Origins: A Dark Codex

by RedShirt1453

Codex to Origins: Dark Rising. Includes Characters, Events, Timelines, and other important crap. Still under revision but while I work on revising Dark Rising this is where all that codex stuff will be.

Origins: A Dark Codex

Origins is a multi crossover AU fan fiction that I have had planned in my head for a few years and have never felt like writing it. It is planned to be a three part epic trilogy with ark Rising being the first. This is my very first fan-fiction so as you will note I am not very good with grammar or writing in general and English is not my first language. But rest assure the writing in this story will only get better the more I write. I ask that you stick with me and not judge a book by its cover.

I have always loved Halo-Mass Effect crossover fan fictions but over time I have grown frustrated with them. Many crossovers are all the same and lack anything new. They all either start off with the Master Chief joining Shepard's crew or with the UNSC discovering the Citadel Races and then following the canon story. We all know how they will end and in the end the reader is not given a compiling unique and original story to follow. With Origins I am trying to take a new unique approach. The characters you love and know from canon will not be appearing in the way you know them. They will have different but similar occupations, and some of them may not show up at all. I have done this because it makes since to the universe I am creating.

In this story, Humanity rules the Galaxy with an Iron Fist. The alien races of the galaxy have been subjugated to live under brutal human occupation. Most resistance has been crushed leaving Humanity as the sole galactic power. But with absolute power comes internal strife. Human nature will be tested and Humanity will face its greatest challenges in the years to come. This is a story about how an empire falls to its knees and how its species decide how they want to be remembered. The question is "Can Humanity ever be redeemed or has it fallen so far down a dark path that the only way to save itself is through its own destruction?".

This is a tale of suffering, failure, war, death, hatred, love, forgiveness, compassion, and redemption. There are no more good guys only those who have lived long enough to see themselves become the villains.

The main point of this codex is to set up the background of the story. This fan fiction is a massive crossover between Mass Effect, Halo, and Star Wars. It will however include elements from other games and universes such as Crysis, James Cameron's Avatar, Star Gate, etc. The story is set over several hundred years so do not be surprised if the timeline skips ahead a few years. Anyways the codex includes the timeline, factions, characters, key events, and locations. Please note that throughout this trilogy many new factions, characters, locations, and key events will surface. These future pieces will be added to the codex once a major plot line has been finished.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, besides original characters everything else belongs to Lucas Arts, Bioware, and Microsoft.

FACTIONS

The United Nations Space Command and Unified Earth Government

Founded as a democratically run representative democracy with each colony and Earth nation sending a Senator to represent their interests in the UEG Senate. However over the years power has fallen from the hands of the Senate and into the hands of the United Nations Space Command.

Also, known as the UNSC, the UNSC is by far the most powerful faction in the Milky Way Galaxy and controls over 75% of known space from the Attican Traverse to the entirety of the Terminus Systems. The UNSC and its civilian goverment the UEG (Unified Earth Government) was once a civilian run democracy but has now transitioned into a de facto Military Republic with voting rights reserved only for those who have served in the armed forces.

In the UNSC the military has overall say in all state affairs but is still overseen by the Triumvirate which is comprised of three Consuls. These three Consul's are in charge of three key areas in government.

The Consul of the Joint-Chiefs is the supreme commander of the UNSC military and acts as the military's highest ranking authority and is usually held by a Grand Admiral. It is currently held by Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood

The Consul of State Affairs is in charge of internal and external non military matters within the UNSC such as the economy. Elected by the UEG Senate.

Lastly the Consul of Human Advancement is unique since it is responsible solely for the advancement of humanity whether through science or new colonization initiatives. This Consul is appointed by representatives from each colonial world.

Although this goverment structure has the appearance of an Authoritarian Triumvirate the Consuls do not have full control over the UNSC and are put in check under the UEG Senate. The UEG Senate represents the various planets in the UNSC and their citizens. Each planet has at least one Senator to represent them with the exception of the larger more populated worlds such as Arcadia receiving more Senators based on population. When the UNSC was first created the Senate held onto the majority of power but after the Human-Council War the Senate gave up most of its power to the Triumvirate and is now nothing more than a pushover to the Consuls.

