With the Chieftain’s shields overloaded, what would have been the lethal shot from Rex deflected off of the energy barrier unceremoniously, and with no one else to slow down the Brute, Rex found himself in a poor position. The swing he gave in return was both quick and brutal, and even Rex did not have the ability to avoid it.

The bladed edge of the gravity hammer struck Rex square in his chestpiece. Even MJOLNIR could not stand up against such force, as it was bent inward while Rex himself was smashed a meter or so back against the wall behind him.

Of course, after landing his blow, the Chieftain’s blood frenzy had him moving on quickly to the next prey. Tar was straight in his path, and the next obvious target. Her shields had already been depleted, and she was not in a position to run away nearly as quickly as the Chieftain could charge. He raised his hammer high and lunged forward, but among the chaos of gunfire that still filled the chamber, another shotgun shell was fired. Rex, though beaten down and struggling for breath, still fired from the ground. The Brute’s shield did perfectly protect him, but that protection did not extend to the hammer he was holding. The well-aimed shot from Rex sent buckshot tearing through the hammer’s mechanisms. When the Brute brought the hammer down on the ground at Tar’s feet, the gravity impulse malfunctioned and failed to trigger.

The invincibility module had saved the Chieftain, but it was short-lived. The overcharge ended shortly afterwards, leaving the Brute once again vulnerable with his weapon damaged. Although, it was still a hammer, and he was still a Brute. The danger he presented was still far from over, and as his normal shields had been replenished, it was not as if he would fall easily.

---

---

Overall, Vael’s team had managed to claim their needed positioning in the chamber. With the aid of Tasuma’s smoke, they had forced the Rebels out of their entrenched central position, and Ryker and Grik had claimed the high ground on the right. The remainder of the Rebels had retreated out of the smoke to the far side of the room, and all that was left was to finish them.

Despite their dire situation, the Rebels were still not going to give up without a fight. Vael had already slain the strays in the smoke cloud, so those that remained had no hesitation to fire on any movement. On the far right flank, a Rebel with a SAW was suppressing Ryker’s position, while another beside him tossed up a frag grenade.

”We must strike together. Tasuma, force them to hide and we shall descend upon them.” Vael ordered. Tasuma stayed within the smoke for cover, instead using the sound of the SAW firing to guide its aim. Just the sound of its arm cannon charging sent some Rebels to cover, and when it did fire, the Rebel with the SAW was caught in the edge of the fuel rod blast, relieving some of the pressure on Ryker and Grik.

Grikgar /Grik/ Seeker

// Unggoy Ultra // Demolitions and Artillery // Location: Enemy Stronghold

The rebels on the high ground were quickly dispatched once they lost their support weapon. The others down below seemed to be working through them rather well. This Ryker Spartan was impressive, the grunt wasn’t too surprised. The humans were determined to fight till the last man and fight they would. Grik’s shield had charged back up again and he quickly rejoined his squad mate on the high ground only to come under fire by another rebel with another support weapon.

Their commander was determined to end this quickly and ordered Tatsuma up to pin down the remaining enemy. Once the behemoth shook up the last of the defenders and got their focus off them Grikgar began his side of the counter attack. Flaring the orange shield to life with one hand and swapping out the fuel rod cannon for a plasma pistol he began to lay down a stream of green plasma shots down onto the enemy. Normally plasma pistols wouldn’t be this effective but grunts were more than capable of firing off the semi auto weapon just as fast as a plasma rifle.

@Zarkun

The sudden barrage of SAW fire was more than a bit annoying for the SPARTAN IV as he was forced into cover once more, though at least this was more the kind of suppressive fire that kept him from getting a clear shot. Since he was on the high ground, the shots had less chance of hitting his shielding, but he couldn't get a clear line of fire. So, swapping the SMG for his DMR, he braced and waited. Eventually, he could hear the sound of the Mgalekgolo's cannon charging and he knew he'd have his chance soon.

However, as he went to relay an idea he had to Grikgar, the cannon fired and the Unggoy opened fire with his pistol. "Well, I can work with that too." Popping up with his DMR already tucked snuggly into his shoulder, Lucas opens fire, first putting a bullet through the head of the SAW gunner before shifting to pick off another designated rifleman thinking he was sneaky from the doorway. {Heads up, Squad Leader, they're taking cover in the hallway beyond...well, it looks like another hallway at least. I know they're using the door way.} A couple of AR rounds ping off the SPARTAN-IV's shielding and he ducks briefly before popping back up and returning fire, missing the intended head shot and instead putting the bullet through the insurgent's shoulder.

