Editing Zeta Halo Project

{{Status|Canon}}
{{disambig header|the UEG initiative|other articles of the same name|Zeta}}
[[File:HI E318 HaloRing.png|thumb|350px|Installation 07 is the last remaining ring of the originally twelve-strong Senescent Array.{{Ref/Book|Id=HM29|HM|Page=29}}]] 
{{Quote|Isolate and contain.|Henry Lamb reiterates one of the project's goals, specifically with regard to Zeta Halo's [[activation index]].{{Ref/Novel|Id=HHITD1|HiTD|Chapter=1}}}}
The '''Zeta Halo Project'''{{Ref/Site|Id=CFEchoes|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/canon-fodder-echoes-with-dinh|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - Echoes With-Dinh|D=24|M=03|Y=2023}} was an initiative undertaken by the [[Unified Earth Government]] and the [[Swords of Sanghelios]]{{Ref/Site|Id=Swords|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/db05ce78845f4120b062c50816008e5d/topics/catalog-interaction/4c3e1c6f-6519-4ee0-83a4-4bac13bf07a3/posts?page=48|Site=Halo Waypoint Forums|Page=Catalog Interaction|D=13|M=04|Y=2016|LocalArchive=Catalog/Archive/2014#Post_.2312}} to study, decommission, and occupy [[Installation 07|Zeta Halo]], the fourth [[Halo Array|Halo ring]] to be discovered by modern humanity.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=HHITD2|HiTD|Chapter=2}}{{Ref/Book|Id=OSFM99|OSFM|Page=99}} Overseen by Doctor [[Bob Casper]], it involved both a scientific outpost and a large [[United Nations Space Command]] (UNSC) military presence.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}{{Ref/Reuse|OSFM99}} The project was first launched in early [[2555]]{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD2}} and operated on the ring for the next three years, before ultimately [[Created uprising|being destroyed]] when the ring was taken over by the [[Created]] in October 2558.{{Ref/Novel|Id=H5C|Halo: Fifth Canticle}}

==History==
===Background and early establishment===
[[File:HOD RingExperience Honeybee.jpg|thumb|250px|An OQ-45 Honeybee drone, used to explore the ring.]]
{{Quote|no=two|q1=Every Halo has a monitor, right? Like [[343 Guilty Spark]] on Alpha Halo, for instance. So why can't we find one here? As much as we've searched this place, we've consistently come up empty. And it hasn't found us, which is even more surprising, given the time we've spent here. It leaves me wondering whether there simply isn't one here, or if it's hiding for some reason.|Henry Lamb|q2=For some reason? I would think the reason would be obvious, at least one of them. Human and Covenant interactions on these installations have not always been the best. If the monitor of this Halo is aware of that, it might be inclined to steer clear of us. I know I would.|Luther Mann|Two researchers speculate regarding the apparent absence of Zeta Halo's monitor.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}}}
Zeta Halo's location was first made known to the [[United Nations Space Command]] in the early days of [[2555]] thanks to [[Onyx United Research Project|ongoing research]] at the [[shield world]] of [[Sarcophagus]]/[[Onyx]]. In late [[2553]] or early [[2554]], a series of [[Forerunner]] records were uncovered inside the shield world by Doctor [[Luther Mann]] (a respected scientist and expert on the Forerunners), who then proceeded to spend the next year labouring over them to uncover their secrets. His work was published in very early 2555, leading to a massive acceleration in his academic career and newfound attention from the UNSC and ONI, who were in the process of finding and deactivating the remaining Halo rings across the galaxy. Doctor Mann presented his work at [[HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6|the UNSC's HQ]] on [[Earth]], providing a detailed report of the methods he used to locate the ring. ONI launched an initiative to investigate and explore the ring almost immediately, arriving at the installation and landing on it by March 2555. Doctor Mann was one of the personnel selected for the expedition, alongside other notable experts such as [[Henry Lamb]].{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}