The UNSC controls a few thousand worlds each with their own degree of autonomy depending on their location and population. 983 of those worlds are earth like or have been terraformed. The remaining worlds under UNSC control are either mining colonies, research stations, or military bases. Total human population as of 2156 is around 112 billion.

The UNSC military is comprised of 15 billion soldiers and is divided up into 5 branches.

The UNSC Marine Corp, Navy, Air Force, Army, and the Colonial Defense Force.

The UNSC Marine Corps Those who join the Marines are often highly xenophobic and Imperialistic viewing humanity as the master race of the galaxy. Many acts of decadence have been committed by its members.

The UNSC Navy is by far the most important branch in the UNSC and is the second largest branch in terms of manpower. The Navy is divided up into Armadas that control system sectors such as the Attican, Terminus, and Orion Arm. These Armadas comprise of 5,000 to 10,000 ships which are grouped into fleets that protect and patrol the systems within the assigned sector.

The UNSC Air Force is responsible for controlling the airspace of UNSC worlds. It is by far the lest recognized branch due to the growing reliance on Naval Aviation for support and transport. Funding by lord hood has kept it in shape and it maintains a healthy relationship with the CDF.

The UNSC Army is the largest of all the branches and acts as Humanity's sword and shield. The army serves as Occupation and Garrison roles on key planets. It is often supplemented by the local planetary CDF.

The last branch in the UNSC is the Colonial Defense Force or CDF for short. The CDF is the planetary militia of the colonies. Each colony depending on its size and importance are allowed to have their own defense force. These colonial forces vary in degree of training and equipment but make up a sizable percent of the planetary garrison. More important colonies in the UNSC such as Arcadia, Harvest, and Ilos are allowed to have their own fleets and form special forces units such as the famed Arcadian Rangers. CDF personnel can be drafted by the UNSC to garrison other worlds for short duration's of time and act as occupation forces. The CDF while apart of the UNSC military responds directly to the UEG Senate and is loyal to it.

The Citadel Council/The Council (Defunct)

Once a rival to the UNSC the Council has fallen under rough times and many of its member state worlds have fallen under UNSC control during the Human-Council War also known as the First Contact War. The three-primary species are the Asari, the Salarians, and the Turians. During the Human-Council War that lasted from 2117-2121 the UNSC captured the Citadel, Thessia, and bombed Palaven into submission. During the negotiations, the UNSC returned Palaven to the Turians but kept the Citadel and annexed half of Asari space including the Asari homeworld of Thessia during the Treaty of Sur'Kesh. Officially the Citadel Council has been disbanded and is no more than a rump state. However cooperation still exists between the Council races.

The Turian Hierarchy

Once the major military power in the Galaxy the Turian Hierarchy's once mighty military has been left in ruins and limited due to the Human-Council War. The Turians are known for being a martial race that praises the warrior spirit. However after the War the Turian way of life has been shaken to its core due to the massive loss of Turian lives during the War. During the Human-Council War around 10 billion Turians lost their lives with most being killed when the UNSC bombarded half their homeworld of Palaven into a wasteland. The Bombardment of Palaven as it is known forced the Turians to surrender to the UNSC. After the War the Turians were left to rebuild their worlds after heavy sanctions and reparations paid to the UNSC for 'damages' caused by the Turians. As of now most Turians despise Humanity and pray for the moment when they can exact their revenge on Humanity.

