BattleTech: Combat Evolved - Definitive Edition

by IX404

We all know the tale. The SLDF under Aleksandr Kerensky's command leaves the Inner Sphere forever, before evolving into the Clans following Operation KLONDIKE. What if this was not the case? What if the entire Exodus fleet suffered a misjump that propelled them into another universe, one where Humanity will reclaim an ancient inheritance? This is the story of that possibility.

1. A New Home

Hello, everyone. I am IX404 and welcome to the definitive version of my current Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover redux.

After reading the reviews on the previous story, I decided that it would be wiser to post this revision of the story's first chapter as a separate story. Not only will my proposed method clutter things up quite badly, it'll also make it more difficult for those reading to follow the story. As such, this will be the final version that I am posting on my profile.

I will also be working with my beta-readers to look at potential sub-plots to open up for each chapter. I might even start a short story series to fully cover any plot holes that open up in this story.

Either way, I deeply appreciate your feedback and support, and I hope you'll support this final revision of the story going forwards.

As always, leave a review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or MechWarrior/BattleTech franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, WizKids, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.

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Halo: Combat Evolved OST - Slipspace Trajectory

SLS McKenna's Pride

Deep Periphery

October 15th, 2785, 0650 Hours

"All ships have docked to the McKenna's Pride," an officer reported.

"K-F Drive is spooled and ready," another said.

"Good," Aleksandr Kerensky said. "I want all ships reporting in as soon as their drives are charged and ready. The next jump we make will be made in the month of November."

"Aye, sir."

Kerensky leaned back in his seat. Once more, we jump further away from the Inner Sphere and closer to our next destination. He sighed, his mind drifting back to the day the Prinz Eugen's crew mutinied, and the summary execution that had happened thereafter.

I shouldn't have been so harsh towards Andrey. Yes, the seditious messages were sent from his terminal, but I don't think he's the kind of person to be rebellious. He checked the clock, looked back towards the viewport. Perhaps I'll speak with him after this jump. It's high time that I do so.

Behind him, both Nicholas and Andrey silently watched the operations of the ship. I never knew that commanding a WarShip, or even a fleet for that matter, was so complicated, Andrey thought. All of these orders and decisions to hand and make. He shook his head. No wonder my father was disgruntled when the Prinz Eugen mutiny happened.

Had he known it, he would've been surprised to learn that Nicholas felt much the same. I thought I was ready a few months ago to handle the responsibility. He shook his head fractionally. What a fool I was. Plus the fact that my brother Andrey knows the truth means that I need to step carefully now, or I'm doomed.

The time to the jump slowly ticked down, that final digit creeping ever closer. I hope this doesn't end poorly, Aleksandr thought. We recently lost the Manassas to a misjump. For all we know, they were either disintegrated, or maybe those rumors of living creatures in hyperspace are true.

"You OK?" DeChavilier said. "You seem… distant."

Aleksandr nodded. "I'm all right. Just a little preoccupied. What's the status of the fleet?"

"All DropShips docked to JumpShips JumpShips are charged and secured, and the other ships drives are spooled up."

"Good," Kerensky said. "You may begin the countdown.

"Yes, sir." Opening an fleetwide comm channel, DeChavilier spoke. "Thirty seconds to Jump. Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one… zero…"

Outside, the rest of the fleet began to jump. The hulls of each ship glowed a brilliant blue-white color, then seemed to vanish in a flash of light. Before long, the McKenna's Pride was the last ship. Then it too jumped, folding space-time with the ease one might fold a slip of paper.

This time, however, something was different. The moment the jump completed, Kerensky felt a wave of nausea flow over him. He retched, his stomach churning wildly. Behind him, both of his sons did the same, before finally succumbing to the nausea. "D'oh, fuck!" Nicholas swore. "What's happe -" He vomited mid-sentence.

He wasn't the only one. Numerous people on the bridge were puking up whatever they had for dinner that day. One man in particular, Lieutenant Konrad, had fallen onto his back. His limbs twitched and spasmed, while his eyes rolled up into the back of his head. Aaron, who'd withstood his own nausea, quickly ran to Konrad's aid. "Medic!" he shouted. "We need a medic over here!"

A medic quickly rushed over. With some effort, they turned Konrad onto his back, with DeChavilier holding the man down. "Is he -?"

"He's having a gran mal seizure!" the medic shouted. "Get me a neural shocker!" Another medic ran over, a plastic hairnet embedded with electrodes in his hand. Taking it, the first medic looped it over the man's head. "Shocking in three… two… one… CLEAR!"

DeChavilier threw his hands into the air. Konrad jerked once, then lay still. His eyes opened, then he coughed and retched loudly. "Augh…! Oh… fuck!" He rolled over, then slowly rose to his feet. "What happened to me? I was monitoring the drive status when I… I…"

"You had a seizure," DeChavielier said. "The medics here saved your life. You OK?"

Konrad shook his head. "No, I… I feel like my head's gonna explode."

One of the medics took him by the arm. "Sit down here for a minute. You'll feel better soon." Konrad did as told, leaning back in the chair while he rubbed his forehead. "Side effect of a neural shock. It'll wear off soon. What I'm more worried about is the General. Is he OK?"

"I'm fine," Kerensky said. In reality, he felt as though he was about to throw up himself. "It'll pass. What's the status of the fleet? The sensors should be back by now."

DeChavilier walked over to a console, examined its readouts carefully. "They're all with us," he said at length. "All ships have arrived in the fleet."

"That's not all," Lieutenant Gerald, the Comms Officer, said. "A lot of ship crews are experiencing nausea and dizziness. A few have crews suffering seizures, and some of the civilians have been hit hard. Medics are working to treat the worst cases."

"What about our drives?"

An intercom crackled at Kerensky's chair. "Yes?" Aleksandr asked.

"Sir, we've got some bad news," the ship's Chief Engineer, Dallas Jones, said.

"What is it?"

"The K-F Drive's got some damage to it," Jones said. "We just suffered a massive coolant leak down here, and some of the components failed. I've got my boys working on the problem, but we'll need to examine the capacitor core to make sure its operational. Whatever the hell happened, it really fucked our drive."

Kerensky cursed. "Проклятие! Have the other ships been affected?"

"Their engineering crews are reporting similar cases. They're already hard at work, but I can bet you Star League Dollars to Pounds that we'll need to conduct serious repairs before we can jump safely. At least all of the ships arrived safely."

"That much we can agree on," Aleksandr said. "How long until the repairs are complete?"

"Well, let see…" Kerensky could imagine Jones ticking off items on his fingers. "Given the size of the ship, as well as the number of ships affected… I'd say we'll be looking at two and a half weeks to repair the drives to full operational status if the damage is as bad as we think it is. If not, I'd say around a week and a half."

Kerensky frowned. "Shit… Well, at least we've got the supplies necessary to make the proper repairs. That means that we'll start to run low on food and water by that point. Hopefully it's the latter of the two scenarios. Do what you can to repair the damage."

"Will do. Jones out."

With one problem handled, Kerensky turned to his sensors officer, Robert. "Robert, can you get a fix on where we are?"

"Already on it," Robert said. In fact, I should have our location in…" He looked at a readout, frowned immediately. "Well… that's unexpected."

