New Blood - Mickey v. Buck

When his first punch landed, I thought maybe I’d made a mistake. My right to his jaw had loosened what little grip he had on his temper, and he fueled his biceps with that rage.
			He aimed for my cracked faceplate and hit me with a sledgehammer cross that I caught on my shoulder instead. I let it knock me backward, but kept my footing.
			He came at me again and again and again, trying to slug me in the faceplate, each blow like a shotgun blast at point-blank range, but I kept blocking him with my shoulder.
			My shields did their best to protect me, but they could only handle so much. When they finally gave out, I felt the plating there start to crack, and I realized that he wasn’t going to tire himself out before he pounded his way straight through my armor.

When he threw his next blow, I leaned to the left and dodged, and he overbalanced himself. I grabbed him by his right shoulder and hauled him over my leg, throwing him face-first into the ground.
			He skidded down the slope, trying to find purchase with the heels of his hands. I dove after him and landed on his back. Then I grabbed the back of his helmet and began to slam his faceplate into the rock-strewn dirt until it cracked open like a rotten egg.
			It took forever, but my own anger lent me strength. Eventually his shields gave, and the faceplate—which was weaker than the armor on my shoulder—shattered.
			Mickey managed to get one arm under himself and shoved upward hard enough to spin around onto his back. I stayed on top of him, straddling him, slamming him with my fists.
			I kept hammering at his faceplate. I could see his eye staring at me through the hole I’d made in its silvered surface, wide with fury and terror.
			I cocked back my right fist for a devastating blow, but as it came down, he grabbed my forearm and stopped it.
While Mickey held my wrists, I spread my arms apart and dove forward, smashing the forehead of my helmet into his faceplate, shattering it.
			I didn’t feel his nose give way—my helmet protected me from that—but his arms went limp. When I drew back, I saw blood streaming out of his face, the fight gone out of him.

- Halo: New Blood, Chapter 17