May the Mantle be Denied

by tom476ty18

In the 84th Age of Doubt, the Covenant in is turmoil. With the failures of finding the sacred ring mounting. The Covenant now finds itself on the verge of fracturing. Until the discovery of a single-star system threaten to destroy everything the Covenant knew. Will the Covenant stay together or will it collapse and meets its end? [AU]

3. Chapter 2 Part 1 Contact

Chapter 2:

Sol System

UNSC Command Station

August 2nd 4525 AD

9:30 AM

In the dark command room of the UNSC Command Station, was a round table that was seated by the Unified Earth Government's most powerful and senior officials known as the UNSC High Command and the UNSC security council. They were gathered here today following the events of the last few days. With the arrival of the alien ship came a new dread and danger for humanity. But as always since the discovery of the first space-faring alien civilization. Mankind would respond and they responded they did. As of today, the staff of the UNSC military along with the civilian branch of the Unified Earth Government have gathered around to discuss their response to the alien's arrival.

"Ladies and Gentlemen". The man seated in the chair designated as the highest-ranking individual, the President of the UEG, in the room spoke. "We have gathered here today to discuss the recent events that have unfolded in our territory. As such we as the Sol Systems' strongest nations must deliver a response for when these aliens return. So let us discuss what our response shall be. But beforehand we need to understand these aliens before we could respond so let's begin with what we know so far."

Nodding as it was her prerogative to speak. Admiral Margaret Orlenda Parangosky stood up to deliver her briefing. "Mr. President, based on the records we have on the aliens we have come to a single conclusion. We believe the alien ship that was confronted by the UNSC Cloak of Dagger possesses a previously undiscovered technology. We at the Office of Naval Intelligence believed that these aliens possess some kind of Faster-Than-Light technology unknown to us."

The room erupted into a series of quiet conversations as they tried to wrap their heads around what the admiral had just admitted. First Contact with an Alien Civilization was nothing new to the UNSC and the UEG. After all, in their centuries-long slow interstellar colonization effort. They have contacted five different races. Three which was part of an ancient, stagnant, and slow-expanding alien empire. Another was a group of refugees who fled from their star system following a catastrophic event. Another was a primitive hunter-gather race. So far, none of these races had the strength nor the technological advantages to threaten mankind. A fact that is now being challenged by the arrival of these new aliens.

"Gentlemen's." Spoke the Admiral coldly. "As much as I would like you to continue your private discussion, we still need to formulate a response. So, let's be quiet and listen!"

At once the room was silent. Admiral Parangosky had an infamous reputation for being cold-hearted and always serious with her work. Many had attributed it as a symptom of her work in ONI. But for some in the room, it was otherwise.

"Thank you, Margaret. You may continue with your report." Said, President Thomas Adler.

"Based on these readings and from the video taken by the Cloak of Dagger we can say for certain with a small percentage of error that we should be expecting the aliens sometime in the coming days, weeks, months, or this year. We can't know for certain how fast their FTL drive would allow them to travel however, as a representative of the Office of Naval Intelligence we must prepare for the worse." She explained.

"I'm sorry the worse?" scoffed one of the UEG officials. "Isn't that a bit harsh? we still don't know if they're friendly."

Admiral Parangosky looked at the official with disdain and contempt before replying. "I would rather not take my chances if these aliens were indeed peaceful." She began. "I would rather begin preparations for the inevitable confrontation and invasion by the aliens."

"On what grounds?!" Yelled the secretary of Alien Affairs. "Surely you must be mistaken."

"I am not mistaken; I'm just listing the facts." She explained.

"Okay, so what are these facts then?" The secretary of Alien Affairs questioned.

"I'm glad you asked Mr. Secretary." She replied. "After contacting the Alien ship, the Cloak of Dagger reported that after the aliens broadcasted their message, they instantly activated their FTL drive and sped away to God knows where. Based on these actions we believed that the alien was a scouting force who believed that they weren't seen. After the Cloak of Dagger disengaged its stealth systems and attempted communications the alien ship sent its message and quickly fled the system. We attribute the fleeing as a sign of a scouting force being spotted. Therefore, it could only be assumed that the alien message sent by the Cloak of Dagger was a message of destruction, invasion, or an ultimatum whatever you want to call it."

