Chapter Eight: Covenant Fieldmaster Aor 'Tarqi

Planet Therisalli, Sword Assault Carrier The Servant of Recompense, December 16th, 2552…

By the UNSC meantime, with how long I had been drifting in the hallway, it had already passed into the next day. I awoke with the ship shuddering to the blast of a plasma torpedo as it impacted the outer shields. After finding out it was all depressurized, no other Elite had dared go into the corridor. I righted myself with my boosters and looked around for everyone else. I heard gunfire from down the hall, and I looked over to see Mizume and one other Elite fending off three Brutes. I grabbed the Needle Rifle from my back and fired, impacting one of the Brutes in the forehead. Mizume, not knowing I was awake, looked back in surprise as the Brute drifted out of the engine room, propelled by the same small explosion that killed it.

"Zealot Major! We could use some help. Brutes from a disabled cruiser are boosting themselves up here. We need your assistance." 'Zehirae called, turning back in time to dodge a Gravity Hammer blow which careened into the wall. He flew into the door and stabbed the Brute with his superheated blade, the gravitational shockwaves not affecting his attack in his advanced armor. I jumped forward and spun myself around, kicking the Brute in the face. The stunned beast drifted back, his Gravity Hammer lowered. I took this chance to fire three needles into torso from my rifle. I switched out my Needle Rifle with my Plasma Rifle and aimed at his face, letting loose a torrent of plasma fire.

"That's the last ones from the cruiser." Said the other Elite, who was breathing heavily against the wall.

"If he comes through the hangar and around the underside, we could get a team in here with a portable shield, so we can repressurize and regravitize this corridor." Mizume stated, floating upside down above me. I nodded and looked to the other Elite.

"Are the others okay?"

"'Korin is in a coma, 'Arkelai is unconscious, and 'Ersai…" The Elite paused.

"He's what?

"Dead. I lost his pulse a few seconds ago." The Stealth Elite explained, looking to one of the three floating bodies. I noticed that on one of them, his suit was ripped across his midsection.

"'Ersai is dead?" Mizume confirmed. The Elite nodded, and Mizume bowed his head for a moment, examining the other Elites.

"His suit is breached!" I exclaimed, floating over to one of the unconscious Elites. Mizume nodded.

"Sangheili can survive longer in space than humans can, Zealot Major. We can survive for an hour or so without a mask on, while you could last thirty seconds." 'Zehirae said, removing his EVA mask and flaring his mandibles. The small amount of air trickling from Mizume's mouth created a small plume of steam that instantly froze and dissipated.

"Interesting. Could you call that team you were speaking about?" I asked, looking over the three Elites who were not moving.

"Yes. They will be here within the next ten minutes." He said, pressing a button on his helmet. I nodded and floated to the ceiling, sitting down on it. I looked 'up' at the floor to the other Elite, who began to follow. Suddenly, he spun on his horizontal axis and splattered purple blood everywhere. Mizume cried out and looked out of the engine room. Three Jackals floated in the remnants of the wall, one holding a steaming Beam Rifle. Because I was behind a piece of the door, they didn't see me immediately. And, the Jackals had another disadvantage - they couldn't smell anything in space with their helmets on. I peeked around the piece of bent purple metal and aimed my Needle Rifle. I fired twice, killing one of them and missing another. The other two barked to each other and boosted to either side of the destroyed wall, covering their heads with their Skirmisher arm shields. I threw a grenade at the left side, diving behind the cover again. It exploded, but caused no damage to the Jackal, who was well covered outside of the room, holding onto the hull outside the ship.

"Switching right." Mizume said, jumping to my position, I nodded and pushed off of the wall, rolling in midair to land gently on the opposite wall. I dove to the grated floor and went into a prone position, one hand clutching the grate and the other holding the rifle. The Jackals boosted themselves in and hid behind the plasma cores, loading their Carbines. I fired on one's exposed hand, knocking its weapon out of its hand and out into space. It reached frantically for it, but stopped as the other Jackal passed it a Plasma Repeater. I sighed and threw another grenade, making them move away from each other as the grenade passed between them. As they drifted from behind the core, I fired, killing one of them. The only one left was the one with the Beam Rifle, who fired randomly at a wall, letting the plasma bolt bounce around the room. I had no cover as the bolt smashed into the grate my hand was one, forcing me off of the ground. I floated freely with no cover and no handholds in the middle of the hallway as the Jackal took aim. I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst, but heard the report of a Carbine and the wet cry of the Jackal as it choked on its own blood. A very different, heavily armored Banshee glided down, with two Elites hanging onto the wings.

