Chapter 85

5 Years later 2544 May 16th

Since the reorg of the government in 2539 and Axel being chosen as the first Lord Protector, life for everybody continued to improve. Representation of the colonies in the Senate ensured that no future insurrectionists groups could rise up and offered every single person no matter where they were a voice within the senate.

New positions were created to fill in many roles within the new government and expand its area of control to all colonies. Debates were a common thing within the senate which allowed for a greater diversity of thought and deliberation, resulting in progressive policies that catered to the needs of both core and outer colonies.

The framework of the Senate, while streamlined to ensure efficiency, was designed with checks and balances to prevent any single body from yielding too much power.

Economically the UHE was doing very well. Every planet besides newly established colony world or low populated worlds had orbital stations constructed in orbit of the planet. The station would be used as both a defensive station during times of conflict and a trade station.

(Orbital Station)

A new Orbital defense platform was created to replace the old Orbital defense station which had been in service for over a decade now. The new Orbital defense platform would be powered by Vacuum energy and fire pulse rounds directly at Covenant ships.

(Orbital defense Platform)

The UNSC fleet has successfully been retrofitted as the old ships have now been replaced completely by the new generation ships that are powered with Vacuum energy cores, equipped with the latest Autocannons, MAC cannons, and Ion cannons.

In addition, various other ships including new support ships equipped with small Assemblers to support ground troops and new transport ships designed to carry thousands of troops.

(Support Ship)

(Transport ship)

They had improved plating, equipped with strengthened alloys for enhanced resiliency against enemy fire, and were equipped with the latest energy shield technology.

The number of ships that were within the UNSC was now well over 1000 ships. The Large Assemblers had proved extremely crucial in constructing ships, allowing the UNSC to expand its fleets across the colonies.

New research bases were set up on the newly discovered rings utilizing the maps that Guilty Spark had shown Axel. The last location which was discovered was the Ark or Installation 00. Axel had personally visited Installation 00 as it was the main control system for the Halo Array.

While there he met with the Installations Monitor known as 000 Tragic Solitude. Tragic Solitude had welcomed the Reclaimers and helped them during their months of research on the Installation. A massive research and military base were constructed on the Ark and exploration teams were sent out to explore it.

With all the Installations containing a research base, the Flood containment facilities were eventually discovered on Installation 05. While it would provide a lot of research into the Flood, Axel listed the facility as a restricted area and established security measures to ensure that no one would approach the facility.

In Axel's eyes the Flood were contained for now and would not have a chance to return as long as they remained careful when discovering Forerunner ruins and facilities. The Flood would have no chance of spreading with these measures in place.

Speaking of the Flood, the Shield World Trove, which was overrun by the Flood on the surface, was turned into a training ground of sorts. UNSC forces had secured a large area and established a massive base which would be utilized to train new recruits and test weapons on the Flood.

The main reason for this was to clear the surface of the Shield World of the Flood. Numerous security measures were taken to ensure that the Flood were contained and didn't gain access to any UNSC ship to attempt to fly away and spread to other planets.

On 2544 February 25th it was also found that the Covenant had discovered the location of a few Shield Worlds and had established bases on them. While this is a problem, Axel wasn't worried about it since they needed a human or more specifically a human who could activate Forerunner technology.

They didn't have any captive humans in their possession so they couldn't access the Shield world nor the knowledge it contained. Still Axel started conducting operations to monitor the Covenant's activity on Shield Worlds that they had discovered. He wanted to gather crucial intelligence on the Covenants movements and plans.

A specialized team of soldiers, scientists and specialists codenamed Guardian Owl was established for this purpose. They would monitor the Covenant's activities and collect information on them.

Alongside surveillance efforts, Axel bolstered the defensive capabilities of the colonies. New ICTS (Inter-Colonial Transport System) routes were introduced to ensure faster mobilization of troops and supplies in case of emergency. A series of space anchor points were established throughout the colonies for rapid ship deployment.

