Jul 'Mdama's Covenant
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| Jul 'Mdama's Covenant | |
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| Societal overview | |
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Official language(s): |
Sangheili language serves as lingua franca; various languages spoken by different races.[1] |
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Official religion(s): |
Worship of the Forerunners and their technology |
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Official script(s): |
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| Historical overview | |
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Formation: |
Founded after the end of the Human-Covenant war |
This Covenant remnant[note 1] is a continuation of the former Covenant who continue to worship the Forerunners in the wake of the Human-Covenant War, the Great Schism, and the disappearance of the San 'Shyuum. The de facto leader of the organization's main body is Jul 'Mdama.[2] The reformed Covenant continue to oppose the UNSC following the Human-Covenant War; its members are identified as terrorists by the UNSC[3] and the organization itself is classified as being closer to a religious cult as opposed to the full-fledged empire of the original Covenant.[4]
Background
Formation
After the Human-Covenant War and the initial phase of the Great Schism, the Covenant's former member races returned to their home systems. Many Sangheili and Jiralhanae continued to fight each other, steadily dwindling both sides' military resources, though some Jiralhanae remained loyal to their Sangheili masters.[5] A great number of Sangheili began to forsake the Prophets' false religion. The Sangheili soon fell into civil war, sparked by Arbiter Thel 'Vadam's desire to make peace with humanity. In March 2553, a loose coalition of keeps opposed to the peace treaty launched an assault on the state of Vadam, though the timely intervention of the Template:UNSCship turned the battle in the Arbiter's favor.[6]
Jul 'Mdama, a former Shipmaster and an affiliate of the Servants of the Abiding Truth, became disillusioned with the Arbiter and humanity after being kidnapped by the Office of Naval Intelligence; his resolve was strengthened when his wife, Raia, was killed in the civil conflict. After escaping ONI custody on the shield world Trevelyan, Jul gained a small following of Sangheili on the colony world Hesduros. Feigning religious devotion to the Forerunners, he resolved to recover Forerunner technology from the shield world Requiem, much as the humans had done on Trevelyan. Though he believed it unlikely that any Forerunners still lived, 'Mdama also planned to find the Didact, the leader of the Forerunner military, with whom he shared disdain for humanity.
Requiem and the Didact
- Main article: First Battle of Requiem
'Mdama's fleet arrived at Requiem in 2554, though they could not gain access.[2] By July 2557, the group had gathered a formidable fleet, consisting of at least sixteen CRS-class light cruisers and a single CAS-class assault carrier as their flagship. It was at this time they noticed a human ship, Template:UNSCship, drifting toward the planet and attempted to stop it from entering.[7] The presence of a Reclaimer near the installation caused an entrance portal to open; both the Dawn and Covenant ships were pulled into the planet by the gravity well emitted by the portal. The Covenant remnant forces immediately began establishing positions all over the shield world, engaging Spartan John-117, who had arrived on the Dawn; they were also engaged by local Aggressor Sentinels.[8] A trio of light cruisers eventually reached Requiem's core, where the Didact was imprisoned. By this point the forces of the revived Covenant had come under attack by the Prometheans, who tried to prevent them from reaching the Didact. Despite the mutual hostility of the Covenant and the Prometheans, John-117 soon reached the Didact's Cryptum and accidentally released him, causing the Covenant forces in the area to bow in worship.
Through their mutual hatred toward humanity, the Covenant and Promethean forces, (now controlled by the Didact), quickly formed an alliance. The Covenant aided the Didact's forces in their attack on the Infinity, though the ship's point defenses disabled two cruisers and forced the Didact to retreat.[9] Later, they defended a network of particle cannons which protected the shield world's gravity well generator, preventing Infinity from escaping; they were again unsuccessful.[10] The Covenant later dispatched a flight of Phantom and Lich dropships to accompany the Didact's flagship to Ivanoff Station, an Office of Naval Intelligence facility.[11] The Covenant remnant spearheaded the attack on the station in order to acquire the Composer, a Forerunner superweapon. The attack caught the defenders off-guard and despite John-117's efforts the Didact acquired the Composer.[12]
Later actions on Requiem
- Main article: Second Battle of Requiem
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The military forces of the reformed Covenant still maintained a presence on Requiem in February 2558.[13] By that time, they had begun searching for the Librarian's archived personality in hopes of finding more Forerunner artifacts.[14] This search brought again them into conflict with Marine, Army, Air Force, and Spartan personnel from Infinity, which had returned six months after withdrawing from the shield world.[15]
Notable individuals
- Jul 'Mdama - The "Didact's Hand,"[16] leader of the modern Covenant.
- Gek - Lieutenant to Jul 'Mdama.