"Field Marshal! Zealot Major! We've come to set up the shielding." The Elite on the right wing yelled, reloading his Carbine as he pushed off of the Banshee. He drifted in with a device slung over his back. He hit the ground and magnetized his hooves to the grates, walking over to me. He helped me 'upright' and handed me the device.

"What's this?" I asked, examining the elongated machine in my hand. The Elite ripped open a plastic pack with his teeth and grabbed the device back.

"The shield generator. You stick it down wherever you want it and turn it on, and it fills in the space with a flat shield in the direction the emitter is facing." He said, putting it on the bent metal just inside the destroyed wall. He stuck his finger into the plastic bag and came out with his fingers coated in a gray substance. He rubbed the liquid onto the underside of the machine and put it down, keeping his hand on it until is solidified. He came inside the wall and tapped a button on it, stepping back. The machine came to life and flashed, emitting a bright purple shield. From my semi-standing position in midair, I fell to my knees as the fabricated gravity in the hallway came back online. Mizume fell on his side from his prone position on the ceiling. I stood up and grabbed my weapon from the ground.

"Is there atmosphere?" I queried, putting my hand over my EVA mask. The Elite shrugged.

"There's enough that you can breathe, but it's very thin right now. It's also freezing cold." He said, taking off his EVA mask. The Banshee and the other Elite hovered outside, watching the battle.

"So, what now?" I said to no one in particular, rubbing a smudge off of my Needle Rifle.

"We should get out of here before we're attacked again. I'll call in a squad to secure this position." The Elite said, pointing to the door. I nodded and walked over to it. The sounds of battle behind the door had ceased, and the confused talking of Elites filled the room as I opened the door to the hangar. The Phantoms and Spirits that had dropped off the Brutes were suddenly taking off, leaving the remaining Brutes to be eliminated. The battle was over. I turned back to the destroyed wall and watched as the dozens of dropships went back to their respective ships. Mizume came up next to me, scratching his lower left mandible with a confused look on his gray face.

"Did they just… leave?" An Elite nearby muttered, his weapons lowered to his sides. Suddenly an explosion rang out in the pseudo-silence that had engulfed the room. There were cries of alarm from the other side of the hangar, and the ship-wide alarms began to blare.

"What just happened?!" 'Zehirae yelled, standing up straight to look around. A Grunt technician waddled up, holding a tablet and Plasma Pistol. Mizume looked down at it and raised an eyebrow.

"The Brute ships are firing on us, and are abandoning one of their Cruisers. It's begun a crash course with us, your Lordship." The Grunt said, not once making eye-contact with Mizume.

"I understand. Get me to the bridge. Being the highest ranking officer assigned to this ship, I must take command." 'Zehirae ordered. The Grunt nodded vigorously and turned on its heel, walking towards another door.

The Servant of Recompense shook once again as another plasma torpedo slammed into the outer shields, jostling the many Elites in the hangar. The Brute Cruiser, being pelted with plasma fire from the rest of the Sword Fleet, stopped suddenly and turned off its shields, the blue glow whenever a plasma bolt hit it diminishing, the plasma passing through to smash into the hull. From the loudspeaker around the ship, a long static sound emitted before a voice started coming through.

"This is the Fleetmaster to anyone aboard The Servant of Recompense. I live. I am commandeering this cruiser you see outside of the ship, and would like for someone to pick me up." The Fleetmaster said over the comm. 'Te Misakan, who was walking over to Mizume and I, let out a cheer, raising a fist to the air. But the comm continued, "But, my friends, the Brutes will persist. I heard from one of their leaders that they are calling in reinforcements. I would advise relocating the fleet to another world quickly."

