…I have been caught in the web that is Mass Effect/Halo fics. God help me.
I want to see a Punic dunk on some Reapers.
Cannot…..avoid…..UNSC stomp.
AGGGGHHHHHH!
I'm kidding, I'm fine.
Anyways, the youtube channel gammacompanymark of the Punic class fleet carrier from Halo. To put it bluntly, I have a fondness for the Punic class Fleet Carrier. It has that more, utilitarian look to it that I enjoy more than the Infinity.
So in honour of that video, I am making a Halo/Mass Effect story because why not? And the star of the show is going to be a Punic class Fleet Carrier.
Note: I'm making this a hybrid crossover with Mass Effect/Halo/RWBY (background)/ and a tiny bit of Kantai Collection because….why not?
Personal log, Rear Admiral Aranuka 'Arenia' Harper, UNSC Kongo (Punic Class Fleet Carrier), Exploration Group 6, UNSC Navy, United Terran Commonwealth of Nations, Stellar Compact
August 12th, 2730 CE
When I entered the naval academy, I didn't know I was going to end up in command of an upgraded relic of the Human-Covenant War and travelling to another galaxy in command of a hodgepodge of new and obsolete ships.
I should probably explain who I am. My name is Aranuka Harper, granddaughter of Fleet Admiral Joseph Harper (yes, that one. The one who led the defence of Earth and the second highest ranking person in the fleet behind the famous hood). I was born on the Aranuka City Tether platform, which is a giant city attached to the side of a space elevator on April 14th, 2664. I had a rather normal life right until I graduated from high school at the age of 18. I joined the UNSC Exploration Corps, a subbranch of the UNSC Navy. Honestly, had a nice and fairly quiet first few years onboard the UNSC Hellcat, a Mulsanne-class light frigate converted for exploration.
Things changed in 2686. Our exploration flotilla made first contact with a pair of alien races by the names of the Omnear and the Mulicana. The former being a short and foxlike race and the latter a race akin to….well combine the Elites and jackals and you get a pretty good idea of what to expect.
I should also mention that the latter was bullying the former. And by bullying, I meant trying to destroy the Omnear homeworld when we came along. Turns out the Mulicana were extremely xenophobic for….well head to the Waypoint Network if you want an in-depth explanation. Short version, the UNSC got dragged into a fight with the Mulicana, we teamed up with the Omnear, Mulicana got stomped, and humanity got its first non-violent contact.
Took us a few hundred years to get lucky with a non-hostile first contact.
Anyways, what was important was that it sort of….kickstarted my career in the regular UNSC Navy. Transferred out of the Exploration Corps, and got into the UNSC Naval Academy on Luna, got my commission, and was placed in command of the aging UNSC Singapore, an aging Autumn class cruiser from a bygone era of military modernization.
I suppose then I earned a reputation for making ancient ships work as if they were at their peak. The Singapore went from a ship destined for the mothball fleet to a workhorse within the growing fleet. Did several operations against an assortment of foes. What's left of the insurrection, Covenant Remnant, the Mulicana, rouge Forerunner drones, pirates, etc. Heck, there was even that Operation over the world of Remnant.
And then we found the gateways.
The Gateways: Massive megastructures half the size of the Halo rings. Again, won't bore you with the details but some Slipspace magic and wormholes and you have a fairly short trip to another galaxy.
One led to the Andromeda Galaxy, where we've established several resourcing and colonial settlements.
Another led to the Sextan B galaxy, home to a number of species that we made peaceful first contact with.
Another galaxy, Sculptor, was connected via a gateway in the Persues' arm. It's supposed to be a galaxy akin to our home Milky Way.
With the resource possibilities akin to the Andromeda Galaxy and all the threats it could entail, Exploration Group 6 was established.
Around the Carrier UNSC Kongo, a Punic Class Fleet Carrier. One of five ships left in her class and the last of its kind that's not a museum ship. And My lovely flagship.
The Kongo was commissioned after the Great War before the UNSC pivoted to the Infinity class carriers. She served right up the early 2620s before being relegated as a training ship for upcoming crews for other fleet carriers. For various reasons, they didn't replace her with a dedicated training ship until this century. Keep doing patch jobs for the old girl. Originally, she was going to be scrapped, thrown into the Mothball fleet, or sold to one of our allied species.
However, most of the Infinities or other fleet carriers were preoccupied with extra-galactic colonization or defence of the home galaxy. Battleships were considered somewhat overkill, anything else was like bringing a squad of spartans to a paintball game. So someone up in High Comm thought it would be a brilliant idea to maybe give this old girl one last hurray.
If they are giving her one last hurray, they definitely didn't skimp out on upgrades.
Forerunner-grade shielding, Particle Ion Cannons, Swarmer-Archer Missiles, upgraded and modern Gauss-coil Cannons, Forerunner inspired Fusion Reactors, pulse laser point defences, onboard fabrication modules, modern AI uplinks, upgraded Slipspace drives, a MAC that makes the ODPs of the great war look like paint guns, and an upgraded fighter wing.
