Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Iron Cross. Enjoy the 3900-word chapter. I do not own Warhammer or Halo, Gameshop and 343 do.
(Spirit of Fire, January 15th, 2532.)
Halius found Forge by a memorial on the warship, a wall dedicated to the warriors who had fallen in the line of duty.
And it was growing with each battle.
"I never believed you were a man of faith, Forge," Halius stated as he looked at the memorial, his armor clanked slightly as he moved.
"I ain't… Just respecting those who died." Forge stated as he nodded. "You guys have anything similar?" Forge asked to which the Astartes nodded.
"Shrines… There are plenty of priests and others who pray to us about the Ultramarines and their faith… None of us saw the emperor the way they do." Halius stated as Forge nodded.
"Ah… We lose more people each day, I heard some of that outpost fell apart now." Halius heard before he looked downwards.
"We will defeat them… I plan to go after them…. The war continues and we honor these fallen soldiers." Halius stated as he hummed, clasping his hands together. "The enemy has not struck the outpost in force if it helps. I have heard the UNSC has managed to pull some of its soldiers back from the outpost." Halius heard.
"Hmm… Good, we have more hope." Halius heard before he looked downwards at the ground. "Hey, I believe I told you I had a kid, yeah? That I am partly fighting for her?" Forge asked.
He nodded to the UNSC officer, he looked towards the ground… He had his ideas of his friends but their personal lives were something that he did not focus on, it was how they were allowed to relax.
Something within him all had been too disturbed now, he had been too exhausted now… Both were in the way of it all.
"You have someone in your life, Hal?" Forge asked as Halius blankly stared at him.
They had a lot more to figure out now. Halius hummed before he looked towards the ground.
"Halius… Do you have someone? Someone romantical?" Halius heard as he looked to the side.
Something within him did not know the answer. He blinked for a second before answering honestly.
"I do not believe I do… Astartes are not interested in such carnal desires." Halius added before he looked towards the ground.
Something within his next mind… He looked towards Forge before he turned away, placing his helm atop his head.
"I believe we can answer this question at a later time," Halius stated before he looked towards at the ground before he looked towards the ground.
He looked towards the ground… Something at the time had driven him insane with words he did not know… Then again? There was plenty he did not know; plenty he could not have understood… It would be fun now and he would endure… he would endure it all now.
Then again? It was better he not at all have been distracted with it all for now. Something within him was still conflicted, he knew that back and forth.
"You and that Spartan are close…. Do not be afraid to tell me if anything changes." Forge stated to himself.
"You sound like most people when I talk to Spartan Linda," Halius stated before he looked toward the ground.
"Just pointing it out." Halius heard before he hummed.
There was a moment of clarity as he walked to the hangar where Blue Team and his squad were.
Halius heard there was still fighting below as the battle seemed to have drawn local Ork forces… Only a few hundred or so whom the rest of the garrison was dealing with.
"Let's go," Halius stated as the Thunderhawk which was taking them seemed to spin up upon his command.
(2 minutes later)
Halius and the others were not the first forces to go groundside… But he did not bring massive reinforcements with him for 2 reasons.
He did not intend to counter attack for he did not know the enemy's intent, they had struck aggressively but vanished as quickly as lightning… Perhaps to lure attackers into a trap.
Such a massive influx of soldiers could be detected plus he wanted the main force focused on defense.
"Stay at the landing zone… I have a plan; I will confront them and draw them into position." Halius stated before Igaros looked at them.
"You aren't fighting the entire army alone." Halius heard.
"I will not… Because I can guess that these are not covenant soldiers… At least not standard ones." Halius added as the craft landed and the ramp extended.
He and the others walked down the ramp before he looked to the horizon. The remnants of a dogfight remained as he turned to Master Chief.
"I ask nothing but you be willing to form a permitter around me… I plan to draw the enemy into a kill zone, study those we kill, we should not act without information." Halius stated as Chief nodded.
"What makes you so certain this isn't Covenant?" Saniel stated as Halius turned.
"The Covenant would rather die than retreat like this enemy did. They struck to probe the defenses then regrouped… Either we know little more than what the Covenant is? Or it is a commander who is smarter than the zealots within their empire." Halius stated as he began to march forward towards their last known position.
Halius hummed as he looked to the side, too tired. Something within him had been broken down… It had been harder and harder to comprehend what they would do.
