Prologue: Humanity has barely survived a bloody war with the Covenant, an alliance of alien races with one common goal: Find the ancient relics of their Gods and eradicate humanity from the face of the galaxy. Both of which they did well, destroying countless human colony worlds in their genocidal campaign. The United Nations Space Command or UNSC stood as Humanity's best defense, but even they couldn't defeat the Covenant. At least not without the Spartans, super soldiers with a mysterious past. The Human/Covenant war lasted from 2525 to 2553 and did not end without the help of a rouge sect of the covenant called the Covenant Separatists and 23 billion human casualties. Now, 5 years after the war, the largest UNSC vessel known as the Infinity is on her maiden voyage to explore new worlds.

On board the UNSC Infinity a couple of newer Spartan IV's are having a lengthy conversation with Spartan X75, an older Spartan III and a veteran of the Human/Covenant war.

Spartan IV Gabriel Thorne asks, "So you're a Spartan three eh? I thought all of your like died on Reach."

"Most Spartans did die on Reach, including my old team… but I guess I was one of the lucky ones," answers X75. Death did not faze him after his 20+ years of military service, but memories of his team began to get to him.

"How exactly did you get off planet Reach?"

"That's the thing; I didn't get off of Reach."

"Wait WHAT," yells Gabriel puzzled, "Then how are you talking to me?"

"Let me explain. I didn't get off Reach during the initial evac. I had to fend for my myself for a couple months until the UNSC found my distress beacon and saved me."

"So you are telling me that you survived almost a year in a desolate wasteland."

"I'll just tell you how. Reach was a large UNSC military base. It was where I and my fellow Spartans trained at when we were kids. As you know Reach was practically on Earth's doorstep. If Reach fell, humanity fell. My team was dispatched to the city of New Budapest to help evacuate survivors. It would be a tough job to do, it always was, but we complete our tasks. We were Spartans after all. My team consisted of seven Spartans including myself. My right-hand man and team explosives expert was Hos-D34. Steve-D98 was my team's shot gunner and 'tough-guy' Shelly-E01 was team sniper and covenant weapons expert. We also had an Office of Naval Intelligence officer on my team. His name was classified but he went by 'Oni'. And what's a team without a good psychopath? His name was Damian-S66, he didn't speak at all, and would not let go of his assault rifle for the life of him. Our newest recruit went by 'Rook'; I didn't know him to well. Last but not least there was me, team leader and marksman. We were known as Fireteam Odyssey.

We were en route to New Budapest when out of nowhere came a Covenant Banshee. It fired its cannon and sent my team's pelican drop ship hurdling toward the city. We slammed into a building, demolishing everything in our path. To make a bad situation worse my team was deep in enemy territory, our ride was trashed, and we would have to fight our way out. We could not complete our initial mission. I scanned the area with my motion sensor and saw dozens of red blips inbound. We were in for one tough firefight. I told my team to take cover behind the downed pelican and get ready. The doors to the room in front of us began to spark. The metal melted from the white-hot plasma cutter. Blue smoke emitted from the gaping hole and the doors burst open, sending shrapnel in all directions. The covenant troops rushed inside in standard formation, small arthropodic aliens, or grunts in front, and bigger. more menacing elites in back. Both sides began firing, sending hot bolts of plasma and bullets across the room. As most soldiers were trained in the UNSC, if you kill the elites first, then the grunts will scatter, having no leader to guide them. We did just that. I had my Spartans focus fire on the elites in order to take out their energy shields. Then I dispatched them with quick shots to the head, spraying their purple-colored blood all over the walls. The grunts, now without their leaders, began to flee in all directions, even toward our gunfire. Some ran at my troops with their plasma grenades primed in a pointless attempt to avenge their fallen comrades. Not a single survivor was left. We soon rushed into the next room as the previous started to pool with alien blood and methane from the grunts' re-breathers. Their blood-methane mixture smelled foul, like something had been decaying for a month.

In the next room we found no Covenant but something worse. Inside were the plasma scorched bodies of civilians. Men, women, and children alike, a sight all-too familiar in this bloody war. There faces were frozen eternally in fear. My team paid our respects and quickly moved on. I vowed not to let any more people die today.

