[h2][b]Vael 'Virisusai - Aboard the Assimilator[/b][/h2]

[hr]

There was no hesitation, nor even a moment of distraction when his opponent fell, regardless of who dealt the killing blow. He could occupy their attention in melee while his ranged allies found their shots, and that was his precise intentions. The final two opponents knew they were outmatched, but Vael did not expect them to flee nor surrender. He had heard their words upon challenging them, and he knew, perhaps better than anyone, what was going through their minds. They were zealots, completely, religiously devoted to their master, and they would carry out his will by any means necessary. The form it took, in this case, was sacrifice. 

Vael was certainly ready to act, and the cyborgs gave him plenty of warning of their presumed demise for him to react. In one motion, he moved a blade to its holster and reached back to produce a small, glowing metal disk. It was a piece of equipment originally of UNSC origin, but one he found useful. Rather than just protecting himself, he threw the drop shield at the feet of the two cyborgs moments before their self-detonation, then rolled towards one of the pits next to the bridge’s central walkway. 

The drop shield could not entirely contain the combined explosions and was depleted quickly, but it did dampen them to make them less dangerous to himself and his allies. His own shields flared from the heat of the blast, but he made it down into the pit in time to avoid injury. 

Naturally, the first priority of many was to check for casualties, but Vael wanted to ensure that there were no more to come. “Disable the vessel’s external defenses, quickly.” Vael ordered as he climbed up onto the bridge’s central walkway. “Once they are down, have the [i]Daedalus[/i] scan the ship for any surviving enemies, then remove them. This will have all been for nothing if we allow them to sabotage the ship.”

Vael stepped forward towards one of the large windows at the front of the bridge, looking for any signs of enemy strikecraft outside. Although, his eyes were eventually drawn towards the planet itself. He remembered what it had looked like on approach, and already the storms were engulfing its surface. It might not have been burning in fire, but it was clearly a planet in pain.