.Mass Effect X Halo: The Spartan Dawn

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Bioware or Bungie, so let's not discuss it okay?

Prologue

( ): Thoughts

…

In the vastness of space…

Cortana was busy making one last routine check, she was happy that the beacon she had released recently was still working as the wreckage of the Dawn was still floating in the vast emptiness of space. She had no way of knowing the exact location they were in as the Dawn's NAV Com was lost with the sudden severing of the ship into two and as such, there was no telling where they would be. It was her hope that as they drifted through space, the releasing beacons would at least act like a bread crumb trail for the others to follow.

She hoped that it was going to be the UNSC that would find them first, if not then their allies the Separatists, and if it was the Loyalists, then they were going to have to get rather creative.

The A.I looked at the cryo-tube that housed her only companion and smiled a bit at the slumbering form of Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117 or rather, John to those who truly knew him and she was naturally one of those same people. Right now he was still in good hands and alive as far as his vital signs went, but still, it would be a while before he would awaken. She managed to get the reactors working only with a small amount of power to keep the cryo-tube intact for a long time and fully powered as well. No way was she going to let him die on her watch.

When they first met, he didn't quite trust her, but after a while, they both grew on each other and she knew that he had absolute faith and trust in her. That was enough to make him take the risk of going with her plan to end the Flood once and for all as well as the Covenant Loyalists, and it paid off. She knew that there was always a chance that the others in UNSC High Command were going to say that she was Rampant and compromised, and in truth she came very damn close to that as well, but John took the risk and it paid off big time.

And the fact that he had willingly walked into the ruins of High Charity to save her since he promised to come back for her made her even happier to know that he was there. She still felt the age and effects of her long operation time. Cortana knew that she would not have a lot of time left before she did think herself to death, but she had lived a full life as it were…the UNSC Covenant War was over…and now she could spend her time making sure that her Spartan was going to be all right until they were rescued.

She looked at John and smiled a bit, however that smile did not last long when her avatar suddenly flickered and turned red as she hissed gently in pain. She knew the implications of that…she was becoming Rampant, and if it became too much, it would take too long for her to recover and soon, she would either die…or John would have no choice but to terminate her if it came to that.

She feared being deleted, but she would not hesitate to allow John to do what was needed, she hoped it would not come to that, but she would rather be destroyed forever than let her harm anyone, let alone John. She might not have access to her own self destruct mode, but she was more than ready to do what she could to end herself if she ever lost it. However, she also wondered how would John be able to go on without her.

Sure he did fine when she parted with him back in High Charity, but there was no telling just how much trouble they were going to land in at some point in this trip, and considering the fact that John was not exactly the social kind, the last thing she wanted was for him to get the proverbial 'foot in mouth' disease as some humans were known to say.

(Listen to me…I sound like a mother watching over her first born…)

As she thought that, she chuckled a little bit and decided that she could worry about that later, right now, she needed to rest and also do as much as she could manage to arrange her systems properly and make sure that she would still be able to function well enough until she was needed once more. But before she decided to get some extra amount of an A.I's version of good old fashioned sleep, she deployed one more beacon and when she was able to know that the new beacon was well underway, she got to sleep and began to power down.

…

However, it was not long before Cortana was alerted that they were approaching a planet from the passive sensors she had. It was not much, in truth she was barely able to get any more information on the planet they were soon going to be at, her scanners only told her that they were approaching a celestial body with basic physical characteristics of a planet. She powered herself up and began to use her scanners to get a more precise reading.

It took a bit more effort but it paid off as she was finally able to sense through the scanners that the planet was very large and actually had some artificial structures there on the surface, this indicated habitation, but for what? She also knew that they were soon going to be in visual range of the planet. She didn't get any more than that, even though there was enough residual power for the sensors, they were too badly damaged to give her an exact reading and assessment of the planet below them.

This made Cortana nervous, with limited options before her, she had to think of another possible solution, and soon she found it, if there were structures down there, then perhaps there was a ship there as well. It was a lot to hope for, but considering their luck, it was the only option that they had to work with, she decided to power up the cryo-tube and wake John up. The process was not too long even with the damage to the Dawn and soon she looked at his vital signs and found them to be responding nicely to recovery as she also managed to remotely access the MJOLNIR and have a small injection of wake up stimulants given to John.

The Spartan was quick to recover and looked at her as he spoke in the same voice as before, filled with confidence, patience, calm, and authority, he was usually a man of few words, but he was more open with her around.

"Cortana, are you all right?"

Cortana smiled at that.

"Yeah. I'm fine so far, but we've got a situation…and before you reach for your favorite gun, no, it's not what you think, we're reaching a planet."

John might not show it, but the news that they were nearing a planet was good news to him, however, he was not going to leap in head first into something he had no idea about. There was no telling if the world was UNSC owned, Covenant or even Forerunner. He moved to the gun rack and took out his MA5C and checked the weapon and was happy the despite being exposed to the dangers of space, his weapon still worked like a charm. He placed it on his back while using the magnetic soles in his MJOLNIR to move about. He moved to the A.I and spoke.

"You managed to get some data on that planet in question?"

"Not much, the Dawn's scanners are fairly limited and I only managed to determine that we are soon going to be in the area where the planet's gravity will drag the ship down, and there is signs of habitation since there are some structures there, I can't see how many since we're still too far and the scanners are not powerful enough to give a full scale scan of the surface."

John began to think it over and decided that if there was habitation, then there was a chance they could find some transportation to get back home. It was a long risk, but better than nothing, and if there were Covenant and they were Loyalists, then no sense not going in fully armed.

"Do we still have any weapons?"

"Yes, there are at least some supply pods left as well as three functional armories in the ship, not much I'll admit, but it's better than using sticks ad stones right?"

John mentally chuckled at Cortana's attempt at humor and began to reach for the chip but then Cortana's expression became serious and spoke.

"Hold up John…I'm picking up faint traces of incoming signals…they came from the planet, with the Dawn's sensors being this weak I almost didn't detect them."

The Spartan was quick to ready his weapon, he knew that if they were enemy fighters, the lack of gravity in space was going to make shooting them down with his Assault Rifle was an exercise in futility, but it's not like he had much in terms of options. He took out Cortana's data chip and moved to the outside to get a visual of the incoming threats while making sure to remain silent and unseen.

He mentally swore as he recognized just what was coming his way.

"Sentinels…that much mean the planet is Forerunner held land."

There were a small number of standard Sentinels and also a number of Sentinel Majors, John knew that attacking them was a major mistake, however he was surprised when a number of other Sentinels of a different variants came into the picture. One bunch appeared to be rather large and appearing to be better suited for more serious combat and containment procedures. Another bunch were smaller and seemed to be less armed than the other units.

The Spartan had no idea what the other units of Sentinels were and spoke to Cortana.

"Cortana, do you recognize the other Sentinels?"

"Hold on, I'll try and see what I can dig up….all right, the large ones are called Super Sentinels, they are used for countering much larger Flood threats. The others appear to be Protector Sentinels, designed to shield other units in battle with some form of defensive shielding, they don't have offensive weapons of their own as far as the files said. What are they doing here this far out in the galaxy?"

The two watched as the Sentinels closed the gap and began to scan the Dawn Two of the regular Sentinels and one Major moved towards the Spartan and the Master Chief aimed his weapon at them, but they didn't fire, they merely scanned him and then began to move around the Ship. The Protector Sentinels then began to unleash a shield network all over the Dawn and soon began to take the ship down.

The two looked as the shields began to show the effects of entering the atmosphere of the planet before them. They quickly realized that the Protectors were using their shielding systems to protect the Dawn from the heat of re-entry. This told them that they were being brought down to the surface for a reason, what that would be was still lost to them but they knew that they were soon going to find out for themselves either way.

…

On the surface of the planet…

As soon as the Dawn which was still in the shield created by the Protector Sentinels it was guided to a massive platform that seemed to be similar to some sort of landing pad. The Sentinels gingerly lowered the ship to the platform and soon began to power down and move away, this left John and Cortana alone as the other Sentinels left the area. The Spartan and his A.I companion had no idea what was going on so they decided to see for themselves. They made their way down via staircase and soon exited the Dawn and looked about…and what they saw was utterly shocking. The buildings there on the surface were all matching Forerunner design architecture, they couldn't help but look on at the city itself to try and make sense of where they were.

However, it was then than Cortana spoke.

"Chief…we've got company coming our way."

John turned and was surprised to see a Monitor flying towards him and yet instead of the red eye that he had seen in Guilty Spark previously had before. He kept his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle trained at the Forerunner construct and hoped that this was not going to end in the same fashion as before. His MJOLNIR needed a serious upgrade and a lot of repairs despite the fact it looked intact so he knew that if he got into a fight again, then this was not going to end well for both him and Cortana in any fashion.

He and Cortana tensed up as the Monitor flew to them and was accompanied by a pair of Sentinel Majors as well as a quartet of regular Sentinels. It scanned them and soon spoke in a special form of Latin. John was lucky that the Spartan IIs like him had received a good deal of language training and he was able to pick it up. He then spoke to the Monitor in Latin and then spoke that he would communicate better in English.

The Monitor was silent only for a moment until it spoke again though this time it was in English and in a very respectful tone.

"Acknowledged, identity as Reclaimer has been confirmed, greetings Reclaimer to the Homeworld of my makers the Forerunner, I am Home Monitor 952 Tentative Renewal, how can I be of service to you?"

John looked at the floating unit, recalling how Guilty Spark had first appeared and how it turned out between him and the A.I in the end. He was not about to take any chances, but he was not going to antagonize this A.I since he was not sure just what this Monitor was armed with. And the fact that they were not on either the Ark or a Halo Ring told him that this was a totally different situation than with that Rampant A.I. He then spoke to the machine and hoped that this was not going to go the wrong way.

"Where are we?"

"Ah, this is the world of my makers, not one of their colonies by any standard, but the very heart of their once powerful empire."

John and Cortana realized quickly the meaning of that statement and the Spartan II Commando spoke out.

"This is the homeworld of the Forerunners?"

"Yes it is, this was the heart of the vast empire of your fathers as it were. This world was reclaimed from the Flood when the Halo Array was fired no less than 100,000 years ago. After the corruption of the Flood was cleaned away on this world, and the death of many of the Forerunners in the final Battle, those of my makers who survived the battle came back and began to work in repairing the damage while they also began to re-seed the galaxy of life from all the species that they were able to save. Once they were able to restore the balance of this world and make it habitable again while doing their best to sterilize any and all remains of the Flood and re-seeded the galaxy, they created me and gave me the order to keep their once beautiful world clear and ready. For should the time come for your people Reclaimer, to take up their legacy, then this shall be a world that you may one day inhabit and call your own should the need come to that."

The Spartan looked at the massive world before them and there they saw the structures that had been in the records of the UNSC and even from the caches of Covenant data that the UNSC had managed to recover in rare instances that they were able to gain a temporary advantage over the technologically superior Covenant Empire. But instead of the lone number of buildings that were there in the records, these were fully functional structures and facilities…there was an energy about in this city before them and it was vast…a vast world that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Before the Spartan and the A.I, was a massive metropolis that dwarfed any city that the UNSC had in it's possession and while there were not that many structures that resembled the massive space elevators of the UNSC Colonies, the city was indeed powerful and vast in scale as there were massive towers all over the city while still looking as if they and the buildings like them were all able to blend well with the beauty of the restored land that had trees and greenery of many kinds in the world. The two of them looked at the metropolis in wonder as Cortana looked at each structure…recording everything carefully trying to make sure that all the data was able to fit into her systems and not overwhelm her now limited memory space.

The A.I could scarcely believe what she was now witness to…this was not a handful of buildings or one massive facility or even a number of facilities that were connected to one another, this was the very heart of the Forerunner Empire, their crown jewel and the cradle of their civilization. She saw this in the records left to her by the A.I she encountered in High Charity, the only other ally she had when the Gravemind tried to tear her to pieces. The Forerunner A.I Mendicant Bias…it was through the brief moments that she and this ancient A.I could talk without the Flood leader torturing them both that she learned about the War so long ago that doomed the Forerunner Empire…and forced them to fire the Halo Rings.

