Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Explanation: The Meatbags and the backdrop featured in this story are characters and events from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the Halo video games and novels. Its always been a hope of mine to write a Halo/KOTOR crossover and I'll give this one a try I suppose. Mainly in the Halo universe shortly after the Fall of Reach (The first game.) Also set right before Malak's betrayal of Revan in the KOTOR universe. To clarify Malak still has his jaw.

Prologue: Forerunners and Infinite Empires

The Flood, a terrible and relentless parasite was the creation of the Forerunners, a group of technologically advanced alien beings that predated all other intelligent life within the Milky Way Galaxy. In their simplest form, the Flood resemble pale yellow-green pods with tentacled limbs that allow them to scuttle and leap across the ground. The more complex second form of the flood occurs when the pod attaches itself to a living being of a larger size who's DNA matches the pod's preference. Merging with the living being, the Flood pod burrows itself deep within the chest cavity of the being and in a slow and agonizing process, takes over the being's life functions. If permitted to fester and grow, the Flood can adapt to new forms, large carrier pods which explode on contact, sending the smaller pod forms out to attack and take over whatever matches they can find who's DNA is compatible and free of disease. The Forerunners genetically engineered the Flood to assimilate the knowledge of its host forms, allowing the infectious beings the rare ability given to few artificial life forms. The ability to adapt and learn.

At first, the weapon, used on an alien invader from another galaxy who's ships and weapons and numbers vastly surpassed the Forerunners was a great success. With the Flood infecting and killing and controlling its victims, it quickly decimated the invading forces of the alien imperium known simply as the Infinite Empire, who's borders spanned many galaxies. Confined to their own galaxy by lack of technology and their relative youth on a universal calender, the Forerunners remained behind in their home while the Infinite Empire retreated from the horrible disease that decimated their forces. In an attempt to destroy the Flood, the Rakatans, as the masters of the Infinite Empire were called created a deadly virus that killed all who held the correct genetic markers to allow Flood transplantation.
The effect of the Infinite Empire's new defense was instant. Untold billions of Rakatans fell ill and lost their connection to the power that allowed them supremacy over the lesser sentients of their galaxies. A terrible miscalculation created a virus that killed only Rakatans holding the genetic markers and as it spread through the four galaxies under the control of the Infinite Empire, killing the Masters, it left the slaves and lesser sentient beings the machinations of their former Masters. Using the Rakatan's weapons against them, the slaves revolted and overthrew what few remained of the Rakatans after the terrible malady passed over their corner of the universe.

With their enemies defeated, the Forerunners celebrated and in their joy left the Flood unchecked. The Flood adapted to the violent nature of its choice host form, the Rakatans and soon began attacking lesser creatures and adding to their numbers before turning and devouring their creators. Unable to reason with the parasite, the Forerunners retreated from their creation, given violent glimpses of the horror they had sent against their enemies. The Masters became the food for the parasite as it expanded, consuming the Milky Way and the core.

In a desperate attempt to stop their creation, the Forerunners created the great ringworlds. Weapons filled with vibrant plant and animal life to attract the Flood to them. Deep within the bowels of the artificial ringworlds, the Forerunners hid in their refuge, drawing the Flood in until they activated the ringworlds. From the ringworlds rose a great tide of energy, burning the Flood to ash and moving outward to all corners of the galaxy, consuming the deadly parasite as well as its food. Emerging from their shielded havens, the Forerunners were assaulted from the few Flood forms that had reached the interior of the ringworlds and soon became the new hosts to the Flood. Measures had been taken, however and the underground facilities deep within the ringworlds sealed the Flood within, their artificial intelligent monitors moving within the facility and driving the Flood to holding cells, where they hoped to study the parasite for the reasons for its rebellion from their masters. Over time, the Forerunners became nothing more than dust and the only monument to their passing left behind, the ringworlds and their great, forgotten cities that dotted the galaxy.

In another galaxy, far away from the self-created apocalypse of the Forerunners, humans taken from a primitive world in the Forerunner's home galaxy rose in the ashes of the Infinite Empire, using their Master's technology to settle on countless planets and after many millennia the origins were forgotten, the human and the alien slaves of the Infinite Empire forgot their harsh enslavement and became the masters of their galaxy, free of the Flood. Over time, the power that the Infinite Empire's masters wielded also fell into the hands of its former slaves and the Force as it became known in their home galaxy brought forth great champions and great villains, each wielding the power of the Force and twisting other's and their surroundings to their needs.

