Stalker

Prologue

Planet Merga, Midway into the Covenant Invasion

October 1, 2550

Antarctica City, Espilion Province

The General brushed the sweat off his brow. One month after the Covenant invasion. Why haven't they just glassed the planet?

A staff officer came into the concrete bunker.

The General turned around, facing away from all the satellite feeds from different battles raging across the snow covered planet.

"Sir!"

"Go on, son." The general ordered. The young officer was shaken up, more by the general then the Covenant. The General was a pale white man, light brown hair, and was a heavy built six foot five, with a mean face and dark brown eyes.

"The battle for Antarctica City is over sir. The rest of the UNSC elements are reporting that the Covenant invasion forces are retreating! But, their ships remain in orbit around the planet."

The General took of his green officer hat, and checked his magnum pistol.

He lit a cigar, and stuck it in his mouth, "Listen son, I know this is all new for you, but I am a tired man. They are going to glass the planet."

"What?"

"I have seen it many times before, the aliens come in, we beat the shit out of em', than they glass the planet."

"Is there anything we can do sir?"

The middle aged general sighed, "Find yourself a girl or someone you love and spend some time with them, all UNSC ships our destroyed, we are helpless."

The young officer ran out of the room. The end was near. The General pondered his next move of action. He sat in his leather chair, watching all the monitors and consuls in the black walled room. He sent out one last message, as he flipped on the speaker communicator. The machine recorded his message,

"This is General Bill Foortooth, in charge of all UNSC ground forces, planet is being glassed. I repeat planet is being glassed. All UNSC ships in the area, requesting evac or reenforcements."

He flipped the recording switch off, and viewed his last broadcast. The camera recorded what he said fine, and he looked professional, his uniform was clean, his face was shaved. The General knew someone would get the message, but he figured they where all going go die anyway. No planet ever survived once the Covenant decided to glass it.

The General hit a button that read "Send" then he flipped a switch so it would constantly broadcast the message into space. Dawning his jacket, he headed out the titanium door into the snow. The city was a mess. The snow fell amongst the smoking carcasses of blackened buildings. Burning cars and tanks where half buried in snow. Tired soldiers walked along the snow covered roads, trying to find survivors. Covenant bodies lay all around, and human corpses where piled high from the Covenant massacre. Mostly children, who did not know any better but to give up.

It was all to surreal, the wind blew kicking up icy cold flakes in the General's face. Then, the snow stopped, a sign of the incoming doom. The sky began to clear up, as the clouds burnt away, the heat from the Covenant's space Cruiser's plasma cannon heated up the air around them. The ugly, squid like heard of the alien space ship glowed blue and purple, the ugly colors produced when burning a world. The General pulled the magnum to his head and blew his brains out.