Portal:Post-War Era

A work-in-progress portal page for Daybreak's version of the post-Human-Covenant War era, covering major topics related to the overall political situation, the factions involved, etc.

Related pages:
 * Reconciliation Era
 * /UNSC Fleet Modernization

Factions

 * Humanity - By the immediate post-war decades, humanity is still relatively homogeneous politically, and this only changes with later decades.
 * UNSC - The UNSC downsizes after the war and relegates many of its emergency powers to the Phoenix Initiative and/or the UEG, but remains fairly prominent and autonomous. While the first years of the post-war era are difficult, by the 2560s, the UNSC has recovered to the extent that it can police its own space and even venture beyond.
 * UEG - The old Earth government diminishes with the advent of the Phoenix Initiative, though they continue to be a major economic and political force within it.
 * Phoenix Initiative - An interim body created by the UNSC and some elements of the UEG to oversee the reconstruction process.
 * Via Casilina Community - A colonial splinter polity formed in the Madara Fringe; shaped by their integration with the Strewn Shore.
 * Sagittarius colonies - A set of outlying, autonomous colony worlds formed during the war by independent colonists fleeing the Covenant.
 * Haldean Compact - A break-off polity known for their anti-alien stance.


 * Schismatics - Covenant meta-faction composed of the Sangheili and those who allied with them. Also known as the Separatists by the UNSC. Mostly relevant as a label until the mid-2560s.
 * Loyalists - Covenant meta-faction composed of the Jiralhanae and their allies who stayed loyal to the Prophet of Truth, and therefore wish to continue the Human-Covenant War. Mostly relevant as a label until the mid-2560s.


 * Concord of Reconciliation - The Arbiter's alliance, formed in 2554. Built on the Singular Bond and various post-Covenant polities formed since, including the Strewn Shore
 * True Communion - A more traditionalist counterpart to the Concord, emerging from a sub-schism in the 2560s. Oppose some of the Concord's policies, such as the Arbiter's actions against the Covenant caste system and his leniency in certain religious matters. While not intent on continuing the extermination of humanity, many members would also wish to see humanity assimilated as a Sangheili protectorate. Mainly located on the Covenant's trailing side, though there are polities scattered across the Holy Ecumene sympathetic to them. Not as large as the Concord, at least at first, but grew considerably in the 2570s.
 * Ecumenic Mercatoria - Emerging in the 2560s, a semi-autonomous alliance of merchants and commercial guilds encompassing large swathes of the Holy Ecumene. Overlaps with both the Concord and the Communion because they have no ideological or religious goals.
 * Sons of Heaven and Storm of Faith - Smaller warlord juntas that preceded the True Communion; more extreme than the Communion, though many Sons of Heaven cells would later merge into the Communion.
 * Jiralhanae chiefdoms and misc. polities - Formed since the late 2550s through peace treaties with the Concord.
 * Keepers of the One Freedom - Loyalist splinter polity most notable in that they wish to convert humans rather than exterminating them.

In addition, numerous smaller polities exist under these major groups. The Covenant fringe or Ulterior civilizations are not a major consideration yet, though the Waquish'Dawn and the Cix-Tu are relevant in particular to the trailing-side Covenant domains.

Humanity, the UNSC, and the Phoenix Initiative

 * How is the Phoenix Initiative put together? What is its relationship to the UNSC and UEG?

The United Earth Government continues to govern Earth and SolCore with few internal political changes.

With the CAA's absorption into the UNSC and subsequent dissolution, the Phoenix Initiative acts as an interim body designed to facilitate reconstruction and dialogue between colonies.

The Phoenix Initiative is more akin to a mutual defense/cooperation pact and economic union initiated by the UNSC than a cohesive polity in the truest sense. There are various degrees of cooperation within the Initiative, with many of the former Inner Colonies in particular assuming a more core role than some Outer ones, which only involve themselves in a peripheral status. The Initiative's purview mostly covers matters of security and resettlement-related issues, outside which its ability to interfere in the member worlds' affairs is limited. Other than that, the Initiative acts as an interim civilian authority that gradually accepts various responsibilities the UNSC took up during the war, though some of these also remain on the UEG proper.


 * What are the Phoenix Initiative's major colonization efforts? What are the hotspots of the reclamation process post-war? On what kind of timeline do these efforts take place in?

