Project: N0VA

Chapter 1: Phoenix Knight

The sun was starting to set, clouds blocked the sun every now and then making it darker and chiller, and in the deep alleys of Nexus, a lonely figure is running for their life.

She was panting hard, she was tiring out. She had been running for an hour. However as her legs ached in pain, it felt longer than it really was. She cut into another alley, and kept running looking back to see if they were still following. Suddenly she ran out into an opening, suddenly tripping and crashing into a garbage can. Dazed and confused on what had just happened, she found herself staring at the darkening orange sky. She quickly remembered what was happening and jumped up only to find her pursuers, horrifying dog looking Halos at the exit of the alley, ready to pounce. The rundown abandoned city of Nexus loomed over her as if showing her that her fate was the same as the rundown, half destroyed city. She backed up and whirled around only to find 5 walker-class Halos aiming their heavy gun at her. She dropped to her knees. She remembered her family and saw them looking at her smiling, arms open as if calling her to them. She remembered what everything was like before the robots came, before they took over. It was peaceful, she was in the military as a combat engineer, she had planned to one day travel outside the borders of Earth's atmosphere, explore and help those across the galaxy, keep the peace. How did it come to this? How could it come to this? To get so far only to die to those meant to protect? She closed her eyes and awaited her death, a tear rolled down her cheek. She awaited her fate.

She could almost feel death grabbing at her, feeling the blood lust emanating from the Halos. Suddenly a machine gun went off and an explosion boomed and shook the ground! She jumped, and squeezed her eyes shut, expecting a swift death, but when she felt nothing, her eyes opened and looked at where the gun fire came from. She looked up, her eyes widened as a red jet soared over her, and in that instant time seemed to have stopped. She saw an emblem on the side by the cockpit, a Phoenix. She also caught a glimpse of the pilot, it looked human like, and looked like it was wearing armor. Time had soon resumed. The jet shot at the Halo ́s while one of the walkers were aiming it's cannon trying to shoot at the jet, the Halos that had pursued her retreated into the shadows, and she sat there alone watching in amazement as the jet evaded the walkers fire from the cannons and the tracers from the machine guns and destroyed them one-by-one.

She snapped out of it, she got up and heard another aircraft beside her, a bigger drop ship landed not far off. A camouflaged drop ship. The side doors open and troops came out, at first she took a step back but then realized they were human. Once they reached her the commander came up to her and asked if she was alright. Once they had made sure she was alright, they brought her into the drop ship and they evacuated, the ship was full of other civilians some of the medics tending to their wounds. The commander then asked her.

"What's your name?"

"M-my name is Abby." she said still dazed and a little confused and in disbelief. She was still alive.

"Well I'm Commander Charlie, of the Nova Prime Resistance." He introduced. "We were on a rescue operation nearby. Trying to get as many people out of the city as possible. Glad we got one more." He explained.

"Nova Prime? I've heard of you!" Abby exclaimed. Commander Charlie chuckled.

"Yes that's a common response around here." He replied.

"Thank you." She told him.

"Glad to have helped!" He answered.

Abby looked out the window and then saw the aircraft that had destroyed those Walkers forming up with the drop ship. More aircraft flew around the drop ship as well surrounding it. Abby could see into the cockpit much better and saw a man wearing armor. He had a hose connected to the helmet for oxygen. He looked at her and saluted. She saluted back, she had been a combat engineer in the military a year before the Halos invaded. So she had some military training and saluting came naturally to her not to mention felt nice. They soon left the city borders and headed into the volcanic wasteland of the unknown.