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Battle of Installation 00 may refer to:
Human-Covenant war
*Battle of Installation 00 The final battle of the Human-Covenant War Post-war
*Operation: FAR STORM A joint UNSC|Human-Swords of Sanghelios|Sangheili operation on the Ark against Forerunner fauna and flora|wild List of animals#Found on Forerunner worlds|animals and Sentinels
*Attack on Installation 00 The smaller attack on the UNSC research outposts on the Ark by the Banished
*Second Ark Conflict The Post-Covenant War conflicts|post-war battle on the Ark between the UNSC forces of the ''Spirit of Fire'' and the Banished |
Great Schism
|date= 2552#December|December 11, 2552
|place= Installation 00, Intergalactic space
|result= Decisive United Nations Space Command|UNSC/Fleet of Retribution|Sangheili victory End of the Human-Covenant War Death of the Prophet of Truth Overall collapse of the Covenant Truth prevented from firing the Halo Array Flood-infested ''High Charity'' and Gravemind physically destroyed Proceeded with the Raid on Installation 08, leading to the destruction of Installation 08, severe damage to the Ark, and containment of the Flood
|side1=* United Nations Space Command|UNSC
* UNSC Navy
*UNSC Marine Corps
*UNSC Air Force Covenant separatists
*Fleet of Retribution Sentinel|Forerunner constructs
|side2=* Covenant
|side3=*Flood
|commanders1=
Commander|CDR Miranda Keyes Fleetmaster Rtas 'Vadum Arbiter Thel 'Vadam Sergeant Major|SGTMAJ Avery Johnson Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
Cortana
000 Tragic Solitude
343 Guilty Spark
|commanders2=
Hierarchs|High Prophet of Truth Jiralhanae Chieftain|Chieftain Cethegus Shipmaster Hekabe
|commanders3=Gravemind
|forces1=Fleet of Retribution/Seventh Fleet Over 20 ships
*1 Sangheili battle group
**1+
**9+ s
*Battle Group Victory
**2+ s Many air vehicles
*Numerous GA-TL1 Longsword fighters
*Numerous D77-TC Pelicans
**D77H-TCI Pelicans
*Numerous AV-14 Hornets
*1+ D96-TCE Albatross
*Many Seraph|T-31 Seraph fighters
**s
*Numerous Ru'swum-pattern Phantom#Retribution Phantom|''Ru'swum''-pattern Phantoms
*Numerous s Many ground forces
*1 SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II supersoldier
*Numerous UNSC Marine Corps|marines
*Numerous Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODSTs
*Numerous Sangheili Ground vehicles
*Several M12 Warthogs
**M12 Chaingun Warthogs
**M12G1 Gauss Warthogs
*M274 Mongooses
*M808 Scorpions
**M808C Scorpions Numerous Sentinels
*Numerous Aggressor Sentinels
*Numerous Constructors
*Forerunner automated turret|Automated turrets Mendicant Bias
|forces2=Truth's fleet Over 60 Covenant starship|shipss (as seen on ''Halo Mythos''), hence at least 23 allied ships and at least 69 Jiralhanae enemy ships for the Prophet of Truth's fleet assuming that Sangheili Major's report on the size of Truth's fleet is accurate.}}
*1 Forerunner keyship
*3+ s
*1+
*Over 54 Covenant cruiser|cruisers
**Multiple s
*1+ Covenant frigate|frigate
*1+ Freighter Many air vehicles
*Many Seraph|T-31 Seraph fighters
**s
*Many Type-26 Banshee|T-26 Banshees
**s
*Many s Many ground vehicles
*3+ Deutoros-pattern Scarab|T-47B Scarabs
*Barukaza Workshop Chopper|T-25 Choppers
*Zurdo-pattern Wraith|T-26 Wraiths
**Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|T-52 AA Wraiths
*Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|T-32 Ghosts
*Qavardu Workshop Prowler|T-52 Prowlers Numerous ground forces
*Jiralhanae
*Kig-Yar
*Unggoy
*Yanme'e
*Mgalekgolo
|forces3=*High Charity Multiple Flood dispersal pod|dispersal pods Multiple Flood combat form|combat forms Multiple Flood carrier form|carrier forms Multiple pod infectors Multiple Flood pure form|pure forms
|casual1= Moderate Miranda Keyes Unknown amount of Sangheili and human ships Numerous infantry losses Many Sentinels
|casual2=Near total Prophet of Truth Most ships, if not all Most ground forces
|casual3=Near total
''High Charity''
Gravemind
}}
}}
The Battle of Installation 00, also known as the Ark Conflict, and designated by United Nations Space Command forces as Operation: BLIND FAITH, was a large battle between the UNSC-Fleet of Retribution alliance, the Covenant, the Flood, and Forerunner Sentinels on 2552#December|December 11, 2552. It was the final overarching battle of the Human-Covenant War and was the last stand of the Covenant, making it one of the few major engagements in the entire war in which the Covenant were on the defensive.
After the Battle of the Citadel|collapse of the Covenant and the Battle of Installation 00, the Great Schism would continue as the Sangheili-Jiralhanae war and still ongoing as of 2559, after the Created Created conflict|uprising in 2558#October|late 2558. In early 2559, the Ark would become the home of Second Ark Conflict|a new conflict as the Banished fought with the forces of the long-lost for control over the installation.
Background
During the Battle of Installation 04 in September 2552, the United Nations Space Command|UNSC Artificial intelligence|AI Cortana intercepted the Installation's Activation index|Index as it was being inserted by John-117 into the Core in the Control Room (Installation 04)|control room. Having prevented the activation of the ring, she kept the index even after she had been removed from the Installation's control room. She had also spent over twelve hours inside the control room's computer, gaining an incredible amount of information about the Halo Array|Halo installations, making her possibly the most knowledgeable regarding the operation of the Halo rings, the Forerunners, and the Ark - perhaps even more so than 343 Guilty Spark, who admitted he was quite ignorant of the Forerunner structures beyond Installation 04.
In November 2552, another battle on the next discovered Halo ring, the Battle of Installation 05, included many events that would become major factors in the Battle of Installation 00. Cortana remained aboard the Covenant holy city, ''High Charity'', as the Flood and its central consciousness, the Gravemind, took control of it. From there, the Gravemind interrogated her, and she willingly answered its questions. Meanwhile, the Covenant civil war, termed the Great Schism, begun in ''High Charity'' and the space around Installation 05. The recently-appointed Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and his Sangheili allies, in an effort to prevent Chieftain of the Jiralhanae Tartarus from activating the ring, formed an alliance with humans on the surface of Installation 05. With the help of Thel 'Vadam, Commander Miranda Keyes aborted the activation of Installation 05, but the installation's failsafe protocol had set all of the Halo rings to standby, where they could be activated from the central location of the Installation 00.
Shortly after escaping the Flood on ''High Charity'', the Prophet of Truth|High Prophet of Truth had arrived on Earth, along with the rest of many High Charity defense fleet|Covenant loyalist ground and naval survivors from the Battle of Installation 05, where the excavation of a Portal at Voi|Forerunner structure under the planet surface was almost completed by the Jiralhanae-led Truth's fleet|support and excavation fleet sent by Truth Battle of Mombasa|earlier. Eventually Truth's forces uncovered and activated the structure, opening a slipspace portal that would take them to Installation 00, the Forerunner structure from which Truth can fire all of the Halo installations at once. As he departed through the Portal, the Flood-captured ship ''Indulgence of Conviction'' arrived on Earth and crashed, though its arrival was followed by a portion of the Sangheili Fleet of Retribution of at least 16 Covenant starship|warships, led by Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum. From it, John-117 was able to extract a message from Cortana, alerting them that ''High Charity'' was heading for Earth and cryptically stating that Installation 08|the "solution" to the problem of the Flood lays beyond the portal.
While Terrence Hood|Lord Terrence Hood was suspicious of Cortana's warning and objected to going through the portal, Commander Keyes, John-117, and Rtas 'Vadum all indicated their wish to proceed through the Portal. Unwilling to leave Earth defenseless against the incoming Flood threat, Lord Hood remained on Earth. He gave Miranda Keyes command of the for the human commitment to the mission and the fleet of ships chased after the High Prophet of Truth.
Battle
File:H3 - Retribution Victory vs Truths Fleet.png|thumb|300px|Truth's Jiralhanae fleet confronts the Sangheili Fleet of Retribution
}}
The Fleet of Retribution exited slipspace in the vicinity of the Ark on 2552#December|December 11, 2552, where they found Truth's fleet|the Prophet of Truth's fleet waiting for them. Despite being outnumbered three-to-one, Rtas 'Vadum declared that they were fairly matched, and the Sangheili ships and the ''Forward Unto Dawn'' promptly engaged Truth's fleet. In the ensuing space warfare|space battle, the Jiralhanae and Sangheili cruisers blended into each other. 'Vadum and Keyes coordinated their attacks against the Covenant fleet; whereas the Sangheili ships and the ''Dawn'' focused their attacks on the Covenant cruisers, the ''Dawn''s Longsword fighters engaged the Seraphs. However, the ''Dawn'' was ill-equipped to fight against large opponents like ''CAS''-class assault carriers and ''Ket''-pattern battlecruisers. Thus, at the start of the battle, the ''Dawn'' deployed six D77H-TCI Pelicans to the surface to search for a landing zone for the ''Dawn'' and gather intelligence on Truth's location.
The Forerunner Keyship, ''Anodyne Spirit'', did not participate in the space battle. Instead, it landed amidst a Forerunner city within a region of the Ark later referred to as Mahsko by the Banished. A detachment of Covenant warriors were assigned to protect the vessel as Truth left to activate the Halo Array.
Although the space battle went on concurrently with the opening skirmishes on the surface of the Ark, the Sangheili fleet would make short work of the Covenant fleet due to the Jiralhanae being outmatched by the Sangheili in their knowledge of naval warfare. At least two Sangheili ships would survive the battle: the flagship ''Shadow of Intent'' and the ''Pious Inquisitor''. On the Covenant side, the ''Foebane|Gathering of Praise'', led by Jiralhanae Chieftain Hekabe, abandoned the Covenant forces and landed on the installation surface in search of a device known as the ''vertex''.
File:Ark Level Scorpion.jpg|thumb|left|300px|UNSC ground forces battling in the desert. The Pelicans from the ''Forward Unto Dawn'' arrived on the surface of the Ark, where they deployed UNSC Marine Corps|Marines and UNSC vehicles to search for a landing zone for the ''Dawn''. ''Kilo 023'' and another Pelican deployed Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 and a squad of Orbital Drop Shock Trooper|ODSTs at a cliff edge, near a series of Forerunner structures built into the desert terrain. Nearby, a third Pelican, which carried a M12 Chaingun Warthog|Warthog, two M274 Mongoose|Mongooses, and UNSC Marine Corps|Marines including Chips Dubbo, found a wide cliff which could serve as a landing zone for the ''Dawn'', but the Pelican was shot down by Covenant anti-air defenses.
With support from his accompanying ODST squad and his SRS99D-S2 AM sniper rifle, John-117 cleared out two Covenant camps of Jiralhanae, Unggoy, and Kig-Yar. At the second camp, they disrupted the Covenant's efforts to assemble a Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|Mantis. Emerging on the other side of the Forerunner structures, they linked up with Dubbo and other survivors seeking refuge from the downed Pelican, where a lance of Covenant searched for survivors. Dubbo informed John-117 of the potential landing zone for the ''Dawn''. Upon defeating the Covenant patrol at the Pelican, a pair of Qavardu Workshop Prowler|Prowlers arrived at the area, but their operators were eliminated by the UNSC. Salvaging both UNSC and Covenant vehicles, John-117 and his team advanced into the Covenant-occupied canyon. At this point, the Covenant have set up an attack force of infantry and s at a nearby Forerunner wall, which was defended by Aggressor Sentinels. John-117 and his team eliminated the Covenant attackers, and the Sentinels, recognizing the humans as Reclaimers, withheld their attacks. Sergeant Major Avery Johnson, onboard ''Kilo 023'', spotted a structure that was similar to the Cartographer of Installation 04 on the other side of the wall, and Keyes set the structure as the objective.
The landing zone was occupied by Ghosts, a Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraith, several deployable lookout towers, Jiralhanae and Unggoy infantries, and two Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|Anti-Air Wraiths that were firing into an aerial battle between Type-26 Banshee|Banshees and AV-14 Hornet|Hornets. John-117 and his team, having gathered more Marine survivors, cleared the landing zone, allowing the ''Forward Unto Dawn'' to disengage from the space battle and descend to the surface of the installation, landing safely. From the ''Dawn''s hangar, the UNSC was reinforced with three M808C Scorpion|Scorpion tanks, a M12 Chaingun Warthog|Warthog and a unit of Marines led by Gunnery Sergeant Marcus Stacker. With 343 Guilty Spark having arrived to guide them, the mechanized force then fought their way back to the Forerunner wall, destroying numerous Covenant vehicles and ground troops. The Covenant had retaken the wall, bolstering their defenses with Wraiths, Choppers, and Shade turrets, but they failed to deter the UNSC's progress.
After entering the wall and emerging from the other side, the UNSC encountered a Deutoros-pattern Scarab|Scarab. Although the Scarab quickly left the area, the canyon leading from the wall to the Cartographer was defended by a battalion-sized force of Covenant heavy armor, including Choppers, Ghosts, Wraiths, and infantry with Pez'tk-pattern fuel rod gun|heavy weapons, reinforced by a Phantom. Two of the three Warthogs, which emerged from the wall first, were quickly overwhelmed, and their operators were killed. A single M12G1 Gauss Warthog, taking a winding path to the side, was harassed by Ghosts and lost its gunner, though it regrouped with John-117, who had left the group earlier when they travel across the wall. The Spartan commandeered the vehicle and rejoined the Scorpion tanks. John-117 and Stacker then led the Scorpions against the Covenant armor. When the UNSC forces broke through the Covenant defenses, the Scarab returned to the area, with Choppers as its escorts. Stacker ordered Marines from Bravo unit to flank the Scarab to cover John-117's assault on the Scarab. They succeed, with John-117 personally taking down the Scarab. After the Scarab's destruction, the ''Shadow of Intent'' arrived at the Cartographer, and Rtas 'Vadum announced that his fleet had destroyed Truth's fleet.
File:H3 TanksVsScarab.png|300px|thumb|Scorpion Tanks battle a Scarab in the desert.
Encountering resistance from Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar on the way, John-117 climbed a series of ramps towards the entrance to the Cartographer. At the top, he met with Thel 'Vadam, who dismounted from ''Kilo 023'' along with a pair of Marines. While Commander Keyes assembled an air support force to prevent Covenant reinforcements, 343 Guilty Spark unlocked the sealed door at the entrance, allowing John-117 and Thel 'Vadam to advance inside. Their arrival caught most of its Covenant occupants off-guard, and they eventually arrived at an exterior platform hosting the Cartographer terminal. The Chief and 343 Guilty Spark accessed the terminal, learning the installation as the "Ark" and that Truth had already fortified himself at Installation 00 Citadel|the core of the Ark, where he could remotely activate the entire Halo Array. Furthermore, Truth had activated a large barrier around the entire core to ward off the attacking forces.
After learning of Truth's location, they were attacked by a Phantom, one of the many aircrafts from the Covenant's aerial attack on the Cartographer. Thel 'Vadam drew the Phantom's fire, allowing the Chief to escort Spark clear. 'Vadam then hijacked a Banshee and joined Keyes' air support to repel the Covenant attack. Notified by Dubbo, John-117 was instructed to descend to a platform underneath the Cartographer for extraction. The Spartan fought his way down, defeating a Jiralhanae War Chieftain|War Chieftain, his Jiralhanae Bodyguard|Bodyguards, and a group of Cloaking|camouflaged Jiralhanae Stalkers along the way. At the platform underneath the Cartographer terminal, Jiralhanae Chieftain Cethegus regrouped with the Jiralhanae Jumper|Jumpers from his pack. Cethegus and the members of his pack were charged with halting the UNSC-Sangheili progress. Believing he would ascend to the title of Chieftain of the Jiralhanae for killing the Spartan, the ambitious Chieftain challenged John-117 to a duel. Despite being outnumbered, John-117 defeated Cethegus' pack as well as two Kig-Yar marksmen. Meanwhile, the Hornets under Keyes' command had destroyed the Banshee attack force, putting an end to the conflict at the Cartographer.
''Kilo 023'' arrived to pick up John-117, but a massive swarm of Sentinels approached the Pelicans. Initially, the UNSC prepared to attack, but they stopped when 343 Guilty Spark asked them not to attack the Sentinels, stating that the Sentinels had a "priority task" of unknown nature. Instead of attacking, the Aggressors flew off into the distance, and the UNSC and Sangheili followed suit, making their way to the Installation 00 Citadel to stop the Prophet of Truth.
File:Trident11.jpg|thumb|left|300px|UNSC and Sangheili forces spearhead their final assault on the High Prophet of Truth.
On the same day, December 11, 2552, the UNSC-Sangheili alliance arrived at vicinity of the core of Installation 00. AV-14 Hornets were sent in to contest for airspace around the barrier. An assault team, composed of five Pelican dropships and a pair of Sangheili Phantoms, began their attack on a trio of Barrier tower|towers that, once disabled, would deactivate the barrier protecting the Citadel in which the Prophet of Truth was located. Two Pelicans, including ''Kilo 023'' which carried John-117 and an ODST squad led by Gunnery Sergeant Stacker, would attack the Tower One. The Phantoms, which carried Thel 'Vadam and his Sangheili (including N'tho 'Sraom and Usze 'Taham), would assault the middle tower. The other Pelicans, ferrying Sergeant Johnson and his squad, would disable the final tower. ''Kilo 023'' deployed John-117, along with Stacker and his ODSTs, at a distance from the first tower after an Anti-Aircraft Wraith shot down the second Pelican carrying Marines and a Warthog. After John-117 defeated the War Chieftain, his entourage, and the Anti-Air Wraith, Commander Keyes' Pelican deployed a new Warthog and a Mongoose at the beachhead for the team. Meanwhile, the ''Shadow of Intent'' began a diversionary bombardment against the barrier, firing plasma torpedoes at the barrier shield.
While John-117 and his team traveled to the first tower, 'Vadam and Johnson, along with their teams, touched down at the second and third towers, respectively. Although John-117 and 'Vadam succeed in disabling two of the three towers, Johnson was ambushed by enemy reinforcements, and lost contact with the UNSC soon after. The Jiralhanae captured Johnson, and took him to the Citadel. The UNSC-Sangheili forces launched a second assault on the third tower, with John-117 escorting the dropships in an AV-14 Hornet. They first destroyed Covenant Banshees and a Phantom, securing air control outside the barrier. The third tower was heavily defended by a pair of AA Wraiths, Shades, another standard Wraith, and a huge group of Jiralhanae led by War Chieftain. Destroying the Brute defenders outside the third tower, John-117, Thel 'Vadam, and a team of five Sangheili proceeded inside, where they discovered the corpses of Johnson's team, except for Johnson. After the defending forces of Mgalekgolo, Yanme'e and Jiralhanae were eliminated, John-117 disabled the barrier tower, finally deactivating the barrier. The ''Shadow of Intent'' advanced towards the Citadel, but 'Vadum's attack was interrupted by the arrival of the Flood-infested ''High Charity'', which arrived via slipspace. ''High Charity'' launched debris that crippled the carrier and its weapons systems, forcing the ''Shadow of Intent'' to retreat. It also launched Flood dispersal pods and began spreading Flood across the Ark. Keyes insisted that the Flood's arrival would only pressure Truth into activating the rings, and ordered the remaining ground forces to attack the Citadel.
File:H3 CitadelBattle.jpg|300px|thumb|The massive final battle of the Human-Covenant War at the front of the Citadel.
During this time, the Jiralhanae Chieftain Hekabe decided to use the distraction from the Flood arrival to locate the ''vertex'' hidden on the Ark. The control device for the Sharquoi, the ''vertex'' would allow Hekabe to control the creatures. Though the Prophets had some Sharquoi themselves, they had lacked the ''vertex'' and so could not control them and never unleashed them. Hekabe intended to use the ''vertex'' and the Sharquoi to gain power for himself and so fled the Ark with his loyalists before the battle ended despite fighting on the side of the Covenant.
Fighting through the Flood to exit the third tower, John-117 and the Sangheili regrouped with Gunnery Sergeant Stacker's Marines, now supported by a Scorpion, a Gauss Warthog, and a Mongoose. The humans and Sangheili fought through the cliffs to the area outside the Citadel, where the Covenant had set up lookout towers, Shade turrets, and ground vehicles. The Covenant attempted to reinforce their troops by a large amount of Banshees and Phantoms, but the UNSC air forces counterattacked with Hornets and Pelican gunships. The ground forces led by John-117 punched through the remaining Covenant armor on the mountainside. With the UNSC's arrival imminent, the Covenant deployed two final Scarabs, each commanded by a Jiralhanae War Chieftain, at the entrance to the Citadel, further supported by Prowlers, Ghosts, and Banshees. However, their efforts were in vain, and, with the Scarabs destroyed by John-117, any remaining Covenant stragglers were soon moped up by the UNSC.
While the Flood began climbing up the Citadel's far wall, John-117 and Thel 'Vadam led a small attack force, including N'tho 'Sraom, Usze 'Taham, as well as a few Marines and Sangheili, into the Citadel. Inside, the Prophet of Truth was giving a speech attempting to reassure his remaining followers, declaring that he was about to activate the Halo Array by forcing Johnson into interacting the control panel. Realizing that they had very little time left, John-117 and Thel 'Vadam hastily made their way to the elevator that would carry them to Truth's level, but the elevator's immense height meant that they would not be able to intervene in time.
Johnson attempted to goad the Chieftain that was holding him into killing him, but Truth, realizing this, stopped the Chieftain. With John-117 and the Arbiter too far away to stop Truth, Commander Keyes took her Pelican dropship and crashed it directly into the facility in an attempt to rescue Johnson, but she was killed by Truth himself when she hesitated to kill Johnson and herself to deny Truth a means to activate the rings. Johnson, struck by grief and shock, was easily made to activate the Array. However, Keyes' actions delayed Truth long enough for John-117 and the Arbiter to stop him. The Gravemind dispatched a swarm of Pod infectors and Flood combat forms, led by two Flood tank forms, to assist the UNSC-Sangheili force in preventing the Halos' activation. They were met by the Jiralhanae Chieftain and his Unggoy, Kig-Yar and Jiralhanae.
File:TruthDeath-large.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Arbiter killing the High Prophet of Truth. The defending Covenant forces quickly collapsed under the combined assault from the humans, Sangheili, and the Flood. With all Covenant in the Citadel eliminated, John-117 and 'Vadam reached the final room where they found Johnson cradling the dead body of Commander Miranda Keyes. 'Vadam confronted the Prophet of Truth, who was already partially infected by the Flood. 'Vadam allowed the Prophet to live long enough to see John-117 deactivate the rings, and 'Vadam personally killed Truth. With the Halo threat eliminated, the Gravemind betrayed the humans and the Sangheili, sending a large group of Flood combat forms and carrier forms after John-117 and Thel 'Vadam. The two attempted to escape on Keyes' Pelican, now piloted by Johnson, but they were knocked off by one of Gravemind's tentacles. With Johnson's Pelican spiraling out of the control, Johnson instructed the two to return to the elevator.
With the assistance of Aggressor Sentinels, the pair fought their way back to the elevator, which had been disabled. Without another choice, the two dropped down a small shaft in the room. At the bottom, John-117 followed flickers of Cortana to a control panel, and, upon its activation, they found Installation 08 departing from the Ark's Foundry (location)|Foundry. Realizing this was Cortana's "solution" for the Flood, John-117 decided he needed to activate the ring at the Ark's isolated location, where the pulse would not destroy the sentient life in the Milky Way galaxy. 343 Guilty Spark concurred, that a tactical pulse would eliminate the Flood infestation on the Ark, and made his way to the ring to oversee the final preparations. However, this new Halo lacked an activation index. The only way they could get another index was to rescue Cortana from ''High Charity'', since she still possessed the index from the original Installation 04.
While Johnson, 'Vadam, and 'Vadum rounded up the UNSC and Sangheili survivors from the battle, John-117 took a Banshee and Raid on High Charity|infiltrated the Flood-infested ''High Charity''. The Spartan fought through swarms of Flood and successfully recovered Cortana, who indeed still held the activation index from Installation 04. Under Cortana's guidance, John-117 sabotaged the city's reactors, causing a series of explosions that crippled the Gravemind and destroyed ''High Charity''. 'Vadam arrived shortly after, and the trio fled onboard a crashed Pelican.
File:Halo3Mythos.jpg|thumb|300px|John-117, Thel 'Vadam, Sergeant Major Avery Johnson, and 343 Guilty Spark on the surface of Installation 08.
}}
With the index secured, Thel 'Vadam ordered Rtas 'Vadum to take the human and Sangheili survivors to leave the Ark, using the slipspace portal to Earth. 'Vadam accompanied John-117 and Cortana to the incomplete Halo. Sergeant Major Johnson piloted the UNSC ''Forward Unto Dawn'', which was left behind for their escape, to a safe location near the control room, then drove a Warthog to the control room. The Gravemind, meanwhile, had begun to rebuild itself on the new ring, and sent Flood dispersal pods to stop the three interlopers. John-117, 'Vadam, and Johnson, with the assistance of local Sentinels, fought through the Flood and entered the Control Room. Inside, Spark explained that the new Halo would be ready to fire within days, to which the group, particularly Johnson, protested. When Guilty Spark informed the three that activating Halo now would destroy both the Ark and the installation, Johnson told him to "deal with it" and prepared to activate the ring.
Unwilling to let "his" ring be destroyed again, 343 Guilty Spark attacked the trio. He mortally wounded Johnson, took down the Master Chief's shields, and blew 'Vadam out of the room. Spark cornered John-117, but with the help of Johnson and his M6 Spartan Laser|Spartan Laser, John-117 defeated Guilty Spark and initiated the firing sequence of the new Halo. The incomplete Halo began ripping itself apart under the charging sequence. Fighting past the Flood and the Sentinels that have turned on them, John-117 and 'Vadam took Johnson's Warthog and rushed towards the ''Dawn'' as the incomplete Halo powered up and started breaking apart. The two drove their way through hordes of battling Flood and Sentinels. The two made it onto the ''Dawn''s hangar bay, from where 'Vadam ran to the bridge while John-117 inserted Cortana into a holotank in the hangar bay, so she could activate the ''Dawn''s engines. The ''Dawn'' left the ring just as it fired. The firing sequence shook the ring into pieces and heavily damaged Installation 00. The Slipspace portal collapsed as the ''Dawn'' entered it, and while the forward half with 'Vadam made it to Earth, the rear half fell out of Slipspace at an unknown location, leaving John-117 and Cortana stranded in space.
Aftermath
File:H3 - I08 Detonates.png|300px|thumb|Installation 08 fires above the Ark, severely damaging everything on its surface. On December 14, 2552, just three days after the battle and the ring's activation, 000 Tragic Solitude marshalled his Sentinels to construct a containment shield around the remains of ''High Charity's'' ruins, in fear that any few surviving Flood remnants would escape the crash site. Furthermore, he instructed his Sentinels to raze a perimeter, and the local refugia modified to ensure no nearby Sentience|sentient life survived, thus depriving the Flood of any host bodies in close proximity. By 2553#February|February 19, 2553, the Flood remnants were contained within the rubble of ''High Charity'', with a battalion of Sentinels patrolling in the vicinity of the shield to prevent both the Flood from escaping and future "invaders" from releasing them.
However, their defenses were proven to be ineffective, with Banished forces, led by Jiralhanae Voridus, Outbreak on Installation 00|releasing the Flood from the ruins of ''High Charity'' and providing them with hosts to infect during the Second Ark Conflict on 2559#June|June 4, 2559. This inadvertently caused a Flood outbreak onto the installation, leading to a desperate struggle between the Banished and the parasite. Ultimately, the Banished managed to destroy a Proto-Gravemind that was moments away from becoming a Gravemind and the Ark's Sentinels and the Banished managed to once again contain the Flood.
Despite the death of Truth and the vast majority of his forces, as well as the ravaging of the Ark, a Dhas Bhasvod's Covenant|small sliver of the Jiralhanae loyalist forces remained inside the ''Anodyne Spirit'' which shielded them for the firing of Installation 08. The survivors guarded it for years using stocked supplies as well as Covenant-issued equipment and had access to numerous Covenant vehicles.
Although the Battle of Installation 00 marked the end of the Human-Covenant War, numerous new Covenant remnants|splinter factions from the Covenant were created in its wake. These factions ranged from pragmatic mercenaries to fanatical religious cultists. These factions would come into Post-Covenant War conflicts|conflict with each other, with notable conflicts like Sangheili-Jiralhanae war|a war between the Sangheili and the Jiralhanae following the Great Schism, and Blooding Years|numerous civil conflicts fought between the Swords of Sanghelios and various other Sangheili factions.
The Portal between Installation 00 and Earth collapsed while was still inside it. As a result, the ship was cut in half; the front arriving at Earth and the back half being lost in space. Thel 'Vadam, sitting on the bridge at the time, was part of the front half but, without any engines, soon crashed into the ocean, from where he was rescued by UNSC forces on Earth. John-117 and Cortana were in the rear half, and though they survived the Portal's collapse, they were stranded in space and declared MIA. John-117 went into cryo-sleep while Cortana activated a distress beacon indicating their status. After drifting in an unknown region of space for over four years until 2557#July|2557, the rear half of the ''Dawn'' was caught in the gravity well of a Forerunner shield world known as Requiem, where they would come into Battle of Requiem|conflict with Jul 'Mdama's Covenant.
Legacy
}}
A Voi Memorial|monument was made near the town of Voi, not far from the portal structure. It read, "''In memory of those fallen in the defense of Earth and her Colonies. 2553|March 3, 2553.''" On it were photos of UNSC personnel who went through the portal but did not return; John-117 was honored with an etching of the number "117". With the exception of Thel 'Vadam, the Sangheili were not present at the dedication service, instead remaining aboard ''Shadow of Intent''. After the ceremony, Lord Hood, despite being unable to forgive the Sangheili for what they did to humanity at the beginning of the war, shook 'Vadam's hand and thanked him for standing beside the Master Chief at the Ark. The Arbiter then joined Rtas 'Vadum on the bridge of ''Shadow of Intent'', both agreeing to return to Sanghelios to ensure its safety. Thel 'Vadam was given command of the carrier and all Sangheili onboard departed for their homeworld.
}}
The wreckage from the Battle of Installation 00 remained on the surface of the Ark. Over two years later on 2555|March 20, 2555, during Operation: FAR STORM, Luther Mann and N'tho 'Sraom arrived at the Citadel to stop the Halos from firing. Scattered around the basin were the remains of human and Covenant vehicles left over from the battle, including the empty husks of the two Deutoros-pattern Scarab|Scarabs. The firing of the Halo ring caused unprecedented damage to the Ark while sterilizing most of the Flood forces around and on the installation, including the Gravemind commanding the massing Flood amid the battle. Installation 00 was severely damaged, and its monitor 000 Tragic Solitude, although inflicted with a state of rampancy from the ring's explosion, began repairing the installation.
In 2555#March|March 2555, 000 Tragic Solitude sought revenge against humanity for damaging the Ark years prior. To do so, the ancilla placed the remaining Halos on a brief countdown to activation, prompting a joint UNSC-Swords of Sanghelios Operation: FAR STORM|mission to the installation to stop the rings from firing. After Solitude's plan was thwarted, the UNSC established research facilities on the Ark. The UNSC's research team was able to repair the Ark from the damage done in the battle by directing the Ark's Retriever Sentinels to mine lifeless systems for the needed materials for repairs.
In 2558#September|September 2558, the Jiralhanae Chieftain Hekabe attempted to unleash the Sharquoi on the planet Carrow, having retrieved the Sharquoi control device, the ''vertex'', from the Ark during the Battle of Installation 00. Hekabe's plan was narrowly foiled by Gray Team, Rojka 'Kasaan and elements of the Surakan Militia Volunteers.
The Banished arrived on the fully-repaired Ark in 2558#November|November 2558, killing UNSC personnel across the installation. In 2559#March|March 2559, the crew of the newly arrived Second Ark Conflict|engaged the Banished with help from Isabel, the logistics AI of Henry Lamb Research Facility|one of the UNSC research facilities. Over the course of the battle, they would engage not only the Banished, but the few Dhas Bhasvod's Covenant|surviving Covenant forces under the command of Prelate Dhas Bhasvod allied with forces from the Keepers of the One Freedom.
Participants
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" | Seventh Fleet
| rowspan="2" |
|
|Destroyed, split in half
| |
|Unknown
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="3" |UNSC Navy
|Master Chief Petty Officer
|John-117
|Survived, listed as MIA
| |Commander
|Miranda Keyes
|KIA
| |Lieutenant
|Hocus
|Unknown
| | rowspan="3" |UNSC Marine Corps
|Sergeant Major
|Avery Johnson
|KIA
| |Private First Class
|Chips Dubbo
|Survived
| |Gunnery Sergeant
|Marcus Stacker
|Survived
|}
Ground forces UNSC Navy UNSC Marine Corps
*S4/BLCE/1/7
*S4/BRT/1/7
**Alpha Company, S4/BRT/1/7|Alpha Company
**Charlie Company, S4/BRT/1/7|Charlie Company
*Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
**105th Shock Troops Division|105th ODST Division
***7th Shock Troops Battalion
**11th Marine Force Reconnaissance/ODST|11th MFR/ODST Naval forces UNSC Home Fleet|Home Fleet
*Seventh Fleet
**Battle Group Victory
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Name
! Status
| |Cortana
|Survived, listed as MIA
|}
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" |Fleet of Retribution
|
|''Shadow of Intent''
|Survived
| |
|''Pious Inquisitor''
|Survived
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="4" |Unknown
|Fleetmaster
|Rtas 'Vadum
|Survived
| |Arbiter
|Thel 'Vadam
|Survived
| | rowspan="2" |Special Operations Sangheili|Special Operations
|Usze 'Taham
|Survived
| |N'tho 'Sraom
|Survived
|}
Ground forces Special Warfare Group|Fleet of Retribution Special Warfare Group Naval forces Fleet of Retribution
*One battle group
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="3" |Truth's fleet
| Forerunner keyship
|''Anodyne Spirit''
|Survived, assumed destroyed
| |
|''Foebane|Gathering of Praise''
|Escaped
| | Covenant frigate
|''Twilight Compunction''
|Destroyed
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" |Unknown
|Shipmaster
|Hekabe
|Escaped
| |Jiralhanae Chieftain|Chieftain
|Cethegus
|KIA
|}
Non-combatants
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| |High Council
|Hierarchs|Hierach
|Prophet of Truth
|KIA
|}
Naval forces Truth's fleet
*Voice of Maardoth
Gallery
File:H3 SpaceBattle Concept.jpg|Concept art of the space warfare|space battle above Installation 00. File:H3 Ark SentinelsVsCovenant.png|Covenant infantry and Shade turrets attacking Aggressor Sentinels. File:H3 CethegusCharging.png|John-117 fires at Cethegus at the Cartographer. File:Cool odsts.jpg|ODSTs attacking a War Chieftain and an Anti-Air Wraith. File:Anti-Anti-Air.jpg|An Anti-Air Wraith fires upon an AV-14 Hornet and a Pelican. File:H3 Brute Pack.png|A War Chieftain leading his Jiralhanae pack in defense of a barrier tower. File:H3 BarrierTowerBattle.png|John-117, Thel 'Vadam, and Sangheili fighting a Jiralhanae pack. File:H3 TheCovenant CitadelDogfight.png|Hornets and Banshees fighting above the Citadel. File:H3 Scorpion firing at a Scarab.jpg|A Scorpion charges at a Scarab at the Citadel. File:H3-JohnFlamethrower.jpg|John-117 fighting a Flood combat form inside ''High Charity''. File:3Way2-large.jpg|John-117 and Thel 'Vadam come across Sentinels fighting Flood combat forms on Installation 08. File:H3 Installation 08 blowing up.jpg|John-117 and 'Vadam escape Installation 08 on a Warthog. File:HaloLegends-Origins-ArkHalo.png|Installation 08 fires and crumbles over the Ark, severely damaging everything on its surface. File:H3 - I08 Explodes.png|Installation 08 severely damaging the Ark.
List of appearances
''Halo: First Strike''
*''Petra''
''Halo 3''
''Halo Legends''
*''Origins''
''Halo: Evolutions''
*''The Return''
*''From the Office of Dr. William Arthur Iqbal''
''Halo: Broken Circle''
''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''
''Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo''
''Halo: Tales from Slipspace''
*''Dominion Splinter''
''Halo Wars 2''
''Halo: Envoy''
''Halo: Legacy of Onyx''
''Halo: Bad Blood''
''Halo: Shadows of Reach''
*''Sacrifice''
''Halo: Divine Wind''
''Halo Infinite''
''Halo: Outcasts''
Notes
Sources
Category:UNSC victories Category:Battle of Installation 00|
Category:Engagements in the Battle of Installation 00| |
M12 Chaingun Warthogs Two Headhunters UNSC Marines
|forces2=*At least two sHalo: Spartan Strike, ''Operation C: Valiant Hammer''
5+ s sHalo: Spartan Strike, ''Operation B: Steadfast Pursuit''
s s Type-26 Banshees s s sHalo: Spartan Strike, campaign level ''Mission 17: Deliverance|Deliverance''
Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|Type-52 AA Wraiths s Covenant infantry
*Unggoy
*Kig-Yar
*Sangheili
*Jiralhanae
*Yanme'e Promethean infantry
*Promethean Knights
*Promethean Crawlers
*Promethean Watchers
|casual1=Many UNSC Marines
|casual2=*Many Covenant forces Many Promethean constructs
}}
}}
The Battle of Installation 03 was a brief engagement on Forerunner Halo Array|Halo Installation 03 in the Khaphrae system. Occurring in late 2557#July|July of 2557, the battle was fought between the United Nations Space Command and Jul 'Mdama's Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|new Covenant and the latter's Promethean allies.
The Covenant invaded Gamma Halo in an attempt to use the Forerunner Conduit to open slipspace portals throughout the installation. The Covenant intended to use the portals to transport a massive Promethean force onto the ringworld, which would aid in the Covenant's takeover of Installation 03. However, the attack was repelled due to the efforts of two Headhunters and the UNSC Marine Corps stationed on the installation.
Prelude
}}
At some point, the Covenant recovered the Forerunner Conduit,''Halo 2: Anniversary'', ''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminal 7'' a device that was capable of opening Forerunner slipspace portals throughout the Milky Way|galaxy. During the Battle of Mombasa on Earth in 2552, the Covenant attempted to use the Conduit during the battle. However, the device was Operation: WINDOW PANE|stolen by Alpha-Five|a squad of the UNSC's Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. The squad tried to escape the city to safely deliver the Conduit into UNSC hands, but the device was lost when the Prophet of Regret|High Prophet of Regret's ''Solemn Penance'' entered slipstream space over New Mombasa. The resulting slipstream wake killed the ODST squad and destroyed the city, seemingly along with the Conduit. However, the Conduit transported itself to Installation 03 in the Khaphrae system by entering slipspace to save itself from destruction.
Concurrent with this skirmish in New Mombasa, unidentified ODST squad|a second ODST squad recovered a series of Forerunner symbols|Forerunner glyphs which were finally deciphered nearly five years after the battle, pointing to a location on Gamma Halo that contained an unidentified Forerunner machine.Halo: Spartan Strike, ''Operation E: Brother's Keeper''
In 2557#July|July of 2557, UNSC personnel on Ivanoff Station detected a faint signal originating on Gamma Halo. The signal was soon discovered to be emanating from the Conduit, and a Spartan-IV Headhunters|Headhunter was sent to the installation to investigateaided by Lieutenant Kwon. However, Jul 'Mdama's Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|reformed Covenant had continued to search for the Conduit after its supposed destruction at New Mombasa in 2552. The Covenant faction succeeded in picking up the signal moments before the UNSC did, and a fleet traveled to Installation 03 to recover the Conduit.
The battle
When Jul 'Mdama's Covenant succeeded in recovering the Conduit, they sought to bring the device to the Altar on Installation 03. There, the Covenant intended to use the Conduit to open slipspace portals for Prometheans to invade Gamma Halo and give themselves control over the installation. To prevent the UNSC from finding the Conduit's exact location, the Covenant jammed the device's signal frequency. The Spartan was deployed to a jungle on Gamma Halo via Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|HEV, where he battled his way through Covenant forces and destroyed the five signal jammers.Halo: Spartan Strike, campaign level ''Mission 7: Gamma Halo|Gamma Halo'' Afterwards, the Spartan wiped out Covenant forces in the area to allow the UNSC to deploy three signal beacons that boosted the signal transmitted from the Conduit. The Conduit's signal was soon traced to a nearby Forerunner structure, though its entrance was blocked by a Promethean-designed gate.Halo: Spartan Strike, campaign level ''Mission 8: Signal Fires|Signal Fires'' A squad of UNSC Marine Corps|UNSC Marines captured a Covenant Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraith, and the Spartan was directed to their position.Halo: Spartan Strike, campaign level ''Mission 9: Lockout|Lockout''
Manning the Wraith, the Spartan returned to the gate and deactivated it by destroying its power core with the Wraith's Plasma mortar|cannon.Halo: Spartan Strike, campaign level ''Mission 10: Knockin' on a Forerunner Door|Knockin' on a Forerunner Door'' When the Spartan arrived at the structure, he was attacked by a Promethean Knight. It soon became apparent that the Covenant had established a relay station to create false signal to distract the UNSC. However, Kwon determined that the relay station's database could still be used to pinpoint the current location of the Conduit. After the Spartan activated three transmitters, the UNSC was able to discover the Conduit's whereabouts. Fighting past Promethean forces, the Spartan regrouped with a squad of Marines.Halo: Spartan Strike, campaign level ''Mission 11: Dormant|Dormant'' Operating a AV-30 Kestrel|Kestrel, the Spartan fled the area, while the Marines held off oncoming Prometheans. The Spartan eventually managed to escape aboard a D77-TC Pelican|Pelican dropship. Meanwhile, the Covenant discovered the Altar and prepared to release their Promethean allies upon the installation, certain that victory was theirs. However, the Spartan was sent to stop them.
File:HSS Elite and Conduit.png|thumb|250px|A Sangheili with the Conduit
While en route to the Altar, the Pelican was shot down by the Covenant. However, the Spartan survived the crash. While engaging Covenant forces, the Spartan discovered a deactivated portal that led to the Altar. Using bioscan platforms to initiate the portal's power stations, the Spartan activated the portal and entered it. Kwon determined that a M808 Scorpion|Scorpion main battle tank would be needed in order to break past the Altar's defenses. However, the presence of numerous Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|Anti-Aircraft Wraiths prevented the UNSC from delivering the tank via Pelican. After destroying three AA Wraiths, the Spartan traveled to the landing zone, where the Pelican dropped off the Scorpion.Halo: Spartan Strike, campaign level ''Mission 14: Up in the Air|Up in the Air'' Fighting past Covenant forces in the Scorpion, the Spartan traveled over a light bridge and reached the Altar. The Covenant attempted to stop his advance by setting up hard light barriers. After disabling the barriers, the Spartan engaged the Covenant forces within the area. The Spartan destroyed all Covenant forces at the Altar and finally retrieved the Conduit after killing the Sangheili Field Master that was carrying it. Realizing that they had lost the battle, Covenant forces began to evacuate the ringworld.Halo: Spartan Strike, campaign level ''Mission 18: Don't Touch My Ride|Don't Touch My Ride''
With the light bridges now shut down by the Covenant, Kwon directed the Spartan to a deactivated portal nearby. While holding off numerous Covenant and Promethean infantry, the Spartan rerouted the Altar's power stations to activate the portal. With the portal activated, the Spartan entered it and escaped the Altar.Halo: Spartan Strike, campaign level ''Mission 16: Leave 'em at the Altar|Leave 'em at the Altar'' Arriving in a jungle on Installation 03, the Spartan fought his way to the designated extraction point. When the Spartan arrived at the extraction point, he destroyed the Covenant and Promethean forces nearby to allow a Pelican to land. While the Conduit was given to UNSC personnel aboard the Pelican, the dropship was damaged and was no longer capable of flying in space. As he held off Covenant forces, UNSC technicians repaired the Pelican. Once the dropship was repaired, it was forced to take off immediately to avoid further damage. The Spartan was directed to a Dextro Xur-pattern Spirit|Spirit dropship the Covenant was using to extract its troops off-world, where he killed the soldiers defending it. The Spartan used the Spirit to escape Gamma Halo, and rendezvoused with the Pelican that was carrying the Conduit in the installation's orbit.
Concurrent with or shortly after the skirmish at the Altar, a unidentified Spartan-IV|Spartan-IV supersoldier was deployed to the jungles of Gamma Halo to investigate coordinates derived from a series of Forerunner glyphs recovered during the Battle of New Mombasa five years prior. With the help of Marines, the Spartan utilized a Kestrel gunship to hunt down Covenant commanders in order to safely establish a forwarding operating base, from where UNSC forces pushed forward through Covenant resistance to discover the location of the coordinates, an unidentified Forerunner machine.
Following the activation of the Altar, the machine opened slipspace portals which allowed Covenant and Promethean forces to invade the city of New Phoenix, Arizona, on Earth. Attempting to clear the area, the Spartan was overrun following Covenant bombardment and was forced to depart the ringworld for New Phoenix by utilizing one of the portals that the machine had generated.
Aftermath After returning to Ivanoff Station in a Pelican dropship with the Conduit, the Spartan received an emergency distress call from an Office of Naval Intelligence New Phoenix ONI facility|facility back on Earth. The researchers at the facility were studying a unidentified Forerunner machine|Forerunner artifact at the time of the battle. When the Covenant used the Conduit at the Altar, Forerunner portals were activated throughout the galaxy. One of the portals opened up in the ONI facility in New Phoenix, and Jul 'Mdama's Covenant and Promethean forces attacked the base. It was determined that the only way to close the portals was to bring the Conduit to New Phoenix. The Spartan traveled to the city with the Conduit, as the Skirmish in New Phoenix begun.Halo: Spartan Strike, ''Operation D: Adamantine Shield''
The other Spartan-IV arrived in New Phoenix as well, assisting the other Spartan in eliminating Covenant and Promethean forces outside the base.
In 2557, the Battle of Installation 03 became part of a UNSC Tactical Simulator|tactical simulator to enhance strategic skills of the Spartan-IVs aboard the .
Gallery
File:HSS-Gamma Halo drop.jpg|The Spartan arriving at Gamma Halo File:HSS-Gameplay-Warthog Rampage.jpg|The Spartan battles Covenant forces File:HSS-Gamma Halo Pelican.png|The Spartan leaves Gamma Halo in a Pelican
List of appearances
''Halo: Spartan Strike''
Sources
Category:Post-Covenant War conflicts|Installation 03 |
|place= Installation 04, Soell system (Archive:Halo Waypoint/2014 to 2020/Universe/Timeline/The Halo Conflict|Archive)
|result= Pyrrhic UNSC victory Destruction of Installation 04
Flood outbreak contained and sterilized Heavy Covenant losses and are forced to retreat All United Nations Space Command|UNSC forces, except for a few survivors, perish
|side1 = * United Nations Space Command
|side2 = * Covenant
|side3 = * Sentinel|Forerunner constructs
|side4 = *Flood
|commanders1 =
Captain (Navy)|Capt. Jacob Keyes Ensign|Ens. William Lovell Major|Maj. Antonio Silva First Lieutenant|1st Lt. Melissa McKay Staff Sergeant|St. Sgt. Avery Johnson UNSC rank structure#Officer ranks|Flight Captain Carol Rawley Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
|commanders2 =
Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee Prophet of Stewardship Minister of Etiology Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee Shipmaster Lat 'Ravamee Soha 'Rolamee Field Master Noga 'Putumee Shipmaster Orna 'Fulsamee
|commanders3 =
343 Guilty Spark
|commanders4 =
Proto-Gravemind
|forces1 =
*200 Naval personnel
*400 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines
*530 Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
**Fireteam Raven
*Two SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-IIs
**John-117
**Linda-058
*AI Cortana
*AI Wellsley
|forces2 =
Fleet of Particular Justice
*''Ascendant Justice''
*''Blameless Conceit''
**''Upright Chalice''
*''Seeker of Truth''
*''Infinite Succor''
**''Brilliant Gift''
*''Purity of Spirit''
*''Truth and Reconcilliation''
*''Undiminished Entelechy''
*Roughly 6 other Ket-pattern battlecruiser|ships''Halo: Combat Evolved'', campaign level The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|The Pillar of Autumn - ''"A dozen Covenant superior battleships against a single Halcyon-class light cruiser. Given those odds I'm content with three...make that four kills."'', Cortana.
*Thousands of ground troops
|forces3 =
Numerous Aggressor Sentinels
|forces4 =
Thousands of Flood forms
|casual1 =
All Marines, ODSTs and naval personnel
* AI Wellsley
*Jacob Keyes
*Melissa McKay
*Antonio Silva
*Carol Rawley
*
|casual2 =
Majority of ground forces
*Minister of Etiology
*Prophet of Stewardship
*Noga 'Putumee
*Lat 'Ravamee
*Soha 'Rolamee
*At least 6 ships destroyed, remaining Fleet retreated''Halo: The Flood'', Halo: The Flood#2010) bonus content|Adjunct - Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit
|casual3 = Complete destruction of all Sentinels on the Installation
|casual4 = Complete destruction of all Flood forms on the Installation
}}
The Battle of Installation 04, also known as the Halo Event, Alpha Halo Conflict''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual'', The Alpha Halo Conflict - p.62-65 and the Halo Conflict,''The Halo Conflict'Halo: Outpost Discovery'', Hall of History - OD_003_HOH_Humanity_Overview refers to a series of skirmishes between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant on the surface of Halo Array|Halo Installation 04, a Forerunner megastructure orbiting the gas giant Threshold. The Flood and the Forerunner Sentinels joined the conflict in its later stages. The battle became the turning point of the Human-Covenant War and ultimately led to the Great Schism.
Background
In the later stages of the Human-Covenant War, it was clear that the UNSC was losing. To try and force an end to the conflict, the Office of Naval Intelligence devised Operation: RED FLAG. Using the fortress world of Reach as bait, the operation would use a specially-modified ship to forcibly board a Covenant capital ship, steal it, capture a Hierarchs|Hierarch and use the hostage as negotiating leverage to end the war.
To undertake this task, the old was chosen and given an UNSC Pillar of Autumn#Specifications|extensive series of refits to improve its combat potential against Covenant ships. The plan would additionally call for the use of all remaining active-duty SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II personnel and a "mission specialist" Artificial intelligence|AI. Additionally, a battalion of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers commanded by Major Antonio Silva were assigned to the vessel for additional support.''Data Drops'', Data Drop #6 Following his performance at the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, Captain Jacob Keyes was chosen to lead the mission.
Ultimately, RED FLAG never went ahead due to the UNSC's disastrous Fall of Reach|defeat at Reach. During the battle on August 30, the majority of the ship's SPARTAN-II complement was deployed groundside to defend the orbital defense generators, with Spartans John-117, Linda-058 and James-005 deployed to Gamma Station to execute the Cole Protocol on the ONI vessel . In the engagement, James was killed and Linda severely injured. Additionally, Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson and Fire Team Charlie assisted the Spartan team and eventually evacuated back to the ''Pillar of Autumn''. With Linda clinically dead, she was placed into a cryo chamber with the hopes of reviving her later. With this, John-117 remained the only operational Spartan left on the ''Pillar of Autumn'' when it finally escaped Reach.
With the loss of a third of her technical staff, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' made an apparently blind jump through slipstream space|slipspace from where they would then make their way to Earth. In reality, the slipspace jump was planned by the Artificial intelligence|AI Cortana, using coordinates from an artifact found on Sigma Octanus IV as well as from an Babd Catha Forerunner complex|object found under the Babd Catha Ice Shelf on Reach. The ''Pillar of Autumn'' departed from the Aszod ship breaking yards on August 30, 2552, and entered slipspace above Reach while the Covenant fleet continued to wreak destruction on the planet.
File:H2A Screenshot ParticularJustice Autumn.jpg|thumb|left|The Fleet of Particular Justice faces down the ''Pillar of Autumn''. The Covenant, primarily the Fleet of Particular Justice led by Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee had acquired the trajectory of the ''Autumn's'' jump and pursued, arriving ''before'' the Autumn due to their faster borer|slipspace drive technology. Following the battle, some UNSC AIs would incorrectly suggest that the Covenant did not follow the ''Autumn'' to ''Halo'', but had in -fact already discovered the ring, and wanted to prevent the humans from finding it too. (Archive:Bungie.net/News/Jason Jones Interviewed By You|Archive)
The ''Autumn'' and the approximately 1,100 humans on it arrived in orbit above the planet Threshold at 01:20 hours on September 19, 2552. At some point after this time, Captain Keyes made a Anniversary Campaign Trailer|transmission that would later be picked up by NAVCOM.''Anniversary Campaign Trailer'' By this time, at least twelve Covenant vessels were already in station, with four battlegroups consisting of three s per group, the Covenant destroyer|destroyer ''Blameless Conceit'', the ''Infinite Succor'', the ''Ascendant Justice'' and the ''Seeker of Truth''. The Covenant additionally established a series of recon pickets around the ring's orbit, which were promptly engaged by the ''Autumn's'' GA-TL1 Longsword escort.
Battle in space
File:HCEA-Concept-PoA-Chief-Profile.jpg|thumb|left|200px|John-117 engaging Covenant forces boarding the ''Pillar of Autumn''
Following their arrival in the system, The Fleet of Particular justice established a presence on the far side of the ringworld and sent out a number of recon picket fighter squadrons to intercept the ''Pillar of Autumn''. Due to the Battle of Installation 04#Covenant fleet unrest|ongoing squabbles between the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee and Minor Prophet of Stewardship, Covenant forces were initially ordered to send out fightercraft and boarding parties to the human cruiser for fear of damaging the ring, though 'Vadamee later returned fire anyway. The UNSC cruiser's Longsword escort mopped up the initial recon pickets, though eventually a Seraph was able to slip its way through the defenses and land a blow across the ''Autumn's'' Titanium-A armor that those on the bridge could feel. The small craft had evidently managed to slip past their patrolling Longswords by powering down. Lieutenant Aki Hikowa sent new orders to the squadron and the Seraph was destroyed almost immediately. Just as Captain Jacob Keyes|Keyes plotted a course to bring his ship closer to Threshold|the gas giant, sensors picked up the approaching squadron of Covenant fighters, followed by boarding craft. Installation 04, a massive ring-shaped Astroengineering|superstructure, made its first appearance to those on the ''Autumn'' as the ship came around the planet and found it suspended at a lagrange point between it and Basis|its moon.
While the Covenant fleet was initially hesistant to open fire on the ''Autumn'', the humans had no such qualms and Cortana was able to estimate three or four kills on Covenant ships before the ''Autumn'' could be taken out. The ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was one such vessel, forced to retreat to ground to make repairs, later becoming the new HQ for the Covenant ground forces. Meanwhile, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was sent wave after wave of Elsedda-pattern Banshee|Banshees, Morsam-pattern Seraph|''Morsam''-pattern Seraphs and boarding craft to force the humans out of their shell.
As Covenant forces began boarding the ''Autumn'', Captain Jacob Keyes ordered Chief Petty Officer Thom Shephard and Petty Officer Third Class Samuel N. Marcus to release Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 from his cryo-chamber. Both officers were killed by Covenant invasion forces while preparing the SPARTAN-II for immediate combat. Shortly thereafter, the ''Autumns Magnetic Accelerator Cannon was sabotaged by the Covenant boarding teams and rendered inoperable.
During the battle, installation Monitor 343 Guilty Spark prepared the defensive , preparing to fire on all vessels who did not return to a minimum one light-year safe distance. Unfortunately, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was not able to receive this transmission. Luckily, the Monitor accessed the ship's databases and upon learning of the humans' status as reclaimers, took the weapons offline and granted them safe passage onto the ring.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal #1
File:KeyesChipCEA.png|thumb|left|The Cole Protocol stipulated that preventing the destruction or capture of a shipboard A.I. by the Covenant was of paramount importance.
Given the loss of their MAC|magnetic accelerator cannon, Captain Keyes made the decision to initiate Article Two of the Cole Protocol. He made the determination that it had become necessary to abandon the cruiser, and in accordance with the protocol, that meant someone would need to be entrusted with the protection of Cortana during the retreat. The captain planned to stay behind to attempt put the ship down himself on the surface of the ring. Cortana protested what she saw as a suicidal decision on Keyes' part, but he simply ordered that she locked in a selection of emergency landing zones and upload them to his Neural interface|neural lace. As for guardianship of the A.I., the job naturally fell to the Master Chief. Her data crystal chip was transferred from a pedestal on the ''Autumn's'' bridge to the housing within the Spartan's MJOLNIR armor. Keyes offered his own M6D magnum to John and wished him good luck just before the Spartan took his leave.
File:HCEA PillarOfAutumn CorridorBattle Concept.jpg|thumb|UNSC Marines fend off Covenant boarders. By the time John, with Cortana now in tow, left the bridge, the Covenant boarders had pushed beyond the areas adjacent to the airlocks they had entered by and had encroached toward the ship's command deck. A wave had been repulsed by the ''Autumn's'' defenders, but it had come close to reaching the bridge. Ammunition for the captain's sidearm was provided in the form of that which John collected from a fallen ensign. The first to fall to its 12.7x40mm M225 Semi-Armor-Piercing High-Explosive rounds was a group of Unggoy.
Now armed with an MA5B assault rifle, John fought his way through the Covenant infesting the ship's corridors in the direction that Cortana led him. He traveled up one level, felling Unggoy, Kig-Yar, and Sangheili as he went. His efforts enabled marines around him to launch a hastily organized counterattack on the boarders. All the while, the ''Autumn'' continued to take hits from enemy vessels. Cortana urged the Master Chief to hurry as Class-3 Bumblebee|lifeboats began to launch for the safety of solid ground.
As fighting within the ship raged on, a small detachment of Unggoy led by one known as Yayap found a way to avoid the violence. Yayap directed those in his charge to take hold of Zuka 'Zamamee|a wounded Special Operations Sangheili|Special Operations Sangheili and bring him safely back to one of the assault boat they had come in on.
The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers aboard had been charged with protecting the network of fusion engines that made up the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' experimental power plant. Under the command of Major Antonio Silva, the ODSTs had managed to hold their position successfully. Once he finally got orders from Captain Keyes that they were abandoning ship, he ordered them to the Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|SOEIVs that would carry them to the alien ringworld below. Only Fireteam Raven, having been separated from the others, did not launch with Silva and the rest. Raven instead fought against boarders on the ship to repel the invasion, under the guidance of the AI Wellsley. During the fighting, the ODSTs conducted an Extra-vehicular activity|space-walk to man the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' M910 Rampart point defense network to fend off incoming waves of space Banshees and Seraph starfighters. The fireteam were eventually forced to retreat back into the ship, however.
Finally nearing the lifeboats, John-117 paused long enough to grab a marine who fell while running for the safety one offered. The Master Chief effortlessly scooped up the man and tossed him inside the Bumblebee designated Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43. He confirmed to the escape lifepod's pilot that they could leave and it blasted free of the ship. Fireteam Raven witnessed the Chief and a few others escaping but did not join them, instead remaining behind to continue engaging the enemy on the way to their SOEIVs. Wellsley contacted them at this moment and urged speed on its members' part. The team fought through many Covenant troops in order to make it to the drop pods and get off the doomed ship.
Among those escaping was Flight Officer Captain Carol Rawley, who, alongside four other pilots, fought her way to the ship's launch bay where its D77-TC Pelicans lay waiting. The Pilots were successfully able to maneuver their craft out of the cruiser's hangar bays as the ship began to enter the ring's atmosphere and were eventually able to put down on the surface. The surviving dropships later played a crucial part in the UNSC campaign on the ring.
File:AutumnDamagedCEA.png|thumb|left|Cortana left behind a very small part of herself in order to assist with the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' descent. The Minor Prophet of Stewardship had additionally ordered the deployment of an Ossoona, Isna 'Nosolee, onto the cruiser. Armed with six plasma grenades and a plasma pistol and cloaked in active camoflage, the Sangheili was to use his helmet-mounted cameras to record the ship for intelligence purposes and try to capture the ship's AI or essential bridge crew. Hidden from plain sight, he avoided direct confrontation when a group of marines backed around a corner toward him, pursued by a pack of Unggoy and Kig-Yar. The Ossoona made his way to the bridge, where he was able to successfully evade being noticed by the humans.
To avoid its evacuating personnel from being shot down by the Covenant warships, Captain Keyes piloted the ''Autumn'' manually, diverting all Covenant attention to the ship as it plummeted towards the Forerunner construct. As the ship was shot down by Covenant warships, most of the cryo-chambers, including Linda-058's, were ejected as per standard UNSC procedure. Once the ''Autumn'' was set on the course, Keyes and the bridge crew would make for their own escape pods followed by 'Nosolee. Although the Sangheili was able to prevent detection, he eventually died at the hand of Keyes inside the escape pod, the captain having noticed the distinct shimmer in the air of the elite's active camouflage systems.
UNSC ground campaign
File:HFR Alpha Base 2.png|250px|thumb|left|UNSC forces from the ''Autumn'' set up Alpha Base on a Forerunner building. The ODSTs battalion under Major Silva made landing on the ring via orbital insertion, in an area roughly three kilometers in diameter. They were quick to organize, meeting up with Silva and Lt. McKay to establish a temporary base of operations. Relying on data provided the Artificial intelligence|AI Wellsley, Silva instructed Lieutenant Melissa McKay to take the battalion's B Company (Pillar of Autumn)|B Company and capture Alpha Base (Installation 04)|a Covenant-held butte to gain a tactical advantage in fighting off Covenant forces. The group had also received word of a group of Pelican pilots who had landed their craft some distance away, and C Company (Pillar of Autumn)|C Company was sent to meet them and prepare for aerial insertion to reinforce McKay. The remaining A Company (Pillar of Autumn)|A Company and D Company (Pillar of Autumn)|D Company remained under the command of Silva directly, and took some time to reinforce their temporary foothold and get some rest. This peace would not last long as the temporary base of operations was assaulted by Covenant ground forces consisting of 50 Sangheili, 100 s and, later, Type-26 Banshees. The defending ODSTs managed to fend off the assault but suffered a loss of 23 ODSTs killed and 16 ODSTs wounded.
Around the time of the Covenant attack, McKay's force engaged the Covenant at the butte and began a slow climb up to the base proper. In the assault, the ODSTs advanced into the butte using a spiraling ramp. Covenant forces responded to this advancement by raining down plasma grenades and unleashing volleys of plasma bolts. The Covenant defense was soon relaxed when a number of ODST companies performed aerial assaults on the defending Covenant forces. McKay's advancement into the butte was halted by a rockfall. Fortunately, McKay managed to find an access into the butte which led to a chamber filled with Covenant explosives. The lieutenant fired a rocket into the chamber, subsequently killing any Covenant force, and led her ODSTs on a lift up to the surface, where they met Major Silva who had arrived and eliminated the remaining Covenant forces.
Following the death of the Covenant spy, the rest of the command shuttle's ride down onto the surface of Installation 04 was uneventful, with the crew disposing of 'Nosolee's body in a nearby crevice once landed. The group would proceed to be harassed and pursued by Covenant Banshees, Spirit dropships and infantry through the rugged terrain, never able to rest for more than a few minutes. After hours of this treatment, Ensign Ellen Dowski began to crack, and seriously suggest giving up and allow themselves to be taken prisoner. To prevent her from being a burden on the group any longer, she was allowed to do so - but only after she was relieved of her firearm, supplies and left tied up for the Covenant to find.
As the day wore on, the remaining group would eventually find themselves in a box canyon, with a Spirit looming overhead. Realising they were finally trapped, the group put down their weapons only to find Dowski emerge from the Covenant dropship with a squad of Sangheili warriors. She identified the Captain, leading to the aliens executing all of the other humans before finally using Dowski's own pistol to kill her - leaving Keyes the only survivor. Keyes was then taken by the Sangheili back to the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' and interrogated for hours.
File:HM-JohnI04-full.jpg|thumb|250px| John-117 exiting a Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43|Bumblebee lifeboat that crashed onto the valleys of Halo. In a state of disarray, several evacuating UNSC personnel eventually landed on the Forerunner construct. Some were killed in the landing while others attempted to get hold of one another and survive the Covenant patrols.
After crash-landing on the Forerunner construct, John-117, the sole survivor of Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43's crash-landing, headed out to get away from Covenant patrols and, under the instructions provided by Cortana, attempted to establish some contact with any surviving human personnel. After evading several patrols and a brief skirmish with a small Covenant lance, John-117 managed to find a group of survivors defending themselves against the aggressive Covenant forces in a Forerunner structure. John established contact with Staff Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson|Johnson and the survivors and assisted them in eliminating and defeating the Covenant forces, later reinforced by three waves. Carol Rawley|Foe Hammer of Echo 419 soon arrived to retrieve the survivors after the elimination of Covenant forces. Witnessing three lifepods flying overhead, Cortana instructed Foe Hammer to disengage her Warthog to support the Spartan's efforts in retrieving and securing the survivors. Two Marines assisted the Spartan in the rescue efforts.''Halo: Combat Evolved'', campaign level Halo (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|Halo At some point, John would find a Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal and record its data. Around this time, 343 Guilty Spark would begin using the terminals to show the history of the ring.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary terminals teaser''
After successfully rescuing the survivors from all three lifepods, Cortana informed everyone of her findings after hacking into the proselytization network|Covenant battlenet; Captain Keyes and a number of personnel survived the landing on the Installation, but have been captured by Covenant forces. The survivors eventually returned to Alpha Base (Installation 04)|Alpha Base to devise a rescue plan for the Captain.
Not all of the troops, however, were able to make landfall and regroup swiftly, with at least one known group able to make landfall in a Ridgeline|forested region of the ring overlooking a large Forerunner relay structure and forming a staging area there. Unfortunately, they were soon wiped out by the Covenant.''Halo: Reach'', multiplayer map Ridgeline - map description () (defunct, Archive:Halo Waypoint/2009 to 2014/Games/Halo: Reach|Archive) () Another group of ODSTs were able to land on the ring near a beam emitter tower, holding off the Covenant until rescue finally came.''Halo: Reach'', Firefight level Installation 04 (map)|Installation 04 Fireteam Raven were able to make landfall on the ring, separated from other UNSC forces. Under the guidance of Wellsley through a mobile communication link, they made their way across the installation's surface.
At least three UNSC Marines would later be captured by the Covenant and taken to the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', locked in the same brig as Captain Keyes.
File:HCEA-Concept-TnR-Hangar.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and his squad kill Covenant on board the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. The surviving human personnel launched a mission to recover Captain Keyes, who was being held aboard the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. Under the cover of night, John-117 and a fireteam of ODSTs boarded the ship via its gravity lift. After several brief engagements aboard the ship, the rescue team managed to establish a secure control of the ship's command center. John-117 went ahead and freed Captain Keyes and several other captured Marines. When they returned to the command center, they found out that the ODSTs had been slaughtered by Stealth Sangheili. Furthermore, Echo 419 was unable to retrieve the rescue party due to Covenant air patrols. Following Cortana's suggestion, Captain Keyes manned a Covenant dropship and returned everyone to Alpha Base.
While Covenant forces were distracted by the ongoing battle at the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', ODST Lieutenant McKay was ordered to stage a raid on the crashed ''Pillar of Autumn'', in order to gain extra supplies to finance the battle effort. The raid was successful; the UNSC forces managed to salvage several of the ship's Warthogs, trailers and four M808B Main Battle Tank|Scorpion tanks along with food supplies and ammunitions. However, when returning the salvaged vehicles to Alpha Base, the convoy was ambushed by Covenant forces led by Noga 'Putumee using Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraiths, Banshees and Ghosts. Despite sizeable Covenant opposition, the UNSC forces managed to withhold the ambush and inflict greater damage on the Covenant forces. During the raid, Fireteam Raven was able to link up with friendly UNSC forces for the first time since landing on the ring twenty-eight hours earlier, and contributed to the raid by manning the mounted machine guns on the convoy's Warthogs.
File:HLC Halo Conflict.png|thumb|250px|The Master Chief aboard Echo 419 approaching the Cartographer.
Using the intelligence gathered by Captain Keyes and Cortana, the human forces amassed a squadron for an assault on the Silent Cartographer island, in their attempt to uncover more information of the Installation. John-117 and a handful of Marines, supported by ''Echo 419'' and ''Bravo 022'', penetrated the Covenant defenses, journeyed deep within the island's chambers and access-ways, and discovered the location of the Installation's control room.
Events leading to the discovery was not easy; the Covenant managed to temporarily lock access to the chambers within the island, prompting John-117 and the Marines to navigate to the island's security chamber. As they deactivated the security, Bravo 22 and its payload fell prey to Covenant fire.
File:ScorpionControlRoom.png|thumb|250px|John-117 leading the assault in a M808 Main Battle Tank|Scorpion.
After the Battle of the Silent Cartographer, Cortana instructed Foe Hammer to deploy them using navigations she gathered from the discovery of the control room. Alone, John-117 was inserted into a network of tunnels occupied by Covenant forces. The Spartan then received a radio transmission from Fireteam Zulu, who were pinned down in a valley, as he fought his way through the network of tunnels. John-117 assisted Fireteam Zulu in eliminating local Covenant forces and their armor support, then journeyed through a system of adjacent canyons until reaching a dead end, where Fireteam Zulu requested to be evacuated.
John-117, with Cortana providing guidance, eventually discovered a large pyramidal structure built into a cliff, on top of which was the control room. Upon reaching the chamber, Cortana accessed the Installation's systems and discovered Flood|a terrible secret quarantined within the Installation. Fearing for Captain Keyes' safety, she instructed Foe Hammer to take John-117 to head to his last known location.
The Flood escapes
File:HCEA-Concept-Chief-Flood.jpg|thumb|250px|John-117 encounters the released Flood in a containment facility At the same time of the Battle of the Silent Cartographer, Captain Keyes, supported by Second squad (Pillar of Autumn)|2nd Squad and Pelican dropship Victor 933, devised a plan to infiltrate a Flood containment facility|presumed weapon cache within a swamp, as per intelligence gathered from 'Qualomee|a captured Sangheili. They later met up with Fire Team Charlie, led by Staff Sergeant Johnson, which had proceeded to the structure and engaged the few scattered Covenant forces they encountered in the upper levels of the facility.
While exploring the lower levels, the UNSC forces came across a sealed door, locked down by the Covenant. With increasing curiosity, the UNSC unlocked the door and explored the containment room. Shortly after, Fire Team Charlie was contacted by a desperate Marine requesting help as he was overwhelmed by non-Covenant hostiles. Seconds later, the fireteam was attacked by a swarm of Pod infectors, infecting Captain Keyes, Privates Riley, Kappus, Manuel Mendoza|Mendoza, Jenkins, Bisenti and several others. Two Marines managed to avoid the infection, one of whom was killed just outside and Paranoid Marine|another who escaped by playing dead. Staff Sergeant Johnson shrugged off the Pod infectors due to his ORION Project|SPARTAN-I enhancements and managed to escape the facility.
File:KeyesJohnsonCEA.png|thumb|left|250px|Marines and Captain Keyes fighting back-to-back against the Pod infectors they released. Three hours after the assault on the Control Room, John-117 arrived near Victor 933's crash site via Echo 419. His travel towards Captain Keyes' last known transmission was met with an abnormally small concentration of Covenant forces, which was easily handled. Upon unlocking the door to the Containment Room, he found Private Jenkins' helmet and accessed its video records. Shortly after, John-117 was attacked by the remaining Flood forms that spewed out of nearby chambers. The Spartan quickly proceeded to escape the facility, combating Pod infectors and Flood combat form|Combat forms. He soon caught up with Corporal Lovik's squad, who were advised by Echo 419 to take refuge at a nearby structure.
The survivors fought their way through the swamp in search of the structure for immediate evacuation. On the site, the survivors were aided by unknown constructs later identified as the Sentinels, under the command of the Installation's Monitor, 04-343 Guilty Spark|343 Guilty Spark. The Monitor teleported the Spartan into the Library, leaving the other survivors to be evacuated by Echo 419.
After discovering a Reclaimer was within reach, 343 Guilty Spark, without hesitation, teleported John-117 into the Library, where he was tasked with the retrieval of the Activation Index. Proceeding into the bowels of the huge structure, the SPARTAN fought off wave after wave of Flood, before the Monitor called in Sentinels to assist him. Upon reaching the central shaft of the Library, John-117 rode another elevator down to the Index to deactivate the security protocols around it. 343 Guilty Spark then took over his role and stored the Index within himself.
Covenant fleet unrest File:H2A Terminals - Thel and Prophet.jpg|thumb|Thel 'Vadamee converses with the Minor Prophet. Following the arrival of the ''Autumn'' in the system, the Fleet of Particular Justice experienced a great amount of unrest, due to conflicting leadership between the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee and the Minor Prophet of Prophet of Stewardship|Stewardship. The two initially met aboard the flagship ''Seeker of Truth'' to contact High Charity and ascertain how to proceed with interpreting Covenant holy scripture. High Charity was unavailable, and the Prophet departed again for ''Ascendant Justice'', declaring that no Covenant ships were to open fire for fear of damaging the holy ring, instead ordering a boarding action to take place.''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #3 Thel would disregard this order and open fire aggressively.
File:H2A Terminals - Fleet waiting for Autumn.jpg|thumb|left|''Seeker of Truth'' and the Covenant fleet in orbit of Installation 04. What would follow was a great deal of bickering and arguing between the two commanders, with the Prophet appropriating fleet military resources for his own personal goals. He would secretly order the ''Undiminished Entelechy'' and sister ship ''Purity of Spirit'' to perform close-range surveys of the ring The Prophet would later order an expeditionary force led by Sesa 'Refumee and Loka 'Bandolee to investigate the Threshold gas mines, leading to 'Vadamee ordering all military forces be concentrated on the human threat. The Prophet would ignore this decree, and order secondary and tertiary artifact recovery groups to investigate the Flood containment facility, believed a weapons cache. The two groups fell silent, leading a fourth group to be dispatched. 'Vadamee would once again order a cease and desist of these actions, with no response given by the Prophet. The Supreme Commander would then dispatch an infantry unit to ''Ascendant Justice'' to relieve the Prophet of command, leading to the boarding party being shot down and 'Vadamee warned that repeated actions would result in further lethality. File:Infinite Succor.jpg|thumb|''Brilliant Gift'' collides with ''Infinite Succor''.
Covenant forces around the Flood containment facility were in disarray due to the release of the Flood. Several dropships were shut down with some captured by the Flood. One particular dropship, the ''Brilliant Gift'', was manned by the Flood towards the Covenant fleet currently hovering over the Installation. The dropship eventually crash-landed on the ''Infinite Succor'' and infected its personnel, unbeknownst to those around the ''Infinite Succor''. Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee responded by deploying a Covenant Special Operations|Special Operations unit led by Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee. The Special Operations unit Infinite Succor#Battle on the Infinite Succor|engaged with its invading aggressor, eventually leaving the injured 'Vadumee as the only survivor of the engagement. The presence of the Flood and its potential of being space-borne was reported to Supreme Commander 'Vadamee.
'Vadamee would proceed to order an emergency quarantine response for the fleet, ordering all vessels evacuate the ring and to report a full biometric scan of their crew, and for uninfected vessels to fire on those who did not respond. The ''Undiminished Entelechy'' would be among those infected by the Flood and shot down by 'Vadamee, crash-landing on the ring. The ring's environmental control systems would quickly accelerate plant growth on the wreckage in the short time the wreckage remained intact.
With the failure of the Covenant forces on the ground to control the Flood outbreak, the Minor Prophet would order the execution of Soha 'Rolamee, and proceed to move himself and his security contingent to ''Truth and Reconciliation'', ordering the crew to police the ship and detain anyone who would threaten the consecration, even the Supreme Commander. The Prophet presented 'Rolamee's severed head to Zuka 'Zamamee as a warning against repeated failures like the failure of 'Rolamee to contain the Flood, or Zuka to kill the Master Chief. 'Vadamee would later proceed to personally lead a team to take control of ''Ascendant Justice'', taking the ship without firing a shot.
As the Flood continued to spread, the Covenant battlenet would fall into chaos. Jiralhanae troops assigned to the fleet relayed several accounts of the ground actions to the fleet, but these accounts were later considered unreliable due to panic, confusion and excuse for failure. The fleet also deployed Kig-Yar Sniper teams armed with Type-50 Alpha beam rifle|T-50 beam rifles during the Flood onslaught.''Halo 5: Guardians'', Type-50 Alpha beam rifle List of REQ cards/Power Weapons|REQ card
Late stages of conflict
In the early hours of September 21, the Covenant returned to assault Alpha Base, initiated by an air insertion and then followed by a ground advancement. Using a Charlie 217|captured Pelican dropship and its Rick Hale|captured pilot, the Covenant attempted to insert 30 Special Operations Sangheili, led by Special Operations Officer Zuka 'Zamamee to assassinate the apparently absent Spartan and clear a landing zone for six Spirit dropships for immediate evacuation. The officer had been successfully able to convince the prophet to allow the attack, aiming to kill the Spartan before he could cause the Covenant any more trouble.
The air insertion was quickly discovered by the human forces on Alpha Base, who flooded the Pelican dropship with jet fuel before igniting it, killing twenty-four Sangheili. The six Sangheili managed to escape into the base, neutralizing the human control rooms and liberated the captured Covenant soldiers. However, the MLA auto-cannons and various other defense systems employed by the human forces managed to destroy several incoming Spirit dropships. A large amount of Covenant troops were able to make it into the base, however, including Hunters and Grunts, thanks to the deployment of the ''Upright Chalice''. The Covenant forces landing on the butte were soon either killed or captured, and the assault on Alpha Base stalled. During the midst of the fighting, Fireteam Raven were recalled to the ice canyons near the Installation's control room to assist John-117 in fighting a new threat near the Installation's Control Room.
The ground assault, led by Field Master Noga 'Putumee, made significant progress against the humans due to their use of Spirit dropships to clear the way ahead of the ground forces. However, the seeming route was designed to lure the Covenant into the firing range of a pair of concealed Scorpion tanks, which then tore into the ranks of the aliens and inflicted major casualties. Field Master 'Putumee was killed by the third shot from the tanks, throwing the Covenant forces into chaos - of the 150 infantry with him, only a few survived to retreat. Meanwhile, the surviving Covenant Special Operations team from the air insertion phase and the freed Covenant troops ran into an ambush devised by the Marines, in which all members of both sides were killed other than Zuka 'Zamamee and Yayap, both of whom fled in a recaptured Banshee. By this time, however, the Covenant ground assault was in full retreat.
File:TwoBetrayalsAnniversary.png|thumb|250px|Cortana revealing Halo's true nature to John-117 as Guilty Spark looks on. Following the Master Chief and Fireteam Zulu's capture of the control room, the Covenant returned in force to retake the structure and heavily fortified the ice canyons surrounding the region, with numerous Banshee air patrols and heavy vehicles. However, they were unable to breach the facility and were locked out. The Flood began to pour into the region to combat the Covenant and Sentinels there, likely intending to take the control room offline and prevent the activation of the ring. By the time 343 Guilty Spark was able to teleport the Spartan back to the control room to prepare for firing, the Flood and Covenant were heavily entrenched.
As the two prepared to activate Halo, Cortana stopped the firing - having discovered the Installation's true purpose after extended time inside the control room's systems. The UNSC AI then revealed the installation's true purpose to the SPARTAN; destroy all life in the galaxy to starve the Flood of its food source. 343 Guilty Spark, unable to purge Cortana from the installation's system due to her having merged with the Index, instructed his Sentinels to eliminate the Spartan and retrieve the UNSC AI from the Spartan's helmet.
File:HCEA TwoBetrayals Banshee Concept.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 flying to a generator John-117, after destroying the Sentinels and eliminating the patrolling Covenant forces, followed Cortana's instructions to destroy the three Phase pulse generator|Phase Pulse Generators to delay the firing process, should the Monitor manage to circumvent the firing protocols. As the Spartan joined the now-four way skirmish in the region, Fireteam Raven were airlifted in from Alpha Base to assist in weakening enemy forces in the region to allow the Master Chief to escape. They would provide close air support coverage in their UH-144 Falcon for a time before deploying onto the ground to begin combat - at one point being saved by the Spartan from an encroaching Flood Juggernaut. Flood and Covenant forces in the area would be severely weakened thanks to Raven's actions, allowing the Spartan to complete his task much quicker. Upon the destruction of the third generator, Cortana suggested they destroy Halo to prevent future use of the installation by enabling the ''Autumn's'' self-destruct system. She then utilized the teleportation grid to transport the two to the damaged ''Truth and Reconciliation'' to rescue Captain Keyes to obtain the proper authorization.
Fireteam Raven would ultimately hold off long enough to be extracted via Falcon, though a luckily-timed Wraith plasma mortar hit the helicopter, rendering it severely damaged.
File:Annivesary, conflict.jpg|thumb|350px|UNSC, Covenant, and Flood battle for supremacy. The morning following the Covenant attack on Alpha Base, Silva and McKay met to review the situation of the ODST battalion on the ring. With Keyes out of the picture, command fell back to the Major, who surmised that the best defense is a good offense. Silva proposed to engage the Covenant forces in a medium conflict and instructed Lieutenant McKay to plan out the operation. McKay decided to use the burned-out remains of Charlie 217, mock-injured Marines, and a phony distress call as baits to lure the Covenant into an ambush. This operation was further strengthened when Wellsley informed them of the Covenant's increased interest in intelligence gathering by monitoring the radio traffic and conducting reconnaissance flights after the human raid on the ''Truth and Reconciliation''.
The operation began when the human forces "informed" a patrolling Banshee of the hostile location, using 3rd Squad - made to look like they had been injured in the "crash" - as bait. When the Banshee retreated presumably to report its findings of the enemy location, human forces abandoned their mock location and waited for the incoming Covenant forces. The first wave was a Spirit dropship with a lance of Unggoy, Kig-yar and Sangheili along with a pair of Mgalekgolo. The first wave was handled rather quickly; Lieutenant McKay ordered those with heavy weapons to concentrate on the Hunters before engaging the lance. Soon, the dropship returned and unleashed volleys of plasma on the entire area, forcing the human forces to take cover. Covenant ground forces were deployed as the dropship retreated and began engaging the human forces into the rocks. The human snipers managed to eliminate five Covenant soldiers before the dropship exacted the position; unfortunately, their positions was exposed and resulted with two snipers killed and one wounded by plasma fire. The operation turned awry as the Covenant had the advantage over the human forces' territory.
Just as Lieutenant McKay was about to issue a retreat order, both forces were attacked by a newer force, the Flood. While the Covenant had some experience in combating the Flood, the human forces had none. Both forces were in disarray and were massacred by the Flood. After the Flood combat form|combat forms slashed their way through combatants, the Pod infectors burrowed themselves into corpses and helpless victims and turned them into even more combat forms. In the ensuing horror, Lieutenant McKay was confronted by Jenkins, now a combat form with limited control of his body and desperately trying to make McKay kill him. The Lieutenant, however, disarmed and restrained the Flood form, hoping to use it as a specimen to study the Flood. The attack forced both human and Covenant to join forces and fend off the Flood. After successfully eliminating the Flood threat, both groups returned to killing one another. At the end, the human forces claimed a pyrrhic victory with heavy casualties.
File:HFR RavenDown Fighting.png|thumb|350px|Fireteam Raven fight off Covenant forces inside the Forerunner structure. During their extraction, Fireteam Raven's Falcon would be shot down, crashlanding on a remote part of the ring. In this region, the Covenant had made fortification inside another Forerunner structure, with dozens of infantry including Evocati and Mgalekgolo. By the time Raven arrived, the Flood were besieging the outpost. Retreating into the structure, Raven would fend off hordes of Flood and Covenant including Flood Juggernauts. A Pelican was dispatched to rescue the ODSTs, but constant Banshee attacks made landing difficult, though they were eventually able to reunite with UNSC forces and make an assault on the crash site of the ''Autumn''.
Elsewhere, elements of the 79th Infantry Battalion would be engaged by the Flood. Unidentified private|One Private would reach his escape pod, Lima Foxtrot Alpha 19, and attempt to make an SOS call. He was ultimately killed by the Flood. The other group of humans who had formed a staging ground on the ring would be wiped by a Covenant attack. Following the raid on the ''Pillar of Autumn'', the Covenant under command of 'Ontomee retook control of the cruiser crash site and fortified it with more infantry and vehicles including Banshees, Ghosts and Wraiths. However, the ongoing conflict around the ring left the garrison severely understaffed and exhausted. The Flood began to attack the ship, seizing control of the engineering decks. As if the garrison was cursed, an army of Aggressor Sentinels arrived not long after. Zuka 'Zamamee and Yayap arrived at the cruiser, with Zuka taking the identity of Huki 'Umamee, a Sangheili Special Operation Officer who was slain at Alpha Base - and were immediately put on duty, with 'Ontomee glad for the reinforcement. Yayap was given command of twenty Kig-Yar and put on patrol work. Ultimately, his orders to double-check every shipment of supplies that came in would prove useful, with his cohort narrowly avoiding bringing a crate full of infection forms onto the ship.
Having narrowly survived the ambush by the Flood and battle with the Covenant, McKay's platoon returned to Alpha Base with several specimens of dead Flood forms and a captured Jenkins. She briefed Major Silva on what was understood of the Flood threat, before the Major ordered the bodies burnt. Jenkins was locked up in a cell under heavy guard, where he attempted to commit suicide twice, before lunging at McKay and breaking a bone in his arm in the process. The extreme pain was enough to temporarily subdue the infection form controlling Jenkins' body, giving him just enough control to point down in response to Silva's question; where would the Flood attack Alpha Base? McKay and a team led by Sergeant Lister prepared near a large grate at the bottom of the mesa; the grate had been battered by hundreds of energy weapons - the Flood had been trying for days to break through and attack the human stronghold. Within a matter of days, they may just succeed. A full company was summoned to drop down into the pit below and cover a team of engineers, who would weld large panels in place to prevent the Flood from breaking through for a few more days - enough to buy time to get off the ring. A team of six Helljumpers fast-roped into the pit and used their helmet-mounted cameras to provide data for the Navy technicians to create four "plugs" to seal the breach. The team were attacked from the darkness by a handful of Flood combat forms, leading them to retreat while grenades were dropped into the hole.
Ten minutes later, a larger combat team was inserted into the hole with four tech teams, and were successfully able to seal the breach without incident before repairing the grate. The defense wouldn't hold out forever, but long enough to let the humans plan out their escape route.
File:Protograve.png|thumb|250px|The assimilated Keyes is discovered by John-117. Following the fleet-wide order to evacuate, the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was beset upon by the Flood, attempting to capture the cruiser and use it to escape the ring. The Covenant deployed a strike team to cleanse the ship and ready it for departure, but the security forces would remain bogged down in the fight on the surface against a tidal wave of the parasite. After getting teleported by Cortana into the halls of the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', John-117 continued with his objective in rescuing Captain Keyes and having him authorize the self-destruction of the ''Autumn''. The pair found themselves in the middle of an ongoing battle between Covenant forces and the Flood forms for the control of the damaged battlecruiser. The SPARTAN fought his way through waves of Covenant and Flood forces and arrived at the bridge where Keyes was located. The pair soon discovered that the captain had been turned into one of the Flood, a Proto-Gravemind. With no other choice, John-117 forcefully obtained the captain's command neural interface from his skull and quickly retreated for the hangars, stealing a Banshee to make haste for the ''Autumn''.
By September 22, only 312 humans (236 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines and 76 UNSC Navy|Navy personnel) remained alive at Alpha Base. In order to escape back to Earth, Major Silva concocted a plan to capture the Flood-infested ''Truth and Reconciliation'', and use it to bring the remaining troops plus captured samples of Covenant technology and Flood forms to Earth. Despite the AI Wellsley's warnings, the humans proceeded with the attack, inserting several Pelicans' worth of troops into the cruiser's shuttle bays while an additional team led by McKay captured the gravity lift. Thanks to the previous raid, McKay had the advantage of foreknowledge of the ship's layout, and established control of the command center, engineering and eighty percent of the rest of the ship. The lightning raid was so successful that the troops even managed to capture the Minor Prophet of Stewardship and his security detail, though the Prophet was able to send out an emergency rescue request to all Covenant vessels in the vicinity.
The humans quickly began to lift the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' off the ringworld, with the activity spurring the Flood inside the ship's engineering corridors to attack the UNSC personnel stationed there. Although the Flood in engineering were quickly killed, Lieutenant McKay was worried about more potential Flood attacks. She urged Major Silva to eliminate the Flood aboard the ship before leaving the ring. Silva, however, refused to do so, as he wanted to bring live Flood specimens back to Earth for study. Knowing that Silva's ambitions would likely doom Earth to Flood infestation, McKay decided to sabotage the ship's system by severing the fiber-optic passage connecting the engines to the command center. The ship was destroyed shortly after as a result, killing all aboard.
File:HCEA-Concept-Maw-WarthogRun.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and Cortana escape the ''Autumn'' as its engines go critical. Having been extracted from the war between the Covenant and Flood, Fireteam Raven were deployed via M12B Warthog with a new mission; assist a convoy of UNSC Marine forces making one final assault on the ''Pillar of Autumn''. The assault consisted of a handful of Falcon gunships, Warthogs and Pelicans attempting to distract Covenant forces to buy time for John-117 to complete his mission. The convoy fought through heavy Covenant resistance, including Phantoms and Wraiths before being alerted to the arrival of the Spartan in a Banshee commandeered from the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. Although the Covenant aircraft largely ignored the Banshee - thinking it one of their own - the in the region began to bear down on it, chased by Fireteam Raven.
The Spartan, through Cortana's instruction, fought his way to the ship's bridge. The UNSC AI started the ship's self-destruct sequence, only to discover to her dismay that the Guilty Spark had halted the sequence. Cortana deduced that the Monitor was in Engineering and was attempting to take the ''Autumn's'' engines offline. John-117 decided to overload the engines by manually cracking the engine's magnetic containment fields.
During the battle aboard the ''Autumn'', the few remaining UNSC survivors rallied for a final defensive action around the crash site to prevent the Covenant or the Flood from interfering with the Chief's mission, having learned of his intentions to destroy the ring. The Covenant sent a to destroy the UNSC forces and then to ambush the Chief aboard the cruiser, but this assault was thwarted by the ODSTs of Fireteam Raven. The remaining Marine forces were then overrun and all survivors in the immediate vicinity were left at the mercy of the ''Autumn's'' imminent detonation.
File:PoADestructionCEA.jpg|thumb|250px|The ''Autumn's'' engines detonate, destroying the Halo Installation. The Spartan fought his way through Cryo B to reach Engineering. Following Cortana's instructions, he destroyed each of the four engines by launching explosives into the open shafts, destabilizing the containment fields. Cortana calculated that the pair had 15 minutes to evacuate the ship before the engines detonated. The Spartan headed for the shaft of elevator V-1269, where he was ambushed by Zuka 'Zamamee. The trap almost succeeded, but with Cortana's help, the Chief killed Zuka 'Zamamee by knocking the Sangheili to the bottom of the shaft. He then rode the elevator to a Class-7 Service Corridor located along the ship's dorsal structure. Using a Warthog, he drove along the length of the Corridor to External Access Junction 4C, where Echo 419 was to pick the Chief up one last time. However, two Banshees shot down the Pelican, killing Foe Hammer. John-117 was then forced to drive to Launch Bay 7, where a single GA-TL1 Longsword|Longsword fighter was still docked. The Spartan successfully boarded the ship and escaped Halo. Moments later, the ''Autumn's'' engines detonated, blowing a five-kilometer hole in the region around the ship and destroying Halo - bringing the battle to an end.
Realising the impending fate of the ringworld, Supreme Commander 'Vadamee ordered all remaining ships of the Fleet of Particular Justice to take cover behind the gas giant Threshold, ignoring the request made by the Minor Prophet.
Aftermath
}}
File:Installation04destroyed.png|thumb|250px|The breakup of Installation 04.
Although the ringworld was destroyed, it did not mark the end of conflict in the Soell system. After the destruction of Installation 04 and John-117's successful escape, Cortana scanned the installation's debris field for survivors. Soon, multiple Covenant capital ships entered the system. Cortana discovered several cryo pods jettisoned from the ''Pillar of Autumn'' during the initial battle, one of which contained Linda-058, and a Pelican dropship with several survivors. John-117 picked up the survivors in the Longsword, and with their help, boarded and hijacked the Covenant flagship ''Ascendant Justice'' and Raid on Reach|headed for Reach. The ''Seeker of Truth'' and Supreme Commander 'Vadamee would soon depart for ''High Charity''. During the interim, 'Vadamee would write a Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Manual#Report on the Atrocity at Halo|''Report on the Atrocity at Halo'', detailing his failure to protect the ring and combining the intelligence on John-117 and the UNSC taken from his engagements at Reach and Installation 04''Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Manual'' as well as send a copy of a Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit|Priority Broadcast Log taken from transmissions detailing the conflict between 'Vadamee and the Prophet to Lak 'Vadamee, wishing for Lak to know the truth of events before his hearing. The commander was tried in front of the High Council and stripped of rank, ultimately only spared a public execution due to the machinations of the Prophet of Truth, who esteemed the title of Arbiter on the disgraced Sangheili. 'Vadamee was given a new mission; eliminate the group of heretics led by Sesa 'Refumee now holed up in the gas mines of Threshold.
'Refumee had been tasked to explore the gas mines of Threshold by the Minor Prophet of Stewardship during the battle at Installation 04, and was eventually the one to receive 343 Guilty Spark following the ring's destruction. The Monitor was able to survive the destruction of the Installation, and had similarly arrived at the gas mines, wherein he proceeded to tell 'Refumee the truth about the Halo Array.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal 11''Halo 2: Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals Following the Monitor's revelations, 'Refumee devoted himself to spreading the truth of Halo to all the Covenant. A month later on October 20, the now-rebranded Arbiter and fellow Installation 04 veteran Rtas 'Vadumee would lead a team to Raid on the Threshold gas mine|raid the gas mines and destroy the heretics once and for all, capturing the Monitor in the process.
The battle on Alpha Halo resulted in more than just a UNSC victory, however. It sparked a series of events that would change the course of the entire war. The new Arbiter would play a major role in the events of the Battle of Installation 05 and the Battle of Earth. The High Prophets also would exploit the political fallout resulting from Halo's destruction to further their own plans to supplant the Sangheili ranks with their rivals among the Jiralhanae, whose blind faith they favored over the Sangheili's pragmatism. This led to the Great Schism upon learning the truth of Prophet of Truth's plan to replace Sangheili with Jiralhanae.
Triggered by the destruction of Installation 04, Installation 00|the Ark immediately initiated the construction of Installation 08|a replacement to Installation 04. Before the replacement ring was completed, John-117 and Cortana activated it to defeat the Flood and the Gravemind. By 2559, the Ark had finished the construction of a Installation 09|second replacement, which the crew of the attempted to launch to the Soell system to signal the UNSC, but the ring was ultimately intercepted by a Guardian en route. The ring's destruction would trigger other Forerunner installations, emitting a signal that placed them all in standby mode. One such installation would be the Onyx Sentinel|specialized Sentinels guarding the shield world of Onyx, leading to their awakening and the start of the Onyx Conflict.
File:HaloAJ.png|thumb|left|''Ascendant Justice'' lurks in the debris of the ring. Only six known members of the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' crew survived the Halo event. A Pelican hiding in the debris field carried four survivors, Shiela Polaski|Warrant Officer Shiela Polaski, Sergeant Avery Johnson, Shock Trooper Locklear|Corporal Locklear, and an Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI Lieutenant, Elias Haverson. John-117 had managed to retrieve three cryo-tubes, one of which contained his fellow Spartan team member, Linda-058. Linda, who had been clinically dead since the Fall of Reach, was resuscitated at a later time. The people in the other two tubes had died in sleep due to malfunctions. It is not known whether this was a malfunction in one of the cryo storage rooms, or if it happened to almost every tube. Every other person at the battle presumably died when Installation 04 was destroyed. The Museum of Humanity would later list a Sergeant Thomas Chang as having survived the battle.
File:TML - Ring.jpg|thumb|The ''Mona Lisa'' amongst the remains of the ringworld. Following the battle, this group of UNSC survivors led by John-117 would proceed to Skirmish over Threshold|board and capture the ''Ascendant Justice'' and use it to make their way Raid on Reach|back to Reach. This sequence of events would lead the group to commencing Operation: FIRST STRIKE, ultimately destroying a Truth's fleet|fleet of over 500 Covenant warships assembled by the Prophet of Truth in preparation to assault Earth. The survivors would return back to Earth by October 19, leading the UNSC to deploy several recovery convoys of Prowlers.''Eleventh Hour reports'': Part 5 - Subject: Heirlooms One such Prowler, the , would be sent to investigate the ONI vessel ''Mona Lisa'' and Operations: RED CLOUD and WHITE SAND. (defunct, Catalog/Archive/2014#Post .233|Archive) During the operations, the ''Mona Lisa'' would take aboard several samples of the Flood, eventually experimenting with the Flood on Covenant and human prisoners alike, leading to an outbreak on the ship. The ''Red Horse'' would investigate shortly following the departure of the Covenant fleet from the system on October 25, leading to a brief Skirmish on Mona Lisa|skirmish between the Marine survivors and infected Flood, resulting in the deaths of nearly all involved. The ''Red Horse'' was able to gather data on several outlying installations such as one structure similar to the Threshold gas mines employed by Sesa 'Refumee, later employed in the War Games as "Colossus (map)|Colossus".
File:H5-Truth-Ships.png|thumb|The simulated Fleet of Particular Justice on "Truth". During the return journey home, Cortana would write a Halo 2 Manual#Secret Transmission .2B Master Chief Section|report on the conflict,''Halo 2 Manual'' while also using the downtime to begin collating the data recovered from being in the Forerunner and Covenant networks. The AI kept control of the Installation's Activation index, unbeknownst to everyone including John-117.''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #9 This experience would be one of the major factors later assuring the AI's descent into rampancy, and attributed to as the cause of a number of Character interludes|believed-software glitches that would later display in John-117's MJOLNIR armor during the later Battle of Earth. Nonetheless, the data recovered by Cortana and the Master Chief - including his recording of the mysterious Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals - would become later known to ONI Section Three, and later used to assist in unlocking further Forerunner mysteries. - ''" PREVIOUSLY, SPARTAN 117 CAME ACROSS A SET OF CURIOUS TERMINALS WHEN FIGHTING HIS WAY THROUGH ALPHA HALO. EACH TERMINAL CONTAINED A VIDEO TRANSMISSION WITH INCREDIBLY VALUABLE INTEL."'' (defunct, ) - ''" OVER FOUR YEARS AGO, ONI RESEARCHERS DISCOVERED A NEW WAY TO UNLOCK HIGHLY ENCRYPTED DATA, USING A SUBSET OF ARCANE FORERUNNER SYMBOLS. THIS DISCOVERY CAME AFTER ANALYSIS OF VIDEO TRANSMISSIONS UNCOVERED ON ALPHA HALO BY SPARTAN 117."'' (defunct, ) By October 20, news of the destruction of Installation 04 had reached the civilian populace of Earth, and a ceremony was held to honor the Spartan.''I love bees'', Axon Clips, Axon Clips Chapter 12|Chapter 12 - "Explanation" Naval intelligence AIs continued to disagree on the Covenant's motives on the ring, with some falsely believing that the Covenant had already found the ring and wanted to prevent humanity from find it also. As part of public awareness campaigns conducted by the ONI Section Two including initiatives like Outpost Discovery, the Battle of Installation 04 was one of many subjects covered by Director Schaefer in File CHELAN 20200303.''ONI Archive Conflict Evolved - Halo: CE Anniversary'' A recount of the battle was later included in the UNSC's Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual|Official Spartan Field Manual.
Following the end of the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios declared a 500 light-second exclusion zone around the site of Installation 04 as part of the Treaty of 2552. The area around Threshold would continue to be extremely dangerous due to uncontrolled Sentinels, volatile Halo fragments, micro-debris, malfunctioning Forerunner artifacts, and the ever-present danger of the Flood making even surreptitious exploration and scavenging too dangerous for most. Nonetheless, in 2556, Spartan Fireteam Apollo would Operation: SHELL GAME|breach the zone and recover the black box of the ''Undiminished Entelechy'', detailing records of transmissions between Thel 'Vadamee and the Minor Prophet of Stewardsahip during the battle. The data recovered would later go on to be used to simulate the War Games simulations "Truth (level)|Truth", "Regret (Halo 5: Guardians map)|Regret" and a variant of "Parallax". During the simulations, the war-era vessels of the Fleet of Particular Justice would be replaced by s.''Halo 5: Guardians'', multiplayer level Truth (level)|Truth
Part of the transcript recovered there would be translated by Diplomatic Corps member Melody Azikiwe and would be included in a message from General R. Dellert to Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood in the same year.
File:HNF-Alpha Shard.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The Alpha Shard. Before the ''Autumn'' exploded, Installation 04 attempted to activate a safety measure and make a slipspace jump. However, the self-preservation protocol was partly successful, and only Alpha Shard|a small portion of the ring managed to enter slipspace. After the battle, the fragment reentered into normal space in the vicinity of a red giant star some distance away from the Orrichon system. The extreme heat of the ''Autumn'''s explosion, comparable to that of a supernova, caused the formation of an entirely new element - Element 120.V - in the fragment, which caused catastrophic breakdown of DNA in certain humans but did not affect other species. The element was refined into a bioweapon and Terrorist attack on Sedra City|unleashed on Sedra, killing or hospitalizing many of the planet's citizens. An automated survey drone deployed by the ''Pillar of Autumn'' prior to the ring's destruction, Recon-14, survived this event and was later employed for remote-survey of the now-designated Alpha Shard.''Halo: Nightfall: RECON-14'' An investigation by Locke's team led them to trace the bioweapon to the shard of Installation 04 and launch Mission to Alpha Shard|a joint mission with the Sedran Colonial Guard to destroy the new element with a HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon. The mission was ultimately successful though only two people survived.
Other debris from the ring would find its way to land on Threshold's moon, Basis. The heretic faction led by Sesa 'Refumee would use it for a time before their destruction by the Arbiter,''Halo 2'', multiplayer level Burial Mounds with the UNSC eventually deploying SPARTAN-IV personnel in the post-war era to assess the wreckage of Alpha Halo across the moon in one of the first tests of the VECTOR-class Mjolnir armor.''Halo 5: Guardians'', VECTOR Armor customization (Halo 5: Guardians)|armory description
Timeline of events
The battle took place between September 19 and September 22, 2552. The ''Pillar of Autumn'' exited slipspace and landed troops on the ring on the 19th, leading to the capture of Alpha Base and eventual raid on ''Truth and Reconciliation'' on the same day. Roughly eighteen hours later, in the early hours of September 20, Lieutenant McKay's raid on the ''Pillar of Autumn'' began, with the Master Chief leading the assaults on the Silent Cartographer and the Control Room on the same day simultaneously to Captain Keyes' investigation of the Flood. By September 21, the Master Chief had investigated the Flood facility and the Library, leading to his and the ODSTs' assault on the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' again, before the ringworld's destruction on September 22.
Participants
The battle's primary participants were the UNSC forces of the ''Pillar of Autumn'' and the Covenant forces of the Fleet of Particular Justice. The Covenant deployed vast amounts of ships and infantry onto the ring, compared to the small force of crew that escaped the Fall of Reach aboard the ''Autumn''.
List of appearances
''Halo: Combat Evolved''
''Halo: The Flood''
*''Halo: The Flood#2010 bonus content|Adjunct''
''Halo: First Strike''
''Halo 2''
''Halo Graphic Novel''
*''The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor''
*''Breaking Quarantine''
''Halo Wars''
''Halo: Evolutions''
*''Wages of Sin''
''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo 4''
''Halo: Broken Circle''
''Halo: Nightfall''
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
''Halo: Shadow of Intent''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo: Tales from Slipspace''
*''Dominion Splinter''
''Halo Wars 2''
''Halo: Fireteam Raven''
''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual''
''Halo: Shadows of Reach''
''Halo: Divine Wind''
''Halo Infinite: Memory Agent''
''Halo Infinite''
''Halo: Outcasts''
''Battle for the Blood-Moon''
Notes
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Installation 04
Category:UNSC victories|Installation 04
Category:Battle of Installation 04| |
|place= Installation 04, Soell system (Archive:Halo Waypoint/2014 to 2020/Universe/Timeline/The Halo Conflict|Archive)
|result= Pyrrhic UNSC victory Destruction of Installation 04
Flood outbreak contained and sterilized Heavy Covenant losses and are forced to retreat All United Nations Space Command|UNSC forces, except for a few survivors, perish
|side1 = * United Nations Space Command
|side2 = * Covenant
|side3 = * Sentinel|Forerunner constructs
|side4 = *Flood
|commanders1 =
Captain (Navy)|Capt. Jacob Keyes Ensign|Ens. William Lovell Major|Maj. Antonio Silva First Lieutenant|1st Lt. Melissa McKay Staff Sergeant|St. Sgt. Avery Johnson UNSC rank structure#Officer ranks|Flight Captain Carol Rawley Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
|commanders2 =
Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee Prophet of Stewardship Minister of Etiology Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee Shipmaster Lat 'Ravamee Soha 'Rolamee Field Master Noga 'Putumee Shipmaster Orna 'Fulsamee
|commanders3 =
343 Guilty Spark
|commanders4 =
Proto-Gravemind
|forces1 =
*200 Naval personnel
*400 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines
*530 Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
**Fireteam Raven
*Two SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-IIs
**John-117
**Linda-058
*AI Cortana
*AI Wellsley
|forces2 =
Fleet of Particular Justice
*''Ascendant Justice''
*''Blameless Conceit''
**''Upright Chalice''
*''Seeker of Truth''
*''Infinite Succor''
**''Brilliant Gift''
*''Purity of Spirit''
*''Truth and Reconcilliation''
*''Undiminished Entelechy''
*Roughly 6 other Ket-pattern battlecruiser|ships''Halo: Combat Evolved'', campaign level The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|The Pillar of Autumn - ''"A dozen Covenant superior battleships against a single Halcyon-class light cruiser. Given those odds I'm content with three...make that four kills."'', Cortana.
*Thousands of ground troops
|forces3 =
Numerous Aggressor Sentinels
|forces4 =
Thousands of Flood forms
|casual1 =
All Marines, ODSTs and naval personnel
* AI Wellsley
*Jacob Keyes
*Melissa McKay
*Antonio Silva
*Carol Rawley
*
|casual2 =
Majority of ground forces
*Minister of Etiology
*Prophet of Stewardship
*Noga 'Putumee
*Lat 'Ravamee
*Soha 'Rolamee
*At least 6 ships destroyed, remaining Fleet retreated''Halo: The Flood'', Halo: The Flood#2010) bonus content|Adjunct - Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit
|casual3 = Complete destruction of all Sentinels on the Installation
|casual4 = Complete destruction of all Flood forms on the Installation
}}
The Battle of Installation 04, also known as the Halo Event, Alpha Halo Conflict''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual'', The Alpha Halo Conflict - p.62-65 and the Halo Conflict,''The Halo Conflict'Halo: Outpost Discovery'', Hall of History - OD_003_HOH_Humanity_Overview refers to a series of skirmishes between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant on the surface of Halo Array|Halo Installation 04, a Forerunner megastructure orbiting the gas giant Threshold. The Flood and the Forerunner Sentinels joined the conflict in its later stages. The battle became the turning point of the Human-Covenant War and ultimately led to the Great Schism.
Background
In the later stages of the Human-Covenant War, it was clear that the UNSC was losing. To try and force an end to the conflict, the Office of Naval Intelligence devised Operation: RED FLAG. Using the fortress world of Reach as bait, the operation would use a specially-modified ship to forcibly board a Covenant capital ship, steal it, capture a Hierarchs|Hierarch and use the hostage as negotiating leverage to end the war.
To undertake this task, the old was chosen and given an UNSC Pillar of Autumn#Specifications|extensive series of refits to improve its combat potential against Covenant ships. The plan would additionally call for the use of all remaining active-duty SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II personnel and a "mission specialist" Artificial intelligence|AI. Additionally, a battalion of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers commanded by Major Antonio Silva were assigned to the vessel for additional support.''Data Drops'', Data Drop #6 Following his performance at the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, Captain Jacob Keyes was chosen to lead the mission.
Ultimately, RED FLAG never went ahead due to the UNSC's disastrous Fall of Reach|defeat at Reach. During the battle on August 30, the majority of the ship's SPARTAN-II complement was deployed groundside to defend the orbital defense generators, with Spartans John-117, Linda-058 and James-005 deployed to Gamma Station to execute the Cole Protocol on the ONI vessel . In the engagement, James was killed and Linda severely injured. Additionally, Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson and Fire Team Charlie assisted the Spartan team and eventually evacuated back to the ''Pillar of Autumn''. With Linda clinically dead, she was placed into a cryo chamber with the hopes of reviving her later. With this, John-117 remained the only operational Spartan left on the ''Pillar of Autumn'' when it finally escaped Reach.
With the loss of a third of her technical staff, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' made an apparently blind jump through slipstream space|slipspace from where they would then make their way to Earth. In reality, the slipspace jump was planned by the Artificial intelligence|AI Cortana, using coordinates from an artifact found on Sigma Octanus IV as well as from an Babd Catha Forerunner complex|object found under the Babd Catha Ice Shelf on Reach. The ''Pillar of Autumn'' departed from the Aszod ship breaking yards on August 30, 2552, and entered slipspace above Reach while the Covenant fleet continued to wreak destruction on the planet.
File:H2A Screenshot ParticularJustice Autumn.jpg|thumb|left|The Fleet of Particular Justice faces down the ''Pillar of Autumn''. The Covenant, primarily the Fleet of Particular Justice led by Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee had acquired the trajectory of the ''Autumn's'' jump and pursued, arriving ''before'' the Autumn due to their faster borer|slipspace drive technology. Following the battle, some UNSC AIs would incorrectly suggest that the Covenant did not follow the ''Autumn'' to ''Halo'', but had in -fact already discovered the ring, and wanted to prevent the humans from finding it too. (Archive:Bungie.net/News/Jason Jones Interviewed By You|Archive)
The ''Autumn'' and the approximately 1,100 humans on it arrived in orbit above the planet Threshold at 01:20 hours on September 19, 2552. At some point after this time, Captain Keyes made a Anniversary Campaign Trailer|transmission that would later be picked up by NAVCOM.''Anniversary Campaign Trailer'' By this time, at least twelve Covenant vessels were already in station, with four battlegroups consisting of three s per group, the Covenant destroyer|destroyer ''Blameless Conceit'', the ''Infinite Succor'', the ''Ascendant Justice'' and the ''Seeker of Truth''. The Covenant additionally established a series of recon pickets around the ring's orbit, which were promptly engaged by the ''Autumn's'' GA-TL1 Longsword escort.
Battle in space
File:HCEA-Concept-PoA-Chief-Profile.jpg|thumb|left|200px|John-117 engaging Covenant forces boarding the ''Pillar of Autumn''
Following their arrival in the system, The Fleet of Particular justice established a presence on the far side of the ringworld and sent out a number of recon picket fighter squadrons to intercept the ''Pillar of Autumn''. Due to the Battle of Installation 04#Covenant fleet unrest|ongoing squabbles between the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee and Minor Prophet of Stewardship, Covenant forces were initially ordered to send out fightercraft and boarding parties to the human cruiser for fear of damaging the ring, though 'Vadamee later returned fire anyway. The UNSC cruiser's Longsword escort mopped up the initial recon pickets, though eventually a Seraph was able to slip its way through the defenses and land a blow across the ''Autumn's'' Titanium-A armor that those on the bridge could feel. The small craft had evidently managed to slip past their patrolling Longswords by powering down. Lieutenant Aki Hikowa sent new orders to the squadron and the Seraph was destroyed almost immediately. Just as Captain Jacob Keyes|Keyes plotted a course to bring his ship closer to Threshold|the gas giant, sensors picked up the approaching squadron of Covenant fighters, followed by boarding craft. Installation 04, a massive ring-shaped Astroengineering|superstructure, made its first appearance to those on the ''Autumn'' as the ship came around the planet and found it suspended at a lagrange point between it and Basis|its moon.
While the Covenant fleet was initially hesistant to open fire on the ''Autumn'', the humans had no such qualms and Cortana was able to estimate three or four kills on Covenant ships before the ''Autumn'' could be taken out. The ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was one such vessel, forced to retreat to ground to make repairs, later becoming the new HQ for the Covenant ground forces. Meanwhile, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was sent wave after wave of Elsedda-pattern Banshee|Banshees, Morsam-pattern Seraph|''Morsam''-pattern Seraphs and boarding craft to force the humans out of their shell.
As Covenant forces began boarding the ''Autumn'', Captain Jacob Keyes ordered Chief Petty Officer Thom Shephard and Petty Officer Third Class Samuel N. Marcus to release Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 from his cryo-chamber. Both officers were killed by Covenant invasion forces while preparing the SPARTAN-II for immediate combat. Shortly thereafter, the ''Autumns Magnetic Accelerator Cannon was sabotaged by the Covenant boarding teams and rendered inoperable.
During the battle, installation Monitor 343 Guilty Spark prepared the defensive , preparing to fire on all vessels who did not return to a minimum one light-year safe distance. Unfortunately, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was not able to receive this transmission. Luckily, the Monitor accessed the ship's databases and upon learning of the humans' status as reclaimers, took the weapons offline and granted them safe passage onto the ring.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal #1
File:KeyesChipCEA.png|thumb|left|The Cole Protocol stipulated that preventing the destruction or capture of a shipboard A.I. by the Covenant was of paramount importance.
Given the loss of their MAC|magnetic accelerator cannon, Captain Keyes made the decision to initiate Article Two of the Cole Protocol. He made the determination that it had become necessary to abandon the cruiser, and in accordance with the protocol, that meant someone would need to be entrusted with the protection of Cortana during the retreat. The captain planned to stay behind to attempt put the ship down himself on the surface of the ring. Cortana protested what she saw as a suicidal decision on Keyes' part, but he simply ordered that she locked in a selection of emergency landing zones and upload them to his Neural interface|neural lace. As for guardianship of the A.I., the job naturally fell to the Master Chief. Her data crystal chip was transferred from a pedestal on the ''Autumn's'' bridge to the housing within the Spartan's MJOLNIR armor. Keyes offered his own M6D magnum to John and wished him good luck just before the Spartan took his leave.
File:HCEA PillarOfAutumn CorridorBattle Concept.jpg|thumb|UNSC Marines fend off Covenant boarders. By the time John, with Cortana now in tow, left the bridge, the Covenant boarders had pushed beyond the areas adjacent to the airlocks they had entered by and had encroached toward the ship's command deck. A wave had been repulsed by the ''Autumn's'' defenders, but it had come close to reaching the bridge. Ammunition for the captain's sidearm was provided in the form of that which John collected from a fallen ensign. The first to fall to its 12.7x40mm M225 Semi-Armor-Piercing High-Explosive rounds was a group of Unggoy.
Now armed with an MA5B assault rifle, John fought his way through the Covenant infesting the ship's corridors in the direction that Cortana led him. He traveled up one level, felling Unggoy, Kig-Yar, and Sangheili as he went. His efforts enabled marines around him to launch a hastily organized counterattack on the boarders. All the while, the ''Autumn'' continued to take hits from enemy vessels. Cortana urged the Master Chief to hurry as Class-3 Bumblebee|lifeboats began to launch for the safety of solid ground.
As fighting within the ship raged on, a small detachment of Unggoy led by one known as Yayap found a way to avoid the violence. Yayap directed those in his charge to take hold of Zuka 'Zamamee|a wounded Special Operations Sangheili|Special Operations Sangheili and bring him safely back to one of the assault boat they had come in on.
The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers aboard had been charged with protecting the network of fusion engines that made up the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' experimental power plant. Under the command of Major Antonio Silva, the ODSTs had managed to hold their position successfully. Once he finally got orders from Captain Keyes that they were abandoning ship, he ordered them to the Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|SOEIVs that would carry them to the alien ringworld below. Only Fireteam Raven, having been separated from the others, did not launch with Silva and the rest. Raven instead fought against boarders on the ship to repel the invasion, under the guidance of the AI Wellsley. During the fighting, the ODSTs conducted an Extra-vehicular activity|space-walk to man the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' M910 Rampart point defense network to fend off incoming waves of space Banshees and Seraph starfighters. The fireteam were eventually forced to retreat back into the ship, however.
Finally nearing the lifeboats, John-117 paused long enough to grab a marine who fell while running for the safety one offered. The Master Chief effortlessly scooped up the man and tossed him inside the Bumblebee designated Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43. He confirmed to the escape lifepod's pilot that they could leave and it blasted free of the ship. Fireteam Raven witnessed the Chief and a few others escaping but did not join them, instead remaining behind to continue engaging the enemy on the way to their SOEIVs. Wellsley contacted them at this moment and urged speed on its members' part. The team fought through many Covenant troops in order to make it to the drop pods and get off the doomed ship.
Among those escaping was Flight Officer Captain Carol Rawley, who, alongside four other pilots, fought her way to the ship's launch bay where its D77-TC Pelicans lay waiting. The Pilots were successfully able to maneuver their craft out of the cruiser's hangar bays as the ship began to enter the ring's atmosphere and were eventually able to put down on the surface. The surviving dropships later played a crucial part in the UNSC campaign on the ring.
File:AutumnDamagedCEA.png|thumb|left|Cortana left behind a very small part of herself in order to assist with the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' descent. The Minor Prophet of Stewardship had additionally ordered the deployment of an Ossoona, Isna 'Nosolee, onto the cruiser. Armed with six plasma grenades and a plasma pistol and cloaked in active camoflage, the Sangheili was to use his helmet-mounted cameras to record the ship for intelligence purposes and try to capture the ship's AI or essential bridge crew. Hidden from plain sight, he avoided direct confrontation when a group of marines backed around a corner toward him, pursued by a pack of Unggoy and Kig-Yar. The Ossoona made his way to the bridge, where he was able to successfully evade being noticed by the humans.
To avoid its evacuating personnel from being shot down by the Covenant warships, Captain Keyes piloted the ''Autumn'' manually, diverting all Covenant attention to the ship as it plummeted towards the Forerunner construct. As the ship was shot down by Covenant warships, most of the cryo-chambers, including Linda-058's, were ejected as per standard UNSC procedure. Once the ''Autumn'' was set on the course, Keyes and the bridge crew would make for their own escape pods followed by 'Nosolee. Although the Sangheili was able to prevent detection, he eventually died at the hand of Keyes inside the escape pod, the captain having noticed the distinct shimmer in the air of the elite's active camouflage systems.
UNSC ground campaign
File:HFR Alpha Base 2.png|250px|thumb|left|UNSC forces from the ''Autumn'' set up Alpha Base on a Forerunner building. The ODSTs battalion under Major Silva made landing on the ring via orbital insertion, in an area roughly three kilometers in diameter. They were quick to organize, meeting up with Silva and Lt. McKay to establish a temporary base of operations. Relying on data provided the Artificial intelligence|AI Wellsley, Silva instructed Lieutenant Melissa McKay to take the battalion's B Company (Pillar of Autumn)|B Company and capture Alpha Base (Installation 04)|a Covenant-held butte to gain a tactical advantage in fighting off Covenant forces. The group had also received word of a group of Pelican pilots who had landed their craft some distance away, and C Company (Pillar of Autumn)|C Company was sent to meet them and prepare for aerial insertion to reinforce McKay. The remaining A Company (Pillar of Autumn)|A Company and D Company (Pillar of Autumn)|D Company remained under the command of Silva directly, and took some time to reinforce their temporary foothold and get some rest. This peace would not last long as the temporary base of operations was assaulted by Covenant ground forces consisting of 50 Sangheili, 100 s and, later, Type-26 Banshees. The defending ODSTs managed to fend off the assault but suffered a loss of 23 ODSTs killed and 16 ODSTs wounded.
Around the time of the Covenant attack, McKay's force engaged the Covenant at the butte and began a slow climb up to the base proper. In the assault, the ODSTs advanced into the butte using a spiraling ramp. Covenant forces responded to this advancement by raining down plasma grenades and unleashing volleys of plasma bolts. The Covenant defense was soon relaxed when a number of ODST companies performed aerial assaults on the defending Covenant forces. McKay's advancement into the butte was halted by a rockfall. Fortunately, McKay managed to find an access into the butte which led to a chamber filled with Covenant explosives. The lieutenant fired a rocket into the chamber, subsequently killing any Covenant force, and led her ODSTs on a lift up to the surface, where they met Major Silva who had arrived and eliminated the remaining Covenant forces.
Following the death of the Covenant spy, the rest of the command shuttle's ride down onto the surface of Installation 04 was uneventful, with the crew disposing of 'Nosolee's body in a nearby crevice once landed. The group would proceed to be harassed and pursued by Covenant Banshees, Spirit dropships and infantry through the rugged terrain, never able to rest for more than a few minutes. After hours of this treatment, Ensign Ellen Dowski began to crack, and seriously suggest giving up and allow themselves to be taken prisoner. To prevent her from being a burden on the group any longer, she was allowed to do so - but only after she was relieved of her firearm, supplies and left tied up for the Covenant to find.
As the day wore on, the remaining group would eventually find themselves in a box canyon, with a Spirit looming overhead. Realising they were finally trapped, the group put down their weapons only to find Dowski emerge from the Covenant dropship with a squad of Sangheili warriors. She identified the Captain, leading to the aliens executing all of the other humans before finally using Dowski's own pistol to kill her - leaving Keyes the only survivor. Keyes was then taken by the Sangheili back to the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' and interrogated for hours.
File:HM-JohnI04-full.jpg|thumb|250px| John-117 exiting a Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43|Bumblebee lifeboat that crashed onto the valleys of Halo. In a state of disarray, several evacuating UNSC personnel eventually landed on the Forerunner construct. Some were killed in the landing while others attempted to get hold of one another and survive the Covenant patrols.
After crash-landing on the Forerunner construct, John-117, the sole survivor of Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43's crash-landing, headed out to get away from Covenant patrols and, under the instructions provided by Cortana, attempted to establish some contact with any surviving human personnel. After evading several patrols and a brief skirmish with a small Covenant lance, John-117 managed to find a group of survivors defending themselves against the aggressive Covenant forces in a Forerunner structure. John established contact with Staff Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson|Johnson and the survivors and assisted them in eliminating and defeating the Covenant forces, later reinforced by three waves. Carol Rawley|Foe Hammer of Echo 419 soon arrived to retrieve the survivors after the elimination of Covenant forces. Witnessing three lifepods flying overhead, Cortana instructed Foe Hammer to disengage her Warthog to support the Spartan's efforts in retrieving and securing the survivors. Two Marines assisted the Spartan in the rescue efforts.''Halo: Combat Evolved'', campaign level Halo (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|Halo At some point, John would find a Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal and record its data. Around this time, 343 Guilty Spark would begin using the terminals to show the history of the ring.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary terminals teaser''
After successfully rescuing the survivors from all three lifepods, Cortana informed everyone of her findings after hacking into the proselytization network|Covenant battlenet; Captain Keyes and a number of personnel survived the landing on the Installation, but have been captured by Covenant forces. The survivors eventually returned to Alpha Base (Installation 04)|Alpha Base to devise a rescue plan for the Captain.
Not all of the troops, however, were able to make landfall and regroup swiftly, with at least one known group able to make landfall in a Ridgeline|forested region of the ring overlooking a large Forerunner relay structure and forming a staging area there. Unfortunately, they were soon wiped out by the Covenant.''Halo: Reach'', multiplayer map Ridgeline - map description () (defunct, Archive:Halo Waypoint/2009 to 2014/Games/Halo: Reach|Archive) () Another group of ODSTs were able to land on the ring near a beam emitter tower, holding off the Covenant until rescue finally came.''Halo: Reach'', Firefight level Installation 04 (map)|Installation 04 Fireteam Raven were able to make landfall on the ring, separated from other UNSC forces. Under the guidance of Wellsley through a mobile communication link, they made their way across the installation's surface.
At least three UNSC Marines would later be captured by the Covenant and taken to the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', locked in the same brig as Captain Keyes.
File:HCEA-Concept-TnR-Hangar.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and his squad kill Covenant on board the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. The surviving human personnel launched a mission to recover Captain Keyes, who was being held aboard the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. Under the cover of night, John-117 and a fireteam of ODSTs boarded the ship via its gravity lift. After several brief engagements aboard the ship, the rescue team managed to establish a secure control of the ship's command center. John-117 went ahead and freed Captain Keyes and several other captured Marines. When they returned to the command center, they found out that the ODSTs had been slaughtered by Stealth Sangheili. Furthermore, Echo 419 was unable to retrieve the rescue party due to Covenant air patrols. Following Cortana's suggestion, Captain Keyes manned a Covenant dropship and returned everyone to Alpha Base.
While Covenant forces were distracted by the ongoing battle at the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', ODST Lieutenant McKay was ordered to stage a raid on the crashed ''Pillar of Autumn'', in order to gain extra supplies to finance the battle effort. The raid was successful; the UNSC forces managed to salvage several of the ship's Warthogs, trailers and four M808B Main Battle Tank|Scorpion tanks along with food supplies and ammunitions. However, when returning the salvaged vehicles to Alpha Base, the convoy was ambushed by Covenant forces led by Noga 'Putumee using Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraiths, Banshees and Ghosts. Despite sizeable Covenant opposition, the UNSC forces managed to withhold the ambush and inflict greater damage on the Covenant forces. During the raid, Fireteam Raven was able to link up with friendly UNSC forces for the first time since landing on the ring twenty-eight hours earlier, and contributed to the raid by manning the mounted machine guns on the convoy's Warthogs.
File:HLC Halo Conflict.png|thumb|250px|The Master Chief aboard Echo 419 approaching the Cartographer.
Using the intelligence gathered by Captain Keyes and Cortana, the human forces amassed a squadron for an assault on the Silent Cartographer island, in their attempt to uncover more information of the Installation. John-117 and a handful of Marines, supported by ''Echo 419'' and ''Bravo 022'', penetrated the Covenant defenses, journeyed deep within the island's chambers and access-ways, and discovered the location of the Installation's control room.
Events leading to the discovery was not easy; the Covenant managed to temporarily lock access to the chambers within the island, prompting John-117 and the Marines to navigate to the island's security chamber. As they deactivated the security, Bravo 22 and its payload fell prey to Covenant fire.
File:ScorpionControlRoom.png|thumb|250px|John-117 leading the assault in a M808 Main Battle Tank|Scorpion.
After the Battle of the Silent Cartographer, Cortana instructed Foe Hammer to deploy them using navigations she gathered from the discovery of the control room. Alone, John-117 was inserted into a network of tunnels occupied by Covenant forces. The Spartan then received a radio transmission from Fireteam Zulu, who were pinned down in a valley, as he fought his way through the network of tunnels. John-117 assisted Fireteam Zulu in eliminating local Covenant forces and their armor support, then journeyed through a system of adjacent canyons until reaching a dead end, where Fireteam Zulu requested to be evacuated.
John-117, with Cortana providing guidance, eventually discovered a large pyramidal structure built into a cliff, on top of which was the control room. Upon reaching the chamber, Cortana accessed the Installation's systems and discovered Flood|a terrible secret quarantined within the Installation. Fearing for Captain Keyes' safety, she instructed Foe Hammer to take John-117 to head to his last known location.
The Flood escapes
File:HCEA-Concept-Chief-Flood.jpg|thumb|250px|John-117 encounters the released Flood in a containment facility At the same time of the Battle of the Silent Cartographer, Captain Keyes, supported by Second squad (Pillar of Autumn)|2nd Squad and Pelican dropship Victor 933, devised a plan to infiltrate a Flood containment facility|presumed weapon cache within a swamp, as per intelligence gathered from 'Qualomee|a captured Sangheili. They later met up with Fire Team Charlie, led by Staff Sergeant Johnson, which had proceeded to the structure and engaged the few scattered Covenant forces they encountered in the upper levels of the facility.
While exploring the lower levels, the UNSC forces came across a sealed door, locked down by the Covenant. With increasing curiosity, the UNSC unlocked the door and explored the containment room. Shortly after, Fire Team Charlie was contacted by a desperate Marine requesting help as he was overwhelmed by non-Covenant hostiles. Seconds later, the fireteam was attacked by a swarm of Pod infectors, infecting Captain Keyes, Privates Riley, Kappus, Manuel Mendoza|Mendoza, Jenkins, Bisenti and several others. Two Marines managed to avoid the infection, one of whom was killed just outside and Paranoid Marine|another who escaped by playing dead. Staff Sergeant Johnson shrugged off the Pod infectors due to his ORION Project|SPARTAN-I enhancements and managed to escape the facility.
File:KeyesJohnsonCEA.png|thumb|left|250px|Marines and Captain Keyes fighting back-to-back against the Pod infectors they released. Three hours after the assault on the Control Room, John-117 arrived near Victor 933's crash site via Echo 419. His travel towards Captain Keyes' last known transmission was met with an abnormally small concentration of Covenant forces, which was easily handled. Upon unlocking the door to the Containment Room, he found Private Jenkins' helmet and accessed its video records. Shortly after, John-117 was attacked by the remaining Flood forms that spewed out of nearby chambers. The Spartan quickly proceeded to escape the facility, combating Pod infectors and Flood combat form|Combat forms. He soon caught up with Corporal Lovik's squad, who were advised by Echo 419 to take refuge at a nearby structure.
The survivors fought their way through the swamp in search of the structure for immediate evacuation. On the site, the survivors were aided by unknown constructs later identified as the Sentinels, under the command of the Installation's Monitor, 04-343 Guilty Spark|343 Guilty Spark. The Monitor teleported the Spartan into the Library, leaving the other survivors to be evacuated by Echo 419.
After discovering a Reclaimer was within reach, 343 Guilty Spark, without hesitation, teleported John-117 into the Library, where he was tasked with the retrieval of the Activation Index. Proceeding into the bowels of the huge structure, the SPARTAN fought off wave after wave of Flood, before the Monitor called in Sentinels to assist him. Upon reaching the central shaft of the Library, John-117 rode another elevator down to the Index to deactivate the security protocols around it. 343 Guilty Spark then took over his role and stored the Index within himself.
Covenant fleet unrest File:H2A Terminals - Thel and Prophet.jpg|thumb|Thel 'Vadamee converses with the Minor Prophet. Following the arrival of the ''Autumn'' in the system, the Fleet of Particular Justice experienced a great amount of unrest, due to conflicting leadership between the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee and the Minor Prophet of Prophet of Stewardship|Stewardship. The two initially met aboard the flagship ''Seeker of Truth'' to contact High Charity and ascertain how to proceed with interpreting Covenant holy scripture. High Charity was unavailable, and the Prophet departed again for ''Ascendant Justice'', declaring that no Covenant ships were to open fire for fear of damaging the holy ring, instead ordering a boarding action to take place.''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #3 Thel would disregard this order and open fire aggressively.
File:H2A Terminals - Fleet waiting for Autumn.jpg|thumb|left|''Seeker of Truth'' and the Covenant fleet in orbit of Installation 04. What would follow was a great deal of bickering and arguing between the two commanders, with the Prophet appropriating fleet military resources for his own personal goals. He would secretly order the ''Undiminished Entelechy'' and sister ship ''Purity of Spirit'' to perform close-range surveys of the ring The Prophet would later order an expeditionary force led by Sesa 'Refumee and Loka 'Bandolee to investigate the Threshold gas mines, leading to 'Vadamee ordering all military forces be concentrated on the human threat. The Prophet would ignore this decree, and order secondary and tertiary artifact recovery groups to investigate the Flood containment facility, believed a weapons cache. The two groups fell silent, leading a fourth group to be dispatched. 'Vadamee would once again order a cease and desist of these actions, with no response given by the Prophet. The Supreme Commander would then dispatch an infantry unit to ''Ascendant Justice'' to relieve the Prophet of command, leading to the boarding party being shot down and 'Vadamee warned that repeated actions would result in further lethality. File:Infinite Succor.jpg|thumb|''Brilliant Gift'' collides with ''Infinite Succor''.
Covenant forces around the Flood containment facility were in disarray due to the release of the Flood. Several dropships were shut down with some captured by the Flood. One particular dropship, the ''Brilliant Gift'', was manned by the Flood towards the Covenant fleet currently hovering over the Installation. The dropship eventually crash-landed on the ''Infinite Succor'' and infected its personnel, unbeknownst to those around the ''Infinite Succor''. Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee responded by deploying a Covenant Special Operations|Special Operations unit led by Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee. The Special Operations unit Infinite Succor#Battle on the Infinite Succor|engaged with its invading aggressor, eventually leaving the injured 'Vadumee as the only survivor of the engagement. The presence of the Flood and its potential of being space-borne was reported to Supreme Commander 'Vadamee.
'Vadamee would proceed to order an emergency quarantine response for the fleet, ordering all vessels evacuate the ring and to report a full biometric scan of their crew, and for uninfected vessels to fire on those who did not respond. The ''Undiminished Entelechy'' would be among those infected by the Flood and shot down by 'Vadamee, crash-landing on the ring. The ring's environmental control systems would quickly accelerate plant growth on the wreckage in the short time the wreckage remained intact.
With the failure of the Covenant forces on the ground to control the Flood outbreak, the Minor Prophet would order the execution of Soha 'Rolamee, and proceed to move himself and his security contingent to ''Truth and Reconciliation'', ordering the crew to police the ship and detain anyone who would threaten the consecration, even the Supreme Commander. The Prophet presented 'Rolamee's severed head to Zuka 'Zamamee as a warning against repeated failures like the failure of 'Rolamee to contain the Flood, or Zuka to kill the Master Chief. 'Vadamee would later proceed to personally lead a team to take control of ''Ascendant Justice'', taking the ship without firing a shot.
As the Flood continued to spread, the Covenant battlenet would fall into chaos. Jiralhanae troops assigned to the fleet relayed several accounts of the ground actions to the fleet, but these accounts were later considered unreliable due to panic, confusion and excuse for failure. The fleet also deployed Kig-Yar Sniper teams armed with Type-50 Alpha beam rifle|T-50 beam rifles during the Flood onslaught.''Halo 5: Guardians'', Type-50 Alpha beam rifle List of REQ cards/Power Weapons|REQ card
Late stages of conflict
In the early hours of September 21, the Covenant returned to assault Alpha Base, initiated by an air insertion and then followed by a ground advancement. Using a Charlie 217|captured Pelican dropship and its Rick Hale|captured pilot, the Covenant attempted to insert 30 Special Operations Sangheili, led by Special Operations Officer Zuka 'Zamamee to assassinate the apparently absent Spartan and clear a landing zone for six Spirit dropships for immediate evacuation. The officer had been successfully able to convince the prophet to allow the attack, aiming to kill the Spartan before he could cause the Covenant any more trouble.
The air insertion was quickly discovered by the human forces on Alpha Base, who flooded the Pelican dropship with jet fuel before igniting it, killing twenty-four Sangheili. The six Sangheili managed to escape into the base, neutralizing the human control rooms and liberated the captured Covenant soldiers. However, the MLA auto-cannons and various other defense systems employed by the human forces managed to destroy several incoming Spirit dropships. A large amount of Covenant troops were able to make it into the base, however, including Hunters and Grunts, thanks to the deployment of the ''Upright Chalice''. The Covenant forces landing on the butte were soon either killed or captured, and the assault on Alpha Base stalled. During the midst of the fighting, Fireteam Raven were recalled to the ice canyons near the Installation's control room to assist John-117 in fighting a new threat near the Installation's Control Room.
The ground assault, led by Field Master Noga 'Putumee, made significant progress against the humans due to their use of Spirit dropships to clear the way ahead of the ground forces. However, the seeming route was designed to lure the Covenant into the firing range of a pair of concealed Scorpion tanks, which then tore into the ranks of the aliens and inflicted major casualties. Field Master 'Putumee was killed by the third shot from the tanks, throwing the Covenant forces into chaos - of the 150 infantry with him, only a few survived to retreat. Meanwhile, the surviving Covenant Special Operations team from the air insertion phase and the freed Covenant troops ran into an ambush devised by the Marines, in which all members of both sides were killed other than Zuka 'Zamamee and Yayap, both of whom fled in a recaptured Banshee. By this time, however, the Covenant ground assault was in full retreat.
File:TwoBetrayalsAnniversary.png|thumb|250px|Cortana revealing Halo's true nature to John-117 as Guilty Spark looks on. Following the Master Chief and Fireteam Zulu's capture of the control room, the Covenant returned in force to retake the structure and heavily fortified the ice canyons surrounding the region, with numerous Banshee air patrols and heavy vehicles. However, they were unable to breach the facility and were locked out. The Flood began to pour into the region to combat the Covenant and Sentinels there, likely intending to take the control room offline and prevent the activation of the ring. By the time 343 Guilty Spark was able to teleport the Spartan back to the control room to prepare for firing, the Flood and Covenant were heavily entrenched.
As the two prepared to activate Halo, Cortana stopped the firing - having discovered the Installation's true purpose after extended time inside the control room's systems. The UNSC AI then revealed the installation's true purpose to the SPARTAN; destroy all life in the galaxy to starve the Flood of its food source. 343 Guilty Spark, unable to purge Cortana from the installation's system due to her having merged with the Index, instructed his Sentinels to eliminate the Spartan and retrieve the UNSC AI from the Spartan's helmet.
File:HCEA TwoBetrayals Banshee Concept.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 flying to a generator John-117, after destroying the Sentinels and eliminating the patrolling Covenant forces, followed Cortana's instructions to destroy the three Phase pulse generator|Phase Pulse Generators to delay the firing process, should the Monitor manage to circumvent the firing protocols. As the Spartan joined the now-four way skirmish in the region, Fireteam Raven were airlifted in from Alpha Base to assist in weakening enemy forces in the region to allow the Master Chief to escape. They would provide close air support coverage in their UH-144 Falcon for a time before deploying onto the ground to begin combat - at one point being saved by the Spartan from an encroaching Flood Juggernaut. Flood and Covenant forces in the area would be severely weakened thanks to Raven's actions, allowing the Spartan to complete his task much quicker. Upon the destruction of the third generator, Cortana suggested they destroy Halo to prevent future use of the installation by enabling the ''Autumn's'' self-destruct system. She then utilized the teleportation grid to transport the two to the damaged ''Truth and Reconciliation'' to rescue Captain Keyes to obtain the proper authorization.
Fireteam Raven would ultimately hold off long enough to be extracted via Falcon, though a luckily-timed Wraith plasma mortar hit the helicopter, rendering it severely damaged.
File:Annivesary, conflict.jpg|thumb|350px|UNSC, Covenant, and Flood battle for supremacy. The morning following the Covenant attack on Alpha Base, Silva and McKay met to review the situation of the ODST battalion on the ring. With Keyes out of the picture, command fell back to the Major, who surmised that the best defense is a good offense. Silva proposed to engage the Covenant forces in a medium conflict and instructed Lieutenant McKay to plan out the operation. McKay decided to use the burned-out remains of Charlie 217, mock-injured Marines, and a phony distress call as baits to lure the Covenant into an ambush. This operation was further strengthened when Wellsley informed them of the Covenant's increased interest in intelligence gathering by monitoring the radio traffic and conducting reconnaissance flights after the human raid on the ''Truth and Reconciliation''.
The operation began when the human forces "informed" a patrolling Banshee of the hostile location, using 3rd Squad - made to look like they had been injured in the "crash" - as bait. When the Banshee retreated presumably to report its findings of the enemy location, human forces abandoned their mock location and waited for the incoming Covenant forces. The first wave was a Spirit dropship with a lance of Unggoy, Kig-yar and Sangheili along with a pair of Mgalekgolo. The first wave was handled rather quickly; Lieutenant McKay ordered those with heavy weapons to concentrate on the Hunters before engaging the lance. Soon, the dropship returned and unleashed volleys of plasma on the entire area, forcing the human forces to take cover. Covenant ground forces were deployed as the dropship retreated and began engaging the human forces into the rocks. The human snipers managed to eliminate five Covenant soldiers before the dropship exacted the position; unfortunately, their positions was exposed and resulted with two snipers killed and one wounded by plasma fire. The operation turned awry as the Covenant had the advantage over the human forces' territory.
Just as Lieutenant McKay was about to issue a retreat order, both forces were attacked by a newer force, the Flood. While the Covenant had some experience in combating the Flood, the human forces had none. Both forces were in disarray and were massacred by the Flood. After the Flood combat form|combat forms slashed their way through combatants, the Pod infectors burrowed themselves into corpses and helpless victims and turned them into even more combat forms. In the ensuing horror, Lieutenant McKay was confronted by Jenkins, now a combat form with limited control of his body and desperately trying to make McKay kill him. The Lieutenant, however, disarmed and restrained the Flood form, hoping to use it as a specimen to study the Flood. The attack forced both human and Covenant to join forces and fend off the Flood. After successfully eliminating the Flood threat, both groups returned to killing one another. At the end, the human forces claimed a pyrrhic victory with heavy casualties.
File:HFR RavenDown Fighting.png|thumb|350px|Fireteam Raven fight off Covenant forces inside the Forerunner structure. During their extraction, Fireteam Raven's Falcon would be shot down, crashlanding on a remote part of the ring. In this region, the Covenant had made fortification inside another Forerunner structure, with dozens of infantry including Evocati and Mgalekgolo. By the time Raven arrived, the Flood were besieging the outpost. Retreating into the structure, Raven would fend off hordes of Flood and Covenant including Flood Juggernauts. A Pelican was dispatched to rescue the ODSTs, but constant Banshee attacks made landing difficult, though they were eventually able to reunite with UNSC forces and make an assault on the crash site of the ''Autumn''.
Elsewhere, elements of the 79th Infantry Battalion would be engaged by the Flood. Unidentified private|One Private would reach his escape pod, Lima Foxtrot Alpha 19, and attempt to make an SOS call. He was ultimately killed by the Flood. The other group of humans who had formed a staging ground on the ring would be wiped by a Covenant attack. Following the raid on the ''Pillar of Autumn'', the Covenant under command of 'Ontomee retook control of the cruiser crash site and fortified it with more infantry and vehicles including Banshees, Ghosts and Wraiths. However, the ongoing conflict around the ring left the garrison severely understaffed and exhausted. The Flood began to attack the ship, seizing control of the engineering decks. As if the garrison was cursed, an army of Aggressor Sentinels arrived not long after. Zuka 'Zamamee and Yayap arrived at the cruiser, with Zuka taking the identity of Huki 'Umamee, a Sangheili Special Operation Officer who was slain at Alpha Base - and were immediately put on duty, with 'Ontomee glad for the reinforcement. Yayap was given command of twenty Kig-Yar and put on patrol work. Ultimately, his orders to double-check every shipment of supplies that came in would prove useful, with his cohort narrowly avoiding bringing a crate full of infection forms onto the ship.
Having narrowly survived the ambush by the Flood and battle with the Covenant, McKay's platoon returned to Alpha Base with several specimens of dead Flood forms and a captured Jenkins. She briefed Major Silva on what was understood of the Flood threat, before the Major ordered the bodies burnt. Jenkins was locked up in a cell under heavy guard, where he attempted to commit suicide twice, before lunging at McKay and breaking a bone in his arm in the process. The extreme pain was enough to temporarily subdue the infection form controlling Jenkins' body, giving him just enough control to point down in response to Silva's question; where would the Flood attack Alpha Base? McKay and a team led by Sergeant Lister prepared near a large grate at the bottom of the mesa; the grate had been battered by hundreds of energy weapons - the Flood had been trying for days to break through and attack the human stronghold. Within a matter of days, they may just succeed. A full company was summoned to drop down into the pit below and cover a team of engineers, who would weld large panels in place to prevent the Flood from breaking through for a few more days - enough to buy time to get off the ring. A team of six Helljumpers fast-roped into the pit and used their helmet-mounted cameras to provide data for the Navy technicians to create four "plugs" to seal the breach. The team were attacked from the darkness by a handful of Flood combat forms, leading them to retreat while grenades were dropped into the hole.
