The Sangheili, Voro 'Tuyokee, panted as he took cover behind an archway. Cautiously, he peered out from his hiding place and was dismayed by what he saw.
It was two lances, comprised mostly of Kig-Yar, but with two Jiralhanae leading them. They were standing in front of a gravity conveyor, apparently guarding it. Voro was sure that he could take out the Kig-Yar, but with two Jiralhanae backing them, things were certain. Stupid brutes were an apt way to describe them, but they were stupid, durable brutes. He had to think this particular battle through if he was to beat them. It would be a nightmare if an overcharged plasma bolt struck him while he was fighting one of the Jiralhanae. He had seen that happen to other, less fortunate Sangheili when he and Dedap had been fleeing. Voro grimaced, that was no way for a warrior to die. To be torn limb from limb by a species of degenerate primates, it was undignified! Shameful!
"Leader, what do you see?"
Voro turned to see a small figure clad in emerald green armour and carrying a plasma cannon stare up at him.
"Be quiet, Dedap. The danger has not yet passed." Voro replied as he took another glance out into the open.
The Unggoy seemed to freeze at that statement "What do we do now?"
Voro opened his mouth to speak, but a growl from the nearby Jiralhanae silenced him.
"Let's just move on! We're missing out on all the action!" One of them snarled.
"Not yet! Our orders are to guard this gravity conveyor in case any of the heretics dare to show their ugly heads here!" The other barked, spittle flying from its mouth.
"Bah! We could be out killing Sangheili, but they have us guarding bridges! This is an outrage!"
"Of course...we could just have the Kig-Yar guard it for us..." The second one murmured, a scheming glint lighting his eyes.
"An excellent suggestion. Not like they care either way." The first said, scowling at the Kig-Yar.
The two barked orders at the soldiers in their command. The Kig-Yar bristled at their words, but seemed to relent. With raucous laughter, the two Jiralhanae ran off, holding their vicious looking weapons high. Voro pressed himself into the arch as they ran past. He had to suppress an urge to gag; their stench was brief, but overwhelming. They reeked of tainted meat and wet animal. Did these savages not bathe?
Nevertheless, Voro's eyes widened. Surely this extremely good luck was a sign from the Forerunners? He turned to Dedap, who was quivering in fear.
"Dedap! Cease your cowardice! The Jiralhanae have departed!" Voro snapped, shaking his underling out of his stupor.
"So it is safe? We can leave?" Dedap asked hopefully.
"Not yet. They have left a handful of Kig-Yar behind. Once we deal with them, we will be able to leave." Voro said as he readied his carbine.
Dedap suddenly took on an expression of extreme malice "Kig-Yar? They left us Kig-Yar to deal with?"
Voro nodded "Indeed they have. Do you think yourself capable of handling them?"
"Of course, leader! I am an Unggoy Heavy. I am a proud wielder of turrets and explosives! They are mere scavengers!" Dedap hissed with contempt.
Voro could not help but chuckle. For a cowering Unggoy, Dedap did occasionally show signs of spirit.
"Alright, I will rush out at them. While I have them distracted, you shall surprise them. Am I understood?" Voro asked.
Dedap nodded furiously "Yes, leader, of course!"
"Good. Now, on the count of three..." Voro raised his fingers, lowered them one by one before rushing out, firing at his enemies.
Caught unaware, two Kig-Yar were immediately cut down by carbine shots to their heads. They tumbled lifelessly to the floor, their purple blood coating the ground beneath them. Surprised, the remaining Kig-Yar snapped their shields on and turned to face their foe. The closest one only saw a flash of silver before it was upon him. A mighty, armour plated arm came crashing down onto his shield, sending tremors through his arm. The Kig-Yar let out a shrill squeal as it felt the bones it his arms snap under the force of the blow, his now useless arm was dangling at his side. Fortunately, he did not suffer long, as Voro swung his carbine into the side of the Kig-Yar's skull, utterly obliterating it. Fragments of bone and brain matter were sent flying. This act alone was enough to terrify the Kig-Yar, who struggled to maintain rank after what they had seen. Dedap saw a few attempt to flee and mercilessly cut them down with his turret, burning searing holes through their scaly hides.
