Once again, the rebel commander proved quick to react to danger. As soon as he saw a Spartan taking aim, he ducked into cover in the pelican while he loaded in another grenade. Grikgar, however, required hardly more than a few moments to [i]eagerly[/i] follow Spartan Ryker’s suggestion. His fuel rod cannon was already at the ready, after all. Pelicans were generally well-armored, but there were weak points, especially near the engines. Naturally, Grik knew right where to aim to disable one of the rear engines. 

The commander had slowed Aegis team down enough that his soldiers were able to make it into the hold, but just as the pelican started to lift off of the landing pad, a fuel rod detonated inside one of the rear thrusters. Dropping back down onto the pad, the pelican started to spin and scrape across the ground until it came to rest on its side. 

It had been a slow crash, so there were few injuries for the passengers inside. As the commander climbed out the back, he shouted back to the soldiers behind him. [color=red]“Go, get to one of the others! I’ll cover you!”[/color]

The rebel commander wasted no time in sprinting away from the crash in the opposite direction as the rest of the soldiers. He flicked on his shield gauntlet once again, running and weaving between crates for extra cover as he took potshots at his attackers with the magnum in his other hand. Though, even for those among Aegis with weakened or depleted shields, his blindfire was of little real threat. 

To Vael, for a few moments, it seemed assured that their quarry would be theirs shortly. However, the commander had one last surprise for them. Once he was far enough from the pelican, he stopped near the edge of the platform in a rather strange defensive posture. He held his shield low to protect against wounding attacks, while leaving his head exposed. On top of that, he threw off his helmet, revealing a middle-aged, bald and scarred visage. He pointed his magnum not at his enemy, but at his own head. He seemed aware of the risk of being disarmed, as he tried as much as possible to keep his own head between his enemy and his weapon.

[color=red]“Stay back!”[/color] He shouted. [color=red]“I know you want me alive; I’d be dead already if you didn’t. Well, you want your prize? Then we do this my way!”[/color]