第96页

　　The  other  displays  showed  Covenant  warships  orbiting  the  planet,  as  well  as  dozens  of  smaller  craft  and  one  large  structure  that  seemed  to  be  a  central  docking  station.
　　"What  is  this?"  the  Master  Chief  asked,  stepping  closer.  He  tapped  the  center  display,  pushing  the  limits  of  its  resolution  and  magnifying  a  portion  of  the  surface  near  the  midlatitudes.
　　ERIC  NYLUND 155
　　The  image  resolved  into  patches  of  green,  brown,  and  white—  different  from  the  angry  black  and  livid  orange  that  dominated  the  view  of  the  rest  of  the  planet.
　　"Looks  like  they  missed  a  spot,"  the  Sergeant  said.
　　"The  Covenant  don't  'miss'  anything  when  they  glass  a  planet,"  the  Master  Chief  replied.  "We've  seen  them  do  it  a  thou?sand  times.  This  is  no  accident."  He  turned  to  Lieutenant  Haver-son.  "We  should  get  closer  and  see  what  this  is,  sir."
　　"Master  Chief,"  Haverson  said  softly  and  held  up  his  hands.  "I  sympathize  with  your  need  to  know  with  absolute  certainty  what  happened  to  your  fellow  Spartans,  but  this  is..."  He  gestured  to  the  planet  and  then  frowned  as  he  scrutinized  the  undamaged  part  of  Reach.  "Indeed,"  he  murmured.  "This  does  warrant  a  closer  look...  provided  we  can  get  away  with  it."
　　The  Lieutenant  pulled  the  magnification  back  and  refocused  the  display  on  the  upper  atmosphere.  A  hundred  Covenant  ships  popped  into  view.  "There  are  several  smaller  vessels  circling  over  that  spot.  Forget  what  I  just  said,"  Haverson  whispered.  "If  the  Covenant  are  so  interested  in  this  region,  then  we  should  be  as  well—as  long  as  our  cover  holds.  Cortana,  take  us  in  closer."
　　"Yes,  Lieutenant,"  Cortana  replied.
　　The  Covenant  flagship  smoothly  accelerated  insystem.
　　"They're  hailing  us,"  Cortana  said.  "Preparing  the  proper  counter-response."
　　John  counted  the  ships  on  the  display.  There  were  hundreds—  most  no  larger  than  a  Covenant  dropship,  but  there  were  at  least  a  dozen  cruisers  and  two  of  the  titanic  carriers  that  each  carried  three  squadrons  of  Seraph  fighter  craft.  There  was  more  than  enough  firepower  to  turn  their  captured  flagship  into  molten  slag.
　　Many  of  the  smaller  ships  herded  debris  from  the  battle  into  one  spot  over  Reach—a  floating  junkyard  of  UNSC  and  Cove?nant  ships.
　　"You  see  this?"  The  Master  Chief  pointed  to  the  field  of  float?ing  debris.
　　The  Lieutenant  stared  at  it.  "It's  almost  as  if  they  planned  to  stay  here  for  a  while—they're  cleaning  house."
　　"We're  in,"  Cortana  announced.  "The  fleet  is  curious  why  a  Covenant  flagship  is  here,  but  not  suspicious  enough  to  question  our  authority.  The  translation  is  tricky.  But  apparently  from  the
　　156 HALO:  FIRST  STRIKE
　　string  of  honorifics  attached  to  their  responses  there's  supposed  to  be  someone  of  extreme  high  rank  commanding  this  ship,  someone  they  referred  to,  among  other  things,  as  the  'Guardian  of  the  Luminous  Key.'  "
　　"Damn  silly  name,"  muttered  Sergeant  Johnson.
　　"Can  you  tell  what  they're  doing  down  there,  Cortana?"  the  Lieutenant  asked.
　　"Not  yet,"  she  replied.  "Their  language  doesn't  translate  in  a  literal  manner,  and  each  word  has  multiple  meanings.  There's  something  they  consider  holy—there  are  ten  times  as  many  reli?gious  allusions  than  in  their  typical  communiques.  Hang  on  ...  picking  up  a  new  signal.  Weaker  than  the  others.  Not  on  a  Cove?nant  frequency.  It's  the  UNSC  E-band."