Revenant Era

This fanfiction article, Revenant Era, was written by Ajax 013. Please do not edit this fiction without the writer's permission.

"When the great war ended, we thought we had peace. Instead, we got a new war, a different kind of war. At least back then, you knew who our enemy was, but now? Who knows. Its not an easy time to be a soldier, that's for sure."

―Anonymous UNSC Serviceman

The Revenant Era is a time of uncertainty and confusion taking place in the aftermath of the Great War.

Introduction

When the Great War ended, humanity breathed a sigh of relief. After a quarter of a century of alien aggression, at last the war was at an end. However, peace does not come so easily. At the edges of human space, rebellion has been brewing, and a civil war postponed by alien intervention is now again bubbling to the surface. Political and cultural tensions burn to the surface, and while much of human space are experiencing a technological renaissance, those living in the outer colonies are experiencing strife and hardship, many resorting to covert or open rebellion to see their aims made true.

The war's end has not been great for the Covenant either. The Schism didn't just sunder the Covenant races apart, but devastated their culture, their religion, and even their purpose. Now lost and wavering, civil war affects the length and breadth of former Covenant space. The Sangheili have emerged from a bloodied civil war, their worlds united under the Republic, and at least taking unsteady feet to being a galactic power again, while on the other side of Covenant space, the Jiralhanae have formed a central government, an alliance of tribes and chieftains, dedicated to protecting their own interests. Somewhere in the middle, the Kig-Yar have laid the foundations of their Union, though many have resorted to piracy rather than honest work. Across the territories, smaller empires emerge, using the confusion to cement their place in the galaxy, and squabble amongst one another for petty resources. Even the Covenant Fringe have cemented themselves into a powerful alliance, a rising force that cannot be dismissed easily.

Out in the darkness, forgotten enemies stir. The Covenant remnant, a lost allegiance of Jiralhanae and San'Shyuum, plot and formulate, gathering strength, strength enough to take back what was theirs, and continue the Covenant's holy quest. Elsewhere, more pragmatic forces under the banner of Jul 'Mdama continue the Covenant's work in their own way, searching for scraps of Forerunner technology, and attempting to awaken sleeping gods, in the hope of gaining enough power to take back their homeworld, and destroy their human foes. Amidst the ashes, shadowy forces seek to enforce their will and take power, to create a new empire. To complicate matters, ancient Forerunner constructs, asleep for millenia, have begun to stir, these A.I.s throwing their lot behind one force or another.

New races are being discovered and contacted on a regular basis, like the cybernetic Machina, the illusive Plainsferians and the disciplined Vorenus, as well as the shadowy Sarekiim and the barbarous Abhorred. And out in the darkness, ancient evil stirs, biding its time.

Now is an age of confusion and chaos, subterfuge and strife. The cataclysmic battles of the Great War are gone, and battles are instead fought with shadowy operatives and proxy wars. Now is the age of the Revenant.

Factions

United Earth Government

The United Earth Government is the central government for humanity, and their representative on the galactic stage. The Earth Government is a collection of nation states, not just from Earth, but from the majority of human worlds. Following the war, the UEG has been devastated, with dozens of worlds burned to ash, and is now in the long process of rebuilding. The UEG has since began to expand their borders, coming into contact with new alien races for trade and exchanges. Contact with the Covenant has forced massive changes in the political and social areas of the UEG, and has prompted a speed of scientific advancement not seen since the second renaissance.

The United Nations Space Command is the military branch of the UEG, concerned with exploration, colonisation, military operations, intelligence gathering and disaster relief. Growing in size, technological capacity and skill, the UNSC was once considered largely inferior to the Covenant, but changes in technology has put them on even ground. The UNSC is considered to have some of the finest strategists in known space. Their growing corps of augmented super soldiers are considered a skilled and deadly force.

The UEG is currently facing a period of unrest, as a number of outer colonies are divided by internal conflict, and a number of other worlds attempt to secede from the UEG. Out in the neutral territories, dozens, if not hundreds of worlds have been set up illegally as bootrstrap colonies, free from government oversight, but vulnerable to raids by pirates and slavers.

