Editing Skirmish on Mona Lisa

{{Title|Skirmish on ''Mona Lisa''}}
{{Era|HCW}}
{{Battle Infobox
|prev=[[Battle of Installation 04]]
|conc=[[Battle of Earth]]
|next=
|name=Skirmish on ''Mona Lisa''
|image=[[File:TML - entry.png|300px]]
|conflict=Independent
|date=[[2552#October|October 25, 2552]]<ref name="Catalog">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/db05ce78845f4120b062c50816008e5d/topics/catalog-interaction/4c3e1c6f-6519-4ee0-83a4-4bac13bf07a3/posts?page=46#post454 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Catalog Interaction'' (post 2976443)]</ref><ref group="note">According to a summary on Halo Waypoint, ''The Mona Lisa'' is set [http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/Universe/Detail/the-mona-lisa-1/1f69c960-2eb1-42e0-89b4-89a58fa153b8 "between the events of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2"], which would limit the possible timeframe for the skirmish between October 1 and October 20. However, in ''Halo: First Strike'', it is suggested that ''High Charity'' is already on its way to the Soell system by September 22, having sent a smaller scouting party in advance. In ''Halo 2'', it is seen that ''High Charity'' and its fleet were present in the system until October 20, when they departed for Installation 05. ''The Mona Lisa'' makes a reference to a large Covenant fleet having left the system recently, which would coincide with ''High Charity'' and its fleet leaving on October 20th; no other large Covenant fleet is known to have left the system between September and October. Catalog later [https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/db05ce78845f4120b062c50816008e5d/topics/catalog-interaction/4c3e1c6f-6519-4ee0-83a4-4bac13bf07a3/posts?page=46#post454 reported] that Sergeant Lopez was listed as KIA on October 25, invalidating the former Waypoint summary.</ref>
|place=''Mona Lisa'', Soell system, Installation 04 debris field<ref name="tml223">'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 223''</ref>
|result=UNSC Pyrrhic victory
*Flood outbreak successfully contained 
*Most of the marine force lost
|side1=*[[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] 

*[[Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI]] (in battle)
|side2=''Mona Lisa'' occupants 

*[[Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI]] (preclude)
|side3=[[The Flood]]
|side4=
|commanders1=*[[Commander]] [[Tobias Foucault]]
*[[Artificial intelligence|AI]] [[Rebecca]]
*[[Sergeant]] [[Zhao Heng Lopez]] †
|commanders2=[[Major]] [[John Smith]]
|commanders3=[[Proto-Gravemind]] †
|commanders4=
|forces1=*1 ONI Prowler
**{{UNSCShip|Red Horse}}
***18 Marines 
*Escaped prisoners 
**[[Patrick Rimmer]] †
**[[Henry|"Henry"]] †
|forces2=ONI personnel 

Security personnel 

Escaped prisoners 
|forces3=Flood combat forms 

Flood infection forms
|forces4=
|casual1=16 Marines confirmed KIA 
Prisoners 
*Patrick Rimmer 
*"Henry"(possibly)
|casual2=All original occupants
|casual3=All Flood
|casual4=
}}
The '''Skirmish on ''Mona Lisa''''' was fought in the [[Soell|Soell system]] within [[Installation 04]]'s debris field aboard the [[Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI]]-commissioned [[civilian]] [[Prison ship|prisoner transport]] ''[[Mona Lisa]]'' on [[2552#October|October 25, 2552]].<ref name="Catalog"/> Having suffered a catastrophic [[Flood]] outbreak as a result of the actions of the ONI operative [[John Smith]], the ship was later [[Boarding|boarded]] by an ill-fated [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marine]] unit and destroyed only hours afterward.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"''</ref>

The ONI [[operation]]s codenamed '''RED CLOUD''' and '''WHITE SAND''' were linked with the engagement.<ref>[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2963929_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2963929 '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Catalog Interaction'' (page 18)]</ref>

==Prelude==
Following the return of the survivors from the [[Battle of Installation 04]] in [[2552#September|September 2552]], the Office of Naval Intelligence learned about the Flood parasite. In order to study the possibility of controlling the Flood and turning it into a weapon, a science team headed by Major John Smith was authorized to take command of the civilian prison vessel ''Mona Lisa''. After bringing a group of Covenant prisoners aboard, they would jump into the [[Soell]] system, where they recovered living samples of the Flood from Installation 04's debris field.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 325''</ref><ref name="prelude">'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 307-309''</ref>