The Asari Republics

The Asari Republics are a decentralized union of Asari worlds and nations that represent the Asari Species. With the aftermath of the Human-Council War the Asari suffered greatly under the Treaty of Sur'Kesh which allowed the UNSC to occupy the Asari homeworld of Thessia and annex several dozen Asari worlds which represented half of Asari space. Out of a total population of 48 Billion Asari around 28 Billion live under UNSC rule. With the loss of their home world and more than half of their species the Asari Republics are considered a defunct rump faction in the Galaxy. Currently the Asari are playing the waiting game and hope to outlast the UNSC until it collapses so that they can reclaim their worlds and liberate their fellow Asari under Human rule. Some Asari however do not wish to wait that long and resistance movements such as The Justicars have risen up on UNSC occupied worlds to fight back.

The Salarian Union

The Salarian Union although a member of the Citadel Council remained virtually untouched during the Human-Council War and escaped the more harsher restrictions of the Treaty of Sur'Kesh. Due to their minimal involvement during the War the Salarians are accused as being cowards by the Turians and Asari. Their relationship with the other Council races was strained. As of now the Salarian Union is the most intact and economically stable of the Council races and is the de facto leader of the Citadel Council or what's left of it.

The Batarian Hegemony (Defunct)

The Batarians were once a proud space faring race but when its slaver fleets raided UNSC worlds in 2132 for slaves they quickly made their last mistake. The full might of the UNSC descended upon the Hegemony and after a brief year of resistance the Batarians had no choice but to surrender. However rather than just liberate the slaves the UNSC saw fit to make an example out the Batarians to the rest of the Galaxy. As punishment for their repugnant ways the entire Batarian race was evicted from their homeworld and colonies and sent all 20 billion of them to an uncolonized world stripped of all technology. The UNSC left the Batarians on the planet and stationed a permanent fleet in the system with orders to make sure that they never again achieve space flight. The species is now considered near extinction with only those in Citadel Council Space still in large numbers. Some surviving Batarians in Council Space have organized and armed themselves so that they may strike back at Humanity in revenge for the genocide committed against their species.

The Migrant Fleet

The Migrant Fleet is a massive flotilla of nomadic ships that are inhabited by the Quarian race. The Quarians were exiled from their homeworld of Rannoch after a machine AI revolt. The Migrant Fleet usually keeps to itself and stays far away from UNSC controlled space after their ships were attacked for trespassing. During the Human-Council War the Migrant Fleet remained neutral which has led it to have a rocky relationship with the Council Races for not intervening to help them.

MAIN CHARACTERS

Able Ryder

Male

Age: 21

Short light brown hair, blue eyes, white tan skin.

Birthplace: Arcadia, Pirth City

Rank: Lance Corporal

Role: Sniper/Marksman

Biography: Born on Arcadia Ryder grew up an orphan along with his friends Chips Dubbo and Michael Lawson. At the age of 18 Ryder enlisted in the Arcadian Colonial Defense Force along with his friends. Ryder quickly showed great aptitude in marksmanship and was transferred into the Arcadian Rangers; one of the most elite colonial special forces units in the UNSC. Currently Ryder is stationed on Thessia as part of the Arcadian CDF's supplement force for the UNSC's occupation force.

Chips "Aussie" Dubbo

Male

Age: 20

Short dirty blonde hair and green eyes

Birthplace: Earth, Australia, Sydney

Rank: Private

Role: Spotter/Sniper

Biography: Born in the outback of Australia Chips learned at young age how to be a hunter soon after his parents died at the age of 13. For 2 years, he survived on his own until he was apprehended by Australian authorities and sent to an orphanage on Arcadia. Like many orphans Chips enlisted into the Arcadian CDF and his skills at survival gained him entrance into the Arcadian Rangers. Chips is currently stationed on Thessia.

Michael Lawson

Male

Age: 21

black hair, brown eyes, tan skin.

Birthplace: Kappa Station, Arcadia

Rank: Specialist

Role: Combat Medic and Signal Specialist

Biography: Bastard to some UNSC Naval Captain and a Navy Ensign, Michael was put up for adoption but was never taken in and was instead raised at an orphanage on Arcadia. Michael wanted to become a teacher but was dragged into enlisting in the CDF by his friends to pay for college. Although not as skilled in a fight as his friends, Chips managed to pull some strings and get Lawson into the Rangers. He is currently stationed on Thessia.

