Three months later

January 23rd, 2552

6000 miles above Takra

Moving away from the enormous planet that was once deemed the 'New Earth' of the Niobe Aino system and the most populated planet within the system was a fleet of forty assault carriers and about one hundred CCS battle cruisers. This was the largest Covenant fleet ever to have attacked a Human planet so far in the war. However, the quick and easy victory they had expected had instead resulted into a long and drawn out conflict that had lasted several months until the last UNSC stronghold on the planet, Fuldure city, which had been half the size of Singapore island with a population of about ten million people, was destroyed and glassed by the Covenant. This battle along had cost the Covenant several hundred thousand lives and the loss of about ten assault carriers and twenty CCS battle cruisers. The Human losses though had been much greater. They had lost two billion civilians and UNSC military personal. Another great defeat for them and it pushed the Covenant much closer to victory.

Bridge of the Honourable

Sitting in his chair in the middle of the bridge, Vadumee looked at a holographic screen of the planet of Takra as they flew away from it. He admired the work he and his fleet had done there. Even from this far into space, he could well and truly see the damage his fleet had done to the planet.

Large swathes of it were now more desert-like than the once great expanse of greenery and blue lakes and seas that had once covered the surface of the planet. Even from space, pillars of smoke were visible and the large Euria Sea south of one of the main continents of Takra was now only half the size it had previously been as the Covenant glassing of the planet had vaporized much of the surface water of the sea. Takra was no longer a world for Humanity to expand and settle on. It was now a world that was a wasteland and, although it would rejuvenate itself, it would take years for the planet to recover from this long and drawn out battle.

Vadumee pressed a small button on the armrest of his chair and the holographic image dematerialised into thin air and he looked up through the window of the bridge into the ever stretching blackness of space that was filled with the trillions of stars. Out there, now, was the last of the Human resistance in this system. Surely they would leave soon, or at least surrender and submit to the Covenant. They were finished here, but a new thought filled Vadumee's mind. He knew that Humanity would not easily surrender. The Covenant were not leaving any survivors in this war and they had not done on any of the other worlds that Humanity had previously colonized here. Plus, the Humans had not showed any sign of giving up. They had fought long and hard and despite losing millions of their own people, they were inflicting heavy casualties on the Covenant. Also, they knew this was a matter of life or death for their own species so there was no choice for them. They had to either fight or die, and he knew that Humanity would fight to the death, no matter who they were up against.

Worthy foes he thought as he looked up into the ever stretching blackness. But they are already doomed. If only they can be saved.

"Shipmaster!" a minor Elite working on a nearby control panel called, jumping Vadumee out of his thoughts and causing him to turn his head towards the Elite. "We have received orders from High Charity. We are to return there immediately,"

Vadumee nodded. "Set a course for the holy city!" he ordered.

He looked back up through the bridge window for a moment before he pressed the button on his armrest again. The holographic image of Takra appeared again and he gazed at it and touched his wound again, which had healed but not re-grown or anything. This planet would always be in his mind from where he was given a mark of shame in this war. Even now, months on from that day, he began to feel sympathetic for what he had done to that Human girl. Even though she had cut off two of his h=mandibles and made him look like a fool and plus he was trying to defend himself, he would have preferred to kill her in self-defence rather than out of anger as he had done by throwing her over the cliff.

But that was something he would have to live with for the rest of his life and there was no doubt it would haunt him until his death.