Hi. Uhh, I'm F35B,
This is not my first attempt at a Mass Effect x Halo fic, but I don't think one would consider those, 'attempts' rather more of brainless shitstorms of ideas. (I was a Watty once lmao)
So I return to this age-old idea that I have and hopefully make something for you all to enjoy.
Terra Invicta my friends!
Warning: Original Content Inbound, this is for those who are really, really, sticklers to the lore. Codex is releasing later, way later. I'll try my best to balance this, both sides will get their treats don't worry (I'm a fan of all sci fi equally).
Also, the Halo Year is 2585 and the Mass Effect Year would be equivalent to the canon 2183 in ME canon however it is considered to be 3085 in the Council Year in this fic, the timeline uses the Halo Year. I hope that isn't confusing, PM me if it is i'll most likely change it, math is never a strong subject for me.
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The Old Ones…
108,238 BCE: The Forerunners-Precursor War comes to an end, with the Forerunners pushing the Precursors out of the Milky Way after feeling insulted that they did not deserve the title of the Mantle of Responsibility, rather ancient Humanity, as per the Precursors. The Primordial, the last Precursor, as a result, makes 2 beings once again, the Flood and the Reapers, the Flood to take over organic material and the Reapers to take over the AI and computer systems made by said Organic Material.
106,445 BCE: The Forerunner-Human War begins as the Flood and Reapers invade most of Human Space, causing them to retreat away into Forerunner Controlled space and try to quell the Flood as well as trying to escape the massive numbers of the Reapers, holding up pretty well, much to the Primordials contentment. The Forerunners, who already have grudges against Humanity, counter-attack.
105,927 BCE: The Forerunner-Human War ends in victory for the Forerunners, now finally being able to focus on the Flood and the Reapers. Though they will quickly find out that while having superior technology to the Reapers, they are massively outnumbered, with the Reapers and Flood reproducing from the losses of the Forerunners, eventually building up a massive snowball catalyst event. The beginning of the Catalyst Wars.
97,415 BCE: After more than 7,000 years of fighting later, the Forerunners, with nowhere else to run or hide, finish the construction of the Halo Rings, their Capital, and worlds left in ruin they pull back all their remaining resources and forces to the Greater and Lesser Ark's, the Flood and Reapers, with the newly corrupted Mendicant Bias find their way to the Arks and begin to battle it out, after 3 Years of fighting the Forerunners lose, the Greater Ark in shambles as the Lesser Ark retreats away from the Galaxy, the Forerunners begin their contingency plan, to fire the Halo Rings and re-seed the Galaxy with life, fulfilling the Mantle of Responsibility.
The Reapers and Flood eventually starve and retreat away from the Milky Way, their mental connection destroyed by the Halo's as the last bits of them in the Milky Way fight each other, killing one another off as they both retreat in opposite directions, hiding outside the Galaxy, waiting for another Civilization to rise, the Primordial in his death throes makes himself and his consciousness into an elemental material, Element Zero. Using this he creates the Mass Relays as he constructs the Citadel as a place for Civilization to either start anew or be destroyed by their greed. Element Zero is another test for Space-faring Civilization, a test for greed and power, to see who is worthy of the Mantle. As a result, Eezo, The Reapers, and The Flood are named, the 3 Sins in the old texts created by the Primordial just before his transformation, scattering himself all over the Milky Way though curiously not near any of the races near the Halo's, leaving only trace amounts.
68,018 BCE: The Beginning of the Prothean Empire, the Protheans finally manage to achieve spaceflight, they went on in their over 20,000 years of ruling the Galaxy to achieve great heights, discovering Element Zero and basing their technology around its unlimited raw power as they discover the Citadel, founding their main ruling body on the space station, the Protheans begin the Metacon Wars, fighting to unite many organic lifeforms as possible, though they notably miss the Humans, obviously there was no Mass Relay anywhere near Earth. Their reasoning? A hostile machine race, cementing a cultural apparatus against AI's, unbeknownst to them this 'Machine Race' were just scouts of the Reapers.
47,415 BCE: The Protheans fall, their empire in shambles as their Element Zero-based technology is taken offline by the Reapers, finally striking once again, the Protheans failing the tests.
Though they had found a few Forerunner ruins they did not have the time nor the interest to research them, and by then it was too late.
The Galaxy begin to heal as the Reapers and Flood fight amongst themselves, retreating to different corners of the Galaxy.
