EliteCommander

The Cradle

“We’re on the Faultless Spear, our cruiser in orbit. We’re safe here.” Vreta answered softly. “We managed to get out of the arcology amid the attack, if only just. The fires consumed many of the upper floors, before they got them under control. The dropship that evacuated us brought us straight up here, and we’ve been here since. Everyone on both science teams received the best medical treatment we could give them, and there have been no deaths. At least no one who came up here with us. I haven’t heard any details yet about casualties on the ground.”

Vreta was interrupted for a few seconds as the medical drone floated over to fulfill Freyr’s request. It produced a bottle of water, made from polymer with a straw built-in. Vreta waited for the drone to return to its dormant position before continuing. “I know what happened down there was stressful for…many reasons. I’ve already been debriefed on my experience, and I’m sure they’re going to want to do the same for you, but you don’t have to worry about that right this second. You can rest and recover. Catch your breath. We weren’t really able to bring our belongings with us when we evacuated. I don’t know yet exactly how far the fires spread. They’ll send word if there is anything we can recover. In the meantime, Marae did stop by earlier to bring you some clothes she got for you. I told her you would probably want some while you are here, but, umm…”

Vreta rubbed his hand over the back of his neck as he awkwardly gestured to the table beside her bed. Laid out on it were a few garments that seemed to have been picked out by someone with absolutely no concept of Human fashion. There was a fine, expensive green suit jacket, a pair of baggy, tie-dye cargo shorts, dark blue dress shoes, some nearly knee-length rainbow-patterned socks, and to top it all off an exceptionally wide-brimmed sun hat with a fake feather.

“I, um, think she just liked the colors.” Vreta remarked, clearing his throat. “We can get you some more, in a little while. Things are still a bit chaotic.”

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai

---

Vael had rushed in alongside the others to capitalize on the discord they had sewn among their enemy. Though, he was not concerned with anything except the efficient destruction of their foe. With his carbine in-hand, he targeted the most vulnerable among them first to thin their numbers the most quickly. Unggoy or Sangheili with damaged shields would fall within just a few shots. The fewer the number of their enemy, the less they would be capable of returning fire.

The moment he heard Yalu’s callout, Vael trained his aim towards the fleeing Kig-Yar. They had clear parameters for success in this ambush: none of their enemy could escape. The Human AI was jamming their communications and could prevent the keep from learning from this attack in that manner, but if any of them escaped, that could open the possibility of a warning reaching the Keep. Vael quickly took a plasma grenade in hand and threw it towards the edge of the platform, ahead of the jackals. They both had ample time to react, but Vael did not expect it to kill them. He just needed it to stall them.

The jackal closest to the grenade tried to leap to the side, though wet metal platform did not give him the best grip. He slipped, lost his footing, and ended up sliding a short distance across the platform. He did manage to slide out of the range of the grenade’s detonation, but without his shield in the way, he was completely exposed. Two carbine shots cut through his torso, and he did not get up from there.

The second jackal had managed to stop short and stay on his feet. With his shield directed towards Vael, he unleashed a full magazine of his needler towards him. Even Vael’s shields could not withstand a supercombine, but he did not panic. He knew just how needlers behaved. Rather than run away, Vael dashed towards the jackal and rolled diagonally to the side. Some of the needles still struck Vael’s shield, but most could not turn sharply enough to keep up. By the time Vael was on his feet again, the jackal had emptied the needler’s magazine. Vael had the time to line up a careful shot through the shield’s cutout to strike his hand. The jackal staggered back, shifting the shield just enough to allow Vael to put a second shot through his head.

Tar’s call for assistance, however, was more difficult to handle than a few Kig-Yar. At a glance, he could see that the shields of the Sangheili pinning her were still up, and it would take too many shots from his carbine to break them in time. He was too distant from her for his blade to be of any use…at least, not in his own hands. Vael took one of his energy swords in hand, but did not activate it. For the briefest moment, he judged the distance between them and eyed the rain so he could see the wind. This would need to be a good throw.

