6
Shortly after Falzud pulled Mar aboard the Scarab, the Demon called them over. He was standing to one side of a ramp that led up to the outer main deck, but was pinned down by an endless stream of thick, blue plasma.
"Major," he said to Mar. "When I draw his fire, I need you two to take him out."
Mar nodded that he understood and looked over to Falzud, who did the same. They both looked back to the Demon, who started a countdown with his fingers.
Three...
The Demon readied his assault rifle.
Two...
Mar drew a grenade. Falzud tightened his grip on the beam rifle the Arbiter had given him.
One...
"Now!" the Demon yelled, firing up the ramp as he took three huge steps back.
The plasma stream ascended as it tracked him, allowing Falzud to swing his beam rifle around the corner and crouch under it. Mar stepped out just as Falzud's gun overheated. He launched the plasma grenade up the ramp and stuck the shield-recharging Brute Chieftain's weapon. The stuck plasma cannon came flying down the ramp a few seconds later.
Mar pulled Falzud back behind cover while the Demon somersaulted away from the cannon back behind the right side of the ramp.
Bfff… Boom!
The whole contraption exploded and sent out a low shockwave that flared each of the warriors' energy shields. All of a sudden, from the top of the ramp came a gruff-voiced command, "Kill the Demon and his scum sucking Elites!"
Directly following that came the maniacal cries.
"Yaieee! Yayay-"
The cries were cut short by the Demon's assault rifle. Two suicide bomber Grunts flopped over in the short, inclined hallway and died messily as the plasma grenades they were carrying went off in a quadruple thunderclap explosion. The Demon and Falzud, now wielding a plasma rifle, emerged seconds later. Mar readied his detached sentinel beam as he followed them up the ramp. At the top, both of them stopped and clearly saw something, but chose to ignore it. The Demon moved left. Falzud went right. They had a mission to carry out.