A/N: New chapter! Also I need to fix some of the formatting in the first chapter, the site doesn't seem to like the '-' for some reason, so sorry if that's anyone's pet peeve, I know it bothers me xD. Therefore I'm using a new styling that will actually work, shouldn't look much different, format will remain the same. Also to note, there'll be a jump ahead in time in this chapter, keep in mind that there are events that take place within the time line that I will write up a proper story to but they will come as jump backs/flash backs in a few forms, and I'll leave it at that. Also I'll be having some characters from the games who are supposed to be dead, not dead.
Oh and before I forget, units of measurement are in metric, most of the time. For example, when I speak of 'tons' its metric tons.
Sorry guys, the formatting got all messed up after I posted it, despite spending the time to clean it up in the doc manager, that's why I had to take it down for a bit.
Hope you enjoy and thanks to all the readers, didn't expect this to do as well as it has!
Cheers!
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DIMEN\COORDS - TEMPORAL/ADJUS 23.76 x 121 x K+2
ASSOCIATE\DOMOMAIN - SYNTH/SPECIES 5529553055315781
COMM\LEV - GRADE GS1
AUTH\TEC - 10 PARTS
TEC\LEV - CLASS 5
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An interesting discovery, the Advisers would be most pleased. A species that has discovered teleportation, but were ignorant of its effects or how to obfuscate their travels, though it would appear they are just on the cusp of the discovery, as the specific universe had only sung out once. An easy conquest is likely to follow, indeed, the Advisers will be most pleased.
SYNTHQSDN133T was one of the few of his species that had retained his sentience at the grace of the Universal Union. An opportunity he would relish in.
The sheer vastness of the Union was beyond comprehension. Truly a cause worth fighting for, and dying for, though not his life as he could offer more to them alive than he could dead or mindless. Regardless, long ago had he shed his emotions in regards to his species, or the myriad others for that matter, throwing his own and others into the gears and cogs of the Universal Unions war machine. How many had passed on? How many realized it? Why should he care, for a greater cause many must be sacrificed, and a few must remain at the helm, guiding the blind and ignorant towards a greater goal, a unified existence.
Preparations must be made. Preparations will be made.
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UNCHARTED SYSTEM
CLASSIFICATION:CLASSIFIED PRIORITY LEVEL ALPHA
ORIGIN:E-RELATIVE [+91.9PC] [7.13 RAD] [+1.9PC]
UNSC DSC-101 [HAMMER STAND;FISHER KING]
UNSC INF-202 [OAKENSHIELD]
UEG EXPLR-1 [GREAT MIND'S]
SENT:2/28/2686
RECIEVED:3/1/2687
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EMERGENCY BURST TRANSMISSION.
EXPLORED UNCAHRTED SYSTEM PER MISSION PARAM.
HOSTILE SPECIES(S) ENCOUNTERED IN SYSTEM.
SYSTEM ON EDGE OF ORION ARM CO-ORDS ATTATCHED.
ESTIMATED MINIMUM TECH LEVEL T4 HIGHLY AGGRESSIVE.
OAKENSHIELD ENGAGED IN RETALIATION.
HOSTILE FLEET VESSEL COUNT: 11 (12 - 1 AS CASUALTY).
SHIP SUFFERED NO DAMAGE UPON ENGAGMENT.
REMAINING CREW:18000/18000.
ESTIMATED TIME TO LIFE SUPPORT FALIURE:[INDEFINET] DAYS.
AI CORE: ONLINE FULL FUNCTIONALITY.
TIME TO MINIMUM POWER THRESHOLD: 890000 DAYS.
PRESENCE OF HOSTILE BODIES ABORD: NEGATIVE.
HOME PROTOCAL NOT INITIATED.
CEASEFIRE ESTABLISHED POST ENGAGMENT.
HOSTILITEIS STAND DOWN.
REQUEST FOR FLEET SUPPORT + ENVOY FOR FURTHER DIPLOMATIC PROGRESS.
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"This is Captain Hachirou Yodama of the UNSC, I am in command of this exploratory fleet. You are to stand down, and send you're commanding officer and his officers complement aboard a shuttle, you will land in the highlighted bay aboard the Oakenshield. You have 10 minutes to comply."
The voice finished delivering its message and went silent, leaving the bridge of the Spirits Sabre in stunned silence. No one moved for a solid minute, all contemplating the ramifications of what had just transpired, and what was about to transpire. Not since the Krogan rebellions had the Turians ever faced such an overwhelming force, or been defeated as they had. 4 ships, one of which was not even a combat vessel, had managed to destroy a carrier, pacify 10 frigates and a dreadnought, and render them immobile. Desolas, had never shit his pants, but now would have been a time better than any other.
"Send them an acknowledgement, I and the other commanders will rendezvous here and then leave via a single shuttle to board their...Oakenshield"
"But Sir! We have no way of knowing this isn't a trap! They may be luring you and the other captains to kill aboard that monstrosity!"
"Crewman, if they had wanted us dead, they'd need not bother with trickery. Their ships far out match our own, it is a testament to their prowess and discipline on both a military and diplomatic level that they have spared us. Besides, what other choice do I have, let all of you good men die for nothing?"
The bridge crew quieted down at that, both out of fear of the aliens and respect for their General, knowing he was risking his life so that they may not perish needlessly. They went back about their tasks, hoping and praying for the best.
Orders went out to all the surviving ships, their captains departing their commands and gathering on the Sabre. Once all the officers were gathered, they flew out with the shuttle, making their way towards the colossal ship. As they approached, four beams of light stretched out from one of the hangers, showing a path for them to follow in. Getting close to the vessel, the Turians on board got a true appreciation for the size of the Oakenshield, no longer able to see the top or bottom of the vessel.
"They're on an approach vector Captain. They'll be landing in the hanger momentarily."
"Yokkai, have a Spartan-V fireteams ready in the hanger, I'll be making my way down now. You have the helm Kestrel."
"Understood Captain, taking temporary helm control."
Hachirou turned and made his way over to the elevator that would take him to the tram system. Entering the elevator, he touched the holographic button for deck 10, the hub of the tram system. Doors closing, Hachirou could feel the acceleration of the elevator as it brought him down a few hundred meters in a few moments. Exiting the elevator, he met up with the Spartan-V to board the tram.
