Eve of Fate
Chapter 7: The Hammer
"We're coming up on the gravity lift! Get ready!" Elias shouted to the Warthogs following.
The three Warthogs sped down the road and suddenly came to a halt. There were now right in front of the gravity lift, with the Covenant vessel hovering above them.
The lift's platform was at least three meters high, with sloping sides to easily move from the top of the platform to the street level. Stationary shield generators were set up at key positions around the lift alongside heavier material for cover, and the occasional plasma turret.
The lift itself was sheltered from behind and to the sides with taller buildings, leaving only one direction open, and in that direction, a road passed by it.
Caught in the middle of the road behind the wrecks of their Warthogs was the pinned down team. It appeared as though their vehicles were taken out by an explosive; probably a fuel rod gun due to the positioning of the Warthogs. They were now all that protected the soldiers from harm.
Dismounting, the Master Chief let another soldier take the LAAG, while he and Elias met with the soldiers. Most of them were wounded, and only two were dead – their bodies were located a slight distance from the Warthogs, possibly cut down by the turrets as they attempted to make a run for safety.
"What's your status?" the Master Chief asked the lead soldier.
"We're fine," he replied. "We've just got to get the hell out of here!"
"Alright then," Elias said. "Get to the Warthogs and mount up – we'll be heading back to base after this."
The Master Chief then stopped Elias.
"Elias, we have to take the ship down."
Elias and the team lead stared at the Master Chief in shock.
"Come again?" the team lead asked.
"If we leave the ship alone, it will only solidify its position here and establish another forward base for the Covenant, just like at the arcology. This position would be ideal for them to deploy infantry. Unless we'd want to deal a heavily defended position in the future, it would be best if we remove the ship now and prevent the Covenant from doing this."
Elias's face still wore his face of shock over the Master Chief's idea.
"Chief, with all due respect, you're right," he finally said. "But we don't have enough guys to take a ship. Besides, we have to get these guys out of here first."
"I'm going up alone," the Master Chief explained. "If I bring any soldiers up into a Covenant ship, they'll only be cut down even quicker. Just give me enough ammunition and I'll be fine on my own."
There was nothing Elias would have been able to do to change the Master Chief's mind, but the most he would be able to do was give him his Battle Rifle ammunition. Calling over another soldier, he too gave the Master Chief his ammunition. The team lead then handed forth his Battle Rifle.
"Take my weapon – you'll need it."
His Battle Rifle wasn't drastically different from the usual Battle Rifles, with the exception of the 40mm pump action grenade launcher fitted in place of the hand guard.
"I've got six 40mm frags and thirty something shotgun shells," the team lead said, handing forth the types of ammunition. "I haven't tried to the shotgun shells, but I hear those 40's can tear an Elite in half up close."
The Master Chief did not doubt that power – a shotgun shell of that size had to be stronger than the typical 8 gauge magnum.
"Thanks soldier."
The team lead gave a mock salute.
"No problem sir. Give 'em hell."
The Master Chief strapped as many clips of ammunition to his suit and dumped the rest into the satchel. He also checked the Warthog and decided to take with him the remaining C-12 as well as the frag grenades. He was now ready.
"Elias, give me some covering fire and get out as soon as I get into the lift" the Master Chief ordered.
"Got it," Elias replied, sending a soldier up to the LAAG.
"Now!"
The soldiers operating the LAAG's opened fire, forcing the Covenant defenders to get down. While they did so, the Master Chief ran up to the lift platform and cleared the area with his SMG. As soon as he finished, he got into the lift and was carried up into the loading bay of the ship.
Once inside, the Master Chief looked around. The loading bay was practically the same as that of the Truth and Reconciliation. It brought back some memories for the Spartan, but he quickly shook them off as he heard the sounds of footsteps.
Taking cover behind several crates, the Master Chief waited as a force of Covenant came through one of the doors and stood around the gravity lift's entrance. Daring a look, the Master Chief counted two Hunters, four Elites, and a several Grunts and Jackals. They were waiting for him to get into the ship. Had the Master Chef been a few seconds late, he would have ran into this group.
