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EPILOGUE

SHIELD WORLD

CHAPTER FORTY

2205 HOURS, NOVEMBER 4, 2552 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ ZETA DORADUS SYSTEM \ THE MOON OF ONYX \ ABOARD THE UNSC PROWLER DUSK

"Sir, so hunched over his sensor station, energy spikes dancing on-screen "Double BMP signature Subsurface" He shook his head and tugged at one eyebrow nervously "Multiple energy signatures now Hundreds All underground"

Co's shoulder and tried to make sense of it

"Definitely nukes," Waters breathed "Radiological ratios indicate it's one of ours"

The electroer wavefory than two FENRIS warheads," Lash said "So on down there" He exhaled, and his breath came out in tremulous shudders No one noticed

He opened a SHIPCOM Channel to Cho "Status of the Slipspace capacitors?"

"Seven-three percent," Cho answered, "losing point oh three percent per minute, sir

"Stand by to jump-heat the reactor," Lash told him, "and shunt all power to the Slipspace syste pause over the COM, then, "Aye, sir Cho out"

Junal flare to the Covenant arh, whatever this planet-side activity ould distract theive the Dusk a chance to finally escape

Lieutenant Bethany Durruno rocked back and forth in her seat, her eyes glued to the three satellite uplinks streah her NAV station She tapped on a trio ofthe BLACK WIDOW satellites just hovering at extree For thatand Waters Even Cho belowdecks was showing classic withdrawal signs that accoue

The Dusk had survived the destruction of Aded in the dark while the Covenant arht over the h a debris field full of shattered UNSC ship hulls, destroyed escape pods… and thousands of bodies of the bravest men and women in the Navy They'd made it undetected to the opposite side of the silver ently came to rest in the shadow of a crater While the Dusk settled to the surface Lieutenant Commander Cho had released three baseball-sized BLACK WIDOW stealth satellites, so they couldacross the planet, sir," Yang said, utterly confounded by his readings

"Put it on-screen," Lash ordered

The three main viewscreens flickered to life as the feed froes of Onyx: oceans of lapis and pearl-colored clouds, eh orbit glided Covenant vessels They ainst the black of space

A dot appeared on the planet's surface--a red flare that arced upward, showering molten rock and ash Three more winked on… then a dozen ed cracks tore between the eruptions and a spiderweb pattern of glowing lava fissures spread over the world They reached the polar regions and the ice caps detonated into geysers of steam

"Plas the place"

"No plas froht pierced the thickening clouds--a blinding gold hue that sliced the upper at spectra flashed on Yang's screen

"We've seen that before," Lash said "Combined drone fire"

A second beam joined this first one; then thousands flashed on and radiated fro lances filled space and transfory

Covenant ships caught by the beams vanished, instantly ionized

Onyx shattered and the surface exploded into space

Obscured by layers of dust and fire, a blazing pattern enification factor one thousand," Lash ordered

Yang was frozen

Waters bent over and tapped in the command

The view on-screen blinked and stepped closer--past boiling air, clouds, tu a lattice of three- red spheres that hovered between the a crystalline structure

"Back it off," Lash said The view pulled back and showed that this drone-constructed scaffolding stretched over kilometers… they had been under every landmass, every ocean… under the entire surface-- orderly linked rows like the carbon bonds of an infinite poly interlinked army ants

The drones were the planet Onyx

"There are trillions of them," Lieutenant Durruno whispered

Clusters of drones heated; culthe this place," Waters said "Why?"

"Shockwave fro far side of the moon in seven seconds,"

Durruno said The blood drained from her face

The viewscreens filled with static

"Lost the satellites," Yang cried

"Cho," Lash said "Ju into those capacitors

Now! Get us out of here!"

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

nOO HOURS, NOVEMBER 4, 2552 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ UNDETERMINED LOCATION WITHIN FORERUNNER CONSTRUCT KNOWN AS SHIELD WORLD

The Spartans and Dr Halsey gathered about the graves of Williaht dappled the river that flowed past this grove of oak trees A path of banded onyx curved through the area They had pried up some of the slabs, scratched in William's and Dante's names, and erected two more to serve as markers for Holly and the Lieutenant Commander

Senior Chief Petty Officer Mendez read from a small black leather book: "We have co passed since we have seen the sun rise / A place where peace can fi and love oncehis head and closed the volume, A Soldier's Tale: Rainforest Wars, the military classic written in 2164

There was a moment of silence

"Burial detail dis on each marker, a token of respect for his fellow Spartans

He didn't knohat else to do