Honestly, Exploration Group 6 is made up of a hodgepodge of older and newer warships.
Human Autumn class cruisers from the 2550s mixed in with brand-new Mare Erythraeum-class Destroyers. C220 Longswords space fighters with CX-59 Marauder Interceptors. The Kongo with a quartet of Artemis Class Battlecruisers. Phoenix supports ships with UNIA Prowlers of classified origin. You get the picture.
Exploration group 6 is also joined by a pair of fleets from the Unggoy and the Omnear races.
The First Expeditionary Fleet United Omnear Defence force centred around a pair of heavy cruiser carriers laden with fighters full of plasma torpedos and lances escorted by primarily frigates and corvettes. It's a good fleet made of fast and powerful ships, but they have teething issues. So the Omnear wanted to get some experience with an older fleet.
And the Unggoy/grunts fleet is….well huge in hulls but equal in tonnage to us. Centred around the Usteus, apparently a name of a spiritual being of their pre-Covenant Days. A Syfon-pattern supercarrier freshly out of the shipyard lines, she's the biggest ship in the fleet. However, the Syfon class has been heavily modified to fit a more dedicated carrier and artillery platform. Escorting her is a quartet of Varric heavy cruisers, 2 dozen Kets, and hundreds of smaller warships designed by the Grunts on their own.
Over a thousand warships, tens of thousands of fighters, a few hundred thousand ground troops, and enough weapons and munitions to turn the Covenant Fleet that attacked Reach into dust.
By the Mantle, do I hope that this will be enough.
Rear Admiral Arenia Harper, signing off.
Ending log.
"Teitoku? Admiral?" A female voice from beside her desk calls out?
"Hello, Konguo. How can I help?" Arenia looked up from her computer.
Displayed from a holoprojector was a holographic statue of a brown-haired, brown-eyed, light-skinned and dressed in what was supposed to be a semi-authentic Japanese closing.
This was Konguo, sharing a nearly identical name her flagship. A Gen 8 artificial Intelligence, superior to anything beforehand, and Arenia's best friend.
With many AIs sticking to the warships they were assigned to, many saw these vessels as their bodies, their homes, and themselves as their souls. So many began to refer to themselves as their namesake of a ship, and Konguo was no different.
Of course, Konguo could just download herself into a robot or vehicle but what body was better than a 760 Million metric ton Fleet carrier with a pair of MACs, Particle Ion Cannons, and enough missiles to bloat out the sky?
"Hello Teitoku. Just a heads up, we are coming out of the Slipspace Stellarway in just 20 minutes." Konguo explained.
"Got it. The rest of the fleet? And fleets?"
"Dess, All UNSC ships report that they are good. The same goes for the Unggoy and Omnear fleets. No one is having maintenance issues yet."
"Thank goodness for the Shipworkers of the Solar Bastion." Arenia sighed. "Thanks, Konguo, keep me updated.
"Dess, Teitoku. One more thing. Your tea is ready."
On a platform opposite to the AI holographic projector, a cup of Rooibos Tea appeared.
"Thank you Konguo." Arenia snatched up the tea, took one nice sniff of the aromatic smell, and took a sip. "Gods, I need this."
"Pleasure Admiral!" Konguo's figure disappears, leaving the admiral in solitude to enjoy her tea.
10 minutes later taking her time to destress, Arenia stood up, straightened out her crisp gray and black uniform, adjusted her service cap, and stepped out of her quarters.
Kongo was….well it was old. Nearly 200 centuries in age, she was the oldest type of ship still in service besides the Phoneix class. Yet despite her age, her hallways were as clean as any other UNSC ship out there. The bog standard grey and white panels adorning the corridors, occasional support struts, a more utilitarian feel when compared more newer vessels.
Human and Faunus UNSC personnel along with the occasional Omnear and Sangheili going about their duties. Marines, the army, the occasional Pathfinder, and navy ensigns all going about their duties. Those who came near Arenia halted and saluted her as she passed by.
She entered one of the elevators, simply selected a button for the bridge, and waited for the doors to close.
"Hold it!" a heavily armoured and gloved hand grasped the elevator door, forcing the elevator doors to halt. From the side, a pair of spartans-hunters clad in Mjolnir appeared only to freeze at the sight of the admiral
"Spartan Ren, Spartan Valkyrie. Nice to see you two. Going to relieve Arc and Nikos?" Arenie greeted and gestured for the pair of hunters to turn Spartans into the elevator.
The two obligated and joined the admiral into the fairly large personnel lift. The doors shut closed and the lift began to move.
"We're off to take over for Arc's position at the Combat Controller station, Admiral. Well, I am. Nora here is just tagging along." Ren explained.
"Understood. Spartan Arc and Nikos are good warriors. And the other team?"
"Coco and her team? Pffh, complaining about the lack of clothes stores. She wants to go back to one of the Phoenix ships." Nora scoffed.
"Denied. She's one of my spartans. Tell her to suck it up until we have some solid dirt to stand on."
"Better tell her that yourself…..ma'am. Otherwise the rest at combat ready." Ren added.
