Chapter 4: Fural

In every possible aspect of battle, the humans should have been a boring enemy to fight. They were small, frail, without energy shielding or effective weapons, and most importantly: they lacked the drive to achieve more with their lives.

Killing them should have been seen as sad, ending their miserable aimless lives was more of a mercy than anything. Many warriors in the Covenant made killing their enemy into a lifestyle. To Fural 'Nasamee, it was fun.

Fural was able to blast a human soldier before his brother could get to it, plasma melting deep through its feeble armour and vaporising its muscles. The fight had turned into a game of who could kill the most humans the fastest, whether Dom was aware of that fact or not. When he looked for another target, he spotted a group of unarmoured humans sprinting away. Fearful creatures, easy prey.

He fired a stream of plasma bolts in their direction, just narrowly missing when they turned a corner. Catching up to them was no concern, humans were not known to outrun sangheili. Fural braced himself to sprint down the hall, but a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. He pushed it aside, turning to see a frustrated Dom watching him.

"Do you not want the humans eliminated?" Fural asked, sneering at his brother.

"They are unarmed," Dom said. "And we have a more important task."

"So giving them time to arm themselves-"

"Enough, brother," Dom cut him off. "Do not forget this is the most important mission of our lives. If we do not stop the humans here, the Great Journey will be in peril."

"You think too highly of them," Fural growled, but reluctantly accepted his brother's command. Dom shook his head, his disappointed gaze burning into Fural's eyes. If those humans came back to threaten them, at least it would be his brother's fault.

"Onward, warriors!" Dom shouted to their fellow soldiers. "The Journey waits for no one!"

The minors roared with intent, the unggoy cheering as if they even knew what was happening. Dom bolted down the corridor, leaving the rest of them to catch up. The heathen-filled vessel was no match for the combined might of the sangheili; any humans that laid eyes on them died in a matter of seconds.

Dom held his sword in his left hand, plasma rifle in his right. A flurry of swings cut heathens down left and right, those too distant to be sliced open were melted in hails of plasma. He was both an unstoppable force, and an immovable object. Fural wanted to match his ferocity, but remembered what happened last time he tried to copy his brother.

At every turn they encountered human resistance, each one fighting as if they didn't know they were already dead. Fural pushed past his brother in his pursuit for violence, launching forward and sinking his blades into every enemy he could find. With the corridor clear, Fural prepared to turn the next corner, and give the humans waiting there a swift end.

Another firm hand on his shoulder pulled him back from his next taste of blood, Dom fiercely held him back. How dare he stop me!

"What is your problem?" Fural spat.

Dom raised a fist to his mandibles, telling him to be silent. One of their minors rushed forward, as fervent as Fural in the slaughter of the enemy. His chest exploded, a cloud of blood dissipating from where he once stood. The bang of the weapon that killed him left Fural's ears ringing.

The anger he felt at Dom faded, his brother staring at him with a familiar expression: you should just listen to me.

There wasn't time to acknowledge him before he vanished into thin air, moving ahead without being seen. Fural followed suit, engaging his active camouflage system, and disappearing to the world around him.

The humans around the corner were frightened, seemingly aware of the invisible warriors coming to kill them, but unable to figure out exactly where they were. Dom revealed himself behind them, at the opposite end of the hall. They all turned to face the new threat, allowing Fural to ignite his sword, and cut them apart from behind.

Every swing of his blade cut an enemy down. The first brought vengeance to the minor who was slain, it was a human wielding a shotgun; a clumsy weapon with no artistry behind it. The second and third were in the process of raising their weapons, neither getting a chance to fire. The fourth swing removed a human's head from its shoulders.

"Well done, brother," Dom said.

"Thanks, brother," Fural grumbled.

Dom watched him in amusement, ignoring his attitude. The rest of their team caught up once the way was clear, the remaining minors showing clear disappointment at missing the fight. Only one of them took the time to mourn the loss of a fellow warrior.

Fural didn't remember the names of anyone who died alongside him, he didn't particularly care about them at all. But he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the minor that died, only because he almost took his place.

The fighting became more widespread as the Covenant pushed further into the ship. Most approaches were empty now, and entire sectors of the vessel were no longer under human control. The path to the engine room had been mostly clear; Fural knew that wouldn't last for long.

Dom scouted each passage himself, beckoning the group forward with each turn. It was a task Fural would have assigned to the unggoy, but at least Dom was able to use cloaking tech to his advantage. After they scouted enough corridors, the squad was allowed to move together. Fural didn't have much choice but to stay at his brother's side.

