On the evening of August 23, 2552, at 20:57, night had quietly fallen...
After Noble Six destroyed several Covenant jammers, he flew his Falcon helicopter between the skyscrapers of New Alexandria, silently watching the once-prosperous port city, now shrouded mainly in flames and thick smoke. For a long while, he said nothing.
That afternoon, the three Covenant warships hovering above the city had been destroyed once again. With four SDV warships lost at New Alexandria, the Covenant had suffered heavy losses. Their troops, who had already stopped attacking and seemed ready to retreat, had flown into another furious battle with the remaining UNSC forces, and the fighting had soon become as intense as it had been several days earlier.
"Static..."
"You're a cold-hearted Warrior, Noble Six! Here's some good news: you successfully completed every mission and destroyed all the Covenant jammers, so everyone at ONI headquarters has now been safely evacuated..."
"Excellent work!"
"Come back now, Lieutenant. We're waiting for you at ONI headquarters. I've sent you the landing platform's coordinates!"
After completing all the escort, rescue, attack, and demolition missions—and especially after successfully destroying the Covenant jammers—Noble Six quickly noticed that the communications signal was much better than before. Naturally, just as he was piloting his aircraft aimlessly through the sky, unsure what to do next, Number Two, Catherine, contacted him over the team channel.
"Copy!"
"Is everyone there? Then I'll head back now..."
Looking down at the vast interstellar city, still filled with fires, explosions, thick smoke, and the sounds of gunfire, Noble Six sighed. He gently guided his Falcon higher and faster, then began flying toward the coordinates Catherine had just sent him, following the marker on the visor of his Mjolnir armor.
"No!"
"Not everyone's back yet..."
"Number Seven, Annie, and Number Five, George, haven't returned