Ten minutes later, a larger combat team was inserted into the hole with four tech teams, and were successfully able to seal the breach without incident before repairing the grate. The defense wouldn't hold out forever, but long enough to let the humans plan out their escape route.
File:Protograve.png|thumb|250px|The assimilated Keyes is discovered by John-117. Following the fleet-wide order to evacuate, the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was beset upon by the Flood, attempting to capture the cruiser and use it to escape the ring. The Covenant deployed a strike team to cleanse the ship and ready it for departure, but the security forces would remain bogged down in the fight on the surface against a tidal wave of the parasite. After getting teleported by Cortana into the halls of the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', John-117 continued with his objective in rescuing Captain Keyes and having him authorize the self-destruction of the ''Autumn''. The pair found themselves in the middle of an ongoing battle between Covenant forces and the Flood forms for the control of the damaged battlecruiser. The SPARTAN fought his way through waves of Covenant and Flood forces and arrived at the bridge where Keyes was located. The pair soon discovered that the captain had been turned into one of the Flood, a Proto-Gravemind. With no other choice, John-117 forcefully obtained the captain's command neural interface from his skull and quickly retreated for the hangars, stealing a Banshee to make haste for the ''Autumn''.
By September 22, only 312 humans (236 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines and 76 UNSC Navy|Navy personnel) remained alive at Alpha Base. In order to escape back to Earth, Major Silva concocted a plan to capture the Flood-infested ''Truth and Reconciliation'', and use it to bring the remaining troops plus captured samples of Covenant technology and Flood forms to Earth. Despite the AI Wellsley's warnings, the humans proceeded with the attack, inserting several Pelicans' worth of troops into the cruiser's shuttle bays while an additional team led by McKay captured the gravity lift. Thanks to the previous raid, McKay had the advantage of foreknowledge of the ship's layout, and established control of the command center, engineering and eighty percent of the rest of the ship. The lightning raid was so successful that the troops even managed to capture the Minor Prophet of Stewardship and his security detail, though the Prophet was able to send out an emergency rescue request to all Covenant vessels in the vicinity.
The humans quickly began to lift the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' off the ringworld, with the activity spurring the Flood inside the ship's engineering corridors to attack the UNSC personnel stationed there. Although the Flood in engineering were quickly killed, Lieutenant McKay was worried about more potential Flood attacks. She urged Major Silva to eliminate the Flood aboard the ship before leaving the ring. Silva, however, refused to do so, as he wanted to bring live Flood specimens back to Earth for study. Knowing that Silva's ambitions would likely doom Earth to Flood infestation, McKay decided to sabotage the ship's system by severing the fiber-optic passage connecting the engines to the command center. The ship was destroyed shortly after as a result, killing all aboard.
File:HCEA-Concept-Maw-WarthogRun.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and Cortana escape the ''Autumn'' as its engines go critical. Having been extracted from the war between the Covenant and Flood, Fireteam Raven were deployed via M12B Warthog with a new mission; assist a convoy of UNSC Marine forces making one final assault on the ''Pillar of Autumn''. The assault consisted of a handful of Falcon gunships, Warthogs and Pelicans attempting to distract Covenant forces to buy time for John-117 to complete his mission. The convoy fought through heavy Covenant resistance, including Phantoms and Wraiths before being alerted to the arrival of the Spartan in a Banshee commandeered from the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. Although the Covenant aircraft largely ignored the Banshee - thinking it one of their own - the in the region began to bear down on it, chased by Fireteam Raven.
The Spartan, through Cortana's instruction, fought his way to the ship's bridge. The UNSC AI started the ship's self-destruct sequence, only to discover to her dismay that the Guilty Spark had halted the sequence. Cortana deduced that the Monitor was in Engineering and was attempting to take the ''Autumn's'' engines offline. John-117 decided to overload the engines by manually cracking the engine's magnetic containment fields.
During the battle aboard the ''Autumn'', the few remaining UNSC survivors rallied for a final defensive action around the crash site to prevent the Covenant or the Flood from interfering with the Chief's mission, having learned of his intentions to destroy the ring. The Covenant sent a to destroy the UNSC forces and then to ambush the Chief aboard the cruiser, but this assault was thwarted by the ODSTs of Fireteam Raven. The remaining Marine forces were then overrun and all survivors in the immediate vicinity were left at the mercy of the ''Autumn's'' imminent detonation.
File:PoADestructionCEA.jpg|thumb|250px|The ''Autumn's'' engines detonate, destroying the Halo Installation. The Spartan fought his way through Cryo B to reach Engineering. Following Cortana's instructions, he destroyed each of the four engines by launching explosives into the open shafts, destabilizing the containment fields. Cortana calculated that the pair had 15 minutes to evacuate the ship before the engines detonated. The Spartan headed for the shaft of elevator V-1269, where he was ambushed by Zuka 'Zamamee. The trap almost succeeded, but with Cortana's help, the Chief killed Zuka 'Zamamee by knocking the Sangheili to the bottom of the shaft. He then rode the elevator to a Class-7 Service Corridor located along the ship's dorsal structure. Using a Warthog, he drove along the length of the Corridor to External Access Junction 4C, where Echo 419 was to pick the Chief up one last time. However, two Banshees shot down the Pelican, killing Foe Hammer. John-117 was then forced to drive to Launch Bay 7, where a single GA-TL1 Longsword|Longsword fighter was still docked. The Spartan successfully boarded the ship and escaped Halo. Moments later, the ''Autumn's'' engines detonated, blowing a five-kilometer hole in the region around the ship and destroying Halo - bringing the battle to an end.
Realising the impending fate of the ringworld, Supreme Commander 'Vadamee ordered all remaining ships of the Fleet of Particular Justice to take cover behind the gas giant Threshold, ignoring the request made by the Minor Prophet.
Aftermath
}}
File:Installation04destroyed.png|thumb|250px|The breakup of Installation 04.
Although the ringworld was destroyed, it did not mark the end of conflict in the Soell system. After the destruction of Installation 04 and John-117's successful escape, Cortana scanned the installation's debris field for survivors. Soon, multiple Covenant capital ships entered the system. Cortana discovered several cryo pods jettisoned from the ''Pillar of Autumn'' during the initial battle, one of which contained Linda-058, and a Pelican dropship with several survivors. John-117 picked up the survivors in the Longsword, and with their help, boarded and hijacked the Covenant flagship ''Ascendant Justice'' and Raid on Reach|headed for Reach. The ''Seeker of Truth'' and Supreme Commander 'Vadamee would soon depart for ''High Charity''. During the interim, 'Vadamee would write a Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Manual#Report on the Atrocity at Halo|''Report on the Atrocity at Halo'', detailing his failure to protect the ring and combining the intelligence on John-117 and the UNSC taken from his engagements at Reach and Installation 04''Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Manual'' as well as send a copy of a Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit|Priority Broadcast Log taken from transmissions detailing the conflict between 'Vadamee and the Prophet to Lak 'Vadamee, wishing for Lak to know the truth of events before his hearing. The commander was tried in front of the High Council and stripped of rank, ultimately only spared a public execution due to the machinations of the Prophet of Truth, who esteemed the title of Arbiter on the disgraced Sangheili. 'Vadamee was given a new mission; eliminate the group of heretics led by Sesa 'Refumee now holed up in the gas mines of Threshold.
'Refumee had been tasked to explore the gas mines of Threshold by the Minor Prophet of Stewardship during the battle at Installation 04, and was eventually the one to receive 343 Guilty Spark following the ring's destruction. The Monitor was able to survive the destruction of the Installation, and had similarly arrived at the gas mines, wherein he proceeded to tell 'Refumee the truth about the Halo Array.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal 11''Halo 2: Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals Following the Monitor's revelations, 'Refumee devoted himself to spreading the truth of Halo to all the Covenant. A month later on October 20, the now-rebranded Arbiter and fellow Installation 04 veteran Rtas 'Vadumee would lead a team to Raid on the Threshold gas mine|raid the gas mines and destroy the heretics once and for all, capturing the Monitor in the process.
The battle on Alpha Halo resulted in more than just a UNSC victory, however. It sparked a series of events that would change the course of the entire war. The new Arbiter would play a major role in the events of the Battle of Installation 05 and the Battle of Earth. The High Prophets also would exploit the political fallout resulting from Halo's destruction to further their own plans to supplant the Sangheili ranks with their rivals among the Jiralhanae, whose blind faith they favored over the Sangheili's pragmatism. This led to the Great Schism upon learning the truth of Prophet of Truth's plan to replace Sangheili with Jiralhanae.
Triggered by the destruction of Installation 04, Installation 00|the Ark immediately initiated the construction of Installation 08|a replacement to Installation 04. Before the replacement ring was completed, John-117 and Cortana activated it to defeat the Flood and the Gravemind. By 2559, the Ark had finished the construction of a Installation 09|second replacement, which the crew of the attempted to launch to the Soell system to signal the UNSC, but the ring was ultimately intercepted by a Guardian en route. The ring's destruction would trigger other Forerunner installations, emitting a signal that placed them all in standby mode. One such installation would be the Onyx Sentinel|specialized Sentinels guarding the shield world of Onyx, leading to their awakening and the start of the Onyx Conflict.
File:HaloAJ.png|thumb|left|''Ascendant Justice'' lurks in the debris of the ring. Only six known members of the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' crew survived the Halo event. A Pelican hiding in the debris field carried four survivors, Shiela Polaski|Warrant Officer Shiela Polaski, Sergeant Avery Johnson, Shock Trooper Locklear|Corporal Locklear, and an Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI Lieutenant, Elias Haverson. John-117 had managed to retrieve three cryo-tubes, one of which contained his fellow Spartan team member, Linda-058. Linda, who had been clinically dead since the Fall of Reach, was resuscitated at a later time. The people in the other two tubes had died in sleep due to malfunctions. It is not known whether this was a malfunction in one of the cryo storage rooms, or if it happened to almost every tube. Every other person at the battle presumably died when Installation 04 was destroyed. The Museum of Humanity would later list a Sergeant Thomas Chang as having survived the battle.
File:TML - Ring.jpg|thumb|The ''Mona Lisa'' amongst the remains of the ringworld. Following the battle, this group of UNSC survivors led by John-117 would proceed to Skirmish over Threshold|board and capture the ''Ascendant Justice'' and use it to make their way Raid on Reach|back to Reach. This sequence of events would lead the group to commencing Operation: FIRST STRIKE, ultimately destroying a Truth's fleet|fleet of over 500 Covenant warships assembled by the Prophet of Truth in preparation to assault Earth. The survivors would return back to Earth by October 19, leading the UNSC to deploy several recovery convoys of Prowlers.''Eleventh Hour reports'': Part 5 - Subject: Heirlooms One such Prowler, the , would be sent to investigate the ONI vessel ''Mona Lisa'' and Operations: RED CLOUD and WHITE SAND. (defunct, Catalog/Archive/2014#Post .233|Archive) During the operations, the ''Mona Lisa'' would take aboard several samples of the Flood, eventually experimenting with the Flood on Covenant and human prisoners alike, leading to an outbreak on the ship. The ''Red Horse'' would investigate shortly following the departure of the Covenant fleet from the system on October 25, leading to a brief Skirmish on Mona Lisa|skirmish between the Marine survivors and infected Flood, resulting in the deaths of nearly all involved. The ''Red Horse'' was able to gather data on several outlying installations such as one structure similar to the Threshold gas mines employed by Sesa 'Refumee, later employed in the War Games as "Colossus (map)|Colossus".
File:H5-Truth-Ships.png|thumb|The simulated Fleet of Particular Justice on "Truth". During the return journey home, Cortana would write a Halo 2 Manual#Secret Transmission .2B Master Chief Section|report on the conflict,''Halo 2 Manual'' while also using the downtime to begin collating the data recovered from being in the Forerunner and Covenant networks. The AI kept control of the Installation's Activation index, unbeknownst to everyone including John-117.''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #9 This experience would be one of the major factors later assuring the AI's descent into rampancy, and attributed to as the cause of a number of Character interludes|believed-software glitches that would later display in John-117's MJOLNIR armor during the later Battle of Earth. Nonetheless, the data recovered by Cortana and the Master Chief - including his recording of the mysterious Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals - would become later known to ONI Section Three, and later used to assist in unlocking further Forerunner mysteries. - ''" PREVIOUSLY, SPARTAN 117 CAME ACROSS A SET OF CURIOUS TERMINALS WHEN FIGHTING HIS WAY THROUGH ALPHA HALO. EACH TERMINAL CONTAINED A VIDEO TRANSMISSION WITH INCREDIBLY VALUABLE INTEL."'' (defunct, ) - ''" OVER FOUR YEARS AGO, ONI RESEARCHERS DISCOVERED A NEW WAY TO UNLOCK HIGHLY ENCRYPTED DATA, USING A SUBSET OF ARCANE FORERUNNER SYMBOLS. THIS DISCOVERY CAME AFTER ANALYSIS OF VIDEO TRANSMISSIONS UNCOVERED ON ALPHA HALO BY SPARTAN 117."'' (defunct, ) By October 20, news of the destruction of Installation 04 had reached the civilian populace of Earth, and a ceremony was held to honor the Spartan.''I love bees'', Axon Clips, Axon Clips Chapter 12|Chapter 12 - "Explanation" Naval intelligence AIs continued to disagree on the Covenant's motives on the ring, with some falsely believing that the Covenant had already found the ring and wanted to prevent humanity from find it also. As part of public awareness campaigns conducted by the ONI Section Two including initiatives like Outpost Discovery, the Battle of Installation 04 was one of many subjects covered by Director Schaefer in File CHELAN 20200303.''ONI Archive Conflict Evolved - Halo: CE Anniversary'' A recount of the battle was later included in the UNSC's Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual|Official Spartan Field Manual.
Following the end of the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios declared a 500 light-second exclusion zone around the site of Installation 04 as part of the Treaty of 2552. The area around Threshold would continue to be extremely dangerous due to uncontrolled Sentinels, volatile Halo fragments, micro-debris, malfunctioning Forerunner artifacts, and the ever-present danger of the Flood making even surreptitious exploration and scavenging too dangerous for most. Nonetheless, in 2556, Spartan Fireteam Apollo would Operation: SHELL GAME|breach the zone and recover the black box of the ''Undiminished Entelechy'', detailing records of transmissions between Thel 'Vadamee and the Minor Prophet of Stewardsahip during the battle. The data recovered would later go on to be used to simulate the War Games simulations "Truth (level)|Truth", "Regret (Halo 5: Guardians map)|Regret" and a variant of "Parallax". During the simulations, the war-era vessels of the Fleet of Particular Justice would be replaced by s.''Halo 5: Guardians'', multiplayer level Truth (level)|Truth
Part of the transcript recovered there would be translated by Diplomatic Corps member Melody Azikiwe and would be included in a message from General R. Dellert to Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood in the same year.
File:HNF-Alpha Shard.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The Alpha Shard. Before the ''Autumn'' exploded, Installation 04 attempted to activate a safety measure and make a slipspace jump. However, the self-preservation protocol was partly successful, and only Alpha Shard|a small portion of the ring managed to enter slipspace. After the battle, the fragment reentered into normal space in the vicinity of a red giant star some distance away from the Orrichon system. The extreme heat of the ''Autumn'''s explosion, comparable to that of a supernova, caused the formation of an entirely new element - Element 120.V - in the fragment, which caused catastrophic breakdown of DNA in certain humans but did not affect other species. The element was refined into a bioweapon and Terrorist attack on Sedra City|unleashed on Sedra, killing or hospitalizing many of the planet's citizens. An automated survey drone deployed by the ''Pillar of Autumn'' prior to the ring's destruction, Recon-14, survived this event and was later employed for remote-survey of the now-designated Alpha Shard.''Halo: Nightfall: RECON-14'' An investigation by Locke's team led them to trace the bioweapon to the shard of Installation 04 and launch Mission to Alpha Shard|a joint mission with the Sedran Colonial Guard to destroy the new element with a HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon. The mission was ultimately successful though only two people survived.
Other debris from the ring would find its way to land on Threshold's moon, Basis. The heretic faction led by Sesa 'Refumee would use it for a time before their destruction by the Arbiter,''Halo 2'', multiplayer level Burial Mounds with the UNSC eventually deploying SPARTAN-IV personnel in the post-war era to assess the wreckage of Alpha Halo across the moon in one of the first tests of the VECTOR-class Mjolnir armor.''Halo 5: Guardians'', VECTOR Armor customization (Halo 5: Guardians)|armory description
Timeline of events
The battle took place between September 19 and September 22, 2552. The ''Pillar of Autumn'' exited slipspace and landed troops on the ring on the 19th, leading to the capture of Alpha Base and eventual raid on ''Truth and Reconciliation'' on the same day. Roughly eighteen hours later, in the early hours of September 20, Lieutenant McKay's raid on the ''Pillar of Autumn'' began, with the Master Chief leading the assaults on the Silent Cartographer and the Control Room on the same day simultaneously to Captain Keyes' investigation of the Flood. By September 21, the Master Chief had investigated the Flood facility and the Library, leading to his and the ODSTs' assault on the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' again, before the ringworld's destruction on September 22.
Participants
The battle's primary participants were the UNSC forces of the ''Pillar of Autumn'' and the Covenant forces of the Fleet of Particular Justice. The Covenant deployed vast amounts of ships and infantry onto the ring, compared to the small force of crew that escaped the Fall of Reach aboard the ''Autumn''.
List of appearances
''Halo: Combat Evolved''
''Halo: The Flood''
*''Halo: The Flood#2010 bonus content|Adjunct''
''Halo: First Strike''
''Halo 2''
''Halo Graphic Novel''
*''The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor''
*''Breaking Quarantine''
''Halo Wars''
''Halo: Evolutions''
*''Wages of Sin''
''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo 4''
''Halo: Broken Circle''
''Halo: Nightfall''
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
''Halo: Shadow of Intent''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo: Tales from Slipspace''
*''Dominion Splinter''
''Halo Wars 2''
''Halo: Fireteam Raven''
''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual''
''Halo: Shadows of Reach''
''Halo: Divine Wind''
''Halo Infinite: Memory Agent''
''Halo Infinite''
''Halo: Outcasts''
''Battle for the Blood-Moon''
Notes
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Installation 04
Category:UNSC victories|Installation 04
Category:Battle of Installation 04| |
|place= Installation 04, Soell system (Archive:Halo Waypoint/2014 to 2020/Universe/Timeline/The Halo Conflict|Archive)
|result= Pyrrhic UNSC victory Destruction of Installation 04
Flood outbreak contained and sterilized Heavy Covenant losses and are forced to retreat All United Nations Space Command|UNSC forces, except for a few survivors, perish
|side1 = * United Nations Space Command
|side2 = * Covenant
|side3 = * Sentinel|Forerunner constructs
|side4 = *Flood
|commanders1 =
Captain (Navy)|Capt. Jacob Keyes Ensign|Ens. William Lovell Major|Maj. Antonio Silva First Lieutenant|1st Lt. Melissa McKay Staff Sergeant|St. Sgt. Avery Johnson UNSC rank structure#Officer ranks|Flight Captain Carol Rawley Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
|commanders2 =
Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee Prophet of Stewardship Minister of Etiology Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee Shipmaster Lat 'Ravamee Soha 'Rolamee Field Master Noga 'Putumee Shipmaster Orna 'Fulsamee
|commanders3 =
343 Guilty Spark
|commanders4 =
Proto-Gravemind
|forces1 =
*200 Naval personnel
*400 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines
*530 Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
**Fireteam Raven
*Two SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-IIs
**John-117
**Linda-058
*AI Cortana
*AI Wellsley
|forces2 =
Fleet of Particular Justice
*''Ascendant Justice''
*''Blameless Conceit''
**''Upright Chalice''
*''Seeker of Truth''
*''Infinite Succor''
**''Brilliant Gift''
*''Purity of Spirit''
*''Truth and Reconcilliation''
*''Undiminished Entelechy''
*Roughly 6 other Ket-pattern battlecruiser|ships''Halo: Combat Evolved'', campaign level The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|The Pillar of Autumn - ''"A dozen Covenant superior battleships against a single Halcyon-class light cruiser. Given those odds I'm content with three...make that four kills."'', Cortana.
*Thousands of ground troops
|forces3 =
Numerous Aggressor Sentinels
|forces4 =
Thousands of Flood forms
|casual1 =
All Marines, ODSTs and naval personnel
* AI Wellsley
*Jacob Keyes
*Melissa McKay
*Antonio Silva
*Carol Rawley
*
|casual2 =
Majority of ground forces
*Minister of Etiology
*Prophet of Stewardship
*Noga 'Putumee
*Lat 'Ravamee
*Soha 'Rolamee
*At least 6 ships destroyed, remaining Fleet retreated''Halo: The Flood'', Halo: The Flood#2010) bonus content|Adjunct - Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit
|casual3 = Complete destruction of all Sentinels on the Installation
|casual4 = Complete destruction of all Flood forms on the Installation
}}
The Battle of Installation 04, also known as the Halo Event, Alpha Halo Conflict''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual'', The Alpha Halo Conflict - p.62-65 and the Halo Conflict,''The Halo Conflict'Halo: Outpost Discovery'', Hall of History - OD_003_HOH_Humanity_Overview refers to a series of skirmishes between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant on the surface of Halo Array|Halo Installation 04, a Forerunner megastructure orbiting the gas giant Threshold. The Flood and the Forerunner Sentinels joined the conflict in its later stages. The battle became the turning point of the Human-Covenant War and ultimately led to the Great Schism.
Background
In the later stages of the Human-Covenant War, it was clear that the UNSC was losing. To try and force an end to the conflict, the Office of Naval Intelligence devised Operation: RED FLAG. Using the fortress world of Reach as bait, the operation would use a specially-modified ship to forcibly board a Covenant capital ship, steal it, capture a Hierarchs|Hierarch and use the hostage as negotiating leverage to end the war.
To undertake this task, the old was chosen and given an UNSC Pillar of Autumn#Specifications|extensive series of refits to improve its combat potential against Covenant ships. The plan would additionally call for the use of all remaining active-duty SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II personnel and a "mission specialist" Artificial intelligence|AI. Additionally, a battalion of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers commanded by Major Antonio Silva were assigned to the vessel for additional support.''Data Drops'', Data Drop #6 Following his performance at the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, Captain Jacob Keyes was chosen to lead the mission.
Ultimately, RED FLAG never went ahead due to the UNSC's disastrous Fall of Reach|defeat at Reach. During the battle on August 30, the majority of the ship's SPARTAN-II complement was deployed groundside to defend the orbital defense generators, with Spartans John-117, Linda-058 and James-005 deployed to Gamma Station to execute the Cole Protocol on the ONI vessel . In the engagement, James was killed and Linda severely injured. Additionally, Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson and Fire Team Charlie assisted the Spartan team and eventually evacuated back to the ''Pillar of Autumn''. With Linda clinically dead, she was placed into a cryo chamber with the hopes of reviving her later. With this, John-117 remained the only operational Spartan left on the ''Pillar of Autumn'' when it finally escaped Reach.
With the loss of a third of her technical staff, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' made an apparently blind jump through slipstream space|slipspace from where they would then make their way to Earth. In reality, the slipspace jump was planned by the Artificial intelligence|AI Cortana, using coordinates from an artifact found on Sigma Octanus IV as well as from an Babd Catha Forerunner complex|object found under the Babd Catha Ice Shelf on Reach. The ''Pillar of Autumn'' departed from the Aszod ship breaking yards on August 30, 2552, and entered slipspace above Reach while the Covenant fleet continued to wreak destruction on the planet.
File:H2A Screenshot ParticularJustice Autumn.jpg|thumb|left|The Fleet of Particular Justice faces down the ''Pillar of Autumn''. The Covenant, primarily the Fleet of Particular Justice led by Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee had acquired the trajectory of the ''Autumn's'' jump and pursued, arriving ''before'' the Autumn due to their faster borer|slipspace drive technology. Following the battle, some UNSC AIs would incorrectly suggest that the Covenant did not follow the ''Autumn'' to ''Halo'', but had in -fact already discovered the ring, and wanted to prevent the humans from finding it too. (Archive:Bungie.net/News/Jason Jones Interviewed By You|Archive)
The ''Autumn'' and the approximately 1,100 humans on it arrived in orbit above the planet Threshold at 01:20 hours on September 19, 2552. At some point after this time, Captain Keyes made a Anniversary Campaign Trailer|transmission that would later be picked up by NAVCOM.''Anniversary Campaign Trailer'' By this time, at least twelve Covenant vessels were already in station, with four battlegroups consisting of three s per group, the Covenant destroyer|destroyer ''Blameless Conceit'', the ''Infinite Succor'', the ''Ascendant Justice'' and the ''Seeker of Truth''. The Covenant additionally established a series of recon pickets around the ring's orbit, which were promptly engaged by the ''Autumn's'' GA-TL1 Longsword escort.
Battle in space
File:HCEA-Concept-PoA-Chief-Profile.jpg|thumb|left|200px|John-117 engaging Covenant forces boarding the ''Pillar of Autumn''
Following their arrival in the system, The Fleet of Particular justice established a presence on the far side of the ringworld and sent out a number of recon picket fighter squadrons to intercept the ''Pillar of Autumn''. Due to the Battle of Installation 04#Covenant fleet unrest|ongoing squabbles between the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee and Minor Prophet of Stewardship, Covenant forces were initially ordered to send out fightercraft and boarding parties to the human cruiser for fear of damaging the ring, though 'Vadamee later returned fire anyway. The UNSC cruiser's Longsword escort mopped up the initial recon pickets, though eventually a Seraph was able to slip its way through the defenses and land a blow across the ''Autumn's'' Titanium-A armor that those on the bridge could feel. The small craft had evidently managed to slip past their patrolling Longswords by powering down. Lieutenant Aki Hikowa sent new orders to the squadron and the Seraph was destroyed almost immediately. Just as Captain Jacob Keyes|Keyes plotted a course to bring his ship closer to Threshold|the gas giant, sensors picked up the approaching squadron of Covenant fighters, followed by boarding craft. Installation 04, a massive ring-shaped Astroengineering|superstructure, made its first appearance to those on the ''Autumn'' as the ship came around the planet and found it suspended at a lagrange point between it and Basis|its moon.
While the Covenant fleet was initially hesistant to open fire on the ''Autumn'', the humans had no such qualms and Cortana was able to estimate three or four kills on Covenant ships before the ''Autumn'' could be taken out. The ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was one such vessel, forced to retreat to ground to make repairs, later becoming the new HQ for the Covenant ground forces. Meanwhile, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was sent wave after wave of Elsedda-pattern Banshee|Banshees, Morsam-pattern Seraph|''Morsam''-pattern Seraphs and boarding craft to force the humans out of their shell.
As Covenant forces began boarding the ''Autumn'', Captain Jacob Keyes ordered Chief Petty Officer Thom Shephard and Petty Officer Third Class Samuel N. Marcus to release Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 from his cryo-chamber. Both officers were killed by Covenant invasion forces while preparing the SPARTAN-II for immediate combat. Shortly thereafter, the ''Autumns Magnetic Accelerator Cannon was sabotaged by the Covenant boarding teams and rendered inoperable.
During the battle, installation Monitor 343 Guilty Spark prepared the defensive , preparing to fire on all vessels who did not return to a minimum one light-year safe distance. Unfortunately, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was not able to receive this transmission. Luckily, the Monitor accessed the ship's databases and upon learning of the humans' status as reclaimers, took the weapons offline and granted them safe passage onto the ring.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal #1
File:KeyesChipCEA.png|thumb|left|The Cole Protocol stipulated that preventing the destruction or capture of a shipboard A.I. by the Covenant was of paramount importance.
Given the loss of their MAC|magnetic accelerator cannon, Captain Keyes made the decision to initiate Article Two of the Cole Protocol. He made the determination that it had become necessary to abandon the cruiser, and in accordance with the protocol, that meant someone would need to be entrusted with the protection of Cortana during the retreat. The captain planned to stay behind to attempt put the ship down himself on the surface of the ring. Cortana protested what she saw as a suicidal decision on Keyes' part, but he simply ordered that she locked in a selection of emergency landing zones and upload them to his Neural interface|neural lace. As for guardianship of the A.I., the job naturally fell to the Master Chief. Her data crystal chip was transferred from a pedestal on the ''Autumn's'' bridge to the housing within the Spartan's MJOLNIR armor. Keyes offered his own M6D magnum to John and wished him good luck just before the Spartan took his leave.
File:HCEA PillarOfAutumn CorridorBattle Concept.jpg|thumb|UNSC Marines fend off Covenant boarders. By the time John, with Cortana now in tow, left the bridge, the Covenant boarders had pushed beyond the areas adjacent to the airlocks they had entered by and had encroached toward the ship's command deck. A wave had been repulsed by the ''Autumn's'' defenders, but it had come close to reaching the bridge. Ammunition for the captain's sidearm was provided in the form of that which John collected from a fallen ensign. The first to fall to its 12.7x40mm M225 Semi-Armor-Piercing High-Explosive rounds was a group of Unggoy.
Now armed with an MA5B assault rifle, John fought his way through the Covenant infesting the ship's corridors in the direction that Cortana led him. He traveled up one level, felling Unggoy, Kig-Yar, and Sangheili as he went. His efforts enabled marines around him to launch a hastily organized counterattack on the boarders. All the while, the ''Autumn'' continued to take hits from enemy vessels. Cortana urged the Master Chief to hurry as Class-3 Bumblebee|lifeboats began to launch for the safety of solid ground.
As fighting within the ship raged on, a small detachment of Unggoy led by one known as Yayap found a way to avoid the violence. Yayap directed those in his charge to take hold of Zuka 'Zamamee|a wounded Special Operations Sangheili|Special Operations Sangheili and bring him safely back to one of the assault boat they had come in on.
The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers aboard had been charged with protecting the network of fusion engines that made up the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' experimental power plant. Under the command of Major Antonio Silva, the ODSTs had managed to hold their position successfully. Once he finally got orders from Captain Keyes that they were abandoning ship, he ordered them to the Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|SOEIVs that would carry them to the alien ringworld below. Only Fireteam Raven, having been separated from the others, did not launch with Silva and the rest. Raven instead fought against boarders on the ship to repel the invasion, under the guidance of the AI Wellsley. During the fighting, the ODSTs conducted an Extra-vehicular activity|space-walk to man the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' M910 Rampart point defense network to fend off incoming waves of space Banshees and Seraph starfighters. The fireteam were eventually forced to retreat back into the ship, however.
Finally nearing the lifeboats, John-117 paused long enough to grab a marine who fell while running for the safety one offered. The Master Chief effortlessly scooped up the man and tossed him inside the Bumblebee designated Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43. He confirmed to the escape lifepod's pilot that they could leave and it blasted free of the ship. Fireteam Raven witnessed the Chief and a few others escaping but did not join them, instead remaining behind to continue engaging the enemy on the way to their SOEIVs. Wellsley contacted them at this moment and urged speed on its members' part. The team fought through many Covenant troops in order to make it to the drop pods and get off the doomed ship.
Among those escaping was Flight Officer Captain Carol Rawley, who, alongside four other pilots, fought her way to the ship's launch bay where its D77-TC Pelicans lay waiting. The Pilots were successfully able to maneuver their craft out of the cruiser's hangar bays as the ship began to enter the ring's atmosphere and were eventually able to put down on the surface. The surviving dropships later played a crucial part in the UNSC campaign on the ring.
File:AutumnDamagedCEA.png|thumb|left|Cortana left behind a very small part of herself in order to assist with the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' descent. The Minor Prophet of Stewardship had additionally ordered the deployment of an Ossoona, Isna 'Nosolee, onto the cruiser. Armed with six plasma grenades and a plasma pistol and cloaked in active camoflage, the Sangheili was to use his helmet-mounted cameras to record the ship for intelligence purposes and try to capture the ship's AI or essential bridge crew. Hidden from plain sight, he avoided direct confrontation when a group of marines backed around a corner toward him, pursued by a pack of Unggoy and Kig-Yar. The Ossoona made his way to the bridge, where he was able to successfully evade being noticed by the humans.
To avoid its evacuating personnel from being shot down by the Covenant warships, Captain Keyes piloted the ''Autumn'' manually, diverting all Covenant attention to the ship as it plummeted towards the Forerunner construct. As the ship was shot down by Covenant warships, most of the cryo-chambers, including Linda-058's, were ejected as per standard UNSC procedure. Once the ''Autumn'' was set on the course, Keyes and the bridge crew would make for their own escape pods followed by 'Nosolee. Although the Sangheili was able to prevent detection, he eventually died at the hand of Keyes inside the escape pod, the captain having noticed the distinct shimmer in the air of the elite's active camouflage systems.
UNSC ground campaign
File:HFR Alpha Base 2.png|250px|thumb|left|UNSC forces from the ''Autumn'' set up Alpha Base on a Forerunner building. The ODSTs battalion under Major Silva made landing on the ring via orbital insertion, in an area roughly three kilometers in diameter. They were quick to organize, meeting up with Silva and Lt. McKay to establish a temporary base of operations. Relying on data provided the Artificial intelligence|AI Wellsley, Silva instructed Lieutenant Melissa McKay to take the battalion's B Company (Pillar of Autumn)|B Company and capture Alpha Base (Installation 04)|a Covenant-held butte to gain a tactical advantage in fighting off Covenant forces. The group had also received word of a group of Pelican pilots who had landed their craft some distance away, and C Company (Pillar of Autumn)|C Company was sent to meet them and prepare for aerial insertion to reinforce McKay. The remaining A Company (Pillar of Autumn)|A Company and D Company (Pillar of Autumn)|D Company remained under the command of Silva directly, and took some time to reinforce their temporary foothold and get some rest. This peace would not last long as the temporary base of operations was assaulted by Covenant ground forces consisting of 50 Sangheili, 100 s and, later, Type-26 Banshees. The defending ODSTs managed to fend off the assault but suffered a loss of 23 ODSTs killed and 16 ODSTs wounded.
Around the time of the Covenant attack, McKay's force engaged the Covenant at the butte and began a slow climb up to the base proper. In the assault, the ODSTs advanced into the butte using a spiraling ramp. Covenant forces responded to this advancement by raining down plasma grenades and unleashing volleys of plasma bolts. The Covenant defense was soon relaxed when a number of ODST companies performed aerial assaults on the defending Covenant forces. McKay's advancement into the butte was halted by a rockfall. Fortunately, McKay managed to find an access into the butte which led to a chamber filled with Covenant explosives. The lieutenant fired a rocket into the chamber, subsequently killing any Covenant force, and led her ODSTs on a lift up to the surface, where they met Major Silva who had arrived and eliminated the remaining Covenant forces.
Following the death of the Covenant spy, the rest of the command shuttle's ride down onto the surface of Installation 04 was uneventful, with the crew disposing of 'Nosolee's body in a nearby crevice once landed. The group would proceed to be harassed and pursued by Covenant Banshees, Spirit dropships and infantry through the rugged terrain, never able to rest for more than a few minutes. After hours of this treatment, Ensign Ellen Dowski began to crack, and seriously suggest giving up and allow themselves to be taken prisoner. To prevent her from being a burden on the group any longer, she was allowed to do so - but only after she was relieved of her firearm, supplies and left tied up for the Covenant to find.
As the day wore on, the remaining group would eventually find themselves in a box canyon, with a Spirit looming overhead. Realising they were finally trapped, the group put down their weapons only to find Dowski emerge from the Covenant dropship with a squad of Sangheili warriors. She identified the Captain, leading to the aliens executing all of the other humans before finally using Dowski's own pistol to kill her - leaving Keyes the only survivor. Keyes was then taken by the Sangheili back to the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' and interrogated for hours.
File:HM-JohnI04-full.jpg|thumb|250px| John-117 exiting a Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43|Bumblebee lifeboat that crashed onto the valleys of Halo. In a state of disarray, several evacuating UNSC personnel eventually landed on the Forerunner construct. Some were killed in the landing while others attempted to get hold of one another and survive the Covenant patrols.
After crash-landing on the Forerunner construct, John-117, the sole survivor of Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43's crash-landing, headed out to get away from Covenant patrols and, under the instructions provided by Cortana, attempted to establish some contact with any surviving human personnel. After evading several patrols and a brief skirmish with a small Covenant lance, John-117 managed to find a group of survivors defending themselves against the aggressive Covenant forces in a Forerunner structure. John established contact with Staff Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson|Johnson and the survivors and assisted them in eliminating and defeating the Covenant forces, later reinforced by three waves. Carol Rawley|Foe Hammer of Echo 419 soon arrived to retrieve the survivors after the elimination of Covenant forces. Witnessing three lifepods flying overhead, Cortana instructed Foe Hammer to disengage her Warthog to support the Spartan's efforts in retrieving and securing the survivors. Two Marines assisted the Spartan in the rescue efforts.''Halo: Combat Evolved'', campaign level Halo (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|Halo At some point, John would find a Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal and record its data. Around this time, 343 Guilty Spark would begin using the terminals to show the history of the ring.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary terminals teaser''
After successfully rescuing the survivors from all three lifepods, Cortana informed everyone of her findings after hacking into the proselytization network|Covenant battlenet; Captain Keyes and a number of personnel survived the landing on the Installation, but have been captured by Covenant forces. The survivors eventually returned to Alpha Base (Installation 04)|Alpha Base to devise a rescue plan for the Captain.
Not all of the troops, however, were able to make landfall and regroup swiftly, with at least one known group able to make landfall in a Ridgeline|forested region of the ring overlooking a large Forerunner relay structure and forming a staging area there. Unfortunately, they were soon wiped out by the Covenant.''Halo: Reach'', multiplayer map Ridgeline - map description () (defunct, Archive:Halo Waypoint/2009 to 2014/Games/Halo: Reach|Archive) () Another group of ODSTs were able to land on the ring near a beam emitter tower, holding off the Covenant until rescue finally came.''Halo: Reach'', Firefight level Installation 04 (map)|Installation 04 Fireteam Raven were able to make landfall on the ring, separated from other UNSC forces. Under the guidance of Wellsley through a mobile communication link, they made their way across the installation's surface.
At least three UNSC Marines would later be captured by the Covenant and taken to the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', locked in the same brig as Captain Keyes.
File:HCEA-Concept-TnR-Hangar.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and his squad kill Covenant on board the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. The surviving human personnel launched a mission to recover Captain Keyes, who was being held aboard the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. Under the cover of night, John-117 and a fireteam of ODSTs boarded the ship via its gravity lift. After several brief engagements aboard the ship, the rescue team managed to establish a secure control of the ship's command center. John-117 went ahead and freed Captain Keyes and several other captured Marines. When they returned to the command center, they found out that the ODSTs had been slaughtered by Stealth Sangheili. Furthermore, Echo 419 was unable to retrieve the rescue party due to Covenant air patrols. Following Cortana's suggestion, Captain Keyes manned a Covenant dropship and returned everyone to Alpha Base.
While Covenant forces were distracted by the ongoing battle at the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', ODST Lieutenant McKay was ordered to stage a raid on the crashed ''Pillar of Autumn'', in order to gain extra supplies to finance the battle effort. The raid was successful; the UNSC forces managed to salvage several of the ship's Warthogs, trailers and four M808B Main Battle Tank|Scorpion tanks along with food supplies and ammunitions. However, when returning the salvaged vehicles to Alpha Base, the convoy was ambushed by Covenant forces led by Noga 'Putumee using Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraiths, Banshees and Ghosts. Despite sizeable Covenant opposition, the UNSC forces managed to withhold the ambush and inflict greater damage on the Covenant forces. During the raid, Fireteam Raven was able to link up with friendly UNSC forces for the first time since landing on the ring twenty-eight hours earlier, and contributed to the raid by manning the mounted machine guns on the convoy's Warthogs.
File:HLC Halo Conflict.png|thumb|250px|The Master Chief aboard Echo 419 approaching the Cartographer.
Using the intelligence gathered by Captain Keyes and Cortana, the human forces amassed a squadron for an assault on the Silent Cartographer island, in their attempt to uncover more information of the Installation. John-117 and a handful of Marines, supported by ''Echo 419'' and ''Bravo 022'', penetrated the Covenant defenses, journeyed deep within the island's chambers and access-ways, and discovered the location of the Installation's control room.
Events leading to the discovery was not easy; the Covenant managed to temporarily lock access to the chambers within the island, prompting John-117 and the Marines to navigate to the island's security chamber. As they deactivated the security, Bravo 22 and its payload fell prey to Covenant fire.
File:ScorpionControlRoom.png|thumb|250px|John-117 leading the assault in a M808 Main Battle Tank|Scorpion.
After the Battle of the Silent Cartographer, Cortana instructed Foe Hammer to deploy them using navigations she gathered from the discovery of the control room. Alone, John-117 was inserted into a network of tunnels occupied by Covenant forces. The Spartan then received a radio transmission from Fireteam Zulu, who were pinned down in a valley, as he fought his way through the network of tunnels. John-117 assisted Fireteam Zulu in eliminating local Covenant forces and their armor support, then journeyed through a system of adjacent canyons until reaching a dead end, where Fireteam Zulu requested to be evacuated.
John-117, with Cortana providing guidance, eventually discovered a large pyramidal structure built into a cliff, on top of which was the control room. Upon reaching the chamber, Cortana accessed the Installation's systems and discovered Flood|a terrible secret quarantined within the Installation. Fearing for Captain Keyes' safety, she instructed Foe Hammer to take John-117 to head to his last known location.
The Flood escapes
File:HCEA-Concept-Chief-Flood.jpg|thumb|250px|John-117 encounters the released Flood in a containment facility At the same time of the Battle of the Silent Cartographer, Captain Keyes, supported by Second squad (Pillar of Autumn)|2nd Squad and Pelican dropship Victor 933, devised a plan to infiltrate a Flood containment facility|presumed weapon cache within a swamp, as per intelligence gathered from 'Qualomee|a captured Sangheili. They later met up with Fire Team Charlie, led by Staff Sergeant Johnson, which had proceeded to the structure and engaged the few scattered Covenant forces they encountered in the upper levels of the facility.
While exploring the lower levels, the UNSC forces came across a sealed door, locked down by the Covenant. With increasing curiosity, the UNSC unlocked the door and explored the containment room. Shortly after, Fire Team Charlie was contacted by a desperate Marine requesting help as he was overwhelmed by non-Covenant hostiles. Seconds later, the fireteam was attacked by a swarm of Pod infectors, infecting Captain Keyes, Privates Riley, Kappus, Manuel Mendoza|Mendoza, Jenkins, Bisenti and several others. Two Marines managed to avoid the infection, one of whom was killed just outside and Paranoid Marine|another who escaped by playing dead. Staff Sergeant Johnson shrugged off the Pod infectors due to his ORION Project|SPARTAN-I enhancements and managed to escape the facility.
File:KeyesJohnsonCEA.png|thumb|left|250px|Marines and Captain Keyes fighting back-to-back against the Pod infectors they released. Three hours after the assault on the Control Room, John-117 arrived near Victor 933's crash site via Echo 419. His travel towards Captain Keyes' last known transmission was met with an abnormally small concentration of Covenant forces, which was easily handled. Upon unlocking the door to the Containment Room, he found Private Jenkins' helmet and accessed its video records. Shortly after, John-117 was attacked by the remaining Flood forms that spewed out of nearby chambers. The Spartan quickly proceeded to escape the facility, combating Pod infectors and Flood combat form|Combat forms. He soon caught up with Corporal Lovik's squad, who were advised by Echo 419 to take refuge at a nearby structure.
The survivors fought their way through the swamp in search of the structure for immediate evacuation. On the site, the survivors were aided by unknown constructs later identified as the Sentinels, under the command of the Installation's Monitor, 04-343 Guilty Spark|343 Guilty Spark. The Monitor teleported the Spartan into the Library, leaving the other survivors to be evacuated by Echo 419.
After discovering a Reclaimer was within reach, 343 Guilty Spark, without hesitation, teleported John-117 into the Library, where he was tasked with the retrieval of the Activation Index. Proceeding into the bowels of the huge structure, the SPARTAN fought off wave after wave of Flood, before the Monitor called in Sentinels to assist him. Upon reaching the central shaft of the Library, John-117 rode another elevator down to the Index to deactivate the security protocols around it. 343 Guilty Spark then took over his role and stored the Index within himself.
Covenant fleet unrest File:H2A Terminals - Thel and Prophet.jpg|thumb|Thel 'Vadamee converses with the Minor Prophet. Following the arrival of the ''Autumn'' in the system, the Fleet of Particular Justice experienced a great amount of unrest, due to conflicting leadership between the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee and the Minor Prophet of Prophet of Stewardship|Stewardship. The two initially met aboard the flagship ''Seeker of Truth'' to contact High Charity and ascertain how to proceed with interpreting Covenant holy scripture. High Charity was unavailable, and the Prophet departed again for ''Ascendant Justice'', declaring that no Covenant ships were to open fire for fear of damaging the holy ring, instead ordering a boarding action to take place.''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #3 Thel would disregard this order and open fire aggressively.
File:H2A Terminals - Fleet waiting for Autumn.jpg|thumb|left|''Seeker of Truth'' and the Covenant fleet in orbit of Installation 04. What would follow was a great deal of bickering and arguing between the two commanders, with the Prophet appropriating fleet military resources for his own personal goals. He would secretly order the ''Undiminished Entelechy'' and sister ship ''Purity of Spirit'' to perform close-range surveys of the ring The Prophet would later order an expeditionary force led by Sesa 'Refumee and Loka 'Bandolee to investigate the Threshold gas mines, leading to 'Vadamee ordering all military forces be concentrated on the human threat. The Prophet would ignore this decree, and order secondary and tertiary artifact recovery groups to investigate the Flood containment facility, believed a weapons cache. The two groups fell silent, leading a fourth group to be dispatched. 'Vadamee would once again order a cease and desist of these actions, with no response given by the Prophet. The Supreme Commander would then dispatch an infantry unit to ''Ascendant Justice'' to relieve the Prophet of command, leading to the boarding party being shot down and 'Vadamee warned that repeated actions would result in further lethality. File:Infinite Succor.jpg|thumb|''Brilliant Gift'' collides with ''Infinite Succor''.
Covenant forces around the Flood containment facility were in disarray due to the release of the Flood. Several dropships were shut down with some captured by the Flood. One particular dropship, the ''Brilliant Gift'', was manned by the Flood towards the Covenant fleet currently hovering over the Installation. The dropship eventually crash-landed on the ''Infinite Succor'' and infected its personnel, unbeknownst to those around the ''Infinite Succor''. Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee responded by deploying a Covenant Special Operations|Special Operations unit led by Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee. The Special Operations unit Infinite Succor#Battle on the Infinite Succor|engaged with its invading aggressor, eventually leaving the injured 'Vadumee as the only survivor of the engagement. The presence of the Flood and its potential of being space-borne was reported to Supreme Commander 'Vadamee.
'Vadamee would proceed to order an emergency quarantine response for the fleet, ordering all vessels evacuate the ring and to report a full biometric scan of their crew, and for uninfected vessels to fire on those who did not respond. The ''Undiminished Entelechy'' would be among those infected by the Flood and shot down by 'Vadamee, crash-landing on the ring. The ring's environmental control systems would quickly accelerate plant growth on the wreckage in the short time the wreckage remained intact.
With the failure of the Covenant forces on the ground to control the Flood outbreak, the Minor Prophet would order the execution of Soha 'Rolamee, and proceed to move himself and his security contingent to ''Truth and Reconciliation'', ordering the crew to police the ship and detain anyone who would threaten the consecration, even the Supreme Commander. The Prophet presented 'Rolamee's severed head to Zuka 'Zamamee as a warning against repeated failures like the failure of 'Rolamee to contain the Flood, or Zuka to kill the Master Chief. 'Vadamee would later proceed to personally lead a team to take control of ''Ascendant Justice'', taking the ship without firing a shot.
As the Flood continued to spread, the Covenant battlenet would fall into chaos. Jiralhanae troops assigned to the fleet relayed several accounts of the ground actions to the fleet, but these accounts were later considered unreliable due to panic, confusion and excuse for failure. The fleet also deployed Kig-Yar Sniper teams armed with Type-50 Alpha beam rifle|T-50 beam rifles during the Flood onslaught.''Halo 5: Guardians'', Type-50 Alpha beam rifle List of REQ cards/Power Weapons|REQ card
Late stages of conflict
In the early hours of September 21, the Covenant returned to assault Alpha Base, initiated by an air insertion and then followed by a ground advancement. Using a Charlie 217|captured Pelican dropship and its Rick Hale|captured pilot, the Covenant attempted to insert 30 Special Operations Sangheili, led by Special Operations Officer Zuka 'Zamamee to assassinate the apparently absent Spartan and clear a landing zone for six Spirit dropships for immediate evacuation. The officer had been successfully able to convince the prophet to allow the attack, aiming to kill the Spartan before he could cause the Covenant any more trouble.
The air insertion was quickly discovered by the human forces on Alpha Base, who flooded the Pelican dropship with jet fuel before igniting it, killing twenty-four Sangheili. The six Sangheili managed to escape into the base, neutralizing the human control rooms and liberated the captured Covenant soldiers. However, the MLA auto-cannons and various other defense systems employed by the human forces managed to destroy several incoming Spirit dropships. A large amount of Covenant troops were able to make it into the base, however, including Hunters and Grunts, thanks to the deployment of the ''Upright Chalice''. The Covenant forces landing on the butte were soon either killed or captured, and the assault on Alpha Base stalled. During the midst of the fighting, Fireteam Raven were recalled to the ice canyons near the Installation's control room to assist John-117 in fighting a new threat near the Installation's Control Room.
The ground assault, led by Field Master Noga 'Putumee, made significant progress against the humans due to their use of Spirit dropships to clear the way ahead of the ground forces. However, the seeming route was designed to lure the Covenant into the firing range of a pair of concealed Scorpion tanks, which then tore into the ranks of the aliens and inflicted major casualties. Field Master 'Putumee was killed by the third shot from the tanks, throwing the Covenant forces into chaos - of the 150 infantry with him, only a few survived to retreat. Meanwhile, the surviving Covenant Special Operations team from the air insertion phase and the freed Covenant troops ran into an ambush devised by the Marines, in which all members of both sides were killed other than Zuka 'Zamamee and Yayap, both of whom fled in a recaptured Banshee. By this time, however, the Covenant ground assault was in full retreat.
File:TwoBetrayalsAnniversary.png|thumb|250px|Cortana revealing Halo's true nature to John-117 as Guilty Spark looks on. Following the Master Chief and Fireteam Zulu's capture of the control room, the Covenant returned in force to retake the structure and heavily fortified the ice canyons surrounding the region, with numerous Banshee air patrols and heavy vehicles. However, they were unable to breach the facility and were locked out. The Flood began to pour into the region to combat the Covenant and Sentinels there, likely intending to take the control room offline and prevent the activation of the ring. By the time 343 Guilty Spark was able to teleport the Spartan back to the control room to prepare for firing, the Flood and Covenant were heavily entrenched.
As the two prepared to activate Halo, Cortana stopped the firing - having discovered the Installation's true purpose after extended time inside the control room's systems. The UNSC AI then revealed the installation's true purpose to the SPARTAN; destroy all life in the galaxy to starve the Flood of its food source. 343 Guilty Spark, unable to purge Cortana from the installation's system due to her having merged with the Index, instructed his Sentinels to eliminate the Spartan and retrieve the UNSC AI from the Spartan's helmet.
File:HCEA TwoBetrayals Banshee Concept.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 flying to a generator John-117, after destroying the Sentinels and eliminating the patrolling Covenant forces, followed Cortana's instructions to destroy the three Phase pulse generator|Phase Pulse Generators to delay the firing process, should the Monitor manage to circumvent the firing protocols. As the Spartan joined the now-four way skirmish in the region, Fireteam Raven were airlifted in from Alpha Base to assist in weakening enemy forces in the region to allow the Master Chief to escape. They would provide close air support coverage in their UH-144 Falcon for a time before deploying onto the ground to begin combat - at one point being saved by the Spartan from an encroaching Flood Juggernaut. Flood and Covenant forces in the area would be severely weakened thanks to Raven's actions, allowing the Spartan to complete his task much quicker. Upon the destruction of the third generator, Cortana suggested they destroy Halo to prevent future use of the installation by enabling the ''Autumn's'' self-destruct system. She then utilized the teleportation grid to transport the two to the damaged ''Truth and Reconciliation'' to rescue Captain Keyes to obtain the proper authorization.
Fireteam Raven would ultimately hold off long enough to be extracted via Falcon, though a luckily-timed Wraith plasma mortar hit the helicopter, rendering it severely damaged.
File:Annivesary, conflict.jpg|thumb|350px|UNSC, Covenant, and Flood battle for supremacy. The morning following the Covenant attack on Alpha Base, Silva and McKay met to review the situation of the ODST battalion on the ring. With Keyes out of the picture, command fell back to the Major, who surmised that the best defense is a good offense. Silva proposed to engage the Covenant forces in a medium conflict and instructed Lieutenant McKay to plan out the operation. McKay decided to use the burned-out remains of Charlie 217, mock-injured Marines, and a phony distress call as baits to lure the Covenant into an ambush. This operation was further strengthened when Wellsley informed them of the Covenant's increased interest in intelligence gathering by monitoring the radio traffic and conducting reconnaissance flights after the human raid on the ''Truth and Reconciliation''.
The operation began when the human forces "informed" a patrolling Banshee of the hostile location, using 3rd Squad - made to look like they had been injured in the "crash" - as bait. When the Banshee retreated presumably to report its findings of the enemy location, human forces abandoned their mock location and waited for the incoming Covenant forces. The first wave was a Spirit dropship with a lance of Unggoy, Kig-yar and Sangheili along with a pair of Mgalekgolo. The first wave was handled rather quickly; Lieutenant McKay ordered those with heavy weapons to concentrate on the Hunters before engaging the lance. Soon, the dropship returned and unleashed volleys of plasma on the entire area, forcing the human forces to take cover. Covenant ground forces were deployed as the dropship retreated and began engaging the human forces into the rocks. The human snipers managed to eliminate five Covenant soldiers before the dropship exacted the position; unfortunately, their positions was exposed and resulted with two snipers killed and one wounded by plasma fire. The operation turned awry as the Covenant had the advantage over the human forces' territory.
Just as Lieutenant McKay was about to issue a retreat order, both forces were attacked by a newer force, the Flood. While the Covenant had some experience in combating the Flood, the human forces had none. Both forces were in disarray and were massacred by the Flood. After the Flood combat form|combat forms slashed their way through combatants, the Pod infectors burrowed themselves into corpses and helpless victims and turned them into even more combat forms. In the ensuing horror, Lieutenant McKay was confronted by Jenkins, now a combat form with limited control of his body and desperately trying to make McKay kill him. The Lieutenant, however, disarmed and restrained the Flood form, hoping to use it as a specimen to study the Flood. The attack forced both human and Covenant to join forces and fend off the Flood. After successfully eliminating the Flood threat, both groups returned to killing one another. At the end, the human forces claimed a pyrrhic victory with heavy casualties.
File:HFR RavenDown Fighting.png|thumb|350px|Fireteam Raven fight off Covenant forces inside the Forerunner structure. During their extraction, Fireteam Raven's Falcon would be shot down, crashlanding on a remote part of the ring. In this region, the Covenant had made fortification inside another Forerunner structure, with dozens of infantry including Evocati and Mgalekgolo. By the time Raven arrived, the Flood were besieging the outpost. Retreating into the structure, Raven would fend off hordes of Flood and Covenant including Flood Juggernauts. A Pelican was dispatched to rescue the ODSTs, but constant Banshee attacks made landing difficult, though they were eventually able to reunite with UNSC forces and make an assault on the crash site of the ''Autumn''.
Elsewhere, elements of the 79th Infantry Battalion would be engaged by the Flood. Unidentified private|One Private would reach his escape pod, Lima Foxtrot Alpha 19, and attempt to make an SOS call. He was ultimately killed by the Flood. The other group of humans who had formed a staging ground on the ring would be wiped by a Covenant attack. Following the raid on the ''Pillar of Autumn'', the Covenant under command of 'Ontomee retook control of the cruiser crash site and fortified it with more infantry and vehicles including Banshees, Ghosts and Wraiths. However, the ongoing conflict around the ring left the garrison severely understaffed and exhausted. The Flood began to attack the ship, seizing control of the engineering decks. As if the garrison was cursed, an army of Aggressor Sentinels arrived not long after. Zuka 'Zamamee and Yayap arrived at the cruiser, with Zuka taking the identity of Huki 'Umamee, a Sangheili Special Operation Officer who was slain at Alpha Base - and were immediately put on duty, with 'Ontomee glad for the reinforcement. Yayap was given command of twenty Kig-Yar and put on patrol work. Ultimately, his orders to double-check every shipment of supplies that came in would prove useful, with his cohort narrowly avoiding bringing a crate full of infection forms onto the ship.
Having narrowly survived the ambush by the Flood and battle with the Covenant, McKay's platoon returned to Alpha Base with several specimens of dead Flood forms and a captured Jenkins. She briefed Major Silva on what was understood of the Flood threat, before the Major ordered the bodies burnt. Jenkins was locked up in a cell under heavy guard, where he attempted to commit suicide twice, before lunging at McKay and breaking a bone in his arm in the process. The extreme pain was enough to temporarily subdue the infection form controlling Jenkins' body, giving him just enough control to point down in response to Silva's question; where would the Flood attack Alpha Base? McKay and a team led by Sergeant Lister prepared near a large grate at the bottom of the mesa; the grate had been battered by hundreds of energy weapons - the Flood had been trying for days to break through and attack the human stronghold. Within a matter of days, they may just succeed. A full company was summoned to drop down into the pit below and cover a team of engineers, who would weld large panels in place to prevent the Flood from breaking through for a few more days - enough to buy time to get off the ring. A team of six Helljumpers fast-roped into the pit and used their helmet-mounted cameras to provide data for the Navy technicians to create four "plugs" to seal the breach. The team were attacked from the darkness by a handful of Flood combat forms, leading them to retreat while grenades were dropped into the hole.
Ten minutes later, a larger combat team was inserted into the hole with four tech teams, and were successfully able to seal the breach without incident before repairing the grate. The defense wouldn't hold out forever, but long enough to let the humans plan out their escape route.
File:Protograve.png|thumb|250px|The assimilated Keyes is discovered by John-117. Following the fleet-wide order to evacuate, the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was beset upon by the Flood, attempting to capture the cruiser and use it to escape the ring. The Covenant deployed a strike team to cleanse the ship and ready it for departure, but the security forces would remain bogged down in the fight on the surface against a tidal wave of the parasite. After getting teleported by Cortana into the halls of the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', John-117 continued with his objective in rescuing Captain Keyes and having him authorize the self-destruction of the ''Autumn''. The pair found themselves in the middle of an ongoing battle between Covenant forces and the Flood forms for the control of the damaged battlecruiser. The SPARTAN fought his way through waves of Covenant and Flood forces and arrived at the bridge where Keyes was located. The pair soon discovered that the captain had been turned into one of the Flood, a Proto-Gravemind. With no other choice, John-117 forcefully obtained the captain's command neural interface from his skull and quickly retreated for the hangars, stealing a Banshee to make haste for the ''Autumn''.
By September 22, only 312 humans (236 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines and 76 UNSC Navy|Navy personnel) remained alive at Alpha Base. In order to escape back to Earth, Major Silva concocted a plan to capture the Flood-infested ''Truth and Reconciliation'', and use it to bring the remaining troops plus captured samples of Covenant technology and Flood forms to Earth. Despite the AI Wellsley's warnings, the humans proceeded with the attack, inserting several Pelicans' worth of troops into the cruiser's shuttle bays while an additional team led by McKay captured the gravity lift. Thanks to the previous raid, McKay had the advantage of foreknowledge of the ship's layout, and established control of the command center, engineering and eighty percent of the rest of the ship. The lightning raid was so successful that the troops even managed to capture the Minor Prophet of Stewardship and his security detail, though the Prophet was able to send out an emergency rescue request to all Covenant vessels in the vicinity.
The humans quickly began to lift the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' off the ringworld, with the activity spurring the Flood inside the ship's engineering corridors to attack the UNSC personnel stationed there. Although the Flood in engineering were quickly killed, Lieutenant McKay was worried about more potential Flood attacks. She urged Major Silva to eliminate the Flood aboard the ship before leaving the ring. Silva, however, refused to do so, as he wanted to bring live Flood specimens back to Earth for study. Knowing that Silva's ambitions would likely doom Earth to Flood infestation, McKay decided to sabotage the ship's system by severing the fiber-optic passage connecting the engines to the command center. The ship was destroyed shortly after as a result, killing all aboard.
File:HCEA-Concept-Maw-WarthogRun.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and Cortana escape the ''Autumn'' as its engines go critical. Having been extracted from the war between the Covenant and Flood, Fireteam Raven were deployed via M12B Warthog with a new mission; assist a convoy of UNSC Marine forces making one final assault on the ''Pillar of Autumn''. The assault consisted of a handful of Falcon gunships, Warthogs and Pelicans attempting to distract Covenant forces to buy time for John-117 to complete his mission. The convoy fought through heavy Covenant resistance, including Phantoms and Wraiths before being alerted to the arrival of the Spartan in a Banshee commandeered from the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. Although the Covenant aircraft largely ignored the Banshee - thinking it one of their own - the in the region began to bear down on it, chased by Fireteam Raven.
The Spartan, through Cortana's instruction, fought his way to the ship's bridge. The UNSC AI started the ship's self-destruct sequence, only to discover to her dismay that the Guilty Spark had halted the sequence. Cortana deduced that the Monitor was in Engineering and was attempting to take the ''Autumn's'' engines offline. John-117 decided to overload the engines by manually cracking the engine's magnetic containment fields.
During the battle aboard the ''Autumn'', the few remaining UNSC survivors rallied for a final defensive action around the crash site to prevent the Covenant or the Flood from interfering with the Chief's mission, having learned of his intentions to destroy the ring. The Covenant sent a to destroy the UNSC forces and then to ambush the Chief aboard the cruiser, but this assault was thwarted by the ODSTs of Fireteam Raven. The remaining Marine forces were then overrun and all survivors in the immediate vicinity were left at the mercy of the ''Autumn's'' imminent detonation.
File:PoADestructionCEA.jpg|thumb|250px|The ''Autumn's'' engines detonate, destroying the Halo Installation. The Spartan fought his way through Cryo B to reach Engineering. Following Cortana's instructions, he destroyed each of the four engines by launching explosives into the open shafts, destabilizing the containment fields. Cortana calculated that the pair had 15 minutes to evacuate the ship before the engines detonated. The Spartan headed for the shaft of elevator V-1269, where he was ambushed by Zuka 'Zamamee. The trap almost succeeded, but with Cortana's help, the Chief killed Zuka 'Zamamee by knocking the Sangheili to the bottom of the shaft. He then rode the elevator to a Class-7 Service Corridor located along the ship's dorsal structure. Using a Warthog, he drove along the length of the Corridor to External Access Junction 4C, where Echo 419 was to pick the Chief up one last time. However, two Banshees shot down the Pelican, killing Foe Hammer. John-117 was then forced to drive to Launch Bay 7, where a single GA-TL1 Longsword|Longsword fighter was still docked. The Spartan successfully boarded the ship and escaped Halo. Moments later, the ''Autumn's'' engines detonated, blowing a five-kilometer hole in the region around the ship and destroying Halo - bringing the battle to an end.
Realising the impending fate of the ringworld, Supreme Commander 'Vadamee ordered all remaining ships of the Fleet of Particular Justice to take cover behind the gas giant Threshold, ignoring the request made by the Minor Prophet.
Aftermath
}}
File:Installation04destroyed.png|thumb|250px|The breakup of Installation 04.
Although the ringworld was destroyed, it did not mark the end of conflict in the Soell system. After the destruction of Installation 04 and John-117's successful escape, Cortana scanned the installation's debris field for survivors. Soon, multiple Covenant capital ships entered the system. Cortana discovered several cryo pods jettisoned from the ''Pillar of Autumn'' during the initial battle, one of which contained Linda-058, and a Pelican dropship with several survivors. John-117 picked up the survivors in the Longsword, and with their help, boarded and hijacked the Covenant flagship ''Ascendant Justice'' and Raid on Reach|headed for Reach. The ''Seeker of Truth'' and Supreme Commander 'Vadamee would soon depart for ''High Charity''. During the interim, 'Vadamee would write a Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Manual#Report on the Atrocity at Halo|''Report on the Atrocity at Halo'', detailing his failure to protect the ring and combining the intelligence on John-117 and the UNSC taken from his engagements at Reach and Installation 04''Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Manual'' as well as send a copy of a Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit|Priority Broadcast Log taken from transmissions detailing the conflict between 'Vadamee and the Prophet to Lak 'Vadamee, wishing for Lak to know the truth of events before his hearing. The commander was tried in front of the High Council and stripped of rank, ultimately only spared a public execution due to the machinations of the Prophet of Truth, who esteemed the title of Arbiter on the disgraced Sangheili. 'Vadamee was given a new mission; eliminate the group of heretics led by Sesa 'Refumee now holed up in the gas mines of Threshold.
'Refumee had been tasked to explore the gas mines of Threshold by the Minor Prophet of Stewardship during the battle at Installation 04, and was eventually the one to receive 343 Guilty Spark following the ring's destruction. The Monitor was able to survive the destruction of the Installation, and had similarly arrived at the gas mines, wherein he proceeded to tell 'Refumee the truth about the Halo Array.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal 11''Halo 2: Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals Following the Monitor's revelations, 'Refumee devoted himself to spreading the truth of Halo to all the Covenant. A month later on October 20, the now-rebranded Arbiter and fellow Installation 04 veteran Rtas 'Vadumee would lead a team to Raid on the Threshold gas mine|raid the gas mines and destroy the heretics once and for all, capturing the Monitor in the process.
The battle on Alpha Halo resulted in more than just a UNSC victory, however. It sparked a series of events that would change the course of the entire war. The new Arbiter would play a major role in the events of the Battle of Installation 05 and the Battle of Earth. The High Prophets also would exploit the political fallout resulting from Halo's destruction to further their own plans to supplant the Sangheili ranks with their rivals among the Jiralhanae, whose blind faith they favored over the Sangheili's pragmatism. This led to the Great Schism upon learning the truth of Prophet of Truth's plan to replace Sangheili with Jiralhanae.
Triggered by the destruction of Installation 04, Installation 00|the Ark immediately initiated the construction of Installation 08|a replacement to Installation 04. Before the replacement ring was completed, John-117 and Cortana activated it to defeat the Flood and the Gravemind. By 2559, the Ark had finished the construction of a Installation 09|second replacement, which the crew of the attempted to launch to the Soell system to signal the UNSC, but the ring was ultimately intercepted by a Guardian en route. The ring's destruction would trigger other Forerunner installations, emitting a signal that placed them all in standby mode. One such installation would be the Onyx Sentinel|specialized Sentinels guarding the shield world of Onyx, leading to their awakening and the start of the Onyx Conflict.
File:HaloAJ.png|thumb|left|''Ascendant Justice'' lurks in the debris of the ring. Only six known members of the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' crew survived the Halo event. A Pelican hiding in the debris field carried four survivors, Shiela Polaski|Warrant Officer Shiela Polaski, Sergeant Avery Johnson, Shock Trooper Locklear|Corporal Locklear, and an Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI Lieutenant, Elias Haverson. John-117 had managed to retrieve three cryo-tubes, one of which contained his fellow Spartan team member, Linda-058. Linda, who had been clinically dead since the Fall of Reach, was resuscitated at a later time. The people in the other two tubes had died in sleep due to malfunctions. It is not known whether this was a malfunction in one of the cryo storage rooms, or if it happened to almost every tube. Every other person at the battle presumably died when Installation 04 was destroyed. The Museum of Humanity would later list a Sergeant Thomas Chang as having survived the battle.
File:TML - Ring.jpg|thumb|The ''Mona Lisa'' amongst the remains of the ringworld. Following the battle, this group of UNSC survivors led by John-117 would proceed to Skirmish over Threshold|board and capture the ''Ascendant Justice'' and use it to make their way Raid on Reach|back to Reach. This sequence of events would lead the group to commencing Operation: FIRST STRIKE, ultimately destroying a Truth's fleet|fleet of over 500 Covenant warships assembled by the Prophet of Truth in preparation to assault Earth. The survivors would return back to Earth by October 19, leading the UNSC to deploy several recovery convoys of Prowlers.''Eleventh Hour reports'': Part 5 - Subject: Heirlooms One such Prowler, the , would be sent to investigate the ONI vessel ''Mona Lisa'' and Operations: RED CLOUD and WHITE SAND. (defunct, Catalog/Archive/2014#Post .233|Archive) During the operations, the ''Mona Lisa'' would take aboard several samples of the Flood, eventually experimenting with the Flood on Covenant and human prisoners alike, leading to an outbreak on the ship. The ''Red Horse'' would investigate shortly following the departure of the Covenant fleet from the system on October 25, leading to a brief Skirmish on Mona Lisa|skirmish between the Marine survivors and infected Flood, resulting in the deaths of nearly all involved. The ''Red Horse'' was able to gather data on several outlying installations such as one structure similar to the Threshold gas mines employed by Sesa 'Refumee, later employed in the War Games as "Colossus (map)|Colossus".
File:H5-Truth-Ships.png|thumb|The simulated Fleet of Particular Justice on "Truth". During the return journey home, Cortana would write a Halo 2 Manual#Secret Transmission .2B Master Chief Section|report on the conflict,''Halo 2 Manual'' while also using the downtime to begin collating the data recovered from being in the Forerunner and Covenant networks. The AI kept control of the Installation's Activation index, unbeknownst to everyone including John-117.''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #9 This experience would be one of the major factors later assuring the AI's descent into rampancy, and attributed to as the cause of a number of Character interludes|believed-software glitches that would later display in John-117's MJOLNIR armor during the later Battle of Earth. Nonetheless, the data recovered by Cortana and the Master Chief - including his recording of the mysterious Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals - would become later known to ONI Section Three, and later used to assist in unlocking further Forerunner mysteries. - ''" PREVIOUSLY, SPARTAN 117 CAME ACROSS A SET OF CURIOUS TERMINALS WHEN FIGHTING HIS WAY THROUGH ALPHA HALO. EACH TERMINAL CONTAINED A VIDEO TRANSMISSION WITH INCREDIBLY VALUABLE INTEL."'' (defunct, ) - ''" OVER FOUR YEARS AGO, ONI RESEARCHERS DISCOVERED A NEW WAY TO UNLOCK HIGHLY ENCRYPTED DATA, USING A SUBSET OF ARCANE FORERUNNER SYMBOLS. THIS DISCOVERY CAME AFTER ANALYSIS OF VIDEO TRANSMISSIONS UNCOVERED ON ALPHA HALO BY SPARTAN 117."'' (defunct, ) By October 20, news of the destruction of Installation 04 had reached the civilian populace of Earth, and a ceremony was held to honor the Spartan.''I love bees'', Axon Clips, Axon Clips Chapter 12|Chapter 12 - "Explanation" Naval intelligence AIs continued to disagree on the Covenant's motives on the ring, with some falsely believing that the Covenant had already found the ring and wanted to prevent humanity from find it also. As part of public awareness campaigns conducted by the ONI Section Two including initiatives like Outpost Discovery, the Battle of Installation 04 was one of many subjects covered by Director Schaefer in File CHELAN 20200303.''ONI Archive Conflict Evolved - Halo: CE Anniversary'' A recount of the battle was later included in the UNSC's Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual|Official Spartan Field Manual.
Following the end of the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios declared a 500 light-second exclusion zone around the site of Installation 04 as part of the Treaty of 2552. The area around Threshold would continue to be extremely dangerous due to uncontrolled Sentinels, volatile Halo fragments, micro-debris, malfunctioning Forerunner artifacts, and the ever-present danger of the Flood making even surreptitious exploration and scavenging too dangerous for most. Nonetheless, in 2556, Spartan Fireteam Apollo would Operation: SHELL GAME|breach the zone and recover the black box of the ''Undiminished Entelechy'', detailing records of transmissions between Thel 'Vadamee and the Minor Prophet of Stewardsahip during the battle. The data recovered would later go on to be used to simulate the War Games simulations "Truth (level)|Truth", "Regret (Halo 5: Guardians map)|Regret" and a variant of "Parallax". During the simulations, the war-era vessels of the Fleet of Particular Justice would be replaced by s.''Halo 5: Guardians'', multiplayer level Truth (level)|Truth
Part of the transcript recovered there would be translated by Diplomatic Corps member Melody Azikiwe and would be included in a message from General R. Dellert to Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood in the same year.
File:HNF-Alpha Shard.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The Alpha Shard. Before the ''Autumn'' exploded, Installation 04 attempted to activate a safety measure and make a slipspace jump. However, the self-preservation protocol was partly successful, and only Alpha Shard|a small portion of the ring managed to enter slipspace. After the battle, the fragment reentered into normal space in the vicinity of a red giant star some distance away from the Orrichon system. The extreme heat of the ''Autumn'''s explosion, comparable to that of a supernova, caused the formation of an entirely new element - Element 120.V - in the fragment, which caused catastrophic breakdown of DNA in certain humans but did not affect other species. The element was refined into a bioweapon and Terrorist attack on Sedra City|unleashed on Sedra, killing or hospitalizing many of the planet's citizens. An automated survey drone deployed by the ''Pillar of Autumn'' prior to the ring's destruction, Recon-14, survived this event and was later employed for remote-survey of the now-designated Alpha Shard.''Halo: Nightfall: RECON-14'' An investigation by Locke's team led them to trace the bioweapon to the shard of Installation 04 and launch Mission to Alpha Shard|a joint mission with the Sedran Colonial Guard to destroy the new element with a HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon. The mission was ultimately successful though only two people survived.
Other debris from the ring would find its way to land on Threshold's moon, Basis. The heretic faction led by Sesa 'Refumee would use it for a time before their destruction by the Arbiter,''Halo 2'', multiplayer level Burial Mounds with the UNSC eventually deploying SPARTAN-IV personnel in the post-war era to assess the wreckage of Alpha Halo across the moon in one of the first tests of the VECTOR-class Mjolnir armor.''Halo 5: Guardians'', VECTOR Armor customization (Halo 5: Guardians)|armory description
Timeline of events
The battle took place between September 19 and September 22, 2552. The ''Pillar of Autumn'' exited slipspace and landed troops on the ring on the 19th, leading to the capture of Alpha Base and eventual raid on ''Truth and Reconciliation'' on the same day. Roughly eighteen hours later, in the early hours of September 20, Lieutenant McKay's raid on the ''Pillar of Autumn'' began, with the Master Chief leading the assaults on the Silent Cartographer and the Control Room on the same day simultaneously to Captain Keyes' investigation of the Flood. By September 21, the Master Chief had investigated the Flood facility and the Library, leading to his and the ODSTs' assault on the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' again, before the ringworld's destruction on September 22.
Participants
The battle's primary participants were the UNSC forces of the ''Pillar of Autumn'' and the Covenant forces of the Fleet of Particular Justice. The Covenant deployed vast amounts of ships and infantry onto the ring, compared to the small force of crew that escaped the Fall of Reach aboard the ''Autumn''.
List of appearances
''Halo: Combat Evolved''
''Halo: The Flood''
*''Halo: The Flood#2010 bonus content|Adjunct''
''Halo: First Strike''
''Halo 2''
''Halo Graphic Novel''
*''The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor''
*''Breaking Quarantine''
''Halo Wars''
''Halo: Evolutions''
*''Wages of Sin''
''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo 4''
''Halo: Broken Circle''
''Halo: Nightfall''
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
''Halo: Shadow of Intent''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo: Tales from Slipspace''
*''Dominion Splinter''
''Halo Wars 2''
''Halo: Fireteam Raven''
''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual''
''Halo: Shadows of Reach''
''Halo: Divine Wind''
''Halo Infinite: Memory Agent''
''Halo Infinite''
''Halo: Outcasts''
''Battle for the Blood-Moon''
Notes
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Installation 04
Category:UNSC victories|Installation 04
Category:Battle of Installation 04| |
|place= Installation 04, Soell system (Archive:Halo Waypoint/2014 to 2020/Universe/Timeline/The Halo Conflict|Archive)
|result= Pyrrhic UNSC victory Destruction of Installation 04
Flood outbreak contained and sterilized Heavy Covenant losses and are forced to retreat All United Nations Space Command|UNSC forces, except for a few survivors, perish
|side1 = * United Nations Space Command
|side2 = * Covenant
|side3 = * Sentinel|Forerunner constructs
|side4 = *Flood
|commanders1 =
Captain (Navy)|Capt. Jacob Keyes Ensign|Ens. William Lovell Major|Maj. Antonio Silva First Lieutenant|1st Lt. Melissa McKay Staff Sergeant|St. Sgt. Avery Johnson UNSC rank structure#Officer ranks|Flight Captain Carol Rawley Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
|commanders2 =
Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee Prophet of Stewardship Minister of Etiology Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee Shipmaster Lat 'Ravamee Soha 'Rolamee Field Master Noga 'Putumee Shipmaster Orna 'Fulsamee
|commanders3 =
343 Guilty Spark
|commanders4 =
Proto-Gravemind
|forces1 =
*200 Naval personnel
*400 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines
*530 Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
**Fireteam Raven
*Two SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-IIs
**John-117
**Linda-058
*AI Cortana
*AI Wellsley
|forces2 =
Fleet of Particular Justice
*''Ascendant Justice''
*''Blameless Conceit''
**''Upright Chalice''
*''Seeker of Truth''
*''Infinite Succor''
**''Brilliant Gift''
*''Purity of Spirit''
*''Truth and Reconcilliation''
*''Undiminished Entelechy''
*Roughly 6 other Ket-pattern battlecruiser|ships''Halo: Combat Evolved'', campaign level The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|The Pillar of Autumn - ''"A dozen Covenant superior battleships against a single Halcyon-class light cruiser. Given those odds I'm content with three...make that four kills."'', Cortana.
*Thousands of ground troops
|forces3 =
Numerous Aggressor Sentinels
|forces4 =
Thousands of Flood forms
|casual1 =
All Marines, ODSTs and naval personnel
* AI Wellsley
*Jacob Keyes
*Melissa McKay
*Antonio Silva
*Carol Rawley
*
|casual2 =
Majority of ground forces
*Minister of Etiology
*Prophet of Stewardship
*Noga 'Putumee
*Lat 'Ravamee
*Soha 'Rolamee
*At least 6 ships destroyed, remaining Fleet retreated''Halo: The Flood'', Halo: The Flood#2010) bonus content|Adjunct - Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit
|casual3 = Complete destruction of all Sentinels on the Installation
|casual4 = Complete destruction of all Flood forms on the Installation
}}
The Battle of Installation 04, also known as the Halo Event, Alpha Halo Conflict''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual'', The Alpha Halo Conflict - p.62-65 and the Halo Conflict,''The Halo Conflict'Halo: Outpost Discovery'', Hall of History - OD_003_HOH_Humanity_Overview refers to a series of skirmishes between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant on the surface of Halo Array|Halo Installation 04, a Forerunner megastructure orbiting the gas giant Threshold. The Flood and the Forerunner Sentinels joined the conflict in its later stages. The battle became the turning point of the Human-Covenant War and ultimately led to the Great Schism.
Background
In the later stages of the Human-Covenant War, it was clear that the UNSC was losing. To try and force an end to the conflict, the Office of Naval Intelligence devised Operation: RED FLAG. Using the fortress world of Reach as bait, the operation would use a specially-modified ship to forcibly board a Covenant capital ship, steal it, capture a Hierarchs|Hierarch and use the hostage as negotiating leverage to end the war.
To undertake this task, the old was chosen and given an UNSC Pillar of Autumn#Specifications|extensive series of refits to improve its combat potential against Covenant ships. The plan would additionally call for the use of all remaining active-duty SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II personnel and a "mission specialist" Artificial intelligence|AI. Additionally, a battalion of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers commanded by Major Antonio Silva were assigned to the vessel for additional support.''Data Drops'', Data Drop #6 Following his performance at the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, Captain Jacob Keyes was chosen to lead the mission.
Ultimately, RED FLAG never went ahead due to the UNSC's disastrous Fall of Reach|defeat at Reach. During the battle on August 30, the majority of the ship's SPARTAN-II complement was deployed groundside to defend the orbital defense generators, with Spartans John-117, Linda-058 and James-005 deployed to Gamma Station to execute the Cole Protocol on the ONI vessel . In the engagement, James was killed and Linda severely injured. Additionally, Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson and Fire Team Charlie assisted the Spartan team and eventually evacuated back to the ''Pillar of Autumn''. With Linda clinically dead, she was placed into a cryo chamber with the hopes of reviving her later. With this, John-117 remained the only operational Spartan left on the ''Pillar of Autumn'' when it finally escaped Reach.
With the loss of a third of her technical staff, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' made an apparently blind jump through slipstream space|slipspace from where they would then make their way to Earth. In reality, the slipspace jump was planned by the Artificial intelligence|AI Cortana, using coordinates from an artifact found on Sigma Octanus IV as well as from an Babd Catha Forerunner complex|object found under the Babd Catha Ice Shelf on Reach. The ''Pillar of Autumn'' departed from the Aszod ship breaking yards on August 30, 2552, and entered slipspace above Reach while the Covenant fleet continued to wreak destruction on the planet.
File:H2A Screenshot ParticularJustice Autumn.jpg|thumb|left|The Fleet of Particular Justice faces down the ''Pillar of Autumn''. The Covenant, primarily the Fleet of Particular Justice led by Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee had acquired the trajectory of the ''Autumn's'' jump and pursued, arriving ''before'' the Autumn due to their faster borer|slipspace drive technology. Following the battle, some UNSC AIs would incorrectly suggest that the Covenant did not follow the ''Autumn'' to ''Halo'', but had in -fact already discovered the ring, and wanted to prevent the humans from finding it too. (Archive:Bungie.net/News/Jason Jones Interviewed By You|Archive)
The ''Autumn'' and the approximately 1,100 humans on it arrived in orbit above the planet Threshold at 01:20 hours on September 19, 2552. At some point after this time, Captain Keyes made a Anniversary Campaign Trailer|transmission that would later be picked up by NAVCOM.''Anniversary Campaign Trailer'' By this time, at least twelve Covenant vessels were already in station, with four battlegroups consisting of three s per group, the Covenant destroyer|destroyer ''Blameless Conceit'', the ''Infinite Succor'', the ''Ascendant Justice'' and the ''Seeker of Truth''. The Covenant additionally established a series of recon pickets around the ring's orbit, which were promptly engaged by the ''Autumn's'' GA-TL1 Longsword escort.
Battle in space
File:HCEA-Concept-PoA-Chief-Profile.jpg|thumb|left|200px|John-117 engaging Covenant forces boarding the ''Pillar of Autumn''
Following their arrival in the system, The Fleet of Particular justice established a presence on the far side of the ringworld and sent out a number of recon picket fighter squadrons to intercept the ''Pillar of Autumn''. Due to the Battle of Installation 04#Covenant fleet unrest|ongoing squabbles between the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee and Minor Prophet of Stewardship, Covenant forces were initially ordered to send out fightercraft and boarding parties to the human cruiser for fear of damaging the ring, though 'Vadamee later returned fire anyway. The UNSC cruiser's Longsword escort mopped up the initial recon pickets, though eventually a Seraph was able to slip its way through the defenses and land a blow across the ''Autumn's'' Titanium-A armor that those on the bridge could feel. The small craft had evidently managed to slip past their patrolling Longswords by powering down. Lieutenant Aki Hikowa sent new orders to the squadron and the Seraph was destroyed almost immediately. Just as Captain Jacob Keyes|Keyes plotted a course to bring his ship closer to Threshold|the gas giant, sensors picked up the approaching squadron of Covenant fighters, followed by boarding craft. Installation 04, a massive ring-shaped Astroengineering|superstructure, made its first appearance to those on the ''Autumn'' as the ship came around the planet and found it suspended at a lagrange point between it and Basis|its moon.
While the Covenant fleet was initially hesistant to open fire on the ''Autumn'', the humans had no such qualms and Cortana was able to estimate three or four kills on Covenant ships before the ''Autumn'' could be taken out. The ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was one such vessel, forced to retreat to ground to make repairs, later becoming the new HQ for the Covenant ground forces. Meanwhile, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was sent wave after wave of Elsedda-pattern Banshee|Banshees, Morsam-pattern Seraph|''Morsam''-pattern Seraphs and boarding craft to force the humans out of their shell.
As Covenant forces began boarding the ''Autumn'', Captain Jacob Keyes ordered Chief Petty Officer Thom Shephard and Petty Officer Third Class Samuel N. Marcus to release Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 from his cryo-chamber. Both officers were killed by Covenant invasion forces while preparing the SPARTAN-II for immediate combat. Shortly thereafter, the ''Autumns Magnetic Accelerator Cannon was sabotaged by the Covenant boarding teams and rendered inoperable.
During the battle, installation Monitor 343 Guilty Spark prepared the defensive , preparing to fire on all vessels who did not return to a minimum one light-year safe distance. Unfortunately, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was not able to receive this transmission. Luckily, the Monitor accessed the ship's databases and upon learning of the humans' status as reclaimers, took the weapons offline and granted them safe passage onto the ring.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal #1
File:KeyesChipCEA.png|thumb|left|The Cole Protocol stipulated that preventing the destruction or capture of a shipboard A.I. by the Covenant was of paramount importance.
Given the loss of their MAC|magnetic accelerator cannon, Captain Keyes made the decision to initiate Article Two of the Cole Protocol. He made the determination that it had become necessary to abandon the cruiser, and in accordance with the protocol, that meant someone would need to be entrusted with the protection of Cortana during the retreat. The captain planned to stay behind to attempt put the ship down himself on the surface of the ring. Cortana protested what she saw as a suicidal decision on Keyes' part, but he simply ordered that she locked in a selection of emergency landing zones and upload them to his Neural interface|neural lace. As for guardianship of the A.I., the job naturally fell to the Master Chief. Her data crystal chip was transferred from a pedestal on the ''Autumn's'' bridge to the housing within the Spartan's MJOLNIR armor. Keyes offered his own M6D magnum to John and wished him good luck just before the Spartan took his leave.
File:HCEA PillarOfAutumn CorridorBattle Concept.jpg|thumb|UNSC Marines fend off Covenant boarders. By the time John, with Cortana now in tow, left the bridge, the Covenant boarders had pushed beyond the areas adjacent to the airlocks they had entered by and had encroached toward the ship's command deck. A wave had been repulsed by the ''Autumn's'' defenders, but it had come close to reaching the bridge. Ammunition for the captain's sidearm was provided in the form of that which John collected from a fallen ensign. The first to fall to its 12.7x40mm M225 Semi-Armor-Piercing High-Explosive rounds was a group of Unggoy.
Now armed with an MA5B assault rifle, John fought his way through the Covenant infesting the ship's corridors in the direction that Cortana led him. He traveled up one level, felling Unggoy, Kig-Yar, and Sangheili as he went. His efforts enabled marines around him to launch a hastily organized counterattack on the boarders. All the while, the ''Autumn'' continued to take hits from enemy vessels. Cortana urged the Master Chief to hurry as Class-3 Bumblebee|lifeboats began to launch for the safety of solid ground.
As fighting within the ship raged on, a small detachment of Unggoy led by one known as Yayap found a way to avoid the violence. Yayap directed those in his charge to take hold of Zuka 'Zamamee|a wounded Special Operations Sangheili|Special Operations Sangheili and bring him safely back to one of the assault boat they had come in on.
The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers aboard had been charged with protecting the network of fusion engines that made up the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' experimental power plant. Under the command of Major Antonio Silva, the ODSTs had managed to hold their position successfully. Once he finally got orders from Captain Keyes that they were abandoning ship, he ordered them to the Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|SOEIVs that would carry them to the alien ringworld below. Only Fireteam Raven, having been separated from the others, did not launch with Silva and the rest. Raven instead fought against boarders on the ship to repel the invasion, under the guidance of the AI Wellsley. During the fighting, the ODSTs conducted an Extra-vehicular activity|space-walk to man the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' M910 Rampart point defense network to fend off incoming waves of space Banshees and Seraph starfighters. The fireteam were eventually forced to retreat back into the ship, however.
Finally nearing the lifeboats, John-117 paused long enough to grab a marine who fell while running for the safety one offered. The Master Chief effortlessly scooped up the man and tossed him inside the Bumblebee designated Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43. He confirmed to the escape lifepod's pilot that they could leave and it blasted free of the ship. Fireteam Raven witnessed the Chief and a few others escaping but did not join them, instead remaining behind to continue engaging the enemy on the way to their SOEIVs. Wellsley contacted them at this moment and urged speed on its members' part. The team fought through many Covenant troops in order to make it to the drop pods and get off the doomed ship.
Among those escaping was Flight Officer Captain Carol Rawley, who, alongside four other pilots, fought her way to the ship's launch bay where its D77-TC Pelicans lay waiting. The Pilots were successfully able to maneuver their craft out of the cruiser's hangar bays as the ship began to enter the ring's atmosphere and were eventually able to put down on the surface. The surviving dropships later played a crucial part in the UNSC campaign on the ring.
File:AutumnDamagedCEA.png|thumb|left|Cortana left behind a very small part of herself in order to assist with the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' descent. The Minor Prophet of Stewardship had additionally ordered the deployment of an Ossoona, Isna 'Nosolee, onto the cruiser. Armed with six plasma grenades and a plasma pistol and cloaked in active camoflage, the Sangheili was to use his helmet-mounted cameras to record the ship for intelligence purposes and try to capture the ship's AI or essential bridge crew. Hidden from plain sight, he avoided direct confrontation when a group of marines backed around a corner toward him, pursued by a pack of Unggoy and Kig-Yar. The Ossoona made his way to the bridge, where he was able to successfully evade being noticed by the humans.
To avoid its evacuating personnel from being shot down by the Covenant warships, Captain Keyes piloted the ''Autumn'' manually, diverting all Covenant attention to the ship as it plummeted towards the Forerunner construct. As the ship was shot down by Covenant warships, most of the cryo-chambers, including Linda-058's, were ejected as per standard UNSC procedure. Once the ''Autumn'' was set on the course, Keyes and the bridge crew would make for their own escape pods followed by 'Nosolee. Although the Sangheili was able to prevent detection, he eventually died at the hand of Keyes inside the escape pod, the captain having noticed the distinct shimmer in the air of the elite's active camouflage systems.
UNSC ground campaign
File:HFR Alpha Base 2.png|250px|thumb|left|UNSC forces from the ''Autumn'' set up Alpha Base on a Forerunner building. The ODSTs battalion under Major Silva made landing on the ring via orbital insertion, in an area roughly three kilometers in diameter. They were quick to organize, meeting up with Silva and Lt. McKay to establish a temporary base of operations. Relying on data provided the Artificial intelligence|AI Wellsley, Silva instructed Lieutenant Melissa McKay to take the battalion's B Company (Pillar of Autumn)|B Company and capture Alpha Base (Installation 04)|a Covenant-held butte to gain a tactical advantage in fighting off Covenant forces. The group had also received word of a group of Pelican pilots who had landed their craft some distance away, and C Company (Pillar of Autumn)|C Company was sent to meet them and prepare for aerial insertion to reinforce McKay. The remaining A Company (Pillar of Autumn)|A Company and D Company (Pillar of Autumn)|D Company remained under the command of Silva directly, and took some time to reinforce their temporary foothold and get some rest. This peace would not last long as the temporary base of operations was assaulted by Covenant ground forces consisting of 50 Sangheili, 100 s and, later, Type-26 Banshees. The defending ODSTs managed to fend off the assault but suffered a loss of 23 ODSTs killed and 16 ODSTs wounded.
Around the time of the Covenant attack, McKay's force engaged the Covenant at the butte and began a slow climb up to the base proper. In the assault, the ODSTs advanced into the butte using a spiraling ramp. Covenant forces responded to this advancement by raining down plasma grenades and unleashing volleys of plasma bolts. The Covenant defense was soon relaxed when a number of ODST companies performed aerial assaults on the defending Covenant forces. McKay's advancement into the butte was halted by a rockfall. Fortunately, McKay managed to find an access into the butte which led to a chamber filled with Covenant explosives. The lieutenant fired a rocket into the chamber, subsequently killing any Covenant force, and led her ODSTs on a lift up to the surface, where they met Major Silva who had arrived and eliminated the remaining Covenant forces.
Following the death of the Covenant spy, the rest of the command shuttle's ride down onto the surface of Installation 04 was uneventful, with the crew disposing of 'Nosolee's body in a nearby crevice once landed. The group would proceed to be harassed and pursued by Covenant Banshees, Spirit dropships and infantry through the rugged terrain, never able to rest for more than a few minutes. After hours of this treatment, Ensign Ellen Dowski began to crack, and seriously suggest giving up and allow themselves to be taken prisoner. To prevent her from being a burden on the group any longer, she was allowed to do so - but only after she was relieved of her firearm, supplies and left tied up for the Covenant to find.
As the day wore on, the remaining group would eventually find themselves in a box canyon, with a Spirit looming overhead. Realising they were finally trapped, the group put down their weapons only to find Dowski emerge from the Covenant dropship with a squad of Sangheili warriors. She identified the Captain, leading to the aliens executing all of the other humans before finally using Dowski's own pistol to kill her - leaving Keyes the only survivor. Keyes was then taken by the Sangheili back to the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' and interrogated for hours.
File:HM-JohnI04-full.jpg|thumb|250px| John-117 exiting a Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43|Bumblebee lifeboat that crashed onto the valleys of Halo. In a state of disarray, several evacuating UNSC personnel eventually landed on the Forerunner construct. Some were killed in the landing while others attempted to get hold of one another and survive the Covenant patrols.
After crash-landing on the Forerunner construct, John-117, the sole survivor of Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43's crash-landing, headed out to get away from Covenant patrols and, under the instructions provided by Cortana, attempted to establish some contact with any surviving human personnel. After evading several patrols and a brief skirmish with a small Covenant lance, John-117 managed to find a group of survivors defending themselves against the aggressive Covenant forces in a Forerunner structure. John established contact with Staff Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson|Johnson and the survivors and assisted them in eliminating and defeating the Covenant forces, later reinforced by three waves. Carol Rawley|Foe Hammer of Echo 419 soon arrived to retrieve the survivors after the elimination of Covenant forces. Witnessing three lifepods flying overhead, Cortana instructed Foe Hammer to disengage her Warthog to support the Spartan's efforts in retrieving and securing the survivors. Two Marines assisted the Spartan in the rescue efforts.''Halo: Combat Evolved'', campaign level Halo (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|Halo At some point, John would find a Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal and record its data. Around this time, 343 Guilty Spark would begin using the terminals to show the history of the ring.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary terminals teaser''
After successfully rescuing the survivors from all three lifepods, Cortana informed everyone of her findings after hacking into the proselytization network|Covenant battlenet; Captain Keyes and a number of personnel survived the landing on the Installation, but have been captured by Covenant forces. The survivors eventually returned to Alpha Base (Installation 04)|Alpha Base to devise a rescue plan for the Captain.
Not all of the troops, however, were able to make landfall and regroup swiftly, with at least one known group able to make landfall in a Ridgeline|forested region of the ring overlooking a large Forerunner relay structure and forming a staging area there. Unfortunately, they were soon wiped out by the Covenant.''Halo: Reach'', multiplayer map Ridgeline - map description () (defunct, Archive:Halo Waypoint/2009 to 2014/Games/Halo: Reach|Archive) () Another group of ODSTs were able to land on the ring near a beam emitter tower, holding off the Covenant until rescue finally came.''Halo: Reach'', Firefight level Installation 04 (map)|Installation 04 Fireteam Raven were able to make landfall on the ring, separated from other UNSC forces. Under the guidance of Wellsley through a mobile communication link, they made their way across the installation's surface.
At least three UNSC Marines would later be captured by the Covenant and taken to the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', locked in the same brig as Captain Keyes.
File:HCEA-Concept-TnR-Hangar.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and his squad kill Covenant on board the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. The surviving human personnel launched a mission to recover Captain Keyes, who was being held aboard the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. Under the cover of night, John-117 and a fireteam of ODSTs boarded the ship via its gravity lift. After several brief engagements aboard the ship, the rescue team managed to establish a secure control of the ship's command center. John-117 went ahead and freed Captain Keyes and several other captured Marines. When they returned to the command center, they found out that the ODSTs had been slaughtered by Stealth Sangheili. Furthermore, Echo 419 was unable to retrieve the rescue party due to Covenant air patrols. Following Cortana's suggestion, Captain Keyes manned a Covenant dropship and returned everyone to Alpha Base.
While Covenant forces were distracted by the ongoing battle at the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', ODST Lieutenant McKay was ordered to stage a raid on the crashed ''Pillar of Autumn'', in order to gain extra supplies to finance the battle effort. The raid was successful; the UNSC forces managed to salvage several of the ship's Warthogs, trailers and four M808B Main Battle Tank|Scorpion tanks along with food supplies and ammunitions. However, when returning the salvaged vehicles to Alpha Base, the convoy was ambushed by Covenant forces led by Noga 'Putumee using Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraiths, Banshees and Ghosts. Despite sizeable Covenant opposition, the UNSC forces managed to withhold the ambush and inflict greater damage on the Covenant forces. During the raid, Fireteam Raven was able to link up with friendly UNSC forces for the first time since landing on the ring twenty-eight hours earlier, and contributed to the raid by manning the mounted machine guns on the convoy's Warthogs.
File:HLC Halo Conflict.png|thumb|250px|The Master Chief aboard Echo 419 approaching the Cartographer.
Using the intelligence gathered by Captain Keyes and Cortana, the human forces amassed a squadron for an assault on the Silent Cartographer island, in their attempt to uncover more information of the Installation. John-117 and a handful of Marines, supported by ''Echo 419'' and ''Bravo 022'', penetrated the Covenant defenses, journeyed deep within the island's chambers and access-ways, and discovered the location of the Installation's control room.
Events leading to the discovery was not easy; the Covenant managed to temporarily lock access to the chambers within the island, prompting John-117 and the Marines to navigate to the island's security chamber. As they deactivated the security, Bravo 22 and its payload fell prey to Covenant fire.
File:ScorpionControlRoom.png|thumb|250px|John-117 leading the assault in a M808 Main Battle Tank|Scorpion.
After the Battle of the Silent Cartographer, Cortana instructed Foe Hammer to deploy them using navigations she gathered from the discovery of the control room. Alone, John-117 was inserted into a network of tunnels occupied by Covenant forces. The Spartan then received a radio transmission from Fireteam Zulu, who were pinned down in a valley, as he fought his way through the network of tunnels. John-117 assisted Fireteam Zulu in eliminating local Covenant forces and their armor support, then journeyed through a system of adjacent canyons until reaching a dead end, where Fireteam Zulu requested to be evacuated.
John-117, with Cortana providing guidance, eventually discovered a large pyramidal structure built into a cliff, on top of which was the control room. Upon reaching the chamber, Cortana accessed the Installation's systems and discovered Flood|a terrible secret quarantined within the Installation. Fearing for Captain Keyes' safety, she instructed Foe Hammer to take John-117 to head to his last known location.
The Flood escapes
File:HCEA-Concept-Chief-Flood.jpg|thumb|250px|John-117 encounters the released Flood in a containment facility At the same time of the Battle of the Silent Cartographer, Captain Keyes, supported by Second squad (Pillar of Autumn)|2nd Squad and Pelican dropship Victor 933, devised a plan to infiltrate a Flood containment facility|presumed weapon cache within a swamp, as per intelligence gathered from 'Qualomee|a captured Sangheili. They later met up with Fire Team Charlie, led by Staff Sergeant Johnson, which had proceeded to the structure and engaged the few scattered Covenant forces they encountered in the upper levels of the facility.
While exploring the lower levels, the UNSC forces came across a sealed door, locked down by the Covenant. With increasing curiosity, the UNSC unlocked the door and explored the containment room. Shortly after, Fire Team Charlie was contacted by a desperate Marine requesting help as he was overwhelmed by non-Covenant hostiles. Seconds later, the fireteam was attacked by a swarm of Pod infectors, infecting Captain Keyes, Privates Riley, Kappus, Manuel Mendoza|Mendoza, Jenkins, Bisenti and several others. Two Marines managed to avoid the infection, one of whom was killed just outside and Paranoid Marine|another who escaped by playing dead. Staff Sergeant Johnson shrugged off the Pod infectors due to his ORION Project|SPARTAN-I enhancements and managed to escape the facility.
File:KeyesJohnsonCEA.png|thumb|left|250px|Marines and Captain Keyes fighting back-to-back against the Pod infectors they released. Three hours after the assault on the Control Room, John-117 arrived near Victor 933's crash site via Echo 419. His travel towards Captain Keyes' last known transmission was met with an abnormally small concentration of Covenant forces, which was easily handled. Upon unlocking the door to the Containment Room, he found Private Jenkins' helmet and accessed its video records. Shortly after, John-117 was attacked by the remaining Flood forms that spewed out of nearby chambers. The Spartan quickly proceeded to escape the facility, combating Pod infectors and Flood combat form|Combat forms. He soon caught up with Corporal Lovik's squad, who were advised by Echo 419 to take refuge at a nearby structure.
The survivors fought their way through the swamp in search of the structure for immediate evacuation. On the site, the survivors were aided by unknown constructs later identified as the Sentinels, under the command of the Installation's Monitor, 04-343 Guilty Spark|343 Guilty Spark. The Monitor teleported the Spartan into the Library, leaving the other survivors to be evacuated by Echo 419.
After discovering a Reclaimer was within reach, 343 Guilty Spark, without hesitation, teleported John-117 into the Library, where he was tasked with the retrieval of the Activation Index. Proceeding into the bowels of the huge structure, the SPARTAN fought off wave after wave of Flood, before the Monitor called in Sentinels to assist him. Upon reaching the central shaft of the Library, John-117 rode another elevator down to the Index to deactivate the security protocols around it. 343 Guilty Spark then took over his role and stored the Index within himself.
Covenant fleet unrest File:H2A Terminals - Thel and Prophet.jpg|thumb|Thel 'Vadamee converses with the Minor Prophet. Following the arrival of the ''Autumn'' in the system, the Fleet of Particular Justice experienced a great amount of unrest, due to conflicting leadership between the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee and the Minor Prophet of Prophet of Stewardship|Stewardship. The two initially met aboard the flagship ''Seeker of Truth'' to contact High Charity and ascertain how to proceed with interpreting Covenant holy scripture. High Charity was unavailable, and the Prophet departed again for ''Ascendant Justice'', declaring that no Covenant ships were to open fire for fear of damaging the holy ring, instead ordering a boarding action to take place.''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #3 Thel would disregard this order and open fire aggressively.
File:H2A Terminals - Fleet waiting for Autumn.jpg|thumb|left|''Seeker of Truth'' and the Covenant fleet in orbit of Installation 04. What would follow was a great deal of bickering and arguing between the two commanders, with the Prophet appropriating fleet military resources for his own personal goals. He would secretly order the ''Undiminished Entelechy'' and sister ship ''Purity of Spirit'' to perform close-range surveys of the ring The Prophet would later order an expeditionary force led by Sesa 'Refumee and Loka 'Bandolee to investigate the Threshold gas mines, leading to 'Vadamee ordering all military forces be concentrated on the human threat. The Prophet would ignore this decree, and order secondary and tertiary artifact recovery groups to investigate the Flood containment facility, believed a weapons cache. The two groups fell silent, leading a fourth group to be dispatched. 'Vadamee would once again order a cease and desist of these actions, with no response given by the Prophet. The Supreme Commander would then dispatch an infantry unit to ''Ascendant Justice'' to relieve the Prophet of command, leading to the boarding party being shot down and 'Vadamee warned that repeated actions would result in further lethality. File:Infinite Succor.jpg|thumb|''Brilliant Gift'' collides with ''Infinite Succor''.
Covenant forces around the Flood containment facility were in disarray due to the release of the Flood. Several dropships were shut down with some captured by the Flood. One particular dropship, the ''Brilliant Gift'', was manned by the Flood towards the Covenant fleet currently hovering over the Installation. The dropship eventually crash-landed on the ''Infinite Succor'' and infected its personnel, unbeknownst to those around the ''Infinite Succor''. Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee responded by deploying a Covenant Special Operations|Special Operations unit led by Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee. The Special Operations unit Infinite Succor#Battle on the Infinite Succor|engaged with its invading aggressor, eventually leaving the injured 'Vadumee as the only survivor of the engagement. The presence of the Flood and its potential of being space-borne was reported to Supreme Commander 'Vadamee.
'Vadamee would proceed to order an emergency quarantine response for the fleet, ordering all vessels evacuate the ring and to report a full biometric scan of their crew, and for uninfected vessels to fire on those who did not respond. The ''Undiminished Entelechy'' would be among those infected by the Flood and shot down by 'Vadamee, crash-landing on the ring. The ring's environmental control systems would quickly accelerate plant growth on the wreckage in the short time the wreckage remained intact.
With the failure of the Covenant forces on the ground to control the Flood outbreak, the Minor Prophet would order the execution of Soha 'Rolamee, and proceed to move himself and his security contingent to ''Truth and Reconciliation'', ordering the crew to police the ship and detain anyone who would threaten the consecration, even the Supreme Commander. The Prophet presented 'Rolamee's severed head to Zuka 'Zamamee as a warning against repeated failures like the failure of 'Rolamee to contain the Flood, or Zuka to kill the Master Chief. 'Vadamee would later proceed to personally lead a team to take control of ''Ascendant Justice'', taking the ship without firing a shot.
As the Flood continued to spread, the Covenant battlenet would fall into chaos. Jiralhanae troops assigned to the fleet relayed several accounts of the ground actions to the fleet, but these accounts were later considered unreliable due to panic, confusion and excuse for failure. The fleet also deployed Kig-Yar Sniper teams armed with Type-50 Alpha beam rifle|T-50 beam rifles during the Flood onslaught.''Halo 5: Guardians'', Type-50 Alpha beam rifle List of REQ cards/Power Weapons|REQ card
Late stages of conflict
In the early hours of September 21, the Covenant returned to assault Alpha Base, initiated by an air insertion and then followed by a ground advancement. Using a Charlie 217|captured Pelican dropship and its Rick Hale|captured pilot, the Covenant attempted to insert 30 Special Operations Sangheili, led by Special Operations Officer Zuka 'Zamamee to assassinate the apparently absent Spartan and clear a landing zone for six Spirit dropships for immediate evacuation. The officer had been successfully able to convince the prophet to allow the attack, aiming to kill the Spartan before he could cause the Covenant any more trouble.
The air insertion was quickly discovered by the human forces on Alpha Base, who flooded the Pelican dropship with jet fuel before igniting it, killing twenty-four Sangheili. The six Sangheili managed to escape into the base, neutralizing the human control rooms and liberated the captured Covenant soldiers. However, the MLA auto-cannons and various other defense systems employed by the human forces managed to destroy several incoming Spirit dropships. A large amount of Covenant troops were able to make it into the base, however, including Hunters and Grunts, thanks to the deployment of the ''Upright Chalice''. The Covenant forces landing on the butte were soon either killed or captured, and the assault on Alpha Base stalled. During the midst of the fighting, Fireteam Raven were recalled to the ice canyons near the Installation's control room to assist John-117 in fighting a new threat near the Installation's Control Room.
The ground assault, led by Field Master Noga 'Putumee, made significant progress against the humans due to their use of Spirit dropships to clear the way ahead of the ground forces. However, the seeming route was designed to lure the Covenant into the firing range of a pair of concealed Scorpion tanks, which then tore into the ranks of the aliens and inflicted major casualties. Field Master 'Putumee was killed by the third shot from the tanks, throwing the Covenant forces into chaos - of the 150 infantry with him, only a few survived to retreat. Meanwhile, the surviving Covenant Special Operations team from the air insertion phase and the freed Covenant troops ran into an ambush devised by the Marines, in which all members of both sides were killed other than Zuka 'Zamamee and Yayap, both of whom fled in a recaptured Banshee. By this time, however, the Covenant ground assault was in full retreat.
File:TwoBetrayalsAnniversary.png|thumb|250px|Cortana revealing Halo's true nature to John-117 as Guilty Spark looks on. Following the Master Chief and Fireteam Zulu's capture of the control room, the Covenant returned in force to retake the structure and heavily fortified the ice canyons surrounding the region, with numerous Banshee air patrols and heavy vehicles. However, they were unable to breach the facility and were locked out. The Flood began to pour into the region to combat the Covenant and Sentinels there, likely intending to take the control room offline and prevent the activation of the ring. By the time 343 Guilty Spark was able to teleport the Spartan back to the control room to prepare for firing, the Flood and Covenant were heavily entrenched.
As the two prepared to activate Halo, Cortana stopped the firing - having discovered the Installation's true purpose after extended time inside the control room's systems. The UNSC AI then revealed the installation's true purpose to the SPARTAN; destroy all life in the galaxy to starve the Flood of its food source. 343 Guilty Spark, unable to purge Cortana from the installation's system due to her having merged with the Index, instructed his Sentinels to eliminate the Spartan and retrieve the UNSC AI from the Spartan's helmet.
File:HCEA TwoBetrayals Banshee Concept.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 flying to a generator John-117, after destroying the Sentinels and eliminating the patrolling Covenant forces, followed Cortana's instructions to destroy the three Phase pulse generator|Phase Pulse Generators to delay the firing process, should the Monitor manage to circumvent the firing protocols. As the Spartan joined the now-four way skirmish in the region, Fireteam Raven were airlifted in from Alpha Base to assist in weakening enemy forces in the region to allow the Master Chief to escape. They would provide close air support coverage in their UH-144 Falcon for a time before deploying onto the ground to begin combat - at one point being saved by the Spartan from an encroaching Flood Juggernaut. Flood and Covenant forces in the area would be severely weakened thanks to Raven's actions, allowing the Spartan to complete his task much quicker. Upon the destruction of the third generator, Cortana suggested they destroy Halo to prevent future use of the installation by enabling the ''Autumn's'' self-destruct system. She then utilized the teleportation grid to transport the two to the damaged ''Truth and Reconciliation'' to rescue Captain Keyes to obtain the proper authorization.
Fireteam Raven would ultimately hold off long enough to be extracted via Falcon, though a luckily-timed Wraith plasma mortar hit the helicopter, rendering it severely damaged.
File:Annivesary, conflict.jpg|thumb|350px|UNSC, Covenant, and Flood battle for supremacy. The morning following the Covenant attack on Alpha Base, Silva and McKay met to review the situation of the ODST battalion on the ring. With Keyes out of the picture, command fell back to the Major, who surmised that the best defense is a good offense. Silva proposed to engage the Covenant forces in a medium conflict and instructed Lieutenant McKay to plan out the operation. McKay decided to use the burned-out remains of Charlie 217, mock-injured Marines, and a phony distress call as baits to lure the Covenant into an ambush. This operation was further strengthened when Wellsley informed them of the Covenant's increased interest in intelligence gathering by monitoring the radio traffic and conducting reconnaissance flights after the human raid on the ''Truth and Reconciliation''.
The operation began when the human forces "informed" a patrolling Banshee of the hostile location, using 3rd Squad - made to look like they had been injured in the "crash" - as bait. When the Banshee retreated presumably to report its findings of the enemy location, human forces abandoned their mock location and waited for the incoming Covenant forces. The first wave was a Spirit dropship with a lance of Unggoy, Kig-yar and Sangheili along with a pair of Mgalekgolo. The first wave was handled rather quickly; Lieutenant McKay ordered those with heavy weapons to concentrate on the Hunters before engaging the lance. Soon, the dropship returned and unleashed volleys of plasma on the entire area, forcing the human forces to take cover. Covenant ground forces were deployed as the dropship retreated and began engaging the human forces into the rocks. The human snipers managed to eliminate five Covenant soldiers before the dropship exacted the position; unfortunately, their positions was exposed and resulted with two snipers killed and one wounded by plasma fire. The operation turned awry as the Covenant had the advantage over the human forces' territory.
Just as Lieutenant McKay was about to issue a retreat order, both forces were attacked by a newer force, the Flood. While the Covenant had some experience in combating the Flood, the human forces had none. Both forces were in disarray and were massacred by the Flood. After the Flood combat form|combat forms slashed their way through combatants, the Pod infectors burrowed themselves into corpses and helpless victims and turned them into even more combat forms. In the ensuing horror, Lieutenant McKay was confronted by Jenkins, now a combat form with limited control of his body and desperately trying to make McKay kill him. The Lieutenant, however, disarmed and restrained the Flood form, hoping to use it as a specimen to study the Flood. The attack forced both human and Covenant to join forces and fend off the Flood. After successfully eliminating the Flood threat, both groups returned to killing one another. At the end, the human forces claimed a pyrrhic victory with heavy casualties.
File:HFR RavenDown Fighting.png|thumb|350px|Fireteam Raven fight off Covenant forces inside the Forerunner structure. During their extraction, Fireteam Raven's Falcon would be shot down, crashlanding on a remote part of the ring. In this region, the Covenant had made fortification inside another Forerunner structure, with dozens of infantry including Evocati and Mgalekgolo. By the time Raven arrived, the Flood were besieging the outpost. Retreating into the structure, Raven would fend off hordes of Flood and Covenant including Flood Juggernauts. A Pelican was dispatched to rescue the ODSTs, but constant Banshee attacks made landing difficult, though they were eventually able to reunite with UNSC forces and make an assault on the crash site of the ''Autumn''.
Elsewhere, elements of the 79th Infantry Battalion would be engaged by the Flood. Unidentified private|One Private would reach his escape pod, Lima Foxtrot Alpha 19, and attempt to make an SOS call. He was ultimately killed by the Flood. The other group of humans who had formed a staging ground on the ring would be wiped by a Covenant attack. Following the raid on the ''Pillar of Autumn'', the Covenant under command of 'Ontomee retook control of the cruiser crash site and fortified it with more infantry and vehicles including Banshees, Ghosts and Wraiths. However, the ongoing conflict around the ring left the garrison severely understaffed and exhausted. The Flood began to attack the ship, seizing control of the engineering decks. As if the garrison was cursed, an army of Aggressor Sentinels arrived not long after. Zuka 'Zamamee and Yayap arrived at the cruiser, with Zuka taking the identity of Huki 'Umamee, a Sangheili Special Operation Officer who was slain at Alpha Base - and were immediately put on duty, with 'Ontomee glad for the reinforcement. Yayap was given command of twenty Kig-Yar and put on patrol work. Ultimately, his orders to double-check every shipment of supplies that came in would prove useful, with his cohort narrowly avoiding bringing a crate full of infection forms onto the ship.
Having narrowly survived the ambush by the Flood and battle with the Covenant, McKay's platoon returned to Alpha Base with several specimens of dead Flood forms and a captured Jenkins. She briefed Major Silva on what was understood of the Flood threat, before the Major ordered the bodies burnt. Jenkins was locked up in a cell under heavy guard, where he attempted to commit suicide twice, before lunging at McKay and breaking a bone in his arm in the process. The extreme pain was enough to temporarily subdue the infection form controlling Jenkins' body, giving him just enough control to point down in response to Silva's question; where would the Flood attack Alpha Base? McKay and a team led by Sergeant Lister prepared near a large grate at the bottom of the mesa; the grate had been battered by hundreds of energy weapons - the Flood had been trying for days to break through and attack the human stronghold. Within a matter of days, they may just succeed. A full company was summoned to drop down into the pit below and cover a team of engineers, who would weld large panels in place to prevent the Flood from breaking through for a few more days - enough to buy time to get off the ring. A team of six Helljumpers fast-roped into the pit and used their helmet-mounted cameras to provide data for the Navy technicians to create four "plugs" to seal the breach. The team were attacked from the darkness by a handful of Flood combat forms, leading them to retreat while grenades were dropped into the hole.
Ten minutes later, a larger combat team was inserted into the hole with four tech teams, and were successfully able to seal the breach without incident before repairing the grate. The defense wouldn't hold out forever, but long enough to let the humans plan out their escape route.
File:Protograve.png|thumb|250px|The assimilated Keyes is discovered by John-117. Following the fleet-wide order to evacuate, the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was beset upon by the Flood, attempting to capture the cruiser and use it to escape the ring. The Covenant deployed a strike team to cleanse the ship and ready it for departure, but the security forces would remain bogged down in the fight on the surface against a tidal wave of the parasite. After getting teleported by Cortana into the halls of the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', John-117 continued with his objective in rescuing Captain Keyes and having him authorize the self-destruction of the ''Autumn''. The pair found themselves in the middle of an ongoing battle between Covenant forces and the Flood forms for the control of the damaged battlecruiser. The SPARTAN fought his way through waves of Covenant and Flood forces and arrived at the bridge where Keyes was located. The pair soon discovered that the captain had been turned into one of the Flood, a Proto-Gravemind. With no other choice, John-117 forcefully obtained the captain's command neural interface from his skull and quickly retreated for the hangars, stealing a Banshee to make haste for the ''Autumn''.
By September 22, only 312 humans (236 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines and 76 UNSC Navy|Navy personnel) remained alive at Alpha Base. In order to escape back to Earth, Major Silva concocted a plan to capture the Flood-infested ''Truth and Reconciliation'', and use it to bring the remaining troops plus captured samples of Covenant technology and Flood forms to Earth. Despite the AI Wellsley's warnings, the humans proceeded with the attack, inserting several Pelicans' worth of troops into the cruiser's shuttle bays while an additional team led by McKay captured the gravity lift. Thanks to the previous raid, McKay had the advantage of foreknowledge of the ship's layout, and established control of the command center, engineering and eighty percent of the rest of the ship. The lightning raid was so successful that the troops even managed to capture the Minor Prophet of Stewardship and his security detail, though the Prophet was able to send out an emergency rescue request to all Covenant vessels in the vicinity.
The humans quickly began to lift the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' off the ringworld, with the activity spurring the Flood inside the ship's engineering corridors to attack the UNSC personnel stationed there. Although the Flood in engineering were quickly killed, Lieutenant McKay was worried about more potential Flood attacks. She urged Major Silva to eliminate the Flood aboard the ship before leaving the ring. Silva, however, refused to do so, as he wanted to bring live Flood specimens back to Earth for study. Knowing that Silva's ambitions would likely doom Earth to Flood infestation, McKay decided to sabotage the ship's system by severing the fiber-optic passage connecting the engines to the command center. The ship was destroyed shortly after as a result, killing all aboard.
File:HCEA-Concept-Maw-WarthogRun.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and Cortana escape the ''Autumn'' as its engines go critical. Having been extracted from the war between the Covenant and Flood, Fireteam Raven were deployed via M12B Warthog with a new mission; assist a convoy of UNSC Marine forces making one final assault on the ''Pillar of Autumn''. The assault consisted of a handful of Falcon gunships, Warthogs and Pelicans attempting to distract Covenant forces to buy time for John-117 to complete his mission. The convoy fought through heavy Covenant resistance, including Phantoms and Wraiths before being alerted to the arrival of the Spartan in a Banshee commandeered from the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. Although the Covenant aircraft largely ignored the Banshee - thinking it one of their own - the in the region began to bear down on it, chased by Fireteam Raven.
The Spartan, through Cortana's instruction, fought his way to the ship's bridge. The UNSC AI started the ship's self-destruct sequence, only to discover to her dismay that the Guilty Spark had halted the sequence. Cortana deduced that the Monitor was in Engineering and was attempting to take the ''Autumn's'' engines offline. John-117 decided to overload the engines by manually cracking the engine's magnetic containment fields.
During the battle aboard the ''Autumn'', the few remaining UNSC survivors rallied for a final defensive action around the crash site to prevent the Covenant or the Flood from interfering with the Chief's mission, having learned of his intentions to destroy the ring. The Covenant sent a to destroy the UNSC forces and then to ambush the Chief aboard the cruiser, but this assault was thwarted by the ODSTs of Fireteam Raven. The remaining Marine forces were then overrun and all survivors in the immediate vicinity were left at the mercy of the ''Autumn's'' imminent detonation.
File:PoADestructionCEA.jpg|thumb|250px|The ''Autumn's'' engines detonate, destroying the Halo Installation. The Spartan fought his way through Cryo B to reach Engineering. Following Cortana's instructions, he destroyed each of the four engines by launching explosives into the open shafts, destabilizing the containment fields. Cortana calculated that the pair had 15 minutes to evacuate the ship before the engines detonated. The Spartan headed for the shaft of elevator V-1269, where he was ambushed by Zuka 'Zamamee. The trap almost succeeded, but with Cortana's help, the Chief killed Zuka 'Zamamee by knocking the Sangheili to the bottom of the shaft. He then rode the elevator to a Class-7 Service Corridor located along the ship's dorsal structure. Using a Warthog, he drove along the length of the Corridor to External Access Junction 4C, where Echo 419 was to pick the Chief up one last time. However, two Banshees shot down the Pelican, killing Foe Hammer. John-117 was then forced to drive to Launch Bay 7, where a single GA-TL1 Longsword|Longsword fighter was still docked. The Spartan successfully boarded the ship and escaped Halo. Moments later, the ''Autumn's'' engines detonated, blowing a five-kilometer hole in the region around the ship and destroying Halo - bringing the battle to an end.
Realising the impending fate of the ringworld, Supreme Commander 'Vadamee ordered all remaining ships of the Fleet of Particular Justice to take cover behind the gas giant Threshold, ignoring the request made by the Minor Prophet.
Aftermath
}}
File:Installation04destroyed.png|thumb|250px|The breakup of Installation 04.
Although the ringworld was destroyed, it did not mark the end of conflict in the Soell system. After the destruction of Installation 04 and John-117's successful escape, Cortana scanned the installation's debris field for survivors. Soon, multiple Covenant capital ships entered the system. Cortana discovered several cryo pods jettisoned from the ''Pillar of Autumn'' during the initial battle, one of which contained Linda-058, and a Pelican dropship with several survivors. John-117 picked up the survivors in the Longsword, and with their help, boarded and hijacked the Covenant flagship ''Ascendant Justice'' and Raid on Reach|headed for Reach. The ''Seeker of Truth'' and Supreme Commander 'Vadamee would soon depart for ''High Charity''. During the interim, 'Vadamee would write a Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Manual#Report on the Atrocity at Halo|''Report on the Atrocity at Halo'', detailing his failure to protect the ring and combining the intelligence on John-117 and the UNSC taken from his engagements at Reach and Installation 04''Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Manual'' as well as send a copy of a Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit|Priority Broadcast Log taken from transmissions detailing the conflict between 'Vadamee and the Prophet to Lak 'Vadamee, wishing for Lak to know the truth of events before his hearing. The commander was tried in front of the High Council and stripped of rank, ultimately only spared a public execution due to the machinations of the Prophet of Truth, who esteemed the title of Arbiter on the disgraced Sangheili. 'Vadamee was given a new mission; eliminate the group of heretics led by Sesa 'Refumee now holed up in the gas mines of Threshold.
'Refumee had been tasked to explore the gas mines of Threshold by the Minor Prophet of Stewardship during the battle at Installation 04, and was eventually the one to receive 343 Guilty Spark following the ring's destruction. The Monitor was able to survive the destruction of the Installation, and had similarly arrived at the gas mines, wherein he proceeded to tell 'Refumee the truth about the Halo Array.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal 11''Halo 2: Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals Following the Monitor's revelations, 'Refumee devoted himself to spreading the truth of Halo to all the Covenant. A month later on October 20, the now-rebranded Arbiter and fellow Installation 04 veteran Rtas 'Vadumee would lead a team to Raid on the Threshold gas mine|raid the gas mines and destroy the heretics once and for all, capturing the Monitor in the process.
The battle on Alpha Halo resulted in more than just a UNSC victory, however. It sparked a series of events that would change the course of the entire war. The new Arbiter would play a major role in the events of the Battle of Installation 05 and the Battle of Earth. The High Prophets also would exploit the political fallout resulting from Halo's destruction to further their own plans to supplant the Sangheili ranks with their rivals among the Jiralhanae, whose blind faith they favored over the Sangheili's pragmatism. This led to the Great Schism upon learning the truth of Prophet of Truth's plan to replace Sangheili with Jiralhanae.
Triggered by the destruction of Installation 04, Installation 00|the Ark immediately initiated the construction of Installation 08|a replacement to Installation 04. Before the replacement ring was completed, John-117 and Cortana activated it to defeat the Flood and the Gravemind. By 2559, the Ark had finished the construction of a Installation 09|second replacement, which the crew of the attempted to launch to the Soell system to signal the UNSC, but the ring was ultimately intercepted by a Guardian en route. The ring's destruction would trigger other Forerunner installations, emitting a signal that placed them all in standby mode. One such installation would be the Onyx Sentinel|specialized Sentinels guarding the shield world of Onyx, leading to their awakening and the start of the Onyx Conflict.
File:HaloAJ.png|thumb|left|''Ascendant Justice'' lurks in the debris of the ring. Only six known members of the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' crew survived the Halo event. A Pelican hiding in the debris field carried four survivors, Shiela Polaski|Warrant Officer Shiela Polaski, Sergeant Avery Johnson, Shock Trooper Locklear|Corporal Locklear, and an Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI Lieutenant, Elias Haverson. John-117 had managed to retrieve three cryo-tubes, one of which contained his fellow Spartan team member, Linda-058. Linda, who had been clinically dead since the Fall of Reach, was resuscitated at a later time. The people in the other two tubes had died in sleep due to malfunctions. It is not known whether this was a malfunction in one of the cryo storage rooms, or if it happened to almost every tube. Every other person at the battle presumably died when Installation 04 was destroyed. The Museum of Humanity would later list a Sergeant Thomas Chang as having survived the battle.
File:TML - Ring.jpg|thumb|The ''Mona Lisa'' amongst the remains of the ringworld. Following the battle, this group of UNSC survivors led by John-117 would proceed to Skirmish over Threshold|board and capture the ''Ascendant Justice'' and use it to make their way Raid on Reach|back to Reach. This sequence of events would lead the group to commencing Operation: FIRST STRIKE, ultimately destroying a Truth's fleet|fleet of over 500 Covenant warships assembled by the Prophet of Truth in preparation to assault Earth. The survivors would return back to Earth by October 19, leading the UNSC to deploy several recovery convoys of Prowlers.''Eleventh Hour reports'': Part 5 - Subject: Heirlooms One such Prowler, the , would be sent to investigate the ONI vessel ''Mona Lisa'' and Operations: RED CLOUD and WHITE SAND. (defunct, Catalog/Archive/2014#Post .233|Archive) During the operations, the ''Mona Lisa'' would take aboard several samples of the Flood, eventually experimenting with the Flood on Covenant and human prisoners alike, leading to an outbreak on the ship. The ''Red Horse'' would investigate shortly following the departure of the Covenant fleet from the system on October 25, leading to a brief Skirmish on Mona Lisa|skirmish between the Marine survivors and infected Flood, resulting in the deaths of nearly all involved. The ''Red Horse'' was able to gather data on several outlying installations such as one structure similar to the Threshold gas mines employed by Sesa 'Refumee, later employed in the War Games as "Colossus (map)|Colossus".
File:H5-Truth-Ships.png|thumb|The simulated Fleet of Particular Justice on "Truth". During the return journey home, Cortana would write a Halo 2 Manual#Secret Transmission .2B Master Chief Section|report on the conflict,''Halo 2 Manual'' while also using the downtime to begin collating the data recovered from being in the Forerunner and Covenant networks. The AI kept control of the Installation's Activation index, unbeknownst to everyone including John-117.''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #9 This experience would be one of the major factors later assuring the AI's descent into rampancy, and attributed to as the cause of a number of Character interludes|believed-software glitches that would later display in John-117's MJOLNIR armor during the later Battle of Earth. Nonetheless, the data recovered by Cortana and the Master Chief - including his recording of the mysterious Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals - would become later known to ONI Section Three, and later used to assist in unlocking further Forerunner mysteries. - ''" PREVIOUSLY, SPARTAN 117 CAME ACROSS A SET OF CURIOUS TERMINALS WHEN FIGHTING HIS WAY THROUGH ALPHA HALO. EACH TERMINAL CONTAINED A VIDEO TRANSMISSION WITH INCREDIBLY VALUABLE INTEL."'' (defunct, ) - ''" OVER FOUR YEARS AGO, ONI RESEARCHERS DISCOVERED A NEW WAY TO UNLOCK HIGHLY ENCRYPTED DATA, USING A SUBSET OF ARCANE FORERUNNER SYMBOLS. THIS DISCOVERY CAME AFTER ANALYSIS OF VIDEO TRANSMISSIONS UNCOVERED ON ALPHA HALO BY SPARTAN 117."'' (defunct, ) By October 20, news of the destruction of Installation 04 had reached the civilian populace of Earth, and a ceremony was held to honor the Spartan.''I love bees'', Axon Clips, Axon Clips Chapter 12|Chapter 12 - "Explanation" Naval intelligence AIs continued to disagree on the Covenant's motives on the ring, with some falsely believing that the Covenant had already found the ring and wanted to prevent humanity from find it also. As part of public awareness campaigns conducted by the ONI Section Two including initiatives like Outpost Discovery, the Battle of Installation 04 was one of many subjects covered by Director Schaefer in File CHELAN 20200303.''ONI Archive Conflict Evolved - Halo: CE Anniversary'' A recount of the battle was later included in the UNSC's Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual|Official Spartan Field Manual.
Following the end of the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios declared a 500 light-second exclusion zone around the site of Installation 04 as part of the Treaty of 2552. The area around Threshold would continue to be extremely dangerous due to uncontrolled Sentinels, volatile Halo fragments, micro-debris, malfunctioning Forerunner artifacts, and the ever-present danger of the Flood making even surreptitious exploration and scavenging too dangerous for most. Nonetheless, in 2556, Spartan Fireteam Apollo would Operation: SHELL GAME|breach the zone and recover the black box of the ''Undiminished Entelechy'', detailing records of transmissions between Thel 'Vadamee and the Minor Prophet of Stewardsahip during the battle. The data recovered would later go on to be used to simulate the War Games simulations "Truth (level)|Truth", "Regret (Halo 5: Guardians map)|Regret" and a variant of "Parallax". During the simulations, the war-era vessels of the Fleet of Particular Justice would be replaced by s.''Halo 5: Guardians'', multiplayer level Truth (level)|Truth
Part of the transcript recovered there would be translated by Diplomatic Corps member Melody Azikiwe and would be included in a message from General R. Dellert to Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood in the same year.
File:HNF-Alpha Shard.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The Alpha Shard. Before the ''Autumn'' exploded, Installation 04 attempted to activate a safety measure and make a slipspace jump. However, the self-preservation protocol was partly successful, and only Alpha Shard|a small portion of the ring managed to enter slipspace. After the battle, the fragment reentered into normal space in the vicinity of a red giant star some distance away from the Orrichon system. The extreme heat of the ''Autumn'''s explosion, comparable to that of a supernova, caused the formation of an entirely new element - Element 120.V - in the fragment, which caused catastrophic breakdown of DNA in certain humans but did not affect other species. The element was refined into a bioweapon and Terrorist attack on Sedra City|unleashed on Sedra, killing or hospitalizing many of the planet's citizens. An automated survey drone deployed by the ''Pillar of Autumn'' prior to the ring's destruction, Recon-14, survived this event and was later employed for remote-survey of the now-designated Alpha Shard.''Halo: Nightfall: RECON-14'' An investigation by Locke's team led them to trace the bioweapon to the shard of Installation 04 and launch Mission to Alpha Shard|a joint mission with the Sedran Colonial Guard to destroy the new element with a HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon. The mission was ultimately successful though only two people survived.
Other debris from the ring would find its way to land on Threshold's moon, Basis. The heretic faction led by Sesa 'Refumee would use it for a time before their destruction by the Arbiter,''Halo 2'', multiplayer level Burial Mounds with the UNSC eventually deploying SPARTAN-IV personnel in the post-war era to assess the wreckage of Alpha Halo across the moon in one of the first tests of the VECTOR-class Mjolnir armor.''Halo 5: Guardians'', VECTOR Armor customization (Halo 5: Guardians)|armory description
Timeline of events
The battle took place between September 19 and September 22, 2552. The ''Pillar of Autumn'' exited slipspace and landed troops on the ring on the 19th, leading to the capture of Alpha Base and eventual raid on ''Truth and Reconciliation'' on the same day. Roughly eighteen hours later, in the early hours of September 20, Lieutenant McKay's raid on the ''Pillar of Autumn'' began, with the Master Chief leading the assaults on the Silent Cartographer and the Control Room on the same day simultaneously to Captain Keyes' investigation of the Flood. By September 21, the Master Chief had investigated the Flood facility and the Library, leading to his and the ODSTs' assault on the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' again, before the ringworld's destruction on September 22.
Participants
The battle's primary participants were the UNSC forces of the ''Pillar of Autumn'' and the Covenant forces of the Fleet of Particular Justice. The Covenant deployed vast amounts of ships and infantry onto the ring, compared to the small force of crew that escaped the Fall of Reach aboard the ''Autumn''.
List of appearances
''Halo: Combat Evolved''
''Halo: The Flood''
*''Halo: The Flood#2010 bonus content|Adjunct''
''Halo: First Strike''
''Halo 2''
''Halo Graphic Novel''
*''The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor''
*''Breaking Quarantine''
''Halo Wars''
''Halo: Evolutions''
*''Wages of Sin''
''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo 4''
''Halo: Broken Circle''
''Halo: Nightfall''
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
''Halo: Shadow of Intent''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo: Tales from Slipspace''
*''Dominion Splinter''
''Halo Wars 2''
''Halo: Fireteam Raven''
''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual''
''Halo: Shadows of Reach''
''Halo: Divine Wind''
''Halo Infinite: Memory Agent''
''Halo Infinite''
''Halo: Outcasts''
''Battle for the Blood-Moon''
Notes
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Installation 04
Category:UNSC victories|Installation 04
Category:Battle of Installation 04| |
|place= Installation 04, Soell system (Archive:Halo Waypoint/2014 to 2020/Universe/Timeline/The Halo Conflict|Archive)
|result= Pyrrhic UNSC victory Destruction of Installation 04
Flood outbreak contained and sterilized Heavy Covenant losses and are forced to retreat All United Nations Space Command|UNSC forces, except for a few survivors, perish
|side1 = * United Nations Space Command
|side2 = * Covenant
|side3 = * Sentinel|Forerunner constructs
|side4 = *Flood
|commanders1 =
Captain (Navy)|Capt. Jacob Keyes Ensign|Ens. William Lovell Major|Maj. Antonio Silva First Lieutenant|1st Lt. Melissa McKay Staff Sergeant|St. Sgt. Avery Johnson UNSC rank structure#Officer ranks|Flight Captain Carol Rawley Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
|commanders2 =
Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee Prophet of Stewardship Minister of Etiology Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee Shipmaster Lat 'Ravamee Soha 'Rolamee Field Master Noga 'Putumee Shipmaster Orna 'Fulsamee
|commanders3 =
343 Guilty Spark
|commanders4 =
Proto-Gravemind
|forces1 =
*200 Naval personnel
*400 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines
*530 Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
**Fireteam Raven
*Two SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-IIs
**John-117
**Linda-058
*AI Cortana
*AI Wellsley
|forces2 =
Fleet of Particular Justice
*''Ascendant Justice''
*''Blameless Conceit''
**''Upright Chalice''
*''Seeker of Truth''
*''Infinite Succor''
**''Brilliant Gift''
*''Purity of Spirit''
*''Truth and Reconcilliation''
*''Undiminished Entelechy''
*Roughly 6 other Ket-pattern battlecruiser|ships''Halo: Combat Evolved'', campaign level The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|The Pillar of Autumn - ''"A dozen Covenant superior battleships against a single Halcyon-class light cruiser. Given those odds I'm content with three...make that four kills."'', Cortana.
*Thousands of ground troops
|forces3 =
Numerous Aggressor Sentinels
|forces4 =
Thousands of Flood forms
|casual1 =
All Marines, ODSTs and naval personnel
* AI Wellsley
*Jacob Keyes
*Melissa McKay
*Antonio Silva
*Carol Rawley
*
|casual2 =
Majority of ground forces
*Minister of Etiology
*Prophet of Stewardship
*Noga 'Putumee
*Lat 'Ravamee
*Soha 'Rolamee
*At least 6 ships destroyed, remaining Fleet retreated''Halo: The Flood'', Halo: The Flood#2010) bonus content|Adjunct - Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit
|casual3 = Complete destruction of all Sentinels on the Installation
|casual4 = Complete destruction of all Flood forms on the Installation
}}
The Battle of Installation 04, also known as the Halo Event, Alpha Halo Conflict''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual'', The Alpha Halo Conflict - p.62-65 and the Halo Conflict,''The Halo Conflict'Halo: Outpost Discovery'', Hall of History - OD_003_HOH_Humanity_Overview refers to a series of skirmishes between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant on the surface of Halo Array|Halo Installation 04, a Forerunner megastructure orbiting the gas giant Threshold. The Flood and the Forerunner Sentinels joined the conflict in its later stages. The battle became the turning point of the Human-Covenant War and ultimately led to the Great Schism.
Background
In the later stages of the Human-Covenant War, it was clear that the UNSC was losing. To try and force an end to the conflict, the Office of Naval Intelligence devised Operation: RED FLAG. Using the fortress world of Reach as bait, the operation would use a specially-modified ship to forcibly board a Covenant capital ship, steal it, capture a Hierarchs|Hierarch and use the hostage as negotiating leverage to end the war.
To undertake this task, the old was chosen and given an UNSC Pillar of Autumn#Specifications|extensive series of refits to improve its combat potential against Covenant ships. The plan would additionally call for the use of all remaining active-duty SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II personnel and a "mission specialist" Artificial intelligence|AI. Additionally, a battalion of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers commanded by Major Antonio Silva were assigned to the vessel for additional support.''Data Drops'', Data Drop #6 Following his performance at the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, Captain Jacob Keyes was chosen to lead the mission.
Ultimately, RED FLAG never went ahead due to the UNSC's disastrous Fall of Reach|defeat at Reach. During the battle on August 30, the majority of the ship's SPARTAN-II complement was deployed groundside to defend the orbital defense generators, with Spartans John-117, Linda-058 and James-005 deployed to Gamma Station to execute the Cole Protocol on the ONI vessel . In the engagement, James was killed and Linda severely injured. Additionally, Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson and Fire Team Charlie assisted the Spartan team and eventually evacuated back to the ''Pillar of Autumn''. With Linda clinically dead, she was placed into a cryo chamber with the hopes of reviving her later. With this, John-117 remained the only operational Spartan left on the ''Pillar of Autumn'' when it finally escaped Reach.
With the loss of a third of her technical staff, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' made an apparently blind jump through slipstream space|slipspace from where they would then make their way to Earth. In reality, the slipspace jump was planned by the Artificial intelligence|AI Cortana, using coordinates from an artifact found on Sigma Octanus IV as well as from an Babd Catha Forerunner complex|object found under the Babd Catha Ice Shelf on Reach. The ''Pillar of Autumn'' departed from the Aszod ship breaking yards on August 30, 2552, and entered slipspace above Reach while the Covenant fleet continued to wreak destruction on the planet.
File:H2A Screenshot ParticularJustice Autumn.jpg|thumb|left|The Fleet of Particular Justice faces down the ''Pillar of Autumn''. The Covenant, primarily the Fleet of Particular Justice led by Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee had acquired the trajectory of the ''Autumn's'' jump and pursued, arriving ''before'' the Autumn due to their faster borer|slipspace drive technology. Following the battle, some UNSC AIs would incorrectly suggest that the Covenant did not follow the ''Autumn'' to ''Halo'', but had in -fact already discovered the ring, and wanted to prevent the humans from finding it too. (Archive:Bungie.net/News/Jason Jones Interviewed By You|Archive)
The ''Autumn'' and the approximately 1,100 humans on it arrived in orbit above the planet Threshold at 01:20 hours on September 19, 2552. At some point after this time, Captain Keyes made a Anniversary Campaign Trailer|transmission that would later be picked up by NAVCOM.''Anniversary Campaign Trailer'' By this time, at least twelve Covenant vessels were already in station, with four battlegroups consisting of three s per group, the Covenant destroyer|destroyer ''Blameless Conceit'', the ''Infinite Succor'', the ''Ascendant Justice'' and the ''Seeker of Truth''. The Covenant additionally established a series of recon pickets around the ring's orbit, which were promptly engaged by the ''Autumn's'' GA-TL1 Longsword escort.
Battle in space
File:HCEA-Concept-PoA-Chief-Profile.jpg|thumb|left|200px|John-117 engaging Covenant forces boarding the ''Pillar of Autumn''
Following their arrival in the system, The Fleet of Particular justice established a presence on the far side of the ringworld and sent out a number of recon picket fighter squadrons to intercept the ''Pillar of Autumn''. Due to the Battle of Installation 04#Covenant fleet unrest|ongoing squabbles between the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee and Minor Prophet of Stewardship, Covenant forces were initially ordered to send out fightercraft and boarding parties to the human cruiser for fear of damaging the ring, though 'Vadamee later returned fire anyway. The UNSC cruiser's Longsword escort mopped up the initial recon pickets, though eventually a Seraph was able to slip its way through the defenses and land a blow across the ''Autumn's'' Titanium-A armor that those on the bridge could feel. The small craft had evidently managed to slip past their patrolling Longswords by powering down. Lieutenant Aki Hikowa sent new orders to the squadron and the Seraph was destroyed almost immediately. Just as Captain Jacob Keyes|Keyes plotted a course to bring his ship closer to Threshold|the gas giant, sensors picked up the approaching squadron of Covenant fighters, followed by boarding craft. Installation 04, a massive ring-shaped Astroengineering|superstructure, made its first appearance to those on the ''Autumn'' as the ship came around the planet and found it suspended at a lagrange point between it and Basis|its moon.
While the Covenant fleet was initially hesistant to open fire on the ''Autumn'', the humans had no such qualms and Cortana was able to estimate three or four kills on Covenant ships before the ''Autumn'' could be taken out. The ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was one such vessel, forced to retreat to ground to make repairs, later becoming the new HQ for the Covenant ground forces. Meanwhile, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was sent wave after wave of Elsedda-pattern Banshee|Banshees, Morsam-pattern Seraph|''Morsam''-pattern Seraphs and boarding craft to force the humans out of their shell.
As Covenant forces began boarding the ''Autumn'', Captain Jacob Keyes ordered Chief Petty Officer Thom Shephard and Petty Officer Third Class Samuel N. Marcus to release Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 from his cryo-chamber. Both officers were killed by Covenant invasion forces while preparing the SPARTAN-II for immediate combat. Shortly thereafter, the ''Autumns Magnetic Accelerator Cannon was sabotaged by the Covenant boarding teams and rendered inoperable.
During the battle, installation Monitor 343 Guilty Spark prepared the defensive , preparing to fire on all vessels who did not return to a minimum one light-year safe distance. Unfortunately, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was not able to receive this transmission. Luckily, the Monitor accessed the ship's databases and upon learning of the humans' status as reclaimers, took the weapons offline and granted them safe passage onto the ring.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal #1
File:KeyesChipCEA.png|thumb|left|The Cole Protocol stipulated that preventing the destruction or capture of a shipboard A.I. by the Covenant was of paramount importance.