"Keep firing, Dedap! They are weakening!" Voro shouted as he turned to face the surviving soldiers.
Now they had rallied together into a tightly packed phalanx. The ones in front began to fire their weapons at Voro, forcing him to rush back into cover. Dedap huddled beside him, his arms cradling his cannon protectively.
"What do we do now, leader?" Dedap asked, a frenzied look in his eye that suggested that fleeing was the last thing on his mind.
"A distraction would be helpful." Voro said, staring meaningfully at Dedap.
"I understand, leader. Lucky it's just incompetent Kig-Yar." Dedap said.
Voro nodded, holding back the urge to point out how skilled Kig-Yar sharpshooters were "Indeed. Now, run. While they're focusing on you, I will finish them."
Dedap nodded and quickly ran out into the open. Their bloodlust clouding their judgement, the Kig-Yar all opened fire, turning to fire at the lone Unggoy. Using the distraction, Voro primed a plasma grenade, before throwing it into the midst of his foes. They had just enough time to let out a brief wail of despair, before the explosion consumed them. The blast knocked Dedap to his feet and caused Voro to stumble back into the wall. The Kig-Yar were much less fortunate. Those closest to the explosion were completely vaporised. Those further out were reduced to charred corpses, their limbs badly mangled. Their weapons were rendered completely useless, having fused into the floor or exploded outright. The ground beneath them was badly damaged and an ugly black mark was where the Kig-Yar had been standing.
Voro steadied himself and allowed a moment for his ears to stop ringing "Good, Dedap. You may yet prove useful to me."
Dedap nodded appreciatively "Thank you, leader! What is our next objective?"
"Now we must find a landing pad, it is our only chance to escape."
"But, leader, the Jiralhanae-!" Dedap began.
Voro swiftly cut him off "Yes, I am aware that it will be dangerous, but we have no other option. To remain here would mean forfeiting our lives. We will be safer if we get to the Sacred Ring."
"A-are you certain, leader?" Dedap asked.
Voro stared down at the Unggoy Heavy "Yes, Dedap, I am sure. But if we are to survive, we must make haste."
Dedap took a deep breath and nodded before he made his reply "I understand, leader. I am ready."
Voro returned the nod "Excellent, quickly then, if we remain here any longer, we run the risk of being discovered by those mongrels."
Dedap quickly slung the cannon over his shoulder and made to move past his commanding officer, not noticing the bemused expression of Voro's face.
"Are you coming, leader?" Dedap questioned when he noticed that Voro had not left the relative safety of the archway.
"Yes, but do you not think it would be wise to leave the cannon here? You have a needler, surely that should be sufficient?" Voro asked.
Dedap seemed mortified at the very idea of leaving his cannon behind "Leave it? But, leader, it is my duty as an Unggoy Heavy to maintain this weapon!"
"Perhaps, but if you insist on carrying it around, it will only prove to slow us down." Voro said.
"Leader, I promise that it won't slow us down, I will keep up, you'll see!" Dedap insisted.
Voro shook his head, not willing to waste further time on arguing on the matter "Very well, but you must keep pace with me, or else I will be forced to leave you behind."
Dedap began nodding furiously "I understand, I will keep up!"
Voro took one last look at the dead marine before he hurried off, Dedap struggling to keep pace.
"By the Rings…the Jiralhanae…" Voro whispered as he stumbled across the aftermath of a battle between the Jiralhanae and a group Sangheili and Unggoy.
It had been a massacre; the Unggoy had been utterly broken in many different places, evidently having been tossed about like ragdolls. Some had been dismembered entirely, and their bright blue blood mixed with the purple of the Sangheili and the black of the Jiralhanae. The Sangheili, if possible, looked even worse, having been mutilated beyond recognition by their foes. Voro wrinkled his face in disgust when he realised that some of his brothers had not only been mangled and riddled with plasma fire, but partially eaten. Although disheartened by the sight, Voro did take some solace in that for all the Sangheili and Unggoy casualties, there seemed to be twice as many Jiralhanae corpses, all thoroughly riddled with plasma scoring, leaving their corpses as little more than badly charred sacks of meat and terribly burned fur. The smell was less than pleasant to say the least, and Voro momentarily found himself envying Dedap and his breath mask. Clearly it had taken the combined efforts of dozens of the mongrels to take the Sangheili down.
