"The Dirty Dozen"
"Yammaeda, do you copy?" The Spec Ops commander roared into his wraith's communications system. "The brutes in the canyon have been defeated, and the Arbiter was successful in stopping Tartarus, a lot has happened here. Expect another update after I have spoken with the Arbiter. Phantoms of elite and hunter support should be arriving to the control room shortly… copy?" He gazed at the com and waited for a reply, but after nearly a minute of nothing the commander began to worry.
"Commander?" The Arbiter questioned from outside the wraith. His voice echoed within the wraith and the commander raised his head.
"Arbiter, something's wrong at the base." The commander noticed that the Arbiter was no longer alone. At his side stood several members of the High Council, the ones that had survived Tartarus' hammer, and two humans standing behind them. His face grimaced with the intent to kill the humans, "Humans? Can we trust them?"
The Arbiter turned and looked at Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson, "Trust is a word that can not be used too lightly, at least not so early in our alliance. But we have nothing to fear from them. Without weapons, these humans are harmless."
The Commander huffed, "Very well, but we should watch them closely. As you recall, the Demon has a tendency to arrive whenever his kind are captive. But to the matter at hand, I haven't been able to reach the base for some time. I left the sergeant with only a regiment of grunts. If they were attacked by any brute patrols…"
"… then perhaps we should go there." The human female, Miranda Keyes, interrupted. "Forgive me for intruding, but if you have a base of operations here on Delta Halo, then we should get there and begin working on a plan to stop Truth." Miranda had her own plans in mind, but for now she needed the elites. Sergeant Johnson was already attempting to establish a position with the elites; attempting to earn their respect by not backing down from one of the elite High Council members that was not speaking to him. Miranda knew that her platoon of Marines and ODST's were scattered throughout the region of Delta Halo known as the Quarantine Zone; at least those that had survived. If she could gain the trust of the elites then she could start searching for them and the Chief, and then find a way to stop Truth from reaching the Ark.
"If you would let me finish, human…" The commander interjected. "They were to go to silent communications if they were attacked, meaning that the base is no longer an option. They will need to stand their own grounds without us. Going there could put the Arbiter and the council members in unneeded danger." A nearby phantom descended into the area and the commander looked to the Arbiter. "We will need to find another vantage point to gather followers and supplies."
"For the Council's sake, I understand." The Arbiter added. "But it would be wise to send a scout team to investigate the base and verify its fall."
"Already ahead of you Arbiter." The commander was already on his com contacting one of the numerous phantoms he had just dispatched to his location. "Team twelve responds."
From the other end of the communication came a rough Elites voice, "This is team twelve, commander. The battle above still rages and High Charity is completely overrun with the Parasites. We are now in route to your location."
The commander and the Arbiter both clinched their fists in anger at the words. Their home, High Charity, was overrun by the flood infection. "Is there no end to their chaos?" The commander stormed.
The Arbiter placed a hand on the commander's shoulder and gave him a quick nod. He understood the gesture; they couldn't dwell on any one situation for too long. The commander felt somewhat pleased that the Arbiter held no ill toward him, despite their mixed history together. The commander knew who the Arbiter really was, and how the prophets had ripped him of his command status and disgraced him publicly. Even when they were reunited in the hunt for the Heretic leader, the commander had not shown him any leniency. The commander had thought the prophets were right, and that the one time Supreme Commander of the fleet of Particular Justice was indeed incompetent, but his skill at killing the Heretic leader was unmatched. Fighting by the Arbiter's side had made him regret ever doubting his one time leader.
"Team twelve, the base may be in jeopardy, I need you to brake off from the Task Force and investigate the situation."
"Yes Sir." The Elite stated from the com, and then disconnected. The fall of High Charity, all of their brothers, their home, was a daunting blow. It was a blow that the Commander could not help prevent.
