Patience, remember? You don't want to run over a landmine, do you? Or how about a Grunt suicide bomber?

No, Mar relented, letting up on the gas a touch. But I must not lag behind either.

Major Mar 'Garais, one of the renowned Red Twins and Second to the Shipmaster's Plague, chugged past a crashed Phantom troop carrier in his stolen Chopper. Just beyond that, a demolished Ghost and an abandoned Mongoose. Up ahead, going off a drop he couldn't see from this angle, were his allies. Mar boosted the turbo again.

The Warthog leading the way took a sharp right after the drop, closely followed by the Mongoose, entirely avoiding a Covenant platoon setting up in another canyon straight ahead. The Prowler, on the other hand, drove directly into this next canyon. Mar weighed his options, but the potential glory got the better of him. The Chopper followed the Prowler.

That 'LZ' will still be there after we purge this canyon of Truth's forces, he reasoned.

And who knows, the Imps might even have it clear by the time we arrive.

"Try to keep up, brother!" Falzud taunted from his seat on the side of the Prowler.

He and the rest of the Prowler crew, composed of the Arbiter, the Demon, and a Marine, were all going safely alongside the wall over to the enemy's position. Mar however, like his teacher, enjoyed the atmosphere of a more public approach. The enemy saw him coming, which in turn took a bit of focus off the Prowler.

He drove past a parked Chopper down an embankment into the center of the canyon where two Brutes were circling in Choppers of their own, waiting for him.

"Death to the wicked!" he screamed at them like the truly unhinged warrior that he was.

His fingers hammered against the Chopper's cannon controls. Explosive high-impact rounds slammed into his foe's vehicles while they did the same.

Mar came flying at them. They, accepting the challenge, sped to greet him. It was a game of chicken, and he had no fear of death or injury. Apparently, they did. One of them broke off and circled back around in a wide loop. The other broke off too late and never really got the 'away' part all the way down. Mar boosted the turbo and t-boned the turning Brute. The Red Twin threw his head back and laughed as he smashed through his opponent's vehicle with a loud ka-krunch!

Explosive rounds slam, slam, slammed into the side of his Chopper. The other Brute had him dead to rights. Mar was in no position to escape in time, as Choppers have no reverse function. If he wanted to go back he would have to whip all the way around to do so, which seemed pointless here as he knew neither he nor his Chopper would survive through the fusillade long enough for a hundred and eighty degree turn. Mar tried it anyways. He wasn't about to make dying easy.

Rounds continued to plow into him. His personal energy shield gave out. This was it.

"Prepare to di-" the Brute yelled, charging for the finisher.

"You first!" Falzud interrupted.

The Spec Ops Elite flew into frame driving the previously parked Chopper and intercepted the Brute mere seconds before Mar's demise.

Smash!

Mar sat there in open-mouthed shock, then bellowed triumphantly and punched the Chopper controls a little too hard in his excitement.

"Thought I'd even the odds," Falzud said coolly over the COMs.

Mar pulled up beside him, adrenaline still spiked from the experience.

"I owe you one brother. I cannot thank you enough."

"Haha! You Bin Son never will learn," the Arbiter laughed. "Not every fight has to be a brawl."

He was up on the hill in the Prowler's turret shooting at an unmoving Wraith, which busted and exploded seconds later. Ceasing fire, he gave them new orders.

"You two clear out the forward lance. Those fuel rod guns will tear us apart."

"Our pleasure," Mar replied.

In tandem, the Chopper pair decimated the Covenant combat barricades, plasma batteries, and communication nodes set up there, as well as the soldiers firing from amongst these supplies. All from afar. When the Choppers finally did go up the incline to where the fuel rod crew was, it was to confirm that all had been killed.

"Area cleansed, Arbiter," Mar reported.

"Well done, we will be there shortly."