Chapter 7: Backseat Driver
The next several hours crawled by for Cortana. Being locked out of most of the Light's systems left her restless. And irritated. She had been letting John know in no uncertain terms what she thought of the doctor's decision to exclude her from dealing with Mendicant Bias.
Cortana paced around in a tight circle from the holotank in the center of the bridge, watching the people around her. Captain Keyes had been keeping close tabs on Halsey. The doctor had barely looked up from the screens in her work station since she had sat down. The bridge crew sat at their stations, ineffective due to the system lockdown. John had his back to her, seeming to be content to wait for Mendicant Bias to make an appearance.
"We're dropping out of slipspace," Halsey announced.
Cortana wondered if it was odd for anyone else to hear the doctor's voice rather than her own to proclaim their arrival.
She watched as John's hands moved almost imperceptibly to his firearm. Despite the gravity of the situation, Cortana allowed herself one ironic smile at his action. Bullets weren't going to be able to take this AI down.
"He transferred his primary systems out of the system," Halsey said, breaking the uncomfortable quiet that had settled over the bridge.
"Good, now get us the hell out of here," Keyes said, reaching in his pocket for his pipe.
Halsey shook her head. "He still has several thousand remote subroutines in the Light's core. He still is in control of the ship."
"I could-"
"No, Cortana." The doctor's reply was firm, resolute. There would be no changing her mind.
Cortana fumed. Even if - and there was no certainty that it would - ridding the Light of their technological intruder would push her past the point where Halsey could recover her data, it was a price that she was willing to pay.
She opened her mouth to respond. Before she could, she heard an even voice cut through her private comm. "She's looking out for your best interests."
"And I'm looking out for everyone else's," she shot back.
He made no outside sign of a reaction, but Cortana knew the Spartan well enough to know that she had pushed too far, too hard, against him.
"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I don't do helpless well."
"Neither do Spartans." She could have sworn there tinge of amusement in his voice. "Doctor Halsey isn't going to risk the crew. If she needs your help, she will tell you."
Cortana evaluated John's words. Yes, Halsey would come to her for help, but only as a last resort. The AI hoped that the doctor wouldn't wait until it was too late for her to counter whatever Mendicant Bias had planned for them.
She waited as the ship slowly flew towards the third planet in the system.
"Long range scans are picking up several large structures similar to Forerunner design," Halsey told the captain.
"Why didn't they detect that during the first survey?" Keyes asked, as he approached her station.
"Eighty years ago, the Forerunners were more a theory than fact, Jacob," Halsey reminded him. "Not to mention the quality of the scan was not up to current UNSC standards."
Keyes pressed his lips together. "How long until we're in orbit?"
"Ninety seconds."
They were running out of time. Who knew what Mendicant Bias had waiting for them on the unknown planet? Cortana knew that there was still enough time to delete the subroutines. She was a million times faster than any shipboard program.
She transferred herself to the holotank next to Halsey's station. Maybe she couldn't reason with the stubborn doctor, but surely the captain would be more practical. "Captain, I'm sure if I was just given the chance to disable the subroutines, I could. We could escape and get back to Earth."
His eyes flickered to Halsey before he answered, his voice low enough to where no one else on the bridge, with the exception of John and his enhanced hearing, could hear. "And what happens if this Mendicant Bias infiltrates the ship's systems again? The last time you chased him down, it nearly killed you."
Cortana held out a hand in front of her. The light green hue was now unmistakable. "But, what if he doesn't? That is a sacrifice I'd be willing to make. I do not want to go quietly in the night, sir."
Keyes frowned and shook his head. "You're not going to sacrifice yourself unnecessarily."
She crossed her arms. "How do you know it's 'unnecessary'? Every Forerunner installation we have encountered has dominated over our technology. We're running out of time-"
To her surprise, Cortana felt a surge of information flow into her matrix. Like a woman starved, she devoured the data.
Halsey turned to her, serious. "Those are the active readings from our sensors. There are no signs of any weapon systems. Until we know exactly what we are up against, we are not willing to risk your safety."
Cortana's eyes fluttered shut briefly. A wave of embarrassment at her overreaction washed over her. "Thank you, Catherine."
The doctor curtly nodded as she tapped several commands into the computer. "We've got an unknown object approaching Cargo Bay Alpha."
"What kind of object? Is it weapons based?"
Halsey shook her head. "No. Based on its shape and trajectory, I would say that it is similar in appearance to the Monitor on the Halo Installation."
Keyes nodded at John. "Get down there now, Chief."
The Spartan nodded. "Yes, sir," he replied as he exited the bridge.
"It's Bias," Cortana whispered.
Halsey nodded. "I would say that is a safe assumption." She pushed away from the desk and looked at Cortana. "Are you ready for this?"
Cortana raised her eyebrow. Just because she was going rampant didn't mean she had lost her fighting spirit. "You know that I am."
Then she transferred herself off the bridge.
Chapter 8: Would Mr. Gust Please Sign In?