Disclaimer: I do not own Halo, Warhammer 40k, Stellaris, Kaiserreich, HoI4, Clannad, Star Wars, or Mass Effect. This is a fanfiction, and I don't have ANY monetary reward for making it. Any political or religious beliefs mentioned in this story do not reflect my own. This is purely for fun.
WARNING: This is an M-rated fanfiction. Sexual content and graphic depictions will appear from time to time.
Author's notes: New story, but don't worry. My first story will not be dropped. I wrote up a plot for the Lost Son of Terra rewrite, or would it be a redo? It's kind of like how Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood was.
If you're reading my first story, then thank you. This story has the same aspects as the original, but certain parts will be toned down. The Reapers will be strong; just below the Forerunners in power. Mass Effect technology will be buffed from the start; no green Ezo. There will still be romance and angst, but I wanted to focus more on the action. Shepard will play an important role, but this is not his story. The pairings in this story are Erwin(Noble Six)/Oriana, OC/Liara, and Shepard/Miranda.
Also, there will be some mature topics in this story. Such as politics, religion, and sex; I tried to write in a way that lets the reader decide if what's being done is morally right. The culture of the Imperials in the story is based on Rome and the German Empire, there's a valid reason for German Empire later on in the story. Erwin's Univers is where angles exist and the Germans won WW1. That's where the Kaiserreich disclamer came from. It's a really good mod for HoI4, and if you play it let me know. Wouldn't mind playing some multiplayer after finals.
Speaking of finals, I'll update my first story in a few weeks after finals are done. This is just a little test run for Lost Son of Terra Phoenix.
Ch. I
Only the Dead See the End of War
The United Terran Empire was on the verge of total victory. For the past ten thousand years, Mankind was engulfed in a brutal war of genocide. Trillions of souls were lost and more than a million worlds burned to glass.
However, Mankind prevailed. The United Terran Empire formed from the ashes of the Terran Confederacy. Many of the Empires who once found themselves on opposing sides united, creating Mankind's second unified government. The Old Empires formed the founding Imperial States and were the only entities within the Terran Empire that had autonomy.
Under the banner of the Empire, Mankind pushed the Covenant and Rivendell forces out of the Milky Way. From there, Mankind repaid the Xenos for every drop of Human blood spilled. The Rivendell Civilizations lost their so-called Gods, and the Covenant watched their homeworlds burn.
Now, with only the Covenant remaining; the hunt for High Charity was underway. The last bastion of the Covenant Theocracy.
High Charity was upgraded with Forerunner technology, thanks to the Didact giving the Xenos unrestricted access to his portion of the inheritance. The Covenant worshiped the Didact as a God, and he used them for his final revenge against Mankind.
Yet, even the Didact fell before the might of the Empire. John was the one to slay the last Forerunner at the Battle of the Ark. With the Didact gone, the Covenant Empire was quickly devoured by the warriors of the Terran Empire.
They were not merciful.
The Covenant's home Galaxy was Andromeda. They held more than a hundred million worlds and had a population of over half a quadrillion.
It all burned in the rage of his people.
The Covenant Empire now had a few hundred backwater worlds and a fightingly small fraction of their population. It was only due to the Mantle entrusted to Mankind that they were spared genocide.
Killing off ninety-nine percent of a species was technically not genocide.
After the war, the Empire would help the ex-Covenant races rebuild to varying degrees. The Unggoy would be given a fair chance, their homeworld being the only one not glassed. The Covenant beat the Terrans in glassing Balaho. Therefore, the Unggoy homeworld would be the first world terraformed into a habitable planet.
On the other hand, the San'Shyuum would be dropped on a terraformed world in one of Andromeda's satellite Galaxies. Their population would only number in the thousands with no knowledge of the building blocks of Civilization.
The Empire would raise a generation of San'Shyuum in ignorance; teaching them little more than basic language. Then those ignorant children would be split up and dropped on a single planet.
The San'Shyuum would have to discover writing before rocketry. However, it was a blessing in a morbid way. They'd develop their own original culture and technology rather than just copying the Forerunners.
It was the same punishment given to Mankind all those years ago by the Forerunners. However, Mankind was far more benevolent. The San'Shyuum would not have their Genome butchered and devolved into little more than monkeys.