Dedap panted as he came to a stop behind Voro, already regretting his decision to carry his cannon "Leader, what-?" Dedap followed his commander's gaze and saw what had happened, letting out a shriek of horror and fear.
"Silence!" Voro barked "If any Jiralhanae remain in the area, you will reveal our presence!"
Dedap hurriedly clamped his mouth over his mask, but began to shiver, thoroughly shocked by what he had seen.
Voro sighed in annoyance "Calm yourself, Dedap, or I shall leave you behind!"
Dedap struggled to stop his shivering, managing to partially suppress it "I-I will be calm, leader."
"Good, now, be ready for combat, there's no telling when we shall next taste combat." Voro muttered as he readied his carbine.
"Y-y-yes, leader…" Dedap stammered, pulling out his needler with one hand while still steadying the cannon in the other.
The two hurried away from the violent scene, weapons prepared in case of a sudden ambush.
Further ahead of them, a small group of Jiralhanae were lumbering along, two lagging behind due to one being injured and another supporting him. They were a part of the pack that had decimated the group of Sangheili and Unggoy that Voro and Dedap had stumbled upon. Of the forty-two Jiralhanae that had gone to crush the Sangheili resistance, only a pitiful nine were left. None of them were in particularly good condition, with even the least injured nursing plasma burns, needler punctures, scratches and other wounds. Their armour bore signs of heavy plasma scoring and noticeable dents. Some had been rendered bald in places where their hair had been singed off. Smatterings of blood marked where they had been, creating a gruesome trail.
At the head of the pack was one of the two surviving captains, he growled and turned to face the two who were lagging behind "Culmus! Leave him behind, he's done for!"
The Jiralhanae Major, Culmus, looked up, shock in his eyes "But…Pack leader, he is still alive!"
"He's too injured to do anything but slow us down!" Spicus snapped, spraying flecks of spit onto the subordinates who were unfortunate enough to be standing too close to him.
The injured Jiralhanae, the captain Chronus, lifted his head to face Spicus "I still…breathe…I can still…serve the Prophets…serve our Lords…" Even speaking was an effort for the injured Jiralhanae, who bore the most injuries out of the pack. The skin around his face had been nearly torn off by a particularly tenacious Unggoy. His stomach had been pierced multiple times by a number of needler rounds, and had even received a shallow cut at the hands of a Sangheili's energy sword. That he was even capable of standing was a testament to his strength.
"I refuse to abandon my captain!" Culmus spoke up.
Spicus scowled "Fine, if you insist on dragging around that dead weight, then you may, but we will not wait for you!"
At that, Spicus growled a command to the other Jiralhanae, and they proceeded to hurry ahead of the two who were behind them. A few looked back, before proceeding forward.
"I thank you…for not abandoning me…" Chronus murmured, his strength fading.
"My loyalty to the pack is strong, as strong as my faith, captain." Culmus replied.
"I know, I witnessed…your potential when you…cut down those vermin Sangheili and their…ugh, worthless supporters…" Chronus said "You have proven yourself as a warrior."
"Thank you captain, but I was only doing what the Prophets commanded. The Sangheili brought this down on themselves when they rejected the Great Journey, when they abandoned the Prophets. Their heresy shall cost them dearly." Culmus muttered.
Chronus looked like he was about to say something, but stopped and raised his head before sniffing the air "That…that smell…"
"What is it, captain?" Culmus asked.
"Sangheili!" Chronus exclaimed.
Culmus whirled around as best as he was able while still supporting Chronus. His captain was correct; standing behind them was a Sangheili Ultra, his silver armour gleaming brightly. Beside him was an Unggoy Heavy, a turret set up in front of it, aimed squarely at the two Jiralhanae.
