Reclamation of a Scattered Race
Hi and welcome to my new story. As a cross over between Mass Effect and Halo I wish to try something different with a somewhat recurring plot type as well as explore a unique take on the cross over. I hope you enjoy!
(7th July 2569 - UNSC controlled Shield World 006 – Trevelyan – ONI Headquarters)
Standing in his office overlooking the interior of the colossal structure that was the Sharpened Shield, a soldier in a dress white uniform was wrestling with a decision that would affect the lives of every man, woman and child that he swore to protect to his dying breath.
But the decision had to be made. The only other course of action was to ignore the discovery and hope that nothing would come of it. But he knew that that course of action would only make the situation worse, not better with time.
He had seen it happen to his former captain so many years ago.
But he had to be sure of the facts before he made any action. There was the warning from the Forerunners to consider.
Without moving, he called out to the room "Hermes, inform Dr. Glassman to report to my office to discuss research file #422707-AR-E2. Make sure to tell him it is urgent."
"As you wish Admiral Lasky" came the rushed reply of his personal A.I. Hermes. Though unlikely, Lasky hoped that Dr. Glassman would tell him that the research data was at best a translation error. Even if it turned out not to be part of the warning the ramifications would be impossible to predict as they had nowhere near enough information to work with, except that the impossible had been hiding within the mostly unexplored galaxy.
"Sir Dr. Glassman is here to see you. Do you wish for me to send him in?" spoke Hermes in his rushed voice.
"Good, send him on in" Lasky replied in a somewhat deadpan voice. Though Hermes' help was invaluable and Lasky would never have been able to keep the 14th Fleet charged with the defence of Trevelyan organised and prepared, he was sure that the Head of ONI programmed the AI to constantly ask obsolete questions just to get on his nerves. A small pain he would gladly take instead of her full wrath which he had seen her deliver in the past.
It was something that he truly never wanted to experience.
The doors to his office parted and a man wearing a white lab coat entered the room. Despite the years that had passed since their first meeting, Dr. Glassman did not look to have aged at all. Such were the medical advances they had made in recent years.
"Dr. Glassman thanks for coming but I'll cut to the chase. Is the information accurate? Could there be any chance that it is simply a mistranslation?"
Dr. Glassman replied with a look somewhere between understanding and excitement "Admiral the information coming in from the research expedition at the Forerunner archive, while nowhere near complete, is accurate. There is a second Earth with another human civilisation living on it within this galaxy."
"But why? Why would the Forerunners do such a thing?" asked Lasky, hoping to understand the motives behind the Forerunners.
"That is something we can't say at this moment in time. The amount of information to decode and unlock is vast but we are certain that it has something to do with the warning about the Timeless Storm" replied Dr. Glassman.
"Speaking of the warning what more have the research expedition uncovered?"
Dr. Glassman paused at that question, giving Admiral Lasky a clear indication that what was coming was not something he wanted to hear.
"What we have been able to determine is that what the Forerunners referred to as the Timeless Storm deals with two specific quantities. First is that the data shows that the Timeless Storm predates the Forerunners by quite a large but indefinable amount of time. It is an event that the Forerunners say repeats itself continuously but we have been so far unable to determine what that event is. They were able to stop this event without too much difficulty but were unable prevent it from recurring in the future. I am sorry Admiral but there just seems to be a complete lack of appropriate definitions to accurately translate. But we were able to gather that this Timeless Storm was considered an abomination to the Forerunners' belief in the Mantle."
Taking this in Lasky knew it was bad. The archive of the Forerunners actively tried to translate the Forerunner glyphs into the closest appropriate wording, but here is just seemed to fail.
Remembering that Glassman said that there were two specific points he asked "What was the second quantity? Has the research team any definitive answers regarding it?"
Here, Dr. Glassman shifted uncomfortably and answered in a defensive manner "Sorry Admiral but I don't know. The head of the research team has classified that part and won't disclose it yet until she has conclusive evidence. It was something she would only disclose herself at the next meeting later today."
Lasky understood Dr. Glassman's nervousness. The head researcher was also the current head of ONI.
"Fine, that will be all Glassman" as soon as the words left his mouth, Glassman rushed out of the room, probably returning to some other piece of research recovered from the Absolute Record. He had a call to make in order to make his decision.
