For the moment finished with scrutinizing the sky, Cortana turns her attention to Tex and the familiar profile of that helmet as she picks up stargazing where Cortana left off. She considers hitting Tex's IFF (and the network) for details, but decides to stick to her self-imposed restriction of human senses only.

"Spartan-117," she says, waiting for the reaction. So far, it's proved instructive in the other Freelancers