The room was silent following the admiral briefing. There was tension in the air as some of the officials now look nervous about what is about to come. While others mainly the politicians in the room were unconvinced of the nature of the threat. President Adler knowing that this silence would not be beneficial to the discussion decided to take the lead and continue the conversation.

"Alright let's say we go with Admiral Parangosky's advise." At once the room suddenly erupted into discussions as his administrative staff and advisors were about to retort. Until he stopped them with a wave of a hand. "I haven't finished yet, if we do continue with the Admiral advice how should we go about and do it? I want to hear the opinions and concerns of the UNSC."

Standing up Major General Nicolas Strauss of the UNSC Colonial Guard began. "Mr. President, at the current moment the Colonial Guard is ready to go on your order. We have three hundred million active-duty personnel currently on Earth. We also have one point two billion more scattered throughout the Sol system in other colonies, stations, or our artificial constructs. We also have another ten billion reservists, although we don't have the equipment to fully armed them all at the moment. Due to the fact we are in a peacetime standing. It shouldn't be long to get them all geared up and ready to go. However, I must warn you that these troops may need refresher training. I estimate it might be several weeks before these reservists can be combat-ready. We also have an arsenal of vehicles at our disposal if the aliens come at us with full force. I'll work with General Dellert to coordinate our combined forces. And when the aliens come, they will be facing the combined might of mankind's war machine from the War of Sol. It's all-old technology but it's the most advanced weapon we currently have."

"Do as you need to do. We need to at least prepare something." Said, President Adler.

"It will be done, Mr. President." Replied General Nicolas Strauss.

Sitting back down this time another General Hogan of the UNSC Marine Corps stood up to deliver his report to the president who is the de facto Commander-in-Chief of the UNSC.

"Mr president." He began. "As of now, the UNSC Marine Corps stands at one hundred million active-duty personnel and roughly two billion reservists. Stationed on every ship, station, and installation across the Sol System. We also like the Colonial Guard, have an arsenal of land vehicles and aircraft ready to sortie at a moment's notice. However, as the Marines have been one of the main branches that have seen continuous active combat since the War of Sol. I am glad to announce that I'm confident that my Marines will do the job."

"Excellent." Said the President. "Begin preparation immediately."

"At once Mr president." Answered the general.

Moving to the next, was the largest branch of the UNSC and the pride of the force, the navy. Fleet Admiral David Terrance stood up to begin his briefing. From the looks of his face and body language, President Adler knew something was wrong. Before he would inquire further the Fleet Admiral began his report.

"Mr. President." He began. "It is unfortunate to inform you that unlike our esteemed colleagues in the Marine Corps and Colonial Guard. The navy is not equipped for the task at this very moment. Since the end of the War of Sol, the navy was forced to undergo a demobilization effort by the government of that period. The rationale was that due to the end of the war. The navy size wasn't needed in peacetime, moreover, it became a drain on the national treasury. As a result, our navy went from five and half a million ships to less than five thousand in a span of seven hundred years."

There was a cacophony of exclamation echoed by officials from around the room of the shock and disbelief at the situation of the navy. President Adler knew that due to the War of Sol the navy had taken a massive hit. But he didn't expect it to be that bad. What the hell happened? He thought to himself. He took a brief glance at the Admiral of the Office of Naval Intelligence to gauge her reaction. She was currently pitching her nose at the news. The president assumed that she herself knew the state that the navy was currently in.

"Fleet Admiral please explain to us where these ships went?" he queried.

"Of course, Mr president." Said, Fleet Admiral Terrance. "Most of those ships were decommissioned and sold as scrap. Others, however, were transferred to the Colonial Administration Authority and their Colonial Military Authority. These ships are currently scattered throughout our interstellar colonies as such attempting to recall them would take years. Of course, that is not counting the ships we, the navy, gave to the Interplanetary Sol Guard the transnational peacekeeping force that is currently operating throughout the Sol system. As many of you know, the two peacekeeping forces now currently act as our main de facto coastguard nowadays. With many of our own children wanting to join them rather than the countless branches of the UNSC. Back to the main point at hand, as a result of these actions; our navy had shrunk as our predecessor had intended to and we are now following the doctrine that we currently operate all based upon our predecessor's assumption that we would be safe for a long period of time."