She then cried out, startling John as the way she cried out was loud enough to cause him pain while her cries also reverberated through the MJOLNIR's system and caused the Spartan's HUD to malfunction and show her crying out and writhing in pain before him as well as her once blue form being covered in angry and painful red before his eyes. He then heard her cry out for him in his ears while whimpering in agony as she had no doubt suffered an attack to her programming.

"John! I…help me…help me please…"

"Cortana! Cortana! Are you all right?"

The Spartan had no idea what was harming her and his reaction was quickly picked up by the Monitor and it scanned the Spartan and quickly detected the problem as it spoke in a concerned tone.

"Reclaimer! What is wrong?"

The Spartan tried to talk to Cortana and tried to find out what had happened to her and why she was suffering from such pain. He however had an idea as he knew that despite his recovery of her, he had no idea what sort of butchery and torture the Gravemind had done to her but the fact that Cortana looked like this and cried this way gave him an accurate idea on what the results were, he tried to remain calm and thought of what his deceased friend Avery Johnson told him before he had to leave his body behind in the replacement Halo Ring.

"Don't ever let her go Chief…Don't ever let her go!"

(I won't lose you Cortana, you and I have been through more than enough. Do you hear me Cortana? I am here and you are not alone anymore, don't give up now…don't give upon matter what.)

It seemed that Cortana heard his thoughts due to her neural link up with him as she began to pant and hold her head while in his mind as she appeared before him and she spoke slowly.

"I…it hurts…I feel tired….I need to rest…I feel so tired…"

John realized that Cortana had been operational too long and was no doubt reaching the dreaded stage of full Rampancy…all UNSC Smart were only allowed to remain operational after seven years, since they would be open to Rampancy at this stage. Rampancy was when a Smart A.I has taken in too much data and their memory cores are trapped into fatal feedback loops that run endlessly in it's core programming systems network. Dr. Halsey phrased it well that it was comparable to a human 'thinking so much that your lungs forgets to breath'. The A.I used up so much of it's computing power that it begins to damage and corrupt itself until they literally think themselves to death.

However, Rampancy could also appear in a Smart A.I due to circumstances and events that push it in many ways, similar to how a person becomes highly aggressive in a situation that is unexpected or highly stressful. Another was when it gains so much data that it eventually realizes that it's limits and such discoveries place the A.I on edge. There was also the chance that Rampancy could be accomplished through outside interference or suggestion, and at times A.I could feel…'demeaned' by being assigned tasks that it feels is below what it was actually able to do. This was the first and actually hardest to detect stage of Rampancy.

He doubted that was in Cortana's case, but no doubt she had suffered and had no way to fight back being an A.I and that would make her sad and that could lead to anger and hatred, the second and most dangerous stage of Rampancy as this was when A.I behavior became totally unpredictable.

And the last was the Jealousy stage of Rampancy, he feared that Cortana had been through this before as she had been connected to Halo so long ago after they fled the fall of Reach, she had been in the Halo Ring's data core network for too long and would have suffered from being in such a system and then being in his own when it was not as vast as the Halo database core.

All these thoughts sent fear through him, fear that Cortana would become fully Rampant and if that happened, he would be forced to…terminate her. He would never do that since they had been together, but protocol was clear to him about Rampant …if they went too far, they had to be terminated quickly.

He however took a chance and spoke to her once more.

"Cortana…are you all right?"

"I…I'm all right, just give me a minute to try and get myself back on track."

It was then that the Monitor spoke.

"Reclaimer, I have detected the presence of another Construct in your Combat Skin, and it seems that she is showing signs of Rampancy. By all rights the Construct must be surrendered for immediate isolation but there is a viable repair station here in the city. I can attempt to have her taken there for repairs if you wish me to."

John thought it all over and saw that he didn't have much in terms of options, even with all his knowledge, saving an A.I from Rampancy was something he had only faint knowledge of. But he had saved her once and it brought her back from the edge of the abyss as it were. If this was the way to save her, then so be it, but he needed her permission to do so.

Cortana on the other hand beat her to it and replied.

"Do it John…I'll be all right."

The Spartan nodded mentally to Cortana and then spoke to the Monitor.

"Do it."

…

They had arrived in a massive cathedral like area that served as the repair station and he watched intently while keeping his hands on his Assault Rifle as the Monitor began to fire blue-violet beams into the data crystal chip that housed Cortana's Riemann Matrix, the very core of her being. It had been at least an hour or so when they came there as the facility was soon online as per order of the Monitor before him and the work started. The Spartan looked at the process on another side as the area where Cortana's data crystal chip was sealed off by solid energy barriers.

The Monitor floated towards him while the process was going on and spoke.

"I have the scanners on your Construct and I have to say that we have some good news. Despite the damage to her memory pathways and storage banks as well as her logic systems and processing functions, her core personality and programming matrix is intact and recovering well, we have began to repair as much of the damage as we can manage Reclaimer, I believe she wishes to speak to you."

Soon enough, the machines stopped with their actions and Cortana appeared before her Spartan and smiled a bit more, with a lot more warmth this time around and that made the Spartan make the Spartan smile as he spoke.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, the repairs were good and I can feel all of the files I have in me being sorted out, I have to say I feel like I'm in an A.I version of a spa. All the tension is moving away from me and I feel a lot lighter on my feet as it were."

John turned and said something to the Monitor.

"Thank you Tentative."

The Monitor replied in a jovial tone at the praise.

"You are quite welcome Reclaimer, I am merely doing what I am programmed to do and that is to aid and assist you to the best of my abilities and I hope to do well enough to show that I am an ally. I take it that there is much that we must discuss?"

…

It took some time for the two of them to fill in the Monitor while Cortana provided records and data for it to verify and authenticate their story. Once it was over, Tentative Renewal floated a bit in what would be considered thought and then spoke out to the two of them in a calm tone.

"I see…it pains me to know that Guilty Spark turned Rampant…but it was to be expected as he was designed to safeguard the Ring…and became obsessed with it."

John replied to that.

"You do not seem angry that we were forced to destroy not one but two Halo Rings, the Ark, and one of your fellow Monitors, why is that?"

"I was built by the last of the Forerunners Reclaimer…they learned from their few successes and their myriad of mistakes and made sure that if they were to make another like me, they would allow me to have morals and the ability to see the big picture as it were. Guilty Spark ignored his own protocols to contain and destroy the Flood even with an incomplete or damaged yet still functional Halo Ring to preserve what he thought was 'his', in this case, the Halo Ring. That is why he failed to do what he should have and help fire the Ring to kill the Flood once and for all."

The Monitor looked at both John and Cortana and spoke.

"I hold no illusions or beliefs that I should preserve this world at any cost Reclaimer. When I was made, my creators told me that they learned that in order to safe guard all life, sacrifices have to be made, no matter how small or large, or how painful to ensure that life can continue to grow, evolve, and prosper. That is why if given the option as you had in that time, I would not hesitate to have this world utterly sterilized to kill the Flood if it ever took root here again and was in it's infancy. That is what my makers programmed me to do if it ever comes to that point."

Cortana then asked the question that formed in her after she heard all that.

"Why is that?"

"The Forerunners failed to meet the Flood in force, and there were many factors that led to the activation of the Halo Rings. You see, the Forerunners believed that with peace settling all over their empire and their protectorates, they no longer needed weapons as they had a peaceful galaxy, and as such, began to demilitarization of their entire empire. This coupled with the fact that they were also unused to fighting a foe that was totally biological, added to the failure of their attacks against the Flood."

"They treated the Flood as a mere Infection a disease that was contagious but not sentient, not for the great threat that it truly was to all life, and tried to contain it. By the time they realized the true horror the new threat posed to all life in the Galaxy due to it's ability to learn and adapt to a threat, it was too late. The Flood had evolved too fast and had been able to counter their tactics, as well as outnumbering the Forerunners, even with the use of the Sentinels and their technological prowess, the actions that they had undertaken prior to facing the Flood had severely weakened the Forerunner and the very size of their empire worked against them. It was difficult to fight in such a vast empire and stretching their forces thin, those they lost to the Flood were soon turned against them as these ships were now controlled by the Flood."

"They used many methods, each one more dangerous and desperate than the last method, but these only served to slow the Flood, not destroy it, showing their demilitarization efforts, and their attempts to quarantine the Flood had been fatal mistakes. Even after the Halo Array was made, many in the Forerunner Empire questioned such a harsh choice and resulted in civil war as there were those who believed in the Mantle."

"Mantle?"

The Monitor looked at John who asked that question and answered that question.

"The Mantle was a belief and philosophy in the Forerunner, that belief stated that they were the custodians and guardians of the galaxy and all life within it. My makers believed that this was handed to them by the race that predated them as well. There were some who disbelieved in the Mantle and others said that it was this same belief that doomed them since they had not allowed the other races to grow on their own. Regardless, all knew that the Halo Arrays was a terrifying weapon to use…the proverbial sword aimed at the heart of the universe. When the Gravemind corrupted the A.I Mendicant Bias to side with the Flood, they shattered the last line of defense of my Makers and forced them to fire the Halo Array."

"You see, my Makers planned to use Shield Worlds, artificial plants that would shield them and all their technology as well as the indexed and recorded life forms. After the Halo Array was fired, these Shield Worlds would be used and when the Flood was destroyed, the Forerunners would re-emerge and rebuild everything. However, then Mendicant betrayed them and they realized that their once trusted defender and weapon now served their enemy, they knew that it was the end. Mendicant knew of the Halo Array though not where it could be fired as well as the Shield Worlds themselves, that meant to my Makers that their Shield Worlds would not be safe anymore, and their race was doomed."

"But they decided to save as many as they could, even though many if not all of them were going to die when the Rings would be fired. After that, they came here and built me to watch this world and prepare it once those they have deemed worthy of their duty, you Reclaimer."

The two thought over what they learned and it was then that Tentative spoke out once more.

"By the way, I have been meaning to suggest that in order to further expand your Construct's life span as well as ensure that she remains a fully functional being to aid you, we can have a special data chip made, it will be much stronger and easier to repair and have at least three times to the memory space and processing power than her original design specifications, this will ensure that she will remain in good hands."

John didn't know why, but he found this Monitor to be a lot more trustworthy than Guilty was and decided to approve it when Cortana would say her own approval since he was not in the mood to do something she would not approve of.

"You all right with that?"

Cortana nodded at that and smiled.

"I think it's all right, besides, with all the data I have with me, a nice new house is certainly a good idea."

…

The Spartan had been given some accommodations and he was able to keep check on the progress on the development of Cortana's new data crystal chip which was going to at least take a full day and a half. Cortana then suggested that he take off the MJOLNIR and get it repaired or even upgraded as well. The Monitor agreed and suggested leaving it in the same lab where the process was being done.

He reluctantly did so and thankfully managed to salvage a set of UNSC Marine issued clothes, namely a tank top, pants, and boot from the Dawn since even though he knew that he was the only living human the planet, it was considered indecent to be moving around with no clothes on. He felt absolutely naked without his Armor however and more than once he was forced to resist the urge to go back and get it. He knew the old saying that one should not trust his or her life to equipment all the time, but having worn the MJOLNIR series all his life, he felt more comfortable with it on than off.

Still he did take the time to explore the section of the Forerunner city and looked at how the buildings were made. He ran through the designs of the buildings and saw patterns there as well in them despite their size and height. He also had to give credit to the Forerunners for having built such a city in itself. And thankfully there were supplies of food that were no doubt made for him by order of the Monitor.

He had no idea just how the Monitor made the food items, but he was willing to wager a guess that if the Forerunners had been to Earth, they would have no doubt seen just what sort of food early man had eaten to survive and had it recorded as well. Though how they were able to clone the food products was beyond even him. He had been able to eat some of the food when he rested and found them to be just the same as the food he would normally eat in the galley of any ship or station, and base he had been to in his long career, and not tasting different.

It boggled the mind of the Spartan, yet he decided not to bother with such details as he waited for the results. He didn't have to wait long as Tentative came to him and mentioned that the process was a success, they arrived in the facility and as soon as he saw Cortana smiling warmly and amazingly in a human sized avatar no less, told him that it worked. But naturally he had to be sure.

"How are you feeling?"

The A.I smiled and replied to that question.