Outside the Wraith, Miranda overheard everything and turned her attention to the Arbiter. "What do we do know? With every minute we wait, Truth grows closer to the Ark. And if your base has been compromised, our ability to amass a suitable attack force is limited. Perhaps if we can locate the Master Chief…"
"The Master Chief… the Demon, is no longer on the Sacred Ring." The Arbiter added.
"You've seen him?" The other human, Avery Johnson, questioned. His interest was peeked at the discussion and he finally backed down from the elite councilor. Johnson walked closer and adjusted his hat as he came near. But Johnson wasn't the only one that was interested in knowing the fate of the Demon. The council members also came closer to the wraith and paid close attention to the Arbiter's words.
The Arbiter addressed the group. "I did encounter the Demon, and something else. We will discuss it later, but for now our main priority at this point is stopping Truth. We need a ship and support before we can do anything critical. Therefore we must…"
"I have scanned the nearby data terminals for this Installation." 343 Guilty Spark suddenly interrupted as he descended from the Control Room. Floating majestically under his own power, the monitor stopped between Johnson and Keyes; sensing that it would be best to stay close to the Reclaimers.
"The light bulb returns." Johnson sighed.
"Oracle?" The Arbiter questioned toward 343.
"You insist on calling me by such an unusual title." 343 muttered as he turned to face Johnson and Keyes. "Reclaimers, the flood outbreak upon this Installation is in direct result of this stations missing Monitor, 2401 Penitent Tangent. The Sentinels' programming has not been updated in nearly seven hundred of your years. By my estimations, the monitor has been missing for approximately seven hundred and seventy seven years, and the fighting has been ongoing for more then one hundred thousand years. It was only recently that the Quarantine Zone failed to contain them. The flood was unable to escape, even though they have been free for quite some time, they were unable to spread throughout the ring. Even without the monitor, this Installation's defenses have been active and fighting the flood. Meaning that the flood have been awake and active since the beginning."
"The beginning?" The Arbiter questioned.
Guilty Spark turned and faced the Arbiter. "Yes. The beginning of the Flood Wars."
- - - - - - - -
A train of three ghosts sped through a path of hills and trees. Palab, and his first team of six grunts, had been surveying the area for less than ten minutes when they approached a massive clearing. Luckily, Delta Halo was no longer in the shadow of the massive blue world, and the sunlight quickly engulfed the area. What they saw ahead of them placed most of Palab's section into immediate shock. Fourteen Phantoms were headed directly toward base camp. They were flying close to the ground; no more then twenty feet from the surface. The Brutes were coming. They had a sizeable attack force and were sneaking toward the base, trying to avoid detection.
"What we do?" One of the panicked grunts whimpered.
"We break radio silence, warn base." Palab stated. "Yammaeda, copy?" At the base, Yammaeda heard Palab's call and quickly picked up the com link. He knew that Palab would only break silence if there was immediate trouble.
"Report." Yammaeda stated sharply.
"Enemies to the west." Palab stated. "They come low. Fourteen Phantoms!"
"Get your team back here. I will prepare the defenses." Yammaeda stated.
"Wait!" Palab quickly stated. "They going faster now! Coming fast, very fast!"
"What?" Yammaeda then mumbled to himself, "No! They have already cracked the scrambled frequency. They have been listening in to Palab's every word."
"We're coming, but enemy beat us there." Palab stated as his section turned and began to race back to base.
Yammaeda disconnected the com and began to dash out of the room when the com suddenly popped on again.
"Yammaeda, do you copy? The brutes in the canyon have been defeated, and the Arbiter was successful in stopping Tartarus, a lot has happened here. Expect another update after I have spoken with the Arbiter. Phantoms of Elite and Hunter support should be arriving to the control room shortly… copy?"
Yammaeda reached for the com link, but paused inches before activating the response signal. He couldn't reply. The Commander told him to not make contact if the base was under attack. Yammaeda felt a sense of rejoice when he heard the Commander's voice, and hearing that they were successful was an added bonus. But now it was his turn to push back the brutes. His chances were slim, but he would fight them to the end. The commander would avoid the base at all cost now, leaving the survival of everyone in Yammaeda's experienced hands.
