Breaching the doorway, the tension was palpable. The hallway was bathed in hues of red and black as the alarm system shut off the main lights, the emergency lighting kicking in. It took a few moments for Tz'eals eyes to adjust to the darkness and the violence of the red.
When breaching the doorway the first thought through his head was how much gunfire was going to rain down upon him and Drake, how quickly the enemy would react and set up in a position to rain death down upon them. However, that rain of gunfire did not come.
Ahead of him was an empty hallway, only the storage boxes he had passed before occupying the area. Everything was too quiet, only the klaxon of the alarm blaring in the distance and the sound of his breathing broke the silence.
"Clear right." Drake called from behind as Tz'eal continued to watch his side.
"We are clear on the left side." He replied quietly after a few more moments, expecting someone to rush their position now that they were exposed.
"Alright. Take point, follow this hall right. Once you can't continue, turn to either side and follow until you can continue in this direction." Drake explained as he slipped back into the office slightly, allowing Tz'eal room enough to pass him.
Tz'eal nodded as he understood what he needed to do, lowering his guard to the left as he turned and walked past Drake, following the hallway for a few paces before he waited for Drake to join him. He felt a tap on his shoulder as he continued to watch down the hallway.
"On you. Remember I don't have shields like you so I might need you for cover." Drake reminded him as they slowly began advancing down the hall.
"I will keep you protected until you can find cover to protect yourself." Tz'eal replied quietly as he felt several taps on his shoulder. Slowly he began advancing down the hallway, his BR55 swaying from one side of the hall to the other as he expected someone to jump out at them. But his expectations were never met.
"Why have we not been attacked?" Tz'eal asked Drake quietly as they continued to move down the hallway, the initial length had been deceptive as it continued for several hundred units.
"They're probably reeling from the loss of their commanding officer. Regrouping so they can find their 2IC and receive orders. If we're lucky we might be able to get to an exit point and get out without a fight, but knowing my luck I highly doubt that's going to happen." Drake replied as they finally neared the end of the hallway.
They set up, one on each side of the hallway like they did when leaving the office. Tz'eal nodded to Drake who raised his off-hand and began counting down. On zero the pair rushed around their corner to clear the hallway, entering into the line of fire of an enemy team.
Several bullets impacted Tz'eals energy shield, causing it to flicker. Reaching back Tz'eal grabbed Drake and pushed him back into the cover of the hallway before retreating himself, his shield strength indicator on his HUD flashing red to warn him of his low shield strength.
"Are you alright?" Drake asked as he peeked around the corner for a split second.
"I will be fine. I only need a moment to recharge." Tz'eal replied as his shields flared white for a moment and began recharging slowly.
"Alright, when you're good we've got a team of four ahead of us, set up in an emplaced location. We're going to need to push out quickly, suppressing their position until we can get close enough to fight back effectively." Drake explained.
"Understood. When you are ready, get behind me." Tz'eal replied as his shields fully charged. He would be able to take another large burst of fire from their enemy, but not as much as he expected. The strength of his Ranger class shields compared to his Zealot class were not even close. They needed to be quick.
"Alright. On you. Take us out." Drake said confidently as he stepped behind Tz'eal, tapping him on the shoulder again to signal he was ready. WIth another nod Tz'eal pushed out from the hallway, bringing his BR55 to his shoulder and firing burst after burst down the hallway, Drake firing his M6 from behind him. The first burst of fire from their enemy impacted against Tz'eal shields once again, causing them to flare up once again however as he and Drake returned fire their enemy kept their heads down.
The pair managed to cross half the distance between them when they finally managed to find cover by opening a small doorway to their right. As they breached the doorway they heard screams of terror as some of the civilians hunched behind an overturned desk watched them enter.
"Ignore them, we need to focus." Drake ordered as Tz'eal glanced over the screaming Humans. He did not like leaving allies of their enemy behind them where they could do something dangerous. Nodding he returned to the doorway and peeked outside, the Humans were returning to their position to fire back towards them, but at this range Tz'eal would be able to fire back effectively and potentially kill the threat.
Taking a few deep breaths to settle his nerves he turned out of the doorway and engaged his enemy. Several bursts of his BR55 found his targets, two of the four shooting back at him falling backwards, whether they were dead or not he was not sure but they were neutralized for the time being. He turned back out of the hallway to let his shields recharge once again as Drake continued to level his M6 at the civilians inside the room.
"Don't do anything stupid. We're just doing our job, don't make us kill you." Drake warned as Tz'eal reloaded his rifle. He could see the terror in the eyes of the civilians. It reminded him of the attack on Reach, the final group of Humans he witnessed being murdered. He shook his head and focused as he turned out of the doorway once again.