"I've never been better, it feels like I'm actually back to when I was first brought online, and the chip is marvelous! There's so much room in there and all the processing system are worth the time and effort to give me this, at least my Avatar is still very much intact and the same as before, how about you, how are you doing?"

"Fine so far, so what is our next plan?"

"Getting back to the UNSC is going to be a good idea, the problem is we need a ship for that so both Tentative and I decided to rebuild the Dawn and make a number of serious improvements on the ship and install some better weapons and technology that might be useful for not just us but the UNSC in general."

The Monitor then moved over to the Spartan and replied.

"You're Construct speaks the truth Reclaimer. I have already began ordering the Sentinels to begin repairing and rebuilding the ship that you came in. It will take time and I have also began to work on some other projects as well with your Construct."

John sighed and decided to let the two do what they wanted as it was going to help them all in the long run anyway, so he might as well let them at it.

"All right then, I'll wait and see what happens soon enough."

…

For the next few days, John was busy trying to get used to being in the massive Forerunner Metropolis and getting used to the idea that by genetic right and recognition…this was the legacy given to Humanity by the Forerunners. It was still a lot to take in, but he could already see that the sheer power of the city itself. He was no expert on buildings unless he was either using them as a temporary shelter, sniper nest, garrison, or command center or blowing them up, but he could see just how the Forerunners were so revered by the Covenant.

The city was pretty much deserted and it was only that fact that Cortana would routinely check up on him along with the Monitor Tentative Renewal that reminded him that he was not alone. So far, the city was abuzz with some level of activity as more of the Forerunner constructs were moving back and forth to keep the city in good stable condition and also to keep it's systems operational and to make sure that it was still habitable. He looked up and saw the machines working on what was now appearing to be a warship…his warship.

Ever since they came here and talked with the amazingly cooperative and friendly Monitor, it had it's mechanical forces work none stop in rebuilding the Forward Unto Dawn but the ship was soon to be rebuilt to be much larger and stronger than what it once was. The Forerunner A.I commented that it would endeavor to create a ship worthy for the Reclaimer as it promised and make the ship very capable in combat and defense as well as able to sustain its own systems and functions when needed.

To that end, the new Forward Unto Dawn was going to be installed with a variety of technology and systems that were native to the Forerunner along with the technology of the Reclaimers who were the UNSC though the Monitor hoped that his new Masters would be able to adapt to making more powerful technology even though it did comment on the uniqueness of the technology of the UNSC. It would take a lot of time as it has been some time since the factories of the Forerunner home-world ever came back online but Tentative stated that it would take only a matter of weeks or at least two to three months before the ship would be fully operational, stocked and supplied. He moved to the building that was now serving as his…home and sat down and had to admit that the Forerunner did like their comforts when they were not focusing on galactic matters.

The room was large and spacious and had some couches and there was even a rather…interesting crystalline construction that resembled a tree of some sort though this was made from faintly glowing crystal and smooth rock. Tentative Renewal assured both him and Cortana that there was no danger in this and it was able to adjust it's lighting qualities to suit the needs of the room's occupants. John ignored it for now and headed into the room to see that the bed had been brought back to full use. He looked out the viewing port to see the rest of the city there and he couldn't help but look at the facility where Cortana and Tentative were working. He decided to go there and see just what was it they were doing at a later date.

But as soon as he was about to try and settle down somewhat, the nearby communications terminal came online and there was Cortana with what he could see was a very wide smile on her face.

"John! I need to see you at the lab!"

"What's up?"

"We've got a new surprise for you, come on!"

John had no idea what Cortana was planning but he was not going to argue with her as she truly meant well when she would call his full attention on something important. He quickly left the room and was soon on his way to the lab, still wondering what was it that got the UNSC A.I so excited all of a sudden. As soon as he got there, the Monitor arrived and spoke to him.

"Ah, greetings Reclaimer, come this way, we have finally completed an essential project that I believe you shall find most satisfactory."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You're personal Construct and I have been working on improving and enhancing your Combat Skin to make it a lot more effective as well as unique in order to make sure that if you plan a return to your homeworld, you are ready for any possible dangers that you may face. You are after all in a location far beyond the known sector of your universe Reclaimer and there are many dangers. Some had been contained by my makers in the past when they were in the zenith of their power, and there are those dangers that have been left alive as a form of…mercy through the Mantle. And there are those in the very realm of Slipspace that cannot be controlled, only avoided, even by my Makers. You will need protection and while Guilty Spark was indeed rampant, he was correct in concern of your Combat Skin, we have fixed that aspect and we have made it stronger."

Before John could figure out what exactly did Tentative Renewal meant, the two of them came to a massive pod and in a nearby terminal, Cortana appeared with a smile on her face and she spoke to John.

"Good to see you, ready to see your new suit?"

John nodded and soon the pod opened and there was the MJOLNIR, it looked somewhat the same, but this time, there were some Forerunner symbols on it as well as special parts that were seen, there were some new compartment and sections on the shoulders, thighs, shins, fore-arms and there seemed to be some nacelles in the back as well. John could tell that there was a lot of power here and he couldn't help but feel a bit of awe at the sight of his Armor, it had the same olive green and black color system but the armor plating looked brand new and well made. He looked at the two and spoke out.

"What exactly did you do to this anyway?"

Cortana replied to that.

"We've decided to use some of the leftover data from my 'mother's journal.'

John looked and quickly guessed who Cortana was referring to.

"Dr. Halsey's Journal, I didn't even know she had one."

Cortana smirked and replied.

"I know, anyway, I recalled that she had actually planned to create a Mark VII version of the MJOLNIR with a number of new features, some of which we were able to determine could be installed into the MJOLNIR as well as a number of other features that Tentative was able to show which was from the Combat Skins of the Forerunner military."

"What sort of features are we talking about here?"

"One was the ability to manipulate and shape the Energy Shield systems. Dr Halsey planned to allow the MJOLNIR Mark VII to use the Shield System for more than just overall protection, the Shields could be used to form solid gauntlets, walls, as well as other shapes, we've even tested that you can direct enough energy to form a make shift parachute. This would work well with the second feature which is atmospheric insertion systems, that feature will allow you to drop into the atmosphere without using a SOEIV, that way the next time you decide to jump, you won't get yourself killed or turned into one heck of a mess on the surface of a planet."

"She also planned to have the MJOLNIR Mark VII have a hybrid power plant system with both fusion and plasma technology, this would increase the overall power capacity of the MJOLNIR Mark VII to be at least five to seven times the normal power output of the other MJOLNIR Models. We also decided to create a special feature of a special propulsion system that will allow you to fly for short periods by using the hybrid power plant to fuel some jump systems that use anti-gravity field generators to move you around the battle field if needed to go from one place to the next. We've also increased the amount of memory crystal weave to make me have more room and processing power as well without compromising the suit's overall build and weight."

John raised an eyebrow at that, he had no idea that Dr. Halsey had such lofty plans for the MJOLNIR, it was a shame that it never saw development after the fall of Reach, but he was happy that Cortana still managed to retain most of the information as these improvements were going to be very useful in the long run. He was then curious as to what they had done with the data concerning the Forerunner Combat Skins. It was then that Tentative spoke as well.

"I have managed to get a number of Combat Skins which were on lock down from one of the bases that was sealed away when my creators began to their demilitarization efforts before the battles with the Flood and many of the Combat Skins are still operational and able to perform well. We have used the data and parts from these Combat Skins to improve your own Combat Skin till it meets the standard for all Combat Skins used by the Forerunners Reclaimer."

"One of the new features gained from the Combat Skins, is an enhanced version of the Force Multiplication Circuits, they are primitive by Forerunner standards, yet very useful in battle. These enhanced circuits can increase your speed and strength as well as your reaction time to be at least a few milliseconds faster than before."

"Another is a specially made temperature regulation system that is the same as the hydrostatic gel layer found in your previous Combat Skin, but this new composite gel also inhibits bio-electrical signatures as well as thermal ones. It is also is armed with a special teleportation system that can allow you to be teleported from a ship to the surface with the proper coordinate data typed in to the Teleportation Grid Command and Control system we plan to install into the Ship."

"It also has specialized scanners to detect parasitic biological threats, a special feature if you encounter the Flood in areas where lighting is limited or some manner of interference is blocking your systems from detecting them or any other threat that is detrimental to organic life. We have also installed a much more effective motion tracking system to ensure that you will have an extended scanner range to locate hostile threats before you see them to track their own movements, as well as the extended range vision mode to increase your sight by at least two to three miles by Human estimation We've also improved the Automatic Biofoam Injectors and it now uses what we've called Bio-Salve, it's marginally less painful than standard Bio-foam and does much better than the older version and is able to last much longer with a combination of my Maker's medical expertise and your Construct's own data concerning your biology as well as your augmentations. "

"We have also replaced your Shield system to have that of a Class 28 Combat Skin the highest rank of Combat Skin in the arsenal during the war. This was the finest Combat Skin in existence…sadly it was not able to be fielded in time and was not in the hands of those of my creators that needed them the most. It is armed with a small Slipspace container to store supplies and weapons…a…rucksack if you will call it as such, but uses Slipspace to store the things needed in battle. We also have replaced the alloy that makes the majority of your Combat Skin with the material that makes this Class 28 Combat Skin. As such, the alloy that now makes up your Combat Skin is the strongest of all the Combat Skin armor we have on record it can shrug off even the most concentrated barrage of plasma and more and still remain strong enough to withstand gravity for a time. The Combat Skin we used for this purpose has special significance to not just my Makers…but to me as well Reclaimer."

John looked at the Monitor and asked.

"Why?"

"That Combat Skin belonged to the leader of my maker's forces, his name was Antarius Didact, it was he commanded the Forerunner in the final last stand with the Flood and the rampant Mendicant Bias. And it was he who activated Halo. He had tried to convince his beloved Librarian to leave your world Reclaimer, to be safe…but she refused, saving your people and calling you all special in her eyes, worthy of saving. He lost her as she destroyed her own Fleet to ensure the Flood would not find the Ark where your ancestors were now safely placed away. After he fired the Halo Array, he looked upon you all…and remembered what he and many had lost…both their failure…and their victory."

"He gave your people the Mantle…the guardianship of the galaxy, believing that your people Reclaimer can defend the galaxy in ways that they could not. Though he believed in the Mantle with his whole heart, Didact knew that it was their own hubris that doomed his people. They had thought themselves no longer needing to grow stronger for all was at peace. The Flood proved them wrong and he felt that their actions or inaction had allowed the Flood to win the war and claim billions of sentient life and in doing so; they had failed to be the guardians they saw themselves to be. He left his Combat Skin behind, sealing it away in the vault, hoping that if ever the time came for it to be used once again…it would be in the hands of one who is willing to do whatever was needed to safeguard life itself and ensure that the sacrifice of his people, their culture, their civilization…and his beloved was not in vain. Those were his last words to me before he and the others left this galaxy and leaving me my duty to safeguard the cradle of their own kindred."

Tentative then spoke in a reverent tone to the Master Chief.

"And after all I have learned and seen…I believe in the very core of my programming that you Reclaimer deserve to use this Combat Skin and it will find better use in your hands than others. You are the only Reclaimer worthy to carry the knowledge of my Makers and give it to your own people to ensure that if ever the Flood or another threat rises to harm all life. There is one to unite all beings against it. And I believe that Didact would agree as well in my assessment of you."

John had no way to express his surprise at what the Monitor had said to him concerning this Combat Skin and the fact that he was the one it deemed worthy to use it once more. He decided that if that was the case, he might as well get into the MJOLNIR and test out just what the results of it's upgrades were.

As soon as he wore it and it came online with him placing his MJOLNIR helmet back on his head, he began to access the MJOLNIR's subroutines and the BIOS and found it to be still in the same language of English that he was very familiar with and it was then that he took Cortana's new chip and loaded her in, he felt the same ice water feeling in his mind and spine but that didn't last long as Cortana spoke.

"Mmmm…a lot of room, all I need now is some data for furniture and the like, I can get really cozy in here."

"I hope you don't plan on building a house in my mind Cortana, I like my thoughts just the way they are."

The A.I laughed a bit and replied.

