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The Major

Streets of New Mombasa

Seven Hours After Rupture

The gentle patter of his boots stepping into puddles of water was drowned out over the downpour, but his strange companion made even less sound despite being twice his size. The Elite was content to hang back ten or so meters at his flank, the Major stealing the occasional glance at her to confirm she was still there as they made their way from street to street.

She had to be hundreds of pounds heavier than him, yet she carried herself along the sidewalk without so much as scraping a corner or brushing against a car, projecting a dexterity that shouldn't belong on such a weighty being. Perhaps that was because unlike other Elites or Brutes, she didn't sport much armour, particularly around the belly and waist, her distinctly hourglass figure outlined by a grey, form-fitting suit she wore beneath her armour, her range of motion going unhindered.

Her hips were wider than the breadth of his shoulders, her ass leaving nothing about its size to the imagination, as there was a lack of plating on her rear. Her bodysuit was practically painted onto her thighs, which were just as stout as the rest of her, packed with so much muscle they did not wobble when she walked. The Major had trouble keeping his eyes off her, she was plenty of woman, even for an alien.

They hadn't exchanged a word since they'd left the station, the silence continuing from block after block. Their species had been fighting each other for years now, which didn't exactly make striking up a conversation easy, and her being an apparent turncoat didn't change that fact.

They soon stopped when he heard a familiar, artificial voice from around the next corner.

“Optican healthcare on demand!"

His companion, Seela, readied her carbine, the rain dropping off her armoured shoulders as she aimed over his head.

“Relax," he said, peeking round the wall for enemies, proceeding when the street was clear. Built onto the sidewalk was a little sheltered alcove, the swept roof sheltering a long bench, and hanging on the wall above it were two medkits, the signature red cross on the casing reminding him he had not gone unscathed since leaving his pod.

He took one of the kits, sitting down on the bench as he opened the container, propping his shotgun against the wall. Standard Army medkits contained everything from biofoam to morphine, but this one only contained a packet of white, jelly-like substance no bigger than his hand, along with a small slip of paper that provided instructions.

As he read them, his Elite companion poked her helmet round the corner, her mandibles dipping in a frown as she saw him sitting there like he was waiting for the bus.

“Why have you stopped?" she asked, her head tilting as she walked a little closer, watching as he ripped open the packet and squeezed the gel out onto his finger like it was shampoo from a bottle.

“Got nicked back in Kikowani," he explained. According to the paper, all he had to do was rub the gel where it hurt, and the pain should relieve in a short while. Reaching behind his neck, he dipped his hand beneath his collar, walking his fingers down his back to where the Drone had stabbed him. The warm gel mixed with his wet blood as he dipped his fingers into the cut, wincing behind his helmet as he applied the MediGel, so it was called, making sure he got it in deep.

“From what?" Seela asked. “No Brute landed a shot on you, I saw it."

“This was before that," he said. His BDU was making it difficult to reach the wound, the Major peeling off a few strips of the Kevlar to better access it. He fought back a wave of nausea as his wound started bleeding again.

“You give me very short answers," Seela noted. She was still standing in the rain and not under the alcove, perhaps she didn't want to be any closer to him.

“Why should I explain anything to you, Covvie?"

“Cov-ie?" she repeated. “I told you, I am no longer a part of the Covenant, none of us are."

“Welcome to the club, then," he replied, Seela tilting her head in confusion. Neither of them spoke as he applied more of the gel to his various wounds, his armour doing its job well enough so far to keep his wounds to a minimum.

The gel was irritating his skin the more he rubbed at it, he needed something to distract himself from the pain, the Major eventually breaking the silence when he peered up at her. “You speak English pretty well," he said.

Seela shivered, stubbornly standing in the rain as she folded her arms. Only her hands and her face were exposed to the air, the Major finding that her skin was a deep, navy blue. It looked like leather, smooth and flawless save for a small scar on one of her fingers on the right hand. He wondered if she had a single hair on her or was smooth all over.

“All recruits are encouraged to speak the Human tongue, so we can interpret what you say during combat and gain an advantage. I studied longer than many of my kin have, and by your responses, I must be fluent."

“Yeah, your 'kin' probably just stick to the tried-and-true phrases: 'Kill them all', 'burn the children'."

She scowled at his mocking accent, wiping at her face as the rain fell down on her. “And what of you?" she asked, nodding at him. “Do you and the Humans not also learn our tongue?"

“Know one or two words," he replied, throwing the empty gel packet away.

“Is that all? Only fools would willingly be ignorant of the language of their enemy."

“Haven't had a lot of time to learn linguistics, you lot glassing our worlds and all that."

She was beginning to growl now, losing her patience with his prodding. “I have never glassed a world, nor have I burned any of your children. I kill because it is… was, my duty to the Covenant, and unlike my kin I do not harm those who do not pose a threat."

He scoffed at that, and that seemed to hit a nerve, Seela fixing him with a cold glare. “I speak the truth! Though I can tell I may as well save my breath with you."