"A good plan." I heard Mizume mutter, walking to the Imperial Admiral.

"I will take his word. It seems you don't need to rise to command, Field Marshal." Tsutar jested, elbowing Mizume with a thin smile. 'Zehirae fumed, but then went back to his original state as he remembered something.

"Imperial Admiral, sir, we lost one of your men during the defense of the engine room." Mizume reported quickly, shooting a glance to me. The Imperial Admiral looked from Mizume to me and sighed. I grabbed his sword, Vorpal Talon, from my belt and tried to hand it to him.

"Imperial Admiral, I faile-"

"Keep it, I gave it to you for more reason than to protect my men. It should be a great thing that one of them fell while fighting with you specifically, Zealot Major, for you are a great warrior who led them, no matter how short, with great ability. Their honor has been left untarnished." The Imperial Admiral stated, pushing my outstretched hand back, enclosing my fist around the sword's hilt.

"I thank you for the compliment." I said back. The Imperial Admiral had a very strong air about him right now, and I had to reason not to act my best in front of him at this moment. In this instance, he really did feel like my superior.

"It should not be seen as an act to give thanks to, but as an act to honor, warrior." The Imperial Admiral replied, stepping up onto a crate.

"What's he doing?" Mizume whispered to me, looking up at Tsutar as he raised his activated Vorpal Talon to the air.

"Today, my brothers, we leave Therisalli and these Brute beasts with our Fleetmaster still living! We have fought for and defended this ship with great skill and honor! You should congratulate yourselves. But, around the next corner could be danger. Do not lower your guard or stand by, for we are not relaxing just yet. After we relocate our fleet, we will attempt to make contact with Sanghelios, and the rest of our brothers! We shall have our eventual vengeance on the false prophets! Stay true, my brothers! Remember who and what we fight for!" The Imperial Admiral yelled across the hangar, loud enough that my helmet was vibrating ever so slightly. 'Zehirae leaned over.

"This is why he's a better announcer than I am." He remarked, a glint of competitiveness in his eyes. I nodded slowly and watched as the rest of the Elites who had gathered around or were listening let out a deafening cheer, pumping their arms into the air with Energy Swords drawn. 'Te Misakan smiled and jumped down, walking to me.

"And this, my friend, is when you know your brothers are loyal." He said, putting a hand on my shoulder before walking past me. 'My Friend?'

Planet Mendirae, Sword Assault Carrier The Servant of Recompense, December 17th, 2552…

Calling The Servant of Recompense an Assault Carrier was a misnomer, but the nickname for the Supercarrier had stuck for many years, apparently. It was first coined by Shipmaster Kitrata 'Ekora when from far away he had said the Supercarrier was of the same size as an Assault Carrier - which he was truly wrong in saying. Technically, misnaming the class or name of the ship was a direct insult to the Shipmaster and his crew, but of course, the Fleetmaster didn't much care for tradition, and took the nickname with a laugh. And so, The Servant of Recompense is known as an Assault Carrier.

I learned this as I looked through a small computer the Imperial Admiral had provided for me, which was full of information about the Swords of Sanghelios and Covenant technology and customs. It was actually quite and interesting read, for I had little knowledge on the inner workings of the Covenant hierarchy except for who was able to kill what. Then again, it might've been more interesting to me because I was half asleep and to be honest, quite bored. After the battle yesterday with the Brutes, and after The Servant of Recompense was fully repaired by the Huragok, there was no action whatsoever. So, instead of lounging around on my bunk reading military journals, I sat up and jumped from the purple bunk, landing on the ground with a light thud. I walked to the door and opened it, looking into the hallway. No one was there, but I heard loud talking from down the hallway - the mess hall, if I wasn't mistaken. I grabbed my Plasma Rifle from the small compartment next to my bed that held my weapons, and stuck it to the back of my belt. I walked down the hall towards the large door and listened. Yep, definitely the mess hall. I stepped in front of the door and walked in as it automatically opened. It was the first time I had seen the mess hall not being a defense front. It was bustling with Elites, and a few Skirmishers, and it was very loud in the room. It seemed that it was a celebratory feast of some sort. The Field Marshal, who noticed me, jogged over.

