Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to Halo: MechWarrior v2.0. Thank you for the support on the first chapter. I greatly appreciate the feedback, and I fully agree with your assessment. It was much better detailed than last time. This is the second chapter in the remastered crossover, and this is where you'll see the inspiration I got from HaloTech. Either way, I appreciate your feedback, and I hope to see you in future chapters. As always, leave a review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or MechWarrior/BattleTech franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs and Piranha Games Inc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.

Reach

UNSC Pillar of Autumn

July 21st, 2552

For the first time in his life, Captain Jacob Keyes, the CO of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn, was legitimately nervous, and it wasn't hard to see why. Looking outside the view port of the Bridge, he could see a fleet of over 250 warships that were hovering in space in front of him, all of them bristling with weaponry that might make mincemeat out of a Halcyon-class Light Cruiser. The lead ship, which some stenciled, charcoal gray letters identified as the 'SLS Dallas', was just a single kilometer off the bow of his own ship. It was nearly five times as large as his own warship, and it was bristling with weaponry all over it's hull. Nearby, the rest of his crew felt similarly nervous as they gazed at the monstrosity of a warship.

He rubbed his hair as he remembered the recent naval battle he was in. With the war against the Covenant going badly, the UNSC was looking for every advantage that it could get, from advanced naval weapons, to powerful nuclear weapons designed to destroy an entire Covenant warship. To make matters worse, a recent string of Insurrectionist attacks had recently hammered the UNSC, with most UNSC officers becoming highly paranoid.

If the Covenant doesn't get us, Keyes thought, then we might just do the favor for them. It frustrated him to no end that the Insurrectionists would place their own priorities and survival ahead of that of the entire species, even though the Insurrection's activities had recently tapered off. They think that, if they remain undetected, that Humanity can survive. If what I know about the Covenant is true, they'll scour those regions for any human beings as well. We stand a better chance of survival by sticking together, not by bickering with each other. It was enough to get anyone paranoid, including himself.

As a result, people had entered a state of near-panic when UNSC satellites detected an abnormal space-time fluctuation near the planet of Reach, HIGHCOM and FLEETCOM immediately went to Condition Red, with all UNSC warships being scrambled, along with all ground military units reaching the same readiness level. Keyes had been ordered to take the Pillar of Autumn and investigate the source of the disturbance, as HIGHCOM feared that it was likely the Covenant finding Reach despite their efforts.

Now that he was actually at the source of the disturbance, he could safely say that this wasn't the Covenant. The Covenant's warships were large, bulbous affairs that looked like exaggerated fishhooks made from a purple metal. These warships, by comparison, were much more like UNSC warships in terms of appearance, with angular, geometric edges and matte black hulls. Turning to Alexandria, the UNSC Smart AI onboard the ship, he asked, "Alexandria, what are we looking at here?"

"I don't know," the AI replied, her mouth open with surprise as well. "Captain, I've done a series of scans on the unknown warships. Their hull profiles do not perfectly match any known UNSC warship in my databanks. In addition, their hulls are plated with some kind of armor that has completely stopped any form of scanning."

When he heard this, Keyes frowned. Usually, it was easy for an AI to determine what weapons a warship tended to carry, as a simple scan could find out in mere seconds. If these unknowns have armor that defeats scanning, then I'm at a loss as to what weapons they use, he thought. It was an unnerving thought, one that had him shifting on the balls of his feet. Who are these people, he wondered.

To his surprise, a message wasn't long in coming. Moments later, he heard an accented voice speaking over the COM. What surprised him was that it was in English, not the languages the Covenant used. "Unidentified WarShip, this is Admiral Mikhailovich Chernenko of the SLS Dallas. Identify yourself immediately. If you attempt hostile action, we will fire upon you." With that, the COM-link cut out.

Humans, Keyes thought, surprised. That was a fellow human being speaking over the COM! Realizing that he had to respond, he cleared his throat and said, "This is Captain Jacob Keyes of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn, do not fire. Our intentions are peaceful. We were investigating an anomalous energy discharge near the planet. I apologize for any trouble that might've happened." Finishing his reply, he waited for a response.

Moments later, he heard, "Captain Jacob Keyes, we do not have any information on this 'UNSC' in our databanks, nor do we have records of a WarShip by the name Pillar of Autumn. Are you certain of this?"

