Stage 9: … the feeling's mutual, split lip!
Covenant Cruiser: Life and Sacrifice
11:05 October 21, 2552
Mars Orbit, Grid 422.31.4
The elite's grip on the hilt of his plasma sword created a loud leathery grind that filled the silence within the amphitheater. He hated the humans, and the idea of working with the humans filled him with distaste. He glared at the human that stood before his ship master, the human that spoke with no respect or honor toward his commanding officer. It would have been nothing for him to active his blade and kill the human; slicing off his head or stabbing him in the torso. The thought filled him with joy, but he wouldn't dare cross his ship masters orders. Gridolee held his peace and relaxed. He released the hilt of his blade and reattached it to his armor.
Elder Bortello watched Gridolee closely. He knew the Mirratord warrior would not tolerate such insolence from the humans, but the ship master's orders were not to be questioned. Once he noticed that the Mirratord warrior had relaxed, he quickly turned his attention back to ship master Domadree and the human.
"Care to say that again, Siren?" Eric stated with a twisted glare. He quickly turned to the center of the room and stared deeply at Siren's massive image. She smiled awkwardly and looked away from Eric's gaze.
"This mission is beyond us, Sergeant." Siren calmly stated. "We need the strength of these honorable elites. Besides, if we don't work together the fate of humanity and all other life in the known universe could be eradicated."
Gridolee found it odd that the human's construct gave him and the other elites the proper respect, and he found it so interesting that he approached Domadree and the human's position. He was intrigued by the construct and wanted to know why it respected and honored them. He had his suspicions that the construct had good intentions, or it was a massive charade intent on reducing the ship master's guard. He would not have such a thing happen.
"Gridolee, hold your position." Elder Bortello snapped in their native tongue. Siren overheard the statement and split her attention between Eric and the Elder. "Captain Domadree can handle this, but you seem on edge. You are second in command, but do not interfere… at least, not yet."
"Why do you think we need the elites?" Eric protested. "Have you forgotten the objective of this mission?"
"No sergeant, I have not." Siren retorted. "Our goals are slightly different, but I am quite sure that these warriors will assist us if we ask."
"And what makes you think that we will aid these humans, construct?" Domadree added. His voice was deep, and hearing him speak in human tongue created an awe inspiring shock upon every human in the room. Eric lost himself, and took a few steps away from the golden clad warrior before he regained control of his senses. He brushed the shock from his mind and returned next to the elite.
"Because, ship master Domadree, I know that you are not our enemies." Siren stated. "If both sides will please hear me, I will explain everything."
The attention in the room quickly focused on the image of Siren. Her holographic form reduced in size until she was standing in the center of the stage. She was now the average height of a woman and she began to walk off the stage. Her bare feet appeared to walk on the floor and she slowly stepped from the stage in her illusionary form. The holographic generators began to swivel in order to follow, and project, Siren's image beyond the center stage. Siren began to walk up the steps between the divided humans and elites. She then stopped once she reached the maximum projection range of the generators; between Domadree and Eric.
"Have a seat, please." Siren stated to the group. "This may take a while to explain." The Elites sat to the left of Siren and the humans to the right. Eric and Domadree sat directly across from each other, and never let their guards down as they began to listen to Siren. Rose sat patiently in the company of the elites, not saying anything. Wesley kept his eyes feverishly glued on her. The eight Mirratord warriors maintained their positions along the wall; waiting for any sign of trouble.
"First I shall begin with the founding of the Covenant." Siren stated. Domadree sat up with shock, and he quickly turned to see that elder Bortello was also dumbfounded by the constructs words. "Humanity does not know the full nature of the Covenant, but we have surmised that it is a collection of species from various worlds, united to achieve one goal." Siren trailed off for a second and then appeared to be in deep thought. She then looked to Eric.
"Sergeant, platoon 9 has cornered the remaining brutes and jackals on the command deck. I've instructed them not to engage and to hold their positions. Those brutes aren't going anywhere, so we have plenty of time to deal with them." Domadree looked to Gridolee and nodded his head at him. The Mirratord second understood and quickly vanished under the aid of his active camouflage. Soon the other eight Mirratord warriors standing at the door also vanished. This act didn't go unnoticed.
"What're you up to?" Eric stated.
"Merely making sure that the trash aboard my ship does not spread." Domadree returned.
