"Sir!" the young man yelled at his superior. "What Liam, were on a schedual, you know." he replied calmly. "Sir,the rings, they've activated." General John H. Stratford looked around, and knew their plan was for naught.

"Base, this is General Stratford, prepare leave Earth." As he gave the order John thought of those lost during the war, and the friends gained for a short period. He looked over to the young Lieutenant, hardly twenty-two, a testament to the Covenant's fighting abilitys.

"Sir, we need to get you off, and try to out run this, sir!" John turned his full attention to the young man," Liam, you are now General, if you make it out of this, don't let following generations know of this disaster." Liam was in shock, he a general, then he replayed the gen.'s words over again.

"Sir, what about you, aren't you coming?" John just smiled at Liam, at his oldest son, and replied " No, i'm gonna try and stop it." Then to his son's shock, John pushed him into the grav elevator, and ordered the ship attached to it to take off.

"Get this ship arround now!" Gen. Liam Stratford barked to a corpral. "Sir, the Gen. gave us specific orders to leave, it was his last official order and can't be broken by anyone but the leaders, sorry, sir!" The man answered back. Gen. Liam S. watched on as his ship, the sole surviving war-ship, and holder of the last dying leader of Earth, speed off into the black. "I'LL do it for you father," he said, "I'll take care of humanity." Liam peomised his father, a finall promiss from son to father.

As former General John H. Stratford watched the ship take off, a small tear fell down, and he prayed to what ever god was out there to protect his son, and the mission. He stayed for a minute more, then he turned around and took in the sight, Earth on fire, the ring that they'd fought so hard to stop was reactivating, he smiled and looked into his pack. I