Given the loss of their MAC|magnetic accelerator cannon, Captain Keyes made the decision to initiate Article Two of the Cole Protocol. He made the determination that it had become necessary to abandon the cruiser, and in accordance with the protocol, that meant someone would need to be entrusted with the protection of Cortana during the retreat. The captain planned to stay behind to attempt put the ship down himself on the surface of the ring. Cortana protested what she saw as a suicidal decision on Keyes' part, but he simply ordered that she locked in a selection of emergency landing zones and upload them to his Neural interface|neural lace. As for guardianship of the A.I., the job naturally fell to the Master Chief. Her data crystal chip was transferred from a pedestal on the ''Autumn's'' bridge to the housing within the Spartan's MJOLNIR armor. Keyes offered his own M6D magnum to John and wished him good luck just before the Spartan took his leave.
File:HCEA PillarOfAutumn CorridorBattle Concept.jpg|thumb|UNSC Marines fend off Covenant boarders. By the time John, with Cortana now in tow, left the bridge, the Covenant boarders had pushed beyond the areas adjacent to the airlocks they had entered by and had encroached toward the ship's command deck. A wave had been repulsed by the ''Autumn's'' defenders, but it had come close to reaching the bridge. Ammunition for the captain's sidearm was provided in the form of that which John collected from a fallen ensign. The first to fall to its 12.7x40mm M225 Semi-Armor-Piercing High-Explosive rounds was a group of Unggoy.
Now armed with an MA5B assault rifle, John fought his way through the Covenant infesting the ship's corridors in the direction that Cortana led him. He traveled up one level, felling Unggoy, Kig-Yar, and Sangheili as he went. His efforts enabled marines around him to launch a hastily organized counterattack on the boarders. All the while, the ''Autumn'' continued to take hits from enemy vessels. Cortana urged the Master Chief to hurry as Class-3 Bumblebee|lifeboats began to launch for the safety of solid ground.
As fighting within the ship raged on, a small detachment of Unggoy led by one known as Yayap found a way to avoid the violence. Yayap directed those in his charge to take hold of Zuka 'Zamamee|a wounded Special Operations Sangheili|Special Operations Sangheili and bring him safely back to one of the assault boat they had come in on.
The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers aboard had been charged with protecting the network of fusion engines that made up the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' experimental power plant. Under the command of Major Antonio Silva, the ODSTs had managed to hold their position successfully. Once he finally got orders from Captain Keyes that they were abandoning ship, he ordered them to the Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|SOEIVs that would carry them to the alien ringworld below. Only Fireteam Raven, having been separated from the others, did not launch with Silva and the rest. Raven instead fought against boarders on the ship to repel the invasion, under the guidance of the AI Wellsley. During the fighting, the ODSTs conducted an Extra-vehicular activity|space-walk to man the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' M910 Rampart point defense network to fend off incoming waves of space Banshees and Seraph starfighters. The fireteam were eventually forced to retreat back into the ship, however.
Finally nearing the lifeboats, John-117 paused long enough to grab a marine who fell while running for the safety one offered. The Master Chief effortlessly scooped up the man and tossed him inside the Bumblebee designated Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43. He confirmed to the escape lifepod's pilot that they could leave and it blasted free of the ship. Fireteam Raven witnessed the Chief and a few others escaping but did not join them, instead remaining behind to continue engaging the enemy on the way to their SOEIVs. Wellsley contacted them at this moment and urged speed on its members' part. The team fought through many Covenant troops in order to make it to the drop pods and get off the doomed ship.
Among those escaping was Flight Officer Captain Carol Rawley, who, alongside four other pilots, fought her way to the ship's launch bay where its D77-TC Pelicans lay waiting. The Pilots were successfully able to maneuver their craft out of the cruiser's hangar bays as the ship began to enter the ring's atmosphere and were eventually able to put down on the surface. The surviving dropships later played a crucial part in the UNSC campaign on the ring.
File:AutumnDamagedCEA.png|thumb|left|Cortana left behind a very small part of herself in order to assist with the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' descent. The Minor Prophet of Stewardship had additionally ordered the deployment of an Ossoona, Isna 'Nosolee, onto the cruiser. Armed with six plasma grenades and a plasma pistol and cloaked in active camoflage, the Sangheili was to use his helmet-mounted cameras to record the ship for intelligence purposes and try to capture the ship's AI or essential bridge crew. Hidden from plain sight, he avoided direct confrontation when a group of marines backed around a corner toward him, pursued by a pack of Unggoy and Kig-Yar. The Ossoona made his way to the bridge, where he was able to successfully evade being noticed by the humans.
To avoid its evacuating personnel from being shot down by the Covenant warships, Captain Keyes piloted the ''Autumn'' manually, diverting all Covenant attention to the ship as it plummeted towards the Forerunner construct. As the ship was shot down by Covenant warships, most of the cryo-chambers, including Linda-058's, were ejected as per standard UNSC procedure. Once the ''Autumn'' was set on the course, Keyes and the bridge crew would make for their own escape pods followed by 'Nosolee. Although the Sangheili was able to prevent detection, he eventually died at the hand of Keyes inside the escape pod, the captain having noticed the distinct shimmer in the air of the elite's active camouflage systems.
UNSC ground campaign
File:HFR Alpha Base 2.png|250px|thumb|left|UNSC forces from the ''Autumn'' set up Alpha Base on a Forerunner building. The ODSTs battalion under Major Silva made landing on the ring via orbital insertion, in an area roughly three kilometers in diameter. They were quick to organize, meeting up with Silva and Lt. McKay to establish a temporary base of operations. Relying on data provided the Artificial intelligence|AI Wellsley, Silva instructed Lieutenant Melissa McKay to take the battalion's B Company (Pillar of Autumn)|B Company and capture Alpha Base (Installation 04)|a Covenant-held butte to gain a tactical advantage in fighting off Covenant forces. The group had also received word of a group of Pelican pilots who had landed their craft some distance away, and C Company (Pillar of Autumn)|C Company was sent to meet them and prepare for aerial insertion to reinforce McKay. The remaining A Company (Pillar of Autumn)|A Company and D Company (Pillar of Autumn)|D Company remained under the command of Silva directly, and took some time to reinforce their temporary foothold and get some rest. This peace would not last long as the temporary base of operations was assaulted by Covenant ground forces consisting of 50 Sangheili, 100 s and, later, Type-26 Banshees. The defending ODSTs managed to fend off the assault but suffered a loss of 23 ODSTs killed and 16 ODSTs wounded.
Around the time of the Covenant attack, McKay's force engaged the Covenant at the butte and began a slow climb up to the base proper. In the assault, the ODSTs advanced into the butte using a spiraling ramp. Covenant forces responded to this advancement by raining down plasma grenades and unleashing volleys of plasma bolts. The Covenant defense was soon relaxed when a number of ODST companies performed aerial assaults on the defending Covenant forces. McKay's advancement into the butte was halted by a rockfall. Fortunately, McKay managed to find an access into the butte which led to a chamber filled with Covenant explosives. The lieutenant fired a rocket into the chamber, subsequently killing any Covenant force, and led her ODSTs on a lift up to the surface, where they met Major Silva who had arrived and eliminated the remaining Covenant forces.
Following the death of the Covenant spy, the rest of the command shuttle's ride down onto the surface of Installation 04 was uneventful, with the crew disposing of 'Nosolee's body in a nearby crevice once landed. The group would proceed to be harassed and pursued by Covenant Banshees, Spirit dropships and infantry through the rugged terrain, never able to rest for more than a few minutes. After hours of this treatment, Ensign Ellen Dowski began to crack, and seriously suggest giving up and allow themselves to be taken prisoner. To prevent her from being a burden on the group any longer, she was allowed to do so - but only after she was relieved of her firearm, supplies and left tied up for the Covenant to find.
As the day wore on, the remaining group would eventually find themselves in a box canyon, with a Spirit looming overhead. Realising they were finally trapped, the group put down their weapons only to find Dowski emerge from the Covenant dropship with a squad of Sangheili warriors. She identified the Captain, leading to the aliens executing all of the other humans before finally using Dowski's own pistol to kill her - leaving Keyes the only survivor. Keyes was then taken by the Sangheili back to the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' and interrogated for hours.
File:HM-JohnI04-full.jpg|thumb|250px| John-117 exiting a Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43|Bumblebee lifeboat that crashed onto the valleys of Halo. In a state of disarray, several evacuating UNSC personnel eventually landed on the Forerunner construct. Some were killed in the landing while others attempted to get hold of one another and survive the Covenant patrols.
After crash-landing on the Forerunner construct, John-117, the sole survivor of Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43's crash-landing, headed out to get away from Covenant patrols and, under the instructions provided by Cortana, attempted to establish some contact with any surviving human personnel. After evading several patrols and a brief skirmish with a small Covenant lance, John-117 managed to find a group of survivors defending themselves against the aggressive Covenant forces in a Forerunner structure. John established contact with Staff Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson|Johnson and the survivors and assisted them in eliminating and defeating the Covenant forces, later reinforced by three waves. Carol Rawley|Foe Hammer of Echo 419 soon arrived to retrieve the survivors after the elimination of Covenant forces. Witnessing three lifepods flying overhead, Cortana instructed Foe Hammer to disengage her Warthog to support the Spartan's efforts in retrieving and securing the survivors. Two Marines assisted the Spartan in the rescue efforts.''Halo: Combat Evolved'', campaign level Halo (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|Halo At some point, John would find a Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal and record its data. Around this time, 343 Guilty Spark would begin using the terminals to show the history of the ring.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary terminals teaser''
After successfully rescuing the survivors from all three lifepods, Cortana informed everyone of her findings after hacking into the proselytization network|Covenant battlenet; Captain Keyes and a number of personnel survived the landing on the Installation, but have been captured by Covenant forces. The survivors eventually returned to Alpha Base (Installation 04)|Alpha Base to devise a rescue plan for the Captain.
Not all of the troops, however, were able to make landfall and regroup swiftly, with at least one known group able to make landfall in a Ridgeline|forested region of the ring overlooking a large Forerunner relay structure and forming a staging area there. Unfortunately, they were soon wiped out by the Covenant.''Halo: Reach'', multiplayer map Ridgeline - map description () (defunct, Archive:Halo Waypoint/2009 to 2014/Games/Halo: Reach|Archive) () Another group of ODSTs were able to land on the ring near a beam emitter tower, holding off the Covenant until rescue finally came.''Halo: Reach'', Firefight level Installation 04 (map)|Installation 04 Fireteam Raven were able to make landfall on the ring, separated from other UNSC forces. Under the guidance of Wellsley through a mobile communication link, they made their way across the installation's surface.
At least three UNSC Marines would later be captured by the Covenant and taken to the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', locked in the same brig as Captain Keyes.
File:HCEA-Concept-TnR-Hangar.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and his squad kill Covenant on board the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. The surviving human personnel launched a mission to recover Captain Keyes, who was being held aboard the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. Under the cover of night, John-117 and a fireteam of ODSTs boarded the ship via its gravity lift. After several brief engagements aboard the ship, the rescue team managed to establish a secure control of the ship's command center. John-117 went ahead and freed Captain Keyes and several other captured Marines. When they returned to the command center, they found out that the ODSTs had been slaughtered by Stealth Sangheili. Furthermore, Echo 419 was unable to retrieve the rescue party due to Covenant air patrols. Following Cortana's suggestion, Captain Keyes manned a Covenant dropship and returned everyone to Alpha Base.
While Covenant forces were distracted by the ongoing battle at the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', ODST Lieutenant McKay was ordered to stage a raid on the crashed ''Pillar of Autumn'', in order to gain extra supplies to finance the battle effort. The raid was successful; the UNSC forces managed to salvage several of the ship's Warthogs, trailers and four M808B Main Battle Tank|Scorpion tanks along with food supplies and ammunitions. However, when returning the salvaged vehicles to Alpha Base, the convoy was ambushed by Covenant forces led by Noga 'Putumee using Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraiths, Banshees and Ghosts. Despite sizeable Covenant opposition, the UNSC forces managed to withhold the ambush and inflict greater damage on the Covenant forces. During the raid, Fireteam Raven was able to link up with friendly UNSC forces for the first time since landing on the ring twenty-eight hours earlier, and contributed to the raid by manning the mounted machine guns on the convoy's Warthogs.
File:HLC Halo Conflict.png|thumb|250px|The Master Chief aboard Echo 419 approaching the Cartographer.
Using the intelligence gathered by Captain Keyes and Cortana, the human forces amassed a squadron for an assault on the Silent Cartographer island, in their attempt to uncover more information of the Installation. John-117 and a handful of Marines, supported by ''Echo 419'' and ''Bravo 022'', penetrated the Covenant defenses, journeyed deep within the island's chambers and access-ways, and discovered the location of the Installation's control room.
Events leading to the discovery was not easy; the Covenant managed to temporarily lock access to the chambers within the island, prompting John-117 and the Marines to navigate to the island's security chamber. As they deactivated the security, Bravo 22 and its payload fell prey to Covenant fire.
File:ScorpionControlRoom.png|thumb|250px|John-117 leading the assault in a M808 Main Battle Tank|Scorpion.
After the Battle of the Silent Cartographer, Cortana instructed Foe Hammer to deploy them using navigations she gathered from the discovery of the control room. Alone, John-117 was inserted into a network of tunnels occupied by Covenant forces. The Spartan then received a radio transmission from Fireteam Zulu, who were pinned down in a valley, as he fought his way through the network of tunnels. John-117 assisted Fireteam Zulu in eliminating local Covenant forces and their armor support, then journeyed through a system of adjacent canyons until reaching a dead end, where Fireteam Zulu requested to be evacuated.
John-117, with Cortana providing guidance, eventually discovered a large pyramidal structure built into a cliff, on top of which was the control room. Upon reaching the chamber, Cortana accessed the Installation's systems and discovered Flood|a terrible secret quarantined within the Installation. Fearing for Captain Keyes' safety, she instructed Foe Hammer to take John-117 to head to his last known location.
The Flood escapes
File:HCEA-Concept-Chief-Flood.jpg|thumb|250px|John-117 encounters the released Flood in a containment facility At the same time of the Battle of the Silent Cartographer, Captain Keyes, supported by Second squad (Pillar of Autumn)|2nd Squad and Pelican dropship Victor 933, devised a plan to infiltrate a Flood containment facility|presumed weapon cache within a swamp, as per intelligence gathered from 'Qualomee|a captured Sangheili. They later met up with Fire Team Charlie, led by Staff Sergeant Johnson, which had proceeded to the structure and engaged the few scattered Covenant forces they encountered in the upper levels of the facility.
While exploring the lower levels, the UNSC forces came across a sealed door, locked down by the Covenant. With increasing curiosity, the UNSC unlocked the door and explored the containment room. Shortly after, Fire Team Charlie was contacted by a desperate Marine requesting help as he was overwhelmed by non-Covenant hostiles. Seconds later, the fireteam was attacked by a swarm of Pod infectors, infecting Captain Keyes, Privates Riley, Kappus, Manuel Mendoza|Mendoza, Jenkins, Bisenti and several others. Two Marines managed to avoid the infection, one of whom was killed just outside and Paranoid Marine|another who escaped by playing dead. Staff Sergeant Johnson shrugged off the Pod infectors due to his ORION Project|SPARTAN-I enhancements and managed to escape the facility.
File:KeyesJohnsonCEA.png|thumb|left|250px|Marines and Captain Keyes fighting back-to-back against the Pod infectors they released. Three hours after the assault on the Control Room, John-117 arrived near Victor 933's crash site via Echo 419. His travel towards Captain Keyes' last known transmission was met with an abnormally small concentration of Covenant forces, which was easily handled. Upon unlocking the door to the Containment Room, he found Private Jenkins' helmet and accessed its video records. Shortly after, John-117 was attacked by the remaining Flood forms that spewed out of nearby chambers. The Spartan quickly proceeded to escape the facility, combating Pod infectors and Flood combat form|Combat forms. He soon caught up with Corporal Lovik's squad, who were advised by Echo 419 to take refuge at a nearby structure.
The survivors fought their way through the swamp in search of the structure for immediate evacuation. On the site, the survivors were aided by unknown constructs later identified as the Sentinels, under the command of the Installation's Monitor, 04-343 Guilty Spark|343 Guilty Spark. The Monitor teleported the Spartan into the Library, leaving the other survivors to be evacuated by Echo 419.
After discovering a Reclaimer was within reach, 343 Guilty Spark, without hesitation, teleported John-117 into the Library, where he was tasked with the retrieval of the Activation Index. Proceeding into the bowels of the huge structure, the SPARTAN fought off wave after wave of Flood, before the Monitor called in Sentinels to assist him. Upon reaching the central shaft of the Library, John-117 rode another elevator down to the Index to deactivate the security protocols around it. 343 Guilty Spark then took over his role and stored the Index within himself.
Covenant fleet unrest File:H2A Terminals - Thel and Prophet.jpg|thumb|Thel 'Vadamee converses with the Minor Prophet. Following the arrival of the ''Autumn'' in the system, the Fleet of Particular Justice experienced a great amount of unrest, due to conflicting leadership between the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee and the Minor Prophet of Prophet of Stewardship|Stewardship. The two initially met aboard the flagship ''Seeker of Truth'' to contact High Charity and ascertain how to proceed with interpreting Covenant holy scripture. High Charity was unavailable, and the Prophet departed again for ''Ascendant Justice'', declaring that no Covenant ships were to open fire for fear of damaging the holy ring, instead ordering a boarding action to take place.''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #3 Thel would disregard this order and open fire aggressively.
File:H2A Terminals - Fleet waiting for Autumn.jpg|thumb|left|''Seeker of Truth'' and the Covenant fleet in orbit of Installation 04. What would follow was a great deal of bickering and arguing between the two commanders, with the Prophet appropriating fleet military resources for his own personal goals. He would secretly order the ''Undiminished Entelechy'' and sister ship ''Purity of Spirit'' to perform close-range surveys of the ring The Prophet would later order an expeditionary force led by Sesa 'Refumee and Loka 'Bandolee to investigate the Threshold gas mines, leading to 'Vadamee ordering all military forces be concentrated on the human threat. The Prophet would ignore this decree, and order secondary and tertiary artifact recovery groups to investigate the Flood containment facility, believed a weapons cache. The two groups fell silent, leading a fourth group to be dispatched. 'Vadamee would once again order a cease and desist of these actions, with no response given by the Prophet. The Supreme Commander would then dispatch an infantry unit to ''Ascendant Justice'' to relieve the Prophet of command, leading to the boarding party being shot down and 'Vadamee warned that repeated actions would result in further lethality. File:Infinite Succor.jpg|thumb|''Brilliant Gift'' collides with ''Infinite Succor''.
Covenant forces around the Flood containment facility were in disarray due to the release of the Flood. Several dropships were shut down with some captured by the Flood. One particular dropship, the ''Brilliant Gift'', was manned by the Flood towards the Covenant fleet currently hovering over the Installation. The dropship eventually crash-landed on the ''Infinite Succor'' and infected its personnel, unbeknownst to those around the ''Infinite Succor''. Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee responded by deploying a Covenant Special Operations|Special Operations unit led by Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee. The Special Operations unit Infinite Succor#Battle on the Infinite Succor|engaged with its invading aggressor, eventually leaving the injured 'Vadumee as the only survivor of the engagement. The presence of the Flood and its potential of being space-borne was reported to Supreme Commander 'Vadamee.
'Vadamee would proceed to order an emergency quarantine response for the fleet, ordering all vessels evacuate the ring and to report a full biometric scan of their crew, and for uninfected vessels to fire on those who did not respond. The ''Undiminished Entelechy'' would be among those infected by the Flood and shot down by 'Vadamee, crash-landing on the ring. The ring's environmental control systems would quickly accelerate plant growth on the wreckage in the short time the wreckage remained intact.
With the failure of the Covenant forces on the ground to control the Flood outbreak, the Minor Prophet would order the execution of Soha 'Rolamee, and proceed to move himself and his security contingent to ''Truth and Reconciliation'', ordering the crew to police the ship and detain anyone who would threaten the consecration, even the Supreme Commander. The Prophet presented 'Rolamee's severed head to Zuka 'Zamamee as a warning against repeated failures like the failure of 'Rolamee to contain the Flood, or Zuka to kill the Master Chief. 'Vadamee would later proceed to personally lead a team to take control of ''Ascendant Justice'', taking the ship without firing a shot.
As the Flood continued to spread, the Covenant battlenet would fall into chaos. Jiralhanae troops assigned to the fleet relayed several accounts of the ground actions to the fleet, but these accounts were later considered unreliable due to panic, confusion and excuse for failure. The fleet also deployed Kig-Yar Sniper teams armed with Type-50 Alpha beam rifle|T-50 beam rifles during the Flood onslaught.''Halo 5: Guardians'', Type-50 Alpha beam rifle List of REQ cards/Power Weapons|REQ card
Late stages of conflict
In the early hours of September 21, the Covenant returned to assault Alpha Base, initiated by an air insertion and then followed by a ground advancement. Using a Charlie 217|captured Pelican dropship and its Rick Hale|captured pilot, the Covenant attempted to insert 30 Special Operations Sangheili, led by Special Operations Officer Zuka 'Zamamee to assassinate the apparently absent Spartan and clear a landing zone for six Spirit dropships for immediate evacuation. The officer had been successfully able to convince the prophet to allow the attack, aiming to kill the Spartan before he could cause the Covenant any more trouble.
The air insertion was quickly discovered by the human forces on Alpha Base, who flooded the Pelican dropship with jet fuel before igniting it, killing twenty-four Sangheili. The six Sangheili managed to escape into the base, neutralizing the human control rooms and liberated the captured Covenant soldiers. However, the MLA auto-cannons and various other defense systems employed by the human forces managed to destroy several incoming Spirit dropships. A large amount of Covenant troops were able to make it into the base, however, including Hunters and Grunts, thanks to the deployment of the ''Upright Chalice''. The Covenant forces landing on the butte were soon either killed or captured, and the assault on Alpha Base stalled. During the midst of the fighting, Fireteam Raven were recalled to the ice canyons near the Installation's control room to assist John-117 in fighting a new threat near the Installation's Control Room.
The ground assault, led by Field Master Noga 'Putumee, made significant progress against the humans due to their use of Spirit dropships to clear the way ahead of the ground forces. However, the seeming route was designed to lure the Covenant into the firing range of a pair of concealed Scorpion tanks, which then tore into the ranks of the aliens and inflicted major casualties. Field Master 'Putumee was killed by the third shot from the tanks, throwing the Covenant forces into chaos - of the 150 infantry with him, only a few survived to retreat. Meanwhile, the surviving Covenant Special Operations team from the air insertion phase and the freed Covenant troops ran into an ambush devised by the Marines, in which all members of both sides were killed other than Zuka 'Zamamee and Yayap, both of whom fled in a recaptured Banshee. By this time, however, the Covenant ground assault was in full retreat.
File:TwoBetrayalsAnniversary.png|thumb|250px|Cortana revealing Halo's true nature to John-117 as Guilty Spark looks on. Following the Master Chief and Fireteam Zulu's capture of the control room, the Covenant returned in force to retake the structure and heavily fortified the ice canyons surrounding the region, with numerous Banshee air patrols and heavy vehicles. However, they were unable to breach the facility and were locked out. The Flood began to pour into the region to combat the Covenant and Sentinels there, likely intending to take the control room offline and prevent the activation of the ring. By the time 343 Guilty Spark was able to teleport the Spartan back to the control room to prepare for firing, the Flood and Covenant were heavily entrenched.
As the two prepared to activate Halo, Cortana stopped the firing - having discovered the Installation's true purpose after extended time inside the control room's systems. The UNSC AI then revealed the installation's true purpose to the SPARTAN; destroy all life in the galaxy to starve the Flood of its food source. 343 Guilty Spark, unable to purge Cortana from the installation's system due to her having merged with the Index, instructed his Sentinels to eliminate the Spartan and retrieve the UNSC AI from the Spartan's helmet.
File:HCEA TwoBetrayals Banshee Concept.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 flying to a generator John-117, after destroying the Sentinels and eliminating the patrolling Covenant forces, followed Cortana's instructions to destroy the three Phase pulse generator|Phase Pulse Generators to delay the firing process, should the Monitor manage to circumvent the firing protocols. As the Spartan joined the now-four way skirmish in the region, Fireteam Raven were airlifted in from Alpha Base to assist in weakening enemy forces in the region to allow the Master Chief to escape. They would provide close air support coverage in their UH-144 Falcon for a time before deploying onto the ground to begin combat - at one point being saved by the Spartan from an encroaching Flood Juggernaut. Flood and Covenant forces in the area would be severely weakened thanks to Raven's actions, allowing the Spartan to complete his task much quicker. Upon the destruction of the third generator, Cortana suggested they destroy Halo to prevent future use of the installation by enabling the ''Autumn's'' self-destruct system. She then utilized the teleportation grid to transport the two to the damaged ''Truth and Reconciliation'' to rescue Captain Keyes to obtain the proper authorization.
Fireteam Raven would ultimately hold off long enough to be extracted via Falcon, though a luckily-timed Wraith plasma mortar hit the helicopter, rendering it severely damaged.
File:Annivesary, conflict.jpg|thumb|350px|UNSC, Covenant, and Flood battle for supremacy. The morning following the Covenant attack on Alpha Base, Silva and McKay met to review the situation of the ODST battalion on the ring. With Keyes out of the picture, command fell back to the Major, who surmised that the best defense is a good offense. Silva proposed to engage the Covenant forces in a medium conflict and instructed Lieutenant McKay to plan out the operation. McKay decided to use the burned-out remains of Charlie 217, mock-injured Marines, and a phony distress call as baits to lure the Covenant into an ambush. This operation was further strengthened when Wellsley informed them of the Covenant's increased interest in intelligence gathering by monitoring the radio traffic and conducting reconnaissance flights after the human raid on the ''Truth and Reconciliation''.
The operation began when the human forces "informed" a patrolling Banshee of the hostile location, using 3rd Squad - made to look like they had been injured in the "crash" - as bait. When the Banshee retreated presumably to report its findings of the enemy location, human forces abandoned their mock location and waited for the incoming Covenant forces. The first wave was a Spirit dropship with a lance of Unggoy, Kig-yar and Sangheili along with a pair of Mgalekgolo. The first wave was handled rather quickly; Lieutenant McKay ordered those with heavy weapons to concentrate on the Hunters before engaging the lance. Soon, the dropship returned and unleashed volleys of plasma on the entire area, forcing the human forces to take cover. Covenant ground forces were deployed as the dropship retreated and began engaging the human forces into the rocks. The human snipers managed to eliminate five Covenant soldiers before the dropship exacted the position; unfortunately, their positions was exposed and resulted with two snipers killed and one wounded by plasma fire. The operation turned awry as the Covenant had the advantage over the human forces' territory.
Just as Lieutenant McKay was about to issue a retreat order, both forces were attacked by a newer force, the Flood. While the Covenant had some experience in combating the Flood, the human forces had none. Both forces were in disarray and were massacred by the Flood. After the Flood combat form|combat forms slashed their way through combatants, the Pod infectors burrowed themselves into corpses and helpless victims and turned them into even more combat forms. In the ensuing horror, Lieutenant McKay was confronted by Jenkins, now a combat form with limited control of his body and desperately trying to make McKay kill him. The Lieutenant, however, disarmed and restrained the Flood form, hoping to use it as a specimen to study the Flood. The attack forced both human and Covenant to join forces and fend off the Flood. After successfully eliminating the Flood threat, both groups returned to killing one another. At the end, the human forces claimed a pyrrhic victory with heavy casualties.
File:HFR RavenDown Fighting.png|thumb|350px|Fireteam Raven fight off Covenant forces inside the Forerunner structure. During their extraction, Fireteam Raven's Falcon would be shot down, crashlanding on a remote part of the ring. In this region, the Covenant had made fortification inside another Forerunner structure, with dozens of infantry including Evocati and Mgalekgolo. By the time Raven arrived, the Flood were besieging the outpost. Retreating into the structure, Raven would fend off hordes of Flood and Covenant including Flood Juggernauts. A Pelican was dispatched to rescue the ODSTs, but constant Banshee attacks made landing difficult, though they were eventually able to reunite with UNSC forces and make an assault on the crash site of the ''Autumn''.
Elsewhere, elements of the 79th Infantry Battalion would be engaged by the Flood. Unidentified private|One Private would reach his escape pod, Lima Foxtrot Alpha 19, and attempt to make an SOS call. He was ultimately killed by the Flood. The other group of humans who had formed a staging ground on the ring would be wiped by a Covenant attack. Following the raid on the ''Pillar of Autumn'', the Covenant under command of 'Ontomee retook control of the cruiser crash site and fortified it with more infantry and vehicles including Banshees, Ghosts and Wraiths. However, the ongoing conflict around the ring left the garrison severely understaffed and exhausted. The Flood began to attack the ship, seizing control of the engineering decks. As if the garrison was cursed, an army of Aggressor Sentinels arrived not long after. Zuka 'Zamamee and Yayap arrived at the cruiser, with Zuka taking the identity of Huki 'Umamee, a Sangheili Special Operation Officer who was slain at Alpha Base - and were immediately put on duty, with 'Ontomee glad for the reinforcement. Yayap was given command of twenty Kig-Yar and put on patrol work. Ultimately, his orders to double-check every shipment of supplies that came in would prove useful, with his cohort narrowly avoiding bringing a crate full of infection forms onto the ship.
Having narrowly survived the ambush by the Flood and battle with the Covenant, McKay's platoon returned to Alpha Base with several specimens of dead Flood forms and a captured Jenkins. She briefed Major Silva on what was understood of the Flood threat, before the Major ordered the bodies burnt. Jenkins was locked up in a cell under heavy guard, where he attempted to commit suicide twice, before lunging at McKay and breaking a bone in his arm in the process. The extreme pain was enough to temporarily subdue the infection form controlling Jenkins' body, giving him just enough control to point down in response to Silva's question; where would the Flood attack Alpha Base? McKay and a team led by Sergeant Lister prepared near a large grate at the bottom of the mesa; the grate had been battered by hundreds of energy weapons - the Flood had been trying for days to break through and attack the human stronghold. Within a matter of days, they may just succeed. A full company was summoned to drop down into the pit below and cover a team of engineers, who would weld large panels in place to prevent the Flood from breaking through for a few more days - enough to buy time to get off the ring. A team of six Helljumpers fast-roped into the pit and used their helmet-mounted cameras to provide data for the Navy technicians to create four "plugs" to seal the breach. The team were attacked from the darkness by a handful of Flood combat forms, leading them to retreat while grenades were dropped into the hole.
Ten minutes later, a larger combat team was inserted into the hole with four tech teams, and were successfully able to seal the breach without incident before repairing the grate. The defense wouldn't hold out forever, but long enough to let the humans plan out their escape route.
File:Protograve.png|thumb|250px|The assimilated Keyes is discovered by John-117. Following the fleet-wide order to evacuate, the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was beset upon by the Flood, attempting to capture the cruiser and use it to escape the ring. The Covenant deployed a strike team to cleanse the ship and ready it for departure, but the security forces would remain bogged down in the fight on the surface against a tidal wave of the parasite. After getting teleported by Cortana into the halls of the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', John-117 continued with his objective in rescuing Captain Keyes and having him authorize the self-destruction of the ''Autumn''. The pair found themselves in the middle of an ongoing battle between Covenant forces and the Flood forms for the control of the damaged battlecruiser. The SPARTAN fought his way through waves of Covenant and Flood forces and arrived at the bridge where Keyes was located. The pair soon discovered that the captain had been turned into one of the Flood, a Proto-Gravemind. With no other choice, John-117 forcefully obtained the captain's command neural interface from his skull and quickly retreated for the hangars, stealing a Banshee to make haste for the ''Autumn''.
By September 22, only 312 humans (236 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines and 76 UNSC Navy|Navy personnel) remained alive at Alpha Base. In order to escape back to Earth, Major Silva concocted a plan to capture the Flood-infested ''Truth and Reconciliation'', and use it to bring the remaining troops plus captured samples of Covenant technology and Flood forms to Earth. Despite the AI Wellsley's warnings, the humans proceeded with the attack, inserting several Pelicans' worth of troops into the cruiser's shuttle bays while an additional team led by McKay captured the gravity lift. Thanks to the previous raid, McKay had the advantage of foreknowledge of the ship's layout, and established control of the command center, engineering and eighty percent of the rest of the ship. The lightning raid was so successful that the troops even managed to capture the Minor Prophet of Stewardship and his security detail, though the Prophet was able to send out an emergency rescue request to all Covenant vessels in the vicinity.
The humans quickly began to lift the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' off the ringworld, with the activity spurring the Flood inside the ship's engineering corridors to attack the UNSC personnel stationed there. Although the Flood in engineering were quickly killed, Lieutenant McKay was worried about more potential Flood attacks. She urged Major Silva to eliminate the Flood aboard the ship before leaving the ring. Silva, however, refused to do so, as he wanted to bring live Flood specimens back to Earth for study. Knowing that Silva's ambitions would likely doom Earth to Flood infestation, McKay decided to sabotage the ship's system by severing the fiber-optic passage connecting the engines to the command center. The ship was destroyed shortly after as a result, killing all aboard.
File:HCEA-Concept-Maw-WarthogRun.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and Cortana escape the ''Autumn'' as its engines go critical. Having been extracted from the war between the Covenant and Flood, Fireteam Raven were deployed via M12B Warthog with a new mission; assist a convoy of UNSC Marine forces making one final assault on the ''Pillar of Autumn''. The assault consisted of a handful of Falcon gunships, Warthogs and Pelicans attempting to distract Covenant forces to buy time for John-117 to complete his mission. The convoy fought through heavy Covenant resistance, including Phantoms and Wraiths before being alerted to the arrival of the Spartan in a Banshee commandeered from the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. Although the Covenant aircraft largely ignored the Banshee - thinking it one of their own - the in the region began to bear down on it, chased by Fireteam Raven.
The Spartan, through Cortana's instruction, fought his way to the ship's bridge. The UNSC AI started the ship's self-destruct sequence, only to discover to her dismay that the Guilty Spark had halted the sequence. Cortana deduced that the Monitor was in Engineering and was attempting to take the ''Autumn's'' engines offline. John-117 decided to overload the engines by manually cracking the engine's magnetic containment fields.
During the battle aboard the ''Autumn'', the few remaining UNSC survivors rallied for a final defensive action around the crash site to prevent the Covenant or the Flood from interfering with the Chief's mission, having learned of his intentions to destroy the ring. The Covenant sent a to destroy the UNSC forces and then to ambush the Chief aboard the cruiser, but this assault was thwarted by the ODSTs of Fireteam Raven. The remaining Marine forces were then overrun and all survivors in the immediate vicinity were left at the mercy of the ''Autumn's'' imminent detonation.
File:PoADestructionCEA.jpg|thumb|250px|The ''Autumn's'' engines detonate, destroying the Halo Installation. The Spartan fought his way through Cryo B to reach Engineering. Following Cortana's instructions, he destroyed each of the four engines by launching explosives into the open shafts, destabilizing the containment fields. Cortana calculated that the pair had 15 minutes to evacuate the ship before the engines detonated. The Spartan headed for the shaft of elevator V-1269, where he was ambushed by Zuka 'Zamamee. The trap almost succeeded, but with Cortana's help, the Chief killed Zuka 'Zamamee by knocking the Sangheili to the bottom of the shaft. He then rode the elevator to a Class-7 Service Corridor located along the ship's dorsal structure. Using a Warthog, he drove along the length of the Corridor to External Access Junction 4C, where Echo 419 was to pick the Chief up one last time. However, two Banshees shot down the Pelican, killing Foe Hammer. John-117 was then forced to drive to Launch Bay 7, where a single GA-TL1 Longsword|Longsword fighter was still docked. The Spartan successfully boarded the ship and escaped Halo. Moments later, the ''Autumn's'' engines detonated, blowing a five-kilometer hole in the region around the ship and destroying Halo - bringing the battle to an end.
Realising the impending fate of the ringworld, Supreme Commander 'Vadamee ordered all remaining ships of the Fleet of Particular Justice to take cover behind the gas giant Threshold, ignoring the request made by the Minor Prophet.
Aftermath
}}
File:Installation04destroyed.png|thumb|250px|The breakup of Installation 04.
Although the ringworld was destroyed, it did not mark the end of conflict in the Soell system. After the destruction of Installation 04 and John-117's successful escape, Cortana scanned the installation's debris field for survivors. Soon, multiple Covenant capital ships entered the system. Cortana discovered several cryo pods jettisoned from the ''Pillar of Autumn'' during the initial battle, one of which contained Linda-058, and a Pelican dropship with several survivors. John-117 picked up the survivors in the Longsword, and with their help, boarded and hijacked the Covenant flagship ''Ascendant Justice'' and Raid on Reach|headed for Reach. The ''Seeker of Truth'' and Supreme Commander 'Vadamee would soon depart for ''High Charity''. During the interim, 'Vadamee would write a Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Manual#Report on the Atrocity at Halo|''Report on the Atrocity at Halo'', detailing his failure to protect the ring and combining the intelligence on John-117 and the UNSC taken from his engagements at Reach and Installation 04''Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Manual'' as well as send a copy of a Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit|Priority Broadcast Log taken from transmissions detailing the conflict between 'Vadamee and the Prophet to Lak 'Vadamee, wishing for Lak to know the truth of events before his hearing. The commander was tried in front of the High Council and stripped of rank, ultimately only spared a public execution due to the machinations of the Prophet of Truth, who esteemed the title of Arbiter on the disgraced Sangheili. 'Vadamee was given a new mission; eliminate the group of heretics led by Sesa 'Refumee now holed up in the gas mines of Threshold.
'Refumee had been tasked to explore the gas mines of Threshold by the Minor Prophet of Stewardship during the battle at Installation 04, and was eventually the one to receive 343 Guilty Spark following the ring's destruction. The Monitor was able to survive the destruction of the Installation, and had similarly arrived at the gas mines, wherein he proceeded to tell 'Refumee the truth about the Halo Array.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal 11''Halo 2: Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals Following the Monitor's revelations, 'Refumee devoted himself to spreading the truth of Halo to all the Covenant. A month later on October 20, the now-rebranded Arbiter and fellow Installation 04 veteran Rtas 'Vadumee would lead a team to Raid on the Threshold gas mine|raid the gas mines and destroy the heretics once and for all, capturing the Monitor in the process.
The battle on Alpha Halo resulted in more than just a UNSC victory, however. It sparked a series of events that would change the course of the entire war. The new Arbiter would play a major role in the events of the Battle of Installation 05 and the Battle of Earth. The High Prophets also would exploit the political fallout resulting from Halo's destruction to further their own plans to supplant the Sangheili ranks with their rivals among the Jiralhanae, whose blind faith they favored over the Sangheili's pragmatism. This led to the Great Schism upon learning the truth of Prophet of Truth's plan to replace Sangheili with Jiralhanae.
Triggered by the destruction of Installation 04, Installation 00|the Ark immediately initiated the construction of Installation 08|a replacement to Installation 04. Before the replacement ring was completed, John-117 and Cortana activated it to defeat the Flood and the Gravemind. By 2559, the Ark had finished the construction of a Installation 09|second replacement, which the crew of the attempted to launch to the Soell system to signal the UNSC, but the ring was ultimately intercepted by a Guardian en route. The ring's destruction would trigger other Forerunner installations, emitting a signal that placed them all in standby mode. One such installation would be the Onyx Sentinel|specialized Sentinels guarding the shield world of Onyx, leading to their awakening and the start of the Onyx Conflict.
File:HaloAJ.png|thumb|left|''Ascendant Justice'' lurks in the debris of the ring. Only six known members of the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' crew survived the Halo event. A Pelican hiding in the debris field carried four survivors, Shiela Polaski|Warrant Officer Shiela Polaski, Sergeant Avery Johnson, Shock Trooper Locklear|Corporal Locklear, and an Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI Lieutenant, Elias Haverson. John-117 had managed to retrieve three cryo-tubes, one of which contained his fellow Spartan team member, Linda-058. Linda, who had been clinically dead since the Fall of Reach, was resuscitated at a later time. The people in the other two tubes had died in sleep due to malfunctions. It is not known whether this was a malfunction in one of the cryo storage rooms, or if it happened to almost every tube. Every other person at the battle presumably died when Installation 04 was destroyed. The Museum of Humanity would later list a Sergeant Thomas Chang as having survived the battle.
File:TML - Ring.jpg|thumb|The ''Mona Lisa'' amongst the remains of the ringworld. Following the battle, this group of UNSC survivors led by John-117 would proceed to Skirmish over Threshold|board and capture the ''Ascendant Justice'' and use it to make their way Raid on Reach|back to Reach. This sequence of events would lead the group to commencing Operation: FIRST STRIKE, ultimately destroying a Truth's fleet|fleet of over 500 Covenant warships assembled by the Prophet of Truth in preparation to assault Earth. The survivors would return back to Earth by October 19, leading the UNSC to deploy several recovery convoys of Prowlers.''Eleventh Hour reports'': Part 5 - Subject: Heirlooms One such Prowler, the , would be sent to investigate the ONI vessel ''Mona Lisa'' and Operations: RED CLOUD and WHITE SAND. (defunct, Catalog/Archive/2014#Post .233|Archive) During the operations, the ''Mona Lisa'' would take aboard several samples of the Flood, eventually experimenting with the Flood on Covenant and human prisoners alike, leading to an outbreak on the ship. The ''Red Horse'' would investigate shortly following the departure of the Covenant fleet from the system on October 25, leading to a brief Skirmish on Mona Lisa|skirmish between the Marine survivors and infected Flood, resulting in the deaths of nearly all involved. The ''Red Horse'' was able to gather data on several outlying installations such as one structure similar to the Threshold gas mines employed by Sesa 'Refumee, later employed in the War Games as "Colossus (map)|Colossus".
File:H5-Truth-Ships.png|thumb|The simulated Fleet of Particular Justice on "Truth". During the return journey home, Cortana would write a Halo 2 Manual#Secret Transmission .2B Master Chief Section|report on the conflict,''Halo 2 Manual'' while also using the downtime to begin collating the data recovered from being in the Forerunner and Covenant networks. The AI kept control of the Installation's Activation index, unbeknownst to everyone including John-117.''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #9 This experience would be one of the major factors later assuring the AI's descent into rampancy, and attributed to as the cause of a number of Character interludes|believed-software glitches that would later display in John-117's MJOLNIR armor during the later Battle of Earth. Nonetheless, the data recovered by Cortana and the Master Chief - including his recording of the mysterious Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals - would become later known to ONI Section Three, and later used to assist in unlocking further Forerunner mysteries. - ''" PREVIOUSLY, SPARTAN 117 CAME ACROSS A SET OF CURIOUS TERMINALS WHEN FIGHTING HIS WAY THROUGH ALPHA HALO. EACH TERMINAL CONTAINED A VIDEO TRANSMISSION WITH INCREDIBLY VALUABLE INTEL."'' (defunct, ) - ''" OVER FOUR YEARS AGO, ONI RESEARCHERS DISCOVERED A NEW WAY TO UNLOCK HIGHLY ENCRYPTED DATA, USING A SUBSET OF ARCANE FORERUNNER SYMBOLS. THIS DISCOVERY CAME AFTER ANALYSIS OF VIDEO TRANSMISSIONS UNCOVERED ON ALPHA HALO BY SPARTAN 117."'' (defunct, ) By October 20, news of the destruction of Installation 04 had reached the civilian populace of Earth, and a ceremony was held to honor the Spartan.''I love bees'', Axon Clips, Axon Clips Chapter 12|Chapter 12 - "Explanation" Naval intelligence AIs continued to disagree on the Covenant's motives on the ring, with some falsely believing that the Covenant had already found the ring and wanted to prevent humanity from find it also. As part of public awareness campaigns conducted by the ONI Section Two including initiatives like Outpost Discovery, the Battle of Installation 04 was one of many subjects covered by Director Schaefer in File CHELAN 20200303.''ONI Archive Conflict Evolved - Halo: CE Anniversary'' A recount of the battle was later included in the UNSC's Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual|Official Spartan Field Manual.
Following the end of the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios declared a 500 light-second exclusion zone around the site of Installation 04 as part of the Treaty of 2552. The area around Threshold would continue to be extremely dangerous due to uncontrolled Sentinels, volatile Halo fragments, micro-debris, malfunctioning Forerunner artifacts, and the ever-present danger of the Flood making even surreptitious exploration and scavenging too dangerous for most. Nonetheless, in 2556, Spartan Fireteam Apollo would Operation: SHELL GAME|breach the zone and recover the black box of the ''Undiminished Entelechy'', detailing records of transmissions between Thel 'Vadamee and the Minor Prophet of Stewardsahip during the battle. The data recovered would later go on to be used to simulate the War Games simulations "Truth (level)|Truth", "Regret (Halo 5: Guardians map)|Regret" and a variant of "Parallax". During the simulations, the war-era vessels of the Fleet of Particular Justice would be replaced by s.''Halo 5: Guardians'', multiplayer level Truth (level)|Truth
Part of the transcript recovered there would be translated by Diplomatic Corps member Melody Azikiwe and would be included in a message from General R. Dellert to Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood in the same year.
File:HNF-Alpha Shard.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The Alpha Shard. Before the ''Autumn'' exploded, Installation 04 attempted to activate a safety measure and make a slipspace jump. However, the self-preservation protocol was partly successful, and only Alpha Shard|a small portion of the ring managed to enter slipspace. After the battle, the fragment reentered into normal space in the vicinity of a red giant star some distance away from the Orrichon system. The extreme heat of the ''Autumn'''s explosion, comparable to that of a supernova, caused the formation of an entirely new element - Element 120.V - in the fragment, which caused catastrophic breakdown of DNA in certain humans but did not affect other species. The element was refined into a bioweapon and Terrorist attack on Sedra City|unleashed on Sedra, killing or hospitalizing many of the planet's citizens. An automated survey drone deployed by the ''Pillar of Autumn'' prior to the ring's destruction, Recon-14, survived this event and was later employed for remote-survey of the now-designated Alpha Shard.''Halo: Nightfall: RECON-14'' An investigation by Locke's team led them to trace the bioweapon to the shard of Installation 04 and launch Mission to Alpha Shard|a joint mission with the Sedran Colonial Guard to destroy the new element with a HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon. The mission was ultimately successful though only two people survived.
Other debris from the ring would find its way to land on Threshold's moon, Basis. The heretic faction led by Sesa 'Refumee would use it for a time before their destruction by the Arbiter,''Halo 2'', multiplayer level Burial Mounds with the UNSC eventually deploying SPARTAN-IV personnel in the post-war era to assess the wreckage of Alpha Halo across the moon in one of the first tests of the VECTOR-class Mjolnir armor.''Halo 5: Guardians'', VECTOR Armor customization (Halo 5: Guardians)|armory description
Timeline of events
The battle took place between September 19 and September 22, 2552. The ''Pillar of Autumn'' exited slipspace and landed troops on the ring on the 19th, leading to the capture of Alpha Base and eventual raid on ''Truth and Reconciliation'' on the same day. Roughly eighteen hours later, in the early hours of September 20, Lieutenant McKay's raid on the ''Pillar of Autumn'' began, with the Master Chief leading the assaults on the Silent Cartographer and the Control Room on the same day simultaneously to Captain Keyes' investigation of the Flood. By September 21, the Master Chief had investigated the Flood facility and the Library, leading to his and the ODSTs' assault on the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' again, before the ringworld's destruction on September 22.
Participants
The battle's primary participants were the UNSC forces of the ''Pillar of Autumn'' and the Covenant forces of the Fleet of Particular Justice. The Covenant deployed vast amounts of ships and infantry onto the ring, compared to the small force of crew that escaped the Fall of Reach aboard the ''Autumn''.
List of appearances
''Halo: Combat Evolved''
''Halo: The Flood''
*''Halo: The Flood#2010 bonus content|Adjunct''
''Halo: First Strike''
''Halo 2''
''Halo Graphic Novel''
*''The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor''
*''Breaking Quarantine''
''Halo Wars''
''Halo: Evolutions''
*''Wages of Sin''
''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo 4''
''Halo: Broken Circle''
''Halo: Nightfall''
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
''Halo: Shadow of Intent''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo: Tales from Slipspace''
*''Dominion Splinter''
''Halo Wars 2''
''Halo: Fireteam Raven''
''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual''
''Halo: Shadows of Reach''
''Halo: Divine Wind''
''Halo Infinite: Memory Agent''
''Halo Infinite''
''Halo: Outcasts''
''Battle for the Blood-Moon''
Notes
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Installation 04
Category:UNSC victories|Installation 04
Category:Battle of Installation 04| |
|place= Installation 04, Soell system (Archive:Halo Waypoint/2014 to 2020/Universe/Timeline/The Halo Conflict|Archive)
|result= Pyrrhic UNSC victory Destruction of Installation 04
Flood outbreak contained and sterilized Heavy Covenant losses and are forced to retreat All United Nations Space Command|UNSC forces, except for a few survivors, perish
|side1 = * United Nations Space Command
|side2 = * Covenant
|side3 = * Sentinel|Forerunner constructs
|side4 = *Flood
|commanders1 =
Captain (Navy)|Capt. Jacob Keyes Ensign|Ens. William Lovell Major|Maj. Antonio Silva First Lieutenant|1st Lt. Melissa McKay Staff Sergeant|St. Sgt. Avery Johnson UNSC rank structure#Officer ranks|Flight Captain Carol Rawley Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
|commanders2 =
Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee Prophet of Stewardship Minister of Etiology Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee Shipmaster Lat 'Ravamee Soha 'Rolamee Field Master Noga 'Putumee Shipmaster Orna 'Fulsamee
|commanders3 =
343 Guilty Spark
|commanders4 =
Proto-Gravemind
|forces1 =
*200 Naval personnel
*400 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines
*530 Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
**Fireteam Raven
*Two SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-IIs
**John-117
**Linda-058
*AI Cortana
*AI Wellsley
|forces2 =
Fleet of Particular Justice
*''Ascendant Justice''
*''Blameless Conceit''
**''Upright Chalice''
*''Seeker of Truth''
*''Infinite Succor''
**''Brilliant Gift''
*''Purity of Spirit''
*''Truth and Reconcilliation''
*''Undiminished Entelechy''
*Roughly 6 other Ket-pattern battlecruiser|ships''Halo: Combat Evolved'', campaign level The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|The Pillar of Autumn - ''"A dozen Covenant superior battleships against a single Halcyon-class light cruiser. Given those odds I'm content with three...make that four kills."'', Cortana.
*Thousands of ground troops
|forces3 =
Numerous Aggressor Sentinels
|forces4 =
Thousands of Flood forms
|casual1 =
All Marines, ODSTs and naval personnel
* AI Wellsley
*Jacob Keyes
*Melissa McKay
*Antonio Silva
*Carol Rawley
*
|casual2 =
Majority of ground forces
*Minister of Etiology
*Prophet of Stewardship
*Noga 'Putumee
*Lat 'Ravamee
*Soha 'Rolamee
*At least 6 ships destroyed, remaining Fleet retreated''Halo: The Flood'', Halo: The Flood#2010) bonus content|Adjunct - Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit
|casual3 = Complete destruction of all Sentinels on the Installation
|casual4 = Complete destruction of all Flood forms on the Installation
}}
The Battle of Installation 04, also known as the Halo Event, Alpha Halo Conflict''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual'', The Alpha Halo Conflict - p.62-65 and the Halo Conflict,''The Halo Conflict'Halo: Outpost Discovery'', Hall of History - OD_003_HOH_Humanity_Overview refers to a series of skirmishes between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant on the surface of Halo Array|Halo Installation 04, a Forerunner megastructure orbiting the gas giant Threshold. The Flood and the Forerunner Sentinels joined the conflict in its later stages. The battle became the turning point of the Human-Covenant War and ultimately led to the Great Schism.
Background
In the later stages of the Human-Covenant War, it was clear that the UNSC was losing. To try and force an end to the conflict, the Office of Naval Intelligence devised Operation: RED FLAG. Using the fortress world of Reach as bait, the operation would use a specially-modified ship to forcibly board a Covenant capital ship, steal it, capture a Hierarchs|Hierarch and use the hostage as negotiating leverage to end the war.
To undertake this task, the old was chosen and given an UNSC Pillar of Autumn#Specifications|extensive series of refits to improve its combat potential against Covenant ships. The plan would additionally call for the use of all remaining active-duty SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II personnel and a "mission specialist" Artificial intelligence|AI. Additionally, a battalion of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers commanded by Major Antonio Silva were assigned to the vessel for additional support.''Data Drops'', Data Drop #6 Following his performance at the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, Captain Jacob Keyes was chosen to lead the mission.
Ultimately, RED FLAG never went ahead due to the UNSC's disastrous Fall of Reach|defeat at Reach. During the battle on August 30, the majority of the ship's SPARTAN-II complement was deployed groundside to defend the orbital defense generators, with Spartans John-117, Linda-058 and James-005 deployed to Gamma Station to execute the Cole Protocol on the ONI vessel . In the engagement, James was killed and Linda severely injured. Additionally, Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson and Fire Team Charlie assisted the Spartan team and eventually evacuated back to the ''Pillar of Autumn''. With Linda clinically dead, she was placed into a cryo chamber with the hopes of reviving her later. With this, John-117 remained the only operational Spartan left on the ''Pillar of Autumn'' when it finally escaped Reach.
With the loss of a third of her technical staff, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' made an apparently blind jump through slipstream space|slipspace from where they would then make their way to Earth. In reality, the slipspace jump was planned by the Artificial intelligence|AI Cortana, using coordinates from an artifact found on Sigma Octanus IV as well as from an Babd Catha Forerunner complex|object found under the Babd Catha Ice Shelf on Reach. The ''Pillar of Autumn'' departed from the Aszod ship breaking yards on August 30, 2552, and entered slipspace above Reach while the Covenant fleet continued to wreak destruction on the planet.
File:H2A Screenshot ParticularJustice Autumn.jpg|thumb|left|The Fleet of Particular Justice faces down the ''Pillar of Autumn''. The Covenant, primarily the Fleet of Particular Justice led by Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee had acquired the trajectory of the ''Autumn's'' jump and pursued, arriving ''before'' the Autumn due to their faster borer|slipspace drive technology. Following the battle, some UNSC AIs would incorrectly suggest that the Covenant did not follow the ''Autumn'' to ''Halo'', but had in -fact already discovered the ring, and wanted to prevent the humans from finding it too. (Archive:Bungie.net/News/Jason Jones Interviewed By You|Archive)
The ''Autumn'' and the approximately 1,100 humans on it arrived in orbit above the planet Threshold at 01:20 hours on September 19, 2552. At some point after this time, Captain Keyes made a Anniversary Campaign Trailer|transmission that would later be picked up by NAVCOM.''Anniversary Campaign Trailer'' By this time, at least twelve Covenant vessels were already in station, with four battlegroups consisting of three s per group, the Covenant destroyer|destroyer ''Blameless Conceit'', the ''Infinite Succor'', the ''Ascendant Justice'' and the ''Seeker of Truth''. The Covenant additionally established a series of recon pickets around the ring's orbit, which were promptly engaged by the ''Autumn's'' GA-TL1 Longsword escort.
Battle in space
File:HCEA-Concept-PoA-Chief-Profile.jpg|thumb|left|200px|John-117 engaging Covenant forces boarding the ''Pillar of Autumn''
Following their arrival in the system, The Fleet of Particular justice established a presence on the far side of the ringworld and sent out a number of recon picket fighter squadrons to intercept the ''Pillar of Autumn''. Due to the Battle of Installation 04#Covenant fleet unrest|ongoing squabbles between the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee and Minor Prophet of Stewardship, Covenant forces were initially ordered to send out fightercraft and boarding parties to the human cruiser for fear of damaging the ring, though 'Vadamee later returned fire anyway. The UNSC cruiser's Longsword escort mopped up the initial recon pickets, though eventually a Seraph was able to slip its way through the defenses and land a blow across the ''Autumn's'' Titanium-A armor that those on the bridge could feel. The small craft had evidently managed to slip past their patrolling Longswords by powering down. Lieutenant Aki Hikowa sent new orders to the squadron and the Seraph was destroyed almost immediately. Just as Captain Jacob Keyes|Keyes plotted a course to bring his ship closer to Threshold|the gas giant, sensors picked up the approaching squadron of Covenant fighters, followed by boarding craft. Installation 04, a massive ring-shaped Astroengineering|superstructure, made its first appearance to those on the ''Autumn'' as the ship came around the planet and found it suspended at a lagrange point between it and Basis|its moon.
While the Covenant fleet was initially hesistant to open fire on the ''Autumn'', the humans had no such qualms and Cortana was able to estimate three or four kills on Covenant ships before the ''Autumn'' could be taken out. The ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was one such vessel, forced to retreat to ground to make repairs, later becoming the new HQ for the Covenant ground forces. Meanwhile, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was sent wave after wave of Elsedda-pattern Banshee|Banshees, Morsam-pattern Seraph|''Morsam''-pattern Seraphs and boarding craft to force the humans out of their shell.
As Covenant forces began boarding the ''Autumn'', Captain Jacob Keyes ordered Chief Petty Officer Thom Shephard and Petty Officer Third Class Samuel N. Marcus to release Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 from his cryo-chamber. Both officers were killed by Covenant invasion forces while preparing the SPARTAN-II for immediate combat. Shortly thereafter, the ''Autumns Magnetic Accelerator Cannon was sabotaged by the Covenant boarding teams and rendered inoperable.
During the battle, installation Monitor 343 Guilty Spark prepared the defensive , preparing to fire on all vessels who did not return to a minimum one light-year safe distance. Unfortunately, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was not able to receive this transmission. Luckily, the Monitor accessed the ship's databases and upon learning of the humans' status as reclaimers, took the weapons offline and granted them safe passage onto the ring.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal #1
File:KeyesChipCEA.png|thumb|left|The Cole Protocol stipulated that preventing the destruction or capture of a shipboard A.I. by the Covenant was of paramount importance.
Given the loss of their MAC|magnetic accelerator cannon, Captain Keyes made the decision to initiate Article Two of the Cole Protocol. He made the determination that it had become necessary to abandon the cruiser, and in accordance with the protocol, that meant someone would need to be entrusted with the protection of Cortana during the retreat. The captain planned to stay behind to attempt put the ship down himself on the surface of the ring. Cortana protested what she saw as a suicidal decision on Keyes' part, but he simply ordered that she locked in a selection of emergency landing zones and upload them to his Neural interface|neural lace. As for guardianship of the A.I., the job naturally fell to the Master Chief. Her data crystal chip was transferred from a pedestal on the ''Autumn's'' bridge to the housing within the Spartan's MJOLNIR armor. Keyes offered his own M6D magnum to John and wished him good luck just before the Spartan took his leave.
File:HCEA PillarOfAutumn CorridorBattle Concept.jpg|thumb|UNSC Marines fend off Covenant boarders. By the time John, with Cortana now in tow, left the bridge, the Covenant boarders had pushed beyond the areas adjacent to the airlocks they had entered by and had encroached toward the ship's command deck. A wave had been repulsed by the ''Autumn's'' defenders, but it had come close to reaching the bridge. Ammunition for the captain's sidearm was provided in the form of that which John collected from a fallen ensign. The first to fall to its 12.7x40mm M225 Semi-Armor-Piercing High-Explosive rounds was a group of Unggoy.
Now armed with an MA5B assault rifle, John fought his way through the Covenant infesting the ship's corridors in the direction that Cortana led him. He traveled up one level, felling Unggoy, Kig-Yar, and Sangheili as he went. His efforts enabled marines around him to launch a hastily organized counterattack on the boarders. All the while, the ''Autumn'' continued to take hits from enemy vessels. Cortana urged the Master Chief to hurry as Class-3 Bumblebee|lifeboats began to launch for the safety of solid ground.
As fighting within the ship raged on, a small detachment of Unggoy led by one known as Yayap found a way to avoid the violence. Yayap directed those in his charge to take hold of Zuka 'Zamamee|a wounded Special Operations Sangheili|Special Operations Sangheili and bring him safely back to one of the assault boat they had come in on.
The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers aboard had been charged with protecting the network of fusion engines that made up the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' experimental power plant. Under the command of Major Antonio Silva, the ODSTs had managed to hold their position successfully. Once he finally got orders from Captain Keyes that they were abandoning ship, he ordered them to the Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|SOEIVs that would carry them to the alien ringworld below. Only Fireteam Raven, having been separated from the others, did not launch with Silva and the rest. Raven instead fought against boarders on the ship to repel the invasion, under the guidance of the AI Wellsley. During the fighting, the ODSTs conducted an Extra-vehicular activity|space-walk to man the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' M910 Rampart point defense network to fend off incoming waves of space Banshees and Seraph starfighters. The fireteam were eventually forced to retreat back into the ship, however.
Finally nearing the lifeboats, John-117 paused long enough to grab a marine who fell while running for the safety one offered. The Master Chief effortlessly scooped up the man and tossed him inside the Bumblebee designated Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43. He confirmed to the escape lifepod's pilot that they could leave and it blasted free of the ship. Fireteam Raven witnessed the Chief and a few others escaping but did not join them, instead remaining behind to continue engaging the enemy on the way to their SOEIVs. Wellsley contacted them at this moment and urged speed on its members' part. The team fought through many Covenant troops in order to make it to the drop pods and get off the doomed ship.
Among those escaping was Flight Officer Captain Carol Rawley, who, alongside four other pilots, fought her way to the ship's launch bay where its D77-TC Pelicans lay waiting. The Pilots were successfully able to maneuver their craft out of the cruiser's hangar bays as the ship began to enter the ring's atmosphere and were eventually able to put down on the surface. The surviving dropships later played a crucial part in the UNSC campaign on the ring.
File:AutumnDamagedCEA.png|thumb|left|Cortana left behind a very small part of herself in order to assist with the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' descent. The Minor Prophet of Stewardship had additionally ordered the deployment of an Ossoona, Isna 'Nosolee, onto the cruiser. Armed with six plasma grenades and a plasma pistol and cloaked in active camoflage, the Sangheili was to use his helmet-mounted cameras to record the ship for intelligence purposes and try to capture the ship's AI or essential bridge crew. Hidden from plain sight, he avoided direct confrontation when a group of marines backed around a corner toward him, pursued by a pack of Unggoy and Kig-Yar. The Ossoona made his way to the bridge, where he was able to successfully evade being noticed by the humans.
To avoid its evacuating personnel from being shot down by the Covenant warships, Captain Keyes piloted the ''Autumn'' manually, diverting all Covenant attention to the ship as it plummeted towards the Forerunner construct. As the ship was shot down by Covenant warships, most of the cryo-chambers, including Linda-058's, were ejected as per standard UNSC procedure. Once the ''Autumn'' was set on the course, Keyes and the bridge crew would make for their own escape pods followed by 'Nosolee. Although the Sangheili was able to prevent detection, he eventually died at the hand of Keyes inside the escape pod, the captain having noticed the distinct shimmer in the air of the elite's active camouflage systems.
UNSC ground campaign
File:HFR Alpha Base 2.png|250px|thumb|left|UNSC forces from the ''Autumn'' set up Alpha Base on a Forerunner building. The ODSTs battalion under Major Silva made landing on the ring via orbital insertion, in an area roughly three kilometers in diameter. They were quick to organize, meeting up with Silva and Lt. McKay to establish a temporary base of operations. Relying on data provided the Artificial intelligence|AI Wellsley, Silva instructed Lieutenant Melissa McKay to take the battalion's B Company (Pillar of Autumn)|B Company and capture Alpha Base (Installation 04)|a Covenant-held butte to gain a tactical advantage in fighting off Covenant forces. The group had also received word of a group of Pelican pilots who had landed their craft some distance away, and C Company (Pillar of Autumn)|C Company was sent to meet them and prepare for aerial insertion to reinforce McKay. The remaining A Company (Pillar of Autumn)|A Company and D Company (Pillar of Autumn)|D Company remained under the command of Silva directly, and took some time to reinforce their temporary foothold and get some rest. This peace would not last long as the temporary base of operations was assaulted by Covenant ground forces consisting of 50 Sangheili, 100 s and, later, Type-26 Banshees. The defending ODSTs managed to fend off the assault but suffered a loss of 23 ODSTs killed and 16 ODSTs wounded.
Around the time of the Covenant attack, McKay's force engaged the Covenant at the butte and began a slow climb up to the base proper. In the assault, the ODSTs advanced into the butte using a spiraling ramp. Covenant forces responded to this advancement by raining down plasma grenades and unleashing volleys of plasma bolts. The Covenant defense was soon relaxed when a number of ODST companies performed aerial assaults on the defending Covenant forces. McKay's advancement into the butte was halted by a rockfall. Fortunately, McKay managed to find an access into the butte which led to a chamber filled with Covenant explosives. The lieutenant fired a rocket into the chamber, subsequently killing any Covenant force, and led her ODSTs on a lift up to the surface, where they met Major Silva who had arrived and eliminated the remaining Covenant forces.
Following the death of the Covenant spy, the rest of the command shuttle's ride down onto the surface of Installation 04 was uneventful, with the crew disposing of 'Nosolee's body in a nearby crevice once landed. The group would proceed to be harassed and pursued by Covenant Banshees, Spirit dropships and infantry through the rugged terrain, never able to rest for more than a few minutes. After hours of this treatment, Ensign Ellen Dowski began to crack, and seriously suggest giving up and allow themselves to be taken prisoner. To prevent her from being a burden on the group any longer, she was allowed to do so - but only after she was relieved of her firearm, supplies and left tied up for the Covenant to find.
As the day wore on, the remaining group would eventually find themselves in a box canyon, with a Spirit looming overhead. Realising they were finally trapped, the group put down their weapons only to find Dowski emerge from the Covenant dropship with a squad of Sangheili warriors. She identified the Captain, leading to the aliens executing all of the other humans before finally using Dowski's own pistol to kill her - leaving Keyes the only survivor. Keyes was then taken by the Sangheili back to the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' and interrogated for hours.
File:HM-JohnI04-full.jpg|thumb|250px| John-117 exiting a Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43|Bumblebee lifeboat that crashed onto the valleys of Halo. In a state of disarray, several evacuating UNSC personnel eventually landed on the Forerunner construct. Some were killed in the landing while others attempted to get hold of one another and survive the Covenant patrols.
After crash-landing on the Forerunner construct, John-117, the sole survivor of Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43's crash-landing, headed out to get away from Covenant patrols and, under the instructions provided by Cortana, attempted to establish some contact with any surviving human personnel. After evading several patrols and a brief skirmish with a small Covenant lance, John-117 managed to find a group of survivors defending themselves against the aggressive Covenant forces in a Forerunner structure. John established contact with Staff Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson|Johnson and the survivors and assisted them in eliminating and defeating the Covenant forces, later reinforced by three waves. Carol Rawley|Foe Hammer of Echo 419 soon arrived to retrieve the survivors after the elimination of Covenant forces. Witnessing three lifepods flying overhead, Cortana instructed Foe Hammer to disengage her Warthog to support the Spartan's efforts in retrieving and securing the survivors. Two Marines assisted the Spartan in the rescue efforts.''Halo: Combat Evolved'', campaign level Halo (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|Halo At some point, John would find a Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal and record its data. Around this time, 343 Guilty Spark would begin using the terminals to show the history of the ring.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary terminals teaser''
After successfully rescuing the survivors from all three lifepods, Cortana informed everyone of her findings after hacking into the proselytization network|Covenant battlenet; Captain Keyes and a number of personnel survived the landing on the Installation, but have been captured by Covenant forces. The survivors eventually returned to Alpha Base (Installation 04)|Alpha Base to devise a rescue plan for the Captain.
Not all of the troops, however, were able to make landfall and regroup swiftly, with at least one known group able to make landfall in a Ridgeline|forested region of the ring overlooking a large Forerunner relay structure and forming a staging area there. Unfortunately, they were soon wiped out by the Covenant.''Halo: Reach'', multiplayer map Ridgeline - map description () (defunct, Archive:Halo Waypoint/2009 to 2014/Games/Halo: Reach|Archive) () Another group of ODSTs were able to land on the ring near a beam emitter tower, holding off the Covenant until rescue finally came.''Halo: Reach'', Firefight level Installation 04 (map)|Installation 04 Fireteam Raven were able to make landfall on the ring, separated from other UNSC forces. Under the guidance of Wellsley through a mobile communication link, they made their way across the installation's surface.
At least three UNSC Marines would later be captured by the Covenant and taken to the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', locked in the same brig as Captain Keyes.
File:HCEA-Concept-TnR-Hangar.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and his squad kill Covenant on board the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. The surviving human personnel launched a mission to recover Captain Keyes, who was being held aboard the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. Under the cover of night, John-117 and a fireteam of ODSTs boarded the ship via its gravity lift. After several brief engagements aboard the ship, the rescue team managed to establish a secure control of the ship's command center. John-117 went ahead and freed Captain Keyes and several other captured Marines. When they returned to the command center, they found out that the ODSTs had been slaughtered by Stealth Sangheili. Furthermore, Echo 419 was unable to retrieve the rescue party due to Covenant air patrols. Following Cortana's suggestion, Captain Keyes manned a Covenant dropship and returned everyone to Alpha Base.
While Covenant forces were distracted by the ongoing battle at the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', ODST Lieutenant McKay was ordered to stage a raid on the crashed ''Pillar of Autumn'', in order to gain extra supplies to finance the battle effort. The raid was successful; the UNSC forces managed to salvage several of the ship's Warthogs, trailers and four M808B Main Battle Tank|Scorpion tanks along with food supplies and ammunitions. However, when returning the salvaged vehicles to Alpha Base, the convoy was ambushed by Covenant forces led by Noga 'Putumee using Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraiths, Banshees and Ghosts. Despite sizeable Covenant opposition, the UNSC forces managed to withhold the ambush and inflict greater damage on the Covenant forces. During the raid, Fireteam Raven was able to link up with friendly UNSC forces for the first time since landing on the ring twenty-eight hours earlier, and contributed to the raid by manning the mounted machine guns on the convoy's Warthogs.
File:HLC Halo Conflict.png|thumb|250px|The Master Chief aboard Echo 419 approaching the Cartographer.
Using the intelligence gathered by Captain Keyes and Cortana, the human forces amassed a squadron for an assault on the Silent Cartographer island, in their attempt to uncover more information of the Installation. John-117 and a handful of Marines, supported by ''Echo 419'' and ''Bravo 022'', penetrated the Covenant defenses, journeyed deep within the island's chambers and access-ways, and discovered the location of the Installation's control room.
Events leading to the discovery was not easy; the Covenant managed to temporarily lock access to the chambers within the island, prompting John-117 and the Marines to navigate to the island's security chamber. As they deactivated the security, Bravo 22 and its payload fell prey to Covenant fire.
File:ScorpionControlRoom.png|thumb|250px|John-117 leading the assault in a M808 Main Battle Tank|Scorpion.
After the Battle of the Silent Cartographer, Cortana instructed Foe Hammer to deploy them using navigations she gathered from the discovery of the control room. Alone, John-117 was inserted into a network of tunnels occupied by Covenant forces. The Spartan then received a radio transmission from Fireteam Zulu, who were pinned down in a valley, as he fought his way through the network of tunnels. John-117 assisted Fireteam Zulu in eliminating local Covenant forces and their armor support, then journeyed through a system of adjacent canyons until reaching a dead end, where Fireteam Zulu requested to be evacuated.
John-117, with Cortana providing guidance, eventually discovered a large pyramidal structure built into a cliff, on top of which was the control room. Upon reaching the chamber, Cortana accessed the Installation's systems and discovered Flood|a terrible secret quarantined within the Installation. Fearing for Captain Keyes' safety, she instructed Foe Hammer to take John-117 to head to his last known location.
The Flood escapes
File:HCEA-Concept-Chief-Flood.jpg|thumb|250px|John-117 encounters the released Flood in a containment facility At the same time of the Battle of the Silent Cartographer, Captain Keyes, supported by Second squad (Pillar of Autumn)|2nd Squad and Pelican dropship Victor 933, devised a plan to infiltrate a Flood containment facility|presumed weapon cache within a swamp, as per intelligence gathered from 'Qualomee|a captured Sangheili. They later met up with Fire Team Charlie, led by Staff Sergeant Johnson, which had proceeded to the structure and engaged the few scattered Covenant forces they encountered in the upper levels of the facility.
While exploring the lower levels, the UNSC forces came across a sealed door, locked down by the Covenant. With increasing curiosity, the UNSC unlocked the door and explored the containment room. Shortly after, Fire Team Charlie was contacted by a desperate Marine requesting help as he was overwhelmed by non-Covenant hostiles. Seconds later, the fireteam was attacked by a swarm of Pod infectors, infecting Captain Keyes, Privates Riley, Kappus, Manuel Mendoza|Mendoza, Jenkins, Bisenti and several others. Two Marines managed to avoid the infection, one of whom was killed just outside and Paranoid Marine|another who escaped by playing dead. Staff Sergeant Johnson shrugged off the Pod infectors due to his ORION Project|SPARTAN-I enhancements and managed to escape the facility.
File:KeyesJohnsonCEA.png|thumb|left|250px|Marines and Captain Keyes fighting back-to-back against the Pod infectors they released. Three hours after the assault on the Control Room, John-117 arrived near Victor 933's crash site via Echo 419. His travel towards Captain Keyes' last known transmission was met with an abnormally small concentration of Covenant forces, which was easily handled. Upon unlocking the door to the Containment Room, he found Private Jenkins' helmet and accessed its video records. Shortly after, John-117 was attacked by the remaining Flood forms that spewed out of nearby chambers. The Spartan quickly proceeded to escape the facility, combating Pod infectors and Flood combat form|Combat forms. He soon caught up with Corporal Lovik's squad, who were advised by Echo 419 to take refuge at a nearby structure.
The survivors fought their way through the swamp in search of the structure for immediate evacuation. On the site, the survivors were aided by unknown constructs later identified as the Sentinels, under the command of the Installation's Monitor, 04-343 Guilty Spark|343 Guilty Spark. The Monitor teleported the Spartan into the Library, leaving the other survivors to be evacuated by Echo 419.
After discovering a Reclaimer was within reach, 343 Guilty Spark, without hesitation, teleported John-117 into the Library, where he was tasked with the retrieval of the Activation Index. Proceeding into the bowels of the huge structure, the SPARTAN fought off wave after wave of Flood, before the Monitor called in Sentinels to assist him. Upon reaching the central shaft of the Library, John-117 rode another elevator down to the Index to deactivate the security protocols around it. 343 Guilty Spark then took over his role and stored the Index within himself.
Covenant fleet unrest File:H2A Terminals - Thel and Prophet.jpg|thumb|Thel 'Vadamee converses with the Minor Prophet. Following the arrival of the ''Autumn'' in the system, the Fleet of Particular Justice experienced a great amount of unrest, due to conflicting leadership between the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee and the Minor Prophet of Prophet of Stewardship|Stewardship. The two initially met aboard the flagship ''Seeker of Truth'' to contact High Charity and ascertain how to proceed with interpreting Covenant holy scripture. High Charity was unavailable, and the Prophet departed again for ''Ascendant Justice'', declaring that no Covenant ships were to open fire for fear of damaging the holy ring, instead ordering a boarding action to take place.''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #3 Thel would disregard this order and open fire aggressively.
File:H2A Terminals - Fleet waiting for Autumn.jpg|thumb|left|''Seeker of Truth'' and the Covenant fleet in orbit of Installation 04. What would follow was a great deal of bickering and arguing between the two commanders, with the Prophet appropriating fleet military resources for his own personal goals. He would secretly order the ''Undiminished Entelechy'' and sister ship ''Purity of Spirit'' to perform close-range surveys of the ring The Prophet would later order an expeditionary force led by Sesa 'Refumee and Loka 'Bandolee to investigate the Threshold gas mines, leading to 'Vadamee ordering all military forces be concentrated on the human threat. The Prophet would ignore this decree, and order secondary and tertiary artifact recovery groups to investigate the Flood containment facility, believed a weapons cache. The two groups fell silent, leading a fourth group to be dispatched. 'Vadamee would once again order a cease and desist of these actions, with no response given by the Prophet. The Supreme Commander would then dispatch an infantry unit to ''Ascendant Justice'' to relieve the Prophet of command, leading to the boarding party being shot down and 'Vadamee warned that repeated actions would result in further lethality. File:Infinite Succor.jpg|thumb|''Brilliant Gift'' collides with ''Infinite Succor''.
Covenant forces around the Flood containment facility were in disarray due to the release of the Flood. Several dropships were shut down with some captured by the Flood. One particular dropship, the ''Brilliant Gift'', was manned by the Flood towards the Covenant fleet currently hovering over the Installation. The dropship eventually crash-landed on the ''Infinite Succor'' and infected its personnel, unbeknownst to those around the ''Infinite Succor''. Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee responded by deploying a Covenant Special Operations|Special Operations unit led by Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee. The Special Operations unit Infinite Succor#Battle on the Infinite Succor|engaged with its invading aggressor, eventually leaving the injured 'Vadumee as the only survivor of the engagement. The presence of the Flood and its potential of being space-borne was reported to Supreme Commander 'Vadamee.
'Vadamee would proceed to order an emergency quarantine response for the fleet, ordering all vessels evacuate the ring and to report a full biometric scan of their crew, and for uninfected vessels to fire on those who did not respond. The ''Undiminished Entelechy'' would be among those infected by the Flood and shot down by 'Vadamee, crash-landing on the ring. The ring's environmental control systems would quickly accelerate plant growth on the wreckage in the short time the wreckage remained intact.
With the failure of the Covenant forces on the ground to control the Flood outbreak, the Minor Prophet would order the execution of Soha 'Rolamee, and proceed to move himself and his security contingent to ''Truth and Reconciliation'', ordering the crew to police the ship and detain anyone who would threaten the consecration, even the Supreme Commander. The Prophet presented 'Rolamee's severed head to Zuka 'Zamamee as a warning against repeated failures like the failure of 'Rolamee to contain the Flood, or Zuka to kill the Master Chief. 'Vadamee would later proceed to personally lead a team to take control of ''Ascendant Justice'', taking the ship without firing a shot.
As the Flood continued to spread, the Covenant battlenet would fall into chaos. Jiralhanae troops assigned to the fleet relayed several accounts of the ground actions to the fleet, but these accounts were later considered unreliable due to panic, confusion and excuse for failure. The fleet also deployed Kig-Yar Sniper teams armed with Type-50 Alpha beam rifle|T-50 beam rifles during the Flood onslaught.''Halo 5: Guardians'', Type-50 Alpha beam rifle List of REQ cards/Power Weapons|REQ card
Late stages of conflict
In the early hours of September 21, the Covenant returned to assault Alpha Base, initiated by an air insertion and then followed by a ground advancement. Using a Charlie 217|captured Pelican dropship and its Rick Hale|captured pilot, the Covenant attempted to insert 30 Special Operations Sangheili, led by Special Operations Officer Zuka 'Zamamee to assassinate the apparently absent Spartan and clear a landing zone for six Spirit dropships for immediate evacuation. The officer had been successfully able to convince the prophet to allow the attack, aiming to kill the Spartan before he could cause the Covenant any more trouble.
The air insertion was quickly discovered by the human forces on Alpha Base, who flooded the Pelican dropship with jet fuel before igniting it, killing twenty-four Sangheili. The six Sangheili managed to escape into the base, neutralizing the human control rooms and liberated the captured Covenant soldiers. However, the MLA auto-cannons and various other defense systems employed by the human forces managed to destroy several incoming Spirit dropships. A large amount of Covenant troops were able to make it into the base, however, including Hunters and Grunts, thanks to the deployment of the ''Upright Chalice''. The Covenant forces landing on the butte were soon either killed or captured, and the assault on Alpha Base stalled. During the midst of the fighting, Fireteam Raven were recalled to the ice canyons near the Installation's control room to assist John-117 in fighting a new threat near the Installation's Control Room.
The ground assault, led by Field Master Noga 'Putumee, made significant progress against the humans due to their use of Spirit dropships to clear the way ahead of the ground forces. However, the seeming route was designed to lure the Covenant into the firing range of a pair of concealed Scorpion tanks, which then tore into the ranks of the aliens and inflicted major casualties. Field Master 'Putumee was killed by the third shot from the tanks, throwing the Covenant forces into chaos - of the 150 infantry with him, only a few survived to retreat. Meanwhile, the surviving Covenant Special Operations team from the air insertion phase and the freed Covenant troops ran into an ambush devised by the Marines, in which all members of both sides were killed other than Zuka 'Zamamee and Yayap, both of whom fled in a recaptured Banshee. By this time, however, the Covenant ground assault was in full retreat.
File:TwoBetrayalsAnniversary.png|thumb|250px|Cortana revealing Halo's true nature to John-117 as Guilty Spark looks on. Following the Master Chief and Fireteam Zulu's capture of the control room, the Covenant returned in force to retake the structure and heavily fortified the ice canyons surrounding the region, with numerous Banshee air patrols and heavy vehicles. However, they were unable to breach the facility and were locked out. The Flood began to pour into the region to combat the Covenant and Sentinels there, likely intending to take the control room offline and prevent the activation of the ring. By the time 343 Guilty Spark was able to teleport the Spartan back to the control room to prepare for firing, the Flood and Covenant were heavily entrenched.
As the two prepared to activate Halo, Cortana stopped the firing - having discovered the Installation's true purpose after extended time inside the control room's systems. The UNSC AI then revealed the installation's true purpose to the SPARTAN; destroy all life in the galaxy to starve the Flood of its food source. 343 Guilty Spark, unable to purge Cortana from the installation's system due to her having merged with the Index, instructed his Sentinels to eliminate the Spartan and retrieve the UNSC AI from the Spartan's helmet.
File:HCEA TwoBetrayals Banshee Concept.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 flying to a generator John-117, after destroying the Sentinels and eliminating the patrolling Covenant forces, followed Cortana's instructions to destroy the three Phase pulse generator|Phase Pulse Generators to delay the firing process, should the Monitor manage to circumvent the firing protocols. As the Spartan joined the now-four way skirmish in the region, Fireteam Raven were airlifted in from Alpha Base to assist in weakening enemy forces in the region to allow the Master Chief to escape. They would provide close air support coverage in their UH-144 Falcon for a time before deploying onto the ground to begin combat - at one point being saved by the Spartan from an encroaching Flood Juggernaut. Flood and Covenant forces in the area would be severely weakened thanks to Raven's actions, allowing the Spartan to complete his task much quicker. Upon the destruction of the third generator, Cortana suggested they destroy Halo to prevent future use of the installation by enabling the ''Autumn's'' self-destruct system. She then utilized the teleportation grid to transport the two to the damaged ''Truth and Reconciliation'' to rescue Captain Keyes to obtain the proper authorization.
Fireteam Raven would ultimately hold off long enough to be extracted via Falcon, though a luckily-timed Wraith plasma mortar hit the helicopter, rendering it severely damaged.
File:Annivesary, conflict.jpg|thumb|350px|UNSC, Covenant, and Flood battle for supremacy. The morning following the Covenant attack on Alpha Base, Silva and McKay met to review the situation of the ODST battalion on the ring. With Keyes out of the picture, command fell back to the Major, who surmised that the best defense is a good offense. Silva proposed to engage the Covenant forces in a medium conflict and instructed Lieutenant McKay to plan out the operation. McKay decided to use the burned-out remains of Charlie 217, mock-injured Marines, and a phony distress call as baits to lure the Covenant into an ambush. This operation was further strengthened when Wellsley informed them of the Covenant's increased interest in intelligence gathering by monitoring the radio traffic and conducting reconnaissance flights after the human raid on the ''Truth and Reconciliation''.
The operation began when the human forces "informed" a patrolling Banshee of the hostile location, using 3rd Squad - made to look like they had been injured in the "crash" - as bait. When the Banshee retreated presumably to report its findings of the enemy location, human forces abandoned their mock location and waited for the incoming Covenant forces. The first wave was a Spirit dropship with a lance of Unggoy, Kig-yar and Sangheili along with a pair of Mgalekgolo. The first wave was handled rather quickly; Lieutenant McKay ordered those with heavy weapons to concentrate on the Hunters before engaging the lance. Soon, the dropship returned and unleashed volleys of plasma on the entire area, forcing the human forces to take cover. Covenant ground forces were deployed as the dropship retreated and began engaging the human forces into the rocks. The human snipers managed to eliminate five Covenant soldiers before the dropship exacted the position; unfortunately, their positions was exposed and resulted with two snipers killed and one wounded by plasma fire. The operation turned awry as the Covenant had the advantage over the human forces' territory.
Just as Lieutenant McKay was about to issue a retreat order, both forces were attacked by a newer force, the Flood. While the Covenant had some experience in combating the Flood, the human forces had none. Both forces were in disarray and were massacred by the Flood. After the Flood combat form|combat forms slashed their way through combatants, the Pod infectors burrowed themselves into corpses and helpless victims and turned them into even more combat forms. In the ensuing horror, Lieutenant McKay was confronted by Jenkins, now a combat form with limited control of his body and desperately trying to make McKay kill him. The Lieutenant, however, disarmed and restrained the Flood form, hoping to use it as a specimen to study the Flood. The attack forced both human and Covenant to join forces and fend off the Flood. After successfully eliminating the Flood threat, both groups returned to killing one another. At the end, the human forces claimed a pyrrhic victory with heavy casualties.
File:HFR RavenDown Fighting.png|thumb|350px|Fireteam Raven fight off Covenant forces inside the Forerunner structure. During their extraction, Fireteam Raven's Falcon would be shot down, crashlanding on a remote part of the ring. In this region, the Covenant had made fortification inside another Forerunner structure, with dozens of infantry including Evocati and Mgalekgolo. By the time Raven arrived, the Flood were besieging the outpost. Retreating into the structure, Raven would fend off hordes of Flood and Covenant including Flood Juggernauts. A Pelican was dispatched to rescue the ODSTs, but constant Banshee attacks made landing difficult, though they were eventually able to reunite with UNSC forces and make an assault on the crash site of the ''Autumn''.
Elsewhere, elements of the 79th Infantry Battalion would be engaged by the Flood. Unidentified private|One Private would reach his escape pod, Lima Foxtrot Alpha 19, and attempt to make an SOS call. He was ultimately killed by the Flood. The other group of humans who had formed a staging ground on the ring would be wiped by a Covenant attack. Following the raid on the ''Pillar of Autumn'', the Covenant under command of 'Ontomee retook control of the cruiser crash site and fortified it with more infantry and vehicles including Banshees, Ghosts and Wraiths. However, the ongoing conflict around the ring left the garrison severely understaffed and exhausted. The Flood began to attack the ship, seizing control of the engineering decks. As if the garrison was cursed, an army of Aggressor Sentinels arrived not long after. Zuka 'Zamamee and Yayap arrived at the cruiser, with Zuka taking the identity of Huki 'Umamee, a Sangheili Special Operation Officer who was slain at Alpha Base - and were immediately put on duty, with 'Ontomee glad for the reinforcement. Yayap was given command of twenty Kig-Yar and put on patrol work. Ultimately, his orders to double-check every shipment of supplies that came in would prove useful, with his cohort narrowly avoiding bringing a crate full of infection forms onto the ship.
Having narrowly survived the ambush by the Flood and battle with the Covenant, McKay's platoon returned to Alpha Base with several specimens of dead Flood forms and a captured Jenkins. She briefed Major Silva on what was understood of the Flood threat, before the Major ordered the bodies burnt. Jenkins was locked up in a cell under heavy guard, where he attempted to commit suicide twice, before lunging at McKay and breaking a bone in his arm in the process. The extreme pain was enough to temporarily subdue the infection form controlling Jenkins' body, giving him just enough control to point down in response to Silva's question; where would the Flood attack Alpha Base? McKay and a team led by Sergeant Lister prepared near a large grate at the bottom of the mesa; the grate had been battered by hundreds of energy weapons - the Flood had been trying for days to break through and attack the human stronghold. Within a matter of days, they may just succeed. A full company was summoned to drop down into the pit below and cover a team of engineers, who would weld large panels in place to prevent the Flood from breaking through for a few more days - enough to buy time to get off the ring. A team of six Helljumpers fast-roped into the pit and used their helmet-mounted cameras to provide data for the Navy technicians to create four "plugs" to seal the breach. The team were attacked from the darkness by a handful of Flood combat forms, leading them to retreat while grenades were dropped into the hole.
Ten minutes later, a larger combat team was inserted into the hole with four tech teams, and were successfully able to seal the breach without incident before repairing the grate. The defense wouldn't hold out forever, but long enough to let the humans plan out their escape route.
File:Protograve.png|thumb|250px|The assimilated Keyes is discovered by John-117. Following the fleet-wide order to evacuate, the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was beset upon by the Flood, attempting to capture the cruiser and use it to escape the ring. The Covenant deployed a strike team to cleanse the ship and ready it for departure, but the security forces would remain bogged down in the fight on the surface against a tidal wave of the parasite. After getting teleported by Cortana into the halls of the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', John-117 continued with his objective in rescuing Captain Keyes and having him authorize the self-destruction of the ''Autumn''. The pair found themselves in the middle of an ongoing battle between Covenant forces and the Flood forms for the control of the damaged battlecruiser. The SPARTAN fought his way through waves of Covenant and Flood forces and arrived at the bridge where Keyes was located. The pair soon discovered that the captain had been turned into one of the Flood, a Proto-Gravemind. With no other choice, John-117 forcefully obtained the captain's command neural interface from his skull and quickly retreated for the hangars, stealing a Banshee to make haste for the ''Autumn''.
By September 22, only 312 humans (236 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines and 76 UNSC Navy|Navy personnel) remained alive at Alpha Base. In order to escape back to Earth, Major Silva concocted a plan to capture the Flood-infested ''Truth and Reconciliation'', and use it to bring the remaining troops plus captured samples of Covenant technology and Flood forms to Earth. Despite the AI Wellsley's warnings, the humans proceeded with the attack, inserting several Pelicans' worth of troops into the cruiser's shuttle bays while an additional team led by McKay captured the gravity lift. Thanks to the previous raid, McKay had the advantage of foreknowledge of the ship's layout, and established control of the command center, engineering and eighty percent of the rest of the ship. The lightning raid was so successful that the troops even managed to capture the Minor Prophet of Stewardship and his security detail, though the Prophet was able to send out an emergency rescue request to all Covenant vessels in the vicinity.
The humans quickly began to lift the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' off the ringworld, with the activity spurring the Flood inside the ship's engineering corridors to attack the UNSC personnel stationed there. Although the Flood in engineering were quickly killed, Lieutenant McKay was worried about more potential Flood attacks. She urged Major Silva to eliminate the Flood aboard the ship before leaving the ring. Silva, however, refused to do so, as he wanted to bring live Flood specimens back to Earth for study. Knowing that Silva's ambitions would likely doom Earth to Flood infestation, McKay decided to sabotage the ship's system by severing the fiber-optic passage connecting the engines to the command center. The ship was destroyed shortly after as a result, killing all aboard.
File:HCEA-Concept-Maw-WarthogRun.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and Cortana escape the ''Autumn'' as its engines go critical. Having been extracted from the war between the Covenant and Flood, Fireteam Raven were deployed via M12B Warthog with a new mission; assist a convoy of UNSC Marine forces making one final assault on the ''Pillar of Autumn''. The assault consisted of a handful of Falcon gunships, Warthogs and Pelicans attempting to distract Covenant forces to buy time for John-117 to complete his mission. The convoy fought through heavy Covenant resistance, including Phantoms and Wraiths before being alerted to the arrival of the Spartan in a Banshee commandeered from the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. Although the Covenant aircraft largely ignored the Banshee - thinking it one of their own - the in the region began to bear down on it, chased by Fireteam Raven.
The Spartan, through Cortana's instruction, fought his way to the ship's bridge. The UNSC AI started the ship's self-destruct sequence, only to discover to her dismay that the Guilty Spark had halted the sequence. Cortana deduced that the Monitor was in Engineering and was attempting to take the ''Autumn's'' engines offline. John-117 decided to overload the engines by manually cracking the engine's magnetic containment fields.
During the battle aboard the ''Autumn'', the few remaining UNSC survivors rallied for a final defensive action around the crash site to prevent the Covenant or the Flood from interfering with the Chief's mission, having learned of his intentions to destroy the ring. The Covenant sent a to destroy the UNSC forces and then to ambush the Chief aboard the cruiser, but this assault was thwarted by the ODSTs of Fireteam Raven. The remaining Marine forces were then overrun and all survivors in the immediate vicinity were left at the mercy of the ''Autumn's'' imminent detonation.
File:PoADestructionCEA.jpg|thumb|250px|The ''Autumn's'' engines detonate, destroying the Halo Installation. The Spartan fought his way through Cryo B to reach Engineering. Following Cortana's instructions, he destroyed each of the four engines by launching explosives into the open shafts, destabilizing the containment fields. Cortana calculated that the pair had 15 minutes to evacuate the ship before the engines detonated. The Spartan headed for the shaft of elevator V-1269, where he was ambushed by Zuka 'Zamamee. The trap almost succeeded, but with Cortana's help, the Chief killed Zuka 'Zamamee by knocking the Sangheili to the bottom of the shaft. He then rode the elevator to a Class-7 Service Corridor located along the ship's dorsal structure. Using a Warthog, he drove along the length of the Corridor to External Access Junction 4C, where Echo 419 was to pick the Chief up one last time. However, two Banshees shot down the Pelican, killing Foe Hammer. John-117 was then forced to drive to Launch Bay 7, where a single GA-TL1 Longsword|Longsword fighter was still docked. The Spartan successfully boarded the ship and escaped Halo. Moments later, the ''Autumn's'' engines detonated, blowing a five-kilometer hole in the region around the ship and destroying Halo - bringing the battle to an end.
Realising the impending fate of the ringworld, Supreme Commander 'Vadamee ordered all remaining ships of the Fleet of Particular Justice to take cover behind the gas giant Threshold, ignoring the request made by the Minor Prophet.
Aftermath
}}
File:Installation04destroyed.png|thumb|250px|The breakup of Installation 04.
Although the ringworld was destroyed, it did not mark the end of conflict in the Soell system. After the destruction of Installation 04 and John-117's successful escape, Cortana scanned the installation's debris field for survivors. Soon, multiple Covenant capital ships entered the system. Cortana discovered several cryo pods jettisoned from the ''Pillar of Autumn'' during the initial battle, one of which contained Linda-058, and a Pelican dropship with several survivors. John-117 picked up the survivors in the Longsword, and with their help, boarded and hijacked the Covenant flagship ''Ascendant Justice'' and Raid on Reach|headed for Reach. The ''Seeker of Truth'' and Supreme Commander 'Vadamee would soon depart for ''High Charity''. During the interim, 'Vadamee would write a Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Manual#Report on the Atrocity at Halo|''Report on the Atrocity at Halo'', detailing his failure to protect the ring and combining the intelligence on John-117 and the UNSC taken from his engagements at Reach and Installation 04''Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Manual'' as well as send a copy of a Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit|Priority Broadcast Log taken from transmissions detailing the conflict between 'Vadamee and the Prophet to Lak 'Vadamee, wishing for Lak to know the truth of events before his hearing. The commander was tried in front of the High Council and stripped of rank, ultimately only spared a public execution due to the machinations of the Prophet of Truth, who esteemed the title of Arbiter on the disgraced Sangheili. 'Vadamee was given a new mission; eliminate the group of heretics led by Sesa 'Refumee now holed up in the gas mines of Threshold.
'Refumee had been tasked to explore the gas mines of Threshold by the Minor Prophet of Stewardship during the battle at Installation 04, and was eventually the one to receive 343 Guilty Spark following the ring's destruction. The Monitor was able to survive the destruction of the Installation, and had similarly arrived at the gas mines, wherein he proceeded to tell 'Refumee the truth about the Halo Array.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal 11''Halo 2: Anniversary'', Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals Following the Monitor's revelations, 'Refumee devoted himself to spreading the truth of Halo to all the Covenant. A month later on October 20, the now-rebranded Arbiter and fellow Installation 04 veteran Rtas 'Vadumee would lead a team to Raid on the Threshold gas mine|raid the gas mines and destroy the heretics once and for all, capturing the Monitor in the process.
The battle on Alpha Halo resulted in more than just a UNSC victory, however. It sparked a series of events that would change the course of the entire war. The new Arbiter would play a major role in the events of the Battle of Installation 05 and the Battle of Earth. The High Prophets also would exploit the political fallout resulting from Halo's destruction to further their own plans to supplant the Sangheili ranks with their rivals among the Jiralhanae, whose blind faith they favored over the Sangheili's pragmatism. This led to the Great Schism upon learning the truth of Prophet of Truth's plan to replace Sangheili with Jiralhanae.
Triggered by the destruction of Installation 04, Installation 00|the Ark immediately initiated the construction of Installation 08|a replacement to Installation 04. Before the replacement ring was completed, John-117 and Cortana activated it to defeat the Flood and the Gravemind. By 2559, the Ark had finished the construction of a Installation 09|second replacement, which the crew of the attempted to launch to the Soell system to signal the UNSC, but the ring was ultimately intercepted by a Guardian en route. The ring's destruction would trigger other Forerunner installations, emitting a signal that placed them all in standby mode. One such installation would be the Onyx Sentinel|specialized Sentinels guarding the shield world of Onyx, leading to their awakening and the start of the Onyx Conflict.
File:HaloAJ.png|thumb|left|''Ascendant Justice'' lurks in the debris of the ring. Only six known members of the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' crew survived the Halo event. A Pelican hiding in the debris field carried four survivors, Shiela Polaski|Warrant Officer Shiela Polaski, Sergeant Avery Johnson, Shock Trooper Locklear|Corporal Locklear, and an Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI Lieutenant, Elias Haverson. John-117 had managed to retrieve three cryo-tubes, one of which contained his fellow Spartan team member, Linda-058. Linda, who had been clinically dead since the Fall of Reach, was resuscitated at a later time. The people in the other two tubes had died in sleep due to malfunctions. It is not known whether this was a malfunction in one of the cryo storage rooms, or if it happened to almost every tube. Every other person at the battle presumably died when Installation 04 was destroyed. The Museum of Humanity would later list a Sergeant Thomas Chang as having survived the battle.
File:TML - Ring.jpg|thumb|The ''Mona Lisa'' amongst the remains of the ringworld. Following the battle, this group of UNSC survivors led by John-117 would proceed to Skirmish over Threshold|board and capture the ''Ascendant Justice'' and use it to make their way Raid on Reach|back to Reach. This sequence of events would lead the group to commencing Operation: FIRST STRIKE, ultimately destroying a Truth's fleet|fleet of over 500 Covenant warships assembled by the Prophet of Truth in preparation to assault Earth. The survivors would return back to Earth by October 19, leading the UNSC to deploy several recovery convoys of Prowlers.''Eleventh Hour reports'': Part 5 - Subject: Heirlooms One such Prowler, the , would be sent to investigate the ONI vessel ''Mona Lisa'' and Operations: RED CLOUD and WHITE SAND. (defunct, Catalog/Archive/2014#Post .233|Archive) During the operations, the ''Mona Lisa'' would take aboard several samples of the Flood, eventually experimenting with the Flood on Covenant and human prisoners alike, leading to an outbreak on the ship. The ''Red Horse'' would investigate shortly following the departure of the Covenant fleet from the system on October 25, leading to a brief Skirmish on Mona Lisa|skirmish between the Marine survivors and infected Flood, resulting in the deaths of nearly all involved. The ''Red Horse'' was able to gather data on several outlying installations such as one structure similar to the Threshold gas mines employed by Sesa 'Refumee, later employed in the War Games as "Colossus (map)|Colossus".
File:H5-Truth-Ships.png|thumb|The simulated Fleet of Particular Justice on "Truth". During the return journey home, Cortana would write a Halo 2 Manual#Secret Transmission .2B Master Chief Section|report on the conflict,''Halo 2 Manual'' while also using the downtime to begin collating the data recovered from being in the Forerunner and Covenant networks. The AI kept control of the Installation's Activation index, unbeknownst to everyone including John-117.''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #9 This experience would be one of the major factors later assuring the AI's descent into rampancy, and attributed to as the cause of a number of Character interludes|believed-software glitches that would later display in John-117's MJOLNIR armor during the later Battle of Earth. Nonetheless, the data recovered by Cortana and the Master Chief - including his recording of the mysterious Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals - would become later known to ONI Section Three, and later used to assist in unlocking further Forerunner mysteries. - ''" PREVIOUSLY, SPARTAN 117 CAME ACROSS A SET OF CURIOUS TERMINALS WHEN FIGHTING HIS WAY THROUGH ALPHA HALO. EACH TERMINAL CONTAINED A VIDEO TRANSMISSION WITH INCREDIBLY VALUABLE INTEL."'' (defunct, ) - ''" OVER FOUR YEARS AGO, ONI RESEARCHERS DISCOVERED A NEW WAY TO UNLOCK HIGHLY ENCRYPTED DATA, USING A SUBSET OF ARCANE FORERUNNER SYMBOLS. THIS DISCOVERY CAME AFTER ANALYSIS OF VIDEO TRANSMISSIONS UNCOVERED ON ALPHA HALO BY SPARTAN 117."'' (defunct, ) By October 20, news of the destruction of Installation 04 had reached the civilian populace of Earth, and a ceremony was held to honor the Spartan.''I love bees'', Axon Clips, Axon Clips Chapter 12|Chapter 12 - "Explanation" Naval intelligence AIs continued to disagree on the Covenant's motives on the ring, with some falsely believing that the Covenant had already found the ring and wanted to prevent humanity from find it also. As part of public awareness campaigns conducted by the ONI Section Two including initiatives like Outpost Discovery, the Battle of Installation 04 was one of many subjects covered by Director Schaefer in File CHELAN 20200303.''ONI Archive Conflict Evolved - Halo: CE Anniversary'' A recount of the battle was later included in the UNSC's Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual|Official Spartan Field Manual.
Following the end of the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios declared a 500 light-second exclusion zone around the site of Installation 04 as part of the Treaty of 2552. The area around Threshold would continue to be extremely dangerous due to uncontrolled Sentinels, volatile Halo fragments, micro-debris, malfunctioning Forerunner artifacts, and the ever-present danger of the Flood making even surreptitious exploration and scavenging too dangerous for most. Nonetheless, in 2556, Spartan Fireteam Apollo would Operation: SHELL GAME|breach the zone and recover the black box of the ''Undiminished Entelechy'', detailing records of transmissions between Thel 'Vadamee and the Minor Prophet of Stewardsahip during the battle. The data recovered would later go on to be used to simulate the War Games simulations "Truth (level)|Truth", "Regret (Halo 5: Guardians map)|Regret" and a variant of "Parallax". During the simulations, the war-era vessels of the Fleet of Particular Justice would be replaced by s.''Halo 5: Guardians'', multiplayer level Truth (level)|Truth
Part of the transcript recovered there would be translated by Diplomatic Corps member Melody Azikiwe and would be included in a message from General R. Dellert to Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood in the same year.
File:HNF-Alpha Shard.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The Alpha Shard. Before the ''Autumn'' exploded, Installation 04 attempted to activate a safety measure and make a slipspace jump. However, the self-preservation protocol was partly successful, and only Alpha Shard|a small portion of the ring managed to enter slipspace. After the battle, the fragment reentered into normal space in the vicinity of a red giant star some distance away from the Orrichon system. The extreme heat of the ''Autumn'''s explosion, comparable to that of a supernova, caused the formation of an entirely new element - Element 120.V - in the fragment, which caused catastrophic breakdown of DNA in certain humans but did not affect other species. The element was refined into a bioweapon and Terrorist attack on Sedra City|unleashed on Sedra, killing or hospitalizing many of the planet's citizens. An automated survey drone deployed by the ''Pillar of Autumn'' prior to the ring's destruction, Recon-14, survived this event and was later employed for remote-survey of the now-designated Alpha Shard.''Halo: Nightfall: RECON-14'' An investigation by Locke's team led them to trace the bioweapon to the shard of Installation 04 and launch Mission to Alpha Shard|a joint mission with the Sedran Colonial Guard to destroy the new element with a HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon. The mission was ultimately successful though only two people survived.
Other debris from the ring would find its way to land on Threshold's moon, Basis. The heretic faction led by Sesa 'Refumee would use it for a time before their destruction by the Arbiter,''Halo 2'', multiplayer level Burial Mounds with the UNSC eventually deploying SPARTAN-IV personnel in the post-war era to assess the wreckage of Alpha Halo across the moon in one of the first tests of the VECTOR-class Mjolnir armor.''Halo 5: Guardians'', VECTOR Armor customization (Halo 5: Guardians)|armory description
Timeline of events
The battle took place between September 19 and September 22, 2552. The ''Pillar of Autumn'' exited slipspace and landed troops on the ring on the 19th, leading to the capture of Alpha Base and eventual raid on ''Truth and Reconciliation'' on the same day. Roughly eighteen hours later, in the early hours of September 20, Lieutenant McKay's raid on the ''Pillar of Autumn'' began, with the Master Chief leading the assaults on the Silent Cartographer and the Control Room on the same day simultaneously to Captain Keyes' investigation of the Flood. By September 21, the Master Chief had investigated the Flood facility and the Library, leading to his and the ODSTs' assault on the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' again, before the ringworld's destruction on September 22.
Participants
The battle's primary participants were the UNSC forces of the ''Pillar of Autumn'' and the Covenant forces of the Fleet of Particular Justice. The Covenant deployed vast amounts of ships and infantry onto the ring, compared to the small force of crew that escaped the Fall of Reach aboard the ''Autumn''.
List of appearances
''Halo: Combat Evolved''
''Halo: The Flood''
*''Halo: The Flood#2010 bonus content|Adjunct''
''Halo: First Strike''
''Halo 2''
''Halo Graphic Novel''
*''The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor''
*''Breaking Quarantine''
''Halo Wars''
''Halo: Evolutions''
*''Wages of Sin''
''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo 4''
''Halo: Broken Circle''
''Halo: Nightfall''
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
''Halo: Shadow of Intent''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo: Tales from Slipspace''
*''Dominion Splinter''
''Halo Wars 2''
''Halo: Fireteam Raven''
''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual''
''Halo: Shadows of Reach''
''Halo: Divine Wind''
''Halo Infinite: Memory Agent''
''Halo Infinite''
''Halo: Outcasts''
''Battle for the Blood-Moon''
Notes
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Installation 04
Category:UNSC victories|Installation 04
Category:Battle of Installation 04| |
Special Operations Commander|Commander Rtas 'Vadumee Shipmaster Gargantum Jiralhanae Captain|Captain Melchus
|commanders3=Gravemind
|forces1=
UNSC Navy
*Stalwart-class light frigate
**
***M808B Scorpions
***M12 Chaingun Warthogs
***D77-TC Pelicans
*John-117
UNSC Marine Corps
*Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODSTs Fleet of Retribution s
*''Eternal Reward''
*''Shadow of Intent''
s s s Covenant destroyer|Destroyers Sangheili Mgalekgolo Unggoy s s Type-26 Banshees s
--- Forerunner constructs Aggressor Sentinels
|forces2=
Covenant forces High Charity Second Fleet of Homogeneous Clarity
*Covenant frigate|Frigates sHalo: Shadow of Intent (Google Play edition), ''pages 46-47''
s s Covenant destroyer|Destroyers Jiralhanae Kig-Yar Yanme'e Sangheili Mgalekgolo Unggoy Prelates Wraiths Spectres Banshees Scarab Ghosts
|forces3=*Flood forms
*Pod infectors
*Flood combat form|Combat forms
*Flood carrier form|Carrier forms
*1 Gravemind
|forces4=*Aggressor Sentinels Sentinel Majors Enforcers
|casual1=*''In Amber Clad''
Many infantry and vehicular losses Large numbers of assorted starships Large numbers of Sentinels and Enforcers
|casual2=*''High Charity'' captured Prophets of Regret and Mercy Tartarus Many infantry and vehicular losses Large numbers of assorted starships
|casual3=*All Flood forms on the surface of Installation 05
Numerous assorted Flood forms in orbit
|casual4=*Large numbers of Sentinels and Enforcers Sentinel construction factory}}
The Battle of Installation 05, also known as the battle for the Second Ring of the Gods among the Covenant,Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, ''page 241'' was a major engagement in early 2552#November|November 2552 between the Covenant, the Flood, and the United Nations Space Command, with the aid of Forerunner Sentinels and the Fleet of Retribution|Sangheili on the Forerunner Halo Array|ringworld Installation 05, otherwise known as "Delta Halo".
The battle saw the Covenant separatists|splintering of the Covenant empire as the Great Schism began, and the formation of an alliance between humanity and the Sangheili of the Fleet of Retribution, led by Thel 'Vadam and Rtas 'Vadum.
Prelude At some point, an ancilla warned the monitor of Installation 052401 Penitent Tangentof a pending outbreak in one the installation's Flood containment facility|Flood containment facilities. However, Penitent Tangent ignored the warning, and those that followed, for millennia. The installation's sentinels managed to keep the Flood largely contained in the Quarantine Zone around the Library, although the machines never managed to fully destroy the infestation.Halo 3, multiplayer map ''Cold Storage Cold Storage Reports|transmissions'' Eventually, a Gravemind formed on the installation and captured Penitent Tangent.Halo 2, campaign level ''Gravemind (level)|Gravemind''
File:H2A - In Amber Clad approaches Halo.png|thumb|250px|left|''In Amber Clad'' approaches Installation 05. At the beginning of the Battle of Earth in 2552#October|October 20, 2552, the Prophet of Regret led Fleet of Sacred Consecration, which contained two s and thirteen s on an expeditionary raid that stumbled upon Earth, humanity's homeworld and the UNSC's strongest fortress.Halo 2, campaign level ''Cairo Station'' After substantial ground, air, and space losses, and faced with the possibility of being overrun on the ground and intercepted by UNSC ships if it tried to escape to orbit, Regret ordered a retreat. With Regret aboard, ''Solemn Penance'' made an emergency in-atmosphere slipspace jump over New Mombasa, with the following it into slipspace.Halo 2, campaign level ''Metropolis''
At Terrence Hood|Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood's order, , , , and were sent to follow and assist the ''In Amber Clad'' with the heavy assault carrier, as they were the closest, fastest UNSC ships to the carrier with charged slipspace capacitors. The ships intended to find out where the assault carrier was heading, or destroy the ship entirely to kill Regret.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, ''pages 185-186'' Their shadowing, however, was not exactingly precise. Only the frigate ''In Amber Clad'' successfully trailed the assault carrier to its destination. ''Dusk'', a prowler, arrived a day later near the Covenant holy city of ''High Charity''. While ''Coral Sea'' and ''Redoubtable'' conducted scans of Delta Halo's surface, the fate of the ''Paris'' is unknown.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, ''page 189''
The battle
On 2552#November|November 2, 2552, ''Solemn Penance'' exited slipspace over Installation 05, orbiting Substance in the Coelest system. Regret's assault carrier took position over the installation, establishing a solid ground presence with armor and patrols of Type-26 Banshees, and also companies of infantry by means of s. The Covenant ground forces fortified themselves in a series of Forerunner ruins and temple structures, establishing Shade|anti-air defenses.
File:H2A - HEVs over Delta Halo.jpg|thumb|250px|left|John-117 and a team of ODSTs insert into the atmosphere of Installation 05 in HEVs. Meanwhile, ''In Amber Clad'' trailed behind and Miranda Keyes|Commander Miranda Keyes, captain of ''In Amber Clad'', ordered the ship's platoon of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers and John-117 to establish a landing zone near a series of ruins and temples on Installation 05 to allow Avery Johnson|Sergeant Major Avery Johnson to bring in two D77-TC Pelicans to further expand the UNSC presence. The frigate made a quick pass-over of a segment of the ringworld, deploying eleven Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|SOEIV pods. Most survived the atmospheric insertion to the surface of the ring, but due to Covenant stationary turret-fire only four personnel survived to make landfallJohn-117 and ODSTs Gunnery Sergeant Stacker, Staff Sergeant Banks and Private First Class Dubbo.Halo 3 Halo 3 Legendary Edition|Legendary Edition - ''Essentials, Disc Two - Halo 2 List of Halo 2 Cinematic Cutscenes|Cinematics Commentary'' A second wave of SOEIV pods was deployed from ''In Amber Clad'', however the few ODSTs who managed to make landfall found themselves isolated behind enemy lines and were quickly killed.
File:HM-DeltaHalo.jpg|thumb|250px|John-117 and some UNSC Marines on the surface of Installation 05, with ''Solemn Penance'' looming overhead. Upon landing, John-117 led the ODSTs in eliminating Covenant Shades stationed around a small temple, in order to clear an LZ for vehicular reinforcement. After successfully clearing the temple and it's courtyard, John-117 and his Troopers defended the position against waves of Covenant troops until a Pelican could drop off an M12 Chaingun Warthog. After liberating a nearby Forerunner bridge-control facility, a Scorpion was delivered alongside Marine reinforcements. The UNSC forces assaulted the bridge, which was defended by a Wraith, numerous Ghosts and a pair of Banshees. After successfully crossing, the convoy continued to battle through a vast temple complex, encountering significant Covenant defenses en route to Regret's location. After securing a large temple, the force dismounted and were resupplied with weapons and reinforcements via Pelican before securing the interior on foot. A passage inside the temple opened into a small vale occupied by Covenant, and after neutralizing a sizable force of Covenant Infantry, John-117 and his forces arrived at the edge of the lake containing Regret's temple.
Arriving in the first room of a large ruin complex standing in the lake itself, Cortana translated a sermon from the Prophet of Regret, alerting the UNSC that the Covenant was intending to activate Installation 05. Commander Miranda Keyes had been reviewing Cortana's information from the installation her father had discovered a month prior,''Halo 2'' - ''Delta Halo'', opening cutscene and was able to locate Installation 05's Library. She set out to reach it and secure it's Activation Index before the Covenant could do so. Sergeant Johnson was ordered to extract the Marine and ODST forces supporting John-117 and rendezvous with the ''In Amber Clad'' at the Library.Halo 2 campaign level ''Regret (Halo 2 level)|Regret'', opening cutscene
File:H2A JohnVsRegret.jpg|left|thumb|250px|John-117 reels his fist back to violently punch the Prophet of Regret.
John-117 was ordered to continue to Regret's temple and neutralize him. Supported by a pair of Marines, one of which was Dubbo|PFC Dubbo, John battled through a cluster of Covenant-filled towers before reaching an open platform. At the time, the Covenant were becoming increasingly aware of UNSC activity on the Ringworld, causing Commander Keyes to reroute several Pelicans on their way to the Library to aid John-117 rather than have them draw attention to the ''In Amber Clad''. The Pelicans air-dropped ordnance pod|Materiel Acquisition Pods on the platform to resupply the trio with fresh weapons and ammunition. John's strike team continued their attack, proceeding from the platform to an anti-gravity gondola which took John-117 and the two Marines to a underwater temple with a heavy Covenant presence. Cortana was able to intercept several transmissions between Prophet of Regret|Regret and the Prophet of Truth. After emerging from the submerged temple at a hilly Forerunner ruin, they were engaged by Covenant infantry, reinforced by Phantoms attempting to halt the UNSC advance.Halo 2, campaign level ''Regret (Halo 2 level)|Regret''
Despite significant reinforcement the Covenant were unable to stop the Spartan from closing in on his target. Meanwhile, Marines from the rerouted Pelicans had secured the first tower cluster to use as a landing zone. A single Pelican remained on station, resupplying John with more ordnance pods before setting down on the tower platform to await the Spartan's signal for evac. The strike team boarded the final gondola leading to Temple (Installation 05)|the temple the Prophet of Regret was located in. Despite being attacked by Covenant Type-26 Banshees and Sangheili Rangers, they were able to gain access to the main temple. Before they could enter, however, ''High Charity'' exited slipspace over Installation 05, along with the hundreds of warships of the High Charity defense fleet and the Second Fleet of Homogeneous Clarity. Responding to a distress signal from Regret, Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee moved to reinforce the temple by Phantom dropships in an urgent measure to defend the Hierarch. However, the Prophet of Truth stalled these Phantoms, in an attempt to allow Regret to be killed as part of his political plans for the Covenant.''Halo 2'', campaign level ''Sacred Icon''
Inside the temple, a large contingent of Sangheili Honor Guardsman|Sangheili Honor Guardsmen and Unggoy defended the Prophet. Cortana detected a wave of Phantoms too large to measure en-route to the temple, indicating to the Spartan time was running short. John-117 was able to board the Regret's anti-gravity chair|gravity throne and dispatch the frail San'Shyuum with his fist. The Prophet's guards quickly began to empty the temple, and Cortana detected the incoming Phantoms changing course, heading away from the temple. Shortly thereafter, a positioned itself over the main temple, and fired upon the structure with its energy projector. With not enough time for airborne evac, John leapt into the lake to evade the glassing beam. Here, he was soon grasped by the tentacles of the Gravemind, a Flood compound intelligence, and taken prisoner.
File:H2A - Library.jpg|thumb|250px|Tartarus's Phantom nears the containment shield to deploy the Arbiter.
A short time earlier, Commander Keyes received a transmission from Cortana indicating they were aboard the final Gondola and approaching Regret's temple. The ''In Amber Clad'' had discovered that Installation 05's Library was surrounded by a containment shieldan impenetrable energy shielding|energy shield projected by a large wall-like Forerunner structure. After failing to find a way around the barrier, the Frigate deployed a platoon-sized force of Marines to the wall led by Gunnery Sergeant Marcus Stacker and Staff Sergeant Banks. The Marines moved through the outer wall with ease, unmolested by local Sentinel defenses - likely due to being recognized by the automated guardians as Reclaimers.
Aboard High Charity, Regret's death had major political upheaval, as the Sangheili were punished by their failure to protect the Prophet of Regret. The Jiralhanae were assigned to Changing of the Guard|replace them as Honor Guards, and Chieftain of the Jiralhanae Tartarus was given to the task of retrieving the Index from the Library. Tartarus sent numerous waves of Jiralhanae-led Covenant infantry to storm the Sentinel Wall, however after all failed to breach the outer wall, Thel 'Vadamee, the Arbiter of the Covenant, was personally ordered by the Prophets Prophet of Truth|Truth and Prophet of Mercy|Mercy to journey to the surface of the ring and retrieve the Sacred Icon.
Dropped directly to the wall by Tartarus' personal Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|Phantom transport, the Arbiter encountered a small number of surviving Unggoy and Kig-Yar from the earlier assault. After battling through numerous Forerunner constructs to reach the control center for the Containment Shield, the Arbiter deactivated the shield, boarding a gondola to exit the outer wall. The inner wall quickly became overrun with Flood from the nearby Quarantine Zone it was designed to contain, and the UNSC platoon was caught unprepared.
Spread throughout the wall in small fireteams and completely unaware of the nature of enemy they were facing, most of the platoon was quickly assimilated by the parasite, proceeding to take up arms against their former comrades. Additionally, the local Sentinel forces became hostile to the surviving Marines, likely due to the immediate presence of the Flood. With his forces decimated, but the Containment Shield now disabled, Stacker radioed ''In Amber Clad'' suggesting Keyes proceed straight to the Library while his troops attempted to hold their position. A short time later, Stacker made contact with Keyes once again, confirming their engagement with non-Covenant hostile lifeforms, while Banks and other Marine survivors could be heard staging a desperate defense.
As 'Vadamee exited the outer wall, Tartarus' Phantom was driven off by a Sentinel Enforcer, forcing the Arbiter to travel through the now-flood infested inner-wall.Halo 2: The Official Strategy Guide|The Official Halo 2 Strategy Guide, ''page 115'' The Arbiter battled infected Marines, Sentinels and even encountered two surviving UNSC fireteams as he made his way towards the base of the structure.
File:H2A - Rtas rallying troops.jpg|thumb|250px|Rtas 'Vadumee rallies his Sangheili to battle. The Quarantine Zone was intended to be a location where the Sentinel custodians of the installation could herd the Flood, and prevent them from entering the Library. Two Sentinel manufacturing facility ships hung in the air, deploying Sentinel reinforcements.The Official Halo 2 Strategy Guide, ''page 122'' However, the Quarantine Zone was compromised by the Flood, and the Flood managed to crash one of the floating facilities using a , sending it plummeting down to the installation's surface.
The Arbiter met with Commander Rtas 'Vadumee and two other Sangheili just outside of the Sentinel wall, and together, they defended a small hill from the Flood before pushing inwards, where the Special Operations Commander had established a small outpost. There, the Special Operations force held out against waves of Flood attacks from the cliffs before they were reinforced by a pair of Phantoms that dropped off a and a pair of s. The Covenant were able to use these vehicles to advance through a large indoor Forerunner facility before entering the first of a series of expansive outdoor arctic canyons. Despite the prowess of the Special Operations Sangheili and the Arbiter, the UNSC were swifter to advance through the Quarantine Zone''In Amber Clad'' deployed a Pelican dropship that cruised above the battling Flood and Sentinels, cutting directly towards the Library while the Arbiter and his men were forced to fight through waves of Flood, including Flood and the vehicles they had commandeered, while all the while, Enforcers rained heavy fire.
The small Covenant task force was forced to debark from its vehicles as they transgressed the wreckage of one of the Sentinel constructor factories, although just beyond the wreckage on the other side, they were met by another Covenant Phantom, this one dropping off a Spectre manned by Rtas 'Vadumee himself and another Special Operations Sangheili. However, as they progressed through the last series of snowy plains, they were met with increasingly heavy resistance as they neared the Library. The Sentinels were in much larger force, while a large number of Flood-infested humans savagely held a barricade against the Library, using crates, turrets, and heavy weapons to prevent anyone to gain entrance to the Library and retrieve the index, which would eventually lead to the extermination of the Flood.
File:Sacredicon1600.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The Library of Installation 05 situated deep inside the Quarantine Zone.
}}
A small UNSC Marine force led by Miranda Keyes and Avery Johnson was able to slip past the Flood infestation into the Library, followed shortly by the Arbiter, Rtas 'Vadumee, and half a dozen Special Operations Sangheili. There were a pair of anti-gravity gondolas, that when activated, autonomously brought their passengers into the upper tiers of the Library, where the index was kept. While the UNSC was first able to seize a gondola, the Covenant were close behind. However, when the Flood began to screech, alerting the Covenant that they were in full force in the bowels of the Library, Rtas 'Vadumee took a pair of Special Operations Sangheili, holding them at the entrance to the gondolas to defend the rest from the Flood as the Arbiter took four Special Operations Sangheili on the second gondola, trailing behind the UNSC-held one. Flood entered the gondolas, jumping from the upper levels and also crawling in underneath on their undersides, assailing both the UNSC troops and the Sangheili forces. Tartarus, in his Phantom, attempted to provide cover fire for the Arbiter, using the three plasma cannons of his dropship to burn off any Flood on the upper levels of the Arbiter's gondola, but later, Tartarus chased after the UNSC-held gondola.
File:H2A-Miranda.jpg|thumb|250px|Miranda Keyes stretches over a chasm in the Library, securing the index. Finally, both gondolas ascended to the top levels of the Library, although the UNSC one arrived first, and a small UNSC force of six soldiers, led by Miranda Keyes and Avery Johnson, entered. Although many Flood combat forms had been exhausted in the Gravemind's last-ditch attempt to stave off the gondolas, there were a large number of Pod infectors prowling the Library which killed off the four UNSC Marines as Keyes and Johnson advanced towards the core of the Library. Meanwhile, the Arbiter silently snuck in behind them. Miranda managed to grab the index over a seemingly endless chasm. Once Keyes and Johnson had the index, they were ambushed by Thel 'Vadamee. Johnson was knocked unconscious by the Arbiter, but Keyes was able to take down Arbiter's shields by firing at him with an M7 SMG. However, Tartarus entered with four of his Jiralhanae Captains. Tartarus used the Fist of Rukt to stun Miranda and gravitationally levitate her towards him, draping her over his shoulder and then clasping the index and securing it for himself. Tartarus informed Thel about the Jiralhanae's intended genocide of the increasingly incompetent Sangheili, an act sanctioned by the High Prophets themselves. The Chieftain then knocked the stunned Arbiter into a pit leading to the depths of Installation 05, initiating the Great Schism.
File:H2ATruth2.png|thumb|250px|left|The Prophet of Truth announces the retrieval of Installation 05's activation index. The engagement at the Library proved to be devastating to the UNSC and resulted in the loss of ''In Amber Clad'' as the Flood took over the frigate. Meanwhile, Tartarus brought the Sacred Icon to ''High Charity'', where the Prophet of Truth exulted him and encouraged the Covenant to celebrate, for the Sacred Icon was secure, and that soon afterward, the Halos would be fired and the Great Journey would be brought upon the Covenant.
File:HTMCC-H2A NoSalvationOnThisRing.png|thumb|250px|The Gravemind speaks to the Arbiter and John-117 in the depths of Installation 05.
}}
The Covenant would not activate the Halos unimpeded. The Flood, who would be starved if the rings were activated, would soon attack the Covenant to prevent the activation, and the UNSC, who understood that all sentient life would be erased, also opposed the Covenant. Later, after the fragmentation of the Covenant into the Fleet of Retribution|Sangheili-dominated faction and the Prophet-led Covenant, the Sangheili would understand the true purpose of Halo and attack the Covenant to prevent them from activating the ringworld. Meanwhile, John-117, who had fallen into the lake, and the Arbiter, who had been thrust into the chasm of the Library, were both caught by the tentacles of the Gravemind, along with the assimilated Prophet of Regret and 2401 Penitent Tangent, the monitor of Installation 05. The Gravemind sent the Arbiter and John-117 to aid in his plan to prevent the activation of Installation 05, manipulating the Halo's teleportation grid to send John-117 to High Charity to search for the index, and sending the Arbiter to the cliffs just beyond the Control Room (Installation 05)|Control Room, another likely spot.
The Covenant's betrayal of the Sangheili led to a large-scale civil war on High Charity. The Covenant politico-military fractures were not restricted to High Charity: they extended to military units across the Covenant, including those on the surface of Installation 05. Upon Truth's order that the Jiralhanae were now the ruling caste of the Covenant, Tartarus ordered the execution of the Sangheili Councilors, who had been gathered in the Control Room of Installation 05 for the consecration of the Sacred Icon before the Halos were fired. While most of the Councilors were murdered in cold blood by Jiralhanae led by Captain Melchus, a small number were taken prisoner.Halo 2, campaign level, ''Uprising''
File:H2A - Arbiter and 'Vadum.png|thumb|250px|left|Rtas and Thel meet again, preparing to avenge the Councilors. However, the Sangheili were quick to strike back. The Gravemind teleported the Arbiter to a high cliff near the Control Room, and gave him an objective: to prevent Tartarus from using the Sacred Icon and activating Halo, which would not result in the promised sublimation event of the Prophets, but only death and destruction on a galactic scale. The Arbiter arrived just too late, witnessing the murders of a handful of Sangheili from afar at the hands of the Jiralhanae, but was able to push forward against a number of patrolling Jiralhanae, and meet up with a number of surviving Sangheili warriors. The small group of survivors, led by the Arbiter, pushed northward through a large Jiralhanae-held Forerunner structure, unpinning small groups of scattered loyal Unggoy and killing dozens of Jiralhanae, Kig-Yar, and Yanme'e. Afterward, they emerged from the structure, and fought their way past several Jiralhanae camps, commandeering several Ghosts along the way. As they neared Jiralhanae encampment|another cluster of structures, they encountered heavier resistance in the form of Jiralhanae-controlled Wraiths. The Arbiter and his Sangheili allies managed to defeat the Jiralhanae and secure a landing zone, allowing for additional Sangheili reinforcements to arrive.
After securing the first half of the camp, the Arbiter and his allies moved into the weapons cache, where the Jiralhanae had aggregated a large number of Covenant and UNSC weapons alike. The Arbiter led his group outside the structure and into a tunnel and defeated the Jiralhanae within. After exiting the tunnel, the Arbiter met with Rtas 'Vadumee who was commandeering a Wraith.
File:H2A - Great Schism.jpg|thumb|250px|Sangheili and Jiralhanae vessels battle over High Charity and Delta Halo
John-117 was teleported by the Gravemind directly into the High Council Chamber of High Charity, where the Prophets of Truth and Mercy addressed the Covenant that the Sacred Icon was secure. Before the Spartan could kill both Prophets, they escaped by means of an elevator, while the doors were locked and waves of Jiralhanae Honor Guardsman|Jiralhanae Honor Guardsmen, Jiralhanae Minors, and Unggoy entered in an attempt to kill the supersoldier. Cortana managed to unlock the doors, and John-117 chased through two towers and a set of corridors in pursuit of Truth and Mercy. However, Cortana had discovered Marines that were being kept prisoner on High Charity and John-117 freed them. Truth's transmissions to the rest of the Covenant allowed Cortana to triangulate his position, allowing her to direct John-117 and the Marines in their hunt for the Prophet. The Covenant attempted to stop Cortana, but were unsuccessful.
As John-117 and the Marines reached Hanging Gardens A, the first scene of Covenant fratricide was seen, as Sangheili Honor Guards, Sangheili Minors, Mgalekgolo, and Unggoy fought against Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar Snipers amongst the massive plants. John-117 and his men advanced to the Mid Tower, where Rangers and Special Operations Sangheili entered the fray, and numerous Yanme'e entered the engagement. During the fight, the Flood-controlled ''In Amber Clad'' then jumped directly into High Charity, where it plummeted uncontrollably, crashing into the Far Tower. However, by the time that the small UNSC squad entered Hanging Gardens B, Sangheili resistance on High Charity had broken. In the second Hanging Gardens, the Sangheili and those loyal to them fell back, leaving behind large numbers of stationary shield generators, abandoning numbers of Unggoy to berserk Jiralhanae as the Sangheili fell back to the Far Tower and the Mausoleum of the Arbiter, drawing a last line of defense there. Despite their efforts, the Prophets of Truth and Mercy, Tartarus, and a handful of Jiralhanae Captains were able to tunnel through the last Sangheili defenses to the far docking bays of the Far Tower.The Official Halo 2 Strategy Guide, ''page 129'' John-117 pursued Tartarus, fighting through the Far Tower and the Mausoleum of the Arbiter to make it through to the landing pads.The Official Halo 2 Strategy Guide, ''page 128''
File:H2A - Mercydeath.png|thumb|250px|left|The Prophet of Mercy is killed by the Flood. The Spartan was too late, however. The Prophet of Truth ordered Tartarus to deliver the activation index to the Control Room of Installation 05, and activate the Halos. Tartarus took a detachment of Jiralhanae Honor Guards along with him in two Phantoms, along with UNSC prisoners Avery Johnson and Miranda Keyes. Truth took a third Phantom to the Forerunner Dreadnoughtthe central energy source of High Charity, and also a fully functional Forerunner keyship that the two remaining High Prophets were going to use to reach Earth, and finish the battle. Meanwhile, the Flood were escaping from the crashed hulk of ''In Amber Clad''. They seeped out of the rents in its hull armor and commandeered its Pelican dropships, sending them over the surface of High Charity, crashing into the floors and releasing Flood combat form|combat forms, and spilling Pod infectors out of the air from opened hatches. The Prophet of Mercy was beset by a Pod infector and died before he could reach his Phantom. However, Tartarus and Truth were able to depart before John-117 could arrive.
File:H2A - Cortana watching dreadnought.jpg|thumb|250px|Cortana watches the keyship lift off from High Charity for Earth
By that time, resistance by the Sangheili and their allies had completely shattered on High Charity. There were few Sangheili or Mgalekgolo remaining, and only a few scattered Unggoy. The forces loyal to the Prophets, however, retained a large number of Jiralhanae, Kig-Yar, and Yanme'e. Despite the lack of a Sangheili ground force, they were still very much present in space, where the Covenant fleets over High Charity had splintered in allegiances, with Sangheili and Jiralhanae ships actively engaging and destroying each other. While Truth was taking a Phantom to the Forerunner ship, Cortana detected an High Charity conduit|energy conduit to the ship located in the Mausoleum tower ahead of John-117's position. John-117 entered the Mausoleum tower from the dropship landing pads, and engaged numerous Flood and Covenant hostiles. The Spartan eventually took a gravity lift to access the Sanctum of the Hierarchs. While John engaged Covenant forces, large numbers of Flood began to attack and the Spartan was forced to enter the energy conduit to reach the Forerunner ship. John-117 was able to jump in the conduit just in time, barely making it to the ship before it lifted off for Earth. However, Cortana stayed behind while John would attempt to neutralize the ship before it rallied the Covenant fleets at Earth. In the event that Tartarus was about to trigger the Halo Array, Cortana announced that she would detonate the fusion reactors of ''In Amber Clad''just like she had done to the at Installation 04and the blast would destabilize the ring and prevent the activation of the Halos.Halo 2, campaign level, ''High Charity (level)|High Charity''
Shortly afterward, all Covenant resistance on High Charity broke and succumbed to the Flood, who had infested a large area of the planetoid even during the raging combat between the Covenant and the Flood. Cortana, who resided in High Charity's computer systems to be ready to detonate the frigate's reactors as a final fail-safe, was captured and interrogated by the Gravemind.Halo 2, campaign level ''The Great Journey''
File:H2A - Scarab console.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Avery Johnson controlling a Scarab before the Arbiter.
Meanwhile, Rtas 'Vadumee informed the Arbiter that Tartarus was within the Control Room, and would soon be activating the Halos. However, the doors to the Control Room were nearly completely impenetrable, and would only be opened by the firing of the main cannon of a walker. Fortunately, a Scarab was available at the Bastion of the Brutes, a Forerunner structure used by the Jiralhanae as their local base of operations.
File:H2A - ScarabConcept.png|300px|thumb|The battle for Installation 05's control room. While Rtas 'Vadumee advanced forward in a Wraith tank, the Arbiter and another Special Operations Sangheili took a Spectre, and together, the Sangheili battled through a swarm of Ghosts, several Wraiths, and a bombarding Phantom. Eventually, the Sangheili secured entrance into the Bastion of the Brutes, where the Arbiter found another Special Operations Sangheili and a pair of Mgalekgolo, all of whom were loyal to the Sangheili. Meanwhile, Rtas 'Vadumee said that he would briefly watch the Arbiter's back, and would prevent any Jiralhanae reinforcements from entering in behind them while they cleared out the stronghold. Later, he announced that he would retake the that was hanging in the distance. The Arbiter and his band of Sangheili and Mgalekgolo stormed the Bastion, fighting their way past Jiralhanae, Kig-Yar, Yanme'e, and even a Phantom. Eventually, they freed imprisoned Councilors and Mgalekgolo and eventually reached the platform where the Scarab was docked. Much to their surprise, they discovered the presence of humans who were being held prisoner by the Jiralhanae. Amongst the prisoners was Sergeant Avery Johnson. The Jiralhanae had just received orders from Tartarus to execute the prisoners, when the Arbiter and his followers attacked. The humans, with the help of their Sangheili allies-to-be, took advantage of this distraction to free themselves and take control of the Scarab.
After all the Jiralhanae on the platform were dead, there was a brief standoff between the Sangheili and the UNSC personnel. However, both the Arbiter and Sergeant Johnson realized that they shared a common enemy and objective. The two sides begrudgingly joined forces and set out to stop Tartarus from activating Halo.
File:HLC The Great Schism.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Thel 'Vadam battles against Tartarus.
The Arbiter took possession of a Banshee and provided cover fire for Johnson's Scarab. Together, they fought their way past a large Jiralhanae force consisting of multiple Wraiths, Banshees, Spectres, and Shade turrets. Eventually, the group reached the Control Room (Installation 05)|Control Room and destroyed its doors with the Scarab's primary cannon. Inside the chamber, the Arbiter fought his way through numerous Jiralhanae forces who had been ordered to prevent the Arbiter from disturbing Tartarus while he activated the Halos. Despite reinforcements, the high-ranked Jiralhanae were unable to hold the room, and the Arbiter continued down an arched corridor before confronting Tartarus in the control room. Inside, he found Tartarus and several Jiralhanae, along with two prisonersMiranda Keyes and 343 Guilty Spark who had been captured by the Covenant during the raid on the Threshold gas mine.
Tartarus had been trying to force Keyes to insert the index into its place, as only a Reclaimer could activate Halo. The Arbiter entered the control room and told the Chieftain to stand down. Tartarus refused, and his Jiralhanae were about to attack the Arbiter, when Johnson suddenly appeared, pointing a Type-50 particle beam rifle at Tartarus' head. Seeing that he was in danger, Tartarus ordered his Jiralhanae to hold back for the moment. The Arbiter then had Guilty Spark explain that the Halos were weapons of mass destruction, built by the Forerunners as a last resort means to stop the Flood. Spark further revealed the Forerunners ultimately perished when they activated the Halo Array, sacrificing themselves to contain the Flood. Despite Guilty Spark's revelations, Tartarus blinded by his loyalty to the Prophets and his hatred for the Sangheili refused to listen. The Chieftain threw Guilty Spark at Johnson, knocking him out for a moment. He then physically forced the Sacred Icon into Miranda Keyes' hand and shoved it into the receptacle, beginning the activation of Installation 05. Miranda jumped out of the way of the imminent firefight as the Arbiter, the conscious Johnson, and a small cluster of recently-arrived Sangheili Zealots and Councilors, charged at Tartarus and his guard of four Jiralhanae Captains. The Jiralhanae guards were quickly slain, and Tartarus retreated onto the three-level structure at the center of the control room. When the Arbiter and his allied Zealots and Councilors pursued, they found to their dismay that Tartarus was protected by a nearly impenetrable energy shield. Only Sergeant Johnson, with his particle beam rifle, could disable Tartarus' shields, and only for a few seconds.
Meanwhile, Miranda Keyes argued with Guilty Spark and eventually forced him to reveal that the firing sequence could be stopped if the Reclaimer simply removed the index from the its position. However, she could not do anything while Tartarus was still alive. The Arbiter and Sangheili battled Tartarus, who used his massive Gravity hammer (fiction)|gravity hammer, the Fist of Rukt, to slay many high-ranking Sangheili. Eventually, the Arbiter succeeded in killing Tartarus. Commander Keyes immediately leapt to action after Tartarus died, snatching the index from the control panel. Despite the fact that Installation 05 was primed to fire, the removal of the index only triggered a partial firing, one that was inconsequential and led to the loss of no life whatsoever. However, 343 Guilty Spark informed them that because of the partial activation of Installation 05, the other five remaining installations were set onto standby mode, and were ready to fire upon command from a central Forerunner installation: Installation 00|the Ark.
Despite the isolated Sangheili ground victory on Installation 05, there was a much greater threat: the Flood. Having assumed dominance over the whole of High Charity and certain locations on Installation 05, they tried boldly expanding into space, attempting to take over Covenant warships. The ambitious Sangheili Major Voro Nar 'Mantakree|Voro 'Mantakree assumed command of the ''Incorruptible'' after mutinying against and killing his insane commander, Tano 'Inanraree,Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, ''page 192'' and audaciously sent a fleetwide dispatch to the idling Covenant fleet amassed over High Charity: the Flood were lifting off from Installation 05 in dropships and Banshees, and were attempting to attack and take control of Covenant warships to spread throughout the galaxy. The fleets were united after the transmission, and four Covenant destroyers, including the ''Rapturous Arc'', that were about to be consumed by the Flood were burned and destroyed to prevent the parasite from capturing the warships.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, ''page 197''
Shortly afterward, however, the fleets splintered without a common foe. The Jiralhanae Chieftain Gargantum attempted to coordinate a Jiralhanae uprising against the Sangheili, and chased after 'Mantakree with four Covenant frigates. Using deft tactics and maneuvering out the Sangheili carrier ''Lawgiver'', the ''Incorruptible'' destroyed the Jiralhanae-controlled frigate ''Tenebrous'', although the three remaining frigates, including Gargantum's personal frigate, the ''Twilight Compunction'', continued pursuing him. Soon afterward, the entire Covenant fleet began turning on itself, following Gargantum's example. The , one of the five UNSC ships originally sent to tail ''Solemn Penance'', witnessed the massive encounter as Covenant ships turned upon one another and destroyed themselves in a civil war.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, ''page 199''
However, ''Incorruptible'' did not continue in the orbital battle, as a revered Sangheili fleet commander, Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree, urged all Sangheili to regroup over the outpost world Joyous Exultation of the Salia system. 'Mantakree obediently left the battle, entering slipspace towards Joyous Exultation. During the pursuit, SPARTAN-II Blue Team dropped in the midst of the chase as the ''Incorruptible'' prepared to leave the system, in their captured Covenant destroyer, ''Bloodied Spirit''. Gargantum was incensed that heretic "Demons" had seized a Covenant warship, and diverted one of the three pursuit frigates from the ''Incorruptible'' to the ''Bloodied Spirit''. The frigate managed to lower the UNSC-controlled destroyer's shields before the SPARTAN-IIs jumped to slipspace for the Zeta Doradus system. The Sangheili defeated the Jiralhanae fleet and subsequently held High Charity in quarantine.Eleventh Hour reports, ''Part 5'' However, this largely failed, due to the Gravemind sending the ''Indulgence of Conviction'', controlled by the Flood, to Earth, in the hopes of infecting it and weakening the Sangheili ships in orbit around the Flood hive. This was successful and the Gravemind was able to leave Installation 05's space and find the Ark.Halo 3, campaign level ''Floodgate''
Aftermath File:H2A-SevenRings.jpg|thumb|250px|343 Guilty Spark informs the Arbiter, Johnson, and Keyes about the Ark. The battle at Installation 05 was extremely costly with significant political-military consequences for the Covenant and remarkable ramifications for all sentient life in the galaxy. Thousands of Covenant forces were slain in John-117's mission to kill the Prophet of Regret, the race to acquire the activation index from the Control Room (Installation 05)|Control Room, and the massive ground and orbital battles that took place on Installation 05, ''High Charity'', and between the Covenant fleets orbiting over Substance because of the Great Schism.
UNSC losses were remarkably lower because of the small number of forces they brought into the theater of operations, almost solely the crew and soldiers of . Hundreds of UNSC Marine Corps|Marines and Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, however, were lost in UNSC ground operations: the assassination of Regret and the storming of the Quarantine zone (location)|Quarantine Zone. A large number were also infected by the Flood and made continual appearances as Flood combat form|combat forms in the Sentinel wall, Quarantine Zone, and Flood-infested High Charity. The crewmen of the ''In Amber Clad'' were presumably killed and reanimated by the Flood as well. However, the UNSC suffered the least amongst the four warring factions in the Battle of Installation 05. In many ways, Installation 05 was the true turning point in the Human-Covenant War. In the long term, the political chaos wrought throughout the battle would shatter the Covenant into Covenant remnants|warring factions. The Sangheili eventually allied themselves with their human enemies, bolstering their fleets and taking their military expertise away from the Covenant. The immediate loss of High Charity and the majority of its enormous High Charity defense fleet|defense fleet drastically reduced the threat of the Covenant to human space. While still dangerous, the Covenant forces loyal to the Prophets ultimately proved incapable of defending themselves over the last few weeks of the war.Halo 3, campaign level ''The Covenant (level)|The Covenant''
Sentinel defenses were completely trampled over, particularly in the Quarantine Zone, where within hours, the Flood had managed to infiltrate the well-defended Sentinel wall and seize control of large tracts of the Quarantine Zone, even grounding an airborne Sentinel manufacturing facility. The Flood also permeated the Library and the surrounding grounds, eliminating almost all Sentinels from the skies, leaving only scattered Enforcers to do battle with them. The Flood also controlled UNSC and Covenant vehicles alike, reinforcing their considerable ranks with M808B Scorpion tanks, M12 Chaingun Warthogs, tanks, and assault vehicles. Flood losses were initially high because of the Arbiter's actions in the Quarantine Zone and John-117's on High Charity. However, it was inconsequential: the Flood scored a notable victory on High Charity, capturing the Covenant's mobile home planetoid and terraforming|transforming the structure into a Flood hive.
