作者：[美] 埃里克·尼伦德 

       遥远的未来，人类进入了宇宙时代。由于人口过剩等问题，地球上的居民不得不前往宇宙深处开拓新的殖民地。随着超光速引擎投入了实际应用，跨越星际的时间大大缩短了，人们终于可以自由来往于星际间。    

    依照太空史诗的惯例，通常这时候就该有一帮强大而极具威胁的外星入侵者闪亮登台了。在《光晕》中，圣约人（Covenant），出演了这个任重道远的角色。圣约人其实是一个以宗教为纽带建立起的庞大团体，包括了许多外星种族，他们宣称人类对天神有侮辱轻蔑之意，亵渎了其信仰，于是悍然发动了针对人类的全面战争。    

    战争，由此开始。    

    《光晕》（HALO），由此开始。  

                                    

                                      第一部分  召  唤                                                                                  第一章

 0430 小时，2517 年 8 月 17 日（军事日历）/ 跃迁空间

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

未知坐标靠近Eridanus(波江星)系，中尉雅各布·凯斯醒来。暗淡的红光充满了他模糊的视线，他被肺部和喉咙里的粘液呛到了

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.

“坐起来，凯斯中尉，”一个虚无缥缈的男声说。“坐。深吸一口气，咳嗽，先生。你需要清除支气管表面活性剂。

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

凯斯中尉撑起身子，把后背从合身的凝胶床上剥下来。一缕缕雾气从低温管中溢出，他笨拙地爬了出来。他坐在附近的长凳上，试着吸气，然后翻了个身，咳嗽，直到一长串透明的液体从他张开的嘴里流出来。

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.

他坐起来，吸了两口气。他尝了尝嘴唇，差点堵住嘴。冷冻吸入剂专门设计用于反刍和吞咽，取代深度睡眠中流失的营养物质。然而，无论他们如何改变配方，它总是尝起来像酸橙味的粘液。

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.

“什么情况，托兰？我们受到攻击了吗？

“Status, Toran? Are we under attack?”

"不是，先生，“船上的人工智能回答说。“状态正常。我们将在四十五分钟内进入Eridanus(波江座)系统附近的正常空间。

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

凯斯中尉又咳嗽了一声。“好。谢谢你，托兰。

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

“不客气，中尉。”

“You’re welcome, Lieutenant.”

Eridanus(波江座)位于外殖民地的边界。它离人迹罕至的地方足够远，海盗潜伏着......等着抓到像汉这样的外交穿梭机.这艘船在太空行动中不会持续很长时间。他们应该有护送。他不明白为什么他们会被单独派去——但少尉没有质疑命令。特别是当这些命令来自致远星上的最高舰队司令部时。

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.

唤醒协议要求他检查其他船员，以确保没有人遇到复活问题。他环顾了一下睡眠室：一排排不锈钢储物柜和淋浴间，用于紧急复苏的医疗舱，以及四十根低温管——除了左边的那个外，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.

汉号上的另一个人是平民专家哈尔西博士。凯斯奉命不惜一切代价保护她，给她当司机，并且通常不要挡她的路。他们不妨让他握住她的手。这不是一项军事任务;这是保姆。舰队司令部的某个人必须将他列入黑名单。

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.

哈尔西博士管子的盖子嗡嗡作响。雾气在她坐起来时涟漪起来，咳嗽着。她苍白的皮肤使她看起来像雾中的幽灵。乱蓬蓬的黑发紧贴着她的脖子。她看起来并不比他大多少，而且她很可爱——不漂亮，但绝对是一个引人注目的女人。无论如何，对于平民来说。

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.

她的蓝眼睛盯着中尉，打量着他。“我们必须在Eridanus(波江座)附近，”她说。

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

凯斯中尉几乎若有所思地敬礼，但还是制止了动作。“是，博士。”他的脸涨得通红，把目光从她纤细的身体上移开。

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

他曾在学院进行过十几次低温回收钻探。他以前见过他的同事赤身裸体——男人和女人。但哈尔西博士是平民。他不知道该怎么做。

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.

凯斯中尉起身走向她。“我能帮你吗——”

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

她把腿从管子里甩出来，爬了出来。“我很好，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.”

她从他身边掠过，大步走向淋浴间。“快点。我们有重要的工作要做。

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

凯斯中尉站直了身子。“是啊，是啊，夫人。”

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

通过这次短暂的接触，他们的角色和行为准则得以明确。无论是否平民——不管你喜不喜欢——凯斯中尉都明白哈尔西博士在负责。

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.

汉的舰桥有足够的空间对于它这样大小的船只。也就是说，它有一个步入式衣柜的所有机动室(这里不太会翻)。刚洗过澡、刮过胡子、穿制服的凯斯中尉把自己拉进房间，关上了身后的压力门。舰桥的每个表面都布满了监视器和屏幕。他左边的墙是一个大的半曲面视图屏幕，暂时很暗，因为在跃迁空间中看不到可见光谱。

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.

在他身后是汉的旋转中心部分，包含食堂，娱乐室和睡眠室。然而，舰桥上没有重力。外交穿梭机是为乘客而不是机组人员设计的。

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.

