Chapter 1 - The Golden Age

"So fades the great harvest of my betrayal. Even these beasts recognized what you were oblivious to, human. Your nobility has blinded you, as ever. The Librarian left little to chance, didn't she? Turning my own guardians... my own world... against me. But what hubris to believe she could protect her pets from me forever. If you haven't mastered even these primitives, then Man has not attained the Mantle. Your ascendance may yet be prevented. Time was your ally, human, but now it has abandoned you. The Forerunners... have returned. This tomb… is now yours."

- The Ur-Didact, upon awakening on Forerunner Shield World "Requiem"

2092 AD:

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, makes its stamp on Human history as it becomes the first space agency on Earth to successfully land a man on Mars. News of the success spread across Earth like wildfire, bringing hope to an otherwise dying world, although NASA is not as happy when their explorers discover unknown structures just miles away from the landing site. The mission parameters are quickly changed from scanning the planet for life, to retrieving any artefacts from the structures if possible. Upon further investigation it is discovered that the alien structures were once capable of supporting life and was some sort of outpost. The explorers find only one very damaged computer, that read in perfect Latin translated to English "We Protheans did not prepare for war, as your Roman ancestors did, we found it idiotic. But then they came, in our arrogance we were easily destroyed, prepare for war but do not seek it!". It is assumed that these "Protheans" created the outpost, but was forced to abandon it during some kind of war.

2093 AD:

The United States of North America, Russian Federation, European Union, China and the South American Confederation convene over secure networks about the discovered warning message, in the eyes of the world it was the beginning of a new era of peace, prosperity and unification, but in truth it was the beginning of preparations for war and disaster. With the formation of the Human Highmark, joint research teams from dozens of countries begin to work in tandem to create new machines of war, space travel and starship designs. The main aim of the research teams was turning science fiction into reality.

2100 AD:

With the start of the new century came with the start of a new era of technological enhancement, as the long time problem of sub-light travel and faster than light travel is solved by no other than the Shaw family. The scientific family successfully fielded the "Trinity Antimatter Reactor", three antimatter reactors that provided limitless power with no chance of infecting anyone near it with incredible amounts of gamma rays, and the "Shaw Slipspace Drive" on a starship. It had taken the starship three minutes to reach Pluto from Venus. The scientists declared that their inspiration was the Forerunners from Halo, being a technologically advanced race that had nothing but wonders, it gave way to the future of designs of drones, ships, weapons, armor, even religion and culture was beginning to be effected by the thoughts of these scientists.

2112: Work begins on five Orbital Production Platforms, essentially a large tin with twelve sets of large rings spiralling out into each hour of a clock, over Earth. OPPs were easy to build, only taking a few months, and when each of them worked at full capacity, was able to build seventy two ships every ten years. The few Highmarkian starships that were available were either sent on mining operations to fuel the building process of more ships, fabricators and the OPP, or to test out new weapon systems on useless asteroids, such as rail guns that should be capable of hitting a object with seventy kilotons, point defence shrapnel missiles, and "smart" nuclear torpedoes.

2120:

Members of the Highmark, and the governments that back it, begin to question if the Highmark should remain as just a joint military and scientific entity, or become a political one as well. It is eventually decided that the Highmark, being loyal to all of Humanity and not just a single country, would become a political entity as well. The Highmark Senate is established with five elected officials from every country joining the new government. It is quickly decided that each country would be allowed to make its own laws, so long as it didn't brake Highmark laws or Human rights, and maintain its own army, but, because of the Prothean's message, each country must provide one legion of their army to the Highmark. While that legion swore allegiance to Earth as a whole and the Highmark, they would be separated and mixed up with other country's legions, creating a mixed legion and inspiring cooperation. Each legion was five thousand and four hundred legionaries in size and was either assigned to a planet or a fleet.

2122:

The Highmark begins to construct twenty OPPs in orbit of Earth.

2126:

Six colonization ships are dispatched with the Highmark's first fleet through slipspace, arriving at a system thirty light years away from Sol in just three days. All of Earth celebrates as the garden world called "Reach" is colonized, making it the first colony to be built on an alien world, and outside of Sol as well.

2130:

Architecture and the ecosystem takes priority for the Highmark in this year, desiring to see a clean, beautiful, Earth, and majestic colonies. Many cities are scheduled to turn to glass skyscrapers, while only historically important towns, that hadn't changed in centuries, were spared the demolition, unlike most cities, and the reconstruction of Earth. While building and developing all of the continents were the main goal of Highmark sponsored builders, they were surprisingly careful of the environment, making sure that forests were populated with trees and species saved from extinction. It was in this year the Highmark declared hunting animals illegal, as it is technically unjustified murder, and eating meat was socially frowned upon, by the end of the year Humanity, as a whole, were unintentionally vegetarians.

