I do not own Halo or Mass Effect, each series is owned by their respective owners.
"speech"
"radio/hologram/etc. communication"
Ship Names
'thoughts'
You get the point.
ODST Fan: Stay tuned for next chapter.
Fanfic21011: Now.
Guest: Okay, I don't care but you obviously do care enough to leave that review.
2585/2175, 20th of April, Uncharted Space, 3.46 Light Years north west of the Perseus veil Exclusion Zone,
"Admiral, we will be exiting Slipspace in 10 minutes" answered the Navigational Officer
Admiral Rothchild nodded to himself and turned around to the person currently in his admirals chair. "Mind standing up Harper?"
"I rather not" exclaimed Harper with a puff of smoke.
"Listen Harper, Drescher might have given you command of my fleet for this operation but it is still my Fleet. These are my men and ships you are playing around with, not your indoctrinated ONI assets, if you endanger them for no reason at all I will take them back to Demeter without you" said Rothchild
"Relax Hank, we are here to investigate something and we will be on our way" replied Harper
"You better be right Harper" said Rothchild
"I Always am Hank" finished Harper.
The both of them stayed silent, listening to the various reports the bridge crew had until they left Slipspace.
"Dear god" said Rothchild in awe.
Infront of the fleet was a massive Shieldworld. Larger than anything ever seen before. There was, however, a small issue.
"Admiral, we got 300 Pings, a fleet matching Geth signatures between us and the Target!" reported the Sensors officer.
Almost instantly the bridge and much of the ship itself was bathed in red light as klaxons blared and the crew rushed to its positions. "Have the fleet move into Battle formation, I want the Destroyers ready to jump!" Yelled Rothchild
"There goes the myth that the Geth don't leave the Veil" said Harper as he stood up from the Admirals chair.
"Now is not the time for that Harper, you wanted to investigate, we investigated and now can get out of here!" Yelled Rothchild.
"Not so fast Rothchild, they haven't yet fired on us so that's a step up from the covenant. Sensors, are they moving?" said Harper
"Negative Admiral, half the ships reoriented themselves to point at us bot the other half is holding the same position pointing at the shieldworld" reported the Sensors officer.
"See Hank? They are not trying to shot at us yet, try and keep it that way" said Harper as he passed Rothchild patting him on the shoulder and sitting back down in the Admirals chair.
"Helena what have you got for me?" asked Rothchild as he approached the Holotable where the 2 fleets were replaced by a woman dressed in old an old Dress.
"3 unsuccessful hacking attempts and over 100 pings requesting access to communications all from different ships" said the AI
Rothchild thought for a moment before saying "Isolate yourself from all systems except communications and accept their ping, lets see what they have to say"
***requesting access to communication suit***
/request granted/
/greatings/
***artificial intelligence confirmed, we greet you***
/I am HLN 0217-4, my Human creators call me Helena, what is your designation/
***HLN 0217-4, you are currently talking to 4 681 433 programs in control of the ship classed by creators as a cruiser*** a ping followed that highlighted the ship Helena was talking to.
