0705 hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar)

Epsilon Eridani system, Orbital Defense Generator Facility A-331, planet Reach

SPARTAN-113, Jason, slapped a fresh clip into his MA5B assault rifle. He checked his ammunition--three more magazines. Three Banshees raced overhead, plumes of gray smoke whispering silently. He fired at full auto, and saw two other Covenant Wraiths arriving. Their large plasma guns swiveled and whirred, and blobs of silvery-blue plasma burst out, destroying shrubs and grasses.

"Protect the generators!" shouted Jason, slapping a fresh new clip into his weapon. Muzzles flashing, two of the seventeen Spartans in Team Beta advanced. "Get the plasma guns!" ordered Jason, dodging a dazzling plasma mortar. He tinted his faceplate as the plasma blob passed by, sizzling and landing into the area of yellow, dying grasses behind him. Explosions thundered through the facility as regiments of Grunts and Jackals charged in. Three pairs of large rock-like Hunters stomped in, their fuel rod guns overcharged and ready. "Get the--" His voice was abruptly interrupted by the loud sound of screaming.

Four Spartans were sent flying back, helmets blasted off. Sooner or later, the Covenant would run over their position. Hundreds of Covenant troops charged in, firing plasma in every single direction. Bolts and waves of plasma crashed into Jason's energy shield, and Jason jumped up, dropping his assault rifle as plasma detonated the rifle, and shattered 7.62mm rounds burst everywhere. Jason plunged his hand into the bag next to him, hitched a needler onto his belt, and grabbed a plasma rifle. He rolled away from a plasma detonation. Six Ghosts sped in, firing silvery bolts of plasma as they went. Two Banshees flew overhead, and a chunk of Titanium-A debris from space landed near Jason.

Jason waited as the plasma weapon recharged, then fired. The other last thirteen Spartans stood, firing their stolen plasma weapons continuously. SPARTAN-005 smiled, gritting his teeth as he fell, his plasma pistol still firing as he went down. Jason roared crazily, firing bolts of constant plasma, not letting anything get up. The meter bar on the side of the rifle showed only one-fourth energy left. As Jason paused for a moment, checking for leaks in his MJOLNIR combat armor, the vertical hot, red bar turned blue and cool as the energy recharged itself.

Jason whispered a silent prayer and activated all the self-destructions on his dead teammates' armors, and sprinted away, aware of the other Covenant troops running crazily after him. A large, fiery-red explosion blossomed up behind him and his faceplate automatically polarized to maximum. A flashing yellow color illuminated the inside of his helmet. He fired his plasma rifle everywhere, and his charge meter slowly leveled down. Jason growled angrily at the rifle and waited for it to charge. He settled down behind a twelve-foot-tree. Suddenly, crackled, smoldering red-yellow leaves were blown away as a medium-sized Covenant prowler landed, its four plasma turrets ready.

Four groups of Elites hopped out, their energy blades flickering to life as they jumped out one by one. Jason watched as a wisp of smoke floated overhead, then he turned his attention back to the prowler. He zoomed in on his magnification tool in his HUD and he saw two Grunts and half a dozen Elites guarding the prowler. Their plasma pistols were out--he noticed the Elites' energy swords were gone.

He quietly crept from his hiding spot, walking lightly "over" the ground. A leaf and a branch cracked as he twisted his body to slide through a slight gap to the small ship's landing place. An Elite fired his plasma pistol at the hiding spot, and a microsecond later, the Covenant guards were firing their plasma guns and turrets. Jason had lost the element of surprise, so he advanced, firing the longer C-shaped plasma rifle he had. The green streak of plasma from the rifle hit the Grunts. They squealed and fired their pistols crazily. A blob of plasma hit the Elite in brown armor. Jason watched the Elite growl.

As the three Elites charged, he knew he had a slight advantage--the aliens didn't have their formidable swords. He fired his half-charged plasma rifle at a constant rate, and plasma bolts roared past, hitting random parts of the prowler. An Elite charged, and it grabbed a plasma grenade from its belt and threw it. The ball-shaped grenade detonated in midair, disabling an air vent nearby. Air stopped flowing through the vent, and another vent started up in the room.

Jason watched as the Elites were confused for a second, trying to gasp in oxygen for their breathing. Then, he hurled himself forward into the Elite who's shields were down and tackled him. The Covenant trooper's jaw cracked as Jason gave a swift punch, but then felt a blow to the back of his helmet. Another kick to his side knocked the breath from him, and he pulled his plasma rifle out of the soldiers' grips, firing the gun.

The unshielded Elite screamed as supercharged plasma blasted into his mouth, burning the insides to cinders and crisps. The two other Elites were caught off balance by a sudden klaxon alarm sounding, and Jason tackled them both in the stomachs, pushing them roughly out of the prowler's passenger bay, where they had been fighting. He heard a small squeal and he brought his rifle to bear when--a Covenant Engineer wriggled out of a hole, handing a clean, fixed MA5B assault rifle to him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and noticed the tag on the Engineer. It read:

If any Spartan gets this, report immediately to Reach ONI facility CASTLE, we are under attack. Repeat: We are under attack.

Sergeant "Rock" Norman

Jason nodded approvingly at the chirping Engineer and then pressed the green button on the control panel. The hatch sealed with a slight click. He proceeded to the cockpit of the Covenant prowler. On the ceiling were Covenant letters. Jason's new Covenant translater read: Golden Sun. That was a beautiful name for a ship. A beautiful name.