Good, clear from above, Yalu thought towards the dead brute that tumbled off the walkway above him. That was one way to signal that the high ground was taken.

Yalu reloaded his carbine. He was at his second-to-last magazine now. Unfortunately, just as his shields found a moment to hum back to full strength, the telltale stomps of the brute chieftain heralded the charge against Rex.

The spartan was struck deep into the chest. Yalu was in no position to do anything about it. He fell into hesitation, even as the invincibility module faded away. If it weren't for the ONI agents keeping the enemies suppressed, their flank might have been completely done in.

But he shook it off. He filled his lungs and charged. "Rrrraaaaaaah!" Yalu's warcry steeled his nerves as much as it was meant to catch the chieftain's attention. Any one ally would be in danger brawling against a brute with a hammer, but two against one tipped the scales. He fired scattered carbine rounds against the chieftain's shield on the way in. He feigned suicidal rage. However, he kept his footwork ready to void aside or back from a hammer swing in retribution. He did not intend to fight like a mad animal.

---

The detonation of Tasuma’s fuel rod blast was the signal for Vael as well. While Ryker and Grikgar fired from above on the right flank, Vael moved in on the left flank. He initially moved in under the cover of active camouflage. The imperfect invisibility could be spotted at such close range, but in this case, he only needed it to give him a few moments to approach while his enemy was otherwise occupied.

For Vael, he was able to rush in to close the gap on the left pillar while the rebels were hiding from Tasuma’s fuel rod. By the time one of them peered out and spotted the shimmering in the air, he was already upon them. His blade ignited mid-swing, and the body of the Human he was looming over put up no resistance as it cleaved through. The second rebel behind the pillar did manage to land a few SMG rounds on Vael in the second or two he had to react, but it was far from enough to break the Sangheili’s shields before his body too was pierced by the energy sword.

Ryker was correct that the remainder of the rebels were trying to move into the hall. They no longer had much of a defensive position, and those that were left were willing to retreat. The volume of plasma bolts from Grik, couples with accurate DMR fire from Ryker, put on them a great deal of pressure. Three made a run for the door while firing blindly back at the pair, and two went down before they could make it into the hall. For the few that remained pinned behind the right pillar, another fuel rod from Tasuma landed directly beside them.

When there were no more left to retreat, the rebels closed and locked down the door to the hallway. It would only delay their team for a short time if they decided to pursue, but it would let the rebels put some distance between them. However, Vael had other priorities than ordering a chase. As soon as the room was cleared, he ran back to the center to the nearest crate. Their objective had been to find the armory, so using his strength to simply pry open the lock, Vael pulled open one of the crates to see its contents. Unfortunately, it was not weapons within, but rather sealed, packaged foodstuffs. He let out an irritated growl and flared his mandibles. “This is not the armory. Fall back, and we will rejoin the others.”

{Copy, coming down.} Turning to the Unggoy, he nodded before heading for the ramp back down. "Sounds like we didn't get the fun objective. Squad lead says back to the split." Obviously the walk back down the ramp was going to prove far less dangerous and the trip back out of the room, but that didn't bother the SPARTAN-IV. It gave them time to strategize and re-establish contact with Aviza's team, though he wasn't sure that they'd answer if they were in the midst of a fire fight. Reaching the bottom of the ramp, Ryker took up a position looking down the hall from the door way. "That sure was an awful lot of fight for some food stuffs. Are we sure they're nothing special?" It wasn't an uncommon thing for things like food stuffs to be used as IEDs, especially with the peacetime they were in and the shortages some sectors were facing.

Then again, if they'd been rigged, suppose the Innies would have detonated the stash then and there and there'd have been no firefight like there was. Still, perhaps having a bomb removal team come through and check wouldn't hurt in the post-operation. "Ready to move when you are squad lead."

The first thought that ran through Aviza's mind as soon as she witnessed Spartan Rex receive the devastating blow from the Brute Chieftains Gravity hammer was immediate medical attention for what was most likely a life threatening injury. She knew this could not be done in their current situation, given the circumstances and the obvious threat that was still prevalent. With very few options available at the moment, Aviza sprinted forward towards her fallen Spartan, only coming to a stop when she arrived by his side. "Shih, I need a full scan of Spartan Rex, or as detailed as you can give. Once that is done, I want you to send a message to the Chorus of Thunder and inform them that we have injured and will need a fully detailed medical team on standby once our mission here is finished."