Ding!
The doors opened up and the trio stepped into the corridor that linked to the Punic bridge.
Two marines, standing at the bridge door, saluted the trio as they approached the bridge. The doors whirred open and allowed them in.
"Admiral on deck!" Someone bellowed out and everyone on the bridge and UNSC, Omnear, and Breanne personnel all snapped to attention.
"At ease folks. Back to your stations." Arenia ordered as she approached the holo table.
"Admiral." Konguo appeared once again with a new hologram.
"Konguo. Stable situation?"
"Desu Teitoku. All ships report no anomalies within their systems. We are ready to drop out." The Japanese AI reported.
"Very good." Arenia looked at Holotable, showing the models of the thousand-ship-strong fleet in formation. Human, Unggoy, and Omnear combat vessels.
"Arc."
"Admiral." the spartan squad leader acknowledged as he approached the holo table in his Moljnir armour and his helmet under his arm.
"You're on break." the Admiral remarked.
"I know ma'am. But this is my first Gateway transition. Wanted to stay on the bridge." the Hunter-turned spartan replied.
"Fair enough. Navigation? How are we doing?"
"Good ma'am. Expected to drop out in one minute." a navigation officer reported.
"Copy that. Are we ready Konguo?" the admiral turned to her AI companion.
"Desu Admiral. We are ready. All ships ready to drop out."
"Good. All hands, prepare for drop out."
Ariena waited. This was normal. The Kongo had down a similar trip to Andromeda as practice. But this would be the first time the UNSC had travelled to the Sculptor galaxy.
"Drop out in 10….9….8….7….6-" the Navigation officer counted down.
Ariena gripped the holo table.
"-4…3….2….1-"
The crews of the exploration fleet felt a jolt as their ships rapidly decelerated. A massive portal ripped open in front of the entire fleet and every ship sped out of it.
In a distant star system, far from the Sculptor galaxy, a single Forerunner megastructure stood idly. For over a hundred thousand years, it stood, unused but in a constant state of self-repair. If one were to look at one, it would be as if someone hung two spider-like constructs in space, flipped one upside down, and held them there for all of eternity.
But no more: for the first time in many years, its ancient wormhole generators whirled to life, its core systems rebooting and activating for the first time in many generations, a swirling mass of black and green light began to form in between the constructs.
It only took moments for the mass of black and green coloured, and then bloom into a spherical blackhole-like construct, with traces of green energy swirling around it.
And from the Wormhole, a thousand ships streamed out at high speeds. From half-kilometre-long frigates of the UNSC to Typhon class Dreadnaughts of the Omnear fleets, the Ugnnoy Usteus Assault Carrier to the 8 Kansai class battlecarriers of the UNSC fleet.
Soon, the trickle of ships began to wan, and then stop as the combined exploration fleet had reoriented themselves into a defensive posture, waiting for a foe to appear.
But none did.
And that was fine with Admiral Harper, who took a look at the holo table. "Konguo?"
"All ships report entry, safe and sound." the AI smiled. "That's a good sign."
"It is. Get me the entire fleet."
"Desu…..you are on comms with the entire fleet."
Ariena cleared her throat. "This Rear Admiral Ariena Harper to all UNSC, Omnear, and Unggoy Ships. Welcome to the Sculptor Galaxy, better known as the Silver Coin. We've arrived safe and sound. Good job people."
Smiles and cheers erupted across the fleet, a good start.
"However, the transit was the easy part. Now comes the fun phase: We are going to survey this star system to establish a base for follow-up. All while looking out for any new aliens. We are over 11 million lightyears away from home. We keep this gateway safe, or none of us a going home." Ariena switched the subject.
"Shake out those legs, bones, and feathers people. I want all scouting and exploration ships, as well as any Prowlers that have tagged along, to begin survey missions of this star system. All flag officer, fleetwide meeting at-" she looked at her watch "-1330 hours. We have a lot to do before we can think of getting some shore leave. So let's get to work. Rear Admiral Harper, signing off."
The comm links cut out and a sense of normalcy returns to the bridge, with many returning to their original duties and new duties assumed.
"Konguo, where's Sydney?"
"Right here ma'am." a second AI, an Asianic/Australian with black hair and brown eyes wearing a UNSC army combat uniform akin to that used during the Fall of Reach. This was the AI known as Sydney Ross, a former logistics officer who had served alongside her during the operations on Remnant…..until the Forerunner ruins were uncovered, with an intact composer device.
And reactivated with several teams of UNSC personnel and Kingdom Hunters were caught inside.
The reports were classified but Arenia knew that her subordinate, who was serving as a liaison between the UNSC and Remnant hunter teams, allowed himself to be composed, to buy time for the rest of the force to escape.
Several days later, UNSC and hunter forces, many of whom were present during the 'Composer Incident' and determined to retrieve their friend, recovered his consciousness/digitized mind. To the surprise of many, Sydney was still coherent and conscious of his surroundings and having briefly accessed several Forerunner facility networks in the world. That and he was one of the first composed Humans to be recovered and not having gone insane.
