Another Halo fic

[Kuja]

Chapter 9: Rising Stakes

"Plans only last until the plasma starts flying." – unknown

The place stank.

That was the only thing Meras 'Mequalee could think of as the squad made their way across the landscape. The rotting vegetation stank worse than some hazardous gases she could name. Brown, dead grass crunched underfoot as they moved beneath the stars. The thin atmosphere clinging to the ring fragment was enough to breath, but not thick enough to blot out the stars above.

As the squad made their way through a shallow valley that lay between them and their installation, Meras and Ensu were their eyes and ears. The scout and the sniper were the lightest and quickest Sangheili on the team, as well as the best shots. So when Ensu crested the wall of the valley and through himself to his belly, the rest of the squad knew better than to waste time asking stupid questions and they all joined him on the dirt. Meras got a full dose of the scent and scowled. This op was off to a really bad start. Ahead of her, the facility jutted up three stories from the ground.

"I have movement," Ensu reported, sighting down his rifle's barrel. "One, maybe two."

Meras rested her carbine on the ground in front of her. Twisting the dial, she brought it to maximum zoom. The facility entrance in front of her grew in size until it felt like she was standing right in front of it. "Definitely two," she said. "Unggoy."

"Can you get a clear shot?" Alve asked.

"Yes," they said simultaneously.

"Take them out."

"I've got the left," Ensu said without waiting. The two of them fired almost simultaneously. Ensu's particle beam drilled a hole through his target's skull and exited out the back. Meras' shot was equally professional, taking her target in the neck and downing him with nothing more than a gurgle.

"Target secured," Ensu reported.

"Target secured," Meras echoed a moment later.

"Well done," Alve said. "Let's move. Everyone, go to active camouflage." Meras touched the control on her chest and watched her arms fade from view. Behind her, the rest of the squad did the same. Only Bovue Lassa Gevue and Kodul Lassa Honau, the two Lekgolo, did not carry active camo. In order to cover the energy signatures of their massive fuel rod cannons, the two giants would have had to lug around a portable generator each. And so it was that two Lekgolo galloped out of the valley seemingly alone. Only occasional ripples in the air and a few dancing lights gave away the fact that they were not alone.

The two bond brothers galloped straight towards the facility entrance, only their heads turning back and forth to watch the area around them. When the two arrived at the door, Bovue reached out with one giant hand and tapped the keypad with surprising delicacy. A moment passed and he tapped it again. A mechanical voice emanated from his chest piece after nothing happened. "It is locked."

Alve's voice originated from nowhere. "Smash it."

"Yes sir." Bovue took a few steps back, braced himself, and threw himself forward, slamming the edge of his shield into the metal. The door didn't even show a dent. "Too strong," Bovue said a moment later.

"Malu," Alve said. "You're up."

Malu 'Kattobee switched his cloak off and crept forward. The demolitions expert ran a hand over the door and touched the cracks between it and the frame. "I can take it," he whispered a moment later.

"Everyone back off," Alve ordered. The squad waited tensely as Malu pulled stringed explosives from his pack and stuck them to the frame all around the door.

"Get down," he warned when he was finished. At the touch of a button, the explosives detonated and the door fell forward onto the ground.

"Well done," Alve said for the second time that night. "Gedda."

"Sir."

"Pick a pair of guards and leave them here."

"Yes sir. Fuppu, Gorda, wait here and stay cloaked." The two Unggoy named chirped assent and the squad carefully filed into the facility one by one, with the two huge Lekgolo coming last. Fuppu and Gorda stepped inside the doorway and pulled their pistols. Fuppu stood facing out and watched the plains while Gorda knelt and scanned the tunnels inside, noting which way the squad went.

Several minutes passed in tense silence and Gorda shifted uncomfortably. "I hate guard duty," he muttered. Fuppu didn't reply. Another minute passed. "How long do you think we'll be stuck here?" Gorda asked. Again Fuppu didn't reply, and this time Gorda turned to see what was keeping him quiet.

Fuppu was gazing out at the plains, his pistol clutched in both hands. "I see something moving," he said softly.

Gorda joined him, leaving their backs open. "Where?"

Fuppu gestured with his pistol. Even as he did so, Gorda saw a massive yet quick-moving figure dart from one cover to another. He frowned. "Better decloak." The two Unggoy touched their camouflage controls and faded into visibility, though they were paradoxically harder to see now because their solid hands could shield the glow of their pistols. The two of them watched the figures dart back and forth, slowly growing closer to the facility. "Jiralhanae!" Gorda finally exclaimed. "What are they doing here?"

