Part Seven - Covert Extraction

Sorran paced up and down the small room, stretching his ached legs. His jaw had swollen up, as a result of the 'interrogation', and his teeth dug into the lining of his puffed up gums. Luckily, Sangheili were quick healers, the wound would go down soon enough. That didn't stop it hurting at that moment though.

An ugly bruise had arisen on the side of his waist, from where he had been kicked. The humans truly were barbarians.

Two of the infidels stood posted outside the metal bars of the cell, each armed with one of their primitive weapons. Crude as they were though, they were still powerful enough to kill an unshielded soldier of the Covenant.

For the first time since being drafted into the legions of the Covenant forces, Sorran missed having a plasma rifle, or any weapon for that matter, at his side. The Sangheili felt defenceless, weak, vulnerable. Which, Sorran reflected, he was.

He looked closely at the two humans. One was dark skinned, with short hair and green eyes, the other fair skinned, with what seemed like hair to be growing on it's face, much in the same way of the Prophets, and Brutes. They seemed to both be male, quite young too, if Sorran's observations of human age were anything to go by.

The dark skinned one was at full attention it seemed, watching me with narrowed eyes, his finger perpetually resting on the trigger. As if he were a threat in this condition, hah!

The other human seemed to be sat on a chair of sorts, brow furrowed in concentration and eyes trained on an object in his hands, with human writing plastered all over it's papery surface. Sorran was intrigued.

"What is it that you are doing human?" The Elite asked softly, walking to the edge of the cell, so he was close to the barred, steel door. The human looked up from the object in his hand startled, with a questioning look upon his face. He then noticed that Sorran was looking at what he held in his left hand now, and comprehension dawned upon him.

"I'm ah...reading, Lord of the Rings." the human replied, confused by Sorran's interest.

This surprised Sorran. It was obvious, now that he thought about it, that some humans could read; despite how primitive they were in the Covenant's eyes, they still possessed some impressive technology. Naturally they would write instructions down.

"Can every human read?" Sorran asked, curiosity piqued.

"Well, yeah, basically everyone. We're not idiots you know."

This revelation shocked him; whilst it was true that most Sangheili and practically all the Prophets could read, the lower classes such as the Unggoy, Kig yar, and even the Jirahanae were taught but a few runes. Knowledge was power, and the higher races of the Covenant, especially the Sangheili did not want them to have power. That the humans considered it normal to read was an alien concept.

Before Sorran could reply with another question, the dark skinned human chose then to speak.

"Enough chit chat!" he barked at the battered Elite, who slunk away from the cell door, disappointed. The human then turned to the fair skinned one who had been reading, "come on man, you know what the Colonel said. 'No speaking to the Elite', I believe his words were."

"Yeah, I know. My bad."

"I didn't know you liked all that fantasy crap by the way."

"Crap? It's Tolkien man, it's a classic."

"It's like, six hundred years old!"

"So? It's still great."

So I wasn't to be spoken to? Sorran thought to himself. Interesting, although not surprising. Indeed, if he had held a human captive, he would have forbidden any but him to speak to it.

Despite the danger Sorran was in, he was growing extremely bored. He could not sleep, the pain in his jaw and side saw to that.

Units passed in the cell. What was it that the humans named units? Ah yes, 'hours.' Regardless of the name, they passed.

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"The exit is barred Ahkrin!" Zharn hissed to his companion, who was behind him in the ventilation shaft. The two Sangheili had made it into the base where Sorran was held captive, yet they had run into a problem.

"That's a rather large thorn in our side." Ahkrin replied dryly, peering over Zharn's shoulder, "well noble Zharn Refun'ee, what is your plan?"

"I cannot break the bars hunched as I am. There is not enough room to apply real force. I could melt the bars with my rifle."

"No! That would not be wise, the humans would hear the shots. Here, use my energy blade." Ahkrin snapped back instantly, reaching his arm around Zharn, the inscribed hit of the plasma blade offered in his outstretched hand.

Zharn grimaced at the blade, and turned his head around to face Ahkrin.

"It is not permitted for one of my rank to use such a weapon my brother. The council, would have my head." the Sangheili Major lectured, pushing the hand holding the hilt away.

"Do not be foolish Zharn, the council need not know! Just cut the bars, and hand back the sword. I would do it myself, yet I cannot reach from where I am, nor can I move past you. Just take the blade." Ahkrin intoned, shoving the hilt of the sacred blade into Zharn's reluctant hand.

