Editing Battle of Installation 04

{{Status|Canon|Featured}}
{{Battle infobox
|name= Battle of Installation 04
|image= [[File:H2A-AlphaHaloDestruction.jpg|400px]]
|prev= *[[Fall of Reach]]
*[[Battle of Beta Gabriel]]
|conc=[[Battle for Tribute]]
|next= [[Skirmish over Threshold]]
|conflict= [[Human-Covenant War]]
|date= [[2552#September|September 19–22, 2552]]{{Ref/Reuse|CFRaven}}{{Ref/Reuse|conflict}}{{Ref/Reuse|Timeline}}
|place= [[Installation 04]], [[Soell system]]{{Ref/Site|Id=Timeline|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/timeline/the-halo-conflict|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=The Halo Conflict - Timeline|D=28|M=10|Y=2015}}
|result= '''UNSC victory'''
*Destruction of [[Installation 04]]
*[[Flood]] outbreak contained and sterilized
*Heavy [[Covenant]] losses, with survivors forced to retreat
*All [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] forces, except for a few survivors, perish
|side1    = *{{Icon|UNSC HCW}} [[United Nations Space Command]]
|side2    = *{{Icon|Covenant H2}} [[Covenant]]
|side3    = *{{Icon|Forerunner}} [[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 'Vadam]]ee
*[[Prophet of Stewardship]] †
*[[Minister of Etiology]] † 
*[[Special Operations Commander]] [[Rtas 'Vadum]]ee
*[[Shipmaster]] [[Lat 'Ravamee]] †
*[[Soha 'Rolamee]] †
*[[Field Master]] [[Noga 'Putumee]] †
*[[Shipmaster]] [[Orna 'Fulsam]]ee
|commanders3    = 
*[[343 Guilty Spark]]
|commanders4    =
*[[Proto-Gravemind]] † {{c|Feral Stage}}
|forces1  = 
*{{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}
**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]] {{c|in stasis; did not participate}}
**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]]{{Ref/Level|CE|CE:The Pillar of Autumn|The Pillar of Autumn|Quote=A dozen Covenant superior battleships against a single Halcyon-class light cruiser. Given those odds I'm content with three...make that four kills.}}
**Thousands of ground troops
|forces3  = 
*Numerous [[Aggressor Sentinel]]s
|forces4  = 
*Thousands of Flood forms
|casual1  =
*All Marines, ODSTs and naval personnel {{c|except for [[John-117]], [[Cortana]], [[Avery Johnson]], and a few others}}
** AI [[Wellsley]]
**[[Jacob Keyes]]
**[[Melissa McKay]]
**[[Antonio Silva]]
**[[Carol Rawley]]
**{{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}
|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{{Ref/Novel|Id=priority|TF|Detail=[[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'''{{Ref/Book|Enc11|Section=Introduction|Page=8-9}} 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]] [[Sentinel]]s 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]].

The battles at Installation 04 have also been called the '''Halo Event''',{{Ref/Level|HW|HW:Alpha Base|Alpha Base}}{{Ref/Level|H4|H4:Dawn|Dawn}} '''Alpha Halo Conflict'''{{Ref/Book|Id=OSFM|OSFM|Page=62-65|Detail=The Alpha Halo Conflict}} and the '''Halo Conflict'''.{{Ref/Film|Id=conflict|The Halo Conflict}}{{Ref/Reuse|Timeline}}{{Ref/Reuse|HLCDD3}}{{Ref/Generic|Heading=[[Halo: Outpost Discovery]]|Subheading=[[Hall of History]]|Detail=OD_003_HOH_Humanity_Overview}}

==Background==
===Operation: RED FLAG===
{{Main|Operation: RED FLAG}}
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.{{Citation needed}}

To undertake this task, the old {{Class|Halcyon|light cruiser}} {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} 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.{{Ref/Generic|Heading=[[Data Drop]]|Detail=6}} Following his performance at the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]], Captain [[Jacob Keyes]] was chosen to lead the mission.{{Citation needed}}

===The Fall of Reach===
{{Main|Fall of Reach}}
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 generator]]s, with Spartans [[John-117]], [[Linda-058]] and [[James-005]] deployed to [[Gamma Station]] to execute the [[Cole Protocol]] on the ONI vessel {{UNSCShip|Circumference}}. In the engagement, James was seemingly 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.{{Citation needed}}

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]].{{Ref/Novel|TFoR|Chapter=Epilogue}}{{Ref/Level|HR|Reach:The Package|The Package}} The ''Pillar of Autumn'' departed from the [[Asźod ship breaking yards]] on August 30, 2552, and entered slipspace above Reach while the Covenant fleet continued to wreak destruction on the planet.{{Ref/Level|HR|Reach:The Pillar of Autumn|The Pillar of Autumn}}

[[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,{{Ref/Reuse|priority}} arriving ''before'' the Autumn due to their faster [[borer|slipspace drive]] technology.{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}} Following the battle, some UNSC [[AI]]s 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.{{Ref/Site|Id=jason|URL=http://halo.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=6|Site=Bungie.net|Page=Jason Jones Interviewed By You|Y=2014|M=10|D=12|LocalArchive=Archive:Bungie.net/News/Jason Jones Interviewed By You}}

