User:JackVibe/Sandbox

"Our fight is through the Portal, with the Brutes and the bastard Truth!"

- Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum

The Battle of Installation 00, also known as the Ark Conflict, and designated by United Nations Space Command forces as Operation: BLIND FAITH, was a large battle between the UNSC-Fleet of Retribution alliance, the Covenant, the Flood, and Forerunner Sentinels on December 11, 2552. It was the final overarching battle of the Human-Covenant War and was the last stand of the Covenant, making it one of the few major engagements in the entire war in which the Covenant were on the defensive.

After the collapse of the Covenant and the Battle of Installation 00, the Great Schism would continue as the Sangheili-Jiralhanae war and still ongoing as of 2559, after the Created uprising in late 2558.

Battle of Installation 04 and 05
During the Battle of Installation 04 in September 2552, the UNSC AI Cortana intercepted the Installation's Index as it was being inserted by John-117 into the Core in the control room. Having prevented the activation of the ring, she kept the index even after she had been removed from the Installation's control room. She had also spent over twelve hours inside the control room's computer, gaining an incredible amount of information about the Halo installations, making her possibly the most knowledgeable regarding the operation of the Halo rings, the Forerunners, and the Ark - perhaps even more so than 343 Guilty Spark, who admitted he was quite ignorant of the Forerunner structures beyond Installation 04.

In November 2552, another battle on the next discovered Halo ring, the Battle of Installation 05, included many events that would become major factors in the Battle of Installation 00. Cortana remained aboard the Covenant holy city, High Charity, as the Flood and its central consciousness, the Gravemind, took control of it. From there, the Gravemind interrogated her, and she willingly answered its questions. Meanwhile, the Covenant civil war, termed the Great Schism, begun in High Charity and the space around Installation 05. The recently-appointed Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and his Sangheili allies, in an effort to prevent Chieftain of the Jiralhanae Tartarus from activating the ring, formed an alliance with humans on the surface of Installation 05. With the help of Thel 'Vadam, Commander Miranda Keyes aborted the activation of Installation 05, but the installation's failsafe protocol had set all of the Halo rings to standby, where they could be activated from the central location of the Installation 00.

Battle for Earth
Shortly after escaping the Flood on High Charity, the High Prophet of Truth had arrived on Earth, along with the rest of many Covenant loyalist ground and naval survivors from the Battle of Installation 05, where the excavation of a Forerunner structure under the planet surface was almost completed by the Jiralhanae-led support and excavation fleet sent by Truth earlier. Eventually Truth's forces uncovered and activated the structure, opening a slipspace portal that would take them to Installation 00, the Forerunner structure from which Truth can fire all of the Halo installations at once. As he departed through the Portal, the Flood-captured ship Indulgence of Conviction arrived on Earth and crashed, though its arrival was followed by a portion of the Sangheili Fleet of Retribution of at least 16 warships, led by Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum. From it, John-117 was able to extract a message from Cortana, alerting them that High Charity was heading for Earth and cryptically stating that the "solution" to the problem of the Flood lays beyond the portal.

While Lord Terrence Hood was suspicious of Cortana's warning and objected to going through the portal, Commander Keyes, John-117, and Rtas 'Vadum all indicated their wish to proceed through the Portal. Unwilling to leave Earth defenseless against the incoming Flood threat, Lord Hood remained on Earth. He gave Miranda Keyes command of the for the human commitment to the mission and the fleet of ships chased after the High Prophet of Truth.

Space battle
"Sangheili Major"

- Rtas 'Vadum

The Fleet of Retribution exited slipspace in the vicinity of the Ark on December 11, 2552, where they found the Prophet of Truth's fleet waiting for them. Despite being outnumbered three-to-one, Rtas 'Vadum declared that they were fairly matched, and the Sangheili ships and the Forward Unto Dawn promptly engaged Truth's fleet. In the ensuing space battle, the Jiralhanae and Sangheili cruisers blended into each other. 'Vadum and Keyes coordinated their attacks against the Covenant fleet; whereas the Sangheili ships and the Dawn focused their attacks on the Covenant cruisers, the Dawn's Longsword fighters engaged the Seraphs. However, the Dawn was ill-equipped to fight against large opponents like CAS-class assault carriers and CCS-class battlecruisers. Thus, at the start of the battle, the Dawn deployed six D77H-TCI Pelicans to the surface to search for a landing zone for the Dawn and gather intelligence on Truth's location.

