Secession (Earth-5875)

"As William Butler Yeats said: 'The center cannot hold.'"

- - Lieutenant Jacob Keyes

Legacy
"History looks upon this time as an unfortunate (and perhaps inevitable?) misunderstanding between Earth and her colonies, but those fighting for the last decade also realize that it was the most amazing piece of blind fortune the human race has ever stumbled upon. Had we not been armed and learning how to fight in space... what would have happened in the years that followed, when we faced an enemy a hundred times worse? Oblivion, no doubt."

- - Codename SURGEON It is accepted that, ironically, the Secession contributed to the United Nations Space Command's tactics and eventual victory during the First Contact War. While the Great Schism and the sangheili's alliance with humanity were arguably what ensured the species' victory and survival during the war, the Secession led to the creation of the MAC cannon, titanium-A armor, perfection of space warfare, and most important of all, the SPARTAN-II Program, creating the supersoldiers that were one of humanity's few advantages during the war.