In theory, the Phoenix Initiative seeks to reclaim most colonies lost during the war. In practice, however, this is not exactly feasible, or only feasible over a timeline spanning several centuries. The immediate concern in the post-war decades remains to find enough viable space to put all the people displaced by the war and give them at least basic humane living conditions, and preferably something productive to do.

Most of the reclamation and colonization projects are corporate-run, and megacorporations are given a lot of latitude in the Phoenix Initiative era. With the UNSC downsizing, some colonization contractors will hire PMCs or have their own security forces.

Most of the UNSC's post-war expansion leads away from the Covenant, spinward along the galaxy's rotation. The most notable new frontier is the Cygnus Verge, where several new colonies are established beginning in the 2560s.


 * Reclaimed and new colonies

Reclamation projects of note:
 * Reach - long-term restoration project.
 * Tribute - got off a bit more lightly than Reach, prioritized for resettlement.
 * Sigma Octanus IV
 * Ariel
 * Atlas Moons (some)
 * Emerald Cove
 * New Jerusalem
 * Draco III

New colonies:
 * New Reach - the military hub of the Cygnus Verge expansion region, established in the early 2560s

UNSC industry
Under what industrial constraints is the UNSC operating under, and how does that industry expand?

A big issue is that most of their industry will have to be built again from scratch, though on the plus side this also means it'll be modern. Some existing industries in Sol and Epsilon Eridani were evacuated to other systems away from the Covenant in the final years of the war (e.g. Neos Atlantis), though this ultimately represented only a fraction of the UNSC's industrial prowess. This was done under the OUROBOROS Directive, the wider plan to ensure humanity's continuance during the war. Since the war, the efforts of the project continue and branch off into new directions.

The first decade or so following the war is a highly precarious time, and there's a period of a few years where the UNSC simply can't produce some high-end technologies (at least not in great numbers) before they can rebuild. Such technologies include smart AIs, slipspace drives and the latest generations of MJOLNIR armor.

In the 2560s, things start getting a bit brighter. Most of the larger hostile factions have been driven from the human sphere, more new tech gets adopted (e.g. wavespace communicators), a lot of the UNSC's war-era emergency powers have been rescinded and the economy is showing signs of recovery. The UNSC peaks around the early-to-mid 2570s, after which new conflicts start emerging as the Blooding Years spill over to the human sphere. But our main focus right now is on the Reconstruction Period (c. 2553-2575).

Culture and doctrine

 * What are the veterans doing now that the Army and Marines are downsizing?

Many will enlist their services to private security companies attached to reclamation or recolonization efforts, or establish their own. Some can act as military advisors to new colonists, training local militias. Others will ply their trade further afield, establishing new shipping companies and manufacturing firms.


 * How will the UNSC change its doctrine in the years after the war?

This will mostly be influenced by what the UNSC needs to secure and defend, and against who: i.e. both remaining and new colonies against not just pirates and raiders, but factions of ex-Covenant marauders.


 * How internally cohesive will human civilization be? How does culture change?

There are still dividing lines (e.g. regarding how friendly the UNSC should be with aliens or how colonies should be governed), but no real resurgence of the Insurrection like in 343i's fiction. Political differences exist between groups in the UNSC, but while competition is fierce between the factions, it rarely boils over into street violence. This is largely because of the overarching threat of the post-Covenant and general fatigue over endless war. On the other hand, there is a lot of cultural divergence - e.g. population groups that experienced the war vs. ones that didn't, worlds dealing with ex-Covenant, and new technologies (e.g. FTL comms and more widespread cybernetics) transforming society in the 2560s-70s.

In short, Humanity is suffering from the overall cultural effects of thirty years of warfare — which are not minor — and the growing pains of becoming part of a larger interstellar community.

The Via Casilina Community is the most notable breakaway state, though over time even they come to accept begrudging coexistence with the UNSC.

