? ? ?

? ? ? ?作者：[美] 埃里克·尼倫德?

?? ? ??遙遠的未來，人類進入了宇宙時代。由于人口過剩等問題，地球上的居民不得不前往宇宙深處開拓新的殖民地。隨著超光速引擎投入了實際應(yīng)用，跨越星際的時間大大縮短了，人們終于可以自由來往于星際間。 ???

????依照太空史詩的慣例，通常這時候就該有一幫強大而極具威脅的外星入侵者閃亮登臺了。在《光暈》中，圣約人（Covenant），出演了這個任重道遠的角色。圣約人其實是一個以宗教為紐帶建立起的龐大團體，包括了許多外星種族，他們宣稱人類對天神有侮辱輕蔑之意，褻瀆了其信仰，于是悍然發(fā)動了針對人類的全面戰(zhàn)爭。 ???

????戰(zhàn)爭，由此開始。 ???

????《光暈》（HALO），由此開始。??

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??第一部分 ?召 ?喚? ?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??第一章

?0430 小時，2517 年 8 月 17 日（軍事日歷）/ 躍遷空間

0430 Hours, August 17, 2517 (Military Calendar) / Slipstream space

未知坐標靠近Eridanus(波江星)系，中尉雅各布·凱斯醒來。暗淡的紅光充滿了他模糊的視線，他被肺部和喉嚨里的粘液嗆到了

unknowncoordinates near Eridanus Star System,Lieutenant Junior Grade Jacob Keyes awoke. Dull red light filled his?blurry?vision and he choked on theslime in his lungs and throat.

“坐起來，凱斯中尉，”一個虛無縹緲的男聲說。“坐。深吸一口氣，咳嗽，先生。你需要清除支氣管表面活性劑。

“Sit up, Lieutenant?Keyes,” a disembodied male voice said. “Sit. Take a deep breath and cough, sir. You need to clear the bronchial surfactant.”

凱斯中尉撐起身子，把后背從合身的凝膠床上剝下來。一縷縷霧氣從低溫管中溢出，他笨拙地爬了出來。他坐在附近的長凳上，試著吸氣，然后翻了個身，咳嗽，直到一長串透明的液體從他張開的嘴里流出來。

Lieutenant Keyes pushed himself up, peeling his back off the formfitting gel bed. Wisps of fogoverflowed from the cryogenic tube as he clumsily climbed out. He sat on a nearby bench, tried toinhale, and doubled over, coughing until a long string of clear fluid flowed from his open mouth.

他坐起來，吸了兩口氣。他嘗了嘗嘴唇，差點堵住嘴。冷凍吸入劑專門設(shè)計用于反芻和吞咽，取代深度睡眠中流失的營養(yǎng)物質(zhì)。然而，無論他們?nèi)绾胃淖兣浞剑偸菄L起來像酸橙味的粘液。

He sat up and drew his first full breath in two weeks. He tasted his lips and almost gagged. The cryoinhalant was specially designed to be regurgitated and swallowed, replacing nutrients lost in the deepsleep. No matter how they changed the formula, though, it always tasted like lime-flavored mucus.

“什么情況，托蘭？我們受到攻擊了嗎？

“Status, Toran? Are we under attack?”

"不是，先生，“船上的人工智能回答說?！盃顟B(tài)正常。我們將在四十五分鐘內(nèi)進入Eridanus(波江座)系統(tǒng)附近的正?？臻g。

“Negative, sir,” the ship’s AI replied. “Status normal. We will enter normal space near the EridanusSystem in forty-five minutes.”

凱斯中尉又咳嗽了一聲?！昂?。謝謝你，托蘭。

Lieutenant Keyes coughed again. “Good. Thank you, Toran.”

“不客氣，中尉?！?/span>

“You’re welcome, Lieutenant.”

Eridanus(波江座)位于外殖民地的邊界。它離人跡罕至的地方足夠遠，海盜潛伏著......等著抓到像漢這樣的外交穿梭機.這艘船在太空行動中不會持續(xù)很長時間。他們應(yīng)該有護送。他不明白為什么他們會被單獨派去——但少尉沒有質(zhì)疑命令。特別是當(dāng)這些命令來自致遠星上的最高艦隊司令部時。

Eridanus was on the border of the Outer Colonies. It was just far enough off the beaten path for piratesto be?lurking?. . . waiting to capture a diplomatic shuttle like theHan . This ship wouldn’t last long in aspace action. Theyshould have an escort. He didn’t understand why they had been sent alone—butJunior?Lieutenants?didn’t question orders. Especially when those orders came from FLEETCOM HQ onplanet Reach.

