Halo Seven The Phoenix. The Dearth.

[Dr_Tom_E_Gunn]

Hey guys. I am writing this and want some Halo fans eyes on it. If you have any other ideas let me know. And if I screw up the lore to much then…let me know. You can find the original story here: HALO. My vision for the Halo Video Game… | by iGameOutLoud | Medium

HALO SEVEN
The Phoenix. The Dearth.

Disclosure: This is my idea of what direction the next trilogy in the Xbox Halo series would go if I was the writer. This is more of a high level overview with Spoilers!! Alert!! Also deep knowledge of the Halo lore will help understand. You need more then the knowledge of the current 4 games to understand everything I write but you may still get the gist.

First we do not know what will happen in the next two story arcs of the Halo Series. We do not know what role Agent Locke or John-117 plays in Halo 5 and even Halo 6. So I am making some pretty big assumptions and adding my own flare. The events of my plot will happen 200 years after the events of Halo 6. We are now in the Placidity Age. No wars or major conflicts have occured in 107 years. Forerunners are gone and humans control any and all technology they left behind which leads to extreme advances in everything we do. This is our Universes golden age. Welp!! Here we go!!

The Major Players

Cortana is not dead. She is the human races heroine and our greatest A.I.,. Some will argue that Master Chief is our hero and savior but I lean more toward Cortana. Remember Chief was about to listen to 343 guilty spark and start the original halo ring until Cortana stopped him. He was the brawn but she was with out a doubt the brains of the outfit. So in my book she is still alive.

Yes most A.I. start to go rampant after 7 years in the Halo Universe and literally think their selves to death but she also entered the Didacts system and connected to the Domain. This helped her beat rampancy. The combined programming skills of humans and forerunners mixing together made her a super A.I. As emotional and fragile as any human but smarter on a level neither forerunner or human could comprehend… She did not die from that explosion she found someway to survive. She found a way to enter the domain and end up on a different shield world/ring.

Where is Chief during all of this. Well Spartan 117 is dead. From old age. After all he was a human under all of that Spartan Mjolnir armor. But we being the inheritors of the Mantle of Responsiblity have figured out a way to store and clone the gaes within John-117 and create more of him. The process is not perfect so the clones have some genetic differences. We are not forerunner lifeworkers at this point so we have not mastered all of their techniques. Thus the clone may not be as tall as the original or the voice may be different or the hair and eye colors do not match but we have created the closest copy of him as we could. And we made millions of him. They are our soldiers and policemen. They are the Marines and Navy. They are on the frontlines fighting the good fight of any skirmish Humans enter. The human race have accepted him into this roll and it is not looked upon as negative to have clones in this century as it was during the first Human-Covenant war.

Speaking of the Covenant. No longer believing in the great journey, the glue of their bond which was their religious beliefs, they have now been replaced it with something else. Something more like purpose or what the Covenant call the “Life Egress Serenity”. With humans holding the Mantle of Responsibility the alien races of the Covenant had to seek out their purpose in the universe. They believe they have found it. They seek out other species in the universe to join the Covenant as they will all follow the Humans into the golden age of the Universe. All Covenant races live among us freely. Not totally in peace as a few skirmishes between Covenant races or even humans happen rarely but as close to peace and prosperity as possible. No longer hunted by the Flood or in war with Humans. They are the gathers of species throughout the universe and the ambassadors of Life Egress Serenity. No longer a militarize society some races such as the Sangheili (Elites) have become fully devoted to the movement while others like the Jiralhanae (Brutes) have left the Covenant and the Human territories completely.

Now that we have the major players out the way we can discuss some of the events that happens during the Placidity Age. Since I am talking about a video game I guess each event can be playable chapters in the game.

