[Hello everyone! This is just the beginning of a brand new story based around Halo. This one is actually the first story I have ever come up with and I have everything planned from now to the time of Halo 5: Guardians. RWBY: AoC will be updated shortly and another Halo fanfiction centering around the Warzone maps should be released soon. So, please enjoy a story I've been creating for the past five years and see another spectrum of the Halo universe from the perspective of another Spartan. Be prepared, this is just the beginning...]

[Additionally, I set up a character guide that I will update when major characters are added or go MIA (Spartans Never Die, bitches!). People will die though so...yeah. But I suggest you guys check out the character guide which details the armor, colors, and preferred weapons of each character currently active in the story.]

Screams. Nothing but screams. Those were the last memories he had of his homeworld, Freedom. His home lay in ruins, his mother slain right before his eyes by the hand of a towering Sangheili Ultra. He had no father. The father left a long time ago, an amount of which could not be remembered, to fight the Covenant. But he never returned. The Battle of Jericho VII had claimed him. Now the Fall of Freedom took his mother away as well. A ten year old boy shouldn't know this type of pain. The aching heart he had, the want to do something, but the lack of strength to do so. Now an alien stood before him, energy sword drawn, the elegant blue light illuminating the small corner the boy had tucked himself into. He met the figures gaze, yellow eyes meeting his brown. Tears welled up in his eyes. Was he worried this was the end? Yes. But what bothered him wasn't simply that: He only wanted to have it all back. His final moments would be spent dreaming of the life he could've had. Growing up with both parents, hanging out with his best and pretty much only friend, growing up and getting into trouble in his teenage years only to turn around in the adult world and make a living with a woman that he would love. No, he would never have that...

Or so the boy thought. When the towering alien reared its arm back to bring its blade down on the poor child, it found itself suddenly caught with its sword on the ground and arm pinned behind its back. The boy looked for the savior, eventually resting his eyes on a man of great stature. A man of which did not posses a face or body of flesh, but rather a dark green metal. The metal was scratched with smears of dirt and muck spattered in random locations. The glass plate that covered where his eyes should have been bore a large crack reaching from the leftmost edge to the uppermost area of its middle section. He had pinned the Sangheili to the ground, knife in hand, but two more aliens of the same race prevented him from dealing the killing blow. The new arrivals wore armor issued to Minors of their Holy Covenant, and surely the man of green could easily take their lives from them. But the Ultra stood, regaining its energy sword. The boy knew he couldn't simply watch. If he didn't intervene, the distracted warrior would be torn apart by the Sangheili's wrath. He looked around in panic, locating a small shard of glass to his right. It was triangular, jagged, with a sharp point at the end. He got to his feet and started forward, remaining as silent as possible. The Sangheili had its sword ready to plunge deep into the man's 'flesh'. The boy wouldn't allow another life to be lost because they were defending him.

The boy didn't know what happened. Something had broke inside of him, releasing a rage he never knew he had. Now a Sangheili Ultra lay at his feet, a shard of glass sticking from its throat. Dark blue blood painted the area around the alien's head. The boy crouched beside it, looking into its hand. The hilt of it's energy sword was still wrapped in it's fingers. The boy touched it's skin. It was rough and odd. He removed the four fingers that grasped the weapon, and removed it from the corpse. He stared at it as he stood. Tightening his grip on the hilt, the energy blade activated. The impressive florescent blue took a very streamlined shape which pointed away from his hand. It was then he realized the man before him, towering high with two mangled alien corpses. He quickly shut off the weapon, attempting to shove it in his pocket. The warrior stopped him, carefully grabbing a hold of his wrist and easily removing the sword from him. He examined it and said: "Keep this, in remembrance of this place. In remembrance of her." He turned his head to look at the remains of the boys mother before looking back down at him. The reflection of fire and people running was reflected in his visor. "And to remember your first kill."

