Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Halo or Mass Effect franchises.
First time writing anything so would really appreciate constructive criticism and the like
AU as shit so please try not to get too bogged down by Canon consistencies, I have tried alot in that regard
With that being said, hope you enjoy!
Uncharted System: Pangea Expanse 2230 C.E.
The planet emitting the mysterious signal was in front of them. Exceedingly unremarkable in almost every way the only indication of anything interesting were the alien ruins on the surface. From orbit the scientists gazed on in badly disguised apathy, the Council had sent 20 of Citadel Space's best scientists to a godforsaken backwater for no discernible reason other than a phantom signal. The council research team consisted of ten Salarians, five Asari, four Humans and a Turian, their purpose of being in system was to investigate the connecting systems linked to the Mu Relay. Ilos and its system of Refuge had already been explored and catalogued as a tomb world but due to the reaper threat and the subsequent recovery period almost 50 years ago exploration had been put on the figurative back burner. After decades of hardship the galaxy had recovered and once again began to branch out further into the stars, leading to renewed efforts to search for resources and habitable garden worlds; the Pangea Expanse being ripe for the picking. That was how this research mission came to fruition, after Turian patrols picked up the single repeating signal in the unidentified system, now designated: Thracia, the Council called for a team to investigate.
The SSV Rubicon was preparing for the descent into the atmosphere. A Frigate of the newest design fresh of the dock at the Luna Shipyards; she was a proud symbol of the galaxies post reaper war recovery. Lead researcher Dr Alaria S'Toli gazed around the room, the preparation for descent giving her time to hash out the last minute details of the mission with her team. "From what we know and what the Turian patrol has informed us of, the Signal is a constant electromagnetic pulse into deep space, the direction of the signal does not indicate a deliberate attempt at communication; this, coupled with the fact that it is coming from supposedly alien ruins means we must be careful with how we approach this".
"What could be the purpose of the signal? If it is as you say, not for communication as we know it what could it possibly be for?" replied Dr. Michael Channing.
"That is the purpose of our mission, to determine how and why the signal is being sent, and to determine if these ruins are in fact Prothean, due to the Thracia systems proximity to Refuge that is a distinct possibly. However, I do not need to remind you that we must be careful; a Council research team went missing in the Phoenix Massing less than a decade ago, the circumstances of which are still unexplained. To that end the Council has provided a platoon of Alliance marines to act as our protection for the duration of the expedition." Alaria glanced around the room, this seemed to assuage the fears of some of the research team, some of whom were nervous about the possibility of unknown alien ruins.
"Atmospheric entry imminent secure cargo and passengers". The ships V.I. chimed in, already strapped in the team began to secure their work, Dr S'Toli took this as an opportunity to run through more of the debriefing. "We will be landing approximately Five kilometres from the ruins on a plateau just south of its location, from there we will travel with the marines in secure transports to the entrance of the ruins. Once we have arrived the Alliance marines will secure the area before allowing us entry into the facility".
"Remember we have a week before the council expects a report from us so make sure that you don't rush anything, we will be able to explore the ruins fully in due time." The team looked sufficiently irritated at her perceived babying; but when one is 862 years old it is of little consequence. She felt the tell-tale shake of entry and began to muse about what could possibly be down there. 'An active Prothean beacon? Or perhaps ruins from a heretofore undiscovered civilization? The possibilities are endless'.
The landing was rough, especially so; as the air currents were extremely erratic according to the captain, nevertheless she gave her compliments to his obviously skilled pilot. The Rubicon set down firmly on the plateau and began to disgorge its cargo of research equipment and armoured vehicles, with the Tiger APC's taking prime position. Larger and sturdier than its Mako predecessor it still possessed the unmistakeable six wheel and cannon configuration, a larger element zero core compensating for the extra mass of armour and its much heavier main gun.
"Remember, follow the lead of the Alliance Lieutenant and do what she says until they have determined that is 100% safe to proceed. Now make your way to the vehicles."
"Have we been able to decode the signal yet?" Dr. Valen shouted over the din of the Tiger as it approached the ruins.
"Not yet, our decryption algorithms are having a hard time making sense of the code that is used to encrypt it in the first place; along with the fact that it is constantly changing with no discernible pattern. It could be weeks until we finally decode it, let's just hope the ruins have computational facilities that will speed up the process or we will have to use brute force in order to crack it. That is of course if the signal is even saying anything, for all we know it could just be static". Channing replied.
"We are approaching the facility Doctors; ETA is just under one minute I ask you to remain in the APC's while we secure the perimeter and begin exploration of the entrance." Lieutenant Jackson stated.
The convoy slowed on approach to the facility, the roar of the APC's slowly dimming as they ground to a halt. On cue the marines disembarked and began to fan out, slowly they made their way towards the uncovered entrance of the facility, after a few tense moments the team received the all clear to make their way towards it as well. Slowly they entered the facility, it was unlike anything they had ever seen, there were no signs of Prothean technology and aesthetics, instead of carved stone and rich greens, the facility was remarkably barren, stark grey walls looking almost brutalist in nature. "Reminds me of old Soviet Architecture from the 20th century." Remarked Channing as they meandered their way through the facility. The ugliness of their surroundings was almost oppressive; that was of course, until they came across a door. Thirty metres wide and at least ten metres tall it was made from a material that came up on no databases, Dr. Valen estimated that it was at least thrice as durable as Silaris Armour and would be able to withstand the extreme heat of the plasma torches they had brought with them.
