Disclaimer: I do not own Halo and I never will. I wish Microsoft made Halo 2 for the PC.
It all came down to this. 'Zakamee gathered his remaining strength and lunged up from his crouch at his opponent. His energy sword crackled and hissed as it was blocked by its counterpart. 'Zakamee stared into the orange tinted visor of the human known as the Master Chief and knew he could not win this fight. 'Zakamee's mandibles snapped angrily as he refused to consider this option and instead thrust forward with all his strength. The Master Chief stumbled back but not before a hastily aimed kick threatened 'Zakamee's balance as well. As he recovered his balance and once again charged the Master Chief his mind briefly flashed back to how exactly he had gotten in this position, fighting even though he had no chance.
They had all met in a large cargo bay aboard the human frigate, Gettysburg. 'Zakamee stood at one end of the room, flanked by four Elites and two Grunts. Half of those present were familiar to 'Zakamee, they were Grgra, 'Jasakee, and the Emissary Acha 'Somamakee. The other three were there mainly because they had also been survivors of Halo and that between the all of them, they were the last Elites remaining alive here. Their names were Orine 'Fulsamee, Yarna 'Orgalmee, and the Grunt Rurut. In the brief time that 'Zakamee had known the three they had assured him of their dependability and experience. It helped that they also wore the black Spec Ops armor and they would serve to intimidate the humans. 'Zakamee had his plasma rifle and shotgun holstered and the rest of his men had done the same. They were meeting under terms of peace after all.
The five humans stood opposite them and 'Zakamee had to suppress a shiver of fear that ran through him. Facing him were four of the most deadly soldiers that the human's had at their disposal. The dark skinned human standing next to them was an oddity but he at least deserved 'Zakamee's respect. To have survived through such a hell as Halo took great will and courage, not to mention fighting ability. 'Zakamee knew that the humans were only here because 'Zakamee held all their lives in his hands.
"We came, Covenant. Now what do you want?" said the first SPARTAN, presumably the Master Chief. 'Zakamee steeled himself and began his ultimatum.
"I have the engine room under my control. I either give the command word or they don't get a certain code word in ten of your minutes and this whole ship blows up." Said 'Zakamee.
"We know that already." Said the Master Chief menacingly, "Otherwise we wouldn't be here and you'd be dead by now."
"Just making sure we all know where things stand." Replied 'Zakamee, "Obviously these terms can not go on. You control the ship, so we can not leave, but we control the drives, so my forces control all our lives."
"Get to the point you alien scum before my rifle starts talking for me." Said the dark skinned human with venom in his voice.
'Zakamee gave that human the benefit of a good long glare before continuing. "I propose something simple to solve this issue. Something even your primitive minds can comprehend. I propose a duel. A duel between myself and your leader."
'Zakamee ducked underneath a swing from the Master Chief and opened a gash in the SPARTAN's leg armor with his own energy sword. The Master Chief fell back and 'Zakamee pressed his advantage, driving his foe back with a flurry of blows as he got his second wind. All of a sudden the Master Chief stopped retreating and began striking back with equal vigor, 'Zakamee laughed mirthlessly and stood his ground as well. The two hammered away at each other with almost inexhaustible fury until 'Zakamee made a small slip and the Master Chief's sword dug into his side. 'Zakamee's sword slipped from suddenly nerveless fingers and automatically deactivated itself before it could cause any unwanted damage to the surrounding environment. His vision darkened as his mind went into shock due to the horrible damage dealt to him by the augmented human. 'Zakamee's vision quickly blinked out as he lost consciousness and slumped to the floor.
"A duel?" exclaimed the Master Chief, not bothering to hide his surprise. "And what would be the stakes?"
"If I win you give myself and my warriors control of your ship and we change course for the nearest known Covenant outpost. If you win, my men will be informed by my comrades here," and 'Zakamee gestured to the six Covenant behind him, "And they will come here and surrender. If there happens to be any duplicitous action on your part or mine then this entire agreement is null and my men shall destroy this ship. As a further concession to the position of power you are in, if I live through this fight and you win then myself and any of my men that agree shall swear oaths of loyalty to you and your cause."
