The Halo Effect: War and Civilization

by free man writer

A crossover years in the works. Civilizations rise and fall but to those that do stand, they prosper. They Expand. They reach out across the stars. But of course, such is a Universal law, War is never far behind. War is a language all civilized races speak and it is war most are familiar with. Co-written with BulletStormX. Halo/Mass Effect with a dash of Star Wars.

11. Growth

Thanks for all those reviews everyone, really glad to see so many being happy at this stories return.

But to clarify this now. The Broadsword and Longsword are still in service, they just go by different names. The Longsword, due to how it is shaped is known as the D-wing. I made mention of that in chapter 8.

And the Broadsword, I'm debating on either making it the B-Wing or its own ship later on because in Halo Canon, the Broadswords were put into service towards the tail end of the Covenant War. They'll appear much earlier in this timeline but still, trying to figure out when and where it should be introduced.

Anyway, on with the show.

Rate Read and Review and As Always Have Nice Day.

The Halo Effect War and Civilization Chapter 11: Growth

2531/2175

Liara T'soni, personal audio journal entry number 1.

I know this isn't my fist personal log entry but I believe that this should be the first in my new one since I have been a part of this Expedition into the uncharted regions of the Galaxy.

Goddess, just saying that aloud still gives me chills of excitement.

Every time I think about the Expedition, a part of me still questions as to why I of all Asari were chosen to be a part of this massive undertaking.

I mean, I understand why I was one of the selected from a pragmatic point of view being a Prothean and archeologist expert and all but I'm not even in my hundreds yet. I'm still considered by many in TTAZ culture to just be a child.

Still, I can barely c-c-contain, oops, hold on a moment… Goddess, I can't even record this properly.

We've only just begun but already, we have discovered a new system with two garden Worlds! And the best part about it was that one had Prothean ruins whilst the other had another one of those strange Forerunner outposts.

Only this one was undoubtedly the biggest ruin or one of the biggest Forerunner structures we have ever seen.

And it was working!

...well somewhat.

There was a voice, we're not sure if it was a VI, a recording or… something else perhaps.

But what we do know is that when we attempted to activate or study whatever the structure was supposed to be, it scanned me and other TTAZ present and it said that we possessed an incomplete genetic code.

What could that possibly even mean?!

Does it have to do with the missing link on Thessia?

Or why the TTAZ are all only women?

I have so many questions that I can't even formulate them properly.

This entire expedition is turning out to be grander and more exciting than I anticipated.

And the best part is- OH!

'Sorry Liara!'

"Yeah sorry! Ahsoka and I are late for practice with master Plo."

Oh, I'll join you both then. Masters Plo and Aayla invited me to join in on your lessons whenever I have the ti- oops, one moment

End of audio log.

Liara T'soni, audio log journal entry 7

The establishment of our first base of operation is underway upon the first garden world we came across.

Due to Nensel Jul being the first to step foot upon the planet, he made the joking claim to have the right in naming the planet.

It was amusing to hear how many simply agreed and went along with it.

He is the Leader of the Expedition at the end of the day.

But in the end he settled on a name that many would call generic yet I feel it to be apt due to it being the first garden world and the start of this Expedition.

New Horizon.

I'm rooming with Ahsoka and Mission so it's been enjoyable spending time with them both at the end of every night.

Once the first base is established, we'll be continuing onwards to the next system.

We've already located the Relay that would take us into the next system.

Nensel and Lumont just wish to make sure that General Desolas finishes the security detail of the base defense and our fleet overall.

I've also had time to study the Prothean ruins we found on the first garden world and with our findings, we've learned more about their culture and civilization and we've made what could be a shocking discovery.

It appears that the Protheans have made reference to these Forerunners and in one drawing, it appeared that the Protheans had met these far more ancient aliens. Yet judging from its interpretation, they had more of an understanding or idea as to who or what these Forerunners were but I'm finding it difficult to decipher them.

Still, I have high hopes that something will come from these ruins that better explain both the Protheans and the Forerunners.

That Forerunner ruin is still working, we just don't know how to activate it properly or utilize it.

Most Prothean ruins that have been found in the past are usually always responsive and with the proper energy and tech work can be turned back on for use.

The Forerunner structure on the other hand is difficult to fully understand though it should come as no surprise due to how little we have done in our studies of these ancient structures.

It's frustrating as it is enticing. I want to know just who and what these Forerunners were and just why they created what was left behind and what caused their disappearance.

Perhaps this expedition shall be the key to finding these answers.

I hope I can- Yes? Oh already? Coming Ahsoka.

Oh my, forgot to turn this off.

End of Audio log.

The Citadel's expedition was in full force, having been traversing the stars for the last few months within their first new system through the Relay designated N-67.

The mission to chart new clusters of space for habitable planets presents a unique challenge. Meeting these challenges head-on is the finest the Citadel has to offer from scientists, explorers, and soldiers. Leading the charge is Nensel Jul, a Duros with an astounding record of venturing into occupied territories to help in leading many to find undiscovered worlds and resources that bolstered prosperity within each area he had gone through.

His right hand man or lady in this matter was a brand new position created for the purpose of being the leading vanguard on these unexplored worlds.

The Asari matriarch of the TTAZ race known to all as Ishara was the one selected for this endeavor.

A TTAZ ranger with an extensive background leading multiple troops into battle as well as forays into the Terminus System with TAZZ Commandos, Ishara is a battle hardened warrior with centuries of experience. But aside from being a trained warrior, Ishara is well versed in medicinal practices, specifically in the use of herbalism having been taught by a myriad of species with their knowledge of using plant life as medicine.

When down on the ground, Ishara is at the forefront, leading the ground force of the expedition at the head.

Along with her is her retinue of handpicked individuals that are a part of the Expedition, one of which was the head and director of the top scientists of this coalition being the Salarian Lumont Hayjer.

The Salarian was brilliant, even amongst his peers as a Salarian laser focused on his studies and "innovations" that he had contributed to the Expedition.

Though many considered them innovations, Lumont objected to these beliefs, stating that he merely adjusted and tweaked existing technology that would be retrofitted for the primary objective of exploration. That meant tougher kinetic shielding, higher processing power for most, if not all technology and a better recycling usage of Eezo should the worst happen.

While Nensel, Ishara, and Lumont dealt with the more exploratory side of the Expedition, several individuals were selected for military and organizational upkeep of this endeavor.

Now, whilst the Citadel Council would have it that they always put their best foot forward in meeting new species in the galaxy, history has cautioned them to at least be ready for battle should they meet a hostile race.

Thus, a selection of high ranking military officials from multiple branches were selected to handle the matters of the military side of the Expedition.

The first of these choices came as a recommendation and due to his own track record of Desolas Arterius being the supreme military commander of all Expeditionary Forces. He operated in directing all military forces of the Expedition with several individuals assisting him such as the Kel-Dor Navy Admiral Hetchkee and Drell general Droyo Thaok.

Being the Supreme Military Commander meant he worked directly alongside Nensel Jul and Pathfinder Ishara in coordinating the entirety of this voyage.

Of course, with all of these responsibilities, the primary ship of the Expedition known as the Core Spire needed a Captain on deck at all times.

Thus the famed, two century long pilot known as Pag'Hewu, A Twi'lek was selected for this endeavor by Nensel personally.

Now one would think that this seemed a bit excessive in having so many positions being filled with people of such particular skills and talents.

But the Council wanted this Expedition to be a show of unity between the multitude of species in Citadel space. The best of the best going into the unknown being entrusted with the future of their civilization.

They needed to put their best foot forward and display to whomever they encountered that they could have the chance to become a part of the larger galactic community. To add to something greater while becoming part of it as well.

But history has shown them not all races they would encounter to be benevolent. The Krogan, the Rachni, the Yahg and the unfortunate creation of the Geth have shown the Citadel time and again of the ever-present dangers lurking about every corner of the galaxy.

Which leads to having a more blatant showing of military strength, a combined military strength, something of which hadn't been done in centuries.

It was actually a downside of not having worked together as often as the races in the Citadel should have. The collection of species that made up the Citadel Council were more or less united but there was still a large degree of autonomy between the species.

Only the Turians, Kel-Dor and Drell have a semblance of coordination with each other in knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each species.

It was why those three were selected to represent the military branch of the Expedition.

Though Nensel was the overall leader of the Expedition, he operated directly with the military commanders of this assemblage in the overall procedure of this voyage.

The process of the Expedition goes as follows: the military branch would first enter through a Mass Relay in the new system.

This allows at least the first half of the Expedition, being the military branch, to be the first ones to face whatever lies on the other side of the relay. They make sure nothing ahead will endanger the civilian crew of the Spire in case such a threat does defeat the first half of the fleet.