PRESENT DAY
PLANET REACH
UNSC Marathon-Class Cruiser, The Voyager
2552

"Why do you think ONI is sending Spartans to do the job of local military, Clay?" Joe asked. The White-Spartan sat on a metal bench, observing his knife before sliding it back into the sheath located on his left rib cage.

"Honestly, I don't know. I like to think its a simple drill, but now a days no ones sure." Clayton answered. His black and orange armor still retained small amounts of shine. Two years after graduation from the top secret Echo-Company project and he still had only fought rebels. Weren't Spartan-IIIs meant to fight Covenant?

"Do you think its Covenant? I mean, quite honestly, I don't know an insurrection in existence that has been able to make a whole city go dark without the UNSC hearing about it. Especially on Reach!" Joe stated, standing to face his locker.

"No, not the Covenant. Not on Reach." He removed an energy sword from his locker. The one he took when he was ten. The one he took from his first kill. He stuck it to his thigh.

"Clay, you know just as much as I do that its possible. Why do you fight the idea that it might just be them." Joe placed his Mk. V helmet over his head, muffling his last words.

Clayton slid his own EOD helmet on and slid his DMR onto the magnetic clamp on his back. He sighed. "I know its a possibility. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we go to Stellar City and find them , its the results that will come from them landing here that I'm deathly afraid of."

Joe looked to the floor, obviously imagining the casualties and loss should Winter Contingency be declared. Reach was the last fortress world before Earth and, once the Covenant got to the heart of the Human race, well, all would seem to be lost. He looked back to his old friend and nodded. "They're definitely no rebels or plain bullies from junior high." Joe had a small smile under his faceplate, which Clayton shared.

"Spartans Clayton Echo-159 and Joseph Echo-178 please report to the hanger bay. Falcons are ready to take you to your destination." The loud speaker above them was extremely loud. It got their attention, so it did it's job.

Joe looked at Clayton. "I hate it when they use my actual name." He had an annoyed tone in his voice, something that didn't normally happen with the mellowed out Spartan. He grabbed his sniper rifle and slid it onto his back. "You ready? Preston is gonna have our throats if we don't get there, like, now."

"Yeah, lets go. And you can't hate your father forever."

Joe simply shrugged with small amounts of difficulty before the pair left the small Spartan armory, joining the everyday traffic in the tight halls. The Spartan-IIIs towered over the other personnel, multiple Marines looking up at them in utter awe and shock. Clayton could swear that one of them had fear in her eyes. The Spartans marched through the halls, boots clanking as they stepped on the metal floor. They made left turn at a T in the hallway, the directory stating the hanger was in that direction. As they walked, Clay observed the happenings in his HUD. Ammo counter, shield strength and armor integrity, and the radar that was overwhelmed with friendly blips of yellow were all active and running appropriately. A massive spike of activity showed up on the device as soon as they entered the hanger. For the most part, the hanger contained engineers and pilots working diligently to maintain Longswords and Pelicans. Otherwise, troop Warthogs ferried Marines and other personnel around the ship. A single Elephant sat in the middle of the hanger, looming over anything that passed it. Clayton and Joe approached a single Falcon with two additional Spartans talking near it.

"Ah, finally. You two ready?" The Spartan of Blue asked.

"Yes, Sir." Clayton responded. Joe cut right into a question.

"Preston, do you think we are dealing with covies?"

The team leader looked towards Joe before looking to the ground. "I don't know. But I hope not." Preston's deep voice had a hint of sorrow in it, indicating he new something was out of place.

The second Spartan had walked to the cockpit of the Falcon and talked with the pilot. Now he approached the other three Spartans of Nova. His lime green armor bore scratches, just a little less than Preston's, indicating the pair had more of a veteran status compared to Clay and Joe. After all, they were from Beta-Company.

"Commander, we have the greenlight." He said.

"Thank you, Nathan. Everybody, lets saddle up!" Preston commanded.