There wasn't anything to see on their journey other than the remnants of battle, and an insignia painted on a wall. It was coloured in ugly shades of orange and blue, and stuck out from the grey corridors like an unggoy in the snow. Words in the humans' language were inscribed beneath it, something Fural never bothered to understand.

"Pillar of Autumn," Dom translated as they passed. "An interesting name."

"A meaningless name," Fural corrected him.

"Meaningless to us, not to them."

"They are meaningless creatures," Fural growled. "Born to die at the hands of greater beings."

"They are creatures nonetheless," Dom said. "Every one has a soul, history, and beliefs. The only difference between us and them is that their souls are plagued, while ours are pure."

"Then why bother learning their language?" Fural asked. "If they will all be dead soon enough, it is a waste of time."

"It is not enough to kill your enemy, you must come to understand them as well. Learning their language is an important skill, not just for preservation, but for battle as well. What if you must question one for information? Or properly challenge one to a fight?"

"I will do no such thing," Fural said. "No human is worthy of a fair duel, you know that. Our role is solely to kill them."

"Then you have wasted all your fights," Dom said. "You will be remembered as a killer, nothing more."

"Our memory outlasts us all," one of the minors joined in the conversation.

"Who allowed you to speak?" Fural snapped, shutting him up.

He turned back at Dom only to see a judgemental glare. His blood burned.

"Let us not forget we walk this journey together," Dom said. "We are all brothers, and we are at the cusp of greatness. There is no more room for grievances."

"Apologies, brother," Fural grunted.

"I am not the one you should apologise to."

Fural grunted, and averted his eyes from the rest of the squad. For the first time in his life, he wished he had more time before the fight began. To bask in Halo's glow, and admire it as the holy symbol it was. Perhaps he could have avoided his brother's disappointment a little longer.

A priority alert sounded across their communications, the words of a wary Sangheili sounding in Fural's ears.

"Take heed brothers, a Demon is upon us. Be cautious in your steps, and it will fall like vermin."

Fural couldn't stop his mandibles from curling into a grin. He had never had the opportunity to face a Demon, but he knew the tales. Creatures more mechanical than alive, monsters that stopped at nothing to kill everything in its path. A worthy opponent.

"Th-there's a Demon here?" an unggoy stuttered.

"Ah, yes, we are all in danger," a minor said before letting out a hearty laugh. "There is no such thing. It is impossible for a human to be so imposing!"

If there truly was a Demon somewhere on the ship, Fural had to find it. They were the only enemy in this war that could bring honour with their defeat. And finally, they will make me Blademaster.

"The Demon is indeed real," Dom said. "Be grateful it is on the opposite end of the vessel, it would be a great hindrance to us otherwise."

"It must be destroyed," Fural suggested. "It will come to stop us regardless."

"Regardless, it will burn along with this ship once our mission is complete," Dom shut him down. "There is no time to divert our focus."

Fural took a deep breath, squeezing the grip of his plasma rifle. There would be no glory if it didn't die by his hand. There was consideration to leave, and take the Demon on by himself. But if there was one thing he learned from Dom, it was to wait until a better opportunity presented itself.

Besides, if he were to personally destroy the ship, the glory would still be his.

"Fine, I agree," he said.

"I am shocked," Dom said, watching his brother with a questioning gaze.

He couldn't tell the emotions behind his brother's face; whether he was proud or simply surprised. Only Dom couldn't tell Fural had a motive, and there was little time to waste in accomplishing it.

The layout of the human ship was confusing. Corridors bent in ways they shouldn't have, and stopped at dead ends with nothing beyond them. It didn't help that human soldiers waited at every intersection, costing them another sangheili warrior, and two unggoy in their engagements.

When they finally entered the rear of the ship, they were cut off from their path. Multiple doors were sealed around them, hull breaches leaving the corridors beyond depressurised. Without the proper harnesses to traverse the vacuum, they were stuck.

"Curse this vile vessel!" Fural spat. He'd had enough of running around in the dark.

"Patience, brother," Dom said. "There may be another path."

Patience was a virtue Fural no longer had, this mission had taken long enough. He looked to his brother as he scanned the corridors around them, hoping for him to come up with a solution soon. Fortunately, Dom was a quick thinker.

The older Sangheili ignited his blades, cutting open a small door embedded in the wall. It led to a corridor wide enough for an unggoy to fit through.

"This cannot be the 'other path'," Fural scoffed.

"And you know of a better way?" Dom asked. He didn't wait for a response before squeezing through the entrance, his harness scraping the sides of the corridor. "Do not veer from my steps."