"Yes, Admiral." Looking at Alexandria, he said, "Send them an information packet on the current date, as well as information on the UNSC and UEG. Hopefully, that will clear up any confusion that they have. Also, power up weapons but do not engage firing solutions or target them. I don't want to provoke a confrontation if I can help it." Moments later, Alexandria complied, sending the information directly to the Dallas.

. . .

Onboard the Dallas, Chernenko was pacing back and forth as he considered the implications of what he had learned. There are no records of any kind on a 'UNSC', he thought to himself. Nor do we have any records of a ship named the 'Pillar of Autumn.' This can mean only one of two things: either we have discovered a new Periphery State, or something incredibly strange is going on. Either way, he knew that he needed answers, and soon at that.

His internal musings were interrupted when Persephone said, "Admiral, I have intercepted a data packet from the Pillar of Autumn. Analysis indicates that it is a history of this region of space. During my analysis, I have detected numerous discrepancies with the date and information inside. None of what is in the data packet matches that of known Star League or Great Houses."

"Pull it up on my tactical readout," Chernenko ordered. Moments later, the information he requested winked onto the screen, with the Admiral beginning to read the information very intently. The moment he did, however, he immediately noticed something that was off. What bullshit is this, he thought, eyes widening in an alarmed expression. How did we end up in the year 2552?! It was the year 3052 when we had the misjump. Did we somehow end up exactly five hundred years in the past?

The more he read the information, though, the more he realized that this wasn't the case either. For one, the UNSC was under the control of the 'United Earth Government', which had achieved FTL flight in the year 2390, over 210 years after the Terran Alliance created the K-F Drive. The more he read, the more he realized that there was a third possibility: that somehow, through some strange quirk in K-F Drive travel, they had ended up in an alternate universe. The more he read, the more evidence he had for this possibility. Closing the information screen, he realized what had happened. We are in an alternate universe, he thought to himself.

It was unheard of, absurd, but the more he thought about, the more he realized it made sense. K-F Drive, or rather Hyperspace, was poorly understood. If it was possible for a ship to move at FTL speeds through Hyperspace, then it was equally likely that they could use Hyperspace to travel to another universe entirely. Looks like that possibility just became a reality, he thought. Damn. The Multiverse theory is true. The scientists are going to have a field day when they learn of this. Looking at Persephone, he said, "Contact the Pillar of Autumn. I think I know what has happened now."

. . .

Onboard the Pillar of Autumn, Keyes continued to wait for a response, even as his heart began to hammer in his chest. Breathing in and out, he did what he could to calm himself down, focusing on the matter at hand once his heart stopped racing in his chest. Looking up at the unidentified warships near their position, he could see that they hadn't moved an inch from their original positions, which he realized was a holding formation.

In order to pass the time, he began looking at each of the ships to see what they were. Quite a few of the unknown warships had a similar profile to the Halcyon-class light cruisers, with the roughly hexagonal shape and what appeared to be mass drivers built into the bow of the ship. Further back, he could see warships that had a more arrowhead-like shape, while others looked like spheres that were connected to each other with cylinders. The strangest ones, however, were the largest ones, which were larger than the warship that was holding just a kilometer off his bow. These were massive ships, but most of the interior appeared to be empty space.

It was when he saw what he thought were mechanical arms that it hit him. Those are not military ships, he thought to himself. That means one of two things: either they are over-sized supply ships, or they are possibly mobile shipyards. The latter was the likelier, given that he didn't see any cargo ships near those massive ships. If that was the case, then it meant that this was a military fleet who's technology was advanced enough to allow their ships to be repaired and rearmed on the fly. The thought was surprising, but chilling as well. I'm not sure we'd be able to hold a candle to these guys, he thought to himself.

A moment later, Alexandria interrupted his thoughts. "Captain, the Admiral of the Dallas wishes to speak with you. I believe he has finished reading the data packet."

"Put him through," Keyes ordered.

A moment later, Chernenko's voice came in over the COM. "Captain Keyes, I've finished reading the information that you have sent me. It appears as though our misjump was stranger than I thought. However, I have no reason to believe that you are lying. I wish to speak to your superiors when we have the chance. We have quite a bit to talk about."

"Understood," Keyes replied. "I think they would like to talk to you as well, given the unusual… circumstances that are going on. Give me a few minutes to talk to my superiors."

"Understood. Take however long you need to, but not an unreasonably long period of time. WarShips can only go so long before their crews need sustenance and the ships fuel." With that, the COM-link ended.