The Forerunner Keyship, Anodyne Spirit, did not participate in the space battle. Instead, it landed amidst a Forerunner city within a region of the Ark later referred to as Mahsko by the Banished. A detachment of Covenant warriors were assigned to protect the vessel as Truth left to activate the Halo Array.

Although the space battle went on concurrently with the opening skirmishes on the surface of the Ark, the Sangheili fleet would make short work of the Covenant fleet due to the Jiralhanae being outmatched by the Sangheili in their knowledge of naval warfare. At least two Sangheili ships would survive the battle: the flagship CAS-class assault carrier Shadow of Intent and the CCS-class battlecruiser Pious Inquisitor. On the Covenant side, the Gathering of Praise, led by Jiralhanae Chieftain Hekabe, abandoned the Covenant forces and landed on the installation surface in search of a device known as the vertex.

Search for the Cartographer
The Pelicans deployed by the Forward Unto Dawn arrived on the surface of the Ark, where they deployed Marines and UNSC vehicles to search for a landing zone for the Dawn. Kilo 023 and another Pelican deployed Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 and a squad of ODSTs at a cliff edge, near a series of Forerunner structures built into the desert terrain. Nearby, a third Pelican, which carried a Warthog, two Mongooses, and Marines including Chips Dubbo, found a wide cliff which could serve as a landing zone for the Dawn, but the Pelican was shot down by Covenant anti-air defenses.

With support from his accompanying ODST squad and his SRS99D-S2 AM sniper rifle, John-117 cleared out two Covenant camps of Jiralhanae, Unggoy, and Kig-Yar. At the second camp, they disrupted the Covenant's efforts to assemble a Mantis. Emerging on the other side of the Forerunner structures, they linked up with Dubbo and other survivors seeking refuge from the downed Pelican, where a lance of Covenant searched for survivors. Dubbo informed John-117 of the potential landing zone for the Dawn. Upon defeating the Covenant patrol at the Pelican, a pair of Prowlers arrived at the area, but their operators were eliminated by the UNSC. Salvaging both UNSC and Covenant vehicles, John-117 and his team advanced into the Covenant-occupied canyon. At this point, the Covenant have set up an attack force of infantry and Type-26 Shades at a nearby Forerunner wall, which was defended by Aggressor Sentinels. John-117 and his team eliminated the Covenant attackers, and the Sentinels, recognizing the humans as Reclaimers, withheld their attacks. Sergeant Major Avery Johnson, onboard Kilo 023, spotted a structure that was similar to the Cartographer of Installation 04 on the other side of the wall, and Keyes set the structure as the objective.



The landing zone was occupied by Ghosts, a Wraith, several deployable lookout towers, Jiralhanae and Unggoy infantries, and two Anti-Air Wraiths that were firing into an aerial battle between Banshees and Hornets. John-117 and his team, having gathered more Marine survivors, cleared the landing zone, allowing the Forward Unto Dawn to disengage from the space battle and descend to the surface of the installation, landing safely. From the Dawn's hangar, the UNSC was reinforced with three Scorpion tanks, a Warthog and a unit of Marines led by Gunnery Sergeant Marcus Stacker. With 343 Guilty Spark having arrived to guide them, the mechanized force then fought their way back to the Forerunner wall, destroying numerous Covenant vehicles and ground troops. The Covenant had retaken the wall, bolstering their defenses with Wraiths, Choppers, and Shade turrets, but they failed to deter the UNSC's progress.