Sangheili Republic

Rising from the ashes of the Covenant, the Sangheili have at last ended civil strife on their home world, and brought peace to the divided colonies. Expanding in size and power, the Republic has spread its influence far and wide, attempting to exert control, or a degree of control, over the former Covenant. In the aftermath of the Schism, the Sangheili were left disadvantaged by losses in numbers and technology, and have had to claw their way back to the top, reclaiming knowledge lost to their people. Now they have returned to power, they, together with the UEG, form a bulwark of order against an increasingly unstable galaxy.

The Republic's military is not just a a occupation, its a part of their society, and service, in some form or another, is expected. Huge in numbers, it is largely equipped with pre-war gear and technology. However, as the Republic grows in strength and aptitude, it has begun devising new technologies and weapons for their warriors, giving an ever increasingly advanced army.

The Republic has ruthlessly stamped out internal dissent, putting down would-be warlords and Covenant sympathisers. They manage an extended network of Protectorates, small colonies in their sphere of influence. This includes the Unggoy homeworld Balaho, and the Lekgolo's homeworld, Te, as well as a handful of human, Kig-Yar and even a Jiralhanae world.

Jiralhanae Alliance

Jiralhanae space has been united in a tenuous alliance, allying the home world Doisac and their numerous colonies. The alliance is in actually a innumerable collection of pacts, family alliances and ancient blood ties, that maintain the peace. At the head of this are the High Chieftains, Gaius and Marius, who delegate to the lower Chieftains. This Arrangement keeps conflict relegated to small internal conflicts, usually organised as battles between Clans for power.

The Jiralhanae Alliance maintains a non-aggression pact with both the Republic and the UEG, usually relegating themselves to their own sphere of influence. However, recent expansion by Clans into the neutral territories, and peaceful relations with the Remnant and Pirates, have resulted in recent sanctions. Many Clans actively engage in piracy and slavery in the neutral territories, attacking neutral worlds and carrying off anything or anyone of value.

The Alliance has a centralized military, in the form of the Clans and Tribes directly under the control of the High Chieftains. However, for most military operations, they delegate to the Chieftains and their clans, tasking them with internal regulation, and border defence, often with some incentive for reward.

Kig-Yar Union

The Kig-Yar Union is a loose term for a large area of space ruled by a collection of Kig-Yar clans. The truth is, they have no centralized government, but instead function as a collection of smaller nation states, usually at a state of peace with one another. Alliances of clans, brokered from trade agreements, form their government, with a steady alliance ruling the home worlds, while further territories are ruled on the policy of 'might makes right' with the strongest ruling over the weaker clans.

Union Territory can be adequately described as one of the most criminally active areas in the galaxy. In the Union, slave trading is legal, and most clans involve in illegal activity as a business, such as smuggling, drug trafficking, mercenary work, racketeering and production of contraband. To this end, most governments refuse to acknowledge them as a single governmental group. The only trade they stay out of is piracy, though they are more than willing to trade with them.

Most clans care for their own defence,funding small fleets and armies, mostly dedicated to inter-clan fighting or fending off piracy. To this end, there's few ships larger than CCS-class Battlecruisers, and most infantry fight in a mixture of old gear.

Kig-Yar Pirates

At the edges of Union, Covenant and Neutral territories is a independent group, generally referred to as 'Kig-Yar Pirates', though the truth is the group is in no way unified. A collection of Pirate clans, they specialize in all the illegal trade of the Clans in the Union, but, as their name suggests, they engage in piratical activities, actively raiding shipping lanes and colonies. The leaders of these groups are referred to as Princes, and while they do indeed have a throne for a Pirate King, it remains vacant. Few have the power or influence to unite the Pirate clans, but should somebody one day manage it, they will be a force to be recognised. Pirate clans actively attack targets in Jiralhanae, Union, Republic, UEG and neutral space, and have been known to sell their services to the Covenant.

The Pirate clans differ from their Union cousins in that they are very well armed, usually picking speed over fire power, and have a variety of starships, spacecraft, armoured vehicles and weapons. Usually arranged by crew and by ship, pirate clans have little in terms of regimented discipline during combat, but make up for it with guile and cunning.

