A/N:

ONWARD! ONWARD TO DESTINY!

darkreaver: that's what I get for leaving autocorrect on. . fix'd

Ellden: Post, of course. I'm glad you caught on, a friend (who also in in the know) didn't get it until I started humming the song. next chapter is forthcoming, and the events that take place will attract the attentions of something entirely unexpected.


Chapter One (It's the last part I promise!): Second Contact

Part Three: Leaders, Prophecy, and a Closing Fist


The ship had been drifting for twenty-eight years. It was pitted with craters, frosted with dust and ice, and generally in a sorry state. For all that, however, the name of the ship was still clearly visible to the awed members of the Vigil at Dawn. The simple, blocky text of the UNSC proclaimed the ship's name to the universe. After twenty-eight years, long past when anyone had still held hope of its existence, the after half of the Forward unto Dawn had been found.

"Ma'am..." the voice of a sensor tech said, barely above a whisper in the silence that pervaded the ship, "There's still some power over there. Some of the long-range sensors, most of the short-range, the cryo-bay, and the rations stores are all powered up. If he got into cryo..."

Miranda's voice finished the sentence "He might still be alive. Drop the buoy. I think it's time our friends were introduced to a living legend, assuming he is living."

"You know what they say, Ma'am." this was the first time the grizzled Gunnery Sargent had spoken on the bridge. "About Spartans." the older members of the bridge crew, including Miranda, grinned knowingly, even as a young Ensign asked, confused,

"What do they say about Spartans?"

approximately three-quarters of the bridge glanced at each-other, then the Admiral nodded.

"Spartans Never die! They just go Missing in Action!" this was said by every one of the bridge crew who was older then twenty, with many of them chuckling as they said it.


The new, untouched ship floated serenely alongside the old. Far in the distance, a comet streaked across the sky.


"Ma'am, I think I'm seeing our our friend's FTL in action." the Ensign seemed to have been elected as the voice of the sensor techs, which suited Miranda just fine. "If the readings are right, they're probably going all-out, but they're way slower than anything we've ever used. Even the prototype Shaw-Fujiwara drive could run rings around these guys. They should be arriving..."

Rachel, looking insufferably smug, interrupted him. "Right about now!"

even as she said this, the angular shape of the Turian ship arrived, taking station alongside the vast bulk of the human light cruiser.

The young Ensign shot a dirty look at the AI, who was wearing a massive grin, and continued.

"We're detecting the cryo-bay's been spun down. It looks like he's alive, and moving. He's headed to hanger bay three, or at least his suit is. So he'll be able to see us, and should wait there until we pick him up."

The communications officer looked up. "Ma'am, we're being hailed. Shall I-"

"Main screen, please." Miranda said before he could finish.

"Yes Ma'am."


General Septimus was aghast when he saw the ship. It would have been nearly the size of a cruiser, had it been whole. Instead, it was shorn cleanly in two, as if someone had sliced it apart with a laser. Debris floated about it in a cloud, and it was pocked and frosted with age.

"Sir, Matriarch, they are responding to our hail. Bringing up on main screen now." a communications officer said. The screen brightened, and he was confused. There was a look of... reverence and awe painted on the faces of many of the humans, as they looked at the image of the old, half-destroyed vessel.

The Matriarch would ask his question first, however. "Admiral, what is so special about that ship?"

The admiral drew in a breath.

"At the very end of the war, we had a hero. He was an elite solder, part of a special super-solder project called the Spartan Project. He lead countless missions, and never gave up. In the end, he and a Sangheli named Thel'vadum pursued the last of the Covenant leadership through an ancient slipspace portal device. When they made to return, however, the portal was beginning to close. They almost made it through, but in the end, the portal closed before the ship could fully exit it. Everyone assumed that this hero was dead, but it looks like he survived, along with this half of the ship. We're about to retrieve one of humanity's legends, and quite possibly one of the people who made humanity's survival possible. He's... in a way, he's like an adopted cousin for me. My mother, Doctor Catherine Halsey, was the 'mother' of the Spartans, and I'm one of the few people they consider family. It's been almost twenty-six years since we gave up looking, and here he is, right as we stumble into a conflict." Miranda looked pained. "if you'd like to meet him, have your shuttle follow our Pelican in. then we can-"

Every Asari on Septimus' ship dropped to their knees, clutching their temples.

