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—and its hands found the plasma weapon that it had dropped.
The Elite recovered quickly and aimed at the Master Chief.
The Master Chief jumped, grabbed its wrist. He locked his armor’s glove articulation—it became a viseclamp.
They wrestled for control. The gun pointed at the alien—then the Master Chief.
The alien was as strong as the Master Chief.
They spun and bounced off the floor, ceiling, and walls. They were too evenly matched.
The Master Chief managed to force a stalemate: the pistol now pointed straight up between their bodies.If it went off it would hit them both—one shot at point-blank range might collapse their shields. They’dboth fry.
The Master Chief whipped his forearm and elbow over the creature’s wrist and slammed it in the head.For a split second it was stunned and its strength ebbed.
John turned the gun into its face—squeezed the firing mechanism. The plasma discharge exploded intothe creature. Fire sprayed across its shields; they shimmered, flickered, and dimmed.
The energy splash washed over the Master Chief; his shields drained to a quarter. The internal suittemperature spiked to critical levels.
But the Elite’s shields were dead.
He didn’t wait for the plasma gun to recharge. The Master Chief grabbed the creature with his left hand—his right fist struck an uppercut to the head, a hook to the throat and chest, three rapid-fire strikes withhis forearm to its helmet—that cracked and hissed atmosphere.
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The Master Chief pushed away and fired the pistol again. The bolt of fire caught the Elite in the face.
It writhed and clawed at nothing. The Elite shuddered . . . suspended in midair; it twitched and finallystopped moving.
The Master Chief shot it again to make sure it was dead.
Motion sensors picked up multiple targets approaching down the corridor—forty meters and closing.
The Master Chief turned and double-timed it back to Blue-One.
Linda was where he left her, shooting her targets with absolute concentration and precision.
“There are more on the way,” he told her.
“Reinforcements have already arrived in the bay,” she reported. “Twenty, at least. They’re learning,overlapping their shields—can’t get a good shot in.”
Static crackled over the Master Chief’s COM channel: “Master Chief, this is Captain Keyes. Did you getthe NAV database?” The Captain sounded out of breath.
“Negative, sir. We’re close.”
“We’re bound in-system to retrieve you. ETA is five minutes. Destroy theCircumference ’s database andget out ASAP. If you cannot accomplish your mission . . . I’ll have to take out the station with thePillar ofAutumn ’s weapons. We are running out of time.”
“Understood, sir.”
The channel snapped off.
Captain Keyes was wrong. They weren’t running out of time . . . time had already run out.
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CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
0616 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /UNSCPillar of Autumn , Epsilon Eridani System near Reach Station Gamma