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ERIC NYLUND
73
ODSTs in half and gouge gaping wounds in Titanium-A armor
plating.
Worse, this Elite was tough, cunning, well trained—and it
hadn't spent days fighting nonstop on Halo. The Chief felt every
wound, pulled muscle, and strained tendon in his body.
Haverson and Polaski moved onto the bridge, their pistols
drawn, but neither of them had a clear line of fire.
"Move, Chief!" Haverson shouted. "Damn it, we've got no shot!"
Easier said than done. If he let go, the Elite would cut him in
two.
The Master Chief grunted, struggling to turn the Elite.
The alien fought back for a moment, then—instead of
resisting—lurched back, right into the path of the Chief's ad-
vancing teammates.
The Elite flicked the angle of its blade flat so the arc of energy
whipped toward Haverson and Polaski.
Haverson screamed and fell to the ground as the energy blade
sliced through his pistol and across his chest. Polaski cursed and
fired a single shot, but it glanced off the Elite's shield.
The alien glanced at the source of the fire and growled in its
guttural, warbling tongue.
"Get the Lieutenant out of here," the Master Chief barked. He
raised his knee to his chest and lashed out with a straight kick.
His boot connected with the Elite's breastplate. The alien's en-
ergy shield flared, then faded, and its breastplate cracked like
porcelain beneath the force of the blow.
The alien staggered back, dragging the Master Chief with it. It
coughed up purple-black blood that smeared John's visor, ob-
scuring his vision. Its foot struck something on the ground—the
alien's fallen helmet—and it lost its footing.
Together they crashed to the ground.
The Master Chief kept his grip on the Elite's sword arm.
The alien's other hand, however, wrenched free and grabbed the
fallen plasma pistol. The weapon's muzzle charged with sickly
green energy.
The Chief rolled to his right as the pistol discharged. A globe
of plasma arced across the compartment and splashed over the
displays behind him.
The instruments flickered, then flashed and sparked as the en-