For the initial deployment to Zeta Halo, no expense was spared: ONI were primarily interested in locating and securing the ring's [[activation index]], [[library]], [[monitor]], and [[control room]], as to prevent the ring's activation. Hundreds of automated drones (presumably [[OQ-45 Honeybee]]s) were used to scour the surface, though ultimately the ringworld's unique architecture (a facet of its [[Installation 07#Background|unique history]], unbeknownst to the researchers) meant that locating these structures proved difficult. On previous rings, the control room had been the largest structure close to the ring's [[phase pulse generator]]s and was a useful trove of information about the ring's operation in general. By mid-March 2555, these elements had yet to be discovered, and the ring's monitor [[117649 Despondent Pyre]] remained elusive unlike previously-discovered monitors. Henry Lamb speculated that the monitor may be in hiding, aware of the destruction brought upon [[Installation 04|Alpha]] and [[Installation 05|Delta]] Halos by the arrival of [[human]]ity to them years earlier, though neither he nor Doctor Mann could square this theory with their present (and incomplete) understanding of [[ancilla]]s. Ultimately, the UNSC personnel on the ring were able to quickly discern that Zeta Halo had a very unique history compared to the other rings, boasting unique physical infrastructure, visual architecture, material composition, and even the machine-language of its computer networks, and theorised that the ring may have been constructed first in the array, or built as a prototype of some sort.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}} It was not until much later that year that a [[Halo: Primordium|data drop]] recovered from deep space revealed the [[Installation 07#Background|real reasons]] for Installation 07's marked differences.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HR13|HRen|Chapter=13}}

At around 0900 hours on [[2555#March|March 8, 2555]], Doctor Mann discovered a countdown sequence in a corridor connected to one of the ring's atmosphere and climate control centers.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD2}} He immediately reported this find to the project's manager, [[Bob Casper]], who in turn passed the news along to ONI. Casper also contacted his research counterparts on the other Halo rings being monitored and they discovered identical synchronized countdowns on each. Henry Lamb was thereafter able to trace a steady pulse which ran straight to the control room. While this newfound numerical reverse progression finally achieved one of the project's aims, it also spelled doom for the galaxy, as it indicated the entire Halo Array would fire in just a matter of weeks. Lamb informed Casper that there was no way to intercept and shut down the activation circuits which would trigger the firings. Luther tried a number of things, but any attempt to shut down a single pulse caused it to reroute. At the behest of Admiral [[Serin Osman]] the [[Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence]] (CINCONI), Doctor Casper recalled Mann and Lamb to Earth to assist with the investigation of the then-inert [[Excession]] portal in [[East African Protectorate|East]] [[Africa]], as it was determined a team needed to be sent to [[Installation 00]] as soon as possible. Even so, various teams on Zeta Halo remained to work on stopping the countdown.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD2}} In the end, both men from the project joined a joint team of humans and [[Sangheili]] that [[Operation: FAR STORM|traveled]] to the Ark and managed to avert catastrophe.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD16}} It was on Zeta Halo that individuals in the Milky Way first learned that the countdown had ceased on March 20, which caused out-and-out rejoicing.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HHITD16|HiTD|Chapter=16}}{{Ref/Twitter|bsangel|711590383940075520|Jessica Shea|Quote=#TodayInHalo 3/20/2555 Operation: FAR STORM is completed with the deactivation of Halo’s priming sequence.|D=20|M=03|Y=2016}}{{Ref/Reuse|HR13}}
[[File:HINF MountainMap.png|thumb|250px|ONI's Ilex Facility was created to study findings from the Zeta Halo project.]]
===Further research===
[[File:HINF ForbiddenTemple.jpg|thumb|left|250px|A Lifeworker station on Installation 07.]]
With the Zeta Halo crisis narrowly averted on the Ark, the Zeta Halo Project's research continued and the UNSC presence gradually expanded on the ring, expanding to include both scientific and military elements.{{Ref/Reuse|OSFM99}} By 2558, this presence had initially grown to include allied [[Swords of Sanghelios]] researchers, also involved in exploration and remediation of the ring.{{Ref/Reuse|Swords}} In [[2558]], a second exploratory effort was launched to Zeta Halo, consisting of an [[ONI asset recovery team]] assigned to hunt down high-value Forerunner artefacts. One of the personnel involved, [[Kate Stalling]], was able to uncover the [[conspectus network]] hubs.{{Ref/Novel|Id=RP22|TRP|Chapter=22}} ONI also established a new base, the [[ONI Ilex Facility|Ilex Facility]], a [[Wikipedia:Black site|black site]] dedicated to the analysis of findings brought back from Installation 07; a project known as [[Operation: ECDYSIS]].{{Ref/Reuse|CFEchoes}} 