The research team got to work on theories of being able to traverse the seemingly impassable door suggestions from explosives to using the main gun of the Tiger APC's we all suggested and shot down accordingly, they did not want to damage the seemingly pristine nature of the ruins. That was until Dr. Channing unknowingly activated a floating computer console in the centre of the room precisely at the centre of the door. "Remarkable, estimates place this facilities age at around 200,000 years old and it still has power? This would be extremely improbable with our technology unless multiple V.I.s were dedicated to the upkeep and even then they would need to be so particular in their functions it would make something like this extremely implausible". Muttered Valen as he began to furiously type onto his Omni-Tool. The rest of the researchers shared similar sentiments. The scientists were abruptly cut out of their Reverie when an extremely cheery voice chimed in.
"Visitors? Oh, how wonderful!" The entire research team looked upwards as a floating ball of metal with a single ocular recess came towards them.
"Greetings, I am the Forerunner Ancilla designated 0-824 Dedicated Remnant, I am the Monitor of this facility; designated Iota, tasked with its maintenance and protection, I welcome you in the name of the Forerunners and Reclaimers." The thing said chirpily.
The entire team was stupefied, what was right in front of them was theoretically impossible, all A.I.s were destroyed when the crucible activated 44 years ago, and yet, here one was talking to them, they would need to get to the bottom of that and fast. Dr. S'Toli was the first to recover from her stupor.
"Greetings, my name is Alaria S'Toli, doctor of xenobiology at the University of Serrice, we greet you in the name of the Citadel council and its member species, you will have to forgive my bluntness but are you by any chance, an A.I.?".
"Then I greet you Dr S'Toli and to put it in layman's terms I am in fact an A.I., designed to be the keeper of this facility over 320,000 years ago. I assume your question was regarding that extremely irritating galactic wide pulse approximately 50 years ago? My word that was annoying, I had to shut down so many key systems to stop them from overloading completely. Fortunately for me, this facility is shielded particularly well, though it is doubtful that the pulse would have put me out of action for very long, it was exceptionally primitive in nature and it would be an insult to my designers if it had disabled me!". That was met with a cold silence, the team were struck, this A.I. had just called the superweapon that killed the entirety of the reaper fleet primitive.
"I'm sorry but did you just say 'layman's terms'? That is undoubtably a Human term of speech". Channing was extremely curious about the A.I., it was without a doubt extremely advanced, even more so than the Geth once they had achieved true sentience. It clearly had attitudes and emotions, given the way it had described its reaction to the crucible pulse.
"Ah yes, Humans; what a wonderful species they are. I was tasked with studying all known species in this galaxy to see how they progressed relative to my creator's own galaxy, to see if the adaptation of element zero technology had any affect, culturally speaking, that changed a species for better or worse. I must say that the species of this cycle have rather impressed me, you are far better than the Protheans of the last cycle, at least you have manners." Again; another silence. "You met Protheans?" Alaria's voice wavered slightly. "Of course I did! They arrived at my facility demanding access and when I refused them they attacked me, spouting some utter nonsense about me being an unholy A.I. or whatnot, so unfortunately I had to kill them, and the team that arrived after and the military expedition that followed and so on and so forth. A terrible waste of life if you ask me, even if they were just backwards savages that somehow managed to achieve a galactic wide empire. I must say they were most uncouth." Channing was slowly losing it, the fact that this A.I. spoke about murdering their venerated precursors in a way a butler would describe refreshments was almost too much to bare, he had to leave the room for a minute to collect himself.
"You mean to tell me that you murdered the Protheans that arrived here? Are we unsafe at this given time?" Alaria asked forcefully.
"Of course not Doctor, the reason the Prothean expeditions were attacked by me and my servants was due to their penchant for completely ignoring my warnings and directives, even when forcefully told so. It is not my fault they desired me destroyed, so I reacted as any normal being would and defended myself and my protected facility, surely you understand?"
"I... do understand, we will not act in a way that would cause you to do us harm, we only wish to learn from you and from this facility so anything you can tell us would be most appreciated." Alaria hoped the reproachful tone of her voice would signal an understanding from the A.I., she was proven correct as it began speaking again.
Channing clearly chose the wrong time to return to the room "Wonderful, your manners are impeccable Doctor, I must compliment you for them. Now where was I before I went off on a tangent about killing Protheans? Hmm... Oh yes of course! I have been studying civilizations in this Galaxy for approximately 300,000 years, you are species of the most recent cycle, all data collected about the species inhabiting this galaxy would be sent back to the Ecumene in hopes of rigorous study i presume. Sadly the last transmission clearly received by the Ecumene was over 110,000 years ago" Once again, a pregnant pause permeated the room, the more the A.I. spoke the more questions arose.
"Inhabiting this galaxy? Are you saying your creators were extra-galactic? That's impossible." Dr Silonis, the Turian, was growing more and more impatient with the seemingly eccentric ball of metal in front of him.
"Yes, indeed they were, their home galaxy is called the Milky-Way, approximately 2.5 million light years distant from this location, they designated your galaxy L6-423 or as the Reclaimers call it, Andromeda". Remnant replied matter of factly.
"You keep on mentioning your creators in the past tense, am I to assume that they no longer exist, in this galaxy or their own?" S'Toli asked. Silonis was quick to rebuke her before remnant could answer though "Oh come on Alaria, you can't seriously believe this pile of Varren dung about extra-galactic entities studying our entire civilization!"
"Are Turian memories so short Vextus? If you don't remember, need I remind you that not 50 years ago our entire civilization was under threat from extra galactic machines that only thanks to the efforts of Shepard and his crew we destroyed! I think we can easily suspend disbelief when this A.I. claims its creators were extra galactic, considering this facility out ages the Protheans by at least a factor of four and has a door made from a completely unknown metal." Dr. S'Toli chastised.
"So A.I. can you tell us what happened to your creators if they are no longer around?" Alaria asked patiently.
