Did you know that Mass Effect and Star Wars are linked in three ways. I discovered this after a while. First is that Bioware did KOTOR 1 and Mass Effect, the seond is that Jennifer Hale voiced one of the main characters in both games and the third is the most amazing. The Author Drew Karpyshan wrote the story of Mass Effect and the novel Darth Bane: Path of Destruction. Anyway, to buisness. Star Wars may be delayed a little bit, but it's coming. by now I think you should be getting an idea of how this is going to work. Thanks to all reviewers and to all readers as well. A note of particular thanks to Jiece18 who has kindly let me borrow the name Hunter for my Predator hero from his story Predator Evil 4. Word of advice, listen to Ghost Love Score by Nightwish when reading. I was when writing.

Contact Onyx

"This is amazing."

Lord Hood was standing in the centre of the large room that was what was left of the centre of the planet Onyx. The planet was gone, all that was left was the core, a room with dozens of Forerunner symbols and working computer banks. The revelation that the planet was artificial was a shock to all who were involved. As he spoke, several of the accompanying ONI and Ossoona hackers were slicing into the terminals, or at least were trying.

"It is truly a sight to see, Lord Hood. How long has this been here?" Rtas Vadum was still staring around the room, trying to see if he could see anything that would let him know if this was a sacred place or not.

"Cortana?" the Chief prompted.

Cortana gave a little sigh from the console she was currently plugged into. "We're chatting," she said, referring to the Forerunner AI that was controlling the facility, "But this is indeed a Forerunner facility. It was meant to be a bunker for the remaining Forerunners who were unable to get to the Ark in time. The Halos were the sword, Onyx, the shield, and the Ark, the refuge."

"Is it possible then, Cortana, that there are still Forerunners inside the facility?" the Arbiter asked her. The fact that he referred to her by her name showed his excitement.

Cortana gave a small sad chuckle for the disappointment she was about to inflict. "Sorry Arbiter, none ever made it. This place was never used."

"Until about seven and a half years ago." One of the ONI technicians came over to his commanders.

"How is that known?" the Elite Ship Master asked him.

The ONI tech answered Hood. "The power supply came active that far back and hasn't been activated since. The Sentinels around the base were activated to protect any that got inside."

"Got inside where?" Hood pressed.

"Inside the Rupture, Ship Master." An Ossoona who had been assigned to the event log managed to figure out.

"The Rupture?" Lord Hood began, "What is that?"

This time it was Cortana who answered from the terminal. "It's a Micro Dyson Sphere, a Slipspace rupture containing a landscape and, in essence, a compressed world. It is reachable by entering a portal, although I haven't managed to get it to open yet."

--

The day before the Fleet had come out of Slipspace and immediately began their approach on the Sentinel army in front of them. The Sentinels responded with a series of lancing beams that shot out towards them, impacting off shields and causing damage to the smaller ships. Their lethal beams were not what the problem was truly though, the Fleet was more than capable of tackling them, the problem was finding a way of getting rid of almost five million Sentinels who could, feasibly, gather together and form an anti ship model. To that end a prowler had been dispatched, completely invisible, to fly into their centre and detonate a mag pulse bomb. Meanwhile the Redemption was able to keep any attackers at bay with a series of lethal blasts from both its plasma torpedoes and its MAC. The Spartan Cannon wasn't needed fortunately, or unfortunately as John wanted to see it in action. As soon as the Sentinels froze in space, their formation their downfall as the Prowler detonated the bomb that was designed to disrupt electrical impulses. With the Sentinels completely destabilized the Fleet concentrated on making sure that they didn't come back online again. It was a shooting gallery. With the Fleet otherwise engaged, two hundred ships focused their efforts on scouring the system for the planet remnants. Hood ordered the Fleet into the area that the Sentinels had been guarding so fiercely and concentrated on searching it first. He was right. At the centre was a tiny platform, a thing the leaders had to enter by Phantom. The platform itself suddenly turned into a large room, one that was stuffed full of consoles and other equipment. They had started work right away.

--

Now, they were all but finished. Cortana was the one who had finally convinced the AI to comply after giving him a series of codes she had managed to take off the delta Halo, along with the firing index. This was the information needed. With a shudder that rocked them all where they stood, the Shield World came online. All around the Chief consoles became active, displays lit up and the control room came to life.

"All that's left," Cortana popped up out of the terminal and held out a hand to the Chief, which allowed him to transfer her back into his armour, "is for someone to open the gate. Chief, would you do the honours?"

