[h1]Tar 'Mdalak[/h1]
[i]Paxopolis Simulated Training Centre[/i]
[hr]
The other recruits gave anguished cries upon seeing one of their number die. Regardless of how they felt about him, Sangheili soldiers were generally conditioned to mourn fallen brothers.

Tar looked about in confusion at the sound, still straddling the disemboweled Brute while her vision returned "What's happening?" She asked. “Zadu is dead!” Jurna exclaimed, not quite believing the simulation would kill the Major in such a graphic style. Tar swore throatily and crawled back behind the holo-consoles for cover.

The Mauler flash had only temporarily disabled her; after a few more seconds she could see almost normally except for floating dots in her right eye. She looked around and quickly found the Major’s body. Moving her attention back to identifying hostiles, she could see two half-visible Stalkers running toward the double doors at the back of the office space.

“See our foe run!” Ryssa roared, firing his needler at them even as they moved out of his effective range. “They go to warn the others. After them!” He commanded, falling back into his assigned role as point.

As one, the recruits surged forward while firing their weapons. Tar lagged slightly behind them, making sure she could see no further shimmers in the room. If there had been any Brute forces left, the recruits would’ve fallen straight into another feint by the enemy. Fortunately, she could see no further threats sneaking up behind them. The two Brutes retreating must have been the runt of the litter who were assigned to block their exit way.

Tar broke into a jog to keep in line with her recruits, smashing the radar jammer with her foot as she passed. It seems the recruits had forgotten all about it in their eagerness to avenge the Major.

As they reached the double doors that the Brutes had just exited from, an automated voice sounded over the building tannoy. “Sector Two point defense and air-to-surface targeting disabled through executive override. Security personnel, please report to the command centre.”

The fact that two of the stalkers had escaped behind them was, even to the recruits, a cause for concern. They could reappear and flank them at any time, but if the automated message was any indication, they did not have the time to properly clear their flank. They would just have to keep pressing on and watch their backs.

The command center was one floor up, and at the very least, they did not encounter any resistance on the way up the stairs or through the hall. However, the command center itself, unfortunately for the recruits, was meant to be defensible. It was located in an interior room, with only one entrance. The Brutes had not had time to set up exterior defenses outside the command center, but they would still have to push through a choke point to enter the room itself.

The recruits approached just outside the heavy, sliding door to the command center, though Ryssa hesitated to give the order to attack. They could see no movement on their motion trackers; the Brutes were certainly waiting in ambush on the other side. “How should we attack, commander?” Ryssa asked.

Tar, who was covering the rear again, had prepared for this question. Activating her wrist interface, she put a small 3D model of the command room in the area in front of them. "It is semicircular, with screens at the front and a hologram of Sarcophagus in the middle. Consoles face the middle from a slightly raised platform around the curved edge. The commander's desk is right at the front. There's a small neck through this door where they may have set up a barricade. We can use grenades to show confusion. From there, we can flank and crush them. Be wary; they may have hostages. Any questions?

There was silence from the recruits. Tar’s explanation was simple enough, so even if they had any doubts, the recruits would trust Tar’s experience. 

"Jurna, get the door. You two, form up on me."

Tar had toyed with the idea of letting Ryssa lead this clearance in their journey up to this sliding door. But she'd decided she wanted to win this simulation. And as promising as some of the recruits actions were, their chances of success without Tar at point were not good. 
Jurna nodded, then went to the keypad on the right hand side of the door. They had the security codes to override the lock, which he typed in quickly. Though, he would wait until the others were ready to enter it. Daha formed up on the wall just behind Tar, holstering his plasma rifle on his side and taking a plasma grenade in his hand. Ryssa followed suit as well, grabbing a grenade in his off hand once he made sure his needler was fully loaded. With all in position, they just waited on Tar’s signal to begin.

Tar positioned herself so she could throw something through the partially opened door without exposing herself. As there wasn't enough room to stack perpendicular to the door, they were hugging the wall to the left as close as they could. One advantage of this is all of them could throw grenades at the same time. From her belt, she took both of her plasma grenades and held them ready.

When she was sure they were as ready as possible, she nodded to Jurna on the opposite wall. After he input the code the door began opening. When it had opened about a metre, Tar threw one grenade through as hard as she could without looking, and then the other. She saw the recruits' grenades sail over her shoulder and disappear into the doorway.

In the long, tense couple of seconds before detonation, Tar heard Brutes shouting and the clatter of footsteps from twenty metres away. Then all the grenades erupted together. The sound was of monstrous energy tearing apart metal, and it filled their ears and shook the floor beneath them.

Taking a deep breath, Tar raised her Mauler and pushed into the room, with her recruits (hopefully) right behind.