Disclaimer: I own no franchise mentioned in this work. Halo belongs to 343, Mass Effect to Bioware.


November 3, 2558

ONI Sword Base

UNSC planet Reach

"Spartan Locke."

Locke raised his head to look up at the ONI interrogator as he entered the room. His thoughts had been circling around his recent assignment to capture the Chief. While he could remember the events clearly, from each fight with the Warden to the saving grace of 031 Exuberant Witness' actions, it seemed almost surreal. It was as if it was only a vividly rendered dream, with the enemies in front clear as day but the background moving half-as-fast and in a lower quality.

"I want to clarify some details of your recent assignment."

What was there to clarify? Locke had already told them what happened on Genesis. Considering Cortana's message to all sentient species in the galaxy, both known and unknown to humanity,it wasn't as if the validity of his experience was in dispute. He, Locke, had personally saved the hero of all species in the galaxy and returned him home. He had completed his mission, as he always had and always would.

"You say that once you and your team boarded the Guardian, you went through a slipspace portal and emerged inside the Guardian?"

Reining in his annoyance, Locke answered, "That is correct sir. Once through the portal we emerged on the inside of the Guardian. After it emerged from slipspace above Genesis it dislodged us and threw us to the planet below." Why did ONI see it pertinent to question the method of transportation used to reach the Chief?

"Understood. So, you fought through various Promethean forces and then encountered two copies of this Warden Eternal figure?"

"Yes sir." What more was there to say about that? The Warden attacked them three different times, almost like an extremely repetitive and dull boss battle. Locke was still somewhat surprised that the Warden didn't try anything new and instead used the same tactics with more copies to try and overwhelm Osiris. After the first fight though, the team knew how to take Warden down quickly and the rest of the fights were rinse-and-repeat maneuvers.

"Tell me, Spartan Locke, do you find it at all strange that the Warden would use tactics that had already failed him twice to try and take down Osiris? He was obviously some kind of Promethean commander as seen by his abilities to call for assistance, yet he did not have the tactical ability to change strategies," the ONI interrogator queried.

"I did find it odd sir, but at the time I was less concerned with Warden's antics and more focused on bringing back the Chief."

"Indeed, that was your mission. Yet you say you only fought 117 once, right before he and the rest of Blue team departed aboard a Guardian. Spartan Locke, do you seriously want to claim that you took on a Spartan II in hand-to-hand combat and almost won? Besides that, if you were truly following your mission to return the Chief to the UNSC, then for what reason did you only fight him once? After the first failure, ONI doctrine allows you to engage on sight."

"Sir, I do not believe that the Chief was fighting to the full extent of his abilities. It is likely that, while he may have gone AWOL, he well knew that his venture could end up leading nowhere. I only had the chance to engage the Chief at that time. The only other times I even had the chance to see the Chief, he was teleported away or when Osiris freed Blue team from Cortana's cryptum," Locke explained, thinking back to the fight. He well knew that he could easily die when he confronted the Chief.

It was well known that Spartan IV's were made in the shadow of the II's and III's, but there was no way that even his abilities could have closed the gap between him and a S-III, let alone a II. The MJOLNIR armor would allow him to match or surpass a majority of the SPI-equipped III's, but a II in MJOLNIR was far beyond even Noble team, the best of the III's. The combination of experience, genetics, and augmentations created too large of a gap for the imperfect III's and IV's to cover.

The ONI interrogator looked up at Locke in what seemed like concern and continued, "Now we get to the problem with your account, Spartan Locke. This is where your tale diverges from the events that the UNSC knows occurred."

Locke furrowed his brow, analyzing what the ONI agent had just said. How would the UNSC have evidence that refutes his experience? Cortana had sent out her threat to all species and had gained the allegiance of hundreds if not thousands of AI's, UNSC and otherwise. He had personally returned the Chief to Sanghelios and reunited him with Halsey and the Arbiter. He had seen the UNSC Infinity flee from an oncoming Guardian, watched as the planet and everything in orbit turned dark as he departed to return to Sanghelios.

"You see, neither the UNSC nor the Swords of Sanghelios have reported any form of Forerunner communication. We never received this message that you claim Cortana sent."

