AN: You know the drill, Halo meets and clashes with Mass Effect, but with a twist. Halo is just stronger.
To everyone done with lazy timelines, sorry but can't be bothered to be creative right now and I'd like to get the background down now. There will be many AU edits since I find it hard to believe that across over 800 colonies only thirty-nine billion humans were alive and the Covenant killed twenty-three billion when they should have killed more because that would mean that a majority of humans live on Earth and NOT the billions of square kilometres of free real estate waiting to be claimed by a few billion opportunistic humans. Seriously, Reach is a better Earth and at its peak had less than a billion people. There are at least a dozen or so million square kilometres more space than Earth and that few live there?
Either way, sit back, relax, grab some holy Coke blessed by the MAN Emperor himself and enjoy the story.
NOTICE: This is not the original chapter, changes were made to improve overall quality.
March 3rd, 2553: The Human-Covenant war officially ends. Official estimates on the damage inflicted by the aliens are revealed, sparking debates on the logic and rationale of returning to a civilian-run government and state. Pre-war the population of UEG/UNSC space was 156.357 billion across 813 colonies. 210 of the 254 Inner colonies remain and 39 Outer colonies are left, taking 109.594 billion lives, which puts the current population across all 249 colonies, including the 33.628 billion born during the war, at 80.391 billion. Around half of the population before the war. Massive support in favour of a military government occurs, and a poll is soon held, the results are a massive 70.09% majority in favour and a 29.91% minority against. The UEG is relegated to overseeing the civilian population whilst the UNSC has majority power. The Security Council becomes the new leader of the UNSC/UEG with Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood as the de facto leader.
The regime change sparks outrage among UEG circles, claiming that implementing a military state is a danger to the people's freedom, in response Lord Hood promises to "Create a strict culture of loyalty to the people and putting them before the state or state leaders to ensure the mistakes of the past are never repeated". Most shipyards are repurposed for the construction of warships with few left for merchant and civilian ships.
In April, millions volunteer to colonise lost worlds, most survivors seeking to reclaim their homes and others seeking to be part of an effort to help humanity get back on its feet.
May 2553: The Insurrection resurges against the UNSC in the wake of the legitimate military takeover. However with the war, many have become disillusioned with the movement, with some even going as far as stating and believing that the Insurrection was only good for making the UNSC get its act together and prepare itself against the Covenant with some "target practice" and nothing else. Wider public opinion is even worse, many call the rebellion ungrateful traitors who'd rather fight against humanity than the aliens that nearly wiped it out. This hatred and scorn for the Insurrection would explode when files, audio and video of Insurrection leaders discussing and deciding on selling The Covenant information on the whereabouts of UNSC colonies in exchange for sparing the rebels are leaked, destroying the moral high ground many joined the movement for.
The already abysmal recruitment rate of the rebels drops to zero and Insurgents mutiny against their leaders, some join in the mutiny, capturing and selling their former comrades and leaders to the UNSC to be pardoned for their 'crimes'. Violent protests and riots calling for blood last for days. On July 6th, the public execution of most Insurrection leaders was carried out, ending the sixty-year-long civil conflict.
September 1st, 2553: ONI, seeking to undermine the UNSC, attempts to destroy Section 0 with agents they had inserted into the 'secret' division. Several hours later many of Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 have been detained, the rest killed in the ensuing firefights and over a third proving loyal, with the Commander in Chief Margaret Parangosky, herself being tried and executed for her crimes. Serin Osman later becomes Commander in Chief for organising the takedown. Fearing decades ago that Parangosky and ONI were becoming threats to the security of humanity just as much if not more so than its enemies, she and others secretly began planning a coup against the current leadership, gathering support from many agents. The agency's power and budget are divided, with the sections of ONI becoming separate agencies.
Dr. Halsey is released from her incarceration with a full pardon. Her usefulness in understanding the Forerunners is deemed far too valuable than trying her for the S-II program that was approved by the previous leadership.
November 11th, 2553: As a gift, Arbiter Thel 'Vadam gives the UNSC designs for faster and more efficient communication satellites as well as two working models. Reverse engineering reveals methods and configurations that have only existed in theory and barely working prototypes, showing how far ahead The Covenant were.
January 12th, 2554: All satellites and Internet servers are replaced with Covenant-based designs that allow for speeds measured at a mind-boggling 5,370 Lightyears per minute, communication with the farthest colonies and ships a nonissue. Improvements are constantly researched.