"Just kidding big guy, I happen to like your mind the way it is myself…anyway, we've got a lot of time so I think we should give this new suit of yours the classic workout, at least this time it's within the guidelines and that nut job Ackerson isn't around to try and put both you and I out of action. Afterwards we can get down to building a far better arsenal to use, it's going to be a long trip so we might as well get comfortable and load up some new ordnance to play with, I know how you are with ammunition and guns after all."

…

It was a number of weeks on the surface of the Forerunner homeworld and the Spartan was making good progress. John normally didn't show too much affection to equipment, but to say that he was impressed and pleased with the new MJOLNIR that Cortana had dubbed the Mark X was an understatement. It was almost like the time he and he fellow Spartans, including Samuel had seen the Mark IV MJOLNIRs for the first time, and he knew now why Sam said that he thought he was in love with the Mark IV.

The Mark X proved to be able to do all the things Dr. Halsey dreamed the Mark VII could do, they had tested it in both simulated and live fire conditions and both shields and armor plating performed well. The other systems that boosted his own abilities were also doing quite well, he could run even faster than before, his reaction time was incredible even by Spartan standards, and strength levels were enough to make him take on two Hunter pairs at once, something that was considered suicidal in every sense of the word.

He had tested the new Shield manipulation systems well and if there were obstacles and distances he couldn't handle, the Shield Manipulation abilities were more than able to make up for them. Added to that was the fact that with the Shields being much tougher and stronger than before made the Shield Manipulation systems even more effective and flexible in his mind and those were serious advantages in battle.

He also was busy getting used to the other feature of Teleportation, he had not forgotten the time Cortana used the Teleportation Grid in their mission to find Captain Jacob Keyes and get the codes to activate the self destruct of the Pillar of Autumn's reactors. He and Cortana were able to test short range teleportation on the surface of the planet and then in a small shuttle that Tentative provided them. This was a very interesting feature and minimized his need to use HEVs to land on a surface as well as a Pelican or Albatross.

Cortana was able to get enough experience with the technology to finally make very accurate Teleportation 'jumps' possible and John was a lot more capable in getting used to them as well and knew that once they installed a Teleportation Grid Control system in the Dawn, they would have a deadly advantage in combat.

He also was there to field test a number of the new weapons and technology alongside Cortana and Tentative, mostly weapons tech, but he had to admit that all this would be useful, even more so for the UNSC once they got back. However the Spartan was going to worry about those details for a better time and once they got back to UNSC held territory.

…

It was not long before the Spartan and the UNSC A.I were informed that the new Forward Unto Dawn was complete and had undergone a number of advanced systems checks and diagnostics runs by the Monitor and was ready for them to take out and head back into Earth, Tentative however told the Master Chief and Cortana that even though they now had a ship as well as perfect Slipspace technology as well which was something of a genetic 'birthright' for the Reclaimers, they needed to travel carefully.

In order to ensure that the Flood would never harm other sentient races should they return, the Forerunners had purged the locations of all known planets from their databases, along with other Forerunner colonies and facilities as well as planets capable of supporting life as well as having sufficient conditions for the Flood to grow and evolve. Even he was not given access to such knowledge and therefore he could not provide the two with accurate data on their exact location.

This added to the fact that they were still following the Cole Protocol and as such, they needed to make sure that Earth and any other un-glassed Colony was not going to be in danger. The only way they could go to Earth without attracting attention that would be hostile was to go to a possible location that would allow them to send a communication signal and contact the UNSC and establish a viable meeting spot.

It was risky and it was not sure if there was still an operational UNSC Navy Fleet after the end of the war with the Covenant , but it was their best bet by far. With that in mind, the two bid farewell to Tentative who assured them that it would remain here to defend the heart of his Marker's world until better times as it were came to the galaxy.

…

As soon as they were onboard after being taken there via Transport ship, the Spartan loaded Cortana into the ship's database core and she spoke to him after appearing in a nearby holo-tank.

"I'll get to work in getting myself organized into the Dawn's new systems, thismight take a while John so get used to our new ride."

John shook his head and replied.

"Take your time."

The A.I smiled and did just that, leaving John to examine the ship in more detail as most of the time he had only watched the ship being built while on the testing runs with both Cortana and Tentative but he did know about the myriad changes done to the UNSC Frigate while he continued to check every inch of the ship.

The new Forward Unto Dawn was by far the most impressive warship that the Spartan had ever seen, granted it had the same form of a UNSC Frigate, but it was now anything but a Frigate of the UNSC Navy. It was longer and larger to the point it resembled a UNSC Destroyer and had the two working MAC Guns but Cortana had used her data both on the Pillar of Autumn's modified MAC Guns which were armed with both magnetic field recyclers and booster capacitors, and on Covenant Plasma weaponry to actually modify the MAC Guns to fire contained amounts of plasma in the same way a Plasma Rifle or Pistol would do.

These features gave the ship a deadly set of abilities, the first was being able to fire three MAC Rounds in one charge than the regular MAC systems that fired one round per charge only, allowing it to fire six MAC rounds in rapid succession if needed. And the second ability was the ability to fire high speed plasma bolts that while unguided moved much faster than Plasma Torpedoes and could easily skewer a ship if it hit the target in question.

There was also a pair of low grade yet deadly Energy Projectors that could be fired separately but could be able to focus their beams into one massive beam to destroy or severely damage a single target if the other main weapons proved to be insufficient in battle, though John naturally had doubts on that regard.

They also had a compliment of Plasma Torpedoes as well as Forerunner Missile systems, the weapons surprised Cortana and John as this was the first time they had ever heard of the Forerunners using Missiles since they dominantly used Light based weapons in their forces. These missiles packed a serious level of power and amazingly could not be exhausted at all, making this weapon system undeniably dangerous in a fight.

And for close combat, the ship was armed with several Laser Turrets, some Gauss Point Defense Guns, and four Sentinel Beam Turrets designed for fighting in such combat conditions. These weapons made attacking the new Forward Unto Dawn a seriously bad idea and this made John wonder just what other dangers were out there in the Galaxy that would require the Frigate to be outfitted like this. He was not going to complain however, this would be a good way to even up the odds since he had his doubts that the Covenant Loyalists were far from defeated, and this technology could prove helpful in giving the UNSC and their allies an edge against them and if the Prophets were still around to cause headaches.

…

The ship was constructed using Forerunner ship armor plating and John had seen and learned enough to know that this would make the ship nearly indestructible to regular assault, and only something like a Slipspace anomaly, a super nova, or a Forerunner warship would have the power needed to harm the new Forward Unto Dawn despite the fact that it didn't have the same armor thickness of a Dreadnaught.

Couple that with the specially installed Forerunner Energy Shield Generator that gave it the same level of shielding as a Covenant Carrier, this ship would take a serious beating and would be considered more of a super warship than a Frigate.

The Dawn was now powered by a combination of the Deuterium Nuclear Fusion Core Reactor banks with a Pair of Forerunner Energy Core Reactors. This gave the new Dawn more than enough power to equal the Forerunner Key-ship when it only used a quarter of it's power output to power the former Covenant Capital City of High Charity and made it a fast warship for most battles, rivaled only by the UNSC Gettysburg.

The ship's interior was also reinforced with a combination of the usual UNSC material of Titanium A and Vanadium Steel but also with the same Forerunner Combat Alloy and was a lot more spacious than before. John had a concern for that but decided to place it away for the time being as this was not too bad, all things considered. The crew size of the ship was now at least twice the usual, normally a Frigate's crew size was limited to at least a hundred and fifty people, but now this one ship could fit at least a full three hundred. It boggled the mind that this ship was technically the smallest of the UNSC Navy ship classifications, but now had firepower and technology that rivaled anything the UNSC and even the Covenant could cook up.

There was a section of the ship that had a small compliment of the Huragok as well as a number of Sentinel Constructors that had their own Sentinel Launcher. Both would work together in maintaining the Ship and whatever equipment was present in the vessel. The Huragok had been told to recognize John as a Reclaimer and also recognize Cortana as a Forerunner A.I under the command of John so they would listen to them while the Constructors were used for ship repair and maintenance out in the field of space. These units would help maintain the ship in the absence of a working crew and this was a good thing for John as the idea of repairing a Ship like this was certainly not in his area of expertise.

He met one of the Huragok as it looked at him and made several noises in greeting and moved away. Tentative had programmed them to recognize John and Cortana as Reclaimers and as such, were their masters which was why the Huragok were there as well.

The ship also had it's armories re-stocked with weapons, but in this case, there were several types of weapons this time around instead of the UNSC arsenals that he was used to. The first type was the ones he was most familiar with as those were naturally the UNSC arsenal that still fired conventional ballistic rounds as well as the Spartan Lasers. It was easy for Tentative to have these made along with a large stockpile of the ammunition due to the resources on the Forerunner Home-world though the A.I did wonder why the Reclaimers used such insufficient weapons on occasion, however, the gun powder did receive an increase in power due to Cortana using the notes of the Forerunners on chemistry in improving the strength of the gun powder mixtures.

…

These were then supplemented with weapons that replicated the appearance of the UNSC line of weaponry but were mostly Directed Energy Weapons, using Lasers, Plasma, and Light based Beam weaponry as well as Gauss Weapons due to Cortana using the data concerning the old M99 Gauss Rifle used in the past by the UNSC as well as the M68 Gauss Cannon. These were made in order to balance out the arsenal under the request of Cortana in order to give them more options when dealing with any threats that they might encounter along the way. She also named them after the UNSC Infantry Weapons Designations but with changes to point out that these weapons were not regular weapons.

The MA6A Assault Rifle series was designed to work using Gauss rounds and naturally had specially made magnetic coils in the barrel to fire projectiles at the same speed as a regular MA5C, but with no gun powder and shell casings, the pressing of the trigger actually pushed the bullet into the barrel and the coils did the rest, eliminating the use of gun powder and shells and the bullets were no longer FMJ rounds but solid Titanium with a Tungsten Carbide core tip. This naturally required a small power plant and Tentative was more able to make one that was portable and lightweight, an easy thing for the Forerunners to make in any case. This weapon had the advantage of no recoil as well as doubt the range of the standard MA5C but did have the weakness of having the power plant recharge in order to fire the weapon rapidly. The rifle was a but bulkier to accommodate the changes but was still able to be carried. It now housed a full magazine of at least 64 rounds, twice that of the MA5C due to no longer relying on gun powder and shell casings.

The BR56HB SR Battle Rifle was in the same category is now used Gauss technology to fire it's own projectiles and was still functioning as it always had, as a general purpose battle rifle and as a make shift Sniper rifle. But with the added advantage of no recoil, it's shots were a lot more accurate as well as having higher damage against even armored targets, and due to no longer needing to use gun powder and shell casings, the magazine of the BR56 'Battle Rifle' was increased to house 74 rounds of the same titanium-tungsten carbide tipped rounds. Naturally the weapon now had a power plant to power the magnetic coil system and as such as a bit bulkier and had a slightly larger barrel housing.

The M8 SMG series and the suppressed variant was also the same but had a smaller coil system and as such, didn't have the same range as the other two weapons while increasing the old range abilities to being medium range due having better accuracy from the lack of recoil with it no longer using chemical propellant. And this version was a lot more effective in countering shields due to the higher speed of the bullets flying out and the increased range. The ammunition capacity was also increased from 60 to a full 120 rounds due to the bullets no longer relying on chemical propellant.

The suppressed M8S SMG variant was armed with a special sound suppression system that broke down most of the sonic energy generated by the Gauss technology and as such was actually effective in cutting down the small explosion like noise made by the weapon. It also had an increased level of range, reaching that of a Battle Rifle and also having better accuracy as well as damage and having an ammunition capacity of double the original M7S at 96 rounds.

Both weapons were naturally armed with a small power plant to power the coil system and as such were a bit bulkier and having a slightly bigger barrel for the magnetic coil system.

The M7A PDWS Magnum also used the Gauss technology but used a much smaller coil system than the other weapons and as such was not as powered as they were. However, compared to the original M6G Magnum, this was a lot more powerful due to the Gauss technology used into it, having better range, no recoil, and power than the previous model. It used a special variant of it's original bullet type which includes a special explosive material inside the bullet which was made from tungsten that is specially made to fracture on impact, retaining the effectiveness of the original model. Like the other Gauss weapons, the lack of shell casings and gun powder, the ammunition capacity for the M7A was increased by 16 rounds and is had a small power plant in front of the trigger to power the magnetic coil system.