"What is it?"

"We're nowhere near where we need to be," Robert said. "In fact, we appear to have jumped into the Inner Sphere, rather than far away from it. According to the computers, we've jumped around 750 light years to a star system known as 31 Aquilae. That's just fifty light years from Terra, sir."

That had Kerensky deeply confused, but more than a little worried as well. That's close enough for us to be detected via HPG. "DeChavilier, send a general order to all WarShips. They are to ready their weapons in case trouble comes."

"Yes, sir," DeChavilier said.

"Gerald, there's a definitive test we can use to determine if there are any HPGs aside from those on our ships in range. Use the M-HPG aboard the McKenna to contact Terra."

"Yes sir," Gerald said. He thumbed a few buttons, flipped switches. "I've just selected a generic greeting to send to Terra. Searching for Terra's HPG now…"

For a few minutes, all was silent. "Anything?" DeChavilier asked.

Gerald frowned. "This… this is strange."

"What is it?" Kerensky asked.

"I'm not getting any replies to our message, and I know I sent it. I've even double and triple checked to make sure everything's working properly. However, we've gotten no reply to our transmission. For all we've done, we might as well have been shouting into vacuum."

That is strange, Kerensky thought. I know for certain that the Great Houses would never think of attempting to destroy an HPG. Even the Draconis Combine, for all of their brutal methods, wouldn't dare bomb one such system into nonexistence. I also know that the HPG complex at Terra wasn't damaged either. If that is the case, then why are we not getting a signal.

His internal musings were interrupted, however, when Robert said, "Oh, shit! Sir?! You need to see this!"

"What is it?"

"Sensors have picked up an object roughly ten thousand kilometers off the port bow of the McKenna's Pride," Robert reported. "We should be in visual range now, sir. I've also got LiDAR, RADAR and Infrared sensors sweeping it now."

Kerensky looked at a console attached to his command chair. Displayed on the screen was a sphere that extended to a radius of one light second. In the center was an icon representing the ship, with other icons marking the positions of the other ships in the fleet. On that sensor readout, around 30 degrees to the left of the bow, was an object that was in space. That wouldn't have been surprising to Aleksandr, except for the fact that cameras and LiDAR scans had picked up something unusual about the object.

It wasn't hard for him to see what it was. "Is that a… Bishop Ring?" he asked.

"Looks like it," Robert said. "Passive and active scans indicate that it's massive, bigger than anything I've ever seen."

"How big?"

"Around ten thousand kilometers in diameter and a little over three hundred kilometers in width, sir. Other scans indicate that it's rotating at a fast enough speed to generate around .93 g. As for what it is…" he shook his head.

"Do we have any records of such a structure in the Inner Sphere?" DeChavilier asked.

Robert ran a query through the computer. "Nope. Nothing on records. This is a completely new discovery, sirs."

"That doesn't make any sense. If we're in the star system we're in, the Star League would've known about this thing by now. Hell, there'd be records that only the Commanding General or First Lord would've known about. The question I need answered is 'why isn't that the case?'"

"I think we're gonna find out, one way or another," Kerensky said. "Comms, check in with any WarShips that are close by. I want to confirm if this thing before us is real, or if we're all suffering from a massive hallucination brought on by the misjump."

"Aye, sir," Gerald said. For a few minutes, he worked silently at his station. "Negative, sir. We're not seeing an illusion of some kind. All of our WarShip captains are reporting the same thing: some kind of massive ring located to the port side of the fleet."

Too many for this to be a coincidence. "How close are we?"

"We're the closest ones," Robert said. "The rest of the fleet is further away from it than we are."

"What now?" DeChavilier asked.

For a full minute, Kerensky was silent as he considered his options. We've somehow misjumped into a star system that contains something we all should know about. In addition, none of our attempts to reach an HPG have been successful. That means we've got one final option left.

He sighed, then made his choice. "Take us in. I want our squadron of frigates, battleships and cruisers to follow us to the ring. If anything happens, we're to turn the ship around and burn away from the Dyson Ring at maximum thrust. Understood?"

"Yes sir," DeChaviier said. "You heard the man! Let's move this bucket of bolts towards the Dyson Ring. Anything happens, we turn tail and run the hell away! MOVE IT!"

The deck rumbled as the powerful Pratt & Whitney 400 Interplanetary Drive fired up, shoving the McKenna forwards at safe velocity. Aleksandr could feel his weight increase as the ship accelerated. One more unto the breach, he thought as eighteen other ships consisting of two Farragut battleships, six Sovietski-Soyuz heavy crusers, four Rigas frigates and six Congress class frigates followed the McKenna's Pride.

. . .

Installation 04

Threshold – Basis Lagrange Point

June 15th, 2515, 0650 Hrs

If I'd known how boring my life would become as the Monitor of Installation 04, I'd be asking for reassignment, 343 Guilty Spark thought. Still, even as boring as it is, I still think it was the right choice. Now, if the Sentinels were designed to be a tad more… conversational, I'd be a happier AI.

He quickly zoomed through the air, a tuneless hum emanating from his central core, then came to a stop at a data terminal. One quick query, and he'd accessed the information he needed. Hhmmm… more of the same, he thought.

Again, his mind turned to the boredom that had dominated his duties for the past 100,000 or so years. I wish something exciting would happen, he thought. Something like that one time that alien ship crash-landed onto the Installation. Then, I'd have something interesting to do in the meantime.

Guilty Spark didn't know it, but he was about to get his wish.

He was just about to continue his routine when a priority message reached his central processing matrix. He examined it, then did a checksum on the data. What in…? Oh my! I HAVE to investigate this.

He zoomed off again, only far faster this time around. Reaching a central information nexus, he quickly accessed it. He paged through dozens of subsystems until he found the very one he was looking for. Accessing the sensor subsystem, he quickly checked the logs.

Now that's… interesting, he noted. According to the sensors, 1,751 ships of unknown design have entered the system. How did they get here?

He checked another series of logs. Now that's… odd. It looks as though the ships folded the very fabric of space-time to get to this installation. Still, I know what must be done.

Accessing the Comms System, he said, "Warning! By order of the Ecumene Council, proximity to Installation 04 is forbidden. Your continued presence will result in most unpleasant countermeasures. I must insist that you immediately change course and return to a minimum safe distance of one light-year. This has served as your one and final warning…"

. . .

Onboard the McKenna's Pride, Kerensky was keeping his eyes focused on the crew, as well as the mysterious object that they were approaching. So far so good, he thought. Nothing's happened yet, and we're still on course. Still, the crew is really tense.

Lieutenant Robert soon voiced his thoughts. "How did we miss this?" he asked. "From what I recall, 31 Aquilae was thoroughly surveyed by the Terran Hegemony during the 2250s. If there was something like what we're seeing there, we'd have known about it for a long time now. Why didn't we?"

"That's the million dollar question," DeChavilier said. "I'm betting we're going to have our answers soon.

"My thoughts exactly," Aleksandr said. "Launch all AeroSpace Fighters. What's the status of the weapon systems?"

The Fire Control Officer, Lieutenant Berdan Gordon, checked his console. "All weapons primed and ready. Do you want me to calculate firing solutions?"

