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Chapter 1: En Route to Galient

I sat in the Pelican titled Omega423. The ship slithered through the thick fog. The Covenant had taken a city called Galient in New Brazil. The seven other Pelicans followed behind us. The city was located on the other side of a tall mountain, on a plateau roughly 20-kilometers wide. Boulders filled the city after a cruiser took heavy fire and skidded along the valley floor. The cruiser wasn't on the ground at this time, but hovering above the city.

The roar of the Pelican drop-ship rang out over the hills. The pilot, Private Walker, came on the loud speaker, "Descending under the fog!" The Pelican dipped down 45 degrees, as did the others as well. Charlie Team was to come in from the opposite side of the mountain and help us sweep the area. We would close them inside the city then exterminate them.

"Bravo 219! Dip down! Dip Down!" cried our pilot. A wave of blue plasma washed over the Pelican bringing up the back. The pilot screamed out! The Pelican exploded into chunks of heated metal and plasma splashed over it! The damaged Pelican swerved and ran into Delta2347. They both struggled to maintain their position, and then both gave up and collapsed into the thick jungle below! The five other Pelicans fell silent. I reached into my belt pocket and pulled out a picture of my little girl, Samantha, and my wife, Sarah. They were in Andromeda. I told them to get out of the city when I was recruited. They said they would be ok and leave with a lifeboat. I was worried sick about them.

"Fisher?" said Tom from the opposite side of the Pelican. I nodded. I wasn't expecting a caring question, not a 'Your family will be ok', or an, 'Are you ok?' "Which are you going to kill first, a Grunt, a Jackal, or a Elite?"

I shrugged my shoulders and replied, "I guess I'd have to take one of those other things ONI has been yapping about." I laughed. "A.... umm.... priest, is it?"

"You mean a Prophet?" He said, laughing. I nodded. "Heck, I'm willing to take one of those heavy ones!" He laughed. Sergeant Irwin walked into the conversation. He was a real hard ass. No one talked back to him, or even questioned him. He was always the superior, as he told us at boot camp.

"You think you can take on a alien who's 6 times your weight, and 12 feet tall? A creature which looks at you moments before it raises its massive shield and brings it down on you, with enough power to throw a Warthog twenty meters? It carries a gun which makes your Assault Rifles look like toys, a gun that can melt through a persons skull?" he said coldly. A scar covered his left cheek. He said he got it from a Plasma Sword that just missed him. His heavy black armor was more like a Spartans than the usual marine armor.

We stopped our conversation there. I guess it was more important to be aware than to be talking about whom you would kill first.

Chapter 2: Forest Assault

"I'm going to have to pull into a clearing in the jungle! We can't land in the city, they've got Banshee's patrolling all of it." Lt. Walker said. The Pelican whipped around and fell into the clearing. It deployed its landing gear located on the left and right of the back. The four other Pelican's landed in the field as well. One person got the chain gun attached to the back; his mission was to guard the Pelican with his life. It was our only ticket out of here.

"Maintain radio silence until we get to the base of the plateau!" Sergeant Irwin proclaimed. The Covenant probably heard him from the city. We all fell out of the ship, looking around the clearing.

"Sir! Yes Sir!" We screamed in unison. I gripped one hand on my MA5B and one on my fragmentation grenade belt. I had a combat knife in my pocket, along with the picture of my loved ones. The picture had been there from boot camp, to now.

All of us took cover in the tall grass. I had to be careful because anything could hide in there. The Covenant usually made huge assaults, so chances are we would be killed by now. I looked to my left and found Tom with his sniper rifle mounted on his shoulder. I closed my fist and pointed two fingers straight ahead. He nodded and moved forward. A gust of wind came out from the dark jungle. I dropped and rolled to my feet. It wasn't long before I looked up and saw three Banshee's coming towards me.

"Banshee, 12 o'clock!!!" I screamed to my team. The all froze, looked up, and fired at the approaching enemy. The Banshee spotted us and fired his fuel rod gun straight down! They started doing fly-bys. Each Banshee coming around and shooting the blue and white plasma, at us. The gunner in the Pelican opened fire! A line of ammo flew through the air. A Banshee sputtered and exploded. The pilot being thrown out from the back. I watched the blue Elite plummet to his grave. The second Banshee went up in flames and crashed into the ground. Several marines jumped out of the way to dodge the wreckage.

The last Banshee turned sharply and started heading back to the city. Tom fired his sniper rifle, as the other marines (including the marine in the Pelican's gunner seat) fired at the retreating Banshee. It wasn't long before the bullets caught up and the pilot joined his crew.

All of us started smiling and taking pride in our kill. "Very good. Three down about ten thousand more to go." Sergeant Irwin reminded us. Our happiness shattered and we went back to hiking towards the city. Charlie Team was to meet us on the boarder of the city. Together we would then attack. I pushed away branches, and vines to go through the thick foliage. We kept low to the ground, a camouflaged Elite would see us if we stood up.

The walk was pleasant, even though a ball of scolding hot plasma could have hit any of us. Luckily that didn't happen. The team was aware of everything. We didn't want to run into an Elite with a Plasma Sword.

Once we were on the boarder of the city and the jungle, we secured the area. Charlie Team was already there. They had set up two chain guns as a form of protection. It was to be out fallback point, if things turned hot.

"Its good to see you Bravo22." One of the marines said. They were carrying a shotgun in his left hand. "Where's the rest?" He asked. We looked at him with a sad glare. He nodded and went back to filling us in.

"We salvaged one Warthog. The other one got hit by a pack of Hunters." He laughed. "We had a hell of a time handling them." I glanced out towards the city, two Hunter's lay dead on the cement and beyond the bodies were about one hundred more. "We've got a plan, Sir?" He asked Sergeant Irwin. He nodded.

"Go ahead soldier." Sergeant Irwin told him. He hated it when people waited for his permission. He told us if we ever did that, he'd kill us.

