Halo: Contact Harvest
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Halo: Contact Harvest | |
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Author(s): |
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Publisher: |
Tor Books[1] |
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Publication date: |
October 30, 2007 (original)[1] |
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Media type: |
Paperback[1] |
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Pages: |
400 pages (original)[1] |
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ISBN: |
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- "The title says it all: it’s the story of “first contact” between the Covenant and us."
- — Joseph Staten[2]
Halo: Contact Harvest is a Halo novel written by Joseph Staten, a writer for the original Halo trilogy of games.[2] Published by Tor Books, Contact Harvest was released on October 30, 2007 and is the fifth official book in the Halo series, the second of three that were published by Tor.[1] Contact Harvest is Staten's first published novel, which he wrote after he was approached by Tor.[2] The novel was generally well-received following its release and remained on The New York Times Best Sellers list at #3 for four weeks.[3]
Set between 2524 and 2525, Contact Harvest details the first contact between humanity and the Covenant on the Outer Colony planet of Harvest, as well as the events leading to the beginning of the Human-Covenant War. Staten described the novel as an "ensemble piece", as Contact Harvest is narrated from the points-of-view of both human and Covenant characters. The novel centers around a young UNSC Marine, Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson—a popular and major recurring character that appears throughout the Halo series.[2]
Halo: Contact Harvest, along with Ghosts of Onyx and The Cole Protocol, was released as part of the Halo Boxed Set on March 2, 2010.[4]
Official summary[edit]
| “ | This is how it began…
It is the year 2524. Harvest is a peaceful, prosperous farming colony on the very edge of human-controlled space. But we have trespassed on holy ground--strayed into the path of an aggressive alien empire known as the Covenant. What begins as a chance encounter between an alien privateer and a human freighter catapults mankind into a struggle for its very existence. But humanity is also locked in a bitter civil war known as the Insurrection. So the survival of Harvest's citizens falls to a squad of battle-weary UNSC Marines and their inexperienced colonial militia trainees. In this unlikely group of heroes, one stands above the rest… a young Marine staff sergeant named Avery Johnson.[1] |
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Plot synopsis[edit]
Following a failed anti-insurrectionist operation on the human Inner Colony of Tribute which leaves most of his unit killed, the UNSC Marine Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson is sent on leave in the Greater Chicago Industrial Zone on Earth. When going to visit his aunt in a retirement home, he is shocked to discover her dead. As a result, he goes on a drinking spree. He eventually ends up being reassigned to the remote agriculture world of Harvest to get away from the frontlines of the Insurrection. Much to his surprise, he finds his former squad mate, Staff Sergeant Byrne, assigned there as well.
On Harvest, there is only peace and prosperity. Watched by two artificial intelligences, Sif and Mack, the colony produces much of humanity's food. Under the supervision of Captain Ponder, Johnson, Byrne, and Hospital Corpsman Healy are tasked with raising a militia to protect Harvest from the growing threat of the Insurrection. This peace is interrupted when a Covenant missionary ship, Minor Transgression, discovers a malfunctioning unmanned human cargo ship. The coordinates registered in the cargo ship's navigation computer lead the aliens to Harvest. An Unggoy deacon, Dadab, is alarmed when the ship's Luminary seems to register thousands of Forerunner artifacts and an Oracle. The opportunistic Kig-Yar plan to take some artifacts for themselves before reporting the discovery to the Hierarchs, and begin surreptitiously raiding human freighters. The first meeting between a human and member of the Covenant takes place aboard the manned human freighter This End Up in January 2525. While Henry Gibson, captain of the freighter, attempts to kill Dadab, he is killed by the Huragok Lighter Than Some. Unfortunately for the Kig-Yar, the Office of Naval Intelligence has recently organized a strike team to counteract what they believe to be a growing insurrectionist group. Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Jilan al-Cygni, Johnson and Byrne await for the expected insurgents aboard freighter Bulk Discount. They successfully deceive the crew of Minor Transgression into boarding the freighter, where they are immediately attacked by Johnson and Byrne. Johnson receives a cracked skull from their meeting and Byrne is stabbed in the leg with an energy cutlass, though the humans manage to defeat the Kig-Yar boarders. This raid marks the second meeting of the humans and Covenant forces, and makes the humans aware of a brand new threat they may be facing. The Kig-Yar vessel's self-destruction sequence is activated by its dying shipmistress, and Johnson and Byrne barely manage to escape the resulting explosion. Among the missionary ship's crew, only Dadab and his Huragok friend Lighter Than Some flee the destruction of their ship aboard an escape pod.
While Ponder, Johnson, Byrne, and Healy work to prepare the Harvest militia for a possible alien invasion, the San'Shyuum Minister of Fortitude is confronted by the Vice Minister of Tranquility on High Charity. The Vice Minister reveals the discovery of the large amount of "relics" found on Harvest and, after some convincing, Fortitude agrees to initiate a coup of the current Hierarchs with Tranquility, using the Vice Minister's discovery as a fulcrum. To keep the Sangheili from using this discovery as a way to upset the balance of power, they utilize a Jiralhanae-controlled ship, Rapid Conversion, captained by Chieftain Maccabeus and crewed by his clan of Jiralhanae—including a youthful Tartarus, the chieftain's nephew. Rapid Conversion arrives in the system and discovers the escape pod containing Dadab and Lighter Than Some. Maccabeus is delighted to have a Huragok aboard his cruiser, as the Sangheili only permit Jiralhanae ships to employ Yanme'e workers in maintenance roles. Maccabeus tasks Lighter Than Some with making repairs to the ship's weaponry, which was disabled by the Sangheili. Meanwhile, the Yanme'e are relegated to menial roles or combat positions, much to their chagrin. The chieftain uses the deacon as a way to motivate the cruiser's own lackluster complement of Unggoy. Upon arriving at the planet, the crew of Rapid Conversion soon discover Harvest's vast store of Forerunner relics and a message of peace left by Sif and Mack in the form of a crude pictogram displaying a desire for peace. Their Luminary also indicates that there is an Oracle on the planet. The Jiralhanae land two Spirit dropships at the specified date to meet with the human peace delegates, though the Jiralhanae only desire to capture the entire planet and its relics. The peace talks falls apart after an errant Unggoy attacks and kills Harvest militiaman Osmo, and the one-sided Battle of Harvest begins.
Meanwhile, the ambitious San'Shyuum begin their mutiny of sorts by invoking the High Prophet of Restraint in a conspiracy that will lead to his removal if revealed. However, in order to ascend to the throne of Hierarch, t