喚醒協(xié)議要求他檢查其他船員，以確保沒有人遇到復(fù)活問題。他環(huán)顧了一下睡眠室：一排排不銹鋼儲物柜和淋浴間，用于緊急復(fù)蘇的醫(yī)療艙，以及四十根低溫管——除了左邊的那個外，所有管子都是空的。

Wake-up protocols dictated that he inspect the rest of the crew to make sure no one had run intoproblems reviving. He looked around the sleep chamber: rows of stainless steel lockers and showers, amedical pod for emergency resuscitations, and forty cryogenic tubes—all empty except the one to hisleft.

漢號上的另一個人是平民專家哈爾西博士。凱斯奉命不惜一切代價保護她，給她當(dāng)司機，并且通常不要擋她的路。他們不妨讓他握住她的手。這不是一項軍事任務(wù);這是保姆。艦隊司令部的某個人必須將他列入黑名單。

The other person on theHan was the civilian specialist, Dr. Halsey. Keyes had been ordered to protecther at all costs, pilot this ship, and generally stay the hell out of her way. They might as well have askedhim to hold her hand. This wasn’t a military mission; it was baby-sitting. Someone at Fleet Commandmust have him on their blacklist.

哈爾西博士管子的蓋子嗡嗡作響。霧氣在她坐起來時漣漪起來，咳嗽著。她蒼白的皮膚使她看起來像霧中的幽靈。亂蓬蓬的黑發(fā)緊貼著她的脖子。她看起來并不比他大多少，而且她很可愛——不漂亮，但絕對是一個引人注目的女人。無論如何，對于平民來說。

The cover of Dr. Halsey’s tube hummed open. Mist rippled out as she sat up, coughing. Her pale skinmade her look like a ghost in the fog. Matted locks of dark hair clung to her neck. She didn’t look mucholder than him, and she was lovely—not beautiful, but definitely a striking woman. For a civilian,anyway.

她的藍眼睛盯著中尉，打量著他。“我們必須在Eridanus(波江座)附近，”她說。

Her blue eyes fixed upon the Lieutenant and she looked him over. “We must be near Eridanus,” she said.

凱斯中尉幾乎若有所思地敬禮，但還是制止了動作。“是，博士?！彼哪槤q得通紅，把目光從她纖細的身體上移開。

Lieutenant Keyes almost saluted reflectively, but checked the motion. “Yes, Doctor.” His face reddenedand he looked away from her slender body.

他曾在學(xué)院進行過十幾次低溫回收鉆探。他以前見過他的同事赤身裸體——男人和女人。但哈爾西博士是平民。他不知道該怎么做。

He had drilled in cryogenic recovery a dozen times at the Academy. He’d seen his fellow officers nakedbefore—men and women. But Dr. Halsey was a civilian. He didn’t know what protocols applied.

凱斯中尉起身走向她。“我能幫你嗎——”

Lieutenant Keyes got up and went to her. “Can I help you—”

她把腿從管子里甩出來，爬了出來?！拔液芎?，中尉。收拾好衣服。

She swung her legs out of the tube and climbed out. “I’m fine, Lieutenant. Get cleaned up and dressed.”

她從他身邊掠過，大步走向淋浴間。“快點。我們有重要的工作要做。

She brushed past him and strode to the showers. “Hurry. We have important work to do.”

凱斯中尉站直了身子?！笆前。前?，夫人?！?/span>

Lieutenant Keyes stood straighter. “Aye, aye, Ma’am.”

通過這次短暫的接觸，他們的角色和行為準則得以明確。無論是否平民——不管你喜不喜歡——凱斯中尉都明白哈爾西博士在負責(zé)。

With that brief encounter, their roles and the rules of conduct crystallized. Civilian or not—like it or not—Lieutenant Keyes understood that Dr. Halsey was in charge.