After operations were concluded on Remnant, Sydney was offered a position as an AI support controller for UNSC-SOCCOM, which now included the Spartan Branch, Marine Force Recon, ODSTs, Army Rangers, and the Hunter branch with aura. Sydney accepted, now having a new purpose in life.
In addition to supporting UNSC special forces with intel, Electronic Warfare support, data-suite links, general advice, and more, Sydney was also in command of several drone swarms and four converted Posiedon class escort carriers used to support ground troops or spaceborne recon.
"How can I help you, admiral?"
"Have your Posiedons mass deploy all their recon drones." The admiral ordered. "The sooner we can get this system surveyed, the sooner we can bring reinforcements. Your focus is on any Forerunner ruins."
"Yes ma'am. Drones underway." the Human-turned AI affirms. "I'll inform you on what I can find. Sydney out." the hologram disappears, leaving Arc and Arenia.
"Well, that's done. Now I need to go handle the flag officers. Care to join me Arc?"
"You and the other Admirals and Generals?" Jaune feigned mock horror. "You don't pay us hunters enough to sit still in a stuffy little office! Admiral." Jaune quickly tacks on the last portion.
"Meh, your right. I should have brought Velvet. But too bad, your coming with me."
The hunter-turned-Spartan sighed. "Or kept Sydney back. Let's get this over with."
()
UNSC Agwe, CLVAA-904 (Carrier Light Vessel Autonomous Artifical), Poseidon class Escort Carrier.
Spaceborne Drone Battlegroup 1, Exploration Group 6, UNSC Navy
3 hours later.
Like the Kongo and half the fleet, the Agwe, along with her three other sister ships (Grand Forks, Shoufeng, and Kukulkan) was old, at least in design. Produced as a fast and mobile fleet transport ship/light carrier, it was rushed into production to fill in the gaps of a UNSC navy that had been reduced to a pitiful fraction of its true size. Considering that he could have counted the number of surviving capital ships in 2552 on his fingers and toes, Sydney couldn't blame them.
Hundreds of Poseidon were rolled out until the late 2590s until actual capital carrier ships could be built to post-war standards, and the Poseidon served as flagships of patrol, exploration, or escort formations until the 2680s.
Now the expanded UNSC fleet, numbering in the tens of thousands of ships of all kinds, found themselves with hundreds of ships that they weren't sure what to do with and didn't fit with their current doctrine. Many were sold off to civilians or allied states like the Omnear and Breanne. Other scrapped for spare materials and parts.
Some are preserved as museums. Others are used as target practice.
And then the UNSC Army, Airforce, and SOCOM, who were incorporating more drones into their forces, had a brilliant idea: a sort of hive that could deploy dozens if not hundreds or thousands of drones to fill gaps when ground or navy-based airpower or ships were unavailable.
And because they had a smaller logistical footprint (not needing food, amenities, and coffee), you could have a few Posiedons slip in alongside a Spec-ops team and provide support or even as advance recon.
So after some badgering, the UNSC navy donated the two dozen remaining Posiedons for this…. experiment in the early 2700s. Advancements in AI and multi-ship communications allowed for a single AI to control multiple small ships as well as adjacent drone swarms.
If someone told Sydney at the age of 20, an army logistician, that he would be commanding a squadron of carriers in another galaxy, plus a dozen Anlanc and Strident class frigates, he would have looked them in the face and requested they go to rehab.
One minor composition act and an offer from SOCOM, and now here was Sydney, commanding 16 warships in a new galaxy.
Born a Human and now an AI, Sydney could describe the experience as…the closest thing you could get to omnipresent. He didn't have a single body, he felt like had control over 16 smaller ones, plus what felt like a hundred or more fingers that were his drone fighters.
Drone fighters that were launching out of his Poseidon's hangar bays at more than 1 G.
These fighters were F-99J Wombat UCAVs. A legacy fighter bird from the Great War, the Wombat was still heavily used by AIs for Recon and light attack missions. Armed with a single Pulse Laser system and several cluster missiles, it was still a fairly excellent spacecraft and its sensor worked well for Recon missions.
Like this one, the Agwe and 3 escorts were conducting over a barren rock world.
It had been a few hours now. Sydney's ships, the UNIA Prowlers, and other survey ships and their escorts had left the Wormhole Gateway and begun a mass survey of the system.
No name had yet been selected yet for the star system but Sydney was hearing rumours about the Admiral naming it the Nile System, or the Yangtze, two famous rivers of Earth.
Focus, Sydney. Focus on the planet below you. The AI concentrates his thoughts and focuses on his drones.
Across the system, the Grand Forks, Shoufeng, and Kukulkan were aiding other survey ships in their exploration of the…..fuck he'll call it the Nile System for now…and their surveys of other planets. His Wombats and the Newer HummingBird Scout planes were mass deployed to aid them.
But this world? A desert and arid planet? The one the Agwe and her escorts were in orbit of? It was all his for the taking.