"Your senses served you well, mongrel." The Sangheili said with a snarl as he raised his carbine.
A single shot rang out and Culmus looked on in horror as it struck Chronus, going through his eye and into his brain, killing him instantly. Culmus felt Chronus' body slacken as his life ebbed away. Black blood and the remains of punctured eyeball seeped down Chronus' face, before settling in his hair. The Spiker that he had been carrying dropped to the ground with a clatter that seemed deafening to Culmus.
A fierce anger coursed through Culmus and he let out a bellowing roar. Voro couldn't help but cringe, the stench of his breath, a disgusting odour that reeked of dead flesh even from where he stood, was rank and overpowering. Culmus' grief and rage at the murdering Sangheili dog made him lose all sense of restraint; he tossed aside his plasma rifle and charged his foes. Voro had anticipated this and quickly drew his energy sword, plunging it into Culmus' stomach as he ran at him. Unfortunately, Voro was used to striking down Human opponents with his weapon. Having never taken the life of a Jiralhanae, he had failed to take into consideration the thickness of his skin, or the fact that the adrenaline pumping through his veins deadened his sense of pain, allowing Culmus to reach new heights of aggression and strength. He found himself being driven backwards as Culmus continued to power into Voro. Even as Voro was struggling to keep from being overpowered by the savage, he could not help but bristle as Culmus' matted, blood-soaked hair ran across his skin. Truly the Jiralhanae were a repugnant species.
Dedap yelped in fear as his leader found himself being pressed back further and further, his attempts to dig his heels into the ground doing nothing, not even slowing down his foe.
"Dedap! Fire your weapon, now!" Voro shouted as Culmus snapped furiously, trying to rip the helmet off of his enemy.
Dedap froze momentarily, his fear overtaking him. He knew that if he did not do something quickly, his leader would die, but his sheer terror was overpowering. He found himself rooted in place as tremors started to run up his body.
"Do it now, Dedap!" Voro cried, before Culmus took a swipe at Voro's head, dazing him.
Dedap snapped out of his stupor and swivelled his cannon around, before opening fire on Culmus. The blasts of superheated plasma cut straight through the Jiralhanae's flesh, burning him horribly. The smell of burnt hair and overcooked meat drifted through the air. Culmus let out a bellow of pain and rage as the cannon fire cut into him, filling his body with an agonizing burning sensation. He turned to face his attacker, snarling and spitting in anger, murder in his eyes. It proved to be a fatal mistake as Dedap launched a volley of shots straight into his face, burning the skin away. What little flesh was left served to turn Culmus into a terrifying parody of a living creature. Culmus let out a sickening death rattle, before collapsing sideways.
Voro yanked his sword out of the corpse, before turning to his subordinate "I must admit, your actions are commendable, Dedap. I would have perished if not for you."
Dedap was unaccustomed to such praise, having been looked down upon by the Sangheili and the Jiralhanae all his life, above only the Huragok and the mindless Yanme'e "T-thank you, leader. I am proud to serve under you."
Voro nodded his head, noting that he was growing some attachment to the Unggoy "And I am proud to fight by your side."
Dedap was about to say something else, when something caught his eye "Leader, look!"
Voro turned to follow Dedap's gaze and was surprised by what he saw: Dozens upon dozens of Huragok, armoured and unarmoured alike floating away from a platform a few meters down.
"Huragok! What are they doing? They act as if there were some sort of threat!" Voro noted.
"Perhaps the Jiralhanae have taken arms against them too?" Dedap suggested.
Voro shook his head "Doubtful, the Huragok are too useful to kill, and I doubt the Prophets would authorise such an act."
Dedap watched the Huragok float away, before noticing something else "Leader, look! A Phantom platform!"
Voro realised that his companion was right, a Phantom platform was indeed within their sight, below them.
"We must make haste if we are to get there. I doubt it will be easy." Voro noted, before turning to Dedap. "I would tell you again to abandon your cannon, but since it has saved both our lives, I will relent."
"Thank you, leader." Dedap said, adding a slight bow.
Voro nodded once more "Now come, we have little time to spare."