"Backup?" Fuppu said doubtfully. "I don't like this."

"Neither do I," Gorda agreed. "What do you think?"

"Let's wait until they get closer." Gorda nodded and the two of them slunk back into the shadows. The Jiralhanae dashed across the last open space to the door, hunched over to minimize their profiles. As the squad neared the door, the two Unggoy leapt out, brandishing their pistols. "Identify yourselves!" Fuppu barked.

The first of the Jiralhanae was a massive figure with steel-blue fur that leapt back and yelped in surprise. The second in line, an equally huge brown-furred captain, lowered the giant barrel of his grenade launcher and quickly said, "Don't shoot. We're Covenant."

"Prove it," Gorda snapped.

The steel-furred chieftain growled in anger. "Get out of our way, you little maggots." With that, he leaned forward and decked Fuppu, knocking him to the ground. Gorda aimed, but before he could pull the trigger the Jiralhanae grabbed his arm and threw him into the wall. His head cracked against the steel and Gorda knew no more.

[Zaia]

As someone with a piercing headache, I can say that I almost feel Gorda's pain. *rubs the back of head in sympathy pains*

Good chapter, though. As usual.

[Singular Quartet]

Having had my head smashed against objects before, I can definately agree with that sentiment.

[White Haven]

Hmmm...Tactical Me finds the idea of two grunts as a rearguard dubious. Otherwise, excellent!

[Natorgator]

Keep it coming!

[Kuja]

Hmmm...Tactical Me finds the idea of two grunts as a rearguard dubious. Otherwise, excellent!

Ahem. Two grunts that scared the shit out of a Brute chieftain.

[White Haven]

Then again, there's always the mindset that sends troops in on a stealth assault with cloaking gear and /GLOWING WEAPONS/, but that's endemic to the Covenant.

[Singular Quartet]

Hey, don't diss the glowing weapons. They make it very easy to kill the cloaked Elites that are wandering around a room with their plasma swords drawn (I shit you not)

[Zaia]

I want to know when we get to the ssssteamy love scene....

[Singular Quartet]

Here, here. When's the hot, raunchy, alien sex?

[Kuja]

Chapter 10: The Push Begins

"Unexpected situations kill more soldiers than screw-ups, friendly fire, and bad intelligence combined." – Unknown

The team moved through the darkened corridors like wraiths, deactivating their camouflage to better conceal their weapons. Only a well-trained ear could have picked out the sounds of their feet slapping against the floor, even in the case of the two heavy Lekgolo. The team proceeded quickly but cautiously, keeping their flanks secure and triple-checking the seemingly empty hallways as they moved.

To Alve 'Essonee, it was starting to smell like a trap. When he muttered as much to Gedda, the Unggoy agreed. "Too easy," he replied softly. "It's almost like those two sentries were left out there to die…to make us think they wanted this section protected when it was really just a trap."

Gedda's analysis proved more or less accurate when the team ran into a pair of steel doors that had been welded shut. Meras touched the centerline gently. "Not recently," she said. "They sealed this up days ago, probably as soon as they got here."

There was a flicker of light in the air and a brief sizzle of electricity, and the entire team leapt away from the door, weapons aiming but none firing. Interrupted by bursts of static and shaky display, the image of a Sangheili formed in the air just before the door, glowing white. The SpecOps soldiers faced the holograph down, none speaking.

"Well," the image said evenly. "I suppose this is where I should say something witty, like 'ah, so the Covenant has arrived,' or 'welcome to my home,' but this isn't a situation to take lightly, is it?"

"Identify yourself," Alve said.

The image turned to regard him. "My name is Jara 'Tzaanvu," he said. "I am the leader of the group you have come to hunt."

"Then you know why we're here," Alve said calmly.

"I know why you're here," Jara said. "But do you know why you're here?"

"We're here to hunt you down," Alve said sharply.

"But have you ever stopped to think why?"

"I don't have time for mind games," Alve snarled. He drew his plasma rifle and fired, taking out the camera displaying the image of the heretic leader. With that, he reholstered the rifle and pulled his sword, bringing the blade to life with a snap of the wrist. With surgical precision, he guided the weapon down the welding mark between the two door slabs, cutting them open. "Bovue, Kodul," he said as he snapped the sword off and stepped away. The two Lekgolo needed no further prompting and immediately muscled their way to the front of the group to haul the doors back open. There was the screech of metal on metal, but the two mighty soldiers had little trouble forcing the doors far enough apart to admit first one, then the other.