漢的艦橋有足夠的空間對于它這樣大小的船只。也就是說，它有一個步入式衣柜的所有機動室(這里不太會翻)。剛洗過澡、刮過胡子、穿制服的凱斯中尉把自己拉進房間，關(guān)上了身后的壓力門。艦橋的每個表面都布滿了監(jiān)視器和屏幕。他左邊的墻是一個大的半曲面視圖屏幕，暫時很暗，因為在躍遷空間中看不到可見光譜。

The bridge of theHan had an abundance of space for a?vessel?of its size. That is, it had all themaneuvering room of a walk-in closet. A freshly showered, shaved, and uniformed Lieutenant Keyespulled himself into the room and sealed the pressure door behind him. Every surface of the bridge wascovered with monitors and screens. The wall on his left was a single large semicurved view screen, darkfor the moment because there was nothing in the visible?spectrum?to see in Slipspace.

在他身后是漢的旋轉(zhuǎn)中心部分，包含食堂，娛樂室和睡眠室。然而，艦橋上沒有重力。外交穿梭機是為乘客而不是機組人員設(shè)計的。

Behind him was theHan ’s spinning center section, containing the mess, the rec room, and the sleepchambers. There was no gravity on the bridge, however. The diplomatic shuttle had been designed forthe comfort of its passengers, not the crew.

這似乎并沒有打擾哈爾西博士。她把自己綁在領(lǐng)航員的沙發(fā)上，穿著一件與她蒼白的皮膚相匹配的白色連身衣，并將她的黑發(fā)打成一個簡單而優(yōu)雅的結(jié)。她的手指在四個鍵盤上舞動，敲擊著命令。

It didn’t seem to bother Dr. Halsey. Strapped into the navigator’s couch, she wore a white jumpsuit thatmatched her pale skin, and had tied her dark hair into a simple, elegant knot. Her fingers danced acrossfour keypads, tapping in commands.

“歡迎，中尉，”她沒有抬頭說?！罢堅谕ㄓ嵳咀拢?dāng)我們進入正?？臻g時監(jiān)控頻道。如果非標準頻率有相當(dāng)多的吱吱聲，我想立即知道。

“Welcome, Lieutenant,” she said without looking up. “Please have a seat at the communication stationand monitor the channels when we enter normal space. If there’s so much as a squeak on nonstandardfrequencies, I want to know instantly.”

他飄到通訊站，把自己綁起來。

He drifted to the communication station and strapped himself down.

“托蘭？”她問。

“Toran?” she asked.

“等待你的命令，哈爾西博士，”飛船AI回答。

“Awaiting your orders, Dr. Halsey,” the ship AI replied.

“給我這個星系的星圖。”

“Give me astrogation maps of the system.”

“明白，哈爾西博士?！?/span>

“Online, Dr. Halsey.”

“目前是否有任何行星與我們進入軌跡和Eridanus Two(波江2)對齊？我想獲得一次重力助推，這樣我們就可以盡快在系統(tǒng)內(nèi)移動。

“Are there any planets currently?aligned?with our entry?trajectory?and Eridanus Two? I want to pick up a gravitational boost so we can move in-system ASAP.”

“現(xiàn)在正在算，哈爾希博——”

“Calculating now, Doctor Hal—”

“我們可以有一些音樂嗎？拉赫瑪尼諾夫的第三鋼琴協(xié)奏曲，我想。

“And can we have some music? Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto Number Three, I think.”

“明白博士——”

“Understood Doctor—”

“并為聚變發(fā)動機啟動預(yù)燃預(yù)熱周期。”

“And start a preburn warm-up cycle for the fusion engines.”

“是的，博士——”

“Yes, Doc—”

“不要再旋轉(zhuǎn)漢中央的旋轉(zhuǎn)部分了。我們可能需要電力。

“And stop spinning theHan ’s central?carousel?section. We may need the power.”

“正在進行。。。"

“Working . . . ”

她緩緩后退。音樂響起，她嘆了口氣?！爸x謝你，托蘭?！?/span>

She eased back. The music started and she sighed. “Thank you, Toran.”

“不客氣，哈爾西博士。五分鐘進入正?？臻g，正負三分鐘。”

“You’re welcome, Dr. Halsey. Entering normal space in five minutes, plus or minus three minutes.”

凱斯中尉向博士投來一個欽佩的眼神。他對此印象深刻——很少有人能如此嚴格地讓船上的人工智能跟隨它的命令，以至于引起可察覺的停頓。

Lieutenant Keyes shot the doctor an admiring glance. He was impressed—few people could put a shipboard AI through its paces so rigorously as to cause a detectable pause.

她轉(zhuǎn)過身來面對他?！鞍。形?？你有問題嗎？

She turned to face him. “Yes, Lieutenant? You have a question?”

