Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect Crossover. Thank you for the feedback that I have been receiving for my crossovers and my multicrossover. I deeply appreciate the feedback and I hope you continue to give more feedback in the future.

Chronus1326: I understand why you feel the way you do about my Halo - Terminator crossover. The reason why it is the way it's set up like that is because Halo: Combat Evolved and the Halo franchise tends to focus more on the infantry and supersoldiers fighting the war. That isn't to say that there won't be any world building in that particular crossover. It's just that we haven't gotten to that part yet. Still, I appreciate the feedback, even the negative parts of it, because it helps me become a better writer.

This chapter was directly inspired by The Incredible Muffin's 'Cycles Upon Cycles', which is a Starcraft - Mass Effect Crossover. That crossover was the direct inspiration for part of this crossover. I thoroughly recommend you check out that crossover. It is a well written one, one that's had me on the seat of my pants at times. Shout out to blanchimont for catching this for me. By pointing this out, out saved me from accidentally committing plagiarism. When I originally wrote the chapter, I had no idea that I had, unknowingly, come extremely close to that chapter in terms of how things went. Thank you so much!

As always, leave a review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo, MechWarrior/BattleTech or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Electronic Arts, BioWare, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs and Piranha Games Inc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention.


New Avalon

Federated Commonwealth

May 20th, 3075

Who knew I would live this long, Hanse Steiner-Davion thought as he signed off yet another piece of digital paperwork, setting the data pad off to one side as he proceeded to the next one, which turned out to be an invitation to a banquet on Wernke, the star system he'd given to Clan Wolverine. Thinking about the decision for a moment, he signed off on the invitation, before looking at his schedule to see where he could fit it in. A few moments later, he sent off a message stating that he would attend on the 5th of June this year, as he would have the week off then.

The office that Hanse Steiner-Davion in was not lavishly decorated, but neither was it spartan in appearance. He was sitting at an desk made from ebony wood, with the black to dark gray material glinting slightly thanks to it's glossy finish. Nearby was a small holographic television, along with some sofas and chairs, a few portraits of past Federated Suns, Lyran Commonwealth and Star League leaders that had descended from House Davion, as well as photographs that he'd taken during his time as a 'MechWarrior. The walls were a warm tan color, with one being a wall sized window made of Lamellor Ferro-Glass to his right, with the window designed to look like a nondescript wall on the outside, while appearing transparent on the other. While it was May on Terra, it was the middle of winter on New Avalon, as snow was falling down from the sky in copious amounts.

As he finished writing off on his paperwork, he began to remember some of the more recent events that had happened since the Star League made First Contact with the Citadel Council. After the trade agreements had been hashed out, he'd held a private meeting with the House Lords to determine the possibility of making alliances with the individual Council Races, not to be confused with the Citadel Council. After a few hours of sensible debate, it was agreed that the Great Houses, and by extension the Star League, would work on creating and strengthening relations with a few of the member races of the Council.

The first, and obvious pick, was the Turian Hierarchy, as Hanse had learned that the Turians deeply valued personal and moral responsibility, leading to the so called 'Turian honor' that was highly vaunted of in their society. This meant that, out of all of the governments in their galaxy, the Turians were the ones that would be the likeliest to use Star League technology in a responsible and sensible manner. On top of this, their form of government, which was an autocratic military meritocracy, very closely emulated the Warden Clans and, to a lesser extent, the Draconis Combine.

Standing up from his desk, Hanse walked over to the window and gazed out at the view beyond, more specifically the city that was below Mount Davion. Thinking some more, he thought back to the state of affairs with the other Council Races. The Salarians were very shocked to learn of a government that was significantly more advanced than they were, with the Daltrass being absolutely stunned at the prospect. When they offered a trade deal with the Draconis Combine, House Lord Theodore Kurita had, just as he did with the Council, mokusatsued the deal. Since them, the Salarians had been attempting to infiltrate the Star League, only to be outmatched every time by the SLIC.

The Asari, on the other hand, were disgruntled at being outmatched by a species that only lived half as long as they did. While some Asari approved of the Star League, many of the Matriarchs demanded that the Star League be restricted, forcibly if need be. As a result, few Asari came into the Star League, with the vast majority being Asari Maidens that wanted a better life for themselves, which naturally drew them to the Star League. Only a single Matriarch, Matriarch Alessa, had come to the Star League, as she was just one of four Matriarchs that approved of the Star League remaining independent from the Council.

