J'Kress rushed to Halo, his hands swiping through the air, watching the black armored Elite weave and dodge his attacks, with quite efficiency. Though while Halo did his best to avoid some of the attacks, he suddenly stepped back, holding his face as a well placed hit struck him in the jaws. He flexed his mandibles a bit, growling lowly before dodging another attack, this time retaliating with his own. He kicked J'Kress in the side, hopping back as he raised his fists once more, staring at the Gold as he slowly circled around him.

"Good," J'Kress growled, pointing at his comrade once again, "I was hoping this would be challenging. Punishing the sinners should always be rewarding."

Halo weaved again as his ex-partner swung a few placed kicks at him, taking one in the chest as he held it, only to be struck down by a fierce introduction to the gold's palm. He fell down to one knee, crying out as J'Kress kicked him across the face. Purple blood fell to the floor as Halo fell to the floor, gasping loudly before dragging him up to his knees. J'Kress merely walked wide circles around him, studying the Traitor for several moments, and growled in pleasure as his enemy finally got back to his feet.

J'Kress rushed in once again, swiping his hands a few times, though the final one was blocked quite firmly by Halo, a pair of knuckles smashing into his ex-partner's face. Halo spared nothing, striking J'Kress a few more times, one in the side of the head before he yelped, a wild kick landing at his abdomen before he felt another explosion of pain at his face, the material of the armor causing him to see a few stars as he stumbled back. He covered his mouth, panting heavily as he could taste his own blood, seeing his enemy rush in for another attack. He dodged to the side of a powerful leg, taking another blow to his face, though at the same managing to kick J'Kress in the side once again.

Samantha could only watch in helplessness as Halo was slowly but surely being beaten down. She didn't know if it was his lack of desire for combat, or if he really was unskilled at hand to hand combat, but whatever the reason, she knew the gold Elite named J'Kress would not stop his beating until Halo was dead. She urged Panda to keep working, hearing him yelp again from another shock. The systems were amazing complicated for these panels, and he was going as fast as he could. He jumped visibly as Halo was slammed into the glass, a dull 'thunk' being heard before Halo slid under a fierce punch, returning a few more attacks, trying to keep on the move. Recollecting his nerve, Panda went back to trying to open the doors.

Halo unfortunately had worse luck, taking another blow to the abdomen, doubling over as he coughed for breath, only to be kicked in the back and sent to the floor once more. He rolled onto his back, his eyes clenched shut. The sounds of the rushing footsteps towards him were almost ignored from the aching around his body. He opened his eyes, just to watch J'Kress wind up and use his head like a soccer ball. He rolled out of the way effectively avoiding the kick, getting to his feet before spitting some blood onto the floor, raising his hands once again. It was then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

Samantha was beating on the glass, trying anything to get his attention, and briefly looked to her, seeing the worry in her face. She then raised her fists, like she would do for boxing. She hoped he would get the message. Halo panted, frowning a bit at the gesture, though when another flurry of swipes came for him, he did what Samantha would do; He started bobbing and weaving, always keeping his feet moving. J'Kress roared, throwing one of his most powerful punches, only to strike nothing but air. Halo was already to the side of him, winding up and striking J'Kress powerfully in the abdomen.

Some of the marines cheered at the blow, watching as Halo wound up and got some really good shots in, enough to make the gold Elite stumble, approaching the glass closer and closer. The two swerved and weaved as best as they could, Halo's combat instinct coming back, and Samantha noticed a change in him, that desire of any Covenant soldier to win whatever battle they were in, despite the cost. Panda fiddled with a few more wires as the two Elites beat the tar out of each other, getting shocked one more time, but this time the blast door lifted slightly, Samantha looking at the sides of the doors before turning to Panda.

"Hurry Panda," she said urgently, turning back to see Halo being rammed into the glass, causing her to shriek a bit.

Halo turned his head, suddenly ducking it as a fist flew over his shoulders, and impacted against the glass, leaving a slight splatter of purple blood. Halo simply twisted his body, using his hips to deliver a powerful roundhouse kick to the gold's back, forcing him against the glass. In that moment of gathering his bearings, Halo grabbed him by the back of his neck, slamming his fist into J'Kress side, before winding up and striking his elbow against the back of the gold Elite's head. Blood streaked down the glass as J'Kress fell to his knees, coughing up blood before bracing himself against the door. Halo simply stood where he was, bleeding from his mouth as well, his hands raised and his fists clenched so tightly, it was like they were mallets.

A roar filled the air, Halo rushing up to the Gold, winding up for what could have been the final blow. A flash of blue light filled the air, Halo stumbling into the glass and holding his abdomen, a long cut showing on his armor, and soon a few trickles of blood. J'Kress brandished the plasma saber he had at his hip, drawing his hand back while the tip pointed at his enemy. He hissed deeply, gathering his breath while Halo simply grunted and whined in pain. Samantha just watched in horror, a tear falling down her face.

"Now the end!" J'Kress screamed, lunging at Halo, lifting the sword as he brought it down.

