R.E.S.T.C.O.N

Seeing their target dive towards cover and right next to another universal outsider, the quartet of Ritterjager, as befitting of their status as the Artium's elite soldiers; do not get greedy and charge recklessly in an attempt to destroy them both before an act of whatever cruel god above delivers the traitor and the outsider from their well-deserved fate or when they can no longer keep their commander waiting and must retreat, leaving their fallen comrade unavenged. Rather, they simply fly above and begin to besiege their position by unloading every last one of their micro-missiles; hoping to bury both the traitor and the outsider in explosives and rubble. To the Ritterjager, this unfair and undignified method of neutralizing their target was a fitting end for the traitor.

edited 17th Jan '15 10:10:56 PM by Questor

Six looked up, noticing the storm of micro-missiles heading towards him.

The enemy above were heavily-armed and fast. If he left cover, no doubt they would be able to quickly catch up and kill him. And if he stayed, the micro-missiles would bury him.

Fuck it.

He flashed back for a moment to Camp Currahee. He was only six when SPARTAN-III training began; that day they were performing grenade training. The most complicated part of throwing a grenade was the actual throw, the DI had said; priming the grenade was as simple as pulling the pin-

He wasn't very cognizant of what had happened. All he knew was that when he came back, the missiles were getting closer, his armor had gotten smoother and more streamlined, something was burning deep inside him, and for some reason he was carrying twin Energy Sword hilts, though they weren't yet active.

Six decided to hedge his chances, and he darted out of cover, running faster than even a SPARTAN should have been capable of to avoid death by micro-missile.

edited 18th Jan '15 7:34:05 AM by SpartyMcFly

Neither blind nor unaware as to what just zipped out of the fire point as the Ritterjager waited for the missiles to make impact, half of the fliers decided to peel away to pursue the mystery runner while the other two kept overwatch, just in case any of the numerous human meatbags scurrying inside the surrounding ruins decides to try and perform a cowardly surprise attack with a Heat-seeking missile.

The pursuing hunters believed that the runner was the traitor, whom in an impressively ruthless and heartless move; had landed near the outsider, sacrificing him so as to force her pursuers to expend all of their missiles, knowing that they cannot resist such an opportunity. A plan that evidently worked, but it doesn't dishearten nor further infuriate the hunters; rather, "her" perceived ploy made the Artium elites respect her, if only a little; as to them, she showed the ideal behavior of a war machine: One willing to do whatever it takes to emerge triumphant. With that in mind, the two Ritterjager pick up speed and steadily lower their altitude to near-ground level; wanting to show "her" how true killing machines fight.

edited 18th Jan '15 9:34:37 AM by Questor

Six ran as fast as he could. He looked back, still in a dead sprint at the speed of a race car, before he noticed two of the Ritterjaeger were picking up speed - and headed his way.

Working more on instinct than thought, he jumped up onto the wall of a nearby building and was vaguely surprised when he began running on it; squeezing the hilts of his energy swords, they lit. With twin, thunderous blasts, the swords exploded into life, a blade of pure energy forming on either side of the hilt, crackling with energy.

Can't fight at range. But I've seen how deadly an Elite with an Energy Sword is close-up.

And I am that Elite.

Six pushed off the wall of the first building and jumped across the street to another one. The Ritterjaeger would likely close in. And if his energy shields held...

Then the fun could begin.

Upon getting a closer look at the runner, the two Ritterjager were almost disappointed that it was not the traitor that had decided to run, believing the outsider to be an inferior if quick target; but then it shot back with an energy weapon of some kind, one that almost hit one of the hunters' flight packs and the Artium quickly reassess their opinion of the SPARTAN and began to open fire with their laser carbines.

While the laser fire was evidently less powerful and destructive than the plasma or gauss weaponry, doing little but burn fairly small holes on whatever they hit, the Laser pulses did however have incredible penetration capability; quickly and dangerously eroding the MJOLLNIR suit's shield strength and stability, if Noble Six had been in his previous form; the laser barrage would have neutralized his shield in just a few volleys, but thanks to his enhanced speed and massively increased suit performance; the retaliatory fire was markedly less effective than he had feared.

Playing into the SPARTAN's hands, the Ritterjager were going too fast in their attempt at running Noble-Six down to stop or change direction and were now in range for the supersoldier to butcher them in melee. There was only one problem with his plan though, the two Artium also had blades of their own: Two one and a half meter long spikes of angry blue plasma lancing out of their left wrists, the Ritterjager; either out of martial pride, desperation, righteous fury, logical deduction or any combination of the four, met Noble-Six's pounce with a counter-charge, showing absolutely no fear or hesitation.

edited 18th Jan '15 10:30:57 AM by Questor

Lasers began slamming into Six's shields, but they didn't seem to be doing all that much. His shield was draining, but slowly - he'd definitely survive the coming assault. He stopped and turned around, facing his opponents, swords crackling and lasers slamming into his armor.

