Chapter 4- Revenge
Snaglins vision was shaken and blurred, his body was cold. Finally his vision began to clear, pain stabbed through his body. He rose shakily to his feet; he crashed back down against the hull of the craft, clutching his side. Snaglin glanced around; he was surrounded by nothing but jungle.
He stumbled a few steps forward; he turned around to see the smoking wreckage of his dropship behind him laid out before him. He stood in horror as he saw the corpses of the other Covenant Grunts and Elites who had been in the dropship with him; each corpse was splayed out in the dirt with blood seeping from their assorted wounds.
He knelt down next to Kasovi's body, yet another brother killed by human hands. This drove Snaglin's rage to grow even further. He dropped his head in shame; wasting time grieving was not what his brothers would have wanted, and would not see them avenged. They wanted him to deliver retribution by killing the Demon who had killed them.
He rose up and searched for supplies. He searched the crash site finding some ammo and grenades; he checked his belt and found his sword was still safely secured at his belt. He tapped his wristband as the COM sparked and died. Sighing softly Snaglin opened a holographic map of the area supplied by the advance team who had identified the generator facility- marking the facility in his mind. Snaglin left the crash site and never looked back. He trekked through the jungle hoping to come across other Covenant forces.
As Snaglin took each step through this dense wilderness a new shot of pain coursed through him. With every step he took he wished he could just collapse to the ground and allow the void to consume him, but the only thing keeping him going was his honor and his determination to see his brothers vengeance delivered. The honor to die fighting. The darkness of the jungle was suddenly broken by an explosion of purple light at his side. His instincts forced him to find cover, dropping to the ground beside a tree, protected from whatever his attacker could retaliate with.
He clutched his plasma rifle tight in his hand, a plasma grenade in the other. He primed the grenade with a squeeze of the switch and threw it around the base of the tree. 3...2...1 the flash of the grenade was his signal as he looked around the tree his weapon rose. He stood stunned- nothing but a burn mark singeing the ground from the grenade, small embers burning the blades of grass. He took a step forward his weapon raised. No sign of any humans or Covenant.
A rustle came from the bush beside him- a flaming blue orb of plasma landed at his feet. He dived to the side as the plasma grenade exploded. He aimed at where the grenade had come from and fired. He charged forward and leapt into the bush in hopes of capturing his attacker. He emerged from the bush and crashed down into the dirt at the edge of a steep cliff. He looked up; a shocked expression replaced any sign of pain across his face.
He looked down onto a battlefield sown with broken human and Covenant technology. At the far end of the battlefield lay a giant pulsing cylinder, pulsing blue arcs of energy pulsed from its surface, the generator facility. He noticed the broken corpse of a jackal clutching a Covenant Carbine rifle lying next to him. Snaglin lifted the rifle from its resting place as he brought the scope to his eye. He scanned across the facility- searching for defenses, entrances. Something caught his eye.
He activated the magnification on the weapon. He finally focused to see a Spartan standing on a ledge overlooking the battlefield, clutching a squirming grunt in its tight metal gauntlet. He watched as the Grunt screeched as the creature tightened its grip on his throat, the squirming slowly stopped, and the Grunts body turned limp. The Demon threw the Grunts dismembered corpse over the ledge, watching as the wet corpse smashed into the ground with a wet thwack. The anger built up inside of Snaglin as he watched the demon walk back into the base. He lowered the weapon, holding it loosely in his arms. After years of searching he had found the demon who had slain his brothers, now he was going to deliver their revenge. Snaglin slipped down the muddy ridge, never breaking stride as he touched down on the wet battlefield. He charged towards the base, and his prize.
Snaglin crept through the bowels of the human facility- he licked his mandibles in anticipation, the creature he had been searching for was within his grasp. He suddenly ground to a halt at a locked security door. He stood beside the door. He drew a plasma grenade from his belt. He primed the grenade, planting the weapon against the doors keypad. The grenade exploded, the keypad shattered. The door slid silently opened, bathing the dark corridor in the dim light seeping in from the room beyond.
Snaglin silently stepped into the room, melding into the dark shadows. A large computer terminal dominated the far wall. Someone was perched over the main computer console- the Demon. The creature looked just as alien as the rest of the human scourge. But this creature was different, half organic, half machine. An abomination.
The creature turned to face him- its golden visor staring directly into his soul. With lighting efficiency it drew its assault rifle from its back, firing a burst of fire. Snaglin leapt to the side, drawing his Plasma Rifle and firing in mid-flight. The super heated plasma splashed across the Demons shields to no affect. Snaglin rolled to his feet, charging towards his enemy, the Demon striking assault rifle rounds in his chest, the bullets ricocheted harmlessly off his shield. He impacted the creature in a flare of strained shields. Snaglin drew his plasma sword from his belt.
The Spartan anticipated the attack, grabbing Snaglins forearm in his vice like grip in an attempt to gain control of the weapon. Snaglin pressed his entire weight into the push, attempting to bring the swords bladed edge down across the Spartans chest. Snaglin stared into the creatures visor, even through the thick metal plating Snaglin could still imagine the creatures burning eyes as he fought against his opponent. Snaglin fed upon his contained anger, using it as his source of power as he forced the blade ever closer to the creatures exposed neck. But slowly he felt his hold over the weapon slowly begin to diminish. The Spartan was a formidable adversary, but he would not abandon the opportunity to avenge his brothers.
The sword grazed Snaglin's shoulder as the Spartan forced the sword forward. Blood drizzled from the fresh wound, but Snaglin refused to stop fighting.
Snaglin utilized his final breath of strength, forcing the sword into the demon's exposed torso. The Spartan recoiled backwards; Snaglin struck a final blow, jamming the blade into the Spartans torso. Snaglin released his grip on the weapon, the Spartan collapsed to the floor at Snaglins feet.
Snaglin collapsed to his knees. He glanced at the wound cut deeply across his shoulder,
if he kept losing blood at this rate he would not survive long. But Snaglin did not care, he had delivered his vengeance, he had enacted his revenge.
The retribution he had sought for so long had finally been given. Finally the souls of his brothers could rest in peace
Snaglin glanced over at the corpse of the Spartan he had killed; he noticed the insignia UNSC SPARTAN-057 engraved into its amour. This was not the Demon who had killed his brothers, this was not his target. Their killer was still out there, he had failed them.
Snaglin began to wonder, had it even been worth it? Hunting down his brothers killer had taken years and, in the end, had cost him his life. But his brothers had been avenged right? He realized that he had been blinded by his rage. His vision began to darken, his body became cold. At last he was at peace.