Cortana leaped to her "feet," turned her back to Dr. Halsey, and examined the photographs on the wall. She brushed her fingertips over the gla.s.s surfaces. "Which one will be mine?"

"Which one do you want?"

She immediately gravitated to the picture in the center of Dr. Halsey's collection. It showed a handsome man standing at attention as Admiral Stanforth pinned the UNSC Legion of Honor upon his chest-a chest that already overflowed with citations.

Cortana framed her fingers around the man's face. "He's so serious," she murmured. "Thoughtful eyes, though. Attractive in a primitive animal sort of way, don't you think, Doctor?"

Dr. Halsey blushed. Apparently, shedid think so. Cortana's thoughts mirrored many of her own, only unchecked by normal military and social protocol. think so. Cortana's thoughts mirrored many of her own, only unchecked by normal military and social protocol.

"Perhaps it would be best if you picked another-"

Cortana turned to face Dr. Halsey and c.o.c.ked an eyebrow, mock stern. "Youasked me which one I wanted. . . ." me which one I wanted. . . ."

"It was a question, Cortana. I did not give you carte blanche to select your 'carrier.' There are compatibility issues to consider."

Cortana blinked. "His neural patterns are in sync with my mine within two percent. With the new interface we'll be installing, that should fall well within tolerable limits. In fact-" Her gaze drifted and the symbols along her body brightened and flashed. "-I have just developed a custom interface buffer that will match us within zero point zero eight one percent. You won't find a better match among the others.

"In fact," she added coyly, "I can guarantee it."

"I see," Dr. Halsey said. She pushed away from her desk, stood, and paced.

Why was she hesitating? The matchwas superb. But was Cortana's predilection for Spartan 117 a result of him being Dr. Halsey's favorite? And did it matter? Who better to protect him? superb. But was Cortana's predilection for Spartan 117 a result of him being Dr. Halsey's favorite? And did it matter? Who better to protect him?

Dr. Halsey walked over to the picture. "He was awarded this Legion of Honor medallion because he dove into a bunker of Covenant soldiers. He took out twenty by himself and saved a platoon of Marines who were pinned down by a stationary energy weapon emplacement. I've read the report, but I'm still not sure how he managed to do it." She turned to Cortana and stared into her odd translucent eyes. "You've read his CSV?"

"I'm reading it again right now." "Then you know he is neither the smartest nor the fastest nor the strongest of the Spartans. But he is the bravest-and quite possibly the luckiest. And in my opinion, he is the best."

"Yes," Cortana whispered. "I concur with your a.n.a.lysis, Doctor." She drifted closer.

"Could you sacrifice him if you had to? If it meant completing the mission?" Dr. Halsey asked quietly. "Could you watch him die?" Cortana halted and the processing symbols racing across her skin froze midcalculation. "My priority Alpha order is to complete this mission," she replied emotionlessly. "The Spartans' safety as well as mine is a Beta-level priority command." "Good." Dr. Halsey returned to her desk and sat down. "Then you can have him." Cortana smiled and blazed with brilliant electricity. "Now," Dr. Halsey said, and tapped on her desk to regain Cortana's attention. "Show me your pick of our ship candidates for the mission." Cortana opened her hand. In her palm there was a tiny model of a Halcyon-cla.s.s UNSC cruiser. "ThePillar of Autumn," Cortana said. Dr. Halsey leaned back and crossed her arms. Modern USNC cruisers were rare in the fleet. Only a handful of the impressive warships remained . . . and those were being pulled back to bolster the defense of the Inner Colonies. This junk-heap, however, was not one of these ships. "ThePillar of Autumn is forty-three years old," Cortana said. "Halcyon-cla.s.s ships were the smallest vessel ever to receive the cruiser designation. It is approximately one-third the tonnage of the Marathon- cla.s.s cruiser currently in service. is forty-three years old," Cortana said. "Halcyon-cla.s.s ships were the smallest vessel ever to receive the cruiser designation. It is approximately one-third the tonnage of the Marathon- cla.s.s cruiser currently in service.