他鎮(zhèn)定下來，把制服外套拉緊?！拔覍ξ覀兊娜蝿?wù)很好奇，女士。我假設(shè)我們要偵察這個系統(tǒng)中的某些東西，但為什么要派出航天飛機，而不是徘徊者或阿科維特？還有為什么只有我們兩個人？

He composed himself and pulled his uniform jacket?taut. “I was curious about our mission, ma’am. Iassume we are to reconnoiter something in this system, but why send a shuttle, rather than a prowler or acorvette? And why just the two of us?”

她眨了眨眼，笑了笑。“一個相當(dāng)準確的假設(shè)和分析，中尉。這是一個偵察任務(wù)。各種各樣的。我們在這里觀察一個孩子。我希望是第一個。

She blinked and smiled. “A fairly accurate assumption and analysis, Lieutenant. Thisis a reconnaissancemission . . . of sorts. We are here to observe a child. The first of many, I hope.”

“小孩？”

“A child?”

“準確的說，是一個六歲的男孩?！彼龘]了揮手。“如果你認為這純粹是UNSC資助的生理學(xué)研究，這可能會有所幫助。”她唇邊的每一絲笑容都消失了。“這正是你要告訴任何問這個問題的人。聽懂了嗎，中尉？

“A six-year-old male, to be precise.” She waved her hand. “It may help if you think of this purely as aUNSC-funded physiological study.” Every trace of a smile evaporated from her lips. “Which is preciselywhat you are to tell anyone who asks. Is that understood, Lieutenant?”

“是，博士?！?/span>

“Yes, Doctor.”

凱斯皺了皺眉，從口袋里掏出祖父的煙斗，翻了翻。他不能抽煙——在飛行甲板上點燃可燃物違反了UNSC太空飛行器的所有主要規(guī)定——但有時他只是擺弄它或咀嚼尖端，這有助于他思考。他把它塞回口袋里，決定推動這個話題并了解更多信息。

Keyes frowned,?retrieved?his grandfather’s pipe from his pocket, and turned it end over end. He couldn’tsmoke the thing—igniting a?combustible?on the flight deck was against every major regulation on aUNSC space vehicle—but sometimes he just?fiddled?with it or chewed on the tip, which helped himthink. He stuck it back into his pocket, and?decided?to push the issue and find out more.

“恕我直言，哈爾西博士，這個空間區(qū)域很危險。

“With all due respect, Dr. Halsey, this?sector?of space is dangerous.”

隨著突然減速，他們進入了正?？臻g。主視圖屏幕閃爍，百萬顆星星突然聚焦。韓朝前方一個云霧繚繞的氣態(tài)巨人撲去。

With a sudden deceleration, they entered normal space. The main view screen flickered and a millionstars snapped into focus. TheHan dove toward a cloud-swirled gas giant dead ahead.

“待命，”哈爾西博士宣布?！奥犖业目诹?，托蘭?！?/span>

“Stand by for burn,” Dr. Halsey announced. “On my mark, Toran.”

凱斯中尉收緊了他的安全帶。

Lieutenant Keyes tightened his harness.

“三...二..一.點火。"

“Three . . . two . . . one.Mark. ”

船隆隆作響，以更快的速度向氣態(tài)巨行星駛?cè)?。安全帶在中尉胸口的拉力增加，使呼吸困難。他們加速了六十七秒。這顆氣態(tài)巨行星的風(fēng)暴在視圖屏幕上變大了，然后漢號弧形上升并遠離其表面。

The ship rumbled and sped faster toward the gas giant. The pull of the harness increased around theLieutenant’s chest, making breathing difficult. They accelerated for sixty-seven seconds . . . the stormsof the gas giant grew larger on the view screen—then theHan arced up and away from its surface.

波江星座飄到屏幕中央，用溫暖的橙色光芒填滿了艦橋。

Eridanus drifted into the center of the screen and filled the bridge with warm orange light.

“重力助推完成，”托蘭插話道?！邦A(yù)計到波江星座是四十二分三秒?！?/span>

“Gravity boost complete,” Toran chimed. “ETA to Eridanus is forty-two minutes, three seconds.”

“干得好，”哈爾西博士說。她解開安全帶，自由漂浮，伸展身體。“我討厭冷凍睡眠，”

“Well done,” Dr. Halsey said. She unlocked her harness and floated free, stretching. “I hate cryo sleep,”

她說?！八屓巳绱司执佟！?/span>

she said. “It leaves one so cramped.”