'Zakamee didn't like doing this but he had no choice. He couldn't afford the information he and the other survivors held about the Flood to die here. He needed to tell someone what would happen, even if it were just a human. The Master Chief conversed quietly amongst themselves for a few moments and then the Master Chief responded in the affirmative. 'Zakamee drew out his weapons and handed them to Grgra. 'Somamakee handed 'Zakamee two energy sword hilts and then backed away. 'Zakamee checked the two weapons for any signs of inadequacy and grunted when they passed his inspection. He tossed one of the swords to the Master Chief, who caught it deftly after he had given his own weapons to another SPARTAN.
'Zakamee gave himself a few moments to compose himself as he stretched and limbered himself up for the coming fight. After a minute of this 'Zakamee was ready and the two immediately rushed forward and began to fight.
'Zakamee woke to find himself looking at the face of a young human female dressed in white. 'Zakamee shot up, only to be restrained by several tight bands and a searing pain in his left side. His face crumpled with pain and he fell back onto the pillow he had been lying on. He gave the pain a moment to subside and then looked around. The human nurse, for that must be what she was, was nowhere to be found. 'Zakamee assumed that she had gone to fetch her superiors. Judging from his surroundings and his keeper 'Zakamee was sure that he was in a human hospital. A quick examination of himself showed his black armor to be removed and a nasty looking burn across the left side of his chest that looked to be on the mend despite the way it felt.
Many footsteps sounded from down the aisle and 'Zakamee had a few seconds to observe his company from across the empty hospital beds. Several important human officials and civilians clustered around his bed and looked hungrily at him.
"We've been waiting for you to wake up, Balask 'Zakamee. Your friends weren't high up enough on the chain of command to provide us with any real information. And before you ask," said the old, fat, balding human as 'Zakamee opened his mouth to speak. "Before you ask, your men are just fine. We have found sufficient methane for the Grunts and food that your peers found satisfactory. We hope that you can repay us for our generosity. We are very eager to find out what we can."
'Zakamee looked around at the human's staring at him and muttered a brief prayer for courage and wondered what the hell he had gotten himself into.
"Would you mind untying me first? I act very poorly under restraint." Asked 'Zakamee.
A second human grinned, this one was tall and stick thin, with a mop of greasy black hair. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay like that a little longer." He said, "We know your troops will behave because we have you but no such thing is holding you back."
'Zakamee shrugged as much as he could and strained his arms and snapped the bands holding him in place. The humans backed away as he bent over and undid his leg straps. He hopped down from the bed and looked imperiously at the assembled humans.
"I have sworn on my honor as a Covenant warrior to follow the cause of the one who beat me. I will not suffer those insults upon my honor again." Stated 'Zakamee.
Already, human marines were rushing into the room and soon 'Zakamee was looking down the barrels of a dozen odd looking rifles. 'Zakamee decided to end this before he got hurt.
"I would be most pleased if you would lead me to my armor and weapons. After that I require some food. If my knowledge is so needed that you have waited so long for one such as me then waiting a little longer won't kill you."
Leaving the human dignitaries sputtering 'Zakamee calmly forced his way through the marines and accosted the nearest crewmember. Acquiring the location of the armory from him 'Zakamee stomped off, the marines and higher-ups trailing along behind him. Out of a nearby view port, if one looked closely, could be seen the minute dots of the Covenant attack force coming for Earth. And, in a nearby defense satellite, the Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson were receiving awards that were their due.
Well, there you have it. The end of I Am The Last. I'll get around to writing a sequel as soon as I can convince my parents to let me get an X-Box and a copy of Halo 2. Curse you Microsoft for making me buy more of your demonic products! Regardless, unless I can convince my parents or a friend into letting me borrow the aforementioned items then I won't be writing that sequel for a while.
Jimmy-San – I fit your guys in but I couldn't think of anything to do with them. I'll think of something when the second story comes out. Until then, feel free to use them in your own stories, they are your guys after all.
Theicewolf – Still haven't abandoned you guys. Glad you have a sense of humor. Thanks for the support.
Robo-Chocobo – Sorry, but Lee had died in the book so I decided to make use of that here.
Wolf Fangster – Nice to hear from you. Take at look at my other stories, they're pretty good as well.
To All Others – Thanks for sticking with me. I'll try to remember to update my other story more frequently and make another Halo fic. Until then, farewell!