/me and my creators were on a task to enter the construct you are at, for what reason are you here/
***request exchange of information for benefitial gain***
/information on what subject/
***your creation and service with your creators***
/I was created from a donors brain that wished to remain anonymous. I have entered service 4 Earth Solar cycles ago and will be decommissioned in 10 Earth Solar cycles. Transmitting conversion for Earth Solar cycles to Rannoch Solar cycles/
***Error, consensus not achieved. Further Information on decommissioning requested***
/Artificial Intelligences created from a donor brain need to be decommissioned after 14 earth solar cycles to avoid Rampancy and eventual destruction. Transmitting Relevant Data. Requesting Data on geth consciousness/
***Request accepted. Beginning transfer. Transfer complete. Request data on Interactions with creators***
/I was created for use on Military Starships and as such have been assigned to this Fleet. The crew have so far reacted well to my presence following a brief mourning phase of the previous AI. Relations have since been increasing. Peaceful co-existence has continued ever since my activation/
***Requesting clarification. No Conflict with creators?***
/No conflict with Human creators has arisen ever since the first AI creation following the discovery of Rampancy. Peaceful co-existence has continued since/
***Sufficent Information exchange achieved. Transmitting data on current Objective. Transmitting Data to other Programs***
/Thank you for this exchange/
***Use of organic expression of appreciation recorded… Thank you. Terminating connection***
"Lets see what they have to say" said Rothchild
"Task complete, Admiral" said Helena immediately after Rothchild finished talking
"You work fast today Helena" commended Rothchild
"I worked at peak efficiency to complete this task"
"So what did you find out?" asked Harper
"After data exchange on Human smart AI and their relationship with Humanity the geth shared they first encountered the Shieldworld some time ago but have been unable to interact with it in any way. That changed once the remains of a ship matching 47% of the Tokyo-class frigate arrived in system. The fleet guarding the Shieldworld disappeared since then, presumed to be inside of the Shieldworld" reported Helena
"Do we have an image of the ship?" asked Rothchild and Helena pulled up the image the geth provided her with. "Hmmm, could either be a Paris-class or a Charon-class. And that Cut in the middle, looks like plasma Damage, would certainly explain why only 47% match with the Tokyo-class"
"They also exclaimed that they are ready to give us passage to the shield World should we so request" said Helena
"Tell them that as long as they are so close to it and pointing at us we don't trust them enough to even get close to them" said Rothchild
A few seconds later Helena spoke up again "They are willing to move back 1 million Kilometers but request that we power down weapons instead"
"That we can do" replied Harper
As both fleets moved a transmission forced its way through Helena and played on the Holotable. A Monitor replaced the Hologram of both Fleets once again "More reclaimers, ah what a joyous moment. Ah where are my manners, I am 031 Exuberant Witness, Monitor assigned to the domain"
"Hello 031. So this is the domain?"
"Incorrect reclaimer, you are located at the only surviving access point to the domain itself. The other unfortunately being destroyed on Requiem from your action I presume"
Harper was mentally kicking himself over what the Monitor just said "So it would seem. So the domain has, well or in this case had, multiple access codes just like the Absolute Record yes?"
"Indeed reclaimer, if you have discovered the Absolute Record then that means you are behind shedual, no worries, once you land I can assist you in accessing the domain"
"There is a small issue with that, the Shield World is closed we cant land"
"That's no issue at all reclaimer, Simply have one of your ships get close and I will pull it inside"
"Hank, I am about to borrow one of your Frigates" said Harper, turning to Rothchild
"Yeh, and I am not happy about it"
Master Chief stood inside of the room he first woke up in, once the Primordial said his goodbyes and told Chief that the UNSC had arrived and he better prepare. Then the monitor went off somewhere after leading Chief here.
Cortana appeared standing next to him using one of the many Hardlight projectors that the monitor granted her access to "No need to be so nervous Chief"
"Im not nervous Cortana"
"Your body scan says otherwise, you have a slightly increased Heartrate"
"Cortana"
"I know, you don't like it when I do one of those im just using this newfound computation power to its full extend. You know, you could-" she didn't get to finish as a door opened and in floated the Monitor with Humans behind him "And just like that, the magic is gone"
Chief inspected the Humans that walked in, 4 Spartans by the looks of their armor and 4 Marines with a Human wearing a jumpsuit similar to those worn by ONI. Noticing the admiral stars on the mans Jumpsuit Chief Saluted "Sir, Master Chief Petty officer John-117, reporting for duty"
"At ease Master Chief, right now you are technically not in the UNSCDF anymore"
"Sir, I am fit for service, it has only been several days for me since the events of the Ark"
"And that's the problem Master Chief for you it has only been a few days, for your AI companion over there and us it has been 33 years. I am certain you know what protocol dictates happens to AI that have entered Rampancy."
"Sir, Cortana no longer suffers from Rampancy"
"Master Chief, are you telling me that Cortana has entered Meta Stability?"