After entering the wall and emerging from the other side, the UNSC encountered a Scarab. Although the Scarab quickly left the area, the canyon leading from the wall to the Cartographer was defended by a battalion-sized force of Covenant heavy armor, including Choppers, Ghosts, Wraiths, and infantry with heavy weapons, reinforced by a Phantom. Two of the three Warthogs, which emerged from the wall first, were quickly overwhelmed, and their operators were killed. A single M12G1 Gauss Warthog, taking a winding path to the side, was harassed by Ghosts and lost its gunner, though it regrouped with John-117, who had left the group earlier when they travel across the wall. The Spartan commandeered the vehicle and rejoined the Scorpion tanks. John-117 and Stacker then led the Scorpions against the Covenant armor. When the UNSC forces broke through the Covenant defenses, the Scarab returned to the area, with Choppers as its escorts. Stacker ordered Marines from Bravo unit to flank the Scarab to cover John-117's assault on the Scarab. They succeed, with John-117 personally taking down the Scarab. After the Scarab's destruction, the Shadow of Intent arrived at the Cartographer, and Rtas 'Vadum announced that his fleet had destroyed Truth's fleet.



Encountering resistance from Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar on the way, John-117 climbed a series of ramps towards the entrance to the Cartographer. At the top, he met with Thel 'Vadam, who dismounted from Kilo 023 along with a pair of Marines. While Commander Keyes assembled an air support force to prevent Covenant reinforcements, 343 Guilty Spark unlocked the sealed door at the entrance, allowing John-117 and Thel 'Vadam to advance inside. Their arrival caught most of its Covenant occupants off-guard, and they eventually arrived at an exterior platform hosting the Cartographer terminal. The Chief and 343 Guilty Spark accessed the terminal, learning the installation as the "Ark" and that Truth had already fortified himself at the core of the Ark, where he could remotely activate the entire Halo Array. Furthermore, Truth had activated a large barrier around the entire core to ward off the attacking forces.

After learning of Truth's location, they were attacked by a Phantom, one of the many aircrafts from the Covenant's aerial attack on the Cartographer. Thel 'Vadam drew the Phantom's fire, allowing the Chief to escort Spark clear. 'Vadam then hijacked a Banshee and joined Keyes' air support to repel the Covenant attack. Notified by Dubbo, John-117 was instructed to descend to a platform underneath the Cartographer for extraction. The Spartan fought his way down, defeating a War Chieftain, his Bodyguards, and a group of camouflaged Jiralhanae Stalkers along the way. At the platform underneath the Cartographer terminal, Jiralhanae Chieftain Cethegus regrouped with the Jumpers from his pack. Cethegus and the members of his pack were charged with halting the UNSC-Sangheili progress. Believing he would ascend to the title of Chieftain of the Jiralhanae for killing the Spartan, the ambitious Chieftain challenged John-117 to a duel. Despite being outnumbered, John-117 defeated Cethegus' pack as well as two Kig-Yar marksmen. Meanwhile, the Hornets under Keyes' command have destroyed the Banshee attack force, putting an end to the conflict at the Cartographer.

Kilo 023 arrived to pick up John-117, but a massive swarm of Sentinels approached the Pelicans. Initially, the UNSC prepared to attack, but they stopped when 343 Guilty Spark asked them not to attack the Sentinels, stating that the Sentinels had a "priority task" of unknown nature. Instead of attacking, the Aggressors flew off into the distance, and the UNSC and Sangheili followed suit, making their way to the Installation 00 Citadel to stop the Prophet of Truth.

Battle of the Citadel


On the same day, December 11, 2552, the UNSC-Sangheili alliance arrived at vicinity of the core of Installation 00. An assault team, composed of five Pelican dropships and a pair of Sangheili Phantoms, began their attack on a trio of towers that, once disabled, would deactivate the barrier protecting the Citadel in which the Prophet of Truth was located. Two Pelicans, including Kilo 023 which carried John-117 and an ODST led by Gunnery Sergeant Stacker, would attack the Tower One. The Phantoms, which carried Thel 'Vadam and his Sangheili (including N'tho 'Sraom and Usze 'Taham), would assault the middle tower. The other Pelicans, ferrying Sergeant Johnson and his squad, would disable the final tower. Kilo 023 deployed John-117, along with Stacker and his ODSTs, at a distance from the first tower after an Anti-Aircraft Wraith shot down the second Pelican carrying Marines and a Warthog. Defeating the War Chieftain, his entourage, and the Wraith, Commander Keyes' Pelican deployed a new Warthog and a Mongoose at the beachhead for the team. Meanwhile, the Shadow of Intent began a diversionary bombardment against the barrier, firing plasma torpedoes at the barrier shield.