Erwin was satisfied with the sentence given to the San'Shyuum. However, he was furious when he found out the Ilythiirian were given Humanic protection. The Dark Elves were protected from a similar fate, and Erwin thought that was too good for the dark elves.
No, the Ilythiiri deserved everything but genocide and Erwin would gladly carry out the sentence.
Perhaps that was why the Empress and the Matriarchy demanded custody over Erwin after the war was over. Erwin had a lot of rage still burning within himself, and a cruel past he dared not even contemplate.
Not that it mattered now, his mission went south in a major way.
It was supposed to be just a recon mission, but an important one. High Charity had to be found.
It wasn't just Erwin looking for High Charity either, John and Alex were also hunting the elusive station.
John and Alex were the only other Spartans with the hyper-lethal designation. The two other hyper-lethals were each looking in an entirely different Cluster, so it was only Erwin and his men.
A Spartan was an enforcer of the Empire and Mantle, and the pinnacle of Mankind's warriors. The war wasn't over until High Charity burned, so Erwin would continue to serve. A hyper-lethal wasn't one to back out early to play therapy with the Empress.
They chose Erwin for two very particular reasons.
First off, he was a skilled warrior. John was the one to kill the Didact, but it was Erwin that decimated the powerful psionic being the Elves called gods. Erwin was physically and psionically very powerful, but he was also cunning. The perfect combination for a hyper-lethal.
Secondly, and most importantly, he was given a dreadnought as his personal warship. The Empire entrusted such a warship to Erwin due to his past records of combat, technical, strategic, and loyalty.
Alex and John were also chosen for the same reasons, but their stories were radically different.
This was to be the three hyper-lethals last mission before a much needed rest. However, it was not the time for complacency.
Complacency could doom their descendants to a future war.
Even with the Covenant all but destroyed in Andromeda, High Charity was still a serious threat. It was the size of Jupiter and had thousands of dockyards. The Covenant could run for hundreds of years only to return with millions of starships.
Erwin was supposed to find the large mobile base, and report it to the Empire. His Reach-class Dreadnought was one of the most powerful warships to ever sail amongst the stars. However, it would be utterly decimated by High Charity.
The technological superiority of an Imperial dreadnought couldn't overcome the size difference when compared to High Charity.
He was to find and trail High Charity until an Imperial Fleet could catch up to Erwin, then he'd lead the Fleet against the Covenant in the final battle of the war. That was if Erwin could find High Charity before John and Alex.
Erwin was not to engage the entire Covenant Fleet alone. It could lead to his men's needless deaths, and the Covenant slipping away. On the bright side, Erwin would give the Covenant one hell of a bloody nose.
Erwin's was the Dreadnought INS Intrepidus, Gothic for dauntless. It had a massive crew of over two and a half thousand men, a massive compliment by Terran standards. The men would potentially be away from Terran space for years, so he ensured every man aboard his flagship was single and without a child.
Erwin also handpicked every single one of them. He wanted the best the Imperial Navy had to offer, and he got it too. They even played nice with his clones.
As for the clones, they were still barracked in the Andromeda Galaxy. The Intrepidus carried the Legio II Weltraumwölfe; Erwin's personal legion, so he had plenty of ground support. Imperial starships were also far more stealthy and faster than any of the clone starships. The clone starships would only slow down the Intrepidus.
The search was long, and Erwin was having little luck. He was getting worried Alex or John would find the station first.
The three hyper-lethal Spartans had a competition on who'd find High Charity. Erwin did not want to lose.
Erwin eventually found himself in a small Galaxy outside the Local Cluster. Erwin and his men were the first outside of the Local Cluster, and he'd normally have more of a sense of adventure.
However, Erwin was feeling anything but adventurous at the moment. It was because, during Erwin's far-off hunt for High Charity, he stumbled upon something the Covenant should not have touched.
A class two Halo.
The class two Halo Arrays were far larger than the class ones and were supposed to be the Halos used to purge the Local Cluster. They were more powerful and could also be used as fortress worlds, but supposedly the Flood destroyed every one of them before they could be used. The Flood seemed to have missed one; it just so happened to have its defenses deactivated, so the Covenant could land on the ring.
Erwin's first contact with the Covenant in months, and he finds them on a long-lost Forerunner artifact.