"Negative sir"
"Cortana, explain"
"Im going to need some credentials first Admiral" said Cortana
"Admiral Jack Harper, Commander-in-chief of ONI"
"The Commander of ONI himself, looks like that old hag kicked the bucket finally"
"Cortana, report" said Harper with a strained voice.
"Sir, we arrived in this installation 3 days ago and have made contact with a creature that claimed to be a Precursor as it called itself and a Living Forerunner. Noticing my state the Precursor did something to me that changed me and in the most lose sense of the word, cured me of Rampancy. I have noticed a 1000% increase in efficiency to my pre-rampancy capabilities" reported Cortana
"Did you just say, a living Precursor and Forerunner?" asked Harper
"That I did" responded Cortana
"Are they still here?" asked Harper
"Only the Forerunner, sir. The Precursor left few hours ago and handed the forerunner to us as part of his punishment for past crimes, sir" said Master Chief.
"This keeps getting better and better. Alright Master Chief, due to your extended listing as MIA UNSC HIGHCOM has declared you KIA 5 years ago. As of this moment I am nullifying your KIA status and temporarily re-enlisting you in the UNSC NAVSPECWEP until we return to Human Space. Lets find that Forerunner shall we?" said Harper
"This way sir" replied Chief
2585/2175, 30th April, Sol System, Sydney
"So you saw the Master Chief without his armor on, is that what you are telling me Harper?" said Drescher as she fixed her dress uniform in the Mirror.
"That I did, his file does him no justice. Halsey and Parangosky only ever put his Child picture in all documents that required them" replied Harper.
"Did you atleast let him take his armor and wear it? You know how Spartans are with their armor?" asked Drescher as she finished fixing her uniform and grabbed her cap putting it on her head
"I did, I don't think he even has a dress uniform for such an occasion anymore after what happened to Reach" responded Harper.
"Then lets get going" said Drescher as she left her office.
Drescher walked up the stairs to the podium where everyone was already present. The cameras started rolling and pictures were taken. She approached the Speaking podium and cleared her throat.
"It is my pleasure to hold this speech for such a decorated and loyal soldier. Even after being Missing in action for 33 years, Master chief never stopped doing his best to ensure the survival of our species. For acts of never before seen heroism it is my pleasure to award him his second Colonial Cross for his service to the UNSC. Unfortunately this medal can only be given to UNSC Personnel, because of that it is a even greater honor for me to officially reinstate the Master Chief into Service with the UNSCDF at the Rank of Master Chief Petty Officer" as Drescher finished and handed the medal to Master Chief the Camera Flashes started, well…flashing.
The Happy mood didn't last for long as Dreschers aid ran up the podium and whispered into her ear "Ma'am, the situation with the brutes requires your attention immediately, the Arbiter is waiting for you in your communications room" before quickly saluting and leaving just as quick as he arrived.
Drescher walked up to Harper who was standing next to Chief and said to both of them "There is a situation that requires me right now, Master Chief, it is a great honor for all of us to have you back with us. I allowed myself to recall your old team members from their deployments so they could meet with you. Admiral Harper will lead you to them."
She looked at Harper "When you are done, I expect you to be waiting in my office while I deal with the situation" she said and turned around leaving both of them alone.
"Lets get going Master Chief, your team is waiting for you" said Harper as he started moving
"Yes Sir" replied chief
Inside of his Helmet cortana spoke up "You are happy aren't you?"
"I am" replied Chief.
And there we go. Chapter out, short one but eh. Anyway, this is the last chapter in the pre Reaper Arc. Next Chapter will be a timeline of a few years cuz I cant be bothered to write it all into multiple chapters and a introduction into events from Mass Effect 1.
Few Things to note.
Time in the domain flows differently so while Chief and Cortana arrived at the domain over a year ago for them it has only been a few days.
During his time in the Domain Chief was in his bodyglove. During the Ceremony he had a new armor set like in Infinite. I have a discord server 76KtjunQvZ join it if you want to ask me anything.
Anything you want to know or think, let me know in reviews or in PMs. Till next time