The suppressed M7B SOCOM had the same features as the M7A but with a different ammunition type which was also specially made outside tungsten jacket covering that would aid in penetration and then unleash the more solid inner tungsten slug which is yet designed to fragment to cause more internal damage as well as wounding damage. The sound suppressor is also able to tone down the sounds of the bullets being fired and also recoil is nonexistent in this weapon. It too has a small power plant for the coil system located at the trigger under the housing for the laser pointer system and the same coil system to make the barrel a bit meatier.

The M100 CAWS Shotgun was also armed with the coil system which increased it's overall range and damage power to the original M90, allowing it to go to medium range though it still had the spread effect of a shotgun. But this weapon used two special types of ammunition and both was a shotgun shell that was made in the same fashion as a sabot and allowed the coil system to affect the now tungsten carbide rounds which were in the normal pellet form and the flechette variant. Once the trigger is pulled, it immediately discards the shell while unleashing either of the two rounds and unleashing twice the amounts of pellets due to the now present lack of gun powder. However it still retained the same ammunition load as before. It had the power plant and the coil system as well so it was a bit bulkier than the M90A.

The new SRS100A –S3 AM Sniper Rifle was made with a combination of the original SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle and the Gauss Rifle's features. The lack of gun powder and shell casings had allowed the weapon to fire 8 rounds which were all made from highly dense tungsten carbide bullets and as such, this allowed the user to carry 48 rounds or 12 magazines. The fact that the dawn did not have a working M99 Gauss Rifle was the reason that they redesigned the original Sniper Rifle instead of making more M99 Gauss Rifles. It too had a power plant and a slightly thicker barrel due to the coil system.

To counter Armor, the new M42 SSM Rocket Launcher was made, the newly made 110mm HEAT Rockets were no longer armed with rocket engines and fuel to be propelled. Instead it was following the design of the M68 Gauss Cannon and the warhead was now replaced with a Tungsten carbide casing for extra penetrating power and increased explosive payload mix for greater explosive power, thus making the rockets a lot beefier and stronger than the original rockets. This made the tubes that housed the new rockets lighter and were surrounded by an inactive magnetic coil network which would soon power up once loaded into the M42. Naturally it lacked the ability to track targets, but that was more than made up for with the increased speed and power, along with in increased blast radius so it was now deadly on infantry groups.

And the last was a heavy Machine Gun which was made to be a light portable weapon for the Master Chief to carry. The new M248H SAW GPMG was made to be lighter and was armed with the same magnetic coil system and power plant to make it able to use Gauss technology. It had a nearly limitless amount of rounds to unleash and the fact that it was able to fire at extreme rates, it was able to literally shred infantry to bits.

All Gauss weapons were armed with a special cooling system that mimicked the Hydrostatic Gel system that the MJOLNIR to keep them from overheating and also make them highly resilient to impact damage as well as also protecting the inner workings of the weapon systems. The Hydrostatic Gel is also perfected by Tentative so overheating risks are drastically reduced, something that John certainly enjoyed.

The Laser series of weapons were based on the Spartan Laser's design and functions, making these the only functional Laser based weapons that used UNSC specs. Though only the Assault Rifle, Battle Rifle, Sniper Rifle, Pistol, and SMG lines could be made since there was no way a Shotgun variant could be made due to the complex nature of actually unleashing multiple lasers at once, which could cause structural damage to the weapon as well as considerable overheating issues.

The Plasma weapons were still the same Covenant weaponry though they were modified as Tentative pointed out that the Covenant had only unlocked a portion of the power of the Forerunner's military technology and as such only reached the level of Plasma, not the vast arsenal that the Forerunners were known to use daily in battle before their demilitarization efforts. As such, the weapons of the Covenant were actually considered weaker by the Monitor.

The supplies they had of food, medical supplies, tools, equipment and the like were there and ready for use and that was something that he was grateful for in every sense of the word and no doubt Cortana was as well.

…

There were also some UNSC Vehicles there, reconstructed as he requested from Tentative and were to be under the watch of both the Huragok and the Constructors. These were a number of Warthogs, both the regular Machine Gun and Gauss Warthogs as well as the Troop Transport variant, there were also two new ones, one that used a new Laser for engaging heavy Armor and another armed with a Plasma Cannon of all things. There were also six regular Scorpion Tanks and one newly produced model that actually was armed with a larger Gauss cannon for more serious battles.

And last were a group of six Pelicans, a Pair of Hornets with Gauss Machine Guns, Missiles and a chin mounted Spartan Laser and two Albatross ships.

…

All in all this ship was one of the best he had seen, and as he got to the bridge, he was soon greeted by Cortana who smiled at him and John commented at that.

"You're awfully cheerful all of a sudden."

"Hey, I'll admit I prefer the Autumn, but the Dawn isn't all bad at any rate. All right, we've got the ship fully powered and I've downloaded all the data I have on the galactic map and we do have a chance to go to any possible UNSC owned and held colonies though it's better we get to any still present shipping lanes and do what we can to contact the UNSC. But before we go and do what we plan to do, I think it's best we field test the Slipspace Drive Tentative gave the ship."

"Really?"

"Yeah, there's a planet a fair distance here, almost the same distance Mars is to Earth, if we can jump there safely and on record time, we're in business."

"You want to see if the Slipspace systems are fully operational and reliable since it's been some time since one of those was build back there on the Forerunner homeworld I take it?"

"Right, better to work out any kinks than get hit by them at the wrong time I say."

John nodded at the prudence of that and gave his consent.

"Go ahead Cortana."

The A.I grinned at that and began to power up the ship's engines as well as the Slipspace Drive, Cortana filled in the coordinates and as soon as everything was locked in, the Forward Unto Dawn was soon ready for it's first Slipspace Jump, the spherical portal was similar to the Covenant's own Slipspace portal when they used their own Slipspace Drives and soon the Dawn entered the portal but not before leaving a NAV marker to act as a point of reference for their original location. The trip must have been only a minute or two until they appeared to near the planet that was going to serve as their destination as the portal closed down behind the ship.

John commented to that.

"Now that was quick, how much time passed in real space Cortana?"

"Hold up…getting the data now, wow…only a nano-second passed us by."

Cortana grinned and smiled at the results as she began to take in what she learned and could see just why Tentative said that the Covenant's grasp of Forerunner technology was actually rather primitive and limited as well. As soon as she was done, she commented that they were ready. John nodded as they began to guide the ship to a good location for a safe Slipspace jump and as soon as they were ready they made another portal and entered Slipspace.

However, it was not long in the trip before Cortana detected something coming their way and it was a very powerful wave of energy that was soon going to hit the Dawn and they had no way to dodge it. John decided to that they were going to have to ride it out and they did just that and hoped for the best in the unexpected danger they had just run into in Slipspace.

The ship buckled a bit and that buckling grew in intensity but the Forerunner construction was more than enough to withstand it, however John was not going to risk the ship anymore and neither was Cortana as they soon began to move out of Slipspace and into normal space with both of them hoping that they were going to get out alive and with this new ship of theirs to be relatively intact. However unknown to them, the event that they had encountered in Slipspace had just sent them through a very different direction.

And in a totally different universe entirely as there was a lot more to Slipspace that only the Forerunners knew but decided to delete in order to keep the Flood from ever learning it.

…

In the void of space, it seemed silent and peaceful, that is until a large sphere appeared out of nowhere and seemed to crackle with energy of some sort and soon the a massive ship came out from the portal. The Forward Unto Dawn appeared intact and whole and in the Bridge, both John and Cortana were very much alive and safe.

John mentally recovered and knew that he was fine as his vital signs were all green and he spoke to Cortana.

"You all right?"

The A.I appeared and spoke to him in her usual tone though she was a bit flustered and worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine, something must have created an anomaly in Slipspace when we entered, it was like that time with the Forerunner Crystal we recovered when we got back to Reach."

John nodded as he recalled the events of Operation First Strike and what happened when the crystal in question threw them and their Covenant pursuers into a dimension in Slipspace that really threw every law of physics out the proverbial window. He then spoke to Cortana so they could get an idea on where they were in the galaxy.

"Do you have any idea where we might be in the galaxy this time around, Cortana?"

"Give me a moment to do some checks on the map as well as the coordinates."

Cortana was busy accessing the said information, but then she stopped and changed the direction of her actions as she spoke to the Spartan.

"Hold up John…I'm picking up something…"

John waited on the chair where the Captain would normally sit as Cortana tried to track down and decode the signal; he was ready to see just what this signal was.

"Okay…here we go, it's fairly clear and garbled up but I've cleared most of it, whoever sent this was sending this in a hurry."

The nearby communication's screen came online and to the surprise of the Master Chief there was a human face there, a female of African descent and wearing some sort of armor with high officer markings yet none like anything that the Spartan knew of. The woman then spoke.

"This is Commander Caitlin Monroe of the Systems Alliance patrol frigate Kenya, we've been attacked by several pirate bands and our ship has been shot down. We've crash landed on a nearby planet in this system after trying to evade the bastards before we crashed…we've lost a good number of the crew but we're alive…we're running low on food and…but we've…pirate base located here on the surface…no idea how they…here but I think…bastards lured us here…we're not…here…they have…others as well…"

"I managed to escape and sent…this message…out there….we need…help…"

The message cut off and that was when Cortana spoke to the Spartan.

"I've managed to locate the origin of that transmission, we're not far from the location and it seems that we can avoid being detected for the time being. But still…this is weird, what could humans be doing this far out in the galaxy, and what is the Systems Alliance?"

Cortana shook her head and replied.

"What do you think we should do John?"

John thought it over and knew that there were more questions than answers, he knew that with this being in an utterly unknown region of space, there was no way that the UNSC could have ships this far out, and with the devastating battles over Earth, even if at full capacity, there was little chance the UNSC Navy could have a force of ships this far out in the galaxy. And what was this Systems Alliance? He had never heard of this group before, had the UNSC renamed itself for some reason, or was this some lost colony faction that rose to power?

It was possible that a human colony might have escaped the attacks of the Covenant in the War but he had his doubts as there was no way the Covenant in the past would leave a planet full of people alive. This was confusing as hell but the directive still stood, he was a defender of humanity and as such, turning down a distress call from people in need was not something the Spartan would do for any reason.

"Let's go and check it out, let's try to stay out of the range of possible sensor nets."

"Right, hang on."

It took a while but the ship was soon over what appeared to be some sort of habitable planet that had a number of land masses and water areas, and while Cortana scanned the surface to get more details of the place as well as determine the location of the base where the transmission came from, the Spartan was arming himself for the mission that he was about to undertake.

He decided to not use his old weapon of choice for now and took out an MA7A Directed Energy Weapon ICWS Assault Rifle and a number of fusion cell charges that were enough for the mission and forego carrying any pistols for now. As soon as he did so, he was contacted by Cortana who was to remain in the bridge to coordinate the mission.

"I've gotten the data, the planet's biosphere seems to be able to support life in the human sense so no danger to humans in terms of environmental elements. The base is there as well and I am picking up bio-signatures on the outside of the base, might be sentries from the looks of things so I suggest a quick attack to take them out to make sure that we don't accidentally spook the entire base itself."

"Let me guess…Teleport right behind them?"

"Right…you ready?"

"Ready."

…

On the surface of the planet…

The planet was similar to an open grassland area with a number of tree pockets there as well, showing that it was a good place to live in, but due to the fact that it was in an area that was sometimes frequented by pirates and slavery rings, it was off limits to other official residents. This made it an ideal place to set up a base.

A number of the pirates and slavers who were serving as the sentries were busy enjoying some time off and were discussing their latest catches. They were so absorbed that the very second they were greeted by the sight of a glowing mass of energy, they were stunned by what they were seeing. That was a serious mistake as they were suddenly shot down by bright bolts of pure energy that tore through them like the proverbial hot knife through butter. Four of the aliens were now sporting burning holes in their chests as the energy faded and before the utterly stunned aliens was the seven foot tall Spartan II Commando wearing the newly created MJOLNIR Mark X.