Clayton climbed into the Falcon and sat near the rear, on the double-seat. Nathan sat next to him and Preston sat on the single seat across. Joe sat on one of the side seats looking outside of the helicopter. Preston banged on the hull of the Falcon, and the pilot started the air vehicle. The propellers whirled as the Falcon lifted off the metal floor. As they exited The Voyager, the impressive mountains of Reach drew their attention.

"Captain Olecksi, Nova is clear of The Voyager." Preston reported over communications.

A voice with a thick Russian accent responded. "Thank you, Commander. Good luck on your mission. Be careful and remain vigilant."

A massive roar shook the area behind the Falcon. Clayton looked back and saw The Voyager ascending into the atmosphere, disappearing amongst the clouds.

"Hope you brought something to play with Nova, we have a ride ahead of us." Preston stated, shifting in his chair whilst holding a tac-pad.

Clayton slowly leaned his helmeted head back on the seat. He caught a glimpse of Joe, looking over the mountains as they flew by. He was dead silent. Clayton shut his eyes, wanting to gain a little more sleep before they landed. It was only a little bit after the break of dawn after all.

"Alright, Nova! Prepare for landing!" Preston yelled.

Nathan shook Clayton awake, his vision briefly groggy before restoring itself. He took a look at the surroundings, what was once mountains and countless trees had since turned into massive sky scrappers and extensive highways. Clayton stretched his arms outward and briefly yawned under his helmet.

"You alright there, 159?" Preston asked, his head slightly cocked to the side.

Clayton gave a thumbs up. Nathan chimed in. "He's just recovering from his beauty sleep, Sir."

Clayton smiled under his faceplate as he heard Joe chuckle over TEAMCOM. "If anyone needs beauty sleep, its you Nathan."

The lime green Spartan grunted in response as the falcon began to descend on the roof of a sky scrapper, more specifically, an ONI communications building.

"So, we can't be the only Spartans investigating an anomaly like this." Clayton brought up.

Preston looked up at him, holding his BR-55 by the barrel in his left hand, the butt resting on the floor. "We are the only Spartan team deployed to Stellar City. However, there is another anomaly occurring at the Visegrad relay station. Noble Team was sent to investigate." The Blue Spartan Commander explained.

"Wait. Visegrad relay? That's not far from here. Is anyone else seeing a problem here?" Clayton asked.

Joe snorted. "I saw an issue the second I heard a whole city went dark. You a little slow today, Clay?" He teased.

"No, just making sure we are connecting the dots."

The Falcon made its final landing on a small helicopter pad that jutted out the side of the building. It touched down and Joe instantly slid his body off the side, boots making a loud thud as he hit the pad. He aimed his Sniper Rifle near a door way before scanning the surrounding area for hostiles. Clay's radar was clear, save the three yellow dots that marked the other Spartans. But he knew Joe was cautious, obviously checking for anything on a nearby building with a want to take the head off a Spartan. The Falcon officially landed, the propellers ceasing to whirl, also reducing the wind it was kicking up. Clayton stepped off the helicopter, instantly noticing the darkened sky. Clouds covered Reach's sun and rainstorms were threatening to start. he could already see the lightning off in the distance. The Pilot came up over the communications.

"You boys hurry up, but be careful. This thing won't do to well in a thunderstorm."

"Affirmative, Lieutenant. We will be in and out." Preston responded.

Preston pointed two fingers ahead, towards a doorway. "Nova, proceed."

"Permission to take point, Sir?" Clayton asked.

"Granted. Move up."

Clayton approached the doorway, reaching his hand out to a terminal in the wall next to the door. He firmly pressed the and the door slid upward, into the ceiling. He immediately drew his DMR, finding it aiming down a dark hallway, the only light being the small daylight the let in and a flickering light bulb at the end of the passage. He proceeded forward, activating his night vision.

"Nova, night vision." He stated, not exactly in a commanding tone as he thought Preston wouldn't approve of him taking command like that, but he said nothing. Rather, his status light on Clay's HUD turned green, indicating he had received and obeyed the order.

