Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Iron Cross. Enjoy the 4300-word chapter. I do not own Warhammer or Halo, Gameshop and 343 do.
(Ultramarine Strike cruiser II Enduring Conviction, January 7th, 2532.)
"This is the log of Lieutenant Halius of the Second Company of Ultramarines… It has been 1 year since we have arrived within this galaxy… Or at least, it feels like it." Halius stated, sighing as he did so.
"The war continues and we have fought many battles since then, small ones but every small battle is a lead-up to a larger goal," Halius stated as he turned towards the hologram. "What has happened has been sufficient," Halius added as he frowned.
Halius looked up at a star map of the galaxy, questioning how long the Ultramarines would have to fight… Before finally returning to the issue at hand.
"The battle of Charybdis IX has led to the Battle of the 'Rubble,' a collection of human rebels involved in trading with the Covenant for reasons unknown to us… A Spartan group known as the Grey Team has combated them before the 7th Company of Ultramarines was sent in to aid them. Now we are poised to do something I believe MAY help." Halius added to the recording.
"We lead the Covenant Navy into a decisive conflict and destroy the majority… Either it will cause them to entirely surrender with the loss of thousands of ships and soldiers. Or we gain the upper hand and can further strike at their heart." Halius added before he hummed.
"Finally? There are whispers amongst the Ultramarines of the Primarch finalizing a plan of his own and orders I need not know yet… I will fight as I always have and do whatever I believe will aid humanity." Halius stated before he looked to the side.
"Lieutenant? We have our orders…. The Admiral agreed as well. The Atlas Moons will be handled by Captain Titus while we handle Kholo." Halius heard before he ended the transmission.
The Lieutenant nodded, grabbed his helm, and donned it, pausing to think for a moment as he crossed his arms and then looked to the side, too tired of what was growing on his mind.
He had a lot more to deal with for now, granted, being a Lieutenant had its problems… But he rolled with the punches as best he could.
"Then we will do what we must deal with…. Tell the rest of the forces below that we will be deployed sooner or later. We have not yet seemed to run into Covenant forces… Odd, there are plenty of Orks around." Halius added.
Halius could guess the Orks were busy during the war with the Covenant. He had heard of them attacking the Imperium across the board which made the Ultramarine curious as to their final goal today.
Halius hummed to himself as he thought of every single problem he could have had with the upcoming missions. These sorts of things were problematic at best and just impossible at worst.
Still? They had a duty, one in which forsaking was NOT an option. Halius walked to the bridge console which projected a hologram of Forge and Jerome, both of whom turned to look at him as he strode onwards.
"Still cannot believe there was an entire group of people trading with the Covenant…. Could have gotten themselves killed." Forge stated before he looked at Halius. "Hal." Forge added with a nod.
"Forge," Halius added with a nod as he looked forward. "Admiral Stanforth asked the Ultramarines to reinforce the UNSC forces below. They have hit the defenses on Kholo hard, whatever commander they have has tried to bomb the entire planet to ash…." Halius added.
"Well, I just got orders… Appears you and the Blue Team are headed down to the planet of Bega-IV to push back against the Covenant while we fight off the Covies here… Seems our little green buddies have set up shop there as well." Forge asked before Halius nodded.
"I will head down there. The UNSC has already sent a group of these 'ODSTS' down there to secure a transit zone." Halius added to which Forge nodded.
"Ah… Hal, about Igaros. That ain't on you, no soldier has it all handled… Sides, you guys all saved the planet, months ago or not? That is still a win." Forge stated before Halius frowned.
The Ultramarine recovered a few days later, and Halius knew the wound was not that harmful.
It was more than Igaros getting hurt during the battle that bothered him… But he would deal with that soon. Now? The battle beckoned.
"I will see you after this battle, Major," Halius said before he shut down the connection and turned to the bridge crew, still plugged into their consoles. "Retreat as soon as we are deployed, the Spirit of Fire will retrieve us," Halius ordered as they bowed.
