The air on the bridge was smothered in tension. I coughed, staring at Colonel Gregory, who was now completely insane. Or in the green little pastures beyond insanity. He still sat in the captain's chair, muttering, "Deployed been have Oh-Dee-Ess-Tees the."
We had just lost contact with the final security station, one floor below. I was sure they were using the air vents and lift shafts to get around; we could hear tiny feet scampering around the walls and ceiling, like mice. Occasionally, something went smack against the blast door.
Tearing my gaze away from the colonel, who was now investigating his boot, I glanced around the bridge. Lieutenant Daniels, holding a BR55 battle rifle, kneeled behind a barricade in the standard defense strategy against a rush, his weapon aimed at the doorway. I remember doing the same on both Cairo Station and at the armory just a few hours ago.
Alicia Hartman, the ensign, was adjusting a M41 SSR MAV/AW rocket launcher. Informally known as the Spanker. I stared for a moment, before a ripping sound tore my gaze away. The screech was coming from the blast door – it was literally being torn in two. Small Infection Forms were bursting through the opening, and were met by a tide of gunfire. They popped like balloons getting acupuncture.
Following them was a tide of Combat Forms. I aimed by two SMGs and held the trigger until the magazine was empty. I wasn't in immediate danger from my position, two rows behind Daniels, but I could already see that these things were going to get through fast. The el-tee was backing up as two Marines went down near him.
The Combat Forms leapt over the first barricade, converging on the second. I looked closer, and saw that these Flood were wielding weapons as well. Daniels went down from two Magnum shots; I quickly reloaded the SMGs.
The second barricade went down, along with three Combat Forms. Green and red blood decorated the walls near the blast door. Marines were screaming in terror and agony, barely audible over the sound of gunfire.
Alicia fired a rocket, slowing the Flood advance. My self-preservation sense was tingling; I turned and ran behind the Marine lines, taking a handful of Alicia's sleeve as I fled toward my chosen "Pull-Back Point" as I called it.
I ducked within the maintenance closet, dragging the girl inside. She inhaled sharply, and screamed, "What the hell are you trying to do?"
"Staying out there will just get both of us killed."
"Coward!"
An hour passed. I had blocked the doorway, and Alicia was fuming in the opposite corner of the closet. It had taken all of my willpower and most of my strength to keep her from charging outside.
About fifteen minutes after the bridge fell, I felt the familiar feeling of the ship jumping into slipspace. And now, the ship had come out of slipspace, but I wasn't sure where. And now, I was summoning the courage to open the door.
"Corporal Price! Open the blasted door!"
I pulled off the makeshift blocks: an automatic sweeper and duster, a few old-fashioned mops, and a bucket. Twisting the knob, I slowly pushed open the door. Beyond, the bridge was empty, and lacking of all corpses, dead, alive, both, or neither. There was a beeping from one of the consoles; Alicia trotted up to it. "Someone's hailing us," she said, "but the console's broken. I can't reply."
"Can you see who it is?" I asked.
"Says, 'HIGH CHARITY/ ANOMALY: CORTANA'"
"Cortana . . . That name sounds familiar." I mused.
"Oh, crap," Alicia suddenly cried, "The Flood programmed the In Amber Clad to crash into a tower inside a Covenant ship."
I suddenly remembered something I had seen outside a window on the In Amber Clad earlier that day: a huge Covenant "worldship", along with a massive fleet.
"Does it say what the ship is called?"
She pressed a button. "Yeah. 'High Charity'."
"Where are we now?" I asked, slowly turning towards the viewscreens. Outside was a sprawling city, with a huge lighted structure in the middle. But not like a city from earth: it was a Covenant city, I realized. But there was no sky, either, just a purple 'ceiling' that stretched on and on. Towers lined the city; we rapidly passed between two, and I could see four human figures below.
I started. "Wait! Did you see that?"
"See what?" Alicia said dazedly, still staring at the scene.
"Humans!" I ran to a terminal, and tapped a few random buttons. The viewscreens zoomed in on the figures, and I immediately recognized one of them: the Master Chief, a Spartan. The other three were Marines.
Alicia shook her head. "There's an emergency lifeboat down the hall, reserved for the bridge crew. We should get out of here, quick –" she pointed at another viewscreen, which showed a rapidly approaching tower.
We were out the door in a few seconds. I held the assault rifle at shoulder height, scanning the halls for any sign of the Flood. I inquired about this.
Alicia rounded a corner, heading towards the lifeboat. "I would guess that they are gathering in the hangars. If they can program the In Amber Clad, they can probably fly a Pelican out of here."
We arrived at the lifeboat. She tapped a few buttons on a keypad near the door until it opened. The two of us filed in, and the ensign jumped into the pilot's seat, immediately working the controls.
Crap, I thought, as we burst forward.