Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Iron Cross. Enjoy the 2500-word chapter. I do not own Warhammer or Halo, Gameshop and 343 do.

(Spirit of Fire, January 15th, 2532.)

The depths of the Pelican were cramped, cold… It felt like a tin can that was placed in the depths of winter.

Halius did not care, his armor felt like a shell… One he found to nurture him.

He kept his bulk low, allowing himself and his comrades room within the craft. He did not know what the future would have brought for now… Only that he was tired of this chaos.

"We are prepared." Halius heard from his friend and nodded.

"Good… Let us go… Admiral Cutter? We are ready." Halius stated as the pair of pelicans were released out of the hangar.

Well, one was a pelican… And the other was a D81 Condor class dropship. Halius watched the ship distort as its engines spat it into Slipspace the same way a bit of fire would be forced into being.

"Spirit of Fire? Operation Firewall is green?" Jerome asked before looking at Halius.

As he did so? Spirit of Fire opened a pair of doors below it… And a series of licks of flame were launched, dropped onto a point below.

Atriox's camp, Serina's idea was used to distract the Banished and keep them off the small pelican.

"Pelican Echo 376? Mission is greenlit… Give them hell." Serina stated as the comm went dead.

"Everyone? Prepare for boarding action… Enemy numbers unknown and we have work to accomplish before now." Halius stated as he closed his eyes.

"Contact, enemy banshees. Point 793." Linda stated as Halius hummed and moved to the cockpit.

There indeed was a half dozen of the craft… All painted in Banished livery and armed to the teeth… Their armor plating looked rugged; half patched… The vehicles shed their covenant origins and were bred for battle alone.

"We punch through them… Prepare for boarding." Halius heard from Jerome as they nodded.

The pelican spun around the first banshee which wobbled behind them as AA fire from Spirit of Fire split it in two.

The pelican soared into the midst of the group. All of them held silent as Jerome activated the M370 autocannon, Linda taking over the controls.

Halius held a bated breath as he realized they would be in combat soon. He looked at the Spartan who flew them closer, curious as to their intention.

"You do not intend to land in the hangar bay," Halius stated before he looked towards the side.

He had been too disturbed with what was going to happen if this mission failed. He had been too interested as he paused to watch another banshee split apart in midair, the 70mm rounds cutting it into pieces.

Halius turned to Linda, her head danced over the rest of the controls. She looked at him as another banshee exploded into scrap, both supersoldiers nodded.

"There is a landing pad on the top of the corvette… We need to try and land there." Halius stated before he sighed to himself as he looked to the side.

He had a lot more to try and figure it out now… Something within it all. They had a lot more to deal with for now.

Halius watched the 4 banshees fire on them… A blistering fire on the ship erupted as one of the engines caught fire. Halius could not operate the weapons, he could not pilot this banshee for now.

Halius felt another banshee explode… Which brought fire and metal over the engine which finally died with a hideous cry for now.

She looked downwards at the ground… They had been too disturbed for now… They had been too distracted for now.

"Aft engine is shot." Halius heard as he hummed. "We are going down." Halius heard as he hummed.

"Can we fix it?" Halius heard before he looked to the others. "Can we land?" Halius heard as he frowned.

"Land? Yes. Crashing…" Jerome stated as Halius hummed to himself.

Halius hummed and then shook his head…. Something about it all had been too amusing more than anything.

"Then we brace for important," Halius stated before he sighed.

(With Master Chief and his team)

Igaros looked at the others… He looked at the others and then at Chief… Something about it all had been disturbed.

"Ready?" Kelly asked herself before he looked towards the ground.

He could not have dealt with it for now… His thoughts were interested in trying to deal with Halius… His friend? His friend had been too disturbed and he was all too thrown off.

He had been too disturbed by it as he clicked his fingers. They had been too thrown off at the time being… All of it was going on before he looked downwards at the ground.

"Yes." Igaros stayed silent before he looked downwards and then looked upwards.

They had a lot more to deal with… He had other issues to deal with… Something at the time had to take precedence and that was it.

"Lieutenant Halius will accomplish his mission… It simply means we cannot afford to fail or have any setbacks." Igaros heard as he sighed.

He had been too distracted either way and it would have been something harder and harder to deal with.

"Lieutenant, have you managed anything?" Kelly asked, aware of the fact they were still within speaking distance due to Spirit of Fire.

"Brace for impact! Spartan Jerome? We need to move, there is limited time to interface with the technology aboard this ship… Also? Yes, I am fine, Spartan Kelly… Jerome? We need to move, Suriel? With me, clear the hatch below and allow the Spartans time to work!" Halius ordered with a curse.

He had been thrown into the deep end… Very much more than before… Something about this all had fascinated him and disturbed him in equal measure. Granted? Halius had done it more than usual.

"Halius?" Igaros asked to which Halius spoke.

"We are fine, Igaros… The dropship has crash landed aboard Atriox's vessel… Suriel, I spot 10 soldiers below… Take the five there, I shall… Never mind, it appears Linda has taken that five… Jerome? I entrust the explosives to you. For now? We need to clear this portion." Halius stated before he looked downwards.

Both seemed to be done at the end… He and she were too different at the time. They had been too disturbed at the end of the day… An idea that would cut them both apart.

They had been too focused on it all issued for now… They had been too interested in things beyond this… Then again?

Both had been distracted… Something which did not help them. Maybe something like Linda could help.

"I don't know if I can trust dealing with them…" Igaros stated with amusement.

They had a lot more to deal with for now… It had been something he dreaded.

(With Halius and his group)

Halius hummed and pushed off himself from the wreckage… He was tired, too interested in each little measure… Now? Now he had to distract.

