Ring the Bell

[masterandchief]

Who: Master Chief, Maito Gai, Shikamaru, Kodas, technically open if anyone thinks their character is awake and wandering around at 11 o'clock at night.
When: Friday, 11:00pm
Where: Largest open space available (likely next to the track)
What: Master Chief makes an obstacle course and proceeds to run it like a normal track. 'Cause he's cool like

Comments

[masterandchief]

John's only problem once he entered the obstacle course was to decide what to use as a weapon. The Spartan could think of several things to use, but which one would actually prove the most useful? He contemplated it the entire two seconds it took for him to hop onto the first platform and run its thirty meter length.

At the end John grabbed a length of support pole, yanked once with a good tug, and spun around to face the oncoming Elite with a decent sized staff in his hands. It was more like a spear with its pointed edge where John ripped it loose from its opposite end still stuck in the ground, but that was all the better he decided. Hating to wait, but seeing no better option without a better weapon, John stood with the bow in both hands out in front in a defensive position.

Upon seeing the blurry image run after him, the Master Chief briefly wondered where the Elite's blaster rifle was. Perhaps it simply wanted the honor of killing John with its energy sword. Either way, John was actually glad that it was coming to him rather than him having to go to it.

[specialopshonor]

Kodas saw the demon turn and face him with a makeshift staff. He growled to himself in frustration. The human had evened the odds somewhat.

Still moving toward the unarmored Spartan, Kodas' mind raced through his options, settling on one. As he approached his enemy, Kodas jumped forward and dove into the ground, rolling. He measured the distance such that his strong, hoofed feet slammed into the demon's shins. Kodas began to rise as the human started to fall, grabbing onto the staff and moving his weight forward to force the human down into the ground with the weight of a full grown Sangheili on top of him.

[masterandchief]

The Chief didn't have time to decide whether or not to warn the other human now running this way, the Elite was upon him quickly. At least through the attack Master Chief had the advantage of being able to see the Elite clearly rather than half-guess. For once the Chief's reflexes weren't quite quick enough, but his brain was one step ahead of the Elite despite this.

John let the Elite maneuver its weight on top of him as it grabbed the staff. That was the Elite's first mistake. The Master Chief was hardly afraid of the weight of the creature despite the fact that it could easily out grapple a human like a bear taking on a toddler. John was an exception to that rule; he could easily take the Elite head to head in a fair fight.

As the Chief fell towards the ground back first with the Elite on top, he positioned his feet perfectly for his strategy. He hit the ground, rolling his back to absorb the impact although he couldn't slap his arms with his hands firmly on the staff, and quickly moved his legs underneath the Elite's stomach. As he rolled back his arms and legs pushed up and over, sending the Elite clear over the Master Chief's head. Keeping the staff for his own, the Chief used the momentum to roll back forward and swing up to his feet in one smooth motion. He spun and faced the Elite with the staff back out in front, ready to take action again.

[specialopshonor]

Kodas 'oofed' as he hit the ground; the impact was hard enough to momentarily short out his active camouflage, giving the human a clear view of him. Inwardly, the more vain part of his unconscious groaned at the scuff marks on his black armor.

Quickly catching his breath, Kodas rolled to his feet and turned to face his opponent. Reaching out to the side, the Sangheili grabbed a second support pole and snapped off a staff to match the human's. "Demon," he growled in the harsh, human language. "You defile this school with you presence! What is your purpose here?!"

[masterandchief]

If the Master Chief had been capable of sputtering, he might very well have at the alien's words. Instead he took a moment to digest the insult and accusation before answering. "I defile? Funny, I was thinking the same thing when I spotted you..." John replied acidly. He ignored the actual question, fully content with that remark as speech enough for one counter. Although, had he thought about it, John was quite amazed to hear the Covenant warrior speak in the human tongue.

Taking the staff firmly in hand, Master Chief spun the blunt end down towards the Elite's hoofed feet. The feint was slow and purposeful, catching the opponent's eye to focus on defending the attack easily. Quickly spinning the make-shift spear around to the other end, the Spartan performed two rapid strikes horizontal to the ground at waist height (both for him and the Elite). The sharp end would be hard to dodge, the stabs coming in quick and deadly after the slower, misleading first strike.

[specialopshonor]

Almost fooled by the feint, Kodas barely managed to block the staff and twist out of the way of the sharp, splintered wood. Using the momentum from his quick movement, Kodas swiftly spun behind and to the side of the Spartan, bashing his elbow into the base of the human's neck.

Turning, the Sangheili took a step back and brought his staff to the ready. Impudent human! How dare he talk back to an Elite! "If I find that you have harmed any of my charges..." Kodas growled before lunging at the demon. He was unfamiliar with the makeshift weapon, and so improvised an attack, treating the wood as though it were a dual-grip energy blade. Pulling back with his left hand as leverage, Kodas struck at the Spartan with the splintered end of the staff.

(Again, his unconscious roused, making a note to talk to the Huragok about the possibility of making a dual-grip energy blade as soon as he returns to his people.)