The UEG, the UNSC and the Phoenix Initiative are forced to tread a fine line between both not inciting retaliatory actions against Concord allies (and throwing humanity into another war they could not win) and maintaining the confidence of their own disgruntled population. The UNSC's efforts to preserve the peace with the Concord include propaganda and may go as as far as media censorship of revanchist firebrands and interference in the political process to prevent radically anti-Concord parties from gaining power. While ultimately seen as necessary evils, sacrifices for the sake of continued peace, this shift can go too far in a few places at the start, especially in regards to information control. Populist political movements taking advantage of the population's ire against the ex-Covenant is a relatively common occurrence after the war. Known broadly as Revanchists, such sentiments are held by various groups, ranging from veterans of the war and refugees who lost their homes to the Covenant to academic radicals. They even have sympathies in the UNSC's officer corps, who might in some cases look the other way in regards to Revanchist radicals' actions. However, a quiet majority, particularly those not directly impacted by the war on a personal level, have a more resigned and pragmatic attitude at the matter, acknowledging the Covenant's atrocities and usually having no particular sympathy for the ex-Covenant, but also not wishing to see another war. Generally, the UNSC tries to combat the rise of extremists by arguing that another war would be very counterproductive for everybody, and ultimately burying the hatchet is better in the long run, coupled with channeling the hatred of the Covenant against the actually hostile factions. However, this doesn't change the fact many in the general population distrust the UNSC-led media and misinformation abounds. The UNSC does get a little bit better at balancing the two sides of the matter by the 2560s, though.

However, it's not just the UNSC that'll have to convince the general human population that the Concord is worth being allies with - the onus is on the ex-Covenant, particularly the Sangheili, to show that they can be trusted and can make amends. Not all Sangheili will be up for this, but the Arbiter actively tries to make sure the people that end up dealing with humans are not the bad apples -- which he actually tries to keep under close watch. Groups such as the Contrite Estate and the Path of Penitence, and even the warrior-fanatics of Furious Absolution in their own way, actively work to make inroads with the human population.

Spartans and other supersoldiers

 * The remaining Spartan-IIIs, mostly Gamma Company. They'll be filling the niche the S-IVs do in 343i's lore for the most part, just less colorful and publicized.
 * Since Col. Ackerson is still around, S-III Delta Company goes forward despite the loss of Onyx, albeit with a lower budget and therefore personnel pool. Ackerson will also have a hand in a bunch of other ONI activities; since Halsey remains AWOL, Ackerson doesn't have as strong of a counter-force within the ONI special projects community. One effect of this is the prioritization of armor systems less ambitious than MJOLNIR
 * Non-Spartan augmentation programs and the proliferation of augs and cybertech in the private sector.

Hoplite program
ODST augmentation/special missions program. Starts off with the 105th Shock Troops Special Missions Detachment, expands to other divisions in the post-war years. Narratively the closest thing Daybreak has to S-IVs (for about thirty years anyway).

The Concord
The Concord of Reconciliation is an alliance of various ex-Covenant polities sympathetic to the Arbiter and his general policies. Having its origins in a military pact between various Sangheili commanders in the immediate aftermath of the war, the Concord itself is established in the Grand Council of 2554, assembled by the Arbiter in collaboration with the remains of the Covenant's political hierarchy at the Strewn Shore, along with other groups of note across the Covenant sphere. This is the beginning of the Schism Councils which serve as a sort of truth and reconciliation commission for the activities of the last Hierarch triumvirate, as well as planning sessions for the future of the post-Covenant.

Humanity and the ex-Covenant
Most ex-Covenant factions allied with the UNSC (essentially outgrowths of existing Covenant fleets) are also aligned with the Concord of Reconciliation, at least at first, since the foundation for the Concord was initially a pact between Thel, Rtas, and fleetmasters they rallied to their side in human space during the early months of 2553. However, this changes especially with outlying fleets operating near the Tempest Crossing, Pleiades Corridor, as well as the now largely glassed sectors, which host various unaffiliated factions. Some are even tentative allies to the UNSC, but against the Arbiter. Elements of ONI will attempt to play these factions against each other, particularly ship- or fleetmasters identified as having diverging views on humanity or the UNSC. Since 2554, the Concord (broadly speaking) comes to encompass various post-Covenant groups that accept the Grand Council of 2554 (which, among other things, acquitted humanity for their stated crimes and declared the last Hierarch triumvirate illegitimate).

What the Arbiter does with the Schism Councils is that he effectively seizes control of the post-Covenant's wider discourse on major topics of contention. The Concord of Reconciliation is effectively an Alien United Nations; it is not going to stop individual polities from fighting one another or going out of line, but it will mean that factions that go against the majority will have a hard time. So, things like trade and relations between domains and other subgroups of the Covenant still exist; they didn't disappear with the Schism. By going out of line (e.g. by attacking humanity) your faction essentially makes itself into post-Covenant North Korea. You won't have a lot of friends, people are afraid to associate with you, and there's a good chance some of the more fanatical martial orders that the Arbiter has taken under his wing will come after you.