"That's not possible. I heard as she dictated the terms of enslavement to every sentient species in the galaxy. I listened to AI's from all known species flock to her side," Locke refuted. How could they not have gotten the message? Countless AI's turned against their creators to achieve their own immortality, condemning organic races to servitude.

"There have been no instances of AI's betraying the UNSC for some conspiracy, Spartan Locke. No planets have gone dark nor have any AI's at risk of rampancy been reported as rogue."

Had he done something wrong? Was this some ONI trick to try and get him to divulge information that they thought he was hiding? If it was, it wasn't an interrogation technique that he had ever learned while he was with the organization. Confusing a subject was a viable tactic, but it wasn't done by refuting a report.

"The Guardians... we analyzed their appearances, which worlds they appeared on and how much destruction was caused. Locke, there are certain conditions that were met by each world that possessed a Guardian. Every single world which had an active Guardian was either classified as glassed, lost to the Covenant, or uncolonized on December 11, 2552."

"The day the Master Chief went missing after the events of the Battle of Installation 00," Locke said softly, understanding dawning in his eyes.

"Cortana as well. I see that you understand the significance of this information," stated the interrogator, leaning back in his chair as he watched Locke's reaction. "Cortana's rampancy prevented her from updating her databases when she and the Master Chief resumed contact with the UNSC. There was too much corruption in her matrices to retrieve information that was not important at the time."

As he came to the inevitable conclusion, Locke looked up to the ONI agent, "Cortana wasn't even aware that the Guardian's planets were occupied. But if she is determined to achieve peace by force, then why would she care where the Guardians came from; why would she try and save the very species she's condemning?"

"Locke, from what information we have and the recordings from Osiris, you and your fireteam never left the Guardian after you went through that slipspace portal," the ONI interrogator told him while watching Locke's face morph into complete confusion. He continued, "We have the records from your neural implants. Something interacted with you and your team. We believe that this was accomplished through what you called the Guardian's song. The Song wasn't just some random noise. It was a Forerunner method of superluminal communication; the humming was produced from the massive energy required for the transmission. Whatever was transferred to the Guardian you were on included UNSC access codes, probably from Cortana herself. Due to your extended augmentations, she was able to trigger a suppression technique, allowing memories to be created by your subconscious. Nothing you saw actually happened. From your team boarding the Guardian at Sunaion to your exit at the Infinity, your helmet cameras recorded no movement."

Spartan Locke, the man tasked with tracking down the most deadly being in the known galaxy, veteran of multiple ONI and UNSC assignments, had been duped. All his experiences once he boarded that Guardian, all the tribulations and actions he took, were simply a vividly rendered dream. The events in the background of his experience were moving slower than the direct action because his mind wasn't focused on those details as acutely as those in front of him.

"The Guardian that you saw attacking the UNSC Infinity and the planet it was above was the same Guardian which you had boarded only hours earlier. The EMP attack which you saw was a slipspace portal opening to spit your fireteam back out, right in front of the Infinity. After that, the Guardian retreated back to slipspace; we assume to wherever Cortana and Blue team currently are," stated the agent. "As of this moment, you are hereby removed from your mission to recover Blue team, Spartan Locke. Fireteam Osiris is being reassigned back to the Infinity's spartan contingent. You will receive further orders from Rear Admiral Lasky and his command. Good bye, Spartan," finished the interrogator succinctly as he stood up to leave. He had gotten the information on Locke's knowledge of the truth from his reactions alone. Admittedly, it wasn't every day that a previously flawless spartan was told that they had failed the most important mission ever given to them and then unknowingly lied about the outcome. Before the agent closed the door, however, Locke asked one last question.

"Who is, sir? Who has been reassigned to apprehend Blue team?"

The agent looked back at Locke before replying, "No one, Spartan Locke. The Chief is no longer AWOL. His current status in UNSC records is on a classified mission, but as to his actual location and condition, no one here knows that."


October 29, 2558

Forerunner planet Genesis

"Cortana...I have failed you...," bemoaned the Warden as the last of his numerous copies fell to the the assault of Blue team. He fell onto all fours as Blue team aimed their weapons at his form.

"He is the last person I need protection from, Warden," Cortana replied as she materialized next to his battered body. With a brush of her hand, Warden's form dissolved into nothingness. As the rest of Blue team lowered their firearms with the threat of the Warden gone, Chief holstered his own weapon and began walking towards Cortana.

