[h2][b][center]Vael 'Virisusai[/center][/b][/h2]

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Vael halted in place with his carbine’s sights set firmly on the rebel commander. However, this time, to kill was not his goal, which was enough to give him pause. He was a warrior with immense battlefield experience against some of the most deadly foes the galaxy had to offer. He had seen more in battle than even most Sangheili would experience in their lives, yet he could not deny that this was something new to him. He had a foe in front of him that he could not kill, and in fact, that he needed to [i]save[/i] from the weapon in his own hand. For all his battlefield experience, Vael could not deny to himself that this fell outside his array of skills. He would need his team to succeed. 

Already, some of Vael’s team took the initiative to act, demonstrating options that Vael himself had not thought of in the moment. The pilot, Tar, matched hostage with hostage. She found one of the rebel’s allies to threaten and did so in clear view of the commander. It seemed dishonorable, but could Vael truly criticize unorthodox tactics in an equally unorthodox situation? The rebel commander had demonstrated considerable concern for his underlings, so it was a clever way to exploit that weakness. 

At the same time, out of all his team, Grikgar was the one who seemed able to potentially move himself into position. Even Vael may not have noticed, were it not for his HUD highlighting his ally’s position, but the Unggoy was moving around wide under active camouflage to get behind the Human. The rebel commander was highly aware of his surroundings, looking around constantly to his front and sides. Being alert, he would likely notice an approach even through active camouflage from those angles, but Grik was hanging from the side of the platform to move around behind him. A perilous position, as it was quite a long drop off the side, but it was an approach that could actually work. Many Sangheili would find it foolish to trust such a vital task to an Unggoy, but Vael was aware that Grikgar was not the average Unggoy. Perhaps they did not need to succeed at negotiating with this Human? Perhaps they needed to merely buy time?

For the rebel commander, he only hesitated briefly upon seeing Tar’s hostage. [color=red]“I know I can’t save everyone, but if you want me, then you’re [i]going[/i] to let me save who I can. No arguments. You will let the rest of these dropships launch. Doesn’t matter if you pursue, because you’ll never find them once they’re gone. Then, you radio your people up top and…tell them to focus on the Brutes. They’ll follow that order, and I trust my people to get away on their own. You do that, and let your hostage there go, then I’m yours. Without a hole in my head. I give you my word.”[/color]