"More questions? Wonderful! Approximately 120,000 years ago my creators were embroiled in a war against an extremely aggressive species, I do not have any information on the species they originally fought as records have been quarantined within the last 200 solar rotations, but after a thousand of years of warfare my creators defeated and devolved them on their home world of Erde-Tyrene. It was only after that that my creators realised their mistake, the species they fought was not expanding; but running, fighting a two-front war against a parasite known as the Flood. Once the aggressor species had been devolved the Forerunners, exhausted from a thousand of years of warfare were no match for the parasite. Over the course of 300 years, the flood systemically consumed the Forerunner Ecumene, 3 million systems were infected, as a response the Forerunners burnt their planets in the hope of slowing down the parasite while a solution was found. From this effort, to use a reclaimer term, the Halo's were created. Collectively the Seven rings were the final stand of the Forerunner's. Weapons of last resort, built by the Forerunners to eliminate potential flood hosts thereby rendering the parasite harmless. After exhausting every other strategic option my creators activated the rings, they and all additional sentient life within 3 radii of the galactic centre, died, as planned. Would you like to see the relevant data?" The room was stunned, no one dared speak as they processed what they had just been told, 3 million systems? A war that made the reaper war seem like a minor skirmish. It was far too much to handle.
Eventually Channing spoke up. "What were the direct causalities of the firing of this 'halo'?"
"It is approximated that when the IsoDidact fired the Arrays that over 10 quadrillion Forerunners met their end, along with countless other sentient life." Remnant calmly stated as if explaining the weather.
Valen fainted upon hearing the number, already struggling with the rest of the story itself he had had enough. The Alliance marines took him back to the APC's before returning. One thing that stuck in Alaria's mind, however, was not the horrific story of this 'Forerunner-Flood war' but the repeated mentioning of these 'reclaimers'.
"A.I. over the course of this conversation you have mentioned these 'reclaimers' three times, who are they in relation to your creators?"
"Excellent! I do enjoy talking about the reclaimers, I have even had the pleasure of talking to some! Reclaimers are the species chosen by the Librarian to inherit the legacy of the Forerunners. Only they can access their advanced technology, only they are able to utilize their data drives and only they are allowed access to my creator's facilities. They have also been chosen to uphold the 'Mantle of responsibility' like my creators once did, a pledge to ensure the continuation of all sentient life." Remnant spoke conversationally, but it did not go unnoticed to the research team that they most likely had come here for nothing but a story.
"So, you are saying that we will be unable to access these ruins?" Remnant chimed accordingly. "Would it be possible to see a picture of these Reclaimers? Any information regarding them would be greatly appreciated". Alaria tried to appear calm, but on the inside, she was seething, they had come all this way for nothing! Even if they could force access it would be likely that the A.I. would wipe all data before they were able to access it. Although they way that his A.I. had seemingly dealt with the Prothean interlopers would probably give anyone pause before taking that route.
"Of course, Dr. S'Toli, I would be happy to, if you would just give me one second to access relevant unrestricted data… Ah-hah, here we are".
The projected hologram was confusing at the least and anger inducing at the most because projected by the Forerunner Ancilla was a standard picture of a Human male and Human female. There was variation between the holograms and the Humans standing right next to her for example these seemed to have more musculature, and were most definitely taller but they were unmistakeably human in almost every regard. She had to know more.
"These holograms… they're of Humans? I thought none of us would be able to access the facility yet here stands 34 people who are able to do just that, is this some kind of trickery on your part?"
"No, no of course not, these Humans are not Reclaimers, they were not gifted the reclaimer gene my creators bestowed on the species, as members of a secondary, backup humanity they were not seen as important enough to warrant the gene, and were only used in case of a catastrophic outbreak of the flood in their home galaxy, so that the species would survive of course."
The Humans in the vault stood stock still, had they just heard what they think they heard? A marine lost her cool almost immediately.
"What the fuck are you talking about machine?! Were just a backup?! We have thousands of years of evolutionary history and now you're telling us were just copies?"
"Yes of course that is what I'm telling you, if you would refrain from using crass language that would also be very much appreciated." Chimed Remnant. Channing now 100% suspected it to be insane at this point.
"I have relevant data that can prove this fact if you wish to see it, of course you could also leave this place and forget it ever happened and your 'Systems Alliance' would be none the wiser, however what I say is indeed true, what you do with the truth is your prerogative."
S'Toli had to find out more. "Is there anything you can tell us about these other Humans, apart from the fact that were separated by 2.5 million light years?"
"Of course, Doctor, although I must warn you, they have restricted much of the relevant data regarding their species and society and most likely know that you are currently asking such questions. As I said before, they are the Reclaimers, they control the remnants of my creator's civilization." Alaria would have been worried if it wasn't for the gulf of space between them, but then again, they were only Humans, a short lived and weak species, she was not worried at all. That was until the A.I. started speaking again.
"From what I am able to tell you, the Reclaimers are an extremely long-lived species…" Alaria Snorted loudly at that. "Due to their genes, which are in a constant state of evolution they are known to live to ages exceeding two thousand years, however, despite this longevity, technological advances have deemed them functionally immortal." Everyone in the room stared at the ball in shock, how on Earth was that possible? Humans of the Systems Alliance could hope to hit 180 nowadays thanks to medical advancements, how advanced were these 'Reclaimers'? Remnant continued "An average Human male will stand at a height of 2.30 metres while the average female will stand at 2.10 metres height. Technologically they are currently a Tier 2 civilization on the scale established by your governments."
A Tier two civilization, that made dread pool in the hearts of everyone there, they would be able to craft mega structures in space that made the citadel look like a toy, they could craft worlds, manipulate the energy of stars at will. After the reaper war the species of the Citadel had made great strides in research and development, no longer shackled and stagnated by their ancient enemy, however this revelation worried them greatly. The treaty of Farixen was abolished and now together the Council could boast over 300 dreadnoughts with the Redeemer class of Alliance dreadnoughts being the most advanced ship in Citadel space, however they were centuries, if not millennia from being able to advance to a tier 2 civilization.