The decision was on how to go about contacting this other humanity. But first he needed to know what the second piece of puzzle was and to do that; he would need to contact her.
"Hermes, set up a direct line to the UNSC Dawn of Termina, ALPHA priority, triple encryption red over red rover. Get me Director Halsey."
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(Undisclosed location – UNSC controlled Forerunner Archive – Absolute Record)
"This is the Janus key... Take this key to the absolute record... Use what you find there to propel humankind... The key and what it details must not be lost..."
She woke with a start, dreaming of the encounter that changed her life and that of the galaxy forever.
The Librarian. The greatest and wisest being she had ever encountered, gave her, trusted her with the key that could unlock Godhood and knowledge unlimited... at the cost of everything. Her arm, her life or what was left of it but most of all the connection to her few remaining Spartans, so soon after learning that the most precious of them all had once again defied the odds and returned from the infinite darkness of space alive. With nowhere to turn but into the service of a cultist leading a band of zealots, it seemed as if fate was mocking her at every turn.
Lost as she was after meeting the Librarian, she had two goals to achieve, giving her the will to move forward to a better tomorrow.
The first was to reunite the two halves of the Janus Key and unlock its secrets. The words of the Librarian had her intrigued as to what information was contained at the Absolute Record. Why the urgency in finding it? She had long thought it had to do with the Flood and its origin's, that there could be some dark secret behind the flood.
Whatever it was the information could wait as she also had to focus on her second goal, the one that stopped the Covenant Remnant from killing her after fleeing Requiem.
Revenge against the UNSC.
Well not against all of the UNSC, only certain individuals that made her life that much more difficult.
"Director Halsey, Admiral Lasky wishes to commence the debriefing ahead of schedule concerning research files #422707-AR-E2 and #087117-AR-TS" spoke Anju, eighth generation AI tasked with the assistance and safety of the research team at the Absolute Record.
Catherine Halsey turned and regarded the A.I. of the Dawn of Termina. Anju took on the form of a woman wearing a full body white cloak and hood drawn up, covering her entire head in shadow.
"I'm surprised that he waited this long. Very well, inform him that I am on my way. I had finished the necessary research last night."
"Of course Director Halsey"
Director. A title that she was still getting use to after seven years. Then again if it wasn't for Lasky's debriefing of what had happened on Requiem to Fleet Admiral Lord Hood, Osmin might still have been director.
Needless to say Lord Hood was angered to learn that the former director had hidden so much from the UNSC in the post-war era, including the incitement of civil war on Sanghelios. It wasn't long before the other departments below Osmin sacrificed her to HIGHCOM to save themselves. Last she heard Osmin was serving life in military prison. The crimes see was charged with couldn't be made public in case they would re-ignite war with the Elites.
After Osmin's fall, Lord Hood ordered her 'rescue' from the Covenant Remnant and to secure the other half of the Janus Key. A mission he assigned to the only man she would ever believe that would never betray her. John-117.
After her rescue from Jul 'Mdama it was discovered that the Janus Key would only respond to her, ensuring her safety as well as access to the Forerunner archive.
It was refreshing to her that her goals achieved themselves without any real input from her. Well one person escaped, but if the meeting played out the way she expected, Catherine could easily use it to get even with her.
As she entered the communications room she heard the tail end of the monthly reconstruction update. Apparently she had missed the Fleet projections.
"... currently stand at 63 percent recovered and operational. Orbital defences of Earth and the colonies are 100 percent repaired and upgraded as of two weeks ago. Reach is currently 63 percent re-terraformed and projected to be ready for re-colonisation within ten years as long as there are no further setbacks. All other remaining glassed worlds stand roughly between 21 to 56 percent re-terraformed and re-colonisation efforts are projected to begin in earnest at the turn of the century. The number of human controlled worlds under the UNSC stands at 476 with 462 glassed worlds still to be re-terraformed."
"I believe that the figure of 'human' controlled worlds is inaccurate"
The holograms of every member in attendance turned to face her as she continued, "While it is accurate for the number of UNSC controlled worlds, you are all aware of the discovery of a second Earth. And who can say how many worlds they control?"
"With regards to this second Earth, what have you discovered Director Halsey?" asked Lord Hood.