Sydney could feel as Hummingbird Scout planes, the newest automated Scout Craft of the UNSC, and Wombat UCAVS were launched out of the Agwe's flight bays. Dozens of birds descended on the planet's atmosphere, their sensors activating and scanning the surface below.
"Hm, let's see. What do we have?" Sydney said to himself (virtually of course). High concentration of Oxygen and a bit of Nitrogen, and a smudge of CO2. Desert World with some Aridness. Oh, a few oceans here and there. That was nice. Some nice vegetation. Gravity was around 0.89. A bit low but not the worst.
And you had yourself a fairly terra-formable world. Not great, not terrible. If nothing else, the Navy could use it as a rest stop or ground base.
The scans continued. Nothing of note.
He waited in silence.
"Right, this is going to take a while." Sydney sighed. He still thinks like a Human. Time was slow for him. The drones with their Dumb AI would do all the work.
It was going to be agonizing long.
With nothing left to do, he booted up Vapour Games, and might as well play Burn sometime with a few games.
45 minutes later
If there was one thing that Sydney enjoyed, it was video. And playing many at the same time.
"Yes, come on, come on HA! Yet shit Dragon!" Sydney declared as his tanks felled a beast in the game of Magical Modern Combat, an RTS game that combined the forces of the 21st century Earth and some magical place called, Falmaret? Falmart….something.
Note to self, reread lore when given time. Sydney thought as he focused his attention on a 4x game called Stellarium, where his glorious fleets were crushing an abominable alien horde.
Build a few more foundry worlds, get a few fleets online, make sure his slaves-indentured servants weren't starving-
PING!
Sydney swept away his virtual gaming table and threw open a data screen.
One of his hummingbirds detected something on the surface of the planet. Non-natural planetary materials. Metals. Refined metals-
Osmium-based alloys? Faint energy signatures? Distant electronic usage?
"Alright, mate! Jackpot!" Sydney cackled, before directing the Agwe and her escorts into the atmosphere and launching more drones.
It was a Forerunner ruin of some kind, and Sydney called dibs.
Directing a dozen Hummingbirds and Wombats to the region, Sydney peered through a dozen different cameras and sensors to get a look at what he had found.
Soon, a small fleet of aircraft was orbiting around the detecting site and he had his eyes.
Let's see. Grey/silver walls with blue glowing lights? Check. Embedded into a mountain? Also, check. Discretely hidden in a canyon? Double Check. Forerunner Zero-point Energy source? Check- Ah, that's an issue.
Sydney keyed in Rear Admiral Harper, briefly pausing to quickly readjust his combat BDUs. "Rear Admiral Harper, this is Sydney of Agwe Control. We have a Code Foxtrot Echo Romeo Romeo 0343. Repeat, Agwe had a Code Foxtrot Echo Romeo Romeo 0343."
It only took an agonizing 3 seconds for a reply to come back. "Affirmative Agwe Control. You found Forerunner Structures?"
"Yes, Ma'am. I have what appears to be an entrance to an S-2 class Forerunner complex. It's small but could be useful. However, I am also showing signs of structural decay. Requesting a combat engineering team to erect structural support and to deploy combat drones to investigate further." Sydney excitedly requested.
"Copy your last. I'll route an army combat engineering company to your location. Good find Agwe Control. Get ready to see what's inside. We can use those ruins as a base of operations. And combat drones are free to deploy. Rear Admiral Arenia, out."
Sydney disconnected the comms system and queued a few orders for the Grand Forks to join him and for a few drop pods ladden with drones to deploy.
()
1 hour later
Half a dozen heavy automated transports, each larger than an old Condor, began to hover half a kilometre in front of the ruins themselves.
They were C-2 Hercules, the newest aero-space transports in use by the UNSC and could carry tanks, infantry companies, supplies, and more. It could be flown with a pilot or automated.
Like all of his Hercules were. Sydney gently glided them into the region, set them to hover and touch down, and lowered their ramps.
Within minutes, Sydney had a small army of heavy and light combat drones. Some Rockhead automated tanks, Guardian Light anti-armour vehicles, Anvil Electronic Warfare drones, a Few Hellfire light assault airborne drones, Hawk multi-purpose drones, and enough ordnance to wreck a small city.
And then there was Sydney himself. Downloading himself into an empty android bot that was pretty much akin to a Human body and his own holographic avatar, only with a metal skin, having the capabilities of Mjolnir, and some red face paint.
And he was wearing the older Fall of Reach Army BDUs and carrying an MA37 assault rifle. For….nostalgic sake. Wouldn't do much against a bunch of Forerunners but that was what his drones were here for.
And he was here to access the electronic systems themselves. Not fight. That was the purpose of his drones.
While he waited for the engineering force to arrive, Sydney, in his robot body, scanned the entrance and ruins around it for more information, walking around at the entrance of the canyon, making sure the entrance was actually accessible, designating a drop point, and sending drones out for recon.
Your bog standard Forerunner ruins exploration. Nothing too ridiculous.
Still, what was a Forerunner ruin doing on a world like this? Considering it was the only one on the whole planet and drones picked up no other structures.
