Chapter 8: So Much For The Chase

"We have found more of those responsible. From our clues, there appears to be one more somewhere. We got four others, and last one is quiet. We should not fear him."

"Are they elves or dwarves? Are the Varden responsible?"

"They are human. Not Varden, they can't come up with something like those we found. They are different in everything. Though they speak normal, the dialect is different. I assume it is one of the other nations, farther away. Those we don't know of, across the Haradrac desert most likely. We found quiet a handful al over the place. Many looked lost."

"You information is very useful indeed. Go and find the rider and capture him. I want him in this room before he is killed. I will take are of the other nations. Urgal regiments near the area will bond together into an army. They will cross the desert and take care of those nations. I'm sure Kull can handle this simple task."

"Very well. I'll be gone now. I won't come back until the Rider is with me."

"Do not try and read my mind. You won't like the consequences."

"I do not wish to now, my Lord."

Eragon woke up not knowing where he was. He was alone, but not even Saphira was anywhere. His hand was in a splint, one of a new sort of cloth that he didn't recognize. He ate the soup that was left in a bowl near him. When he was finished, remembering Brom's explanation on scrying, he went to get some water.

Pronouncing the ancient words, he suddenly felt as though he didn't eat at all. Brom and the Chief were both on Saphira, but the background was white. The Chief was holding his long pole-like weapon, and Brom was holding a sword. Both were looking around for something under them. Whatever they were looking for was found, and the Chief aimed and shot the invisible thing four times. The weapon produced four white trails, which were hard to see for they were white on white. Eragon recognized them as the same ones as the smoke from Yazuac. The Chief frowned and looked at the inside of the weapon. Saphira hovered for a moment, Brom and the Chief all looking for the invisible target. Not finding it, Saphira took off to look for something else elsewhere. (AN: MC misses PURPOSLY, for the sake of the story, so plz don't review saying he cannot miss.)

By noon, they returned to Eragon. Brom didn't look too happy. The Chief went over to a sunny spot to disassemble his weapon. He was holding some scrap cloth, which was used to clean it. Brom motioned Eragon to follow him. Saphira went with them.

The two went off for a few minutes, and suddenly Brom stopped and turned on Eragon, furious. "What were you thinking?" He asked. "Why did you try to toss a dozen Urgals all the way to Teirm? It would have been easier to send a rock through each of their heads. Or even break their spines."

"It didn't feel right to kill them there. They said something about a master. I told them that I don't care what the master does, but I won't join him."

"What did feel right? To get killed instead? I suppose it would have been better to get them angry and weaker first. Because of your trick, two still got away. They know about you and now there are two Urgals running around spreading stories on the new Rider. As for talking, you have just insulted the most powerful person in the world. You don't even deserve the title of Rider anymore, Boy."

Brom went away, back to the camp. The Chief was still cleaning his weapon. The radio was playing softly nearby. The Chief was wearing an odd smile, as though he had heard everything. "You know, shouting like that can be heard by a deaf man across the globe," he said.

So apparently he did hear. Brom grinned at the joke. "I doubt that a deaf man can here anything."

"Oh, I wouldn't bet on that. They tend to hear things that they shouldn't. You were a bit harsh on the boy. How many incidents of actual combat did he experience before?"

"Just once, and there were only two Urgals."

"You mean in that pillaged town? That's not much of experience being gained, two Urgals up close."

"No, not really. I was carried away by my emotions too much. He is this land's only hope after all. By the way, that's a really good weapon you have."

"Not really. It's standard. But normally it shoots straighter. And to get a better way o change the subject."

Meanwhile, Eragon was talking with Saphira about the argument with Brom.

Would it help to apologize at least? He asked Saphira.

I don't really know. But that will be a very good start.

Eragon went back to the direction where Brom had left. He found him at their camp. He spotted Brom talking with the Chief. Saphira came up behind him.

Well, here it goes.

He looked uncertainly at the Chief, who gave him an odd sort of smile as if to say go on. Eragon had a strong suspicion that the Chief had heard everything. He turned to Brom, "Will it help to say that I'm sorry?"

Brom answered seriously, with a lot less anger in his voice as before. "No it won't. But your actions were better than most peoples' first non-life threatening encounter with an Urgal. Not many get the chance to talk before forced to attacking."