"Don't worry about the brutes. We've handled them well enough without your help." Eric added.
"When I say trash, I am including you humans." Domadree stated. "My warriors will assist, if needed."
"Any of my boys so much as get grazed by plasma from one of your… warriors, I'll be the first one to stick a grenade down your throat."
"You have spunk, human, but your words mean nothing to me." Domadree added. "I will do what is necessary to protect my ship."
"Sergeant, ship master Domadree, I would ask that both of you remain calm." Siren stated. She glided between the two of them and lowered her hands to appear as if she was patting them on the shoulder.
"Yes." Elder Bortello stated. "Show the proper discipline for your troops." Domadree looked at his elites and saw that they were becoming anxious because of the harshness in words between him and the human. Eric looked and also could tell that the marines and ODST's were becoming eager for a fight.
"Platoon 9." Eric stated into his helmet com.
"Sir, this is Renman, go ahead." The man stated from the other end.
"Be advised, there are cloaked elites coming up your six." Eric stated calmly. "They are friendly. I repeat, the elites are friendly, do not engage them." Eric waited for a reply.
"Sergeant, are you kidding?" Renman replied from the com. "This is a joke, right?
"Damn it marine, I gave you an order!" Eric roared into his com. "Do not fire on the elites, they are coming to support you. But do not advance on the command deck until I give the order."
"Rodger that, sergeant." Reman replied over the com. There was a sound of disapproval in the man's voice, and as the com went silent Eric new things would get worse before they got better.
"I shall continue." Siren stated. "From what I have learned by scanning various ship databases, the Covenant came into existence during the final Age of Abandonment. During this period in Covenant history, the Prophets and elites began their union and began to seek further information concerning the Forerunners.
"It is also noted that during the Age of Conflict, the covenant expanded at an alarming rate. The prophets appeared to lose control over the covenant and it appeared, for a time, that the elites were the overseers of the covenant. The prophets' only concerns were the discoveries of forerunner technology, and they did not want to seem weak in the eyes of other species. It is during this period that the prophets appointed the Hierarchs, the overseers and leaders of the Covenant. The hierarchs led and instructed battles against other species' home worlds in order to acquire or steal what was needed.
"During the Age of Reconciliation, the Covenant pulled more and more species into their union. It is here that things began to go wrong." Siren noticed that the elder seemed more intent on this discussion and leaned closer to hear her words. "The hierarchs acquired several pieces of forerunner technology that made them puzzled about the true purpose of their faith. From what Cortana discovered aboard the Unyielding Hierophant, and now what I have found in numerous prophet databases, I can justly state that the prophets have always been using the species within the Covenant for their own goals. They believe that destruction is the only way to bring about change. They believe that once all life is destroyed, things will become much better and they will be the new Gods. They want to destroy all life within the universe, save only themselves. This is what they call, the Great Journey."
All of the elites in the room began to mumble amongst themselves. This was not what the prophets had taught them, nor was it the information passed down to them by their ancestors.
"During the Age of Reconciliation, the prophets found it harder and harder to fight; they were thinkers not warriors. And with the full might of the covenant, the hierarchs new that they could not… end… their union, the Covenant, by force. They wanted to be the true rulers of the galaxy, much like the forerunners were, but they new that if the elites and the other covenant members turned on them they would not be able to resist. They needed a trump card. They found it within the species known as the Jiralhanae, the brutes. They observed the brute race for many years before inviting them into the covenant. This explains why the brutes were not mentioned during any of the records or data from the Age of Reconciliation.
"The brutes did not have any forerunner technology upon their world but during the Age of Discovery, the brutes suddenly make an appearance within the prophet's databanks. I searched hundreds of ships over the past several hours and discovered that the prophets constantly compared the elites and brutes, and found the elites as more powerful, but the brutes were easier to control. When the high council was formed, the brutes took their places as prophet body guards, and this is when the prophets began to fill the brute's minds with doubt; making them feel lower then the elites. This naturally started an inner dispute between the brutes and elites.
"During the Ages of Conversion and Doubt, the covenant fell into several small disputes. Many heretics began to rise up against the prophets, and they were all elites. It was difficult to discern the truth from the lies, but I discovered that this was mostly due to the activities of the Mirratord." Elder Bortello stood quickly to his feet and glared at Siren sternly.