"Okay that is bad, but it can't be that worse, can it?" asked the President.

"Well, it depends on how you would define it." The admiral said hesitantly.

"Really I'm all ears." The president nodded.

"Okay, the ships we currently have in our fleet mostly consist of patrol boats and corvettes. We do have a small number of frigates and a small inventory of planetary assault craft. Other than that, we have a small arsenal of stealth destroyers and a few dreadnoughts and that's about it. We were dealing with pirates and smuggles and the occasion incursion by the Martian Republic or the alien spacefaring empires in our vicinity, as such because of current threats or let's say lack thereof. The navy didn't see it necessary to expand the fleet to the numbers that were once held during the War of Sol. Our current doctrine right now is based around a fleet of a massive number of small ships while maintaining an arsenal of a few but highly advanced warships. As these ships would be enough to fend off any threats. Then there is the Planetary Defence Network and the Warmind artificial intelligence system which could annihilate any fleet before it can threaten a planet. To conclude it was a perfect storm of complacency, overconfidence in the belief that we were safe and the arrival of the aliens which led to our current situation now." Explained the Admiral.

The president could only look at the admiral in disbelief. Had a long peace really crippled our navy? He thought to himself. Regardless, they needed to fix this issue and they need to be fixed fast. Looking back at the admiral he asked. "Okay admiral, there is any way we can fix or alleviate this issue?"

"Well, there is another option I'll have vice-admiral Danforth Whitcomb explain that for you." Said the Fleet Admiral directing their attention to the vice-admiral.

"Mr president." He spoke for the first time. "Based on our current situation of the navy. My immediate recommendation is to begin building new ships to give our navy the maximum available combat power we can face against the aliens if they show any signs of aggression. We begin to send the word out to the Lunar orbital shipyard and the shipyard on the Lunar Orbital rings."

The president smiled. "Excellent."

"That's not all we also have our massive mega shipyard installation in Lagrange point five. We can task the facility to produce us eleven battlefleets at a moment's notice." He boasted.

"How long until we have those fleets?" Asked the President skeptically.

"Within two weeks Mr. President." He replied with a smile. "This shipyard was our biggest trump card during the War of Sol. At its peak, it could mass produce ships at a fast rate that even the best of the Martian shipyards could offer. It is the reason why our navy could field five and a half million ships. While an old facility, it has been upgraded and improved upon in the centuries since. Just give the word and we can begin producing."

While boastful, the vice-admiral had a ring of truth when regarding this facility. The mega shipyard facility in Lagrange point five otherwise known as Nidavellir is named for the home of the dwarf smiths. This facility contains dockyards that using advanced nanotechnology can fabricate warships at an extremely fast rate. It also contains, a small artificial sun which allows it to smelt and create the materials allowing the UNSC navy to field ships with some of the strongest Armor that science would allow for. Allowing it to create fleets and battlegroups within a span of a fortnight. Moreover, not limited to producing ships this facility also produces the finest weapons of the UNSC military, used throughout all its branches.

Because of the technological wonders that this facility contained and what it was capable of. Many nations across the Solar System, to even other interstellar powers have tried every method to attempt to acquire and replicate the installation. But despite their efforts, they came nowhere near what Nidavellir was capable to do at its fullest potential. The only one who came close was the Martian Republic, via a series of espionage and stealing of key plans and technologies. But other than that, the shipyard remains today as the shining jewel of the UNSC military-industrial complex. And now with the coming of the aliens, this ancient facility will now rumble back to life.

"So, I guess that is the problem solved then." The President assumed.

The vice-admiral's face fell. "That is not quite so Mr president." He answered.

Raising his eyebrows in surprise he queried. "And why is that?"