At the Ilex facility, a particular effort was invested in attempting to reverse engineer the ring's architectural structures, as well as its notable construction and [[Reformation|remediation]] techniques. However, in order to replicate these systems, it was found that it would require immense amounts of power and therefore creative solutions on a grand scale.{{Ref/Reuse|CFEchoes}} Ultimately, the base's staff were unable to progress as rapidly in their research as the [[Onyx United Research Project|scientists]] on Sarcophagus were, though they remained hopeful that future discoveries may be able to assist [[human]]ity in [[Terraforming|restoring]] the multitude of [[Human colonies|colony worlds]] [[Glassing|glassed]] by the Covenant during the [[Human-Covenant War]].{{Ref/Site|Id=S3Intel|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/echoes-within-intel|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Halo Infinite - Echoes Within Intel|D=17|M=04|Y=2023|LocalArchive=Halo Infinite Story & Intel}}

Since the project's initiation in early 2555, researchers have discovered multiple [[Lifeworker]] stations scattered across Installation 07's surface that date back to the Halo's time as Gyre 11. After reporting the discovery of these stations or unknowingly wandering into them, several teams of researchers—and follow-up search parties—have been listed as missing. None of these personnel have been reported as having returned. It is speculated that the disappearances are due—at least in part—to advanced [[dazzler]] and [[baffler]] technologies that may be found within these station.{{Ref/Site|Id=CFBloodMoon|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/canon-fodder-fly-me-to-the-blood-moon|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - Fly Me to the Blood-Moon|D=12|M=1|Y=2024}} Dr. [[Genie Dawson]] and her team at [[Lifeworker Central]] were able to gain access to the [[Monolith Adjunct]] and hoped to study and catalogue the Forerunners' achievements in life sciences. Unfortunately, the scientists triggered an archiving process, resulting in their genetic patterns and consciousnesses being stored while their physical bodies were lost. The scientists were able to use [[hard light]] generators to manifest projections of themselves with likenesses so exact that it was nearly impossible to distinguish them from their biological counterparts. However, the team was limited to the Monolith Adjunct as the collapses left them cut off from many access points and Forerunner technology, including other control consoles that were still working.{{Ref/Novel|Id=EOD21|EOD|Chapter=21}}

By [[2558#October|October 2558]], Zeta Halo's caretaker protocols were still impossible to predict or control and both its monitor and library remained elusive.{{Ref/Reuse|OSFM99}}{{Ref/Note|In [[2014]] the user from [[343 Industries]] answering questions on [[Halo Waypoint]] under the username of [[Catalog]] addressed a question about the status of [[Installation 07]]'s quarantine by indicating that [[Sangheili]] had implemented containment and sterilization protocols there and provided records of these to human naval authorities. The in-universe date on which this statement was oriented was [[2558#March|March 3, 2558]]. It is highly likely that the reference to the ring's quarantine, itself referring to the way it was left at the end of ''[[Halo: Primordium]]'', caused Catalog to mistakenly think the questioner was asking about [[Installation 05]].}} These oddities left many questions yet unanswered as to the function and role of the ring within the larger array. By then, the large contingent occupying Zeta Site had taken on a military character in addition to a scientific one and had constructed facilities on the ring's surface.{{Ref/Reuse|OSFM99}}{{Ref/YouTube|Id=HLSTHA|fYaxRoAf96s|Halo|Halo Lore Stream: The Halo Array|D=09|M=03|Y=2026}}

===Destruction===
The Zeta Halo project and its staff were effectively destroyed on [[2558#October|October 29, 2558]], at the onset of the [[Created uprising]]. At the same time as the subjugation of the various worlds of the galaxy, [[Cortana]] (the newly self-crowned [[Archon]] of the [[Created]]) chose to make Zeta Halo her seat of power in the galaxy. At around 0815 that morning, a [[Guardian Custode]] under Created control arrived at the ring, and the Created quickly took control. One of the on-site researchers, Professor [[Montgomery Marie]], was able to send out a signal at around 0900 to warn the UNSC of the takeover of the ring.{{Ref/Reuse|H5C}} The alert also warned the UNSC of a relatively new discovery, a network of [[Domain]] access nodes across the galaxy they referred to as the [[Lithos]]. Whether the researchers uncovered this information themselves from Zeta Halo, or whether it came with Cortana's arrival, remains unknown. Contact with the researchers was lost fairly quickly after this, and the survivors ultimately went into hiding on the ring. Ultimately, the information provided about the Lithos was verified by ONI cells on other worlds, and ultimately led to the [[Battle of Boundary|UNSC operation]] at [[Boundary]] in December 2559.{{Ref/Novel|ET|Chapter=7}}

