It was beautiful.

He floated there, in space. Alone, blown clear of his ship when it was ripped apart by plasma fire, he floated, waiting for his oxygen to run out. It had all happened so quickly, his squad barely had enough time to get into their extreme environment suits when the Covenant tore through the space around him, destroying all in their path.

He and his squad were heading to one of the onboard rally points when it hit. The ball of plasma ripped through the ship, exposing many of the crew to the deadly vacuum of space. He was unlucky enough to get sucked out into the void, spinning out of control as his momentum carried him farther and farther away from his ship.

He had maneuvered his body to where he could see the battle, hoping that id he had to die; he'd like to know just who was going to win. The sight that greeted him made his heart skip a beat.

The planet glistened in the pale light from the distant sun, it's glassy surface reflecting the light back into space. On the night side, the superheated ground glowed from within, making it appear as if some great fire was locked inside a giant diamond that used to be a planet.

His minimal air tank hit empty, and before he began to suffocate, alone, in a cold void above a dead world, all he could think was:

It was beautiful.