Guardians

"As a Guardian, I will do whatever it takes to fight for justice, or destroy the law in the process."

- Seal speaking the Guardian code to Nash (Mistaken Identity)

The Guardians are a group of independent freedom fighters broken off from the scientific division of the ONC, and serve as a main factor in the series.

Creation of the ONC
Following the Great War's end, members of the UNSC worked to reclaim several worlds that were not completely destroyed during the War. In order to help in the UNSC's reconstruction and re-colonization of the galaxy, two individuals named Heinrich Winters and Archer Sydney created the Ordinance Nationality Corporation, with the purpose to turn aspiring humans and Elites into soldiers, technicians, scientists, and engineers and have them play a significant role in humanity's rebuilding. Winters and Sydney were appointed Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor respectively. Many individuals enlisted in the organization at this point including Seal Vladaam, Arthur McGrath, Allan, Nash, Mickey, Bartholomew, Goon, Ray, O'Neal, and Haku.

Inter-species Conflict
Following the ONC's creation, animosity arose between the human and Elite recruits. The effects of the Great War left many humans and Elites distrustful of each other, seeing the other species as the enemy and some flat out refusing to associate with the other. Sydney, as a result, decided to pair an Elite with a human for his scientific division in order to push the two species to work together. While this method led to fights, some individuals were eager to learn from the other. This proved beneficial, as many of the scientists were able to create unique inventions under stressful conditions. The time spent together formed bonds between many pairings.

However, members of the UNSC overseeing the ONC were not happy with what the program had to offer. Very few of the ONC soldiers were UNSC-ready to join and only a few scientists had inventions that were ready to be mass-produced. Because things moved sluggishly, Winters began putting more focus on his soldiers and pushed Sydney's scientists to put out more inventions that would focus on combat rather than everyday life. His authority overshadowed Sydney's and lowered morale among scientists. Unable to keep up with Winters' demands several scientists were either fired, laid-off, or quit because they just couldn’t keep up. Many of the Elites from the ONC combat division also quit due to the harsher mistreatment.

A particular pair of scientists, Seal Vladaam and Arthur McGrath, began constructing a considerably powerful invention they called the Life Saver, which was able to quickly heal wounds and disease. Unfortunately, due to the complexity of the invention, the two did not have enough funds to continue working on their passion project. So, they convinced the ONC to provide them with more funding so they could build more inventions. However, the two scientists were actually using the funds to improve their Life Saver, without the ONC's permission. Upon finding out eventually, the ONC attacked Seal and McGrath's lab, with Seal escaping with the completed Life Saver and McGrath getting captured.

Inception of the Guardians
After Seal informs his fellow scientists of the incident he learns more about the mistreatment his coworkers are receiving. Many scientists were pushed too hard, treated with disrespect, were threatened with termination, or were let go with little notice. The scientists got together and continued to share their grievances about the ONC, eventually going on strike to make the public aware of Winters’ methods. However, Winters violently quieted them.

As a result, many scientists quit and attempted to obtain and spread the information regarding the mistreatment, lay-offs, and working conditions by any means necessary. Unfortunately, this led to extreme physical hostility from within the ONC - involving an attack initiated by the ex-employees at the ONC HQ. This attack resulted in the deaths of a few ONC personnel forcing the ONC to involve the UNSC in their conflict. Upon resolving the issue, with the remaining ex-ONC personnel fleeing, the UNSC forced the ONC to reform. As a result, the ONC scientific division was shut down and the program's focus became purely on getting their soldiers ready to colonize the galaxy with the UNSC, leading to the ONC setting up several War Games. Nearly every Elite who enlisted into the ONC resigns at this point.

Having lost several friends and loved ones due to the ONC's actions, the collection of former scientists and soldiers, both humans and Elites, banned together and created a group called, the "Guardians", whose main purpose was to bring down the ONC for their injustice and lies. This in turn began a civil war between the authoritative ONC and the rebellious Guardians.