The Hunted (Mess Hall)

**Location:**
*Arrow Flight*'s mess hall, en route to the reactors

*This is suicide.*

Amelia Hope and Jet Thompson, two of the three remaining ODSTs of their squad, were on their way to the ship's reactors. They were to assist a Spartan, Harald, in scuttling the ship to prevent it from falling into Covenant hands. Only problem, they don't know how long they'll have to escape after they set the reactors to explode.

*We could have only a few minutes to escape, or even just seconds.*

The corporal looked back at Jet, and through his unpolarized visor Jet's expression indicated that he was thinking the same thing. Now that Amelia was the new squad leader, she had to worry about their next move. If she didn't, then another squadmate could die.

The group was stopped in their tracks as two elites came through the doorway opposite of them, weapons firing. Their shots impacted the Spartan, but his shielding was able to withstand them as he flipped a table to use as cover. Amelia and Jet slid behind the table as two more split-jaws and a trio of jackals entered through the door behind them.

They were surrounded.

"Spartan, Jet and I will cover your rear while you handle those two dinos." Amelia pointed in the general direction of the first pair of elites, still pinning them with plasma. "Sound good?"

Before Harald could respond, two more doors to their right burst open to reveal a pair of hunters. Before Amelia could even register what just happened, Harald had already stood up and engaged them.

Amelia looked around for better cover, and noticed the serving bars to their left. She nudged Jet, who was still fixated on the hunters, and pointed to the bars. Jet nodded, and they sprinted towards them. Amelia vaulted over one, using a chair to gain height, and Jet followed with a dive.

She popped her head out from around the side and opened fire on the jackals. She could see on her HUD that Jet had engaged the elites opposite, and she assumed that Harald was still occupied with the hulking colonies of worms. Why the Covenant would send such powerful assets to board their ship was beyond her. *Don't they know that we're gonna crash?*

She lifted herself from behind cover, laying a hail of bullets at the elite minors, killing one of them. Then she caught a green glint out of the corner of her eye.

*What the he'll is that?* The mess hall shook violently as the fuel rod directly impacted an elite, snapping his shields instantly and melting various parts of him to the bone.

*I didn't know those things could miss so badly.* She turned her attentions to Harald, who was standing on top of one of the hunter's corpses. She called to Jet, "Well, that's one down."

"I've seen a Spartan fight before, but not up close. Did I ever tell you that?" Jet had already finished clearing his side now, and turned towards the chickens that Amelia hadn't killed yet.

"And I guess Isaac seen one too. You guys are always with each other." Amelia managed to get one of her shots to miss a jackal's shield and hit it in the eye. "But that has it's benefits. If I find one of you, I find both. Where is Isaac anyway?"

Before Jet could answer, Harald came crashing into the serving bar the two of them were using for cover; His shields snapped completely as he rolled to the floor. Amelia and Jet fell backwards on the floor from the enormous impact Harald created; Nothing either of them weren't used to. Amelia, stunned, shuffled to her feet in time to see Harald roll out of the way of a thunderous blow from the Hunter's two ton shield.

"Fuck!" Jet yelled as he picked his gun back up. "Amelia, you help Harald, I'll deal with the crows."

**[ CPL. Hope ]** "Too scared?"

**[ LCPL. Thompson ]** "Very funny."

Harald used a table to pull himself back up, bending it in the process. Amelia was glad she didn't offer to help him up, valuing her arm. The hunter swung its free arm towards Amelia as she slid behind the table. Its swing missed, although the momentum managed to free its shield from the bar. She stood back up and opened fire, her shots only keeping the hunter distracted so Jet can move.

While the Hunter was distracted, Jet laid a burst of fire down on both of the jackals; killing one as the bullets managed to avoid its shield.

Harald took the advantage and mounted the Hunter, his rifle was gone but he had managed to salvage a grenade. He pulled the pin and shoved the grenade into the exposed orange worms in the hunter's back, but he was thrown backwards onto another table, breaking it in half.

As the hunter exploded, Amelia could see that Jet had grabbed the last jackal by the head and snapped its neck. She spotted Harald's gun on the ground, next to what was left of the serving bar.

**[ CPL. Hope ]** "Spartan, I think you dropped something. This yours?"

She picked up the gun and tossed it to the Spartan, who caught it out of the air.

"Let's keep moving, we don't have much time." Jet said as he reloaded his rifle. He pointed in the direction of the reactors. "I'll take point. Amelia, you okay being in the back?"

**[ CPL. Hope ]** "Just don't run into anymore ambushes, and I'll be fine."