- MaxRealflugel
- |
- Elder Mythic Member
Part 13
Inside the Loyalist cruiser of Malicious Intent.
Grek a prominent and distinguished Ultra ranked Captain, was one of many Jiralhanae that had achieved their position through the deposition of others. Sometimes these “Others” were similarly ranked soldiers with an equal share of determination and ambition, but most of the time it was an unwitting warrior of senior rank with little knowledge of their impending retirement from command.
Some other races in the Covenant had deemed their way of promotion something more akin to treachery or deception: the Sangheili in particular. But Grek knew his own position was far from an assured means of commanding those around him. Since the Great Schism no less than nine of his own bodyguard had personally challenged him. All of them were now floating somewhere deep inside covenant space; minus their own heads. It was not so much command. It was more like control.
Grek peered from the safety of his armoured bulk at the separatists at the far end of the corridor, who were now charging into the wall of shields on the second position. At the forefront of their advance was the unmistakable silhouette of the Arbiter. The very sight of the Sangheili warrior caused Grek’s matted fur on the back of his neck to stand on end. He felt like charging the insubordinate scum from where he stood, but another few volleys of carbine fire changed his now agitated mind.
Grek turned in foolish anger towards the nearest Mgelekgolo and ordered the armoured monster to target the second position. “Don’t stop firing until everything there is on fire!”
Several of his own bodyguard shot him a look of distaste before resuming their own chorus of fire on the second position.
The second Mgelekgolo also joined in on the carnage, targeting the broad band of shields and charging Sangheili.
The first giant bolt of green iridescent fire was slightly wide of its mark. Several of the Kig-yar turned around in shock and panic, realising that they had quickly become expendable. The Jiralhanae Captain of the group turned sharply towards Grek, a look of disbelief and anger on his face. He immediately began cursing through the thunderous fire around, oblivious of the situation or simply unconcerned.
The second round from the fuel rod cannon hit the barricade dead square in the centre of the line of squabbling Kig-yar, incinerating half of them and throwing the rest across the corridor.
Grek suddenly realised that he had made a serious tactical error by succumbing to his own impatience.
With the shield wall in disarray the Arbiter, Rtas and the rest of the boarding party swept into the despondent line of Jiralhanae. Several of the lower ranked minors were killed with their backs turned, looking at their own Captain Ultra in betrayed disbelief. The rest attempted to fight back before they were overwhelmed.
Rtas killed two minors and a wounded stalker whilst the Arbiter killed a further three minors and squared up against the captain.
The Jiralhanae captain was filled with rage; his recent betrayal by the commanding Ultra in addition to the boarding action had only infuriated him further. The Arbiter fired his plasma rifle at the captain, several of the shots penetrated the armour and the captain reeled and snorted in both pain and anger.
The Arbiter stepped back; sensing what was coming.
The captain swung his fist at the Arbiter but he was too slow; the Arbiter simply ducked beneath the captain’s sluggish attack. The captain kicked out at his Sangheili opponent, but he could only manage a glancing blow on the Arbiters thigh before he opened up once again with his plasma rifle. The captain stepped back again raising his arms for protection before roaring loudly at the Arbiter. Then he charged.
The Arbiter sidestepped the attack and waited till the captain had past before re-activating his energy sword, and striking the Jiralhanae in the back with a single thrust. The large lifeless body slumped to the floor with a heavy thud.
The Arbiter glanced around to see how the rest of the battle was going. All of the loyalist soldiers were dead, and lying about the floor in a variety of odd poses. Three of his fellow warriors had been slain by the enemy, but the Arbiter was more concerned by the glowing fuel rod cannons of the Mgelekgolo at the end of the corridor. One of them fired directly at the Arbiter, but he moved swiftly out of the way of the flaring bolt. The second one also fired, but this time at the mass of Sangheili among the barricades. Two of them were instantly vaporized, while another four were thrown back by the explosion.
The Arbiter along with the remainder of the boarding party dived behind the protective screen of weapon racks and plasma chargers, which fortunately for the Arbiter were designed to withstand a wide range of climates and atmospheres, along with resilience to direct weapons fire.
Attacking the third position would be a mistake; they would all be cut down before they even reached the enemy. The carbine equipped Sangheili had achieved a total of four kills, all of them the Ultra’s bodyguard. But even they were now pinned down by the thunderous cannon fire.
They were rapidly loosing the momentum of the attack and the upper hand, and that was something that the Arbiter had to change quickly.
Then the firing stopped.
The Arbiter peered over the barricade to see the Ultra shouting at the two Mgelekgolo, he had obviously not ordered them to do so. Instead they seemed to have taken matters into their own hands, or in this case their huge metal shields.
One of the stalkers decided to fire a single shot from his spiker at the Mgelekgolo nearest to him. The creature shrieked, but not from pain and raised itself up, as if accepting or issuing a challenge. The stalker took several steps back before charging towards the Mgelekgolo he had fired at. The large blue creature simply swatted the stalker aside like an annoying insect before firing on the rest of the group.
The Arbiter glanced at Rtas and pulled a pleasing grin with his multi-jawed mouth. Rtas replied the silent conversation with a simple nod.
“Warriors rise up and together we’ll sweep this foulness aside!” roared the Arbiter “Charge!”
The Arbiter and the rest of the Sangheili charged towards the final position in the corridor. The two Mgelekgolo were now wading into the group of Jiralhanae, swinging their huge shields as they did so. After a short sprint they reached the remainder of the enemy position and fought them hand to hand. The opposing Ultra, seeing the Arbiter within reach, charged forward, arms outstretched as if he was going to crush the Sangheili in his armour. But he never reached him. Instead he was killed with a single shot from a fuel rod cannon.
The Arbiter span round to see what the Mgelekgolo had fired at, but all he could see was the smouldering remains of the Ultra’s armour.
After the ship was taken the Arbiter approached the two Mgelekgolo. On seeing him approach they bowed as low as they could, and uttered three simple words. “We are sorry.”
“Apology accepted friends,” replied the Arbiter “Now is the time for peace, not war.”
The two walking tanks appeared to nod in unison and then took their rightful place at the main entrance to the bridge, which was littered with bodies.
“Today we have finally ended this conflict Rtas, but much is still to be done.”
“Agreed Arbiter.” Said Rtas
“Helm, take this ship home where it will be returned to its former glory as a covenant cruiser.” Ordered the Arbiter
Suddenly the collision alarm sounded, filling the bridge with a high pitched whine.
“Status!” demanded Rtas
“A vessel of unknown origin has just emerged from slip-space. Closing fast.” Informed Kelic
“On screen.” Said the Arbiter
The main view screen displayed a craft smaller than the cruiser itself, but the shape was unmistakably familiar. It was a Forerunner vessel.
“Hail them.” Ordered Rtas
“No need sir; they are hailing us.” Answered Kelic
To be continued…