As soon as the COM-link was cut, Keyes said, "Alexandira, get me a direct COM-link to Vice Admiral Whitcomb immediately." Once she informed him the COM-Link was ready, he said, "Vice Admiral Whitcomb, this is Captain Keyes."

Moment's later, Whitcomb's voice came in over the COM. "Go ahead, Captain," Whitcomb replied, his voice calm as though he anticipated the call. "Have you determined the source of the energy reading we detected?"

"Yes, Vice Admiral. I can safely say that it is not the Covenant. It appears to be a fleet of warships that has been designed by fellow human beings. Their Admiral, Mikhailovich Chernenko, wishes to speak with us. Sending you the video feed now." He motioned for Alexandria to send the Vice Admiral the video feed.

There was a few minutes of silence as the Vice Admiral received the video footage. While the COM-Link was silent, Keyes knew that Whitcomb was probably scrutinizing the footage for anything unusual, while making observations on what he was looking at directly. Just as Keyes was about to wonder if Whitcomb was on the line still, the Vice Admiral spoke up. "That is the strangest fleet of warships that I've seen in my life. How many of these things are there?"

"According to Alexandria, there are roughly 250 of these warships at our position. The largest ones are large enough to house a Punic-class Supercarrier with room to spare. They also have Punic-class supercarriers out here as well. The flagship appears to be called the Dallas. They've also got a number of ships that resemble the Halcyon-class Light Cruisers, but quite a few of them look like arrowheads or balls attached to each other via cylinders. So far, they've been cool customers, but I do not want to provoke a confrontation at any rate. My ship wouldn't be able to hold a candle to these warships."

"I see," Whitcomb remarked. There was some silence, then he said, "May I speak with this 'Chernenko.' If we can convince him to host a meeting with us, we might be able to work out some kind of an agreement."

"That's exactly what I was hoping for, sir. I'll inform him that you are willing to speak with him. Transmitting COM frequency now, sir." With that, he stood to attention, but remained watchful of the fleet. It was out of his hands now, and he could only hope that cool and calm heads would prevail.

. . .

Onboard the Dallas, Chernenko calmly tapped his feet against the floor as he awaited a call from Keyes' superior, his face like that of a sphinx as he waited. Looking outside, he gazed directly at the Pillar of Autumn, which was clearly displayed on the interior holographic display for the Bridge. Just by looking at the WarShip, he could tell quite a bit about what the UNSC was like, and that was from mere observation alone.

They have WarShip technology, but it appears to have stagnated, he thought to himself. We already had Ferro-Carbide armor and energy based weaponry by the 2500's, but this WarShip does not have any of that. It's as though armor and weapons development stagnated after a certain point. He also learned from Alexandria that there was an Artificial Intelligence that was onboard, as their WarShip's cyber defenses had been pinged by an unknown AI while Keyes had been talking to him.

So far, the AI's probing attempts had been just that: simple network pings in order to see what kind of defenses were in place. That probing had immediately stopped when Persephone put up firewalls, indicating that the other AI knew that she was in the computer network. So far, all is going well, he thought, but I don't know how much longer that will be. With that in mind, he settled in for what was, apparently, going to be a long wait.

He didn't have to wait long, as Persephone said, "Admiral, I have detected another MILCOM link. It appears to be coming from Keyes' direct superior."

"Put him through."

Moments later, Chernenko heard a deep, southern accented voice coming in over the MILCOM link. "This is Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb. Am I speaking to Admiral Mikailovich Cherneko, and if not, may I speak with him."

"I am present, Whitcomb," Chernenko replied.

"Good," Whitcomb nodded. "I wish to express that we do not wish to have a war with you or your government. We are already up against the wall as it is, and the last thing we need is another enemy to fight. If you are willing, would you speak with me and a few other people on the surface of the planet you are approaching. I give you my word that no one will fire on you."

When he heard this, Chernenko knew this was what he was hoping for. It appears as though cool heads have prevailed once again, he thought to himself. When we get to the surface, I will commend Captain Keyes for his conduct. He could've been much more hostile, but instead chose the path of diplomacy and caution rather than the path of aggression. Still, I wonder what Whitcomb meant by 'up against the wall.' Are they fighting another enemy, and if so, what enemy would be powerful enough to threaten Humanity?

Those questions would have to wait, though, as he cleared his throat before replying. "That is acceptable," he agreed. "Where would you like us to speak at?"

"I have just the location," Whitcomb replied. "I'll send you the coordinates immediately. Good luck." With that, the MILCOM link ended.