For the moment, Aviza's Argus armor was informing her that she still had a few more seconds before she had to actually face the Brute Chieftain in combat, but a few seconds was all she needed to at least attempt to stabilize Spartan Rex. Quickly reaching onto the advanced medical kit she kept on herself at all times, Aviza produced a biofoam dispenser and was about to place it back inside of the medical case when she witnessed the Chieftain slam his hammer down at the feet of Tar, thankfully no energy wave was dispensed. With some quick thinking, she tossed the biofoam canister at the Brute Chieftains head and then rapid fired the underslung shotgun upon her MA5D Assault Rifle untill the eight round clip ran dry and had to be replaced.

If this did not severely injure the Brute Cheiftan, they would be in serious trouble. Thankfully though, Aviza found an opportunity to assist Tar, and grabbed onto the back of her armor, pulling her back and away from the Brute and helping her onto her feet before once more turning to face the Brute Chieftain.

The Brute Chieftain recoiled under the barrage of shotgun shells, but possessed the presence of mind to raise the bulky armour plate attached to his left arm. It absorbed some of the impact, shattering to pieces.

The Chieftain issued a guttural, gurgling roar. He raised his hammer off the floor, jabbing it straight out in front of him at Aviza before lurching round and swinging it in a wide, brutal arc at Yalu as he rushed in from behind. The Elite’s battlecry had obviously alerted the Chieftain to the danger.

Tar sprung to her feet with Aviza’s interrupted help. She dodged the Chieftain’s savage jab, aided by the fact she wasn’t the principal target. As soon as the Brute turned his back to pound Yalu, Tar jumped forward and clambered up his back. She reached for her holstered energy sword, intent on ramming it through a chink in the Brute’s neck armour.

Before she could, the Chieftain’s head jerked backwards in a panicked motion; his helmet smashed into her face. One of Tar’s feet slipped, and she was forced to quickly put both hands back on the Brute’s armour to avoid falling off and being trampled. She tried to grab her sword again.

As tough as its defenses were, the Brute Chieftain was not invincible. At least, not any longer. With his shields now depleted, his armor had to handle the incoming fire. Many pellets from the shotgun blasts either deflected off of the armor or was stopped by it, but each shot weakened his defenses, and some broke through. It might have been hard to notice in the chaos of battle, but bright red blood dripped from some holes in the Jiralhanae’s armor plating.

Had the Brute’s ambush not been discovered, or his allies not taken so many casualties when they tried to rush across the room, they might not have been able to place as much focus on the chieftain himself. Alone, the chieftain could be overwhelmed from all angles. Still, in his blood rage, he may not have even been aware he was essentially alone, and he would be fighting to his last breath. Tar nearly knocked him off of his feet when she jumped on him from behind, but he managed to keep standing. In a rage, he let out a roar as he managed to reach up over his shoulder to grab a hold of Tar’s arm. He had her in a vice-grip, and despite his unfavorable leverage, his raw strength was not something to be ignored. Although, in his struggle against Tar, he could not focus on many other threats.

THUD! The chieftain's hammer slammed into the forerunner floor. Yalu rolled back to his feet in a low stance. A moment too late reading the brute's wide step around and he could have been crushed. Perhaps if the hammer was still powered it might have broken his bones anyway.

Yalu raised his carbine and took no shots. With 'Mdalak thrashing around on the brute's back, he didn't want to risk it. He shuffled around for just a moment, dancing around any errant one-handed swings of the hammer. Tar's situation presented Yalu's opening. He thrust the barrel of his carbine up into the cheiftain's armpit -- belonging to the arm that held Tar -- and pulled the trigger. It was the last slug in his magazine.

Grikgar /Grik/ Seeker

// Unggoy Ultra // Demolitions and Artillery // Location: Enemy Stronghold

The fighting slowly subsided as the rest of the rebels were slaughtered or ran through another fortified door. The other fighters seemed to be ok or at least not seriously injured. Grik was watching around the room as Vael seemed to check a crate but judging by the growl it wasn’t what we were looking for. Once the order to retreat was given the grunt was quick to fall back to the door they entered and checked his ammunition. He still had one explosive charge, 2 grenades, one and a half magazines for the cannon but both his pistols were below half.

