The Onyx Stars
(SpaceBattles.com discussion thread, continued here) is a Halo/Mass Effect crossover fanfic by Sith/The Hidden Sith.
Spoilers for Halo 4 will ensue.
The UNSCS Infinity has successfully pursued and defeated the Ur-Didact before he could reach Earth, but celebration is short-lived for a Slipspace accident on the home way shunts them into a strange new galaxy where there are marginally friendly aliens and the local human polity is not their own. As initial goodwill brought about by their assistance in fighting a common enemy fades into tension, however, shadowy powers disturbingly knowledgeable of the Halo-group start making their moves.
Has not been updated since 2015 and is most likely Dead Fic.
This fanfic contains examples of:
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Chapter 15 reveals that Offensive Bias has become obsessed with recreating the Forerunners at any cost.
- Alternate Universe Fic: See above blurb? That's only the first and most obvious divergence from canon.
- Attack Drone: The UNSC employs these as part of the author's aim to defy the Modern Stasis of canon.
- Call-Back: The Halo 3: ODST group became SPARTAN-IVs.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The snuffing-out of Parangosky's conspiracy group. Serin Osman gets assassinated Zealot-style by Rtas 'Vadum, Naomi gets her neck snapped by Fredrick-104, and Admiral Harper downs the remainder of the Kilo-Five team with three perfect headshots. All in a matter of seconds.
- The Infinity against just about everything. The Normandy still got the kill-shot on Sovereign, though.
- Despair Event Horizon: In chapter 14 after Lasky refuses to accept The Illusive Man/Michael Sullivan's offer of alliance, the latter stops trying to resist when the Bias tries taking over again.
- Didn't See That Coming:
- The Illusive Man was expecting Lasky to be slow and brutal about killing Batarians. He didn't expect Lasky to use only necessary force.
- He also didn't expect Lasky's enthusiasm about killing Brutes/Jiralhanae.
- Fallen Hero: Appears to be the case with the Illusive Man, who turns out to be Michael Sullivan.
- Field Promotion: Subverted. John getting bumped up to Commander appears to be this at first, but turns out to be not on Lasky's authority but on the Joint Chiefs'.
- Fix Fic:
- Cortana doesn't die.
- Parangosky was executed for her crimes.
- He Knows Too Much: In chapter 14 The Illusive Man executes Cerberus members who know his real name.
- Legacy Character: In chapter 14 we learn that there were Didacts before the IsoDidact, and there will be one more Didact. All signs are currently pointing to John.
- Meaningful Name: "Project Tenzing" is about the UNSCS Everest.note
- Mythology Gag: Reapers being able to do Star Killing seems to be a reference to how Mass Effect 2 had an Aborted Arc of a star dying prematurely, which was suggested to be due to artificial means out of reach to the Citadel races.
- Not So Stoic: John takes it badly when Gray Team get Wetware Bodyed and made to die ignobly.
- Pragmatic Adaptation: The author deliberately made some changes to UNSC capabilities so they make more sense. Changed things include the excessively heavy MAC rounds and Modern Stasis of the ground forces.
- Shout-Out:
- A subtle one in chapter 10, where John is overseeing the training of SPARTAN-IV teams Iron and Throne.
- "117, if we all got what we wanted then I'd be an omnipotent being named after a letter of the alphabet and be trolling the very fabric of reality..."
- Star Killing: During the human-Covenant war, the UNSC tried this but could not get it to work (to their credit, the UNSC has managed to ignite gas supergiants into stars through copious nuking to trigger the fusion process, but then this is about destroying stars, not creating them). The Reapers, on the other hand, can.
- Take That!:
- On Parangosky's actions: "What a travesty."
- When Palmer says "We're giants" in chapter 4, Lasky shoots her a Death Glare.
- Wham Episode:
- Chapter 14. The Illusive Man is Michael Sullivan. The "Full Mother" the Geth worship is some form of Cortana. The Reapers have begun their attack on the new Reach.
- Chapter 15. Arcturus Station has fallen. The new Reach has fallen. The Reapers, with Offensive Bias at their head, are attacking Earth.
- Wham Line: A rather low-key one in chapter 3 regarding Sovereign:"No sir, I am picking up Forerunner alloys however on the largest vessel and zero organic life signs."
- Worf Barrage: In chapter 15, Infinity throws everything she has at Offensive Bias' flagship and doesn't do anything more than dent the shields.