"Well. We thought about setting up snipers on the roofs, to take out the Elites and Jackals. Since those guys are usually a bother." The Lieutenant stopped. "Then a ground team would go in and neutralize any ground forces. By then-"

"-Exactly what is your mission, Lieutenant!" Sergeant Irwin interrupted. The soldier looked at him in shock.

"Well Sir, we're hear to get the Covenant the hell off our planet!" He said. It was a good answer, but I knew Sergeant Irwin didn't like it. He could smell it when ONI had something up its sleeve.

"Well I was getting worried, because it sounded like you were about to board that cruiser!" He pointed at the huge, silver cruiser. I smiled at Sergeant Irwin's harsh treatment. "A plan that would not only kill me, but all of my team. I bet ONI put you up to this."

"Sir. I'm just concerned for the safety of Draco III. I don't want another planet gone to the Covenant. And I am prepared to do anything to stop them."

Chapter 3: The Covenant Empire

"Sir. The Covenant are setting up their stationary towers." The soldier with the binoculars said. "Should I fire a couple rocket launchers towards them?" Sergeant Irwin got wind of this and walked over to the soldier.

"What are you thinking!" He grabbed his collar. "If you fire a bullet, the Covenant would know where we are! It would be suicide! This is a battlefield not somewhere where you joke around!" The Sergeant released his grip and the soldier slipped away.

I took a pair of the binoculars and looked through them. There was about seven Ghost's un-piloted towards the south of their base. Two heavy-duty towers were placed on either side of the base, each with stationary guns on the top. Below were several Jackals on patrol. Their orange and blue energy shields reflected in the sun. In the background was a gravity lift. Several Elites flew down from the belly of the cruiser, with supplies.

"Sir." I said from my position. Sergeant Irwin looked at me and then walked over.

"What is it Lieutenant?" He said looking towards the Covenant base.

"Permission to speak, Sir?" he nodded and I carried on with my idea. "You said the Covenant would find out where we are if we shoot at them from here. Well...what if we shot at them from the north, then moved in on the south and take it over while their patrolling the north?"

"Too risky. But if we took the towers out with snipers and then moved in, that should bye us enough time to lay a bomb or two." Sergeant Irwin grabbed the binoculars and looked for himself. "You know that's almost suicide." He laughed. "But then we could take out the lift's base, so that the Covenant wouldn't be able to get back on the ship. I don't see any Engineers down there to fix it."

"Then what, after that? How do we exterminate the Covenant forces?" Sergeant Irwin stopped and started to think. After a few minutes of silence I finally said, "What if we took out their Wraith tanks, and Ghosts with Rockets, Sir?" He scanned my idea.

"We would be in a tight spot if the Covenant found out our plan." He said, and then continued. "At this part in war, you have to think wildly." I could tell he had no choice but to accept mine. He looked up and scanned the camp. "Lt. Pritchard." The young soldier that he had yelled at looked up from a map. "Prepare your men for combat. I want every marine fitted with MA5B's, frags, and a pistol. We're going to beat the Covenant at this war.

"Give me two men up on that ridge. Equip them with a pair of Rocket Launchers. Prepare to move out as soon as possible." He went over to the makeshift armory and grabbed two sniper rifles and a pistol. He threw one sniper towards me. I caught it and walked up to the fragmentation pile. I took two belts and handed one to Sergeant Irwin.

"Assemble Blue Team, soldier." He told me. I walked out of the tent and into the bright sun. All the marines were out readying their weapons. They looked up towards me.

I looked back inside the tent, "Sir?" He looked up. He said yes, and that was good enough for me. "Marines! Assemble for departure!" The stood up and put their helmets on. They moved into formation to await my orders. "We are moving to grid 17, a business building located in front of the Covenant base. Red Team will be right across on the adjacent building. If we run into trouble, they'd be there to help. Understood?"

"Sir. Yes, Sir!" They cried. We moved out, watching all activity in the Covenant base from the safety of our sniper rifles. We went through allies and sidewalks to hide from the Covenant armada. We maintained radio silence, as well as silence on the ground. Lt. Parker was in front he stopped the 'pack' if he thought anything was ahead.

Lt. Parker held a closed fist. We all froze. The clanging of an Elite's armor filled the air. Thermal imaging proved that there were two aliens on the corner. I looked at them from my sniper rifle. They each were talking calmly (or as calm as an Elite could talk). Their language was a mix of growls, and screams.

I watched as Lt. Parker summoned the team together over hand motions. In time, we were ready to take them. They didn't appear to have their energy shields on, which was good. Before I knew it, two sniper bullets hit the ground in back of the Elites. Their helmets blew off and their limp bodies fell to the ground. We dragged their bodies into the shadows and policed their weapons. A Plasma Rifle, and a Needler, ONI was going to be glad about this.

We moved to grid 17, the business building. The rough exterior gave way to an almost pure white interior, as we entered the building. There stood 6 pillars along the buildings wall. I whispered to my marines, "I want four troopers to search this building from top to bottom." I stopped. "I don't want any surprises." He nodded and assembled three other marines to help him.

I moved to the sixth floor and looked out the rectangular window towards the adjacent building. Taking a piece of glass, I reflected it towards the building. Seconds later the reflection came back, Red Team was home. I moved up the stairs (since the elevators shut down, due to the invasion) to the sniping area. Two men were already checking the Covenant base out.

"Looks like they were planning to stay." One of them said. I looked at him suspiciously. I asked him what he meant and he quickly explained. "The Covenant don't like to plant their bases on human structures...so they get the Engineers to clear the area. Very weird, if you ask me, Sir."

I got my sniper rifle set up as well. Red Team was already set up, now looking over the base. "When's are the soldiers supposed to shoot their rockets?" I asked the soldier.

"In ten minutes, Sir." One sniper said, glancing at his watch quickly. Four men were crouching and looking towards Red Team. Seconds later, four pipes flew into the air. The advanced equipment was used to transport supplies to and from the point B; in this case, Red Team. The pipes unleashed their 9-inch long, fishhook like arms. They hit the deck of the other building and grabbed hold of the railing. ONI called them STH's, but to the marines they were known as Iron Toes.

