Chapter 2
Pvt. Tim Mithel sat restlessly as time went by. Rex had given him his job: Guarding the entrance to Cryo Bay 2. Mithel did not know who or what was in there that made Cryo Bay 2 worth guarding, but he took it without hesitation. Guarding a Cryo Bay was much easier than guarding the perimeters. He was given a standard-issue MA5B Assault Rifle to carry with him, along with a backpack, in which he carried all his personal belongings. He also had an M6 Pistol, given to him by his late father, and a couple of grenades. Mithel made sure all his weapons were in check, and then he turned to face his partner, Pvt. Henry Morris. Morris was standing, smoking what looked like a half-chewed cigarette. " Want one?" Morris asked. " Er…No thanks." Mithel answered. He took out a piece of cloth and started to polish his assault rifle. Then, they both heard a noise. It sounded like something blew up, Mithel observed. Then, they heard plasma fire, followed by screaming. "Holy shi-" Morris snapped up, throwing his cigarette away and bringing his assault rifle up. Mithel put the cloth back into his pack, slung it over his back, clipped the pistol onto his belt, and then brought up his own rifle.
A few minutes passed before Mithel and Morris saw the first hostiles. There were three of them. The humans had called them Grunts, after the sounds they somethimes made. Morris had emptied a full clip on the first one, smashed the skull of the second one with the butt on his assault rifle, and then allowed Mithel to take care of the third. They heard what seemed to be screaming above them, but couldn't get in, because the door to the Cryo Bay was locked. How convenient, Mithel thought, that we can't even get into the place we were supposed to defend. Just then, the door opened. Mithel automatically aimed his assault rifle in that direction, but his whole body quivered when he realized who that was. A Spartan! Morris was the first to put it into words. " I don't believe it." He managed to whisper. Mithel couldn't believe it either. He had heard about the SPARTAN II Project, of course, but to actually see a Spartan, that was something else. It was definitely something to remember. The Spartan wasn't armed, but it was still equally dangerous. It (Mithel couldn't tell whether it was male or female) ripped the breather mask off of a Grunt and bashed an Elite's head open with a clenched fist. The marines watched in wonder as the Spartan left through another pair of doors.
For a while, Mithel was on cloud nine. He had just seen a Spartan! Then, a message came through the intercom that reminded him where he was. " Fire Team Nine, report to Back Bay." The Captain's voice was muffled from comm static, but the message was clear. The Covenant had captured the Back Bay and had started to push the human defenders back. " All units repel borders." Morris said," That includes us! Come on!" Mithel had no choice but to follow.