Yammaeda dashed out the door and down the stairs. As he passed the exit to the tower he slammed his fist against the alarm and the base become active with whistles. The four hunters sprung from their resting places and raced to the tower. Grunts poured from every ruin within the camp, scurrying across the ground as quickly as their stubby legs could carry them. The grunts littered the area around the tower and for the first time Yammaeda could see that his force was much larger then he first thought; despite it being made up of grunts.
"The Brutes are attacking from the west. Man stationary guns and fuel rod cannons." Yammaeda yelled to the army of grunts. His force was massive, but they were only Grunts, they wouldn't last long if the brutes made it into camp.
"Where Palab?" One of the Grunts questioned. Suddenly all the grunts were eager to know the location of the famed grunt leader.
"He was out on patrol, but he is on his way." Yammaeda firmly sated. "Quickly, to your positions, there is no time to waste." The grunts all scampered off nervously as the Yammaeda dashed through their numberes. The Four hunters quickly joined Yammaeda's side and followed him to the vehicle bunker. Inside the bunker, Yammaeda ran up to four grunts as they shivered near the three wraiths.
"I hope you have all practiced well." Yammaeda stated to the nervous grunts. "Let's go." The four grunts split up into two pairs and went to their respected wraith. They then powered up the wraiths, and the massive vehicles began to slowly head out into the open. "Not bad." Yammaeda commented. "Now I only hope they know how to aim." Yammaeda climbed into the reaming wraith and looked toward the hunters. "You have your orders. Fire from cover until the Brutes charge into camp, than release your rage upon them and make them regret ever harming your Hunter kin." The two hunter pairs roared and began running out of the ruins; following behind Yammaeda's tank. Two of the hunters then broke off from following the tanks and headed to the western region of the base. Their massive armor clanged loaded as they swiftly raced across the ruin's open clearing in the center of the camp, where a small group of grunts lay hidden with plasma cannons and fuel rods. There they stopped and waited for the Phantoms to breach the hills.
The entire camp was quite. The bustle and activity from before was reduced to only 2 visible hunters standing in a field and gazing toward the western hills. Within moments three phantoms roared over the hill.
"The first wave." Yammaeda thought to himself from his hidden position. "They aren't aware of our abilities, but knew that we would be waiting for them. Not bad, for a bunch of dumb brutes." The hunters fired their massive cannons at the phantoms as they came in range; streaming bursts of radiation that would mortally wound any other being that tried to wield its size and fire it. Two of the phantoms quickly lost control, broke away from the formation and begin to blindly fire their plasma turrets. The two hunters then focused on the one phantom that hadn't been hit. The combined power of their blast pierced the armor of the phantom and struck its fuel coil toward the rear. A lucky shot. The phantom exploded instantly, in a wave of blue flames. The mass of it crashed into the edge of the camp as small secondary fires erupted from within.
The hunters roared an approval as they turned their attention to the other two Phantoms that had broke formation. They had regained stability and their weapons were bearing down on the two lone hunters. The hunters crouched down, bringing their armor into a full defensive posture and raised their left arm shield. The plasma bursts from the Phantom rained down on them, and they waited for a chance to take a clear shot. With the two hunters pinned down, and unable to fight back, two more Phantoms crossed the hill and began to deploy ground troops. Jackals and brutes by the dozen were quickly massing at the top of the hill.
"They must have overloaded those Phantoms with troops." Yammaeda glared toward the two phantoms as troops descended from its belly. "Those Phantoms should only have a compliment of fourteen! That's why they were flying so low. This changes things." Yammaeda then communicated with the one of the grunt operated tanks. "Go, aim for the hill, they are gathering their troops there."
