Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Iron Cross. Enjoy the 2200-word chapter. I do not own Warhammer, Gameshop does.
(February 16th, Forerunner planet Trove)
Titus was not by heart an admiral. He held no ability to command the sky unless that requested him to be managing troops.
But he could tell a losing battle when he saw one. The Covenant and Ork fleet had fallen apart, the lead destroyer was blasted in half by the weapons of the Retribution. He watched smoke bristle from it as what troops escaped from the warship… Soldiers to fight later.
The one attacking the Spirit took longer to defeat. It had damaged the Spirit's engines and boarded it, forcing most of the crew to fight.
It had also damaged one of the strike cruisers and forced it downwards as well as destroyed a pair of Stormhawks, Titus remembered the Covenant was still dangerous either way and to forget is foolish. That also cost the UNSC a pair of Sparrowhawk gunships.
And the third? He watched an explosion from the aft of the ship and then another from the bow, showing him Halius and the group had downed it.
The ram returned… But he read only the pilot aboard.
(Aboard Everlasting Paradise)
Halius and his squad were led from the corridor towards rent in the hull. He had heard from the rest of his squad they had torn apart the core which was now detonating.
They came to it… About several hundred feet above the surface.
"Crap…" Leon said before Halius hummed.
"How watertight is the armor you wear?" Halius asked as both nodded.
Both leaped from the ship, Halius tucking his arms and legs in as did Leon. Both aimed for a rather large lake 500 feet below and dropped like missiles.
Halius hit the water fast and hard, sinking like a stone before he slowly began to walk, his armor protecting him as much as his enhancements did… Leon landed like a missile but began to swim up. Halius simply walked in the direction of the shoreline.
The destroyer which was still falling towards the surface crashed, slamming into a mountain which tore off meters of plating and caused secondary explosions.
It was amid this both Halius and Leon pulled themselves from the lake… And both stared at the wreckage, then each other…
Then? Without a word on their situation? The two set off to find the rest of their groups.
"Captain Titus? The capital ship is destroyed, I cannot tell if there is more here. I shall regroup with the rest of my squad and the Spartans and we shall secure a landing zone." Halius stated.
(With Arbiter)
Ripa growled and raked his sword across the ground. The humans had defeated his forces, he would wait no longer.
"Restraints off." Arbiter hissed, more than ready to murder her. "I have delayed your judgment long enough." Ripa spat.
All this trouble over a woman. He would have killed her if they did not need her, they had tracked him to this planet and shattered the fleet of Glorious Interdiction.
All he had left was the few thousand troops they had offloaded and the Orks… To admit he needed Thrallslayer and his men was to admit he had failed.
He would not, they had been foolish enough to destroy his fleet… He would repay them.
"Arbiter, the humans have breached our defenses!" Another elite stated.
"Send what we have remaining then, kill them." Arbiter hissed.
"We only have a few ships left on this planet…" The Elite stated.
"Send the rest! I care not for your life; they have come for this woman and I would sooner die than tell the hierarchs I have failed!" Arbiter stated.
"Someone… Underestimates us." Anders gasped out.
"A mistake I do not intend to make again," Ripa stated as the arbiter slammed her hand down on the console. "Let the new fleet rise from the ashes and cast down these heretics!" Ripa roared, throwing his arms up.
As rows of Sojourner-Class Dreadnoughts were revealed, nobody noticed Anders escape onto a teleportation pad… None but the Ork and Thrallslayer, both of whom eagerly awaited the trouble the UNSC and Ultramarines would bring to their doorstep.
(With Halius and Leon)
Halius and Leon walked in relative silence, taking in things from the strategic perspective of a Spartan and Astartes.
"You talk a lot of praise for us," Leon stated.
"I respect soldiers who rise to the occasion and risk their lives. Spartans… Remind me of my brothers." Halius awkwardly stated.
"You just met us," Leon stated.
"You fight without fear, act without hesitation and you defend the innocent and weak. All I need know is we are united by war against a common enemy, whether the fires of war forge a bond is unknown." Halius stated.
Leon went to say something only for them to hear footsteps, both brought their weapons up. The burning husk of the destroyer had scattered dozens of Covenant soldiers, vehicles, and weapons around… But some of the crew could have survived.
"Easy, brother." Halius heard and lowered his weapon slightly.
Igaros and August stepped from their spots in the wreckage followed by Curos and Robert then the other Ultramarines of Halius's squad.
"Are any of you injured?" Halius asked and gained shakes of the head. "Good, we should find a zone to recover and await pickup," Halius stated.
"This is Sergeant Forge… Guys? I found our lovely lady but I am going to need some backup." They heard over their communication units.
"Scrub that. Fall in, Omega." Leon stated.
"Sergeant Forge? This is Halius, we have regrouped at the wreckage of the warship, where is your location?" Halius asked.
"Follow us," Leon stated.
"You… Helped me." Curos said, looking at Robert.
"I did what a soldier does best," Roberts stated before he left.
"I shall follow you… Captain Cutter? Please explain the tactical situation, have the Covenant forces regrouped?" Halius stated before he sighed to himself as the UNSC/Ultramarine group moved towards the position Forge had sent.
"Seems most have regrouped… We do not know; Professor Anders has something to share if you will excuse us." Cutter stated.
"So, something is buried on this planet… Troubling." Halius stated. "Spartan? You have expertise in fighting the Covenant, correct?" Halius asked.
"I've killed some," Leon stated. "And if I had to guess? Ships, weapons… They want something from this planet to wipe us out faster." Leon stated.