"Speak no more, construct!" The elder bellowed. "The Mirratord are but a legend."
"Forgive me, elder, but this must be stated." Siren returned. "The prophets are more involved then you may believe. The High Prophet, Truth, new of the elite high council's secret. He discovered the Mirratord many years ago but did not discuss it amongst the prophets, only the hierarchs knew."
"There are no more secrets amongst us, elder." Domadree stated. "Everything has changed. Allow the construct to speak."
"How did Truth discover the Mirratord?" Bortello questioned cautiously, affirming to the other elites in the room that the Mirratord indeed existed.
"A spy." Siren stated.
"The Mirratord would not betray their own." Bortello stated. "They would rather die then give up their oath."
"I do not know when or who the spy was, elder Bortello, but what I can say is that it was during the first years of the Mirratord. Because the hierarchs discovered the Mirratord secret, they understood that they could not completely control the elites. They had the brutes completely loyal to them, but the Mirratord was a threat that the hierarchs couldn't control.
"Eventually the covenant, as it was, discovered Halo Instillation 04, but the elites were slowly making discoveries of their own. The elites were learning more and more about the purpose of Halo and the great journey, but they still believed… but the rise of more and more heretics was proof that the truth about the great journey was spreading. These heretics were not Mirratord mission failures, they were scientists, honor guards, special operations soldiers, leaders, civilians… there was little that could be done. The heretics new the truth, and they knew that the great journey was not what the elites had been taught. Also, with the discovery of the Oracle more confusion was created within the prophets. The prophets had always taught the elites to revere the Halo installation and the forerunners as the gods, at least this is what most of the covenant species were taught. This was not the case for the brutes. The brutes were taught that the prophets themselves were to be revered, not as gods but as superiors. Somehow the prophets convinced the brutes that the great journey is the only goal worth seeking, and that there was little information to be learned from the forerunner technology. This way, the brutes would not need to understand or care about the forerunner technology. It makes perfect sense, if you think about it. The brutes are deaf and dumb to the prophets will, while the elites are more curious. The elites pose a threat.
"The prophets new they needed something to keep the elites occupied, distracted. In 2525 the hierarchs discovered an artifact on one of the Halo ring worlds, it lead them to a human colony world."
"Harvest." Eric stated coldly, while staring at the elite ship master across from him.
Siren continued, "The prophets found that humanity was an adequate distraction. A war was needed in order to keep the elites from discovering the truth. It was then that the hierarchs discovered that the humans were the reclaimers, the only creatures that could fire Halo."
"What?" Domadree shouted. "We were told that we were the promised!"
"As I said, the prophets have lied to you. They lied to all of you. It would appear that humans are the chosen of Halo ring worlds created by the forerunners; not the prophets. Whether it is good or bad to be a reclaimer, I am uncertain. The idea of standing at ground zero when a galactic weapon is fired doesn't sound like a good thing, but none the less it was a human that fired the Halo the first time, and only a human can fire it again. The true question is how life continues to exist if the Halo's have fired once before?"
"Then the holy cleansing of humans, the creatures that are our sworn enemies and an affront to our gods; was all a lie?" Domadree roared. "How can we believe this? How can we be sure that you are not falsifying your discoveries?"
"You said so yourself." Rose spoke up. Domadree turned to the human and listened. "You said you wanted to know why, she just told you. You were used!"
"I also believe that the hierarchs did not discover that humans were reclaimers until after they discovered Halo 04." Siren added. "The ring in which Cortana and Spartan 117 destroyed. This could be the reason why the war against humanity never stopped. Surely the hierarchs would have attempted to make peace with humanity, had they not used humanity to distract the elites."
"Makes sense." Eric added. He rubbed his chin in deep thought. "The covenant hated us, but then after thirty years of fighting, the prophets discover that they need us to fire Halo. You can't just walk up to us and say, let's be friends. But why fire Halo? It would kill the prophets as well."
"Already ahead of you, sergeant." Siren quickly added. "The prophets needed a way to escape Halo's activation. Human's survived, somehow, and the prophets need to figure that out. The High Prophet of Regret, the one that nearly killed you in New Mombasa, fallowed a signal to Earth, but wasn't aware that it was our home planet. He found the Earth crystal and then left. That brings us up to date. My thoughts on this, is that if humanity survived the first Halo activation, then humanity's home planet has a secret to surviving the Halo purge."
