Protos-pattern Scarab

This article is about the Scarab model introduced in Halo 2. For other types of Scarab, see Scarab. For real-world uses of the word, see Scarab (disambiguation).

"We've all run the simulations. They're tough, but they ain't invincible!"

- Sergeant Major Avery Johnson

The Protos-pattern Fortress Breaker, known to humanity as the, is a type of Covenant Scarab quadrupedal mining platform.

Design details
On the Protos Scarab, an energy shield can be produced in front of the corridor leading to the cockpit in order to hamper boarding actions.

Mobility
Unlike most vehicles deployed by the Covenant, the Scarab does not employ anti-gravity propulsion to move; it instead uses a quadrupedal "leg" assembly for locomotion. These jointed legs are very powerful, capable of crushing vehicles ranging from civilian cargo trucks to M808B Scorpion tanks.

Armaments
Protos Scarabs are armed with two separate suspensor-mounted heavy plasma repeaters that are optimized for anti-aerospace use. There is also a fine-tunable focus cannon and specialized sensor arrays.

Development history
The Protos Scarab has unknown origins to even the Covenant who used it.

Operational History
"You may find this hard to believe, but most people find Scarabs to be rather unsettling."

- Cortana to John-117, during the Battle of Mombasa

The Covenant rarely used the Protos Scarab in direct combat, using it more as a specialized artifact-retrieval vehicle during the Human-Covenant War. The features of this Scarab were rarely observed by human forces, as Protos Scarabs quickly burned their way through UNSC defences.

During the Battle of Meridian, the Covenant use a Protos Scarab to excavate a Forerunner artifact beneath the town of Brume-sur-Mer. It is destroyed when Owen-B096, Victor Gallardo, Dorian Nguyen, Evelyn Rousseau and Saskia Nazari destroy the energy shield surrounding the dig site with skinners, the chain reaction also taking out the Scarab. However, when Salome shows Evie and Dorian footage of the dig site, they discover that Covenant Huragok are attempting to repair the Scarab.

Unprecedented numbers of the Protos Scarab were deployed during the Fall of Reach and later the Battle for Earth. When the High Prophet of Regret invaded Earth, he deployed at least five Type-47 Scarabs to Mombasa, Africa, where at least two of them were the Protos Scarab. Two Scarabs were placed in New Mombasa, while another three were deployed in Old Mombasa. One of the Scarabs in New Mombasa was apparently charged with destroying the Mombasa Tether, though John-117 managed to board and destroy the walker just minutes before Solemn Penance jumped into slipstream space. Shortly after, the managed to disable another Protos in the city with its MAC. A nearby detachment of UNSC Marines promptly engaged the surviving Covenant forces in an attempt to recover the Scarab for themselves.

During the Battle of Installation 05, a Protos was parked at a Brute encampment close to Installation 05's Control Room. During an attack by Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, several UNSC prisoners escaped and Sergeant Avery Johnson took control of the Scarab. Communicating from its control center, Johnson negotiated a truce with the Arbiter to stop their mutual enemy Tartarus from activating the Halo Array. Johnson proceeded to drive the Scarab to the Control Room, escorted by the Arbiter in a Banshee along with other Covenant separatist forces. Upon reaching the Control Room, Johnson used the Scarab's focus cannon to blow open the sealed doors before parking the machine and disembarking to directly aid in stopping Tartarus within the Control Room.

Halo 2
The Halo 2 Scarab was almost indestructible and immune to damage in the game. Its movement was entirely scripted, and no damageable parts appear to have been coded for it. It was only destroyed in a cutscene. When the T-47A Scarab fires, some molten, green liquid (possibly coolant or excess plasma) will leak out below the main cannon. The forward plasma turret could be destroyed with just a few melee attacks, as could the rear plasma turret. The flaps on the main gun could be destroyed only by using a Scorpion tank. Also, the underside grate could be destroyed.

Production notes
When the Protos was first introduced in Halo 2, it was originally intended to play an even larger role in the game's narrative. In the original cut of the game's ending on the level "Earth Ark", the Master Chief would have had to face down two Protos Scarab variants outside the "Ark" on Earth. When Earth Ark was cut, two Scarabs were intended to play a large role on The Great Journey instead - with the two shown in storyboards patrolling the exterior of the control room.

Trivia

 * In Halo 2, the player can obtain the "Scarab Gun" on the level Outskirts and Metropolis. The weapon uses the chassis, though it fires the same plasma stream as the Scarab's main gun, never overheats, and can fire indefinitely. Obtaining the Scarab Gun in Halo 2 for Windows Vista rewards the player with an achievement. Obtaining the Scarab Gun in Halo: The Master Chief Collection will grant the player the Scarab Lord achievement for.
 * In the game world, the Scarab encountered in Halo 2's Metropolis is the only one that the player cannot directly destroy and must board and take out its crew. In the other games, the Scarabs fought by the players have vulnerable reactor cores located at the back that can be targeted to destroy the vehicle aside from the Super Scarab in Halo Wars.

List of appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Halo Graphic Novel
 * Second Sunrise over New Mombasa
 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * Palace Hotel
 * Halo 4
 * Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Halo: Meridian Divide
 * Halo Infinite: Memory Agent