He noticed the Ritterjaeger had twin swords, as well; they were significantly longer. One and a half metres, he noted. But while they had reach, he had flexibility.

Six propelled himself at the Ritterjaeger, twisting himself and arranging his Energy Swords for a slash through one of them.

The Ritterjager were evidently proponents of the "speed is armor" design philosophy, as Noble Six's slash utterly overpowers the Ritterjager's arm as it parried the incoming slash; almost snapping the limb in two from the sheer strength and power of the impact and forcing the twin plasma blades to partially cut into their wielder's chest before the supersolider's own energy blade finishes the job, hacking the machine in twain; littering street below with molten slag and scrap.

The other Ritterjager, being a couple of meters behind its comrade; had a split second to witness- in horror as its comrade was so easily dispatched by an inferior being that looked so much like the drones that it regarded with such disdain... But the fear soon gave way to fury and activating its afterburners, the hunter jets forward with increased speed, in the hopes of catching the SPARTAN while he was recovering and attempts to cut his legs off with a brutal and wild slash of its plasma blades.

edited 18th Jan '15 10:54:38 AM by Questor

Follow through.

Six slashed forwards. The Ritterjaeger parried the blow, but evidently it was much less armored than the SPARTAN had previously thought; he drove the machine's own swords into its chest before the energy swords hacked it in half. A mixture of synthetic materials washed over him - most of it on fire - as he flew through the remains of the first Ritterjaeger; he noticed the second, and as it came in fast, he thought of one thing;

Dodge.

The maneuvering thrusters that now dotted his armor blasted, and he was shunted above the sword; of course, he was nowhere near capable of flight and nearing the ground fast, and with no ranged combat options he had to wait until the Ritterjaeger entered striking range to attack again.

Zooming past the SPARTAN at speeds as fast as a fighter jet going full burn, the Ritterjager just barely manages to clear over a rowhouse-style apartment before it performs a wide loop so as to both build altitude and to face Noble-Six again as it unleashes a volley of expertly-aimed laser fire. From the way it was flying and judging by its current heading, the hunter seems to be trying to set up for a dive-bomb attack, with the only thing it needs to do is to zero in on its target before initiating the death dive...

Six impacted the ground, the maneuvering thrusters making sure he hit it feet-first as he slid across the asphalt. The road under him buckled and split as he drove to a stop in the earth, twin swords ready. As lasers started impacting he raised both of his energy swords to block the shots; his shields had since recharged, but the lasers that were blocked seemed to ricochet away in random directions.

As the Ritterjaeger roared off, Six quickly figured out what it was trying to do. It's going to dive bomb me.

He waited, formulating a plan.

edited 18th Jan '15 11:35:52 AM by SpartyMcFly

Noble Six didn't have to wait too long as the Artium initiated its death dive him mere moments after the laser fire had ceased, the damn machine used the lasers to range him... As it dived, it fires its carbine wildly while rears its left arm back in the manner of a punch; but with its plasma blades deactivated, a very obvious sign that it was going to activate them a mere moment before impact as to maximize surprise and to avoid suffering the same fate as its comrade.

Six waited quietly as the machine dove towards him. Its laser weapon rattled off shots, his shield depleting, though more slowly than before. He couldn't - and decided not to - place his finger on why.

Extending his swords, as the Ritterjaeger reared back and closed in, Six waited until the moment he could no longer get away with standing still. While he appeared to at first, blast off the ground and away from the divebombing machine, he twirled to face it as the thrusters fired again, propelling him towards the divebomber. He thrust both of his energy swords forwards, aiming for a rather lethal T-bone.

Caught by surprise and unable to react quick enough against someone of the supersoldier's caliber, the Ritterjager gets run through its torso and ends up losing nearly half its head; the SPARTAN's plasma blades rupturing its plasma power pack, causing it to near-instantly bleed off all of its energy in the form of a spray of superheated gasses coming from where the blades had pierced it. Despite the fatal damage, the Artium's AI core still functioned and as a last act of spite and defiance, it self-destructs. Detonating right next to the SPARTAN with the force and heat of a Covenant Plasma grenade, If Noble Six hadn't actually managed to rupture the machine's power pack; the resulting explosion would have been far more powerful.

edited 18th Jan '15 12:17:25 PM by Questor

The plan worked, and Six tore through the Ritterjaeger, severing it in half. Unfortunately, he was promptly hit with a double-whammy; superheated gases followed by the Ritterjaeger deciding to self-destruct.

Shields drained, stunned, and armor scorched but otherwise fine, Six hurtled through the air, the maneuvering thrusters working tirelessly to ensure he landed fine; unfortunately, he was sent tumbling. The impacts woke him up rather quickly and within a few more seconds of awkward crunching and flailing limbs, he was finally able to stand upright.

"Hostiles neutralized", he said. He quickly looked over himself. He looked somewhat fine. His armor was somewhat badly scorched around his arms and upper chest, but that could be repainted.

His thoughts turned to where he was taking cover, and he looked over towards it.