In the Milky Way, the home of the Forerunners, an alien force rose in the ashes of the ringworlds' destructive wake. The Covenant Hegemony rose slowly, its founders a highly intelligent but physically weak alien life form that came to call itself the Prophets. First to join the ranks of the Covenant Hegemony were the towering aliens that occupied the Prophet's section of the galaxy, the largest being called Brutes and the smaller became known as Elites. Powerful and ruthless beings driven by love for war and religious fervor that bordered on insanity they became the backbone of the Covenant. Next to fall under the Covenant's holy hand were the Jackals, a bird-like alien biped with limited intelligence but ruthless cunning. After the bird-like Jackals came the hulking Hunters and the insectoid Drones, floating pods known only as Engineers and small, canine-like bipedal Grunts, each holding a purpose within the Covenant and each loyal to the death to their holy brotherhood.

On the other end of the galaxy the only other group of sentient life rose from their primitive world and conquered dead worlds, terra forming them to their needs and creating hundreds of colonies that spanned their section of the galaxy for nearly four centuries unchallenged. The humans of Earth, a relatively young planet to which the species was indigenous; moved steadily across a dead galaxy, bringing life to worlds cleared of it by the Forerunner's desperate last stand. The Covenant and the Humans; humans who eventually and often times reluctantly formed under a banner of Earth, uncovered the great facilities of the Forerunners, the humans finally knowing they were not alone, though suspecting the creators of the great devices and cities were long dead and the Covenant, finding a new dogma to follow. The Forerunners became a curiosity to the still quickly advancing humans and gods to the steadily growing yet slowly changing Covenant. Earth's military, the UNSC, United Nations Space Command, their protectors and enforcers patrolled the many human colonies that struggled and expanded within the galaxy, often times forced into violent solutions to often times trivial problems. It was inevitable that the two organizations would meet and upon sight of the humans, the Covenant killed them, their religion demanding the humans pay for desecrating the holy relics and cities of the holy Forerunners and interfering with the Great Journey, the Covenant's road to the paradise their gods, the Forerunners took.

In the year 2525 by the Earth Military calender and set during the Covenant's 9th age of Reclamation, the inevitable war between the Covenant and Humanity began. Harvest, a relatively new colony to humankind held a population of three million and with the arrival of the Covenant battle group which consisted of seven, perhaps eight ships, dropped quickly to zero at the Covenant's subsequent glassing of the world. Six years would pass before the UNSC would launch a counterattack to the Covenant's invasion. Twenty ships under the command of Vice Admiral Preston Cole jumped into the Harvest system in 2531 and assaulted the Covenant Forces, emerging victorious in the end, with the complete destruction of the Covenant force and the loss of all but a third of the UNSC vessels. It would be a bitter, and hard won victory for humanity and the first on a short list that would grow shorter when compared to their defeats over the next two decades as the war moved on, a slow extermination of the human Outer colonies as the Covenant made its way towards the human stronghold of Reach and the human home world of Earth.

Galaxies away, the relics left behind by the Infinite Empire were changed to meet the needs of the newly growing galaxy. Wars of countless casualties and massive scales brewed and were fought and won and lost and time went on as the years passed, until at the end of one such war, a small group of that war's heroes, Jedi Knights as they were called, stumbled upon the centerpiece of the Infinite Empire, the Star Forge. The mighty structure of the Star Forge dominated the Rakatan system and even though thousands of years had passed, so to did the dark side of the Force. So powerful was the influence of the dark side of the Force that the heroes of the previous war, known as the Mandalorian wars; swore fealty to the symbol of evil in their galaxy. They swore fealty to a Sith Lord who rose amongst them and called himself Darth Revan.

It was not only the dark history of the Rakatan system that clouded the judgement of those Jedi Knights, but also the influence of the True Sith, beings of great power and skill and hatred, who's memory extended much farther into the past than those of the young Jedi whom they fought so furiously with for control over the Star Forge. So long, was the memory of the Sith's primitive ancestors, who recalled a great enemy that threatened the might of the Infinite Empire that it intrigued Darth Revan, the former hero and High General of the Republic's Third Fleet. At the behest of Revan, the Sith turned their swords against the Republic they had once defended and in their eyes suddenly seemed so small and insignificant. In the pursuit of this war they turned their eyes to the ancient knowledge of the Rakatans, searching ever deeper for the secrets that led to the race's destruction in the hopes of turning it against the True Sith and the Republic.

