The Meadow

“Kai, where are we going?” asked my friend, Mik. His words roused me from my slumber as the Lich we were riding in was approaching our destination.
“Mik, this is the third time today I have told you where we are being deployed,” I answered.
“Well, I have a bad memory.”
“Scanners indicated the presence of a Forerunner sanctuary on this planet, specifically in the mountain range we are being deployed to. We are to secure it until agents of the Ministry of Fervent Intercession arrive to take control of the site.”
“Gods… we’re actually going to a Forerunner shrine?” asked Basab.
“Yeah, so you can pray your little heart away,” commented Tes, playfully smacking Basab on the scalp of his head. The Unggoy futilely waved away Tes’ hand.
I looked to the rest of the space on the Lich. Several other lances were in tow, including that of Quso ‘Thurikee and Iero ‘Zokurai. Quso glanced at me while speaking with Iero, and he gave me a quick nod. I replied with one of my own. Then, however, the Lich rumbled, causing me to jump to my feet and everyone else to go alert.
“Son of a tavern wench, are we taking fire?” spat out Tes.
Basab manipulated a panel to get a bearing on the situation. “Those stinky, filthy Humans are trying to shoot us down with rockets and bullets!”
“Oh, too bad we have Banshees as escort!” uttered Quso.
The Lich’s deployment doors opened, a sudden rush of chilly air blowing into our faces. We were above snowy mountains, but thanks to some divine intervention, the skies were clear that day. A Banshee flew by and fired a fuel rod at one of the sites firing at us as we approached the valley the site was located in. A large green explosion splashed that familiar color across our faces, and many of us cheered as we passed by the newly-formed crater on the surface of this world. Then, we flew above the summit of a range of small mountains, finding the valley filled with the light of plasma bolts rushing here and there, explosions, and tracers from Human guns. More Liches, Phantoms, Spirits, and Banshees poured in from our side, the north, and the west, effectively boxing the Humans in against the nigh-impassible mountains on the eastern side of the valley. In the center was a green meadow with flowers, and within the center of that meadow, placed alongside a calm, shallow river, was the Forerunner site, in all its majesty, infested with fiendish Humans using it as some sort of command post.
“We have received a blessing to engage the enemy! Prepare!” yelled out one of the Majors.
Then, the Lich landed us in the meadow, hovering just above the grasses and flowers, blowing them down as we disembarked. Almost immediately we were fired upon by the Humans from the defenses they had constructed around the Forerunner structure. Many of the Sangheili with us had their shields sustain the brunt of the initial fire, although numerous Unggoy were immediately cut down.
“Oh, the Unggoy-nity!” cried out Basab.
One of the Minors unlatched the plasma cannon on the Lich and brought it with us as we deployed onto the ground. He immediately gave us covering fire as we advanced, suppressing a Human machine gun emplacement and its fighters within. That emplacement was soon destroyed by another Minor, holding a fuel rod gun.
“Keep moving!” I shouted. “Keep moving! Rush the position!” I ran forward, my carbine up at the ready as I shot one Human in the head, then another in its neck, then another in the shoulder. Admittedly my aim was not the greatest this day, but I was moving, advancing, and so accuracy was not entirely expected this time.
However, my advance was interrupted when a Human rocket came for a group of Sangheili beside me. The rocket slammed into the ground around them, shattering their shields and killing them. My shields were broken as well, the concussive force of the blast forcing me onto the ground. I grunted as I landed on my side on a bed of small flowers. I was deafened, a ringing noise blaring in my ears, and I felt a powerful headache. My vision blurred and it was as if everyone else was moving at the speed of light. I tried centering myself, slowing my breathing to regain composure, but everything seemed dulled, deafened, and distant. I huffed as I forced myself to my knees, but a sudden force pulled me to the cover of a rock. It was Iero, his distinct brown eyes and geometric tattoo below his left eye making his discernment almost trivial. It helped that he was also one of the only Majors to carry an energy sword into this battle. He glared at me silently as he held me up against the rock, safe from fire, his sword in his hand. I looked to my right to see Mik having the time of his life, dual-wielding plasma rifles as the hail of gunfire seemed to dance around him, with my friend firing back almost gleefully. Meanwhile, Tes and Basab were to my left.
“You all right, sir?” she asked, pausing momentarily from sniping with her beam rifle. Basab hurled a plasma grenade forth, sticking it onto a Human’s chest. The explosion enveloped it and its allies.
“I will live,” I answered, somewhat shaken. My shields then regenerated, and Iero, with a nod and a parting pat on my cuirass, left me.
I was irate and embarrassed at being left in such a vulnerable position. I had known Iero from my youth, and he and I often clashed. No doubt he felt a sense of vindication when he saw me in my predicament, and yet he put aside the pettiness between us to save me in the heat of combat. Assuredly, I had misjudged Iero in those days past. As I left the safety of the rock, I regained my senses and raised my carbine to fire some more at the Humans. A rocketeer emerged from cover, but the distinct beam from Tes’ rifle turned its head into porridge.
“Move up, you lazy whores!” shouted Quso. “Move! We have Humans to kill!”
Our forces pushed the Humans from the woodlands surrounding the meadow into the meadow proper, and soon they were restricted only to the Forerunner structure and the surrounding Human-made defenses, as well as a narrow pocket up against the eastern mountain. It became a veritable killing ground for the Humans, with the grasses and flowers, as well as the river, stained red.
“Wait! Friendlies! Hold your fire, hold your fire!” yelled Iero. I looked up, beyond the sandbags and metal shielding of the Humans, to what seemed to me to be parapets of the Forerunner structure. Humans were flung from the walls and killed from behind. I saw the distinct maroon-armored figure of a Zealot, the design of his armor markedly different from all others, including my own. They had already arrived?
We observed as the final Humans were eliminated from the Forerunner structure, cleansed by the Zealots wielding energy swords and plasma rifles.
Category:The Weekly