They would engage any hostile forces, giving time for the Spire and other scientific and civilian vessels to make their escape. If no such threat poses a danger to the Spire and other half of the fleet then the military branch would send the all clear signal and the rest of the Expedition Fleet can come through.

Once the Expedition Fleet links up with the other half of the escort fleet, they would then form a defensive perimeter around the Spire to protect the ship if an unknown species does attack and prove hostile, then at the very least, the Spire would at least be shielded from enemy barrage.

When the Spire enters a system, they send out probes to map out the planets and mark which one should be the priority. Upon arrival, after the probe checks off on the planet being safe to enter or advising on taking precautions if needed, then they would proceed to the next phase.

The Pathfinder and a team along with a small arm escort would then land on the planet's surface and begin exploring and recording their findings. If any threat is present on the surface, then the Expedition Force would send in their Reactionary Force(their soldiers who are always ready and on standby to deploy) to go in and get the research team off world and fend off the threat.

As for the military Escort, to keep themselves at a state of pre-mobilized combat. Constant drills and exercises were conducted so that the soldiers were ready at any given notice since they knew by now how unpredictable first contact or space in general can be.

But only so much can be done doing drills and exercises as motivation is the most important part for a soldier's performance. To resolve the issue, Desolas, Hetchkee and Droyo decided to hold monthly war games onboard the Spire.

The best military units of the Citadel would go head to head to decide who is truly number one and the games help motivate soldiers to push and go beyond their believed "best" in hopes that they would excel from their initial limits to eventually prove themselves on the battlefield.

There is of course bragging rights and trophies that come with the units that prove themselves in the war games, so more motivation for the troops.

All the while, multiple research teams collect data and send it back to the Spire where scientists would process the information and catalogue it.

Once the surface of any new world that's discovered is thoroughly explored and a suitable spot for a base is found then they would call in the Expedition Force to set up a base and more researchers and scientists would be able to come down to the planet to further conduct research.

Overall, this was the basic outline that had been laid out for the Expedition though naturally they would also have to be flexible whenever the situation called for it.

What would said situation be?

Well they need to encounter such a matter and react accordingly for when the time comes.

-Scene Cut-

"What do you think this is?" Ahsoka Tano, Padawan learner to Biotics Master Plo Koon asked aloud as she held a yellow crop with small nubs in her hand.

A Salarian approached her with his Omni-Tool activated and raised it up to be on level with the plant the Togruta held in her hand.

"Hmmm, perhaps something that is edible on this planet." The Salarian mused. "Shape similar to several other fruits found on other garden worlds in Citadel space. Store it for later study. Several samples should do."

Ahsoka nodded and placed the yellow plant into her satchel before picking up a few more.

The planet of New Horizon was the first planet that the Expedition had chosen to "colonize" though really it was just the staging ground at first.

Two bases had already been established, one for civilian/scientific use and the other being for the military branch of this endeavor.

The Biotic Padawans, Sages, Masters and Guardians split their time between their training and assisting the Expedition in any sort of task asked upon them.

The Biotic Sages, when first crafting the many lessons of their organization, based it off the ancient Kel-Dor orders that was the foundation of the academies. Becoming a Master Sage was one of extensive practice, studies but above all else, service to the greater galactic community. It is through the varying degrees of service that Padawans and Guardians were able to forge their own identity as a Biotic user under the Sages and gain abilities unique to themselves.

When Plo Koon was asked to join in the expedition, he accepted the offer straight away, believing that this journey will be one of new discoveries not only for the Citadel races but Biotics themselves.

Many masters of the past of the Biotic Sages discovered the strange and esoteric abilities hidden with Biotics through voyages into the unknown.

Such as the Biotic bond, connections forged between those who have a deep connection with one another, something many TTAZ picked up on over time.

Or Plo Koon's own incredible ability to vibrate his Biotics to such a degree, he can generate lightning that can either subdue an individual into unconsciousness without harming them or kill them in an extremely painful manner.

So in this expedition, many Sages hoped for new scenarios that would be the genesis for newer Biotic abilities. A new way of commanding Biotics or even a means of rediscovering some of the old arts that have been lost to time.

Only by going on this new adventure will they find what they're looking for.

"Hey 'Soka." Said a miserable, familiar voice from behind.

The Togrutan Padawan turned to see Mission walking over to her, covered in dirt.

"Goodness, what happened to you, Mission?" Ahsoka asked in a small laugh which only served to further make the grumpy Twi'lek even more so.

"Let's just say that I got a little too… excited." Mission mumbled out, clearly annoyed more at herself than her friend now laughing at her.

"Yes, that's one way of putting it." Said Liara T'soni who came from behind Vao with a very amused smile in place.

"What happened?" Ahsoka asked with a giggle.

"We found some Prothean ruins not far from here." Liara revealed in an excited manner. "Pathfinder Ishara was with us and advised us to approach the structure with caution. That's when Mission-"

"I didn't see where I was going alright." Mission said irritably, crossing her arms in a huff.

"She ended up using all our water to clean her mouth out." Liara teased with a wide smile.

"I didn't think the ground beneath me would collapse alright!" Mission whined aloud, hanging her head in a dramatic dejected manner with her friends laughing at her plight.

"Come on then, let's get you cleaned up." Ahsoka said, wiggling her slightly dirt covered hand. "Been out here for a while myself, digging around in the dirt too."

"Please." Mission all but begged, following after her two friends as they made their way over to the civilian base.

There, they got themselves freshened up and soon were seated in the large cafeteria eating together.

"Urgh." Mission bemoaned, resting her head upon the table, idly munching on vegetation of some kind while idly poking at her meal. "Why'd Master Plo have to assign us to gardening?"

"I hardly think excavating a Prothean Ruin counts as gardening." Liara said in good humor.

"Yeah, I'm the one who was actually gardening." Ahsoka pointed out. "You got to go with Liara and uncover long lost history and technology. Speaking of, did you find anything there?"

Liara nodded, a small smile gracing her face.

"The Prothean ruin we found, while small, was akin to that of an outpost." Liara said with a growing sense of excitement.

"So what do you make of it?" Ahsoka asked, knowing this to be her friend's favorite topic in the whole galaxy.

"If this is an outpost, a base in which the Protheans used as their own in their foray into the unknown, it's as if we're following in their footsteps through our journey through the galaxy." Liara said giddily.

"The base was pretty big actually." Mission noted. "Just a tad bit bigger than the military base we had set up here."

"It is mostly buried though." The Asari of the trio remarked.

Ahsoka's response was only a good hearted snort. "Like that's ever stopped you before, Liara."

She only blushed bashfully at the Togruta pointed out the obvious with her. Though Mission had gotten dirty earlier, not by her own volition, Liara was the one usually who would wind up being covered from head to toe in dust, dirt and mud.

"So a Prothean Outpost." Tano hummed aloud thoughtfully. "Think we'll find anything useful there? Like a map or some sort of guidance cause if the Protheans made it this far out, they likely went further than us."

Liara nodded in agreement. "I believe we can at least salvage or decipher some of what has been left behind and then some. Lumont believes we can even follow the same path as the Protheans did and uncover more of their ruins."

Mission grumbled slightly. "So long as the ground beneath me doesn't cave in, I'm game."

Her two friends laughed at Vao's comment with the Twi'lek joining in a moment later.

"So, how has training been for the two of you?" Liara asked, digging into her own meal now. "Aside from helping where you can on the Expedition."

Both her friends shrugged.

"Master Plo is making us go through the basics for the most part." Mission answered. "He wants us to make sure our foundation remains strong and stable before going on to some more advanced techniques."

"Judging by the sound of it, you want to move onto the advanced techniques." Liara said expectantly.

"Yes!" Mission admitted aloud, unashamedly. "I wanna do the crazy thing that Master Plo can pull off already. I know we're ready, I just know it."

"Well Master Plo seems to disagree." Ahsoka drably said, resting her cheek in her palm. "I was never much of a gardener back in the academy and the number of plants I violently pull out from the ground sorta proves it."

"You two need not worry." Their Asari friend assured them. "Everything your Master seems to do is within good reason."

Ahsoka only matched Mission's earlier posture and slumped down onto the table with her cheek resting atop it.

"Come now you two." Liara encouraged. "You'll both have your chance."

"Our chance at what?" Vao asked for clarification.

"To prove yourselves, I guess." T'soni said with a shrug. "You are Plo's pupils after all. He wouldn't have taken on just anyone."

"But will we?" Ahsoka inquired. "This is only an expedition. Will we even run into anything out here?"

Liara gave her Togruta friend a befuddled look. "This is most certainly a surprise. Weren't you and Mission the two who were excited at meeting other species?"