The shipyards on Mars and Callisto were expanded increasing the production of ships. Further research into vacuum energy cores bore significant results with improvements in fuel efficiency and power output. These advancements were applied to both civilian and military vessels enhancing their speed, range and overall performance.

Closer to home, Axel placed great emphasis on societal development as well. Education initiatives were undertaken on every colony world, ensuring every citizen had access to quality education. Healthcare systems were standardized across all colonies providing free healthcare services to everyone.

Miranda had graduated Highschool in 2541 at the age of 16 and was accepted into pre-enlistment training at the Luna OCS Academy. Axel was present for her graduation and was proud of her as a father. She not only graduated at 16 but she was also the 2nd youngest to be accepted into the academy's pre-enlistment training.

Arthur and Andrew were 5 years old and had grown up to be quick-witted and adventurous boys. They had travelled with Axel most of the time whenever he left the Earth. They never got tired of travelling through space as there was always something to explore.

Whenever Axel wasn't around to teach them the mini MCU which he had changed to match their age had taught them things that they needed to know. It was designed to adapt to their developmental needs and had become an essential part of their learning process.

The UHE was getting more advanced, and the population growth was at an all-time high. Axel had created the Civilian enhancements which increased the lifespan and overall health of the population. It was created utilizing integrated non-invasive biomechanical improvements that could be implanted into any human no matter their age.

The enhancements were initially met with skepticism but as their benefits began to show, improved physical strength, heightened senses, increased cognitive abilities, they were widely accepted and incorporated.

Amidst all this growth and development, there were a few looming threats that Axel was keeping an eye on, mainly the Covenant. While they hadn't made any overtly hostile moves yet, Axel knew it would only be a matter of time before they did. In the meantime, he would continue the development of the UHE.

Meanwhile on the Covenant Capital High Charity, the Prophet's had gathered in their council chamber to discuss why their inability to use Forerunner technology.

The enormous chamber was a reverent hush as Hierarchs Truth, Mercy, and Regret convened in their floating thrones. The air sparkled around them as holographic displays projected the known Shield Worlds and other Forerunner artifacts acquired by the Covenant forces.

"Why is it that we can't access these Worlds?" asked Truth.

"Are we not the chosen ones, blessed by the gods to inherit their divine riches?" Mercy said in frustration.

Regret broke his silence, his eyes focused on the holographic displays floating above them. "It is not our divine right that is in question here, it is the means," he said. "We lack something... necessary."

The Prophet of Truth turned a stern gaze towards Regret. "And what might that be? What does the human heretic possess that we do not?"

"A mystery. One that we must unravel quickly," Regret replied, countering Truth's sneer with a determined glare.

"They first utilized the technology on that Vault located on one of the outer colony worlds and they didn't have those Forerunner ships in the beginning so they must have found the" Stated Truth.

"Means to activate them," Mercy chimed in. "Yes, but they seem to be always a step ahead. Perhaps it is time we diverted our focus from acquiring Forerunner relics themselves, to understanding how humans can use them."

"A wise proposition," Truth acknowledged, his gaze intently studying the holographic displays. "We need to gain more knowledge about these humans. We need to know their secrets, their weaknesses."

"But what if the Forerunners have chosen the humans over us for some unfathomable reason... Or perhaps..." Regret trailed off, deep in thought.

Truth turned to him sharply, "Or perhaps what?"

"Perhaps it is not choosing sides, rather recognizing a certain... compatibility," Regret suggested hesitantly.

"The legends speak of Reclaimers," Mercy murmured thoughtfully. "Could it be?"

"Enough of your superstitions, Mercy!" Truth snapped. "We must focus on facts, not tales from ancient times."

The room grew quiet as Mercy's words had caused them to go into deep thought about things. If what he said was true, then their entire society would collapse if the information got out.

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A/N: Other new creations not mentioned in the Chapter

-New ODST Armor

-Axel's new Personal Armor which is made out of Nanotechnology and can be equipped at anytime utilizing the Nanotechnology similar to Iron mans Nano suit.