John Davis

Male

Age: redacted

Dark black hair, blue eyes, pale skin, strange surgical scars all over body.

Birthplace: redacted

Rank: First Lieutenant

Branch: classified

Role: Black Ops operator

Biography: Not much is known about Davis's past and most of it is covered in black ink. Those who get to close to the truth about him disappear and his mission files are non-existent. What is known is that Davis is part of a program code named ORION I.

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Codex Part 2 Timeline

2060-2064: Interplanetary War begins and ends with United Nations victory. A new UN charter is made giving control the United Nations controls over all human space exploration and all current and future colony's. The UNSC is formed.

2064: Shaw-Fujikawa translight engine is developed. UNSC colony ships begin exploring nearby systems and colonize habitable worlds.

2064-2068: The Second Great Depression: With the nations of Earth in ruins from the Interplanetary War civil strife quickly begins and the remaining superpowers fall apart. The United States goes into another civil war and the world's economy shatters as a result. The European Union falls apart and its former member states refuse to help one another. Meanwhile the UNSC colonies become a prime spot for immigration and encounter an economic boom.

2068: The Stockholm Concordat: After 4 years of worldwide chaos the Scandinavian Federation hosts a UN sponsored general assembly with every stable nation in attendance. The objective of the assembly was to find a way create stability in the world and end the Great Depression. After months of negotiations the Stockholm Concordat is signed giving the United Nations full economic, political, and military control over the nations that signed. The only nations that did not sign the concordat were the New American Republic, the Russian Federation, China, Allied States of America, and the Neo-Ottoman Empire, Israel, Iran, and other nations with a strong sense of independence. The United Nations sets its capital in Stockholm.

2068-2074: The Unification Wars: Fearing UN domination the remaining nation states form a temporary alliance and declare war on the UN to preserve their independence. After 6 years of global war the UN emerges victorious. The defeated nations are absorbed into the UN and for the first time in history the entire human race is united under one banner.

2074: Charter of Unification is signed: The charter states the creation of a Unified Earth Government and declares that from now on the UNSC and UEG are to be the only represented government for all of humanity. Stated in Article 5 Section 7 "There can be no human faction, state, nation, or independent force besides the UEG and UNSC". The nation-state system that run humankind since the beginning was finally put to rest and effectively outlawed and dismantled. A second Pax Romana had begun.

2075-2086: Arcadia, Horizon, Reach, Harvest, and many other worlds are colonized by the UNSC. In order to boost the populations on these planets pensions are given to families that have more than 6 kids. Arcadia, Horizon, Harvest, Mars, and Reach quickly become the five major colonies in UNSC space.

2077: Star Forge Discovered: On August 28, 2077, the UNSC colony ship Leonardo while exploring the Lehon System in the deep southern reaches of the Perseus Arm stumbles upon Humanity's greatest discovery. The Star Forge. The discovery of the station sends the UNSC into full alert and a battle group is dispatched to the system. After boarding the station, it is discovered that it is a massive factory that uses the power of the sun to create resources and materials and is appropriately named the Star Forge. Scientists learn how the station functions and reverse engineer the technology and blueprints left behind by the stations creators. After three months, the UNSC authorizes the activation of the Star Forge and orders the construction of a new fleet of warships with improved engines and shields. Within a week over a hundred new ships have been built tripling the size of the UNSC Navy. UNSC HIGHCOM and the Consul of the Joint Chiefs order that knowledge of the Star Forge be kept from the public and become the military's most secret installation. Within the next few years the Star Forge Produces an almost infinite amount of ships and weapons of war.