The races of the Milky Way are scattered, all in their corners of the galaxy, waiting to be discovered by one another.
A New Chapter…
1,203 BCE: The Asari and San'Shyuum become Space Faring Civilizations, and the Salarians follow suit a bit later, all completely unaware of the other's existence due to the distances between them. The Asari and the Salarians begin to invest more into Element Zero as the San'Shyuum confine themselves to only a few systems using the Mass Relays mixed with Forerunner Tech, only finding trace amounts of Eezo to use.
1,029 BCE: The War of Wills comes to an end as the Reformist San'shyuum escapes on the Forerunner Keyship embedded into their homeworld of Janjur Qom. Using the ship's Slipspace Drive to escape out of reach from the Mass Relays.
War of Wills (1,105 BCE-1,029 BCE)
Stoic Casualties- 50 Million
Reformist Casualties- 78 Million
1,001 BCE: The Sangheili and Kig Yar become Space Faring civilizations, all relying on Element Zero-induced Slipspace Travel though this is quickly realized to be a bad option considering the scarcity of Eezo in this part of the Galaxy.
936 BCE: The San'Shyuum came into contact with the Sangheili. Thus begins the Sangheili-San'shyuum War After a bad first contact between disputes of both Religion and Forerunner Artifacts, the war quickly devolves into a stalemate.
901 BCE: The Krogan enter the nuclear age, not quite yet space-faring, the Tortuga at this time also enter their Industrial Age, though it is comparatively very slow to other races. The Trandoshans also become a space-faring race, though having yet to discover FTL.
852 BCE: The Covenant is founded, and the Sangheili and San'Shyuum finally come to an agreement as the Writ of Union is established. The Twi'leks also enter the Iron Age at this time.
Sangheili-San'Shyuum War (936 BCE-852 BCE)
Sangheili Casualties- 28 Million
San'Shyuum Casualties- 1.2 Million
753 BCE: The Covenant make First Contact with the Lek'golo and have them join their empire in exchange for materials.
673 BCE: The Turians as well as the Yaujta become Space Faring Civilizations, colonizing their home systems. The Turians begin to expand a little having discovered the Mass Relays though do not go far.
652 BCE: The Turians begin the Unification Wars, having split into so many rival factions that Palavan has lost control, eventually they form the Turian Hierarchy.
500 BCE: The Asari manage to discover the Citadel after taking a Mass Relay directly towards them, taking it in as they set up camp exploring the surrounding Mass Relays, the Salarians come in next after a period of 2 years as a tense standoff occurs though is quickly diffused, the Citadel Council is founded.
414 BCE: First Contact with the Volus is made by the Citadel Council who are immediately cemented as bankers within the Citadel, helping organize the Galactic Economy, this would ultimately lead to the Galactic Banking Act in 230 BCE.
412-321 BCE: The Yuatja are found by the Asari as they are taken into the Citadel Council, being offered an embassy in the Citadel Council around 100 years later, the main Government of the Yautja accepted though many rouge clans denounced the Citadel Council, though they are few and far between reluctantly accepted. The Mon Calamari are also found by the Council, not being offered a seat after the Mon Calamari had attacked a Council Exploration Fleet, thankfully the situation was diffused as the Mon Calamari became a client species of the Asari and gifted an embassy soon after the Rachni Wars.
250 BCE: The Volus are given an Embassy, following the Yuajta as the second species to be given an embassy, the Mon Calamari follow around 100 years later.
204-114 BCE: The Council discovered and introduced 3 new species to the Galactic Stage. The Batarians, an anthropoid race with 4 eyes with a tendency to take in slaves, their excuse is that it is part of their 'culture'. The Quarians, a race that has a giant curiosity about technology and its advancement of it, is something that the Citadel Council is interested in. Then finally the Elcor who have a penchant for mining off the world. All getting embassies within 100 years.
1 CE: The Salarians enter through a Mass Relay and find the Rachini, it quickly spirals out of control when the fleet is destroyed and boarded by the Rachini, and negotiations fail as the Council is quickly dragged into another war. The Rachini with their reverse-engineered tech begins to invade many planets in Citadel Space.
287 CE: The Krogan are discovered by the Salarians who determine that this species is the key to winning the Rachni Wars. Having a unique biology that allows them to enter Rachini Colonies deep underground.
