Attack on Installation 00

"That ship brought these monsters. Killed everyone I was supposed to protect."

- Isabel on the arrival of the Enduring Conviction

On November 25, 2558, a ex-Covenant mercenary organization known as the Banished launched an attack on the UNSC research outposts established on Forerunner Installation 00. The assault followed the unexpected shutdown of the installation's portal to Earth during Cortana's takeover of Earth.

Prelude
On October 28, 2558, the smart AI Cortana, leader of an AI conglomerate known as the Created, arrived at Earth with Forerunner Guardians. Firing an EMP blast at the planet, Cortana caused the shutdown of Earth's defenses. In the wake of the attack the ancient extra-galactic Forerunner sanctuary known as Installation 00, or "the Ark", shutdown the Portal at Voi to prevent the Created from being able to access the installation. With the slipspace portal gone the United Nations Space Command research teams on the installation's surface found themselves stranded.

The attack
"As we looked down at the horror below, we saw several hulking outlines move amongst the shadows. Jiralhanae, I think. Brutes. They were everywhere. The air was filled with the smell of burning ozone as a couple of bright, electric blue shapes arced their way toward us. We scattered as the plasma blast hit, vaporizing the trees nearby and showering us with ash and debris."

- Nathaniel Palmer describing the attack in his diary

On November 25, 2558, almost one month after the portal's shutdown, the Banished, a Covenant splinter group led by the Jiralhanae warlord Atriox, arrived at the Ark in their flagship, the assault carrier Enduring Conviction. Deploying Jiralhanae forces, Blisterback mobile missile platforms, Scarab assault platforms, Banshee aircraft, and other vehicles, the Banished began raiding the UNSC research outposts on the surface. Though the human inhabitants of the installation offered resistance against the invaders, they proved no match for the alien onslaught. One such research outpost, the Henry Lamb Research Facility, was attacked by Banished forces led by Atriox's lieutenant, War Chief Decimus, before being directly bombarded by the Enduring Conviction ' s energy projector. A group of fifteen of the outpost's personnel, including archaeologist Nathaniel Palmer and scientist Brewer, managed to barely escape the assault. By January 17, 2559, the group had atrophied to eight.

Aftermath
The destruction of the UNSC presence on the Ark allowed the Banished to establish their forces and set up salvage operations on the installation before the eventual arrival of the long-lost UNSC vessel, the, on March 28, 2559.

List of appearances

 * Halo Wars 2