The year is 2552. Humanity is engaged in a genocidal war with an alien alliance known as The Covenant Empire. And the Human race is losing.

For the past 26 years, Humanity has defended itself against the threat of the Covenant, losing multiple colonies and billions of lives along the way. Reach was seen as a key planet in humanity’s efforts in the war. With it being glassed by the Covenant, most of Humanity’s hopes died with it.

Two Halcyon-Class ships have fled Reach, carrying soldiers of the UNSC and civilians away from the burning planet to safety. One such ship, known as the Ad Meliora, has escaped the planet, carrying many civilians and military personnel, including multiple Marines, ODSTs, and three Spartan-IIIs. Despite this, the crew of the Ad Meliora broke protocol out of panic and rushed its scheduled launch, and was forced to evacuate alone and with no direction to go.

The Ad Meliora chose a direction and haphazardly launched into slipspace. When exiting slipspace, the Ad Meliora finds itself in an unmapped region of the Galaxy. The ship’s crew breathes a sigh of relief, thinking they are in the clear.

How wrong they were.

The command bridge was full of various men and women rushing from one station to another, trying to figure out their location. Many crew members are flustered and unfocused as they had escaped Reach 20 days ago, and tensions are high. However, when the bridge door opens, many hear the important call.

“Captain on deck!” one of the soldiers shouts as all crewmembers stop what they were doing as their commanding officer steps into the Bridge, accompanied by two ODST escorts.

Captain McCormick was a white-skinned man with a dark gray goatee & hair, which was cut very short. The Man appeared to be in his early 50s and was currently wearing the standard UNSC Captain’s uniform.

Upon entering the Bridge, all crewmembers present gave the Captain a salute, to which he motioned them to stand down.

“At ease, men.” the Captain calmly says before approaching the main console with his arms firmly behind his back. “Get back to work at figuring out where exactly we are."

“Yes, sir!” The crew says in unison as they go back to their stations.

“Reagan. Status report.” said the Captain.

Next to him on the console, the Ship’s Artificial Intelligence manifests. The A.I. appeared as a male of American descent in his early 70s. He had short hair and donned a nice suit. The shipboard A.I. glowed bright red.

“Captain McCormick, sir,” Reagan addressed the Captain with a salute. “We appear to be near the outer edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, far out from any uncharted area.”

“We left Reach too early and made a blind jump,” Captain McCormick sighed. “Did we lose them?”

“I am unsure just yet,” Reagan answered with uncertainty. “But they were on the other side of Reach, waiting for any ship attempting to leave. Even though we left alone, I’m sure we were noticed. Afterall, we left a pretty big hole in space.”

Captain McCormick gave a sad sigh. It was a pain for him to abandon Reach, especially since it was his home planet.

“Do we have contact with any nearby UNSC ships?” asked the Captain.

"Negative, sir.” Reagan answered, shaking his head. “The closest ship in our vicinity is another Halcyon-class cruiser, but even it is out of range of our comms.”

“Then we must….” McCormick started before something caught his eye. “Reagan. Do you see that?”

As the Ad Meliora drifted forward, close by was an unknown planet. McCormick steps closer as other crew members stop what they were doing to look at the Planet.

“Reagan, what planet is that?” Captain McCormick asked, still stunned.

“I do not know, sir.” Reagan said, “As I said, this sector is not mapped.”

“Well, are there any observations you can make of the Planet from here?” asked McCormick.

Reagan began analyzing the unidentified planet for the next minute.

“According to my scans,” the A.I. responded, “this Planet has a stable atmosphere capable of habiting life. Liquid water is present, and the oxygen levels are similar to that of Earth and most of our….” Reagan paused as a look of confusion formed on his face.

Captain McCormick noticed the A.I.’s confusion and asked, “What is it, Reagan?”

“Something is wrong with this world,” Reagan answered. “It doesn’t seem to be rotating on its axis.”