"Which is why the covenant has yet to glass Earth." Eric stated. "This changes everything."
"Now you see why I had to alter our plans, sergeant." Siren added. "The covenant isn't just brutal beasts without a purpose. They are smart and honorable creatures that were fooled into thinking that humans were enemies of their Gods. The war, to them, is a holy crusade. We can't hope to defeat the covenant alone; we need to destroy them from the inside out. A civil war would surely create turmoil if we can prove the prophets are lying, and we need the Elites to complete this mission."
"What mission?" Domadree replied.
"Our original mission was to seek out the Covenant home world and nuke it." Eric stated bluntly. "But I'm assuming that Siren here has another idea." Domadree nodded in response. He understood that eventually the humans would try to seek out a covenant world. The humans had lost countless lives from covenant bombardments on their colonies, and this was clearly the only option they had left.
"Yes." Siren sighed. "If you haven't noticed, humanity isn't the only species in existence. The elites, brutes, prophets, grunts, jackals and countless other species are still thriving, even though the Halo's fired. Somehow, life continued. There must be a way to survive. We need to find it. I decided that the Spartans were not necessary for this mission because if Earth has a secret, then they would be needed there. But there is someone else we must find."
"Let me guess." Eric mumbled. "Doctor Catherine Halsey."
"She's out there, sergeant." Siren added. "And she's most likely doing the same thing we need to do."
"According to Cortana and the Spartans' reports, she went AWOL." Eric added. "No matter how we look at it, we don't know what she's doing. Space is infinite, how the hell would we find her?"
"It's really simple, sergeant." Siren smiled. "We call her. That's why I was hoping the elites would join us. They can lead us safely through covenant space."
"It won't be easy, but this is beyond our personal feeling." Eric stated. He stood and walked closer to ship master Domadree. "What do you say? Are you and your crew in or out?"
Domadree and the majority of the elites could only hang their heads in sorrow. There was pain coursing through them that could not be described. All that they had known and believed was a lie. The slaughter of human colonized worlds, defending the prophets for countless years, and the total destruction of their faith; it all seemed so pointless. Domadree stood from his seat and looked down at Eric.
"Within myself, I can not agree to this union." Domadree stated to Eric. Eric was somewhat shocked. "It is the dead of one who is higher then me. We must report this to the high council, but for now only elder Bortello has the right to make such a decision."
"Whatever decision you see fit, ship master Domadree, is the decision that I will stand by." The elder stated with his head hung low.
"Then until I can make contact with the high council, my crew is at your mercy. We have wronged your species, and I will do what I must to attempt to make amends." Domadree looked over his shoulder and nodded his head toward the elite that held Rose at bay. He released her and Rose quickly sprinted across the room, through the crowd of elites.
Wesley exhaled and stood to his feet and watched as Rose ran toward him. He walked close to Eric and with a small smile he waited. But the result was not what he had expected. He watched as Rose dived into Eric's arms, sobbing loosely. She maintained her composure and didn't cry out loud, but Wesley new that she was crying.
"Rose, go to Wesley." Eric stated softly in her ear. "I've got work to do." Eric never took his eyes off of the elite ship master that stood in front of him. Rose slowly pulled away and with her head low she stood at Wesley's side.
"You okay?" Wesley questioned. Rose wished Eric had said those words.
"Only a bad headache." Rose replied.
Domadree was somewhat relieved to see the human female act similar to how his mate did. She would always fall into his arms whenever he would see her on their temporary home aboard High Charity. The human females may fight along side the males, but they were still nurturing creatures and emotionally fragile.
"Construct, what is our first course of action?" Domadree questioned.
"I took us out of Earth's range and we are in low orbit around Mars. ONI would not agree to this plan, so I had to get us away from Earth. As far as getting this mission started; First, how about we get you and your command crew back in control of the command deck."
On the command deck of the Life and Sacrifice, Gridolee patiently gazed into the pack of human trash that sat before him. He watched as they stood around the command deck door and mingled amongst each other, like ants or some other filthy insect. Disgust filled his every poor. He hated the creatures, he hated humans. To him, they were worthless beyond all means.