February 9th, 2554: The civil war between the separatist and loyalist Covenants and splinter factions of the old empire crosses into human space when the Slaves of Mercy invade the Outer colony of Mazraea, in response, the UNSC enters a state of war on the Covenant remnants, allying with the Sword of Sanghelios, marking the entrance of humanity in The Covenant civil war fought between Separatist Sangheili, Unggoy, Lekgolo, Kig-Yar, Yanme'e and Jiralhanae against Covenant Loyalist Sangheili, Unggoy, Lekgolo, Kig-Yar, Jiralhanae, San'Shyuum and Lekgolo.
March 13th, 2555: The Infinity Class-Supercarrier UNSCN Infinity and its fleet under Rear Admiral Del Rio and Captain Laskey find the Forward Unto Dawn and its shipwrecked inhabitants inside Shield World Requiem, leading a three-day-long battle against a fleet of Covenant remnant ships in orbit of the planet, and a devastating four-day-long battle against the deluded Ur-Didact, where unfortunately Del Rio would be KIA'd protecting his crew from enemy forces. The battle ended with the death of the Didact by The Master Chief, pacifying the Prometheans and allowing the UNSC to seize control of the army. The Covenant Remnants fearfully label him a 'God killer', demoralising many loyalists and raising Separatist morale by an immeasurable margin.
Per an agreement with its allies, the UNSC will allow the Separatists to participate in the exploration and reverse engineering of Forerunner tech. A fleet of Forerunner warships, vehicles, armament and armour are found and become the bulk of Separatist efforts on Requiem, dozens of facilities are found, reactivated and leased to all major weapons companies and assemblies with the express goal of building and retrofitting warships, vehicles and armament for the war effort, allowing hundreds of facilities and shipyards in human space alone to be relieved and able to serve the needs of the public once again, though the vast majority of shipyards across Separatist space are still reserved for the war against the Loyalists. Efficiency is massively increased thanks to Forerunner A.I. assigned to assist humanity in the "Reclamation of their legacy".
Dozens of shipyards receive Forerunner equipment for faster ship production and upgrading, and implementation of some Forerunner production techniques.
April 17th, 2555: Admiral George Denzel Davis of Logistical Operations Command under NAVCOM proposes Operation Ascending Phoenix. It proposes the UNSC Navy, Army, Air Force and Marines be heavily upgraded with gear that can equal and even surpass Covenant tech, old and new. It specifies that ALL Naval ships are to be retrofitted to 2.65 times larger, outfitted with powerful kinetic, Directed Energy and Hardlight weapons, and MAC cannons to have in addition to their standard ammunition types, Plasma and Hardlight rounds. Ships be outfitted with Repulsor Engines and armour replaced by a Nanolaminated Titanium Carbon superalloy.
The Army is to be retrofitted with Plasma, Rail and Coilguns, augmented to be able to wear basic MJOLNIR MK IV armour efficiently, all armour and vehicles be equipped with a cheaper variant of warship armour and anti-gravity propulsion drives, Marines are to be equipped with a streamlined MJOLNIR MK V[B] and ODSTs with MK VI MJOLNIR. Spartans are to receive new augmentations to be able to wear Class 3 Combat skins, as even the MJOLNIR MK VII falls under Class 2 despite making the MK VI obsolete as it did to the V.
The Airforce is to be equipped with Repulse drives and personnel augmented and outfitted with ultra-light MJOLNIR armour designed to give airmen reactions and reflexes comparable to Spartans outfitted with MJOLNIR MK VII with max protection.
After four days of intensive and harsh review by HIGHCOM Davis's proposal is approved and executed immediately. Though the most expensive plan ever, with estimates putting it in the hundreds of quadrillions, enough to bankrupt the UNSC, a "blank check" would be given to all Forerunner facilities, as their resources are functionally unlimited, however, estimates still put the date the operation would be fulfilled at 2628 at current speeds. Teams are put to the task of rummaging through Forerunner databases to find a Forerunner world dedicated to war production.
May 27th, 2555: Through the Janus Key, gifted to Dr. Catherine Halsey by a Forerunner construct of a Liberian, the real-time location of every Forerunner facility in the galaxy is now known to The Separatist. Including terraforming and planetary engineering facilities, a greatly sought-after science by the UNSC and a nearby "Forge World" known as Telum Smith 385 lightyears from Earth to the "east" of the galaxy.
An OMIS Prowler discovers Venezia, the launch pad of an assault on the Inner Colonies consisting of over thirteen hundred and thirty-three ships, including three hundred and forty-one CAS-Assault Carriers and three CSO Class-Supercarriers. Confirmation was received that human insurgents were harbouring the Loyalists, marking them traitors to mankind. A low-tier NOVA bomb was detonated between the planet and its moon, destroying most of the fleet and decimating the populations on the planet and moon. The destruction of one CSO was confirmed.