The first Wraith powered up and sped into view of the hill. A small squad of grunts raced along side of it in ghosts as ground support. The wraith fired a massive ball of plasma which arched across the sky and landed a few yards away from its target, but it was still good enough to kill a handful of jackals.
"Woohoo!" The two grunts inside the tank shouted in joy. "Me do again, this time kill them all." The Wraith fired several continuous volleys at the hill until all that remained was a few charred corpses. However, another phantom began to unload a specter and some ghosts, and they began to speed toward the wraith; pummeling the area in plasma fire.
"Ack!" The driver grunt screamed as his visual screen exploded. The wraith's canopy filled with smoke and the other grunt peered toward the grunt at his side. The driver was dead and the gunner began to panic. He pulled back on the trigger and hoped for the best. The tanks internal power cell was overloading because of the damage and the gunner had no clue of the danger he was in. The wraith tank exploded and the secondary fuel explosion sent a shockwave that destroyed two of the support ghosts at its side.
"Damn it!" Yammaeda cursed as he watched some of the grunts begin to panic. They ran from their cover and eagerly fired their weapons. "Not yet!" he screamed under his voice. But it was too late. Nearly half of his army of grunts had already fled cover and were firing their weapons blindly at the brute piloted specter that had destroyed the tank. The two hunters were still pinned down by the Phantom's fire but managed to get a few shots off; disabling two of the phantom's plasma turrets.
"Maintain discipline!" Yammaeda shouted, but no one could hear his words while he sat in his tank. Then he watched as several specters raced across the hill and began firing into the line of grunts. One of the Brutes got of a good shot and knocked down one of the hunters. The mighty creature slowly stumbled to his feet and his bond brother quickly stepped to his side to guard him, but left his back exposed. A bright purple flash streaked out of the corner of Yammaeda's eyes and killed the hunter with one shot between the gaps in the back of its armor. The hunter howled angrily as his bond brother crumbled to the ground. He became enraged and charged at a nearby specter, knocking it over and sending the crew crashing to the ground. He then aggressively thrashed his massive shield, slamming several brutes to the ground and dismantling others with the edge. The lifeless bodies fumbled to the ground as the hunter continued to unleash his rage.
A nearby brute witnessed this unyielding assault on his clan brothers and jumped from his ghost. He tossed down his weapon and madly stomped his fist into the dirt. He trampled five grunts in a single step and charged toward the lone hunter. His berserker rage would not be satiated till his hands smashed the target in his eyes. Sprinting on all fours, the brute stampeded across the field, growing even angrier as the hunter continued to slaughter jackals and brutes alike. More grunts were trampled under his feet, their plasma pistols only singeing his hide and adding to his rage. But suddenly the brute felt enormous pressure against his skull. His face was planted into the ground and blackness consumed his eyes. The other hunter pair had sprung from their cover and caught the brute blindsided. Purple blood exploded in the air as one of the hunters stomped the brute's skull into the stone paved ground, and it laughed in satisfaction.
"No need to hold back now." Yammaeda mumbled as he watched the two hunters fire their cannons into the attacking wave of brutes. "All forces advances. Wraith two, aim for the hill, try to keep those troops distracted. Ghost support, be aware, there are snipers to the North West; they're trying to flank us. Fuel rod gunners, aim for the snipers and level the area in plasma." Yammaeda powered his tank and speed out of cover. He heard several pings against his wraith's armor and realized that the snipers were now behind him. "Damn those jackals. They've surrounded us." He turned his tank and began to fire at the trees to the east of the camp. He then saw two phantoms unloading more specters and ghosts, with a full compliment of troops, behind the line of sniping jackals. He was the only one that saw the phantom, as the rest of his regiment focused on the troops approaching from the west.