While John-117 and his team traveled to the first tower, 'Vadam and Johnson, along with their teams, touched down at the second and third towers, respectively. Although John-117 and 'Vadam succeed in disabling two of the three towers, Johnson was ambushed by enemy reinforcements, and lost contact with the UNSC soon after. The Jiralhanae captured Johnson, and took him to the Citadel. The UNSC-Sangheili troops launched a second assault on the third tower, with John-117 escorting the dropships in an AV-14 Hornet. They first destroyed Covenant Banshees and a Phantom, securing air control outside the barrier. The third tower was heavily defended by a pair of AA Wraiths, Shades, another standard Wraith, and a huge group of Jiralhanae led by War Chieftain. Destroying the Brute defenders outside the third tower, John-117, Thel 'Vadam, and a team of five Sangheili proceeded inside, where they discovered the corpses of Johnson's team, except for Johnson. Aftering the defending forces of Mgalekgolo, Yanme'e and Jiralhanae were eliminated, John-117 disabled the barrier tower, finally deactivating the barrier. The Shadow of Intent advanced towards the Citadel, but 'Vadum's attack was interrupted by the arrival of the Flood-infested High Charity, which arrived via slipspace. High Charity launched debris that crippled the carrier and its weapons systems, forcing the Shadow of Intent to retreat. It also launched Flood dispersal pods and began spreading Flood across the Ark. Keyes insisted that the Flood's arrival would only pressure Truth into activating the rings, and ordered the remaining ground forces to attack the Citadel.



During this time, the Jiralhanae Chieftain Hekabe decided to use the distraction from the Flood arrival to locate the vertex hidden on the Ark. The control device for the Sharquoi, the vertex would allow Hekabe to control the creatures. Though the Prophets had some Sharquoi themselves, they had lacked the vertex and so could not control them and never unleashed them. Hekabe intended to use the vertex and the Sharquoi to gain power for himself and so fled the Ark with his loyalists before the battle ended despite fighting on the side of the Covenant.

Fighting through the Flood to exit the third tower, John-117 and the Sangheili regrouped with Gunnery Sergeant Stacker's Marines, now supported by a Scorpion, a Gauss Warthog, and a Mongoose. The humans and Sangheili fought through the cliffs to the area outside the Citadel, where the Covenant have set up lookout towers, Shade turrets, and ground vehicles. The Covenant attempted to reinforce their troops by a large amount of Banshees, but the UNSC air forces counterattacked with Hornets and Pelican gunships. The ground forces led by John-117 punched through the remaining Covenant armor on the mountainside. With the UNSC's arrival imminent, the Covenant deployed two final Scarabs, each commanded by a Jiralhanae War Chieftain, at the entrance to the Citadel, further supported by Prowlers, Ghosts, and Banshees. However, their efforts were in vain, and, with the Scarabs destroyed by John-117, any remaining Covenant stragglers were soon moped up by the UNSC.

While the Flood began climbing up the Citadel's far wall, John-117 and Thel 'Vadam led a small attack force, including N'tho 'Sraom, Usze 'Taham, as well as a few Marines and Sangheili, into the Citadel. Inside, the Prophet of Truth was giving a speech attempting to reassure his remaining followers, declaring that he was about the activate the Halo Array by forcing Johnson into activating the Array. Realizing that they had very little time left, John-117 and Thel 'Vadam hastily made their way to the elevator that would carry them to Truth's level, but the elevator's immense height meant that they would not be able to intervene in time.