I looked at my watch. The two soldiers were in position. "Two rockets fired, Sir!" A marine with a walkie-talkie said. I could hear the twin rockets as they whistled through the air. After the two hit the Wraith tanks on the southwest end of the Covenant base, two more were fired. Sniper rounds shot out and crippled the Elites in the stationary guns. I grabbed the lieutenant's walkie-talkie out of his hands and screamed in an order to the two soldiers, "Take out those Hunters and Ghost's!" The signal was lost as the Covenant filled the line with static. It was a small snag.

"Hopefully they'll go back to the HQ." I reassured myself. "Hopefully..."

Chapter 4: Mountain Attack

"These guys are everywhere!" Harrison screamed over the bullets. Two Grunts to his left went down. We both had duel pistols and MA5B's, although we each had three weapons each it still wasn't enough to take out the Covenant.

I fired off a couple shots at a Grunt; he toppled over and rolled down the slope. I looked up and noticed five black armored Elites running up the mountain, and above them was two Banshees. I dove behind a boulder and narrowly missed seven or so Needler shards aimed at me.

"Frag in clear!" I cried and hurled a fragmentation over the boulder. Two seconds later, the grenade exploded, taking several Grunts. Rocks flew a past the bolder. I ran out from my hiding spot and fired my Assault Rifle into the fray. The Elites reached the top of the mountain and started firing. Harrison dove and tossed a frag towards them. Two jumped out of the way, while the other two were engulfed in the cloud of rocks and dirt. Purple blood stained the dark brown mountainside.

The Banshee passed over us and fired a couple plasma bolts. I turned to Harrison-who was finishing off the last of the Grunts-and yelled to him, "Aim for the circles on the ends of the wings!" He turned at me, confused. "Do you want me to tell you the scientific reason why?"

He glanced back at the enemies, "Hell no!" I smiled and we continued our defense.

When the Banshees' came back around, we fired at them from behind a boulder. One pilot struggled to maintain the craft, as it plummeted into the mountain wall. "One down...." Harrison kept firing, "....One more!"

But the Covenant kept at us. They were an endless flood of death. Harrison ran ahead and started firing at the approaching black armored Elites. "Harrison! Retreat! Back to HQ...Harrison?" I screamed at him. The Elite reached out and grabbed him by the throat. I could see the creatures two thumbs push down into Harrison's neck. The Elite looked towards me. He threw Harrison's body against the jagged rocks of the mountain. He fell into a heap with a snap.

The Elite walked towards me, with no worry at all. I fired my Assault Rifle at the approaching enemy, it was no use. The creature walked up to me and whacked the MA5B out of my hands. It grabbed my by the neck, taking its time in looking me over. Its split jawbones opened up and the mesh of teeth and gum became visible. Through all this I smiled.

I reached into my pocket and pulled a frag out. I pulled the key out, "Smile you Son of a-"

Chapter 5: The Fate of Blue Team

The snipers and me were busy shooting the Elites and Jackals at the Covenant base. Grunts ran for cover behind the fallen debris, and the Engineers through all of this didn't fret. A couple of the Covenant's fuel caused the fire to spread. The barrels of hydrogen sent a chain reaction, thus wiping out any Covenant creature in its path.

"Sir! Covenant contact on ground level!" Cried one of the soldiers from the stairs. Assault Rifle shots rang out and echoed themselves up the flight of stairs. I swore under my breath.

"Ok people, let's set the table. Here they come!" I yelled to Blue Team. The snipers turned their guns from the Covenant base to the only door on the roof. All of us were ready for our attackers. We had about four men on ground level, and I could hear more than 5 Plasma Rifles.

Sergeant Irwin rang in over the COM channel we had, "Blue Team! You've got a Covenant Wraith at your door!" I swore again. I turned and saw Red Team firing at the base of our building.

Crack!

The building shook violently. The Wraith had fired its torpedo right into the building. Windows shattered and the walls buckled as the building took the blow. "Another one like that and we're goners, Sir!" I nodded. I had to get my men off the building.

"Everyone move to the Fire Escape, on the double!" I screamed over the gunfire, and the Wraith's loud engine. We all turned towards a break in the railing, which was the Fire Escape.

"Ah! Wart, wart, wart!" A group of black armored Elites melted onto the roof. Obviously they ignored their Wraith's warning.

"The roof has been breached!" I yelled towards the marines. Two were shot point blank in the back. The rest jumped out of the way and fired their Assault Rifles, and Snipers.

Whoosh!

My blood frozen...the Wraith had fired its weapon again. The building shifted awkwardly. The Elites stopped firing for a split second. The Wraith must not have of a noticed the Elites, which had entered. I looked at a building in front of ours. In the reflection of its tinted, glass windows, I could see fire poring out from the ground level.

I looked to the STH's, they were still there. The building gave way in milliseconds. I bolted for the STH's; it was my only chance of survival! Just as the building collapsed-and the marines and Elites were buried in dust and debris- I grabbed hold of one STH and slung down from the building top! The wind smelt of smoke and ash. Red Team's building was approaching me quickly. I extended my legs and smashed through the inch thick window. Glass scraped across my face, as I fell into the buildings interior. I rolled across the broken glass until hitting the wall.

I woke up ten minutes later on top of Red Team's building, surrounded by marines and a medic. "That was some $#@ you pulled off Lieutenant Fisher." Sergeant Irwin said. "But we're not out of the woods yet."

He pulled my off of the metal floor and shoved an Assault Rifle into my hands.... Good 'ole Sergeant Irwin. I laughed to myself and went to the railing. I froze. Blue Team-my teams building, was now a pile of rubble. I gave a silent prayer and went back to see what the situation was.

"Sir. We've got a way out of Galient, but we'll have to go through a 'hot' area. Satellites read this before they were shot." Said one of the marines from a tent corner.