"Captain."
"Sargent Hobbes."
The Spartan-V looked impressive in her GEN4 armour, backed by her three other squad members, one of which also totted the GEN4 while the others wore GEN3.
The simple fact that there were two Spartan-Vs equipped with GEN4 armour had done wonders for crew moral, as the armour and the Spartans that wore it were held in almost legendary regard.
"Expecting trouble Sir?" Hobbes asked
"I'm uncertain Kristie, their command seems reasonable enough. As I understand it, they fired on us do to the breaking of one of their laws, though one would think that communication would be preferable to conflict in such circumstances. Then again, that is why I'm having you and your team tag along."
"You're sure its not to show off a little?"
"I admit that that is part of it. They seem to be a highly disciplined and military minded species, I believe they will find respect for us with your attendance"
"I would think that if they don't already, then they're pretty thick. They certainly fear us."
"Indeed they do, but fear is unequal to respect, I'd much rather be respected than feared. Fear also drives irrational action, respect fosters trust."
The tram came to a stop, doors opening and letting the occupants step out into the 50 meter tall room. Before them, a boxy looking shuttle sat in the center of the hanger, outside it were 11 'Turians' with what were undoubtedly rifles and side arms slung on their backs and thighs. Hachirou approached them with the Spartans in tow. The Turians immediately came to alert as they saw the armour clad behemoths approaching, a spark of fear and awe in their eyes.
Desolas thought to him self 'By the Spirits...these things are bigger than a Krogan' but what the smaller unarmoured human did next surprised Desolas even more.
"Hello, I am Captain Hachirou Yodama of the UNSC, commander of this ship and fleet. We are human, though we know your species name. more specifically, you are?" Hachirou spoke in perfect unaided Turian
"You speak Turian?"
"I do, but only as of an hour ago."
Desolas wasn't sure what to make of that, he'd learnt his entire language in an hour, was he just gifted with languages or was it something else?
"Forgive my rudeness, I am General Desolas Arterius of the Turian Hierarchy, commander of the 6th fleet. I cannot say that I am pleased with the situation or for the loss of all my men aboard the carrier you destroyed, but I relent as I was the first to fire. Hopefully you will spare my men if nothing else."
Hachirou immediately respected Desolas more than he did a moment ago, he'd anticipated a gungho trigger happy commander, but was pleased to find that the alien in front of him had integrity and a sense of duty towards his men.
"I have no intention of destroying you or your ships, granted that we are NOT fired upon again." Hachirou emphasized the not to further drive home the point
"That is appreciated, Capitan. Now, as we are at your mercy, what have you called me and my officers here for?"
Straight to the point and no nonsense, Hachirou was beginning to like Desolas more and more.
"A cease fire, for now, and perhaps peace if your Hierarchy is amicable. We'd also enjoy the opportunity to meet with this...Council I believe it is?"
Desolas was starting to understand now, they must have gotten into the fleets network and downloaded the Codex. It would explain how they could know Turian, and how they knew of the Council.
"That would be most preferable, even if we were to set our sights upon conflict, I doubt we'd win, as much as that pains me. I will give the order to stand down immediately if that means you will spare my men. I can also contact the Hierarchy if I could return to my ship."
"Perfect, all hands down to alert level, we're no longer on combat footing. Desolas, there is no need to leave so soon, you can contact your Hierarchy from the bridge here. Not to mention, if we are to be neighbours, a tour of the ship as a show of good faith?"
Desolas was stunned by the forwardness of these 'humans' having been used to playing politics with every other Council race, rarely were they as forth coming as these humans.
"I humbly accept. The Hierarchy can wait, that tour however has me quite interested." Desolas said, adding a slight bow to his words.
The 11 officers tagged after Desolas as he followed Hachirou to the tram to begin the tour of the largest ship any turian had ever set foot on.
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UEG PLANET: REACH
CLASSIFICATION:CLASSIFIED PRIORITY LEVEL GAMMA
ORIGIN:E-RELATIVE [+21.9PC] [1.1 RAD] [+39.7PC]
UNSC INF-202 [INDEFINITE RESOLVE]
SENT:1/20/2686
RECIEVED:1/23/2687
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Banon was eager to present his findings to Fleet Admiral Grayson. He'd contacted fleet command to set up the meeting immediately after the test on the 16th,
though Grayson was entangled in other obligations at the time hence the four day wait. Still, Grayson was due to arrive any minute now. He and Alex had been waiting in one of the meeting rooms aboard the Indefinite Resolve, getting ready to present the breakthrough they'd made to the most powerful man in the UNSC.
"Alex, have that footage ready at hand, we'll present it after he's seen the dossier."
"I've already got it ready to transmit on my tac-pad"
"Perfect!"
The doors to the room slide open with a cold hiss, the Fleet Admiral walking in as the doors parted. He was accompanied by two Spartan-Vs who stopped at the entrance of the doors and turned about face to stand guard over the room.
"So then, let's cut straight to it, what've you got for me Dr. Magnusson?"
All three present took a seat around the table, Banon taking the folder he'd had in hand and sliding it across the table to the Fleet Admiral. Grayson caught the folder and brought it up to read, giving each page a skim, and coming to the end Banon could see the smile grow on Grayson's face.
"This is outstanding! I assume you've got the recording yes?"
"Alex, if you would be so kind?"
Dr. Kleiner slid his sleeve over to uncover his tac-pad, tapping it a few times just as a hologram of the test chamber appeared on the surface of the table.
"I'll begin the playback." Alex noted
Watching intently, Grayson saw the whole sequence unfold, seeing the blackbox licked by the arcs of energy, to the flash of light that triggered its disappearance and reappearance.
"Incredible, and this is replicable?"
"It is, and as the dossier says, all that is needed is the sending node, no receiving pad is required whatsoever. Though energy demands will limit the size of the teleportation."
"So this can't be used on a ships scale then?"
"Not that it can't be, theoretically we could move entire planets and possibly even solar systems with this, but as it stands now, we lack the needed energy output to do so. Given a few decades, refinements of the calculations and further advances in power generation should allow us to use this on a fleet wide scale."
