Editing Post-Covenant War conflicts

Humanity found itself facing renewed internecine struggle as well. While the [[Insurrection]] had ceased as a major conflict at the start of the Covenant War in [[2525]], some surviving [[Human colonies|colonies]] still harbored former [[Insurrectionist]]s as well as individuals sympathetic to the cause of colonial secession.{{Ref/Comic|Id=init3|HInit|Detail=[[Halo: Initiation Issue 3|Issue 3]]}} Some colonies, including [[Venezia]], cut off all ties with the UEG under the pretense that Earth had abandoned them during the war.{{Ref/Novel|Gla|Page=70}} Some rebel groups managed to obtain large amounts of Covenant and UNSC weapons and equipment circulating on the [[black market]].{{Ref/Novel|Gla|Page=448}}

{{Clear}}

===Return to the Milky Way===

After recovering the crystal shards, Atriox [[Forerunner entanglement dish|somehow]] managed to make contact with [[Escharum]] in the Milky Way galaxy. Atriox ordered Escharum to the Banished and their allied forces to [[Reach]] and search for and activate the [[Menachite portal complex]]. Once the slipsspace portal was opened, Atriox would use the crystal shards to connect it to the Ark, allowing him to return to the Milky Way and lead a massive Banished force back to take the Ark once and for all. By following [[Blue Team]] during [[Operation: WOLFE|their own mission]], the [[Keepers of the One Freedom]] led by [[Castor]] were able to locate the portal complex and activate it with the help of one their human members acting as a [[Reclaimer]]. With a connection established, Atriox was able to fly through the portal in a [[Eklon'Dal Workshop Lich|Lich]] where he revealed that he no longer intended to lead reinforcements to the Ark but to depart with the Banished to attend to a "greater purpose" of some kind while leaving the thousands of troops already on the Ark behind to hold it.{{Ref/Reuse|SoR}}

Following Atriox's arrival on Reach, Castor's small detachment of Keepers hijacked his Lich in order to fly it back through the [[slipspace portal]] to the Ark. Still fanatically believing in the [[Covenant religion]], the Keepers' intention was to use the Ark to fire the [[Halo Array]] and finally begin the Great Journey. Anticipating that his forces on the Ark would stop the Keepers, Atriox let them go and was extracted by Escharum's [[intrusion corvette]] instead. The Lich successfully flew through the portal before it closed, but Castor remained unaware that some of his human servants were actually the [[Ferret]]s, deep-cover ONI operatives who had successfully been infiltrating the Keepers for more than two years. During a brief encounter with [[Fred-104]] on Reach, [[Ferret]] leader [[Veta Lopis]] secretly passed him a message to relay to ONI warning them of Atriox's impending return and the Keepers' plot.{{Ref/Reuse|SoR}}

Combated by both the Banished and the UNSC, the allied Keeper and Covenant forces managed to reach [[Epsilon Clarion]], the only facility on the Ark capable of firing the Halo Array that was both active and accessible. During [[Battle of Epsilon Clarion|the resulting battle]], the small detachment of Keepers was wiped out, leaving Castor and [[Sangheili]] [[Blademaster]] [[Inslaan 'Gadogai]] as the only survivors. On the orders of Lopis, the ''Spirit of Fire'' [[orbital bombardment|bombarded]] the facility with [[EMP]] [[MAC]] rounds, destroying both Epsilon Clarion and Intrepid Eye who had made herself vulnerable by consolidating herself in Epsilon Clarion's systems rather than remaining spread out as she had been previously. The loss of Epsilon Clarion destroyed the Ark's ability to fire the Halo Array until a new Clarion facility is constructed. The Banished also suffered heavy casualties to [[Clan of the Long Shields]]. However, [[Mark-G313]] was killed by [[Prelate]] [[Dhas Bhasvod]] and Castor and 'Gadogai set out to seek revenge against all of their enemies.{{Ref/Novel|Id=DW|DW}}