User:Matt-256/Meta-Mattiverse

A (somewhat) serious attempt to combine the Canon Haloverse (yes, this includes canon material by Bungie and 343i alike), Ajax's Necrosverse, my Mattiverse, and Specops'/Morhek's Labyrinthverse/VORAUSSICHTverse into one (somewhat) coherent universe. Apologies to the owners of the intriguing expanded 'verses I considered incorporating but ultimately didn't (APS' Saulosian Campaign-verse and the AAO-verse, both of which I was actually supposed to be involved in to differing degrees) - but honestly, I suffered enough from writer's block without adding two more community 'verses (one of which - AAO - has become truly massive, possibly larger than the Necrosverse, from what I can tell) to the pile. Plus, I haven't been keeping up-to-date on either of them - and if I don't know them that well, what's the point? Although, maybe the owners of those two 'verses are just happy I didn't include them ;)

Anyway, if somebody has the misfortune of stumbling upon this, I hope they find it at least somewhat enjoyable to read.

And no, the fact that I'm making this is not a guarantee that I'm back for real - I could still drop off the radar again any day now. Just don't want to give anyone false hope :)

=Species & Factions=

Unified Earth Government
Despite the hardships suffered by humanity during the Great Wars, the Unified Earth Government remains intact as the main ruling body of the human race. However, its authority has often been subverted by the United Nations Space Command, particularly during the Human-Covenant War when martial law was declared for the duration of the crisis. Even for several years after the war, the UEG’s influence remained limited, though it slowly expanded – in particular following the fallout the Operation: VORAUSSICHT investigation, which forced the Office of Naval Intelligence and the rest of the UNSC Defense Force to make concessions to the civilian UEG. Martial law was briefly re-enacted during the Second Great War, War of Perseverance and the Necros War, but after each crisis power was returned to the civilian government. Over time, humanity under the UEG ascended to a position of high authority within galactic politics, being one of the founders of the Alliance of United Species.

United Nations Space Command
The exploratory and military arm of the UEG, the United Nations Space Command has for long stretches of time seized control of human space from the former in times of crisis, in particular during and after the Human-Covenant War. While these measures may well have saved the human race, at times it has resulted in the UNSC leadership occasionally trampling over the rights of citizens and civilian institutions. Even after restoring the UEG’s authority post-war, the UNSC maintained great influence over human affairs due to the continued militarization to ensure humanity’s ascendance as a great power in the Milky Way. Because of this, there remains an air of suspicion between the UNSC and civilian authorities.

Office of Naval Intelligence
The leading intelligence division of the UNSC Defense Force, the Office of Naval Intelligence has earned a dark reputation with civilian institutions and other branches of the UNSC alike. This was in no small part because of various unethical and secretive projects and initiatives enacted during the Human-Covenant War at their behest – such as the SPARTAN, JAVELIN, TROJAN, NOVA, VOLSUNG, CHISEL and many other programs. Due to their secretive nature and influence over the mainstream military leadership during a time of martial law, the agency was largely free to abuse its powers and overstep their given mandates with little worry of punishment. In the mad rush to develop countermeasures to the growing Covenant threat, the agency would accidentally develop a cutthroat political environment, with high-ranking officials competing against each other for funding and prestige, often ignoring regulations and ethics in the process.

The sheer extent of the agency’s corruption would only be uncovered by Operation: VORAUSSICHT, an extensive investigation which attempted to clean up ONI in the post-war era following allegations of abuses of power and corruption within the office’s leadership. Dozens of illegal projects and hundreds of officials of varying authority within the agency were uncovered and their existence eventually leaked to civilian authorities, which sparked a public outrage not seen in decades. Numerous arrests, executions and shutting down highly unethical experiments later, the agency had its authority severely restricted and their activities closely monitored by civilian institutions for years to come – which drove many extremist elements to go rogue, probably led by Codename: DRACULA (formerly a high-ranking project leader within the Beta-5 Division of Section Three). In the following decades, rumors abounded of a “shadow” agency not sanctioned by the UNSC being covertly funded by UNSC officials and wealthy corporations to continue supersoldier development and weapons research projects for the purpose of combatting humanity’s enemies – speculation was especially prevalent following the war with the Promethean Knights, the True Covenant and the Covenant Perseverance.

The aforementioned conflicts, along with the Necros War, gradually enabled ONI to reclaim some of its old authority, as well as subvert the scrutiny of civilian authorities. However, even today, the agency is not as corrupt as it used to be during the latter stages of the Human-Covenant War, though severe mistrust between ONI and other branches of the UNSC and the UEG remains – and not without good reason.

Spartan
The newest branch of the UNSC Defense Force, Spartan Branch was founded after the Human-Covenant War concluded to act as the central command for the operatives created by ONI Section Three director Margaret Parangosky’s pet project, the SPARTAN-IV Program, as well as for Spartan-grade operators from previous projects. Most of its membership was drawn from the SPARTAN-IV Program, in no small part due to a desire by certain elements of the UNSC (Parangosky included) to sideline members of previous supersoldier programs due to the unethical methods used which could potentially have been uncovered (and in the case of the SPARTAN-II Program, was uncovered) and in turn cause a PR loss for the UNSC. However, other Spartans were offered to join the branch as well – which most of the SPARTAN-IIIs, VOLSUNGs and TROJANs, as well as some of the surviving SPARTAN-IIs, accepted. The other SPARTAN-IIs – or at least those not employed by other branches – were quietly offered to go on Operation: SAVIOR; an operation to search for the missing John-117, conceived as a way to keep the IIs out of the way (indeed, those who went on the operation were left uninformed of the Chief’s return in order to ensure they kept searching the far reaches of space) while promoting the IVs as the “true” Spartans.

However, while Spartan proved successful through the sheer volume of successful operations, on an operation-to-operation basis, results achieved by the SPARTAN-IVs proved to be below projected expectations, despite all attempts by UNSC brass to indicate otherwise. Despite their great numbers, the IVs – the bulk of the Spartan branch – would repeatedly suffer unexpected casualty rates in combat, especially against the Storm Covenant (a group classed as little more than a militant cult). Eventually, the SPARTAN-IV Program was discontinued and the Spartan Branch shrunk into a sub-branch of the new UNSC Special Operations Command, in response to opposition towards the branch by Naval Special Warfare and the Special Warfare Command (many believing the Spartan branch rendered those divisions obsolete, or at the very least absorbed too much of their funding).

Spartan was revitalized somewhat in the early 27th century, with the conception of the SPARTAN-V Program. The project went back to the roots of the SPARTAN-II and III programs by recruiting children for maximum efficiency of the augmentations, while still fielding large numbers like the SPARTAN-IV Program. To further enhance the new supersoldiers’ effectiveness, the remaining IIs, IIIs and IVs were drafted as instructors and commanders. The SPARTAN-Vs proceeded to be employed against the Covenant of Deliverance, Kig-Yar Pirates and various human insurrectionist factions with great success, though its greatest challenge came following the invasion of the Necros Swarm.

