Sorry about not continuing the my main story, have to think it up first! Summer's almost here, so I can work on that soon.
Aboard the UNSC Nebula, Halcyon-class starship, in combat with a Covenant CRS-Class Light Cruiser
"Boarding action on decks 37 and 39, all nearby hands to repel boarders." The speaker droned on. No emotion in its voice, it relayed information the raging battle that was happening with the Covenant.
At its voice, several marines moved to suppress this new threat. One of the marines, a fellow carrying an assault rifle, seemed nervous. He was relatively new, and had never fought the Covenant before. His name was David Timerson, and had never hugely wanted to fight. A terrific athlete back on his home colony, he had been drafted into the UNSC when the Covenant warpath seemed to be getting awfully close to his home. After training, he had been put on board the UNSC Nebula, which was sent to patrol the area around his home.
After receiving a foreign reading nearby, the Nebula found a lone CRS-Light Cruiser hiding behind a moon. The cruiser seemed battle-worn, and it's shields were only at roughly 55%, though did not hesitate to attack. It wasn't long before it was obvious the humans would win, but still the Covenant sent boarders. Interestingly, the Nebula had found no signs of other Covenant in the area, implying that this ship had suffered severe blows in a battle before, potentially causing it to make an unplanned jump, and eventually ending up near the colony.
David wondered why the Covenant cruiser would attack when it was obvious it was weak. Perhaps the occupants wanted to make a last, suicidal stand for their "Great Journey." Why would they throw their lives away because a prophet said so? More importantly, why did they hate humanity enough to commit suicide?
When David learned he would be joining the UNSC, he made it a point to learn as much as he could about the Covenant. In addition to being a good athlete, he was smart, and knew that in order to beat the enemy, you have to know their weapons, their ships, and especially their motive.
He had learned from UNSC records about Master Chief and the other Spartan-II's missions, and had figured that the Covenant wanted to light these rings, and didn't know what they would do. But why exterminate the human race? Sometimes he wished he could talk to one, find out why without it burning a hole through his head.
All this went through his head as he dashed through the Nebula's halls on his way to the battle on deck 37. As he turned the corner, another saying from his childhood popped into his head.
"Be careful what you wish for."