Halius paused, turned, and then walked towards the pod bay of the warship. The strike cruiser would launch over 20 drop pods then retreat…. There was to be no mass insertion, most of the Ultramarines fighting were on Kholo, not on this place.
"He is right, you know… Was just a burn in my armor." He heard from behind him.
Halius looked at Igaros, looking at the spot on his hand where plasma had burned it, where the flesh had melted… A pair of his fingers were changed as they had replaced them with cybernetics.
Halius ignored the Sergeant and walked into the troop bay, beginning to issue commands to the 25 or so Ultramarines in the bay.
"He's barely said a word to you since the siege… Months ago." Igaros heard as he frowned under his helm. "Do you think he's focusing more on his duties as Lieutenant?" Igaros heard as he turned to Suriel.
"That…. That is what worries me." Igaros stated before the Ultramarine Sergeant vanished into the troop bay.
All of them were silent a few seconds later, something which was needed.
They had further problems than just how Halius had been acting since the last major battle… Like the fact, the Covenant and them were at a stalemate.
They boarded pods and Igaros thought of the last staff meeting he had with Halius. The Covenant had not committed to anything major; they had attacked a colony here or there but had refused to commit to a major battle, seeming to accept the Imperium could help the UNSC match them.
That only made him curious as to HOW this would have worked out. Halius did not comment much on things, simply moving along with the rest of the soldiers, eager to get into the next big battle. Halius acted a lot like this entire thing was a battle to be fought rather than an actual war to wage.
(5 minutes later)
the series of drop pods seemed to spiral through the atmosphere, Halius listened to the report from Jerome as it occurred.
Still? Halius felt himself tired… As he had appeared to be feeling every day.
"The main covenant force is still on Kholo…. Most of us are falling back, there is nothing out here to save that is not already gone or being taken away." Jerome stated.
"Then what is it they want this far out? The planet does not hold any key place in the galaxy… And we've already inflicted losses on their infantry and vehicles." Halius questioned, looking up at the CAS-class assault carrier in orbit.
"They want us to still know people are going to die even if we fight and smash them to pieces," Cutter responded to which Halius frowned. "They want humanity dead, Halius. We can beat them on every front, but it will not make them stop slaughtering us wherever we fight them." Cutter responded.
Halius looked at the glassing beams coming from the CAS-Class Assault Carrier. Why? Because every beam burned the planet, destroying more and more of it and more UNSC soldiers in the process.
All of them were reminded that UNSC and Imperium soldiers were still able to die, still at the mercy of Covenant soldiers as they were the Orks.
All of them wished to be fighting in the warmth of the Covenant soldiers.
Halius? Halius drew in what breath he had before the pod split open. He was exposed to the planet's atmosphere for a moment before he sighed, thinking of everything before he grabbed his bolter.
Then? Followed by 6 others now, Halius led the group of Ultramarines into the darkness-soaked planet. It was odd but given the fact these planets were choked with dust? He did not find it surprising.
Halius heard gunfire… There was a battalion of UNSC ODSTS who were deployed on their mission, yet? Halius still saw their mission as equal to his own…. And he did not wish it to be any different than it should be… Not that he would be any less at their mercy than before.
Halius motioned for his men to prepare for battle as he looked down the hill at the battle… Rows of elites, most crimson, and blue with one gold one barking orders to them, 3 pairs of hunters, jackals, grunts, and….
"Are those smaller warrior insects?" Halius asked to which he gained a nod. "We act now," Halius stated before sliding down the hill.
Halius felt rock and stone shatter under his boots as the Ultramarine heard the clack of bolters. The standard procedure was to slowly advance, letting the enemy fall to hammer blows from experienced soldiers.
They had no time, they bared down on them like the tanks they were, single shots sending jackals burning in pulps or grunts detonating in fireballs of methane.
Halius kept his eye on the elites and the new covenant species. Odd, but they still were dangerous, enemies without a single factoid about them were as dangerous as any sword, gun, or weapon.
