Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
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| Halo: Ghosts of Onyx | ||||
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Author(s): |
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Audio book narrator(s): |
Jonathan Davis | |||
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Publication date: |
October 31, 2006 (original) | |||
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Print (Paperback), Audiobook | |||
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383 pages (original) | |||
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| Part of The Original Series | ||||
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Halo: Ghosts of Onyx is the fourth novel in the Halo series and the finale of The Original Series. The book is written by Eric Nylund and published by Tor Books. It was officially released on October 31, 2006, and was released as an audiobook on February 6, 2007. The unabridged version includes 9 disks, and is narrated by Jonathan Davis.
The announcement of Ghosts of Onyx included a confirmation that two more novels would be released as part of the same contract; Halo: Contact Harvest, and Halo: The Cole Protocol. Chronologically, Ghosts of Onyx is followed by Halo: Glasslands, the first novel in a new series set after the conclusion of the Human-Covenant War.[1]
Official summary[edit]
Original edition by Tor[edit]
| “ | The SPARTAN-II program has gone public. Tales of super-soldiers fending off thousands of Covenant attacks has become the stuff of legend. But just how many Spartans are left? While the Master Chief defends a besieged Earth, and the myriad factions of the Covenant continue their crusade to eliminate humanity, an ultra-secret cell of the Office of Naval Intelligence known as "Section Three" devises a plan to buy the UNSC vital time. They're going to need hundreds of willing soldiers, though… and one more Spartan to get the job done. Planet Onyx is virtually abandoned and therefore the perfect place to set this new plan in motion. When the Master Chief destroys Halo, however, something is triggered deep within Onyx. Action begins to boil and the Ancient Forerunner technology stirs. Armadas of UNSC and Covenant race to claim the Forerunner secrets in order to change the course of the Human-Covenant war. But this reawakened and ancient force may have plans of its own… |
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2019 Gallery Books reprint[edit]
| “ | The 26th century. Once considered clandestine, the Spartan-II program has now gone public. Tales of armored supersoldiers fending off thousands of Covenant attacks have become the stuff of legend. While the Master Chief defends a besieged Earth, and the myriad factions of the Covenant continue their crusade to eliminate humanity, an ultrasecret cell of the Office of Naval Intelligence known as "Section Three" devises a plan to buy the United Nations Space Command vital time. It will need hundreds of willing soldiers, though-and one more Spartan-to get the job done. The planet Onyx is virtually abandoned and the perfect place to set this new strategy in motion. But when the Master Chief destroys Halo, something is triggered deep within Onyx: Ancient Forerunner technology stirs, and fleets of UNSC and Covenant vessels race to claim it and change the course of the Human-Covenant War. But this reawakened and ancient force may have plans of its own.... |
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Plot synopsis[edit]
Prologue: Beta Company's Victory at Pegasi Delta[edit]
The prologue begins with the 300 SPARTAN-IIIs of Beta Company being deployed to the Covenant-controlled planet, Pegasi Delta in 2545. Out of the 300, 291 hit the ground and proceed towards their target, a Covenant refinery. The Spartans manage to destroy the facility, but due to unexpected heavy Covenant resistance in the form of seven large Covenant cruisers, misidentified as part of the factory by the orbiting STARS satellite, only two; SPARTANS Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091, survive. Tom and Lucy are revealed to be only twelve years old, and Lucy is severely traumatized and rendered mute, being diagnosed with post-traumatic vocal disarticulation after the deaths of the other Spartans and several of her companions from Team Foxtrot, Adam-B004 and Min-B174.
Section 1: Lieutenant Ambrose[edit]
The narrative then moves back to 2531 to a raid by SPARTAN-II Blue Team against Insurrectionists on planet Victoria to recover stolen FENRIS nuclear warheads. Though the team is captured by General Howard Graves and the rebels, the timely intervention of Kurt-051 allows the team to complete their mission without any other serious problems, but Graves is killed during the course of events, preventing the team from learning valuable secrets the General held about the rebels' command and intelligence structure.
Five months later, Colonel James Ackerson of Section Three of the Office of Naval Intelligence, meets with three ONI officers: Rear Admiral Rich, Captain Gibson and Vice Admiral Parangosky. During the meeting, Ackerson moves forward a proposal for a new SPARTAN program which retains most of the effectiveness of the SPARTAN-II program without the high costs of the previous project. This becomes the SPARTAN-III program, a more streamlined, "disposable," as well as more numerous, group of Spartans that must be trained for high-risk operations. Ackerson is given the classified, UNSC-controlled world Onyx with the purpose of training the SPARTAN-IIIs, and is promised one of the SPARTAN-II to train them.
The next month, Kurt, Kelly and Fred are sent to investigate "suspicious activity" at Station Delphi. When Kurt approaches a ruptured Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine for closer inspection, his thruster pack malfunctions and sends him spinning away into deep space. Kurt awakes a month later and meets Ackerson, who informs him that the events as Station Delphi were staged in order to recruit him. Kurt is told of the SPARTAN-III project and is given orders to train the volunteers of the SPARTAN-III program. Ackerson promotes him to Lieutenant, Junior Grade and assigns him the surname Ambrose to hide his previous service as a Spartan.
Section 2: SPARTAN-III[edit]
At Camp Currahee on Onyx, Kurt reduces the four hundred