Timeline 400,000-BCE-Cycle event
The last light of another great civilization is slowly dying out just like the races that came before them the pattern has repeated itself untold amount of time it is always the same.
They all follow the same path that has been set for them due to their trap that has been laid this happens every 50,000 years a race would rise, evolve, expand and at the height of their time they are destroyed and harvested just like this dying race during this cycle.
Timeline 395,000-BCE-Cylce event
The last group of this once vast civilization is soon to sell their lives for one more futile battle like some many that came before them the pattern has repeated countless times before them such as a space firing race would first active space flight and began to expand and colonize their local system.
The next step and the trap would be discovery the mysterious element know later known as element zero that grants faster FTL.
Than the discovery of the mass rely that always the furthest star systems to be reach and a matter of minutes in stand of decades though the uses of regular FTL drives.
The next step and the trap is the discovery of the citadel a massive deep space station that for most races is the seat of their power and government the place where the cycle begins.
When the race reaches a level of power they are wiped out by them this is when the cycle begins at the citadel first there leaders are killed then there planets are then cutoff from each other.
Then begins the harvest but this cycle is about to come to an end as the last race to meets its end they gathered the last of there once mighty fleet that once had millions of ships now it has been reduce to only 56,000 ship.
Know as they wait for their end there greats minds were at work archiving all their date about the trap and the force that has reduced everything they have made.
know all that left are the small fleet and the archive that they will hop help other races and break the cycle as the last bit of data is archived the mass rely in the system activates.
Timeline 360,000-BCE
35,000 years have passed since the last cycle has happen which resulted and the destruction of many space-firing races.
The new races of this cycle have found the remnants of the race that made their last stand all that was left are the destroyed husk of the many ships.
And on the plant that once was lust and full of life was now nothing more than a wasteland and worst the archives that was to be the hop for this cycle was destroyed by the old Machine all hope to stop the cycle seems lost.
However, a new force has arrive from outside the galaxy from beyond the void of dark space a race that been on a great journey.
This is their mission they travel from galaxy from galaxy creating life in all of them than they would select one of the races to be the protectors of that galaxy following the path of peach and the Mantel of responsibility and do to this intervention in this galaxy they will help break the cycle.
Timeline 356,000-BEC
This race has had many names over the eons of their journey from their home galaxy, which has fallen from memory just as their original name that they were once called but most call them by this name The Precursors.
When they first enter the galaxy the first thing they show was the large number of dead worlds in multiple star systems indicating that many large-scale wars had happen though out the time of the galaxy.
Do to theses signs they being there seeding of multiple world with life though this a great number of race rise up then once they being the stages into space flight this is when they begins the test and trails to if one of the races one be fit for the Mantle.
However, the price for falling the test and trails or was found to be problematic the Precursors would eliminate that species.
After many trial and error with many of their races created the results have been the same that's when they started to interfere with the race that were using the mass relays to see if there were right or ready for the test.
But ever encounter has ether ended and the race attacking them or they avoid all contact with them
This has also prom the counter of a synthetic race as well that is right now at war with their creators.
After many fail attempts of contact with the races they go back to their original plan with seeding planets with life the next two planets that they are heading the first one name is Erde-Tyrene the next one is name Ghibalb.
Timeline 350,461-BCE
During there long journey to the two planets they have come into conflict with both organic and synthetic life both trying to gain the precursor technology but every attempt by both groups have end and their fleet being destroy by the precursors.
And do to their technology concept of Neural physics which renders anything made by them effectively indestructible near the half-way point to the planets the precursor fleet split into two groups one heading to Erde-Tyrene and the other heading for Ghibalb.
Timeline 350,000-BCE-Cycle event
After the seeding of the planets the precursor wait because based on the anlizations of the world it will be Beverly thousand years before sentinel life will rise from them during this time the fleets stay in the system to watch for life and to keep both the organic and synthetic races.
To make sure that the rely in and around the system remain inactive they place scouts to keep an eye on the races but within severely week of their posting the radio singles and other readings they listen to have stop the last sing they get is a sos.
Wondering what happen to the colonies the fleet send a sing to the scouts to investigate the sos they use the rely for faster trip.
When they exit the other rely they are shocked to find the destroyed husk of multiply ships all were trying to escape toward the rely and when they find the colony itself they find the resone for the loss of the sings.
The entry planet biosphere was destroyed at first thinking this was the work of the synthetic race the scout s went into the next system and then the next but ever planet that was once fully of life were reduce to rubbly.
Then the discovery of severely destroyed synthetic ships and colonies during further study of one of the destroyed system they come into contain with the life ending force a massive and alien in design ship that was destroying an organic fleet.
Seeing the threat, this could pose with their plane with their two species that will soon rise from the planets they seeded the scouts return to the main fleet to give their report of what they have seen.
Timeline 347,947-BCE
After seen the life ending force the precursor begin making plains to destroy the mass rely network around the two planets to ensure the two new species follow a different technology path then the ones that have use the mass relay's.
In addition, another plain is being put into place should the need rise and if the old machines invaded the systems they will annihilate them.
Timeline 330,270-BCE
First signs of life on the two planets begin to appear but sentinel life have yet to be found seen this the precursor begin to accelerate the evolution on both planets during this time they send scouts to many of the destroy worlds to see if any date on the old machines can be found.
When the scouts reach the first bio-destroyed planet they being scanning the planet during this they found small date pods counting information on the trap and the old machines upon see the date.
The precursor relasing the thereat the old machines could pose with their plane for this galaxy they begin to make planes for the next cycle event to happen even though this would be breaking one many rules they place on them self they see this action would be nesscery.
Timeline 310,005-BCE
Sentinel life begins to rise on both planet skein this the precursor daily the plain for the cycle event to occur soon but during this time they begin to examine both species the first on Erde-Tyrene the race to rise is an upright ape-like hominids that slowly begin to develop into a space firing specie.
However, according to their scans it will take severely millennial before the race starts to make large technological progress and of their society as well.
On the planet, Ghibalb the species have developed nearly the same why but had severely reptile based traits as well as mammal base but have started to developed into hunter-gather society just like Ere-Tyrene.
As this happens the Precursor begin to destroy the mass rely in two planets home systems to insures that there not discovered as they keep watch over the two species.
Timeline 300,000-BCE-Cylce event
As the next cycle comes to an end the precursor remain undiscovered after the last millennial the two species have begun to undergo a massive technological leaps the mammal-base species on Erde-Tyrene have begins to develop different from of Movement Across their world.
As well as different forms of tool making and the domestication of other species, this gave the population greater and greater power to expand their population.
The specie of Ghibalb have undergone an industrial revolution the precursor begin entervin with both races and begin to put both species though multiply test both species complete them all up to this point after this the precursor leave both species alone for a time.
Timeline 278,567-BCE
During one of their examination of Erde-Tyrene they notice an undinified species helping the mammal species at first they though that this was nothing more than a new subspecies that when they sent a scout to investigate.
Upon arrive at the planet the scout did a closer examination of the new race that was helping the mammal species develop this is when the precursor scout relazed that this was no subgroup but a entirely different species this type of incident has never happened on any one of their planets that they seeded.
The scout sends the information to the main fleet and was preparing to eliminate this race fearing that this would interfere with the original species that first developed.
But was stop when the fleet told them to stop the leaders of the fleet were interested by this event they then told the scout to return and leave them be they wish to see how this event would shape the future of the original species that rose first.
Timeline 277,998-BCE
Upon this discovery the Precursor send their genetic group to investigate this race during their examination of the new species they are socked to discovery that the race shares a 98.79% genetic makeup of the mammal species that were now being name Homo sapiens or wise man.
This race not only shared a large portion of the same DNA as the Homo sapiens but were nearly identical as the female of that species but there were severely different though first they had a scaly blue to purple skin.
Next was there unique nervous system as they are able to control it this has also developed an ability which they have named "mind melding" this allowed the species to share thoughts and memories with both their kind and also the Homo sapiens as well.
Next was their form of reproduction that was strange though out many of their examines the precursor thought they reproduce the same why that sing cell orginsames due to the fact they have only one gender.
But upon study on some of their offspring they found severely traits found only in Homo sapiens this lead to a new classification of gender.
During this new discovery the race on the planet Ghibalb that are now being, name the Forerunners.