His thoughts were interrupted when the distant rumbling of VTOLs echoed over the horizon.
D92-TC/G Pelican dropships. The enduring symbol of the UNSC's aerospace craft. And the Replacement for the venerable D-77 TC models of the Human-Covenant War.
While the models were fairly similar, the technology was different. Impulse propulsion drives, transparent explosive-proof metals for the pilots, shield generators, micro but effective Fusion reactors, an energy shield, enhanced armour alloy, stealth coating, and a big ass repeating coilgun and laser weapons mount for 'self-defence' purposes.
His robot eyes tagged them as Hammer flight. A Dozen of them.
"Hammer 1-1, this is Agwe Control. I see you coming inbound at heading 204 by 036 degrees at 200 KPH. Welcome to this barren rock that the Forerunner here apparently called home. You bringing the engineering crew I requested?"
"(Comms) Agwe Control. This is Hammer 1-1, flight lead. Good to see some friendly metalheads down there. We have Trident Company apart of the Navy Seabees. 239th Naval Construction Battalion. Should be enough to get you through this mess."
"Nice going Hammer 1-1. Did you at least bring some popcorn and soda on the way down as well so I can do something as the Seabees do the heavy lifting?"
"(Comms) Ha! Sorry Agwe control. Just your bog standard military-grade rations. Not that they're that terrible. Pretty gormu-"
"Hammer 1-1, going to cut you there. I know what those rations fucking taste like. The equivalent of eating Shit On Shingles. Trust me, you navy folks have no idea until you actually look at army food budgets and eat the same crap I used to hand out to the pissed-off army and marine folks."
"(Comms) Dear goodness no! Not that barbaric to eat those horrid packages made of plastic and weeds! Please Agwe Control, spare us the horror."
"Got it Hammer 1-1. At least bring me some coffee next time. Anyways, I got an LZ marked for you-" Sydney pops out an old-fashioned smoke grenade, yanks the pin out, and tosses it to the ground. "-You should see blue smoke, and the handsome SOCOM man sitting next to it."
"(Comms) Wilco Agwe control. See the smoke, coming for touch down."
A dozen Pelicans roared over the desert landscape into view at fast speeds, before their VTOL engines tilted upwards and they began to slow, and slow, and slow-
Before gracefully touching down and plopping onto the rocky surface.
Their rear ramps open and out comes dozens of UNSC navy engineers and marines in the 'standard' issue combat armour for the Marine Corps.
In hindsight, standard issue combat armour was akin to mid-war Mjolnir the Spartans used to war only with up-to-date combat systems and shields.
Yeah, Sydney was really the odd one out in his Wartime BDUs.
One of the navy troops, clad in a camouflaged desert camo scheme thanks to the adaptive camo system built within modern BDUs, approached Sydney.
"You Agwe Control?!"
"Got it, Captain! Colonel Sydney Ross, UNSC Agwe, Special Warfare Group 102!" Sydney shook the hand of the captain.
"Commander Elohim Naabal, Trident Company, UNSC Hecate's Blessing!"
"Welcome to this barren rock that the Forerunners decided was going to be an outpost! I hope you brought enough toys to stitch this place together, a good amount of structural damage was detected and Kongo actual really wants this place intact."
"What do you think our job is!?" Command Naabal gestured for his construction company to gather up their equipment and material together. Drones and light vehicles could be seen disgorging from the Pelicans. "You got us a path forward?"
"I'll lead the way, Commander. After that, it's your people's time to shine."
()
1.5 hours later
Work went smoothly over the course of an hour and a half. The combat drones eked out a safe working space and drop zone for the engineering force and the combined UNSC Seabees and Drone force was able to gain entrance into the Forerunner ruins.
Only to find the place practically on the verge of falling apart.
So the UNSC Navy Seabees went to work. Setting up hard light structural supports, nano-struts, reserve Fusion generators, and more magical technological engineering tools.
Sydney did his best to support the Seabees with his own drone scans and sensors. But he mostly stayed out of the way. He may be an AI, but he was definitely not an engineer.
"Last teams reporting in. We did all we could to reinforce this structure." Commander Naabal replied as he, Sydney, and a few other engineers and marines steadily sulked down a facility corridor.
"It will do. The scientists will definitely want their hands on this facility when we're done. Might as well make sure we don't have to bail their asses out." And then Sydney raised a hand abruptly and everyone drew their weapons.
"Forerunner control center, doorway. Left side. We got movement. Stack up."
In an instant, a dozen marines, navy Seabees, and one AI robot were stacked up on either side of the doorway.
"Ready?"
Sydney nodded, the safety on his MA37 unlocked.
"I'm clearing. Fingers off the trigger. Only shoot if in self-defence."
The android placed his right hand on the doorway, wirelessly accessing the controls-
Whizz! The ancient gray Forerunner doors slide open and Sydney's MA37 snapped up.
To reveal a massive chamber with a Forerunner console at the end.
And the movement turned out to be several Forerunner Sentinel Protectors mindlessly floating around.