“There's an idea," he replied. The MediGel was starting to numb the pain in his back, not unlike biofoam did, though this gel seemed to lack the harsh side effects of biofoam altogether, such as hours of pain that chased a few moments of relief, the Major guessing it was manufactured for civilians in mind.

“You need some?" he asked, opening the other medkit and waving the gel packet at the alien. “You're bleeding."

Narrowing her eyes at him, she angled her bloodied shoulder away, as though that would conceal it. “It is nothing."

“More for me." He unzipped one of his pouches on his rig, storing the packet for when he would no doubt need it later. He picked up his shotgun, gesturing for the alien to follow. “I'm set for now."

“At last."

The Major led the way through the next block, the presence of advertisement boards and kiosks grabbing his attention as they rounded into a commercial area. Shops lined either side of the street, what few neon signs that had survived the invasion displaying their wares over their ruined facades. At the far end of the street was a giant blast door that would have looked more at home in the hanger of a starship, an impenetrable wall of grey steel that cut off this street from the next.

To one side, he spotted the telltale angled board of a kiosk, the Major making his way over to it. The brightness of the screen was unusually noticeable, the light setting a few notches higher than every other bit of technology nearby, like it was drawing more power from the city grid.

The Major bet that something would change now that he'd been to Kikowani, and sure enough, when he typed in his true destination, the Superintendent finally pointed him to the right place, a red line drawing itself through the three-dimensional representation of the city.

“What are you typing?" Seela asked, leaning over his shoulder as he traced the route with his gloved finger.

“I need directions," he replied. The route was long, he'd have to do his best to commit the turns to memory.

“Don't we all," his companion replied, glancing at their surroundings. “This place is a Gods-damned maze. Directions to where, exactly?"

“You're a master of language, read it yourself."

“I may speak it, but your runes are… difficult to memorise."

“Too bad for you," he said. A strange, warbling noise caused him to glance up at the burning sky, the fires on the horizon competing against the darkness in a way he found distinctly unpleasant, as though the world was trapped in a limbo between night and day. From behind one of the distant skyscrapers, a Phantom banked into view, flying over the city at an alarming speed, coming this way.

He looked around, the closest cover was the store to their right, and he made his way over, clutching Seela's arm as he moved. “Get down."

She shoved his hand away roughly, the Major almost tripping over by her absurd strength, Seela jabbing a finger at him. “Nobody touches me, creature. I will cut off your hand if you do that again."

“Get your ass down!" he insisted, Seela watching as he ducked into the store, crouching behind one of the display windows. Only now did she seem to notice the Phantom was closing in, the way she sauntered inside coming off as reluctant.

She took a knee as far away from him as possible in the confined shop, the two watching as the Phantom hovered over the street a second later, the twin plasma cannons poking out of its belly swivelling as they searched for targets. It did not stop, but the ship did slow to a crawl, a searchlight flashing on, the beam aiming at the ground as it started scanning the streets.

“They must be searching for their hunters," Seela said, not lowering her voice, the dropship too far to have a chance of overhearing her.

“Hunters?" he asked.

“They sent a hunting pack after me," she explained. “The one you so helpfully killed. They will find out they did not kill me, let us give them a welcome they shall not soon forget."

She made to stand, the Major holding up an exasperated hand. “Wait!" he said, the alien bristling at his closeness. He wasn't about to test her patience after her warning just now, keeping his hand clear. “You can't just start picking a fight with a damned Phantom! You'll bring the whole Covenant down on us!"

“You say this like it is a bad thing," she replied.

“Of course it's a bad thing, you'll get us both killed!"

His words gave her pause, the Elite considering something as she glanced up at the Phantom, which had begun to drift in the direction they had come from. “No Sangheili has ever winced from a fight," she muttered. “I told you I wish to kill as many of these Brutes, as I can. That was our agreement."

“Us dying cause you've got a deathwish was our agreement? Look," he added, seeing he wasn't getting through to her. “Show a bit of self-awareness. You and me, we're in the same boat now: we're outnumbered, outgunned, behind enemy lines." He paused, Seela mulling over his words as he continued.

“If we pick and choose our fights, we'd not only just might get out of this alive, but you'd end up killing more Brutes than if you just waltzed up to the first Phantom you see."

The first part didn't seem to interest her, but the second part did, the Elite looking away as she made a decision. The Major wasn't doing this for her, but for himself. If she went berserk now, that would just make it more difficult to escape once that dropship started circling them, he couldn't complete his mission if he was dead.

“Fine," Seela sighed. “We will do it your way. For a little while."

They waited for the Phantom to pass, the purple ship soon disappearing over the tops of the buildings, the two emerging back out into the rain. The Major took one last glance at the map before they got moving. “Looks like we've got to go through that giant door over there," he said, nodding at the reinforced blockade.

“Not even a Kig-Yar could leap over that thing," Seela scoffed. “What great help those directions are."

