Chapter 3: Death of Peace

The blazing sun high in the sky felt wonderful. Nathan could feel the warmth spread through him as he stepped outside the jungle. Now he didn't have to worry about freezing to death.

Fenris had slipped her battle rifle into her hands, and slung her shotgun. Now that they were in the open, it was the much better weapon. She was still on full alert, her eyes darting back and forth, her ears listening for any sound that seemed out of place.

Jimaelhae looked around, scanning the ruins in the distance, the cliffs, and the plain that they had found themselves on. He didn't see anything that would tell him the location of anyone.

"I am still uncertain on how to proceed," Jimaelhae stated, glancing at the two humans accompanying him.

"I have no idea either," Nathan said.

Fenris raised her head slightly, and her eyes narrowed as the wind blew into her face. She looked at the ruins, then smiled slightly.

"There are some elites at the ruins ahead," she said, then started towards them.

"How do you know that?" Jimaelhae demanded.

"No offense, but your species stink," Fenris responded.

"There is something that she is not telling us, it would be a good idea to keep an eye on her," Jimaelhae said quietly, looking at Nathan. Nathan nodded, watching as Fenris pulled a small container out of her pocket, and pop something into her mouth. He wondered what kind of drug it was, he decided to ask her in private.

"Good idea," Nathan agreed with the alien, and the two started following the mysterious marine that had joined them.

Cerberus stared down at the group of elites being led through the valley by the Arbiter. The warrior chosen by the prophets seemed troubled by something, but that didn't concern Cerberus. All that concerned the brute warrior was that the elite was alive.

He dropped from the tree he had been in and signaled to another brute that the attack was to begin. Though Cerberus had only seen one of the humans, the female naval officer, they were not the priority. The Arbiter and his elites were however, and they were all here.

A brute on the other side of the valley let out a vicious roar, and charged down the slope at the elites, followed by six brutes.

"Ambush," the Arbiter yelled out, igniting a plasma sword. Only one other elite, dressed in white armor with a large headdress had such a weapon. The others were armed with either plasma rifles or carbines. The human was armed with dual SMGs.

Cerberus roared as well, and began his own charge down his side of the slope, leading six of his own warriors. Some elites turned, as well as the human. Cerberus was the only one with a brute shot, which he aimed into the center of the elites and fired his four shots.

Four small explosions sent dirt flying. Only one elite was killed by the explosions, arm and head torn apart. Two others were seriously wounded however, one of which had lost a leg, and was on the ground firing dual plasma rifles up at the charging brutes.

The brutes began to fire their own plasma rifles, the red bolts flying back at the source of the blue. The Arbiter was yelling out words of encouragement to his entourage, even as one fell beside him, a smoldering hole in it's chest.

A bolt from a carbine went clean through a brute's head just beside Cerberus. The warrior fell to the ground and rolled tripping his fellow warriors. Cerberus roared ever louder, charging down as fast as he could, his empty brute shot held high so the sun gleamed off the blade.

The surviving brutes were then amongst the elites. The white elite jumped through the air, slashing down with his blade. A brute's skull was split open. Smoke billowed from the charred wound as brains spilled onto the ground. The elite landed and Cerberus took its head off with a single sweep of his brute shot.

The human was firing her SMGs into another brute, the bullets tearing through the warrior's hide, splattering blood over the other fighters behind him. When her weapons were dry she started to reload, but Cerberus was right there. A single fist collided with her chest. He felt her ribs snap and she gasped for breath.

Blood began to froth at her mouth and Cerberus knew he had punctured a lung, and her spine judging by how her lower body went limp. The human officer fell to the ground trying to gulp down air. The legless elite was crushed beneath the foot of another brute, who was instantly cut down by the Arbiter's sword.

The Arbiter leapt into the air, killing a brute in the same fashion as the other swordsman, but upon the Arbiter's landing he thrust a sword into another brute's chest, melting the heart and killing it instantly.

Cerberus swung his brute shot, but the Arbiter saw it and dodged out of the way, right into another brute, he couldn't move far enough.

An intense pain flared from his elbow as Cerberus's blade had taken his arm off at the elbow. He grunted just as the brute commander punched him in the face sending the Arbiter into darkness.

The elites were all dead, their blood staining the ground. Cerberus threw the unconscious Arbiter over his shoulder, and let out a laugh.

"Leave the dead, the wounded can limp back themselves," he commanded.

The brutes then left the battlefield behind. Leaving the dead untouched.

Captain Miranda Keyes lay on her back, unable to breath, feeling leaving her body. Blood ran freely from her mouth, she was drowning in her own life fluids. Movement at the top of the hill caught her attention. Had Sgt. Johnston returned.