Was going through the first stages of space flight begins with the colonization of 14 world in their home system after some time they started their first experimenting with a new form of travel and the discovery with the demesne now as slipspace the main from of long travel of the precursor. The Homo sapiens begin to colonize 2 of their worlds near Erde-Tyrene even though both of the planets need terraforming to be livable.
Timeline 252,011
Homo sapiens or humanity as well as the other races now being name the Asari have nearly mastered space flight and have reach tier 1 just like the forerunners and both have colonize severely systems as well.
The precursor have destroyed and removed the mass relays in this area of space as well to keep them on the path that`s needed for the galaxy.
As theses event`s happen the precursor begin to get ready for war with the old machines .
Timeline 250,000-BCE-Cycle event precursor-old machine war
After insuring that both races are ready to develop without their interaction and guides the precursor begin heading to war with the old machines. The main flag-ship of the precursor a massive 75k vessel begin moving through the void of slipspace and heading to a battle zone of the old machines attacking an organic colonies the last one to be and fact.
The last of the organic race try desperliy to defend severely civilian vessels trying to reach the mass rely in the system as one of the largest of the old machines prepares to destroy one of the defending vessels
A massive portal appears and from the portal, an enormous vessel appears but do to is path it rams right through the old machine serving the vessel and half as the vessel begins to arm many of its weapons batters.
The old machine seeing this as nothing more than a stander organic race that develop a different why to travel other than the relays just as the old machines begin firing their energy and kinetic weapons at the new vessel.
Some of the smaller one land on it and try to cut the ship apart but due to the precursor technology concept of neural physics, which render the ship indestructible.
Just as the old machines begin to swarm the ship it on weaponry come online the first weapons to fire a small beam at one of the large machines when the beam hits it causes a slipspace rupture within the ship which like a black hole sucks the vessel into oblivion.
Many other fall the same why as the old machines fleet is destroyed the last one send a single to the main vanguard just before it is destroyed itself the precursor followed the single to the rest of the old machines the large ship re-enter slipspace
With rest of the fleet following as well when they arrive and front of the main fleet of the old machines they charge at the precursor ships.
Just as this happens the flagship charges its main weapon a massive bow cannon once fully charged a blast with the power to destroy a planetoid cuts the old machine fleet and half after this happens the fleet begins to retert to the mass rely
They are cut off with the arrival of the second precursor fleet the old machines are devastated as the last and largest is destroyed they begin to return to the last organic fleet.
But upon their return to the last sighting they are schooked to have learned that the races was destroyed by the synthetic races of this cycle they destroyed them then return back to the two races they created.
Timeline 150,000-BCE
The forerunners rise as the preeminent species in the milky way galaxy after though an unknown means are able to destroy the precursor after they were judged to be unworthy of the mantle and was slated for elimination it was at this point the early forerunners became aware of this threat, engaged the precursors.
And succeeded in eliminating them, though a small but unspecified number managed to escape the forerunners campaign of extermination.
And use their technology to advance to the height of tier 1 as well their original home world Ghibalb was purged of all life when an experiment in stellar engineering accidentally caused several nearby stares in the outer edges of the orion complex to go supernova it is now heavily irradiated and uninhabitable. During this time Humanity and asari began to move the interstellar civilization away from their home world to escape forerunner control and begin colonizing planets along the orion arm of the milky way galaxy becoming a major political and military power.
Rivaling the forerunners they also allied with an early civilization of the san`shyuum. Be for encountering the forerunners, humanity underwent a series of technological dark ages, which left their populations scattered across many world and resulted the knowledge of earth being their original home world. It was not until thousands of years later when scientists led by Yprin Yprikushma traced humanity`s and asari origins to earth. After recovering from the dark age, humanity made the former precursor world Charum Hakkor their capital
to be the close o one of the greatest collections of precursor structures. Humanity also formed an alliance with San`Shyuum species to gain access to their advanced technology.
Timeline (125,000 BCE)
Two Ancient spacefaring races the Thoi,han and Inusannon fight over the planet Eingana for the population of the planet for labor force and slaves.
But unknown to both of them that the planet they are attacking is part of a race know as humanity, on the planet surface the species now as the asari send a sos to their cosines the humans.
Once they got the transmission, they send the full force of their fleet to force the two species to return to their home system or face annihilation.
Once the fleet arrives, the two species attack the fleet but are overpowered by the armada of ships firepower and are destroyed and or force out of the humans territory.
Timeline 110,000-BCE
During humanity`s colonization of other planets, humans discovered automated cargo ships of unknown origin, which had supposedly arrived from the Magellanic clouds, crashed on planets near the edge of the galaxy. The humans found no crew, with the ships appearing to be automated, but they did find millions of small transparent cylinders filled with a unknown powder.
Initial testing is done in the strictest containment. These early tests showed the powder to be harmless and useless, being composed of of lifeless short-chain organic molecules.
Early experiments demonstrated psychotropics effects on smaller domesticated animals, one of which being the pheru.
The powder tests on the pheru proved to initially harmless, and indeed appeared to encourage desirable traits to appear in their appearance and behavior. However, the powder was in fact composed of flood genetic material.
Timeline 110,000-BCE
Contact is lost with Faun hakkor, charum Hakkor, Ben Nauk and twelve other planets.
Timeline 110,000 BCE-Human-Flood
By the time the human officials discovered what the powder had done, it was too late. entire plants were infected, and the flood begin to aggressively expand and begin a long and costly war with the Flood.
During this time the forerunners begin to which this and see this as nothing more than humans aggression make plains to drive the humans back if they have to.
As they begin to evade abandon forerunner territory.
A ship coast through space, approaching a fleet of human ships . A small craft scans the ship, which shows signs of flood infection, and leaves. The main ship of the fleet charges its main gun and fires on the enemy ship, destroying it.
Fade to the Ecumene Council chambers The ship being destroyed is shown in holographic from. A debut is ongoing to what must be done to stop the human aggression between the Lifeworker now as the Librarian the warrior-servent now as the Didact and the Master builder now as Faber.
"Our enemies move deeper into our territory with abandon. They must be eradicated" the Librarian said.
The Didact is next to speak "Shall we take revenge? abandon the Mantle and all its philosophy has given us these thousand generations?" the Didact said.
"All our plans have been torn asunder" . The Librarian spoke after this speaking of how the humans have stop their plans to abandon war.
The Didact was next to speak of the Librarin stament "More reason not to abandon our beliefs. The Mantle is our guide-post in times such as these we must not falter in followinges its teaching". The Didact continus his speech "The enemy must be sent home, and taught to stand with the galaxy rather than rail against us, and take what they desire! The Mantle shelters all" the Didact fines .
The audience of the Council chambers cheer and applaud over this also gains the Master build Faber support for the Didact. "You make a fair if uncomfortable-point. You have my support. Libraian, will you likewise follow the Mantle as the Didact suggest?" The Libraian seeing this is a better solution then her planes for the extermination of the human race agrees with the both of them "Yes, Master builder". After the meeting on what to do for the human war the Didact make his leave for the shield world Requiem with his Prometheans warriors.
Timeline 109,000-BCE Human-Forerunner war
"
Humanity's war plans are revealed.
"
A Forerunner fleet orbits a Forerunner planet. A shuttle enters one of the planet's portals. The scene switches to a shot of many tall towers.
Didact: "My love. Put fear from your heart."
Librarian: "War is your realm, Didact. Not mine."
View of a large room with a holographic table in the middle. Lifeworkers float across the room, doing various tasks.
Librarian: "You march to this war, facing foes that, while always aggressive, were never so aggressive as they are now."
The Librarian turns to face the Didact.
Didact: "Your fears are unfounded. The enemy will be turned, and I shall stand by your side once more."
Librarian: "Promise me that."
Didact: "I promise you. Nothing will stand between us."
Outer space, over a Forerunner planet. Several human starships drop out of slipspace and approach the planet. Lord of Admirals Forthencho stands on the bridge, looking expectant.
Bridge Officer 1: "Lord of Admirals. We are in position over the Forerunner planet."
Forthencho: "Show me."
A holographic image of the planet appears in front of him. He manipulates the image with his hands.
Bridge Officer 2: "Population numbering over two billion. Forerunner ships on alert and inbound."
Forthencho: "Is it possible? Have we gotten ahead of it?"
