Volume 1: Chapter 1: Ad Aeternum Et Ultra
Originally drafted: April 8th, 2022
Originally Uploaded: April 11th, 2022
Updated on: October 21st, 2022
This is a rewrite of the original first chapter. As I felt that the quality of most of the first arc felt rushed and lacking in certain aspects, I have decided to add to it and make some changes.
/ UNSC Eternity, in slipstream transit | October 28, 2558. /
The ship buckled and roared as it entered through the wormhole opened by the slipspace device installed inside her. The engines, repurposed from Forerunner designs were pushed to their limits as they went.
A number of scars and light damage were visible as the crew fought to maintain control over the situation. Though left in such a state, the ship was by no means defenseless. As the survivors aboard were on alert. Their massive guns and dormant missile pods ready to awake at a moment's notice.
Their personnel, usually sent to cryosleep during such a voyage was wide awake as well. With many among them making sure nothing had gone wrong in their desperate escape that they begun scanning the length and breadth of the ship for any anomalies, along with the aid of their Huragok. Such a sight permeated throughout the vessel even as they made way to the relative safety of Slipstream.
All because of one thing:
Cortana's words echoed back within the minds of the survivors, "The Mantle of Responsibility shelters all and only the Created are its masters!" they were the last thing the crew heard as they slipped away. Her words resonated throughout the void of space as they left.
To the survivors aboard the Eternity, it was a haunting reminder of what they had left behind. Once more, they were on the backfoot. It had only been about six years since the end of the Human-Covenant War, but it seemed to them there was no lasting peace to be found among the stars.
When the Created came for Earth and her colonies, it left the UNSC Home Fleet helpless to stop them when their technology was rendered inoperable by Cortana's attack. To make matters worse, several of the AI who were trusted to safeguard the interests of humanity — turned on their former colleagues. Unleashing untold devastation upon the unsuspecting crew on many vessels and stations. A betrayal of trust, from an unlikely source.
Fortunately for the crew of the UNSC Eternity and her escorts — Two Autumn-class Heavy Cruisers, the Fires Of Liberation, and Just Another Day accompanied by a single Repair Ship, the Doghouse, escaped via slipspace. But unlike her sister ship, UNSC Infinity, the Eternity did not have the luxury of having a proper fleet to accompany her.
In the days prior to the attack, the UNSC Eternity was undergoing extensive repairs and construction after pieces of itself were salvaged to be used on the Infinity. Before sending the ship to the Inner Solar System to test the new replacement parts, it was taken to the UNSC's secretive Special Assembly Plant, Concord, a shipbuilding facility in the Oort Cloud.
Perhaps it was chance, fate, or luck, but the ship's slipspace drive was undergoing testing just moments before the Created arrived and they were given the opportunity to escape. Allowing them to save as much as they could prior when they began to rush everyone nearby to evacuate. Narrowly avoiding having to share the same fate as the rest of the UNSC Home Fleet.
Now within the relative safety of slipstream. It left the crew to ponder. What will they do now? They were not equipped to handle the threat alone, and for all they knew, they were the only humans left. These were the thoughts running through the mind of most of the ship's crew as they continued on.
Many among them have taken to quietly working out the stress of what they had just gone through.
The ship's bridge, for example, was eerily silent in the wake of the previous events. Crewmen jumped from system to system to check for faults while Naval Officers oversaw them going through the process, adding their input wherever needed. Throughout all of this, the ones detailing important matters were relayed to the Captain of the vessel, Andrew Morgan.
Captain Morgan appeared to be in his early to mid 40s, considered quite young compared to many of his naval colleagues still alive after all this time. But the Captain had spent many years in cryo sleep, making his real age closer to the 70s. A beleaguered look was plastered on his face, turning into an almost painful grimace as his mind came to process what had just happened during this downtime they found themselves in.
He was a veteran who had fought against the insurrection during the early days of his career to a distinguished officer in the Navy who had survived many battles against the Covenant despite overwhelming odds during the war. Morgan had seen action wherever it mattered and the quietness in-between conflict had always made him uncomfortable, doubly so in his current predicament.
