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This fanfiction article, DT 2022: Ukase ONI Addendum, was written by Distant Tide. Please do not edit this fiction without the writer's permission. |
The Office of Naval Intelligence underassessed the capability of Atriox and the Banished in the Human-Covenant War era. They began as a far-rim and marginal frontline threat to the Covenant interior well away from loyalist subjects on Dosiac and other upstart Jiralhanae colonies. The retreat of the San'Shyuum in leading conflicts during the Sangheili-appended 'Blooding Years' instilled doubts among Jiralhanae ranks that open opportunity for Atriox to gain unprecedented favor quickly.
By 2558, the Banished attracted more than one thousand Dosiac clans to their banners and gained control of several sizable continents. Interrupted observation missed the command Atriox had over Dosiac from 2559 onward along with the destruction of Dosiac by Guardian Custodes. Their homeworld's destruction and claim to having defeated the Created has further rallied distant Jiralhanae factions to the continued Banished cause despite reports of Atriox and Escharum's demise. Further recruitment numbers with former Covenant client species reveals growth rates unmatched since the Great Schism and the rise of Sanghelios's Arbiter, Thel 'Vadum.
The current ukase put forth by Escharum regarding humanity's destruction even before his death seems to resonate in former Covenant space. The once upstart and unwelcome Jiralhanae are now seen as galactic champions and humanity a threat too great to once again ignore. The potential for a second Human-Covenant War has reached its highest point in a decade. Unlike the last great conflict, none of the critical advantages humanity once had remain. The former Covenant have matched or reduced our technological and strategic edges in the post-Covenant era and the short two years of Created reign, the latter period having destabilized human centralization more than the former Covenant.