2131:

The Mantle of Responsibility becomes an actual religion, much to the amusement of many, it is widely followed in Europe, North America and most of Asia.

Reach is mass colonized with glass cities, the builders on the planet envision a planet wide mega city, as nearly all of the land masses are connected.

2133:

The Cerberus Intelligence and Secret Research branch of the Highmark is formed, using the top members of the Highmarkian Intelligence Agency, their goal: ensure all technology remain in the hands of Humanity and no alien force, espionage, black ops, the study of Artificial intelligences and other subjects otherwise unacceptable to be publicly announced as being researched.

2142:

Cerberus finally creates the Highmark's first Artificial Intelligence or Ancilla, he is nicknamed David. The programming makes him aware enough to know right from wrong, but not aware enough to act like a Human, they are obedient, well treated, and are, while not fully trusted by most Humans, placed on warships, military installations, and placed to monitor planets. Ancillas are divided into four types: Teacher class Ancilla, for children, Assistant class Ancilla, for civilian adults, Monitor class Ancilla, for military installations and ships, and finally Hyper class Ancilla, for monitoring planets and the Ancillas on that planet.

2145:

The idea of Sentinels are thought of, designed and sent to war based fabricators. These Sentinels lacked energy shields and weapons, they used standard chemically propelled bullets. Sentinel fabricators are quickly established on Earth and Reach.

Humanity's fear of an Ancilla uprising is finally put to rest when Hyper class Ancilla David, assigned to Earth, develops nanites, a otherwise forgotten nanotechnology. Happy to please his creators, the nanites were designed to increase: the life expectancy of Humans to a minimum of three hundred, memory, senses, mental ability, health, thankfully curing cancer, rendering the aging process undetectable, and other skills. David is rewarded with being the first Ancilla to be able to control the Sentinel forces on Earth, crime rates are reported to drop significantly afterwards.

Cerberus discovers five months later that David neglected to mention that the Human sex drive had been increased and the reproduction time reduced, when questioned David stated that for Humanity to dominate the galaxy they would need a much larger population base. Cerberus accepts the facts, to cover up David's actions Cerberus realises the "Birth tablet" , claiming it would allow the child to be born with less pain and have the baby ready sooner. Both facts were true, however, it wasn't the Birth tablet that did it.

2152: Humanity's population threatens to overrun both Reach and Earth, to remove the threat of overpopulation the Highmark finally decides to move military spending to terraforming Mars and Venus, with the intent of turning them into pristine garden worlds.

Cerberus begins to research energy weapons and shields, although providing an adequate energy source and preventing the gun or user from melting is the main concern.

The idea of personal civilian armor stirs in the Highmark's scientific branch.

2162: The Highmark's resources begin to stretch thin with the completed terraforming of Venus, completion of the Highmark's seven thousand five hundred sixtieth starship and the redevelopment of Earth and Reach. So, while colonization of Venus begins, it is planned to take in millions from the billions of Humans from Earth, the Highmark fifth fleet begins to search for a new system. Eventually it finds the "Bounty" system, a dozen worlds rich in resources that the Highmark desperately needed, twenty seven light years in the opposite direction of Reach. Highmark owned mining corporations quickly travel to the system and begin to mine away the endless stream of resources.

2165:

Because the Highmark hold six fleets, each one thousand two hundred and sixty starships large, the final two systems that surround Sol are surveyed and claimed by the forth and fifth fleets, the sixth fleet acting as a QRF space force. The forth fleet was assigned to another resource rich system, opposite the Reach system, while the fifth fleet was assigned to a colony in the Peace system, opposite the Bounty system. Each of the new systems are either colonized or begin to be mined.

2174:

Cerberus' energy research program finally bears fruit as energy shielding becomes cheap enough to mass produce, however, energy weapons still allude the scientists.

2177:

Personal armor for civilians is finally designed and deemed economically feasible, the armor is distributed to the masses of Earth, Reach, Venus, Mars, Benning and Arcturus garden worlds. Each armor is white with any colour of electric nanite circuits flowing across the armor, it is sleek and rather it being a traditional bulky armor, seemingly like another layer of skin. The armor is equipped with energy shields, an Ancilla to suit the user's age and emergency doses of medical nanites. It suspends the need to eat, sleep or use the toilet, however, it does not remove the want to feed themselves or dream.

