AN: Yes, I know I should really be trying to update Conflict of Interest, but I had this fic idea bouncing around my head for quite a while, and I really REALLY wanted to get it out.
Chapter 1: History 101
Welcome to the fleetwide universal database. My name is Eurale, how may I help you?++
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Your request has been received and is currently being processed. This may take a moment. Would you like to hear the news?++
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The date is currently March 27, 2752. The fleetwide threat level has been downgraded to blue. Contact with the Covenant is down from last week, due to additional internal conflicts. So far, no new developments have turned up in our search for home, but I will be sure to notify you if anything changes.++
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The file you requested has been found, would you like me to display it?++
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Confirmed. Displaying the file now. Have a nice day.++
FILENAME: EXODUS
SUMMARY: A COMPLETE ACCOUNT OF THE EXODUS AND THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO IT
AUTHOR: CLASSIFIED
As you know, most of our history and data pre-Exodus has been lost, and what we have now is sketchy at best. However, due to diligent research and use of several unconventional methods, I have been able to confirm the events leading up to the Exodus, as well as the terrible event itself. Let's begin with a little background.
As you know, the Covenant is and has always been Humanity's mortal adversary. They are a conglomeration of various alien species all united under a strict, radical religious dogma. We have been at war with the Covenant ever since the year 2525, though the early decades of the conflict proved to be very unsuccessful for Humanity. Unlike today, our ancestors did not have the benefit of super-advanced technology to effectively fight off the Covenant, however, the basis for most of our current technology lies rooted in this conflict.
However, at the center of this was the SPARTAN super-soldier program, which created some of the most fearsome and efficient warriors ever known. Unfortunately, due to its secret nature and the chaos of the Exodus, almost no data of the project itself exists, meaning that it is the one piece of pre-Exodus technology that we have been unable to replicate. However, the news accounts and military reports of their actions still remain, and using those, we have been able to piece together what had happened.
It all started in the year 2552, roughly 25 years into the Human-Covenant War. The United Nations Space Command, the current government of the time, knew that it was losing the war against the Covenant. In a huge gamble, the UNSC decided to gather all of its Spartans together in a single mission that would decide the fate of Humanity. The Spartans were to hijack a Covenant capital ship, subvert its systems, and use it to find the Covenant homeworld. All necessary preparations were taken at the fortress world of Reach, Earth's last line of defense. All of the Spartans were loaded onto a transport ship and sent off.
Unfortunately, they were sent to the completely wrong drop zone. Nobody knows why, but the ship made the transition to Slipspace and jumped to the gas giant Threshold. Through scrambled and broken transmissions relayed from an ONI Prowler which just happened to be in the area revealed that the Spartans had stumbled onto one of the Forerunner ring worlds, or Halos. Judging from the wreckage of other Halos we have stumbled across during our long trek, it is not impossible to imagine that the Spartans took advantage of the Halos' networked nature to somehow destroy all of them simultaneously. Though we are still unsure of their true purpose, it would be safe to assume that Spartans thought it would be better not to let any of them fall into Covenant hands. All contact with the Spartans was lost after that and all are assumed dead.
Even though the Covenant were denied the Halos, the overall operation was considered a disastrous failure. In one fell swoop, the UNSC had lost their gamble and squandered their entire contingent of Spartans.
This led some people to propose a secondary plan.
In order to guarantee the survival of Humanity, the UNSC enacted Project Exodus, an evacuation plan of unrivaled magnitude. Resources were pooled from all their remaining colonies to build massive, self-sufficient colony fleets in the hope that if Earth, Reach, and the rest of the colonies were destroyed, Humanity could still survive somewhere out there. By the time the massive colony fleets were built and assembled, Reach had already fallen, and there was greater desperation to ready the fleets.
Unfortunately, before the Exodus could begin, tragedy struck. One of the AIs managing the operation suddenly went rampant and began corrupting the data cores of every ship in the fleet, as well as transmitting random signals into Slipspace. With the location of Earth marked like a beacon, the Covenant staged a massive attack on Earth. With no time left, Admiral Miranda Keyes ordered all flagships to immediately transition to Slipspace and jump to a random location, relaying it to their own fleets. This daring move proved to both the saving grace and tragic bane of Humanity. Though we were saved, Humanity was scattered across the stars. As a result of the data corruption, must data on the period between the 21st century and the 26th was lost, including star charts and coordinates, effectively erasing all knowledge of the location of Earth or any other UNSC colony. With no way to reunite and with no central banner, like a homeworld, to rally around, the fleets were left to wander for the next century. By the time the fleets began making contact with one another again, they had become so changed and individualistic, it was difficult, if not impossible, for them to reform. Humanity was reduced to roving bands of nomads, or Exiles as we later became known as.
Not all was lost, however. Sudden internal conflict within the Covenant, possibly as a result of the destruction of the Halos, sparked a massive civil war, splitting the Covenant in half. Now the Covenant Imperium and the Covenant Republic spend too much time fighting each other to pay any attention to us Exiles, much to our benefit.
Finally, there is the issue of current events. As a result of the massive fleetwide data corruption, uncorrupted pre-Exodus data has now become a precious commodity even more valuable than gold. Some individuals and fleets make it their purpose to find it.
Also, there is the recent introduction of "meta-humans", humans that have developed extra-sensory powers. Though these individuals only compromise less than half a percent of the total human population, their existence has proven to be a great boon to us. Whether their arrival has come in time, however, remains to be seen…
END DOCUMENT
UNSC Pegasus: Stateroom 35
Lynn Wellings sighed as she pored over the data file for the hundredth time. Sadly, this was the only and therefore most complete pre-Exodus history that Exile Fleet Earth possessed. It was quite ironic. The most largest, most militaristic, and most advanced Exile fleet in the sector had almost no history of its own past. Sadly, that was the case of almost every other Exile Fleet out there.
Lynn then turned to see a piece of paper with writing on it that was not there two seconds ago. The paper was definitely hers, and the writing was written in her own handwriting. However, Lynn had no recollection of ever writing such a thing. She wasn't surprised though, as this happened all the time.
She was a meta-human, after all.
Being one of the rare meta-humans in the fleet, Lynn of course had odd, unexplainable powers. Meta-humans had all kinds of powers, ranging from the ability to control fire, water, or even magnetism itself. Lynn had emphatic and telepathic abilities, allowing her to feel and read the thoughts of others. She also had very powerful telekinetic abilities, which of course proved useful in combat. However, her most valuable skill was that of precognition, which had served to help the fleet in countless crucial moments.
However, her predictions often proved to occur at completely random times. They are all usually very cryptic and not easily understood, and sometimes they weren't completely accurate. All of these predictions usually occurred through a written note that appeared out of nowhere, such as right now.
Lynn sighed and picked up the note, wondering what it would say. She scanned the lines and read along:
Salvation lies near the Threshold.
Among the shattered remains of the fallen angel.
Supported by the winds of Autumn.
A Spartan sleeps in his silent coffin.
Wielding the power of Thor himself.
He will lead us to where the mighty ship lies.
He will lead us back to our rightful place.
He will lead us to our long lost home.
Earth…