Chapter One
Commander Joseph P. Redford had cost the UNSC millions after he stole a Pelican craft from Airway Carrier 148. He had no excuse to provide when he was arrested. Other UNSC commanders were also blamed for not watching one of their own men. The Covenant assault on the carrier left Redford no choice but to try and escape, yet he had no experience with Pelicans. There was not much evidence given against him, even so, Judge William Onega put up a fierce debate in the first court proceeding. Redford was released until the next trial which was 19 days away. He was stripped of his position and was left to roam with no defence so to the civilians, he was just another resident of People's Creek.
Earth had been at war with the Covenant for decades and well over 30 million
soldiers had lost their lives. It was indeed the bloodiest battle mankind had ever experienced. This was not humans against humans; it was humans against aliens, fierce aliens that were relentless killers. New weapons and vehicles had to be constructed to even survive the kind of gear that the Covenant was using. Super-soldiers had to be created to compete with the massive Brutes that faced them. These soldiers were labelled as Spartans. They had the same battle instinct as standard UNSC soldiers but were genetically superior in terms of aim, speed and strength.
Redford helped design the Spartan army when he was just 19 years old. He passed his exams and went on to Military School, quickly passing up the ranks to a Major. It was his idea to construct super-soldiers to rival the Covenant's Brutes. Five years later, when he had
reached 24, the Spartan army was complete. However, his luck changed after his father died in the war. He became a drunken lowlife, being kicked out of the military for 3 years. When Redford returned and he was all sobered up, he continued to work on the Spartans, finishing the second prototype known as Spartan-II. This success brought him to the attention of the commanders, and they soon offered him their equal rank. He gladly accepted and was the youngest commander of the UNSC army, aged 31.
The war raged on. Redford became increasingly anxious, even to the point where he feared his own men. And then the tragic day happened, the assault on Airway Carrier 148. On board were over 200,000 soldiers, 10,000 Warthog jeeps and 50 Pelicans. The carrier was colossal, bigger than any command base of UNSC property. So the Covenant saw
the opportunity to attack it. All 200,000 men were killed, except for Commander Redford because he was at the Intel room, which was at the back of the carrier. Nobody knew why the Covenant wanted to hijack it. Maybe it was the new Warthogs or the Pelicans. Redford managed to escape by sneaking past the Brutes and Grunts. Then, without any of them knowing, he hid away into the last remaining Pelican and flew into the sky, killing some Grunts in the process.
Later, the UNSC caught the Pelican flying into Covenant territory and decided to shut its engines down. Redford had to control and had to parachute to safety where he was captured by UNSC marines.