It was a strange custom, but none below the rank of Zealot were permitted to use the holy Energy Blade, designed by the Forerunners themselves. The only exclusion from this rule was that of the Stealth Sangheili's, and Spec Ops operatives needs. Which was why Ahkrin possessed such a weapon.

Heresy though it may be, Zharn took the weapon, and activated it. A sharp crack rung through the air as the plasma protruded, shaped by the magnetic boundaries around it. Had even this been witnessed by a councillor, Zharn would be in shackles.

The weapon sung of purity and honour, even as it was lowered by Zharn onto the metal bars of the grill excluding the two Sangheili from the confines of the base. It cut through easily, leaving the severed ends of the bars a searing mess. Zharn slightly pushed, and the grill opened enough for the two to fit through.

"Was that so hard brother? Come, pass me my blade back, and let us go on." Ahkrin said then, and for a moment Zharn felt a rush of irrational jealousy. Why should this sneaking, dishonourable bungler be allowed to use a weapon of the gods when he, Zharn, he who had won countless battles in the glorious Covenant's name was forbidden to even hold it?

The jealousy subsided after a moment, however, and Zharn was left feeling very foolish. Wordlessly, he passed the sword over to Ahkrin with no little reluctance, and moved through the exit of the shaft, dropping some eight feet to the ground below, with elegant grace. The Stealth Sangheili followed the Major's suit, surveying the room.

"And now?" Zharn demanded, looking helplessly around the small room they had dropped in. Human computers were stored in the corner, devoid of activity. A ornate clock hung in the room, it's pendulum rocking back and forth. A single human fan stood, blowing cold air into the small enclosure. It was all very mundane.

"I've infiltrated human bases before, they usually have their detention blocks on the ground floor. Follow my lead, and stay plastered to my tracks." Ahkrin intoned, bringing a small device out from his belt as he did so. Zharn recognised it as an Electronics jammer, used by stealth operatives. Once activated, it would send out a signal, knocking out all electronic surveillance items in the area.

Zharn engaged his active camouflage, as did Ahkrin. The humans may be able to detect it with a heat sensor, but it was still well worth using. Stealth at the expense of slightly weakened shields. The Sangheili Major approached the wooden door of the room's exit, and, grasping the small handle, opened it slightly ajar, to reveal an empty corridor.

"All is clear." Zharn whispered over a secure communications link, derived from Forerunner technology. His voice would be undetectable to all but Ahkrin.

"Then proceed brother, unless you consider yourself inept." Ahkrin mocked, amusement evident in his voice. Zharn scowled, and moved into the narrow stretch of corridor, wary of danger. Ahkrin followed up, sniffing the air before them.

"Humans have been here recently, and behold, fresh footprints scatter the floor. Hurry onward, this area is patrolled frequently." Ahkrin reported, and Zharn took the Stealth operatives advise, heading down a flight of stairs on the left.

The Sangheili Major suddenly paused when he heard murmuring -- human voices around the corner.

"That Elite we've got banged is a nutter, punched the Sarge in the gut he did!" the first human spoke in a heavy accent.

"Yeah, well, the poor thing was kind of being abused Harry." the second human replied.

"'Poor thing'!" the human named Harry exclaimed, crowing with laughter, "that's an Elite mate. They're the enemy, remember?"

"Yeah, I know, it's just that it looked so pathetic snivelling and bawling like that. Besides, it says it used to be a Librarian or something."

"We're not allowed to drink on duty Richard, remember?" Harry mocked, whilst Zharn drew ever closer to the one named Richard.

"I've not been drinking! I'm being serious, jeez man stop being a --"

Richard never had a chance to complete his sentence however, for at the moment Zharn struck, landing a heavy blow on the side of the man's head with his plasma rifle. The human collapsed instantly, dead or alive Zharn did not know. The other human, Harry, swore when he saw Zharn's camouflage fade as a result of the attack, but he could not cry for help, for at that moment, Ahkrin sprang into action, jumped upon the human, covering his mouth with one large hand, and, reaching down, broke Harry's neck with one fluid motion. The silent screaming ended.

"Nice move." Zharn complimented Ahkrin, looking down at the two bodies. Ahkrin pointed down at the human Zharn had felled; Richard.

"Is this one dead?" Ahkrin whispered.

"I don't know." Zharn confessed. Ahkrin took one look at the human lying on the ground, raised his plasma rifle, and shot the body twice in the head, melting it into a puddle of fleshy liquid.

"It is now."