"So this will obsolete Slipspace?"
"Not for a long time, if at all. The issue with this form of travel, as we've only recently discovered after the initial test, is that it is detectable at stellar distances, if not farther. We'd be giving whoever a big ass sign saying 'WE'RE COMMIN FOR YA' if we did, for now at least."
"Well you've got me thoroughly impressed Banon, I'll have documents written up to further support your research, you'll get the details in a few days."
"Thank you Sir!" Alex and Banon said in unison
"Now, I've other matters to attend to, you're both dismissed."
The two scientists left, leaving the Fleet Admiral to his tasks, and both giddy from the success in both their research and how Grayson reacted. Excited to find out what exactly the Admiral had had in mind to help further their research.
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HISTORICAL ARCHIVE
CLEARNACE LEVEL REQUIRED: ALPHA
UNRESTRICTED DATA ACCESS NO LOGS REDACTED
DATE RANGE:3/1/2687 1/1/2700
-
SORT BY: RELEVANT DATA/MONTH - DATA/YEAR
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DATE: 3/2687
OFFICIAL CEASEFIRE SIGNED - [UNSC/UEG][TURIAN HERIARCHY]
INTRODUCTION TO [COUNCIL] GALACTIC GOVERNMENT - MIXED REACTIONS
ASARI - NEUTRAL;APPREHENSIVE;FEARFUL
SALARIAN - NEUTRAL;SUSPICIOUS;EAGER
TURIANS - POSITIVE;TRUSTING;EAGER
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DATE: 5/2687
TRADE AGREEMENTS SIGNED - [UNSC/UEG][TURIAN HERIARCHY]
NON-AGRESSION PACT SIGNED - [UNSC/UEG][TURIAN HERIARCHY]
MARK I TELPORTER PROTOTYPE COMPLETE - READY FOR INSTALLATION XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
DATE: 6/2687
REALATION CHANGE:
SALARIAN - POSITIVE
NON-AGRESSION PACT SIGNNED - [UNSC/UEG][SALARIAN UNION]
UNSC COMMISSION NEW VESSEL DESIGN - AWAITING APROVAL
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DATE: 9/2687
UNSC/UEG OFFERED EMBASSY ABOARD CITADEL - ACCEPTED
SANGHEILI ENGAGED REMNANT COVENANT - ONGOING
UNSC OFFERED ASSISTANCE - DECLINED [REASON AS QUOTED: HONOR]
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DATE: 2/2688
BATARIAN HEGEMONY ATTACK AGAINST UEG COLONY [GAMMA CEPHI]
BATARIAN FLEET DESTROYED/GROUND FORCES NEUTRALIZED CASUALTIES - CIVILIAN 23% [249596] DECEASED UNSC 2% [1411] DECEASED BATARIAN 99% [98237] DECEASED 1% CAPTURED
UNSC/UEG DECLARES WAR ON BATARIAN HEGEMONY DEPLOYED
[DEF/FLEET1;DEF/FLEET3;REC/FLEET5;REC/FLEET6]
[STRK/FLEET2;STRKFLEET6;LOG/FLEET9;LOG/FLEET10]
RELATION CHANGE:
TURIAN - POSITIVE;IMPRESSED;SYMPATHETIC
ASARI - POSITIVE;FEARFUL;SYMPATHETIC
SALARIAN - POSITIVE;THREATENDED;SYMPATHETIC
UNSC 3 X HLF-101 COMPLETED - AWAITING ASSIGNMENT
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DATE: 11/2688
BATARIAN HEGEMONY DISSOLVED - CAUSE: DEFEAT/CAPTURE OF HOMEWORLD
CASUALTIES - UNSC/UEG 11% [48273] DECEASED BATARIAN 99% [1359224] DECEASED CIVILIAN 6% [10989] DECEASED SLAVES 9% [15495] DECEASED
OUTCOME - SLAVES LIBERATED, RETURNED TO HOME SPACE
BATARIANS PACIFIED;SLAVERY ABOLISHED
TEMPORARY UNSC MILITARY GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED
UNSC SUFFERED MINOR LOSSES [11%]
CIVILIANS/SLAVES KILLED IN GROUND ENGAGMENTS [15%]
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DATE: 5/2689
UNSC ASCENSION-CLASS APPROVED FOR PRODUCTION
COUNCIL MEMBER RACES INCREASE IN DEFENSE/RESEARCH SPENDING
RELATION CHANGE:
TURIAN - POSITIVE;GREATEFUL;INTIMIDATED
ASARI - NEUTRAL;FEARFUL;SYMPATHETIC
SALARIAN - NEUTRAL;THREATENDED;GREATEFUL
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DATE: 4/2691
UNSC ASCENSION-CLASS PRODUCTION START - [2%]
SANGHEILI/REMNANT CONFLICT CONTINUES - POTENTIAL TO ESCALATE HIGH
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DATE: 9/2691
SANGHEILI/REMNANT WAR SPILLS INTO UNSC/UEG TERRITORY
SANGHEILI EXPRESS REMORSE AND SHAME FOR EVENT
UNSC OFFERS ASSISTANCE AGAIN - ACCEPTED
UNSC DECLARES WAR ON REMNANT COVENANT
COUNCIL RACES OBTAIN BASIC SLIPSPACE FORMULAS
TURIANS - NO PROGRESS
ASARI - NO PROGRESS
SALARIANS - MINOR PROGRESS
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DATE: 2/2693
UNGGOY AND MGALEKGOLO SECEDE FROM REMNANT COVENANT ALLIED WITH SANGHEILI
SANGHEILI FORMS SOVEREIGN SPECIES UNION
UNSC/UEG AND SSU SIGN TRADE AND MUTUAL DEFENSE TREATIES XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
DATE: 1/2696
UNSC ASCENSION-CLASS PRODUCTION START - [53%]
BEHIND SCHEDULE BY [10%]
BATARIAN HOMEWORLD RELEASED BACK TO BATARIANS NEW BATARIAN FORMED DEMOCRACY
BATARIAN COLONIES REBEL - [5+]
REBELLION OVER DRAMATICALLY LOWERED STANDARD OF LIVING DUE TO LACK OF A WORK FORCE.