“正如我之前所說，醫(yī)生，這個系統(tǒng)很危險——”

“As I was saying before, Doctor, this system is dangerous—”

她優(yōu)雅地轉(zhuǎn)身面對他，用一只手放在艙壁上阻止了她的飄動勢頭?！芭?，是的，我知道這個系統(tǒng)有多危險。它有著豐富多彩的歷史：2494年的叛軍起義，兩年后被UNSC以四艘驅(qū)逐艦為代價擊敗。她想了一會兒，然后補充道：“我不相信海軍情報局曾經(jīng)在小行星領(lǐng)域找到過他們的基地。由于附近有組織的襲擊和分散的海盜活動，人們可能會得出結(jié)論——正如ONI顯然所做的那樣——原始反叛派系的殘余仍然活躍。這就是你所擔(dān)心的嗎？

She gracefully spun to face him, halting her momentum with a hand on the bulkhead. “Oh yes, I knowhow dangerous this system is. It has a colorful history: rebel insurrection in 2494, beaten down by theUNSC two years later at the cost of four destroyers.” She thought a moment, then added, “I don’tbelieve the Office of Naval Intelligence ever found their base in the asteroid field. And since there havebeen organized raids and scattered pirate activity nearby, one might conclude—as ONI clearly has—thatthe remnants of the original rebel faction are still active. Is that that what you were worried about?”

“是的，”中尉回答。他咽了咽口水，口干舌燥，但他拒絕被博士嚇倒——被平民嚇倒?！拔?guī)缀醪恍枰嵝涯悖瑩?dān)心我們的安全是我的工作。

“Yes,” the Lieutenant replied. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry, but he refused to be cowed by thedoctor—by acivilian . “I need hardly remind you that it’s my job to worry about our security.”

她比他知道的更多，更多，關(guān)于波江星系——她顯然在情報界有聯(lián)系。凱斯從未見過ONI特工——比他在任何方面都多。

She knew more than he did, much more, about the Eridanus System—and she obviously had contacts inthe intelligence community. Keyes had never seen an ONI spook—to the best of his knowledge anyway.

主線海軍人員已經(jīng)將這些特工捧到近乎神話般的地位。

Mainline Navy personnel had elevated such agents to near-mythological status.

不管他對哈爾西博士還有什么看法，從現(xiàn)在開始，他都會假設(shè)她知道自己在做什么。

Whatever else he thought of Dr. Halsey, he would assume from now on that she knew what she wasdoing.

哈爾西博士再次伸了個懶腰，然后把自己綁回導(dǎo)航沙發(fā)上?！罢f到海盜，”她現(xiàn)在背對著他說，“你不是應(yīng)該監(jiān)視通信渠道的非法信號嗎？萬一有人對一個孤獨的、無人護送的外交穿梭機產(chǎn)生了不應(yīng)有的興趣？

Dr. Halsey stretched once more and then strapped herself back onto the navigation couch. “Speaking ofpirates,” she said with her back now to him, “weren’t you supposed to be monitoring communicationchannels for illegal signals? Just in case someone takes undue interest in a lone, unescorted, diplomaticshuttle?”

凱斯中尉詛咒自己一時的過失,然后靠了過去。他掃描了所有頻率，并讓托蘭交叉檢查他們的身份驗證代碼。

Lieutenant Keyes cursed himself for his momentary? lapse and snapped to. He scanned all frequenciesand had Toran cross-check their authentication codes.

“所有信號都經(jīng)過驗證，”他報告說?！皼]有檢測到海盜?！?/span>

“All signals verified,” he reported. “No pirate transmissions detected.”

“請繼續(xù)監(jiān)視他們?！?/span>

“Continue to monitor them, please.”

尷尬的三十分鐘過去了。哈爾西博士滿足于在導(dǎo)航屏幕上閱讀報告，并讓她背對著他。

An awkward thirty minutes passed. Dr. Halsey was content to read reports on the navigational screens,and kept her back to him.

凱斯中尉終于清了清嗓子?！拔铱梢蕴孤实卣f嗎，博士？”

Lieutenant Keyes finally cleared his throat. “May I speak candidly, Doctor?”

“你不需要我的許可，”她說。“無論如何，坦率地說，中尉。到目前為止，你做得很好。

“You don’t need my permission,” she said. “By all means, speak candidly, Lieutenant. You’ve beendoing a fine job so far.”