The image of the planet turns red in several places.
Bridge Officer 2: "Flood infestation detected, My Lord."
Forthencho: "Damnit!"
Bridge Officer 2: "My Lord? The infestation is in a remote locale. Perhaps if we warn the Forerunners...?"
Forthencho: "If we warn them, we give the Flood time to spread. You know we have no choice. Cleanse the planet."
Flood biomass spreads across a Forerunner structure. The scene pans to the sky, and rapidly flashes to white as the orbital bombardment begins.
This is the first of 50 world destroy to halt flood growth However, the forerunners see this as nothing more than humans nature to conquer and destroy as well trying to take the Mantle for themselves.
Humanity have prevailed agents the Flood after "a cure" was found agents the parasite but the price was high the humans sacrifice 1/3 of their population after their genetic code was rewritten for the cure then they were feed to the flood.
After the flood assimilated them this caused the flood to tear itself apart this caused the flood to receded and would not be seen for author 9,000 years.
After the flood was elimited the human-asari civilization started to fall to the forerunner military after the humans destroyed 50 of their world to halt flood infestations.
During this time the forerunners had no knowledge of the flood seeing this as nothing more of human aggressive nature the last battle between the human and forerunners happens at human capital world Charum Hakkorthis last for 50 years.
After being pushed back to the core of their empire, the collective human species managed to hold off the forerunner military for fifty years. Despite the humans using Precursor unbending filaments to link their orbital defenses and the extensive amount of preparation and study gained form humanity`s early conflicts with Forerunners, humanity was pushed backwards and cut off from reinforcement as the Forerunners military disrupted slipstream tunnels, effectively reinforcements and blockading Charum Hakkor from the rest of the human-San`Shyuum alliance.
Lord of Admirals Forthencho, commander of the last fleets of Charum Hakkor, managed to successfully resist the Didact for three years of continuous attacks despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered and using inferior slipstream and AI technology. Human ships swept across the system for hundreds of times to counter the Didact's daring orbital incursions, to prevent them from establishing superior energy-efficient orbits.
The final blow came as the Forerunners staged an assault through sevenslipspace portals, opened at one-hour intervals to deliver a massive fleet commanded by the Didact and his most experienced commanders. The Forerunners sacrificed a significant number of ships, ranging from Fortress-class warships and dreadnoughts to picket cruisers, in mass waves to create openings in the human orbital defenses and overwhelming the human defenses with sheer force. In the final moments before the fall, a debate was held at the highest levels of the human government to purposely draw out the flood and use them against the Forerunner ecumene in order to buy time. Ultimately, the plan was rejected as being too dangerous for the rest of the galaxy and humanity surrendered despite knowing the inevitable outcome.
During the humans' last stand, a special force team of 7,000 warriors and 70 ships led by humanity's Political and Morale Commander Yprin Yprikushma was assigned to protect the timelock of the Primordial in the Charum Hakkor arena.
In the face of inevitable defeat, the human warriors stripped their uniforms so the Forerunners could not identify their commanders. Despite this, the Didact could easily recognize his main adversary, the Lord of Admirals, among the survivors gathered in the citadel.
Knowing what was to happen to them if they lost, (forced relocation and the removal of technological privileges), the majority of the human population committed who surrendered had their memories extracted before their execution; these "essences" would later be imprinted to certain humans through a geas imposed by the Librarian.
After Charum Hakkor had fallen, the remaining human fleets, consisting of forty prime cruisers and ten first-rate tuned platforms, retreated to another human-occupied star system near the galactic rim, bombarding its planets to slag as a scorched-earth strategy.
Denying the Forerunners their system was later where Installation 07 was designated to self-destruct in the event it fell under enemy control, by placing the installation on a collision course with one of the system's planets.
The defeat was disastrous for both humanity and the San 'Shyuum. The victorious Forerunners decided to dismantle human civilization, causing the species to regress to a pre-technological state. In addition, they executed many humans for starting the conflict, seeing them as naturally violent and aggressive. Because of these steps, humanity's culture splintered among their collective species, including the chamanush, theb'ashamanush, k'tamanush, and the hamanush. Even ten thousand years later, many Forerunners considered this interspecies fragmentation to be a form of punishment.
As for the Asari they were taken from Humanity by the Forerunners due to most of them were feed to the flood after their genetic code was rewritten for the cure this left there population divested to only a few million.
However, they surfer a different fate then the humans there species were devolve back to a primitive state and are left to themselves on a planet near the edge of one of the galaxy arm.
Timeline 101,000-BCE
9,000 after the Human-Forerunner war the Forerunner begin to dismantle the Prometheans warrior-servents after their opposed to the construction of the Halo Array, lose their political battle against an extreme faction of the Builders and are forced out of the Council, with most going into into exile in a Cryptum or executed. During this time the lifeworker known as the Librarian help Humanity to rebuild their society both on earth and Halo Array 007 as well make plans for the entry species to be in planted with geas. As well, the Forerunners begin to dismantle and disarm there, war machines seeing, as they no longer need of them, leavening them unprepared for the Flood return.
Timeline 100,300-BCE-Forerunner-Flood war
first contact is made between the Forerunner Primary Pioneer Group and the Flood on G617 g1. A military team is sent in later but is subsequently lost. The Flood escapes the planet, thus beginning the 3-century-long Forerunner-Flood war.
The Librarian visits the primary San 'Shyuum quarantine world Janjur Qom to collect specimens of the San 'Shyuum as part of the Conservation Measure, sparking unrest among the San 'Shyuum population.
After Master Builder Faber arrives some time afterward to question the San 'Shyuum elders about the Flood, the San' Shyuum rebel against his forces.
The Didact is resuscitated from his exile in a Cryptum byBornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting, Chakas and Riser. They later make their way to Janjur Qom, where they are captured by Master Builder Faber.
The Didact is interrogated and left to die in a Flood-infested system, while an offshoot of his consciousness lives on in Bornstellar's body through an imprint acquired in his mutation.
Shortly afterward, the Master Builder orders the Contender-class ancilla 05-032 Mendicant Bias to use Installation 07 to put down the San 'Shyuum rebellion by sterilizing the entire system.
As a result of the Master Builder's activation of the Halo ring, many Lifeworkers andWarrior-Servants on Installation 07 rebel against his forces, but are mostly defeated.
A crisis occurs in the Ecumene Council due to the Master Builder's unauthorized activation of Installation 07; many councilors resign in protest while younger ones take their place.
Faber is arrested and placed on trial in the Forerunner capital.
Eleven of the Halos are brought to the capital, awaiting a decision to have them decommissioned. Installation 07 and Mendicant Bias remain missing.
During Faber's tribunal, Mendicant Bias, convinced to turn against its masters by thePrimordial, brings Installation 07 to the capital system and launches an assault on the Forerunner government.
While the Council's fleets respond to the attack and several of the Halos are destroyed, Mendicant successfully fires Installation 07 before the Halo is forced to retreat into a system near the galaxy's edges.
Having survived Mendicant Bias' attack on the capital, Bornstellar, Glory of a Far Dawn and Splendid Dust of Ancient Suns arrive at the greater Ark, where they are healed by the Lifeworkers. As most Forerunners believe the original Didact to be dead, the Didact's consciousness takes control of Bornstellar in order to assume command of Forerunner military forces after a thousand years of exile and continue his mission against the Flood. Shortly afterward, Bornstellar-Didact and his fleet track down Installation 07.
The rogue Mendicant Bias fragment on the ring is successfully deactivated and forced to undergo a process to "correct" its rampancy.
Although Installation 07 takes heavy damage, it survives and is transported to the greater Ark. The Primordial is imprisoned once again, and is interrogated - and eventually executed - by the Didact. After Installation 07 is retaken, the mind of a mortally wounded Chakas is used as the template for the monitor 343 Guilty Spark, which is later assigned as the caretaker of Installation 04. The Ecumene Council is reconstituted and the Didact's plans of a strategy to use shield worlds to combat the Flood are taken into serious consideration again. The use of the Halos is delayed. As the Forerunner-Flood war progresses, the Flood relentlessly continues to push the Forerunners back. In the final hours of the war, the Forerunners realize that activating their last resort, the Halo Array, is the only way to stop the Flood from overrunning the galaxy.
