Chapter 40: CORRUPTER
May 9, 2685; 0500 Hours
Reach, Espoz (UNSC Training Facility: SPARTA)
To say that Yang was nervous would be about the greatest understatement of the century. She had spent the past few days in New Alexandria waiting for the call from her new superiors. Just two hours ago, that call finally came.
She was in a large amphitheater-like room with about a hundred others, all of them wearing the identical grey jumpsuits of the UNSC Navy. Every single rank pin was identical, with each and every one of them marking the wearer as a Petty Officer 3rd Class. Try as she might, Yang couldn't help but feel like she stuck out amongst these people. She saw men and women of all ages, but they all had one thing in common: they were all military. From the chatter, she could make out some of the origins of her neighbors. There were quite a few ODSTs, Marine Force Recon, Army Marksmen, and even a Navy trooper. Sure, on Remnant she could easily wipe the floor with just about everyone in the room, but there was one problem with that: her Aura didn't work when she left Remnant all those years ago on her visit to Earth, and that had yet to change. Here, she was just another human among these people.
The chatter came to a very sudden stop as the metallic door by the amphitheater stage hissed open, and the sounds of finely-polished leather boots clicking against the metal tiles reverberated throughout the room. The new entry to the room was an immensely tall man, wearing a black officer's uniform. The right side of his chest was practically covered in medals. Beyond the medals and his height, the man seemed rather normal save for one feature: his piercingly perceptive blue eyes that scanned over each and every person sitting in the amphitheater. As he walked, Yang was just barely able to make out the rank insignia on the man's shoulder: Master Chief Petty Officer. The very moment he began speaking, everyone in the room, including Yang, sat up straight as a board, for there wasn't a human being alive who didn't recognize that voice.
"As per naval code 87117, you are hereby conscripted into the UNSC special project codenamed SPARTAN-IV." Everyone in the room stared on in awe as he came to a stop in the center of the stage, clasping his hands behind his back. "You have been called upon to serve. You will be trained, and you will become the best we can make of you." Yang couldn't quite explain it, but everyone in the room, nearly in perfect unison, stood at rigid attention as the man came to a stop. She was just a hair slower, still getting used to the military's rigid stances and how it all worked, but she hoped the Chief didn't notice. "You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies."
Yang simply couldn't believe that she was staring at the Master Chief, the very man who had saved the galaxy a half-dozen times. She silently racked her mind for possible explanations, but she had never heard of a human, even someone in the UNSC, living for damn near two centuries. It all clicked when she saw just the faintest flicker on his chest. It looked identical to the occasional Hard Light flicker she would see from the projections. This was an AI.
"Lieutenant Moore?" He asked, keeping his gaze firmly on the recruits before him. From the same door, another man who was slightly shorter than the Chief stepped into the room, wearing the full MJOLNIR armor from the neck down. "See these recruits to the course… see what they can do."
November 29, 2685; 1931 Hours
Reach, Espoz (UNSC Training Facility: SPARTA)
Yang sucked in a deep breath as she laid herself down on the operating table. She had always known in the back of her mind that this was a part of the program, but nobody had ever told her that it would take three damn weeks to finish the augmentation procedures, then another few months of training her body to acclimate to them. She had already had the "first" of the augmentations done not long after her induction into the program, being the installation of the Torpet datacluster neural implant. It was still taking some getting used to, having a piece of metal implanted at the base of her skull, but that was the least of her concerns right now.
The sterile white room combined with the masked medical personnel was perhaps the single most unnerving thing she had ever seen. As she laid down on the metal table, a chill ran the length of her spine as she was in effect made to stare at the six robotic arms that would carry out the first phase augmentations to her musculature and skeleton. She had absolutely no idea what any of the implements attached to the robotic arms did, but they all looked about equally terrifying.
"Please tell me you're gonna knock me out, doc." Yang said as she glanced over to the nearest medic that was filling small vials attached to a robot arm with various liquids.
It was clear that the doctor had done this procedure hundreds of times, given how quick he was to give a snarky response. "That's the plan, unless you wanna be awake for the bone-stretching. I dunno what you meatheads are into." He chuckled, screwing in the last of the vials.
If that was supposed to put her at ease, Yang was definitely not feeling eased. It didn't help that a moment later, other doctors were fastening metal restraints to her wrists, ankles, and forehead. The same doctor must have seen how uneasy she was, and he actually deigned to explain himself. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. It's not uncommon for the body to have an automatic spasm response to the biochemical augmentation, even while under anesthetic. This is just to keep you from rollin' off the table."
