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"New heading zero two five," Kurt said. "Pick your best path."
"New course, aye," Kelly replied.
As they descended deeper, the dropship sped past a staircase that ascended to nowhere—each step a hectare of unbroken polished stone.
The cloud-reflected light dimmed and the smooth surfaces melted into shadow. Dr. Halsey's dome turned red-gold and faded to a silhouette.
Will turned the passive radar on the thing and an outline overlaid the structure. Kurt discerned that the top of the dome faceted into seven flat surfaces, each with a tall arch leading to the interior.
"Those large enough to fly through?" Kurt asked.
Will consulted his sensor screen. "Huge," he replied.
"Move us in," Kurt told Kelly
"Aye aye." She pulled the nose of the ship up.
As the last traces of light vanished, Kurt saw lights in the crater—red dots that swarmed over every surface. Sentinels.
Will's hands flashed over the sensor panel. "New energy
signatures detected. Extremely low frequencies." He looked up. "Over a hundred thousand distinct emitters, sir."
"What configuration?" Dr. Halsey asked. "Clusters, single units, or pairs?"
Will studied the panel. "Ninety-five percent clusters, a few hundred single patterns… and a few hundred dual signatures."
"Combat pairs," Kurt whispered. "Kelly, match their speed." He keyed TEAMCOM, and said, "Make ready for a hot drop. Battle-ready conditions."
Green status lights flashed back, confirming his order.
They decelerated over the darkening city, creeping toward the dome. Kurt's instinct told him this was the right thing to do. The logical, conscious portion of his mind, however, urged him to leave. He'd trust his "gut" on this one—get them inside and under cover, before every Sentinel in the place fired on them.
"Nice and easy," he said.
Kelly's hand hovered over the throttle stripe. "You think these things are smart enough to use our own tricks against us? Lure us inside and then close the trap?"
"It's a possibility," he admitted. "But I don't think they went to all the trouble to unearth this place just to blast it to bits." He shrugged. "Just a hunch."
Kelly and Will glanced at each other.
"Understood," Kelly said. "Approaching structure. Three hundred meters."
"Back us in," Kurt said.
Their ship slowed, spun around, and eased toward one of the dome archways. Five Covenant dropships could have fit through the opening with room to spare.
Inside, the blue glow of their engines illuminated the walls. The interior surfaces were angled and carved with star charts and the Forerunner hieroglyphics.
Below, seven flat surfaces, each the size of carrier landing decks, were evenly spaced. Kelly set them down one.
Kurt exited the dropship. Will followed him, and together they helped Dr. Halsey off.
The other Spartans took defensive positions around the ship.
Kurt's motion sensor showed everyone on deck, but there was nothing beyond the landing pad save darkness. Every noise was swallowed by the vast emptiness of the interior, and he felt as if he were drowning in shadows and silence.