===The Flood outbreak===
Smith began to conduct tests on both Covenant and human prisoners; he may or may not have exceeded his operational parameters when doing so.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 323''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 330-331''</ref> However, sufficient security measures were not taken and the parasite escaped containment. Though the specifics of the outbreak are unclear, prisoner [[Patrick Rimmer]] suspected that the Covenant attempted to escape and the Flood broke out in the chaos. Some of the Covenant would also let human prisoners out of their cells in order to enlist their aid in combating the common threat of the Flood. One of the Covenant sympathetic to the human prisoners was a Sangheili who Patrick Rimmer called "[[Henry]]".<ref name="prelude"/>

The Flood would soon overwhelm the ship, with prisoners and guards desperately attempting to hinder the parasite's progress by building makeshift barricades.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 264-265''</ref> Meanwhile, Smith launched most of the ship's escape pods to prevent the Flood from escaping, and subsequently locked himself in a sealed safe room.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 301''</ref> Eventually, the Flood would claim most of the people aboard the ship, with only a handful of uninfected survivors remaining.<ref name="prelude"/> Shortly after breaking out, the Flood would begin to accumulate biomass to form a [[proto-Gravemind]] around its [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine|slipspace drive]] in the engine room, with the intent of absorbing a sufficient amount of knowledge to allow them to escape the system.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 321-322''</ref>

===UNSC investigation===
[[File:Red Horse - Arrival.png|thumb|left|250px|The Marines' Pelican departs from the ''Red Horse''.]]
Shortly later, the Office of Naval Intelligence dispatched a [[UNSC prowler|prowler]], the {{UNSCShip|Red Horse}}, to the Soell system, with the apparent mission to "jump to coordinates classified higher than top secret, retrieve samples of an alien artifact for study, conduct basic recon, expect Covenant trouble."<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 237''</ref> However, none of the crew, including the ship's [[Commanding officer|CO]] [[Commander]] [[Tobias Foucault]], were informed of the Flood. ONI also had the ship's old AI, [[Chauncey]], removed and replaced by the secretive ONI AI [[Rebecca]].<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 225''</ref>

By the time the ''Red Horse'' arrived, the [[High Charity defense fleet|Covenant fleet]] that had been present in the system had left in pursuit of what UNSC intelligence assumed was a "[[Installation 05|higher value target]]".<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 236''</ref> After sifting through Installation 04's debris field for three days, occasionally conducting reconnaissance missions via [[D77-TC Pelican|Pelicans]],<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 223-224''</ref> the crew of the ''Red Horse'' discovered an escape pod launched six hours earlier from the ''Mona Lisa''. In the pod they discovered a fatally-wounded [[John Doe|human prisoner]] who indicated that something horrific has occurred aboard the ''Mona Lisa'', something that led to the deaths of its entire complement of crew and passengers and left himself gravely mutilated. Rebecca then revealed Foucault the "extended" mission parameters; they were to assess the status of the ''Mona Lisa'', with the orders to destroy the ship if it had been "compromised beyond retrieval".<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 237-238''</ref>

==Reconnaissance mission==
===Boarding the Mona Lisa===
[[File:TML - fire.png|thumb|250px|Clarence and two Marines fire their assault rifles during the initial skirmish aboard the ''Mona Lisa''.]]
A detachment of 18 Marines led by [[Sergeant]] [[Zhao Heng Lopez]] was then sent on the ''Mona Lisa'', accompanied by a covert ONI Section 3 operative, [[Clarence]], whose orders were to leave none of the original occupants of the ship alive.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 337-340''</ref> Around this time, the ''Red Horse'' detected a single [[CAS-class assault carrier|Covenant assault carrier]]<ref>'''The Mona Lisa''', ''motion comic''</ref> in the system, leaving the Marines on their own as the ''Red Horse'' was forced to limit its maneuvering and communications to a minimum out of risk of being detected.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 242''</ref> 

Boarding the ship via a cargo bay, Lopez's squad was first engaged by a small group of Sangheili, all lacking armor or weapons, and dispatched them with ease. During the skirmish, one of the Marines, [[Rabbit]], went missing. Lopez ordered four Marines; [[Cranker]], [[Maller]], [[Simmons]] and [[Sydney (Marine)|Sydney]], to guard the Pelican while she took the others to find Rabbit, who was soon found dead. Meanwhile, the Marines left in the cargo bay were attacked by [[Flood infection form]]s and dropped out of contact.

