Crash Chapter 2
There was something particularly awful about the smell of flesh burned by plasma. Palmer wasn't new to the smell but even after so many years of being around the battlefield she still found that plasma burns left a more biting scent. Sunion stank of flesh burned by plasma. Sarah's nose scrunched up as she passed the body of a sangheili that had clearly been hit but a Phantom's turret from the extent of the burns. She took a moment to try to tell what color the alien's gear was under the burns but it was too charred to see anything other than black. The courtyard was littered with bodies just like it.
Sarah and Halsey had made it down the hallway to this courtyard, pausing here only so Palmer could search for any hint at which way to go from here. So far she'd come up with nothing. There were no working weapons, just a few broken carbines and some drained plasma rifles. Not even a grenade for her. Halsey was standing close to a wrecked wraith as Palmer had told her to stay out of the open. There was no clear sign even of which side had won this particular fight. Back during the war it was easy to tell who was winning and which way to find them. But back then the bodies weren't all of the same species. If she couldn't find any clue as to which way to go they'd just have to pick a random direction and hope that it lead them to the Swords.
The calm noise of the waves below and the few still burning fires was drowned out as a loud cry of pain echoed from somewhere nearby. Sarah had blasted enough Sangheili at close range to know what one sounded like when it was being injured. "Come on," Sarah ordered sharply, as she motioned for Halsey to follow her.
"You're not going toward that, are you?" the doctor asked in disbelief.
"Yes, we are," Palmer informed her. "Either that's the Swords of Sangheilios finishing off their enemies and we're saved or that's some bastards harming the only person who can tell us which way to evac." Palmer didn't wait for the doctor to respond before she moved toward the directions of the cry.
Palmer moved into the domed structure cautious not to make too much noise as she entered. There was a small entry way with ramps up to a second floor to either side and a large arc way ahead of her that lead into a large round room. It wasn't hard to spot the four Sangheili that were in the center of the room. Two Sangheili in blue armor watched passively as a third blue armored sangheili pinned down a Sangheili in red armor. It seems that Palmer wasn't going to get an easy win today. The two passive Sangehili had plasma rifles at their hip and the third was holding an energy sword that it was slowly pushing into it's pinned enemy's side.
Sarah considered her options for a second before she took a step back and motioned to Halsey for her to go up the ramp. The ramp led up to a ten foot wide platform that ran along the walls of the building about half way from the ceiling. The walls were lined with weapons stands bearing the ceremonial spears of the old Covenant honor guards and statues of the now shameful ranked Sangheilis. Sarah moved along the upper ring until she was sure that the enemy alien's backs were to her.
Palmer eyed the distance between her and her three foes below. She had the high ground but her only weapon was the most useless at this range. After a quick glance around she formed a plan. Well, plan was too strong of a word. She had an idea and she'd have to wing it from there. She didn't have the time to waste or they'd kill the Sangheili they were torturing. Palmer raised her plasma pistol and held down the trigger, overcharging her shot. The large bolt of green plasma shot forth, hitting the sangheili that was digging his blade into the helpless captive. The light washed over him but Palmer was sure she saw the distinct discharge of his shield. With her foe now vulnerable she reached back to the weapon rack against the wall and tugging loose one of the two pronged spears. She shifted it in her hand so she held it like a javelin and launched the weapon forward. The unshielded Sangheili turned just in time to catch the spear in the chest. Sarah had to admit she was proud of how it had pierced the alien's armor.
The speared alien fell back, on top of the Sword Sangheili. For now Sarah wasn't concerned with if he was alive or dead. She had to take advantage of the surprise to get the drop on the other two enemies before they could kill her. Sarah jumped down to the lower floor, clicking on the shield attached to her left wrist as she landed. The Sangheili were pulling out their plasma pistols which gave her a moment to try to retrieve her weapon. She grabbed the spear and tried to tug it loose but only jerked the corpse slightly. Palmer cursed and changed her plan quickly, jerking on the spear again, this time more with the goal of moving him off of the friendly alien. Once she was sure it was far enough to the side she set her foot on the corps's chest and started to tug. She shifted her shield to deflect the shots from the Sangheili on her left who had his weapon ready. She wasn't sure why the other hadn't fired but she'd just count herself lucky as she couldn't block both directions.
Finally the spear came free and she readjusted the pole of the spear in her hand to a more traditional grip. The firing Sangheili paused in his shots for only a moment, growling low as he no doubt waited for his weapon to cool down. That's the part that had made Palmer always hate the alien tech. She wasn't known for her patience and slapping in a new clip of rounds was faster. Sarah moved toward the Sangheili her nerves steeled and all doubt drowned out by her battle instincts. Sarah swung the spear toward the foe but he stepped back out of range of the weapon. She continued the swing in a large circle and as it was coming back down with more force and speed she took a quick step forward getting her the tiny amount closer she needed for the spear to make contact with the sangheili's ankle. The sharp tip sliced along the creature's flesh and its leg failed for just a second, causing it to fall to its knees. That left her foe unable to get away as the next rotation of her weapon to strike it in the head, laying him out flat and sending his weapon skidding across the ground. Sarah stopped swinging the spear, shifted her spear baring arm to her side, and tossed up the spear a few inches, allowing her to quickly regrip the pole so she could stab her downed enemy.
