Here's an early Christmas present -- a nice, long fun filled part of Memoirs. :) [b]Part 4 - Whole world ablaze[/b] I awoke to the smell of burning. As if a switch had been thrown, I threw off the coarse sheets provided by the police department, and leapt out of the bed. I gave a yelp when I saw smoke trailing down the stairs outside of my cell. Had some idiot set the building on fire? Where the hell was the fire department? Growing worried, I grabbed the heavy steel bars of my cell and began to rattle them. No good; the door was sturdy. Still, I beat on the bars loudly, calling up the stairs. "Hey! I'm still down here! Hey!" I shouted at the top of my voice. No answer, and more and more smoke was trailing down the stairs. Didn't most jails have a system where a fire alarm would automatically open cells? Why wasn't this system working, and better yet, where the hell was the ring of the fire alarm? The first slivers of smoke began to trail in my cell, and I grew worried. To avoid breathing in the choking smog, I ripped off my shirt sleave and tied it around my mouth. "Help!" I cried, giving one last tremendous push on the bars. All that resulted was a louder rattle. Was Commissioner Jiles really leaving me to die down here just because I'd insulted him before? I wouldn't have put it past him -- he could easily claim that there had been no way for his men to get safely down to my cell afterwards. I looked around the small block I was trapped in. The only other possible exit was a steel window embedded near the top of the cell, and that was covered by a barrier of bars too. I was stuck. Suddenly, I heard a noise at the top of the stairs. Feet scurrying. Immediately, I renewed my attempts to draw attention. "Down here! Help!" I screamed, the smoke was beginning to make my voice faint. To my relief, I heard footsteps stagger down the stairs quickly. Then, standing at the doorway was commissioner Jiles. Something was wrong, I could tell that immediately. The commissioner's usually stoic face was wide eyed in a look of shock, and his hands were moving frantically behind his back. "Jiles?" I asked uncertainly. The commissioner turned to face me with a crazed look, mouth opening and closing as if he was trying to speak. Then he toppled face first to the floor, and I saw why. Buried deep within the commissioner's back was a knife forged from plasma. [i]No. Not here. Not now,[/i] was all I could think as I stared in fear at the lifeless corrupt commissioner. A set of keys hung from his belt. The problem was that his body lay several metres away. There was no way I'd be able to reach that. And then my worst fears were realised. More footsteps trudged down the staircase outside my cell, but these were not the light steps of a human wearing shoes. They were the heavy steps of armoured hooves, affixed to alien legs. The trio of Elites came into view. One was coloured a burning crimson, and the other two were garbed in blue armour. The Covenant had found Charon VI! And they were attacking! The crimson coloured Elite -- evidently a Major -- sniffed the room distastefully, before turning to the Minor on the right. "Clear the room of this putrid smog," the Major growled. There was something familiar about his voice, but I couldn't place it. The Minor drew a spherical device out, pressing a button. He then dropped the sphere to the ground, where it began to pulsate. For an irrational moment I thought it was a grenade. Then I used logic -- why would the Elites blow themselves up? Logic prevailed, for the sphere did not explode. Instead, all the smoke in the room was drawn to it, like water in a plug hole. The smoke disappeared inside the device. Whilst I was grateful the smoke was gone, it was less of a pro and more of a con. For now, if the Elites happened to glance my way, they would see me clearly. And see me they did. As the trio began to move down the corridor outside the cells, one stopped, sniffing the air. Then, his eyes snapped straight to mine, murder burning dreadfully in his. His companions followed his gaze, and saw what he was looking at. "A human?" one of the Minors questioned, coming up to the cell. I forced myself not to look away -- I knew Elites admired bravery. Perhaps if I did not baulk, they would kill me quickly, rather than torturing me before hand. "Trapped like a canary in a cage..." the second Minor growled, running a large, alien hand across the bars of the jail cell. Somehow, I found my voice. "Surely you wouldn't be so dishonourable as to kill me unarmed and defenceless in this cell?" I questioned of them, the pitch of my voice rising as I finished the sentence. The two Minors stared at each other. "He is right, although we could make an exception