• Chapter 1
    “Chief!” cried Cortana. “Chief, wake up!”
    Upon hearing the “soothing” voice of Cortana, Master Chief awoke from his small nap.
    “What is it?” he asked, tiredly. “And I hope there’re some aliens to kill, ‘cause waking up was not on my agenda.”
    Cortana projected her image out of his helmet cam. Chief looked at her sourly, although unseen.
    “Sorry to wake you—“
    “No you’re not,” interrupted Chief.
    “—but,” she continued, bitterly, “I picked up something, and you and the Arbiter need to hear it.”
    “Is it bad?”
    “Very.”
    “Alright, then. But you still haven’t answered my question.”
    “Fine, look up.”
    Master Chief looked up… and what he saw made his jaw drop in his helmet. Still looking up, mouth wide open, he kicked Arbiter in the side to wake him up.
    “Ouch!” said the Arbiter. “Now why’d—oh…”
    Above them was the largest fleet of Covenant ships that anyone (except Cortana) had ever seen.
    Chief turned to Cortana and looked at her with fiery eyes that, although hidden under his helmet, burned through Cortana’s image. The Arbiter also looked at her with fire-like intensity.
    “Cortana,” said Chief, pointing up towards the fleet, “what is that?!”
    “That would be a fleet—“
    “I know that, but what are they doing here?”
    “Oh. They’re getting ready for war.”
    “War?” asked Arbiter. “With whom? The brutes have no reason to battle the Covenant. The Heretics are dead. What is their reason for war?”
    “The Flood is back.”
    “Of course they are,” said Chief. “They’re always back.”
    “But that’s not all. Apparently, the Flood has taken over this Halo.”
    “Which Halo?”
    “The Halo we’re on,” said Cortana, spreading her arms, “is called Dominica. We crashed landed here. You were knocked out by the steering wheel when we hit hyper speed. There,” she pointed behind her, “is our ship.”
    Chief looked over Cortana’s shoulder, and even though his face was hidden behind his helmet, she knew his mouth was wide open.
    Before them was massive wreckage, consisting of metal shrapnel, glass, and a lot of sparks.
    “How the hell did we survive that?!” said Chief, bewildered.
    “When you got knocked out by the sudden jolt when we hit hyperspace,” replied Cortana, “you fell on an overshield. It helped wonders.”
    “How did I survive?” asked the Arbiter.
    “Your armor protected you. It may be old, but its power is far beyond what you perceive.”
    “See?” snickered Cortana. “‘Far beyond what you perceive!’”
    “I take that in offense, Cortana.”
    “I’m sorry—“
    “No you’re not,” interrupted Master Chief.
    “Exactly how long do you plan on doing that?”
    “A while,” smiled Chief. “So, what’s our status?”
    “Two things: lucky to be alive, and in danger.”
    “How are we in danger? There's noone around."
    “Here is an idea,” interjected the Arbiter. “If Dominica is totally overwhelmed by Flood, why don’t we listen for them? They are, as known by experience, very easy to detect. So be quiet.”
    Everyone stood silent. ( ninja ) Not a word was said; not a muscle was moved; nobody did so much as twitch. At first, nothing came up for quite some time. Finally, a unique noise was heard.
    Chicka-chicka-chicka.
    “Poppers at four-o’-clock,” said Cortana.
    Mrowl. Grrrmrowl.
    “Flood Elites at our seven,” said chief.
    Purrrrrl.
    “Flood Grunts coming in same direction.”
    Mwowrllll.
    “Boomers (explosive Flood, not from left 4 dead) at our six.”
    “Let us set traps, Master Chief,” suggested the Arbiter.