He noted their formation and how intent they were on expecting an attack from the lift. This left their rear undefended. There were too many of them and not enough cover to sneak by them – and the weapons the Master Chief was carrying were not silent.
He had no choice but to fight, and when he did, he needed to be ready to fight a lot of Covenant.
Reaching for one of the 40mm grenades, the Master Chief loaded it and flipped up the sights for the grenade launcher. The grenades did not have the blast radius of the normal fragmentation grenades, but against individual armoured targets, they a more potent weapon.
The Master Chief aimed for one of the Hunters, specifically at its unprotected back. When he fired, the grenade impacted against its back, burrowing itself into the soft flesh of the Hunter before detonating. The explosion blew the Hunter's midsection apart, killing off the giant armoured alien.
The Master Chief immediately opened up with several bursts into the backside of the second Hunter, and was able to finish it off just after the others noticed the Spartan's presence. He then used the remainder of the clip to take down a Jackal and a few Grunts.
Plasma lashed out at the Master Chief, his shields and the crate protecting him from harm. Ducking behind the crate, the Master Chief reloaded and began to fire again, starting with the Elites. The three round bursts cut two of the four Elites down before the magazine went empty.
Instead of reloading, the Master Chief took out his SMG and charged at the Elites, firing as he ran. The sixty round magazine rapidly emptied out into the first Elite, taking down the shield and riddling the alien warriors chest with 5mm bullets. The Elite roared once in pain before it dropped dead to the deck.
The Master Chief then emptied out the last few bullets of his SMG into the remaining Elite, dropping its shields close to failure. He then struck the Elite with the butt of the SMG twice, the first finishing the shields and the final strike killing the Elite.
The Grunt and Jackals, seeing their superiors cut down by the Spartan, ran away in fear. The Master Chief reloaded and finished the last of them off.
After taking a brief moment to reload his Battle Rifle, the Master Chief searched the corpses of the Elites and found three plasma grenades, and decided to pick up one of their plasma rifles as well. The Battle Rifle's accurate but slow burst would be less than ideal in close quarters.
With a plasma rifle in his left hand and an SMG in his right, the Master Chief continued out of the loading bay. He needed to get to the bridge first, to disable the gravity lift and shields so that he would be able to get out of here later, as well as find a way to scuttle the ship and set it in another direction so that when it doesn't hit the city.
From the ground, the Master Chief recognized the design of the ship to be a CCS-class battle cruiser, the same class as that of the Truth and Reconciliation. The design of the ships had to be the same, so the bridge had to be in the same location.
Recalling the path that he had taken to the bridge in the beginning, the Master Chief retraced his steps along this ship. Along the way, the Master Chief was met with mild resistance from scattered groups of Elites with Grunts, all of which were relatively easy to deal with.
As the Master Chief moved along, however, he wasn't able to shake the feeling that he was going into this blind. For a moment, he was hoping that Cortana would give him some intel on incoming enemy movement or even break the tension with some offbeat comment, but he was then reminded of how she was no longer just a piece of programming, but an actual person now.
Remembering that, the Master Chief then realized how much he actually missed her during the course of the fighting.
Regardless, the Master Chief followed the path he knew and got closer to the bridge. Opening a door, the Master Chief walked in and was able to recognize the telltale design of the Covenant bridge – namely the raised platform with circling holographic panels, as well as the number of Grunts and Elites inside.
Raising his dual wielded SMG and plasma rifle, the Master Chief tore into Elites first, hoping the break the moral of the Grunts. The plasma rifle ate away at their shields while the SMG chipped away at it until their shields finally broke, where the 5mm bullets then tore through the Elite's chest plate.
