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.
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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
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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."