His active camouflage made his presence invisible to the humans, and until ship master Domadree gave him the word, he would maintain his watch and not attack them. But he was becoming impatient. He knew that if he decided to attack the humans, his Mirratord brothers would assist him, but he did not want to act out of arrogance. Domadree was still talking to the humans in the amphitheater and it would be stupid of him to cut down the human trash if peace was made.
Peace.
The word filled his throat with flames, and he opened in mandibles so that fresh air could cleanse the idea from his lungs. He gagged.
"Who's there?" One of the marines shouted. Fourteen humans raised their weapons and began peering into the hallway, but they could see nothing. "Okay you elite bastards. The serge said you were coming, so I guess you're here. Show yourselves!"
Gridolee snarled inwardly, he was frustrated that the humans heard him. Had this been a battle situation, his actions could have jeopardized the mission. He clicked his mandibles twice, and the loud snapping of his teeth echoed in the hall. It was the signal to his Mirratord brothers to remain concealed no matter what happened. Gridolee lifted his left arm and turned the small blue dial on his wrist guard. His camouflage faded and the humans quickly stepped back in shock.
The advanced camouflage system that he wore could maintain an active cloak for seven hours before overheating, and it was this system that gave the Mirratord their advantage in battle. But there was a side affect to the advanced active camouflage system; it needed to use the shield unit of his armor in order to work at full power. This meant that if he was attacked while he was cloaked, his shield would only be at half power. But even this made his shields comparable to that of the elite honor guards.
The humans were nervous, and Gridolee knew that he had put fear into them with his presence. He wanted them to shoot, because if they fired he would have every right to fight back and slaughter them.
"Hey split lip, you alone?" One of the humans questioned. Gridolee's anger fumed. The humans had no honor, no discipline, no respect for creatures stronger then them. The way he spoke to Gridolee only served to anger him further. Gridolee stepped forward, his massive hoof clanging into the cold steel of the deck, and the human's pathetic weapon pressed into the chest area of his shield. He eyeballed the tiny human and could see the fear in his eyes.
"No human, I am not alone." Gridolee snarled. "But my brothers would not need to assist me in ripping out your entrails."
"You threatening me, ugly?" The human snapped. He pumped the barrel of his M90 shotgun and rested his finger on the trigger. "I'll blow a hole in you before you can even think about coming at me!"
Gridolee could smell the fear boiling within the human. He was putting up a brave act, but Gridolee trusted his instincts and studied the human's behavior. The human's eyes were fully dilated, his breathing was quick, sweat poured from his brow, and a nervous shake was in his knees. The man's eyes began to quickly jerk back and forth as he attempted to watch everything that Gridolee would do. The fear from the human was fueling Gridolee's aggression and he wanted the human to attack. He wanted to bait the human and make him react, and he knew it would be easy to trick the human into firing his weapon. All Gridolee needed to do was step forward one last time.
It was a simple act, Gridolee thought. He would step forward and the man's fear would force him to pull the trigger. Gridolee had seen the pathetic human weapon many times before. He knew it was powerful at close range, but his shields would hold, and he would end the human's life before he could fire another shot. Then he would kill the other humans, and eventually all the humans on the ship would die by his hand. Gridolee clinched his fist and braced himself for the shot.
"Serge!" Another human shouted. "Thank God. What's going on around here?" Gridolee noticed that the human in front of him had relaxed, and was stepping away from him as the human leader approached from behind. He had waited to long to make his move. It would appear that he would have to wait to kill these humans.
"Like I told you, Renman." Eric stated as he stepped between the marine and Gridolee. "These elites are working with us, for the time being." Eric gazed up at the towering elite, and peered into Gridolee's eyes. "You got a problem, big boy?"
Gridolee stared back, gazing deeply into Eric's eyes, but unlike the other human Eric did not show the signs of fear.
"Yes." Gridolee stated. "My problem is with you, vermin." He snarled at Eric, baiting him to attack. But Gridolee could not see any signs of nervousness or fear. This human that now stood before him was a human warrior unlike any he had encountered in the past.
"If you want a fight, big boy, I'll give you one." Eric grinned. "But not until we take command of this deck." Eric turned his back to the elite and waited. His ears were sharp, and he listened to every ruffle of the elite's armor. If the elite took a swing at him, he'd know.
