A/N: This story is how I would end Halo if I had full creative control of 343 Industries. Halo 4 and Spartan Ops are cannon in this story, however I will be ignoring the Halo 5 trailer. The Master Chief will appear in the upcoming chapters, however I will have to remain mute on Cortana's possible appearance. It may happen, it may not, you'll just have to continue reading to find out. Any similarities between the politics of UEG and the current state of American politics is intentional.
Prologue
Here I abandoned peace and desecrated law; fortune it is you I follow. Farewell to treaties. From now on war is our judge!
Marcus Lucanus
…
September 11th 2558 (Military Calendar) Unified Earth Government Senate, New York, North America, Earth
Senator August was not a particularly tall man, but his posture granted him a commanding presence, his voice possessing such authority that even those who considered him an enemy could not help the persuasion creeping up upon their unguarded minds in tantalizing whispers, is influential oratory infamous in its ability to sway hostile crowds to his side and intimidate his opposition.
He stood at 5' 10'', with sandy blonde hair and Atlantic blue eyes, his mouth able to effortlessly form a kindhearted smile or a hate filled scowl depending on what the occasion called for, his eyebrows heavy and his face otherwise plain though not unhandsome. He paced the Senate floor, eyeing each man as he spoke.
"Let me read to you, honored colleagues, and excerpt from President Dr. Ruth Charet's first inaugural speech, in case some of you have forgotten the promises that she made, and after words I will recount to you the extent of her failures." He paused at his desk, scooping up a piece of paper with his left hand. Most would have read from a data pad, but August within the context of his speeches preferred actual paper. It felt far more natural, both to him and seemingly to the crowd. He read.
"Humanity can now breathe again. The Covenant has finally been driven back. The cost in lives- our troops and our citizens- has been enormous. But freedom never comes cheaply, and now, we rebuild. I promise this to every man, woman, and child on Earth and in its colonies. While we will continue to strive for a peaceful coexistence with other species, humanity will never again allow itself to be the victim of aggression. This is the moment we start to reclaim our rightful place in the universe." He slammed the paper back down onto his desk, the loud thump shaking any person that might have been daydreaming during his speech out of their stupor.
"Gentlemen, friends, senators…" He looked up at the observational deck above the Senate floor, cameras and onlookers focusing their eyes directly upon him. "Citizens of Earth and her Colonies, we have been lied to. We have allowed the UNSC to sink hundreds of billions of credits into a single ship, all without our knowledge or consent. We have allowed them to spend billions more to use this ship as a diplomatic and exploratory vessel. We were promised that Infinity would be the mightiest warship humanity has ever built, yet twice it has been sent back to Earth with her tail between her legs."
"That is a lie!"
August turned to face an elderly Senator, his legs shaking as he stood, head balding and his hair white. The old man spoke, "The Second Battle of Requiem was a victory in every sense of the word. Captain Thomas Lasky displayed upmost competence in command and he…"
"Is the next Preston Cole I'm sure," August said, smiling. "For who am I to disparage a hero of the UNSC? To do so would surely cast my lot in with ONI which has disgraced itself by denying Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Spartan 117's request for recommission in the UNSC Navy three times in this past month alone." He took a deep breath. "But I digress. Senator Dean, if Requiem was such a monumentous victory as you claim, then what have we gained from it? The Storm Covenant is still as strong as it ever was, so total victory cannot be claimed, and ONI has refused to share information about any artifacts that may or may not have been recovered from the planet. We must assume that nothing was gained from the campaign, and the UNSC has yet again wasted the people's money in a fruitless military endeavor." He held out his arm, his hand an open palm, towards the aging Senator. "I suggest you take a seat."
Senator Dean hesitated, looking around him for support. He found sympathetic stares, but no one with enough conviction to stand with him, and so he sat.