Now, the group moved into a well-lit area, and Alve knew this was enemy territory. "Active camouflage back on," he ordered, and again the majority of the team dissolved away into specters. Two minutes later, they encountered their first heretic nest.

It was a three-way barricade set up at a junction of the hallways. Past the small encampment, the hallway continued deeper into the installation. A motley group of Sangheili and Unggoy manned the station.

Maybe it was sheer luck, or maybe he saw the blurs in the light and knew what they meant, but one of the Unggoy suddenly shouted, "Look out! They're here!" and opened fire with his pistol.

"Duck and cover!" Alve shouted as more plasma began to fly down the hallway. Within moments, the team had spread out and flanked the barricade, but this was just what they had planned for, and concentrated volleys of plasma fire met any attempt to step out into the corridor. "We're wasting time!" Alve snapped. "Fuel rods!"

Bovue was pinned down, but his bond brother Kodul and an Unggoy named Parna rose to the order. A green glow built at the muzzle of their weapons and they fired almost simultaneously, their shots arcing through the air to land inside the barricade and erupt with power, pitching heretics over their makeshift defenses in a shower of green energy. "Mop them up!" Alve ordered, and the survivors of the assault were quickly gunned down. Silence fell as the elite soldiers waited to see if any backup was coming to the heretics' aid. When four minutes had passed and nothing had materialized, Kodul and Parna, the two already out in the open, began to cautiously move towards the still-smoking junction.

Without warning, a silvery machine dropped from an open portion of the ceiling above the former barricade and opened fire with an energy beam. Kodul caught the first shot on his shield and deflected it, but the second struck Parna as he took aim with his fuel rod cannon. The heat of the beam detonated the cannon's explosive payload and about one-fourth of the Unggoy vanished in the explosion. Even the huge Kodul was thrown to the deck by the force of the blast. Before the machine could take a third shot, Ensu and Meras took it down with sniped shots from left and right. The first few glanced off its armor, but one of Ensu's energy beams penetrated and the machine fell to the floor.

"Kodul, report!" Alve barked.

"I am uninjured, captain," the mechanical voice said. "But I believe Parna is dead."

"Any more hostiles?"

"I do not see any."

"Move in!" The rest of the team quickly swarmed the barricades, sweeping for any more ambushes, but found none. Kodul gathered himself and Bovue joined his brother to quietly say a prayer for a dead Unggoy who, as Bovue put it "stood with all the courage and strength that we expect of ourselves. We cannot give any less." Meanwhile, Alve, Ensu, and Gedda poured over the machine's wreckage. "No doubt about it," Alve said. "It's a Sentinel."

"But why?" Ensu said. "Aren't Sentinels the angels of the Forerunners? Why would they aid heretics?"

Gedda snickered in an unkind fashion. "Two things to remember," he said. "First, Sentinels are machines just like any other. You can take care of them, paint them up, call them fancy names, but all they'll ever know are the parameters of their mission. Second, they were put here to protect the ring, and were violating it same as the heretics."

"That's quite enough, half-captain," Alve said coldly, and Gedda stopped. Alve fingered the Sentinel's wreckage for a moment longer, then stood and squared his shoulders. "Let's keep moving."

[Ghost Rider]

Coolness...and loved how you put the whole thought of "What happens when they meet up with the sacred machines"

Good stuff.

[Singular Quartet]

Ah, yes. Soldiering. Why ask why? It's not my position to ask why. I just do.

[Companion Cube]

That's good. Great, in fact. Damn great. Post another chapter and I might have something constructive to say.

[JointStrikeFighter]

Great so far, where the next chapter?

[Kuja]

*casts Regen*



Chapter 11: Crossfire

"It's difficult to tell who's a friend and who's a foe when you're in the middle of a firefight. It's a bit less difficult once you realize they're aiming at you." – Sangheili captain

"Fuel rod cannons," Qunghares announced. "The SpecOps were definitely here."

"How do you figure that?" Shlartuis said. "The group down on the planet had a full platoon's worth of them."

Qunghares turned to look at him. "So you're saying they blew themselves up?" he said skeptically.

Shlartuis lowered his gaze. "SpecOps," he agreed in a quiet tone.

