Halo: Aeolus

Scarab

   "What are we gonna do about that?" Alyx asked, the annoyance seeping through every word.

   "We're going to have to take it," Virgil sighed, his voice barely audible over his gunshots.

   "But how?"

   "The AA guns-" Sylvia was cut off by the Scarab's beam melting through the final two AA guns.

   "They had a jet pack inside, so if I can get close..." Nigel informed.

   "I'll cover you," Sylvia said, poking out of cover. She fired at anything that moved, quickly dropping any enemy tht wasn't in cover. She noticed Nigel sprint past her, firing his pistol as he went. Sylvia bolted out of cover herself, followed closely by Elizabeth. A pair of Banshees appeared overhead, but were quickly reduced to blue-burning rubble by Alyx's laser. Elizabeth tackled an Elite with a sword, pulling her knife out as the two went tumbling to the ground. Moments later, Elizabeth was already caught up again with Sylvia, her knife stained blue. Nigel reloaded, before nearly emptying his magazine into a blue Elite. Sylvia shot a trio of Fuelrod Gun-weilding Grunts down before they had a chance to get a shot. The Scarab, now just several dozen meters ahead, fired at the Spartans. Nigel adjusted his sprint to the left, narrowly avoiding the beam. He rolled out of the way of a Jackal's overcharge shot, shooting him in the head as he rolled, and jet packed on board the Scarab. A pair of Elites greeted him with bolts of plasma, eager to finish the boarder. Nigel threw his knife into the throat of one, causing him to drop to the floor in a gurgle. The second Elite atempted to bash Nigel with his gun, but only reached air when Nigel ducked under the blow, kicking the legs out from under the Elite as he did. He fired the remaining shots of his magazine into the fallen warrior, before grabbing his knife and sprinting to the rear of the Scarab. As he rounded the corner, a silver-armored Elite Zealot stepped out, swinging its sword at the lone Spartan. Nigel barely avoided the super-heated sword, and back pedaled, readying his weapons.

   Elizabeth fired a slug into the head of an Elite, dropping it instantly. She sensed another enemy behind her and spun. An Elite caught the gun and kicked Elizabeth to the ground. She pulled her Magnum and fired off every shot she had in her magazine. The alien flinched, but still pulled its Carbine up towards the woman's skull. Suddenly, Virgil jumped over Elizabeth and kicked the Elite to the ground, before shoving his knife into its skull. He turned and pulled Elizabeth to her feet, who hugged him as soon as she was on two feet again.

   "I love you," she whispered, holding him tightly.

   "You too. Now let's get back to it," he replied, pulling his Machine Pistols out.

   "Yeah, of course."

   Nigel shot several shots towards the Elite, all of which deflected off its shields. The Elite began to sprint toward Nigel with a roar, its sword glowing brightly in its hand. He sprinted towards the attacker and slid under the swing, knocking the Elite down as he went. The Spartan quickly threw two grenades towards the core. Explosions erupted from the core room. Nigel leapt from the doomed vehicle to the ground below as the Zealot roared in anger. Nigel landed next to Sylvia, who ran to safety with him. The Scarab exploded, lighting the valley up in bright blue.

   "Looks like they're pulling back," Alyx announced wearily.

   "About time..." Sylvia sighed. "Hey, that was good, Nigel."

   "I try," he shrugged.

   "There is going to be a lot of sleeping tonight."

   "Yeah, you're telling me."

   "Well, I think its almost time to go home, so, you know, lets get on that," Sylvia said, playfully nudging Nigel's arm as she began the walk back to the base.