With the Chieftain’s shields overloaded, what would have been the lethal shot from Rex deflected off of the energy barrier unceremoniously, and with no one else to slow down the Brute, Rex found himself in a poor position. The swing he gave in return was both quick and brutal, and even Rex did not have the ability to avoid it. 

The bladed edge of the gravity hammer struck Rex square in his chestpiece. Even MJOLNIR could not stand up against such force, as it was bent inward while Rex himself was smashed a meter or so back against the wall behind him. 

Of course, after landing his blow, the Chieftain’s blood frenzy had him moving on quickly to the next prey. Tar was straight in his path, and the next obvious target. Her shields had already been depleted, and she was not in a position to run away nearly as quickly as the Chieftain could charge. He raised his hammer high and lunged forward, but among the chaos of gunfire that still filled the chamber, another shotgun shell was fired. Rex, though beaten down and struggling for breath, still fired from the ground. The Brute’s shield did perfectly protect him, but that protection did not extend to the hammer he was holding. The well-aimed shot from Rex sent buckshot tearing through the hammer’s mechanisms. When the Brute brought the hammer down on the ground at Tar’s feet, the gravity impulse malfunctioned and failed to trigger. 

The invincibility module had saved the Chieftain, but it was short-lived. The overcharge ended shortly afterwards, leaving the Brute once again vulnerable with his weapon damaged. Although, it was still a hammer, and he was still a Brute. The danger he presented was still far from over, and as his normal shields had been replenished, it was not as if he would fall easily.

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[center][b][h2]Vael ‘Virisusai and Tasuma[/h2][/b][/center]

[hr]

Overall, Vael’s team had managed to claim their needed positioning in the chamber. With the aid of Tasuma’s smoke, they had forced the Rebels out of their entrenched central position, and Ryker and Grik had claimed the high ground on the right. The remainder of the Rebels had retreated out of the smoke to the far side of the room, and all that was left was to finish them. 

Despite their dire situation, the Rebels were still not going to give up without a fight. Vael had already slain the strays in the smoke cloud, so those that remained had no hesitation to fire on any movement. On the far right flank, a Rebel with a SAW was suppressing Ryker’s position, while another beside him tossed up a frag grenade. 

[color=orange]”We must strike together. Tasuma, force them to hide and we shall descend upon them.”[/color] Vael ordered. Tasuma stayed within the smoke for cover, instead using the sound of the SAW firing to guide its aim. Just the sound of its arm cannon charging sent some Rebels to cover, and when it did fire, the Rebel with the SAW was caught in the edge of the fuel rod blast, relieving some of the pressure on Ryker and Grik.