Channing was the first to speak up "Functionally immortal, what the hell does that mean?"
"It means Doctor, that every Reclaimer has their consciousness downloaded into a chip installed in their brain, with the help of their A.I. companion their memories are downloaded as they experience them. If they were to die the chip would upload their consciousness into a body exactly like the one that had just been killed, by association the death rate of Reclaimers is extremely low." If that was the A.I.s attempted at cracking a joke Channing was about to shoot the A.I. himself.
Channing was incredulous. "Every Reclaimer has an A.I. inside their own head?! That seems extremely dangerous from my point of view."
Remnant was uncaring. "Dr. Channing Reclaimers have been using their A.I. in a stable manner for almost a Millennia, please do not let your irrational fear of A.I. cloud your judgment of them and especially do not compare them to the Geth, my they were simply so primitive!"
"A.I. is there anything you can tell us about their history, where they come from? What their society is like, and any specific numbers would be very much appreciated."
"I only have the relevant information that I have been allowed to share with you. The Reclaimers first rose to the stars over 1000 years ago when the American Astronaut Neil Armstrong set foot on their moon." Channing had to stop it; the marines were shuffling nervously "I'm sorry did you just say American? And did you say Neil Armstrong? How is that even possible, how can they have the same history as us?" Disbelief seeped the room, no one could believe it. "A.I. when did this supposed event occur for them?" Remnant replied immediately. "It occurred at 02:56 UTC on 21 July 1969. An estimated 500 million people worldwide watched this event" Channing opened his Omni-Tool to check. "My god it even happened at the exact same time! This is astonishing!" Remnant replied informatively. "You Humans and the Reclaimers have similar history until you reach the 22nd century. For example, they obviously didn't discover the Prothean ruins, as there were none. Whereas your society did not experience the strife of the Third World War, this alongside The Interplanetary War against the fascist Freiden movement they did, this resulted in a much more militarized society, one where the military takes pride and place in the hearts of most citizens. I must also make a note that due to disparities in the time of your seeding you are approximately 1000 years behind their society despite sharing so many significant events." Remnant continued "Their first contact with an Alien species almost 600 years ago in the year 2525 resulted in the deaths of over 30 billion Humans, the loss of over 450 colonies and the cultural outlook of the species shifting dramatically. This coupled with the resurgence of the insurrection that had been crushed prior to first contact resulted in a militaristic state., one akin to your Imperial Japan in the 20th century or the Turian Hierarchy immediately following the Unification Wars. The conflict that occurred after first contact is known as the Great War, during this war Humanity was brought to the brink of extinction, their colonies were turned to glass by orbital plasma bombardment and their people exterminated by a collective of Aliens only known as 'The Covenant'. The genocide of the Humans at the hands of the Covenant lead to a cultural revolution at the closing of the war, despite victory being achieved with the help of Separatist Covenant forces the Humans did not forgive them for their transgressions, so they exterminated them all, one by one every species that took up arms against Humanity was exterminated, save a small population which was then quarantined to their respective Home worlds in order to hold up the 'Mantle of Responsibility' and allowing sentient life to continue. At the current date of 3124 CE the Reclaimers are an extremely isolationist species, Xenophobic in almost every way they despise aliens, and view any Human not under the rule of the UEG or United Earth Government to be a traitor by association. Their Home world is Earth, as of the census conducted in the year 2945 CE their population exceeded 5 trillion, spread amongst approximately 4000 worlds…" The thing stopped abruptly.
"Oh dear, it seems that is all I am permitted to tell you, I thank you for your visit to this facility but must ask that you and your peoples now leave immediately and never return again, for if they were to do so they would most certainly be killed by my sentinels." As if on cue 30 large armoured beings flashed into existence surrounding the group, weapons primed.
Caught off guard the Alliance marines save a few couldn't raise their weapons in defiance. Although many were itching to.
Dr. S'Toli was the first to take charge "There is no need for violence A.I., our group will depart your facility immediately, but this hostility was unnecessary, we will not forget this act of aggression forced onto us."
As the group left the unremarkable planet and made for the Citadel to inform the council of their frankly unbelievable findings within the alien, now designated Forerunner facility; in another galaxy a cruel smile appeared on the face of a very cold woman. The Citadel species had taken the bait, they had investigated the signal she told Remnant to broadcast and had now learnt far more than they were permitted. In her view, there would be a reckoning, and the Reclaimers would shake the very foundations of their civilization be it peacefully or through the flames of war.
Aboard the ONI Prowler: Darkness of the Void
Reach: Epsilon Eridani system 4 years prior
In high orbit above the Reach Ecumenopolis, anchored to the Nightingale Shipyards a meeting of great importance was about to begin. Vice-Admiral Serin Osman took in the room. A refined rosewood table decorated with gold leaf stood in the centre, walls decorated with illustrious artworks depicting the Great War and five luxurious chairs made up this extremely unusual space. This was no ordinary Prowler; this was the most secure place in the entirety of UEG space, reserved only for meetings attended by the high command of the UNSC and ONI. She watched as the respective heads of each branch of the military made their way into the meeting room. First was Lieutenant-General James Harmon, head of the army and colonial militia's, a man with a decorated past serving as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper during the Battle of Meridian in 2548. He escaped before the planet was glassed 3 years later but still bore the scars proudly in the form of his prosthetic arm. Next was General Miranda Haynes, head of the UNSC marine corps and responsible for all shipboard troops among the Navy, it was her expertise that allowed for the complete subjugation of the Jiralhanae and the eventual devolved confinement to their home world. Next was a legend, John-117, now a Major-General and head of the UNSC Spartan programme, now in its tenth iteration, he had command over the 16 remaining Spartan II's and all their successors.