这似乎并没有打扰哈尔西博士。她把自己绑在领航员的沙发上，穿着一件与她苍白的皮肤相匹配的白色连身衣，并将她的黑发打成一个简单而优雅的结。她的手指在四个键盘上舞动，敲击着命令。

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.

“欢迎，中尉，”她没有抬头说。“请在通讯站坐下，当我们进入正常空间时监控频道。如果非标准频率有相当多的吱吱声，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.”

他飘到通讯站，把自己绑起来。

He drifted to the communication station and strapped himself down.

“托兰？”她问。

“Toran?” she asked.

“等待你的命令，哈尔西博士，”飞船AI回答。

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

“给我这个星系的星图。”

“Give me astrogation maps of the system.”

“明白，哈尔西博士。”

“Online, Dr. Halsey.”

“目前是否有任何行星与我们进入轨迹和Eridanus Two(波江2)对齐？我想获得一次重力助推，这样我们就可以尽快在系统内移动。

“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.”

“现在正在算，哈尔希博——”

“Calculating now, Doctor Hal—”

“我们可以有一些音乐吗？拉赫玛尼诺夫的第三钢琴协奏曲，我想。

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

“明白博士——”

“Understood Doctor—”

“并为聚变发动机启动预燃预热周期。”

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

“是的，博士——”

“Yes, Doc—”

“不要再旋转汉中央的旋转部分了。我们可能需要电力。

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

“正在进行。。。"

“Working . . . ”

她缓缓后退。音乐响起，她叹了口气。“谢谢你，托兰。”

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

“不客气，哈尔西博士。五分钟进入正常空间，正负三分钟。”

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

凯斯中尉向博士投来一个钦佩的眼神。他对此印象深刻——很少有人能如此严格地让船上的人工智能跟随它的命令，以至于引起可察觉的停顿。

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.

她转过身来面对他。“啊，中尉？你有问题吗？

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

他镇定下来，把制服外套拉紧。“我对我们的任务很好奇，女士。我假设我们要侦察这个系统中的某些东西，但为什么要派出航天飞机，而不是徘徊者或阿科维特？还有为什么只有我们两个人？

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。“一个相当准确的假设和分析，中尉。这是一个侦察任务。各种各样的。我们在这里观察一个孩子。我希望是第一个。

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?”

“准确的说，是一个六岁的男孩。”她挥了挥手。“如果你认为这纯粹是UNSC资助的生理学研究，这可能会有所帮助。”她唇边的每一丝笑容都消失了。“这正是你要告诉任何问这个问题的人。听懂了吗，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。”

“Yes, Doctor.”

凯斯皱了皱眉，从口袋里掏出祖父的烟斗，翻了翻。他不能抽烟——在飞行甲板上点燃可燃物违反了UNSC太空飞行器的所有主要规定——但有时他只是摆弄它或咀嚼尖端，这有助于他思考。他把它塞回口袋里，决定推动这个话题并了解更多信息。

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，哈尔西博士，这个空间区域很危险。

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

随着突然减速，他们进入了正常空间。主视图屏幕闪烁，百万颗星星突然聚焦。韩朝前方一个云雾缭绕的气态巨人扑去。

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，”哈尔西博士宣布。“听我的口令，托兰。”

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

凯斯中尉收紧了他的安全带。

Lieutenant Keyes tightened his harness.

“三...二..一.点火。"

“Three . . . two . . . one.Mark. ”

船隆隆作响，以更快的速度向气态巨行星驶去。安全带在中尉胸口的拉力增加，使呼吸困难。他们加速了六十七秒。这颗气态巨行星的风暴在视图屏幕上变大了，然后汉号弧形上升并远离其表面。

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.

波江星座飘到屏幕中央，用温暖的橙色光芒填满了舰桥。

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

“重力助推完成，”托兰插话道。“预计到波江星座是四十二分三秒。”

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

“干得好，”哈尔西博士说。她解开安全带，自由漂浮，伸展身体。“我讨厌冷冻睡眠，”

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

她说。“它让人如此局促。”

she said. “It leaves one so cramped.”

“正如我之前所说，医生，这个系统很危险——”

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

她优雅地转身面对他，用一只手放在舱壁上阻止了她的飘动势头。“哦，是的，我知道这个系统有多危险。它有着丰富多彩的历史：2494年的叛军起义，两年后被UNSC以四艘驱逐舰为代价击败。她想了一会儿，然后补充道：“我不相信海军情报局曾经在小行星领域找到过他们的基地。由于附近有组织的袭击和分散的海盗活动，人们可能会得出结论——正如ONI显然所做的那样——原始反叛派系的残余仍然活跃。这就是你所担心的吗？

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，但他拒绝被博士吓倒——被平民吓倒。“我几乎不需要提醒你，担心我们的安全是我的工作。

“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，关于波江星系——她显然在情报界有联系。凯斯从未见过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.

主线海军人员已经将这些特工捧到近乎神话般的地位。

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

不管他对哈尔西博士还有什么看法，从现在开始，他都会假设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.