Lopez then contacted the ''Red Horse'', now receiving new orders to enact the [[United Nations Space Command Emergency Priority Order 098831A-1|Cole Protocol]] by purging the ''Mona Lisa'''s two navigation databases. The Marines formed two parties; a team led by Lopez consisting of [[James MacCraw|MacCraw]], [[Mahmoud]], [[Percy]], [[Rakesh]] and [[Singh]], and another one led by [[Hospital Corpsman|Corpsman]] [[Ngoc Benti]] with Clarence, [[Gersten]], [[Orlav]] and [[Tsardikos]]. Lopez's group would head to the primary NAV database located on the [[bridge]] while Benti's team would go after the backup data in the [[engineering]]. At this time, the Marines also noticed that one of them, [[Ayad]], had disappeared.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 258-262''</ref>

When scouting an infirmary on their way to the bridge, Lopez's team discovered a safe room, finding John Smith inside. Smith, not revealing his true identity, claimed to be the ship's medical officer while continuously insisting they should leave the ship immediately, but his pleas were ignored by Lopez.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 265-271''</ref> Meanwhile, Cranker and Maller, who had been repurposed as [[Flood combat form]]s, approached the Marines' Pelican. The pilot, [[Burgundy]], assumed they were injured and opened the rear ramp, only to be attacked by the two who then proceeded to drag her through the ship toward the proto-Gravemind in the engine room.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 271-272''</ref>
[[File:TML - Rebecca n Foucault.png|thumb|left|250px|Rebecca and Foucault on the bridge of the ''Red Horse''.]]
When cutting through the ship's recycling plant, Benti and her team were attacked by a group of Flood. As they were being chased by the Flood, Tsardikos fell behind and was immediately killed. Soon after, Orlav was infected and bit Gersten before being shot by Clarence. The rest of the team then made it to safety in a maintenance room, where they encountered Patrick Rimmer and his Sangheili companion, "Henry", armed with a cricket bat. Here, Gersten began to show symptoms of infection and was promptly executed by Clarence.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 285-292''</ref>

On the ''Red Horse'', Commander Foucault, still unaware of the threat aboard the ''Mona Lisa'', prepared to have Sergeant [[Fugazi]] and two squads sent to the ''Mona Lisa'' in order to reinforce Lopez's squad, which had dropped out of contact. Rebecca, however, pointed out that their orders were to destroy the ''Mona Lisa'' immediately if contact with the recon team aboard was lost. The AI then showed the Commander the true nature of the Flood in order to convince him.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 297-299''</ref> Upon seeing recordings of the Flood from Installation 04, Foucault withdrew his order to send more Marines, but would still remain reluctant to fire upon the ''Mona Lisa'' with Lopez's squad on board.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 316-317''</ref>

After finding a Flood growth in a recreation room, Lopez began questioning Smith, who first claimed that the Flood was a Covenant virus that had transmitted into human prisoners. Shortly later, Rakesh was killed in a sudden Flood attack. Lopez, having grown agitated of Smith's reluctance to cooperate, hit him and had one of her Marines search him, soon discovering his true identity and rank. As Lopez still refused to leave the ship, Smith unexpectedly killed Mahmoud and made his escape,<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 306-307''</ref> eventually making it to the Marines' Pelican and escaping the ship.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 324''</ref>
{{Clear}}
===Finale===
Percy and Singh were killed by a combat form that had been Ayad before Lopez's team reached the bridge, leaving only the Sergeant and MacCraw. On the bridge, Lopez contacted the ''Red Horse'', learning that Foucault was preparing to destroy the ''Mona Lisa'' with a [[Shiva-class nuclear missile|Shiva warhead]] immediately once Smith was aboard the ''Red Horse'', as the Major's Pelican had attracted the attention of the Covenant ship which now changed course, bearing down on the ''Red Horse''. Lopez and MacCraw then began to make their way to the two escape pods still left on the lower deck.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 322-327''</ref>
[[File:TML - finale.png|thumb|250px|The final standoff between Henry and Lopez.]]
Meanwhile, Benti's party made it into the engine room, where they discovered the proto-Gravemind and witnessed Burgundy being merged with it. At the same time, Lopez's exchange with the ''Red Horse'' rang through the ''Mona Lisa'''s PA system, driving the Flood into a mad frenzy. Benti then used a pair of [[M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose grenade|fragmentation grenades]] to destroy the proto-Gravemind, also causing the ship's slipspace drive to destabilize.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 328-332''</ref>