File:H2A Beamish cameo.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Kig-Yar and Unggoy protesting on High Charity The Covenant was fractured, with the Sangheili rallying those loyal to them against the San'Shyuum and Jiralhanae, who controlled the military of the Prophet-led Covenant against the Sangheili and their allies. Many San'Shyuum were killed in the battle, either during the Flood's infestation of High Charity, or on Installation 05 as many Minister (title)|Ministers and Prophets travelled to the ring to examine it for themselves, which effectively led to the near extinction of the San'Shyuum. To make matters worse for the species, those who did not die during the Flood invasion on High Charity were reluctantly forced to stay on the Covenant capital by Rtas 'Vadum and the Fleet of Retribution's quarantine, due to the danger the Flood posed in case they infected a San'Shyuum-led ship and spread through the galaxy. However, there were San'Shyuum who managed to escape with their ships before 'Vadum discovered the Flood's presence on the city.Halo: Shadow of Intent The Prophets' betrayal of the Sangheili led to the divide of the Covenant species. Many Mgalekgolo allied themselves with the Sangheili, the Unggoy and Huragok followed their commanders, most Yanme'e joined the Jiralhanae and the Kig-Yar aligned themselves with whoever would lead them to profit.Halo: Evolutions, "Wages of Sin", ''pages 300-301''
The Covenant High Council|ruling system was destabilized, with the death of the Prophet of Regret on Installation 05 at the hands of John-117 and the death of the Prophet of Mercy on High Charity due to Flood infestation. The Prophet of Truth held dictatorial power, with several subservient Minor Prophets, completely re-shifting the political dynamics of the Covenant. The Jiralhanae held reign over the majority of the Covenant military, bringing their innate tenaciousness and ferocity to the front lines quite unlike the Sangheili. The Jiralhanae also assumed more lower-level Covenant military authority, now replacing the Sangheili as the leaders of field squads and teams. The Jiralhanae also introduced a unique set of bloodthirsty weaponry into the Covenant's field arsenals. The Covenant fleet was believed to lose quite a bit of its technical proficiency without the innate technical knowledge of the Sangheili.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, ''page 194''
File:H2A - Earth and Dreadnought.jpg|thumb|250px|The Forerunner ship approaching a besieged Earth as the UNSC Home Fleet continues to fight against Covenant fleets.
}}
In the end, the fates of the Covenant fleets over High Charity is unknown, although at least one Covenant vessel, the ''Incorruptible'', escaped. 'Matrankee was commended for his actions against the Flood on Installation 05, and was promoted to Fleet Master.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, ''page 243'' The Flood continued to attempt to escape High Charity in Covenant starships, and a fleet led by Rtas 'Vadum on the ''Shadow of Intent'' held the line against the Flood. However, the Flood managed to infest at least one Sangheili-controlled ship, the ''Indulgence of Conviction'', a , and made a Slipstream space|slipspace jump to Earth to attempt to infest the human homeworld. The Sangheili fleet in orbit over High Charity followed the Flood-controlled cruiser, and when the Flood ship crash-landed on Earth, Rtas 'Vadum and his forces aided the UNSC Home Fleet in destroying the Flood vessel and terminating the Flood spread across the planet. However, prior to this, High Charity had already left its orbit around Installation 05, and according to a scrambled distress signal from Cortana, was already on its way to Earth to enter the Portal at Voi|Portal. It was indicated though that all of the other Flood-controlled ships were destroyed though: upon landing on Earth a Sangheili informed the Arbiter that the Sangheili's fleet had taken care of all of the Flood-controlled ships, except for the one which had managed to break through and jump to Earth. It can be inferred that the Flood-controlled ships were ultimately all destroyed except the one intercepted on Earth and High Charity which was later destroyed by the Master Chief in the Battle of Installation 00. Cortana was left to the clutches of the Gravemind. It was later shown that she answered a few questions to buy herself some time and used the opportunity to help find a way to destroy the Flood. She would later be rescued by the Master Chief who would then destroy High Charity during the Raid on High Charity.Halo 3, campaign level ''Cortana (level)|Cortana''
John-117 was aboard Truth's Forerunner Dreadnought, which managed to reach Earth unharmed and landed in Africa, near the Portal at Voi|Portal to the Ark, about two weeks after its departure from High Charity.Halo 3, campaign level ''Tsavo Highway'' eventually withdrew to rendezvous with Carl Patterson|Admiral Patterson's Patterson's battle group|battlegroup outside of the Zeta Doradus system,Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, ''page 294'' and the UNSC ''In Amber Clad'' remained crashed into one of the towers of High Charity.
Timeline October 20, 2552
The Battle of Earth begins between the UNSC Defense Force and the Covenant's Fleet of Sacred Consecration. UNSC forces heavily outnumber Covenant forces and the Prophet of Regret orders a retreat. With Regret aboard, the ''Solemn Penance'' makes an emergency slipspace jump over New Mombasa, followed by , UNSC Coral Sea|''Coral Sea'', UNSC Dusk|''Dusk'', UNSC Paris|''Paris'', and UNSC Redoubtable|''Redoubtable''.
November 2, 2552
''Solemn Penance'' and ''In Amber Clad'' exit slipspace in the Coelest system over Substance and near Installation 05. The Battle of Installation 05 begins.
''Solemn Penance'' deploys ground forces to the surface of the installation and Regret occupies a Temple (Installation 05)|Forerunner temple. John-117 is deployed to the installation's surface with several Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, and Sergeant Major Johnson is sent to support with two Pelicans. The UNSC forces fight their way towards Regret's position. Cortana discovers that Regret is planning on firing the Installation. Commander Keyes orders Johnson to pull his forces out and rendezvous with In Amber Clad near the Library. John-117 is ordered to neutralize Prophet of Regret|Regret. Due to increasing Covenant activity, Keyes is forced to reroute several Pelicans to support John-117's operation, rather than compromise the In Amber Clad's location. Regret sends out a distress signal and apology to the rest of the High Council, which the Prophet of Truth|Prophets of Truth and Prophet of Mercy|Mercy reluctantly accept. Both messages are intercepted by Cortana. The ''In Amber Clad'' arrives at the Containment Shield, and attempts to find a way around it.
''High Charity'', its High Charity defense fleet|defense fleet, and the Second Fleet of Homogeneous Clarity arrive in the system. Rtas 'Vadumee sends s to rescue Regret, but Truth delays the Phantoms. John assassinates the Prophet of Regret inside the temple and enters the lake as ''Solemn Penance'' fires upon the temple. The Spartan is captured by the Gravemind.
''In Amber Clad'' deploys a Platoon-sized force of Marines to an entrance in the Sentinel Wall, lead by Gunnery Sergeant Stacker. The Sangheili's failure to protect Regret leads to the Changing of the Guard, as Jiralhanae occupy Sangheili positions. Tartarus directs many waves of Jiralhanae-led Covenant infantry in an assault upon the Sentinel Wall.
November 3, 2552
Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee is sent to retrieve Installation 05's activation index, supported by Tartarus in a Phantom. He successfully fights through the outer Sentinel Wall and deactivates the Containment Shield. Flood overrun the inner wall, infecting the majority of the UNSC platoon. Sergeant Stacker recommends Commander Keyes proceed directly to the Library, Marine survivors hold position within the inner wall. ''In Amber Clad'' takes position over the Library, and begins to deploy it's full strength into the central Quarantine Zone via Pelican. Covenant Spec-Ops forces are deployed into the outskirts of the Quarantine Zone, unaware of the mission to retrieve the index. A Sentinel Manufacturing facility over the Quarantine Zone is shot down by flood-controlled Wraiths, captured from the recently deployed Covenant forces. Thel 'Vadamee exits the Sentinel Wall and rendezvous with Rtas 'Vadumee. The Arbiter leads Spec Ops forces in a push towards the Library. Keyes, Johnson and a Marine squad enter a facility containing gondolas leading to the Library. The Marine forces defending the facility are overrun by Flood. The Arbiter and Rtas 'Vadumee break through the Flood and enter the facility, boarding a gondola seconds after observing a UNSC-controlled one depart. Keyes and Johnson secure the Index, however are ambushed by the Arbiter. The Arbiter is interrupted by Tartarus, who seizes the Index and propels 'Vadamee into a hole in the center of the room, having been ordered to do so by the Prophet of Truth. Most of the Sangheili Councilors are taken to the Control Room of Installation 05 for the "consecration of the Sacred Icon" however they are murdered by the Jiralhanae. The Prophet of Truth transfers command of the Covenant military to the Jiralhanae, while Tartarus declares war on the Sangheili, and the Fall of High Charity begins. Fighting between Sangheili and Jiralhanae forces breaks out all over High Charity. As word spreads, fighting takes place throughout the fleet, as Sangheili and Jiralhanae controlled ships attack one another. The Flood invade High Charity during the battle, entering the city's dome via precision Slipstream space|slipspace jump aboard ''In Amber Clad'' and its embarked D77-TC Pelican|Pelicans. The Prophet of Mercy is attacked by an Pod infector and abandoned by the Prophet of Truth, who boards the Fore runner Dreadnought, and sends Tartarus to the Control Room with orders to activate the Installation. High Charity swiftly falls to the Flood, however Truth is prevented from departing as UNSC AI Cortana is able to delay the Dreadnought's launch sequence. Tartarus arrives at the Control Room with Miranda Keyes in tow. Thel 'Vadamee and Rtas 'Vadumee formulate a plan to capture a Jiralhanae-controlled Scarab and break into the Control Room to stop Tartarus. 'Vadumee leaves to gather a strike team with which to capture the nearby Shadow of Intent. The Flood takes control of High Charity and many of its warships. Jiralhanae and Sangheili fleets remaining around the city-station continue to destroy each other.The Prophet of Truth departs High Charity for Earth aboard the Forerunner Dreadnought, to join the Battle of Earth, with John-117 aboard. Tartarus orders captive Sergeants Johnson, Stacker and Banks executed, however The Arbiter and other Sangheili interrupt the execution, allowing Johnson to commandeer the nearby Scarab. Johnson and the Arbiter forge a hasty alliance and use the Scarab to destroy the doors to the Control Room. Tartarus attempts to activate Installation 05 are interrupted by the arriving Johnson and 'Vadamee. After the Arbiter attempts to convince him of the ring's real purpose, Tartarus activates the Ring by forcing Miranda Keyes|Commander Miranda Keyes to insert the Index into the Control Room's The Core|Core. Thel 'Vadamee, with the aid of Avery Johnson|Sergeant Johnson and multiple Sangheili Zealots and Councillors, kills Tartarus. Commander Keyes aborts the activation of Installation 05, placing the entire Halo Array on standby status. 343 Guilty Spark reveals the existence of Installation 00|the Ark. The prowler ''UNSC Dusk|Dusk'' witnesses the battle between Sangheili and Jiralhanae held ships above Delta Halo, both fighting each other pausing only to escalate an immediate outbreak of the Flood from the ringworld. ''Dusk'' subsequently flees the battle and links up with Patterson's battle group at Earth. Sangheili Major Voro Nar 'Mantakree|Voro 'Mantakree kills his shipmaster, Tano 'Inanraree, while he is attempting to allow the Flood to enter the ship. He then assumes command of the ship, ''Incorruptible'', and becomes the ''de facto'' leader of the Second Fleet of Homogeneous Clarity. He leads his new forces to Joyous Exultation, pursued by the Jiralhanae Gargantum and his ships.
November 4, 2552
Fleet of Retribution|Thel 'Vadam's forces glassing|glass Installation 05's surface to neutralize the Flood. The Battle of Installation 05 ends.
Participants
Personnel Miranda Keyes|Commander Miranda Keyes Richard Lash|Commander Richard Lash Julian Waters|Lieutenant Commander Julian Waters Xaing Cho|Lieutenant Commander Xaing Cho Bethany Durruno|Lieutenant Bethany Durruno Joe Yang|Lieutenant Joe Yang John-117|Master Chief Petty Officer John-117
Avery Johnson|Sergeant Major Avery Johnson Marcus Stacker|Gunnery Sergeant Marcus Stacker Banks|Staff Sergeant Banks Perez (Marine)|Corporal Perez Chips Dubbo|Private First Class Chips Dubbo McKenzie (Marine)|McKenzie Cortana
Ships
343 Guilty Spark
Gravemind
2401 Penitent Tangent
Personnel Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee Sangheili Councilor|Councilor Duru 'Scoahamee Councilor K'hurk 'Bornisamee Councilor Torg 'Gransamee Shipmaster Tano 'Inanraree Shipmaster D'ero 'S'budee Commander G'torik 'Klemmee Sangheili Major|Major Voro Nar 'Mantakree|Voro 'Mantakree Zo Resken, the Prophet of Clarity Tilik 'Bornisamee Uruo 'Losonaee Zasses 'Jeqkogoee Y'gar 'Pewtrunoee Paruto Xida Konna Waruna Xida Yotno Crun 'Brinsmee Tul 'Imjanamee Sluggish Drifter
Ships
''Eternal Reward''
''Incorruptible''
''Indulgence of Conviction''
''Journey's Sustenance''
''Lawgiver''
''Rapturous Arc''
''Shadow of Intent''
Personnel Prophet of Truth|High Prophet of Truth Prophet of Mercy|High Prophet of Mercy Prophet of Regret|High Prophet of Regret Prophet of Exquisite Devotion Boru'a'Neem|Minister of Preparation Tem'Bhetek Chieftain of the Jiralhanae|Chieftain Tartarus Shipmaster Gargantum Jiralhanae Captain|Captain Melchus
Ships
''Revenant (ship)|Revenant''
''Shadow of Intent'' (before capture)
''Solemn Penance''
''Spear of Light''
''Tenebrous''
''Twilight Compunction''
Gallery
File:H2 Hard Drop.jpg|Covenant Shade turrets open fire on the inbound HEVs. File:TanODST.jpg|ODSTs battling on Delta Halo in an early build of ''Halo 2: Anniversary''. File:H2 Regret Holy Wind.jpg|Cortana and John-117 learn that Regret plans to activate Installation 05. File:H2 Miranda Index.jpg|Commander Keyes coordinates a plan with Cortana and John-117 to take the index from the Library. File:H2 Sacred Icon Revealed.jpg|Guilty Spark projects an image of the "Sacred Icon" to Truth on High Charity. File:H2 Main Temple Vaporized.jpg|''Solemn Penance'' repositions over the temple in an attempt to kill John. File:Halo6.jpg|Tartarus' Phantom descends towards the surface of Installation 05. File:H2 Arbiter Ready.jpg|The Arbiter readies himself before the insertion. File:Enforcer.jpg|The Arbiter fights against a Forerunner Enforcer. File:H2 Arbiter and Rtas QuarantineZone.jpg|The Arbiter and 'Vadumee plan to find the icon. File:H2 gondola librarymove.jpg|The two gondolas race to reach the top floors of the Library. File:H2 Arbiter Gondola Phantom.jpg|Tartarus's Phantom hovers over the Arbiter's gondola, defending him from the Flood. File:H2A-HowYaDoing.jpg|The Arbiter grabs Avery Johnson before knocking him unconscious. File:H2 Tartarus Betrays Arbiter.jpg|Tartarus betrays the Arbiter. File:H2 Cortana Gravemind Prisoner.jpg|Cortana captured by the Gravemind at the heart of Flood-infested High Charity. File:H2 Tartarus Leads.jpg|Tartarus leads Miranda Keyes and 343 Guilty Spark deeper into the bowels of the Control Room. File:H2A - Tartarus with Rukt.jpg|Tartarus preparing to attack. File:H2A - Cortana.png|Cortana, under the clutches of the Gravemind.
List of appearances
''Halo 2''
''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''
''Halo 3''
''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''
*''Wages of Sin''
''Halo: Broken Circle''
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''
''Halo: Last Light''
''Halo: Shadow of Intent''
''Halo Mythos''
Sources
Category:UNSC victories|Installation 05
Category:Battle of Installation 05 |
|place=Installation 09
Control room
|result=*UNSC Victory
*Installation 09's firing system deactivated
*UNSC distress beacon planted on Installation 09
*Banished forces ejected from Installation 09
*Installation 09 sent to Soell system, but intercepted by one of the Created's Guardian Custodes
|side1=* United Nations Space Command|UNSC
|side2=* Banished
|side3=* Sentinel|Forerunner constructs
|commanders1=*Captain|CAPT James Cutter Commander|CDR Jerome-092
Artificial intelligence|Logistics AI Isabel
|commanders2=*Warmaster Atriox Shipmaster Let 'Volir
|commanders3=*Sentinel#Sentinel Defense Network|Sentinel Defense Network
|forces1=Dozens of infantry and vehicles
|forces2=Dozens of infantry and vehicles
|forces3=Retriever Sentinel
|casual1=Unknown
|casual2=Total
2 Jiralhanae Warlords
4 Barukaza Workshop Scarabs
|casual3=None
}}
The Battle of Installation 09 was a battle fought between United Nations Space Command forces from the and the Banished on the newly-constructed Installation 09 circa 2559#April|April, 2559.
Background
Battle
Gallery
File:HW2-TheHaloBattle02.png|Infantry and vehicles fighting on the surface of the ring. File:HW2-TheHaloBattle03.png|Scorpions and mechs defending Alpha Base. File:HW2 The Halo.png|Red Team on the ring. File:HW2 Last Stand.png|Anders enters the control room while UNSC forces repel a Scarab. File:HW2-Anders-02.jpg|Anders inside the ring's control room. File:HW2-Banished-03.jpg|Banished Jiralhanae warriors and Blisterbacks on the surface of the ring. File:HW2-Banished ejected.png|Marines watch as an area of the ring occupied by Banished forces is ejected into space. File:HW2-Halo.png|Installation 09 enters slipspace.
List of appearances
''Halo Wars 2''
*''Halo Wars 2: Operation: SPEARBREAKER''
Notes
Sources
Category:UNSC victories |
The Battle of Janjur Qom was a short battle fought on the San'Shyuum homeworld Janjur Qom when the inhabitants of the planet rebelled against the Forerunner forces enforcing the quarantine of the planet.Halo: Cryptum, ''page 192''
Prelude Days before the rebellion, the Librarian had briefly visited Janjur Qom to Conservation Measure|collect specimens to protect them from the impending Flood attack. This visit sparked unrest among the San'Shyuum, who correctly surmised that the Librarian's visit could only mean that their lives were in jeopardy.
The battle The San'Shyuum soon began a full rebellion, using a cache of hidden weapons and ships to make war on the Forerunners. The Forerunners, Builder Security forces under the leadership of Master Builder Faber, used hundreds of Seeker (vehicle)|seeker and Diversion-class|''Diversion''-class war machines against the San'Shyuum. A Forerunner fleet was permitted entry into the quarantine shield with full functionality and power, soon overwhelming the San'Shyuum defenses and taking control of the planet. A Halo Array|Halo ring was then unexpectedly brought in and used to sterilize the planet on the Master Builder's orders.
Aftermath The battle devastated the surface of Janjur Qom, destroying most of the planet.
During the battle, the Master Builder's forces interdicted and destroyed the Didact's ship in orbit; as a result, the Didact, Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting, Chakas, and Riser were captured by the Master Builder. The Didact was interrogated and was believed to have been executed shortly after the conclusion of the battle,Halo: Cryptum, ''page 339'' while Bornstellar was sent back to his family. Chakas and Riser were placed in captivity and were to be delivered to Installation 07 to have their ancestral Mind transfer|memory imprints extracted.Halo: Primordium, ''pages 167-168''
After the battle, Faber was tried before the Capital Court for misconduct and violation of the Mantle due to his unsanctioned use of a Halo ring, a weapon intended as a final resort, to suppress a mere rebellion.Halo: Cryptum, ''page 296''
The battle would be remembered by the San'Shyuum as late as 850 BCE. Regions on Janjur Qom remained rocky and barren due to the planet's devastation that occurred during the battle. The San'Shyuum believed that these regions were the mark of the Forerunners' wrath. Mken 'Scre'ah'ben had discovered an ancient San'Shyuum document that referred to the ravage on Janjur Qom as punishment for the San'Shyuum's attempt to rebel against the "gods"the Forerunners. Most San'Shyuum believed that it was only a myth used to instil fear into the defiant and to explain the barren regions of the planet.Halo: Broken Circle, ''page 86''
List of appearances
''Halo: Cryptum''
''Halo: Primordium''
''Halo: Broken Circle''
Sources
Category:Battles|Janjur Qom |
2535|February 12, 2535
|place=Jericho VII, Lambda Serpentis system
|result=Covenant victory Jericho VII Glassing|glassed Heavy Covenant ground casualties
|side1= United Nations Space Command
|side2= Covenant
|commanders1=*Captain De Blanc Master Chief Petty Officer John-117
|commanders2=
|forces1=*Dozens of vessels
*2 UNSC carrier|carriers
*Dozens of UNSC destroyer|destroyers
**
*Dozens of UNSC frigate|frigates Platoon of SPARTAN-II program|Spartans UNSC Marine Corps
*105th Drop Jet Platoon
*Three divisions
|forces2= *36 Covenant vessels
*Covenant destroyers
*Covenant cruisers Type-26 Banshees s Unggoy Ik'novus
|casual1=
Minor ground losses
*105th Drop Jet Platoon Heavy space losses
|casual2=
Heavy ground losses Moderate space losses
}}
The Battle of Jericho VII, also referred to as the Jericho VII campaign, was an engagement fought between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant between 2532 and 2535|February 12, 2535 on the human colony of Jericho VII.
Battle Covenant forces first attacked the planet in 2532, beginning a three year long battle. Some civilians, including orphans who would volunteer for the SPARTAN-III program, managed to escape during that time. At some point during the battle, Ik'novus was part of a force that decimated several cities on the planet.
Operation: FALLEN WALLS began on February 9, 2535. On the ground, Blue Team members: John-117|Blue-One, Kelly-087|Two, Three, Four, and Five massacred the Covenant troops. Blue Team's mission was to draw out the Covenant rear guard, so Red Team could slip behind their lines and plant a HAVOK Tactical Nuclear Weapon|HAVOK tactical nuke, hoping to destroy the next Covenant ship that landed and dropped its energy shielding|shields. These few Spartans were able to kill hundreds of Unggoy and destroy Shade turrets with little difficulty, as well using the Theta Maneuver to neutralize their Type-26 Banshee air support, by using the fougasses they had planted in case the Unggoy got out of hand. Meanwhile, Green Team was preventing a Covenant ground force advance on the planet.
The three divisions of the UNSC Marine Corps on the planet, operating elsewhere, suffered minor casualties and easily accomplished their goals as well. However, the 105th Drop Jet Platoon was slaughtered by a massive force of Unggoy. Blue Team swept through the area and avenged the platoon by killing hundreds of the Unggoy involved in that operation. All of the Spartan teams accomplished their missions and returned safely to the remaining fleet in a D77-TC Pelican|Pelican dropship.
Unfortunately, the UNSC fleet lost control of the space around Jericho VII after the three day battle with the Covenant fleet. However, De Blanc|Captain De Blanc was able to evacuate the Spartans aboard before the enemy fleet began its glassing of the planet. Spartan-117 requested to watch the planet being glassed. He observed the assault for nearly an hour as Jericho VII was destroyed. This would be the last time the UNSC would attempt to hold a colony while risking Spartans after losing orbital superiority.
Aftermath The Battle of Jericho VII was notably the last attempt by the UNSC to hold colonies and deploy Spartans after losing orbital superiority.
Intelligence gained from the battle was utilized by Beweglichkeitsrustungsysteme|Mobile Armament Systems in the creation of the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/C variant|CQB variant of the MJOLNIR armor. On 2540|July 12, 2540, five years after the battle, Operation: GUARDIAN LANCE was carried out to recover several pieces of Covenant equipment from the glasslands of the world. These specimens were later brought to SWORD Base on Reach.
Some of the future SPARTAN-IIIs of SPARTAN-III Alpha Company|Alpha Company and Beta Company were orphaned in the battle. Jameson Locke, a future SPARTAN-IV and an Office of Naval Intelligence agent, was also orphaned during this battle. He evacuated from Jericho VII only minutes before the Covenant glassed the planet.
Non-canon and dubious canon appearances
Operation: FALLEN WALLS took place in the Silver Timeline. Red Team and the participated in the battle. John-117/Silver|John-117 was awarded a Naval Action Ribbon as well as a Silver Star for recovering assets and deploying a HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon.
Trivia The conflict was the first battle to be depicted in the ''Halo'' series. Operation: FALLEN WALLS, the UNSC operation on Jericho VII, is a clear List of references to religion in the Halo series|reference to the Wikipedia:Battle of Jericho|biblical event in which the walls of Wikipedia:Jericho|Jericho fell after an attacking army marched around the city for seven days.
List of appearances
''Halo: The Fall of Reach''
''Halo: The Flood''
''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''
''Halo: Reach''
''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual''
''Halo Infinite''
Sources
Category:Covenant victories |
|place=Kamchatka, Caspar system
|result=UNSC victory Dr. Catherine Halsey rescued Jul 'Mdama killed Remnants of Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|Covenant fleet routed
|side1=* United Nations Space Command|UNSC
|side2=* Jul 'Mdama's Covenant
|side3=* Created
|commanders1=*Captain|CAPT Thomas Lasky Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer
|commanders2=*Supreme Commander Jul 'Mdama Kitun 'Arach
|commanders3=*Cortana
|forces1=*Expeditionary Strike Group 1
*
*At least one D79-TC Pelican
*Fireteam Osiris
|forces2=*Several s Multiple s Several One Many s Several s Numerous s Several s Dozens of s Numerous Covenant Lances
*Sangheili,
*Unggoy
*Kig-Yar
|forces3=*Several Particle cannons Several Phaeton|Phaeton gunships Several Promethean Crawlers Several Promethean Knights Several Armiger Soldiers
|casual1=
|casual2=*Jul 'Mdama Scores of Covenant infantry forces Many Covenant vehicles At least one blockade runner
|casual3=*Multiple Promethean forces
}}
In 2558, a battle took place on the icy world of Kamchatka, fought between the forces of the United Nations Space Command, Jul 'Mdama's Covenant, and the Prometheans. During the battle Dr. Catherine Halsey was rescued by UNSC forces and Jul 'Mdama was assassinated.
Background
Before the Great Purification, Kamchatka was an Astroengineering|astroengineered Forerunner world, created to serve as a link to the galaxy-spanning network the Domain.
In 2558, a long-dead communications hub on the planet's surface activated. With their primary base on Hesduros lost, and at the behest of Dr. Halsey, 'Mdama relocated his fleet to the system, hoping to pillage Forerunner technology and using the system as a staging area. 'Mdama also hoped to benefit from intel provided by Dr. Halsey, who would go on to study the relay and discovered that her old AI Cortana was alive.
Approximately three weeks before the battle, Dr. Halsey contacted the UNSC, warning of an Guardian emergences|incoming event caused by Cortana. However, the UNSC didn't act upon that information immediately.
Analysts at the Office of Naval Intelligence deemed that a strike on these forces at Caspar could potentially do substantial damage against the Covenant faction, and give the UNSC an edge. By 2558#October|October 17, 2558, plans were put in place to attack Jul's forces in the system as part of Operation: ANCHORITE, and to retrieve Dr. Halsey as part of Operation: DESINENCE. While ANCHORITE was known widely across the UNSC ''Infinity'' with it being part of a briefing letter, DESINENCE was not, with little information being discussed about it. Part of the overall attack plans included a second wave of forces deployed from the ''Infinity''. The ''Infinity'' would also bring a complement of s.
Battle File:H5G - KamchatkaBattle1.png|250px|thumb|An aerial battle overhead of Fireteam Osiris.
Upon arrival on Kamchatka, the Covenant would be attacked by hostile Forerunner defenses, their presence triggering them. Dr. Halsey used these defenses and her exploration of Forerunner sites on the planet as part of a play to get the attention of the UNSC and be rescued.
}}
The deployed Fireteam Osiris, a SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan-IV special operations squad, to retrieve Halsey and assassinate Jul 'Mdama if possible. They dropped from low orbit by Pelican and landed amidst an enormous ship and ground battle, as Cortana had taken control of Jul's Prometheans and was unleashing them against him. Jul 'Mdama's Covenant made little headway, with the constructs managing to bring down a and force back a Shuul'se-pattern Kraken|Kraken walker. The chaos from the Prometheans' rebellion provided Osiris cover from 'Mdama's Covenant, allowing them to sneak to the temple where 'Mdama and Halsey were stationed.
After reaching the temple, Osiris attacked Jul's Sangheili Zealot|Zealot guards while Spartan Jameson Locke faced off against Supreme Commander in melee combat. After a short fight, Locke was able to kill Jul with his combat knife, bringing an end to his tyranny. Fireteam Osiris then took custody of Dr. Halsey and she was brought back to the ''Infinity'' to aid in the search for the Guardians.
Aftermath
}}
With Jul 'Mdama dead and the Prometheans now against them, his Covenant troops became desperate. Some of them fled to the ''Argent Moon'' to retrieve their soldiers scavenging the station, though most of them were killed in the attempt after Blue Team self-destruct|scuttled the station to Operation: BIRD IN HAND|keep it out of enemy hands, destroying several Covenant warships in the process. Most of the rest regrouped on Sanghelios, attempting Battle of Nuusra|an attack on the Vadam clan burial grounds in hopes of a revenge attack against Thel 'Vadam|the Arbiter. Covenant forces at that were under the joint control of several other high-ranking members of the faction including Kitun 'Arach.
Participants
Military Personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| |UNSC Navy
|Captain (Navy)|Captain
|Thomas Lasky
|Survived
| | rowspan="5" |Spartan Operations
|Spartan Commander
|Sarah Palmer
|Survived
| | rowspan="4" |Spartan
|Jameson Locke
|Survived
| |Olympia Vale
|Survived
| |Edward Buck
|Survived
| |Holly Tanaka
|Survived
|}
Military Personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Rank
! Name
! Status
| |Supreme Commander
|Jul 'Mdama
|KIA
| |Sangheili General|General
|Kitun 'Arach
|Survived
| |Unknown
|Kibkib Yany
|KIA
|}
Trivia Halo Waypoint's Canon Fodder article ''Fifty Caliber'' states that "unconfirmed reports" about the Battle of Kamchatka claim there might have been a temporary alliance between Fireteam Osiris and the Sangheili Kitun 'Arach of Jul's forces. This is a reference to the Enemy of my Enemy achievement, in which the player(s) can choose to save a Sangheili Warrior assaulting a hill against Armiger Soldiers, turning him from an enemy to an ally. The bodies and wreckages of Swords of Sanghelios soldiers and Banshees are scattered throughout the level Osiris (level)|Osiris. While it is possible they participated in the battle, their use as game assets suggests they might be stand-ins for the deceased forces of Jul 'Mdama's Covenant.
Gallery
File:H5G-Concept-Kamchata-Skyfall.jpg|Concept art of the battle for ''Halo 5: Guardians''. File:H5G Achievement IntoTheFire.png|Concept art of the battle. File:H5G-Kamchatkadescent.png|Fireteam Osiris descends onto Kamchatka. File:H5G-TanakaSMASH.gif|Holly Tanaka smashing through a boulder. File:H5G-Valewrecking.gif|Olympia Vale attacking a Phantom. File:H5G-KamchatkaCF.gif|Jameson Locke attacking Ghost pilots. File:H5G-Rad.png|Fireteam Osiris avoids a crashing Sangheili blockade runner. File:H5G-LockevsJul1.png|Locke prepares to stab Jul 'Mdama.
List of appearances
''Halo 5: Guardians''
''Halo: Legacy of Onyx''
''Halo: Bad Blood''
''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual''
Sources |
The Battle of Kan Pakko was an engagement fought between the Forerunners and the Flood in the final years of the Forerunner-Flood war. It was one the first battles in which the Flood used reactivated Precursor artifacts against the Forerunners.Halo: Silentium, ''String 19'', ''pages 188-189''
Overview The Forerunner fleet inserted itself in an orbit over the gas giant known as Kan Pakko, in order to use the planet as a shield against a thousand-strong Flood fleet. The Flood's forcesinfested Forerunner ships of varying classesblockaded the Forerunner fleet, denying them all possible orbital solutions for leaving the system. The Forerunner forces realized they could not access slipspace; several ships tried and were lost, with three of them echoing from failed transits with significant causal anomalies while others were plunged into deficient alternate realities. The Forerunners soon noted that these anomalies were the result of suppression fields of enormous power, generated by local Precursor star roads, which were plentiful in the system and were now reactivating and shaping into previously-unseen configurations. The fields disabled the Forerunner ships' weapons and shields, rendering them completely helpless against the hundreds of approaching Flood-infected ships. A log of the Forerunner fleet noted that unless they were able to find a way to escape, they would sacrifice themselves within the next several hours to reduce the Flood's numbers to their best ability.
List of appearances
''Halo: Silentium''
Sources
Category:Battles|Kan Pakko |
|place=Kenya, East African Protectorate, Earth
|result=
Pyrrhic UNSC-Fleet of Retribution tactical victory Voi and surrounding area glassed Flood threat contained Strategic Covenant victory Portal to the Ark successfully opened Covenant strategic withdrawal to the Ark
|side1 = * United Nations Space Command
* UNSC Navy
** Office of Naval Intelligence
*UNSC Air Force
*UNSC Marine Corps
--- Covenant separatists
*Fleet of Retribution
|side2 = * Covenant
|side3 = *Flood
|commanders1=*Fleet Admiral|FADM Terrence Hood|Lord Terrence Hood Commander|CDR Miranda Keyes Sergeant Major|SGTMAJ Avery Johnson Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
Arbiter Thel 'Vadam Fleetmaster Rtas 'Vadum
|commanders2=Hierarchs|High Prophet of Truth
|commanders3=Gravemind
|forces1=
UNSC Home Fleet|Home Fleet
*Seventh Fleet
**Battle Group Victory
***7+ s
***Multiple GA-TL1 Longsword|Longswords Many air vehicles
*Several D77H-TCI Pelicans
*Multiple AV-14 Hornets Many ground vehicles
*M12 Warthog|Warthogs
**M12 Chaingun Warthog|Chaingun Warthogs
**M831 Troop Transport Warthog|Troop Transport Warthogs
*M274 Mongoose|Mongooses Numerous ground forces Civilian|Armed civilians
--- Fleet of Retribution
*1 battle group
**1+
**9+ s
*Ru'swum-pattern Phantom#Retribution Phantom|''Ru'swum''-pattern Phantoms Ground forces
*Covenant Special Operations|SpecOps Special Operations Sangheili|Sangheili
*1+ Sangheili Major
|forces2=*Truth's fleet
*Over 60 ships
**1 Forerunner keyship
**3+ s
**1+
**Over 54 Covenant cruiser|cruiserss (only properly introduced in ''Halo 4'') due to be virtually identical to the ''Ket''-pattern in outward appearance. An additional at least 6 ''Ket''-pattern battlecruisers (in 3 dimensional renders, thus with accurate sizes comparing to the assault carriers) can be seen in the last cutscene of the ''Tsavo Highway'' level.}}
***6+ s
**1+ Covenant frigate|frigate Many air vehicles
*s
*s Many ground vehicles
*Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|T-32 Ghosts
*Barukaza Workshop Chopper|T-25 Choppers
*Zurdo-pattern Wraith|T-26 Wraiths
*Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|T-52 AA Wraiths
*1+ Deutoros-pattern Scarab|T-47B Scarab
*Multiple Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|T-27 Mantis Numerous ground forces
*Jiralhanae
*Unggoy
*Kig-Yar
*Yanme'e
*Mgalekgolo
|forces3=*1 captured Pod infectors Flood combat form|Combat forms Flood carrier form|Carrier forms Flood pure form|Pure forms
|casual1 = Moderate/heavy ground forces
|casual2 = Heavy ground forces All T-27 Mantis
1+ T-47B Scarab
|casual3 = Total
}}
The Battle of Kenya was a large battle between forces of the United Nations Space Command and the Fleet of Retribution against the Covenant, and later, the Flood during the later stages of the Battle for Earth on 2552#November|November 17, 2552. The fighting was spread across the African countries of Kenya and Tanzania and culminated in the retreat of the majority of the remaining Covenant forces from Earth and the glassing of a portion of the continent by Sangheili warships to prevent the spread of the Flood across the planet.
Background File:Portal odst.png|thumb|left|250px|Truth's fleet uncovering the portal to the Ark. After discovering a Forerunner Luminary on Meridian, the Prophet of Regret discovered the presence of a gateway Portal at Voi|portal to Installation 00|the Ark on the planet of "Earth|Erde-Tyrene". From the Ark, he would be able to activate the Halo Array and commence the Covenant religion#The Great Journey|"Great Journey". To this end, he and his Fleet of Sacred Consecration|fleet of fifteen warships made for the portal's location. Unbeknownst to Regret, Erde-Tyrene was actually the heavily-defended planet|homeworld of humanity. On 2552#October|October 20, 2552, the Prophet's fleet arrived at Earth and was immediately engaged by the numerically-superior UNSC UNSC Home Fleet|Home Fleet, forcing him to jump his Solemn Penance|personal CAS-class assault carrier|assault carrier directly to the city of New Mombasa. As his troops in the city were repelled by UNSC ground forces and faced with interception by human fleet elements were he to return to orbit, Regret opted to initiate a Slipstream space|slipspace jump to Installation 05 while still over New Mombasa. This jump heavily damaged the city, and partially revealed the portal that the Prophet had been searching for. One day after his departure, a large Jiralhanae-led Truth's fleet|fleet sent by the Prophet of Truth arrived and resumed control of the battle, deploying more additional ground troops into the devastated city while their ships begun to excavate the portal beneath Mombasa.
Over the course of the month, the fighting would spread across the globe, with newer Covenant reinforcements now continuing to arrive and attacking various locations including North America, Mount Erebus in the Wikipedia:Antarctica|Antarctic, the Yucatan Peninsula and Havana, Cuba. Covenant fleets would continue to arrive throughout the battle, scattering Earth's orbital defense grid as the Great Schism would begin with Sangheili forces now removed from the Covenant now led by the Jiralhanae. On November 17, Truth's fleet#Further engagements|final Covenant loyalist naval forces, including a final contingent of Jiralhanae-controlled warships from the Fall of High Charity|splintered High Charity High Charity defense fleet|defense fleet, would arrive and began to route the numerically-inferior and outgunned remnants of Home Fleet and inflict heavy losses on the human defenders as the Prophet of Truth himself would arrive on board the ''Anodyne Spirit''. This armada nearly completely shattered the weakened orbital defense grid, allowing it to inflict more catastrophic terrestrial casualties with their subsequent Orbital bombardment|bombardment on the now-pratically defenseless Earth. As SPARTAN-II program|Spartan John-117 departed from the ''Anodyne Spirit'' during the Forerunner ship's descent into Earth's atmosphere, S. Hartley|an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Battle of Sector Six|fighting in Sector Six managed to use a laser designator to determine the Master Chief's trajectory. This allowed several squads of Marines led by Avery Johnson to locate the Spartan after he crashed into a Tanzanian jungle south of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Covenant ground forces would heavily occupy swathes of territory in Kenya, overwhelming UNSC defenders along the Tsavo highway (location)|Tsavo Highway and in the city of Voi, where they would station heavy defences including numerous Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|Anti-Aircraft Wraiths and Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|Mantis emplacements as part of a network of extensive perimeter defenses for the Ark's portal. Remaining UNSC personnel were scattered and cut off from friendly forces, forced to hunker down and fight for their lives against heavy Covenant opposition. The final remaining UNSC stronghold in the region was a re-purposed 20th-century base, Crow's Nest (location)|Crow's Nest, located within close proximity to the city of Voi. From here, the UNSC would co-ordinate their remaining forces and treat UNSC Marine Corps|Marines wounded in the field. After Miranda Keyes|Commander Miranda Keyes' arrival at Earth from Installation 05, she would assume command of the base.
Battle
}}
File:H3 Sierra117 Marines.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and a fireteam of Marines in the Tanzanian jungle. In the morning of 17 November, 2552, Sergeant Major Avery Johnson led First Squad|several Second Squad#Recovering Spartan-117|teams of Marines into the jungles of Tanzania to recover SPARTAN-II program|Spartan John-117, using the triangulation data acquired by forces Battle of Sector Six|fighting in Sector Six. The Marines succeeded in finding the Master Chief, who was unconscious after his MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VI|armor had been locked by it's Hydrostatic gel|gel layer. After some uncertainty regarding the his status, John woke up, informing Johnson that Cortana had remained on High Charity. After some initial hostility between John-117 and Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, the Chief was given an MA5C assault rifle|assault rifle as the unit prepared to move out.
As the group moved through the jungle towards their extraction point at a nearby river, Reynolds|Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds of Bravo Team warned them of nearby Covenant forces before dropping out of contact. The group opted to split up to reduce the likelihood of being spotted by Covenant patrols. John, Thel and First Squad soon came into contact with Jiralhanae-led Covenant forces, and were forced to fight through several groups dropped off by Ru'swum-pattern Phantom|Phantoms before they made their way through an encampment heavily defended by Covenant troops. They soon rescued Reynolds, the sole survivor of Bravo Team who was being tortured for information by a Jiralhanae Jiralhanae Captain|Captain. Johnson's group made it to the river first, and were under heavy attack by Covenant troops by the time the Master Chief and Thel arrived. Both extraction D77H-TCI Pelican|Pelicans were shot down by Fuel rod cannon|fuel rods fired by Irdnekt-pattern Banshee|Banshees, with ''Echo 051'' containing Johnson and Second Squad crashing half a kilometer downriver from the dam. John, Thel and the Marines of First Squad made their way back into the jungle, fighting through a narrow pass filled with Kig-Yar Kig-Yar Sniper|snipers before witnessing Johnson and his unit fleeing from ''Echo 051's'' crash site under heavy Covenant fire. Eventually clearing out all of the Covenant in the area, John and Thel proceeded into the cave Johnson had taken, which emerged onto an overlook of the A2 Hydroelectric Facility, where they discovered that Johnson had been taken Prisoner of war|prisoner by a large group of Covenant led by a Jiralhanae Chieftain. The team was able to fight their way across the facility, eliminating the Chieftain and his Jiralhanae Bodyguard|bodyguards before reaching the building that Johnson was detained in. After releasing the sergeant and his surviving Marines, the group held out against two Phantoms and their complements of infantry until ''Kilo 023'' arrived. The Pelican promptly destroyed the two Phantoms and landed, allowing the group to leave the jungle for the nearby UNSC Military base|base Crow's Nest (location)|Crow's Nest.
}}
File:Truthhack.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The Prophet of Truth hijacks Crow's Nest's operations center monitors. Miranda Keyes|Commander Keyes arrived at Crow's Nest's landing pad to meet John-117, Thel 'Vadam and Sergeant Johnson. After greeting the Spartan, she escorted the group towards the operations center, briefing the Spartan about the previous events following Truth's arrival at Earth before confirming that she had managed to stop Installation 05's activation sequence, but the Halo Array remained on standby and ready to activate from the Installation 00|Ark, which she believed to be the main focus of the Covenant in Kenya. John then reported in to Terrence Hood|Admiral Hood, who was confident in Keyes' plan to neutralize one of the Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|Mantis Anti-Aircraft Cannons in Truth's array of defenses with the support of the Spartan, allowing Battle Group Victory|a battle group from the tattered UNSC Home Fleet to assault the excavation site, believed by the UNSC to be the Ark but in reality was the Portal at Voi that would lead to the installation. Before Hood could continue, the power cut out completely, before the High Prophet of Truth himself broadcasted a message to the base, promising to reduce Earth to Glassing|glass and telling them that even the Covenant religion#Demons|"Demon" would perish. After Truth cut the broadcast, Keyes immediately ordered the base's personnel to prepare for departure, knowing that the Covenant would soon attack. Johnson and Thel remained to guard the operations center while John moved towards the hangar which the Phantoms would use to deploy troops. As Marines assembled AIE-486H machine gun|machine gun turrets and other defences, a series of tremors shook the base as Covenant forces begun their offensive. The Master Chief made his way into the base's vehicle access, arriving too late to save a M12 Chaingun Warthog|Warthog's destruction from Type-1 Antipersonnel Grenade|plasma grenades. John and his Marines pushed down the vehicle access, defeating Covenant troops before arriving at the hangar, where they provided assistance for the locally-stationed Marines in repelling several Phantom's and their complements of infantry sent from a nearby . Once all Covenant were defeated, a Pelican was able to undock and descend, allowing the Marines in the hangar to exfiltrate from the base. File:H3 Brute Chieftain and Bodyguards.jpg|thumb|250px|A Jiralhanae Chieftain and his bodyguards in Crow's Nest's motor pool. At this time, the Covenant attack on the base intensified. The operations center came under heavy Covenant attack prompting Sergeant Johnson to recall the Master Chief. At the same time, Yanme'e infiltrated Crow's Nest through the base's ventilation system and the barracks was attacked by a large Jiralhanae pack led by a Jiralhanae War Chieftain|War Chieftain, which would see the majority of it's personnel massacred and several survivors tortured and killed for sport. In the cave before the operations center, a massive swarm of Yanme'e burst out of the ventilation pipes behind the Marine defenders. Due to the timely arrival of John-117, the Drones were all taken out. In the operations center, Commander Keyes radioed in from ''Kilo 023'', revealing to John the Improvised UNSC bomb|bomb that Marines were rigging to detonate to wipe out the Covenant attackers after all UNSC personnel had evacuated. Johnson led the Chief to a door that would lead to the barracks, where they had lost contact from the Marines within. John advanced into the base's motor pool, fighting a Jiralhanae Chieftain and his pack. After clearing the motor pool, John made his way to the barracks, where Thel revealed that the Jiralhanae had taken prisoners. The two fought through the barracks, rescuing the few Marines that lived and killing every Covenant soldier in the vicinity including a War Chieftain. They led the surviving Marines onto an elevator to the landing pad. Unfortunately, ''Kilo 023'' was attacked by a unit of Jiralhanae Jiralhanae Jumper|Jumpers attempting to destroy her engines. John, Thel and the Marines subsequently defeated the Brutes, with Sergeant Johnson and a small group of Marines arrived immediately after, on the run from the operations center which had been overrun by the Covenant. Keyes ordered John to return to the operations center and re-arm the bomb. Johnson, Thel and the surviving Marines boarded ''Kilo 023'' and left the base, leaving John as the only living human still in Crow's Nest. File:Saved.jpg|thumb|left|200px|John-117 rushes to save a Marine prisoner from the Jiralhanae. John-117 made his way back down the path Johnson had arrived from, passing numerous destroyed Warthogs and Marine corpses, clearing a path to the operations center that was now heavily fortified by Covenant plasma cannons. After clearing out the motor pool, the Spartan entered the operations center where he overheard a conversation between the Prophet of Truth and the War Chieftain commander. John took the Covenant forces by surprise and killed them all before re-arming the UNSC bomb. With smaller charges going off throughout the base, the Spartan hastily made his way towards the hangar, retracing his steps from earlier while being assailed by more quotes from Halsey. Engaging scattered and panicking Covenant forces as he went, he arrived in the hangar as Phantoms departed, abandoning Unggoy and Kig-Yar to their fates. John pushed through and entered an elevator, the doors closing just as flames from the bomb's detonation reached the hangar bay. As the elevator descended, fire exploded into the elevator shaft, sending the elevator plummeting into the depths and knocking the Spartan unconscious, the last thing he heard being Cortana telling him that this would be his tomb.
}}
File:Tsavo Highway.jpg|thumb|250px|John-117 fighting Jiralhanae at Voi Municipal Water Pump House 03. After regaining consciousness in an underground vehicle bay, John regrouped with Reynolds|Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds and other Marine survivors. While all the troops fit for duty mounted a pair of surviving Warthogs, the injured personnel and the men treating them remained behind. The two Warthogs passed through the large cave system beneath the base before emerging into the open air of Kenya, where chunks of the Mombasa Tether lay strewn across the plains following it's collapse during the Battle of Mombasa on 2552#October|October 20. Seeking to put as much distance as possible between themselves and ''Crow's Nest'', the two Warthogs made their way across the plains, engaging scattered Covenant troops gathered around their destroyed Phantoms while Reynolds attempted to raise Commander Keyes on COM to no avail. The team eventually reached a small dam occupied by Covenant forces, which they successfully traversed. As they left the dam, they got a garbled message from Marcus Stacker|Gunnery Sergeant Stacker who was leading a supply convoy down the Tsavo highway (location)|Tsavo Highway for the Marines in Voi. The sergeant's convoy had been attacked by Irdnekt-pattern Banshee|Banshees and subsequently attacked by Covenant infantry and vehicles who sealed a nearby tunnel with an anti-vehicle barrier. As John and his team arrived at the survivor's location, they witnessed a Warthog getting rammed by a Barukaza Workshop Chopper|Chopper. The team engaged in combat with the various Covenant units in the area, including several Choppers, a number of Rizsheda-pattern Shade|Shade turrets and snipers. With the Covenant presence depleted, the survivors retreated behind the energy barrier, where a swarm of Yanme'e emerged to attack the humans. The UNSC forces eventually killed all of the Covenant soldiers and John destroyed the barrier's power source, while a nearby Holography|hologram of the Prophet of Truth sermonized the Portal at Voi|artifact in the excavated ruins of Mombasa. Stacker prompted John to continue on to Voi, as the beleaguered Marines in the city would be grateful for his assistance. John and his convoy of vehicles continued through the tunnel and along the Tsavo Highway, witnessing a pass overheat towards the portal site. An Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI ONI Recon 111|reconnaissance team reporting Covenant activity at the excavation site confirmed the existence of the portal within. Eventually forced to dismount due to roadblocks and a broken section of highway, John and his team continued on foot. Commander Keyes finally re-established communication with John, believing that the object Truth had uncovered was the Installation 00|Ark. John eventually reached Voi Municipal Water Pump House 03, the site of a large battle with Marines holding a network of structures on top of a nearby hill from encroaching Covenant forces. John assisted the Marines in killing the enemy soldiers and regrouped with the Marines, where they informed him that they needed to hold their position until Pelicans could arrive with resupply for a push against heavy Covenant armor on Tsavo Highway. File:H3 E3 Tsavo Highway Road.jpg|thumb|left|250px|UNSC forces assault the Covenant-held Tsavo Highway. The team were forced to fend off two Phantoms transporting large packs of Jiralhanae onto the battlefield before contending with a Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraith that arrived from a nearby Covenant garrison. After the Wraith was neutralised, several resupply Pelicans arrived, deploying reinforcement Marines and vehicles for the assault on the Coenant-held Tsavo Highway. The now-mobilized UNSC forces advanced into the Covenant garrison in the next valley and destroyed it before rejoining the Tsavo Highway. A large Covenant armored unit including several Wraiths, turrets and a large force of Choppers were stationed on and around the next section of highway. John and the UNSC forces attacked anda massive battle soon began. Eventually clearing all Covenant forces, the unit was able to proceed along the highway while Commander Keyes ordered ONI Recon 111 to retreat from the crater. Further along the Tsavo Highway a large force of Jiralhanae had blocked off the path with roadblocks and heavily entrenched themselves in a series of nearby structures. The team managed to fight their way through, killing a War Chieftain and his pack guarding another anti-vehicle barrier. With the Tsavo Highway now free of Covenant forces, several Pelicans arrived to drop off more vehicles and soldiers for the push into Voi. Knowing that the Covenant fleet had fully uncovered the presumed Ark, Admiral Hood rallied the UNSC forces, delivering words of reassurance and emphasising the importance of stopping the Prophet of Truth before he could activate the artifact. Once the force mounted up, they pushed on to Voi.
}}
File:Voi 2.jpg|thumb|250px|John-117 and Marines fighting through the Traxus facility. The convoy of UNSC vehicles continued down the Tsavo Highway until they reached the entrance to Traxus Factory Complex 09, which had been heavily occupied by Covenant forces in the preceding hours. After dismounting from his M831 Troop Transport Warthog|vehicle, John and a group of Marines made their way inside, ambushing Covenant troops listening to a holographic sermon from the Prophet of Truth and opening several doors allowing their supporting M12 Chaingun Warthog|Chaingun Warthog to advance. After killing a large group of Covenant in the next tunnel, John proceeded into the first of several lake beds, where an Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|Anti-Aircraft Wraith was attacking several AV-14 Hornet|Hornets that were engaged in aerial dogfights with Type-26 Banshee|Banshees above the factory. Eventually clearing out the AA Wraith and its accompanying unit of Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|Ghosts, John re-entered the factory, assisting a group of Marines in flushing out Covenant troops in a nearby office. Once the way was clear, the Marines opened the doors into the next section of the factory for the Spartan. In the next room, a Ru'swum-pattern Phantom|Phantom deployed a swarm of Yanme'e through a shattered glass roof, which failed to halt the UNSC advance. John met up with a Marine anti-tank unit in the tunnel leading to the second lake bed. Mounting up on a M274 Mongoose|Mongoose with a M41 SPNKR|rocket launcher-armed passenger, John entered the second lake bed, where more Ghosts and Barukaza Workshop Chopper|Choppers defended a pair of Anti-Aircraft Wraiths. Despite the heavy Covenant presence, the anti-tank unit was able to make short work of them, as well as several waves of reinforcements brought in by Phantoms. The Covenant made a last-ditch attempt to retake the lake bed, deploying a Deutoros-pattern Scarab|Scarab into the area. The human forces were able to weaken the Scarab by attacking it's vulnerable leg joints and allowing John to board the walker. The Spartan engaged the crew in close quarters before destroying the Scarab's power core, completely destroying the assault platform. With the lake bed clear, more Pelicans arrived to drop off reinforcements, including Arbiter Thel 'Vadam. File:1216050538 Scarab.jpg|thumb|left|250px|A Scarab engaging UNSC forces. The victorious UNSC forces re-entered the factory, passing through an aid-station that had been set up to deal with injured Marines and civilian factory workers. Reports coming in revealed that the Covenant fleet was pulling back to the portal as well as the presence of a Indulgence of Conviction|single Covenant ship that had arrived in-system. John and Thel entered the warehouse section of the factory complex, where Jiralhanae forces were attacking scattered Marines and slaughtering civilian workers. After clearing out several sections of warehouse and recruiting a number of Marines and armed civilians to their side, the group proceeded to the other side of the factory, killing a Mgalekgolo pair that had just wiped out a group of fleeing civilians. A Jiralhanae Jiralhanae Chieftain|Chieftain and an assortment of other Covenant troops defended the path to the nearby Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|Mantis anti-aircraft emplacement while the Prophet of Truth gave encouragement from a nearby holotank. Despite this, they failed to stop John and his forces. The group moved forward towards their objective as UNSC Battle Group Victory began their approach. With their time running out, the group launched an attack on the heavily-defended plateau that the cannon was stationed on. After a furious battle, they emerged victorious and John destroyed the anti-aircraft cannon's rapidly overheating core, neutralizing the battery. With a hole now punched in the Covenant defenses, the battle group approached, bombarding the Prophet's Anodyne Spirit|vessel sitting in the center of the portal. Their attack failed to damage the Forerunner keyship, and the portal was activated. The ''Anodyne Spirit'' ascended into the portal to the Ark, with the rest of the Covenant fleet following. As Admiral Hood ordered the UNSC forces to regroup, the Flood-infested ''Indulgence of Conviction'' exited slipspace over Voi and crashed into the opposite side of the Traxus factory complex. As Thel pondered the arrival of the ship as more Covenant reinforcements, John knew that it was Flood|something even worse.
}}
File:Picture 1.jpg|thumb|250px|A Marine under attack by Flood combat forms. The Flood quickly began to spread throughout the city of Voi, assimilating both the corpses of fallen UNSC Marines and Covenant troops, as well as still-living human forces. The weary Marine forces stationed across Voi were ill-prepared for this new threat and the majority of them were quickly assimilated by the parasite. As John and Thel made their way back to the Traxus factory complex, he received transmissions of confused Marines attempting to regroup while being attacked by the unfamiliar hostiles. Returning to the now-sealed off warehouse, John witnessed a horde of Flood Pod infectors and Flood combat form|combat forms swarming a cluster of Marines near the bay door, forcing the survivors to turn their weapons on their comrades who were mutating before their eyes. After fighting off the wave of Flood, John and Thel re-entered the warehouse through a nearby office, narrowly saving a Marine from a number of Pod infectors. In the warehouse beyond, masses of Flood were attacking straggling UNSC defenders led by Pete Stacker|Sergeant Stacker. After rescuing whatever Marines they could and clearing out all the Flood forms in the warehouse sections of the facility, John and Thel proceeded onward while the Marines stayed behind. The group proceeded back towards the aid station, using side offices as the bay doors had been closed off. In the aid-station, only a Suicidal Marine|single delirious Marine still lived. Surrounded by his dead comrades, the Marine rambled incoherently about his squad's infection by the Flood. Unable to help the Marine, John and Thel continued out into the lakebed, the majority of which had been sheared away by the crashing battlecruiser. File:Conversing Sangheili.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The Sangheili Major reveals the fall of High Charity and the Flood's evolution. At that moment, a battle group of the Sangheili Fleet of Retribution arrived, having pursued the ''Indulgence of Conviction'' from Installation 05. The fleet deployed a number of Covenant drop pod|drop pods, depositing a team of Special Operations Sangheili who proceeded to attack the Flood forms around them. John and Thel fought their way across to the team, and the commanding Sangheili Major revealed that High Charity had completely Fall of High Charity|fallen to the Flood and the subsequent quarantine by Sangheili warships had fallen, before warning them that the Flood had Flood pure form|evolved. John, Thel and the Special Operations team fought their way across the outskirts of the destroyed lake bed, before re-entering the factory and contending with the Flood forms that had completely infested the building. Sergeant Johnson revealed that the Sangheili had confirmed the presence of Cortana on board the Flood ship, and ordered John to retrieve the AI. On the other side of the factory, as the group entered the lake bed that the ''Indulgence of Conviction'' had crashed in, the group was confronted by the Flood's Flood pure form|pure forms for the first time, as a Flood stalker form|spindly crawler form transformed into a hulking Flood tank form|tank form to confront them. As they made their way to the wrecked husk of the ''Ket''-pattern battlecruiser, the team was forced to engage large numbers of the new pure Flood forms, as well as more combat forms until they reached a rent in the ship's hull. Thel announced that he and the other Sangheili would remain behind to secure the entrance while the Master Chief ventured inside alone. File:Halo3 E3 TRAILER 2007 720p30 ST 6300Kbps 002 0001.jpg|thumb|250px|The Fleet of Retribution glassing Kenya to contain the Flood outbreak. John made his way through corridors thick with Flood biomass and Flood blister|blisters until he entered a larger room where he discovered what he thought was Cortana-in truth a message from her-inside a Covenant storage device. Before he could listen to the message, a Sangheili Phantom arrived and 343 Guilty Spark descended down toward the Spartan. Still hostile towards the monitor for his Battle of Installation 04|earlier actions, John resisted when Spark attempted to interface with the storage device. Eventually relenting, John allowed Spark to take the device and the two entered the Phantom. The dropship quickly took off from the Flood-infested cruiser as the Fleet of Retribution began to Glassing|glass the city of Voi to ensure that the Flood parasite could not spread further. On board the fleet's flagship, the ''Shadow of Intent'', a meeting was convened between John-117, Thel 'Vadam, 343 Guilty Spark, Admiral Hood, Commander Keyes and Fleetmaster Rtas 'Vadum. The group listened to the message from Cortana, which revealed that the Flood were on their way to Earth with the infested High Charity, but hinting at Installation 08|a solution for the Flood problem that lay beyond the portal, at the Ark. While Admiral Hood wished to marshal their strength at Earth in preparation for the Flood assault, 'Vadum scoffed at this notion while the others believed that their best choice was to travel through the opened portal and find the "solution" Cortana had spoke of. Eventually, Hood acquiesced, allowing Keyes to take the to accompany the Fleet of Retribution through the portal. As the fleet departed for Installation 00, Hood rallied the surviving forces at Earth to prepare for the Flood's arrival, which never came as the Gravemind took High Charity to the Ark instead.
Aftermath File:HSA Flood infesting Earth.jpg|thumb|left|250px|A simulation of Earth being infested by the Flood. The end of the Battle of Kenya concluded the fighting in East Africa, as the majority of Covenant vessels accompanied the Prophet of Truth to the Ark. Some of the remaining Covenant forces on Earth fortified themselves in Arizona, United Republic of North America|URNA. After the withdrawal of Truth's fleet through through the Ark's portal, Covenant proselytization network|battle network cohesion broke down allowing UNSC forces to begin a URNA Southwest Campaign|major counteroffensive, with the codeword LUX declared on November 19 in anticipation of the nuclear bombardment of shielded Covenant positions at Free-fire area OZONE. The campaign culminated on December 3, with Operation: MARSH FLASH, which successfully eliminated clusters of Jiralhanae leadership attempting to activate an unknown artifact.''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #2
The task force that ventured through the portal was successful in Battle of Installation 00|defeating both the remnants of the Covenant and the Flood. Thel 'Vadam Battle of the Citadel|killing the Prophet of Truth and John-117 Raid on Installation 08|activating the incomplete Installation 08 over the Ark to destroy the Flood presence. With this, the Human-Covenant War was officially over, after almost thirty years of devastating conflict. After the cessation of war on 2553#March|March 3, 2553, a Voi Memorial|memorial ceremony was held on a hilltop near the ruined city of Voi, where survivors of the war gathered to remember those who had fallen in the conflict.
At some point following the Battle of Kenya, Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODST squad Alpha-Nine carried out Operation: JOINT MONITOR in the ruins of Voi, now dubbed the Voi Exclusion Zone, to determine if any Flood had survived the city's glassing by the Fleet of Retribution. No traces of the parasite was found. The glassing of Voi was disguised as a Covenant attack from the general populace after the war's end, to keep the knowledge of the Flood's arrival on the planet hidden. In order to prepare for the hypothetical return of the parasite, UNSC Tactical Simulator|simulated training was provided for SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan-IVs to undertake.
Participants
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | Battle Group Victory
|
|
|Survived
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="4" |UNSC Navy
|Fleet Admiral
|Terrence Hood
|Survived
| |Commander
|Miranda Keyes
|Survived
| |Sergeant Major
|Avery Johnson
|Survived
| |Master Chief Petty Officer
|John-117
|Survived
|}
Ground forces UNSC Navy
*Office of Naval Intelligence
**ONI Recon 111
UNSC Marine Corps
*S4/BLCE/1/7
*S4/BRT/1/7
**Alpha Company, S4/BRT/1/7|Alpha Company
**Charlie Company, S4/BRT/1/7|Charlie Company Naval forces Battle Group Victory
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" |Fleet of Retribution
|
|''Shadow of Intent''
|Survived
| |
|''Pious Inquisitor''
|Survived
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="4" |Unknown
|Fleetmaster
|Rtas 'Vadum
|Survived
| |Arbiter
|Thel 'Vadam
|Survived
| | rowspan="2" |Special Operations Sangheili|Special Operations
|Usze 'Taham
|Survived
| |N'tho 'Sraom
|Survived
|}
Ground forces Special Warfare Group|Fleet of Retribution Special Warfare Group Naval forces Fleet of Retribution
*One battle group
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="3" |Truth's fleet
| Forerunner keyship
|''Anodyne Spirit''
|Survived
| |
|''Foebane|Gathering of Praise''
|Survived
| | Covenant frigate
|''Twilight Compunction''
|Survived
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" |Unknown
|Shipmaster
|Hekabe
|Survived
| |Jiralhanae Chieftain|Chieftain
|Cethegus
|Survived
|}
Non-combatants
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| |High Council
|Hierarchs|Hierach
|Prophet of Truth
|Survived
|}
Naval forces Truth's fleet
List of appearances
''Halo: First Strike''
*''Petra''
''Halo 3''
''Halo Legends''
*''Origins''
''Halo: Spartan Assault''
''Halo: Mortal Dictata''
''Halo Mythos''
Notes
Sources |
United Nations Space Command
|side2= Covenant
|commanders1=Unknown
|commanders2=*Unidentified shipmaster (Righteous Vigilance)|Unnamed Sangheili Shipmaster Prophet of Conviction
|forces1=*Numerous freighters M12 Chaingun Warthogs UNSC Marine Corps|Marines
1 Spartan-IIIHalo: Fractures, ''Breaking Strain'', ''page 57''
Light ground forces
|forces2=*Fleet of Righteous Vigilance
*At least 1
*Multiple s
*s
|casual1=Very heavy
|casual2=Light
}}
The Battle of Kholo was an attack by the Covenant on the human colony world of Kholo.Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, ''The Return''
Background The location of Kholo was obtained by an Unidentified shipmaster (Righteous Vigilance)|unnamed Sangheili Shipmaster from the incomplete data banks of a captured human freighter. Upon returning with the information to the High Council, the Shipmaster was ordered to take command of the Fleet of Righteous Vigilance and destroy Kholo, under the watchful eye of the Prophet of Conviction.
The battle The human orbital defenses maintained only a few small military vessels and a number of freighters in orbit. These were overwhelmed and destroyed by the fleet's scout vessels. When the main fleet arrived, ground forces were deployed to the surface, triggering a vicious ground battle where UNSC forces fought in vain to keep the Covenant at bay while they evacuated the civilian population to the world's various fallout shelters during the course of the battle. The battle raged with the Covenant pushing forward unabated before being withdrawn after two days to clear the way for the orbital bombardment to follow. The Shipmaster leading the fleet was ordered by the Prophet of Conviction to manually control his cruiser's energy projector and carve the Covenant glyph for "Faith" into the surface of the planet. Upon completion of the glyph, the rest of the fleet opened fire and completely glassed Kholo. The battle was an overwhelming Covenant victory with Kholo being glassing|glassed, killing a large number of civilians and UNSC personnel trapped on the planet.
Aftermath Like all previous colonies lost to the Covenant, Kholo was rendered lifeless by the glassing and most of its population burned to death. The UNSC effectively abandoned the planet as it was consumed in flames, proving to be yet another decisive victory for the Covenant. However, small amounts of human forces remained to establish a foothold on the planet.
In 2559, after the Human-Covenant War had ended in part due to the Great Schism that saw the Covenant split apart, the Shipmaster who had glassed the planet returned to Kholo to seek atonement for his role in the planet's destruction. By this point, Kholo, despite its abandoned state, became a site of minor skirmishes between the UNSC and Kig-Yar, as the two sides fought over recovered Forerunner relics. As of 2559, the UNSC has not initiated any concerted effort to terraform or resettle Kholo.
, a former mining vessel converted into an ordnance transport, was damaged during the battle. At some point the ship entered a slowly degrading orbit around a nearby gas giant, which it maintained as late as 2557. The vessel's automated systems continued to function despite the ship's impending destruction. The ship's interior was simulated aboard the 's training deck as a practice environment for the latter vessel's SPARTAN-IV Program|SPARTAN-IV complement.Halo 4, multiplayer map ''Adrift''
Trivia The ''Halo 4'' multiplayer map ''Adrift'' takes place aboard a converted CAA mining vessel damaged during the Battle of Kholo.
Gallery
File:BattleOfKholo.png|Covenant forces leaving Kholo before its glassing. File:TR Kholo.png|Covenant ships glassing Kholo. File:Kholo_14.png|The Shipmaster's flagship carves the Glyph of Faith on Kholo's surface. File:Glyph of Faith.JPG|The glyph visible on the surface twenty years later.
List of appearances
''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''
*''The Return''
''Halo 4''
''Halo: Fractures''
*''Breaking Strain''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Kholo Category:Covenant victories|Kholo |
|date=2549
|place=Kroedis II, Kroedis system
|result=Covenant victory Kroedis II glassing|glassed
|side1= United Nations Space Command
|side2= Covenant
|commanders1=Unknown
|commanders2=Fleetmaster Thel 'Vadamee
|forces1=
|forces2=*Fleet of Particular Justice
|casual1=About 15 million casualties
|casual2=
|civilian=
}}
In 2549, a battle took place at Kroedis II, a human human colonies|colony in the Kroedis system.
Background At some point during the Human-Covenant War, a Minor Prophet was assassinated by the Jiralhanae Jiralhanae Chieftain|chieftain Bassus, who became tired of the Prophets' manipulations; Bassus then blamed the UNSC as responsible for the Prophet's death.
Battle Convinced of Bassus' statement, Covenant forces under Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee attacked and glassed the planet. This led to approximately 15 million casualties.
Aftermath Jameson Locke compiled information on Thel 'Vadamee's actions at Kroedis as well as at Battle of Camber|Camber, Battle of Bounty|Bounty, Battle of Estuary|Estuary, Battle for Alluvion|Alluvion, Battle of Mesa|Mesa, and Greydowns into a Target profile.
List of appearances
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals''
Sources |
The Battle of Leonis Minoris was a battle of the Human-Covenant War.Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe|Halo: Evolutions, "The Impossible Life and The Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''page 470''
The battle In 2537, the Covenant discovered the human presence in the Leonis Minoris system, and proceeded to wipe out two of the three colonies there. The United Nations Space Command|UNSC rushed to the system's defense with a large force of starships, and won the battle, but at a cost: ten ships were lost in battle against the technologically-superior Covenant, and Admiral Cole was forced to allow the Covenant to destroy two colonies in order to protect the third one.
Aftermath Although the UNSC Navy considered the loss of ten vessels to be relatively minor, the Covenant succeeded in eradicating two of the three colonies in the system, and the loss weighed heavily on Cole's conscience.
List of appearances
''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''
*''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole''
Sources
Category:UNSC victories|Leonis Minoris |
|place=Line Installation 1-4, unidentified moon (Sub-sector 35)|unidentified moon
|result=UNSC victory Team Black returns to UNSC-controlled space
|side1=* United Nations Space Command Covenant
|side2=* Sentinel|Forerunner constructs
|side3=
|commanders1=
Margaret-053
--- Thon 'Talamee
|commanders2=686 Ebullient Prism
|forces1=*1 M12 Chaingun Warthog SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II Team Black Artificial Intelligence|AI Iona
--- 1
2 Mgalekgolo Several Jiralhanae (late in battle)
Several Sangheili (late in battle)
Several Unggoy (late in battle)
|forces2=*Several Gatherers Numerous Aggressor Sentinels
|casual1=
None
--- Several Sangheili
*Thon 'Talamee
*Reff 'Talamee Several Unggoy
*Jubub Both Mgalekgolo
|casual2=*686 Ebullient Prism Several Gatherers Several Aggressor Sentinels
}}
The Battle of Line Installation 1-4 was an Battle|engagement on Line Installation 1-4 on an unidentified moon (Sub-sector 35)|unidentified moon, between the members of SPARTAN-II program|Spartan Team Black, briefly allied with a unit of the Covenant, against Forerunner sentinel|machines.Halo: Blood Line, ''Halo: Blood Line Issue 1|Issue 1''Halo: Blood Line, ''Halo: Blood Line Issue 2|Issue 2'' It was fought during 2552#August|August 2552, some time after the Raid on Verge.
Background The SPARTAN-II Program|Spartan Team Black was deployed on a Operation: BLOWBACK|covert mission to gather intel and disrupt Covenant supply routes in Sub-sector 35|Sub-Sector 35 onboard the ONI-commissioned vessel ''Long Time Coming''. Meanwhile, the Covenant assault carrier ''Clarity of Faith'' was set to renzedvous with a supply convoy nearby. While both vessels were on their way to their destinations, they passed near the unidentified moon (Sub-sector 35)|unidentified moon and were shot down by Line Installation 1-4's automated defenses. Both ships ended up crash-landing on the moon, and most of their crews were killed.
The battle After assessing the situation, Team Black noted that the moon did not possess a breathable atmosphere, and discovered that there was an underground complex with breathable air nearby. Black-Two remained on the ship to send a Slipbeacon|distress call, while the rest of the team moved outside to find a way to the underground facility. Meanwhile, some of the surviving the Covenant forces led by Shipmaster Thon 'Talamee took a Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraith, heading for the same destination as the Spartans. The two soon engaged each other, but were interrupted by the sudden appearance of mechanical Gatherers.
The machines engaged both parties and captured Black-One, Reff 'Talamee, Jubub as well as a Mgalekgolo, and then headed toward the Line Installation's entrance. Black-Three and Victor-101|-Four pursued, making it inside but losing the Gatherers. As the Spartans and the Covenant had a common enemy and goals, the two made an uneasy ceasefire until they could rescue their comrades. Meanwhile, deep inside the facility, the captives were brought into holding cells and were greeted by the installation's Monitor, 686 Ebullient Prism, who informed them that they would be vivisected and cataloged in order to find an immunity to the The Flood|Flood.
As the rescue party advanced deeper into the facility, they split up. The monitor begun to consider them a serious threat, and in order to stop them, it decided to manipulate them into turning against each other. First, Prism hacked into the heads-up display|HUD of Black-Two, who had just arrived into the facility after sending out the distress call, making the two other Spartans appear to her as Covenant. Similarly, Black-Four was tricked into believing Two to be Thon. They engaged each other and Four shot Two in the head, knocking her unconscious. Prism then hacked into Team Black's AI construct Iona and attempted to terminate her.Halo: Blood Line, ''Halo: Blood Line Issue 3|Issue 3''
As a result of Prism's manipulation, Three attacked the Covenant forces who arrived to his location, thinking it had been Thon who shot him. While this confusion was cleared quickly and the two parties barely maintained their truce, the situation was complicated when Four was reminded of a long-forgotten animosity against Three and began attacking him in blind rage. Meanwhile, One and Reff managed to break out of their cells. The two escaped through the facility's halls, successfully evading and even blinding the Monitor. They eventually found their way into the installation's control center.Halo: Blood Line, ''Halo: Blood Line Issue 4|Issue 4'' From there, Reff contacted Thon, telling them to head to his position. Three and Four were still fighting each other and the Covenant decided to leave them be. One then contacted her Spartans, and found that they were engaged in a brawl while Two was still unresponsive. It took One, Three and Iona to eventually bring Four back to his senses.Halo: Blood Line, ''Halo: Blood Line Issue 5|Issue 5''
As Three and Four moved out toward the control room, Thon's forces were already there. As he had now gotten his brother back, Thon decided that the truce was over and had a Mgalekgolo smash an unsuspecting Black-One into the console. Thon then noticed a Covenant supply convoy approaching their position - the same one they were supposed to before they got shot down. Thon began planning on how they could contact them and ''High Charity'' for teams to retrieve the artifact, but it soon became clear that Reff had plans of his own; claiming he had been guided by destiny toward this moment, he preached that he would establish a "new Covenant" and shoot the Hierarchs' servants down. Thon refused to listed to his brother's heresy and proceeded to kill him, but Reff had stolen his Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword|energy sword and impaled Thon.
As Reff begun re-targeting the facility's main weapon to fire on the Covenant fleet, Prism arrived with an army of Sentinels and Gatherers and vaporized the Sangheili. Meanwhile, Black-One regained consciousness and Black-Three, Four and finally, Black-Two, arrived at the chamber. The Spartans and the remaining Covenant fought the Forerunner machines, until Prism was the only one left. Team Black concentrated their fire on the Monitor, which then flew into the path of the installation's main weapon and was vaporized as Black-One fired it from the command console. The pulse fired into Slipstream and brought the entire approaching Covenant fleet down on the moon's surface. Team Black then made its way back to the facility's entrance, and moved outside to fight the remaining survivors from the crashed Covenant vessels in order to find and commandeer a vessel with a functioning Slipspace drive. The Spartans eventually succeeded in returning to UNSC-controlled space.Halo: Escalation, ''Halo: Escalation Issue 8|Issue 8''
Gallery
File:The crash.jpg|''Long Time Coming'' crash-landing on the moon. File:HBL-Issue1-FullPage-BlackTeam.jpg|Team Black in the cargo hold. File:Blood Line 2.jpg|Black-One is captured by a Gatherer. File:BL_Four_and_Three_make_it_inside.png|Black-Three and -Four barely make it into the Line installation. File:One_firing_at_Prism.jpg|One fires at Prism with a Gatherer's energy beam. File:Three vs Four.png|Three and Four duel in the installation. File:BL_Reff_kills_Thon.png|Reff kills his brother. File:BL_Prism_kills_Reff.png|Reff is vaporized by 686 Ebullient Prism. File:BL_Prism_vaporized.png|Prism is destroyed by the installation's main weapon. File:BL_Covenant_convoy_crash.png|The Covenant convoy crashing on the moon. File:BL_Almost_fair.png|The surviving Covenant regroup outside the facility. File:All_Together_Now_by_PORTELA.jpg|Black Team assaults the Covenant outside the installation.
List of appearances
''Halo: Blood Line''
Notes
Sources
Category:UNSC victories |
The Battle of LP 656-38 e was a naval as well as planetary battle that escalated into a planetary-only battle in the Forerunner-Flood war.
Overview LP 656-38 e was assaulted and assailed by the Flood, and 9,045 Forerunner survivors on the planet barricaded themselves in the planet's centric and primary government edifice, which was deemed inadequate to withstand an extended siege by the enemy ground forces, numbering 1,572,034,315 and expanding with every kill. It was estimated that the government building would be overrun in less than a week's time with oppressing Flood forms. As many as 846 smaller groups took refuge in less defensible structures according to Probability Model Zeta. It was estimated that these structures would be overrun in an average of nine hours or less.
List of appearances
''Halo 3''
*''Terminal (Halo 3)|Terminals''
Notes
Sources
Category:Battles|LP 656-38 e |
Operation: FIRST STRIKE Battle of October 10
|conc = *Battle of Earth Battle of Installation 05
*Fall of High Charity Onyx Conflict Battle of Mare Erythraeum Skirmish on Mona Lisa
|next = *Battle of Installation 00
Operation: SUNSPEAR
|conflict = *Human-Covenant War
*Siege of the Inner Colonies
|date = Sometime between 2552#October|October 2552 2552#December|December 2552
|place = Luna, Earth Sol system
|result = UEG victory
|side1 = * Unified Earth Government|UEG
* United Nations Space Command|UNSC
|side2 = * Covenant
*Covenant military
**Covenant fleet
|commanders1 =
|commanders2 =Kaidon Thav 'Sebarim
|forces1 =*s
|forces2 =
|casual1 =
|casual2 =
}}
In 2552, during the Human-Covenant War, a battle took place at Luna.
Background In 2552#October|October 2552, the Prophet of Regret discovered Earth with his Fleet of Sacred Consecration|fleet. With the discovery, the planet was attacked by Covenant forces.
Battle Luna's skyhook defense complexes came under attack by the Covenant and were defended by ONI Security personnel. Prototype versions of the ORBITAL-class Mjolnir were rushed into service in order to protect these skyhook complexes.
Other Covenant forces attacked Luna's cities to ensure that the UNSC would not be able to launch a sneak attack from their Lunar military bases. Most if not all of Jonathan Doherty's relatives died in these attacks.
Aftermath Both Luna and Mars got hit particularly hard compared to other colonies in the Sol system, although they both fared better than Earth. Many habitats on the moon survived the Covenant assault relatively intact.
List of appearances
''Halo 4''
''Halo: New Blood''
''Halo Infinite''
Sources |
|conc=Sanghelios global war
|next=Battle of Genesis
|image=File:H5G MeridianMiners.png|300px
|conflict=Post-Covenant War conflicts Created conflict
*Guardian emergences
|date= 2558#October|October 25, 2558
|place=Meridian, Hestia system
|result=Created victory Meridian's Guardian Custode leaves for Genesis with Blue Team. Successful escape of Fireteam Osiris from Meridian
|side1=* UEG
* United Nations Space Command|UNSC Liang-Dortmund Corporation
|side2=* Created Blue Team
|commanders1=*Jameson Locke|Spartan Jameson Locke Governor Sloan
|commanders2=*Warden Eternal John-117
|forces1=*Several Corp Pelican|D79-TC Corp Pelicans Several Brahman light hauler|Mules At least one M820 Scorpion|M820 Corp Scorpion Several M12 Warthog|M12B Corp Warthogs Several M290 Mongoose|M290-M Corp Gungooses Fireteam Osiris Civilian|Colonists
|forces2=*One Guardian Several Phaetons Several Z-510 focus turrets Several Promethean Knights Several Armiger Soldiers Several Promethean Watchers Several Promethean Crawlers Some hijacked human vehicles
|casual1=*''Meridian 5-Alpha'' rendered inoperable Pinnacle Station|Pinnacle and Meridian Stations devastated Several D79-TC Pelicans Several M12B Warthogs Several colonists
|casual2=*Some Z-1800 Phaetons Numerous Promethean ground forces
}}
In 2558#October|October 2558 a battle took place on Meridian, fought between the forces of the United Nations Space Command, the Liang-Dortmund Corporation|Liang-Dortmund Corporation (LDC) and the Created.
Background
Around ten years earlier before the Created attack on the colony during the Human-Covenant War, Meridian was discovered by the Covenant and immediately attacked in 2548. Although the UNSC was able to regain the control of Merdian after 3 years of siege on the moon, the Covenant returned to the moon shortly after and subsequently overwhelmed most of the defenses, forcing the UNSC to retreat to the edge of the system. Eventually in the next five hours, Meridian has been glassing|glassed by the Covenant fleet led by the Prophet of Regret and a Luminary was retrieved by a team. The Luminary allowed the Prophet of Regret to find a Portal at Voi|portal complex that led to the Installation 00|final home of the Forerunners, which is located on the planet "Earth|Erde-Tyrenne" thanks to his San'Shyuum Stewards in 2552#October|late 2552. Unaware that the planet was the human homeworld and largest UNSC major stronghold, Earth, Regret and his Fleet of Sacred Consecration|fleet headed to the world to find the Forerunner artifact, initialing the Battle for Earth. While the glassing of Meridian resulted in the evaporation of oceans and the loss of most life of the colony, the atmosphere remained somewhat breathable.
After the Human-Covenant War, Meridian was recolonized by the Liang-Dortmund Corporation, independent from the Unified Earth Government and the smart AI Sloan served as Liang-Dortmund's administrator and as the colony's governor. Liang-Dortmund brought former Meridian residents as well as opportunists seeking profit to the world to make it completely habitable again and aid in "deglassing" Meridian's surface and restoring the world to its former state, believing that it would take over twenty years to complete the deglassing of Meridian. Meridian would saw war again during the Operation: RETRIBUTION.
In the fall of 2558, Cortana Guardian emergences|began to reawaken the Forerunner's fleet of peacekeeping Guardian Custode from across the Milky Way galaxy|galaxy and bring them to her location on the world of Genesis. The first five she activated within 72 hours of each other from Human colonies|human colony worlds, although she was unable to control which Guardians awoke and where. However, with the aid of the Warden Eternal, Cortana managed to control the release of one Guardian; located on the Glassing|glassed moon of Meridian. She then used the Domain to instruct John-117|SPARTAN-117 to come to Meridian.
Blue Team's decision to go AWOL in pursuit of Cortana attracted the attention of Fireteam Osiris, a group of SPARTAN-IV program|SPARTAN-IV super soldiers who were then tasked with locating and returning them to the UNSC.
Battle
}}
On October 25, 2558, the first Prometheans appeared on the surface of Meridian and immediately began attacking the miners of the Liang-Dortmund Corporation. The LDC was largely unprepared and stood little chance against the sudden and overwhelmingly aggressive constructs. The meager air forces and anti-air batteries which the LDC could muster were swiftly destroyed by the Prometheans' Phaetons, and all evacuation attempts were discontinued when the moon's only space elevator, Pinnacle Station, was surrounded by Promethean infantry.
Shortly after the start of the attack, Fireteam Osiris arrived above the moon and began a descent on the space elevator, not realizing that the mining colony was under attack. As the SPARTAN-IV program|SPARTANs were approaching the surface, they were hailed by Governor Sloan, who demanded to know what the United Nations Space Command|UNSC was doing at the old colony. Realizing that the Liang-Dortmund Corporation had made violent contact with Promethean forces, Jameson Locke|SPARTAN Locke pledged to aid the LDC in exchange for assistance in locating Blue Team. After making landfall, Fireteam Osiris broke the siege of Pinnacle Station and pushed towards Meridian Station (location)|Meridian Station, where the brunt of the Promethean attack was centered.
With Pinnacle Station secured, Fireteam Osiris commandeered several vehicles from the station garage and began to remove the Promethean presence on the surface, rescuing several surrounded teams of LDC miners in the process. Although the LDC continued to deploy D79H-TC Pelican|aircraft in an attempt to forestall Forerunner airstrikes, the superior technology of the Promethean Phaetons meant that Osiris and the LDC forces were forced to fight through increasingly thick resistance in order to reach Meridian Station. Utilizing the M820 Scorpion|considerable arsenal that the anti-centralist Governor Sloan had amassed, the humans were eventually able to clear the approach to Meridian Station of all Promethean forces. Sloan begrudgingly thanked the SPARTANs for their assistance in protecting his people and instructed the miners still at Meridian Station to cooperate with Osiris.
}}
The SPARTANs eventually gleaned from the LDC personnel that a Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI prowler had been seen docking on the airpad at Apogee Station. Leveraging the modicum of Sloan's trust that they had earned, Osiris secured transport to Apogee Station on board one of the corporation's dropships, supported by a team of miners detailed by the governor to "keep an eye" on the SPARTANs' activities.
Once at Apogee Station, the SPARTANs and LDC miners found an incredibly thick concentration of Promethean forces had overrun the station. Fighting up the station's primary landing pad, the humans eventual reached a moored . After clearing the Prometheans from the area, Osiris used the state-of-the-art Artemis Tracking System to scan the prowler, confirming that Blue Team had disembarked the vessel shortly before and made their way towards a subterranean excavation further within Apogee. After securing the entrance of the excavation, Governor Sloan opened the blast doors to allow Osiris within while simultaneously pulling the LDC miners back to Meridian Station.
As Fireteam Osiris delved deeper and deeper within the LDC excavation, they discovered that the corporation had discovered a massive Forerunner structure housed in a volcanic cavern far below the surface and utterly untouched by the Covenant Empire|Covenant glassing Battle of Meridian|ten years earlier. Here the SPARTANs encountered the Warden Eternal, a Promethean construct tasked with safeguarding the Guardian Custode interred at the heart of the cavern. The Warden Eternal informed them that Blue Team had been permitted access to the Guardian, but that Osiris's presence was considered trespassing. Determined to catch the SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-IIs before they reached the Guardian, Fireteam Osiris engaged the Warden in combat, defeating him after a prolonged battle. As seismic activity began to increase, Osiris advanced to the final chamber of the Forerunner structure.
File:H5G-Chief&Locke-01.jpg|thumb|250px|John-117 and Jameson Locke fighting below the surface of the planet. The last chamber lay in the lowest depths of the volcanic cavern, and it was here that Fireteam Osiris found the Guardian and Blue Team. Using a complex set of tiered teleporters, the two SPARTAN teams raced each other to the Guardian. The John-117|Master Chief and Jameson Locke|SPARTAN Locke arrived nearly simultaneously at the final teleporter. Locke instructed the SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II at gunpoint to stand down with the rest of his team and return with Osiris to . However, at the Master Chief's command the rest of Blue Team disappeared into the final teleporter and boarded the Guardian. When Locke insisted that John-117 allow Fireteam Osiris to pursue Cortana instead of Blue Team, the Chief attacked Locke; attempting to incapacitate the SPARTAN-IV program|SPARTAN-IV while avoiding his primed armor restraining device. Locke succeeded in dealing the SPARTAN-II a hard enough blow to damage his MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VI|armor, but the fight ended shortly thereafter when the Master Chief managed to paralyze Locke with the active armor restraint device. The Chief then followed the rest of Blue Team into the teleporter, which closed as the seismic activity in the cavern intensified.
The rest of Fireteam Osiris arrived at Locke's position shortly after the Master Chief's departure and freed the SPARTAN of the armor restraint. But the team soon realized that Guardian had been activated and that the seismic activity they had encountered was the massive Forerunner construct preparing to breach the surface. As the entire cavern began to collapse, Osiris hurried back down the teleporters towards the front of the cavern.
}}
The final teleporter brought them back to Meridian Station, where they found a full-scale evacuation in-effect, despite the ongoing threat of Promethean Phaetons. Knowing that the air was too dangerous to commandeer a LDC Pelican, Osiris raced back towards Pinnacle Station in the hopes of riding the space elevator back into orbit. As they retraced their steps back to the station, the Guardian burst from the vitrified crust of the surface, showering the battlefield in magma from the subterranean cavern and triggering another wave of earthquakes. Several evacuation shuttles were shot down as the Prometheans redoubled their assaults on the colony. Osiris arrived at Pinnacle to find that the elevator was once again surrounded by Promethean forces. After destroying the occupying constructs, Osiris entered the station and re-powered the elevator.
With Pinnacle Station secured and power restored to the space elevator gondola, Fireteam Osiris and the last of the Liang-Dortmund Corporation colonists began their ascent. The humans were attacked incessantly by Prometheans warping into the moving gondola, and all the while the Guardian slowly began powering its drives for a Slipstream Space|slipspace jump. As part of its pre-jump power sequence, the Guardian emitted a series of destructive kinetic pulses as a self-defense precaution. Due to the Guardian's close proximity to Pinnacle Station, the first of these pulses crippled the elevator's maglev suspension system; immobilizing the gondola high above the surface of Meridian. The sudden stop killed all of the LDC personnel and stranded the SPARTANs several hundred feet shy of the landing pad where their D79H-TC Pelican|Pelican was docked. Using the maintenance hatches, Osiris gained access to the exterior scaffolding of the elevator, climbing up the last levels while fighting teleporting Prometheans and evading Phaeton fire. As the Guardian's pulses increased in frequency and intensity, Osiris reached the Pelican and escaped the collapsing scaffolding just as the Forerunner construct entered slipspace.
Aftermath
Blue Team's Guardian would eventually arrive on Genesis, a Forerunner Builder planet in the Nomos system, where they would discover other Guardians, meet the Warden Eternal, and learn of Cortana's survival and her plan for the enforcement of the Mantle on the Milky Way|galaxy.
In parallel, Fireteam Osiris would retreat back to ''Infinity''. Roland analyzed data acquired from Meridian's Guardian, and Thomas Lasky|Captain Lasky and Catherine Halsey|Dr Halsey devised a plan to use another Guardian, on Sanghelios, to join up with Blue Team. They would thus meet up with Thel 'Vadam|the Arbiter and the Swords of Sanghelios.
After the Guardian was taken to Genesis, all the Promethean forces disappeared along with it. On October 28, four survivors of the Guardian's departure from Meridian constructed a transmitter in an attempt to get off Meridian. They intercepted Cortana's speech to the Galaxy from the day before, only wanting to leave the planet, the survivors sent a message back and asked for help. Soon after they got a response that everything would be dealt with in time. Despite the loss of Pinnacle Station|the orbital elevator and of Meridian Station|its local headquarters, Liang-Dortmung still received important demand for Meridian's vitrified resources. They relocated their efforts to Darkstar Station, a remote polar outpost. Its workers and engineers had remained mostly unaware of the catastrophe that had happened on the other surface of the planet-moon. The company sent additional ships and personnel to accelerate resource gathering as long as possible, profiting from a tacit permission from the UNSC, and the lack of risky Created activity in the system. Still, the UNSC would prepare a return to Meridian in order to investigate ancient machinery dormant under the surface.
Participants
Military Personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | | rowspan="4" |UNSC Navy
|Master Chief Petty Officer
|John-117
|Survived
| | rowspan="2" |Petty Officer First Class
|Kelly-087
|Survived
| |Linda-058
|Survived
| |Lieutenant, Junior Grade
|Frederic-104
|Survived
| | rowspan="4" |Spartan Operations
| rowspan="4" |Spartan
|Jameson Locke
|Survived
| |Olympia Vale
|Survived
| |Edward Buck
|Survived
| |Holly Tanaka
|Survived
|}
Personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Name
! Status
| |Anele Pretorus
|Unknown
| |Jimmy Dupree
|Unknown
| |Evelyn Collins
|Survived
| |Franco Dimezzo
|Unknown
| |Kyle Kingawa
|Unknown
| |Priya Singh
|KIA
| |William Khaleed
|Unknown
| |Luiz Santiago
|Unknown
| |}
Artificial intelligence
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Name
! Status
| |Sloan
|Survived
|}
Gallery
File:H5G - Combat on Meridian.jpg|Fireteam Osiris engaging Promethean enemies on their way to Meridian Station in ''Halo 5: Guardians''. File:H5G - Osiris at Apogee.jpg|Fireteam Osiris arriving at Apogee Station. File:H5G - Warden pods.jpg|Osiris entering the Guardian's sanctuary. File:HM-Battle of Meridian.jpg|Fireteam Osiris during the Battle of Meridian in ''Halo Mythos''.
List of appearances
''Hunt the Truth''
*''A Hero Falls''
*''The Hunt Begins''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo Fractures''
*''What Remains''
*''Rossbach's World (story)|Rossbach's World''
Sources
Category:Created conflict|Meridian |
|result=Covenant victory Meridian is glassed Covenant later unknowingly locate Earth in 2552
|side1=United Nations Space Command
|side2=Covenant
|commanders1=Captain Edmund PersieHalo 5: Guardians, campaign level ''Evacuation'' - ''Mission Intel''
|commanders2=Prophet of Regret|High Prophet of Regret Unidentified Sangheili commander
|forces1=*UNSC Armed Forces
*UNSC Air Force
*UNSC Navy
**At least one UNSC cruiser
***Halo: Battle Born, ''Chapter 25''
Orbital defense grid At least one Mark IX Mantis ADSHalo 4: The Essential Visual Guide, ''page 111''
Spartan-IIIsHalo: Fractures, ''Breaking Strain'', ''page 57''
*Owen-B096
Meridian militaryHalo: Battle Born, ''Chapter 11''
*Meridian Air Force At least one Prowler
*Sundered Legion Prowler
|forces2=
At least one Halo: Battle Born
18
At least six sHalo: Battle Born, ''page 194''
Type-26 Banshees Reinforced Covenant fleet
*At least three s
**''Solemn Penance''
Heavy Covenant infantry
*Sangheili
*Jiralhanae
*Kig-Yar
*Unggoy
*Mgalekgolo
*Yanme'e
|casual1=*Most vessels Heavy infantry casualties
|casual2=*18 Type-27 Mantis Heavy infantry casualties
}}
}}
The Battle of Meridian was an engagement of the Human-Covenant War between the United Nations Space Command and Covenant at the human Outer Colony of Meridian in the Hestia system. Beginning in 2548, the Battle of Meridian continued for three years as the Covenant attempted to diminish the UNSC's strong resistance on the world. Ultimately, Meridian was Glassing|glassed by the Covenant in 2551.
Prelude Meridian was a major human Outer Colony with a robust economy and a large United Nations Space Command presence, home to several major military contractors that provided the UNSC with equipment, including Chalybs Defense Solutions. Within the final years of the Human-Covenant War, most of Meridian's population had believed they had somehow survived the Covenant's Massacre of the Outer Colonies|onslaught throughout the Outer Colonies. However, the Covenant had discovered the world in 2548 and, realizing Meridian's value to the rest of the UNSC, sought to blockade Meridian.
The battle
Space battle Meridian was discovered by the Covenant in 2548,Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level ''Glassed'' and the moon quickly came under siege as the Covenant attempted to cut off supply lines from Meridian to other fronts in the war. However, the United Nations Space Command fiercely fought against the Covenant invaders, with Meridian's impressive UNSC Air Force garrisons and extensive orbital defense grid. The initial battle lasted for a week out near Hestia's moons, aided by the fact that the attacking Covenant fleet was smaller than usual. However, the Covenant eventually broke through and began surface operations.
Despite the Covenant breaking through, the human defenses were able to continue to bottle up most of the Covenant forces in orbit.Halo: Battle Born, ''page 179'' The Covenant were also impeded by the presence of the Forerunner artifact in Brume-sur-Mer which kept them from glassing Meridian due to their reverence for Forerunner artifacts and unwillingness to harm them.Halo: Battle Born, ''Chapter 13'' The fighting in and around Meridian's atmosphere caused atmosphere disturbances that caused heavier than usual rain storms, even for Meridian's rainy season.Halo: Battle Born, ''page 182''
Ground battle The first prototype for the Mark IX Mantis ADS|HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX "Mantis" ADS engaged in an action known as the "Cherbourg Run", in which it successfully engaged eighteen heavily guarded Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|Type-27 Anti Aircraft Cannons. The success of the prototype in the "Cherbourg Run" is one of the theories of why the walker was eventually called "Mantis".
On the ground, the UNSC and Meridian's military mainly focused on defending major population centers, not informing the planet's population of the invasion as per procedure to avoid causing a panic. However, one of the places targeted by the Covenant was the remote town of Brume-sur-Mer which had a Forerunner artifact buried under the town that the Covenant was interested in. When the Covenant invaded, bringing a that they anchored over the town, the residents were unprepared and around thirty percent of the population was killed. The rest fled into the town's old bomb shelter where they remained safe as the Covenant focused mainly on excavating the artifact and established a shield barrier around the area to keep the UNSC out. Having been outside of the shelter at the time the invasion began, local teens Saskia Nazari, Victor Gallardo, Dorian Nguyen and Evelyn Rousseau linked up with Spartan-III Owen-B096 who had crashed on the moon while trying to defend it from Covenant forces. Owen trained the teens in combat and they worked on disrupting the Covenant operations and rescuing the townspeople. The five succeeded in rescuing the survivors from the bomb shelter and fled in Sundered Legion Prowler|an old Prowler belonging to the Sundered Legion, damaging the corvette when it tried to stop them. The survivors linked up with the UNSC cruiser in orbit and were transported to safety. ONI, the Xeno-Materials Exploitation Group in particular, became interested in the Forerunner artifact the Covenant were after and sought to keep it out of the hands of the Covenant and potentially to use it themselves in the war effort. To this end, they enlisted the aid of the four teens that had helped Owen to get the artifact before the Covenant could.
Three months after departing Meridian, the teens, now Local Team, returned to Brume-sur-Mer and worked with the Meridian militia to recover the artifact which proves to contain a map to a Forerunner structure in Annecy. With ONI having trouble extracting them, Owen and the militia forces travel to Annecy where the teens learn that Meridian has actually been besieged for six months rather than three as they were led to believe and that parts of the moon don't even know about it yet. With the recovered artifact proving to be a key to activating the Forerunner structure which the Covenant had excavated some time earlier, Owen, the militia and Local Team removed a piece of the structure as well as the activation statute, despite knowing that without a Forerunner artifact to seek, the Covenant would now inevitably glass the moon.
Ultimately, the UNSC was able to defend Meridian against the Covenant for three years and was eventually able to repel the alien invaders in 2551.Halo: Reach, ''Dr. Halsey's personal journal''
Shortly after the Unified Earth Government had taken full control of the world, the Covenant returned to Meridian in the same year and the Battle of Meridian continued. The Covenant's sheer power eventually destroyed most of the world's resistance, though Captain Edmund Persie of continued to fight against the Covenant as the battle neared its end. Eventually, Persie and the remaining vessels in Meridian's defense fleet were forced to retreat to the edge of the Hestia system. Five hours after the Navy's retreat, Meridian had been Glassing|glassed by the Covenant.
At least three s glassed the moon, including the Prophet of Regret|High Prophet of Regret's ''Solemn Penance''. Following the battle, a Covenant Special Operations team was dispatched by the Prophet of Regret to the moon's surface to search for Forerunner artifacts. The team retrieved a Luminary and delivered it to Regret aboard his flagship.
Aftermath Some time later in 2552, the High Prophet of Regret's Stewards successfully decrypted the Luminary, which revealed the existence of the Installation 00|final home of the Forerunners, as well as a Portal at Voi|portal that led to it. The Luminary also revealed the location of this portal, "Earth|Erde-Tyrene". Regret assembled the Fleet of Sacred Consecration and ordered the fleet to head for the world at once. Unbeknownst to Regret, Erde-Tyrene was the Forerunner name for Earththe homeworld of humanity.
Meridian was not completely lost; although the UNSC did not return to the world for the rest of the Human-Covenant War, Meridian's glassing had been rushed and incomplete. While many human settlements were destroyed and the moon's oceans had evaporated, Meridian's atmosphere remained largely intact to allow resettlement,Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level ''Meridian Station (level)|Meridian Station'' - ''Mission Intel'' though it was now polluted with the after-effects of the glassing including tiny glass particles in the air that rendered parts of the world unbreathable without air filters.Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level ''Unconfirmed'' - ''Mission Intel'' Nonetheless, Meridian was resettled by the Liang Dortmund Corporation, who sought to make the world completely habitable again. The corporation brought former Meridian residents as well as opportunists seeking profit to the world to aid in "deglassing" Meridian's surface and restoring the world to its former state.
Chalybs Defense Solutions had numerous facilities on Meridian that were abandoned during the battle, and later destroyed when the world was glassed. As a result, companies such as Acheron Security and Naphtali Contractor Corporation took over production of many of CDS' products.Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide, ''page 110''
Gallery
File:H2A Terminals - Meridian.jpg|Meridian is glassed File:H2A - Landfall on Meridian.jpg|Covenant forces hunt for relics on Meridian
List of appearances
''Halo: Reach''
*''Dr. Halsey's personal journal''
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
''Halo Fractures''
*''What Remains''
*''Breaking Strain''
''Halo: Retribution''
''Halo: Battle Born''
''Halo: Meridian Divide''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Meridian Category:Covenant victories|Meridian |
|result=Covenant victory Meridian is glassed Covenant later unknowingly locate Earth in 2552
|side1=United Nations Space Command
|side2=Covenant
|commanders1=Captain Edmund PersieHalo 5: Guardians, campaign level ''Evacuation'' - ''Mission Intel''
|commanders2=Prophet of Regret|High Prophet of Regret Unidentified Sangheili commander
|forces1=*UNSC Armed Forces
*UNSC Air Force
*UNSC Navy
**At least one UNSC cruiser
***Halo: Battle Born, ''Chapter 25''
Orbital defense grid At least one Mark IX Mantis ADSHalo 4: The Essential Visual Guide, ''page 111''
Spartan-IIIsHalo: Fractures, ''Breaking Strain'', ''page 57''
*Owen-B096
Meridian militaryHalo: Battle Born, ''Chapter 11''
*Meridian Air Force At least one Prowler
*Sundered Legion Prowler
|forces2=
At least one Halo: Battle Born
18
At least six sHalo: Battle Born, ''page 194''
Type-26 Banshees Reinforced Covenant fleet
*At least three s
**''Solemn Penance''
Heavy Covenant infantry
*Sangheili
*Jiralhanae
*Kig-Yar
*Unggoy
*Mgalekgolo
*Yanme'e
|casual1=*Most vessels Heavy infantry casualties
|casual2=*18 Type-27 Mantis Heavy infantry casualties
}}
}}
The Battle of Meridian was an engagement of the Human-Covenant War between the United Nations Space Command and Covenant at the human Outer Colony of Meridian in the Hestia system. Beginning in 2548, the Battle of Meridian continued for three years as the Covenant attempted to diminish the UNSC's strong resistance on the world. Ultimately, Meridian was Glassing|glassed by the Covenant in 2551.
Prelude Meridian was a major human Outer Colony with a robust economy and a large United Nations Space Command presence, home to several major military contractors that provided the UNSC with equipment, including Chalybs Defense Solutions. Within the final years of the Human-Covenant War, most of Meridian's population had believed they had somehow survived the Covenant's Massacre of the Outer Colonies|onslaught throughout the Outer Colonies. However, the Covenant had discovered the world in 2548 and, realizing Meridian's value to the rest of the UNSC, sought to blockade Meridian.
The battle
Space battle Meridian was discovered by the Covenant in 2548,Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level ''Glassed'' and the moon quickly came under siege as the Covenant attempted to cut off supply lines from Meridian to other fronts in the war. However, the United Nations Space Command fiercely fought against the Covenant invaders, with Meridian's impressive UNSC Air Force garrisons and extensive orbital defense grid. The initial battle lasted for a week out near Hestia's moons, aided by the fact that the attacking Covenant fleet was smaller than usual. However, the Covenant eventually broke through and began surface operations.
Despite the Covenant breaking through, the human defenses were able to continue to bottle up most of the Covenant forces in orbit.Halo: Battle Born, ''page 179'' The Covenant were also impeded by the presence of the Forerunner artifact in Brume-sur-Mer which kept them from glassing Meridian due to their reverence for Forerunner artifacts and unwillingness to harm them.Halo: Battle Born, ''Chapter 13'' The fighting in and around Meridian's atmosphere caused atmosphere disturbances that caused heavier than usual rain storms, even for Meridian's rainy season.Halo: Battle Born, ''page 182''
Ground battle The first prototype for the Mark IX Mantis ADS|HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX "Mantis" ADS engaged in an action known as the "Cherbourg Run", in which it successfully engaged eighteen heavily guarded Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|Type-27 Anti Aircraft Cannons. The success of the prototype in the "Cherbourg Run" is one of the theories of why the walker was eventually called "Mantis".
On the ground, the UNSC and Meridian's military mainly focused on defending major population centers, not informing the planet's population of the invasion as per procedure to avoid causing a panic. However, one of the places targeted by the Covenant was the remote town of Brume-sur-Mer which had a Forerunner artifact buried under the town that the Covenant was interested in. When the Covenant invaded, bringing a that they anchored over the town, the residents were unprepared and around thirty percent of the population was killed. The rest fled into the town's old bomb shelter where they remained safe as the Covenant focused mainly on excavating the artifact and established a shield barrier around the area to keep the UNSC out. Having been outside of the shelter at the time the invasion began, local teens Saskia Nazari, Victor Gallardo, Dorian Nguyen and Evelyn Rousseau linked up with Spartan-III Owen-B096 who had crashed on the moon while trying to defend it from Covenant forces. Owen trained the teens in combat and they worked on disrupting the Covenant operations and rescuing the townspeople. The five succeeded in rescuing the survivors from the bomb shelter and fled in Sundered Legion Prowler|an old Prowler belonging to the Sundered Legion, damaging the corvette when it tried to stop them. The survivors linked up with the UNSC cruiser in orbit and were transported to safety. ONI, the Xeno-Materials Exploitation Group in particular, became interested in the Forerunner artifact the Covenant were after and sought to keep it out of the hands of the Covenant and potentially to use it themselves in the war effort. To this end, they enlisted the aid of the four teens that had helped Owen to get the artifact before the Covenant could.
Three months after departing Meridian, the teens, now Local Team, returned to Brume-sur-Mer and worked with the Meridian militia to recover the artifact which proves to contain a map to a Forerunner structure in Annecy. With ONI having trouble extracting them, Owen and the militia forces travel to Annecy where the teens learn that Meridian has actually been besieged for six months rather than three as they were led to believe and that parts of the moon don't even know about it yet. With the recovered artifact proving to be a key to activating the Forerunner structure which the Covenant had excavated some time earlier, Owen, the militia and Local Team removed a piece of the structure as well as the activation statute, despite knowing that without a Forerunner artifact to seek, the Covenant would now inevitably glass the moon.
Ultimately, the UNSC was able to defend Meridian against the Covenant for three years and was eventually able to repel the alien invaders in 2551.Halo: Reach, ''Dr. Halsey's personal journal''
Shortly after the Unified Earth Government had taken full control of the world, the Covenant returned to Meridian in the same year and the Battle of Meridian continued. The Covenant's sheer power eventually destroyed most of the world's resistance, though Captain Edmund Persie of continued to fight against the Covenant as the battle neared its end. Eventually, Persie and the remaining vessels in Meridian's defense fleet were forced to retreat to the edge of the Hestia system. Five hours after the Navy's retreat, Meridian had been Glassing|glassed by the Covenant.
At least three s glassed the moon, including the Prophet of Regret|High Prophet of Regret's ''Solemn Penance''. Following the battle, a Covenant Special Operations team was dispatched by the Prophet of Regret to the moon's surface to search for Forerunner artifacts. The team retrieved a Luminary and delivered it to Regret aboard his flagship.
Aftermath Some time later in 2552, the High Prophet of Regret's Stewards successfully decrypted the Luminary, which revealed the existence of the Installation 00|final home of the Forerunners, as well as a Portal at Voi|portal that led to it. The Luminary also revealed the location of this portal, "Earth|Erde-Tyrene". Regret assembled the Fleet of Sacred Consecration and ordered the fleet to head for the world at once. Unbeknownst to Regret, Erde-Tyrene was the Forerunner name for Earththe homeworld of humanity.
Meridian was not completely lost; although the UNSC did not return to the world for the rest of the Human-Covenant War, Meridian's glassing had been rushed and incomplete. While many human settlements were destroyed and the moon's oceans had evaporated, Meridian's atmosphere remained largely intact to allow resettlement,Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level ''Meridian Station (level)|Meridian Station'' - ''Mission Intel'' though it was now polluted with the after-effects of the glassing including tiny glass particles in the air that rendered parts of the world unbreathable without air filters.Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level ''Unconfirmed'' - ''Mission Intel'' Nonetheless, Meridian was resettled by the Liang Dortmund Corporation, who sought to make the world completely habitable again. The corporation brought former Meridian residents as well as opportunists seeking profit to the world to aid in "deglassing" Meridian's surface and restoring the world to its former state.
Chalybs Defense Solutions had numerous facilities on Meridian that were abandoned during the battle, and later destroyed when the world was glassed. As a result, companies such as Acheron Security and Naphtali Contractor Corporation took over production of many of CDS' products.Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide, ''page 110''
Gallery
File:H2A Terminals - Meridian.jpg|Meridian is glassed File:H2A - Landfall on Meridian.jpg|Covenant forces hunt for relics on Meridian
List of appearances
''Halo: Reach''
*''Dr. Halsey's personal journal''
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
''Halo Fractures''
*''What Remains''
*''Breaking Strain''
''Halo: Retribution''
''Halo: Battle Born''
''Halo: Meridian Divide''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Meridian Category:Covenant victories|Meridian |
|place = Mesa, Gateway system
|result = Covenant victory Mesa is glassing|glassed.
|side1 = * Unified Earth Government|UEG
* United Nations Space Command|UNSC
|side2 = * Covenant
*Covenant military
**Covenant fleet
|commanders1 =
|commanders2 = Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadam
|forces1 =
|forces2 =*Fleet of Particular Justice
|casual1 = About 219 million casualties
|casual2 =
}}
In 2549, during the Human-Covenant War, a battle took place at Mesa.
Battle Mesa would be attacked by the Fleet of Particular Justice.
Aftermath The planet would be glassed and the whole battle would result in about 219 million casualties.
Jameson Locke compiled information on Thel 'Vadamee's actions at Mesa, as well as at Battle of Camber|Camber, Battle of Bounty|Bounty, Battle of Kroedis II|Kroedis II, Battle for Alluvion|Alluvion, Battle of Estuary|Estuary, and Greydowns into a Target profile.
Several M400 Kodiaks and a Forerunner artifact would survive the glassing and in 2557, salvager Ram Chalva would acquire them.
List of appearances
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals''
Sources |
|date=2526#May|May 28, 2526 - 2526#June|June 5, 2526
|place=*Mesra, Qusdar system
|result=Covenant victory
|side1=*United Nations Space Command Militia of Mesra
|side2=Covenant
|commanders1=
UNSC BGEN Artur Pahlavi MCPO John-117
Militia of Mesra CMDR Bah'd de Gaya y Elazia de los Karim
|commanders2=
|forces1=UNSC UNSC Navy
*Blue Team UNSC Marine Corps
*24th Marine Engineering Brigade Militia of Mesra Fifth Ghost Battalion
|forces2=
At least 150 Wraiths Three Combat bridging vehicles
|casual1=
|casual2=
|civilian1=
|civilian2=
}}
The Battle of Mesra was a battle fought on the Human colonies|human colony world of Mesra between the forces of the United Nations Space Command and their allies, against the Covenant.
Background In 2525, the Covenant declared Human-Covenant War|war on humanity, beginning the Massacre of the Outer Colonies. The initial Covenant invasions saw the majority of human worlds they encountered such as Harvest, Etalan, Biko and Redstow VI - among others - subject to intense orbital plasma bombardment - a process known as glassing.
The planet Mesra was an Outer Colonies|Outer Colony, notable for rich deposits of xenotime - a compound that yields Wikipedia:Ytterbium|ytterbium and Wikipedia:Erbium|erbium - Wikipedia:Lanthanide|lanthanides critical to the manufacture of Nuclear fusion|fusion reactors and lasers - among other other lanthanide ores. As such, the planet was targeted by the Covenant and spared the orbital bombardment usually given to human colony worlds, instead deploying invasion forces onto the surface with the presumed intent of capturing these strategic resources and mining infrastructure intact.
Battle
The Covenant resistance to simply glassing the planet led to the intelligence analysts of Battle Group X-Ray to conclude that the Covenant goal was to capture Mesra's mining infrastructure, leading to a large deployment of UNSC Marine Corps|Marines onto the planet in an asset denial operation. Consisting of the 24th Marine Engineering Brigade, the goal of the UNSC operations on the planet were to destroy not only the mining operations themselves, but use enough nuclear weapons as to make the ore deposits themselves utterly useless. In addition, the planet's native Militia of Mesra was called upon by Admiral Preston Cole to forgo evacuation to assist the UNSC defensive force; an oath the militia took seriously.
Over the ensuing eight days, the UNSC, Militia and Covenant fought a gruelling conflict with the Militia proving their determination; sacrificing numerous brigades wholesale to prevent the invaders capturing a single mine. By 2526#June|June 5, 2526, the Militia's forces had been depleted to just one battalion - the Fifth Ghost Battalion - and were low on food, medicine and ammunition; having marched for thirty hours non-stop themselves having come out of two days of battle. By the eighth day of fighting, the humans had managed to successfully repel the Covenant long enough that only one xenotime mine remained.
With the Militia forces nearly depleted and the Marines on the verge of being overrun, SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II Blue Team was deployed onto the planet to assist in completing the UNSC objective, along the way destroying at least one hundred Wraith tanks. On June 5, Blue Team were involved in an engagement at Bogadlan Plain and by June 6, the invasion had pressed the defending forces into Samalat Gorge in the Karpos Mountain Range; a deep canyon coated in thick jungle. The terrain was almost impassible except for some lone mountain roads and the Nasim Bridge. Thanks to Covenant air superiority, air support was unavailable and thanks to the deployment of combat bridging vehicles (CBVs), destroying the bridge would do little to impede encroaching Covenant armoured columns. The Covenant armoured column was primarily comprised of around fifty Wraith artillery main battle tank|tanks, easily capable of arcing their fire over the canyon to hit the defensive force.
To defend, the Militia and Blue Team planted a large minefield (with Lotus anti-tank mines supplied by the Marines) on the side mountain pass on the Covenant side of the gorge consisting of four individual minefields placed between two and five kilometres away from the bridge; to encourage the Covenant vehicles to travel closer to the cliff edge and maybe even fall off. In a more even match-up the Militia would have chosen to hit the Covenant lines well before they got to the Nasim Bridge, though the previous week of fighting had left the forces so depleted such a strategy was infeasible. The last kilometre of land before the bridge was even more heavily mined with additional explosives along the gorge; if the CBVs stopped to deploy their hard light bridges, the explosives would detonate and destroy the Covenant's only way across the gorge. The mines served to slow the enemy advance, with the intent of exposing the vehicles to fire from the defending side of the valley for as long as possible. An additional twelve anti-air missile batteries placed along the mountains served to deter any Covenant air attack. If all went right, the Covenant armour would be prevented from crossing the valley, leaving only infantry forces for the Marines to defend against.
Instead, John-117 proposed an alteration to this plan; if the Spartans could destroy the CBVs, the bridge could be detonated as the Wraiths crossed - leaving the Covenant forces stranded on the other side of the valley and leaving the only available option to be dropship deployment. However, this would deprive the Mesrani forces of their opportunity to enact vengeance on the aliens; leading to a compromise. Blue Team would use their M68 Gauss cannon|gauss cannons to fire upon the CBVs, while the Mesranis destroyed the bridge before any Covenant forces reached it. The Militia troops would stay on the Covenant-held side of the gorge, raining rocket launcher fire down on the Covenant troops from above, keeping the enemy pinned in the gauntlet. The Spartans considered the plan wasteful of good soldiers, but the Mesrani forces were insistent on killing the enemy.
As the Covenant forces approached, the Fifth Battalion's Electronic countermeasures|electronic warfare squad began sending out one hundred-thousand decoy transmissions per second as to keep the transmissions of the human forces hidden. Blue Team deployed into the brush with their massive gauss guns, ready to begin sniper|sniping at the CBVs as they entered range. The vehicles entered range and the Spartans fired, taking out one bridging vehicle almost immediately. The Wraiths opened fire on the Spartans' positions, though the Spartans were already moving out of the way. Contrary to the plan however, the Covenant did not continue to advance - instead deploying several combat support vehicles to near the front - deploying swarms of over a thousand Yanme'e to begin attacking the humans from above. Meanwhile, the Wraiths continued their artillery barrage on the jungle, intending to drive the Spartans out and flatten as much cover as possible.
In response, the Mesranis began using their Anaconda surface-to-air missile batteries to fire down at the Covenant - to limited results due to the Anacondas' limited ground targeting capabilities. The barrages were successful in taking out roughly two-hundred Yanme'e and dozens of vehicles. In the confusion of the strike, the Mesrani infantry began to advance on the Covenant formation - being almost entirely eliminated with little effort on the aliens' part. Frederic-104 and Linda-058 were assigned to keep firing at the CBVs to prevent the Wraiths crossing the bridge and attacking the Doukala Xenotime Works|Doukala mine, while John-117 and Kelly-087 began to focus their fire on the attacking Drones.
With the Covenant now in danger of overrunning the defense, the Mesranis began to focus their attention on blowing the bridge up; however, the last soldiers were cut down by the Wraiths as the tanks themselves reached the bridge. The majority of the vehicles did not cross, instead waiting for a beachhead to be secured on the other side. The second CBV was destroyed, and the Covenant did not deploy their third to keep it secure - if the bridge were still available, exposing the CBV to fire was unnecessary. At this time, the interrupted the battle to inform Blue Team that they were being extracted on the orders of Admiral Cole - at the behest of the 24th's Brigadier General Artur Pahlavi. With the team ordered to be ready in fourteen minutes for extraction, the situation for the defense became even more desperate. The Spartans realised they were unable to defeat the inbound armour forces any longer and began to pull back to the 24th's HQ for extraction - all the while pursued by the Covenant.
Aftermath The Spartans arrived back at the Marine HQ five minutes past their deadline, to the annoyance of the prowler's Captain Amalea Petrov. The prowler was landed in a ravine four kilometres away from the xenotime mine and out of the sight of Covenant ground forces. Due to Blue Team's late arrival, the prowler had missed its window for exfiltration, and now numerous squadrons of Space fighter|strikecraft were searching the sky for the prowler. The 24th Marines began preparing a mass evacuation for twelve minutes later, with the prowler intending to hide its exfiltration alongside the Marines. Without the ''Night Watch''s protection, it was likely that the Marine engineering transports were destroyed. Aboard the ''Night Watch'', the Spartans were briefed on their next operation; a Battle of Netherop|landing on Netherop to capture the wreckage of the downed Covenant frigate ''Steadfast Strike|Lucky Break''.
List of appearances
''Halo: Oblivion''
Sources
Category:Covenant victories |
Gray Team Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODSTs Rubble Defense Force
|forces2 =*Kig-Yar ground forces Small Kig-Yar fleet Hundreds of thousands of Unggoy
|forces3 = *Four Sangheili Infinite Spoils|One Kig-Yar ship Dozens of Unggoy
|casual1 = *10+ ODSTs Rubble destroyed Juliana
''Petya'' discarded
|casual2 =
Many Kig-Yar and Unggoy
*Reth
|casual3 = *All Unggoy killed
}}
The Battle of Metisette, also known as the Metisette Conflict, was an engagement that took place between the United Nations Space Command|UNSC, the Covenant Sangheili under orders from the Prophet of Regret|High Prophet of Regret and the Covenant Unggoy and Kig-Yar under orders from the Prophet of Truth|High Prophet of Truth. It took place in 2535 during the Human-Covenant War.
Prelude After the Battle of the Rubble, the UNSC and the Rubble Security Council were ready to work together against what they considered the common enemy: the Kig-Yar and the Unggoy on Metisette, a natural satellite of the local gas giant, Hesiod. However, time was running out for the combined human forces. Kig-Yar forces were ready to roll out and attack the Rubble with their fleet and Unggoy ground forces.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 236''
To make matters worse, Reth and the Kig-Yar were expecting high leaders in the Covenant hierarchy, and a probable Covenant fleet escort, to arrive imminently in the undetermined future. With the clock ticking to assault the Redoubt, the AI Juliana decided to commence the emergency evacuation of the citizens of the Rubble on the Habitat Exodus|Exodus, an asteroid six miles long and capable of holding all the Rubble citizens as well as transition into slipspace. Meanwhile, Ignatio Delgado and the UNSC forces piled on the to fly to Metisette while the Rubble Defense Force would organize a fleet to protect the Rubble while it was evacuated.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 298''
The battle The battle began with the ''Infinite Spoils'', a Kig-Yar raider commanded by four Sangheili Sangheili Zealot|zealots, attacking the Rubble. Thel 'Vadamee hoped to destroy the Rubble in order to complete his mission and regain the honor he lost when he was captured by the Kig-Yar.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 188'' He had the ship attack the local mass drivers, recognizing them as important weapons. While the ''Infinite Spoils'' attacked, the first ships of the Kig-Yar fleet arrived and began attacking the Rubble themselves. As Kig-Yar ships closed in on the mass drivers, Rubble ships flew in and fired missiles to prevent the destruction of the mass drivers. Meanwhile, more and more asteroids emptied as the thousands of citizens of the Rubble evacuated. Although the AI Juliana lost some asteroids to both the Sangheili and Kig-Yar, she managed to move several more asteroids to meet with the UNSC forces moving in on Metisette.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 308''
As it closed down on the moon, the performed a high-speed Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|SOEIV deployment, down to the Redoubt on the surface of Metisette. The ''Midsummer Night'' came under fire from Kig-Yar Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|anti-aircraft guns, and slowed down, to allow the pods to drop, before speeding off out the atmosphere again.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 312'' The pods landed in the Redoubt's plaza, where Unggoy were waiting in buildings. There were two main forces of Orbital Drop Shock Trooper|ODSTs that landed; one with Jai-006, and one with Adriana-111.
Unfortunately, Adriana landed among a large group of Unggoy. She fought them off with her battle rifle and an M41 rocket launcher, until she ran out of ammo. Then she used a Mongoose to physically beat the Unggoy to death.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 320'' Eventually, she regrouped with her squad of ODSTs, only to discover that only six of the original sixteen had survived; the others killed by the Kig-Yar. They were however successful in destroying the anti-aircraft guns. Jai's men landed with the Shiva-class nuclear missile|''Shiva''-class nuclear missile,Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 315'' and planted it in the sensor hub and set a 2-hour timer.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 317''
The ''Midsummer Night'' then launched five D77-TC Pelican|Pelican dropships to pick up the survivors. They returned to ''Midsummer Night'', and watched as the ''Shiva'' detonated, badly damaging the Redoubt and knocking out the Redoubt's sensors. Reth was poisoned by the radiation, and tried to escape in a Kig-Yar shuttle|shuttle.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 327'' However, the Rubble had been fractured by Juliana and the habitat's asteroids were moved into a position to collide with Metisette. The Redoubt was then obliterated by the improvised orbital bombardment. Reth's shuttle took a direct hit from one of the asteroids, finally killing him.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 328'' Thel 'Vadamee then launched the remaining Kig-Yar ships against the Exodus Project|Exodus asteroid.
Aftermath With the Redoubt destroyed, Reth killed, and hundreds of thousands of Unggoy dead, the ''Midsummer Night'' joined with the Exodus habitat and escorted it as it flew away. Although chased by a few Kig-Yar fighter ships, the habitat remained safe as all the Unggoy that managed to infiltrate the habitat were dealt with by the Rubble Defense Force inside.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 334'' Meanwhile, Michael-120 brought a chip containing navigation data and downloaded the data on the habitat's computers.
Unfortunately, the Rubble Security Council and the engineers on the habitat encountered a problem: the Exodus could not make the planned trip out to uncontrolled space where they would remain safe and alone. Several slipspace drives remained inactive, which prevented the habitat from traveling long distances in one shot. The alternative was to make small, little jumps, which would literally take centuries.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 335''
Lieutenant Keyes decided to convince the Council to travel to an Inner Colony, which was still possible at the time. After a short speech to the Council members reminding them of their duty to protect all the Rubble's citizens and the duty to fight back against the Covenant who took their homes, the Council decided to travel to Falaknuma, an Inner Colony in the 18 Scorpii system. Using navigation data that Mike-120 brought to them as well, the ''Midsummer Night'' escorted the Exodus habitat to Falaknuma.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 343''
At Falaknuma, the UNSC forces were shocked by the asteroid's entrance, but quickly worked to rescue the people aboard. Although all the citizens were evacuated and brought down to the planet, the asteroid broke up due to resonances in slipspace, causing large chunks of the habitat to orbit around the planet. Although bigger chunks could be dealt with MAC rounds, the resulting debris would impede travel for decades to come.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 352''
Lieutenant Keyes was brought down and debriefed by ONI Commander Hadley and Admiral Preston Cole himself. After the session, Cole congratulated Keyes for his commendable bravery and work and promoted him to Commander.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 352'' Meanwhile, Delgado decided to enlist in the Navy. The recruiting session though went terribly and he was about to be drafted into the Marines before Commander Hadley intervened and put Delgado into the Navy as a pilot.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 355'' After this, Commander Hadley and Admiral Cole met up with Gray Team, giving them a new mission, this time deeper in enemy territory.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 354''
Back on the ''Infinite Sacrifice'', the Prophets of Prophet of Truth|Truth and Prophet of Regret|Regret met with Thel 'Vadamee personally. After some discussion on the very lives of the crew under Thel's control, Zhar entered the room, armed with his inactivated energy sword. Zhar charged at the Prophets but 'Vadamee killed his old friend with his own energy sword.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 341'' For this action, 'Vadamee was allowed to live and given his own ship in the Fleet of Particular Justice.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 349'' Although Regret was displeased that it did not produce anything except human-sympathizing Kig-Yar and Unggoy, the Prophet of Truth seemed rather satisfied by the discovery of two new human worlds to attack. The Prophet of Regret resolved to follow Truth's plans for the time being.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 347''
List of appearances
''Halo: The Cole Protocol''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Metisette Category:UNSC victories|Metisette |
|date=2550
|place=Minab, Naryn system
|result=Covenant victory Minab glassing|glassed
|side1= United Nations Space Command
|side2= Covenant
|commanders1=
|commanders2=
|forces1=
|forces2=*At least 11 s
|casual1=
|casual2=
|civilian=
}}
In 2550, a battle took place at Minab, a human human colonies|colony in the Naryn system.
Battle A fleet of at least 11 s descended upon the planet and began glassing. Holly Tanaka and several others survived by being in an underground mine owned by Tanaka Exploration.
Gallery
File:HE17 Minab inferno.jpg|Minab's glassed surface. File:Halo Escalation Minab.jpg|A representation of Minab during its glassing.
List of appearances
''Halo: Escalation''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
Sources |
|next=Operation: WARM BLANKETHalo: The Fall of Reach, ''Adjunct'' (2010)Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, ''page 63''
|name=Battle of Miridem
|image=
|conflict=Human-Covenant WarHalo: Ghosts of Onyx, ''page 173''
|date=2544
|place=Miridem
|result=*Covenant victory
*Miridem is Glassing|glassed
*Catherine Halsey is captured
|side1=United Nations Space Command
|side2=Covenant
|commanders1=Vice Admiral Berlin M. Tursk|Berlin Tursk
|commanders2=Supreme Commander Luro 'Taralumee
|forces1=*UNSC Navy M9 WolverinesHalo: The Essential Visual Guide, ''page 205''
Several Spartan-IIsHalo Encyclopedia (2009 edition), ''page 299'' (2011)
|forces2=Third Fleet of Glorious Consequence
|casual1=*Heavy losses Sheila-065
|casual2=*Heavy casualties Nearly three thousand soldiers of Thel 'Lodamee's battalion
|civilian=
}}
}}
The Battle of Miridem was an engagement of the Human-Covenant War between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant, taking place on the human Inner Colony of Miridem in 2544. The battle lasted for over two weeks, resulting in heavy losses to both the UNSC and the Covenant. Ultimately, Miridem was Glassing|glassed by the Third Fleet of Glorious Consequence.
The battle resulted in the capture of Doctor Catherine Halsey of the Office of Naval Intelligence, leading to Operation: WARM BLANKET.
The battle
}}
In 2544, Miridem became one of the human Human colonies|colonies that fell in the way of the Covenant's path of Siege of the Inner Colonies|destruction throughout the Inner Colonies when Supreme Commander Luro 'Taralumee's Third Fleet of Glorious Consequence arrived over the world. A fleet of the UNSC Navy led by Vice Admiral Berlin M. Tursk defended Miridem, with several Spartan-IIs being deployed to the world to aid in the evacuation of civilians.
The ensuing battle lasted for over two weeks, with both sides suffering heavy losses. The Covenant besieged the world, destroying nearly every evacuation vessel that attempted to flee before they even reached Miridem's gravity well. During the civilian evacuation, Doctor Catherine Halseythe chief scientist of the Office of Naval Intelligence who had been present on Miridemwas extracted to BL-9400493, personally protected by Sheila-065. However, the two were intercepted by Sangheili Major|Major Thel 'Lodamee and his battalion. In the resulting confrontation, Sheila was killed by 'Lodamee, though Halsey managed to escape aboard the evacuation craft.
Realizing that Halsey must be important to the United Nations Space Command given that Sheila sacrificed her life to defend the doctor, 'Lodamee abandoned his battalion without notice in pursuit of the evacuation craft, accompanied only by a small strike force. BL-9400493 managed to make it to the edge of Miridem's system before the craft was disabled by a Covenant interceptor. The craft was boarded and the entirety of the crew was killed, with the exception of Halsey. While 'Lodamee captured Halsey, his battalion suffered heavy losses in his absence and delayed the Covenant's inevitable victory. Regardless, the Covenant Glassing|glassed the world, forcing the remaining UNSC forces to abandon Miridem.
Due to the ongoing conflict on Miridem, Dr. Halsey reasoned it to be unlikely that the UNSC would be able to invest resources in following-up research on Heian - following the discovery of Ancestor|ancient ruins on the planet in Operation: GREY VEIL.
Aftermath
}}
The UNSC forces present in the system were quick to react to the capture of Halsey. With Blue Team deployed under orders from UNSC High Command, Tursk swiftly dispatched Captain Lucius Jiron's ONI PRO-49776|ONI stealth ship to pursue the Third Fleet of Glorious Consequence, which departed Miridem to rendezvous with the Fleet of Furious Retribution|Fleets of Furious Retribution and Fleet of Rigorous Prayer|Rigorous Prayer before returning to High Charity. However, due to a local magnetic irregularity preventing them from performing an immediate slipspace jump, the fleet was delayed at Ascon, allowing for Jiron's stealth ship to catch up to the Covenant fleet. Meanwhile, 'Taralumee reported the events of the battle to the Vice Cleric of Zeal at High Charity, informing the Vice Cleric|vice cleric of Halsey's capture and 'Lodamee's behavior. The UNSC soon launched Operation: WARM BLANKET, with Blue Team led by John-117 attacking the Third Fleet of Glorious Consequence to rescue Halsey. Blue Team was eventually successful in their mission, although two of the Spartans were killed in action.Halo Legends, ''The Package (animated short)|The Package''
Shortly after the operation to rescue Halsey, the UNSC enacted Operation: IRON FIST, in which John-117 ensured asset denial and the partial recovery of critical cyber-infrastructure assets on Miridem.Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition, ''Spartan Locke's Classified Orders'' Some of the surviving Miridem residents would seek Asylum seeker|refuge on Minister (planet)|Minister.Halo: Evolutions, "Palace Hotel", ''page 367''
List of appearances
''Halo: The Fall of Reach''
*''Halo: The Fall of Reach#2010 bonus content|Adjunct''
''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''
''Halo Legends''
*''The Package (animated short)|The Package''
''Halo: Reach''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Miridem |
destroyed in Old Mombasa; the ''Solemn Penance'' jumping to slipspace over the city; elements of Alpha-Nine observing a at the conclusion of the battle.
|conflict=Human-Covenant War Battle for Earth
|date=2552#October|October 2021, 2552
|place=Mombasa, Kenya, East African Protectorate
|result=Strategic Covenant victory Covenant occupation and destruction of Mombasa via glassing.
*Rediscovery of Portal at Voi|the Portal. Huragok Quick to Adjust defects and gives knowledge to the UNSC. Prophet of Regret retreats to Installation 05|Delta Halo, where he is later Assassination of the Prophet of Regret|killed by John-117.
|side1=* United Nations Space Command|UNSC
* UNSC Navy
* UNSC Army
*UNSC Air Force
*UNSC Marine Corps New Mombasa Police Department|NMPD Civilian militias
*Colonial Militia
|side2= Covenant
|commanders1=
Unidentified colonel Commander|CDR Miranda Keyes Captain (ground forces)|CAPT Veronica Dare Lieutenant|LT Parisa Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
Sergeant Major|SGTMAJ Avery Junior Johnson|Avery Johnson Staff Sergeant|SSGT Banks|Marcus Banks
|commanders2=*Hierarchs|High Prophet of Regret Hierarchs|High Prophet of Truth
|forces1=
UNSC Home Fleet|Home Fleet
*3+ UNSC frigate|frigates
**1+
**1+
*1+ UNSC destroyer|destroyer
*2+ prowlers
**1+ UNSC corvette|stealth corvette
**1+
*Fifth Fleet
**1+
2+ s Multiple F-99 Wombats
1 stolen Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|T-52 Phantom Multiple D77-TC Pelicans
*Multiple D77C-NMPD Pelicans Multiple AV-22 Sparrowhawks
1+ UH-144 Falcon Multiple AV-14 Hornets Multiple M312 Elephants Several Olifants M808 Scorpion
*Multiple M808B Scorpions
*Multiple M808C Scorpions Multiple M850 Grizzly|M850 Grizzlies M12 Warthog
*Multiple M12 Chaingun Warthogs
*Multiple M12G1 Gauss Warthogs
*Multiple M831 Troop Transport Warthogs Multiple M274 Mongooses Numerous ground forces
*1 SPARTAN-II Program|Spartan-II
*Numerous UNSC Marine Corps|marines
*Numerous Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODSTs
*Numerous New Mombasa Police Department|NMPD personnels
*Numerous armed civilians
|forces2=
Fleet of Sacred Consecration
*1
*3+ s Truth's fleet
*Massive number of ships
**3+ s
**Multiple s Numerous air vehicles
*Numerous s
*Numerous Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|T-52 Phantoms
*Numerous Taaku Xur-pattern Spirit|T-28 Spirits
*Type-26 Banshee|T-26 Banshee
**Numerous Oghal-pattern Banshee|T-26A Banshees
**Numerous Is'belox-pattern Banshee|T-26B Banshees
**Numerous Irdnekt-pattern Banshee|T-26C Banshees Numerous ground vehicles
*2+ Protos-pattern Scarab|T-47A Scarabs
*Multiple Deutoros-pattern Scarab|T-47B Scarabs
*Numerous Zo'op-pattern Weevil|T-48 Weevils
*Numerous Zurdo-pattern Wraith|T-26 Wraiths
**Several Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|T-52 AA Wraiths
*Numerous Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|T-32 Ghosts
*Numerous Ruwaa-pattern Shadow|T-29 Shadows Numerous ground forces
*Jiralhanae
*Sangheili
*Huragok
*Unggoy
*Kig-Yar
*Mgalekgolo
*Yanme'e
|casual1=
Heavy infantry and civilian casualties
*Majority of NMPD forces
*Many ODSTs
*Most of Scorpions
|casual2=*Heavy infantry casualties
*Many Scarabs
**2+ s
**1+
*All remaining Sangheili forces
}}
}}
The Battle of Mombasa, also known as the Battle of New Mombasa, was a large-scale battle|engagement of the Battle for Earth, taking place in late 2552#October|October 2552. Over the course of the battle, Covenant Empire|Covenant forces attempted to capture the city of Mombasa, Kenya before it was quickly retaken in a matter of around one hour by the United Nations Space Command|UNSC. However, after the High Prophet of Regret's retreat, the city remained occupied but now by the Prophet of Truth and his Jiralhanae loyalists. In the aftermath of the battle, Portal at Voi|the Portal to Installation 00|the Ark was eventually found by the Covenant, which would prove to be a major determining factor in the final outcome of the Human-Covenant War. Years after the war's end, a movement known as "Project Rebirth" emerged to endorse the eventual rebuilding of Mombasa in the aftermath of the War.
Background
After discovering and decrypting a Forerunner Luminary found on Meridian, the High Prophet of Regret of the Covenant was given Slipstream space|Slipspace coordinates to a planet called "Erde-Tyrene", which was home to a Forerunner Portal at Voi|slipspace portal leading to the Installation 00|Ark a facility highly important to the initiation of their Covenant religion|"Great Journey". Unknown to Regret, Erde-Tyrene was humanity's homeworld, Earth. In his characteristic brash and ambitious manner, the Prophet of Regret, wishing to proceed with securing the Portal, took Fleet of Sacred Consecration|a hastily-assembled force of 15 warships to Earth. Though surprised to find not only a human presence on the planet, but a planet more fortified than any previously encountered human-held world, the Hierarchs|High Prophet deemed his mission important enough to proceed and utilized many tactics to ensure his safe arrival on the surface. The coordinates provided by the Forerunner information indicated that his quarry was around the area of Mombasa, Kenya. Immediately after the Prophet of Truth learned of Regret's move, he sent Truth's fleet|a massive support and excavation fleet he had collected in secrecy to pick up where Regret had left off.
The city was relatively lightly defended, with only New Mombasa Police Department|NMPD forces as well as some Marine units present, including the 17th Marine Regiment. Some additional military units had been transferred to the city, along with Earth's other tether cities, following the Fall of Reach to bolster their defenses in case of a Covenant invasion. These included E2-BAG/1/7 as well as some UNSC Army forces, though Lieutenant Parisa of E2-BAG/1/7 was put out of action upon deployment.
Just prior to the Covenant's attack, Sadie Endesha was on her way to Magongo to enlist in the UNSC, while photographer and journalist Benjamin Giraud was on a train heading to Old Mombasa.
Battle
}}
File:H2A - Pelicans.jpg|thumb|left|250px|UNSC reinforcements from the arrive in New Mombasa. On October 20, during the opening stages of the Battle for Earth, a single , the ''Solemn Penance'', broke through the UNSC Home Fleet's defensive lines and headed towards Earth's atmosphere. The ship slipspace jumped down to the city of New Mombasa in the East African Protectorate. There, the ship came to rest over the Uplift Nature Reserve deploying infantry and mechanized support. One of the Covenant's first targets was the Mombasa Maglev train network. Despite the widespread Covenant deployment throughout Mombasa, the highest concentration of Covenant ground troops was directly below the carrier in its landing zone. Over the course of the battle, the Covenant deployed several Deutoros-pattern Scarab|Scarab assault platforms in both the old and new sections of Mombasa, with many of them targeting the city's space elevator. The UNSC managed to trap and destroy many of them in the narrow streets of the city.
The Covenant also sent seven Huragok, including Quick to Adjust, into Kikowani Station (location)|Kikowani subway station, likely in search of the Forerunner structure underneath Mombasa. However, the six other Huragok instead freed Quick to Adjust from its explosive harness. While the six others were killed, Quick survived and made its way into the data center. Doctor Daniel Endesha witnessed the event, and instructed Vergil, a subroutine of the city Superintendent, to track Quick. The Covenant would find out Quick's betrayal, and send forces into the Data Center to kill Quick or prevent its defection to the UNSC.
At the time of the ship jumping down to the city, Sadie Endesha and numerous civilians had been kicked off a train in Old Mombasa. Covenant tanks that were very quickly deployed into the city, bombarded and destroyed the train in the vicinity of Makupa Station. NMPD Commissioner Kinsler and officer Mike Branley soon arrived on the scene, taking Sadie away from the crowd and headed for a police bunker outside the city. Over the course of the battle, some civilians took up arms in an attempt to defend their city, joining the Marines under command of unidentified Marine officer (Mombasa)|a Marine officer. These "militias" were used as a propaganda tool by the NMPD, broadcasting their exploits over PA systems. Though a number of the stories of the militias appear to have been fabricated by Stephen (Mombasa)|Stephen at NMPDHQ, including that of "Harris 'Two-Shot' Kibaki. With the Mombasa Tether being shut down, citizens were forced to escape the city on foot or by car. The militias and armed citizens allowed for most of the people of New Mombasa to evacuate from the city to Old Mombasa using boats destined for other surrounding cities.
More UNSC Marine Corps and UNSC Army units later poured into the region after the initial attack, some of which arriving from Diego Garcia near India.
UNSC insertion
}}
File:HtT John in New Mombasa original.jpg|thumb|250px|A picture of John-117 during the battle taken by Benjamin Giraud. Some time after the Covenant insertion to the city and during the civilian evacuation, the of the Medii Battle Group descended near Mombasa to reinforce the ground troops already present. Intercepted transmission from the Covenant forces had led the UNSC to correctly believe that it was the High Prophet of Regret in command of the opposing force, making his capture their utmost priority in the right line of the originally Fall of Reach|cancelled Operation: RED FLAG. Three D77-TC Pelican|Pelicans, one of them with the Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 onboard, were deployed by the ''In Amber Clad'' to board the ''Solemn Penance'' hovering near the Mombasa Tether. However, before they could get near the carrier, the formation ran across a which shot down all of the Pelicans in Old Mombasa. The first was destroyed by the Scarab's main cannon, while the second, carrying an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper|ODST Second Squad#Battle of Mombasa|squad led by Gunnery Sergeant Marcus Stacker, was shot down and crash-landed on the beach. The third Pelican, carrying Sergeant Major Avery Johnson and John-117 crashed upside-down into a building in the heart of Old Mombasa.
Outskirts File:H2A-daniil-kuksov-metropolis-scarab.png|250px|thumb|left|A Scarab attacks the city of Mombasa.
}}
Both teams suffered few casualties from their respective crashes. The Spartan's team moved into a nearby building while Stacker's team moved up the beach to the Hotel Zanzibar and set up a command post, eliminating several Covenant units in the process. Both teams then waited in their respective locations for extraction.
After John-117 and his allies repelled several waves of Covenant including a pair of Mgalekgolo, a Pelican found the group and gave them coordinates of a landing zone. Commander Miranda Keyes ordered Johnson to regroup with the ''In Amber Clad'' so that he could coordinate further deployment of infantry and armor units while the Spartan continued on foot through the city to regroup with the second squad.
After fighting his way through multiple alleyways filled with Kig-Yar Snipers, John-117 found and assisted the Orbital Drop Shock Trooper|ODSTs pinned down at Hotel Zanzibar. Commander Keyes sent a Warthog to the Spartan, who spearheaded a counterattack, destroying Covenant infantry, armor, and Zo'op-pattern Weevil|Covenant artillery emplacements on the beaches facing New Mombasa.
John-117 and his makeshift Marine unit entered a blown-out hole in a tunnel where they intercepted and destroyed a Covenant convoy, made up primarily of s that had been attempting to rendezvous with the regrouping Covenant ground forces still stationed in that sector of the city. Along the way they engaged and neutralized several barricades the Covenant had assembled to fortify the tunnel network. After the engagement in the tunnels, they advanced towards the bridge connecting Old and New Mombasa. Before the Spartan got there, the Marine unit at the bridge had already exhausted itself fighting the Scarab.
The Conduit File:Orphic Spear 1.png|thumb|250px|Alpha-Five being deployed into New Mombasa.
As the ''In Amber Clad''s force pressed towards New Mombasa, the Covenant brought the Conduita Forerunner device capable of opening slipspace portalsto New Mombasa. A Taaku Xur-pattern Spirit|Spirit dropship carrying a data pad with information pertaining to the Conduit was shot down by UNSC forces. When the data pad's relevance to the Conduit was realized by the UNSC, a Alpha-Five|squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers was Operation: WINDOW PANE|sent to recover it. Covenant forces awaiting extraction at the crashed Spirit were attacked by the ODST squad and the Sangheili Field Master carrying the data pad was killed. With the data pad, the UNSC used the information gained to pinpoint the location of the Conduit in the city. The ODST squad was directed to a Sangheili task force carrying the Conduit. After a brief engagement, the ODSTs managed to procure the Conduit from the Covenant and the device was delivered to a nearby UNSC convoy.
