The Lost Planet
by Austin Metheney
"Welcome home, John" Those were the last words Cortana told me before she disappeared for good. As I stand on the deck of the UNSC Infinity looking out at Earth, I can't stop thinking about Cortana and if the Didact really died on requiem. I heard footsteps coming towards me.
"Chief?"
"Sir."
"At ease Chief. You don't have to call me sir, Just call me Lasky." I nodded then looked back at Earth.
"Beautiful, ain't she? I grew up in a colony and only heard stories. I didn't actually go to Earth until i was older." I remained silent.
"Look Chief I know you miss her and went through a lot. Just remember soldiers aren't machines they're just people." As Lasky walked away I said out loud "She said that to me once, about being a machine."
A few days passed and we were approaching a planet said to have Covenant and Promethean on it. The Covenant are no problem, but the Promethean have proven to be a challenging enemy and are tough to kill. We were about to enter the planet but before we could everyone had to gear up including myself. as soon as everyone was geared up and ready to go, we entered the planets atmosphere. Just then the ship caught fire and it felt like we were free falling.
"We're going in to hot." "Mayday mayday this is copilot of the UNSC Infinity we're going down! I repeat we're going down!" We entered orbit too fast causing the ship to crash. I awoke among dead Marines and wreckage. It was a desert like planet with what seemed to have no life forms at all.
"I hope lasky and the others are still alive." Just then Prometheans spawned and Covenant forces patrolled beside them. they must have been going to the ship. I tried not to be spotted so i used a sniper I picked up off of a Marine. I took out the Elites and Knights first, but by then I was spotted. There were enemies all over. I grabbed an Energy Sword off one of the Elites and took out the rest of the enemies.
Soon after all the Covenant and promethean were dead, I got a flashback of Cortana and I before she went rampant. It was back on the last Halo when we destroyed it while we were escaping. She was so calm and calmed me as well. I remember how patient she was waiting for me when i went into cryosleep just sitting there counting the days as they went by until i finally awoke. It saddens me to think of her but I have to be strong. there has to be a way to bring her back there just has to. Soon after walking for miles i found a huge sand dune but the ground was irregularly shaped. LIke there was something under there.
Just then the ground began to shake and I watched as the sand parted and to my amazement a huge bird like promethean arouse. Unsure if it was friend or foe i raised my weapon but soon realized it was going to be too hard to take down with my Assault Rifle so i lowered my gun and just stood still. Its screech was loud and ear piercing but I didn't care. The only thing on my mind was cortana and nothing else. This was only just the beginning.