"Halcyon-cla.s.s ships were pulled from long-term storage-they were designated to be sc.r.a.pped, in fact. TheAutumn was refit in 2550, to serve in the current conflict near Zeta Doradus. Their Mark Two fusion engines supply a tenth of the power of modern reactors. Their armor is light by current standards. Weapon refits have upgraded their offensive capabilities with a single Magnetic Acceleration Cannon and six Archer missile pods. was refit in 2550, to serve in the current conflict near Zeta Doradus. Their Mark Two fusion engines supply a tenth of the power of modern reactors. Their armor is light by current standards. Weapon refits have upgraded their offensive capabilities with a single Magnetic Acceleration Cannon and six Archer missile pods.

"The only noteworthy design feature of this ship is the frame." Cortana reached down and pulled off the skin of the holographic model as if it were a glove. "The structural system was designed by a Dr. Robert McLees-cofounder of the Reyes-McLees Shipyards over Mars-in 2510. It was, at the time, deemed unnecessarily overma.s.sed and costly due to series of cross-bracings and interst.i.tial honeycombs. The design was subsequently dropped from all further production models. Halcyon-cla.s.s ships, however, have a reputation for being virtually indestructible. Reports indicate these ships being operational even after sustaining breaches to all compartments and losing ninety percent of their armor."

"Their duty record?" Dr. Halsey asked.

"Substandard," Cortana replied. "They are slow and ineffective in offensive combat. They are somewhat of a joke within the fleet."

"Perfect," Dr. Halsey said. "I concur with your final selection recommendation. We will start the refit operations at once."

"All we need now," Cortana said, "is a Captain and crew."

"Ah yes, the Captain." Dr. Halsey slid on her gla.s.ses. "I have the perfect man for the job. He's a tactical genius. I'll forward you his CSV, and you can see for yourself." She transferred the file to Cortana.

Cortana smiled, but it quickly faded. "His maneuvers at Sigma Octa.n.u.s Four were performed without an onboard AI?"

"His ship left dock without an AI for technical reasons. I believe he has no compunctions about working with computers. In fact, it was one of the first refit requests he put in for theIroquois ." ."

Cortana did not look convinced.

"Besides, he has the most important qualification for this job," Dr. Halsey said. "The man can keep a secret."

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX.

0800 Hours, August 27, 2552 (Military Calendar) / Epsilon Eridani System, FLEETCOM Military Complex, planet Reach This was the third time John had been in this highly secure briefing room on Reach. The amphitheater had an aura of secrecy, as if matters of grave importance had regularly been discussed within its circular wall. Certainly, every time he had been here, his life had changed.

His first time was his indoctrination into the Spartans-a lifetime ago. He recalled with a start how young Dr. Halsey had looked then. The second time was when he graduated from the Spartan program, when he had last seen Chief Mendez. He had sat on the bench next to him-where the Chief was sitting now.

And today? He had a feeling that everything was about to change all over again.

Cl.u.s.tered around him were two dozen Spartans: Fred, Linda, Joshua, James, and many others he had not spoken to for years; constant battle had kept the tight-knit Spartans light-years apart for more than a decade. Dr. Halsey and Captain Keyes entered the chamber.

The Spartans stood at attention and saluted. Keyes returned their salute. "At ease," he said. He escorted Dr. Halsey to the center stage. He sat while she stood at the podium.

"Good evening, Spartans," she said. "Please take your seats."

As one, they sat down.

"a.s.sembled here tonight," she said, "are all surviving Spartans save three, who are otherwise engaged on fields of combat too distant to be easily recalled. In the last decade of combat there have only been three KIAs and one Spartan too wounded to continue active duty. You are to be commended for having the best operational record of any unit in the fleet." She paused to look at them. "It is very good to see you all again."