The Halo itself wasn't dangerous per se, but rather what it held.
That's what led to everything getting fucked up.
The Flood.
The Forerunners, for whatever reason, thought it'd be a good idea to protect Flood specimens from the Halo arrays.
Erwin couldn't let the Covenant play on a Forerunner artifact, so his recon mission turned into an infiltration mission.
The plan was simple. He'd lead a squad of Jaegers onto the ring, and gain access over Halo's defense system. Then he'd use the automated defenses and his Weltraumwölfe to eliminate the covenant.
The first part of the plan was technically a success, but thanks to the Didact the Sangheili and San'Shyuum could use Forerunner technology not under Imperial control.
The Covenant discovered the presence of Erwin and the Jaegers. He was forced to act and ordered the Intrepidus to eliminate the relatively small Covenant fleet orbiting the ring.
A series of unfortunate events led the Covenant on the ring to poke around for anything that could help repulse the large Imperial starship. What they found was a force they couldn't comprehend.
The Covenant sent a message that the Empire was attacking, and called in reinforcements. The Xenos sent all of their remaining Navy and High Charity.
The Intrepidus was overrun by superior Covenant numbers and High Charity, but not before using its tachyon lance and fibril cutters to decimate ten of the Covenant's supercarriers.
Erwin was lucky enough to get control of Halo's defenses, and covered the Interpidus's retreat. The Intrepidus was badly damaged and had to make an emergency landing on the ring.
A landing was a generous word for what the massive Imperial warship did. The one-hundred-and-four kilometer warship was not designed to land on a planet. It was more along the lines of a graceful crash.
Now Erwin finds himself standing in the Halo's control room with his squad of Jaegers.
"Shit… they got onto High Charity!" Ares yelled.
"Sir, they're at the last door! It's only a matter of time before they get through!" Ludwig shouted from the back of the platform.
Ludwig was covering the door with five other Jaegers. They all looked nervous but held firm; they would not bring dishonor to their legion.
"Supreme Commander Wolff, the Intrepidus is in one piece, but we have Covenant and Flood converging on our location!" Commodore Engel frantically informed.
"Commodore Engel, can you hold the ship?" Erwin calmly asked.
Erwin was trained to keep a cool head in stressful situations. The worst thing for men to see was their commanding officer in distress.
"I'm not sure. If we get the pulse lasers back online, then yes. The Covenant did a number on us, and our armor was penetrated in multiple locations." Engel informed a little more calmly.
The Intrepidus crash-landed just a few dozen kilometers from the control room. It was right on the edge of the Flood infection.
"Ares, are the sentinels putting any dent in the Flood?" Erwin asked.
Ares was integrated into Halo's systems, he had full control of the Forerunner superweapon.
"No, those things are designed for small outbreaks. They're not designed for such a large and organized Flood presence."
"Is there any way we can keep control of the ring?" Erwin prayed that his brother could pull a miracle.
"That's a moot point! If the Flood gets control of a single Covenant starship, it won't matter." Ares answered.
Erwin closed his eyes and breathed. Ares was right, the Flood was already gorging themselves on the Xenos and the Intrepidus wasn't even space-worthy. There was no way he and his men were getting out of this alive.
Erwin wouldn't cry and ask, 'why him.' No, he was the descendent of two great peoples.
Like his forefathers before him, Erwin and his men would demand the death of those who threatened his people's future.
"Ares, how much of the ring is infected?"
"If you looked into the sky, the ring would be mostly brown. We only have control of three energy cores. It's enough for a low-powered firing though." Ares soberly informed and sent a more detailed analysis through Erwin's neural lace.
"Prepare to light the ring, Ares." Erwin softly commanded.
"Understood." Ares sadly obeyed.
"Men, I'm about to light the ring. It's been an honor." Erwin spoke through an open com to all his men.
Ludwig and the Jaegers looked over at Erwin and nodded before turning their attention back to the door when a particularly large bag rang through the control room.
"Engel, can the Intrepidus still launch missiles?" Erwin asked.
"Yes, sir." Engel succinctly answered.
Engel probably knew what Erwin had planned. The Intrepidus was a proper dreadnought, so its main offensive armament was the large guns that peppered its hull with pride. However, the Intrepidus did have multiple missile launchers to complement its tachyon lance for extreme range engagements.