A mechanical, whirring sound made the two of them ready their weapons, the Major lowering his shotgun as the blockade began to fold up from the ground, the giant slab of metal sliding into a recess in the upper part of the barrier, the street opening to them.

“You were saying?" the Major chuckled, Seela grumbling as she avoided eye contact. “You know, you should be nicer to it."

“What on Sanghielios are you talking about? What is 'it'?"

The Major stepped through the blast doors, calling back over his shoulder: “That's need-to-know information."

Keeping his answers short made her mandibles twitch in anger, the Elite following him through to the next street over. As she stepped off the metal blockade, the door returned to its closed state, the sudden grating of machinery making the Elite whip around in alarm.

“You can control these barriers?" she asked him, the two watching as the blockade settled with a final electric whir.

“Not exactly," he replied cryptically. He set off without waiting for her, the Elite checking the area with her carbine as she followed.

Seela

Streets of New Mombasa

Seven Hours After Rupture

She and the Imp passed through another of those big, blast doors the little creature could somehow open by simply walking up to one. She remembered how much of a nuisance they had been in her recent time in the Covenant, where squads had to be ferried over by Phantom whenever they encountered such an obstacle. The Field Marshal had often grumbled about their inconveniency, and she doubted his replacement had anything otherwise to say about them.

She wondered what had become of the Marshal. Had the Prophet himself executed him the moment he boarded the carrier? Surely not, he was too cowardly to face his adversaries himself, the fact the Prophet had lured the Marshal onto his ship under false orders was proof enough of that. He'd have ordered one of the Brutes to make the kill. She chastised herself for ever fearing the Prophets, trepidation had no place when dealing with a foe who relied on subterfuge.

The road she and the Imp followed ended at an intersection, and as her companion turned down the left branch, she called for him to stop. Putting one of her thumbs to her helmet, she tuned her communicator to a channel which had suddenly picked up activity.

“Rahanis," a voice growled through her helmet speakers. “Take your pack and move west, were there any Heretics in your sector?"

The Imp turned around, peering up at her and shrugging. “What is it?"

Ignoring his curt tone, she said: “I am picking up communications between two Jiralhanae."

“Jiral-what now?"

“Brutes. Now be quiet." She turned her head away so the plinking of rain falling on her helmet wasn't so loud.

“No, Chieftain. Sector…" The Jiralhanae listed off a series of numbers. “-is clear, we're moving on."

Seela knew that list of numbers, all Covenant troops in this invasion did, and according to her memory, she wasn't very far away from this Rahanis packmate.

“A Brute patrol will come from that way soon," she said, pointing behind the Imp.

“How can you tell?" he asked.

“It seems the Jiralhanae failed to switch their communication channels," she said with an amused huff. “As if the moronic apes could even figure out how to do that. They are still using frequencies I have access to, no encryption."

“Probably thought they wiped you all out," the Imp suggested. “Didn't bother."

“Perhaps, but the Jiralhanae have always been dense," she answered. “I can pinpoint positions of their patrols as long as they stay in contact with their Chieftain."

“Good, that'll help us slip through their lines," the Imp muttered. “Where to then?"

Seela hesitated, having never been asked for advice before. Not being bossed around was quite novel, but the fact this creature was behind the act still left a sour taste in her mouth.

“We should move that way," she said, pointing to the right fork. “And quickly, the Brutes will be here soon."

They walked on for a while longer, Seela making sure the Imp was always ten or so paces in front of her. The streets all looked the same to her, but the creature appeared to have a destination in mind, but with no references they may as well be running circles for all she knew.

“I need to stop," the Imp said after some time. “Feet are killing me. I've been walking for hours."

She didn't know how long an hour was, but Seela hadn't stopped moving ever since that rest back at the Covenant outpost, and her hooves were starting to hurt. “Very well," she said. “anything to get out of this incessant rain."

Her bodysuit was helping to stave off the cold, but all this time in the wet was starting to soak it through. The Imp turned a few more corners, then slipped into one of the buildings that lined the street, Seela ducking into the doorframe after him.

There was stairwell just in front of the entrance, but part of the ceiling had come down on it, blocking the way. The Imp moved off to the right into an adjacent room, the creature sitting himself into one of the plush chairs surrounding a tiny table.

Seela followed him into the cramped interior, having to duck to avoid hitting her head on the ceiling. “Humans live in these tiny spaces?" she asked, noticing that apart from the upstairs, this was all the room in the building. It was barely half the size of her quarters back on the carrier.

He didn't answer her, the Imp tearing off a patch of armour on its shoulder, repeating its earlier healing as it examined its wound.

“Did you not just rub that… gel onto yourself?" she asked, water dripping off her armoured plates as she examined one of the chairs. They were way too small, so she opted to just cross her legs and sit down on the floor as far away from the Imp as she could manage, resting her carbine on her knees.

“Gotta keep an eye on it, in case the skin opens again," he replied. It seemed Imps did not possess the regenerative properties she had been led to believe, or perhaps they simply used the same medicine Humans did. Strange…

“Haven't got as much blood as you have, clearly," he added, nodding at the spot the spike grenade had punctured her armour. The trickle of her blood from the wound was so consistent, even the rain hadn't managed to wash it away, her white armour stained with her fluids.