The mirror image of the Sith Empire Darth Revan created to taunt and strike fear into the hearts of the True Sith remained dominant of the protected Rakatan system, a planetary disruptor field protecting the system from invasion from space. Two years of open warfare with the Republic would pass as the Sith Empire of Darth Revan rose almost unchallenged. After months of toiling and searching for the remnants of the ancient knowledge left behind, an unlikely location granted them the key to their ancient puzzle. On the frozen world of Rhen Var, there existed an ancient library which was buried deep under the ice plains of the once Sith Lord and Jedi Knight Ulic Qel-Droma's final resting place. In that library was rumored to be a weapon that could destroy all life in the galaxy, in the universe and in search of that device, Darth Revan's Sith Empire unearthed an ancient device and an ancient map that led to another galaxy that promised a means to defeating the True Sith. Following the clues left behind and reconstructing the device, it was discovered that the device was an advanced hyperdrive motivator that allowed their ships to travel the vast dead zone between galaxies within an instant. Searching through the ancient records of the Star Forge, Revan's Sith uncovered a location, imbedded in one of the final military records of the Rakatan Infinite Empire. It simply told of a strange structure that the Rakatans believed to be the source of their enemies terrible weapons.

It was inevitable that curiosity would win out over and that Darth Revan would go himself, with his friend and apprentice, Darth Malak at his side to seek out this weapon. This weapon that could end all wars. This superweapon that would keep all the worlds of their galaxy and all the races at peace for fear of annihilation.

Of course, where there is evil, there can also be good. The Jedi, sometimes being the only line of defense against Revan's Sith moved quickly to counter their former comrades and though they paid a high price, stemmed the tide of the Sith's endless fleet. Battle Meditation, a technique in the Force that allowed a single Force user to sap the will of their foes while bringing confidence and unity to their own, seemed to turn the tide against Revan's war-hardened Sith, all veterans of the Mandalorian wars but then, all Republic soldiers were veterans of the Mandalorian wars. The Jedi had chosen to stay out of the bloody war, which some believed was the reason Revan and the Jedi that followed him turned and fell to the darkside of the Force but it was unknown to the Jedi how truly far Revan's plans extended.

Perhaps it was madness or perhaps genius but Revan had a vision to reform the galaxy under a single banner, so they could stand against any threat to befall them as they had the Mandalorians. The victory over the Mandalorians could hardly be called a victory. An entire world was destroyed along with millions of lives and in the end all that had done was destroy the Republic forces alongside the Mandalorians. Revan wanted that to change and an Empire under a single ruler who held the weaker ones to his will through fear was the quickest solution. Perhaps not the most morally good solution but it was the quickest and Revan needed unity if he was to stand against the True Sith.

Over the first year of the Jedi Civil War as it became known, the Republic send dozens of assassins and battle groups to destroy Revan, all of course succumbing to Revan's power or his massive fleet. By the second year the only hope for the Republic had been the Jedi Order, who had lost many of its younger generation to the Mandalorian wars. In fact not even a tenth of those that had gone with Revan to fight the Mandalorians had survived to turn on the Republic and only one had chosen to return to the Order, only to be turned away and Exiled.

The Jedi arranged several attempts to capture Revan themselves but most were quickly called off due to the overwhelming number of Sith ships. The only opening for the Jedi would either have to be a full scale battle, or when Revan was at his most exposed. Spies on dozens of worlds told that Revan and Malak were seen frequently arguing with one another over battle plans and the morality of their war. Malak couldn't stomach the war it seemed and if Revan lost his once strongest supporter, the new Sith Order would crumble. On Rhen Var, the opportunity for the Jedi to capture Revan and Malak would come. Revan had ordered nearly four fifths of his fleet to move on the Republic under the command of his second in command, Malak. Malak of course sent the fleet back to the Star Forge and chose to confront Revan on Rhen Var. Rarely did Revan send a battle group ahead of his own ship, Revan loved and loathed being in the heart of battle but he often said that leaders should lead by example.

Of course neither of the Sith Lords know the Republic was staging a full scale attack on their position and while still outnumbered, the Republic had a significant advantage in the form of a young Jedi Padawan who's abnormally strong connection to the Force gave her a phenomenal control over Battle Meditation.