Prologue OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE, BRAVO-6, SYDNEY, EARTH: MARCH 2553 This job is about trouble. Seeing trouble coming, neutralizing trouble … and causing trouble for others before they cause it for you. On a day when there’s no trouble, something’s wrong. There’s always trouble. You simply haven’t noticed it yet, so you have to seek it out before it comes looking for you. But today’s a normal day and I don’t have to hunt. Captain Serin Osman has just reported in from Venezia. She’s cal ing off the mission for the time being and breaking orbit to return to Sanghelios, because we have trouble. And where’s my damn coffee? Osman’s lost contact with her Sangheili language expert, Phil ips. One minute he’s spying happily under the noses of his Sangheili hosts, and the next there’s an explosion. Now we’re scrambling to find out what’s happened. The Arbiter’s no fool. He invited Phil ips to visit. He has a reason, and if he’s sane, he has to be suspicious of us. Yes, perhaps it’s al part of genuinely wanting to build bridges with Earth, but I can’t afford to assume the best. My job is about planning for the worst, and making sure that it happens—to Earth’s enemies, anyway. My job isn’t about okay. The whole point of this mission, the whole raison d’être of the Kilo-Five mission,