哈尔西博士再次伸了个懒腰，然后把自己绑回导航沙发上。“说到海盗，”她现在背对着他说，“你不是应该监视通信渠道的非法信号吗？万一有人对一个孤独的、无人护送的外交穿梭机产生了不应有的兴趣？

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?”

凯斯中尉诅咒自己一时的过失,然后靠了过去。他扫描了所有频率，并让托兰交叉检查他们的身份验证代码。

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

“所有信号都经过验证，”他报告说。“没有检测到海盗。”

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

“请继续监视他们。”

“Continue to monitor them, please.”

尴尬的三十分钟过去了。哈尔西博士满足于在导航屏幕上阅读报告，并让她背对着他。

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

凯斯中尉终于清了清嗓子。“我可以坦率地说吗，博士？”

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

“你不需要我的许可，”她说。“无论如何，坦率地说，中尉。到目前为止，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.”

在正常情况下，在普通军官中，最后一句话可能是不服从——或者更糟的是，是责备。但他让它过去了。正常的军事协议似乎在这次飞行中被抛弃了。

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.

“你说我们是来观察一个孩子的。”他半信半疑地摇了摇头。“如果这是对真正的军事情报工作的掩护，那么，说实话，这次任务有更合格的军官。我七周前才从UNSC OCS毕业。我的命令让我轮换到麦哲伦。但这些命令被撤销了，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.”

她转过身，用冰蓝色的眼睛审视着他。“去吧，中尉。”

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

他伸手去拿烟斗，但随后反思了一下这个动作。她可能会认为这是一个愚蠢的习惯。

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

“如果这是情报行动，”他说，“那么......那我就完全不明白我为什么会在这里。

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

她身体前倾。“那么，中尉，我也会同样坦白。”

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

凯斯中尉内心深处的某种东西告诉他，听到哈尔西博士说的话，他会后悔的。他忽略了这种感觉。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.

“说吧，博士。”

“Go ahead, Doctor.”

她微微一笑，又回来了。“你来这里是因为UNSC军事情报司第三科科长斯坦福斯中将拒绝在没有至少一名UNSC军官的情况下借给我这架航天飞机——尽管他很清楚我可以自己驾驶这艘船。所以我选了一名UNSC干事。你。她若有所思地拍了拍下唇，补充道：“你看，我看过你的档案，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—”

“你知道我在说什么。”她翻了个白眼。“你撒谎不好。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.”

凯斯中尉咽了咽口水。“那为什么是我？特别是如果你看过我的记录？

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

“我之所以选择你，正是因为你的记录——因为你在OCS第二年发生的事件。

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

十四名少尉阵亡。你受伤了，花了两个月的时间康复。等离子烧伤特别痛苦，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。“是。”

He rubbed his hands together. “Yes.”

“负责的中尉是你们执行训练任务的指挥官。你拒绝作证指控他，尽管有压倒性的证据和他的同事的证词......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。”

“Yes.”

“他们告诉审查委员会，中尉托付给你们所有人的秘密——他将测试他的新理论，以使滑移空间跳跃更准确。他错了，你们都为嘶吼和糟糕的数学付出了代价。

“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.”

凯斯中尉研究着他的手，有种向内坠落的感觉。哈尔西博士的声音听起来很遥远。“是。”

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

“尽管压力持续，但你从未作证。他们威胁要把你降职，指控你不服从命令，拒绝直接命令——甚至把你从海军开除。

“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.

“不过，你的军官候选人作证。审查委员会拥有他们所需的所有证据，以军事法庭审判您的 指挥官。他们把你报告并放弃了所有进一步的纪律处分。

“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.”

他什么也没说。他低垂着头。

He said nothing. His head hung low.

“这就是你来这里的原因，中尉——因为你有一种在军队中极为罕见的能力。你可以保守秘密。她长长地吸了一口气，补充道：“这次任务结束后，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.”

他抬头看了一眼。她的眼睛里有一种奇怪的神色。可惜？这让他措手不及，他又看向了别处。但他感觉比OCS以来好多了。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，”她说，“你宁愿在麦哲伦号上。在边境战斗和死亡。

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

“不，我——”他放弃了撒谎，停了下来，然后纠正了自己。“是的。UNSC需要每个人在外殖民地巡逻。在袭击者和叛乱之间，一切都没有分崩离析是一个奇迹。

“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.”

“的确，中尉，自从我们离开地球以来，我们一直在为每一立方厘米的真空而互相争斗——从火星到木星卫星，再到九头蛇系统大屠杀，再到外殖民地的百场刷火战争。它一直处于分崩离析的边缘。这就是我们在这里的原因。

“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.”

“观察一个孩子，”他说。“孩子能有什么不同？”

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

她的一条眉毛拱了拱。“这个孩子对UNSC来说可能比一支驱逐舰舰队、一千名初级中尉——甚至我更有用。最后，孩子可能是唯一能带来任何不同的东西。

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，”托兰告诉他们。

“Approaching Eridanus Two,” Toran informed them.

“为卢克索太空港绘制一个大气矢量，”哈尔西博士命令道。“凯斯中尉，准备登陆。”

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

      第一章结束