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ERIC NYLUND
301
The tug turned to face a new ship in the distance. This vessel
looked like two teardrop-shaped Covenant ships that had collided,
giving the result an overall elongated figure-eight geometry.
They moved toward this ship, and the Master Chief made out
more details. Spokes radiated from the narrow midpoint of the
vessel and connected to a slender ring that he hadn't seen before
because they had approached facing it edge-on. Featherlike tubes
extended from either bulbous section and moved slowly over
that central wheel. John squinted to make out more details on
this unusual ship, but he was already at maximum resolution.
It had a ring? Was it rotating? But the Covenant had gravita-
tional technology. They didn't need rotating sections to simulate
gravity.
Then he saw something recognizable on the structure: tiny
ships docked to that ring. Covenant cruisers and carriers. There
must have been sixty connected to the central hub.
The titanic perspective of this structure clicked into place.
The carriers looked like toys. The twin teardrop shapes had to be
thirty kilometers end to end. This could only be the Covenant
command-and-control center, the Unyielding Hierophant.
The tug moved directly toward the station. It was precisely
where they had to go, so it was a lucky break... but ironically, it
was also the last place the Master Chief wanted to be.
There was no telling what kind of sensors the Unyielding
Hiero-phanthad, but they couldn't take chances. John retreated
into the dropship and eased the hatch shut.
He moved deeper into the ship and waited with the rest of
Blue Team.
Three minutes ticked by on his mission clock; John tried to
control his breathing and focus his mind.
Gravity settled his stomach, and there was a series of metallic
clatters along the hull. Atmosphere hissed in though the cracks
of their breached ship.
John pointed at Fred and Grace and then to the starboard
hatch. They leveled their rifles and moved. He pointed to Linda
and himself, then the port hatch, and they also moved into
position.
John wasn't sure what kind of reception waited for them on
the other side of those hatches, but one thing was certain—they'd