Battle over Installation 07

"I wish I could tell you it was difficult... but it wasn't."

- Escharum to John-117.

A battle for Installation 07 was an engagement that took place in late 2559 between the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the Banished. The battle was a major engagement, ultimately resulting in the scattering of both UNSC and Banished forces on Installation 07, leading to a protracted conflict on the ring.

Prelude
When the Created conflict began with the rogue AI Cortana subjugating major planets and governments across the galaxy with her Guardians, the UNSC Armed Forces were broken with the forced into hiding. Cortana ushered in a new era with her Created as rulers, enforcing martial law across their territory. The Infinity conducted operations against the Created in limited capacity.

Eventually, Dr. Catherine Halsey came up with a way to stop Cortana. By using a copy of her known as "The Weapon", the UNSC could defeat Cortana. The copy would lock Cortana down, preventing her from controlling her vast Guardian and Promethean forces and isolating her in her current location, Installation 07. A plan was formed, with the initial intent to send Blue Team to the surface to retrieve Cortana, though this was later revised to be just John-117 and The Weapon, accompanied by the ship's Spartan and ODST complement. Halsey had plans for Frederic-104, Kelly-087, and Linda-058, but they were reassigned by Captain Thomas Lasky to another mission unknown to Halsey, much to her chagrin.

Battle


At least one escort fleet of six s followed shortly by the went to Installation 07 and were ambushed by a group of mercenary raiders known as the Banished. The UNSC’s intent was to send John-117 down to the surface once Dr. Halsey gave the signal that the Weapon was ready for deployment. John-117 was on the bridge with Captain Lasky when their plan went awry. The Banished had ambushed the advance group of frigates and were waiting for the Infinity when it came out of Slipspace, all the while sending occupation forces to the Ring's surface by the hundreds. Despite this, the Master Chief and the Weapon are successfully deployed to the ring's surface where they lock down and capture Cortana whom the Master Chief transports back to the Infinity.

The Infinity had been prepared for a ground assault and was caught by surprise, with Lasky initially believing they'd been attacked by Guardians. Four Banished dreadnoughts attacked the supercarrier and overwhelmed its defenses. Several engines were taken offline within minutes of the opening salvo. Lasky ordered the deployment of the Weapon. One dreadnought rammed the dorsal hull, causing massive structural damage, prompting a general evacuation as Banished forces boarded the Infinity. John-117 left the bridge after the collision to repel the Banished boarding parties, but he returned after realizing that the enemy outnumbered the UNSC to escort Captain Lasky to a dropship. Lasky, accompanied by John-117 and several marines, linked up with the Spartan-IVs of Fireteam Taurus and proceeded to the hangar bays, which had been overrun by Banished forces.

Upon arriving at the hangar, John-117 ordered Spartan Hudson Griffin to take Lasky to a dropship while he covered their retreat. Lasky and Fireteam Taurus fought their way across the hangar until they came across a functioning Pelican. Griffin and the other members of Taurus refused to accompany Lasky in his dropship, electing to stay behind and assist with the rest of the evacuation. Once inside the ship, Lasky began issuing a general evacuation call, but was cut-off midsentence as his ship came under fire.

After ensuring Captain Lasky’s ship was away, Spartan Griffin and the rest of Fireteam Taurus organized the evacuation of the remaining Spartan-IVs, marines, and crew to the surface of Installation 07 under fire from Banished artillery. Dropships and lifepods fled the disintegrating Infinity, many being shot down seconds after exiting the vessel. The leader of the Banished, Atriox, boarded the Infinity and defeated Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 as he fought off Banished forces in the hangar bays before tossing him into space as the hangar was engulfed in flames. Upon hearing of the loss of the Master Chief, Fernando Esparza, a civilian engineering contractor, panicked and stole a Pelican, Echo 216, and fled from the doomed vessel.

The Spartans who made it to the ground began organizing to take out Banished artillery to ensure the safety of the incoming survivors. The Infinity suffered heavy damage and eventually started to come apart as she fell, crash-landing with the superstructure relatively intact on the ring's surface.