The human had turned his back to Gridolee. No creature, which feared another, would dare to turn their back to an enemy. This human showed him no respect or honor. Gridolee raised his arm and brought it down toward Eric's back. Before he was able to hit Eric, another elite had gripped his wrist and held him at bay. Gridolee looked to see which of his brethren had grabbed him. He turned and looked into the watching eyes of ship master Domadree.
"Captain." Gridolee pleaded. Eric turned around and looked at the two elites.
"I told you not to interfere!" Domadree snarled. "Much has been revealed, and you would jeopardize our pact with these humans."
"Pact, captain?" Gridolee questioned.
"I will debrief you later." Domadree stated. "But it seems that your hatred can not be trusted. Report to your quarters and stay there till I call for you. We will deal with the brutes without you."
"Now, now, no need for all that." Eric interrupted. "Ship master Domadree, we could use him. I'd hate to see any of my marines get killed during this operation, so why don't you let me and big boy take care of this."
"This is my ship, sergeant Raynord." Domadree replied. "If there is a battle to regain control, then I will be involved."
"I'm not going to argue with you." Eric sighed. "But at least let me and big boy lead in."
"Very well, Sergeant." Domadree sighed. "You and Gridolee may take the front. For the honor of the Mirratord." Domadree stepped away from Gridolee and approached the other Mirratord warriors. They all switched off their camouflage and listened to the captains orders.
Gridolee could only watch in quiet shock as the ship master and the filthy human exchanged words of honor toward each other. The ship master had called the human sergeant, and the human had honored his captain by addressing him as ship master. What had happened below decks in the amphitheater? And to add more confusion, Domadree had spoken the battle cry of the Mirratord. Had he forgotten their vow of secrecy?
"Captain." Gridolee stated. "The words you have spoken…"
"There are no longer any secret, my brother." Domadree interrupted. "The secret of the Mirratord has been revealed, but now is not the time to discuss such things. Prepare yourself for combat, my second." Gridolee was somewhat confused, yet somehow pleased to be fighting again. He would be able to spill the blood of the foul brutes, but the blood of the humans would have to wait.
"Yes captian." Gridolee stated. "For the honor of the Mirratord." He looked to Eric and watched as the human ordered his subordinates around. His presence gave them confidence, and Gridolee despised that. The human's did not deserve confidence going into battle. They were no more useful then the grunts that were cowering at the end of the hall.
"Alright big boy, step up, me and you have point." Eric stated.
"You do not give me orders, human." Gridolee bellowed. "I out rank you and I am the superior warrior. And my name is Lieutenant Gridolee, not big boy. Clearly you do not know of basic battle tactics; leaders do not advance in the front. That is the job for the grunts."
"Whatever." Eric stated a snap. "You can discuss rank, names, and tactics after we take the command deck and I haven't forgotten our fight. Siren!"
"Ready when you are, sergeant." Siren replied over the hallway intercom. "Eight brutes and eight jackals. They know you're coming. Two barricades positioned at two and ten of your entry, and there are two squads of four brutes with four jackal; one squad per barricade."
"Alright marines, it's going to get hot in there." Eric shouted to the marines with him. "Stay low, and quick. Lay in with suppressing fire, then break left and right of the door. The elites will then charge down the middle. Platoon 9, show me what you've got and I might let some of you join Red Squad!"
The marines jointly replied, "HOORAH!"
Gridolee gritted his mandibles and sneered through his teeth. The humans were pack creatures, just like the grunts. They were worthless and rallied behind whoever was strongest amongst them.
"Red Squad, pile in once the elites begin their advance and follow the elite captains assault." Eric stated over his shoulder. "We'll over run those brute bastards before they know what hit them." He quickly double checked to make sure that Rose and Wesley were not in the squad, and felt relieved that they obeyed his orders and stayed in the amphitheater. Rose had seen enough battle for one day, and Wesley would make sure she stayed out of trouble.
"Captain, you have command of Red Squad, I'll lead the advance." Eric stated to Domadree. Domadree nodded his head sharply and glared at Gridolee. The Mirratord second was about to protest the idea of the human leading the front attack, but the glare from his captain made him hold his words. "Rocket boys, open the door!" Three marines with M19 rocket launchers stepped in front of the door and primed their barrels. The door quickly slid open and three puffs from 102 millimeter rockets streaked into the room. A massive explosion rang from inside the massive room and the three marines dropped back, away from the door. Before the marines had cleared the path to the door, eight marines with M7 sub-machine guns and Battle rifles raced into the room behind Eric and Gridolee. Knowing that the barricades were at ten and two o'clock, the marines took aim to the front left and right of the bridge. Their bullets pinged against the massive stationary shield generators that created a pinkish blue haze throughout the room. Behind the barricades stood several wounded brutes and only a few jackals; most killed from the initial rocket assault.
