Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Iron Cross. Enjoy the 2000-word chapter. I do not own Warhammer or Halo, Gameshop and 343 do.
(Spirit of Fire, February 25th, 2532.)
Halius sat at one of the many bases created by both the Imperium and UNSC.
There were talks of a larger conflict brewing near UNSC support lines. The Covenant were beginning to make moves in striking them.
Halius questioned if there was going to be a decisive battle. The Primarch had been adamant they herd the covenant into a more decisive battle where the Imperium could manage them.
He did not at all think there was a skilled chance of winning this. The Covenant were not committing to a real fight and the rest of them were keeping their forces to themselves.
Halius was not a naval strategist, his level of skill focused on ground-based warfare… But he knew what was occurring.
The covenant knew they could not win a decisive battle with the Imperium, the Imperium outgunned them, it was strong enough to board their ships and weaken them… And it was very strong for a group of regular ships
However? if they went after the Covenant? They would be without support and it was clear the Covenant could still whittle away their ships eventually.
Halius saw the writing on the wall. They could not press forward nor could the Covenant, under most circumstances. That would lead to a cease-fire.
But he knew the Covenant. They were pious, zealous… They would rather die on their feet fighting like the Ultramarines.
Halius hummed, too tired to do much of anything. He had a lot more to try and figure it out now… There were a lot of things that needed to be dealt with.
Halius hummed and then looked to the ground. Both times? He had seen wars like this occur in more odd ways… But this? It would become much harder than this.
They were the bigger fish in the ocean… And if they had not shown their true strength? Halius knew that the Covenant would be easier to have fought if they thought the Imperium weak.
But he was but a soldier. He was a cog who followed the orders of those who knew wars… They were skilled and they had fought in ways that dazzled Halius and impressed him.
This? All of it was going to be something he could not enjoy… He had little to no idea as to how it would go…. But he did know he would strike against them soon.
However? Either way? They could not have allowed this to have happened.
They would fight, all would fight and he would allow it for now or for better… It was something else and something beyond all chaos.
Now? Now Halius knew more than to fight, he knew at the end of the day something striking aloud would crush and burn.
They had a lot more to deal with… Like the entire war.
Halius hummed as he was unable to do more than relax… Now? Now he did not at all know what was going through him at the time being.
Then again? There were a lot of things that bothered him. Halius hummed again as he looked over what was a holographic table.
Dozens of feeds flashed over them. He was greeted by what had to be several battles running at once.
The first was a naval battle over a decaying star… One where he watched as a UNSC-Light carrier was totaled and thrown into the star as he hummed.
Another showed guardsmen falling to the ground, most of the field was littered with dozens of dead marines and covenant as well. Whatever the battle? It was clear the battle was not worth it there.
Another showed the Orks and Covenant slaughtering each other, plasma and bolts went through either side.
"If they could just slaughter each other? We would have won this war already." Halius stated as he scrolled to the next slide.
"So, it is true? Ultramarines do not rest." Linda stated as Halius hummed.
"Not while there is war," Halius added, setting a hand on his helmet. "Tired?" Halius asked as Linda shook her head.
"No, just surprised someone is here…. I thought your commanders reassigned you." Linda added to which she paused.
They had a lot more to deal with. He looked at Linda, her auburn hair falling below her shoulder as she paused, she reminded him more of a hunter than a soldier, a snake who slowly tore up.
He would have laughed at this. She reminded him of the Alpha Legion and the rest of the legions.
Perhaps it was part of the charm… Perhaps Blue Team was a different breed of Astartes.
She was a skilled soldier; she could fight and she was skilled at war. He had thought that so much he had believed it his only idea.
'If we had a thousand Spartans? Perhaps the wars would not have happened… We could have beaten them back… We could have saved Earth.' Halius thought for a moment before banishing the thought.
Linda looked at him, her eyes full of amusement as both seemed to relax…. It was clear both had to think differently.
"I have heard the UNSC and Imperium are directing all their resources to a very important battle. It seems one of the battles I assumed would come is arriving sooner or later." Halius stated to which they discussed it.
They had a lot more to try and figure it out as they thought of it differently… It was clear that they had something else to distract for now.
It was a lot more to deal with for now. Halius hummed and then looked off into the side, they had a lot more to deal with for now or for any such measure.
Halius seemed to be disturbed at the end of it. They had such ideas which needed to make them relax.
Ultramarines like him and he looked downwards as he thought to it and they relaxed for now.
Halius looked down at the table, watching what appeared to be several clear-cut battles.