The Matriarch spoke, through gritted teeth, "Someone... Someone burns in my scenes, like a thousand suns, millions of different kinds of pain, but" her voice was strained with emotion "it is born of a connection, something glorious and beautiful. I- I do not know what it is, but it emanates from that ship. Oh goddess-" she passed out, slumping to the deck.


Pain filled him. Fire raced along his skin. Electricity crackled in his bones. Ice filled his lungs. Everywhere was a different kind of pain, every cell screaming in agony. He could hear Cortana's scream as well, a banshee wail of anguish. His instincts riled. Spartan time kicked in, and he fought through the wall of pain and fire that separated him from the AI. He found her, huddled as the fire and torment washed over them both. He threw himself over her shielding her from the agony that filled them both. She opened her eyes as the pain stopped. He was laying over her, corded muscles clenched as he took her pain as his own. She reached up, wrapping her arms around him-

The pain stopped.

He opened his eyes.

"Cortana..."

She stood before him, radiant gold, glowing with an inner fire. Code that had once cascaded down her form swirled like water, twining about. Then he reached out to her, and saw his own hand. It glowed with the same gold fire she did, and code danced across his fingers. Then he noticed the thin thread that sprouted from her back, which he knew lead to his. She looked startled.

"John? You're... I can feel... what's happened to us?" she rushed to him. As she clung to him, he suddenly noticed where they were. He could taste the radiation, see in spectrums he'd never dreamed existed, feel the ship where he had slept. And her. He could feel her thoughts, the intense loneliness that had driven her mad. And now he was here. She trembled against him. They were... connected somehow. She felt it, knew it, and he felt it as well.

"Is this what you see? All the time?" he asked, not quite aloud.

Her voice quaked. "Ye-yes. It's impossible to explain it to anyone who hasn't experienced it. I- I can feel you thoughts, John. How can I feel your thoughts?" she sounded scared, her question delivered at a whisper.

"I don't know. I can feel you as well. It's... unlike anything I've ever heard of." he wrapped his arms around her protectively as he said this. Then his eyes opened again.

Woah. That was the only thing he could think. He could still feel that other-self, see through the eyes of the ship, feel Cortana quaking against him. But he could also feel his armor around him, the quiet noises of his implants, the debris that gently bounced off of his armor. And something else. A warm presence was with him. He knew it was her when he touched it for the first time. They were together, in a way nither had ever imagined before, but seemed the only way now. What happened to us? He wondered in is head. I don't know. Her voice echoed in his mind. Something... amazing. We're- I think it's something like Hunter bond-mates. We're connected, at a level deeper than conscious thought. I can feel, and I mean really feel, your heartbeat, and the air in your lungs. This shouldn't be possible, but I guess 'impossible' has never really been in your vocabulary, has it. They were communicating. Without speech. He could feel her over the link they now shared, feel the warmth that suffused her. They could see each-others memory, see it as though it was their own. He knew, then, that they would never truly be apart again. They watched as the Pelican and the strange craft that followed behind it approached the docking bay where his... their body sat, waiting. This was going to be an interesting conversation...


An ancient malevolence filled the frame of the strange ship. Its pawns had distracted the organics, and soon it be time. The Cycle was ready. So it, and a bevvy of its minions flew inexorably to the Center. As uncounted times before, the Organics would be swept aside, and the harvest would begin. Nothing could stop it now. It was inevitable.


