-----Prologue-----
(7 years after the human-Covenant War)
It has been seven years since the end of the human covenant war. The U.N.S.C. is now tasked with the reconstruction of the human colonies. However, the U.N.S.C. has not demilitarized. They still have every combat capable ship on standby. However, with the destruction of Reach, they have been forced to find new long-term military base of operations. This new location is known as Installation 2645G.(The Ark)
Although some money has been spent rebuilding the colonies, It is still the main priority of the U.N.S.C. to protect the human race, and as such, vast amounts of funding has been spent on weapons research. The U.N.S.C. has worked with the Sangheili to study and reverse engineer the defensive measures found on the Ark. This has lead to much advancement in engineering. However, with the flood destroyed and the Humans and Elites collectively controlling the Galaxy, it looks there is no danger within the foreseeable future. However, on March 3 2560, exactly 7 years after the greatest conflict in human history, that was proven wrong.
At 0070 hours on March 7th a cargo convoy is leaving the 2645G system carrying materials from the resource sphere to help with reconstruction materials. It is escorted by one Apollo class destroyer, the U.N.S.C. Moonlight. They had just received clearance to enter subspace. They received a message from a known contact, reading. "We gave you power, yet you failed, thus we must end you".
-----Chapter 1-----
On the bridge of the U.N.S.C. Moonlight there was a deep silence. No one knew exactly what to do. Then with a strong tone of voice, Commander Cliff Zajac said,
“Contact the other ships in the convoy; see if they got the message.”
“Roger that sir, contacting the other ships now” Said the chief communications officer.
“Sir I am getting reports that they have all received the message.”
“Tell that we are breaking off, and returning to 2645G” said Cliff.
“Sir, with all due respect, we were ordered to protect this convoy.”
“I don’t care about orders, we are turning around, also, order everyone to their battle stations stat.”
“Yes sir”, replied the officer running to convey the commands.
“This can’t be happening again, there is no way they massed that amount of ships already,” Cliff thought to himself. He was right, what was left of the covenant was totally destroyed after the events on Halo, and they did not have the production capacity to create a fleet big enough to inflict any real damage in only seven years.
Just then the ship entered slip space, and moments later they arrived at the 2645G system. Cliff suddenly froze; his could not believe what was before him. There were thousands of ships orbiting the Ark. However, these ships were not of U.N.S.C, or Elite origin, they were Forerunner key ships. He immediately noticed one ship that stuck out, it was cigar shape, and was at least ten times as large as the key ships. It was admitting a white glow and appeared to be charging some sort of weapon. Just then a officer ran up to Cliff.
“Sir, we are receiving orders to leave the system and engage the Cole Protocol. “
“Roger that, get us a course out of here Apollo” said Cliff, in a more unsure voice.
“Already starting up reactor, entering slip space in T-15 seconds” responded the A.I.
Then Cliff saw hundreds of U.N.S.C. and Elite ships leaving the system and Entering slip space. He expected the Key ships to follow, but instead they all flew toward the Ark, then, suddenly, the Super-Capital ship fired its weapon, which heated the Material planet, causing it to exploded and effectively destroyed the Ark. However, just before Pieces of the Ark hit the Moonlight, they entered subspace.
“I want a status report, now!” Cliff yelled out.
“About 96.3% of all allies left the system before the weapon was fired sir” Reported Apollo.
“Send a beacon to both home worlds and tell them what just happened.”
“Yes sir”, reported the A.I.
However, something troubled Cliff, just before the weapon was fired; he saw the Key ships flying toward the Ark. He was confused because this surely would have destroyed the ships. He then thought about what he saw during the 2nd battle of Earth. He was a commander of one of the ships that fired on the Dreadnought located near the Ark Portal. He realized that the Forerunner ships had advanced shielding 100,000 years ago. This means that they easily could have advanced their shielding technology 100 fold in that time. Just then the Apollo interrupted.
“Sir, I am getting reports from Earth that you might want to hear.”