Clayton placed that behind him. He continued his march through the darkened hall, everything illuminated with a slight tint of green. Eventually, the squad found the end of the hall. Preston came up on TEAMCOM.

"Nova, according to the holo-map of the building, we have to move left at this T."

Clayton continued to lead the way as he turned left, carefully checking the corner. Nothing. This hallway was even darker than the last. It was quite eerie, not a single sound emitting from anywhere besides the clank of their boots.

"Nova, there should be an elevator up ahead with a staircase immediately to it's right. Head down that stair case two floors." Preston commanded.

Nathan came up over TEAMCOM. "Why can't we just take the elevator?"

'You should know the answer to that." Preston answered.

"Look, that op on Pisces was an accident."

"Either way, we take the stairs."

"Fine."

Clayton racked his brain for anything he learned about the battle of Pisces. Nova was present, he and Joe weren't active members, them only nearing the end of boot camp at the time, but three other Spartans made up the former Nova with Preston and Nathan. Preston had sent the other three to secure an area within one of the larger buildings, the group deciding to take the elevator. Covenant Jiralhanae cut the chord and the elevator dropped several scores worth of feet, instantly killing one Spartan. The other two were mauled to death by the damn apes, but they died fighting. Every member of Nova dies fighting if they can, usually removing their helmets before death. A tradition among members of the team, removing their helmet and showing the world they are human inside the armored shell. Kinda dark, but tradition was tradition.

Nova had already begun descending down the stairs, on their way to a control room, some form of command center. Clayton checked the hallway as they entered the lower level, the continued his course. He looked up and saw a sign, barely keeping itself onlne, that read 'Command Center'.

"Found it." Clayton reported.

"Good, move in." Preston commanded.

Clayton complied with the orders, slowly taking his time as he moved inside the large room. It was pitch black, but his night vision outlined a majority of the things inside. Bodies were everywhere.

"Dear god..." Joe whipsered, but loud enough to be caught by TEAMCOM.

Clayton felt terrible for the people caught by whoever or whatever had committed this massacre, but they had to finish the mission.

"I suggest we fan out, find a power source." He recommended.

"Good, move out." Preston responded.

Green status lights illuminated Clay's HUD as the other three Spartans spread out across the room. Clayton walked in between two rows of computers consoles, observing some of the flickering screens. Body after body lie dead at the desks.

'Some people didn't even have a chance to get out of their seats' He thought in despair.

The Spartans worst fears were slowly being confirmed. First the countless bodies, and then what he found next sent a small chill down his spine. Plasma burns, all over the walls. Gashes in certain computer consoles, indicating that something had slashed them open. One more discovery, and the picture was painted. He walked towards a corner of the room, squinting his eyes to make sure what he saw was true. A Sangheili Zealot lay defeated in the corner, but multiple humans were scattered around it, all holding blunt or sharp objects. One human corpse lay on top of the Sangheili's, its hand still barely grasping a small pocket knife that was buried in the alien's throat. In turn, two scorch marks were left in the man's abdomen, telling that the Zealot took him down with it.

"Commander!" Clay turned to face the rest of the unit.

At that moment, Joe found a switch that reactivated the power to that room. All at once, as the lights flickered on and Nova turned to face Clayton's find, all their radars filled with random yellow dots, floating around the small oval shape.

"Shit." Clayton said aloud.

Seconds later they were on top of the Spartans. Sangheili Zealots dropped from the ceiling, their cloaking deactivating as they hit the ground. A Zealot landed directly next to Clay, swinging its sword at him. Clayton noticed in time, ducking under the attempted strike. However, the alien warrior still cut into his right EVA shoulder pad. Clayton drove the butt of his rifle into the Zealot's stomach, knocking the air out of it. He then kicked it to the ground, popping it's shields. One shot to the head with his DMR was all, and the alien was dead with a hole in his face. Joe had slipped his Sniper Rifle onto his back, drawing duel M6G pistols, the Marine variants. He fired a continuous stream of rounds at a single Zealot, firing each Magnum one after the other due to it's slow rate of fire. Eventually, he popped the energy shields of his opponent before driving a bullet through its forehead. Preston and Nathan found themselves with their backs against the wall. The Spartan Commander fired constant bursts of his battle rifle, depleting another Sangheili's shielding, but the alien dove behind the computer desks before he could kill it. He yanked the magazine from the stock and dropped it to the floor before smacking another one into the gun. Nathan had just finished reloading his MA5C assault rifle before releasing a barrage of bullets onto another enemy.

