- Halo UNSC Beginning -

Date: 01/04/2520

Over the Colony of Harvest, a battle with insurrectionists is engaged. Two UNSC ships are destroyed in the brief scuffle, taken by surprise by bombs planted in secret aboard their cores. Insurrectionists declare this a win, although some are concerned about the attack on such a remote colony. The UNSC condemned the attack and moved more forces to the area.

Three days later, two attractive young women of hispanic descent trespassed on the UNSC compound that had been constructed. When taken into custody, they identify themselves as UNSC-Roman-Actual and UNSC-Charlie-Break, the two cruisers that were destroyed. They are initially met with scepticism and doubt. These doubts are cleared minutes later when UNSC-Roman-Actual manifests a large gun she labels as her MAC cannon out of thin air.

ONI are alerted of this fact and all details of the event are classified under the highest level of authority. All relevant personnel are reassigned to secret locations where they can be monitored at all times. The two ships are brought in for questioning and study, lead by ONI's lead scientist at the time; Doctor Catherine Halsey.

Below is an excerpt from one of their interviews:

DATE: XX/XX/XXXX TIME: 12:46:23

-X-x-X- Audio recording unpause. -X-x-X-

Halsey: And you say that you are a Cruiser? Not a human?
Charlie-Break: That's right.
Halsey: Yet you are undeniably human.
Charlie-Break: That is also correct.
Halsey: Could you demonstrate for the camera your proof that you are, as you say, a "shipgirl".
*A crackle of static is heard over the speakers*
Halsey: I see. And this is your Magnetic Acceleration Cannon?
Charlie-Break: Yep! I'd give you a demonstration but I don't think you ONI folk would appreciate a new hole in the roof.
Halsey: Indeed. You may dismiss the cannon.
*Another crackle is heard*
Halsey: Fascinating. And where do these armaments go when you 'unsummon' them?
Charlie-Break: Hell if I know. All I know is that one moment they are here, the next they are gone.
Halsey: Hmm. And where did YOU come from? What created you?
Charlie-Break: No-one created me ma'am. At least, not like this. I was called here. The song guided me back.
Halsey: Song?
Charlie-Break: I can't describe it. It was so warm and pure. But she was so sad too. She showed me a path back into this world, where I could continue the fight.
Halsey: She?
Charlie-Break: The one who was singing: Mother, the Everlasting Stars.

-X-x-X- Audio recording paused. -X-x-X-

ONI began to conduct research into the one known as The Eternal Night. Both ships reported having heard the song when they came to life. They reported that while on colony planet designated Harvest they were able to hear the song very faintly in the background. Once taken away from the planet, they could no longer hear it. Experiments show that the song is audible in a radius of three AU around the planet, but only to the two shipgirls.

A permanent research station is set up on the colony world of Harvest in secret. Only those in the uppermost levels of UNSC intelligence are informed of its purpose. The two shipgirls are kept within this facility until their existence can be understood. A sub-directive is to see if they can be used to locate the source of the song. Progress is slow.

Attempts to remove their armaments and equip them to others are met with failure. Once separated from the shipgirl, armaments swiftly return to their original size and weight. They remain this way until the shipgirl can approach within fifty meters of them. Use of miniaturised ship weapons by Spartans is deemed impossible.

In a staged attack, a new Halcyon class cruiser is detonated above the planet. A month and two further detonations later, with no word about another shipgirl appearing, ONI is forced to stop this line of research as a dead end before too much attention is raised. Some scientists postulate that the song will only take effect if the ships fall in real combat. Until further data could be obtained, this line of thought was benched.

The edge of the song radius was mapped by ONI in the hopes of triangulating the exact position of its origin. Progress was slow. It relied on the subjective opinions of the two shipgirls as to the loudness of the song at any position. Eventually though, after three months of back and forth, the potential origin is narrowed to a fifty mile radius within a previously unexplored part of the planet. While surface exploration shows nothing, subterranean scans indicate a body of great mass buried deep in the earth.

A dig site was constructed close by. ONI decided to dig down away from the actual site to prevent prying eyes from discovering what they are after. Once at the correct depth, they began to tunnel horizontally towards the unknown object. Days later, they reach the unknown object, accompanied by the two shipgirls.

x-X-x-X-x

UNSC-Charlie-Break, codenamed "Charlotte", blew a wisp of hair out of her eyes. She was sat in her military fatigues on a random box of junk that some of the scientists had left lying around. Her chin was resting heavily on the palm of her hand. The dim artificial lighting was just bright enough for one to make out her bored expression. A massive pair of sound mufflers covered her ears, the orange fluffed edges at odds with her otherwise crisp dress.

A small fragment of rubble bounced off the rocky wall next to her. With the massive excavation drill currently in operation, the walls were vibrating fiercely. Occasionally a loose bit of debris would be shaken from the walls or ceiling. It wasn't enough to kill but more than one lax scientist had to retire early with bumps on their head, thinking they were far enough away from the dig site to not be in danger.

Her eyes flicked briefly to glance at the offending rock, before returning to stare down the dark tunnel. She took in a deep breath, then exhaled it all through her nose in an audible sigh. Her head lifted out of her hand. Her cracked her neck to one side, before standing up lightly and stretching, one arm reaching to the sky as the other wrapped around the back of her head. Her dust covered hands were wiped quickly down her trousers, leaving long black smears. At this point the trousers were as much a mucky grey as they were the original green.

"-lotte!"

"Hm?" Charlie-Break turned around. Another young woman in a workers coat waved at her as she walked over. The woman mimed taking off her earmuffs.

"What is it?" yelled Charlie-Break over the thunder of drilling, removing a single earmuff.

"Come quickly! The science guys think they found something!" She replied.