Still? Halius also kept his gaze on the ODSTS. Human, yes… But well trained, most kept their difference, picking shots carefully and only striking when it was clear an opening was seen.
"Spartan, where are you?" Halius questioned as he and the Ultramarines finally fell in with the ODSTS, joining them amid jagged stones.
Halius looked through the walls of jagged stone, there were massive stone spires here, almost half the size of battlecruisers…. He also felt the rain fall on his helm, droplets of water dancing off his armor as the Ultramarine turned, shooting one of the insectoid soldiers in the wing.
A scream, they fell to the ground, other wing fluttering uselessly. He noted it, fast enough to raid them, weak enough to be killed by bursts of gunfire.
Halius turned only to be greeted by a roaring hunter, the mass of bulk and armor swinging its shield at him.
Halius pivoted, grasping a grenade from his hip before dodging a strike from its shield that would have brained him, armor or not as he stabbed the explosive into the mass of worms on the creature and kicked off it.
Halius was met with screaming worms as the creature shattered into bits of armor and worms. Halius quickly looked for the other, knowing by now they came in pairs… Only to be greeted by an ODST executing the other with several magnum shots to the back of its skull.
"Hiya… You must be the backup we ordered." The ODST stated as Halius nodded.
"Where are the Spartans?" Halius asked before he raised an eyebrow.
He seemed content to think of something that needed to be dealt with easily. All of it was odder and odder, knowing these days that a battle was perhaps more the just tactics and words.
Then again? Here he was, sitting in the middle of a wind-hammered planet and asking an ODST where the Astartes could find their counterparts. Times were different, but they were not as odd as one believed them to have been.
He rubbed at his helm in sheer annoyance at it all but said nothing else. Halius kept his thoughts on the act of serving his empire and humanity… Most other thoughts died instantly in that threshold.
Still? A few seemed to be able to sink through and into his mind as he paused, thinking of himself and the others.
"Up in the hills… There are more of the drones that way, an entire swarm… Seems like a Covenant base is up there, worth the intel." Halius heard as he turned and looked up the mountain.
"Drones?" Halius asked as the ODST nodded.
"We call them buggers… They are fast but they are vicious. They rip through anything they can get their hands on…. A swarm of them passed through here and we lasted maybe 10 minutes." Halius heard.
"Then why are you still here? The battle is on another world… Not this one." Halius stated before he looked to the side.
There was something about it that made him feel off… He was too tired to do more than ask this same question a few thousand times.
"We have a job to do… Just like you big armored tanks… You did not see what they did at Kholo." The ODST said.
"If I did? They would have been pushed back… There will not be a victory without losses. I know that all too well." Halius stated the last part of his voice hushed.
Halius and his group walked up the hill, pausing only to kill the last of the Covenant soldiers in this area. Halius made note of 4 phantoms that traveled uphill… Something occurred that made him pause.
There was the signature of a Covenant SDV-Class Corvette atop the mountain, its bay dropping dozens and dozens of drop pods over the ridge.
He pondered how much of the battle here contrasted with the battle the planet over. Yet? He pressed on and he would continue to do so long after this.
Another Covenant warship, a CRS-Class light cruiser emerged with an escort of Phantoms and Banshees and it was then Halius realized they wanted SOMETHING on this planet which the battle could be a smokescreen for something grander.
Halius began his trek up the mountain, the rest of the Ultramarines behind him as he paused, questioning how best to proceed.
Most of the main force was busy fighting the Covenant on Kholo… Well, delaying them. There was too much going on for them to defend Kholo as much as other planets.
Halius felt more rain stain his armor, questioning what he would do now. Part of him thought of it best…. He thought of it best with all such haste and all such missions being delayed for now.
Halius hummed to himself and sighed as he realized that, YES… Today would be a very damn long mission, he already had too much on his mind to take care of it all.
The fact they had a small army here made Halius curious if they were planning to fortify this system and use it as a base. It was out of the way enough…. If only barely.