"Took a slight downturn right now." Vao deadpanned, picking some dirt from behind her ear and flicking it away.

Liara only giggled and shook her head. "You two need to relax. We'll have enough excitement soon enough as is."

"How can you be sure?" Tano asked.

"History has a tendency to repeat itself." Liara said with a knowing look. "I pray that whatever new species we may encounter in these unexplored regions to be friendly and willing to become allies with us rather than fight us."

Both Mission and Ahsoka grimaced as they were all too aware of the history the Citadel has had in encountering new species.

It was close to about a 50/50 sort of split with their encounter rate being either openly hostile, eventually hostile or friendly.

The Rachni, Krogan, Yahg and Quarians inadvertent creation of the Geth have taught them to be far more cautious when venturing out into the unknown.

Sure the Citadel has incorporated many peaceful species in conjunction to these short four but they all left an irrevocable mark upon the galaxy that is still remembered to this day.

Some in the more literal sense as the species with elongated lifespans had some that were actually there to see it all transpire.

There was a reason why they had a military fleet leading the charge, much as the Core Spire was the flagship of the Expedition.

History has shown them that not all amongst the stars are friendly so if and more than likely when conflict rears its head, they'll be ready.

-Scene Cut-

Lumont, Director and appointed leader of the Science division of the Citadel Expedition was hard at work within his laboratory.

He had his Omni-Tool up whilst going through a multitude of data files ranging from Eezo readings to fauna, to wildlife to the layout of the system they currently resided in.

Thus far, in the eyes of many, the Expedition has been a rousing success in its early stages.

Two garden worlds with several Prothean Ruins and even one Forerunner ruin that was buried deep within one of the second garden world.

The Forerunner ruin in particular has caught the attention of the Science division of the Expedition as many bore witness to it seemingly activating and apparently scanning them all.

What intrigued him most of all was the focus it had on the TTAZ race and after the scan came a synthetic voice that stated that their genetic sequence was incomplete.

Now what in the world could that possibly mean?

What was missing from the TTAZ race?

That had been a burning question for some time now because with that one question came thousands more.

These Forerunners, did they know the TTAZ? Or better yet their ancestors?

They predated the TTAZ as a whole from Thessia, far before the Protheans with a number of the date readings they had conducted to show them to be over one hundred thousand years ago.

When one really thought about it, the TTAZ race was always an oddity of sorts amongst the galactic community.

Their home planet of Thessia, while rich in Eezo, has shown that in terms of archaeological studies of species of the past, next to no race on that planet has any sort of ancient ancestor with the TTAZ.

It was one of the great mysteries of the galaxy.

How was it that the TTAZ originated in Thessia when there are no known species that they can link themselves back to?

Every other species in the Citadel and outside the Citadel can easily track down the genetic links they had with the species of their planets from the ancient avian creatures of Palaven that Turian descend from to the extinct lizards of Sur'kesh, the Salarians home world.

The Duros have their more flat headed, large armed simian like ancestors and the Krogan had a number of large predators of old.

All these species had their ancestors.

All but the TTAZ.

Many had joked that the TTAZ had been taken from somewhere else and were just plopped onto Thessia to see what would happen.

Yet there was also the fact that all four variations of the species were all female.

Every single species that the Citadel has encountered and met had both male and females within them except for the TTAZ.

Granted, they were able to reproduce with just about anyone and everyone with the offspring always being a girl and the interesting feature being that the child could come out as a different variation of the four types of TTAZ. So long as there was even one ancestor that was either a Togruta, Twi'lek, Asari or Zeltron, there was a chance for them to come out different then their mother.

Quite frankly, even after so many centuries of studying, the TTAZ race seemed content really for the most part that they were a galactic anomaly.

In a smug way, it made them feel unique and stand out from the rest of the galaxy.

Lumont disregarded those thoughts for now and brought up something that Nensel Jul had given him at the start of this Expedition.

Many years ago, on the fringes of Citadel Space, a team of Duros and Salarian scientists were messing with radio and communication frequencies.

Some of these scientists were part of the Salarian STG and the Durosi black ops and they sometimes came to these fringes to monitor potential threats outside Council controlled space.

But there was also another purpose to this team.

To see if there was the possibility of reaching out and making contact to other species out in the galaxy they had yet to meet.

The Citadel had always been aware that while they spanned a decent amount of the galaxy, they knew that really, they had only explored less than ten percent of the cosmic cluster of stars and systems.

It was considerably large and they had been tucked away into one of its many corners whilst the rest of the galaxy was still out there to explore.

Thus the purpose of this Expedition.

Going back to the radio and communication frequencies, the scientists there had indeed established or at the very least detected a radio wave of unknown origin.

It didn't match any known radio wave that they had and after comparing it to practically every single one in Citadel and non-Citadel space, it was all but confirmed for them that this frequency came from a race of unknown origin.

They had desperately tried to establish some sort of link or contact with whoever it was that was on the other side but they kept failing.

This went on until the frequency was no longer being transmitted and any traces of it was gone.

Many speculated as to what had happened such as the race perhaps cutting themselves off or the origin had been destroyed.

Regardless of speculation however, they had failed to establish contact and this event was dubbed simply as the Lost Contact Mission.

Lumont pulled up a new file and his eyes narrowed in fierce determination.

Until now.

When they got to this new system, that old radio frequency, it had come back.

Not in the way that one would think of it being reactivated.

No, this new one that they had detected wasn't the same. But it was damn similar.

Meaning that they had inexplicably stumbled upon a possible trail that could lead them to this radio waves point of origin.

They may finally be able to track down this elusive species and meet them at long last.

In many ways, when one looks back at the Lost Contact Mission, it may perhaps be viewed retrospectively as the possible start point that would eventually lead to the creation of the Expedition.

All of these thoughts and ideas ran through Lumonts mind at a million miles a second as he began to review the frequency, muttering to himself repeatedly as to how they can trace this.

There had to be a way.

There always was.

He just needed to find it.

-Scene Cut-

UNSC Space

Reach

April 1st.

Chief Mendez sat alone in the office that had been his own since the Spartan-II program.

Simple, quaint, militaristic with a few pictures and personal flares of the Chiefs own to make it more for himself.

Behind him was a single large rectangular open window where he heard the sound of a few hundred feet running, kicking up dirt and mud.

"RRAWAWWAAAA!"

"NO SIR!"

Mendez idly glanced back, catching the sight of two Wookiees running alongside nearly 500 kids who were running hard and fast to keep up with their Wookiee drill instructors.

It had been nearly a year now, this month being that mark, since the Spartan-III program had been initiated with Alpha company as its first batch.

They had been training these war orphans day in and day out with Fofforay and Woosara covering their physical regimes whilst Commander Gando covered their strategic aspect.

Eternal Spring was created to be the official AI for Alpha being a Smart AI this time around compared to of the II's who was only a dumb AI.

Taun We was their teacher on a number of subjects from other forms of wartime strategy, unit cohesion and other basic education.

He of course played his part as well, being a part of a majority of overseeing the training of these new Spartans.

These were just one of the rare instances where he could relax and enjoy a glass of his favorite Reach Whiskey in one hand and Sweet Williams Cigar in the other.

In these times of war, a time of peace a luxury was a seldom prospect when day in and day out revolves around training and fighting for war.

This past year was yet another one of escalation.

The Battle of the Great Bear, having occurred back in December of late last year was a UNSC victory and a much needed one at that.

2529 was a year of defining victories for the UNSC.

Grey Team had discovered a system that was controlled by the Covenant, primarily Elites and Unggoy.

Deciding that it was time to give them a taste of their own medicine, the UNSC went about hitting each planet occupied by the Covenant with NOVA bombs. They made sure that none were left alive.

In the wake of a year of victory, 2530 was honestly a year of defeat.

Eridanus II and Biko were especially hard losses with nearly eighteen million casualties for the UNSC.

So to end on a UNSC victory was a needed boost in morale for their people.

And victory was attained by some of the best of the best that their coalition had to offer.

Admiral Preston Cole headed up the attack with Commander Anderson of the third fleet and Lieutenant-Commander Grun Whell, one of the few Wookiee officers who were Navy and not army.

The trio of naval officers led the spear headed attack of a Covenant force numbering in a dozen corvettes and cruisers with their thirty ships.

Though they suffered a third of their fleet being lost, it was still a decisive victory for the UNSC.

It was also a moment of success in the field of new technology and weaponry with the deployment of the brand new Ivan VDV mech that absolutely decimated Covenant ground forces once the last ship crash landed on the colony of Groombridge-1830.

After the battle, they had captured an elite warrior and interrogated him into why it was that their conglomerate of species was trying to exterminate them.

Turns out, it's a religious crusade, something that was spelled out to them from the start though it was difficult to believe in the beginning.