Fleet Admiral Leonid Kasimov was the last to arrive, he always was. As the head of the United Nations Space Command it was his job to delegate the laborious duties of the day to day management of a fleet as vast as Humanities. He was shrewd and cunning and unlike his predecessor did not have to worry about the vast pressures a genocidal conflict would have on the navy. This has allowed for the slow and progressive expansion of Humanities armies and navies into a force to be reckoned with, to be feared by all that weren't Human. As he entered all rose in respect of his rank, showing deference to the head of the military and only when he sat did they all again take their seats.
"Thank you all for attending on such short notice, I have been informed by Vice-Admiral Osman that something of great significance has come up regarding the Forerunner data vaults on Requiem. Vice-Admiral if you would please".
"Thank you, Fleet-Admiral. As you all know we have been scouring the data-vaults left behind by the Librarian for over 400 years, the data from these vaults has allowed for many significant technological advancements to occur. These vaults also contain significant data on the Forerunner's history, in particular their war with our progenitors and their subsequent war with the Flood. Recently scientists and agents from Section Three have come across a remarkable find, evidence that the Forerunner's travelled to more galaxies other than our own."
"You're certain of this?"
"Completely Fleet-Admiral, Section Three has uncovered locations, star charts and a means of Faster than Light Travel which is not Slipstream Space but instead uses a heretofore unknown element, which, when applied with an electrical charge can reduce the mass of a ship so significantly that it would be theoretically able to travel FTL in real space. Thus, completely circumventing Einstein's theory of relativity. Although extremely useful and accurate over short distances, for example, in system travel, it is grossly inferior compared to Slipspace when travelling over vast distances. Using this method, we can ascertain that you would be able to achieve 30 light years per day at the maximum, compared to our 2000. Therefore, this method of travel utilises what the Forerunner's called 'Mass Relays', a system of point to point slingshots which propel ships and their occupants up to thousands of light years almost instantaneously. Ingenious if you ask me."
Harmon spoke up. "While this is all well and good and I wont even begin to start trying to understand the science behind all of this, just how is this significant in any way to us whatsoever? I would appreciate you getting to the point Serin." The glare he received would chill a Glacier to its core, deservedly he got a pointed look from Kasimov as well.
"Well as you put it so eloquently Harmon I'd be pleased to, the reason this galaxy and this method if FTL is so significant is because there is an Inter-Galactic mass relay some 3,000 light years from the edge of our space. It is unknown who built it, but I would surmise that it was the Forerunner's themselves as there is no other evidence suggesting otherwise. This is not all, not only are we able to travel to another galaxy quickly and efficiently, the data archives and direct contact with the monitor of the facility has shown evidence of an advanced alien galactic civilization in this galaxy. The galaxy I am of course talking about is Andromeda. Magdalena if you would be so kind."
As she finished the centre of the room lit up, a galaxy map accentuating the centre of the table even more significantly. "Of course, Vice-Admiral; esteemed leaders, if you could direct your attention to the holo-screen. I would like to introduce you to the Citadel Alliance." As the A.I. stated the holo-screen lit up with the various species of the Citadel, detailing as much information that could be ascertained about them.
Kasimov was the first to speak up. "Those are Humans."
"Indeed, they are Fleet-Admiral. From what we understand before the Forerunner's fired the Halo Arrays they seeded another Humanity in this galaxy, after forging a system very similar to our own Sol system. It has been determined that their Earth, is in fact a shield world housing a hollow core not unlike Requiem. The data archives have stated that the Forerunner's, in particular the Librarian did this in case the Flood could not be stopped, so that our species would have a chance to survive, why that was so important to them is unknown however."
Osman began the next part of the briefing. "From what we can tell, the Citadel Alliance consists of 9 species, of which Humanity is one. They rule from a station called the Citadel, a large megastructure currently in orbit over this Humanities Earth. Investigations by the monitor and our own Section Three have borne fruit as we have gained access to their galactic wide 'Extranet'. Think of it as Waypoint but with absolutely no security, gathering information on their civilization was almost criminally easy. Observations by the monitor have shown that the station used to be housed in the 'Serpent Nebula' which is most definitely of artificial make. From what we can tell around 50 years ago their galaxy was invaded by a race of sentient machines known to them as 'Reapers'. Only with the help of one 'Commander Shepard' and his crew aboard the ship 'SSV Normandy' and with the use of a galactic wide superweapon were they able to defeat the invasion and destroy them all. However, the firing of this weapon also had the unforeseen consequence of killing not just the Reapers but also all A.I. in their galaxy. This war had a profound effect on the galaxy, it united these races against a common foe and in the aftermath allowed for greater prosperity to flourish, however it led to great hardship and many drastic long term effects. The reaper war was the cause of the extinction of 2 galactic species, the first being a race designated 'Quarians'. The species died attempting to reclaim their lost home world of Rannoch at the height of the war from another species, a race of sentient A.I designated 'Geth'." Kasimov spoke up "Do you mean to tell me that this species started another war during one that could have potentially wiped out their entire galactic civilization anyway? That's ludicrous! No wonder they went extinct with a leadership and populace as stupid as that." Osman continued her briefing. "Of course Fleet-Admiral, if I understand it correctly they travelled the stars in a Migrant Fleet during their exile and for some reason chose the end of civilization to attempt to reclaim what was not theirs, as no Quarian alive had ever even seen the planet itself. Their attempts at the Genocide of their servant race, the race of sentient A.I.s they once used as slave labour not just once but twice would have had them subjugated under us as an affront to the Mantle anyway." Harmon snorted loudly. "But I digress, as you can determine The Geth were also exterminated during this war, by the weapon that ended it. It is a shame, had the Quarians not been so stupid they could have waited until the end of the war to freely reclaim the birthplace of their ancestors"
Harmon piped up. "Why are we even talking about the Mantle? We weren't thinking about it when we sterilised the Unggoy and burnt their planets nor when we systematically exterminated the San'shyuum. It is laughable to think that we could be the benevolent leaders of their galaxy when we are clearly the malevolent leaders of ours."