在正常情況下，在普通軍官中，最后一句話可能是不服從——或者更糟的是，是責(zé)備。但他讓它過去了。正常的軍事協(xié)議似乎在這次飛行中被拋棄了。

Under normal circumstances, among normal officers, that last remark would have been insubordination—or worse, a rebuke. But he let it pass. Normal military protocols seemed to have been jettisoned onthis flight.

“你說我們是來觀察一個孩子的。”他半信半疑地搖了搖頭?！叭绻@是對真正的軍事情報工作的掩護，那么，說實話，這次任務(wù)有更合格的軍官。我七周前才從UNSC OCS畢業(yè)。我的命令讓我輪換到麥哲倫。但這些命令被撤銷了，夫人。

“You said we were here to observe a child.” He shook his head dubiously. “If this is a cover for realmilitary intelligence work, then, to tell the truth, there are better-qualified officers for this mission. Igraduated from UNSC OCS only seven weeks ago. My orders had me rotated to theMagellan . Thoseorders were rescinded, ma’am.”

她轉(zhuǎn)過身，用冰藍色的眼睛審視著他。“去吧，中尉。”

She turned and?scrutinized?him with icy blue eyes. “Go on, Lieutenant.”

他伸手去拿煙斗，但隨后反思了一下這個動作。她可能會認為這是一個愚蠢的習(xí)慣。

He reached for his pipe, but then checked the motion. She would probably think it a silly habit.

“如果這是情報行動，”他說，“那么......那我就完全不明白我為什么會在這里。

“If this is an intel op,” he said, “then . . . then I don’t understand why I’m here at all.”

她身體前傾。“那么，中尉，我也會同樣坦白?！?/span>

She leaned forward. “Then, Lieutenant, I shall be equally candid.”

凱斯中尉內(nèi)心深處的某種東西告訴他，聽到哈爾西博士說的話，他會后悔的。他忽略了這種感覺。他想知道真相。

Something deep inside Lieutenant Keyes told him he would regret hearing whatever Dr. Halsey had to say. He ignored the feeling. He wanted to know the truth.

“說吧，博士?！?/span>

“Go ahead, Doctor.”

她微微一笑，又回來了。“你來這里是因為UNSC軍事情報司第三科科長斯坦福斯中將拒絕在沒有至少一名UNSC軍官的情況下借給我這架航天飛機——盡管他很清楚我可以自己駕駛這艘船。所以我選了一名UNSC干事。你。她若有所思地拍了拍下唇，補充道：“你看，我看過你的檔案，中尉。所有的一切。

Her slight smile returned. “You are here because Vice Admiral Stanforth, head of Section Three of UNSC Military Intelligence Division, refused to lend me this shuttle without at least one UNSC officeraboard—even though he knows damn well that I can pilot this bucket by myself. So I picked one UNSCofficer. You.” She tapped her lower lip thoughtfully and added, “You see, I’ve read your file,Lieutenant. All of it.”

“我不知道——”

“I don’t know—”

“你知道我在說什么?！彼藗€白眼。“你撒謊不好。不要再侮辱我了。

“Youdo know what I’m talking about.” She rolled her eyes. “You don’t lie well. Don’t insult me bytrying again.”

凱斯中尉咽了咽口水。“那為什么是我？特別是如果你看過我的記錄？

Lieutenant Keyes swallowed. “Then why me?Especially if you’ve seen my record?”

“我之所以選擇你，正是因為你的記錄——因為你在OCS第二年發(fā)生的事件。

“I chose you preciselybecause of your record—because of the incident in your second year at OCS.

十四名少尉陣亡。你受傷了，花了兩個月的時間康復(fù)。等離子燒傷特別痛苦，我理解。

Fourteen ensigns killed. You were wounded and spent two months in rehabilitation. Plasma burns areparticularly painful, I understand.”

他搓了搓手?！笆恰！?/span>

He rubbed his hands together. “Yes.”

“負責(zé)的中尉是你們執(zhí)行訓(xùn)練任務(wù)的指揮官。你拒絕作證指控他，盡管有壓倒性的證據(jù)和他的同事的證詞......和朋友。

“The Lieutenant responsible was your CO on that training mission. You refused to testify against himdespite overwhelming evidence and the testimony of his fellow officers . . . and friends.”

“是?！?/span>

“Yes.”