"Definitely SpecOps," Nocturnus confirmed as he rejoined the group. Onto the floor in front of him he tossed the charred remains of an Unggoy wearing black armor. "And they took a casualty."

Denhuse nodded. "Move out." The Jiralhanae poured through the open door, moving as quietly as they could. Denhuse tightened his grip on the grenade launcher he carried, being careful not to stab Nocturnus in the back as he squeezed through the opening. The squad took an immediate right turn and quietly loped through a narrow side corridor rather than take the open routes that were more likely to be monitored. Behind him, Erebus' boots thudded dully on the steel floor. He thought of the chieftain holding the polearm at his throat and clenched his teeth. Maybe if Erebus were to run into a little 'accident' while they were down here, Tartarus would decide to congratulate him instead. That thought made him grin and he made a mental note to plant a grenade on Erebus as soon as they were engaged.

At the head of the group, Qunghares suddenly halted. The rest of the squad followed suit and he whispered. "Fire."

Even as he spoke the word, Denhuse heard it as well: the unmistakable crack of plasma rifles. "Double time it," he snapped, and the squad leapt into motion, charging down the hallways. Shlartuis and Qunghares turned a corner and Denhuse heard them open up with their own rifles. The squad entered a fairly large room, at least thirty feet across, and immediately poured left or right to allow their comrades to move in as well. As they dodged, they took cover behind metal barriers that ringed the inner twenty feet of the room. Unlike the makeshift fort in the hallway, these looked to be part of the structure, Forerunner-built. In the center of the room, another such fortification housed a batch of heretics, some of whom lay draped over their barricades, dead. As Denhuse entered, he saw fire coming from the opposite end of the room, seemingly from nowhere. The SpecOps! he thought.

The battle was brief, but violent. Covenant Unggoy equipped with Needle guns arced their deadly projectiles to zip over the barricades and pierce the enemies there before detonating, blowing apart both armor and flesh and driving razor-sharp fragments deep into bodily systems. A volley of plasma grenades followed shortly and a series of explosions turned the nest into a snarl of loose mechanical parts and shredded bodies. The four Sentinels were more difficult to deal with. Unable to target the cloaked SpecOps, they had been firing randomly until the Jiralhanae showed up. Presented with a more visible enemy, they opened fire and sprayed the Jiralhanae positions with blazing hot energy beams until one by one, they were brought down by concentrated plasma fire. Jhankis suffered a burn on one arm, but the squad was otherwise uninjured.

A tense silence descended as the firing stopped. Denhuse poked his head out, but could see nothing besides smoke, bodies, and scored metal. Without warning, a bolt of green plasma slammed into the barrier he was hiding behind and he ducked back, heart pounding. "Hold fire!" a commanding voice yelled. "Covenant SpecOps, identify yourselves!" it said a moment later. Denhuse stood and slowly stepped out into the open. Still, he could see nothing.

"We're Jiralhanae from the Hallowed Avenger," he said.

"Prove it," the voice said.

Erebus stepped out behind him. "How's this?" he said. "Or do you think I am a heretic, Alve 'Essonee?"

"Well, well, well." There was a moment's paused and in what Denhuse had taken to be an empty room, a lone Sangheili in white armor slowly faded into view, his plasma rifle trained on Denhuse's midsection. "What are you doing here? This is my mission."

"I have my orders."

The Sangheili narrowed his eyes. "And why wasn't I notified?"

Erebus shrugged. "I have no idea. Perhaps some Kig-Yar clerk hit the wrong key and sent the message out to the rim of the galaxy. You know how it can be."

The Sangheili did not respond, and for a moment Denhuse was sure he was going to lose his intestines. But then 'Essonee relaxed and the captain exhaled slowly. The SpecOps captain reholstered his rifle. "Well, I suppose it is possible," he said slowly. He started to move towards the two Jiralhanae but suddenly froze again. "But why wouldn't the Prophet have told me?"

He's not taking the bait, Denhuse thought frantically.

"Tartarus convinced the Hierarchs to send us in as backup after your meeting had already concluded," Erebus said smoothly. "Where is the rest of your squad?"

"Around," Alve said evasively, but he appeared to relax and then walked over to the pair. Behind his back, Denhuse flashed a series of hand signals. "How were you inserted?"

"By dropship," Denhuse said.

Alve winced dramatically. "That must have been a tight fit," he said, voice sympathetic.

"It was," Denhuse replied, trying to sound casual. "We tried to requisition a Phantom, but the Ship Master felt they were too good for a squad of Jiralhanae."

