April 13th 2543

Rtas Verumee stepped into the human machine containing the large crate. He was somewhat more skilled in reading human runes than any of his Sangheili. On the crate were three runes. Perhaps they were a message of surrender? No, Rtas had seen these before, but he couldn't recall where. After a few seconds of thought he regained his memory. He had seen the rune on a smaller crate, similar to this one. It had been an explosive device, planted by the aliens as a trap. "A similar device of this size…" Rtas stopped his thought process there and immediately started to sprint away from the elevator. He had almost turned the corner when a gigantic explosion blew him into a close by wall. He felt his bones crack as the pressure from the explosion rammed him against the structure. As Rtas lay, bleeding and on the brink of unconsciousness, he activated his cloaking device, not wanting to die by the hands that had most certainly killed his team. His vision grew hazy and the last thing he saw before slipping into darkness was an alien in light blue armor seeming to appear from thin air.

Rtas awoke several hours later, and was immediately aware of a searing pain his abdomen. Around him lay the dismembered remains and pools of violet blood that had once been his Sangheili. Every fiber in his being strove him towards one feeling. Revenge. He painfully attempted to recall everything he had seen before he had fallen unconscious, and could only remember the alien in light blue armor…

May 26th 2543

Sim sighted the jackal through the scope of his SR99. He was laying prone in a patch of undergrowth, that was only the bottom layer of the rain forest covered colony New Hope that Sabre had been requisitioned to defend. Currently, their mission was to infiltrate a Covenant base that was only twenty kliks east of the main population center of the planet. The mass amount of Covenant here was unsettling, even for Spartans. They had gathered in the thousands, preparing for a major assault.

Sim reflected on the Covenant's reasons for not glassing the colony when they had won the navy battle a week earlier. Whatever the reason, the alien bastards had set up camps outside nearly every major population center, and started preparations for a massive invasion.

Sim's contemplations were cut short as Zach's voice nearly whispered into his comm, "Sim, take the shot." Sim brought his right trigger finger towards his palm a few centimeters, instantly and silently bringing an end to the jackal's life. Two shadows emerged from the bushes near him a few meters ahead of him and silently crawled across the jungle floor towards the Covenant base. Sim spoke into his comm "Copy that sir. Tango neutralized. Alice and Steven are advancing now." When there was no response Sim took it a clear to advance. The camouflaged warrior slowly crept through the underbrush to his next vantage point, a small grassy hill that lay just inside the tree line to the large open area that held the Covenant facility.

Sim heard a voice on his comm screaming " -epeat exfil the area ASAP, we're out of time! I repeat, Sabre team exfiltrate the area and meet at exacuation site Delta Foxtrot!" This voice was new to Sim, and even though it was frenzied and somewhat stricken with panic, it had a sound of authority to it that almost made Sim obey it.

Suddenly, Zach's calmer voice filled his helmet "Do not ignore that last order, meet at evac point Delta Foxtrot, we take off in two minutes so move your asses!" As the sun washed up over New Hope, coating the jungle in a red-orange haze of beautiful light, Sim suddenly realized the reason for this unplanned retreat.

The Sun couldn't be rising, it was almost midnight, the sun wouldn't be up for at least six hours. No this new. Second sun was the bright red-white heated plasma ejecting from a Covenant super carrier, a glassing beam.

Alison checked her assault rifle's ammo counter. "Fifteen rounds and no extra mags" she thought as her Sim, and Steven sprinted through the now ablaze jungle. All the heat in such a moist area was giving off so much steam they could hardly see at all. Alison was on pint in the group, when they came across a now dry riverbed full of soon-to-be-dead grunts she emptied the last of her ammunition into the arthropods. Then, trusting Steven and Sim would finish them off, she dropped her now useless weapon and continued sprinting through the fiery rain forest.

Fred and James were crouched in a dry stream bed that was there only shelter in the hell that the jungle had become. Trees around them blazed with flames, moisture evaporating in front of their eyes due to the extreme heat that was nearing the hundred and thirties. If they stayed here they would be fried to a crisp by the intense inferno that had seized the air around them. However, if they left the stream bed, they would almost certainly be killed by the elites that had them pinned down from kilometers away with beam rifles. "So, what do you suggest?" James questioned the smaller Spartan. "Me? You're the commanding officer. I'm just here to follow orders." Fred retorted humorously while sporting a huge grin beneath his visor.