Reagan’s answer left Captain McCormick and the entire Bridge crew puzzled. Normally, planets that do not rotate are scorching hot on one side and freezing on the other. In reality, this planet should be a scorched & frozen wasteland, and yet, it seems to have a regulated temperature.

"This is concerning, Captain. This planet defies what we know about astrophysics.” said Reagan.

“Interesting…” McCormick said to himself, but before he could say anything

“Captain!” shouted a crew member. “We have a problem!”

On the big screen in front of Captain McCormick, the radar picks up one massive blip just behind the Ad Meliora.

“Reagan, what am I seeing!?” demanded McCormick.

“One Covenant Assault Carrier exiting slipspace on our right flank, Captain,” Reagan worryingly answered.

“This isn’t good,” said McCormick. “Reagan, I want you to put the ship on high alert. Make sure all crew are at their battle stations!”

“Yes, sir,” said Reagan while saluting the captain.

Soon, sirens and flashing red lights signal through the entirety of the ship. All military personnel on board spring into action, ready for any command and crew members are at their stations.

After a good ten minutes, a signal from the Assault Cruiser is picked up by the Ad Meliora.

“Sir, we are receiving an audio message from the Covenant Assault Carrier. Would you like for me to play it aloud?" asked a crew member.

“Go ahead.” replied the Captain.

Captain McCormick places his hands behind his back as Reagan enhances the audio from the message.

"Hear my voice, vermin!” a loud and thunderous voice emitted from the audio.

“Khota…” said the Captain as he recognized the voice. McCormick was familiar with the Shipmaster sending the transmission.

“Did you humans believe you could escape the destruction of your pitiful world?” The Elite darkly questioned. “No. No, you humans can never escape the wrath of our Covenant. We will not stop until your entire kind is destroyed.”

As the message played, everything went silent on the bridge as the words echoed in the heads of most of the crew members there. Many had fearful expressions on their faces, while others had hope draining from theirs.

“And Captain McCormick.” Khota added. “I know you are hearing this message. Know that I will save you for last. Watching all the pathetic lives, you tried to save being slaughtered before you, yourself falling to my blades.”

As the message ended, the entire Bridge crew slowly turned to face Captain McCormick.

“What are my orders, sir?” Reagan asked, breaking the silence. The Captain looks back over to the mysterious planet, reviewing the observations Reagan made earlier in his head.

“Reagan?” asked the Captain. “Do you think that planet will be able to sustain human life?”

“There is no immediate threat or reason that says otherwise, but yes.” Reagan answered, who became a little concerned. “I know what you’re hinting at, sir, and I must interject.”

“Why is that, Reagan?” asked the Captain, though he already knew the answer.

“If you are thinking what I assume you’re thinking, then I must warn you,” said Reagan. “We might not be alone down there. And I’m not talking about the Covenant following us. There is a high chance there will be sentient life down there.”

“That is something I must risk.” the Captain solemnly spoke. “There are too many lives aboard this ship. We will have a stronger chance of survival on the ground than in orbit.”

Once again, the room grew quiet, and that was when a hard and loud explosion rocked the ship, causing many to stumble or fall to the ground.

“The Covenant have begun their assault, captain!” Reagan urgently exclaimed.

“That settles it,” Captain McCormick said with determination. “I will do everything to safeguard all the lives on this ship! Begin our descent now!”

Without hesitation, the Ad Meliora began flying towards the unknown planet.

Captain’s Log #1:

Reach. Hard to believe she’s gone.

Reach was a planet we were hoping would be able to repel the Covenant invasion. This is a major turning point of the war, a turn for the worst. I fear this is the beginning of the end. Humanity's last stand is approaching, and I fear it will be soon. For now, all we have is hope, which is running thin. My ship is full of soldiers, crewmembers, and fleeing civilians who witnessed their homes destroyed by these monsters. Even then, we must keep moving towards better things.

End of prologue part 1

Author's Note

If you couldn't guess, the ships AI is inspired by President Ronald Reagan