“Will need to rearm soon but Grik is ready to regroup with other team.” He called out then with his plasma pistol in one hand and the reignited jackal shield in the other, the grunt began to make his way back to where the two groups split up in the first place. The Unggoy was still aware that the enemy could be waiting around any corner but by the sound of fighting down the hall he knew the other team was still fighting.

At this time the two had finally redirected their attention to the brute at hand, the big brute - the bad brute. Elna shouldered her rifle and fired upon the creature as its shields were simply corpsed, ripped apart though there was a 'friendly' Elite nearby, she simply had to take the chance to take the thing out, the other Elite had shields right? Though her aim was not shakey or bad by any means, she was a pro. Pulling the trigger a line of hate made its way towards The brute, flying at a break-neck pace it would hit his armor, hit him.. Where fate would roll its dice would simply but up to her aim..

For Roy he lacked the firepower to simply engage, opting to cover the duo in case any straggler rebels showed up he'd blast them into a million federal bits of death. He turned around sweeping up some stragglers but there wasn't much he could do now, they were dead and the show simply laid on the rest of the team. Would they corpse this brute chieftain? The sounds of war echoed out without too much remorse, soon enough this would come to a close.

Soon.

Despite the strength of his defenses, as well as his rage and resolve, the Brute chieftain’s armor could only take so much. His body could only be pushed so far. Yalu’s carbine found a weak point in the armor, so all of the heat, kinetic force, and radiation found its way right into the Jiralhanae’s body. He lost the use of his arm, and with all that surrounded him, it made him an easy kill. A few shots from Elna was all it took to finish him off.

Few of the rebel Humans had survived the firefight, and those who did were quick to retreat out the other side of the chamber. With the immediate threats dealt with, it was easy to take a look around and see where they were. Some of the crates had been broken open during the fighting, and there were weapons visible. This was the armory, which meant that the console they needed to hack was in one of the adjacent rooms. There were not many rooms to search, so it did not take long for Aviza to bring Shih to the console. It was in a small room through a door on the left side in which the rebels had set up some of their equipment. Whatever the room’s purpose, all Shih needed was access to their network.

As Shih had alluded to before, the insurrectionists’ network security was surprisingly robust for a rebel cell. Even a smart AI like Shih took a minute or so to get through into the network. It was clear that the rebels either had a few talented members, or some resourceful allies, but in any case, Shih was able to recover the information they needed for their mission here and now. In the time it took for Shih to complete her work, Vael’s team was able to double-back and rejoin with Aviza’s, so they would all be able to move together.

By cross-referencing the intelligence pulled from the network with rebel communications she had been intercepting, Shih was able to determine their target’s most likely location. ”It seems like one of our suspicions was correct. The rebels discovered tunnels underneath the surface that spread out in all directions. They have plans in place to use them as an escape route in just this situation. If I’m reading this right, some of those tunnels are large enough that they were able to get entire dropships down there. They’re evacuating everyone they can right now. Their commander is organizing things, but he’ll be leaving soon enough too. I…think I’ve identified a path to his pelican, but if we don’t hurry, he will get away from us.”

Listening closely and intently to Shih as she briefed them on their current situation at hand, Spartan Aivza was already strategizing and plotting their next course of action. Rex still needed to be stabilized for medical evacuation and she was going to ensure that this happened before they moved out again. Moving to her fellow Spartan who was injured, she took a knee and held her right hand over his torso where the Brute had managed to make contact with his armor. Sensors indicated that he had received severe injuries, internal bleeding, broken ribs, and fragments of bones threatening to puncture his lungs if there was to much movement. Her suits systems informed her that their best option was to be medically evacuated as soon as possible, and that Rex's suit of armor had already stabilized him.

"Rex, I will not lie to you, the strike from the Brute Chieftain inflicted severe damage upon not only your armor but also your body." began Aviza as she moved to her feet once more. "It would be extremely unwise to move you at this time, even more so to have you try and attempt to assist us further. For now, you must relax and refrain from moving until we return. My advice is for you to engage your active camouflage and remain hidden untill we have finished with our mission here. Aviza would then send a private message to Shih, "I want you to send a message to the Chorus of Thunder and inform them that we have injured and will need a fully detailed medical team on standby once our mission here is finished. Secondly, please forward the most logical path to take next to everyone's HUD, along with any other information you believe should be shared with the squad." Aviza would hold her position, waiting for the path to appear before her, once it did, she would quickly head off in the direction it lead. One last message would be sent to Rex before she departed, "Keep us updated on your situation Rex, if you need help, I will send a team back to you."