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DATE: 12/2698
UNSC ASCENSION-CLASS PRODUCTION START - [76%]
CONSTURCTION BACK ON SCHEDULE
FINAL RELOCATION TO EARTH FOR COMPLETION
UNSC COMMISSION NEW HAC MODEL FOR DESIGN
REMNANT COVENANT ON THE RETREAT LOST TERRITORY [35%]
EARTH COMPLETES H-MAC SOLAR SYSTEM DEFENSE PLATFORM
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DATE: 4/2699
REMNANT COVENANT RETREAT FROM GALACTIC STAGE LOST TERRITORY [48%]
BATARIAN GOVERNMENT CHRISTEN NEW NAME - BATARIAN COALITION
9/12 COLONIES PACIFIED
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DATE: 12/2699
UNSC ASCENSION-CLASS PRODUCTION START - [100%]
CONSTURCTION COMPLETE AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
ADMIRAL LASKY ASSIGNED AS C.O
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DATE: 1/1/2700
PRESENT DAY.
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SOL SYSTEM: EARTH
CLASSIFICATION:CLASSIFIED PRIORITY LEVEL ALPHA
ORIGIN:E-RELATIVE [0PC] [2.1RAD] [0PC]
UNSC ASC-101 [ASCENSION]
SENT:1/1/2700
RECIEVED:1/2/2700
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The dawn of the 28th century, really not something Admiral Lasky had thought he'd ever see, but a lot had happened since the Great War. At a 190 years old, Thomas was looking pretty good, only having gained a wrinkle or two since the encounter with the Didact, but he wasn't complaining. Looking out of the window on the DSC-101 he'd gotten on, he could see the ship he was being ferried too. The Ascension-class ultra-heavy battleship, the first of its kind, and the largest ship humanity had ever built. The long and sleek vessel was similar in shape to the original Infinity, though much longer and taller than it, but not much wider, still every little bit counted. The overall shape of the ship was less angular than the Infinity, though it did retain some of the sharp edges and steep angles of its predecessor, the armour 'roof' of the Infinity was still present but at less of an incline due to the larger width of the ship, the underside of the ship was more or less rounded, with antennas, laser emitters, hangers and large plates of armour lining it. The top of the ship had the bridge placed roughly in the middle,
closer to the back than the front, and in the space between the bridge and the engines were thousands of missile pod doors, all just waiting to be unleashed.
The Hard-Light Emitters were harder to spot as they were hidden behind large circular doors on the 'roof' closer to the main body of the ship rather than the extremities of the 'roof'. All in all, the ship was a beauty, or a beast depending on how you looked at it.
As Lasky stood there, he could see and feel the DCS-101 slowing down, which then came to a complete stop a few hundred kilometers from the Ascension.
"Captain, what's the stop for?"
a moment of silence passed as Lasky awaited a reply
"We just got orders to hold our position Sir, that's all I know, it's all they said."
"Understood Captain, I'll see if I can't find out whats going on."
rolling up his sleeve, Lasky began tapping away at his tac-pad, going through contacts and finding Fleet Admiral Grayson's name, he tapped it and opened a line to him, having to wait a moment for him to answer.
"Ah, Admiral Lasky, I figured you'd call."
"Is that so Sir? I guess you know then that I'm parked just outside my new ride."
"That I do Admiral, the crew want to welcome you in a more...flashy way."
Lasky raised his eyebrows at that, wondering what Grayson had meant by 'flashy', though he didn't have to wait long to find out. Lasky could feel a tingly sensation running over his skin, his hairs standing up on their own.
"Uh Sir? What exactl-" before Lasky could finish, a loud sort of blasting sound took up all of his hearing, a flash of light did the same for his vision for a moment, both the sound and light fading to blackness just before finding himself on the bridge of a ship he'd never stepped foot on. All of this taking place in but a few seconds. Looking around, Lasky ready 'Ascension' on the edge of the holo-table directly in front of him, the crew all looking at him and seemingly unphased by the sudden appearance of their new C.O
"Welcome aboard the Ascension Admiral."
That voice, he'd heard it before, a long time ago. Turning around, Lasky stood face to face with a life sized hologram of Cortana, behind her stood a Spartan,
though not wearing the same armour he'd had before, decked out in GEN4 armour and written on the left breastplate '117'.
"Cortana! Chief! I wasn't told I'd be having you two aboard!"
John spoke up
"The Fleet Admiral...wanted to surprise you, Sir."
"Well he nearly had me shit my self Chief, actually, Cortana just what exactly did happen? I didn't see any slipspace portals, in fact I saw nothing, just felt it"
"That'd be correct Sir, you were indeed teleported, the difference is that it's independent of slipspace, quite fascinating stuff really." Cortana added
"First things first though, Chief, Cortana, what'd I say last time about 'Sir'? There'll be none of that on my ship, just Lasky. Or Thomas."
"Understood...Lasky" The Chief had to catch himself there, Cortana only smiled
"So Lasky, how 'bout a tour? Get a feel for your new charge?"
"That sounds like a great idea Cortana, lead the way." he said with a sway of the arm and a light bow
3 hours later
"The schematics don't do her justice, really a fine ship."
"You're telling me! You've got no idea how big this boat really is, lot's of space to move around in." Cortana said, referring to the virtual areas of the ship
They stepped out of the elevator and onto the bridge once more, Lasky took another look around, feeling proud of the ship just like he had when he'd been given Infinity.
A soft ping sounded from the holo-table, prompting Lasky to check what had just come in. As he approached the call connected and a full colour hologram of Grayson appeared before him
"I take it you seen the ins and outs of your ship my friend, how does she rate?"
"Beyond words Sir, you guys at FLEETCOM really went all out with this one."
"That we did, only reason I'm not taking it for myself, is I know how much it cost" Grayson let out a hardy laugh at that, as it died down Grayson looked to his side, Lasky couldn't see what he was looking at, but it seemed as though someone was talking to him. Concern grew on his face, turning into a grimace. Grayson turned back to face Lasky
"Lasky, do a sweep of the system, now."
Lasky was confused by the sudden change in tone, but relayed the order, Cortana closed her eyes for a second, a moment they later shot open wide eyed.
