Editing Battle of Cyclone

{{Era|Post}}
{{Battle infobox
|name=Battle of Cyclone
|prev=[[Skirmish at Librarian's Rest]]
|conc=
|next=[[Battle of Control]]
|image=
|conflict=[[Post-Covenant War conflicts]]
*[[Requiem Campaign]]
|date=
|place="[[Cyclone]]", [[Requiem]], [[Epoloch system]]
|result=*'''Decisive UNSC/Lifeworker victory'''
**Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]]'s signal traced to "[[Control]]"
**The [[Librarian]]'s [[mind transfer|imprint]] successfully transmitted to the [[Absolute Record]]
|side1=*[[United Earth Government]]
**[[United Nations Space Command]]
*[[Lifeworker]]s
|side2=*[[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant]]
*[[Ur-Didact|Didact's]] [[Promethean]]s
|commanders1=*Spartan [[Jared Miller]]
*The [[Librarian]]
|commanders2=*[[Supreme Leader]] [[Jul 'Mdama]]
|forces1=*[[Expeditionary Strike Group 1]]
**[[Spartan Operations]]
***[[SPARTAN-IV Program|SPARTAN-IV]]s
****[[Fireteam Crimson]]
**[[UNSC Marine Corps]]
**''Infinity'' Science
***Doctor [[Lani Truman]]
*[[Aggressor Sentinel]]s
|forces2=*Numerous [[Sangheili]]
*Numerous [[Kig-Yar]]
*Numerous [[Unggoy]]
*2 [[Mgalekgolo|Hunters]]
*1 [[Type-44 Phantom|Phantom]]
*Numerous [[Promethean Knight]]s
*Numerous [[Promethean Crawler]]s
*Numerous [[Promethean Watcher]]s
|casual1=*Light
|casual2=*Heavy
}}
{{Quote|Crimson, Dr. Halsey was relaying transmissions through this location before she was snatched. You’re here to help trace the call.|Jared Miller<ref name="The Search for Halsey">''[[Spartan Ops]]'', [[Key/The Search for Halsey|S109 The Search for Halsey]]</ref>}}
The '''Battle of Cyclone''' was an engagement in the [[Requiem Campaign]] at the location known as "[[Cyclone]]" between UNSC forces supported by [[Aggressor Sentinel]]s under the command of the [[Librarian]] and [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|Covenant]] and [[Promethean]] forces.
==Prelude==
During the early stages of the [[Requiem Campaign]], at the location known as "[[the Cauldron]]," [[Spartan-IV|Spartan]] [[Fireteam Crimson]] recovered [[Requiem slipspace artifacts|a mysterious artifact]]<ref>''Spartan Ops'', [[Departure/Core|S101 Core]]</ref> which sucked in Doctor [[Henry Glassman]] when he accessed it aboard the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}.<ref>''Spartan Ops'', [[Artifact (Spartan Ops)|S102 Artifact]]</ref> Subsequently, Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] was brought aboard where she determined that the artifact was communicating information from the ship to Requiem.<ref>''Spartan Ops'', [[Catherine|S103 Catherine]]</ref>

As Halsey later attempted to understand the artifact, [[Jul 'Mdama]] utilized it to contact Halsey via her [[data pad]] to entice her into helping him, offering Halsey the truth about a great many things, including the [[Promethean]]s.<ref>''Spartan Ops'', [[Didact's Hand|S104 Didact's Hand]]</ref> As proof, Jul ensured that [[Fireteam Crimson]] retrieved "the [[Didact's Gift]],"<ref>''Spartan Ops'', [[Didact's Hand/The Didact's Gift|S104 The Didact's Gift]]</ref> a [[Durance]] containing the "soul" of a [[Promethean Knight]] who was originally a human digitized by the [[Composer]] during the [[New Phoenix Incident]]. Having provided proof, Jul further enticed Halsey by mentioning the [[Librarian]], but [[Commander]] [[Sarah Palmer]] noticed Halsey's suspicious behavior and Captain [[Thomas Lasky]] had her arrested.<ref>''Spartan Ops'', [[Memento Mori|S105 Memento Mori]]</ref> However, Halsey subsequently escaped using an override code on ''Infinity's'' AI [[Roland]] and made contact with Jul whose identity she quickly deduced. Halsey offered Jul her help with the Librarian, but the communication was cut off by Roland who regained control of himself and alerted the ship's crew to Halsey's actions. Jul subsequently launched [[Invasion of the UNSC Infinity|an invasion of the ship]]<ref name="Invasion">''Spartan Ops'', [[Invasion (Spartan Ops)|S107 Invasion]]</ref> that ended with a Promethean Knight abducting Halsey.<ref name="Expendable">''Spartan Ops'', [[Expendable|S108 Expendable]]</ref>

On Requiem, Halsey was brought to "[[Librarian's Rest]]" where she was able to deactivate the protective shield that Glassman had inadvertently activated and enter the shrine containing the [[Librarian]]'s [[mind transfer|imprint]].<ref name="Expendable" /> In the shrine, Halsey met with the Librarian herself who provided Halsey with the [[Janus Key]], a Forerunner artifact that provided the real-time location of all Forerunner technology in the galaxy. The Librarian warned that Requiem's time was almost at an end and ordered Halsey to take the Janus Key to the [[Absolute Record]] before sending her back to "Librarian's Rest."<ref name="Key">''Spartan Ops'', [[Key|S109 Key]]</ref>