”Tar, on your right!” Vael replied as he threw his sword to her. He threw it on a flat arc close to the ground to try to reduce the impact of the wind, letting it slide across the floor until it came to a sudden stop striking Tar in the side.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

When it finally came time for the pack to leave the camp and seek out Do’rhajul, Saras sent a scout to guide them to the place he had been spotted. When Vile had been defeated, every person and object that had invaded Vile’s realm had been brought back in a wide area around where the great gate had once stood, but knowing where they were going, it was only a half hour’s walk at most to reach them.

Though no blood had been spilled in Hircine’s domain, the forest they walked through still looked like a battlefield. Their priority had been on helping those that still lived, so most of the bodies that had been brought back still lay on the forest floor. Without the bodies of the Daedra to accompany them, it was hard not to focus on their losses. Every lifeless face they saw was one of an ally. All that could be done was to remind themselves of the victory this sacrifice had brought, and to keep moving ahead.

Yerig and Do’rhajul were not in the exact place the scouts had left them, but they were found not far beyond. In a clearing just beyond the forest, near the edge of a cliff overlooking a wide valley below, they spotted Yerig knelt down at Do’rhajul’s side. The Cathay-raht had been moved so that he lay on his back, neatly and orderly. The body’s arms were crossed with his hands resting on his chest, and his eyes had been closed. Yerig was on his knees beside him in deep meditation, or perhaps prayer.

The Cradle

Freyr would find herself waking up in a bed much too large for her, in an unfamiliar place. The hot air would likely be the first thing she noticed, and once she opened her eyes, it would not take long to recognize that she was in a med bay on a Rothian ship. The tall ceilings and smooth, contoured architecture was somewhat distinctive. She was in a hospital gown, which had likely been brought aboard specifically for the ship’s new Human guests. There were many beds such as hers in view in the large room around her, though none were in use aside from her own. The walls were a bright, polished white in color, and for the moment, there was only a single droid floating dormant nearby. It was a drone similar to the ones that had treated her back on Outremer, just prior to their escape.

There were just a short few moments where Freyr was alone in the med-bay until the door off to her left opened. A Rothian woman stepped inside and came straight to Freyr. She was somewhat short for one of her kind, and she appeared rather distracted at first. She brought up a holographic screen in front of her and glanced through a few of the charts before she finally actually seemed to take notice of Freyr herself. “It is good to see that you are finally awake. I think you’ll be pleased to hear that your vitals are all perfectly fine. Physically, there are no signs that anything is amiss, exhaustion aside. Hopefully the rest you have gotten over this last day has done something to mitigate that particular issue. I would recommend trying to avoid letting that sleep debt accrue quite so much in the future.” The doctor advised. Indeed, whatever treatment she had received over the past day had done wonders for her, physically. Her body would feel like it was in perfect health, for now, though nothing in that treatment had touched her mind.

Soon after, there was a Human doctor who joined the pair and started following through many of the same steps, complete with checking the same charts and giving her similar assurances about her health. Without being able to see more closely, it was hard to tell if he was doing anything different, or just repeating everything the Rothian had done. Eventually, though, there was finally a familiar face that joined them. Vreta joined them in the med-bay, though he kept back enough to avoid getting in the way of the doctors.

“Freyr, I’m glad to see that you’re up. I was…worried, for a while. You’ve been out for over an entire day. The doctors said you were fine, but…it’s just good to see you’ve recovered. I got an alert when you woke up, so I thought I’d come check on you. How are you feeling right now?” Vreta asked.

The Cradle

Nirann could accurately track the positions and movement of every object around him, but there were still limitations on how quickly he could actually move his physical frame. The hit to his back forced him forward, and he had to react as best as he could. Granted, he could calculate multiple options to avoid taking the brunt of the force from the detonation. His blade was still active, and he could twist it around behind him to sever the arm holding him. An organic Rothian would probably break their own arm trying to contort in such a way, but he did not have such limitations. However, for Nirann, it was not just himself he had to worry about. He lacked enough information on the internal specifications of the explosive charge that he could not accurately predict the explosion’s characteristics. The exact direction of the explosive force, fragmentation, there was enough variance to be worried. He could not predict who else behind him would be hurt if he was not in the way, and he had to protect them. He had to protect her. He directed all available power to bolstering his frontal shielding and allowed his frame to stay between the charge and his allies.