The Spartan did so until the SMG's clip was empty, and the plasma rifle overheated. Instead of waiting or reloading, the Master Chief dropped the two weapons and pulled out his Battle Rifle. To finish off the Covenant soldiers a little easier, the Master Chief loaded a grenade and fired, watching as the explosive took out a trio of Grunts as well as an Elite. He then resumed firing and promptly killed the last of the Covenant inside.
Suddenly, the door opened, and another Elite walked in. Turning to face it, the Master Chief noticed its gold armour – it was the Shipmaster. Activating an energy sword, the Elite charged, and the Master Chief fired while backpedaling.
The Elite was too fast, however, getting close enough for it to swing its sword. The Master Chief dropped below it and avoided the blade. Standing back up, the Master Chief struck the butt end of his rifle at the Elite, the impact taking the shields down and stunning the Elite momentarily. The Spartan pulled the trigger, but realized he had expended the clip. With the Elite recovering now, he had to think fast. There was no time to reload, and the Elite was too close.
Reaching into his satchel for one of the shotgun shells, the Master Chief loaded it into the grenade launcher and fired just as the Elite raised its sword. The grenade launcher boomed as the shell left the muzzle of the weapon and hit the Elite's chest. The impact simply tore the alien warrior in half in a brilliant cloud of purple gore.
The Elite dropped to the floor, dead, while the Master Chief unloaded the empty shell and walking along towards the displays. Looking over them, the Master Chief tried to figure out which one belonged to the needed function. The translation software in his suit was only accurate to a certain degree, so the rest had to be pure luck.
The translations helped him to figure out which displays and functions was for disabling the gravity lift and the shields. As he pressed the display, diagrams opened all showing images for what he had just done. Judging from the diagrams, he had just disabled the shields and lift.
Looking around the rest of the bridge, the Master Chief then found what appeared to be the navigation controls, made evident from the various images of the city and plotting information. Tapping the holograms, the Master Chief selected a destination outside the city and plotted it, and also set the speed as well. The ship jerked, and the images displayed the change in direction.
All of that handled where the ship would end up, but as for how to bring it down, the Master Chief was still attempting to figure that out. He then remembered the coolant. The coolant is used extensively to keep the engines under a certain temperature. If he destroyed the pump, and prevented it from reaching the engines, the engines would then overheat and perhaps detonate, and then the ship would bring itself down.
Pulling up the schematics for the ship, the Master Chief found the coolant pump and uploaded its directions to his suit, as well as the directions to the fighter bay.
Satisfied with his work, the Master Chief took out the remains of his C-12 and divided it, saving a bit of it for later. He needed to prevent the Covenant from tampering with the settings. Molding it around all the various controls, the Master Chief then inserted and set the detonators for ten seconds and then got off the bridge.
After determining the proper heading, the Master Chief was on his way to the coolant pump.
A white armoured SpecOps Elite named Ioyul 'Ikorji surveyed the remains of the bridge of the Strength and Faith. All the displays and controls were destroyed by some type of explosive. It had now rendered all means of controlling the ship impossible.
Worse, the saboteur had locked in a set flight path and disabled the shields. Without the bridge controls, it was impossible to reset them. All around him, soldiers watched the area while the Engineers attempted to repair the damage. It was of no success, however, since the explosive used to sabotage the controls destroyed everything.
While the others grumbled in anger and self-pity over how a human was able to infiltrate and disable the ship, 'Ikorji admired how the human had done so. The human must have been able to recognize that the only method of efficiently disabling the ship would be to sabotage the controls, and that was what the human had done. Better yet, the human had fought a number of their forces while getting up to the bridge, and it was victorious against all of them.
Of course, he did not share his admiration of the human with the others.
Ioyul 'Ikorji was different from the typical Elite. While he was from a strict noble family that hated the humans as much as the Covenant allowed, he grew up recognizing them as an interesting race worthy of learning about. They were not the primitive infidels that the Covenant made them appear, but rather an adaptive and clever species that was different from anything he had yet to see. While the Covenant insisted on wiping them off the face of the galaxy, 'Ikoji wanted to offer them the hand of peace and include them into the Covenant, or at least offer them the fair and honourable fight they deserved.
