In their charge across the room, many of the Brutes had not made it to the other side, or died shortly thereafter. Spartan Aviza had cleared the walkway above them, leaving the chieftain with little in the way of direct support. Many Human rebels were still alive, but they moved forward more slowly and fired from distance, as they were more vulnerable. 

The Spartan, Rex, had moved up into cover behind the rightmost column to meet the chieftain’s charge. Especially in close quarters, his shotgun could put quite a lot of pressure on the Brute’s shields. His first shot as the chieftain was nearing caused his shields to flare, then Aviza’s firebomb struck from above and further drained them with the intense flames. Nevertheless, the chieftain did not stop his momentum straight at Rex. As a Spartan and CQC expert, however, Rex’s reflexes were quick and precise. He deftly ducked under the the hammer’s horizontal swing while dashing away from where it would strike the column. The weapon’s kinetic impulse sent out a shockwave that pushed Rex and damaged his shields, but he had dodged far enough to avoid most of the damage. As well, he kept his aim on-target enough to deplete the Brute’s shields with another shell from his shotgun. 

Rex took aim straight at his opponent’s head as he pumped his shotgun; however, the chieftain had one more trick before he could fire. Suddenly, the chieftain’s shields were charged rapidly and started to glow bright white with streaks like lightning across their surface. The “invincibility” module, as it was known, overcharged his shields to the point of being practically impenetrable. It was surprising that these Brutes would still have such equipment in a working state from the war, but that was the obstacle they now faced. The module would only last a short time, but the chieftain had already made it into close quarters, among Aviza’s team.