Chapter 6

Nof pushed through the cramped corridors cautiously, his team just behind him. They had lost a man to a marksmen in the initial engagement, but aside from that, everyone was mostly fine. "Lir, take point up front. Zhan, cover our rear. Move up."

The lance moved forward through the tunnels, stalking down them like a pack of roving wolves. Each move was coordinated and in unison.

The Ibie'shan leader kept a close watch. He wasn't sure how many hostels were left, or even what their goal was. Maybe escape. Maybe escape with relics. Indifferent to former, latter unacceptable though.

He clicked on his comlink. "Syn, lock down any phantoms we have on the ground. If the smugglers have any craft that we find, lock that down too. They may be trying to escape."

All he got from the comlink was a short reply. "Acknowledged."

Please be careful.

As the group turned the corner, Nof's thoughts were interrupted by gunshots. Lir quickly raised his shield and began returning fire.

"Storm their position!" Nof commanded, gesturing forward. "Split them up, then finish them off."

Without any response but their actions, the command lance moved forward to comply. They were pushing through a small opening that led up into a larger all. It actually looked like the smugglers mess hall, long tables going down rows. At the end of the room, one of the groups of humans hunkered down under the tables, laying down fire from their weapons.

Nof raised his shield and pushed forward with the rest of the group as they slowly spread out. "Lir, Otten, through the middle with me! Lets split them up!"

The hunter raised his beam rifle from behind Nof and fired a plasma bolt downrange, punching a hole through the head of one of the contractors. Nof clipped his needler back onto his belt and detached a plasma grenade, activating it. He tossed the glowing blue orb at the marksman that had shot his man earlier, but the marine rolled away at the last second, avoiding the destructive blast that ensued after. He felt the burst of an assault rifle impact against his shield and he hunkered down for a moment, not daring to stick his hand out to return fire.

The rest of the lance began encircling the room, trying to hit the humans from all angles. Plasma fire scorched the air and the smell of burnt ozone permeated the place as the contractors were forced to flee. Most fled left, but two fled down the central hall while another headed right.

"Take offensive formation. Lir, with me. Zhan, take the others and hunt the left group. Otten, deal with the lone one."

"Copy," Zhan replied.

Otten's deeper, almost feral voice sounded in right after. "Understood."

The Kig-Yar hunter headed right, beam rifle at the ready as he followed the winding tunnel up. The tunnel itself almost seemed to spiral up. Up makes dead end. Target can't run far.

True to his thought, the tunnel looked to open up at the end of this final corridor. He stormed out, gun raised, looking at what appeared to be a small lookout post at the top of the mountain spire. He didn't get anymore information as machine gun fire lit up behind him.

Otten had already been in motion though and quickly knocked aside the rifle with his own before kicking out with his prosthetic limb. He sent his leg into the human's shin, sending the foot back and lowering her posture. He then sent the same leg's knee straight into her hands, sending his attacker's rifle skittering across the ground.

The Kig-Yar threw aside his own rifle in favor of drawing his knife. The blade was as long as his forearm, and had been carved from the tooth of one of the largest creatures he had ever hunted, the same one that had taken his leg.

Perhaps seeing the danger, the human tackled him to the ground. He used her forward momentum however, rolling with the strike and doing a full somersault on the ground, ending up on top of her. He drove his knife down, but the human caught the weapon at the last instant, stopping it from impaling her eye. Otten quickly rolled his wrist and transitioned the weapon to his other hand and sliced across, cutting through the human's neck even as he heard a a plasma blast go off and smelt the stench of burning flesh.

He grunted in pain as he drove his knife into her skull, entering from the lower jaw and thrusting up. Her body went limp instantly and he slowly stood, clutching his side. His own plasma pistol lay in her right hand, the human having snatched it from his hip in the ensuing fight.

The Kig-Yar grunted in displeasure as he fished through his combat harness to find his medical kit. He had been through worse but still. Even as he worked, he looked out over the small lookout post. It appeared to be barely kempt.

He growled uncomfortably at both the pain he was experiencing and at the thought. If they had actually posted a lookout up here, they might have had enough advance warning to put up a better defense. This lookout post probably had a better view than even the sensor array did.

He didn't pay mind to what could have happened though. Instead he activated the radio in his headpiece. "Target terminated. Moving on."

"Good." He heard Nof's voice on the other end. "Hunt down anyone you find, but make your way to the main hangar. All our forces are converging there."

"Understood."

Kel and Eric limped through the caves, their way illuminated by dim lights. "Stop here," she commanded.

"What is it?" Eric asked, unhooking his arm from her and letting her rest her body along the cave wall

"See the room on the right?"

"Yeah."

"We keep a medkit in there. Could you retrieve it?"

"Got it."

Eric ducked into the room, leaving Kel alone in the hallway. She breathed out a sigh as she looked around, thinking back. This all reminded her of Reach. She remembered being on the other end, hunting down human contingents throughout all of New Alexandria.

Visions flashed through her head; hunting marines, then the order to assault the escape shuttles, the order given at the point of a plasma rifle to charge enemy machinegun lines. She remembered her squad falling around her and she remembered the screams of the injured as they drowned in pools of their own blood. And then she remembered her last words to herself before she fled the fleet in that cargo resupply pod.

I told myself that I couldn't go through that again… so why am I here?

"Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Kel, settle down." Eric had just returned.

Kel looked down. Her usually stout legs were wobbling near uncontrollably. "Kel, if it hurts that bad, just sit down, lemme help you out there."