"Spartan, what is your position?" Halius questioned as he and his group slowly trudged up ahead. "I spotted at least 2 Covenant warships, 1 light cruiser, and 1 corvette… I am not sure if there are further Covenant soldiers." Halius stated.
There was the glint of a scope… Followed by Linda appearing on the ridgeline. Halius hummed and looked at her as she lowered her rifle, nodding at them as the group followed… Then the ODST battalion.
Halius met Master Chief on the ridgeline… And then he realized what the Spartan had brought him for.
Below was a Covenant base. A massive one, there were spires as tall as Imperial Battlecruisers, dozens of dots which he counted as Banshees and Phantoms… And a CAS-Class assault carrier above it, gravity lift activated.
It reminded Halius of a large shark prowling the reef, waiting for fresh meat to fall into the ocean. Halius looked at Master Chief, golden visor meeting golden optics.
"I thought the Covenant weren't majorly committed to their offensive here," Halius added to which Chief shook his head.
"They are… And your friends are here." Kelly stated in the same dry tone as before.
"Orks?" Halius asked to which a nod was given. "Why not let them destroy each other? This system is almost abandoned anyway, there is no tactical reason to remain." Halius added to which Linda nodded.
"There are reports of a Prophet here," Chief stated to which Halius looked at him.
"One of the Covenant commanders?" Halius asked and was granted a nod. "Odd. Do you have a plan, Spartan?" Halius asked to which Chief nodded.
"We secured some Covenant bombs… Figured we'd detonate them at the comms center and regroup at the top of that giant spire right under the carrier." Halius heard to which he hummed.
He looked at the carrier, accessing weapons, looking for any real weaknesses, and perhaps pondering if it was the flagship here. This fleet was well trained and struck like lightning… If they were imperials? Halius still believed they would have lost ships, void shields, and lance weaponry or not.
"We have no way to remove that carrier from the battle," Halius stated to which Chief lowered his head.
It was clear Chief had the same idea that he did, that none of them were properly prepared for a battle on the scale coming. The UNSC garrison was depleted and whatever troops that were saved were pulled out of the system aboard a UNSC cruiser.
That left them, a group of ODSTs, and whatever forces that had been sent to this battle… The more they thought of it? The more insane it sounded.
"There is… But it is risky." Kelly stated as the group looked at her. "That thing has a reactor and the majority of those bombs are big enough to be loaded on dropships," Kelly stated to which Halius hummed once more.
The Ultramarine in him was tired for now as he tapped his fingers before he looked to the ground.
Halius hummed before he looked to the side. The options for removing the cruiser were… Risky. Why? Simple, both knew if anything went wrong. It would not only put the base on alert but it would cause the entire warship to be alerted.
"Considering the lack of orbital support? I vote against engaging their orbital assets currently." Halius added before he rubbed his temples.
The Spartan-II looked over at Halius as the Ultramarine looked at Master Chief. He knew more and more the Spartan was ready, so was he… So was he.
Halius stayed silent… Why? Because he knew more and more that each little problem would cause MASSIVE ripples across the pond.
"Linda, take overwatch, Fred? We handle the ammo dump… Kelly? Distraction." Chief ordered as Halius nodded.
"We do this correctly… Igaros? Set up positions around their flank, by those guard towers… I will take a squad and sneak inside… We need to reach the command center then we can strike against the enemy." Chief heard.
He looked at Halius who returned the look. It was clear something would break and give and it was clear either way they acted. The mission would not be easy.
Halius did not expect it to. He counted enough dropships to supply over 3000 Covenant Infantry and enough armor and hold off a small army and they had the means to do so.
So? He decided to leverage what numbers he held against the fact they would never be able to repel a small incursion.
That and he believed if he turned their weapons against them? They would win… There had to be AA in the base… If they could capture a few? They might stand a chance.
"Spartan? Be advised that we have deployed further reinforcements to your mission… The rest of the fleet is retreating and Spirit of Fire is standing off as close as she can without actively engaging the enemy." They heard before the sounds of thunder came over the radio.
No, not thunder… The sound of a giant crack in the sky as more reinforcements came. Drop pods that were cutting through the sky like a streak of lighting.