That actually did help to put her at ease. At the very least, she wouldn't feel it until she woke up. After that, though? Well, she had no idea what to expect. "Alright." Another doctor nodded from behind a computer console that Yang could just barely see out of the corner of her eye. "We're starting phase one musculoskeletal engineering series in three.. two… one."
Yang felt a slight piercing pain in her wrist, right about at the center of the restraint. The last thing she saw before the anesthetic took her was the robotic arms calibrating above her body, then beginning to descend.
December 24, 2685; 1231 Hours
Reach, Espoz (UNSC Training Facility: SPARTA Medical Wing)
"How're you feeling, Xiao Long?" Doctor Bennecke asked, stepping into the room that Yang had spent the better part of four days recovering in. The aged doctor folded up his glasses and tucked them into a coat pocket as he powered down his datapad.
"I can walk to the bathroom now." Yang shrugged. "Definitely an improvement."
"Good to see." Bennecke nodded, watching the now-6'5 woman stand upright, albeit a bit shakily. "Any improvements with fine motor control?"
"Think I got it all back." Yang nodded, touching each of her fingers to her thumbs while keeping her gaze firmly on the doctor.
"Perfect." Bennecke nodded with a smile. "You're about in-line with average recovery times. You should be well enough to join the rest of your company for their evaluation tomorrow at 0800." A pit suddenly formed in Yang's stomach, remembering how hard Lieutenant Moore had kicked her ass for the past half-year. Bennecke smirked, seeing the look on Yang's face. "And no, I wouldn't believe you if you 'collapsed' right now."
December 25, 2685; 1031 Hours
Remnant, Vale (Schnee Estate)
"Merry Christmas, 'ya bunch of goons." Ivan smirked, stepping through the door with Winter as Weiss beckoned the two inside. Blake and Ruby were both already sitting on the couch, Pyrrha and Jaune were sitting at the kitchen counter helping with cooking, Nora and Ren were joining Ruby and Blake in their conversation, and even Penny was sitting in her familiar awkwardly-rigid way on the couch.
"Hey, guys!" Ruby waved to the newcomers from the couch. Neither Ivan nor Winter were surprised to see that Ruby was still wearing her pajamas. As they walked into the living room, Ivan spotted Sun and his team seated on the floor around the coffee table,
"What's up, Sun?" Ivan nodded to the monkey Faunus, who returned the nod.
"Nothin' much." He shrugged. "So what's the point of this holiday again?"
Ivan was very suddenly reminded that Sun didn't have the same context as the others. He hadn't exactly spent well over a year around UNSC personnel on a military base. "Well, it's supposed to be a religious thing, meant to celebrate the birth of a prophet from back on Earth. In practice, it's mostly just a day where people get together with friends and family, exchange gifts, all that good stuff."
"Wait, are you religious?" Scarlet asked, surprised.
"Eh… kinda?" Ivan shrugged. "Went to church as a kid. Haven't been in like… ten years, though." Ivan suddenly remembered something, reaching into his leather jacket and producing his datapad. "Speaking of, I've got a feeling Blake would kill me if she had to wait for her gift."
"Ivan, you know you don't need to get me anything." Blake sighed, betrayed by a small smile.
"That's some crap, and you know it." Ivan smirked, activating the datapad. "After all, all this cost me was a favor. This wouldn't have gotten through until about a month from now if I didn't erm… pull a few strings up top." He smirked, handing the datapad to Blake.
With a confused expression, Blake took the active tablet and looked down at the screen. It took a lot of self-control to keep from screaming. A little video message from Yang was on the screen, the still image showing her lying in a hospital bed. Seeing her response, all of Team RWBY gathered around Blake to watch as she tapped the play button.
"Heya, Blakey!" Yang wore a broad smile on her face as she spoke. Blake wasn't sure if it was just something about the datapad, but her lilac eyes seemed just a bit… brighter. "Not sure how long this thing's gonna take to get back home with how strict they are on security here. Can't blame them, to be honest. Ivan wasn't kidding, I've been getting my ass kicked these past few months." Yang chuckled. She evidently was not lying. She looked a little ragged and tired, definitely uncharacteristic of her.
"I know you, you're probably freaking out seeing me in a hospital bed." Yang had that little smirk on her face again. "I promise, I didn't hurt myself. Made it to Augmentation, though. Again, Ivan wasn't fucking kidding. That shit sucked. Felt like I had fire Dust pumped into my veins. But… judging by the fact that I can read the little monitor on the other end of the room like it was right in front of me and I'm a few inches taller, it definitely worked."