She slipped on her gla.s.ses. "Admiral Stanforth has asked me to brief you on the upcoming mission. Due to its complexity and unusual nature, please disregard your normal protocol and ask any questions you have during my presentation. Now, on to the business at hand: the Covenant."

Holographic projectors overhead warmed and sleek Covenant corvettes, frigates, and destroyers appeared in a neat row on Dr. Halsey's left. On her right were a collection of Covenant species, roughly one-third their normal size. There was a Grunt, a Jackal, the floating, tentacled creature John had seen on Sigma Octa.n.u.s IV, as well as the heavily armored behemoths he and his team had bested.

A spike of adrenaline burned through the Master Chief at the sight of the enemy. Intellectually, he knew that the images were not real . . . but after a decade of fighting, his instincts were to kill first and get the details later.

"The Covenant are still largely unknown to us," Dr. Halsey began. "Their motivations and thought processes remain a mystery-though our best a.n.a.lysis points to some compelling hypotheses."

She paused, and added, "The following information is, naturally, cla.s.sified.

"We know that the Covenant-our translation of their name for themselves-are a conglomerate of a number of different alien species. We believe that they exist in some kind of caste structure, though to date the exact nature of that structure remains unknown. Our best guess is that the Covenant conquer and 'absorb' a species, and adapt its strengths into their own.

"The Covenant's science is imitative rather then innovative, a by-product of this societal 'absorption,' " Dr. Halsey continued. "This is not to say that they are lacking intelligence, however. During our first encounter they gathered computer and network components from our destroyed ships . . . and they learned at an astonishing pace.

"By the time Admiral Cole's fleet arrived at Harvest, the Covenant initiated a communications link and attempted a primitive software infiltration of our ship AIs. In a matter of weeks, they had learned the rudiments of our computer systems and our language. Our own attempts to decipher Covenant computer systems have only been partially successful, despite our best efforts and decades of time.

"Since then they have made increasingly successful forays into our computer networks. That is why the Cole Protocol is so important and carries the punishment of treason for failure to comply. The Covenant may one day not need to capture a ship to steal the information within its navigational databanks."

The Master Chief stole a glance at Captain Keyes. The Captain cupped an antique pipe in one hand; the Navy officer puffed on it once, and stared thoughtfully at Dr. Halsey and the examples of the Covenant vessels. He slowly shook his head.

"As I stated earlier," Dr. Halsey continued, "the Covenant are a collection of genetically distinct groups in what we believe is a rigid caste system." She waved toward the Grunts and Jackals. "These are most likely part of their military or warrior caste-not the highest ranking caste, either, given how many are sacrificed during ground operations. We believe there is a 'race' of field commanders, which we are currently calling 'Elites.' " She stepped toward the floating, tentacular aliens. "We believe these are their scientists." As she moved closer, the figure animated; the image showed the creature disa.s.sembling an electric car of human manufacture. John instantly recognized his own battlefield recording.

She pointed to the giant armored creatures. "This was recorded on Sigma Octa.n.u.s Four. A heavily armored warrior superior to either Grunts or Jackals." The ma.s.sive aliens also sprang into motion, lumbering into combat, until Dr. Halsey froze the images in place.

She turned and strolled back to the podium. "ONI hypothesizes at least two additional castes. A warrior capable of commanding ground forces and possibly piloting their ships, and a leadership caste. We have deciphered a handful of Covenant transmissions that refer to-" She paused, checking notes on the data screen in her gla.s.ses. "-Ah, yes. 'Prophets.' We believe that these Prophets are in fact the leadership caste, and that they are viewed by the Covenant rank and file with an almost religious reverence."

Dr. Halsey removed her gla.s.ses. "This is where you come in. Your mission will involve these so-called Prophets, and will be executed in four phases.

"Phase one. You will engage the Covenant and sufficiently disable, but not destroy, one of their ships." She turned to face Captain Keyes. "I leave that in the capable hands of Captain Keyes and his newly refitted ship, thePillar of Autumn ." ."