301 CE: After 14 more years Krogan finally eradicated the last Rachini from the universe, or so it seems. The Council nevertheless are content with the end of the conflict and rewards the Krogan with a New Homeworld as well as a council seat, as well as numerous mining and gathering rights to certain sectors. The SPECTRES are also formed as a contingency plan in the case of Krogan rebellion.
Rachni War (1 CE-301 CE)
Rachni Casualties- 5.2 Billion (extinct)
Citadel Council Casualties- 4.6 Billion
Krogan Clan Casualties- 230 Million
389 CE: The Kaleesh are discovered by the Covenant and are brought into the fold of the empire. THey find themselves useful as small strike teams that personally serve the Prophets after their indoctrination by said Prophets, putting a stain between Kaleesh and Sangheili.
704 CE: The beginning of the Krogan Rebellions after their breeding cycles go out of control. They begin to annex Council territory as the Council attempts to push them back, war ensues.
912 CE: The Turians are discovered by the Citadel Council, the Council requests for military support from the Turians in exchange for exclusive council rights. The Turians begin to provide aid in the form of Military as they push the Krogan back.
935 CE: The Salarians manage to invent the Genophage, a genetic virus that will cripple the Krogans main strength, their numbers. Soon the Turians overwhelm the Krogan with raw firepower as the Krogan are kicked off of the council, the Turians take over and take the place of the Krogan as the main military force of the Council and get rewarded a council seat as well as exclusive trading rights with the Volus, helping improve their shitty economy ten-fold.
1083 CE: The Citadel Council makes first Contact with the Kaminoans, seeing them trapped on their homeworld of Kamino they are taken in by the Salarians as a client race due to their advanced scientific discoveries which interests the Salarian Union.
1342 CE: The Kig Yar are discovered by the Covenant and they are roped into the vast interstellar empire after a short war in which the Kig Yar Clans quickly surrender following the glassing of half a continent on Eayn.
1804 CE: The Twi'leks make contact with the Citadel Council after being discovered near an Asari Republic Planet, their system not too far away, they are offered client status to the Asari due to their interests in economics.
1895 CE: The Geth Wars begin as the Quarians who have invented the Geth as a way to serve the Quarian people are pushed out of their own territory and off their own homeworld by the now sentient Geth after the Quarians attempt a pre-emptive strike against them out of fear. The Geth in their rampage also broke into a few Salarian bio-labs and reverse-engineered the Genophage for their own purposes, making it to weaken the biology in the Quarians, making it so that they would alway have to wear biohazard protective gear, limiting their military response.
Though the Council was livid, they let cool heads prevail as they help the Quarians take back 13 systems out of their original 63, however, Rannoch is still in Geth hands. The Quarian image is smeared as well as Turian and Quarian relations falter as many Turians died to take back much of the Quarian systems, the Geth are placed in a containment zone guarded by hundreds of fleets.
Morning War (1895 CE-1945 CE)
Quarian Casualties- 13 Billion
Geth Caulties- 5.6 Billion (latest estimate circa Council Year 3012)
Citadel Coalition Forces- 4.2 Billion
The Faraxien Treaty was signed into effect by the Council, and used as a way to cool relations between Quarians and Turians, though thought idiotic at first, it was later praised as a way to avoid war, at least according to Council Sources.
1901 CE: The Togruta are discovered by the Citadel Council, they are given as a client race to the Salarians after they are found to be very curious on the nature of science.
1926 CE: Robert Goddard launches the first liquid fuel rockets, though not breaking the atmosphere, this will be the de facto beginnings of an interstellar empire from the ashes.
Terra Invicta…
1945 CE: WW2 comes to a bloody end as the Nukes were dropped on both Hamburg and Hiroshima, with Germany and Japan holding out longer than predicted, Germany in particular being a thorn to the allies, wiping the 2 cities off the map, and the Axis surrender to the Allies. The United Nations is formed from the ashes of the failed League of Nations. Founding of NATO. Start of the Cold War.
2025 CE: The United Nations takes a step towards Global Peace as they form the United Nations Space Agency, combining the space agencies of the United States of North America, the European Union, the Republic of China, the Confederation of East Africa, as well as the smaller powers of India, Israel, Federation of Oceania, Japan, Republic of Korea, Persian Republic, Federal Republic of Brazil, and the Central Asian Union.
2027 CE: The UNSA manages to establish multiple Colonies on Luna, though non-permanent, plans to have Humans permanently land on the Moon are not far away.
