Chapter 99

Over the course of the next six months, the remaining Covenant forces were taken into custody as they were abandoned by their fleeing fleets. Worlds that had been lost were now reclaimed and plans were being made to reconstruct the colonies and their defenses.

Upgrades to the current weapons and technology that the UNSC was using were introduced to prepare for the invasion into covenant space.

One of those upgrades was a new complete set of energy weapons as well as an energy sword and combat knife. The energy sword would be given to specialized troops such as Spartans, titan pilots, ODSTs, and other special troops. The Energy combat knife would replace the regular combat knife utilized by the UNSC and give every soldier an equal advantage against the Covenant during a melee fight.

The Autocannons and Ion cannons were also improved in terms of fire rate, damage output, and range. Enhancements to the cooling systems would prevent overheating in the weapons, increasing the duration that the cannons can fire for.

Now like the Covenant ground vehicles, the Research department was able to create a built-in shield device for almost every ground vehicle to better protect the crew inside and increase the vehicles life span on the battlefield.

After training an additional 2 billion recruits over these past six months, the total number of active military personnel in UNSC history reached an unprecedented 3 billion. That number alone would have shocked the UNSC a 3 decades ago as they didn't have the means to even supply such a large number of men and women.

However now that number was nothing compared to the resources that they had right now. It was estimated that the UNSC could maintain a military size of 10 billion soldiers with a navy size of 20,000 ships. This was thanks to the completion of the second star lifter which significantly increased the maximum size of the UNSC.

Axel had also started brand new projects involving the creation of more megastructures which included, orbital rings for planets, Slipspace/warp gates allowing for instant travel between two locations, a massive citadel space station, etc, the list was long and was projected to go into full affect once the war was over.

The total number of ships that the UNSC has in active service had reached 5,000, which came close to the number of ships that the Covenant had. Just like the UNSC, the covenant was also continuing to build up their military even after being pushed out of human space.

Small scale incursions continued to happen throughout the outer colonies and some inner colonies, but none of them were large enough to breach the defenses of the colonies.

The war was far from over, just like the UHE, the covenant was amassing their strength and resources for another invasion. Garrisons were set up on each colony and a UNSC fleet was assigned to defend a designated region of space. The total number of fleets had increased to 20, allowing for multiple battles to be fought in space at once.

Within the 2nd Month, Axel had travelled to New Carthage to activate the Guardian Custode. Once he arrived, Catherine was already waiting for him with Cortana, while Axel had brought Omni.

Utilizing the two of them he would be able to activate the Guardian Custode and bring it under their control. Once he arrived in front of the Guardian Custode, he was even shocked himself at the size of it and how it was designed.

"Look at this thing, it's massive," said Axel.

"Yes, it is," agreed Catherine, "We're not really sure how big it is, as it seems to extend underground. The surface structure you see here is just the tip of the iceberg."

Logos flickered into view next to them. "Your astonishment is understandable, Axel the Reclaimer. The Guardian Custode is one of the most formidable constructs of Forerunner origin."

Axel turned his gaze to the AI. "Walk me through the activation process," he said.

The AI shared a quick glance with both Cortana and Omni before beginning, "The activation requires dual synchronization between AIs and a physical interaction from a Reclaimer at the same time."

With a nod to Catherine, he unclasped a small device from his belt and approached the artifact cautiously, feeling an intense thrumming energy beneath his feet.

As directed by Logos, he aligned himself at the base of the Guardian Custode and positioned his hands on what appeared to be two recessed handprints on either side of a dim panel.

Omni and Cortana, meanwhile, began a complex synchronization of their own. Flashes of lightened code flew between the two as they worked in tandem to unlock the deeply buried potential of the Custode. Their avatars constantly flickered, outlining the strenuous effort posed by this task.

A low, resonating hum began to fill the room as Axel exerted more pressure onto the handprints. The panel beneath his hands brightened, starting from a faint blue glow that steadily increased in intensity until it was nearly blinding.

Then all at once, there was silence. The hum died down and Axel felt an odd sensation, as if a large amount of energy had just been released. He moved away from the panel and looked up at the Guardian Custode.

The surface of the artifact started to glow faintly, casting a ghostly light over everything in the room. Lines of light then started to trace outward along its body, creating intricate patterns that pulsed with hidden power.

"I believe we've done it," Catherine breathed in awe from where she stood watching.

Axel gave a nod of satisfaction before focusing his attention on Logos. "What's our next step?"

Logos replied, "The Custode requires a brief period to acclimate to its activation. Following this, a command directive must be given."

"Let's give it the time it needs," said Axel, looking up at the now activated Guardian Custode. "In the meantime, tell me what the process us for the command directive"

"It's simple, in order to establish a command protocol," he began, "the Reclaimer must imprint his will onto the Custode. This is achieved through a neural link."

"I see," said Axel. Luckily a neural link wasn't a new concept for him at least as it was now more commonly used throughout the UHE. In the meantime, while he waited for the Guardian Custode to stabilize, Axel asked Catherine to show him some of the other things they had found within the facility.