For some of the Zeta Halo Project's personnel, such as Kate Stalling, October 29 began a grueling [[Battle for Zeta Halo|year-long survival operation]], first against the Created and later against the [[Banished]] after the [[Battle over Installation 07]] on December 12, 2559. During the battle, the UNSC's flagship {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} would be destroyed by the Banished, and the ringworld occupied by them, leading whatever survivors of the Zeta Halo Project to switch to fighting the Banished and linking up with survivors from ''Infinity''{{'}}s apparent destruction.{{Ref/Reuse|RP22}} Surviving members of the UEG caretaker team in particular became advisors to the UNSC forces.{{Ref/Game|HI|Emblems and Nameplates (Halo Infinite)|Zeta Emissary Emblem and Nameplate description|Quote=Survivors from the UEG caretaker team on Zeta Halo are invaluable advisors for UNSC forces conducting their guerilla war against the Banished occupiers.}}

When a large group of UNSC survivors found [[Lifeworker Central]] and set up camp there, Dr. [[Genie Dawson]] and her team revealed themselves, but not that they were archived essences trapped in the [[Monolith Adjunct]] due to the fear instilled in people against AI by the Created. The truth came out when the Master Chief and [[Joyeuse]] visited Lifeworker Central to find ''[[geas]]'' technology,{{Ref/Novel|Id=EOD20|EOD|Chapter=20}}{{Ref/Reuse|EOD21}} and four of the UNSC technicians living in the camp later helped Joy to restore them to a kind of physical form in a [[submonitor]] carapace.{{Ref/Novel|Id=EOD40|EOD|Chapter=40}} According to Genie, some of the scientists wanted to leave to research and develop and aid humanity and see their families again, but a few wanted to stay and continue their work at Lifeworker Central. Genie hoped that by becoming more portable, that work might even expand and accelerate humanity's understanding of [[Lifeworker]] science.{{Ref/Reuse|EOD21}}

==Protocols==
In addition to the standard protocols employed at all Halo installations, ONI handed down an additional mandate for the Zeta Halo project against doing anything that could activate or manipulate any Forerunner technology at the site. This mandate was created due to Installation 07's peculiarity and as of early March 2555, nobody had been inclined to disregard it.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}

==Personnel==
{{Quote|no=three|q1=Do you have any idea how confidential the material that we are working on is?|Luther Mann|q2=Luther, there are at least three hundred people here.|Henry Lamb|q3=People who have received security clearances at the highest levels.|Luther Mann|Doctor Mann berates his engineering associate upon first hearing he had discussed the project with [[Cynthia Diggs|someone]] outside of it.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}}}
The Zeta Halo project was headed by Doctor [[Bob Casper]], its manager.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}} Naturally, Doctor [[Luther Mann]]'s participation was not only welcomed, but insisted upon by top individuals within ONI. By March of 2555 he had joined an expedition on the ring that also included [[Henry Lamb]] of ONI's [[Xeno-Materials Exploitation Group]]. There was no [[human]] more conversant with or qualified to study and if possible, fix, Forerunner technology at the time than Lamb. By this point at least three hundred individuals were exploring different areas of the ring, each looking for something else. All had received security clearances at the highest levels. Specialists in planetary engineering studied biomes which had been [[Reintroduction|seeded]] there from other worlds long ago. Others explored flora; others fauna. Some, such as Doctor Mann, had a particular interest in [[Forerunner symbols|Forerunner language]], an understanding of which was indispensable for the effort to unlock Zeta Halo's secrets. The ring was divided into sectors which could be assigned to specific explorers, teams, or archaeological parties. At least some teams at this early date were working out of tents.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}

By October 2558, the Zeta Halo operation had vastly expanded, including a larger contingent of several thousand scientists and military personnel alongside more established infrastructure.{{Ref/Reuse|RP22}} Some of the personnel stationed at Zeta Halo by this point included Professor [[Montgomery Marie]], Private [[Rene Gordon]],{{Ref/Reuse|H5C}} and an ONI asset recovery operative [[Kate Stalling]].{{Ref/Reuse|RP22}}

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo Mythos]]'' {{Im}}
*''[[Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Outpost Discovery]]''
**''[[The Ring Experience]]''
*''[[Halo: Point of Light]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Infinite]]''
**''[[Season 03: Echoes Within]]''
**''[[Season 05: Reckoning]]''
*''[[Halo: The Rubicon Protocol]]'' {{Im}} 
*''[[Halo: Empty Throne]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Fifth Canticle]]''
*''[[Halo: Edge of Dawn]]''

==Notes==
{{Ref/Notes}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}
[[Category:UNSC projects]]