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ERIC NYLUND
289
The Master Chief outlined his mission plan, how he and his
team would take a Covenant dropship and insert into the ren-
dezvous location for the invading Covenant fleet. They would
then infiltrate their command-and-control center, the Unyielding
Hierophant, and destroy it; that would hopefully cripple the
Covenant force . . . or at least slow them down. Maybe even
enough to buy Earth time to reinforce their defenses.
The Admiral stared at the Chief without blinking and flatly
replied, "Mission request denied."
"Acknowledged, sir." He remained standing, at stiff attention.
Whitcomb frowned, as the other Spartans also snapped to at-
tention and remained stone-still. He sighed.
"I understand your motivations, Chief. I do. But I will not risk
transporting your team to the Covenant rendezvous point," the
Admiral explained. "If we lose this ship, Earth never gets its
warning."
"Sir," the Master Chief replied, "we will transition from
Slip-space to normal space alone. Once the dropship clears the
gravitational influence of the Gettysburg and the Ascendant
Justice, the Slipspace field will deteriorate and we will enter
normal space. You need never even stop. And only a minor
course correction puts the Gettysburg on the correct trajectory."
"Has a drop out of Slipspace ever been attempted in a ship so
small?" the Admiral asked. His heavy brows knitted together.
"Yes, sir," Cortana said. "Our Slipspace probes perform the
maneuver all the time, but the shearing stress and radiation are
considerable." She paused and looked toward John. "The Spartans,
however, in the MJOLNIR armor should be able to survive."
" 'Should,' " the Admiral echoed, his face grim. "As much as I
admire your daring, Chief, I still have to deny your request. You'll
need Cortana to get past the Covenant security systems. She has
to make it to Earth. With the data she's carrying on Halo, the
Flood, and Covenant technology, she's far too valuable to risk."
"Understood, sir," John replied. "I hadn't considered that."
Haverson slowly stood and brushed the sleeves of his tattered
uniform. "I'll volunteer to go on the Master Chief's mission," he
said. "I have extensive training in cryptology and Covenant
systems."