Fural grunted, and followed him in, the rest of the squad close behind. He could barely move, having to keep his arms in front of him, inching forward with each step. It took ages to even turn a corner. The corridor felt like it was crushing him, and would consume him whole before they ever found an exit. If a human had the smart idea of waiting for them in there, nobody would make it out alive.

"This is agonising," Fural sighed.

"Agonising is my blade in your throat," Dom said. "If you spent half as much time fighting as you did complaining, you would be a Blademaster by now."

"Must you two always bicker?" asked the sangheili behind him.

Fural tried to face the minor, only hitting his head on the wall next to him. It took all of his strength not to ignite his blades and cut the corridor apart.

"This does not concern you," he snarled. The minor didn't respond.

The map they were given had little information about the maintenance corridors, the squad was at the mercy of Dom's intuition. Distress calls from the other boarding teams sounded in the silence, the humans were putting up a greater resistance than they anticipated. It didn't help that there was a Demon on the loose.

Sounds of fighting grew louder as they came closer to the exit. Gunfire echoing through the corridors, screams of humans and unggoy meeting their end. The wail of a sangheili unforunate enough to fall to these heathens. Dom cut the door open, and the squad filed out. Fural felt like he could breathe again.

"There are more depressurised zones ahead," Dom warned. "But I know another way to the engines."

"Finally!" one of the sangheili exclaimed. "The humans' destruction is at hand!"

"It is," Dom said. "But this path is for my brother and I. Our forces need more warriors at their side to keep the humans at bay. The rest of you will make sure of it."

Disappointment crossed the warrior's face, but he lowered his head in acknowledgement.

"As you will, commander," he said. "May the Forerunners guide your hand."

"And yours as well."

Dom gestured for Fural to follow, and he sprinted down the hall. The rest of their squad disappeared down another corridor to slay more humans in the name of the Great Journey. Fural chased after his brother.

"I am surprised you didn't leave me with them," Fural said.

"What good would that do?" Dom replied. "I am here to guide you, if you forgot."

"Right," Fural sighed. "Where are we going?"

They scaled a set of stairs and several corridors leading upward. Their path was littered with dead humans and Kig-Yar, the floors stained in shades of red and purple.

"A vehicle corridor runs along the spine of this vessel," Dom said. "It will lead us to their engine room. Major Vodo 'Erumee is there, we will join his force."

"Great. More menials to slow us down."

Dom sighed and shook his head. He was beyond tired of arguing with his brother.

"Every mission is the same, isn't it?" Dom asked.

They were cut off by a transmission from 'Rylanee before Fural could respond.

"Warriors take heed, the human's vessel has changed course for Halo," 'Rylanee warned. "You must finish your mission with haste."

"Worry not, Shipmaster," Dom replied. "We are almost there."

The next door they passed through brought them to the corridor Dom mentioned. It was a wide space, big enough for several dropships to fly through and land tanks, and it was deep in combat. Several squads of unggoy and kig-yar with sangheili at their lead engaged human soldiers hiding on the catwalks between the walls.

A sangheili major stood in the midst of the battle, firing a concussion rifle into the humans behind cover. The force from the rifle's blasts threw them into the open, allowing the kig-yar to pump them full of crystals from their needle launchers.

"'Erumee!" Dom shouted, the major turned his attention to them.

"The human presence is heavy here!" 'Erumee reported. "They know what we are after!"

"Then we must push hard," Dom said. "It is imperative we complete this mission quickly!"

"Agreed! Take my kig-yar, they will not let you down!"

Three of the kig-yar in front of 'Erumee turned around, each of them eyeing Fural suspiciously. One of the unggoy took notice of him, turning to its friend to whisper something that he could hear clearly.

"Isn't that guy that everybody dies around?" the unggoy asked.

Fural turned to face the tiny creature, approaching it and igniting his blades.

"I will ensure that you will be the next," he snarled, causing both of the unggoy to shriek and run away.

The two unggoy ran out into the open, and were quickly gunned down. Fural felt Dom and 'Erumee's eyes burning into the back of his neck, and he put the sword away. The three kig-yar that would soon be under his command looked at him with dread, but their opinions of him wasn't something that mattered.

"I will take the right side," Dom said, brushing the behaviour of his brother aside. "Fural will take the left, I recommend you advance down the middle."

"Of course, commander," 'Erumee said. He signalled with his hand for the kig-yar to split up and follow both of the Spec-Ops commandos.

