0100 hours, August 32, 2552 (Military Calendar)\
Epsilon Eridani system, near large urban city Gaujus,
Planet Reach.

Alex bolted in an instant, jumping and kicking the Zealot right of his humming vehicle and roughly landing in the seat. He reached for what controls looked right, hit what he assumed to be the throttle, and erupted off into the night with Sangheili chasing after him like a swarm of deadly bees.

The Spartan hunched forward in his seat, willing the powerful machine to go a little faster. He glanced at the sun again, and zoomed desperately towards Gaujus. His vehicle rattled as it took hits from the shower of plasma splashing around him, igniting fires everywhere. A massive explosion rattled his teeth as a Wraith blew out a crater thirty feet across in front of his path. The enormous globule of plasma that a Wraith tank hurled could vaporize anything within forty feet. Alex was blinded by heat and light and sound, but he wrenched the controls to the left, trying to avoid the glass-encrusted hole. The Ghost's back end whipped around, and it shot forward, almost flipping. Behind him Alex could hear the crash of metal being torn and the screams of the dying as some Elites hurtled over the edge of the pit and dashed to the razor-sharp glass down below. Others smashed into them and flipped through the air before they exploded in a violent crescendo of radiant death as the plasma drives ruptured.

Alex gritted his teeth and anxiously swerved back to the right back around the crater, trying to split some of the enemy up. His injured arm cried out in pain, but he ignored it. He could see the lights of Gaujus up ahead, if only he could make it to the city... Then a black Ghost pulled up to the side of him. A muscular Elite in matt black armor growled and yelled in the Sangheili language. The Spartan jerked the controls over, ramming the black vehicle. The dark Elite growled. With a roar, he slammed into Alex. The Spartan's Ghost weaved back and forth unsteadily as the black Ghost's anti-grav pod got trapped under his. Its nose pitched forward just as Alex leapt off, and it crashed to the ground, flipping end over end before blowing up.

Alex wrestled with the giant alien for control of the speeding vehicle. He reached around the alien's neck, grabbed its split jaw, and twisted the head around until he heard a snap. Another star blossomed ahead of him as a Wraith shot hammered the earth. He was blinded for a split second before he was overwhelmed by the deafening roar of the colossal blast. The light faded and he saw another huge crater before he pitched forward over its abyss and fell into the jagged glass crust. Alex threw himself away from the vehicle; he knew it would rupture. But as he slammed into the glass at 37 MPH, he wished he had just died the easy way.

Spartan-109 lay on his back in the cracked soil, blood pouring out from numerous wounds. His left hand was broken, and a few fingers where missing. His chest plate was twisted and ruined. Thousands pf slivers of glass had sliced up into him like microscopic incisions. Alex blinked, trying to clear his blurred vision. He looked up at the stunning star-system above him. He imagined he could see earth, majestic as ever. The pain was ebbing away now. He smiled sadly; thinking of his comrades. His Friends. His brothers. He saw each of their faces slide past him. John, Li, Joshua, Vinh, Samuel, Isaac, William, Anton... They all said goodbye. Alex choked on his lifeblood, and a tear slid down his shredded face. He hoped they had a good time saving the world. Maybe, he lied to himself, after they are done, they will go back and sit around the bunks and play a game of cards like they used to. But he knew it would never happen.

The tired solder sighed, coughed blood.

Goodbye he whispered, and closed his eyes.

Reviews appreciated. Jadomaster