Bioweapon: Difference between revisions

A '''bioweapon''', or '''biological agent''', is a weaponized pathogen intended to cause disease in lifeforms. Biological weapons can be used in warfare or in [[terrorism|terrorist acts]] to decimate large populations without having to engage in direct combat or destroy infrastructures. The [[United Nations Space Command]] general emergency code [[Hydra (code)|Hydra]] signifies imminent threat from biological weapons of mass destruction.<ref name="onyx">'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''', ''page 183''</ref> The [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] had a bioweapons team.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Thursday War]]''', ''page 387''</ref>

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>

After establishing a research facility on [[Trevelyan]] in [[2553|March 2553]], the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]'s bioweapons team began to experiment on genetically modifying the proteins and saccharides in the [[colo]] and the Sangheili grain known as [[irukan]], with the goal of creating a bioweapon to be unleashed against the Sangheili as a backup plan in the event ONI's [[Kilo-Five|strategy to destabilize them]] failed.<ref>'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''pages 62, 138, 205''</ref>

In [[2557]], ONI personnel aboard the research and development station ''[[Argent Moon]]'' created and experimented with an unsanctioned biological weapon known as [[asteroidea merozoite]]. An accident caused a particularly aggressive form of the compound to vaporize and disperse within the station, killing all personnel aboard, and forcing its [[AI]] [[Rooker]] to quarantine the ship and set it on a course away from populated systems.<ref name="Blue Team">'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''Blue Team'' - [[Mission Intel]]</ref> In reality, the bioweapon experiments had been part of [[Intrepid Eye]]'s plan to prepare humanity for the [[Mantle of Responsibility]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Retribution]]'''</ref>

In [[2556]], Sangheili [[terrorist]]s created a [[Element 120.V|weapon]] often referred to as a bioweapon, created out of a new element mined from [[Alpha Shard|a surviving fragment]] of [[Installation 04]]. Using the bioweapon, they launched [[Terrorist attack on Sedra City|an attack]] on the [[Outer Colony]] of [[Sedra]], infecting or killing many of the planet's human inhabitants. After the source of the bioweapon was traced, a joint [[ONI]]-[[Sedran Colonial Guard]] [[Mission to Alpha Shard|mission]] was launched to destroy the deposits and prevent the bioweapon from ever being used again. Though most of the team was killed, [[Colonel]] [[Randall Aiken]] of the Sedran Colonial Guard succeeded in destroying the deposits with a [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon]] while [[Commander]] [[Jameson Locke]] and [[Private]] [[Talitha Macer]] escaped in a {{Class|Bactrian|freighter}}.<ref>'''Halo: Nightfall'''</ref> It was later noted, however, that the weapon was distinctly not biological in nature.<ref>'''[[Halo: Nightfall: ONI: Unit 54]]'''</ref>

After the [[Human-Covenant War]], a group of [[Kig-Yar]] occupied a Covenant research laboratory on the planet [[Ven III]]. They were killed by a biological agent in early May [[2558]]. A lone Sangheili survived and fled the laboratory carrying the bioweapon in a containment cylinder. The [[UNSC]] was alerted and tasked the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} with investigating the Covenant bioweapon.<ref>'''Halo: Escalation''', ''[[Halo: Escalation Issue 11|Issue #11]]''</ref>