"If this be my last battle then I die with a blade in my hand." Yammaeda throttled toward the jackals and snipers that were attempting to surround the camp, and fired his mounted guns. He pulled away from the combat zone, a faced the flanking troops alone. He accelerated as fast as he could get the wraith to move and overloaded the main gun. The wraith tank hummed loudly as it struggled to unleash its charging payload, but Yammaeda did not fire the main cannon. The hum grew louder and louder as the forward plasma cannons fired randomly at targets. He then planted a plasma grenade next to the man plasma coil for the gun and jumped from the cockpit. He tumbled to the ground and raised his eyes as the wraith plowed into the area of brutes and jackals, and exploded in a wave of super heated flames. The shockwave knocked him backward but he rolled and sprang to his feet. The two phantoms rumbled backwards from the intensity of the blast and collided into each other. They bounced against each other and spun out of control, crashing into a nearby rock face and rolling to the ground.
Yammaeda gritted at the sight, knowing that it would not have worked had the Phantoms not been so close to the ground. Flipping his plasma sword from his side clip he gave a mighty roar and his battle cry echoed into the wind. His energy sword exploded to life in an intense hiss of power. The blue haze from the elite's weapon created an eerie glow upon his black armor. The two brutes that survived the explosion, stunned and furious, charged toward him.
"Come beasts, I shall show you what a real warrior is capable of!" Yammaeda roared as he charged the two massive brutes. He swung his blade at the first brute, missing him by inches. The second brute grabbed Yammaeda from behind but the flexible elite twisted, freeing himself easily, he then lowered his blade and sliced the brute across his leg. The brute fell backwards gripping the wound and screaming in pain. Yammaeda was tempted to deliver the lethal blow but his instincts kicked in, sensing that the other brute was coming at him. He side stepped the other brute's massive fist and slashed its arms off with the blade. Spinning on his left heel, Yammeada struck the brute across the throat and continued the swing until he lopped off the head of the brute on the ground. The two brutes gargled and twitched until life had finally drained from their bodies. A lone jackal had witnessed this battle and dropped his weapon; retreating from the area.
The mighty elite, Yammaeda, watched the terrified jackal flee, and then turned and ran back to the battlefield to join his army of grunts. He looked ahead and could see that things were not good. The brutes were leveling the grunts in droves and the three hunters were out numbered. He watched as three brutes ganged up on one of the hunters and smashed his armor in with their claws. Then another hunter fell as it was overwhelmed by several brute shot grenades. Yammaeda knew that he may not be able to make a difference in turning the tide of the battle, but he would most certainly leave his mark.
- - - - - - - -
Six ghosts sped across the countryside toward the battle ahead. Palab couldn't believe how far away they had gone during their patrol, and the dense vegetation on Delta Halo wasn't helping. Explosions could be heard ahead and Palab feared the worst. Smoke began to rise from downed phantoms and stray volleys of plasma soared high into the air. Palab couldn't help but wonder why they were in such a hurry? How could twelve grunts help in a battle where hundreds of grunts were already fighting?
"We change formation." Palab yelled to the other ghosts racing behind him. "Fuel rod gunners to front, we take out vehicles first, then brutes. Etah, you take two ghosts with you, shoot down phantoms."
"What?" Etah shrieked." How I do that?"
"Brutes attacking base, many grunts die." Palab grumbled. "Brutes not watch Phantoms much longer. They leave phantoms and help fight. You sneak on, steal ship, blow up others." It was a solid plan, yet filled with holes and what ifs, but the time for rational thought was over. Palab had to help his brothers. His team of twelve grunts was racing to the rescue.
- - - - - - - -
Explosions rang throughout the region. Plasma grenade flares dotted the sky as grunts launched them with near expert precision. Brutes screamed as the sizzle from the blue haze warned them of their eminent deaths. But for every brute that was killed ten grunts would fall. Clearly outnumbered by the waves of grunts, the brutes used their power and bulk to smash their way through them; this was not a battle the grunts could win alone.