And at that, the two hurried away, desperate to reach the Phantom Platform and the safety that it suggested.
Neither noticed the cold, hungry, animalistic eyes that observed them from the landing above, desperate to claim them for its cause.
Voro and Dedap moved through the halls as quickly as they could, aware that those loyal to the Prophets could strike at any time.
"Leader, what-?" Dedap began.
Voro quickly cut him off, raising his hand to his mouth "Sssh! I hear something…"
Dedap was silent and became aware of a low, droning sound, almost like the beating of dozens of wings…
The glass set in the walls above them smashed outwards and a number of Yanme'e swarmed in, weapons raised.
"Quickly, bring them down!" Voro ordered as he fired his weapon into the swarm.
Dedap yelped as he set up his cannon with all the speed he could muster. Once he was done, he aimed it as high as possible and fired into the swarm. Dedap was lucky, despite being more heavily armed, the Yanme'e were concentrating all of their firepower on Voro, whose shields were more durable than Dedap's armour. Voro found himself firing wildly into the air. With so many Yanme'e, there was little need to precisely aim his shots, merely firing up would suffice. As he fired into his foes, their white blood began to rain down onto the pair and their surroundings. It was soon accompanied by pieces of severed chitin and insectoid limbs.
Dedap's weapon was proving to be as effective, if not more so than Voro's skill with a carbine. Indeed, the high rate of fire and area of effect it provided was perfect for mowing down the tightly packed, swarming legions of the Yanme'e, who found themselves with gaping, smoking holes in their bodies. Limbs, heads and even entire torso were summarily vaporised by Dedap's fire.
"Leader, they are falling!" Dedap cried as more and more Yanme'e were cut down.
"You shall have to try harder than that, vermin!" Voro taunted as a number of shots came down around him and Dedap.
The battle was brief and, in Voro's opinion, rather pathetic, the Yanme'e had not even managed to breach the shields on his armour and Dedap had not even been grazed in the fire fight.
"If this is all the effort the Jiralhanae can muster, we shall have wiped them all out before nightfall." Voro muttered with disdain as he kicked a Yanme'e onto its armoured back, noting the blacked mark on its chest where Dedap had winged it.
"We did it, leader! We won!" Dedap cheered as he packed up his cannon.
"This time, Dedap. Doubtless there will be more foes further ahead." Voro said, turning to face Dedap.
With the brief skirmish over, the two continued on their way, remaining on alert as they passed through a number of halls and passages. Soon, the two came across a large door.
"Stay here, I will check to make sure that it is safe to proceed." Voro advised, holding up a hand to halt Dedap's movement.
Slowly, Voro proceeded further until the door lit up and opened. Voro quickly ducked to the side as he saw that the following room was filled with Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar, all standing around impatiently. One of them looked towards the door as it opened, before realising that no one was there.
"Feh, must be faulty." He snorted, before going back to polishing his spiker.
"Leader?" Dedap whispered "What do we do now?"
"We will have to find another way past, there is too much of a risk here, we would never make it out alive." Voro replied in a hushed tone.
He was annoyed that it had come to this, having to divert from their current path would cost them time, and the longer they spent out in the open, the higher the chance that they would be killed.
Voro opened his mouth to issue another order, but was cut off when a deafening crash filled his ears. Dedap let out a shriek as he was knocked to the ground, his weapon clattering loudly behind him. Voro, despite his more substantial weight, was also knocked down, where he fell in an undignified heap. He let out a groan and tried to recover from the sudden tremor. Voro realised with a jolt that it came from the room they had just realised was inaccessible.
"W-what was that, leader?" Dedap asked wearily.
"I do not know Dedap…" Voro whispered.
Suddenly, they could hear the sounds of shots being fired in the adjacent room, and the sounds of frantic Kig-Yar. The Jiralhanae bellowed in what sounded like shock. Dedap and Voro shared apprehensive glances as sounds of the fighting raged on for almost a minute.
Suddenly, there was silence.