"Negative."

Gordon nodded. "Aye, sir."

Nicholas and Andrey leaned in closer. "Why do that, and not what conventional wisdom calls for?" Andrey asked.

Kerensky glanced at them. "If we target the unknown space station, we might trigger a hostile response. If we do what I ordered, then whoever is there will know that we're not going to do anything rash unless they force us to." Both brothers leaned back, satisfied with the answer they got.

"Double checking systems now," Gordon said. "All weapons loaded and charged, but no firing solutions input."

"Very good."

At that moment, Gerald raised a hand. "Sir! I have an unknown transmission coming in from the object! It appears to be a laser communications system, but much more sophisticated. Language is unknown. Orders?"

So, this artifact is not only active, but there's something or someone attempting to contact us, Kerensky thought. It could be an automated alert system, but I wonder if it's something more. "Contact them on standard SLDF hailing frequencies.

"Affirmative," Gerald said. Flipping a few switches, he cleared his throat. "Unidentified transmitter, this is the SLS McKenna's Pride. We have received your transmission, but are unable to understand what language you are transmitting in. Could you repeat your transmission in Star League English? Over..."

Back at Installation 04, Guilty Spark watched as the ship and its escorts continued to approach. They're getting too close! he thought. He tried to contact them again. "I have activated defensive systems, and you now have thirty seconds to return to the minimum safe distance of -"

At that moment, the installation's COM system informed him of a transmission coming in. Opening it, he heard a voice speak. "Unidentified transmitter, this is the SLS McKenna's Pride. We have received your transmission, but are unable to understand what language you are transmitting in. Could you repeat your transmission in Star League English? Over."

The query confused Guilty Spark. Strange… I couldn't understand the language, but the voice was distinctly Erde-Tyrenian in pitch and inflection. I need more information.

Backing out of the COM system, he switched to another one, activated it. Returning to the COM system, he created another channel, then attempted to access the unknown ship's systems. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen.

Then, like a dam bursting at the seams, information flowed over the link into Guilty Spark's central processing matrix. Star League? Reunification Wars? Amaris Coup? What is this? Perhaps the Luminary can tell me more.

Accessing the Luminary, he quickly scanned the ship. According to the Luminary, there are definitely Human life signs onboard, he noted. Their ships don't use even a tiny portion of Forerunner technology, nor were they inspired by said technology. I'm also not getting anything from their geas. How very… curious…

Then it struck him as to what might be the case. Of course! When the Forerunners reverted everyone to their Stone Ages, it's possible that they unintentionally triggered the exploration of entirely new branches of technology, though the possible lack of a geas is a tad worrisome. If that's the case… Working fast, he quickly created a translation matrix, then sent out another transmission…

Back onboard the McKenna's Pride, Kerensky waited for Gerald to give him a status update. "Anything?" he asked.

"Negative sir I -" Gerald stopped, then jumped in his seat. "Sir, I've got the transmission again, but this time it's in Star League English!"

"Put it through on the loudspeakers."

Gerald flipped switches, adjusted a volume control. A synthesized, but distinctly male voice echoed on the bridge. "This is 343 Guilty Spark, Monitor of Installation 04. Do you read me?"

That had Kerensky's attention in an instant. Looks like we're dealing with an Artificial Intelligence. Not too surprising; the Star League had its own AIs, though a few were shut down shortly before the insurrections began breaking out in the Periphery. It could also just as easily be a person with an identity scrambler.

He cleared his throat. "Can you establish a Comms channel with them?"

"Working on it," Gerald said. He frowned at a readout, tapped a switch, then smiled as more pleasing numbers came back. "Comm channel open, sir! You may speak when ready."

"Thank you." Kerensky cleared his throat, then thumbed the transmit button. "This is Commanding General Aleksandr Kerensky of the Star League Defense Force. We read you loud and clear now. Do you understand me?

"Of course!" Guilty Spark said. "Greetings, humans, and welcome to Installation 04! Ignore the prior warnings, and please continue. I have disabled the defensive systems to allow your approach, but you must not exit your ship once you have arrived at the designated landing center. This ring contains significant dangers, and even with your assumed legacy, I must verify the presence and pitch of your geas before allowing full access. We have much to discuss, humans."

Kerensky frowned. "You have me at a disadvantage. Have we met before?"

"No, but I do know your species," Guilty Spark said. "You are the Reclaimers, the ones that the Forerunners designated as the ones to inherit their technology. As such, you are more than welcome to come to this Installation, though as I've said, we will need to verify the presence and pitch of your geas before allowing full access."

"I see. Stand by." Releasing the transmit button, he turned to Aaron. "We happen to have a misjump, find what we now know is a ring world, and it just so happens to be controlled by a friendly machine, or maybe a person with an identity scrambler. Your thoughts, Aaron?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Aaron frowned. "I've never heard of a ring world like this, nor have I heard of a race known as the 'Forerunners.' If you ask me, something is up, and I don't like it."

Kerensky nodded. "My thoughts exactly," he agreed. "The moment I became the Commanding General of the SLDF, I would've learned about something like this, given my clearance level. Either way, we've been invited over, so we'll go, but with weapons primed and ready in case something happens."

"Good idea," Aaron nodded. "If this turns out to be legitimate, then we've scored a major find. The people in the fleet have been looking for somewhere to finally settle down. This ring looks like it'd be perfect."

"Let's make sure it actually is perfect before we decide to settle people onto it. Caveat emptor and all that implies."Turning back around in his seat, he depressed the transmit button again. "If that is the case, then I will not turn down your invitation, Guilty Spark. Requesting holding position coordinates. Our ships are not atmosphere capable."

"Understood," Guilty Spark said. "Remain at your current coordinates. I'm sending landing coordinates for any smaller shuttles that you have. I await your arrival."

"Solid copy. We'll maintain position. General Kerensky out." He stood up from his seat. "DeChavilier, you have the bridge. Inform the fleet to begin holding position at our current coordinates. We'll head down onboard the Firebird."

"Affirmative," Aaron said.

"Very good. Nicholas, Andrey, you two are with me. We'll be heading to the surface with the Blackhearts." Both sons quickly go up and followed their father out of the bridge…

Captain Howard smiled as Kerensky and his sons floated through the docking tube and into the Colossus-class DropShip. "Welcome onboard the Firebird, sir," he said. "It's a pleasure to have you aboard." He cracked a smile at Andrey. "Hey there, Andy? Gotten a little scruffier, haven't you?"

Andrey smiled. "Nothing really gets past you, does it?"

Howard's smile grew wider. "Of course not! They don't call me 'Dead-Eye Howard' for nuthin', boy!" He turned his gaze towards Aleksandr. "I take it we're heading to that giant-ass wedding ring out there, right?"

Kerensky smiled. Howard is a good person to work with… despite his casual interpretation of protocol, and the drawl in his voice. "Precisely," he said. "I take it Gerald has already sent you the coordinates?"

"Sure did! Got 'em punched into the ol' babe's brain! Say the word, and we'll be burnin' fer that wedding ring 'fer ya know it!"

"Good." Alek glanced around the interior of the ship. "It seems like you've done some work on the place."