He kept his views suppressed, knowing that if anybody caught on, he would be arrested and punished for heresy. Due to this, he acted along with the Covenant standards.
"'Ikorji, get over here!" one of the Elites shouted. 'Ikorji walked over and spoke with him, who sat in front of a computer uplink device that was hooked up to the rest of the ship's surveillance system.
The eight other Elites that were gathered on the bridge were part of 'Ikorji's SpecOps unit. They were a handful of some of the finest warriors in the Covenant. All of them were exceptionally well trained and skilled in all aspects of combat.
However, the self thought of them being superior to the ordinary Covenant soldier resulted in them being overeager and overconfident.
"Our surveillance system has found the human. It was the Demon who has done all this! It is moving closer to the engine rooms."
"Is the Demon trying to destroy our engines? A pitiful effort from an equally pitiful species" another Elite joked.
The Demon? 'Ikorji remembered hearing the horror stories that were passed along about a human soldier who was responsible for thousands of Covenant deaths, and was also responsible for the destruction of Halo. It made sense now that the saboteur in question was the Demon.
"I am sending all available units to the engine room," one of the Elites shouted as he sent the order. "We shall meet the Demon and slay it there. I suggest we move there too and wait for it."
The Elites then gathered their weapons and began to move. They hurried through the hallways and headed for the engine rooms.
"The others are there already! Let us hurry!" an Elite shouted.
As they all ran, 'Ikorji was thinking. Why would the Demon be heading towards the engines? Unless the Demon had a weapon powerful enough to damage the engines directly, any effort to even harm the engines was hopeless.
But was the Demon actually trying to head for the engines? That was only an assumption. If it wasn't then there must be another target of opportunity that could be used. The only other target close to the engines would have to be…
'Ikorji stopped, much to the dismay of his teammates.
"The coolant pumps. The Demon is after the coolant pumps."
The other Elites stared at 'Ikorji, puzzled with his proclamation.
"If the human is to disable the engines, the only possible method would be to disable to coolant pumps. When those are disabled, the coolant will no longer reach the engines, and after that, the temperature will result in the engines overheating and eventually detonating. The detonation of the engines would bring the ship down for sure."
A look of shock and fear swept over the Elites. It then turned into determination, and drove the Elites into a bloodthirsty frenzy.
"By the Prophets!" one of the Elites yelled in dismay. "Send an order for our units in the engine rooms to proceed to the coolant pumps!"
The order was resent, much to the frustration of the Elite sending the messages, and the group was back to running again. As they got closer, they slowed down and readied their weapons. The group carried plasma rifles and a number of grenades, and they also employed active camouflage.
'Ikorji used only the camouflage and for a weapon, he preferred an energy sword. For him, the plasma rifles and pistols were crude and not poetic enough for civilized combat. An energy sword was a simple, yet elegant and deadly weapon that required grace and knowledge to use. For the most part, 'Ikorji thought of it as a more civilized weapon for a more civilized time.
'Ikorji, however, had yet to figure out why he was laughed at and ridiculed immensely every time he mentioned it.
"Where are the other units?" 'Ikorji asked, curious to know.
"They are still on their way. It would be us hunting the Demon for quite a bit before they arrive."
'Ikorji could identify the pride in the Elite's voice when he said that. They would be the ones to finish the Demon off, without the help of the other soldiers.
The small group then came up on a hallway that split into two paths, both going opposite directions. They were at the coolant pumps. Splitting into two teams of our, they proceeded along and into the rooms.
There were two rooms that held the coolant tanks, each built side by side and connected by the entrance into them. Clear storage tanks that carried the blue-green chilled fluid stood as high as the ceiling, all built together in five rows within a roughly waist high base. The space between each row was less than that of the hallways, making it a playground almost perfect for close quarters.