"While we may have the capacity to produce ships rapidly Mr. President it doesn't solve the pressing issue." Admiral Parangosky replied on behalf of the Vice-admiral.

"And what is that issue?"

"The issue of manpower, Mr. President. You see having the ability to produce an advanced shining new ship is one thing. But it doesn't solve the issue of manpower and crew training." She pointed. "Our "brand new ships" are capable in their own right; however, it still requires a crew to run them. And more often than not as shown historically in the War of Sol and the Systems Wars. A ship's full potential could only be unlocked by a dedicated and competent crew. We don't have that now. Even now our current reservists would be unable to fill in the gaps once our navy inevitably expands. Coupled with that we also need to retrain which takes time. Recruiting personnel from the civilian population would be a nightmare in itself. Moreover, another pressing issue is also experienced. For the last seven hundred years or so our navy has only engaged threats the size of pirates. Which is nothing compared to a full-scale battle seven centuries ago. Our crews don't have the experience to face these threats at the current moment. Even now, with simulations, these are nothing compared to real-life scenarios that the battlefield can generate. And now we are presented ourselves with aliens with the capacity for faster-than-light travel which itself presents us with a new set of problems and the need for new tactics and strategies and contingencies in this case."

"So, I take it that we are screwed right?" The President deadpanned.

"That would be right Mr. President." Admiral Parangosky replied confirming her previous statement.

With a sigh, President Thomas Adler turns to look around the room. Across the room faced bore the signs of terror and grim determination. Not wanting to press the issue any further, he made his decision.

"Admiral." He began. "Based on the situation you have given me. I have come to the decision; you'll make do with what we have and hope for the best. We must at least prepare something."

"I agreed Mr. President." Replied Fleet Admiral Terrance. "I'll see to it done."

Nodding, feeling satisfied, President Adler turn towards his foreign affairs department for their briefing. As the military officials sat down after their briefing to the president. The department of Foreign affairs was present not only to gauge the reaction of other governments in Sol but to formulate a plan if the Aliens were friendly.

Standing up, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mr. James Underwood, stood up and began his report. "Mr. President, as you have known we are facing an unprecedented event in the history of our species since the discovery of alien life outside of our Solar System. Less a spacefaring one with the capability for faster-than-light travel. Now while I understand from our ONI friends about the threat of hostile alien life. But since no incident was made, we can pray that these aliens are friendly."

"Agreed." Nodded the President. "If the aliens are friendly, what should we do?"

"A cultural exchange!" Replied the secretary for foreign affairs James Underwood. "We can have these aliens and their delegation visit Earth and experience our Culture to facilitate a healthy relationship between us."

"I will not recommend that Mr. President." Interrupted the Head of ONI Admiral Parangosky. "Earth is our home, bringing the aliens to Earth would pose a national security risk to us all. I implore you to reconsider this choice."

"Your worries are noted, admiral." Replied the President. "As our representative of ONI has pointed out Mr. Underwood it may pose a security risk."

"Very well then, may I suggest we do it in one of our grandiose megastructures?" He suggests. "For example, our greatest structure, the rings, we can use them as a way to show these aliens our technological might while at the same time show them our culture from Earth and across the system."

"Very well, see to it done." Said the President.

"Yes, Mr. President, moving on there is also the report on other nations and their reaction to the news of the alien's arrival." Continued the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

"Oh, so how are these nations coping with the news then?" Asked President Adler curiously.

"Well, um poorly I suppose." He replied sheepishly. "My department has been bombarded with many messages from the other nations of Sol about our plans on the aliens and moreover if we are willing to transfer some technology to them, namely technologies on the Nidavellir installation. As a sign of goodwill and the strength of a united humanity."

"Ha-ha, what a lot of crap." Laugh Admiral Parangosky. "They are obviously using this opportunity to steal technology."

"I agree also." Replied Fleet Admiral David Terrance. "It's not like they already need the technology of the Nidavellir installation."