"Wait? Why are we aborting the mission?" I asked. "The Covenant aren't gone yet?" Sergeant Irwin noticed me and faced me.

"The UNSC finds this mission over our heads. We were ordered to abort and to return to the God Speed. From there, they will blast Galient from space to eliminate all Covenant ground threat." Sergeant Irwin said calmly.

He turned back to the marine in the tent. "Gather up the marines. We are going through that place, if the Covenant like it or not!"

Twelve marines suited up their Assault Rifles. "This is suicide, we're better off going through the sewer." One of them said aloud. Sergeant Irwin heard him and right away grew angry.

"If you don't like the idea, why don't you and anyone else who dislikes it go with you through that sewer? I guarantee that you will not make it out alive." Sergeant Irwin said. He took it easy on the soldier, for he was fresh out of boot camp and wasn't trained as good.

"Come 'on men. Lets get to that sewer and off this doomed planet." He walked off and a few soldiers followed him, each with disgust and anger in their eyes.

"What? You're just going to let them leave like that!" I yelled at Sergeant Irwin. He never turned around to face me while I was saying this. "Whatever happened to 'safety in numbers?' We can't take on the Covenant with only...." I stopped to count the soldiers, "...26 soldiers!"

Sergeant Irwin turned around abruptly. "What do you suppose I do? They'll mutiny the first chance I get! Its their decision...May God have mercy on their souls, because the Covenant won't." He said sharply. "The stronger of the species win...something humanity is losing at lately."

We all moved off the building and onto the dark, silent streets of Galient. There was nothing else we could do to try to save the other group. There was no hope...

Chapter 6: The Escape

Red Team moved out. We hid in the shadows of the massive skyscrapers, as so not to be detected. Covenant Phantoms patrolled the boarders of the city. Thus making our escape even more dangerous. They could detect an unidentified figure from one hundred feet away.

"Any contact with the sewer rats?" Sergeant Irwin asked me. I could tell that he was still mad by their idiotic choice.

"No, Sir. They've maintained radio silence. Which is a safe choice." I said calmly. "I'm turning off the radio, Sir. If you would like to tell them something before I do... now's your chance." He glanced at the radio in my hands.

Then dismissing all signs of worry he proclaimed; "Let them dig their own grave." Nope, still cold hearted, I thought to myself. Oh well, he was right, the soldiers could take care of themselves. I hope to God they can...



The tunnel was dark. All signs of light were only penetrating from the holes in the sewer drain cover. Above we heard thick armor clanging together. "What the hell is that?" Johnson whispered. If it was Covenant, they would hear us.

"Shut up, you coward!" Burton whispered back. Johnson was shaking and everyone knew he didn't act great under pressure.

A shadow passed through the thin rays of light emitting from cracked streets. Johnson gulped loudly and held the MA5B close to himself. Another one passed through, but stopped in the middle, everyone froze. At this section of the sewer, the tunnel split into three ways. One going straight, one going behind them, and one drifting off to the right. The creature above tapped its feet impatiently. It grunted and walked off.

The team sighed and lowered their weapons for a split second.

Crash!

A massive wall of metal and flesh exploded through the two foot thick cement street, and into the sewer. The marines looked into the two glowing slits-which were the creatures eyes. The tunnel lit up, as the creature warmed up its large fuel rod cannon.

"Hunter!" Burton yelled. He ducked as the bullet of plasma ripped over his head. Two soldiers were hit, thus melting their flesh right off the bone. The Hunter's blast sent a chain reaction to the soldier's fragmentation grenades. One of the marine's legs were blown off, as the Hunter looked on, in utter pleasure.

"Retreat!" Johnson screamed, as two more Hunter's exploded into the sewer.

Hunter: Noontega 'Paraz', Drazil 'Teb', Hapi 'Oni' . Galient, New Brazil, Draco III.

I ran through the group of armored, pink flesh. I wielded my Fuel Rod Cannon, and the 7x2 foot shield. The human disturbance upset the Prophet's back on the Corinthian.

"Ha-ha-ha. Childs play." Zeth 'Floris' bellowed to my group. Our group, Ahpla, stood awaiting the head Hunter's orders (which was 'Floris'). "Exterminate the human presence."

We smiled through our facemasks, and went ahead to complete 'Floris's' orders. My armor scraped against the small sewer walls, thus sending out sparks. I got to the part of the tunnel where it branched off in three directions. "Your Majesty. They've split up; should we pursue?" He nodded solemnly. "Perfect." I muttered.

I ran to the center of the intersecting tunnels and stood...waiting. My six sensory spines lifted into the air. Sound waves were caught, and right away I found which tunnel they entered. "Left and right tunnels are occupied, My Lord." Zeth smiled patiently.

"Continue on, and make sure their all dead." We entered the tunnels and pursued them.

Green Team: Corporal Damascus, Lt. Burton, Lt. Johnson, Private Sampson, Sergeant Walker, etc. Sewer System of Galient, New Brazil, Draco III

"What the hell were those things!" Lt. Johnson screamed. The team was catching their breath about thirty meters down the tunnel. Lt. Burton pulled out a red palm-pilot and flicked it open.

A calm computer voice broke the silence. "Squirrtle, a water-" Lt. Burton snapped it shut, sharply.

"Stupid ONI. Can't make anything that works." He stopped and shoved the screen away in his pocket. "But, I guess those were those Hunter things Sergeant Irwin was talking about. He was right, they do pack a damn punch."

"We lost like...what, 4 men back there? And the rest, they ran down that tunnel." Corporal Damascus said aloud. "I wonder if they remember that that tunnels a dead end?" Everyone looked up at each other.

"Damn. They'll be torn to pieces! What do we do Corporal?" Sergeant Walker asked, worried.

Corporal Damascus shook his head sadly. "There's nothing we can do. Their goners."

"Sir! We've got movement twenty meters down the tunnel! One of those buggers followed us down here!" Private Sampson yelled.