Outside the partially demolished building were 2 jeep-like vehicles known as warthogs. We ran over to them and started them up. I ordered Damian to man the chain-gun, and he simply nodded. I knew he would enjoy this. We might be able to save those civilians just yet. We started driving through the New Budapest's streets, crowded with bodies and rubble. My coms icon came up on my helmet's heads up display and I quickly answered it.

A marine's voice, distorted through static, began to echo inside my helmet. 'Calling all available UNSC personel to Ithaca Avenue. We need to clear a landing so our evac bird can land. Heavy Covenant infantry is tearing us to shreds.'

I instantly responded, 'this is Spartan team Odyssey replying to your distress call. We are en route to your location.'

'Thank god, I was expecting marines, but Spartans are twenty times better, marking our location now.'

I quickly told Hos and Rook to change course and head to Ithaca Avenue. Our warthog engines roared as we headed to our new destination. Along the way we encountered another Covenant squad. This time there were Elites with spindly, bird-like Jackals instead of grunts. Oni and Damian spin the Warthogs' chain-guns and quickly open fire on the Covenant infantry. Fiery blue bolts of plasma slammed into the windshield, instantaneously melting the glass. A stray shot of plasma hit my armor, which my energy shield easily deflected, but it left a coal color scorch mark on my shoulder. The bullets from the Warthogs' guns tore the alien troops to pieces, covering our Warthogs in blood and body parts. It looked like we might get out of this mess, when in the corner of my eye I see a jackal-sniper fire his beam rifle. In the few seconds that this occurred I turn to see Damian fall off the warthog, a small black ring on the front of his visor. Shelly spots and kills the sniper.

I shouted, 'Damian is down I repeat DAMIAN IS DOWN!' Shelly took over Damian's position as gunner and opened fire on the remaining Covies. Ahead we came up to a road block and were forced to stop. Our Spartan team, now six strong, would have to travel to Ithaca on foot. My team started to sprint along the road, littered with bullet casings and chunks of cars, when our motion sensors read a large red blip coming our way. We rushed into the nearest building. Inside I discover a holographic menu with cash register, which meant it was a restaurant or something of the sort. It made me realize there used to be people who had lives outside of battling the covenant and it motivated me to save them. Outside a Covenant Phantom flew by. It was sending reinforcements to Ithaca. When it had left I motioned my team to exit the restaurant. They all replied with a 'yes sir', except Steve. I turned to see Steve, impaled by a Plasma Energy Sword. Its wielder, once hidden by active camouflage, revealed himself to be an Elite Zealot. Zealots were the equivalent of a UNSC general but a heck of a lot more dangerous. He was covered in ornate gold armor, with curvy light patterns and alien hieroglyphics. He roared, his four jaws split apart to reveal sharp teeth underneath. Rook ran to tackle him to the ground, but the hulking alien swatted him to the side and charged at us. I quickly commanded my team to open fire on the Zealot, showering him in bullets. They did nothing as they bounced off his strong energy shielding. It only angered him and he lunged at Oni. The energy sword barely missed him and cut into the surrounding wall. I motioned Hos to act now and we both rushed to the massive alien beast and wrestled him to the ground. The remaining members do the same as I pulled my combat knife out of its sheath and force it into the monster's neck, killing him.

With that ordeal through, we left our fallen teammate behind and headed to Ithaca. My team hoofed it to the evac site and discovered and a huge battle commencing. Both UNSC Army troops and UNSC marines were being bombarded by the relentless Covenant forces. At this point I was exhausted. We've killed aliens of all sorts by now and all I wanted was a rest. 2 of my teammates, my friends were dead. Reach was going to fall. I wanted to quit right then and there, but I couldn't, I had to save those civilians, I had to make sure my men didn't die in vain. The remainder of my team went down to the UNSC barricade and exchanged shots with the enemy. My team easily picked off the enemy infantry. Our extra firepower gives the UNSC the extra oomph to repel the Covenant, if only for a short time. The evac bird lands in the designated spot and the civilians rush out of cover and into the ship. I manned a machine gun turret to give them covering fire.

A marine yelled over the loud engines, 'Is you're team coming with us?'