"Because Harmon, a lot has changed in 500 years and although attitudes have not shifted towards a more open and accepting society it would be negligent to allow life to become extinct. That is what the Forerunner's believed and it is what we shall believe, they subjugated any who opposed them and their reign lasted millions of years, we shall do the same but not make their mistakes along the way. The gift of foresight is a wonderful thing. This briefing will go a lot faster if you cease your less than intelligible interruptions and wait till the end General. Now Magdalena if you would please continue for me, you have a better grasp of this than I do."
Magdalena complied. "Of all the species that make up this Alliance, the ones we need to worry about are the Asari, Turians, Salarians and Krogan. The Humans we will deal with separately. Before the war all these species, bar the Krogan made up the Citadel Council, imagine them as the High Prophets of their civilization. The ruling species set the rules and determined everything for the lesser or 'associate' species of their council. The Turians, along with the Humans whom I now shall refer to as 'The Alliance' are the primary military powers of the Citadel. The Salarians are the primary scientists of the citadel as well as having the most developed intelligence apparatus. However, if we were to contact these species, we need to worry about the Asari the most."
The Spartan spoke for the first time. "Why is that Vice-Admiral, if what Magdalena is saying is true, they are neither the primary military nor espionage powers."
"That is because they do not need to be. They are the oldest and longest-lived species in Citadel space, using their superior lifespan they culturally assimilate the younger and what they deem to believe to be 'lesser' species and indoctrinate them towards their way of wishful thinking over a period of centuries. This is not our biggest worry, however, the Asari are Mono-Gendered and they can breed with any species they wish to, including Humans. They take the genetic make up of the person they breed with to produce more Asari and only Asari. A Human who has a child with them will never produce Human offspring, and due to their disparity in life expectancy, the Human will be with that Asari for life. Put simply, they are a slowly expanding and evolving plague on the Human species. Of course, the Citadel species do not see it this way, but due to the Asari's government being able to plan centuries, if not millennia into the future they are able to keep a noose around the neck of their brood stock. If we were to contact these species no Asari would be permitted access to Human space and any of our citizens that were to begin relations with one, would need to be immediately stripped of their citizenship and made a persona non grata within our space. That is of course if we intend to make peaceful contact at all. With this being said, our primary concern should be the Human Systems Alliance, we need to make contact with them regardless, as due to the constitution of the UEG any Human not living under its rule are traitors. Of course, a special case would be made for them, they are not the insurrectionists of old, I believe a wise course of action to be to covertly contact the government of this 'Systems Alliance' and begin talks with them regarding their assimilation. They are a small state, with an approximate population of around 35 billion, so it would not be a complicated process. I have already dispatched, with the permission of Fleet-Admiral Kasimov, two stealth Prowlers to their galaxy, they will arrive in the system containing the other pair of the intergalactic relay in approximately 3.4 years."
Haynes spoke up. "35 billion? Why are we even bothering with them? They could live their lives blissfully unaware of us, their population seems content with their situation and I'm not sure why we need to put so much effort into a society that has less than half the population of the single planet below our feet."
"Because, if I am to remind you General, the constitution of the UEG demands that any and all Humans be subject to its governance and valued by its protection. Are we to ignore the governing ideals that have lasted well over 700 years, because it is inconvenient for us and for them?"
"Why not just use this so called 'Inter-Galactic Relay' in order to speed up the process? Instead of waiting years to do something that could theoretically take mere minutes?"
"Because Harmon, sending Prowlers ahead of time allows us to establish the situation on the other side of the Relay, while not knowingly breaking any of the Citadel's rules and regulations, one of which is the forbidding of Relay activation without the appropriate research. It also gives up ample time to plan and prepare for our eventual contact with the Citadel races, the Alliance in particular. Once the Prowlers arrive, they will scout nearby systems for a habitable world, when one is found we will activate the Relay and send a Forge class construction station along with twelve colony ships with all the logistical needs that entails to construct our base of operations within the Andromeda Galaxy. Construction will be focused on Orbital Defence Platforms along with a star hold to begin ship construction, we hope that within 2 months the entire planet will be self sufficient in terms of ship building and resource production. Alongside the colony ships we will be sending the 62nd and 43rd fleets, both of which have just received their Leviathan class flagships, the 34th expeditionary fleet and 2nd Fast Reaction Fleet will also accompany them in case issues arise that do not require the need of an entire 900 ship fleet. The protection will be more than adequate, I even informed the Fleet-Admiral that it would be overkill to send over 2000 ships for the protection of one planet, but until we ascertain the military capabilities of the Citadel Alliance I am in agreement. Alongside the 10 million colonists we will be sending, will be approximately 800,000 ground troops, along with 40 battalions of ODST's as well as 12 Spartan X contingents."
"Only 12?" Harmon directed his question to John.
"We have been able to gain information on the capabilities of their soldiers, my Spartans and I were not at all impressed, it was deemed unnecessary to send so many elite troops when their own ground troops are woefully inadequate. However, we will not be complacent, the information is over 70 years old, and they could have made numerous improvements to their weapons technology, their lack of protection against Directed Energy Weapons and their taboo against genetic engineering will work in our favour however."
"Thank you, John, that brings me to my next point. We have been able to determine that these Humans were not recipients of the Librarians gene seed, they are not Reclaimers and therefore cannot access any Forerunner technology, nor have they been the recipients of any of the vastly improved genetics that we have benefitted from. These Humans are as we were during the great war, significantly weaker than us, their lifespans are around 150 years, again like ours, their average height, similar to ours. When they meet us, they will most likely be surprised, however, if they do decide to join us, I think that over time, they will be allowed to fully realise the potential of their species."
"How would we go about contacting the Alliance then?"