"Does he see us?" Corporal Damascus asked.

"Doesn't appear that he has made visual. It might be too dark for him." Private Sampson said, then continued. "Sir, unless he has night-vision, he can't see us."

"No soldier. Those guys have everything. Lets move out before he decides to show us something new." Sergeant Walker said.

Hunter: Noontega 'Paraz'. Sewer System; Galient, New Brazil, Draco III. En route to humans.

The light at the end of the tunnel flicked off, and once again I found myself in complete darkness. I looked at my wrist (which was nearly absorbed into the gun), and pressed two of the six buttons built into my armor. Glass slits fitted around my eyes. Then with a snap, light filled the passageway. I smiled, pleased, to myself. The night-vision was just acquired from one species.

The humans were on the move again. They must have saw me coming. My orange flesh stuck out like a sore thumb.

Seeing that there was no time to spare, I started to jog. The thick metal armor that covered my body clanged together. It echoed down the deep tunnels and echoed in the ears of my targets.


Sixteen units later, I found myself in a large, human, cement cavern. It was a waste of space. Huge pillars rose off the ground and stretched sixty feet high. Liquid splashed in the distance, and the smell foul; this was truly hell-or as close as you could get to it.

The scurrying of small animals echoed throughout the cavern. Their squeaks and cries were worse than the Grunts. My sensory spines touched the air, and began to pick up faint sound waves. It could be a trap, or it could be them getting away. There was only one way to see.

Crash!

I fired three rounds at one of the pillars. "Filthy human architecture. Never meant to hold against the forces." Three pillars collapsed and sent other pillars down with them. If that didn't kill any humans, the sound would have.

I continued to walk through the cavern, all the way singing to myself, "Come out. Come out, wherever you are."

Blue Team: Streets of Galient, New Brazil, Draco III.

"Taking enemy fire!" I yelled, and ducked behind a car. The windows shattered and sent plasma splattering onto the rough cement street. The Covenant had found where we were, and we sending in everyone and thing they could. There was five Hunter's, twenty-four Jackal, twelve Elites, two Wraith Tank, two Banshees, and God knows how many Grunts.

We were throwing frags like crazy. Blue, orange, and purple blood spilled onto the streets, and were going down the gutter. I turned back out and fired my Assault Rifle, aimlessly into the Covenant group. I got to where Sergeant Irwin was. Him and several other marines were stopping the Covenant from going around us, and ambushing us with our backs turned to them.

"All hell has broke loose, Fisher!" He yelled over the hundreds of bullets and bolts. "We don't have enough ammo to last much longer! I think the Covenant are purposely doing this!" I nodded in agreement.

"I thought I was the only one!" I laughed. "How many left?"

"I don't know, two-three hundred?" I sighed at the bad news. Sergeant Irwin was loving every moment of it. I guess he just wanted to die doing what he loved best.

"Sir! The Covenant have broken our last defensive line! At least four men are down!" Sergeant Irwin looked into the distance, as he consumed the information. "Sir, why are you smiling!?" The marine asked.

Sergeant Irwin looked at me. "What is the one thing the Covenant would least expect?" I thought it over, for a couple seconds.

"A frontal...assault. Sir?" Sergeant Irwin continued to smile. "Its suicide, you know that?"

"A journey of a thousand miles, begins with one step." He said simply. "Lets take that step." He stopped and waited for me to nod. "Frontal Assault on my mark!"

The marines looked surprised at first, then nodded too. "Sir, yes, Sir!" The cried in unison.

"We fight for freedom! We fight for truth! We are fighting for humanity!" Bellowed Sergeant Irwin, to the soldiers. "On my mark, release hell on them!" He paused and swallowed. "Mark!" The eighteen soldiers sprang from their positions and ran straight towards the Covenant barrier. The Shredder Rounds in the Assault Rifles mowed the Grunts, Jackals and Elites down. The Covenant were shocked, Grunts ran, and the Wraith's even had to back up to put enough distance between it and us.

Jackals formed lines to block our advancing armada, but they were tossed aside and therefore engulfed in our hell.

Crash!

Boom!

The Wraith exploded under the damage left from the Assault Rifles and Shotguns. Debris flew into the air and caused the Banshee's to maneuver out of the way.

A Banshee hit the ground, attempting to run my soldiers over. I rolled on the ground, and picked up a Plasma Grenade left behind from a Grunt. I pushed the little red button on the top-blue and white plasma emitted from it-that was how I knew it was activated. With three seconds to spare, I heaved the grenade at the Banshee. It flew through the air and grabbed hold of the tail end of it. The Banshee exploded into a mix of fire, plasma, and purple blood.

The Covenant's defense was giving way. One black armored Grunt, wielding a Fuel Rod Gun stood up to oppose the human militia. It fired two rounds into the group, a perfect yet fatal shot. Three marines were absorbed in the first round. Their Fragmentation Grenades exploded under the heat. Their Assault Rifle ammo hissed through the air, adding to the drama of war.

The last Wraith fired the giant plasma bolt at a tall building to the left of the battlefield. The buildings walls buckled and the all the glass in the building shattered and rained down upon the streets.

The building gave a loud shriek of defeat and began to slowly descend down to ground level. It fell right onto the Covenant army, Wraith tank, and five marines battling it. The impact sent a thick cloud of dust which covered the streets, and left the Covenant, and me and my marines running for shelter.

After two minutes of struggling to breathe, Sergeant Irwin burst through the cloud of dust with a bandana around his mouth. "Come on ladies! We've got them on the run!" He said proudly. We all pulled out handkerchiefs and tied them around our mouths. After that, we flooded back into the streets.

A pack of Grunt's stood in the middle of this assault, most likely stunned. I fired the last of my Shredder Rounds into the group, and watched them topple over, dead.

Sergeant Irwin was bringing up the front of our group. He fired his Shredder Rounds into a group of three Grunts and two Jackals. One bullet hit one of the Grunt's methane tanks, thus making him scramble around clutching his throat. The Jackals formed a defensive line, but they were no match for the Fragmentation Grenade the Sergeant sent over. The ground exploded into a fire and cement bits.

