Meridian

Meridian is a human Outer Colony and a natural satellite of the gas giant Hestia V in the Hestia system. Once a green world, the moon held a temperate climate and fertile land.

A high concentration of Forerunner artifacts exists on Meridian; their presence is known to the Office of Naval Intelligence. Prior to its glassing, Meridian had an impressive population and robust economy; mining was a known industry on the colony.

Colonization
Meridian was colonized in 2431 by humanity, and settled in 2432. One hundred and thirty-nine vessels carrying 70,003 colonists—most of which came from the country of France on Earth—arrived on Meridian and established the town of Avignon. Meridian colonists initially settled equatorial coastlands, before migrating to the moon's vast supercontinent, which would serve as the center of civilization for decades on Meridian. Early in the moon's history, there was a large debate over Meridian's future. While some of the world's population wished for Meridian's surface to remain untouched and largely undeveloped, others wanted to expand and build settlements across the world; the population divided themselves into two political parties known as the Stewards and the Prospector Party.

The debate between the two factions ended when rich mineral deposits were found in Meridian's Mathon Mountain Range, causing a rush of new development as many worked to gain a profit from the deposits. Despite the Prospector Party's early success, the Stewards gained control of Meridian after a lengthy campaign referred to as the Free Patriot Movement. After years of discord, the Colonial Administration Authority eventually recognized the Stewards. Meridian also became a place of conflict during the Insurrection due to a number of antagonistic political ideologies, including the Sundered Legion of 2495. However, after five years of near-constant conflict on the world, Insurrectionist forces were defeated by the United Nations Space Command at the Siege of Athea. Afterwards, military production became Meridian's primary source of revenue; notably, Meridian was the location of dozens of Chalybs Defense Solutions' facilities, including one in the city of Angoulême. Accepting contracts for the manufacturing of military equipment for the UNSC ensured economic prosperity throughout the world.

Human-Covenant War
Office of Naval Intelligence's Section Three had facilities on the moon, to which several SPARTAN-II augmentation chemical precursors were sent without Doctor Catherine Halsey's consent, likely in order to be researched for Project CHRYSANTHEMUM.

During the Human-Covenant War, Meridian was invaded by the Covenant in 2548. The Covenant, aware of Meridian's value to the UNSC, wished to cut off the world's supply lines that it provided to the rest of the UNSC. However, the UNSC resisted the attack with the aid of Meridian's impressive UNSC Air Force garrison and extensive orbital defensive grid. With conflict occurring for nearly three years, the Covenant forces were eventually defeated.

Shortly after the Unified Earth Government reclaimed the moon, the Covenant attacked the colony again in 2551. During the invasion, Chalybs Defense Solutions' facilities were abandoned, with many being destroyed. After the long Battle of Meridian, UNSC Navy forces at the world were forced to retreat to the edge of the system while a Covenant fleet began glassing the moon's surface. Towards the end of the battle, a small Covenant team discovered a massive Forerunner structure under Meridian's surface. In the structure, they discovered a Luminary, which they delivered to the High Prophet of Regret. The Luminary would later reveal the locations of the Halo rings, the Ark, and a slipspace portal to the Ark found on Earth. While the glassing resulted in the evaporation of oceans and the loss of most life of Meridian, the atmosphere remained somewhat breathable.

Post-Covenant War
After the end of the Covenant War, Meridian was recolonized by the Liang Dortmund Corporation, though the world remained independent from the Unified Earth Government. With smart AI Governor Sloan representing the corporation, Liang Dortmund established a space elevator on the colony and hired workers to help resettle the moon and aid in the "deglassing" efforts; the settlers were comprised mainly of former Meridian residents wishing to rebuild their homeworld or opportunists seeking profit. Settlers believed that it would take around twenty years to completely deglass the moon. Five days into the recolonization efforts, the colonists began digging through the glass to create a road from the space elevator to a newly created settlement—Meridian Station. At some point, settlers discovered the Forerunner structure under Meridian's surface near Apogee Station while attempting to deglass the land above it.

On October 27, 2558, at 08:33 local time, followers of the religion Triad posted several three-second clips from the helmet recorders of several soldiers on Meridian during an unknown hostile event. At the same day, the rogue Blue Team arrived at the planet and Spartan-II John-117 was spotted. After the event, the UNSC secured the planet and ONI falsely reported Master Chief as killed in action across human-controlled space.

Topography
Meridian was once an Earth-like, green world, which made the moon a prime target for human colonization. The world is home to a vast supercontinent, with verdant equatorial coastlands.

Locations

 * Angoulême
 * Apogee Station
 * Avignon
 * Mathon Mountain Range
 * McCord River
 * Meridian Station

Trivia
Despite being consistently depicted as a moon in all of its visual appearances, Meridian is often mistakenly referred to as a planet throughout Halo 5: Guardians as well as other sources.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Reach
 * Dr. Halsey's personal journal
 * Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Terminals
 * Hunt the Truth
 * A Hero Falls
 * The Hunt Begins
 * A Hero Falls
 * Halo 5: Guardians