The Master Chief nodded his assent, his mind somewhat overwhelmed by the thought of seeing his comrades again, his old team. As he walked slowly towards the board which would open this portal to another world, he thought back to when he and his team had been children. What a childhood! Taught to kill from the age of six, it seemed like a story from a dystopia novel. A necessity, yes, but worth it, not really. He would have to enter alone. If any of the others tried to follow him, the Spartans would most likely kill them on sight, they had never heard of the Alliance and it would be a shock. For a brief moment, he wondered what it would be like going into a world like that, and he equally wondered how many were still there. What if time went differently, what if they had died? What then for the last Spartan, where would he go? He couldn't imagine what he could possible do in a life without his friends, his comrades. They would have no life here in peacetime, something he had never thought possible. It had always been the goal, to win and bring back peace, but he had never thought it through. A thought which was worse, would any of them in the World remember him? Would they consider him a traitor, or a fake, a trick to get them to lay down their arms. It was not an encouraging thought. But at that, John snapped out of his despondency. These were his team, his Spartans, and he would be reunited with them. He reached out his hand and pressed the button.

--

Tom, also known as Spartan Tom B292, rose slowly from his work. His back creaked at the exertion and he stretched his arms as he concentrated, slowly moving in a quick and easy way. He was doing some exercises that Dr. Halsey had set for him, keeping himself in motion, never letting himself break off. He was vaguely aware that these exercises were based off something called Tai'chi, but didn't allow himself to be distracted. Instead of this being a meditative exercise, it was instead a means of keeping himself in top condition. His motions slowed and he focused on his next task. Without a word, he took off, sprinting like a bullet towards his target area. While he was nowhere near as fast as Kelly, he was no slowpoke. His movement was fluid and smooth, allowing him maximum agility and speed. No slowing and no stopping he leaped across a small gully and landed in a crouch.

"Bang!" came a female voice off to his side. Tom whirled and saw Linda approaching him, Lucy with her. Linda 058 was a Spartan II, and the best sniper in the galaxy. She was all but impossible to dodge and if she said bang, you were dead.

"Was I that easy?" Tom asked with a small sense of inevitability.

Linda kept her impassive face. "You weren't expecting an attack this soon I assume Tom, otherwise you would be still alive."

Lucy as usual kept her silence. Lucy never spoke, hadn't spoken since that awful battle in which their entire company, Beta Company, had been wiped out in a suicide attack. It was what had urged his former Commander Kurt Ambrose to start putting illegal, but effective, drugs into their mix that had caused their super soldier growth. Whilst never as powerful as a Spartan II they were still a formidable fight. Tom was still pained every time he saw her. She reminded him of his promise to keep her safe at all times, the only other survivor apart from him.

--

At that moment, they were interrupted. A portal began to form out of thin air right beside them. Instantly training took over and the three Spartans fell back to a line of defence. Linda always carried her sniper rifle and she drew it at the point. This long barrelled weapon would be lethal to anyone at close ranges and could carve through three metres of steel if Linda wanted it to. Taking cover in the stream Tom was quickly putting through his head the various ways he was going to get his hands on weapon. What would be even better would be a suit of armour. He was wearing a cut down version of his armour that Dr Halsey had made for them all. Now was an even worse time to be stripped down to his fatigues for his exercise. With three sets of eyes focused on the portal, there were three sets of shocked expressions when a fully armoured Spartan II stepped out of the portal into their midst. He halted and looked around, as if testing the air. Then all of a sudden he spoke.

"I know you're nearby, I can pick you up on my sensors. I can also tell that you are unarmed, save for one. That would be you Linda. You never ever put that rifle down, even when we were kids."

Linda stood slowly, letting the Spartan see her. "The voice is familiar," she began

"The helmet even more so." The Spartan finished. He paused. "I thought it was you."

"It's good to see you again John." Linda traced the outline of a smile across her face, with two fingers, the Spartan smile. John replied with one as well, a real smile of joy across his face beneath his helmet.

"Where are the others?"

Tom and Lucy stood up. For a moment the Spartan seemed to examine them, then he began to stride forward towards them.

"You two I have never seen before. I assume that you are Spartan III's then. I had thought there would be more of you. Where are the others?"

Linda replied by raising her rifle and firing a shot off. After a few minutes the others suddenly began to out of almost nowhere, their speed slackening when they saw who it was.

"John?" Fred asked, seconded almost immediately by Kelly. The other Spartan III's looked at him as if he were a long lost legend, despite the fact that they were as well. However when they saw the other two

"Come on, I have a lot to tell you."

--

While all of this was happening in the Shield world, something was going wrong on the outside. Namely that after the Chief entered the Shield World, twelve Yautja ships entered the system. It may seem like a small number, until you realise that these ships were all huge! They were almost as large as the Super carrier. Immediately they started broadcasting.

"We are getting a message Fleet Master!" the Communications officer of the carrier Shadow of Intent called out.

"Let us hear it."

The message when it came through was a message of dread news. Even as it arrived, it's foretelling happened.

"Warning! You are all in danger of being attacked by the Old Covenant. Bad Bloods are with them, prepare yourselves!"

Slipspace portals opened all around the fleet and dozens of ships began to pour out. Then hundreds, then thousands! It was an attack!

--

"Admiral Lord Hood! Arbiter! We are under attack by Jiralhanae forces. They have arrived in force with almost two thousand ships!"