"That I did. 'Fer I met you, the Firebird was on her last legs. Couldn't get anyone to take a look at 'er and fix 'er up. After you pardoned us boys, though, we got 'er fixed up. Now, she's a-purring like a kitten. Now, let's go burn for that ring!"

Before long, they had entered the bridge of the Firebird. Lights and sounds came from consoles spread across the bridge. Personnel worked quietly at their stations. "All right, time ta buckle in, boss!" The Kerensky's nodded, then buckled into crash couches. "Jamesey! Got them coordinates?!"

"Aye, sir!" James, the 'pilot' of the ship, said. "Coordinates punched in and flight plan configured. We're good to launch at anytime."

"Good. Jessie, let them folks know we're ready ta launch!"

Jessie, the DropShip's Comms Officer, nodded. She flicked a switch, cleared her throat. "SLS McKenna's Pride, this is the SLS Firebird. Requesting permission to undock and head to the surface. Over."

"SLS McKenna's Pride speaking. Permission granted. You're free to undock."

"Roger that," Jessie said. She turned, gave a thumbs up to James. James nodded, then hit a series of switches and buttons.

There was a muted THUNK and a slight rattle as the DropShip detached from the ship's Docking Collar. Maneuvering thrusters rotated the ship around, until the top was pointed directly at Installation 04. Within seconds, the powerful engines fired up, shoving the DropShip forwards at one g.

"And we're off," James said. "Estimated time to arrival: ten minutes at current acceleration. I'll stop accelerating after a minute, then we'll rotate around and begin a gradual descent burn towards the ring."

"Very good," Kerensky said.

. . .

On the surface of Installation 04, Guilty Spark patiently hovered a couple meters off the ground. Querying the COM system, he said, "Guilty Spark to the McKenna's Pride. Do you read me? Over."

"Solid copy, we read you loud and clear," Gerald said. "What do you need?"

"I would like to ascertain the General's current status. Is he well? I'm tracking one of your smaller shuttles."

"He's currently on his way to your position onboard the Firebird," Gerald said. "Standby for transmission from the Firebird."

With seconds, a woman's voice spoke up. "This is Lieutenant Jessica of the Firebird. We're en route and are approaching the landing zone now. Please give us a safe distance of two hundred and fifty meters. The fusion plumes from these engines can melt anything too close."

"Understood," Guilty Spark said. "I shall give you a safe distance of three hundred meter . Sensors built into his chassis quickly alerted him to the impending arrival of the Firebird, and where it would land. With a simple command, his chassis backed up, bringing him outside the designated safe zone.

It's been so long, but they've finally returned, he thought. I've been waiting a hundred thousand years, six months, 3 weeks and two days for this eventuality. It will be a pleasure to serve the Reclaimers to my fullest capacity once more.

It wasn't long before the Firebird arrived. From below, he could only see the engines, engines that spewed nuclear fire from their nozzles. As it neared the ground, eight slots opened up, then landing gear extended from the slots.

Onboard the Firebird, James slowly brought the ship down towards the ground. "Two hundred meters and counting!" Flipping a switch, he allowed the computer to take over the final portion of the landing. "One hundred meters… fifty… forty… thirty… twenty… ten meters… UUFFHHH!"

The landing gear shuddered as they finally touched solid ground. The DropShip sank for a moment, then the landing gear pushed it upwards again. "We're down," Jessie said.

"All righty then!" Howard said, a smile plastered onto his weathered face. "Lighter 'n a feather! I couldn't 'a done better myself."

"Excellent work," Aleksandr said. "Nicholas, Andrey, with me…"

The Combat Vehicle Bay was a massive affair. The moment the trio walked inside, the sounds of pneumatic screwdrivers, welders and other machines filled the air. The foreman for the Combat Vehicle Bay turned to them and smiled. "Good to see you General!" he said, snapping off a salute. "Sergeant Uhlman reporting in!"

"At ease," Aleksandr said. "Do you know where we're going?"

"I do," Uhlman said. "The good news is that we were doing modifications to a Heavy Tracked APC when the misjump happened. Mostly did it out of boredom, but it might actually be useful in this case."

"What sort of modifications?"

"Mostly armor, engine and weapon loadout changes," Uhlman said. "Slapped on some Kallon FWL Special Ferro-Fibrous, swapped out the ICE with a Warner 180 XL, replaced the M100 Heavy MG with a pair of Exostar Pinnacle Small Pulse Lasers, and replaced the Single Heat Sinks with their Double variants. We finalized the refits just as the misjump happened. Lucky coincidence, don't you think?"

There's no such thing as coincidence, Aleksandr thought. "Maybe. Is it ready for use, or was that just a mock-up?"

Uhlman looked hurt. "General, you wound me! Of course it's ready for you to use! What, you'd think I'd pull your leg with a poorly assembled vehicle? I'd kill myself before letting that happen!"

"Settle down. I meant no offense."

Uhlman frowned, then began to laugh. "Ah, it's OK, sir. I'm just pulling your leg. To answer your question, she's ready for use. I've also talked with my compatriots in the 'Mech Bays and they've got an escort lined up for you."

"What sort of escort?"

"A pair of Marauders and Crabs," Uhlman said. "I've also got a pair of Von Luckners ready to go as Combat Vehicle Escorts."

"Good work. Will you take us to the APC?"

"Yes sir," Uhlman said. "Follow me." The trio quickly began to make their way towards the exit to the vehicle bay.

Before long, they came to the Heavy Tracked APC in question. The vehicle was surrounded by a swarm of technicians, each one making sure the vehicle was ready for use. "All good, boss!" one shouted to Uhlman. "This Heavy Tracked APC is ready to rock!"

"Any sign of the Blackhearts?"

The technician was about to answer when fifty six soldiers walked into the vehicle bay. All of them were clad in body armor that covered their torsos and legs. Eight of them were clad in what looked like heavy duty body armor.

"There they are," Andrey said. "The SLDF Blackhearts. Looks like a few of them are wearing suits of Nighthawk Power Armor."

"Definitely," Nicholas said. "I hear that they leave a calling card on the bodies of those they've killed, an ace of hearts if memory serves."

"They do," Kerensky said. "It's how they got their name."

The twin platoons of soldiers came to a stop. One of them, a woman with graying hair, saluted Kerensky. "Colonel Cassandra Wright reporting for duty!"

"At ease. Have you been filled in on the mission?"

"Yes," Cassandra said. "Orders are that you want to speak with some AI on this ring. Doesn't matter to me; what matters is keeping you safe, sir. You tell me if I need to shoot something, I'll do it."

Kerensky nodded. "Good. Load up into the APC. We'll be taking it, and a few BattleMechs to the field."

"Yes sir. I've heard that Elizabeth Hazen will be the head of the 'Mech Lance."

"She will be," Kerensky said. "Move out!" The Blackhearts saluted, then marched into the APC's infantry compartment. For his part, Kerensky and his sons entered last. Once he buckled in, Kerensky looked at the drivers. "Take us outside!" he ordered.

"Yes sir!" the driver said. "Firebird Disembarkation Control, this is SLDF One. Requesting permission to exit the DropShip. Over."

"Solid copy. You are cleared to exit the DropShip. Opening all bay doors now."

