He was the last one. The other two, whose names were Emile and Carter (the one I perceived tobe the leader of Noble) had been killed in their attempt to transport the AI Cortana onto the Halcyon Class UNSC ship dubbed The Pillar of Autumn.Carter had sacrificed himself to savehis comrades from a quadruped tank that the Covenant possessed entitled a Scarab. He slammedthe Pelican that Noble 6 and Emile had abdicated in order to reach their objective on foot while aheavily wounded Carter stayed on board to provide air support and reconnaissance.

There came a time when, as they proceeded through a canyon, said Scarab came aroundthe side of a large rock formation. Not being equipped with the proper equipment to battle such aheavily armored foe, Carter took it upon himself to defend his comrades one last time. I watchedthrough my scope as he slammed the Pelican into the side of the Scarab, resulting in a brilliantflash of bright blue plasma and flames. I watched the final two members of Noble gaze on inwhat I could only imagine was shock at their Leader's epic and visually spectacular sacrifice.

After a small pause, they began to advance once more past the wreckage. Neither of themtook the time to look back at the wreckage, and for good reason. I took the scope away from myface and hopped back onto my Mongoose, riding along the edge of the canyon's rim far awayenough that they could not hear me, even with their enhanced hearing. I had barely advanced 20 Meters when I stumbled upon a Covenant Patrol led by two Elites.

The group, aside from its leaders, was comprised of 8 Grunts. The Elites towered over theGrunts at a staggering seven feet, a sharp contrast to their squat five-foot bodies. The small aliens were hunched over as they walked, a harness and a methane apparatus wrapped around their upper back and mouths. Their bodies had a brown tint, once again contrasting the dark greycolor of their Elite leaders.

The Elites, known among themselves as Sangheili (as the Grunts were formally known as Unggoys), led the group at the front, as per the Sangheili code of honor. I quickly leapt off theMongoose and hid behind the closest rock. I swung my rifle off my back and placed one of theElites in my sights. He warily looked from side-to-side, and briefly conversed with his partnerabout something unbeknownst to me. I cared not, however. I steeled myself and raised mycrosshairs to place them over the Elite's helmet. His armor was a dark blue, glinting off Reach'ssun.

He moved his mouth (similar to a human's, but split into 2 sections at the jaw) frantically,then turned to face the front of the path once more. One of the Grunts seemed to upset him,causing him to turn back and raise the butt of his rifle to strike him. I took several practice shots,moving from the head of one Elite to the other as he moved to strike his subordinate. As the riflemoved within inches of the Grunt's crown, I pulled the trigger, sending the bullet soaringthrough the air without the sound of a gunshot ringing through it. Because of this, I would remain invisible for the next eighth of a second. The bullet landed, disabling his energyshield and sending a spray of purple blood onto the deceased Elite's comrades.

The Grunts, as per their normal cowardly nature, panicked and ran to cover behind theclosest rocks. The empty shell, still smoking, was ejected from the chamber of my rifle and did three spins in the air before falling onto the dirt below me, creating a small cloud of dustaround it for a split second.

I paid it no mind, however. The Elite sprinted and strafed behind a large boulder,scanning the surrounding area for me with his dark blue plasma rifle, a small U-shaped weaponthat glowed a bright blue at the end of the top of the weapon. It had deep purple markingsengraved in its body, markings that I did not care to understand. All that I cared about wascompleting my mission and taking care of anything impeding said completion.

Sure, but why are you doing that, Rosie? To be a better soldier, a better person, or betterthan Linda?A little voice that mimicked my own told me.

I grunted and refused to let my own subconscious thoughts get the best of me. In a rage, Ifired a blind shot at one of the Grunts that had yet to find a hiding position that I could exploit.My bullet hit his methane tank, sending him to the ground. The immense pressure inside of histank erupted, sending his lifeless body spinning in circles and finally into the air as the tankexploded entirely.

"Pathetic. Wasting my rounds on a Grunt. I could've run down there and picked him offwith my Magnum. Whatever." I chided myself.