2031 CE: Racked with internal crises, the UN is now at the forefront of leading the world through the Economic Crises and eventual collapse, Global Warming and the Destruction of the Earth's Biosphere, and Energy Depletion that define the 2030's as one of Humanity's lowest marks in centuries.
2042 CE: The Space War kicks off, starting out as a dispute between the EU member states of Russia and the Republic of China over territory rights on the Moon as it turns into a free for all brawl between nations as the war encompasses all but Earth on the ground, taking place in Low Earth Orbit, Luna's Orbit, and on the surface of Luna itself. The first Space to Space Combat occurs, though it is between tiny Space Stations and mostly boarding actions.
2046 CE: Unknown to the warring powers many begin to despise the war, some go to extreme lengths as a Terrorist Group, the Chaos Insurgency, manages to get a hold of 13 Nuclear Weapons from the Russian and Israeli Blackmarket, detonating them in the atmosphere and knocking out nearly all satellite coverage, causing a Kessler Syndrome event.
2047 CE: With Satellite coverage gone the Space War ends abruptly as the warring nations turn on the Insurgents back home, stomping them with their remaining military power. The move forward begins as the world rushes to both launch satellites and clean debris from their mess.
2053 CE: The Charter for the United Earth Government is signed by the remaining Earth Nations as most Earth Nations except San Marino and The Vatican are united under the UEG banner though only in name as the UN is still in existence and holds the most authority.
2054 CE: With the world somewhat united, the UNSA begins to Colonize Mars, sending the first manned missions to the Red Planet. To avoid a repeat of the Space War, the UNSA directly governs the colonies, as opposed to the member states that made up the UNSA.
2071 CE: Terraformation of Mars begins as plans to put a tether station on the Moon and permanently colonize it which is now officially named Luna begin to be drawn up.
2084 CE: With the colonization of the first Jovian Moons and Ceres set in place, the UNSA is renamed and reorganized into the United Nations Colonial Administration Agency, or the UNCAA.
2102 CE: Dissent on Ceres rises after numerous scandals erupt about the corrupt structure of the current Colonial government, nicknamed the Ceres Republic, overseen by the UNCAA. It ends up as the September Coup as numerous Frieden Neo-Fascist cells unite and overthrow the CR. They proclaim the Belter Directorate and establish the Free Navy and begin an extermination campaign on their bitter rivals the communist Kosolovics.
2103 CE: As the Belter Directorate gains ground, the UEG takes over as an actual government and overthrows and dissolves the UN, taking use of the emergency powers granted to it, the UEG absorbs the remains of the Earth nations, and creates the United Nations Armed Response Coalition out of the World's Military and gives them a lion's share of the funding.
2114 CE: After many failed attacks the UNARC forces manage to finally get a hold of Ceres from the Frieden, doing a massive orbital bombardment, the UEG however is frustrated at the lack of cohesiveness in the UNARC and begins to draft the Kyoto Memorium. The Frieden pull back to the Jovian moons.
2115 CE: the UNARC is reformed into the United Earth Star Command or UESC under the Kyoto Memoriam as well as transferring the final bits of the UN into the UEG, ending the nation states of Earth once and for all. Its attention turned to the remaining Frieden on Castillo and the Kosolovics.
2130 CE: 2 brilliant scientists, Tobias Shaw, and Wallace Fukijawa discover the Slip-Space Drive and invent the Shaw-Fukijawa Translight Engine. This device is tested on the UESS Sulaco as it makes a jump into the Kuiper Belt, showing great military potential. However it is sidelined until the end of the war due to cost concerns as well as potential capture by Frieden and Kosolovic forces.
2134 CE: The first Magnetic Accelerator Cannons are devised. Nicknamed Project Ragnarok. Though nothing more than lightly armored space stations, these Cannons have captured the interests of Military leaders as a way to end the war faster, even if their cost puts a nice hole in the wallet.
2136 CE: The Red Planet Offensive begins as the UESC begins to pound the Kosolovic Positions with the Orbital MAC's. An hour later the Kosolovics surrendered, 1 extremist group down, and 1 to go.
2139 CE: The Jovian Moons campaign begins as years of planning begin to be set in motion. Here Centuries of Space Warfare Doctrine is developed and established. ONI begins Operation Jorgmandur to disrupt Frieden supply lines as well as morale.