Insurrection
Although the Unified Earth Government is by far the most powerful human faction, not all humans recognize its authority. Prior to the Human-Covenant War, there was significant support for rebellious movements throughout the colonies, particularly the outer colonies. Collectively, these rebellious movements came to be known as the Insurrection, despite the various factions having little to do with one another other than a desire to separate from the UEG. Despite the fall of most human colonies in the Great War, the Insurrection survived and in fact experienced a resurge in activity in the Post-War era – likely aided by the few remaining outer colonies winding up isolated from the UEG and forced to rely on insurrectionist factions for protection, meaning several planets had grown accustomed to living outside the UEG’s jurisdiction.

Another contributing factor was the sundering of the Covenant, which removed the overarching threat which had convinced some insurrectionist factions to ally with the UEG for the sake of humanity’s survival. In fact, in the post-war era, some insurrectionists would even ally with smaller Covenant factions, in particular with Kig-Yar – the least fanatical of the Covenant species and most prone to mutually beneficial cooperation. Notable instances of cooperation with Covenant include the Venezian Insurrection’s alliance with Kig-Yar pirate Sav Fel, and various smaller movements accepting weapons from the Covenant of Perseverance.

United Rebel Front
Perhaps the largest and most organized insurrectionist faction, the United Rebel Front was formed by a number of like-minded groups in the outer colonies in order to mount a more proper resistance against increased UNSC counter-insurgency operations. Large outposts were founded on Victoria and a number of asteroids in the Eridanus system, as well as a number of other large outer colony worlds, but smaller cells were also formed in the inner colonies and even on Earth itself. The movement suffered heavily from the war with the Covenant and counter-insurgency operations carried out by the new SPARTAN-II commandoes. The death of General Graves, one of its leaders, and the fall of more outer colonies ultimately convinced most URF groups to cease hostilities against the UNSC in the 2530s (though individual cells – such as the one responsible for the PERSIAN program – would occasionally come to blows with the UNSC).

The URF eventually resurfaced as a major threat to the UNSC in the late post-war era, absorbing the remnants of many other planetary insurrectionist movements. Over several decades, the movement promoted itself as a truly united front for all who desired to secede from the UEG. With this came a more centralized command structure, armies and fleets with which to combat the Earth government. This centralization proved the front’s undoing, however, as it was successfully crippled in a series of strikes carried out by the new SPARTAN-V supersoldiers, effectively gutting most rebel movements for decades afterwards.

The Paladins
Also known as the Children of the Architect, the Paladins are evidently human in origin, but culturally and technologically they resemble the Forerunners. Though their exact origins are clouded in mystery, it’s commonly agreed amongst scholars that they were a human subspecies uplifted by the Architect – the Forerunner responsible for the construction of the Labyrinth Array – and transported to the NGC 4414 galaxy (called the Patrian Galaxy by the Paladins themselves) in order to escape the Flood and the activation of the Halo Array. Since then, they took up the “Mantle of Responsibility” over their new home, putting the Milky Way behind them. That is, until civil war broke out amongst their ranks – some, who would later call themselves the Sovereigns, interpreted the Mantle as giving the Architect’s Children the right to dominate all life rather than merely watch over and defend it. This ideological difference sparked a bloody war, which prompted the Sovereigns to rediscover the legendary Noumenon and through it enter the Milky Way with a small fleet, hoping to conquer it. In response, the Paladins established limited contact with the Milky Way civilizations and dispatched a small force to aid in stopping the Sovereigns.

The Sovereigns
The same species as the Paladins, the Sovereigns nonetheless significantly differ from the former, due to their own interpretation of the Mantle of Responsibility – rather than merely nurture, defend and watch over life, the Sovereigns believe they have the divine right as the Forerunners’ successors (they seem to believe they are also genetically descended from the Forerunners, rather than just spiritual successors to their legacy like the Paladins) to dominate all life in the universe. Locked in a bloody war with the Paladins, the Sovereigns rediscovered the legendary Noumenon and used it to transport a small fleet to the Milky Way, hoping to conquer it, but failed to send sufficient forces due to the intervention of the Paladins. To make up for their small numbers, they attempted to manipulate the Governors of Contrition (and through them, the True Covenant) to aid in accomplishing their goals, sparking the Second Great War. After the True Covenant’s failure, the Sovereign fleet went into hiding and has not been seen since, though some theorize that they were involved in the rise of the Necros Swarm – whether through creating them (some Necros forms bear superficial resemblance to a type of sentinel constructed by the Paladins for the purpose of combatting potential Flood infection), altering their programming to serve the Sovereigns’ purposes, or merely encouraged the Necros to wage war against the AUS, is unknown.

Covenant factions
Following the Great Schism, the Covenant religious hierarchy was irreparably split or destroyed in the resulting chaos. Most of the High Council – Sangheili and San ‘Shyuum – were slain or infected by the Flood, and all three hierarchs wound up dead. With the Covenant’s unifying institutions removed so suddenly, paired with the revelation that the halo rings were not holy objects that would propel the faithful onto the Great Journey, the glorious Covenant which had existed for thousands of years was sundered.

Some pieces of the once-great empire were seized by those who hoped to continue the Covenant in one form or another. Most of these factions would try to keep the belief in the Great Journey alive – either as a mere political tool to desperately hold what the pretender in question had managed to consolidate together, or due to legitimate lack of faith in the evidence invalidating the divinity of the halos (often aided by considerably amounts of denial). Other parts of Covenant territory were seized by factions formed by the individual species that had made up the Covenant, in order to protect their own future and/or to keep the other species from achieving dominance. The chaos even enabled some of the lesser species to secure influence in galactic affairs they had previously never possessed.

Another variable regarding the various “Covenant remnant” factions was whether they desired to continue war with humanity or not. While many factions hoped to continue the Human-Covenant War, others proceeded to put an end to hostilities with humanity. The reasons for this naturally varied – some were merely too occupied fighting rival Covenant factions to spare resources for a war with the humans, others had no interest whatsoever in fighting humanity, and others even made official peace treaties with and subsequently allied with the UNSC or rebel human groups. These dissenting approaches would later enable humanity to rise up as a galactic power in its own right, more powerful than most of the Covenant splinter factions, in fact.

New Covenant
The longest-lasting and ultimately most stable Covenant splinter faction, the New Covenant was the successor to the Covenant separatist movement led by Arbiter Thel ‘Vadam. The faction initially had a shaky existence, due to the losses suffered during the Great Schism and the Sangheili Civil War which followed (aided by the machinations of the Office of Naval Intelligence to limit any one Covenant faction’s influence compared to the other). In addition, the New Covenant was constantly challenged by other would-be usurpers to the Covenant legacy. In the end, order was restored thanks to ‘Vadam’s alliances with the UNSC and individual factions representing the former Covenant species, along with the collapse of most other Covenant factions.