There was an odd silence for the rest of the day. It wasn't very comfortable to be near Eragon and Brom. The silence seemed to spread in a circle around the group. Even the warthog's engines sounded quieter for some reason.

The next day, Brom gave Eragon many different scenarios in combat. Some included Urgals, Dragons, or even other Riders. The Chief had even ore absurd ideas of opponents, but Eragon knew that it was what the Chief faced one time or another. Surrender and retreat were mostly out of the options, but the Chief had some ideas of how to defeat enemies that Brom never even thought off. It was obvious that the Chief served armies for a long time. For one, instead of foolish headlong charges, one can retreat and ambush an enemy. He claimed he served the UNSC for all his life. That wasn't very hard to believe. Eragon paid attention carefully to the Chief. He moved unlike a normal person, without flaws. He stood straighter than Eragon thought possible. That was for starters.

In the evening, Eragon dueled with Brom. As they finished, Brom muttered, "That's a start."

The Chief came over and asked to dull one of the swords. Eragon gave him the dulled Za'roc, for it won't break, bend, or scratch in any way. Brom got the hint and stepped into a defensive position.

As they started fighting, Brom realized that they were very evenly matched. The Chief doesn't know how to use a sword, that was certain, but he had great speed and strength to overcome the lack of experience. Eragon watched them until the end, amazed at the power that the Chief presented, but had no clue at the lack of skill. Brom flicked his wrist and placed the tip of his sword on the Chief's color bone. At the same moment, the Chief had pulled out his pistol and held it against Brom's head. Both grinned and retreated a few steps back. But Brom had enough. He sat down next to the fire.

"This was one heck of a fight," he said simply.

"It was. But I still don't like swords."

"I don't see how. They can do anything. Take down enemies, chop wood, and break doors…"

I'll show you what it cannot do. Now, if you don't mind a minute of your time?"

The Chief got a dozen wooden poles from the ground and set them on the ground, standing up like stakes. He prepared to give a longest speech he gave in Alagaesia to Brom.

"Now, see those poles? Pretend they are people that want to kill you. With a sword, you need to foolishly charge at one of them. During your charge, you make a nice, fresh target to any rangers that happen to be in the group.

Next, saying you make it to one of them, you need to take them out one at a time, all the time more can come, others can chop you back or head off, or others you previously took down can get back up ad ruin your day for you. However, lets say you did take all of them out. All the noise of the battle will alert any others nearby. And, as you saw previously, others can escape. What do you know? Someone has told about you and a whole army is after you. Or gang, either way, many will be after your neck.

This thing," he took out an ordinary pistol, "can take out all of these quickly and with a lot less noise than ordinary fighting. You might even get away without being seen by your enemies. This attacks at a range, if your enemies do see you, they still have to get to you. Sometimes, most of the time, they will attack you without charging. This will call for needing cover that allows you to take out your enemies while staying safe," he motioned toward the pistol, "This thing is nothing special. Standard issue, twelve shots. You'll understand better as more of twelve very small arrows. Very fast, and can take down an enemy in one shot if hit in the right areas. The head is very venerable. Other weapons will deliver different results, but this one essentially is the center of standard UNSC armament. Enough of this lecture, you will need to see with your own eyes."

The Chief aimed the pistol and fired six shots, one into each pole. They all fell over. " If the first round didn't do its job," he fired another six shots into each. He reloaded and holstered the pistol. "Nothing special. The other weapons tend to be better. Weather it is loads of ammo such as in the Assault rifle, multiple targets with one shot as in the shotgun and rocket launcher, great accuracy and range like in the sniper rifle, or a big bang in grenades, modern weapons cover any tactical need."

Suddenly, Eragon came running. He looked panicked.

"I heard something loud. What happened?" He stammered finally. Saphira landed next to him, spotted the poor pieces of wood and nosed them.

Both the Chief and Brom started laughing like they heard the best joke in the world. Finally, the Chief managed to answer, "Your dragon already discovered the recipients of a nice volley of rounds. The source is this handy pistol. I just showed Brom how outdated your weaponry is. Either way, we should keep moving. I can't tell who heard that. Forests bounce sound all over the place."

