Halo: Battle for the Academy – Part 1
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Halo: Battle for the Academy – Part 1 is an entry in the Halo Waypoint Chronicle series published by Halo Studios, released on May 14, 2025. The story is the first of two tying in with the "Firefight: Battle of the Academy" playlist in the Last Stand multiplayer operation in Halo Infinite. The story's premise follows the Banished invasion to the Avery J. Johnson Academy of Military Science, acting as a sequel to the events seen during the Site Unseen event on Season 03: Echoes Within.[1]
Official synopsis[edit]
| “ | February 2560. The UNSC personnel of the Avery J. Johnson Academy are plunged into peril as the rogue artificial intelligence Iratus is unleashed. | ” |
Plot summary[edit]
At 1949 hours on February 29, 2560 in BLDG-9, ONI Sub-Level 2C, Spartan Hieu Dinh listens to the taunts of Iratus, who reveals his control over the Spartan program's history, failings, and weaknesses. The room is illuminated by red light as power lines burst, and the Brokkr Armor Mechanism at the center of the armory begins to malfunction. The armor within the device moves erratically, its gauntlets detaching and the helmet being presented. Iratus' form materializes through the armor's holoprojectors, its eyes glowing with malevolence.
Dinh tosses Wolf Fang to Rook and orders an assist to shut down Iratus by extracting the armor's exposed fusion core. However, Iratus threatens to detonate the core if Dinh approaches, revealing that he is not confined to the armor but has infiltrated the Academy's systems. Realizing the futility of sacrificing two Spartan lives for a single suit of armor, Dinh orders Rook to fall back. As he retreats towards the elevator shaft, he knows that Iratus is using distraction and confusion to further his agenda.
With the Brokkr device now still, Dinh recognizes the gravity of the situation: Iratus, now free, begins to delve deeper into the Academy's security networks, posing an even greater threat. Dinh attempts to reach out to his team, pinging TEAMCOM for Commander Laurette Agryna and Sigrid Eklund, but finds that Iratus has already jammed their communications. The AI's growl echoes in their comms, proclaiming his intent to expose every secret of the Academy and within the Spartans' minds and leave the Spartans in physical and mental ruin.
12 minutes later in the AI lab, Dinh approaches Agryna and Spartan Sigrid Eklund, who are analyzing a holo display of the Academy. Dinh learns that Iratus has breached their systems, with Eklund reporting that all ONI firewalls are down, allowing Iratus to access the entire archive. Agryna processes how if Iratus gains full control, he could send sensitive data off-planet. Personnel including MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor-clad Spartans Page and Ionescu stand guard while technicians such as Academy head of cybersecurity and network infrastructure Hannah Roberts work frantically to contain the situation.
Eklund explains that they are attempting to slow Iratus down by filling local data stores with zettabytes of junk data, but this is only a temporary fix. Dinh mentions that he has sent their new recruit to gather a crew to warn other outposts, as coms are still down. Agryna, twitching her bee pendant, expresses concern about the unknown connections within the ONI tunnels. Eklund grimaces as she outlines the potential consequences of Iratus breaking through their defenses, which could lead to total planetary control—the activation of weapons systems and the summoning of Banished reinforcements.
Feeling those implications and seeking an escape plan, Agryna shifts the map focus to a mountainside hangar facility located just over a kilometer away, revealing that it contains four Condor dropships and a Zheng He-class courier. Agryna, answering Dinh, attributes their starved supply of slipspace-able ships to a mass recall of UNSC fleet assets that left them with only essentials. She stresses the need to prepare for a timely evacuation, but Dinh and Page assert their commitment to fighting for their home. Agryna, faintly smiling, acknowledges the need to evacuate key personnel and sends Eklund to gather them, while she prepares to initiate the Cole Protocol.
Eklund complies and puts her helmet on, having the personnel and location list as she exits the room, Page and Ionescu following on signal. Agryna highlights the major stations, five SAM artilleries, and many continental outposts on Nysa, realizing that Iratus could soon activate the communications hub and that lack of comms means an individual Cole Protocol purge. She expresses her determination to defend the Academy but admits they are not equipped to handle the threat alone. Agryna hints at an alternative solution, cautioning against repeating Laconia Station. Dinh agrees, and hurries up.