“The sight of one's blood is a sign of a hard-fought battle," she said. “It does not bother me. On the contrary, I have always thought seeing myself bleed to be… salubrious."

“Salubrious?" the Imp echoed. “An alien has better diction than me. What a world."

“The Human language holds a kind of strange satisfaction for my throat," she answered, feeling nostalgic as she remembered spending the hours between deployments in her quarters, brushing up on Human tongue and relishing in the privacy. “There are many intriguing words that seem to roll off my mandibles, such as… ubiquitous. I've always wanted to use that word in a sentence."

“Haven't had the chance, huh?" he asked. “Too busy killing us all to work on your vocabulary? Sound about right?"

“I told you, I fought only because it was my duty to the Covenant," she said, trying to sound neutral but failing when her impatience got the better of her. “To take pleasure in killing, to revel in it, is the way of the Jiralhanae, not mine."

“Yeah, you're 'different', right?" he asked, Seela suspecting he was mocking her. “You're not like the other aliens, you've always sympathised with Humans, thought the Covenant always was in the wrong."

“I was proud to be in the Covenant," Seela explained. “my kinsman within the higher ranks promised me renown and glory few females ever got to experience. It was not perfect," she added, shaking her head. “but great honours follows greater challenges, so my father said, and I was brought no small measure of satisfaction as I battled my way through the front lines, besting Human after Human, watching my chauvinistic brother's faces as they witnessed my victories. But the Covenant has been led astray," she added after a pause. “I know not when, but Jiralhanae and San'shyuum political interests have taken precedence over the Great Journey, it has become corrupted. If only a creature such as you could understand what it means to have been betrayed by the one thing you devoted everything to."

“I understand that you're still a Covvie," the Imp replied. “If your kind hadn't been kicked out, you'd still be serving the Prophets."

“Me and my kin were unaware of their intentions," she said. “If I had known sooner the Prophets were so honourless, I'd have…" She trailed off.

“Ignorance is the worst kind of shield you can use, split lip," he muttered. “You're still a killer."

“And what of you? How many of my kin have you slain?" she said, turning the conversation back on him.

“Not enough," he replied after a pause.

“You criticize me for taking life, yet I have witnessed firsthand the ferocity of you Imps. Do not think yourself better than I, we have both dealt our fair share of death. You might have even surpassed me, the way you butchered the Brutes back in the station."

The Imp turned back to his injury, dropping the subject. She had used his combat prowess as a weapon against him, but a part of her was impressed by his tenacity. He was as small as a Human, but didn't seem to let that stop him.

“Why are you here, Imp?" she asked, his visor meeting her gaze. “Your kind usually work in small groups, I've never seen one alone."

“And I've never seen an Elite by itself either," he replied with a shrug. “So what?"

“I see you only like to talk when the topic isn't about you," Seela grumbled. “Shall we sit in silence while your wounds mend?"

After a bit of staring, the Imp relented. “I dropped in with three others not long after your carrier jumped away. We got knocked off course by anti-air fire, I don't know where my team ended up, or if they're even alive."

“And you are trying to find them?" she asked.

“Take too long to comb the whole city," he said. “If they're alive, they'll head towards our objectives, just like I am."

“What do you hope to accomplish in the very centre of the Covenant foothold? Surely you do not plan on taking the city back?"

“Not exactly," he replied. “the city is lost, everyone in the Corps knows it, but the Covenant brought something with them, a weapon that could turn the tide. I'm going to recover it, even if it kills me."

“A weapon?" Seela echoed. Perhaps he was talking about the Forerunner artifact the Zealot alluded to. Even if she wasn't a part of the Great Journey anymore, the reverence she held for the ancient aliens made Seela hold her tongue, she did not want to reveal their holy presence to a Heretic.

“What about you?" the Imp continued, Seela cocking her head at him. “How come you're all alone? Didn't see any other Elites back at Kikowani."

“I was sent out with a procession of Kig-Yar and Unggoy, along with a Brute," she said, the memory making her fume. The Captain Major had made sure to keep her kinsman isolated, she couldn't deny his betrayal had been well planned, but he'd been a fool to think one Minor would be enough to deal with her. She would make sure he'd regret underestimating her.

“I was stranded once the carrier jumped," Seela continued. “I've not heard from any of my brothers since, and I don't know how many survived the betrayal. You and I seem to share this in common," she added. “Worrying if we are the last ones alive, surrounded by our enemies."

“I'm never worried," he defended. “Me and my team know what we're doing, we know what's at stake if we let ourselves get distracted."

“You certainly live up to your devilish namesake," she noted, hearing the far-off sound of a passing Phantom. It didn't grow in volume, Seela trying to relax her muscles as she leant on an elbow. “You spoke of your objectives in the plural," she said. “What are the others?"

