Attacks

Attacks is a flash-fiction story included in Halo Wars: Official Strategy Guide. The plot follows crew of the as it's forces are under attack by Jiralhanae.

Story
For just a second, the Spirit of Fire bridge was in chaos. Information was coming in too fast from the surface, and everything seemed to be falling apart. Crewmembers were running between stations. Even Blake looked flustered and confused.

Cutter stood from his chair. “All right, let’s take this one step at a time. Serina, report.”

Serina moved from the holopad near Blake to the one right next to Cutter, cocking her head slightly. “Sir, Alpha and Bravo teams report they are under fire by unknown combatants; satellite scans show a large number of ground-based units approaching their positions. Our remaining forces were outflanked by the Covenant.” She paused. “Also, Sergeant Forge reports that they are Brutes.”

Cutter grimaced. “Get him online, Serina.”

“I had a sneaky feeling you would want to chat, sir. He’s onscreen now.”

Forge’s image crackled onto the screen, a thick cloud of billowing black smoke behind him. “Captain, little busy down here. These Brutes are well organized, smart even. We’ll get our asses handed to us unless Alpha and Bravo can get over here.” Cutter’s tone became even more serious. “Sergeant, Alpha and Bravo are under attack. I need you to secure your position ASAP. More troops are inbound to your position.”

“Understood, sir. We’ll improvise somehow. Forge out.”

Serina crossed her arms. “My previous analysis of Brute tactics is that they are very poor ground troops, disorganized and relatively easy to contain. What do you think changed?”

“I suspect like any army, the better the leader the stronger the force. We’ve been lucky up until now.”

Serina moved pads, back next to Blake. “Yes, because they would send their dumbest as the leading invasion forces when they attacked Harvest. All makes sense now.”

Blake looked up at Serina and whispered, “How the heck do you get away with that, Serina?”

Serina smiled. “It’s easy, really—he knows I control the oxygen valves.”

Characters

 * Captain James Cutter
 * Serina
 * Blake
 * Sergeant John Forge
 * Jiralhanae Army Commander (indirectly mentioned only)