But his path forward appeared clear. His strike on them would not be easily done now.
"This is going to be a trap, you know it." Halius heard as he nodded.
"I am aware… Which is what I am counting on." Halius stated before he continued forward.
He knew more and more that such an idea had been amusing for now as he looked towards the other side of the battlefield.
The more he walked? The more he realized that his interests were right with it for now… Something about it all had been harder at the time being.
There was the smell of battle in the air and he looked to the side… A crimson banshee was to the side of him… Something which made him curious.
"Hmm… What is this?" Halius asked, putting a hand on the metal before looking over his shoulder.
He knew the enemy was watching him. He knew they were watching him… But he was not stupid.
The sounds of soldiers around him made him rest his hand on Willbreaker.
"If you plan to ambush me? You should attempt better traps…" Halius stated as a group of brutes in crimson approached.
Halius looked along the ridge… Over a dozen Brutes surrounded him. All of whom had gravity hammers… Perhaps it seemed the brutes were still fools when it came down to who commanded them.
"You will come with us." Halius heard as he looked downwards at the ground.
"No. I will not." Halius stated before he looked at the ridge. He sighed and then thought of how stupid they were… All of it was something that he could not grasp.
The brutes rushed at him… And Halius snorted.
"If your commander is this cocky? I misjudged him entirely." Halius snorted before he drew Willbreaker, sidestepped the brute, and stabbed them in the side as they went. "That and you are still easy to kill," Halius stated before he looked downwards at the body.
The next brute swung his hammer which Halius blocked with his blade, sending him skidding back. They went to bring the hammer down only for him to grip them by the arm and toss them down the ridge.
Halius sighed to himself and looked at the three remaining brutes.
"Was your plan to simply capture me?" Halius stated before he looked at them.
That was their plan. He knew it simply. Why? Because there was another platoon of them, all appearing behind him… The Banshee was intentionally left there so someone would approach it.
He questioned if he could kill them all… That was a possibility. Still? if their commander was around? He guessed they were watching.
He simply started to question how many he would have to kill… But then again? Halius had more tricks than one gave him credit for.
"Wrath of Ultramar? I require a strafing run on my location if you may." Halius stated, looking at the 30 or so soldiers.
It was then the Thunderhawk from before flew down, raking the area in front of him and distracting the Brutes.
Before they could recover? He sliced one, stabbed another, and snapped the throat of a third… What brutes he did not kill? Well, the strafing run did reduce to chunks
Halius hummed to himself before he looked to the ground. The Ultramarine hummed as he looked towards the sky where another pair of Banshees hung.
"Igaros, are you still watching me? Spartans?" Halius asked before he looked downwards at Willbreaker.
"We are… I assume there are still more of them?" Halius heard before he hummed.
"I assume whomever it is? They are trying to lure us into a trap… They would not strike at us just to vanish into the shadows." Halius added with annoyance. "Stay out of sight… I have a feeling there are more troops… I plan to locate their commander." Halius stated before he slowly began to trod forward again.
The orange-red sky reminded him of fire… And ash. He was familiar with the burning of worlds… But this did not seem it.
the further he walked? The more smoke seemed to choke the sky, giant clouds of it as if a thousand vents had spewed soot into the sky, Halius tightened the seal on his helm in case it was toxic.
"There is still fighting across the planet… The local garrison commander is not answering calls." Halius heard as he hummed, tiresome now…. Something about it all had been too much for him.
Halius frowned, curious about who was commanding this planet. There was supposed to be Astartes who manned the garrison at the time, they should not be having communication problems.
"These are not Covenant soldiers, they employ tactics the Covenant do not and their armor is haphazard," Halius stated, looking over a brute in modified armor, the same crimson and black as before.
He blinked upon noticing something on their armor, a symbol that had been printed on their armor… A triple hammer-like claw pattern is set in the model of a hammer.
"I am uploading a symbol… Tell me what it is because it appears to be a symbol of the group." Halius added as he looked at the armor.
"On it… There is more of them ahead." Fred stated before Halius hummed.
"Hold, Spartan… I will not order you around but I ask you to wait until I ask. I plan to find who these soldiers follow THEN we shall spring the trap." Halius added before he continued.
"You plan to walk right into the lion's den… And then ambush them? They will target you, Halius." Igaros stated as Halius hummed.