Nodding to the Fleet Admiral and her only direct superior, Halsey replied, "The second Earth and its solar system was originally designed to see the effects of the Timeless Storm on a race that had previously reached space faring status without its influence. However when the Forerunners reseeded the galaxy after the halo event, this second Earth was used as a back up to ensure that humanity would survive. And before you ask, I have confirmed from the archive that our Earth is the original."
"But what is this Timeless Storm? From the reports the Forerunners were able to stop it without any real difficulty so why warn us?" asked Senator Higgins, one of three representatives of the UEG at the meeting.
"While the Forerunners were able to stop the Timeless Storm, they did not eradicate it. Their belief in the Mantle prevented them from doing so and it retreated beyond the galaxy into the void. From this we can come to the conclusion that the Timeless Storm is some form of life but one that the Forerunners detested. As for the warning it is due to the fact that the firing of the Halo array would not reach it while it was hidden and would be free to return to the galaxy. It is out there, but whatever it is, we know almost nothing about it. It is however a threat as it committed sins above the level of the Flood according to the record."
Everyone at the meeting took the information at face value. Without more on what the Timeless Storm was, all they could do was prepare for whenever it came to preverbal doorstep of the UNSC.
However there was more to the picture as Admiral Lasky wished to discover, "Director Halsey, while I understand that the research into the Timeless Storm will take time, Dr. Glassman mentioned that there was a second quantity to it that you discovered recently. What is it?"
Halsey smirked, drawing confusion everyone, "You might find this surprising to hear but we have discovered that the Timeless Storm is centred on the element Nullium".
Shock replaced confusion.
Nullium, it was the ultimate bane and hazard to any and all UNSC colonisation efforts.
When the UNSC first discovered the element in 2317 the scientific world was set alight. An unknown, naturally occurring element was discovered to have an atomic mass of zero and initial testing showed interesting results with exposure to electrical current. However when the team that first discovered it tried to return with refined samples of the ore disaster struck. The element reacted violently to the presence of the vessels slipspace rupture. To this day no one knows how exactly the accident happened but it seemed as if the ore caused parts of the ship compressed in while others seemed to rapidly expand when the ship entered slipspace resulting in the loss of all personnel.
As a result, the newly named Nullium was labelled as an FTL hazard and any system were probes discovered it in large quantities were actively avoided at all costs.
The UNSC later learned from the Elites that the former Covenant had the same problem with Nullium even with their more advance slipspace drives.
So how could such a hazardous element be the centre of the Timeless Storm?
Halsey, knowing what they were thinking continued, "The reason is that according to the Forerunner archive, if enough Nullium is present and a strong enough current is supplied, then it is possible to either increase or remove the mass of any object. It would be theoretically possible to achieve faster than light travel with Nullium in real space. The Timeless Storm focuses on this effect specifically.
However this ability of Nullium is magnified exponentially when exposed to the realm of Slipspace."
Wanting to understand how it all tied together Lord Hood asked, "How is the second Earth involved?"
"The second Earth has one crucial difference in the makeup of its solar system. The Archive states that Nullium is present in large quantities within it while lacking in our Sol system. The humanity of that Earth would more than likely discover the properties of Nullium long before Slipspace and would develop differently, technology wise. As to what level they have reached, it is impossible to determine without observing them."
Admiral Lasky, who was close to making his decision, asked the question that everyone wanted to know the answer to, "Director Halsey, have you been able to determine the location of the second Earth?"
"As of three hours ago, yes" she smirked, knowing exactly what Lasky would be planning. She was already deciding on how best to use this to get her revenge on the only person left who wronged her.
Admiral Lasky made his decision "Fleet Admiral Lord Hood, I volunteer to organise a stealth reconnaissance mission to determine whether contact with this second Humanity can established as well as to determine the threat of the Timeless Storm."
Lord Hood need no time to decide, "Permission granted, have the details for the mission forwarded to me by tomorrow 08:00hrs. This meeting is adjourned."
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And so that is the first chapter. As you can see it has provided background on the Halo side with detail on the Mass Effect side coming next chapter, along with my hopefully unique take on Shepard. If you want a spoiler on it well...just look at the characters selected as the story option ;)
See you next week!