Sergeant Irwin broke COM silence, and yelled into his mike, "All UNSC personnel report! Assemble defensive line! We're going to throw the Covenant off their throne!"

Chapter 7: Over Throne Empire

"Sir, we got to hide! That thing is gaining on us, Sir!" Private Sampson yelled to the group. It echoed through the sewer system. The ever present sound of the Hunter's armor, hung in the air like the smell.

"Lets continue ahead. These sewers always end at the city limits. Maybe we're close to one?" Corporal Damascus said calmly. It was a good plan, but the marines still had no idea where they were. For all they knew, they could be right above the Covenant cruiser.

Hunter: Noontega 'Paraz'. En route to human resistance. Galient; New Brazil, Draco III.

My Communication channel was suddenly opened up. A loud, stern voice came out, "Noontega 'Paraz', proceed to the surface. We've got bigger problems than those humans. You have your orders. Acknowledge."

What? After I walked this far? Realizing that this figure was my superior, I went ahead with my orders. "Yes, Your Majesty. Right away." I snapped the link closed, and bellowed to show my anger. It wouldn't be long until the Prophets had no power.

And with that, I walked back.

Red Team: Surface. Galient; New Brazil, Draco III.

We ran around the corner of Balboa Avenue, and Dente Street. The retreating Covenant were running back to the base, most likely for reinforcements. I gripped my new clip of Shredder Rounds. The Sniper Rifle was hung over my shoulder with a Velcro strap.

"Wraith! Get Down!" One of the soldiers screamed. He opened fire upon the lumbering giant. Its purple body shined in the evening sun. Its pilot was skilled, due to the maneuverability it showed.

I threw a Fragmentation Grenade over to its base. It exploded and blew off a part of the craft's armor plating. I looked again at the precious machinery underneath the armor, and smiled. "Hit the interior!" The electronic gears were shot, and the Wraith tank dipped down into the street. The Elite inside the tank fired its plasma bolt at the group of marines. They dove out of the way, and rolled to their feet. Their body armor scraped against the rough cement, sending out small sparks.

We circled around the downed tank, firing continuously. The hatch popped open, and a blue armored Elite jumped out. We was quickly taken down by a couple of Assault Rifle rounds.

We sighed, and continued walking. We crossed two streets, when Sergeant Irwin stopped. "Listen!" He said.

Hhhhmmm!

"Ghost's." He whispered simply. "This day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" He said sarcastically. He turned around and found us watching him, waiting for orders. "Well?" We waited. What else could we do? "This isn't tea time, ladies. We've got Ghost's to fry. Set up sniping positions, there, there, and there!" He pointed to various building, all at least two stories tall. "On the double!"

We ran for the buildings. Except me, I had only one round left, and I didn't want to scale that building then come back down. So I stayed, and Sergeant Irwin didn't seem to mind. "What have you got left?" He glanced at my backpack.

"Three Plasma Pistols, half a clip of Shredders, a couple Plasma and Frag Grenades. And I'm planning to take one of those Ghost's back to ONI with me." I said, jokingly. He laughed, and shook his head in disagreement.

"And how the hell do you suppose your gonna do that?" He asked me. I shrugged my shoulders. "How about this...." He stopped and reached in his pocket, to retrieve five dollars. "...I bet you five bucks, that you won't get one of those things by the end of the day." I knew that we would most likely die by the end of the day, so I agreed.

"You've got yourself a bet." I said, and walked to the side of the street.

"Sir! We've make visual contact; they're coming all right, right for us." One of the marines shouted from the rooftop. Three marines came down from the stairs. They most likely gave their sniper ammo to more precise aimers.

Hhhhmmm!

That sound was designed to intimidate. Like a swarm of killer bee's out for a victim. Sure the Ghost was a great killing machine, but there were weaknesses. Like the pilot, who was open to snipers and enemies from behind. That was my target.

From down the round, about 200 feet, came seven purple, hovering, crafts; the Ghost's. They consumed the length between them and us almost magically. They hailed their plasma bolts at us. It filled the air, and could most likely be heard from the cities limits.

Five sniper rifle shots rang out. One hit the wing of one of the Ghost's, which seemed to break its gravity orb. It turned sharply and plowed right into another Ghost. It flipped and the two were engulfed in fire and debris. The other one hit the driver, who died instantly, but the craft kept going right into a store. The other three hit the ground or left little, or no affect.

One Ghost passed right by me, almost hitting my head. I ducked and waited for a slow one. Since the pack was in rows of two, the second row had to keep a slower pace, as to not hit the first row. This is where I struck. One of the Ghost's sped by me. I grabbed the wing and flew through the air. The pilot glanced at me and let out a shriek of surprise.

I steadied my Assault Rifle, and aimed it at the driver. He took his left hand off the joy-stick like steering wheel and slapped the MA5B out of my hands. I attempted to grab the gun, but it hit the ground and was lost. My armored shoes were skidding against the asphalt, but I had a good grip.

"That's it!" I yelled at the creature. I pulled my sniper rifle from my shoulder and aimed it at him. The barrel nearly hit him in the face. "Smile." I pulled the trigger and the single shot knocked the pilot's helmet off and pushed him out of the seat. I let go, and watched the Ghost skid to a stop, thirteen feet away from me. I laughed and then got back to work.

Another Ghost was heading towards me, apparently it double-backed just to kill me. Sergeant Irwin and the other three marines were nowhere in sight. I was alone.

Green Team: Sewer System. Galient; New Brazil, Draco III.

"What do you mean, he just left?" Corporal Damascus asked the lieutenant. "These things just don't give up. There has to be some kind of reason." He stopped to think.

"Maybe they are going to send some one else in?" Lt. Johnson said, always looking on the negative of things. "Maybe their going to send in those silver armored Elites?"

Creek.