Yammaeda stabbed another brute and pushed its mass off of him. A nearby grunt aided Yammaeda to his feet and quickly began firing his needler into a nearby Brute. Yammaeda took a deep breath and glared into the wave of brutes, which were smashing and shooting his grunt army without remorse. The mighty spec ops elite was exhausted. He had already killed ten of the beasts, most of which he was forced to stab in the back while they chased or shot at grunts; not his typical battle tactic but affective. Yammaeda looked around to see if any brutes were in the area, gathered his breath and then looked the battlefield over.
Only one hunter remained, his armor was soaked in his own blood, yet he fought on valiantly. The grunts were scattered across the battlefield and some hid in ruins, fearing the inevitable. This was not how he had hopped this battle would fare. He had to pull them together. If he could rally the grunts then perhaps they could make a suitable stand, but getting the grunts to assemble was going to be a daunting task. He then noticed that some grunts were being successful with their ghosts, splattering two or three Brutes at a turn. He adjusted his helmet and raced toward the closest grunt driven ghost. He leapt on the back of the speeding vehicle, startling the grunt.
"Head to the farthest grunt packs that have been separated and rally them at the center tower." Yammaeda yelled over the hum of the ghost's engine. "We make our stand there. Tell the others as you pass them." Yammaeda jumped clear of the ghost and dashed into a crowd of grunts that were holding down an enraged brute. Yammaeda counted ten grunts pilled on top of the beast; each clawing and shooting the beast as best they could. Yammaeda jumped into the fray, stabbing the brute through its face with his blade. The grunts jumped off the dead corpse with satisfaction and aggressively looked for their next target.
"Gather at the base of the center tower. The others will join you there." Yammaeda watched the grunts scramble back toward the center tower shooting as they retreated. Despite their cowering nature, grunts in large packs were quite ferocious in battle. The group of ten retreated with textbook detail; two would shoot while eight would flee, and they switched to make sure no one was left behind.
Yammaeda turned and spotted another group of grunts being pinned down in a nearby ruin. He snuck up on the unsuspecting brutes and silently slit one's throat, then stabbed another in the back, covering its mouth so that it wouldn't scream. He looked at the other five brutes, still shooting toward the grunts inside the structure, and verified that they had not noticed him. Activating his camouflage, he then crept up toward them and tossed two plasma grenades he had picked up from a nearby fallen grunt; sticking them both on the back of two of the brutes. The brutes dropped their weapons and clawed at their backs but soon exploded with a satisfying thump. The other three brutes were now very aware of Yammaeda's presence, and turned to face him. They couldn't see him clearly, but their keen sense of smell made it possible for them to know his location; they had been to busy killing grunts to smell him earlier. Yammaeda charged, slashing one across the stomach and then raised his sword into the beast's chin; splitting its head upwards.
The other two brutes were pulverizing Yammaeda's shields with plasma fire, but he was too swift for them, and ducked behind a nearby pile of rubble. He didn't have much time to let his shields recharge as two grenades landed at his feet. Using his incredible leg strength, he leapt across the rubble and stabbed the first brute as the grenades exploded behind him. The other brute became enraged and tossed its weapon in blind fury. Yammaeda dashed at him, and before the brute could start its rampage it collapsed on top of itself. Yammaeda sliced its torso in half. The brute's hide was tough, but an elite moving at full speed and using all it's strength, was apparently tougher.
Yammeada slid into the ruin and collapsed beside the grunts. Exhaustedly saying; "Gather at the tower with the others, we will make our stand there."
"We help you." One of the grunts stated. "You wounded." Yammaeda hadn't noticed it, but his shields had fallen completely and his side was searing with a plasma burn. Once he noticed the wound, he felt the pain. Gritting his mandibles together, he stood to his feet and readied his blade.