' 'No, we'll cover you and make sure you don't get shot down.' I yelled back. Behind me I see the Phantom from earlier drop off a Wraith tank. There was no way the evac shuttle could survive a blast from that. 5 more phantoms drop a company of about 200 covenant troops, all of various species. There was no way the shuttle will survive without our help. I look to my teammates, I couldn't see their faces through their visors, but I know they feel the same.

The marine asked again, 'Are you sure you are not coming with us.' We all nodded our heads, knowing we've sealed our fate. The shuttle door closes and begins to take off. I motioned Hos to grab the rocket launcher from a downed marine. We'll use that to take out the Wraith. Shelly moved to a crow's nest to help snipe any stragglers. Oni and Rook joined me on the front lines as more Covenant moved into our position. The shuttle flied away as we opened fire, bullets and bolts of plasma flew all over the place. Our energy shields allowed us to absorb a couple shots of plasma before doing any real damage. We fought off wave after wave of grunts and elites while Hos fired his rocket launcher at the tank, destroying it. Then the worst happened, I fired the last rounds of my DMR until the rifle's ammo counter reads zero. I looked at Oni and Rook who were using the last of their rounds as well. We had no choice but to use Covenant weaponry. We all grabbed a Plasma rifle, which fired bolts of plasma at a high rate. Now both sides were firing plasma at each other. Our plasma tore through infantry, melting everything in its path.

This firefight lasted about 2 hours until we eventually killed all enemy forces. We did not win without casualties. Oni had been fatally shot in the abdomen and was dying of blood loss. As soon as we were about to leave more Covenant arrived. This time it was the Special Ops elites coming to finish us off. There was no way we could save him. We gave him a plasma pistol and fought with him till his dying breath. The Elites charged at us, swords ablaze and sliced Shelly, killing her instantly. Hos, distracted by the Spec ops troops in front of him was caught off guard and impaled through the back. Rook, who lost an arm to an energy sword, covered me until he too was killed by an Elite.

I was the last Spartan left. All my men were killed almost in the blink of an eye. There was one elite left as well. If I was going to die, I would kill this hinge-head first. I grabbed an energy sword from a fallen elite and ran at him with one last battle cry. The elite did the same. Our swords clashed, and we both looked at each other ferociously. I saw the hate in his small black beady eyes. I then took out my knife and jammed it into the open part of his leg armor. He roared in pain, his mandibles flaring out. As he did this, with one swift motion I swung my sword at his neck, decapitating him. He fell to the ground with a thump, blood gushing from his neck stump. I looked up into the sky and roared. I roared for my Spartans, I roared for those lost on Reach, I roared for the countless lives given to defend humanity from the Covenant on other worlds.

In the sky I saw numerous Covenant cruisers about to glass reach with orbital plasma bombardments. Knowing I need to get to cover soon I ran to the ONI building on the far side of the Ithaca Avenue. The ONI headquarters had a underground section that would protect me from the glassing. Inside and underground I shut all doors to not allow anything in and waited it out. With no food or water I would evidentially die, so I found the cryogenics sect of the building. Knowing it would be a while before anyone found me; I turned on the building's distress beacon and entered the cryotube. The cryotube would keep me in suspended animation until rescue arrived. In my final moments before I froze, I thought of my Spartans, my teammates, my brothers and sisters.

I awoke to see two Marines and an officer looking back at me. One of the marines asked, 'Are you alright Spartan?'

Still a bit disoriented, I answered, 'Y-yeah why are you here? D-did we win?'

The officer spoke this time, his voice stern and confident, 'Reach, no, the war, yes. Come on Spartan I've got some explaining to do.' Captain Del Rio explained to me how the war was won. He told me the Elites learned the truth about their 'Gods' and then separated from the Covenant to help us fight, and eventually, defeat them. He then sent me on board the Infinity, and asked if I wanted to join the Spartan IV program. This was a tough decision. I've been fighting for 20 plus years and I was tired. Then I thought that my Spartans would want me to, and I would do it for them."

"So that's why you are here today," says Gabriel Thorne, "but one quick question, what's that tattoo on your arm."X75 looked at his arm. It had Θυμηθείτε φτάσει inscribed on it.

"It's Greek," answers X75, "It stands for 'REMEMBER REACH'."

Epilogue: The UNSC Infinity crash lands on unknown alien planet known as Requiem after following the Distress call of the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn. Inside they find an enemy far, far worse than the Covenant.