Welcome to chapter 11, old fans and new alike. You'll get more of what you must have been craving; that's it, ACTION, BABY! Some skulls're gonna get smashed this chap.! Hail the Immortal Hunter, NOW AND FOREVER!
Chapter 11, "And Crown thy Blood with Honorhood".
A bloody battle it would be. The pack of vile monsters before us drew their Brute Shot grenade launchers, and whatever else was at hand. My Hunters and the Elites took up position in the front, while the Grunts charged in head-first. The Brutes merely swept them aside, as if they were no threat at all. They were terribly mistaken. The Grunts began their part of the plan, though it cost most their lives; they jumped onto the Brutes, plasma grenades armed, and detonated while still hanging on to the unexpecting beasts. For the first time in ages, we actually…laughed! Half a legion of Brutes had fallen to a pack of Grunts! Our laughter was short-lived, however, as the remainder berserked at the death of their comrades. "Positions, men! Don't let one survive our onslaught." The Commander ordered, and we threw ourselves to the task wholeheartedly. I fired before all others, determined to root these vermin from our memories and carry onward. I wasn't the last, of course; nine other Hunters, a squad of Elites, and our remaining but strong willed Grunts launched a barrage of plasma bolts, crystalline needles, plasma grenades, and plasma mortars flew through the air and into the rampaging Brutes dead set on killing us. None survived. In the midst of the Aftermath, a flurry of pods dropped from the sky to our position. We prepared to fight whatever came out.
The pods jettisoned their front hatches, and Elites jumped out of them. "Ha! Over so soon?!" the highest ranking Elite asked with a hint of sarcasm. He was clad in golden armor, and carried the ceremonial Energy Sword only a High Commander could wield under the Covenant set of laws. "Loud entrance, no? So much for a stealthy advance." One of our original Elites snickered. "We got company!" one of the Grunts snarled. "Drones, over the top of the mountain!" The High Commander announced much to our surprise. Drones were no threat to us, but the fact remained that they usually led packs of Brutes along their path. "With all do respect, H. Commander," I queried, "why should we worry about a squadron of Drones?" "Don't let that small party fool you. On our Cruiser we identified an entire swarm on the other side, attempting to fight off the few Humans who remained here after the tower incident." He answered. "So that explosion was a result of Human activity…" I wondered. Then I spawned one of my most ingenious ideas yet. "Alright, gather around. I've got a plan." I called to the others. They did so, and I told them my plan: we would divide into four shock teams, designed to make guerilla hit-and-runs on the Brutes' camps. Each team would be composed of five Elites, ten Grunts, and two Hunters. We studied a suitable plan for each team to perform, and got ready for the greatest battle of our lives. Another, bloodier battle awaited my team over the mountain.
My team, consisting of another Hunter, the Commander and four other Elites and Grunts followed a tunnel dug through the mountain by the Brutes, and walked for half an hour through the winding passage. At 0230 P.M., we exited the cave at the other end, to enter a camp. And isn't that just our luck; we stood there, looking face to face at a pack of them. "How nice of you to drop in. It won't be a long stay, I can assure you." The lead beast grunted, and his fellows followed suit. "Much obliged, but we're going to have to halt that process; you'll be too dead to kill any of us!" The Commander sarcastically replied, and we engaged them. The lead Brute charged and tackled the Commander, while I dispatched several that were dumb enough to be standing in a cluster. The radiation from mine and my comrade's cannons sliced through their bare skin. At that moment, several other packs rushed into the scene, and things really intensified from there. Two jumped me and began pummeling me from all sides, and I became disoriented. I was conscious enough to take my shield to the first thing I saw, and it crushed the Brutes skull with ease. Needless to say, the others didn't take kindly to that action, and tackled me. I fell to the ground on my back. Meanwhile, the Commander was on the ground as well, pinning the Brute Captain and trying to disarm his Brute Shot. An unexpected ally came to our aid.
A flurry of Grenades flew through the air, and detonated right under the Brutes. Shrapnel pierced their already battered skin, and they all fell to the ground. "Well well well, look what we have here." The dark skinned man said, walking in as if nothing had just happened. "Human, you will die for-"an Elite started, but was interrupted. "No, stand down. We have no reason to fight them anymore." The High Commander yelled, and he and his team marched in with him. "I see we've finally come to an understandin" The Human leader said to him. "I'm Sergeant Johnson. I'm guessin this raggedy pack of Elites is yours?" he asked, with sarcasm.
"What are you doing here, Human?" I asked him, as I had learned to speak the Humans language. "My name ain't "Human", it's Johnson, and we're trying to stop those Brutes from activatin this ring," He replied, "what about you?" "Avenging the deaths of our brothers at the hands of the aforementioned." The H. Commander responded. "Seein as we're after the same goal, why don't we make up for all those years of fightin and join up?" he asked. As if on cue, another squadron of the Brutes showed up in our faces. "Positions!" the H. Commander ordered. I wasn't going to wait to get jumped; I charged into the middle of the pack and prepared to give them a piece of what had been waiting for them.
It was an exhilarating battle. I rushed them, and disengaged my shield. I threw a barrage of both frag. and plasma grenades at them, and proceeded to cut them down with an Energy Sword. I was shot in the back with both a Carbine and a Brute Shot, and fell unconscious to the ground. I was actually dead for a few minutes, but then I remembered the Dem-… Master Chief. I had to learn something about him: his strength, his reasons, how he had come to be the killing machine he is. At this, I remembered Xercs, and then Karn…Karn had been right, and I had slain him in cold blood. He had died in vain, by my hand. I began to question my own life, and if it was worth living. I had always thought we were dying for a good cause, but everything that had happened prior to my resignation from the Covenant was a huge lie. But I would have to think about this after I saved my new comrades. I awoke absolutely bewildered as to who and where I was, but it passed. I stood, and bumped into the Brute Captain. This more than shocked him, and I took his petrified state as a welcome opportunity to swoop in behind him and strangle him. I got in position, and snapped his neck. Another jumped, and clamped onto my back. I couldn't get him off, but Johnson jumped into the scene and crushed the beast's back with a clubbing from his rifle. Free of the burden, I picked up a pistol-and crushed the tiny firearm in my hand. Blast it. I traded the crumpled gun with a Plasma Rifle, and it too broke. Cursed small items! I was interrupted in my search for a large weapon by a bayonet in the face. "You little- how dare you strike me?!" I roared at the Brute. I turned my back to him, thrust up my spikes, and ran him through into a rock. "Damn son, that's some mighty fine work!" Johnson gave a low whistle of approval. "I'd watch my back if I were you." I said, pointing at the Brute Capt. "I got it covered." He smugly replied, all the while shooting it in the face.
A massive explosion rocked the ground beneath us. Something with tremendous power was headed our way.
End of chapter 11. Review my work! DO IT, OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!