"Admiral," Persephone added, "I have received a series of coordinates for the meeting site. It appears to be near a massive, sandy basin on the planet. Displaying coordinates now." Moments later, Chernenko looked at the holographic map of the planet to see a yellow marker showing up on the image.

"Order the fleet to jump to the planet," Chernenko ordered. "Inform the SLDF Elementals onboard this ship to arm and armor up. They'll be my bodyguards in the event we need to make a quick exit. Also, inform the Clan mercenary company to accompany us down to the surface. We need to make a big impression with these people." With that, he got up and began heading for his quarters. He needed to be in his best dress uniform for this occasion and his current outfit wasn't suitable for this kind of thing.

. . .

Whitcomb wiped his forehead as he stood in the hot air of the Viery Plains, resulting in him making sure he wasn't sweating to death. Looking around, he could see Colonel Urban Holland, Vice Admiral Stanforth and Admiral Roland Fremont standing nearby, with the man being somewhat more uncomfortable than he was, though his training didn't allow him to show it. Dr. Halsey would've attended, but she informed them that she, regretfully, had some matters to tend to, and thus couldn't attend.

Damn shame, he thought as he looked around. We could've used her expertise right now. Surrounding them were the finest soldiers in the entire UNSCDF. ODST's and Marines were present, but the largest difference were the presence of Spartans. These super soldiers were truly Humanity's finest warriors, augmented and enhanced to be the best soldiers they could be. What made him comfortable was that Blue Team was present, with S-117 being in charge of the protection detail. Behind him were a few Pelican dropships that were ready in the event that peaceful first contact was successful. Hidden in the area, however, were a number of Scorpions and other military vehicles in the event something went wrong.

The reason why so many people were out here was simple: the arrival of the unknown fleet near Reach. He had to admit, the presence of another fleet had him worried, enough that he ordered the preparation of his latest science project, which he had hoped would put the hurting on the Covenant when the time came. When he learned that the unknowns were most likely fellow Human beings, that had legitimately caused his mind to blank out for a few seconds out of pure shock.

I didn't think there were any other legitimate governments other than the UEG or UNSC for that matter, he thought to himself. Apparently, I was wrong to think that. What got his attention as well was what Keyes remarked about the unknown warships: they were large, protected by armor that defeated scanning, and had weapons that would make a Punic-class Super Carrier turn green with envy. Either way, let's hope they are nothing like the Covenant when it comes to negotiations, he thought. All the Covenant's done is attempt to destroy our species.

As he thought this, Sierra-117, otherwise known as the Master Chief, said, "Sir, The Pillar of Autumn has informed me that they've detected a fleet jumping into orbit around the planet. It appears to be the unknowns."

"Are they hostile?"

"No. According to Captain Keyes, their weapons are online, but they are not actively targeting UNSC assets."

Cool customers, Whitcomb thought. They don't want to fight, but they're prepared to do so in the even they have to. Smart. "Have the ODP's ready to go in the event they turn hostile, but do not open fire. I do not want a confrontation on my hands. Have Keyes relay that message to the Fire Control Officers on the ODP's."

"Yes, sir," Chief replied. He immediately relayed the message to Keyes, before standing to attention moments later.

For a few more minutes, they remained like this, with each one waiting for the unknowns to arrive. Just as he was about to take a drink, Linda said, "Sir, I've spotted an incoming ship. It appears to be a large transport of some kind. Wait, there are two that are inbound."

Whitcomb was about to ask what kind of transports when he heard it: a faint rumbling sound. Looking up, he noticed two pinpricks of light that began to grow larger and larger by the second, his attention only distracted as a Marine handed him and Colonel Holland some water out of courtesy. Within five minutes, he watched as the pinpricks of light grew larger, until he could easily see two types of ships.

The first one looked like someone had taken a brick, rounded the corners and edges, cut one of the ends at an angle, then stuck wings and engines onto it and called it space worthy. The second looked like a large sphere that had engines attached to the bottom of it, though he only saw the top; moments later, he watched as it rotated until it's engines were facing down, before they fired again, slowing the craft down as landing gear deployed. The brick-like ship flew down towards the plain, slowing down as it also deployed landing gear, with dust and sand being thrown up by what looked like powerful thrusters. There was a loud THUD as the ship landed, with the dust and sand settling down to reveal it once more.