During the battle, Atriox is able to capture the locked-down Cortana on the Infinity. Atriox, having defeated the Master Chief, confronts Cortana in the Silent Auditorium. He let her know that he'd defeated John-117 and the UNSC. Claiming to have no need for a failed god, he demanded she give him the Ring. Cortana realized that Halsey made a copy of her, as it was the only way to stop her. Cortana, reminiscing about her actions up to this point, realized that Atriox, who had nothing left to lose thanks to her actions, would soon have control over the Ring and its many secrets and that it was all her fault. In the span of a few seconds, she halted the Weapon's deletion protocols. When Atriox demanded that she choose whether to defy him or hand over the Ring, she asked him instead that if he knew how he was going to die, if he would live his life differently. After he responded in the negative, she thanked him and destroyed part of the Ring, preventing the Banished from being able to fire it. The energy pulse sent out by her actions unwittingly worked to the UNSC survivors' advantage, as it neutralized some of the Banished artillery they were trying to eliminate.

Aftermath
"We lost. Lost everything. There's nothing left for us here. I don't even know where here is."

- Echo 216's pilot to John-117.

The conflict resulted in extensive damage to Installation 07, as well as leaving Echo 216 and its pilot adrift near the installation. Additionally, the battle resulted in heavy casualties among personnel assigned to the, with the ship crash-landing on the ring. At some point, the ring was moved from the Ephsu system, alongside UNSC and Banished assets. Atriox was also presumed deceased by both the UNSC and the Banished, though he had in reality survived.

Despite the damage, the Banished would occupy the ring, leaving UNSC forces to group up on one of the fragments. They would form a resistance which included three Spartans. A large group of survivors would create a base in the ruins of a crashed Mulsanne-class frigate Mortal Reverie discovered by Spartan Makovich, led by Spartan Hudson Griffin. They established it as the UNSC’s new HQ on the surface, taking advantage of the frigate’s still-active point defense system.

Griffin would determine that the only way to survive would be to take out Escharum, the Banished leader, and selected a 4-man Spartan team, led by him, to assassinate the Brute. He left Spartan Vettel in charge of Reverie while the team traveled on foot to Escharum’s citadel. However, Escharum anticipated Griffin’s actions and was waiting for them. He slaughtered his team, while sending the entirety of his forces to wipe out Reverie, which did not hold out against the assault, despite Griffin managing to send out a warning to Reverie. The Banished, led by Tremonius, would rename the base Outpost Tremonius. Griffin would later meet his end after being tortured by Warlord Chak 'Lok and freed by John-117, while Escharum himself, slowly dying of old age, would eventually meet his end at the hands of John-117.

The surviving UNSC personnel were forced to conduct mostly defensive tactics over the next few months, their numbers slowly whittled down as they were either captured or killed. They were unable to stage any major offensives due to the loss of most of the Spartan-IVs and ODSTs, but what Spartans remained enacted the Rubicon Protocol; doing all they could to slow down the Banished, seize the Ring, and protect Earth. By the time John-117 was recovered by Echo 216, most surviving marines were captured by the Banished, and almost all Spartan-IVs were slain, with the possible exception of Spartan Horvath. It was not until John-117 arrived on the surface that the UNSC managed to turn the tide against the Banished.

December 12, 2559

 * A fleet of UNSC vessels led by the is ambushed by Banished forces over Installation 07. Captain Lasky orders all hands to abandon ship.
 * John-117 engages Atriox in a hangar onboard the Infinty and is thrown into space. The ship is subsequently destroyed.
 * The surviving Infinity crew land on the Ring and attempt to take out Banished artillery.

December 13, 2559

 * In an effort to stop Atriox from using the Ring, Cortana destroys a portion of the installation, killing herself in the process. The UNSC survivors on the Ring's surface attempt to escape the destruction, Cortana's activities unwittingly leveling the playing field by taking out one of the Banished artillery positions.
 * Spartan Tomas Horvath is separated from the rest of Fireteam Intrepid in the chaotic aftermath of Cortana's actions.