The Marines eventually regrouped outside the [[airlock]] with the two remaining escape pods, learning that each could only hold a single occupant. As Lopez and MacCraw held their ground at the airlock, the rest of the survivors arrived, with "Henry" carrying an injured Benti. Suddenly, Clarence executed Rimmer and trained his rifle on an infuriated Henry, revealing his status as an ONI agent. In the ensuing standoff, MacCraw suddenly escaped in one of the escape pods, abandoning the rest of the survivors. Simultaneously, Benti pushed herself and Clarence into an approaching horde of Flood.<ref name="fin">'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 338-342''</ref>

Holding off the Flood mob, Lopez and "Henry" then entered the airlock. Realizing only one of them could escape, Lopez proceeded to shoot Henry, only to find that she was out of ammunition. The two would then fight for the last escape pod, with thirty seconds left until the ''Mona Lisa'' was destroyed by the Shiva missile.<ref name="fin"/> It is apparent that both "Henry" and Sergeant Lopez were killed before either could escape the ''Mona Lisa''; no Sangheili was listed in the ''Red Horse''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s records following the event,<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/db05ce78845f4120b062c50816008e5d/topics/catalog-interaction/4c3e1c6f-6519-4ee0-83a4-4bac13bf07a3/posts?page=11#post105 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Catalog Interaction'' (post 2963929)]</ref> and Lopez was designated KIA on October 25.<ref name="Catalog"/>
{{Clear}}
==Aftermath==
With the ''Mona Lisa'' destroyed, the Flood was successfully contained again, preventing it from escaping the system and spreading throughout the galaxy.

==Timeline==
Time stamps based on UNSC [[Military Standard Time]] exist for most of the key events during the Marines' mission aboard ''Mona Lisa'' on October 25, 2552.<ref name="Catalog"/>

*'''0610-0623 hours''': Marines and Naval personnel aboard the ''[[UNSC Red Horse|Red Horse]]'' inspect an escape pod launched from the ''[[Mona Lisa]]'' and discover a delirious survivor inside.

*'''0932 hours''': Sergeant [[Zhao Heng Lopez|Lopez]] is briefed on the reconnaissance mission to the ''Mona Lisa'' by Commander [[Tobias Foucault|Foucault]] and [[Rebecca]].

*'''1304 hours''': Lopez' squad departs for the ''Mona Lisa'' aboard a Pelican.

*'''1315 hours''': The Marines board the ''Mona Lisa''.

*'''1317 hours''': The Marines are attacked by a group of unarmored and unarmed Sangheili in the cargo bay.

*'''1327 hours''': With the initial skirmish over, it is discovered that [[Rabbit]] has gone missing. Soon after, she is found dead.

*'''1349 hours''': [[Maller]], [[Cranker]], [[Simmons]] and [[Sydney (Marine)|Sydney]] disappear. Lopez contacts the ''Red Horse'' and receives orders to initiate the Cole Protocol.

*'''1402 hours''': The Marines split up into two parties.

*'''1440 hours''': While in the ship's medical bay, Lopez's team comes across [[John Smith|Major Smith]] in a safe room.

*'''1445 hours''': [[Burgundy]] is attacked by two Flood forms, formerly Maller and Cranker, which then begin to drag her to the [[proto-Gravemind]] in the engineering.

*'''1450 hours''': [[Ngoc Benti|Benti]]'s team, passing through the ship's recycling plant, are attacked by a group of Flood.

*'''1502-1507 hours''': As Benti's group is pursued by Flood forms, [[Tsardikos]] is killed, and [[Orlav]] is infected soon after, managing to infect [[Gersten]] before the team reaches safety.

*'''1507 hours''': While Smith is explaining the nature of his experiments, [[Rakesh]] is claimed by the Flood.