Voro glanced at the door separating the two rooms apprehensively, before motioning for Dedap to remain where he was. Again, the door flashed as Voro approached it before it opened, but this time, the sight on the other side was vastly different. Voro gasped at what he saw. A Human dropship had crashed through the wall and was currently lying on its side. What truly shocked Voro however, were the corpses of the Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar, who had been overwhelmed by a new enemy. The enemy, Voro was horrified to realise, was the Flood. Dozens upon dozens of skittering Infection forms rushed to perform their macabre duty. Voro shuddered; they were truly hideous to look upon. Their bloated, sickly coloured flesh, their waving, blood-red feelers and their multiple slimy tentacles. Such creatures were unholy, demonic, more than that, they were evil. As Voro watched, they began to bury their way into the chests of the Jiralhanae, causing the corpses to twitch and flail as the Flood worked to rework the nervous systems of their victims. Their tentacles worked quickly to force an entry into the chests of the Jiralhanae. Their feelers twitched constantly, as if the Flood were excited. They waved wildly, erratically. The process was disgusting to watch as the corpses twitched constantly, their limbs flailing madly, as if performing some kind of morbid dance.
Voro reeled back, a look of pure horror etched onto his face. The Flood? Aboard High Charity? How was such a thing even possible? They were contaminating the holy city with their demonic filth! Such a thing was unthinkable! Voro shook his head, he could worry about this later, right now he had to focus on surviving.
Voro turned to Dedap, trying to conceal the fear in his eyes "Dedap, we will have to move quickly."
Dedap was unnerved "W-what is it, leader?"
"Never mind, just listen to me! We must proceed through the room as quickly as possible. Do not stop for anything! Do you understand me, Dedap?" Voro questioned.
Dedap was on the verge of a panic attack, but managed to hold himself together, barely "Y-y-yes, leader…I-I understand…"
Voro gave a quick nod, before running through into the next room. Dedap squeaked and ran as quickly as possible, desperate to keep up with his leader. As he ran, he realised exactly what had caused Voro to act so strangely. All around them, the corpses of the Jiralhanae were beginning to move as the Flood started to work many of their disgusting, slimy tentacles into hosts. They pierced and wormed their way into the flesh, before hurriedly burrowing into the chests of the corpses. They did it all so quickly, so fluidly, that they almost seemed to dissolve into the skin. The act of taking control of their hosts would delay them somewhat, but not for long, necessitating that Dedap and Voro hurry through the room as quickly as possible.
Dedap's eyes widened in alarm. He was a coward, he knew that, prone to panic when faced with superior numbers. But he would rather be facing a whole army of Demons than the Flood. Such a fate was unthinkable, to be killed and turned into a walking puppet for the mindless parasites. Dedap had to suppress a shudder and ran even faster.
Suddenly, something slammed onto Dedap's back, causing him to collapse onto the ground "Leader!" Dedap cried out.
Voro turned to see a Flood infection form scrambling over Dedap's combat harness, rapidly moving towards the cowering Unggoy's head. Voro let out a roar before he lunged towards the parasite, managing to grab onto it as it was about to strike its tentacles into Dedap's head. Voro growled as he crushed it in his grip, causing it to pop, sending pieces of flesh flying. Voro shook his arms in disgust as its disembodied tendrils tried to weakly attach themselves to his limbs. Dedap breathed a sigh of relief, believing the danger to be over. Suddenly, a scurrying sound filled their ears, and Voro looked up to see a number of infection forms crawling along the walls. On the ground, the Flood had finally completed taking over the Jiralhanae and were getting to their feet, all turning to stare at the two non infected aliens.
"Hurry, Dedap!" Voro exclaimed, firing into the Flood, but was dismayed to see that his shots were having little effect on the Flood controlled Jiralhanae. He paused just briefly to throw a plasma grenade, before turning to flee. He felt the explosion rattle his bones and shake his teeth, but did not stop to see the results. He doubted that the explosion had managed to kill all of them.
Dedap quickly scurried to his feet, picked up his dropped cannon and fled the room in fear. Voro glanced back to make sure that the Unggoy was safe, before he backed out of the room, still firing shots to waylay the Floods advance. As the Flood continued forward, Voro ducked into the room behind him, panting as the doors closed, the infection forms not having enough mass to trigger the doors. He looked behind him and was dismayed to see Dedap running around the room in a blind panic.