August grinned triumphantly, again addressing the audience above him. "For is that not what this body has become? A mere façade of democracy over a stone wall of tyranny. A rubber stamp for the UNSC to pass whatever resolution it wishes, and that bastard Hood…"
"August," A man seated above him, like a judge presiding over a courtroom on the back wall of the Senate house, said in a warning voice. President pro tempore Philip Holmes narrowed his eyes at the young Senator. "May I remind you of Senatorial decorum. If you continue with this vulgarity I will have you censured."
August made a sweeping bow of deference. "Forgive me. I am but a lowly serf. How can I possibly think that I have a right to criticize the great and mighty Caesar." He brought himself out of his bow, amused at the scowl Holmes was giving him. He raised his head high, his voice full of conviction. "Our forefathers fought against the very type of tyranny that we in a moment of crisis have yielded ourselves to. They created a unified world democracy that has lasted centuries, with power resting firmly in the Senate, and they would be ashamed if they could see us now."
"I, and my fellow members of the Terra Party, see only one recourse. No longer can we tolerate the scrapes Lord Hood as thrown at us with his policy of incremental reforms. No longer can we tolerate being forced to vote blindly on budgets, giving ONI funds to do with as they please. We must refuse to pass any budget until Lord Hood and President Charet give the Terra Party what we have rightfully demanded." He walked as he gave his final remarks, and now he was standing at his seat, arms braced on his desk. "And furthermore I believe that Sangheilios must be destroyed!"
It was everything that Holmes could do not to roll his eyes. August made this remark at the end of every speech, regardless of the subject matter. It was the cheers from the civilians on the observation deck that made him decide against the expression.
The people on the observation deck stood up, clapping their hands enthusiastically, and August waved at them as if he were a conquering king. When the applause died down August returned his attention to Holmes. "I yield the rest of my time."
Holmes sighed in relief. He would never admit it both publically and privately, but he always found himself on edge whenever August spoke. "Does anyone wish to use Senator August's remaining time?"
Senator Dean rose, again shakily. "I wish to speak." He waited for Holmes to nod his approval before beginning. "This man," he pointed a gnarly finger at August. "Would jeopardize the security of the UNSC all for the sake of political posturing, and in the same breath would have us betray humanity's greatest ally."
"I would hardly call Thel Vadam an ally," August retorted.
Dean glared at him. "If it were not for the Arbiter humanity would have been destroyed. Earth annihilated."
August stood up again, but he did not speak to Dean. Again he spoke to the crowd. "And so we should forget that for nearly three decades he participated in the genocide of the human race? Should we forget that millions were slaughtered by the Arbiter's own hand? Have we become so foolish as to believe that Thel Vadam would not betray us the moment he saw that an alliance with us was no longer to his benefit?"
"Sit down…" Holmes began, but August continued speaking.
"These men would have you scrape and bow to a creature, a beast that committed crimes against the entire human race. There are people in this audience, people on this Senate floor, I myself shed blood in the service of the UNSC, fighting against these barbarians that sought nothing less than our total destruction, and now these men wish us to forgive and forget. That is something I refuse to do, not until justice has been rendered against the entire Sangheili race. Exterminate them all!"
"Senator August!" Holmes yelled, but his voice was drowned in the thunderous cheers that were coming off the observation deck, the news cameras ignoring everything except August's words, Dean now sitting at his desk with his face pale and his ego thoroughly diminished. The Terra party faction of the Senate, thirty seats in all, stood as well, hands smashing together, drowning out any hope of a counter argument. Yet somehow, above it all August managed to make his voice heard. The crowd, or perhaps now it is better to refer it as a mob, silenced itself immediately, hanging on to his every word.
"If I had been granted the opportunity I would have put a bullet in the skull of the Arbiter the moment the Forward Unto Dawn landed on Earth. I would have ended the threat there and then. But it is not too late to fix our mistakes. I propose a motion to formally declare war against the Sangheili Empire and bring an end to what we should have finished half a decade ago!"
The applause erupted again, and Holmes was hopeless to stop it. With alarm he saw nearly half the Senate stand up in support of his motion. Holmes buried his head in his hands, wondering just what kind of ruin August was trying to drag mankind into.