Halo managed to avoid a lethal blow, though the very tip cut diagonally from shoulder to hip, stumbling forward and bracing himself on a Warthog. He gasped for breath, the pain at his back now flooding his mind, while J'Kress took his time, stalking his prey as he moved at his leisure towards Halo. He couldn't outright kill him. It was the second priority of his mission, to bring Halo back to the Elders.

"You've fought well, Halo," J'Kress spoke, letting his arm down to relax the blade, "but come now. We both know who the victor of this battle is."

"Part of... the mission... letting me... live?" Halo growled, spitting up a bit more blood as he turned around, leaning his back against the vehicle.

"Yes. When you are returned, and this ship destroyed, it will look like just any other attack on a Human ship. Though the next infiltration of a few chosen Human vessels, will be able to go without a hitch, thanks to the data you had managed to supply us with. The Elders wish to thank you personally. And I wish to thank all of the Human's personally by sending them to their next life," he growled, reaching into his pouch, fishing out a disk like object before showing Halo what he held, "I have begun the countdown ten minutes go. In five minutes time, charges placed on the engine's coolant lines will blow, sending a cloud of gas through the ship. Every Human here will die," he grinned widely, dropping the remote to the ground. Halo just panted slowly, leaning further back against the warthog. He needed some time to recover, and the marines, all of them were overly concerned. Those coolant lines ran a long way through the ship, and once the gases got into the ventilation ducts, it would soon start to suffocate everyone on board, "and when the engines can't maintain a cool operating temperature, a meltdown is inevitable."

Halo frowned slowly, trying to move, but that burning. It was too much. J'Kress smiled slowly, raising his weapon again, then spotted Halo's outstretched arm. That's a good place to start, he said, tensing in preparation to lop his arm off. Until the sound of rapid clicks and a whirring was heard from behind him. He slowly turned, spotting the Captain, climbing onto the back of a Warthog and activating the three barreled cannon.

"Mother fucker," she hissed, the barrels coming alive and spitting metal. Halo dived out of the way, while J'Kress dashed to the side, avoiding the bullets as he reached into his pack. The Captain followed J'Kress with the cannon, the sounds of gunfire filling the Bay completely, her complete rage being poured through every revolution of the barrel's.

In her blind moment of victory, she neglected to spot the sticky grenade bouncing towards her, though stop a ways in front of her. The grenade exploded, the blast of light and heat obscuring her vision and causing her to cover her face, giving J'Kress enough time to rush up to the warthog, jumping into the air. He swiped the sword, cutting through the gun, but producing a very interesting Human scream. Anderson fell from the back of the vehicle, clutching her face, especially the right eye before crumpling into a ball as the searing pain threatened to knock her out.

J'Kress growled a bit, raising the sword to finish her off, though cried out loudly as Halo sprang out of no where, tackling the gold Elite to the ground, then quickly straddled his waist, his knuckles landing across the side of J'Kress' face, one after the other with his strongest hand. The other did its best to hold J'Kress's hand out of the way, and the saber clutched in it while the gold Elite struggled.

"Come on! Get that bastard!" Samantha shouted, banging on the glass as the marines started to cheer after hearing that. Slowly at first, but soon reaching a fevered pitch. The Captain raised her head slowly, a shaking mess, and heard the dull bangs on the glass, the faint sounds of her crew cheering for the Covenant making her heart rate speed up considerably. Wow, was the only thing she could think of, hearing such support.

Halo raised his fist back once more, spreading his jaws as he roared. His eyes went wide as J'Kress caught his fist, squeezing it tightly while the two struggled on the floor. J'Kress, his face numb with pain, growled and arched his back, slamming his forehead into Halo's face. He fell back, whimpering loudly from the impact, getting to his feet, and stepping back at a snail's pace. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he was exhausted, beat down, and at the last strings of his life. He could already feel his resolve fading to stay in this world, fighting the urge to close his eyes. J'Kress felt the same way, after the beatings he had received, but he still had the sword, which he raised into air. He stalked menacingly, glaring at his prize.

"M-Monster," the Captain whimpered, clutching her face as she bared her teeth at the Elite, hoping to attract his attention away from Halo.

J'Kress didn't take his eyes off of his target, speaking in a low voice, "Monster... Tell me, Captain. Just how many children died screaming for the Spartan-II project?" he asked, glancing to a paled Captain, "only you Humans..."

The marines all went silent. Halo's legs shook before he fell to one knee, blood dripping freely from his mouth as he closed his eyes, thinking about the marines. They knew it was the end for Halo, while some of them prayed for him to be granted a quick and painless death. Panda, seeing Samantha's concern, worked even more quickly, managing to lift the door another few inches. Any one of them could have stuck their fingers into the bay under the crack. Even the Sarge nodded grimly, wishing the best for Halo.
"You fought well, son. May God be with you," he spoke deeply, saluting.

The moment of silence was soon interrupted with the loud brushes of clothing, everyone saluting at once... all except Samantha, who started hitting the glass hard enough to draw blood from her hands.
"Halo!" she screamed, banging harder, "Halo! Don't you leave me Halo!"