Unlike most Covenant factions, the New Covenant has consistently maintained healthy relations with humanity, being the first Covenant faction to sign a peace treaty with the UNSC. It’s also the most secular of the Covenant factions (discounting those formed by individual species), as the Arbiter and many of his followers rejected both the teachings of the Great Journey and the ancient Sangheili religion. Religious movements – in particular the followers of the Path to Ascension and the Seekers of the Holy Oracles - remain prevalent, but there is no official state religion and religious influence on politics is becoming increasingly discouraged in order to avoid the abuse of powers committed by the prophets.

Members from all former Covenant species are also members of the New Covenant, though unlike the old Covenant, some of these species are represented by their own governmental institutions and therefore have more influence than in the old empire. Nonetheless, the Sangheili, through the United Sangheili Republic, remains the dominant species, as the others are too weak to directly challenge them. This has on occasion resulted in tension between the Sangheili and the more opportunistic species, the Jiralhanae and the Kig-Yar. Likewise, the Unggoy, Lekgolo, Huragok and San ‘Shyuum within the New Covenant have little to no political clout due to their status as protectorates of the USR, though some Sangheili councilors have begun to consult representatives from these species for advice on matters concerning them.

True Covenant
For several years, the True Covenant appeared to be the true spiritual successor to the old Covenant – it was led by three high prophets, maintained belief in the Great Journey and had members from all former Covenant species (though the only Sangheili permitted to serve it were members of the Governors of Contrition) in its service. Following a deeper analysis of its existence, however, it turned out that the faction deviated quite extensively from the Covenant in numerous ways – in particular due to reforms of its caste system and the signing of a treaty with both the Sangheili and the UNSC. Because of this, the faction initially didn’t garner much attention from the UNSC or the Sangheili – indeed, for several years, the Blood and Storm Covenants were the most noticeable Covenant remnant factions.

In 2562, it was changed even further following a coup performed by the Governors of Contrition. As a result, all San ‘Shyuum within the True Covenant were sidelined into figurehead roles, while the Governors of Contrition led the faction itself to once more declare war against humanity (secretly at the behest of The Sovereigns), starting the Second Great War. After a long and bloody war, the Governors-controlled True Covenant was ultimately defeated by a joint Alliance of United Species offensive, permanently destroying the faction.

Covenant of Perseverance
Starting out as a fleet and six colony worlds controlled by a pious Jiralhanae warlord, Palatus, after the end of the First Great War, the Covenant of Perseverance (also known in some circles as the Covenant Believers) was unexpectedly turned into a force to be reckoned with thanks to the machinations of the Prophet of Perseverance. Previously the head of the old Covenant’s military intelligence unit, Perseverance kept to the shadows, taking charge of Palatus’ forces behind the scenes thanks to the creation of a false Oracle, and set up an extensive intelligence network. Through his meticulous planning, Perseverance enabled Palatus to conquer numerous other warlords with minimal bloodshed and without arousing suspicion from other factions.

Perseverance finally revealed his presence to the galaxy – along with several new fleets produced at secret shipyards constructed with the help of San ‘Shyuum captured by Palatus – after orchestrating a coup within the Empire of Cerbus and the capture of the Alpha Tribe Chieftains (ironically made possible due to the UNSC’s intervention during the Empire of Cerbus’ invasion of Shade’s Retribution, an attempt to maintain a stalemate between the two factions), solidifying his control over a significant portion of old Covenant territory. Even after his reveal, Perseverance remained patient, however, focused on uniting the other Covenant splinter factions under his rule, while exploiting tensions within Sangheili-controlled space and supplying Kig-Yar privateers and human insurrectionists with weapons and ships to keep both respective species occupied. Unexpectedly for the leader of a Covenant faction, Perseverance ordered humans to be conscripted – accomplished by contracting Kig-Yar pirate clans and Jiralhanae mercenary packs to abduct humans from more distant colonies (mostly those held by rebel factions which refused his aid or competed with those who did). For years, nearly a million humans in total were taken from their homes to serve as slave workers or soldiers. Similar raids were also launched on Unggoy colonies with similar results.

For most of the Second Great War, the Covenant of Perseverance remained passive, occasionally providing aid to either side in order to drag out the conflict and weaken both in the long run, as well as continuing to sanction slave raids on human and Unggoy planets. When the Alliance of United Species was formed and swiftly crushed the True Covenant, however, Perseverance seized the remnants of True Covenant territory and subsequently declared war on the alliance – in the process unveiling his new secret weapon: ship-mounted cannons powered by Forerunner crystals like the one discovered underneath CASTLE Base on Reach, which could create massive, unstable slipspace bubbles capable of easily tearing apart large ship formations. Despite this, however, this Covenant was ultimately stopped due to the untimely death of Perseverance under mysterious circumstances (though rumors suggest it was an assassination carried out by operatives under the command of renegade elements of ONI). After his death, his empire fell into disarray and was subsequently conquered by the New Covenant and the Covenant of Deliverance.

Much like the True and Storm Covenants, the Covenant of Perseverance altered aspects of the old Covenant religion rather than rejecting it entirely. The Forerunners were still worshipped, but more as heroes that saved the galaxy from the Flood and preserved the various Milky Way species, thereby achieving a sort of metaphorical divinity, rather than beings ascending to become literal deities. The Great Journey was interpreted as a misunderstanding by Covenant scholars of old, and that the true will of the Forerunners could only be ascertained through questioning their chosen messenger; a special oracle known as The Sojourner. This interpretation was preached by the Prophet of Perseverance specifically to enable him to sway Palatus and his followers, as he had crafted an elaborate robotic shell resembling his descriptions of The Sojourner – loaded with a Covenant AI programmed to pose as an oracle and promote Perseverance as his chosen prophet – beforehand. This deception ensured fanatical devotion to Perseverance personally, rather than to the religion itself as in the Old Covenant.

The changes in dogma were also used to justify the inclusion of members from all Milky Way species in the faction, including humans. As the Forerunners had preserved all species from the Flood, all of them deserved an opportunity to join the ancients’ chosen prophet, regardless of any sins committed by individuals from that species. As such, all former Covenant species were part of this Covenant (though Sangheili members were largely restricted to contracted mercenaries and small groups enticed by the new religion). While no humans joined willingly, enough were abducted by Perseverance’s contracted mercenaries and pirates to significantly boost the Covenant’s slave work force and armies - making humans’ place within the caste system confusing; while most were on the same level as the Unggoy and Huragok due to being slaves, human warriors would routinely be treated as superior to Kig-Yar and equal to Mgalekgolo, occasionally even commanding individual lances of troops. To ensure the loyalty of their human conscripts, soldiers were recruited from families – the point being to promise the soldier elevated status for their family in return for loyal service, and to threaten the family with punishment in the case of disobedience or failure.

Otherwise, the caste system was one of the aspects for the most part carried over from the Old Covenant, with the Jiralhanae and Sangheili as the higher warrior caste and San ‘Shyuum as the religious and political leaders (though with the exception of a few acolytes chosen by Perseverance himself to be groomed as his successors, most San ‘Shyuum were sidelined into figurehead roles or turned into slaves in all but name forced to dedicate their lives to further innovations into Covenant and Forerunner technology).

