Speech by Fleet Admiral Lord Terence Hood:

Delivered to the United Nations Space Command and all of Humanity

Time: 2523 CE, Following the Fall of the Eastern Fringe Colonies

Brothers and Sisters of Humanity,

There comes a time in every era when the fate of a species, its very existence, is tested beyond the measure of belief. A time when survival itself is forged in the crucible of war. That moment … is now.

We stand on the precipice of annihilation. Our eastern colonies — once thriving worlds of hope, prosperity, and life — are gone. Not lost to disease, not starved by famine, but extinguished … by an enemy whose hate knows no bounds. The Covenant, a fanatical and relentless force, has brought the storm to our very doorstep. Entire worlds have been reduced to ash and glass in their wake, and with them, the lives of millions of our brothers, sisters, fathers, and children — all gone.

They call it a crusade. They call it holy. But their war is nothing more than genocide under the banner of lies. The Covenant, this coalition of alien species, seeks not only to destroy our worlds but to erase our very existence from the stars. And what is our crime? What is the cause of this war? Our existence. We are guilty only of being human.

I have seen the scorched remains of what were once cities — cities like yours, homes like yours. The few survivors speak of nightmares we can hardly comprehend. The atrocities committed are not acts of war, but of utter extermination.

These colonies were not just names on a map. They were part of us. They were the outstretched hands of humanity, reaching toward a future that held promise. Now they are silent tombs. Make no mistake — what has befallen the eastern fringe will fall upon us all if we do not act. The Covenant will come for every last one of us. Their ships will darken our skies, their fires will burn our lands, and their boots will march through the remains of our homes if we falter.

But hear me now, and hear me well. Though they seek to smother our flame, they have ignited a fire they will never extinguish. For every planet they take, we will strike back. For every life they snuff out, we will demand retribution. They may be strong, but they do not know us. They do not know the strength of human resolve, the power of our unity when faced with obliteration.

For millennia, we have endured trials that would break the spirit of any other species. We have survived famine, war, and plagues. We have built ourselves up from the dirt, sailed the oceans of our homeworld, and reached into the vastness of space. We endure because we must. We fight because there is no other option. And now, we survive because the future demands it.

Let me be clear: there will be no surrender. There will be no negotiations with those who seek our extinction. Every man, woman, and child of humanity is now called to the frontlines. Whether on the battlefield, in the factories, in the laboratories, or in the halls of leadership, each and every one of us has a role to play.

We will fight on the soil of our worlds. We will fight in the cold void of space. We will fight in the hearts of our cities, in the seas of our colonies, and on the surface of every moon and asteroid. Wherever the Covenant dare tread, they will be met with defiance, fury, and unyielding resistance.

Today, we face the abyss. But humanity has faced such darkness before. We have always emerged stronger, more united, and more determined. We must do so again. Look to your comrades, to your loved ones, and know that you fight not just for survival — but for the survival of all we are, all we have built, and all we will become.

The Covenant may believe their crusade is divine. But they have not yet met the full fury of humanity united. We will show them that they have awakened a force greater than they can comprehend. We will show them that even in the face of extinction, we rise.

We will not go silently into the night. We will not yield our homes, our planets, or our lives to their tyranny. We will fight. We will stand. We will win.

Together, humanity will survive. Together, humanity will endure. Together, we will make the stars burn with the light of our defiance.

Fleet Admiral Lord Terence Hood signing off — for all of us.