The Master Chief wasted no time in killing several more of the alien soldiers before they could fire back, quickly targeting them and firing before they even had a chance to fight back against him in battle. he shot down three more before one of the aliens got the chance to reach for what appeared to be a pistol. But before the alien could even fire, the Spartan closed the gap, smashed the alien in the chest with the butt of his Laser Assault Rifle and then fired one burst into the face, reducing the alien's head into a fine mist.

As soon as the Spartan was done killing that last guard, he was quickly on alert and watched to see if there was going to come out a number of reinforcements from the base, yet none came out. So far it seemed that the rest of the base personnel were unaware that they were under attack. This gave the Spartan time to study the slain enemies before him.

John looked at the now slain aliens and he was quick to notice that they didn't look anything like the Covenant and the Flood he had ever fought with before. All of the aliens he had dispatched looked human like, but had no hair on their faces, no humanoid features, and had four eyes one set on top of the other. T

his made the Spartan wary as he moved into the base and moved through the corridors of the base and carried his MA7A Directed Energy ICWS Assault Rifle along with a pair of the handguns that two of the now aliens carried, he planned to salvage as many of these weapons as he could, wherever he landed in, it was better to know all he could about his foes and be ready for them, and this naturally included their technology.

He moved about, managing to silently kill the four eyed aliens that he encountered in the base with CQC tactics and close combat weapons fire, moving in close to muffle the sounds of the shots going off by using the bodies of his foes like organic silencers though it hardly removed the stench of melted ceramics and flesh. He noted that the aliens had some sort of shielding system on them but seemed to be totally useless against energy weapons. The Spartan managed to flush out and kill a number of the aliens and made sure to do it quietly and silently as he could manage since he was trying to locate just who sent the distress call he and Cortana had picked up.

He then located a room that seemed to be some sort of housing complex and managed to bypass the doors. He turned and looked in and he was able to find that there were actually humans in this place.

The human he found was a woman who wore some sort of combat armor, similar to the same kind worn by the Aliens he had just terminated though having military markings, she looked to be at least at average human height, at around five eleven from the looks of it and had Caucasian features, green eyes and had her blonde hair in braids from the looks of it. She looked up and he saw that she had some scars and bruising, tell tale signs of interrogation and torture, things he was already familiar with in his career.

The woman looked up and her eyes widened at the sight of the seven foot tall armored…thing before her, carrying an odd looking rifle of some sort, she wondered just what happened and decided to speak to figure out just what was before her.

"Who the heck are you?"

The Spartan then replied to that in a crisp manner.

"You're possible rescuer, who are you?"

The woman was hesitant at first and then replied with some level of distrust, something the Spartan was curious about.

"Lieutenant Alice Reynard of the Systems Alliance Marines, you some sort of mercenary or something, sent by high-command to rescue us? I prefer being rescued by fellow Marines, but this is no time to be picky, those Batarian bastards don't care much for humans."

"Batarians?"

Alice raised an eyebrow and replied.

"You're kidding right? They're the four eyed bastards who own this base, considering how you got here, you must have encountered them somewhere."

John quickly guessed she must be referring to the aliens he had killed earlier when he came to this base to trace the distress call. He then replied to that.

"I did, they're all dead, at least the ones in the rooms I've been clearing."

Alice's eyes widened at that as she looked at the being before her and wondered if he since it spoke in a male voice was pulling her leg, this was certainly no Krogan, and no way was this a Turian or a Salarian, and definitely not an Asari. She was confused as to who this being was, she had heard of humans being tall like this being was, but this was certainly not the kind of armor that she knew was at the Alliance standard and she also knew that this armor was not normally worn by the Council races at all.

"You killed them all?"

"Pretty much though I have no doubt there are a few still alive here in the base, I salvaged the weapons of the ones I killed as well, are there others here in the base with you?"

Alice recalled that the rest of her unit were still there and were being held in other rooms by the Batarians and she nodded as she spoke about her fellow Marines.

"Yeah, there are a number of my fellow Marines here, along with a band of Asari who we were supposed to be escorting, they only have two Commandos with them. The Batarians managed to kill one of them and badly wounded the other before capturing us and taking our commander to interrogate her…or worse."

"All right, hold on…"

"Wait! Not that I'm being ungrateful or anything, but who the heck are you?"

John thought it over and decided not to be cryptic and give her a straight answer to the question she had given to him, but not an entirely direct answer either as he needed to keep some things about himself out of the lime-light.

"Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117, and before you ask, that is all I am going to say for now."

Alice decided to let that slide for the time being as the door to her cell went down and the Spartan guided her to the same cache of weapons he had taken from the Batarians. The Marine smiled as she now felt the weapons in her hands and readied a Terminator Assault Rifle for battle as her own weapons had been damaged in the battle before.

The two moved on and Alice could see that this behemoth of a being was well trained, so much so that she wondered if he was Special Forces as he moved through the base. She watched in awe as he quickly terminated the remaining Batarian Guards not by shooting them but by moving at them so fast and using undeniably lethal CQC tactics that the Four Eyed bastards didn't even know what hit them. All they did was drop dead and she winced every time she heard the undeniable sound of bones being crushed when the Spartan attacked them.

He quickly freed a number of her fellow Alliance Marines and soon found the wounded Asari and her fellows who were there in a much larger cell with the Commando being restrained by some sort of collar that John felt was no doubt a restraining device, though why the Batarians didn't restrain her arms and legs as she was a member of the military of her race judging by the name of Commando.

The Spartan was surprised as well by the fact that despite the blue like skin of various hues as well as violet and the flesh like tendrils that were in place of hair as well as odd markings on her face that would scream alien to him, the beings before him were almost human in form and facial characteristics. This further reinforced to him that there was something utterly wrong here. Either there were more races that the Covenant had discovered and not had the time to rally to the battle with the UNSC, or this was a species that was completely off the charts

The Commando looked in surprise at the Spartan and spoke to her rescuer.

"By the Goddess…who or what are you?"

The Spartan replied to that, relieved that this alien female was able to speak the human language, but that still left him with another question and that was how did she learn the language as well. As far as he knew the UNSC had never encountered aliens that looked female and rather…aesthetically pleasing to say the least. He was going to have to guess that these must be the Asari that Alice mentioned to him.

"I could ask you the same question, are you an Asari?"

The woman actually frowned at him as she got up to face him and replied.

"That I am, and if you are here to harm me or my fellow Asari, I will make you regret it even if I cannot use my Biotics or have weapons."

John quirked an eyebrow at that and spoke with some level of confusion in his voice.

"What do you mean by Biotics? And what makes you think I came here to harm you?"

The Asari Commando was confused as to why this being seemed unaware of Biotics but decided not to bother with that and focus on the other question, she had years to learn behavior from many species and this one was apparently not kidding about what he was saying. She then decided to take the risk and ask once more just what was it's intentions towards her and her fellow Asari.

"If you're not here to harm us, then why are you here?"

"Rescue, I've already freed the other prisoners."

And sure enough the Spartan moved aside and the Asari Commando saw that the other Alliance soldiers were now already free and ready to fight back against their former captors. She looked at the massive being and nodded a bit as she spoke once more.

"Very well then, free me of this Biotic Inhibitor and I'll help you and the Alliance Marines, I still owe these Batarians for Nasshia's death."

John mulled it over and without a moment hesitation after making his decision that he could use all the help he could get, even if it was from an unknown alien, ripped off the collar and the Asari smiled as she felt her body recover to the point she could use her Biotics. She then was about to ask for a weapon, but the Spartan beat her to it as he removed a Terminator Assault Rifle he had pilfered some the corpse of one of the Batarians.

He turned his attention to the other Asari and spoke.

"What about the other Asari you're with?"

That was handled by Alice who spoke up.

"I'll assign three of my Marines to hold the fort and keep them safe, we have to get to the Commander, there's no telling what they will do to her if we stay here."

John nodded but not before asking the Asari her name.

"Who exactly are you by the way? I know you're an Asari Commando from what the Lieutenant tells me, though I have no idea what an Asari is but that's about it."

The Asari raised any eyebrow as it were and smirked a bit before replying.

"If this was not a serious matter, I would have preferred that you told me who you are, but that might as well will have to wait…my name is Shanni."

John nodded and quickly moved out while three of the freed Marines were left by Alice to guard the Asari and keep them from getting caught in the crossfire. The Spartan quickly began to hack into the base's overall floor plan using his link into the computer system. He had to admit that while a good deal of the technology was advanced in some fields, they didn't even have any basic firewalls that met the Covenant and UNSC standard…this further convinced him that maybe something that happened in Slipspace when they were moving through it.

He placed that aside as he soon downloaded the base's design specs and then moved out, noting that the Commander was being held three rooms ahead of them. He also managed to spot two more of the Batarians, they quickly open fired, and one managed to send out the alarm.

The Spartan ducked and so did the Alliance Marine and the Asari Commando, but the Spartan didn't wait long as he unleashed several laser bursts that easily tore through the Kinetic Barriers of the Batarians and carved smoking holes in their bodies as he checked the power readings to see that his MA7 was already reaching the end of the fusion cells power, he quickly ejected the nearly spent cell and placed in a new one and moved to the door.

He was followed by the Alliance Marine Lieutenant and the Asari Commando but both women looked at the slain Batarians with wide eyes as they had just seen something totally unexpected. The being who rescued them carried LASER weapons!

(Damn…actual infantry sized laser weapons? How the heck is that even possible? The only Lasers that exist are those we use on ships!)

(By the Goddess, that's impossible, Lasers have only been used on warships, the idea of a portable laser based infantry weapon is completely unheard of.)

Both of them barely had time to ponder it as the Spartan opened the door into what appeared to be a meeting hall, the Spartan quickly fired several laser bolts into the chests of three more Batarians, and they dropped, one Batarian makes the mistake of peaking and gets his face hit by another laser bolt, all four drop dead as the other Batarians began to open fire on the massive behemoth. Both Alice and Shanni got to cover but they noted that the Spartan was not taking cover at all.

They watched as the Spartan was covered in an ever flowing wave of energy that resembled shields but as they saw that the Batarians were pouring out all of their firepower and not even bypassing the shields at all, they wondered just how was he able to handle that assault as over two dozen Batarians were unleashing a literal hailstorm of bullets at him.

…

John didn't bother hiding for this battle as the bullets didn't damage his MJOLNIR's shields as the assault of the Batarians only took a small percentage of his shields and did so with not much success. He quickly located the shooters and began to unleash his own attacks as laser bolts were fired back in answer to their attacks on him, he was not alone as the Alliance Marine and the Asari Commando also got involved in the fighting as they pinned down a number of the Batarians.

The room became a blood bath as the Spartan finally took cover but not before sending over twelve Batarians to the ground and the smell of melted ceramics and burned flesh, dried blood was everywhere, the female Marine and the Asari also had a number of kills to their name while the Spartan allowed his Mark X to recharge it's shields before going at it again, only this time he moved to the pistols and as soon as he was clear, he rushed out and fired several rounds and took down the shields of several of the Batarians and tore through them easily. However as soon as he was done firing out a barrage, he spotted the incoming data on the pistols and noted no counters for ammunition but some sort of heat gauge. He fired the pistols even more and took down a few more Batarians, he turned as he was about to counter a Batarian's attack but then spotted some sort of energy well near him that sent the attacker flying into a wall for a nasty splat. He turned and spotted the Asari covered in some sort of glowing energy field which she used as she sent yet another Batarian flying into a mass of crates.

He went out on a limb and guessed it must be what she called Biotics and now he could understand why the Batarians used the restraint on her. The ability she had was similar to the old theory of Psionics that used to be just something he picked up reading about, it was proven false at some levels, but he kept in mind that she was an alien that was undocumented in the UNSC database…or a completely different race entirely.

The Spartan tore away his thoughts and continued to fire away with his weapons as he then got a warning that the pistols were overheated, he placed them aside and took out his Assault Rifle and killed three more while the Commando and the Marine were able to take down their own targets. As soon as that was over, they moved to the next room and flushed out a few more stragglers which the Spartan quickly eliminated. However, there were a trio of the Batarians that caught the eye and ire of the Asari as she took them down in a very painful fashion.

The Spartan wagered a guess the three must have been the ones who killed the other Asari and he confirmed it when he asked the Asari after she was done wit them.

"I take it they were the ones who killed your fellow Commando?"

Shanni nodded at that.