"Multiple Forerunner Sentinels. Protector Class. Looks like they're on low power mode." Sydney muses.
"You've even seen anything like this Commander?" A marine asked.
"Nothing like it, though from what the rest of the company tells me, this facility might have not been completed fully. Explain why the self-maintenance systems are offline." Naabal mused his own rifle, an MA25 coilgun carbine raised.
"Got a console at the end of the chambers. Moving towards it Commander." Sydney stated.
"Acknowledged Agwe control. We got you….covered." Naabal hesitated as he just looked at the Sentinels.
Jogging quickly to the console, Sydney stepped onto the black circular disc just in front of the holographic Forerunner console. The moment he stepped on, the platform raised up into the air.
Why did it levitate into the air, especially when there were no windows to gracefully lord over the rest of the facility? Sydney…..really didn't give a crap.
Quickly typing on the console, Sydney quickly gained access to the systems a little physical and wireless hacking.
"We got control. Reactivating non-combat functions. Standby." Sydney reported, rapidly restarting the systems.
And almost like in a movie, the overhead lights turns on.
"Power levels looking good. Be advised, that the facility is being partially powered by auxiliary power sources and our generators."
"(Comms) Understood, we'll-Woah!"
Sydney peered down to see the Sentinel drones suddenly awaken and began to stare at the marines and engineers with a menacing gaze.
"Hang on." Sydney hastily directed the Sentinels with new orders, which caused the Forerunner robots to harmless float out into the hallway.
"(Comms) Close one Control."
"They're heading back to recharge or maintenance. One of the two. It looks like that this facility has a minor stockpile of Sentinel Drones. No constructors, not that I can see. Explains why this facility is incomplete." Sydney reported.
"(Comms) Does it tell you what this facility's purpose is Control?" Commander Naabal asked.
"Give me one- JACKPOT! This is a Forerunner Sensor Outpost. Looks like it's using FTL sensors to scan the entire Sculptor Galaxy! I got a pretty good galaxy map right here!"
"(Comms) By the Mantle, that's amazing!"
"Agreed Commander. I'm contacting the Kongo now." Sydney switched comm frequency. "This Agwe Control to Rear Admiral Arenia. Jackpot, we hit Jackpot! Forerunner facility is an FTL sensor post that was observing the Sextan Galaxy!"
"(Comms) Did I just hear that correctly Agwe control? An observation post with FTL sensors?"
"Confirmed." Quickly tapping the console, he brought up a 2D map so he could look with his robot eyes. "We got ourselves a pretty accurate map of the Sculptor galaxy. I also have a location for this system. We're 8,000 thousand lightyears away from Sculptor."
"(Comms) That's some good news Agwe Control. Link us the data."
"Already on it." Sydney quickly used his built-in communication systems as an interface between UNSC and Forerunner systems. "The map actively tracks every star system in the galaxy. Every planet, star system, every stellar event and drift. It's amaz-"
And then a big red red dot seemingly appeared on the southern portion of the galaxy map.
"?" Sydney quickly accessed the console for more information.
"(Comms) Agwe control, you there?"
"Sorry Rear Admiral. This facility just picked up what appeared to be a star system-sized….explosion of some kind. Too weak to be a supernova but strong enough to wipe out an entire star system. The facility computers think it was triggered artificially or abnormally. Sorry, this facility apparently lacks the equipment to track galactic civilizations so I can't tell you if there's an alien out there."
"(Comms) Well there goes the plan to just let the Forerunners do the hard work." Arenia joked. "(Comms) Bring back all the data and report back to the Kongo. Seabees will stay in place for now. I'll have a science team and Garrison troop prepped for deployment."
"Understood. Agwe controls out."
Sydney continued to stare at the galaxy and then propped the facility network. Some sort of….energy burst that appeared to have radiated across an entire solar system.
"What kind of galaxy did we enter?" Sydney wondered.
Waypoint Nexus…United Terran Commonwealth of Nations…United Nations Space Command Defence Forces…UNSC Special Operations Division
United Nations Space Command Special Operations Combat Division (also known as the UNSC Special Warfare Branch or UNSC-Special Operations Command) is the 6th operating branch of the UNSC Defence Forces. An evolution of the Spartan Branch, UNSC-SOCOM is the primary department of the UNSCDF responsible for special combat operations and consists of all Tier 1 and Tier 2 Special Forces of all UNSCDF branches.
UNSC-SOCDiv came about during the Great Terran National Reforms of the 2560s that saw power be transferred away from the Earth-centric United Earth Government to the reformed United Terran Commonwealth of Nations that oversees and more equally represents all Human colonies. During reforms, one of the major complaints was about the UNSC Spartan Branch. Despite being one of the reasons the Created Crisis was dealt with and fairly powerful in their own right, the other branches of the UNSCDF (baring the Airforce) felt that the Spartans had too much power, especially because it was the smallest organization and taking a disproportionate amount of the funding.