2140 CE: A superior Frieden Naval Force fleet numbering 120 is defeated by 10 Ships of the UESC under the command of Vice Admiral Isueki Yakata, named the Battle of the 4 Moons, 113 vessels of the Frieden Naval Force are destroyed in exchange for the loss of 5 ships under Yakata in where he puts into use his doctrine of the 4D battlefield and 'Gravitational Drive By' to good use. Yakata instantly becomes a naval legend as the battle single-handedly saves a vital link to the UESC operations and the UESC's MAC Platform Fleet in the Jovian Sub-system and destroys most Frieden Naval Power.
2141 CE: The Interplanetary War draws to a close with the Callisto Treaty as the UESC declares victory over the extremist forces.
Interplanetary War (2103-2141)
UNARC/UESC Casualties- 771 Million
Kosolovic Casualties- 862 Million
Frieden/Belter Casualties- 612 Million
2142 CE: The Unggoy are discovered by the Covenant and forced into service.
2147 CE: The launching of the Voyager 3 to the recently discovered Epsilon Eridani System about 10.5 light years away and Voyager 4 to the closer Alpha Centauri System about 4 light years away on a one way trip, due to the probes having only a finite supply of power for a singular jump, the images sent back would have to be sent the old fashioned way.
The images sent back after 7 antagonizing months shook humanity,
7 Earth-like planets.
2150 CE: Operation Columbus is sent into motion as colonists are sent along with military escorts to Centauri and Eridani.
2156 CE: Both Star systems are fully colonized as the UEG establishes a foothold. The planets are named Reach, Tribute, Nova Terra, Artic, Plains, Ares, and Panera.
2190 CE: Human Population reaches 100 Billion.
2249 CE: Mars has completed terraformation 40 years ahead of schedule, making its atmosphere breathable but any inhabitants still need to wear some form of Radiation Protective Suit as the first green begins to dot the surface of the planet, water beginning to flood the once empty basins and reservoirs, it is then mined for its extensive iron and surprisingly numerous tungsten ore deposits.
2300 CE: Human population sits at 280 Billion as they expanded to over 500 Star systems and havea little over 1000 colonies, 875 of them are planets.
2304 CE: Start of the First Terran Civil War. Many elements in the UESC manage to overthrow the UEG with help from ONI and disgruntled Colony Worlds, unhappy with the UNCAA. A coalition of loyal military assets to the fallen UEG is named the United Terran Coalition. The UEG is renamed into the United Terran Directorate and the UESC is split into two factions, the United Terran Directorate Military loyal to the UTD, and the United Armed Forces of Terra, loyal to the Coalition.
2305 CE: UTC and UTDM forces battle it out over hundreds of Star Systems, wrecking each and everyone of them. However the UTDM begins to slowly win the war as the Coalition is backed into a corner. However they are saved at the Battle of Jado II as Coalition forces cripple most UTDM assets when they try to invade the Coalition stronghold.
2307 CE: After a 2 year stalemate the Coalition begins a massive Counter-Offensive operation as many UESC worlds crumble and fall as the Coalition liberates them. Soon the only territory held by the Directorate is Earth and the Sol System.
An interim government is founded on Reach by the Coalition.
2308 CE: The Sol Offensive begins as the Coalition forces manage to break through and liberate all territory up to Mars as the UTD begins to crumble as massive riots begin on the last UTD World, Earth.
2309 CE: The Liberation of Earth commences, Coalition forces manage to have a breakthrough as they land on the Human homeworld, with a massive part of the UTD surrendering, the First Terran Civil War ends when they sign the Treaty of Sol.
2310 CE: The Interim government under the Coalition is reformed into the United Systems of the Terran Government, focusing on a more centralized government but still allowing their territories a degree of autonomy. The United Armed Forces of Terra is reformed into the United Terran Star Command as well as most Coalition Military assets.
ONI is hunted down and disbanded with many of its leaders jailed, it is replaced with the Office of Strategic Naval Intelligence. (A very creative name I know) The United Nations Colonial Administration Agency is also reformed into the Office of Colonial Affairs.
First Terran Civil War (2304-2310)
United Terran Coalition/UAFT Casualties- 8.4 Billion
United Terran Directorate/UTDM Casualties- 9.3 Billion
2399 CE: With the end of the 24th century, humanity has seen what many called a 'golden age' as the population boomed after the Civil War as more jobs were created and anti-corruption crackdowns by OSNI became more prominent. The USTG was in a good place, they had a stable and growing economy and had very good relations with their "systems". The First AI systems also began to appear with the help of the Neural Mapping of the deceased. Like heart donors, people can become brain donors for AI manufacturing. Though helpful it is not without downsides such as rampancy.
