Author's note: Well, this is a Firefly\Halo crossover. I've got the idea after noticing multiple similarities in both franchises. So I've decided to try to write a story about it. The biggest problem was that the timelines of Halo and Firefly do not exactly match. So, I decided to somehow go around it. So do not pay much attention to calendar dissimilarities. That will be explained in one of later chapters. This is only a prologue, so no Chief, Cortana of the Serenity crew in this chapter. This one is mostly to introduce one of the focus characters in this story and some OCs. P.S. For those, who interested – pairings are canon for both Firefly (including JxR) and Halo. P.P.S. English is not my native language, so I wouldn't mind a beta reader. Now, onto the story…The Big Damn Ring
Prologue
27.09.2559. UNSC Military Calendar. Location: Slipspace.
Yuri Gagarin was a beautiful new ship. Even the Fleet Master Rtas 'Vadum could agree with that. The human race was extremely fast at learning new things, and he wasn't very surprised, when they had build this ship, that not only utilized both UNSC and Covenant technologies, but also carried thousand of small improvements, that made it superior to any combat spaceship that existed in both UNSC and Sangheili fleets. The name, as 'Vadum learned, belonged to first human space pilot. The very class of the ship, "Vostok", was named after his spacecraft. It was a common practice in human culture to name new ships after those, who played important role in the history of the fleet.
'Vadum was torn out of his musings by the ship's navigation officer William Graystone, who called to him.
Capt… I mean, Ship Master! We're closing to supposed Halo location. We're going to exit the Slipspace in ten minutes.
Good. – Rtas nodded. – Give me the internal communications. Attention crew. This is the Ship Master. We're exiting the Slipspace in nine minutes. All hands are to be on level three alert. We don't know if the Brutes have already discovered it. Be prepared to battle.
'Vadum knew that his crew was feeling nervous and a little excited. If the Brutes are there, this will be the first big battle in a year that passed from the Battle of Installation 00. The war didn't stop after that battle, of course. The Brutes were severely beaten, but not defeated. The minor engagements between the Covenant Loyalists and the UNSC-Sangheili united forces, combined with the concentration of forces in the Loyalists Sector, led humans and Elites into strengthening their alliance and making it permanent. The new UNSC, which expanded now on both human and Sangheili territories, was still smaller, and probably weaker, than the Covenant, but they had a will to fight, strengthened by their recent victories.
Rtas cast a look on the timer, the human digits showed a little over five minutes to the Slipspace exit moments. The Ship Master leaned forward to the bridge's front window, looking at the blurry pattern of the Slipspace. He muttered something under his breath, then turned to Yuki Ayama, the comms officer.
Tell all other ships to be prepared to battle, we don't know, what awaits us at this Halo. It could be Brutes, preparing to fire it, or even the Flood outbreak.
Agama nodded and proceeded with her orders, while 'Vadum frowned, unconsciously fiddling with his plasma sword handle. The remaining Halo Installations were a constant source of fear to the newly-formed union's High Council. Even if they could only be fired by human hands, no one was willing to risk the Prophets getting the hand on such powerful weapons. So, after the ONI has acquired confirmation of the fact that the Covenant are planning to find the remaining Halos, the Expedition Fleet was quickly formed of the few powerful UNSC ships and sent to mission on finding and securing the remaining Halo rings. Rtas has volunteered into this mission as soon as he learned about it. He was a warrior after all, and, if use human expression, "sitting on his butt bored a hell out of him". So he assumed command of an expedition fleet in order to prevent himself from going insane from boredom.
Weapons primed and standing by, Ship Master. The plasma turret charging cycle will start once we're out of the Slipspace. Same for the MAC guns. The artillery cannons are loaded ready to fire by your word. – Zaga 'Hagamee, one of the Gagarin's weapon officers reported. His partner Vasiliy Gromov only nodded.
These two were picked by 'Vadum himself. Despite being from the different races, they both were weapon maniacs and very fast got along with each other. Young and rather excitable 'Hagamee and silent Gromov were both experts in their areas of weaponry and sometimes managed to create crazy, but extremely effective combat tactics, that utilized Gagarin's both energy and conventional weapons to maximum extent.
'Vadum looked at the timer again. Less than two minutes. He put his hand on the comms again.
Attention to all ships, this is Fleet Master 'Vadum. We're going to exit the Slipspace in one minute. Prepare to assume the combat formation on exit.
Less than a minute later the expedition fleet appeared near the Halo ring. While the sensors did not detect any hostile presence, 'Vadum did not give the order to prepare ground operation until after two hours of throughout scanning.
27.09.2519. Universal Alliance calendar. Location: Londinium Advanced Physics University.
So, this is your new space engine, right? – said one of the Alliance officials, staring at the heavy cylindrical thing with lots of tube, coming from it.
No, no, of course not. – Answered the bespectacled scientist, while shaking his head slightly. – The engine itself is yet to be built. This is merely a prototype, to test the Shaw-Fujikawa effect.
Shaw-Fujikawa? – Asked another official.
Yes, they were the two physicians, who offered a theory. We were lucky, that we were able to find that magazine in old Alliance archive. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any prototype yet.
What does it exactly do? – An old, balding admiral questioned. – Will it make our ships faster?
Faster? Well, not exactly. – The scientist shook his head again. – It rips the normal fabric of time-space and allows the ship to slip into a subspace. While in a subspace, you can travel faster, like the travel, that would normally take two months, will be down to less, than a week.
It is quite amazing. – Another man said. – But wouldn't it make easier for smugglers and pirates to move around, if we can't detect them?
No, not at all. We have also thought about that, we can easily calibrate all Alliance monitoring relays to detect time-space ripping. We've already tested it, using one of Londinium's monitoring relay. I can show you, gentlemen, if you want. – The physician walked to the console and pressed several buttons. The screen stared to glow, and scientist's eyes bulged out. He breathed out one barely audible word. – Impossible…
What do you mean? – The Alliance admiral turned to the physician.
There has been a huge amount of signals… All it one location… Multiple objects… Outside the Alliance territory… - The scientist shook his head slightly, and took off his glasses. – We must prepare or most powerful ships and the best diplomats and send them there. We've just have an alien contact...