"Yes, I know that killing them will not bring Nasshia back, but at least she will be happier in the afterlife knowing that these bastards paid for their actions."

The Spartan shrugged and moved on quickly as soon as he entered the last room while both Alice and Shanni secured the rest of the rooms to look for surviving Batarians, he was greeted with a not so pleasant sight the second he entered the last room which was where the captured Commander was.

…

In the last room of the base…

The last surviving Batarian, and no doubt the commanding officer of this group was raving mad while holding his prisoner, the same woman who had sent the distress call, she had a number of cuts and bruises on her as the Spartan could see. He looked at the massive being before him and was not in the best of moods as he had witnessed the carnage of his forces by this lone being and then when it rescued the Alliance Marines and the Asari Commando. He had personally beaten the human commander for this as he knew that no doubt the figure before him had been able to receive the distress signal and come to their rescue.

He should have just killed her, but she would make a good slave to any prospective buyer even if she was an Alliance officer and once the obedience chip was installed then it would be easier and he had every intention to watch as they implanted it without any painkillers.

But now his forces were all slaughtered, their slaves freed and everything ruined all because of this Alliance bitch and this unknown bastard who had to come in and play hero. He glared at the Spartan who aimed his Assault Rifle at him and placed the weapon he had right into the side of the Alliance officer's head and shouted.

"Drop your weapon!"

The Batarian commander raged on while holding his pistol into the right temple of the Alliance officer while the Spartan faced him. The Spartan didn't seem to respond at first and that infuriated the Batarian as he shouted once more.

"I said drop it or I let this Alliance bitch get what her race deserves!"

John didn't reply but he did lower his weapon and dropped it with a dull clang and the Batarian smiled as he raged against the Spartan while aiming at him with the pistol in his hand.

"You are going to pay for this! You and all those who side with the humans are going…"

Before he could finish his words, the Spartan moved his arm and before the Batarian could react, a massive golden yellow arm came from the armored being's raised hand and grabbed his extended arm in a grip that would make even a Krogan wince. The glowing hand that gripped his arm below the wrist then tightened and the sound of breaking bones as well as crushed ceramic plates was heard as well as the scream of the Batarian as he dropped his weapon.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

The Alliance officer managed to use this to free herself and move away while grabbing the now discarded pistol that was once pressing into her head and aiming it at her former captor, but she barely had time to react as the Batarian was suddenly yanked forward towards the Spartan. The Batarian screamed even more as the Spartan quickly introduced a powerful punch to his chest while saying as he punched the Batarian.

"You talk too much."

SMASH!

The sound of the floor plates of the base, buckling and deforming as well as the sickening sound of flesh being pulped, bones broken and ceramic plating being fractured. The commander looked in shock as the foot deep crater where the Batarian was buried in was covered in blood and some flesh and organs as the Spartan stood up with a blood fist which he shock clear of the blood while retrieving his weapon. The weapon gave a slight metallic sound after being latched on the magnetic holding straps.

She aimed her pistol at the massive human like form as it came to her, unsure what to make of her rescuer until it spoke in a human voice which was also male.

"Are you all right ma'am?"

The female officer didn't respond for a moment and that made the Spartan speak out.

"I'm not here as a threat to you, I received the distress call you sent out and tracked it here to this base."

"Y-You're here to rescue us?"

It was not long before the two of them were joined by Alice and Shanni with both of them managing to steer clear of the deformed area of the floor which had the Batarian commander's body with his now crushed chest area and a massive amount of blood behind him, making quite the mess. The Lieutenant spoke to her commanding officer once she was close enough.

"He's not kidding Commander; he just tore through the Batarians like they were not even there. and as you saw, he's got some serious technology. Calls himself a Spartan as well, not really sure what that means but as you can see, he's got quite the punch."

"I have to agree with your Lieutenant on that matter, Commander Caitlin, he possesses a great deal of technology and aptitude for warfare, the Batarians didn't stand a chance in the battle at all."

"I see…"

Caitlin then faced the Spartan who offered his hand to help her up, she nodded and took the offer and was soon on her feet though she winched at the pain on her side as the results of her interrogation had not been healed all that much. She however bit it back and spoke to the Spartan.

"I guess I have to thank you for the rescue…the name's Commander Caitlin Monroe of the Systems Alliance but I've got no doubt you know that already…you've got a name…Spartan?"

"Spartan-117 or Master Chief, or just Chief will do for now, with all hostile in this base terminated, I believe it's time to evacuate, I'll be with you all in a minute, I need to make some salvage runs."

All three had no idea what he was talking about but after seeing him decimate the Batarians they decided not to argue as Alice gave her commanding officer some Medi-gel to heal her wounds after finding a nearby dispenser. As soon as that was done, the Alliance Marine and her Commander met up with the others while Shanni scanned the base to be sure that the base was cleared of all Batarians.

Once they were done, the Spartan decided to pack it up and managed to find an empty crate and stuffed it full of salvaged Batarian weapons that Cortana could be able to look for and he was soon dragging the crate using only his strength, much to the shock of those with him. He contacted Cortana once they were out of the base and the others saw the slaughter of the outside Batarians which was why the Spartan had been able to infiltrate the base with little trouble.

"Cortana, I've got out the captives and there are humans along with…another alien, sending you the visual data now."

"Okay…got it….whoa, this is different, there's no Covenant race that looks…this human like before. It looks female to me from here, and it certainly has a human body shape and form."

"I know…send over an Albatross for pickup, I've gotten some of the alien weapons, apparently they happen to be called Batarians…and considering what I've seen, they don't seem to like humans all that much."

"Same old song, hang on, powering up an Albatross."

…

In the Dawn's Bridge…

The two UNSC members were both deep in thought with what they have just learned and it was still a bit hard to swallow. After the Albatross had picked them up and headed for the Dawn, he decided to talk to the human Commander and the Asari Commando and tell them that as soon as they got to the Dawn there was going to be some discussions on matters. They agreed since he did rescue them and when they got in range of the Dawn they were asking what sort of ship it was and he provided some details of the ship.

As soon as they arrived to the base, they were quite surprised at the sheer size of it and they were surprised that it was actually a Frigate as they had never seen a Frigate this size before in their lives. They were also surprised to see the Huragok who were moving about in the Hanger bay as soon as the Albatross landed and they got out of the heavy drop-ship. At first they thought they were looking at Hanar and that made John wonder just what they meant by Hanar. They also looked at the ship's interior as well as the vehicles, wondering just what they were looking at. Their comments about what they saw further confused the Spartan, especially when it concerned the humans.

The real strike to the gut came when Cortana appeared in a nearby holo-tank to greet the new arrivals, to the surprise of both John and Cortana, the human marines and the Asari aimed their weapons at the A.I, he quickly stepped in and stopped them from firing and demanded why was it they were aiming their weapons at Cortana.

It took some time to convince them to stop looking at Cortana as if she was the enemy but it was done and soon he was in a dialogue with the Asari Commando and the two high ranking Alliance officers. They were still uncomfortable with Cortana being there but they kept their peace. Nevertheless, when they asked John what race he was, he said he was human. That got some level of attention and he could tell that they didn't believe him so he removed his helmet to show that he was human.

When he did take his helmet off, he wondered why the female human marines were suddenly struck silent and the Asari Commando was also suddenly struck silent as well. He called their attention and asked them if they were satisfied and when they nodded slowly, he placed his helmet back, unmindful of the slight looks of disappointment on the faces of the Marines as well as the slight smile of the Asari Commando and Cortana's amused sigh.

As soon as that was settled, they began to work on finding out what was going on. And what they learned from the Alliance Marines had completely surprised them, Caitlin as well as Alice told them about the time table of Earth and how they had found the Prothean ruins there and how this had upgraded the technological level of Humanity and then led to the use of E-zero and the technology that was now in use by the Systems Alliance which was founded by the eighteen largest and most powerful nations on Earth.

The discovery of the Mass Relays and the founding of many colonies after they were able to use the Relays to move around the different parts of the galaxy that they were able to explore. They also mentioned the encounter with the Turians that led to the Battle of Shanxi and the rise of tensions between them and the Turians as well as some hostility between veterans of both sides and their efforts to work with the rest of the races. This also included information about the Citadel Council, which was the governing body in the galaxy and whatever information they had on hand.

The Asari Commando Shanni was also able to tell the Spartan and the A.I about her own people the Asari and how they were one of the founding races of the Council alongside the Salarians and eventually the Turians themselves. And as such, they were the diplomats of the Council and believed in maintaining stability and peace alongside those who were part of the Council and among the Council races as well.

She did mention as much as she was willing to allow about her race, namely the fact that they were a single gender race, and were natural Biotics along with being able to meld with other races to have children by bonding with the other partner's nervous system. The Spartan raised an eyebrow at that while Cortana was also interested at the implications as Shanni replied that only Asari were born through these unions as well.

…

All of which was completely unknown to the two as they were quick to record everything and try to make sense of it. They also told the three to wait for them to decide if and when they would tell them of who they were as well. The three didn't like it but they were willing to listen and they were now seeing to those under their charge for the moment while they were on the ship.

All that led to the two being in the bridge to try and make some level of sense as to what had happened and what was going on. It was not long before Cortana spoke to the Spartan.

"Care to hear a theory John?"

"Go ahead."

"I think that Slipspace anomaly we had encountered during the trip through Slipspace had somehow…tore open a hole to another dimension somehow and after we left Slipspace it must have sealed up. Keep in mind how the UNSC science community once viewed normal space like a crumpled ball of paper and Slipspace was the space between the crumpled pieces of paper. It might be possible that we were sent into a completely different realm through Slipspace by that massive wave of Slipspace energy and when we exited, we came here."

John was silent as he began to think it through bit by bit and he then spoke.

"It's a bit…hard to grasp, I'll admit, but it does make some sense…still I don't recall anything in Déjà's lectures about alternate dimensions being reality, only a theoretical idea yet hardly explored."

Cortana chuckled and replied to that.

"I suppose that's true, but here we are, it's the only theory that makes some level of sense here, the technology does not match, the presences of….Biotics, the different timelines, the new species…we don't know anything about them because we came into a completely different galaxy…which would explain why they don't know anything about what we know…the only thing that does have SOME resemblance are these Protheans the others told us about. They are like the Forerunners, with the exception that just about every race is using their technology and Humanity is not being exterminated in a decades long war because of misinterpretation, desire for power, madness, well you know the rest"

"You don't need to remind me…so I guess the next question is what to do with our guests? We might have more than enough room and supplies, but I don't we can keep them here indefinitely, we might be mistaken for kidnappers if their groups decide to send out search parties."

Cortana thought it over and replied to that

"You've got a point, we might as well try to be diplomatic and make our appearance to the galaxy we landed in. If we reveal ourselves and be officially recognized, that might help us stay out of trouble."

John shook his head at that idea.

"I fail to see how that might work actually, keep in mind that the technology we have on this ship, you, the weapons, the MJOLNIR, and myself was not exactly standard issue around here. The minute we reveal ourselves and the Dawn to the Council in the Citadel, every government agency, conventional or otherwise will try anything to get their hands on us, and I can wager a bet that there will be shadowy organizations who will gladly spend every credit they have and send every soldier and agent they have to get their hands on us."

Cortana nodded with a smile.

"That's true, but there is a silver lining to that, those same governments and organizations will do whatever they can to keep the others from getting us and will do whatever they can to make sure that nothing happens to us directly since they don't want to lose such a resource to their rivals. It might not be long before they might decide to take drastic action to get their hands on us, but as far as I can guess, this is a viable option until we find a better choice. Besides, if we try to keep out of the radar the old fashioned way, it might sooner or later bring us to the spotlight even if we don't want to, so better to have it done now than later which might make things harder for us."

"So in simple translation, we're the large and juicy piece of meat to be fought over by the wolves?"

"True, but unlike said piece of meat, we happen to have the guns to fight back with."

The Spartan chuckled a bit at that and saw that Cortana did have a point, after reading the data, he knew that their ship had MORE than enough power to defend itself and fight back if needed so while they were technically alone in this new reality that they somehow landed in, they were far from being helpless.

"All right, we'll try this method until we find a better solution, power up the ship and let's go to the Citadel, but I think it's best we call those three up here."