His shields flared and overcharged almost instantly as a large explosion detonated before him. One of the enemy Humans had thrown a grenade at him. Luckily his shields took the brunt of the force and fragmentation but his shields had overcharged and shut down. He growled as he waited for his shields to recharge once again. Once ready he aggressively turned out of the room, firing bursts of gunfire at his enemy again.
He watched as another of the Humans fell backwards, a gout of blood spurting from a wound in his neck before the final Human turned and ran. Tz'eal left his cover and slowly approached the enemy emplacement to inspect his work. Three of the Humans lay dead before him, the final vanished around a corner deeper down the hallway. Clicking his lower mandibles he returned to the room he and Drake were using for cover but heard commotion from inside.
Returning he found Drake surrounded by the civilians, one of them wielding what looked to be Drake's M6, one arm around his neck, the Magnum placed against Drake's temple.
"Drop it. Now." The Civilian ordered, fear quite clear in his voice.
"You could have said you were leaving the room. I'd have followed you and we wouldn't be in this situation." Drake said, sounding angry as Tz'eal lowered his weapon slightly.
"I don't want to kill him. I didn't think your kind would be working with the UNSC of all people but you're going to drop your weapon on the floor or I will kill him." The civilian warned. Tz'eal quickly formed a plan in his head, something dangerous but could work.
"Okay Human. Do not hurt my friend or it will not end pleasantly for you." Tz'eal warned as he slowly kneeled down, placing his BR on the floor.
"Now stand up and back away from it slowly." The Civilian ordered as Tz'eal began to stand up. Abruptly Tz'eal drew his own M6 from his hip. Without aiming properly he pointed it towards the Civilian and Drake before firing a single round. The civilian tumbled backwards as Drake shook violently from the sudden gunshot. Once realization set in he turned on the spot, kneeling down quickly and retrieved his M6 once again.
"Are you crazy?" He asked Tz'eal as he aimed his weapon at the remaining civilians who were crying, staring down at the corpse of one of their own.
"Are you alright?" Tz'eal asked, ignoring the remark as he stepped in front of Drake, putting himself between his friend and the threat.
"I'll be alright. We need to get moving now before something else happens." Drake replied in a grumble as he shook his head and turned away from the civilians and the corpse, leaving the room quietly. Tz'eal slowly walked back out of the room, leaving the civilians alone too, rejoining Drake and taking the lead once again. Drake simply tapped his shoulder to continue without another word. Realizing Drake was upset with him Tz'eal nodded slowly before continuing down the hall in silence.
Passing by the bodies of the men Tz'eal had dealt with earlier the pair turned the corner into another long hallway which continued in their desired direction. It seemed as though Drake was right, the soldiers within the station were trying to regroup and gather their forces. He and Drake made good progress making their way to a large observation point, the far wall made out of what looked to be a thick pane of glass, the only thing between them and the vacuum of space.
"Alright. Here we are. We just need something big enough to punch a hole through and we're out of here." Drake explained as he looked around the room. There wasn't much use for either of them, large chairs and mechanical equipment which were bolted to the floor.
"There does not seem to be anything we can use to break through." Tz'eal pointed out as he heard the sound of soft footfalls. He quickly raised a hand, catching Drake's attention. He pointed to the door before looking around the room. There was a small metal barrier they could use for cover which would prevent enemy fire from hitting them. It would be enough to keep them safe until they thought of something else.
"Get into cover. We're in for a long fight here I think. We're going to have to kill them all and loot their corpses to find something we can use. Otherwise we're fucked." Drake explained. He made his way over to the cover and crouched down behind it. Tz'eal slowly followed behind him, kneeling down and lowering his head to keep safe.
"I am sorry for before." Tz'eal began before Drake shook his head.
"Shut up. We can talk about it once we're out of here. I don't want you worrying about pissing me off for doing something stupid right before a fight. Keep your head in the game." Drake said as the sound of rushing footsteps got louder and louder.
"Brace yourself. Don't do anything stupid." Drake said again as the door leading into the observation point burst open violently. Three soldiers rushed into the room with their weapons raised, scanning the room for their targets.
"We know you're both in there. We're watching you with the security cameras. If you come out now we'll make sure you die quickly. Or don't. It'll be more fun that way." One of the soldiers called out. Drake rolled his eyes before nodding to Tz'eal who abruptly stood up and fired a burst of fire at the soldiers. One of them fell to the floor before the two others dropped to one knee and returned fire.
Tz'eal managed to drop behind cover once again as a barrage of gunfire impacted their cover, small dents forming next to them. Once the gunfire stopped Drake nodded once again as they both stood up, firing BR and Magnum rounds back at their attackers, both of whom dropped to the floor, their bodies riddled with holes.
"It's just one man and one alien! How difficult can this be?!" Came a voice from outside the room as the door slammed shut once again, giving Drake and Tz'eal a few moments to relax.
"They know where we are. They're just going to wait us out. We can't go anywhere." Drake explained as Tz'eal glanced from the door to the window.