"Dedap, halt! Dedap!" Voro commanded in a stern voice.
Dedap flinched as his commander's voice reached his ears, before collapsing to the ground, apparently in the midst of a panic attack. Voro growled as he crossed the room and picked up Dedap, shaking him furiously in the hopes of shaking him from his stupor.
Finally, Dedap appeared to calm down "Leader! I-I am c-c-capable again…"
Voro dropped Dedap to the ground "Good, be sure that you remain capable. I have no use for a cowardly soldier who cannot perform his duty."
"I understand, leader." Dedap muttered.
"Good. Now, we must hurry, the phantom platform is but a short distance away.
At that, the two continued their advance, now with the fear of not only coming across a Jiralhanae patrol, but also a Flood ambush. The two suddenly found themselves in a room filled with the corpses of Jiralhanae and Sangheili and Human infected Flood. It was a gruesome sight to behold, all present were badly mangled. The Flood had been annihilated with plasma blasts, leaving little left but sickening piles of smoking, dead flesh. The Jiralhanae on the other hand, had been filled with Human ballistics; multiple gaping wounds littered their bodies, a rather distasteful sight.
"L-leader…" Dedap whispered.
"Stand firm, Dedap, they are all dead." Voro assured him.
The two ventured out onto what they had been so desperately searching for: The phantom platform. The two became apprehensive as they saw a downed Human dropship and more Flood corpses, as well as two deceased Unggoy. The two were relieved however, when they saw a single phantom was docked on a platform to the right.
"Leader! We're saved! Thank the Rings!" Dedap cried.
"Perhaps, but we must approach with caution." Voro said as he wearily stepped up to the phantom.
No Flood came crawling out from under the platform, no Jiralhanae came rushing out, but Voro kept his guard up. He stepped onto the fin on its back and opened the rear door, peering in cautiously. To his immense relief, the inside appeared to be clear. Voro sighed and leaned against the rear opening. Suddenly, a groan filled his ears. Voro's eyes snapped open and he whipped out his energy sword. For the first time, he noticed a figure slouching in the pilot's seat. Its hand twitched before the figure slowly stood up. It turned around to reveal an infected Jiralhanae. Voro roared before he rushed towards it, plunging his sword into its stomach. Liquefied bone and flesh seeped slowly through the wound, seeming to bother the mobile corpse little. The Flood peered down at the blade, before it raised a hand. Voro scowled before driving the sword straight up through the Flood's body, splitting it from stomach to skull. With a groan, the Flood collapsed.
"Come in Dedap, it is safe now." Voro murmured, collapsing into the pilot's chair.
Dedap ran into the phantom, squeaking as he saw the body of the Flood, carefully stepping around it. He was about to close the rear door, when he noticed a number of Huragok were floating towards the phantom. Dedap stared in surprise as roughly half a dozen Huragok entered the phantom and floated towards the roof. Voro glanced at them briefly, before returning to the controls.
"We can leave now, leader?" Dedap asked expectantly, tearing his eyes away from their passengers.
"Not quite, Dedap. We cannot abandon our brothers to die here; we must try to rescue them." Voro said as he began to power up the phantom.
"But…but, leader-!" Dedap began.
"Man a turret, Dedap, I have need of your skills." Voro said, cutting off Dedap.
Dedap considered arguing more, before deciding that it would do no good, Voro had his mind set. Besides, even he felt some apprehension at the thought of leaving his fellow Unggoy behind. His mind flashed back to his brothers. Two had perished when the Demon had destroyed the first Halo, and the others were stationed around High Charity. He shuddered at the thought that they could be dead at the hands of the Jiralhanae or the Flood.
"I understand, leader, and I will obey." Dedap replied, adding a slight bow before he rushed to command the bow mounted turret.
"Good, Dedap." Voro murmured wearily, finally finished with his pre-flight preparations.
The phantom took off and Voro began his search for other survivors of the Jiralhanae treachery.