Prologue

“Is this the secret you have kept from me? This… evolved ancilla?” — The Didact on Cortana

On the far out skirts of the current Human territories a Life Egress Serenity (LES) Emissary of unknown name and his coven are visiting a new planet they located on their trip to spread the word of the new Golden Age. One that is unfamiliar to them as they were not even in existence but to the game player we will recognize immediately, a new shield world. This one is a little different then the planet Requiem we saw in Halo 4 because the shield is made of some form of unknown energy instead of a metal like material. As the Emissary approaches this new world they hear a voice that is all to familiar to the game player but at the same time more mature and confident. The Emissary reacts as the voice gets louder in the hull of his ship and his coven stops in its tracks. The voice coming through the speaker is that of Cortana! She is advising the Emissary that she is providing safe passage and will control the ships approach from now on. She shows up in the emissary’s holo deck looking more like an angel from the bible then the Cortana we are use to. She has what we would call wings but made more out of an digital material that flows all the way to her feet. She is now a golden color and not the blue that we are use to seeing. This is not the same A.I. that lead chief through his many adventures. This is a new construct that we as the gamers are familiar and foreign to at the same time. The Emissary starts shouting a song of praise that all races in the LES know. It is of a unified language that was developed to give all of the LES races a form of communication. Ironically its a mix of english and Sangheili which cortana knows both fluently but oddly she sits quietly while the song is sung. First by the Emissary then his coven. Cortana of old would have said at least 5 little facts about the speech patterns, dialects and where the emissary was from but this new Cortana bathes in the harmonies. She feels each stanza with the passon of a composer. Not rushing from process to process but she is actually enjoying the song. As the ship moves closer to the new shield world the planet grows brighter. Some would say its like walking into the bright light of Heaven. But suddenly the world changes color and the ship abruptly comes to a hault. Cortana looks up in shock. She changes colors from Blue to Gold to White to Red then she quietly says “John”!

You will find chapter 1 here:HALO. My vision for the Halo Video Game… | by iGameOutLoud | Medium

[Dr_Tom_E_Gunn]

Chapter 1

“We make our own luck”-John-117 in Halo Legends: The Package

It is Dusk and the city is busy. Merchants and pedestrians of all races are back and fourth in the daily dance of buy and sell. The planets third sun is rising giving a blue overtone to the streets. The other two suns, a class K star and class M star, are massive but this class B white dwarf shines brightest. They are on the planet Atilla which is the largest in the human colonies. Much like Earth in composition but the size of three jupiters. Jon, a Delta ranked police officer, cruses his ghost down a long 20 lane highway. Gamers will instantly recognize the shape of the vehicle but the paint job is in the typical black and white with red/blue lights. Looking through Jon’s Heads Up Display (HUD), which looks like the typical Halo HUD, you see a call in the form of an hologram Avatar appear in front of you on the dash of your ghost. It is your best friend Keela currently responding to a disturbance and requesting assistance. She says she is in the next quadrant chasing some Kig-Yar (Jackals) off from attacking an Unggoy (Grunt) who almost bumped into their game of Qwkit-No. Qwkit-No is a mixture of chess and craps played on a board the size of a kitchen table. The game is typically played for large sums of money and is taken seriously by the Kig-Yar. Keela is saying that more Kig-Yar are showing up and some have illegal plasma weapons. Jon quickly jets his ghost vertically to 200 feet. Spots the quadrant in his HUD and begins his descent towards the area Keela called from. During the descent Jon’s A.I., who calls his self Bubba, appears on his ghost’s center console. Bubba looks like a Jiralhannae (Brute) in a spaghetti western. With a long country draw he tells Jon that 90% of the time a descending ghost from that height, moving that fast, at that angle ends up crash landing with the pilot killed. Jon does not say a word and just grunts. With the skill of a spartan soldier Jon lands the ghost with it skidding across the courtyard. The disturbance Keela called Jon about has now turned into an all out firefight. As the ghost is coming to an halt. Jon pulls out his M6K pistol, initiates smart link, and flips off of the ghost onto his feet. The gamer at this time can be taken into a brief firefight/tutorial that explains the mechanics of the game.

