Chapter 10

Reunion

I froze. Kovalee? Or something worse? The Captain raced to the door, violently banging on the red button to let him out. He flung himself toward the weapon racks, snatching the nearest Battle Rifle and running toward the entrance, where a barricade of Marines stood, weapons aimed and ready. I took one last look at the bomb, then turned and followed him.

The room boomed with shouting and guns loading. It was as if everyone was prepared for this to happen. I stood in the middle of the confusion.

" Seal the doors! Arm yourselves! Protect Last Resort!" Captain Conners barked. I looked for Hampton, as a guide. Through the mass of people I couldn't pick out his grey suit. Instead, I stood right in that spot, and listened.

Beyond the door, I could hear faint voices; Elite voices, for sure. My heart beat faster and faster every second. Could Kovalee have found me yet again?

I braced myself as the voices grew louder and louder. Every soul in the room concentrated on the entrance. There was a bang on the door, just as Hampton had described Kovalee's attack. No doubt was Hampton thinking the same thoughts as me. Another bang on the door, this one louder. Another bang dented the door, followed by the final, loud blow. The door was blown off its hinges and was shot forward into the crowd.

"Open fire!" the Captain's voice boomed as loud as thunder. The shots bombarded where the door had once stood, now swept in a mass of grey smoke. Grenades were tossed into the opening, even one rocket was released through the gap. There was no sign of an intruder.

"Quiet!" Hampton yelled, listening closely. The small taps of slow footsteps sounded in the room.

"It's invisible. Have your guns ready, men."

The footsteps stopped, and now only the breathing of three hundred people rang in my ears.

And then the steps started again, this time gaining speed and momentum. I whirled around. Marines were being pushed to the side by…nothing. Before I had time to call out, the head of a Plasma Rifle collided with my chest, sending me plummeting to the ground. I felt the icy tip of the rifle resting on my head.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Save for Kovalee, the Phantom was empty, with the exception of the bloody, lifeless bodies of the dead Brutes. He sat silently, arms folded, in the cockpit, where the Phantom flew itself on Auto-Pilot. What was his next move? He barely had an idea of where to start. When he had received the message that Solonee had been spotted, he had taken into consideration that he had to be somewhere, at some base. A weakling such as himself wouldn't be caught dead living by himself in the open.

And now, a hunt? His own race, being tracked down and slaughtered like animals? He snarled. No one would land a blow on Zens Kovalee. Ever. Even he realized his skills and strength were inimitable. Who could ever match his extraordinary talents on the battlefield. He could kill Solonee with one mighty kick to the stomach. But where to start? He had been betrayed, deceived. The Covenant that he had once seen as the conquerors of the galaxy had only lied. They had only given the Sangheili a chance to get themselves killed. That was it. He rose out of his seat, temperature rising.

He was alone, and would die alone, with no one by his side. No one to help him. That was it. If he was going down, everyone would go down with him. How he would do it wasn't yet clear to him.

Unless…

There had been rumors going around that the humans possessed a weapon. A weapon so powerful, that it could rip the landscape apart, little by little. But was it on this ring? Would they have brought a suicidal weapon to a bigger suicidal weapon?

There was only one way to find out

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The metal floor seemed to harden every second. I didn't dare look up to see my attacker. My face was pressed hard against the ground, but I could hear the voices, twenty at a time, yelling at each other.

"Shoot and he dies," I heard the voice above me snarl. It was a familiar voice, one that I had heard recently, although I couldn't quite place it…

I couldn't see, but I knew Conners was hesitating, wondering if my life was worth saving.

"Hold fire!" he yelled, although I could the croak in his voice. He wanted to pull his words back into his mouth.



"We do not wish you harm," the Elite spoke, "We wish to…" he stopped, and then drew his breath, "Aid you. We wish to fight by your side."

His words erupted throughout the room, which fell silent. I carefully lifted my head to see the human's expressions. They stared at him, then at me. Conners raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"You? You want to help us?" he continued, "I don't buy it. You filth couldn't help s if you tried," he muttered, still shaking his head in shock. Realizing the Plasma Rifle had been drawn from my head, I stood up, and slowly turned my body. I came face to face with a black armored Elite. He wore a different battle helm then the rest of us, having one long spike travel from his eyes all the way back behind him, as well as two side spikes. His shoulder and knee plates were enhanced as well. On his belt, he carried an Energy Sword handle. He was the Special Operations officer that I had met when I returned to high charity… the one that had sent me the threatening message. And there he stood, in front of my face, pleading for mercy.

"Solonee! In the name of the gods, what were you thinking? Why did you abandon your partner?"

I squinted, and took a step forward. Now our faces were only inches away. I no longer feared him.

"Kovalee has gone mad. He tried to kill me. He lured me into his assassination plan," I said painfully. I remembered the Ultra storming out the door of the tower, sword in hand, laughing.