The Pirate clans rely on secrecy and diversion to operate. Few operate from a fixed base, and those that do have them so remote or well hidden that it is impossible to catch them. Using this to evade detection, they strike at undefended targets, rather than at military strong points, and slip away before retribution can find them. They are otherwise beset on all sides by those they target, and infighting among Clans, and even within Clans, is common.

Timeline

• 2553
  • Dr. Ruth Charet gives her inaugural address after her election as President of the Unified Earth Government.
  • The first class of the SPARTAN-IV program, consisting of 145 volunteers, is initiated.
• The New Colonial Alliance make themselves known, attacking the UNSC and attempting to steal the the UNSC Infinity
  • The black ops unit Kilo-Five is formed to exasperate the growing civil war on Sanghelios.
  • The UNSC Security Council begins the reconstruction of the colonies. Diplomatic missions are sent to the colonies to aid in the reconstruction.
  • Several notable officers discuss the creation of the Spartan branch.

• February
  • Lord Terrence Hood arrives at Sanghelios to meet with Thel 'Vadam to formalize a treaty of peace between the humans and the Sangheili. Hood also invites Thel to attend the memorial ceremony dedicated to those who died during the war.
• The Spartans are trapped within Onyx are freed, though ONI takes Dr. Catherine Halsey into their custody. ONI dispatches follow up science teams to examine the station.
• Jul 'Mdama is captured by Kilo-Five and placed in ONI custody.

• March
  • In a ceremony presided over by Lord Hood, a memorial is erected near Mount Kilimanjaro to officially mark the end of the Great War, and in remembrance of those who gave their lives in the war. A three gun salute is given for the fallen, and it is attended by Sangheili digniatries including Thel 'Vadam. Spartans from Blue and Crimson team, as well as the so-called 'Leonidians' attend the ceremony.
  • Kilo-Five moves their operations to Venezia to investigate growing Insurrectionist forces.
  • Jiralhanae servants carry out terrorist attacks in the Ontom region of Sanghelios, result in the death of dozens of Sangheili.
  • The Sangheili Civil War begins with the Servants of Abiding Truth attacking the Swords of Sanghelios. ONI and the UNSC Navy intervene on behalf of both sides, unknown to each other.
• Jul 'Mdama escapes captivity and makes it to Hesduros. Here, he uses the religious beliefs of the people to form the Storm Covenant and begin his insurgency against the Arbiter.

• April
  • Kilo-Five begin to hunt for Kig-Yar pirate Sav Fel and Insurrectionist Steffan Sentzke, in the process interrupting his acquisition of a CCS-class Battlecruiser and revealing the fate of his daughter. In the ensuing chaos, the ship is destroyed and Sentzke is presumed dead.

• November
  • The UEG begins making investment in the recolonisation of Reach, the first pioneer groups returning to the devastated world.

2554

• March
  • Jul 'Mdama and his followers find the shield world of Requiem, but are unable to gain entrance. They blockade the entrance and wait for several years.
  • Storm Covenant officer Merg Vol attacks Draetheus V in order to seize a Forerunner weapon. The battle results in mutual destruction and the lose of the weapon.
• April
  • The Swords of Sanghelios investigate the activity of the Storm Covenant, and in the resulting engagement the Shadow of Intent is badly damaged.

2556

• February
  • An agent of the Storm Covenant commits a terrorist attack the outer colony of Sedra.

• November
  • The Shadow of Intent returns to active duty, conducting pacification missions against rebels.

2557

• February 2
  • Shadow of Intent leaves the Urs system for a diplomatic mission in former Covenant territory.
  • UNSC Infinity is commissioned into service.

• May
  • The Shadow of Intent participates in naval exercises with the UNSC Navy in the Joint Occupation Zone. After this the ship is tasked with the protection of Sanghelios and Sangheili colonies.

• June
  • The UNSC Rubicon arrives at the ruins of Installation 00 and deploys several teams to the Ark's surface. After a week, it loses contact with most of the ground teams, and the last one returns the wreckage of 343 Guilty Spark. The A.I. recounts it's story then seizes the ship and holds the crew prisoner.