2188:

On a routine patrol in the Arcturus system, the patrol group witness a small asteroid impact with another asteroid. As the debris pushed each other clear of the original site of impact, the crews find a tuning gate of sort, floating unharmed and in a pristine looking state. The commanding officer of the patrol group immediately sent word to Highmark Command on Earth.

As soon as the tuning gate is quarantined, Cerberus is put in charge of hiding its existence from the civilian population and researching what it is and what it does.

2199:

Cerberus made very little head way in uncovering what the tuning gate was, except for the facts of how to turn it on and that it was actually called a "Mass Relay", a FTL method that the Protheans most likely used. Against orders, Cerberus activates the Relay and sends one of its starships through, the starship in question is captured in a swirl of blue light and then flung out of sensor sight. Seconds later a report from the starship locates it a thousand light years away, a five and a half day trip in slipspace.

2200:

Humanity celebrates the new century with unwavering eagerness as the Highmark's eighth fleet finishes production, Earth's surface finally has comfortable moving room with only five point four billion inhabitants, the cities of Mars, Venus, Reach and Arcturus are a sprawling metropolis, each planet having just under two point seven billion inhabitants, the farms of Benning and its millions of inhabitants providing the bread and butter for Humanity, new advances in slipspace technology allow for FTL speeds of over three hundred LY a day. The Highmark has revised its political system to include dozens of worlds, and has also begun to rapidly explore other solar systems, whenever finding Mass Relays quarantining them with a military patrol group, eight frigates and one cruiser, several new worlds are planned for future colonization and energy weapons seem to be within Humanity's grasp.

A Highmark scientific flotilla, along with two patrol groups from the eighth fleet, are dispatched to quarantine a newly discovered Relay from the other side, as well as see if the Relay houses any new data.

August 5th - 2200

In the black, star less, void that was a slipspace tunnel, the HSV Boston and her two frigate wolfpacks flew in a perfect formation towards the end of the tunnel. The end of the tunnel was a circular hole with a purplish blue trim, inside the diameter were the stars of normal space, heaven out of this hell. He couldn't explain, Star Centurion G class Jacob Kailua, but whenever he and his patrol group entered slipspace he felt as if he had entered a grave, forgotten in time. It was just nerves, he knew that, if the energy shields failed or the hull was somehow breached, dangerous slipspace radiation would leak in and kill everyone on-board.

Kailua rested on the anti-gravity command chair, that was placed at the centre of the circular bridge, a 3D holographic map of the galaxy projected in mid-air before him. His ship, along with most ships, had been retrofitted with the new technology discovered just months ago, improved slipspace drives, energy shields for better radiation and combat protection, but his most favourite was the anti-gravity chair. It was fun to float in a chair, spinning around to address individual members, or certain sections, of the crew. It was childish, yes, but it was one of the few things military "lifers", like him, got to do.

The navigator announced in a synthetic like voice "Exiting slipspace in five..."

Kailua focused his attention on the galaxy map, there were twenty mapped systems, only thirteen of them were in use and then only two of those systems, Sol and Arcturus, belonged to the "Mass Relay network".

"Four..."

Highmark space seemed so insignificant when compared to the rest of the galaxy, so small, so tiny in this vast galaxy.

"Three..."

Of course Humanity wasn't rushing things, it is one thing to have a large, defenceless, empire, but a better thing to have a small, impenetrable, empire.

"Two..."

Was that what the Highmark was? An empire? No, it wasn't, it was a republic of Human worlds, rather militaristic yes, but in this dangerous galaxy that wasn't a bad thing.

"One..."

The patrol group slid out the tunnels exit. Stars lit up the black void once more, bringing a small smile to his face, not out of witnessing the beautiful stars light up of the blackness before him, but at the fact he was out of the haunting tunnel of slipspace. He turned his attention back to the slowly rotating galaxy map, as they had entered the new system, the sensors of the ship had automatically scanned the system and had forced the map to solely show this system.

It was unfairly small with only four planets, three of which were very hostile to Humans, according to the preliminary sensory data and the Mass Relay behind them stuck out like a sore bone. Kailua saw the scientific flotilla flying parallel to the Relay, a mere hundred kilometres away from the giant structure. Then, acting as a protective bubble, another patrol group surrounded the flotilla in a semi-circle

"Communications, contact the HSV Hastings, message as follows: The HSV Boston and her patrol group has arrived, you stand relieved. End message" Kailua ordered the Star Manipulator, who, being an expert at reading his Centurion's mind, had already recorded the message, encrypted it with standard Highmark encryption, and sent it to the HSV Hastings.

"Aye, aye sir, message secured and away."

