Tobias S. Buckell

In the first, desperate days of the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC has enacted the Cole Protocol to safeguard Earth and its Inner Colonies from discovery by a merciless alien foe. When the Prophets send their best--an ambitious and ruthless Elite--to destroy the the Outer Colonies and acquire the location of Earth, a three-man renegade squad led by Navy Lieutenant Jacob Keyes fights to hold together a shaky alliance between human survivors and the Covenant...