• July
  • Having waited for three years, the Storm Covenant finally gain access to the Requiem when the wreckage of the Forward Unto Dawn drifts close to it. The resulting action results in the Dawn, and many Covenant ships, being pulled into the gravity well.
  • In the days following the landing, the Didact is released from his prison, assuming command of the Covenant Remnant and his own Prometheans. The UNSC Infinity is pulled into Requiem, with the Didact seeking to take the information held aboard. With information from the Librarian, and help from the officers aboard, Spartan-117 pursues the Didact to Installation 03.
  • The Didact seizes the Composer device, and then sets course for Earth. During his attack, the population of New Phoenix is composed. The Mantle's Approach, the Didact's fortress ship, is destroyed in the attack, and the Didact is sent to Gamma Halo. During the battle, the degrading A.I. Cortana is destroyed.
  • The Didact kills Black team and seizes several Composers, and Gamma halo, intending to continue his geoncidal war against humanity
  • Blue team is deployed to stop the Didact, destroying him and Gamma halo in the process.

2558

• February
  • Sangheili terrorist, Gek 'Lhar, escapes ONI detainment.
  • The UNSC Infinity returns to Requiem, punching a hole in the Storm blockade and landing significant forces.
  • UNSC Marine, Army, Navy and Spartan forces engage the Storm Covenant in a series of escalating battles on Requiem, seizing Forerunner artefacts and positions from one another. After trapping the UNSC Infinity with a Forerunner device, and apparently killing Chief Engineer Glassman, the UNSC is forced to bring Dr. Halsey in to consult.
• Halsey is abducted by Covenant forces, and 'Mdama closes his trap, planning to destroy the Infinity and Requiem. Doctor Glassman is rescued in return, and both the Storm Covenant and the UNSC discover (And take into position one half of) the Janus Key, a item that maps the real-time position of Forerunner artefacts. The Infinity narrowly escapes the destruction of Requeim. The resulting battle has taken a significant toll on the Storm Covenant in terms of numbers and materiel, with lieutenants Parg Vol and Gek 'Lkar killed and several ships destroyed. The UNSC escapes relatively unscathed, though the lose of Halsey is a significant failing.

• March
  • The UNSC Infinity is used as the UNSC's escort for the diplomatic meetings on Ealen IV. Meetings between Lord Hood, Thel 'Vadam, and Chieftain Lydus are interrupted by attacks from mercenary Vata 'Gajat.
• UNSC traitors within the Spartan program are revealed, and the delegation narrowly evades an ambush. The UNSC begins and internal investigation, kick starting the beginning of the end of the Spartan branch.
  • Investigating the attacks on Ealen IV, the UNSC is ambushed by NCA forces utilising a Covenant defensive station, almost destroying the Infinity. Vata 'Gajat is apparently killed and the NCA commander and architect of the ambush, Daniel Clayton, is taken captive.

• May
  • UNSC intelligence reveals the creation of a bioweapon on the neutral world of Ven III, prompting the deployment of Spartan forces.
  • The following investigation reveals a sizeable Kig-Yar pirate presence, and their illegal activities in the neutral territories. In response, the Infinity destroys the pirate enclave and fleet. The bioweapon is a ruse by ONI to orchestrate this attack and remove the pirate threat.

• July
  • The world of Oban is attacked by Storm Covenant forces, luring the UNSC closer to them, as part of Jul 'Mdama's plan against them.

• October: Commander Jameson Locke is deployed to Sanghelios to share intelligence with Thel 'Vadam, mostly concerning Spartan-117. He and his team conduct several joint exercises, assisting the Swords of Sanghelios in the field.

2566

• 2567
• 2568
• 2569
• 2570
• 2571
• 2572
• 2573
• 2574
• 2575
• 2576
• 2577
• 2578
• 2579
• 2580
• 2581
• 2582
• 2583
• 2584
• 2585
• 2586
• 2587
• 2588
• 2589
• 2590

Major Events

• Sangheili Civil War
• Didact Crisis
• Rise of the Republic
• Remnant War
• Storm Insurgency
• Founding of the Hegemony
• Wolfbane Crisis
• War of the Triumvirate