On the galaxy map the nine dark green dots slowly parted from the blue scientific dots, reaching a distance of ten thousand kilometres from the Relay, then disappearing from the system as they entered slipspace. He wondered if the Centurion commander in that patrol group felt the ghosts of slipspace, he hoped not, it was an awful feeling to have, even if it was for a few minutes or for hours.

"Helm, turn us around, full burn to the Relay. We're five hundred thousand kilometres out and I don't quite like that." His helmet hid the small smile forming on his face.

"Coming about, full burn, aye, aye sir!" The ship's pilot in front of him said enthusiastically.

His pilot, Joshua Bahti, was a cocky pilot that loved to test the limits of his ship, putting his cruiser through manoeuvres that should otherwise be impossible. It was annoying at times, but when the pilot in dark blue second skin armor, with green nanites of an NCO zipping all over the armor, looked over his shoulder, his Greek Spartan styled helmet titled, and the V shaped orange visor sparkled, he knew that Josh was confidant he could pull off the manoeuvres. Of course turning around and pushing the engines to maximum wasn't a difficult task, a monkey could do it.

"Amanda, warn the ships: full turn and full burn in two minutes." Kailua ordered his ship's Monitor class Ancilla.

"Warning sent, Ancillas acknowledged, ready for full turn and burn, sir." Amanda reported over the bridge section of the Battle-Net.

The ship lurched slightly as the ship did a hard turn, then, as could be expected with a sudden full burn, everyone on the ship felt as if there stomachs had been hit with a hammer. Kinetic energy was an annoying thing. However, the sensation lasted for just a few seconds as powerful inertial dampers powered up enough to compensate for the increase in speed.

"We'll need to enter a full declaration turn in five minutes sir, otherwise we could overshoot the meet point." The star navigator reported next to Josh.

"Yeah, I don't like ramming into Relays either." Josh added with a secret grin.

"No one does Star Navigator, no one does."

"Yeah, I like living to, sir." Josh replied hesitantly, deciding it was best to turn back to the piloting screens.

In moments the bridge entered complete, comfortable, silence. Terminals buzzed, clicked and dinged, much to the annoyance of everyone, as their respective personal tended to them. Kailua just stared out into the view screen, forming a perfect camera feed of the seemingly still stars. Windows were a structural weakness, in combat or not, a lucky shot, debris, anything could hit the window with enough force to smash and decompress the area. Killing dozens of crewmen all for a "pretty view of space".

Why, Kailua wondered, take the risk when tiny cameras placed all along the hull, and then connected to various "view screens" around the ship, could do the same job with almost no risk. The only risk being a camera succumbing to a virus, then somehow escaping the isolated camera network and infecting the rest of the ship. Lost in thought, Kailua was caught unaware as the ship suddenly began its deceleration, the inertial dampers too caught unaware. Lurching forward with the rest of the bridge crew, the undesirable pain finally ended when the inertial dampers finally detected the change in speed and compensated.

"Star Navigator Josh!" Kailua bellowed.

In the coldness of space an Asari fleet discharged their built up heat emissions from the battle before, briefly warming that area of space. The hundred and three Divine class frigates, twenty two Athame class cruisers and the sole Huntress class dreadnought were usually sleek, star like in design, but now there were gaping holes in the hulls of the ship, kinetic barriers maintaining what little oxygen the ships had. Parts of the ships had simply blown off, like the left wing of the "Destiny Ascension" Huntress dreadnought.

This fleet had, just hours ago, been five times its current size, but the battle with the Batarian hordes had taken a server toll on the fleet. Batarian hordes. Matriarch Benezia T'Soni, the only surviving diplomat, chuckled at that. The Batarians thought themselves superior, yet they had simply charged the Asari fleet, no tactics were involved. It was devastating yes, but uncoordinated, reckless, all because the peaceful Asari didn't know how to fight wars. Well the now dead Batarian admiral learned the hard way: Asari could fight.

It had been seventeen years since the great schism between the Council and the associate races, that Turian spectre, Saren, had destroyed the great Citadel all in the name of "stopping the return of the Reapers." pah! A ferry tale told to little children to scare them. Though in the end the repercussions of his actions drowned out any proof he had, words, vids, all useless when every species was saying "No Citadel, no Council, no alliance.". Yes with the destruction of the Citadel that sense of unity was lost, hatred fuelled and war inevitable.

The Council races, her race, had lost all control and now the galaxy was plunged into nothing but war. Those that were once allies were now enemies and so the future for the Asari was bleak, in truth the Asari needed other species more than they cared to admit. Matrons were now forced to give birth to purebloods, a "curse" on Asari society and culture, as aliens no longer could or even wanted to bond with an Asari. So, as every other species continued to grow, the Asari would die not by outside forces, but by genetic inbreeding and the Aradat-Yakshi, soon, in three generations at best, the Asari would not even be able to mate with each other, sending them to extinction.