2451 CE: The first half of the 25th century was of expansion for the USTG, having expanded to over 850 Star Systems and 1489 colonies, 1087 of them planets.
The human population levels out to about 320 Billion spread along the Inner Systems, the Outer Systems, and the Frontier Systems. Though this area is considered to be blank to the rest of the Galaxy, giving Humanity a lot of space to expand without being discovered… yet
2478 CE: Many Rebel Cells in the Frontier and edges of the Outer Systems begin to ramp up their attacks, their reason? They proclaimed the USTG to be corrupt and they would initiate wars of independence against what they saw as a tyrannical authoritarian government.
2479 CE: The Insurrection begins when the Rebel-controlled UTNS Gleipnir opens fire on the UTNS Excalibur after failed negotiations.
The Frigate Excalibur is lost with all hands and the Destroyer Gleipnir is heavily damaged and is subsequently recaptured by soldiers of the Joint Systems Special Warfare Command Team 6 and the 101st Orbital Drop Shock Troopers.
2483 CE: The Insurrection is just starting to ramp up as they capture the shipyards of Komodo, a planet rich in Tungsten Ore.
The United Systems Research Division is formed from the broken-off bits of OSNI Section III as a way to avoid political heat that plagued the 25th Century and begins restarting Project Orion from the 2100s.
2489 CE: The Insurrectionists are starting to go onto the offensive, taking 3 systems though the UTSC manages to quarantine their movement, a bloody guerilla war will ensue.
2492 CE: The Covenant discover the Jiralhanae, incorporating them into the Covenant, a heated rivalry is born between the Sangheili and Jiralhanae as a result.
2495 CE: Project Orion is deemed a success despite half of its subjects becoming insane or deceased from the augmentations, these soldiers are named Spartans, after the legendary warriors from Greece.
2500 CE: The USTG controls over 891 Star Systems and 1523 Colonies 1132 of them planets as the population reaches 526 Billion.
2515 CE: The Spartan II program begins as one Doctor Catherine Halsey Keyes of the USRD begins to "recruit" children out of a gene pool of 14000, only 1284 are selected to be "recruited" as the joint USRD and OSNI operation code-named Operation DEMIGOD RISING replaced the 1284 children with clones that had a 10 percent chance of living to the age of 30.
2520 CE: Augmentations are given to the Spartan IIs, out of the 1284, only 749 are in good condition for service.
2523 CE: The legendary Spartan II commandos Blue and Red teams are sent on their first combat deployment against the Insurrection on Komodo, the Spartans come out with a 0% casualty rate and have the Rebels fleeing off the world and the shipyards being retaken a day later.
Green Glass…
2525 CE: First Contact is made with an alien species.
The Cruiser UTNS Solar drops out of Slipspace near Pandora, the habitable moon of the gas giant Polymorphous, in the Hades System after responding to the Roebuck 214 Deep Space Station's distress signal. The Solar finds the DSS R-214 to be gutted with a single alien ship in the debris field, after a lengthy duel both the Solar and the mystery alien vessel are disabled as the Solar sends out one final message.
After 5 days a full blown carrier group led by the UTNS Trafalgar is sent in as they recover the pieces of the intense battle.
A survivor is found in an escape pod and reacts with hostility and kills most of the researchers around the pod before the reaction force can neutralize it.
With all this information OSNI finds out about the Covenant, a hegemony of various species now apparently hell-bent on destroying humanity because of religion. OSNI relays the information to the USTG and UTSC.
This information is revealed to the public who respond in outrage, recruitment offices flood once again as strategies are now being cooked up on how to counter this threat.
2526 CE: Probing attacks are reported all over the Frontier Colonies, barricades begin to be built as funding for the UTSC skyrockets.
2527 CE: Communications with Pandora soon cease as a reaction force is sent to Pandora. The 31st Quick Reaction Force headed by Admiral Glenn Munn is able to drive off the invaders with heavy losses from what analysts called a supercarrier. It was destroyed above Pandora.