Johnson attempted to goad the Chieftain that was holding him into killing him, but Truth realized this and stopped him. With John-117 and the Arbiter too far away to stop Truth, Commander Keyes took her Pelican dropship and crashed it directly into the facility in an attempt to rescue Johnson, but was killed soon after by Truth himself when she hesitated to kill Johnson and herself to deny Truth a means to activate the rings. Johnson, struck by grief and shock, was easily made to activate the Array. However, Keyes' actions delayed Truth long enough for John-117 and the Arbiter to stop him. The Gravemind dispatched a swarm of Flood combat forms, led by two tank forms, to assist the UNSC-Sangheili force in preventing the Halos' activation.

A large group of Unggoy and Kig-Yar lead by a Jiralhanae Captain guarded the first bridge making their last stand for the Covenant Empire. The two tank forms lumbered into their midst, the huge Flood forms easily crushing the smaller Covenant soldiers. With large numbers of Pod infectors along with the efforts of the Spartan and Sangheili, the forces on the first bridge soon crumbled. On the second bridge, a pack of Jiralhanae including a unit of Jumpers fought viciously to halt the process of John-117, Vadam and the Flood, but with each Jiralhanae that fell, a new Flood combat form was produced and as a result, the Covenant forces began to collapse. Even the Chieftain and a group of fuel rod gun-wielding Unggoy Heavies failed to stop the determined assault. The Covenant defenders on the third and final bridge were slaughtered by the Flood before the Chief and Thel even arrived. With that, all Covenant in the Citadel had been eliminated, and the way to Truth was clear. Crossing the light bridge to the Citadel controls, the Chief and 'Vadam passed by several Flood corpses and found Johnson cradling the dead body of Commander Miranda Keyes. He urged John-117 to stop the rings. Thel 'Vadam approached Truth, who was on the floor and had already been partially infected by the Flood. Declaring his intent to have his revenge against the Prophet as the infection began to ravage Truth's body, 'Vadam allowed the Prophet to live long enough to see the Chief deactivate the Halo Array. In a final defiant declaration, Truth announced himself as the voice of the Covenant, before being fatally stabbed in the back by Thel's energy sword. With Truth's death, the Covenant was brought to an end.



Almost immediately after the death of the Prophet of Truth, the Gravemind announced his sudden betrayal, his tentacles surrounding the platform. Johnson attempted to airlift John-117 and Thel away but one of the Gravemind's tentacles struck the Pelican, sending it spiraling out of control and knocking the pair to the ground near the platform. The two quickly got to their feet, standing back to back with their weapons ready as the Gravemind taunted them. Thel acknowledged that they had traded one villain for another. Suddenly, the Gravemind retracted his tentacles below the platform as a pair of combat forms clambered up to challenge the pair. Quickly slaying the combat forms, the Master Chief and Arbiter hastily made their way back towards the lift they had used to enter at Johnson's urging. As they went, myriad Flood forms attempted to stop their progress. On the second bridge, a squadron of Sentinels arrived to assist the duo. With the assistance of the Forerunner constructs, John-117 and Thel soon made their way back to the lift. Discovering that the controls aren't working, they opt to use a shaft at the back of the lift. The Spartan enters first. A flickering image of Cortana leads him to a control panel. Upon activating it, an incomplete Halo ring rose out of the Ark's Foundry; it was suddenly clear what Cortana's "solution" to the Flood was. Realizing what needed to be done, John-117 announced his plan to fire the ring to 343 Guilty Spark. The Monitor agreed that a tactical pulse would eradicate the local Flood infestation and made his way to the ring for final preparations. The incomplete ring lacked an Activation Index however. The only way they could get another Index was to rescue Cortana from High Charity since she still possessed the Index from Installation 04.