June 8th, 2555: Telum Smith is fully activated, analysis from several Sangheili and Human experts put the production capabilities of the planet into perspective, capable of taking over 68.42% of ALL war production for the Separatists, from Warships, munitions, armour and more, reliving tens of thousands of shipyards and facilities across Separatist space to be repurposed for the construction of civilian craft and recolonisation efforts.
October 3rd, 2555: Loyalists launch a simultaneous assault upon Requiem and Telum Smith, invading the worlds with 534 ships each, many being survivors of the Venezia genocide. The defence fleet at Requiem is put through a gruelling three-day-long battle, the few hundred ships guarding the planet forced into either retreat or hiding. On the ground, Loyalists take over shipyards and put them to use for repairing their armada, and separatist ground forces return an unforgiving defence.
The smaller fleets at Telum Smith are forced to retreat in under a day, leaving the Sentinels and ground forces to fend off the assault from the tens of millions of Loyalist soldiers deployed from the hundreds of Carriers and single CSO of the attacking armada. On October 8th, reinforcement in the form of the UNSCN Eternity and its fleet of Epoch Class Heavy Carriers, Autumn Class Heavy Cruisers, Valiant Class Super Heavy Cruisers, Reveangeance Class Heavy Battleships, Crucible Class Heavy Destroyers and Strident Class Heavy Frigates commanded by Admiral Roland Freemont engage the armada at Requiem and a CSO Class Supercarrier and its fleet of CAS Class Assault Carriers, ORS Class Heavy Cruisers, CCS Class Battlecruisers, CPV Class Heavy Destroyers, CAR Class Armoured Frigates and SDV Class heavy Corvettes commanded by Fleetmaster Jul'Mdama carve their way through the armada at Telum.
The Requiem and Telum Smith Campaigns would last until November 11th and 9th respectively.
Their location is heavily classified, with all unauthorised personnel forced to go into Cryo for the trip and navigation data erased by an onboard OMIS agent, OMIS launches an investigation for the source of the leak.
October 23rd to November 9th-11th, 2555: Seeing an opportunity to benefit from the war and make a great impression, Warmaster Atriox sends his fleets to assist the Separatists at Requiem and Telum Smith, turning the tide of the previously brutal stalemate, participating in Telum Smith himself, his show of support emboldened Separatists, turning what would've been four-month bloody and destructive campaigns into short and decisive thirty-seven and thirty-nine-day campaigns. In return, he's gifted four dozen Forerunner facilities and shipyards as thanks per his request.
November 19th, 2555: With the battles over, analysts are finally able to provide conclusive estimates for when Operation Ascending Phoenix can be completed, before the battles estimates put the date at mid-2594 however unless the damages are quickly repaired, estimates put the date at late-2598 early 2599. Repairs are a priority.
December 31st, 2555: Atriox challenges Alpha Lydus over the rule of the Clans of Doisac, the duel ends in a draw between the two titans of the Brute world. Atriox surrenders to Lydus under the belief that his aged body is why he did not win and had proven himself worthy even in old age. Lydus accepted, and as a show of respect, allowed him to keep his and his Clan's independence and appointed him the Warmaster of the now United Clans of Doisac(UCD).
January 1st, 2556: Repairs for both Requiem and Telum Smith are completed, analysts now put the date of completion of operation Ascending Phoenix at mid-2594 to late 2594, plans to find more facilities to repurpose for war production are drawn, nine facilities and locations are discovered with seven being claimed for the Sangheili, Jiralhanae, Unggoy, Kig-Yar, Yanme'e, Lekgolo and humans, the last two are once again shared by the alliance. New estimates put the date at late 2593 for the completion of operation Ascending Phoenix.
March 17th, 2557: 21 out of the 44 glassed Inner colonies are nearly recolonised, with some dozen million square kilometres left, however, issues with eccentric and harsh weather changes have made any further terraforming and land repairs a low priority. Efforts are now focused entirely on the construction of cities and calming the weather. 41 Outer colonies are a third through the re-colonization process with promising results. Population analysis notes that a baby boom has occurred, raising the population to 93.787 billion, estimates put the expected population at 114.273 billion by 2567.
August 30th, 2557: The UNSC Spirit of Fire is found drifting near The Ark, the crew is taken to Earth where they are debriefed on the events of the past twenty-six years and the current situation. They are then sent off for indefinite shore leave with a ceremony celebrating their return and their actions at Shield World Trove. Rion Forge joins the Marines to honour the memory of her father, she would also give information on several illegal salvage rings and their buyers, allowing the UNSC to conduct a takedown operation.