Clayton found the Zealot Preston had fired upon crouched behind the desks. The Spartan vaulted over the desk behind the alien, activating his energy sword. He forced it downwards, the Sangheili rolling backwards and causing Clay to drive the blade through the floor. He quickly removed it, swinging his arm backwards to try and strike the warrior. He was met by another energy blade, a brilliant light flashing as the made contact. Clayton felt the Elite grip the back of his head, his helmet suddenly jerking forward. The immense strength of the Sangheili dragged the Spartan off his feet and flung him a mere two, Clayton landing on his back. The Zealot attempted to drive the blade into Clay, but failed when a sniper round exploded it's throat. As the alien collapsed, Clayton looked up from where he lay, getting an upside down view of Joe lowering his SRS.

Both Preston and Nathan lowered their weapons, Nathan kicking an Elite corpse riddled with bullet holes. Clayton observed his radar, it was still jammed.

"Wait a minute..."

Suddenly, another Zealot landed behind Nathan. The Sangheili drew it's sword and grabbed Nathan's shoulder, driving the blade through his chest.

"Aahhh!" The Spartan screamed in agony.

The Elite pulled it's blade out, letting the limp body fall to the ground, making a loud clattering sound. Preston and Clayton fired rounds off at the Zealot, only for it to growl at them before making for the door. It escaped through the corridor, bullets grazing the steel walls as it fled.

"Somethings not right here! Zealots don't normally flee like that!" Joe stated, concern in his voice.

"He's calling in reinforcements! I just picked up a foreign comm spike! You two, chase that bastard down!" Preston ordered.

Clayton and Joe flicked their status lights green, moving to exit the room in pursuit of the being who ended their friend and comrade. As they exited, Preston knelt down beside the scarlet-drenched armor of Nathan, cursing under his breath. Nathan's status light official began to show itself as KIA on everyone's HUD.

"Damn it." Clay whispered as he and Joe navigated the halls.

Clayton approached a corner and a red dot appeared on his radar. "Oh no you don't!"

The Zealot swung it's sword out from the behind the wall as Clayton dropped down to a slide. He skillfully regained his footing before propelling himself into the Sangheili. The alien smacked against the wall and Clayton used all his might to lift the Elite. Taking notice of the elevator they passed on their way down the stairs earlier, he heaved the body into the small box, then slammed his fist onto the button for the floor just below them. The doors to the elevator shut, but when the outer shaft doors went to close, Clay forced both his hands in between them and held them open. The elevator began to descend with the Zealot inside.

"Joe! S-shoot the c-c-cable!"

The sniper took aim and pulled the trigger. The cable snapped with a loud crack and Clay could hear the screeching of the metal grinding against the walls, ended by a loud crash that echoed throughout the building.

"Well...I think its dead. But your buying ONI the new elevator." Joe said with amusement.

"Heh, something tells me that it won't matter real soon." Clayton answered.

The pair of Spartans ran outside the front doors of the building into the streets. Preston had ordered them out there and the lieutenant who flew the Falcon wasn't responding. The commander crouched beside a car in the middle of the street, Nathan's corpse wasn't with him. Clayton and Joe ran over to his position as a hail storm of plasma bolts on top of them. Clayton ducked under some, a few making his shielding shimmer as they absorbed a few blows. Clayton dove behind the car with Preston, Joe replicating the action.

"Commander?! Wheres the body?" Clayton asked.