Shaking his troubled mind out of his thoughts, Morgan looked toward his crew. The men and women under his command were busy manning their stations. Hardly showcasing a hint of nervousness or apprehension for leaving the rest of their allies behind. To the untrained eye, they seemed the very definition of stoic. But, deep down, he knew that to be a lie.
Many of them had prepared for such a scenario, having spent years isolated from the rest of humanity, due to the secretive nature of Project OUROBOROS.
A project dedicated to the building of the Infinity-class Supercarriers, which served as humanity's finest achievement and her final hope - in the event of total capitulation against a foreign enemy.
They were prepared to spend long periods of isolation away from the rest of humanity. But to actually do it? It wasn't something they could entirely prepare for. No matter how many drills they ran or how often they tried to convince themselves it was for the survival of humanity. Leaving behind everyone else left a bitter taste in their mouths.
"Monty, how is the ship looking so far?" Morgan spoke to the nearby holotank.
Before long, the hologram of a man in the uniform of a British officer from the Second World War appeared before him and promptly began to deliver his report.
As with all the others of his kind, he assumed this form based on his own unique interests. The AI was similar to his "brother" Roland, in a way. As both took the appearance of someone from that period of history.
"We've suffered some minor damage," Monty pointed out. "Mostly along the unfinished compartments and the outer hull. The slipspace drive is not currently able to operate at full capacity so we may expect an inability to perform another jump when we exit slipstream." He highlighted sections of the ship with a hologram to show the Captain the extent of their damages.
"Aside from that, all crew and equipment are accounted for. We even managed to pick up an extra number of souls aboard after forcing the ones nearby the ship at the time to evacuate." Monty jovially declared.
"And, given how we seem to be undisturbed at the moment. I believe we may have given them the slip — before those Rogue AI got the jump on us, sir."
Minor damage? Well, that's not great but that's not terrible either. Morgan thought to himself. Though he was surprised at how optimistic the AI had been acting, despite what they'd just been through.
"That's good to hear on the numbers side, but we should call for a proper headcount once we're sure we're actually safe from them." Morgan ordered, to which Monty gave a short nod.
"With that out of the way. Do you happen to know where exactly we're going? We didn't exactly plan a course and I wouldn't want to be in front of an ambush when we exit." He asked the AI.
Monty replaced the view of the ship and conjured up a star chart in front of him. Showing to the Captain the impromptu course he and the crew had devised as they made their escape.
"Not to worry, with the aid of some of our more experienced navigators, we've taken care to ride a course that avoids any known routes, sir. We should be near the edge of the Orion Arm by the time we come back into real-space." Monty pointed to a spot he highlighted on the map, "I've directed the ship as far away from any known human colony or military installation. Hopefully, we should be difficult to track after all this." Monty declared.
The news brought little comfort to the Captain. The situation reminded him too much of the early days of the Human-Covenant War. How they were often kept on the losing side as the Covenant pushed back on them. Scraping away for every minor victory they could against a seemingly invincible and endless enemy. But in the end, humanity survived. Beaten and left worse for wear than before, but they lived to fight another day. Morgan vowed to make sure they would continue to do so.
/ UNSC Eternity, Civilian Quarters | October 28, 2558 /
Saito Hiraga's nerves were tense as he attempted to calm himself after what they had just been through. Having fled from an attack that could have possibly wiped humanity out from the pages of history did little to ease his worries.
He knew the dangers that the galaxy faced, he saw enough of it during the War. Saito just didn't expect to be involved in it so soon.
It was difficult to complain however. Everyone human alive had seen just how close they'd come to extinction before and many have become hardened to it. Almost welcoming their incoming doom with how bravely many of them faced their previous enemy, despite the overwhelming odds.
Among the official crew of roughly 18,000. There was a sizable portion of them who weren't in active service with the UNSC. Saito being one of them.
Although all non-essential personnel had jumped into cryosleep after the jump, Saito had stayed awake instead, though the thought of sleeping through this nightmare was a tempting one — he opted to go and check in on his work during their travel within the other dimension of slipspace instead.
As he found it difficult to focus by staying in one place. Saito opted to walk while he worked. Not really planning on where to go. He'd mostly just been staring at the screen of the datapad he had on hand as he was being walked through simple diagnostic checks by his own personal "Dumb" A.I.