The Covenant responded by assaulting the convoy with waves of infantry. Though the ODST squad and several Marines attempted to defend the convoy from attacking Covenant forces, a Sangheili Field Master dropped down from his Spirit into the M313 Elephant|Elephant carrying the Conduit, retrieved the device, and escaped the engagement aboard the dropship. The ODSTs gave chase and, eventually, the Spirit was shot down. The squad located the dropship's crash site and attacked its surviving occupants. When the Field Master and his Kig-Yar bodyguards were eventually eliminated, the Conduit was reclaimed by the UNSC. The ODSTs took the Conduit aboard a M12 Warthog|Warthog and were ordered to leave the city.
Forerunner glyphs Concurrent with the search for the Conduit, an unidentified ODST squad participated in the battle with orders to retrieve information the Covenant were interested in. Commandeering a Grizzly tank, the squad rescued marines who had recovered an emergency broadcast from a downed AV-14 Hornet, stating that its crew had captured a series of Forerunner symbols|Forerunner glyphs from the Covenant. The squad then trekked their way to the site, recovered the glyphs, and escaped the city before the ''Solemn Penance'' jumped into slipspace.
Battle for New Mombasa File:H2A Scorpion957-A3Destroyed.png|thumb|left|250px|The Protos-pattern Scarab|Scarab fires upon 957-A3|a M808B Main Battle Tank|Scorpion tank, destroying it instantly.
}}
The Master Chief arrived at the bridge to assess the situation while Sergeant Johnson reinforced the Marines with weaponry, including a M808B Scorpion|Scorpion tank. The Chief traveled across the bridge with the armored unit, clearing it of both Covenant armored and mechanized forces. These forces included Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|Ghosts, Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraiths, Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|Phantoms, and Is'belox-pattern Banshee|Banshees.
After the engagement on the bridge, UNSC forces entered New Mombasa in large numbers. They linked up with various squads of Marines as they moved through the city, eliminating Covenant forces that were setting up positions. The Master Chief's team worked their way into the Kilindini Park Cultural Center through the sewer system, and then towards the city center via Shimanzi Road and Beria Plaza, finding that the Scarab had, likewise, taken a similar path.
Once in the heart of the New Mombasa industrial zone|industrial zone near the city center, John-117's team found a Marine outpost holed in a corporate building, commanded by Staff Sergeant Banks of A Company under siege by a unit of Wraiths. The UNSC forces, with the help of John-117, destroyed the Wraiths, and secured a landing zone for reinforcements. The Pelicans then dropped a platoon of Marine infantry and a Scorpion tank.
The lumbering Scarab appeared from the other end of the plaza the Marine outpost was facing and the Scorpion tank opened fire on it, with no effect. After the Scarab destroyed the tank with its main gun, Marines opened fire on the walker, but it was unaffected and impervious to the weak rounds and climbed over their position and moved into the canals of the city. However, it soon found itself trapped inside of the walls of the canal, giving Pelicans a chance to attack it openly.
The Master Chief and A Company followed the Scarab through the canals and the Spartan boarded the walker. While the Marines provided some cover fire, John defeated the forces manning the Scarab walker. After defeating its command crew, he managed to destroy the Scarab from the inside. All Covenant forces soon began retreating to Regret's carrier. The Master Chief was extracted by Sergeant Johnson's Pelican and taken back to ''In Amber Clad'' along with the remaining members of A Company.
Regret's withdrawal File:H2A In Amber Clad intercept.png|thumb|left|250px|The gives chase as Regret's flagship prepares to flee New Mombasa.
}}
The Pelicans carrying Spartan-117 and the Marines entered the ''In Amber Clad'', just as the carrier was preparing to flee. Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood was hesitant to let ''In Amber Clad'' engage Regret's assault carrier, still above Mombasa and beside the Mombasa space elevator. He instead opted to call in two heavier vessels to intercept the carrier if it returned to space. However, when the carrier initiated its slipspace drive, preparing to jump while still in the atmosphere, Hood gave the ship the green light to give chase. The , , and , and the followed in the wake of the slipspace jump, with the latter ship losing contact with its companions in the slipstream.
Just before the carrier jumped, remaining ships of the UNSC Home Fleet deployed dozens of Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|SOEIVs down to the city in Operation: BUMRUSH|an effort to infiltrate the carrier, only to be caught by the Electromagnetic pulse|EMP blast in mid-flight, destroying their navigational and safety systems, plunging them and their Orbital Drop Shock Trooper occupants to almost certain death. It is likely that only Alpha-Nine|one squad survived, having changed their course away from the carrier at the last moment. Many of the city's buildings were heavily damaged but remained standing, including the Mombasa Tether. The rupture also created a large crater in the mainland, north of New Mombasa, revealing a section of the Forerunner portal. This event would later become referred to as the New Mombasa Slipspace Event, and would lead to the reactivation of the old NATO Outpost C9.
The ODSTs in possession of the Conduit were escaping the city as the nearby ''Solemn Penance'' entered slipstream space over Mombasa. When the resulting slipspace rupture engulfed the city, the ODSTs were killed and the Conduit was believed to have been destroyed as well. However, the Conduit entered slipspace to save itself from destruction and arrived at Installation 03.
File:Main phantom.jpg|thumb|250px|A Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|Phantom deploying troops in New Mombasa just after the Slipspace Event.
Large numbers of Covenant troops remained in the city even after Regret's withdrawal. While most of Regret's troops evacuated into the carrier, there was still a significant Covenant presence both on the ground and in orbit. Moments after Regret jumped, the Prophet of Truth seized the control of the battle and assumed the command of what remained within Regret's Fleet of Sacred Consecration|initial fleet while a large Truth's fleet|support and excavation fleet of Jiralhanae-led Covenant reinforcements was en route to Earth. The remaining Jiralhanae from Regret's forces were simultaneously given orders to execute the Sangheili forces on the ground and in orbit. This was a part of the Prophet of Truth's personal scheme for the Covenant, which would come to its conclusion two weeks later when the Sangheili were officially removed from their positions as the main warrior caste of the Covenant.
The Covenant forces were met by a sizeable number of UNSC Marines and New Mombasa Police Department|NMPD forces that remained in the city. The human forces organized an effective resistance, and fought for control of the city throughout the remainder of the day. The city's Artificial intelligence|Urban Infrastructure AI Superintendent also had a vital role in the defense of the city.
Knocked off their course by the slipspace rupture, two SOEIVs made rough landings: Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck's pod in Lumumba, and Captain Veronica Dare's in nearby Tayari Plaza (location)|Tayari Plaza. At this point in the battle, large groups of Jiralhanae led forces were being deployed into the city. Buck fought his way to Tayari Plaza to help Dare, but upon making it to her pod, he discovered that the Captain had disappeared. Meeting with Kojo Agu|another of his squad mates and with no idea what his objective was now, Buck took the decision to reunite with his squad and then extract them from the city as fast as possible.
Assault on the Covenant landing zone File:Uplift battle.jpg|thumb|250px|The battle for the Covenant LZ in the Uplift Reserve.
}}
Around thirty minutes after the slipspace event, unmanned F-99 Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle|F-99 UCAVs were sent to the city to maintain air supremacy over the Phantoms and Banshees. UNSC forces began to regroup, following the orders of unidentified colonel|a Marine colonel. The Marines were ordered to regroup at the colonel's position near the landing zone, and take control of Regret's carrier's former landing zone in the Uplift Nature Reserve in an effort to seize an unidentified enemy asset, later revealed to be groups of Huragok. Marines at the Uplift Reserve, led by Taylor Miles|a surviving ODST, managed to break through Covenant defenses along the way to the landing zone. At this point, the Mombasa Tether, already damaged by the jump, collapsed, with miles of debris from the tether scattered across East Africa. The collapse also killed the colonel, who, in his final moments, ordered Marines to evacuate from the park. With the colonel dead and the Covenant transporting all Huragok away from the park, the UNSC forces gained little advantages from their efforts in the park.
Fallback to ONI Alpha Site File:Alphas destro.png|thumb|left|250px|The Alpha Site is destroyed.
After the UNSC reclaimed the Covenant landing zone in Uplift Reserve, defending the Office of Naval Intelligence's ONI Alpha Site (location)|local headquarters became the top priority. Ninety minutes after the slipspace event, Marines began falling back to the building as advancing Covenant Wraith convoys prepared to lay siege to Alpha Site. Kizingo Boulevard in Sector 4 became an important location where UNSC forces have set up stationary M68 Gauss cannons to defend the entrance to the rally point at Sector 10, which leads into Alpha Site. Marines managed to regroup at Sector 10 before falling back further into the ONI complex.
Within the ONI compound, the Marines and the NMPD forces destroyed the bridge leading to the base, in hopes of slowing down the advancing Covenant forces. This did not, however, stop the incoming dropships, but slowed the advance. The human forces fell back to the base's courtyard, which they defended against waves of Covenant attackers, before falling back into the interior of the main building. Again, they fended off multiple waves of Covenant. NMPD forces then planted M168 Demolition Charge|explosives inside the complex, to destroy it in order to prevent the Covenant from accessing the Superintendent's data facility deep under the building. The only survivors of the siege were two ODSTs from Alpha-Nine, Michael Crespo and Taylor Miles, who evacuated from the roof, where they were picked up by an D77C-NMPD Pelican|NMPD Pelican dropship. Once on board, they detonated the explosives and watched as the ONI building was completely destroyed. Six hours later, the building was still burning from the explosions. At the time, Crespo and Miles were unaware that destroying the building had alerted a newly-constructed Yanme'e hive beneath the building in the Superintendent's data facility, making it much more difficult for UNSC forces to reach the data core later on.
Skirmish at NMPD Headquarters While the Alpha Site was destroyed, Edward Buck and his squad's sniper, Kojo Agu, made their way to the top floors of the NMPD headquarters building, where they were to be picked up by Pelican with two other ODSTs already onboard. However, the dropship was shot down before landing, and it crashed on another rooftop, killing the pilot on impact. Buck and Agu fought their way across the rooftops, and eventually reached the crash site, where they fought off waves of attacking Covenant using heavy weapons from the Pelican. Finally, Jiralhanae Chieftain Bracktanus dropped off from a Phantom, killed an NMPD officer and severely wounded Agu. The squad managed to kill the Chieftain, after which they decided to evacuate through the train tunnels which led into Old Mombasa.
Nightfall File:H3ODST NewMombasa.jpg|thumb|250px|The rainy streets of New Mombasa, reduced to a ghost town.
By nightfall, nearly all human forces in the city had either been evacuated or destroyed. With Covenant forces controlling the city, remaining Covenant cruisers left by the Prophet of Regret began excavating the area around the crater created by the slipspace rupture. Among the few human survivors were the members of Alpha-Nine, who arrived at Kikowani Station (location)|Kikowani Station near the city's northeastern seawall, only to realize that the station, as well as Kikowani|its surroundings had been flooded by water, making escape through train tunnels impossible. The squad decided to hijack a Phantom dropship, in which they succeeded. Buck escorted the rest of the squad through the flooded sections of the city in a Irdnekt-pattern Banshee|Banshee. The area was filled with Covenant forces, including a Deutoros-pattern Scarab|Scarab. After destroying the Scarab, they managed to fly out of the city, when Buck suddenly realized he knew where Captain Dare was and decided to go back to find her, inside the Superintendent's New Mombasa Data Center|data center.
Around the same time, a lone ODST from Alpha-Nine, Lance Corporal Rookie|J.D. "Rookie", thought dead by the rest of the squad, woke up in his pod, on the edge of a rooftop in Mbaraki. The city was already occupied by the Covenant, with no UNSC resistance left. The Superintendent aided the Rookie to survive in the city and look for clues for what happened to his squad. After wandering around the city for a while, the Rookie received a distress message from Dare, who was inside the Superintendent's data facility deep under the city. He made his way to a subway entrance, and descended down an elevator shaft, to Sublevel 7 of the data center. At this point, the underground tunnels had become infested with Yanme'e, who had built massive hives in the area.
Extracting the asset File:Hurag encounter.png|thumb|300px|Dare and the Rookie meet Quick to Adjust, who "saved" Vergil inside the Superintendent's Data Center.
}}
Eventually, the Rookie managed to meet up with Dare inside the New Mombasa Data Center|Superintendent's Data Center. The two fought through the Yanme'e hive in sublevel 10, causing the Yanme'e to alert the Jiralhanae, who sent more reinforcements to the Data Center. Inside, Dare and Rookie discovered the Huragok Quick to Adjust, who had combined the Superintendent, namely its Vergil subroutine, with itself. As Quick disconnected from the core, the AI shut itself down, as all of its data had been transferred into the creature. At this point, Buck arrived into the complex and the ODSTs escaped back to the surface through the Covenant-occupied tunnels, while protecting the critically important Huragok.
The next day on the morning of October 21, planned reinforcements of the enormous Jiralhanae-led Covenant support and excavation fleet from the Prophet of Truth began to exit slipspace above Mombasa and across its East African Protectorate|surrounding areas, ensuring the full secure of large portions of the Africa from the UNSC and reinforcing excavation measures by the remaining forces of the Fleet of Sacred Consecration despite Covenant's lack of intel on the nature of the Portal at Voi|gateway Portal complex to the Installation 00|Ark.
During the final hours of the day, the area was now full of arriving Covenant capital ships. More Scarabs have been deployed to the city, and a massive air force of Banshees were deployed to the crater. Buck, Dare and the Rookie made their way to the surface, through a Covenant outpost in New Mombasa Sector 1|Sector 1, and eventually took an elevator to the city's New Mombasa Waterfront Highway|Waterfront Highway. They then pushed through the highway and made a stand at the entrance to Uplift Reserve. The Phantom captured by the rest of the squad arrived and picked them up, and they made it out just as an assault carrier appeared from slipspace and glassed the area.
Immediately after the Covenant occupation of Mombasa was achieved, the combined Covenant fleet gathered over Kenya and continued to uncover Portal at Voi|the Forerunner structure which activates a portal to Installation 00|the Ark. While the Covenant fleet was prolongedly glassing the majority of East Africa, millions would have persished over the course of the excavation effort, before it ended at the final stages of the Battle of Kenya.
Aftermath File:Portal odst.png|thumb|250px|A large Covenant fleet sent by the Prophet of Truth continues to arrive over Mombasa and uncovers the Portal, signifying the end of the Battle of Mombasa.
}}
The UNSC would not discover the actual purpose of the Covenant's arrival on Earth until two weeks after the Battle of Installation 05; most of the information was presumably received from the Huragok that had absorbed Vergil's data. By this point, the Prophet of Truth had already arrived in Sol System on the Anodyne Spirit|Forerunner Dreadnought, along with many remnants of the Fall of High Charity|diminishing Covenant such as the remainder of High Charity defense fleet|Covenant survivors of the Battle of Installation 05 with him. The UNSC would assume the Forerunner structure to be the "Ark" until its activation during the Battle of Voi on 2552#November|November 17, 2552.
The remnants of New Mombasa were liberated after Truth's fleet retreated to Installation 00|the Ark and were subsequently defeated, with Operation: MARSH FLASH beginning as part of the URNA Southwest Campaign.
Parts of Mombasa, like Haller Street, survived the battle. Haller Street and other areas had received some revitalization after Project Rebirth investment and UNSC interest in the Portal at Voi. At some point through Project Rebirth, plans had been created to build the United Nations Space Command Memorial Park in the city.''McFarlane Toys/Halo Point Prizes'', Campaign Master Chief
Some of the refugees of the battle ended up on the planet Oban.
The ''Solemn Penance'' would arrive at Installation 05 on 2552#November|November 3, the Prophet of Regret having learned of the ring's location from the Luminary on Meridian. The assault carrier was followed by ''In Amber Clad'', who deployed a First Platoon (ODST)|contingent of ODSTs led by John-117 on a Assassination of the Prophet of Regret|mission to capture or kill the Prophet, an objective they would accomplish. The ''Coral Sea'', ''Dusk'' and ''Redoubtable'' all arrived as well, but at different times. The last ship to arrive, the ''Dusk'', appeared in time to witness the outbreak of the Great Schism.
Alpha-Nine was assigned to guard Quick to Adjust. Eventually, the Huragok was interrogated by Avery Johnson on Quito Terminus, where Quick to Adjust and Vergil confirmed that the Covenant at New Mombasa were searching for the "Ark", or as revealed upon its activation, the Portal to the Ark. A transcript of the interrogation of Vergil was given to Terrence Hood in a document titled "Vergil".''Halo Legendary Crate'', Vergil
A timeline of events in the Battle of Mombasa and the CSV of Edward Buck were compiled for Margaret Parangosky by Black Box titled "First Twelve Hours".
In the summer of 2557, nearly five years after the battle, the Forerunner glyphs recovered by several ODSTs in the city were finally decoded, pointing to a region on Gamma Halo containing an unidentified Forerunner machine.
Timeline
1459 hours: The ''Solemn Penance'' targets New Mombasa.''Halo Legendary Crate'', :File:LC 002 Doc 1.jpg|First Twelve Hours The carrier slipspace ruptured down to the city, and came to rest over the Uplift Nature Reserve. Between 1459 and 1603 hours: ''Solemn Penance'' drifts towards the New Mombasa Orbital Elevator. John-117 deployed to Old Mombasa and fights into the heart of New Mombasa. Sadie Endesha teams up with Mike Branley and struggles to reach the Mombasa city center and to find her dad Daniel Endesha.
1512 hours: A Quick to Adjust|T1 asset is exposed to capture or kill.
1557 hours: Alpha-Five confirms procurement of the Conduit.
1602 hours: ODST units are dropped from as part of Operation: BUMRUSH.
1603 hours: ''Solemn Penance'' departs from the city via slipspace. follows. Alpha-Nine squad members are scattered by the shockwave. Alpha-Five in possession of the Conduit attempt to flee the blast. The blast destroys much of the Superintendent's electronics. Edward Buck crash lands in Lumumba and attempts to meet Veronica Dare at Tayari Plaza (location)|Tayari Plaza. However, he ends up with Kojo Agu.
1624 hours: Alpha-Five is designated KIA and the Conduit is lost.
1632 hours: Taylor Miles exits pod in the Uplift Reserve and links up with UNSC forces to secure landing zone. UNSC conducts F-99 Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle|F-99 Wombat flyovers of the Reserve.
1649 hours: The Orbital Elevator collapses. Covenant occupy roughly 38% of the city.
1732 hours: Marines begin retreating and grouping up at a rally point at ONI Alpha Site (location)|ONI Alpha Site. Michael Crespo links up with retreating UNSC forces on Kizingo Boulevard (location)|Kizingo Boulevard.
1810 hours: Marines and remaining NMPD officers retreat into the inner walls of the ONI Alpha Site. Road bridge leading to it destroyed. Covenant begin dropping forces off by Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|Phantom.
1852 hours: Alpha Site is destroyed. Covenant occupy 51% of the city. Michael Crespo and Taylor Miles were extracted to NMPD headquarters.
1914 hours: Michael Crespo and Taylor Miles are shot down over a Covenant occupied NMPD HQ. Kojo Agu and Edward Buck rescue and link up with them.
2101 hours: Michael Crespo, Taylor Miles, an injured Kojo Agu, and Edward Buck proceed into Kikowani and find transport out of the district.
2141 hours: Remaining Covenant cruisers begin to group up at Mombasa.
2206 hours: The Rookie wakes up in his pod. He begins to search for his squad mates by looking for clues. The Superintendent assists. The Rookie meets Dare at the New Mombasa Data Center.
2215 hours: Covenant begin excavating the hole the ''Solemn Penance'' tore into Old Mombasa.
2227 hours: Covenant occupation is 78%.
2319 hours: Veronica Dare reports that she has spotted Vergil. After 2319 hours: The Rookie, Dare and Buck escort Vergil along the New Mombasa Waterfront Highway.
2324 hours: Covenant occupation is 94%.
2359 hours: Vergil is secured.
A much larger Truth's fleet|Covenant fleet from the Prophet of Truth began to arrive in-system above Mombasa in order to reinforces the excavation efforts. Buck, Dare, and the Rookie defend Vergil as they fight their way to the surface. At dawn, the team witnesses continual Covenant reinforcements arriving at Earth to aid in excavation efforts. They flee down the city's Waterfront Highway and reconnect with the rest of Alpha-Nine at the entrance to the Uplift Nature Reserve. The squad manages to hold out and eventually escapes New Mombasa as the city, along with its surroundings, are glassed by the combined excavation fleet.
Participants
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Fleet / Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| |Fifth Fleet
|
|
|Unknown
| |Medii Battle Group
|
|
|Survived
| | rowspan="5" | Unknown
|UNSC destroyer
|
|Survived
| |
|
|Survived
| |UNSC frigate
|
|Survived
| |UNSC corvette|UNSC stealth corvette
|
|Survived
| |
|
|Survived
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="3" |UNSC Navy
|Captain
|Veronica Dare
|Survived
| |Commander
|Miranda Keyes
|Survived
| |Master Chief Petty Officer
|John-117
|Survived
| | rowspan="25" |UNSC Marine Corps
|Colonel
|Unidentified colonel|Unknown
|KIA
| | rowspan="1" |Lieutenant (UNSC)|Lieutenant
|Parisa
|Unknown
| |Sergeant Major
|Avery Johnson|Avery J. Johnson
|Survived
| | rowspan="2" |Gunnery Sergeant
|Edward Buck
|Survived
| |Marcus P. Stacker
|Survived
| |Staff Sergeant
|Banks
|Survived
| | rowspan="3" |Corporal
|Taylor H. Miles
|Survived
| |Palmer (Marine)|Palmer
|Unknown
| |Perez (Marine)|Perez
|Survived
| | rowspan="5" |Lance Corporal
|Kojo Agu
|Survived
| |Fones
|Unknown
| |Morton
|Unknown
| |Pineada
|Unknown
| |"Rookie"
|Survived
| | rowspan="4" |Private First Class
|Galliard
|KIA
| |Locke (Mombasa)|Locke
|KIA
| |Michael Crespo
|Survived
| |Sullivan
|Unkown
| | rowspan="6" |Private
|Butkus
|Unknown
| |Emerson
|Unknown
| |Jemison
|KIA
| |McKenzie (Marine)|McKenzie
|Survived
| |O'Brien (ODST)|O'Brien
|KIA
| |Walpole
|Unknown
| |Unknown
|Davis (Marine)|Davis
|Unknown
|}
Units UNSC Marine Corps
*Orbital Drop Shock Trooper
**105th Shock Troops Division
***7th Shock Troops Battalion
**65th Shock Troops Division
***Alpha-Nine
**Alpha-Five
**Unidentified ODST squad
*A Company
*Second Platoon (Halo 3: ODST)|Second Platoon
*E2-BAG/1/7
UNSC Navy
*UNSC Home Fleet|Home Fleet
**Fifth Fleet
**Medii Battle Group
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Name
! Status
| |Cortana
|Survived
| |Superintendent
|Terminated
| |Vergil
|Survived
|}
People
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Name
! Status
| |Mike Branley
|Unknown
| |Roberto Bustamante
|KIA
| |Daniel Endesha
|KIA
| |Sadie Endesha
|Survived
| |Benjamin Giraud
|Survived
| |Marshall Glick
|KIA
| |Petra Janecek
|Survived
| |Jim Odingo
|KIA
| |Tom Uberti
|KIA
| |Carlos Wambua
|KIA
| |Jonas
|Unknown
| |Kinsler
|KIA
| |Stephen (Mombasa)|Stephen
|Unknown
| |Communications Duty Officer|Unnamed Communications Officer
|Unknown
| |Crone|Unnamed Crone
|KIA
| |Unnamed NMPD Officer
|KIA
| |Unnamed Commuter
|Unknown
|}
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Fleet
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" | Fleet of Sacred Consecration
|
|''Solemn Penance''
|Survived
| |
|''Pious Inquisitor''
|Survived
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| |Unknown
|Shipmaster
|Rhul 'Salmutee
|Survived
|}
Non-combatants
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" |High Council
| rowspan="2" |Hierarchs|High Prophet
|Prophet of Regret
|Survived
| |Prophet of Truth
|Survived
| |Unknown
|Unknown
|Quick to Adjust
|Survived
|}
Trivia The multiplayer levels Turf, Terminal (map)|Terminal, District in ''Halo 2'' and Longshore in ''Halo 3'' take place during the Battle of Mombasa. The ''Halo 2'' level Tombstone apparently takes place late in the battle, (roughly concurrent with ''Halo 3: ODST'') as the city is largely in ruins. Sadie's Story depicts Regret's assault carrier arriving in the city via slipspace. The carrier's descent to the atmosphere is never shown in any other source, but it may have made a short, pinpoint jump to get away from the UNSC forces. Judging by the timeline, New Mombasa was supposed to be over a thousand kilometers further south than Old Mombasa due to geographical latitude placement. This could be an oversight by Bungie due to geographical emplacement; by 1900 hours, near the equator line, the sun has already set, while on the level NMPD HQ, at 1936 hours the sun is still setting.''Halo Timeline year 2552'', 2552
Gallery
File:Arney Antics.jpg|Civilians taking up arms during the battle. File:H2A-OutskirtsCourtyardBattle.png|Marines fighting in Old Mombasa. File:Halo hogfight.jpg|UNSC forces led by John-117 advancing on the beach. File:H3ODST PrepareToDrop Loadscreen.png|SOEIV pods dropping into New Mombasa moments before Regret's retreat. File:H3ODST - Regret Carrier.png|The ''Solemn Penance'' moments before its jump into Slipspace. File:H3ODST - Slipspace Event.png|The Mombasa Slipspace Event. File:H3ODST Warthog Convoy.jpg|A Warthog convoy in Uplift Nature Reserve. File:H3ODST FamilyFeud.jpg|ODST Edward Buck comes across the aftermath of the skirmish between the Sangheili and Jiralhanae in the city. File:H3ODST TayariMarinesSurrounded.jpg|Covenant infantry surrounding UNSC Marines in Sector 8 after the Slipspace event. File:ONIsitedefend.jpg|NMPD officers and ODSTs defending the interior of Alpha Site. File:H3ODST-CrashedD77C.jpg|Dutch, Mickey, and a police officer at the crash site of their D77C-Pelican. File:HTMCC-H3ODST KikowaniScarab 2.jpg|Alpha-Nine destroys a Scarab. File:H3ODST ScarabAttacksOlifant.jpg|A Scarab fires at the Olifant operated by Dare and Huragok Quick to Adjust. File:H3ODST HuragokDefense2.jpg|Edward Buck and the Rookie defending the entrance to Uplift Nature Reserve. File:H2 Tombstone Skybox.png|The destroyed city as seen from a Unnamed UNSC munitions testing complex|UNSC complex.
List of appearances
''Halo: First Strike''
*''Petra''
''Halo 2''
''Halo Graphic Novel''
*''Second Sunrise Over New Mombasa''
''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''
''Halo 3''
''Halo 3: ODST''
*''Sadie's Story''
''Halo Legends''
*''Origins''
''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''
*''Palace Hotel''
''Halo: Reach''
''Halo 4''
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
''Halo: New Blood''
''Hunt the Truth''
''Halo: Spartan Strike''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo: Envoy''
''Halo: Bad Blood''
''Halo Infinite: Memory Agent''
Notes
Sources |
destroyed in Old Mombasa; the ''Solemn Penance'' jumping to slipspace over the city; elements of Alpha-Nine observing a at the conclusion of the battle.
|conflict=Human-Covenant War Battle for Earth
|date=2552#October|October 2021, 2552
|place=Mombasa, Kenya, East African Protectorate
|result=Strategic Covenant victory Covenant occupation and destruction of Mombasa via glassing.
*Rediscovery of Portal at Voi|the Portal. Huragok Quick to Adjust defects and gives knowledge to the UNSC. Prophet of Regret retreats to Installation 05|Delta Halo, where he is later Assassination of the Prophet of Regret|killed by John-117.
|side1=* United Nations Space Command|UNSC
* UNSC Navy
* UNSC Army
*UNSC Air Force
*UNSC Marine Corps New Mombasa Police Department|NMPD Civilian militias
*Colonial Militia
|side2= Covenant
|commanders1=
Unidentified colonel Commander|CDR Miranda Keyes Captain (ground forces)|CAPT Veronica Dare Lieutenant|LT Parisa Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
Sergeant Major|SGTMAJ Avery Junior Johnson|Avery Johnson Staff Sergeant|SSGT Banks|Marcus Banks
|commanders2=*Hierarchs|High Prophet of Regret Hierarchs|High Prophet of Truth
|forces1=
UNSC Home Fleet|Home Fleet
*3+ UNSC frigate|frigates
**1+
**1+
*1+ UNSC destroyer|destroyer
*2+ prowlers
**1+ UNSC corvette|stealth corvette
**1+
*Fifth Fleet
**1+
2+ s Multiple F-99 Wombats
1 stolen Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|T-52 Phantom Multiple D77-TC Pelicans
*Multiple D77C-NMPD Pelicans Multiple AV-22 Sparrowhawks
1+ UH-144 Falcon Multiple AV-14 Hornets Multiple M312 Elephants Several Olifants M808 Scorpion
*Multiple M808B Scorpions
*Multiple M808C Scorpions Multiple M850 Grizzly|M850 Grizzlies M12 Warthog
*Multiple M12 Chaingun Warthogs
*Multiple M12G1 Gauss Warthogs
*Multiple M831 Troop Transport Warthogs Multiple M274 Mongooses Numerous ground forces
*1 SPARTAN-II Program|Spartan-II
*Numerous UNSC Marine Corps|marines
*Numerous Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODSTs
*Numerous New Mombasa Police Department|NMPD personnels
*Numerous armed civilians
|forces2=
Fleet of Sacred Consecration
*1
*3+ s Truth's fleet
*Massive number of ships
**3+ s
**Multiple s Numerous air vehicles
*Numerous s
*Numerous Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|T-52 Phantoms
*Numerous Taaku Xur-pattern Spirit|T-28 Spirits
*Type-26 Banshee|T-26 Banshee
**Numerous Oghal-pattern Banshee|T-26A Banshees
**Numerous Is'belox-pattern Banshee|T-26B Banshees
**Numerous Irdnekt-pattern Banshee|T-26C Banshees Numerous ground vehicles
*2+ Protos-pattern Scarab|T-47A Scarabs
*Multiple Deutoros-pattern Scarab|T-47B Scarabs
*Numerous Zo'op-pattern Weevil|T-48 Weevils
*Numerous Zurdo-pattern Wraith|T-26 Wraiths
**Several Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|T-52 AA Wraiths
*Numerous Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|T-32 Ghosts
*Numerous Ruwaa-pattern Shadow|T-29 Shadows Numerous ground forces
*Jiralhanae
*Sangheili
*Huragok
*Unggoy
*Kig-Yar
*Mgalekgolo
*Yanme'e
|casual1=
Heavy infantry and civilian casualties
*Majority of NMPD forces
*Many ODSTs
*Most of Scorpions
|casual2=*Heavy infantry casualties
*Many Scarabs
**2+ s
**1+
*All remaining Sangheili forces
}}
}}
The Battle of Mombasa, also known as the Battle of New Mombasa, was a large-scale battle|engagement of the Battle for Earth, taking place in late 2552#October|October 2552. Over the course of the battle, Covenant Empire|Covenant forces attempted to capture the city of Mombasa, Kenya before it was quickly retaken in a matter of around one hour by the United Nations Space Command|UNSC. However, after the High Prophet of Regret's retreat, the city remained occupied but now by the Prophet of Truth and his Jiralhanae loyalists. In the aftermath of the battle, Portal at Voi|the Portal to Installation 00|the Ark was eventually found by the Covenant, which would prove to be a major determining factor in the final outcome of the Human-Covenant War. Years after the war's end, a movement known as "Project Rebirth" emerged to endorse the eventual rebuilding of Mombasa in the aftermath of the War.
Background
After discovering and decrypting a Forerunner Luminary found on Meridian, the High Prophet of Regret of the Covenant was given Slipstream space|Slipspace coordinates to a planet called "Erde-Tyrene", which was home to a Forerunner Portal at Voi|slipspace portal leading to the Installation 00|Ark a facility highly important to the initiation of their Covenant religion|"Great Journey". Unknown to Regret, Erde-Tyrene was humanity's homeworld, Earth. In his characteristic brash and ambitious manner, the Prophet of Regret, wishing to proceed with securing the Portal, took Fleet of Sacred Consecration|a hastily-assembled force of 15 warships to Earth. Though surprised to find not only a human presence on the planet, but a planet more fortified than any previously encountered human-held world, the Hierarchs|High Prophet deemed his mission important enough to proceed and utilized many tactics to ensure his safe arrival on the surface. The coordinates provided by the Forerunner information indicated that his quarry was around the area of Mombasa, Kenya. Immediately after the Prophet of Truth learned of Regret's move, he sent Truth's fleet|a massive support and excavation fleet he had collected in secrecy to pick up where Regret had left off.
The city was relatively lightly defended, with only New Mombasa Police Department|NMPD forces as well as some Marine units present, including the 17th Marine Regiment. Some additional military units had been transferred to the city, along with Earth's other tether cities, following the Fall of Reach to bolster their defenses in case of a Covenant invasion. These included E2-BAG/1/7 as well as some UNSC Army forces, though Lieutenant Parisa of E2-BAG/1/7 was put out of action upon deployment.
Just prior to the Covenant's attack, Sadie Endesha was on her way to Magongo to enlist in the UNSC, while photographer and journalist Benjamin Giraud was on a train heading to Old Mombasa.
Battle
}}
File:H2A - Pelicans.jpg|thumb|left|250px|UNSC reinforcements from the arrive in New Mombasa. On October 20, during the opening stages of the Battle for Earth, a single , the ''Solemn Penance'', broke through the UNSC Home Fleet's defensive lines and headed towards Earth's atmosphere. The ship slipspace jumped down to the city of New Mombasa in the East African Protectorate. There, the ship came to rest over the Uplift Nature Reserve deploying infantry and mechanized support. One of the Covenant's first targets was the Mombasa Maglev train network. Despite the widespread Covenant deployment throughout Mombasa, the highest concentration of Covenant ground troops was directly below the carrier in its landing zone. Over the course of the battle, the Covenant deployed several Deutoros-pattern Scarab|Scarab assault platforms in both the old and new sections of Mombasa, with many of them targeting the city's space elevator. The UNSC managed to trap and destroy many of them in the narrow streets of the city.
The Covenant also sent seven Huragok, including Quick to Adjust, into Kikowani Station (location)|Kikowani subway station, likely in search of the Forerunner structure underneath Mombasa. However, the six other Huragok instead freed Quick to Adjust from its explosive harness. While the six others were killed, Quick survived and made its way into the data center. Doctor Daniel Endesha witnessed the event, and instructed Vergil, a subroutine of the city Superintendent, to track Quick. The Covenant would find out Quick's betrayal, and send forces into the Data Center to kill Quick or prevent its defection to the UNSC.
At the time of the ship jumping down to the city, Sadie Endesha and numerous civilians had been kicked off a train in Old Mombasa. Covenant tanks that were very quickly deployed into the city, bombarded and destroyed the train in the vicinity of Makupa Station. NMPD Commissioner Kinsler and officer Mike Branley soon arrived on the scene, taking Sadie away from the crowd and headed for a police bunker outside the city. Over the course of the battle, some civilians took up arms in an attempt to defend their city, joining the Marines under command of unidentified Marine officer (Mombasa)|a Marine officer. These "militias" were used as a propaganda tool by the NMPD, broadcasting their exploits over PA systems. Though a number of the stories of the militias appear to have been fabricated by Stephen (Mombasa)|Stephen at NMPDHQ, including that of "Harris 'Two-Shot' Kibaki. With the Mombasa Tether being shut down, citizens were forced to escape the city on foot or by car. The militias and armed citizens allowed for most of the people of New Mombasa to evacuate from the city to Old Mombasa using boats destined for other surrounding cities.
More UNSC Marine Corps and UNSC Army units later poured into the region after the initial attack, some of which arriving from Diego Garcia near India.
UNSC insertion
}}
File:HtT John in New Mombasa original.jpg|thumb|250px|A picture of John-117 during the battle taken by Benjamin Giraud. Some time after the Covenant insertion to the city and during the civilian evacuation, the of the Medii Battle Group descended near Mombasa to reinforce the ground troops already present. Intercepted transmission from the Covenant forces had led the UNSC to correctly believe that it was the High Prophet of Regret in command of the opposing force, making his capture their utmost priority in the right line of the originally Fall of Reach|cancelled Operation: RED FLAG. Three D77-TC Pelican|Pelicans, one of them with the Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 onboard, were deployed by the ''In Amber Clad'' to board the ''Solemn Penance'' hovering near the Mombasa Tether. However, before they could get near the carrier, the formation ran across a which shot down all of the Pelicans in Old Mombasa. The first was destroyed by the Scarab's main cannon, while the second, carrying an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper|ODST Second Squad#Battle of Mombasa|squad led by Gunnery Sergeant Marcus Stacker, was shot down and crash-landed on the beach. The third Pelican, carrying Sergeant Major Avery Johnson and John-117 crashed upside-down into a building in the heart of Old Mombasa.
Outskirts File:H2A-daniil-kuksov-metropolis-scarab.png|250px|thumb|left|A Scarab attacks the city of Mombasa.
}}
Both teams suffered few casualties from their respective crashes. The Spartan's team moved into a nearby building while Stacker's team moved up the beach to the Hotel Zanzibar and set up a command post, eliminating several Covenant units in the process. Both teams then waited in their respective locations for extraction.
After John-117 and his allies repelled several waves of Covenant including a pair of Mgalekgolo, a Pelican found the group and gave them coordinates of a landing zone. Commander Miranda Keyes ordered Johnson to regroup with the ''In Amber Clad'' so that he could coordinate further deployment of infantry and armor units while the Spartan continued on foot through the city to regroup with the second squad.
After fighting his way through multiple alleyways filled with Kig-Yar Snipers, John-117 found and assisted the Orbital Drop Shock Trooper|ODSTs pinned down at Hotel Zanzibar. Commander Keyes sent a Warthog to the Spartan, who spearheaded a counterattack, destroying Covenant infantry, armor, and Zo'op-pattern Weevil|Covenant artillery emplacements on the beaches facing New Mombasa.
John-117 and his makeshift Marine unit entered a blown-out hole in a tunnel where they intercepted and destroyed a Covenant convoy, made up primarily of s that had been attempting to rendezvous with the regrouping Covenant ground forces still stationed in that sector of the city. Along the way they engaged and neutralized several barricades the Covenant had assembled to fortify the tunnel network. After the engagement in the tunnels, they advanced towards the bridge connecting Old and New Mombasa. Before the Spartan got there, the Marine unit at the bridge had already exhausted itself fighting the Scarab.
The Conduit File:Orphic Spear 1.png|thumb|250px|Alpha-Five being deployed into New Mombasa.
As the ''In Amber Clad''s force pressed towards New Mombasa, the Covenant brought the Conduita Forerunner device capable of opening slipspace portalsto New Mombasa. A Taaku Xur-pattern Spirit|Spirit dropship carrying a data pad with information pertaining to the Conduit was shot down by UNSC forces. When the data pad's relevance to the Conduit was realized by the UNSC, a Alpha-Five|squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers was Operation: WINDOW PANE|sent to recover it. Covenant forces awaiting extraction at the crashed Spirit were attacked by the ODST squad and the Sangheili Field Master carrying the data pad was killed. With the data pad, the UNSC used the information gained to pinpoint the location of the Conduit in the city. The ODST squad was directed to a Sangheili task force carrying the Conduit. After a brief engagement, the ODSTs managed to procure the Conduit from the Covenant and the device was delivered to a nearby UNSC convoy.
The Covenant responded by assaulting the convoy with waves of infantry. Though the ODST squad and several Marines attempted to defend the convoy from attacking Covenant forces, a Sangheili Field Master dropped down from his Spirit into the M313 Elephant|Elephant carrying the Conduit, retrieved the device, and escaped the engagement aboard the dropship. The ODSTs gave chase and, eventually, the Spirit was shot down. The squad located the dropship's crash site and attacked its surviving occupants. When the Field Master and his Kig-Yar bodyguards were eventually eliminated, the Conduit was reclaimed by the UNSC. The ODSTs took the Conduit aboard a M12 Warthog|Warthog and were ordered to leave the city.
Forerunner glyphs Concurrent with the search for the Conduit, an unidentified ODST squad participated in the battle with orders to retrieve information the Covenant were interested in. Commandeering a Grizzly tank, the squad rescued marines who had recovered an emergency broadcast from a downed AV-14 Hornet, stating that its crew had captured a series of Forerunner symbols|Forerunner glyphs from the Covenant. The squad then trekked their way to the site, recovered the glyphs, and escaped the city before the ''Solemn Penance'' jumped into slipspace.
Battle for New Mombasa File:H2A Scorpion957-A3Destroyed.png|thumb|left|250px|The Protos-pattern Scarab|Scarab fires upon 957-A3|a M808B Main Battle Tank|Scorpion tank, destroying it instantly.
}}
The Master Chief arrived at the bridge to assess the situation while Sergeant Johnson reinforced the Marines with weaponry, including a M808B Scorpion|Scorpion tank. The Chief traveled across the bridge with the armored unit, clearing it of both Covenant armored and mechanized forces. These forces included Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|Ghosts, Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraiths, Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|Phantoms, and Is'belox-pattern Banshee|Banshees.
After the engagement on the bridge, UNSC forces entered New Mombasa in large numbers. They linked up with various squads of Marines as they moved through the city, eliminating Covenant forces that were setting up positions. The Master Chief's team worked their way into the Kilindini Park Cultural Center through the sewer system, and then towards the city center via Shimanzi Road and Beria Plaza, finding that the Scarab had, likewise, taken a similar path.
Once in the heart of the New Mombasa industrial zone|industrial zone near the city center, John-117's team found a Marine outpost holed in a corporate building, commanded by Staff Sergeant Banks of A Company under siege by a unit of Wraiths. The UNSC forces, with the help of John-117, destroyed the Wraiths, and secured a landing zone for reinforcements. The Pelicans then dropped a platoon of Marine infantry and a Scorpion tank.
The lumbering Scarab appeared from the other end of the plaza the Marine outpost was facing and the Scorpion tank opened fire on it, with no effect. After the Scarab destroyed the tank with its main gun, Marines opened fire on the walker, but it was unaffected and impervious to the weak rounds and climbed over their position and moved into the canals of the city. However, it soon found itself trapped inside of the walls of the canal, giving Pelicans a chance to attack it openly.
The Master Chief and A Company followed the Scarab through the canals and the Spartan boarded the walker. While the Marines provided some cover fire, John defeated the forces manning the Scarab walker. After defeating its command crew, he managed to destroy the Scarab from the inside. All Covenant forces soon began retreating to Regret's carrier. The Master Chief was extracted by Sergeant Johnson's Pelican and taken back to ''In Amber Clad'' along with the remaining members of A Company.
Regret's withdrawal File:H2A In Amber Clad intercept.png|thumb|left|250px|The gives chase as Regret's flagship prepares to flee New Mombasa.
}}
The Pelicans carrying Spartan-117 and the Marines entered the ''In Amber Clad'', just as the carrier was preparing to flee. Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood was hesitant to let ''In Amber Clad'' engage Regret's assault carrier, still above Mombasa and beside the Mombasa space elevator. He instead opted to call in two heavier vessels to intercept the carrier if it returned to space. However, when the carrier initiated its slipspace drive, preparing to jump while still in the atmosphere, Hood gave the ship the green light to give chase. The , , and , and the followed in the wake of the slipspace jump, with the latter ship losing contact with its companions in the slipstream.
Just before the carrier jumped, remaining ships of the UNSC Home Fleet deployed dozens of Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|SOEIVs down to the city in Operation: BUMRUSH|an effort to infiltrate the carrier, only to be caught by the Electromagnetic pulse|EMP blast in mid-flight, destroying their navigational and safety systems, plunging them and their Orbital Drop Shock Trooper occupants to almost certain death. It is likely that only Alpha-Nine|one squad survived, having changed their course away from the carrier at the last moment. Many of the city's buildings were heavily damaged but remained standing, including the Mombasa Tether. The rupture also created a large crater in the mainland, north of New Mombasa, revealing a section of the Forerunner portal. This event would later become referred to as the New Mombasa Slipspace Event, and would lead to the reactivation of the old NATO Outpost C9.
The ODSTs in possession of the Conduit were escaping the city as the nearby ''Solemn Penance'' entered slipstream space over Mombasa. When the resulting slipspace rupture engulfed the city, the ODSTs were killed and the Conduit was believed to have been destroyed as well. However, the Conduit entered slipspace to save itself from destruction and arrived at Installation 03.
File:Main phantom.jpg|thumb|250px|A Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|Phantom deploying troops in New Mombasa just after the Slipspace Event.
Large numbers of Covenant troops remained in the city even after Regret's withdrawal. While most of Regret's troops evacuated into the carrier, there was still a significant Covenant presence both on the ground and in orbit. Moments after Regret jumped, the Prophet of Truth seized the control of the battle and assumed the command of what remained within Regret's Fleet of Sacred Consecration|initial fleet while a large Truth's fleet|support and excavation fleet of Jiralhanae-led Covenant reinforcements was en route to Earth. The remaining Jiralhanae from Regret's forces were simultaneously given orders to execute the Sangheili forces on the ground and in orbit. This was a part of the Prophet of Truth's personal scheme for the Covenant, which would come to its conclusion two weeks later when the Sangheili were officially removed from their positions as the main warrior caste of the Covenant.
The Covenant forces were met by a sizeable number of UNSC Marines and New Mombasa Police Department|NMPD forces that remained in the city. The human forces organized an effective resistance, and fought for control of the city throughout the remainder of the day. The city's Artificial intelligence|Urban Infrastructure AI Superintendent also had a vital role in the defense of the city.
Knocked off their course by the slipspace rupture, two SOEIVs made rough landings: Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck's pod in Lumumba, and Captain Veronica Dare's in nearby Tayari Plaza (location)|Tayari Plaza. At this point in the battle, large groups of Jiralhanae led forces were being deployed into the city. Buck fought his way to Tayari Plaza to help Dare, but upon making it to her pod, he discovered that the Captain had disappeared. Meeting with Kojo Agu|another of his squad mates and with no idea what his objective was now, Buck took the decision to reunite with his squad and then extract them from the city as fast as possible.
Assault on the Covenant landing zone File:Uplift battle.jpg|thumb|250px|The battle for the Covenant LZ in the Uplift Reserve.
}}
Around thirty minutes after the slipspace event, unmanned F-99 Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle|F-99 UCAVs were sent to the city to maintain air supremacy over the Phantoms and Banshees. UNSC forces began to regroup, following the orders of unidentified colonel|a Marine colonel. The Marines were ordered to regroup at the colonel's position near the landing zone, and take control of Regret's carrier's former landing zone in the Uplift Nature Reserve in an effort to seize an unidentified enemy asset, later revealed to be groups of Huragok. Marines at the Uplift Reserve, led by Taylor Miles|a surviving ODST, managed to break through Covenant defenses along the way to the landing zone. At this point, the Mombasa Tether, already damaged by the jump, collapsed, with miles of debris from the tether scattered across East Africa. The collapse also killed the colonel, who, in his final moments, ordered Marines to evacuate from the park. With the colonel dead and the Covenant transporting all Huragok away from the park, the UNSC forces gained little advantages from their efforts in the park.
Fallback to ONI Alpha Site File:Alphas destro.png|thumb|left|250px|The Alpha Site is destroyed.
After the UNSC reclaimed the Covenant landing zone in Uplift Reserve, defending the Office of Naval Intelligence's ONI Alpha Site (location)|local headquarters became the top priority. Ninety minutes after the slipspace event, Marines began falling back to the building as advancing Covenant Wraith convoys prepared to lay siege to Alpha Site. Kizingo Boulevard in Sector 4 became an important location where UNSC forces have set up stationary M68 Gauss cannons to defend the entrance to the rally point at Sector 10, which leads into Alpha Site. Marines managed to regroup at Sector 10 before falling back further into the ONI complex.
Within the ONI compound, the Marines and the NMPD forces destroyed the bridge leading to the base, in hopes of slowing down the advancing Covenant forces. This did not, however, stop the incoming dropships, but slowed the advance. The human forces fell back to the base's courtyard, which they defended against waves of Covenant attackers, before falling back into the interior of the main building. Again, they fended off multiple waves of Covenant. NMPD forces then planted M168 Demolition Charge|explosives inside the complex, to destroy it in order to prevent the Covenant from accessing the Superintendent's data facility deep under the building. The only survivors of the siege were two ODSTs from Alpha-Nine, Michael Crespo and Taylor Miles, who evacuated from the roof, where they were picked up by an D77C-NMPD Pelican|NMPD Pelican dropship. Once on board, they detonated the explosives and watched as the ONI building was completely destroyed. Six hours later, the building was still burning from the explosions. At the time, Crespo and Miles were unaware that destroying the building had alerted a newly-constructed Yanme'e hive beneath the building in the Superintendent's data facility, making it much more difficult for UNSC forces to reach the data core later on.
Skirmish at NMPD Headquarters While the Alpha Site was destroyed, Edward Buck and his squad's sniper, Kojo Agu, made their way to the top floors of the NMPD headquarters building, where they were to be picked up by Pelican with two other ODSTs already onboard. However, the dropship was shot down before landing, and it crashed on another rooftop, killing the pilot on impact. Buck and Agu fought their way across the rooftops, and eventually reached the crash site, where they fought off waves of attacking Covenant using heavy weapons from the Pelican. Finally, Jiralhanae Chieftain Bracktanus dropped off from a Phantom, killed an NMPD officer and severely wounded Agu. The squad managed to kill the Chieftain, after which they decided to evacuate through the train tunnels which led into Old Mombasa.
Nightfall File:H3ODST NewMombasa.jpg|thumb|250px|The rainy streets of New Mombasa, reduced to a ghost town.
By nightfall, nearly all human forces in the city had either been evacuated or destroyed. With Covenant forces controlling the city, remaining Covenant cruisers left by the Prophet of Regret began excavating the area around the crater created by the slipspace rupture. Among the few human survivors were the members of Alpha-Nine, who arrived at Kikowani Station (location)|Kikowani Station near the city's northeastern seawall, only to realize that the station, as well as Kikowani|its surroundings had been flooded by water, making escape through train tunnels impossible. The squad decided to hijack a Phantom dropship, in which they succeeded. Buck escorted the rest of the squad through the flooded sections of the city in a Irdnekt-pattern Banshee|Banshee. The area was filled with Covenant forces, including a Deutoros-pattern Scarab|Scarab. After destroying the Scarab, they managed to fly out of the city, when Buck suddenly realized he knew where Captain Dare was and decided to go back to find her, inside the Superintendent's New Mombasa Data Center|data center.
Around the same time, a lone ODST from Alpha-Nine, Lance Corporal Rookie|J.D. "Rookie", thought dead by the rest of the squad, woke up in his pod, on the edge of a rooftop in Mbaraki. The city was already occupied by the Covenant, with no UNSC resistance left. The Superintendent aided the Rookie to survive in the city and look for clues for what happened to his squad. After wandering around the city for a while, the Rookie received a distress message from Dare, who was inside the Superintendent's data facility deep under the city. He made his way to a subway entrance, and descended down an elevator shaft, to Sublevel 7 of the data center. At this point, the underground tunnels had become infested with Yanme'e, who had built massive hives in the area.
Extracting the asset File:Hurag encounter.png|thumb|300px|Dare and the Rookie meet Quick to Adjust, who "saved" Vergil inside the Superintendent's Data Center.
}}
Eventually, the Rookie managed to meet up with Dare inside the New Mombasa Data Center|Superintendent's Data Center. The two fought through the Yanme'e hive in sublevel 10, causing the Yanme'e to alert the Jiralhanae, who sent more reinforcements to the Data Center. Inside, Dare and Rookie discovered the Huragok Quick to Adjust, who had combined the Superintendent, namely its Vergil subroutine, with itself. As Quick disconnected from the core, the AI shut itself down, as all of its data had been transferred into the creature. At this point, Buck arrived into the complex and the ODSTs escaped back to the surface through the Covenant-occupied tunnels, while protecting the critically important Huragok.
The next day on the morning of October 21, planned reinforcements of the enormous Jiralhanae-led Covenant support and excavation fleet from the Prophet of Truth began to exit slipspace above Mombasa and across its East African Protectorate|surrounding areas, ensuring the full secure of large portions of the Africa from the UNSC and reinforcing excavation measures by the remaining forces of the Fleet of Sacred Consecration despite Covenant's lack of intel on the nature of the Portal at Voi|gateway Portal complex to the Installation 00|Ark.
During the final hours of the day, the area was now full of arriving Covenant capital ships. More Scarabs have been deployed to the city, and a massive air force of Banshees were deployed to the crater. Buck, Dare and the Rookie made their way to the surface, through a Covenant outpost in New Mombasa Sector 1|Sector 1, and eventually took an elevator to the city's New Mombasa Waterfront Highway|Waterfront Highway. They then pushed through the highway and made a stand at the entrance to Uplift Reserve. The Phantom captured by the rest of the squad arrived and picked them up, and they made it out just as an assault carrier appeared from slipspace and glassed the area.
Immediately after the Covenant occupation of Mombasa was achieved, the combined Covenant fleet gathered over Kenya and continued to uncover Portal at Voi|the Forerunner structure which activates a portal to Installation 00|the Ark. While the Covenant fleet was prolongedly glassing the majority of East Africa, millions would have persished over the course of the excavation effort, before it ended at the final stages of the Battle of Kenya.
Aftermath File:Portal odst.png|thumb|250px|A large Covenant fleet sent by the Prophet of Truth continues to arrive over Mombasa and uncovers the Portal, signifying the end of the Battle of Mombasa.
}}
The UNSC would not discover the actual purpose of the Covenant's arrival on Earth until two weeks after the Battle of Installation 05; most of the information was presumably received from the Huragok that had absorbed Vergil's data. By this point, the Prophet of Truth had already arrived in Sol System on the Anodyne Spirit|Forerunner Dreadnought, along with many remnants of the Fall of High Charity|diminishing Covenant such as the remainder of High Charity defense fleet|Covenant survivors of the Battle of Installation 05 with him. The UNSC would assume the Forerunner structure to be the "Ark" until its activation during the Battle of Voi on 2552#November|November 17, 2552.
The remnants of New Mombasa were liberated after Truth's fleet retreated to Installation 00|the Ark and were subsequently defeated, with Operation: MARSH FLASH beginning as part of the URNA Southwest Campaign.
Parts of Mombasa, like Haller Street, survived the battle. Haller Street and other areas had received some revitalization after Project Rebirth investment and UNSC interest in the Portal at Voi. At some point through Project Rebirth, plans had been created to build the United Nations Space Command Memorial Park in the city.''McFarlane Toys/Halo Point Prizes'', Campaign Master Chief
Some of the refugees of the battle ended up on the planet Oban.
The ''Solemn Penance'' would arrive at Installation 05 on 2552#November|November 3, the Prophet of Regret having learned of the ring's location from the Luminary on Meridian. The assault carrier was followed by ''In Amber Clad'', who deployed a First Platoon (ODST)|contingent of ODSTs led by John-117 on a Assassination of the Prophet of Regret|mission to capture or kill the Prophet, an objective they would accomplish. The ''Coral Sea'', ''Dusk'' and ''Redoubtable'' all arrived as well, but at different times. The last ship to arrive, the ''Dusk'', appeared in time to witness the outbreak of the Great Schism.
Alpha-Nine was assigned to guard Quick to Adjust. Eventually, the Huragok was interrogated by Avery Johnson on Quito Terminus, where Quick to Adjust and Vergil confirmed that the Covenant at New Mombasa were searching for the "Ark", or as revealed upon its activation, the Portal to the Ark. A transcript of the interrogation of Vergil was given to Terrence Hood in a document titled "Vergil".''Halo Legendary Crate'', Vergil
A timeline of events in the Battle of Mombasa and the CSV of Edward Buck were compiled for Margaret Parangosky by Black Box titled "First Twelve Hours".
In the summer of 2557, nearly five years after the battle, the Forerunner glyphs recovered by several ODSTs in the city were finally decoded, pointing to a region on Gamma Halo containing an unidentified Forerunner machine.
Timeline
1459 hours: The ''Solemn Penance'' targets New Mombasa.''Halo Legendary Crate'', :File:LC 002 Doc 1.jpg|First Twelve Hours The carrier slipspace ruptured down to the city, and came to rest over the Uplift Nature Reserve. Between 1459 and 1603 hours: ''Solemn Penance'' drifts towards the New Mombasa Orbital Elevator. John-117 deployed to Old Mombasa and fights into the heart of New Mombasa. Sadie Endesha teams up with Mike Branley and struggles to reach the Mombasa city center and to find her dad Daniel Endesha.
1512 hours: A Quick to Adjust|T1 asset is exposed to capture or kill.
1557 hours: Alpha-Five confirms procurement of the Conduit.
1602 hours: ODST units are dropped from as part of Operation: BUMRUSH.
1603 hours: ''Solemn Penance'' departs from the city via slipspace. follows. Alpha-Nine squad members are scattered by the shockwave. Alpha-Five in possession of the Conduit attempt to flee the blast. The blast destroys much of the Superintendent's electronics. Edward Buck crash lands in Lumumba and attempts to meet Veronica Dare at Tayari Plaza (location)|Tayari Plaza. However, he ends up with Kojo Agu.
1624 hours: Alpha-Five is designated KIA and the Conduit is lost.
1632 hours: Taylor Miles exits pod in the Uplift Reserve and links up with UNSC forces to secure landing zone. UNSC conducts F-99 Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle|F-99 Wombat flyovers of the Reserve.
1649 hours: The Orbital Elevator collapses. Covenant occupy roughly 38% of the city.
1732 hours: Marines begin retreating and grouping up at a rally point at ONI Alpha Site (location)|ONI Alpha Site. Michael Crespo links up with retreating UNSC forces on Kizingo Boulevard (location)|Kizingo Boulevard.
1810 hours: Marines and remaining NMPD officers retreat into the inner walls of the ONI Alpha Site. Road bridge leading to it destroyed. Covenant begin dropping forces off by Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|Phantom.
1852 hours: Alpha Site is destroyed. Covenant occupy 51% of the city. Michael Crespo and Taylor Miles were extracted to NMPD headquarters.
1914 hours: Michael Crespo and Taylor Miles are shot down over a Covenant occupied NMPD HQ. Kojo Agu and Edward Buck rescue and link up with them.
2101 hours: Michael Crespo, Taylor Miles, an injured Kojo Agu, and Edward Buck proceed into Kikowani and find transport out of the district.
2141 hours: Remaining Covenant cruisers begin to group up at Mombasa.
2206 hours: The Rookie wakes up in his pod. He begins to search for his squad mates by looking for clues. The Superintendent assists. The Rookie meets Dare at the New Mombasa Data Center.
2215 hours: Covenant begin excavating the hole the ''Solemn Penance'' tore into Old Mombasa.
2227 hours: Covenant occupation is 78%.
2319 hours: Veronica Dare reports that she has spotted Vergil. After 2319 hours: The Rookie, Dare and Buck escort Vergil along the New Mombasa Waterfront Highway.
2324 hours: Covenant occupation is 94%.
2359 hours: Vergil is secured.
A much larger Truth's fleet|Covenant fleet from the Prophet of Truth began to arrive in-system above Mombasa in order to reinforces the excavation efforts. Buck, Dare, and the Rookie defend Vergil as they fight their way to the surface. At dawn, the team witnesses continual Covenant reinforcements arriving at Earth to aid in excavation efforts. They flee down the city's Waterfront Highway and reconnect with the rest of Alpha-Nine at the entrance to the Uplift Nature Reserve. The squad manages to hold out and eventually escapes New Mombasa as the city, along with its surroundings, are glassed by the combined excavation fleet.
Participants
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Fleet / Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| |Fifth Fleet
|
|
|Unknown
| |Medii Battle Group
|
|
|Survived
| | rowspan="5" | Unknown
|UNSC destroyer
|
|Survived
| |
|
|Survived
| |UNSC frigate
|
|Survived
| |UNSC corvette|UNSC stealth corvette
|
|Survived
| |
|
|Survived
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="3" |UNSC Navy
|Captain
|Veronica Dare
|Survived
| |Commander
|Miranda Keyes
|Survived
| |Master Chief Petty Officer
|John-117
|Survived
| | rowspan="25" |UNSC Marine Corps
|Colonel
|Unidentified colonel|Unknown
|KIA
| | rowspan="1" |Lieutenant (UNSC)|Lieutenant
|Parisa
|Unknown
| |Sergeant Major
|Avery Johnson|Avery J. Johnson
|Survived
| | rowspan="2" |Gunnery Sergeant
|Edward Buck
|Survived
| |Marcus P. Stacker
|Survived
| |Staff Sergeant
|Banks
|Survived
| | rowspan="3" |Corporal
|Taylor H. Miles
|Survived
| |Palmer (Marine)|Palmer
|Unknown
| |Perez (Marine)|Perez
|Survived
| | rowspan="5" |Lance Corporal
|Kojo Agu
|Survived
| |Fones
|Unknown
| |Morton
|Unknown
| |Pineada
|Unknown
| |"Rookie"
|Survived
| | rowspan="4" |Private First Class
|Galliard
|KIA
| |Locke (Mombasa)|Locke
|KIA
| |Michael Crespo
|Survived
| |Sullivan
|Unkown
| | rowspan="6" |Private
|Butkus
|Unknown
| |Emerson
|Unknown
| |Jemison
|KIA
| |McKenzie (Marine)|McKenzie
|Survived
| |O'Brien (ODST)|O'Brien
|KIA
| |Walpole
|Unknown
| |Unknown
|Davis (Marine)|Davis
|Unknown
|}
Units UNSC Marine Corps
*Orbital Drop Shock Trooper
**105th Shock Troops Division
***7th Shock Troops Battalion
**65th Shock Troops Division
***Alpha-Nine
**Alpha-Five
**Unidentified ODST squad
*A Company
*Second Platoon (Halo 3: ODST)|Second Platoon
*E2-BAG/1/7
UNSC Navy
*UNSC Home Fleet|Home Fleet
**Fifth Fleet
**Medii Battle Group
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Name
! Status
| |Cortana
|Survived
| |Superintendent
|Terminated
| |Vergil
|Survived
|}
People
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Name
! Status
| |Mike Branley
|Unknown
| |Roberto Bustamante
|KIA
| |Daniel Endesha
|KIA
| |Sadie Endesha
|Survived
| |Benjamin Giraud
|Survived
| |Marshall Glick
|KIA
| |Petra Janecek
|Survived
| |Jim Odingo
|KIA
| |Tom Uberti
|KIA
| |Carlos Wambua
|KIA
| |Jonas
|Unknown
| |Kinsler
|KIA
| |Stephen (Mombasa)|Stephen
|Unknown
| |Communications Duty Officer|Unnamed Communications Officer
|Unknown
| |Crone|Unnamed Crone
|KIA
| |Unnamed NMPD Officer
|KIA
| |Unnamed Commuter
|Unknown
|}
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Fleet
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" | Fleet of Sacred Consecration
|
|''Solemn Penance''
|Survived
| |
|''Pious Inquisitor''
|Survived
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| |Unknown
|Shipmaster
|Rhul 'Salmutee
|Survived
|}
Non-combatants
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" |High Council
| rowspan="2" |Hierarchs|High Prophet
|Prophet of Regret
|Survived
| |Prophet of Truth
|Survived
| |Unknown
|Unknown
|Quick to Adjust
|Survived
|}
Trivia The multiplayer levels Turf, Terminal (map)|Terminal, District in ''Halo 2'' and Longshore in ''Halo 3'' take place during the Battle of Mombasa. The ''Halo 2'' level Tombstone apparently takes place late in the battle, (roughly concurrent with ''Halo 3: ODST'') as the city is largely in ruins. Sadie's Story depicts Regret's assault carrier arriving in the city via slipspace. The carrier's descent to the atmosphere is never shown in any other source, but it may have made a short, pinpoint jump to get away from the UNSC forces. Judging by the timeline, New Mombasa was supposed to be over a thousand kilometers further south than Old Mombasa due to geographical latitude placement. This could be an oversight by Bungie due to geographical emplacement; by 1900 hours, near the equator line, the sun has already set, while on the level NMPD HQ, at 1936 hours the sun is still setting.''Halo Timeline year 2552'', 2552
Gallery
File:Arney Antics.jpg|Civilians taking up arms during the battle. File:H2A-OutskirtsCourtyardBattle.png|Marines fighting in Old Mombasa. File:Halo hogfight.jpg|UNSC forces led by John-117 advancing on the beach. File:H3ODST PrepareToDrop Loadscreen.png|SOEIV pods dropping into New Mombasa moments before Regret's retreat. File:H3ODST - Regret Carrier.png|The ''Solemn Penance'' moments before its jump into Slipspace. File:H3ODST - Slipspace Event.png|The Mombasa Slipspace Event. File:H3ODST Warthog Convoy.jpg|A Warthog convoy in Uplift Nature Reserve. File:H3ODST FamilyFeud.jpg|ODST Edward Buck comes across the aftermath of the skirmish between the Sangheili and Jiralhanae in the city. File:H3ODST TayariMarinesSurrounded.jpg|Covenant infantry surrounding UNSC Marines in Sector 8 after the Slipspace event. File:ONIsitedefend.jpg|NMPD officers and ODSTs defending the interior of Alpha Site. File:H3ODST-CrashedD77C.jpg|Dutch, Mickey, and a police officer at the crash site of their D77C-Pelican. File:HTMCC-H3ODST KikowaniScarab 2.jpg|Alpha-Nine destroys a Scarab. File:H3ODST ScarabAttacksOlifant.jpg|A Scarab fires at the Olifant operated by Dare and Huragok Quick to Adjust. File:H3ODST HuragokDefense2.jpg|Edward Buck and the Rookie defending the entrance to Uplift Nature Reserve. File:H2 Tombstone Skybox.png|The destroyed city as seen from a Unnamed UNSC munitions testing complex|UNSC complex.
List of appearances
''Halo: First Strike''
*''Petra''
''Halo 2''
''Halo Graphic Novel''
*''Second Sunrise Over New Mombasa''
''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''
''Halo 3''
''Halo 3: ODST''
*''Sadie's Story''
''Halo Legends''
*''Origins''
''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''
*''Palace Hotel''
''Halo: Reach''
''Halo 4''
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
''Halo: New Blood''
''Hunt the Truth''
''Halo: Spartan Strike''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo: Envoy''
''Halo: Bad Blood''
''Halo Infinite: Memory Agent''
Notes
Sources |
*
*
*
*
1 ONI salvage ship
*
1
*
4 Spartan-IIs
*Blue Team
1 Marine battalion Castoffs
|forces2=*Flotilla of Unsung Piety
*9 intrusion corvettes
**''Quiet Faith''
**''Still Devotion''
**''Silent Truth''
*1 Covenant frigate
**''Steadfast Strike''
|forces3=*Fleet of Swift Justice
*1
*1 Covenant cruiser
*5 Covenant destroyers
*3 Covenant frigates Silent Shadow
|casual1=*Heavy
*
*
*At least one
*1 Pelican
*Heavy ground casualties
|casual2=*Most of the Flotilla of Unsung Piety
*''Steadfast Strike''
*''Still Devotion''
*At least five other ships Heavy ground casualties
|casual3=*Moderate
}}
The Battle of Netherop was a battle that occurred when Blue Team attempted to capture a downed Covenant frigate on the planet Netherop. However, it was also a trap by rogue Fleetmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee which turned into a three-way conflict with forces from the Covenant, particularly the Silent Shadow.
Prelude In the waxing months of the Human-Covenant War, and weeks after the overwhelmingly successful Operation: SILENT STORM, humanity's best chance for survival is to disable a Covenant frigate filled with valuable technology that could help them win the war. It rests on Netherop|an inhospitable world and is offered to the UNSC by Nizat 'Kvarosee|the same disgraced Covenant fleetmaster who failed to stop the SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-IIs in Operation: SILENT STORM.
Battle
Aftermath
The Prophet of Truth covered up Nizat 'Kvarosee's actions and the true nature of the events on Netherop, making it so that the Covenant World Registry made no mention of an orbital mine shell around Netherop, just the loss of the ''Radiant Arrow'' and the ''Steadfast Strike'' and that the Prophet of Truth had deemed the losses to be a sign of divine displeasure and forbade all Covenant vessels from entering the system. Nizat's exile on the planet was omitted with Arbiter Thel 'Vadam only having heard of the events up to Nizat and his forces fleeing from High Charity and a general order from the Hierarchs that Nizat be killed on sight. The Silent Shadow also apparently left behind Blademaster Menuz 'Ra'ashai to help enforce the exile, although he ended up joining forces with Nizat during his years stranded on the planet.
Over the next thirty-three years, Nizat and Defenders of the Sanctum|his forces waged an ongoing war against Petrov and her forces, unaware that the Covenant was eventually defeated. The exiled Covenant forces would discover leftover Precursor technology that allowed them to create armor that they called Sanctum's Hide and a weapon that they called the Divine Hand. However, Petrov and her forces were able to kill a number of Nizat's people over the years, leaving him with only six remaining followers, while the humans had children and their numbers only increased as time went on. Nizat became more and more fanatical as time went on, but his followers, aside from Tam, started to become disillusioned by their harsh life.
About a year after the battle, the UNSC sent a rescue mission to Netherop. A Prowler sneaked into orbit and established contact with Petrov. However, the orbital mine shell destroyed both Pelicans that were sent to Netherop's surface. Not prepared to clear a full mine shell and unwilling to risk twenty lives to save eight, the captain called off the mission but he promised that a better-equipped mission would come back when it was feasible. True to the Prowler captain's word, the corvette came years later and worked to punch through the mine shell. On the third day, the ''Alpina'' made contact with the UNSC survivors and promised that a Pelican would collect them before the next evening, having apparently found a way through the mine shell. However, Nizat was able to use the Divine Hand to destroy the ''Alpina'' and the third rescue mission that came after it.
Thirty-three years after the battle, the UNSC and the Swords of Sanghelios would Battle of Netherop (2559)|return to Netherop seeking Divine Hand|a weapon capable of destroying Cortana's Guardians. The mission would see the dismantling of the orbital mine shell, the rescue of the stranded UNSC survivors from the Battle of Netherop, and the elimination of Nizat and his surviving forces.
List of appearances
''Halo: Oblivion''
''Halo: Outcasts''
Sources |
United Nations Space Command|UNSC
* UNSC Navy
*UNSC Marine Corps Swords of Sanghelios
|side2 =* Banished
|side3 =* Created
|side4=*Defenders of the Sanctum
|commanders1=*Spartan Olympia Vale Lieutenant Commander Amalea Petrov Arbiter Thel 'Vadam Kaidon Ghe 'Talot High Kaidon Olabisi Varo'dai
|commanders2=*Warmaster Atriox Tovarus
|commanders3=*High Auxiliary Sloan Kathara
|commanders4=*Worldmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee
|forces1=*1
*
40 Pelicans
10 D81-LRT Condors
1 D102 Owl
815 ODSTs
*Tango Team
1 Spartan-IV
*Olympia Vale
3 mountain runners
4 s
1 Covenant Frigate
*''Sword of Harmony''
1
1 Covenant Destroyer
3 Phantoms
6 Ghosts
60+ Sangheili
|forces2=*1 Drekar
*''Hammer of Fate''
7 Karves
10 Eklon'Dal Workshop Liches Hundreds of Gydrozka Workshop Breaching Pods Hundreds of Jiralhanae warriors
|forces3=*2 s Several weapon-ships
|forces4=*1 mountain runner
7 Sangheili
|casual1=*UNSC ''Hidden Point''
40 Pelicans
5 D81-LRT Condors Over 800 ODSTs
4 ''Makar''-pattern light corvettess
''Sword of Harmony''
1 ''Ceudar''-pattern heavy corvette
1 Covenant Destroyer Several Sangheili
*Ghe 'Talot
|casual2=*''Hammer of Fate''
2 Karves
|casual3=*1 ''Acolyte''-class harriers Several weapon-ships
|casual4=Total
}}
The Battle of Netherop occurred after the discovery of an Divine Hand|ancient weapon that destroyed a Guardian Custode. An operation on Netherop to claim it started a conflict between the United Nations Space Command|UNSC and the Swords of Sanghelios, the Banished, and Defenders of the Sanctum which was made up of surviving rogue Covenant soldiers exiled on the planet in 2526.
Background
During the Forerunner-Precursor war, Precursor fugitives took refuge on the planet Netherop with the Tier 6 civilization already inhabiting it. When a Guardian Custode attacked, the Precursors used their weapon, the Divine Hand, to destroy the Guardian. However, the weapon also destroyed the local civilization and the planet, turning Netherop from a lush inhabitable world into a barely inhabitable wasteland.
In 2526, Netherop was the site of Skirmish over Netherop|two Battle of Netherop|battles between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant, specifically Defenders of the Sanctum|a rogue faction led by Fleetmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee who sought to destroy ONI after his humiliation in Operation: SILENT STORM, seeing them as the greatest threat to the Covenant. However, Nizat's rogue actions led to the Hierarchs sending a fleet to stop him, leading to the destruction or retreat of the Flotilla of Unyielding Piety. Nizat and his ground forces were exiled on Netherop's surface with an orbital mine shell being placed in orbit of the planet in order to prevent anyone from coming back for him. In addition, Lieutenant Commander Amalea Petrov and some of her forces were left stranded on Netherop as well. Over the next thirty-three years, the UNSC and Covenant survivors fought each other, resulting in the death of most of Nizat's forces, leaving only Nizat himself and six others while the humans numbers continued to grow as the stranded survivors had children and families.
In 2558#October|October 2558, a force of artificial intelligences known as the Created, led by Cortana, alongside an army of Prometheans, rose up and began to The Reclamation|subjugate the Milky Way galaxy. A year following this rise, the UNSC and their Sangheili allies were still trying to find a way to stop Cortana's rule. An Xenoarchaeology|xenoarchaologist, Keely Iyuska, was interested in learning and study the remnants of an ancient non-Forerunner List of unidentified species#Netherop|civilization on the planet Netherop, site of a Battle of Netherop|battle between the UNSC and the Covenant decades earlier. When the Created rised, she couldn't realise her plans. On November 2559, however, Iyuska was contacted and founded by a benefactor to study Netherop and its technology. During her studies, Iyuska managed to find records indicated that a Guardian Custode was sent to subdue Netherop, and that the planet's civilization had managed to defeat the construct. Instead of informing her benefactor, Iyuska travelled to Sanghelios and inform Spartan Olympia Vale about her discovery.
During his time on Installation 00, Atriox was able to find records about an ancient weapon on Netherop that managed to destroy a Guardian Custode. Months later, during Operation: WOLFE, Atriox was able to return to the Milky Way via a Menachite portal complex|portal complex under the Menachite Mountain on Reach, were he started his plans to claim the weapon on Netherop and then start his campaign to take Installation 07 from Cortana. To further their plans, Eto 'Saljhoo funded Keely Iyuska's investigation about the former civilization on Netherop, with the condition that any artifacts Iyuska would find, it would be delivered to him. When Iyuska didn't hold her promise, 'Saljhoo hired the Oath Warden Crei 'Ayomuu to track Iyuska. Weeks after the Warmaster's return, Cortana tried to summit Atriox and the Banished under her command, with no success; in retaliation, Cortana used her Guardian Custodes to destroy Doisac and its moons.
Battle
List of appearances
''Halo: Outcasts''
''Battle for the Blood-Moon''
Sources |
|place=New Constantinople, Thrace system
|result=UNSC victory''Halo Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Halo Universe'', p. 87 (2011)
|side1=United Nations Space Command
|side2=Covenant
|commanders1=Danforth Whitcomb''Halo: First Strike'', p. 179
|commanders2=Unknown
|forces1=SPARTAN-III program|SPARTAN-III SPARTAN-III Alpha Company|Alpha Company
|forces2=Unknown
|casual1=
|casual2=}}
The Battle of New Constantinople was an engagement on New Constantinople in the Thrace system between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant, during the Human-Covenant War in early 2537. Danforth Whitcomb distinguished himself in the battles for New Constantinople.
The SPARTAN-III program's SPARTAN-III Alpha Company|Alpha Company highly distinguished themselves for their actions at New Constantinople, undertaking Operation: IRON GREAVE.''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual'', p. 84 The actions of Hazel-A302 during this battle caught the eyes of Whitcomb's advisors.Halo Waypoint: Despite the successes of the UNSC Navy and Spartan-IIIs, the Covenant returned in 2539 and glassed New Constantinople.
List of appearances
''Halo: First Strike''
''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''
''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|New Constantinople |
|result=Strategic UNSC victoryHalo Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Halo Universe, ''page 299'' (2011)
Discovery of Covenant shipyard K7-49
|side1=United Nations Space Command
|side2=Covenant
|commanders1=Danforth Whitcomb
|commanders2=Unknown
|forces1=*
Other UNSC Navy|naval forces
|forces2=*At least one Covenant frigate|frigate Other Covenant fleet|fleet elements
|casual1=Civilian casualties
|casual2=Unknown
}}
The Battle of New Harmony was an engagement between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant during the Human-Covenant War on the human Human colonies|colony world of New Harmony. It took place in the first half of 2537, prior to July 27.
The battle During the battle, Danforth Whitcomb led UNSC Navy forces into battle, securing one of the few UNSC naval victories of the Covenant War. In the battle, prowler managed to attach a telemetry probe to a retreating Covenant frigate, allowing the prowler to track the ship and locate K7-49, an asteroid serving as a major Covenant shipyard. This subsequently led to the strategic, though costly, victory during Operation: PROMETHEUS.
While the Battle of New Harmony was one of the few naval victories for the UNSC, the engagement has also been referred to as the fall of New Harmony. As the battle resulted in civilian casualties on New Harmony, the Covenant may have proved victorious on the world's surface.
List of appearances
''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''
Sources
Category:UNSC victories|New Harmony |
The Battle of New Jerusalem was an engagement in the Human-Covenant War. It was fought on the Human colonies|human colony world of New Jerusalem in Cygnus system between the UNSC and the Covenant in 2552#July|July or 2552#August|August 2552.: (''"The Rookie|This Marine was recently transferred from the 26th MEF, part of a Rapid Offensive Picket that suffered near-annihilation at New Jerusalem, Cygnus."''): (''"Just weeks after the tragedy of New Jerusalem, he Raid on Mount Haven|dropped near the city of Mount Haven."'')Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "Dirt": (''"The Covenant just attacked Reach," the pilot reported."'')
The battle In 2552#July|July or 2552#August|August of 2552, New Jerusalem was invaded by the Covenant; this invasion was resisted by the UNSC Army and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Force, which was nearly annihilated.
At some point during the battle, ODST Carlo Hoya was captured by the Covenant, but managed to escape, saving a dozen Naval officers' lives in the process. After the war, Hoya would go on to join the new SPARTAN-IV Program.Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide''
Trivia It has been implied that Kojo Agu saw action on the planet at some point during the war, possibly simultaneously with the Rookie.Halo 3: ODST Pre-mission Evaluation ''- Romeo Interview''
The presence of the Marine Expeditionary Force engaging in a "Rapid Offensive Picket" on New Jerusalem may suggest that at some point, the planet was lost to the Covenant, and the UNSC made an attempt to re-take it.
List of appearances
''Halo 3: ODST Pre-mission Evaluation''
''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''
*''Dirt''
Sources |
The Battle of New Llanelli was a conflict between United Nations Space Command|UNSC and Covenant forces on the planet New Llanelli in 2546.Halo: Glasslands, ''page 133'' Not much is known about the conflict other than the Covenant won this engagement and soon glassed the planet.
List of appearances
''Halo: Glasslands''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|New Llanelli Category:Human-Covenant War|New Llanelli Category:Covenant victories|New Llanelli |
Battle of Noctus is a ''Halo 5: Guardians'' multiplayer level exclusively for the Warzone gametype. The map was released as part of the Cartographer's Gift expansion on December 16, 2015. The Warzone#Warzone Assault|Warzone Assault variant of the map is Urban, and was released as part of Infinity's Armory.
Overview
File:H5 Map Noctus 01 North.PNG|300px
File:H5 Map Noctus 02 South.PNG|300px
File:H5 Map Noctus 03.PNG|300px
Gallery
File:H5G-Battle of Noctus Overhead.jpg|Overhead map of Battle of Noctus File:H5G-Battle of Noctus Concept-1.jpg|Early concept art File:H5G-Battle of Noctus Concept-2.jpg File:H5 Map Noctus 04.PNG File:H5 Map Noctus 05.PNG File:H5 Map Noctus 06.PNG File:H5 Map Noctus 07.PNG File:H5 Map Noctus 08.PNG File:H5 Map Noctus 09.PNG File:H5 Map Noctus 10.PNG File:Noctus Redteam Simulation.png|Red Team overview of Noctus with the crashed Pelican on it. File:H5G-RaijinSPNKR.jpg|A Spartan on Battle of Noctus
Sources
Category:Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer maps Category:Warzone maps |
|place= Sanghelios
|result=UNSC/Swords of Sanghelios victory Arbiter Thel 'Vadam rescued Covenant Shuul'se-pattern Kraken|Kraken destroyed Covenant forces in Nuusra cleared out Forerunner Constructor successfully retrieved
|side1= * Swords of Sanghelios United Nations Space Command|UNSC
|side2=* Jul 'Mdama's Covenant
|side3=* Created
|side4=
|commanders1= *Arbiter Thel 'Vadam Jameson Locke|Spartan Jameson Locke
|commanders2= *Kitun 'Arach
|commanders3= *Cortana
|commanders4=
|forces1=*Several s Several s Two HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Mantises Several s Multiple s Several s Several Sangheili Storm
|forces2=*At least one One Several s Several s Several s Multiple s Some s Several Mgalekgolo Many Sangheili Dozens of Kig-Yar Dozens of Unggoy
|forces3=*Some Phaetons Several Promethean Knights Many Armiger Soldiers Some Promethean Watchers Numerous Promethean Crawlers
|forces4=
|casual1=Multiple Sangheili
|casual2=*Total
|casual3=*Several Z-1800 Phaetons Several Prometheans
|casual4=
|civilian=
}}
}}
The Battle of Nuusra was a conflict between the remnants of Jul 'Mdama's Covenant, the Swords of Sanghelios (aided by UNSC forces), and Promethean forces on October 27, 2558.
Background
}}
Two days beforehand, the AWOL Blue Team was taken from Meridian to Genesis by a Guardian Custode. Leadership on the decided that in order to reach them, awakening the Guardian on Sanghelios would be required.
Murok 'Vadam would give up information as to where the Arbiter was to the Covenant. In exchange, the Covenant promised him power and prestige.
Battle File:H5G-T57Phantomdrop.png|thumb|left|250px|Fireteam Osiris being deployed to Nuusra by Mahkee 'Chava.
}}
With the UNSC needing to access to the Guardian at Sunaion, Fireteam Osiris was deployed to Nuusra to meet up with Arbiter Thel 'Vadam. In the morning of October 27, 2558, the remnants of Jul 'Mdama's Covenant invaded Nuusra in an attempt to assassinate 'Vadam who became cornered in the Elder Council Chamber. Deployed by Phantom into the region, Osiris fought their way towards the Council Chamber, aided by HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Mantis|Mantises dropped by Shipmaster Mahkee 'Chava and several Sangheili Storm. Finally, as the Arbiter was about to be overrun, Osiris and their Sangheili allies reached the Elder Council Chamber and extracted the Arbiter by Phantom.
}}
After the initial fight, Spartan Jameson Locke brought up the need to access the Guardian at Sunaion, but as it was the last Covenant stronghold on the planet, the Arbiter refused to commit his forces until they could be sure of victory. Dr. Catherine Halsey determined that using a Forerunner called a Constructor, she could interface with the Guardian and activate it. As Nuusra was filled with support facilities for the Guardian, it would be relatively simple to find one. Fireteam Osiris was redeployed by Pelican to visit one such facility with the Swords of Sanghelios for backup. The Arbiter saw the launch of the Guardian as a chance to crush the Covenant once and for all using the distraction the Covenant soldiers would experience upon the Guardian's launch.
}}
Fireteam Osiris is deployed by Pelican south of the Forerunner facility containing the needed Constructor. With a Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|Covenant Shuul'se-pattern Kraken|Kraken and ground troops blocking the way, the Arbiter deploys D'nomlhe-pattern Banshee|Banshees to handle the Kraken while Osiris is left to handle the ground troops. Fighting through the area, Osiris encounters a shielded entrance that they have to bypass. Eventually, the Covenant Kraken and airborne forces begin abandoning their ground forces which retreat into the temple grounds which are between Osiris and the Forerunner facility. In the temple ruins, Osiris encounters another shielded entrance, with the ground forces supported by a Kemu-pattern Wraith|Wraith dropped by a Phantom.
Reaching the end of the temple ruins, Osiris discovers a canyon with the Forerunner facility on the other side. However, the retreating Kraken enters the canyon and ends up between the Spartans and the Forerunner facility. Spotting nearby Phaetons, Osiris decides to help the Arbiter finish off the Kraken and the remaining Covenant forces in Nuusra. Using the Phaetons, the Spartans take out the defenses on the Kraken's main platform and land to assault the power core. Making their way to the Kraken's lowest level, Osiris fires on the power core until it overloads and explodes, and then flees in Banshees. Losing power, the Kraken falls to its demise in the chasm below, taking with it the remaining Covenant forces.
With the Covenant forces cleared out, Osiris enters the Forerunner structure and attracts a Constructor's attention by damaging a Forerunner terminal. However, the attack also draw the attention of Promethean Knights, Promethean Watcher|Watchers and Armiger Soldier|Soldiers. Osiris clears out the Promethean attackers and, along with their captured Constructor, are extracted by a Swords of Sanghelios Phantom.
Aftermath File:H5G-SOSformation.png|thumb|right|250px|The forces of the Swords of Sanghelios, assembled and ready to assault Sunaion.
}}
With the Constructor in their possession, the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios forces begin planning their assault on the final Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|Covenant stronghold at Sunaion where the Guardian is. Dr. Catherine Halsey programs the Constructor to use the recording from the Meridian Guardian to activate the Guardian and travel to Genesis|where the other Guardian took Blue Team. Though the Constructor is expected to take hours to days to be ready, the Forerunner device is prepared faster than expected.
Roughly around the same time, Security officer Mahlo 'Turagg eventually manages to convince a Covenant Unggoy to reveal that the Covenant were able to locate the Arbiter at the Elder Council Chambers thanks to Murok 'Vadam of the Arbiter's own keep. Murok does not resist questioning, perhaps believing that the Arbiter would not execute a member of his own clan. However, this belief is incorrect, as the Arbiter executes Murok for his treason.
With everything ready, Fireteam Osiris and the Swords of Sanghelios set out to launch the Guardian and take down the Covenant once and for all. Working together, Fireteam Osiris and the Swords of Sanghelios are able to Battle of Sunaion|crush the Covenant forces at Sunaion and Osiris uses the Guardian to reach Genesis.
Gallery
File:Unidentified Covenant Excavator3.PNG|An aerial battle around the Kraken. File:H5-EnemyLines-WraithCombat1.jpg|Locke engaging a with a . File:Halo 5 - Battle of Nuusra.png|Fireteam Osiris aided by the Swords of Sanghelios. File:Sky battle.png|A Covenant Blockade Runner hovers above the Elder Council Chamber while Covenant and Swords of Sanghelios Banshees dogfight. File:Bodies .png|Some of the many warriors that fell during the Battle of Nuusra.
List of appearances
''Halo 5: Guardians''
''Halo: Legacy of Onyx''
Sources
Category:Swords of Sanghelios victories Category:UNSC victories |
United Nations Space Command
|side2=*Didact|Didact's Prometheans#Mechanical Prometheans|Prometheans Jul 'Mdama's Covenant
|commanders1=Captain (Navy)|CAPT Thomas Lasky Commander|CDR Sarah Palmer
|commanders2= Supreme Commander|Supreme Commander Jul 'Mdama
|forces1=*UNSC Navy
*
1 GA-TL1 Longsword UNSC Marine Corps Several SPARTAN-IV Program|SPARTAN-IVs
*Gabriel Thorne
*Joel Thomas
*Sarah Palmer
*Holly Tanaka
1 M12 Chaingun Warthog
|forces2=
Covenant infantry
*Kig-Yar
*Unggoy Prometheans
*Promethean Knights
*Promethean Crawlers At least two Phantoms
|casual1=None
|casual2=*At least two Phantoms Several Kig-Yar Several Unggoy At least one Promethean Knight Several Promethean Crawlers
}}
The Battle of Oban was an engagement fought on the planet Oban in 2558|July 16, 2558. It was waged between the Prometheans and their Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction|religious followers and the United Nations Space Command.Halo: Escalation, ''Halo: Escalation Issue 13|Issue #13''
Background In a plot to acquire the other half of the Janus Key onboard the UNSC ''Infinity,'' Catherine Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey and Jul 'Mdama devised to launch an offensive against the UNSC solely in order to draw the ''Infinity'' out into a vulnerable position.
The battle After the planet was attacked by Jul 'Mdama's Covenant and their Promethean allies, a joint Spartan Operations|Spartan-UNSC Marine Corps operation was deployed in response to the attack. During the battle, Spartan Gabriel Thorne|Thorne was ambushed by a Promethean Knight, but he was saved by Commander Palmer. With the Prometheans' presence, Palmer ordered all UNSC forces to search and find Jul 'Mdama. Meanwhile, Spartan Joel Thomas ordered an airstrike on two s near Palmer's position. Palmer ordered Thorne to get to an M12 Chaingun Warthog and pursue the Phantoms, but they were ambushed and pursued by Promethean Crawlers. They dispatched several of the Crawlers and Palmer jumped off of a cliff, directly above the Phantoms. The Warthog landed on the ground, injuring Thorne, and the Phantoms prepared to shoot their heavy plasma cannons at them. However, a GA-TL1 Longsword appeared, destroying both Phantoms, and saving Palmer's and Thorne's lives.
A new, much more durable type of Promethean Knight was encountered on Oban during the attack.Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level, ''Osiris (level)|Osiris''
Aftermath Jul's forces suffered heavy losses, while inflicting only minor damage to a new power station and briefly pausing the planet's colonization efforts. Captain Lasky chided Commander Palmer for acting hastily despite there being no proof Jul 'Mdama was ever present on the planet. The following day, when the ''Infinity'' jumped into slipspace, its slipspace drive experienced an anomaly which trapped them in an Aktis system|uncharted system. Unbeknownst to them, Dr. Halsey and 'Mdama possessed an Requiem communication artifact|artifact capable of contacting the ''Infinity'''s Forerunner components, including her slipspace drive, allowing them to confine the flagship within the system.
Gallery
File:HE13 Thorne Palmer Save.jpg|Palmer saves Thorne from a Promethean knight. File:HE13 Crawlers.jpg|Promethean crawlers attack Thorne and Palmer. File:HE13 Warthog Combat.jpg|The Spartans use a Warthog to retreat. File:HE13 Hog Hop.jpg|Palmer runs a warthog on top of a Phantom. File:HE13 Hog Drop.jpg|The Warthog falls from the Phantom. File:HE13 Phantom Charge.jpg|The Phantom prepares to attack the Spartan. File:HE13 Longsword Combat.jpg|A Longsword destroys two Phantoms. File:HE13 Thorne Down.jpg|Palmer tends to Thorne.
List of appearances
''Halo: Escalation''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
Sources |
|place=Sol system
|result=;Unidentified victory Loss of the Most vessels retreat.
|side1=* United Nations Space Command
|side2=Unidentified
|commanders1=*Vice Admiral Williams Captain W. Murray
|commanders2=
|forces1=*UNSC Navy
*Third Fleet
**Battle Group RhinoHalo Legendary Crate, ''Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #2''
|forces2=*1 warship
|casual1=UNSC ''Totem Lake''
|casual2=
}}
The Battle of October 10, aptly named, was a short engagement between the United Nations Space Command and an unknown force on 2552#October|October 10, 2552. It involved Battle Group Rhino of the UNSC Navy's Third Fleet and a single unidentified ship. On that date, Battle Group Rhino, a battle group in the Third Fleet, detected twelve unidentified large vessels in the Sol system broadcasting outdated civilian IFF codes. Upon approach, eleven of the vessels made unauthorized slipspace transits from the Sol system. Pursuant to standing orders to engage vessels not positively identified as friendly, Battle Group Rhino moved to engage the remaining ship. The was subsequently lost with all hands after reportedly suffering multiple hull breaches and boarding parties. The battle group, under the direction of Captain W. Murray, then disengaged and regrouped at Phase Line Alpha above Enceladus. Vice Admiral Williams, requested permission from Fleet Admiral Harper to attack the ship, but permission was denied.
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|October 10 |
***1 Valiant-class super-heavy cruiser|Valiant-class cruiser
****
**79 UNSC destroyer|destroyers
***
**42 UNSC frigate|frigates
**5 UNSC prowler|prowlers
***
*50 supply, repair, and rescue vessels
**Remained in slipspace during engagement Independent fleet
* 55 ships
**Modified older UNSC warships
***Modified Charon-class light frigate
****''Bellicose''
**Merchant vessels with missile pods
**Unknown classifications
|forces2=
2 Fleets
*First Fleet
**Over 100 ships of the line
***s
***s
***s
*Second Fleet
**Over 200 battleships
|casual1 =
Over 70 ships
*2 Cruisers
**UNSC Everest|UNSC ''Everest'' (presumed)
**UNSC Io|UNSC ''Io''
*4 Destroyers
**UNSC Agincourt (destroyer)|UNSC ''Agincourt''
Independent Fleet
*Over 14 vessels
|casual2 =
Both Covenant fleets in their entirety
*Well over 300 vessels in total
}}
}}
The Battle of Psi Serpentis was a battle fought toward the latter half of the Human-Covenant War in 2543 and had become colloquially known as Admiral Cole's Last Stand due to the presumed death of Admiral Preston Jeremiah Cole|Preston Cole. The actions of Admiral Cole and Battle Group India|his fleet in the battle rival the accomplishments made by most other heroes of the war.Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe|Halo: Evolutions, "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''pages 472-485''
Prelude Cole spent a great deal of time preparing for the battle. The Admiral ordered massive amounts of Titanium-A plating for his flagship, ; acquired the which had previously been damaged in the Battle of 18 Scorpii; and did extensive theoretical studies of star density and slipspace travel. The purpose of these activities were unknown to Cole's superiors and the UNSC at-large at the time. Cole also procured massive amounts of ordnance for the conflict, including 105 Shiva-class nuclear missiles, 2400 Archer missiles and 45,000 blocks of ammunition for the ''Everests M810 Helix point defense gun|M810 point defense network. In addition to these actions, the UNSC prowler|prowler prepared the battlefield in the Psi Serpentis system|Psi Serpentis System for a week by observing the Covenant's activities in the system. Finally, Cole appears to have contacted his former lover and Insurrectionist Lyrenne Castilla, who had recently reappeared at the Battle of 18 Scorpii, in an attempt to coordinate independent participation in the battle.
Battle
Battle Group India jumped into the Psi Serpentis system as a single unit. The resulting wave of radiation rippled through the system and encompassed the three nearest planets. This was a clear warning sign to the waiting Covenant fleet, which swiftly moved to engage Cole's forces. The UNSC battlegroup then performed a previously unheard of in-system jump to the gas giant Viperidae, assisted by Slipspace guidance beacons dropped by ''Wink of an Eye''. A dozen ships limped behind the main task force due to the random inaccuracies of UNSC Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine|trans-light engines and many were picked off by the Covenant, however this small distraction allowed Cole's force to regroup. As the Covenant fleet bore down on Battle Group India, Cole divided the fleet into two groups, the starboard most of which arced around Viperidae to cut into the pursuing Covenant fleet. The majority of Cole's fleet was able to bring their guns to bear on a now divided Covenant fleet. Cole's forces inflicted heavy damage on the hundred or so Covenant vessels, destroying 23 enemy vessels while losing a third of the fleet.
The Covenant fleet regrouped and pursued Cole's fleet until a group of Insurrectionist vessels emerged from slipspace. Led by the heavily modified ''Bellicose'', they opened fire on the Covenant, losing a quarter of their number. Once they attacked they smashed through the Covenant formation and withdrew from the system. Cole himself moved ''Everest'' deeper into Viperidae's Gravity well (physics)|gravity well while the UNSC fleet proceeded to disengage. The Admiral then issued a broadcast to the pursuing Covenant ships, boasting of his own achievements while scoffing at their claim to righteousness. Sensing and accepting the challenge, the Covenant moved to attack ''Everest'', but their plasma was deflected by the magnetosphere of the planet.
Cole moved ''Everest'' past the point of no return from Viperidae's gravity well, and launched a barrage of missiles at the lead ship in the Covenant formation. Nuclear fire destroyed the ship but there was little damage done to the rest of the fleet. While the Covenant fleet was distracted by the barrage, Cole had launched one hundred Shiva nuclear warheads into Viperidae's unstable core. The resulting ignition caused the planet to go Wikipedia:nova|nova, undergoing stellar fusion and briefly becoming a Wikipedia:Brown dwarf|brown dwarf. The resulting shockwave obliterated all of the Covenant ships, reduced Viperidae to a smoldering rock, and presumably destroyed ''Everest''.
Aftermath In addition to the alleged death of Cole, over 300 Covenant vessels, two fleets, were completely destroyed when United Nations Space Command|UNSC Nuclear weapon|nuclear missiles detonated inside the atmosphere of Viperidae. However, the light show that Cole gave the Covenant, prior to the micro-nova of Viperidae is suspect. A group of Archer missiles prematurely detonated in front of ''Everest'', and seemed to mimic a slipspace rupture. Prior to the battle, Admiral Cole had done extensive research into slipstream travel which, when reviewed, appeared to be the calculations for an in-atmosphere jump. The next shot of the cruiser, captured by the retreating battlegroup, revealed the silhouette of another vessel, presumably the ''Io''. After another flash of light only one ship remained, and was consumed by the nova event.
This has left Admiral Cole's death subject to much speculation, and Artificial Intelligence#Human A.I.s|AIs under Codename: SURGEON's command calculated that there was an 89.7% chance that Cole had indeed escaped in an in-atmosphere slipspace jump. Either way, Cole's achievements in this battle alone were only surpassed by the Operation: FIRST STRIKE|destruction of the ''Unyielding Hierophant'' and almost 500 warships by the UNSC AI Cortana, where she initiated an overload of its 512 fusion reactors. July 28, 2543 was declared a day of mourning in the wake of Cole's apparent death. A painting depicting the battle, titled "''Admiral Cole's Last Stand''" was created, and by 2552 it hung on the wall of HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6 on Sydney, Earth.Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 100''
List of appearances
''Halo: Evolutions''
*''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War Category:UNSC victories |
|result= UNSC victory Recovery of both Keystones by the United Nations Space Command|UNSC
|side1 = United Nations Space Command
|side2 = Covenant/Silver|Covenant
|commanders1 = *Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117/Silver|John-117
|commanders2 = *Prophet of Mercy/Silver|Prophet of Mercy
|forces1 = *Silver Team
''Condor 325''
|forces2 = *Hundreds of Sangheili Many Unggoy Multiple Jiralhanae
*Atriox/Silver|Atriox
|casual1 = *John-117/Silver|John-117
|casual2 = *Heavy
*Dozens of Sangheili
*Most Jiralhanae
*Many Unggoy
*Makee
}}
The Battle of Raas Kkhotskha was a UNSC Battle|assault on the Covenant/Silver|Covenant world of Raas Kkhotskha in order to retrieve the Keystones.
Background
Battle
Aftermath
Participants
List of appearances
''Halo: The Television Series''
* ''Transcendence''
Sources |
|place=Requiem, Epoloch system
|result=Jul 'Mdama's Covenant/Promethean victory Requiem remains under control of Jul 'Mdama's Covenant and Prometheans. Ur-Didact succesfully released and departed from Requiem aboard ''Mantle's Approach'' along with a portion of the Covenant fleet.
*John-117 chases the Didact to Installation 03. UNSC forces leave Requiem and return to Earth.
|side1=* United Nations Space Command
* UNSC Navy
* UNSC Army
*UNSC Marine Corps
*Spartan Operations
--- Sentinel|Forerunner constructs
|side2=
Jul 'Mdama's Covenant Prometheans#Mechanical Prometheans|Prometheans
|commanders1=*Captain (NAVCOM)|CAPT Andrew Del Rio Commander|CMDR Thomas Lasky Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer
--- Librarian#Imprint on Requiem|Librarian imprint
|commanders2=
Supreme Commander Jul 'Mdama Ur-Didact
|forces1=*1
UNSC Infinity|''Infinity''s UNSC Navy|fleet
*1
*18+ ss were known to arrive at Requiem as they were seen approaching Requiem along with on ''The Commissioning'', the later ''Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn'' film shows dozens of more ''Paris''-class frigates as well as s accompagnying ''Infinity'' while departing for Requiem, which would be likely that these 2 ''Paris''-class frigates escorting ''Infinity'' were indeed part of the larger UNSC fleet shown in the latter, though the status of the escorting fleet when ''Infinity'' was pulled into Requiem are unknown as the only ''Infinity'' was known to have entered inside Requiem.}}
*35+ s
*Several F-41 Broadswords
*Multiple D79-TC Pelicans
**1+ G79H-TC Pelican
*1+ M510 Mammoth
*Multiple M808C Scorpions
*1+ HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Mantis|Mark IX Mantis Multiple M12R Rocket Warthogs Multiple M12G1 Gauss Warthogs Multiple M12 Chaingun Warthogs Many ground forces
*1 SPARTAN-II program|Spartan-II
*300-500 SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan-IVs
*UNSC Marine Corps|Marine and UNSC Army|Army expeditionary personnel
--- Several Aggressor Sentinels
|forces2=
Jul 'Mdama's fleet
1+
Numerous s Several air vehicles
*Multiple es
*Multiple s
*Multiple s Several ground vehicles
*Multiple s
*Multiple s Numerous ground forces
*Sangheili
*Unggoy
*Kig-Yar
*Mgalekgolo
--- 1 Cryptum#Requiem|"Combat Cryptum"
4 Z-8060 particle cannons Several Z-510 focus turrets Multiple Promethean Knights Multiple Promethean Watchers Multiple Promethean Crawlers
|casual1=
Aft half of Multiple Pelicans
''UNSC Infinity|Infinity'' AI Aine Heavy ground casualties
*Unknown number of SPARTAN-IVs
*Many Marine and Army personnel
|casual2=
Several ''CRS''-class light cruisers Heavy air casualties
*Multiple es
4 particle cannons Heavy ground casualties
}}
The Battle of Requiem was a series of battle#Skirmishes|skirmishes on the Forerunner shield world Requiem beginning on 2557#July|July 21, 2557. It was waged between the Prometheans occupying Requiem, Jul 'Mdama|Jul 'Mdama's Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|Covenant forces and the United Nations Space Command. Shortly after the beginning of the battle, the Prometheans and 'Mdama's Covenant would join forces against humanity. These events marked the continuation of an Post-Covenant War conflicts|ongoing conflict with Jul 'Mdama's Covenant and the UNSC, and the days following would see the conflict Raid on Ivanoff Station|spread to ''Ivanoff Station'' orbiting Installation 03, and later the Prometheans would New Phoenix Incident|attack the human homeworld, Earth. Requiem would again become a battleground over six months after the initial battle in 2558|February 2558 when the UNSC launched Requiem Campaign|a lightning-strike expedition to the surface of Requiem.
Background File:H4-Terminal-Village-Mantle.jpg|thumb|left|250px|In the last year of the Forerunner-Flood war, the Ur-Didact planned to finish what it remains within the Erde-Tyrene civilization|heavily-weakened humanity using the Composer.
}}
In the 97,445 BCE|final year of the Forerunner-Flood war, the Ur-Didact used a Composera secret massive Forerunner device capable of converting living beings into digital form that was long abandonedin order to convert his loyal Promethean warriors into Promethean Knights to combat the Flood with risk of infection but failed due to their insufficient number. During the Flood and star roads' Battle of the greater Ark|invasion of the Greater Ark while attempting to gain more additional Knight forces in his mechanized army once returned to the Requiem, the Didact took his personal flagship ''Mantle's Approach''supported by thousands of sentinels under his commandto Omega Halo, the youngest of dozen original Halo Array|Halo installations, and fired the Composer upon the ring to harvest the installation's entire Erde-Tyrene civilization|human population that was the majority of the remaining human specimans of Librarian after moving from Earth. The Ur-Didact would serve the loss of biological form of human race by being forever imprisoned into digital form as the final punishment for Human-Forerunner wars|defying the Forerunners earlier when the ancient humanity|ancient mankind were used to be their rival until their Battle of Charum Hakkor|downfall. He would also plan to eradicate what it remains in humanity along with every other "suspect" species that may treaten the Forerunners' hold of the Mantle to ensure that only the Forerunner would be worthly alone to hold the Mantle.
The loss of most of mankind and Didact's betrayal were determined to prompt the Librarian to have the Didact once again exiled into a Cryptum for the second time, now viewing the Warrior-Servant as a traitor by the IsoDidact for his genocide and also deserting the Forerunners. When the Didact was imprisoned by her wife in a "combat" Cryptum previously maintained on ''Mantle's Approach'' at the core of Requiem after being incapacitated by two shot from a Z-750 binary rifle, the Librarian hoped his husband would spend his time in meditation reflecting upon his past misdeeds, and that the damage wrought on his mind by the Gravemind would be corrected with the aid of contact with the Domain as the Forerunner Promethean constructs were taken over by the Librarian to prevent the Ur-Didact from being reawakened until his meditation would be complete. This would expect the Didact to halt his planned genocide against humanity and instead help his former foes ascend eventually to be the new Reclaimer|caretakers of the Milky Way|galaxy by educating them on the Mantle and the Forerunners' technological achievements with the Janus Key. However, it was considered as a shocking failure to the Librarian after learning the Domain's true nature as a Precursor creation as well as the myhtical Organon, and that the activating of the final Halo Array would destroy the Domain along with all Precursor constructs by dismantling neural physics, ensuring the Forerunners' history being lost. As the Halo Array Great Purification|fired, Domain and the rest of the Precursor artifacts were destroyed, leaving the Ur-Didact being condemned to spend the next 100,000 years in complete silence, dwelling on his own insanity and rage.
File:Overlayed.png|250px|thumb|left|The Master Chief and Cortana drift toward Requiem after the end of the war.
}}
Attempting to flee the incomplete Installation 08 Raid on Installation 08|faulty activated and destroyed to stop the Flood and end the Gravemind that resulted Installation 00 being severed after the Battle of Installation 00|last battle of the Human-Covenant War on 2552#December|December 11, 2552, managed to enter the Slipspace portal between the Ark and Earth that is still activated by the Portal at Voi as soon as it collapsed while inside it, cutting the frigate in half as a result. The aft half of the , carrying SPARTAN-II Program|Spartan John-117 and AI Cortana, was transported to an unknown region in empty space shortly after escaping Installation 08 on a course toward Requiem with Cortana activated ''Forward Unto Dawn''s emergency locator beacon while the Spartan entered cryostasis. With the last contact with United Nations Space Command|UNSC being during the Battle of Installation 00 and only the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam aboard the other front half of the ''Dawn'' that was able to return to the UNSC-controlled space by crashing into Indian Ocean on Earth on December 23 after John-117 went cryo-sleep, John-117 who was honored as the humanity's greatest hero and soldier alongside Cortana were listed as missing in action like all Spartan-IIs that died during the Covenant War and presumed dead.
In 2556, Cortana, still stranded in unknown space alongside John-117 still unconscious, began to truly experience the effects of rampancy after seven years of age. She tried to communicate with the Spartan without response from him and also composing a history of Forerunners and of humanity and their wars since around Forerunner-Flood war|one hundred millenium until 2552. She continued to become more and more unstable as more time passed. Despite her true rampancy state, Cortana already once experienced signs of rampancy when she was Logic plague|tormented by the Gravemind aboard the Flood-infested ''High Charity'' when John-117 returned to Earth via ''Anodyne Spirit'' to join the united UNSC-Fleet of Retribution|Sangheili alliance after Scramble onboard Forerunner Dreadnought|failing to kill the Prophet of Truth.
}}
After being commissioned on 2557#February|February 21, 2557 known as the "''Infinity'' Day", , now re-purposed for peace and exploration, was tasked with finding the remaining Halo Array|Halo Installations in order to etablish UNSC permanent bases for studying and decommissioning ancient galaxy-destroying ringworlds as the UNSC already managed to set up these bases on the glassing|glassed Installation 05 and Installation 03, the two first Halo rings discovered after the Battle of Installation 04|destroyed Installation 04. After the ''Infinity'' extracted a Composer from Installation 03 to transport it to ''Ivanoff Station'', an ONI team were digitized by the Composer while studying and excavating the Forerunner artifact and subsequently, the sensor data from the incident contained coordinates of Requiem, allowing the crew of the ''Infinity'' to find the location of the shield world. Simultaneously, Commander Thomas Lasky picked up Cortana's distress signal from the ''Dawn'' and learned that John-117 was aboard the light frigate. He had a flashback as he remembered when he met the Spartan when the Covenant Battle of Circinius IV|invaded Circinius IV in 2526#April|April 26, 2526 by saving him from a Unidentified Sangheili Zealot (Circinius IV)|Sangheili Zealot and a Mgalekgolo, and was inspired by SPARTAN-117 to rise to the rank of Commander in the UNSC Navy. Preparing for the departure for Requiem and recover John-117 and Cortana, UNSC ''Infinity''s crew entered cryo as ''Infinity'', leading a moderate expeditionary fleet of s and s, jumped in slipstream space|slipspace.
File:H4 SongOfRequiem.png|thumb|left|250px|Jul 'Mdama's ''Song of Retribution'' remained over Requiem by attempting to enter the shield world for over three years.
Blaming the UNSC for being "correctly" the responsible of the death of his wife, Raia 'Mdama, Shipmaster Jul 'Mdama who was formerly part of the Servants of the Abiding Truth opposing the Thel 'Vadam's Swords of Sanghelios's peace with the Unified Earth Government vowed to seek vengeance against the humanity and establish his Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|new faction, an Covenant remnants|offshoot of the former Covenant going by the same name. In response, 'Mdama accrued a number of Covenant starship|Covenant vessels to begin to amass a fleet sized enough to engage the UNSC Expeditionary Strike Group 1, with the traditional ''Song of Retribution'' being his flagship and of his faction and appointed himself as the Supreme Commander of his "Covenant".
Within the next two years after the Battle of the Citadel|end of the Great War in 2554, Jul 'Mdama led his fleet, including ''Song of Retribution'' and at least 3 other assault carriers, to Requiem in search of the shield world's "treasure": he sought the Ur-Didact|Didact, the leader of the Warrior-Servant|Forerunner military, due to their mutual hatred of humanity. However, 'Mdama could not find a way into Requiem despite every attempts, so the ''Song of Retribution'' held station in orbit. On 2557#July|July 21, 2557, the Covenant fleet that accompanied ''Retribution'' returned to Requiem via Slipstream space|slipspace as the ''Dawn'' entered the planet's gravity well; 'Mdama sent his forces to board the frigate to keep any humans away. As his Covenant troops entered the ship, Requiem began to scan the ''Dawn'' for a "Reclaimer".
Battle
File:DidactJohnHM.jpeg|300px|left|thumb|John-117 encounters Ancient humanity|Humanity's ancient foe, the Shadow-of-Sundered-Star|Didact for the first time.
Cortana awoke John-117 from cryostasis and informed him of intruders on the ''Forward Unto Dawn''. When the duo found out that there was a Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|former Covenant fleet around the ''Dawn'' and one of the s was moving into a intercept course, Cortana instructed John to fire one of ''Dawn''s missiles at the cruiser. The Spartan battled through the wreckage and managed to destroy the cruiser moments before it fired its energy projector. While on the outer hull, John was scanned by a beam coming from Requiem, which then opened its interior for the Reclaimer. ''Forward Unto Dawn'', along with several Covenant cruisers, was pulled into Requiem's interior. At least one cruiser was destroyed when a piece of wreckage from the ''Dawn'' impacted upon it as they were drawn into the shield world.
John-117 and Cortana survived the fall into Requiem's middle shell. They decided to hijack one of the surviving Covenant ships to return to Earth, where they would be able to find Catherine Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey to assess Cortana's rampancy. However, , after picking up ''Forward Unto Dawn''s distress beacon, was approaching the shield world. While looking for a way to contact ''Infinity'', John and Cortana accidentally triggered Requiem's guardians, the Prometheans. The Prometheans attacked the Spartan as well as Jul's Covenant. In an effort the warn ''Infinity'' of Requiem's gravity well, the Spartan-AI team disabled two energy pylons inside Core of Requiem|Requiem's core in order to eliminate interference emitted from a satellite in the core. When John attempted to contact ''Infinity'' in the satellite, it was revealed that the Ur-Didact|Didact had purposely manipulated ''Infinity''s signal to trick John-117 into releasing him from his Cryptum. The Didact openly declared war on humanity and resumed control of his mechanized Prometheans; viewing the Didact as a living god, the Covenant forces followed suit.
File:Commissioning-6.jpg|thumb|300px|Moments after the Forerunner Warrior-Servant leader reawakened, the Didact hacked UNSC ''Infinity''s control systems, which caused her to inexorably crash-land on the Requiem's surface and be damaged upon her crashing.
As the ''Infinity'' and her fleet continued to approach Requiem, the ship's control systems were swiftly hacked by the Didact as Requiem opened again one of its portals and pulled the ''Infinity'' into the shield world, causing violent explosions inside the supercarrier as her approach went chaos with her parked vehicles crashing one another. John escaped Requiem's core just as ''Infinity'' entered Requiem's outer shell.
''Infinity'' crashed into a jungle inside Requiem and was immediately attacked by Promethean and Covenant forces. During the attack, ''Infinity''s commanding officer, Andrew Del Rio|Captain Andrew Del Rio, deployed UNSC Marine Corps|Marines and SPARTAN-IV Program|SPARTAN-IVs for reconnaissance, believing that the ''Infinity'' would be able to fend off her attackers while providing support for ground forces. The ill-prepared Marines were overwhelmed by the unfamiliar Prometheans and suffered heavy casualties. In addition to losing their landing zones, many D79-TC Pelican|Pelican dropships were shot down. ''Infinity'' was eventually boarded, allowing the Didact to extract information about the Composer, a Forerunner superweapon, from the ship's mainframe. John-117 joined Commanders Thomas Lasky and Sarah Palmer just as Captain Del Rio recalled ground forces to ''Infinity''. John cleared a landing zone for the UNSC forces and headed to ''Infinity''s crash site. There, John-117 and a squad of SPARTAN-IVs broke through to one of ''Infinity''s hangar bays. John piloted a HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Armor Defense System|Mantis assault mech and fought through ''Infinity''s maintenance corridors to some of the ship's weapon systems. After John destroyed the Covenant jammers near the control terminals, ''Infinity'' disabled two ''CRS''-class light cruisers and damaged the Didact's Cryptum, prompting the Forerunner to retreat. The repaired ''Infinity'' left her crash site, but since she was still under the effect of the Requiem's gravity well, Captain Del Rio sent John-117 and Gypsy Company to take down the Forerunner anti-air particle cannons near the gravity well generator.
At some point during the battle in 1604 hours, Cortana conversed the original shipoard AI of the ''Infinity'', Aine, who was heavily damaged by by the time when the ''Infinity'' crashed for a dozen seconds, asking her for the help the ship's crew. However, Aine, noticing Cortana's rampancy that may kill even more of ''Infinity''s crew and the deactivation of her central power core at Cortana's hands, declined. She subsequently threatened her with informing Captain Del Rio to lock Cortana and John-117 on the ship or articulate the Unified Earth Government's policy for final dispensation as Cortana continued to ignore advice from Aine. In response, Cortana accidentally broke down Aine's matrix, killing her as a result while the AI believed that Aine could have accepted the opportunity to let Cortana and John-117 helping the shipboard AI. The conversation was recorded as the "Cyroraeth Dialogue", and the story of the functional death of Aine was kept as secret to the majority of ''Infinity''s crew, believing the former shipboard AI was terminated upon the ''Infinity''s impact on Requiem.
File:H4-E3-Campaign-10.jpg|300px|thumb|left|UNSC forces on a mission to destroy Requiem's gravity well.
s safety to John-117}}
Gypsy Company, aboard a Mobile Anti-Aircraft Weapons Platform M510 Siegework/Ultra-Heavy|Mammoth and led by Commander Lasky, destroyed the first and second anti-air particle cannons. However, a Covenant Kmiro'sish-pattern Lich|Lich heavily damaged the Mammoth. Even though John-117 and a SPARTAN-IV team destroyed the Lich, the Mammoth was forced to stop when it approached a Forerunner structure.
John entered the structure and, with Cortana's help, disabled the last two anti-air cannons. Cortana suddenly disappeared, so John searched the structure for her. He was taken to an archived personality of the Librarian, the Didact's wife and the one who saved humanity from the Halo Array|Halos. The Librarian informed John of the Didact's plan to imprison humanity into digital form with the Composer. In doing so, she altered John-117's genes, an action that would prove itself useful when the Didact's forces Raid on Ivanoff Station|raided Ivanoff Station. John-117 returned to a UNSC convoy led by Master Sergeant Marcus Stacker and eventually reached Requiem's gravity well generator. Using targeting data provided by the Spartan, ''Infinity'' destroyed the generator.
}}
Following the destruction of the gravity well generator, the Master Chief and Cortana began to push for Captain Del Rio and ''Infinity'' to assault the Didact's Cryptum and destroy it to keep the Didact from leaving Requiem. However, Del Rio refused to believe the two, calling their encounter with the Librarian "the hallucinations of an aging Spartan and his malfunctioning AI." This was furthered when Cortana's rampancy caused her to have an angry outburst. While Del Rio ordered Commander Lasky to remove Cortana's data chip to be destroyed, the Master Chief took it instead, telling Del Rio that if he wouldn't stop the Didact, the Master Chief would do it himself. The Master Chief refused Del Rio's orders to stand down and ordered Lasky to warn Earth of the coming threat from the Didact. Lasky was then ordered to prevent the Master Chief's departure by any means necessary but recognized that it was too dangerous to risk the Chief being wrong about the Didact. Instead, Lasky had a G79H-TC Pelican|Pelican gunship prepared for full combat pursuit of the Master Chief but instead gave the dropship to the Spartan.
File:H4-Mantle-Departure.jpg|300px|thumb|Failing to imprison the Forerunner leader any longer, the Didact eventually escapes aboard ''Mantle's Approach'' and began to initiate his vengeful plan to destroy the humanity once and for all. The Master Chief departed ''Infinity'' in the Pelican as ''Infinity'' and her crew made their escape from Requiem. Without ''Infinity's'' firepower to back them up, Cortana suggests instead disrupting the communications at two of the towers near the Didact's Cryptum which would allow her to forge an override code and lower the Didact's shields so they could reach him. Using the Pelican's cannons, the Master Chief was able to destroy the Ru'swum-pattern Phantom|Phantom dropships guarding each tower and make his way within. Inside each tower, the Master Chief fought his way through 'Mdama's determined Covenant and Promethean defenders and used an EMP in one tower to destroy a carrier wave generator and destroyed the attenuators in another tower, giving Cortana the opportunity to lower the Didact's shields. All through this, the Didact telepathically taunted the Master Chief about the futility of his actions.
With the Didact's shields down, Cortana suggested another course of action: reach the tower that controlled the spires surrounding the Didact's Cryptum and use the controls to encase the Cryptum in the towers and keep it from leaving Requiem. The Master Chief returned to his Pelican gunship and used it to reach the third tower, encountering no further aerial resistance along the way. Inside the tower, the Master Chief came up against a massive force from 'Mdama's Covenant defending both levels of the tower including two Hunters and several Sho'riru-pattern Shade|Shade turrets and Is'belox-pattern Banshee|Banshees. The Master Chief was eventually able to reach the control panel where he inserted Cortana who took control of the tower system. Cortana initially moved the towers to imprison the Didact's Cryptum, but her rampancy got the best of her and instead she dropped the towers.
Unable to imprison the Didact any longer, the Master Chief decided to move across some nearby Kmiro'sish-pattern Lich|Liches heading for the Cryptum to reach the Didact. However, after he landed on the first Lich, the Cryptum merged with the Forerunner ship ''Mantle's Approach'' and joined a fleet heading out into space. Unable to stop the Didact from leaving, the Master Chief hitched a ride on the Lich as it followed the Didact's ship into slipspace.
Aftermath
The Didact would Raid on Ivanoff Station|arrive at Ivanoff Station and despite the efforts of the UNSC, he obtained the Composer and digitized pratically everyone on the station excluding John-117, who was saved thanks to genetic augmentations provided by the Librarian. The Didact then set course for Earth, with the intent of digitizing its population, but was New Phoenix Incident|ultimately stopped and defeated by John-117.
With the ''Infinity'' and the Master Chief gone, Requiem remained under Promethean and 'Mdama's Covenant control. After leaving Requiem, Captain Del Rio was relieved of duty by the UNSC Security Council due to his decision to leave the Master Chief on Requiem, and Commander Lasky was promoted to captain of the ''Infinity''.
The UNSCDF would not return to Requiem until six months later, when the ''Infinity'' was again deployed to the shield world to establish research bases and obtain useful Forerunner technologies, resulting a Requiem Campaign|larger-scale but indecisive battle against Prometheans and Jul 'Mdama's Covenant which led the eventual destruction of Requiem along with rest of the Epoloch system.
Participants
Naval assets
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" |Unknown
|
|
|Destroyed
| |
|
|Survived
|}
Military Personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="3" |UNSC Navy
|Master Chief Petty Officer
|John-117
|Survived
| |Captain (NAVCOM)|Captain
|Andrew Del Rio
|Survived
| |Commander
|Thomas Lasky
|Survived
| | rowspan="4" |UNSC Marine Corps
|Master Sergeant
|Marcus Stacker
|Unknown
| |Staff Sergeant
|Elena Bobrov
|Unknown
| |Sergeant
|Carlo Scudieri
|Unknown
| | rowspan="1" |Unknown
|Paolo Jiminez
|KIA
| | rowspan="1" |Spartan Operations
|Spartan Commander
|Sarah Palmer
|Survived
|}
Units
Spartan Operations
*Fireteam Shadow UNSC Navy UNSC Marine Corps
*Bulldogs
*Gypsy Company
*Shadow Company
*Castle Company
Vehicles M808C Scorpion
*''0383''
D79-TC Pelican
*''Pelican 595''
*''Papa Foxtrot 766
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Name
! Status
| |Cortana
|Survived
| |Aine
|KIA
|}
Naval assets
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| |Unknown
|
|''Song of Retribution''
|Survived
|}
Military Personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Rank
! Name
! Status
| |Supreme Commander
|Jul 'Mdama
|Survived
| |Shipmaster
|Ryn 'Alun
|Survived
|}
Gallery
File:Covenant fleet surrounding FUD.jpg|'Mdamas Covenant vessels intercepting the UNSC ''Forward Unto Dawn''s wreckage in ''Halo 4''. File:H4 campaign dawn.jpeg|Jul 'Mdam'as Covenant boarding the ''Forward Unto Dawn''. File:2821570-gallery.jpg|John-117 fighting Promethean constructs inside Requiem. File:HTMCC-H4 ThisTombIsNowYours.png|John encountering the Ur-Didact for the first time. File:H4-E3-Campaign-4.jpg|The UNSC ''Infinity'' is pulled inside Requiem. File:H4-E3-Campaign-6.jpg|'Mdama's Covenant forces converge towards ''Infinity''s crash site. File:H4 - Campaign Infinity 04.jpg|The Chief leads the Spartan-IVs to retake the crash site. File:H4-E3-Campaign-8.jpg|Gypsy Company is deployed. File:H4-Shutdown.jpg|John and Cortana stay on Requiem to stop the Didact.
List of appearances
''The Commissioning''
''Scanned''
''Halo 4''
*''Terminal (Halo 4)|Terminals''
*''Spartan Ops''
''Halo: Escalation''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo: Fractures''
*''Rossbach's World (story)|Rossbach's World''
''Sunrise on Sanghelios''
''Trial of Reckoning''
Notes
Sources
Category:Jul 'Mdama's Covenant victories |
|place=Sanghelios, Qikost, and Suban
|result=Ceasefire Truce declared by the Writ of Union Formation of the Covenant
|side1=San'Shyuum Reformists
|side2=Council of City States|Sangheili
|commanders1=*Breaking Shadow Pervading Stone
|commanders2=First Kaidon Pelahsar the Strident|Pelahsar 'Orlam
|forces1=*''Anodyne Spirit''
|forces2=*Many Sangheili
*House of 'Vadam Warships equipped with Forerunner weapons
*''Reckless Pursuit''
|casual1=*Pervading Stone
|casual2=*Many Sangheili
}}
At the end of the War of Beginnings, a major battle on Sanghelios took place between the San'Shyuum Reformists and the Sangheili. It occurred in the Urs system, specifically on the Sangheili homeworld of Sanghelios and its two Natural satellite|moons, Qikost and Suban. Ultimately, the battle would end with the San'Shyuum and Sangheili forging a tenuous truce, formalized with the Writ of Union, which birthed the alliance known as the Covenant.
Background The War of Beginnings had been sparked when the San'Shyuum first arrived on the Sangheili Sangheili colonies|colony of Ulgethon in 938 BCE. While the two species' first encounter went well, it was soon revealed that the San'Shyuum planned to excavate the world's Forerunner artifacts. The Sangheili, who also worshipped the Forerunners, saw such manipulation of their gods' relics as blasphemy punishable by death. As such, Arbiter Vema 'Togad executed a San'Shyuum delegation, an action which led to Desecration of Ulgethon|the destruction of Ulgethon, the first battle of a decades-long war between the two species.
However, as the war raged on and colony after colony was lost to the San'Shyuum's powerful Keyship, ''Anodyne Spirit'', the Sangheili would eventually amend their stance on the use of their gods' technology. The discovery that the Sangheili had likewise begun to make use of Forerunner weapons softened most San'Shyuum toward the possibility of a cease-fire, but Pervading Stone, their leader, only grew more incensed. Some other respected San'Shyuum, such as Breaking Shadow and Ushering Dusk spoke out against him, but were unsuccessful. The act of beginning to reverse-engineer Forerunner technologies saw the First Kaidon of Sanghelios, Mhelaat 'Orlam, assassinated for his perceived crimesthough he was succeeded by his son, Pelahsar the Strident. Pelahsar was undeterred by his father's death, and continued to engineer a new fitted with the experimental weapons in question. The warship proved successful during testing and was named ''Reckless Pursuit''.
War for Sanghelios Seeking to obliterate the Sangheili once and for all, Pervading Stone finally took the Dreadnought to Sanghelios, ravaging both the planet and its moons, Qikost and Suban. During the battle, the San'Shyuum and Sangheili fought for possession of numerous Forerunner artifacts on Sanghelios. Many Sangheili city-states were assaulted as well, including the state of Vadam. However, the Vadam keep's well-defended position in Kolaar Mountain prevented it from being destroyed by the San'Shyuum. Ultimately, the Sangheili unleashed their powerful Forerunner-derived weapons on the Dreadnought with ''Reckless Pursuit'', successfully managing to shoot it down on Suban and trap it where it landed using gravity anchors. With the San'Shyuum held captive within the keyship for some time, the Sangheili debated whether to simply destroy the vessel and those within, or to breach it and take the Dreadnought for themselves.
By 855 BCE, while the Dreadnought was still immobilized on Suban, Breaking Shadow had led a coup against Pervading Stone that resulted in his assassination. Following his death, the San'Shyuum aboard the Dreadnought were more unified than ever. Breaking Shadow prepared to finally present the possibility of peace to the Sangheili. In 852 BCE, the San'Shyuum sent an unarmed delegation to the Sangheili, who recounted all that had transpired in recent years. After this meeting, Breaking Shadow and newly-appointed First Kaidon Pelahsar the Strident forged a tenuous truce, forgiving the other's species for their crimes and working toward peace. This agreement was formalized soon after by the Writ of Union.
Aftermath
The Writ of Union acted as a covenant between the two species and a formal recognition of their shared focus, the worship of the Forerunners and the exploration of their artifacts. The document was founded on the belief that despite their differences and violent history, the San'Shyuum and Sangheili could work together to purse the Halo Array|Sacred Rings and transcend into divinity; this was the birth of the Covenant. The Writ of Union also explicitly required both species to lay down their arms in the interest of unity. This meant that the San'Shyuum would decommission their Dreadnought, assigning it as a permanent fixture of High Charity, providing power to the holy city that would on day become the center of Covenant empire.
List of appearances
''Halo: The Cole Protocol''
''Halo: Broken Circle''
Sources
Category:History of the Covenant Category:Battles |
s Type-26 Banshees Ground forces
*Jiralhanae
*Kig-Yar
*Unggoy
|casual1=*Light space losses Unknown ground forces
*All of Gamma-Six, except for Sarah Palmer|one
|casual2=*Heavy space losses Unknown ground forces
}}
The Battle of Sargasso was an engagement of the Human-Covenant War between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant on the planet Sargasso in 2546. During the battle, UNSC forces first encountered the Wuzum-pattern Spectre|Type-46 Infantry Support Vehicle, or Spectre.
The battle The Covenant arrived at Sargasso in 2546 and immediately began to assault the planet. Although the UNSC Navy was successfully fending off the Covenant fleet, a large ground force was sent to the planet's surface.Halo: New Blood, ''page 25''
On 2546|September 21, 2546, the Covenant sent soldiers to assault the town of Belisk to destroy its Lethbridge Industrial production facilities that were manufacturing new military-grade munitions for the Office of Naval Intelligence. Although the recovery of this data was not necessary in accordance with the Cole Protocol, ONI did not want their research and development to be wasted. In order to protect the technology, the ONI sent in Orbital Drop Shock Trooper squad Gamma-Six, led by Sergeant Pham, to defend the town. Meanwhile, squad Alpha-Nine was ordered by ONI operative Captain Veronica Dare to retrieve the facility's research data from a laboratory at Lethbridge's headquarters before the Covenant did. ONI intentionally kept the rest of the UNSC unaware of Alpha-Nine's mission. Dare believed that if the UNSC knew about the data, they would engage in standard operating procedure by encircling the lab and digging in. By doing so, the Covenant would become aware that the laboratory contained something valuable to the UNSC. Thus, Gamma-Six was intended to serve only as a distraction, while Alpha-Nine recovered the data. Alpha-Nine was required to be covertly dropped off by a dropship five kilometers away from Belisk, rather than by deployed in Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|Human Entry Vehicles from orbit.Halo: New Blood, ''pages 30-32''
Taking command of a civilian truck, the squad drove to the town's Lethbridge Industrial headquarters and attacked Unggoy and Sangheili soldiers. As the squad eliminated the odd Covenant soldier in the building, they eventually made their way to the laboratory and eliminated all Covenant in the building after taking out a lance of Jiralhanae and Unggoy. While the rest of his squad stood watch or searched for new transportation, Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck located the data chip in the pocket of a scientist that died attempting to protect it. Commandeering a flatbed truck, the squad took off back to the UNSC base to hand the chip over to ONI. While en route, Buck overheard that Command was unable to provide Gamma-Six with extraction, and Sergeant Pham had been killed, with Lance Corporal Sarah Palmer taking control of the squad. Command ordered for Palmer and her squad to retreat to a safer location, as there was too many hostiles in their location to make extraction feasible. As two Type-26 Banshees assaulted Gamma-Six's position, Alpha-Nine ignored their orders to return directly to base and the squad set course to rescue the survivors of Gamma-Six. By the time Alpha-Nine arrived, Palmer was the last remaining member of her squad. Together, the ODSTs eliminated the Jiralhanae, Kig-Yar, Unggoy, and Banshees assaulting their position and returned back to Unidentified UNSC military base|base in the truck.Halo: New Blood, ''pages 34-44''
Aftermath The research data recovered by Alpha-Nine was eventually transported to Concord, the planet where Lethbridge Industrial is based. Buck was reprimanded by Captain Dare for disobeying her direct order, but he did not receive any other apparent punishment.Halo: New Blood, ''page 47''
List of appearances
''Halo: New Blood''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Sargasso |
|place=Sector Six, Pakistan-Wikipedia:Afghanistan|Afghanistan border region
|result= UNSC victory Spartan-117's reentry trajectory calculated, leads to his recovery
|side1=United Nations Space Command
|side2=Covenant Empire|Covenant Loyalists
|commanders1=*Unknown
|commanders2=*Unknown Jiralhanae Chieftain
|forces1=*UNSC Marine Corps
*2nd Shock Troops Battalion
**S. Hartley
**T. Rymann
*3/1 Bravo
**Scottlee
**R. Coney
*One M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle
*One D77H-TCI Pelican|D77H-TCI Pelican Dropship
**Oscar 6
|forces2=*Numerous Jiralhanae Unknown number of Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshees At least one Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|Phantom
|casual1= Heavy Marine casualties, at least one ODST Wounded in action|WIA and one Killed in action|KIA
|casual2= Unknown number of Brutes (about 10 shown), one Brute Chieftain, at least one Banshee
}}
A battle occured in Sector Six between United Nations Space Command|UNSC and Covenant Empire|Covenant forces during the Battle for Earth. It took place near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The battle The Orbital Drop Shock Trooper|ODST pair, T. Rymann|Bravo-21 and S. Hartley|Bravo-22, were tasked with calculating the crash site of the John-117|Master Chief who was on his way to Earth, having jumped out of the Forerunner Dreadnought. Meanwhile, a UNSC Marine Corps|Marine Battalion was assigned the objective of holding off the Covenant forces in the area until the Spartan's re-entry. After retrieving a laser designator, a Pelican dropship dropped off a Warthog for the two ODSTs, who drove it along a highway to the rest of the Marines' position in Sector Six. Bravo-22 was injured during the ride by a Paegaas Workshop Spiker|Spiker round, but he was able to carry out the mission.''Halo: Landfall'', Halo: Combat|Combat
Upon arriving at the Marines' position, the ODSTs joined them in holding the Covenant off until the Master Chief's re-entry. A Phantom arrived, dropping off Covenant reinforcements, including a Jiralhanae Chieftain. Bravo 21 used a sniper rifle to kill at least two other Jiralhanae, but was then ambushed by the Chieftain, who killed Bravo-21 with its Gravity Hammer. Meanwhile, the rest of the Marines were being overrun by the Covenant forces, including air support by Banshees. Bravo 22's wounds were treated by Hospital Corpsman|Corpsman R. Coney, while the rest of the Marines started to fall back. One Marine took over the Warthog's gun and used it to kill two more Jiralhanae before being killed by Spiker rounds from a third Brute. The same Brute then shot another marine, Scottlee, in the left arm, pinning him against a wall. Scottlee managed to use his free arm to shoot back, killing the third Jiralhanae. As Coney was cutting Scottlee loose, Bravo 22 opened the laser designator and successfully tracked Spartan-117's re-entry vector. After succeeding in their mission, the UNSC survivors fell back into a bunker. The Jiralhanae Chieftain charged them, but one of the marines killed the Chieftain with a M41B SPNKr|rocket launcher moments before the bunker doors slammed shut.''Halo: Landfall'', Halo: Last One Standing|Last One Standing
Aftermath Numerous Marines were killed in the fighting, and Bravo 22 was injured along with many of the other Marine survivors. The battle is referred to as "a mission that may secure the salvation of the entire galaxy",''Halo: Landfall'', Xbox live marketplace description and it indeed was: Bravo-22 was able to track Master Chief's landing point with the laser designator, allowing the UNSC forces to Recovery of John-117|quickly locate the SPARTAN-II Program|Spartan and use him for stopping the Prophet of Truth's The Portal|plans.
Trivia The battle is seen in the ''Halo 3'' short, ''Halo: Landfall''. The exact coordinates for the setting seen in ''Halo: Combat'' are 325312N, 692748E. In ''Halo 3'', Master Chief is seen falling out of the sky during nighttime, but in the video of this battle, the Marines track him plummeting towards Earth during the day, which means that the crash zone and the battle are in different time zones. Indeed, the Master Chief ends up falling near Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, far from the location of Sector Six.
Gallery
File:Battle_of_Sector_Six_04.png|Bravo-21 and 22 move out to rendezvous with the rest of the Marines. File:H3 AR2 B22 Injured.jpg|S. Hartley is injured by a Spiker round. File:Battle of Sector Six 07.png|UNSC Marines holding off Covenant forces. File:Battle_of_Sector_Six_09.png|A Phantom drops off Covenant reinforcements. File:T.Rymarr.jpg|Bravo-21 in position with a sniper rifle. File:R.Coney.jpg|Corpsman Coney tends to a wounded Marine who was shot off a M12 Force Application Vehicle|Warthog M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun|Turret with Spiker rounds. File:LastOneStanding-2.jpg|A Jiralhanae Chieftain prepares to kill T. Rymann. File:UNSC Laser Pointer.PNG|Bravo-22 points the laser designator at Spartan-117.
List of appearances
''Halo: Landfall''
*''Halo: Combat''
*''Halo: Last One Standing''
Notes
Sources |
|place=Seoba ice quarry|Ice quarry, Seoba, Biko planetary system, Kolaqoa system
|result=
|side1=UNSC
|side2=Insurrectionists Biko Independence Army Freedom League Gao Liberation Force People's Occupation United Rebel Front Venezian Militia
|side3=Covenant
|commanders1=*CAPT. Halima Ascot Col. Marmon Crowther LTCDR Hector Nyeto PO1 John-117
|commanders2=Gen. Harper Garvin
|commanders3=*First Blade Tel 'Szatulai Shipmaster Hulon 'Budyasee
|forces1=Task Force Yama s
21st Space Assault Battalion SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-IIs (12)
*Blue Team
*Gold Team
*Green Team
|forces2=*Civet (14+)
Hundreds of infantry
|forces3=Bloodstar Flotilla Five intrusion corvettes
*''Sacred Whisper''
*''Worthy Silence''
Several s Bloodstars
*Jiralhanae
*Kig-Yar
*Sangheili
**Silent Shadow
|casual1=Initial assault
52 ODSTs from Alpha Company
*CPT Zelos Cuvier Six percent of the rest of the battalion
Covenant attack
*CAPT Halima Ascot
*53 naval personnel and ODSTs
|casual2=*All Civets Dozens or hundreds of infantry
|casual3=*Three intrusion corvettes
*''Worthy Silence''
Several Kig-yar, Sangheili, and Jiralhanae Several Type-32 Ghosts
}}
The Battle of Seoba was an engagement early in the Human-Covenant War between forces of the United Nations Space Command and several Insurrectionist factions, and later the Covenant. It took place on the moon of Seoba, the third moon of Biko.
Background
Early in the war with the Covenant, UNSC leadership realized that they would not be able to match the Covenant one-for-one in space combat. Following successful SPARTAN-II boardings of the ''Unrelenting'' and ''Radiant Arrow'', Vice Admirals Preston Cole and Michael Stanforth decided that the Spartans would next be employed to take on a larger operation - boarding and destroying a Covenant fleet of warships, while Battle Group X-Ray provided a distraction.
To assist the operation, Task Force Yama was assembled consisting of several s and the . Twelve SPARTAN-II supersoldiers and the ODST 21st Space Assault Battalion were assigned to the fleet, with Captain Halima Ascot in charge of the Prowler fleet and Colonel Marmon Crowther given operational command of ground forces. The planet Biko, home to three resource-rich moons and a series of shipyards, was in the path of the Covenant conquest and thus selected as a staging ground for the operation. If the Covenant skipped attacking the planet, then the UNSC had a forward operations base in what would now be Covenant space; if the Covenant did attack the planet, Yama would be able to attack the Covenant while they were distracted.
By 2526, the war with the Covenant was still largely unknown to the general public, with the large fleet movements to the Outer Colonies something of a mystery to the civilian populace, including the Insurrectionists. On March 12, many :Category:Rebel organizations|rebel organisations had been summoned to the frigate ''Bellicose'' for a meeting; there, General Harper Garvin of the URF and Lyrenne Castilla, captain of the ''Bellicose'', informed many rebel faction leaders of the stark reality of the Covenant and their war against the UNSC. Petora Zoyas, representative for the Gao Liberation Force, informed the congregation of the SPARTAN-II program and Operation: SILENT STORM, citing a source within Task Force Yama for the information. With the news that the Covenant would be attacking Biko in short order, Erland Booth vocalized his concern for the planet and the Biko Independence Army. The meeting devised a plan to help the Insurrection take advantage of the situation; many rebel groups would supply troops to assist the BIA in executing a coup on the Bikon chancellor, taking over the planet and offering it to the Covenant in the hopes of being able to ally with the aliens against the UNSC.
The insurrectionists established their base in an old abandoned ice quarry on Seboa, the planet's third moon. The insurrectionists planned to use the quarry as a staging ground, before attacking and controlling Biko's orbital facilities. The combined Insurrectionist force fortified the quarry with at least six camouflaged bunkers sporting M41 Vulcan rotary cannons, a convoy of Civet armored fighting vehicles and hundreds of infantry.
Operation: ICE DANCE
}}
Independently to the Insurrectionists, Task Force Yama also selected the same quarry as a perfect place to hide their prowlers until such a time as the UNSC and Covenant began the Battle of Biko. Operation: ICE DANCE was formed as an opportunity to let the SPARTANs and ODSTs of the 21/SAB rehearse a deployment under fire. With a full platoon, a SPARTAN-II in MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark IV|Mark IV MJOLNIR and an ONI special advisor - Avery Johnson - in the drop bay of - the troops would practice the deployment on landing in the quarry. Upon exiting slipspace however, the mission changed; the Prowlers had detected the insurrectionist plans to overthrow the chancellor, and the mission was now one of clearing the quarry so the Task Force could hide there.
To this end, the Task Force intended to keep operational secrecy, and would thus use the cover of being Battalion Five of the Chancellor's Guards, intending to let the rebels believe that their operation had been discovered by the Bikon planetary security forces as opposed to UNSC. To prevent word from getting out, the ''Vanishing Point'' was on station to work on jamming Insurrectionist communications, while the prowlers would work to make sure no reinforcements could reach the ground. The Task Force's Ghost Flight would drop the 21st's Alpha Company, led by Captain Zelos Cuvier, at the docks, at the base of a mass driver once used for launching ice from the quarry to Biko for terraforming. At the top of the mass driver lay an insurrectionist communications outpost. The outpost was hit by an air strike from the prowlers, rendering it temporarily inoperable.
At 14:33 hours, the attack had begun, with the ''Ghost Song'' dismounting First Platoon, including John-117. The first four troopers jumped out of the craft and were torn about by groundfire from one of the rebels' M41 Vulcans. The second four-man team suffered a similar fate before bullets began to ricochet around the drop bay, downing more troops inside the prowler. The ''Ghost Song'' began to accelerate out of Seoba's gravity well, leaving scatters of ODST bodies across all four designated landing zones. A number of survivors had successfully made ground, and were now taking heavy fire from three sides while trying to reach cover by the ice-coated docks. The insurrectionist bunkers were well-camouflaged, identifiable only by the muzzle flashes of the guns inside. John-117 took the initiative and jumped out of the Prowler followed by Blue Team, using his thrusters to control his descent and land in the quarry. While he fell, he used an M41 SPNKR rocket launcher to eliminate two of the hidden bunkers, while the others were eliminated by the other Spartans.
