Man it's been way, way, way too long for me to hold off on this chapter. I've been struggling with a little bit of writers block. On the good side, I may have finally startd working on a professional project.

The Sangheili swordsman raised his weapon, catching the blade of the Jedi and holding him there. With a heave, the Sangheili sent him flying backwards. Springing forward, the Elite swung a downward stroke, only to be caught by an invisible grip and thrown aside. Midair, the Elite flipped, gathering himself and landing, steadying himself with a hand. The Jedi frowned and reached out with the Force. It was surprisingly hard to get a reading on this creature. This opponent was operating on pure instinct, not on any other physical ability, instinct and muscle memory. The Jedi could also sense something else, something disturbing. This Elite, along with most of the other swordsmen in the area, they were glowing in the Force, more so than the others. It was possible that the Elite was Force Sensitive, though likely unaware of it.

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The Elite struck again, his sword moving in the pattern of the dance. The Jedi was skilled, of that there was no doubt, but he was unused to the dance, while this Elite had danced many, many times before. His blade flowed as water, it shone like the sun. The Jedi moved well too, but it was a different type of movement, based on trying to use his strength to beat his opponent into submission. To this, the Elite had the perfect answer. He feinted, sliced and stabbed. Hamstrung, the Jedi could only trip forward to be impaled on the sword of the Sangheili. For a moment his eyes widened, then the Sangheili withdrew his blade and snapped it off.

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"You fought bravely and with honour, and you shall be rewarded in the next world. Be at peace."

With a moment of clarity, unlike any other, the Jedi looked up at the Sangheili.

"You are a species the like of which we've never seen. You could be sensitive to the Force, even. Do not fight us anymore."

"Your people attacked us first, Jedi. We do not suffer threats easily. Rest now, for we have made peace with our decision."

The Sangheili's eyes widened as the Jedi stilled, then suddenly vanished. What devilry was this? As the Elite rose to back away from the corpse, he noted something. It was the Jedi's weapon. As the bolts and shells lanced the air around him, the Elite knelt and picked it up. For such a powerful weapon, it felt very light. Thumbing the energy switch, the Elite was entranced by the auburn blade, it's very presence being something of a partial enlightenment, just verging on the understanding, but not quite reaching that level. A bolt impacting on his shields snapped the warrior out of his reverie. With a growl the Elite rose, his focus returned and his muscles tensing. Lightsaber in one hand, energy sword in the other, the Elite charged into the fray like an avenging angel.

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However, others were not faring as well as him. One Sangheili swordsman was fighting against a wookiee Jedi Master, his blade flashing everywhere and his strength on par with that of the Elite bladesman. With one outthrust palm he sent the Sangheili flying. The Elite flipped midair, landing on his feet and sliding backwards a few inches. Charing forward, the Elite jumped, his blade coming down, but the Jedi merely turned allowing the Elite to crash down beside him, then parrying the resulting side cutting attack. The Jedi swept one massive shaggy paw and knocked the Sangheili back several paces. The Elite grimaced in pain, then settled his feet wide and prepared for his next move. With a wave, the Jedi hurled a lump of crushed permacrete at him, but the Elite merely flipped over it and threw down a plasma grenade. Naturally the Jedi went to bat it aside, but the grenade stuck to his sword blade and with only a moments hesitation the Jedi threw it aside. Left vulnerable, the Jedi barely avoided the Elite's cut, even managing to have his fur singed and his flesh opened up. With a growl he staggered back. The Sangheili smiled.

"I knew you'd find it harder to wield your magic while in pain. Now, come on."

As he advanced, the Elite thought he heard a slight wuff of laughter from the Jedi. Then the Jedi made a gesture. With only a second of warning, the Elite dived to the side as the dust where he had been standing swirled of the ground in a violent maelstrom. The Jedi extended one hand and his lightsaber leaped off the ground and back into his hand. In a blind rage the Elite sprang and charged at the Jedi. The last thing he saw was the Jedi drawing back his arm and then thowing the blade at him.

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In general, the Jedi were surprised by the skill and resourcefulness of their opponents, many of them fatally so, but their command of the Force easily tipped the scales in their favour. Some found the lack of conscious thought from the Sangheili to be unsettling, but all of them were able to use the Force to cover for any of their weaknesses. The Sangheili, for their part, were totally and completely pushed to their limit by these new, skilled enemies. Their Supreme Commander had barely beaten one and here they were fighting some fifty of them. This situation was rapidly spiralling out of their control and quite soon, they would be overwhelmed. Appraised of the situation, the Supreme Commander gave his order. The order that would tip the scales back, squarely in the Sangheili's favour. The special battalion was given the go ahead.

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The first the Jedi knew of it, was streams of green plasma coming out of the shadowed buildings. Through the walls came the massive towering forms of Hunters. Most Jedi tried to read the minds of their new opponents, only to find that they couldn't. There were thousands of them. Six Jedi vanished in the flare of plasma fire, while nine more were crushed by the weight of the Hunter assault. Along their shield arms they carried energy shields, all of which held against the lightsaber attacks quite adequately. As they moved forward, so too did a legion of Grunts. All of them sported energy shields and they took positions quickly. Overlapping their shields, they formed a wall. From behind that wall came dozens of plasma grenades. Striding in behind his troops, the Field Master passed on the order, for all the Elites to don their energy shields and move forward into the battle, and speedily too. Given the fact that their enemies could use telekinesis, it would not be long before the tactic of throwing plasma grenades fell through. At this point in time, the biggest weakness in the battle line was right here, where everything was hand to hand. Elsewhere the Covenant could hold back their enemies with relative ease, but it was here that they were throwing their full weight. Plasma swords ignited as the Elites took up the stance that most humans would have recognised as one that was used by Greeks and Macedonians centuries ago. The Phalanx.

I will finish this story. It just might take a while. Just bear with me.