just this once," the one on the right suggested. The other Minor nodded, and together they both drew swords out, looking back incredulously at their Major. "Do we have permission to end his life noble one?" I backed away from the jail door, knowing that there would be no way to avoid the two burning swords in the end. To my surprise, the Major shook his head, eyes burning into me with a familiar intensity. "Leave," he commanded to two Minors, whose eyes widened, swords deactivating. "I beg your pardon Major?" the one on the left asked, disbelief clear in his voice. The Major stood taller than the two, and stared down at them angrily. "Go! I will deal with this human myself, and then catch you up." Oh, just great. The two Minors looked at each other for a few seconds -- they seemed close, perhaps they were brothers, or even twins -- before leaving down the corridor. The Elite Major followed their progress until he was certain they had left through the door at the end. Then he turned to me, and to my surprise he wore a smile. "Well well human; it would seem fate is not without a sense of humour," the Major said to me, regarding me with interest. It was then I realised who this Elite was, and why he seemed so familiar. "Ras?" I inquired. Ras had been an Elite back at Harvest me and my squad had taken into custody, to help us get alive through the building. Instead of killing him as the marines we rendezvous with wished to do, we had instead ordered that he be taken outside and freed in return for being cooperative. Back then he had worn the golden armour of a zealot. "It is indeed me. You are lucky it is I who came across you...Farm-Boy is it?" Ras asked of me. I shook my head, still slightly wary. "No, it's Master Sergeant Archer now." Ras chuckled, looking envious. "Congratulations on your promotion then. I was not so lucky. After the council learnt of my failure to protect your Commerce building upon Harvest, I was beaten and stripped of my rank. Still, I could be dead had it not been for you, which would have been much worse." I nodded, keeping a firm eye on the sword hilt at his side. "So what now Ras? Will you kill me?" Surprise crossed the Elite's face, and he shook his head strongly. "Kill you? Of course not, you spared my life years ago. It would take a far greater cad than I to end yours now," Ras assured me. I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. I then turned to the staircase, and saw the orange glow of fire at the top. "The building's on fire. You just gonna let me burn to death?" A look of indecision crossed the Major's face for a moment, before he steeled his expression, drawing out an Energy Sword. I jumped back from the door, thinking he was going to kill me. Instead, Ras sliced the steel bars with the plasma protruding from the blade, which crumpled. Like a hot knife through butter. Ras then grabbed the bars, and gave he heave, bending the near molten metal. Soon enough, a human sized hole was affixed firmly in the centre of the cell door. "Quite the opposite. Here, climb out." Gingerly, I edged my way towards the hole. Keeping an eye on Ras the entire time, I slowly climbed through, and a moment later I was stood next to the taller Elite. He smiled down at me. "Thanks." It felt weird standing next to an Elite who was behaving benign towards me. He laughed. "Think nothing of it. Well, think something of it. For I have repaid the favour I owed you and your squad human. The next time we meet, I shall not be so kind. Now here, take one of this building's rifles." Ras passed me a Battle Rifle he drew out from his back. I stared at it in surprise, noting with pleasure that it contained a full magazine. "You want me to kill your forces in the city?" I asked Ras, more confident now I had a weapon. The Elite's look grew sombre. "Do I want you to kill them? Nay, of course not. But I am a firm believer in fairness. If the Covenant soldiers in this city cannot outgun you, then they deserve to die." That was honestly brutal, but it made sense in a way. Still, I regarded Ras with suspicion. "How do I know you won't follow me when I leave?" I demanded of him. His brow rose. "Why would I do that?" "I don't know -- maybe to find my full squad. Maybe you want to take revenge on us all for getting you demoted," I mused, keeping the rifle aimed at Ras, who nodded slowly. "A valid concern. But an unnecessary one. I have nothing but warm feelings for you and your friends." "How can I know that for sure?" "You can't. Only trust me." Ras wore an uncertain look, as if he was questioning his decision to free and spare me. I wrestled with my worries for a while, before coming to a decision. "I've got a better idea." [Edited on 12.20.2009 1:19 PM PST]