Fleet Admiral Terrance was right on this account. During the early phases of the War of Sol, several key plans and technologies were leaked by a mole to the Martian Republic. An information leak to this day the UNSC still hadn't figured out how it was achieved. It resulted in the Martian Republic gaining access to the UNSC's key technologies to develop their own Nidavellir-type facility. The end result was the Factory Satellite class installation their answer to Nidavellir. These stations, ranging from tens of kilometers to hundreds, while lacking the manufacturing capacity of Nidavellir, only managing one-tenth of what Nidavellir can do at its fullest potential. It was small and was able to be mass-produced.

These stations are what allowed the Martian Republic and its allies to Match Nidavellir and the UNSC's superior naval strength. Also, in accordance with their doctrine. The Factory Satellite class was also a mobile station capable of repositioning itself in places across the Solar System. As a result, the UNSC during the War of Sol found it hard to destroy their enemy's production capabilities. This would eventually cause the war to end in a stalemate and forced humanity to enter the peace they now live in today. As such, there was no need for the station class. Moreover, because of the existence of this station the UNSC along with a couple of other reasons, saw no need to give the design of Nidavellir to their former adversaries.

It was a key facility that the UNSC could not afford to lose the advantage of even in times like these. As such, the response of the UNSC was already known.

"Mr. Underwood, Nidavellir is our trump card. Tell this to the nations that Nidavellir belongs to us and us alone. Moreover, do tell them that Nidavellir is off the discussion if they want to continue to negotiate with us." Demanded the President.

"It will be done, Mr. President." Replied Underwood the secretary of Foreign Affairs.

"Alright with that done is there anything else that anyone would like to report." After receiving no answer, the president nodded. "Alright then, with time not on our side. It is only a matter of time before the Aliens come back. I want everything prepared as much as possible. This includes preparing for when these aliens prove themselves hostile. We have a lot of jobs that needed to be done I expect the utmost preparations."

"Yes, Mr. President." The staff in the room answered in unison.

As they slowly made their way out of the conference room to carry out their duties. Leaving President Thomas Adler alone in silence to ponder his own thoughts. Will it be enough? He asked before leaving the room itself for other duties.

Sol System

ONI Blacksite-011

August 4th 4525 AD

10:30 PM

Admiral Margaret Parangosky arrived at ONI Blacksite-011 on the outskirts of the Sol System which contains one of the most important facilities owned by the Office of Naval Intelligences. Here it contains a massive megastructure complex the Science Nexus one of the many similar installation types present in the solar system. It is here where all of ONI Research and Development takes place, producing and creating the latest state-of-the-art technologies that ONI test and uses. As she arrived waiting for her was her little protégé agent Serin Osman, formerly known as SPARTAN-019, a washout of the ONI special augmentation solider program, Spartan II. A program that had its controversies, for example, was the secret abducting of children mainly orphans across the Human interstellar community. The other was the side effects of the abduction which killed a significant percentage of the children and crippled others.

Admiral Parangosky herself was not against this in this regard. Mainly due to her seeing it as a necessary evil to ensure the safety and power of the Unified Earth Government. What she didn't agree with was Dr. Catherine Halsey's idea of abducting children from the main civilian population and replacing them with poorly made flash clones. Knowing that when the Spartan II program was going to be declassified in the future centuries from now the fallout of such revelation would be huge. Combined with a few ethical reasons and potential ramifications if a leak about the program occurred and the resultant legal action taken against ONI. After all, information leaks like these while rare but had occurred before, which other hostile powers can use to weaken ONI and by extension the UEG's ability to guard against threats. Therefore, using Orphans with no family and no future was a better option. After all, who cares about a few missing kids off the streets and in the orphanage?

Admiral Parangosky nodded to the agent who began to direct her into the building of the site. She marveled at the progress made in the site following her accession as the head of ONI. A site and program that she secretly commissioned.

"I see that progress is on schedule." Admiral Parangosky said.

"Yes ma'am." Replied Agent Osman. "We are glad to report that things are going to schedule. The arrival of the Aliens ma'am has accelerated our timeline."

"Very good let it be that way." The Admiral replied.

As the pair walked deeper into the facility and entered the site's main teleportation room to get to their destination. Within seconds the pair arrived on the other side of the site just tens of kilometers away from the site's main port. Admiral Parangosky walked out fuzzy, a sign that she herself is not used to such a method of transportation.

