Clarion
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
Clarions are a network of facilities constructed by the Forerunners on the Ark, consisting of a superluminal communications array capable of relaying instructions to the Halo Array.[1] One such facility, known under the name of the Citadel, was the site of the final battle of the Human-Covenant War and the site at which the IsoDidact fired the array at the end of the Forerunner-Flood war.[2][3] A second facility, Epsilon Clarion, was attempted to be used by the Keepers of the One Freedom and Dhas Bhasvod's Covenant to fire the Halo Array, but it was destroyed by the UNSC Spirit of Fire along with Intrepid Eye.[4]
Overview[edit]
Clarion facilities host the interfaces for the supraluminal communications network that allow the Ark to send commands to the Halos, such as ordering them to fire. A Reclaimer could control the weapons array of the Halo Array from any of the facilities.[1]
History[edit]
The Halos' firing[edit]
The Clarion facility known as the Citadel, sharing all resources with the Metarch Offensive Bias, functioned as a command hub for the complex action of coordinating the deployment and firing processes of the rings. This was performed almost exclusively by Offensive Bias, who was simultaneously present at the Maginot Line with the Forerunners' last combined fleet, tasked with stalling the subverted Mendicant Bias and the Flood's enormous fleet long enough for the Halos to fire.[5]
Battle of Installation 00[edit]
- Main article: Battle of the Citadel
During the Battle of Installation 00 in December 11, 2552, the Prophet of Truth landed upon Installation 00 on the Forerunner Dreadnought, and seized the Citadel while the majority of his fleet and armies distracted the pursuing United Nations Space Command/Sangheili allied forces. Using Sergeant Major Avery Johnson as a Reclaimer, the Prophet of Truth was able to activate the Halo Array. However, with the help of the Flood, Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 and Arbiter Thel 'Vadam stopped Truth and deactivated the Array.[2]
The Citadel was subsequently badly damaged when Installation 08 fired and exploded over the Ark.[6][7]
000 Tragic Solitude[edit]
- Main article: Operation: FAR STORM
In March 2555, the Ark's Monitor 000 Tragic Solitude, with the help of Bobby Kodiak acting as a Reclaimer, used the citadel to initiate an activation of the Halo Array in five weeks time both to wipe out all sentient life in the galaxy and force the UNSC to reactivate the Excession so that he could send Retriever Sentinels to strip-mine the Sol system for the materials needed to repair the Ark. In response, a joint UNSC-Swords of Sanghelios operation was launched to the Ark to stop the firing sequence.[7]
After reaching the citadel, Dr. Luther Mann was able to use the controls to deactivate the Array, but they then came under attack from armigers under the control of Tragic Solitude and were forced to flee down a chute when the elevator proved to be non-functional.[8] The chute deposited the group to the citadel's undercarriage where it connected to the wall of the Foundry. In the undercarriage, the group located the citadel's primary control station that controlled the building itself which had been damaged when Installation 08 fired and was knocked off-line. While Huragok Drifts Randomly worked to restore power to the station, Dr. Henry Lamb was attacked and killed by a damaged Sentinel under Tragic Solitude's control. After Drifts brought the control station online, Mann was able to find an exit through network of interior passages to the Foundry's control station.[9]
Loss of most of the facilities[edit]
Due to the damage the Citadel sustained, it was eventually completely destroyed as the Ark repaired itself and changed its surface in countless different ways.[10] By October 2559, all but one of the other facilities in the Clarion network were off-line for repairs. According to the Epsilon submonitor, the other facilities in the network like the Citadel were either inoperable or inaccessible and may remain that way for some time.[1]
Attempting to Start the Great Journey[edit]
- Main article: Battle of Epsilon Clarion
In October 2559, the Keepers of the One Freedom journeyed to the Ark, attempting to fire the Halo Array and begin the Great Journey. Forming an alliance with Dhas Bhasvod's Covenant, the Keepers used one of the Ark's Cartographers to locate a new Citadel and were directed to Epsilon Clarion.[10][1] At the same time, the Forerunner archeon-class ancilla Intrepid Eye plotted to fire the Array in order to defeat Cortana and the Created. Recalling that the Domain had been nearly destroyed the last time the Halo Array was fired, Intrepid Eye came to the conclusion that in order to stop Cortana, the Array must be fired once again to destroy the Domain and take away Cortana's advantage. Once the galaxy was sterilized, Intrepid Eye intended to use the Ark's resources to reseed the galaxy again and tailor humanity's genetic lineage to guarantee Mantle-worthiness, a process that could take hundreds of millennia.[11]
On October 14, the Keepers-Covenant alliance reached Epsilon Clarion after suffering heavy casualties. However, Veta Lopis delayed the activation by declaring that Intrepid Eye had been infected with the logic plague, forcing her to negotiate with the Facilitator-class ancilla monitoring it and revealing the truth about Halo to Castor. On Lopis' signal, the UNSC Spirit of Fire began an orbital bombardment with MAC rounds equipped with EMP capability powerful enough to take down the shield that the ancilla had established and wipe out her code. As a last desperate measure, Intrepid Eye attempted to transmit herself along with the activation signal for the Halo Array as a means of escape, but Castor had finally learned the truth about Halo from watching the archeon argue with the Facilitator. Intrepid Eye was betrayed by her former subject who destroyed the interface station holding her avatar in an act of pain and anger.
The citadel was bombarded and destroyed by the Spirit of Fire's MAC, finally destroying Intrepid Eye with the EMP ensuring that all electronics in the area was fried as well. Captain James Cutter later reassured the surviving Ferrets that Intrepid Eye had truly been destroyed: there was no transmissions before, during or after the MAC bombardment which reduced to slag whatever the AI had been hiding in. With the destruction of Epsilon Clarion, the Ark lost its ability to fire the Halo Array until a new Clarion facility could be constructed or one of the existing facilities was repaired and put back in working order.[12][13][14]
Known clarions[edit]
- The Citadel - The Clarion facility co-opted by the Prophet of Truth in December 2552, and the site of the final battle of the Human-Covenant War.[2] Destroyed as the Ark repaired itself and changed its surface in countless different ways.[10]
- Epsilon Clarion - The sole operational Clarion facility operational as of 2559, located on Epsilon Spire.[1] Destroyed by the UNSC Spirit of Fire on October 14, 2559.[12][13]
List of appearances[edit]
- Halo 3 (First appearance)
- Halo: Hunters in the Dark
- Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo
- Halo: Divine Wind
Sources[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Halo: Divine Wind, chapter 8
- ^ a b c Halo 3, campaign level The Covenant
- ^ Halo Mythos, chapter Activation of the Array, page 34-35
- ^ Halo: Divine Wind
- ^ Halo: Silentium, page 326-328
- ^ Halo 3, campaign level Halo
- ^ a b Halo: Hunters in the Dark
- ^ Halo: Hunters in the Dark, page 258-262
- ^ Halo: Hunters in the Dark, page 277-289
- ^ a b c Halo: Divine Wind, chapter 7
- ^ Halo: Divine Wind, chapter 5
- ^ a b Halo: Divine Wind, chapter 16
- ^ a b Halo: Divine Wind, chapter 17
- ^ Halo: Divine Wind, Epilogue
