Battle of Installation 03

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Battle of Installation 03
Conflict:	Post-Covenant War conflicts
Date:	c. July 2557
Location:	Installation 03, Khaphrae system
Outcome:	UNSC victory Conduit retrieved by the UNSC Covenant forces repelled
Details Belligerents United Nations Space Command Jul 'Mdama's Covenant Didact's Prometheans Commanders Lieutenant Kwon Unidentified Sangheili Field Commander Strength D77 Pelicans D79H Pelicans AV-14 Hornets AV-22 Sparrowhawks AV-30 Kestrels M808C Scorpions One stolen Zurdo-pattern Wraith M12 Chaingun Warthogs Two Headhunters UNSC Marines At least two CAS-class assault carriers 4+ Ket-pattern battlecruisers Kmiro'sish-pattern Lichs R'shwupa-pattern Phantoms Dextro Xur-pattern Spirits Type-26 Banshees Mamua'uda-pattern Shades Karo'etba-pattern Ghosts Cheru-pattern Tyrants Type-52 AA Wraiths Kewu Umppi'pa'-pattern citadel turrets Covenant infantry Unggoy Kig-Yar Sangheili Jiralhanae Yanme'e Promethean infantry Promethean Knights Promethean Crawlers Promethean Watchers Casualties Many UNSC Marines Many Covenant forces Many Promethean constructs

"Driven by religious fervor and a thirst for power, the Covenant never gave up searching for the artifact... And they found it moments before we did. They brought it to a place they called "the Altar". Their plan: use the Conduit to open portals for Prometheans to invade Gamma Halo... Giving the Covenant control of the Halo ring. They were confident of imminent victory... But they didn't know a Spartan was coming for 'em!"

— Roland, to a Spartan-IV partaking in a simulation of the battle

The Battle of Installation 03 was a brief engagement on Forerunner Halo Installation 03 in the Khaphrae system. Occurring in late July of 2557, the battle was fought between the United Nations Space Command and Jul 'Mdama's 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

"Five years later, the UNSC picked up a faint signal coming from Gamma Halo... When we learned it was coming from the Conduit, we sent a Spartan to investigate. But hang on to your HUDs, 'cause we weren't the only ones tracking that signal!"

— Roland, to a Spartan-IV partaking in a simulation of the battle

Main article: Battle of Mombasa

At some point, the Covenant recovered the Forerunner Conduit, a device that was capable of opening Forerunner slipspace portals throughout the galaxy. During the Battle of Mombasa on Earth in 2552, the Covenant attempted to use the Conduit during the battle. However, the device was stolen by 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 High Prophet of Regret's CAS-class assault carrier 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, a second ODST squad recovered a series of 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.

In 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 Headhunter was sent to the installation to investigate—aided by Lieutenant Kwon. However, Jul 'Mdama's 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

Search for the Conduit

"The Altar. If the Covenant fire it up, they'll enable a massive Promethean invasion of Gamma Halo."

— Lieutenant Kwon

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 HEV, where he battled his way through Covenant forces and destroyed the five signal jammers. 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. A squad of UNSC Marines captured a Covenant Wraith, and the Spartan was directed to their position.

Manning the Wraith, the Spartan returned to the gate and deactivated it by destroying its power core with the Wraith's cannon. 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 ac