The Covenant's first appearance in the video games is in ' (2001), which picks up towards the end of "The Fall of Reach and ". A detachment of Covenant follow the human vessel "Pillar of Autumn" from Reach to Halo, a ring-shaped Forerunner relic that the Covenant believe sacred. Wary of accidentally damaging the ring, the Covenant are forced to fight the humans on foot, and accidentally release the Flood. The Flood, a virulent parasite that infests sentient life, attack human and Covenant alike and threaten to capture a Covenant cruiser to escape their prison on Halo. Meanwhile, the human "Spartan" supersoldier Master Chief detonates the "Pillar of Autumn"s engines, destroying the ring and the Covenant armada. The novelization of the game, ' (2003), describes additional events not seen in the game. In the novel "First Strike", The Master Chief, survivors of the "Autumn" and surviving Spartans from Reach destroy a Covenant fleet they learn is preparing to strike Earth, and race home to warn of the impending attack.