Cyberpunk: Spartan Walker

Chapter 243: Interstellar Chase ([-])
The bridge suddenly became silent, and Case could feel the gazes coming from time to time during the busy operations.

Lieutenant General Whitcomb, who was deep in thought, was stunned for a moment. He raised his head, his eyebrows and beard wrinkled together, "Colonel, what do you mean?"

Keyes explained everything about "Operation Red Flag" to him, pointing out that the Vice Admiral only had the power to make suggestions on the battleship, and now he should be in command.Cortana played the timely video of their actions on the Halo.

"Really? But I think your operation may have failed." Lieutenant General Whitcomb said coldly.

"Whether the operation fails should be decided by the high command, and we are now unable to contact the Earth." Keyes stared into Vice Admiral Whitcomb's eyes without fear, "Not only that, the officers on the bridge are all from Autumn Wind Zhidun, with many years of front-line combat experience, you will not understand the impact of a temporary change of commander on the command system."

Upon hearing this, Vice Admiral Whitcomb looked around and found that all the bridge officers were staring at them.Although no one said anything, everyone's eyes clearly told him: Jacob Keyes was their leader and the captain of this ship.

Whitcomb twirled his beard. "Amazing, Colonel Keyes. I have read your papers and seen your training. You are an unquestionable space tactician." He said, "Our My life is in your hands."

"We must fulfill our mission, sir."

The general turned around. Dr. Halsey was taking care of the Spartan named "Kelly" lying on the deck.The Doctor is competent but a complete mystery to him.

They had met several times before at social gatherings of senior officers, and he had found her charming and endearing in appearance.But he had seen many reports about her "plan" and found it difficult to relate them to her.If even half of the rumors he'd heard about her were true, she'd been involved in every secret mission from here to Andromeda.

General Whitcomb sighed.He sympathized with the Spartan. Very sympathetic—and that was the problem.He couldn't concentrate with her around, and he wanted constant reports on her condition.Damn it!If it was good for her, he would even go over and kneel next to her and hold her hand.

He loved his men and women as if they were his own sons and daughters.There has been a maxim about command since ancient times: To be a good leader, you must love your subordinates; but to be a great conductor, you must be willing to destroy what you love.

"Dr. Halsey," the general said, loosening his grip on the railing and clasping his hands behind his back to hide his sweaty palms, "let's get the wounded off the bridge. The sooner the better."

Dr. Halsey was looking at her PDA and Kelly's physiological monitor, which was showing ripples that were rising and falling.The doctor heard the sound and raised his head. "General, I don't want to move her. Her condition is not completely stable yet."

"Do as I say, Doctor. She'll be a distraction. The atmosphere on the bridge is going to get very frantic later."

Dr. Halsey's sharp gaze was directed at him, with enough force to stop a plasma beam halfway.Then, she looked at Keith with pleading eyes.

Case cleared his throat and said, "Sorry, Catherine, I think the general is right. Your presence here will affect my command." He pointed his index finger to the side of the bridge, "There is an escape not far from the bridge. cabin."

Lieutenant General Whitcomb walked to the starboard hatch and slowly opened it, "This is very spacious and can accommodate her, doctor. Guard, please help the doctor move her patient."

"Yes, sir," the guard said.The two guards lifted Kelly, who groaned under her weight, and moved her away from the bridge.Whitcomb walked in first, followed by Dr. Halsey. Finally, he cast a "hateful" glance at Case and closed the hatch.

An imperceptible smile appeared on the corner of Case's lips, and then he said seriously: "Everything is on track. Cortana, report the situation." "Sporadic plasma beams and large pieces of material continue to hit our hull. Captain." She reported, folding her arms together, "The air tightness has dropped to 13.00%, and the hull integrity ratio is too low. I estimate that the hull will disintegrate in 5 minutes at most."

"Understood," Case replied.

They had no choice but to give it a try.The longer they stayed in this location, the more damage they would wreak from the surrounding Covenant ships; but if they waited too long, their own flagship would fall apart.

Rumbling sounds came from the deck, and the lights in the bridge were dim and bright.

"Plasma struck, sir," Cortana explained. "It was powerful enough to disable sensors and cameras on the side of the ship."

Case's hands were hidden in the pockets of his uniform, unconsciously rubbing the lines on the surface of the old-fashioned pipe. "In a few minutes this space will tear us in two -" he squinted at the display on the bulkhead, trying to count the number of enemy ships, "if those Covenant warships don't do it first." if."

He looked at Cortana, "How many enemy ships are there? Which ones are real and which ones are hallucinations?"

"It's impossible to count accurately, sir. I counted fourteen before they filled the space between us and them with plasma beams. Now." Numerals flowed along her body, glowing in blue and indigo. Ray, "I estimate there are three to five functioning warships now, sir."

Case gritted his teeth and thought hard.He had to get the ship moving and he had to take out an enemy ship or two.Maybe this chaotic space full of plasma beams will take care of the remaining ships.

Now was their best chance, their only chance.He had to trust the Spartans to fix the pipeline.

"Very well, Cortana," he said, "Lieutenant Kazuko Hiyoshi, heat the Gettysburg's reactors to maximum power and charge all available turrets with energy."

"Yes, sir. Just a moment," the weapons officer said, moving his hands over the flagship's holographic control platform.

Keyes looked at a screen that showed an image of the Gettysburg inverted to connect with the flagship.

"Is the launch module on the Gettysburg still intact? How is the airtightness?"

"Yes, sir. Its gas leakage is very small, 32 kilopascals per hour."

"Pressurize the launch bay."

"Understood, sir. However," Cortana replied, "this would reduce our air reserves to dangerous levels."

(End of this chapter)