Master Chief's personal quest
Johnson picked up the Arbiter and the Chief while Guilty Spark went off to the new Installation. The party then headed to the Shadow of Intent, where Johnson, 'Vadam, and Ship Master 'Vadum rounded up the UNSC and Sangheili forces. Meanwhile, Master Chief infiltrated High Charity, successfully recovering Cortana and the Index and sabotaging the city's reactors. He escaped with the help of 'Vadam and fled onboard a crashed Pelican as the station exploded, ostensibly destroying the Gravemind.

Finishing the fight
"Rtas 'Vadum"

- Thel 'Vadam

With the Index secure, Thel 'Vadam ordered Rtas 'Vadum (who had safely evacuated humans and Sangheili back onboard the Shadow of Intent) to escape back through the slipspace portal to Earth while he, Spartan-117, and Sergeant Major Johnson moved in on the Control Room of the incomplete Halo. The Forward Unto Dawn was left behind for them to use to escape. The Gravemind, meanwhile, had begun to rebuild itself on the new ring, and sent Flood dispersal pods to kill the three interlopers. The Chief, 'Vadum, and Johnson, with the assistance of local Sentinels and 343 Guilty Spark, fought through the Flood and entered the Control Room. Spark explained that the new Halo would be ready to fire within days, to which the group, particularly Johnson, protested. When Guilty Spark informed the three that activating Halo now would destroy both the Ark and the installation, Johnson told him to "deal with it" and prepared to activate the ring. "Send me out...with a bang."

- Johnson's last words

Unwilling to let "his" ring be destroyed again, 343 Guilty Spark went rampant, mortally wounded Johnson, took down the Master Chief's shields and blew the Arbiter out of the room. However, with the help of a dying Sergeant Johnson and his Spartan Laser, the Master Chief managed to destroy Guilty Spark and start the firing sequence of the new Halo. He and the Arbiter then took Johnson's Warthog and rushed towards the Forward Unto Dawn as the incomplete Halo powered up and started breaking apart. The two drove their way through hordes of battling Flood and Sentinel drones, with the ring world literally falling to pieces around them. The two heroes made it onto the Forward Unto Dawn, where the Arbiter was almost crushed by a Scorpion tank due to the sudden acceleration of the ship. Agility and a pair of crates saved him. the Master Chief then inserted Cortana into a holotank and she activated the Forward Unto Dawn's engines. The Arbiter made his way to the bridge of the ship and took her into Slipspace just as the new Halo fired, with the Master Chief almost being crushed by the same tank which descended through the cargo hold and into space. However, the Slipspace portal collapsed as the Forward Unto Dawn entered it, and while the forward half with the Arbiter made it to Earth, the rear half fell out of Slipspace at an unknown location, with Cortana and the Master Chief floating into the dark abyss.

The Battle of Installation 00 ended the Human-Covenant War. Months later, a monument was erected near the remains of Voi in remembrance of those who died in the line of duty, including the Master Chief's who was labeled MIA. The Arbiter, Rtas 'Vadum and their brethren then departed Earth for Sanghelios.

Aftermath
"For us, the storm has passed. The war is over. But let us never forget those who journeyed into the howling dark, and did not return. For their decision required courage beyond measure; sacrifice, and unshakable conviction that their fight, our fight, was elsewhere. As we start to rebuild, this hillside will remain barren. A memorial to heroes fallen. They ennobled all of us, and they shall not be forgotten."

- Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood in the memorial ceremony

Installation 00 and the Flood
The firing of the Halo ring caused unprecedented damage to the Ark while sterilizing the installation of the Flood forces around and on it, including the Gravemind commanding the massing Flood amid the battle. Over two years later on March 20, 2555, during Operation: FAR STORM, Luther Mann and N'tho 'Sraom arrived at the Citadel to stop the Halos from firing. Scattered around the basin were the remains of human and Covenant vehicles left over from the battle, including the empty husks of the two Scarabs.

Forward Unto Dawn
The Portal between Installation 00 and Earth collapsed while was still inside it. As a result, the ship was cut in half; the front arriving at Earth and the back half being lost in space. The Arbiter, sitting on the bridge at the time, was part of the front half but, without any engines, soon crashed into the ocean. John-117 and Cortana were in the rear half, and though they survived the Portal’s collapse, they were stranded in space and declared MIA. John-117 went into cryo-sleep while Cortana activated a distress beacon indicating their status. After drifting in an unknown region of space for over 4 years, the rear half of the Dawn was caught in the gravity well of a Forerunner shield world known as Requiem.