"Zealot Major! Welcome. I had forgotten to speak of this to you. This is a custom after winning a major ship battle. Come, you must be famished after all of the battles you've been through in the last forty-eight hours." 'Zehirae said, gesturing for me to follow him. I nodded and walked closely behind him, watching the hundreds of Elites around me.

"Just a wonder, um, am I able to eat any of your species' food?" I asked, curious as to what my stomach could handle.

"Our meals, after some studying, should be edible by your standards. It is made up of meat and alcohol, mostly." He explained, walking me over to one of the long tables filled with food. He handed me a flat board and gestured to the food.

"Just… grab some?" I asked, my hand hovering over the meat after looking around for a utensil to serve with. It was so foreign to me.

"Mm, Sangheili are much more bacterial-resistant compared to humans. We had never needed a serving utensil as you do." He said, wiping off his arm of a smudge.

"Okay." I said, chancing sickness. I reached down and ripped off a piece of the large animal. I put it on my plate and followed 'Zehirae to an empty table. We sat down and ate our meal in silence.

"It's been two days since I got you away from Indicative." He muttered, not looking at me. I sighed and nodded. It was interesting how in only two days, I had grown to trust these aliens with my life. I don't know how or why I was doing it. But yet, it didn't feel wrong. I was only helping, right? But there was so much I had to still find out.

"I need to head back to the frigate crashed on Ceresa." I said, setting down my food. Mizume looked at me oddly.

"You can't possibly be serious. That area is Jiralhanae-controlled now! Any attempt to enter the system would be a death sentence." 'Zehirae said, looking at me with a frown. I looked down at my plate and sighed.

"I need to find out why a UNSC ship would be at Therisalli. From what I know, the nearest outpost or refueling station is at Vodeea Kallstei. No one would be out here with the right mind."

"Unless they saw our fleet." He paused. "I know humans have enough advancement to be able to have long range scanners."

"True. But, they would've called in for a battlegroup escort."

"Then there was a problem?"

"Unlikely. If they were at a station already, they would've gotten it fixed."

"Or their comm signal never went through."

"May I go to Ceresa with a small team?" I asked, putting a piece of meat into my mouth. Mizume sighed.

"Better yet, I'll send you in a corvette- no, a strike group. You will have four cruisers and an Assault Carrier at your disposal." 'Zehirae said finally, looking at me. I nodded with a weak smile.

"When do I leave."

"Now. I will notify them. Get to the hangar."

"Yes." I said, finishing my meal before standing up and walking to the door.

I had been waiting for an hour now, sitting on a purple crate of ammunition while fiddling with the needles on the topside of my rifle. A Lich dropship touched down on next to me, and two Elites floated down from the ventral grav lift. They looked around, spotted me, and walked over. I looked up at them with a smile, and they looked down at me with contempt.

"Zealot Major Reynards?" The lead one asked, a short red cloak going down half his back. I nodded. "I'm Fieldmaster Aor 'Tarqi. D'Suvai and I will be your escorts to Ceresa."

"Good. Shall we get going, then?" I asked politely, standing up and putting the Needle Rifle over my back. 'Tarqi huffed and stared me down, seething silently. I didn't say anything, but I kept my hand hovered over the Imperial Admiral's Vorpal Talon. D'Suvai looked from me to Aor carefully. I trusted D'Suvai enough not to kill me - he had been on the first excursion to Ceresa - but 'Tarqi? No, I didn't trust him for a second. He had a rebellious air around him, and he held his nose high, as if he was above all. He had two Energy Swords and a Plasma Repeater arranged on his back, and four grenades attached to his harness' belt.

"The battlegroup leaves as soon as we arrive. We mustn't keep them waiting." D'Suvai said quickly, sensing the rising tension. I suspected 'Tarqi was still mildly attached to the Covenant, like many Elites still were. I followed D'Suvai and 'Tarqi to the grav lift and floated up into the Lich, my hand never leaving the Vorpal Talon. It lifted off, and we flew from the hangar towards an Assault Carrier next to The Servant of Recompense. We flew to beneath the Carrier, under the bulbous nose of it, and docked with a small hangar made for Seraphs. A door opened to the side, and we were quickly rushed out by two Honor Guards. We were taken down the hall to the main hangar of the Assault Carrier, off to the side, down another hallway, and to a row of dozens of orbital insertion pods.