But the Didact has formed his own planes one that will put humanity and the Librarians plane for them in danger.
In a chamber with a holographic map of the Milky Way galaxy, red centers representing systems overtaken by the Flood.
Faber: "The Flood covers more of our galaxy with each passing day. They feast on the essence of life itself. The only way to stop their advance is to remove that life from which they feast."
A simulation of firing the Halos is run and the red systems fade out.
Librarian: "My Lifeworkers have made plans for the reseeding of humanity, and of all life after the Halos are fired."
Faber: "So you agree that Halos are our only solution."
Librarian: "I do."
Faber: "And your husband?"
Librarian: "My husband has a different opinion on what steps to take against the Flood."
On Requiem. In a Forerunner structure, Didact falls to his knees,in anticipation.
Didact: "Did it work? Run the simulation."
A holograph of Didact appears. A simulation of Flood infection is run and the form does not pass, turning red.
Didact: "The procedure is a failure, and I am still susceptible to Flood infection."
Promethean Warrior: "That leaves only the Composer."
Didact: "It will not work on my new form."
Promethean Warrior: "Then you will lead us, as always."
Didact: "You would submit to such sacrifice?"
Promethean Warrior: "Didact, if the Composer is our final hope to defeat the Flood, no Promethean would resist."
On the surface of Requiem.
Didact: "I have led you, my Prometheans, for thousands of years, and I shall continue to lead you."
The Prometheans, now digitized and changed into mechanized Knights, appear and surround him.
Didact: "Rise! Rise and protect the Forerunners! Rise and protect the galaxy!" legions of Knights surround the Didact.
"As the Flood advance, a terrible plan is enacted."
Infected ships hover above a planet as the Mantle's Approach drops out of slipspace. A door on the bottom of the Mantle's Approach opens and multiple Knights fly out to attack the infected ships. A Knight lands on one of the ships and cuts an entrance into the ship, allowing it to go inside. Soon thereafter, the ships, along with others explode. The Didact watches from his flagship .
Didact: "The Flood is still too strong. Perhaps if I had greater numbers..."He looks at a holographic representation of omega Halo . On its surface, the humans go about there daily lives.
Didact: "Humans, your kind brought the Flood to our shores." A The Mantle's Approach hovers over the human village.
Didact: "Now you will aid in ending its threat." The Composer activates, digitizing everyone in the village. The lifeworkers station at installation in from the Libraian of what the Didact has done to the humans.
The ashes of the human remains touching the Librarian's hand.
Librarian: "They were to be safe here. I ensured they would rise once more; better than before." Two
Lifeworkers survey the area where the humans were digitized.
The Librarian turns to face the holographic representation of the Didact.
Didact: "Your pets have a nobler purpose ahead of them."
Librarian: "You do not face me in person after your deceit!"
Didact: "I have an army to build from the raw materials harvested this day. The citizens of this Halo are my first conscripts and with them in my thrall, the Flood will meet its defeat."
On the surface of Requiem, the Didact is talking to the holographic representation of the Librarian while Knights surround him.
Didact: "Humanity's loss of its biological form will serve as final payment for their crimes. It is a kindness they do not deserve."
After this Didact cut the transmission a life worker confronts the Libraruan.
Lifeworker: "What will be done?"
Librarian: "Move the other humans to safety. Ensure the security of their index samples; they must finish what we have failed to do." The Librarian proceeds to walk away.
Lifeworker: "Librarian, where are you going?"
Librarian: "To stop my husband's madness"
After this event the Librarian commandeered a forerunner stealth cruiser to intercept the Mantle Approach to stop her husband`s from using the composer on the enter human race.
Once she borders the vessile arm with a Binary rifle she process to the ship bridge were the Didact is station at as he begins to head for the planet Earth to digitize the human race for his army of Knights to fight the Flood.
As the Librarian enters the bridge without attracting his attione she fires the first shoot at his back this causes the Didact to fall on one keen he then to turn around to see his asalient and is shock to see his wife as she hesitates for a moment.
Then first another shot at his chest after this the Didact falls on the deck of the bridge, motionless.
After this she takes control of the ship and heads for Requiem she intends to lock the Didact away not just on the planet but inside Cryptum to meditate on his choices his made and hoping when he wakes he well see human as the Forerunners rightful heirs.
As well she leaves a geas of herself containing two things that well help humanity rebuild and prepare themselves for the return of the flood.
The first are the Janus key, a catalog that contain all real-time locations every Forerunner technology.
The second is a way to defeat the Didect in case he tries to destroy them again.
Timeline 100,000-BCE The Halo`s fire
All sentient life within three radii of the galactic center, including any Forerunners not located on the Ark or within Shield Worlds are killed. After the Flood was defeated, automated systems on the Ark began the process of repopulation the galaxy in a stage referred to as the Reintroduction, sending all the races back to their respective home worlds. While a success, the Conservation Measure also sent each race back to a Tier 7 scale, forcing the sentient races to start over.
The period directly after the reintroduction referred to as "the dark time," as some of the indexed species never recovered and subsequently became extinct.
Timeline (68,000 BCE) Rise of the Protheans
67,900 after the halo fired a new race has risen.
The Protheans achieve spaceflight and discover mass effect technology from the ruins of the extinct Inusannon.
From the ruins they discovery the mass relay network and the Citadel, after this they begin to establish a galaxy-wide civilization during one of their explorations missions they discovery a mass Ring-like structer in space.
Trying to reach the Ring has resulted and many of their ship being destroyed by the automated defense systems after multiple attempt's to land on the Ring have ended in felliue, they move away from it for now.
During this time the Protheans encounter a hostile race of machine intelligence known as the Zha`til (They originated when a race the Zha implanted themselves with symbiotic AI technology to enhance their intelligence to survive as their homeworld became in hospitable.
However, eventually the AIs seized control of the bodies of their masters and altered their genetic material at the deepest level, transforming the Zha into synthetic monsters and their offspring into slaves.).
The Protheans decided that the only way to defeat the machines was to unite all sentient life in the galaxy; races that resisted them were soundly crushed.
In time however, each of the servant races that were assimilated into the Protheans culture came think themselves as Protheans. The Prothean Empire held its own against the machines in a conflict known as the "Metacon War," eventual they are sucfuily and driving the synthetic back to their home system were they sent the star there into supernova destroying the zha'til entirely.
Timeline (55,000-BCE)
After the Metacon war severely centers ago the Protheanes begin to study primitive races and begin to inter-fir with them to prepare them for assimilation into their society the species are, asari, hanar, quarians, salarians, and turians. The species now as the Asari being the most primitive of the species they are studying they take pity on them and begin helping the asari.
They intervened in asari development by creating the myth of a goddess, Athame, who was imparting divine gifts and knowledge through her guides,
Janiri and Lucen, Along with her guides Janiri and Lucen, Athame is credited for helping to bring enlightenment to the ancient asari, with Janiri teaching them agricultural practices (including the seasons),
Lucen teaching them about the stars, and Athame teaching them mathematics and medicine.
The ancient asari also believed that Athame protected their homeworld Thessia from attacks by other, jealous gods.
In reality however , Athame was not a mythical goddess but a guise crafted by the Protheans, also the beigns that attack Thessia were not "jealous god" but were another race known as the oravores they attacked Thessia to gain its vast resources, they did this by diverting a asteroid to crass into the planet but were stop by the Protheans. First by destroying the asteroid then attacking the race them self, they are able in driving them back after this happens the Protheans begin to help the asari develop biotics.
But unknown to the Protheans is that the Asari are not a normal species.
And Thessia is not there homeworld but in fact there real home is in the Orin arm severely thousand light years on a planet name Earth and just like their cousins the humans they are the heirs to the Forerunners and are part of a percorsor plane.
Timeline (50,000)
During this time the Protheans learn of the reapers and the cycle of destruction seining that the next cycle well be happing soon they begin to build up their military force and further invasgation into the cycle events.
After much digging on worlds that were dead they uncover a capsule-like device, within the capsule was a nightmares force that was responsible for the death of the entire galaxy.
Once the crew open the device a grey mass fall out one of the crew out of curiosity touches due to their ability to experiential exchange system based on physical touch which allowed them to learn new skills or ideas.
However, upon touching the mass his arm is covered by it as he screams in pain he is asriobed into it casing the mass to grow.
