Gambit:
Chapter 3
The Chief took the scene in at a glance. The room had a high domed ceiling, with what looked like a heart throbbing in the center of the dome. Elites in white armor were gesturing imperiously and yelling out orders. Moments later, the translators kicked in and several proud voices whispered in his ear, "Where is Qu'uanto and his squad?" "This place is a total catastrophe!! The holy one deserves better than this!" One Elite noticed the door open and, without noticing the Spartans, started an elaborate greeting that was obviously meant for some dignitary instead of the Spartans. When the Elite began his speech, all in the room hurried to the center and bowed in their direction.
"Wow! There must be a mistake", crackled a voice over the comm., " or the diplomats are better than I thought."
"Diplomats could never have done this much good in their lifetimes," replied another voice, "Intel must be off. The Prophet should be here by now."
The Elite that the Chief guessed was in charge started an elaborate introduction speech that was obviously meant for the Prophet, "Oh venerable holy one, we are forever honored by your presence. The Sanctum of High Justice has been prepared for your arrival and is updated with the most holy artifacts, directly from the Forerunners, to aid in your cleansing of this area. You may take...ah.... Hey, wait a minute!!! You aren't the High Prophet of Justice!!"
With that all eyes snapped up and glared at the Spartans. The Spartans had made it through the doorway and were cautiously approaching the group of Covenant. As soon as the Elite had made the statement, frag grenades were hurled into the group. Elites dove from the explosives only to meet a precision barrage of 7.62mm armor-piercing rounds. Almost all of the Grunts and at least three Elites fell dead from the barrage. The remaining forces, however, pulled out their weapons and returned fire in an eye-searing display of plasma and needler rounds. The quick moving Spartans were able to dodge most of the fire, but some connected and the Chief felt the suit's temperature raise several degrees from close calls with plasma bolts. Crystalline needles flew past him impacting and detonating in the door behind him. He fired his assault rifle at the closest Elite and cursed. It had brought its shields up. The Chief continued firing bursts to keep the Elite off balance as he readied a pair of plasma grenades. The instant the Elites shields collapsed, he flung the Covenant weapons with all his considerable might. One stuck to the Elite he was aiming at and the other stuck to the one remaining Grunt. The Elite disappeared in a bright flash a few seconds later. The Grunt, however, ran towards the nearest Covenant troops in an effort to get the grenade off. The resulting explosion was enough to wipe out the balance of Elites. The rest were easily dispatched with several well-placed shots.
A nearby door opened and an Elite in gold armor strode out, not expecting the carnage before it. It immediately pulled out a plasma sword and scanned the area. Joe, the nearest to the Elite, came out of hiding, and quietly came up behind it. He raised the butt of his rifle and brought it down hard. The Elite's shields absorbed the blow and the Elite swung around with its unarmed hand. The blow sent Joe flying across the room. Two shots rang out from Linda's sniper rifle. Both ricocheted off of the shields covering its head. Linda cursed at the unfortunate turn of events. This Elite bore a symbol on its helmet that was associated with the Prophet. The Spartans had just gotten the Prophet's personal bodyguard extremely pissed off.
The Elite strode toward where he had thrown Joe across the room. Joe was groggily getting up as the Elite raised his plasma sword. It paused for a second when it heard an unknown sound. Curious, it turned around and was greeted by a whoosh and a rare once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of seeing a rocket racing at it. The rocket impacted blowing him into the wall that it had cornered Joe in just a second ago. Its shields flickered and faded and it sat there motionless. The Chief couldn't be sure if it was dead or unconscious, so he fired a second rocket just to make sure. This time it blew apart with purple blood spattering everywhere. Making up his mind, he ran towards Joe and tried to revive him. Joe sat up groggily, the effects of multiple concussions taking their toll. Joe's speech was slurred and his motion was uncoordinated. The Chief picked Joe up and slung him over his shoulder. There would be time to treat Joes wounds later, for now there was a job to do.