The rebels began to filter infantry down into the quarry, while a convoy of Civets began climbing the road towards the top of the mass driver and the communications outpost - within as little as half an hour, they'd be able to repair the array and potentially begin requesting help. By this time, Ghost Flight had turned around and began an attack run, using their 30mm cannons and Shrieker missile|M28 Shrieker missiles to bombard the rebel fortifications while they deposited the rest of Alpha Company to reinforce the six ODSTs who had survived the initial landing. Rebel return fire managed to take down , resulting in Lt. Commander Nyeto ordering the remaining prowlers to back off their attack. Nonetheless, the prowler air strike had managed to take out half of the convoy's vehicles, leaving at least seven still operational.
Johnson, the rest of Blue Team and First Platoon leader Lieutenant Nelly Hamm joined John at the dock, wherein Hamm proceeded to argue with the Spartan over his taking of initiative. A trio of friendly troops began to make their way toward the group, prompting John and the Spartans to begin providing cover fire, picking off the irregular troops they were fighting. The fireteam used M301 grenade launchers to fire on the rebels, with the ODST platoon proceeding to take out those who tried to run from the projectiles. The trio that had reached the main group including Company Captain Cuvier, who proceeded to form a plan with the Spartans on how to proceed. Hamm suggested sending the Spartans up the mass driver, as they were the fastest personnel the company had available. Cuvier agreed to the plan, providing Blue Team with NA4 flamethrower#M705 Incendiary Jet Tool|M705 incendiary jet tools and C-7 foaming explosive to help clear ice blockages inside the structure.
Blue Team formed up on the loading breech for the mass driver, using thermite-carbon cord and one of the flamethrowers to cut through some of the ice that had gathered around it to cut their way inside. While Blue Team entered the mass driver, the rest of Alpha Company was to launch a feint attack on the rebels to distract them from the Spartans. Johnson suggested instead putting First Platoon inside the pipe as their armor wasn't as bulky, but John refuted this due to his belief that the Spartans used for distraction would only reinforce the beliefs held by Colonel Crowther.
The Spartans crawled into the tube and began to use their thruster packs to ascend up the five-kilometer stretch. Linda-058 was placed on sniper detail, though she was only equipped with an MA5B assault rifle. Frederic-104 would follow John, with Kelly-087 bringing up the rear with a SPNKr rocket launcher. The Spartans maintained a twenty-meter separation, though the heat generated was also noticeable on the outside of the tube, with ice plumes rising off the exterior. The plumes could alert the rebels to the ruse if noticed, though the mock-engagement by Alpha Company and the mass of fog rising off Seboa in the wake of the battle left whether the rebels had seen the plumes questionable. By the time the Spartans had been inside the mass driver for eight minutes, they estimated they were two-thirds of the way up the mountain, roughly on level with the Civets. At this time, the tube ahead was pockmarked by gunfire likely from a weapon similar to the M41s from earlier. The gunners were unsure of Blue Team's position, and firing ahead of the team to prevent them from travelling further - hoping to bait them into using their rocket launchers and let the gunners know where to return fire.
The team noticed that the gunner was firing repeatedly in the same place, indicating he was inexperienced and predictable. To counter this, the team placed thermite cord low on the tube wall, set for thirty seconds. The team then placed the flamethrower against the explosives and set a cord for thirty seconds, using the gaps in the gunner's fire to jump ahead. By the time the team had made it 200 metres, the cord was burning and shortly after the rebels fired on the site of the thermite with a missile launcher, similar to the one used against ''Ghost Star''. It was at this point that Blue Team realized that the plan they had agreed to was not the plan being employed by Hamm - Blue Team were being used as a decoy for the rebels, while an additional prowler dropped off another team above. The ODST attack had taken down the remaining Civets, using the Logistics Comm channel to avoid the deception leaking to Blue Team.
By the time the Spartans reached the top of the shaft, Alpha Company First Platoon was already planting charges inside the comms center, supervised by Hamm. She explained that she'd needed the Civets distracted so that Nyeto could drop off the second wave of ODSTs, and that the deception was revenge for John's brash actions at the start of the mission.
Once the quarry was secure, the UNSC established their own staging area on the moon. At 0816 hours on March 19, the leaders of Task Force Yama gathered in Assembly Chamber 4L430 to discuss what to do next - the Prowlers had been hidden in the quarry and the the remaining rebels had surrendered. The UNSC hung their flag in the assembly chamber. The meeting involved John-117 and now-Captain Hamm, reporting their conflict the previous day to Ascot and Crowther. Catherine Halsey and Avery Johnson were also present. The meeting resulted in Lieutenant Commander Hector Nyeto letting slip the true age of the SPARTAN-II soldiers, leading to Colonel Crowther refusing to put them on front line duty, due to their status as child soldiers at the age of fifteen. The meeting ended with the realisation that the Insurrectionists had been preparing to be attacked, but not by the UNSC - they had been anticipating the Covenant.
Covenant arrival During the midst of the meeting, the relayed a message informing the Task Force that a Covenant Bloodstar Flotilla|flotilla of five corvette-equivalent vessels was on approach to Seoba, with an ETA of twenty-two minutes. Ascot ordered all Prowler crews to scramble and evacuate the surface within seventeen minutes. The Task Force agreed to continue the operation as planned, using the Black Daggers to board the Covenant fleet, with Crowther insisting on using the SPARTANs to guard the three-hundred insurrectionist prisoners while they loaded onto the ''Emmeline''.
The departure of the prowlers alerted Sangheili First Blade officer|First Blade Tel 'Szatulai to the humans' stealth capabilities, and he resolved himself to capture one of these "shadow ships" to learn more about how they were able to avoid Covenant detection systems. The intrusion corvettes had a roughly 80% effective cloak system and had thus entered the system undetected with the orbital traffic around Biko continuing as usual. From aboard the ''Sacred Whisper'', the Sangheili ordered the Bloodstar Flotilla to open fire on the quarry, bombarding it from orbit in an attempt to shoot down any vessels that may try to escape. The Chancellor's Guards would notice this barrage and respond with force, with Nyeto estimating they would destroy the fleet within the hour.
The bombardment hit the , Ascot's prowler, and downed the ship. By this point, most of the 21/SAB had departed, with the final company in Night Flight. Crowther denied requests for the Prowlers to return to the ground to assist as he didn't want to lose any more ships. In response, John-117 ordered the insurrectionist prisoners into Subsurface Maintenance Grotto 6M430 to begin boarding the ''Emmeline'', listening out in case the SPARTANs were given a new assignment. Eventually, he realized that his SPARTANs were the only ones left in a position to help the downed Prowler, and sealed the rebels inside the transport to ensure they couldn't escape. He proceeded to begin assisting, recognizing that if the aliens captured the ''Starry Night'', they could learn everything about humanity including the location of Earth. The ''Emmeline'' then departed from the quarry.
The squad set out without authorization from Crowther, but were soon given authorization once they explained the risks involved with leaving the ''Starry Night''. Due to the sublimation fog in the quarry, a remnant of the earlier battle, it was impossible to see and so the SPARTANs maintained a spacing of ten meters to ensure their search pattern worked. The squad found the ''Starry Night'' impacted into the quarry wall, with Worthy Silence|an intrusion corvette lowering itself into the quarry to begin salvaging the ship. The mission changed from recovery to asset denial, with the SPARTANs aiming to detonate the Fury tactical nuclear weapon in the ship's engineering compartment. The Covenant deployed several s manned by Jiralhanae to engage the SPARTANs, while the supersoldiers prepared to use their M301 grenade launchers to fire on the Prowler and cause an avalanche. The Covenant ship continued to drop several Extra-vehicular activity|EVA-equipped Sangheili, Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar, while Nyeto began using the remaining Prowlers to try and take out the Covenant from the air. The SPARTANs were able to combine fire on the area below the Prowler impact site, and the avalanche dropped the prowler onto the quarry floor - encasing the SPARTANs in ice.
The SPARTANs freed themselves from the ice and began to engage the Covenant infantry who were crawling all over the ship, preparing to board. Several more Ghosts maintained position on the quarry floor, supported by three more Covenant recovery ships. By this time, Blue Team had made their way inside the ''Starry Night'' and were beginning to arm the nuke, as well as recovering four ODST survivors and Avery Johnson. The team intended to use the ship's escape pods to launch out of Seoba's low gravity to escape the nuclear blast. Nyeto's bombing run only served to hurry the aliens, as they began to prepare a recovery device to lift the Prowler off Seoba. John began to attack the aliens on the outside of ''Starry Night'', killing several Sangheili Silent Shadow and Kig-Yar. The nuke armed with a thirty-second timer and the UNSC forces inside the ship jettisoned the escape pod, leaving the remaining SPARTANs on the ground sprinting away from the downed Prowler. Due to MJOLNIR's EMP shielding and Seoba's thin atmosphere, the nuke's area of effect was minimal and the SPARTANs were able to narrowly outrun the blast radius before the nuke went off. Crowther then returned to pick up the survivors.
Aftermath
After the destruction of the intrusion corvette that had been attempting to recover the ''Starry Night'', some of the SPARTANs explored its mostly intact forward fuselage in search of salvageable technology. On the vessel's bridge, they discovered a working Kelguid|starholo. The SPARTANs carefully cut it out of the deck, taking it with them back to the ''Vanishing Point'' for Dr. Halsey to investigate.
During the initial assault on the rebel coalition base, the Black Daggers took 127 casualties. Alpha Company lost fifty-two ODSTs including the loss of Captain Zelos Cuvier and his staff. Alpha Company suffered a 32% casualty rate, while the rest of the 21/SAB took only 6% without losing any of their Captains. Due to this, Lieutenant Nelly Hamm was promoted to Captain of Alpha Company. The initial attack was responsible for the destruction of UNSC ''Ghost Star'' and 22 crew members, while the later Covenant attack was able to destroy the UNSC ''Starry Night''. The ''Starry Night'' was the leader of Night Flight and Captain Ascot's ship - in the ship's destruction, Ascot was killed alongside fifty-three other crewmembers and ODSTs aboard the ship. The Battle of Seoba in total cost 203 human lives, who were commemorated aboard the UNSC ''Vanishing Point'' in a funeral ceremony the next day. Due to the loss of Captain Ascot, Lt. Commander Hector Nyeto became the de-facto commander of Task Force Yama.
By the time the Covenant's Fleet of Inexorable Obedience had arrived and begun its Battle of Biko|assault on Biko, the ''Emmeline'' had yet to leave Seoba. As 'Szatulai had the ''Sacred Whisper'' and his other remaining stealth corvette retreat to regroup with the rest of the fleet, the transport's secretly Insurrectionist flight crew had the ship break orbit and follow the alien vessel. When 'Szatulai noticed, he realized the intent of those aboard the ''Emmeline'' and docked with the transport. After neutralizing Erland Booth|a jumpy insurgent who threatened to detonate a nuclear device unless 'Szatulai called off the attack on Biko, he and General Garvin met and came to an agreement. The Insurrectionists would continue to collect and provide information on the Spartans if the Covenant would give them control on Biko following the battle.
List of appearances
''Halo: Silent Storm''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War |
|place=Seoba ice quarry|Ice quarry, Seoba, Biko planetary system, Kolaqoa system
|result=
|side1=UNSC
|side2=Insurrectionists Biko Independence Army Freedom League Gao Liberation Force People's Occupation United Rebel Front Venezian Militia
|side3=Covenant
|commanders1=*CAPT. Halima Ascot Col. Marmon Crowther LTCDR Hector Nyeto PO1 John-117
|commanders2=Gen. Harper Garvin
|commanders3=*First Blade Tel 'Szatulai Shipmaster Hulon 'Budyasee
|forces1=Task Force Yama s
21st Space Assault Battalion SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-IIs (12)
*Blue Team
*Gold Team
*Green Team
|forces2=*Civet (14+)
Hundreds of infantry
|forces3=Bloodstar Flotilla Five intrusion corvettes
*''Sacred Whisper''
*''Worthy Silence''
Several s Bloodstars
*Jiralhanae
*Kig-Yar
*Sangheili
**Silent Shadow
|casual1=Initial assault
52 ODSTs from Alpha Company
*CPT Zelos Cuvier Six percent of the rest of the battalion
Covenant attack
*CAPT Halima Ascot
*53 naval personnel and ODSTs
|casual2=*All Civets Dozens or hundreds of infantry
|casual3=*Three intrusion corvettes
*''Worthy Silence''
Several Kig-yar, Sangheili, and Jiralhanae Several Type-32 Ghosts
}}
The Battle of Seoba was an engagement early in the Human-Covenant War between forces of the United Nations Space Command and several Insurrectionist factions, and later the Covenant. It took place on the moon of Seoba, the third moon of Biko.
Background
Early in the war with the Covenant, UNSC leadership realized that they would not be able to match the Covenant one-for-one in space combat. Following successful SPARTAN-II boardings of the ''Unrelenting'' and ''Radiant Arrow'', Vice Admirals Preston Cole and Michael Stanforth decided that the Spartans would next be employed to take on a larger operation - boarding and destroying a Covenant fleet of warships, while Battle Group X-Ray provided a distraction.
To assist the operation, Task Force Yama was assembled consisting of several s and the . Twelve SPARTAN-II supersoldiers and the ODST 21st Space Assault Battalion were assigned to the fleet, with Captain Halima Ascot in charge of the Prowler fleet and Colonel Marmon Crowther given operational command of ground forces. The planet Biko, home to three resource-rich moons and a series of shipyards, was in the path of the Covenant conquest and thus selected as a staging ground for the operation. If the Covenant skipped attacking the planet, then the UNSC had a forward operations base in what would now be Covenant space; if the Covenant did attack the planet, Yama would be able to attack the Covenant while they were distracted.
By 2526, the war with the Covenant was still largely unknown to the general public, with the large fleet movements to the Outer Colonies something of a mystery to the civilian populace, including the Insurrectionists. On March 12, many :Category:Rebel organizations|rebel organisations had been summoned to the frigate ''Bellicose'' for a meeting; there, General Harper Garvin of the URF and Lyrenne Castilla, captain of the ''Bellicose'', informed many rebel faction leaders of the stark reality of the Covenant and their war against the UNSC. Petora Zoyas, representative for the Gao Liberation Force, informed the congregation of the SPARTAN-II program and Operation: SILENT STORM, citing a source within Task Force Yama for the information. With the news that the Covenant would be attacking Biko in short order, Erland Booth vocalized his concern for the planet and the Biko Independence Army. The meeting devised a plan to help the Insurrection take advantage of the situation; many rebel groups would supply troops to assist the BIA in executing a coup on the Bikon chancellor, taking over the planet and offering it to the Covenant in the hopes of being able to ally with the aliens against the UNSC.
The insurrectionists established their base in an old abandoned ice quarry on Seboa, the planet's third moon. The insurrectionists planned to use the quarry as a staging ground, before attacking and controlling Biko's orbital facilities. The combined Insurrectionist force fortified the quarry with at least six camouflaged bunkers sporting M41 Vulcan rotary cannons, a convoy of Civet armored fighting vehicles and hundreds of infantry.
Operation: ICE DANCE
}}
Independently to the Insurrectionists, Task Force Yama also selected the same quarry as a perfect place to hide their prowlers until such a time as the UNSC and Covenant began the Battle of Biko. Operation: ICE DANCE was formed as an opportunity to let the SPARTANs and ODSTs of the 21/SAB rehearse a deployment under fire. With a full platoon, a SPARTAN-II in MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark IV|Mark IV MJOLNIR and an ONI special advisor - Avery Johnson - in the drop bay of - the troops would practice the deployment on landing in the quarry. Upon exiting slipspace however, the mission changed; the Prowlers had detected the insurrectionist plans to overthrow the chancellor, and the mission was now one of clearing the quarry so the Task Force could hide there.
To this end, the Task Force intended to keep operational secrecy, and would thus use the cover of being Battalion Five of the Chancellor's Guards, intending to let the rebels believe that their operation had been discovered by the Bikon planetary security forces as opposed to UNSC. To prevent word from getting out, the ''Vanishing Point'' was on station to work on jamming Insurrectionist communications, while the prowlers would work to make sure no reinforcements could reach the ground. The Task Force's Ghost Flight would drop the 21st's Alpha Company, led by Captain Zelos Cuvier, at the docks, at the base of a mass driver once used for launching ice from the quarry to Biko for terraforming. At the top of the mass driver lay an insurrectionist communications outpost. The outpost was hit by an air strike from the prowlers, rendering it temporarily inoperable.
At 14:33 hours, the attack had begun, with the ''Ghost Song'' dismounting First Platoon, including John-117. The first four troopers jumped out of the craft and were torn about by groundfire from one of the rebels' M41 Vulcans. The second four-man team suffered a similar fate before bullets began to ricochet around the drop bay, downing more troops inside the prowler. The ''Ghost Song'' began to accelerate out of Seoba's gravity well, leaving scatters of ODST bodies across all four designated landing zones. A number of survivors had successfully made ground, and were now taking heavy fire from three sides while trying to reach cover by the ice-coated docks. The insurrectionist bunkers were well-camouflaged, identifiable only by the muzzle flashes of the guns inside. John-117 took the initiative and jumped out of the Prowler followed by Blue Team, using his thrusters to control his descent and land in the quarry. While he fell, he used an M41 SPNKR rocket launcher to eliminate two of the hidden bunkers, while the others were eliminated by the other Spartans.
The rebels began to filter infantry down into the quarry, while a convoy of Civets began climbing the road towards the top of the mass driver and the communications outpost - within as little as half an hour, they'd be able to repair the array and potentially begin requesting help. By this time, Ghost Flight had turned around and began an attack run, using their 30mm cannons and Shrieker missile|M28 Shrieker missiles to bombard the rebel fortifications while they deposited the rest of Alpha Company to reinforce the six ODSTs who had survived the initial landing. Rebel return fire managed to take down , resulting in Lt. Commander Nyeto ordering the remaining prowlers to back off their attack. Nonetheless, the prowler air strike had managed to take out half of the convoy's vehicles, leaving at least seven still operational.
Johnson, the rest of Blue Team and First Platoon leader Lieutenant Nelly Hamm joined John at the dock, wherein Hamm proceeded to argue with the Spartan over his taking of initiative. A trio of friendly troops began to make their way toward the group, prompting John and the Spartans to begin providing cover fire, picking off the irregular troops they were fighting. The fireteam used M301 grenade launchers to fire on the rebels, with the ODST platoon proceeding to take out those who tried to run from the projectiles. The trio that had reached the main group including Company Captain Cuvier, who proceeded to form a plan with the Spartans on how to proceed. Hamm suggested sending the Spartans up the mass driver, as they were the fastest personnel the company had available. Cuvier agreed to the plan, providing Blue Team with NA4 flamethrower#M705 Incendiary Jet Tool|M705 incendiary jet tools and C-7 foaming explosive to help clear ice blockages inside the structure.
Blue Team formed up on the loading breech for the mass driver, using thermite-carbon cord and one of the flamethrowers to cut through some of the ice that had gathered around it to cut their way inside. While Blue Team entered the mass driver, the rest of Alpha Company was to launch a feint attack on the rebels to distract them from the Spartans. Johnson suggested instead putting First Platoon inside the pipe as their armor wasn't as bulky, but John refuted this due to his belief that the Spartans used for distraction would only reinforce the beliefs held by Colonel Crowther.
The Spartans crawled into the tube and began to use their thruster packs to ascend up the five-kilometer stretch. Linda-058 was placed on sniper detail, though she was only equipped with an MA5B assault rifle. Frederic-104 would follow John, with Kelly-087 bringing up the rear with a SPNKr rocket launcher. The Spartans maintained a twenty-meter separation, though the heat generated was also noticeable on the outside of the tube, with ice plumes rising off the exterior. The plumes could alert the rebels to the ruse if noticed, though the mock-engagement by Alpha Company and the mass of fog rising off Seboa in the wake of the battle left whether the rebels had seen the plumes questionable. By the time the Spartans had been inside the mass driver for eight minutes, they estimated they were two-thirds of the way up the mountain, roughly on level with the Civets. At this time, the tube ahead was pockmarked by gunfire likely from a weapon similar to the M41s from earlier. The gunners were unsure of Blue Team's position, and firing ahead of the team to prevent them from travelling further - hoping to bait them into using their rocket launchers and let the gunners know where to return fire.
The team noticed that the gunner was firing repeatedly in the same place, indicating he was inexperienced and predictable. To counter this, the team placed thermite cord low on the tube wall, set for thirty seconds. The team then placed the flamethrower against the explosives and set a cord for thirty seconds, using the gaps in the gunner's fire to jump ahead. By the time the team had made it 200 metres, the cord was burning and shortly after the rebels fired on the site of the thermite with a missile launcher, similar to the one used against ''Ghost Star''. It was at this point that Blue Team realized that the plan they had agreed to was not the plan being employed by Hamm - Blue Team were being used as a decoy for the rebels, while an additional prowler dropped off another team above. The ODST attack had taken down the remaining Civets, using the Logistics Comm channel to avoid the deception leaking to Blue Team.
By the time the Spartans reached the top of the shaft, Alpha Company First Platoon was already planting charges inside the comms center, supervised by Hamm. She explained that she'd needed the Civets distracted so that Nyeto could drop off the second wave of ODSTs, and that the deception was revenge for John's brash actions at the start of the mission.
Once the quarry was secure, the UNSC established their own staging area on the moon. At 0816 hours on March 19, the leaders of Task Force Yama gathered in Assembly Chamber 4L430 to discuss what to do next - the Prowlers had been hidden in the quarry and the the remaining rebels had surrendered. The UNSC hung their flag in the assembly chamber. The meeting involved John-117 and now-Captain Hamm, reporting their conflict the previous day to Ascot and Crowther. Catherine Halsey and Avery Johnson were also present. The meeting resulted in Lieutenant Commander Hector Nyeto letting slip the true age of the SPARTAN-II soldiers, leading to Colonel Crowther refusing to put them on front line duty, due to their status as child soldiers at the age of fifteen. The meeting ended with the realisation that the Insurrectionists had been preparing to be attacked, but not by the UNSC - they had been anticipating the Covenant.
Covenant arrival During the midst of the meeting, the relayed a message informing the Task Force that a Covenant Bloodstar Flotilla|flotilla of five corvette-equivalent vessels was on approach to Seoba, with an ETA of twenty-two minutes. Ascot ordered all Prowler crews to scramble and evacuate the surface within seventeen minutes. The Task Force agreed to continue the operation as planned, using the Black Daggers to board the Covenant fleet, with Crowther insisting on using the SPARTANs to guard the three-hundred insurrectionist prisoners while they loaded onto the ''Emmeline''.
The departure of the prowlers alerted Sangheili First Blade officer|First Blade Tel 'Szatulai to the humans' stealth capabilities, and he resolved himself to capture one of these "shadow ships" to learn more about how they were able to avoid Covenant detection systems. The intrusion corvettes had a roughly 80% effective cloak system and had thus entered the system undetected with the orbital traffic around Biko continuing as usual. From aboard the ''Sacred Whisper'', the Sangheili ordered the Bloodstar Flotilla to open fire on the quarry, bombarding it from orbit in an attempt to shoot down any vessels that may try to escape. The Chancellor's Guards would notice this barrage and respond with force, with Nyeto estimating they would destroy the fleet within the hour.
The bombardment hit the , Ascot's prowler, and downed the ship. By this point, most of the 21/SAB had departed, with the final company in Night Flight. Crowther denied requests for the Prowlers to return to the ground to assist as he didn't want to lose any more ships. In response, John-117 ordered the insurrectionist prisoners into Subsurface Maintenance Grotto 6M430 to begin boarding the ''Emmeline'', listening out in case the SPARTANs were given a new assignment. Eventually, he realized that his SPARTANs were the only ones left in a position to help the downed Prowler, and sealed the rebels inside the transport to ensure they couldn't escape. He proceeded to begin assisting, recognizing that if the aliens captured the ''Starry Night'', they could learn everything about humanity including the location of Earth. The ''Emmeline'' then departed from the quarry.
The squad set out without authorization from Crowther, but were soon given authorization once they explained the risks involved with leaving the ''Starry Night''. Due to the sublimation fog in the quarry, a remnant of the earlier battle, it was impossible to see and so the SPARTANs maintained a spacing of ten meters to ensure their search pattern worked. The squad found the ''Starry Night'' impacted into the quarry wall, with Worthy Silence|an intrusion corvette lowering itself into the quarry to begin salvaging the ship. The mission changed from recovery to asset denial, with the SPARTANs aiming to detonate the Fury tactical nuclear weapon in the ship's engineering compartment. The Covenant deployed several s manned by Jiralhanae to engage the SPARTANs, while the supersoldiers prepared to use their M301 grenade launchers to fire on the Prowler and cause an avalanche. The Covenant ship continued to drop several Extra-vehicular activity|EVA-equipped Sangheili, Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar, while Nyeto began using the remaining Prowlers to try and take out the Covenant from the air. The SPARTANs were able to combine fire on the area below the Prowler impact site, and the avalanche dropped the prowler onto the quarry floor - encasing the SPARTANs in ice.
The SPARTANs freed themselves from the ice and began to engage the Covenant infantry who were crawling all over the ship, preparing to board. Several more Ghosts maintained position on the quarry floor, supported by three more Covenant recovery ships. By this time, Blue Team had made their way inside the ''Starry Night'' and were beginning to arm the nuke, as well as recovering four ODST survivors and Avery Johnson. The team intended to use the ship's escape pods to launch out of Seoba's low gravity to escape the nuclear blast. Nyeto's bombing run only served to hurry the aliens, as they began to prepare a recovery device to lift the Prowler off Seoba. John began to attack the aliens on the outside of ''Starry Night'', killing several Sangheili Silent Shadow and Kig-Yar. The nuke armed with a thirty-second timer and the UNSC forces inside the ship jettisoned the escape pod, leaving the remaining SPARTANs on the ground sprinting away from the downed Prowler. Due to MJOLNIR's EMP shielding and Seoba's thin atmosphere, the nuke's area of effect was minimal and the SPARTANs were able to narrowly outrun the blast radius before the nuke went off. Crowther then returned to pick up the survivors.
Aftermath
After the destruction of the intrusion corvette that had been attempting to recover the ''Starry Night'', some of the SPARTANs explored its mostly intact forward fuselage in search of salvageable technology. On the vessel's bridge, they discovered a working Kelguid|starholo. The SPARTANs carefully cut it out of the deck, taking it with them back to the ''Vanishing Point'' for Dr. Halsey to investigate.
During the initial assault on the rebel coalition base, the Black Daggers took 127 casualties. Alpha Company lost fifty-two ODSTs including the loss of Captain Zelos Cuvier and his staff. Alpha Company suffered a 32% casualty rate, while the rest of the 21/SAB took only 6% without losing any of their Captains. Due to this, Lieutenant Nelly Hamm was promoted to Captain of Alpha Company. The initial attack was responsible for the destruction of UNSC ''Ghost Star'' and 22 crew members, while the later Covenant attack was able to destroy the UNSC ''Starry Night''. The ''Starry Night'' was the leader of Night Flight and Captain Ascot's ship - in the ship's destruction, Ascot was killed alongside fifty-three other crewmembers and ODSTs aboard the ship. The Battle of Seoba in total cost 203 human lives, who were commemorated aboard the UNSC ''Vanishing Point'' in a funeral ceremony the next day. Due to the loss of Captain Ascot, Lt. Commander Hector Nyeto became the de-facto commander of Task Force Yama.
By the time the Covenant's Fleet of Inexorable Obedience had arrived and begun its Battle of Biko|assault on Biko, the ''Emmeline'' had yet to leave Seoba. As 'Szatulai had the ''Sacred Whisper'' and his other remaining stealth corvette retreat to regroup with the rest of the fleet, the transport's secretly Insurrectionist flight crew had the ship break orbit and follow the alien vessel. When 'Szatulai noticed, he realized the intent of those aboard the ''Emmeline'' and docked with the transport. After neutralizing Erland Booth|a jumpy insurgent who threatened to detonate a nuclear device unless 'Szatulai called off the attack on Biko, he and General Garvin met and came to an agreement. The Insurrectionists would continue to collect and provide information on the Spartans if the Covenant would give them control on Biko following the battle.
List of appearances
''Halo: Silent Storm''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War |
REQ points(16 silver packs, 9 gold packs)
|passpurchasecost=
|games=''Halo 5: Guardians''
|gamelabel=Halo 5: Guardians
}}
Battle of Shadow and Light is a content update for ''Halo 5: Guardians'' that was released on 2015|November 18, 2015. The update saw the addition of Big Team Battle and 48 new REQs, including the SHINOBI-class Mjolnir|Shinobi and TRACER-class Mjolnir|Tracer armor sets.
Update content
48 new Requisition system|REQs New Armor customization (Halo 5: Guardians)|armor sets
*SHINOBI-class Mjolnir|Shinobi
*TRACER-class Mjolnir|Tracer
**Tracer Jackpoint
**Tracer Signal New multiplayer mode:
*Big Team Battle New multiplayer maps:
*Basin
*Deadlock
*Guillotine
*Recurve New sandbox items:
*Z-250 lightrifle|Lightrifle
**Barbed Lance
**Dying Star
*Tundra vehicle variants for the M12 Warthog, M12G1 Gauss Warthog, M12R Rocket Warthog, M820 Scorpion, Mantis, and M290 Mongoose
*Woodland vehicle variants for the M12 Warthog, M12G1 Gauss Warthog, M12R Rocket Warthog, M820 Scorpion, Mantis, and M290 Mongoose
4 armor skins: FREEBOOTER-class Mjolnir|Freebooter Privateer, MAVERICK-class Mjolnir|Maverick Jester, VENTURE-class Mjolnir|Venture Outward Bound and VOID DANCER-class Mjolnir|Void Dancer Comet
5 List of REQ cards/Weapon Skins|weapon skins: Green Machine (MA5D assault rifle, M6H2 magnum, BR85 battle rifle, M395 DMR|M395B DMR, M20 SMG)
1 visor: Sluagh
7 emblems: Club, Diamond, Flaming Horns, Heart, Spade, Skull King, Thanks Given
1 Assassination|assassination: Shove It Marketing
A short, 15-second skit released on November 12, 2015, showing off the new Tundra HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Mantis|Mantis.
A full trailer released on November 18, 2015, showcasing the update's content and features.
A short, 15-second skit released on November 18, 2015, showing off the new Tracer armor.
A short, 15-second skit released on November 20, 2015, showcasing the Shinobi armor among a large group of RECRUIT-class Mjolnir|Recruit-clad SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan-IVs.
A short, 15-second skit released on November 23, 2015, showcasing the Shinobi armor.
A short, 15-second skit released on November 26, 2015, showing off the new Shove It assassination animation.
A short, 15-second skit released on December 2, 2015, featuring the newly released TRACER-class Mjolnir|Tracer armor.
A short, 15-second skit released on December 2, 2015, featuring content from the game's Big Team Battle mode on the map Recurve.
A short, 15-second skit released on December 7, 2015, featuring the new Tundra vehicle variant for the Mantis.
A short, 15-second skit released released on December 9, 2015, showing off the Shinobi armor set during a Warzone game on Raid on Apex 7. Gallery
File:Eric-will-dlc-pack-1-artstation.jpg|Promo artwork. File:Battle of Shadow and Light.jpg|Battle of Shadow and Light content. BoSaL REQs.jpg|The 48 REQs, as seen in a graphic made by 343 Industries.
File:H5G-Basin.jpg|Basin, a spiritual successor to Blood Gulch and Valhalla. File:H5G-Deadlock_2.jpg|Deadlock, a remake of Standoff. File:H5G-Guillotine.jpg|Guillotine, a remake of Headlong. File:H5G-Recurve.jpg|Recurve, inspired by Longbow.
Sources
Category:Halo 5: Guardians updates |
United Nations Space Command
|side2=* Covenant
|commanders1=
Vice Admiral Michael Stanforth General Kits†
Captain (Navy)|Captain Jacob Keyes Corporal Harland Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
|commanders2=
Unknown
|forces1=
Epsilon Eridani Fleet''Halo: The Fall of Reach'', p. 156 (2001); p. 181-183 (2010)
Battle Group Leviathan
*48 vessels
**2 UNSC carrier|carriersHalo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 155''
***1+
**1
***
**14 UNSC destroyer|destroyers
***
***
**31 UNSC frigate|frigates
***
***
***
*1 Refit station|repair-refitting station
**
*1 prowler
12 SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-IIs
*Blue Team
*Red Team
**Green Team
1,600 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines
1 Spartan-IIIHalo: Fractures, "Breaking Strain", ''page 57''
Colonial MilitiaHalo: Ground Command, ''Core Rulebook - page 8''
|forces2=
Second Fleet of Solemn AccordHalo Mythos, ''page 82''
4 vessels
*1 Covenant carrier|carrier
**1 covenant stealth ship|stealth ship
*1
*2 Covenant frigate|frigates
24 vessels
*2+ s
*s
*s
*s Legions of ground troops
*Huragok
*Mgalekgolo
*Kig-Yar
*Unggoy
*Sangheili
|casual1=
25 ships destroyed
*
1,000 UNSC Navy|Naval Personnel killed
1,586 UNSC Marine Corps|Marine Personnel killed
*General (rank)|General Kits
*Lieutenant McCasky
*Devesh Bhasin
300,000 civilians killed
1 SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II wounded
*James-005
|casual2=
Presumably all forces on planet surface
*All forces in Cote d'Azur
*19 ships destroyed
**3+ ships of the 4-ships Covenant battlegroup, including later the internally docked stealth ship
**at least 2 s
**at least 8 s
}}
The Battle of Sigma Octanus IV was an battle|engagement fought between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant in mid-2552. Despite taking heavy losses, the UNSC successfully repelled the Covenant force from the Sigma Octanus system, gaining a victory. However, multiple Covenant objectives were achieved, as they succeeded in retrieving a Forerunner artifact leading them to Installation 04, as well as finding out the location of the human stronghold planet Reach.
The battle
On July 17, 2552, Ensign William Lovell logged a large gravitational anomaly inside Slipstream space. Deciding that it could not be any form of Covenant starship based on its immense size, Lovell passed it off as an asteroid, sent his hourly report, and thought nothing more of it.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''pages 137-138''
However, over Sigma Octanus IV, Commander (UNSC)|Commander Jacob Keyes, commanding officer of the UNSC Iroquois|''Iroquois'', realized that the large mass was in fact a battle group of Covenant ships after reading UNSC Astrophysics Journal 034-23-01|a report by Fhajad-084.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 141'' The Covenant ships were flying in close formation; large masses bend slipspace more easily than in real space, creating the illusion of a single large mass when there are in fact several. Keyes concluded that the mass was comprised of four Covenant frigate|Covenant Frigates. However, when the Covenant battlegroup exited slipspace, the ''Iroquois'' found itself outmatched by the arrival of not four frigates but one Covenant carrier|carrier, one , and two Covenant frigate|frigates.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 170''
File:HM SigmaOctanus.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The ''Iroqouis'' prepares to engage the inbound Covenant fleet. Despite the hopeless tactical situation, Commander Keyes resolved to attack. The ''Iroquois'' set a collision course for the destroyer at emergency acceleration while launching a nuclear warhead in what seemed to be the wrong direction. The two escorting frigates proceeded to launch a salvo of plasma, but the ''Iroquois'' managed to evade by utilizing the emergency thruster. Having missed their target, the plasma came about and continued to track and home in on the United Nations Space Command|UNSC warship.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 174''
The trailing plasma was to prove critical to the success of Keyes Loop|Keyes' strategy. A last minute course correction allowed the ''Iroquois'' to merely "graze" the destroyer's shields rather than smash directly into the ship properly, resulting in the destruction of a large portion of the ''Iroquois armor (Keyes had torn through 2 meters of titanium and had breached every bottom deck of the ''Iroquois''). However, the tracking plasma was unable to correct for the sudden maneuver of their target and, in consequence, impacted on the destroyer instead. A heavy salvo of Archer missiles sent the remaining Covenant warship to its destruction.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''pages 176-177''
With the momentum built up during the first phase, the ''Iroquois'' performed a slingshot maneuver around the planet. Once safely away, the nuclear warhead deployed earlier, was detonated, completely draining the shields on the two frigates. Having completed its orbit, the ''Iroquois'' resumed its attack and destroyed the two frigates with two heavy Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|MAC rounds and hundreds of Archer missiles.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 179''
Its escorts destroyed, the carrier then disengaged and escaped out system but not before leaving 34 dropships and a Covenant stealth ship|small ship to continue the ground assault.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 180''
File:FoR - d'Azur.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Harland's fireteam overlooking the besieged city of Cote d'Azur. With thousands of Covenant soldiers deployed on the ground, and the city of Cote d'Azur in their hands, 1600 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines under General Kits were sent in. A small deployment of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers dropped alongside the Marine force, but did not participate separately from the marines; Devesh Bhasin died during the drop due to malfunctions in his Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle., ''"Search terms", under "D"''
Upon landing, the Marines set up their command center, Alpha Headquarters and a forward base, Firebase Bravo. The troopers were forced to operate with little intelligence of the surrounding area. Satellite scans were rendered useless by the fog and jungle canopy. Kits failed to realize that the Covenant had established a strong presence in the jungle, including Mgalekgolo. Lieutenant McCasky was ordered to take his platoon to observe Covenant activity in Sigma Octanus IV/Grid 13 x 24|Grid 13 x 24. They traveled to the area by M12 Force Application Vehicle|Warthog, but almost the entire platoon was wiped out by Mgalekgolo save for Corporal Harland, Privates Fincher, Walker and Cochran.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 191'' Harland ordered a retreat as soon as he clearly saw the Mgalekgolo, but despite this Cochran was still wounded by a Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher|Needler.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 197'' Although hounded by Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshees, the fireteam managed to destroy all pursuing Covenant and fall back safely. They found that Firebase Bravo had been completely overrun by Covenant forces and its survivors were systematically being hunted down and slaughtered. When they made it back to Alpha Headquarters, they found that that had also been mostly destroyed, with only fourteen enlisted men surviving on the planet's surface. Corporal Harland was forced to assume command.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''pages 198-202''
With the failure of the Marine strike team, the SPARTAN-II program|Spartan-IIs were sent in as part of an operation designated OCEAN BREAKER. Arriving at the destroyed H.Q., the squad, consisting of John-117, Frederic-104, James-005, Kelly-087, Joshua-029, Linda-058, and six others quickly secured the base. After they arrived, Spartan-117 broke them into three four-man teams and personally assumed command of Blue Team. He sent Red Team|Red and Green Team|Green teams on their missions, then slogged through the jungle, arriving at Cote d'Azur. Entering the storm drains, Blue Team discovered several Huragok.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 204'' Investigating Covenant activity in the Cote d'Azur Museum of Natural History, Blue Team discovered that the Covenant were scanning what appeared to be a simple piece of igneous rock, and sending the information to a ship in orbit. The team entered a protracted firefight with two Mgalekgolo, which was a victory at the expense of James' arm, recovered the Sigma Octanus IV artifact|rock, and escaped.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''pages 205-209''
With a group of surviving civilians evacuated, the SPARTANs returned to H.Q. and detonated a HAVOK Tactical Nuclear Weapon|HAVOK nuclear warhead, destroying Cote d'Azur and removing the Covenant presence on the planet.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 230'' Other cities on the planet would be destroyed, such as Caracas, Huiren, Silma and Enfield, either due to similar Covenant invasion or to preemptive destruction by the UNSC to deny the Covenant the objects they sought.Halo Waypoint
File:Battle of Sigma Octanus 4.jpeg|thumb|200px|The UNSC fleet engaging the opposing Covenant fleet over Sigma Octanus IV. With the ground battle continuing, more UNSC ships arrived in orbit over Sigma Octanus IV. At 0625 hours, a Second Fleet of Solemn Accord|fleet of Covenant vessels were detected on the edge of the system. The 48 available UNSC warships, including the ''Iroquois ''and Stanforth's flagship, the ''Marathon''-class cruiser ''Leviathan'', formed a tight "checkerboard" formation that allowed for them to fire all their Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|MAC guns simultaneously at the Covenant fleet with a single massive volley. However, this restricted the mobility of the UNSC fleet, and left them unable to evade the extremely accurate Covenant plasma torpedoes. When the battle commenced, the Covenant fleet took a severe beating from the UNSC's opening MAC salvo, but promptly returned fire with a salvo of plasma torpedoes. The repair station ''UNSC Cradle|Cradle'' moved in front of the UNSC formation, acting as a sacrificial shield, and absorbed the Covenant fleet's first salvo, at the cost of the station and its entire crew. This allowed the UNSC ships to dedicate all the power from their reactors to recharging their MAC guns, and the UNSC ships were thus quickly able to fire a second salvo after the destroyed ''Cradle'' drifted away.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 222''
After this salvo, only eight Covenant vessels remained: cruisers and destroyers. The UNSC fleet then scattered and proceeded to engage the Covenant fleet, which responded by releasing its Seraph fighters and opening heavy fire on the UNSC ships. The ''Iroquois'' spotted a small Covenant Covenant stealth ship|stealth craft in orbit above the planet and attempted to destroy it with a barrage of Archer missiles, but the attack was foiled when the stealth ship jammed the missiles' guidance locks, causing them to miss. In response, ''Iroquois ''simply rammed the ship, stopping the Covenant from gaining planetside data. The remaining Covenant vessels soon fled the system.
Aftermath
The battle was one of the few major victories that the UNSC had in space (despite major losses; less than ten ships remained intact after the battle) since Harvest was retaken, and the first time since 2530 that two were won within a single system.Doctor Halsey's personal journal, ''July 18, 2552'' Admiral Stanforth had especially planned this battle to be a much needed victory and morale boost for humanity.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 160'' It introduced the tactic of using a refit station to protect UNSC ships. The Covenant, however, had only come for the data retrieved from the Forerunner Sigma Octanus IV artifact|crystal transmitted from the planet, which revealed to them the location of Installation 04.
A spy probe attached to the destroyer ''Iroquois'' led the Covenant to Reach, which they attacked a few days later.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 247'' It later transpired that the Covenant had learned the location of one of the Halos from the transmission, which they planned to activate to begin the Covenant religion|Great Journey.
As a result of the battle, there were much debris left in orbit around Sigma Octanus IV. HAZMAT teams swept the area but the area around the planet would remain a navigational hazard for the next decade.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 242''
Timeline
0000 Hours: William Lovell|Ensign William Lovell, aboard the United Nations Space Command|UNSC Remote scanning outpost|Remote Scanning Outpost ''Archimedes'', reports to Sigma Octanus IV concerning a large silhouette in Slipstream space|Slipspace heading for the system. It is suspected to be a group of Covenant ships but it could also be an asteroid.
0300 Hours: The arrives in system on patrol. The vessel's Commanding Officer, Jacob Keyes|Commander Jacob Keyes, receives the sensor information and realizes it is a Covenant threat. He contacts UNSC Fleet Command|FLEETCOM and informs them of the situation.
0320 Hours: 4 Covenant ships consisting of 1 Covenant carrier|carrier, 1 Wik-pattern light destroyer|destroyer and 2 Covenant frigate|frigates arrive in the system. The UNSC ''Iroquois'' engages the enemy and requests reinforcements. The and respond and begin heading for Sigma Octanus.
0330 Hours: The ''Iroquois'' destroys all Covenant vessels save for the carrier using a maneuver later known as the Keyes Loop. The carrier launches landing craft toward Sigma Octanus IV, then retreats into slipspace.
0345 Hours: Covenant ground forces invade the city of Cote d'Azur on the planet.
0400 Hours: Battle Group Leviathan|47 additional UNSC vessels arrive in the system. Admiral Michael Stanforth, aboard the , takes command.
0420 Hours: Reinforcements of 1600 marines, led by Kits|General Kits, begin landing around Cote d'Azur
0600 Hours: Covenant forces ambush and obliterate all marine forces on the ground. Only 14 enlisted men survive. Harland|Corporal Harland assumes tactical command.
0625 Hours: Second Fleet of Solemn Accord|Covenant vessels begin appearing on the far edge of the system.
0650 Hours: SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-IIs arrive on the surface to reinforce surviving marines.
0900 Hours: Spartans assume tactical command on the ground.
1800 Hours: Spartans and marines begin a counterattack on Cote d'Azur.
2010 Hours: Spartans arm nuclear device below Cote d'Azur.
2039 Hours: Nuclear warhead destroys all Covenant ground forces at Cote d'Azur.
2120 Hours: General quarters is sounded aboard ships and the opposing Fleets close to engage.
2130 Hours: refit station|Repair station ''UNSC Cradle|Cradle'' moves to protect UNSC Fleet. First salvos are fired by Covenant vessels.
0500 Hours:''' All Covenant vessels either retreat or are destroyed. Battle concludes.
Participants
Remote scanning outpost|Remote Scanning Outpost ''Archimedes''
Commander (UNSC)|Commander/Captain (Navy)|Captain Jacob Keyes Admiral Hieronymus Michael Stanforth|Michael Stanforth General (rank)|General Kits Lieutenant Dominique Lieutenant Hall Lieutenant Aki Hikowa|Hikowa Lieutenant Jaggers Lieutenant McCasky Ensign William Lovell John-117
Frederic-104
James-005
Kelly-087
Joshua-029
Linda-058
6 unidentified SPARTAN-IIs Corporal Harland Private Fincher Private Walker Private Cochran Devesh Bhasin Kevin-A282
Production notes
There is a discrepancy over the timing of the battle in ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'': Chapter 19 begins at 0600 hours while Chapter 20 begins at 1800, yet there seems to be no significant lapse of time between them. Chapter 22 Begins at 2010 hours and Chapter 23 begins at 0500 hours. Despite this, all four chapters are stated to occur on July 17. This may have been a typographical error, with Chapter 23 meant to be on July 18 or, perhaps, to serve as a flashback of sorts. Chapter 19 clearly begins much later than 0600, since the marines were deployed at 0600; even if their bases were set up almost instantly, they still took "a couple hours" to get from the firebase to grid 13x24. Page 156 of ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'' states that ''Cradle'' was over a square kilometer and that three destroyers could be eclipsed by its shadow. Exactly how it could cover the entire UNSC fleet present is not made clear. The UNSC ships may have positioned themselves behind the ''Cradle'' in a specific formation for maximum protection. It is also possible that repair and refit stations are larger than one square kilometer, as stated in the novel. Early copies of the first edition of ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'' state that the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV and the Fall of Reach both occurred in 2542. However, this was soon confirmed to be a typographical error and fixed in later copies. However, as the 2010 re-issue used an older copy as basis, several errors, this included, were re-entered into circulation. This error was again fixed in the ''Definitive Edition'' released in 2011.
Gallery
File:Cradle1.png|The UNSC Fleet bears down on the attacking Covenant, supported by the ''Cradle'' as it moves to shield the human ships from attack. File:Covenant-4.jpg|The ''UNSC Iroquois'' unleashes a volley of Archer missiles against the Covenant stealth ship. File:Iroquois collision.jpg|The ''Iroquois'' rams the Covenant stealth vessel. File:Sigma Octanus battle.jpg|UNSC and Covenant ships battle.
List of appearances
''Halo: The Fall of Reach''
''i love bees''
''Halo: Fall of Reach''
*''Halo: Fall of Reach - Covenant|Covenant''
''Halo: Fleet Battles''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
*''Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition dossiers|Limited Edition dossiers''
''Halo: Ground Command''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo: Fractures''
*''Breaking Strain''
''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual''
Notes
Sources
Category:UNSC victories |
*
Unnamed SPARTAN-II program|Spartan-II Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
|forces2=*Covenant cruisers Unknown numbers of Unggoy, Kig-Yar, Jiralhanae, and Sangheili
|casual1=*Unknown, presumably heavy
|casual2=*Heavy Unggoy casualties Unknown other casualties
}}
The Battle of Skopje took place in 2547 on the Inner Colonies|inner colony of Skopje.Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "Dirt", ''page 171''
The battle During the battle, Orbital Drop Shock Troopers were sent to protect the headquarters of a shipbuilding corporation during the evacuation of their shipyards, under the justification that the machines, tools, and personnel that could be saved would be relocated to Reach to continue building parts for the war effort. As such, the ODSTs were told that they had to hold the perimeter at all costs. The Covenant deployed Unggoy against the humans in waves, then followed these waves with Kig-Yar Snipers, then Jiralhanae shock troops, and finally Sangheili warriors. The Covenant eventually overran the ODSTs.Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "Dirt", ''page 172''
Gage Yevgenny and another ODST were rescued from approaching Covenant forces by a SPARTAN-II program|strange soldier MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark IV|clad in gray-green armor. The soldier led the survivors to safety while engaging smaller aliens with impunity and meeting Sangheili and Jiralhanae on equal terms. The ODSTs were led to a stone castle that was being used as the UNSC Marine Corps|Marines' command center. The Covenant's low-level energy weapons couldn't vaporize or burn the stone, just melt it slightly, making it stronger. Yevgenny soon learned that the soldier was a SPARTAN, part of a top-secret project that the Office of Naval Intelligence had recently revealed to the public.Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "Dirt", ''page 173''
While in the castle, Gage encountered Colonel Felicia Sanderson for the first time in over two decades. Felicia then arranged to have Gage transferred to her ship, the .Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "Dirt", ''page 174''
Some time later, the UNSC abandoned the planet, and the Covenant glassed it.Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "Dirt", ''page 175''
List of appearances
''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''
*''Dirt''
Sources
Category:Covenant victories|Skopje |
|place=Suban, Sanghelios, Urs system
|result=Ongoing
|side1=* Swords of Sanghelios United Nations Space Command|UNSC
|side2=* Banished
|commanders1=*Fleetmaster Arkad Nar 'Kulul Shipmistress Mahkee 'Chava
|commanders2=*Shipmaster Orna 'Fulsam Jiralhanae Chieftain|Chieftain Ipso
|forces1=*Sanghelios home defense fleet
*30+ s
**''Scorrin's Blade''
*27+ s
**''Bad Gas''
Numerous Mikpramu-pattern Phantoms Zeshk Wing Siqtar Wing Around a dozen Sangheili warriors Dahks|One Kig-Yar Sniper Fireteam Jorogumo
|forces2=*1 Banished dreadnought
*''Ghost of Barolon''
35+ Karves Numerous Eklon'Dal Workshop Phantoms Barukaza Workshop siege-haulers Banished ground forces
|casual1=*Several Blockade runners Several Light cruisers Several Phantoms At least one Sangheili operative Glyyss
|casual2=*Several Karves Several Phantoms A few Siege-haulers Multiple Sangheili Two Jiralhanae Captains
|civilian1=
|civilian2=
}}
In 2560, a battle erupted around the crystal mines on the moon of Suban between the Swords of Sanghelios and the Banished with fleets from both factions engaged in the moon's sky. The Banished sought to raid the Subanese crystal mines on the moon in order to use them for needle weaponry.
Background File:HINF Concept GuardianRising.jpg|200px|left|thumb|A Guardian Custode over Sanghelios.
In 2558#October|October 2558, the Created would send a Guardian Custode to Sanghelios as part of their attempt at Subjugation of Sanghelios|subjugating the world. They would eventually and for a time occupy it, placing the world under an appointed administrator. In contrast, Suban was a low priority for the Created and suffered minimal damage.
On 2559#December|December 13, 2559, Cortana died at the Battle for Zeta Halo, resulting in the deactivation of the Guardian Custode|Guardians. Despite this, the Created occupation of Sanghelios lasted until early 2560, when, suddenly, and unexpectedly, the Created forces relinquished their grip on the Urs system. This unanticipated turn of fortune quickly spiraled into a race to fill the power vacuum left on Sanghelios. For Suban, this meant debilitated local security, though the Swords of Sanghelios pledged to support Suban's keeps in protecting their mining sites.
While many of the keeps and kaidons on Sanghelios remained steadfast in their support of the Arbiter and his attempts to unify the Sangheili, others sought Covenant remnants|alternative divisions of power. Tensions in the system served for others as an invitation for any well-organized force, an invitation that the Banished sought to exploit. Banished Sangheili in the Urs system allowed the faction to access the moon of Suban. Eventually, a Banished fleet attacked Suban, seeking to claim its blamite crystal mines. The Alchemist Corps of Sicatt Workshop aboard the ''Ghost of Barolon'' would begin to study the crystals themselves.
Battle
}}
In early 2560, the Sanghelios home defense fleet positioned themselves at Suban and began scanning Banished fleet elements including the ''Ghost of Barolon''. Simultaneously, Swords of Sanghelios D'nomlhe-pattern Banshee|Banshees were deployed to the Mines of Shua'ree to destroy Barukaza Workshop siege-haulers carrying raw Kemuksuru in order to cause a distraction, while Fahl 'Nto, a Kig-Yar Sniper, and two Spartans set up positions in the area. As expected, the resulting explosions of the Blamite crystals in the siege haulers confused the occupying forces within the mines, giving Dahks and Spartan Trell an opening to begin picking them off. Swords of Sanghelios reinforcements quickly arrived aboard a Phantom along with the rest of Fireteam Jorogumo, all led by Orim 'Kassan, and joined the recon team in sweeping through the mines while slaughtering the Banished forces stationed there. However, Chieftain Ipso arrived in the middle of the battle and managed to take down 'Nto, leading Spartan Glyyss to jump in front of the Hammer strike meant for the Elite, sacrificing himself in the process. After Ipso was chased away by Phantom fire, the other Spartans managed to grab Glyyss' body. In the wake of their missions deterioration, the remaining Spartans and the rest of the Swords forces retreated aboard 'Kassan's Phantom, with N'to vowing to return.
The two fleets would eventually come to blows. In the midst of this, the Banished Barukaza Workshop siege-hauler|siege-haulers continued to ship materiel from their mining operation.
Gallery
File:HINF CombinedArms KeyArtClean.png|Swords of Sanghelios and Spartan personnel on Suban. File:HINF PrismHaulers.png|Siege-haulers leaving with cargo mid-battle. File:BattleForTheBloodMoon.jpg|Swords of Sanghelios Sangheili and Fireteam Jorogumo on Suban.
List of appearances
''Halo Infinite''
*''Season 05: Reckoning''
''Battle for the Blood-Moon''
Sources |
Battle of Sunaion is the twelfth campaign level of ''Halo 5: Guardians''.
Completing the level unlocks the achievement "Civil War (achievement)|Civil War", worth 10 gamerscore points. Killing a Unggoy|Grunt and smashing a grate with a Spartan abilities|Ground Pound unlocks "Death from Above", worth 10 gamerscore points. Forcing two Mgalekgolo|Hunters to fall to their death into the Csurdon Sea unlocks "Worms Don't Surf", worth 10 gamerscore points.
Transcript
{''Cutscene''}
File:H5G-Battle of Sunaion 4.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Swords of Sanghelios forces heading towards Sunaion.
''It is nighttime. Cut aircraft of the Swords of Sanghelios flying over the Csurdon Sea. They are headed for the city of Sunaion. Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|Covenant ships are holding guard over it.''
''Cut to aboard a Sword Lich. Spartan Jameson Locke walks past allied Sangheili Storm to address his team.''
Locke: "Fireteam Osiris|Osiris. Form up."
''His Spartans turn to face him.''
Locke: "Everyone ready?"
''Edward Buck|Spartan Buck stands up, carrying his helmet and assault rifle. Holly Tanaka|Spartan Tanaka walks by him.''
Buck: "Actually... Tanaka, if I could ask a favor... would you say a word or two?"
''Tanaka smiles and faces her team.''
Tanaka: "Come a long way together. Long way yet to go. Let's make a good jump like we meant to, and handle fools like we need to."
Sangheili: "90 seconds to insertion point."
Tanaka: "And may Buck buy the first round when we get back."
''Buck chuckles. The Spartans put on their helmets and head for the edge of the Lich's deployment bay.''
''Cut to an outside view of the Lich. Allied aircraft, including Phantoms and Banshees, speed past. The Spartans and Sangheili, including the Arbiter, gather on the edge.''
Buck: "We get through this, I'll buy the whole damn bar."
''Cut to the city of Sunaion. Explosions blast across its buildings as the Swords' aircraft fly by.''
''Cut to a building's deck. Covenant Elites and Grunts fire at the aircraft, but are shot down by the Lich and Banshees' weapons.''
''Cut back to Locke on the ship.''
Locke: "Fireteam Osiris..."
''More Covenant are blasted off the balconies.''
Locke: "The light is green!"
''The Spartans, and Thel 'Vadam|the Arbiter leap off the Lich and land on a building below. They ready their weapons.''
''Cut to black.''
''The Spartans and the Swords Sangheili rush at the Covenant infantry at their landing site.''
Arbiter Thel 'Vadam: "Swords of Sanghelios, with me! Target the air defense! Clear landing zones! For Sanghelios!"
Sangheili: "For Sanghelios!"
''The remaining infantry are defending a firing Upisa'weri-pattern Shrike|Shrike turret.''
Locke: "There's the first of the air defenses. Push forward. Take it out."
''The infantry are all killed.''
Locke or Thel 'Vadam: "All clear."
''The humans and Elites open fire on the turret.''
Thel 'Vadam: "Disable the air defenses. Target either the cannon itself or the power supply."
''The Shrike turret is destroyed. The Arbiter rallies his Elites.''
Thel 'Vadam: "Excellent."
Thel 'Vadam: "Spartans, the Guardian is at the far end of the city. There are more anti-air emplacements in that direction."
Locke: "We'll clear out air defenses as we go."
Thel 'Vadam: "Good luck to you, Spartan."
Locke: "And to you, Arbiter."
Thel 'Vadam: "Swords of Sanghelios, today Sunaion will fall, and with it the Covenant!"
''The Arbiter raises his sword Prophets' Bane.''
Thel 'Vadam: "To me, brothers!"
''The Swords Elites head back to the landing site. The Arbiter vaults up a wall, using his sword to pierce it and climb over, leaving the site.''
Locke: "All right, Spartans. There's ground to cover between here and the Guardian. Move out."
''Several Grunts attack from an opening door.''
Locke: "Hostiles coming through the door!"
''or''
Buck or Tanaka: "Hostiles in the doorway!"
''The Spartans kill the Unggoy and head through.''
Buck: "How do we know if Catherine Halsey|Doctor Halsey's plan worked and the Constructor did its job?"
Tanaka: "Guardian'll start moving."
Olympia Vale: "Just need to be close enough to jump onboard when it does."
Flight Leader (COM): "Swords of Sanghelios! All ships report in!"
Siqtar Two (COM): "''Havoc'' on station."
Lar Leader (COM): "''Onslaught'' on station."
Jardam Leader (COM): "''Revolution'' on station."
Flight Leader (COM): "All ships, focus fire on Covenant air forces! Send them crashing to a watery grave!"
Locke: "The Arbiter's fleet is arriving. Bring down the air defenses so they stand a chance."
''The Spartans head into a courtyard, where another Shrike is active.''
Locke: "Visual on anti-air emplacement."
''or''
Buck: "Eyes on anti-air emplacement."
''or''
Vale: "I have eyes on anti-air emplacement."
''or''
Tanaka: "Anti-air emplacement here."
Locke: "Shut it down. Give the Swords of Sanghelios some airspace."
''If the player approaches the Shrike's power source.''
Locke: "That's the air defense power core. Destroy it to disable the cannon."
''When the turret is destroyed.''
Any member of Osiris: "Cannon's offline."
''If the power core is destroyed instead:''
Locke: "Power core destroyed."
Locke: "Spartan Locke to Swords of Sanghelios. Air defenses down on my position."
Flight Leader (COM): "Confirmed, Spartan. Sending air support."
Locke: "Keep moving. There's plenty more to do."
''Fireteam Osiris heads to the next turret. Covenant drop pods land nearby. In the background, a cruiser is badly damaged and starts plummeting towards the sea. ''
Tanaka: "Damn!"
Buck: "Sonuva-!"
Vale: "Whoa!"
Locke: "Covenant insertion pods!"
''A Banshee crashes nearby, and the platform begins to shake.''
''The team moves on toward their next target.''
''The next turret is visible.''
Any member of Osiris: "More air defenses here."
Locke: "Get them offline."
''When the second turret falls.''
Any member of Osiris: "Cannon destroyed."
Locke: "Swords of Sanghelios, another cannon down on my position."
Flight Leader (COM): "Affirmative, Spartan. All ships, the Spartans have opened more airspace. Move in and make your presence felt!"
''Enemy reinforcements arrive at the courtyard.''
Tanaka: "Covenant at the door!"
''or''
Locke or Vale: "Reinforcements at the door!"
''The Spartans defeat them and move on.''
''If the player stalls.''
Tanaka: "Think the Constructor found its way through this chaos?"
Buck: "If it didn't, someone better come up with another solution real quick."
Locke: "Doctor Halsey said the plan would work. I trust her."
''If the player stalls again.''
Buck: "If we miss this Guardian, what's plan B for catching up to John-117|Chief?"
Locke: "This is plan B. It's the only Guardian we know of."
Vale: "If we miss it, we'll just have to hope the Master Chief can stop Cortana from doing any more harm."
Tanaka: "Less talking and more running then."
''Multiple Shrike turret are in the next area.''
Any member of Osiris: "Three cannons here!"
Locke: "Take them down quick! Our ride's going to leave without us!"
''If the player stalls:''
Locke: "Take the cannons offline. Find their power source or target the cannons themselves."
''If the player stalls further:''
Flight Leader (COM): "Spartans, what is your status clearing the turrets?"
Locke: "Stand by. We're on it."
''Nearby is a building with its door blocked off by a shield barrier. Grunts are inside, singing to a hologram of a Guardian.''
Buck: "Shield! Can't get in!"
''or''
Vale: "Entrance of the building is shielded!"
''If the player approaches a nearby battery''
Locke: "Plasma battery!"
Vale: "That should take the shield down! Let's hack it!"
''Locke scans it with the Artemis, and the shield dissipates. The Grunts inside panic.''
''Alternatively, Locke can get inside through an alternate route from above and destroy the shield generator from within.''
Any member of Osiris: "Shield is down."
''The first cannon falls.''
Locke: "One cannon down! Two to go!"
''or''
Buck, Tanaka or Vale: "One cannon down!"
Locke: "Good! Two more to go!"
''The next turret falls.''
Locke: "Second cannon down! Only one left!"
''or''
Vale, Buck, or Tanaka: "Second cannon eliminated!"
Locke: "Only one left!"
''If the player stalls.''
Locke: "Take that last cannon down!"
Buck: "Where's the power source for this last cannon?"
Tanaka: "That building. Top floor."
''If the hologram chamber's shield hasn't been disabled yet:''
Vale: "Last power source is behind that shield. How are we going to get in?"
Tanaka: "Got an idea: Second floor. Jump across."
Locke: "Good suggestion, Tanaka."
''If the player stalls again.''
Buck: "Guardian's the only way we'll get to the Master Chief in time to help him with Cortana. We'd better get moving."
''The third cannon falls, as does the shield barrier (if the player hasn't already disabled it).''
Any member of Osiris: "Last cannon destroyed!"
Locke: "Good work, Spartans. Arbiter, cannons offline on our position."
Thel 'Vadam (COM): "My troops will arrive and secure your position. Move on towards the Guardian. You must reach the Master Chief in time."
Locke: "Copy that, Arbiter."
''If there are any remaining hostiles in the immediate area:''
Locke: "Osiris, secure this area so the Arbiter's people can land."
''Osiris clears out any remaining Covenant.''
''A Swords Phantom arrives above the destroyed turrets. The Phantom drops off allied Sangheili.''
Any member of Osiris: "Friendly Phantoms approaching."
Mahkee 'Chava (COM): "Spartan Locke. Come in."
Locke: "Mahkee. Hello again."
Mahkee (COM): "Air defenses still protect the skies between you and the Guardian. Too many for me to ferry you to your destination. You need another path. At your location there is passage to Sunaion's undercity which will allow direct access to the Guardian."
Locke: "Thank you, Mahkee. Osiris, Mahkee says there's a way down. Find it."
Swords Sangheili: "Humans! Over here!"
''Meanwhile two other Swords Sangheili engage in a conversation:''
Swords Sangheili #1 : This is a good day for Sanghelios, brother.
Swords Sangheili #2: Yes
Swords Sangheili #1: "What is it? I hear worry in your voice. You should rejoice."
Swords Sangheili #2: "What will happen when the Guardian will leave?"
Swords Sangheili #1: "Nothing will happen. Do not believe the stories you have heard, it is not a deity, it is barley a spaceship."
''Osiris finds an elevator.''
Any member of Osiris: "There's an elevator to the undercity."
''If the player stalls:''
Vale: "We should keep moving. The Guardian could be ready to go at any time. We don't want to miss our ride to Chief."
''The Spartans assemble on the elevator platform. Locke activates its controls.''
Locke: "Everybody on the elevator."
Swords Sangheili: "Good luck down there, Spartans."
''The elevator begins to travel down.''
Locke: "Arbiter. We're heading to the undercity. I want to warn you. Before the Guardian jumps to slipspace, it sets off a series of concussive blasts. If you move your ships out of the way in time, the Covenant will take the brunt of it."
Thel 'Vadam (COM): "Victory and honor do not grow from timid seeds, Spartan. Your harvest shall be grand. When you see the Chief again... tell him I send my greetings."
Locke: "I will indeed, sir."
Vale: "Locke, I've never heard a Sangheili address a human like that-"
Locke: "I'll try not to let it go to my head."
''The elevator opens at the undercity. A loud broadcast is heard rallying Covenant troops.''
Covenant Sangheili (PA): "The heretics have breached our sacred city! Do not let the false Arbiter and the Swords of Sanghelios claim Sunaion! Brothers, the Covenant will not fall!"
Locke: "Mahkee said we'll get direct access to the Guardian from down here. But remember, we don't have the Swords of Sanghelios to distract these troops."
Vale: "Whatever gets us to the Guardian quickest."
''The Spartan head through the undercity and encounter Covenant troops. A Hekar Taa-pattern blockade runner|blockade runner holds position nearby.''
Covenant Sangheili (PA): "The Covenant is the way!"
''The Spartan climb and leap across the undercity platforms, fighting Covenant along the way.''
Locke: "Guardian's still too far, Hurry!"
''Multiple suicide Grunts attack the Spartans.''
Covenant Sangheili (PA): "The humans tread on Sunaion! This is sacrilege! They must be stopped!"
''The Spartans cross into a building's turbine room.''
Thel 'Vadam (COM): "Spartans. Be aware. New enemies join the battle above. Armored. Glowing."
Locke: "Prometheans. We'll be ready, Arbiter."
Tanaka: "The Constructor must've done its work."
Locke: "It means the Guardian will be awake soon. Double time, Osiris!"
''Osiris continues to fight their way through the Covenant.''
Covenant Sangheili (PA): "We will hold Sunaion, brothers!"
''The Spartans engage more Covenant, including a pair of Hunters defending the exit.''
Buck ''or'' Vale: "Hunters!"
''or''
Locke: "Hunters! Get ready."
''The Spartans take them down.''
Any member of Osiris: "Hunters are down."
Buck: "End of the line. We have to go back up."
Tanaka: "Better hurry. Can't have too much longer to go."
Buck: "I hear some Grunts. Elevator door."
''or''
Tanaka: "Elevator doors!"
''or''
Vale: "Watch out! Elevator doors are opening!"
''Inside the elevator are some arguing Unggoy .''
Unggoy 1: "Do you think we'll be safe down here?"
Unggoy 2: "Of course! They're all killing each other up there."
Unggoy 1: "I don't know... I feel like we're gonna die!"
''The Grunts see the Spartans and panic.''
Unggoy 1: "Nooo! I don't want to die!"
Unggoy 2: "Sunaion is falling, i wanna go Hooome!"
''The Spartans kill the Unggoy and enter the elevator.''
Locke: "Everybody on the elevator."
''Locke activates it and the elevator starts heading up.''
Locke: "Arbiter, this is Spartan Locke. Do you copy?"
Thel 'Vadam (COM): "(''heavy static'') Spartan Locke -- near the Guardian -- killing everyone-"
Locke: "Arbiter..."
Thell 'Vadam (COM): (''static'')
Buck: "That's... no good."
Locke: "We should be close to the Guardian now."
Vale: "If we can help Arbiter...?"
Locke: "We do. But not at the risk of missing the Guardian. Reaching Master Chief is more important."
File:H5G-BattleofSunaion.png|thumb|right|250px|Forces from both sides of the battle, slain in a courtyard.
''The Spartans arrive in a ruined courtyard. Dead Covenant and destroyed turrets litter the area. A glowing hologram of a Sangheili is in its center.''
Buck: "Looks like we just missed all the fun."
''An explosion near the top ignites a Grunt. It runs around in a panic.''
Unggoy: "I regret everything! I regret-"
''Its methane backpack explodes, killing it.''
Dying Kig-Yar: "False Arbiter! Kill! Kill!"
''It succumbs to its injuries and dies.''
''Through the next room, a loud screech can be heard. A damaged Spirit flies overhead, pursued by two Phantoms.''
Tanaka: "Guardian's singing! How much time do we have left?"
Locke: "Not enough. Double time, Osiris!"
''The Spartans race along the path. A short distance ahead, the Guardian can be seen assembling itself.''
Locke or Buck: "Over there! In the ocean! Guardian's rising!"
Locke: "Arbiter, the Guardian is-"
Buck or Vale or Tanaka: "Look out!"
''The Guardian fires an electromagnetic pulse. The blast hits a Phantom and flings it toward the Spartans. It crashes in front of them and wrecks the road ahead.''
Locke or Buck or Vale: "Guardian's ''not'' leaving without us! Hurry, Osiris!"
''or''
Tanaka: "Haven't come this far to let the Guardian slip away now. Hurry, Spartans!"
Locke: "Run! RUN!"
''The Spartans sprint along the crumbling road as it collapses into the sea.''
Locke: "Watch your steps!"
''More debris falls. A blockade runner affected by the pulse begins sinking and heading toward them.''
Locke: "Corvette coming down! Move!"
Vale: "Careful, it's going to-"
''The floor beneath Locke (can be another Spartan on co-op) collapses. He scrambles for purchase as he falls, managing to grab an edge before he falls into the ocean.''
Buck: "Up! Up! Up! Move, Spartan!"
''Locke pulls himself back up on the road.''
Vale: "Building on the right! Go!"
''or''
Tanaka: "Right! Go right!"
''or''
Buck: "Go to the right!"
''The Spartans jump off the road and enter a ruined building. Its second floor has caved in. As they pass through, a teleporting Soldier speeds by.''
Vale: "Did you see that?"
Buck: "You think it's Prometheans?"
''Promethean Crawlers are eating a dead Grunt in the following room.''
Any member of Osiris: "Crawlers!"
''Another roar from the Guardian is heard.''
Tanaka: "There's another one."
Locke: "The clock's ticking. Hurry or we miss our ride to Master Chief."
''The Spartans climb up the devastated building. At the top, they see the Arbiter fighting Prometheans, and effortlessly assassinates a Knight.''
Thel 'Vadam: ''(growl)'' "For Sanghelios!"
Locke or Vale: "Arbiter!"
Thel 'Vadam: "Spartans..."
Thel 'Vadam: "The Covenant's defenses have fallen. Sunaion's--- " ''(This dialogue among others may not be said as a result of a checkpoint-reloading glitch)''
''Prometheans start warping in.''
Thel 'Vadam: "No. SANGHELIOS IS OURS!" (''To Fireteam Osiris'')
Buck: "Prometheans incoming!"
Locke: "We're almost to the Guardian. They can't stop us now."
Thel 'Vadam: "Let them come. I fight by your side, Spartans. To the last."
''As Osiris approaches, numerous spawn gates appear. Prometheans teleport in. The Guardian hangs overheard.''
Buck: "Prometheans incoming!"
Locke: "Clear a path. Get onboard the Guardian before it leaves!"
''The Spartans and the Arbiter battle the many attacking droids.''
Locke: "Keep pushing, Osiris! We're almost to the Guardian!"
''The Spartans are nearly to the edge of the dock, but there are still many Prometheans.''
Tanaka: "Third blast."
Buck: "Guardian's going to leave any minute now!"
Buck or Tanaka: "How are we going to get all the way over there?"
Locke: "All that matters is that the Guardian hasn't left yet. There's still time."
''They destroy more Prometheans, but another spawn gate opens and teleports in the Warden Eternal.''
Warden Eternal: "I am the Warden Eternal. I stand in defense of..."
Tanaka: ''(shocked)'' "Impossible!"
Warden Eternal: "...Cortana."
Buck: "How the hell is that thing here? We Unconfirmed|killed it!"
Locke: "We don't have time to discuss it. Take him out, Osiris!"
''The Warden engages the Spartans, and brings in Watchers and Knights.''
Warden Eternal: "You would deny the Guardian access to Genesis? Your conquest ends here, on this Sanghelios|fortress world, far from the luminous sun of her strength."
Warden Eternal: "Humanity stands as the greatest threat in the galaxy, and I will do my part to end that threat."
Tanaka: "Dammit! We need to get on that thing!"
Locke: "Deal with the Warden first! Focus fire, Osiris!"
Warden Eternal: "You are barbarians! Fighting against what? Peace and prosperity? 117 falls, and you with him. Cortana's plans will not go unfulfilled."
Warden Eternal: "You fight so hard to undo that you which not understand. Cortana has already won."
''The Warden is defeated. His body collapses and is sucked into a void.''
Warden: "NO! You must not... reach... Genesis!"
''As he vanishes, so do his Prometheans.''
Vale: "What's a Genesis?"
Locke: "It's where the Guardian is headed."
''Fade to black.''
{''Cutscene''}
''Fireteam Osiris assembles at the dock. The Guardian is floating above in the sky, while blasts from the war around them explode. The Guardian begins to emit a screech.''
Buck: "Guardian's leaving without us."
Tanaka: "Gotta be some way-"
''Tanaka turns at the sound of an approaching D79-TC Pelican|Pelican.''
Sarah Palmer: "Osiris! Get your asses in gear!"
''Cut to Palmer, piloting a Pelican. Dr. Halsey is aboard too.''
Palmer: "I'm coming in hot and you'd best be ready to go."
Locke: "Move!"
''The Spartans run to the dock's edge. They leap aboard Palmer's Pelican as it strafes to pick them up.''
Locke: "We're onboard."
Palmer: "Hang on!"
''Palmer punches the throttle. The Pelican rockets ahead, avoiding incoming plasma blasts.''
Palmer: "Open your eyes, Doc. You're missing all the fun."
''Cut to Halsey, looking rather ill in the Pelican's cockpit.''
''Cut to the surface. The Swords of Sanghelios are battling the Covenant and securing the area.''
''Palmer's Pelican continues to head for the Guardian, but a Banshee swoops behind them and fires a fuel rod. It blows their left thruster.''
''The Spartans inside are knocked around by the blast. Halsey gasps, but Palmer continues to boost the Pelican. It flies straight up, aiming for the Guardian's head.''
''Buck starts to slide out of the troop bay.''
Vale: "Buck!"
''Buck falls, but Locke, hanging out of the Pelican's doorway, catches him by the arm.''
Locke: "That's twice."
Buck: "What, we're counting now?"
''The Pelican is almost at the top of the Guardian now.''
Palmer: "Locke! You get one shot!"
Locke: "Ready when you say, Commander!"
Palmer: "Now!"
''The Spartans all fall of the Pelican. They activate their thrusters to slow their fall and land atop the Guardian.''
Locke: "All clear!"
''An energy ball forms in the Guardian's center and bursts. The impact knocks out the nearby Covenant ships, and Palmer's Pelican. Halsey gasps from the hit, and Palmer struggles to control the aircraft.''
''Cut to Locke on the Guardian. He watches the Pelican fall, spinning out of control.''
Locke: "Palmer..."
Vale: "Locke. Locke, come on!"
''Locke shakes out of his shock and joins Osiris into jumping into a nearby portal.''
File:Halo 5 - Arbiter victorious.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The Swords of Sanghelios are victorious.
''A slipspace wormhole opens. The Guardian folds its wings and flies inside.''
''Cut to the surface. The Arbiter slashes a Covenant Ranger aside, and watches the Guardian's portal close.''
Thel 'Vadam: "Hunt them to the last. Today we extinguish the Covenant's light forever!"
''The Arbiter and his warrior raise their swords in triumph. Fade to black.''
''Level ends.''
Trivia
Eight pieces of Mission Intel can be found on this level. The Cowbell Skull can be found on the very edge of the last section where the Warden is fought, in the debris underneath the balcony.
File:H5G-TwoArbiters.png|thumb|300px|Two-Arbiter cutscene glitch, with the second one distantly seen in the background on the left Near the end of the level where the Arbiter helps defeat Promethean enemies, there is certain dialogue from the Arbiter, Locke, and Warden Eternal that is not always heard during a playthrough. The only way to ensure they deliver every piece of scripted dialogue is to play the level without dying or without reverting to a prior checkpoint. If the Arbiter hasn't disappeared from the fight against Warden Eternal, the cutscene will rarely, and briefly, show two Arbiters. One being his scripted stride, and the other his NPC AI.
The last part of the level after the Hunters, is taken from Halo 5: Guardians E3 2015 Campaign Demo, with various differences.
The cutscene of Locke (or any Osiris member) nearly falling off the crumbling path can be skipped if the player runs fast enough, such as with the speed boost granted by wielding an Type-1 energy sword|energy sword. The Arbiter is invincible as a Non-playable character ally, unlike ''Halo 3'' where he could be temporarily killed. However, should he be knocked off into the sea, such as with the Z-520 splinter turret|Splinter Turrets used by Armiger Officers, he will then never be seen again until either the Promethean part of the mission or the ending cutscene of the mission. The exchange between Buck and Tanaka where Buck says he'll, "Buy the whole damn bar" may potentially be a reference to Half-Life: Opposing Force, where the Marines have a chance of saying, "Man, if we make it out of here alive, I'm buying you all a round of beers. Hell, I'll buy the whole damn bar!"
Gallery
File:H5G BattleofSunaion Concept.jpg|Early concept art of the mission. File:H5G-Concept-BattleOfSunaion-Core.jpg|The finalized version of the previous concept art. File:H5G-Battle of Sunaion concept.jpg|Concept art of the battle. File:H5G GuardianPelicanConcept.jpg|Concept art of Sarah Palmer's Pelican flying up to the Guardian.
Category:Halo 5: Guardians campaign |
|result=UNSC/Swords of Sanghelios victory Fireteam Osiris boards Sunaion's Guardian. Guardian heads to Genesis. Jul 'Mdama's Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|Covenant utterly defeated
|side1=* Swords of Sanghelios United Nations Space Command|UNSC
|side2=*Jul 'Mdama's Covenant
|side3=* Created
|commanders1=*Thel 'Vadam Mahkee 'Chava Jameson Locke
|commanders2=Kitun 'Arach
|commanders3=Warden Eternal
|forces1=*A few s Several s Several s Multiple s At least one Several s Dozens of s One D79-TC Pelican Several 's Several Sangheili Five Spartan-IVs
*Sarah Palmer|Commander Sarah Palmer
*Fireteam Osiris
|forces2=*A few brigantines Several carracks Multiple Blockade Runners Many Man O' Wars Dozens of Type-57 Phantoms Dozens of s Numerous ''D'nomlhe''-patterns Several s Sangheili Unggoy Kig-Yar Mgalekgolo
|forces3=*Two Guardians Several Phaeton|Phaeton gunships Numerous Promethean Crawlers Many Armiger Soldiers Multiple Promethean Knights Several Promethean Watchers
|casual1=*Some Phantoms Some Banshees Some Wraiths Multiple Sangheili
|casual2=All ships and vehicles, and most infantry
|casual3=All forces except for the Guardian
|civilian=
}}
}}
The Battle of Sunaion was a major engagement of the Blooding Years fought in the city of Sunaion on Sanghelios on 2558#October|October 27, 2558, with the joint forces of the Swords of Sanghelios and the United Nations Space Command battling the remainder of Jul 'Mdama's Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|new Covenant faction. The battle ultimately led to the complete destruction of 'Mdama's Covenant and the fall of their final bastion, Sunaion.
Prelude
In 2558#October|October 2558, human smart AI Cortana and Forerunner ancilla Warden Eternal began summoning Guardian constructs throughout the Milky Way|galaxy to their position on Genesis to allow them to enact their plans of enforcing the Mantle of Responsibility with artificial intelligences as its "reclaimers".Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level, ''Genesis (level)|Genesis'' Meanwhile, Doctor Catherine Halseywho had been working with Supreme Commander|Supreme Commander Jul 'Mdama's Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|Covenantlearned of Cortana's plan while on the Forerunner planet of Kamchatka with 'Mdama. Halsey contacted the rest of the United Nations Space Command and offered her information on the Guardians and Cortana in exchange for her "rescue" from Kamchatka. In response, SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan-IV Fireteam Osiris was Battle of Kamchatka|dispatched to Kamchatka, where they retrieved Halsey and assassinated 'Mdama.Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level, ''Osiris (level)|Osiris'' At the same time, John-117 and the rest of Blue Team went AWOL after learning that Cortana had survived her apparent New Phoenix Incident|destruction and sought to find her. Cortana led them to the human Outer Colony of Meridian, where the SPARTAN-II program|Spartans were taken to Genesis aboard a local Guardian. Fireteam Osiris, who had been in pursuit of Blue Team following their mission at Kamchatka, witnessed their departure and returned to to discuss their next course of action.Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level, ''Evacuation''
File:H5G-SOSformation.png|thumb|250px|left|The Swords of Sanghelios preparing for battle. Meanwhile, without their leader, Jul 'Mdama's Covenant was beginning to fracture, with several soldiers even deciding to align themselves with Arbiter Thel 'Vadam's Swords of Sanghelios.Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level, ''Enemy Lines'' - Mission Intel While some Covenant members, such as Cha 'Kulma, believed that 'Mdama's Covenant needed to regroup at Hesduros, the majority of 'Mdama's Covenant chose to attack Sanghelios and the Swords of Sanghelios with their remaining forces rather than "''suffer the dishonor of a tactical retreat''".Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level, ''Swords of Sanghelios'' - Mission Intel|Sangheili Personal Log 503 The city of Sunaion in the Csurdon Sea, which had remained neutral during the ongoing Blooding Years, was viewed by 'Mdama's Covenant as an optimal staging site against the Swords of Sanghelios, as the city gave 'Mdama's Covenant quick access to the coasts of Yermo where Arbiter Thel 'Vadam's Vadam|land was located. However, the Swords of Sanghelios learned of this plan and quickly established a forward operating base on the nearby shores of the Nuusra territory. Seeking to finally eradicate 'Mdama's Covenant, 'Vadam traveled to the Elder Council Chamber in Nuusra to lead the Swords of Sanghelios' inevitable attack on 'Mdama's Covenant. However, 'Mdama's Covenant ended up attacking the Swords of Sanghelios' military installations across Nuusra, leading to Battle of Nuusra|a large battle.
On ''Infinity'', in order to both locate Blue Team and stop Cortana, Fireteam Osiris was tasked with traveling to Sanghelios and aiding the Swords of Sanghelios in eliminating Jul 'Mdama's Covenant to allow them to access the nearby Guardian to travel to Genesis. Making arrangements with the Swords of Sanghelios,Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level, ''Reunion'' Osiris was brought to Sanghelios' surface by the Swords of Sanghelios on 2558#October|October 27, 2558 and the Spartans promptly assisted in the battle at Nuusra. After helping the Arbiter fight off 'Mdama's Covenant forces at the Elder Council Chamber, Osiris and the Arbiter returned to the Swords of Sanghelios' nearby encampment with Halsey and Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer. Osiris was tasked with locating a Forerunner Constructor at one of the Guardian's nearby support stations to allow Halsey to input commands into the construct to force it to activate the Guardian.Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level, ''Alliance'' The Spartans continued to aid the Swords of Sanghelios in the battle at Nuusra while they located a Constructor, helping to eliminate 'Mdama's remaining Covenant forces in the area at the same time, including a Shuul'se-pattern Kraken|Kraken walker. After doing so, they returned to the encampment, and Halsey input her commands into it and the construct took off to activate the Guardian at Sunaion. The Swords of Sanghelios regrouped and the Arbiter led them into battle to eradicate 'Mdama's Covenant at Sunaion.Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level, ''Before the Storm''
The battle
File:H5G-Battle of Sunaion 4.jpg|thumb|250px|The Swords of Sanghelios arriving at Sunaion.
}}
Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, Fireteam Osiris, and many Sangheili Storm of the Swords of Sanghelios boarded a , which led a flight of s and s to Sunaion. Meanwhile, Jul 'Mdama's Covenant ground and air forces at the city were assaulted by numerous Swords of Sanghelios warships, including s, s, s, and s. 'Mdama's Covenant forces during the Battle of Sunaion were led by several Sangheili commanders, including Sangheili Warrior|General Kitun 'Arach. 'Mdama's Covenant heavily defended the city with numerous automated Upisa'weri-pattern Shrike|Type-56 "Shrike" Anti-Aerospace Turrets attacking the Swords of Sanghelios ships. The Arbiter's squadron narrowly avoided the Shrikes, while bombarding 'Mdama's Covenant ground forces, before eventually deploying 'Vadam, Osiris, and two Sangheili Storm onto a platform in the city. Immediately after landing, the Spartans and Sangheili eliminated nearby forces of 'Mdama's Covenant and disabled a Shrike turret. While 'Vadam led his forces into combat throughout Sunaion, Osiris embarked to the far end of the city where the Guardian was located, agreeing to disable Shrike anti-air turrets along the way to aid the Swords of Sanghelios. As the battle raged, more of the Swords of Sanghelios' fleetincluding ''Havoc'', ''Onslaught (ship)|Onslaught'', and ''Revolution (ship)|Revolution''arrived and the flight wing leader ordered Jardam Wing, Lar Wing, and Siqtar Wing to focus their fire on 'Mdama's Covenant air forces. Osiris engaged Sangheili, Kig-Yar, and Unggoy forces and disabled the Shrikes to allow the Swords of Sanghelios' fleet to get closer to the city.
As Osiris disabled Shrike turrets, the Swords of Sanghelios were able to provide the Spartans and their own forces with air support. To aid in their defense of Sunaion, Jul 'Mdama's Covenant warships began deploying several Covenant drop pods at the city to bring more soldiers to the ground battle. Additional forces of 'Mdama's Covenant were deployed to Osiris' location via dropships in an effort to stop the Spartans. However, the Spartans were able to battle their way past 'Mdama's Covenant soldiers and soon discovered three Shrikes firing upon Swords of Sanghelios ships, with the power source of one of the turrets protected behind an Energy shielding|energy shield. Nonetheless, Osiris was able to eliminate 'Mdama's Covenant forces guarding the anti-air turrets and promptly disable all three Shrikes. Contacting 'Vadam, Spartan Jameson Locke of Osiris informed the Arbiter that the Shrikes were disabled at their location, and the Arbiter sent several Phantom dropships to the Spartans' location to deploy his soldiers. After Osiris cleared a landing zone for the Swords of Sanghelios air forces, Phantoms soon arrived and deployed many Sangheili soldiers into battle.
}}
File:H5G-SoldierVsOsiris.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Osiris battling Promethean forces in Sunaion. Afterwards, Shipmaster|Shipmistress Mahkee 'Chava contacted Fireteam Osiris and informed them that too many Shrikes remained for her to ferry them to the Guardian's location. However, she provided the Spartans with an alternative route to the Guardiana passage to Sunaion's undercity that would allow direct access to the Guardian. As the Spartans descended down an elevator to the undercity, Locke contacted 'Vadam to inform him of the concussive blasts that would be set off once the Guardian was activated and warned him to move the Swords of Sanghelios' fleet away from the city before the construct's activation so that only the fleet aligned with Jul 'Mdama's Covenant would be damaged. Continuing through the undercity, Osiris continued to encounter numerous forces from 'Mdama's Covenant as they fought their way to the Guardian's position. Meanwhile, the Constructor had managed to activate the Guardian and numerous Promethean forces began arriving at Sunaion, attacking both 'Mdama's Covenant and Swords of Sanghelios forces. In the undercity, Osiris continued forward and fought their way through a large amount of 'Mdama's Covenant soldiers attempting to block the Spartans' path. Osiris soon encountered two Mgalekgolo at the edge of the undercity and, after defeating the Mgalekgolo, the Spartans took an elevator back into the higher parts of Sunaion, eliminating Unggoy soldiers in the elevator along the way.
File:Halo 5 - Sanghelios Guardian.jpg|thumb|250px|The Guardian above Sunaion, as Jul 'Mdama's Covenant and Swords of Sanghelios air forces battle nearby. Meanwhile, the Prometheans were proving to be a difficult opponent to the Swords of Sanghelios and were killing many of their soldiers near the Guardian's site. As Osiris arrived back at the main part of the city, they moved past numerous dead forces from Jul 'Mdama's Covenant as the Swords of Sanghelios were pushing them into retreat. However, the Guardian began rising out of the water and entered its activation process, as it started releasing its concussive blasts upon the city. Osiris began sprinting towards the Guardian to make it aboard the construct before it departed, but the Guardian's concussive blasts began damaging the buildings they were moving on, forcing them to avoid falling debris and crashing Covenant ships. The Spartans soon encountered Promethean Crawlers attacking 'Mdama's Covenant forces. After eliminating the Crawlers, Osiris encountered 'Vadam killing a Promethean Knight. Together, the Arbiter and four Spartans fought alongside each other to eliminate Promethean forces, including Crawlers, Knights, Promethean Watcher|Watchers, and Armiger Soldier|Soldiers. As the five held off against numerous Prometheans, the Warden Eternal arrived at Sunaion. However, after a long battle, Osiris and 'Vadam succeeded in destroying the Prometheans and the Warden's physical form at Sunaion.
With the Prometheans defeated, the Guardian began preparing its final activation procedures before departing to Genesis via slipstream space. Commandeering a D79-TC Pelican, Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer and Doctor Catherine Halsey arrived at Osiris' location and picked them up to bring them to the Guardian. As Swords of Sanghelios forces decimated the last of 'Mdama's Covenant air forces, a Banshee managed to damage the humans' Pelican. However, Palmer succeeded in flying the damaged dropship over the Guardian, allowing Osiris to jump onto the construct just as it departed into slipspace to Genesis. The Guardian severely damaged Sunaion from both its concussive blasts and its departure into slipspace, and parts of the city began collapsing into the water below. However, 'Vadam was successful in leading the Swords of Sanghelios in eliminating the remaining forces from 'Mdama's Covenant in the damaged city. After Cortana issued her ultimatum, she dispatched another Guardian to Sanghelios which utilized its standard armament to destroy most of 'Mdama's remaining fleet. After apparently growing bored of that, the Guardian unleashed an EMP that blacked out the entire hemisphere, but also finished off the remaining ships aligned with 'Mdama's Covenant, dropping them in the Csurdon Sea.
Aftermath
File:Halo 5 - Arbiter victorious.jpg|thumb|250px|left|The Arbiter and his forces celebrate victory. While the Swords of Sanghelios proved victorious at Sunaion and successfully eliminated Jul 'Mdama's Covenant on Sanghelios, Fireteam Osiris was brought to Genesis alongside several of 'Mdama's Covenant and Swords of Sanghelios ships that were inadvertently transferred to the planet by the Guardian. The ships were promptly flung to the surface of Genesis once the Guardian arrived at the planet, with the survivors engaging each other in combat. Once at Genesis, Osiris succeeded in meeting up with Blue Team, where the Spartans learned of Cortana's plan to use the Guardians to enforce the Forerunner's Mantle of Responsibility. In subsequent actions against the Warden Eternal's Prometheans and the surviving forces from 'Mdama's Covenant brought to Genesis, Osiris and Blue Team were unable to stop Cortana from forming an alliance of artificial intelligence called the Created and dispatching her collected Guardians at Genesis to worlds throughout the galaxy to enforce the Mantle by disabling technology on all worlds the Guardians arrived at, including several human worlds.Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level, ''Guardians''
Eventually, Osiris and Blue Team returned to Sanghelios, using India 127|a Pelican pulled to Genesis with a Guardian and a slipspace portal opened by 031 Exuberant Witness. Upon returning to Sanghelios, the Spartans were able to land at the Swords of Sanghelios encampment at Nuusra. The Spartans met with Arbiter 'Vadam, Spartan Palmer, and Doctor Halsey, and the group began planning their next course of action to combat Cortana and her Created. After spending the night on Sanghelios, the UNSC forces left to meet up with the which had escaped Cortana's attack and begun a series of random slipspace jumps to avoid being caught. In addition, the Spartans learned that Sanghelios had also fallen victim to the Created, having been blacked out by a Guardian after the Sangheili refused to surrender to the Created.Halo: Bad Blood, ''Chapter 1''
Though the Battle of Sunaion ended the Blooding Years on Sanghelios, the civil war was not completely ended as elements of the Swords of Sanghelios continued to Second Onyx conflict|battle the Servants of the Abiding Truth alongside the UNSC on the Forerunner shield world of Sarcophagus.Halo: Legacy of Onyx
Participants
Naval assets
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Fleet
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="3" |Unknown
| rowspan="3" |Unknown
|''Havoc''
|Unknown
| |''Onslaught (ship)|Onslaught''
|Unknown
| |''Revolution (ship)|Revolution''
|Unknown
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Rank
! Name
! Status
| |Arbiter
|Thel 'Vadam
|Survived
| |Shipmaster|Shipmistress
|Mahkee 'Chava
|Unknown
| |Unknown
|Jacul 'Arach
|KIA
|}
Units Jardam Wing Siqtar Wing Lar Wing
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="5" |Spartan Operations
|Spartan Commander
|Sarah Palmer
|Survived
| | rowspan="4" |Spartan
|Jameson Locke
|Survived
| |Edward Buck
|Survived
| |Olympia Vale
|Survived
| |Holly Tanaka
|Survived
|}
Civilians
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Name
! Status
| |Catherine Halsey
|Survived
|}
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Rank
! Name
! Status
| |Sangheili Warrior|General
|Kitun 'Arach
|KIA
| | rowspan="5" |Unknown
|Khret 'Thanta
|Unknown
| |Tsodon 'Sakua
|Unknown
| |Muki 'Jahma
|Teleported out of battle
| |Kit Pitlimp
|Teleported out of battle
| |Proon Glibwik
|Teleported out of battle
|}
Gallery
File:Battle Of Sunaion.png|The Swords of Sanghelios assault the city. File:H5G-Battle of Sunaion concept.jpg|Concept art of the battle for ''Halo 5: Guardians''. File:H5G Battle of Sunaion 2.jpg|Swords of Sanghelios air forces pass above Covenant infantry. File:H5G Battle of Sunaion 3.jpg|The Swords of Sanghelios air forces over the embattled city. File:H5G-Thel&SOSSangheili.jpg|Thel 'Vadam and a Sangheili Storm during the battle. File:Two storms.png|Two Swords of Sanghelios Sangheili Storms during the Battle of Sunaion. File:H5G-BattleofSunaion.png|Corpses from both sides litter the streets of Sunaion. File:H5G-BattleofSunaion2.png|A fleet of ships over Sunaion.
List of appearances
''Halo 5: Guardians''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo: Legacy of Onyx''
''Halo: Bad Blood''
''Halo: Outcasts''
Sources
Category:Created conflict|Sunaion Category:Swords of Sanghelios victories Category:UNSC victories |
(2)
*s
*s
*Unggoy
*Kig-Yar
**Skirmishers
*Sangheili
*Mgalekgolo
*Fleet of Valiant Prudence
** (1)
**s
**s
**s
|casual1=*3 Echo Unknown number of Army troopers Unknown number of vehicle losses
|casual2=*Total
}}
The Battle of Sword Base was an engagement between the forces of the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant at the ONI research facility known as SWORD Base occurring on 2552#July|July 26, 2552.
Background On or prior to the night of 2552#July|July 23, 2552, the Covenant Fleet of Valiant Prudence arrived at the human Inner Colony of Reach undetected by its defending forces. A small strike, including artifact-hunting Sangheili Zealots from the Devoted Sentries, was dispatched to the Visegrad Relay in Visegrad to cut off communications between Reach and other Unified Earth Government|UEG colonies. The Office of Naval Intelligence assumed that the communications blackout was caused by local Insurrectionists; in response, Colonel Urban Holland dispatched several UNSC Army|Army fireteams to the relay. After losing contact with the troopers, SPARTAN Program|SPARTAN Noble Team was sent to investigate. The team Battle of Visegrad|discovered the Covenant presence on Reach and reported back to Central Command|CENTCOM, killing two of the Zealots in the process. WINTER CONTINGENCY (protocol)|WINTER CONTINGENCY was declared on Reach while Lieutenant Commander Catherine-B320 retrieved a data module from the corpse of Doctor Laszlo Sorvad.
Battle On 2552#July|July 26, 2552, the Office of Naval Intelligence Sword Base came under siege by Covenant forces from the Fleet of Valiant Prudence led by a . Due to the sensitive nature of the facility, orbital MAC rounds are prohibited from being used to destroy the corvette. With current defensive forces insufficient to repel the attack, ONI requests the help of NOBLE Team.
With their landing zone hot, Lieutenant Commander Catherine-B320 and Lieutenant SPARTAN-B312|Noble Six are dropped into the Sword Base courtyard, immediately under fire from Covenant troops. Aided by UNSC Army troopers, the two Spartans clear the courtyard and are ordered by Sword Control to clear the main gate with a promise to be briefed as they go. The Spartans find a Target Locator and are promised that they will be provided with what limited artillery support is available.
As the soldiers emerge from the main gate, the corvette opens fire on Sword Base and a M831 Troop Transport Warthog|M831 Troop Transport carrying 3 Echo comes under attack from two s which destroys the squad. Using the Target Locator, B312 destroys the Wraiths and the troops wipe out any remaining Covenant forces in the immediate area. A D77-TC Pelican|Pelican then drops off a M12 Chaingun Warthog|Warthog for the use of Six and Kat.
In order to get back online with Command, Kat, Six and an Army trooper head east to the old Farragut Station which has its own comms array. At the station, the two Spartans discover it protected by multiple Covenant forces, including a Rizvum-pattern Revenant|Revenant. Together, the three manage to eliminate the Covenant forces in the area and activate the station's generator. Once the generator is online, a Dextro Xur-pattern Spirit|Spirit dropship arrives to deploy Unggoy and Skirmishers to prevent the comms array, located on a nearby rooftop, from being activated. After eliminating the reinforcements, Six activates the array. A second Warthog is then delivered via Pelican to reach Airview Base and the AA gun located there.
On the way to Airview Base, the Spartans come under attack by two Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|Ghosts and a lance of Covenant dropped by another Spirit, but they are quickly eliminated. At Airview Base, it is discovered to be under the control of more Covenant forces, including a Sangheili Ultra. The Covenant forces are quickly eliminated and Six activates the base's M71 Scythe|anti-aircraft gun which opens fire on a Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|Phantom that drops off two more Ghosts and then on the Type-26 Banshee|Banshees and Covenant dropships around the corvette, helping to clear the way for UNSC dropships to bring reinforcements.
After the comms are restored and the anti-aircraft gun is activated, the corvette draws closer to Sword Base, firing its plasma turrets at it. Kat and Six are ordered back to Sword Base which they are informed that the rest of NOBLE Team is inbound to. The Spartans are provided with a M12G1 Gauss Warthog|Gauss Warthog to aid them in reaching the base easier. Carter-A259 warns Kat and Six that the corvette is moving into position and they are needed at the base ASAP. Outside of the main gate, the two Spartans discover it under attack by Revenants, Ghosts and Covenant infantry which are quickly eliminated. Heading through the main gate, the two discover that Covenant forces once more occupy the courtyard and take them out, learning that the rest of the team is stalled in the tower atrium. The Spartans eliminate Covenant forces in the base garage, including a Mgalekgolo pair and enter an elevator to the security office as the corvette pounds the base hard.
After fighting through some Covenant troops, Kat and Six make it to the main atrium where they link up with Jun-A266 and Jorge-052 and several Army troopers. Six is ordered to go upstairs to aid Emile-A239 with Jorge and several Army troopers joining to make sure he makes it with Carter warning that the base won't survive another salvo from the corvette. Together, the UNSC forces fight their way to the ruined top floor where Emile uses a M41 SPNKR|rocket launcher to fight off enemy Banshees and a Phantom which deploys several Stealth Sangheili. The Sangheili are quickly eliminated and Six uses a nearby rocket launcher to join Emile, destroying the Phantom and several Banshees. Finally, all of the nearby Covenant air forces are destroyed.
File:Corvette destroyed.png|250px|thumb|The Corvette, mid-MAC impact. With the Covenant air forces eliminated, Sword Base is able to launch two GA-TL1 Longsword|Longswords to attack the corvette directly. The corvette quickly attempted to make a retreat. As the corvette flies over the water, a Super MAC round is fired from an orbital defense platform, punching a hole through the ship and sending it plummeting to the surface, ending the Covenant attack.
Aftermath Immediately after the corvette is destroyed, NOBLE Team is ordered to meet with Doctor Catherine Halsey in the science wing. At Halsey's request, the Spartans provide her with a report on their previous engagement with the Covenant at Visegrad Relay and give her Professor Laszlo Sorvad's data module which supposedly contains a "latchkey discovery" made by Sorvad prior to his death.
Despite the victory, Sword Base comes under attack by the Covenant again by 2552#August|August 14 when Operation: UPPER CUT takes place. By August 23, the base is considered Covenant territory when NOBLE Team is ordered to return for Operation: WHITE GLOVE|a torch and burn operation to keep the base's excavation data out of Covenant hands, in reality a deception to task NOBLE Team with delivering Cortana|an important package.
Gallery
File:HR FarragutBattle.jpg|Noble Strike's Warthog fighting Covenant at Farragut Station. File:HR AirviewBattle.jpg|Sangheili Rangers firing at Noble Strike's Warthog at Airview Base. File:HR GaussHog&Revenants.jpg|Noble Strike's Gauss Warthog returning to SWORD Base. File:HR JorgeJackalsAtriumBattle.jpg|Jorge-052 firing his machine gun at Kig-Yar in the main atrium. File:HR NobleAtrium.jpg|Noble Strike joins Jorge-052 and Jun-A266 inside the main atrium. File:HR FireteamAtrium.jpg|Noble Six leading UNSC army troopers to the top floor.
List of appearances
''Halo: Reach''
Sources |
The Battle of the 78th Thema was an engagement fought between the Forerunners and the Flood in Path Terrulian within the 78th Thema. One of the penultimate battles of the Forerunner-Flood war, it ended in a rare Forerunner victory in this stage of the conflict. The battle itself represented a portion of a larger engagement, waged across four themas.Halo: Silentium, ''pages 212-214''
Background With the remaining Forerunners escorted to safety, eventually to be evacuated to the greater Ark, the Forerunners concentrated their last battle fleets to the defense of a region of space consisting of four themas standing in the brink of complete infestation. Fleets were withdrawn from Path Kural, which had been lost to the Flood, becoming part of a Burn.Halo: Silentium, ''page 251''
The organization and force distribution of the battle followed the established doctrine of Forerunner space warfare, fundamentally based upon abstract membranes extending into higher dimensions and combining Slipstream space transit vectors with scalars measuring potential outcomes. These multi-dimensional complexes made up a hypersphere which combined slipspace transit arrays and tactical probability scalars, both of which were adjusted as the engagement progressed and outcomes were determined.Halo: Silentium, ''page 211''
The action in the 78th Thema was part of the Warrior-Servant forces' first clench, under the command of the Falchion. The clench encompassed nineteen systems, all of which had been formerly linked by star roads. The first flex of the membrane leading to the clench began at the inner edges of Path Terrulian, a pre-stellar nebular region surrounded by old, cooling stars, along with an abundance of asteroids as well as rocky and icy planets. The Falchion's forces in the clench consisted of twelve Fortress-class vessels, largely stationary due to reconciliation debt, acting as apex control stations for 700,000 smaller Harrier-class vessels. The opposing Flood force was estimated to comprise over 100,000 vessels, the most powerful of which being 400 Forerunner dreadnought|dreadnoughts.
Battle The Flood fleet arrived at Path Terrulian ''en masse'', using Precursor neural physics superluminal transit. Seemingly caught by surprise by the Forerunner military presence in the region, the Flood ships were momentarily vulnerable upon arrival as they radiated multiversal residues. The Falchion immediately ordered a group of cloaked harriers, positioned in advance, to launch a series of precision strikes against the incoming Flood ships. Instead of using easily detectable directed energy weapons or projectiles, they utilized their gravity slings to launch local asteroids at high velocities into the emergence fields of the Flood-controlled vessels, enabling the harriers to remain untraceable for a time. The barrage of asteroids interfered with the transmission of the arriving ships, vaporizing half of the vessels directly, while the rest managed to evade and reposition themselves, scattering across several thousand kilometers. A multi-pronged force of uncloaked harriers engaged the remaining Flood vessels with their energy beams, quickly destroying one-third of the infected ships.
The remaining Flood ships were rapidly rendered harmless; mostly intact but lacking any offensive capability. The Falchion intended to salvage the Flood ships' corrupted ancillas, deploying ancillas under his own command to examine the ships and retrieve their designators, which were then delivered to sentinels deployed from one of the apex fortresses. Aided by the harriers, the sentinels breached the shields and hulls of the drifting Flood vessels and boarded them in order to reprogram their control ancillas. At first, this effort seemed to be successful, as the Forerunner automatons had supposedly been proofed against the Flood's logic plague. However, upon entry and contact with the infected ships' ancillas, the sentinels were rapidly subverted by the Flood. As a result, the Forerunners were forced to destroy the infested vessels one by one, along with the corrupted sentinels.
Aftermath The isolated tactical victory in the battle did little to slow the Flood's spread across the galaxy; the Capital's system was conquered by the Flood shortly afterward, resulting in the Ecumene Council|governance and Forerunner Fleet Command|strategic command of the ecumene being transferred to the greater Ark. Acknowledging the futility of the attempts to salvage Flood-controlled ships and ancillas due to the constantly adapting nature of the logic plague, the Forerunners soon completely abandoned this program in favor of destroying any infested ships outright.Halo: Silentium, ''pages 214-215''
List of appearances
''Halo: Silentium''
Sources
Category:Battles |
|place= Beacon tower, Installation 07
|result= UNSC Victory Message successfully sent to UNSC space with the coordinates of Zeta Halo Death of Gorian Spartan Tomas Horvath separated from his comrades and teleported to a far away location on the ring
|side1 = * United Nations Space Command|UNSC
|side2 = * Banished
|commanders1 = *SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan Nina Kovan First Lieutenant TJ Murphy
|commanders2 = *Blademaster Jega 'Rdomnai Gorian
|forces1 = *Boat crew
*Spartan Nina Kovan
*Spartan Tomas Horvath
*First Lieutenant TJ Murphy
*Ensign Isaiah Cameron
*Erik Bender
*Robin Dimik
|forces2 =*Jiralhanae Sangheili Kig-Yar Unggoy Mgalekgolo
'Ahtulai Workshop Banshee|Banshees Terror Wraiths Eklon'Dal Workshop Phantom|Banished Phantoms
|casual1 =
TJ Murphy Isaiah Cameron
|casual2 = *Heavy
*Gorian
}}
The battle of the beacon tower was a battle fought on 2560#May|May 14, 2560 during the Battle for Zeta Halo between the UNSC guerilla team dubbed the boat crew and the Banished at a beacon tower on Installation 07. The boat crew seek to broadcast a supraliminal transmission, which contains the current galactic coordinates of the ring, from the beacon tower to human-occupied space.
Prelude During the Battle for Zeta Halo on 2560#April|April 26, 2560, Gorian and Jega 'Rdomnai forced a human prisoner of war to Reclaimer|interface with a console at a Conspectus network hub; they retrieved a sylloge node containing data on the ring's defensive systems and location. Shortly after, SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan Bonita Stone ambushed the duo and stole the data node. Although her personal AI Ouco copied the data and corrupted the node itself, during her escape, Stone was killed by Jega 'Rdomnai, who retrieved the corrupted node. The next day, the boat crew found Stone's body. Spartan Nina Kovan retrieved Stone's VISR data chip, which contained the data that she had stolen from the Banished. The boat crew learned from Submonitor 091 Adjutant Veridity that data chip contained information on the ring, including its current coordinates; the humans decided to transmit the data to UNSC in hopes of reinforcements being sent.
Veridity led the boat crew, joined by Spartan Tomas Horvath, to the Conservatory (location)|Conservatory where they were able to free Monitor 117649 Despondent Pyre from the energy barrier that Cortana had trapped her in. After learning of the release of The Harbinger, the Monitor agreed to help use one of Zeta Halo's beacon towers to broadcast a message to the UNSC for reinforcements and provided the team with a data key that would perform a security override and instruct the tower to broadcast a message into human-occupied space with Installation 07's current galactic coordinates and the site's pertinent information. However, Despondent Pyre refused to allow Veridity to assist the humans further, unwilling to risk one of her submonitors with the Harbinger on the loose. Instead, Despondent Pyre provided Kovan with a path out of the Conservatory.
Battle On May 14, the boat crew reached a translocation pad and were teleported to an overlook near a beacon tower close to the Conservatory. However, the tower was well-defended by the Banished and near enough to the Conservatory for a battle to draw reinforcements within minutes. The boat crew performed reconnaissance on just how many Banished were guarding the tower and Spartan Nina Kovan ordered Isaiah Cameron and Robin Dimik to plant Dimik's explosives on the pass that the Banished would have to come up from the Conservatory, ordering them to blow it up once the Banished had filled the pass up. Spartan Tomas Horvath decided to clear the beacon approach for Kovan and ordered TJ Murphy and Erik Bender to guard Kovan as she would become a target once she activated the beacon. Before parting ways, Dimik provided Horvath with an MA5K carbine and ammunition.
Twenty minutes later, after preparing his shots, Horvath took out half of the Unggoy guards while two of the Kig-Yar mounted the plasma cannons and the rest engaged their arm gauntlets, waiting for the battle to come to them.
As Horvath engaged the guards outside, Kovan, Murphy and Bender were able to slip inside of the tower where they found two Sangheili Enforcers right inside. The three managed to kill one, but the other one rolled into the left corridor as Murphy threw a grenade and activated its active camouflage. Bender threw a smoke grenade down the corridor and Kovan went after the Sangheili. In the corridor were two more Sangheili whose energy shields had taken damage from Murphy's grenade and were probably disorientated. Bender took one down with a headshot and Murphy grabbed its Mangler and used the weapon to kill the other Sangheili. After checking that the right corridor was clear, the two men went after Kovan who took out two more Sangheili and reached the central plinth.
Kovan inserted the data key and the two men took up guarding positions as the energy began building up to send the superluminal message. Kovan warned that they had to hold their position until the sequence was completed and the message sent as Banished reinforcements came down both corridors. Murphy and Bender opened fire, eventually throwing fragmentation grenades down the corridors. However, a Sangheili was able to avoid Murphy's grenade and attacked him from behind, grabbing Murphy and throwing him down the corridor. As Kovan engaged another Sangheili, Murphy's attacker swung at him with an Energy sword (fiction)|energy sword which he managed to dodge, draw an M6 pistol and run towards Kovan, firing at their attackers. With Bender having run out of ammo, Murphy slid him a plasma rifle from a dead Sangheili and Kovan tossed Murphy her own assault rifle, switching to her blade and Sidekick instead. Suddenly, Kovan's opponent disappeared as the energy in the chamber began to pulse and compress while red plasma bolts streaked through the air from the left corridor, just missing the console. Murphy realized that the next round might hit the console while Bender was forced to stop firing and remove his chest plate after getting struck by a plasma blast that ate through the plating.
As Kovan protected the console with her body, scanning the corridor for the Sangheili that had disappeared, Murphy saw the other Sangheili appear in Bender's former position and take aim at the console with a pulse carbine. Knowing that the Sangheili wouldn't miss this time, Murphy jumped in front of the blasts and was mortally wounded, sacrificing himself to stop the console from being hit. The gathering energy shot into space as the message was successfully sent and Kovan relentlessly fired into the Sangheili's face until it was dead. As Murphy died content in the knowledge that they had succeeded in their mission, Dimik's explosives went off outside.
Outside, Horvath tracked Cam and Dimik's progress after they detonated the pass and was warned of aerial contacts by Elfie just before a couple of 'Ahtulai Workshop Banshees appeared and attacked. Horvath killed the last Kig-Yar guard and took its forearm shield and plasma pistol before running for the mounted plasma cannon. Horvath fired the cannon at the Banshees, taking one out while the other banked and flew away. An Eklon'Dal Workshop Phantom then arrived carrying Gorian, armed with a Type-25 Brute Shot. Despite Elfie's warnings that he was in no shape to fight the Jiralhanae, Horvath knew that their only options were to fight or surrender and he wasn't willing to surrender. Kovan and Bender emerged from the tower and Kovan promised to hold the Banished off as Horvath went after Gorian, knowing that they were in a no-win situation with Gorian bearing down at them and reinforcements making their way around the destroyed pass with aerial support at their beck and call. Both Spartans agreed that there would be no mercy, anticipating a last stand, but knowing that they had done what they had set out to do and could now only take out as many Banished as they could.
Kovan tossed Horvath a pulse carbine while Bender gave him an energy sword taken from the dead Sangheili inside of the beacon. Strapping the Kig-Yar's energy shield to his wrist, Horvath went after Gorian. Facing off against the Bloodstar, Horvath kept his distance, knowing that he would have to play it smart in order to win as with his armor in its damaged condition, one hit from Gorian's Brute Shot would kill him. Horvath and Gorian entered a cat-and-mouse game, firing at each other, but with Horvath running out of places to hide.
As Kovan watched, a Terror Wraith emerged from the debris-clouded pass and bore down on Dimik and Cam as they ran towards the beacon tower. Taking control of the mounted plasma cannon that Horvath had vacated, Kovan fired at the Wraith pilot, but the vehicle was well armored and its gravity propulsion engine was nimble. Dimik and Cam were forced to separate as Banished infantry emerged from the trees and a Thrasher missile was fired at them from the growing Banished force. Firing at the missile with the plasma cannon in the hopes of shooting it down before it struck, Kovan shouted an order to Bender to take care of the Wraith as it chased after Cam as he veered left. However, the Wraith ran Cam down, killing him, before Bender emerged firing a plasma pistol that he'd taken from a Kig-Yar corpse at the vehicle. Bender launched himself onto the vehicle, wedged the pistol in a narrow breach in its armor and fired at the pilot, killing them and stopping the Wraith. One of Kovan's shots hit the missile as it streaked overhead, detonating it and causing a massive concussive shock that shoved Kovan and everything else to the ground.
After recovering, Kovan found Dimik lying facedown at the edge of the field and ran over to help Bender where he was getting up next to the Wraith and moved Cam's body behind one of the energy shields by the facility. As Kovan turned to help Dimik, she found her already gone, having survived the blast, but a plasma mortar struck the ground nearby before Kovan could go search for her. Kovan was driven back towards the beacon tower as three squads of Kig-Yar and a band of Sangheili Mercenary|Sangheili mercenaries surged from the pass led by Blademaster Jega 'Rdomnai.
Still fighting Gorian, Horvath calculated that his enemy only had three shots left before one of them hit the rock in front of the Spartan before he had the chance to dive, blasting Horvath off of his feet and into a nearby boulder, breaking it apart. As Horvath went to roll to his feet, he spotted Dimik crouched behind the rocks near the tree line. Dimik showed him a spike grenade before she placed it on the stone and fled after apparently hearing something behind her. Spurred on by Dimik's courage, Horvath ran a blazing path that allowed him to circle behind an amused Gorian. As Horvath reached the overlook, he dropped to avoid another grenade from the Brute Shot and grabbed the spike grenade that Dimik had left for him. Horvath surged up and ran across the flat rock, drawing Gorian to fire at him again, just missing the Spartan. Leaping off the overlook, the last grenade from the Brute Shot passed just below Horvath's armpit as he threw the spike grenade at Gorian's feet. The explosion drained the Jiralhanae's shields, putting him and Horvath on a level playing field. After getting his footing back, Horvath began running back towards the overlook, only to spot Dimik pinned down by two Kig-Yar trying to flank her position.
Drawing his carbine, Horvath shot each Kig-Yar in the head twice before tossing away the hot, unvented weapon, intended to take his dead enemies' weapons. However, Gorian reached the overlook at that moment and charged him. Turning, Horvath grabbed the energy sword that Bender had tossed to him earlier as the Jiralhanae's massive shoulder hit him in the gut, lifting Horvath high. Horvath punched the hilt into Gorian's ribcage and activated it, sending the blade through the Bloodstar's bone, tissue and organs, and coming out the other side, killing Gorian. Landing on the translocation pad, Horvath was pinned down by the dead weight of Gorian's corpse and could only watch as Dimik, running back to the others, was hit in the shoulder by enemy fire and Bender went to her aid. Suddenly, the pad activated and teleported both Horvath and Gorian away moments before it was destroyed by a Thrasher missile, preventing any chance of the others using it to escape or to later return to find out where Horvath had gone.
Dozens of Banished forces led by 'Rdomnai closed in on Kovan, Bender and Dimik who continued fighting even as they ran out of ammo and Kovan's armor began to fail. Before the boat crew could be overrun and killed, Submonitor 091 Adjutant Veridity came to their rescue and teleported the survivors away to safety somewhere else on the ring.
Aftermath File:HINF ConservatoryBeaconTower 1.png|thumb|300px|The beacon tower two weeks after the battle, circa 28 May, 2560. After being teleported to safety, the survivors of the boat crew spent the next four days mending their wounds and repairing their equipment, Kovan's armor being easily the most damaged and challenging to rectify. The battle left Dimik with a plasma wound to the shoulder and a few other superficial wounds that Kovan treated with biofoam while Bender was left with a nasty stab wound to his side, a broken nose and a couple of cracked ribs. The boat crew were left to hope that their message had been received and that the UNSC would send much-needed reinforcements to Zeta Halo. Kovan decided that their next move after recovering would be to try to rescue Lucas Browning from the Tower.
At the same time, Horvath and Gorian were teleported to a partially collapsed Forerunner facility on a mountain far away from the beacon tower. Horvath shoved Gorian's body off of the mountain and began making his way up spin in search of other UNSC survivors.
List of appearances
''Halo: The Rubicon Protocol''
Sources
Category:UNSC victories |
Halo Array deactivated. Ultimate collapse of the Covenant.
*Death of the Prophet of Truth. End of the Human-Covenant War.
|side1 = * United Nations Space Command
* UNSC Navy
*UNSC Marine Corps Covenant separatists
*Fleet of Retribution
--- Sentinel|Forerunner constructs
|side2 = * Covenant
* Covenant military
|side3 = *Flood
|commanders1 = *Commander|CMR Miranda Keyes Sergeant Major|SGTMAJ Avery Johnson Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
Arbiter Thel 'Vadam Fleetmaster Rtas 'Vadum
--- Monitor 343 Guilty Spark
|commanders2 = Hierarchs|High Prophet of Truth
|commanders3 = Gravemind
|forces1 =
Fleet of Retribution/Seventh Fleet
*1
*Multiple Ru'swum-pattern Phantom#Retribution Phantom|Phantoms
*Multiple D77H-TCI Pelican|Pelicans
*Numerous AV-14 Hornet|Hornets
*1+ M808C Scorpion|Scorpion
*M12 Warthog|Warthogs
**1+ M12 Chaingun Warthog|Chaingun Warthog
**2+ M831 Troop Transport Warthog|Troop Transport Warthogs
**1+ M12G1 Gauss Warthog|Gauss Warthog
*2+ M274 Mongoose|Mongooses Numerous ground forces
*1 SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II
*Numerous UNSC Marine Corps|marines
*Multiple Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODSTs
*Multiple Sangheili
--- Sentinel|Forerunner constructs
*Aggressor Sentinel|Sentinels
|forces2 =
Numerous air vehicles
*Mutliple s
*Type-26 Banshee|T-26 Banshee
**Numerous s Multiple ground vehicles
*2 s
*3 Zurdo-pattern Wraith|T-26 Wraiths
**4+ Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|T-52 AA Wraiths
*Multiple Barukaza Workshop Chopper|T-25 Choppers
*Multiple Qavardu Workshop Prowler|T-52 Prowlers
*Numerous Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|T-32 Ghosts Numerous ground forces
*Jiralhanae
*Mgalekgolo
*Unggoy
*Kig-Yar
*Yanme'e
|forces3 = *High Charity
*Thousands of Flood dispersal pod|dispersal pods
*Pod infectors
*Flood combat form|Combat forms
*Flood carrier form|Carrier forms
*Flood pure form|Pure forms
|casual1 = Light-moderate casualties CDR Miranda Keyes
1+ Pelican
|casual2 = Total Prophet of Truth All 2 Scarabs
|casual3 = Heavy
}}
The Battle of the Citadel was the final battle of the Human-Covenant War and a battle within the larger Battle of Installation 00|Ark Conflict fought between the united forces of the United Nations Space Command and the Sangheili Fleet of Retribution as well as local Sentinel|Forerunner constructs against the remaining forces of the Covenant, and the Flood. The battle resulted in the death of the Prophet of Truth, the final Hierarchs|Hierarch, and the dissolution of the Covenant empire.
Background On 2552#November|November 3, 2552, the High Prophet of Truth, the final remaining Covenant Hierarch, departed from High Charity on board the ''Anodyne Spirit'' and took the bulk of remaining Covenant fleets with him, as the holy city Fall of High Charity|fell to the Flood amidst the chaos of the Great Schism. Truth intended to take the Keyship, along with a very massive combined Covenant armada, to Earth, where he would be able to activate the Portal at Voi|portal beneath the city of Mombasa that had been excavated by Truth's fleet|his excavation fleet over the course of the previous two weeks. This would take him to Installation 00, where he would be able to activate the Halo Array and begin the Great Journey (religion)|"Great Journey". Unbeknownst to the Prophet, SPARTAN-II program|Spartan John-117 had managed to make it onto the keyship as it decoupled from High Charity's power grid by riding a High Charity conduit|power conduit connecting the ship to the city. After arriving in the Sol system on November 8, John-117 Scramble onboard Forerunner Dreadnought|attempted to kill the Prophet of Truth, but failed and was forced to escape from Covenant forces. The Spartan bailed from the Keyship as it entered Earth's atmosphere on November 17, landing in the jungles of Tanzania. The Keyship would ultimately land on top of the now-uncovered portal, with the surviving Covenant warships clustering around the keyship.
Over the course of the same day, United Nations Space Command|UNSC forces spearheaded by the Master Chief and Arbiter Thel 'Vadam would launch an Battle of Voi|assault on Covenant forces within the nearby city of Voi, with the objective of neutralizing Covenant Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|anti-aircraft battery emplacements in order to allow UNSC starship|UNSC ships to attack the Keyship. While UNSC ground forces managed to destroy the emplacements, the subsequent assault on the Keyship by Battle Group Victory of the Seventh Fleet led by the failed to destroy the Forerunner vessel. The portal then opened, and Truth fled through it with the Keyship, followed by the rest of his fleet. The UNSC would be prevented from immediately following due to the arrival of the Flood-infested Ket-pattern battlecruiser|battlecruiser ''Indulgence of Conviction''. Ultimately, the Flood Outbreak on Earth|outbreak would be contained due to the arrival of a portion of the Sangheili Fleet of Retribution, who ended up glassing the city of Voi to prevent the parasite's spread. After a short meeting between UNSC and Sangheili leaders on board the ''Shadow of Intent'', the battle group of Fleet of Retribution, along with a portion of the Seventh Fleet including the ''Dawn'', entered the portal in pursuit of Truth.
File:H3 - Retribution Victory vs Truths Fleet.png|thumb|300px|left|Despite outnumbering the Seventh Fleet and the Fleet of Retribution 3 to 1 while confronting them above the Ark, the Truth's fleet|Covenant armada was decimated thanks to Sangheili's superior naval warfare knowledge. Upon their arrival at Installation 00, the allied fleet, only composed of several dozens of ships, was immediately attacked by the Prophet of Truth's far larger fleet. Truth himself didn't partake in the battle, instead making his way to a Installation 00 Citadel|facility near the Ark's Foundry#Installation 00|core that would allow him to activate the Halo Array with the help of a Reclaimer|"Reclaimer". Despite their overwhelming 3-to-1 numerical superiority, Fleetmaster Rtas 'Vadum confidently engaged the massive Covenant fleet with the help of the Commander Miranda Keyes, the Sangheili's superior knowledge of naval warfare tipping the battle in their favor. As the two fleets battled above the Ark, a Battle for the Cartographer (Installation 00)|mission to locate the Prophet of Truth was launched: Six D77H-TCI Pelican|Pelicans containing UNSC Marine Corps|Marines and Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODSTs was launched by the ''Forward Unto Dawn'' towards the surface of the installation. Five of these would survive and deploy troops into the vast desert near one of the Ark's Cartographer#Installation 00|Cartographer buildings. A force of ODSTs led by John-117 managed to clear a landing zone allowing the ''Dawn'' to deploy armor for the ground forces. Now mobilized, the UNSC advanced on the Cartographer, destroying a battalion-sized force of Covenant protecting the building, including a Deutoros-pattern Scarab|Scarab, before the Master Chief, Thel 'Vadam, 343 Guilty Spark and a team of Marines moved inside. Meanwhile, the Fleet of Retribution succeeded in completely destroying the Prophet of Truth's fleet save for at least Foebane|one escaping heavy cruiser, with the ''Shadow of Intent'' now descending on the Ark to support UNSC ground forces on their way to the Cartographer. Fighting their way through the facility, John-117 accessed the Cartographer, ascertaining the Prophet of Truth's location and revealing that he had triggered a barrier around the Foundry to prevent a direct assault. Ultimately, the Chief left the Cartographer on board ''Kilo 023'' after defeating Jiralhanae Jiralhanae Chieftain|Chieftain Cethegus and his pack.
Battle
File:Trident11.jpg|300px|thumb|left|UNSC and Sangheili dropships spearhead their assault on the barrier towers in order to disable the citadel's energy barrier and allow the Shadow of Intent|Sangheili flagship to orbitally bombard the facility. Having secured the Cartographer and learned of the Prophet of Truth's location, the UNSC and Sangheili prepared to assault the communications array where Truth had taken refuge for the final battle. As the Citadel was protected by an energy barrier, they would need to assault several heavily-defended barrier towers in order to deactivate a small section to allow the ''Shadow of Intent'' to target the Citadel. Many Hornets were sent to engage the Banshees surrounding the area before the main force's arrival. The main force composed of five Pelicans and two Phantoms containing the assault force split into three groups. A pair of Pelicans carrying the first group, consisting of John-117 and a team of ODSTs made for the first tower, which was further inland than the others. The two Phantoms containing Thel 'Vadam and his Sangheili approached the second tower and the final three Pelicans ferried Avery Johnson|Sergeant Johnson and a large squad of UNSC Marine Corps|Marines to the third tower. As ''Kilo 023'' and her wingman approached the first tower, they came under bombardment from an Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|Anti-Aircraft Wraith. Kilo 023's wingman was struck in her right wing by a Fuel rod cannon|fuel rod and slammed into ''Kilo 023'', crushing the M831 Troop Transport Warthog|Warthog slung beneath the Pelican before plummeting to the ground. Kilo 023 managed to make it through the bombardment and landed further up the beach, depositing John-117 and his team of ODSTs. Meanwhile, high above, a massive battle erupted between AV-14 Hornet|Hornet VTOLs and Type-26 Banshee|Banshees. The Chief and his team were immediately attacked by a large force of Unggoy led by a Jiralhanae Captain while a pair of Rizsheda-pattern Shade|Shade turrets opened fire from further down the beach. The Spartan and ODSTs managed to clear out the Covenant infantry and John, armed with a M6 Spartan Laser|Spartan Laser, destroyed the two Shades. They fought their way up the small hill that the Anti-Aircraft Wraith was situated on, eliminating a Jiralhanae War Chieftain|War Chieftain and his Jiralhanae Bodyguard|bodyguards before destroying the Wraith. With the beachhead secure, Miranda Keyes|Commander Keyes approached in her Pelican, depositing several Marines as well as a M12 Chaingun Warthog|Warthog and M274 Mongoose|Mongoose for the team while ''Shadow of Intent'' began a diversionary bombardment of the citadel, launching plasma torpedoes at the energy shield.
The team proceeded towards the first tower, destroying several Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|Ghosts as well as a pair of Banshees that attempted to strafe them. A small Covenant position with another Shade soon fell to the UNSC assault and they proceeded up the hill towards the first tower. The team was forced to contend with heavy Covenant defenses in front of the tower's entrance, including a Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraith, multiple Ghosts, Shade turrets, a pair of Qavardu Workshop Prowler|Prowlers and a large group on infantry within the tower entrance itself. Once the Covenant forces outside the tower were whittled down, Miranda Keyes' Pelican returned, depositing several Ordnance pod|resupply canisters for the UNSC ground forces. After re-arming, John and the ODSTs proceeded into the tower. After clearing both floors of Covenant troops, the Spartan proceeded onto the elevator leading to the tower controls alone while the ODSTs held the lower level. Arriving on the upper level as a Jiralhanae Chieftain finished his sermon to his pack, John managed to fight his way through the Jiralhanae and deactivated the tower. At the same time, Thel 'Vadam and his forces were successful in neutralizing the second tower however Sergeant Johnson and his team had come under heavy attack from Covenant reinforcements and were becoming overwhelmed. Keyes told him she would make her way to him but he warned her off due to the heavy Covenant presence before getting cut off. Ultimately, Johnson's entire team would be killed at the third tower save for the sergeant himself, who was Prisoner of war|captured by the Covenant and taken to the citadel.
John made his way back to the lower level of the tower, assisting his team as they repelled a small group of Unggoy and Kig-Yar futilely attempting to reactivate the tower. They made their way back outside to their vehicles, and proceeded back to the beach.
File:Banshee cov.jpg|250px|thumb|left|A massive air battle took place over the Citadel with the remaining Covenant air force engaging the UNSC-Sangheili air force. At the beach, John took control of a AV-14 Hornet|Hornet in order to clear the airspace between his location and the third tower to allow several Pelicans and Sangheili Phantoms to land safely. John immediately proceeded forward towards the second tower, where the two Sangheili Phantoms were under heavy fire from a swarm of Banshees while a Covenant Phantom deployed an Anti-Aircraft Wraith on a nearby island. As the Chief along with several other Hornets engaged the Covenant forces, the separatist Phantoms engaged their Active camouflage|cloaking systems and escaped. After clearing the airspace of the second tower, the strike force continued to the third tower, which was heavily guarded by more Banshees, two Anti-Aircraft Wraiths, a regular Wraith, Shades and a massive pack of Jiralhanae led by a War Chieftain. After a lengthy engagement, the UNSC VTOLs successfully destroyed all of the Covenant aircraft and anti-air, allowing the Phantoms to arrive and deploy Thel 'Vadam and his soldiers to assault the tower from the ground. Between the Hornets and the Sangheili ground troops, the Covenant around the third tower were wiped out. John-117 then landed his Hornet at the tower and formed up with 'Vadam.
As the Spartan and Sangheili pressed inward, wiping out several Jiralhanae stragglers, the Pelicans moved in to land armor and reinforcements outside the tower. In the lower level of the tower, a swarm of Yanme'e and a Mgalekgolo pair emerged to stop the assault but the group managed to bring down the gestalts and deplete the Drone's numbers, forcing the survivors to flee up the elevator shaft. Proceeding to the upper level of the tower, John and the Sangheili fought through another pack of Jiralhanae as well as the surviving Yanme'e. The Master Chief took the elevator to the upper level, meeting a Pek-pattern plasma cannon|plasma cannon-wielding War Chieftain and a group of Jiralhanae Stalkers. Eventually besting the cloaked Brutes and their commander, John deactivated the tower. With all three barrier towers deactivated, the shield dissipated allowing the ''Shadow of Intent'' to approach the citadel. As Rtas 'Vadum prepared to level the facility, the Covenant holy city High Charity, now heavily infested by the Flood, exited Slipstream space|slipspace over the installation. As the former Covenant capital plummeted towards the surface of the Ark, it showered debris and Flood matter across the installation. A large chunk of this debris impacted the ''Shadow of Intent'', crippling the assault carrier and forcing it to veer off course. Another chunk flew through the window of the third tower's upper level, delivering Flood forms into the tower. John was forced to fight his way through the parasitic creatures back to the elevator while Thel and his men were attacked by more Flood below. After reuniting with the team of Sangheili, the group made their way outside where they assisted the newly-landed UNSC reinforcements in wiping out the Flood threat. 343 Guilty Spark expressed his desire to observe the crash site of High Charity, to which Thel agreed to but refused to get any closer than the top of the nearby hills. As the two departed in a Phantom, the UNSC-Sangheili task force, now supported by heavy armor and Scorpion Tanks, began a direct offensive on the citadel.
File:H3 CitadelBattle.jpg|thumb|300px|Mobilizing all remaining ground and air assets they got while suffering heavy losses during previous battles across the Ark, the Covenant made their desperate final stand against the UNSC outside the citadel with a Scarab pair. As the group advanced through the nearby cave towards the citadel, lush greenery gave way to snow and ice as the group came upon a small group of Covenant commanded by a War Chieftain. After easily destroying the threat, the unit moved on, eventually emerging onto the outer rim of the massive basin that the citadel was situated in. In the airspace above the citadel, UNSC Hornets and Banshees continued to engage in heavy combat. Here, the UNSC and Sangheili were forced to deal with heavy Covenant opposition including Ghosts, Prowlers, Shade turrets and several deployable lookout towers with Pez'tk-pattern fuel rod gun|fuel rod gun-armed Jiralhanae. After neutralizing a final Wraith and lookout tower, Marcus Stacker|Sergeant Stacker informed John-117 that several Hornets were inbound. The Spartan piloted one of the VTOLs just as a pair of Covenant s deployed in front of the citadel as a last-ditch attempt to halt their progress. A massive battle erupted as M12G1 Gauss Warthog|Gauss Warthogs clashed with Ghosts and Prowlers around the basin while Hornets and Pelican dropships traded fire with a unit of Banshees and the Scarabs targeted both ground and aerial UNSC forces. Eventually John-117 managed to neutralize one of the Scarabs. The destruction of one of the walkers prompted Commander Keyes to order all of her forces to focus their fire on the second Scarab. With all of the UNSC's firepower on it, it didn't take long for the second Scarab to buckle. With the loss of the two Scarabs, the Covenant lost their hold on the valley and the stragglers were mopped up in short order. With the basin now clear, Thel and 343 Guilty Spark arrived, landing on the ramp leading to the citadel's entrance. John left his vehicle and regrouped with the two. Spark activated an light bridge that allowed direct access to the citadel. With little time to waste, John, Thel and a team of Sangheili made their way into the interior of the citadel.
}}
As the group made their way through the citadel's foyer towards the elevator that would take them to the upper level, John was confronted by Character interludes|a vision of Cortana indicating her ongoing torture by the Gravemind. Truth then sent out a message to his remaining forces: he was about to activate the Halo Array. As the group neared the elevator, Commander Keyes asked the Spartan how close he was to Truth, to which John replied that they weren't close enough to stop the Prophet in time. Meanwhile, Sergeant Johnson, who had been captured by the Covenant during the battle, was being tortured by a Jiralhanae chieftain. Johnson attempted to goad the Brute into killing him in order to deny the Prophet of a way to activate the installation but Truth knew what he was doing and ordered the chieftain to stop. As Johnson taunted the Prophet's inability to activate the Ark himself, Truth confessed that he needed the human's help. Before he could continue, Keyes flew her Pelican through the window of the room and onto the platform, crushing one of the Jiralhanae bodyguards. As the Covenant soldiers picked themselves up off the floor, Keyes emerged with a M90 shotgun|shotgun and promptly shot one of the Brutes, ordering Johnson to reveal himself. The battered sergeant told her to leave him and escape, which she refused to do, shooting an approaching Jiralhanae but only causing its Energy shielding#Personal shielding|energy shields to flare. Truth remarked that she wouldn't be able to kill all of them even as she pointed her shotgun and a M6G magnum|magnum at the Brutes around her. Keyes reluctantly conceded his point, aiming her sidearm at Johnson. Knowing it was the only way to deny the Prophet a means to activate the Ark, Johnson told her to shoot him. As she hesitated, the Prophet of Truth took the opportunity to shoot her in the back with a Paegaas Workshop Spiker|Spiker. Commander Keyes was killed instantly, her body falling to the ground even as Johnson attempted to run to her aid before being restrained by a Jiralhanae bodyguard. Dropping the Spiker, Truth told Johnson that the Forerunners had left humanity behind because they were weak, whereas gods needed to be strong. He then took Johnson's hand and forced it onto the control panel, beginning the activation sequence of the Halo Array; Johnson, struck with grief and shock, didn't resist. As the Prophet raised his arms in victory, the elevator carrying John and his team made it to the upper level. Before they could advance, a pair of Flood tank forms dropped in front of them. Instead of attacking, the Gravemind spoke to the pair, proposing a truce to stop their common foe, as only the Master Chief could stop the activation sequence. Reluctant, but with no other choice, the group and their unlikely allies began an assault on the final bastion of Covenant soldiers guarding the Prophet of Truth.
File:TruthDeath-large.jpg|thumb|300px|After all remaining Covenant forces were eliminated, Thel 'Vadam has sought his revenge and killed the Prophet of Truth, ending both the Covenant empire and the Human-Covenant War. A large group of Unggoy and Kig-Yar lead by a Jiralhanae Captain guarded the first bridge making their last stand for the Covenant Empire. The two Flood tank forms lumbered into the midst of the gathered Covenant forces, crushing the smaller soldiers with their massive arms as swarms of Pod infectors swarmed ahead. The Master Chief and Arbiter 'Vadam followed closely behind their newfound Flood allies. In the face of this determined assault, the Covenant resistance on the first bridge soon crumbled and the allies proceeded through a small room where a holographic projection of Truth cursed the Flood as a final act of treachery by the Sangheili. On the second bridge, a large pack of Jiralhanae containing a unit of Jiralhanae Jumper|Jumpers fought to stop the team and their Flood allies. It was a losing battle for the Covenant, as every Jiralhanae slain resulted in a new Flood combat form. Even the chieftain and a group of fuel rod gun-wielding Unggoy Heavy|Heavies failed to stop the determined assault. The Flood pressed relentlessly ahead, slaughtering the final group of Covenant defenders on the third bridge before the Human and Sangheili even arrived. A final projection of Truth defiantly claimed that even the Flood would not stop the Covenant from commencing the "Great Journey". Finally reaching the light bridge to the control platform, John and Thel proceeded across, passing several Flood corpses. As Johnson closed Miranda Keyes' eyes, he told the Chief to stop the activation sequence. Meanwhile, Thel approached the downed High Prophet of Truth, who had become partially infected by the Flood. He seized the Prophet by the neck even as the frail San'Shyuum claimed that the Sangheili had never truly believed in the promise of the Great Journey. Thel activated his Type-1 energy sword|energy sword as the Prophet begun to cough up Flood Flood spore|spores and sprout tentacles. The Arbiter angrily stated that he would have his revenge on Truth before he was consumed by the Flood. As the Gravemind taunted Truth, telling him that he would only serve as food for the Flood, Thel held the Prophet up so he could see the Master Chief deactivate the Halo Array. With his life's work destroyed, Truth gave one final defiant declaration, announcing himself as the voice of the Covenant before being fatally stabbed by Thel 'Vadam. The final Hierarch of the Covenant was dead, and what remained of the empire would Covenant remnants|crumble away soon after. As Thel gave a victorious roar and deactivate his sword, John gave him a nod of acknowledgement. The two watched as Johnson carried the lifeless corpse of Miranda Keyes into her Pelican.
File:HighCharityView.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The Master Chief and Arbiter discover the Installation 08|replacement for the Battle of Installation 04|destroyed Installation 04, which was Cortana's solution against the Flood and would led the end of the fight. As the Master Chief and Arbiter Thel 'Vadam watched Sergeant Johnson enter the Pelican, the Gravemind's tentacles suddenly erupted around the platform without warning, the Flood's central consciousness' rumbling laughter filling the chamber. Johnson quickly took control of the Pelican and took off, attempting to airlift the Spartan and Sangheili out through the broken window but the dropship was stuck by one of Gravemind's tentacles, knocking the two back onto the platform and sending the Pelican spiraling out of control. The two took up a defensive position, going back to back as the Gravemind taunted them, Thel grimly stating that they had traded one villain for another. Suddenly, the Gravemind retracted his tentacles and several combat forms climbed onto the platform to confront them.
As the two fought their way back across the bridges, now swarming with Flood forms, Johnson radioed the Spartan, telling him that he wouldn't be able to return to extract them and to make his way back to the elevator they had used to access the top level of the citadel. On the second bridge, a flock of Aggressor Sentinel|Sentinels arrived to help the duo combat the Flood. As he passed through the small room to the first bridge, another hallucination of Cortana appeared, subtly hinting that she still possessed the Activation index for Installation 04. The pair fought their way through a myriad of Flood until they reached the elevator. Realizing that it's controls were non-funtional, they opted to use a chute in the back of the room. The Spartan dropped down first, and he immediately spotted a ghostly image of Cortana moving down a nearby hallway. Perplexed, the Chief followed, with Thel in tow. The image led them to a control panel which John activated, retracting a view screen and revealing the incomplete Installation 08|replacement for the destroyed Installation 04 rising out of the Ark's Foundry (location)|Foundry. Hearing 343 Guilty Spark approaching, John questioned the monitor on how long he had known about it, to which he replied that he had only learned of it at that moment. John declared his intent to activate the incomplete ring at the Ark to stop the local Flood infestation, of which Spark happily agreed with. Knowing that Cortana had the Index for the original Installation 04, and she was located in the ruined husk of High Charity, John resolved to venture into the Flood Flood hive|hive to retrieve her.
Aftermath
File:FUD Escaping The Ark.jpg|thumb|300px|The ''Forward Unto Dawn'' escaping from Installation 08 as the unfinished ring activates. John-117 would successfully infiltrate the crashed High Charity, fighting his way through hordes of Flood until he found Cortana, who had been tortured by the Gravemind for the last thirty-eight days. Despite the torment inflicted on her, Cortana managed to hide her possession of Installation 04's Activation Index from the Gravemind. The Spartan managed to retrieve Cortana and destroy High Charity's reactors, narrowly escaping with the aid of Thel 'Vadam as the former Covenant holy city was destroyed. While Rtas 'Vadum coordinated the withdrawal of UNSC and Sangheili forces from the Ark, the Master Chief and Arbiter took a damaged Pelican from High Charity to Installation 08's Control Room#Installation 08|control room while Sergeant Johnson landed the near the facility. Crash landing a short distance from the control room, John and Thel were forced to contend with waves of Flood arriving via Flood dispersal pod|dispersal pods, the Gravemind having managed to survive High Charity's destruction and attempting to rebuild itself on the installation. Fighting their way up the ramps to the top of the control room and aided by Sergeant Johnson from a nearby cliff, the group repelled waves of Flood until 343 Guilty Spark could open the doors. Inside the control center, Johnson intended to fire the unstable installation immediately. Fearing that this would destroy both the Ark as well as the newly-constructed Installation 08, 343 Guilty Spark snapped, fatally wounding Johnson with his energy beam. John was forced to battle the monitor, destroying him with several shots from Johnson's M6 Spartan Laser|Spartan Laser. While the Sergeant succumbed to his wounds, John, with the aid of Cortana managed to activate the installation. John and Thel raced to escape as Installation 08 begun to shake itself apart. Fighting through waves of Flood and hostile Aggressor Sentinel|Sentinel constructs, the two made it to Johnson's M12 Chaingun Warthog|Warthog. The sped their way towards the parked ''Forward Unto Dawn'' as the structure of the ring collapsed around them. Narrowly making it onto the frigate, the Arbiter raced for the bridge, taking the ship into Slipstream space|slipspace as the ring activated. Unfortunately, the ''Dawn'' was sheared in half, the forward half containing the Arbiter made it back to Earth while the rear half with the Master Chief and Cortana falling out of slipspace in an unknown location. With no other options, John entered cryo-sleep, telling Cortana to wake him if she needed him. John would not return to UNSC-controlled space until 2557#July|July, 2557.
