I felt as if I had the wind taken out of me. The idea of death had never really grasped meas much as it did in that moment, My chest felt empty with the regret of the past and theapprehension of the future. I had never gave much thought, and wasn't ready to in that instance.This was mostly due to the fact that I felt that I had wasted a good part of my life fighting to stayalive and better my unseen rival, my unseen sister. Where had that gotten me?
Nowhere. Your life has amounted to nothing more but a pile of bodies, shell casings, and lust.
I laid myself in a prone position, putting Noble 6 in my sights. A cloud of dust blew overthe land, clouding any far-range capabilities. All I could see was dim shadows, ones that I could
not totally trust. Regardless, I stayed alert for Noble 6's sake, knowing that our survival of the next few minutes would depend on us staying alive to protect one another.
It didn't take long before the Covenant found us. They dropped an entire battalion oftroops down just a few meters from our position, armed to the teeth. Strategy did not seem to betheir top concern, as most of them charged head on. They formed a loose circle around Noble 6,apparently not aware of my presence. Elites, Grunts and the bird-like soldiers dubbed Jackals(Kigyar, in actuality) overcharged their plasma pistols, threw plasma grenades, and fired fromplasma rifles in Noble 6's direction.
On the platform, momentarily hidden by the dust and the long pole in the center thatoffered structural support, was a mounted machine gun. Noble saw this before I did, andproceeded to tear it from its tripod and began an onslaught of bullets wherever he saw plasmafire originate. I assisted in providing covering fire for 6, picking whatever shadows I saw thatwere firing and putting them down. I was forced to account for the wind resistance and otherfactors that may result in me missing. This resulted in a slower firing rate as I performed all ofthe necessary equations in my head.
For several minutes, the two of us continued our onslaught against our enemies, as theydid with us. Whenever Noble 6's machine gun ran out of bullets, he rammed it into the chest ofthe nearest Elite and tore another one off of its mount. I continued my firing until I saw, too late,a red dot appear just behind my position on the radar visible on my HUD. Before I could react, asearing hot blade rammed through the amor over my shoulder blade, its tip digging into the dirtunder me.
"Time to die, human vermin." I heard the unmistakable voice of an Elite just behind me.The blade slid out from my flesh, likely so my adversary could deliver the killing blow. I turned
onto my back, pulling out my M6 Magnum as I did so. The Elite had a look of shock over hisface as he saw me turn. I began to pull furiously on the trigger of my Magnum, not allowing theElite to recuperate. I didn't realize that I was screaming until my gun ran out of bullets. All of therounds pulsed off of the Elite's energy shield until it disappeared. The Elite dropped his sword,giving me the opportunity to scoop it from the ground and impale him through the abdomen.
"This is for Noble. Enjoy the Great Journey, you squid-faced bastard." He cringed, thenfell to the ground with the sword still in his stomach. I pulled it out, splashing some of his purpleblood on my boots as I did so. With a heavy heart, I laid back down on my stomach, wincing atthe still-fresh wound in my shoulder. I had just realized that my armor's sensors were screechingat my compromised shields and the armor breach. I paid no mind to it, only sealing my wound onboth sides with a can of Biofoam. I ignored the pain, only to realize that Noble 6 fared no betterthan I did.
His helmet had been damaged, prompting him to remove it. He had since jumped off theplatform, dual-wielding an MA5B Assault Rifle and an M6 Magnum. He fired at both sides ofhim, the number of enemies doubling since the last time I looked. I furiously fired at them as fastas I could, my rifle jamming several times. I continued to unjam it again and again, tryingdesperately to protect my comrade.
It was all for naught, however. Noble 6 ran out of ammunition just as a trio of Elites thatheld Energy Swords. He tackled one of them and swiped his sword, using it to slash at the Eliteclosest. I fired at the third Elite, effectively putting him down. Three more emerged, faster than Icould manage to fire, and tackle my heroic comrade to the ground. I fired as fast as I couldmanage, only to find that I had failed to take note of the low ammo count on my rifle. I put downtwo of the three Elites, my trigger only clicking on the third.
A small gasp passed my lips at It the realization that Noble 6 was about to die. Doing mybest to prevent such a tragedy, I armed myself with my M6 and began to fire down at the lastElite that had been joined with two others of his own kind. They seemed oblivious to me, armingthemselves with Energy swords. Despite this, Noble 6 was still tackled to the ground. I fired andreloaded my pistol several times, but to no avail. The three Elites mercilessly stabbed Noble 6until he was motionless, then turned to my direction.
The three Elites roared in unison and charged up the hill with their Energy Swords raised,set to kill. I swore under my breath, looking down the iron sights of my Magnum, letting my fullfury loose on the first Elite I laid eyes on. His energy shield flared and disappeared under mybullet storm. Purple blood splattered on the sand below as he crumpled below onto it. I scoopedup his Energy Sword and sliced into the armor of the nearest Sangheili warrior, knocking him into the ground next to his deceased comrade.
I knew not whether he was dead, and did not possess the time to check. I moved on to thethird Elite, who took a wide swing that sailed over my head as I slid down onto my knees. Thehead on my armor heated as the hot blade narrowly missed overhead, causing my shields tolower to 75% and my HUD to flare with warnings concerning my temperature. I concernedmyself not with it, however. I focused my own blade on my adversary and swung upwards.
The sword of the Elite countered my blade, to my surprise. Our eyes locked, illuminatedby the glowing of the locked blades. Our faces were only inches from each other. I was butinches from death, yet I never felt so alive.
"What will my death bring you, Demon?" He asked me in a guttural tone. "Glory? Honor among your superiors? No matter who may win this duel, my fate and honor are sealed. I am secured a place in the Great Journey. I will die honorably in battle with no regrets. Can you say the same?" He shoved his blade further into mine, trying to throw me off-balance.
He almost succeeded, my fall only prevented by a firm planting of my rear foot. I pushed back, a low growl emanating in my throat. What the Elite had uttered to me had gotten under myskin, and he likely knew it.
I swiftly slid my blade under his and rammed the flat edge of the blade into his abdomen.He growled and fell to the ground, dead. I looked around at the carnage surrounding me that thedestruction that both sides caused.
I looked around at the death and destruction that I had participated in causing. I stared atthe landscape, and met my gaze with the carnage that laid below at my feet. I felt the urge to cry,but couldn't, oddly enough. I didn't know what the matter was. All I knew was that I had never felt less human than I did in that moment.