The Archer missiles were the largest on the Intrepidus. They used an exotic form of dark matter called Abyss-637; it was metastable and used as a high yield explosive in the Empire.
It exploded with a yield that could destroy an entire unprotected planet. The Intrepidus might be fighting off Covenant and Flood ground forces, but letting off an explosion that made atomics look like firecrackers was not a good idea. Especially when the control center was firmly within the blast radius of the dark matter-induced explosion.
Erwin sent a very particular firing solution to the Intrepidus, then gave Captain Engel free reign on where to fire the other missiles.
Normally the Intrepidus would carry thousands of the destructive missiles, but they were used to help make a large graveyard of Covenant starships.
The Intrepidus only had seven missiles left, but Erwin only required one for what he had planned.
Erwin sent his final order to Ares and his men then sent a final message back to the Empire.
Ares' orders were a long and complex sequence of instructions to use the Archer missile to amplify the damage of the Halo array. From Erwin's understanding of Dark technology and Neural Physics, it would create an explosion that would wipe out the entire System. Possibly the next one over too.
"I love you, Ares. You've shown great patience with me, and I thank you. I'm proud to call you my legacy."
"I love you too, brother. Now, let's go out with a bang!"
"Make it a good one."
Erwin and Ares spoke through the neural lace as they said their final goodbyes.
Erwin's final order to his men was a bit simpler.
"Take em' with you."
"It's ready. The array requires confirmation from a reclaimer." Ares said.
The control panel cleared. Leaving only a solid glowing hemisphere. Once Erwin placed his hand on it, there'd be no turning back.
"Ancestors, preserve them."
Erwin then placed his hand on the hemisphere.
"Sir?" Ludwig asked while giving Erwin a knowing look.
Erwin nodded his head and stepped away from the control panel. He faced the door, then brought his assault rifle to his chest; ready to fire at a moment's notice.
Ludwig and the five other Jaegers took up line formation bedside Erwin at the far end of the platform.
"Open the door, Ares," Erwin commanded.
The large door to the control room opened and a flood of horrific creatures poured through. Small infectors, medium size combat forms, large long ranged crab-like creatures, and massive armored tanks. Plasma bolts of captured Covenant weapons flew towards the Imperials with disturbing accuracy.
Bolts of plasma were deflected by the Jaeger's dark matter deflectors, and the men were quick to give it back to the abominations.
The Imperials responded with a hell of rapid-fire from their assault rifles. A quarter of a kilogram, Adamantium projectiles zipped across the platform at over ninety percent the speed of light. The small projectiles penetrated multiple forms, shredding them apart as the Flood exploded in bits of brown flesh. The forms hit were left as little more than sick brown mush.
Erwin sent a few psionic blasts into the flood of sickly flesh, tearing apart vast swabs of infected. However, the Flood would repay the favor by sending psionic jumpers. Erwin pushed them away with his own psionics before he and his men could be mauled by the melee forms.
The massive armored tanks charged and were able to take multiple rounds before succumbing to the Imperial ballistics. Their bodies formed from organic armor on par with even Imperial Neutronium.
"Frag out!" Ludwig yelled as he rapidly threw four stick grenades.
The outside of the explosives glowed white and stuck to the Flood towards the back. The internal atomic payloads caused shockwaves to rip across the control room. Body parts and unidentifiable bits of flesh flew away from the explosion.
The Imperials we're slaughtering the Flood, but they just keep coming.
Every wave died an inch closer.
Like their namesake, the wave of sickly brown flesh came in like a flood. It was like blowing against a wave of water. Eventually, the water would seep through and drown everything.
Before the Flood could close distance with the Imperials, a flash of light blinded everyone.
The groans, screams, banging, gunfire, and explosions all stopped. Replaced by white and a sharp ringing noise.
Erwin's last thought was one of contentment.
He smiled.
They won.
In a different Universe, at the bottom of an ocean, a being woke from its slumber. It felt something brush against its mind. It was oddly familiar, and completely alien at the same time. One thing was for sure, it was powerful. Even more so than itself.
It communicated with its kin. They all agreed.
With one powerful effort, they all pulled.
"This cycle will be different." The being thought, before drifting off into blissful slumber.