As Yang brought a hand up to her hair, which had somehow been cut short to be in-line with military regs, Blake could just barely make out the surgical scarring on her arm. It honestly made her a bit uneasy to look at. It looked almost like they had skinned her, then stitched the skin back on. "Not sure how much more of this I've gotta get through, but I've got some kinda post-augmentation evaluation in the morning. Getting ready to get my ass kicked again, but I'll make it. Somehow got this far, after all. Not sure when I'll be back home, but my God I can't wait. I've missed you, Blake… Missed the others too, but I don't sleep with them." She gave the camera a little wink, earning a blush from Blake, and a groan from Ruby. "Love 'ya, Blake. Next you see me, I'll be a SPARTAN." With a moment of hesitation, Yang tapped a button on her own datapad, stopping the recording.
Blake stared at the blank screen for a moment, eventually looking up to a smiling Ivan and Winter. Without a word, she simply stood up and wrapped the both of them in a hug. "Thank you… I hadn't heard anything from her since she landed in New Alexandria..."
"No surprise there." Ivan chuckled. "They don't let you even look at a datapad until after augmentation, and it's just to send messages to family. These kinds of comms are usually low-priority on Reach… usually." Ivan smirked. "Got Yang's pushed ahead in security screening."
"Do you know how much longer she's got?" Ruby asked as Blake broke the hug.
"Hard to say, every training company is a little different." Ivan shrugged. "If I had to guess, she's got another six months before she gets her assignment. Give or take a few days for armor requisition and the return trip from Reach."
"Is that how long it took you guys?" Jaune asked from the kitchen.
"I was only on Reach for about six months." Winter explained. "Some fast-track program that's rarely used. My time in the Specialists was apparently enough for me to skip the first phase of training."
"Still failed rifle qualification on her first try, though." Ivan smirked, sitting on the couch's armrest. "The look on her face was hilarious when the BR-85's recoil got to her."
"They asked for 95% accuracy at 750 meters!" Winter defended. "I had no Aura, and it was pre-augmentation!"
"Did you fail, Ivan?" Pyrrha asked.
"Nope." He smirked, looking up at Winter. "And I don't let her forget it."
"Doesn't count, you were an ODST." Winter dismissed.
"You were special forces too, princess." Ivan smirked. "We just phased out swords a little quicker."
"Keep this shit up, and your deadshot ass is sleeping on the fuckin' couch." Winter crossed her arms, an almost imperceptible smirk betraying her tone.
"Alright, ya got me there." Ivan sighed as the others all giggled at his expense. "So, what's everyone been up to?"
"Still trying to keep the students at Haven under control..." Pyrrha sighed. "I swear, they're getting crazier."
"Tell me about it..." Jaune mirrored the sigh. "Ozpin's been a great help, but it's still getting to be a bit much."
"I feel you guys." Ivan nodded. "Almost had to go military on some of those goddamn hooligans a few weeks back. Oobleck told me about some straight bullshit where these kids were spouting some Cardin-level horseshit at a Faunus team."
"God… still? After everything that's happened?" Blake asked.
"Afraid so..." Ivan nodded. "Solved that real quick, though."
"What'd you do?" Jaune asked.
"Taught the Faunus kids a few… trade secrets, then matched them up in the arena." Ivan smirked. "Had no complaints since. Either way, enough about work. Trying to enjoy the break while I got it. What've you two been up to?" Ivan nodded to Ruby and Weiss.
"I've just been helping Weiss where I can, and taking the occasional contract when I get bored or she's gotta go out of town." Ruby shrugged. "Nothing too interesting."
"What, corporate banquets aren't interesting?" Weiss asked, feigning incredulity. After a moment, she sighed. "She's not wrong. But, the first SDC-produced MAC gun made its way onto a frigate." Weiss smirked. "Thank you, gravity Dust."
"Ren and I have just been taking contracts in Mistral lately, doing our best to keep busy." Nora shrugged. "Still plenty of work in the smaller towns."
"About the same for us back in Vacuo." Sun shrugged. "Been doing some policing work with the Office lately, though. Had a few more bandit groups crop up outta the wastelands."
"I've been named the official Protector of Mantle by General Ironwood!" Penny beamed a smile. "The UNSC's been a great help, but Grimm still sneak in sometimes."