James spoke back "Well, you are the expert in this situation, what route do you think has the least chance of us being shredded by energy beams?" "That one." Fred offered while pointing at what had used to be some sort of animal trail that had once continued into the foliage, only now to be virtually on fire.

James almost took a step when Fred stopped him by placing a hand on his friend's chest, "No there's still a ninety percent chance they'd hit you from that trail." "Well then," James said "We'd be better off going together, that way there's a chance one of us will make it out alive."

Fred's face exploded into another unseen grin, James always was a crazy one…

Vivian attempted to stand, but the weight of her armor seemed more than it ever had before. So, abandoning hope of escape, she collapsed onto the jungle floor. The corpses of a dozen Sangheili assassins that had held energy blades until a few minutes ago were strewn around her. Their bodies were covered in mutilations and buckshot from Vivian's furious resistance.

Vivian showed signs of battle as well. At least ten puncture wounds from the assassin's swords had burned through her armor, searing her flesh and organs that lay underneath. There was no way she could hope to survive even if she did get to the evac site. Oh well, twelve of them for one of her? A fair trade any day in Vivian's book. The hulking killer died, her kukri knife clutched in her left hand, and a maniacal smile on her helmet less face covered in blood, violet and crimson.

Rtas Verumee lay crouched in the jungle vegetation near what seemed a pitiful human version of a landing pad. Really it was just simply a cleared pice of disgusting human dirt that the heretics used to land their vile ships and take off again. Rtas had seen many humans pass by him, but he had styed hidden and cloaked, knowing his revenge required him to strike at the right moment. He had not moved for svereal hours, but Rtas knew that when he saw the Holy Cleansing Light that his taste for blood would soon be quenched. And a short time later, just as he had predicted a group of three human demons moved into the clearing. Rtas deactivated his cloak and withdrew his blade, the plasma searing the air around it. He charged into their path, ready to kill them all.

Simm couldn't belive his eyes when he first saw it, as they had entered the clearing that served as their evacuation point, a black armored Elite had come roraring a war cry with an energy sword raised high in swing. Before he could eact it brought the blade down on Alison, who had just enough time to roll to the left, though not totally avoinding injury as her severed wrist flew through the air spewing a fountain of blood. By this point Simm had his rifle halfway out of it's sling and was in the process of sliding a new magazine into it. Steven, though had already draw his assault rifle and began to fire fully automatic at the Elite who, with speed that Simm had never seen in anything besides a Spartan swung the blade again, this time vertically severing the end of the Steven's rifle's barrel.

Steven was reaching for the sidearm on his hip but before he could fully draw the weapon a horozontal slash from the crazed Elite passed through Steven's skull, ending the life of the young Spartan. Simm had now sighted the alien while it was spinning around to face Alison who had collapsed on her stomach on the ground nearby. At the same time the energy blade entered her back, Simm fired his rifle, blowing the creatures brains all over the soil below and causing the blade that had been stuck into Alsions abdomen to lose it's power source.

James was ferrying a wounded Fred across the jungle. During their "excursion" Fred had taken a particle beam to the left shin. This was not totally unexpected as James had immedaitel picked him up and hoisted Fred over his shoulder, simultaneously handing the injured Spartan his assault rifle to return fire to any hostile forces they might encounter. And encounter they did. They had been through several squads of Covenant but James had never stopped for a moment, knowing they were on an ever decreasing deadline.

Up ahead, James spotted the large clearing that was the evac point. He continued sprinting until the Pelican being used for evacuation was in sight. And when that happened, James sprinted faster until he and Fred reached the dropship. James set Fred upon the floor of the bay of the aircraft and looked at the ship's occupants. Zachary and Simm were seated in the seats of the Pelican, while two medical personell surveyed Alison who was on the floor next to James with an amputated wrist and plasma burns in her chest.

He looked at Zach and started to say "Wher-" But Zach just shook his head and cut him off with "They're gone." James shifted his gaze to Simm who simply odded in confirmation.