She was stopped as the third Sangheili finally stepped into the fight, grabbing her from behind, wrapping one arm around her neck and another around her weapon arm at the shoulder. Sarah angled her wrist to point the tips of her spear behind her and slightly down before she stabbed backward with as much as she could. The points found some soft flesh and the Sangheili bowled and let go of her. Sarah grilled the rod of the spear with both hands and spun around, slamming the blunt part of the weapon against her attacker's head, knocking him down. Before he had a chance to recover she stepped close enough to drive the spear down into the opponent's chest.
She hear the remaining sangheili's roar and turned as his weight slammed into her. Sarah fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of her as the alien's weight slammed into her stomach. He raised his plasma rifle and aimed it in Palmer's face. She grabbed his wrist with her arm and quickly jerked it down. She heard the rifle go off before she registered the feeling of heat against her torso. There was no pain at the moment with her blood pounding from the fight but she couldn't risk him getting another shot. Sarah's other hand moved up to the sangheili's face and she jabbed her thumb into the enemy's eye. He rolled off of her in an attempt to get away from the attack it that left her now free to move.
Life or death was a hell of a motivator as her old drill Sargent would have said. As a Spartan it was an even better motivator. She rolled herself over to pin the Sangheili down and started to slam her fist into the foe's skull. It was messy and less than ideal but with her life on the line she wasn't above beating her foe to death. Her first hit left him at her mercy and although he tried to fight back her enemy was at a disadvantage and couldn't stop her assault. She slammed away at the sangheili until his arms went limp and she heard something crack. Confident that he wouldn't be getting back up Palmer forced herself to stand and step away from her victims. Her shoulders ached, her fist was sore from the repetitive strikes, and she could now feel the burns under her armor and could see the scorch marks on her chest plate.
Palmer moved over to the Sword of Sangheilios that was still lying on the ground but had propped himself up. "Can it be?" the Sangheili muttered to himself as he watched Palmer approach. "In this, my time of need, the ancestors have seen fit to sent to send me a vision of true glory and honor so that I may die seeing the true face of a warrior."
Sarah wasn't sure what to make of the Sangheili's words. She knew they were prone to poetic words at times but she wasn't a fan of poetry so her understanding of their proclamations was hit and miss. "You aren't gonna die," she asserted, as she reached him. "You know which way the to the Sword's evac point?"
"Yes, you need only head out that doorway and continue in that direction. They are meeting in central courtyards. You will not be able to miss them though I cannot guarantee that their will be no remining traitors between here and there but it is not far away."
"Finally, a break," Sarah whispered to herself as she let out a breath. "Can you stand?" She held her hand out to the alien on the ground to help him up.
"Leave me," the Sangheili demanded, trying to wave her off. "I am injured and will only slow you down. I will not allow my failing to hinder a great warrior like you. A glorious warrior should not sully themselves with the troubles of the unworthy. The only worse dishonor I could bare beside loosing to these blind fools is to cause injury or death to a warrior of your stature."
Palmer wasn't sure how much of the Sangheili's words were self pity and how much was genuine reverence for her. "What's you're name?" she asked.
"Vel 'Trokaik," the Sangheili responded.
"Well, Vel, I can assure you that you are far from what would slow me down," Sarah informed him. She looked over as Doctor Halsey appeared at the bottom of the ramp and moved toward them. "I could cut off both your arms and one of your legs and you'd still be less of a burden on me than her."
"Very funny," Halsey sniped with a scowl on her face. "That was not a very well thought out plan."
"It wasn't a plan," Palmer shot back before she turned back to Vel. "In fact, you would be a big help. If we meet any more things I need to kill then you can keep her from tripping on a rock and dying."
"I'm not completely incapable of staying alive," Halsey asserted.
Palmer promptly ignored her comment and stayed focused on the Sangheili, continuing to hold her hand out. "Now we should get going before the Arbiter decides to leave without us."
Vel paused for a moment before taking her hand and letting her help him to his feet. Palmer hated to admit the shot of pain that went through her body as she yanked the Sangheili to his feet. "Maybe, for me, assisting a true master of combat such as yourself could redeem me form my failings. What I know for sure is that The Arbiter would be a fool to leave behind a warrior of your stature and skill, and he is no fool."
"I hope you're right. It would be a long walk back to his Keep." Sarah commented.
Vel moved over to the body of the Sangheili who had been injuring him. He picked up the hilt of the energy blade that had fallen to the floor. After quickly checking it over for damage he held it out to Palmer. "It would be useless in my hands, particularly in my condition. It is a weapon of honor which belongs in the skilled hands of one such as yourself."
Sarah accepted the weapon, attaching it to her thigh armor, before she moved over to Halsey and passed her the Plasma pistol. "What am I supposed to do with this?" Halsey asked.
"Shoot anything if it gets past me and Vel," Palmer told her with a slight shake of her head. Vel had moved over to the other fallen Sangheili to check their plasma rifles. "We need to get moving, now."
Vel nodded, tossing one of the rifles aside but keeping the other. "It's low on charge but the other has none," he informed her. At least Palmer now knew why the other Sangheili hadn't fired at her. "I will protect your charge with every ounce of strength in my body and every bit of my life," he declared to Palmer.
Sarah paused, unsure how to politely respond so instead she just nodded before heading toward the exit he'd indicated. Her joints were hurting and as time passed, she became more aware of the compiling strain on her body and that there were injuries that, for now, her body was ignoring due to her augmentations. Musa had always warned them they'd need to be conscious of not pushing themselves too much as they would likely not realize lower end injuries. As Palmer walked and she felt her muscles protest every move she knew that she was running low on reserves. They needed to get to evac before something else found them and she wasn't able to win.