Wendell
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Wendell | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
|
Began service: |
Between April and May 2553[1] |
|
Ended service: |
|
|
Gender: |
Male[3] |
|
Description: |
A weary-looking gentleman[4] |
| Political and military information | |
|
Affiliation: |
|
|
Functionality: |
|
- "I'm hiding a great many things, Inspector."
- — Wendell to Special Inspector Veta Lopis[5]
Wendell was a human smart AI of the United Nations Space Command's Office of Naval Intelligence attached to the 717th Xeno-Materials Exploitation Battalion during Operation: JOVIAN WHISTLE in 2553.[3] Wendell was created specifically for the operation to aid Commander Murtag Nelson capture the Forerunner archeon-class ancilla Intrepid Eye on the Outer Colony of Gao.[1] However, the operation resulted in his destruction at the hands of Intrepid Eye.[2]
Biography[edit]
Creation and initial service[edit]
After Commander Murtag Nelson of the UNSC Navy's Office of Naval Intelligence discovered a distress signal emanating from the human Outer Colony of Gao, he ultimately concluded that the signal was being produced by a Forerunner ancilla on the planet. Persuading his superiors into trusting his theory, Nelson was given command of the agency's 717th Xeno-Materials Exploitation Battalion and tasked with capturing the ancilla.[6] Wendell was created by ONI to serve as the battalion artificial intelligence for the 717th Xeno-Materials Exploitation Battalion.[1] In this function, Wendell maintained a small presence in every piece of the battalion's equipment capable of hosting a subroutine of his self.[3] Wendell was to assist Nelson directly, and was also charged with safeguarding the commander's secrets.[1]
In May 2553, the battalion initiated Operation: JOVIAN WHISTLE and arrived at Gao, where it began searching for the archeon-class ancilla Intrepid Eye on the planet. While the battalion searched the Montero Cave System for the ancilla, Intrepid Eye began covertly murdering Gao tourists in the caves in an attempt to frame the United Nations Space Command for the murders, thus getting Gao's government to eject her pursuers from the planet. However, to demonstrate good faith, Nelson proposed a joint investigation of the murders with the Gao Ministry of Protection.[3]
Contact with Intrepid Eye[edit]
- "Your threats are empty. Save yourself the stress deterioration and surrender now. You will be put to a worthy use."
- — Wendell to Intrepid Eye[7]
On July 2, 2553, Major Ira Halal of the UNSC Judge Advocate General's Corps learned that a new murder victim was just found by UNSC personnel and sought to investigate the scene before the GMoP, taking Private Hayes and a fragment of Wendell in his TACPAD with him.[8] While they made their way towards the new crime scene, they encountered Intrepid Eye and Huragok Roams Alone. In the resulting confrontation, Halal and Hayes were killed and Roams Alone was injured. Wendell broadcasted a distress signal over sixteen frequencies, but all but one was blocked by Intrepid Eye. Commandeering the remaining frequency, Intrepid Eye interrogated Wendell and questioned him about the status of her homeworld—Wuatera Thresis. Discovering that the once-verdant world was now a wastelands, Intrepid Eye and Roams Alone departed the site, but not before they learned that they were being pursued by Blue Team, a team of Spartan-IIs and Spartan-IIIs attached to the battalion for the operation. As Intrepid Eye inserted a memory leech into Wendell's systems, his memory of their conversation would be lost in a partition that only Intrepid Eye had the capability to access.[1] Once the fragment of Wendell returned to "Wendell Prime" at the battalion's headquarters at the Montero Vitality Center, Intrepid Eye intended to utilize Wendell to access the battalion's interstellar communications array in an effort to contact the rest of the Forerunner ecumene, as she was unaware that the empire had fallen to the Flood a hundred thousand years prior.[9]
On July 3, 2553, Halal's TACPAD was recovered by Frederic-104, Ash-G099, Olivia-G291, and Mark-G313 of Blue Team and Special Inspector Veta Lopis and Cirilo of the GMoP. Though Wendell's fragment within the TACPAD was still active, the device was damaged, leading to Fred taking the TACPAD's data crystal chip containing Wendell and placing it inside his armor to allow Wendell to reside in its interface. Without violating security directive Foxtrot Tango Angel 7012, Wendell agreed to respond to Lopis' questions about what happened to Halal and Hayes, though Wendell claimed that he did not actually see their murderer. As Lopis continued to ask questions about the situation, Wendell retreated from the conversation and even suggested for Fred to shoot Lopis, though Fred ignored him.[10] After examining the crime scene, the humans continued onward following a trail of blood left behind by Roams Alone. Unbeknownst to the group and the majority of Wendell, Intrepid Eye was still utilizing a partitioned part of Wendell's fragment to spy on them. As the group approached Intrepid Eye's support facility, the ancilla conversed with the partitioned Wendell and ordered him to turn the group back, or she would kill the Spartan-IIIs at the front of the group with her Aggressor Sentinels. Wendell realized that they were approaching her facility and ignored her orders, also tricking her into indicating that she had a companion—Roams Alone. After Wendell called Intrepid Eye on her bluffs, she ended the conversation as the group came to the outside of the facility, with the rest of Wendell's fragment still not being able to recall his conversations with Intrepid Eye.[9] Intrepid Eye eventually had her Sentinels attack the humans, resulting in the death of Cirilo, the destruction of the Sentinels, and the capture of Roams Alone.[11]
Gao conflict[edit]
- "I am not that foolish. Before you talk to any Spartans, I am going to pull your fangs—especially the ones that replicate."
- — Wendell to Intrepid Eye, when the latter agrees to surrender[12]
The next day on July 4, 2553 at the Vitality Center, Wendell Prime was providing Nelson with a holographic view of the Montero Cave System as the commander sought to pinpoint the location of Intrepid Eye's facility. After examining the caverns, Nelson realized that the nearby Well of Echoes was serving as a cooling array for the Forerunner facility, though Wendell was reluctant to agree with this discovery. However, before Nelson could give the order to search the Well of Echoes, the battalion came under attack by the radical Keepers of the One Freedom at the Vitality Center and at the nearby village of Wendosa.