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]].{{Ref/Level|HR|Reach:Epilogue|Epilogue}} At some point after this time, Captain Keyes made a transmission that would later be picked up by [[NAVCOM]].{{Ref/Film|[[Anniversary Campaign Trailer]]}} By this time, at least twelve Covenant vessels were already in station, with four battlegroups consisting of three {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}}s per group, the [[Covenant destroyer|destroyer]] ''[[Blameless Conceit]]'', the {{Pattern|Mjern|agricultural support ship}} ''[[Infinite Succor]]'', the {{Pattern|Ruma|light carrier}} ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' and the {{Class|CAS|assault carrier}} ''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.{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}}

{{clear|left}}

==Battle in space==
===Assault on the ''Autumn''===
[[File:HCEA-Concept-PoA-Chief-Profile.jpg|thumb|left|200px|John-117 engaging Covenant forces boarding the ''Pillar of Autumn'']]
{{Main|Battle over Installation 04}}
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 [[Space fighter|fightercraft]] and [[boarding craft]] containing [[Naval boarding|boarding parties]] to the human cruiser for fear of damaging the ring, though 'Vadamee later returned fire anyway.{{Ref/Reuse|priority}} The UNSC cruiser's Longsword escort mopped up the initial recon pickets,{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}} 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]].{{Ref/Novel|Id=flood1|TF|Chapter=1}}

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.{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}} 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]]{{Ref/Reuse|FT:E}} and {{Pattern|Brhi Xur|Leech}} boarding craft{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}} to force the humans out of their shell.{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}}

As Covenant forces began boarding the ''Autumn'', Captain Jacob Keyes ordered Tech Chief [[Thom Shephard]] and [[Petty Officer Third Class]] [[Samuel 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 ''Autumn''{{'}}s [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]] was sabotaged by the Covenant boarding teams and rendered inoperable.{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}}{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}}

During the battle, installation [[Monitor]] [[343 Guilty Spark]] prepared the defensive {{Class|Confidence|weapon array}}, 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 [[reclaimer]]s, took the weapons offline and granted them safe passage onto the ring.{{Ref/Game|CEA|CEA:Terminals|Terminal 1}}

===Evacuating ship===
[[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.{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}}{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}}]]
{{Quote|I'm initiating Cole Protocol, Article Two. We're abandoning the ''Autumn''.|Captain Jacob Keyes to Cortana.}}{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}}{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}}
Given the loss of their [[MAC|magnetic accelerator cannon]], Captain Keyes made the decision to initiate Article Two of the [[Cole Protocol]].{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}}{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}} 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.{{Ref/Level|Id=CE:TPOA|CE|CE:The Pillar of Autumn|The Pillar of Autumn}}{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}} John would bring Keyes' magnum with him to the surface of Halo.{{Ref/Reuse|flood2}}

[[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]].{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}}{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}}

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.{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}}

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.{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}}

The [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]]s 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|SOEIV]]s that would carry them to the alien ringworld below.{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}} Only [[Fireteam Raven]], having been separated from the others, did not launch with Silva and the rest.{{Ref/Level|Id=FT:E|FTR|HFR:Escape|Escape}} 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.{{Ref/Reuse|FT:E}} The fireteam were eventually forced to retreat back into the ship, however.

{{#widget:Vimeo|id=285590020|thumb|width=200px|caption=The ship burning up in the Installation's atmosphere.}}
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.{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}}{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}} 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.{{Ref/Reuse|FT:E}}

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 Pelican]]s 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.{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}} The surviving dropships later played a crucial part in the UNSC campaign on the ring.

[[File:CEV POA Bumblebee Autumn Descent.png|thumb|left|Cortana left behind a very small part of herself in order to assist with the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' descent.{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}}]]
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 [[marine]]s 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.{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}}

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.{{Ref/Novel|FS|Chapter=16}} 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.{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}}

{{clear|left}}

==UNSC ground campaign==
===Capture of Alpha Base===
{{Main|Landing on Installation 04#Alpha Base|l1=Capture of Alpha Base}}
[[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 {{Pattern|Karo'etba|Ghost}}s and, later, [[Type-26 Banshee]]s. The defending ODSTs managed to fend off the assault but suffered a loss of 23 ODSTs killed and 16 ODSTs wounded.{{Ref/Novel|Id=flood2|TF|Chapter=2}}

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.{{Ref/Reuse|flood2}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=flood3|TF|Chapter=3}}

===Capture of the captain===
{{Main|Landing on Installation 04#Capturing the command crew|l1=Capturing the command crew}}
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.{{Ref/Reuse|flood3}}

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.{{Ref/Reuse|flood3}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=flood4|TF|Chapter=4}}

===Rescue of stranded survivors===
{{Main|Landing on Installation 04#Rounding up survivors|l1=Rescuing the survivors}}
[[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