The Master Chief eased back down the passage ten meters. No sensor contact. There was just dim red light and shadows … but one of the shadows moved.
	It only took an instant for the image to fully register: a black film peeled away from the darkness. It was a meter taller than John and wore blue armor similar to that on Covenant warships. Its helmet was elongated and it had rows of sharp teeth; it looked like it was smiling at him.
	The Elite leveled a plasma pistol.
	At this range, there was no way the creature would miss—the plasma weapon would cut through John’s slowly recharging shields almost immediately. And if John used his assault rifle, it wouldn’t cut through the alien’s energy shield. In a simple exchange of fire, the alien would win.
	Unacceptable. He needed to change the odds.
	The Master Chief pushed off the wall and launched himself at the creature. He slammed into the Elite before it had a chance to fire.
	They tumbled backward and crashed into the bulkhead. The Master Chief saw the alien’s shield flicker and fade—
	—he hammered on the edge of the alien’s gun.
	The creature howled soundlessly in the vacuum and dropped the plasma weapon.
	The Elite kicked him in the midsection; his shield took the brunt of the attack, but the blow sent him spinning end over end. He slapped his hand against the ceiling and stalled his spin—then dove under the Elite’s follow-up attack.
	The Master Chief tried to grab the alien—but their weakened shields slid and crackled over one another.
	They bounced down the curved length of the passage. The Master Chief’s boot caught on a railing, twisted—a lance of pain shot up his leg—but he halted their combined momentum.
	The Elite pushed away and caught a railing on the opposite side of the passage. Then it turned and sprang back toward the Master Chief.
	John ignored the pain in his leg. He pushed himself at the alien.
	They collided—the Master Chief struck with both fists, but the force slid off the Elite’s shields.
	The Elite grabbed him and threw him. They both spun into the wall.
	The Master Chief was pinned—perfect: he had something to brace against in the zero gravity. He swung his fist, used every muscle in his body, and connected with the alien’s midsection. Its shield shimmered and crackled but some of the momentum transferred. The alien doubled over and reeled backwards—
	—and its hands found the plasma weapon that it had dropped.
	The Elite recovered quickly and aimed at the Master Chief.
	The Master Chief jumped, grabbed its wrist. He locked his armor’s glove articulation—it became a vise clamp.
	They wrestled for control. The gun pointed at the alien—then the Master Chief.
	The alien was as strong as the Master Chief.
	They spun and bounced off the floor, ceiling, and walls. They were too evenly matched.
	The Master Chief managed to force a stalemate: the pistol now pointed straight up between their bodies. If it went off it would hit them both—one shot at point-blank range might collapse their shields. They’d both fry.
	The Master Chief whipped his forearm and elbow over the creature’s wrist and slammed it in the head. For a split second it was stunned and its strength ebbed.
	John turned the gun into its face—squeezed the firing mechanism. The plasma discharge exploded into the creature. Fire sprayed across its shields; they shimmered, flickered, and dimmed.
	The energy splash washed over the Master Chief; his shields drained to a quarter. The internal suit temperature spiked to critical levels.
	But the Elite’s shields were dead.
	He didn’t wait for the plasma gun to recharge. The Master Chief grabbed the creature with his left hand—his right fist struck an uppercut to the head, a hook to the throat and chest, three rapid-fire strikes with his forearm to its helmet—that cracked and hissed atmosphere.
	The Master Chief pushed away and fired the pistol again. The bolt of fire caught the Elite in the face.
	It writhed and clawed at nothing. The Elite shuddered … suspended in midair; it twitched and finally stopped moving.
	The Master Chief shot it again to make sure it was dead.