*'''1510 hours''': Smith's true identity is revealed to Lopez's team. Meanwhile, Benti and her team encounter [[Patrick Rimmer|Rimmer]] and "[[Henry]]". Gersten, showing signs of infection, is executed by [[Clarence]].

*'''1520 hours''': Back on the ''Red Horse'', Foucault prepares to send reinforcements to the ''Mona Lisa'', but Rebecca proceeds to show him the truth of the Flood.

*'''1527 hours''': While Lopez's team is passing through the ship's research laboratories, Smith murders [[Mahmoud]] and makes his escape.

*'''1537 hours''': Lopez's team is engaged by a Sangheili combat form and a Flood-infected [[Ayad]]. [[Raj Singh|Singh]] and [[Percy]] are killed.

*'''1602 hours''': Pursued by a group of Flood, Lopez and [[James MacCraw|MacCraw]] make it to the bridge.

*'''1608 hours''': Benti's team reaches the ''Mona Lisa''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s engine room and witness Burgundy being merged into the proto-Gravemind.

*'''1613 hours''': Lopez contacts ''Red Horse'' from the bridge, revealing that Foucault is preparing to destroy the ''Mona Lisa''. Meanwhile, Benti destroys the proto-Gravemind in the engineering.

*'''1616 hours''': Major Smith boards the ''Red Horse'' using the Marines' Pelican, while the ''Mona Lisa''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s slipspace drive begins to destabilize.

*'''1620 hours''': With both teams closing in on the escape pods, Benti is attacked by a Flood form. "Henry" then proceeds to carry her.

*'''1620 hours''': With all of the remaining survivors regrouping at the escape pod airlock, Clarence shoots Rimmer while MacCraw escapes.

*'''1623 hours''': Benti pushes herself and Clarence into the incoming Flood horde while Lopez and "Henry" retreat into the airlock.

*'''1624 hours''': Realizing the final escape pod cannot fit them both, Lopez and Henry proceed to fight each other. Thirty seconds later, the ''Mona Lisa'' is destroyed.

==Participants==
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
'''UNSC'''
*[[Commander]] [[Tobias Foucault]]
*[[Major]] [[John Smith]]
*[[Artificial intelligence|AI]] [[Rebecca]]
*[[Sergeant]] [[Zhao Heng Lopez]]
*[[Hospital Corpsman|Corpsman]] [[Ngoc Benti]]
*[[Private]] [[James MacCraw]]
*[[Ayad]]
*[[Burgundy]]
*[[Clarence]]
*[[Cranker]]
*[[Gersten]]
*[[Mahmoud]]
*[[Maller]]
{{Col-2}}
*[[Orlav]]
*[[Percy]]
*[[Rabbit]]
*[[Rakesh]]
*[[Simmons]]
*[[Raj Singh]]
*[[Sydney (Marine)|Sydney]]
*[[Tsardikos]]

'''''Mona Lisa'' prisoners and security personnel'''
*[[Murray]]
*[[Patrick Rimmer]]
*"[[John Doe]]"
*"[[Henry]]"
{{Col-end}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:The Red Horse 02.png|The ''Red Horse'' in Halo's debris field.
File:TML - rec_room.png|Lopez's team and Smith discover a Flood growth in a recreation room.
File:TML - punch.png|Lopez hits Major Smith after losing a Marine due to Smith's lack of cooperation.
File:TML - standoff.png|Clarence and Benti encountering Rimmer and "Henry".
File:TML - chase.png|Lopez and MacCraw being pursued by the Flood shortly before reaching the bridge.
File:TML - Juggernaut.png|The nature of the Flood is revealed to Foucault as he watches a recording of the events of Alpha Halo.
File:TML - engine_room.png|The proto-Gravemind in the engine room.
File:TML - Benti n Henry.png|Benti prepares to destroy the proto-Gravemind with grenades.
File:TMl - pre destruction.png|''Mona Lisa'', shortly before its destruction.
File:TML - MacCraw & Lopez.png|MacCraw and Lopez fire upon a group of Flood as they make a run for the escape pods.
File:TML - push.png|Benti shoves herself and Clarence into a horde of Flood while "Henry" retreats into the airlock.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''
**''[[The Mona Lisa]]'' {{1st}}

==Notes==
<references group="note"/>

==Sources==
<references/>
[[Category:Battle]]