"I'm still helping my dad with the little stuff in Kuo Kuana." Blake shrugged. "Now that we've got some Humans moving to the island that aren't UNSC military, I've mostly been playing diplomat. It was definitely a bit easier with Yang around, but I'm managing. Any word on Cinder?"
"Yeah, Thorne's got her running anti-piracy on the fringe with my old team." Ivan nodded. "Mostly dealing with Jackal pirates and the occasional Covenant Fringe species, so it's nothing too crazy. They are getting old Banished tech from somewhere, though. That's probably why Thorne's got SPARTANs on it, rather than ONISEC." He shrugged.
"Damn, Cinder's job sounds rad." Sun nodded.
"It's definitely something." Winter nodded. "If anyone's cut out for it, it's her. She even got temporary command of Ivan's old ship."
"Yep, definitely found her calling." Weiss nodded. "Now c'mon, we can talk more over food. I can literally hear Ruby's stomach growling from here."
June 3, 2686; 1200 Hours
Reach, Espoz (Orbital Platform Noble)
Yang sucked in a deep breath, approaching the menacing-looking apparatus that was nearly twice her height. It felt strange, wearing the hydrostatic gel layer and nothing else, but that would soon be changing. As she stepped into the machine, the single technician manning the nearby console tapped a series of commands into the interface, and the platform she stood on leaned her back, and the four robotic appendages set to work.
It started with her extremities, attaching the various armored plates to the hardpoints on her gel layer. She dared not move her head, lest she mess something up, but she could see that her requisition had indeed been approved. The dark yellow armored plates were just finished being attached to her arms and legs, then the apparatus leaned her forward, and she watched as the VANGUARD-class chestplate was attached to her torso. It wasn't until the top two arms slid the RECRUIT-class helmet over her head that it finally dawned on her: she was done.
"Bringing the fusion pack online, wait one." The technician spoke up, his voice muffled slightly by the inactive helmet. A moment later, the helmet's systems flared to life. Yang, for the first time, saw the full suite of MJOLNIR GEN-2 armor from within. She saw the inert ammunition counter, the motion tracker that had the technician tagged as friendly, the shield display that was currently showing as drained, and the rest of the modern VISR systems. Put simply, she couldn't believe how much tech had been crammed into this helmet.
"Bringing shield systems online." The tech spoke up again. A moment later, Yang heard a distinct whirring noise as a golden aura surrounded her, momentarily bathing her vision in golden light. In less than a second, her energy shield had been fully charged. She heard some faint hissing from behind her, and she somehow intuitively knew that it was the technician testing her armor's integrated thruster pack. "Alright… systems are green, letting you out now."
After the apparatus reoriented her, Yang was free to step out. It felt strange at first, almost like the armor was anticipating her movements. After her second step outside of the machine, she realized that it was anticipating her movements. She couldn't quite explain it, but she just felt… faster. She was startled at the sight of an update coming in on her VISR, being an order from Lieutenant Moore to report to the armory, then to the War Games simulator. Just as she realized that she had no idea where the armory was, a little marker appeared on her VISR's integrated compass, which was handily labeled 'Armory'. Yang let a smile cross her face for the first time in weeks as she made her way in that direction, eventually falling into step with a few other SPARTANs from her company that had just been fitted into their armor.
Upon reaching the armory, she was rather unsurprised to be issued a shotgun and a magnum, then made her way to the simulation deck. Much to her surprise, the Hard Light image of the Chief was awaiting all 100 of the SPARTAN recruits alongside Lieutenant Moore. She was surprised to find that there wouldn't be a combat simulation at first, rather, they would receive their official ranks, teams, and assignments. Unsurprisingly, it went alphabetically, so Yang had to wait for quite some time as the Chief went down the list, assigning each of the SPARTAN recruits to a team of two or four. Eventually, he did make his way to the only one with a last name starting with an 'x'.
"Corporal Xiao Long." At the Chief's word, Yang stepped forward a single pace, arms kept firmly at her sides. His piercing blue eyes seemed to glare into the gold of her visor in a surprisingly approving way. "You are hereby assigned to SPARTAN Team Omega under the command of Colonel Chesnokov of the Remnant Detachment. For the purposes of the war games, you will be assigned to Fireteam June."
At the Chief's nod, Yang stepped back into the line, and he began speaking again. "Alright… all fireteams prepare for combat. The first combat test will be between Fireteams June and Panther. The rest of you, back to the observation deck!"