She sat down, but she was shaking her head. "Eric, it's not that."

The former ODST looked at her as he started dressing the wound on her back. "Kel. Are you good?"

Am I good? AM I GOOD? Gods above no. No, I'm not good.

"..."

"Kel."

"No."

He paused for a moment, as he looked from her wound and turned to look her in the eye. "What is it you say? Tell me about it."

All at once, she seemed to melt into the floor, her eyes sagging from years of seeing unfathomable horrors. "I… I was not entirely truthful about my knowledge of Reach."

"Oh, Kel."

"I was there. I was there as my friends got cut down one after the other. They sent us in two dozen at a time; Skirmisher units. They sent us in with the Jiralhanae and they used the two of us as shock troops. Flank enemy positions, encircle and crush the opposition."

She looked down at her talons as Eric continued to work. "Two dozen at a time, we got butchered. By the end of Reach, there were three left in my unit. THREE. I-I told myself that-tha-"

She paused, and he heard her hold back a sob. "I can't do this anymore Eric! This back and forth! I said that if I went through that again, I-I would…"

She broke through her tears for a moment and brought her needle rifle up to her face before she went still, resting on it. "I left before that happened."

"Kel, I…" Eric trailed off."

What can I say? He wondered.

He finished dressing her wound and moved to face her. He crouched down and looked her in the eyes. "You didn't, you're here now okay."

"Eric. I need you to promise me something."

"Anything."

"If it looks like we are not getting out of this, I want you to leave me behind and run."

"No."

The T'vaoan looked at him pleadingly. "Please-"

"No, I'm not leaving you." He grabbed his friend by the shoulders and stared directly at her. "Kel, I've lost too many friends during the war and I'm not losing my last one now."

"Please, just listen to me-"

"No, if I asked the same and the roles were reversed, would you agree to that?"

Kel didn't speak for a long moment, looking down at the floor. She stared down. Drops of water fell to the floor, staining the ground with her anguish. She looked up and finally returned his gaze. "No. No I suppose I wouldn't."

"Alright." He let go of her and stood up, offering his hand to her. "We're getting out of here together Kel. I can promise you that."

She took his hand and stood. "Okay." The Kig-Yar clasped her needle rifle and nodded down the hall. "I fear I have wasted enough time. We should move."

"Yeah. Okay."

"And Eric."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Drake checked his comms again. "Conner? Conner!"

Dammit.

"News?" Khovostov asked.

"Birds got her I'll bet."

Why?

The sergeant shook his head. "Doesn't matter now. The condor's just ahead."

There were only five of them left. Vickenson was scowling from behind them, a pistol in hand. For once, Drake couldn't blame him. His entire dig had gone to shit and now he was running for his life, trying to avoid an almost inevitable drowning, like a rat in a maze.

Well screw these space chickens. They get in the way, I'll kill every single one of them.

"Move out, lets get this show on the road."

The five of them peaked around the corner to see at least twenty Jackals swarming around the hangar. On the other side, the Condor heavy transport sat vacantly, their lifeline to freedom. "Alright, Khovostov, Vickenson, you are the only ones who even have a clue about how to fly that son-of-a-bitch, so try not to get shot. Jagger, you and I are going to provide some targets. Jackson. Do your thing sir."

Just then, there were footsteps from behind them. Drake turned around to see that Damned red-armored Jackal and one of those rangers. "Open fire! GO! GO!" The five of them sprinted for the condor.

The other Jackals around the ship took notice as ballistic rounds and plasma fire erupted throughout the hanger. Searing fire roared past Drake's ears as a Skirmisher began issuing commands to its troops. The commander layed down fire with what looked to be a modified plasma repeater.

Jackson, who was behind him, took aim with his S.A.W. Just as he was about to pull the trigger however, he caught the flash of a yellow shield on his right."Go!" he said. "I've got this!"

Drake didn't waste time as he sprinted behind some crates on his left. He spun around with the rest of his squad, the condor now to his left, though getting to it was going to be hell as at least a dozen combatants were upon him.

Nof grit his teeth and bared his fangs at the human. That had been too close. Another second and Syn might have been dead. Not today.

He had already clipped his needler to his side in preference to his wrist blade, a foot and a half long piece of scalding metal that he had every intent of running through this man.

The Kig-Yar raised his shield and charged, ignoring the absolutely ridiculous amount of bullets pounding into it. He closed the distance just as he swung his blade up, missing by a hairs breadth as the human recoiled. He blocked the return strike with his gun, ruining it as it split, halfway cleaved.

In a flash, the marine drew his knife and made a grab at Nof's wrist at the same time. He maneuvered his shield in the way of the attack before stabbing at the human's face, but yet again, he bobbed his headand ducked under the sideswipe the Kig-Yar commander aimed at him a millisecond later.

Using his brute strength, Jackson ripped the shield aside and thrust forward, aiming for the bastard's neck. Nof quickly ducked low and he felt the spines on his head erupt in pain as the marine's knife and fist struck them hard enough to snap several, sending small streams of molten lava flowing through his skull.

It didn't matter though. He brought his wrist gauntlet back and thrust forward. He felt the soft parting of flesh as Jackson grunted and gasped as his gut was pierced by the scalding hot blade.

Nof pulled the blade out before shoving it right back up into his opponent's armpit, piercing his heart. Blood flowed freely from that wound as not even his blade could completely cauterize it; and with that, Sergeant Jackson fell to the ground, dead.