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74
HALO: FIRST STRIKE
ergy bolt melted their systems. Before the displays went dark,
however, the Master Chief saw one of the Covenant cruisers
open fire. A lance of plasma rushed through space toward the
flagship.
The Chief and the Elite struggled, rising to their feet. The Chief
batted the plasma pistol aside, and it clattered across the control
center.
The Elite's mouth opened, and it snapped at the Chief. It was
angry or panicking now... and he felt it getting stronger.
His grasp on the alien loosened.
There was motion behind the Elite; Sergeant Johnson and
Locklear still struggled to get their hatch open more than a crack.
"Sergeant—prepare to fire."
"Ready, Master Chief." the Sergeant cried from the other side
of the hatch.
The Chief tightened his grip on the Elite's sword arm, shoved his
forearm into the alien's throat and drove it backward, across the
bridge. He slammed the creature into the partially opened hatch.
The energy blade cut into the Master Chief's armor, boiling
through the alloy that protected his upper arm.
"Sergeant, now! Firer
Gunfire exploded from the hatch, oddly muffled because the
rounds impacted directly into the Elite's back. The alien snarled
and contorted, but it held on to the Master Chief. The alien war-
rior sawed the blade deeper, cutting through the tough crys-
talline layers of the MJOLNIR armor. Hydrostatic gel oozed
from the wound... mixed with the Chief's blood.
"Keep. Shooting."
A bullet hole appeared through the Elite's broken chestplate—
bits of shattered armor and torn flesh spattered over the Chief.
The Master Chief slammed the Elite into the bulkhead, and a
control panel behind the alien sparked. The door to the escape
corridor hissed open, and the creature reeled back.
The alien was off balance, and the Chief finally had leverage.
He bulled the Elite backward and hammered its arm into the
wall. The alien metal rang like a gong, and the Elite dropped its
energy sword. The blade guttered and went dark as its fail-safes
permanently disabled the weapon.
The Chief forced the alien back, step by step. The deck was