December 15, 2559

 * Spartan Makovich discovers the crash site of the UNSC Mortal Reverie and determines it to be a viable location for the UNSC's base of operations.

December 18, 2559

 * Spartan Bonita Stone debriefs Spartan Hudson Griffin about Banished activity on the Ring

December 26, 2559

 * Spartan Horvath of Fireteam Intrepid attempts to send a transmission to other UNSC survivors and encounters Brutes, seeking to reinforce a key chokepoint. He narrowly avoids detection.

December 28, 2559

 * Spartan Theodore Sorel and a group of marines observe Zeta Halo's self-repair functions as Sentinels repair the damage done by Cortana.

January 8, 2560

 * Spartan Horvath makes his way to a Banished gun battery and attempts to contact any other UNSC survivors, but none are in range. He overhears two Elites discussing the Banished victory.

January 20, 2560

 * Spartan Nina Kovan scouts the Banished deep within the red zone, discovering a potential vulnerability of the enemy in that without Atriox, many are now infighting. Only Escharum's leadership keeps them in check.

January 23, 2560

 * Spartan Griffin organizes a mission to assassinate Escharum via a four-man team led by himself. He leaves Spartan Vettel in charge of the forces at the Reverie.

January 30, 2560

 * Spartan Griffin's team is ambushed by Escharum and all are killed except him. Escharum informs him of his team's demise and of the Banished's impending assault on the Mortal Reverie. Griffin is able to send out an encoded message, warning the other UNSC survivors and telling them to abandon the vessel.
 * The survivors at the Reverie are only able to receive part of Griffin's transmission and, having not heard his order to flee, dig in for an assault by the Banished.

January 31, 2560

 * While preparing for the Banished assault, Spartans Makovich and Vettel discuss the UNSC's inability to win the upcoming battle and their dwindling options for the future.
 * Spartan Stone recons Riven Gate with Boulder Squad and reports a massive Banished invasion force headed for the Reverie, and that they would be there by nightfall.

February 2, 2560

 * Spartan Vettel orders the UNSC survivors to retreat from the Banished assault.

March 3, 2560

 * The UNSC loses all of its remaining Forward Operating Bases on the Ring by this date.
 * Spartans Makovich, Stone, Vettel, and Sorel regroup with some survivors.

April 23, 2560

 * Spartan Stone recons Outpost Tremonius and sends a transmission to the other Spartans that the Banished are sending forces to another excavation site.
 * Spartan Vettel ambushes a Banished patrol to inquire about the whereabouts of Spartan Griffin's team.

April 24, 2560

 * Spartans Makovich and Sorel observe Banished activity around the Conservatory and realize the Banished are looking for Installation 07's monitor.

April 26, 2560

 * Spartan Stone, having made it into the Ring's subsurface infrastructure, finds the Cylixes holding the Endless. She picks up a UNSC signal deeper inside the Ring and follows it. She is discovered by Banished forces and subsequently killed.

April 29, 2560

 * Spartan Vettel sends out a signal to any remaining UNSC transmitters that he intends to assault Chak Lok's fortress and rescue Spartan Griffin.

May 15, 2560

 * Spartans Makovich and Sorel follow the Banished into the Conservatory with the intent to deny them from finding the monitor.
 * Inside the Conservatory, the two Spartans encounter Jega 'Rdomnai. Makovich stays behind to face off against the Sangheili and orders Sorel to go on without her. She is killed by the stealthed 'Rdomnai with a single stab to the back.
 * The wounded Sorel encounters a Banished force led by Hyperius and Tovarus. He manages to take out many Banished before being slain.

May 26, 2560

 * Far from any surviving UNSC personnel, Spartan Horvath makes a final transmission on UNSC channels that he is heading up-spin beyond the reach of the Banished to look for survivors and Fireteam Intrepid. Having had no contact with any UNSC personnel, he makes an open plea to the Master Chief that they need him now more than never.

List of appearances

 * Halo Infinite
 * Halo: The Rubicon Protocol