Their only hope was to find a new species, make them allies, and prey to the Goddess that they would be willing to bond with the Asari. They needed to be willing.

"Told ya, Nezzy!" The words of her old bondmate echoed "We were to reliant on the Turians for protection, now look at us! Our people are being enslaved by the Batarians, conquered by the Turians, tested upon by the Salarians, and now, now?! You and the coven want my help!? My guidance!?" Benezia sighed at the last words "You better find a new species, or were gonna die real quick."

Her bondmate had taken up the role as supreme commander of all Asari forces, going against everything the Asari believed in, but anything was better than extinction.

"Matriarch, we can not stay here." The captain said in a distant, no, dead voice "We are going to the next system, ten light years away. A twenty hour trip."

Matriarch Benezia glanced down at the floor briefly, whispered a prey to the Goddess Athame and said.

"Do it."

CODEX

The Human Highmark Navy:

Highmark fleets, sometimes referred to as Star Legions, works as a independent military of itself, reporting to Highmark Command only when protocol demanded it. Standard Highmark fleet procedure dictated that the Fleet Commander was to establish a Fleet Command base, with the first sub fleet, in orbit of a planet and control sub fleets from there. Using a version of the Roman legion ranking system, the Highmark star legion is based upon seven ranks, each defined by the colour of their nanites:

Rank - Role - Nanite colour

Star Legionarie - The standard crew member - Red

Star Navigator - The pilot and navigator (pilot held in higher regard) - Green

Star Manipulator - The officer of communications, tactical, engineering etc - Black

Star Centurion S class - The commanding officer of a ship - Dark Yellow

Star Centurion G class - The commanding officer of a patrol group - Yellow

Star Centurion SF class - The commanding officer of a sub fleet (the first Centurion SF class is held in higher regard) - Bright Purple

Fleet Commander - The commanding officer of the fleet - White

The Human Highmark Army:

The Highmark army also operates on a legion system, with each legion being able to produce whatever they need. They are normally five thousand four hundred legionaries in size, and are either assigned to a section of a planet, a military installation or a fleet. When operating on a fleet, the Star Commander is always a higher rank than a Legion Commander, in ground operations a Legion Command is established with the first and second cohort held in reserve. Their use of the Battle-Net is by far the most complicated, but also the most successful. Each legion is made up of ten ranks:

Rank - Role - Nanite colour

Legionarie - The basic grunt - Bright Red

Advanced Legionarie - Squad leader - Red

Elite Legionarie - Platoon leader - Dark Red

N Legionarie - members of the first cohort - Blue

Centurion - Company leader - Light Purple

Advanced Centurion - Cohort leader - Purple

Elite Centurion - second Cohort leader - Dark Purple

N Centurion - first Cohort leader - Dark Blue

Manipulator - support officer - Grey

Legion Commander - commander of the Legion - Yellow

The first cohort, or N cohort, is the legion's special forces, always held in reserve and never wasted on frontline battles. The second cohort are the reserve mechs and drones, always used to support the first cohort. The third and fourth cohort are usually held in reserve, the former Legionaries and the latter support craft. Finally the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth cohorts are the first to see battle.

The Human Highmark Battle-Net:

An idea conceived in the mid twenty second century, the Battle-Net was designed to act solely as a military communications network in each system. Each ship, squad, patrol group, platoon and so on had its own section of the Battle-Net.

When in use by the navy, Centurion S class worked at the local level, their ship, using their section of the Battle-Net to talk across the ship or certain sections of the ship. When a Centurion G class used the Battle-Net, it was either like a Centurion S class or to address one or more ships, swiftly passing orders around, or to contact a Centurion SF class. This continues on for the Centurion SF and Star Commander, using it to contact sections or all of their ship(s).

When in use by ground based Legions, it is effectively the same, however in large scale battles sections for each unit are lost, instead replaced with "battle sections". Battle sections of the Battle-Net encompass certain zones of the battlefield and can vary in size. Each battle section is usually used by platoons and support craft, as the goal is that each battle section would have a certain amount of support craft and troops, so that those who operated in the area could easily call in for support. This meant that it was easy for the Legion Commander and his aids to command the battle, as no one was requesting them for immediate assistance, knowing that the support in the zone was all they had.

While flawed yes, each battle section would receive reinforcements when the Centurion or Advanced Centurion would request it, usually from "safe sections".

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Note: I can't promise fast updates, as my life is busy right now, but I plan to release one chapter every week.