Brom lost all humor on his face at that remark, "You told me that they are quiet."

The Chief looked at him seriously, "At a distance. It will wake late sleepers, though. For good quietness, use a sniper rifle. It is louder, but can go much farther. Actually, the bullet goes faster than sound, so it hits the target before it is possible to hear it."

"Its impossible to go faster than sound."

"To you. It is done all the time. Even many times faster. Now hear is the big one, light travels much faster. We passed that barrier too."

"Who are we?"

"The UNSC humans and earth colonies, and… the Covenant are even faster."

"Who are the Covenant?"

Grunt. Not much of a reply.

The Chief, Brom, and Eragon packed and started back down the road.

Along the road, the Chief drove close to Brom. He looked back to make sure that Eragon was far enough to over hear.

"You want to know about the Covenant? There is one reason why I was hesitant to tell you anything. If they find you, you won't have any hope of surviving. They have weapons that even surpass our own. We are currently fighting a war with them. They are winning. We are fighting on bought time. Only a miracle can save us, and that means all humans, and I don't believe a miracle will come any time soon."

Brom was very curious, indeed, "Why are you fighting a war with them? Anyways, who started the war?"

"They did, with a complete surprise. We simply lost contact with the Harvest colony. We sent in a ship to look. It didn't survive long enough to report anything. So we sent in a scout fleet of three ships. We discovered Harvest completely destroyed. Only one Covenant ship remained. It might have been the only one to come in the first place. The ultimate lie from the government was that we won the first engagement. We won, but at a price of two of our ships, and the third heavily damaged. By the way, these ships are not the ships that sail in the water. They are in outer space," the Chief pointed up, "We won when we outnumbered the Covenant three to one, and we lost two thirds of our fleet. Well, enough of this lecture. It is very rare that I talk this long in one day." He drove away, leaving Brom stumped with the sudden silence and pondering on what he heard. Weapons that are more powerful than the wonder weapons the Chief was using, ships that fly through the air. Something to remain a secret he thought.

The group traveled along the road until they got to Lake Leona. None of those days compared to the day of the Chiefs lecture. The Chief himself seemed unusually quiet afterwards too. At the lake, the Chief ditched the warthog and proceeded on foot. Eragon watched on amazement as the Chief carried many heavy supplies wit unusual ease. Near Dras-Loena, The Chief told the group that he will watch from the outside, and would change back into his armor. Should they need to flee, Saphira will be sighted. Looks won't matter much. Something new can even demoralize the chasers into turning back.

Eragon and Brom agreed that it was the best plan, and they went into the city. The Chief would remain with Saphira. The guards let them in without incident. Inside, they stayed at a cheep inn. The next day, they went looking for clues.

Unknown to Them, though, the Chief persuaded Saphira to fly go hunting. The Chief ran back to the warthog when she was away. He came back in less than a day, using the off-road vehicle for what it was built for, and stayed far off the road. He contacted Eragon and Brom to tell him of the new defenses, should they need to be covered if they were discovered at the wrong time. Brom didn't say anything, but he definitely disapproved of brining something so big so close to the walls of Dras-Loena. Eragon was a whole different story. He even tried threatening the Chief to bring the warthog back to the original spot. The Chief's defense proved not convincing, but it had a point. Saphira dried dragging the hog back, but it was too heavy.

"The soldiers defending this rocky outcrop of a city have seen it with their own eyes many times. All they see is a simple bush that is slightly big. The warthog is hidden only a few hundred fee away from the walls. These people are blinder than if you will stare at the sun and then look for rifle on a bare wall. It wont be seen because it was already seen."

"If they look harder…"

"They will only see a bush. Don't underestimate modern camouflage. Even ours isn't the best."

Eragon turned off his chip in annoyance, cutting the Chief off. Eragon felt really annoyed. Not that it will help in tracking down the Ra'zac.

Eragon entered the cathedral, and kneeled beside the alter, but didn't pay any homage. As he turned to leave, he saw the two Ra'zac. He immediately turned on the chip to record mode, and took out his bow, already strung. Finally being able to avenge Garrow's death, he unleashed a volley of arrows. The Ra'zac sidestepped the arrows easily. Eragon heard the Chief mutter at the other end of the line, "Let them get passed the old AR."