Yellow strobe lights activated, while an alarm blared. "Warning: DropShip Bay Doors Opening!" a voice announced. Clanking sounds echoed throughout the vehicle bay, then the twin doors leading into the bay opened, revealing the landscape beyond.

Nicholas leaned forwards, gazed out the viewport. "Looks like some kind of grassland outside. A lot of trees too."

"Is that some kind of structure?" Andrey asked.

"Looks like it. Kinda looks like an arrowhead with platforms around it. I'm also curious as to what those smaller structures near it are."

"We'll find out soon enough," Kerensky said. "Driver, take us there. I believe that's where we'll be meeting Guilty Spark."

"Yes sir," the driver said. The vehicle lurched as the driver depressed the throttle, with the APC driving down the ramp and onto the ground outside. The twin Von Luckners assigned to them quickly followed, taking up formation in front of the APC.

Kerensky felt the ground shaking slightly. Looking at a video feed provided to them in the infantry compartment, he spotted the twin Marauders and Crabs that served as their escorts. The Comm system cracked, then a woman's voice came in. "Colonel Hayden here. We'll be your escorts for today, General."

Kerensky smiled. "Good to see you doing well, Colonel. You ready in case things go south?"

"Always, sir."

"Very good." He leaned back in his seat. "Time to meet Guilty Spark…"

On the other side of the unfolding drama, Guilty Spark watched as the sextuple of vehicles drove towards him. Primitive, but very interesting, he noted as scans of them returned. Even with the durability my chassis affords, I don't think I'd survive a direct hit from one of those cannons. Of course, I could do considerable damage, but even I am not invulnerable; with enough damage, I would be destroyed.

The vehicles came to a stop, then the 'Mechs and combat vehicles took up formation around one of them. The doors opened, with fifty six heavily armed soldiers exiting the vehicle in rapid fashion. Orders were barked out and followed, as the soldiers quickly took up formation around the center vehicle.

Their Combat Skins are quite primitive, Guilty Spark noted. Only Class Two, and not the Class Tens or Twelves that my makers used. He sighed internally. Oh well… I suppose it'll have to do for now.

His train of thought halted when three individuals stepped out of the center vehicle, along with eight heavily armored and armed escorts. Guilty Spark focused on the first of the trio, an elderly man with brown eyes. Advancing forwards with his Sentinels, he said, "Greetings! I am 343 Guilty Spark, Monitor of Installation 04. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"The honor is all mine," the lead individual said. "I am Commanding General Aleksandr Kerensky of the Starr League Defense Force. With me are my sons Nicholas Kerensky and Andrey Kerensky. You are the caretaker of this Dyson Ring, I take it?"

"That would be correct. As Monitor of this installation, my purpose is to ensure that all systems are functioning normally, and that all specimens on this installation are kept within quarantine. It is also my duty to serve the Reclaimers to the best of my capabilities."

"By Reclaimer, you mean Humans, yes?" Kerensky asked.

"Precisely."

Kerensky nodded. "I see. Would you speak with me onboard our DropShip? I have a few questions to ask of you."

"Very well. I look forwards to answering what questions you have."

"Good." Kerensky turned to the soldiers. "Return to the Firebird, gentlemen. The Blackhearts will remain with me as my escorts. Guilty Spark, if you could follow me please."

"Of course!" The soldiers quickly loaded back into the APC, with Guilty Spark following Kerensky and his sons inside. "This is a very well kept vehicle, though rather primitive by my makers standards."

"It gets the job done," Nicholas said. "That's all we want around here."

"Of course. I meant no offense."

"Don't take it too seriously," Andrey said. "Nicholas tends to come off as grumpy every now and then."

The vehicle lurched, then turned on its tracks towards the APC. Driving back up the ramp, the APC came to a stop, allowing them to disembark. Guilty Spark ran a few scans. "A most impressive ship," he said. "Are all of your 'DropShips' like this?"

"Something like that," Kerensky said. "They're designed to transport troops from a ship to the surface. In that role, they excel greatly." He keyed an earpiece. "General Kerensky to Captain Howard. Do you read me?"

"I hear ya loud 'n clear!" Howard said. "What ya need?"

"I would like to use your briefing room to speak with our guest. I have a few things to ask him."

"Of course, boss!" Howard said. "Just head to the lift an' punch the icon fer deck twenty, then head to one of the other lifts and punch in the code fer deck thirty. That'll take ya to the briefin' room."

"Thank you. Guilty Spark, if you may?"

"Of course," Guilty Spark said. The group advanced to one of the lifts leading to the vehicle bay. Punching in a series of codes, Kerensky stood back with the others as the lift ascended. "How many of these DropShips do you have?"

"You really want to know?" Andrey said. "Around five thousand if memory serves."

Guilty Spark's central core brightened. "Impressive."

"We make do with what we have," Kerensky said. "Nothing more." The lift came to a stop; the doors opened, with the group advancing through the hallways. Crewmen quickly went about their daily business, while a few saluted Kerensky and the others.

All of them stared at Guilty Spark with a wary curiosity. "Puzzling," he said. "Your people are highly curious. Do you not have any AIs of your own?"

"We do, mostly in the form of drone ships known as Caspars," Kerensky said.

"I see. How very interesting."

The briefing room was a spacious affair. A central holographic projector occupied the room, while a series of circular chairs surrounded the projector. A small table surrounded the projector's base, along with twenty chairs.

The doors opened, with Kerensky, Guilty Spark and the others walking inside. The Blackhearts took up formation around the perimeter of the room, eyes focused onto Guilty Spark. I'd best be careful, Guilty Spark thought. I could do a considerable amount of damage, but in the end, I would be overwhelmed if they attacked me. Quantity has a quality of its own.

"Is everyone gathered?" Kerensky asked. When the others nodded, he said, "Good, then I will begin speaking with Guilty Spark." He sat down, pulled out a small data stick. "I'll allow you to go first, Guilty Spark. Would you enlighten us as to what you are, who built you and what Installation 04 is?"

"Gladly! As you are aware by now, I am what the Forerunners call an 'monitor,' a form of what they called an 'ancilla.' Your equivalent term would be 'Artificial Intelligence.

"As for who built me, the Forerunners were a highly advanced civilization that existed over a hundred thousand years ago by my internal chronometer's reckoning. They valued the preservation of life and the destruction of all those that would seek to destroy said life. They upheld these values in a credo known as the 'Mantle of Responsibility.'"

"And how does that credo go?" Kerensky asked.

"Simple, really. 'Guardianship for all living things lies with those whose evolution is most complete. The Mantle of Responsibility shelters all.'"

"So, what you're telling me is that it is the duty of those that have evolved the most, and presumably have been around the longest, to protect the races that are less evolved or younger?" Kerensky asked.

"Presumably, yes."

Kerensky frowned. "I see… If that is the case, do you know of any Forerunners we can speak with, if there are any at all? I'd like to learn more about this ring, though if none are available, you will do."

"Regrettably, I do not. According to records from my installation, the Forerunners went extinct following the activation of the Halo Array, of which Installation 04 is a part of. Such a measure was necessary to stop the parasite."