Miranda stepped off the Pelican dropship with two bodyguards. She took in the scene. There, in battered and worn armor, stood Master chief petty officer John-117, and SMG on his hip and a Battle rifle mounted on his back-

and two golden arms, clad in the same armor, with whorls and drifts of data playing underneath the glowing plates of the holographic armor, wrapped around him protectively from behind. Then a face she recognized peeked out from behind him, her hair had grown long, and streamers of data cascaded in it. But the face that she saw...

"Cortana? Is that you?" worry evident in her tone.

They answered together, perfectly, in an odd dual-voice that Miranda had never heard before.

"Yes... and no. We're not certain what's happened, but about six years ago the AI Cortana pulled out of Rampancy by methods unknown. When 117 secured her chip in his helmet, we... bonded somehow."

Cortana continued, as John took a breath. "We've become linked, I suspect telepathicly, and John, at least, has gained abilities. I'm not sure how I've changed, but John..." she said his name like a question, and he nodded. Then he held up his palm, the one that Miranda knew contained a small hologram projector for integrated AIs, and projected... himself. Golden Mjolnir armor clad the holographic Spartan, and the same eddied of data played across his form. Then he spoke, his holographic form gesturing. "Somehow, our link has allowed me to do most of what an AI can. It is very strange, as I can sense both my physical body and virtual body at the same time. The most important thing we discovered, however," as he said this, he brought his other hand behind his head, and removed something. It was a small, flat card, with a dull star in the center. "is this." Cortana's human-sized form finished.

The Spartan handed the small card to the admiral.

She looked at it for a second, not understanding. Then her mind superimposed a brilliant blue glow over the inert star-shaped metal on one end of the card. Her eyes widened.

"Is this what I think it is?" she asked, stunned.

Cortana answered. "Yes. That's where I began. But this is the most interesting part-" the life-sized hologram of Cortana faded away, and the star in the center of the card blossomed a blazing gold, and a tiny hologram of the AI blossomed to life.

"I can apparently posses the card at will. I'm not sure if John can,he hasn't tried yet, but that's the gist of it. There's more, but it's pretty sensitive, for both of us. We can tell you on the ship." the card went inert again, and the hologram of Cortana once again appeared near the Chief. then everyone, even Cortana herself, jumped, as a stray round floated into her shoulder... and was gently deflected. "What-" her voice was filled with disbelief, as she slowly reached out to grab the small projectile. Her hand closed around it, and her eyes went wide. "I-I-I-" she held out her palm, and the shell sat in it. She moved her hand, and the shell moved with it. She swallowed. "I'm- how-" she stuttered, "B-b-but, that's impossible!" she whispered, as her fingers closed around the shell. She slumped, and John gently pulled her form to him.

"I think we both need some time to figure our what's happened to us. Were- did any of the others make it?" he asked, voice hushed.

She knew what he was asking.

"Twelve. There's twelve left. They're on Earth, in cryo. We'll probably wake them up for the negotiations-"

"Negotiations?" he asked, raising an eyebrow behind his visor,

"Oh. sorry." Miranda seemed embarrassed. "We've just made contact, peaceful contact, at that, with a major starfaring power called the... Citadel council was it?" this was directed at a humanoid figure in concealing robes that billowed in the zero-gravity of the docking bay.

"That is correct." replied a strong-sounding, but definitely female, voice. "you are something I have never seen before. You glow like a sun to my senses. I cannot describe it fully." she seemed perplexed by something. "But this can be investigated later. For now, we should return to our ships, and await the arrival of the Council . It is quite a rarity for them to leave the Citadel, and yet I believe it prudent in light of the history your people have shared with us. I imagine the Councilors will be quite interested in you Humans." she was soft-spoken, but clearly a leader.

The admiral gestured to one of her bodyguards. "Let's get the Chief aboard the Vigil, shall we?"


Elsewhere...

The last of the automatons that guarded the ancient facility was smashed aside by fire from its minions. It watched as the final stage of its plans came to fruition. Its pawn would remain here, awaiting the command that it was ready. Now it was time to end this cycle, and begin another. It sent commands to its minions, and organic shapes of metal and ceramic flew towards their next goal...