Covenant of Deliverance
Formed by the Prophet of Deliverance, this Covenant faction outlasted all the others except for the New Covenant (as such, it would often be called the Covenant Remnants during the 27th century), largely because the forces under Deliverance’s control retreated beyond the outskirts of former Covenant territory in order to regain their strength. As such, the Covenant of Deliverance stayed out of the Storm Covenant War, Second Great War and War of Perseverance and remained largely ignored by the Alliance of United Species. This changed in the last few decades of the 26th century, when they seized some former Covenant of Perseverance worlds and launched raids into UNSC and USR territory (aided by the Kig-Yar Pirate clans under Dekd Nok). Despite its long existence, once it began to wage war for real against the AUS, the Covenant of Deliverance was swiftly crushed in an AUS-managed campaign, putting an end to the second last Covenant faction.

Blood Covenant
Largely a “Covenant” in name only, the Blood Covenant was formed by Hephaestus, leader of the Varthaka Master-Pack. Though it only succeeded in seizing a comparatively small piece of former Covenant territory, the Blood Covenant posed a significant threat to the UNSC and the Sangheili Armed Forces for a few years after the Great War, thanks to Chieftain Hephaestus swaying large fleets and armies to join him. After his death during the joint UNSC and Sangheili assault on the Blood Covenant homeworld, Unmoving Virtue, the faction quickly fractured into smaller entities ruled by lesser chieftains.

While the Blood Covenant outwardly tried to maintain respect for the Great Journey religion, its leadership would repeatedly prove that it was never a legitimate spiritual successor to the old Covenant – culminating in the murder of San ‘Shyuum dignitaries sent by the True Covenant. While other Covenant species were employed within the Blood Covenant, their services were secured through intimidation and brute force from the Jiralhanae leadership rather than the unifying faith of the Great Journey.

Storm Covenant
Formed by the disgruntled Sangheili Shipmaster Jul ‘Mdama (called “The Didact’s Hand” by his followers), the Storm Covenant (initially referred to as the “Covenant remnant” in human media, due to most other Covenant factions also fitting of that term keeping a low profile for years to come) was one of the smaller, yet at the same time most pro-active, Covenant splinter factions. The faction proved itself a thorn in humanity’s side following the invasion of a UNSC colony world, Draethus V. While the Storm’s forces were repelled, the attack convinced the UNSC to take the threat posed by ‘Mdama’s Covenant seriously. In 2557, the Storm Covenant aligned itself with the Promethean Knights of Requiem, contributing to the Didact’s campaign against humanity. After the Forerunner’s apparent demise, the Storm fought UNSC forces for control of Requiem, a struggle which culminated in the Shield World’s destruction, but not before ‘Mdama acquired one half of the Janus Key – an artifact which could potentially have given the Storm access to more Forerunner technology. Despite this, the Storm ultimately fared no better than most other Covenant factions and was eventually defeated.

While outwardly maintaining faith in the Forerunners, the Storm Covenant would routinely showcase an unexpected willingness to bend the old Covenant’s and its own teachings. The most noticeable instance was their worship of the Didact, despite mainstream Covenant religious tenets clearly stating that the Forerunners ascended to divinity, but was far from the only case of breaking previously established religious dogma. The Storm would occasionally take prisoners or ally with rebellious humans and other Covenant factions, as well as destroy Forerunner technology to accomplish the faction’s goals (or, more accurately, Jul ‘Mdama’s personal ambitions). Except for San ‘Shyuum, all other Covenant species were employed, but in order to make up for outdated and faulty equipment and ships, members of the Storm were forced to use a variety of experimental mutagens to enhance combat effectiveness (a strategy never employed by the old Covenant, nor most other remnant factions) or docility towards the Storm leadership (in the case of the lesser species). Despite its ambitious campaigns against the UNSC, the Storm was often classified as little more than a terrorist group or militant cult rather than a full-fledged Covenant faction, due to its relatively small armies and fleets.

United Sangheili Republic
Initially little more than a dream, the United Sangheili Republic was conceived as a more centralized government to connect Sanghelios and its colonies more closely in the wake of the Covenant’s destruction. Many conservative states and keeps on Sanghelios proved resistant to the idea of a centralized government, however, in particular one as secular as the one conceived by Vadam, who officially rejected the Great Journey and the divinity of the Forerunners, and insisted religion should have no impact on politics – lest it result in abuses of power like those committed by the San ‘Shyuum. Combined with ‘Vadam’s desire for a truce with humanity, as well as the Sangheili Armed Forces (his primary source of support in Sangheili society) being occupied with waging war against the Jiralhanae and various Covenant splinter factions, his ideas were rejected and his rule challenged.

On Sanghelios, the primary resistance came from the Servants of Abiding Truth, followers of the ancient Sangheili religion, which was also backed by several states and lesser keeps. Other sects and states in the colonies also rejected his rule and ideas, including the State of Koidam, the Acolytes of Devotion and the Governors of Contrition. On the other hand, ‘Vadam was by no means without support – his own state faithfully supported him, as did the states of Vadum, Elhi, Revsar, Chaura, Hilot and Acroli, as well as many colonial states and more modern factions, such as the Merchants of Qikost. Ultimately, despite the Servants being covertly supported by the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence, the civil war was ultimately won by ‘Vadam’s supporters – largely because the Seekers of the Holy Oracles, a recent and very popular religious splinter group, unexpectedly declared for ‘Vadam, giving him the support he needed to crush the remaining rebellious states and keeps. With Sanghelios and most of its colonies under his rule, ‘Vadam was subsequently able to begin the creation of the USR.

Ever since, the USR has remained the leading Sangheili government. Together with the UEG, it founded the Alliance of United Species, further cementing friendly relations with humanity, as well as the other species being discovered throughout the galaxy. It was also the driving force in the formation of the New Covenant and its most powerful member, effectively swaying the governments representing the former Covenant species (with the exception of the Unggoy, Lekgolo, Huragok and San ‘Shyuum, who are merely protectorates of the USR rather than independent governments) to follow its lead. The republic was also vital in putting an end to the Covenant of Deliverance and in the war against the Necros that followed.

Unlike previous Sangheili governments, the USR incorporates a number of democratic elements to go along with traditional meritocratic values. Democratic elections are held for a number of stations, in particular political offices, though only individuals who have earned a suitable degree of merit may be chosen. The republic is ruled by a High Council overseen by the Supreme Councilor, who in turn has an advisory council consisting of the Imperator (the commander of the armed forces), the leaders of the individual military branches, as well as representatives of the merchants and the civilians. While the official state religion is the Path to Ascension – a simple religion promoting the idea of ascension to the afterlife through good deeds in life – and other religious groups (such as the Seekers of the Holy Oracles) have large followings within USR territory, religion has little to no influence on politics. This has resulted in a growing movement of atheism amongst the Sangheili, previously a deeply spiritual people.