When the UNSC had heard this, it was nothing short of a feeling of burning frustration at the thought of being in a war that many believed was a part of their ignorant past.

To think they would be fighting in a war for survival over a religious reason…

It left a bad taste in their mouth.

Other than that, the Elite just let out a series of insults and curses and wishes of damnation upon humanity, Wookiees and Mon Cala.

One important thing that they did note was, while it was an offhand comment, it was a crucial piece of information that indicated a needed change in strategy.

The Covenant did not know the scope of UNSC controlled space.

They did not have a comprehensive idea of just how spread out the four species of the UNSC were. That meant that they had more time on their hands for full mobilization.

Being spread out across the stars, advanced as their technology has been, it still is difficult to have all 1200 planets of the UNSC in full mobilization.

Currently, only seventy percent of the UNSC has been fully mobilized and they've already been at war for six years now.

Granted, their shipyards were working at peak capacity, cranking out ship after ship but they needed all hands on deck for this war.

Even the insurrection has been called upon to aid in this battle.

Still they needed to get all their planets mobilized.

Knowing that the Covenant have no knowledge of the full scope of UNSC space is to be used to their advantage.

Other than the Battle of the Great Bear, there were two other great victories of note for the UNSC.

The first being that Harvest was at long last back under their control and all Covenant forces have been thoroughly defeated and expunged.

Second was their successful repelling of their enemy on the planet of Arcadia.

Both were hard fought battles but they led to decisive victories in the end.

Mendez hung his head upon reflecting on those two battles.

Great victories as they were, it came at a personal loss to himself and the Spartan-II's.

Though they have been listed as MIA, the entire crew of the Spirit of Fire has been listed officially as lost to all hands.

Among those missing was Red Team.

Jerome-092, Douglas-042 and Alice-130 were all gone with nary a hint or a trace as to where they could possibly be.

The Spartan-II's were all wrought with grief, much as they managed to hide it.

It was easy for those who knew them personally to see how much their disappearances affected them.

How stiff they were, the means in which they communicated with one another and to others.

The Spartan-III's had also changed, becoming far more tenacious, fierce and determined in their training.

They would not allow the teachings of Red team, brief as it were, to be thrown by the wayside.

Mendez knew that in a war, even super soldiers like the Spartan-II's would be lost.

But them being MIA gave the grizzled soldier a sense of hope.

A hope that they truly just were lost and that one day they would be found once more and brought back.

Shaking his head, Mendez downed his whiskey and finished his cigar before placing his cap on and standing up out of his seat.

He could mope about at the loss of those that he had basically raised into becoming the best soldiers of the UNSC.

Or he could follow the example of the II's and III's and make sure that their loss meant something.

Being a man of action and conviction, the latter was the only natural choice.

And with that, Mendez left his office to resume his training of the Spartan-III's

-Scene Cut-

Kurt-051 Journal Entry Number 79

Feels appropriate to do one now after nearly a year of neglecting them but again, the time and situation called for it.

We've been training the Spartan-III's for the past few months now and they have been coming along nicely.

These kids are something fierce, I can tell ya that much.

Always figured you need something special to be Spartan after when we got our turn of it. And it turned us into the men and women we are now.

These ones however have shown a will and want to constantly strive to be better than what they were the prior day.

They prefer the grueling challenge and training obstacles that nearly break their bodies.

We had to reign in a number of the more rowdy and "unstable" ones if we could call it that.

They're motivated. Words I told to Chief Mendez when the program was initiated.

Completely fearless.

We already got some standouts growing in this first batch.

Carter-A259 is a natural born leader and he's not the only one.

This one kid we have is laser focused with his training and when he's put in charge, one would think he'd be by the book. To a degree he can be but his ingenuity is something quite promising.

A067 is something special, I can tell that much.

There's many others that are starting to show a greater aptitude for a specific skill that differentiates themselves from their brothers and sisters.

Linda is having a field day with several in particular though A266 seems to be her favorite of the bunch. Real chatty that one but strangely, seems to balance out Linda's usual silent demeanor in a mission. It's like he was a missing mouthpiece she didn't realize she wanted.

A239 is a bit of a loose cannon with an almost unhealthy want to harm enemies in his ways but is fiercely loyal to his brothers and sisters.

When Fred took him under his wing, damn near hero worships our knife spinning Spartan.

The other II's are taking the training with great gusto and we can feel the resonating pride whenever we see them achieve greater scores and results day after day.

Damn proud of them all.

Of course… I wish all of us were here to witness their growth.

Jerome, Alice and Douglas have gone MIA with the UNSC Spirit of Fire recently.

We don't know what happened and mission reports have been sketchy at best.

Leon, August and Robert were the last of the II's to see them and reported being with them on Arcadia before they pursued a Covenant force to an artificial world of some kind though again not entirely sure.

We know they're not dead.

Damn sure of it.

Caleb was close to death but he toughed it out even with a number of his organs being burnt to near ash.

Thank God Halsey was not too far to save him from his injuries.

Him nearly dying… made us Spartans realize we're not as invincible as we began to believe ourselves to be.

We're gonna beat our younger siblings to their breaking points until nothing shatters their resolve.

It was shocking honestly to think at one point that they were meant to be expendable.

Mendez got his hands on the program's original intentions and I couldn't help but gawk at it.

Expendable Spartans? Spartans made to simply buy time and be disposed of so easily?

Never heard a more insulting proposition.

We Spartans were made to be the best, to be the sword and shield of the UNSC. To waste a Spartan is as disrespectful and insulting as calling a Wookiee's honor into question.

No, we Spartans will fight for each other and for the survival of the UNSC.

We've already seen enough humans, Wookiees, Mon Cala and Kaminoans get slaughtered by the Covenant.

We'll train up our new siblings to fight right by our sides when their time comes and beat the Covenant fuckers back to oblivion.

That much I promise.

End of Journal entry.

Fred-104 Journal entry number 88

The Spartan-III's are a lot more different then what we were when we got brought in.

Far, far more independent and yet, just like us are fiercely loyal to each other and to us.

Every order and obstacle we've given them they executed without question.

Course, I'm exaggerating on that end.

Some of the more levelheaded and inquisitive of the III's always asked for more details, more information.

Natural leaders or outside the box thinkers. A076 performed some sort of flanking trick that I never even thought of trying but he saw a method that it can be done and executed it to perfection.

Our little brothers and sisters are showing themselves to be fierce, motivated and as lethal as we were.

Hard to deny the pride I have every time I see them.

Rare as it is, whenever I'm with them, I wanna make the most of it.

They're our siblings now and when they enter the war in full alongside us, I must make sure they have every tool and training possible against the Covenant.

And apparently this is to be the first batch from what the program is meant to entail.

While… I'm not fully comfortable with the idea of bringing in more children for this program, I also understand the unfortunate need for it.

We may have gained a number of decisive victories in these past few years against the Covenant, we're also very aware of the fact that they still outnumber us five to one.

Outnumbered and outgunned as we may be, we're not gonna let them trample over us.

They have no idea the coming swarm headed their way and us II's are gonna be smiling with pride when we see our younger siblings deliver that reality check right to their faces.

End of journal entry.

John-117 Journal Entry Number 70.

The Spartan-III's have proven themselves to be ambitious and driven to live up to the standards we set for them.

They haven't hesitated once in taking on any and all challenges that we presented for them to overcome and even in failure, they refuse to quit.

There is a shared pride between me and the rest of the II's every time we see the Spartan-III's. We can't fully describe the feeling but seeing their progress gives us a drive to fight harder, push further for them and against the Covenant.

Some of the III's are anxious to get out as soon as they can.

It would only make sense.

The Covenant took everything from them.

They're driven by rage and vengeance. Potent but they can't solely rely on that.

Thankfully Kurt's been able to reign them in for the most part.

The emphasis on teamwork is showing a higher degree of success and a higher degree of competition between them.

Good. Mendez always said that the right competition brings out the best in all.

Some have taken the role of being older sibling figures quite personally though it should come as no surprise that Kurt would be at the forefront of them.

Makes sense in the end that he was chosen as the head trainer of the III's.

There's a number of standouts, each exemplifying qualities that make them stand above the others. In such a large batch, these trainees stand out head and shoulders above their peers.

While this company is a strong foundation, the standouts and their results remind us of our time during our training. Kurt and Mendez have taken special interest in these individuals though we all have in one way shape or form.

A067 is interesting to say the least. He doesn't think like the other trainees and is increasingly creative with how he goes about the multitude of scenarios we drop them in. He can be by the books yet still be able to operate on a different perspective that helps achieve more consistent victory than others.

A224, A259 and A336 are some of the standout leaders but others like A021 and A138 are showing a greater degree of promise as well.

