The screech of warping metal and roar of fiery blasts of energy clawed at Master Chief's ears as he gripped the steering wheel of the Warthog, speeding along the Ark's solar arrays towards the Forward Unto Dawn. All around him explosions ripped through the platforms as he and the Arbiter sped along towards their goal. So close... Chief thought as the Dawn loomed in his vision.

Suddenly Cortana's voice frantically screamed through the speakers in his helmet "90 percent Chief, firing sequence initiated!"

"Hurry Spartan!" The Arbiter roared from his position on the Warthog's turret. "I do not wish to die here!"

"I know." Chief answered in his usual gruff monotone. "Just focus on keeping those Sentinels off our backs." There was no response, other than the roar of the Warthog's chain gun as the Arbiter continued to rain metal fire on the pursuing Sentinels.

Finally the Dawn came into view at the end of a downward slope of panels... plus a large gap, below which lay the Ark's rapidly expanding core.

Cortana's tense voice once again rang through Chief's head, exclaiming "Now Chief, Floor it! Right into the Hangar!"

Chief pressed the Warthog's gas pedal into the floor, causing it to lurch forward, gaining speed as it hurtled down the ramp towards the Dawn. "Hang on to something." Chief calmly warned the Arbiter as he steered the Warthog toward the panel that would send them flying into the Dawn's Hangar. The Arbiter responded with a nod, before releasing the chain gun's controls and wrapping his arms around its base, hanging on for dear life as the Warthog hit the ramp and launched into the air, soaring towards the hangar of the enormous frigate.

The Warthog careened into the Dawn's hangar, before tipping onto one wheel and flipping wildly into the opposite wall.

Chief pushed himself up from his prone position on the floor and looked over to the Arbiter to see him do the same. Suddenly an explosion caused the Dawn to lurch to one side, sending a Scorpion tank careening towards the Arbiter. The Sangheili's eyes widened as he turned and sprinted away from the 73 tons of steel rolling towards him, vaulting over a crate in his way, and diving behind a group of containers seconds before the tank collided with them.

Leaping to his feet, Chief looked over to the stacked crates to find the Arbiter emerging from behind them. Chief nodded towards the Arbiter, who returned the gesture, before turning towards the console in the center of the Hangar, while the Arbiter turned and began racing toward the frigate's bridge.

Upon reaching the console, Chief quickly yanked Cortana's chip out of his helmet before plugging it into the console, with Cortana's familiar blue-and-purple avatar appearing seconds later. "Hang on!" Cortana proclaimed as she activated the Dawn's thrusters, sending the ship out of the Ark's atmosphere and into the vacuum of space, as the Ark's core began pulsing ever larger, threatening to swallow the Dawn entirely.

Chief clung to the console desperately as both the Dawn's acceleration and the decompression of the hangar threatened to rip him into the voids of space. Reaching up to gain better leverage on the console's panel, Chief looked up to find a Warthog hurtling towards him, seconds before it impacted on his helmet and sent him tumbling towards the hangar's open entrance.

Meters before he would have been sucked into the blackness of space, Chief slammed his fist into the metal plating of the deck, leaving a sizable dent and allowing him to gain a handhold, abruptly stopping his fall and wrenching his shoulder painfully.

Looking up, Chief ducked down again as the same tank that had nearly crushed the Arbiter was sent sailing over where his head had been a moment before. "Chief!" Cortana cried, fruitlessly reaching out towards her protector, as he began a slow climb back to the console, lifting himself up to meet his artificial companion...

Meanwhile the Arbiter had reached the bridge, and quickly seated himself in the Captain's chair, resisting the G forces as the Dawn accelerated away from the Ark, but unable to outrun the shockwave generated as the Ark fired, destroying itself in the process.

Chief was sitting up against the console, using it to brace himself from the vacuum, as the blast from the Ark's detonation rushed to meet them. "In case we don't make it..." Cortana began. "We'll make it." Chief said confidently. Cortana continued, with a newfound hope in her tone. "...It's been an honor serving with you John." With that, Chief rested his head against the console, as a blinding light engulfed his vision.