"If they wished to kill me? They would have shot me… If they were able to have a skirmishing force on the ridge? They have snipers watching me. Spartan Linda sees them, as does Master Chief." Halius added and turned to the side.
The smallest glint of Linda's rifle scope told him that he was right. He knew if she could see him. So could Master Chief. He had been aware of the tactical situation as well as Halius.
"I plan to walk straight into their lair… THEN we strike, they are smart but they believe I do not see how it is… This was not a raid, Igaros, it was a trap meant to lure someone of authority from both groups here." Halius added with annoyance.
The annoyance was due to how… Silly this seemed at the end of the day, something about it all had been odd.
He continued through the path of charred corpses. There were more bodies here as well… Dead marines and several guardsmen, all slain by what he assumed were these ex-covenant warriors.
He knew it would not have been the Covenant. This attack was planned, they had not revealed their true strength and were playing it very smartly.
It reminded him of that Elite. The one who had dueled him and Master Chief… He was cunning, using the death of his warship to breach their defenses and to land more soldiers inside the city… If they were not ready for said breach? Halius believed they might have lost the city.
He even believed it was why they were forced to leave the system. The more times they fought the Covenant? The more he knew they did not care about resources or turf or anything… They just wanted to kill humans and would gladly sacrifice entire armies and fleets to do so.
That level of casual disregard for their soldiers made Halius weary that they could win in conventional warfare.
"The base garrison commander states there are more Orks than these ex-covenant soldiers… They are proving hard to slay." Halius heard as he sighed.
"Whoever commands the Orks is plotting something," Halius stated with a frown. "I have a belief if we did not stop them? They would have taken those warships and used them to assault more worlds." Halius added with a level of tired resignation he did not have time to set his mind to it.
He looked upwards to see more Banshees pass overhead. Judging by the direction they took and the fact there were about 6 or 7? He concluded these were from their camp.
"It is weird there are not many of them down there… The radio made it sound like it was 20 times the size." Halius heard as he hummed to himself before he looked towards the ground.
There was more to deal with… Something that he could not have understood… He knew the fact the camp was small for a reason.
Something which he had been too interested in it. Halius saw no soldiers… A smart commander would hold back their forces, and probe for weaknesses.
He had a feeling they had done this, trying only to cut through the fat like it was a knife. They would not greet him openly but he would.
He wanted them to think him arrogant, the leader of a small portion of the larger Ultramarine army. One would see arrogance whereas Halius saw fools eager to claim victory.
The second they struck? He would have them… Only then would he spring the trap.
That? And Halius already had a backup plan which he assumed was in the process of being implemented in case he was wrong.
Only one way to spring the trap… A loaded grenade was dangerous but it was only dangerous when one sprung the pin.
Halius continued to walk, he continued to walk with purpose as he began to see more brutes clad with crimson black armor.
Only when he had to fight would he be able to think…. Something about it all made him hum.
There were more of them ahead, elites, grunts, and hunters all clad in the same modified armor.
There were far too many for them to be spec ops or some specialist group. They stared at him with hate, not fear or transcendence at the time.
He met their gaze tenfold. He clenched the blade in his hand so tightly that he might snap the hilt off if it was not made for an Astartes to wield it.
"Demon." One brute hissed before Halius freed their head from their shoulders, sending their headless body toppling to the floor.
The rest of the platoon of Xenos turned their weapons towards him. He glanced at them as he kept his sword up, reminding them he would come with them as an enemy, not a prisoner.
The group parted as if they had anticipated this. Halius was met with a brute who was just as hulking as the others… With fur as white as snow.
The beast strode in some hulking scrap pile that resembled a dreadnought slightly, some sort of mace clasped in one hand. It was taller than him… Not that he believed he could not kill a piece of garbage such as this abomination that pretended to be a war machine.
"You will come with us, Lieutenant." The brute hissed as Halius held up his sword.
"No. I will not, brute." Halius hissed with spite as if his words might ignite the brute and his horrid war machine.
The group set in on him. This was not their leader, they looked at him with authority but not the reverence and respect given to a leader.
The group of ex-covenant soldiers set in around him. They seemed eager to fight.
Halius looked up at the group of snipers, a quartet of jackals with beam rifles, all of whom were focused on him.
Excellent. Halius looked at the brute in the war machine who held his mace aloft, glaring at him with an eagerness to fight.