"We're being dropped in?" I asked as one of the Honor Guards opened the doors to three of the pods. He nodded and gestured for us to step in. I walked into the first one and sat down on the chair, holding still as the system lowered a harness over me. Two screens popped up to the left and right of me, face cameras of D'Suvai and 'Tarqi.

"This is Atlas of Unity command to drop pods seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen. Are you prepared for slipspace jump and immediate insertion to Ceresa?" A gruff Elite voice said over the comm. I looked at the picture of D'Suvai, who nodded at me. I opened a return comm to acknowledge.

"Copy that. We're ready for slipspace jump." I replied, my hands clamping tightly on the harness. The Carrier rumbled, and then shook violently as it entered sudden slipspace. Being inside of a rocky pod was not helping, as the clamps holding the pods in place shook back and forth, and we were jostled around inside. I looked down at my feet, at a floor screen of the underside of the pod. Outside the small shield barring the inside of the pod corridor to the outside of the ship, the clouds of slipspace flowed around the Carrier and its Cruiser escorts.

"This turbulence is going to force us out of slipspace if this keeps up!" The command officer said into the comm, his voice sounding very strained. It was really starting to get bad outside. The energy shields flickered constantly, and the roar of slipspace grew louder in the pod. I held on tight, but was forced forwards as the Assault Carrier lurched sideways and performed an emergency transfer from slipspace. The Carrier flew end over end towards Therisalli, looming in the distance.

"We can't launch pods in these conditions!" D'Suvai yelled next to me, his pod's door still open. His door, without the command officer saying anything, closed, and lights flickered on inside of the pods, signalling that they were fully primed for launch.

"What th- you surely can't be serio-!" I was cut off as the shields deactivated under the pod, and our three capsules were sucked into space. I yelled out as my pod spun uncontrollably, flinging me around in my harness. The internal gyroscope gave out, and I began to float. I grabbed hold of the control sticks on either side of me, and tried my best to level myself out. Pulling the two triggers on the sticks, I activated the secondary stabilizers on the pod, spinning it so that my feet - and the camera - were facing towards Therisalli. But what I saw was not the ever so peaceful planet we had left behind. It had become a battlefield.

But what was most alarming about the battle our pods were flying into was that there were no Swords of Sanghelios ships - nothing was crimson red - only Brute ships and… and… humans. I angled left and activated the burn, flinging myself at speeds close to mach seven at the nearest Brute ship. But a shot from a twenty-millimeter cannon on one of the UNSC Cruisers sent me flying at one of the frigates diagonal from me.

"Zealot Major! What are you doing! You're way off course! Boost starboard forty degrees and angle towards the Brute Carrier above you!" 'Tarqi ordered into the comms. But it was too late to do that. My burners were offline, and my stabilizers were used up. So instead, I lowered the EVA mask over my face and quickly grabbed my Needle Rifle, which I had placed in the side compartment next to the seat. I unstrapped the harness and looked at the outside camera, waiting for the best moment to burst out.

Perfect.

I kicked open the pod's door and pushed myself out with my other leg. I let the escaping air boost me forwards before I activated the jets on my armor, and went into an aerodynamic position with my head facing 'forwards', even though aerodynamics didn't apply in space. I was heading straight for the UNSC Frigate two kilometers in front of me. I looked behind me to see if D'Suvai and 'Tarqi's pods were behind me, but I could not see them through the ash and debris of the space battle. I activated my comms to see if I could contact them. Instead, I accidentally tapped into the UNSC communications frequency.

"UNSC Hammer of Dawn, angle on heading forty seven dash nine dash seventy-one point two!" A voice yelled through the comms.

"Aye sir, angling the Hammer on heading forty seven dash nine dash seventy-one point two!" Another voice replied. I chanced saying something.