Once the firefight is over, Keela and Jon is by the Qwkit-No table discussing what happened. Jon jokes that it must have been a serious game. Keela responds by saying, “I don’t think it was just a game,”. She references the way the Qwkit-No pieces are setup on the board. She says, “That is not how you play the game.”. Bubba now pops up via the players HUD in a life size holographic display beamed from the top of his helmet. At the same time Keela’s A.I., Charles, appears as well. Charles looks like an older bald headed man in a wheelchair. Some would say he looks like Charles Xavier from X-men. Bubba and Charles sits quietly for 5 seconds and for an A.I. that is a long time. But when they each speak they are direct and to the point. No joking but all business. Bubba speaks first, “Jon we have to leave now!”. Charles says, “I concur.”. Jon who trusts Bubba explicidly moves immediately and Keela knows to the do the same. Jon runs to his ghost and Keela hops aboard with him. While they are starting the ghost. Charles explains that the pieces on the board was in the shape of the forerunner word JiJhogana which translate into the word schism. And that the game board was really a map of Danko, an large residential area in the northern section of the city. Bubba pulls up a map on Jon’s HUD and leads everybody to the location on the map. This trip can be used as a ghost tutorial!

On the way to the location Bubba and Charles explains that the last time the forerunners used that word was during the ancient war with the Flood. When the Builders and the Lifeworkers started down the path of decension within the Forerunner society. When the ideals of the Mantle started to move away from the Prometheans. Seeing that sign from some low level Kig-Yar means something big is going down right under their nose. And right on queue a bright white light in the sky over Danko appears. Looks like a slipspace portal but it has no affect on the surrounding area. No gravity like pull or destructive bubble of anti matter. It was calm and peaceful. Out the portal slips the LES emissary’s ship. Simultaneously all the lights in the city shuts down. All the lights except the lights over Danko. Which is directly the section of the city the ship sits above. All vehicles stop moving as if they have lost the power to move. All forms of communication stops. “It’s as if a GOD appeared over the city!”, Keela mummers. Jon says “Bubba, what do you read” “Bubba?” “Bubba respond command 7 delta”. Jon receives no response from Bubba. “Jon have you notice that we are still moving when everything else is not.”, Keela says. At that moment Jon does realize that his HUD is still working and the ghost is still heading towards Danko and they are but 800 meters away from their destination. He also notices that he can see the charge of plasma weapons in the windows and they oddly look like they are pointing at him and Keela! At this moment the gamers ghost will be shot and disabled. Jon advises Keela to go to the station for backup and he will proceed to Danko to check out the disturbance. Jon will fight his way through Unggoy and Kig-Yar and the occasional Sangheili using various weapons from the fight. Mostly plasma and forerunner based weapons.

Jon nears the threshold of Danko and he can see the lights from that section of the city. They look brighter! By this time the emissary’s ship is hovering 500 ft above and Jon gets the strange feeling that it is looking directly at him. He also notices that once he crosses into the lit part of the city there is no more fighting. No more Unggoy or Kig-Yar or Sangheili. Just him with the rest of the pedestrians all looking at him as if they know him. All of them simultaneously pointing towards the emissary’s ship. Jon, in awe at what is happening around him, stops walking. Immediately he hears a voice in his helmet, “John I thought you were dead! It has been centuries since we last talked. How are you doing?”. The voice speaks to John in a friendly and familiar voice. As if she has been talking to him his whole life. Jon answers “Who are you and where are you?”. At that very moment a hologram image of Cortana in vibrant gold shows up in front of John. This time the image is not projected from his helmet. He honestly can not determine how the image is being projected at all. But he does recognize that she is beautiful. Almost angelic with wings that flows all the way down to her feet. She walks up to him slowly and says “It is I….Cortana” “You may not remember me but I remember you!” “You are Master Cheif Spartan 117.” “You are my John!”. Jon fully aware he is a clone says “I am a clone of him. We are all clones of him. None of us are exact replicas and I do not know what you are talking about”. She started to explain that “Even with the millions of cloned copies. One some how found a way to be a 100% exact copy of John. That one special copy is you.”

