May 12, 2583. The Galaxy is in great shape. It's been thirteen years since Great War ended, and twelve after the formation of the Orion-Perseus Strategic Alliance (commonly referred to as the Alliance)- the continuation of the Human-Turian Alliance that defeated the Covenant in the Great War. Two major players now stand strong in this time, with the Alliance on one side and the Citadel on the other, with the Covenant splinter groups scattered around the Galaxy.

The Alliance is the new kid on the block- at least, that's what the Citadel will tell you. Battle-hardened, and possessing the largest armada in the Galaxy save for the Quarians and perhaps the Geth, it is watched with uneasy eyes by the Greater Galaxy. Turian Colonialism and Human Expansionism have combined into an uncomfortably imperialistic doctrine, and only the fact that they are recovering from the Great War has prevented them from invading their smaller neighbors. Xenophobia, especially among the Human portion of this Alliance, runs rampant, and the leaders are becoming more jingoistic with each passing day. The Volus are perhaps the only race advocating moderation, but they are a small voice compared to the other two races.

The Citadel, officially the Galactic Pact of the Citadel, is still reeling from the perceived 'defection' of the Turians, with the Asari and Salarians conveniently ignoring their abandonment of the Turians after the Covenant invasion of Aephus. They still maintain the largest economy in the Galaxy, alongside the second-largest fleet- if in numbers and not firepower. Dozens of races are part of this polity, making it the one with the largest population as well, albeit a very loosely united one. The Asari and Salarians have begun militarizing to a great degree lately, wary of the Alliance, alongside the potential threat of a resurgent Covenant. There is even talk about a Genophage cure, and even a Quarian Reconciliation, but both have been shot down as unrealistic and unnecessary...for now, at least. For the past decade, the Asari have been scrambling to make nice with the Alliance, but it is an uphill battle for them.

The Covenant, once the largest and most powerful empire in the Galaxy, has been shattered under the weight of the Alliance and their internal Civil War. Its races have been spread far and wide, with some even going nearly extinct.

Of its three leading races, only the Sangheili have any officially recognized government. Formed by the Covenant Separatists in the aftermath of the Great War, the Sangheili Imperium is but a shadow of the old Covenant. Faced with internal troubles, namely a mass defection of Huragok to the Alliance, a lack of engineering and agricultural know-how, and a very hostile Alliance on its borders, many doubt Arbiter-Imperator Thel'Vadam's ability to hold the nascent nation together. The Lekgolo mitigate these issues to a certain extent, but there exists some tension between the two races already, tension that outside actors have already begun taking advantage of. Even so, the fact that the Imperial Sangheili Navy has the only remaining CSO-class Supercarrier and six CAS-class Assault Carriers makes the rest of the Galaxy wary of crossing the Imperium.

The majority of the Jiralhanae are stuck on their cratered and nuclear-irradiated homeworld of Doisac, kept under constant guard by an Alliance fleet. Barbarism runs rampant there, and the small percentage that had managed to be offworld when Doisac got nuked are either part of the Storm Covenant or are warlords in the Terminus.

The small number of San'Shyuum that managed to escape High Charity's destruction have formed the Storm Covenant with the Jiralhanae and the Yanme'e in the Terminus Systems, gaining control of a small number of Warlord Territory systems. They are engaged in low-level warfare with the Terminus Syndicate, an Omega-based coalition of Terminus warlords who fight each other as much as the Storm Covenant. The Alliance would like to wipe them out for good, but given their location on the other side of the Galaxy, its leaders have written off the Storm Covenant for the moment.

The Kig-Yar are the only other Covenant race to have come out with an officially recognized government, although it is now embroiled in a Civil War- one that many suspect has been instigated by the Alliance. The Kig-Yar Confederacy, controlling Eayn and a dozen or so colonies, was the closest nation in terms of distance to the Alliance, and the wartime hostility has not diminished by any amount, something that is not helped by the Confederacy's 'Privateer' navies- essentially pirates who lend the occasional help to the government. There are also a dozen Kig-Yar warlords operating in the Terminus, although they face much resistance from the Syndicate.

The Yanme'e are a highly divided race, with only three Queens surviving the War. One is a prisoner in all but name to the Alliance, another as part of the Storm Covenant and the last as an independent warlord. The Yanme'e homeworld is kept under watch by another Alliance fleet.

The Unggoy traded masters during the War, handing their chains from the Covenant to the Alliance- or more specifically, to Humanity. The Unggoy Protectorate is a nominally independent nation, 'advised' by Human officials and part of the Alliance. They have no military, although the infamous UNSC Unggoy Auxiliary Force still exists. Nearly every important Unggoy official and every single member of the UAF is addicted to the Loyalty Gas, ensuring Human control of their government.

As for the rest of the Galaxy?

The Terminus Syndicate is a loosely-aligned coalition of warlords and rogue colonies, led by Aria T'Loak, the Queen of Omega. Much of their focus is centered upon the Storm Covenant, which has slowly begun gaining power. Its members, however, are notably belligerent towards the Citadel, and to a lesser extent the Alliance. T'Loak's hold on the Syndicate may be more tenuous than appearances may suggest.