Quite frankly, I am anticipating a greater deal of standouts to make themselves known as the training goes on.

We can only hope we can prepare them enough for when the time comes for them to join the war.

End of Journal entry.

Reach

April 5th

Within the primary facility that was centered around the Spartan programs, outside in the training grounds stood the entirety of the 497 Spartan-III's of Alpha Company.

Around them were Pelicans where the two Wookiee Captains were currently mulling about, loading crates filled with an assortment of military grade items.

The Spartan-III's were not facing them however, instead having eyes on the current instructor for this upcoming training exercise.

"Today is rather simple, Spartans." Kurt stated, standing before the large, divided up group of Alpha company with his arms behind his back.

Behind him were Green Team and a recently returned Blue and Silver teams from combat. They had just finished helping expunge remnant Covenant Forces from the Arcadia System.

"This exercise is about attrition to put it plainly." Kurt-051 began pacing before the Spartan-III's. "But naturally there comes a twist with this situation. As you are all aware, you have all been divided up into a number of different groups each with your assigned leaders."

It was then that Fred-104 stepped forward.

"Each of you have limited mobility and supplies." Fred carried on. "And not in terms of similarities. Some have more ammo but less grenades. There are those with deployable cover and others that can call in an airstrike on a number of individuals. A group may be provided better cover while another will be openly exposed to the terrain around them."

"This exercise is to stress the number of situations you will find yourselves in and how you will adapt yourselves accordingly." Daniel-116 now spoke. "Above all else, it's about maintaining order and discipline while understanding when the need to take initiative is necessary. Each group is composed of individuals with specialties so it is up to all of you in how you wish to conduct yourselves."

"The last team standing is the ones that will get the first dibs on fresh meals tonight." John-117 finished off the presentation. "You will be deployed across this training field and the time limit to this scenario is three hours. Additional deployment of equipment and resources will be scattered throughout the area and can be added upon depending on circumstance or those who have the capability in doing so. In the end, this is a free for all between the divided teams and the last one standing wins."

"You know the objective and you know your teams." Kurt spoke up. "Now prepare for your deployments. This may be your chance to strategize. You will find out your advantages and disadvantages once being dropped to your specific locations."

All 497 Alpha Spartan-III's snapped to a salute. "SIR, YES SIR."

"Get to it, Spartans." Kurt ushered them forward.

"Time to watch the show." Sam-034 said with an approving grin, looking to his Spartan-II kin. "Up for bets like last time?"

"Why do you insist on making bets?" Kelly-087 rolled her eyes good naturedly at him.

"Aw come on, Kelly." Joshua-029 chortled in good humor. "We used to do it all the time with food and whatever else we had back in basic."

"Already put a bet down." Solomon-069 spoke up with a small smirk.

"Who are you going for?" Yumi-124 inquired.

"A067." Solomon revealed. "Has a bit of a crazy streak to him."

"Oh him." Anton-044 perked up. "Yeah, heard about him. He's got some consistent results the way I see it."

"And I think the crazy streak is more reserved for A239." Linda-058 remarked.

"Savage is more like it." Joyner-118 dryly added in.

"I put my bets on A067." John-117 said aloud with a small smirk forming.

"Whelp, throw my hat in the running for him then." 034 said aloud with a wide grin, patting his best friend's shoulder.

Kurt rolled his eyes, a small smirk appearing on his face.

"I got mine on A224 or A259." The overall "director" of the program said confidently.

"Is it a funny feeling or just your own feeling?" Daniel-116 asked cheekily.

"Since when are they two separate things?" 051 asked in bewilderment.

"Since always." Sam answered. "Now come on. Let's see how these trainees do today."

-Scene Cut-

The large group of 497 trainees were divided into seven groups with the teams being seventy-one members each.

The leaders of each team were A259, A012, A067, A224, A336, A138 and A021.

All were deposited in locations that either had really good cover, no cover at all or a mixture of both with a number of advantages and disadvantages to each group.

In an instant, the seven selected team leaders went about organizing their groups into their offensive and defensive positions.

This exercise was a war of attrition so their focus was on making sure they were the last team standing.

A012 of Team One grabbed a DMR and slammed a magazine loaded with paintballs into it before turning to his large team.

"Alright everyone, listen up." he walked to stand in the center of the group. "We've got our advantage with the trees here and here and some long range weaponry at our disposal. Jun, you're on point. Pick the best three marksman we have in this group and set up long range cover for all of us."

"Roger that." Jun-A266 said with a nod, having already gotten his hands on a sniper rifle. He looked around for a quick moment and pointed to three other trainees and thumbed them to follow after him.

"We've got some cover here but it's not enough." A012 murmured to himself.

"Jace."

The trainee turned his head to face A203 who had a shotgun in hand.

"Jane?"

"We'll be outflanked if we huddle up here." Jane-A203 pointed out. "See that outcropping?"

He looked over to where she was pointing to and instantly noticed-

"Yeah that's a long line of cover over to our position." Jace noted, eyes trailing over the multiple rocks and trees that seemed to be a perfectly lined curve that would eventually reach where they had been dropped off.

"Which is what we'll use to our advantage." Jace stated firmly. "You and Hazel gather up ten men each and go around while I lead the main charge around the bend. A336's team looks to be the closest. We'll go in for a pincer. They're based around a contingent of boulders that look like we can scale. We take that, get some more maneuverability."

His team all either nodded or said aloud their affirmation of his plan and quickly got to work in getting themselves ready for the training exercise.

Over in another part of the valley, A224 was looking over everything he had at his disposal and nodded.

"Hazel?"

"Mm?"

"What do you make of this?"

Hazel-A302 stood next to A224 and squinted her eyes at the valley that they had been dropped off at before them.

"We have the most strategic position." She noted straight away. "High ground, optimal cover and perhaps some of the best equipment though that's just what we have. We don't know what the rest of the teams have so that means we all share the advantageous disadvantage of not knowing who has what until the exercise begins."

A224 didn't respond, taking in his unofficial second in command's analysis of their scenario and began running multiple situations in his head.

He looked around the valley trying to see who was leading the teams and could only make out A138 not far from where he stood.

Around 138 were the other trio of trainees he is most associated with and frowned.

Those four are amongst the best in Alpha company when it comes to unit cohesion so they would be marked as a priority target.

Then again, Cody-A244 would be a fool if he were to disregard any of the team leaders selected for this exercise.

He recognized it right away.

They were amongst the best natural born leaders of Alpha company and their older brethren recognized it.

Over with Spartan-A067, the young trainee was twirling a pair of Westar 55 magnums as he analyzed his team, their equipment, positioning and which team was closest to them.

They were amongst the most exposed, with little to no cover but that also meant that they had the most maneuverability.

If they knew how to use their environment to their advantage.

A067 glanced back at his team with the crates they were unloading, primarily having pistols with some makeshift rocket launchers, them being paint infused.

His team had the best in handheld ordnance and the lowest in basic firepower.

An odd combination but one he would make the most out of.

"Rex."

He looked over to A079 who had A344 by his side.

"Rico, Rosenda." Rex-A067 nodded at them both.

"So the three R's are all here and in attendance." Rosenda remarked.

Rex smirked slightly, nodding his head at them both before looking back to the valley.

"What's your game plan, Rex?" Rico asked, going up to stand to his left, Rosenda occupying the right. "You always seem to concoct some crazy plan."

A067 snorted slightly as he took in the area once more.

"We have little to no cover." he said straight away. "Though we have a lot of mobility."

"Closest places for cover is there," Rico pointed to a small outcropping of large boulders and rocks. "And there." he then gestured to a curved, steep hill."

Rosenda hummed aloud. "We can run as fast as we can to get there. But we'll still lose a good number of the team. Possibly a lot more if the other teams recognize how in the open we are."

Rex frowned hard before hearing a slight commotion behind them.

They looked back to see that one of the more younger members of Alpha had fumbled slightly and dropped one of the rocket launchers.

Yet rather than focusing on the launcher, Rex's eyes instead gazed upon the large assemblage of crates that were being emptied out.

He narrowed his eyes slightly before looking among the older and taller members of his team. And he had far more than he had fewer.

The age range for a majority of the Spartan-III's were between seven and ten when they had all been enlisted with around one hundred eighty something being four, five and six last time he checked.

Though if one were to look at them, many would assume these trainees to be far older than they appear.

They were taller, stronger, faster than practically all kids their age, human or Mon Cala. Only a Wookiee child would be able to keep pace with them by this point and that was only for now.

What the III's were unaware of for the time being was the amount of growth supplements that they had all been provided in their food and medicine. They had been taking it all in for the past year without knowing about it and the results were already starting to show.