In an instant, there was a flash of light, and in the next, a deafening blast that shook the hallway. In the span of fractions of a second, Nirann’s shields flared brighter and brighter, then cracked. Most of his heavily armored frame could withstand the explosion, thereby protecting those behind him, but his head had been point-blank to it. In an instant, Nirann’s head had been blasted apart, along with much of the forearm of the droid that had been holding it.

As the rest of Nirann’s frame dropped to the ground, the industrial droid was knocked back by the blast, though kept its footing. Even damaged as it was, it was still active…still dangerous. Unarmed, the machine was still a deadly weapon on its own. One arm sparked between twisted, contorted metal plates, while the other was raised into a fist. It chose its next target, but it never found its opportunity to make its rush forward. Rather, it quickly lost control of its limbs as a glowing red energy blade cleaved through the actuators controlling its hip joints, then continued upwards through its torso to bisect the machine vertically. Its two halves fell to either side, glowing red from the intense heat, leaving Nirann’s headless frame standing tall in its stead, his blade held high.

Naturally, a droid’s head was not where the Rothians chose to place its central processing unit. For such a critical component, the much more heavily armored torso was a far better location. “Damn it, lost the primary sensor suite. Going to have to manage on secondaries.” Nirann muttered through notably lower-quality speakers. “Can we all move? We need to be out of here five minutes ago.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha did not look back at Fendros, as she was already moving to Sabine. Without a word, she wrapped her arms tightly around her, comforting her as best as she could as she allowed her to release her pain and frustration. There was plenty she could say to her in time, and plenty others would likely say too, but for at least a few minutes, she wanted just to be there for her.

Ahnasha did not keep track of the time too directly, but just felt when Sabine started to move somewhat more in her arms. She kept her arms around her and spoke, calmly and softly. “It isn’t fair. Not for Meesei, not for Do’rhajul, not for us. But, we still have to keep moving forward. You don’t have to stay silent, though. What you have been thinking and feeling…you can say it now. We’re here with you now, and…we feel it too.”

Halo: Aegis Team

Overall, the enemy did not have a great many of its number remaining, and especially few that had not been weakened by the damage dealt so far. Their ambush had been both quick and efficient in its execution, and now Aegis team was pushing its advantage aggressively to make sure none of the enemy would be able to regroup and recover.

The Sangheili fighting with Ryker did everything he could to give himself any advantage he could scrape together. He positioned himself to place Ryker between himself and the Spartan’s allies so they could not easily give him supporting fire. After kicking away the container, he was quick to dash forward and grab the arm he had blocked to try and force Ryker into a grapple. Physically, the Sangheili could approximately match the Spartan for strength, and he seemed intent on trying to keep this fight hand-to-hand. With his free hand, the Sangheili went for Ryker’s helmet in an attempt to rip it off of his head.

Between the autosentry and Yalu, he had quickly eliminated one of the few remaining Sangheili warriors, though the sentry quickly acquired new targets. A pair of Kig-Yar were sprinting for the edge of the platform, and they were near to reaching it. While it was quite a drop to the ground below, the light, agile Kig-Yar could handle the fall, and they were fast enough on their feet that they could reasonably escape. The autosentry’s shots hit the shield of one of the Kig-Yar, which started to glow more and more brightly red. However, it could block enough shots to give the pair a chance to react. Both held their shields towards Yalu, holding their needlers up above them to fire in his direction while still running towards the edge. Needlers did not need to be fired particularly accurately, and a pair of them could be a deadly threat to even a Sangheili caught in the open.