And then Halius keyed the comm channel a moment later.
"Now!" Halius stated before he slammed a fist into the armored brute, sending him reeling with a dent through the chest plate.
A trio of shots all tore through the Jackals, one after another. He smiled at how Linda's aim never failed her friends or squad.
Before the Banished could react. A voice cut through them like a steel blade.
"Enough!" Halius heard as he watched his squad crest the hill around the camp, weapons trained on soldiers below.
The Spartans followed soon after, weapons ready for a brawl as Halius watched the armored brute collect himself, machine belching its monstrous fuel.
"You knew this was a trap…. And still, you baited us into your own… Clever, Halius." Halius heard as he snorted, tired.
He knew their commander was somewhere watching… And if he made a move? Halius assumed he had a plan for that.
So? He took one of the simplest choices… He dropped his sword, caught it, and then held it to the armored brute's head.
"Knowing my name does not at all make you stronger," Halius stated before he glared up at the end of the camp.
"Second? Please do not assume I am so easy to trick that a mere ruse will keep me from stopping you. The intentions are clear, you planned the entire attack merely to draw someone into a confrontation with you to speak…" Halius added, no longer glaring at the brute.
Halius expected a basic idea of what was growing on the mind of the brute. They wanted a fight; it was clear that they had a LOT more to discuss.
For him? Only for him? He knew that the commander wanted a fight, not simply for any purpose… But because it was clear his intent.
If this was an actual strike? They would have brought more equipment; their numbers would be worth more and his attempts to play something would have had more effort.
It was a strike meant to draw in someone who they could use to get to the leadership of the Imperium… If it was Guilliman? The commander would be dead in a pile of their gore if that had happened at the time being.
Halius had been too interested in it all before he looked downwards before the voice seemed to be tiresome, weary.
"And what will you do?" Halius heard as he looked at the armored brute.
"Well, I could butcher you all… But please, tell me, Xeno… What was your plan? Bring one of the larger officers here who would have simply bombed you all to atoms. You are a fool." Halius stated, his eyes set on what he knew was the leader.
The soldier in him had been too interested in it all before he looked towards them with hatred.
He knew more than enough they were too disturbed at the time of it.
They had been too disturbed to as he relaxed for now before he looked downwards at the ground… Something about it all had been harder at the time being.
Something about it all made him more tired at the time… They had been too disturbed at the time.
If nothing had been disturbed at this moment… They would be talking differently.
Well, he would be ripping their skull off their head and tossing it off a cliff but he supposed he would not be able to confirm a kill without a trophy. Something within him had been too much for it all.
He had a little too much exhaustion on his face over and over as he thought of how it would have gone now.
"I have something humanity may want." The voice stated before he shook his head.
Halius almost let out a throaty roar from the bowels of his mouth. He knew that the Brute had to know the Imperium hated the Covenant and wanted them dead. There appeared to be a few seconds of silence as the being processed it.
"And I should care?" Halius asked to which they glared at him.
He was too interested in killing them but he had sprung his hand and they had sprung their trap.
They wanted something. this was a business deal and he knew it… But considering he had very few options? He might as well indulge.
"What is it you want, brute? I am not the leader of the Imperium or even of the soldiers in the Imperium… I am a mere officer within one group…. And you know our policy on dealing with soldiers from this group." Halius added.
The brute glared at him but showed little to no desire to fight. He knew the odds were not in his favor, a tactical choice…. But he was aware of the fact Halius could counter well, he was a skilled strategist when it came to these things.
"The Covenant… They hunt me and my brothers as well as you." Halius heard as he snorted.
"And? You have killed soldiers who work for BOTH of our groups… Why should we care?" Halius added before he looked to himself and sighed.
Halius added nothing… Nothing which had been too tiresome at the end of it.
He thought of it all before he looked to the side…. Something that would need to be understood.
He had been able to think of a thousand different ideas, it had been too much for now… He had no real idea.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! A few things.
I am aware Atriox is not stupid… Judging by how people assume the Ultramarines are? I would say they are smarter… That and the writers treat him like beyond Master Chief.
This is the midst of the war… It will be another war or 2 for now.
I want to point out that the Imperium is not meant to be that immoral… But they will be somewhat immoral.
The next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show more of Halius speaking with the banished and more of the plan. Until the 900–6500-word chapter. Until then? Lighting Wolf!