"Curious behavior for someone already on the edge of being dismissed from his rank," Alve said, his voice as smooth as oil.

Definitely not taking the bait.

A moment later, Denhuse heard the voice ring out from Alve's helmet. "Look out captain, you're being flanked!" Without hesitation, Alve threw himself into a back roll as the Jiralhanae Denhuse had ordered into position opened fire in the hopes that they would take the Sangheili down before he ran too far. A few shots bounced off his shield, but as he rolled Alve 'Essonee seemed to vanished into the haze. Denhuse tried to spot the ripples that gave away active camouflage, but before he could a volley of fire erupted from the other side of the room and Erebus yanked him back behind the partition.

"That ruins our surprise," Erebus snarled.

"It was going to happen sooner or later," Denhuse snarled back.

"I think the SpecOps are pulling out!" Nocturnus yelled. Indeed, the volume of fire was decreasing rapidly and soon, had ceased altogether.

"What do you think?" Denhuse said.

"If I know 'Essonee, they'll try and clean out the heretics, then deal with us later," Erebus said.

Denhuse flipped on his communicator. "Everyone, triple-time to the structure center. If you see anything that isn't a Jiralhanae, take it out! Move!"

[Singular Quartet]

YAY! There's more violence and death and stuff! Woohoo!

So yeah. Sweet.

[Ghost Rider]

Coolness...and nice to see ya doing good stuff with it .

[White Haven]

Gweee! It lives! Grrr...wishin more and more that a PC version would come out, so I could stop being so damn clueless, though.

[Singular Quartet]

Gweee! It lives! Grrr...wishin more and more that a PC version would come out, so I could stop being so damn clueless, though.

Same here. I doubt they will, though. MS needs the money.

[Chris OFarrell]

Damn brutes. They will know pain

[White Haven]

Given what I have to sell Office for, even OEM copies, my heart bleeds for their wallet. But I digress again. Sorry Kuja!

[Setzer]

WARNING! POTENTIAL SPOILER!

Is the Prophet of Truth going to feature in the story anymore?

In Halo 2, I was certain he was planning something else besides going along for the Great Journey, as it were. There was the way he sent Tartarus to activate Halo, instead of doing it himself.

You can bet if, say, the Pope found a gateway to heaven, he'd want to be there when it opened. So why wasn't Truth there, instead of departing for the Ark? And why did he let the Flood kill the Prophet of Mercy? Was he planning to destroy the Truth-Mercy-Regret Triumvirate all along, leaving him alone in control of the Covenant? And did he enlist the Brute's help? I want to see your take on this.

[Kuja]

Chapter 12: Between a Heretic and a Traitor

"Good warriors are remembered for their heroic lives. Great warriors are remembered for their heroic deaths." – Sangheili saying

"Listen up, SpecOps," Alve said into his transmitter. "We have new priorities. If we cross paths with the Jiralhanae again, do not waste time asking questions. Take them out as fast as possible. We are proceeding with our original mission of eliminating the heretics, but I want this new threat dealt with if it shows its head again, which I think it will." He paused in his speech as the squad hustled down the corridor, eyes and rifles wary of any threats. "Do your jobs, SpecOps," he finally continued. "Make me proud."

As the transmission ended, Hola turned to Vene and chuckled. "So gun them down and blow them up? I rather like this mission."

Vene 'Zagranee snorted. The big Sangheili carried a plasma rifle in each hand, though his grip on the left was loose so that he could quickly holster it and get at his grenades or active camouflage. His chest still hurt when he breathed, but thus far it hadn't gotten in his way. He scowled at the thought of going back to the surgeons. "Maybe we can find a few newborns for you to burn while we're at it," he said acidly.

"Now stop it Vene, you know that's my territory," Malu said in a tone far too jovial for Vene's tastes. The demolitions expert was the only member of the team carrying a grenade launcher. Only the fuel rod cannons carried by Bovue and Kodul exceeded the launcher's sheer explosive force, but Malu also carried various types of explosives packed into special compartments in his armor.

"No," Hola corrected. "I burn, you detonate. So he is right."

"Cut the chatter in the ranks," Gedda snapped from somewhere behind them. Vene was tempted to give the little bastard a good kick, but knew that Alve would put him back in the infirmary if he dared to do such a thing. As the trio fell silent, Vene though he faintly heard Meras chuckling. He clicked his jaws together to select a new communications channel.