The Cradle

Vreta was more agile than the machine targeting him, though he still had to struggle to evade the incoming attacks. Weapons fire from the other Institute operators tore through the droid, but that did not bring him out of danger just yet. His shield belt protected him from the indirect spray of plasma, but he had to leap out of the way of Skopec when he was swung towards him once again. Even with Rhia’s warning, it came quick enough that he only partially succeeded. He did avoid the brunt of the impact, but Vreta was still hit in the side and sent tumbling across the floor until he slammed back into the wall behind him. The pain was dull and, in the excitement of the moment, easy to ignore, but he still had to struggle to push past the stunning effect of the impact to try to get himself up off the ground.

Nirann, meanwhile was also leaning into his maneuverability. He caught himself from falling back with his tail after throwing the first droid, so he kept his footing for the most part. It was not a feat a normal Rothian would be able to accomplish, but he had quite a bit more power in his frame. In any case, he recognized that he did not need to do anything complex or risky to end the threat in front of him. Oftentimes, a simple, straightforward approach was best in a fight. He ignited his energy blade once more and took up a stance reminiscent of that of a fencer. Using the reach of his weapon to his advantage, he started to make quick, efficient slices with the tip of his blade towards the charging droid, first at its arm to eliminate its improvised weapon, then towards the rest of its frame to cut it to pieces. He was more than agile enough to evade as needed to keep out of reach of the lumbering machine.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag’s only response was a wordless nod, but he understood. He had known Do’rhajul longer than any of the others from his time in the Legion, though it was hard to say what that connection truly meant for him in the end. At the very least, Lorag had understood Do’rhajul, from early in his life to its very end.

The work for the camp’s healers was as constant as it was intense at the moment, but no matter how much she might have wanted to, even Sabine would not have been able to keep up that work forever. They, of course, had enough healers working in shifts to make sure their patients would always have treatment, but even Sabine had to rest eventually. With how much they had been fighting from start to finish in the battle, that moment would most likely come sooner rather than later.

Ahnasha let Fendros lead, though she was not far behind him when they stepped into Sabine’s tent. It was plain to see that she was not treating any of the injured at the moment, but she still felt like it was appropriate to ask. “Is this…a good time to talk, Sabine?”

The Cradle

Rhia had to adapt quickly as the situation shifted. Their target had reacted, but she could see its intentions in motion. At the same time, she also had strong situational awareness, despite the chaos around them. Echolocation let her track the movements of civilians and soldiers alike behind her. She could “see” that there were multiple Institute operatives trying to get a clear shot behind Vreta, and so she knew just how they should adapt.

Vreta reacted right away to the instructions Rhia projected over his vision. The droid was swinging at him with Skopec in hand, so Vreta dashed to his left in a seeming attempt to get around the droid. The machine was strong and durable, but it was built for heavy-lifting, not agility. Indeed, it might have been possible for Vreta to use his comparative maneuverability to still get around behind the droid to upload Rhia’s virus, but that was not the intent at the moment. Since Vreta had moved off to the side and Skopec had now been swung after him, a clear line of sight had now been opened up to the armed Humans behind them.

It was rare that Nirann would need to dedicate a majority of his processing power to any one task. Indeed, it may not have even been strictly “necessary” here, but he was absolutely willing to devote far more resources than were needed to protect Marae. These industrial machines had physical power, but just about everything else was an advantage to Nirann. In the moment, there was one weapon in particular he could wield to devastating effect: mathematics.

Nirann’s sensor suite was far more comprehensive and updated far more quickly than anything that would be sufficient for an industrial droid, so he could get a much clearer picture of what was happening. The number of calculations he dedicated to building the physics simulations for the next few seconds of the fight were, frankly, overkill. He mapped out each motion he could take, and each response his opponents could take in return, until he settled on the most favorable course. He waited until the right moment when the droid had the correct amount of momentum in the proper direction, then delivered a massive kick laterally to the droid’s knee joint. While the droid was designed to be able to carry immense weight, it was not built with combat in mind. Diffusing the force of a targeted impact from the side was not a design consideration. Nirann’s foot went straight through the joint. At the same time, he collapsed his energy blade and returned his arm to its former shape, making it small enough for him to slip out of the droid’s grip. With his other arm behind the droid, he twisted his body around and pushed his opponent in the direction of its momentum to send it into the girder in his stead.