Childish as some of them may look and act at times. being kids of course, this year has shaped and molded these 497 trainees into what will one day become Spartan Super Soldiers.

Those invested in them have put every night and day of their lives into making sure they would succeed and it helped that they themselves wanted to.

Revenge is a powerful motivation, one easy to feel even at such a young age.

Moments later, a loud ringing was heard across the valley, signifying the start of the training exercise.

There were some shouts heard here and there followed by the rumbling footsteps of 497 trainees all running towards one another.

Moments later, paintballs were being fired at from all directions as the seven teams engaged one another in a war of attrition.

From a secure bunker with a multitude of screens that displayed the "battlefield" stood the three Spartan-II teams currently on Reach.

They all silently watched as the training exercise commenced and the paint started flying about.

"Hmmm, A224 has a solid spread of his forces." Fred-104 noted, observing as A224's team was engaging A138's team.

"A259's working around A021's forces." Kurt added, watching the young boy lead a group of six others into a charge against a defensive position A021 had set up around their drop zone.

Sam abruptly began laughing uproariously with everyone turning to him.

"Sam?" John said in utter bewilderment at his friend's sudden laughter.

"You guys have got to see Rex." Sam said, pointing to the display screen in the center.

The Spartans all gazed upon what 034 pointed at and many eyes widened in astonishment and admiration.

"Well I'll be damned." Kurt muttered approvingly, nodding his head with a wide grin appearing on his face. "That is brilliant."

Several of the II's then grumbled upon realizing that they had lost one of the many bets that were made between them while 034 rested his elbow upon 117's shoulder with a triumphant grin.

The taller Spartan gazed at his normally stoic best friend and was pleased to see a small smug smirk appear on John's face as they observed A067 lead his team with the cover of the emptied crates that had been dropped off with them.

Back with said team leader, he was running ahead of the group with his chosen four man squad as they felt their crate rattle from being struck by multiple paintballs.

Eventually, they reached their destination and threw the crate down before getting behind it.

The rest soon joined in and a large set of crate barriers were established, being connected to clusters of trees that served as added cover.

"Set up a firing squad on the right." Rex commanded. "Bacara, Hal and Cody are at each other's throats right now. We can spring a quick offense and route them out. Grab whatever long range weaponry you can get your hands on. Short bursts of fire and then move up."

He got a resounding "YES SIR" from his team as they quickly began getting into their assigned positions and firing upon the other teams.

It was chaos on all sides as the number of trainees dropped sharply since everyone was firing at everyone else.

A012 led an insane charge straight into a firefight between A336 and A259, greatly disrupting the skirmish with A012's team gaining an advantage though were quickly stalemated when the other two team leaders reorganized and refocused fire upon his team.

A259 had soon sounded a retreat of his teams into one of the many clusters of trees in this valley and they ran across A067's team.

Rather than shoot at one another, A259 called out to A067 in a surprise move to call for a brief alliance.

A259 had done a head count and saw that even with their daring strategies and tactics that had helped in getting them this far into the exercise, he recognized both teams lost half their forces.

So a temporary alliance could work within their favor to help take out the competition until the time comes that they would undoubtedly fight.

A067 appeared to contemplate on this proposition for a few seconds until he nodded and he and Carter-A259 raged against the others in a united onslaught.

Hal-A138 was leading his team from the front, flanked by his three closest friends in the company.

This had become a common sight amongst the Spartan-III's as the quartet had a natural sort of synchronization that just snapped into place when they all met each other.

Hal-A138 was the natural leader of the group, Jensen-A140 being their tech expert and hacker, Aaron-A207 their marksman and Kenny or Kenneth-A262 was the demolitions expert.

Speaking of which.

"Boss, we've got Wolffe's team moving in to flank our left." Jensen-A140 said beside Hal who narrowed his eyes, taking stock of the situation.

"Aaron!" Hal called back to his team and a trainee garbed in red perked up. "Get two other snipers up on that ridge there and give some cover fire for the left flank. The Wolves are on the prowl."

"Copy that, Boss."

Hal then turned to A262. "Kenny, how many grenades do you have?"

"Enough to tie them together for a hail mary football." Kenny replied with a manic grin.

"Get ready to use it, we're going in for a charge." Hal commanded. "On my signal. Should give us some time if they're disoriented enough."

"Copy that Boss." Kenny-A262 said excitedly, running off to do as he was ordered.

Elsewhere, Cody-A224 was being whittled down by the combined efforts of Carter-A259 and Rex-A067.

He had his team retreat to the naturally fortified area of their drop point and was holding strong but he knew it would only be a matter of time until the two teams made it up the steep hill and took him out.

The young team leader peeked out over a rock and grit his teeth at the sight of two crates slowly moving the hill with a dozen trainees behind each crate.

Leave it to Rex to figure out a crazy usage for the crates like that.

He couldn't help but laugh aloud upon seeing his friend pull such a move and even now, he was amused.

Cody then looked over to see Carter-A259 directing his team up the middle, using the terrain as cover while they moved further up the hill.

Having the high ground had its advantages and disadvantages.

And Carter is taking a page out of Rex's book, having absconded an empty supply crate of his own and constantly moving it up as a makeshift barrier.

They were drawing in on two fronts and he had only two dozen comrades left on his team.

He needed to come up with a plan of attack to break out of this pincer and he needed it now.

Cody glanced back to his team and looked about rapidly to see if there was something that someone had that they were able to use.

His eyes landed on one of the more taller members of his team.

"Arnold." A224 called out to the trainee with A101 on his outfit.

"Yeah?" He replied in his accented voice.

"Grenades." Cody said, pointing down to the assaulting teams using the crates as cover.

A101 looked over from his cover and quickly connected the dots as to what A224 was insinuating.

"Copy that." Arnold unclipped a paint grenade from his belt and tossed it over to Cody with the two priming them at the same time before throwing them down towards the closest upside down crate.

"OH SHI-"

Was the last exclamation that was heard from the half dozen group of trainees that had their advantage turned against them.

"Ah crap." Rex said underneath his breath upon seeing that. "There goes that plan. Carter, change of plans!"

"Understood."

From the room where the II's stood and observed the training regime, small bets were being settled whilst they continued to analyze the ongoing exercise.

"Very impressive." Kurt murmured, a broad grin of approval on his face. "They've come far in only a year."

"Still have a lot left to do." Daniel-116 remarked with a slight hum.

"We will get it done." Joyner stated with determination.

"Speaking of." Kelly-087 spoke up. "We have our winner."

The II's all turned to see that at the end of it all.

"Well now, that's a surprise."

Standing in the center of the training valley were a dozen and a half group of trainees, all of which were cheering loudly for their victory.

In the middle of this victorious group stood a worn out but cheerful Volkov-A366.

"Very impressive." Fred-104 said in approval. "Pulled it out at the last second."

"Come on then." Kurt said, walking towards the exit of the room. "Let's not keep them waiting."

-Scene Cut-

On the same planet of Reach, within an isolated laboratory stood a young woman, 33 in age.

Though she was young, her eyes were those of a woman who may as well have been those that belonged to one of a hundred years of age.

She wasn't tired if someone were to assume that.

Not by a longshot.

No, Halsey simply possessed a burdened soul.

A soul wrought with purpose, ambition, drive and an overwhelming degree of guilt.

…

…

…

Ok, she was a little bit tired but then again who wasn't these days.

The UNSC has been at war now for six years and things have been only getting worse. Colonies continue to fall with mounting losses despite a string of successive victories.

They are holding back the tide best as they can with the men and women of the UNSC doing all they can to beat the Covenant back.

Everyone was doing their part in one way shape or form.

Like her for example in being here on Reach to at long last achieve something she had been hoping for some time now.

She-

"Doctor Halsey."

The architect of the Spartan-II program whirled around with a look of slight surprise on her face which bloomed into a small smile.

"John, Kurt, Daniel, it's so good to see you all once more." Halsey said pleasantly.

"Good to see you as well." 116 said, nodding at her.

"What are you doing here, Ma'am?" Kurt asked straight away. "Chief Mendez said you were on Kamino."

"I was." Halsey said. "But I have returned to conduct something I believe will be useful in future endeavors."

The II's were now intrigued.

Daniel opened his mouth to ask. "What is-"

The Spartan-II didn't get to finish his question as someone came out of a door right next to Halsey and the man was rather tall.

Rather muscular.

Rather augmented.

And quite frankly, rather familiar.

"Randall!" Kurt said aloud in surprise. "What're you-"

051 paused, taking a moment to look at his fellow Spartan-II candidate and realized something quite different since the last time he had seen his Spartan brother. He was now at eye level with him.

Kurt, Daniel and John pieced the information together with their eyes widening in realization. They looked back and forth between and beaming Randall-037 and a sly smiling Catherine Halsey.

