“One shot missed,” Cortana replied.

Captain Keyes stood up and straightened his uniform. “Ready MAC gun, Lieutenant Hikowa. Arm Archer missile pods C1 through E7. Give me a firing solution for missile impact on our last MAC round.”

Lieutenant Hikowa arched an eyebrow. She had good reason to be dubious. They would be firing more than five hundred missiles at a single target. “Solution online, sir. Guns hot and ready.”

“Distance, Lieutenant Hall?”

“Closing in on extreme range for MAC guns, sir. In four... three... .”

An explosion to starboard and the Pillar of Autumn jumped. Keyes was braced this time.

“Fire, Lieutenant Hikowa. Send them back where they belong.”

“Missiles away, sir. Waiting to coordinate MAC rounds.”

Blue lightning washed out the view screen. Dull thumps sounded through the Pillar of Autumn like a string of firecrackers going off. The ship listed to port, and it started to roll.

“We’re hit!” Lieutenant Hall said. “Decompression on Decks C, D, and E. Sections two through twenty-seven. Venting atmosphere. Reactor’s damaged, sir.” She listened to her headset. “Can’t get a clear report of what’s going on belowdecks. We’re losing power.”

“Seal those sections. Lieutenant Hikowa, do we have gun control?”

“Affirmative.”

“Then fire at will, Lieutenant.”

The Pillar of Autumn shuddered as its MAC gun fired. Pings and groans diffused though her damaged hull. A trio of white-hot projectiles appeared on the view screen, chasing the Archer missiles toward their intended target.

The first round struck the Covenant ship; its shields rippled. The second and third rounds struck, and more than five hundred missiles detonated along her length. Flame dotted the massive vessel, and her shields blazed solid silver. They faded and popped. A dozen missiles impacted her hull and exploded, scarring the bluish armor.

“Minimal damage to the target, sir,” Lieutenant Hall reported.

“But we downed their shields,” Captain Keyes said. “We can hurt them. That’s all I needed to know. Lieutenant Hikowa, make ready to fire again. Identical targeting solution. Lieutenant Hall, launch our remote-piloted Longsword interceptor and arm its Shiva nuclear warhead. Cortana, take control of the single ship.”

Cortana tapped her foot. “Longsword away,” she said. “Where do you want me to park this thing?”

“Intercept course for the Covenant ship,” he told her.

“Sir,” Lieutenant Hikowa cried. “We have an insufficient charge rate to fire the MAC guns.”

“Understood,” Captain Keyes said. “Divert all power from the engines to regenerate gun capacitors.”

“May I point out—” Cortana said and crossed her arms “—that if you power down the engines, we will be inside the blast radius of the Shiva warhead when it reaches the Covenant ship?”

“Noted,” Captain Keyes said. “Do it.”

“Capacitors at seventy-five percent,” Lieutenant Hikowa announced. “Eighty-five. Ninety-five. Full charge, sir. Ready to fire.”

“Fire at will,” Captain Keyes ordered.

“Missiles away—”

A javelin of blue-white energy from the Covenant ship slashed at the Pillar of Autumn. The beam struck, and cut through the hull. The Pillar of Autumn slid into a flat spin as the explosive decompression knocked the ship off course. As the Autumn spun, the Covenant energy beam carved a spiral pattern in the hull, shredding armor and puncturing deep into the ship.

The ship lurched sickeningly as the beam played across the portside Archer pods; the missiles detonated in their tubes. Keyes was nearly thrown from the command chair as the deck bucked beneath him.

He tightened his safety straps and scowled at the tactical displays. “Damage report!” he yelled, his voice competing with the dozens of hazard alarms that blared through the bridge speakers.

Cortana brought up a holographic view of the ship and flagged damaged areas in pulsing red. “Port launch and storage bays have been breached—fires on all decks, all sections. Primary fusion chamber is breached.”

The Pillar of Autumn tumbled out of control.

“Cortana, get us straight and level. We have to fire our guns!”

“Yes, Captain.” Her body became a blur of mathematical symbols. “This is an extremely chaotic trajectory,” she said. “Atmosphere still venting. Hang on. There. Got it.”

The Pillar of Autumn righted herself. The Covenant ship centered on the main view screen. This close Captain Keyes saw how huge the ship was—three times the mass of a normal cruiser. There was a pod mounted on the top deck; it swiveled and tracked the Pillar of Autumn, bringing the turret to bear. It glowed electric white as it built up another lethal charge.

“Fire when ready, Lieutenant Hikowa,” Captain Keyes ordered.

“Firing!” Thunder rumbled belowdecks. “MAC rounds away.”

The shells struck the Covenant vessel; Archer missiles impacted... only a handful got though her downed shields.

“Cortana, crash-land our Longsword on that bastard. Set timer delay on the nuke for fifteen seconds.”

“Afterburners on,” Cortana replied. “Impact in three... two... one. She’s down, sir.”

The Pillar of Autumn sped past the Covenant ship.

“Lieutenant Hall, divert any power you can muster to the engines.”

“Bringing secondary reactor back online, sir. That gives us fifteen percent.”

“Aft camera on center screen,” Captain Keyes ordered.

The Covenant ship slowly turned toward the Pillar of Autumn and its turret tracked their position. For the first time in his life, Keyes prayed that a Covenant ship’s shields would hold.

The alien ship became a flash of white light; its outline blurred. Their shields held for a split second as the Shiva warhead detonated inside its protective aura. The shockwave rebounded off the asymmetrical shape of the shields just before their collapse. Jets of energy exploded outward at three different angles. Thunder and plasma roiled into space... cleanly missing the Pillar of Autumn.

The light faded and the Covenant flagship was gone.

Captain Keyes puffed again on his pipe and tapped it out. Maybe now they had a chance to rally what remained of the UNSC fleet and defend Reach.

“Congratulations Captain,” Cortana said. “I couldn’t have done better myself.”

“Thank you, Cortana. Is there a planet nearby?”

“Beta Gabriel,” she said. “Fourteen million kilometers. Practically next door.”

“Good. Ensign Lovell, plot a course for a slingshot orbit. Reverse our trajectory back in-system.”

“Sir,” Lieutenant Dominique interrupted. “Incoming transmission from Reach. It’s the Spartans.”

“On speakers, Lieutenant.”

Static hissed from the channel. A man’s voice broke through. “—bad. Reactor complex seven has been compromised. We’re falling back. Might be able to save number three. Set off those charges now!” There was a series of explosions... more white noise, then the man returned. “Be advised Pillar of Autumn, groundside reactors are being taken. Orbital guns at risk. Nothing we can do. Too many. We will have to use the nukes—” Static washed away the transmission.

“Captain,” Cortana said. “You need to see this, sir.”

She overlaid a tactical map of the system on the main view screen. Tiny triangular red markers winked on the edges: Covenant ships—dozens of them—reentered the system from Slipspace.

“Sir,” she said, “when the guns around Reach go down... .”

“There will be nothing left to stop the Covenant,” he finished.

Captain Keyes turned to Lieutenant Dominique. “Get those Spartans back online,” he said. “Tell them to evac ASAP. In a few minutes, it’s going to get very nasty around Reach.”

He took a deep breath. “Then raise the Master Chief on a secure channel. Let’s hope he has some good news for us.”