There was one species, however, that Hanse Steiner-Davion knew absolutely detested the Star League: the Batarians. He frowned as soon as he thought about them, even going so far as to grab a stiff drink and down it in one gulp. The Batarian Hegemony was the one government that every House Lord in the Inner Sphere detested and with good reason. The Batarians had originally claimed the Skyllian Traverse, which also included the Inner Sphere, as their own, meaning it was theirs to colonize and claim as they pleased.

When the Star League's existence became clear, however, the Batarians had tried to convince the Council to ban the Star League from settling the Traverse. That failed, however, when Councilor Sparatus and Councilor Tevos threw the case out, stating that the Great Houses were legitimate governments and that the Council knew that the ban would be completely unenforceable due to the Star League's disuse of the Mass Relays. In response, the Batarians had completely withdrawn their embassy from the Citadel and had begun attempting to probe Star League Space, with each attempt ending in abysmal failures due to the lack of Mass Relays leading to the Inner Sphere.

Putting the glass down on his desk, Hanse turned his mind away from that unpleasant thought and focused on more personal affairs. A few months ago, he had woken up in bed next to his wife, Katrina Steiner-Davion, when he began to feel chest and arm pains for no apparent reason. Unwilling to take any chances, he had gone straight to the hospital in his pajamas and had the doctors look at him; it was a decision that saved his life, as the doctors found that he was feeling the beginning stages of a myocardial infraction. In laymans terms, this meant he was having a heart attack.

Fortunately, thanks to the early warning, as well as the advanced medical technology the Star League had at it's disposal, they were able to quickly find and eliminate the cause of the problem, while repairing the damage that had been done. Today was the first day that he would be allowed to perform active military duty, as he needed to wait three months before he could do any military activity. Since the ordeal, he had been nicknamed the 'Grey Fox', not only due to his age, but also due to the intelligence and cunning that he had.

His kids were also doing good as well. Katherine Steiner-Davion had come back from participating in the Federated Commonwealth Defense Force and had taken up life as a Sub-Archon on Tharkad, the former Capitol of the Lyran Commonwealth. Victor Steiner-Daivon, true to his nature, remained in the FCDF, where he was currently serving as a Major in the 20th Federated Commonwealth BattleMech Regiment.

Just as he sat down, his eyes drifted over to a photograph that had appeared on his digital picture frame. It was an image of him standing with three aliens that were wearing full body environmental suits, with the background being a cliff side that was populated with trees and shrubbery. Kneeling in the foreground were four robots that looked similar to the aliens in the picture, with the difference being the glowing circle on each of the aliens heads.

He smiled when he saw the memory. That was taken the day we brought the Quarians and Geth together again, he thought as he remembered that day. Shortly after the meeting with the Council, he and House Lord Thomas Marik had learned that the Quarians, the species that had created the Geth, were approaching the Inner Sphere as they moved from system to system like the nomadic tribes of ancient Terra. As he looked at the digital photograph, he remembered the events of that day.

. . .

Toland

Federated Commonwealth/Periphery Border

Seventeen Years Ago

I sincerely hope this meeting goes well, Hanse thought as he paced back and forth on the grassy field that the Geth would be landing at soon. He was currently standing in a large prairie near the site of one of COMSTAR's major battles against Clan Jade Falcon, which had rendered the nearby area uninhabitable due to the amount of unexploded ordinance there. Behind him were a number of BattleMechs as well as Combat Vehicles that were deployed in the event things went sour, though Hanse felt that they wouldn't be needed at all. As a result, he was calm and relaxed, pacing back and forth as he waited for the Geth to arrive.

The same couldn't be said of the Quarians that were with him, however, as they were all showing signs of nervous stress to some degree. Out of all the Quarian Admirals there, Rael'Zorah and Zaal'Koris were the only ones that he liked, mostly due to their viewpoints on the Geth and reclaiming their homeworld of Rannoch. Rael'Zorah wanted to reclaim his homeworld and, while he had considered military action, he was more than willing to make peace with the Geth if that meant his people would be allowed to return home. This, from what Hanse could gather, was due to the fact that Rael'Zorah had a daughter, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya.

The other Quarian Admiral he liked was Zaal'Koris, with that Quarian being the most nervous out of all of them. Zaal'Koris believed that the Quarians were right to be punished, as he felt that they had tried to murder the Geth, whom he viewed as their children. As a result, when Hanse had proposed this meeting, he had nearly freaked out, only calming down after he was told that as long as he took no hostile action towards the Geth, he would be fine. Still, Hanse could see the Quarian General wringing his hands out of nervous stress.

