The violet energy elevated him straight up into the Phantom's troop bay. After stepping out of the lift, he took a look around and was a bit taken aback. The extent of the toll the Phantom security crew had taken during the battle was evident. Although all the bodies were gone, there was a ridiculous amount of blood that stained the floor, walls, even the ceiling. And it reeked. Bad. A pungent aroma of burnt hair and fresh corpses still hung in the air. Not only that. When he, Mar, and Rtol had briefly been aboard the Phantom before the fight for transport to the Scarab, the whole squadron was on display, with an array of well armed Elites and Hunters and a lone Grunt. Now, only Field Master Fin 'Goramai and Xepo, the green armored Elite, remained. Everyone else had either gotten killed or reassigned. Or both.
The two Elites stood off to the side, talking about something as they waited for reinforcements to arrive. The humans came up the lift after Madiba and stepped off into the troop bay right as the Phantom lifted off. Getting right down to business, Fieldmaster Fin 'Goramai walked over to address the newcomers. Problem was, he only spoke Sangheili. Xepo translated his messages to the Humans.
"I never thought I'd see the day that Elites and humans would form an alliance," the Fieldmaster warbled. "Didn't think we could leave our barbaric past where it was."
As Xepo repeated what he'd said, the Zealot rested his eyes on the Marine, who seemed to be the leader out of the two human soldiers judging by his age and demeanor. Then he said something else, and Xepo converted the words to human English, "Within that Forerunner complex is a misguided Brute who is trying to destroy the galaxy. We cannot allow this to happen. This fight, may be the last fight of all our lives. This is where we make history, unless we fail, in which case our sacrifice may never reach the light of day. We must not fail, or our legacy, everything our species have built and fought for, will be destroyed."
Avery Junior Johnson's face was partially hidden beneath the bill of his ever present utility cover cap. It was sort of intimidating, and the human's abnormal height only added to the effect. However, instead of taking the opportunity to respond, he stared deep into the Zealot's eyes. He seemed to be searching his soul for a sign of deception, or any indication that this was some kind of ruse. A polygraph couldn't have administered a more accurate test.
No one moved a muscle. Eventually, Johnson relaxed, then said, "You're right about one thing. If we're gonna stop Big Ugly, we need to forget the past and work together. As a team. Hooah?"
Behind him, the Imp shouted, "Hooah!"
Xepo translated the message to Zuvo, who opened his mandibles in a 'grin' and held up a forearm in a diagonal blocking gesture. Despite the difference in species, Johnson recognized the universal warrior's handshake and crossed his forearm against the Elite's, forming an X. Behind Madiba and the Imp, the Phantom's gravity lift came back online. They had arrived at their destination.
Rtas 'Vadumee's voice sounded through the troop bay, "This is it. Go forth and save us all from total annihilation."
