第53页
Chief Mendez entered the room and marched to the center platform. He wore his black dress uniform aswell. His chest was covered with Silver and Bronze Stars, three Purple Hearts, the Red Legion of Honoraward, and a rainbow of campaign ribbons. He had recently shaved his head.
The Spartans rose and stood at attention.
Dr. Halsey entered. She looked older to John, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and mouth morepronounced, streaks of gray in her dark hair. But her blue eyes were as sharp as ever. She wore grayslacks, a black shirt, and her glasses hung about her neck on a gold chain.
“Admiral on deck,” Mendez announced.
They all snapped straighter.
A man ten years Dr. Halsey’s senior strode to the stage. His short silver hair looked like a steel helmet.His gait had a strange lope to it—what crewmen called “space walk”—from spending too much time inmicrogravity. He wore a simple, unadorned black dress UNSC uniform. No medals or campaignribbons. The insignia on the forearm of his jacket, however, was unmistakable: the single gold star of aRear Admiral.
----------------------- Page 92-----------------------
“At ease, Spartans,” he said. “I’m Admiral Stanforth.”
The Spartans took their seats in unison.
Dust swirled onstage and collected into a robed figure. Its face was obscured within the shadows of itshood. John could discern no hands at the end of its sleeves.
“This is Beowulf,” Admiral Stanforth said as he gestured to the ghostly creature. Stanforth’s voice wascalm, but distaste was evident on his face. “He is our AI attaché with the Office of Naval Intelligence.”
He turned away from the AI. “We have several important issues to cover this morning, so let’s getstarted.”
The lights dimmed. An amber sun appeared in the center of the room with three planets in close orbit.
“This is Harvest,” he said. “Population of approximately three million. Although on the periphery ofUNSC-controlled space, this world is one of our more productive and peaceful colonies.”
The holographic view zoomed in on the surface of the world and showed grasslands and forests and athousand lakes swarming with schools of fish.
“As of military calendar February 3, at 1423 hours, the Harvest orbital platform made long range radarcontact with this object.”
A blurry outline appeared over the stage. “Spectroscopic analysis proved inconclusive,” AdmiralStanforth said. “The object is constructed of material unknown to us.”
A molecular absorption graph appeared on a side screen, spikes and jagged lines indicating the relativeproportions of elements.
Beowulf raised a cloaked arm and the image darkened. The words CLASSIFIED—EYES ONLYappeared over the blackened data.
Admiral Stanforth shot a glare at the AI.
“Contact with Harvest,” he continued, “was lost shortly thereafter. The Colonial Military Administrationsent the scout shipArgo to investigate. That ship arrived in-system on April twentieth, but other than abrief transmission to confirm their exit Slipstream position, no further reports were made.