Legacy
"Jerome-092"

A monument was made near the town of Voi, not far from the portal structure. It read, "In memory of those fallen in the defense of Earth and her Colonies. March 3, 2553." On it were photos of UNSC personnel who went through the portal but did not return; John-117 was honored with an etching of the number "117". With the exception of Thel 'Vadam, the Sangheili were not present at the dedication service, instead remaining aboard Shadow of Intent. After the ceremony, Lord Hood, despite being unable to forgive the Sangheili for what they did to humanity at the beginning of the war, shook 'Vadam's hand and thanked him for standing beside the Master Chief at the Ark. The Arbiter then departed to Shadow of Intent, and joined Rtas 'Vadum on the bridge, both agreeing to return to Sanghelios to ensure its safety. Thel 'Vadam was given command of the carrier and all Sangheili onboard departed for their homeworld.

In March 2555, the Ark's monitor, 000 Tragic Solitude, sought revenge against humanity for damaging the Ark years prior. To do so, the ancilla placed the remaining Halos on a brief countdown to activation, prompting a joint UNSC-Swords of Sanghelios mission to the installation to stop the rings from firing. After Solitude's plan was thwarted, the UNSC established research facilities on the Ark. The UNSC's research team was able to repair the Ark from the damage done in the battle by directing the Ark's Retriever Sentinels to mine lifeless systems for the needed materials for repairs.

In September 2558, the Jiralhanae Chieftain Hekabe attempted to unleash the Sharquoi on the planet Carrow, having retrieved the Sharquoi control device, the vertex, from the Ark during the Battle of Installation 00. Hekabe's plan was narrowly foiled by Gray Team, Rojka 'Kasaan and elements of the Surakan Militia Volunteers.

The Banished arrived on the fully repaired Ark in November 2558, killing UNSC personnel across the installation. In March 2559, the crew of the newly arrived engaged the Banished with help from Isabel, the logistics AI of one of the UNSC research facilities. Approximately six months after the initial hostilities with Spirit of Fire, a force of Banished warriors lead by Voridus used a Scarab to blast a hole in the containment shield around the ruins of High Charity, as they sought to scavenge materials to aid their ongoing struggle against the UNSC. However, the Banished ignored warnings about the Flood as they believed them to simply be another Covenant lie and were unaware that some of the Flood still survived in the ruined city. This inadvertently caused a Flood outbreak onto the installation, leading to a desperate struggle between the Banished and the parasite. After some time, the Banished managed to destroy a Proto-Gravemind that was moments away from becoming a Gravemind and the Ark's Sentinels and the Banished managed to once again contain the Flood.

Ground forces

 * UNSC Navy
 * UNSC Marine Corps
 * S4/BLCE/1/7
 * S4/BRT/1/7
 * Alpha Company
 * Charlie Company
 * Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
 * 105th ODST Division
 * 7th Shock Troops Battalion
 * 11th MFR/ODST

Naval forces

 * Home Fleet
 * Seventh Fleet
 * Battle Group Victory

Ground forces

 * Fleet of Retribution Special Warfare Group

Naval forces

 * Fleet of Retribution
 * One battle group

Naval forces

 * Truth's fleet†
 * Hekabe's clan

List of appearances

 * Halo: First Strike
 * Petra
 * Halo 3
 * Halo Legends
 * Origins
 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * From the Office of Dr. William Arthur Iqbal
 * Halo: Broken Circle
 * Halo: Hunters in the Dark
 * Halo Mythos
 * Halo: Tales from Slipspace
 * Dominion Splinter
 * Halo Wars 2
 * Halo: Envoy
 * Halo: Legacy of Onyx
 * Halo: Bad Blood
 * Halo: Shadows of Reach
 * Sacrifice