"Ma'am…" Daniel nearly stammered out. "You-"

"It took a few tries but eventually, we got it right." Halsey said with pride, patting Randall's arm. "I was able to augment 037 properly so he can be the Spartan-II he was always meant to be."

Kurt let out a loud laugh, placing both hands on Randall's shoulders who chuckled at Green Leader's joy.

"It's great to see you as you should be, Randall." Kurt proclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "Just in time to. We've got some new Spartans we've been training up this past year. You should see 'em man, they're turning out to be more promising than anticipated."

"Really now?" 037 displayed genuine interest at the thought of other Spartans. "New Spartans?"

Halsey's mood died down a bit, watching as 117 held a small smirk in place.

"Our new younger brother and sisters, the Spartan-III'." John revealed, Randall gaining a wide grin upon his face at the thought of new Spartans.

"Yeah, they're in the middle of a training op right now." 116 spoke up. "Come on, I'll show ya."

116 threw his arm around Randall and guided him down the hall with Kurt following after them.

Halsey turned to leave when John spoke.

"Ma'am."

She turned to face him with an expectant look.

"Yes John?"

"I've been meaning to ask you something." 117 said, almost awkwardly as he seemed to hesitate.

Halsey always found this aspect that many of the Spartan-II's shared to be endearing considering just who and what they are.

"What is it?"

She tilted her head at seeing the Spartan appearing to try to form the right words.

"Is something troubling you John?" She asked softly.

"Not entirely, Ma'am." 117 said in an earnest fashion. "But… If I may ask you a personal question."

Now Halsey was truly interested. "And what may this question be, John?"

The Spartan-II didn't answer at first, standing before the architect of his program with a contemplative and slightly conflicted look on his face.

He stood in front of Halsey like this for a number of moments until he exhaled and looked her directly in the eyes.

"Dr. Halsey." John spoke in a calm and respectful tone. "The rest of us had heard from Chief Mendez and Dr. We but I would rather hear it from you."

Catherine remained silent, indicating for John to go on.

"Chief Mendez spoke of how you were unable to join us in the training for the Spartan-III's." John said and in an instant, he saw Halsey shift, her expression becoming more guarded and dismissive. "And I see that with Randall but still, it feels strange and rather incomplete without you being a part of it."

Halsey didn't respond at first, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she nearly sneered at the idea of being involved with the Spartan-III program.

"So… why did you not join us, Dr. Halsey?" John asked, gazing upon her with the genius doctor turning away.

Catherine felt conflicted now.

Had it been anyone else, she would have brushed off such a question with no regard for who they were.

But this was John asking her, one of her Spartans.

She always knew it would be difficult to keep things from the Spartans she helped create because they were a program veiled in secrecy.

She'd rather not keep secrets from her secrets.

"It's because they're not my Spartans." Halsey revealed, appearing to greatly surprise John-117 from the ways his eyes widened and body shifted slightly.

"Your Spartans?" John rephrased in bewilderment.

"Yes, my Spartans." Halsey reiterated with greater intensity this time around. "You, John, and all your brothers and sisters of the Spartan-II program are the best of the best in all of humanity, in all the UNSC. You had to be chosen meticulously for your genetic structure and makeup and that was only the first part of it. Each one of you displayed a unique quality to you all that we saw that would undoubtedly serve you in and out of the battlefield."

She then scoffed.

"Those children are to be used and thrown away. All according to Ackerson's design." Halsey spat out venomously.

117 took her anger in stride. "That's why it was taken out of his hands and placed into ours."

She looked up to him in confusion.

"I don't know if Mendez told you or if anyone from ONI spoke to you about it but the program has been changed from its original iteration."

"I am well aware of the change, John."

"I figured you would be." He conceded. "But still, Dr. Halsey, many of us want you to be a part of this program."

She didn't respond, instead looking down in deep contemplation.

"Doctor." John spoke slowly, methodically. "When you brought us in to become Spartan-II's, you spoke of bringing out the best in us, in becoming the sword and shield for the UNSC and making sure we would do everything in our power to safeguard it. Us training the Spartan-III's is a part of that purpose. You may not like Ackerson but he is not wrong when he told us just fifty five Spartan-II's would be enough to stem or even turn the tide against the Covenant."

He saw her scoff at this comment but he pressed on regardless of her reaction.

"We need more of us and this new program can help get us there. But instead of them being an expendable tool to be tossed aside after their use, we're making them indispensable for all the UNSC." John said resolutely. "I'm very proud to be a part of this as are the rest of us. But we all agree that for them to truly become Spartans like ourselves, it needs all of us. Including you."

Halsey bit her lip, a rare instance in her life in not knowing how to respond back.

"You wanted us to fulfill our full potential as Spartans." 117 stated with complete conviction now. "This is a part of it. Preparing a new generation to stand alongside us. We all want you to be with us when we turn our little brothers and sisters into Spartans like us, ma'am."

'Dammit John.' Halsey internally raged. 'Why'd you have to make an argument like that?'

She didn't have the chance to form a response as she watched him turn to walk away back towards where the III's were currently undergoing a lesson from Taun We.

The architect stood alone now in the hallway, with only her thoughts to keep her company.

With a sigh of resignation, Halsey turned to walk away from where her Spartans currently were with their young successors.

December 2nd

Kurt sat within an office that was given to him by Chief Mendez himself, seeing as how he was the primary Spartan-II that oversaw the training of the III's.

While he wanted to reject it at first, Mendez basically ordered him to have it so here he was, sitting behind a desk like every other high ranking pencil pusher in the UNSC.

At least he felt he was doing something far more useful in evaluating and training the future Spartans of the UNSC.

Currently, he was overlooking a series of results from multiple training ops the III's had conducted these past few weeks.

Suffice to say, Kurt was impressed by what he was seeing thus far.

These kids stumbled and failed quite often in the beginning though that was to be expected since a majority of them were still children. A few were no older than four going on five so the fact that they had managed to keep up with the entire company was astounding.

There was also a growing list of standouts within Alpha company. These few dozen stood head and shoulders above the rest of their brethren, displaying a greater degree of individual skill and capabilities in which they excel at.

Thom, Carter, Emile, Jun, Rosenda, Hazel, Rex, Cody, Jace, just to name those that he had just finished reading up on are some of the best of their class.

Natural leaders to those with specialized talents dealing with a number of fields that can be expanded upon in due time.

They held a number of advantages over the rest of Alpha and from what Halsey had discovered, though they don't have the genetic superiority the II's held, there were distinctions that displayed similarities to their predecessors.

Which means they held a greater degree of potential from the rest of their company.

'Thank God John convinced Halsey to join us properly.' Kurt internally mused.

The Spartan-II had been so absorbed in his readings that he had failed to notice a young woman no more than perhaps a few months older than he was entering his office.

Normally an augmented Spartans senses would have instantly picked up on such an entry. Yet 051 was zeroed in on reviewing the III's and their training results so the lady had to clear her throat aloud to gain his attention.

"Hmmm?" Kurt looked up from his data file. "Oh, sorry about that. Didn't realize someone had come in."

"No need for that sir." The young woman said kindly.

Kurt shook his head. "No need for calling me sir either. Just Kurt will do."

"Are you not a high ranking officer?" The lady inquired.

"Only when I'm on the clock." the Spartan-II replied cheekily. "What can I do for ya? Better yet, what's your name? Don't wanna refer to you as ma'am, you seem far too young for that."

The red haired woman giggled slightly and seated herself in front of Kurt's desk after the Spartan gestured for her to take it.

"Since you insist, my name is Kelly Chambers." She said cheekily.

"Well Ms. Chambers-"

"Kelly." She interrupted. "I'm still years away from any form of Ms. titles."

Kurt chortled. "Very well, Kelly, what can I do for ya?"

"It's actually what I can do for you si- Kurt." Chambers said chipperly. "I've been assigned to you by Taun We as your Yeoman."

"A yeoman?" Kurt repeated in confusion. "Why would I need a Yeoman?"

Kelly shook her head. "It isn't for you. It's for them. The Spartan-III's."

Kurt's demeanor shifted immediately, a more stoic expression appearing on his face as he gave Chambers a cold look.

The young woman's eyes widened considerably and flinched at the intense gaze.

"It's not in the way you think Kurt." Kelly quickly said. "Truly, I'm here to help you and only help."

051 silently regarded the lady before him for a few tense moments of silence.

"I take it that you have been informed of the Spartan-II's then since you are to be my Yeoman for the III's." Kurt bluntly stated.

Kelly didn't respond at first until she let out a shaky breath and nodded.

"So why did ONI bring you in then?"

Kelly blinked at that. "Didn't you hear me before? Taun We personally brought me in."