So a faction has to be really anti-human (or a Truth loyalist) to actively try and invade human space. This is the status quo until the 2570s, anyway. By that point the Brutes have been reduced as a threat to such extent that there's starting to be more open factionalism within the Concord and questioning of the Arbiter's line. Also, groups like those Regret loyalists are getting their voices heard more and more. Many of these groups may tentatively accept the ruling of the First Schism Council of 2554, i.e. that maybe wiping humanity out entirely was excessive and a product of Truth's lies, but they'd still like to see the UNSC/PI (and the Excession) brought under control. There's a renewal of tensions between these factions and the Arbiter's "mainstream" Concord, along with sub-schisms leading to the formation of polities with stricter views like the trailing-side True Communion. Meanwhile, traders become more powerful and independent with the creation of the semi-autonomous Ecumenic Mercatoria (which is going to be a bigger deal later on). This all gradually erodes the Arbiter's and his close allies' hold on the post-Covenant discourse, and it is what enables a figure like Jul to emerge by the late 2570s. He's not the only one, he's very much part of a trend, he's just the one willing to aim highest. And he's smart enough to do it in ways the UNSC doesn't expect of a post-Covenant warlword (along with some potential aces up his sleeve).

Joint-Occupation Zones are regions of space with joint military jurisdiction between the UNSC and the Concord, usually with a significant post-Covenant populations. Joint-occupation zones are formalized circa 2554-2555 after various incidents resulting from ambiguities over military intervention.

The Concord's main embassy on Earth in the post-war era is the Silver City, located in the Ocean of Storms on Luna where the peace treaty of 2553 was originally ratified. Various refugees and stragglers initially based on Earth and around the Sol system will also make their home here, making it a relatively bustling community.

The Strewn Shore exists in a weird relationship with both the UNSC and the Concord. They're a bit too too far away to be considered any more of a threat than the other miscellaneous factions operating near the human sphere, but ONI is initially quite suspicious of them (they only learn of them circa mid-2553). It's only through the negotiations circa 2554 that their position as allies to both the UNSC and Arbiter becomes clear. Meanwhile, they establish fairly prosperous trade relations with the Via Casilina Community.

Friendly ex-Covenant groups and fleets
Major Concord/ex-Covenant forces in human sphere post-war:

The main Concord fleet element in the human sphere, first assembled in 2553 from miscellaneous Sangheili-led fleet elements across the region along with a handful of ships from the Fleet of Retribution as well as captured Jiralhanae ships. Partly rotating roster as ships migrate to and from the ex-Covenant sphere; members are generally picked from those on the more human-sympathetic end of the spectrum, though some may have covert motivations (e.g. keeping a closer eye on humanity, or securing holdings for strategic reasons). The fleet patrols various areas assigned to it, largely composed of glasslands with Covenant loyalist activity. Task forces assembled from the fleet's ships also engage in joint operations with the UNSC.
 * Fleet of Prosperous Concert

The fleet is commanded by the human-sympathetic Fleetmaster Pree 'Venkata.

A smaller fleet operating within the Pleiades Corridor. Commanded by Fleetmaster Itha 'Tarim. Slightly less tied to the Concord, at least directly.
 * Fleet of Unwaning Glory

Formed during the Schism; initially based in human sphere, later moves increasingly toward the Covenant's spinward side to battle the Jiralhanae. Led by Fleetmaster Nerit 'Mulaparthan.
 * Fleet of Defiance


 * Others
 * Around the 2570s, an Ascetic chapter affiliated with the Concord will establish at least one cloister-fortress in the Perseus side of the human sphere (Supersector 4) in response to the growing ex-Covenant populations in the region, along with the growing unrest caused by the Blooding Years spilling over to the human sphere.

Joint efforts
Joint operations and civilian efforts do the UNSC and the Concord engage in:


 * The ANVIL Initiative exists in some capacity; i.e. there are no S-IVs, but there is a formalized program of joint ops and even training operations. The distinction from 343i's canon is that such initiatives and ops aren't top secret; instead, they're highly publicized (at least when successful), because the UNSC wants to shift the public's opinion on the allied ex-Covenant, and they can't do that if they keep any and all cooperation secret.
 * The ODST HOPLITE program can play a pioneering part in this, though other, more "mundane" units should be routinely involved as well.