Sangheili Armed Forces
Formed by the Arbiter, Thel ‘Vadam, following the Sangheili’s defection from the Covenant, the Sangheili Armed Forces was the military arm of the Covenant Separatists. For years, it was the closest thing to a unified institution in Sangheili society, being a collection of soldiers from all states and keeps united in the goal of combatting the Jiralhanae and Covenant splinter factions. Though most of the SAF followed the Arbiter without question (particularly after the untimely demise of Imperial Admiral Xytan Jar ‘Wattinree), it was largely incapable of aiding ‘Vadam during the Sangheili Civil War due to being occupied with waging war against the various Jiralhanae and Covenant splinter factions, leaving ‘Vadam to rely on the forces of individual states and their vassals. After the civil war concluded and the United Sangheili Republic was created, the SAF was integrated with the republic, becoming the USR Armed Forces.

Union of Sanghelios
For ages, the Union of Sanghelios was the closest thing to a unified government on Sanghelios. Founded two centuries before the Sangheili encountered the San ‘Shyuum by the would-be conqueror Asro ‘Rakot, who hoped to use it as a means to bringing the various conquered Kaidons closer together under his leadership. His plans failed when he was slain by a rival and his great empire crumbled. In the ages that followed, the Union became little more than a platform to enable political and trade negotiations between states. During the Sangheili Civil War, however, some states and keeps suggested a reformed version of the union as a compromise between the centralized republic proposed by Thel ‘Vadam and the strict feudal independence advocated by ‘Vadam’s conservative opponents. Numerous Kaidons and elders convened at the old Rakot Keep and declared the formation of a revitalized union in 2554. This new union attempted to mediate a truce between ‘Vadam and the Servants of the Abiding Truth, to no success, and ultimately the union was dissolved upon the creation of the United Sangheili Republic.

Servants of the Abiding Truth
One of the many religious splinter groups that gained a large influx of followers following the dissolution of the Covenant, the Servants of the Abiding Truth was one of the more successful groups. Being advocates of the ancient Sangheili religion and a continued war against humanity, the Servants managed to attract many religiously-minded Sangheili – including the states of Ontom and Telcam, the keeps of Curo, Nuan, Rtova and Nes’alun, and the Ascetics - who felt insulted by the Arbiter rejecting the Forerunners as deities. As such, the group managed to present itself as a unified front for ‘Vadam’s enemies. Despite this, as well as covert support from the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence, the Servants and their supporters were eventually defeated by ‘Vadam thanks to the intervention of the UNSC and the Seekers of the Holy Oracles.

Governors of Contrition
An extremist religious sect since before the dissolution of the Covenant, the Governors of Contrition believed not only the Forerunners to be divine, but all their creations as well. Some members even interpreted the Flood parasite as a Forerunner creation, and therefore worthy of worship. The group was begrudgingly tolerated by the Covenant hierarchy due to its members usually serving faithfully and with distinction in the war against humanity. The group didn’t become a truly significant force in Covenant politics until after the Great Schism, however, after earning the distinction of being the only group of Sangheili permitted to serve within the ranks of the True Covenant. The group subsequently performed a coup against the True Covenant leadership, seizing control of it and declaring war against humanity and the New Covenant, sparking the Second Great War – secretly at the behest of the Sovereigns. After the True Covenant’s defeat, the Governors were dissolved, though fragments of the group continued to operate for years to come.

Acolytes of Devotion
An extremist sect founded in response to the Taming of the Lekgolo, the Acolytes of Devotion only became a significant power in Sangheili and Covenant society during the Great War, when their vocal support for the war against humanity earned them the patronage of the High Prophet of Regret. Regret, hoping to use the group in order to weed out heretics and political opponents to his and the other two hierarchs’ reign, gave extensive support to the Acolytes, providing them with sufficient resources to turn the small religious sect into a serious power player in Covenant society with followers throughout Covenant-controlled space. Throughout the war, the Acolytes were responsible for extensive “Rites of Purification” of nearly all levels of the Covenant military and religious hierarchy, which naturally earned them the ire of military commanders and leaders of the official ministries alike. After a particularly bloody purge directed towards supposed members of the Governors of Contrition (a group tolerated by the Covenant hierarchy), including extended family and friends, the Prophets of Truth and Mercy officially spoke against the Acolytes – an event which, combined with the death of the Prophet of Regret several years later, caused the Acolyte leaders to plot a coup against the remaining two hierarchs.

The coup never came to fruition, however, as Truth later initiated the Great Schism, causing the sundering of the Covenant. The Acolytes still took advantage of the crisis, rallying its followers and other disgruntled yet fanatically devoted Sangheili leaders, using these forces to seize control of a small number of Covenant outer colony worlds, including the old Acolyte homeworld of Exalted Hearth. The Acolytes proceeded to spend the following years mounting expeditions to find Forerunner installations – including a number of Line installations and the enigmatic Labyrinth Array – or launching raids against their enemies (in other words, nearly every single faction in the galaxy). The group was ultimately defeated by the recently founded USR, with a few pockets of resistance continuing to operate on Exalted Hearth for nearly a decade before being put down for good.

What defined the Acolytes’ belief system was a deeply fanatical belief in the Great Journey and the divinity of the Forerunners – so fanatical that no sin, no matter how small, could be forgiven. The Acolytes also believed in collective damnation – the belief that the sins of large groups of a species would forever corrupt the species itself and making it unworthy of ascension and existence on the mortal plane (IE only deserving of death at the hands of the righteous). This manifested itself in the belief that the Lekgolo and Human species were both abominations due to their destroying Forerunner artifacts. After the Great Schism, the San ‘Shyuum were deemed to have strayed too far from the proper path, meaning that the Sangheili was the only species left fit to lead the Covenant on the Great Journey. Otherwise the tenets of Acolyte religion were nearly identical to that of the Covenant, but with such a fanatical devotion to those tenets that nothing could be left to re-interpretation or rule-bending. Ultimately, this uncompromising attitude proved the Acolytes’ undoing – as they fervently refused to ally with any factions with similar, but not identical, beliefs even temporarily to further their goals.

Seekers of the Holy Oracles
Formed a few years into the post-war era by a Sangheili shipmaster experiencing a crisis of faith, the Seekers of the Holy Oracles are, as the name suggests, dedicated to seeking out Forerunner AIs. Due to the widespread belief that the San ‘Shyuum had deceived the Sangheili from the beginning regarding the proper way to worship the Forerunners, the Seekers suggested that the proper way forward was to seek out those who would know the most about the Forerunners’ will – their left-behind AI constructs. The shipmaster – discarding his old name and assuming the title of “Master Seeker” – won over a significant portion of the Sangheili population to his side, and subsequently put the civil war on Sanghelios behind them to search the far reaches of space for Forerunner installations.

This occasionally put them into conflict with humanity – the UNSC was in the process of locating and securing all the Halo installations at the time, all of which had monitors assigned to them that the Seekers would desire to speak with. Unsurprisingly, the UNSC denied the Seekers access to the installations, which nearly provoked the latter into declaring war. Ultimately, this was averted by the intervention of the Guardians – a faction consisting of Forerunner AIs which had recently revealed itself to humanity. The Guardians instructed the Seekers that the true will of the Forerunners was to ensure humanity’s survival, and encouraged them to return to Sangheili space and declare support for Thel ‘Vadam and his proposed republic. While there was a small amount of dissent among the Seekers in response to the Guardians’ answers, the bulk of the Seekers did as instructed, and subsequently proved instrumental in putting an end to the Sangheili Civil War and in the formation of the United Sangheili Republic.