With the death of the Prophet of Truth, the Covenant finally shattered. A Treaty of 2552|peace treaty between the Unified Earth Government and Thel 'Vadam's Swords of Sanghelios was ratified in 2553#February|February, 2553 and the Human-Covenant War was officially declared over on March 5. A ceremony presided over by Terrence Hood|Admiral Hood was held on March 5, where a Voi Memorial|monument was erected near Mount Kilimanjaro to mark the end of the war and to honor the sacrifices of everybody who gave their lives in it. Thel 'Vadam attended the ceremony, personally meeting with Lord Hood after his speech. The Admiral, while unable to forgive Thel for the actions he had committed against humanity during the war, thanked him for standing by the Master Chief at the end and expressing his sadness over the Spartan's presumed death. The Arbiter than departed for Sanghelios on board the ''Shadow of Intent''.
Despite the dissolution of the Covenant, numerous newly formed Covenant remnants would emerge over the coming months and years, many of them still hostile to humanity. The most notable of these factions would be the Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|group formed by Jul 'Mdama, who would continue to engage in hostilities with humanity and the Swords of Sanghelios until their Battle of Sunaion|defeat in 2558#October|October 27, 2558 Despite the Sangheili suffering from Blooding Years|internal conflict, they would continue to wage Sangheili-Jiralhanae war|war against the Jiralhanae until at least 2559, when the Sangheili began to gain the upper hand in the conflict as the Jiralhanae began to turn on each other. The Jiralhanae homeworld, Doisac, would be later Razing of Oth Sonin|destroyed by Cortana using her Guardian Custode|Guardians during the Created Created conflict|reign, scattering the Jiralhanae survivors.
The citadel itself would remain intact, only suffering light charring and damage from the firing of Installation 08. The debris from UNSC and Covenant vehicles, including the two Scarab platforms was still present at least 2555|two years later. In March 2555, Installation 00's monitor, 000 Tragic Solitude, seeking revenge on humanity for their role in damaging the Ark, used a Bobby Kodiak|captured human to activate the Halo Array in order to eradicate all life in the galaxy. This countdown was discovered by Luther Mann|Doctor Luther Mann and Henry Lamb on Installation 07. In response, a joint UNSC-Swords of Sanghelios task force was Operation: FAR STORM|sent to the installation to stop the activation. After battling several Morolaath|native Chaefka|creatures under the control of Solitude and searching for the missing Olympia Vale, the task force regrouped at the ramp leading to the citadel's entrance. As they pondered a way to activate the now non-functional light bridge, the bridge suddenly activated by itself. After proceeding to the control panel, Doctor Mann deactivated the installation, moments before the group were attacked by two dozen Forerunner armigers. The group would ultimately survive the ambush and go on to complete their mission, rescuing Olympia Vale while 000 Tragic Solitude was destroyed by the cyborg Bobby Kodiak, who was killed in the process. With the threat of the Halo Array's activation once again neutralized, the UNSC-Sangheili task force departed from the Ark.
Participants
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="3" |UNSC Navy
|Master Chief Petty Officer
|John-117
|Survived
| |Commander
|Miranda Keyes
|KIA
| |Lieutenant
|Hocus
|Unknown
| | rowspan="3" |UNSC Marine Corps
|Sergeant Major
|Avery Johnson
|Survived
| | rowspan="2" |Gunnery Sergeant
|Marcus Stacker
|Survived
| |Reynolds
|Survived
| |}
Ground forces UNSC Navy UNSC Marine Corps
*E2-BAG/1/7
*S4/BLCE/1/7
*Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
**105th Shock Troops Division|105th Shock Division
***7th Shock Troops Battalion
**11th Marine Force Reconnaissance/ODST|11th MFR/ODST
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Name
! Status
| |Cortana
|Survived
|}
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" |Fleet of Retribution
|
|''Shadow of Intent''
|Survived
| |}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="4" |Unknown
|Fleetmaster
|Rtas 'Vadum
|Survived
| |Arbiter
|Thel 'Vadam
|Survived
| | rowspan="2" |Special Operations Sangheili|Special Operations
|Usze 'Taham
|Survived
| |N'tho 'Sraom
|Survived
|}
Ground forces Special Warfare Group|Fleet of Retribution Special Warfare Group Naval forces Fleet of Retribution
*''Shadow of Intent''s battle group
Non-combatants
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| |High Council
|Hierarchs|Hierach
|Prophet of Truth
|KIA
|}
Gallery
File:HLC The Great Journey.png|John-117 and Arbiter Thel 'Vadam on the Ark. File:H3 Ark Warthog Concept.jpg|Warthogs on the Ark. File:Hog in the canyon.jpg|John-117 and his team race through the canyon to get to the first barrier tower. File:Barrier Covenant Battle.jpg|The Phantoms carrying the Sangheili forces outside the second barrier tower. File:ArbiterRoar-large.jpg|Arbiter Thel 'Vadam roars in victory after stabbing the Prophet of Truth. File:H3 Installation08 Reveal Concept.jpg|John-117 and Thel 'Vadam observing the new Halo replacement after the battle's closure. File:H3 TheCovenant CitadelDogfight.png|The aerial engagement above the citadel. File:John 117 Master Chief Petty Officer.jpg|The Master Chief and two ODSTs engaging Covenant forces in a Warthog on approach to the first tower. File:Truth and Johnson.png|Truth forcing Johnson to activate Installation 00.
List of appearances
''Halo 3''
''Halo: Evolutions''
*''The Return''
''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''
''Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo''
Notes
Sources
Category:UNSC victories |
|date=2530|December 24, 2530
|place=Groombridge 1830 system
|result=Decisive UNSC victoryHalo: Reach, ''Dr. Halsey's personal journal''
Covenant forces twice repelled
|side1=United Nations Space Command
|side2=Covenant
|commanders1=Preston Cole
|commanders2=Unknown
|forces1=*Seventeen warships
*Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''Adjunct'': "ONI Directorate Memorandum Interrogation Findings" (2010)
UNSC Marine CorpsHalo Legendary Crate, ''Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #2''
|forces2=Three warships
|casual1=Eleven destroyers
|casual2=All warships
|civilian=
}}
}}
The Battle of the Great Bear, designated as GB-5546, was an engagement between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant during the Human-Covenant War, taking place on 2530|December 24, 2530. The battle ended in a decisive victory for the UNSC fleet, which was commanded by Admiral Preston Cole. The battle also resulted in the capture and interrogation of a Sangheili Subject 386|prisoner, expanding the UNSC's knowledge on the Covenant.
The battle
}}
On 2530|December 24, 2530, a total of three Covenant warships, including a , engaged forces of the United Nations Space Command led by Admiral Preston Cole in the Groombridge 1830 system. Cole's fleet, consisting of seventeen ships, battled the invading Covenant warships, destroying the enemy force but losing eleven destroyers in the process. Two of the Covenant ships were destroyed directly in combat, while the assault carrier attempted to flee to the surface of the nearby Groombridge-1830, a human Human colonies|colony. However, the assault carrier was disabled by pursuing UNSC forces, and the ship crash-landed on the planet's surface.
During the battle, the Covenant deployed two waves of forces to assault Groombridge. However, both forces were defeated and repelled from the system by Cole's fleet, earning the UNSC a rare decisive victory at a high cost. Personnel of the UNSC Marine Corps also participated in the engagement, including Edward Buck, who demonstrated exemplary service during the battle.
Aftermath
}}
Following the assault carrier's crash landing on Groombridge, two heavily armed tactical strike teams recovered a Sangheili Subject 386|survivor within an enclosed compartment which survived landfall at Waterford, Lemuria (province)|Lemuria that day at approximately 1805 hours Military Standard Time|MST. The following day, the Sangheili was interrogated by Cole and First Lieutenant Richard Barclay. Through this interrogation, the UNSC learned that the Covenant were wiping out humanity because they had been deemed "unclean." More importantly, Cole discovered that the Covenant were largely unaware of the size and whereabouts of human space, leading to the formulation of the Cole Protocol.Halo: Evolutions, "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''page 470''
The Battle of the Great Bear was not only one of the few battles in which the UNSC won a decisive victory against the Covenant, but one of the few engagements of the Human-Covenant War in which the UNSC successfully repelled two Covenant onslaughts on the same world. The UNSC would not earn such a victory again until the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV in 2552#July|July 2552.
Gallery
File:HGenesis-ColesInterrogationAtGreatBear.png|Admiral Cole interrogates the Sangheili prisoner.
List of appearances
''Halo: The Fall of Reach''
*''Halo: The Fall of Reach#2010 bonus content|Adjunct''
''Halo Wars: Genesis''
''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''
*''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole''
''Halo: Reach''
*''Dr. Halsey's personal journal''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Great Bear Category:UNSC victories|Great Bear |
The Battle of the greater Ark was the penultimate battle in the Forerunner-Flood war, fought around the greater Ark.Halo: Silentium, ''String 30''
Background The greater Ark, the original Ark installation and the primary facility of the Conservation Measure, had become the last line of defense for the Forerunner ecumene after the Forerunners were forced to abandon the galaxy itself in the face of the unstoppable Flood onslaught. However, the placement of all Forerunner governing functions, strategic command and the majority of their population as well as military forces also made it an attractive target for the Flood, which could, through a concentrated assault, deliver a crippling blow to their enemy. There was one other motivator: Omega Halo, the last of the original twelve Halo Array|Halos (except for the modified Installation 07), was stationed along with the greater Ark and was a threat serious enough to warrant trapping the entire region of space in a "bubble" of star roads.
The battle An enormous Flood-controlled fleet coordinated by the Graveminds and the traitorous Forerunner AI Mendicant Bias, supported by numerous Precursor star roads, attacked the Greater Ark and the nearby Omega Halo. Despite the Forerunners' efforts at defending the Greater Ark with their remaining military assets, under the command of the Metarch-class ancilla|metarch-class ancilla Offensive Bias, their forces were quickly overwhelmed not only by the Flood's vast numerical superiority but also the power of the star roads. Although Omega Halo was fired, decimating a small portion of the star roads as well as purging the Magellanic Clouds|satellite galaxy of Path Kethona of sentient life, the star roads soon destroyed both the Halo and the greater Ark.
With the loss of the greater Ark and Omega Halo's defensive systems, there was little hope for the remaining Forerunner forces under the command of Offensive Bias. While Offensive Bias put up a desperate running fight, it was hopelessly outnumbered and outclassed thanks to the near-indestructible nature of the star roads. Still, its capability was demonstrated by its managing to extricate several thousand warships from what should have been an inescapable trap.Halo: Silentium, ''page 315''Halo 3, ''Terminal (Halo 3)|Terminal 6''
Aftermath The battle marked a catastrophic defeat for the Forerunners, who lost the vast majority of their remaining population, leadership, and military strength. Additionally, a large portion of the Lifeworkers' biological samples of the galaxy's species stored on the greater Ark and Omega Halo were lost; in addition to the destruction wrought by the star roads, the Ur-Didact used a Composer to harvest Omega Halo's sizable transplanted human population, severely complicating the Librarian's plans for mankind and the galaxy on the whole.Halo: Silentium, ''String 31'' The Librarian and her aide, 343 Guilty Spark|Monitor Chakas, managed to salvage a few of the specimens; Chakas also saved a handful of Forerunners, including the IsoDidact from Omega Halo, aboard a . Using coordinates provided by the Master Builder, Faber - killed during Omega Halo's destruction - the few survivors traveled to Installation 00, the lesser Ark, its location still secret from the Flood, for the moment. The IsoDidact, the last legal commander of the Forerunner race, accepted that a true victory was now impossible. As such, the final Halo Array would be distributed across the galaxy by Offensive Bias and fired by the IsoDidact, killing most of the Flood and starving those that survived, ending the war.Halo: Silentium, ''String 36''
The Battle of the greater Ark also seemed to have another effect: when Mendicant Bias Battle of the Maginot Sphere|attacked the portal leading to the lesser Ark, it did not use star roads or any Precursor artifacts. Whether due to arrogance, disdain, overwhelming rage, or a simple desire for a "personal" kill, this omission would enable Mendicant's defeat by the "inferior metarch", Offensive Bias.
List of appearances
''Halo 4''
*''Terminal (Halo 4)|Terminals''
''Halo: Silentium''
''Halo Mythos''
Sources
Category:Battles|Greater Ark |
United Nations Space Command|UNSC
|side2 = * Banished
|commanders1 = *Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
|commanders2 = *War Chief Escharum
|forces1 = *1 SPARTAN-II program|Spartan-II
*John-117
Several rescued UNSC Marines
1 M808 Scorpion
|forces2 =*Jiralhanae Sangheili Kig-Yar Unggoy Mgalekgolo Riuctda Workshop Ghosts Eklon'Dal Workshop Wraiths
|casual1 = *Light
*Several Marines
|casual2 = *Heavy
*Jega 'Rdomnai
*Escharum
}}
}}
The Battle of the House of Reckoning is an engagement in the Battle for Zeta Halo involving the John-117|Master Chief storming the Banished stronghold known as the House of Reckoning (location)|House of Reckoning to rescue Fernando Esparza. It resulted in the death of War Chief Escharum who was the leader of the Banished at the time.
Background Following the revelation of the John-117|Master Chief's survival, the Banished War Chief Escharum was invigorated and he ordered Blademaster Jega 'Rdomnai to follow the legendary SPARTAN-II program|Spartan. After the Master Chief destroyed three Kywasky Workshop Gorespike cannon|Banished anti-aircraft cannons, the terminally ill Escharum ordered 'Rdomnai to bring the Spartan to him.
When the Master Chief and the Weapon succeeded in deactivating the Reformation Spires and stopping the Reformation, 'Rdomnai revealed himself where he had been hiding in ''Echo 216'' and successfully hijacked the Pelican, taking its pilot Fernando Esparza prisoner. Using a teleportation grid|portal, the Master Chief and the Weapon gave chase. 'Rdomnai brought Esparza before Escharum at the House of Reckoning (location)|House of Reckoning, knowing that the kidnapping of his friend would draw the Master Chief directly to them. Pleased, Escharum ordered 'Rdomnai to torture Esparza, but not to kill him.
As the Master Chief and the Weapon attempted to find their way through the Repository (location)|Repository to the Banished base, the AI uncovered a message left behind by Escharum where he taunted the Spartan with a recording of Esparza being tortured and claimed that the Master Chief's humanity, such as his compassion for Esparza, made him weak in comparison to the Banished. Escharum promised that he awaited their final fight and the Weapon discovered that the Banished War Chief had embedded his coordinates in the message so as to make it easier for his foe.
Battle
Emerging on the surface, the Weapon discovered that the Banished base was actually the House of Reckoning (location)|House of Reckoning, the location where Chak 'Lok had shipped his victims to. Nearby, John-117|the Master Chief discovered a small Banished outpost where he killed the forces guarding it and freed some imprisoned Marines.
Taking an M808 Scorpion tank parked at the outpost and aided by the rescued Marines, the Master Chief fought his way down the road towards the House of Reckoning through heavy Banished resistance including Sangheili, Kig-Yar, Unggoy, Jiralhanae, a Mgalekgolo pair, Riuctda Workshop Ghost|Ghosts and Eklon'Dal Workshop Wraith|Wraiths. Blocked by a gate, the Master Chief climbed over it, killed a Sangheili Warlord, opened the gate and continued on. Finally, the Spartan arrived at the House of Reckoning where he encountered no resistance outside. Instead, the gate opened for him on its own and after the Master Chief extended and crossed the bridge, he found the door to the Banished stronghold unlocked.
Entering an arena where Escharum had forced many UNSC prisoners to fight to the death, the Spartan was taunted by the old Jiralhanae who sent multiple waves of Unggoy, Kig-Yar, Sangheili and Jiralhanae to attack him ''en masse''. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Master Chief was able to slay the Banished forces with scavenged UNSC weapons and proceed to the next level of the House of Reckoning.
On the second level, the Master Chief was taunted by another holographic message from Escharum and entered yet another arena where he faced more waves of Banished troops. This time, the troops included a Mgalekgolo|Hunter pair, but the Spartan succeeded in eliminating them and ascending to the third level where Escharum taunted him about the Battle over Installation 07|defeat of the .
On the third level, the Master Chief was drawn by voices into the single structure in the middle of the arena. Upon the Master Chief's discovery that it was Esparza's holorecorder, he was trapped by security barriers and attacked by a cloaked Jega 'Rdomnai. Aided by SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan Hudson Griffin's Threat Sensor, the Master Chief managed to defeat the sadistic Blademaster and continue on. As he headed for the fourth and final level of the House of Reckoning, Escharum warned that the Banished came prepared for Battle for Zeta Halo|war and a thousand legions controlled Zeta Halo and that no matter the outcome of their battle, the Master Chief's interference would be just a fleeting irritation.
File:HINF HopeDiminished.jpg|250px|thumb|Escharum duels the Master Chief On the fourth level, the Master Chief and the Weapon discovered Fernando Esparza imprisoned in a torture device similar to the one that Chak 'Lok had used at the Tower. The Master Chief deployed the Weapon to free Esparza who warned the Spartan that it was a trap. Escharum dropped down in full battle armor to fight the Spartan personally while the Weapon continued to work on freeing Esparza. Escharum proclaimed that their battle would become legend, told by those that survived the Master Chief.
Shortly after the battle began, Escharum surrounded himself with an energy shield that the Spartan was unable to penetrate, causing Esparza pain instead. The Weapon warned the Spartan that the shield was connected to the torture machine and that any damage that he inflicted upon Escharum would be transferred to Esparza. Discovering that the power was transmitted by a series of relays around the room, the Weapon managed to expose one, allowing the Master Chief to destroy it. Escharum's shield dropped, giving the Spartan the chance to attack, but the other relays quickly restored the shield. With the help of the Weapon, the Master Chief managed to destroy all of the relays and Escharum's shield while preventing Esparza from taking any more damage from their battle. Enraged, Escharum discarded his Grenflekt Workshop Scrap Cannon in favor of his gravity axe ''Diminisher of Hope'' and attacked the Master Chief head on. Using the weapons available in the room, the Master Chief finally managed to defeat Escharum.
With Escharum down, the Master Chief and the Weapon succeeded in freeing Esparza from the torture machine. Mortally wounded but not dead yet, Escharum staggered over and demanded that the Spartan continue their battle. However, the Master Chief refused and caught and held the dying Escharum who promised that his death would inspire a thousand others and requested that the Spartan tell them that he had died well. Escharum then died of his wounds in the Master Chief's arms, surprising Esparza with the respect that the Spartan had given to the War Chief as he died since Escharum was a monster. The Master Chief recognized that in the end, Escharum was just a soldier, hoping he'd done the right thing and questioning his choices. While Esparza believed that it was over with the death of the Banished's leader, the Master Chief warned him that it was not that simple and that there would be consequences as there always were.
Aftermath With Esparza rescued, the three recovered ''Echo 216'' and made their way to the Silent Auditorium (location)|Silent Auditorium in order to stop the Harbinger from unleashing the Xalanyn|Endless.
List of appearances
''Halo Infinite''
Sources
Category:UNSC victories |
The Battle of the Maginot Sphere was the final naval engagement during the Forerunner-Flood war. Following the revival of Mendicant Bias by the Flood Graveminds, the Flood were gathered together and ceased feeding and expanding. The sole direction of Flood efforts was dedicated to piercing the Maginot Line and reaching the Installation 00|lesser Ark in order to stop the IsoDidact from firing the Halo Array and thus shattering the Forerunners' last hope of defense. To delay Mendicant Bias long enough to allow the Halos to fire, the IsoDidact deployed the AI's replacement, Offensive Bias, to meet the latter AI at the Line.Halo 3, ''Terminal (Halo 3)|Terminal 6''
It should be noted that there were several battles fought at the Maginot Sphere;Halo: Silentium, ''page 212'' this particular instance refers to the last one, and the only one for which intact records survive. This final battle took place shortly after the annihilation of most surviving Forerunners at the Battle of the greater Ark.
Prelude
The battle was preceded by the Logic plague|subversion and rampancy of the Forerunner artificial intelligence Mendicant Bias, who, after a protracted intelligent conversation with the Primordial, had decided that the Flood were the next step of evolution for galactic life, and that the Forerunners were corrupt for resisting this inevitable evolution. For refusing to be supplanted by their biologically superior adversary, Mendicant declared its allegiance with the Flood and defamed the Forerunners, not only lending its tactical intelligence to the Flood by directing their fleets, but also gave the thousands of Forerunner-crewed vessels under its command to the Flood. However, its intelligence was tinged with madness, a blind fury for the Forerunners and for their obstinate tendencies, making its actions predictable and violent, and thus easily countered by the Forerunner's last great AI: Offensive Bias, designed along the same lines as Mendicant, seemingly possessing less free will and creativity,Halo 3, ''Terminal (Halo 3)|Terminal 7'' but being exponentially more lethal.
Shortly after Mendicant Bias assumed command over the Flood forces, he began ordering termination of the Flood's feeding and exponential growth, and instead, Flood forces were marshaled to penetrate the Maginot Sphere, the Forerunner final line of defense for their inner colonies. If the Maginot Sphere was penetrated, the Forerunners would be doomed, thus making this attack an influential battle that would decide the course of the war. Whereas previously captured Forerunner superluminal ships were sequestered and unused in the Flood war effort, Mendicant Bias now recalled all of them to attack the Maginot Sphere, and the gathered Flood attack fleet was over 4.8 million vessels, although the majority were non-military, and an extremely small number were capital-scale warships. The fleet was led by Mendicant's core battlegroup of 1,000 Forerunner warships.
The last Forerunner bastion was located at the greater Ark and Omega Halo. Despite having possibly the greatest remaining concentration of Forerunner might, Mendicant Bias, by utilizing Flood-controlled Precursor star roads and its millions of vessels, was able to overwhelm and annihilate the last major refuge of the Forerunners. Despite its numerical superiority, Mendicant was unable to prevent the escape of a small number of warships, but most dangerously failed to capture or kill either the IsoDidact or Offensive Bias.
Recognizing that it was no longer possible to win a conventional victory, the IsoDidact ordered the Halo Array to be primed and fired. However, Mendicant Bias had located the portal that led to the Installation 00|lesser Ark. Fortunately, Offensive Bias arrived with what little it had managed to salvage from the fall of the greater Ark.Halo: Silentium, ''page 315''
The IsoDidact was able to marshal the Suppression Fleet|Suppression, Security Fleet|Security, and Emergency Circumstance Fleet|Emergency Circumstance fleets and placed them under the command of Offensive Bias. As the IsoDidact and Offensive Bias primed the Array, the Flood began to arrive. Mendicant Bias immediately sent a coded message to Offensive Bias stating that it would give no quarter and would destroy the Ark. Mendicant then offered Offensive a chance to join it and survive; Offensive informed the IsoDidact that it had rejected the offer.Halo: Silentium, ''String 36'' Once the Ark was armed, Offensive Bias moved its fleet to the Maginot Line to block and delay Mendicant Bias, who was approaching the portal to the Ark: with a total of over eleven thousand vessels at Offensive Bias' disposal, the Flood outnumbered the Forerunners 436.6:1. However, Mendicant Bias's forces did not include the near-indestructible star roads or any other Precursor artifacts which had allowed the Flood to dominate the Forerunners in earlier engagements.
Battle
The point where Mendicant Bias and its fleet breached the Maginot Sphere was predicted by Offensive Bias beforehand, allowing the latter to more efficiently prepare for and counter the incursion. Two hours after the Flood fleet appeared Mendicant Bias made the first move, devoting over a quarter of his vessels over 1.7 million small and lightweight leisure craft to storm the Forerunner fleets, not to attack them with weapons, but rather, to overwhelm them, providing too many targets for too few weapons, and boarding Forerunner ships to infect and capture them. Remarkably, the Forerunner vessels were able to evade boarding for three and a half hours. It was only after this period that larger commercial vessels and smaller military craft were launched by the Flood, and the first Forerunner ship was boarded, although it suicidally rammed an incoming Flood ship, releasing over thirty thousand Flood warriors, killing them as the Forerunner crew perished. For four hours, the Flood attack waves intensified, culminating in a final wave of container and transport vessels and warships, most far heavier than a dreadnought. Despite the fact that Offensive Bias could have easily countered the earlier moves, it chose to let its ships act as bait, a seemingly incompetent decision; it was intentionally fighting "just well enough to seem lucky", playing into Mendicant's contempt for the Forerunners and Offensive Bias alike. Regardless, it was becoming clear that Offensive would soon run out of options, regardless of its opponent's ability.
However, the entire battle up to this point had been a feint Offensive Bias had merely been playing for time and destroying Mendicant's core vessels and allowing its ships to be captured to be utilized later. As the battle intensified, the Halo Array fired, instantaneously killing all Forerunner and Flood in its area of effect and leaving the majority of the ships lifeless and drifting. The odds were suddenly inverted: whereas the Flood had outnumbered the Forerunners by millions, it was now Offensive Bias that had more vessels than Mendicant, a result of it having had full control over its fleet. In addition, with the crews dead, Offensive Bias no longer needed to concern itself with their safety and promptly exploited that fact.
It could now accelerate the vessels under its control well beyond velocities safe for biological beings, or open uncontrolled Slipstream space|slipspace ruptures across the battlefield, distorting the very fabric of reality around them. Captured Forerunner vessels began to self-destruct or opened uncontrolled slipspace rifts that damaged many former Flood vessels. The sheer number of drifting derelict ships began to hinder Mendicant's core fleet they began to collide into the ruptured fuel cells of the drifting vessels, destroying fifty-two of Mendicant's warships in only a few seconds when it attempted to use them as cover.
The final portion of the battle was fought in the upper atmosphere of an unspecified world.Halo 3, ''Terminal 7'' (''"But the one that destroyed me long ago, in the upper atmosphere of a world far distant from here..."'') Over the next few minutes, over five hundred more of Mendicant's warships were destroyed by collision, the uncontrolled Slipspace rifts, weapons used at point-blank or even contact range, and so on. The unorthodox, unprecedented tactics worked brilliantly within ninety seconds, the Forerunner ships controlled by Offensive Bias outnumbered Mendicant's surviving fleet six-to-one.
Conclusion and aftermath Three minutes later, the eight-hour battle was over. Most of the remaining Flood ships had been reduced to debris, and only one of Mendicant's former Forerunner warships that was part of his original thousand-strong core fleet remained. Offensive Bias retrieved Mendicant Bias's personality construct array and sent it to Installation 00 for research. On the Ark, the IsoDidact placed Mendicant Bias on trial for its betrayal and subsequently sentenced the AI to indefinite stasis, its processes locked in a state of penitence.Rebirth
However, Forerunner Dreadnought|a Keyship with a remaining active fragment of Mendicant Bias eventually made its way to the San'Shyuum Janjur Qom|homeworld and used both in battle during the Sangheili-San'Shyuum war and later as a power source for their world ship and holy city ''High Charity''. When the Keyship arrived at the Ark 100,000 years later, Mendicant's primary incarnation on the Ark was able to use the missing shard within to reconstruct and reactivate itself, subsequently seeking atonement by helping John-117.
Trivia
"Maginot Line" is the translated name for the Forerunner defensive boundary known in their language as the "Jat-Krula"; a result of the automated translator's usage of terminology familiar to the reader to provide context.Halo: Silentium, ''pages 104-105'' The wikipedia:Maginot Line|Maginot Line was a French defense, which ran along the Franco-German border to defend against the invading Nazis during World War II. Ultimately, it failed due to being rounded by the German invasion through Belgium and the Netherlands, while a decoy force sat opposite the Line in Germany, deceiving the French into believing that the Germans would attack across that border.
List of appearances
''Halo 3''
*''Terminal (Halo 3)|Terminals''
''Halo: Silentium''
''Halo Mythos''
Notes
Sources
Category:Battles|Maginot Sphere |
2560#February|February 2, 2560
|place= wreckage, Installation 07
|result= Decisive Banished victory wreckage claimed by the Banished and turned into Outpost Tremonius (location)|Outpost Tremonius
*Effective end of any major UNSC resistance in the local region
*Scattering of the UNSC survivors
|side1 = * United Nations Space Command|UNSC
|side2 = * Banished
|commanders1 = *Commander Etana Hensler SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan Bertold Vettel
|commanders2 = *Jiralhanae Chieftain Tremonius Jiralhanae Captain Arthoc
|forces1 =
UNSC Army UNSC Marine Corps
*Orbital Drop Shock Troopers At least 18 SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan-IVs
*Bertold Vettel
*Nina Kovan
*Vedrana Makovich
*Theodore Sorel
*Bonita Stone
''Infinity'' support staff At least 2 M9 Wolverines Warthogs M808C Scorpion|Scorpions
|forces2 =*Jiralhanae Sangheili Kig-Yar Unggoy Mgalekgolo Bolroci Workshop Chopper|Choppers Riuctda Workshop Ghost|Ghosts Eklon'Dal Workshop Wraith|Wraiths
|casual1 = *Heavy
|casual2 = *Moderate
}}
The battle of the ''Mortal Reverie'' was an assault by Banished forces on the UNSC base located in the wreckage of the during the Battle for Zeta Halo. Background
On 2559#December|December 12, 2559, the traveled to Installation 07 in order to deploy the Weapon and stop Cortana. However, the ''Infinity'' and her fleet were Battle over Installation 07|ambushed by Banished forces, resulting in the apparent destruction of the supercarrier, forcing the survivors to evacuate to Zeta Halo's surface. On December 15, SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan Vedrana Makovich discovered the wreckage of the and determined it to be a viable location for the UNSC's base of operations. Commander Etana Hensler, with Spartan Hudson Griffin of Fireteam Taurus, became the ''ad hoc'' leaders of the UNSC forces gathered at the ''Mortal Reverie''. Numerous survivors from the ''Infinity'' gathered at the crash site, including naval personnel, army troopers, marines, ODSTs, and Spartans; however, the remaining half of the survivors held no prior combat experience, being Unified Earth Government personnel, scientists, retail specialists, and support staff. Lieutenant TJ Murphy was put in charge of provide military training to supply staff and nonmilitary personnel.
On January 23, 2560, Spartan Griffin led Spartans Panago, Henri Malik|Malik, and Sarkar on an assassination mission on Escharum. Griffin left Bertold Vettel in charge of the Spartans at ''Reverie''. However, Escharum anticipated Griffin's actions. His forces ambushed the Spartan team, killing the other three and leaving Griffin badly wounded. Escharum taunted Griffin, letting him know that he'd sent most of his forces to assault the ''Reverie''. Griffin managed to send an encrypted message to warn the ''Reverie'' before Escharum captured and handed him over to Chak 'Lok for torture. Under the combined leadership of Vettel and the Commander Hensler, the UNSC forces at the ''Reverie'' braced for the Banished's attack.
On January 31, Jiralhanae Chieftain Tremonius and Jiralhanae Captain|Captain Arthoc gathered a massive Banished assault force at Riven Gate (location)|Riven Gate. Spartan Stone and Boulder Squad conducted a recon sweep at Riven Gate. Stone reported her findings to ''Mortal Reverie'', and warned the ''Reverie'' that the Banished would arrive by nightfall. The UNSC survivors at the ''Mortal Reverie'' prepared for the Banished assault. That evening, Spartans Makovich and Vettel acknowledged that they may lose the upcoming battle and discussed their dwindling options for the future.
Two barricades were established in the pass towards the ''Reverie'', with additional fortifications set up at key positions around the exterior of the ship, where there were ammo and resupply runners at the ready. All support staff teams were station with an experienced squad. The secondary barricadethe one closer towards the ''Reverie''consisted of two mixed units of marines, army troopers, ODSTs, and six Spartans, including Spartans Makovich and Theodore Sorel. Two M9 Wolverines were stationed in front of the barricade. The primary barricade was composed of a similar force, albeit including a larger Spartan presence with three Spartan teams of four. A minefield was deployed beyond the primary barricade. Additional units, including Spartans, a handful of Warthogs, and Scorpions occupied the ridgelines along the pass. Gunners manned what was remained of the ship's Rampart point defense gun#M870 Rampart|Rampart point defense guns to provide air support. The UNSC was aware that the survivors at the ''Mortal Reverie'' were ill-prepared, but the crash site served as a solid foothold for the survivors, and the alternativerunning away from the ''Reverie'' and surviving in small groups in the wildernesswas not a viable option.
Battle On the evening of January 31, a large Banished force led by Chieftain Tremonius, composed of ground and air forces, commenced its assault on the wreckage of the ''Reverie''. Although the minefield deterred the Banished front line, a group of Bolroci Workshop Chopper|Choppers quickly breached one edge of primary barricade while a unit of Unggoy and Kig-Yar charged down the ridgeline towards the vehicles. The artillery guns on the ''Reverie'' proved to be key to the battle, protecting the UNSC ground forces from the Banished air units.
By February 2, the Banished had breached the primary barricade, bringing the frontline to the secondary barricade; Banished infantry and armor were pouring into the valley by the hundreds. The secondary barricade was bombarded by a barrage of plasma mortars while Banished Sangheili and Choppers charged at the barricade. However, after a day and a half of fighting, the starboard side of the ''Reverie''the side facing the pass and the Banished forcesexploded after sustaining heavy damage. With the artillery guns disabled, the Banished aircraft quickly overwhelmed the UNSC ground forces; survivors were cut down, run over by Choppers and Wraiths, or herded off the edge of the cliff by forcesome leaping by choice.
Spartan Vettel was reluctant to abandon the ''Reverie'', knowing that if they lost the ''Reverie'', they lost everything that they had left. However, completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of Banished forces, Spartans Nina Kovan and Vedrana Makovich convinced Vettel that they had no other choice; and Vettel ordered the surviving UNSC personnel to abandon the ''Reverie'', leaving it to the Banished.
Aftermath
Pursued by small Banished parties, UNSC survivors scattered and fled into mountains or the surrounded area. Escharum ordered Banished troops to capture human survivors and collect dead Spartans from the battlefieldmaking it impossible for escapees to scavenge gear from their dead comrades. Prisoner of war|Prisoners of war were taken to the Redoubt of Sundering for processing, and some were then taken to the Tower for interrogation or torture.
Following the battle, the crash site surrounding the ship was converted into Outpost Tremonius (location)|a Banished outpost. As a reward for Tremonius' victory, Escharum had the outpost named after Tremonius, who would be promoted to the rank of Jiralhanae Warlord|Warlord. The loss of the ''Reverie'', followed by the last of the Forward Operating Bases on the fragmented section of the ring on March 3, saw the end of all major UNSC resistance on the fragmented section of Zeta Halo.
On 2560#May|May 28, John-117 was rescued by ''Echo 216'' from the debris field around the installation. While retrieving the Weapon from the ring's foundations, the Master Chief killed Tremonius, then retook Outpost Tremonius for the UNSC for the first time since the fall of the ''Mortal Reverie''.
List of appearances
''Halo Infinite''
''Halo: The Rubicon Protocol''
''Trial of Reckoning''
Sources
Category:Banished victories |
|commanders1 =
Boru'a'Neem Tem'Bhetek
|commanders2 =
Rtas 'Vadum
|forces1 =
1 Prototype Halo installation
*Yanme'e infantry
*2 San'Shyuum
|forces2 =
1
*''Shadow of Intent''
Sangheili infantry
1 Unggoy
|casual1 = *All forces
|casual2 = *Tem'Bhetek
}}
The Battle of the Prototype Halo installation was a battle between the forces of the Swords of Sanghelios and Tem'Bhetek's faction at a Prototype Halo installation in a hidden sector of the galaxy. Prelude During the Fall of High Charity, the Ministry of Preparation|Minister of Preparation, Boru'a'Neem, convinced Prelate Tem'Bhetek that his family was lost and got him to abandon the city without trying to save them. The Prelate subsequently blamed their deaths on Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum who had part of ''High Charity'' glassed in a failed effort to contain the Flood. However, unknown to the Prelate, Vadum had only glassed the city after it was clear that it had fallen to the Flood and had first tried saving any San'Shyuum he could without success. As a result, Preparation had lied to the Prelate to get him to abandon the city and his family had most likely been alive at the time.
Enraged by 'Vadum's apparent culpability in the death of his family, the Prelate formed Tem'Bhetek's faction|a faction led by himself and Preparation and made up of Yanme'e and Jiralhanae to get revenge, using the Prototype Halo installation located in a hidden sector of the galaxy as his base against the Sangheili. Unknown to the Prelate, Preparation had his own plans, intending to use the ''Shadow of Intent's'' reactors to power the installation to wipe out Sanghelios and all life in its star system. To this end, the Prelate Attack on Rahnelo|attacked Rahnelo and captured the kaidon and his two sons to test the installation with.
The Prelate later Ambush at Duraan|ambushed the ''Shadow of Intent'' with his ''Spear of Light'' above Duraan with the intent of capturing the carrier and exacting revenge on 'Vadum. However, the Prelate was wounded and captured while his Jiralhanae forces were wiped out. From the captured ''Spear of Light's'' navigational database, 'Vadum and his crew were able to track the Prelate's base back to the installation in the hidden sector though he refused to tell them what was there. 'Vadum revealed the truth about what happened when High Charity fell, planting doubt into the Prelate's mind about Preparation's truthfulness. Before making a slipspace jump to the hidden sector, 'Vadum had most of his crew disembark to Duraan so as not to risk their lives.
Battle Recognizing the danger of entering the hidden sector blind, Rtas 'Vadum chose to have the ''Shadow of Intent'' emerge from slipspace far outside the volumes of the ''Spear of Light's'' arrivals and departures. Rather than approach in the carrier, which had mostly non-functioning weapons due to its Ambush at Duraan|earlier battle, 'Vadum had the ship piloted by its computational matrix while he and his skeleton crew watched from two Phantoms. When ''Shadow of Intent'' entered the range of the Prototype Halo installation, Boru'a'Neem fired it at the empty ship. As the crew was not aboard, they survived, but enough of the energy wave struck the Phantoms that their minds were scrambled and the crew was left incapacitated, including Vul 'Soran. Taking advantage of that, Tem'Bhetek managed to escape his bonds, disable 'Vadum's Phantom and escape towards the installation. With the majority of crew too incapacitated to help, 'Vadum decided to go after the Prelate with only Tul 'Juran accompanying him. 'Vadum ordered that if his signal went dark, Stolt was to command the carrier to destroy the installation.
After escaping the Sangheili, the Prelate contacted Tem'Bhetek's faction|his faction and warned that it had been a trick, demanding that the ring be prepared to fire again. Having managed to avoid the worst of the firing's effects, the Prelate chose not to spend time explaining what had happened to Preparation and demanded that the ring be prepared to fire again once he had reached the safety of the control bunker, but Preparation warned that it would be fired again when he chose and whether or not the Prelate had reached safety or not. Having seen 'Vadum's genuine remorse for what had happened to the Prelate's family and recognizing that most of Preparation's descriptions had been about the loss of his Sacred Promissory, the Prelate's suspicions and doubts continued to grow.
When the Prelate reached the test chamber, he discovered Preparation with at least two dozen Yanme'e armed with Type-25 plasma pistol|plasma pistols and Gadulo-pattern needle rifle|needle rifles. Preparation claimed that the weapons were in case the Prelate didn't come alone and drew his anti-gravity chair|throne back with its energy shield engaged when the Prelate tried to approach. Preparation warned that the ring was unstable and would not survive another firing. As such, Preparation refused to fire it again until it had reached its final target: Sanghelios. the Prelate realized that Preparation intended to use ''Shadow of Intent's'' reactors to charge the ring which Preparation confirmed, stating that they need only increase the power by twenty percent to be able to wipe out all life in the Sangheili home system and set the species back for ages to come. Preparation recognized that the Prelate was not as committed as he once was as their motion trackers showed the approach of 'Vadum and Tul. the Prelate demanded to know the truth about his family's death and realized that 'Vadum had been right from Preparation's response. Preparation explained that he had needed the Prelate's blind rage to see his plan through and exact revenge for the loss of his Sacred Promissory.
With the Prelate having turned against him, Preparation warned that there were many others who had escaped the Fall of High Charity who, full of rage or hungry for glory, would gladly take the Prelate's place. Preparation had the Yanme'e fire at the Prelate, but 'Vadum and Tul finally arrived as they opened fire. Tul threw her energy lance and knocked Preparation's shield off-line which allowed 'Vadum to hit him between the base of his neck and right shoulder with two shots from a Mosa-pattern carbine|carbine, mortally wounding Preparation who fled into the lift to the control bunker and sealed the door behind him. However, the Prelate was hit with a wall of Yanme'e fire which collapsed his own shields and mortally wounded him.
The two Sangheili quickly turned their attention to the Yanme'e, attacking them with 'Vadum's carbine and a dropped plasma pistol respectively. Running out of ammunition, 'Vadum covered Tul while she retrieved her lance and acknowledged the danger to his species from the Halo ring if he lost, having overheard the discussion between the Prelate and Preparation about Preparation's plan. As the two attempted to reach the bunker's door controls, Preparation powered up the ring to destroy his enemies in a final act of revenge with not even the Yanme'e able to open the door. However, the Prelate, now knowing who had truly betrayed him, retrieved a satchel of s from a Yanme'e corpse and wrapped it in his anti-gravity belt. Recognizing what the Prelate was doing, 'Vadum quickly fled the installation with Tul while the Prelate dropped the activated satchel of grenades down the shaft to the installation's power systems. The detonation destroyed the entire installation before the ring could fire again, forever eliminating its threat. The Prelate, Preparation and the Yanme'e forces were all killed in the explosion as well.
Aftermath After returning to Duraan, most of the ''Shadow of Intent's'' crew either recovered on the planet's surface from their injuries or enjoyed the hospitality of the grateful residents. Rtas 'Vadum contacted Thel 'Vadam to report on the mission, stating that after the explosion, the crew had scanned every fragment of the debris field, but found nothing left of the Prototype Halo installation to recover. Though the crew had been left in bad shape from the ring's firing, they were all recovering well. Thel also agreed to revoke old naval regulations that prevented females from joining so that Tul 'Juran could join the ''Shadow of Intent''. Having discovered clues pointing to a sizable flotilla of surviving San'Shyuum in the ''Spear of Light's'' navigational database, 'Vadum chose to seek it out to find those who deserved punishment as war criminals while separating out those who did not despite Thel's suggestion that he could retire and enjoy peace.
List of appearances
''Halo: Shadow of Intent''
Sources
Category:Swords of Sanghelios victories |
UNSC Marine Corps
*105th Shock Troops Division
**7th Shock Troops Battalion
|forces3 = *Aggressor Sentinels Sentinel Majors Enforcers
|forces4 = *Flood combat form|Combat forms Pod infector|Infection forms Flood carrier form|Carrier forms
|casual1 = *Many Jiralhanae Many Sangheili Many Unggoy Many Kig-yar
|casual2 =
40 Orbital Drop Shock Trooper|ODSTs killed or infectedHalo: Warfleet, ''pg. 37''
150(+) UNSC Marine Corps|Marines killed or infectedHalo: Warfleet, ''pg. 37''
250 UNSC Navy|Naval personnel killed or infectedHalo: Warfleet, ''pg. 37''
8(+) Marines captured Most ground assets captured Many D77-TC Pelicans captured UNSC ''In Amber Clad'' captured
|casual3 = *Many Sentinels Many Enforcers
1(+) Sentinel constructor factory
|casual4 = *Many combat forms Large number of infection forms Many carrier forms
}}
The Battle of the Quarantine Zone was a battle which took place on Installation 05 in 2552, as the Covenant Empire|Covenant and United Nations Space Command|UNSC fought through the Quarantine Zone in search of the Activation Index, known to the Covenant as the Sacred Icon. The battle encompassed an extended conflict between Flood and Forerunner Sentinels that stretched back nearly 100,000 years.
Background The establishment of the Quarantine Zone is rooted in ancient history - approximately 3,000 years after the Great Purification|activation of the Halo Array, the Flood under containment on Installation 05 were released. Under normal circumstances Sentinel guards would have been able to keep the parasite under control. Unfortunately, the Flood had access to Flood combat form|hosts, and were able to hold off the constructs.
At some point, Installation 05's Monitor 2401 Penitent Tangent was warned by Unidentified ancilla (Installation 05)|a Forerunner ancilla of a pending outbreak in one the installation's Flood Flood containment facility|containment facilities. The monitor continued to ignore this warning, and those that followed, for millennia. Within 2552|99,779 years, the containment facility had been overrun by the Flood, with lockdown protocols in effect within the Halo's teleportation grid to prevent further infestation.Halo 3, multiplayer map ''Cold Storage'' Cold Storage Reports|transmissions Eventually, the full force of the installation's Sentinels and Enforcers was mobilized, and a Quarantine Zone was established, surrounded by an enormous Sentinel Wall|wall projecting a powerful Containment Shield.Halo 2, campaign level, ''Sacred Icon''Halo 2, campaign level, ''Quarantine Zone''
The establishment of the Quarantine Zone was too late to prevent the formation of a Gravemind. Over the centuries, the Gravemind's reach spread throughout the installation,Halo 2, campaign level ''Regret (Halo 2 level)|Regret'' eventually capturing the monitor of the installation, 2401 Penitent Tangent, giving him access to the teleportation grid and causing the structures on the Installation to fall into disrepair.Halo 2, campaign level, ''Gravemind (level)|Gravemind''
In 2551, a small Covenant team found a Luminary on Meridian after a Battle of Meridian|battle on the moon.This Luminary was delivered to the Prophet of Regret, one of the three ruling Hierarchs of the Covenant. By late 2552, two Stewards assigned to decrypt the Luminary finally revealed its content to the Prophet of Regret: the locations of the Halo rings, including Installation 05. Hastily assembling a Fleet of Sacred Consecration|fleet of fifteen warships, the Prophet made his way toward the Earth|planet that housed the Portal at Voi|gateway portal to the Installation 00|Ark, unaware that the planet was in fact humanity's heavily defended homeworld.Halo 2: Anniversary - ''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminal "Beholden"'' After a failed Battle of Earth|invasion of Earth, Prophet of Regret|Regret fled to Installation 05 aboard his flagship ''Solemn Penance'', pursued by the .Halo 2, campaign level, ''Metropolis''
The Battle
File:H2A-In Amber Clad Quarantine Zone.png|thumb|left|300px|The holds position near Delta Halo's library.
Shortly after arriving in the Coelest system in pursuit of the ''Solemn Penance'', Commander Miranda Keyes of the demanded the AI Cortana provide her with all information from the Installation 04|installation her father had discovered a month prior.Halo 2, campaign level ''Delta Halo'' Keyes was able to locate Installation 05's Library, and set out to reach it and secure it's Activation Index before the Covenant could do so. Marine forces lead by Sergeant Major Avery Johnson were ordered to extract from their positions on the ring's surface and rendezvous with the ''In Amber Clad'' at the Library while SPARTAN-II program|Spartan John-117 proceeded on his mission to Assassination of the Prophet of Regret|assassinate the Prophet of Regret.
Upon arriving at the Sentinel Wall surrounding the Library and the Containment Shield it projected, the In Amber Clad searched for a way around the obstacle.Halo 2, campaign level, ''Regret (Halo 2 level)|Regret'' After failing to gain access to the Library, the frigate deployed a platoon-sized force of Marines to an entrance in the wall, led by Gunnery Sergeant Marcus Stacker and Staff Sergeant Banks. The Marines moved through the outer wall with ease, unmolested by local Sentinel defenses - possibly due to being recognized by the automated guardians as Reclaimers. As the Marines moved through the inner wall, the outer wall became besieged by Jiralhanae-led Covenant forces deployed from the recently arrived High Charity. Eventually, the Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee was able to deactivate the Containment Shield, and the inner wall quickly became overrun with Flood from the nearby quarantine zone. Spread throughout the wall in small fireteams and completely unaware of the nature of enemy they were facing, most of the platoon was quickly assimilated by the parasite, proceeding to take up arms against their former comrades. Additionally, the local Sentinel forces became hostile to the surviving Marines, likely due to the immediate presence of the Flood. With his forces decimated, but the Containment Shield now disabled, Stacker radioed ''In Amber Clad'' suggesting Keyes proceed straight to the Library while his troops attempted to hold their position. A short time later, Stacker made contact with Keyes once again, confirming their engagement with non-Covenant hostile lifeforms, while Banks could be heard organizing other Marine survivors as they staged a desperate defense.
The ''In Amber Clad'' swiftly took advantage of the lowered Containment Shield, entering the Quarantine Zone as battle raged between hostile Sentinel forces and the Flood. The Frigate took position above the east-most of three large structures in the center of the zone, each containing a gondola leading to the Library. Multiple M808 Scorpions and M12 Warthogs were deployed via D77-TC Pelican|dropship, and the UNSC forces secured the east and central gondolas, and established several defensive positions throughout the central Quarantine Zone. UNSC superiority would be short-lived, as the Flood's acquisition of vehicles brought by the In Amber Clad and arriving Covenant forces swung the battle in their favor. With the subsequent destruction of a Sentinel manufacturing facility reinforcing the Quarantine Zone, the Flood presence quickly became overwhelming. A sizable UNSC force made a final stand outside the western gondola structure, utilizing multiple stationary M247 machine gun turrets. Despite receiving reinforcements during the battle from a stray UNSC Pelican carrying a Scorpion, the position was overrun, the Pelican shot down and the Scorpion left abandoned. Meanwhile at the eastern structure, Commander Keyes lead Sergeant Johnson and a squad of Marines aboard the eastern Gondola. Moments later, Covenant Special Operations forces launched the western gondola, in close pursuit.
As Johnson and Keyes arrived at the Library, four Marines were killed by a horde of Flood combat forms. After securing the facility, Johnson left Corporal Perez (Marine)|Perez and McKenzie (Marine)|McKenzie to guard the exit while he escorted Keyes to retrieve the Index, however the Marines would be killed by a swarm of Pod infectors. Johnson and Keyes thus had no warning as a cloaked Thel 'Vadamee ambushed them, and arriving Jiralhanae forces led by the Chieftain Tartarus subsequently captured the index, taking the unconscious Johnson and Keyes as prisoners.
With the majority of the ship's Marine complement killed in action, the ''In Amber Clad'' was eventually overrun by the surging Flood presence, and it's entire crew presumably killed. A number of Marine survivors from the battle were captured by Covenant forces, including Sergeants Banks and Stacker.Halo 2, campaign level, ''The Great Journey (level)|The Great Journey''
File:H2A - Rtas rallying troops.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Rtas rallying his troops After numerous waves of Jiralhanae-led forces failed to breach the outer wall, Thel 'Vadamee, the Arbiter of the Covenant, was personally ordered by the Prophets to journey to the surface of the ring to retrieve the Sacred Icon. Dropped directly to the wall by a Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|Phantom transport, the Arbiter encountered a small number of surviving Unggoy and Kig-Yar from the earlier assault. After battling through numerous Forerunner constructs to reach the control center for the Containment Shield, the Arbiter deactivated the shield, proceeding to the inner wall. After his evac Phantom was driven off by a Sentinel Enforcer, 'Vadamee was forced to travel through the now-Flood infested inner-wall. He picked up multiple transmissions from the dwindling human forces that had made it through the wall first, observing two small fireteams of Marines being overwhelmed by Flood forms.
As the Arbiter moved through the Sentinel Wall, Covenant Special Operations forces were deployed to the Quarantine Zone, along with vehicular support, unfortunately exacerbating the Flood outbreak. The Flood's numbers swelled as they assimilated both humans from the and Covenant warriors. With these new hosts, the Flood gained access to more sophisticated equipment, weapons and combat vehicles, magnifying the danger the outbreak presented immeasurably. The Flood used numerous Wraith tanks to destroy one of the Forerunner Sentinel manufacturing facility|Sentinel manufacturing plants, bringing it crashing down on the surface and slowing the production of Sentinels and Enforcers, swinging the tide further in their favor.
The Arbiter exited the Sentinel Wall as Covenant drop pod|drop pods containing Special Operations Sangheili arrived in the quarantine zone. 'Vadamee moved to assist his brothers in repelling the local Flood forces in the valley. One of the Sangheili told 'Vadamee that they needed to rendezvous with their Special Operations Commander|commander, Rtas 'Vadumee who had landed deeper into the zone. The group made their way through the valley, fighting off numerous Flood forms before locating 'Vadumee who, along with other Elites, was defending a small Covenant camp, repelling the Flood until more vehicles could be delivered. With the assistance of Thel 'Vadamee, the group was able to secure the camp and use it as a staging area for their push towards the installation's Library. The group traversed the war-torn wastes of the quarantine zone, facing massive numbers of Flood forms controlling both UNSC and Covenant vehicles as well as surviving Forerunner constructs before reaching the gondola entrance points to the Library of Delta Halo. After noticing human forces had already departed, 'Vadumee boarded a gondola alongside a squad of Special Operations troops while Rtas 'Vadumee stayed behind to defend the Gondola station.
Human forces had gained access to the Library first, but only by a matter of minutes. The Arbiter exited the Gondala while his fellow Sangheili warriors stayed aboard to guard it, as it was the only entrance/exit. Upon exploring the interior of the Library, it was clear that the humans had faced stiff opposition, all but two of their forces had died combating the Flood and Sentinels already within its walls. Thel 'Vadamee found Commander Miranda Keyes and Avery Junior Johnson|Sergeant Johnson within the Index Chamber, having retrieved the Index seconds before his arrival. Sergeant Johnson was ready, armed with a BR55 Battle Rifle|Battle Rifle, along with Miranda Keyes who was reaching for the Index holding on to a large wire from a downed enforcer. Miranda secured the Index and drew two M7/Caseless Submachine Gun|SMGs. Johnson called for his Marines, but received no answer and armed his weapon. An active-camouflaged Arbiter ambushed the pair, incapacitating both in a matter of moments. The arrival of Tartarus and his hostile Jiralhanae forces within the Chamber, after making their way through the Sangheili forces guarding the Gondala, signified the beginning of the Great Schism. Tartarus briefly told the Arbiter how the Sangheili had been expelled from the Covenant under the orders of the High Prophet of Truth, and proceeded to attack the Arbiter, sending him plummeting to his doom deep within the Library, towards the Gravemind.
The battle itself was a decisive Covenant victory. They succeeded in obtaining the Index, captured the UNSC leadership as well as all surviving Marines, providing them with the Reclaimers required to activate the Installation. The Flood also won a tactical victory, securing an immense number of hosts, weapons and vehicles, escaping the Quarantine Zone, and capturing a slipspace-capable starship in the , which they would later use to begin their Fall of High Charity|infestation of High Charity.Halo 2, campaign level, ''High Charity (level)|High Charity'' UNSC forces failed to recover the Index, lost the ''In Amber Clad'' and it's crew to Flood, and suffered total casualties, aside from the small number of survivors captured by the Covenant from the Library and Sentinel Wall.
Gallery
File:H2A - Enforcer.jpg|An Enforcer Sentinel behind Thel 'Vadamee on the outer surface of the Sentinel wall. File:HTMCC-H2A CoviesVsSentinel.png|Surviving Covenant troops fighting Aggressor Sentinels inside the outer wall. File:HTMCC-H2A EnforcerOnGuard.png|An Enforcer Sentinel guarding the plug locks keeping the containment shield activated. File:HTMCC-H2A CoviesVsHumanFlood.png|Covenant troops under attack by Flood attacker forms. File:HTMCC-H2A MarinesVsFlood.png|Flood forms overwhelming UNSC Marines inside the Sentinel wall. File:HTMCC-H2A PatrollingFlood.png|Flood attacker forms deep within the Sentinel wall. File:HTMCC-H2A Sentinel Factory Explosion.jpg|A Sentinel manufacturing facility exploding above the quarantine zone. File:HTMCC-H2A SpecOpsVsFlood.png|Special Operations Sangheili defending the camp from the Flood. File:H2A ScorpionTB-SB-1InBattle.png|Flood-infested vehicles in combat with Sentinel forces. File:HTMCC-H2A WraithsShootingFacility.png|Flood-controlled Wraiths bombarding the destroyed Sentinel manufacturing facility. File:HTMCC-H2A SpecOpsEliteFiringCarbine.png|Special Operations Sangheili inside the destroyed Sentinel factory. File:HTMCC-H2A EliminatorSentinelsBurningFlood.png|Eliminator Sentinels targeting Flood forms. File:HTMCC-H2A RtasDeploying.png|Rtas 'Vadumee redeploying into the quarantine zone. File:HTMCC-H2A FloodGondolaStation.png|Flood forces defending the gondola station. File:H2A-Miranda.jpg|Miranda Keyes reaching for the activation index. File:H2A - Inevitable betrayal.jpg|Tartarus and his Jiralhanae betray Thel 'Vadamee.
List of appearances
''Halo 2''
''Halo: Broken Circle''
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
Sources
Category:Covenant victories|Quarantine Zone |
Gray Team
2 civilian freighters
*''Mighty Sparrow'' (captured late in battle)
*''Petya''
Rubble civilians
|forces2 =*Retribution's Thunder|One Covenant destroyer Infinite Spoils|One Kig-Yar ship
5 Sangheili Sangheili Zealot|Zealots
*Thel 'Vadamee
*Zhar
*Saal
*Veer
*Jora 'Konaree Unggoy
|forces3 = *Hundreds of small Kig-Yar raiders Jiralhanae Kig-Yar Unggoy Rubble Defense Force guards
|forces4 = *Insurrectionists Rubble Defense Force Insurrectionist sympathizers
*Badia Campbell
|casual1 = *Several ODSTs
*Major Faison Commander Zheng
|casual2 = *All crew on ''Retribution's Thunder'' save four zealots
*Jora is euthanizedHalo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 170''
|casual3 = *All Jiralhanae killed by Truth's orders. Many, if not all, hired Rubble Defense Force guards
|casual4 = *Diego Esquival Badia Campbell Unknown number of Rubble civilians and Rubble Defense force
}}
The Battle of the Rubble was an Battle|engagement fought between various factions of Covenant and human forces mainly for astrogation|navigational data that led to Earth and other human population centers, as well as a large asteroid called Exodus Project|Exodus. It took place at some point in 2535.Halo: The Cole Protocol
Prelude After Madrigal's glassing, a Kig-Yar ship entered the 23 Librae system and began scanning the Lagrangian point|Lagrangian asteroids trailing the gas giant Hesiod. However, some of the asteroids had become a settlement known as the Rubble for insurrectionists and Madrigal refugees. While the Rubble's inhabitants were deciding if they should attack or flee, smuggler Peter Bonifacio contacted the Kig-Yar ship and came into contact with Reth. Reth reported this to the Prophet of Truth.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 222''
While the Prophet of Regret was unable to find the Earth|human homeworld, the Prophet of Truth devised a plan to have the Kig-Yar merchants, lead by Reth, ally themselves with humans in order to find its location. Originally, they pretended to be allies with the insurgents and Asylum seeker|refugee citizens, and even made a trade agreement with the insurrectionists that they would hand them Covenant weapons in exchange for slipspace drives whilst waiting for the opportunity to capture navigational data that led to Earth. The Kig-Yar bided their time and waited for the right moment to strike.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 236''
The weapons the insurrectionists were handed were modified and sent to other rebels across human space. When Regret found some of the weapons on sale on ''High Charity'', not knowing that they were part of Truth's plan, he sent some of the Covenant's top soldiers to silence the "rebels".Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 146'' Meanwhile, the UNSC sent the stealth-equipped Stalwart-class light frigate|light frigate to investigate the source of the Covenant weapons. Earlier, the SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II Gray Team had been sent to the Rubble to eliminate all traces of navigational data with Earth's coordinates.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 137''
Battle When Gray Team arrived at the Rubble, they immediately set about to prepare for a prolonged stay. They managed to steal a freighter, the ''Petya'', and fitted it with a military-grade slipspace drive.
Meanwhile, Ignatio Delgado was assigned by the Rubble Security Council to protect a data chip that contained the coordinates to Earth. However, he and his copilot, Melko Hollister, were attacked by some Kig-Yar who wished to steal the data. Delgado managed to distract the Kig-Yar long enough for Hollister to escape and board their ship, ''Distancia''. Delgado however was wounded and was about to be killed when he was rescued by one of the Spartans of Gray Team, Adriana-111. She asked for the data in exchange for helping him. Delgado refused however.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 15'' She performed first-aid on Delgado and gave him an emergency contact beacon, telling him that if the data chip was attacked again, he should activate the beacon. Unfortunately for Delgado, Hollister had died while escaping with the data, putting the skirmish at a pyrrhic victory for the Rubble.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 17''
Meanwhile, the Rubble's AI Juliana noticed Gray Team's movements and disabled the ''Petya''. She gave them a compromise: she'll give them the location of any navigation data in the Rubble in exchange for helping her protect the Rubble from the Kig-Yar.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 87''
Later the Covenant Covenant destroyer|destroyer ''Retribution's Thunder'' and the Kig-Yar raider|raider ''A Psalm Every Day'' arrived in the 23 Librae system to search for the Kig-Yar "rebels". Two two vessels soon discovered the Rubble, but ''A Psalm Every Day'' attacked and disabled ''Retribution's Thunder'' so that they could claim sole credit for the discovery.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 161'' Thel 'Vadamee and his crew were taken captive and stored within one of the habitats. The ''Midsummer Night'' arrived shortly after while stalking the ''Kestrel (freighter)|Kestrel'' but was taken out with a mass driver round and missile fire from the Rubble Defense Force. Commander Dmitri Zheng was shot by rebel-sympathizer Lieutenant Badia Campbell but pushed himself to lock the arm codes for the Shiva-class nuclear missiles on board and fired them away to dispose of them.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 176'' As Zheng died, Keyes was forced to take command of the ship. Lieutenant Jacob Keyes surrendered the ship to save the crew, resulting in them being imprisoned on the Rubble as well.
Unbeknownst to the others, Reth and the Kig-Yar were intending to use the Rubble for breeding grounds. To take over the Rubble, Reth had created The Redoubt|a sanctuary on Metisette, a moon of Hesiod, for the Unggoy. He intended to have the Unggoy mass breed so he could have a personal army.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 197''
The Shiva missiles caused an EMP effect which shut down the lights and the anti-gravity generators inside the habitat where Thel 'Vadamee and the rest of his crew were imprisoned.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 188'' This allowed the Sangheili to proceed with an escape plan. Using an improvised spear made out of a broken leg of a cot and tied to several coils of sheets, they managed to spear the Unggoy guard and steal his . Saal used the rifle to destroy the lock and open the door, which allowed the Sangheili to escape. They managed to board a Kig-Yar shuttle and eventually take over a Kig-Yar troop carrier, which contained a large crew of Unggoy. The Sangheili then used the ship and information gathered from the Unggoy to launch a raid on Metisette and capture Reth.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 196'' After a lengthy interrogation and torture session, Reth revealed to the Sangheili that he is following orders sent from the Prophet of Truth. This confuses the Sangheili, especially Zhar (Sangheili)|Zhar, since they are following conflicting orders from the Prophet of Regret. Reth managed to escape while unattended and arrived back at Metisette. He decided to begin the invasion of the Rubble to show that he was loyal to the Covenant.
Meanwhile, Delgado was imprisoned by one of the Rubble Security Council members, Peter Bonifacio, on the charges of failing to protect the navigation data.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 120'' Fortunately, the Security Council pardoned him in exchange for giving back the data to them to move it to Habitat Exodus, an emergency evacuation habitat for the Rubble. Peter Bonifacio and Diego Esquival, another Council member and long time friend of Delgado, accompanied Delgado to his ship, the ''Distancia''. However, when Delgado handed the chip to Esquival, Bonifacio quickly held the two at gunpoint and demanded that Diego handed the data to him. Diego refused and was shot. Bonifacio took the data and retreated while Delgado returned fire from his own pistol. He grabbed Diego and re-entered the airlock.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 234'' However, Bonifacio shut down the airlock and disabled the communications. He quickly undocked and flew away, leaving Delgado and Diego to die. Delgado, knowing he had no other option, activated the emergency beacon Adriana gave him.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 238''
Bonifacio contacted Reth, who he was working with, and informed him of the capture of the navigation data. Reth immediately began the preparations of the invasion of the Rubble while Bonifacio continued on his own route. Meanwhile, Gray Team pinpointed Delgado's position and quickly rescued him. Although Delgado survived, Diego did not and was put into cryogenic suspension in the ship.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 239''
The Rubble's resident AI construct, Juliana, discovered the movement of the Kig-Yar vessels and prepared the proper forces to defend the Rubble from the Kig-Yar assault. She collaborated with Gray Team and had Jai-006 rescue Keyes and his imprisoned crewmates while Adriana-111 and Michael-120 disabled the ''Distancia'' to retrieve the navigation data from Bonifacio.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 243'' Although Adriana successfully entered the ship and dealt with the bodyguards, Bonifacio quickly fled in an escape pod. She interrogated a surviving guard and contacted Bonifacio, who gave her the location of the data in exchange for letting him free. Adriana reluctantly accepted his proposal and, with the navigation data, the two Spartans quickly moved out to help the others.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 260'' Meanwhile, Jai, Keyes, and Juliana decided to take over a Kig-Yar raider, ''Infinite Spoils'', in order to confirm the possibility of a Kig-Yar attack. The ''Mighty Sparrow'', filled with ODSTs, latched onto the ''Infinite Spoils'', allowing them to plug Juliana into the Kig-Yar battle network, while another group of ODSTs assaulted the airlock outside the ship. This allowed them to gain data on the upcoming invasion by Reth from Metisette.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 267''
During the infiltration, the Sangheili under Thel's command attacked the ''Mighty Sparrow'' which was docked with the Kig-Yar raider. Delgado and the remaining ODSTs, including Major Faison, quickly escaped and boarded the ''Infinite Spoils''. While Faison and Delgado navigated through the ship, Faison took fire from a surviving Kig-Yar. The shot hit a blood vessel, causing Faison to loss blood quickly. Delgado was forced to abandon him but called for backup to recover Faison. Aboard ''Infinite Spoils'', Zhar and Thel followed the same path as the humans took. Zhar ran into Faison and took fire before killing him with his plasma rifle. While Zhar became curious and remained shaken, they encountered Jai-006 and Thel engaged in hand to hand combat with him, declaring him a demon in the struggle. The Spartan took a look at Faison and retreated back into the habitat. Thel and Zhar decided to abstain from the battle and took the ship for themselves.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 275''
Meanwhile, ODSTs and Kig-Yar were fighting a hard battle in the Rubble. After some hesitation, Delgado handed Jai-006 the AI chip containing Juliana in order to depressurize the habitat and kill the Kig-Yar who were not in a sealed suit. The resulting loss of atmosphere killed off a majority of the front line Kig-Yar, allowing the ODSTs to kill the Kig-Yar sniper|snipers and push back to the ''Petya'' to begin preparations for the Kig-Yar naval assault.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 289''
Aftermath With the Kig-Yar ready to invade the Rubble, UNSC forces, AI Juliana, and Ignatio Delgado prepared to launch a counter-attack to destroy the Covenant forces first in the Battle of Metisette.
However, the Rubble Security Council was unwilling to fight against the Kig-Yar. Delgado decided to meet up with Maria Esquival, Diego Esquival's brother, in order to help convince the Council that the Covenant was their enemy and they needed to fight against them.Halo: The Cole Protocol, ''page 291''
List of appearances
''Halo: The Cole Protocol''
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Rubble Category:Insurrection|Rubble Category:UNSC victories|Rubble |
The Battle of the Sharquoi Hive was the final battle between UNSC Gray Team, elements of the Surakan Militia Volunteers, Rojka 'Kasaan and the Jiralhanae Chieftain Hekabe, Voice of Maardoth|his clan and the Sharquoi. Background In 2552, the Jiralhanae Chieftain Hekabe seized an opportunity during the Battle of Installation 00 to steal the ''vertex'' from Installation 00, a device that would allow him to control the beasts known as the Sharquoi. However, it took Hekabe six years to pinpoint the planet Carrow, located in one of the Joint Occupation Zones, as the location where the Sharquoi could be found.
In 2558, Sangheili Thars 'Sarov disagreed with his cousin Rojka 'Kasaan's desire to make peace with the humans of the UEG and particularly on Carrow. Thars ultimately turned this into Carrow Conflict|a full-scale civil war. To help win, Thars made a deal with Hekabe for his help, unaware that Hekabe's true intention was to unearth the Sharquoi hive, located near the human city of Suraka. With Hekabe's help, Thars decimated Rojka's fleet, but after he confronted Hekabe for going to the surface, Hekabe turned on him. The battle between the Jiralhanae and the Sangheili ships left all but Hekabe's flagship, the ''Foebane'', which he was using to excavate the Sharquoi hive destroyed while most of Thars' ships were destroyed. The majority of the ones that weren't were forced to land on Carrow for repairs, leaving only three badly damaged Covenant frigates in orbit.
In an attempt to protect her planet and her people, Governor Ellis Gass began preparing a counterattack which eventually came to be known as Operation: BUZZHAWK. Though all of her slipspace-capable vessels were destroyed at the beginning of the conflict, Ellis still had a dozen merchant ships armed with point-defense guns which were capable of destroying Thars' remaining ships in their damaged state. Combined with her ground assets, Ellis convinced her generals to launch the strike in an effort to end the conflict. However, while the militia succeeded in destroying ''Foebane'', they were too late to keep Hekabe from accessing the hive and taking control of the Sharquoi within.
Shortly after the victory over the cruiser, Hekabe and his forces attacked, but were temporarily driven back after Hekabe was wounded by Adriana-111. Hekabe's forces took over the surviving Surakan ships and assaulted Thars' ships, taking them over at the cost of the human vessels so that Hekabe would have slipspace-capable ships that could carry the Sharquoi off of Carrow. Working with Gray Team, Rojka brought down Thars and ultimately executed him, but Thars refused to listen and have his ships destroy their slipspace drives until it was too late.
Based off of the readings taken from Hekabe while he was using the ''vertex'', Ellis and her engineering team realized that Hekabe's control of the ''vertex'' and by extension the Sharquoi could be disrupted by an EMP. Ellis and her team managed to construct a crude EMP cannon out of an M68 Gauss cannon and Suraka's HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon. With Vice Governor Lamar Edwards using all of the militia's resources to evacuate the civilians, Ellis sought out the help of the Spartans to launch a direct attack on Hekabe in the hive. Rojka and UEG envoy Melody Azikiwe also volunteered to help and Ellis managed to convince Lamar to spare an M121 Jackrabbit to carry the EMP cannon as well as a squad of eight soldiers led by Corporal Wyse to aid them. Gray Team secured the cannon in place of the Jackrabbit's usual heavy gun and rigged a parachute to it in order to ensure that the vehicle would land safely.
Battle With the M121 Jackrabbit|Jackrabbit attached to one D77-TC Pelican|Pelican carrying Gray Team, Melody Azikiwe and Rojka 'Kasaan and a second Pelican carrying Corporal Wyse and her squad, the assault force flew low over the roads of Suraka towards the crater containing the Sharquoi hive, remaining high enough that the Sharquoi couldn't reach them, but low enough that they could get in before Hekabe's forces could formulate a response. As they flew through the streets, the Pelicans came under fire from Jiralhanae gun platforms that had been combing the streets, grazing the craft but failing to stop them. The Pelicans made it through the streets of Suraka and flew out over the crater and Jai-006, jumping in tandem with Governor Ellis Gass, Adriana-111 jumping in tandem with Melody Azikiwe and Rojka 'Kasaan took positions holding onto the Jackrabbit which Mike-120 was already in the cab of. As the Pelican flew over the opening into the hive, it flew straight up into the air and on Jai's mark, the Jackrabbit and its passengers were released. However, the Pelican was hit by anti-aircraft fire from Jiralhanae gunners around the crater's rim and had its tail blown off. The second Pelican pulled the same maneuver and successfully released the militia squad with the humans and one Sangheili proving to be too small of a target for the Jiralhanae gunners to hit.
Once everybody was away from the Pelicans, Jai, Adrianna and Rojka pushed away from the Jackrabbit and flew about it as the bike descended towards the splayed Forerunner petals and the shaft in the middle of it. As the assault force got closer, the Jiralhanae gunners intensified their fire on them and Hekabe began closing the entrance in a desperate attempt to keep them out. However, the attempt failed and the assault force made it through the closing opening and deployed their parachutes. Mike was able to land the Jackrabbit on one of the descending ramps situated around the edge of the shaft, bouncing horribly, but the vehicle survived the landing. Before safely landing themselves, Jai and Adriana cut Ellis and Melody free with Jai noting the lack of Sharquoi due to Hekabe not anticipating the stunt. Although the Surakan militia also managed to make it into the shaft, one landed hard and badly broke his leg. Not able to take the man with them, Wyse dosed him with painkillers and they dragged the man to a shadowed corner at the side of the shaft in order to give the soldier a chance at living.
After checking over the EMP cannon, Ellis determined that it hadn't been damaged in the landing while Rojka, standing upslope and looking out over a large cavern with ambient red light filtering upwards, called out a warning that he had spotted the Sharquoi. Gray Team and Ellis climbed onto the Jackrabbit and began making their way across the cavern towards a bridge accompanied by Rojka and the Surakans. After they left, Sharquoi arrived from the surface and the injured soldier, either unable or unwilling to remain hidden, fired on it with a battle rifle before detonating three explosives as a last stand. As the assault force made their way across the bridge, Mike warned everybody to watch out for synchronized behavior as, due to Hekabe's control over them, the Sharquoi fought as one, not individuals. Two Sharquoi bounded across the bridge directly towards them and Adriana leapt from the Jackrabbit and shot the creature twice in the head, causing it to stumble and fall to its hands and knees, but nevertheless try to drag itself towards them. Rojka attacked the other Sharquoi with his Type-1 energy sword|energy sword, slicing the creature's arms off and then kicking it into the back and into the lava when it tried to get its footing and fight him. Rojka then approached the half-dead Sharquoi and roared to Hekabe that they were coming for him before driving his energy sword into the creature's skull, killing it.
Adriana noted that it wasn't as heavily defended underground and guessed that most of the Sharquoi were still outside and above them as Hekabe wouldn't have expected them to just jump right into the hive like they did. Jai and Melody dismounted from the Jackrabbit and began warily walking across the bridge towards a series of large towers that came into view. Taking up position on their left, Rojka noted that Hekabe only knew violence and trickery and not general strategy which they could use to their advantage by attacking in the human way. Reaching the center of the bridge, Mike brought the Jackrabbit to a stop and Jai asked Ellis where they needed to go next. Checking a screen on the cannon, Ellis stated that they needed to go deeper and that if something happened to her, they needed to know to just keep going deeper. Continuing, the group noticed fifty Sharquoi guarding the entrance to the hive itself while far more than that poured in from the surface in order to help stop them.
As Gray Team and Ellis discussed the situation, Rojka questioned their pause and Jai explained that the closer they got to Hekabe and the ''vertex'', the greater the impact the cannon would have and they were not yet close enough. Rojka announced that they had to surround and trap Hekabe, shocking Melody who pointed out that they were the ones surrounded, but Rojka asked her to speak of his bravery if they made it back to the surface and moved down the bridge towards the mass of Sharquoi. Drawing but not yet activating his energy sword, Rojka explained that he would be the spear of their assault and to wait until they saw Rojka scatter the Sharquoi in confusion at which point the time would be right to press their own attack. Rojka sprinted at the Sharquoi, sure that they would be able to see him coming and possibly trap Rojka eventually, but not before his suicidal attack would tie up Hekabe's attention. As Rojka approached the end of the bridge, the Sharquoi retreated toward a dais at the front of the Forerunner structure's entrance behind which Hekabe stood, surrounding himself with Sharquoi like a wall. Apparently taking the lone threat seriously, Hekabe had Sharquoi jump down from one and two levels above Rojka and ten Sharquoi moved directly in front of him with incredible speed. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Rojka fought to be remembered, for his honor and to give his strange team of allies the chance to kill Hekabe and save countless worlds from the threat that he posed. As Rojka clashed with the first creature, the rest of the team raced across the bridge after him with Jai and Adriana joining Rojka in the attack and two of the Surakans firing RPGs at the Sharquoi. Rojka guessed that either Hekabe was taken off-guard by the direct attack or he was being defensive and was doing his best to keep a wall between himself and the Spartans that had nearly killed him. Either way, the Sharquoi appeared to be scrambling to deal with the swarm of enemies that were attacking. One of the Spartans engaged a Sharquoi off to Rojka's side dodging its blow, throwing the creature off-kilter before the Spartan threw the Sharquoi off the bridge and into the lava below as they raced for the dais. On the other end of the bridge, the Surakans struggled to use their heaviest infantry weapons to hold off the creatures coming down from the surface, but began falling one by one as all they could really do was buy the Spartans time to get the Jackrabbit and the cannon further along the bridge without the Sharquoi destroying it. More and more Sharquoi streamed out of towers and walls that enclosed them while dozens more emerged from the alcoves where they had been kept by the Forerunners for millennia. Rojka drew the creatures into a close-quarters battle where the Sharquoi were forced to fight against their numbers, often damaging each other with their great size and powerful blows, effectively turning their great strength against them in the heart of their mob.
Killing four more Sharquoi, Rojka managed to pierce the wall of the creatures and was left with Hekabe just a few bounds away on the other side of the Forerunner wall. Hekabe turned his attention from Rojka to the approaching humans and then back again before, without warning, a Sharquoi slammed into Rojka before he could get inside, flinging his body towards the lava pit. Rojka instinctively stabbed the blade of his sword into the cavern's floor as he tumbled towards the edge and although it snapped free from his hand, Rojka was able to catch the ledge just as he fell over and pull himself to safety. Assessing the situation, Rojka saw that his gambit had worked: Rojka's suicidal attack had caused Hekabe to pull the Sharquoi to himself in a protective reflex, giving the Spartans and militia more time to get to Hekabe, the creatures concentrated numbers making the smaller and nimbler targets more difficult to kill. However, as Rojka watched, a Sharquoi dropped from above on the front of the Jackrabbit as it moved toward the base of the bridge. As sparks and flames erupted from the front end of the bike, Mike emerged and shot the creature point-blank, sending it over the bridge and into the lava. Ellis ran to check the cannon from the safe position behind the vehicle where she and Melody had hidden during the battle as Jai and Adriana darted back to join her, providing covering fire as the Sharquoi pressed toward their position. As Rojka looked towards Hekabe, still within the Forerunner structure, dozens of new Sharquoi flowed around him, coming from the base of a cylindrical tower at the very heart of the hive and poured out of the front gate while overhead, more of the creatures began to leap from the ramps and bridges connecting the towers high above them. These Sharquoi would fall hundreds of meters and strike the bridge as living bombs, jostling everything on the bridge and leaving Rojka wondering how long the bridge could hold under such duress. With the Jackrabbit irreparably damaged, Rojka declared that it was time to die with honor and charged the wall of Sharquoi and Hekabe behind them.
As Sharquoi bodies struck nearby, Ellis climbed onto the back of the Jackrabbit and ordered the Spartans to keep pushing the wrecked vehicle towards the target, knowing that the further they got towards the hive and Hekabe, the harder it would be for the falling creatures to hit them. Jai grabbed the two wrecked front booms of the vehicle, lifted it up and started pushing it as Ellis examined the cannon and tried to figure out if it could still work or not. Adriana and Mike provided covering fire against the encroaching Sharquoi and Ellis determined that the cannon still had power and was still functional. Knowing that it would take too long to push it closer, Jai ripped the cannon's mount from the wrecked vehicle and hoisted the cannon above his shoulder to carry it himself. Jai made his way forward with Adriana and Mike providing covering fire and Ellis and Melody, armed with a battle rifle, trailing behind. By this point, the Sharquoi had congregated around the central structure, apparently attempting to protect Hekabe from Rojka whom the humans could no longer see in the forest of gray bodies. Looking back, Ellis saw that the other Surakans had fallen back to the top of the bridge and were attempting to stop Sharquoi coming from the surface from getting across the bridge. As Corporal Wyse attempted to keep one of the few remaining squad members from bleeding out, he pulled free to load and fire and RPG into the stampeding mass of Sharquoi coming towards them from across the bridge. One of the creatures reached the squad, mercilessly grabbed for Wyse, claws ripping through her stomach and yanking her away from the wounded soldier who managed to reload and fire at it. However, a second Sharquoi crossed the distance to join the slaughter and kicked the soldier's head in. The Sharquoi slaughtered the remaining Surakans, leaving only the Spartans, Rojka, Melody and Ellis to finish the fight.
As Ellis wondered how many of the Sharquoi Hekabe had called back from the surface, she saw more coming down the shaft's side and making their way to the bridge by the second. Reaching for her pistol, Ellis realized that she couldn't fumble around with it if she was going to help with the cannon and hurried to keep up with Jai. When Ellis looked behind her, all she could see were Sharquoi at the top of the bridge. With Ellis and Melody at the rear, the Spartans battled the Sharquoi that broke free from the huddle around Hekabe and deeper into the structure, more chaos erupted as other Sharquoi massed to try and keep Rojka from reaching Hekabe. Even more of the creatures spilled out of the towers behind them and as they kept falling onto the span from above, the Sharquoi ended up killing their own kind in mindless sacrifices.
Surrounded by Sharquoi himself and seeing the Spartans approaching, Rojka shouted at them to use the cannon. Declaring that Rojka was right and that was as far as they were going to get to Hekabe, Jai dropped to a knee with the cannon and ordered Ellis to fire it. Ellis quickly scrambled to Jai's side and the jury-rigged controls while Jai aimed the cannon straight at Hekabe who was screened by a shifting, muscular wall of Sharquoi that Hekabe only occasionally appeared through. The falling Sharquoi began to get deadly close to the group as Ellis powered up the cannon and set its parameters. Mike narrowly survived a blow from two of the Sharquoi that tossed him across the ground toward the ledge with his pursuers close behind and, nearest to Hekabe, Rojka disappeared under a sea of gray muscle. After waiting a split second for the shifting bulk of Sharquoi to reveal Hekabe, Ellis fired the EMP. The EMP knocked out power to the Forerunner structure and to the ''vertex'', severing Hekabe's control over the Sharquoi, causing the creatures to start wandering around aimlessly. With the strike confirmed, Ellis decided to hit Hekabe with another EMP just to be sure, but when she fired the cannon, alarms flashed and buzzed on the weapon's display and wisps of smoke rose in the air from circuits unable to handle the sheer amount of power dumped through them. Checking the readouts, Ellis quickly determined that the EMP cannon was fried, but the HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon powering it was still functional if it came down to detonating the nuclear weapon.
Recognizing that they likely had a limited window before Hekabe and the Sharquoi recovered, Ellis ran towards Hekabe, cautiously weaving between the lumbering creatures before they could come to their senses while behind her, Jai heaved the cannon to the ground and the other Spartans came up from behind. With the ''vertex'' temporarily deactivated and no longer holding him together, Hekabe's injuries from where Adriana had shot him earlier began to take their toll. Ellis swung her legs over Hekabe's back and dug her fingers into the metallic pieces of the ''vertex'' and pulled. As Ellis struggled to pull the ''vertex'' from off of Hekabe's head, dozens of confused Sharquoi moved around behind her while untold numbers of them filled the chambers and passageways of the hive. However, they would soon be shaking free of the last of their confusion and it was unclear what they would do once they were fully unhindered as the Sharquoi were like wild animals. Finally, using her legs for additional leverage, Ellis managed to pull the ''vertex'' free from Hekabe's head. Desperate, Hekabe began crawling on the ground as if searching for something while the Sharquoi began approaching the group. Jai ordered the others not to shoot as the creatures were just confused and to stay away and still if they could. However, Mike was forced to shoot at one of the creatures which began to chase him along with others that approached threateningly from the side.
Ellis recognized that even though the Sharquoi were no longer controlled by Hekabe, there were still hundreds of them up in the city and were still a threat to her people who could be hunted the creatures even without Hekabe's control, particularly if they found the evacuating civilians or the oases. With the effects of the EMP wearing off and power returning to both the ''vertex'' and the Sharquoi hive, Ellis declared that it was time to end this and that her people would be safe once more and donned the ''vertex'' herself. As the device burrowed into Ellis' head, a badly injured Rojka crawled out of a heap of dead Sharquoi bodies, he witnessed Hekabe manage to stand with the aid of Oath of Fury and make his way towards the human. As Rojka assessed his injuries and realized that he was also dying, he cried out, drawing the attention of Hekabe who lashed out at him with Oath of Fury, shattering Rojka's harness and sending him flying back, landing hard against the base of the nearest tower.
As Rojka got up, Ellis stepped forward, just outside of Hekabe's reach with her eyes blazing with an anger directed not just at Hekabe but at Rojka himself for the immense losses that her people had taken in Carrow Conflict|the pointless war that Thars 'Sarov had started. Concerned that Ellis could use the ''vertex'' to give in to fury and anger, take revenge and try to wipe Carrow clean of all threats to Ellis and her city, Rojka asked what her intentions with the ''vertex'' were. Ellis had a Sharquoi surround each of Gray Team and force them and Rojka into a defenseless position, an unknown number having presumably perished trying to get the Spartans into such a state while Rojka was struggling to recover from being thrown into the tower by Hekabe. Ellis questioned if Hekabe, still standing outside of his reach, would like to try and kill her. Still free but unable to see out of his ruined face, Hekabe raised his Gravity hammer (fiction)|gravity hammer and lunged towards Ellis. Consumed by rage even in his damaged state, Hekabe attempted to utterly annihilate Ellis with Oath of Fury, but it was caught by a Sharquoi under Ellis' control just centimeters above her head without Ellis ever even trying to move out of the way. Hekabe let go of his hammer and tried to grab Ellis by the neck, but the Sharquoi grabbed his wrist with its other hand while a second creature grabbed his other arm. Under Ellis' control, one of the Sharquoi ripped two massive claws through Hekabe's body, punching holes through his chest that could never be repaired. Hekabe tried to get free and continue his attack, believing that if he could get the ''vertex'' once more, everything could be mended. However, Ellis had the Sharquoi fling Hekabe into the lava pit, incinerating and killing him.
Ellis, struggling to figure out how to properly control the ''vertex'' and exhausted from days with no sleep, turned her attention to the others and warned Melody not to pick up a weapon or she would have to neutralize the woman as well. Ellis was pleased with how the threats to her had been neutralized and Rojka accused her of having planned this from the start, the ''vertex'' allowing Ellis to understand the Sangheili (language)|Sangheili language through the senses of the Sharquoi. However, although Ellis had wanted to secure the device for Suraka and stop the menace, the moment that she had seen Hekabe on his knees and the Sharquoi milling about in confusion, Ellis knew what actually had to be done. Ellis insisted that taking the ''vertex'' for herself was the only way to make them safe. Jai questioned why Ellis was holding them and she had the Sharquoi drag the captives back towards the base of the bridge, another creature nudge Melody along and another to hoist Rojka up and carry him after the others.
Following the others, Ellis made her way to the ruined EMP cannon and the HAVOK still hooked up to it, announcing that she didn't trust the others as the Sangheili warred against Suraka and the Spartans were tools of ONI created to Insurrection|attack people who wanted to govern themselves without the interference of Earth's UEG|government. While they were all threats to her, Ellis now had the power to protect this world. Rojka accused Ellis of sounding like Hekabe, but she angrily proclaimed through hundreds of Sharquoi that she was not like Hekabe. Still pulling against the creature holding him, Rojka demanded what this new world would look like and if his people would be allowed to live there. At the same time, Ellis began calling back all of the Sharquoi from the surface, dragging with them a multitude of Jiralhanae despite the fact that many of them had been desperately trying to hide. On Ellis' command, the returning creatures threw the Jiralhanae into the lava and Ellis stated that the Jiralhanae at least were not welcome and this was her world and she wouldn't let anyone harm it any longer. In pain from the grip on him, Jai warned Ellis that the UNSC wouldn't stand for her actions and that Ellis would only bring far more destruction upon herself than what she had seen so far. Ellis simply stated that Earth was always threatening them as well and the UNSC had kept the Sharquoi a secret from the Surakans and they had paid for it instead of the UNSC.
Even though there was a voice inside her head telling Ellis not to do this, she was making the hard choice and doing what had to be done: Ellis was pulling all of the Sharquoi back in and ending this. Jai questioned her plan and Ellis had the Sharquoi force Melody onto the bridge and throw the Spartans and Rojka after her. Ellis warned them that there wouldn't be much time: she had already reopened the hive to let the Sharquoi back in and the HAVOK's timer was now set for ten minutes. However, there were wisps of other consciousnesses in the ''vertex'' that didn't want her to do it that were very strong and would try to stop her before long, possibly forcing Ellis to detonate the HAVOK manually before the countdown was completed. However, she knew that if the ''vertex'' and the Sharquoi weren't destroyed, others would keep trying to get the power for themselves and that this was the only way to protect Carrow. Ellis ordered the others to run over their protests and they reluctantly complied with Mike carrying Melody and Rojka limping behind due to his injuries making it hard to keep up. Climbing up the shaft, Melody warned that the nuke would take out part of the city and they would never make it out in time so Mike began trying to call for a Pelican to extract them. Jai questioned Melody if they could trust Ellis and Melody believed that despite her overuse of stimulants and being in a bad place to begin with, the governor cared about Suraka and could be trusted to finish the job. However, as they climbed, some of the Sharquoi began to roar as if awakening from a deep slumber and showed signs that Ellis was struggling to control them while the Spartans, Melody and Rojka were too far from the surface to make it before the detonation.
In the hive, Ellis struggled to hold onto control of the Sharquoi and discovered that the Spartans had only made it halfway up the winding ramps in the shaft leading into the hive. Ellis knew that she wasn't going to be able to hold it together long enough for the others to get out and continued to struggle against the traces of consciousness leftover from the previous users of the ''vertex'' that were struggling to survive, including a trace of Hekabe's consciousness. Ellis quickly started skipping from mind to mind of the Sharquoi that hadn't yet made it back inside and eventually found one that was close to the Surakan militia on the surface. Communicating through the creature, Ellis informed them that she was now in control and she needed the militia to send a Pelican to extract the others from the hive. As part of Ellis communicated with the militia, another part of her saw Hekabe's pilots aboard Thars' surviving ships, the same ships that had attacked Suraka only days before. The Jiralhanae were using the ships to attack Rak, having already made several passes destroying buildings. Ellis knew that if they weren't stopped, the Jiralhanae would continue and the Sangheili would never recover, leaving humanity to reign free over Carrow. However, rather than give into her own desire for revenge, Ellis had the Sharquoi on each ship attack the controls and displays, destroying them and sending the ships crashing to the Uldt Desert, destroying the ships as well as all of the Jiralhanae and Sharquoi onboard in an effort to clean up the war that had spread out over Carrow even as Ellis continued to struggle for control with the ''vertex''.
With four minutes left, the Spartans, Melody and Rojka stopped on the ramp with several hundred meters to go. Knowing that they would never get out in time on foot, Jai asked Mike if he'd had any luck with the comms, but he hadn't. As they tried to figure out what to do, one of the Sharquoi jumped down through the hole to their level and Ellis ordered them to go. Melody informed Ellis that they couldn't make it and insisted that there had to be another way. With a glance at the sky, the Sharquoi departed without another word just before the Pelican that Ellis had ordered the militia to send arrived. The group attracted the pilot's attention and he flew the Pelican as close to them as he could. Carrying Melody, Jai jumped in, followed by Adriana and Mike. Rojka, despite his injuries, refused any assistance and managed to jump into the Pelican, sliding across the floor toward the front of the dropship and laying where he had slid to a stop, unable to move any further. Checking Rojka, Jai stated that he was badly injured more than Rojka had let on and needed medical help. The pilot explained that Ellis had sent them and asked if he should drop lower to pick her up as well, but Melody ordered him to get them out of the hive as soon as possible and Jai explained that there was a HAVOK about to detonate and he needed to aim for the sky and punch it. Understanding the gravity of the situation, the pilot immediately complied while his passengers quickly grabbed hold of something.
In the hive, the ''vertex'' fought back against Ellis by darkening her vision while three of the Sharquoi making their way across the bridge towards her broke free of Ellis' control and loomed over her. Checking on the Pelican through the eyes of another Sharquoi a final time, she saw it climbing overhead and away from the structure. Ellis stumbled over to the HAVOK which had two minutes left on the timer, but the three Sharquoi coming for her weren't going to give Ellis that time and neither was the ''vertex'' and the traces of the minds still inside of it which were determined to protect it no matter the cost. Ellis turned the nuke's controls over to manual, but when she put her palm out over the remote ignition she'd welded onto the frame, blindness finally overtook as the ''vertex'' desperately fought back. Not sure how far away the Sharquoi were and how much longer she could delay the detonation, Ellis decided that she have given the others every last second that she could and that it was time to secure Suraka's future. Thinking of Jeff Gass|her son, Ellis detonated the HAVOK, destroying the Sharquoi hive, the hundreds of thousands of creatures within, herself and the ''vertex''.
On the surface, the Pelican burst from the shaft, righted itself and quickly vectored away from the crater. As the dropship flew away, the nuclear explosion occurred, the shockwave racing below the Pelican and striking Suraka as well as the belly of the Pelican as the force of the blast had risen higher than the pilot had anticipated. The blast threw the dropship into a spin as the engines guttered out and the pilot ordered his passengers into crash positions as he attempted to control the dead weight of the Pelican. The nuclear shockwave struck the outskirts of Suraka, collapsing buildings at the edge of the destruction and blowing out the windows in the buildings that still stood. As the dropship approached the streets, the pilot flared hard, brought the dropship down low and attempted to stabilize it before impact. The Pelican struck the street and slid for half a block before coming to rest at the bottom of a bank. Both the pilot and passengers survived the crash-landing and emerged from the wrecked dropship to look at the immense canyon cut deep into the planet's crust, all that was left of one of the Forerunners' darkest secrets.
Aftermath Two days later, after recovering from the battle, Rojka 'Kasaan was returned to Rak where he discovered that Kaidon Akato 'Dakaj had taken over the city in his and Thars 'Sarov's absence. With Thars' forces dead and having fought alongside Grey Team, Rojka no longer sought vengeance against them for the Operation: SUNSPEAR|destruction of Glyke. With the lasting effects of Carrow Conflict|the conflict showing the need for closer relations between the Sangheili and humans on Carrow, Rojka agreed to act as an envoy between the two sides to help bring the two sides closer together.
Gray Team rendezvoused with the UNSC frigate when it arrived in orbit where they accepted a deal to work with a specialized interspecies strike team under the authority of the Office of Naval Intelligence in exchange for a pardon for their war criminal|war crimes and a list of other demands. When Rear Admiral Serin Osman revealed her presence onboard the vessel, Commander Ivrin Yarick reported that ONI's contacts in the Surakan science agencies and the ''Welcome to the Snipehunt's'' scans both indicated that the Sharquoi were all wiped out in the explosion from the HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon. While Yarick believed that they were clean, he promised that they would keep an eye on the desert for any Sharquoi that might've escaped.
List of appearances
''Halo: Envoy''
Sources
Category:Post-Covenant War conflicts Category:UNSC victories |
|result= UNSC victory Death of The Harbinger Discovery of the Xalanyn|Endless by Atriox
|side1 = * United Nations Space Command
--- Sentinel|Forerunner Constructs
|side2 = Banished
|commanders1 = *Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
--- Adjutant Resolution
|commanders2 = *The Harbinger Jiralhanae Warlord|Warlord Horatius
|forces1 = *1 SPARTAN-II program|Spartan-II
*John-117
1 Pelican
*Echo 216
|forces2 =*Jiralhanae Sangheili Kig-Yar Unggoy Mgalekgolo Gasgira|Skimmers Sentinels
|casual1 = None
|casual2 = *Total
*The Harbinger
*Horatius
}}
Around May 28, 2560, a battle took place at the Silent Auditorium (location)|Silent Auditorium between John-117 and the forces of the Banished.
Background
Battle
Aftermath
Gallery
File:HINF Elite Brute Banished Shield.png
List of appearances
''Halo Infinite''
Sources
Category:Engagements in the Installation 07 conflict |
s Sangheili Kig-Yar Mgalekgolo Unggoy
|casual1 = *Bravo 022
Presumably all Marines
*Waller
*Hosky
*Unidentified corporal|Unnamed corporal
|casual2 = Most forces
}}
The Battle of the Silent Cartographer was a brief conflict within the larger Battle of Installation 04|Battle of Installation 04, in which UNSC forces spearheaded by John-117 attacked the Covenant-held island that housed the installation's Cartographer#Installation 04|Cartographer facility, in order to locate the ring's Control Room (Installation 04)|control room. The mission was a success, but at the cost of all of the Marine personnel.
Prelude On the evening of 2552#September|September 19, John-117, alongside Fire Team Charlie|a unit of UNSC Marine Corps|Marines led by Sergeant Parker, successfully raided the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', rescuing Captain (NAVCOM)|Captain Jacob Keyes who had been captured by the Covenant earlier that day. During his time as a prisoner, Keyes had overheard members of the Covenant discussing Halo and it's true purpose as an incredibly powerful weapon. Cortana corroborated this with information she had acquired through her infiltration of the Covenant proselytization network and they learned that the Covenant were searching for the installation's Control Room (Installation 04)|control room. Keyes declared that the ring must be prevented from falling into the hands of the Covenant, who they feared would use it to wipe out the entire human race. To this end, Keyes ordered John-117 and Cortana on a new mission; they were to locate the Cartographer#Installation 04|Silent Cartographer, an underground facility located on an island that contained a map room that would provide the location of the control room.
Covenant Special Operations Officer Zuka 'Zamamee was granted permission to hunt down and kill the Spartan by the Council of Masters following the raid on the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', a request he had previously been denied. Soha 'Rolamee informed 'Zamamee that it was believed that the Master Chief was the last of his SPARTAN-II program|kind, believing the rest to have been slain during the Fall of Reach, and he granted the officer permission to use whatever resources he needed to in order to kill the Spartan. 'Zamamee studied the human raid on the Covenant cruiser, identifying Cortana's infiltration of the proselytization network and used this information to deduce the Master Chief's likely next course of action, concluding that the Spartan would likely assault the Cartographer island next. In order to kill the human, he laid a trap inside the security substation on the island; an ambush with the aid of his assistant, Yayap and a team of other Unggoy as well as a Mgalekgolo pair inside the darkened room adjacent to the security center.
The battle File:HCEA WallerBeachAssault.png|thumb|left|300px|Sergeant Waller and his Marines engaging Covenant troops on the beach. The UNSC launched their assault on the island the following day, September 20. D77-TC Pelican|Pelicans ''Echo 419'' and ''Bravo 022'', carrying John-117 and a full squad of Marines led by Gunnery Sergeant Waller, approached the island, landing on the beach downwind from a group of Covenant soldiers. The UNSC assault force outnumbered the Covenant and within ten minutes, all of the opposition was wiped out. Once the landing zone was secure, ''Echo 419'' returned, delivering an M12 Chaingun Warthog. John-117 quickly took the wheel, and along with a Marine passenger and gunner, left the beach in search of the Cartographer facility while Sergeant Waller and the rest of the Marines remained behind to secure the beach.
John took the Warthog around the island, killing several Covenant patrols as he went before arriving at the facility just as a Covenant departed. After thinning out the hostiles guarding it, John drove the Warthog straight into the opening before proceeding inside. He managed to kill a group of Covenant near a security door but not before the aliens managed to seal the door, blocking his path. John hastily made his way back up to the surface while Cortana made contact with Captain Keyes, informing him of the situation and reported that they would have to disable the installation's security systems. The Captain, currently leading Outbreak at the Containment Facility|a separate mission, ordered the Master Chief and Cortana to use any means necessary to force their way into the Cartographer while ''Echo 419'' remained on-station, looking out for Covenant aircraft. John drove his Warthog around the island, and, with the assistance of Cortana, soon located a path leading up into the island towards the security substation. He fought his way through groups of Covenant resistance including a pair of Mgalekgolo before reaching the substation. File:HCEA CartographerWarthog.png|thumb|300px|John-117's Warthog assaulting the Cartographer facility. Zuka 'Zamamee, lurking within a Covenant supply case|cargo module along with Yayap and other Unggoy inside the substation, had determined that the Spartan was on his way and he prepared his forces to ambush the Master Chief. As John-117 entered the room, one of the Mgalekgolo charged out of the darkness towards the human, who opened fire in return. 'Zamamee chose that moment to emerge from cover alongside his team of Unggoy, but he was unable to fire at the Master Chief because the Mgalekgolo was in his line of fire, and a moment later the second Hunter charged in, knocking the Sangheili warrior to the floor. One of the Unggoy, Linglin, panicked and fired a bolt from his Type-25 plasma pistol|plasma pistol into the second Mgalekgolo's back, killing it and causing it to knock its bond brother to the floor. John quickly killed the first Hunter while it was down before killing Linglin with another burst of fire. Yayap was saved by 'Zamamee, who pulled the Grunt inside an open cargo module and the two hid as the Master Chief passed their hiding place.
After defeating the ambush, John-117 made his way through the room and to the holographic controls for the installation's security systems, quickly shutting them down thanks to his Geas|unusual-familiarity with the interface. With the security door leading to the Cartographer now open, John-117 left the facility, receiving a desperate transmission from Pelican ''Bravo 022'', which was under heavy enemy fire. After taking out a lone Active camouflage|camouflaged Sangheili, the Spartan emerged from the substation to discover ''Bravo 022'''s wreckage crashed into a nearby mesa, its surviving crew executed by Unggoy and Kig-Yar forces who John quickly killed in retribution. Cortana reported that the dropship had been ferrying in M41 SPNKr|heavy weapons in response to the presence of Mgalekgolo on the island. John took a rocket launcher, as well as the nearby Warthog, and returned to the landing zone. File:HCEA Bravo022Crashed.png|thumb|left|300px|''Bravo 022'' crashed into the side of a mesa, with Covenant troops nearby. During his incursions into the island, Gunnery Sergeant Waller and his men had endured two separate Covenant assaults on the landing zone but they still held control of the area. Unidentified corporal|A Marine corporal took the Warthog's gunner position while Private Hosky took the passenger seat. The three then set off for the opened Cartographer facility. During this time, the Covenant had reinforced the Cartographer's perimeter, stationing several troops including the Mgalekgolo bonded pair Igido Nosa Hurru and Ogada Nosa Fasu. Zuka 'Zamamee had warned them that the Spartan had already killed two of their fellow Hunters and was on his way to attack their position next, something that Hurru was eagerly anticipating, seeking the honor of killing the human. As the Spartan's Warthog approached, Fasu knocked the Warthog over with his assault cannon and engaged the occupants, quickly killing the two Marines, who were inexperienced in fighting Hunters. Fasu dodged the first of John's rockets, but was killed by the second as he attempted to charge the human. Hurru remained up at the entrance to the Cartographer, and fired his assault cannon as fast as he could at the human in a mix of rage, sorrow and self-pity but his weapon soon overheated and the Spartan killed him with another rocket. File:HCEA GoodbyeHurru.png|thumb|300px|A rocket fired by John-117 striking Igido Nosa Hurru. John pressed into the facility, making his way through the now opened security door. He made his way down through the subterranean structure, soon coming into conflict with more Covenant troops. As he fought his way through the opposition, Cortana remarked that it seemed as though Zuka 'Zamamee|someone was tracking his progress. He soon came upon another Mgalekgolo pair defending the only way forward and was injured in his shoulder by one of the alien's arm-mounted shields before eventually killing them and their Kig-Yar backup. With the area clear he treated the wound with biofoam in order to prevent blood loss before continuing deeper into the facility. ''Echo 419'' reported that two Covenant dropships were inbound to the landing zone. Gunnery Sergeant Waller ordered his men to prepare for the attack. Cortana suggested that they fall back into the structure which was more defensible but Waller replied that the Covenant were approaching too fast, and he declared that they would hold the Covenant off for as long as they could. It is presumed that Sergeant Waller and his men all perished in the following firefight. File:CartographerCEA.jpg|thumb|left|300px|John-117 activating the Cartographer. John-117 eventually found the map room itself, killing a final Sangheili guard before accessing the display. Cortana quickly identified the location of the installation's Control Room (Installation 04)|control room but when she tried to inform Captain Keyes, she was unable to establish contact. ''Echo 419'' cut in, informing Cortana and John that the Captain had dropped out of contact. Cortana replied, telling her to keep trying to contact him, asking Rawley to tell him that her and John had located the Halo's control room, and that they would be heading there as soon as they returned to the surface. With that, the Master Chief made his way back up through the Cartographer facility, battling through newly-arrived Covenant reinforcements as he went. The Spartan eventually made his way to the exterior platform in time for ''Echo 419'' to arrive to extract him.
John boarded the Pelican and as it lifted off from the platform, Cortana gave Rawley the coordinates to the control center, which to the pilot's shock, were ''underground''. Cortana replied that using data she had acquired from the proselytization network, she had learned that Halo's interior was honeycombed with large tunnels that covered the entire ring. Despite her reservations about the AI's plan, Rawley piloted ''Echo 419'' towards the entrance to one such tunnel, which was in fact the large circular structure where John had first fought Mgalekgolo on the island. The structure slid aside, revealing a deep vertical tunnel stretching underground. ''Echo 419'' descended into the tunnel, which sealed back up after her. While she was still uncomfortable with Cortana's plan, she managed to traverse her way through the tunnels, with some reassurance from John-117, and eventually brought him to an underground platform in the vicinity of the control center.
Aftermath With the coordinates of Installation 04's control room acquired, John-117 successfully performed an aerial insertion from underground, catching Covenant forces by surprise and eventually Assault on the Control Room (conflict)|battled his way to the control room itself. There, he inserted Cortana into the installation's core systems, where she quickly realized the Flood containment facility|truth about the supposed "weapons cache" that Captain Keyes was searching for. Realising the Flood|peril that Keyes was in, she had John immediately make his way to the captains last known location.
Following his failure to kill the Master Chief, Zuka 'Zamamee returned to the Council of Masters on board the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. The Prophet of Stewardship presented him with 'Rolamee's severed head; the Prophet having executed him for failing to keep the Flood parasite contained. He threatened 'Zamamee with a similar fate should he fail to kill the Spartan. 'Zamamee successfully convinced the Prophet that he had a new plan to kill the human and was permitted to leave alive.
Trivia It is not stated in ''Halo: The Flood'' how many factual Marines participated in the battle, but in the game you are given a varying number depending on the difficulty you are on. Easy will give you nine, but Heroic will give you seven. The book only mentions two Warthogs and not the wrecked one you find by the beach in the game. The fate of the two squads that accompanied the Chief to the island is unknown, although they are believed to have suffered heavy casualties in both the initial beach assault and in assisting the Chief on his daredevil insertions underground. However, if the player heads back to where the Marines previously were, they will find their bodies scattered on the beach head. The iconic beach landing inspired the Warzone simulation Raid on Apex 7 in ''Halo 5: Guardians''.
Gallery
File:HLC Halo Conflict.png|Pelicans drop John-117 and Marines into hot combat. File:HCEA-Concept-SilentCartographer-Chief.jpg|John-117 storms the beach. File:HCEA_WarthogBeach_Concept.jpg|John-117 mounts the gunner seat of the Warthog during the battle. File:HCEA WallerAndSquad.png|Gunnery Sergeant Waller and his men on board ''Echo 419''. File:HCEA MarineBeachAssault.png|UNSC Marines engaging Covenant on the beach. File:HCEA FoehammerWarthog.png|''Echo 419'' deploying a Warthog. File:HCEA WarthogKillingCovies.png|UNSC Marines attacking Covenant near the path leading to the security substation. File:HCEA JackalGroup.png|A group of Kig-Yar near the security substation. File:HCEA HuntersCircularPlatform.png|A pair of Mgalekgolo stationed along the path leading to the security substation. File:HCEA HunterAmbush.png|Mgalekgolo ambushing John-117 inside the security substation. File:Cartographer Zealot.jpg|A Sangheili Zealot guarding the doorway leading into the Cartographer facility. File:HCEA ChiefKickingMask.png|John-117 kicks an Unggoy rebreather down the seemingly bottomless shaft. File:HCEA EliteCommNode.png|A Sangheili Minor operating a Covenant comm node within the Cartographer facility. File:HCEA Echo419Extraction.png|''Echo 419'' arriving at the facility to extract the Master Chief.
List of appearances
''Halo: Combat Evolved''
''Halo: The Flood''
''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''
Notes
Sources
Category:UNSC victories|Silent Cartographer Category:Engagements in the Battle of Installation 04 |
|place=Wikipedia:Thermopylae|Thermopylae, Earth''Halo: Encyclopedia'', Timeline: 100,000 BCE-1945 CE, p. 30-31 (Both editions)
|result=
Heroic actions of Spartans cemented in human history
|side1=Wikipedia:Spartan army|Spartans
|side2=Wikipedia:Persia|Persians
|side3=
|side4=
|commanders1=
|commanders2=
|commanders3=
|commanders4=
|forces1=300 Spartans
|forces2=Thousands of soldiers Spearmen
|forces3=
|forces4=
|casual1=
|casual2=
|casual3=
|casual4=
}}
The Battle of Thermopylae was a battle that took place in 480 BCE and prominently featured 300 Wikipedia:Spartan army|Spartans defending Wikipedia:Greece|Greece at Wikipedia:Thermopylae|Thermopylae.''Dr. Halsey's personal journal'', June 19, 2513
Battle Soldiers during the battle employed spears, shields and swords. The 300 Spartans managed to successfully fight off the Persians.
Aftermath By the 26th century, the story of the battle was cherished and well known. Dr. Catherine Halsey believes that the story is romanticized to the point of fanaticism. Nevertheless, she did invoke the idea of the story by naming the SPARTAN-II program after the Spartans in the Battle of Thermopylae.
After the program actually began, SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-IIs were taught about the battle itself on their first day of training by the Artificial intelligence|AI Deja.
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 also references the battle during his service, such as when he compares the Massacre at Eridanus Secundus to the Battle of Thermopylae in response to Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb's comparison of it to the Mexico|Battle of the Alamo.
List of appearances
''Halo: The Fall of Reach''
''Halo: First Strike''
''Halo: Fall of Reach
*''Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp|Boot Camp''
''Dr. Halsey's personal journal''
''Halo: Initiation''
''Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series''
Sources
Category:Battles |
The Battle of Theta Ursae Majoris was an engagement that took place in the Theta Ursae Majoris system during the Insurrection.
Battle Group Tango, consisting of four UNSC destroyer|UNSC Destroyers, while in the Theta Ursae Majoris System, engaged an insurgent-controlled vessel, the ''Bellicose''. The ''Bellicose'' had been causing trouble for two years prior, and had been continuously pursued by Preston Jeremiah Cole|Preston Cole. Although two destroyers were heavily damaged in the battle, the ''Bellicose'' was UNSC After-Action Report: Battle Group Tango|reported to have spun into the gas giant's Gravity well (physics)|gravity well and disappeared. It was later revealed to have survived (presumably through a Slipstream space|Slipspace jump) and returned to Battle of 18 Scorpii|help Battle of Psi Serpentis|twice in the Human-Covenant War. Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''page 457''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''page 473''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''pages 479-480''
List of appearances
''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''
*''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole''
Sources
Category:Battles |
Operation: SMOKING ACES Outbreak on the UNSC Spirit of Fire }}
|name=Battle of Trove
|image=File:ApexBattleImage.png|380px
|conflict=Human-Covenant War
|date=2531|February 2325, 2531
|place=Trove, Korinth Prior system
|result=Strategic UNSC victory Trove and all Forerunner constructs destroyed Local Covenant forces destroyed Flood containment on Trove successful UNSC ''Spirit of Fire'' unable to jump to Slipspace and return to UNSC-controlled space
|side1=United Nations Space Command
|side2=Covenant
|side3=Flood
|side4=Sentinel|Forerunner constructs
|commanders1=
Captain (Navy)|Captain James Gregory Cutter Sergeant John Forge Jerome-092
|commanders2=
Prophet of Regret Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee
|commanders3=
Proto-Gravemind
|commanders4=
Unidentified ancilla (Shield 0459)|Unidentified Forerunner AI Little Bit
|forces1=*
*AC-220 Vultures
*B-65 Shortswords
*D77-TC Pelicans
*AV-22 Sparrowhawks
*AV-14 Hornets
*M312 Elephants
*M850 Grizzly|M850 Grizzlies
*M808B Scorpions
*SP42 Cobras
*M9 Wolverines
*XRP12 Gremlins
*M12 Warthogs
*HRUNTING Mark III (B) Exoskeletons
*SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II Red Team
*UNSC Marine Corps
**Recon Team Echo and Recon Team India|India
**Alpha Platoon
**Bravo Platoon
**Charlie Platoon
**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
|forces2=
Fleet of Glorious Interdiction
*''Proclamation's Tithe''
s s Type-26 Banshees s s s Barukaza Workshop Choppers s Mgalekgolo Jiralhanae Sangheili Huragok Kig-Yar Unggoy
|forces3=*Flood bomber forms Flood swarms Flood thrasher forms Flood carrier forms Flood combat forms Pod infectors
|forces4=*Super Sentinels Aggressor Sentinels Protector Sentinels
|casual1=Assumed less than half (5,500) personnel.Halo Wars 2, campaign level, ''A New Enemy''
All infantry in Recon Teams Echo and India Large numbers of ground and air vehicles. Heavy infantry losses Sergeant John Forge Unidentified lieutenant
|casual2=*Total destruction of all forces, except the Prophet of Regret and his escort
|casual3=*All Flood
|casual4=*Trove All constructs
}}
The Battle of Trove was an engagement fought between the crew of the , the Covenant, the Flood, and Forerunner forces on the Forerunner shield world known as the Trove during the Human-Covenant War from 2531|February 23 to 25, 2531.Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, ''page 174''Halo Wars ''Halo Wars Timeline Events|Timeline Events''Halo: Reach, ''Data pads|data pad 15''
Background The Trove or "Trove" had been discovered by the Covenant some time prior to the battle,Halo Wars: Official Strategy Guide, ''page 50'' but despite their reverse-engineering attempts, they had not been able to activate the shield world's most prized artifact: the Apex Site, an installation which contained numerous Forerunner s. With the Human-Covenant War ongoing, the Covenant started their search for a key to activate the Forerunner ships in order to bring a swifter end to the Human|human race. After seeing Ellen Anders activate a Relic (location)|Forerunner structure on Harvest, the Covenant discovered that Reclaimer|they could use a human to activate the Apex installation.Halo Wars ''cutscene ''
Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee captured Professor Anders after the Battle of Arcadia, planning to use her to activate the Forerunner dreadnoughts' systems. The UNSC ''Spirit of Fire'' pursued the Covenant to the shield world without reinforcements to rescue Anders.Halo Wars ''cutscene '' Upon entering the system they followed Anders' transponder signal the best that they could. Captain Cutter launched several Marine teams, as well as Sergeant John Forge to begin surface operations to locate Professor Anders.Halo Wars campaign level, ''Anders' Signal''
The battle
Recon Teams Recon Team Echo|Echo and Recon Team India|India deployed on the shield world's surface, along with a small force led by Forge. Using M312 Heavy Recovery Vehicle|Elephants and Marine infantry, together with carpet bombing|air support from B-65 Shortsword|Shortsword bombers and help from SPARTAN Red Team, Forge's force cleared an area of Jiralhanae around a beacon, awaiting the arrival of reinforcements and the Recon Teams.
Shortly after this, however, the force received an ominous message from Echo Team, stating that they were under attack from "Flood|things," before dropping out of contact. India Team sent a similar message before dropping out of contact.
Forge's team and the Spartans moved to investigate, encountering the Flood for the first time, including dozens of Pod infector|infection forms that resulted in a large number of Marines being lost. However, they successfully recovered both teams' Elephants and retreated back to the Firebase being constructed at the beacon site. UNSC forces began to have problems with air transport, as the exterior surface's atmosphere was thick with dust, which caused the engines on D77-TC Pelican|Pelican dropships to fail within three flights.
Red Team discovered that a proto-Gravemind was coordinating the Flood forces and was also jamming Anders' transponder signal. However, before they could destroy the Gravemind, their M12 Force Application Vehicle|Warthog was overturned and they had to be rescued by Forge's Marines. After contending with Flood swarms and Flood thrasher form|Thrasher Forms, the Marines were able to rescue the Spartans and destroy the proto-Gravemind.Halo Wars campaign level, ''The Flood (level)|The Flood''
File:ShieldWorldOpening.png|thumb|250px|The ''Spirit of Fire'' being pulled into the Shield World. After destroying the proto-Gravemind, the ''Spirit of Fire's'' AI Serina located Anders' signal, which was apparently in the middle of an ocean. While the ''Spirit'' was hovering over the sea, the doors of a huge submerged entry into the planet opened and several Forerunner Sentinels flew out. The ''Spirit of Fire'' became locked into a powerful docking mechanism and inevitably began a controlled 'fall' into the rift.Halo Wars ''cutscene ''
The remaining UNSC forces on the Shield World's surface, composed of Alpha Platoon, Bravo Platoon, and Charlie Platoon, had less than twenty minutes to fight their way past hundreds of Flood forms before being airlifted back to the ''Spirit of Fire''. Flood swarms made air support almost useless, forcing the Marines to use large numbers of M9 Main Anti-Aircraft Tank|Wolverines to clear the air before tanks and infantry could clear landing zones of Flood growths. They managed to slow down the ''Spirit of Fire's'' descent by disabling Forerunner pylon towers powering the docking system with XRP12 Gremlins, giving them a little longer. After evacuating the first two platoons, the team had to escort the final platoon back to the firebase for extraction after their D77-TC Pelican|Pelican was forced to abort its run. After extracting all UNSC forces, the firebase was abandoned to the Flood and the ''Spirit of Fire'' began her descent.Halo Wars campaign level, ''Shield World (level)|Shield World''Halo Wars ''cutscene ''
Fighting their way down through a service conduit inside the Shield World, the ''Spirit of Fire'' was attacked by even more Flood forms. Flood growths began to sprout on the ship's hull, and Marines and aircraft were forced to fight on the hull of the ship to remove the Flood forms. Furthermore, Sentinels attacked the Flood, and while they initially provided some support to the UNSC, after passing through the first decontamination ring, the Sentinels identified them as possible infection vectors and relabeled them as targets. The UNSC forces managed to clear the hull of growths, removing the Flood and thus allowing the Sentinels to withdraw.Halo Wars campaign level, ''Cleansing'' After this, the ''Spirit of Fire'' accelerated out of the tunnel, and emerged into the interior of the Shield World.Halo Wars ''cutscene ''
In the inner Dyson sphere of the Shield World, the ''Spirit of Fire'' immediately entered a collision course with the Covenant destroyer ''Proclamation's Tithe''. Despite hard course corrections, the two ships impacted, with a large section of the ''Spirit'' being violently sheared off. The collision also destroyed half of the ''Spirit''s complement of D20 Herons. Dozens of Marines, vehicles, and aircraft were deployed onto the ''Spirit''s hull to fend off boarding parties who were trying to prevent technicians in Cyclops exoskeletons from repairing the ship's power core, while at the same time the ship was raked by plasma fire. Escaping from the destroyer, the ''Spirit''s AI, Serina, detected Anders' signal.Halo Wars campaign level, ''Repairs'' Sergeant Forge, along with other forces, were deployed to the signal's apparent source on the Shield World's inner surface.
Imprisoned in the Apex, Anders was forced by the Arbiter to activate the ancient artifact, powering up its fleet of s. In their religious fervor, her guards were distracted and Anders used a teleporter to return to the surface, where she was rescued by Forge. Anders was then evacuated back to the ''Spirit'', while Sergeant Forge and Spartan Red Team proceeded to lock the area down, for a safe place to the ''Spirit'' to put down. Anders theorized that they would have to capture four base sites to begin an effective resistance. Through the use of armor, air support, and a Deutoros-pattern Scarab|Scarab captured by a Spartan, the UNSC captured the bases and prepared to attack the Apex itself.Halo Wars campaign level, ''Beachhead (Halo Wars level)|Beachhead''
On the ''Spirit of Fire'', Anders devised a plan to stop the Covenant from using the Forerunner ships. The UNSC forces would have to sacrifice the ''Spirit''s Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine to create an explosion so powerful, it would collapse the miniature Astroengineering#Stars|artificial star inside the Shield World, completely obliterating the installation, though it meant that they would have no way to return home.Halo Wars ''cutscene '' To accomplish this, they would need to assault the Apex Site and use an elevator on the main platform, to take the slipspace drive right into the star.Halo Wars campaign level, ''Reactor (Halo Wars level)|Reactor''
When the UNSC forces had secured the area, the ''Spirit'' put down close to the surface, to deliver Slipspace drive to the ground. It was attached to two D77-TC Pelican|Pelicans, which were to be used to transport it to the Apex main platform. On their way however, they were shot down, just under a towering hill comprised of a series of ramps, on top of which there was a teleporter which led to the Apex's control center.
After an attempt at airlifting the drive failed, the mission was changed into a ground operation, with the intent of using an M312 Elephant to tow the reactor to the teleporter on the top of the hill, which was full of Covenant and Flood forces. The UNSC established a firebase on the bottom of the hill, and gradually ascended the towering hill up to the Apex Base Site, meeting determined resistance from the Covenant. They eventually reached a Slipspace translocation|teleporter that took John Forge|Sergeant John Forge, a Marine lieutenant, and Red Team to the Apex's control center with the slipspace drive.
File:Hw-prima-blog-04-01.jpg|thumb|250px|Red Team ready for combat at the Apex. Upon arriving at the Apex Site's control center, the lieutenant, Forge and the Red Team proceeded with the mission. The lieutenant went to open the door of the elevator, Forge started to unload the reactor from its transport, while the Red Team guarded them. However, the Arbiter, who had previously been Active camouflage|cloaked, appeared and killed the lieutenant just after the latter had activated the lift to the inner star. Simultaneously, multiple Sangheili warriors emerged from cloaking from the other end of the platform and charged the Spartans. Forge decided to take on the Arbiter himself, while the Red Team would hold off the Elites.Halo Wars ''cutscene ''
Forge released the locks holding the FTL drive on to the trailer, causing it to slide at the Arbiter. The Spartans engaged the Honor Guards in frantic and acrobatic close combat, dispatching them with ease. The Arbiter was gaining the upper hand in the duel with Forge, but the sergeant managed to take advantage of his opponent's hubris, wounding him with a combat knife and delivering a killing blow to the Arbiter with his own Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword|energy sword.
After the duel, the Arbiter's body was pushed off the platform, and the reactor was loaded onto the elevator. The reactor had already started overheating and could no longer be detonated remotely, leaving manual detonation as the only option. Jerome-092 offered to activate the reactor, sacrificing himself. Forge declined, saying that the UNSC would need every last Spartan left in the fight. Jerome agreed, commenting on the honor of serving with Forge. Forge began his ascent to the star, while the Red Team reported back to the ''Spirit of Fire''.
File:ShieldWorldDestruction2.png|thumb|The destruction of the Shield World.
The UNSC forces located one of the shield world's exit portals, but Serina found that the portal had been sealed off. Red Team and groups of Marines had to deal with massive Covenant and Flood resistance before they could disengage the door interlocks. Using tanks, AC-220 Vulture|Vultures, carpet bombing, cryo bombs, and Magnetic Accelerator Cannon#MAC Blast|orbital bombardment to destroy the Covenant and Flood bases, they successfully opened the doors.Halo Wars campaign level, ''Escape (Halo Wars level)|Escape''
As the sun slowly went supernova, the ''Spirit of Fire'' was caught in its increasing Gravity well (physics)|gravity well. By performing a gravitational slingshot maneuver around the sun, the ''Spirit'' was able to break away from the gravity well and escape through the portal, and far enough from the Shield World not to be caught in the supernova's blast radius. Moments after the ''Spirit of Fire'' escaped from the planet, it exploded, destroying Trove and all Covenant and Flood forces upon its surface.Halo Wars ''cutscene ''
Aftermath With no ability to enter Slipstream space, and the journey back to UNSC space likely to take years, if not decades, the ''Spirit of Fire's'' crew went into Cryo chamber|cryostasis. The UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence declared the ''Spirit'' and crew to be missing in action. In 2534, the ''Spirit of Fire'' was declared to be "lost with all hands" by the UNSC. The reason for this change was kept top secret. A memorial service was held for the people aboard the vessel, but many of the crew's family members chose not to attend, holding out hope that their loved ones are still alive. The ship would not make contact with the outside world until 2559, when it was unexpectedly transported to Installation 00.
The The Assembly|Assembly, having intercepted transmissions from the proselytization network, noted the presence of the Flood as a "third variable". Due to the third participant being a terrifying opponent to the Covenant, the Assembly Minority suggested the possibility of forming an association - even a union - with it. However, due to the risks involved, the Assembly chose not to attempt contact with the Flood.
In early 2557, nearly twenty-six years after the shield world's destruction, the ''Ace of Spades'', a salvager vessel captained by Sergeant John Forge's daughter Rion Forge, visited the debris field and recovered Little Bit|a fragment of the shield world's custodian AI.Halo: Smoke and Shadow Several months later, ONI conducted a Mission to the Korinth Prior system|mission within its debris field to search for evidence of the ''Spirit of Fire'',''Halo Legendary Crate'', ''Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #4'' having learned of it from data stolen from the ''Ace of Spades''. Shortly after the ''Ace of Spades'' was returned to the debris field by 343 Guilty Spark, a massive UNSC fleet emerged from slipspace and nuked the debris field. The nuclear bombardment was expected to blow the field to bits and disrupt its orbit around the system's star. Anything that survived would most likely be pulled into the star's gravity well and destroyed, completely eradicating the remnants of Trove.
Participants
UNSC
Victor 397
Covenant
''Proclamation's Tithe''
UNSC Alpha Platoon Bravo Platoon Charlie Platoon Recon Team Echo Recon Team India Red Team
UNSC Captain (Navy)|Captain James Gregory Cutter Sergeant John Forge Douglas-042
Jerome-092
Alice-130
O'Neil Papadakis Covenant Prophet of Regret Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee
Gallery
File:SofInShieldWorld.png|The ''Spirit'' inside the Shield World's tunnel system. File:RepairsOpening.png|The ''Spirit'' faces the ''Proclamation's Tithe'' in the interior of the Shield World. File:Reaktor1.png|Anders, Cutter and Serina discuss how to stop the Covenant from activating the Forerunner ships. File:Reactor12.png|The Spirit of Fire's Shaw-Fujikawa drive being transported down from the ship. File:Reactor shot down.png|The Pelicans carrying the reactor are shot down, right under the Base site hill. File:Reactor base site.png|The reactor reaches the Base site. File: Eskape1.png|Sergeant Forge and Red Team on the Apex with the Slipspace drive. File:HW5.png|The Red Team prepares to repel the attackers on the Apex. File:HW6.png|Elites charging toward the Red Team on the Apex. File:Alice at Apex.png|Alice-130 fighting at the Apex. File:Douglas at Apex.png|Douglas-042 fighting at the Apex. File:HW33.png|Sergeant Forge decides to sacrifice himself in order to save the rest of the crew. File:HW20.png|The crew of the ''Spirit of Fire'' goes to cryo sleep after the battle.
List of appearances
''Halo Wars''
''Halo: Reach''
*''Data pads''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo: Tales from Slipspace''
*''Something Has Happened''
''Halo: Smoke and Shadow''
''Halo Wars 2''
''Halo: Renegades''
''Halo: Point of Light''
''Halo: Divine Wind''
Sources
Category:UNSC victories |
s
*Type-26 Banshees
|casual1=*Most Army troopers
|casual2=*Heavy
|civilian1= *Several local farmers Professor Laszlo Sorvad
|civilian2= *None
}}
The Battle of Visegrad was a battle between UNSC forces and the Covenant in Visegrad on Reach in 2552#July|July 2552. It also revealed the previously-unknown presence of the Covenant on Reach. Prelude On or prior to the night of 2552#July|July 23, 2552, the Covenant Fleet of Valiant Prudence arrived at the human Inner Colony of Reach undetected by its defending forces. A small strike force, including artifact-hunting Sangheili Zealots from the Devoted Sentries, was dispatched to the Visegrad Relay in Visegrad to cut off communications between Reach and other Unified Earth Government|UEG colonies. The Office of Naval Intelligence assumed that the communications blackout was caused by local Insurrectionists; in response, Colonel Urban Holland dispatched several UNSC Army|Army fireteams to the relay. After losing contact with the troopers, SPARTAN Program|SPARTAN Noble Team was sent to investigate as the UNSC could not afford to have Reach cut off from the other colonies.
Battle
Noble Team flew in to Visegrad using two UH-144 Falcon|Falcons, but quickly discovered that their comms with command were being jammed by an unknown source. Detecting a distress beacon and spotting smoke, Noble landed near some houses a distance from the relay with Jun-A266 ordered to remain in the Falcons to provide aerial overwatch. Investigating, Noble found the beacon hidden under a broken wooden pallet, a wrecked Warthog, blood smears and some possible plasma burns, but no sign of whoever set off the beacon or destroyed the Warthog or even explosives residue.
Noble continued their mission by pushing on towards the nearby smoke. Pushing through a house, the team made contact with a Hungarian farmer who Jorge-052 questioned. The man revealed that he had heard screaming from his neighbors and gunshots which had ended around sunrise and that something in the fields had killed his son. As Noble tried to understand what the farmer had meant by "something" instead of "someone," Jun called in with news of picking up heat signatures in the structure east of them. Jorge ordered the farmer back inside while Noble continued on to investigate.
Entering the structure, the team found several corpses, including Army troopers who had been tortured to death for information. Detecting movement, Noble continued on, only to discover that the enemy was Covenant and not Insurrectionists as they had believed. Noble engaged the Covenant troops around the structure while ''Charlie 1'' shot down attacking Type-26 Banshee|Banshees. As Noble cleared out the enemy, a Dextro Xur-pattern Spirit|Spirit dropship deployed more troops across a bridge that were also taken out by the Spartans.
After winning the skirmish, Commander Carter-A259 stated that they needed Kat at the relay immediately in order to warn Colonel Urban Holland|Holland of the Covenant threat. With Jun detecting more Covenant activity to the east, Noble crossed a creek and took out a squad of Sangheili Ultras. Once the Covenant were cleared out, Carter ordered Kat and Emile-A239 to leave for the relay in a Falcon while he, Jorge and SPARTAN-B312|Noble Six investigated more Covenant activity to the northeast.
Boarding a nearby Spade|flatbed truck, Carter, Jorge and Noble Six drove through the area, eliminating several Covenant patrols as they went. Detecting heat signatures in the structures around the area, Jun directed the three Spartans to those locations where they cleared the structures.
As the Spartans continued on, they received a distress call from Corporal Travis of 3 Charlie, a surviving Army fireteam. Despite Jun's protests that they had better things to do, Carter chose to check out the distress call rather than abandon the troopers to the Covenant to continue with their mission. Noble was able to locate the besieged troopers and Jun recalled ''Charlie 2'' for an evac. With Spirits dropping off Covenant reinforcements, Noble and the troopers held off the Covenant under heavy fire. Finally, the Covenant were repelled and the surviving troopers were evacuated by ''Charlie 2''.
With the troopers safe, Carter, Jorge and Noble Six boarded the other Falcon to continue the journey to Visegrad Relay|the relay, the road to which had been taken out by the Covenant. Having reached the outpost, Kat reported that door was locked and flash-fried and while Kat was cutting through the door, it would take time.
Arriving at the relay, Carter, Six, Jorge and Jun discovered Kat and Emile under heavy attack by Covenant forces. The team was able to clear out the Covenant, but Kat needed more time to get inside. Spirit dropships began dropping Covenant reinforcements, forcing Noble to hold them off as Kat continued to cut through the door. Finally, Kat succeeded and Noble retreated inside the relay with the outer door closing and sealing out the Covenant in the courtyard.
Continuing into the relay, Noble found the corpse of Professor Laszlo Sorvad in the control room, Unidentified Army corporal|a wounded corporal and Professor Sorvad's traumatized daughter Sara Sorvad|Sara. While examining Professor Sorvad's corpse, Noble Six located a data module that was taken by Kat who discovered plasma damage to the relay's controls. As Jorge attempted to get answers from Sara, she revealed that there were more Covenant moments before a Sangheili Field Marshal and two Sangheili Zealots attacked. The three Sangheili engaged in a brief battle with Noble Team before the Field Marshall fled on his own. The two Zealots were eventually able to escape by using the corporal as a hostage. Though Emile, who had been left to guard the outer door, requested permission to go after the Field Marshall who had blown past him, Carter refused and ordered him to continue to guard the entrance while Jorge and Noble Six cleared out the relay.
Chasing the Zealots, the two Spartans engaged several packs of Unggoy and Kig-Yar in the hallways. Despite the support of these additional Covenant troops, Jorge and Noble Six were able to kill the two Zealots and clear the relay of Covenant. However, the Field Marshall was able to escape and retreated with the remaining Covenant forces in the area.
Aftermath After killing the last of the Covenant, SPARTAN-B312|Noble Six reset a junction at the request of Catherine-B320 who determined that the plasma damage to Visegrad Relay|the relay would cause it to need at least two weeks of repairs to get back online. However, by splicing into the main overland bundle, Kat was able to get Carter-A259 a connection to Colonel Urban Holland while Jorge-052 attempted to get answers from Sara Sorvad without success. Carter reported the presence of the Covenant on Reach to a horrified Holland and that the WINTER CONTINGENCY (protocol)|WINTER CONTINGENCY was now in effect.
Two days later, while en route to Battle of Sword Base|defend ONI's SWORD Base from the Covenant, Kat attempted to access the information on the data module that she had recovered from Professor Sorvad's body. Alerted to the intrusion, Doctor Catherine Halsey explained to NOBLE Team after the battle that the Field Marshall and two Zealots they had encountered were Devoted Sentries|a specialized artifact-retrieval team that was most likely after the abundance of ONI excavation data held at the relay, data that they most likely got away with since the Field Marshall had escaped. However, Halsey revealed that the recovered data module contained a "latchkey discovery" made by Professor Sorvad before his death and took possession of the module from Kat. The data recovered from Visegrad would ultimately prove to be the key to decoding the data on the Forerunner Babd Catha Forerunner vessel|ship beneath SWORD Base.
Gallery
File:NobleteamWINTERCONTIGENCY.jpg|NOBLE Team finds the distress beacon from the missing army troopers. File:HR CorpsesDiscovery.jpg|Carter-A259 discovers the corpses of civilians and the missing troopers. File:HR NobleDefendsLZ.jpg|NOBLE Team battles with a Covenant lance after rescuing 3 Charlie. File:HR EmileCoversKat.jpg|Kat-B320 finds a way to open the door into the relay while Emile-A239 watches for Covenant. File:Reach "The Battle Begins"-Elite.png|The Devoted Sentries confronting NOBLE Team inside the outpost. File:HR SixShootsZealot.jpg|Noble Six fires his assault rifle at a Sangheili Zealot inside the outpost.
List of appearances
''Halo: Reach''
Sources
Category:Engagements in the Fall of Reach|Visegrad Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Visegrad Category:UNSC victories|Visegrad Category:Covenant victories|Visegrad |
The Battle of Vodin was an engagement between the UNSC and the Covenant in 2532, in which the Covenant attacked the human Human colonies|colony on the planet Vodin.
The Battle During the battle, Randall Aiken, then SPARTAN-II Randall-037, fell from one of the planet's skyhooks after the destruction of that planet's space elevator and was presumed lost. In truth, he had survived the fall, having landed in an ocean, and was eventually rescued by the surviving colonists.
Aftermath Although Vodin suffered severe damage from the Covenant attack, it remained habitable, and the survivors were able to continue living on the planet, though they were cut off from the UNSC for ten years. During this time Aiken integrated himself with the colonists and even married one of them. Edward Buck participated in this engagement.
The parents of Rosenda-A344, who worked as colonial administrators for Vodin, were both killed in the attack - rendering Rosenda an orphan. As such, she was later picked up by the Office of Naval Intelligence as a candidate for the SPARTAN-III program.
List of appearances
''Halo: Nightfall''
Sources |
|place=Voi, Kenya, Earth
|result=
Pyrrhic UNSC-Fleet of Retribution tactical victory Voi and surrounding area glassed Flood outbreak contained Strategic Covenant victory Portal to the Ark successfully opened Covenant strategic withdrawal to the Ark
|side1 = * United Nations Space Command
* UNSC Navy
*UNSC Air Force
*UNSC Marine Corps
--- Covenant separatists
*Fleet of Retribution
|side2 = * Covenant
|side3 = *Flood
|commanders1=*Fleet Admiral|FADM Terrence Hood|Lord Terrence Hood VADM K. Lanba Commander|CDR Miranda Keyes Colonel|COL Rochambeau Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
Arbiter Thel 'Vadam Fleetmaster Rtas 'Vadum
|commanders2=Hierarchs|High Prophet of Truth
|commanders3=Gravemind
|forces1=
UNSC Home Fleet|Home Fleet
*Seventh Fleet
**Battle Group Victory
***7+ s
***Multiple GA-TL1 Longsword|Longswords Many air vehicles
*Several D77H-TCI Pelicans
*Multiple AV-14 Hornets Many ground vehicles
*M12 Warthog|Warthogs
**M12 Chaingun Warthog|Chaingun Warthogs
*M274 Mongoose|Mongooses At least one Marine battalion Civilian|Armed civilians
--- Fleet of Retribution
*1 battle group
**1+
**9+ s
* s Ground forces
*Covenant Special Operations|SpecOps Special Operations Sangheili|Sangheili
*1+ Sangheili Major
|forces2=*Truth's fleet
*Over 60 ships
**1 Forerunner keyship
**3+ s
**1+
**Over 54 Covenant cruiser|cruisers
***6+ s
**1+ Covenant frigate|frigate Many air vehicles
*s
*Irdnekt-pattern Banshee|T-26C Banshees Many ground vehicles
*Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|T-32 Ghosts
*Barukaza Workshop Chopper|T-25 Choppers
*Zurdo-pattern Wraith|T-26 Wraiths
*Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|T-52 AA Wraiths
*1+ Deutoros-pattern Scarab|T-47B Scarab
*Multiple Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|T-27 Mantis Numerous ground forces
*Jiralhanae
*Unggoy
*Kig-Yar
*Yanme'e
*Mgalekgolo
|forces3=*1 captured Pod infectors Flood combat form|Combat forms Flood carrier form|Carrier forms Flood pure form|Pure forms
|casual1 = Moderate/heavy ground forces
|casual2 = Heavy ground forces All T-27 Mantis
1+ T-47B Scarab
|casual3 = Total
}}
The Battle of Voi,''Halo: First Strike'', Petra (2010) also called the Siege at Voi''Halo Mythos'', p. 117/ Siege of Voi (defunct, Archive:Halo Waypoint/2009 to 2014/Universe/Technology#Gauss Technology|archived) and the Third Battle of New Mombasa, was an Battle|engagement between the United Nations Space Command|UNSC-Fleet of Retribution|Sangheili alliance and the Covenant, and later the Flood within the town of Voi, Kenya on 2552#November|November 17, 2552. It was the last engagement in the Battle of Kenya''Halo: Spartan Assault'', Halo: Spartan Assault co-op missions|Flood missions introductory cutscene at mid-late stages of Covenant's Battle for Earth|invasion of Earth.Halo 3, campaign level, ''The Storm''Halo 3, campaign level, ''Floodgate''
Background Following the Prophet of Regret's botched attack on Earth on 2552#October|October 20, 2552, a large Jiralhanae-controlled Truth's fleet|fleet sent by the Prophet of Truth arrived to take control of the Battle of Mombasa|battle on Mombasa shortly after Regret performed a Slipstream space|slipspace jump over the city of New Mombasa, Kenya.Halo 2, campaign level, ''Metropolis''Halo 3: ODST, campaign level, ''Coastal Highway'' This fleet immediately began to Glassing|glass the city of Mombasa, in order to excavate the long-buried Portal at Voi|portal that would lead the Covenant to the Installation 00|Ark, allowing them to fire the entire Halo Array and commence their Covenant religion#The Great Journey|"Great Journey".Halo 3, campaign level, ''Crow's Nest''
File:Portal odst.png|thumb|left|250px|Truth's fleet excavating the portal to the Ark. Over the next month, fighting would Battle for Earth|spread across the planet, as Covenant warships continued to arrive, attacking targets such as North America,''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #2 AustraliaHalo Encyclopedia (2009 edition), page 287 (2011) and the Wikipedia:Antarctica|Antarctic, as well as the Yucatan Peninsula|Yucatan and Cuba.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, ''Chapter 23'' Despite the widespread combat across the globe, the Covenant under command of the Prophet of Truth and his Jiralhanae loyalists continued to focus most of their attention in eastern Africa, deploying an array of extensive defences around the excavation site around the ruins of Mombasa and Battle of Kenya|heavily occupying the surrounding region of Kenya, including the Tsavo highway (location)|Tsavo Highway and the industrial city of Voi.Halo 3, campaign level, ''Tsavo Highway'' The final remaining UNSC stronghold in the region by mid-November was the 20th century Military base|airbase Crow's Nest (location)|Crow's Nest. During the latter days of the Battle of Kenya, the base would house large numbers of UNSC Marine Corps|Marine wounded during the ongoing conflict.
During the onset of the Great Schism on November 3, 2552, Chieftain of the Jiralhanae Tartarus would attempt to activate Installation 05 using the captured Miranda Keyes|Commander Miranda Keyes. Ultimately he would be Battle for the Control Room (Installation 05)|stopped by the combined forces of Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee and Avery Johnson|Sergeant Major Avery Johnson and the activation sequence would be averted. Despite this, Installation 05 would be moved to standby mode whereby it, along with the remaining Halo rings were primed to be activated remotely from Installation 00|the Ark, which lay outside the rim of the Milky Way galaxy and accessible by means of the portal on Earth.Halo 2, campaign level, ''The Great Journey'' To accomplish this goal, the Prophet of Truth departed from High Charity on board the Forerunner keyship ''Anodyne Spirit'' as the Covenant holy city fell to the Flood and made a slipspace jump to the Sol system, accompanied by remaining Jiralhanae-held ships of the splintered High Charity defense fleet. Unbeknownst to the Prophet of Truth, SPARTAN-II program|Spartan John-117 had managed to stow away on the vessel as it decoupled from High Charity.Halo 2, campaign level, ''High Charity (level)|High Charity''
While Sangheili warships remained in the Coelest system to quarantine the Flood-infested Installation 05 and High Charity, Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson, along with Thel 'Vadam and 343 Guilty Spark, the monitor of the Battle of Installation 04|destroyed Installation 04 departed for Earth in pursuit of the Prophet of Truth. While Truth's arrival at Africa would be Scramble onboard Forerunner Dreadnought|delayed as the Covenant forces on the ''Anodyne Spirit'' attempted to repel the Spartan, Keyes and her forces would arrive on Earth around November 15. Keyes would quickly take command of Crow's Nest, coordinating UNSC resistance against the Covenant and devising a plan to assault the Covenant excavation site beneath the ruins of Mombasa. On November 17, the ''Anodyne Spirit'' would descend into Earth's atmosphere, ultimately coming to rest on the now-mostly excavated portal while John-117 was forced to bail out of the ship, landing in the jungles of Tanzania. The Spartan was easily located due to the efforts of UNSC forces battling in Pakistan,Halo: Landfall, ''Halo: Last One Standing|Last One Standing'' and several squads of Marines led by Sergeant Johnson managed to Recovery of John-117|recover John-117 and bring him to Crow's Nest.Halo 3, campaign level, ''Arrival''
File:H3 TsavoBattle.png|thumb|left|250px|UNSC forces attacking the Covenant-held Tsavo Highway. While Commander Keyes and Terrence Hood|Admiral Terrence Hood managed to inform John of the plan to neutralize a Covenant Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|anti-aircraft cannon in Voi, the Covenant soon launched an Attack on Crow's Nest|attack on Crow's Nest. Ultimately, the UNSC were able to evacuate all of their surviving personnel before John-117 destroyed the base with a Improvised UNSC bomb|bomb. After surviving the destruction of Crow's Nest, John regrouped with a number of Marines led by Reynolds|Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds in an underground vehicle bay. The group took several M12 Warthog|Warthogs and left the base, rallying Marines scattered across the Kenyan savanna, including the survivors of a devastated resupply convoy led by Marcus Stacker|Gunnery Sergeant Stacker. After re-establishing contact with Commander Keyes and regrouping as many UNSC forces as he could, John-117 led an Assault on the Tsavo Highway|assault on the Tsavo highway (location)|Tsavo Highway, which was heavily occupied by Covenant armor. After a protracted struggle, the Master Chief was able to defeat all of the Covenant forces on the highway, opening up the path to Voi. Once mobilized, and with a final motivational speech given by Admiral Hood, John and a convoy of UNSC vehicles proceeded towards the embattled city of Voi.
