The Spartan looked up at her. “Cortana–”
The AI stood with hands on hips. “I spent hours cooped in here watching you toady about helping that... thing get set to slit our throats.”
The Chief turned toward the Monitor and back. “Hold on now. He’s a friend.”
Cortana brought a hand up to her mouth in mock surprise. “Oh, I didn’t realize. He’s your pal, is he? Your chum? Do you have any idea what that bastard almost made you do?”
“Yes,” the Spartan said patiently. “Activate Halo’s defenses and destroy the Flood. Which is why we brought the Index to the Control Center.”
Cortana’s image plucked the Index out of its slot and held it out in front of her. “You mean this?”
Now reanimated, 343 Guilty Spark hovered just off the floor. He was furious. “A construct in the core? That is absolutely unacceptable!”
Cortana’s eyes glowed as she bent forward. “Piss off.”
The Monitor darted higher. “What impertinence! I shall purge you at once.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Cortana inquired as she waved the Index, then added the data contained within it to her memory.
“How dare you!” Spark exclaimed. “I’ll–”
“Do what?” Cortana demanded. “I have the Index. You can float and sputter.”
The Master Chief held both hands up. One held the assault rifle. “Enough! The Flood is spreading. If we activate Halo’s defenses we can wipe them out.”
Cortana looked down on the human with an expression of pity. “You have no idea how this ring works, do you? Why the Forerunners built it?”
She leaned forward, her face grim. “Halo doesn’t kill Flood – it kills their food. Human, Covenant, whatever. You’re all equally edible. The only way to stop the Flood is to starve them to death. And that’s exactly what Halo is designed to do. Wipe the galaxy clean of all sentient life. You don’t believe me?” the AI finished. “Ask him!” and she pointed to 343 Guilty Spark.
The ramifications of what Cortana said hit home, and he gripped his MA5B tightly. He rounded on the Monitor. “Is it true?”
Spark bobbed slightly. “Of course,” the construct said directly. Then, sounding more like his officious self again, “This installation has a maximum effective radius of twenty-five thousand light years, but once the others follow suit, this galaxy will be quite devoid of life, or at least any life with sufficient biomass to sustain the Flood.
“But you already knew this,” the AI continued contritely. The little device sounded genuinely puzzled. “I mean, how couldn’t you?”
Cortana glowered at the Chief. “Left out that little detail, did he?”
“We followed outbreak containment procedure to the letter,” the Monitor said defensively. “You were with me each step of the way as we managed the process.”
“Chief,” Cortana interrupted, “I’m picking up movement–”
“Why would you hesitate to do what you’ve already done?” 343 Guilty Spark demanded.
“We need to go,” Cortana insisted. “Right now!”
“Last time you asked me: if it were my choice, would I do it?” the Monitor continued, as a flock of Sentinels arrayed themselves behind him. “Having had considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed. There is no choice. We must activate the ring.”
“Get. Us. Out. Of. Here,” Cortana said, her eyes tracking the Sentinels.
“If you are unwilling to help – I will simply find another,” Spark said conversationally. “Still, I must have the Index. Give your construct to me or I will be forced to take it from you.”
The Spartan looked up at Spark and the machines arrayed in the air behind him. The assault weapon came up ready to fire. “That’s not going to happen.”
“So be it,” the Monitor said wearily. Then, in a comment directed to the Sentinels, he added: “Save his head. Dispose of the rest.”
SECTION V
TWO BETRAYALS
CHAPTER TEN
D+68:03:27 (SPARTAN-117 Mission Clock)
Halo Control Room
The vast platform that extended out over the Control Room’s black abyss felt small and confining as the Master Chief was attacked from every direction at once. Ruby red energy beams sizzled, and the smell of ozone filled the air as the airborne Sentinels circled, searching for a chink in his armor. All they needed was one good hit, a chance to put him down, and they would be able not only to take his head, but the Index as well.
Cortana’s intrusion skills had become much less conventional since the landing on Halo. He had been surprised when she’d used his suit comm as a de facto modem to broadcast her way into the Control Room computers. He was also unprepared for her sudden return. After so much time in the ring’s massive systems, she felt somehow larger. He pondered her unusual behavior – her shortness, the flare of temper.
There was no time to consider Cortana’s “mental state.” There was still a mission to achieve: protect Cortana, and keep Spark the hell away from the Index. For his part the Spartan wove back and forth, conscious of the fact that the walkway had no rails, and how easy it would be to fall off the edge. That made hitting his targets a great deal more difficult. Still, he had seen the Flood bring Sentinels down, and figured that if the combat forms could do it, so could he. He decided to tackle the lowest machines first.
He was careful to get a good lead on each target. The assault rifle stuttered, and the nearest target exploded. He switched to the shotgun and fired methodically. He pumped a new round into the chamber, and fired again. Thanks to the broad pattern provided by each shell, the pump gun soon proved itself to be an extremely effective weapon against the Sentinels.
One of the machines exploded, another hit the deck with a loud clang, and a third trailed smoke as it spiraled into the darkness below.
The battle became somewhat easier after that, as there was less and less incoming fire, and he was able to knock three more robots out of the air in quick succession.
He started to move, reloading as he went. One especially persistent machine took advantage of the interlude to score three hits on his back, which triggered the audible alarm, and pushed his shield to the very edge.
With only four shells in his weapon, the Chief turned, blew the robot out of the air, and spun to nail another. Then, weapon raised, he turned in a circle, searching for more targets. There weren’t any.
“So,” he said as he lowered the shotgun and pushed more shells into the receiver, “don’t tell me – let me guess. You have a plan.”
“Yes,” Cortana replied unabashedly, “I do. We can’t let the Monitor activate Halo. We have to stop him – we have to destroy Halo.”
The Spartan nodded and flexed his stiff shoulders. “And how do we do that?”
“According to my analysis of the available data I believe the best course of action is somewhat risky.”
Naturally, the Chief thought.
“An explosion of sufficient size,” Cortana explained, “will help destabilize the ring – and will cut through a number of primary systems. We need to trigger a detonation on a large scale, however. A starship’s fusion reactors going critical would do the job.
“I’m going to find out where the Pillar of Autumn went down. If the ship’s fusion reactors are still relatively intact, we can use them to destroy Halo.”
“Is that all?” the Spartan inquired dryly. “Sounds like a walk in the park. By the way, it’s nice to have you back.”