Domadree was concerned that the human's aggressive tactics would damage some of the ships systems within the bridge, but with the engineers on board he relaxed knowing that any severe damage could be fixed. He then stepped to the door with ten elites a small segment of eight grunts and Red Squad in the Rear.
"Once we enter the room we will charge the center." Domadree addressed to the group. "If this plan works the brutes will not have time to prep for our advance." But Domadree had doubts about the success of this mission. From a tactical perspective, the brutes had control of the hill and even though they were outnumbered they would still kill many.
Domadree waited for the last human to clear the door to the bridge and then stepped to the front of his advance group. The grunts began to step to the front, as they normally do, but Domadree waived them back. They were too slow for this charge, speed would be essential to success.
Domadree and the elites at his side roared, fueling their inner aggression for the fight, and charged through the door toward the glowing lights of the barricades shield generators. Behind them raced the humans of Red Squad and grunts. The room was nearly pitch-black as Siren had turned off all the lights, only several emergency lights shined over the heads of the brutes. Several plasma grenades flared across Domadree's head as the brutes blindly tossed them toward the incoming fire. The brutes had not noticed the second attack, and were blindly attacking the humans that had led the assault. Domadree finally began to understand. The plan would work and the brutes would be clueless as to what was happening.
The emergency lights above the brute's positions, had created a wall of light and dark. The brutes could not see beyond the light and no matter how hard the tried, they could not see into the dark because the lights made it impossible for their eyes to adjust. However, Domadree and his group were in the dark and looking toward the light; the brutes were sitting ducks.
Domadree raced down the center of the attack with his group close behind. Eric and Gridolee left the first line of marines and joined the captain, and his second assault, toward the center of the bridge. The marines of platoon 9 held their position against the wall of the bridge and fired cautiously toward the brutes' lines, providing heavy suppression fire as the second group advanced.
Red Squad halted halfway between the brutes' barricade and platoon 9. Red Squad then dived to the floor and open fired at any brute that came into the open; the grunts joined them. Domadree and Gridolee sprinted at top speed, leaving Eric and the other elites behind. Eric couldn't keep up and Domadree and Gridolee seemed to be out pacing the entire group.
Eric gave up trying to run with the much faster elites, and maintained a steady pace while he rested his battle rifle on his shoulder. Shooting was his ace, and what he did best. He took a deep breath and held it as he gazed down his barrel, ignoring the scope on the rifle. He listened for his heart beat, and mentally counted the space between each. He ignored the thumping of brute shot grenades and gunfire and focused on his targets. He spotted three jackals, exposed and in the open. He felt his heart beat and he squeezed the trigger, another heart beat and another jackal dropped. One more jackal to go, but an elite was blocking his shot. Eric quickly found another target and maintained his level. But something was distracting him. Something he had not seen in a long time was unfolding before him, but it was unusual.
Eric had seen elites in battle. The fury at which they commanded the battle field demanded respect, but what he saw was seeing was unlike anything he had ever seen from elites in battle.
Together Gridolee and Domadree wielded two single bladed plasma swords. They lowered their stances and dashed between the shield barricades with the grace of dancers. Domadree had beheaded two brutes before they had even seen the swords coming. Gridolee seemed to glide his blades through the air. One of his blades impacted a brute's chest, but only managed to cut a few layers of muscle. The massive brute roared in pain and anger and swung at Gridolee with his fist. Gridolee arced backwards, lifted his other blade, and used the brutes own momentum to sever its own arm against the plasma sword. The brute screamed in agony as Gridolee stabbed both blades into its chest, but this time his attack was affective. He grinned as he pulled the blades free from the brute's body and then looked for his next prey.