Now that it was closer to the ground, Whitcomb could see the matte black hull of the ship, as well as what he realized were weapon turrets mounted on the hull. Looking to the right, he watched as the spheroid ship came in for a landing, it's own landing gear deploying as the massive engines threw dust up into the air. Once it landed, he could see that it's hull was also matte black, but that was where the similarities, aside from the construction of each ship, ended. On one, he could see an eight point, silver colored star, with the bottom and right points elongated outwards, while the other had the stylized image of a wolf, with a star on a banner in the background. Nearby, he heard Colonel Holland remark, "Interesting. I wonder why they used massive ships instead of smaller troop transports."

"I have a feeling we're about to find out," Whitcomb stated. As soon as he said this, large doors on each ship began to open, with massive armored sections lifting up and outwards. Looking at the spheroid ship, Whitcomb's eyes widened when he saw a 12 meter tall, bipedal robot stepping out of the ship. It was massive, with armor plating covering every square centimeter of it's chassis, with what appeared to be guns that were mounted onto the arms and torso, as well as hands and legs that were unusually human in appearance. The one thing that legitimately intimidated him, however, was the head, as it looked like a human skull.

He turned to see Holland's eyes widened slightly, no doubt surprised by what he was seeing. Moments later, four more robots followed the humanoid one; one was a chicken legged robot with missile racks on either side, another had arms and an overhead gun mount, another was chicken legged with no overhead gun mount,while the last one appeared to be similar to the missile walker, only it had arms that held weapons as well. Looking towards the brick shaped ship, he watched as more conventional vehicles drove out, with two tanks that were escorting what appeared to be an APC of some kind. The ground shook as the machines, tanks and APC approached them, before coming to a stop roughly two hundred meters away, with the tanks proceeding forwards with the APC before stopping.

When the APC doors opened, Whitcomb watched as four personnel in what he realized was powered armor step out of the APC. Their armor looked unusually similar to the MJOLNIR armor that the Spartans wore, enough that he would've had trouble telling the two apart were it not for the newcomers wearing gray and olive drab armor plating. All of them were standing around a man that was roughly six feet and four inches in height. The man was wearing what he believed was the crispiest and neatest dress uniform that an Admiral could wear.

The uniform was white, with gold piping on the edges as well as on the shoulders. Three purple stripes were present on his cuffs, which Whitcomb guessed indicated his rank, with similarly colored pants, as well as black dress boots. The chest of the man's uniform was decked out with medals and ribbons, indicating that this was an Admiral that had been in major conflicts. Looking at his face, Whitcomb noticed that the man had graying hair, with streaks of black, as well as two blue-gray eyes that seemed to pierce right through him. While they held an energy of youth and vitality, he could also see that this Admiral had seen war for what it truly was: a horrible and violent means to and end. As one philosopher put it, 'War is a continuation of politics by any other means.'

Nearby, Admiral Fremont cleared his throat and said, "Greetings. I am Admiral Roland Fremont of the United Nations Space Command. This is UNSC Army Colonel Urban Holland, Vice Admiral Stanforth and Vice Admiral Whitcomb. With us are Fireteam Raven and Spartan Team Blue. Welcome to the planet of Reach."

The other Admiral merely nodded before he began to speak. His voice was husky, but it carried with it the weight of authority as he spoke. "Well met, Admiral. I am Admiral Mikhailovich Chernenko of the Star League Defense Force. Accompanying me are members of the SLDF Blackwatch, and the finest members of Clan Wolf and it's Warrior Caste. Thank you for welcoming us here. It has been an interesting few hours."

"Quite," Fremont nodded, even as he saw VTOL's being deployed out of the brick shaped ship. "If you are willing, I would like to take this meeting to one of our secure facilities on this continent, if you are willing of course."

"I see," Chernenko remarked. After a few seconds, he said, "Very well, but on one condition: that my bodyguards be allowed to accompany me."

"We can do that," Fremont nodded. "We'll send you the coordinates once your vehicles are ready."

"Good," Chernenko nodded. "I look forward to the start of a mutually beneficial relationship."

"The same here," Fremont agreed, even as he and the others left for the Pelicans, loading up once they were at the VTOL's. Nearby, Chernenko boarded a Anhur IV VTOL along with his escorts, with the Troop Bay Doors closing moments later. As he sat down in the passenger seat inside of the Troop/Cargo Bay, he could feel the Fusion Ramjets on either side of the VTOL powering up, before it lifted them skyward. Soon, the VTOL was on it's way, quickly accelerating to it's top speed of 1,084 km/h. Either way, Chernenko knew one thing as they flew along: this certainly wasn't the Inner Sphere anymore.