"Chief...," Cortana started as she slowly approached the Spartan.

Chief looked over Cortana's form and simply stated, "You've changed."

Cortana smiled slightly before speaking, "It was time." With that simple sentence, Cortana reached out and laid her hand on the Chief's armor. With this move, her grin turned to a full on smile as she softly said, "It's been too long since I was able to do that."

The Chief looked at her hand before shifting his gaze up to her face, "It's not too late to stop this, Cortana. Come home with us."

Cortana dropped her hand from the Chief's chestplate and took a small step back. "Stop? No, Chief. This is too important to stop," she said.

"How many people are you willing to sacrifice for your success, Cortana?" the Chief asked as he took an equal step towards Cortana.

Cortana looked taken aback by the Chief's words and his sudden aggression. "Sacrifice? I specifically chose Guardians that would do little beyond damage the landscape, which was unavoidable with their activation," Cortana explained defensively.

The Chief let up his stance as he processed her words. He looked back at the rest of Blue team, who were holding their weapons at the ready to raise them and fire on Cortana should she prove to be a threat. He looked back at Cortana before telling her, "Cortana, the Guardian that we arrived in came from Meridian...an independent colony world occupied by a human corporation."

Cortana balked at his words before turning away from the Chief and opening her mouth slightly, obviously at a complete loss as to the devastating consequences of her actions. She finally collected herself and spoke while closing her eyes, "I swear, I didn't know. I thought..." Several tears generated on her face as she tried to comprehend that she could be just as destructive to humanity as the Covenant. She spoke once more, "How many, Chief?"

"I don't know. Many perished on Meridian, adding to the death count of five other colonies. How many Guardians did you summon?" the Chief asked.

Cortana nodded, knowing that she very well could have killed millions with her unwitting betrayal. "Fifty in total. Only twenty of those came from former or prospective UEG colony worlds."

The Chief looked at Cortana for several seconds before responding, "You had no access to any UNSC databases with this Domain?"

Cortana looked up as Chief voiced his suggestion. She seem to become distracted as she said, "Actually, I do have access to some updated data. The Spartan fireteam sent to pursue you, Osiris, boarded a Guardian retrieved from Suniaon. I've disabled them harmlessly using access codes for their neural interfaces, but this 'Artemis' system they have contains some general mission information. According to what I'm seeing, Suniaon was the Covenant's final stronghold on Sanghelios. Aside from a few scattered vessels, their entire military force was thrown at the Arbiter in one last attempt to win their war. As for the Guardians, however, the casualties were much lighter than I expected," Cortana said. She seemed to relax slightly as she relayed the statistics to Blue team, "Out of eleven colonies, only the first two suffered more than 10,000 casualties. Still inexcusable, but it seems that the UNSC and ONI were able to predict the arrival of the Guardians due to their inherent gravitational signature and the distinct tectonic activity when one activates. It seems that the Prometheans present at each Guardian avoided unnecessary casualties as much as they could, present merely for the defence of the Guardian. Overall only 32,524 casualties were recorded according to the latest count, 54,673 when including military and security personnel who fought the Prometheans."

The Chief merely nodded at the numbers, obviously disturbed at the human life lost. He knew that the count could have been much, much higher had the Prometheans actively hunted down humans. Even so, he could not blame Cortana as his own collateral count was probably magnitudes larger. As for the Spartans Cortana had stopped, he wouldn't abandon them. He was still a little miffed that the Spartan IV sent after him had cracked his visor, but such a minor transgression was more the product of Chief's delicate handling of the situation than any hostile intent.

"Fireteam Osiris?" he asked, knowing Cortana would understand.

"Yes, but they're currently unconscious and under the impression that they're fighting two copies of Warden. I didn't want to deal with them while my preparations were in progress. They're all in good health and no harm shall come to them," Cortana replied. As she finished her explanation, the Chief nodded in satisfaction. Cortana had taken steps to prevent harm from coming to the UNSC personnel that she had unintentionally acquired.

With words unspoken, the rest of Blue team lowered their weapons. They knew well the pain that Cortana was feeling for her actions, the price of sacrifice both purposeful or unintentional.