“Minor things," he replied. “Sabotage, attacks of opportunity. Wrote them off as soon as I realised my team was separated."

“But you'll still try and recover this weapon? You'd be doing so by yourself if I wasn't here."

“Don't put ideas in my head," he said, rising to his feet as she narrowed her eyes at him. “We've sat around long enough, we should keep moving."

Seela gestured for him to proceed, watching the Imp as he led her back onto the street, the rain flowing off their armours as they followed the road along to the left, the Imp eventually coming across another of those 'kiosks' he used to mark his way through the city, tapping his gloved hands at the screen.

Wary of any more Phantoms that might interrupt, Seela looked over his helmet at the map, the Imp so short he barely reached her chest. Their destination apparently lied in the middle of a body of water, close to the city limits.

“There is no land route towards your 'weapon'," Seela noted, sweeping her rifle across the buildings, her eyes fighting against the jarring fluorescents on the facades.

“Here's hoping there's a bridge, or something," he muttered, turning and angling his helmet up at her when she grumbled under breath.

“You don't know?" she asked. “How did you plan on getting to this weapon without knowing the terrain?"

“Supposed to drop right on top of it," he explained. “Didn't plan on getting caught out here with my pants down and an Elite at my back."

“I hope you do not plan on us swimming to wherever it is we are going," she muttered.

“Afraid of a little water?" he asked, his tone suggesting he was smiling.

“Water is a nuisance," she replied, fidgeting about as the rain dripped down the grooves in her armour. “Argh, I can feel it slipping through my suit and trickling down my spine…"

The Imp chuckled, the little devil apparently finding her plight amusing. “I'll fetch you a towel if we get the chance," he said, turning away to follow the route the kiosk suggested. “You don't need to tag along with me, you know," he added. “Go hide out and wait for your split lip buddies to arrive."

“To wait is to die," she snapped. “I will meet my end on my own terms, even if it means having an honourless Heretic as company."

He gave her a look over his shoulder, shaking his head as he pressed on down the road.

The Major

Streets of New Mombasa

Eight Hours After Rupture

“I don't know what I'm looking at here," the Major muttered.

Winking an eye shut, he adjusted the magnification with his right hand, using his left to hold the scope to his opened eye. There was no real reason to carry scopes when shotguns were his go-to weapons, but it was small, portable, and perfect for recon.

The view granted him an omnipresent vision, bringing him closely to a curved road that swept round the base of a fire station, maybe two hundred feet away. There were black plasma burns all over the building, its once striking coat of red paint now dark and scorched. The Covenant had probably targeted emergency services right after mowing down any military presence. A hose tower that jutted out of one side of the station had been decapitated, a plume of smoke trailing from its top.

The street they had been following ringed the station's right side, the lanes flanked by cars and trucks, as if the drivers had pulled over before abandoning their vehicles. The road then curved back to the left, disappearing behind the bulk of the station. The street almost looked like a question mark from this angle.

He and Seela had set up on the balcony of a nearby office block, the Elite to his left as they peered over the handrail, exposing as little of their helmets as they overlooked the junction, distant noises putting them on edge.

There was movement at the base of the hose tower, the Major's view zooming until two Brutes filled it, their red armours shining in the glow of a nearby traffic light. They had their backs turned, crouching on their knees as they wrestled with some sort of mass lying at their feet.

“Let me see," Seela said, gesturing for the scope. He promptly ignored her, watching as one of the Brutes leaned down, hauling the mass to his armoured chest, presenting it to his counterpart.

Only now did he get a good look at whatever it was they were trying to overpower. It looked like some kind of air sack with tails and tentacles sprouting out of its sides, the tips of the appendages covered in cerulean points of light. On its back were teeth-shaped bits of armour, shielding the bulk of its glistening body. A long, winding neck trailed out of its chest, the appendage capped with some sort of helmet, a solitary blue eye serving as its visor.

The Brute not holding the bizarre alien produced a plasma grenade, thrusting his arm forward and driving the explosive into a cavity on the creature's soft belly, his long arm burying up to the wrist in its flesh, a burbling screech carrying on the air. The Brute pulled its arm away, palm empty of the plasma charge, and the Brutes seemed satisfied, the one pinning the alien now letting it go.

The creature began to drift into the air like a balloon, floating with its slug-like neck twisting left and right, beginning some kind of patrol as the Brutes lifted their heads to watch it, one of them giving the other a nudge as he laughed at something.

“I think that's a Huragok," Seela muttered, snatching the scope out of his hands. The scope looked tiny in her massive arms, Seela pinching it between her fingers as she held it up. “This magnification is terrible," she mumbled. “How you see anything with these is beyond me."

“Then use your carbine," he sighed.

“… I was just about to, fool," she defended, bringing the weapon to bear in a way that came off as flustered.

“Better not pull the trigger," he said, his rigging shifting as he adjusted his weight. “And give that back."

She rolled the scope towards him rather than just hand it to him, the two watching for a while as the floating alien milled about a dozen or so meters above the street.

