- MaxRealflugel
- |
- Elder Mythic Member
Part 12
After a brief journey from the Shadow of Intent, the first wave of boarding craft slammed into the Jiralhanae vessel. The impact should have been enough to throw every assaulting Sangheili onto the floor, but the on-board inertia field had reduced the impact to nothing more than a faint shudder.
The Arbiter stared at illuminated forward section of the boarding craft; the energy field was already cutting through the hull of the ship, providing them with an access point and an air-tight seal.
In previous wars with the races in the Covenant, boarding craft had rarely been used, even against the San ‘Shyuum. Ship to ship combat had been the preferred method of fighting. But the war with the Humans had seen an increase in the use of boarding actions, in an effort to gain intelligence. Even Humans had secrets that the Covenant wanted to know, mentions of Forerunner technology and the origin of the various demons that were encountered in the last few decades were among the main areas of interest to the council.
But here they were boarding another covenant ship; they were here to remind the Jiralhanae what honour and loyalty were and what they meant. Since the Jiralhanae had joined the Covenant, they had employed their ancient pack like attitude to those around them. Their grasp of technology was limited and they showed general discomfort towards any form of authority, including the council.
This had not gone unnoticed though; the council deemed that any Jiralhanae ship would not be allowed the use of her plasma batteries or certain ship functions that required the use of advanced Covenant technology. And for a time it remained that way.
Then the war with the Humans started, and the Covenant mustered all of its members, including the Jiralhanae against this new threat, this new abomination. Humans were declared a heresy to all that represented the great journey, and for that they were to be wiped from the face of the universe.
This dramatic shift in the council’s attitude evoked a change of procedure for new arrivals into the Covenant. Instead of waiting decades or even centuries till their loyalty was assured, the Jiralhanae were presented with a fleet of fully functional cruisers and capital ships, and the means to maintain them. They were given too much too soon.
The ambitions of the Prophets matched that of the Jiralhanae, and once that was recognised by each side, then the integrity of the Covenant was doomed. But the Sangheili were different, for them loyalty and honour were of paramount importance, they were the foundations of their society.
“Prepare for deployment!” growled Rtas
All around the Arbiter were hordes of eager and honourable warriors; some were veterans of a thousand battles whilst others had only experienced a taste of things to come. But in this case the only thing that mattered was the destruction of their enemy.
The front of the boarding craft grew dark and silent. They were secure.
The energy barrier sprang into life as the forward section opened like the petals of a flower. Through the shimmering field, the Arbiter could make out the familiar sight of the dorsal command corridor, a long shaft that stretched almost the entire length of the cruiser. This would give them greater access to the other areas of the dying ship.
“This is it warriors, take the life from our enemy and give them no quarter, make them regret the mistakes that they have made in life so they can think hard in death.” Bellowed Rtas, before charging through the energy barrier and into the corridor of the cruiser
The Arbiter and the remaining Sangheili warriors quickly followed, all of them roaring in anticipation of the coming battle.
Rtas and the Arbiter turned right from the boarding craft and headed down the corridor towards one of the many junctions that littered the ship. Several of the other warriors turned left towards the cruisers engine section, whilst the remaining Sangheili followed the Arbiter and their determined Ship Master.
The junction was devoid of any Jiralhanae and their Kig-yar sidekicks, so they moved on to the next corridor.
The walls of the corridor that had once been covered in a gleaming blue-purple sheen were now adorned in a series of small dents, and a thin layer of dirt and a thick black greasy liquid.
Several of the lighting orbs within the walls were not functional as was a computer interface along the wall of the second corridor.
“Obviously the Jiralhanae care nothing for maintenance, or the daily labours of crewing a Covenant cruiser,” muttered Rtas “They live like the primitives we know them to be.”
“And they will die like them.” Voiced the Arbiter
Around the next corner was their first sight of the enemy, four Kig-yar and Two Jiralhanae soldiers stood half way towards the main assembly and council chamber on the ship.
The Kig-yar were equipped with an assortment of Beam rifles and plasma pistols, whilst the two Jiralhanae soldiers were holding a typical choice of Spike rifles.