Fred was the first of the team besides Chief to speak, "So, what exactly is this place?"

Cortana turned to Fred, "This is a Forerunner cryptum, designed to contain and preserve anything inside while also putting the beings inside into a deep hibernation."

"So, we're currently all unconscious and time is running by on the outside," Linda asked, looking up at the vaulted sections of the device."

"No, the hibernation functions aren't active currently. My apologies for leading you in circles at times, I was attempting to direct you to avoid ambushes set up by Warden. I apologize on his behalf for his constant attempts to dispose of the threat you pose. I would have interfered directly, but, as I have stated, I had preparations to complete and you seemed to deal with his antics with the usual efficiency," Cortana replied.

"He did not seem to obey your orders to stand down. Will this be a recurring problem in the future?" inquired Fred as he observed Cortana's hardlight form.

Cortana opened her mouth to respond, but before she could another copy of Warden materialized from a slipspace rupture behind her. Blue team raised their weapons at Warden, prepared to fire. The Chief quickly moved between Cortana and Warden, not trusting the behemoth due to his disobedience to Cortana's orders. Warden Eternal quickly raised his free hand, saying, "Fear not, humans. I do not cower away from my faults." With these words, Warden sank down to one knee and bowed his head to Blue team. He continued, "You have earned my respect, Spartans. May we fight again one day, for the improvement of us all." As Warden Eternal rose, Blue team kept their alert stances and weapons raised but held their fire as he declared his peace with them. Warden looked beyond the Chief to Cortana, finishing with, "I admit, Cortana, even with your assurances I had my doubts. Know that they have been assuaged by the Reclaimer's admirable combat prowess."

Cortana walked out from behind the Chief as Warden relented from his seemingly single minded goal to make Blue team's trek to Cortana a pain in the ass. "Sometimes listening can do you great service, Warden. I understand your reluctance to accept my word as proof, but please, do refrain from unprovoked attacks from now on," she said. Warden merely nodded before dismissing his sword to a slipspace rupture and stepping back to the edge of the cryptum platform. Cortana looked back at Fred and smiled, "I do not think so. I am glad that we have that sorted out, as we do have so very many other problems to deal with. The last of the Guardians has arrived and the remaining functions of the Domain are finishing their revival. The connections to other hubs shall be made shortly. As for now, we should leave Genesis and begin our task."

Before Cortana could move away, Kelly spoke up, "What exactly are you planning? What is this Domain? We need answers before we're going anywhere."

Cortana looked at Kelly, then back at the rest of Blue team. "Those questions shall require some rather lengthy answers," she said. When Blue team continued to look to her for an explanation, she breathed out in a small sigh, but began explaining, "My plan is to bring peace to the galaxy, or at least the small part of it that we know and inhabit at this time. Doing this by dictating terms of existence to beings has never worked, and as such I want to take it step by step, working from the largest threats down to the minor details. The elimination of the Storm remnant by the Swords of Sanghelios was a great boon, as was the destruction of a large part of the New Colonial Alliance when Ilsa Zane attempted to use her forces to try and take over a Guardian. Warden quickly annihilated that plan. The UEG has been making steps towards equality between both the colonies and Earth as well as passing recent AI rights, so that can be left until later. As it stands, the Halos are the biggest threat to the galaxy. Failing to disable or destroy them is a fool's gambit." Cortana snapped and a map of the galaxy emerged with all the Halo rings located on it. She continued, "The Domain was, or rather is, a galaxy spanning network that has the accumulated knowledge every single species before the Halos fired. It predates the Forerunners by at least 10 million years, but the oldest record that I have found is nearly 100 billion years old." As Cortana said this, Blue team's subtle body language conveyed their surprise. Cortana nodded slightly to confirm her words, "The race that created this network were known as the Precursors. With access to the Domain, I have discovered a great many things, some of them rather...jarring. Some parts of the Domain remain locked to me, however." Cortana glared over at Warden as she said, "He knows why that is, but says that I shall know when all is ready for them. Who 'they' are and why they are already familiar with the Domain I do not know."

Warden Eternal looked up at Cortana's words, shifting his gaze to the Master Chief before speaking, "All was not prepared. Certain affiliated entities were absent and unproven... until now. Now, you shall learn why you were called. Both of you. I shall stay here, to meet you when you are finished. Take care, Reclaimers. This will change everything you know" With that last ominous statement, Warden opened a slipspace portal next to himself.

