An Elite's Tale

Shadow recognized Commander Keys and his ODST squadmate, Wildcat, up on one of the elevated structures in orbit around the center platforms. They were talking to each other and the Oracle.

The narrow path Shadow and the green Elite were on had no railings and extended out towards the platforms. A Human Marine was up ahead with his back to them, sniping. Even before he heard him speaking, Shadow knew who it was.

"Hang tight ma'am. Not till that Brute is dead!" Sergeant Major Johnson said with a hand on his ear.

Johnson cracked off another round with his Beam Rifle and shouted down to the Chieftain, "Hey, Mr. Mohawk! How'd that feel?"

He turned as Shadow and Xepo were walking up.

"Son, where in the hell have you been?" he asked.

"Evading capture sir," Shadow answered.

Xepo continued to the edge of the walkway and jumped down to join the other Elites in the fight. Tartarus was rushing a red Elite, who in turn tried to slice and stab him with the huge blade affixed to the brute shot it was holding. There was a jumble of motion, then Tartarus swung the hammer and the red Elite went sailing off of the platform.

Johnson raised his Beam Rifle and shot the Chieftain a few times, as did Xepo, and lowered his shields. Tartarus turned to face them, but the purple Elite came up behind him and stabbed with something. The Chieftain roared in pain and swung the hammer around in a full circle. When he did so, his shield came back online and ejected a Spiker that was impaled in his back.

The purple Elite however, was quick, and managed to jump back in time. Tartarus lunged over to a nearby supply crate and smacked it with the Fist Of Rukt. The crate went barreling toward the purple Elite and knocked him into a hole and down to the bottom platform, which was at such distance from the middle platform that it seemed implausible he would survive the fall.

Shadow started over to the edge of the platform, saying to Johnson, "I have to help. I'm going in."

Johnson replied, "If you can get to the Activation Index and pull it out of that energy beam, it'll stop the Halo ring from charging. That's the key."

"On it," the ODST asserted.

Shadow hugged his M90, ran and leapt off the ledge, landing in a roll to a crouch behind cover on the middle platform. He could hear Covenant weaponry discharging and yelling, felt the ground shudder beneath him every time that Brute pounded the ground or hit a wall or crate or pretty much anything with that gravity hammer.

Shadow stood and flicked his M90's safety lock. Tartarus and the Fist of Rukt stood between him and his objective. The fate of every living species in the galaxy hung in the balance. But there was a stroke of luck: the Elites and Johnson had the Chieftain distracted.

"Sarge," he whispered, now patched over to Johnson's radio frequency. "I'm going for a shock and fade."

"I'll shoot on your signal," the Sergeant Major responded.

Shadow approached the wall he was hiding behind and peeked over the wall like a Kilroy was here drawing. He saw the Chieftain punch Xepo in the face, turn around, and swing the hammer at the Arbiter. The Arbiter ducked low under the swing and backed up feeding Tartarus Covenant Carbine rounds. The Brute jerked as each shot was absorbed by the dense shield generated by the Fist of Rukt.

Shadow jumped over the wall and landed in a silent crouch. He saw Xepo rushing in behind the Chieftain with an energy sword and held up a hand to halt him. Surprisingly, the Elite complied. Shadow held up one finger, then crept quickly and quietly up to the Chieftain's backside.

As soon as he got within stabbing distance, he raised a fist in the air and brought it back down. Johnson fired a piercing beam that, combined with the Arbiter's rapid carbine fire, busted the violet energy shield.

"Take this bitch!" Shadow yelled as he blasted the Chieftain through the back of the knee at point blank range.

"Graaah!" Tartarus screamed.

There, that ought to hold him.

Tartarus fell to a kneel and leaned on the Fist of Rukt for support. Shadow retreated away and jogged over to the energy beam in the center of the platforms as the Arbiter and Xepo rushed in to double team the Brute.

From the ledge, Johnson yelled, "Take him down! We've almost got 'im!"

Finally, Shadow thought wearily as he approached the Index. It's over.

The floor shifted beneath him. The random adjustment threw him off his feet, and the M90 fell from his grip when he hit the ground. The shotgun slid across the floor into the energy beam and disappeared. The trooper grabbed for his pistol but was instantly paralyzed by a ray of blue light. Warning and Error messages popped on his HUD before his helmet malfunctioned and shorted out, leaving him in darkness with an angled window to peer out of. But he could barely do that. The ODST was losing consciousness fast. He felt himself sliding across the floor, not towards the energy beam but back the way he'd come.

The last thing Shadow heard before it all went black was Tartarus's deep, chuckling voice speaking to him.

"Nice try, little runt."