"I believe it would be prudent to make contact with Commander John Shepard, his partner or his son. All three of them would be preferable as they all hold offices of esteem within the Alliance of Citadel space. Shepard himself is the Human representative of the Citadel Alliance, his partner Kaidan Shepard is an General in the Alliance Marine Corps and their son Michael Shepard is a Spectre. A Spectre is an elite agent of the Citadel for any who did not have the chance to read that far ahead. Due to their penchant to get involved with the completely farcical and unknown ONI believes that we would have the most success convincing them, however their predilection, especially that of Shepard senior to consort with aliens may make him hostile towards us, we will need to play our cards very close to our chest until we can successfully contact the Prime Minister of the Alliance. We already have a plan in place in that regard, the next elections for the Alliance parliament are due to happen exactly 6 months after our arrival in their galaxy, using our considerable intelligence apparatus we could seek to influence the outcome of the election towards a more human centric viewpoint. Multiple parties hold a human centric outlook but are weak compared to the two main parties, both of whom support the status quo of integration. Section one believes it to be wise to support the 'Terra-Firma' party in these upcoming elections in the hopes they gain more power, working with Section two we should be able to secure funding and assure the party a far larger share of the vote than would be normal. However, that leads to problems all on their own, I will not go into details, but we will need to establish a legitimate monetary base within their space. Plans have already been drawn up in that regard. Hopefully with Shepard's support alongside a more human centric parliament we will be able to make a peaceful and amicable contact instead of burning their worlds to dust in order to get what we want. We do not want another repeat of the Unggoy."
Haynes brought up a point. "While that is all well and good, I am still worried about these Asari, they are without a doubt the greatest threat to us. They look like blue whores and I am sure, despite most normal citizens revulsion towards their almost uncanny Human appearance there will be many whom will try something. If we make peaceful contact with these species, I am also very sure they would not appreciate being singled out amongst many; considering they deem themselves to be superior to others."
"If we make peaceful contact and come to an amicable agreement none of these species would be allowed access to our space anyway, we would designate a world in their galaxy where they would be allowed to trade openly and freely but they will never be able to cross into ours, that much will be clear to them. The problem only exists insofar our population is concerned, and the President will make it very clear that any who do consort with them will lose their citizenship. However if hostile contact is made we will simply exterminate them, I have no qualms about it, but I believe restricting their entire population to their home world to be a sensible solution, we will win no love from the rest of the species but who are we to care. We did the same with the Covenant and although the Sangheili were allowed to retain multiple colonies and their complete autonomy that is only due to the actions of the Arbiter at the end of the Great War. The Turians seem to be of a similar temperament and disposition to the Sangheili, perhaps allowing them to help in this endeavour would prove wise, John if you could contact the current Arbiter and speak to him about this, discretely if possible that would be very much appreciated. I don't expect his help, due to his general dislike of ONI schemes as his nation has been subject to many but asking his advice could be a significant olive branch. We do, however, need to be careful and make sure that if he agrees all Sangheili communications are monitored and that in person communication be severely restricted lest they reveal our true nature and intentions before we are prepared to. If ONI is not able to quantify and deal with the risk, it won't happen but I'm sure we will be able to handle it adequately. If they do end up betraying us we will just invade Sangheilios again to make our displeasure known."
"If contact does become hostile, are we able to ascertain the location of their primary colony worlds and worlds of industrial significance?"
"Yes Fleet-Admiral, Magdalena please bring up the galaxy map with all colonized locations of significance."
"Of course, Vice-Admiral." The centre of the room illuminated with the high definition rendering of the Andromeda Galaxy.
Harmon gasped. "My god, who colonises like that? That looks like the most indefensible territory I have ever seen, swiss cheese should take a leaf out of their book when it comes to holes.
Osman had to stop herself from wringing his neck, she gritted her teeth. "As I have already informed you General, the Citadel Alliance, due to their inferior FTL technology uses the mass relays to colonize their galaxy, systems that are too far away from said relays are rarely colonised due to the time and effort it takes to do so. Thanks to the relays their systems are defensible to everyone in their galaxy as they create bottlenecks that can be exploited with extreme prejudice. This does not pertain to our forces however and will ultimately be a disadvantage rather than a boon to their forces. Due to the limited coverage of the relays the Citadel has explored less than 2% of their galaxy, and we can use our advantageous FTL tech to remain undetected for as long as we want, alongside the stealth prowlers of course. I believe a shrewd course of action to be that if the secret negotiations with the Alliance fail, we should be prepared to activate a dormant relay in a system we know is regularly patrolled. That will hopefully draw the Citadels ire and if it is hostile we can use that to our advantage to gain concessions from them. I have already instructed the monitor of facility iota to begin broadcasting an electromagnetic pulse signal towards one our listening outposts on the edge of our space near Lemuria. It is my hope that this will draw the attention of civilian researchers to the facility, using the monitor we can inform what I would hope to be scientists a little bit about our society in order to keep them confused while we are contacting the Alliance. If the Alliance do not believe us about being a different, and far superior humanity from our information and appearance alone, the results of the scientific expedition will convince them otherwise, the same can be said for Shepard. I would hope to time contacting Shepard and the Alliance to coincide with a research expedition to iota. We have contingencies should none of these plans come to fruition, one of which is sending the entirety of our naval strike force to the newly rebuilt 'Arcturus Station' the capitol of the Systems Alliance, I believe having over 800 ships the Citadel races classify as dreadnoughts should leave them sufficiently cowed and open to our suggestions. Especially considering the Leviathan class is larger than their Citadel by a factor of 3. Still it is my hope we will not have to use the big stick approach unless absolutely necessary, we still have a vast amount of space to patrol within our own territory. Fleet-Admiral if it does come to armed conflict, what naval support should we expect?"