September 16th, 2557: The truth of the Halo Array is leaked into Loyalist networks and Internet, splintering and causing some to defect to the Separatists and mutinies that hurt Loyalist forces. Nearly two hundred star systems surrender to Separatist control. The end of the war draws near.
November 3rd, 2557: The traitors are discovered to be several generals and an admiral within HIGH COM, Kaidons and the War Chieftain Council. Rear Admiral Mattius Drake escapes to Loyalist space, though not without severe wounds. Murok' Vadam and three generals of the Swords of Sanghelios attempt to escape, while Murok is killed by a Kig-Yar sniper, the remaining three generals escape. Chieftain Terturous perished in a fight, taking dozens of Jiralhanae warriors with him.
Expecting an imminent siege, worlds and colonies are fortified and reinforced, and the production of ships is put on hold in favour of retrofits to current ships and armour. Two weeks later the entire Loyalist military force, every single Unggoy, Lekgolo worm and unmanned drone launch a massive assault that spreads across all of Separatist space, every single Colony is attacked. This would become known as The Siege of All, none were spared.
Late April 2558: Conclusive results on the combat effectiveness of 'Ascended' and 'non-ascended' units are cross-referenced, the difference is astounding. Ascended ships need a 1.5 to 1 ratio of the equivalent enemy ship to be matched. Ascended Marine and Army squads suffer minimal casualties from enemy Lances, in some cases, none at all, and performing 'Spartan level feats'. Non-ascended squads suffer higher casualties and squads are often wiped out. The M820 Main Battle Tank can endure five hits from Wraith Mortars before suffering a structural and or mechanical failure, this is thanks to a powerful energy shield that can endure three hits before needing to cool and the new Nanolaminate Titanium Carbon Super Alloy Ablative armoured hull, which can endure another three hits before being destroyed or the miniature plasma reactor is breached. The Hybrid Plasma 120mm helical railcannon, dubbed the Nano MAC by servicemen, can deplete a Wraith's shields in two shots, and in another penetrate straight into the cabin and explode with 30+ MJ of plasma energy, absolutely decimating the Wraith beyond reason.
Aerospace and Air superiority is now a certainty with the latest batch of Kurikri Air Superiority Fighter/Interceptor, Xiphos Aerospace Superiority Fighter/Interceptor and Multi-role strike craft, Greatsword Aerospace/Air support and Strategic bomber and countless more aircraft.
March 28th, 2559: The Covenant Civil War officially ends in a massive battle over the last Loyalist world, a five-day-long battle that ends in the planet's subsequent glassing, dissolving the Loyalists. Splinter cells and stragglers are expected to remain for seventeen years but peace has effectively been achieved. War production is slowed to a leisurely pace, recolonisation efforts are doubled and production of colony ships is on full blast. By 2567 all Inner Colonies and 62 Outer Colonies are expected to recover, and by 2575 3 Outer Colonies are expected to become Inner Colonies.
May 12th, 2559: With the war over, The Separatists name themselves The Wardens, each member species would maintain full independence, however, any matter that concerns a species member is a matter that concerns all. Militaries will be merged and mixed to maximize interspecies relations though will maintain separate individuality, such as designs and rank systems. It's a coalition created for handling the 'Shepherdship' gifted by The Precursors and a show of unity.
June 11th, 2559: A salvage operation to Trove finds that large quantities of the debris have become a new mineral compound, the mineral has an atomic mass of zero and when subjected to an electrical current produces a quantum magnetic field of dark energy that can manipulate mass, as of now the only known way to utilise its power is to subject it to a positive electron to increase mass and a negative electron to decrease mass. It does this by manipulating the Higgs boson particles that give atoms mass by weakening or strengthening the field it emits. Research into the mineral is funded, it is named Bosonite(1).
July 2nd, 2559: Bosonite is investigated for its potential as a substitute for powering many anti-gravity technologies, but due to its rarity, it's decided that it shall be mainly reserved for civilian uses. The possibility of being used in MACs is also explored, several companies are contracted to construct MAC guns that employ Bosonite to further enhance the already earth-shattering power of the Ultra-Heavy anti-ship weapons.
July 2560: Most Inner Colonies are recolonised and 3 Outer Colonies are reclassified as Inner Colonies. The population rises to 101.271 billion, and several dozen worlds vetted for colonisation are explored. Besides some dangerous fauna and megafauna that require military-grade weapons to deal with all are deemed suited for colonisation.
December 2560: The Arcturus system is rich in Bosonite, and a large device the size of the revised Infinity Supercarriers is discovered in the system. Science teams are immediately set upon the device to discover its purpose. Designs for the Bornstellar Class Dreadnought are devised, named in honour of the Iso-Didact. Due to its massive size, mass and armament, the first three and only ships won't be completed until 2571, 2574 and 2577.