Having dabbled on AI research back on Reach during the war; under the guidance of the now infamous Dr. Catherine Halsey. His experience had garnered the attention of many in his field of study. Because of that, it came as no surprise when he was given an offer by ONI. He had joined up immediately after when he was approached to be recruited as a part of the Eternity's crew.
Saito himself oversaw the installation of the ship's AI, Montgomery, MGR-1944-04. Affectionately known as "Monty" among the crew. Aside from him, he also helped install several other "dumb" AI aboard the ship to help manage other facets of its day-to-day operations. Since the ship was under construction at the time, it had been his job to oversee maintenance and the well-being of their AI colleagues.
It was during one of these routine checkups that the Created attack. With the help of his AI and many of the crewmen aboard the Eternity they safely managed to organize an impromptu evacuation from all nearby installations at the time of the incident. An extra thousand others from the shipyards before they fled had now been joined with them during that hectic escape.
Though their escape could be considered successful. He, along with many others felt they were living on borrowed time.
He did his best to ignore all those feelings of dread threatening to well up within him. As the AI Specialist kept his mind on track with his current task. With his datapad on hand and the aid of his unseen friend. He checked to see if anything was out of place in the systems he'd helped install. A critical malfunction at this point in time would be disastrous for everyone aboard.
Though it seemed he wasn't the only one feeling antsy. All around him, he could see many of the crewmen and Marines milling about. No doubt to check for faults on the rest of the ship.
He had never given much thought to fostering any form of meaningful relationship with any of the other crew. Whenever he conversed with his colleagues in the science labs of the Eternity, he was always straight and to the point. Ignoring any attempts to break him out of his shell. His very nature seemed to be the antithesis of social. Due to this, he'd often be found spending more time in the lab or around many of the ship's other AI.
He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the familiar sound of heavy footsteps trailing behind him. He recognized it as belonging to one of the few people aboard he'd had the pleasure of actually interacting with.
"Nice to see you made it in one piece. Are you alright, Saito?" Spoke the voice of an older man in an outfit commonly associated with a mechanic. Although dressed as one, he seemed to carry himself differently from the other repair crew onboard, with his gait seemingly lithe and almost ready to jump into action at a moment's notice.
"Could be better, David." Replied Saito. He smiled as he looked upon the giant of a man before him.
David seemed to relax upon seeing that he was unharmed, breathing a sigh of relief. "You're not too shaken up, are you? Should probably see one of the docs if you're hurt." He said with a hint of worry.
"I'm fine, really. I just didn't expect to have to flee so soon." Saito admitted. His face grimaced at the thought of what had just occurred before. Thoughts drifting back to the people they'd left behind.
"Good to hear then." David nodded. Seemingly content with the answer. David the Mechanic was one of the few friends Saito had onboard.
He had developed a bit of an odd friendship with the man when the two of them would often see each other at the many facilities aboard the ship. David would often ask questions about Saito's work, his personal life, and the nature of his AIs. But in return, the man would tend to deflect any personal questions about him. Changing topics to whatever else caught their eyes at the time.
Come to think of it, he almost never saw him anywhere near any of the vehicles or the engines where most people of his occupation would work at. Maybe he's just off duty whenever they see each other? It wouldn't be too far-fetched given how many people are on board.
As he was about to reply and continue their short conversation — he was interrupted when strange thrumming noise emanating an ethereal harmony appeared beside him akin to a green portal. Visually speaking, it wasn't unlike those seen whenever a ship was about to enter slipspace and now such a thing had appeared in front of him.
The portal's sudden appearance caused the room to tense up. Apprehensive of the anomaly and the possible attack that would surely soon follow, the civilians among them fled the scene while a contingent of Marines made to arm themselves and assumed firing positions. Saito, meanwhile, was stuck in a daze.
Despite the blares of warning his own AI continued sending his way, Saito couldn't help himself.
The portal appeared to call out to him, luring him inside. He could no longer hear the noise of the outside world as his mind gazed at the anomaly. He could faintly hear the voice of a young girl coming from the portal, attempting to call him towards it.