"Lasky! There's an unknown ship just outside of Jupiter's orbit, and it wasn't there a few moments ago!"
"All hands to battle stations! Red Alert, this is NOT a drill! Cortana, can we get a visual?"
"Uh working on it, give me a sec."
The holo-table sprung to life, displaying Jupiter and her moons
"I don't see anything Cortana, what exac-"
"There! Look!"
On the edge of Jupiter's shadow, at first a glint, then slowly it revealed it self, the shadow receding slowly. The ship never seemed to end, as more and more of it was revealed as the shadow withdrew. Finally coming out of the darkness, the ship hung there in space, a long and thin triangular prism.
"That...that ship is over a hundred kilometers long, and at least twenty kilometers wide." Cortana said, the worry wrought on her face
"A hundred kilometers long!?" Lasky asked incredulously
"Over a hundred." John corrected
"Alert every fleet in system! Get this data to Grayson!"
"It's moving! Heading straight for Earth!"
As they saw it begin to move, its side panels began sliding, first outwards then down and to the side. Revealing a black cavern within, and out of it came hundreds of cruiser sized ships of the same shape, and hundreds of thousands of little black dots, fighters most likely.
The holo-table pinged softly again, not waiting to be answered, Grayson appeared again
"Admiral Lasky, I am assigning the first through fifth fleet to you, you are to engage that ship and stop it from reaching Earth at ALL costs. You are authorized to use the H-MAC, I repeat you are AUTHORIZED to use it! Good luck." Grayson's tone was deadly serious, as soon as he'd appeared, he'd vanished. Leaving Lasky to stare into the void for a moment.
"Cortana, get me within 1 light second of that ship! Shields to full, warm up the H-MAC and the Emitters! I want reactors running at 110% pronto! Have the First though Third fleets form up on us, the Fourth and Fifth are to make a slipspace jump behind that ship, same distance as us!"
Affirmative called out across the bridge, people setting in motion to prepare the ship for an imminent engagement. A second later hundreds of swirling blue portals opened up all around Earth and Sol, over 5000 ships jumping to their ordered positions. The jump took less than 5 seconds, all the ships coming out as one and surrounding the unknown ship.
"Open a com channel, hail them!"
"Broadcasting across all frequencies Sir!"
"This is Admiral Lasky of the UNSC Ascension, you have entered restricted space unauthorized! State your intentions or we will open fire."
The bridge was deathly silent, some people even stopped breathing. Everything was still, staying so for a solid minute
"No response?"
"Negative Sir! Nothing."
"Open Fi-"
as Lasky was about to give the order to attack, the alien vessel decided it would be the first to throw a punch. Quick flashes of bright white light dotted the edges of the ship, hundreds along the whole length of it, which burst and bent the light around the former dots, a beam of curved space and light seemingly lashed out at hundreds of different ships, upon contact most of the ships glowed white hot before exploding outwards as if their reactors had gone critical taking out their neighbours who weren't hit by the beams. The Ascension and a few other classes of ship that had the shielding to withstand the beams didn't explode, but were battered by the giblets of their comrades and their ships, the Ascension being hit by more than one beam and lots of debris.
The entire bridge shook with the force of the explosions around them and from the force of the beams, but she still held.
"FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!" Lasky howled
"Hard-Light Barriers holding! Shields at 87%!"
Below them, deep in the belly of the beast, the AI's coordinated themselves, ramping up the power output of the reactors to the limit, diverting power to the H-MAC Hard-Light Emitters and shields.
"Shields back up to 100%!"
"H-MAC ready to fire!"
"Fire!"
The lights across the entire ship dimmed as a deep rumble and reverberation built in its bowels. Followed by a sudden ramping hum that crescendoed in a high pitch shriek mixed with a nuclear explosion as the 2500 ton slug ran though the 6 kilometer long barrel, the shriek following the round as it did so. The slug left the barrel at 0.2c, reaching out across the void and slamming into the bow of the aggressors ship. The whole front end of it crumpled inwards as the relativistic slug bored its way through its hull, gutting it from the inside, before it exited out the back and going on to strike Io further off in the distance. The moon cracked like glass around the impact point before exploding like a huge frag grenade. The unknown ship faired no better, the round having caused relatively small fusion explosions through out the entire length of the ship. The back end peeling outwards like a banana before tearing itself to pieces in the ensuing detonations. All happening in just a few seconds. The cruisers that had come out of the ship were caught in the blast, breaking up into millions of pieces, billions collectively.
Some fighters had managed to escape the detonation of their carrier, but were quickly mopped up by the remaining UNSC ships and their point defense networks. Not a single one surrendered, not that they really had the time or inclination to.
"All decks are fine, shields are at 79%, guess we caught some of the blast." Cortana quipped
"Get us a safe distance away from...the remains of Io, I'd rather avoid being taken out by a continent sized asteroid."
"Aye Aye Sir."
The fleets followed suit, backing away before making small slipspace jumps. As they exited slipspace a few million kilometers away, far behind them where the now destroyed ship had been, three bright blue and white portals opened, triangular prisms emerging from each.
"You have GOT to be kidding me."