Fural growled as Dom assigned him to the left of the corridor. If it were up to him, he would have taken the middle, but even he was getting tired of arguing. He gestured for the kig-yar to follow him, which they did reluctantly, and he took his position against the left wall.

More humans poured into the corridor, using the height of the catwalks to their advantage. Fural reached for the carbine on his back, happy to finally have a chance to use it.

"Stay in front of me!" Fural ordered the kig-yar. "Advance!"

The three kig-yar stood with their defence gauntlets raised, Fural staying right behind them as they pushed forward. Bullets bounced and pinged off their shields. From behind his mobile cover, Fural was able to fire at the humans on the catwalks unimpeded, striking one in the chest three times with radioactive cartridges, and another in the head.

One of the humans tossed a grenade into the line of kig-yar, the small explosive bouncing and rolling to Fural's feet. He quickly reached down to grab it and threw it behind him, the grenade going off a second later and damaging his energy shield. The kig-yar snarled at the humans, peppering them with blasts from their plasma pistols. Fural watched another squad of humans fly apart from 'Erumee's concussion rifle.

"For the Covenant!" 'Erumee shouted, receiving a rallying cry from his kig-yar.

Fural ejected the spent cartridge from his carbine, a puff of gas flowing from the empty chamber before pushing a new one in. With the help of the kig-yar blocking the enemy's fire, the advance through the corridor was almost too easy, but it happened slowly. Unggoy made their way onto the catwalks to keep any human reinforcements away, clearing them to move to the next section of the corridor.

The slowness of the attack was getting to Fural, his hand itching to grab ahold of his sword and take the humans on up close. Dom would certainly disapprove, but there wasn't much that he approved of anyway. He made his decision with a grunt, and stowed his carbine on his back.

With a leap over the kig-yar, Fural rushed into the battle. Jumping over a crate to get at the humans behind it, he cut them down swiftly with a few swings of his sword. A squad of human soldiers focused their fire on him, tearing through his energy shield by the time he was close enough to cut them apart. He didn't even feel the impact of the bullets in his chest, most of them stopped by his harness. The squad of humans fell before they knew it.

He caught a glimpse of his kig-yar as he waited for his shield to recharge, the three of them rushing to catch up with him. Another grenade from the catwalks landed in front of them, and they were consumed by the explosion before Fural had a chance to move. They served their purpose, Fural thought.

Staying in his position behind the crate, Fural brought his carbine back out, and shot two more humans in the head. They returned fire, showering his position with bullets to keep him pinned down. The rest of the heathens on the catwalks cleared out, running for the exits. By the time he was able to ready his carbine again, they were all gone. The disappointment of the fight ending was drowned out by the humor in seeing his enemy retreat.

"Run, humans!" he shouted. "It will not save you!"

Fural looked down the corridor to see the rest of the human forces retreating, giving them a clear path to the engine room. It was only after he sprinted forward when they received another transmission from 'Rylanee.

"Warriors, take heed! The human vessel is accelerating toward the ring!" 'Rylanee said with an urgency in his voice Fural hadn't heard before. "The fleet has been allowed to fire on it. Anyone left aboard must return to their breachers now!"

Fural looked for his brother, who was still further behind with 'Erumee and the kig-yar. Both of them shouted for Fural to get back.

You cannot be serious.

The ceiling of the corridor exploded, burning debris crashing around them and exposing the sector to vacuum. He quickly retreated, sprinting as fast as he could to catch up with the rest of the sangheili. Emergency airlocks closed all along the corridor, they were just able to squeeze through a blast door before it closed. The rest of the kig-yar and unggoy were left behind to be vented into space.

"By the Prophets!" 'Erumee shouted as they sprinted. "How could this be allowed to happen!?"

"We cannot risk the ring being defiled!" Dom shouted back.

A junction exploded ahead of them, throwing debris into their path. The three sangheili leapt over it, taking advantage of the human vessel's lower gravity.

"It has already been defiled!" 'Erumee shouted over the sound of another explosion. "It is too late to be saved!"

"Blasphemy!" Dom replied. "If we could not eradicate the humans here, then we will cleanse them from the ring! The only thing certain is that we cannot underestimate them again!"

The ship rumbled and buckled under the pressure of the fleet taking shots against it. At least the gunners could be trusted to be slow and precise, no one would risk damaging the Sacred Ring. But any good warrior would sacrifice a thousand lives to stop the humans.

Fural kept his eyes on the map of the ship, narrowly dodging explosions and debris. With how far they ventured during their mission, there was no way they would reach the breacher in time to escape. But he saw another way.