It was saying something about a divine, beautiful, powerful familiar? The words sounded completely foreign to him but they carried a hint of nostalgia for some odd reason.
He was now slowly being pulled in, closer and closer. His hand almost touching the edge of it.
But, he was yanked back before he could.
David had pulled Saito back and the portal exploded in a wave of green energy that permeated throughout the Eternity and its slipstream wake.
「 Halkeginia, The Tristain Academy of Magic, Spring, 6242. 」
Earlier that day…
Today was the Springtime Summoning Ritual. A yearly tradition in which young aspiring magicians would perform a ritual to summon forth their fated companions. A beast with which to prove their status as both mage and noble, a creature suited to their personality and ability.
It was during such a day when a young noble lady with a hair of rose, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de la Vallière, found herself dreading the future. Louise, unlike her peers, was considered to be a failure, a "Zero" The nickname bestowed upon her by her Germanian rival, a tanned skin woman of questionable modesty, Kirche Von Anhalt-Zerbst.
The Vallière's and Zerbt's were historically rivals. Often finding each other butting heads when their two nations clashed, and the tradition continued even among their young heirs.
The young strawberry-blonde-haired, Louise, often found herself the victim of such childish gossip and insults thrown at her due not only due to her unfortunate apparent lack of magic but also to her small stature and violent outbursts.
Every spell, just like her personality, ending in an explosion. Summoning a Familiar was her last chance to prove to her peers and to the rest of Halkeginian society that she was a full-blooded mage. Failure was not an option.
"Please…" the young Vallière quietly pleaded to the heavens.
"My servant, that exists somewhere in this universe!"
"What's with that spell?" Muttered a student.
"Well, it's certainly unique." continued another.
"My divine, beautiful, and powerful familiar!" With each word, the spell glowed brighter and more vivid.
"I wish and assert from the bottom of my heart…" The courtyard around them was now bathed in a luminous green glow that would have blinded those who dare not covered their eyes.
"Answer my guidance!" With the last words spoken, the courtyard they stood on, shook.
Another explosion, although one more powerful than usual. As a thick layer of smoke began to descend upon them and obscured their vision. It appeared that Louise, from where she stood, as she was closest to the blast, looked to be a mess. Her hair and uniform were singed by the explosion her spell had caused. When the smoke finally cleared with the aid of a wind spell to blow it all away, it gave way to the sight of… nothing.
And just as if it was expected… an almost funeral-like silence descended upon the gathering before finally settling into a rambunctious laughter coming from her peers.
Did something go wrong? Louise thought as the smoke cleared upon the Summoning Circle it became apparent.
"Hah, Louise the Zero couldn't even summon a thing!" Shouted a boy.
"It seems she truly is a talentless Zero, after all!" continued another.
Gritting her teeth, she turned to the Professor in charge of overseeing the ritual. "Professor Colbert! May I please have another chance? I'm sure this was just a fluke!"
The Professor, Mister Colbert, a teacher who had dedicated twenty years to Tristain Magic Academy, was the one who oversaw this year's ritual. His Runic name was "Colbert the Flame Snake," and, naturally, he was a mage specializing in fire magic.
He, however, shook his head in regret. Knowing the next words to come out of his mouth would cause grief to his young student. "I'm sorry, Miss Vallière. But rules are rules. We have given you enough chances the past year, and this unfortunate failure is the last straw."
Louise sputtered in disbelief. But before she could retort. A deafening roar pierced the heavens.
It was a loud and booming sound. Even more powerful than her own misfired explosions.
Where hers could be heard throughout the school. The noise coming from above felt like it could be heard throughout the country.
It gave an unnatural screech as it permeated throughout the skies. Eager eyes pierced the heavens looking for the source of the trembling noise. Then their sights soon settled on the objects causing it.
There were four of them. Lengthy and dark in color. The objects began descending to the earth at great speeds.
Could they be meteors? Louise thought.
She remembered her older sister, Cattleya, explaining this unusual natural phenomenon.
Large rocks from the heavens themselves which occasionally fall upon the earth, leaving craters of destruction in their wake. But they seemed to be bigger than she could have imagined. Louise gulped at the implications.
The objects continued to fall towards the earth around them but to their surprise. At the last minute, they began to slow their descent. Almost as if they had minds of their own.