Tar clattered to the floor as the Brute Chieftain slumped on top of her. She roared, thrashing about wildly, eventually levering the giant corpse over onto its front before scrambling to her feet. She quickly surveyed the field, and gradually stood down when she was confident the threat had passed for now. Her leg protested; the background level of pain she could feel hidden in her armour was gradually increasing. She gritted her mandibles together and tried to ignore it.

A waypoint appeared in Tar’s HUD, and she fell in behind the Spartan team leader as they moved toward it. On the way, she discarded her spent Mauler for an M90 shotgun from one of the warped crates. Tar ripped the fingerguard clean off the weapon to accommodate her Sangheili digits before bringing the gun to her shoulder. Not long after, she stooped to grab a pistol from the belt of a downed insurrectionist with her off hand, eyes constantly scanning for hostiles.

Tar peeked into the small room the team’s AI led them to, before standing alert behind some crates outside it. The rest of the team arrived, announcing beforehand so as to avoid attracting friendly fire. Tar greeted them with a cursory nod, checking them out for gear and equipment until the AI revealed they were short on time. “Our quarry flees! We should hunt them down.” She snarled.

Yalu danced his feet back as fast as he could once his last bullet shot into the brute's shoulder. He got to the last punch of reloading in his final carbine magazine only to hear one more close gunshot aimed at the chieftain. The hulking alien fell heavily onto Tar, but she looked like she could handle it. Yalu briefly scanned for more enemies, finding none worth shooting, before turning an eye to their scarred human Corporal nearby. "A fine kill, Cohen."

Only now did Yalu take another look at the spartan Rex. He knew it was not his business to eavesdrop, but Yalu showed at least some relief to hear that the spartan still lived, based on Aviza's assessment.

But Rex was not the only one wounded. Yalu thought about his next words carefully while scavenging for another weapon. This Tar 'Mdalak was not to be underestimated if he impugned her honour by drawing attention to her bleeding leg. She was no minor under his command, after all.

Yalu rearmed with a few frag grenades, a fallen brute's plasma rifle, and a human marksman's rifle to replace his carbine; there was more ballistic ammunition than carbine magazines available.

The other team reunited with them, Yalu gave them a nod. They were about to set out when he decided to speak up. "Commander Aviza," Yalu said quietly over the comms. "As you are our medical specialist, your anaesthetics may help us Sangheili pursue our objective faster. Do you have spare doses we may hold?"

If they all could hold onto a shot of pain relievers, particularly Commander Vael, Yalu knew 'Mdalak was less likely to lose face if she used it for her leg. It was risky for Yalu to assume Aviza would understand the social nuance, but he hoped the AI could make up the difference.

Surely unknown to the ex-covenant forces who were currently part of Aegis Team, Spartan Aviza had been educated in some areas of Sangheili culture. This of course included how they were quite hesitant to receive any form of outside healing, less they have their honor insulted. The request for the anesthetics came as surprise, regardless though she was happy to comply with Yalu. While still walking down the hallway towards their next objective, she reached into her medical pack and produced a few metal canisters before handing them over to the Sangheili. "These contain an extremely potent anesthetic, they will dull the pain but the injury will obviously still remain and will need to be treated by a medical professional as myself." Once the cannisters had been taken, Aviza would then turn her attention back to the matter at hand, locating the Rebel Base Commander.

Moving down through the structure, the team kept their pace as quick as possible. It was vital to their mission that the enemy leader not be allowed to escape. As per their mission parameters, capture was preferable, but even killing him would be acceptable should capture not be an option. The only outcome that would be considered a failure would be if he were to escape.

There was some resistance as they moved down into the tunnels, though nothing like what they had encountered in the chambers above. With how swiftly the team had made their attack, the Insurrectionists had not had the time nor resources to organize more than their initial defense. A good portion of them were likely still caught up in the battle above ground. The few rebels they did encounter tried to set up ambushes, but against a team like Aegis, they did not so much as slow them down.

