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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
0610 hours, September 13,2552 (revised date,
Military Calendar) \ Aboard Covenant battle station
Unyielding Hierophant.
A rubbery tentacle reached in along the seam of the
drop-ship's hatch.
John raised his hand and signaled Linda to stand down. He
recognized the alien limb—the splitting cilia feelers and globu-
lar sensory organs could belong only to a Covenant Engineer.
The Engineer pushed open the hatch and entered the ship,
floating past John and Linda as if they weren't there. It chittered
and squawked as it ran its tentacles over the foreign armor plates
and spatters of lead. Two more Engineers bolted through the
open hatch and joined the first.
As long as they left the single-minded aliens to their work,
they wouldn't raise an alarm. But what else was out there?
John eased against the frame of the hatch and slid the fiber-
optic probe outside. There was a line of dropships, Seraph fight-
ers, and other singleships that stretched away into the shadows.
Swarms of Engineers, thousands of the creatures, hovered and
drifted throughout the area. They moved parts, disassembled
and reassembled sections of ship hulls, and plumbed plasma
coils. There was no trace of a welcome party of Elites waiting for
Blue Team.
John turned the optic probe up and saw a latticework deck
overhead with tools, welders, and spotlights hanging like jungle
vines. It was as good a place as any to get their bearings.
John turned and pointed at Linda and Will, then out the hatch
and up. They nodded and moved out.