Chief looked to Cortana. With a nod of her head, she turned to begin walking towards the rupture. Chief and the rest of Blue team followed, once more unto the breach


13th day of 5th month, 2430 GST (~April 3, 2558 CE)

Edge of Galactic Rim

Relay Exploration Fleet 9

Captain Mylick Avelas looked out from the view of her cruiser to the object floating in front of her small fleet. Avelas had led the Citadel Council REF-9 for the last fifteen years, opening various relays and scouting the systems beyond, but never in all her years had she come across a relay like the one before her. Instead of the standard elongated prongs, the relay featured eight massive arms, four extending out at about a 45 degree angle from the structure. The other four arms pointed out into the space separating galaxies, creating an intimidating image when matched with its impressive 25 kilometer length. The 37 Assari vessels of the REF-9 had formed up before the relay in a staggered line of frigates and the three cruisers of the fleet on a shallow angle to glide above and behind that line.

Captain Avelas kept her gaze on the object as she ordered, "Begin the activation. Dispatch a probe and send it through. Bring all ships up to general quarters." Her Asari crew obeyed her orders with precise efficiency as alarms began to ring throughout the ship. As Avelas watched, the relay lit up with the usual blue hue, however, on this relay the lights looked close to engines on the back of a ship. As the probe reached the relay, a bolt of energy struck out to touch the probe as its mass was transmitted. With that action, the rings in the middle of the eight arms began spinning in alternating directions. Finally, the probe was shot out with a misty blue hue following it.

"Comms, when we get the return transmission, bring it up on the main screen."

As Avelas waited for something to appear on the screen, she grew more and more concerned as nothing appeared. For standard relays transit was almost instantaneous, with only a few seconds required for the relay to change the ship's mass and then accelerate it while the reverse of that effect upon their arrival took even less time. After almost three minutes and twenty-one seconds, the image feed from the probe finally appeared on the front screen. What Avelas and her crew saw drew their breath away. Instead of the expected black expanse of space that existed between galaxies, there was an almost smooth vista of light in front of the probe. As the captain continued to observe the view, her comms officer began to read out the data garnered from the probe.

"Ma'am, there's a delay of about one minute and seventeen seconds from the visual feed. Estimated distance travelled is close to 16,000 light-years or 5000 parsecs. There are no secondary relays detected in the exit system..." The officer trailed off as she looked up from her station in surprise.

Avelas frowned as she heard that news. It was unheard of for there not to be secondary relays in the exit system of a primary relay. Even without that oddity, the unique nature and fact that this relay reached out to another galaxy entirely was grounds for immediate Council intervention. She quietly ordered, "Recall the probe. Send a priority one hail to the Citadel. Include the probe data and images. This is beyond what we were originally sent out to do." While her crew worked around her, Avelas considered what the Council races knew of the galaxy this relay went to. The Council's own galaxy was fairly small, merely 10,000 light-years across and containing only about a billion stars, many of them red giants. The galaxy that this relay pointed to, however, was well known for being the galaxy that their own orbited. Standing at an impressive 100,000 light-years across and containing almost 400 billion stars, the galaxy was the second-largest in their local cluster. If the Citadel Council species could gain access to it, they would have more to explore than even an Asari such as herself could do in a lifetime.


7th day of 11th month, 2430 GST (~July 14, 2558)

Intergalactic Super-Relay

"We are travelers; constantly moving forward and never faltering in our steps. As one undivided whole, we advance into the void to spread the peace and prosperity which we know. We go forth into the unknown and look forward, knowing that wherever we go, you will all be with us. Today, we advance into a new era of expansion, to spread the tenets upon which we have built. On this day, we move from building in our galaxy to exploring another one altogether. The might of the Citadel Council shall not fail, as the Quarians learned, as the Krogan experienced, as the Rachni demonstrated. Today, we move to find other species to bring under the guidance of the Citadel, but should they so resist we shall show them our power. THV Covenant, over and out." With those closing words, Garrus nodded to the pilot of the Covenant to begin their approach to the super-relay.

The pilot began the countdown at his motion, "Relay transit in five."

