As Sgt Forge and Professor Anders slowly surrounded the dome of light with Rhino's, Shawn was busy tearing down everything the Sangheili thought was true.
Projecting a few Covenant symbols that he remembered, as well as a few that had been found on ships, Shawn pointed one out. "What does this symbol stand for?" He asked as the Elite turned its head, refusing to answer.
"From the bits of conversation our scouts have pieced together, I'm positive this symbol means 'Reclamation', correct." He said. "At least, that's what your prophets told you. See, while we were down in the relic, on the planet before this one. I downloaded the information it contained before we had to leave, and guess what that symbol really means? Reclaimer."
It looked up at that, cold fury in its eyes. "You lie!" It hissed, "Our noble Prophets are guided by the gods themselves-" "Oh, you mean the Forerunners? Strong as they were, they were not gods." Shawn interrupted as the Elite tried to lunge at him, doing nothing other than making noise, still tired and injured from fighting.
"Blasphemer!" It spat, getting spittle on his boot. BAM Shawn didn't appreciate it; he grabbed its mandibles and forced it to look at him. "Do that again, and I'll bring in a human doctor who will draw blood for us to analyze."
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"Any progress Professor?" Sgt Forge asks as the pair of Plasma Rhino's fire at the dome, not appearing to do anything. "Still nothing, we'll need to set up more Rhino's to be able to overload the shield all at once." She said looking at energy reading on her tablet.
As ODSTs secure the Rhino, Sgt Forge and Anders go to pick up the next Rhino. "Why do you keep wanting these things where the Covenant have basses set up? You trying to get me killed?!" He asks but she just rolls her eyes.
"You were going to blow them up anyway, why not just get it over with?" She demanded as a pair of ghost rounded the corner, Forge dealt with them before answering. "Because the Captain said I had to babysit you, not but you on the front line!"
"Why would I worry about being on the frontline when I have you here to keep me safe?" She asked batting her eyes at him, 'Like hell I'm believing you again!' He thought remembering how she'd kicked back on the ship.
"Sgt Forge, this is Captain Cutter. How are things down there, are you and the Professor playing nice?" The Captain said over the radio as Forge nodded to himself. "Yessir, third Rhino is almost in position, Professor looks kinda queasy though, you might want to take her back up to the ship." Cutter chuckled as he heard Anders protests over the line.
"Keep it up, Serina is waiting for the dome to drop so she can rain hell with the MAC, don't keep her waiting too long." He said as Serina smirked. "Hey, where's the big guy, Shawn right?" Forge asked as Captain Cutter lost his smile.
"He's talking to one of our alien friends right now so he's a little busy."
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"HERETIC! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS BLASPHEMY ANY LONGER!" Sida'Komaee roared as the Demon continued its assault on everything he held dear.
"Your prophets have no love for the Elites, they are already putting the Brutes into positions of power to better dispose of you when the time come, we both know it." The Demon said calmly as Sida thrashed in his bindings.
Of course he knew, he and any other competent commander could see the signs, but for a demon to point it out? "The Rite of Union is clear, we are their protectors!" He challenged, as the Demon just shook its head.
'Just wait until I am freed from this prison, then I will present your corpse to the Shipmaster!' He thought savagely.
For hours now he'd had his faith in the Covenant, and everything he knew, tested. This Demon not only knew things about Covenant history, but even that of the Holy Forerunners, the great gods who's passage they were destined to follow! If only they could find one of the sacred rings, then they could finally ascend, free from this mortal plane.
"Tell me, about the Arbiters. How did such great warriors become reduced to nothing more that playthings for the Hierarchs, such a shame." It said and for once, Sida agreed. For many years he had been told of the great deeds of Arbiters past, how they rose up to lead their people into the stars, and against the mightiest of foes.
Then he joined the army, and saw the shame that it had been reduced to. Valiant warriors and Shipmasters of great renown, diminished and cast aside by all. He knew that the Prophets had something to do with that, he could see it in the way their eyes filled with disgust, and fear, when speaking of the Arbiters.
"I believe the current Arbiter is Ripa'Moramee, correct? " Sida snapped up, no Demon, no matter how scholarly should have access to that information, even he only knew because the Arbiter was on his ship, he'd been warned by his superiors to steer clear, lest he be labeled a heretic as well.
"How do you know this? You should NOT know that!" Sida demanded but the Demon just smiled, "I know more than you could ever imagine, from the Covenant, to the Forerunners. Even the Halos and the Flood cannot escape me."
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At this point, Shawn was just fucking with the Sangheili. The first hour he'd actually lectured the Elite about how the Prophets were going to oust them and usher in the Brutes, then some history lessons about how the Forerunners really were.
Of course the Elite didn't believe him, but that was ok, he didn't expect him to. Still Shawn kept messing with him and by now was starting to get bored.
'Lift the lockdown' {Done.} "AUTO, send a message to Captain Cutter. I want to know if Forge and Anders are still messing around with that Dome." [Yes Captain, message sent. Captain Cutter is requesting your presence aboard the Spirit of Fire's bridge.] "Alright, keep this room locked down, alert me if the prisoner tries to escape."
Shawn wasted no time, his armor had been repaired while he was messing with the Elite so it was up to par again. He did have to quickly repaint the helmet though, since the Elite had really been after his face.
On the bridge of the Spirit, Captain Cutter turned around to greet the Spartan as Serina finished loading the MAC cannon. "Welcome back, learn anything?" Shawn nodded. He filled the Captain in on how the Covenant were searching for 'relics' like the one on Harvest, and how a special Elite called the 'Arbiter' was currently leading the forces here.
"Hmm, well for until we meet this 'Arbiter' let's focus on the dome, Forge and Anders should have it down by now." He said just as Serina chimed "Barrier lowered, Covenant base is in full view and ready to be destroyed." Cutter nodded as he ordered Forge and his men to get to a safe distance before Serina let loose.
Shawn, Captain Cutter, the bridge crew and all ground forces in the area watched in awe as Serina rained down MAC fire on the Covenant base. Shells hit the ground as the earth beneath their feet trembled from the impact, with a few comm towers falling, being to close to the action.
"It's like hell on earth." Professor Anders said as Forge shook his head, "It's beautiful." A few ODSTs nearby said a silent 'Amen' and prayed they never got on Serina's bad side.
Back on board Serina finally stopped and ground forces moved in to clear the base. "Captain can I go join in the fun?" Shawn said as Cutter gave him permission, even giving him a few squads of marines just in case, not knowing how much he'd end up needing it.