"I would believe ships. They would not need to raid a planet for weapons, not with the fleet we have encountered so far." Curos stated.
"For once? We agree." Halius stated. "Sergeant Forge? It will take us some time to reach your location… Are you ok?" Halius asked.
"Just got the professor to the Pelican… Told me to lock it down… Do you mind taking Omega and locking down one of these three zones? Parking solo is a hassle." Forge stated.
Leon pointed to the top of a hill and then a location surrounded by several holo bridges and then past that.
"We shall take the area on top of the hill… I suppose you will handle another?" Halius asked before a Stormraven passed overhead.
"No… I shall handle one. Halius? Coordinate your attack on the third base, we secure all three at the same time." Halius heard.
"As you command… I may require some reinforcements depending on their strength." Halius stated.
"And we shall provide, Sergeant… Now, secure the area." Titus stated as Halius nodded.
"I have a plan if you wish to hear it," Halius stated.
"If it is decent," Leon stated.
"We shall take the forward bulk of their force, you execute a flanking maneuver with our air support, take down their defenses… Then? We coordinate a final strike… I see no other way climbing the ramp, they have the advantage of height and cover." Halius stated.
"That could work… Or we soften them up," Leon stated. "Captain? Do we have any long-range air support?" Leon asked.
"Several B-65s… The Covenant on that hill has deployed anti-air weapons, however." Selina stated.
"Hmm…" Halius stated. "Would their firepower be sufficient to destroy the covenant base?" Halius asked.
"It would, but we require those cannons offline," Selina stated.
"I can take them offline; you think you can take out those long-range defenses?" August asked.
"We can," Halius stated. "Let us take that hill," Halius stated before the group moved.
Halius turned the corner with the rest of the group behind him… In time to spot a fully operational scarab, Halius cursed and brought up his weapons.
"Friendly," Douglas stated.
"Hmm." Halius hummed before beckoning the Spartans through the legs. "Captain Titus? I believe the remaining soldiers of these ships have regrouped at these bases; you might need further support." Halius stated.
It was then the main gun of the scarab fired… And Halius watched as the Covenant base began to melt.
Halius only thought of the fact this weapon would still tear through Astartes when they combated it… That or they would melt under the hot bombs of the Imperial navy, he knew not which needed to be done…
But it would be, it would be. Halius would do as he had always done and fight and fight well.
They crossed towards the upper part and realized the only way up was a teleporter. The Ultramarine cursed at the fact they had a choke point…. And if they were smart? They had centered on using it.
"Wait for us to engage them, then slip in and take it out…" Halius said as he cursed.
It took a moment for him to vanish through a portal of energy and then Igaros and then Curos.
The trio appeared at the other end, being met with specks of plasma fire from the ridge where the Covenant base sat. Halius rushed forward, ripping his bolter pistol from his thigh, and fired at them as Igaros flew up, his bolter raining down fire on them.
Curos rushed forward, his bolter clacking as Omega followed behind them. The Spartans and Astartes rushed forward, sprinting into the storm of fire.
"Honor and courage!" Halius heard from Curos as they took cover behind a fallen tree.
Several of the Covenant soldiers tossed themselves down the ramp… Brutes, the ones with jump packs. A dozen or so closed the distance, their weapons clacking as the Astartes cursed.
"I am almost out of ammo," Igaros stated as he took down a brute with a shot to their sternum, their body crashing to the ground.
"So am I…" Halius stated. "Captain?" Halius asked before the Retribution launched a drop pod towards them. "Thank you," Halius stated as Curos stood up, firing on the covenant as both went to restock.
While the trio of Ultramarines attacked, the rest of the group split off to secure the base below with Forge. Nobody noticed the three Spartans within the Omega squad slipping around, vaulting up the wall.
They still held the c7 charges that were to be used to destroy the covenant warship so they planned to use them.
Halius spotted them as he reloaded his bolter and strode forward with Curos and Igaros, the trio taking out 4 of the brutes with shots to the skulls.
Their bloody corpses rolled down the slopes as the Brutes roared and advanced despite the cover of the 3 dozen or so elites, jackals, and grunts. It was then Halius realized more of the worm-like creatures, hunters had also joined.
"Captain Cutter? I would like to request that air support." Halius stated, noticing Omega placing C7 to the guns, pressing the resin into place.
"We're still registering active cannons," Selina stated.
"Send them in 30 seconds," Halius stated as Leon nodded and he and Omega rushed away, blurs to everyone but Astartes. "Now," Halius stated as they rushed back towards the teleporter, pausing only to return fire as the pod returned to orbit.
There was a massive fireball as the guns exploded in a display of fireworks.
He was at the teleporter, waiting for Omega as a pair of wedge-shaped craft flew overhead, their bays opening and small objects falling out and onto the rest of the base.
The Spartans and Ultramarines fell through the portal, their armor sizzling, their bodies shaking with pain… And their mission was done.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I apologize for the short chapters… A few things.
I am going to make the end of Halo Wars harder. Why? Because I feel like the Ultramarines have made this too easy and there is no danger, maybe in Warhammer they are nigh unstoppable but not here.
After Halo Wars I am mainly having Halius work with Linda and the Blue team as well as the Red team being main characters.
No, Forge is not dying yet. I feel there were plenty of ways he did not have to blow up.
The next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show the UNSC and Ultramarines learning what the Covenant is after, their plans to destroy it, and setting up the climax of the battle of Trove as well as the Primarch at Earth. Until the 900–6500-word chapter, Lighting Wolf out!