Zharn didn't like the way Ahkrin had handled that. He had no problem killing human, by no means, but killing one in cold blood, whilst it lay on the ground, unconscious; there was no honour to be found in that. Still, they had a mission to complete, and so he forced the unpleasant thought out of his mind.

"Where now Ahkrin?" Zharn asked of the other Sangheili, who was checking the corpses for a pulse, just in case. Thorough bastard.

"Can you not read the sign above Zharn?" Ahkrin jested, motioning upwards. Human letters were wrote upon a green, luminous board.

"Those are not Forerunner glyphs brother." Zharn stated bluntly.

"Your point being?"

"I cannot understand them."

Ahkrin froze in disbelief, and rose up from his corpse checking duties. He turned towards Zharn.

"Truly? Gods, what do you learn when you become an officer of the Covenant then? All Stealth Sangheili are taught to fluently speak and read the languages of every known species."

"Even that of the Huragok?"

"Yes, but it is by far the hardest. Sangheili throats are not made for making all those chirps and whistles. More often than not, we use sign language when communing with them."

Zharn scowled, painfully aware that his own education was...lacking. No doubt Sorran was as educated as Ahkrin, being the scholar he was.

"We can discuss this later. Tell me what the letters say, and let us be on our way." Zharn ordered, despite the fact he and Ahkrin's rank amounted to the same.

"Hmph, very well. It reads "Detention block A", with an arrow pointing down the ramp on your right."

"And do you think Sorran could be down there?" Zharn replied earnestly.

"It's wholly possible. Come, let us go. Re-engage your camouflage."

They both moved swiftly down the ramp, which was painful to traverse with Zharn's hoofed feet. Cameras died as they moved past them, as a result of Ahkrin's jammer. They would have to move quickly, it wouldn't be long until the humans realised something was wrong.

They reached a dark corridor at the end of the ramp, where a large steel door barred their path into a room, likely where the cells were kept.

"Is it open?" Zharn questioned, knowing the answer already. A quick try of the door and shake of the head by Ahkrin confirmed his suspicions.

"Nay, and there are no weak spots either. We cannot blast the door off with a standard rifle. Thankfully, I have with my a set of plasma grenades. Stand back."

Ahkrin brought out three plasma grenades, and gently laid them by the steel door. The small explosives were extremely powerful when detonated, in spite of their size. Ahkrin moved away from the door, and hit a switch on his arm. The grenades sparked into life, and began hissing.

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"I'm calling it a night Tom, good luck guarding the deadly prisoner." The fair skinned human mocked, closing shut his book. The dark skinned one, Tom, laughed.

"Alright Pete, but tomorrow, you're staying up." Tom called as his friend Pete walked towards the metal door leading out of Detention Block A.

Those words would be the last words Pete would ever hear.

For at that moment, the heavy steel door exploded in a cloud of plasma, incinerating the human named Pete on the spot. Sorran sprung out of his bed at the commotion, and moved towards the cell door.

"What the hell?" Tom screamed, firing randomly into the cloud of plasma. Moments later, plasma fire rained back, which Sorran identified to be issued from a standard plasma rifle. The superheated bolts burned through Tom's stomach, and he fell to the floor, writhing in a pool of his own blood and stomach acid.

Two tall figures came into Sorran's view, familiar ones.
"Ah, Sorran, I trust you've been keeping well." Zharn laughed, gripping the cell door with Ahkrin the Stealth Sangheili, ripping the heavy door from it's hinges, a feat Sorran could have never done alone, especially in his weakened state.

"You...came for me?" Sorran questioned, confused that they would so such a thing for him. Him!

"We never leave a needy brother behind." Ahkrin grunted, tossing the door away, and reaching out for Sorran's arm, hoisting him onto the floor beside him.

Sorran felt a rush of weakness, and nearly collapsed to the floor there and then. Before he did though, Zharn caught him in his hands, slinging the Sangheili Minor over his back.

"I see the humans haven't been under feeding you Sorran." Zharn commented wryly under the bulk of his weight. Sorran didn't reply, he was too tired.

"We must leave, now. The humans will no doubt of heard the explosion." Ahkrin stated, alert for danger.

"Then leave we shall. How do you propose we do this?" Zharn replied, worried.

"The back wall looks weak, perhaps we can force our way out."

Zharn grunted in confirmation, passing the limp Sorran over to his friend. He then walked to the wall, braced himself, and hurled his weight against it. Cracks were formed. After repeating the process twice, the wall finally gave, and Zharn burst through to the outside.

Alarms were now whirring across the human base, and the barks of dogs could distinctly be heard. Escaping wasn't going to be easy.