A background battle ranged within the UNSC Security Council between the Spartan Branch and the Air Force and the Marine Corps and Stellar Navy, with the Army and the newly established United Nations Intelligence Agency watching from the sidelines. Eventually, an agreement was reached. The Spartan branch would continue to operate but reformed to include all Tier 1 and many Tier 2 Special forces of the UNSCDF to operate more coherently. Though initially displeased with this idea, the various branches of the UNSCDF agreed and the Spartan Branch was reformed into the UNSC-SOCDiv.
Organization
UNSC-SOCDiv (also commonly referred to as UNSC-SOCOM) is the amalgamation of the UNSC-Spartan Branch, the UNSC Navy's Naval Special Warfare Command, the UNSC Army and Marine Corp's Unified Special Warfare Command. It takes inspiration from pre-unification national Special Forces Commands like the United States Joint Special Operations Command. While its units are still heavily under the command of their origin branches, UNSC-SOCDiv has the final say on deployments as a priority for mission orders. It can freely operate unoccupied formations into combat operations and create new special warfare groups to suit a new environment.
UNSC-SOCOM is headed by a Master Chief Operations Director, the equivalent of a Four Star General or Fleet Admiral. Typically this is a position filled by a veteran of UNSC-SOCDiv or a UNSC or Marine General experienced with Special Operations. This is typically a combat veteran of some kind, with very few 'green' officers holding this rank.
Broadly speaking, there are three branches of the UNSC-SOCDiv: Joint Theatre Operations Command, Special Forces Support Branch, and Direct Action Operations.
Joint Theatre Operations Command (JTOC) is defined as the broad overviewing body of all Tier 2 and Tier 1 Special Forces. This includes but is not limited to Marine Force Recon and ODST, Army Pathfinders and Rangers, Airforce Special Operations Wings and Security Formations, Navy Spaceborne Rescue, and many other independent Special Forces groups. Among the famous are the Spartans (genetically and biologically enhanced supersoldiers) and the Hunters (warriors enhanced with supernatural abilities). JTOC is less of a combat command, rather it focuses on enhancing interservice compatibility, equipment reviews and examinations, force readiness projections and assessment, and other checks and reviews to ensure that all Special Operations Units are generally at decent readiness.
The Special Forces Support Branch is considered the research and logistical branch of the UNSC-SOCDiv. It draws heavily on other weapon research divisions of the UNSC such as the Navy Naval Special Weapons. In addition to weapons and equipment research, logistical support, and equipment and supply analysis and acquisition, the Support Branch also handles biological, cybernatic, and genetic augmentation of special forces like those akin to the Spartans.
Direct Action Operations is the sword of the UNSC-SOCDiv. It is divided into several Special Warfare Groups, consisting of what is considered the best of the best of the Special Forces of the UNSC. Considered the true successor to the Spartan Branch, DAO is comprised of several Special Warfare Groups (SWGs) that operate under UNSC SOCDiv operationally independently from other branches. Comprised of Spartans, Rangers, Hunters, ODSTs, and ONI black ops groups. SWGs can range from company-sized formations of assassins to combined Hunter-ODST units at the battalion level to entire mechanized regiments with Spartan support. Dozens of SWGs exist, some multi-purpose and others with more specialized operations.
Though still fairly new, UNSC-SOCDiv also operates a detachment of ships directly under its command under the DAO. Most of these are either scouting vessels, prowlers, or combat transport that are less than cruiser displacement. However, UNSC-SOCDiv now operates a small complement of modernized Frigates, Destroyers, and light carriers under an experimental AI Command.
UNSC-SOCDiv has operated in all combat operations after the Created Crisis and the Human-Covenant War. This includes many including the hunt for the Prophets' Crusade, the Jiralhanae Occupation, the Stellar Winds War, the Vissari First Contact Crisis, the Defence of the Omnear People, the UNSC/Omnear and Mulicana War, and the Remnant Planetary Crisis. And in all of its operations, UNSC-SOCDiv units have performed excellently with little issue.
The 6th Exploration Group has two Special Warfare Groups attached to it. The first one is SWG-PS (Planetary/Space) 88, comprising of both Veterans of the Remnant Planetary Crisis and volunteers from the United Omnear Special Warfare Command and the Breanne Extraordinary Operations Forces. A primarily infantry (mainly Spartans, Hunters, Force Recon, and ODSTs) and starfighter-based formation, it's a deadly unit that relies on speed and stealth to get the job done. The other formation is SWG-S (Space) 102, one of 6 Autonomous Fleet Formations of light combat ships under the sole overview of an AI. It's one of the first formations where the commanding officer and crew are comprised of an Artificial Intelligence, namely Colonel Sydney Ross. SWG-102's main goal is to support SWG-88 with spaceborne combat support via its autonomously controlled carriers, Frigates, combat ground drones, and strike craft.
Omnear ships follow a design of the Vasudians from the Freespace games. Unggoy ships are heavily modified Covenant ship classes painted in Green and Purple schemes with a hint of Banish looks.
OC races are the Omnear (same as from Frontlines: The Attician Front) and the Breanne, who are a Stellaris species to add a tad bit of flavour.