Domadree preferred the one kill strike rather then Gridolee's aggressive and bloody method. Domadree had slaughtered 4 of the brutes before Gridolee had killed one. Domadree reared both arms back and darted toward the last of the brutes. Two of them stood at the opposite barricade and were rampaging over two of his elite brethren. Domadree lunged with his right arm and angled his blade along the length of his forearm. The blade dragged across the unsuspecting brute's neck, and before it could scream, Domadree had already spun on his heel and brought the left blade crashing into the brute's skull. The brute was slain and crumbled to the ground as the last surviving brute leapt toward Domadree's exposed back. The elite ship master spun to face the brute but could only watch as the beast crumbled to his feet lifeless; blood dripping from the exit wounds in its head.
"You're welcome." Eric laughed. Domadree looked toward Eric and bowed his head gratefully. He then looked over the bridge of the command deck as Siren reactivated the lights, assessing the damage to his kin. He then smirked as four grunts cornered a surrendering jackal and stripped it of its weapon and shield.
Only three humans and two elites had fallen during the charge, but they were not of the Mirratord. Domadree wondered if he had made the right choice by telling the Mirratord warriors to hold back. Perhaps the lives of the two elites could have been spared had he not made the choice, but it was a decision he had to make. He had to know the full potential of the humans at his side, and his Mirratord warriors could have completed this task alone. Now he understood the potential of this group of humans. They were smart in combat, but their leader, Sergeant Raynord, was the man that had brought them to this point. He truly was a skilled leader. His method had confused the brutes, and the rockets that were used were only used to add further confusion. This human was crafty.
Gridolee walked toward his captain and smiled gleefully. He had extinguished some of his anger and was relieved that blood had been shed.
"Captain, you seem bewildered." Gridolee stated. "We have been victorious. What is it that troubles you? "
"The human leader, sergeant Raynord, is quite the warrior." Domadree replied.
"He is merely a human with combat experience." Gridolee snorted. "We have nothing to fear from that one. But if it pleases you, I will kill him for you."
"No." Domadree stated. "I will keep my eyes on him. The prophets have betrayed us, that will not be denied, but the humans came to our aid fairly quickly. Something is not right, and if our two sides collide, Sergeant Raynord must be the first to die, otherwise these humans will prove to be difficult to defeat."
Gridolee smiled happily at the idea of killing the human sergeant. The thought raced threw his mind and he imagined several ways to kill him.
"Good job everyone." Siren stated over the intercom. "I assume ship master Domadree would like to being cleaning up the bodies, but with your permission I would like to set a course for our next destination before UNSC fleet realizes we are here." Domadree turned to the main pedestal in the center of the bridge. Siren's image floated above a holograph-panel.
"Where do you plan to begin your search, construct?" Domadree questioned. "And how will it affect the suffering of my elite brethren?"
"If my calculations are correct, Doctor Halsey would most likely want to visit every covenant home world and try to piece together the puzzle of the forerunners." Siren stated as she massaged her chin with her hand. "According to my findings, only the elites, grunts, hunters and brutes have their own home world. There are other species within the covenant database that remain a mystery as to their home world. But the jackals and drones home worlds were destroyed as a display of power by the prophets." Siren was silent for a few moments but then looked up to Domadree.
"Captain, I suggest we venture to the elite home world." Siren stated. "Since we must notify your high council, and search the forerunner site upon your world."
"It will take many days travel to reach our home." Domadree stated. "Once we are in range I will notify the capital city of Jogrennilee of our arrival."
"Three days, to be exact." Siren added. "Course plotted and set. We can leave when you're ready, captain."
Ship master Domadree stood firm and walked to the top of the center console in the center of the massive bridge. He crossed his arms behind his back and thought of anything that needed to be done before he began this quest to disprove the teachings of the prophets. He thought of his mate upon High Charity, the other ships in orbit around Earth, and the fleet of elites and brutes that waited on the edge of the Earth's solar system. Domadree knew that any treachery upon the holy city of High Charity would be easily put to an end by his elite brethren; his mate would be fine. So he turned his attention to the hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of his brethren that were also fighting for control of their ships, against the treachery of the brutes and prophets. His thoughts went out to them, to go and help them, but he had no way to contact them. If he tried to contact them there was no guarantee that any of the ships were still controlled by elites. All ships were caught off guard by the brutes' attack and even after his years of training with the elite Mirratord warriors, his ship was also taken over. The risk in contacting the fleet was too high.
"Construct, you may proceed." The choice to return home was the only logical decision.
To be continued…