"I count 50 pods…" Halius heard, nodding as he thought for a moment and then looked to Chief.
"Do you know where and when the Prophet is supposed to touch down?" Halius questioned to which Chief shook his head. "Then we proceed with caution… How many explosives do you have?" Halius asked to which Chief motioned to a group.
The bombs were purple with alien hieroglyphs across their surface. Halius began to believe the Covenant had to make it a point of ONLY making their technology remind him of themselves.
He hummed to himself and then looked to the side, something about it all came crashing now as he paused.
They had enough to cause half the base to detonate…. But doing so would also remind the Covenant that they were there, there would be a gallant knight coming to their rescue at the end of it.
They were going to need to be ready for when it was all over and when the enemy struck once more… And only then would they need to be ready.
Still? All of it would be different than what he had to do next. They would fight and they would be prepared.
"I shall take out their southern defenses… Draw their attention, set up your explosives…" Halius stated before he hummed. "I will also look for any defenses we can toss at the Covenant. That carrier bothers me as much as their army. We need to remove it or else we will not be able to find the Prophet." Halius stated before he tossed himself down the ridge.
The other Ultramarines split into teams; it was becoming clear they had another battle to attend to… And none of them were going to be ready for it when they were all over it.
(With Halius)
The Ultramarine strode down the path, tired and unable to do more than relax… Why? Because he knew the battle coming up was going to bother him. it very much would and could bother him at the end of the day.
The carrier loomed over them all like a predator lurking in the darkness, prepared for the next battle. It sent legions of soldiers and armor and air support… If it was him? He would have had the ship blown in half before they engaged the enemy simply due to the fact a warship like that could easily slaughter them all on the plains.
They had to cross to reach the base, they had to make it.
They had to destroy it before the ship destroyed them. That was his goal and yet it loomed out of reach. It loomed JUST out of their reach, weapons poised to strike them like a thousand invisible knives.
Halius thought back to the last few battles. Ones where the Covenant's full power was unknown to him. It had cost them brothers and good soldiers who were on the edge of their rope.
He remembered just how Curos and the others died on that planet. They went down fighting and they reminded him that while the Codex was not a rule book to be followed into hell? They still could not forsake the wisdom.
Halius leaped and landed in a crouch, the stone beneath the Ultramarine cracking under his weight as he thought of his next best move. They had little time to waste… If the Covenant routed them? They would have nothing on their minds… Nothing about this spoke of a second chance and nothing about it would grant them.
They would need to strike now and they had to hit harder and harder when it was all said and done. Then and only then would they be able to strike the covenant… Finally? They had to hit harder and harder, strike them now when it came crashing to the ground.
Something about it all seemed to be done and dusted when it was all said and done.
Halius was greeted by the sound of noise behind him and turned to see Linda. The Spartan sniper looked at him before motioning forward.
"There are snipers on the outside of the base…" Linda stated as Halius hummed.
"Plasma weaponry?" Halius asked to which there was a nod.
Halius looked out over the stones and indeed saw marksmen… Enemy snipers. Jackals appeared to be carrying some sort of weapon which they held as if it were their lives.
Halius questioned how dangerous they were but plasma weapons designed for long range had very good ability to penetrate and it appeared as if there were dozens of them.
"Their outer guard is impressive. I count at least 50 or more sentries… And I shall assume there will be more inside. How many were there before?" Halius asked as Linda shrugged, her muscles rolling around as the Spartan-II brought up her arms.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! A few things.
Yes, I know this skipped MONTHS into the war. The war is a big part of the story but not the only part. I plan to cover post-war.
Yes, I know Kholo was a Covenant victory. I am giving them it here because I do not want the Imperium and UNSC to curb-stomp.
If anyone is pondering Halius's gruffness? It is him trying to be a good leader while dealing with the fact he cannot help and save everyone.
The next chapter will show the assault on the base and will be 900-6500 words in 2-10 months. Until then, Lighting Wolf is out!