Near the bottom of the structure, Shih guided the team into an elevator leading down deeper into Sarcophagus’ superstructure. The rebels had tried to lock it down, but fortunately, they did not seem to have any special understanding of Forerunner systems, so Shih was able to easily override it. After reaching the bottom, it was only a short run through the halls to reach the rebels’ underground landing platform. The hallway opened up into a large, flat platform in the middle of a massive, hexagonal tunnel, though it was cluttered with crates and equipment. The hallway exited out near the middle of the platform, so there were multiple dropships on either side of them. Most of them were of different models with different appearances and loadouts, ranging from fully-armed UNSC pelicans, to police and civilian transports.

Making full use of every sensor at her disposal, Shih started scanning area as soon as they stepped through the door. Based on the information she had recovered from the rebels’ network, she was able to identify and mark the leader on their HUDs before any of the team had even set foot on the platform. The enemy commander was off to their left, about a hundred meters away near the edge of the platform. He was equipped in what appeared to be ODST combat armor, though it was heavily modified. He had been coordinating the evacuation, though the moment he saw Aegis team arrive, he and the soldiers around him made a run for the nearest pelican on the platform. Unfortunately, he was close enough that he would certainly reach it before anyone on Aegis could.

Tar accepted the proffered metal canister with a grunt and studied it distastefully. She knew a lot of her family and friends back on Brissekh would’ve been angry at the mere gesture. However, it seemed spending so much time in Paxopolis had begun to change Tar’s perception. Medicine and doctors were in bountiful supply there, and the Arbiter’s robust lobbying for the preservation of Sangheili life made some sense. They were not as strong as they once were; they could no longer afford to throw their lives away over their honour.

Tar hung back for a few seconds and let the rest of the team file past toward the waypoint. She then injected the contents of the canister into the back of her leg - the one that had been shot. She then quietly rested the empty shell on top of a crate and jogged to catch up with the rear of the group.

---

Once the lift had come to rest on the vast platform and the target was marked, Tar wasted no time in springing into action. Her pistol wasn’t effective at the kind of range needed to take out the leader, but there were closer hostiles that needed dealing with anyway. Most were rushing to evacuate, but some did stop and begin shooting at them.

Tar surged off the lift and towards cover at top speed. Her stolen pistol was enveloped in both hands as she emptied her magazine suppressing as many of the rebels as she could. Upon reaching a wheeled trolley of heavy equipment, she savagely kicked it towards a gaggle of enemies in riot gear, sending them running to get out of the way.

Lucas followed the rest of the team in nearly perfect sync, his DMR sounding off to get the targets out of range of the shorter ranged ARs and plasma weaponry. The team moved fast and hard, clearing corners and making their way towards the location of the rebel leader with ease. Sometimes I wonder if this was the kinda of thing that the SPARTAN-IIs had been created for. Taking out rebel bases and leaders for the good of humanity, well, the survivors of the war now. Though ONI would never tell anyone if it were. "Gotta maintain a good public image," they'd say. Sometimes they forget they don't have a good public image anyways... Upon reaching the lift after dealing with the last attempted ambush, which their motion scanners had detected before they ever got near it, the SPARTAN-IV was one of the last on.

The ride down was silent, though it was far from an awkward silence. This was the silence of men and women who were preparing to do a job that only they could do and when the lift doors opened, they stepped out to do that job. The marker tracking the rebel leader was easy to follow and his armor wouldn't be hard to bypass. Growing up, Lucas had paid attention to how armor from the centuries was designed and whether it was a suit of full plate armor or a Kevlar chest piece, the joints of the armor were almost always either exposed or the weakest point in the suit. The ODST armor that the rebel leader was wearing was no different, and the exposed knee joints were easy to see, even from here. But the man also had his entourage of guards, so going straight from him probably wasn't the best idea. Though slowing him down...

His decision made, the stock of Ryker's DMR found its way to his shoulder and he fired three times at the retreating forms of the rebels, though the las shot had a slight delay. The first two shots found the heads of the two soldiers most immediately blocking his shot to the leader, the two rebels both gasping in surprise as the bullets made impact. The SPARTAN-IV had had to wait a few seconds for the bodies of the two to fall before he'd fired the third shot, which was intended to pass through the back of the man's left knee. Not only would he fall to the ground from the sudden loss of his knee and kneecap, but he'd be slowed down considerably even with help moving from another person. Keeping his external speakers off, he spoke into the team channel. {VIP crippled, but he's still got help. Need to move fast.}