This was only the storage part, however. The real part was below, where the tanks of coolant were pumped into and all around the ship, particularly to the engines. If the Demon wanted to sabotage them, he would be there. The only way down to the pumps was with the stairs located at the back of the storage room.
'Ikorji waved his team over and they proceeded carefully towards the entrance to the stairs. The storage tanks were cold to touch, and they restricted movement. If he needed to fight here, it would be difficult attempting to do so.
"Engage active camouflage" one of the Elites quietly ordered.
'Ikorji followed and did so, watching as his body disappeared before him. Cautiously, the three other members of his team approached the door with plasma rifles raised. Automatically opening, they were relieved that were wasn't anything behind it.
"It is clear. Let us continue."
One of the Elites was about to walk forward, but 'Ikorji almost instantly realized there was something wrong. Leaping forward and holding back the Elite, 'Ikorji took a closer look.
Just barely off the floor was a tripwire, possibly an optical cord, with one end connected to the wall and another to a human fragmentation grenade. Of course the Demon mined the paths. It was smart enough to do so, in order to stop soldiers like them from following him.
'Ikorji activated his energy sword and brought it close to the wire, letting the blade melt the wire and render to trap useless. Looking back up at the one who almost walked into it, 'Ikorji noted the look of relief on his face – all it needed was just one step and the grenade would have killed them all.
"Send a message to the other team to be on the lookout for more-"
There was then a dull explosion that sounded as though it came from the other side. 'Ikorji knew exactly what that sound was of - the other team had triggered a trap. 'Ikorji muttered a prayer for those who might have been lost by the trap. Did they move too fast? Were they not aware enough of their surroundings?
Whatever the reason, it now meant that they had to be careful not to fall into any of the Demon's traps. It also meant bad news for them – the Demon knew it was being pursued, and it foreshadowed their pending fight.
They proceeded down through the stairs, with 'Ikorji leading the way. By the time they made it down to the pumps level, he had found two other traps made with the human grenades. The Demon knew how to improvise extremely well.
Opening the door, they walked into the pump level which existed right below the storage rooms and fanned out, watching for where the Demon was. This room was the same as the storage room above them, with sets of machinery restricting movement and blocking vision. But the pumps also held an additional hazard – the dim lighting. The best 'Ikorji and his Elites could do was squint and barely spot the detail from the walls and machinery.
It left them at a severe disadvantage.
The squad realized this and decided to split up and take separate areas – two would patrol the pumping station and try to find any potential explosives the Demon might have planted, while 'Ikorji watched one section of the storage room, and the last doing the same with the other storage room. That way, it kept the Demon contained and allowed them all to narrow down where the Demon was at. If the Demon was found, they would all converge on where it was reported at.
As 'Ikorji got into position, he felt something was wrong. With the squad split up, it was now easier for the Demon to fight each one individually. While a team of SpecOps were strong, how would they fare against a human that has killed countless Covenant soldiers with relative ease?
'Ikorji hid away in a corner close to the door leading down to the pumps and kept his active camouflage engaged. Standing very still so that he would not be seen easily, 'Ikorji turned his communication link with the rest of his team open so he would be able to listen in on their status.
"Check over there."
"I am searching! This place is so dark, I cannot see!"
"Wait – I found something."
"What is it?"
"Wiring. What is it-"
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion – far too loud to be a gunshot. It had to be a grenade of some sort. 'Ikorji tried to contact the two that were down there, but he received nothing. Where they dead?
"The Demon is down there!" the remaining Elite watching the other storage room shouted. "'Ikorji, let us find and kill it!"
"No! Stop, do not move!" 'Ikorji urged, but the Elite did not comply.
The situation had taken a turn for the worse. All that was left now was just 'Ikorji and an overactive Elite that was running into certain doom.
'Ikorji then moved, not to follow the Elite going in, but to find a better position. It would soon be him against the Demon, and he was looking forward to doing battle with the human's finest warrior.
The Elite ran through the stair well, tripping but managing to quickly run through the grenade traps, passing by with his shields falling to less than half way before it emerged through the door and looked around, plasma rifle at ready. It brashly marched through, looking around for the Demon. All it found were the remains of its teammates.