Kasimov contemplated this for longer than Osman expected. "If it does come to armed conflict the UNSC Navy will provide approximately 9 more fleets, four of which have Leviathan class flagships. The others will still be headed by the old Carthage class fleet carriers, although due to their replacement in over 34 of our fleets we can provide a significant amount of them. It is expected that the Citadel forces will outnumber us considerably, but again their lack of shielding against energy weapons will prove to be a huge disadvantage. We expect that our naval forces will win any outcome that is not higher than 12-1 in terms of ship ratio. However, it would be extremely unwise to underestimate them, most of the information we have is over 50 years old and who knows what sort of advancements they have made in that time, we must be cautious in this endeavour. I do not, however, expect an incursion into our galaxy, the relay will be blockaded by approximately 400 ODP's alongside a star fortress and its defence platforms, construction on defences will begin almost immediately and the UNSC will be colonizing a nearby habitable world separate from the UEG to use as a military staging point."
Haynes spoke up. "When can we expect the Leviathan programme to complete Fleet-Admiral?"
"Presuming all is well and the Mars Ring yards and Stronghold station keep up with the desired output I expect that all remaining 66 leviathans to be complete within the decade. Remember alongside them we are currently replacing all our Turin class frigates as well as our Denali class cruisers with newer models. Completely overhauling a 100,000-ship navy is not a small endeavour and with the Senate restricting our funding more and more it is becoming far more difficult. Therefore, our encounter with the Citadel Alliance will prove to be extremely useful for all of us, should contact be hostile we can expect an extreme boost to the militaries funding which has been sorely lacking in recent decades. This will allow me to completely overhaul the navy in years rather than decades considering the construction of the new Xi'an shipyards above Arcadia and the overhaul of Contender station is already well underway. We should however consider sending more than a forge class construction station to this new galaxy, if we want a significant foothold I can appeal to the President to bring one of the colossus class star forges out of mothball in order to create a vast array of shipyards in this new galaxy independent of our own. It would reduce the strain on our resources while freeing up significantly more when we start to strip mine planets there."
Osman was elated by the idea. "Yes Fleet-Admiral that does seem like a wise course of action, if ONI can help you in anyway please do not hesitate to ask."
"If you provide information suggesting that these new species be a threat, I'm sure she will be more than happy to sign off on my suggestion. You know what she's like, she's so obsessed with security I'm surprised she didn't become a spook."
"Vice-Admiral do you believe that the civilian government is going to be an obstacle to the endeavour in the Andromeda galaxy?" John 117 spoke for the first time unprompted.
"Yes and no General, due to xenophobia practically being a national past time for us we can expect strong support for military operations within the Andromeda galaxy. We can also expect their support for the subjugation of the Systems Alliance, they wrote the constitution we pride ourselves on and they would be remiss to go against it. However, I believe they will be unpredictable should peaceful contact be made, if it is at all possible. It is entirely possible that the senate will call on the president to either cut all contact with the Citadel or burn them in nuclear fire. It is my hope that it is neither. They are an unknown quantity and this many species working together peacefully is extremely significant, the only species we haven't either exterminated or devolved are the Sangheili and we know that trying to be diplomatic with them is about as easy as invading Russia. The only reason we don't have problems with them is because of our overwhelming power, I think it would be interesting to see how they interact with us before they know we could destroy their entire civilization and not break a sweat doing so. If nothing else, it will be an interesting social study."
"Is that all for this briefing Vice-Admiral?"
"Yes Fleet-Admiral, I will of course keep all of you updated on all information regarding the progress of this operation, which has been dubbed 'Veil'. I will only call another briefing when something of significance happens regarding the operation, which should not be until the Prowlers enter Andromeda. Likewise I implore you all the read the data packets I have attached to the briefing list regarding the history of the Systems Alliance, I imagine it will be a very interesting read for you all."
"Thank you Vice-Admiral I would ask all of you leave now excluding John."
A chorus of "Of course Fleet-Admiral" could be heard as each of them rose from their seats and exited the room. Kasimov sat there, contemplating what he had just been told; Osman wasn't lying when she said she had something significant to reveal, he mused.
"What do you think of all this John?"
"I honestly don't know sir. Vice-Admiral Osman has once again proven why she's been head of ONI for over 500 years but there are too many unknowns for an operation on the scale of this one. I think it would be wise for you to speak to the President personally to gauge her reaction to this whole thing. I'm certain she will agree with it as you have but it would be better to have the civilian leadership on side even if they have no jurisdiction in the matter. Public opinion is a fickle thing and could prove to be unhelpful during Operation Veil. Something Osman said also disconcerted me, is that it is entirely possible that the senate will vote to invoke hostiles against these aliens and burn their worlds into nuclear ash."
"Yes, that is also a worry of mine, although the senate has the power to incite war, I decide how it is carried out. I would rather not lead a campaign of extermination against multiple species whom we know barely anything about, especially when Humans are added to the mix, the fact that all these species have been able to work together without the use of religious dogma is nothing short of remarkable. It would be a shame to destroy that. I'm sure the hawks in the senate would love an excuse to use a NOVA on one of their worlds just to make a point, I shan't be permitting that."
"Sir I believe it would be a good idea if you were to be our representative to the Alliance and the Citadel when the time comes. Your temperament and expertise are without rival, it is why Hood chose you as his successor, I also believe that the Alliance will find it very flattering if you were to personally appeal to them rather than a slime bag from the Office of Xeno affairs."
"You make a good point John, ill think it over but I can see the advantages and with a Leviathan sat in their space they wouldn't dare try something. However if I do decide to do that I would like you to accompany me John, your no-nonsense attitude towards anything non-military would do me a great service."
"Yes sir I would be honoured and with that, I will take my leave." He stood and gave a crisp salute. The 3-metre-tall mountain of a man made his way out of the conference room leaving Leonid to contemplate the extremely complicated future that was in store for him