Bridge of the Asari Dreadnought Destiny Ascension

en route to Inious, ETA six minutes.


"That's odd." a communications tech muttered to herself, before speaking to the Salarian that sat beside her. "are you seeing this too?" she asked, perplexed.

The Salarian replied, in their typical, clipped speech, "Yes. Very strange. All outsytem exranet traffic timing out. Unknown why. Trace stops at relay transition."

The Asari looked puzzled. "What could cause that? Did we lose a satellite somewhere?"

The Salarian looked concerned. "Negative. All satellites in system report full function. Theories: far-side satellite inoperable. Relay no longer functioning. Relay no longer present at presumed location. Compromise of extranet security protocols by Geth or other party. No hard evidence supporting any one over others." he looked very worried.

"We need to tell the councilors. They'll need to know."

"Agreed."


"Ma'am, we're detecting Slipspace transition- Mother of God!"

Miranda smirked wickedly at the Ensign's reaction. After all, she'd had the same reaction, only for her it was seeing the ship half-built in orbit around Earth.

If the UNSC had diverted that ship, it could only mean one thing.

"It appears the President decided to come himself." Miranda smirked as as everyone gawked at the ship.

Gaping muzzles protruded from its bow. The smooth, luminescent plates of its armor lit the space around it with reflected sunlight. As the rest of the First Fleet dropped out of slipspace, the true scale of the ship became apparent.

A two-and-a half Kilometer Reach-class cruiser popped into existence almost a kilometer from the ship. It was dwarfed by the emblem of the UNSC, painted in loving detail, on the hull of the ship.

The UNSC Light of Sol had arrived.


Codex

The UNSC Light of Sol


The Light of Sol is a stunning example of post-covenant UNSC design. When it was laid down, it was the largest ship the UNSC had ever constructed, at a simply staggering thirty-seven and a half Kilometers from stem to stern. Armed with three spinal-mounted Super-MACs, twenty twin-barreled MAC turrets, over a hundred plasma torpedo launchers, five-hundred crossbow missile pods, a full CWIS network, pulse lasers, and carrying a full army division, the Light of Sol is the UNSC's flagship to this day. Although it almost never leaves orbit around Earth, this massive construction is capable not only of laying waste to entire fleets single-handedly, but also of supporting large-scale fleet operations indefinitely, as well as the repair and construction of any UNSC vessel of Light Cruiser size or smaller. While it is undoubtedly the most powerful single ship ever constructed by the UNSC, classed as a Dreadnought, there are only three of the class in operation today, and only two in existence in the Second-contact Era. The class was built in response to the twenty-seven-kilometer-long Covenant Supercarriers, and was envisioned as a ship superior to those hulking vessels in every way, be it speed, firepower, and support capacity, or mere bulk and staying power.

On a strategic note, however, the Light of Sol's sheer size prevents it from using Mass Relays, and it is limited strictly to FTL travel. Given the massive speed superiority of UNSC FTL drives, however, this is not as crippling a weakness as a Mass Effect-dependent race might assume.


Bridge of the Asari Dreadnought Destiny Ascension

en route to Inious, ETA one minute.


"Milady! We just detected a huge mass reading! It's... whatever it is, it's got more mass than the Citadel itself!" the members of the bridge crew exchanged glances. If that was a ship, than this was no upstart race that could be intimated. A ship with that kind of mass could swat the proud Destiny Ascension like a bug, even if it simply ran them over.

Then the Destiny Ascension and its support fleet dropped from FTL and the Light of Sol was fully revealed, from the huge muzzles of its Super-MACs to the vast caverns of its amidships repair yard, to the massive cones of its Plasma-fusion engines. Fireflies twinkled around it, resolving into smaller ships that nonetheless dwarfed the elegant Asari ship.


UNSC Light of Sol, command deck

thirty seconds after arrival at Inious system.


"Lord Admiral, we have disengaged from slipspace transition."