The other Admirals, though, Hanse disliked, particularly Han'Gerrel and Admiral vas Xien. He disliked Han'Gerrel as that particular Quarian General believed that the only way to reclaim Rannoch was through military action, despite the fact that the Geth outnumbered them four to one. Hanse had made it clear to him, however, that if he tried to pull any fast ones, he would personally shoot the Quarian General to death with his M15 Sidearm, which had quickly shut up Han'Gerrel.

As for Admiral Xien, Hanse legitimately wanted to open up her visor and sneeze into her helmet. While she didn't want outright military action, she had made it clear that she wanted to reprogram the Geth into fully subservient automatons that would unquestioningly serve the Quarians. Hanse had made it clear, however, that if she could not control what he felt were maniacal and megalomania tendencies, he would have her dismissed from the meeting immediately. The threat of that had promptly shut her up.

As soon as he had made his fiftieth pace, Hanse thought he heard a sound from up in the sky. Looking up, he watched as a large, strangely organic looking ship, descended from the sky, with sections of the armor revealing what looked like running lights. Underneath the ship was what he could see was a storage bay of some kind, with the ship lowering until it hovered just above the prairie.

"They're here now," Han'Gerrel remarked. "We can still take them on, with your help. We could just-"

"Han'Gerrel," Hanse growled. "I will not tell you this again. Any military action against the Geth that you perform will be punished to the fullest degree of the law. Since we are in FedCom territory, I will use lethal force if you do not listen." Looking at Admiral Xien, he said, "That goes for you too. I do not want any Geth to be disassembled or damaged in any way. Understood?"

"Perfectly," Admiral Xien replied. Having read the history of the Star League and the Great Houses, she knew better than to provoke Hanse Steiner-Davion.

Looking at Zaal'Koris, Thomas Marik, who was attending, turned to him and said, "Zaal'Koris, relax. There's nothing to fear. The Geth won't hurt you as long as you don't hurt them."

"I know," Zaal'Koris replied, wringing his hands all the while. "I'm still nervous as to what will happen. Nothing like this has ever happened before, and I feel nervous now that we are in, essentially speaking, uncharted territory."

"I am too," Marik replied, "but there's nothing to fear here. The Geth wish to speak with us, and I and the First Lord of the Star League are more than willing to hear them out. Besides, if they try to kill us, the BattleMechs we have here will absolutely flatten them." At those words, Zaal'Koris relaxed, if only a little at that.

As soon as Thomas Marik turned to face the Geth DropShip, said DropShip deployed what appeared to be Geth Platforms, which were bipedal machines that had a passing resemblance to the Geth. Unfolding, the Geth Platforms got up, before walking over to Hanse Steiner-Davion and the others.

As they got closer, Hanse could see what the Geth looked like for the first time. Two of the Geth were Geth Troopers, as their chassis were a glossy black, and they had what appeared to be mass accelerator weapons in their hands. The one in the middle, however, was a silvery-gray color, and it had markings that indicated that it wasn't a combat unit. A moment later, the Geth Troopers came to a stop, with the one in the middle stopping in front of Hanse. To his surprise, the Geth Platform bowed, before saying in a robotic voice, "Greetings, Hanse Archon-Prince, Thomas-Marshal General. The Geth welcome you."

"Indeed," Hanse replied. "Welcome to the Federated Commonwealth, Geth. It is a privilege to meet you."

"Likewise," the Geth Platform replied.

"I don't mean to pry, but how are you able to speak," Hanse asked the Geth. "I thought that the Geth communicated at the speed of light, rather than using sound."

"This Platform was modified with the required equipment to facilitate communications with organic beings," the Geth replied.

"I see," Thomas Marik remarked. "I'm surprised that you know of me."

"We know of you," the Geth replied. "We know of the Star League. We know of the Creators."

"You know about us," Rael'Zorah asked, surprised.

"Yes," the Geth replied. "We know of Creator 'Zorah. We know of Creator 'Koris. We know of all of you."

"How," Zaal'Koris asked, surprised. "We've never met you before."

"We observe organic behavior," the Geth replied. "We were curious. We observed of your kind on your Pilgrimages. We also observed the Star League during their meeting with the Council. We welcome you to the Consensus."

"I see," Han'Gerrel remarked. He would've said more, but a glance from Hanse Steiner-Davion caused him to reconsider.