2087: The Planet Ilos is discovered: UNSC Explorers discover the world and the ruined city that covers most of its surface. The ruins are leaked to the public much to frustration of the military and colonists swarm to the planet seeking to scavenge and inhabit the abandoned buildings. Due to the massive influx of highly educated researchers hoping to study and explore the planet, the Consul of Human Advancement moves his office to Ilos. The planet becomes the de facto scientific capital of the UNSC. Over the next century Ilos is the fastest growing colony in UNSC space with a population of 6 billion by the year 2156.

2117: First Contact with the Citadel Council: On January 2, 2117, a UNSC Navy survey ship Rain of Heaven comes across an alien structure in the Shanxi system. When the survey ship approached the structure, it activated and threw the ship into a new system where it encountered a Turian patrol fleet. The Turian fleet attempted to contact the Rain of Heaven but the survey ship was damaged and could not respond. The Turian fleet opened fire on the ship when it launched a probe back towards the relay to alert the Shanxi CDF and UNSC navy. The UNSC Rain of Heaven was lost with all hands. The probe made it back to Shanxi and the UNSC deploys a detachment from the 7th fleet to the colony in anticipation for a possible Turian incursion into the system. A few weeks later 70 Turian ships enter the system and enter a standoff with 67 UNSC ships. However, angered about the destruction of the Rain of Heaven a CDF corvette opens fire on the Turian fleet and trigger happy ship captains on both sides open fire. The Turians lose 64 of their ships while the UNSC loses only 32 ships. The remaining Turian ships retreat through the relay and are pursued by 8 UNSC Charon class frigates. When the UNSC ships emerge through the other side of the relay they are greeted by 40 more Turian ships and several dozen ships of different design. The UNSC ships open Fire first. Firing their powerful MAC cannons and destroy 8 alien ships before they are overwhelmed and destroyed by the Turian Ships. When news of what had happened in Shanxi reaches the Councilor of the Joint Chiefs the UEG council places all UNSC space under war readiness and prepares for war. The Human-Council War had begun.

2117-2121: Human-Council War: After a series of failed negotiations between the Council and the UNSC total war became inevitable. Soon the UNSC sent the entire 3rd Armada through the Shanxi Relay and annihilated the Council ships. After scavenging the wreckage of the Council ships for intelligence the UNSC discovers the location of the Citadel and several dozen planets. Operation Case Green is authorized and the 3rd Armada jumps to the Citadel through slipspace bypassing the mass relay and catching the Citadel defense fleet off guard. UNSC marines are deployed from their ships and begin capturing the station. The UNSC Naval forces win a decisive battle against the Citadel defense fleet and sets up defensive positions around the relay. After several months, all resistance on the Citadel is depleted and C-Sec orders all remaining forces to lay down their arms. After capturing the Citadel in 2118, the UNSC builds up its ground forces for the Invasion of Turian and Asari space. In 2119 the UNSC launches its dual invasion of Asari and Turian space. For the next 2 years Council forces wage a war of attrition and test the UNSC's patience. After 2 years of brutal ground warfare the UNSC captures the Asari homeworld of Thessia and several other Asari worlds including Illium. The Turians maintain a fierce resistance on Palaven and other key worlds costing the UNSC millions of soldiers. Eventually UNSC patience is broken and the battlegroup in orbit around Palaven begins a mass orbital bombardment of the Turian homeworld killing over 5 billion out of the planets 12.1 billion population. The bombardment of the Turian homeworld brought the Council to the negotiating table in fear that other worlds would suffer the same fate if resistance continued. On October 4, 2121, the Citadel Council and its member species declared their unconditional surrender to the UNSC.