CODEX
Spartan-V: The fifth generation of the Spartan program. All generations of previous Spartans can apply for Spartan-V status, along with direct insertion from any other branch of the UNSC, but is highly selective of candidates as strict application requirements apply to Spartan-Vs. The Spartan-V program was approached with the same mentality as Marines are to ODST, seeing the effectiveness of generally available Spartan-IV candidates and the success of the Spartan-IV program in both performance and public approval, lead to the development of further refining the Spartan-IVs. Spartan-Vs undergo a year long augmentation process, half for the augmentation and the other half for recovery and adaptation to the modifications. Spartan-Vs receive specialized nano-machine colonies that are designed to 'adapt and survive' under any condition, as an example, when a Spartan-V is unarmoured or in the case of an armour breach, the nanites will do one of two things, if a large enough supply of energy is available they will create small localized Hard-Light barriers over unprotected or exposed flesh, in the case of a lack of energy, they will break down bio-mass to create layers of sub-dermal carbon to protect against projectiles and to ablate plasma. The nanites are also capable of adjusting the bio-chemistry of their hosts to optimize them for their current environment, allowing a Spartan-V to breath a variety of atmospheres and eat virtually anything. The adaptive qualities of the nanites also allow less invasive augmentations as the nanites themselves can enhance all biological functions to superhuman levels, enhancing vision, increasing strength, stamina and flexibility. The only two real pieces of augmentation the Spartan-Vs receive are the Unhexoctium nerve network that gives the Spartan a superconducting nervous system, allowing Spartan-Vs to react and think faster than any previous generation of Spartan. The other piece being a passive zero-point energy generator at the base of their spines that utilizes E168 to draw reasonable amounts of power from, while not enough to run any of the GEN3 or up, can power GEN2 and below, it also provides power for the nanite colonies as well as the AI when the Spartan is host to one. Further more, the nanites act as a nanoscopic network of computers, allowing Smart AIs to reside within the body of a Spartan-V, removing the AIs dependency on the armour and neural implants. With a more direct connection to their AIs, or in AIs case their humans, the Spartan-Vs and AIs can work in perfect unison, sharing thoughts in the same time it takes to think, dramatically increasing Spartan-Vs awareness of everything, tactical or otherwise. The armours available to the Spartan-Vs ranges from MJOLNIR GEN2 to GEN4, more based on the Spartan-Vs preference, while most tend to go with the GEN3 and up when available. Physically, Spartan-Vs usually stand at 2 meters tall, while some reach up to 2.7 meters, they weigh in at least 226.7 kilograms and can reach upwards of 300.
MJOLNIR GEN3: The third generation of MJOLNIR armour, created as more of a science experiment than actual combat armour, is still highly effective in the right hands. The GEN3 is a modular amour system, though not in the ordinary way of adding and removing pre-built parts. The GEN3 has a massive nanite reserve that runs along the inner layer of the back of the armour, along with two micro DFR reactors, and 10 fusion plasma batteries two in each limb and two in the torso that can be recharged by either the micro DFRs or the ZPER. The 'overkill' in terms of available energy to the GEN3 is needed as the nanites require large quantities of energy to perform their tasks, such as elemental synthesis and complex structure creation. GEN3 armour can repair its self within hours to 100% functionality and can create a variety of tools and weapons, including small Hard-Light DEWs or Hard-Light blades and blunt weapons. The GEN3 has never been captured by a hostile as upon death of the Spartan-V the armour will convert all available bio-mass, armour, weapon systems and power generators into a fusion device while turning the armours shell into a lithium triteride case that strengthens the fusion devices yield, essentially meaning that upon death of a Spartan-V with no chance of recovery the armour will detonate to the effect of a 1 megaton nuclear device.
MJOLNIR GEN4: The fourth generation of MJOLNIR armour, designed to be the ultimate combat skin. Less bulky than GEN1 and GEN2, though considerably heavier due to the sole use of Titanium-A6 for armour. The GEN4 is mounted with 3 micro DFRs and a single ZPE-capacitor, a small nanite reserve, a Hard-Light barrier system and double standard shields. While only mounted with a single on board Hard-Light DEW that serves as a special application or general purpose weapon, capable of AT/AA/AP roles, is mounted on the back right shoulder and can come over the shoulder or under the arm depending on choice of firing mode. The armour also has Forerunner field effect emitters, capable of manipulating gravity and magnetic fields with a high degree of precision, albeit with a limited range of 10 meters and at a moderate amount of strength, is used to enhance the strength and speed of Spartan-Vs as well as lighten the burden of the 3.3 ton armour. A move that has gained infamy for the armour is the use of the field effect emitters and the sheer weight of the armour to crush opponents by launching into the air and then accelerating down towards the target, use of this tactic has proven to be effective against both Scorpion II and Wraith tanks, if used in coordination, a Spartan-V fireteam equipped with GEN4 armour can bring down a Scarab without having to board it and destroy by breaking its legs and head. The GEN4 is also rated for unassisted atmospheric re-entry, allowing Spartan-Vs to jump from orbit and land with no ill effects. Due to the construction materials involved in creating a single set of GEN4 armour, makes it rare and highly sought after, entire Spartan-V battalions engage in free for all combat simulator skirmishes with last man standing taking home the prize.
M11E HL-DEW: The built in Hard-Light DEW mounted on the MJOLNIR GEN4 armour system. A special application weapon, capable of serving a variety of roles. Fires Hard-Light rounds at a minimum of 0.01c in flechette mode to 0.1c in slug mode. The weapon unpacks its self from the right shoulder blade and is tied to the armour by a magnetic field cable that channels electricity and acts as a tether, though is nearly invisible to the unaided eye. Can achieve fire rates of 5 thousand RPM in full auto mode and able to hit a target at over 20km when fired at 10% the speed of light.
Penetrative ability is beyond both ballistic and plasma weaponry, and is the only capable weapon in the UNSCs small arms arsenal that can penetrate Titanium-A6 armour, though it is not the only one that can damage it.
MA7G G/GNAR: Introduced into service as of 2660, the MA7G Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Assault Rifle was designed with the sole purpose of replacing the MA5 series assault rifle as the main service rifle for all UNSC forces. Like its ancestor, the M6 G/GNR, the MA7G fires laser pulses albeit at a reduced intensity and at a higher efficiency than the M6. Unlike the M6 the MA7 series can be reloaded via a single FPB that is loaded in a bulpup fashion into the top of the stock of the weapon. The MA7G fires a 1mW laser and is capable of boiling away Titanium-A4 and below with ease, and less easily so on Nanolaminent but will still penetrate after multiple hits. Field use has show that the weapon when used on unshielded and unarmoured targets, usually exposed flesh when the targets shields are down or where there is no armour, causes instant boiling of fluids which results, usually, in a steam explosion that is strong enough to dismember limbs or explode cranial cavities. The MA7G is also mounted with an under-slung multi-ordinance magnetic accelerator, capable of firing a range of munitions and even simple objects such as rocks,
that serves as a backup weapon and allows for expansion of the MA7G role during combat. The rifle is particularly effective against the Flood as the weapon can fire in fully automatic mode at 800 pulses per minute, each a 1mW pulse, which easily causes the evisceration of most Flood forms by dismembering them or entirely separating the main body into pieces. Drawbacks of the weapon include overheating after a minute of sustained fire, slightly heavier than the MA5 when loaded and a larger frame, making the weapon as long as the Battle Rifle.