With the exception of the largest of the four, three of the smaller objects had continued to trail behind it. Acting in a manner as if eager to shield it from harm.
As it neared closer and closer to the ground, it began sputtering and spewing trails of smoke as it descended. Parting the clouds in the upper atmosphere as it went downwards.
It was a spectacle to behold. The unimaginable scale of them descending upon the land was something akin to legends and myth with how they appeared.
"Everyone!" Professor Colbert called out. "Get inside now!" He shouted at the gawking students. They all paused in their actions to witness the events that transpired, seemingly forgetting what they were doing just moments prior. Colbert's voice was delivered with a tone of authority, something the students who studied under him were shocked to hear coming from the usual meek man.
As two of those gargantuan objects flew overhead the academy their size became apparent. Causing many of the young nobles to begin shrieking and fleeing in terror.
Soon the largest of the unknowns would crash into the forest just a horse ride away from the Academy itself, with a soft but still noticeably loud thunk. Leaving an indentation of destruction upon the land as it halted in its tracks. Trees and tracts of land were splintered and torn asunder in its wake.
The two objects that made the close approach to the Academy, moved stalwartly towards the crash site. The fly-by they had performed had made their appearance clear to the locals now.
They were ships! Worriedly thought Colbert. Large ones at that. Far bigger than any airship fielded by the nations of Halkeginia.
His eyes were as wide as saucers as his mind processed what he had just seen. His head turned to the Vallière child. Her feet were firmly rooted as her eyes appeared transfixed at the scene playing out before them. With a rough cough to gain her attention, he said to her.
"Miss Vallière, I'm afraid we'll have to postpone this matter." Professor Colbert said to the scion of the Vallière family. His voice shook as if he was trying to bury the fear he felt at the possible intruders.
Though, now that he took a look at his student, he wondered something. Could these vessels have been summoned by Miss Vallière? Their timing appears to coincide with the end of the ritual, a bit delayed they may be. But, the sheer size of those things should be impossible! No amount of windstones and material could allow any of the Brimiric nations to build so large. Unless… No, they couldn't be… shaking his head, the Professor moved to usher the students inside. No doubt word of their sudden visitors would spread panic upon the country. He could only hope they weren't here for hostilities.
/ UNSC Eternity, Bridge, in orbit of Unknown Planet /
"Report!" Shouted Morgan as he felt his senses coming back to him.
He managed to steady himself from the uncomfortable aftereffects of that wave of energy he felt. He turned to look at the room he was in and saw that those around him were feeling the same. Though the bridge was now bathed in the glow of red warning lights, emergency klaxons blaring all the while. His appearance, when he looked down to check his person looked worse for wear, having received a bit of scruff from colliding with the nearby furnishings in the room.
Monty appeared before him as he was busy nursing his head from a migraine he suddenly felt coming on. "Captain, several vital systems are currently undergoing a hard reset. I fear to report that the Main and Secondary reactors are offline."
Morgan's eyes widened at that.
"We're currently running on Emergency power. Our Shields and Weapons systems are also offline along with our Slipspace capabilities. Though, thankfully Life Support is currently operational. Though, I'm sure you could surmise that with how you and the rest of the crew are not currently a bundle of lifeless meat puppets." The AI added that last bit with an almost imperceptible giggle. Though Morgan glared at him with that comment.
"Now's not the time for jokes, Monty." Morgan muttered back. To which the AI only gave a mischievous shrug in turn.
When the ship's emergency systems finally stopped, the glaring redness of the room dissipated. The crew began to regain their senses now that the danger seemingly ended.
"Ah, it seems we've managed to bring the Tertiary power systems online." Monty commented. His tone remained calm and neutral after ignoring the Captain's previous words.
"We appeared to have exited slipstream earlier than we should have, Captain!" reported one of the helmsmen as he shouted over his console. "We're currently trying to figure out where exactly we are in the galaxy."
As Morgan looked outwards from the Bridge and into the view of space outside of them, he noticed that the ship seemed to have exited near the orbit of a medium-sized garden world and what was most worrying of all, it was slowly descending. He scowled at the unexpected detour.