"Something funny?" he growled softly.

"Not at all," Meras said, voice trembling with laughter. A click followed as she cut the channel.

Suddenly, Vene couldn't wait to find a heretic. Just one.

He was so distracted that when Hola suddenly halted, Vene nearly crashed into him. His attention focused again, Vene looked ahead to find Alve and Ensu standing at a thick metal door. The sniper held his rifle loosely in one hand as he rapidly tapped away at a control panel with the other. Meanwhile, Alve turned and used hand motions to direct the group. Immediately, they split to move into the alcoves on either side of the door. Vene found himself tightly packed between Hola and Malu, with the butt of the latter's grenade launcher wedged painfully against his chest. The rest of the squad moved into the corridor that crossed their current one just before the doorway.

One heretic. One weak little unarmed heretic in a dead-end corridor. That wasn't too much to ask for, was it?

Ensu continued tapping at the panel. Meanwhile, Malu found something that seemed to interest him and began to poke at it, unintentionally pressing his grenade launcher even further into Vene's chest. Vene was starting to think he would go crazy from the pressure and the beeping of the panel when the door finally shuddered and began to slide open. Ensu and Alve looked through the door as it began to slide open, then let their jaws stretch out in astonishment. A moment later, Ensu howled and dove to the left. Alve went right with a few shouted words unbecoming of a captain.

A moment later, a veritable hurricane of plasma came flying through. Vene was blinded by the dazzling array of fast-moving shots and nearly deafened by the scream of the guns firing them. Vaguely, he was aware of Alve shouting order, but couldn't make out what they were.

He found out a moment later as eye-searing blasts of plasma the size of his torso shot through the door and exploded. Screams followed and Vene silently hoped the Lekgolo hadn't gotten all of them. His trigger fingers were about ready to take on a life of their own.

That was when Malu suddenly stiffened and shouted into his transmitter. Vene heard the words as clear as if he were standing in a silent room: "Captain, they've rigged the hall to blow! We've got to get away from here!"

Alve's response was immediate. "SpecOps, scatter! That's an order!" Vene did the first thing he could think of and flung himself through the door. He was vaguely aware of Alve beside him, but then his speed overcame the captain's and he was in front. His eyes caught motion and he felt a fierce delight as he finally squeezed the firing studs of his plasma rifles. An Unggoy went down under his fire, followed by a traitorous Sangheili. Behind him, he was only marginally aware of the entire world shuddering as the heretics set off the explosives. He wondered who had survived.

Across the room, huge forms began to pour in from a pair of doorways and the nearest heretics were shredded by plasma fire before they even knew what was happening. "Jiralhanae!" Alve's voice said. "Take them out!" Even as Vene registered the words, the nearest of the huge figures turned towards him and began to raise its rifle.

No retreat. No surrender.

Vene charged across the room, hand clamped down on his rifles and firing a continuous volley of energy. The bolts struck his opponent, but the Jiralhanae's tough hide kept him alive and he returned fire, his own shots scattering on Vene's shield. Others drew a bead on him and soon he could barely see through the storm of crackling energy. The Sangheili warrior ignored the screaming of his alarm systems and continued to charge towards his opponent, his rifles growing hot in his hands. Just as his shield failed, the rifles finally grew too hot to hold and he dropped them. But a little thing like lack of guns wasn't about to stop Vene 'Zagranee. Without slowing, he dove and rolled, hands darting to a belt he knew as well as his own body. Plasma scored his flesh and needles pierced his muscles, but he felt no pain, his only thought being to grasp the items he'd just found.

His roll brought him to the feet of the Jiralhanae he'd targeted. A brief flash brought disappointment as he realized it was just a soldier, not the captain or that chieftain. But Vene didn't slow. As he came to one knee he thrust his arms forward before the Jiralhanae could get away and the plasma grenades he held in each hand came in contact with the traitor's furry hide. The pressure of the collision activated the grenades and they immediately began to leak sticky plasma that ignited, defying any attempts to pull them off. They were firmly anchored to the enemy soldier. They also anchored Vene's hands to their surfaces. Vene looked up and grinned when he saw the traitor's frightened look. "Time to die," he sneered.

Only when he looked back down at his hands did he finally realize that he wasn't going to leave the room alive.

The timers ran out and the grenades exploded.

[White Haven]

....That....is potentially the most stylish way to go out ever devised. Very, very good, as always, Kuja.