"Guardsmen and UNSC soldiers have still died across the space…. I have lost count of how many hundreds of Imperium warriors and UNSC soldiers have died in the line of duty." Halius stated as he frowned to himself.
"War is costly, no matter if you win or lose." Halius heard as he looked at Linda.
"The place where I come from? Billions die in these wars. I am sick of viewing war as cold calculus where soldiers are dumped into a shredder." Halius stated to which there was a frown.
"What about Atriox and those Orks?" Linda asked as Halius hummed.
"The Orks continue to harass the covenant along their borders. Unlike us? They do not care for strategy or losses, simply the glory of war for itself." Halius stated before a hologram of Atriox appeared.
Halius's eyes looked far wider, his ancient armor seemed less like armor and more like a coffin at the time. There were pieces within it that she did not understand and it was clear he was a different manner of beast.
"Atriox seems to have vanished…. Reports still show he is still alive like I assumed." Halius added, frowning. "He is as cunning as the Tau or Necrons my brothers fought. I do not know his plans." Halius added with exhaustion.
"Tau and Necrons?" Linda asked as Halius hummed, and tapped a couple of buttons on the table which exposed a pair of holograms.
The first was a robotic alien which was skeletal, they reminded her of the old cyborgs on TV.
"Xeno warriors who surpass the Imperium in every way, they were unstoppable, if they were here? We would have no hope of victory. None." Halius stated before the other option appeared.
It was a more humanoid alien who appeared to wear similar armor which was pure yellow, the armored soldiers who were part of an empire like the covenant.
"The Tau was an advanced empire on the fringes of the galaxy with rich technology… They rival the covenant in zeal but not in numbers… If they were here? They might have wiped the covenant out for their differing beliefs… Not that it makes them better when it comes down to it all… They wish for all species to embrace their beliefs even if it is under force." Halius added with a frown.
He knew better than to believe the Tau or Necrons were weaker because of his hatred for them. He did not at all allow his training to cloud his judgment, this was an enemy that could always prove to be more cunning and dangerous if they were allowed to strike.
'Even the smallest insects can hold the most powerful poison.' Halius added mentally in a way that made his mind race.
They had a lot more to deal with for now… It was a lot more to deal with for now… They had a lot more to deal with for now and good.
Something within it all had to end, they could end…. Could and would have ended it…. Instead? They just had nothing left…. It would be harder and harder to think of at the end of it.
Halius hummed as more figures emerged and both looked over at the rest of them… They had a lot more to try and deal with.
"We are committing to this siege on the planet," Halius stated before he looked downwards at the ground.
There was a lot more to this, something which he could have been dealing with as he thought of it.
Halius knew they had something to prove. If the battle of Sigma Octanus IV did not swing in their way.
It was harder and harder to wrap their hands around. Halius seemed to sigh either way at the idea of it.
Halius seemed to look at Linda for a moment as it crashed into the ground. They had a lot more to deal with.
"You should know the Imperium is reinforcing the fleet above there… Your Admiral Stanforth will have the reinforcements he needs." Halius heard as he looked downwards.
"The reports only report 30 covenant ships," Linda stated before Halius hummed.
"And ours say 300…. They commit to the battle…. We plan to lure them near Ravishol… And they will be slaughtered in a final battle. Focus on the battle, we end the war soon." Halius stated before he put his helm on his head.
It was clear that he was willing to die in this battle… And that worried her for a reason that she did not know.
She went to speak before a word from her helm made her grab it. Both Spartan and Ultramarine shared a look before both looked at each other for a second.
"I thought you said wars are not easily dealt with," Linda said as Halius hummed, looking toward the ground.
There appeared to be a few seconds of silence, only a few but it was clear they had a lot more to discuss.
"I said not to be certain of victory…. Not that it is impossible to win. I have fought enemies that are deadlier than the covenant… And the Ultramarines have slaughtered them and sent them back to hell… The Covenant will be no different." Halius added before he sighed to himself.
Then he was gone and Linda was left with her thoughts.
Neither liked how the talk had been handled or had gone.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! A few things.
I plan for after the war to be most of the story. I am not trying to have this be one-sided so it will not be easy.
Anyone is expecting the Imperium Secundus to be as morally bankrupt as Warhammer? No, not happening. I do not expect them to be flawless but they will NOT be the monsters of cannon.
I am curious if anyone believes the battle of Reach should be here. I plan to include the events of the rings, just differently.
The next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show the deployment and beginning of the battle of Octanus. Until the 900–6500-word chapter, Lighting Wolf out!