Ultramarines like him were in short supply today it seemed. Halius cracked his fingers and picked his bolter and then sighed to himself.

He tossed off the wreckage as if it had been made of cardboard, shattering pieces of it under his boots as he climbed down and into the warship.

"Suriel? There are 5 of them…." Halius began to repeat before a quartet of thundercracks rung across the area, both were silent.

Linda dropped into the warship with Jerome behind him… He knew more and more that this mission was easily going to be something they had to deal with for now.

Halius landed behind her, bringing up his bolter and putting a round in the head of the brute at the console, the round reducing their head to pulp.

Halius hummed, turning, and then watching as an elite clad in crimson armor. They stabbed at Linda only for Halius to grab them by the throat and twist their head to the side with his thumb, popping their skull like a grape.

"Thanks," Linda stated as Halius nodded.

"We got probably over 100 Banished still aboard, the ship is small but it could house a decent crew," Jerome stated as he turned towards Fred. "Let us prime the engines… Halius? You think we are ready to move on?" Jerome asked.

"Not yet… No, why? How long will it take you to prime those explosives?" Halius asked as the two Ultramarines rallied around the trio of Spartans.

"Because we're going to need to strike out." Halius heard before he hummed.

"Can one of those missiles breach the engine core?" Halius asked to which Linda nodded. "And you have packed remote explosives?" Halius heard as Jerome nodded.

"Then we prime the engines… Punch through the hangar area and breach the bridge… We will not have much time, the remaining Banished will attempt to pin us down in the hangar." Halius stated, frowning to himself before he sighed to himself.

The trio of Spartans looked at him as Halius tapped on the door, curious as to what their next move was.

If they pushed out? They would have to fight through most of the crew who had time to prep defenses and an entire line.

He had been too interested in something beyond logic… He had been too eager to help his side and yet? He had no desire to help at all… The desire to figure it all out was foreign.

Why? Because he was focused on something else… The idea he had some secret to deal with was an issue.

He hummed to himself as more soldiers formed at the door, Linda, who had armor equipped with a scanner. Halius hummed, frowning to himself as Linda continued to count.

"Your numbers do not fill me with confidence…" Halius stated as Linda vocally passed 10.

"Agreed, they know where we are coming from and they are not going to budge that quickly," Fred added as Halius hummed.

"Suriel? Tell me we have a breaching charge…" Halius added to himself more than his comrade.

"One… One, we are saving it for the other door." Suriel stated as Halius hummed.

He had been too focused now… They had to get out of here. Halius had been too amused as he relaxed and then cracked his fingers, looking at the door.

"Do we have anything in that wreckage we can use to break that door down?" Halius asked as Jerome went back to find something out of the wreckage.

Halius was all too eager to get down to this. He knew more work that he had more to deal with… Something with it all had been harder and harder at the time being.

They had a lot more to try and figure it out as of now… Something about it all had been annoying him.

He hummed and then looked at himself… He had no idea at the time being… Halius hummed and then sighed and looked upwards and the sky.

Both times they were going to be dealt with… And he? He had been too tired with it. She and he were too interested for now.

Something about it all had been tiresome… Both were annoyed now.

"Get one of the missiles… We are blowing the door with it." Linda heard from Jerome seemed to be tired now.

Halius hummed, tapping on his side as both prepared to breach. They knew that each idea was harder at the time to implement and they had limited time.

"Atriox knew we were coming," Linda stated to which Halius hummed and then thought of it.

"Maybe… But he did not know what was going on…. He overestimated his chances at trying to deal with it." Halius added before he sighed.

Halius hummed to himself as he looked to the side. Each time he did this? He was consumed more and more, unrelenting now and for a good reason to deal with for now.

Halius had been too distracted for now as he looked downwards at the ground, something about it all had been too hard to understand now, and for good reason.

If nothing else? They would end it all now and for a good reason now and for all time now.

Something within them both had been too disturbed for now… It had been something that needed to be relaxed, it would not have been something that needed to be tried and figured as of now.

Something about it all was more and more chaotic at the time being… She and he were too thrown off at the end of the day, something that both were exhausted.

"The Banished are not going to be stopped by blowing up one warship," Linda stated as Halius hummed, shrugging.

"I am aware of the fact… Atriox will continue to grow, he is not bound by the same flaws of the Covenant… If he is indeed not being used by them." Halius added, his bolter held towards the door.

"You think he could be a threat as big as the covenant and Orks?" Halius heard from Linda before he nodded to himself.

"Atriox is cunning, he reminds me of the Orks… Stealing what is not tied down, building an army of thugs and pirates molded into soldiers… If he is not working for the Covenant? Then he decided the Covenant does not suit his interests." Halius heard as he paused, looking towards the side.

"Atriox does not sound like someone who wants to take orders from anyone… I doubt he is working for the covenant; he is not zealous enough." Fred added as Halius shook his head.

"Agreed… But we should argue the semantics of war later as amusing as this issue is." Halius stated, pausing to himself for now.

It was a lot harder to deal with this… He and her were too antic-driven at the time being.

"Here… Use this," Jerome said as Halius hummed.

"I would stand back…" Halius added before he looked at Suriel.

"Stand at the back of the room. I will detonate the missile." Halius stated as he frowned to himself.

"Master Chief? What is your situation? We will be done with our mission within 20 minutes." Halius asked before gunfire filled the other end of the line.

Author Notes

Phew. Another chapter is done! A few things.

I am aware of the fact Atriox is a big deal… He is not the overall villain here like he is in other series…

I plan to have more characters than just Halius here… Like Titus and Guilliman.

Please ignore the horrible reviewer who spammed several of my stories, I have blocked them and would ban him from the site if I could.

The next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will be 900-6500 words. Until then? Lighting Wolf out!