Halo: The Heretic/Prologue

Prologue: The Beginning of the End

1648 HOURS, MARS 7, 2537 (MILITARY CALENDAR)/EPSILON ERIDANI, ONI STRATEGIC RESPONSE UNIT BASE, PLANET REACH

“Jericho VII, New Constantinople, Midway, New Istanbul, Tejas IV.” The scarred man cursed quietly, but the barely lit small room magnified the sound and allowed the other two individuals to hear it. “The Covenant’s moving too darn fast.” The other two silently nodded. For several minutes there was silence. The first one to break the silence was the elderly woman. “We need a victory, or the remaining outer colonies are toast.” “What do you suggest?” the second man asked curiously. “After all, Cole’s dead, and the only remaining UNSC stronghold in that sector is Atlas’ moons. It’s too weak to withstand an assault.” “We need to reinforce it then.” The woman responded calmly. She reached for a glass of water, and took a few sips. “We’d need at least a fleet, ODSTs, and more importantly; Spartans.” “And a leader with the guts and wit to pull it off.” The scarred man interjected. “And even then it’d be tough, probably unlikely.” “I happen to know someone who could do it.” The woman replied. “He knows where to find new tricks that others overlook. He proved that at New Istanbul; he stalled them for a pretty long time.” “Very well.” The scarred man said, letting off a short sigh. “We’ll let Admiral Whitcomb know of his new task, give him whatever ships we can muster and hope for the best. Tip off the rest of ONI; tell them to deploy all available detachments. We’re gonna get ourselves a victory this time.”

(Don't be pissed because it's short; it's more of a preview of sorts than an actual chapter, and I was in a hurry.)