"All Fleet elements report ready status."

"CAP is launched, on station in three mikes."

"The Fleet has successfully completed Slipspace Transition, Lord Admiral."

"Thank you, Captain." said Lord Admiral Terrance Smith.

The Destiny Ascension dropped from FTL.

"Kinda small, eh, Terrance?" said an apparently thirtysomething man, who was dressed in a simple black suit and tie.

The Lord Admiral managed to keep humor out of his tone as he reexamined the ship. "It's small alright. Barely four Kilometers long, centered around a good-sized MAC of some kind. Might be able to outfight a Halcyon, but they'd barely be able to scratch our shields, much less the hull. If this is a ploy of some kind, they'll need a lot more than that little toy."

"You're too paranoid, old friend."

"Being paranoid is my job, Alex, you should know, you put me here. And besides, just because that's the biggest of their ships we've seen, it doesn't mean the don't have larger ones stashed somewhere."

Alexander Hood, President of the United Earth Governments, looked out into space wistfully. "I just wish-" he said, with hurt present in his voice,

"Alex." the Lord Admiral said with absolute sincerity, "We're about to make peaceful first contact with the first starfaring power since the Covenant. You're the President of the UEG, for crying out loud. Wherever he is, whether he's dead or alive, you father would be proud of you."

Hood looked up, and Terrance swore he saw his predecessor in the glass of the tactical plot.

"Well, let's get this show on the road. One convenience of that dinky little thing is we don't have to mess about with shuttles, we can just have them dock at the Yard. I'm going to head there now, why don't you thaw out our heroes so I have an honer guard, eh?" the President strode off in the direction of the elevators. Terrance turned to his bridge crew. "Well," he said half-jokingly, "You heard the President! Let's get this dog-and-pony show moving!"


Bridge of the Asari Dreadnought Destiny Ascension

Near Inious.


"We-We're-" The communications officer drew in a breath, and calmed herself. "We're receiving a hail from the- whatever you want to call that thing out there, Matriarch, Councilors. Shall I bring it up on the main screen?"

"Yes." the Asari voice was shaken.

A huge and bustling bridge appear in the view, but in the center stood a human in ornate, yet subtle, garb. A white, buttoned coat covered most of his form, and a simple cap sat atop his head. The most striking thing, however, was his left side.

It was festooned with medals. Most were small, simple circles, crosses, stars and triangles of metal on different-colored ribbon, but others were larger and more detailed. One had a strange mushroom shape, from which clouds of lovingly-detailed smoke and flames emanated. Another had a strange, Eight-armed shape above a simple ring. Yet another has a massively detailed version of the round emblem on the side of the UNSC ships, wreathed in flames.

Then the Human spoke, in a rich baritone that was clearly used to command. "I assume your vessel holds representatives of some kind?" he asked politely.

The council stepped forward.

"Yes. We are the Council ." the slender Asari in the center answered.

a twinkle appeared in in the human's eyes.

"Very good. If you'll follow the frigates Red Dawn and Silence," two ships diverted from the cloud clustered about the mammoth bulk of the Sol "They'll escort you to Dock Six, and we can meet in person. Sol actual, out." the screen went blank as two cruiser-sized ships took station. Then lit up again as another human in similar dress (albeit with far less medals) greeted them jovially. "Hello! I'm Captain Ted Verries of the Frigate Silence at Noon, and my counterpart" the screen split apart, showing a woman in much the same dress as the other human officers they'd seen, "Is Captain Neveena Daveed of the frigate Red Dawn. We'll be your escorts until you dock with the Sol. If you could match heading and speed, we'll take you in quick as possible." the captain glanced off-screen at something, then Matriach Lidanya replied.

"Match our course to the human ships, navigation."

the Captains nodded.