MA7K G/GNCQR: A variant of the MA7 series, is designed as a more compact sibling to the MA7G. The MA7K is 20 centimetres longer than the M7 SMG, and weighs in just a bit under an unloaded MA5. The MA7K lacks the under-slung launcher of the MA7G but compensates by adding a better cooling system that allows the weapon to be fired indefinitely without risk of overheating. The MA7K fires at 2000 pulses per minute, giving the weapon a good range of roles as it can be effective in close quarters and as a fire support weapon.
H-MAC: Hyper Magnetically Accelerated Cannon, first conceptualized in 2610 but was not built due to the lack of an appropriate platform on which to mount it. The H-MAC uses Unhexquadium for the entire coil and rail assembly, giving the cannon an unprecedented amount of control over the strength of the magnetic fields it generates, as well as high efficiency of conductance meaning that energy is not lost in the rails and coils themselves through heat caused by resistance. The use of an H-MAC has been a controversial subject within the UNSC, many believing that the weapon is 'overkill' no matter the target and out right irresponsible to use as a single miss can spell disaster for whatever it hits. The H-MAC fires a 2500 ton slug, lighter than the 3000 ton S-MAC slug, but is fired at 0.2c or 60 thousand kilometres per second, making the H-MAC a true relativistic slug thrower, as the kinetic energy of the round comes in at 4.49E+21 joules, or four billion four hundred ninety million terajoules. To put this number in perspective, a 50 megaton nuclear device detonates with an energy of two hundred and ten thousand terajoules, making the H-MACs round 21,381 times more powerful than a 50 megaton nuke. To further emphasize the point, the NOVA bomb is worth 83203 50 megaton bombs, and the H-MACs round is worth 1069047. The H-MAC aptly nicknamed by its researchers as the 'planet cracker' is as its nickname would suggest, quite capable of destroying an entire planet, either through actually cracking the planet into pieces or causing enough of a blast to ignite the atmosphere and knock the planet off of its orbit, all of which will render a planet uninhabitable or render it no longer a planet. Recent developments in power generation has allowed designs to be drawn up that incorporate an H-MAC, as firing it once draws enough energy to extinguish an XR4s fusion fires and burn out the reactor, only an SVK0 pushed to its limits has been able to meet the energy demands of the H-MAC. Space was another prohibitive issue with the weapon,
as the 'barrel' of the gun must be at a minimum 5 kilometres in length, the INF-101 being the sole vessel at the time to be able to theoretically mount the weapon, albeit by stripping and gutting a large portion of the ship to make space for it.
Nano-Machines: The use of nano-machines is not new for the UNSC, but recent developments in nano technology and miniaturized power generation have allowed the use of nano-machines to spread to most UEG citizens, only those who'd had adverse reactions to them or were opposed to their use did not receive them. The introduction of the biologically safe nanites has rid the majority of humanity of its ailments, has increased intelligence, strength, speed, stamina, and over all durability of the average human, it has also extended the life span of humans, though it varies greatly. Some are able to live upwards of 5 centuries while others live no longer than 2.
Fusion Plasma Battery: The fruits of Sangheili and Human collaboration, using the pre-existing covenant plasma battery as a base platform, the two species researchers went about trying to create easily rechargeable batteries with the capacity to power DEWs for extended periods of time along with being able to power vehicles and static defences. They succeeded in creating a hybrid of human/covenant technology that uses microscopic amounts of Unhexquadium to store electricity in a superconducting loop that intersects a hydrogen cell, the hydrogen is then excited by the electricity stored in the loop until it has reached an energetic plasma state which is contained within the cell by the magnetic field created by the flow of electricity through the E164 loop. As the plasma begins to fuse, the produced energy is absorbed by phonon and photon collectors, heat and solar panels, and is added back to the E164 loop.
The result is a simple architecture with a small amount of components that greatly contributes to the overall reliability and robustness of the battery. Though the it is not without its dangers, due to the use of the E164s magnetic field to contain the fusing plasma, if too much electricity is drawn from the battery in a given moment it can rob the battery of the magnetic field that is generated by the flow of electricity through the loop, in effect causing the fusion plasma to rupture through the cell and even the battery casing which either results in the battery melting or exploding. Despite its dangers, the battery is capable of storing upwards of 1 gigawatt-hour, an unprecedented amount of energy for its given size.
SXL Cephi Light-DFR S38/M: The SXL is the power plant designed for the Type-0 HAC. A super light deuterium fusion reactor, and is rated for power output at S38, giving the SXL incredible power to weight ratio as the entire assembly takes about the same volume as an M313 Elephant. The SXL has been praised as the most advanced DFR ever designed and built, and has been requisitioned by every branch of the UNSCs research and development division for applications in other platforms. Use of E160 and titanium as the primary construction materials in the reactor gives the power plant excellent durability as well as being able to repair itself, albeit limitedly, as long as the inner housing is not breached. The use of the term 'excellent durability' is actually an understatement as the reactor is able to lose over 60% of its components, non-critical components of course, and still maintain nearly 100% functionality,
the reactor mounted in a HAC has been tested against everything from small arms to MACs and Hard-Light Emitters, the former having little to no effect while the later depending on size and strength has been mildly effective or overkill, but nothing succeeded in actually being a middle ground in terms of damage to it, requiring a heavy MAC, S-MAC or ship mounted Hard-Light Emitter to put down a HAC for good.