"Go." Yammaeda was stunned that the grunts wanted to help him, but he'd never allow for these unranked grunts to have the pleasure. Despite his trust in Palab, he still knew that the Grunts were beneath him. "I will cover your retreat." The grunts scurried out of the ruins and fled toward the tower. Yammaeda looked over the battlefield again, seeing that the grunts were successfully retreating to the tower, and they were gaining more confidence as they clustered together. When one grunt fell two more took its place. The massive brute shots were a problem, but two grunts on ghosts remained and they quickly cut down any of the brutes with the massive weapons. The battle was still winless, but things were looking up.
Yammaeda stepped from the cover of the ruins and took a deep breath. The Brutes were massing together, preparing for a final push at the grunts that had gathered at the control tower. Yammaeda had to rally them, inspire them with his presence. He ran to the front of the battle line near the control tower. Put his back to the grunts and faced his enemy. The grunts growled in unison at the brutes that stood before them; snapping and aggressively slamming their fists on the ground. They wanted blood, and with their combined numbers, they felt they had a chance to win.
Yammaeda liked the sound; it was a thunderous roar to his ears. The brutes seemed to be taken back by the sound, unsure what to make of it. Yammaeda knew the sound, he had heard it many times in battle whenever the grunts were at his side in a large number, but never had he had this many grunts carry the growl all at once. A slight grin crossed his face as he stared into the brute's ranks. His army had the brutes outnumbered, outgunned and out motivated. The brutes numbered twenty and the grunt numbers were down to only sixty; plus the two remaining ghosts. They could win this battle. Yammaeda's army and the Brutes were at a stand off, each waiting to see which group would make the next move. But something happened, the grunts stopped growling.
One by one the grunts began to collapse on the ground. Yammaeda looked around but suddenly his arms grew heavy and he couldn't hold his blade. His shields flickered and enormous pain seared into his chest. He fell to his knees and looked to the western hills. Yammaeda cursed at himself for forgetting about them. In the heat of battle he had overlooked their presence and only focused on the brutes. Gathering his grunts together had only made them an easier target, and by standing with them he had doomed himself.
"Damn you... jackal." Yammaeda crumbled forward as the grunts began shooting in all directions. But the jackals were well hidden from their eyes, and picked them apart one by one. Yammaeda wanted to close his eyes, to imagine that he was going to die by the hands of one of the brutes that was now thundering toward his confused army, but that wouldn't be his fate. He was dieing from the sniper shot of a jackal, perhaps even the jackal that he had let run off. Life drained from his body as he rolled his eyes to see the brutes stampeded into his line of grunts. His last breath escaped his lungs and the sound of his grunt army screaming filled his ears. His vision darkened and slowly everything became silent.
- - - - - - - -
Four ghosts climbed the western hill behind the Brutes landing zone. As expected, they had all gone to fight, leaving the phantoms unguarded. Palab and his unit of eight grunts charged over the hill, leaving Etah and his team to deal with the Phantoms. Palab sped down the hill and witnessed the last stand of Doz Yammaeda. Three purple streaks of energy split through Yammaeda's chest. Palab spotted the jackal's encampment as they fired their sniper beams, and silently killed the last of the grunts near the tower even further. Palab lead three ghosts toward the battlefield while one ghost streaked toward the jackals.
The jackals had no idea of what was coming at them. Each of the jackals looked at the green flare, it was so small that they could barely recognize it. But it quickly dawned on them that this was not a good thing. The green flare soon exploded at their feet, sending their screaming bodies into several directions. Two more bombardments soon followed and the jackals had been silenced. The grunt then turned his ghost back toward the battlefield, and his rider reloaded his fuel rod cannon.
Palab, leading three ghosts, sped down the hill, pushing the engines as hard as he could. The other ghosts streaked behind him and the fourth was quickly trying to catch up. Yammaeda was dead and Palab had watched him fall with his own eyes. This meant that he was now in charge, and his grunts were dieing. The brutes were slamming through his grunts easily, and he could tell that his kin were confused and lost without the strength of the elite.
"Faster!" Palab yelled as he throttled the ghost, but it was already at top speed. He was finally in range and he yelled to his squad, "Fire!"