Ranks of soldiers entered behind the Ra'zac, and Eragon turned to flee. It is hopeless to fight both the Ra'zac and the soldiers at the same time. After a long race within the cathedral, Eragon lost the Ra'zac in the market. Brom came very quickly, already knowing what had happened. They mounted their horses and started to leave the town. The guards at the gate were closing the doors, and two white beams of smoke appeared out of nowhere and cut the ropes to pieces, jamming the doors to a halt. Eragon and Brom rode under them as Brom muttered a few words, making the guards topple down, seemingly dead. Another two beams of white smoke appeared, damaging the door ropes, and the doors closed with a large thud as nothing remained for the doors to remain in the air.

The Chief pushed the bush covering off the Warthog, and the soldiers could only stare as they saw a bush turn into something else… Something big and shaped like a wagon, only very different and green.

The leader of the archers organized the best archers to launch a volley of arrows into the air. The soldiers were astonished to see that nothing happened. There was only one thing left to do. The leader took a small bottle of what was described as dangerous, should be thrown at an enemy, an explosive. The leader closed his eyes and prayed to all the gods he knew of that the explosive will work and lobbed the thing in the direction of the green figure and the wagon that used to be bush. The bottle did explode, though it hit a little off towards the walls, the explosion enveloped both the figure and the wagon thing.

The Chief saw the bottle tossed at him and out of instinct, ducked behind the warthog. The bottle exploded into an orange ball of flame, but the flames didn't do much damage. They were normal flames and dropped the shields about a quarter. One look at the side of the warthog where the explosive hit showed that a tire was punctured. The explosion split a tree in half and a broken branch had speared the tire right off the rims. The Warthog will need a wheel replacement, but definitely not in a hot zone.

The Chief got in the warthog and started the engine, hoping it wasn't busted up either. The warthog roared to life and started moving slowly but gained speed on its three good wheels. The Chief drove up near the entrance right as Eragon and Brom crossed the gate of Dras-Loena.

"What happened?" asked Brom, looking at the busted up wheel.

"It appears your people rare getting somewhere with hand thrown grenades," answered the Chief, "But it was a wooden pole that did it. Don't worry. These things are deigned to take on punishment more than you can even think of. It'll hold long enough."

With a swirl of dust, the Chief turned the warthog and sped down the road. Eragon and Brom's horses couldn't keep up with the 4X4. Eragon grinned at the dust at the edge of his vision from the warthog. "If it can go like this and be damaged. I don't want to know how it is normal."

Brom wasn't in a very funny mood. "Not now. We still need to get away from any possible pursuers. Call Saphira to join us also. We might need her."

Come, Saphira. We are moving on the road away from the city.

What happened to you?

The Ra'zac ambushed me. Brom's disguise worked, but the people had very loud mouths. We were told about.

I'm coming. Are you alone?

Just Brom and me, yes we are alone.

What about the Chief?

He is somewhere ahead of us. His warthog thing got destroyed or something, but it works fine enough.

Near dusk, Brom and Eragon caught up to the Chief, who was fixing the wheel. It looked like he had another one.

"Three wheels play hell on the chassis. I need to fix it before I can go on. Go without me. Even if I get spotted, I will be able to defend myself. You wont be able to if you wait here, and you know, so much for the chase after the Ra'zac. They got to you first."

Eragon and Brom had no choice but to continue. At dark, they were forced to stop and camp behind a rock. The dinner was cold. Brom cautioned that they will need to sleep in shifts because the Ra'zac were very dangerous at night, when they saw better and were generally stronger. Eragon would stay up for the first shift.

He saw something move in the darkness and awoke Brom, saying he saw something move right before something hit the back of is head, and he knew no more…

A/N: The Explosive is the same as in Eldest that blew up two wagons

Sorry for not updating so soon. Schoolwork, writer's block and interest in other things impeded this story's progress. I hate this chapter. I scraped over half of it. Sorry. The next Chapter should go very different from the story line, because the Gil'ead prison will have more than one thing in it. Just a clue… R&R PLZ!!!

If you have any suggestions, you can review those too.