"Be that as it may, I recognize an ONI agent when I see one."

"Formerly." Chambers said with a greater emphasis in her tone now.

Kurt arched a brow at her response and it appeared to fluster the girl as she realized what she had done.

"I-I-" She stammered, shaking her head a moment later to regain a bit of her nerve from moments prior. "When I was informed of everything that ONI has done… had done and are doing right now, quite frankly, I wasn't sure how long I would last under something as… unethical as what they have done to you and your brethren. And to know that they're still doing it…"

"So why join such an endeavor?" Kurt questioned. "Why be a part of something so morally wrong in a time where morality is a fleeting commodity we can ill afford?"

"Because someone has to make sure those kids remember who they are before all this." Kelly's face changed into something quite fierce. "They… they're young, they don't fully understand what they have been coerced into, choice or no choice. They're still human in the end. And if I have a chance to help them keep their humanity then I shall be a part of this disgusting program if need be."

"I would have figured you would have reported this or at the very least walked away." Kurt remarked casually.

Kelly scoffed. "As if I would even be allowed to live should I step out of this facility with what I know."

Kurt let out a derisive snort at the comment with him nodding in agreement.

"To true that statement is, Ms. Chambers." Kurt said with a more good natured smile in place. "You want to do the good that's needed in this program. I can respect that."

He stood up from his seat with Kelly following suit. Upon seeing the disparaging height difference between herself and the Spartan-II, the Yeoman suddenly felt incredibly smaller than she already was before 051.

The Spartan saw this and chortled slightly.

"Then it's good to have you aboard, Kelly." Kurt said with his hand outstretched. "You'll make a fine addition to this program."

The redhead momentarily hesitates in taking the man's hand though for a more silly reason.

"I feel like if I shake your hand, you'll swallow me whole." Kelly murmured, garnering a laugh out of Kurt.

"Well I think it's easy for me to call you tiny when compared to me."

At that, Kelly couldn't help but smile up at Kurt with her shaking his hand a moment later.

"I look forward to working with you Lieutenant Kurt."

"No need for the rank, Chambers." 051 waved off. "Just Kurt will do."

-Scene Cut-

-Sol System-

Mars

The Red Planet.

Or formerly the Red Planet after its colonization by humanity.

Fourth planet within the Sol System and often regarded as the sister planet to Earth itself, Mars has long since been one of the strongholds of humankind and the UNSC overall.

In 2080, Mars became the first planet colonized by humanity, the first step into what was eventually the rapid expansion of the ambitious species.. Even before terraforming, Mars quickly became a major industrial hub in the Sol system. The city of Kenosha in the Tanais region has the distinction of being home to the UNSC Marine Corps' ODST headquarters.

As much as Mars has a storied and historic significance to humanity it also had the dubious distinction of being the first colony to rebel from Earth's control.

In the events leading up to the Interplanetary War in 2164, Mars harbored many activists and rebels who would later take part in the conflict. When the first shots were fired, many Martians joined the neo-Communist Koslovics. These revolutionaries were eventually put down in harsh crackdowns that followed the signing of the Callisto Treaty in 2170.

One part of Mars that's been in an area of interest for the past 451 years is the south polar region of Promethei Planum. It's known for its magnetic storms that constantly showers the region with dust clouds made up of EMP making any trips or expedition too dangerous without any knowledge of the land's layout.

Because of this it developed a 'Bermuda Triangle' reputation.

Recently satellites near Promethei Planum began reporting shifts in the weather and in a stroke of luck, the normally tumultuous region of Mars was experiencing a moment of tranquility.

An opportunity has presented itself and scientists scramble to quickly explore and catalogue Promethei Planum before the storms come back.

In that short amount of time, they successfully identified a structure of some kind hidden deep inside a crater known as the Deseado.

The structure was clearly one of alien origin and while at first scientists believed it to be that of the Forerunners as those had been the most consistent alien ruin found within both UNSC space and Covenant space.

But upon closer inspection and the data shown from the analysis done upon the structure, whilst there were some similarities, these ruins were distinctly different.

For starters, the Carbon dating of the structure only dates back to 50,000 years compared to the 100,000 old Forerunner structures.

So this was a relatively "new" structure when one looks at it in galactic times.

Of course there came a number of questions with the discovery of this new structure.

If this structure had been here for 50,000 years, what species would have come to their solar system? If it wasn't Forerunner, was it their evolutionary descendants? Or something else entirely?

Better yet, was the constant storm that surrounded the area perhaps made by this structure to keep it hidden or was it just a coincidence?

But beside that point, aside from the structure that they unearthed in the crater, something else was found with it.

A substance or energy cache of some kind that at first was registered to be an anomaly of sorts and one that couldn't be fully understood.

It matched no known substance on humanity's periodic table, nor any of the Wookiees, Mon Cala or Kaminoans.

After a multitude of studies and experiments done on this new substance, the one consistency that was found was the effect it had on other objects and items.

This cache generated a sort of energy field that whatever item it affected appeared to either lower or raise the mass of whatever object was within its vicinity.

Many scientists agreed that the cache of this strange substance would undoubtedly need a name of its own.

After much deliberation and discussion, due to the nature of this substance in the manner in which it affected objects, the name settled upon it was a strange one if not simple.

Element Zero.

AN

At long last, that one took a little while longer than usual but had a bunch of other stuff to focus on.

Bullet and I along with Jebest4781 have recently undertaken a reboot of one of my other stories being that of Avenging Remnant.

My new job for the last three months has been getting more hectic and I've been busy with personal life shit as well as working on my other stories.

But at long last we got to this one and I know a number of you wanted Halo Wars but we're saving that for the next chapter.

Halo Wars is a gargantuan chapter in it of itself since it's solely focused on the events of said game with obvious changes due to the different universe B and I set up here.

Here's a fun little Trivia for this chapter. Relay N-67 is shortened for November 16th, 2007, the date that Mass Effect 1 came out.

So Anywho, a lot of shit going down and I felt a need to do this.

Current Composition of Spartan-II teams

Blue team- John 117, Kelly-087, Sam-034, Frederic-104, Linda-058

Red Team- (Jerome-092, Douglas-042, Alice-130-MIA) Fhajad-084, Musa-096, Soren-066, Arthur-079, Randall-037

Green Team- Kurt-051, Jorge-052, Joshua-029, Malcolm-059, Solomon-069, Anton-044

Grey Team- Jai-006, Adrianna-111, Mike-120

Black Team- Margaret-053, Roma-143, Otto-034, Vinh-101

Gold Team- Caleb-095, Rene-081, Riz-028, James-005, Isaac-039

Silver Team- Daniel-116, Joyner-118, Nicole-121, Yumi-124, Kai-125, Vannak-134

Bronze Team- Li-008, Will-043, Maria-062, Sheila-065, Grace-093, Carris-137

Omega- Leon-011, Robert-025, August-099, Daisy-023, Ralph-103, Oscar-129, Joseph-122

White Team- Naomi-010, Kirk-018, Keiichi-047, Maria-062, Soren-066, Cassandra-075

Mind you, emphasis on CURRENT as Spartan-II teams have known to rotate members on the daily.

And on top of this composition, I figured it's better I get this out of the way now of all the currently named Alpha Company Spartan-III's that will be in use within this story.

Kai-A019 , Robert-A057, Shane-A112, Jane-A203, Emile-A239, Carter-A259, Jun-A266, Kevin-A282, Thom-A293, Hazel-A302, Rosenda-A344, Jensen-A140, Kenny(Kenneth)-A262, Aaron-A207, Hal-A138, Rex-A067 , Fordo-A077, Cody-A224, Bly-A327, Wolf-Volkov-A336, Bacara-A021, Gregor-A039, Jace Malcolm-A012, Juan Rico-A059, Ellen Ripley-A079, Arnold-A101, Amelia-A089.

So yeah lots of new characters entering the fray.

Also, you all NEED TO SEE THE ARTWORK that was done for the S-IIIs. Go onto my DeviantArt account under the same name and you'll see them immediately.

GC-Conceptart is a fucking badass.

And in addition to names and organizations.

Selection of the Citadel Expedition Force Leadership

Nensel Jul Duros: Leader of the Expedition.

Desolas Arterius: Military Commander of all Expeditionary Forces.

(Kel-Dor)Hetchkee: Naval Admiral of the Expeditionary Forces.

Droyo Thaok Drell: General of Expeditionary Forces.

Asari Matriarch Ishara: Pathfinder of the Expedition Team

Male Salarian Lumont Hayjer: Director of Science

Pag'Hewu Twi'lek: Captain of the Core Spire.

So yeah folks, big chapter of setup so to speak and we're hitting Halo Wars 1 next chapter.

Rate, Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.