HLF-101: The Hellfire-class missile carrier, designed as a support vessel and a single knock out vessel. The Hellfire comes in at 3.2 kilometres in length 456 meters in width and 376 meters in height. First commissioned in 2664, and was completed and ready for production by 2669, the first flying out of the yards in 2677 followed by two more in 2679 and another two in 2683, with 3 more to be complete for 2688. The ship is loaded with 2 Series-3 Hard-Light Emitters and 8 Mark II Light Laser Emitters as general purpose weapons for protection and so the ship does not solely rely on missile ordinance for offensive and defensive capabilities. As its name suggests, the Hellfire is able to rain hell upon its targets as it is mounted with 15000 Archer Missile Pods and 2200 LOKI Nuclear Missile Pods, giving the Hellfire the ability to shower entire fleets with missiles of the conventional kind as well as nuclear ordinance. A single Hellfire is capable of undertaking the pacification of an entire planet, and can render them uninhabitable if the LOKI MNPBDS is employed. The ship uses a SVK0 ZP-DFR as it's power plant and has installed a redundant reactive Hard-Light barrier system as well as single standard shields, for armour the HLF-101 uses Titanium-A5 for models made pre 2683 and Titanium-A6 for models made post 2683. The armour in pre 2680 models is 4.88 metres thick where as post 2680 models have 6 as Titanium-A6 is easier to place than Titanium-A5 due to A5 requiring layering of materials in the armour. The Hellfire is a bit of an odd design due to the use of the SVK0 which takes up a considerable amount of space within the ship, only overshadowed by the ammunition compartments, but gives the ship a wealth of power to draw from. Normally, a ship of this size and loaded with what it is, would be incredibly slow, but due to the use of the SVK0, the engines can be run much harder than most ships as they cannot provide the energy for generating the thrust and maintaining the temperature of the engines, where as the Hellfire can. For it's class and size, the Hellfire can out maneuver anything above a Charon-class frigate, making it an especially hard target to hit.
ASC-101: The Ascension-class ultra-heavy battleship, designed by the same engineers and architects as the DSC-101, the ASC-101 is built to take punishment and to dish it back out 100x over what it takes. The largest ship designed to date, it will take 10 years to complete the vessel despite that 22 shipyards will be working on it simultaneously. The ship is 16 kilometres long, 1.8 kilometres in width and 3.2 kilometres tall. The Ascension-class, as was described before, is meant to take a beating, having an absurd amount of armour at 25 metres at its thinnest and 50 metres at its thickest, all of which is comprised of Titanium-A6. On top of its armour, the ASC-101 has six layers of standard shielding along with a 4 layer reactive Hard-Light barrier system. For armament the ASC-101 is the first and only ship to ever be mounted with an H-MAC which runs down the centre of the it and is concealed behind a 50 metre thick circular barrel cover at the bow. There are 5 Hard-Light Emitters on both port and starboard sides, 10 total, missile wise there are 5000 Archer Missile Pods and 550 LOKI Pods, in terms of point defence the Ascension-class has a Mark III ultra light laser network of 8900 laser batteries, excellent for dealing with fighters, missile swarms and boarders. To power it all the vessel has four SVK0s and a back up XR4, each mounted along the length of the ship an equal distance apart from each other to ensure that even if the entire front half of the ship is gone, it'll keep on ticking. For a ship of its size, it has a small crew, coming in at 9500 crew members with space to accommodate no more than 200 passengers, for its AI compliment the ASC-101 has space for 5 AI's, one to each reactor and the last for general ship AI work, though all 5 can work in unison on tasks or divvy them up. The largest secret of the ships design is that it has installed a Mark I teleporter, allowing for entirely new tactics and strategies and giving the on board Spartan-Vs, who are the sole armed forces aboard the ASC-101 not including arm-able crewmen, the ability to be dropped in and picked up out of virtually any situation and scenario.
LOKI Mass Nuclear Pod-Based Delivery System: The LOKI MNPBDS is the latest nuclear weapon system from the UNSC. The LOKI pods are loaded with 6 15 megaton nuclear missiles that travel at 10 km/s. The design goal being to apply high amounts of damage to targets over a large surface area, and is particularly adept at bringing down shields. Introduced in 2636, the LOKI has proven itself as an effective counter to large fleet tactics since then, and continues to be used in a large variety of roles, as well as replacing the ageing Hyperion system used on older vessels as a single LOKI pods takes roughly the same amount of space the Hyperion system.
Type-0 Heavy Assault Chassis: Since the Human/Covenant war, the UNSC had been developing a counter to the Type-47 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform, the fruits of their labour came to bear in 2621 when the first prototype was built and tested on Tau Centi. The HAC is a humanoid bipedal mech, designed to be able to literally kick a Scarab onto its sides, it stands at 105 meters tall with a shoulder span of 35 metres and arms at 42 metres long. A true marvel of engineering, the HAC is powered by an SXL Light-DFR, which ordinarily would provide much more energy than required of a machine the HACs size, but uses the extra power to generate Hard-Light reinforced skeletal structure along with the reactive barrier system and the single Hard-Light Emitter mounted in the left arm. The HAC has a single layer of Titanium-A5 at 1.22 meters for the entire body, with the torso being the exception at 2.44 metres. Six miniature fusion torches are mounted through out the body of the HAC, one to each limb with two on the back of the torso, and is capable of leaping 10km in a single jump. At full running speed, the HAC can reach up to 200km/h and can sprint to 300km/h, but due to aerodynamics it can go no faster. Weighing in at 10877 tons, the HAC has more than enough weight to kick a Scarab onto its sides, and can punt smaller vehicles like the Elephant as if it were a soccer ball. The HAC was also designed for unassisted atmospheric entry and can be dropped from orbit onto planets surfaces. Armaments include the already mentioned Hard-Light Emitter in the left arm, along with 2 Mark II Light Laser Emitters in each shoulder, aside from built in weapons the HAC has fully functional five digit hands, giving it the ability to pick up objects or hit them with its hands, HAC sized MACs have been created as well for uses like a person would use a gun, the HAC sized guns also come in missile launcher varieties, both are rarely used. The HAC has only ever been deployed offensively twice, once against remnant covenant forces that attempted to lay siege to a UEG planet that had a HAC out for transfer to another planet at the time, and was the primary cause of the success for repulsing the remnants ground forces as they glassed most military bases that were surface bound. The second was against the Flood, which were found on a planet near the UNSCs border, the UEG demanded action be taken to neutralize the threat, and so the UNSC deployed a squad of HACs with HAC usable LOKI launchers to sterilize the planet, once 99% of the large Flood forms were destroyed, the HACs were retrieved and the planet was nuked from orbit.