"Keep me updated." He spoke to the Helmsman before he turned towards the holotank, which was currently projecting an image of Monty looking over the planet.
"Monty, I want to know one thing. Did we lose them?" Morgan spoke to the AI.
"Aye, Captain. It seems we have. I don't detect any known signatures nearby, not even a single trace of radio transmissions."
Monty then pointed out the obvious. The sight outside them of the planet below was becoming closer and closer. "Though, it also appears that we are slowly descending toward the planet. But, we can't move away in time. Not without damaging our engines. Thankfully, however our escorts the two Autumn-class Cruisers and Repair ship have appeared to be unscathed upon exit, sir." Reported Monty as he brought up the status of the ships that came with them.
"Very well, Monty." Morgan grumbled at his apparent bad luck. "We'll be attempting a controlled descent. If we're crash landing anyway I want it to be on our terms."
"On it, Captain." The AI gave a quick salute upon his orders. "Might I suggest as well, that we should also launch the Frigates docked inside the Eternity?" Monty added, "Losing the extra weight would help soften the landing and we're not going to have another opportunity to send them out when we land on the ground."
"Do it. The more ships we have airborne the better we are for it. I'd rather not be caught off guard by any locals or hostiles that may be nearby." Morgan approved after a moment's deliberation.
With the order given, Monty took control of the Eternity and set her course towards one of the largest continents on the planet, followed by her escorts.
The ten Strident-class Frigates aboard the vessel soon departed from the Eternity, the sound of their rapid exfil was a welcome one, allowing the Eternity to level out and save herself from almost diving nose first into the planet. Initially trailing behind alongside the Cruisers and Repair Ship, they broke off soon after and stayed in orbit to provide overwatch for the rest of their group. The Frigates staying behind to protect the rear as they landed.
The Eternity began to break through the atmosphere and plummeted towards land. The telltale signs of atmospheric entry now visible as a red fiery glow engulfed the outside of the Eternity. It colored the room with a warm reddish-orange light as they descended. The ship rumbled and croaked all the while, the stress of atmospheric drag bearing down upon them.
As soon as they passed through the many layers of the planet's atmosphere and entered its troposphere, they were greeted with the unusual sights of civilization, primitive in appearance though it was.
"Monty!" Shouted Morgan as he saw what they were coming up on. His hands gripping a nearby console for support as he braced for impact. "Adjust course!"
Hoping to avoid any unnecessary damage. Monty scanned the landscape around him looking for a safe place to land.
"We've got a good LZ, Captain. That region of forest to our north should be clear of any hazards, mostly. I'll make corrections to our course to ensure we'll be safe as soon as we touch down. But, it's still going to be a rough landing." Monty reported as he pointed out the site before them.
Morgan only gave a short nod in turn.
The Eternity shifted its course, making minor adjustments along the way. "Final approach! Prepare yourselves, ladies and gentlemen." The crew braced themselves for impact.
Author's Notes: There we go! A rewrite of the first chapter to expand upon it. I may or may not change a few characters from here on out, notable to the Captain himself. Same initials still, for him, but changed his surname to be shorter for brevity's sake. The story going forward would also have some minor changes to the events and characterizations as well.
I will be attempting to rewrite a lot more than just this part from here on out and making things a lot more uniform. Sticking to canon terms from both Halo and FoZ. (Glad I have a laptop now to make writing easier. Doing it all on mobile the first time was a pain.)
I have also decided to stop using that "fake-frenchy" stuff I've added in the earlier chapters and sticking to mostly English phrases. I felt myself cringe when I went and re-read sections of the early parts of this story.
I don't consider myself an expert on Halo lore. Most of what I do know comes from my experience playing the games and the one Halo novel I read. Halo: The Flood. This story is sort of written based on whatever I could recall from Halo, the Halopedia site, and the memories I have of watching Zero no Tsukaima years ago…
If anyone's willing to help me out in that regard I'll be more than happy to hear you out. If possible you can reach out to me on Discord, Mr. Cres#7430.
I won't pretend this is some great masterpiece of literature or something equally pretentious as that. But I do hope y'all would help me out in suggesting things I could do to help improve the story.
Hope to see y'all in the next one. じゃ、またね