Rebel's End

ONI Agent Kate Guillou makes her move. After months of planting herself within Colonel Dmitri Zaytsev's insurrection cell on, she finally makes her move to take him out. Yet it won't be as simple as she expects.



0500 HOURS, JANUARY 20, 2526 (MILITARY CALENDAR)

BIKO SYSTEM, PLANET BIKO, INSURRECTIONIST BASE

Alarms blared as Colonel Dmitri Zaytsev was rushed through the compound towards his emergency command center. Following hallways illuminated only by flashing red lights, Dmitri and his two bodyguards, one a young female, Kate Guillou, pushed through the grunts going in the opposite direct, on their way to man the defenses. Finally rounding the last corner, Dmitri pushed into the command center, sealing the doors behind him. Yet, as the magnetic locks clamped shut, he was greeted by the muffled thumps of a silenced M9 firing. Spinning around, he found Kate in front of him, magnum shoved in his face.

"Kate! What the hell are you doing!?"

"Ending your little rebellion." Scattered around the room were the bodies of Zaytsev's command staff, a single bullet hole in each of their heads. "Time for you to join your friends."

...

Kate stood there, finger on the trigger, gun in the Colonel's face. Yet, for some reason, she wavered. Gave him a bit too long to process what she said. Before she could squeeze off the final round into Zaytsev's face, she saw a blur off motion, milliseconds prior to the fist striking her face. Cursing, she stumbled back, the last round in her M9 shooting off to the side.

She'd done too much to be stopped here by a tired old rebel. Lunging forward, she drew the knife from her belt, slashing at the Colonel. The titanium carbide blade slashed across his body armor, leaving a slash where it struck. Cursing again as the blade fell short of his skin, she felt another strike to her face and a stream of blood trickling from her nose. Blinking her vision clear, she stared at Dmitri, scowling. Holding her blade ready, with the Colonel doing the same with his fist, they circled slowly, waiting. The Colonel broke the silence first.

"I trusted you Kate. You worked with us for so long, and you throw it all away like this? And in the middle of a damn alien invasion, nonetheless! You really think my "little rebellion" is worth the effort, with genocide knocking at our door?"

Kate reached up, wiping the blood from beneath her nose. "I've got my orders, Colonel," she spat the word at him, "You have to die."

"I'm sorry to see you're still a slave to the UNSC, Kate. Bet your one of them ONI spooks, too. Well, no matter. If you insist I must die, I suppose I'll have to prove you wrong."

...

The Colonel suddenly lunged forward, launching a strike at Kate's face one more time. He'd trusted her, confided in her like a sister, placed his life in her hands, but she had used the opportunity to betray him. Half of him blamed himself, but the other half was just focused on killing the traitor. He felt his fist connect with her palm. She was fast, he had to give her that, and, as the searing pain in his shoulder reminded him, she was armed. Crying out in pain as the knife sunk into his torso, his other fist swung wildly towards the attacker. Connecting the strike this time, the pressure on the blade in his shoulder suddenly released as Kate stumbled backwards.

Ripping the knife out, Dmitri kicked Kate square in the chest, sending her falling backwards even more. Stumbling away himself, he ripped a biofoam container from the medkit on the wall, letting the knife clatter to the floor, and stuck the nozzle in the profusely bleeding wound, grimacing at the sting as the medical sealant filled the wound. Pushing himself off the wall he was braced on, he saw a flash of movement just in time to get his arm up, hearing the crack of his wrist as the brass knuckles connected with his target. Crying out in pain, Dmitri flailed his other arm towards Kate, shoving her off.

"God DAMMIT Kate!" He cursed at her, watching her lunge for him again. He felt the strikes land on his chest repeatedly, stumbling backwards towards the wall until he felt his back hit the solid surface behind him. Bracing against the vertical surface, grimacing through the pain in his chest, probably several broken ribs, her pushed off towards Kate, tackling her towards the floor.

...

Kate felt the back of her head impact the concrete behind her, blinking her eyes as the brass knuckles she used as a backup weapon slid out of her hand. Just as her vision cleared, a fist slammed into her face, knocking her head back into the concrete again. She was pinned, the Colonels leg against her neck and his uninjured fist slamming into her face repeatedly. Reaching around her for something, anything she could use as a weapon, her vision started fading, blackness creeping in and clouding him from her view. Suddenly, a sharp pain crossed her fingers, and she felt the blade of a knife cut her grip. Finding the handle, she weakly closed her palm around it and, as one more punch descended towards her, she swung her arm up at Zaytsev. Just as her head smashed back into the floor once more, she felt the blade slide into the Colonel's neck and blood spray out over her as the pin weakened. Her vision clearing slowly, she gasped in a breath, watching Dmitri grip at his neck, before sliding off of her to the floor at her side.

Breathing heavily, Guillou stood up, holding her head in one hand, and stumbled over to her service pistol. Picking it up, she reloaded it slowly, turning to the Colonel and unloading three rounds into his face, stumbling out of the door, leaving the carnage behind.