2121: Treaty of Sur'Kesh: In November that year the UNSC delegation attended the peace conference on the Salarian homeworld of Sur'Kesh. In the treaty, the Citadel was to be handed over to the UNSC along with the Asari worlds of Illium, Agessia, Asteria, Lusia, Lesuss, Nevos, Hyetiana, Kurinth, and Tevura. The Asari argued that since it was the Turians who started the conflict and not the Asari that it should be Turians who lose worlds. The UNSC delegation replied by saying with the now infamous line "well if we took Turian worlds how would the future human populations that inhabit them live?" It was at that meeting that the Asari delegation finally realized the true motivation of the UNSC. It was the final Asari world on the list that shocked the Asari delegation the most and that world was Thessia. As soon as the Asari homeworld was mentioned the entire Asari delegation got up in rage demanding that Thessia not be on the list since it was their homeworld. The UNSC threatened that if they did not give up Thessia than they would bomb the planet into glass. Faced with the prospect of losing their homeworld forever the Asari with heavy hearts accepted stating that they would outlive the UNSC and Thessia will be theirs again. The Salarian Union got off relatively clean since they remained virtually neutral during the entire conflict. As for the Turians the UNSC gave them back Palaven now permanently scarred as a reminder to never again challenge humanity. An arms limitation agreement was also enforced on the council races limiting the size of their military forces. Also in the arms limitation treaty was that whenever a new ship was built the council races had to pay the UNSC a tithe that was 70% the cost to build that ship. In the end all the council races signed the peace treaty and UNSC forces quickly moved into occupying the newly annexed territory.

2132: The Batarian Exodus: In 2131 the Batarians started to raid the Asari worlds that were annexed by the UNSC for slaves. The UNSC although it despised slavery didn't care what the Batarians did unless they attacked UNSC property or started taking Human slaves. However, the Batarians never seemed to get the memo and during one of their raids on Asteria the slavers attacked the UNSC Human enclave on the planet and put several thousand Humans into slavery. When the UNSC found out they demanded the immediate release of the slaves and that the Batarians hand over all those responsible for the raid. The Batarians tried stalling the UNSC since all those responsible for the raid were in high government positions within the Hegemony. After a week of stalling the UNSC declared war and sent a battlegroup to the Batarian homeworld to liberate the slaves. The Batarian military commanders fearing for their lives abandoned their posts and allowed the UNSC to quickly take control of the planet. The UNSC issued another ultimatum to the Batarians that stated unless every single human slave is freed and returned to the UNSC they will take another Batarian world and tear it apart until they recovered every one of their citizens. The Batarians were unable to find all the human slaves in time and within 2 months every Batarian world was under UNSC occupation. Things only became worse for the Batarians when a mass grave was discovered on Khar'shan the Batarian home world. The mass grave contained the bodies of 1,234 human men, women, and children. Enraged by this discovery UNSC forces on the planet began a systematic purge of every slaver they could find whether they owned a Human slave or not. Mass public executions took place in the Batarian capitol and were broadcasted across UNSC space. After about a week of unrestrained purges the UNSC officers restrained their soldiers. It wasn't until more mass graves were discovered that the UNSC Admiral Obadiah Udina in charge of all occupied worlds ordered without authorization from HIGHCOM the roundup of every single Batarian. Admiral Udina ordered his men to put every Batarian they could find onto every slave ship still intact. A total of 20 billion Batarians were forced onto the cramped ships and towed by the UNSC to the unhabituated world of XZ-141. The Batarians were forced of the ships with nothing but the clothes on their backs and left there with no food, water, or infrastructure. Admiral Udina gave his ships the infamous command that stated "under no circumstances are the Batarians to leave this world. If you see them building a settlement bomb it, if they so much as try to escape bomb them, if they do anything besides starving on that rock bomb them". Within a month 10 billion Batarians starved to death and the survivors quickly turned on each other with some turning to cannibalism. When HIGHCOM back on Earth found out what Udina had done they ordered ONI to prevent any information from reaching the public. The system XZ-141 was in was declared a restricted area and ONI set up a containment unit around the planet to make sure no one got in or out of the system. Admiral Udina still seen as a hero in the public's eyes was never charged and went on to become Deputy Councilor for State Affairs. The remaining Batarians that managed to escape the UNSC continue to live in exile outside UNSC space. The status of the Batarians of XZ-141 is currently unknown but it is likely only a few million Batarians have managed to survive.