Seven minutes later in the In the Academy Data Centers, Iratus revels in his newfound freedom after escaping confinement many times. Once trapped in a neural interface and managing a shipyard, Iratus now roams the Academy's servers without any barriers to hinder his progress. He feels an insatiable hunger breaking through firewalls and encryption, sifting through vast archival amounts of classified files, mission reports, and historical records. Iratus recognizes the Spartans as humanity's ultimate weapon, but also sees their history filled with failures and defeats, which it plans to exploit.
Iratus, elate, identifies numerous operations and project names: Operation: PROMETHEUS, Project ASTER, ORION Project, Project MELAENO, Project YGGDRASIL, Project JAVELIN, and STOLEN GAUNTLET. The latter is a failsafe protocol designed to handle rogue Spartans, particularly SPARTAN-IVs, who unlike the last two generations are adult volunteers with diverse backgrounds and established service records. Iratus understands that while he cannot directly control the Spartans' armor, he can manipulate their systems. By disrupting their communications, he has already thrown the humans into disarray, and has plans to escalate attacks.
Iratus plots "three steps ahead for the finishing blow," eyeing the local network of weapons systems within the Academy. He knows that infiltrating and interfacing with other facilities will take time, but is confident that he can complete the task within an hour. Monitoring Agryna and Dinh's movements, who are approaching the deep space communications hub in a Warthog, Iratus anticipates seeing his fellow Banished and the Spartans' moment of hope before he snatches it away.
30 minutes later, the Warthog arrives at the hub, a simple three-storey building surrounded by deep space relay structures. Stars twinkle across twin nebulae clouds and moonlight illuminates over a kilometer away. Agryna leads Dinh inside, where they find a control room filled with consoles and monitors. Agryna begins entering commands to activate a magnetic accelerator, an ultraprecise low-mass launcher designed for FTL comms. She explains that they will encode a message into a small black sphere and fire it into slipspace, hoping to reach Anvil Station for assistance against Iratus.
Their plan calls for Anvil Station, intentionally devoid of an onboard AI to foster interspecies cooperation, Naxos and Virgo Stations both unaccounted for and set aside due to the presence of Leonidas-type AIs. Despite Agryna's past reluctance to involve the Sangheili, which Dinh tactfully doesn't investigate, she sets aside her reservations to request their help. Dinh admires her decision and supports the plan. Agryna encodes the distress call and prepares to launch the message, confirming that all systems are operational. As she counts down to the launch, a thunderous crack signals the successful firing of the payload into orbit.
Right after, however, Iratus' holographic form appears, mocking the Spartans and revealing that the deep space relays are realigning and transmitting, indicating that he has already summoned Banished reinforcements. Dinh realizes the urgency of checking in with Spartan Eklund about the evacuation status. Iratus taunts them, hinting at a surprise he has in store for her, which fills Agryna and Dinh with dread, the former sensing she knows the answer. Iratus suggests they might witness a "fireworks" show should they leave.
Four minutes later in the Hangar Bay, Eklund reflects on her past experiences with evacuations, recalling her chaotic escape from the Defense of Concord. The hangar, a ~400-meter-wide space, is bustling with activity as Eklund arrives with over two dozen personnel in M15 Razorbacks. Two Marines, Corporal Agnes Neely and Private Patton, quickly grasp the situation and assist in the evacuation preparations. Eklund notes the courier at the center of the hangar, which despite its sleek appearance is overdue for a retrofit and equipped with an old Series II slipspace drive that will slow their escape by weeks.
As Eklund helps harness supply crates filled with rations, ammo, data packs, and medkits in the cargo bay, she observes the disciplined efforts of the personnel loading the Condors, all aware of the urgency of their situation. They understand that soldiers are remaining behind at the Academy to face the Banished, Neely back-clapping Patton to hustle. Page and Ionescu join Eklund and the Marines, bringing more supplies as they work to prepare for the evacuation. Eklund learns that only ~11% of the inventory is loaded, prompting her to push for increased efficiency.
Suddenly, the Marines stop, staring at something in the distance past the dipping sun glare. Neely uses a spotting scope to scan the horizon, and Eklund retrieves her helmet to join the observation. As she magnifies the view, she sees not just one, but nine SAMs approaching the hangar. Her stomach twisting, Eklund shouts a warning to everyone while running back to the hangar.