As the cross-shaped dreadnought approached the side of the massive human ship, one of the bridge crew muttered "where are we to dock? It's solid all the way-"

this, and many other such questions were silenced when a huge section of the ship began to fold outwards, like the gaping maw of some vast creature. Inside was a maze of lights, and the skeleton of a ship the same size as the Asari Dreadnought, secured in a birth. The frigates broke off, and a man in a simple grey uniform greeted them. "Council vessel, this is portside control. You are clear to dock at birth one-one-eight-niner. Just follow the designator laser, it'll guide you right in. Welcome aboard."

a thin beam of light emanated from within the structure, centered precisely on the Asari Dreadnought.

The cross-shaped ship floated serenely into dock. As it entered position, the man came back on their screens.

"Be advised, you ship's all the wrong shape for our docking clamps, so we're going to secure you in with energy fields." as he said this, large ovoid devices on turrets unhoused themselves from recesses on the dock. Their ends began to glow blue, the purple, then a violet energy field encased the cross-shaped ship completely. "If you'd power down your drives now, we'll guide you the rest of the way into dock."


"Preeesent... Arms!"

Twenty marines and twelve Spartans snapped to attention, rifles raised to the 'sky' as the Council stepped off the walkway and onto the dock.

"Well, here goes nothing." the Lord Admiral said, almost under his breath.

"Welcome aboard the UNSC Light of Sol. I am Lord Admiral Terrance Smith, the senior ranking officer of the United Nations Space Command. If you'll follow me, there's a tram waiting to take us to the Observatory so the President can meet you." he said, formal as the rest of the ceremony.

"That is quite acceptable, Lord Admiral." the blue, almost human-looking woman (Asari, his brain supplied, as their 'codex' was picked apart by the AIs) said with an air of formality.

"Marines...Dismissed!"

The twenty marines placed rifles in the clamps on their backs, and turned as one, matching away smartly. The Spartans likewise holstered their weapons, and fell into a protective box around the diplomats.

They came to the tram, a large, bullet-shaped device.

The Lord Admiral gestured to the large Spartan that lead the group, and he opened the door.

The Asari councilor (whom the Lord Admiral was beginning to suspect did most of the talking) posed a question with an air of distinct curiosity,

"Our guards. Are they machines of some kind? They do not seem the same as your other solders."

One of them looked at the Lord admiral, who nodded.

Then he spoke.

"No, Ma'am. We are highly enhanced humans that were the result of a super-solder project during the Insurrections and the Human-Covenant war. Our official designations are SPARTAN-IIs and SPARTAN-IIIs, however much of this information is present in the official history package that we've prepared for you, Ma'am."

"Much of this information?" this came from the Turian councilor.

The Lord Admiral answered that question as the tram began to slow.

"Most details of the Spartan project are classified, even to me. We've included the everything that isn't in the history packet, which you'll be able to read at your leisure. ah. We've arrived." the tram glided to a gentle halt, and the party disembarked.


Councilor Tevros was not easy to impress. In her long life she has seen many different things that would be quite striking to anyone, but as she had aged these had become further and further apart. Nonetheless, the vast projection before her impressed the Asari councilor. It was a hologram of a massive ring, the inner surface of which was painted with flowing landscape. It spun slowly, like an enormous wheel, and clouds played across its inner surface. There was a human in simple, black clothing leaning against the railing of the single platform, which projected out to the center of the spherical room. He glanced back at them.

"Beautiful, isn't it." he said, nonchalant.

"Indeed." this was all Tevros could muster at the sight.

"Beautiful and deadly. Have you found anything like this, anywhere?" he asked, the slightest hint of worry in his voice.

"No. I've never seen its like before." was Tevros' reply.

At this the man released a tension that she hadn't even noticed was there, before he turned around and addressed them in a charmingly informal manner.

"I'm Alexander Hood, the President of the United Earth Governments, humanity's civilian leadership body. I have full authority to negotiate an alliance between our respective nations, which I imagine won't be a big deal with these Geth knocking on your door. However, We need an alliance as well, because this" he gestured expansively a the hologram, "is quite possibly the greatest threat to sentient life that has ever existed, period." he finished, and took in the looks of confusion.