"Admiral are you alright?" Asked agent Osman as she hurried to help to admiral.

"I'm alright." She barked. "Remind me to use the Tram system next time."

"Well, um, the Matter-Transporter is the new technology from what I heard from the staff it gets tolerable after successive usage." Answered the Agent.

"Back in the day, we didn't have such technology." Admiral Parangosky complained. "I guess I'm getting old for this crap."

"But anyways, I heard that you have something that you need to show me, Agent Osman?"

"Yes, admiral right this way."

The pair walked towards a room with a massive window that gave a massive panorama view of the structure she had first commissioned. In the view of the room was the pet project of Admiral Parangosky.

"Look at that." She exclaimed.

"Yes admiral, we can begin construction and manufacturing on your order." Said, agent Osman.

In the view of the pair was a massive mega installation one would be familiar with. A Nidavellir-type station. While Nidavellir was to the public the only mega shipyard of its type. Admiral Parangosky and her past predecessor commissioned a secretive construction of another Nidavellir-type installation. The main reasoning behind this was if Nidavellir were to be destroyed by some catastrophe it was better to have backups just in case. A construction in which only a few within the UNSC are truly aware of its existence.

But now with the arrival of the Aliens, the existence of a spare Nidavellir Installation may need to be required. As of now, the station has just been completed. While not in use yet, it is designated as an ONI facility as such, ONI now has full control over it. Allowing them to construct their own warships and build up their current fleet of prowlers finally independently from the UNSC-controlled shipyard. Fitted with the latest state-of-the-art technology the prowlers are ONI's prize assets. Moreover, with the independent shipyard. ONI has the ability to gain free reign over its actions. Something which had been denied by them following the incompetency of the previous leadership during the War of Sol. Which made ONI a more scrutinized organization since then. Admiral Parangosky had made sure to exploit every loophole she could find to further not only ONI's agenda but also hers as well.

"Magnificent." Exclaimed Admiral Parangosky. "With the completion of this facility ONI would finally be free to carry out our own interest. What is the progress on the latest progress?"

"Based on our current progress we may see the experimental Infinity-class supercarrier built later in our lifetimes." Replied agent Osman. "There is also "that" in the research currently. The Alien arrival may or may not have placed it at the top-most priority."

"Good, we may need those assets sooner than later." Said Admiral Parangosky. "These assets may provide us with the ability to punch above the weight against the threat that this galaxy faces."

Looking at the completed installation as the artificial star roared into life signaling its completion and ready to build. Like the interesting ancient old curse from the old-world nation of China. "May we live in interesting times." As Admiral Parangosky looked at the installation, with grim determination ready to face any threats that dare to come at them.

A/N:

And another chapter bites the dust.

Sorry for the delay, my finals just came up and I need to study.

As you can see in this chapter things are starting to get heated up really quickly. The Aliens have arrived and the UNSC is preparing for their arrival. Whether the meeting will be peaceful or violent only time would tell.

Moreover, I decided to use the liberty of Fanfiction to add new technologies that humanity of this AU has in this chapter. Mainly, teleportation technology. While teleportation does exist in the halo universe. These are mainly small slipspace translocation devices. Unlike those, humanity possesses a teleportation technology that actually derives from star trek. Turning an object into the matter and sending it across long distances. Due to power requirements for such a transfer, the limitation of the teleportation technology is around 40,000 kilometers although the UNSC places a limit of less than 30,000 for safety reasons.

And as the late Admiral Parangosky has shown it takes time to get used to the first usage of the technology. Why does this tech exist well for the massive rings that humanity has built no one is going to use a massive tram network to get around it. Thus, technicians would need another method to service the ring and get to one place after another on time without any inconveniences.

