An Elite's Tale

Ludo 'Macdemee sat waiting in a Spectre while his commander, Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadumee, spoke with the Arbiter. The duo were doing reconnaissance on a Jiralhanae encampment, where they spotted a parked Scarab, when they stumbled upon the Arbiter leading a large lance of survivors on foot along the coast. His presence was a shock in and of itself, as he was reported by Tartarus to have been killed in his retrieval of the Icon.

"What is that place?" the Arbiter asked, staring at an old Forerunner structure in the distance.

Rtas was in his Wraith with the hatch open, resting his arms on the hood. He replied, "Where the Councilors were meant to watch the consecration of the Icon. The start of the Great Journey."

The Councilors.

Ludo was still coming to terms with what the Arbiter had reported. The Prophets and their betrayal to the High Council, how they'd ordered the Brutes to wage a genocidal campaign against the Elites. To make matters worse, the Arbiter also believed the Sacred Ring might actually be a weapon of galactic destruction and there was only a matter of time to stop Tartarus from activating it.

"I must get inside," the Arbiter declared.

"Then mount up, Arbiter. I know a way to break those doors," Rtas replied before disappearing into the Wraith and closing the hatch.

The Shipmaster's Wraith hummed to life and hovered about a half a foot off the ground. While the Arbiter lingered on the structure a moment longer, an Elite Zealot acting as the Arbiter's Second ordered the others to get in formation, sending two Elites over to Ludo's Spectre. One of these Elites had on a suit of snow white armor that was exclusive only to the Ultras, while the other was wearing the standard blue combat harness. Both got into the passenger seats located on either side of the vehicle, while a Grunt Major that was in attendance climbed up to man the Wraith's plasma turret. Once everyone was in position to move out, the Arbiter made his way over to the Spectre and knocked on the hull, requesting Ludo's seat.

"At your service, Arbiter," Ludo proclaimed as he got out and climbed into the gunner's position.

The lance set out at a steady pace moments later, vehicles in front, ground troops in back, weapons trained on the high walls of the deep, canyon-like valley they were in. There was an immense abundance of boulders and vegetation: the perfect set up for an ambush. As they neared the first turn, two enormous boulders were sitting one in front of the other right in the center of the pathway, temporarily splitting the trail.

"Keep your wits about you," Rtas said to everyone over the comms. "This could be a trap. Ground forces, move up and clear out the forward area. We will cover you with the turrets."

Ludo and his allies in the Spectre took the left, while Rtas went with the Zealot and his team of Grunts and Elites went right. Cautious, Ludo kept the plasma turret trained forward, but slowly adjusted his angles as the Spectre advanced past the boulders. The convoy reunited without issue and aimed to continue down the trail when a pair of Brutes in 'Ghost' rapid assault vehicles suddenly zoomed from around the corner at top speed.

The Shipmaster launched a mortar shot of latent plasma and struck the rear Ghost dead on, destroying it and the driver both completely. However, the lead Ghost plowed right through the crowd of foot soldiers, with most diving out of the way except for one of the Grunts, who attempted to stand his ground and fire an overcharged plasma burst. He actually managed to shut down the enemy vehicle too, just not in enough time to save his own life as inertia propelled the Ghost forward at a good thirty to forty miles an hour and splattered him against one of the mossy boulders.

Ludo didn't even bother with the bloodstained Ghost, as its driver was promptly yanked from the vehicle and overwhelmed by half a dozen enraged Sangheli, allowing the last Unggoy on the ground, a reputably cowardly Minor by the name of Fliz, to occupy it himself. Instead, Ludo focused fire on the next wave of incoming Ghosts. These were much more cautious in their approach, weaving and shooting instead of flying in all berserk. As the Elites scrambled for cover, Ludo pointed the turret a meter in front of his moving target, a captain telling from the red flag behind the Brute's left shoulder. His foe kept popping in and out of cover and returning fire in short controlled bursts.

The Spectre suddenly lurched forward and rammed into another Ghost, sending it into a spinning cartwheel directly into the path of the Shipmaster's Wraith which boosted forward via propulsion thrusters and obliterated the smaller vehicle upon impact. Ludo swiveled the turret around to finish what he'd started and saw none other than Fliz attempting to combat the Brute Captain in an unexpected display of skill. Two Elites, both of Special Operations, suddenly rushed in to help.

Perhaps fighting alongside the Arbiter strengthened his resolve, Ludo thought of his new, albeit diminutive ally.

This last Ghost was being fired upon from all angles; the Elites on the ground, those in the Spectre, and the Grunt in the Wraith turret. The driver caught a few rounds to the head and lost his helmet, then his power armor failed. He finally was no longer able to hold onto the controls and the battered Ghost powered down, leaving him slumped over the hood in his seat. The green armored Spec-Ops Elite motioned for Fliz to reverse away while the other, a blue one with white highlights, overhand tossed a plasma grenade at the wreck to finish the job.