"This is SPARTAN One-Five-Eight to UNSC command ship, requesting permission to come aboard." I asked, finally activating my jets. Static rang out in the comms, followed by a chorus of confused voices.

"What's a SPARTAN doing out here! Yes, come aboard the Yucatan! Coordinates seven, seven, four, th-"

"I see you." I did, really. Above the frigate in front of me was a UNSC Valiant-class Super-Heavy Cruiser with large, white letters spelling YUCATAN emblazoned on its nose. I angled myself up and went to maximum power on my jets, speeding towards the large hangar on the back-left of the cruiser. I spun myself around - my legs facing forwards - and crossed my arms around my stomach as I flew through the hangar shields. The sudden force of artificial gravity hit me, and I fell to the floor with a thud. I slid along the titanium floor and smashed into a yellow marker pole. With a groan, I sat up and rubbed my forehead, switching my comms quickly to D'Suvai and 'Tarqi's frequencies.

"Major! You're on a human ship?! That could mean your death if they find out you allied with us! You're still wearing our armor!" D'Suvai exclaimed, his face flickering onto my HUD. I stood up to be met with two UNSC Marines holding Assault Rifles pointed at me.

"Hold it right there, you Covie bast… wait… what?" The Marine trailed off as I turned to face him, and he saw I was a human. I grabbed the rifle from his hands and held it in front of me as the second Marine fired, blocking the rounds with the resilient weapon. I used the butt of the MA37 to hit the other Marine's weapons out of reach before flinging the MA37 I was holding across the hangar.

"Marines! Stand down! This is the SPARTAN that just…" A man in a captain's uniform walked up, but stopped as he noticed my clothing.

"Captain." I said plainly, prepared to duck to cover if he pulled out his handgun. Luckily, though, I had energy shields on my armor, so I had a few seconds if it came down to that.

"You wear the armor of a Sangheili?" The captain said, his hand hovering over his gun. "We may be at a truce, but I didn't know that ONI would do something like this." I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, truce?"

"You don't know about it? Ah, well, Indicative is pretty far out of the way. Yeah, the UNSC and the Swords of Sanghelios made a truce last month. We're just here to get back the Saint Peter Port and mop up these Brutes."

There it was again… the Saint Peter Port. What is it? I ignored the fact that we were speaking about a truce between two species, I questioned the captain.

"The Saint Peter Port, can you tell me more about it?" I asked, steadying myself as the ship shook.

"Frigate class, served since 2541. Commanded by Captain Thorn Reynards." The captain said, putting a hand on his hip. It took me a moment to let the information sink in.

"Thorn Reynards?"

"Yeah."

"Did he have a son?" I asked, hopeful.

"Mm, if I remember correctly, his son went missing during a recon mission near Epsilon Eridani a few years back. I think his name was… Zach?"He replied, putting a hand to his chin. "I knew Reynards like a brother."

"Thank you." I said before turning around. He put a hand to my shoulder and shifted me around, pointing at the hangar bay's shield. Outside, two Elites boosted their way into the ship, D'Suvai and 'Tarqi.

"Friends or foes?" The captain asked quickly as the two Elites advanced towards me, ignoring the scared glances of the Marines and flight crew around them.

"Friends." I replied, walking up to them. 'Tarqi brushed past me and reached for his Energy Sword quickly. I dashed forwards and grabbed the sword off of his belt. He glared at me and flared his mandibles. I shook my head slowly and kept eye-contact with him.

"Why do you keep me from fighting them? You may be an asset, SPARTAN, but the humans are still our enemy." 'Tarqi exclaimed, clenching his gloves fists. D'Suvai was hesitant at drawing his sword, his hand covering the hilt but not holding it as he looked from me to the captain, noticing that we were talking on a friendly note. He dropped his hand and looked at 'Tarqi, who stared him down.

"Because, brother, you attack the Zealot Major's allies. They may not be our allies, but we must trust the judgement of our superior."