National Sangheili Resistance
Unlike most other Sangheili splinter factions, the National Sangheili Resistance was a largely secular movement motivated by racism in response to the USR’s increased connectivity with the rest of the galaxy’s species rather than religious fanaticism. The NSR was responsible for a number of heavily publicized hate crimes, particularly against humans, but ultimately never posed a serious threat to the USR as a whole. It was thoroughly crushed as an organized resistance in the early 27th century.

Jiralhanae Alliance
Led by two Chieftains of the Jiralhanae, Gauius and Marius, the Jiralhanae Alliance started out as a comparatively small faction. Near the end of the Great Schism, the UNSC and Sangheili Armed Forces launched a joint invasion of the Jiralhanae homeworld, Doisac. During the extended and bloody siege, Gauius and Marius realized total defeat was imminent and staged a coup, seizing control of enough ships to force the people of Doisac to surrender. While Doisac was left largely intact thanks to their actions, many Jiralhanae considered this a betrayal – most of the Alpha Tribes and individual Jiralhanae warlords rejected the subsequent treaty and continued the fight.

However, as most Covenant and Jiralhanae splinter factions were slowly, but steadily defeated by the UNSC, SAF and their allies, the JA became the primary central government to the Jiralhanae species, if only by virtue of being one of the last institutions left with a degree of independence. Despite the dominant position of the USR in the New Covenant and the chieftains’ relatively moderate stance on the Sangheili, the JA would on occasion have a very tense relationship with the Sangheili, mostly due to colonial disputes – the JA would found colonies on planets overlooked by the Sangheili, but also situated outside the sector permitted by the USR. While these incidents never resulted in all-out war, the relationship between Jiralhanae and Sangheili continues to be tense to this day.

Alpha Tribes
Before the Jiralhanae Alliance, the Alpha Chieftains and their respective tribes were the closest to a centralized government for the Jiralhanae species. During the Great Schism, they sided with the Prophet of Truth, but following the Hierarch’s death the Alpha Tribes ended up divided by internal strife and steadily defeated one by one by humanity and the Sangheili. Some of the tribes did manage to unite under the leadership of Antarmatum following the fall of Doisac and carve out a territory of several star systems for themselves. This union was short-lived, however, as Antarmatum and his followers were ambushed by Covenant of Perseverance forces during a negotiation with the latter, resulting in Antarmatum’s death and the capture of the Alpha Chieftains, allowing Perseverance to swiftly seize control of the tribes and their territory – thereby putting an end to the Alpha tribes as a significant political and military player in the Covenant civil war.

Empire of Cerbus
Ruled by the warlord Cerbus, the Empire of Cerbus was a short-lived faction, despite holding a fairly significant amount of territory. However, the empire was in the way of the Prophet of Perseverance’s ambitions, resulting in the prophet manipulating its downfall. Due to the intervention of the UNSC during the empire’s massive invasion of Shade’s Retribution, the empire lost much of its military capability in one fell swoop, allowing Perseverance to easily conquer Cerbus’ territory for himself – further aided by a coup against the chieftain (also orchestrated by Perseverance) tearing what remained of the empire’s fleet apart in civil war.

Brotherhood of Ruskt
Technically, the Brotherhood of Ruskt was an offshoot of the Covenant religion, modified by the Brutes for their purposes. After the Schism, and the collapse of the Old Covenant, the Brotherhood of Ruskt came to control thirteen colonies, significant enough to hold its own against rival factions, and build up its infrastructure, but too trivial for the Sangheili to bother with. As it built itself up, it waged a war of conquest against other groups, wresting control of isolated planets and star systems from would-be warlords and pirates, eventually holding two dozen colonies under its sway. It had a somewhat complicated relationship with the Blood Covenant - while the Brotherhood admired the sheer power of Hephaestus' faction, and the fact that it was ruled by Jiralhanae rather than Prophets, they refused to bow down to what they saw as an honourless barbarian.

The Brotherhood was particularly notable for their peace treaty with the Sangheili, one of the few Jiralhanae factions to seek it. The exact circumstances of the treaty remains unknown even long after the group’s dissolution. Ultimately, the group fell apart due to the Covenant of Perseverance conquering much of its territory, with the remnants gradually integrating with the Jiralhanae Alliance.

Alliance of Free Covenant Colonies
Although bearing "Covenant" in their name, the alliance was merely a short-lived collective of former colonies, largely consisting of Unggoy, Yanme'e, Kig-Yar and Lekgolo refugees who refused to join either the Sangheili or the True Covenant after the Great Schism. Over time, the Alliance would disintegrate - the Kig-Yar were the first to leave, choosing to join the Privateer Alliance as smugglers, privateers, pirates and mercenaries. The next were the Lekgolo, who joined the Sangheili during their efforts to gain control of Te, the Lekgolo homeworld - for their valiant efforts, many dominantly-Lekgolo Alliance worlds were gifted "protectorate" status under Sangheili protection, but retained their autonomy, a diplomatic coup allying the Sangheili with the Lekgolo. The last members, the Unggoy, would merge with the Unggoy Star Empire, which itself later crumbled.

Lekgolo Protectorate
Formed from the Lekgolo inhabitants of Te and a small number of colonies previously held by the short-lived Alliance of Free Covenant Colonies, the Lekgolo Protectorate is one of the USR’s official client nations, trading independence for protection from the Sangheili fleets. For the most part, the Lekgolo have remained loyal followers of the USR and the New Covenant, though there was a brief rebellious movement on Te that protested what they saw as the continued enslavement of their people. The movement was crushed, though some Lekgolo have nonetheless been caught expressing beliefs that align with the movement’s pro-independence rhetoric.

Unggoy Star Empire
The Unggoy Star Empire was an all-too-brief explosion of Unggoy culture, technology, and territory that immediately followed the collapse of the Covenant. While the Jiralhanae and Sangheili engaged in a bitter struggle for supremacy, the Unggoy were largely left to their own devices. A small number of ships docked at the Balaho Shipyards were captured by Unggoy workers with little in the way of a struggle, and by 2555 the Unggoy were using these warships to escort massive passenger liners and freighters, captured or stolen, to transport thousands of their people offworld. Long confined to Balaho or small orbital colonies to keep their numbers down, they finally saw their chance to set up an empire of their own. Spreading to the seven nearest star systems, the Unggoy declared their independence and neutrality in the post-war conflicts, hoping that their ill-gotten-gains would be ignored.