Suddenly, several bursts rang out, catching the Elite in the head and upper chest. Before the Elite was able to find where the fire was coming from, its shields were already disabled and a trio of bullets pierced through its elongated helmet.
The Master Chief quickly swapped out his magazine and emerged from behind the machinery.
He had gotten down to the pumping stations and before working, took a few frag grenades and made traps out of them. Planting them at the doorways with two more in the stairways, the Master Chief did so to stall whatever Covenant patrols were after him, and to use as a warning for when they were closing in.
After the first trap was tripped, the Master Chief set another inside the pumping station, hidden by the darkness, and the two Elites that searched the area tripped that one. The fragmentation grenades helped against the Elites, but actually did very little damage to the pumps themselves.
That was where the C-12 came in. The bits that he had left would be enough for the job.
Planting the last of it, the Master Chief set five minutes on the detonators and hid them well. He wasn't sure how long it would take for the engines to overheat, so the extra margin of five minutes helped.
The Master Chief then updated the timer in his HUD and began to move. It was time to get out. There was a fighter bay with a Banshee still docked, and that was his ticket off the ship.
Running up the stairway that connected the coolant storage room to the pumps, the Master Chief got out and headed for the door, but he stopped as he heard something. Raising his Battle Rifle, the Master Chief looked around and tried to spot the target.
There was nothing.
The Master Chief was not convinced. The Elites who fell to his traps were SpecOps, and they used active camouflage extensively. There had to be at least one of them still left over, watching and waiting for the Master Chief to fall into its trap.
Keeping his rifle raised and ready, the Master Chief sidestepped slowly and checked in between each row of coolant tanks. Occasionally checking behind him, the Master Chief continued until he thought he saw something shimmer. Stopping to look, the Master Chief saw nothing.
He then fired a series of bursts at the tanks of coolant, sending globs of the thick fluid flying through the air. While most fell to the floor, some of it spilled on something, giving away the shape of a camouflaged Elite.
The Master Chief immediately fired another burst at the shape.
Before the bullets were able to hit, the target moved away. The Master Chief checked around him, but again, he found nothing. He had no time for this, but there was no way to get out of here without at least harming the camouflaged Elite.
The method of using the coolant, however, had worked quite well.
The Master Chief opened fire upon the rest of the tanks of coolant, starting at the lowest point of the storage tank and then shooting the highest. The thick super chilled liquid sprayed and gathered on the floor, while the obstructive storage tanks fell to the floor and slow streams of coolant leaked from the ceiling. It removed the closed quarters that the storage room once had, giving the Master Chief a clearer line of fire, and an ability to track the camouflaged Elite.
The Spartan then spotted the invisible Elite, with patches of coolant covering its shoulders and head. It looked in the direction of the Master Chief and ran off, trying to get out of the Master Chief's line of fire.
The Master Chief expended a clip trying to hit the invisible Elite and quickly reloaded. He looked down at the floor, covered with the coolant. He then spotted a trail of footprints printed in them. Creeping along and following them, the Master Chief kept alert.
While the storage tanks were gone, there was still the slight wall of coolant that leaked from the ceiling. It was clear, but it still ruined the Master Chief's line of sight.
Suddenly, something leapt out of the wall of coolant and pushed the Master Chief back causing him to stumble back into the next row, head over heels. Managing to recover in time, the Master Chief looked up from where he fell down at and saw the undeniable shape of an Elite beneath a layer of coolant.
Unexpectedly, the Elite deactivated its active camouflage. Judging from its armour, it was an 'Ultra,' a SpecOps Elite. They were notoriously strong and extremely well trained.
With a flick of its wrist, it activated its energy sword.
'Ikorji shivered slightly beneath the coolant that covered him. The Demon was intelligent – it had used the coolant to track him down, and had done so quite nicely.