"Superior? I will not be tricked by a faux rank. He was plucked from a doomed human world and put in the armor of our brothers, an action which I believe will come back to destroy the Fleetmaster and his group of 'advisors.'" 'Tarqi said, looking down at his sword in my hand. D'Suvai scoffed, and sent 'Tarqi over the point of no return. In his rage, he lunged forth and knocked me to the ground, grabbing his sword from the ground. The Marines that were behind the captain ran to surround him. Aor grabbed me by the neck and activated his sword.

"'Tarqi! Cease hostilities!" D'Suvai yelled, drawing his blade to meet 'Tarqi. With a powerful kick, Aor kicked D'Suvai to the ground, snapping the latter's arm with his hooved, grooved boot. D'Suvai lay on the ground in a heap with blood leaking from where his bone punctured his skin.

"Weak. Do you, Hakiera D'Suvai, trust this human to make all of the decision you want? Do you trust this… human to lead you into battle?!" 'Tarqi shouted, tightening his hold around my neck. I coughed and sputtered and tried to breathe, but he held so tightly I couldn't get any air through. But, in a sudden burst of strength, I reached down and grabbed the Vorpal Talon from my belt, activating the greenish, iridescent blade. I swung upwards, breaking through the armor - not skin - of the arm that was holding me up. 'Tarqi, feeling the immense heat against his arm, cried out and dropped me, swinging his other arm, which held his sword, at me. I fell to the ground and rolled as his sword plunged into the ground next to me.

"By the treaty, I cannot interfere with this matter. I will barricade this area and leave you to your own devices, SPARTAN." The captain said, walking backwards away from the battle, followed by his Marines. I coughed and stood up, rubbing my throat with my free hand. My other hand clutched Vorpal Talon, which glowed bright against the gray, metal ground.

"You have betrayed your whole species, human! You disgrace your family line, your descendants, and your leaders! And you, D'Suvai, and the rest of the Swords of Sanghelios, have betrayed the Covenant! We were at the peak of our power, only seconds away from the Great Journey, and the oh-so-great Thel 'Vadamee decided to kill the grand Prophet of Truth and stop our brothers from receiving divine status!"

"We stopped our false prophets from committing mass xenocide!" D'Suvai exclaimed from the ground, his hand reaching slowly for his Plasma Rifle.

"And my species, Fieldmaster, is at a truce with yours. Technically speaking, you're breaking a galactic scale treaty." I mentioned. Complete and utter rage engulfed Aor, and he roared out and pumped his Energy Sword into the air.

"The kaidon's of Sanghelios are fools! Fools, I say!" 'Tarqi exclaimed, charging towards me. I raised Vorpal Talon and parried his first attack, dodging to the side to swipe at his back. He jumped forwards and whirled around, thrusting his sword at me. I ducked and swung at his legs, rolling on the ground to D'Suvai's side, helping him up. I raised Vorpal Talon and advanced on 'Tarqi, who put his sword in front of his face, with the the blades covering part of his face. He dashed forwards with the sword at his side, swinging it with a great battle cry. I struggled to hold off the attack, as it pressed into Vorpal Talon which was crossed across my chest. I pushed back and kicked, knocking him away from me long enough for me to make an attack. At the same time, he jumped forwards and swung erratically, his rage blinding his judgement - but he landed a hit. His sword cut through my prosthetic arm completely, cutting my forearm clean off, sending Vorpal Talon and the rest of my arm clattering to the ground. 'Tarqi stood in front of me, staring me down triumphantly. What he failed to notice is how he cut my arm off.

My arm was severed at a sharp angle, exposing the innards of the system. I raised the stump of my arm and charged forth, plunging it into 'Tarqi's unguarded chest. The electricity from the live wires knocked out his shields, the plasma from the power core melted through the armor, and the metal prongs of the skeleton ripped through his skin. I pushed forwards and ran my arm through Aor, the tips of the metal coming out of his back. I coughed again and collapsed, my lungs hoping for air from my bloated throat. 'Tarqi, who's already dead eyes stared forward at me, slid off of my arm and fell to the ground with a wet thump, a pool of purple blood collecting around his chest. I rolled onto my back and continued trying to breathe. My hands pried at my throat trying in vain to get oxygen down my windpipe, but to no avail. Darkness tugged at the sides of my vision, and I fell into unconsciousness for the second time in the past week.