After being alerted of the situation, [[Rear Admiral]] [[Serin Osman]] ordered Lasky to eliminate Halsey.<ref name="Expendable" /> Despite Lasky's objections, Palmer deployed to Requiem to carry out the assassination while Lasky contacted [[Fireteam Majestic]], who had just delivered a [[Escape from Librarian's Rest|rescued]] Glassman to a [[D79-TC Pelican|Pelican]] and asked them to rescue Halsey. However, in [[Skirmish at Librarian's Rest|the fight]] that followed, Jul escaped with Halsey who was shot in the arm by Palmer while trying to kill her. Jul also escaped with one half of the Janus Key while Halsey tossed the other half to Spartan [[Gabriel Thorne]].<ref name="Key" />

With Halsey missing, Lasky dispatched all Spartan fireteams from the ''Infinity'' and three {{Class|Vindication|light battleship}}s to search Requiem for her.<ref name="The Search for Halsey" />

==Battle==
===Securing the comm relay===
[[Fireteam Crimson]] was redeployed to "[[Cyclone]]" where Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] was relaying transmissions through before she was snatched in order to help trace the call. As they landed, [[Spartan-IV|Spartan]] [[Jared Miller]] contacted Doctor [[Lani Truman]] of ''Infinity'' Science who provided them with the coordinates of the [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|Covenant]] comm relay Halsey's transmission had been relayed through. As Crimson approached the structure, they engaged Covenant forces guarding it and reinforcements dropped by [[Type-44 Phantom|Phantom]] and cleared them out.

With the Covenant gone, Crimson moved to the structure, only to have the doors open on their approach as if it was responding to Crimson's presence. Inside of the structure were more Covenant forces, including a [[Mgalekgolo|Hunter]] pair. Once the Covenant were cleared out, Crimson accessed the comm relay Truman indicated causing them to pick up a transmission in [[Sangheili (language)|Sangheili]] which [[Roland]] translated to be a call to arms from [[Jul 'Mdama]] at "[[Librarian's Rest]]." However, the transmission didn't give coordinates for "Librarian's Rest." Roland requested to look at the comm logs in the hopes that he could track Halsey's transmissions through the system and Miller agreed. Roland quickly determined the next location Halsey's call was routed to and some Marines were currently near it. Truman suggested that she might be able to track down the transmission through the terminal and possibly even the location of "Librarian's Rest" which Miller gave her permission to try.<ref name="The Search for Halsey" />

===Deciphering the transmission and the Librarian===
As Roland and Truman worked on the transmission, Miller detected a sudden power spike nearby and directed Crimson to check it out. As they headed for the location, [[Promethean]] forces translocated in and attacked. Crimson was able to defeat the Prometheans and followed the source of the power spike to a Forerunner terminal crackling with energy. Though Truman had no idea why it would suddenly activate, [[Roland]] was able to detect that it was modulating at a frequency matching the encryption key on the comm stream that they were trying to crack. Truman realized that Roland was right and decided to take a closer look at it.

As Truman worked at deciphering the signal, massive Promethean reinforcements translocated in, but the [[Librarian]] activated Forerunner [[Z-510 focus turret|beam turrets]] to help Crimson fight them off. Though confused by the turrets inexplicably activating, Crimson utilized their help in fighting off the Prometheans, reactivating turrets that got shut off from damage. As the battle continued, Truman noted that it seemed like someone was trying to help her decipher the comm stream. Roland admitted that it wasn't him, but that Truman was right and there was a secondary encryption cracker working from the inside out and helping Truman to decipher it. Eventually, Crimson managed to clear the area, but Truman warned that both the decryption and the frequency modulation that Roland identified were stuck at 99%. Before Crimson could do anything about it, a new wave of [[Promethean Crawler]]s and [[Promethean Watcher]]s attacked, but the Librarian sent [[Aggressor Sentinel]]s to aid Crimson and the turrets in clearing out the last of the Promethean forces.

With the area clear, Roland suggested having Crimson flip out the breaker on the terminal and open up the power source all the way. Crimson followed Roland's instructions, causing the Sentinels to turn their beams on a structure in the center of "[[Cyclone]]." As they wondered where the Sentinels were going, the Librarian responded over their comms that it was "to the [[Absolute Record]]." The Sentinels opened up the structure, allowing the Librarian's [[mind transfer|imprint]] to be transmitted to the Absolute Record in a massive horizontal data stream that was too fast for the ''Infinity'' to analyze. Roland reported that the trace on the Halsey comm was good to go and [[Boa Squad]] was ready and waiting for Crimson's help. Miller ordered the Marines that Crimson were inbound and the Spartans redeployed to see where the trace led them.<ref name="The Search for Halsey" />

==Aftermath==
The trace of Halsey's transmission from "[[Cyclone]]" led [[Fireteam Crimson]] to "[[Control]]" where it was discovered to have bounced to "[[Lockup]]" next.<ref>''Spartan Ops'', [[Key/Clean Up|S109 Clean Up]]</ref>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo 4]]''
**''[[Spartan Ops]]'' {{1st}}

==Sources==
<references/>
{{Engagements in the Requiem Campaign}}
[[Category:UNSC Victories]]