Finally, Tevros asked "How? What is this threat?"

The President waved a hand and said, "Gaia? If you'd take it from here?"

A voice came from hidden speakers, as the strange ring-world was replaced by a representation of the galaxy.

"Approximately some 1,000,000 years ago, there was a war that has never seen equal in the history of the galaxy. A virulent, parasitic life-form that we know only as the Flood warred with a highly technologically advanced race we call the Forerunners. For hundred of years, the two clashed, as the Forerunners lost more and more ground." as the voice spoke, more and more of the galaxy flashed red. "the Flood sought to incorporate all sentient biological life into itself, and was by and large succeeding. In their final hour, even as the flood broke their defenses, the Forerunners conceived a desperate plan: to starve the Flood by removing its food source, namely, biological life. However, the Forerunners, as a society, considered themselves protectors of life, and thus could not simply kill everything, for it was against their most sacred beliefs to do so." the ring-world appeared over the galaxy, along with an eight-armed structure whose surface was frosted with a planet's skin. "To that end, they collected populations of every form of life they could, and sent them to this structure." the Eight-armed planetlike thing glowed brighter, and a line pointed to a spot somewhere above the galaxy. "They called it the Ark, and it was located far above the Galactic Plane, safe from their final weapon." the ring-world glowed. "This is a Forerunner Fortress-world, or 'Halo.' they are massive constructions whose primary function was the study of the Flood, and were later fitted with the last weapon the Forerunners would employ against the Flood." two lines drew themselves into the galaxy. "that weapon used a form of targeted energy to destroy all complex life within 25,000 light-years of the ring." the councilors looked stricken. "Fortunately, for reasons we have yet to determine, the Forerunners coded all of their technology to require a human to use it fully, so the Array cannot be fired unless a human activates it. Unfortunately, the two Halos that we've encountered thus far also contain living, active samples of the Flood parasite, which can be released accidentally. Standing UNSC policy is to secure the control methods for the rings, download all of the data in memory, then destroy them with extreme prejudice. If the Flood become active or are already active on the Halo, standing orders dictate that all data retrieval and Halo-related activities are immediately to cease, and the ring is to be destroyed at any cost before the Flood can attain a method of superluminal travel, up to and including detonation of the system's star or stars. Further, the AI 'monitors' of the various rings have thus far displayed the symptoms of Rampancy, and are therefore to be treated with extreme caution, and, if hostile, terminated as quickly as possible with the heaviest firepower available. Both known Halos were destroyed during the Human-Covenant War." the voice finished.

The president broke the silence.

"Needless to say, the Flood overwhelmed a pan-galactic empire that had technology that makes us look like ignorant children, and weapons that make the most powerful devices we can build look like popguns. If they got out where we couldn't track them, and manged to start infecting planetary populations, the only chance we'd have is to flee to the Ark in every available ship, and set off the Halos. Or to surrender all individuality to the Flood, which I imagine nobody here is too keen to do. Do we have an alliance?"

"I- the Council most decide." this was addressed at the two other councilors, who had thus far been silent. The Turian spoke first. "I support an alliance. These 'Halos' and the 'Flood' threaten us all. We would be fools not to befriend the power that brought this to our attention."

the Salarian spoke next. "I support this move also. Flood parasite represents grave threat to galaxy."

"It gets worse." this came from a Spartan. "I've been reading your codex. You Salarians fight wars of information, right? Win the battle before it begins, and all that?"

The Salarian councilor replied "That is correct."

