Chapter 1
Master Chief shouldered the Jackhammer launcher and sighted the incoming Banshee. He eyed his heads up display, checking for any Covenant that might sneak up on him. Seeing nothing he returned his full attention to the closing Banshee. The Spartan waited for a signal from his targeting reticle telling he had a lock. The Banshee came closer to where the Master Chief was standing. Any second now and he'd be spotted, bringing two entire Covenant battalions down on him in full force. In this open valley the Master Chief doubted even a full squad of Spartans could outmaneuver that many Covenant. There was very little cover and almost no chance for a hasty dust-off.
The Banshee came closer and closer, forcing the Chief to take cover behind the only cover available to him, a burned-out shell of a Covenant Wraith that some marines had destroyed a few days ago. The Chief remembered vividly the mission logs of what had happened to them. The Chief's heartbeat quickened as the launcher still failed to lock on to the Banshee. Was the weapon faulty? The Chief brushed aside this moment of doubt, knowing that even if his weapon was faulty he still had his own wits to come up with a back-up plan.
The Banshee was nearly on top of the Master Chief. The launcher had not yet locked on. The Chief had two options. He could hold onto his launcher in a futile hope to get in a lucky shot at the Banshee before he was mown down by the fuel rod cannons the Banshee sported. His other option was to drop the rocket launcher and take up his MA5B assault rifle and try to shoot the Banshee's fuselage and maybe even try to stick the Banshee with a plasma grenade. Both options were on the brink of suicide but the Master Chief had no other choices.
The Chief dropped the launcher and pulled out his MA5B. He leapt out from his cover and fired an entire clip at the Banshee, drawing its attention. The Banshee peeled off, surprised by the sudden attack. The Chief took cover again, reloaded, and looked out from behind his cover.
The Banshee came in low, firing at the rock behind which the Spartan crouched. The stone started to turn white-hot. At last the Banshee came too close to continue its strafing run. As it pulled up to pass over the rock, the Master Chief primed a plasma grenade and tossed it upwards. It fused to the bottom of the Banshee.
The Banshee continued to maneuver around for another pass. It turned and came on, firing directly at the Chief. The Chief dived under the stream and rolled to the left. As he came up the Banshee exploded into a fireball of heat and metal.
The Chief paused to pick his launcher back up as he sprinted towards the edge of the valley and the Covenant army's camp, packed with more than 2 million Covenant soldiers.