The mass begins to shift and grow as the Prothean crew fires everything at the now moving mass as it begins to grow tentacles from all around it and a hard boney armor shell around itself form the consume Prothean .
Then begins to grasp other crewmembers and kill and consume them as well as each one is consume the alien grows in size.
After the crew on the cargo deck has been, consume the mass that is now standing and forming limbs from the biomass it was able to get form the Protheans.
After this, it assumes a pure form of its kind the Juggernaut, after tearing through a bulkhead the Juggernaut encounters a squied of Prothean solders disperly trying to stop it.
After killing them it spawns more of its kind know as infection forms they begin to turn the died and dying Protheans into what they be most suited for combat and carrier forms.
Within hours the ship is lost as the last of the Protheans prepare to make there last stand at the bridge.
As they do this a massive growth from around the ship as the forms head for the bridge the aliens stop at the enters as they wait for the Juggernaut to arrive in bust though the door as it tears though the door the last of the crew fire everything at it.
After this the aliens which are now as the Flood begin to turn the caption and any of the protheans that were piloting the ship into a proto-gravemind after this they make a heading for Thessia, to keep their master plane going the Protheans like the Foreunners must be destoryed.
Once they reach Theassia they take the capture ship in ram right into one of the Porthean ship unlasing a swarm of Infection, carrier, and combat forms.
Most land on to the ship that were too close to the one that was rammed as the flood takes control of the ships
After most of the ship have been captured they makes a heading for Thessia to stop them from hindering a part of their plane after the Protheans on the planet are wipeout they take the ships that were captured and head for the Prothean homeworld.
Timeline (48,000 BCE: Fall of the Protheans)
Over time contact is lost with many of their innrcolonys then the absence of the species oravores, zeiop, ditakur, enduromi, and the vandomar as well all contact with the innercolonys are lost all projects on the advisement of primitive species are stop.
During this time the protheans during one of their battles with the aliens they are able to capture one of them bring it to Ilos one of many research stations to study and question the Flood for why it is doing this to their people and its origins
The answer they received cause some of the research team to commit suicide.
This is when the Flood is destroyed.
After this, they go dark to avoid detection and staff went into stasis hoping the danger would soon pass, after this all contact is lost with the citadel.
An armada of infective ships begin there approce of a large Prothean fleet and the last planet that has not been infected by the flood.
On the planet surface a group of Prothen warriors has dives a plane to wait out the flood by going into cryo-sleep but that plane is soon to be put into term oil.
Inside the bunker housing over a million warrior to forge a new empire from the primitive species the Prothen warrior Javik was the one leading the effort.
His mission was simple: outlast the invasion in stasis, and once he was awoken, lead the other warriors in a campaign to reclaim the galaxy
In the Prothean society, there were many "Avatars", Protheans who embodied a single virtue for the society. Javik is one of those Avatars, and his virtue is Vengeance.
He was the last of the warriors of the Prothean Empire, born in the midst of the war with the Flood, a war the Protheans were losing.
The Citadel had already fallen long before he was born, and his first memories were seeing his planet in flames during a Flood assault.
In the main hall of the bunker he along with severely warriors not in stasis making the final preparations for the long sleep.
One of the warriors voices what has happen to their empire why walking with javik "I can't believe our empire has fallen" to javik which he turn around to ease his worriers "it want will what here tell the threat has pass then well rise a million strong" which the warrior responds "For the empire."
Which he responds the same "for the empire now get to you satis pod" which he make his why after this he contacts the bunkers vi Victory "Victory is everything ready?" he ask as a holographic image of a Prothean appeared next to him "All military forces are ready but civilian forces have not made it yet."
Javik turn and look at the VI for a second upon hearing that the civilian force has not arrived yet "they well be remembered and the coming empire" after he says this a explosion rockes the Bunker.
Down the long hall of the bunker flames and smoke cover one of the main enter points as a mass begin that were once their people charge forwarded towards javik and the remaing solders.
Upone seeing that the bunker has been found Javik along with the other un holster their Pulse rifles and begin to fire upon the seemingly endless horde that keep moving forward firing their own weapons at the group.
One such round cuts through a warrior killing him intasly javik seeing that one the last of his people killed unleashes a Biotic attack upon the horde sending most into the walls and some are sent flying backwards into the horde.
After this he along with the remaining warriors begin to fall back after Javik gave some birthing room dragging a wounded soldier and ording victory to close the bulkhead to keep out the Flood.
Once the door closes preventing the flood from advancing forward and buying them some time but at a price "victory how many pods have been destroyed?" the Vi appears again "Primary scanes show that " over 500,678 podes have been destroyed" the VI responds the words hit Javik like a biotic push "over half are people."
Before he are the others could grieve for the lost or prepare for their sleep the Vi bring even more troubling news "Alert the Flood have begun a full assault on all Bulkhead and passage ways" after hearing this javik orders the remaining warriors to spreader out and close off the all enters ways.
But their struggle well be in vain.
Within hours the team javik sent out being to fall into static the last bit the he hears over the coms are the screams of his man as they are killed and turn into them.
Seeing that he cloude not save the reaming pods he begin to close of his section to save the pods and his are.
However, before the door can close the horde begin moving towards his direction at this monument the Vi Victory reappears telling him to get to his pods so that he can intonate a Neutron purge but jaivk insists he has a few more minutes.
"A few minutes!" he yells at the vi as he tries to close the bulkhead as a group of flood charge towards his area "the bunker has been overrun large swarm heading this dircictin even if you close this area off I cannot granted that all pods well survive."
Javik turn and looks at the Vi with rage seeing that he along with a few hundred might survive.
He begin to make his way to his pod the head his way as he activates his pod and seals it "begin neutron bombardment" jaivk in his pods shakes violie and shakes his head and anger "only a few hundered of us left how am I post to build a new empire with that."
As this thoughts fill his head the vi activates his com "all flood form have been destroyed but the bunker systems has been compromise" upon hearing this javik ask the vi to clarify what it meant "automatic systems have been damage as well power has to be diverted towards your pod and well sleep indefinite until a new race discovery you."
Javik yells at the vi upon hearing this "do not shut down the other pods!"
"You well be the voices of are people" the vi shuts down after this javik responds "I we be more then that"
After the vi activated the Neutron purge which resulted in a large portion of the bunker was destroyed the remaining flood that were outside of the main door begin to return to the surface believing that all the Prothen that were in the bunker were killed by the explosion.
After all life on the planet was destroyed the flood begin to teary itself apart so they will not be discovered however, a few head for the Asari false home world to watch over them and make sure that other races do not interfere with them.
Timeline (2,200 BCE-1,900 BCE)
San`Shyuum began to believe that they should enter the Forerunners Dreadnought, a relic which crashed on their homeworld Janjur Qom long was an affront to other San`Shyuums` religion, who believed that the Dreadnought shouldn`t be touched. The disagreement sparked a bloody civil war, between the Reformers(who wished to enter the Forerunner Dreadnought and uses its technological secrets), and the Stoics(strongly believed that tampering with or directly studying Forerunner artifacts was blasphemous and heretical), the war lasts for 100 years.
Light-years away on a planet now as Tuchanka, a world know for its harsh environments, scarce resources, and overabundance of vicious predators.
The dominant life from are a species of large reptilian bipeds called the Krogan wich have not only survie on their unforgiving homeworld.
But actually thrive in the extreme conditions, Unfortinaliy when their technology level reach Tier 5 the Atomic age at the dawn of this age, battles to claim small pockets of territory capable of sustaining life escalated into full scale global war.
Weapons of mass destruction were unleashed, transforming Tuchanka into a radioactive wasteland, the Krogan were reduced to primitive warring clans struggling to survive a nuclear winter of their own creation.
Timeline (2,100 BCE-1,800 BCE)
The San`Shyuum civil war comes to a end with Reformist ultimately won, but it came with a heavy price. After one thousands Reformist commandeered the Forerunner Dreadnought and managed to escape Janjur Qom, blasting a huge chunk out of the planet in the process. The stoics were unwilling to fire upon the object of their reverence, and grudgingly allowed the Reformists to leave. Across the galaxy within a star system a dormant mass relay known as the Mu Relay is propel out of position by the systems star that went supernova and his concealed by the dense nebula formed by the supernova.