"Parasite?" Andrey asked. "What do you mean?"

"I'm wondering the same thing," Nicholas said.

"I'm sure that Guilty Spark here will enlighten us on the matter," Kerensky said. He looked pointedly at Guilty Spark. "Will you?"

"I will. Installation 04 was created as a part of the Halo Array, a series of what you referred to as 'Bishop Rings' designed for a single purpose: to contain and study the Flood, and to sterilize the galaxy."

Kerensky frowned. "You're saying that Installation 04, which I'll refer to henceforth as Halo, is a superweapon? If so, how does it accomplish this goal?"

Guilty Spark's chassis bobbed, then he said, "Yes… it is a super weapon. However, to explain its function, I must explain what the Flood is. Are you familiar with the concept of parasites, General Kerensky."

"I am," Kerensky said. "I take it the Flood is a parasite of sorts?"

"It is, and it is a terrifyingly effective and virulent one at that. Records are spotty as to where they came from, but I can tell you what they are, how they spread, and what is likely their ultimate goal. The Flood, as you already know, is a race of parasitic organisms that attacked my masters over a hundred thousand years ago. They were responsible for consuming the majority of lifeforms in the galaxy, including my makers, the Forerunners, which necessitated the activation of the Halo Array.

"What makes them dangerous is how they spread and how they become stronger. The Flood infects living organisms by creating spores, each one containing a cluster of Flood Super Cells, who are then used to create more spores. The spores then convert the infected organism into a Flood Form, which continuously produces more spores.

"Once infection has settled in, some of these organisms are converted into Infection Forms, which then attack other organisms in order to convert them into more members of the Flood. This is generally known as the 'Feral Stage.' During this period of time, the Flood attacks with little to no strategy, seeming to focus primarily on consumption of intelligent beings and biomass and thus expanding and strengthening their own forces."

Kerensky frowned. "Could you show us images of the 'Flood?'"

"Of course," Guilty Spark said. "Be warned. What you are about to see can be quite… disturbing to some individuals. I would advise discretion in this matter."

"We've seen death and destruction before," Kerensky said. "My sons even fought during the Liberation of Terra. We are all battle-hardened veterans here."

"Very well. I would like to access your holographic projector to do so."

"You are familiar with holography?" Kerensky asked.

"Of course. My makers used such technology all the time. Some were even so detailed, one might forget they were mere projections."

Kerensky shruged. "Very well. You may."

"Thank you." The hologram in the room shimmered, then displayed something out of a madman's nightmares. It was a cluster of what looked like small balls, with spines connecting them, while a few projected off into thin air. Kerensky felt a chill run down his spine as a creature resembling a pale tan balloon with tentacles appeared.

"This is… unsettling," Nicholas said. "What happens if something… or someone, is infected?"

"Conversion into a Flood form begins," Guilty Spark said. A moment later, the hologram showed what looked like a human being being infected by the Flood.

Kerensky's gut tightened as the organism was completely converted into a member of the Flood. It's head was twisted at an angle, while new limbs sprouted out of it's body in macabre fashion. One of its arms morphed into a massive claw, while its skin quickly became a sickly pale color. Before long, there was little left of the original organism.

A choking sound drew Kerensky's attention to his sons. Andrey puked into a vomit bag, his mind nearly overcome with horror. Nicholas paled, then patted his brother on the back. "Easy there!" he said. "Don't inhale that stuff. Let it out, then take some deep breaths."

Andrey leaned back, wiping his mouth with a nearby tissue. His body trembled with each rapid gasp he took. "You all right?" Kerensky asked.

Andrey held up a finger. "G-Give me a minute…" he said. Once his breathing had slowed down, he cleared his throat. "I… I'm OK now. What the hell was that, Guilty Spark?! What the flying hell was that?!"

"The process of conversion into a host for the Flood," Guilty Spark said. "As you can see, it is not only extremely painful, it is terrifying to watch."

"That's an... understatement. I've seen the effects of bioweapons being deployed but this… this is something else."

"It is," Nicholas agreed. Both his eyes had fixed onto the hologram, horror plainly written onto his face.

"I've got a feeling there's more than this," Kerensky said. "If the Flood only progressed this far, then your makers, Guilty Spark, would've been able to quash this threat easily."

"If only," Guilty Spark agreed. "Unfortunately, the Feral Stage is only the start of the horror. At some point during the Feral Stage, the Flood will begin to collectively shift their objective. When this happens, Combat Forms will work together to accumulate the biomass of both infected victims and uninfected sentient beings, allowing a series of widespread chemical reactions to occur across the reserves of calcium and flesh they have collected, eventually creating what is known as a 'Proto-Gravemind. Once a Proto-Gravemind has absorbed enough biomass and becomes a full grown Gravemind the infection can then proceed into the Coordinated Stage.

"Graveminds, according to the data I have access to, are highly intelligent, and have the memories of all of the hosts the Flood have consumed. Once a Gravemind is formed, the Flood become extremely dangerous, and often begin using tactics and other methods to spread the infection.

"Eventually, they enter the Interstellar Age, which is when they become their most dangerous. In this stage, the full extent of the Flood's power becomes truly evident, transcending beyond its purely biological aspects. In line with the parasite's strategy of utterly saturating all available channels of information, non-biological intelligences and data networks are targeted with advanced forms of a digital assimilation disease known as the 'logic plague, the Flood's information equivalent of its organic form. They can also begin to alter the fabric of space-time at this stage.

"Finally, there's the Transgalactic Stage. Once the Flood reach this point in their infection cycle, they'll have infected all worlds in their host galaxy and gained complete understanding of any technological and scientific knowledge that was present. By this time, it has reached a complete critical mass, which means it must depart to other galaxies for further reproduction, infestations and new technologies."

For the first time in his life, Kerensky felt a primal horror welling up from within his soul. The Flood doesn't just destroy a person's body, they consume everything about them that makes them unique. Their intelligence, their memories… everything. His heart raced in his chest, his limbs burning with excess energy.

His sons felt much the same. Andrey and Nicholas' faces were white as a sheet. Nicholas was the worst off; his hands were shaking, his heart thumped against his rubs and he began to hyperventilate. Thankfully, it was Andrey that recovered first. A rattling breath escaped his lungs, then he laid a hand onto Nicholas. "Nicky?" he asked. "You OK? Nicholas?"

Nicholas jumped, nearly raising a fist in response to what his body thought was a threat. He stopped, then slumped when he saw Andrey shying back. "I… Thank you, brother," he said. He gazed back at the images of the Flood, including the worm-like thing known as the Gravemind. "Who… who would be so… so demented as to commit such... such horrible acts?! What monstrosity would be willing to... to do all of this?!"

"I don't know," Kerensky said, "but I do know one thing. The Flood is a threat that cannot be allowed to spread! If it escapes containment, then all of the SLDF's resources will be devoted to ending this threat once and for all!"

"Indeed," Guilty Spark said. "It's good to know that you agree that the Flood must be destroyed, if they cannot be contained. That brings me to the very purpose of Installation 04, and the Halo Array as a whole. They are en masse sterilization devices."

"Do they kill Flood?" Andrey asked.

