Operation: INTERIOR EXILE

Operation: INTERIOR EXILE was an operation conducted by the United Nations Space Command on an unknown moon to secure Forerunner artifacts including a Forerunner starship.

Background
The site which would become the target of INTERIOR EXILE consisted of a barren desert with a Lifeworker terraforming vessel embedded within it. At the time of the operation, the vessel was dormant, though had been occupied by an unknown force wielding plasma weaponry. The Office of Naval Intelligence proceeded to conduct reconnaissance of the area, deeming it a target of vital importance to capture - though conflicting recon assessments of the area resulted in difficulties deploying the necessary force. Prior to the execution of the operation, Hieu Dinh recommended the use of an aerial insertion at night.

The battle
Despite Dinh's recommendations, three squads of ONI troops were deployed into the region surrounding the dormant site via orbital drop in the daytime. At least one M12B Warthog was involved in the attack, though ultimately the UNSC forces involved were repelled by the unknown defenders, with the Warthog destroyed in the process. The disaster resulted in numerous deaths and failed to secure the operational area.

Aftermath
Agents Hieu Dinh and Padraig were among the only survivors of the failed assault, and proceeded to write field reports on their view of the attack. In their views, the initial drop onto the moon went smoothly, but they felt that conflicting reconnaissance reports compromised the assault force - allowing them to easily repelled. The reports were later analysed by ONI Section Three agents BAYLEAF and FLYBALL, with the former assessing that - based on the casualty reports - a much larger force would be needed to assault the site again. As such, BAYLEAF proceeded to requisition a larger assault force with the aim of retaking the site for good.

BAYLEAF's attack was evidently successful as, by 2560, the Office of Naval Intelligence were able to construct a sizeable black site adjacent to the now-reactivated vessel.

Around 2560, the Banished artificial intelligence Iratus forced Hieu Dinh to relive some memories of the operation. This included a simulation of his initial nighttime aerial insertion suggestion, which Iratus depicted as a D77-TC Pelican being shot down by plasma fire.

List of appearances

 * Halo Infinite
 * Season 03: Echoes Within