Timeline (938 BCE)
After leaving their home world Janjur Qom in 2100 BCE, the San`Shyuum encountered the Sangheili of Sanghelios, who also had experience with Forerunner technology. The San`Shyuum The believed that incorporating Forerunner technology was allowed by their religion, to the Sangheili such a thing was unthinkable heresy. This started a war between the Sangheili-San`Shyuum, during the combat, the Sangheili had an early advantage with each warrior comparable in skill to several San`Shyuum in battle. However, the San`Shyuum had technological superiority, and the possession of the Forerunner Dreadnought, do to this they had a advantage in space battles, using the Dreadnought to great effect in devastating hit-and run strikes against the Sangheilian war fleets. Eventually in 876 BCE, in order to ensure the survival of their race, the Sangheili were forced to amend their position of Forerunner technologies and began studying their relics and incorporating elements into their warship, weapon and armor designs. The San`Shyuum also realized that if there were other races with martial capabilities like the Sangheili, they would be in serious danger.
In time, the Sangheili learned of the Great journey, where the Forerunners used the Halo Array to ascend to a god-like state, and wished to repeat this process on themselves.
Coupled with this belief and the fact that the cause of the war was obsolete, the Sangheili agreed to unite with San`Shyuum into alliance to avoid mutual extinction, in 852 BCE the two races signed a treaty known as the Writ of Union to from the early Covenant.
The dreadnought was decommissioned and made the center point and power source of High Charity a mobile planetoid that would serve as the capital of the Covenant.
Timeline (648 BCE)
The San`Shyuum homworld is destroyed by a natural stellar collapse, the Stoic send one final transmission to the Reformist that they would be damned for their digressions to the god.
Timeline (580 BCE)
After some time after the Prothens where destroyed the many races they watch over evolved along the same path they chose the first to rise from their world are the Asari using technology left behind by the Prothens they achieve fast then light travel and begin to colonized their home system.
During their exploration in the star system that contain their home world they discovered a large object and space along with severely undeinify ships hovering around the object.
As they aporce the ships their engines innit and make a jump to their home star and are destroyed by plunging right into the heart of the star.
The Asari are puzzled at what just happen for them this ship where drones most likely left behind by the Prothens however, the truth is very differnt from what they believed the ships where what left of the prothens ships that where captured by the Flood during their campaign of Genocide.
After this event the Asari begin to the object that the ships where hovering near the object using their knowledge of the Prothens beacon on their home world they are able to activate the object and begin to the next star system though the use of the now begin call a Mass Relay duo to it abilit to transit mass across space.
the Asari begin to explore the mass relay network, and eventually discover the huge Citadel space station at a hub of many mass relays.
Timeline (520 BCE)
After the Asari have settled the Citadel they come in contaic with another race know as the Salarians discover the Citade as well after some time the salarians open diplomatic relations with the asari.
Timeline Council Era - Formation (500 BCE - 1 CE)
The Citadel Council is formed. The asari and salarians together colonize the Citadel and establish it as a center of the galactic community, led by the Council. This year is also known as 0 GS, the beginning of the Galactic Standard (GS) timeline.
As a gesture of openness with their new asari allies, the Salarian Unionopens the records of the League of One. Under threat, the League responds by assassinating every member of the Union's inner cabinet; Special Tasks Group operatives then hunt down and eliminate the League.
First contact is made with the volus. Eventually, the Citadel Council commissions the volus to draw up the Unified Banking Act, which establishes a standard galactic currency known as the credit and links all galactic economies.
The turian Unification War occurs. The increasingly isolated and xenophobic colonies on the frontiers of turian space go to war with each other. After years of fighting, the Turian Hierarchy sweeps in and pacifies the remaining factions. Animosity between turian colonies continues for decades.
The Council grants the volus the honor of being the first non-Council species with an embassy at the Citadel, rather than a Council seat.
First contact is made with the batarians. They are granted an embassy a century later.
The asari discover the elcor home system and help the elcor locate and activate their nearest mass relay. "Within one elcor lifetime" they establish a regular trade route to the Citadel and are granted an embassy.
First contact is made with the hanar and the quarians. Both races are later granted embassies.
Timeline Council Era - War and Rebellion (1 CE - 900 CE)
1 CE: The Rachni Wars
The rachni, a species of highly intelligent hive-minded insects, are discovered when a Citadel expedition opens a dormant mass relay leading to their star systems. The rachni prove to be hostile and begin a war with the rest of the galaxy. Negotiation with the rachni queens is impossible because they cannot be contacted in their underground nests on the toxic rachni worlds.
80 CE
The Rachni Wars continue. The salarians make first contact with and uplift the primitive krogan, manipulating them into acting as soldiers for the Citadel Council. The krogan prove able to survive the harsh environments of the rachni worlds and pursue the rachni into their nests, systematically eradicating queens and eggs.
300 CE
The rachni are declared extinct. In gratitude for their aid during the Rachni Wars, the Council rewards the krogan a new homeworld. Free of the harsh environment of Tuchanka, the krogan population explodes.
Ok while i finishing the timeline i am as well adding a codex about the races through out both games.
Codex - Precursor
The Precursors were an advanced race that preceded and were mythologized by the Forerunners. The Forerunners believed them to be theoretical "Transsentient" beings, having the ability to travel among galaxies and accelerate the evolution of intelligent life. While the Precursors themselves had long since disappeared during the time of the Forerunners, evidence of their technological and architectural achievements remained on worlds they had once colonized.
Known historyAs understood by the Forerunners
The Forerunners knew few concrete details about the Precursors and most of their supposed knowledge came from the mythology they had constructed around their creators. Their most central belief was that the "Mantle" (the role of guardianship of the galaxy and of all life) was bestowed upon them by the Precursors. From a Forerunner perspective, the passing of the mantle secured the Precursors' legacy in the form of the Forerunners, continuing their work after they departed, much in the same way Forerunners came to view humanity shortly before theactivation of the Halo Array. The Forerunners believed the Precursors had shaped the Forerunner in their own image, and some even suggested that they may have done the same with humans. By the time of the Human-Forerunner war, prehistoric humans also claimed to be the sole inheritors of the Mantle, something the Forerunners considered heretical at the time.
The majority of this information was mythology with an unspecified amount of historical information, serving the purpose of providing a set of explanations for the innumerable mysteries surrounding the Precursors. The facts, as relayed to the Didact by the Primordial, supposedly the last remaining Precursor as of the Forerunner-Flood war, were very different from what the Forerunners had ultimately chosen to believe.
The Truth"We are the Flood. There is no difference. Until all space and time are rolled up and life is crushed in the folds... no end to grief, war or pain. In a hundred and one thousand centuries... unity again, and wisdom. Until then - sweetness."—The Primordial speaking to the Didact.
The Precursors were an incredibly advanced race of beings who explored many galaxies and seeded them with life over the course of many billions of years. As true transsentient beings, they were not tied to any particular physical form, assuming any shape as they saw fit; they would allow themselves to die away and be evolved anew over and over again, taking on numerous incarnations both physical and pure thought. They lived through different stages of technological and cultural development numerous times, being at times hyper-advanced and spacefaring while sometimes living primitively and confined to their worlds.
The Precursors stored all of their collated knowledge - amounting to a hundred billion years, with most of the information gathered originating from the beginning of the universe, or earlier - in a vast reserve contained in Precursor constructs in the Milky Way galaxy. The field projected by this store of knowledge was used by the Forerunners in form of the Domain, although its origin or true nature were unknown to them.
The Precursors were responsible for creating the galaxy's diverse composition of species. Over time, they would also judge whether or not a species was worthy of the Mantle, their assumed role of guardianship of all life. Amongst the large numbers of species that they had created, the humanoid species native to the world of Ghibalb, coming to be known as the Forerunners, were next chosen for this task. This species was eventually judged to be unworthy of taking on the Mantle. The Precursors announced their decision to the early Forerunners, at which point they attacked the Precursors, and succeeded in eliminating them, first in the Milky Way and eventually in the satellite galaxy of Path Kethona, though a small but unspecified number managed to escape the Forerunner's campaign of extermination. Prior to their destruction, however, the Precursors had created and shaped yet another potential holder of the Mantle, a collection of humanoid species referred to as humanity, hailing from the planet known as Erde-Tyrene.
