Reality Check

The underharness did little to absorb the force of the Jiralhanae’s fist against her stomach. Vena ‘Vadam grunted, albeit somewhat weakly following the beating she had already taken, pushed back around the middle but held in place by the gravity binders on her wrists and ankles. As much as it hurt to breathe, she gasped for air, almost thankful for the momentary respite right before the other Jiralhanae took a swing at her ribs.
A spray of blood erupted from Vena’s mandibles, and at this the third and largest Jiralhanae — Zacynthus, the master of the ship and the treacherous bastard she had come to kill — strode forward, raising a hand to stop the others. He grabbed the adolescent Sangheili under the face and scrutinized her keenly, his bared teeth glinting as brightly as his silver-black armour. “You’re not short on nerve, child. But nerve counts for very little when you’re foolish enough to sneak aboard my ship.”
Vena spat a mouthful of blood at him, though most of it was leaking between her mandibles onto his palm. “You’ll have to hit a lot harder than that if you intend to curtail my vengeance, jir’a’ul.”
Zacynthus gave an amused huff. “So I’ve heard from every Sangheili I’ve ever captured. They were all wrong.” He relinquished his grip, and as Vena’s head dropped, she noticed him eyeing the pieces of her Seccoona armour piled by the wall. “Your armour. It’s Huragok-made, no question about it, but it’s not any I’ve ever seen.”
“Of course you haven’t,” she seethed, seeing no reason to keep secrets for the Prophet of Truth any longer. “You didn’t even have the gall to face the ones wearing it when you eradicated them. My mother and father. Elumi. Fira. Ex. You took every life on that ship, the only home I ever had, and I will see them avenged.”
He leaned in once more, sniffing at her with his nose almost touching hers. His voice held a hint of keen interest as he mused, “So you’re the albino’s whelp. Why weren’t you with them?”
“It wasn’t right, what Truth ordered us to do,” murmured Vena sullenly. “My father didn’t refuse, but I did. I stayed behind.”
“Then perhaps I shouldn’t tenderize you just yet. Not when the High Prophet may yield a greater reward than the taste of your flesh.”
Vena bared her mandibles venomously. “By all means. He’s next once I take your head.”
“We shall see, little assassin,” chortled Zacynthus, drawing back and tapping his COM. “Take us in for landing at High Charity. We are to speak with the Prophet of Truth immediately.” When no response came, impatience filled his voice. “I said get us moving. Respond!”
Suddenly the doors slid open, and in charged a lone Sangheili clad in the dark indigo of a Special Operations Officer. The two Jiralhanae flanking Zacynthus drew their Spikers and opened fire on the newcomer, who activated a point defence gauntlet on his wrist, snapping up a shield between him and the molten barbs bouncing off its surface. The guards pressed forward in unison.
The Chieftain was reaching for the Gravity Hammer on his back when the SpecOps Officer hurled his shield at the Jiralhanae to his right, sending it slicing into his neck. Without missing a beat, the Sangheili activated his Energy Sword and side-swiped the other guard across the middle in one motion, following up by running him through the small of his back. But now Vena could see Zacynthus closing distance on him, and shouted, “Look out!”
The SpecOps Officer ducked back in time to avoid the Chieftain’s first swing, although the sonic whump sent the dead guard’s body tumbling away with the Energy Sword still embedded. The Sangheili snatched up both Spikers from where he was crouched and crisscrossed them in front of his face as Zacynthus brought down his Gravity Hammer once again, the hammerhead catching against the bayonets. A shockwave rippled through both adversaries, causing their energy shields to sputter out, but still they refused to yield any quarter.
As the energy pulse washed over Vena, she could feel the invisible pressure on her wrists and ankles subside at last, and deftly closed her fingers around the upper gravity binders before dropping down to the floor. She dashed straight for Zacynthus, who was leveraging his weight to press the SpecOps Officer downward, and as he turned at the sound of her nimble footfalls, she smashed him across the face with one of the metal rings.
The Jiralhanae was sent reeling, giving Vena the opportunity to leap onto his back; barely hanging onto his writhing form, she managed to force the other gravity binder down around his neck, trying to hold it in place until it reactivated. Her other hand grabbed at his Gravity Hammer in an effort to keep him from using it, and it was then that she noticed that the SpecOps Officer had recovered his Energy Sword — and was moving in for the killing blow. “Wait!” she cried desperately.
The other Sangheili either did not hear her or did not care, for he buried the twin prongs of his weapon into Zacynthus’ armoured chest. The Chieftain flailed violently, sending Vena rolling to the floor amidst his death throes. But the SpecOps Officer was completely unfazed as an Energy Dagger ignited over his left wrist, and in one swift motion, he expertly drove it right between Zacynthus’ eyes.
The Jiralhanae’s erratic movements slowed to a halt, and finally the other Sangheili withdrew his blades, panting. Vena stared numbly at the would-be subject of her revenge, now laying dead before her, barely registering the SpecOps Officer’s words as he spoke into his COM. “The Shipmaster is dead. Call off the search.”
“Understood, Shinsu,” came another Sangheili’s voice over the COM. “We have secured the bridge.”
“Good,” Shinsu said. “Get us away from the ring, quickly.”
In spite of her aching, exhausted body, Vena bound to her feet with a snarl. “His life was mine to take!”
“Then you should have been quicker,” responded Shinsu unflinchingly, rising into a standing position.
Furious, she snatched up Zacynthus’ Gravity Hammer, ignoring her protesting muscles as she struggled to raise the bulky weapon to face level. She heedlessly rushed at the SpecOps Officer.
“Don’t be foolish,” he implored flatly.
With a feral roar, Vena took a heavy, ungainly swing at Shinsu. But she knew she was too slow even before she felt his clenched fist make contact with the side of her head, her fading awareness dimly registering the sensation of falling as darkness engulfed her.