June 2562: The first MAC gun that makes use of Bosonite is field tested, produced by Shepard Industries the results are promising, however, concerns over the "mass effect" fields of Bosonite interfering and "talking over" the Hyper-dense and intense fields of MACs are raised after an incident where when fired at full power and the round's weight lowered by 50%, it malfunctioned nearly destroying it and launching the round at a tenth of the projected velocity. With further funding of two billion credits, Shepard Weapons tech R&D are pressured to find a solution.
Early April 2565: Nearly five years of research and development attempting to rip data out of the device with compatible computer software and hardware finally bear fruit. The device is called a 'Mass Relay', it utilises a Bosonite core to launch objects, primarily ships, through a near-zero mass corridor across large distances. It is currently connected to five other relays that lead to habitable systems with large quantities of Bosonite, small fleets of Corvettes and Frigates are sent to each Relay to scout ahead. Reports state that all possess planets with no intelligent life and some have another relay that leads to a different system. Slip space routes to these systems are chartered and render the Relays worthless. The Relays are to be further researched, once all knowledge is gained, they're to be decommissioned and scrapped for their large Bosonite reserves and materials.
Late 2565: MACs able to effectively use Bosonite are realised, results of the second testing are phenomenal. By making MAC rounds lighter the same amount of energy can be used with less mass to launch thus yielding greater power. A Cole Class-ODP is fitted with the first Bosonite Super MAC, the solution is a basic 3,000-ton depleted Uranium projectile accelerated to 0.24c (96% full charge), Bosonite was used to make the round 900 tons lighter. The result was the round velocity jumping to 0.2842c and cracking open a moon a third the size and mass of Luna, enough power to destroy the old war-era CSO-Supercarrier and cripple a SHD Dreadnought. However, it suffered major damage and was unable to fire afterwards.
2567: 8 Outer colonies are reclassified as Inner colonies, with 13 new Outer colonies established. The population surpasses previous expectations at 124.541 billion. Concerns of overpopulation are raised but are put at rest with the reassurance that food production will be able to keep up with demands. Housing is not a problem as there are billions of square kilometres of habitable land across all colonies, more than enough room for cities. Bosonite mining has become a lucrative business, turning Bosonite-rich systems into the fastest-growing colonies in human history.
The Elias Expectations are published by Emery Elias. Elias raises concerns on the current fragility of the economy, stating "If a war half as devastating as the wars of the century occurred before the economy stabilises (2596), in the best case scenario, it may be a century before we can recover". The UNSC brushes off any concerns, claiming that nothing short of another Covenant war would make such an outcome possible.
Early 2568: Telum Smith and Requiem are opened to colonisation, creating millions of jobs and smoothing the production of warships and retrofits of older ships. Economic analysis shows that the economy is on its way to recovery and is expected to boom. A new defence plan for outer colonies is devised, each system will have a small fleet consisting of an Autumn Class-Heavy Cruiser, a Poleaxe Class-Destroyer, two Valkyrie Class-Light Frigates and seven Cutlass Class-Heavy Corvettes. The Autumn is deployed in orbit of the colony, the primary colony if there is more than one in the system, the destroyer patrols around the inner part of the system, the frigates the outer part of the system and two Corvettes are to accompany each of them, one is to accompany the Autumn or orbit the secondary colony.
2571: The commissioning ceremony for the UNSCN Bornstellar is interrupted by a terror attack by the Loyalist group the Seekers of Divine Truth led by San'Shyuum, killing thousands in the process, including hundreds of Sangheili, Unggoy, Kig-Yar and Jiralhanae citizens, sparking outrage across Warden space. Counter-terrorism operations are executed, with varying levels of success as they prove apt at guerilla warfare and evading notice, nonetheless, the campaign against these dissents is unfortunately expected to last for five years until it can be stomped out.
2574: Shanxi-Theta is evaluated for possible SDT activity when a strange First Contact is made...
1. Yes I named Eezo something else, why? Because Element Zero and Eezo are stupid names for what's a mineral. Seriously, why couldn't they just give it a proper name and say Element Zero and Eezo are the improper inaccurate names used by the Idiots downstairs known as the common people?
Again sorry for the bloody timeline of all things, couldn't think of anything better on the short notice I wrote this. But don't worry I left out a crap ton of details, so now I have to expand the story through proper world-building!
I hope you find this satisfactory. The next arc will be a little different from the canon of Shanxi, and not in just how humanity deals with the aliens.
Chapter One is not far behind.
Chapter word count: 4,006
AN word count: 326
Total word count: 4,432