"Everybody get do-" The flash of blue cut him off and he was gone.
Spartan S-462's ears were ringing. His blood was rising to a boil as he came to terms with what he just saw. His only friend had just sacrificed himself to save their squad. Angrily he pulled his magnum off his hip as he stood up out of cover and started firing back at the massive swarm of covenant scum advancing on their position. He only fired off 4 rounds, killing one elite and wounding another.
"Seth get down!" Jackson barked as he pulled the spartan back into cover. "Your shields are still down! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
"They killed him!" Seth cried out, tears coming to his eyes under his helmet.
"Ending up like him won't help anything!" Jackson replied grabbing Seth by his chest piece. He let him go, reaching up to the side of his own helmet to activate the radio. "Command, we need evac now! Where the hell are you!?"
The radio crackled to life. "This is HellBlazer coming to a LZ just south of your location. Get there now!"
Jackson snapped a quick, "Good" into the radio then turned to his team. "The pelican is coming just south of here" He shouted pointing towards the forest behind them away from the covenant. "Move out after my mark!"
The squad of four, including Seth had nodded and got ready to run. Jackson looked down at the Tac Pad on his left forearm. He touched the center of the screen and a bright purple square appeared. It was flashing slowly but getting faster. After a couple seconds it was a solid square and he tapped it a second time. As soon as his finger touched it another brown figure with the same armor as Jackson appeared next to him, pistol drawn.
"Mark!" He bellowed as he pressed the screen a third time. The figure he created jumped over the rock and sprinted towards the advancing army, firing its pistol into the mass. Covenant concentrated their fire on it. Burst of plasma hit the hologram, flickering through it.
The team of four took off towards the treeline thirty yards away. Seth could feel the plasma heating the air around them. As they got to the trees, Seth noticed that Jackson was still behind the rock.
He turned and shouted into the radio, "Jackson! What are you doing!?" Jackson's hologram had gotten too far away from him and was starting to fade. The nearest Sangheili took a step forward and kicked through it, making it disappear into nothingness.
"Buying you some time" Jackson responded as he picked up a nearby Assault Rifle in his left hand, holding his own in his left. He stood up behind the rock and started firing at everything that moved.
"Noooo!" Seth screamed. He was not losing another man today. He ran back towards the rock. The Tac Pad on Seth's arm was green, and he pushed it as he ran. A warning window popped onto his HUD and he quickly dismissed it.
"Seth, you can't use your armor ability yet! You aren't combat certified for using it!" Seth's radio said. It was the voice of Yager, the team's technical expert.
Seth was dodging fire as he ran to his captain. He had no time to think of a plan, which was perfect because he worked better without one. The Tac Pad beeped, showing readiness. A rouge charge of green plasma hit his shoulder, knocking him off balance, but he regained it by turning his momentum into a spin. Coming out of it, he pushed on the square.
The effect was immediate.
Steam released from the vents of Seth's armor, then he was launched. To Seth, the world had appeared to have slowed down. To the world, Seth was in super speed.
He vaulted the rock, and was on the covenant. He delivered three quick jabs to the stomach of one elite then spun and kicked one behind him in the back of the head. Grabbing the first one he hit by the jaw, he jumped over its head and threw it into another. The one he had kicked was bending over slowly, not because of the force, but because of the speed that Seth was moving. He got in front of it and kneed it in the jaw. He pulled his magnum off his hip and shot three quick shots at another Sangheili. He moved toward the elite he had shot at. Going faster than the bullets he grabbed the elite and threw it into the path of his shots so they would hit vitals. Jumping on the back of the next one, he snapped its neck. Seth then leaped off its shoulders as it fell, tackling a fifth to the ground. He shot it in the face two times.
His armor flashed another warning sign onto his helmet saying it was low on power. He dismissed it and found his way back to the rock. His Tac Pad went dark and he was back in normal time.
To Jackson, his team, and the remaining covenant, only four seconds had passed. As the six elites fell to the ground, they were all dumbstruck. "Let's go!" Seth yelled to Jackson, pulling him out of his stupor. They both made a break for the trees as the covenant were trying to figure out what had happened.
They met up with their team just as the plasma started hitting trees around them. Everyone took cover. The confusion that Seth had left with the enemy didn't last long. "There should be a cliff twenty yards ahead of you, ground team. Take a leap of faith." Seth's radio had said.
He knew the others got the transmission too when Henry, another team member, squeaked, "Leap?" Seth smiled in his helmet, Henry was scared of heights.
"Let's go" Jackson grunted. They all started running deeper into the forest. Just as the radio had said, the trees opened up and there was a cliff ahead of them.
Henry started to slow down, unsure of his trust in his radio, but before he could stop, Jackson tackled him from behind over the edge. The rest leaped off following orders.
The covenant, who had been closing in on the team, got to the clearing, only to find nothing. Then the pelican raised itself above the edge of the drop, with the Spartans on top of it. It scared some of the aliens, but they began to open fire. Then the pelican turned around, pointing its fifty caliber mini-gun at the enemy. It returned fire, suppressing some of the covenant, but mostly killing them.
Jackson looked to Seth. "Thanks kid. I guess I owe you one" grabbing Seth's hand in a solid shake.
"That was extremely unsafe and totally against protocol" Yager said, "But damn, that was cool" slapping him on the back.
Denali, the fourth Spartan, the only female of the team, opened the latch on the roof of the pelican. They all jumped down into the hold. Jackson went up to the front and gave Hellblazer the order to return to base.
Seth, who was coming down from the adrenaline, fell to his hands and knees. He ripped off his helmet and threw up on the floor. Falling onto his side, he passed out.