June 15, 2686; 1401 Hours
Remnant, Menagerie (Kuo Kuana)
Blake sighed, typing away at her laptop as she responded to yet another message from the local UNSC ambassador. This was her third time writing this message, since the first two drafts sounded exceedingly done with the ambassador's shit. Just as she was about to finally be done with her work for the day, she heard a series of knocks on her door. Already fed up with the bullshit, her hands involuntarily balled into fists over her keyboard as she stood up from her chair and practically stormed to the front door.
Fully prepared to give whoever dared interrupt her frustration the verbal thrashing of a lifetime, she threw the door open with a heavy pull and a piercing glare. Rather than finding the salesman or whoever it was she was expecting, she saw a set of yellow MJOLNIR armor, with a RECRUIT-class helmet held in the crook of its arm. Looking up in surprise, she let out an involuntary squeal as she saw a pair of lilac eyes looking down at her in amusement. "Heya, Blakey-" Blake immediately cut her off as she leapt up, wrapping her arms around her wife's neck and pressing her lips to Yang's.
Blake felt a surprisingly strong arm wrap around her torso, holding her to the armor as she was half-carried back into the house. "Oh my god..." Was all Blake could manage as she was handily set down on the couch by Yang, who now wore a broad smile on her face.
"I'm home!" She smiled, tossing the helmet onto the couch and kneeling down in front of her wife. "I'd sit next to you, but I don't wanna break the couch."
"Shut up..." Blake shook her head, wrapping Yang in another hug, earning a giggle from the blonde.
"Guess you missed me." Yang smiled, returning the hug, taking care to be gentle, even with her armor on low-power mode with her helmet off. "Well… I missed the shit out of you."
After what felt like far too short of a time, Blake broke the embrace, wiping a tear away from her eye. "Yang… your hair." She reached out, running her hands through what was effectively a blonde bob-cut now.
"Trust me, I don't care how long it takes, I'm growing it back." Yang smirked. "Ivan's my CO now, and if he wants my hair regulation length, he can kiss my ass."
Blake managed a giggle, simply letting herself get lost in the lilac eyes she hadn't seen in over a year.
June 17, 2686; 0331 Hours
Remnant, Vale (UNSC Listening Post Delta-3)
Thorne rubbed his temple as the Pelican set down in the ass end of nowhere. He stood upright as the passenger bay door hissed open alongside his dozen ONISEC Marines he had brought with him. As he stepped into the humid air of southwestern Vale, he saw a familiar face in Agent Yorck awaiting him, hands clasped behind his back. "Marines, secure the perimeter." Thorne ordered, straightening out his coat. The Marines wordlessly fanned out past him, moving to surround the small listening post.
"What's this about a security breach?" Thorne asked, approaching Yorck with a stone-cold look on his face.
"Best if I show you, sir." Yorck nodded towards the door.
With a heavy sigh, Thorne fell into step alongside Yorck as he placed his hand against the biometric scanner. After a moment, the door hissed open and the stench of decay immediately hit Thorne's senses. He had been around this enough to keep his stomach under control, but this was not what he had expected. Some of the lights on the walls were shattered, some were flickering. As he stepped inside, Thorne could just barely see the two Marines assigned to the LP's security. Both of them were slumped over consoles with shell casings littering the floor. Their M7 SMGs were on the ground beside them, or gripped in-hand in the case of one Marine. The single technician assigned to the facility was nowhere to be seen as Thorne entered the main room. Bullet holes riddled the consoles and their displays.
Rounding the central consoles, Thorne finally found the technician. His torso was absolutely riddled with M7 rounds. The floor was slick with long-coagulated blood, and Thorne took extra care to avoid disturbing anything as he looked to a nearby console that was still active, despite some damage. "Who had access to this post?" Thorne asked, his hands dancing across the display as he attempted to extract any information he could from the listening post's archives.
"Only the two Marines, the tech, and ONI personnel, sir." Yorck answered.
Thorne sighed, only managing to keep his composure thanks to finally accessing the internal security monitoring. He found the proper file quickly enough, the system flagging the time and date thanks to the gunfire. Whatever happened took place four days prior, perfectly in-line with the missed report from this post. As he brought up the video archive, Thorne heard a noise that he was all too afraid to hear from one of his own at a time like this: the sound of a magnum beginning to leave its holster.
Thanks to his augmented reflexes, Thorne spun around to find Yorck pulling his magnum from his shoulder holster, beginning to level it at him. With speeds only attainable by a SPARTAN, Thorne batted his agent's arm aside, attempting to send the magnum flying into the wall. He was successful, but not before Yorck managed to get a round off. The director's sudden movement meant the round found a home in Thorne's lower ribcage, his coat's woven body armor catching the round but knocking the wind out of him.
