== Prologue ==
I open my eyes. A deep throbbing pain sears up my back. My vision blurs with a flash of light. I feel my overwhelming fatigue tugging on my mind, pulling me deeper and deeper into unconsciousness. It was as if every particle of my body cried out for more sleep. I close my eyes again, hold my breath and lay perfectly still. An image appears in my mind. A faded, distant thread of memory I can't seem to catch. It's as if I need to understand something essential, yet it's just beyond my reach. The image starts to fade away. In panic, I try to recollect my thoughts. Focus. Focus! Unfortunately, the image dims… and is gone. The throbbing pain in my head slowly ebbs away.
For the second time, I open my eyes. I am lying down in dark room. The smooth polish and indigo hue on the walls tell me I am in a Covenant ship. The panels on the wall flashes cyan figures now and then, giving the entire space an eerie glow. I realize something else on the wall. Partially obscured from the bright flashing light, darkened burn marks and splatters of multicoloured blood dot the surface of the wall. Some of the bloodstains were red – a bad sign that humans were a part of a battle that raged here and were hurt. I strain my neck to look towards the floor. Just a few inches beyond my reach lay a battered assault rifle. My assault rifle. There is a clean crack right through the display on the top – where the compass dial used to shine. I remember all the times where that dial helped me out. A tired mind can let its direction slip away, especially after crashing from an escape pod, fighting with the Covenant, and being in constant flight from the Flood. The dial atop that rifle always points straight North. Well, straight to the magnetic North of whatever planet, or ring, we're on. My thoughts are rambling and I start to feel like I'm in a drunken state. I can feel myself losing my senses. I…. I… I need to remember. I need to remember something. I think back, back to when it all started. Back to when I first signed up to be a marine.