A few Precursors either escaped or were spared by the Forerunners. They either went into suspended animation or became dust that would regenerate into their past forms. However, over time the dust became defective and it created sickness and disease. With this new form - the nascent stage of the Flood - the Precursors vowed that none of their creations would rise against them again.
Before their ultimate downfall, a plan was created and put into play by the surviving Precursors, which would involve a reunifying of the Forerunners and humanity to their shared origin. This plan centered on the targeted species to be subject to the Flood, and whether or not the humans would be able to overcome this parasitic foe, or ultimately succumb to it. While the humans would eventually prevail, their nearly concurrent defeat at the hands of the Forerunners would temporarily stifle this plan.
In 110,000 BCE, an exploratory group led by Yprin Yprikushma discovered a small planetoid at the edge of the Milky Way, and proceeded to study and excavate it. Hidden within it was a large stasis capsule containing an ancient being, who they interpreted as being a Precursor. They transported the capsule and its captive to the human capital world of Charum Hakkor, placed it in an arena, and proceeded to communicate with the being.
When the Flood first appeared in the galaxy, several humans questioned the imprisoned being, whom they named the "Primordial," as to the nature of the parasite. The being's response horrified the humans so deeply that many of them committed suicide. Around ten thousand years later, the IsoDidact interrogated the Primordial on Installation 07, the being claimed the Precursors had fled beyond Forerunner reach, and that they continued their creation and manipulation of life in the galaxy. The Primordial also implied that the Precursors and Flood were synonymous, refusing to elaborate any further. .
Technology
Precursor technology was extremely advanced, to the point that the Forerunners labeled it Tier 0. Precursors were believed to have based their technology upon what Forerunners called "neural physics": The concept that inanimate matter and thought are inextricably linked and that universe itself was effectively a living entity. The Halo Array, being neurological weapons, are one of the only ways to destroy or otherwise damage Precursor artifacts. This could also explain the lack of any Precursor ruins in modern society (circa 2558 CE) as most, if not all, would have been destroyed when the Halo Array fired and sterilized the galaxy at the end of the Forerunner-Flood war.
Some Precursor artifacts were known to precede the Forerunners by hundreds of millions of years, and were durable enough to survive being cycled inside planets' crusts by plate tectonics. Precursor artifacts were often encountered by Miners, who obtained and recorded them but rarely held any particular interest in them. The most coveted Precursor artifact among the Forerunners was known as the Organon, which was allegedly capable of activating all other Precursor artifacts. In truth, the Organon was synonymous with the Domain.
Among the most impressive of the Precursors' structures were the enormous orbital arches and unbending filaments, which were used to connect entire worlds and solar systems. Precursor technology was amazingly durable, and was almost totally impervious to all forms of conventional damage. However, the Halo Array's energy pulse has been shown to be able to utterly destroy Precursor structures. When Charum Hakkor was used as a test bed for one of the Halos, the weapon's firing shattered every Precursor artifact on the planet. Precursor construction material was gray-silver, and would shatter along crystalline planes if broken.
Toward the end of the Forerunner-Flood war, the Flood began to employ formerly inert Precursor artifacts against the Forerunners, being able to control them due to its Precursor origins. These artifacts - mainly star roads - were what eventually turned the war in the Flood's favor as they were capable of effortlessly either outright decimating Forerunner fleets or remotely deactivating their weapons, AIs or shields, rendering them helpless against the Flood.
Star Roads
Overview
One of the more common types of artifacts left behind by the Precursors, star roads were seemingly inert, virtually unbreakable cables on an immense scale that lay across the galaxy for millions of years, connecting planets and even linking entire star systems to one another. Charum Hakkor and its system was once home to many star roads, which were used byprehistoric humans to link their orbital defenses surrounding the planet.
However, during the last decade of the Forerunner-Flood war, it was revealed that the star roads were not completely inert. Along with other once-inactive Precursor constructs, star roads across the galaxy began to activate and aligned themselves with the Flood, taking on various configurations which were capable of interstellar travel. The star roads, in their weaponized form, were incredibly powerful, being capable of crushing entire planets by the tidal forces they generated as well as blocking or interfering with Forerunner slipspace travel as well as disabling their weapons and other systems. During the Forerunner-Flood war, multiple star roads were used to trap Forerunner forces that were soon overwhelmed by the Flood.
Due to star roads being based upon the fundamental principle of neural physics, they were vulnerable to the effects of the Halo Array. The first evidence of this was when the Precursor structures on Charum Hakkor were destroyed by Installation 07's test-firing. When the Array was fired, star roads within the rings' effective range were destroyed. It was theorized that star roads and other Precursor constructs in slipspace transit may have been able to survive the pulse, although this was not known for certain; to inflict as much damage as possible, the Forerunners would time the firing to a point when the maximum number of star roads would occupy normal space.
Codex - The Flood
History
Forerunner-Flood war
The Flood reappeared as a viable threat in the galaxy when they were first encountered by the Forerunners on the planet G617 g1. Initially, the Forerunners severely underestimated the potential threat that this new parasitic life form posed, and used tactics more suited to disease control than actual warfare. By the time the infection had begun to spread, the Flood had become a much deadlier and more intelligent foe.
Prior to the Flood outbreak, the Forerunners had marginalized their Warrior-Servant rate as a result of the Master Builder Faber's political maneuvering. The disbandment of the Warrior-Servant Corps was seen as an advancement in Forerunner society, due to the belief that they no longer required violence to conquer their enemies. This proved to have been a grave mistake, as the Forerunners found themselves ill-prepared to fight off the Flood as the parasite began its spread across the galaxy.
The Flood used huge numbers of unarmed civilian vessels to penetrate planetary defense groups, first striking at the Forerunner planet of LP 656-38 e, bypassing the Forerunner orbital fleet, and infesting the planet and its populace below. They soon moved to similarly infest the planet DM-3-1123b. The sheer numbers of Flood forms on the planets overwhelmed Forerunner ground forces.
While at first the Flood demonstrated a lack of even rudimentary strategic ability, they had numerical superiority: billions of forms were dedicated to planetary assaults, and every member of the Forerunner population was a potential Flood host. In desperation, the Forerunner armada was ordered to commence full planetary bombardment on infested worlds, although at a great cost - many Forerunners were unable to be evacuated before the bombardment commenced, leaving the Forerunner military with shallow victories against the Flood. In events where the naval garrisons were unable to commence bombardment, major Forerunner population centers were seen to activate localized weapons of mass destruction, effectively committing mass suicide, but stopping the growing infestation.
Thereafter, the Forerunners realized that conventional naval tactics were unable to stem the growing tide of the Flood, and decided to pin their hopes of defeating the Flood on more extreme measures. While the Forerunners initially deployed robotic Sentinel drones to fight against and contain the Flood, almost immediately afterwards, the Forerunner Fleet Commandcontemplated "Premature stellar collapse": using naval battle groups to send stars into supernovae that would engulf their planetary systems and prevent any possibility of Flood infection and destroy all Flood present in the system.
Meanwhile, the Flood grew exponentially, spreading from system to system with the intent to infect the Forerunner population, not to wage war with Forerunner battle groups. By this point the Flood had amassed enough bodies to create a Gravemind form, a Flood form that embodied a collective intelligence for the Flood species, and one that could coordinate the Flood swarms in attacks against the Forerunner fleets using all Flood forms in the galaxy. The Forerunners were aware of this, and sent the Contender class artificial intelligence Mendicant Bias in an effort to destroy this centralized Gravemind and disorganize the Flood. This too failed, with Mendicant Bias intentionally going rampant and joining the Flood cause, returning to Forerunner society intent on the destruction of its former masters.
Adding to these difficulties was the disturbing revelation that the Flood was capable of manipulating Precursor technology: towards the close of the war, the Flood began to appropriate Precursor megastructures such as the star roads, wielding the previously-inert strands to pummel Forerunner planets and naval forces. This ability was a result of the Flood's Precursor origins; being transformed Precursors, they could tap into neural physics and activate Precursor artifacts.
Realizing that the Flood stood a significant chance of wiping out all sentient life, the Forerunners began a "Conservation Measure", researching the Flood while constructing an artifact to generate a slipspace portal leading to the Ark on Earth and possibly other uninfected home worlds of Tier 7 races they considered "worthy", such as the various species that would make up the Covenant.
