The cold unforgiving and wild as I, Spartan 213 wondered the mountains of Reach with my squad of ODSTs. Our mission, kill the Rebels fleeing into the mountains. Sounds easy enough but even a trained Spartan can find the mountains to be a challenge, my ODSTs were struggling the most to my dismay. Hours turned to days along the mountain tops as we closed in on our enemy. Tracks they left for us to follow got thicker. My ODSTs were confident we will find them soon and go home. But we were blind, and stumbled right into an ambush. Snipers on the cliff edges picked off two of my squad before we took cover behind rocks, it did little good with the sheer numbers now at our throats. I called the retreat along with a Pelican, we were simply outnumbered and out matched.
During our wait for evac we returned fire to hold them back. Another ODST was shot but remained alive as the Pelican drew in. I hauled him over my shoulders and gave the order to retreat, only for a few steps later I took was shot myself in the thigh collapsing forward. The wounded ODST was picked up by another comrade, yet I remained laying with blood seeping into the snow. None of my squad returned to me. Only one turned with no intention of helping me. He merely looked down at me as I reached my hand for him, he then turned for the waiting Pelican. I wanted to stand, I wanted to stand and shout for them to return. I was growing weaker by the second. I stood taking another shot this time in the shoulder, feeling a shock wave of pain pulse through my body as I fell once more. As I slipped out of consciousness I watched the Pelican leave me, and faces of strangers gather around my now dying body. Is this how Spartans become… M.I.A…?