He ran, dodging and lunging, avoiding every shot that he could. Things had gone to hell in a hand basket quickly. The rest of his team MIA or KIA but it didn't matter he still had a mission to complete. He felt the heat of the incoming plasma burst brush past his helmet as he ducked for cover. He quickly turned the corner and returned fire, three quick burst, three dead Jackals.

He made a dash for it, usually he would move quickly and silently, but now his SPI armor had been compromised and he was visible to the naked eye. He jumped to his left, avoiding a plasma grenade, tumbled back to his feet, and continued running not missing a step. He spotted a group grunts entering from the corridor and opened fire to them. The shredder rounds ripped through them, leaving nothing but a bloody heap.

The alarm sounded all over as he dove through the shutting door, rolling to his feet. He raised his weapon as he faced a pair of Hunters. This was his first time facing them, but he knew all to well the damage they could inflict. He quickly grabbed a grenade from his belt, activated it, and tossed it to the incoming Hunter as it rushed at him, fuel rod charging. He jumped to his right as he avoided the blast from both the fuel rod cannon and the plasma grenade explosion. He landed on his back and opened fire to the Hunter's exposed midsection, shooting until he heard the "click" to signal an empty clip.

The Hunter crumpled and fell forward to the floor. The Spartan rushed to get up as he heard the second Hunter groan and howled at the death of its partner. It fired its cannon at the Spartan. He simply took his chances and jumped off the platform to the floor below. He hit the floor and tumbled on to his knees. He took a deep breath as the door opened to reveal a group of Elites. One growled as he looked at the Spartan.

"Demon" he heard him say through the translating software. The Elite pulled out its energy sword and lunged forward at the Spartan. He dodged the first downward swing, blocked the backswing with his right arm, grabbed him and jerked him back as the second Elite swung it plasma rifle downward. The blow connected with the back of the head of the first Elite, killing him. The Spartan pried the sword from the Elites hands and swung it up at the third Elite as the second hollered over what he had done. The Spartan turned and killed the last remaining Elite. The Spartan tuned the energy sword off and retrieved his assault rifle, only to notice that the barrel was seared off. He shook his head as he dropped it and grabbed the two plasma rifles.

He moved through the corridor, taking out a group of Grunts and a few Jackals as he made his way to the core. The door opened to reveal his objective, the core room. He grabbed his pack and grabbed the C-12 explosives, set the charges, and turned around.

A large Gorilla like creature stood there, a Brute, the barrel of its gun pointed directly to his head. The Spartan literally saw his life flash before his eyes. His planet destroyed, his training, his friends… then heard two shots ring out. The Brute fell dead. He looked up to the general direction of the shots and spotted another Spartan with a sniper rifle.

The first gave a few hand gestures that meant to get out and fast. They both rushed running past everything, returning fire only when needed, and made their way to the Shuttle Bay. They looked for a ship to aid in their escape and saw another Spartan near one. The Spartan quickly motioned for them to run and boarded the ship as they did the same. The ship sputtered and came to life as they prepared to escape. The rest of his team was in there already. They sped out of the bay and into open space, pushing the drop ship to its maximum speed. On the screen a giant flash and a giant debris field later they knew they had accomplished their mission.

The Spartan removed his helmet to reveal Dark hair and brown eyes, looking directly at another Spartan. "A split second later, and I would be dead. You're timing is impeccable, Lindsey." The Spartan with the sniper rifle removed her helmet revealing short brown hair and hazel eyes. "Bet you were scared shitless weren't you, Terry?"

Terry simply met her gaze as he shook his head, laughing about surviving their first mission. Their first mission as SPARTAN IIIs.