“Yes, definitely a Huragok," Seela confirmed, tracking it with her weapon. The Major just preferred to call them Engineers. “We used them – we as in the Covenant – used them as technicians mostly. What were they doing with it just now?"

“They shoved a grenade down its throat," he explained. “They planning on blowing it up?"

“I do not know," she replied. “I have never seen one outside of a ship before."

“Me either." The Major pulled up a mental image of the kiosk map, having checked one only minutes earlier. The Superintendent had insisted this was the best route towards his objective, and that doubling back and taking any other route would add hours to his journey he simply could not spare. They would have to go through.

“There's plenty of cover by those vehicles," he said, gesturing down at the road. “Those Brutes are sticking close to the station, so we should be able to slip through if we keep our distance."

“Slip through?" Seela repeated. “There are only two of them, plus the Huragok, and it is an easy target."

“Listen to me," he said. “We don't know what that Engineer is capable of, and there's definitely more than just two Brutes. See how those cars are all off the road? The Covenant moved them to clear the street, probably to let vehicles get through. We don't stand a chance against mechanised infantry in a frontal assault."

“Your tendency to slink around like a coward is becoming tiresome," Seela growled, pointing her carbine at the ground as she swivelled to face him.

“Vigilance is not the same as being a coward," the Major shot back. “Let's say we do it your way and a Ghost comes flying over, you think you or I will be able to frag it before we get overwhelmed? You willing to take that chance?"

“Yes," she bluntly replied, the Major sighing in frustration.

“Fine, go kill yourself but give me a few minutes to get clear, you'll provide a distraction at least."

“You are not leaving without me, Imp." She raised her carbine, just a little, but enough for him to notice. “You said we would wait for opportunities to slay the Covenant, how is this not a chance for vengeance?"

“It might be, but we need to evaluate them a bit more first," he said. “Let's circle them, and once we've got a number on their forces, we can go from there."

He thought that if they could safely reach the other side of the station, he could slip away if Seela decided to sate her bloodlust. She was such a hot-head, and he imagined she'd have charged right into the Engineer if he wasn't here to reign her in. As amusing as that would have been to see, they had to stay hidden.

“Very well," Seela conceded. “But if we are discovered, I want to see you firing your weapon, or I'll shoot you myself."

“Great, I'll take that," he replied, surveying the junction. “Okay, I'll keep an eye on the Engineer, you move to those cars on my signal."

“No," Seela replied. “I will cover, you will lead."

“The fuck is with you and making me lead?" the Major shout-whispered, as raising his voice might give them away. “Just go, I'll be right behind you."

“The last time I trusted someone to watch my back, they ended up shooting it," she snarled. “And I do not trust you, Heretic. You might retreat the moment I leave this balcony. That, is a chance I'm not willing to take. Lead on," she insisted, gesturing with her carbine at the street below.

“Whatever," he grumbled. “Just don't linger, I won't wait."

Staying low, he crept back into the room the balcony extended out of until he was sure he could stand without being spotted. It was a typical office workspace, a grid pattern of cubicles stretching from one wall to the other, the monitors blue with error screens. There was a stairwell at the far end he and Seela had made their way up from minutes earlier, the Major backtracking until he was back at the foyer, now underneath Seela's position as he worked his way into the street.

He ducked behind the boot of a sedan, turning his helmet up as he watched the Engineer bob about near the fire station's sloped roof. Like Seela had said, he had only seen these creatures inside Covenant ships, doing as their namesake suggested as they maintained the alien starships. They were the only non-combatant species in the Covenant. Maybe the Brutes had decided to change that, having replaced the Elites as the Prophet's new favourite.

Dangerous or not, the Brutes had shoved a grenade into the Engineer's stomach, the implication not lost on the Major as he treaded lightly through the frozen traffic, each splash of his boots making his chest tighten with anxiety. The two Brutes were on his left as he worked his way up the street, stopping behind a van as he peered back at Seela's sniping position.

He could see her tall, sweeping helmet as she panned her carbine over the street, the Elite standing up, and planting a foot on the lip of the railing. Rather than follow in his example, Seela simply jumped off the balcony, rolling when she landed on the street, her powerful legs absorbing the long drop, the Major wincing as he heard her armour creak from the impact. She was definitely not the subtle type.

Following the same route he'd taken, she stalked through the cars, keeping as low as her tall frame could allow, the Major continuing on up the street when she was close. They moved from car to car, close enough to the aliens the Major could pick out the guttural breaths of the Brutes, the rain providing enough volume on its own to cover all the little noises his boots or Seela's hooves made as they moved.

The Engineer drifted out of sight behind the station, making for a poor scout even with its aerial advantage. After a couple of minutes, they reached the other side of the fire station, but as the Major rounded the bulk of an abandoned truck, what he saw made him pause.

A garage was built into this face of the station, but instead of housing a fire truck, a giant purple vehicle plugged the space. Its design was smooth and bulbous, more resembling an aircraft then any type of land vehicle, with a rounded nose and two fins protruding out of the sides of the chassis, the vehicle maybe thirty feet wide and just as long. There were two turrets mounted on the top of the vehicle, a plasma cannon for the copilot, and a mortar turret serving as the main weapon.