2531 CE: Communication with the Frontier System Capital Planet of New Vladivostok is cut off. The UTSC sends in the 52nd New Scandinavian Reaction Fleet to the System. Headed by Vice Admiral Preston J. Cole, they are greeted by the once lush snow world having most of its surface turned to what can only be described as "hell", he has his 24 ships slaughter the 27 ships of the Covenant Navy whilst taking 12 of his own. Terrance Hood is promoted to overall commander of the UTSC. The Spirit of Fire, a Planetary Assault Carrier/ Colony Ship, chases a Covenant battlegroup, and they arrive at the Forerunner shield world 049. From there they manage to destroy all ships of the battlegroup and manage to keep the Covenant from unlocking weapons that could be used to turn the tide against and subsequently exterminate humanity by sacrificing their slipspace drive to cave in the world as the UTNS Spirit of Fire is recorded loss with all hands.
The UTSC begins to draw up defense plans to weaken the Covenant as OSNI deploys its Prowlers to supposed Covenant Space. Cole Protocol is established.
Power is shifted from the USTG to the UTSC and USRD.
2531-2546 CE: Nicknamed the Cole Campaigns, Admiral Cole begins to fight a defensive war, playing against the Covenant and their numbers with tactical genius. Stalling for years to buy time for Humanity.
2546 CE: The Covenant Assault is stopped as it runs out of steam. Vice Admiral Preston Cole manages to liberate 3 worlds, Mandi, Kilimanjaro, and Cascades from Covenant Control sadly not before the Covenant glassed them all, the USRD begins research into Covenant Glassing Cannons and DEWS.
Cole Campaigns: Human Strategic Victory/Covenant takes 63 Percent of the Frontier Colonies though at unsustainable loss rates.
2547 CE: Battle of Psi Serpentis, Vice Admiral Cole manages to destroy 1200 ships of the Covenant after tricking them into flying in the Atmosphere of the nearby Gas Giant and promptly jumping into slipspace, while leaving a trail of nuclear death behind as the Everest launches its complement of Shiva Nuclear Warheads into the UNSC Io which was being remotely controlled, this turns the gas giant into a Brown Dwarf for 30 days as the Covenant burned alive. Vice Admiral Preston J. Cole became a household name.
2548 CE: USRD comes with a major breakthrough, combining the Power of the Directed Energy Weapon with the Raw Kinetic Energy of a Projectile to make the MAEC, Magnetic Accelerated Energy Cannon, codenamed Big Mac allowing it to fire 200% faster than MAC between 10 to 15% the speed of light. Therefore ending the argument between Energy or Projectile weapons by combining them into an immensely powerful tool for war. The UTSC begins to refit its star ships. Research into Forerunner Installations and Hardlight barriers begin.
2550 CE: Covenant restarts the offensive and takes 82 percent of the Frontier Systems and 25 percent of the Outer Systems as the United Systems Planetary Defense Command begins a guerilla war. The casualties are staggering as the Covenant begins to implement its genocidal plans in full. The Insurrection/Second Terran Civil War is officially over by this time.
Insurrection/Second Terran Civil War (2479-2550)
UTSC/USTG Casualties- 2.4 Billion
Rebel Group Casualties (Combined)- 1.9 Billion
2551 CE: Creation of Cortana. First use of a NOVA Bomb, the bomb is used as a retaliatory strike against the Covenant after recon had found 3 systems of Covenant interest, the resulting strikes end in over 23 Billion Casualties for the Covenant, mostly civilian.
2552 CE: Cracks start to form in the Covenant as UTSC and OSNI supported Insurrectionist elements begin to become a thorn in their side as strikes against logistic hubs begin to ramp up. Commander Jacob Keyes in the Destroyer Iroquois creates the Keyes Loop as the ships of Desron 18 are able to escape before the Covenant can capture them however the ship UTNS Problem Child is captured by the Covenant before it could commit the Cole Protocol in full, the Epsilon Eridani system and 3 other Inner Systems are comprised. The Covenant attack Reach and multiple other Inner Colony systems in an ambush bringing in over 120000 warships to the fight, Reach nearly falls but is saved by the valiant defenders of the UTSC, the sacrifice of Noble Team, and reinforcements.
Sadly Panera and Arctic are glassed beyond salvation, bringing in 7 billion new casualties. In the waning hours of the battle, a small Covenant fleet is seen leaving as the Pillar of Autumn and her battlegroup, commanded by the recently promoted Captain Jacob Keyes take chase.