"The Flood are a security nightmare." the Spartan said, addressing the councilors. "Whenever it assimilates someone, it doesn't just get that person's body, but everything he knew as well. Force deployments, troop strength, remaining supplies, command codes, everything. It is then able to use the massive computing power of its group mind to find and exploit any weakness, no matter how small or brief. And god help you if it gets ahold of anyone with command authority, since it'll then know everything that CO was privvy to, from mundane trivia like the number of bullets a certain weapon can fire in a minute, to the activation codes for nuclear weapons, ship self-destruct sequences, and abort-mission commands. Don't think it a mindless parasite based on its appearance, the Flood fights Smart. And dirty. A favored tactic is stashing explosive, natural and not, in its units, so anything you take out goes with a bang. Best way to deal with 'em is to blow anywhere they are all to hell, with the biggest gun you can lay a hand on. Failing that, incendiaries are the way to go, they burn like anything else biological if you light 'em on fire. But they are a real Charlie Foxtrot for Opsec in general." the Spartan finished.

"I see. That is, as you put it, a 'security nightmare.' we would be hard-pressed to fight such a foe." the Salarian said.

"Now then, we should hash out the details of the official treaty..."


Meanwhile...

The ONI operative was perplexed. This was a state that an operative rarely found themselves in.

"Lemme get this strait." he asked, "somehow, Cortana pulled out of rampancy, then woke you up. Then when you interfaced together, you" he pointed at the green-armored figure "somehow got access to cyberspace, much like an AI, and you," he gestured at the glowing-gold figure of a woman, helmetless, in the same armor "against all science we know, are somehow able to not only exist as a free entity, but interact with matter as well? If I wasn't here myself, I'd be telling you to pull the other one." he rolled his eyes. "Ordinarily, I'd have this buried in as deep a hole as I could find, but, well, you two are basicly responsible for Humanity's, and indeed the Galaxy's survival, so," he shrugged. "All we can do is-"

both fell to their knees, and said in an almost otherworldly voice,

"Something is Coming."


Elsewhere...

"He/She/They have awakened-" the figure said, in an almost-frantic monotone "One cloaked in knowledge that drove it mad and sane- one an avenging angel once called Demon- now filled with golden light- they will need the help of God's servants and those they cast out- an ancient terror returns-the Old Machines will wipe the galaxy clean of all life- help those you once hunted- all is lost without us and them- heed- heed- heed-"

the seven figures that stood around the pool in which the one that had spoken lay glanced at each-other.

"What was that about?" one asked

"That did not sound like the usual ravings." another stated.

"It's confirmed." another said. "Every single one said the same thing at the same time."

yet another spoke: "This can't be a co-incidence."

the one nearest the reclining figure's head nodded, and spoke.

"I agree. This could only be a message from God. Wait, it's coherent again!"

The figure spoke with a sudden franticness.

"We must lead the wayward children of God to battle- they understand the message- the warning given- -one-one-three-six-two-two-"

"The ship is preparing to jump!" one exclaimed.

"Not just our ship." another said. "Every ship is prepping for jump."

"Three-one-six-one-four-two-"

"All at once!" asked the first that had spoken, incredulous.

"Yes. And all to the same point. At the same time." the other said.

"-one-one-six-two-Jump."

the ship vanished.


"-contacts! My gods, the count is off the charts!"

"Set condition one-" the man didn't even finish his sentence before the lights went out, red emergency lighting flaring.

"Report!" an older man barked.

"The whole fleet just got hammed by an EW attack! Wait, I'm- all the ships out there are spooling to jump- and the whole fleet's going with them! We can't shut it down!"


"-one-six eight-Jump."


A/n

WELP.

This marks the point where it stops being pure HaloME and begins to show some of the other elements of my little universe smoothie. I'm sure many of you are wondering at this point, "what's up with the Chief and Cortana?" Well, for that little tidbit, you're going to be waiting a while.

As for our mysterious newcomers, I've deliberately written this little section in such a way as to avoid the unique language of the universe so as not to spoil the surprise.

However, given that they'll be making their appearance shortly (Read: next chapter), you are free to speculate on the identities of our newcomers. The prophetic bits should give ample clues for those who know it, and, well, *hums a few bars of a certain Jimi Hendrix song*


oh, and if something seems just a little too convenient, reread the first prologue, and:

"Just as planned..." /Tzeench