As for the UEG's plan, it mainly consists of peace talks and also preparation for the event of hostile contact between the two powers and war. Someone asked me if mankind does possess a large navy. The answer is yes and no, firstly as this chapter explained. The UNSC is in a period of a long peace. Because of this, there is no need for a large navy. I can't even fathom why one would have a navy that large in peacetime anyways. Also, the threats that the UNSC faces now are mainly pirates, which pose little threat to Earth. The other nations themselves hold peaceful if not cordial relations with the Earth's Government. Thus, if any threat does arrive from them. Planetary defenses, its high-tech stealth fleet, and the Nidavellir Station would be enough to deter any aggression.

Moreover, there is that Peacekeeping force which is an international force that basically acts as all the nations of Sol Coast Guard equivalent. In this story actually, there was a push for the UNSC to create a Coast Guard branch. But the idea never really took off until the end of the War of Sol. Where all nations wanted a coast guard branch but feared a conflict between the nations. They settled for an international one to handle the coast guard duties. Because of this most navies across Sol were relegated to boring planetary defense missions. With a few rare instances of the navy doing coast guard work.

And no civilian ships with weapons are not WARSHIPS! Warships are designed as warships, designed for warfare. Civilian ships are civilian ships, I see no reason why the UNSC should decide on using civilian ships as warships. A civilian ship may have weapons but these are only for self-defense against pirates. The UNSC is not going to degrade itself like that.

Q/A session:

To Naotw

How did Michael get Cole's message from out-system that fast, with noted lack of ftl comm?

ONI has been working on a faster communication system for centuries this was the end result. Using something called Quantum Entanglement. They were able to send messages instantly anywhere in the universe. Admiral Cole was working with ONI at that time so he knew its existence. In fact, only the higher-ups are aware of this technologies existences.

Cole's instructions wouldn't risk the ship. Why not use a laser-directed probe to broadcast?

Well, it was down to the idea that they initially believed that the Covenant wasn't a space-faring species. Therefore because humanity was so used to being the most advanced race, they hadn't considered meeting another advanced species. So when the Covenant arrived, Admiral Cole had assumed that the Covenant was a slower-than-light civilization like them. Combined with the utmost confidence in their own superiority and advanced planetary defense and weapons. He saw little to no risk in taking this action. Of course, that would be a mistaken assumption when the Covenant fled the system via FTL.

Megastructure note is dubious at best. WHY would they need them? Space is BIG, planets, even Venus, are easier to settle. Jovian moons slightly moreso. VERY significant resources would be needed and with single system and stl exploitation, unless human population reaches quadrillions/quintillions and overpopulates its own star system, they'd be at best a vanity project.

Why does humanity or more specifically the UEG need them? Well, it's mainly because of prestige and pride. You see having space colonies is a good thing until you realized that Space Colonies are too far and would require years to get to. Moreover, as a result of this, communication is unreliable, and more often than not the UEG often has to let these colonies be self-governing and self-sufficient. Therefore, they build megastructures so that they may have the pleasure of controlling worlds. the other reason is that original colonies such as Mars and the Jovian Moons, etc, have all been granted independence from the UEG after the System Wars. So it's not like they can just walk back in and ask if they want to be colonies again. The final reason is population, mankind population exploded following the disaster and the subsequent exodus from Earth. As of Now mankind is still growing and is running out of room coupled with an increased lifespan which only made it worse. Mankind needed to build these structures to handle its ever-growing population. You'll be surprised by how fast technology can advance, although 600 years is kinda short, whether or not is even possible is up to the reader. Also, structures like orbital rings have their dangers taken into consideration. You can't build something if you haven't a plan to deal with the potential dangers. In this case, thanks to mankind's advancement in gravity manipulation allowed them to safety build the rings and place a safety system in an event of an accident.

It'll take years for command to know of the incident.

Like I said above quantum comms, and moreover, it won't take years just hours. I mean it occurred in the solar system and laser-type communication can travel quite quickly in interplanetary travel. I'll reference the Expanse in this regard.

"Standard Template Constructs.." 40k won't mesh well here, even DAoT.

