Tribute
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Tribute | |
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Orbital position: |
Third planet[1] |
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Diameter: |
14,000 kilometers (8,700 mi)[1] |
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Gravity: |
1.08 g[1] |
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Breathable |
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- "Welcome to Tribute. A world of opportunity."
- — A sign on Tribute[2]
Tribute, also known as Epsilon Eridani III,[3] is a human Inner Colony planet in the Epsilon Eridani system, governed by the Unified Earth Government. The third planet in orbit around Epsilon Eridani, Tribute is orbited by a single natural satellite Emese.[1] Tribute is one of the most prominent commercial colonies in all of human-occupied space, with a large population and thriving spaceport traffic. Its strong economy was centered around the planet's large industrial capacity.[4][5]
Tribute's fall to the Covenant in 2552 was considered to be one of the tragedies of the Human-Covenant War, which resulted in huge economic ramifications on Earth and the surviving colonies in the post-war period. However, the planet was not completely lost and its surviving residents have begun to rebuild Tribute's once powerful economy.[1]
Overview[edit]
Topography and ecology[edit]
Its largest populated urbanized metropolis was Casbah City, located in a region of past volcanic activity.[5]
Locations[edit]
Known residents[edit]
- Daniel Clayton - New Colonial Alliance-aligned UNSC Navy defector
- Carris R. Parnault - SPARTAN-II
- Victor Ramos - Orbital Drop Shock Trooper
History[edit]
Rise of humanity[edit]
Tribute is one of the Epsilon Eridani system's improbably high number of habitable planets, a fact that was seen as serendipitous to the early colonization efforts. Initial colonization efforts in the system faced significant challenges in marshalling political and economic support. Interest in the system's colonization potential initially focused on Tribute and Circumstance, though it was Reach that would soon capture the attention of Unified Earth Government planners.[1]
Tribute was the second planet to be colonized by the Unified Earth Government and the Colonial Administration Authority in the Epsilon Eridani system, after its sister planet of Reach. The UEG officially records Tribute's colonization as beginning on August 8, 2364 when CAA Casbah arrived and established the initial navigation and communication satellite constellation, though the official date of colonial establishment is contested by some. Personnel of CAA Irbid claim that they had landed and begun colonization earlier, on July 24, 2364.[1]
Insurrection[edit]
Tribute was one of the major focus points of Operation: TREBUCHET in 2524, where forces of the United Nations Space Command operated against insurrectionist bomb cells hiding throughout the colony. At least one battalion of Marines were involved in operations on the planet, supported by corvette UNSC Bum Rush and flights of AV-14 Hornets. Due to the increasing amount of civilian casualties and injuries caused by the insurrectionists, numerous combat support hospitals were built on Tribute as a form of aid and relief.[6] The UNSC's initial efforts to root out the insurgents failed spectacularly, triggering a wave of bombings, assassinations, and UNSC raids in urban areas that led to massive numbers of civilian casualties.[1]
One of the missions involved Staff Sergeants Avery Johnson and Nolan Byrne, who led two squads of Marines in a raid on a rebel bomb shop in a town nearby Casbah City. During the raid, the squads discovered that the explosives were mixed into the tires of a truck headed for Casbah. The Marines tracked the truck to a Jim Dandy restaurant in the city, eventually resulting in a hostage situation. Three members of Byrne's team, as well as thirty-eight civilians, were killed in the restaurant when a rebel detonated a bomb during the event. Byrne was critically injured in the explosion and Johnson was lightly wounded.[5] The insurrectionists on Tribute initially enjoyed tacit support from the population, though as violence escalated it quickly became clear to Tribute's population that the rebels were not the romantic freedom fighters imagined by many and their popular support quickly waned. Although periodic outbreaks of violent rebellions continued for over a decade, the destruction of the Outer Colonies and draconian restrictions on inter-system transport effectively cut off the Tribute rebels from any outside support as the Human-Covenant War began. A handful of insurgents remained active on Tribute throughout the Human-Covenant War, apparently convinced that the war against the Covenant Empire was simply a plot by the UEG to shore up support in the colonies, at least until the Covenant arrived on Tribute.[1]
Between 2524 and 2525, Captain James Cutter had an extramarital affair with a woman on Tribute. This liaison produced a son, Daniel Clayton.[7]
Human-Covenant War[edit]
- Main article: Battle for Tribute
As the Fall of Reach began in late July 2552, the Covenant also attacked the other colonies in the system, including Tribute. Despite the efforts of UNSC ground forces and the Epsilon Eridani Fleet, the Covenant eventually gained the upper hand in the Battle for Tribute and began targeting population and industrial centers for orbital bombardment.[1] The UNSC Navy fleet charged with evacuating the colony's populace suffered ninety percent losses.[8] Jiralhanae forces began to land on the planet in force, though stiff UNSC and civilian resistance left their packs bloodier than