Phoenix Logs/Multiplayer Maps/Bedrock

The sub-structure of an incomplete refugia stands ready to continue the Ark's work.

The Ghost skimmed the surface of the Forerunner terrain as its Elite rider deftly dodged the latest salvo of enemy fire from the Hornets hounding it, effortlessly taking a sudden sharp turn to widen the gap between the pursuers. This particular Sangheili was a confident and experienced driver, a far cry from the Ghost's first owner.

The Ghost first saw service in 2552 on the planet Reach, but it was short-lived. The young Sangheili who drove it then was overeager and reckless, so sure of the Covenant's superiority that he rushed ahead of the rest of the squad and was quickly picked off by UNSC sniper fire before being able to baptize the Ghost's plasma cannons. The Ghost sat out the rest of the battle until being collected and returned to a Covenant dropship.

In 2552, the Ghost and its new rider were deployed to the Ark where it fought in the climactic battle of the Human-Covenant war - this time piloted by a veteran Jiralhanae warrior. However, despite the Ghost pilot's combat experience he was unprepared for the Demon, who surprised the Brute from nowhere and threw his body from the vehicle.

Amazingly, this Demon demonstrated all the skill of a trained Jiralhanae in using the Ghost's tricky controls, turning the Ghost's plasma cannons against its own kind and using it as a bludgeoning tool to ram through clusters of shrieking Unggoys. This Demon, the Ghost's third driver, was the shortest owner and quickly abandoned it once it had started belching smoke from the damage inflicted upon it.

Years of respite from battle followed, as the Ghost lay dormant among the other Covenant wreckage, undisturbed. With the return of humans to the installation, the Ark started rebuilding itself and repairing the damage. Life and fauna returned to the Ark and the Ghost became home to insects and small animals, while creeping weeds grew around and into it, strangling its controls.

Then the Banished arrived and the Ghost was torn free from its resting place and repaired by Huragoks, then reshaped to fit a more brutal, battle torn Banished aesthetic and it once again had a driver and a war to fight in.

Now, the Ghost was now closing in fast on its target. Shades of azure flashing by in a blur as the Elite manipulated it up and down the ramps and curves of the Forerunner terrain. The power resource was now in sight, protected only by a few enemy ground troops. The Elite fired the Ghost’s plasma cannons and forced them to scatter, leaving the resource open for him to capture. The Elite eased off on the accelerator and the Ghost hummed to a slow crawl.

The warning whine of several Hornets came too late, and as they emerged from behind the Forerunner tower, the Elite was cut down in the crossfire of their autocannons and fell from the Ghost's cockpit. The Hornets continued onto their next target and the Ghost sat silent and awaited its next driver.