The Forerunners employed countless measures to contain the Flood outbreak, all of which failed. Finally, the Forerunners were forced to a Pyrrhic solution: using an array of seven (initially twelve) ring-shaped megastructures built in ages past as superweapons, the Forerunners would purge the galaxy of all sentient life. Because the Flood were parasitic, and their survival was directly linked to the presence of potential hosts, the Forerunners reasoned that eliminating all potential Flood hosts would render the parasite unable to grow and spread, and eventually cause it to starve to death. The decision led to political battles and even a civil war, but after exhausting every countermeasure, the Forerunners activated the Halos around 100,000 BCE.
Many sentient species throughout the galaxy (including Humanity) survived the firing of the Halo Array because they were safely relocated on the Ark, which was out of range of the Halo Array, or because they were protected by Shield Worlds, which were capable of blocking the Array's pulse. Only seven rings were used; if the original array of 12 rings had been fired, the effect of the Array would have been much wider and affected a greater area of space, not solely confined to the Milky Way Galaxy.
As a result of the firing of the seven Halo installations, The Flood was successfully contained and eventually died out. The only surviving specimens were contained in state-of-the-art, high-security Forerunner research facilities, such as the Halo Installations, certain Shield Worlds, and the Threshold gas mine.
Biology
The Flood is an anomaly in all known biology; their mode of growth and reproduction would make them incompatible with any natural are extremely adaptive, and transform hosts to suit the species' current needs.
Capable of surviving extreme environments ranging from -75 to +53 degrees Celsius and even underwater, the Flood can withstand the varied environments of all known inhabited planets. However, the Flood seem to thrive the most in moist and humid areas; it is thought that the extremely cold artificial weather patterns near certain important areas of the Halo Rings are intended to hinder the Flood. In order to give themselves ideal living conditions, the Flood will transform the environment to better suit their needs, altering the atmosphere and covering solid surfaces with Flood biomass.
All Flood biomatter is made of a unique, undifferentiated "Super-Cell", which relays information and coordinates the cellular assembly like conventional neural cells. It is also capable of flexing and moving in coordination with other cells, and can be arranged to mimic any bodily organ that is required for the Flood's use. This combination of traits has caused some to refer to it as "thinking muscle."
The Flood Super-Cell physically resembles both neuron and glial cells in structure, with a central cell body and many tendril-like, branching structures.
Infection
n order to reproduce and grow in biomass, the Flood needs to infect and assimilate other life-forms. While capable of infecting nearly any organism, the Flood shows a strong preference for sentient life forms, as assimilating their cerebral tissue allows the Flood to increase its overall intelligence.
Flood infection is typically carried out by specialized infection forms, which are the most complex forms that can be generated from Flood biomass during the Feral stage. Upon sighting a host, an infection form will leap for the most accessible area of the victim's torso; if the target is an armed human or other bipedal species, this is typically the left side of the chest below the neck, as most combatants will expose this area while shouldering their weapon.[17] Upon contact, the Infection Form will rasp away at clothing and flesh until it has burrowed into the chest cavity, mortally wounding them. As the host dies, the Infection form extends tentacles that tap into the victim's spinal cord or other nerve center, forcing a "match" with the nerve signals previously produced by the host's living brain.
To begin the physiological conversion of a host, the Infection Form injects encapsulated Flood Super Cells into the body. As it does so, the form analyzes the entire genetic code of its host, allowing the Flood to determine the most effective use of the victim. Simultaneously, the inserted Flood cells capture and break down the host body's cells into organic raw material, which is then absorbed and assimilated into the attacking Flood cells.
The Flood infection then uses the absorbed biomass to create new masses of Flood Super Cells. As the Flood continues to use the resources of the host body, particularly its calcium reserves, the parasite's own cells build upon and augment the framework of the host to produce one of a variety of Feral-Stage Flood forms. This entire process, from the inital kill to total control over a fully mutated host body, takes only a matter of seconds.[18]
The infection process is not limited to living hosts; organisms that are already deceased are also susceptible to infection. As long as the host has not decomposed to the point where the body and nervous system have completely deteriorated, the Infection Form can infect and convert the host.
The Flood infection utilizes the host's biological content as the fuel for its work, which is consumed and employed at prodigious speeds. From the beginning until the end of this complex, multi-step process, the infection form keeps the body "alive" by chemically isolating the host's dying brain, preventing the signals of brain death from reaching the rest of the body and causing it to shut down, which is an essential part of the parasite's mission of consuming and converting the host organism.
Despite primarily relying on infection forms for acquiring host life forms, the Flood can infect hosts through other means. Flood spores, if inhaled in significant quantities, can transform a host into a combat form. Even the most basic form of Flood genetic material is virulent; once inserted into a host, it will mutate the host's DNA over the course of generations until it is capable of forming its own Flood super cells. When infected by these secondary mechanisms, host organisms tend to mutate at a more restrained level that maintains the structure and form of the infected life form, albeit with a significant number of haphazardly placed tendrils, claws, and minor organs, such as sensory stalks.
Neurological
Infection forms selectively target species that possess sentient intelligence and are of sufficient biomass, and can infest intact or lightly wounded dead bodies. As a host organism is killed by the initial attack, Infection Forms use tendrils that pierce the skin of the host and find their way to the spinal cord. They then synchronize with the host's nervous system and gain control of their body, replacing its now-absent consciousness with the ravenous and voracious psyche of the Flood. Any useful information present within the memory centres of the host's brain, such as battle strategies and technical knowledge, is retained for use by the Flood. Despite this lingering of certain memories, no trace of the original mind remains; only a simplistic and primal urge to assimilate other species drives the organism after infection.
In isolated cases, such as when the Flood seek very specific information from an individual's mind, they utilize an alternate, undescribed method of infestation that does not kill the host immediately; this allows the Flood to "burrow" into the host's mind, eventually giving them access to the entire scope of the host's memories. This has only been specifically seen when the Flood sought information from Captain Jacob Keyes, such as the location of Earth, or a starship that would free them from Installation 04. In addition, if the Infection Form that initiates assimilation is extremely aged or damaged somehow, the host may remain alive and conscious; Private Wallace Jenkins suffered such a fate, remaining alive and fully aware of his situation despite the mutation of his form, even exhibiting limited control over his body at times when the Flood instincts were dormant.
If the Flood have amassed enough sentient hosts to form a Gravemind, then their behaviour becomes far more coordinated, and the Flood collective becomes much more deadly as a result. The Gravemind may also speak directly through Combat Forms and Pure Forms under its control.
Physiological
While baseline neurological assimilation is the same regardless of host species, the Flood infection process includes physiological transformations, which vary depending on the host.
Upon being infected, higher-level species capable of combat are transformed into combat forms. The host's physiology is completely "re-written" during the infection process: organ-based systems are corrupted, organ-specific functions are decentralized, and body cavities are decayed, making hitbox-selective incapacitation impossible. Due to the lack of a central nervous system, decapitation will neither stop or slow a combat form.
Furthermore, munitions with high speed and penetration, such as sniper rifle rounds, are usually ineffective against combat forms. Picking off selective areas of a combat form leads to no wide-scale physiological impediments, and the projectile will punch through the decayed flesh rapidly, exiting through the other side of the combat form without dealing any major damage.
To facilitate melee combat, combat forms generate tentacles and claw-like structures, which protrude from the host's arms. Generally, a single arm develops into a clawed appendage, while the other retains the capacity to manipulate objects, such as firearms. The rapid growth of these structures tends to push aside and break apart the host's hands and forearms.
Combat forms can strike with devastating force, move with tremendous speed and agility, and jump to great heights, displaying physical abilities far beyond those of the host organism while it was alive.
The price for these formidable abilities is that the required metabolism is so rapid and extreme that the host organism's corpse is rapidly broken down by the parasite. This is dramatically demonstrated by the rapid decomposition and disintegration of an infected life form, which will eventually become a stunted, bloated, mobile generator and incubator for more Infection Forms, which is commonly known as a Carrier Form.
Flood infection forms and Pure forms sense their surroundings using specialized tentacles, which are tipped with red ganglia. Exactly how these organs work is unknown; they may provide visual or chemical information, or perhaps a combination of both. In combat forms, these tentacles typically protrude from the chest cavity where the infection form is housed; in Pure Forms, they are located on the front of the "head" segment.