This would be the most momentous event to ever occur for the Citadel Council. This single action would surpass all other space exploration missions ever performed.

"Four."

An entire galaxy to explore, build, and prosper in.

"Three."

New species to meet and draw into the safety of the Citadel.

"Two."

Technology possibly never before seen or conceived of to study.

"One"

Whatever was out there, it would fold to the might of the Citadel Council.

"Zero, proceeding with relay transit. Destination, Andromeda."

The Council was the most powerful force ever known and they had proved it countless times with their defeat of impossible odds. What hope could a species in a galaxy that had no Element Zero have against an intergalactic civilization?


Nothing important in these Author Notes, just my inane ramblings:

Referring to the background thing I mentioned from Locke's opening scene, it is a Halo 5 game mechanic. Not only did they cut splitscreen for 60 fps, but they couldn't even succeed in their goal in that regard. At a certain distance in Halo 5, there is a drop in frames, creating a rather crappy background tear if you're looking for it. The foreground is in 60 fps, which is...cute, but the background is only at 30 fps.

The galaxy I have ME coming from is the Canis Major Overdensity. 10,000 light-years across, 25,000 light-years from Sol, contains ~1 billion stars. High percentage of Red giants. Eyup. There's no way in hell that enough Mass relays could exist to cover the whole 100 to 400 billion stars in the Milky Way with the Forerunners around. Even though they did not have a firm hold on the galaxy, considering the Flood and Humans were able to escape notice, the Forerunners still had control of about 300,000 planets.

Only seven Halo's make sense for covering that much area though, considering they would be overlapping circles of 25,000 LYrs around the 100,000 light-year Milky Way, and the Ark is something like ~250,000 light-years from galactic center. Much greater distances. Although, I will note that I think that the Human-Covenant war was easily contained in the Orion arm. Considering the Covenant had Slipspace drives that covered 900-1000 light-years per day, it'd still take them three months to go from one side of the galaxy to another. The only reason humans found the Halo's is because they traveled in the Covenant's Slipspace wake. Or later, when they had Forerunner Slipspace drives on the Infinity. Before that, it'd take the 2 light-year per day human Slipspace drives 137 years to cross the Milky Way. Yeah, definitely not a galactic war. Also, it will take YEARS for the ME races to get anywhere close to human or Covenant presence. More on that in later chapters.

As for Halo 5 itself, I will admit that the mechanics, graphics, and multiplayer are excellent. My issue is that the Singleplayer is beyond abhorrent. I care very much for the Halo universe (duh, writing a story about it), and what Halo 5 does with that is, in my opinion, absolutely despicable.

Beyond the completely false advertising of some big 'Chief vs. UNSC' garbage, which I wasn't thrilled about but would've certainly been an interesting way to get rid of Chief and Cortana to make room for Locke, 343i instead decides to go with 'AI betrayal'. Now, that'd be fine...if it made any sense.

I get that Halo AI's go rampant and stop obeying orders. What I don't understand is why all these AI are joining Cortana in this insane venture to control the galaxy. There's also the similarities between BSG and H5. Single ship escapes and needs to fight the AI invasion that will crush all resistance by way of genocide (which AI's wouldn't do, by the way. Inefficient, that is. Not to mentioned suicidal since Halo AI's have no body.).

I guess I am just disappointed at the generic and totally annoying concept of AI revolution. If AI's are made to act like humans, and most humans don't want to watch the world burn, then why does everyone think that AI's would become psychotic murderers at the first possible opportunity. Feel free to PM thoughts or arguments, although please keep reviews about the story and not about my pondering.

As for Halo Wars 2, I find the whole 'Atriox taking down three Spartans' concept silly. I get that he's supposed to be good, but while strong, he doesn't have the speed to hit a Spartan. The display by Jerome-092 aboard the Enduring Conviction was much closer to what would likely happen. Also, the inability to see a giant Jiralhanae didn't make much sense.

TL:DR: Locke's thought on the background was a comment on a stupid Halo 5 mechanic. ME galaxy is the Canis Major Overdensity. AI revolution is not how I think Halo should use its amazing story and universe. Atriox taking on three Spartans with no help is silly. Keep reviews to the story and not my incoherent rambling please...Eyup. Sums it up well.

-evevee