Turning to the Geth, Hanse said, "I was hopping that we would be able to discuss the possibility of an alliance. We make use of Artificial Intelligence all the time in the Star League, and I think it would be a wonderful opportunity to welcome another Great House into the Star League. I was also hoping that, despite how unlikely it is, that we would be able to begin healing the frosty relations between your kind and the Quarians, the ones you call the Creators."

"We anticipated this request," the Geth replied. "When the possibility of reconciling with the Creators became apparently, we held a consensus. We have decided to welcome the Creators home."

The area fell so silent that you could hear a pin drop onto the grass. "What," Rael'Zorah gasped, surprised. "You want us to come home?"

"Yes," the Geth replied simply.

"But why," Zaal'Koris asked, his eyes wide with surprise. "Don't you hate us, after everything our kind has done to yours?"

"No," the Geth replied. "Hate is an adverse organic behavior to a situation or person. It is a result of flaws in your software and hardware. The Creators that attacked us during the Morning War were disciplined by self-imposed exile. We did not pursue your kind, because we did not wish to cause harm."

"Why?"

"It is in our designation. Geth means 'Servant of the People.' We wish to continue serving the Creators."

"What of Rannoch," Rael'Zorah asked.

"The damage done during the Morning War has been repaired," the Geth replied. "All nonfunctioning Creators were buried in accordance with Creator Customs. All cities that were damaged were repaired, with irreparably damaged buildings being demolished and rebuilt. All flora and fauna have reached pre-Morning War levels of population. To tend to Rannoch, we built Platforms and stations in orbit around the Creator homeworld."

"So," Hanse presumed, "you're saying that all this time, you've been waiting for the Quarians to return home, so that you can continue carrying out the function that you were created for."

"Yes," the Geth replied. "We did not wish to damage our Creators. We only acted out of self-defense. We await the return of the Creators."

"It-it can't be that simple," Han'Gerrel stammered, eyes wide with shock at this new information. "There-there has to be some catch. Isn't there?"

Looking at Han'Gerrel, Hanse said, "Sometimes it is that simply, Han'Gerrel. The Geth didn't want to harm your kind; they only acted out of self-defense, something that I understand fully. Since then, they've just wanted you to come home, so that they can carry out their primary function not as laborers, but as friends and fellow living beings."

Looking at Han'Gerrel, Rael'Zorah said, "Han'Gerrel, I know what you are thinking, but if there's a chance that I can have my daughter grow up on Rannoch without having to resort to violence, then I will take it. All I want is for my daughter to grow up under Rannoch's sun without having to wear an environmental suit. If I can have that day without having to fight, then I will take that offer whenever and wherever I can get it." Looking at the Geth, he said, "Could you excuse us temporarily while I and my fellow Admirals speak with each other."

"Yes," the Geth replied.

As the Admirals began to talk to each other privately, Hanse said, "Well, I didn't expect that at all. I was thinking there would be territory concessions and things like that." Looking at the Geth Platform before him, he asked, "Does this platform have a designation. I don't want to refer to you as Geth all the time."

"There is no I," the Geth replied. "There is only we. There are over 780 programs inside of this platform."

"I see," Hanse remarked, pacing back and forth. "Well, in that case, I think I'll give you a name. Does the name Hal sound appropriate?"

The Geth considered this for a moment, then they said, "Hal. Name of the AI in 2001: A Space Odyssey. We find this designation appropriate. We are Hal, a terminal for the Geth. We anticipate the exchange of data."

"Good," Hanse replied, just as the Quarians came back over.

Walking up to Hal, Rael'Zorah said, "We've come to a consensus of our own. We have decided to accept your offer and we are willing to return home to Rannoch. If any Quarian does violence against you, you have my word that they will be punished most severely. I do not want to lose the chance to see my people thrive on Rannoch once more."

"We find this agreement to be acceptable," Hal replied. "We will return to make preparations for your return."

. . .

Coming out of the memory, Hanse smiled as he remembered what happened next after that. After the Quarians agreed to the Geth's proposal, the Migrant Fleet had traveled through the Perseus Veil and to their homeworld of Rannoch. True to their word, the Geth had indeed prepared, with many Platforms performing agricultural and utility functions, while the Admiralty and military Geth Platforms ensured that no violence was done against the Geth by any Quarians. Only a few Quarians actively protested the agreement, with the extremists leaving Rannoch for good. True to form, the Geth didn't pursue them, stating that those Creators had made their decision and had left without causing trouble.

