Elijah MK III
Nihilistic Existentialist
Yi unbuckled and stepped into the cockpit and sat down in the co-pilot's seat, strapping in. "I'm not going to be as good a gunner as that Spartan, and I can fly a Pelican, so I guess you want me up here. Refresh my memory on the controls, please, if they're anything like one of those birds back there." She eyed a rack of toggles and buttons, and traced her finger along the few labels there were. "Thrusters. Landing controls. These must be, hmm. . ."
Brute quickly dropped one of his SMGs and dove for the needler Zeshi had offered him, which was nearby. He saw the other two members of Zulu squad engage out of the corner of his eye, and heard a Marine's death scream almost immediately, though it didn't sound like one of his squadmates. The Elites had all closed with the friendly fighters in the few seconds it took him to scoop up the needler, and when he turned to see the first Elite, it was too close to Marines to shoot with either the M7 or the needler. Mike watched, running toward the Honor Guard in slow motion, as it struck down a Marine, then turned to flank the remnants of Zulu.
Sgt. Jones was firing at another Elite with a shotgun, while it charged him. Trotovski was firing a battle rifle at the same Elite, from a kneeling position. Mike opened up with the needler and SMG on the flanking alien as soon as it had killed the first Marine, but kept running, so only half the clip of either even got near the target. The Elite paused and came for Mike.
The Elite charging Sgt. Jones took a swipe at him, but he was ready, and ducked under the blow, and spun to engage as the Elite spun backward and swung his arm into Jones' head. The human's neck broke instantly, and the Elite followed through with the sword, severing the man's arms and chest in a spray of gore. Trotovsky ran out of ammo and threw a plasma grenade. He had good aim with his arm, and the grenade stuck squarely to the enemy's chest. The Marine dove to the side, and the Elite charged him.
Mike didn't have a chance to reload as he continued at full speed to meet the Elite, so he put his head down and met the Elite with bone-crunching force. Luckily, the Elite was aiming to decapitate Mike, and he got under the sword's swing, or what swing the Elite managed. Brute lifted, and between his incredible strength and the Elite's forward momentum, the Elite left the ground, and Brute pulled a pro-wrestling move in earnest, falling backward so the Elite was slammed headfirst into the deck. It was not without a penalty for Mike, however; the Elite had managed to take a shortened swing at his arm while he performed the maneuver, and gave him a serious gash through his armor on his left arm. He didn't even notice it, however, and he was fortunate that it didn't cut any tendons.
Trotovski was killed when the grenade went off, attached to the Elite he had thrown it at. It did manage to wipe out the last of the overshield and the shield itself, so the Elite was momentarily vulnerable.
Mike, however, was concentrating on his own Elite. His maneuver had drained the overshield, and he managed to make the Elite drop the sword, which bought him a few more instants. Mike dropped the Elite as soon as the full force from his counter-attack had gone into the Elite's shields, and pushed himself away. The Elite managed to kick him in the back with the force of a pile-driver, and sent him sprawling. The Marine landed near the Elite's energy sword, which had improbably been pushed in Mike's direction, and he managed to grab it before the Elite was upon him again. A Marine fired on the Elite as it sped back into the fray, and Mike took out the rest of the shield with a clumsy jab with the sword, throwing the Elite off balance in the process. He struck again, hitting the Elite's waist and cutting deeply, but not deeply enough. The Elite brought its knee into his chest, and threw him back again, disarming him in the process. The sword clattered away, and the Elite closed on him barehanded.
The other human who had shot at the Elite before fired again, pocking the Elite's armor with bullets. Mike surged to his feet, feeling something give in his left arm--the remains of his damaged bicep. His chest felt like a train had rolled over it, but he was used to pain--life on a backwater colonial farm had given him many injuries and few painkillers. His right hand found an empty pistol on the floor, and he roared and swung it at the Elite's head. It blocked with both hands, and Mike tried to punch with his left, but was unable to because of the muscle trauma. It also caused him to weaken momentarily.
Zeshi, seeing the fight, had time to throw a combat knife at the Elite, and though it struck home point first in the Honor Guard's ruptured armor, it did little more damage than had already been done by the energy sword. The Elite forced Mike down to his knees, and then pulled the pistol from his hand and prepared to smash his brains out, when Mike let go of the pistol, grabbed the knife from the Elite's side, and rammed it with explosive force straight into the alien's mouth, upward into the brain cavity. The Elite still managed to club him, but Mike's arm deflected the blow, so it fell on his back, knocking him unconscious for a short time, underneath the now-dead Elite.