I placed my attention back on the Elite, whose armor glinted red, just as he poked hishead from cover. I refused to allow such a transgression against my accuracy and skill to pass. Ipulled the trigger just as my crosshairs fell between the center of his helmet, and fired oncemore. His energy shield flared a bright blue before disappearing, and the bullet sent his headjerking back. He fell to the ground, sending his leaderless subordinates into a panic unlike any they had experienced before.

Without missing a beat, I hopped onto the back of the Mongoose and placed my rifle on my back, replacing with my silver M6 Magnum. I drove down from my perch and, while keeping one hand on the handlebar for the Mongoose, took potshots at the fleeing Grunts. Some decided to be brave and stand their ground, so I decided to handle them first. Their bright green balls of plasma from their plasma pistols whizzed past me. Two hit and depleted the energyshield on my armor to 50%, prompting me to drive even faster around them. I fired at them until my pistol's chamber clicked to indicate it was empty.

Not seeing the opportunity to reload, I powered off the Mongoose and dove off of the vehicle amidst plasma fire. I grabbed the nearest Grunt and delivered a punch from my armored fist to his face, killing him instantly. He flew back several feet, and I proceeded to take the plasma pistol that it had dropped onto the ground. Not missing a beat, I turned to the nearest Grunt and fired three balls of plasma into its chest, sending it flailing to the ground. I picked up its pistol as well and made short work of their comrades.

I dropped the pistols and hopped onto my Mongoose once more, reloading my own Magnum before departing. I continued driving forward, hoping to catch a glimpse of my targets.It didn't take long for me to locate them once more, them having been stalled by a squad of the fierce, ape-like Covenant warriors known as Brutes, their formal name being Jiralhanae. On the verge of being overwhelmed, I was strongly tempted to offer supporting fire.

I recalled my orders shortly thereafter, and was torn. After a long deliberation, I decided to let the soldier in me overtake the human being, and my rifle remained cold as I watched the two Spartans inch forward, slowly eliminating their enemies. I felt sickened at my choice, knowing that it was not the most morally sound option.

This dilemma came upon me once more when the two finally reached their destination:the docking bay that held thePillar of Autumn.Upon their entry, they came upon two Hunters guarding the entrance to the shipyard. The two large creatures were in fact several; they were alive, comprised of several smaller orange slugs. Protecting these creatures was near-impenetrable armor of a blue color that made the Hunters (formally known as the Lekgolo) an almost-insurmountable foe. The only way to defeat them, as any wise soldier knew, was an accurate assault on the undefended area on the small of the Hunter's back. I watched through my scope as the two made quick work of exploiting this weakness, taking care to avoid the large Plasma Beams that their arm-fitted cannons shot out in rapid succession. Within two minutes, both were on the ground, dead, and my comrades were on their way. They passed through the walls of the shipyard, and I lost my visual on them.

I quickly walked around the metal exterior of the shipyard, desperately trying to regain said visual. As I tried, several rounds of gunfire could be heard from inside the complex, mostly the shotgun of Emile and the assorted weaponry of Noble 6. After a small intermission, I reached an overpass on which I could see the events that transpired. It was over as soon as I began to watch it. Emile had commandeered the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon (A large cannon that magnetized large, explosive metal rods and shot them at targets) next to the control center of the shipyard while Noble 6 cleared the docking bay below for some purpose unbeknownst to me.Once again, I was tempted to provide covering fire for Noble 6 and Emile, but I was restrained by what Halsey told me. This seemed to not be a problem for my comrades, however. They effectively cleared the area, or so I thought.

An Elite that Emile did not see came from behind and drew his energy sword, a bright-blue, dual-bladed sword made of plasma, save for the metal hilt. I decided, in that moment, that I

would forego my care for orders and save him. I placed the Elite in my sights and did not hesitate to pull the trigger: the bullet fired too late to save Emile.

The bullet missed its target as the Elite lunged forward, impaling Emile from behind and raising him into the air. Emile seemed prepared to die, however.

"I'm ready! How about you?!" Emile asked his final adversary at the top of his lungs.

I watched through my scope as Emile unsheathed the combat knife that he kept over his chest-plate armor, and swung himself around, knocking both himself and the Elite to the ground. I continued watching as he violently stabbed the Elite until he stopped moving, then stopped himself.

Tears streamed my face. I had never missed a target before in the battlefield. Because I had missed, a person had died.