Riding on pure adrenaline and his augmentations, Thorne sent a knee into Yorck's side followed by a strike to his throat. As Yorck gasped for air, Thorne sent a kick into his lower abdomen, sprawling the rogue agent on the ground. On reflex and training, Thorne drew his own magnum and put seven rounds into Yorck's chest as he heaved for breath, the rounds swiftly punching through the agent's unarmored shirt. For the first time in his entire career, Thorne was quite happy that the Office skimped on weaving soft body armor into everything.
Slightly late to the party, two ONISEC Marines stormed into the listening post, their MA5s raised. They hesitated slightly, seeing Thorne sliding a new magazine into his magnum. "Sir?" The Sergeant asked.
"Rogue Agent, stand down." Thorne said, matter-of-factly.
Just as he was preparing to forget about the whole thing and head back to the console, he saw something that made the whole ordeal click in his head. He saw a bit of movement from Yorck's corpse, notably near his head. The Marines evidently missed it, as they were beginning to approach his body to drag it outside. All Thorne needed to see was a small black-red worm slithering its way out of Yorck's nose to know what happened. He quickly drew his magnum again, putting a .50AE round straight into the rogue agent's nose, splattering grey matter all over the Marines' greaves. Sure enough, what was left of the worm began to dissolve away into black smoke. The Marines definitely caught the smoke, as they immediately backpedaled and trained their weapons on Yorck's corpse.
The Marines and ONI Director all shared a knowing look. "Seal the building." Thorne began, making his way for the door. "Radio for HAZOPS and Hellbringers, burn this facility out." As he emerged into the open air again, he activated his communicator, keying into the local FLEETCOM frequency. "Admiral Bishop, prepare a transmission for Earth, my authorization. 'Alpha-level priority message: CORRUPTER, CORRUPTER, CORRUPTER'."
There was a moment of trepidation from the Admiral as the gravity of Thorne's message set in. "U-Understood, Director. Transmitting now."
Thorne flipped the channel over to the nigh-impenetrable ONI channels, connecting back to the Baleful Eye. The personnel aboard that cruiser were among the only ones he could trust at the moment, as none of them had ever set foot on Remnant save one, and she had yet to disappoint. "Agent Fall, I need you to listen to me very closely. We have a potential internal security breach, prepare for INTERCESSOR protocol, I want all ONI personnel in-system screened discreetly under guard. I'll explain more in private."
A/N:
I'm not dead! Huzzah!
You have no idea how long I've waited to bust out this little bit here. The stakes have indeed been raised. Get ready for some spooky shit.
Yeet
-TallYapflip
Reviews:
Raptor of Sangheilios- Bro, I feel you on a spiritual level with real life hitting like a goddamn freight train. Glad to see you're back, and I cannot fucking wait to see what you've got in store. Godspeed, brother.
BrutusPrimus- Finale's still a ways off, evidently ;). Got one more act to get through, and this one's gonna be… interesting.
Evinco- Hopefully this chapter helped explain why the UNSC isn't too terribly interested in Aura/Semblances beyond cataloging them for study. Aura doesn't exactly… work when off Remnant.
PoofyOhio- I definitely understand, my man. No hard feelings. Godspeed.
Singpu- I mean… Halo already takes places 500 years in the future, and their military technology is only barely ahead of our own in many places. The only real exception is the space travel and power armor. Just about everything else they have is perfectly buildable today.
Hellwyrm- Not gonna lie, Composing was about the worst thing I could think to do to him. After all, those prometheans on the Light of Sol came from somewhere.
Hoangxuan2309- Not gonna lie, that's a pretty good idea. I'd definitely be a bit more open to it if I didn't already have 5 stories that I've gotta finish.
BigBadAud666- Is made of finest Soviet stalinium, comrade. Is stronkest material known to motherland, blyat.
Batman9117- I mean… there's a literal timestamp in every little sub-chapter. It takes place in the mid-2600s. Ivan is most assuredly a SPARTAN-IV, but Reach has been re-terraformed, so they moved the SPARTAN Program back to Reach.
JustMonika- You have no idea how hard it can be to find a good balance between the two universes here. Like you said, the UNSC has some straight bullshit powerful weapons like the NOVA bomb, or even just a MAC gun. And if you were wondering what Salem can pull out of her hat, well here it is ;). And you're quite welcome to keeping Pyrrha around. Don't worry, Pyrrha and Jaune will be getting some love, along with the other secondary characters.