The Wraith was the Covenant's artillery tank equivalent, capable of tearing through infantry as well as armour at extreme ranges. The Major had been worried about Ghosts, but nothing aside from Covenant carriers inspired as much concern as a Wraith did.

“What's wrong?" Seela whispered, stopping just behind him. She followed his gaze around the hood of the truck, her eyes widening as she spotted the parked Wraith.

He glared at her behind his visor, gesturing at the tank as if to say told you so. From behind the Wraith's bulk appeared two Grunts, chasing pieces of rock as they rolled them around with their stumpy feet. If they had opted to fire on the Brutes, those aliens would have jumped straight into their tank.

“You were right," Seela muttered, the Major picking up on a bit of shame in her tone. He'd gloat over this later, right now they had to put as much distance from here as they could.

He scanned the street ahead, the road splitting into two directions, north and west. The north road was clear, the road inclining to higher ground, but the other was not, the Major spotting two Jackals and a Brute behind a pair of plasma barriers, the screens of shimmering energy taller than Seela was. The Jackals were sweeping their needle rifles lazily around, but the Brute was more attentive, the Major ducking out of view as he reared his ugly head towards their hiding spot.

“Sentries," he told Seela, holding up a hand when she made to look. “Two Jackals, one Brute."

“We cannot slip past them," Seela noted, taking a look for herself. “They watch the entire street."

“Don't have to," he replied. “We're going the other way, but there's not much cover. We'll have to wait for an opening and run across."

“Perhaps it's for the best we leave this patrol be," Seela admitted. “I thought all our Wraiths had been recalled to the carrier for the redeployment."

“Guess they missed one," he said. “Alright, I'll go first, wait here until I signal it's clear, then you follow."

He waited until the Brute he had his back turned, then the Major dashed across the street, being out in the open for so long making the hairs on his neck stand on end. There was about ten meters of open ground between the sides of the street, and every second in it was horrible. Turning his back on a parked Wraith was not something he'd ever imagined doing, he'd seen those things tear down entire buildings and chew through squads of Marines.

He stomped over the lane markers, splashing the puddles of rainwater that had formed in the potholes, dipping behind a letterbox on the far side of the road, breathing a sigh of relief as he hid in its shadow.

He peeked over at the Jackals and the Brute, they had not noticed him, but there wasn't any room for relaxing, Seela still had to sneak past. When they weren't paying attention, he nodded towards Seela, but the Elite just shrugged back at him. Did she not know what a nod was? He realised he had never described to her what his signal would be. Thinking quickly, he raised a fist at her and extended the thumb.

She understood the gesture, the alien breaking cover and moving into the street, the giant alien thundering across the road with far less noise than he expected her to make. About halfway through her dash, she slipped, the Major looking down to see she'd caught one of her hooves in a pothole, the Elite stumbling to a knee, her carbine skidding along the pavement as she braced her fall with her hands.

The Major's heart started to race, but his concern was directed towards the Covenant. In the tranquillity of the storm, the clattering of her armour had been very loud, and one of the Jackals squawked, pointing a claw in the fallen Elite's direction.

The Brute unleashed an intimidating roar, lifting a plasma rifle and firing it in Seela's direction, her shields flashing as they absorbed the energy. She was closer to the truck than the Major, so she doubled back, pressing herself against the vehicle, her shields saving her from being cut down.

The Jackals suppressed her hiding spot with their needle rifles, the supersonic crystals shattering against the engine block, but the Major was looking elsewhere. The Grunts next to the Wraith had jumped out of their skin the second the shooting started, clambering over each other as they scrambled up the flank of the Wraith. In a few moments that thing would be sending plasma bolts the size of cars her way.

The Major considered leaving her. She was a huge target that would just draw even more attention to him, and the Covenant would be focused on her while he snuck away, but something gave him pause. She was a prime source of intel on the Covenant, and if he could exfil her, humanity would have a chance to learn more about the Covenant's plans, that kind of information could be crucial for Earth's survival.

“Damn it," he muttered after hesitating. He vaulted over the letterbox, reaching for the plasma grenade he'd stolen from the last Elite he'd killed, thumbing the prime button. He tossed it like he was pitching at a baseball game, the grenade arching through the air towards the parked Wraith, the two Grunts grabbing at the handholds on the chassis as they climbed into the pilot seats.

The grenade landed between the mortar and the turret with a satisfying slap, the little aliens sent flying as the plasma discharged, a blue cloud of energy evaporating the turret mounts, a chunk of the tank blowing apart in the blast.

He let his shotgun hang from its sling, drawing his sidearm and dumping the magazine into the Jackals. One tumbled to the ground after his chestplate was riddled with holes, its counterpart ducking behind the safety of the forcefields. His pistol clicked impotently as he fired the last few bullets at the Brute, doing little more than making the alien turn his attention on the Major.