Now, this is an interesting one. The reason why I put it in was mainly due to the setting but also how it worked. I'll reference this video watch?v=3hce0dsSV1E&ab_channel=Luetin09. Essentially my reasoning was because of the usage of Slower-than-light travel. These far-flung colonies would need to solve time-sensitive problems quickly without the help of the home system. Moreover, they would also need to be self-sufficient as well. This links back to your other question of "nowhere near as developed.." Yes, they were able to supply the resources back to the main system. But due to the lack of FTL, these were little more than outposts for mankind to extract resources. In fact, many of these outposts were considered "abandoned" by the UEG once the resources have been depleted. And the colonies sent back to Sol. For those with habitable worlds, it mainly serves as a getaway from Sol to those wanting to seek a new life. But even those are limited in terms of development. They have some resources left for themselves but the majority is shipped back to Sol. It's an unequal deal you might say.

"tons of resources...success of the..." the trip alone would take years to decades. And a century plus to set up, build an industry and start shipping(assuming the planet(s) found, if any, won't need terraforming; another century or more otherwise), then years to decades more for shipping to get back to Sol. In that time, the UEG could have more than fully recovered from the war. No one would wait that long. Human perception of time often regards months and years as long. Only if we lived for centuries to millennia would that change.

Human lifespan had tripled meaning that they live longer these days. Humanity in this AU can live up to around five hundred years or more meaning that they will eventually see that investment pay off. Moreover, before that, the nearby star system alpha Centauri would only take at least a decade to transport resources. Once mankind builds up its transit fleet these resources will be coming regularly. So while the wait is long, the success and benefits it can bring outweigh the disadvantages.

"not as bad as..." decades to centuries IS as bad as most people think. FTL in scifi was a very convenient reason to sidestep all the related problems.

Yes but humanity does not have that luxury of FTL travel so STL will have to do for now.

"Low Tier 1" forerunner scale inapplicable. If so, still tier 3 due to ftl negating nearly all fixed points, like their defenses and stl ships. They have the science, but ftl alone negates and lies outside most of it.

Well, it really depends on what the reader thinks. This is my option, so far as to where humanity in this AU stands currently. If that is what you think, I'll accept the technological tier of this humanity itself is quite dubious and is up to the reader to decide.

1). "recolonize...first colony.." they only withdrew their forces, not the civilians or industries present. If they did, Earth would be all but done for given population concerns and present situation.

2.) "red dwarf.." and Earth's orbit and albedo didn't change in any way?

Yes by a pure miracle the entire solar system didn't get messed up in a way from that disaster. Humanity was really lucky here. What was the nature of this disaster will be explained as the story progresses. Although, you are free to guess what it is. And yes because of the disaster, a lot of interplanetary colonies across the system were wiped out completely. That means all the civilians and industries are present. The newly Unified Earth Government without many options had to take drastic actions to save what was left of humanity. Essentially what I can tell you is that they deliberately killed a significant percentage of the Earth's Population at that time while at the same time safeguarding the last farmlands and industry to safely rebuild. It was a hard decision but it obviously saved them and humanity.

Other questions:

"some seeking to secede.." why? Without ftl travel the UEG can't consistently influence any colony and it would know so. (Fixed)

How would harvest take 13-16 years to reach without ftl? It's at least 71.7 lightyears from madrigal. (Fixed)

How would it then take 2 months to get to from Reach, which is more than a lightyear away? (Fixed)

"floating cities..." they didn't do so in their second solar colonization? (they did but now they're trying to turn Venus into an ecumenopolis city)

"Dyson swarm..." what type? Also affects albedo to inhabited planets and sun's heliosphere. (Satellite type, not a sphere, a full sphere are usually associated with artificial stars)

"military build-ups.." politics is more complicated that this. They'd have treatised with UEG long before this happened. (there is a treaty but it was never fully enforced)

"near-unlimited energy.." they couldn't extract energy from the black hole they're using as a refinery? (Planning to fixed this later)

The mistake is on my part, I really need a Beta to help me check for these mistakes thanks for pointing it out. This is all I can answer for now.

Now, I apologize for the Lore dump. I tried to make it understandable to the readers but holes still appear. And because I wanted to keep things simple I glossed over a lot of details of how this came to be. So I'll try to explain the best I can and I'll explain it fully once the story progresses.

But anyways here is the chapter I hope you enjoy.