- Parg Vol - Commander of Covenant ground forces early in the Second Battle of Requiem.[17]
Military structure
As in the Covenant hegemony's prime, the Sangheili serve as the remnant's military leadership caste. The Unggoy still serve as cannon fodder.[18] Likewise, the Kig-Yar, (at least the Jackals), are still deployed as snipers and light infantry. The Mgalekgolo are still deployed as super-heavy infantry.[19]
The Covenant remnant faction uses a streamlined version of the the hegemony's long-standing rank hierarchy. Veterans of the war with humanity are organized into cadres of higher-ranked personnel. The highest-ranking Sangheili, most notably Zealots, also hold sway in the restructured Covenant's civil arena.[20][21]
| Classes | Sangheili | Unggoy | Kig-Yar | Mgalekgolo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranks and type classes | ||||
| Standard ranks | Storm | Storm | Storm | Hunter form |
| Specialized troops | Ranger | Ranger | Ranger and Sniper | |
| Veterans | Commander | Imperial and Heavy | Heavy | |
| Leaders | Zealot and Warrior | |||
| Titles | ||||
| Ratings | Shipmaster | |||
Military assets
Although a less formidable force than before the Great Schism, the reorganized Covenant have amassed a considerable pool of military assets. Most matériel has been carried over from the pre-Schism Covenant, though more recently developed weapons like the storm rifle are also common. Some older weapons and vehicles have new manufacturers but are generally unchanged in design. Infantry are equipped with armor that appears to be a mix of new variants and styles used by the original Covenant; for example, Unggoy Storm troops are equipped with rebreathers modeled on traditional Unggoy diving apparatuses, whereas Sangheili Commanders wear armor that is very reminiscent of the armor worn by Sangheili Officers during the war.
As before, the Ghost, Wraith, and Banshee are mainstays of the Covenant's ground and air forces, in addition to the Lich. The faction's armada is composed of vessels formerly used by the hegemony, including at least one CAS-class assault carrier, several CRS-class light cruisers,[2] and at least one remaining CCS-class battlecruiser.[22] The CRS fills much the same role as the CCS played during the war, though it is much smaller and less powerful than the latter.
Unlike those of the original Covenant, much of the hardware utilized by the remnant bears green-glowing lights, as opposed to white, blue, or purple lighting.
The reformed Covenant fields a special operations unit known as the Silent Blade, whose members are known to serve as assassins.[23] It is unknown whether this group existed during the hegemony's reign.
Trivia
The four member species of the revived Covenant are the same as those featured in Halo: Combat Evolved: Elites, Grunts, Jackals, and Hunters.
Gallery
A Sangheili in the Covenant remnant.
An Unggoy in the Covenant remnant.
A Jackal in the Covenant remnant.
A Mgalekgolo in the Covenant remnant.
- Storm fleet surrounding FUD.jpg
'Mdama's fleet surrounding the remains of UNSC Forward Unto Dawn.
Jul 'Mdama with his lieutenant, Gek.
Jul 'Mdama with a Sangheili Storm.
Note
- ^ In Halo 4 and its ancillary material, this group is referred to simply as "the Covenant". The "remnant" title was created by this wiki as a descriptor to distinguish the group from the original Covenant. According to an inaccurate article by the Official Xbox Magazine and perpetuated by Examiner, the Covenant forces encountered in Halo 4 are known as "the Storm". However, this arose due to a misunderstanding of the Covenant's streamlined "Storm" ranking system and the new storm rifle. These articles also claim that the "Storm" follow the religion of the San 'Shyuum; while they do continue to worship the Forerunners, most have forsaken the Covenant's original religion after the fall of the Prophet of Truth.
List of appearances
- Halo: The Thursday War (First appearance)
- Halo 4
- Halo: Spartan Assault
Sources
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
- ^ a b c Halo Waypoint: Halo 4 Terminal: Jul 'Mdama
- ^ Spartan Ops, S1E3 Catherine
- ^ Halo 4 Limited Edition, Mission Briefing
- ^ Halo: Glasslands, page ???
- ^ Halo: The Thursday War, page ???
- ^ Halo 4, Dawn
- ^ Halo 4, Requiem
- ^ Halo 4, campaign level Infinity
- ^ Halo 4, campaign level Reclaimer
- ^ Halo 4, campaign level Shutdown
- ^ Halo 4, campaign level Composer
- ^ Spartan Ops
- ^ Spartan Ops, S1E4 Didact's Hand
- ^ Spartan Ops, S1E1 Departure
- ^ Spartan Ops, Season 1, Episode 3: "Catherine"
- ^ Spartans Ops S1E3 Catherine
- ^ The Halo Bulletin - 5.9.12
- ^ The Halo Bulletin: 8.22.12
- ^ Halo Waypoint - Halo 4 Intel: Enemies - Covenant
- ^ Halo Waypoint: New Halo 4 Renders
- ^ Spartan Ops, S1E10 - Exodus
- ^ Spartan Ops, S1E5 - Memento Mori