They looked fatigued and disorderly, and were slow to react to the sight of the twenty five Sangheili warriors that were now rushing towards them.
The four Kig-yar were quickly cut down by a rapid volley of Carbine fire, whilst the two Jiralhanae succumbed to several shots from the Arbiters plasma rifle and then a finishing lunge with a crackling energy sword.
Rtas swept passed the small pile of dead soldiers and onwards to a small corridor that moved away from the main access way. As he rounded the corner he was greeted by Jiralhanae captain in gold armour. His rank was unimportant as Rtas fired his plasma rifle at the bulky figure.
The alien officer attempted to recover from this unexpected encounter but Rtas followed up with several swift strikes with the butt of his plasma rifle. The Jiralhanae captain tried in vain to parry the attack, but Rtas was too fast for his opponent and knocked him to the ground before rendering his face unrecognisable with another shot of superheated plasma.
The Arbiter and the rest of the boarding party quickly followed, moving into the next corridor.
Ahead of them this time was a sizable squad of Kig-yar, Unggoy and Jiralhanae, all assembled around a makeshift barricade.
A Captain-Major was leading this pack and they seemed to be more organised than the previous group. The Kig-yar were all equipped with shield gauntlets, and on seeing the approaching threat, they were immediately activated.
The Unggoy laid down an uncoordinated volley of fire from their plasma pistols, causing Rtas and the Arbiter to dive for cover. Several of their following Sangheili warriors immediately returned fire, downing three of the squat aliens with their carbines.
The residing Jiralhanae opened fire with spikers and maulers, but their aim was off and their pattern of fire was ineffective.
“Grenades!” ordered the Arbiter
Six Sangheili warriors in blue armour immediately stepped forward and threw a handful of grenades at the barricade. Most of them landed in or around the makeshift position but one grenade stuck to the Methane tank of an exposed Unggoy, who promptly panicked and ran towards the Jiralhanae captain. Another grenade stuck to the arm of an overconfident Kig-yar in the middle of the group, both exploded in a cloud of blue fire, sending body parts in all directions.
The only survivor was a lone Jiralhanae stalker, but he was injured and dazed by the huge explosion that had just occurred, the Arbiter quickly put him out of his misery with a lightning fast slash with his energy sword, the stalkers chest armour crumpled and his rib-cage exploded in a shower of gore.
With the current threat neutralised, the Arbiter and Rtas carried on with their squad towards the bridge which was now only three corridors away. Any further resistance that they would encounter would no doubt be far more determined, and with the boarding action well under way, far more prepared.
The arbiters concerns of stiffer resistance the closer they came to the bridge, was more than justified. The next corridor was filled with three separate squads, all laid out in a more thought out and effective manner. The first squad was a mass of thirty or so Unggoy along with several Kig-yar and a single Jiralhanae stalker.
The second squad was a mix of twenty shield bearing Kig-yar and a dozen Jiralhanae minors and several stalkers lead by a lone captain.
The third squad although smaller than the first two presented its own problems, four stalkers and ten bodyguards surrounding a blue suited Ultra ranked Captain were a formidable force, but a flanking pair of loyalist Mgelekgolo brandishing fuel rod cannons were the main cause of concern. Their heavy armour and imposing size would be problematic as the boarding action had been swift and probably carried out with too much eagerness and impatience. As a result they had no heavy weapons to use on the Mgelekgolo at the end of the corridor.
“Warriors, target the Unggoy,” Instructed Rtas “Rapid fire!”
Two squads of blue suited Sangheili moved forward into a better position and fired at the squabbling horde of aliens.
“Specialists, target the second squad. Keep their foul heads down and their weapons silent!” instructed Rtas
A further squad of Sangheili in dark armour moved to the right of the first and opened fire on the wall of Kig-yar shields and Jiralhanae. Some of them found their mark before the loyalist soldiers ducked behind the shields for cover.
“Carbines fire on the third squad!”
The remaining Sangheili fired at the more distant third group of Jiralhanae, there was little chance of removing the Ultra Captain’s entire bodyguard at this distance with the amount of barricades and bulkheads in the way, but they could at least keep them in position, giving the Arbiter and Rtas time to formulate a plan of action.