"Couldn't retrieve it. But I do have these." Preston held up a set of dog tags.

Clayton nodded. "What are we dealing with?"

"That split-lip managed to call in reinforcements. I used a translator to de-crypt most of the message. Apparently, Stellar City is being used as a staging ground for an invasion." Preston responded.

Clayton briefly shook his head as Preston continued. "But we now have two Wraiths and a about three lances of Covenant troops converging on this position."

"What about the Lieutenant?" Joe asked, concerned.

Preston pointed to some wreckage. wreckage of a Falcon. "Found it covered in Buggers when I got out here. Poor guy." He said with a plain voice.

"Well what do we do?" Clayton asked, a plasma mortar strike landing 20 feet away.

"I haven't been able to get into contact with anyone outside of the cities parameters, meaning the Covenant are jamming our long range comms."

"They'd do anything to kill a 'demon', let alone three." Joe stated. He stuck his head out from behind the car to observe. He ducked back down as a pink streak flew past where his head used to be.

"Needle Rifles...great." He said. "The Wraiths appear to be holding position near the end of the block. Jackal snipers are set up flanking each one, but they appear to only be armed with Needle Rifles. Otherwise, just Grunts and their Elite officers cautiously pushing forward." He reported.

"Alright." Preston started. "Open fire on them. Get back into cover if those Jackals pop your shields. We need to eliminate as many as possible so we can run and not get gunned down."

Green status lights went up as the three lifted their weapons up and over the car. The loud crack of Joe's Sniper Rifle, the blunt sound of Clay's DMR, and the purr of Preston's Battle Rifle bursting filled the air. Clayton dropped an Elite before aiming at a trio of Grunt Minors and one Major. Four 'clacks' later, and they all laid lifeless in the street. Joe was focusing his fire on the Jackals, eliminating them one by one. His shields popped, however, and he ducked into cover. He released the empty magazine in the long rifle and replaced it with a full one, pulling the bolt back. Preston himself had downed the gunners for the Wraith's plasma turrets, thus stopping the constant stream of plasma fire. Clayton had since regained his cover, reloading his marksman rifle. As he rose, a stream of energy struck him, depleting his shields and scorching his chest plate. The sudden heat was intense even through his armor.

"Ah! Shit that burned!" He yelled as he slid down the car, planting his butt on the road. Preston ducked down to observe him. Clayton shook his hand in the air. "I'm fine, Sir!"

The Spartan got back up on his feet, firing more rounds down the road. Wraith mortars drew closer and closer as the drivers sighting in their targets.

"Sir, I think we have to move!" Joe yelled, his shields popping for the third time in the firefight.

"Your right. Fall back!" He ordered.

The three Spartans left cover, roadie running to avoid fire. They had their sights on turning around the corner and possibly trying to book it, but that was thwarted by a single well placed Wraith shot. Preston collapsed onto his back after the plasma mortar exploded before him. Clayton ran up to his leader, placing his DMR onto his back. lifting his upper half off the ground and slipping his arms under Preston's armpits, Clay dragged him behind a small pillar in front of what appeared to be a museum building. Joe provided cover fire as he did so, trying his hardest to at least deter the Covenant tanks. Clayton laid Preston on the pillar, made from a gray marble.

"Sir! You still there?!"

"Barely..." Preston answered.

Clayton got a good look at his armor. The front was charred black, much like his own chest plate. Preston's visor was covered in cracks, only a small portion still intact. Some of the tech suit worn under the Mjolnier armor was torn and tattered. He must of taken a real bad hit, as that didn't happen much.

"Cl-...Clayton..."

"Yes, Preston?"

"Nova...lead the team...its up to you now."

"Sir, don't talk like that! I'll carry you out and get you a combat surgeon."

"No..." Preston groaned.

He reached up and removed his recon helmet. Blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth. He coughed once. The man was in pain, but was trying pretty damn hard not to look weak. His eyes, once a dark green, now were clouded and gray.