[masterandchief]

John hesitated, he was in a kneeled position from rolling out of the way of the elbow attack, quite unexpected although he berated himself for that, and tried to comprehend what the Elite just said. "Your charges? You mean, humans?" Why would the Elite be worried about humans? But he didn't have the time to think, just react.

John brought his staff up vertically and pushed it to his side as it met the Elite's staff, pushing the attack away from his body as he leaned precariously out of the way at the same time. This wouldn't do; John needed his maneuverability, he needed to be on his feet.

Master Chief feinted another attack, going low then high with two more quick stabs. He was beginning to hate fighting without a gun; he didn't know which was more repetitive, but at least he was always accurate with a pistol. The Master Chief then swept the staff low to trip up the defending Elite as he stepped up to his feet in the same movement. At least now he was much more ready for the next set of offensive and defensive maneuvers. Yet still he had to wonder what this Elite was talking about... his charges?

[specialopshonor]

Kodas awkwardly blocked the next series of attacks made by the Spartan. As his opponent swept low, the Sangheili jumped back and held the staff out in front of him. The human clearly had more experience with this way of fighting than he did, so Kodas turned to the one weapon that seemed to truly throw the demon off balance: his words.

Chuckling, Kodas boasted, "Don't tell me I have managed to confuse one of human kind's greatest warriors." Lifting his head up slightly so that he may look down on the demon, Kodas continued, "Do you not know a professor when you see one?"

[masterandchief]

Again the Chief was confused, but he couldn't help it. So much just didn't make sense in his world right now. The Master Chief hesitated again, holding off attacking for words instead.

"You're a professor here?" the Chief said bluntly. He was beginning to wonder if one of the Halos had gone off and he just didn't know it yet. This could be Hell after all... it would make sense.

Master Chief shook off his astonishment visibly, giving a brief shiver down his entire spine. But in doing so he managed to calm his nerves back down and remember his place. Moving swiftly forward, the Chief began another set of swings and stabs. "You can't be a professor," John said with final conviction. "You're Covenant; the enemy of humankind. You want to bring about our extinction, not teach us!"

[specialopshonor]

Kodas dodged the attacks as best he could, his shields taking a few blows, before jumping clear over the human's head. Landing several yards away, the Elite turned to face the Spartan. Surely it would have known the current state of the Covenant, wouldn't it?

"Your extinction is the will of the Prophets, who have betrayed my people. I only follow my commander and the Arbiter, now."

[masterandchief]

The Chief spun around, spear perfectly ready to bare down on the repositioned Elite. The beast's words halted his half performed stab at the Elite's chest. He stood still in the position of a strike, standing on the balls of his feet with a determined look on his face as he restrained himself.

So then maybe the rumor about Johnson and Keyes was true--that the Sergent and Commander had actually allied themselves with the Elite and their allied races. "Then the Covenant have broken up? The Elites and Brutes have been fighting one another lately. Is that the 'will of the Prophets' at work?" He said the last in somewhat of a mocking tone.

[specialopshonor]

"The Jiralhanae are treacherous, serving only to better themselves. It was only a matter of time before they turned on their allies." Kodas straightened his back and looked directly into the demon's eyes. "The Covenant Schism is underway, just as it has been foretold."

[masterandchief]

A break-up of the Covenant forces? John couldn't have been happier if he'd show it--which he didn't. John's stance relaxed ever-so-slightly. His instincts told him to kill the Elite but his gut told him to wait. There once was a Spartan who had saved his team by following his gut; John decided to wait.

"And what does that mean for the humans?" the Master Chief finally asked.

[specialopshonor]

An interesting question. And one that had no simple answer. Shaking his head ever-so-slightly, Kodas replied, "I do not know. After what happened on the second Sacred Ring, I started questioning all that the Prophets have told us. Who knows how they could have twisted the words of the Forerunners, just to further their own agendas."

Kodas unconsciously did his nervous twitch, mandibles clacking over the thoughts that would have been considered traitorous not too long ago.

[masterandchief]

The Master Chief hesitated again--he hated this constant indecision--and pondered just what his reaction should be to this answer. Suddenly he didn't feel the need to fight this particular Elite anymore. It was only his highly trained senses and natural reaction at the sight of the alien that made him want to continue the fight.

John shifted his weight from one foot to the other and spoke brokenly, "You're a teacher here... then you're not going to be... attacking anyone?" He paused, shifted his grip on the seemingly now pointless makeshift weapon. "I am a teacher here; there seems to be no point in fighting one another if these two facts are true."

It was the next question, one simple word, that hurt the Master Chief the most. "Truce?"

[specialopshonor]

Kodas looked the human in the eyes for a moment before giving him a quick nod. "Until we each find reason enough to either trust or distrust the other completely."

The Elite then shifted his weight from one foot to the other, wanting to trust the Spartan, but not quite willing to turn his back to leave. Clacking his mandibles, Kodas took his staff in one hand and let one end rest on the platform that they were standing on. "So, do we trust each others word and honor," (insert an implied 'like the Sangheili'), "or do you humans have a ritual or tradition to finalize our pact?"