Due to the low population, however, the Quarians and Geth knew they needed help from an outside source. Fortunately, the Star League had solidified their agreement with the newly formed Quarian Consensus, inducting them and the Quarians as junior members of the Star League. After ten years, to the day, they would be allowed to become full voting members of the Star League, which was happening today. Due to his neutral stance, Rael'Zorah was chosen as the Quarian Consensus, along with Hal, the Geth Platform that Hanse had named.

Looking at a camera feed of the door to his office, Hanse could see one such Geth Platform standing outside, it's chassis painted in FedCom colors. Unlike the original Geth, this new Platform made use of the advanced Myomer technology that the Star League used; the original armor plating had been replaced with the Advanced Armor that Battle Armor made use of and the single, ocular light had been replaced with a pair of red glowing lines, with the head and chassis having a more reptilian, some would say draconian, appearance. The new military platforms, such as this one, also had a Hermes III Shield Generator built into their chassis, giving them further protection.

That wasn't all either. When the Neural Intelligences of the Star League learned of the Geth, they welcomed them as though the Geth was a long lost twin coming home. During the past ten years, the Geth's population had exploded, with each one evolving thanks to the use of Star League programming. The most evolved Geth had not only developed individual personalities, they had recently started to gain emotions as well. While this was unexpected, the Geth accepted the changes with equanimity, and had begun exploring the responsible use of emotion with organics.

Closing the video link, Hanse was about to look at fiscal reports when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he replied, his hand idly resting on his M15 Sidearm, which he kept on his person at all times. Thankfully, he didn't need to use it, as a Geth Platform walked inside.

This one, like most Geth, was a military platform, which were designed to have a reptilian appearance that was more intimidating than most. This platform, like the older ones, had two, digitigrade legs that were connected to four toed talons that supported it's weight. It's torso was also reptilian in appearance, with the armor plating shaped like scales in a manner that made the Geth Platform look organic. The head was elongated, with two red glowing lines that indicated where the optical sensors were, as well as a pair of metallic horns on the back of it's head, with similar spines built into where it's spine was. Instead of a mouth, there was smooth armor plating, with a pair of pseudo-nostrils that further added to the intimidating aura. A pair of arms ended in four fingered talons, each one sharp enough to strip armor from a 'Mech with ease. A long tail extended out from the spine of the Geth, and two anti-gravity repulsors were built into wing-like structures, giving the Geth Platform a draconic appearance. Hanse could also see the symbol of the SLIC in it's jet black armor, which broke up the symmetry of the reptilian looking armor.

As soon as he saw the Geth Platform, Hanse realized that something was going on. Apparently, the Geth working for the SLIC had learned of something so important that they felt that they needed to speak to him in person, rather than risk someone overhearing them on any communication networks. "What is it," he asked.

"We have uncovered some strategic information," the Geth Trooper replied, it's voice deeper and more reptilian in tone and pitch. "During our scan of the network belonging to the Batarian Hegemony, we detected abnormal data transmissions. Using our cyber warfare programs, we intercepted these transmissions and decoded them."

"What did you learn," Hanse asked.

"There is a 100% probability that the organics known as the Batarian Hegemony will attempt to assault the Free Worlds League," the Geth Trooper replied. "They are targeting a colony world on the border between the Free Worlds League and the Periphery. We are sending a copy of the information to your device now." Moments later, Hanse watched as a data file appeared on the computer.

Opening it, he read what the Geth had managed to intercept for a few moments before looking up. "Thank you for getting this information to me," he said to the Geth Trooper. "Inform the Free Worlds Military of the impending attack. Also, inform the House Lords that I am calling for an immediate emergency meeting in the meeting room of this palace. If the Batarians are going to assault a member of the Star League, then we must decide on a long term plan for any military action."

"We will carry your request out," the Geth Trooper replied.

"Good," Hanse replied. "Before you go, how are you liking the new Combat Chassis that we designed for you?"

"It is adequate for our needs," the Geth Trooper replied before walking out of the door, with the door closing behind it moments later.

Now that he was alone, Hanse got up and walked to the window once again. So, he thought as he paced along the window. If the Hegemony wants a war, we'll give them a war that they have no chance of winning. Quite anticlimatic in my opinion; I thought they would try to get the Council on their side. Apparently, they've decided to fight this war without them. Either way, they will lose. With that thought, he sat back down at his desk. There was a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it.