Coral



Coral is a Human planet in a system 42 lightyears from Earth. Though some have theorized that this refers to the star HD 69830, which happens to be exactly 42 light years away in the constellation Puppis, the Bestiarum clarifies the system to in fact be home to the Jackal home-system.

At an unknown date, a Coral mining operation uncovered the tip of a Forerunner installation. The miners used explosives to evaporate a depth of 30 meters, except for the tip of the installation, which wasn't even scorched. Archaeologists funded by ONI were able to dig out about eighty meters of the complex, which seems to be much bigger. The complex has been described as made from metallic crystal, symmetrical to a near-atomic scale, yet adorned with decorative artistic motifs.

In the latter half of 2552, it was reported that Coral had been glassed by the Covenant. However, this does not make sense because the Covenant would never destroy anything built by the Forerunners. So it is possible the "glassing" was an ONI cover-up.

Trivia

 * The Halo novel Ghosts of Onyx had a working title of "Ghosts of Coral". This led to a great deal of speculation about Coral and its background; however, it turned out to be unrelated.
 * Not much is known about Coral, save the debunked working title of Ghosts of Onyx, only than that there is practically nothing on the planet.
 * Though Harvest is repeatedly stated as the UNSC's furthest colony, at 10 light years, Coral is much further at 42 light years. It may have been founded after the fall of Harvest, explaining the discrepancy.