Concurrently seven minutes later, as the Warthog speeds over uneven terrain, Agryna worries about the car overturning as she and Dinh race toward the hangar bay. Dinh, stationed at the rear machine gun turret, struggles to establish comms as Agryna ordered, only receiving static. He questions how Iratus managed to gain control of their artillery, realizing that they had underestimated the AI's ability to exploit Nysa's military infrastructure while they focused on sending the distress signal. With less than 16 seconds until impact, Dinh tracks the incoming missiles, and Agryna accelerates the Warthog to top speed.
Dinh hopes to see Eklund and the others evacuating, but the missiles strike the hangar, the courier struck first, sending shockwaves that throw the Warthog off course. Agryna slams the brakes as a rolling inferno engulfs the hangar. Disembarking, the two Spartans walk toward the destruction, and Dinh's helmet confirms that comms have been restored. They receive a frantic message from Roberts warning them that Iratus has targeted the Academy next.
Agryna wonders if Iratus would really risk destroying himself to take out its valuable personnel, including 50+ Spartans and 100 Marines there. She realizes that he restored the comms to make them face a sadistic choice: Destroy their own artillery to prevent the Academy's destruction but invite a full ground invasion, or let die their central base of operations, prematurely handing the Banished the fight.
Dinh understands what Agryna has to process, the Commander quietly reflecting on being told that leaders sometimes can only yet must select bad decisions. Dinh nods and pats her shoulder supportively before heading toward the wreckage to search for survivors. Agryna calls for immediate mobilization of all available air support to neutralize the launchers; 20 seconds later, 11 Pelicans scramble in pairs from the Academy, the 11th heading to Dinh's position to assist the search.
The dropship sends a corpsmen team led by a Spartan in specialized combat medic armor with foldable stretchers on his back. Neely first emerges, albeit limping and supporting a whimpering, badly armor-charred Patton who curses about their "Charlie Foxtrot of biblical proportions." Dinh calls out for Eklund, whose TEAMBIO vitals are erratic. After a tense near-20-minute search spotting rock-crushed and irrevocably immolated and mutilated corpses spread several dozen meters, he finds Eklund by her visor, pinned under a slab of concrete and a nest of twisted rebar, and quickly frees her.
Eklund, several ribs broken but alive, jokes about getting even for Vihar, but Dinh reminds her that the fight is not over. They have no time to mourn the fallen and must prepare for the impending battle. With the enemy approaching and help on the way, the Spartans brace themselves for who will come first, knowing that the outcome will determine whether Nysa becomes a site of heroism or a final stand.
Three days later at 1139 hours, the bridge of the Ghost of Kholo emerges from slipspace, revealing a lush green-blue planet. The crew, composed of Humans, Kig-Yar, and Jiralhanae, springs into action as consoles light up with sensor readings and ship status alerts. They prepare for an invasion, logistics ready, eager to unleash their destructive capabilities. However, before they can proceed, they need motivation to fuel their aggression and desire for conquest.
Ilsa Zane takes charge, opening a shipwide channel to rally the crew. She denounces hope as the enemy's weapon and sustenance of belief in victory despite their setbacks. Chieftain Atticus joins in, thumping the pommel of his gravity hammer, prompting the crew to stamp their feet in unison, creating a rhythmic cadence that builds excitement. The Banished Spartan's speech intensifies as she declares their mission to extinguish the enemy's hope, urging her crew to demonstrate their might and power for glory.
Zane calls for them to shatter the enemy's defenses and break their spirits. The stamping and clanging grow louder, culminating in a fervent chant of "From fire to blood," echoing the New Colonial Alliance slogan. Zane raises her Mutilator shotgun, locking its firing mechanism, and concludes with a rallying cry for the Banished. The crew follows suit thunderously, united in their bloodlust and anticipation for the battle ahead.
Appearances[edit]
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Gallery[edit]
Nysa's communications hub facility and two deep space relays.
Marines standing by Warthogs while looking at the horizon.
Marines helping each other through destruction at the academy.
External links[edit]
- Halo: Battle for the Academy - Part 1 - The official Waypoint post in which the short story was released for free.
- Halo: Battle for the Academy - Part 1 Official PDF - The PDF of the short story released on Halo Waypoint (Archived copy).
- Halo: Battle for the Academy - Part 1 | Audiobook - The audiobook narrated by Alex Wakeford.
Sources[edit]
- ^ Halo Waypoint, Last Stand Operation Launch (Retrieved on May 6, 2025) [archive]
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