TIME-.DATE RECORD [[ERROR]]ANOMALYDate unknown Captured Covenant flagshipAscendant Justice, in anomalous Slipspace bubble.

The Master Chief woke.

Consciousness, however, was a slight overestimation of his condition. His blurry vision came into focus slowly... but there was nothing to see except the interior of his visor.Amber status lights winked on.

Pain washed over his feet, his right thigh, and his hand. Good. He was alive. He knew from previous experience that this was the tail end of shock ... and the stunning, numbingeffects of that state were wearing off.

He felt the familiar weight and reactive circuits of his MJOLNIR armor surrounding him.The coppery-tinged flavor of biofoam coated his mouth, so he also surmised that hisinjuries had been recently treated.

And there was gravity. The press against his back was a great comfort to the Master Chief.The next time someone wanted him to go on a zero-gee op, he'd—"Welcome back," Cortana said, interrupting his thoughts. A faint light flickered on to hisleft.

He turned onto his side. The burns on his extremities pro.tested and shot lances of painup his hand and feet.

He was in a med bay. The lights were turned down low, and he saw that he was the onlyperson occupying a recovery bed. Bio-monitors pulsed along one wall, displaying his vitalsigns and MRI snapshots.

A holographic projection pad stood next to his bed. Cortana'sERIC NYLUND235tiny figure, strobing with symbolic logic code, waved to him, and when he didn'timmediately respond she crossed her arms impatiently. "MRIs show no concussion, no subdural or epidural hematomas. You must have a  thicker skull than I thought.""Where am I?""Deck thirty-two on the UNSC frigate Gettysburg" Cortana told him. "Or what's left of it,anyway.""What happened?"Cortana sighed. "Are you referring to what happened since I left you on Reach? Or theoutcome of the Slipspace battle? Or do you mean what happened since that battle?""The battle, first," he said and struggled to get up. "I presume we won."Standing was too painful, though, and the strength seemed to have been drained from hismuscles. He eased himself back to his original horizontal position.

Cortana's pale blue light dimmed and her gaze dropped to the deck. "Blue Team successfully repaired the main-engine conduit.""I remember," the Master Chief murmured. "The repair part of it, at least. There was an explosion...""A plasma bolt," Cortana corrected. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Chief, but only you and SPARTANS-093, -043, and -104 sur.vived that blast."Grace, Will, and Fred were alive, but Li, Anton, and Warrant Officer Polaski had been killed in action. He remembered Po-laski's scream, then Anton's outline as the flash ofwhite-hot fire swept over the hull.

"Acknowledged," he said as graciously as he could muster, but he heard bitterness give an edge to his voice.

It struck him as odd that Polaski's death affected him as well. He'd seen thousands ofUNSC soldiers die. She hadn't hesitated to transport Blue Team on a mission that was insanely danger.ous. She had survived the battle  of Reach, the crash landing on Halo, theFlood, and everything else—then she had bravely vol.unteered for this mission, too, andperhaps saved all their lives.

She might have made a good Spartan. There were worse eulogies.

The Master Chief sighed, called up his team roster on his heads-up display, and markedAnton and Li as Missing in Action.

236HALO: FIRST STRIKEHe paused to view all the others on that list; his first and best friend, Sam, was there ...and he hadn't even realized a dozen more had been listed as MIA.

He saved the changes to the roster and closed the file.

"What about Kelly and Linda?" he asked Cortana.

Cortana looked up and flipped the hair from her luminous eyes. She paced a small circleon the holographic pad and then said, "SPARTAN-087, Kelly, is recovering from second-degree burns on seventy-two percent of  her body. Doctor Halsey has ac.celerated tissue regrowth with dermacortic steroids. She should be fully healed in a matter of days...although her mobility will be severely hampered until then.""And Linda?""Accessing status." Cortana paused for a full second. "Doctor Halsey has SPARTAN-058currently in medical facility alpha, three decks above us. She still has her in a cryogenic state and is presently performing exploratory  surgery. She has given me several orders toprepare the flash clone banks for replacement organs pending transplant.""So she's alive?" the Master Chief asked.

"Technically," Cortana replied, "no." For a moment there was a look of genuine concern on her face—but it quickly vanished. "The doctor and Admiral Whitcomb have debatedthe risk of at.tempting to revive SPARTAN -058 before we reach a major medical facility.Doctor Halsey, I'm sure, will brief you when she has all the facts, Chief."John frowned at this lack of detail. He didn't appreciate Cor-tana's increasingly difficultattitude, one that had slowly shifted ever since she interfaced with the Forerunner computer system on Halo. He made a mental note  to ask Dr. Halsey about Linda later...and he'd ask her about Cortana, too.

"All other hands on board are accounted for?" the Master Chief asked,"Yes, Chief. They are all engaged in repairs to the conjoined ships. We took tremendous damage in the expanded Slipspace from plasma bombardments and mass impacts. Bothships' super.structures, however, remain  intact. The Gettysburg's reactor is online andoperating at sixty-seven percent capacity. Ascendant Justice's reactor is offlineundergoing repairs. Five of our sevenERIC NYLUND237plasma turrets require refit. And worst, Ascendant Justice's en.gines are crippled. Wehave less than three percent operational thrust.""Can the ship still jump to Slipspace? Are we stranded out here?""A jump is possible," Cortana said. She shook her head the way an older sister mi htwhen her baby brother asked a naive question. "It wouldn't do us any good, thougggh. Thealien artifact in Doctor Halsey's possession emits high levels of radiation in Slipspace.This unknown radiation even penetrates your suit's shields. I estimate lethal exposure injust under seventy-two hours. Also,  that radiation would serve as a beacon for anyCove.nant ships prowling Slipspace, searching for us.""So we're stuck between systems.""Negative," Cortana replied, and her voice took on a new chill. "Admiral Whitcomb isquite adamant that we risk another Slipspace transition—regardless of the cost in humanlife. Other.wise, it would be weeks before we  would be able to contact UNSC HighCommand."HighCom? Two facts suddenly clicked into place: the Admi.ral's need to contact the restof the Admiralty—no matter the price—and Dr. Halsey's attempts to revive Linda.

"What's compelling the Admiral's tactics, Cortana?"Cortana's holographic outline softened. "I told you this be.fore, Chief, but apparently itdid not stick in your semiconscious state." She then came into sharp focus and crossedher arms over her chest. "The Covenant  have discovered the location of Earth."The Master Chief stood, suddenly wide awake and alert. He set aside his pain and fatigue.

"Explain," he demanded.

Cortana ou............