The skies burned a hellish red-white. The sleek, organic shapes descended, spreading death and woe. They would not be stopped. The were Eternal... or so they thought. In their slumber they had been oblivious to a war that had consumed the galaxy, to an empire that fell before it could activate their cycle. An empire of which they knew nothing. The children of that empire would prove stronger than the Eternals, casting them down from their arrogant perch, breaking a cycle millennia old...
But that was to be only the end of the beginning...
Chapter one: Second Contact
Prologue: New Dawn
"So, it's really over then." the man said.
"Yes." this was a woman, sounding just as tired as the man.
"It just seems... so pointless. All this death and destruction, all of it, for nothing. We were deceived... yet it is still our honor that has been taken from us. I fear my people will never be able to repay the debt we owe yours, in honor and blood. But I swear, upon the souls of my ancestors, that we will never forget what we owe you. Unto the end of days, we will be, if not friends, than allies. Let this be the end of pointless war between us. The ambitions and greed of the few have cost us too much, far too much..."
"Wise words, and the emotion of it speaks to me. No, I have no doubts any longer. Not after the Ark. Not after New Mombasa. Not after what we heard of your world. This war ends here, even if I must write the orders in blood."
"It is good to see such resolve in your people. You are much like us, in many ways... but even my people, for all our prowess, have been deeply impressed. We fought to the death, but you fought beyond death. Your solders, all of them, will forever be honored in our songs. In truth, your people are only the second time we have met with a truly worthy foe, and my people have a saying from ancient times: any foe that is truly worthy, must also be worthy of brotherhood."
"What will you do now?"
"We will go home. Rebuild. Perhaps once we have restored our home, we will take to the stars once more. May peace find you, human."
"I wish you luck and godspeed, Arbiter."
Then the two most powerful military leaders in the known galaxy looked away from their respective viewscreens, and sighed. It was finally over...
In truth, it was only the beginning.
Timeline:
March 1st, 2553
The UNSC (and, by extension, the Covenant separatists) learn that Sanghelos, and the homeworlds of the other separatist races, have been glassed by the Loyalist Covenant. Only those of their people aboard ships survive.
March 6th, 2553
The war officially ends. The Covenant separatists, utterly devastated by the loss of their homeworlds and the casualties of the final days of the war, essentially abandon space entirely as they rebuild their worlds. The UNSC begins to send scout ships out to assess the state of the remaining human colonies, with known-glassed planets such as reach and harvest last on the list.
December 8th, 2554
A UNSC expedition to Onyx makes contact with Dr. Halsey and the remaining SPARTAINS that took refuge in the Shield World. Scout expeditions to other colonies bear little fruit, only three worlds are untouched, with another twelve partially glassed. ONI undergoes major reforms.
November 3rd, 2554
Reach is discovered to have only been partially glassed. A lone SPARTAIN is recovered, however remains in a starvation and dehydration-induced coma. The remains of Noble team are found and given full military funerals.
2555-2570: Reclamation period
The UNSC spends fifteen years recovering its pre-war boarders.
February 3rd, 2575
A ship of unknown design appears over Harvest. Fears of the worst are alleviated when the ship hails the in-orbit frigates, revealing it to be the Arbiter's personal craft.
February 8th, 2575
The Arbiter and the President of the UEG sign the Treaty of Harvest, which states that the new Sangheli nation will provide mutual protection to the UEG-governed colonies, as well as trade and technological development exchange. The new 'Star nation of Sanghelos' is officially recognized as a sovereign nation and ally by the UEG senate. The UNSC at large is shocked when they learn the population of the new nation, barely five million across two worlds and a large fleet.
February 3rd, 2576
The Arbiter invites the remaining veterans of the Human-Covenant war to Sanghelos for a 'day of remembrance.' the veterans, and the UNSC in general, a shocked by the SNS once again, as they reveal a massive wall of black marble, intricately craved with depictions of the fiercest battles of the war, as well as the names of every Human, Sangheli, Ugganoy, and Lekgolo that died in the war. The centerpiece is a huge carving of High Charity as it burned, ringed with an intricate poem describing the betrayal of the Profits and every word of revilement in every language known to them, exclusively towards ever taking arms like they once did. The Arbiter then said a simple statement that would be engraved on SPARTAIN hill on Earth: "Forever will the shame of this stain our hearts. Would that we could change the flow of time, and avert this before it had begun, we would, without hesitation. But we cannot, so we must never forget what we owe. Ever will this remind all who pass here, that we owe your people our very lives. We will not, we cannot, truly see ourselves as equals until the debt we owe you is repaid. Should you call, we will answer."
March 16th, 2576
The Arbiter dies, and is interred per Sangheli custom. The first Sangheli colony ship is launched, directly away from UNSC territory. The population of the UEG agrees to expand away from them, as they face even greater danger of extinction than humans.
March 25th, 2577
SPARTAN-B312, callsign Noble-six, is revived by Dr. Halsey prior to her death two days later. The only survivor of Reach, and one of the twelve remaining SPARTANs, he is pleasantly surprised to learn that the augmentations make him effectively immortal, and that the war is over. Like the other SPARTANS, he requests to be put into long-term cryo-suspension until needed. The UEG honors that and the 'SPARTAN vault' under SPARTAN hill has a cryopod added.
July 5th, 2580
Present day...
a/n:
yes, I know I'm laying it on a bit thick with the prologueing here, but now you've got a nice, shiny timeline to work with! (chapter one isn't back yet, but I have it on good faith that it'll be done before Halloween, So I whipped this together so ya'all have a taste of what's to come. Noble six, in a coma for years! But he maid it off Reach alive, and that is no small feat... and despite what cannon may say, I'm making the Sangheli rather long-lived. So without getting too spoiler-y, more than one person that everyone thought was dead will make an appearance...
and some that nobody expects at all.)
Further, in case the first bit of prologue-ness didn't tip you off, there's more going on here that a simple crossover, but its not going to have much impact until much, much later in the story... think book-two-or-three later.
For those folks who will inevitably rag on nitpicky details, I will state: THIS IS AU! Things will not jive perfectly to canon! Deal with it!
For any lawyer-types that lurk around these parts, this is a work of fan-fiction. I own nothing except the original concepts by myself, which thus far haven't really shown up. I certainly don't own Halo of mass effect. So don't sue (not that I've got much of value anyway, being a poor collage student and all)
