Spartan Griffin was cornered. Elites attacked him from left and right while a damned Hunter had him pinned behind a measly excuse for cover. What he would give to get out of this situation...

Griffin threw down a drop shield, a dome of light forming around him and protecting him. Plasma shots were fired, but they dissolved against the barrier. This wasn't going to keep him alive for much longer. Though if he stayed here for long enough, Covenant forces would be focused on his location in order to take him down. And if he could reach the plasma engines and overload them somehow, the entire ship would be blown to smithereens. It wasn't the greatest plan, but it was worth a shot.

The Spartan swiftly removed the empty magazine from his rifle, then loaded a new one into it. He opened one of the pouches on his suit and took out a fragmentation grenade, ready to pull the pin and toss it straight at the aliens surrounding him. Griffin took a deep breath, regaining his composure. Then the shield went down. He removed the pin from the grenade, tossing it in the direction of the Covenant forces that were cornering him.

The Elites and Jackals scattered as the grenade exploded, allowing Griffin to take them out with precise shots to their heads. The Spartan somersaulted under a large plasma projectile fired by the Hunter, figuring out how he would overload the engines. He ran into a nearby corridor, making sure the Hunter followed him. Plasma shots from pursuing Elites brushed past him as he quickly shot down those who were in pursuit. The engine room had to be somewhere nearby; he could feel it. But then a Brute burst through a nearby door, taking him by surprise. The new contact roared upon spotting his new target, lunging at Griffin. The Spartan somersaulted just out of the way, firing at the Brute's arm once he was steady.

Now the Brute was much more angry. He roared even more loudly this time, charging at Griffin fists-first. The Hunter seemed to think this was a perfect time to chime in with his own attacks, and he wasn't wrong. Griffin was almost too caught up with the Brute to notice the large, green fireball speeding towards him, and the same was true with his opponent. However, just as the Brute was ready to charge him again, the Spartan dodged the Hunter's projectile, causing it and the Brute to collide. Now Griffin had no more distractions, at least for now. He just had to find the engine room, and that was it. It was game over for everyone on the ship.

Griffin continued sprinting through the monotone violet halls, dodging the Hunter's projectiles as he ran. He was growing tired quickly, but he knew getting to the engine room was the first priority. Nevertheless, he pushed on, encouraged by the Hunter's snarls to keep running. The Spartan was about to run past a doorway when he noticed a peculiar layout. The Hunter had now caught up to Griffin and lunged for an attack, though he made it inside the engine room and dodged the attack.

However, just as the Hunter was charging up another shot, a shield of light appeared in the doorway, separating the combatants. The Hunter's charge dissipated, the beast instead attacking the light shield and scraping at it. Now Griffin was trapped in here by himself, forced to think of another plan. He sorted through the pouches on his armor, only finding ammunition. No grenades of any kind.

Just when Griffin was about to try thinking of a new plan, something rushed at him and pierced his midsection. Two blades of plasma stuck out from him, and an Elite faded into view.

"You... pathetic creature. If only you had decided to save your own hide, perhaps then you'd have survived," snarled the Elite.

Griffin's breath became shallow. "What about my actions indicated that I intended to survive?"

He pushed the Elite off of him, the sword coming back to slash his arm. The Spartan filled the Elite's head with lead, then took the fallen combatant's sword. Hopefully, it would work. The twin blades shone against the metal of the engines as Griffin struck toward one of them, though he stopped in his tracks when the light shield fell and the Hunter charged into the room, the blade mounted on his arm crushing the Spartan.


Author's Note: I know this chapter was short; the rest will definitely be longer. This was only a prologue, a setup to explain what the hell happened to this guy. We haven't even met the protagonists yet, so the next chapter should be quite interesting.