"Not exactly. Installation 04 or Halo, as Kerensky has aptly chosen to refer to this place, isn't designed to kill the Flood. It's designed to deny the Flood any host it can inhabit. Humans, Forerunners, the Flood makes no preference in which organisms to consume; it will consume all it can infect. As such, the only way to stop the Flood is to literally starve them to death. And that is why the Halo Array was created: to sterilize the galaxy of all organisms the Flood would find suitable for infection."

So that's what Halo is designed to do, Kerensky realized. "It's designed to kill the Flood's food, thereby starving them to death."

"Simply put, but accurate. The method utilized by the array to conduct this 'mass sterilization protocol' involves the superluminal conveyance of a burst of cross-phased super-massive neutrinos, tuned to emit a harmonic frequency that destroys the nervous system of any life form within range. Simpler organisms lacking a neural system are unaffected, along with inanimate structures."

"Ouch," Andrey said. "That must be an extremely painful way to die."

"The process isn't actually painful, so far as we know that is. In fact, given the rapidity of this method, I can say that it would be a very sudden and painless death for any organisms affected. Also, I must add that each installation has a maximum effective range of twenty five thousand light years. Records indicate that around eighteen installations consisting of twelve 30,000km diameter rings and six 10,000km installations, were used to sterilize the entire galaxy. However, I am unaware if they are currently still intact, or if they have been destroyed."

"That's a very good point," Nicholas said. "Any alternative is preferable to being consumed by the Flood. However, I should probably say that using the Halo Array is to be a last resort. Wouldn't you agree, Guilty Spark?"

"Indubitably, Nicholas Kerensky."

Andrey glanced at Nicholas. "I thought you wouldn't mind such a method, Nicholas. You did, after all, request a nuclear bombing of some of Amaris' bully-boys during the Liberation of Terra."

"That's because I knew what the consequences would be," Nicholas said. "I knew where they were,and I knew that such nuclear weapons could be used in a targeted manner. The Halo Array is different. It's designed to be an indiscriminate 'mass sterilization' device, which means it targets anything that isn't plant or microbial life, if I'm not mistaken. I wouldn't use such a super weapon unless I had no other choice."

"That begs the question then," Andrey said. "How come our species has bounced back when, theoretically speaking, we should be extinct? Any ideas, Guilty Spark?"

"The Forerunners created a number of installations known as 'Shield Worlds.'" Guilty Spark said. "Regrettably, I have no information on where each one is located, but I do know that they were effectively worlds that were hollow on the inside."

"So they were Dyson Spheres?" Kerensky asked.

"Dyson Spheres?"

"Artificial structures that resemble a sphere on the outside, but are hollow on the inside," Andrey explained. "The classical example is the kind that envelops its parent star, but it's possible to create one that would be planet sized."

"I see. In that case, you'd be correct, General Kerensky. It is likely that the Forerunners created these Shield Worlds to shelter any species selected for preservation from the Halo Array when it fired. Given their mastery of technology, I'd say that's the most logical assumption we can make. After the Halo Array's firing is completed, any organisms inside of these Shield Worlds would be reseeded onto their respective homeworlds, while being reduced to Stone Age levels of technology."

"That would explain how our species survived," Kerensky said. "The Forerunners happened to deem our species as worthy of preservation, then stuck us onto a Shield World. Once the Halo Array was done firing, they 'reseeded' our homeworld of Terra with the organisms they snagged from the planet. I must admit, it is quite… poetic that they chose to do what they did. That being said, you mentioned that our kind was referred to as the 'Reclaimers.' Why is that?"

"I'm not sure…" Guilty Spark admitted. "My information databanks hold no information as to why your kind was chosen as the ones to inherit our technology and knowledge. Whatever the reasons, it's clear that the Forerunners saw your species as the rightful inheritors of the Mantle of Responsibility. As such, it is the duty of all Forerunner ancillas to obey your commands."

Kerensky's brows furrowed. "I see. You also mentioned something about a 'geas.' Any ideas as to what that means?"

"Yes. It is the Forerunner term referring to a genetic command imposed on an organism or species. Under the influence of a geas, an organism could be given a set of subconscious orders that would either be specific to that organism, or passed on to their children, in some cases lasting several generations. Only highly skilled Forerunners such as the Librarian, were capable of creating a geas. Which is why I find you to be… odd."

"Why is that?" Kerensky asked.

"None of you seems to posses a geas. At first, I thought it was a statistical anomaly, but one of my Luminaries noticed this discrepancy across your entire fleet. May I ask how this is possible?"

I figured this might happen, Kerensky thought. Here we go. "I'll answer that in the form of a question. You are aware that we are roughly fifty light years from Terra, yes?"

"If by 'Terra' you mean Erde-Tyrene, the homeworld of your species?" Guilty Spark asked. "Then yes, I am aware."

"Then I have one more question for you. Have you ever encountered the SLDF before, whether it be in the form of a scouting/surveillance ship, or in the form of a clandestine fleet?"

Guilty Spark mulled over the answer. "N-No. Why?"

Kerensky nodded, as though Guilty Spark's answer had satisfied something he'd known about. "Well, that explains why we haven't encountered the armies of the Successor States until now."

"That being?" Andrey asked.

"We're in another universe."

The silence that followed was deafening. Nicholas was the first to break that silence. "I… I don't follow…"

"It's simple, really," Kerensky said. "Are you aware of how the KF Drive operates, or at least the basics of its operation?"

"Yeah. It folds space-time by using a hyperspace field to 'flip' the ship its installed on into a fifth dimension, allowing the JumpShip or WarShip it's mounted on to reach it's destination in…" He trailed off, the implications making themselves known in his mind. "Wait. Are you saying that…?"

"That we rotated into another universe?" Kerensky finished. "Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. It's been well known throughout the scientific community that the KF Drive operates on the principles of String Theory, Not only does this theory explain how the forces of the universe and subatomic particles interact with each other, it also predicts the existence of seven other dimensions that lie 'above' the fourth dimensional universe we live in.

"What most people don't know, outside of universities that is, is that I'm about to tell you. It's predicted that, if we could access these other dimensions other than the one we use for FTL flight, it's possible that we could not only enter an alternate timeline, we could enter other universes or travel backwards in time, allowing our species to transcend the limits of reality itself. Whatever misjump we suffered must have interacted with an anomaly that allowed our KF Drives to interact with those higher dimensions, resulting in our fleet jumping from our universe to another."

Nicholas and Andrey mulled over that fact. "Say… now that you mention String Theory, it does make sense for the misjump to have done that!" Andrey said. "Still, I'm surprised that you know so much of the KF Drive. Last time I recall, you asked the scientists to 'spare me the mumbo-jumbo' when they talked with you in that regard."

"Because I already read up on the literature surrounding it," Kerensky said. "I did show interest in it at one point. I merely didn't find a use for that knowledge until now. Still, that would explain the lack of a geas, wouldn't you agree, Guilty Spark?"

"That it would," Guilty Spark said, "and it would explain how your ships arrived here without the use of Slipstream Space. In fact, now that you mentioned it, I did detect several anomalies that occurred during your 'misjump.' Those were likely due to these other dimensions interacting with your means of FTL flight."

