Prologue

She looked around, finding her family. All of them still kids, before the augmentations. She saw john walk up to her. She frowned.

"Something wrong Maria?" John asked her.

"No. Nothings wrong," Maria told him. Suddenly everything around her got dark. She looked up to see a Covenant Cruiser. She looked back at John to see him fully grown and wearing the MKV armor.

"Come on Maria we have to move," some one said behind her. She turned around and saw Sam standing there. As she looked at him he started change, his armor gained a hole with his blood coming out of it. She looked up and saw the Cruiser charging its glassing beam. She looked to her right and saw Gabriela and Marcus standing there. She tried to run to them, but couldn't move. The Covenant ship fired and destroyed everything in its path.

Maria bolted upright on the couch. She looked around and saw that she was in her home on Earth.

"Must have fallen asleep," she told herself, "It was just a bad dream."

She heard someone start coming down the stairs. She looked up to see Gabriela, her 16 year old daughter, coming downstairs. Just like Maria, Gabriela had red eyes and black hair. Unlike Maria, Gabriela's hair was long and went to her upper back. Gabriela was wearing a black ODST t-shirt under an open black jacket, jeans, and her father's old combat boots. Maria was wearing a grey UNSC long sleeve shirt, grey cargo pants, her combat boots, and had been using her black jacket as a blanket.

"Hey mom," Gabriela said, "I know the rule was I wait until I'm 17 to join, but I turn 17 tomorrow. Can't we just go and sign me up now?"

"Alright but only because your birthday is tomorrow," Maria said. Gabriela had wanted to join the Marines, more specifically the ODSTs, since her tenth birthday. Maria thought she would grow out of it, but she stayed with it through out these last 7 years of her life. "Go tell Marcus to get dressed."

"Wait…how come you're coming to?"

"Because having a mother, who's a Spartan, with you when you sign up would probably help."

"Oh, you're probably right," Gabby said as she went to wake up her 5 year old brother, half an hour later Marcus came down wearing a red t-shirt with a comic book character on it, shorts, and sneakers.

"Why do I have to go?" Mark whined.

"Because your father's not here and I'm going with Gabby," Maria said grabbing the key for the Warthog. [There are civilian variants and versions that have a truck bed instead of jump seats or turrets. Maria's is the truck bed military Warthog.] As they were driving to the nearest recruitment center, Maria heard her radio go off.

"All UNSC personal in the area, report to your commanding officers," A Marine shouted, fear easily heard in his voice, "This is not a drill. I repeat, this…oh god…aaah-...," the soldier stopped talking, but the radio still transmitted, Maria could hear the plasma fire in the background. Maria instantly stopped, causing Gabby to have to hit the brakes. Maria then called Gabby.

"Gabby-…," Maria tried to say.

"Mom if you're gonna say you just came to your-…," Gabby started.

"Gabby, shut up and listen. We're going to the base, now."

"But-…"

"No buts. Gabby…the Covenant are on Earth."

"But…that's…no."

"Get in the Warthog now," Maria ordered her daughter.

"But my car-…," Gabby said.

"Now!"

"Yes ma'am."

Once Gabby and Marcus got into the Warthog, Maria floored it to the base. She got there to find Warthogs driving everywhere, Marines at their stations, and Pelicans flying to and from the base. Maria drove to the armory and got out before any of the Marines noticed her.

"Halt," a Marine yelled at her, "Name, rank, and rea-…uh…never mind the last one."

"Petty Officer Maria Carter, Spartan 062 reporting," she told the Marine, "Where's my armor soldier?"

"It's just in there. Same place you left it."

"Thanks."

"No problem," the Marine said before noticing Gabby and Marcus, "If they're gonna be here then they're gonna need a gun…well…the teenager anyway."

The irony of her 16 year old daughter being forced into combat now, when Maria herself went into combat for the first time when she was 15, was not lost to her. Gabby did know how to use a gun though. Maria wanted her children to know how to use them if they ever joined the Marines, so trips to gun ranges was a regular occurrence for their family.

"Alright. Give her an SMG and a Magnum."

"Yes ma'am," the Marine said before handing Gabby his side arm and motioning her to follow.

The four of them entered the building before Maria separated from them. Her armor, a MK VI set, was in a secure weapons room in the armory. Once she got to the room, Maria opened a large locker and put on the olive drab armor. Once she had her armor on she went to another large locker, in it was an MA5B, a BR55, and an HMG without the stand. She grabbed the guns and several mags for each before heading back out to meet up with everyone else. When she left the room she found Gabby, in heavy UNSC armor, and the Marine waiting for her.

"Wow," Gabby said, "Have enough guns mom?"

"We're dealing with the Covenant so…no, not even close to enough," Maria replied.

"Well, we better get moving."

"Will Marcus be safe here?" Maria asked the Marine.

"Ma'am…that's like asking if being in a frying pan is better than being in a fire," the Marine replied, "This is the safest place for him, but it's not that much safer."

"Well we're gonna find a way out of this city."

"Safest place on Earth would be Fleet Com HQ in Sydney."

"Then that's where we're heading."

"I'm sure they would want all Spartans on Earth to head there anyway."

"Right."

"Unfortunately we can't spare any Pelicans to get you there. You'll have to find your own way," the Marine told them, "I heard that there's an airstrip that people are using to get out of the city. Even if it's not true, there would be ships there that you could use to leave the city." As he was turning around, the base's alarm sounded signaling that they were under attack.

"Time to go," Maria said as she and Gabby went to get Marcus.