The air is as cold as ice.

Above you, snow silently falls from a thick blanket of ominous clouds. You are at the bottom of a vast frostbitten canyon, in the depths of an ancient alien construct. This place, you have just discovered, is a weapon capable of wiping out everything in the galaxy that you’ve been entrusted to protect. You have spent the last hour battling your way out of a control room, down a ziggurat, across bridges and through enemy-infested corridors with the blood of both Covenant and Flood smeared on your armor.

Exhausted, you are mildly aware that you’ve cracked at least two ribs, broken your right arm, rent tendons free in your left leg and otherwise sustained injuries which would have killed a normal man, but your eyes remain fixed and unwavering.

An orange HUD waypoint appears off to your right, high atop a platform which is lodged into the canyon wall and almost out of sight. This is the location of the second pulse generator. After disabling it, you will have a third and final one to deal with - that is if you survive to see it. Looking across the solid body of water you now stand atop, the Covenant infantry lie on the other side.

They don’t notice you yet, but they will soon.

A massive column-like plateau rises upward from the canyon floor’s center, essentially dividing one side from the other. On the right side is a pair of giant Lekgolo and on the left is a band of Sangheili, their Grunt convoy in tow near an elevated turret emplacement. Soaring high above the Covenant infantry are several Banshees, scouring the snowy surface from a bird’s eye view - no doubt looking for you. And beyond the squads of enemies, you hear the distinct sound of a Wraith, its haunting engine resonating throughout the valley as it prepares for your arrival.

At the very peak of this plateau, high above the canyon floor, Cortana’s tactical readout indicates several more enemies, including a powerful Sangheili zealot and an array of heavily-armed Unggoy. You will have to scale it and defeat them if you are going to reach the second generator.

Your eyes drop once more, now staring directly across the frozen lake.

There, you see a pair of Banshees parked just behind the Covenant infantry. You climb back into your Warthog and fire up its engines, booming a guttural growl of human design in the Covenant’s direction. The enemies take notice. You turn on the Hog’s headlamps, shining them brightly against the alien armor and flesh.

Their eyes glisten with anticipation; their mouths are agape, hungering for the the chance to finally defeat their demon.

Then you floor it.

Proceed to The Architecture of War.