Unfortunately, neither the Sangheili nor the Jiralhanae were eager to see the spread of the Unggoy, especially since both thought the other might recruit large numbers of conscripts for their own militaries. In separate strikes, the Sangheili and Jiralhanae crippled the fledgling Unggoy Imperial Navy badly, with movements against the colonies. Unwilling to waste time and resources glassing the planets, the Sangheili were content to destroy any space travel infrastructure - space docks, ships, orbital gravity elevators, and so on. The Jiralhanae were not so minimalist and wasted much time attempting to conquer colonies before finally realizing that there were other fronts where their troops were better needed. Content with cutting the Unggoy colonies off from one another, both the Sangheili and Jiralhanae shifted their focus back to battling each other.

The colonies themselves would keep in contact, but without space travel, further colonization was impossible. The colonies of Atatna and Panga would rise to become havens of Unggoy learning and knowledge, becoming colonies to rival the Unggoy homeworld itself - though considering their rather more temperate climates, and the harshness of Balaho's own ecosystem, that wasn't hard. Isolated, the Star Empire would be largely left alone during the War of Vengeance, though by 2583 population pressures, combined with the traditional Unggoy reluctance towards birth control and population management, was beginning to put pressure on the colonies for expansion. In response to these issues, as well as the aggressive expansion of the Covenant of Perseverance, most of the Unggoy colonies eventually agreed to the USR’s offer of becoming a protectorate.

Unggoy Protectorate
After the failure of the Unggoy Star Empire and the creation of the USR, and on the insistence of former Arbiter Thel ‘Vadam, a protectorate for the Unggoy not affiliated with the various other Covenant splinter factions was created. While many Unggoy within the protectorate’s borders consider the protectorate little better than living under the oppressive rule of Covenant factions, many reformists within the USR has gone to great lengths to keep healthy relations with the protectorate, in order to avoid the rebellions of past. For now, these endeavors have proved successful, as the Unggoy have not mounted any organized resistance for decades.

Yanme’e Hives
While most of the Yanme'e hives were initially loyal to the Prophets or ambivalent to the Great Schism, the rise of the Governors of Contrition to power would result in the alienation of the Yanme'e by the increasingly contemptible treatment of them by their new Sangheili masters. Resources were appropriated without even the pretense of cordiality, and vital parts of the Yanme'e social infrastructure were pressganged as common soldiers, causing havoc among the civilian populace. Faced with such mistreatment, after the tolerant attitudes of the previous administration, the Yanme'e hives would secede en masse, taking with them a significant chunk of former True Covenant territory and resources. Using appropriated ships and weapons, as well as that provided by the Sangheili Armed Forces, the Yanme'e would create a formidable military force that would fight alongside UNSC, SAF, Unggoy Star Empire and Brotherhood forces in the Second Great War, at first independently and later as part of the multi-species coalition forces.

After the Second Great War, the Yanme'e would largely withdraw from galactic politics, content with their established hives, setting to work repairing the damage wreaked by the Governors. Despite this, the Hives did agree to become part of the USR-led New Covenant, even though this led to them being compelled to provide the New Covenant with ships and troops in times of need. However, the motivation for this was probably self-preservation – joining the New Covenant also ensured the Hives aid from the other species’ fleets in the event of raids on Yanme’e territory by other factions – rather than an interest in galactic politics.

Kig-Yar Privateer Alliance
The Kig-Yar have always been an opportunistic species - their acceptance into the Covenant was largely because they sought access to Covenant interstellar ships, with which they have gained a reputation as formidable privateers, pirates and raiders. When the Covenant collapsed into a multitude of factions, all competing for dominance in the post-Great War era, they saw this as perhaps the greatest opportunity in their history - most Kig-Yar declared themselves independent contractors, reneging on the Covenant factions they served and establishing their independence. While Eayn never officially recognized them (being the homeworld for the Sangheili-supported Kig-Yar Union), it is well known that they had secret ties to the majority of these independent Kig-Yar, eventually forming a loose coalition of the largest privateer clans into the Privateer Alliance. Offering their services as privateers and mercenaries, the Privateer Alliance would fight on virtually all sides during the War of Vengeance - they were hired by the Blood Covenant to bolster their own flagging naval power, while the UNSC and SAF would use their skills as pirates to sap Blood Covenant shipping. While the True Covenant restored its military might and began its campaign against the Blood Covenant, they would use Kig-Yar mercenary ships to patrol frontline worlds, allowing their own ships to patrol their own systems.

The fall of the Kig-Yar Privateer Alliance would come in a catastrophic stroke of bad luck - the unprovoked attack by a renegade Pirate Prince, Jezh, and his forces. Routed from Expansive Judgment in 2561, Jezh's forces hoped that by plundering the rich Sangheili colony they would be able to reestablish themselves elsewhere. Instead, they succeeded only in bringing the full wrath of the Sangheili upon themselves, which would turn to the larger Privateer Alliance. While "officials" insisted that it was the act of a single fool, the Sangheili declared the existence of the Alliance to be a threat that none would tolerate, and began a campaign to wipe out the privateer groups to protect their colonies and trade routes, known later as the Interminable Reprisal Campaign. Rumors claim that many leading figures were smuggled out by ONI agents to maintain intelligence contacts within the Kig-Yar community, a valuable commodity to the war - the UNSC has repeatedly denied this claim.

What remained of the Privateer Alliance would later be forcefully integrated with the Kig-Yar Union or form independent pirate clans in the outer reaches of Covenant territory.

Kig-Yar Pirates
The Kig-Yar Pirates was the collective name for a large number of small pirate clans, primarily operating on the fringes of AUS-controlled space following the dissolution of the Privateer Alliance. The pirate clans only regained some sense of unity after an aggressive series of power plays by the pirate lord Dekd Nok. Under his leadership, the pirates would launch large-scale raids within AUS territory, often while employed by the Covenant of Deliverance. The AUS’ FIRE campaigns served to heavily damage their activities, but unlike the Covenant of Deliverance, Nok’s pirates remained active, even after the Necros invasion. During the war with the Necros, the pirates would routinely put aside their animosity with the AUS for the sake of combatting their new common enemy – culminating in aiding Vor’N-Ulu and her Union Loyalists in defeating the Kig-Yar Necros appeasers and their Tarom Lineage allies. Following the Kig-Yar Civil War, Nok’s pirates proceeded to integrate with Vor’N-Ulu’s renewed Union, forming the Kig-Yar Regime – the first time in ages the Kig-Yar people as a whole stood united.

Kig-Yar Union
Formed after the Great War, the Kig-Yar Union consisted mostly of the more peaceful merchant and mercenary clans in the Kig-Yar home systems, backed by the Sangheili Armed Forces in return for providing the latter with auxiliary troops and ships when needed. In the first few years, however, the Union attempted to exert a greater amount of independence from the Sangheili by covertly backing a large number of Kig-Yar clans outside of Union territory – therefore being the masterminds behind the creation of the Privateer Alliance. While the Privateer Alliance eventually crumbled, some of the clans affiliated with it would subsequently integrate with the Union, elevating its standing somewhat in the Sangheili-led New Covenant.

