by Troy Denning
“Damn.” Kelly pointed back toward the Arany Basin, where a handful of specks were just climbing out of the clouds toward the Infinity. “They’re not going to make it.”
John opened a magnification window and saw that the flight included five Pelicans and an Albatross, and Kelly was right. With the tau surge already building, the stragglers were too far down the gravity well to reach the Infinity in time.
And given the likelihood that whatever was coming was a Guardian, Lasky could not wait. The delay would be at least five minutes, precious time that would put the Infinity—and everyone aboard—in grave danger. All six craft abruptly turned around and dived back through the clouds.
“Poor devils,” Van Houte said. “Maybe Lasky can send someone back for them.”
“Negative,” John said. “He can’t risk leading a Guardian back to the Infinity. They’re out of the fight until we end this thing.”
“Yeah,” Fred said. “They’re stuck, all right. But it’s Reach. Maybe it won’t be so bad.”
“How could it not be bad?” Mukai asked. “They could be marooned down there for years.”
“I believe that’s his point,” Halsey said. She turned away from the energy barrier, and the hangar’s security door slammed down behind her, sealing them all inside the white work light. “They’re soldiers. They can survive indefinitely on Reach, and they won’t be alone. I almost envy them.”
John nodded. “Soldiers adapt,” he said. “And there are worse missions than building a home.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this book, especially: my first reader, Andria Hayday; my editor, Ed Schlesinger; our copyeditor, Joal Hetherington; our proofreaders, Regina Castillo and Andy Goldwasser; Jeremy Patenaude, Tiffany O’Brien, Jeff Easterling, and all of the great people at 343; and cover artist Chris McGrath. It’s been a pleasure working with you—as always!
More from this Series
HALO: Renegades
Book 25
HALO: Oblivion
Book 26
Halo: Shadow of Intent
Halo: Saint's Testimony
HALO: The Fall of Reach
Book 1
HALO: The Flood
Book 2
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Troy Denning is the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty novels, including Halo: Oblivion, Halo: Silent Storm, Halo: Retribution, Halo: Last Light, a dozen Star Wars novels, the Dark Sun: Prism Pentad series, and many bestselling Forgotten Realms novels. A former game designer and editor, he lives in western Wisconsin.
FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR:
SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Troy-Denning
SimonandSchuster.com
@GalleryBooks
DON’T MISS THESE OTHER THRILLING STORIES IN THE WORLDS OF
Halo: Oblivion
Troy Denning
Halo: Renegades
Kelly Gay
Halo: Silent Storm
Troy Denning
Halo: Bad Blood
Matt Forbeck
Halo: Legacy of Onyx
Matt Forbeck
Halo: Retribution
Troy Denning
Halo: Envoy
Tobias S. Buckell
Halo: Smoke and Shadow
Kelly Gay
Halo: Fractures: More Essential Tales of the Halo Universe (anthology)
Halo: Shadow of Intent
Joseph Staten
Halo: Last Light
Troy Denning
Halo: Saint’s Testimony
Frank O’Connor
Halo: Hunters in the Dark
Peter David
Halo: New Blood
Matt Forbeck
Halo: Broken Circle
John Shirley
THE KILO-FIVE TRILOGY
KAREN TRAVISS
Halo: Glasslands
Halo: The Thursday War
Halo: Mortal Dictata
THE FORERUNNER SAGA
GREG BEAR
Halo: Cryptum
Halo: Primordium
Halo: Silentium
Halo: Evolutions: Essential Tales of the Halo Universe (anthology)
Halo: The Cole Protocol
Tobias S. Buckell
Halo: Contact Harvest
Joseph Staten
Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
Eric Nylund
Halo: First Strike
Eric Nylund
Halo: The Flood
William C. Dietz
Halo: The Fall of Reach
Eric Nylund
We hope you enjoyed reading this Simon & Schuster ebook.
Get a FREE ebook when you join our mailing list. Plus, get updates on new releases, deals, recommended reads, and more from Simon & Schuster. Click below to sign up and see terms and conditions.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
Already a subscriber? Provide your email again so we can register this ebook and send you more of what you like to read. You will continue to receive exclusive offers in your inbox.
Gallery Books
An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2020 by Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Microsoft, Halo, the Halo logo, Xbox, and the Xbox logo are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Gallery Books trade paperback edition October 2020
GALLERY BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Cover design by Alan Dingman
Cover art by Chris McGrath
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Denning, Troy, author.
Title: Shadows of reach / Troy Denning.
Other titles: At head of title: Halo
Description: Gallery Books trade paperback edition. | New York : Gallery Books, 2020. | Series: Halo | “Based on the bestselling video game for Xbox”
Identifiers: LCCN 2020028886 (print) | LCCN 2020028887 (ebook) | ISBN 9781982143619 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781982143633 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Halo (Video game)—Fiction. | GSAFD: Science fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3554.E5345 S53 2020 (print) | LCC PS3554.E5345 (ebook) | DDC 813/.54—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020028886
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020028887
ISBN 978-1-9821-4361-9
ISBN 978-1-9821-4363-3 (ebook)