"Brother!" Fural shouted. "We're cut off from our breacher! We'll be dust before we make it!"

"'Erumee, what about yours?" Dom asked.

"The fastest way to it was back there," 'Erumee said, pointing back at the airlock they just went through.

"This corridor leads to a hangar!" Fural said. "If you can signal a dropship, we can fly out of here!"

Dom looked back at his brother and nodded, turning on his communicator.

"'Rylanee, we're cut off from our breacher and require a dropship to extract us!" Dom said. "I'm sending you the location of a hangar close by!"

"You want me to send a dropship to land in a rapidly accelerating cruiser that is currently being fired on by our entire fleet?"

"Can it be done?"

There was a pause, followed by the sound of 'Rylanee's mandibles clicking.

"The Unwavering Soul is on the way. You better be in that hangar when it arrives."

"Excellent!" Dom exclaimed. "We will be there!"

Fural couldn't help but feel a little pride for doing something his brother actually approved of, but that pride was short-lived due to their circumstances. He didn't know how much longer he could continue running, after having spent this entire mission sprinting around the ship and being shot at. The only advantage to the situation was that there weren't any human forces left to stand in their way.

The three sangheili came up to a huge ramp leading further down into the ship, too steep to run on. Dom dove down, unfazed by the obstacle. His feet glided against the steel floor as he slid down the ramp with 'Erumee behind him. When Fural tried to follow, he lost his footing, and fell right onto the floor. The other two were so caught up in running that they didn't notice.

Fural grunted and climbed back onto his feet, much further behind the other two. He caught a glimpse of four unggoy retreating from another engagement, all of whom were consumed in an explosion. He was surprised anyone else was still on the ship, but not surprised it was a squad of unggoy that were left behind.

Fural struggled to catch up with the others, the pain from being shot started getting to him. His chest stung, his body slowed down. Blood trickled out of the bullet holes and stained his harness. Luckily Dom finally noticed how far behind they left him, and he returned to give him a hand.

"I am not leaving you behind!" Dom shouted, holding him up with an arm. "Go!"

The two brothers ran together, narrowly avoiding another explosion as the ship deteriorated. 'Erumee stopped to shout at them, encouraging them to move faster. The wall next to him erupted in a ball of flame, blasting him onto the floor and cutting him up with debris. The depressurisation of the sector didn't give them time to stop and check if he was still alive. Even if he was, he wouldn't have made it out.

'Erumee had fallen a few steps short of the hangar, it wasn't long until Dom and Fural made it. One final stretch stood between them and the landing pad. Flames engulfed the ship as it entered the ring's atmosphere, bathing the hangar in an orange glow. The warmth burned at Fural's skin as they made their way onto the landing pad.

As if on queue, a Phantom flew through the hangar entrance, stopping above the pad and activating its gravity lift. Fural and Dom were sucked into the belly of the dropship.

"Get us out of here!" Dom shouted to the pilot.

Screens on the walls of the troop bay gave Fural a view of the outside. He watched as they pulled out of the hangar, and the human vessel descended upon the ring.

They were so close to Halo that it almost looked like they'd set foot on it. It was a glorious sight, ruined by the presence of the human vessel crashing into the surface. Fural was thankful the dropship turned away, and set a course for the Supreme Crusader.

"You are lucky to be alive," the pilot commented.

"Indeed, and you are one lucky pilot," Dom said, leaning against a wall to catch his breath. "That was not an easy maneuver."

"Only doing my part," the pilot replied.

Dom chuckled, watching the screens to see Halo fade into the distance. "What is your name, pilot?" he asked.

"Jors 'Cinatee," the pilot said. "Pilot of the Unwavering Soul."

"Thank you, 'Cinatee," Dom said. "I will see that you are commended."

Dom returned to the troop bay, the door to the cockpit closing. He sat down on the floor, next to his brother.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'll be fine," Fural grunted, holding his chest.

"All things considered, you did well today," Dom said. "I will make sure 'Rylanee knows."

Fural shook his head, and stood up. He looked back at Halo as it grew more distant, watching the part of the ring where the human vessel crashed. The thought of the vermin crawling all over the holy world causing him to snarl.

"We did not do well," Fural growled. "We failed our mission."

"No," Dom said, standing beside his brother. "We did all we could. The Great Journey is a long path, and this was just the first step."

Fural didn't understand how his brother could be positive at a time like this, especially after their shameful display of boarding an enemy ship. But Dom knew what he was thinking, and he knew just what to say.

"Look on the positive side: now you have more humans to kill."