While occasionally straining against Sangheili influence on their society, the Union has remained peaceful towards the other New Covenant species, as well as the various AUS factions (manifested in a number of beneficial trade agreements with the UEG and a symbiotic relationship with the nomadic Tarom Lineage of the Machina Federation). During the Necros War, the Union was briefly divided in a civil war between Union loyalists (led by Fleet Mistress Vor’N-Ulu), intent on aiding the New Covenant and the ASU in combatting the Necros threat, and Necros appeasers (led by Dok’G-Lak), who hoped to preserve the Kig-Yar species by allying with the Necros (on the advice of their Tarom allies). The civil war was fortunately won by the Union Loyalists, thanks to the aid of Dekd Nok’s pirate clans, which subsequently united with the remnants of the Union to form the Kig-Yar Regime.

Huragok Protectorate
While many Huragok defected to the Unified Earth Government after the Great Schism, the closest thing to a Huragok faction is the USR’s Huragok Protectorate. However, unlike the Unggoy, Lekgolo and San ‘Shyuum, the Huragok are not interested in politics whatsoever, and as a result, the protectorate is not a political institution – it is merely an agreement that the Sangheili will protect Huragok reproduction habitats, and that the Huragok will in return continue to provide technological expertise.

San ‘Shyuum Protectorate
Although most agree it’s only a matter of time before the San ‘Shyuum species dies out (there aren’t nearly enough individuals left to foster a sustainable population), the San ‘Shyuum Protectorate has nonetheless been a valuable resource to the USR. Wary of the San ‘Shyuum as the Sangheili have been ever since the Great Schism, the aid of the former were still necessary to enable the Sangheili to replenish the fleets they lost during the Schism and the other post-war conflicts, as the Sangheili had never bothered to learn the secrets of warship manufacture themselves. Although the Sangheili have now made significant advancements in all scientific fields, San ‘Shyuum from the Protectorate are still valuable to them, much as they are loathe to admit it. However, a careful watch is always maintained over the protectorate’s territory and all individual San ‘Shyuum employed outside of it to prevent further treachery or capture attempts by other factions.

Forerunner Ecumene
The unified government of the Forerunner species, the Ecumene was responsible for the construction and subsequent activation of the Halo Array, as well as a large number of lesser installations – included, but not limited to, Shield Worlds, Line Installations, Navigational Installations, Flood research facilities, and the Ark. The Ecumene also appears to have been responsible for reseeding all life in the galaxy after the Halo Array’s activation, as well as the creation of the Guardians and the Machina – probably to ensure their chosen Reclaimers, humanity, will attain the Mantle of Responsibility. It may have also created the Necros, though the latter’s origins are still unknown, making this hypothesis impossible to verify.

Promethean Knights
An army of constructs created by the Didact, the Promethean Knights were part of one of many failed plans to stop the Flood. The Knights were initially created by using the Composer – a device capable of converting organic matter into artificial intelligence – on the Promethean Warrior-Servants. When their numbers proved insufficient, the Didact – driven mad by the Gravemind – forcibly used the Composer on humans, which resulted in his imprisonment within his own base world, Requiem, by his wife, the Librarian, along with the Promethean Knights. The Didact was later accidentally released by John-117, and subsequently led the Knights (and the Storm Covenant) in an assault on Earth, in an attempt to deny humanity the “mantle”. Ultimately, he failed, and by the 27th century the Knights had been deemed wiped out. This has not stopped some from theorizing that the Didact or other Promethean Knights may have survived and become involved with the Necros in some way; despite the fact there is little proof of this, if any at all.

Labyrinth
Constructed by an enigmatic Forerunner known only as The Architect, the Labyrinth Array was evidently a mystery even to the Forerunner Ecumene. While there are some signs that the Labyrinth was somehow connected to Ecumene installations – such as Labyrinth Beacon facilities containing navigational data on the Halo rings and a number of Shield Worlds, as well as some Shield Worlds also being identified as Labyrinth installations – The Guardians have little to no knowledge on them. What little is known of the Labyrinth Array is that it was used by the Architect to transport some sapient species (or at the very least humans) to the Patrian Galaxy to escape the firing of the Halo Array – thereby making him responsible for the foundation of the Paladins and the Sovereigns.

The Guardians
A group of highly advanced Forerunner AIs, the Guardians were apparently left behind by their makers to aid humanity in assuming the Mantle of Responsibility. However, other than convincing the Seekers of the Holy Oracles to align themselves with Thel ‘Vadam and his fledgling United Sangheili Republic, the Guardians have largely operated in secret. It’s therefore difficult to discern how much influence the faction has had on galactic politics.

The Necros
A seemingly never-ending swarm of robotic constructs and cyborgs, the Necros remains an enigma to the galaxy, despite having waged war on it for years. Some believe they were created by the Forerunners – either as a failed anti-Flood weapon, or as an offshoot of the Guardians (something the Guardians have officially denied). Others have brought forth the hypothesis that they were constructed by the Sovereigns or Didact’s Prometheans. Still others theorize that they are not Forerunner constructs at all, but merely started out as a robotic species that discovered Forerunner technology and incorporated it into their own like the Covenant did. The only thing known for certain is that they wish to assimilate the AUS civilizations – and that they have already done this to a number of species, as attested to by the Enclave.

Machina factions
Despite the intimidating appearances of many of their cybernetic bodies (referred to as “frames”), the Machina turned out to be a largely peaceful species, quickly establishing friendly relations with the Unified Earth Government and the United Sangheili Republic. Ever since their discovery, they have remained a stalwart member of the Alliance of United Species – a fact which only became more complicated during the Necros War, when a sizeable movement of Necros Sympathizers arose, resulting in a civil war. Coupled with certain pieces of uncovered Forerunner history, the Machina connection to the Necros implies a connection to the Forerunners as well – some believe the Machina may actually be heavily mutated survivors of the Forerunner species, while others merely believe the Forerunners put a species-wide geas on the Machina to subconsciously compel them to aid humanity – however, both theories have thus far been officially dismissed as outlandish conspiracy theories.

Plainsfier Clans
In ages past, the Plainsfier Clans found themselves at war with the Covenant. Unlike the species the Covenant had previously encountered, the Plainsfierians refused to submit despite the fact it was clear from the beginning that they would lose the war. Ultimately, the Covenant simply decided to annihilate the Plainsfierians entirely for their insolence. When defeat was imminent, the Plainsfier Clans enacted a desperate plan to save their species – using their shapeshifting abilities to infiltrate the Covenant. As their homeworlds were destroyed, the Plainsfierians lived on, posing as members of the various Covenant species. The Plainsfierians only allowed themselves to be discovered again after the Great Schism, taking the opportunity to secede from the Covenant and to claim a few distant colonies in the hope of rebuilding their civilization. After some tense negotiations with the AUS (mostly because of the involvement of the USR), the Plainsfierians ended up joining it, in return receiving some aid in reconstruction efforts as reparation for the Covenant’s attempted genocide of the species. Ever since, the Plainsfier Clans have been small, but valuable allies to the other AUS species, playing a major part in destroying the Covenant of Deliverance and in combatting the Necros.