“他們告訴審查委員會，中尉托付給你們所有人的秘密——他將測試他的新理論，以使滑移空間跳躍更準確。他錯了，你們都為嘶吼和糟糕的數(shù)學(xué)付出了代價。

“They told the board of review the secret the Lieutenant had entrusted to you all—that he was going totest his new theory to make Slipspace jumps more accurate. He was wrong, and you all paid for hiseagerness and poor mathematics.”

凱斯中尉研究著他的手，有種向內(nèi)墜落的感覺。哈爾西博士的聲音聽起來很遙遠?！笆?。”

Lieutenant Keyes studied his hands and had the feeling of falling inward. Dr. Halsey’s voice soundeddistant. “Yes.”

“盡管壓力持續(xù)，但你從未作證。他們威脅要把你降職，指控你不服從命令，拒絕直接命令——甚至把你從海軍開除。

“Despite continuing pressure, you never testified. They threatened to demote you, charge you withinsubordination and refusing a direct order—even discharge you from the Navy.

“不過，你的軍官候選人作證。審查委員會擁有他們所需的所有證據(jù)，以軍事法庭審判您的 指揮官。他們把你報告并放棄了所有進一步的紀律處分。

“Your fellow officer candidates testified, though. The review board had all the evidence they needed tocourt-martial your CO. They put you on report and dropped all further disciplinary actions.”

他什么也沒說。他低垂著頭。

He said nothing. His head hung low.

“這就是你來這里的原因，中尉——因為你有一種在軍隊中極為罕見的能力。你可以保守秘密。她長長地吸了一口氣，補充道：“這次任務(wù)結(jié)束后，你可能要保守很多秘密。

“That is why you are here, Lieutenant—because you have an ability that is exceedingly rare in themilitary. You can keep a secret.” She drew in a long breath and added, “You may have to keep manysecrets after this mission is over.”

他抬頭看了一眼。她的眼睛里有一種奇怪的神色?？上В窟@讓他措手不及，他又看向了別處。但他感覺比OCS以來好多了。有人又信任他了。

He glanced up. There was a strange look in her eyes. Pity? That caught him off guard and he lookedaway again. But he felt better than he had since OCS. Someone trusted him again.

“我想，”她說，“你寧愿在麥哲倫號上。在邊境戰(zhàn)斗和死亡。

“I think,” she said, “that you would rather be on theMagellan . Fighting and dying on the frontier.”

“不，我——”他放棄了撒謊，停了下來，然后糾正了自己?！笆堑摹NSC需要每個人在外殖民地巡邏。在襲擊者和叛亂之間，一切都沒有分崩離析是一個奇跡。

“No, I—” He caught the lie as he said it, stopped, then corrected himself. “Yes. The UNSC needs everyman and woman patrolling the Outer Colonies. Between the raiders and insurrections, it’s a wonder it allhasn’t fallen apart.”

“的確，中尉，自從我們離開地球以來，我們一直在為每一立方厘米的真空而互相爭斗——從火星到木星衛(wèi)星，再到九頭蛇系統(tǒng)大屠殺，再到外殖民地的百場刷火戰(zhàn)爭。它一直處于分崩離析的邊緣。這就是我們在這里的原因。

“Indeed, Lieutenant, ever since we left Earth’s gravity, well, we’ve been fighting one another for everycubic centimeter of vacuum—from Mars to the Jovian Moons to the Hydra System Massacres and on tothe hundred brushfire wars in the Outer Colonies. It has always been on the brink of falling apart. That’swhy we’re here.”

“觀察一個孩子，”他說?！昂⒆幽苡惺裁床煌俊?/span>

“To observe one child,” he said. “What difference could a child make?”

她的一條眉毛拱了拱?！斑@個孩子對UNSC來說可能比一支驅(qū)逐艦艦隊、一千名初級中尉——甚至我更有用。最后，孩子可能是唯一能帶來任何不同的東西。

One of her eyebrows arched. “This child could be more useful to the UNSC than a fleet of destroyers, athousand Junior Grade Lieutenants—or evenme . In the end, the child may be the only thing thatmakesany difference.”

“接近波江座2，”托蘭告訴他們。

“Approaching Eridanus Two,” Toran informed them.

“為盧克索太空港繪制一個大氣矢量，”哈爾西博士命令道?！皠P斯中尉，準備登陸?！?/span>

“Plot an atmospheric vector for the Luxor spaceport,” Dr. Halsey ordered. “Lieutenant Keyes, makeready to land.”

? ? ? 第一章結(jié)束