It was a single infection form, making its way down the slope. Her eyes went wide with fear, and she tried to scream, but all that came out was a strange gurgle.

The infection form crawled onto her chest and began to cut through her uniform, burrowing through her breast to latch itself to her spine. She felt cold tendrils spreading through her body, wrapping around her heart, and climbing into her head.

She had met the same fate as her father, she was becoming one with the flood.

"Thought I would never see sky wide open ever again," Nathan thought aloud. The other two glanced at him. They knew what he had been through, he needed rest. It was amazing really that he had been able to push himself as hard as he had been.

Fenris glanced over at the cliffs to their right.

"What is it?" Jimaelhae asked, noticing her glance. Nathan blinked coming back to reality.

"Nothing," Fenris replied, though the elite knew that she was lying.

Fenris looked over at Nathan, and stopped walking. Jimaelhae did a split second afterwards, but Nathan wandered a few steps past them before realizing that they had stopped.

"What?" he asked.

"We're resting here. We can't have you fighting half-assed. Especially when there is only three of us," Fenris said.

"Are you sure we're safe out here?" Jimaelhae asked.

"No. Me and you will take shifts keeping watch. The sergeant needs rest or he'll pass out on us," Fenris said.

"Agreed," Jimaelhae said.

When they looked over to see if Nathan approved, he was already on his back in the grass, sleeping soundly. Fenris raised an eyebrow then glanced up at Jimaelhae.

"I'll take first watch, allow you to rest, then I shall wake you," Jimaelhae stated.

"How long?"

"Two hours each."

"Sounds good," Fenris finished, and she laid herself in the grass. She looked over at the ruins, then at Jimaelhae sitting cross legged. She didn't know why she trusted him, but her gut told her to, and her gut was what had kept her alive all these years.

As she closed her eyes and slipped into the realm of sleep she wondered if her ghosts would come back to her.

As Fenris slept Jimaelhae looked over his two new comrades. They had impressed him in the fight back in the jungle. Everything he thought he had been told wasn't entirely true. The humans were honorable, courageous and loyal to their species.

For the most part anyway, according to Nathan's story about Wesley, the ONI agent that had killed two members of his platoon back in the jungle.

Jimaelhae knew what it felt like to be betrayed. His entire species had been painted as heretics, and now the covenant had split. He knew that his people would never recover, many would not be able to give up their faith, would not be able to put aside their hatred of the humans.

Jimaelhae was looking at the end of a proud line of warriors, unless he could do something about it. The Arbiter was his last hope, he had to find the fabled warrior.

Again Jimaelhae looked over the two sleeping marines. How had they put aside their hatred of him? How could they trust him? Especially with all the blood on his hands.

Cerberus threw the Arbiter down onto the ground in front of the brute chieftain. Barkarus growled in approval, the elite was still alive, though weak from blood loss. He reached down and grabbed the back of the Arbiter's head and yanked back so the two were staring in each other's faces.

"So this is the great Arbiter which slew Tartarus. I'm unimpressed," Barkarus snarled.

"You are a coward. If you want me to beg, you'll be greatly disappointed," the Arbiter spat back in reply.

Barkarus laughed, and pointed at a large wooden pole set up in the center of the brute camp.

"I would like you to beg, but I know your pride. I will just be satisfied knowing you will die in pain," Barkarus said with a laugh, and he threw the Arbiter's face down into the dirt. Barkarus stood and turned to Cerberus.

"Do it," he ordered.

Two brutes came forth and stripped the Arbiter of his armor, throwing it unceremoniously in a pile at the base of the pole. When they were done Cerberus grabbed the Arbiter and again threw him over his shoulder. He climbed the pole holding two spikes in his mouth.

When at the top he wrapped his legs around the pole to steady himself, held the Arbiter with one hand, and one spike with the other. He drove the spike through both the Arbiter's wrists into the pole.

The elite winced slightly, but he did not scream. He couldn't bring himself to. Cerberus climbed down a bit, and drove the other spike through both the Arbiter's shin, fastening him to the pole. Again the warrior did wince, but there was no scream, no begging.

Cerberus climbed down the pole, and looked up at the Arbiter. So did Barkarus, and the chieftain saw the pain in the elite's eyes.

"Like I said, you will die in pain, and that is sufficient for me," Barkarus said, and laughed. He then walked away from the pole.

He knew he had done more than just kill an elite warrior. He had killed the only chance for peace between the humans and elites. Now both would fall before the might of the covenant.