Her screams of anguish seemed to hit everyone hard. The toughest of the marines around fought the urge to let a few tears out, the Sarge included. He never witnessed anyone so brave in combat before, and the realization of this monster fighting with everything he had for /them/. Before, a sworn enemy, and now, Halo was truly one of them. J'Kress just moved closer, chuckling deeply as Halo seemed to be losing the fight to even keep himself supported.

"Halo!" Samantha resumed her screaming, weakly banging on the glass once more as she sunk to her knees, her tears flowing freely down her cheeks as she clenched her eyes shut. She couldn't bare to see what would happen to Halo.

"Don't leave me, Halo." she whimpered, covering her mouth with her hand.

Halo closed his eyes, hearing Samantha's screams, his breathing heavy and forced, waiting for the first of many blows that would sever his limbs clean off.

"For the Gods..." J'Kress spoke, winding up and bringing the sword down.

For the Humans, Halo thought, a tear falling down his face as he opened his eyes, "For the right, "he growled, lifting his head as he lifted his knee crouching back as he pushed his legs with all of his strength as his enemy brought the saber down. He twisted his body to the side, catching the Gold's arm then landing a powerful blow to his hand, sending the saber high into the air. J'Kress stood shocked at the last bit of energy Halo had, his mouth parting slowly as he stared at his once comrades angered face, not even seeing the blow come to his knee. A loud crack filled the Bay, followed by an ear piercing, inhuman scream of pain as his knee was completely shattered.

Halo reached forward accompanied by a loud growl, grabbing the Gold's neck as he held his head in the ideal position so he could see the sword coming down. J'Kress could only stare at the weapon, dumbfounded as it seemed to hand over his head. The sword plunged into his face as Halo quickly pulled his hand back. J'Kress didn't make a single noise, lifting his hand, his fingers contorted and gripping at the air as the blade of the sword was lodged into his face. His body convulsed a few times, the last bit of his own body's impulses firing their last times. J'Kress remained on his knees for what felt like eternity before his lifeless body fell over to the side.

Everyone just watched quietly, the marines slowly lowering their hands to the sides, while Samantha lifted her gaze, watching as the limp Elite body slumped to the floor.

"Kraa'ander, do you think we'll ever become Elder's ourselves?"

Kraa turned to his friend, then shrugged innocently, "Only the Gods know that, J'Kress." he replied.

"Let's try to gain the Elder's favor then, alright?"

"Heh. Alright."

"Have a plan?"

"Yes... I think I do have one."

Halo lifted the control module up, staring at the face of it while his legs shook and strained to keep him upright. He stumbled a bit, frowning as he shook his head slightly before focusing on the detonator. His eyes wandered over the smooth black surface of it, raising his thumb then pressed the button with a minute left on the timer. The Humans were safe. He had done his job, and Samantha... He closed his eyes, falling to his knees as he smelled the natural air of the planet coming through the opening to the lift. It was stuck at the bottom, and while he was afraid of heights, right now he didn't care. He simply fell forward, his arm falling over the edge, as the remote plummeted to the ground.

Katrina was simply in shock after witnessing the entire scene, her sensors picking up that most of everyone, Covenant included witnessed the scene, and everyone was silent. It was ghostly. Two races intent on destroying each other, suddenly brought together in one defining moment between the two. She then remembered the marines, and noticed they were trying to open the blast doors.

"Curse my Human behavior," she spoke to herself, accessing the computers.

Samantha moved back as the blast doors started to slowly open, their whirring filling the hallway as she witnessed Halo's body starting to slump off of the edge of the lift. Come on, come on, she tried to will the doors faster, before ducking down, shimmying under the door quickly, and then getting to her feet. She sprinted towards Halo, watching him slip even more before jumping into the air in a drop kick fashion. One of her hands grabbed Halo's wrist before it had a chance to start falling with Halo's body, her other hand grabbing the edge of the lift as the both of them disappeared over the edge. She held on as tight as she could, the limp Covenant dangling from her hand.

"Somebody help me!" she screamed, feeling the wounds from the needles tearing open, blood trickling down her arm, and soon around her hand, making it even more hard to hold onto Halo, "please God..."

She gritted her teeth, holding on more tightly, feeling her fingers start to bleed. With a loud grunt, she held on tighter, feeling her grip loosening on Halo, and her fingers starting to grab less and less of the edge. A hand flew over the side of the edge, grabbing her wrist and another, and another. She was quickly pulled up, trying her hardest, or God damn her if she let go of Halo. Soon both of them were pulled to safety, while a large group of capable marines started to storm the ship, eliminating every last Covenant on board. All but one.

Everyone was screaming for medics, one of them tearing open Samantha's shirt, examining the wounds the Needler from before gave her and had just opened, spilling blood all over the place. She turned her head to the side, staring at Halo, then slowly took his hand, squeezing it gently She couldn't help but burst into tears when she felt a weak squeeze from his hand.