Locke and his ONI squad – along with Colonel Aiken and his Sedran Guard – are still trying to make it to their crashed ship. But the deadly, technology-seeking Hunter worms that inhabit this chunk of Halo ring are whittling the team down. As more team members fall victim to the Hunter worms, the remaining members face the possibility that not everyone can be rescued, and team alliances begin to form. Tensions rise, and Locke and Aiken have to try and keep their teams together long enough for any of them to survive.