1500 HOURS, APRIL 5, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ ABOARD CAPTURED COVENANT VESSEL CORRUPT HEART \ EXITING SLIPSPACE ON THE EDGES OF EARTH
It was over, all of it, finally over. The toll the war had taken on him and his fellow Spartans was hell, but that's what they were made for, defying the odds. He stood on the observation deck of the ship he had captured with his fellow Spartan and the closest person to him, 037-Kate. Their MJOLNIR armor was on, save for their helmets which they held in their arms.
The past week they had been scouring systems for the remainder of their mighty Spartan race, with luck. Most of the survivors of Reach were in the Cryo bay, frozen in their armor. Those lucky few were Fred, Linda, Will, and James. James was almost dead when they found him floating in space many months ago near Reach. They had found him with only a minute of air left to go in his suit, and he had been fighting the Covenant again ever since.
Fred was Red leader on Reach, he tried his best to get his men off of Reach alive, but even his efforts weren't enough to save all of them. He managed to make it off the planet only because John had saved his ass in a captured dropship, and even then they were assisted by some weird crystal. He had blamed himself for the failure, and hasn't let it go ever since.
Will was yet another Reach survivor, having been with Fred underground when he was saved. He has shown the fight left within him countless times since his being saved.
Last of the Reach survivors was Linda, who technically never survived when you think about it. She had been killed in a docking bay in orbit around Reach, was frozen in a Cryo pod, and then brought back from the dead by Dr. Halsey. She was a vigilant sniper, and his rival. They had been competing as the top sniper of the Spartans countless times, and she had upstaged him every time.
"I can't believe we're finally finished." Kate said as she gave a sigh of relief. "How do you think they'll welcome us Sean?"
"Hmm, probably the way they always greet people who prove their worth, a salute, pat on the back, and another medal. None of it makes up for what we lost." He said as he hung his head in grief. Kate wrapped her arm around him as a tiny hologram in the image of a red Spartan appeared in front of them. "ETA to Earth in ten minutes you two."
"Thanks Rick." Sean said miserably as this was the worst thing that could've happened now. The AI before them was one created from the mind of Sean's best friend after he died in battle, a fellow Spartan. He had repaired an AI core from near destruction so that Dr. Halsey could create him, all in the sake of preserving his memory, but now it just reminded him of all the things he had lost because of this war.
"Can you thaw everyone out of their tubes please?" Kate asked him as she brought up camera feed to the Cryo bay.
"Already have Kate." Rick replied somewhat happily for an AI as on the feed all of the Spartan's tubes opened up as they all stepped out and onto the deck. "Rise and shine you guys."
"Oh c'mon, couldn't have given us a few more minutes?" Fred replied jokingly.
"No, now get yourselves ready and meet us on the bridge in five, that's an order." Kate said back kindly yet assertively.
"Yes ma'am." Fred said as the feed turned off. There were just two others who had survived Reach, yet no one had a clue what had happened to them, John and Kelly. They had heard scarce about John, only hearing of him by his accolades and feats in the war. Kelly on the other hand, she vanished with Dr. Halsey and was never heard from again. He missed them both.