The Demon was kneeling before him. It was a remarkable specimen – an ordinary human underneath, but reinforced and enhanced by its green bulky armour. The Demon looked up at him, but all 'Ikorji could see was his own reflection in its gold visor.
It unnerved 'Ikorji greatly – how was the Demon reacting to this? Was it frightened, unsure, or simply defiant?
Worse, was the Demon confident?
Regardless, 'Ikorji raised his sword and swung down. The Demon rolled out of the way and started to move. Why was the Demon running? Was it unable to fight? Or was it trying to gain distance between itself and 'Ikorji?
'Ikorji followed, trying to keep up. The Demon then turned and fired its rifle, some of the bullets hitting 'Ikorji's shields. Getting down and avoiding the brunt of the attack, 'Ikorji continued to move. He caught up and swung his sword laterally, but watched as the Demon ducked below it.
Then, the Demon quickly got up and struck 'Ikorji across the head with the butt of its weapon. The Demon had to be somehow machine enhanced – the strike sent 'Ikorji stumbling back, his eyes unfocused from the hit.
'Ikorji recovered quickly and resumed his chase, but the Demon was already ahead of him. Reaching into a satchel it had slung over its shoulder, the Demon pulled something out and inserted it into a device below its rifle and fired.
Suddenly, 'Ikorji's shields failed as the weapon gave off its loud report. 'Ikorji fell for a moment, his chest burning in pain with blood forming in his mouth. The Demon had a powerful weapon. Standing back up, 'Ikorji noticed the Demon reloading his weapon.
'Ikorji began to move, in spite of his protesting muscles. As he got closer, he brought his sword up to his left shoulder and right as he got near the Demon, he swung. The Demon stepped back, avoiding the blade.
'Ikorji's left hand followed the blade and speedily knocked the Demon's rifle from its hands, landing several rows down. The Demon was now unarmed.
Inside, it hurt 'Ikorji to even think about it – here was the human's finest warrior, now facing off against him unarmed. He deserved a weapon at least, something to match 'Ikorji's energy sword. Secretly, he prayed that the Demon would be able to improvise the same way it did against the rest of his team.
'Ikorji raised his sword and swung.
The Spartan was anticipating that.
He stepped to the side and crouched, the blade narrowly missing him, and his left hand shot out and grabbed the Elite's wrist. With his right arm, the Master Chief sent his shoulder into the Elite's chest, knocking the air out of the alien warrior, and followed through with sending the backside of his fist into the Elite's face.
His attack had sent the Elite reeling back. As it tried to recover, the Master Chief leapt over into the next rows and searched for his Battle Rifle. He had one shotgun shell loaded, and it would be enough to end this fight. Scrambling about, the Master Chief searched as fast as he could, and he then recognized the shape of his rifle's stock, buried in a pool of coolant.
The Master Chief reached for it and brought it up to his shoulder, his finger wrapping around the trigger for the grenade launcher. For a moment, the Elite's eyes and the Master Chief's eyes met, and the Spartan pulled the trigger.
The shotgun shell erupted from the launcher, catching the Elite in the chest. The Elite stumbled and fell on its back. Then, it slowly got back up. The Elite struggled, but was eventually able to stand, albeit uneasily.
Was it going to continue fighting? If so, this Elite had to be one of the most determined enemies the Spartan had ever fought.
But it did not, choosing instead to deactivate its energy sword. The Elite then started to speak, and a half second later, the translation in the Master Chief's helmet began. Its voice wasn't harsh or angry, but it appeared rather calm, as though honourable.
"You have fought well, human. You have bested the warriors of the Covenant in combat as you have bested me."
The Elite then tossed the hilt of its energy sword at the Master Chief. Catching it, the Master Chief briefly examined its form fitting silver design, its curves and bumps meant for the hands of an Elite.
"Consider it a gift, from one warrior to another. My time as one has ended now."
The Elite then stared at the Master Chief for a second, its expression changing. The Master Chief wasn't able to identify it, but it appeared as though the Elite was proud, not at himself, but for the Spartan.