"Unless." Tz'eal mumbled as he looked from the window back to the door.
"I have an idea." He said, sounding smug.
"I'm all ears." Drake said with a shake of his head. Tz'eal looked over the barrier towards the door, putting one hand near his maw to amplify his voice.
"We have nowhere to go. How will we leave without them simply blowing us up." He shouted before kneeling down once again. Drake looked at him in disbelief, his mouth agape as the sound of voices and footsteps picked up from outside once again.
"What are you thinking? They're just going to rush us." Drake said, his face filled with rage.
"Trust me." Tz'eal said confidently as the voices outside grew louder and louder.
"We can help you with that!" One shouted back through the door which slowly began to squeak open.
"Control from Alpha One. We are about to break OP 3. Shut the blast doors on my mark." The soldier shouted through. Drake looked from Tz'eal to the door then to the window, his expression going from anger to confusion to realization and happiness as he finally looked back at Tz'eal.
"Clever motherfucker. Get them to breach the window for us." He said quietly while Tz'eal nodded.
"Frag out!" A voice shouted from the doorway. A small green grenade flying through the air and landing beside the window. Tz'eal grabbed Drake by the scruff of the neck, almost throwing him over the barrier they were using for cover, dragging Drake to the center of the room with him.
"Hold on." He said to Drake as he wrapped his arms around him, putting him between the grenade and Drake. He felt Drake wrap his arms around his body gripping for dear life before the grenade detonated behind them. The force and shrapnel pinged off of Tz'eals shields almost causing them to overload before the room went silent. Suddenly and violently Drake and Tz'eal were sucked through the large opening in the window the grenade had created.
Being ejected into the vacuum of space the pair quickly began tumbling away from the station as their emergency oxygen system kicked in, giving them some time to breathe.
"Nice work there Tz'eal. Now we need to call for pickup." Drake said over the radio as Tz'eal nodded.
"Maurice from Heretic 2. We have escaped the station and are floating through space. Requesting pickup." Tz'eal called ove the radio. Drake looked up to his visor in surprise as the radio keyed open.
"Heretic 2 good to hear from you. When you say 'We' i'm going to assume Heretic 1 is with you too. I'm about 10 clicks from the station. I'll swing by and pick you up ASAP." Maurice replied over the radio, sounding surprised himself.
"Affirmative. We will float aimlessly while we wait." Tz'eal replied as he cut the radio link, everything going silent around them.
"Alright well, I guess we'll just do like you said and float aimlessly until he shows up." Drake said with a nod.
"I upset you before. In the room with the civilians." Tz'eal noted.
"Yeah but I guess I can't exactly be pissed at you. You're not trained like we are." Drake replied as he shook his head slowly glancing around at the slowly fading chunks of rock from the asteroid field the station was orbiting in.
"I am trying to emulate your fighting style and how aggressive you and your kind can be." Tz'eal explained as he thought back to his push to their enemy in the hallway.
"We're going to have to come up with something that works for both of us I guess. Because that doesn't work all the time." Drake began with a sigh as he considered what he could do when they returned to Destiny, after the party that would likely be thrown.
"What i'm going to do is ask Shapiro for control of the range and killhouses for a few days. Just so that you and I can work on our teamwork and communication. Both of which are key to keeping us alive out here." Drake concluded as Tz'eal nodded in agreement.
"And, if you will allow it, I can teach you of our ways. So that we can combine the best from both sides." Tz'eal added as Drake chuckled.
"Yeah. Let us be the first step towards a decent Human-Sangheili alliance." Drake agreed before there was a burst of static in their ears.
"Heretic 2 I have you guys on my sensors. Should be with you in about 3 minutes. Prep for impact." Maurice called over the radio.
"Impact?" Tz'eal asked over the radio in response but got no reply.
"What did he mean by impact?" He asked Drake.
"When we get into the back of the pelican we're not going to gently hit the floor or anything. Once gravity kicks in we're either going to slam into the back of the bird or plant our faces off the floor. Either one." Drake explained as slowly, a large metallic box approached them, slowly turning into the form of a typical Pelican which flew past them.
"I'm going to match my speed with yours and gently slow down until you're inside." Maurice called over the radio as Drake and Tz'eal looked towards the back of the Pelican, the rear ramp slowly opening.
"This might hurt." Drake warned as slowly the pair came closer and closer to the Pelican, the interior slowly enclosing over them as they moved into the back, the ramp slowly closing over behind them.
"Alright brace yourselves." Maurice called over the PA as he raised the nose of the Pelican, Tz'eal and Drake slamming down on the floor with a dull thud.
"Next stop back to base. You guys get settled in, we're in for a long journey." Maurice called over the PA once again as Drake and Tz'eal slowly got to their feet and managed to hobble over to a seat. Sitting down they strapped themselves in for their final flight home.