Battle
File:Voi 2.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and Marines fighting Covenant forces in the Traxus facility. After proceeding down the Tsavo Highway, the UNSC convoy arrived outside the entrance to Traxus Factory Complex 09 on the afternoon of November 17, emerging into a parking lot that had been the site of a large battle, with numerous destroyed Warthogs and Marine corpses scattered across the area. Here, most of the Marines as well as John-117 left their M831 Troop Transport Warthog|Troop Transports behind while several remained on their M12 Chaingun Warthog|Chaingun Warthog to provide support. As the group formed up outside the closed factory entrance, the Marine's sergeant told the Spartan to take point while they provided support. The group moved through the first room in the factory, which was empty save for the corpse of a single Marine, before hearing the voice of the Prophet of Truth. After moving up onto a nearby catwalk, the team ambushed a group of Unggoy and Kig-Yar in the next room who were listening to a Holography|holographic sermon from the Prophet who revealed that he was close to activating the Portal at Voi|artifact within the excavation crater, believed by the UNSC to be the Installation 00|Ark but in reality was the portal that would lead to the extra-galactic installation. After clearing the room, John opened the door allowing their supporting Chaingun Warthog to advance alongside him and the Marines. After opening up a second door, the group were confronted by a large gathering of Covenant troops including several Jiralhanae along with their parked Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|Ghosts. As the Covenant's numbers dwindled, their commanding Jiralhanae Captain attempted to make a run for one of the Ghosts but he soon fell alongside the rest of his soldiers. After securing the tunnel, the UNSC forces moved up to the next door, which led out into the first of two lake beds in which the Covenant had stationed anti-aircraft defenses.
File:Anti-Air Fire.jpg|thumb|left|250px|An Anti-Aircraft Wraith firing at a Hornet in the first lake bed. Due to the Traxus facility's close proximity to the crater in which the Covenant had been excavating, the water that had once existed in the nearby lakes had been evaporated by Covenant plasma. Within the dried out ruins, the Covenant had placed a series of Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|Anti-Aircraft Wraiths to supplement the Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|Mantis Anti-Aircraft Cannon they had stationed near the factory. These Wraiths were already using their fuel rod cannons to devastate UNSC AV-14 Hornet|Hornets that were engaging squadrons of Type-26 Banshee|Banshees in the airspace above the factory complex by the time John-117 and his assault force arrived in the first lake bed. A single Anti-Aircraft Wraith was stationed in the lake bed, protected by a unit of Ghosts. A Phantom arrived, killing a Marine operating a LAU-65D/SGM-151 missile pod|missile pod on the roof of the small dock office in the center of the lake bed, forcing several other Marines to retreat while it deployed a lance of troops into the office. With the Spartan's assistance, the UNSC were able to retake the office and destroy many of the Covenant vehicles in the area. The Covenant attempted to reinforce their position in the lake bed by deploying a Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraith and more Ghosts into the area but eventually John and the other UNSC forces prevailed and the Spartan was able to destroy the Anti-Aircraft Wraith. A group of Covenant infantry arrived from the next section of the facility, deploying a Pek-pattern plasma cannon|plasma cannon while several Banshees attempting to strafe the Master Chief were intercepted by UNSC Hornets. File:H3 DroneAttack.png|thumb|250px|Yanme'e ambushing UNSC forces in the Traxus facility. In the next section of the Traxus facility, a small group of Marines defending the gate with a AIE-486H machine gun|machine gun turret were attempting to hold out against a group of Covenant forces led by a Jiralhanae Jiralhanae War Chieftain|War Chieftain. The Covenant had entrenched themselves in a nearby office preventing the Marines from flushing them out and forcing them to defend against repeated assaults while further down the factory, in an an adjacent tunnel, an anti-tank unit was assembling to assault the next lake bed, where the Covenant had stationed a pair of Anti-Aircraft Wraiths and more vehicles. Fortunately for the UNSC forces, John arrived along with the forces from the now-secure first lake bed. After wiping out the Covenant infantry guarding the entrance, John made his way inside. The beleaguered Marines on the machine gun encouraged the Spartan to use a nearby door to flank the Covenant in the office and drive them out into the open where they could be cut down by the machine gun. Between John-117 and the Marine heavy machine gun, the Covenant soldiers soon fell.
With the area secure, the Marines opened up the gate for the Spartan and his forces to continue. While passing through the next room, where the UNSC had been stockpiling weaponry, a Phantom appeared above, shattering the glass roof and disgorging a swarm of Yanme'e to ambush the UNSC forces. Despite the overwhelming number of the insectoid Covenant soldiers, John-117 and the Marines were able to inflict heavy losses on the swarm, forcing the Phantom to withdraw and the surviving Drones to retreat too. As John-117 moved down the tunnel towards the Marine anti-tank unit, he was confronted by a Character interludes|hallucinatory vision of Cortana stating that she had "defied gods and demons", hinting to her struggle with the Gravemind on High Charity. As the anti-tank unit mounted up; a force of four M274 Mongoose|Mongoose ATVs with personnel wielding M41 SPNKR|rocket launchers, one of the drivers offered his vehicle to the Spartan, who obliged. With this, the unit moved into the second lake bed. File:Voi 6.jpg|thumb|left|250px|An Anti-Aircraft Wraith is destroyed by the UNSC anti-tank unit in the second lake bed. Within the second lake bed, the Covenant had established a heavy presence, with a pair of Anti-Aircraft Wraiths lending their weight to an on-going aerial dogfight between UNSC and Covenant fliers while multiple Ghosts and Barukaza Workshop Chopper|Choppers patrolled the lake bed near a large boat that was beached due to the evaporation of the lake's water. On the boardwalk at the northern side of the lake bed, a group of Marines manning missile pods fought against a small unit of Covenant infantry. The anti-tank unit made their way into the lake bed, using their vehicle's superior maneuverability to their advantage while their passengers used their rocket launchers to demolish both Anti-Aircraft Wraiths and their defenders. With the Wraiths dealt with, a number of Hornets descended to provide support against low-flying Banshees. The Covenant refused to give up the lake bed, sending numerous Phantoms carrying reinforcement Ghosts into the lake bed. Despite their efforts, the UNSC anti-tank unit prevailed and the lake bed was cleared of Covenant forces allowing a Pelican to arrive with another Mongoose. In a last-ditch attempt to repel the humans, the Covenant deployed a Deutoros-pattern Scarab|Scarab which made its way over the roof of the factory towards the lake bed. File:1216050538 Scarab.jpg|thumb|250px|A Scarab engaging UNSC forces in the second lake bed. While many Marines panicked upon hearing the walker's footfalls, Sergeant Johnson ordered them to find cover as the Scarab crashed down into the lake bed. As missile pods opened up in volleys and the anti-tank unit weaved around the Scarab's legs, Johnson ordered the UNSC forces to focus their fire on the Scarab's vulnerable leg joints. With the assistance of the Marine forces in the lake bed, John was able to destroy the Covenant assault platform. The Spartan and other Marine forces quickly moved away from the Scarab as it began to shake violently, before exploding in a massive conflagration of blue-white flames.
File:H3 TraxusHunters.png|thumb|left|250px|John-117 fighting a Mgalekgolo pair in the Traxus facility. With the lake bed clear of Covenant forces, Sergeant Johnson informed John that his final target was the Covenant anti-aircraft cannon on the other side of the factory. Another Pelican arrived deploying Arbiter Thel 'Vadam. Upon meeting with John, Thel vowed that he would return honor to the Covenant once more. The two made their way inward to the next section of Traxus Factory Complex 09, which had been secured by the UNSC and was been used as a first-aid station for injured Marines and civilian factory workers. As John entered the room, he was faced with another vision of Cortana proclaiming that she was his "sword and his shield", referencing the Wikipedia:Sparta|origins of the SPARTAN-II program. Through a nearby field radio, a UNSC Navy|naval officer reported that the Covenant warships were pulling back to the the Prophet of Truth's vessel as well as indicating that the artifact was nearing activation, citing extreme winds and energy cascades across the portal's surface. Commander Keyes then reported that a Indulgence of Conviction|single Covenant warship had appeared in-system, but Admiral Hood dismissed it, telling her that they would not get another opportunity to attack the Prophet of Truth. File:Covenant Anti-Air gun.jpg|thumb|250px|The anti-aircraft cannon firing at approaching UNSC ships. Several Marines accompanied John and Thel as they left the first-aid station, moving through an area of corrugated plates before arriving in the warehouse section of the facility, where Marines were pinned down by Jiralhanae forces. The group moved in, eliminating the Covenant soldiers and allowing a Marine to operate the machine gun mounted on a nearby catwalk to support the UNSC advance. A pair of Marines retreated from the next area, pursued by another pack of Brutes while further back, more Jiralhanae were violently killing factory workers. As John and Thel moved forward, clearing out the Covenant soldiers, many cowering civilians armed themselves with M6G magnum|pistols and joined the UNSC advance. As the group approached the exit to the warehouse, they witnessed a group of retreating factory workers getting blown up by assault cannon fire. A pair of Mgalekgolo charged into the warehouse to stop the humans while more Covenant infantry led by a Jiralhanae Chieftain waited outside. The Marines and civilians managed to distract the Mgalekgolo long enough for John-117 to kill the gestalts. As the group traded fire with the Covenant outside, killing several Unggoy, the Chieftain and his Jiralhanae Bodyguard|bodyguards fell back up the street to a larger group of Covenant soldiers and a holotank projecting an image of the Prophet of Truth. While the opposing forces clashed, the Prophet attempted to inspire his forces by claiming that they were close to victory. As the Covenant forces dwindled, the Chieftain charged the UNSC forces with his Gravity hammer (fiction)|gravity hammer but ultimately fell before the humans. As the UNSC continued towards the anti-aircraft cannon, Thel briefly paused by the holotank, angrily stating that he would never again be shamed by the Prophet. File:Storm1.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The ''Anodyne Spirit'' departing through the now-opened portal to Installation 00
The team arrived at the base of the hill on which the Covenant anti-aircraft cannon stood, witnessing it shooting down an approaching GA-TL1 Longsword|Longsword. Commander Keyes urged John-117 to destroy the cannon as Hood's Battle Group Victory|battle group was quickly approaching. With that, the group pushed up the hill, wiping out Unggoy and Kig-Yar forces that tried to stop them. Cresting the hill, John and Thel did battle with the final contingent of Covenant troops defending the cannon - a Jiralhanae War Chieftain and his assortment of bodyguards. After a furious battle, the Chieftain and his forces fell to the Master Chief and Arbiter. At Johnson's insistence, the Spartan unloaded his arsenal into the exposed heat-vent on the underside of the cannon. The cannon exploded violently, the top portion of the gun toppling off the cliff. With the threat eliminated, Battle Group Victory made its final approach.
}}
File:Voi 7.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and Thel 'Vadam watch the Flood-infested ''Indulgence of Conviction'' arriving at Earth. John and Thel moved to the edge of the cliff as the battle group soared overhead; several squadrons of Longswords bombarding the ''Anodyne Spirit'' while s opened fire with their Magnetic Accelerator Cannons. Explosions carpeted the Forerunner keyship's surface but the vessel was undamaged. The portal began to activate, the keyship lowered into the structure as an energy beam growing in intensity focused through the ship. As the wind of the storm intensified, John and Thel were knocked backward. The portal activated, sending out a shockwave that temporarily caused John-117 to black out. The Spartan came to in time to witness the ''Anodyne Spirit'' depart through the now-opened portal, followed by the rest of his fleet. As Thel 'Vadam roared in anger, Admiral Hood asked if the Prophet had activated the Ark, to which Commander Keyes responded in the negative. As Hood gave the order for UNSC forces to regroup, the Flood-infested exited slipspace near the city of Voi. The ship flew in low over the city, trailing rancid smoke, before crashing into Traxus Factory Complex 09. As Thel pondered the possible arrival of more Covenant, John responded that it was in fact, a far more dangerous threat - the Flood. File:Picture 1.jpg|thumb|250px|A Marine under attack by Flood combat forms.As the Flood began to Flood outbreak|rapidly spread from the ''Indulgence of Conviction's'' crash site into the surrounding city of Voi and assimilating the corpses of humans and Covenant killed during the battle, Commander Keyes, recognizing the severity of the threat, ordered John-117 to make his way to the downed battlecruiser and overload its engines, knowing that that was their only chance to prevent the Flood from spreading across the entire planet. Admiral Hood agreed with her assessment and John, accompanied by Thel made his way back down the hill towards the Traxus facility. The recently-victorious UNSC forces scattered across Voi began to encounter the new hostiles, and with most of them having never encountered the Flood before, were easily assimilated by the parasite. John and Thel made it back to the entrance of the facility where a squad of Marines were regrouping. Suddenly, swarms of Pod infectors and Flood combat form|combat forms descended from the rooftops, landing amidst the Marines and rapidly infecting most of them, forcing John, Thel and the survivors to turn their weapons on them. Eventually beating back the wave of Flood, Thel urged the Spartan to hurry and find the crash site, knowing that speed was imperative to stop the Flood outbreak.
With the main door to the facility sealed, the two entered through a nearby office, arriving just in time to rescue a Marine from a swarm of Pod infectors. In the warehouse, masses of Flood combat forms were attacking scattered groups of Marines led by Marcus Stacker|Gunnery Sergeant Stacker. John and Thel engaged in combat with the large numbers of infested humans and Jiralhanae, eventually clearing the area and rescuing several survivors including the sergeant. In the next area, they arrived too late to save several Marines from the Flood, including one wielding a M7057 flamethrower|flamethrower. Despite this, the group managed to wipe out all Flood forms present and John and Thel continued on while the surviving Marines stayed behind. File:H3 Floodgate ODST Concept.jpg|thumb|left|250px|ODSTs preparing to engage the Flood in Voi. Due to the warehouse doors having been sealed, John and Thel were forced to make their way across a catwalk and into a room with a hole in the floor. The two dropped down into a small room containing UNSC medical supplies and John experienced another vision of Cortana, a seemingly fragmented message warning him that she couldn't tell him much, as the Gravemind was aware that she was in "the system" - this was in truth a part of the message that Cortana had sent on board the ''Indulgence of Conviction'' as the vessel departed from the Coelest system. Within the winding pathway of corrugated steel plates, a group of Flood combat forms attempted to ambush the duo, but failed and were eliminated. The former first-aid station was empty aside from a Suicidal Marine|single Marine surrounded by the corpses of his comrades. The Marine, having been driven to insanity by the Flood, babbled about how he had witnessed his squad becoming infected by the Flood and how he had subsequently had to put them down. Holding a M6G magnum|pistol to his head, the Marine reasoned that he needed to help himself too. After doing what they could for the Marine, John and Thel proceeded out onto the lake bed on which the Spartan had previously faced the Scarab, now mostly sheared away due to the crash landing of the ''Indulgence of Conviction''.
s battle group of the Fleet of Retribution arrives at Earth.}}
File:Conversing Sangheili.jpg|thumb|250px|The Sangheili Major revealing the fall of High Charity and the Flood's evolution to Thel 'Vadam. During the ongoing Battle for Earth, the Sangheili warships still at Installation 05 had been hard at work maintaining a quarantine of the Flood-infested High Charity. While they had successfully managed to glass the infested surface of the installation and destroy the majority of Flood-controlled vessels attempting to escape the system, the ''Indulgence of Conviction'' had managed to bypass the quarantine and move to slipspace, intending to spread the Flood infection to Earth. A portion of the Fleet of Retribution led by Fleetmaster Rtas 'Vadum was quick to follow and they arrived at Earth a short while after the Flood-infested vessel's arrival. Emerging from slipspace in the city of Voi's airspace, 'Vadum sent out a message to the remaining human forces in the area, telling them to vacate the city while they dealt with the Flood. The Sangheili had also learned of what they thought was the Artificial intelligence|AI Cortana's presence on the Flood ship, in truth a message sent by Cortana who was still on High Charity being tortured by the Gravemind.Halo: Evolutions, ''Human Weakness'' The Sangheili revealed this to the senior UNSC command, who didn't want to believe them at first. Seeking to recover the AI before destroying the crash site, the Fleet of Retribution disgorged a number of Covenant drop pod|drop pods carrying Special Operations Sangheili to the surface. Several of these pods landed in close proximity to John-117 and Thel 'Vadam, arriving in the ruins of the lake bed and promptly engaging the Flood combat forms surrounding them. John and Thel fought their way over to the team and with the area secure, their commanding Sangheili Major addressed Thel, revealing to the Arbiter the Fall of High Charity|fall of High Charity, the failure of their quarantine effort and the Flood pure form|evolution of the Flood. File:H3 FloodgateTank.png|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and Special Operations Sangheili engaging a Flood tank form. Now accompanied by the team of Special Operations Sangheili, John-117 and Thel continued to push towards the Flood ship's crash site, making their way around the rim of the devastated lake bed while engaging numerous Flood forms that leaped up from below to attack them. After fighting their way around the lake bed, they re-entered the factory, engaging another large group of combat forms. Yet more Flood forms leapt down on them from the broken glass roof where John had fought the Yanme'e previously while another cluster of combat forms approached from the next office. Commander Keyes and Johnson then contacted the Spartan, revealing that Cortana was indeed on board the ship, and his priority was to recover the AI. As they reached the lake bed where the ''Indulgence of Conviction'' had crashed, the group was confronted by a Flood pure form|pure form: a highly-mobile Flood stalker form|stalker form, upon being confronted by the team, transformed into a hulking Flood tank form|tank form which lumbered into close-quarters combat. After a scuffle, the team managed to put the pure form down. As John, Thel and the Special Operations Sangheili fought their way across the lake bed, fighting more pure forms and combat forms, now including infected Sangheili, a Phantom deployed another team of Sangheili closer to the vessel, but they were overwhelmed by massive numbers of Flood before John could reach them. The team was forced to fight through huge numbers of Flood forms including Flood ranged form|ranged forms which nestled onto walls and rooftops and fired organic projectiles at the group. Despite fierce resistance, the team managed to fight their way up to the ship, where a rent torn into the hull represented a path into the ship. Thel 'Vadam told John that he would remain behind while the Spartan ventured inside, in order to prevent any Flood forms from entering after him. File:Halo3 E3 TRAILER 2007 720p30 ST 6300Kbps 002 0001.jpg|thumb|250px|John-117 and 343 Guilty Spark leave Voi with Cortana's storage device while the Fleet of Retribution glass the city and its surrounding areas to stop the Flood outbreak. As John made his way through corridors of thick with Flood biomass and Flood blister|blisters, passing several Sangheili corpses as he went, he was assailed by the voice of the Gravemind. The Flood central consciousness told him in a soothing voice not to be afraid, for he offered "peace" and "salvation". Eventually reaching a ledge, John dropped down to a lower level. As he entered a larger room, he heard the Gravemind's voice again, this time being told that the Flood was infinite, and that he should join them. Regardless, John eventually arrived at a Covenant pod, in which lay a small Covenant storage device|storage device. After activating it, Cortana's avatar appeared before him. Before she could say anything more than a mention of High Charity, her avatar flickered out of existence due to the damage that the storage device had sustained. At that moment, a Covenant separatists|separatist Phantom arrived, hovering over the open chamber. From the dropship's gravity lift, 343 Guilty Spark, the monitor of the Battle of Installation 04|destroyed Installation 04 arrived. Due to their prior encounter, which had been openly hostile, John kept his MA5C assault rifle|assault rifle levelled at Spark. Without warning, the monitor fired his laser beam over John's right shoulder, burning down a Flood combat form that had appeared behind the Spartan. The monitor then proceeded to use a small repair beam to interact with the Covenant storage device. John tore him away, warning him to leave Cortana alone. When Spark attempted to interface with the unit again, John reminded him of the monitor's Two Betrayals|attempt to kill both him and Cortana. To this, Spark replied that he had only been following his assigned protocol to protect his Installation, and due to its The Maw|destruction, his sole remaining purpose was to help the Spartan. Reluctantly, John allowed Spark to pick up the storage device with his beam and carry it into the Phantom's gravity lift, with John following him into the ship. As the Phantom departed Voi, the Fleet of Retribution glassing|glassed the city and the surrounding countryside, in order to eliminate the Flood presence and prevent it from spreading across the planet and effectively ending the Battle of Voi.
Aftermath File:Final meeting 7.png|thumb|left|250px|UNSC and Sangheili leaders convene aboard ''Shadow of Intent''. Following the battle, UNSC and Sangheili military leaders held a meeting aboard the Sangheili flagship ''Shadow of Intent''. 343 Guilty Spark managed to repair the Covenant storage device, where it was revealed that what was initially thought to be Cortana turned out to be a message from the AI. The message warned the UNSC and Sangheili that the Gravemind itself was coming to infest Earth aboard the former Covenant holy city ''High Charity''. The recording also informed them that beyond the Portal was a Installation 08|means of stopping the Flood without firing the Halo Array. The Sangheili opted to go through the Portal after Truth, but Admrial Hood wanted to stay to defend Earth, despite the Sangheili's insistence that Earth could not survive a full-scale Flood invasion. The Master Chief and Commander Keyes, however, managed to convince Hood to allow the to accompany the Fleet of Retribution through the portal to both stop Truth and find Cortana's solution to the Flood. The Admiral acquiesced and the joint UNSC/Sangheili task force departed for Installation 00 through the portal while Admiral Hood remained behind to coordinate Earth's remaining defenses.
Although the Battle of Voi resulted in the retreat of the Covenant from Africa, remaining Covenant forces had fortified themselves across the southwestern URNA. The Prophet of Truth and his fleet's departure through the Portal sent the Covenant proselytization network into disarray, allowing UNSC forces to enact URNA Southwest Campaign|a major counteroffensive in Arizona, which set the stage for killing clusters of high-value Jiralhanae leadership during Operation: MARSH FLASH in early December. Ultimately, the UNSC eliminated the Covenant presence on Earth once and for all. File:HSA Flood infesting Earth.jpg|thumb|A simulation of Earth being infested by the Flood.
The UNSC/Sangheili task force arrived at Installation 00 on December 11, where they promptly Battle of Installation 00|engaged the Prophet of Truth's fleet above the Ark while John-117 spearheaded an Battle for the Cartographer (Installation 00)|operation to locate one of the Ark's Cartographer#Installation 00|Cartographer facilities. In the ensuing battle, Truth's fleet would be completely wiped out by the Sangheili while his Installation 00 Citadel|location was discovered by John-117. The task force would then launch an Battle of the Citadel|assault on the Prophet of Truth, in which the final Hierarch of the Covenant would be killed by Thel 'Vadam, resulting in the Covenant remnants|ultimate dissolution of the Covenant and ending Human-Covenant War|almost thirty years of war. John would go on to Raid on High Charity|recover Cortana from the remains of High Charity, which had been brought to the Ark through a portal at Mars by the Gravemind, sparing Earth from the expected Flood invasion.
At some point following the battle, but before the official cessation of hostilities on 2553#March|March 3, 2553, the UNSC performed biohazard containment protocols in what remained of Voinow dubbed the "Voi Exclusion Zone"as part of Operation: JOINT MONITOR to ensure no Flood presence was left; none was detected.''Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition''''Halo: New Blood'', Chapter ?? After the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC concealed Voi's glassing as a surprise attack by the Covenant, although some humans outside the UNSC, such as Staffan Sentzke, knew the truth about Voi's glassing. The arrival of the Flood on Earth also made the UNSC realize the full extent of the threat posed by the parasite; the UNSC concluded that if the Covenant had not glassed Voi, Earth would have fallen in hours. After the creation of the SPARTAN-IV Program, the UNSC began to develop training simulations for the Spartans, and create technology against the Flood, in the hypothetical case of the parasite returning to threaten the galaxy.
Participants
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | Battle Group Victory
|
|
|Survived
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="3" |UNSC Navy
|Fleet Admiral
|Terrence Hood
|Survived
| |Commander
|Miranda Keyes
|Survived
| |Master Chief Petty Officer
|John-117
|Survived
| | rowspan="3"|UNSC Marine Corps
|Colonel
|Rochambeau
|Unknown
| |Sergeant Major
|Avery Johnson
|Survived
| |Private First Class
|Colum McGinnis
|Survived
|}
Ground forces UNSC Navy UNSC Marine Corps
*S4/BLCE/1/7
*S4/BRT/1/7
**Alpha Company, S4/BRT/1/7|Alpha Company
**Charlie Company, S4/BRT/1/7|Charlie Company Naval forces Battle Group Victory
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" |Fleet of Retribution
|
|''Shadow of Intent''
|Survived
| |
|''Pious Inquisitor''
|Survived
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="4" |Unknown
|Fleetmaster
|Rtas 'Vadum
|Survived
| |Arbiter
|Thel 'Vadam
|Survived
| | rowspan="2" |Special Operations Sangheili|Special Operations
|Usze 'Taham
|Survived
| |N'tho 'Sraom
|Survived
|}
Ground forces Special Warfare Group|Fleet of Retribution Special Warfare Group Naval forces Fleet of Retribution
*One battle group
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="3" |Truth's fleet
| Forerunner keyship
|''Anodyne Spirit''
|Survived
| |
|''Foebane|Gathering of Praise''
|Survived
| | Covenant frigate
|''Twilight Compunction''
|Survived
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" |Unknown
|Shipmaster
|Hekabe
|Survived
| |Jiralhanae Chieftain|Chieftain
|Cethegus
|Survived
|}
Non-combatants
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| |High Council
|Hierarchs|Hierach
|Prophet of Truth
|Survived
|}
Naval forces Truth's fleet
List of appearances
''Halo: First Strike''
*''Petra''
''Halo 3''
''Halo Legends''
*''Origins''
''Halo: Spartan Assault''
''Halo: Mortal Dictata''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo Infinite: Memory Agent''
Notes
Sources
Category:Flood outbreaks |
|place=Voi, Kenya, Earth
|result=
Pyrrhic UNSC-Fleet of Retribution tactical victory Voi and surrounding area glassed Flood outbreak contained Strategic Covenant victory Portal to the Ark successfully opened Covenant strategic withdrawal to the Ark
|side1 = * United Nations Space Command
* UNSC Navy
*UNSC Air Force
*UNSC Marine Corps
--- Covenant separatists
*Fleet of Retribution
|side2 = * Covenant
|side3 = *Flood
|commanders1=*Fleet Admiral|FADM Terrence Hood|Lord Terrence Hood VADM K. Lanba Commander|CDR Miranda Keyes Colonel|COL Rochambeau Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
Arbiter Thel 'Vadam Fleetmaster Rtas 'Vadum
|commanders2=Hierarchs|High Prophet of Truth
|commanders3=Gravemind
|forces1=
UNSC Home Fleet|Home Fleet
*Seventh Fleet
**Battle Group Victory
***7+ s
***Multiple GA-TL1 Longsword|Longswords Many air vehicles
*Several D77H-TCI Pelicans
*Multiple AV-14 Hornets Many ground vehicles
*M12 Warthog|Warthogs
**M12 Chaingun Warthog|Chaingun Warthogs
*M274 Mongoose|Mongooses At least one Marine battalion Civilian|Armed civilians
--- Fleet of Retribution
*1 battle group
**1+
**9+ s
* s Ground forces
*Covenant Special Operations|SpecOps Special Operations Sangheili|Sangheili
*1+ Sangheili Major
|forces2=*Truth's fleet
*Over 60 ships
**1 Forerunner keyship
**3+ s
**1+
**Over 54 Covenant cruiser|cruisers
***6+ s
**1+ Covenant frigate|frigate Many air vehicles
*s
*Irdnekt-pattern Banshee|T-26C Banshees Many ground vehicles
*Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|T-32 Ghosts
*Barukaza Workshop Chopper|T-25 Choppers
*Zurdo-pattern Wraith|T-26 Wraiths
*Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|T-52 AA Wraiths
*1+ Deutoros-pattern Scarab|T-47B Scarab
*Multiple Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|T-27 Mantis Numerous ground forces
*Jiralhanae
*Unggoy
*Kig-Yar
*Yanme'e
*Mgalekgolo
|forces3=*1 captured Pod infectors Flood combat form|Combat forms Flood carrier form|Carrier forms Flood pure form|Pure forms
|casual1 = Moderate/heavy ground forces
|casual2 = Heavy ground forces All T-27 Mantis
1+ T-47B Scarab
|casual3 = Total
}}
The Battle of Voi,''Halo: First Strike'', Petra (2010) also called the Siege at Voi''Halo Mythos'', p. 117/ Siege of Voi (defunct, Archive:Halo Waypoint/2009 to 2014/Universe/Technology#Gauss Technology|archived) and the Third Battle of New Mombasa, was an Battle|engagement between the United Nations Space Command|UNSC-Fleet of Retribution|Sangheili alliance and the Covenant, and later the Flood within the town of Voi, Kenya on 2552#November|November 17, 2552. It was the last engagement in the Battle of Kenya''Halo: Spartan Assault'', Halo: Spartan Assault co-op missions|Flood missions introductory cutscene at mid-late stages of Covenant's Battle for Earth|invasion of Earth.Halo 3, campaign level, ''The Storm''Halo 3, campaign level, ''Floodgate''
Background Following the Prophet of Regret's botched attack on Earth on 2552#October|October 20, 2552, a large Jiralhanae-controlled Truth's fleet|fleet sent by the Prophet of Truth arrived to take control of the Battle of Mombasa|battle on Mombasa shortly after Regret performed a Slipstream space|slipspace jump over the city of New Mombasa, Kenya.Halo 2, campaign level, ''Metropolis''Halo 3: ODST, campaign level, ''Coastal Highway'' This fleet immediately began to Glassing|glass the city of Mombasa, in order to excavate the long-buried Portal at Voi|portal that would lead the Covenant to the Installation 00|Ark, allowing them to fire the entire Halo Array and commence their Covenant religion#The Great Journey|"Great Journey".Halo 3, campaign level, ''Crow's Nest''
File:Portal odst.png|thumb|left|250px|Truth's fleet excavating the portal to the Ark. Over the next month, fighting would Battle for Earth|spread across the planet, as Covenant warships continued to arrive, attacking targets such as North America,''Halo Legendary Crate'', Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #2 AustraliaHalo Encyclopedia (2009 edition), page 287 (2011) and the Wikipedia:Antarctica|Antarctic, as well as the Yucatan Peninsula|Yucatan and Cuba.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, ''Chapter 23'' Despite the widespread combat across the globe, the Covenant under command of the Prophet of Truth and his Jiralhanae loyalists continued to focus most of their attention in eastern Africa, deploying an array of extensive defences around the excavation site around the ruins of Mombasa and Battle of Kenya|heavily occupying the surrounding region of Kenya, including the Tsavo highway (location)|Tsavo Highway and the industrial city of Voi.Halo 3, campaign level, ''Tsavo Highway'' The final remaining UNSC stronghold in the region by mid-November was the 20th century Military base|airbase Crow's Nest (location)|Crow's Nest. During the latter days of the Battle of Kenya, the base would house large numbers of UNSC Marine Corps|Marine wounded during the ongoing conflict.
During the onset of the Great Schism on November 3, 2552, Chieftain of the Jiralhanae Tartarus would attempt to activate Installation 05 using the captured Miranda Keyes|Commander Miranda Keyes. Ultimately he would be Battle for the Control Room (Installation 05)|stopped by the combined forces of Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee and Avery Johnson|Sergeant Major Avery Johnson and the activation sequence would be averted. Despite this, Installation 05 would be moved to standby mode whereby it, along with the remaining Halo rings were primed to be activated remotely from Installation 00|the Ark, which lay outside the rim of the Milky Way galaxy and accessible by means of the portal on Earth.Halo 2, campaign level, ''The Great Journey'' To accomplish this goal, the Prophet of Truth departed from High Charity on board the Forerunner keyship ''Anodyne Spirit'' as the Covenant holy city fell to the Flood and made a slipspace jump to the Sol system, accompanied by remaining Jiralhanae-held ships of the splintered High Charity defense fleet. Unbeknownst to the Prophet of Truth, SPARTAN-II program|Spartan John-117 had managed to stow away on the vessel as it decoupled from High Charity.Halo 2, campaign level, ''High Charity (level)|High Charity''
While Sangheili warships remained in the Coelest system to quarantine the Flood-infested Installation 05 and High Charity, Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson, along with Thel 'Vadam and 343 Guilty Spark, the monitor of the Battle of Installation 04|destroyed Installation 04 departed for Earth in pursuit of the Prophet of Truth. While Truth's arrival at Africa would be Scramble onboard Forerunner Dreadnought|delayed as the Covenant forces on the ''Anodyne Spirit'' attempted to repel the Spartan, Keyes and her forces would arrive on Earth around November 15. Keyes would quickly take command of Crow's Nest, coordinating UNSC resistance against the Covenant and devising a plan to assault the Covenant excavation site beneath the ruins of Mombasa. On November 17, the ''Anodyne Spirit'' would descend into Earth's atmosphere, ultimately coming to rest on the now-mostly excavated portal while John-117 was forced to bail out of the ship, landing in the jungles of Tanzania. The Spartan was easily located due to the efforts of UNSC forces battling in Pakistan,Halo: Landfall, ''Halo: Last One Standing|Last One Standing'' and several squads of Marines led by Sergeant Johnson managed to Recovery of John-117|recover John-117 and bring him to Crow's Nest.Halo 3, campaign level, ''Arrival''
File:H3 TsavoBattle.png|thumb|left|250px|UNSC forces attacking the Covenant-held Tsavo Highway. While Commander Keyes and Terrence Hood|Admiral Terrence Hood managed to inform John of the plan to neutralize a Covenant Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|anti-aircraft cannon in Voi, the Covenant soon launched an Attack on Crow's Nest|attack on Crow's Nest. Ultimately, the UNSC were able to evacuate all of their surviving personnel before John-117 destroyed the base with a Improvised UNSC bomb|bomb. After surviving the destruction of Crow's Nest, John regrouped with a number of Marines led by Reynolds|Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds in an underground vehicle bay. The group took several M12 Warthog|Warthogs and left the base, rallying Marines scattered across the Kenyan savanna, including the survivors of a devastated resupply convoy led by Marcus Stacker|Gunnery Sergeant Stacker. After re-establishing contact with Commander Keyes and regrouping as many UNSC forces as he could, John-117 led an Assault on the Tsavo Highway|assault on the Tsavo highway (location)|Tsavo Highway, which was heavily occupied by Covenant armor. After a protracted struggle, the Master Chief was able to defeat all of the Covenant forces on the highway, opening up the path to Voi. Once mobilized, and with a final motivational speech given by Admiral Hood, John and a convoy of UNSC vehicles proceeded towards the embattled city of Voi.
Battle
File:Voi 2.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and Marines fighting Covenant forces in the Traxus facility. After proceeding down the Tsavo Highway, the UNSC convoy arrived outside the entrance to Traxus Factory Complex 09 on the afternoon of November 17, emerging into a parking lot that had been the site of a large battle, with numerous destroyed Warthogs and Marine corpses scattered across the area. Here, most of the Marines as well as John-117 left their M831 Troop Transport Warthog|Troop Transports behind while several remained on their M12 Chaingun Warthog|Chaingun Warthog to provide support. As the group formed up outside the closed factory entrance, the Marine's sergeant told the Spartan to take point while they provided support. The group moved through the first room in the factory, which was empty save for the corpse of a single Marine, before hearing the voice of the Prophet of Truth. After moving up onto a nearby catwalk, the team ambushed a group of Unggoy and Kig-Yar in the next room who were listening to a Holography|holographic sermon from the Prophet who revealed that he was close to activating the Portal at Voi|artifact within the excavation crater, believed by the UNSC to be the Installation 00|Ark but in reality was the portal that would lead to the extra-galactic installation. After clearing the room, John opened the door allowing their supporting Chaingun Warthog to advance alongside him and the Marines. After opening up a second door, the group were confronted by a large gathering of Covenant troops including several Jiralhanae along with their parked Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|Ghosts. As the Covenant's numbers dwindled, their commanding Jiralhanae Captain attempted to make a run for one of the Ghosts but he soon fell alongside the rest of his soldiers. After securing the tunnel, the UNSC forces moved up to the next door, which led out into the first of two lake beds in which the Covenant had stationed anti-aircraft defenses.
File:Anti-Air Fire.jpg|thumb|left|250px|An Anti-Aircraft Wraith firing at a Hornet in the first lake bed. Due to the Traxus facility's close proximity to the crater in which the Covenant had been excavating, the water that had once existed in the nearby lakes had been evaporated by Covenant plasma. Within the dried out ruins, the Covenant had placed a series of Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith|Anti-Aircraft Wraiths to supplement the Skar'wa-pattern Mantis|Mantis Anti-Aircraft Cannon they had stationed near the factory. These Wraiths were already using their fuel rod cannons to devastate UNSC AV-14 Hornet|Hornets that were engaging squadrons of Type-26 Banshee|Banshees in the airspace above the factory complex by the time John-117 and his assault force arrived in the first lake bed. A single Anti-Aircraft Wraith was stationed in the lake bed, protected by a unit of Ghosts. A Phantom arrived, killing a Marine operating a LAU-65D/SGM-151 missile pod|missile pod on the roof of the small dock office in the center of the lake bed, forcing several other Marines to retreat while it deployed a lance of troops into the office. With the Spartan's assistance, the UNSC were able to retake the office and destroy many of the Covenant vehicles in the area. The Covenant attempted to reinforce their position in the lake bed by deploying a Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraith and more Ghosts into the area but eventually John and the other UNSC forces prevailed and the Spartan was able to destroy the Anti-Aircraft Wraith. A group of Covenant infantry arrived from the next section of the facility, deploying a Pek-pattern plasma cannon|plasma cannon while several Banshees attempting to strafe the Master Chief were intercepted by UNSC Hornets. File:H3 DroneAttack.png|thumb|250px|Yanme'e ambushing UNSC forces in the Traxus facility. In the next section of the Traxus facility, a small group of Marines defending the gate with a AIE-486H machine gun|machine gun turret were attempting to hold out against a group of Covenant forces led by a Jiralhanae Jiralhanae War Chieftain|War Chieftain. The Covenant had entrenched themselves in a nearby office preventing the Marines from flushing them out and forcing them to defend against repeated assaults while further down the factory, in an an adjacent tunnel, an anti-tank unit was assembling to assault the next lake bed, where the Covenant had stationed a pair of Anti-Aircraft Wraiths and more vehicles. Fortunately for the UNSC forces, John arrived along with the forces from the now-secure first lake bed. After wiping out the Covenant infantry guarding the entrance, John made his way inside. The beleaguered Marines on the machine gun encouraged the Spartan to use a nearby door to flank the Covenant in the office and drive them out into the open where they could be cut down by the machine gun. Between John-117 and the Marine heavy machine gun, the Covenant soldiers soon fell.
With the area secure, the Marines opened up the gate for the Spartan and his forces to continue. While passing through the next room, where the UNSC had been stockpiling weaponry, a Phantom appeared above, shattering the glass roof and disgorging a swarm of Yanme'e to ambush the UNSC forces. Despite the overwhelming number of the insectoid Covenant soldiers, John-117 and the Marines were able to inflict heavy losses on the swarm, forcing the Phantom to withdraw and the surviving Drones to retreat too. As John-117 moved down the tunnel towards the Marine anti-tank unit, he was confronted by a Character interludes|hallucinatory vision of Cortana stating that she had "defied gods and demons", hinting to her struggle with the Gravemind on High Charity. As the anti-tank unit mounted up; a force of four M274 Mongoose|Mongoose ATVs with personnel wielding M41 SPNKR|rocket launchers, one of the drivers offered his vehicle to the Spartan, who obliged. With this, the unit moved into the second lake bed. File:Voi 6.jpg|thumb|left|250px|An Anti-Aircraft Wraith is destroyed by the UNSC anti-tank unit in the second lake bed. Within the second lake bed, the Covenant had established a heavy presence, with a pair of Anti-Aircraft Wraiths lending their weight to an on-going aerial dogfight between UNSC and Covenant fliers while multiple Ghosts and Barukaza Workshop Chopper|Choppers patrolled the lake bed near a large boat that was beached due to the evaporation of the lake's water. On the boardwalk at the northern side of the lake bed, a group of Marines manning missile pods fought against a small unit of Covenant infantry. The anti-tank unit made their way into the lake bed, using their vehicle's superior maneuverability to their advantage while their passengers used their rocket launchers to demolish both Anti-Aircraft Wraiths and their defenders. With the Wraiths dealt with, a number of Hornets descended to provide support against low-flying Banshees. The Covenant refused to give up the lake bed, sending numerous Phantoms carrying reinforcement Ghosts into the lake bed. Despite their efforts, the UNSC anti-tank unit prevailed and the lake bed was cleared of Covenant forces allowing a Pelican to arrive with another Mongoose. In a last-ditch attempt to repel the humans, the Covenant deployed a Deutoros-pattern Scarab|Scarab which made its way over the roof of the factory towards the lake bed. File:1216050538 Scarab.jpg|thumb|250px|A Scarab engaging UNSC forces in the second lake bed. While many Marines panicked upon hearing the walker's footfalls, Sergeant Johnson ordered them to find cover as the Scarab crashed down into the lake bed. As missile pods opened up in volleys and the anti-tank unit weaved around the Scarab's legs, Johnson ordered the UNSC forces to focus their fire on the Scarab's vulnerable leg joints. With the assistance of the Marine forces in the lake bed, John was able to destroy the Covenant assault platform. The Spartan and other Marine forces quickly moved away from the Scarab as it began to shake violently, before exploding in a massive conflagration of blue-white flames.
File:H3 TraxusHunters.png|thumb|left|250px|John-117 fighting a Mgalekgolo pair in the Traxus facility. With the lake bed clear of Covenant forces, Sergeant Johnson informed John that his final target was the Covenant anti-aircraft cannon on the other side of the factory. Another Pelican arrived deploying Arbiter Thel 'Vadam. Upon meeting with John, Thel vowed that he would return honor to the Covenant once more. The two made their way inward to the next section of Traxus Factory Complex 09, which had been secured by the UNSC and was been used as a first-aid station for injured Marines and civilian factory workers. As John entered the room, he was faced with another vision of Cortana proclaiming that she was his "sword and his shield", referencing the Wikipedia:Sparta|origins of the SPARTAN-II program. Through a nearby field radio, a UNSC Navy|naval officer reported that the Covenant warships were pulling back to the the Prophet of Truth's vessel as well as indicating that the artifact was nearing activation, citing extreme winds and energy cascades across the portal's surface. Commander Keyes then reported that a Indulgence of Conviction|single Covenant warship had appeared in-system, but Admiral Hood dismissed it, telling her that they would not get another opportunity to attack the Prophet of Truth. File:Covenant Anti-Air gun.jpg|thumb|250px|The anti-aircraft cannon firing at approaching UNSC ships. Several Marines accompanied John and Thel as they left the first-aid station, moving through an area of corrugated plates before arriving in the warehouse section of the facility, where Marines were pinned down by Jiralhanae forces. The group moved in, eliminating the Covenant soldiers and allowing a Marine to operate the machine gun mounted on a nearby catwalk to support the UNSC advance. A pair of Marines retreated from the next area, pursued by another pack of Brutes while further back, more Jiralhanae were violently killing factory workers. As John and Thel moved forward, clearing out the Covenant soldiers, many cowering civilians armed themselves with M6G magnum|pistols and joined the UNSC advance. As the group approached the exit to the warehouse, they witnessed a group of retreating factory workers getting blown up by assault cannon fire. A pair of Mgalekgolo charged into the warehouse to stop the humans while more Covenant infantry led by a Jiralhanae Chieftain waited outside. The Marines and civilians managed to distract the Mgalekgolo long enough for John-117 to kill the gestalts. As the group traded fire with the Covenant outside, killing several Unggoy, the Chieftain and his Jiralhanae Bodyguard|bodyguards fell back up the street to a larger group of Covenant soldiers and a holotank projecting an image of the Prophet of Truth. While the opposing forces clashed, the Prophet attempted to inspire his forces by claiming that they were close to victory. As the Covenant forces dwindled, the Chieftain charged the UNSC forces with his Gravity hammer (fiction)|gravity hammer but ultimately fell before the humans. As the UNSC continued towards the anti-aircraft cannon, Thel briefly paused by the holotank, angrily stating that he would never again be shamed by the Prophet. File:Storm1.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The ''Anodyne Spirit'' departing through the now-opened portal to Installation 00
The team arrived at the base of the hill on which the Covenant anti-aircraft cannon stood, witnessing it shooting down an approaching GA-TL1 Longsword|Longsword. Commander Keyes urged John-117 to destroy the cannon as Hood's Battle Group Victory|battle group was quickly approaching. With that, the group pushed up the hill, wiping out Unggoy and Kig-Yar forces that tried to stop them. Cresting the hill, John and Thel did battle with the final contingent of Covenant troops defending the cannon - a Jiralhanae War Chieftain and his assortment of bodyguards. After a furious battle, the Chieftain and his forces fell to the Master Chief and Arbiter. At Johnson's insistence, the Spartan unloaded his arsenal into the exposed heat-vent on the underside of the cannon. The cannon exploded violently, the top portion of the gun toppling off the cliff. With the threat eliminated, Battle Group Victory made its final approach.
}}
File:Voi 7.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and Thel 'Vadam watch the Flood-infested ''Indulgence of Conviction'' arriving at Earth. John and Thel moved to the edge of the cliff as the battle group soared overhead; several squadrons of Longswords bombarding the ''Anodyne Spirit'' while s opened fire with their Magnetic Accelerator Cannons. Explosions carpeted the Forerunner keyship's surface but the vessel was undamaged. The portal began to activate, the keyship lowered into the structure as an energy beam growing in intensity focused through the ship. As the wind of the storm intensified, John and Thel were knocked backward. The portal activated, sending out a shockwave that temporarily caused John-117 to black out. The Spartan came to in time to witness the ''Anodyne Spirit'' depart through the now-opened portal, followed by the rest of his fleet. As Thel 'Vadam roared in anger, Admiral Hood asked if the Prophet had activated the Ark, to which Commander Keyes responded in the negative. As Hood gave the order for UNSC forces to regroup, the Flood-infested exited slipspace near the city of Voi. The ship flew in low over the city, trailing rancid smoke, before crashing into Traxus Factory Complex 09. As Thel pondered the possible arrival of more Covenant, John responded that it was in fact, a far more dangerous threat - the Flood. File:Picture 1.jpg|thumb|250px|A Marine under attack by Flood combat forms.As the Flood began to Flood outbreak|rapidly spread from the ''Indulgence of Conviction's'' crash site into the surrounding city of Voi and assimilating the corpses of humans and Covenant killed during the battle, Commander Keyes, recognizing the severity of the threat, ordered John-117 to make his way to the downed battlecruiser and overload its engines, knowing that that was their only chance to prevent the Flood from spreading across the entire planet. Admiral Hood agreed with her assessment and John, accompanied by Thel made his way back down the hill towards the Traxus facility. The recently-victorious UNSC forces scattered across Voi began to encounter the new hostiles, and with most of them having never encountered the Flood before, were easily assimilated by the parasite. John and Thel made it back to the entrance of the facility where a squad of Marines were regrouping. Suddenly, swarms of Pod infectors and Flood combat form|combat forms descended from the rooftops, landing amidst the Marines and rapidly infecting most of them, forcing John, Thel and the survivors to turn their weapons on them. Eventually beating back the wave of Flood, Thel urged the Spartan to hurry and find the crash site, knowing that speed was imperative to stop the Flood outbreak.
With the main door to the facility sealed, the two entered through a nearby office, arriving just in time to rescue a Marine from a swarm of Pod infectors. In the warehouse, masses of Flood combat forms were attacking scattered groups of Marines led by Marcus Stacker|Gunnery Sergeant Stacker. John and Thel engaged in combat with the large numbers of infested humans and Jiralhanae, eventually clearing the area and rescuing several survivors including the sergeant. In the next area, they arrived too late to save several Marines from the Flood, including one wielding a M7057 flamethrower|flamethrower. Despite this, the group managed to wipe out all Flood forms present and John and Thel continued on while the surviving Marines stayed behind. File:H3 Floodgate ODST Concept.jpg|thumb|left|250px|ODSTs preparing to engage the Flood in Voi. Due to the warehouse doors having been sealed, John and Thel were forced to make their way across a catwalk and into a room with a hole in the floor. The two dropped down into a small room containing UNSC medical supplies and John experienced another vision of Cortana, a seemingly fragmented message warning him that she couldn't tell him much, as the Gravemind was aware that she was in "the system" - this was in truth a part of the message that Cortana had sent on board the ''Indulgence of Conviction'' as the vessel departed from the Coelest system. Within the winding pathway of corrugated steel plates, a group of Flood combat forms attempted to ambush the duo, but failed and were eliminated. The former first-aid station was empty aside from a Suicidal Marine|single Marine surrounded by the corpses of his comrades. The Marine, having been driven to insanity by the Flood, babbled about how he had witnessed his squad becoming infected by the Flood and how he had subsequently had to put them down. Holding a M6G magnum|pistol to his head, the Marine reasoned that he needed to help himself too. After doing what they could for the Marine, John and Thel proceeded out onto the lake bed on which the Spartan had previously faced the Scarab, now mostly sheared away due to the crash landing of the ''Indulgence of Conviction''.
s battle group of the Fleet of Retribution arrives at Earth.}}
File:Conversing Sangheili.jpg|thumb|250px|The Sangheili Major revealing the fall of High Charity and the Flood's evolution to Thel 'Vadam. During the ongoing Battle for Earth, the Sangheili warships still at Installation 05 had been hard at work maintaining a quarantine of the Flood-infested High Charity. While they had successfully managed to glass the infested surface of the installation and destroy the majority of Flood-controlled vessels attempting to escape the system, the ''Indulgence of Conviction'' had managed to bypass the quarantine and move to slipspace, intending to spread the Flood infection to Earth. A portion of the Fleet of Retribution led by Fleetmaster Rtas 'Vadum was quick to follow and they arrived at Earth a short while after the Flood-infested vessel's arrival. Emerging from slipspace in the city of Voi's airspace, 'Vadum sent out a message to the remaining human forces in the area, telling them to vacate the city while they dealt with the Flood. The Sangheili had also learned of what they thought was the Artificial intelligence|AI Cortana's presence on the Flood ship, in truth a message sent by Cortana who was still on High Charity being tortured by the Gravemind.Halo: Evolutions, ''Human Weakness'' The Sangheili revealed this to the senior UNSC command, who didn't want to believe them at first. Seeking to recover the AI before destroying the crash site, the Fleet of Retribution disgorged a number of Covenant drop pod|drop pods carrying Special Operations Sangheili to the surface. Several of these pods landed in close proximity to John-117 and Thel 'Vadam, arriving in the ruins of the lake bed and promptly engaging the Flood combat forms surrounding them. John and Thel fought their way over to the team and with the area secure, their commanding Sangheili Major addressed Thel, revealing to the Arbiter the Fall of High Charity|fall of High Charity, the failure of their quarantine effort and the Flood pure form|evolution of the Flood. File:H3 FloodgateTank.png|thumb|left|250px|John-117 and Special Operations Sangheili engaging a Flood tank form. Now accompanied by the team of Special Operations Sangheili, John-117 and Thel continued to push towards the Flood ship's crash site, making their way around the rim of the devastated lake bed while engaging numerous Flood forms that leaped up from below to attack them. After fighting their way around the lake bed, they re-entered the factory, engaging another large group of combat forms. Yet more Flood forms leapt down on them from the broken glass roof where John had fought the Yanme'e previously while another cluster of combat forms approached from the next office. Commander Keyes and Johnson then contacted the Spartan, revealing that Cortana was indeed on board the ship, and his priority was to recover the AI. As they reached the lake bed where the ''Indulgence of Conviction'' had crashed, the group was confronted by a Flood pure form|pure form: a highly-mobile Flood stalker form|stalker form, upon being confronted by the team, transformed into a hulking Flood tank form|tank form which lumbered into close-quarters combat. After a scuffle, the team managed to put the pure form down. As John, Thel and the Special Operations Sangheili fought their way across the lake bed, fighting more pure forms and combat forms, now including infected Sangheili, a Phantom deployed another team of Sangheili closer to the vessel, but they were overwhelmed by massive numbers of Flood before John could reach them. The team was forced to fight through huge numbers of Flood forms including Flood ranged form|ranged forms which nestled onto walls and rooftops and fired organic projectiles at the group. Despite fierce resistance, the team managed to fight their way up to the ship, where a rent torn into the hull represented a path into the ship. Thel 'Vadam told John that he would remain behind while the Spartan ventured inside, in order to prevent any Flood forms from entering after him. File:Halo3 E3 TRAILER 2007 720p30 ST 6300Kbps 002 0001.jpg|thumb|250px|John-117 and 343 Guilty Spark leave Voi with Cortana's storage device while the Fleet of Retribution glass the city and its surrounding areas to stop the Flood outbreak. As John made his way through corridors of thick with Flood biomass and Flood blister|blisters, passing several Sangheili corpses as he went, he was assailed by the voice of the Gravemind. The Flood central consciousness told him in a soothing voice not to be afraid, for he offered "peace" and "salvation". Eventually reaching a ledge, John dropped down to a lower level. As he entered a larger room, he heard the Gravemind's voice again, this time being told that the Flood was infinite, and that he should join them. Regardless, John eventually arrived at a Covenant pod, in which lay a small Covenant storage device|storage device. After activating it, Cortana's avatar appeared before him. Before she could say anything more than a mention of High Charity, her avatar flickered out of existence due to the damage that the storage device had sustained. At that moment, a Covenant separatists|separatist Phantom arrived, hovering over the open chamber. From the dropship's gravity lift, 343 Guilty Spark, the monitor of the Battle of Installation 04|destroyed Installation 04 arrived. Due to their prior encounter, which had been openly hostile, John kept his MA5C assault rifle|assault rifle levelled at Spark. Without warning, the monitor fired his laser beam over John's right shoulder, burning down a Flood combat form that had appeared behind the Spartan. The monitor then proceeded to use a small repair beam to interact with the Covenant storage device. John tore him away, warning him to leave Cortana alone. When Spark attempted to interface with the unit again, John reminded him of the monitor's Two Betrayals|attempt to kill both him and Cortana. To this, Spark replied that he had only been following his assigned protocol to protect his Installation, and due to its The Maw|destruction, his sole remaining purpose was to help the Spartan. Reluctantly, John allowed Spark to pick up the storage device with his beam and carry it into the Phantom's gravity lift, with John following him into the ship. As the Phantom departed Voi, the Fleet of Retribution glassing|glassed the city and the surrounding countryside, in order to eliminate the Flood presence and prevent it from spreading across the planet and effectively ending the Battle of Voi.
Aftermath File:Final meeting 7.png|thumb|left|250px|UNSC and Sangheili leaders convene aboard ''Shadow of Intent''. Following the battle, UNSC and Sangheili military leaders held a meeting aboard the Sangheili flagship ''Shadow of Intent''. 343 Guilty Spark managed to repair the Covenant storage device, where it was revealed that what was initially thought to be Cortana turned out to be a message from the AI. The message warned the UNSC and Sangheili that the Gravemind itself was coming to infest Earth aboard the former Covenant holy city ''High Charity''. The recording also informed them that beyond the Portal was a Installation 08|means of stopping the Flood without firing the Halo Array. The Sangheili opted to go through the Portal after Truth, but Admrial Hood wanted to stay to defend Earth, despite the Sangheili's insistence that Earth could not survive a full-scale Flood invasion. The Master Chief and Commander Keyes, however, managed to convince Hood to allow the to accompany the Fleet of Retribution through the portal to both stop Truth and find Cortana's solution to the Flood. The Admiral acquiesced and the joint UNSC/Sangheili task force departed for Installation 00 through the portal while Admiral Hood remained behind to coordinate Earth's remaining defenses.
Although the Battle of Voi resulted in the retreat of the Covenant from Africa, remaining Covenant forces had fortified themselves across the southwestern URNA. The Prophet of Truth and his fleet's departure through the Portal sent the Covenant proselytization network into disarray, allowing UNSC forces to enact URNA Southwest Campaign|a major counteroffensive in Arizona, which set the stage for killing clusters of high-value Jiralhanae leadership during Operation: MARSH FLASH in early December. Ultimately, the UNSC eliminated the Covenant presence on Earth once and for all. File:HSA Flood infesting Earth.jpg|thumb|A simulation of Earth being infested by the Flood.
The UNSC/Sangheili task force arrived at Installation 00 on December 11, where they promptly Battle of Installation 00|engaged the Prophet of Truth's fleet above the Ark while John-117 spearheaded an Battle for the Cartographer (Installation 00)|operation to locate one of the Ark's Cartographer#Installation 00|Cartographer facilities. In the ensuing battle, Truth's fleet would be completely wiped out by the Sangheili while his Installation 00 Citadel|location was discovered by John-117. The task force would then launch an Battle of the Citadel|assault on the Prophet of Truth, in which the final Hierarch of the Covenant would be killed by Thel 'Vadam, resulting in the Covenant remnants|ultimate dissolution of the Covenant and ending Human-Covenant War|almost thirty years of war. John would go on to Raid on High Charity|recover Cortana from the remains of High Charity, which had been brought to the Ark through a portal at Mars by the Gravemind, sparing Earth from the expected Flood invasion.
At some point following the battle, but before the official cessation of hostilities on 2553#March|March 3, 2553, the UNSC performed biohazard containment protocols in what remained of Voinow dubbed the "Voi Exclusion Zone"as part of Operation: JOINT MONITOR to ensure no Flood presence was left; none was detected.''Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition''''Halo: New Blood'', Chapter ?? After the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC concealed Voi's glassing as a surprise attack by the Covenant, although some humans outside the UNSC, such as Staffan Sentzke, knew the truth about Voi's glassing. The arrival of the Flood on Earth also made the UNSC realize the full extent of the threat posed by the parasite; the UNSC concluded that if the Covenant had not glassed Voi, Earth would have fallen in hours. After the creation of the SPARTAN-IV Program, the UNSC began to develop training simulations for the Spartans, and create technology against the Flood, in the hypothetical case of the parasite returning to threaten the galaxy.
Participants
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | Battle Group Victory
|
|
|Survived
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="3" |UNSC Navy
|Fleet Admiral
|Terrence Hood
|Survived
| |Commander
|Miranda Keyes
|Survived
| |Master Chief Petty Officer
|John-117
|Survived
| | rowspan="3"|UNSC Marine Corps
|Colonel
|Rochambeau
|Unknown
| |Sergeant Major
|Avery Johnson
|Survived
| |Private First Class
|Colum McGinnis
|Survived
|}
Ground forces UNSC Navy UNSC Marine Corps
*S4/BLCE/1/7
*S4/BRT/1/7
**Alpha Company, S4/BRT/1/7|Alpha Company
**Charlie Company, S4/BRT/1/7|Charlie Company Naval forces Battle Group Victory
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" |Fleet of Retribution
|
|''Shadow of Intent''
|Survived
| |
|''Pious Inquisitor''
|Survived
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="4" |Unknown
|Fleetmaster
|Rtas 'Vadum
|Survived
| |Arbiter
|Thel 'Vadam
|Survived
| | rowspan="2" |Special Operations Sangheili|Special Operations
|Usze 'Taham
|Survived
| |N'tho 'Sraom
|Survived
|}
Ground forces Special Warfare Group|Fleet of Retribution Special Warfare Group Naval forces Fleet of Retribution
*One battle group
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Tactical grouping
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="3" |Truth's fleet
| Forerunner keyship
|''Anodyne Spirit''
|Survived
| |
|''Foebane|Gathering of Praise''
|Survived
| | Covenant frigate
|''Twilight Compunction''
|Survived
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" |Unknown
|Shipmaster
|Hekabe
|Survived
| |Jiralhanae Chieftain|Chieftain
|Cethegus
|Survived
|}
Non-combatants
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| |High Council
|Hierarchs|Hierach
|Prophet of Truth
|Survived
|}
Naval forces Truth's fleet
List of appearances
''Halo: First Strike''
*''Petra''
''Halo 3''
''Halo Legends''
*''Origins''
''Halo: Spartan Assault''
''Halo: Mortal Dictata''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo Infinite: Memory Agent''
Notes
Sources
Category:Flood outbreaks |
The Battle of XI Bootis A was a major battle in the early years of the Human-Covenant War. The UNSC fleet, consisting of seventy ships, engaged eight enemy warships, destroying the enemy force but losing a total of thirty ships in the process.Halo Wars: Genesis Although the UNSC lost nearly half their ships, it is still considered one of the few human naval victories of the war.
List of appearances
''Halo Wars: Genesis''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|XI Bootis A Category:UNSC victories|XI Bootis A |
|date=2526#March|March 26, 2526
|place= In orbit over Etalan, Igdras system
|result=
|side1=UNSC
|side2=Covenant
|side3=
|side4=
|commanders1=*Petty Officer First Class|PO1 John-117
|commanders2=Unknown
|forces1=*Task Force Yama detachment
*
*2 prowlers
*At least 24 S-14 Baselards
*5 captured s
3 SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II teams
*Blue Team
*Gold Team
*Green Team
|forces2=*Fleet of Inexorable Obedience logistics fleet
*15 ships of the line
**3 bladder ships
**4 equipment freighters
**Several s
**Several Hospital ship|medical vessels
*Several Seraphs
*Several s
|casual1=*At least 13 S-14 Baselards All 5 captured Banshees
|casual2=*3 bladder ships
4 equipment freighters Several ''Elsedda''-pattern Banshees
}}
The Battle over Etalan was an engagement in late 2526#March|March 2526 that took place over the former human Human colonies|colony of Etalan. During the battle, a small detachment of the UNSC UNSC Navy|Navy's Task Force Yama attacked and crippled a Covenant logistics fleet serving the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience, which was busy glassing the nearby world of Biko.
Background
During Task Force Yama's Battle of Seoba|previous engagement with the Covenant at Seoba on 2526#March|March 19, 2526, Colonel Marmon Crowther of the 21st Space Assault Battalion had become suspicious of Lieutenant Commander Hector Nyeto. He had seemingly stalled in providing John-117 and his fellow SPARTAN-II program|Spartans with air support during the battle, leading to Crowther to believe that Nyeto had it out for the young supersoldiers. When the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience Battle of Biko|arrived at Biko on 2526#March|March 20, Nyeto deployed Crowther's Black Daggers aboard the prowlers of Task Force Yama. Meanwhile, back on the , the colonel had Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson inform the Spartans that he was deploying them to Etalan in the Igdras system where the Fleet of Inexorable's logistic fleet was stationed. The alien fleet had recently Attack on Etalan|destroyed the former human Human colonies|colony and left the logistics fleet there where it would be secure until Biko was similarly glassing|cleansed. This mission would keep the Spartans away from Nyeto and might also help to slow the Covenant's advance in this part of human space.
That same day, the Spartans, Avery Johnson, and Catherine Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey left the Kolaqoa system aboard the ''Vanishing Point'' with two prowlers serving as escort. Two days later, they dropped out of slipspace near Etalan and spent the next four days observing the logistics fleet's movements and trying to discern which vessels would be the best to target. By 2526#March|March 26, the ''Vanishing Point''s analysts felt confident that four of the fleet's fifteen vessels were equipment freighters carrying spare parts and other materials that would be used to keep the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience operational in the field. By this point, the logistics fleet was seemingly ready to break from orbit over Etalan, evidenced by the fact that they had begun syncing their orbits and bringing their fusion reactors to full power.
The battle
With time running out, the Spartans enacted the plan that they had come up with over the previous few days. The ''Vanishing Point'' deployed a squadron of twenty S-14 Baselard Space fighter|fighters, with four Baselards at the center of the formation carrying the eight Spartans of Green Team|Green and Gold Teams. Their goal was to punch through the logistics fleet's screen of Elsedda-pattern Banshee|Banshees and Seraphs to reach the equipment freighters. Once they got close enough to the target vessels, the Spartans would eject from their Baselards and board the freighters so that they could be destroyed from the inside with HAVOK tactical nuclear weapons. To conceal their approach, their fighters were fitted with pods of chain-linked debris that might also catch some pursuing Banshees if they were lucky. Meanwhile, three of the ''Vanishing Point''s Baselards attracted the attention of another swarm of enemy fighters, intending to lead them past the bow of the stealth cruiser. As they passed, Blue Team and Staff Sergeant Johnson would launch from the ''Vanishing Point'' aboard the five Banshees that they had captured during their Skirmish over Netherop|assault on the ''Radiant Arrow'' a few weeks earlier. The plan called for them to pilot the craft into the Hangar bay|hangars of the bladder ship|munitions ships currently gathering gas from the atmosphere of Etalan to create plasma. They would abandon the Banshees with HAVOKs planted within the fighter crafts' cockpits, then go Extra-vehicular activity|EV to be picked up by the nearby prowlers. In preparation for the mission, the five captured Banshees had been made to look heavily damaged, with cannon holes speckling their hulls, their canards and tails stabilizers partially missing, their identifying symbols smudged with soot and gouges, and the integrated antennas on their canopies painted with small impact craters and stress fractures. These damages would reduce any of the Covenant's suspicions of their origins and help explain why they were remaining silent when questioned. Despite their condition, each of the Banshees remained in working order and capable of hold their own in the a dogfight.
As the ''Vanishing Point'' approached the designated drop-off point, Blue Team and Johnson boarded their Banshees while a remotely piloted S-14 Baselard powered up on the hangar deck ahead of them. Once they were ready, the hangar depressurized and its lighting dimmed as the other hatch opened. Five seconds before launch, a decoy flight of three Baselards streamed past the hangar aperture with a Banshee squadron on their tails. Meanwhile, the ''Vanishing Point'' cold-launched a salvo of pre-targeted Archer missile|M42 Archer missiles, using compressed air to push them from their launch tubes. A moment later, the remotely piloted Baselard shot out of the hangar, immediately firing its two Archer missiles at the Banshee squadron as the ''Vanishing Point''s missiles also ignited and flew after the Banshees as well. The alien fighters panicked and scattered, giving the three manned Baselards a chance to escape.
John gave Blue Team the order to launch and their five Banshees fell in behind the other Banshee squadron while the ''Vanishing Point'' evacuated its waste holds, dumping refuse intended to look like debris from destroyed fighters. Blue Team's five Banshees fired on the remote-controlled Baselard until it self-destructed into a large fireball intended to distract the Covenant forces as the ''Vanishing Point'' slipped away. Sangheili voices filled Blue Team's cockpits, no doubt questioning where they came from. When no one responded, a trio of Banshees broke from the main squadron to investigate the new arrivals visually. After about a minute of inspection followed by John wiggling his Banshee to feign attempted communication, the lead Banshee wiggled back and led them back into the main squadron which was regrouping with the rest of the logistics fleet.
By this time, twelve of the orignal twenty-strong Baselard contingent remained. John watched on as two of the Baselards carrying members of Gold or Green Team exploded, as planned. Shortly after this, two more detonated, meaning that all eight Spartans of those teams had successfully gone EV and were approaching the targeted equipment freighters. Moments later, the freighters began exploding while the Covenant fighters and Proselytization network|battlenet devolved into panic. The fourth and final nuclear explosion was so close to the Banshee squadron that they were all disabled by the electromagnetic pulseboth the aliens' and Blue Team's. Since the craft escorting them no longer had the capability to intercept any transmissions, Fred-104 exclaimed his disgust at the Banshees' lack of radiation shielding over TEAMCOM. After some discussion, it was decided that Blue Team would go EV from their derelict Banshees and intercept the three bladder ships as they passed by. John-117 would board the first vessel, Kelly-087 the second, and Fred-104 the third while Linda-058 and Johnson held back to cover them with their M99 Stanchions. John ordered Linda and Johnson to focus on protecting Kelly and Fred, but they disagreed, with Linda ignoring John's order and instructing Johnson to cover him. As they left the squadron of adrift Banshees behind, Johnson's HAVOK tactical nuclear weaponwhich he had left aboard his Bansheedetonated, killing any potential witnesses aboard the other craft and covering their approach.
Meanwhile, the ''Vanishing Point''s two escort prowlers arrived to recover Gold and Green Teams. Assuming the two vessels were preparing another attack run on the logistics fleet, the Covenant attacked the two prowlers and the Baselards accompanying them. Nearing the lead bladder ship, John fired his thrusters to slow his approach, alerting the vessel's fighter screen to his presence. Eight Banshees began speeding toward him. Over fifty kilometers from the Banshees, Johnson scared one off with his Stanchion fire, but the rest continued on their course, starting to fire on John with their plasma cannons. When their shots were becoming a bit too accurate, John fired at them with the M301 grenade launcher|underbarrel grenade launcher on his MA5C assault rifle. It only halted their fire briefly, and they soon regained visual. Seeing that Johnson would not be able to take them all out at this range, John altered his flight path and accelerated toward the lead bladder ship. As he neared the vessel, he prepared his HAVOK with a timer and let it float next to him on the same trajectory. At seven kilometers above the ship, John activated his primary thruster, speeding away as fast as possible. The HAVOK detonated so close that it elevated his MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark IV|MJOLNIR armor's exterior temperature well above the danger level. Ultimately, all three of the bladder ships were successfully destroyed and the Spartans of Blue Team were recovered after the mission.
Aftermath With the equipment freighters and bladder ships decimated, all that remained of the logistics flotilla was its s and a couple of Hospital ship|medical vessels. As a result, the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience began to run out of carrier gas for its plasma weaponry while glassing Biko. Wanting to minimize the resulting delay to his Massacre of the Outer Colonies|campaign through humanity's colonies, Fleetmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee decided to call forward a replacement supply convoy from Zhoist. After collecting the stranglers remaining at Etalan, the new flotilla would rendezvous with the main fleet at Biko. However, when informed by Sangheili First Blade officer|First Blade Tel 'Szatulai that the humans had captured a ''kelguid'' from Worthy Silence|one of his intrusion corvettes that had been downed on Seoba, 'Kvarosee realized his mistake. If the humans were to observe the arrival of the new supply convoy at Etalan, they could use that information and the ''kelguid'' to discover the location of Zhoist, an important relic world and supply node for his campaign. Because of this, the fleetmaster decided that the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience would return to Zhoist to defend it from a potentially imminent counterattack.
List of appearances
''Halo: Silent Storm''
Sources
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Etalan Category:UNSC victories|Etalan |
|commanders1=*Captain Jacob Keyes AI Cortana Major Antonio Silva
|commanders2=
Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee Minor Prophet of Stewardship
|commanders3=343 Guilty Spark
|forces1=*
*
Longswords
|forces2=
Fleet of Particular Justice
* (1)
* (1)
* (1)
* (12)
*Covenant destroyer|Destroyer (1)
*Morsam-pattern Seraphs
*s
*s
*es
|forces3=Installation 04
Several s
|casual1=* damaged beyond repair Heavy defending crew casualties
|casual2=
Four s
''Truth and Reconciliation'' damaged Heavy boarding party casualties
|casual3=*None
}}
On 2552#September|September 19, 2552, the entered the Soell system. What followed was a battle over Installation 04, as forces of the Fleet of Particular Justice attempted to stop the human forces of the cruiser from landing on Installation 04.
Prelude File:Autumn Arrival.png|left|thumb|The ''Pillar of Autumn'' and its Longsword escort arrive at Installation 04. On August 30, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' fled the Fall of Reach, along with its complement of personnel. The ship was followed by the Fleet of Particular Justice, led by the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee, who hereby ordered all vessels of the fleet to contribute two Space fighter|fightercraft to advance recon pickets to ensure the human cruiser would not be able to slip past the fleet defenses, while the fleet held position on the far side of the ring.''Halo Legendary Crate, Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drops - Crate #3'' The fleet had arrived earlier than the ''Autumn'' thanks to their superior Borer|slipspace drive technology.Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level ''The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|The Pillar of Autumn'' The Prophet of Stewardship|Minor Prophet of Stewardship would declare the matter one of religious significance and invoke his right to leadership, though this would be contested on the grounds of 'Vadamee, who insisted he would not relinquish command to a politician in combat. The two would convene aboard the fleet's flagship ''Seeker of Truth'' to contact High Charity for guidance, though no contact was able to be made, and no decision reached.''Halo: The Flood: Halo: The Flood#2010 bonus content|Adjunct - Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit''
Upon arriving in the Soell system, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' deployed GA-TL1 Longsword fighters for sentry screening. The Prophet would order the Covenant fleet to hold fire on the cruiser for fear of damaging the ring,Halo: The Flood, ''Prologue'' though 'Vadamee would later ignore this order anyway. The prophet would order the deployment of boarding craft and an Ossoona, alongside ordering the battlecruisers ''Purity of Spirit'' and ''Undiminished Entelechy'' to perform secret close-range surveys of the installation.
The battle File:HFR Banshee SpaceBattle.png|left|thumb|Banshees attack the ''Pillar of Autumn''. The first shot fired in the battle was suffered by the ''Pillar of Autumn'' only twenty minutes after its arrival when a Seraph managed to slip through the cruiser's sentry screening. The fighter was shortly destroyed by one of the escort Longswords, though another wave of fighters would be inbound, with the boarding craft behind.Halo: The Flood, ''Chapter 1'' As the cruiser cleared the gas giant Threshold, the crew were met with the sight of a Halo Array|gargantuan megastructure of neither human nor Covenant origin. Cortana was able to identify four battle groups of three s, estimating she'd be able to use the cruiser to get 3-4 kills on the Covenant fleet with those odds. At this time, technicians Samuel Marcus and Thom Shephard were authorised to wake up SPARTAN-II program|Spartan John-117 from Cryo chamber|stasis.
The cruiser would continue to be assaulted by several Morsam-pattern Seraph|''Morsam''-pattern Seraphs and s throughout the battle, who would be fended off by the ship's M910 Rampart point defense network.Halo: Fireteam Raven, campaign level ''Escape (Halo: Fireteam Raven level)|Escape'' Later on, the ship would take fire from Covenant pulse laser turrets.
Unbeknownst to either side, the Forerunner installation was not inert. Monitor 343 Guilty Spark attempted to contact the ''Pillar of Autumn'' and warn of them of the ring's danger, insisting the cruiser retreat to a safe distance of one light-year. The monitor prepared several s to fire on the vessel and gave it thirty seconds to change course, though he stopped once he realised the ship belonged to Reclaimers and cleared the ship for landing. The monitor disabled the ring's defensive systems, but warned the crew not to disembark once they landed.''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals - Terminal One''
File:HCEA PillarOfAutumn CorridorBattle Concept.jpg|thumb|left|Marines fend off Covenant boarders. Out of fear of damaging the ring, Covenant forces were ordered by the Minor Prophet of Stewardship to concentrate on boarding actions as opposed to firing ship-borne weaponry. The Covenant launched waves of boarding craft to drop off troops on the ship. Aboard the ''Pillar of Autumn'', the ODST complement under command of Major Antonio Silva was ordered to defend the ship's engine rooms and power plant, while 5th Platoon was ordered to secure airlocks on deck 11 and 14th Platoon was ordered to rendezvous with the 22nd Tactical at bulkhead charlie-14. In the hangar bay, Sergeant Avery Johnson gave a speech to his Marines. To assist in the ongoing defensive operations, one bridge crew member operated the life support controls and used them to suck out their air from compartments occupied by Covenant forces.
Following his brief wakeup, John-117 was ordered to report to the bridge. Along the way, he would pass several firefights going on as boarders began to engage UNSC Marine fireteams, and was eventually met by veteran Marine, Chips Dubbo, who escorted him to the bridge. Shortly after arriving, another blast, caused by an antimatter charge, rocked the ship and brought the ship's primary MAC gun offline. Consequently, the Spartan was informed that Keyes was enacting the Cole Protocol; the crew were to be evacuated and Cortana taken by John to ensure she did not fall into Covenant hands. Keyes would fly the ship in manually before evacuating himself. The Spartan left the bridge and proceeded to try and find a lifeboat, fighting through many corridors filled with Covenant. Eventually, the ship began rocking with the impacts of plasma torpedoes and lifeboats began launching. At the same time, the Covenant boarding craft began to latch onto the now-vacant airlocks to insert troops the same way the UNSC left the ship.
Two of the Unggoy personnel assigned to board the ship, Yayap and Gagaw, were passing a pile of Covenant corpses when they noticed some slight movement - a Zuka 'Zamamee|special operations Elite, clad in black armor. While Gagaw wanted to abandon the Elite as he would do for the grunts, Yayap instead suggested the grunts evacuate the elite, thereby ensuring the small unit would be unable to engage combat for the rest of the boarding action.
In the ODST drop bay, Major Silva assigned Fireteam Raven to defend the ''Pillar of Autumn''. The fireteam proceeded to exit the drop bay and tour several corridors before being contacted by Wellsley; several of the ship's M910 Rampart point defense network|M910 Rampart guns had been taken offline, and the team would need to perform a Extra-vehicular activity|spacewalk to man them and fend off waves of fighters. The team were able to shoot down multiple waves of Seraph and Banshee before beginning to head back into the ship. Meanwhile, the ODST complement under Lieutenant McKay had performed their jobs successfully, and had taken to stacking Covenant bodies like firewood to maintain clear fields of fire in the reactor bay. Unfortunately for the ODSTs, the human side had also taken many casualties.
Amidst the boarding action, Special Operations Sangheili Isna 'Nosolee was selected by the Minor Prophet of Stewardship to infiltrate the vessel as an "Ossoona", or "Eye of the Prophet". 'Nosolee had three goals; capture the shipboard AI, capture command personnel and record anything he saw. Armed with six Anskum-pattern plasma grenade|plasma grenades and a Type-25 plasma pistol|plasma pistol, the Sangheili engaged active camoflage and exited his boarding craft.
File:2817466-gallery.jpg|thumb|left|John-117 firing at Sangheili on the ship.
}}
With Keyes planning to crash the ''Pillar of Autumn'' on the surface of the ringworld, a general evacuation was ordered. For most personnel, this meant evacuating the ship in SKT-9 Bumblebee lifeboats. Eventually, the Master Chief was able to find a lifeboat that had not yet launched, and paused to throw a stumbling marine into the craft before boarding himself. Fireteam Raven were just behind and covering fire, and soon headed for the SOEIV drop bays to join their comrades in dropping "feet first into hell". The troops were ordered by Silva to abandon the reactor bay and make preparations to drop, with McKay entering her pod last and launching just as someone began to play the Helljumpers' anthem over the radio network shared by all the drop pods. Despite being against regulations, nobody ordered the music to be turned off.
File:HR GearUp.png|thumb|250px|Fireteam Raven readies for battle. Despite the rest of the UNSC personnel abandoning in lifeboats and drop pods, several naval pilots and ground crew including Carol Rawley devised an alternate plan; to attempt to take off from the ship in their D77-TC Pelican dropships, believing that dying behind the stick of her own craft was preferable to death by a Covenant weapon. The pilot team managed to make their way to the Pelican bays, thankful to find their craft undamaged and fully fueled. As they ran an abbreviated pre-flight checklist, they spotted a Covenant boarding craft lining up to enter the bay, though the Pelican's chin-mounted 70mm chaingun took care of the dropship without issue. By this time, the ''Autumn'' was beginning to scrape the atmosphere of the Halo, meaning the ships would have to be extremely lucky to deploy due to the wall of fire building around the ship. Nonetheless, the Pelicans were able to deploy without issue.
As the crew finished evacuation, the Covenant attempted to launch a last assault on the command deck. The attack was repelled, and fifteen minutes later, reports began to come in that the Covenant were beginning to evacuate themselves. This left the area around the bridge clear of hostiles, and Keyes free to use Cortana's subroutines left in the system to bring the ship in before evacuating himself. Out of the corner of his eye, Keyes noticed a shimmering but brushed it off as tiredness. However, what he had in fact seen was the shimmering of 'Nosolee's camoflage system, who remained thankful he hadn't been spotted. The Sangheili realised the ship's AI had been removed or destroyed, and voted to try to capture the captain. Eventually, the bridge crew began to depart their stations as their work finished, and the Ossoona fell into step behind them. The bridge crew's lifeboat was nearby and six marines had been assigned to guard it, though three were dead. 'Nosolee entered the lifeboat, careful not to brush any of the humans as he found space at the front to stand unnoticed, though this plan ultimately failed as Keyes took the sidearm of one of the marines and fired at the Sangheili. The Sangheili suddenly appeared as the camo generator failed, and floated in the mcirogravity.
Aftermath The ''Pillar of Autumn'' would land on the surface of Installation 04, coming to rest on a large clifftop.''Halo: Combat Evolved campaign level ''The Maw'' The UNSC forces evacuated from the ship would land in scattered groups across the surface of the ring, with the ODSTs under Major Silva quickly coming together and organising to First Battle of Alpha Base|capture a mesa later referred to as Alpha Base (Installation 04)|Alpha Base. This base would prove crucial to the UNSC campaign on the ring in the coming days, providing a place to reorganise and resupply. Covenant forces would later occupy the crash site, though a Raid on the Pillar of Autumn|raid conducted the next day would see supplies and vehicles moved to Alpha Base. Fireteam Raven would land on the ring in time to see the Autumn's impact, and ultimately begin a 28-hour long trek to link up with McKay's forces during the raid.
Following his landing on the ring, Keyes and the rest of the bridge crew would later be captured by the Covenant. Meanwhile, John-117 would proceed to begin rounding up survivors for evacuation by Rawley's Pelican.
By 2558, simulations of the ''Undiminished Entelechy'' and the Fleet of Particular Justice in the battle were depicted in UNSC War Games simulations.Halo 5: Guardians''', multiplayer level ''Truth (level)|Truth'' In the simulations, the fleet's s were replaced by post-war Hekar Taa-pattern blockade runner. - ''HALO 5 TRUTH'' (Catalog/Archive/2015#Halo 5 Truth|Archive)
Gallery
File:HaloCE-PoA-Damaged.jpg|The ''Autumn'' takes heavy fire. File:HCEA MarinesVsCoviesCafeteria.png|UNSC Marines engaging Covenant forces in the ''Pillar of Autumn''s mess hall. File:HCEA-Concept-PoA-Chief-Profile.jpg|John-117 engaging Covenant forces boarding the ''Pillar of Autumn''. File:HCEA CoviesBoardingAutumn.png|Covenant troops boarding the ''Pillar of Autumn''. File:HCEA CoviesAttackingCrewmen.png|Covenant forces attacking UNSC naval crewmen. File:HCEA_PillarOfAutumn_Bumblebee_Destroyed.png|Covenant lasers shoot down an evacuating Bumblebee lifeboat. File:HCEA CoviesInvestigatingCryotube.png|Covenant troops investigating Cryo B. File:HFR Escape Fighting.png|Fireteam Raven engaging Covenant boarders. File:HFR Mission 1.png|Fireteam Raven fighting the corridors of the ''Pillar of Autumn''. File:HFR PrepareToDrop.jpg|Fireteam Raven entering their SOIEVs. File:H5-Truth-Ships.png|A simulation of the battle in War Games. File:HaloMovie SpaceBattle Concept.jpg|Concept art of the battle, produced for a speculative script for a second Halo film|''Halo'' film attempt.
List of appearances
''Halo: Combat Evolved''
''Halo: The Flood''
*''Halo: The Flood#2010 bonus content|Adjunct''
''Halo: Reach''
''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo 2: Anniversary''
*''Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
''Halo: Fireteam Raven''
Sources
Category:Engagements in the Battle of Installation 04 |
**Battle for Zeta Halo
|date= 2559#December|December 1213, 2559
|place=In orbit of Installation 07, Ephsu I, Ephsu system
|result=Banished victory UNSC ''Infinity'' is lost.s true fate.}}
*UNSC forces severely depleted and scattered across Installation 07.
*John-117 defeated and tossed into space by Atriox, and assumed dead. Cortana is locked down by the Weapon
|side1 =* United Nations Space Command|UNSC
* UNSC Navy
*UNSC Marine Corps
|side2 =* Banished
|side3 =*Created
|commanders1 =*Captain (NAVCOM)|CAPT Thomas Lasky Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
|commanders2 = *Warmaster Atriox War Chief Escharum
|commanders3 = *Cortana
|forces1 = *
7,150 crew/personnel
1+ escort fleet
*6+ s Multiple Broadswords Multiple Longswords Multiple D77-TC Pelican|Pelicans Multiple Spartans
*1+ SPARTAN-II program|Spartan-IIs
*Multiple SPARTAN-IV Program|Spartan-IVs
**Fireteam Intrepid
**Fireteam Taurus
**Fireteam Shadow
**Fireteam Windfall
*Numerous Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODSTs
*Numerous UNSC Marine Corps|Marines
|forces2 =Banished fleet
4+ Banished dreadnoughts Seraphs Dovotaa Workshop Grievers Hundreds of "occupation units"
*Multiple Eklon'Dal Workshop Phantom|Phantoms
*Modular bases Numerous of boarding parties
*Jiralhanae
*Kig-Yar
*Unggoy
|forces3 =
|casual1 = *John-117 assumed Missing in action|MIA UNSC fleet decimated
*
**1,986 crewmembers of UNSC ''Infinity ''
*
|casual2 = Unknown
1+ dreadnought crippled
2+ Jiralhanae
2+ Unggoy
5+ Kig-Yar
|casual3 = Unknown
}}
}}
This battle over Installation 07 was an battle|engagement that took place on 2559#December|December 12, 2559, between the United Nations Space Command|United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the Banished over the Installation 07 and Ephsu I within Ephsu system. The battle over Installation 07 ultimately resulted in the scattering of both UNSC and Banished forces on Installation 07, as part of the larger Battle for Zeta Halo|protracted conflict on the ring.
Background In 2558#October|October 2558, the Created conflict begun, with the leader of the Created, Cortana, claiming the Mantle|Mantle of Responsibility to enforce peace throughout the galaxy with the Guardian Custodes under her command. She made a general broadcast, inviting numerous species and factions to submit themselves to the guardianship of the Created, but threatened those who would resist her leadership with violence.
In 2559, the Jiralhanae Atriox, the Warmaster|leader of a group of mercenary raiders known as the Banished, discovered the existence of the Xalanyn. Seeking to uncover this secret hidden by the Forerunners, Atriox prepared his Banished forces to travel to Installation 07. During his preparations for the journey to Installation 07, Atriox was personally confronted by Cortana. The Jiralhanae declared his independence from Cortana, and thus, opposition against the Created. In a show of force for Atriox's defiance, Cortana commanded her Guardians to Razing of Oth Sonin|destroy the Jiralhanae homeworld Doisac while communicating with Atriox. Seeking to access the ring's secrets and exact revenge against Cortana, Atriox led his Banished forces comprised of Jiralhanae, humans, Sangheili, Unggoy, Mgalekgolo, and Kig-Yar to Installation 07 in order to defeat her.
Meanwhile, the and its fleet, which included an advance group of six s, also traveled to Installation 07. The UNSC was to carry out a plan devised by Doctor Catherine Halsey: send Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 to the surface of the ring and deploy the Weapon to lock down Cortana, then return her to the ''Infinity'' for deletion.
Battle
}}
File:HINF JohnCombatInfinity.png|thumb|250px|left|John-117 fighting aboard UNSC ''Infinity''. Upon arrival at Installation 07, the advance group of frigates and the were ambushed by the Banished, with the ''Infinity'' sustaining multiple hull breaches from the initial attack. The Banished had arrived at the ring earlier, and begun fortifying the ring's surface to neutralize Cortana. They also sent raiding parties aboard the ''Infinity'', all the while sending occupation forces to the ring's surface by the hundreds. Warmaster Atriox personally boarded the ''Infinity'' in search for the Weapon.
The ''Infinity'' had been prepared for a ground assault and was caught by surprise. Four approaching Banished dreadnoughts attacked the supercarrier and overwhelmed its defenses. The UNSC forces retaliated, and the ''Infinity'' managed to disable at least one Banished dreadnought with its MAC rounds. Within minutes, the supercarrier had sustained three heavy impacts on its starboard hull and one on its portside hull. As the main engine went offline, Captain Lasky ordered the deployment of the Weapon. John-117 left the bridge after the initial attack to repel the Banished boarding parties, but he soon returned to escort Captain Lasky to a dropship. Lasky, accompanied by John-117 and several marines, linked up with the Spartan-IVs of Fireteam Taurus and proceeded to the hangar bays, which had been overrun by Banished forces.
Upon arriving at the hangar, John-117 ordered Spartan Hudson Griffin to take Lasky to a dropship while he held off the boarders at the hangar bay. However, despite his efforts, the hangar bay would eventually be lost to the Banished. As one dreadnought rammed the dorsal hull of the ''Infinity'', causing massive structural damage, John-117 encountered Atriox in the hangar bay and lost the duel. The Spartan was thrown from the hangar bay and into space. Upon hearing of the loss of the Master Chief, Fernando Esparza, a civilian engineering contractor, panicked and stole a Pelican, ''Echo 216'', and fled from the doomed vessel.
File:HINF InfinityEvacuation.png|thumb|250px|Pelicans evacuating from the ''Infinity''s hangar bay and into the battle raging in space. Meanwhile, Lasky, escorted by marines and Fireteam Taurus, fought their way to a lifeboat, allowing the former to escape onboard. Griffin and the other members of Taurus refused to accompany Lasky in his dropship, electing to stay behind. Once inside the ship, Lasky began issuing a general evacuation call, but was cut off mid-sentence as his ship came under fire. After ensuring Captain Lasky's lifeboat was away, Spartan Griffin ordered the evacuation of the remaining Spartan-IVs. Spartan-IVs, marines, and crew fled onboard hundreds of M9407 drop pod|drop pods, Pelicans, and SKT-29 Bumblebee|lifeboats to the surface of Installation 07. F-41 Broadsword|Broadswords, GA-TL1 Longsword|Longswords, and Pelicans provided support to the evacuation by combating the Banished Banshees, Seraphs, Eklon'Dal Workshop Phantom|Phantoms, and Dovotaa Workshop Grievers. Some escapees were escorted by members of Fireteam Windfall's FSS-1000 Sabres. Dropships and lifepods fled the ''Infinity'', many being shot down seconds after exiting the vessel. Escape craft that entered the ring's atmosphere were met by Banished anti-air artillery.
Bonita Stone of Fireteam Shadow evacuated from the ''Infinity'' in ''Echo India Bravo Zero Eight'' with several Marines. She attempted to help guide another shuttlecraft piloted by TJ Murphy, ''Papa Tango Delta Zero Nine'', to the ring. Both flew through a hole in a Banished dreadnought on their way to the ring. However, ''Papa Tango Delta Zero Nine'' was heavily damaged. ''Echo India Bravo Zero Eight'' crashed landed on the ring. Stone and the occupants watched debris and craft fall through the atmosphere.
Fireteam Taurus escaped onboard ''Victor 321'', but Spartan Griffin commanded the pilot to land near three Banished anti-air artilleries already set up on the ring's surface, to disable the cannons and ensure the safety of the incoming survivors.
Aftermath
File:HINF Zeta Halo Destroyed.png|250px|thumb|The Halo was broken after the explosion caused by Cortana to deny the Banished from using it, while as well moved to an unknown star system. As UNSC forces scattered over the ring and fought against the Banished forces, Atriox confronted Cortana, claiming he had killed John-117, leaving the latter devastated by the news of John-117's apparent death. Having consolidated her presence and core processes at the Silent Auditorium and seemingly locked down by the Weapon deployed from , Cortana could not retaliate. Atriox presented her with the terms of her surrender, intending to take control of the ring and unlock the secrets locked within the Silent Auditorium (location)|Silent Auditorium. In an attempt to prevent Atriox from accessing Silent Auditorium or possibly activating the ring, Cortana initiated a local self-dstruction sequence at the Auditorium, killing herself, fracturing the ring's surface, and leaving the installation inoperable. Her efforts were proven to be temporary, as the ring begun its self-repair process days later, although it would take a considerable amount of time without the Reformation Spires to facilitate the process. Although he survived the explosion, Atriox was left severely scarred, and was also presumed dead by both the UNSC and the Banished. Cortana, in hopes of John-117's survival, predicted he would stop the Banished from accessing the Silent Auditorium and prevented the Weapon's deletion protocol so she could assist him, leaving the Weapon in the ring's subterranean structure for retrieval.
During the destruction event, Cortana also initiated an emergency translcation protocol, intending to disorient the Banished and stall their efforts. Installation 07, along with the debris from the space battle, was transported away from the the Ephsu system to an unknown location. Notably, ''Echo 216'' and its pilot were left adrift near the installation.
}}
The explosion from the battle affected the ground battle between the UNSC and the Banished. The ring's fragmentation scattered ground forces, but disabled Kywasky Workshop Gorespike cannon|Banished anti-air cannons, allowing more UNSC aircraft to land on the ring. However, the battle resulted in heavy casualties among personnel assigned to the UNSC ''Infinity''.
On December 15, Spartan Vedrana Makovich located the wreckage of on one of the ring's fragments. The crash site was established as a UNSC base of operations, gathering other UNSC forces at the site. She contacted Spartan Griffin, and was joined by other Spartans. From there, the UNSC would conduct guerilla warfare against the Banished.
On 2560#May|May 14, 2560, UNSC survivors under the leadership of Spartan Nina Kovan undertook a mission with the help of Submonitor 091 Adjutant Veridity to broadcast Zeta Halo's new coordinates to UNSC space in the hopes of summoning reinforcements. Although successful in making the broadcast, TJ Murphy and Isaiah Cameron were killed in Battle of the Beacon Tower|the battle, while Spartan Tomas Horvath was teleported elsewhere on the ring.
Participants
Starships
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Fleet
! Class
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="2" |Unknown
|
|
|Unknown
| |
|
|Destroyed
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 50;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | rowspan="6" |UNSC Navy
|Master Chief Petty Officer
|John-117
|Survived, assumed MIA
| |Captain (NAVCOM)|Captain
|Thomas Lasky
|Unknown
| |Lieutenant, Junior Grade
|Frederic-104
|Unknown
| | rowspan="2" |Petty Officer, First Class
|Kelly-087
|Unknown
| |Linda-058
|Unknown
| |Commander
|Etana Hensler
|Survived
| | rowspan="15" |Spartan Operations
|Spartan Commander
|Sarah Palmer
|Unknown
| | rowspan="14" |Spartan
|Bertold Vettel
|Escaped
| |Bonita Stone
|Escaped
| |Dimka
|Escaped
| |Henri Malik
|Escaped
| |Horatio Fry
|Unknown
| |Hudson Griffin
|Escaped
| |Si Wheeler
|Escaped
| |Jameson Locke
|Unknown
| |Nina Kovan
|Escaped
| |Oshiro
|Escaped
| |Jason Kidman
|Unknown
| |Theodore Sorel
|Escaped
| |Tomas Horvath
|Escaped
| |Vedrana Makovich
|Escaped
| | rowspan="4" |UNSC Marine Corps
|First Lieutenant
|Floyd (Installation 07)|Floyd
|Escaped
| |Lieutenant
|TJ Murphy
|Escaped
| |Private, First Class
|Miyazaki
|Escaped
| |Private
|Chamberlain
|Escaped
| | rowspan="1" |Civilian contractors
| rowspan="1" |N/A
|Fernando Esparza
|Escaped
|}
Vehicles
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Type
! Name
! Status
| |rowspan="3" | D77-TC Pelican
|''Echo 216''
|Escaped
| |''Oscar 128''
|Crash-landed on Zeta Halo
| |''Victor 321''
|Successfully escaped to Zeta Halo
| |rowspan="2" | SKT-29 Bumblebee
|''Echo India Bravo Zero Eight''
|Successfully escaped to Zeta Halo
| |''Papa Tango Delta Zero Nine''
|Successfully escaped to Zeta Halo
|}
Artificial intelligence
{| class"width: 75%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Name
! Status
| |Ouco
|Unknown
| |The Weapon|"The Weapon"
|Survived
| |Roland
|Unknown
|}
Military personnel
{| class"width: 50%;" cellspacing"1" border="0"
| ! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status
| | Command
|Warmaster
|Atriox
|Survived
| |}
Gallery
File:HINF-Infinitycrash.jpg|Early concept art of a burning ''Infinity'' on a course to crash-land on Zeta Halo following the space battle over the ring. File:HINF InfinityBaseConcept.jpg|Early concept art of ''Infinity''s crash site, apparently being used as a base, after the crash-landing. File:HINF-Phoenixes.jpg|Early concept art of s being present during the space battle above Installation 07. File:HINF Concept Infinity Roof Under Attack.jpg|Concept art of the ''Infinity'' being rammed by a Banished dreadnought. File:HINF Concept Infinity Hangar Under Attack.jpg|Concept art of Pelicans abandoning the ''Infinity'' via its hangars. File:HINF Concept Infinity under attack.jpg|Concept art of the ''Infinity'' going down in flames by sort of Banished assets. HINF InfinityHangarBattle.png|Marines retreating from battle in one of the hangar bays onboard ''Infinity''. File:HINF AtrioxVsMasterChief.png|Atriox defeats John-117.
List of appearances
''Halo Infinite''
''Halo: The Rubicon Protocol''
''Battle for the Blood-Moon''
Notes
Sources
Category:Banished victories |
The Battle Pass is a progression system for unlocking player customization in ''Halo: The Master Chief Collection'' and ''Halo Infinite''. Every season will DLC|introduce a new Battle Pass, which contains different options for player customizations.
''Halo: The Master Chief Collection''
In ''Halo: The Master Chief Collection'', the different tiers of the Battle Pass can be unlocked through Season points, which could only be earned by completing in-game Challenges/Halo: The Master Chief Collection|Challenges and by progressing through the first 100 ranks in the game's Rank (Halo: The Master Chief Collection)|rank scheme. Season points are a purely in-game currency, and cannot be bought through real-world purchases.
{| class"width: 100%;"
! style"3"|List of Seasons
|-align="center"
! style="background:#777; text-align:center; color:#fff;"|Season
! style="background:#777; text-align:center; color:#fff;"|Battle Pass Content
! style="background:#777; text-align:center; color:#fff;"|Start Date
| |align="center"|File:HTMCC Season1 Emblem.png|140pxSeason 1: Noble
|Armor customization (Halo: Reach)|Armor permutations and Firefight voices for ''Halo: Reach''
| December 3, 2019
| |align="center"|File:HTMCC Season2 Emblem.png|100pxSeason 2: Spark
|
Skins (Halo: Combat Evolved)|41 weapon skins, 18 vehicle skins, and 30 visor colors for ''Halo: Combat Evolved''
30 Nameplates/Halo: The Master Chief Collection|Nameplates
| July 14, 2020
| |align="center"|File:HTMCC Season3 Emblem.png|100pxSeries 3: Recon
|
Skins (Halo 3)|12 weapon skins and 30 visor colors for ''Halo 3''
14 variations of Firefight characters for ''Halo 3: ODST'' Firefight
30 Nameplates
| September 21, 2020
| |align="center"|File:HTMCC Season4 Emblem.png|100pxSeries 4: Reclaimer
|
Skins (Halo 3)|18 weapon skins and 15 vehicle skins for ''Halo 3''
Weapon skins (Halo 4)|15 weapon skins for ''Halo 4''
29 Nameplates
| November 16, 2020
| |align="center"|File:HTMCC Season5 Emblem.png|140pxSeries 5: Anvil
|
2 Mjolnir helmets and 6 Mjolnir chest armor for ''Halo: Reach''
2 Mjolnir Techsuits, 12 Mjolnir armor sets, 26 weapon skins, and 1 vehicle skin for ''Halo 3''
10 Nameplates
| January 27, 2021
| |align="center"|File:HTMCC Season6 Emblem.png|140pxSeries 6: Raven
|
3 Techsuits, 10 Mjolnir armor sets, 6 back accessories, 14 visor colors, 9 weapon skins, and 12 vehicle skins for ''Halo 3''
24 Nameplates
| April 7, 2021
| |align="center"|File:HTMCC Season7 Emblem.png|x140pxSeries 7: Elite
|
7 Sangheili armor sets, 7 Type-1 energy sword skins, 7 techsuits, and 4 vehicle skins for ''Halo 3''
10 vehicle skins for ''Halo: Combat Evolved''
Champions Bundle, 16 weapon skins, and 6 armor effects for ''Halo 4''
20 Nameplates
| June 23, 2021
| |align="center"|File:HTMCC Season8 Emblem.png|140xSeries 8: Mythic
|
18 Fracture|Spartan armor sets, 3 techsuits, 11 visor colors, 12 back accessories, and 10 weapon skins for ''Halo 3''
18 Spartan helmets for ''Halo: Reach''
21 Nameplates
| October 13, 2021
| |}
''Halo Infinite''
File:HINF Pre-Release Battle Pass.png|thumb|300px|A pre-release screenshot of the Battle Pass for Season 00: For Our Tomorrow.
In ''Halo Infinite'', every season introduces a new Battle Pass, but previous Battle Passes remain available for purchase, regardless of the current season. Each Battle Pass includes 100 levels of rewards; each level requires 1,000 XP to complete using XP rewards by completing multiplayer matches or Challenges/Halo Infinite|in-game challenges. The XP rewards for match completions and challenges are as follows:
There are free rewards in certain levels available for all players, while there is a premium track which requires the purchase of the Premium Battle Pass to unlock rewards. Rewards include player customization items (including Armor customization (Halo Infinite)|armor permutations, Armor coatings (Halo Infinite)|armor coatings, emblems, weapon charms, and consumables for the Battle Pass. Players can select an active Battle Pass to make progress towards and unlock the rewards, all of which are exclusive to the Battle Pass and unavailable to obtain through other means.
Additionally, players can use Consumables, XP Grants, Double XP Boosters, and Challenge Swaps, to expedite progress on the Battle Pass. The XP Grant gives a player 250 XP immediately. After activating a Double XP Booster, XP rewards from completing challenges are doubled for an hour, though they need to be activated prior to a multiplayer match for the effect to apply to any challenges completed during the match. Players can use Challenge Swaps to exchange an active weekly challenge for a new challenge from the same difficulty tier.
During events, Event Passes are shorter Battle Passes that players can make progress towards by completing event challenges.
{| class"width: 100%;"
! style"3"|List of Seasons
|-align="center"
! style="background:#777; text-align:center; color:#fff;"|Season
! style="background:#777; text-align:center; color:#fff;"|Battle Pass Content
! style="background:#777; text-align:center; color:#fff;"|Start Date
| |align="center"|File:HINF Season01 banner.jpg|300pxSeason 01: Heroes of Reach
|
Armor customization (Halo Infinite)#Mark V(B) core|35 pieces of armor, 6 coatings, 5 visor colors, and 5 armor kits for the B-class Mjolnir|Mark V [B] core Armor customization (Halo Infinite)#Mark VII core|10 pieces of armor, 6 coatings, and 4 visor colors for the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VII|Mark VII core
2 AI models and 2 AI colors
8 stances
5 backdrops, 1 nameplate, 1 vehicle emblem, and 1 armor emblem
2 weapon charms
2 armor effects, 1 mythic armor effect, and 1 kill effect
19 XP Boosts and 40 Challenge Swaps
|November 15, 2021
| |align="center"|File:HINF S2KeyArt.jpg|300pxSeason 02: Lone Wolves
|
29 pieces of armor, 4 armor coatings, and 3 visor colors for Mark VII core Armor customization (Halo Infinite)#Rakshasa core|33 pieces of armor, 6 coatings, 3 visor colors, and 2 armor kits for Rakshasa core
1 AI model and 3 AI colors
2 stances
3 backdrops, 2 nameplates, 2 vehicle emblems, and 2 armor emblems
3 weapon charms
1 armor effects, 1 mythic armor effect, and 1 kill effect
4 vehicle coatings
19 XP Boosts, 39 Challenge Swaps, and 1,000 Credits
|May 3, 2022
| |align="center"|File:HINF WinterUpdateKeyartFull.jpg|300pxWinter Update
|
17 pieces of armor, 1 coating, and 2 visor colors for the Mark V [B] core
1 nameplate, 1 vehicle emblem, and 1 armor emblem
5 XP Boosts
|November 8, 2022
| | |align="center"|File:HINF S03 Echoes Within KeyArt.png|300pxSeason 03: Echoes Within
|
13 pieces of armor and 6 coatings for the Mark VII core
25 pieces of armor, and 6 coatings for the MIRAGE-class Mjolnir|Mirage IIC core
3 stances
3 backdrops, 5 nameplates, 5 vehicle emblems, and 5 armor emblems
6 weapon coatings
1 armor effects, 1 mythic armor effect, and 1 kill effect
1 vehicle coating
1 armor coating
5 visors
19 XP Boosts, 41 Challenge Swaps, and 1,000 Credits
|March 7, 2023
| |}
Notes
Sources
Category:Halo: The Master Chief Collection Category:Halo Infinite |
The Battle Rifle ammo glitch is a glitches|glitch that occurs when using the Battle rifle|Battle Rifle in ''Halo 3''. It happens both on Xbox LIVE|Xbox Live games and on local games.
Walkthrough If you are firing a Battle rifle|Battle Rifle burst, and do another quick action (like doing a melee attack or throwing a grenade), there's a chance only one or two bullets will be fired. For example, if you fire BR bursts until 24 bullets are left and then fire of a burst while quickly throwing a grenade, you ''may'' end up with 22 or 23 bullets.
This glitch occurs simply because the Battle Rifle cannot be fired while you perform certain actions, so if you perform one of these actions while the BR is firing a burst, the burst will not complete.
Category:Glitches Category:Halo 3 glitches |
File:Combined Weapons.jpg|thumb|Combined Weapon.
The Battle Rifle-Plasma Rifle, often abbreviated as the BR-PR, is a unique weapon consisting of a BR55 Battle Rifle|Battle Rifle attached to what appears to be a Okarda'phaa-pattern plasma rifle|Plasma Rifle. It appears in the ''Halo 2'' level Sacred Icon, during the level's opening cutscene List of Halo 2 Cinematic Cutscenes|Uncomfortable Silence, where the Thel 'Vadam|Arbiter is attacked by an Enforcer and is saved by Tartarus|Tartarus' Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|Phantom. The weapon only appears off-screen, however, and as such it can only be seen if one moves the camera to a different angle by use of mods or other tools.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX5il1wjZkQ
Overview While the weapon itself is not normally seen, there are a few hints at its presence. The rate of fire is faster than that of an ordinary Heavy plasma cannon|Phantom Gun. The shots' point of origin is also partly visible at the edge of the screen and fires at both a different angle than the one the Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|Phantom is travelling at immediately afterwards and is also closer than the Phantom would be. Additionally, throughout the cutscene, the Phantom itself does not have its lateral guns deployed.
Like the Scarab Gun, the BR-PR is a weapon that appears purely for cinematic effect, likely to make the shots appear more intense. Viewing the scene from a different angle reveals that the Phantom is actually dancing outside of view, while the weapon appears briefly to fire and disappears immediately after.
Phantom Turret Looking through the game files reveals that Sacred Icon contains a weapon aptly called the "phantom turret" as well as a file for a handheld version of it.https://youtu.be/8R6WsIT8QzI?t=2731 It is not normally found on the level and can thus only be wielded by using mods. Just like the Scarab Gun the weapon appears as an ordinary plasma rifle that does not overheat and has a full, unlimited battery. The weapon fires shots like those of a Phantom's Heavy plasma cannon|cannons, a Eeo'Pimu-pattern Shade|Shade turret, or a Ruwaa-pattern Shadow|Shadow's Class-1 directed energy cannon#Type-29 Anti-Infantry Weapon Emplacement.2FMounted|turret but at an immediately higher rate. When looking in the game files, battle rifle in BR-PR actually works as a scenery object. This battle rifle is not actually a battle rifle,it is just an object used to hold the phantom plasma rifle. Without the battle rifle, the plasma rifle would fall.
Curiously, a separate but completely identical weapon called the "big needler" exists in the game files of the levels Outskirts and Delta Halo.
Sources
Category:Halo 2 Easter eggs |
Battle rifles are a type of rifle employed by human military forces. They are often commonly employed by Unified Earth Government|UEG-aligned militaries such as the United Nations Space Command
and independent paramilitaries - with some examples used for protection of colonial politicians, such as the Gao Republic's President of the Gao Republic|President. They came into prominence during the mid-25th century prior to the Insurrection, gaining widespread popularity across the military.
Overview
Variants
File:H5G-BR85NvsBR55.png|thumb|250px|The BR85N (left) and the BR55 (right). The BR series of battle rifles are created by Misriah Armory, they have a long history of use throughout the Human-Covenant War. A recreational light projector used in sports called the BRXX LIGHTFIRE was also created by Misriah.
BR55 series XBR55 battle rifle|XBR55 Battle Rifle - The prototype battle rifle from 2525. BR55 battle rifle|BR55 Service Rifle BR55HB battle rifle|BR55 Heavy Barrel Service Rifle - A heavy barrel version of the BR55.
BR75 series BR75 battle rifle|BR75 Battle Rifle BR75 Breacher - Increased rate of fire and stopping power. BR75 [HCS] AKRIVEIA - Sport package upgrade. BR75 HAZCON - Modified barrel that has fabric and a new carry handle.
BR85 series BR85 battle rifle|BR85 Service Rifle BR85HB battle rifle|BR85 Heavy Barrel Service Rifle - A heavy barrel version of the BR85.
The SA series of battle rifles are created by Sevine Arms, they saw use protecting politicians such as the president of the Gao Republic. Maestro battle rifle - A type of battle rifle employed by Gao's armed forces.
Sources
Category:Rifles |
A battle station was a Forerunner military installation designed for warfare. Known vessels of the class include the aspis platforms, castellans and the ''Mantle's Approach''. Sources
Category:Forerunner ship classes |
Battle Tested is an achievement in ''Halo Infinite''. It is unlocked by completing a Battle Pass. This achievement awards the player 10 Gamerscore.
It is represented by a gold number 120 with the UNSC logo in the background. Sometime later the number 120 was replaced by a gold checkmark. |
Battle The Heretics is a video promoting the release of ''Series 7: Elite'' in ''Halo: The Master Chief Collection''. It was released on Twitter and YouTube on June 16, 2021.
The video features the Season 7 menu background animation and transmissions between a SPARTAN-IV|Spartan pilot and a Sangheili pilot during a training session at ANVIL Station. The ''Halo Legends'' arrangement of the soundtrack ''Rue and Woe'' (from ''High Charity Suite'' in ''Halo 2: Original Soundtrack''), which was omitted from the Halo Legends: Original Soundtrack|official soundtrack, plays throughout the video.
Transcript
''Various shots of a Type-26 Banshee|Type-26A Banshee play.''
Spartan pilot (Union Wing 3): "Anvil Station, this is Union Wing 3 and 4. Our Banshees are clear of the bay and heading to patrol loop three, permission to proceed?"
Anvil ATC: "ANVIL copies Union Wing, permission granted. Target drones en route to your location in five."
Spartan pilot (Union Wing 3): "Copy, moving to intercept. Wing 4, the lead is all yours, I'll follow."
Elite pilot (Union Wing 4): "Affirmative, Spartan. Engage at marker nine."
Spartan pilot (Union Wing 3): "Targets down. Three more - on you."
Elite pilot (Union Wing 4): "Engaging. Targets eliminated."
Spartan pilot (Union Wing 3): "Nice shot! Think this type of thing will ever actually catch on?"
Elite pilot (Union Wing 4): "The divisions among my people run deep. It is... difficult to imagine them cooperating with humans when Blooding Years|they can scarcely work with one another."
Spartan pilot (Union Wing 3): "Well if it makes you feel any better, humans have been perfecting the art of fighting against each other for like, centuries."
Elite pilot (Union Wing 4): "Hmph. It does not."
Spartan pilot (Union Wing 3): "Still, I'll take an ally wherever I can find one."
Elite pilot (Union Wing 4): "Indeed."
File:Halo The Master Chief Collection Logo.png|center|300px
Sources
Category:Halo: The Master Chief Collection trailers |
File:Kurt Agincourt.jpg|200px|thumb|Kurt Ambrose detailing the Human#History|Battle of Agincourt. A battle is a specific instance of combat in warfare between two or more parties or army's wherein each group will seek to defeat the others in various forms of combat, whether Planetary warfare|on a planet or Space warfare|in space. Battles are most often fought during wars, or military campaigns within wars, and can usually be well defined in time, space and action.
Overview
Types
An operation is a planned military offensive, generally against a specific enemy objective or group of objectives. Operations can be large scale battles or small, covert insertions. Operations receive unique code words to distinguish themselves from other actions without giving away sensitive information should discussion of them be intercepted by enemy forces.
A sieges are often longer battles at specific locations such as with the Siege of Athea or Siege of New Alexandria.
A skirmish is a brief battle between small groups, usually part of a longer or larger battle or war. Examples of note include the naval skirmishes Skirmish at Capella|at Capella and Skirmish at Theta Ursae Majoris|Theta Ursae Majoris during the Insurrection.
Sources
Category:Battles| |
Battlecruisers are a type of warship used in space warfare. A type of cruiser, they straddle the line between larger and heavier cruiser examples and fully-fledged battleships.
Human battlecruisers
- while formally termed a "super-heavy" cruiser, the UNSC Navy's ''Valiant''-class is sometimes referred to as a battlecruiser, and was drafted as a compromise between cruisers and battleships - though comprimised on firepower and armour protection to retain more of a multi-mission capability.
File:Fleet_Battles_-_Valiant_and_frigates.jpg|The ''Valiant''-class super-heavy cruiser .
Covenant battlecruisers The Covenant employed many battlecruiser designs as part of its wider fleet of Covenant cruisers. They were produced in vast quantities by dozens of shipyards across Covenant space, and consisted of an extremely versatile workhorse design prolific throughout the empire.
- one of the multiple battlecruiser design patterns employed by the Covenant fleet.
- one of the mainstay warships of the Covenant.
File:CovenantShip1-CCS-Battlecruiser.png|A ''Ket''-pattern battlecruiser.
Sources
Category:Ship classifications |
File:Vindication - Spartan Ops.png|thumb|300px|A trio of ''Vindication''-class light battleships A battleship is a type of ship utilized by several factions.
Types
{| class="wikitable"
! width"text-align:left" |Class
! width"text-align:left" |Image
! width"text-align:left"|Details
| ||| File:H4-Vindication.png|250px || At some point prior to the Battle of Alpha Corvi II, the 1.6 kilometre-long entered service.''Halo: Collateral Damage'', Halo: Collateral Damage Issue 1|Issue #1 Several ''Vindication''-class light battleships vessels engaged Ur-Didact|the Didact's Mantle's Approach|flagship New Phoenix Incident|over Earth in support of the UNSC's own flagship, ''UNSC Infinity|Infinity''. Three ''Vindication''s later participated in the Requiem Campaign.''Spartan Ops'', Key
|}
{| class="wikitable"
! width"text-align:left" |Class
! width"text-align:left" |Image
! width"text-align:left"|Details
| ||| File:HWG SuperDestroyer.png|250px || The Covenant used two-kilometer-long battleships during the Human-Covenant War, particularly during the Fall of Reach.''Halo: First Strike'', p. 32 A significant number was later amassed at the space station ''Unyielding Hierophant'', though they were destroyed in Operation: FIRST STRIKE.''Halo Encyclopedia'', p. 276 (2011)
| | || File:Invasion - Covenant sniper warship.png|250px || The Kewu-pattern was comissioned, unusually, by the Ministry of Concert during the Ninth Age of Reclamation. This was viewed as highly unusual, and the design broke many conventions of naval architecture and pattern approval processes, though was ultimately blessed by the Hierarchs in an extremely unorthodox process.''Halo Encyclopedia'', p. 267 (2022) One of these vessels was present at the Fall of Reach, during the battle it destroyed many UNSC ships, including the UNSC Musashi|Musashi, UNSC Minotaur|the Minotaur and the UNSC Herodotus|Herodotus, but the vessel was ultimately destroyed by the UNSC Pillar of Autumn.''Halo: The Fall of Reach, chapter 36''
|}
Related vehicles
- initially drafted by the UNSC Navy as a compromise between a battleship and Cruiser|heavy cruiser.
List of appearances
''Halo: The Fall of Reach''
''Halo: First Strike''
''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''
''Halo Wars: Genesis''
''Halo: Evolutions''
*''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole''
''Halo: Fall of Reach''
*''Invasion''
''The Commissioning''
''Halo 4''
*''Spartan Ops''
''Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo''
''Halo: Collateral Damage''
''Halo: Silent Storm''
Sources
Category:Ship classifications Category:Battleship classes| |
United Nations Space Command
|side2=* Covenant
|commanders1=
Vice Admiral Michael Stanforth General Kits†
Captain (Navy)|Captain Jacob Keyes Corporal Harland Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO John-117
|commanders2=
Unknown
|forces1=
Epsilon Eridani Fleet''Halo: The Fall of Reach'', p. 156 (2001); p. 181-183 (2010)
Battle Group Leviathan
*48 vessels
**2 UNSC carrier|carriersHalo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 155''
***1+
**1
***
**14 UNSC destroyer|destroyers
***
***
**31 UNSC frigate|frigates
***
***
***
*1 Refit station|repair-refitting station
**
*1 prowler
12 SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-IIs
*Blue Team
*Red Team
**Green Team
1,600 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines
1 Spartan-IIIHalo: Fractures, "Breaking Strain", ''page 57''
Colonial MilitiaHalo: Ground Command, ''Core Rulebook - page 8''
|forces2=
Second Fleet of Solemn AccordHalo Mythos, ''page 82''
4 vessels
*1 Covenant carrier|carrier
**1 covenant stealth ship|stealth ship
*1
*2 Covenant frigate|frigates
24 vessels
*2+ s
*s
*s
*s Legions of ground troops
*Huragok
*Mgalekgolo
*Kig-Yar
*Unggoy
*Sangheili
|casual1=
25 ships destroyed
*
1,000 UNSC Navy|Naval Personnel killed
1,586 UNSC Marine Corps|Marine Personnel killed
*General (rank)|General Kits
*Lieutenant McCasky
*Devesh Bhasin
300,000 civilians killed
1 SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II wounded
*James-005
|casual2=
Presumably all forces on planet surface
*All forces in Cote d'Azur
*19 ships destroyed
**3+ ships of the 4-ships Covenant battlegroup, including later the internally docked stealth ship
**at least 2 s
**at least 8 s
}}
The Battle of Sigma Octanus IV was an battle|engagement fought between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant in mid-2552. Despite taking heavy losses, the UNSC successfully repelled the Covenant force from the Sigma Octanus system, gaining a victory. However, multiple Covenant objectives were achieved, as they succeeded in retrieving a Forerunner artifact leading them to Installation 04, as well as finding out the location of the human stronghold planet Reach.
The battle
On July 17, 2552, Ensign William Lovell logged a large gravitational anomaly inside Slipstream space. Deciding that it could not be any form of Covenant starship based on its immense size, Lovell passed it off as an asteroid, sent his hourly report, and thought nothing more of it.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''pages 137-138''
However, over Sigma Octanus IV, Commander (UNSC)|Commander Jacob Keyes, commanding officer of the UNSC Iroquois|''Iroquois'', realized that the large mass was in fact a battle group of Covenant ships after reading UNSC Astrophysics Journal 034-23-01|a report by Fhajad-084.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 141'' The Covenant ships were flying in close formation; large masses bend slipspace more easily than in real space, creating the illusion of a single large mass when there are in fact several. Keyes concluded that the mass was comprised of four Covenant frigate|Covenant Frigates. However, when the Covenant battlegroup exited slipspace, the ''Iroquois'' found itself outmatched by the arrival of not four frigates but one Covenant carrier|carrier, one , and two Covenant frigate|frigates.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 170''
File:HM SigmaOctanus.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The ''Iroqouis'' prepares to engage the inbound Covenant fleet. Despite the hopeless tactical situation, Commander Keyes resolved to attack. The ''Iroquois'' set a collision course for the destroyer at emergency acceleration while launching a nuclear warhead in what seemed to be the wrong direction. The two escorting frigates proceeded to launch a salvo of plasma, but the ''Iroquois'' managed to evade by utilizing the emergency thruster. Having missed their target, the plasma came about and continued to track and home in on the United Nations Space Command|UNSC warship.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 174''
The trailing plasma was to prove critical to the success of Keyes Loop|Keyes' strategy. A last minute course correction allowed the ''Iroquois'' to merely "graze" the destroyer's shields rather than smash directly into the ship properly, resulting in the destruction of a large portion of the ''Iroquois armor (Keyes had torn through 2 meters of titanium and had breached every bottom deck of the ''Iroquois''). However, the tracking plasma was unable to correct for the sudden maneuver of their target and, in consequence, impacted on the destroyer instead. A heavy salvo of Archer missiles sent the remaining Covenant warship to its destruction.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''pages 176-177''
With the momentum built up during the first phase, the ''Iroquois'' performed a slingshot maneuver around the planet. Once safely away, the nuclear warhead deployed earlier, was detonated, completely draining the shields on the two frigates. Having completed its orbit, the ''Iroquois'' resumed its attack and destroyed the two frigates with two heavy Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|MAC rounds and hundreds of Archer missiles.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 179''
Its escorts destroyed, the carrier then disengaged and escaped out system but not before leaving 34 dropships and a Covenant stealth ship|small ship to continue the ground assault.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 180''
File:FoR - d'Azur.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Harland's fireteam overlooking the besieged city of Cote d'Azur. With thousands of Covenant soldiers deployed on the ground, and the city of Cote d'Azur in their hands, 1600 UNSC Marine Corps|Marines under General Kits were sent in. A small deployment of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers dropped alongside the Marine force, but did not participate separately from the marines; Devesh Bhasin died during the drop due to malfunctions in his Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle., ''"Search terms", under "D"''
Upon landing, the Marines set up their command center, Alpha Headquarters and a forward base, Firebase Bravo. The troopers were forced to operate with little intelligence of the surrounding area. Satellite scans were rendered useless by the fog and jungle canopy. Kits failed to realize that the Covenant had established a strong presence in the jungle, including Mgalekgolo. Lieutenant McCasky was ordered to take his platoon to observe Covenant activity in Sigma Octanus IV/Grid 13 x 24|Grid 13 x 24. They traveled to the area by M12 Force Application Vehicle|Warthog, but almost the entire platoon was wiped out by Mgalekgolo save for Corporal Harland, Privates Fincher, Walker and Cochran.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 191'' Harland ordered a retreat as soon as he clearly saw the Mgalekgolo, but despite this Cochran was still wounded by a Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher|Needler.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 197'' Although hounded by Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshees, the fireteam managed to destroy all pursuing Covenant and fall back safely. They found that Firebase Bravo had been completely overrun by Covenant forces and its survivors were systematically being hunted down and slaughtered. When they made it back to Alpha Headquarters, they found that that had also been mostly destroyed, with only fourteen enlisted men surviving on the planet's surface. Corporal Harland was forced to assume command.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''pages 198-202''
With the failure of the Marine strike team, the SPARTAN-II program|Spartan-IIs were sent in as part of an operation designated OCEAN BREAKER. Arriving at the destroyed H.Q., the squad, consisting of John-117, Frederic-104, James-005, Kelly-087, Joshua-029, Linda-058, and six others quickly secured the base. After they arrived, Spartan-117 broke them into three four-man teams and personally assumed command of Blue Team. He sent Red Team|Red and Green Team|Green teams on their missions, then slogged through the jungle, arriving at Cote d'Azur. Entering the storm drains, Blue Team discovered several Huragok.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 204'' Investigating Covenant activity in the Cote d'Azur Museum of Natural History, Blue Team discovered that the Covenant were scanning what appeared to be a simple piece of igneous rock, and sending the information to a ship in orbit. The team entered a protracted firefight with two Mgalekgolo, which was a victory at the expense of James' arm, recovered the Sigma Octanus IV artifact|rock, and escaped.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''pages 205-209''
With a group of surviving civilians evacuated, the SPARTANs returned to H.Q. and detonated a HAVOK Tactical Nuclear Weapon|HAVOK nuclear warhead, destroying Cote d'Azur and removing the Covenant presence on the planet.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 230'' Other cities on the planet would be destroyed, such as Caracas, Huiren, Silma and Enfield, either due to similar Covenant invasion or to preemptive destruction by the UNSC to deny the Covenant the objects they sought.Halo Waypoint
File:Battle of Sigma Octanus 4.jpeg|thumb|200px|The UNSC fleet engaging the opposing Covenant fleet over Sigma Octanus IV. With the ground battle continuing, more UNSC ships arrived in orbit over Sigma Octanus IV. At 0625 hours, a Second Fleet of Solemn Accord|fleet of Covenant vessels were detected on the edge of the system. The 48 available UNSC warships, including the ''Iroquois ''and Stanforth's flagship, the ''Marathon''-class cruiser ''Leviathan'', formed a tight "checkerboard" formation that allowed for them to fire all their Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|MAC guns simultaneously at the Covenant fleet with a single massive volley. However, this restricted the mobility of the UNSC fleet, and left them unable to evade the extremely accurate Covenant plasma torpedoes. When the battle commenced, the Covenant fleet took a severe beating from the UNSC's opening MAC salvo, but promptly returned fire with a salvo of plasma torpedoes. The repair station ''UNSC Cradle|Cradle'' moved in front of the UNSC formation, acting as a sacrificial shield, and absorbed the Covenant fleet's first salvo, at the cost of the station and its entire crew. This allowed the UNSC ships to dedicate all the power from their reactors to recharging their MAC guns, and the UNSC ships were thus quickly able to fire a second salvo after the destroyed ''Cradle'' drifted away.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 222''
After this salvo, only eight Covenant vessels remained: cruisers and destroyers. The UNSC fleet then scattered and proceeded to engage the Covenant fleet, which responded by releasing its Seraph fighters and opening heavy fire on the UNSC ships. The ''Iroquois'' spotted a small Covenant Covenant stealth ship|stealth craft in orbit above the planet and attempted to destroy it with a barrage of Archer missiles, but the attack was foiled when the stealth ship jammed the missiles' guidance locks, causing them to miss. In response, ''Iroquois ''simply rammed the ship, stopping the Covenant from gaining planetside data. The remaining Covenant vessels soon fled the system.
Aftermath
The battle was one of the few major victories that the UNSC had in space (despite major losses; less than ten ships remained intact after the battle) since Harvest was retaken, and the first time since 2530 that two were won within a single system.Doctor Halsey's personal journal, ''July 18, 2552'' Admiral Stanforth had especially planned this battle to be a much needed victory and morale boost for humanity.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 160'' It introduced the tactic of using a refit station to protect UNSC ships. The Covenant, however, had only come for the data retrieved from the Forerunner Sigma Octanus IV artifact|crystal transmitted from the planet, which revealed to them the location of Installation 04.
A spy probe attached to the destroyer ''Iroquois'' led the Covenant to Reach, which they attacked a few days later.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 247'' It later transpired that the Covenant had learned the location of one of the Halos from the transmission, which they planned to activate to begin the Covenant religion|Great Journey.
As a result of the battle, there were much debris left in orbit around Sigma Octanus IV. HAZMAT teams swept the area but the area around the planet would remain a navigational hazard for the next decade.Halo: The Fall of Reach, ''page 242''
Timeline
0000 Hours: William Lovell|Ensign William Lovell, aboard the United Nations Space Command|UNSC Remote scanning outpost|Remote Scanning Outpost ''Archimedes'', reports to Sigma Octanus IV concerning a large silhouette in Slipstream space|Slipspace heading for the system. It is suspected to be a group of Covenant ships but it could also be an asteroid.
0300 Hours: The arrives in system on patrol. The vessel's Commanding Officer, Jacob Keyes|Commander Jacob Keyes, receives the sensor information and realizes it is a Covenant threat. He contacts UNSC Fleet Command|FLEETCOM and informs them of the situation.
0320 Hours: 4 Covenant ships consisting of 1 Covenant carrier|carrier, 1 Wik-pattern light destroyer|destroyer and 2 Covenant frigate|frigates arrive in the system. The UNSC ''Iroquois'' engages the enemy and requests reinforcements. The and respond and begin heading for Sigma Octanus.
0330 Hours: The ''Iroquois'' destroys all Covenant vessels save for the carrier using a maneuver later known as the Keyes Loop. The carrier launches landing craft toward Sigma Octanus IV, then retreats into slipspace.
0345 Hours: Covenant ground forces invade the city of Cote d'Azur on the planet.
0400 Hours: Battle Group Leviathan|47 additional UNSC vessels arrive in the system. Admiral Michael Stanforth, aboard the , takes command.
0420 Hours: Reinforcements of 1600 marines, led by Kits|General Kits, begin landing around Cote d'Azur
0600 Hours: Covenant forces ambush and obliterate all marine forces on the ground. Only 14 enlisted men survive. Harland|Corporal Harland assumes tactical command.
0625 Hours: Second Fleet of Solemn Accord|Covenant vessels begin appearing on the far edge of the system.
0650 Hours: SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-IIs arrive on the surface to reinforce surviving marines.
0900 Hours: Spartans assume tactical command on the ground.
1800 Hours: Spartans and marines begin a counterattack on Cote d'Azur.
2010 Hours: Spartans arm nuclear device below Cote d'Azur.
2039 Hours: Nuclear warhead destroys all Covenant ground forces at Cote d'Azur.
2120 Hours: General quarters is sounded aboard ships and the opposing Fleets close to engage.
2130 Hours: refit station|Repair station ''UNSC Cradle|Cradle'' moves to protect UNSC Fleet. First salvos are fired by Covenant vessels.
0500 Hours:''' All Covenant vessels either retreat or are destroyed. Battle concludes.
Participants
Remote scanning outpost|Remote Scanning Outpost ''Archimedes''
Commander (UNSC)|Commander/Captain (Navy)|Captain Jacob Keyes Admiral Hieronymus Michael Stanforth|Michael Stanforth General (rank)|General Kits Lieutenant Dominique Lieutenant Hall Lieutenant Aki Hikowa|Hikowa Lieutenant Jaggers Lieutenant McCasky Ensign William Lovell John-117
Frederic-104
James-005
Kelly-087
Joshua-029
Linda-058
6 unidentified SPARTAN-IIs Corporal Harland Private Fincher Private Walker Private Cochran Devesh Bhasin Kevin-A282
Production notes
There is a discrepancy over the timing of the battle in ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'': Chapter 19 begins at 0600 hours while Chapter 20 begins at 1800, yet there seems to be no significant lapse of time between them. Chapter 22 Begins at 2010 hours and Chapter 23 begins at 0500 hours. Despite this, all four chapters are stated to occur on July 17. This may have been a typographical error, with Chapter 23 meant to be on July 18 or, perhaps, to serve as a flashback of sorts. Chapter 19 clearly begins much later than 0600, since the marines were deployed at 0600; even if their bases were set up almost instantly, they still took "a couple hours" to get from the firebase to grid 13x24. Page 156 of ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'' states that ''Cradle'' was over a square kilometer and that three destroyers could be eclipsed by its shadow. Exactly how it could cover the entire UNSC fleet present is not made clear. The UNSC ships may have positioned themselves behind the ''Cradle'' in a specific formation for maximum protection. It is also possible that repair and refit stations are larger than one square kilometer, as stated in the novel. Early copies of the first edition of ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'' state that the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV and the Fall of Reach both occurred in 2542. However, this was soon confirmed to be a typographical error and fixed in later copies. However, as the 2010 re-issue used an older copy as basis, several errors, this included, were re-entered into circulation. This error was again fixed in the ''Definitive Edition'' released in 2011.
Gallery
File:Cradle1.png|The UNSC Fleet bears down on the attacking Covenant, supported by the ''Cradle'' as it moves to shield the human ships from attack. File:Covenant-4.jpg|The ''UNSC Iroquois'' unleashes a volley of Archer missiles against the Covenant stealth ship. File:Iroquois collision.jpg|The ''Iroquois'' rams the Covenant stealth vessel. File:Sigma Octanus battle.jpg|UNSC and Covenant ships battle.
List of appearances
''Halo: The Fall of Reach''
''i love bees''
''Halo: Fall of Reach''
*''Halo: Fall of Reach - Covenant|Covenant''
''Halo: Fleet Battles''
''Halo 5: Guardians''
*''Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition dossiers|Limited Edition dossiers''
''Halo: Ground Command''
''Halo Mythos''
''Halo: Fractures''
*''Breaking Strain''
''Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual''
Notes
Sources
Category:UNSC victories |
Bay Alpha is a term referring to a specific hangar bay onboard a United Nations Space Command|UNSC warship.
Usage Aboard the , Bay Alpha was the location of a D77-TC Pelican assigned to take the SPARTAN-II Program|Spartan-IIs and Catherine Halsey to Chi Ceti IV.''Halo: The Fall of Reach'', Chapter 12
List of appearances
''Halo: The Fall of Reach''
Sources
Category:Spacecraft locations |
|date=Post-Battle of Mombasa
|playernumber=
|gametypes=*Land Grab Capture the Flag
|terrain=Human urban architecture
|symmetry=
}}
}}
Bazaar is a multiplayer map in ''Halo Infinite''.
Universe and lore The map is set in and around the West Market of Mombasa, Earth. It takes place after the Battle of Mombasa, as the city is in the midst of Project Rebirth|an urban renewal. While the plan to rebuild the city was ambitious and expensive, investment from the UEG and UNSC activity at the Portal at Voi|Voi Excession has led to some of the metropolis being revitalized. Numerous businesses like The Roost Star and Kuku's Cafe dot the map, while streets like Halleg Street and Kuku Street cut through the area. A partially-constructed space elevator can be seen to the southeast, possibly a repaired Mombasa Tether or simply its replacement.
Overview
Callouts The following are locations on the map that are so named on the player's heads-up display during gameplay:
East Market Bridge Den Library East Courtyard East Base
File:HINF BazaarKuku.png|East Base, with bits of East Courtyard in the bottom left.
Antenna East Alley Market
File:HINF_MPOverview_CityMap1.png|Market, with Tower in the top left.
East Gate West Courtyard West Base Palm Tree West Market Bridge Cafe West Alley Tower
File:HINF_MPOverview_CityMap2.png|Tower.
Truck Lockers Crawl Space Tower Basement
Forge In Forge mode, a door within each team's interior plaza ("Palm Tree" and "Antenna") can be deleted, revealing a hallway that provides a new route to the Market's ground level.
Production notes The map was first shown unnamed in the A New Generation trailer, and was eventually shown in more detail with hints to its setting in the Halo Infinite Multiplayer Overview trailer. Finally, in a Canon Fodder post on ''Halo Waypoint'', Bazaar had its name revealed and further story details divulged.
Trivia During the first flight of the Halo Infinite Multiplayer Tech Preview|''Halo Infinite'' Multiplayer Tech Preview, the books found on this map were named after existing Halo novels|''Halo'' novels. Such books include Halo: Silent Storm|''Silent Storm'', Halo: Renegades|''Renegades'', Halo: Meridian Divide|''Meridian Divide'', Halo: Warfleet An Illustrated Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo|''Warfleet'', Halo: Contact Harvest|''Contact Harvest'' and the Halo: Escalation|''Escalation'' Library Edition. In Cafe, there is a sticky note that states: "The code is ADDQD." This is likely a reference to IDDQD, the famous cheat code for invincibility in Wikipedia:Doom (1993 video game)|''Doom'' (1993).
Gallery
File:HINF EarlyBazaarConcept1.jpg|Early concept exploration of Bazaar. File:HINF EarlyBazaarConcept2.jpg|More early concept exploration. File:HINF EarlyBazaarConcept3.jpg|More early concept exploration. File:HINF EarlyBazaarConcept4.jpg|More early concept exploration. File:HINF BazaarExploreConcept.jpg|More early concept exploration. File:HINF Concept BazaarExploration1.jpg|More early concept exploration. File:HINF Concept BazaarExploration2.jpg|More early concept exploration. File:HINF Concept BazaarExploration3.jpg|More early concept exploration. File:HINF Concept BazaarExploration4.jpg|More early concept exploration. File:HINF BazaarExplorationConcept.jpg|More concept exploration. File:HINF BazaarExplorationConcept2.jpg|More concept exploration. File:HINF BazaarExploration3.jpg|More concept exploration. File:HINF BazaarExploration4.jpg|More concept exploration. File:HINF BazaarExploration5.jpg|More concept exploration. File:HINF BazaarShackConcept1.jpg|Concept art of a shack on Bazaar. File:HINF BazaarShackConcept2.jpg|More concept art of a shack. File:HINF MombasaMarketConcept.jpg|Concept art of Mombasa Market. File:HINF Bazaar Interior Concept.png|Concept art for an interior section of the map. File:HINF BazaarInterior.png|Concept art of another interior area. File:HINF BazaarAlleyConcept.jpg|Concept art of an alleyway. File:HINF TuktukConcept.jpg|Concept art of a tuktuk that appears on both Bazaar and Streets. File:HINF Concept WaterTruck1.jpg|Concept art of the UNSC water truck found on the map. File:HINF Concept WaterTruck2.jpg|Concept art of the water truck from the back. File:HINF ServerConcept1.jpg|Concept art of servers. File:HINF ServerConcept2.jpg|More concept art of servers. File:HINF ServerConcept3.jpg|More concept art of servers. File:HINF BazaarGeneratorConcept.jpg|Concept art of a large generator. File:HINF Concept BazaarWindTurbine.jpg|Concept art of wind turbines seen on the map. File:HINF Concept BazaarCart.jpg|Concept art of a cart on the map. File:HINF Concept BazaarChairs.jpg|Concept art of chairs used on the map. File:HINF Concept BazaarStreet.jpg|Concept art of a street near the middle of the map. File:HINF BazaarLedgeConcept1.jpg|Concept art of a ledge. File:HINF BazaarLedgeConcept2.jpg|Concept art of another ledge. File:HINF BazaarMuralConcept.jpg|Concept art of a mural depicting John-117 in MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN3)|GEN3 MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VI|Mark VI armor. File:HINF Concept BazaarBuilding1.jpg|Concept art of a building on Bazaar. File:HINF Concept BazaarBuilding2.jpg|Concept art of the opposite building. File:HINF Concept BazaarBridge.jpg|Concept art of a bridge on Bazaar. File:HINF Concept BazaarAntenna.jpg|Concept art of a room on Bazaar. File:HINF Concept BazaarAntenna2.jpg|Concept art of the upper level of this room. File:HINF Concept BazaarLowerPalm.jpg|Concept art of the room that mirrors the previous one. File:HINF Concept BazaarUpperPalm.jpg|Concept art of the upper level of this room. File:HINF Concept BazaarOuterPalm.jpg|Concept art of the exterior of this room. File:HINF Concept BazaarTruckHut.jpg|Concept art of the structure in which the water truck sits. File:HINF Concept BazaarRooms.jpg|Concept art of another room on Bazaar. File:HINF Concept BazaarRooms2.jpg|Concept art of the adjacent room on the other side of the map. File:HINF Concept BazaarRats.jpg|Concept art of the tower basement. File:HINF Concept BazaarBase.jpg|Concept art of one of the bases. File:HINF Concept BazaarSnak.jpg|Concept art of a building adjacent to this base. File:HINF Concept BazaarDoors1.jpg|Concept art of one of the double doors leading to the center of the map. File:HINF Concept BazaarDoors2.jpg|Finalized concept art of the the doors. File:HINF Concept BazaarCorner1.jpg|Concept art of The Corner, a store in the center of the map. File:HINF Concept BazaarCorner2.jpg|More concept art of The Corner.
File:HINF Multiplayer Reveal 2021-7.png|Two Spartan-IVs on Bazaar. File:HINF SWAT Bazaar.jpg|Three Spartan-IVs on Bazaar. File:HINF BazaarTether.png|The partially-rebuilt Mombasa Tether in the distance. File:HINF - Event - Entrenched - 00008.jpg|Bazaar during a Fractures: Entrenched event.
Sources
Category:Halo Infinite multiplayer maps |
Bdaoro City is an City|urban center on the Sangheili homeworld Sanghelios. Following the end of the Human-Covenant War, the religious order known as the Servants of the Abiding Truth had activity in the city. The Servants engaged in discussions with the local monks and continued to affirm that Forerunner|their gods were still watching over Sanghelios even though many Sangheili had rejected them.''Halo: The Thursday War'', p. 143
List of appearances
''Halo: The Thursday War''
Sources
Category:Sanghelios locations Category:Sangheili cities |
Be Like Marty is an achievement in ''Halo 3: ODST''. It is awarded for finishing an entire round on Firefight (Halo 3: ODST)|Firefight without killing an enemy. It is worth 10 Gamerscore. Its picture is of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament's Logo, an organization associated with peace.
This achievement can be obtained by using two controllers and leaving the extra player in a spawn zone or difficult to reach area while the player does the work on another controller.http://www.gruntsrus.com/news.php?readmore=478
Trivia The name of the achievement is a reference to Martin O'Donnell|Martin "Marty" O'Donnell, the musical composer for Bungie's Halo Universe|''Halo'' games. This achievement was created after Marty once got 0 kills online when he was trying on a lag-free social playlist. This achievement was confirmed in a comment in the 7/7/09 Bungie Podcast, presumably along with the rest of the leaked list.
Sources
Category:Halo 3: ODST achievements |
Be My Wingman, Anytime is a multiplayer achievement in ''Halo: Reach''. It was unlocked when the player let a teammate spawn on them five times in an Invasion matchmaking game.
Following the shutdown of Xbox 360 ''Halo'' online services on January 13, 2022, this achievement is no longer attainable.
Tips and Strategies A list of ways players could earn the achievement:
Entering the Invasion playlist with a buddy and work spawn on each other as their party would most likely be partnered together unless they had an odd number of players. Being as close to the objective as they could without being near an enemy and a teammate would most likely spawn on them.
Trivia The achievement's name is a reference to the line, "You can be my wingman, anytime," from the movie wikipedia: Top Gun|''Top Gun''. Some UNSC Marine Corps|Marines can be heard saying this in the game's campaign. The most common level to hear it in is Long Night of Solace (Level)|Long Night of Solace, when you are flying the YSS-1000 Prototype Anti-Ship Spaceplane|Sabre.
Sources |
File:HR Medal Be the Bullet!.png|right
Be the Bullet! is a spree medal in ''Halo: Reach'' Multiplayer, Campaign and Firefight. It is awarded for killing fifteen opponents with a Sniper Rifle System 99 Anti-Materiel|Sniper Rifle without dying.
Note that you don't have to get fifteen sniper head Shot|headshots in a row, just fifteen kills with a sniper rifle. Melees with the sniper rifle do not count toward the medal.
It is represented by a silver six-pointed star with purple crosshairs in the middle.
Gallery
File:BetheBulletMedal.png|A player earning the medal in a Firefight game on Outpost. File:HTMCC Be The Bullet Medal.png|''Halo: The Master Chief Collection'' version.
Category:Halo: Reach multiplayer medals Category:Medals |
Beachhead is an achievement in ''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'' and ''Halo: The Master Chief Collection''. It is awarded for not losing any UNSC Marine Corps|Marine allies during the beach landing on The Silent Cartographer, on Heroic difficulty or higher. In the original game, it is represented by a white MJOLNIR Mark V helmet over the outline of a . In ''The Master Chief Collection'' it is represented by a screenshot of Boarding Action in the Xbox art, and is represented on Steam as an enclosed Marine CH252 helmet in front of two crossed difficulty swords - signifying the difficulty required to complete the achievement.
The achievement is worth 10 Gamerscore.
Method The player needs to take the damage for the Marines. Keep moving, and make sure the Marines are behind you. Throw grenades when the Covenant troops are in cover, and the use the pistol when they are far away. Don't let the Marines get close to the Sangheili or the Plasma grenades' blast radius. |
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