The five soldiers grabbed their guns and faced the shadows. There was a lamp set up in that corner of the sewer, most likely to help the maintenance workers. The figure in the darkness moved off behind a pillar with ape-like movements.

"What the hell was that?" Lt. Burton asked with a hint of fright. He pulled out a flashlight and shot it into the spot where the creature came. The water on the ground showed signs of disturbance. "Could they have sent reinforcement's?"

Creek.

The same dark figure moved from one pillar to the next with astonishing speed and agility. Lt. Burton was slow to react to the creature. He aimed the flashlight towards the next pillar, waiting for it to cross.

Creek.

Two other figures darted behind different pillars, each with the same body movements as the other. The marine's blood froze and for once they wished they were on the surface, with Sergeant Irwin.

Red Team: Surface. Galient; New Brazil, Draco III.

I gripped the side of the Ghost with all my might. The gravity orb underneath the Ghost was slowly pushing my down, down to the hard asphalt. I struggled to control my location on the Ghost. The pilot was furiously kicking me with his two massive toes.

This time, I had no ammo. All I had was a single combat knife every marine carried around. UNSC insisted that we had an item that would help us survive in the wild. I pulled the knife out of its metal sheath, and held it tip up. I smiled at the pilot, who was watching all of this. I bent as far down as I could. The circular gravity orb underneath the Ghost's wing was in plain site. I took the knife, and stabbed it deep into the Ghost's wind. Sparks exploded from the bottom, and the Ghost leaned on its injured side.

The pilot struggled to steady the sinking ship. I grabbed the hand controller-which was the Ghost's steering wheel- and pulled it to the left. The Ghost sharply turned off to the side of the road. I jumped off as the vehicle crashed into the side of a building. The pilot flew across the hood of the Ghost and plowed into the cement wall. Purple blood oozed from the wreckage and made its way to the gutter.

I got up from the ground, and dusted myself off. I looked to the left and right of me, there stood three black armored Elites, each ready to attack. Their jaws split apart, and a mesh of gum and teeth came into view. "Ahhhh! Wart, wart, wart!" They growled and grunted at me. All of them grabbed their Plasma Rifles from their belts. The two opposable thumbs gripped the gun. Their four abnormally large fingers fit perfectly around the width of the gun.

Sergeant Irwin and the rest of Red Team were still missing. I had no idea if they were on top of the buildings, fighting behind a lane, or...dead. I stood there, with my combat knife, I was going to hurt which ever one of the devils moved first.

Bam!

Bam!

Bam!

Three Sniper Rifle rounds hailed down from the sky, each going through each Elites helmet, and into the asphalt street. All of them crumbled to the ground, dead. They dropped their weapons, which I instinctively thought to pick up. ONI needed more Covenant technology, and that kind of technology was expensive and ONI was always quick to buy it off of you.

"Thought we were gonna stand by and let you have all the fun?" Sergeant Irwin walked down from the stairs and smiled. He looked at the Ghost parked down the street, its dash board covered in blood and bullet shells. "Looks like I owe you five bucks." I nodded solemnly. "Where the hell did you get the idea, to grab hold of one of those damn things?" He questioned. He stopped then added, "You mind if I use that one of these days?"

"Go ahead, if you can survive it." I said. I snatched the five dollars the Sergeant held out at me. I pocketed the cash, and then turned to my Assault Rifle, lying on the ground. It had ¼ of a clip left, still enough to take down a couple Grunts, maybe an Elite.

"Now...lets get back to the Pelican for evac. I'm sure the UNSC won't wait on us to fire that MAC round." It was just then that the UNSC's plan was fully opened. I was now awake to the possibilities that may follow this annihilation. We either got out of here, or were left behind. Even if we got to the Pelican, we could not have enough time to get away from the blast. It made the job harder, and the crew even more nervous.

Covenant Cruiser, Hovering over Galient, Vulcan. Head Unnamed Prophet.

The unnamed Prophet looked out over the human city; it's streets and buildings-dirty, from the once numerous human presence. The tall skyscrapers broke through the fog. The Prophets bony hand clenched into a fist, then, slowly opened up again. "What has become of the universe? Where has this-this-this-filth come from?" The Prophet said menacingly, he sighed and closed his slitted eyes.

"What is it, Farce 'Hega'?" The Prophet said without facing the silent presence. The Elite froze, then, began to explain itself. He walked across the room and kneeled before the Prophet-who had his back turned on his guest.

"My Lord. This is not the planet." Farce 'Hega' said shyly. If his superior was mad, he may be sentenced to death. So he remained silent, and awaited the Prophets comment.

The unnamed Prophet tapped his fingers, attempting to hide his anger and frustration. "And the humans?" He asked.

"No, my Lord. They...escaped." The Elite stopped then felt the need to explain himself. "My troops weren't prepared for such a-"

"-Well you should have been! You sent two Wraiths and nearly two hundred troops down there! And here you're telling me that they just..." The Prophet stopped shortly to find his words, "...somehow bypassed your men?"

The Elite grew mad at the Prophet, and let out a low hiss. "They didn't bypass, my men, my Lord. They...killed them." The Prophet turned from the window and walked to where the Elite was kneeling.

The Prophets robe extended far a past the ground floor, it tracked back two feet. "Your saying that a measly fifty soldiers murdered at least two hundred Covenant troops?" The unnamed Prophet reached into his robe and pulled out a Plasma Sword (which was of course not activated). "I expect you to do the right thing." He said simply, and handed the Elite the sword. The Prophet went to the Communication channel to the bridge.

"Yes, my Lord. What is it you command?" A voice said from box.

"General Farce 'Hega' has just stepped down from his rank." The Prophet closed his eyes at the splatter that flew at him and all over the walls. "I will command his team for the remaining of the voyage." The Prophet turned towards the heap, that once was Farce 'Hega'. "And send a clean up crew up here, stat."

Red Team: Boarder of Galient City.