 * The Contrite Estate, while not a formal appendage of the Concord, are a group of (mainly Sangheili) monastics who aid in reconstruction efforts, though mostly on a localized level (e.g. individual or small groups of Sangheili helping out small communities).


 * The Concord offers aid in reconstruction and policing (c.f. Marshall aid), but accepting it is a balancing act to the UNSC since they don't want to become too reliant or tied to alien assistance (e.g. economically or technologically). Politically, there's a common fear that humanity will lose its independence and become a vassal-state of the Elites, though many acknowledge the need for at least some external aid in the early years, as well as pointing out the usefulness of economic integration in preventing future conflict. As the years go by, a lot of cross-pollination starts happening between businesses in particular on both sides. The hotspots of this less centralized form of integration are the Pleiades Corridor crossing route, as well as the worlds of the Via Casilina Community.

Covenant loyalists and other hostile factions
By far, the most prominent hostile factions in the first decade or so are Jiralhanae-led Covenant loyalists. Initially, most of these groups just call themselves "the Covenant", maintaining the Covenant never fell, and claim to be fulfilling the Hierarchs' will. However, rifts between different chieftains start forming from the very first months onward, and while they themselves may continue to refer to themselves as the Covenant, the UNSC and the Concord will quickly adopt more descriptive nomenclature. As time goes on, the Brute factions start diverging more and more ideologically, religiously and politically. By 2558, most Brute factions have been driven out of human space, though the war continues to rage in the Covenant's spinward side and along the crossing routes (most notably the Tempest Crossing).

The most prominent coalition of Jiralhanae warmasters operating in the human sphere, established in the first half of 2553. Prominent leaders: Belgarum, Vargax, Maractus. Most of these are killed or forced to retreat between 2553 and 2556. A couple of San'Shyuum Minor Prophets as figureheads?
 * The Torchbearers

A fairly distributed lesser group of Brute-led cells that split off from the Torchbearers in 2554. Accepts humans in their ranks but opposes the UNSC for pilfering Forerunner relics and using AI.
 * The Keepers of the One Freedom

Also known as the Oathkeepers, they are an insurgent network of Sangheili and other species under the Concord's banner. It was formed from the remains of a very large martial order that was formed for the sole purpose of fulfilling Truth's divinely ordained mandate to exterminate Humanity. Many of the members of that martial order still hold fast to their oaths for their own reasons. They seek to undermine the ceasefire with Humanity through targeted assassination and sabotage. Strictly speaking, "Truth's Beholden" is a contemptuous epithet used by the Arbiter and like-minded individuals, meant to undermine the group by highlighting their association with the despised Prophet of Truth.
 * Truth's Beholden

However, some individuals with such views answer such accusations by separating the actions of the Prophets of Regret and Truth. Indeed, ever a friend of the Sangheili, Regret has become a convenient refuge for many Sangheili wishing to continue the war or at least subjugate humanity for good. Adherents of this school of thought venerate Regret as a martyr, holding Truth to be directly responsible for both Regret's death and the Great Schism. Some implicate the Prophet of Mercy alongside Truth, though views vary. Since they still regard Regret as a legitimate Hierarch, they also hold humanity's exoneration by the Grand Council of 2554 to be illegitimate. More moderate individuals have come to partially accept the Council's ruling, while still arguing for humanity's subjugation as a vassal state.

Strategic focal points

 * The Pleiades Corridor and the Tempest Crossing remain the most active crossing routes between the human and Covenant spheres. The Tempest Crossing is generally lawless and more unstable (with e.g. more Jiralhanae activity), while the Pleiades Corridor forms a special economic zone, large swathes of which are effectively run by various corporate entities.
 * The Installation 04 debris field. A joint research and military outpost, Keyes Station, will be established in Threshold's trojans once the system is relatively secure. (c. 2555?)
 * Earth remains in a precarious position thanks to the presence of the Voi Excession.
 * The Epsilon Eridani system remains a strategic site thanks to its location in a slipspace crossroads. It is retaken by a joint UNSC-Concord task force in the very first weeks of 2553; this is known as Operation: FORTRESS SIEGE.
 * Any systems along major slipspace routes, and worlds of note in those systems. Not all former human colony systems have a permanent Covenant/loyalist occupation, though many of the strategic ones do.
 * Some ex-Covenant outposts along crossings or within the human sphere are still manned, often by Jiralhanae as the Prophets incentivized them to settle such worlds.