Halo: Outcasts
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464 pages[5] | |||
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9781668003282 | |||
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Halo: Outcasts is a print novel by Troy Denning that was released on August 8, 2023.[4][6] The novel was originally set to release on October 18, 2022, but was ultimately delayed to July 25th, 2023 due to Denning's own personal health complications.[1][7][8] In March 2023, the novel was delayed once more seemingly due to supply chain issues, this time to August 8, 2023.[4]
The novel follows Thel 'Vadam and Olympia Vale's efforts to recover a rumored artifact on Netherop that could stop Cortana, unaware that they're being manipulated by someone else. The novel's focus on Netherop follows on from the planet's establishment and heavy feature in previous Denning novels Silent Storm and Oblivion.[2] Several of the novel's Sangheili cast of characters follow on from the 2015 novel Halo: Hunters in the Dark and some of the other characters were ones introduced in Silent Storm and Oblivion.
Official summary[edit]
| “ | 2559. Formerly one of the Covenant's greatest and most fearsome warriors, Arbiter Thel 'Vadam is now allied with his former human enemies while deeply entrenched in leading the Sangheili people to a new era of unification. But his aspirations are under constant threat, whether by the dangerous, warring factions of rival Sangheili keeps, or the relentless shadow of oppression spread by the renegade artificial intelligence Cortana.
An opportunity to break Cortana's chains has suddenly presented itself through the rumored existence of an ancient artifact located on the hostile world of Netherop. Spartan Olympia Vale, trained with the skills to live and thrive among the Sangheili, also recognizes this alien prize as an essential means to aid humanity in reaching the same goal of freedom. But behind the scenes, both 'Vadam and Vale are being manipulated by a mysterious figure with their own agenda. And to make matters worse, all involved are unknowingly placing themselves at perilous odds with forces beyond their comprehension.[2] |
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Plot synopsis[edit]
Outcasts begins on November 11, 2559,[9] picking up at the conclusion of a meeting of Sangheili elders on Sanghelios in response to the destruction of Doisac days earlier by Cortana. As the Arbiter travels back to his home, frustrated at the Sangheili peoples' reluctance to unite to face their oppressors, his vehicle is stopped and searched by several Created armigers, who cite increased security protocols after a recent bombing elsewhere on the planet.
After arriving home, the Arbiter is introduced to Crei 'Ayomuu, an Oath Warden charged with upholding contracts between two given parties. 'Ayomuu reveals that he was responsible for the terror bombing in the valley to distract the Created and allow him to travel to Vadam keep unnoticed, and that he is on Sanghelios to hunt down a human female xenoarchaeologist who had signed-then betrayed-a contract with his undisclosed client. As Vadam allows a contingent of humans to live in Vadam as part of his cooperation with the United Nations Space Command, the Oath Warden wishes to hunt her down there. After some interrogation, 'Ayomuu divulges that his target is Keely Iyuska, and he believes her to have stolen funding for a research mission to Netherop to investigate a potential superweapon that could kill a Guardian. The Arbiter realises that if the client were to control such a weapon, they could have the authority to unite the Sangheili under them, putting his own position at risk.
At the UNSC compound, Iyuska arrives to meet with Spartan Olympia Vale and informs her of her research into Netherop, and of an opportunity to defeat the Created and gain humanity a substantial advantage. The two then travel to Paraiso, Gao to recruit an expert on Netherop, Rosa Fuertes - one of several "Castoffs" who had grown up on the planet decades earlier. Simultaneously, the Arbiter covertly departs Sanghelios for Netherop, arriving on November 22,[9] wishing to obtain the superweapon for his own people and finding a small flotilla of his allies already there including kaidons Olabisi Varo'dai and Ghe 'Talot. The group spend some time debating how to get through an orbital mine shell surrounding the planet (left there in a previous battle) though ultimately decide to slowly clear the orbit by shooting down the mines. The Sangheili flotilla is soon joined by a UNSC stealth cruiser, UNSC Hidden Point, which prompts the Sangheili to speed up their effort, not wanting to risk the superweapon falling into human hands, deploying a small team to the surface in a trio of stealth-modified Mikpramu-pattern Phantoms. Hidden Point deploys a battalion of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers in dropships alongside a single stealth D102 Owl carrying Vale and her team. As the UNSC force enters atmosphere, they are destroyed by a massive energy blast originating from below, destroying all aircraft in the sky save for the stealth ships.
On the surface, the Arbiter's landing party are able to observe a large structure in the middle of a plain which they believe houses the superweapon they seek. Shortly after landing, they also notice a vehicle of some kind leaving the structure and heading towards them. While they decide what to do they are ambushed by several humans, survivors under command of Commander Amalea Petrov who had been left marooned on the world in the previous battle there and spent the last thirty years in a guerilla war on the surface fighting against a similar contingent of Sangheili survivors holed up in the structure, still under the belief the Human-Covenant War was ongoing. After managing to talk to the humans, the Arbiter is able to convince them that he has no ill intent towards them, and that if they help him he can evacuate them from the planet and back to human space. The humans agree, and are interrupted by the superweapon firing upon Hidden Point's dropship deployment.
Unbeknownst to the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios, the entire operation on Netherop is being watched by the Banished, who had entered the Ephyra system sometime prior to the Swords of Sanghelios and done a great amount of work to destroy the automated probes left there by the Created in preparation for their own mission to retrieve the superweapon on the surface. After the Arbiter's arrival, they had retreated to one of Netherop's moons and hid under a cloaking generator to mask their presence, content to allow the UNSC and Swords to do the hard work for them.
Thanks to her Owl dropship's stealth features, Olympia Vale, Iyuska, Fuertes, and a handful of ODSTs are able to survive the superweapon's firing and proceed to land close to the structure with intent to enter the complex and retrieve it. Vale experiences post-traumatic shock at the destruction of the entire battalion and blames herself, as the commander of the mission. Miles away, the Arbiter's party notice the Owl dropship landing and make haste to the structure, not wanting to be beat to the weapon by the UNSC. Commander Petrov distrusts the Arbiter due to his wish to beat the UNSC to the weapon, and remains skeptical of his intentions.
At the structure, Vale and her troops are ambushed by a cadre of Sangheili under the command of self-appointed Worldmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee. As with Petrov's troops, the Sangheili are still loyal to the Covenant and unaware of the empire's fall, and thus believe humanity to be heretics. They attack the ODSTs on the structure using a mysterious technology to manipulate the environment around them, and wearing special armour seemingly-resistant to most attacks. In the chaos, Fuertes is captured and taken hostage. The Arbiter arrives shortly after and attempts to negotiate with 'Kvarosee, informing him of the war's end and the new status quo in the galaxy. The Worldmaster comes close to agreeing to work with the Arbiter, but is enraged when he sees High Kaidon 'Varodai, as his more conservative beliefs do not permit female Sangheili to h