[Dr_Tom_E_Gunn]

Chapter 2

“Genes and family may determine the foundation of the house, but time and place determine its form.” — Jerome Kagan

ONI ships appear in the sky over Danko. Jon can see red gold orbital drop pods being ejected. Everybody in the known territories knows when the pods are red gold that it is HAVOK ODST team. ONI’s elite team of Spartan V and Sangheili Zealot soldiers. Cortana says to Jon “Hold on. We have a serious fight on our hands!” Jon so shocked that Cortana said the word “fight” begins to step away from her. Why would he fight his brothers he wonders to his self. She looks at Jon and says, “They are not after me John. They are after you! You are the one that will lead the people through the whats to come in the days ahead. Your genetic code is the KEY and they want it for them selves and I am not going to let that happen!” Still confused Jon stopped in his tracks. He stops and remembers the legend of John 117 and Cortana. No one would be here if it was not for them. The Flood would have defeated them all. So even though he is a bit weary he decides to trust Cortana. Jon runs towards her and suddenly the entire city comes to life. All the lights are back on. All vehicles are moving and communications are active. Jon also hears a familiar voice in his head. It is Bubba and he’s repeating “JiJhogana….JiJhogana!” Jon asks, “Bubba its me and I am following Cortana can you scan her?”. Breathing heavily as if he can actually breath air Bubba responds, “Cortana! Where? What are you……Ooooooooh” “I see her via my connection to your optical sensors but I can not see her via any other means at my disposal. Ah wonder!” “Ponder later as I am following her now!”, Jon shouts. The gamer will now follow Cortana towards Zyah of Rain temple. A fairly old building of forerunner origin now used by the Covenant to preach the benefits of the LES. The building is very large and looming in the background. The gamer is running and fighting HAVOC team. The game A.I. should be smart enough that every time one of the members shield pops the NPC should escape. And this is purposeful escape. Not hide behind a crate but leave the fire zone completely and go to a place the gamer can not follow. Also Cortana has the ability to control the city and vehicles and occasionally she uses the City to attack and kill a member of HAVOC team. HAVOC team will show up a few more times in the game. And they will always display the same tactic’s.

Jon and Cortana eventually make it to Zyah of Rain. Jon notices that the writings all over the construct are now glowing Gold. He past this building numerous times on patrol and he has never seen it like this. In short the scene is breathtaking. He also notices that he feels a hum below his feet. The hum feels more like an engine is on. “The temple has been here for ages.”, Jon thinks to his self. When they enter the temple the group of covenant that he fought in the darker area of the city is waiting in ambush. “How did they know we were going to be here!”, he shouts to Cortana. She answers “Because you ARE the KEY John! I will tell you everything when we are out of this area.” Jon fights the group off but in the back of the temple a large humanoid figure stands and walks forward. Jon has seen this silhouette before but never this big. As the creature steps into the light he realize that it is a Mgalekgolo (Hunter). One of the largest he has ever seen in his life. It stands at least 19 to 20 feet tall. It is dressed in what looks like large Sangheili honor guard armor. It also carries a shield that resembles a Mgalekgolo Hunter Class shield but much bigger than normal. In the other he is holding a Gravity Hammer much like the Chieftain of the Jiralhanae but again this weapon is much larger. Cortana says to Jon, “We have to go through him. It is no other way.” For the gamer this would be a “Boss Fight”. The Mgalekgolo Ultra charges and uses the gravity hammer. Shields up when the gamer shoots. Occasionally swinging with the shield when the gamer gets behind him. Only with help from Cortana weak spots open up for the gamer to shoot and defeat the Mgalekgolo Ultra.

After the fight with the Mgalekgolo Ultra, Jon and Cortana, begin to walk to the back of the temple. As Jon steps closer to the back wall a door forms that was never there before. Cortana walks through and Jon follows. When he crosses the threshold the temple begins to shake. Jon looks directly at Cortana and she says to him, “You are the KEY! My John has been the KEY the entire time.” She explains that the temple is really a forerunner relay. The relay was designed to transport the KEY to the Domain Array. This method of transportation was necessary because traveling through slip-space to that location of the universe was even hard for the forerunners. Too many stars die and too many stars are born on the outer perimeter of the Domain Array to travel the typical way through slip-space. The gravitational forces would push the vessels too far off course. She also let him know that the Domain array is in his part of the Galaxy. She found it ironic that he was so close to it. She said that millennia ago the Domain was shut down once the Halo Rings were activated the first time. It was never rebooted and that is their mission, to reboot the Domain Array. Ancient Humans once had access to the Domain and so did the forerunners. The amount of knowledge stored there is vast. Cortana believes that the Precursors still live and they can be found when the system is rebooted! The gamer will see a flash ending that chapter.