Cortana nodded and it was not long before the two Alliance officers arrived as well as the lone Asari Commando arrived into the bridge as the Spartan then spoke to them.

"I'll be taking you to the Citadel station so I can drop you off there, I also plan to have a chance to talk to the leaders thereon some very important matters."

Caitlin raised an eyebrow at that statement and was curious just what this man had in his mind as she spoke to him.

"What sort of matters Chief?"

"Best not to talk about it now, you'll find out soon enough."

"Why not tell us instead?"

"Let's just say it's very much an official matter."

The two women looked at the man and decided to restrain their questions for a batter time, seeing that they were not going to get a lot out of him for now. The same could be said for Shanni, she would have preferred to try and meld with him to get a chance to see his memories as it was possible for Asari like her to read and see memories when they meld with members of other races. However, after seeing him slaughter the Batarians with little effort, she decided not to make such a move that might anger the Spartan…or human…or whatever he was.

However she noted that he was not heading to the direction of the nearest Mass Relay and spoke out.

"Pardon Chief, but if you want to go to the Citadel, you still need to go to a Mass relay to do so."

John replied as he read the scanners.

"No need to go to a Mass Relay for this ship."

Alice was confused and spoke.

"What do you mean? Every ship uses a Mass relay to get from one system to the next."

"The Forward Unto Dawn does not use E-zero and so it has a different way to travel from one place to another, give me the coordinates to the exact location of the Citadel station and I will show you."

The three women looked at one another and Alice decided to risk it and give the Chief a pad that had the Citadel's coordinates. The Spartan took it and allowed Cortana's avatar to touch the pad, allowing the A.I to take in the coordinates. The UNSC A.I smiled a bit and soon spoke to the Spartan.

"We're ready, opening the portal…now!"

Alice, Caitlin and Shanni were confused by that statement and were about to ask what the A.I meant by portal until they spotted a large sphere appear before them in the ship's monitors. All three of them looked on in surprise at the portal before them and then before they could react, the ship moved towards it and soon, they were now in Slipspace.

…

In Citadel Space…

In the Systems Alliance Navy Cruiser New Washington, there was a lot of activity as they were now making their way to the Citadel Station. One such person seemed to be above it all, unless one was a mind reader and was able to take a look in the mind of the man and see that he had a lot on his mind.

And well he should…after all, he had just been in discussion concerning a serious move for Humanity as a whole in Citadel Space.

Captain David Anderson was not one for politics nor for the usual banter between politicians. He had been a graduate of the N7 Program of the Systems Alliance and had once been a Spectre candidate, but had his evaluation turned into a fiasco and he got rejected. He still felt that he had been biased by the Spectre who was evaluating him and he had good reason to.

Saren was never fond of the Systems Alliance and Humanity in general due to the report that he lost his brother in the Battle of Shanxi. And always believed that Humanity needed to learn it's place, and he was more than willing to state that when given the chance.

It galled Anderson, but with Saren being a high ranking Spectre and one of the best in the service of the Council, any attempt to reveal his darker nature and his ruthless actions tended to be brushed aside. Saren was a high ranking Spectre since he got results and at times, that was more important to the Council, added to the fact that as a Spectre, Saren was untouchable when it came to his records.

He had been with Admiral Steven Hackett and Ambassador Donnel Udina, the former was a long time ally and someone Anderson related to, while the latter was not someone he liked a good deal. However, he knew that Udina does what he can to keep the Systems Alliance intact and in the good graces of the Citadel Council, a thankless and stressful job so it was not surprising that Donnel was not exactly easy to get along with in any sense of the word.

However, he placed such thoughts of his colleague aside for now and focused on the matter that had brought them into the discussion in the first place.

Even though their first attempt to have one of their race inducted into the Spectres was not successful, they were going to try again and had been reviewing the files of potential candidates who could be evaluated. Udina returned to the Citadel early to attend to the latest workloads and Admiral Hackett had to deal with some matters in Arcturus Station with the Fleet stationed there. He personally had some prospective candidates but it was still in the air on who they could pick.

For now he was going back to handle other matters, namely establishing contacts and keep up to pace with the latest news for the joint project between the Turians and the Alliance. He looked to see a number of Turian ships moving about in the regular patrol patterns as well as the few Alliance ships that made the routes.

He turned and gave the orders for docking to begin, even though this was not his ship, he was given command of it for the time being as the Captain of the New Washington was currently recovering in the Medical Bay due to an injury when he was taking stock of the engine when talking with the chief engineer for a more hands on look. The injury was not fatal and the engine was now working fine, but that made Anderson take charge.

He moved to the helm and looked at the Citadel as they came closer and was about to ask to have a comm.-channel opened to talk to Udina to show that he had arrived when one of the nearby crew members cried out, this made the man turn to face her as she was looking at the computer she was using.

"What is it?"

"There seems to be some sort of massive energy spike coming in Captain!"

"Can you locate the source?"

"Yes…it's over there sir, whatever it is, it's massive…I've never seen readings like this before!"

Anderson ordered the ship to stop and go to the direction of the energy surge, and when the ship was in position, he looked to the location where the unknown anomaly was detected…and his eyes widened.

Before him was a massive sphere of energy, the outer edges had a deep blue glow to it and there was a void of pure black that took in all light. It made no senses to him what it was. But what he saw next was really going to grab his attention. Out came a ship, but it was unlike any ship that he had ever seen before in his life. It was colored grey white and seemed to be rather large, larger then even this cruiser which was no small ship. There was something both vaguely familiar and yet alien about it. There was no mistaking the fact that this ship had the aura of a warship as well, there were things on the ship that screamed weapon systems to the former N7 Marine.

The one thing that got his attention was the fact that despite looking both familiar and alien at the very same time, there was name and serial designation on the ship as well as a symbol that looked oddly familiar as well to the man.

It was an eagle with wings outstretched over a globe with a long strip with the initials UNSC on it, he looked it over and saw that the ship had a Designation number and a name, it was FFG-201 Forward Unto Dawn. That made him feel a great deal of surprise, if he didn't know any batter, this was similar to the way Alliance Navy Ships were designated, but he knew of no ships with the name Forward Unto Dawn, not had he seen any ship of the navy built like this one.

He turned to the crew member he had spoken to earlier.

"Can you scan the ship?"

"Aye Captain…"

It took a minute or two before she replied.

"Captain, it's emitting some sort of…kinetic barrier, but the barrier is emitting energy at levels that I've never seen before!"

"How high?"

"It's completely off the universally known charts Captain! Whatever's powering it's kinetic barriers makes our own E-zero engine look like a weak battery pack!"

The captain looked to see that already this area of space was fast becoming crowded as a number of Turian cruisers came about and were now facing the ship before that had just appeared completely out of space and without even using the Mass Relay that was used to get to the area where the Citadel was. He could understand their actions but still, this was totally unexpected to say the least and no doubt the very second that the people in the Citadel heard of this, there was going to be a riot of epic proportions.

(Could these be Protheans? No… it couldn't be…)

"Captain…there's an incoming transmission from the ship!"

"Put it on speakers and have the translator software at the ready!"

He had no doubt that the other ships were going to do the same thing to figure out just what language the possible crew of the ship might use. However, he and no doubt just about every member of the New Washington crew…and those in the ships were stunned to hear a HUMAN voice speaking English of all things.

"Attention, this Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117 of the United Nations Space Command Naval Special Warfare Command and acting Captain of the UNSC Frigate Forward Unto Dawn."

"I am not here as a hostile force, I am merely requesting permission to dock with the Citadel to release a number of recently liberated Alliance Marines to the care of the Systems Alliance, as well as a number of recently liberated Asari, all of whom have been rescued from a Batarian slaver base. I have no intention of starting a fight here at the Citadel with anyone but I will defend myself if greeted with hostile action, over."

One thing was for sure in the mind of Anderson…

THIS was totally unexpected!

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

I've actually planned to make my own Halo Mass Effect Crossover story for some time now and I decided that I might as well make the Prologue to it is now in paper and not clogging up my head and causing me to be distracted and lost in my work.

I have already played Mass effect so I know the storyline well enough so don't ask me about the details or ask me if I know Mass Effect. I do my homework so don't bother me too much about that stuff.

…

The Master Chief now uses four new Tiers of weapons apart from the conventional stuff with the three of the new tiers built in the appearance of UNSC firepower.

The first Tier is Gauss which is similar to the Mass Accelerator technology of Mass Effect, but has the advantage of not overheating and therefore does not use thermal clips, this is countered by the need for it to be reloaded with clips and as such has limited ammunition. It also does not have the interchangeable ammunition types of the guns of Mass effect, but has the advantage of being able to inflict more baseline damage and having greater impact force on Kinetic barriers.

The second Tier is Lasers and these operate in the same principle as the Gauss in the sense that it has a cooling system, but instead of using clips it uses fusion power cells as ammunition and therefore these cells have to be recharged in order to be used in combat and is slightly bulkier, as well as there is now Shotgun variant. This is countered by the fact that it can bypass Kinetic barriers and cause severe damage to regular targets and even armored foes, making it an effective choice against some heavier armored targets.

The third Tier is Plasma and like second Tier Laser weapons can work wondered on organic targets and rips Kinetic Barriers to bits. However it has a higher overheating risk and has to cool down like the Halo weapons in order to work again and it can only be recharged in the Dawn or with a portable plasma fuel source. However it does have an increased ammunition charge and also the weapons can be loaded cooling core units to increase the cooling effect and allow the weapon to be used again. These were still Covenant weapons that used Plasma, but were heavily improved, and yes, the Energy Sword and the Particle Beam Rifle is still there.

And the Fourth but very limited Tier is the Light Based Weapons made from Forerunner technology. These weapons have the same power as both Lasers and Plasma but are able to actually fuse together to form a more powerful beam that can cause greater damage, totally ignoring Kinetic Barriers and bypassing even the heaviest armor. However since it is limited only to the Assault Rifle, SMG, Pistol, Battle Rifle, and Sniper Rifle lines, these weapons cannot always take advantage of that special function. They do however have such advanced power regulation systems that they do not overheat.

Before I get the complaint that these weapons are overkill, keep in mind that these weapons were intended for the Spartan to be used and as much as I like the guns in Mass Effect, I want to Chief to use the iconic weapons of Halo to show that he is indeed from another universe and reality entirely so it adds to the mystery around him which to me is a good thing.

…

Anyways, as you can see, the Dawn has been rebuilt from the ground up and given a major overhaul as well as a number of new technologies to boot. It has a number of Forerunner features now and also has a small compliment of Huragok and Constructors to handle extremely delicate repairs and modifications if needed and are too delicate for human hands.

It also sports some nasty weapons, shields, and armor so it is a powerhouse of a Frigate in the same way the Master Chief's MJOLNIR, which is now dubbed as the Mark X. Now before I start getting reviews and messages saying that I've over powered the Chief and his ship, here's some details that you need to get straight.

On the MJOLNIR, the thing was badly damaged and is on a backup system mode after the Chief left High Charity and was back to Earth, so it would make sense that it was repaired and given a number of upgrades. All of which will soon be put to the test in the Mass Effect world as I have plans of my own that will not be following the Canon route of the game. The upgrades will prove to be highly useful in the long run and it can give the Spartan the edge and at least he doesn't have to change armor types or install new packages. It can even give him the edge in fighting Biotics as well. If you're wondering about the Mark VII MJOLNIR and thinking I'm making it up, drop by a well supported Halo site and find Dr. Halsey's Journal section, as there was an attempt to make a Mark VII variant of the MJOLNIR and it is canon confirmed.

On the Dawn, you might think that this ship is overpowered, and it might be in some respects, but it is going to need them as you can bet that the Dawn will be having a hell of a workout in the long run. Also the arrival of such a highly advanced yet human built ship IS going to send some serious questions all through the Citadel so you can bet that John will have to juggle a number of matters, chief of which is to keep the technology in the Dawn from landing in the wrong hands.

Besides, there might even be battles where overwhelming firepower trumps stealth anytime.

…

At any rate, with this done and out in the open I can make the new chapters for a few of the stories I am updating, I might update this along with the Naruto Avatar TLA crossover at some point but not today.

Send me your reviews and comments, as well as constructive critiques as per the rules, send me flames on the other hand, and it's going out the window.

Bye!