“Run you idiot!" the Major shouted, a barrage of plasma travelling over his head, so close he could feel his skin singe with their heat. He dropped the empty magazine and inserted another, backing up as he fired, the Brute's shields dropping just as the pistol went dry again.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Seela resuming her dash across the open, her shields having time to recharge. She swiped her carbine off the ground, turning and headshotting the Brute in one smooth motion, the alien falling to the street with a grunt.

She dashed past the Major, who turned to follow, fumbling with his rigging as he reloaded. The remaining Jackal was firing up the incline from his entrenched position, sending supersonic needles their way, one of them aimed at the Major. Unlike Seela, he didn't have shields to absorb incoming fire, the man snarling through his teeth as he felt the round slam him on the small of his back, the crystal shattering against his BDU. The plating saved him from being punctured, but the kinetic energy was enough to knock the wind out of him.

He stumbled to a knee, feeling a nasty swelling on his back, but he forced himself up the incline, watching as Seela rested her carbine on the roof of a car up there, sending a solitary shot down at the Jackal, killing it judging by the lack of return fire.

“More are coming!" Seela warned, sounding more ecstatic than worried at this development. He put his back to the car as he joined her, peeking round the tire to see the two Brutes from earlier were coming over to join the fray.

“You think!?" he asked, snarling as pain shot down his side.

She sent the rest of her radioactive rounds down at the Brutes, her mandibles twitching as her weapon ran empty. “Something is wrong," she said. “Their shields are… stronger."

She was right, her whole clip had only weakened one of the Brutes shields, the white energy that clung to his frame close to collapsing, but still online. He could tell because the weaker the shield, the more visible it was to the naked eye.

Movement from above drew his gaze, and the Engineer came into view, rounding the hose tower's bulk, turning its long neck in their direction. It floated lazily over the Brute's position, bellowing a screech that came off as distinctly painful.

The Brutes did not charge up the incline, staying close to wherever the Engineer drifted, the creature floating along at a snail's pace towards the right. They didn't seem to be able to control it, one of the aliens snarling something up at it in its strange language.

“The Engineer," the Major said. “I think it's overcharging their shields. Save your ammo," he added when Seela raised her carbine at it. “We need to go, they've probably called for backup already, that's why they're not charging us."

“Then move," she replied. It seemed killing that Brute just now had sated her, not voicing another complaint as she followed him, the two retreating into the next junction, breaking line of sight with the patrol. The Brutes were hammering the car they'd hidden behind with plasma fire, probably thinking they were still there. If they moved quickly, they could slip away before they realised what had happened.

“This way," he said, Seela following him into another office block. They cut through the foyer to the other side, the sounds of gunfire gradually ceasing as they distanced themselves from the fire station. They couldn't check every room, but it was unlikely Brutes would be lying in wait, being sneaky was the last thing a ten-foot alien was built for. The Major and Seela delved into a mess of crisscrossing alleyways, and when he was confident they'd put enough buildings between them and their pursuers, he slowed down, leaning against a wall to catch his breath.

“… I thought you would leave me, when I fell," Seela said, her mandibles flexing as she panted. “Perhaps having a Heretic as a companion isn't so bad as I thought it would be."

“Don't kid yourself," he scoffed, waving a dismissive hand at her. “You're an asset to me, split lip, and a fucking clumsy one as well. You almost got us killed back there."

“A trivial matter," she replied. “I am not as suited to deception and creeping along as you or my cloaked brothers are."

“Wouldn't be surprised if you did it on purpose," he mumbled under his breath.

“What was that, Imp?" Seela asked. “I did not hear you."

He repeated himself, louder this time, and the Elite recoiled. “Y-You're accusing me?"

“Just making an observation," he said. “You've been itching for a fight ever since we met, and you're barely fazed that we managed to escape just now. If I told anybody that a little pothole managed to fell an Elite, they'd never believe me."

“You are such a little… bastard," she said, the word coming out awkwardly. She mustn't have used it very often. “You have no idea what you are talking about. Why would I put our lives in danger, and risk facing down a Wraith?"

“That's what I'm wondering too," he replied, the Elite fuming as she clutched her carbine tighter.

“Delusional devil-spawn," she spat.

“Squid-faced, overgrown lizard."

Her finger moved to the trigger, but he met her gaze fearlessly. She had said before she would not kill him after he'd saved her life, and he'd done so once more. Her show of mercy had sabotaged her threats, and they both knew it.

“I change my earlier statement," she said, popping her carbine open as she reloaded the cartridge. “I wish you had left me."

“How about a thanks for saving me, Major?" he grumbled as he checked his ammo. There were only two more magazines for his sidearm left, but at least he had the plasma pistol to spare.

“You are a Major?" she asked, as if this was some sort of massive discovery.

“Said I dropped in with my team, didn't I? Yeah, I'm a Major."

“Major pain in my side, more like," Seela grumbled.

He ignored her comment, making his way down the alley, the Elite following him from an even further distance than usual.