The three commanders looked at one another, just as the Spartans came out of the portal dressed in armour and carrying weapons. For a brief moment or two they and the Elites attempted to stare one another down before Lord Hood intervened.

"Let's go! We have a battle to win!"

All former animosity forgotten for the moment the group ran to their transports. Within moments they were rushing through the midst of the swirling fighters and ships as they went head to head in the most deadly combat ever seen. Lances of fire from both UNSC vessels and Sangheili collided with the plasma torpedoes of the Jiralhanae. The Cormorant, the natural successor of the Pelican, swung from side to side as a pair of Seraph Covenant fighters came onto its tail, no doubt knowing what the ship was carrying.

"Dodge them pilot!" Hood ordered.

"I can't quite shake them sir, but they can't get a lock. This is Sierra Seabird calling for reinforcements!"

Moments later the ships shook as the Seraphs were slashed apart by a Longsword 4 type fighter. "Got your back sir!" came the voice through the comm.

"Report in pilot?" Hood said with a grin.

"Squadron leader Evan Cutler sir, 75th Combined Squadron assigned to the Redemption, the Fires of Justice. Top ace of the Fleet sir, I thought you knew me."

"Just checking pilot. Watch our backs!"

"Will do sir, Sangheili from the Shadow of Intent also providing cover."

--

The Commanders safely into the hanger of the Super Carrier, Evan sung his fighter around and headed straight for the Jiralhanae fleet.

"All fighters form up on me. We will take them head on!"

Several hundred fighters formed up and they drove a wedge deep into the fighter group of the Old Covenant Fleet. Onboard one of CCS battlecruisers the Ship Master gave a cry of joy when he saw the gap.

"Press into that opening! The focus our fire on the mongrels who dare to attack us!"

As he went forward into the battle, a UNSC carrier, the Adventures Heart saw it and its captain, Captain Murphy ordered his escorts into the attack.

"All fighters give aid! Victory, give assistance!"

The destroyer began to charge. Closing the distance it fired its MAC just as the battlecruiser sent out an energy beam. The Jiralhanae ship collapsed under the barrage and its shields flared as they died. Fighters shot in and delivered their payloads of plasma and missiles. The cruiser exploded in massive burst of light and heat. Evan kicked his rudder right and swung on the tail of another Brute fighter. Accompanied by a Sangheili wingman called Xytan he placed a few well aimed rounds into the stern of the fighter and it attempted to pull a tight turn to avoid him, but Xytan put a single torpedo into it. It blew up and was destroyed.

--

Aboard the huge Supercarrier Revenge the Prophet of Humility stared down from his throne. The Jiralhanae Supreme Commander roared at the Predator Chieftain.

"Your kind has given away our surprise attack barbarian, be thankful I do not grant Maladictus here his most fervent wish right now and let him tear you apart!"

The Bad Blood chieftain glowered inwardly at the taunt. He knew that it was the Brutes who had messed this up by coming out of Slipspace in twos and threes instead of in one big assault. But he was outnumbered in this fight and he was also surprised by the Yautja presence. He had thought that they would take longer than this to find him. Hunter! he thought with a growl. That blasted elder was still on his trail. But for now he would need to make some suggestion.

"I did say we should have gone for Earth first, but the Supreme Commander here was determined to tackle the Combined Fleets first. That was his mistake."

With a roar the Brute pointed his Gravity Hammer at the Predator with unhidden hatred. "We should deal with the threat here and now! Why do you hold back your ships! With them we can easily take the Redemption!"

Maladictus was an oddity in that he actually was good at tactics, but he still had that Brutish failure to reign in his emotions. Now he had to fight a withdrawal against better prepared forces.

A two tone from the display board showed another ship being disintegrated by the huge Spartan Cannon on the Redemption. The Prophet spoke quickly.

"We retreat! We are going to Earth now, where we will release the weapon. Tell the Sovereign Purpose to open a Slipspace portal and we will go forth."

--

What happened next was unbelievable, almost. For not all knew what exactly happened. Slipspace engines distort space and time. They have to, to be able to bypass the normal laws of physics. The Sovereign Purpose opened its portal. As the other ships did so too, the portal expanded to from one massive portal. It was just unfortunate that at this point a damaged fighter crashed into the Purpose causing damage to the ships engine section, more specifically the Slipspace drive. It still worked, but was altered. The Portal stabilized. This was, in the rush, unnoticed. The Revenge entered the portal and Maladictus opened the viewport to the outside. What he saw shocked everyone on the bridge. The tunnel of Slipspace curved away and led in a strange direction. It also worked far faster than any Slipspace jump he had ever seen. In less than ten minutes they had exited the portal and careened down though a strange looking space station, past a shocked looking fleet, if metal can look shocked, this fleet did. The station grabbed at them, unexplainably, and they were propelled through it and out into dark space!

Crossing over has begun. Alright!