"Sir, with all due respect, I can't..."

"Yes, you can. You always had the ability. Why do you think I requested you specifically when you graduated. With Joe, hell, you two seem to operate just fine when your together. Build a new Nova, Clay. Lead them to the end, be it the end of humanity, or the end of you." Preston stared deeply into Clayton's visor.

Clayton nodded, accepting that his leader was fated to die here. He was to assume the mantle.

"Now get out of here, Commander." Preston said, using Clayton's new title with a sly smile on his face. He reached under his chest plate, pulling a set of dog tags out and snapping the chain that held it around his neck. Additionally, he pulled out Nathans from his utility. He raised his hand and Clayton met it with a tight grip. As Preston let go, the dog tags rested in Clayton's palm. He stored them with his ammunition.

"Yes, Sir." Clayton responded.

He stood and readied himself to sprint as Joe ran past, plasma fire following him. Clayton took off after him, the pair sprinting down the road towards the cities edge, and the forest.

Preston laid on the pillar of marble, contemplating his final moments. His memories flowed through him, spanning from the last moments of his homeworld, boot camp, and all the missions and battles he served in prior to this moment. He heard the Covenant troops marching towards his location at a fast pace. He reached to his thigh, pulling an M6G Magnum from it's magnetic holster. It was the Marine Corps variant, slowly rate of fire but a higher accuracy. The thing also didn't come with a smart-link scope, but that wouldn't matter here. Several Sangheili marched past him, followed by several Unggoy. He raised the sidearm and fired. A bullet struck a Sangheili, making it's shield glare. It turned in response, two more rounds striking it. The shielding it possessed popped. It ducked under additional rounds, but Preston managed to place a bullet into it's heel. It growled in anger as it messed up it's footing, stumbling to the ground. Grunts opened fire on him, his lack of shielding meant he felt every plasma round that hit him. He gritted his teeth as two struck him, one in the lower stomach and the other his left shoulder. He turned his fire on the arthropods, killing them with ease.

The Sangheili stood back up, it's shielding fully recovered. Preston noticed and pulled the trigger on the alien. The muzzle flashed as the bullet left the gun, striking the Elite's shoulder. Preston pulled the trigger twice more, noticing that no more rounds were being fired. The Sangheili now loomed over him, growling intensely. It was only a Major. Preston stared up at it with hatred. The alien activated an energy dagger from it's wrist guard when a 'click' caught it's attention. A grunt had approached and stared at Preston's hand, running away in fright. A frag grenade lacking a pin rested in his palm.

"Burn in Hell, you hinge-head fu..."

Clayton ran up the ridge, making it to the trees. He heard an explosion off in the distance, in the city. Joe emerged from the trees, rifle drawn.

"Back up, you split-jawed...Clayton?"

Joe lowered his SRS and Clayton nodded in response. He began to walk towards his friend.

"Wheres Preston?" He asked.

Clayton didn't respond with his voice, catching his breath. He just did a full on sprint through the city and up a steep hill. He may be a super soldier, but he needed to breath. Just like any other human. Instead of talking, he moved his thumb over his throat and dragged it across, running over his Adam's apple before flicking his thumb outward.

Joe sighed. "Shit. What do we do?"

"We run until we can fight. By the way..."

"I know." Joe interrupted.

Clayton looked at him. Joe stared back as if he knew the quizzical look behind his face plate. "You don't need to tell me what he said. I knew you were next in line." The white Spartan explained.

"I still don't get it." Clayton shook his head as he walked past Joe at a quickened pace.

"You will eventually, my friend. Eventually. So where do we go? Covenant are still blocking our long range communications so we can't exactly get a ride home." Joe asked.

Clayton stopped briefly, listening to a slow hum. He looked into the sky as a Phantom flew overhead. It stopped above the trees about a mile and a half away before lowering itself. Clayton chuckled.

"We are Spartans. If we can't get a ride home from our own boys, then I'm not gonna be afraid to steal one from some alien bastards."