Events of Halo Combat Evolved:
2553 CE: The once esteemed Supreme Commander, Thel Vadam is convicted for losing multiple battles and for losing Reach and the Holy Ring(s) despite having the numerical advantage and is turned into the Arbiter for his punishment.
2554 CE: Start of the Covenant Civil War, many have found the truth to the lies of the Prophets. Many start to worship humanity as their true gods instead of the forerunners. Humanity of course is stuck in the middle as many within the USTG, OSNI, USRD, or UTSC have any idea what to do. The research into forerunner installations is fruitless as most technology is mysteriously wiped from existence.
However, all is not in vain however as a cure for rampancy in AI is found. The USRD also finds out about how humanity was once close to the Forerunners millennia ago.
Old records also state something about the 3 Sins, OSNI begins to research into it and starts comparing the documents found and their descriptions to the anomalies found by the Pillar of Autumn's Task Group. (aka the Flood)
Power is reinstated to the USTG in a peaceful transition of power.
2555 CE: Earth's location is compromised as Truth's fleet with the High Charity attacks New Mombasa. The newly promoted Fleet Admiral Preston J. Cole makes his sacrifice as he rams his damaged ship the UTNS Everest II into the damaged High Charity after a full salvo from Earth's ODP Overlord Network, making a clean cut through to the power source, the Everest II slams into the space stations heart, detonating its complement of SHiva Class Nuclear warheads causing a chain reaction. The Forerunner Keyship escapes, with Truth on board, landing and vaporizing New Mombasa however as a dimensional portal is found in the once proud Lake Victoria. It is the location of the portal to Installation 00 the Lesser Ark. The Battle over the Lesser Ark Begins as the Flood ambushes all sides and begins to take over. The UTSC and the newly reformed Swords of Sanghelios begin tactical bombardments as the rampant AI Cortana sacrifices herself to stop the firing of the Arks Halo ring, saving the galaxy from the Flood, for now… leaving the message…
"May Humanity Pick up the pieces and continue the legacy of our voices long gone, though you have past the first trials, but many more allies are to come your way"
2556 CE: The war comes to an end as the Arbiter leads the pro-human side against the deceased Truth's now "Storm" controlled anti-human side.
The Storm Covenant commit a last desperate attempt to decapitate humanity by invading Earth one last time but is thwarted by the 3 new Infinity Class Fleet Carriers and their respective battlegroups and instead invade Mars, the Battle of Mars was one of the most horrific battles of the war, for 3 months the casualties rose as the planet of the Blood God became awash in shipwrecks and literal blood, but eventually the UTSC eradicated the Storm Covenant using no mercy tactics and flushing them out with utter brutality that would make the Old Covenant blush.
The Treaty of Kilimanjaro takes place 1 month later.
First Contact War (2525-2556)
~118 Billion Human Casualties
~44 Billion Covenant Casualties
OSNI also began Operation CHEMISTRY supported by the USTG and UTSC, the goal is to disband the Covenant into smaller governments for the safety of humanity.
Troubling Times…
2560 CE: Operation CHEMISTRY is a success, The Sangheili are at war with the Jiralhanae, the Kig Yar are neutered to a select few systems, the Unggoy have settled down to their select few planets, and the rest of the Covenant species settle down and rebuild themselves. The Sangheili would go on to establish the Union of the Sangheili Sovereignty though its growth is still hindered by both OSNI and Jiralhanae war tribes.
2575 CE: The USTG recovering efforts are in full swing as for the most part, they have reclaimed most of their territory, their population recovering at 405 Billion, unknowingly inching closer and closer in a Galactic Sense towards Council space.
2577 CE: The Spartan II's are officially retired from active duty, being replaced by the remaining Spartan III's and IV's, they go on to fill in administrative roles in both the UTSC and USTG, as the famed Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, now Vice Admiral John Chief, becomes the Director of the newly minted Spartan-V Program.
2584 CE: A new artifact is found near the relatively young Frontier Colony of New Shanxi in the 343-Jiani System, described as a massive tuning fork stuck in the crust of New Shanxi's 'Moon', the USRD begins to send in research teams under the command of the UTSC and OSNI to find out the purpose of said object.
2585 CE: The moon of Shanxi disintegrates, or at least half of it as the ice debris begins to form a ring around the desert planet, the USRD discovers a strange object not being Forerunner in origin.
A Citadel Patrol Fleet picks up unregistered relay activity and begins to investigate…
Bellum Terranum…