- kingwrench
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Part 20...yesss... finally...so close to the end...yesss...
Part 20. It's Just A Flesh Wound
Finn could feel the heat from the plasma blade on his face through the helmet of his S.P.I. armor. He needed to move, to dodge the energy blade coming towards his head. But he couldn't. Cowboy's death was the first time he actually saw a close friend die. It seemed that Finn had inherited Lieutenant Commander Ambrose's trait of bonding with non-Spartan personnel. And now, it had cost him dearly.
Even more heat washed over Finn's face and his body, making it sizzle and pop in places. But he still wasn't dead. Finn opened his eyes to be greeted by two energy swords locked together at the hilt. At the end of the sword farthest from him was the previously cloaked elite. And just in front of him was Ralph, holding the other energy sword. Finn didn't know where Ralph had gotten his blade. All he knew was that he was glad he had taken the energy weapon; if not, Finn would be dead.
Someone from behind Finn put their arms between his armpits and dragged him back. Finn turned his head and realized it was Dave. Finn turned his head back towards Ralph in a near dazed state and watched as he deactivated his energy sword, freeing it from the elite's blade, and reignited it, mere inches from the elite's face. It barely had time to dodge backwards and fire off a few rounds with its plasma pistol before Ralph grabbed his shotgun, took aim at the elite, and fired.
The first shot from Ralph's shotgun hit the floor just in front of the elite. It rolled away, dodging the next round his shotgun belted out. Just as he fired his third shot, the elite activated active camo and disappeared from view.
"You think that'll work, ugly?" Ralph said, grabbing his energy sword from its place on his waist, kept there by magnetic clips usually reserved for grenades. He charged forward, sword extended, and lashed at what appeared to be open air. His blade connected with something, and out of thin air, or so it appeared, the elite's sword clashed once more with his.
Ralph and the elite brought their swords up once more and slashed at each other again, their blades connecting a third time, causing both of their shields to fizzle out. This time, though, Ralph brought out his side arm and emptied the entire clip into the elite's unshielded head. It released a scream of torment and in a final act of spite slashed wildly at Ralph, burning through his torso in a diagonal line.
Ralph fell to the floor and coughed several times. He took off his helmet and this time, when he coughed, blood came up. His pale skin, made so by the extended periods of time in his armor, was covered in beads of sweat and the blood he had coughed up earlier was splattered across the lower part of his visor. His fellow Spartans knelt down beside him and ripped off his chest plate, simplified by the cut that had bisected it. Richard also came up to him and took a can of bio foam out of his rucksack. He emptied the entire canister into the ugly gash on Ralph's chest, but the blade had punctured a lung and cut into his heart. There was too much damage to his vital organs for him to continue on. Soon, Ralph would die.
"It's been an honor serving with you. All of you," Ralph rasped out, before coughing out more blood.
"You're going to make it," Richard lied, taking out some gauze, which he used to rap Ralph's wound. "Dave, apply pressure to his wound. Slow the bleeding."
"Instead of worrying about me, finish the mission. You can take care of me later." Ralph coughed more blood, as his subconscious was trying to undermine his point.
"Finn, hook up the data pad to the control console. Bones, Kim, and Skull, find a way to seal the doors. We don't want any Covenant uglies breaking in. Dave, keep applying pressure to Ralph's wound. The biofoam isn't stopping the bleeding. Red, come with me." Richard stood and walked over to the wall that Cowboy's body had impacted on as the rest of Stiletto scrambled to complete their orders.
"What are we going to do?" Red asked, forcing herself to not look at her friend's corpse.
Richard depolarized his visor and turned to Red. "Those doors lead to the escape pods. We're going to send Cowboy's body out in one."
*****
Richard pressed a button on the keypad, and the escape pod door hissed shut. He inputted another set of commands, and the thrusters on the tiny craft activated, pushing away from the larger Covenant vessel and out into the intense space battle raging above Reach. Richard, who had never interacted with Covenant technology save their weaponry, couldn't explain how he knew what to input. He just did.
He turned away, as did Red, who put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Cowboy had been Richard's best friend. And now he was dead. Red could relate.
Richard walked back into the control room. Finn was still typing in commands on the data pad. Apparently Kim and Bones had done their job, because they all three of them were crouching on one knee, their weapons trained on the doors they had just sealed. Dave still had his hands pressed to Ralph's chest, trying in vain to stop him from bleeding out.
"Richard!" Finn yelled, looking down at his superior officer. "I think we have a problem."
Richard walked up the ramp leading onto the elevated platform that the bridge controls were on.
"What is it, Finn?" Richard said, examining the confusing layout of the controls on each of the consoles. For some odd reason, he felt an unexplainable familiarity with the controls. He knew each console's purpose and how to operate all of them, the same odd feeling he had gotten when he had shot the life pod Cowboy's body was in into space.
Finn gestured at three strange symbols on the main control panel. Every once in a while one of them changed in cycles. They looked as if they were numbers counting down. "Well, uh..." Finn's voice was hoarse as he talked. Richard guessed he was still shocked by Cowboy's death. "I think it's a self destruct sequence. The Covenant rigged the ship to blow."
Richard swore under his breath. But if the Covenant had activated the self-destruct sequence, why not just end it immediately? Richard figured it was to give them time to escape. They really had underestimated Stiletto. "Can you stop it?"
Finn shook his head no. "We can't. At least, I can't. For some reason, I know how every damn thing on this bridge works, but I can't figure out how to stop or delay the countdown. I think we should make a break for the pelican. Use shock and awe to keep the bad guys stunned long enough to give us safe passage."
"Why don't we just take a life pod?"
"Someone took the other ones. I think some of the bridge crew might have fled. But whatever happened to the life pods, it means the only way off this ship is in our pelican."
"You're right," Richard exhaled after a few seconds of quiet contemplation, taking his assault rifle off his back. "And now there are only two symbols on that display."
Richard walked to the edge of the platform and looked down at the rest of Stiletto. "Okay people, we need to scrub the mission. The Covenant have activated the self-destruct sequence. We're going to make a rush for the hangar and escape in our pelican. Any thoughts or ideas?"
"Just one," Bones said, raising his hand up. "Dave has to drag Ralph around."
"I always have to carry the incapacitated ones, don't I?" he grumbled, putting Ralph over his shoulder much like he had done for Richard while he was unconscious, and handed the wounded Spartan his sidearm.
Richard walked towards the door they had entered the bridge from. He turned on the private comm. and whispered something almost unintelligible over the static caused by UNSC radio traffic. "We move on my mark. Three...two...one. Mark."
[Edited on 08.29.2010 5:34 PM PDT]