"I can't imagine why?" he snapped, "But we did not come here to argue with you," he stepped away from me to see the crowd of humans, guns still directed at him.

"Wait, wait, wait… we?" the Captain asked, confused, "You mean there are more than two Elites present in my base?"

The officer nodded, then said something in our language, meaning 'Show yourselves'. Immediately, six Special Operations Elites appeared on the scene, all standing behind their leader. They were unarmed.

"We were attacked by our rival race, the Brutes. They bombarded our campsite, and killed all of our troops but these six and myself," the officer explained. He turned to me, "Solonee, the Brutes have taken our place. The Hierarchs have ordered the immediate execution of our kind. They betrayed us, Solonee. We were not the rightful heir to these rings after all."

The Jiralhanae, stealing our position as protectors of the Hierarchs? I had seen it coming since I heard Truth's hostile broadcast at High Charity, but didn't think it could happen… quite like this. It seemed that I had more than just Kovalee to worry about.

Conners stepped into our conversation, unimpressed.

"Aaaaah, boo hoo. The little squids don't get to guard the big bastards? Why should we care?"



"Because we can help you win this war! We will serve as your guardians…"

"Are you saying we can't win this war on our own?"

"That is exactly what I am saying!"

"Stop!" I cried, forcing myself between the two leaders, who were both in mid- windup for a punch. I could feel four hundred eyes staring at me. Conners sighed.

"Listen. We know what we're doing. We don't need you, we don't need grunts, we don't need anyone. You can only cause chaos in this war. No, I think it's best if you just get on out of here."

"And I think that idea is bull," the voice traveled through the entire room. I knew that voice. I whipped around to see Sergeant William Anderson, followed by Private Jacob Burns. Both strode out of the medical wing door and into the main room. I laughed, running over to him.

"How did you sleep?"

"Like a baby."

Conners nodded in Anderson's direction. The officer did the same. Plowing through the Elites, Anderson grabbed the Captain's collar, pulling him closer.

"What kind of twisted leader are you? This guy wants to put his life on the line to help us, and you reject him like that?"

Conners shivered, shaking his head so quickly that I couldn't count how many times it went back and forth. "No sir. I… he… he's one of them…" he pleaded, waiting for the Sergeant to release him.

"Then what is Sol, Captain? Is Sol not one of them?" I could see Anderson fuming, angered by the Captain's ignorance. Conners had no answer. Anderson let go, letting the Captain fall to the ground. Anderson was in charge now, and nobody argued his sudden appearance. He turned back to the SpecOps officer.

"Welcome to the crew… uh…"

"Zanakee. Rymn Zanakee." He said, nodding his head.

"Right, right. Another double 'e' fellow," Anderson chuckled. My mind jolted to a quick, unexpected holt. If this wasn't Kovalee, where was he now?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………



Kovalee made his descended near a small Human camp. There were only four marines, from his view. Perfect.

"What the… take it down, quick!" one of them screamed to the soldier on the turret, who fired rapidly at the incoming dropship, having no effect whatsoever.

The ship landed gracefully beside the campsite. The other three marines armed themselves with BR55 Rifle's, standing just outside the door, taking their preferred battle stances. It was a shame they didn't know who would burst the door open.

And then they found out.

It was a quick attack, Kovalee launching himself out of the ship and onto one of the soldiers, knocking him off his feet. The Energy Sword, of course, was run through his neck.

"Pull back!" yelled the leader, backing up and tossing a fragmentation grenade at the attacker. Using only his left hand, Kovalee caught the grenade in mid flight, hurling it back at the leader. The detonation went off at his feet, sending him soaring ten feet into the air.

The turret bombarded him, nearly knocking off his shields. He dove to the side, letting the automatic bullets crack against the front of a rock. If it weren't for Kovalee's unmatched grenade placement, this could have been the end. He snatched a Plasma Grenade from his belt- his last grenade- and threw it submarine-like. It hung onto the head of the turret. Before the poor soldier could move, his last vision became a burst of blue fire.

And, at last, the fourth. He hid behind a stone wall, trying his best to conceal his breathing. He could hear the soft buzz of the Energy Sword near him. He slapped a hand on top of his mouth to prevent from gasping.

It was too late.

Kovalee grabbed him by the neck, raising him up against the rock. The blade was inches from his chest.

"You will tell me what I want to know, or you shall experience pain unknown to your race," Kovalee threatened.

"Bastard!" The marine yelled, throwing his fist against Kovalee's solid silver armor. He didn't even feel a tickle, and yet the Human's hand glowed red with blood already.

"Do not be stupid, scum. You will not defeat me. Perhaps with a bit of motivation you will cooperate."

He flicked the blade. The edge just barely caught the marine's skin, and yet it hurt as if he was stabbed three times with a knife. Blood dripped from his shirt. He screamed in pain, tears running to his eyes.



"Alright! I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!" he screeched, red faced. Kovalee only laughed at the Human's suffering.

The plan was running smoothly.