Welcome to Gaia! ::

The engines of the Unyielding Reverence flared blue as powerful anti-gravity devices held the gargantuan vessel aloft. The Cruiser altered its heading and turned toward the Coast.

Lipton was watching from the new Crow's Nest. Or as he preferred to call it, Rat's Nest. Fox Hole 2. He sat in the observation room and watched the night-vision cameras follow Pelican ECHO Three-Three, which carried Karr and his team off toward the coast. His brow furrowed as one of the Covenant ships broke off from the main group over Voi and assumed a similar heading.

"Rat's Nest to Bravo-One-One-Six, be advised you have a CCS-class cruiser moving to your position. We haven't heard anything from the Elites so we can't be sure this is one of their ships. Stay sharp."

The launch of the pods was always an exhilarating sensation. Each pod was shaped like a coffin. The exterior as dark as the void itself. The interior was brightly lit and surprisingly comfortable to a Sangheili frame. Each Orbital Insertion Pod was stored in its own firing tube. There were a dozen or so of these pods along the bottom and the top of a cruiser. These pods would be launched from the bottom. He felt the latch release more than he heard it, and the firing of the engines was always a joy for any warrior. The Pod left the hull of the Cruiser at the same time as the others. Everything was precise. The feeling of gravity gnawing away at his stomach made him hungry for battle. He and his brothers were prepared. The faint trail of plasma caused by each pod etched lines in the sky. The drop pods impacted deep within the coastal jungle. Upon impact a timer began, ten seconds later the door was ejected from the frame and the Sangheili warrior stepped into the night.

He opened the Commando group's battlenet.

"Warriors, engage your active camouflage. Reveal yourselves only when needed!"

His tactical display showed a number of confirmations and he phased out of sight along with the handful of Commandos scattered about him. The active camouflage currently used by Sangheili special operations forces was significantly better than the Covenant counterpart. They had upgraded the design and left the old overheating kind for the Brutes. None of the Sangheili had ever given the Brutes equal equipment. They were not worthy of it. The camouflage was better and they were literally invisible. The only evidence that they were there was the crunching of the grass under their armored feet.

"Commander. There are others here. A Brute has fallen. Judging from the wound it was made by a human weapon."

Anso tensed slightly. While the Humans with the Arbiter had promised that they would do all they could to keep the rest of their kind from bringing injury upon the Sangheili he still did not entirely trust them. He accessed the UNSC E-Band, which they had been graciously made aware of by their close contact with the human survivors on Delta Halo.

"Humans. Take care at what you fire on. You have allies in the field."

OoC: Would any mods be willing to update my profile so I can finally start roleplaying in hereeeeeeeee???

Winter slammed himself belly first into the ground, extracting his own sniper rifle, the scope would work well another for the now designated spotter. He'd done this before, he knew the basics. For now he'd leave his true gear within its bad. They'd move quickly it seemed. Coming to the lesser magnifications he scanned the battle field, Elites, now an ally. Well he wouldn't bother with taking any anger to them. As they were enemies or once were he had always respected them. They were loyal, they were strong, and they had courage beyond most men. Most of all they were efficient.

(I know this is halfway power playing but I truly hope you don't mind. If so I shall fix it.)

"Check your nine o'clock, brute coming from cover, I think in.. Three.. Two.. One.." Anthony took the shot, the brutes head exploding in a blood mess. Perfect.

"It seems sir we have some comrades," once a formidable enemy was now a great ally. The elites and the marines had their own arguments but in truth Winter was starting to enjoy them. Now it hadn't been long that they were with them but he'd stumbled across several not at gunpoint. They were a interesting race and hopefully the two would grow into a harmonic alliance.

Three more rounds rammed through the barrel of the rifle and into the furrowed flesh of the Brute's in colored armor. They fell in heaps of bleeding flesh on the soft sand.

Before, Anthony didn't like the message. Having to sit tight while a bunch of aliens did his job... but he honored their code and let them be. But now it was his turn.

"Gunny, open fire." He said, letting off another blast into the neck of a Brute.

"Bravo One One Six to Echo Three Three, cancel EVAC. Repeat: CANCEL EVAC."

Anthony was planning a fresh ride with the Elites.

"Elite leader, you are clear. We left a few targets for you. Have your transport ship pick up at location marked by a flare. If you do not mind, I would like to gain your company, and meet face to face. We're by the ridge south entrance where you came in. You should be able to find us."

He quickly grabbed a HE-87 Standard Flare, smacked the end on his chest plate and tossed it slightly left of him. It began to sizzle a soft orange glow.

Now, they waited.

Anthony nodded when the Elites came into side.

"Marines comin out!" He shouted, and raised his position from the grassy knoll. He left his rifle down on the ground, undid the clip from his pistol, he dropped it to the ground.

"Marines, Clips out and open."

They did as they were told.

"Hello Commander. Phantom en route?" he asked him.

He extended his hand to the Elite. "My name is Anthony Karr, 301st Strike Division; Alpha Sniper Squad. Our units are about to move into the hole. But we can talk more about that later Commander. May I ask if you have the Relic? I have no intention of keeping it if an ally has it in their hands." He gave a warm smile to the Elite.

The other Sangheili commandos disengaged their active camouflage and appeared about the clearing. They were various sizes but all about eight feet tall. There were twenty Sangheili warriors in all. The commander eyed the hand curiously then shook it, as he had often seen humans do before.

"Karr..."

Anso gave a slight "hrmph" out of respect. Names were held in the highest regard in Sangheili culture. All Sangheili had a given name, then an adult name given to them after the rite of passage had been completed. All of the Sangheili separatists had dropped the "ee" suffix from their name signifying military service within the covenant. The Commander regarded the human before introducing himself.

"I am Anso Duram. Commander of the seventh Spearhead Commando unit."

To give his name to the human was also an honor, though he doubted the human would understand. As he spoke the two Phantoms floated over the treetops, their telltale hum alerting the Sangheili warriors to their presence.

"We have the relic, but there is no time to waste. The Prophet of Truth is close to firing the rings. He must not be allowed to continue."

The gravity lifts for the Phantoms activated and the Sangheili Commandos were drawn up into the floating craft.