The Krogan remain broken on Tuchanka, with warbands scattered around the Galaxy. A number of petty kingdoms ruled by Krogan warlords exist in the Terminus Systems and Nemean Abyss- the Dominion of the Graal is one of these, and is considered one of the driving forces behind the Terminus Syndicate. As a whole, however, the Krogan are a disunited race, with no true central government and generally no hope for the future. Any possibility of aligning with the Alliance went out the window when they realized the Turians were half of the Alliance.

Some Vorcha have joined with the Storm Covenant, which use them in the same capacity as the Unggoy. The considerably tougher Vorcha, however, have adapted to this role with much gusto, seeing their cause as worthier than serving Krogan warlords. The Alliance, for their part, has acquired several thousand Vorcha as an experiment, something that has prompted the STG to accelerate their Yahg program in secret.

The Quarian Migrant Fleet is still out there, constantly on the move and searching for ways to retake Rannoch- a fool's endeavor if there ever was one. The formation of the Alliance and the arrival of Humanity onto the galactic stage had initially been seen the Quarians attempt to gain their assistance, but relations deteriorated rapidly after the Humans brought an AI to negotiate- something the Migrant Fleet saw as an insult. The Fleet mainly stays in the Attican Traverse nowadays, unable to go into Alliance or Citadel Space without triggering war, and unable to enter the Terminus without having to deal with the Storm Covenant or Syndicate.

The Geth remain behind the Veil, serving as a boogeyman for the rest of the Galaxy. While some within the Alliance are clamoring for a First Contact, its leaders are reluctant to do so, given the reputation of the Geth and their bad history with First Contacts.

The Arms Race is already on, and the Cold War doesn't seem to be too far off now. Tension has gripped the leaders of the Galaxy like never before. The Great War may be over, but another looms on the horizon. And on the ten-year old Alliance colony of Eden Prime, the discovery of an intact Prothean Beacon may just set this powderkeg alight.

Welcome to the Galaxy of today.

Notes: This is a Halo/Mass Effect Crossover based off StarSerpent's Invicta universe, set in the 2580s. I worked on the original timeline with him, and extended it all the way to the 2580s. I don't believe his series will be directly linked to mine, but the timeline up to 2557 (in the Invicta Codex) is the same for both this fic and Star's Invicta: Second Front.

The basics of the 'Point of Divergence' timeline is this:

Up to 2557, use Invicta Codex Timeline.

Aephus became the site of a massive battle between the Turian Hierarchy and Covenant, with the former being slowly defeated until a UNSC fleet arrived. The UED (Humanity's official government) strikes an alliance with the Turians, and helps them retake Aephus. The Citadel Council attempts to mediate a peace agreement with the Covenant, but this fails almost immediately. During the Covenant representative's tirade demanding the Turian disarmament and surrender, as well as Human extinction, two CSO-class Supercarriers and three CAS-class Assault Carriers arrive with their attendant armada. They then offer to leave the Asari and Salarians alone, provided they abandon the Turians- which they did.

By 2558, the Turians, Volus and their client races have left the Citadel, cutting ties with the Asari and Salarians. They enter a formal alliance with the Human race, and enter a state of total war with the Covenant.

Basically, Covenant internal strife (Brute vs Elite) increases to a ridiculous degree, and infighting forces the Prophets (who are slowly beginning to regret pitting the two races against each other) to segregate their fleets. This inefficient command, human willingness to use NOVAs and the sheer size of the Turian fleets (smaller than the Covenant, but 3 times bigger than the UNSC's in number) allows the Human-Turian Alliance to capture Bahalo in 2566. This is when the Covenant starts to get its shit together, which would have been bad, bad news for the Alliance...

Unfortunately for the Covenant, they don't really get the chance. In 2567, High Charity is literally discovered by accident, and through a complex clusterfuck, the manipulations of the Prophets is aired to the entire Covenant- namely the fact that Humans are Reclaimers, and that the Brutes and Elites were being purposefully pitted against one another. Covenant Loyalists detonate High Charity's fusion cores after it seems like the Covenant Separatists and Alliance troops will capture the station, destroying the station along with many of the Prophets. The Covenant Civil War begins in earnest, and the Separatists form a tentative truce with the Alliance.

For the entire 2568, the Alliance grabs every Unggoy (Grunt) colony they get, and NOVA bomb any Covenant Loyalist shipyards they find, while letting both of the 'Covenants' bloody each other. In 2569, a massive Human offensive captures Doisac's orbits, before nuking and commencing orbital bombardment of the planet. This basically kills off nearly three quarters of the Jiralhanae in the Galaxy. This singular act ruined any goodwill the Citadel may have had to the Alliance, with the Asari calling it barbaric. The Turians gave their support to the Humans, which was a nice bonding moment between the two races- over the ashes of their enemy's homeworld, and who doesn't love that?

With the Covenant breaking apart, and the Separatists gaining strength every day, the defeat of the Loyalists was inevitable. The majority of the Covenant Loyalist forces surrendered in mid-2570 during the Battle of Morar IV, while the remainder escaped to the Terminus Systems, where they formed the Storm Covenant.

Thus ends the Covenant War, also known as the Great War.

Point of Divergence is inspired by Peptuck's fic Renegade, a CaC-ME crossover that is counted in my top three fics to read, even if it's incomplete.