"Exactly," Kerensky said. "When we left the Inner Sphere to avoid being claimed by the Great Houses, I knew we'd need to travel as far as possible to avoid detection by them. I can't imagine anything further away than another universe.

"That being said, we'll have to find a place to settle down, now that we've effectively completed our objective. Guilty Spark, given the fact that Halo is a containment facility designed to research the Flood, how suitable would it be to human colonization?"

Guilty Spark hovered, ran calculations through his processors. "I'd say that colonizing Halo should be suitable, but with some stipulations. Such colonists would need to stay far away from the containment centers located on the installation. I can provide you with a list of locations that the Flood are housed at so that we can avoid any unpleasant accidents."

"Good. We might also consider colonizing any nearby planetary bodies. Still, I can safely say that Halo will likely be our new home. It's got plenty of room to spare and as long as we stay away from any Flood containment areas, we should be perfectly safe.

"Before we go, though, I would like to ask Guilty Spark if he's familiar with our history, given that he's likely accessed our ship databases." He turned his gaze towards Guilty Spark. "Are you?"

"Yes," Guilty Spark said. "Your ship systems were most cooperative in that regard. It's also the other half of the reason why I'm allowing your fleet near Halo. No only are you Reclaimers, you need a home. It makes me angry to see the greed that destroyed your government, and has likely begun a centuries long dark age that will take a lot of work to recover from."

"Indeed," Kerensky said. "Once you've sent that list of locations, we'll return to our fleet and begin making preparations to establish a colony here."

"Before you go, I'd like to offer my assistance to you in that regard. We have a number of mining facilities that can be used to produce the ores you need, as well as Sentinels that can help with the construction and protection of any settlements, factories and shipyards you need to support the amount of ships that you have. I must also remind you that while Installation 04 was built as a weapon, it is also a research facility. Any field of research you need me to investigate, I will gladly devote myself to doing so."

"Good," Kerensky said. "I'd also like you to send me any information that you have on your civilization's FTL flight system. I look forwards to reading about it. That being said, we'll have to leave shortly in order to announce to the rest of the fleet what the plan is going forwards."

"I understand," Guilty Spark said. "Still, let me be the first to welcome you and your fleet to your new home, General Kerensky."

Kerensky smiled. "Thank you, Guilty Spark. We'll speak some more later. Return to your post at the installation. I'll inform my people as to what we've discovered and what's happened. Dismissed!"

In a flash, Guilty Spark vanished into thin air. "How'd he do that?" Nicholas asked.

"Probably the same way we use our KF Drives," Andrey said. "After all, it is a form of high speed transportation."

"Indeed," Kerensky said. "Andrey, inform Captain Howard that we are returning to the fleet. We have what we've come for: a home to put roots down into…"

. . .

A few minutes later, Kerensky was back aboard the McKenna's Pride. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest as the moment drew closer. "Fleetwide Comm channel is open," Gerald said. "We're ready to broadcast when you are."

"Thank you," Kerensky said. This is it. This is the day that all of us have been waiting for.

With a deep breath, he thumbed the transmit button. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Commanding General Aleksandr Kerensky speaking. Recently, as you are all aware, our entire fleet suffered a misjump that has propelled us into another star system, one with a Bishop Ring built by an unknown species.

"What hasn't been made clear was the nature of our misjump. Due to what was possibly a spatial anomaly, we suffered an event whose probably of occurring is less than one in a trillion. We have misjumped into an entirely new universe, one whose timeline differs from our own."

He paused, letting the gravity of his words sink in. "In this timeline, another species known as the Forerunners existed. They are, or rather were, a highly advanced civilization responsible for building the Bishop Ring we see before us. I know this as I spoke with the Artificial Intelligence assigned to the Bishop Ring as its caretaker, an AI known as 343 Guilty Spark.

"Their race was destroyed, however, by the Flood, a race of parasitic organisms that attempted to consume all life in the known galaxy. This necessitated the construction of the Bishop Ring as part of a series of superweapons designed to destroy all life in the galaxy, thereby starving the Flood to death. Once its purpose was complete, the Bishop Ring before us, henceforth known as 'Halo,' was converted in to a research center designed to study the Flood in the hopes of creating a countermeasure.

"The very same caretaker of Halo, Guilty Spark, has informed me that our species exists in this universe. Preserved against destruction, along with any race deemed worthy by the Forerunners, they were reseeded on our homeworld of Terra following their tech being reverted to the Stone Age. I have also learned that our species was chosen by the Forerunners to reclaim their lost knowledge and technology, with our race being known by them as the 'Reclaimers.'

"As such, given the monumental circumstances of our arrival here, I have decided that it is time for us to begin settling down. Guilty Spark has been gracious enough to allow us to live on Halo, and to assist us in the construction of any settlements, factories and shipyards we decide to build. By the time this speech ends, engineering teams will be sent to Halo to begin constructing settlements at any location deemed suitable by Guilty Spark.

"Anyone found wandering near containment facilities where the Flood are contained will be isolated from the general population and quarantined until they are proven to be clean of contamination. If they are contaminated, they will be euthanized, as there is no cure for the Flood at this current time. As such, anyone that wanders too close to a Flood Containment facility will be quarantined, questioned and, if necessary, sentenced at minimum to four weeks of hard labor or, if they are contaminated, death by firing squad."

He let that sink in for a few seconds. Thumbing the transmit button again, he said, "As such, as I said a few months ago, return to the Inner Sphere is impossible for us. Our heritage and our convictions are different from those we left behind. The greed of the five Great Houses and the Council Lords is a disease that can only be burned away by the passing of decades, even centuries. And though the fighting may seem to slow, or even cease, it will erupt again as long as there are powerful men to covet one another's wealth.

"We shall live apart in this new and unfamiliar universe, conserving all the good of the Star League and ridding ourselves of the bad, so that when we find a way to return, and return we shall, our shining moral character will be as much our shield as our BattleMechs and fighters. It will be difficult, and it is likely that some will find themselves unable to withstand their greed, but should we stay the course, our civilization will become one far stronger than any other before it, both in the might of our forces, and in the purity and goodness of our morality. That is all."

His speech finished, Kerensky let go of the transmit button. The moment he did so, his ears rang as a chorus of cheers erupted from the speakers. It went on for a full minute, then went silent once more. Another voice spoke up. "This is Captain Miles of the SLS Fregasa. I stand with you and your ideals, General Kerensky. You have shown us the way forwards, and though it will be a rough path to travel, it is one that will ultimately make us stronger."

"As do I," another captain said. Before long, all of the Captains of the ships in the fleet had announced their consent.

Kerensky smiled, thumbed the transmit button again "I thank you all for your commitment to the cause. Now, let us begin creating a better and brighter future, so that when our fellow brothers and sisters in this reality meet us, our shining moral character will be as much our shield as our BattleMechs and fighters." Letting go of the button again, he released a rattling sigh.

"You did it!" DeChavilier said. "You've just given us the one thing we needed most: a home to call our own."

"Indeed," Kerensky said, a ghost of a smile on his face"I intend to make the most of this second chance, for both myself, and my children. It's time to get go of the past, to let the pain and the hurt fade away. Now, we can begin creating a new home for our people, one that will become the center of our civilization."