"You are not a demon, human. You, are worthy of another title - 'The Hammer.'"
As the Elite's last words slipped out, it collapsed to the ground. The Elite was dead.
The Master Chief looked from the energy sword to the still body of the Elite. Clipping the energy sword to his belt, the Master Chief exited the room. He hurried when he realized that he had only two minutes and sixteen seconds to get out. Remembering the schematic that he had pulled up at the bridge, the Master Chief ran for the nearest fighter bay.
As he entered through a door into another hallway, the Master Chief saw several Covenant soldiers approaching. There were a lot of them – Grunts, Jackals, and plenty of Elites to command them. They stopped and stared in shock at the sight of the Master Chief running towards him.
Without thinking, the Master Chief grabbed a 40mm grenade from his satchel, loaded it, and fired, watching as the grenade landed in between them. The detonation took out roughly half the group, while the rest were thrown around the hallway.
The Master Chief opened fire with the Battle Rifle and took as many of the survivors down with the current clip. He continued to run, ignoring the others and continued through the hallways.
By the time he approached the fighter bay, the timer counted down, and the Master Chief felt the rumble as the C-12 detonated. He wasn't sure how long it would be before the engines would be affected, but he knew he had to hurry.
As he got out, he was almost immediately sprayed by plasma. The Master Chief was at the fighter bay, so close to freedom, but the Covenant were here too. Popping back out, the Master Chief fired another grenade and opened fire some more, picking off several Grunts.
The launch windows used for the dropships to exit the ship were open, but the Banshee was a floor beneath the Master Chief. Down at the other end, Covenant reinforcements numbering in the dozens poured in, with a Grunt carrying a fuel rod gun with the lead. The Master Chief had no time to fight his way down there. The engines would detonate any minute. Looking over the edge, the Master Chief spotted the Banshee and the area surrounding it.
Just as the Grunt fired the heavy weapon, the Master Chief jumped, the fuel rod missing him, and he fell, directly for the Banshee. As he fell, the Master Chief concentrated all his shields down at his feet. When he hit the floor, his shields took the brunt of the fall, draining roughly to half. From above, plasma rained upon the Spartan. Changing his shields back to their normal configuration, the Master Chief ran and got into the cockpit of the Banshee and quickly activated its controls.
The Banshee took several hits as it hovered off the ground. A fuel rod impacted next to the vehicle, throwing it aside. The Master Chief hit the boosters and flew out of the fighter bay.
Behind him, the Covenant battle cruiser's engines were glowing red from the increasing heat. The coolant was now no longer able to keep their temperatures within operable levels. Within moments, the engines detonated, blowing out superheated portions of the ship's hull. The ship then fell like a stone to the ground, twisting and crumbling as its structure failed to hold the force of the impact.
The battle cruiser, the Strength and Faith, was no more.
Turning the Banshee around, the Master Chief spotted the city, in particular, its arcology. He was surprised with how far he actually was from the city, but it made little difference to the Spartan.
Flying low to avoid detection, the Master Chief headed back for the city. As he flew, the Master Chief looked back at the gutted remains of the Covenant ship.
The Covenant had picked a hell of an enemy to try and destroy, and they were going to pay for that dearly.
End Note: This chapter was a personal favourite to rewrite. I had the chance to put more into this one - more action, more Master Chief kicking ass, all the good stuff. The bit about the coolant pumps is strictly hypothetical. I know there has to be a method of pumping coolant, and I developed a bit of an idea and centered the action around there.
This chapter was also fun to write because I could use 'Ikorji, the 'noble' Elite. I modified his character a minor bit, actually making him of noble heritage, assuming nobility or at least some type of higher ranked families actually exist in the Sangheili society. I expanded his personal thoughts and such (kudos for anybody who spotted the Star Wars reference - I couldn't help it), and come time for the showdown between him and the Master Chief, I put them to use as 'Ikorji's thoughts when fighting.