We got to the boarder of Galient City, through pain and misery. We had battled through the streets, through the buildings, and had sacrificed a lot. It was the home stretch and all the marines were feeling the wounds they acquired from the days work. Needler shards left micro-shrapnel throughout their body.

We got to the HQ and found it emptied, nothing was there except bullet shells and broken tents. Other than that, we found no bodies or even a drop of blood. But we assumed the worst. We feared that they might have gotten to the Pelican's and had already left.

"What in God's name happened here?" A marine said aloud. We all thought the same, but didn't dare come close to the theory. We didn't want to come all this way and get stuck at the end, and thus left behind to burn. The Covenant were surely close to glassing the planet. Our battle here, was nothing to the battle happening thousands of feet above us.

We rushed through the layers upon layers of foliage, and ferns. The birds through all of this remained awkwardly quiet. I didn't know exactly why, but I've seen enough horror movies to expect the worst. We mowed down ferns and vines as we continued towards our evac point.

Chapter 8: Taken Planet

Once we saw smoke coming up from the forest, we predicted the worst. We entered the field, and to our relief, still found the Pelicans there. Thousands of spent chain gun shells carpeted the bottom of the Pelicans. The landing zone was deserted, absolutely no signs of life. I walked over to Omega423 and found the gunner gone; all that was on the chain gun was a smear of red blood. I walked into the front of the drop ship and found the same thing. Someone-or something-had beaten us to the evac point.

"Anything?" Sergeant Irwin asked from the back of the Pelican. I shook my head. "Damn. Same goes for the other three ships, too." He shook his head and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Where'd the bodies go, Sir?" One marine said disgusted. "No signs of plasma fire." Another one added.

I stopped and took in what the Sergeant said Same goes for the other three ships, too. "Sir!" I screamed. "One of the Pelicans are gone! Two died before we reached the ground, four are down here, and there was originally seven!"

One marine stopped and added it in his head. "There's one missing, stupid." I said turning to the marine. I stopped and held my ear to the sky.

Eeerrr!

Charlie592 roared over the canopy and double backed over the jungle, to the field. We all jumped at the sudden sound. Private Wilbur's voice crackled over the COM link, "Get the hell inside! Its not safe down there!"

We weren't about to say not to that, so we ran towards the landing Pelican. Its name spelt clearly across the left and right side. We all jumped aboard before it even landed. "What's got you so spooked, Private?" Sergeant Irwin said, before I was fully aboard the drop-ship.

"Rrraaa!" Something grabbed my ankle and pulled my down to the floor of the Pelican. I turned around to face my attacker, and looked into...nothing? Something had its four fingers around my ankles and was attempting to drag me down to the jungle.

"Invisible!" The Sergeant cried and grabbed my hands. Him and three other marines pulled the Elite and me aboard. The Sergeant pulled out some ones Assault Rifle and shot it aimlessly into the air. The creature grunted as his invisible shield deactivated, he tried clutching the wall as he fell out of the Pelican.

"That was too damn close." I said softly. I pulled down my sock and found a purple claw print. The four fingers marked upon my skin.

"Good work marines. Rest, I have a feeling we might have to go out again, someday." Sergeant Irwin retreated to the front of the Pelican.

"Private Wilbur, did you get anything from a Green Team?" Sergeant Irwin was heard asking the pilot. He shook his head and like that the marine's were MIA. "So why don't you tell us your story. What happened back there?"

"About thirty Invisible Elites surprised us. They came first from the city, and wiped out your HQ. We didn't know how many Elites there were, so we thought that our gunners could handle it. But the Elites came around the field and took us by storm. That was when I flew the Pelican out of there...I was the last to be attacked. So I went over and parked in a nearby clearing. That was when I got a distress signal from a Green Team. I, on the other hand, had no idea that a Green Team had been established, so I asked them and they told me how the team broke apart." Private Wilbur stopped then continued, "...That was the last I heard from Green Team. Good thing my motion tracker caught you guys when you reached HQ. I monitored that area just in case."

"And we thank you for that, Private." Sergeant Irwin looked through the pilot's window at the clouds and stars ahead. "Are you able to reach UNSC Command?"

Private Wilbur typed rapidly on the control panel in front of him. "Yes, Sir. We've got a private link ready." He handed him the fist-sized microphone.

"Yeah, this is Sergeant Cooper Irwin, of Charlie Team, do you copy?" Sergeant Irwin spoke into the mike.

"Good to hear from you, Charlie Team. Are you in safe distance away from the city? Say again-are you safe?" A voice said from a speaker. It was the Captain of the Iroquois.

"Affirmative, Captain. We are coming home, go ahead and take it from here." Sergeant Irwin said happily. He was about to be surprise at what he heard next.

"Sergeant, we cannot-say again-cannot fire our MAC rounds." The Captain said, Sergeant Irwin froze and was afraid to ask why. But sure enough the Captain filled him in, "The Covenant have already begun to glass the planet...Draco III is lost." All of us fell silent.

I suddenly remembered my family, Sarah and Samantha. Without thinking I rushed to the mike and grabbed it out of Sergeant Irwin's hands. "What about Andromeda?" I screamed into it. "Did they evac on time?"

"Identify yourself, soldier." The Captain said, surprised at the sudden change in speaker.

"I'm Chief Petty Officer Timothy Fisher of the UNSC marines. And I wish to know exactly what has happened to my family!" I was screaming at this time. Surely, they had to have evacuated by now, I thought to myself.

"Andromeda has not evacuated yet, and the Covenant haven't began to glass that part of the planet yet. But their..." the Captain stopped, either he was dumbfounded or the link was broken. "Just get up here in one piece, marine. Those Seraphs are being deployed as we speak." The line cut off, and I was left without reassurance, and afraid that by the end of the day, without a family.




Three days later, I was informed that the Covenant had invaded Andromeda and lined the civilians up for slaughter. They ripped women and children to pieces with their bare hands. And in the end, I would do exactly as they had done. I would win this war, whatever the costs.

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