The Truth and Reconciliation

The Truth and Reconciliation is the third campaign level in Halo: Combat Evolved and its Anniversary remake. The Master Chief and a team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers must rescue Captain Keyes, who is being held prisoner aboard the Covenant ship, the Truth and Reconciliation. After boarding the ship by using its Gravity Lift, the Master Chief fights his way through the interior of the Covenant battlecruiser to rescue Captain Keyes and several other prisoners from the ship's brig. This is the first level in which Mgalekgolo, Sangheili Zealot, and Stealth Sangheili are encountered.

In Halo: Combat Anniversary, completing this level on any difficulty rewards the player the "Truth and Reconciliation" achievement and 25 Gamerscore points. In the first encounter, if the player eliminates all Covenant troops without being detected, he or she is awarded by the "All According to Plan..." achievement and 25 Gamerscore points. Players who completes the level with at least four Sniper rifle rounds will be rewarded with the achievement "Close Quarters Combat" and 25 gamerscore points.

Truth and Reconciliation
{Cutscene}

The view pans across a plateau with a Covenant above it.


 * Cortana: "The enemy has captured Captain Keyes, and are holding him aboard one of their cruisers, the Truth and Reconciliation. The ship is currently holding position approximately three hundred meters above the other end of this plateau."

Pelican Echo 419 comes into view, it starts to land.


 * ODST #1: "So how do we get inside the ship if it's in the air? The Corps issued me a rifle, not wings."


 * Staff Sergeant Parker: "There's a Gravity Lift that ferries troops and supplies between the ship and the surface. That's our ticket in."

The Pelican lands in an unoccupied area.

{Gameplay}


 * Cortana: "Once we get inside the ship, I should be able to lock on to the tracking signal from Captain Keyes' neural implants."


 * Sergeant Parker: "Hit it Marines, go go go! The Corps ain't payin' us by the hour!"

Fire Team Charlie and the Master Chief get off the Pelican and head forward.


 * Cortana: "Stick to the higher ground on the right. We should be able to recon the Covenant position without being spotted. I'm detecting Covenant Stationary Guns near the next pass. I recommend using your Sniper Rifle to take out the gunners while I call for Marine support."


 * Cortana (COM) "Get ready to move in to support us, Sergeant. The Master Chief is going to covertly take out as many of the Covenant as he can. Don't open fire until you hear the enemy return fire on us. That should let us keep the element of surprise."

The Master Chief takes out as many Covenant troops as he can, before being spotted by the Covenant, who open fire at him.


 * Parker: "Let 'em have it!"

The Marines open fire.

One of the Unggoy runs for a Shade turret.


 * Cortana: "Alert! A Covenant is making a run for that stationary gun. (NAV point appears on the Unggoy) Take him out!"

''More Covenant troops enter the area, but are eventually they are all eliminated. The area is secure.''


 * ODST #1: "Hey, we did it! We're right behind you, Chief!"

The Chief starts to move up the slope.


 * Cortana: "Stop. Motion tracker shows movement around the next bend."


 * Parker: "We're ready to advance as soon as you call for us, Cortana."

As Fire Team Charlie move further up the plateau.


 * Cortana: "Covenant forces detected up ahead. The path up on the left should let us sneak up around them."


 * Sergeant Parker: "We'll hang back while you get into position, Chief."

If the Chief takes the left flank:


 * Cortana: "Cortana to Fire Team Charlie. The Chief has the left flank covered. Recommend you move up the middle."

If the Chief moves up the middle:


 * Cortana: "Cortana to Fire Team Charlie. The Chief has secured the middle. Get ready to move up the left, you should be able to flank the enemy."


 * ODST #1: "Roger that."

As the UNSC forces takes out the last of the Covenant infantry, a Spirit dropship lands nearby and drops a lance of Covenant.


 * Cortana: "Alert! Covenant dropships are inbound!"

After clearing the area, they walk through a path and reach the cruiser's landing zone, which is defended by a number of troops.


 * Cortana: "We're directly under the ship now."


 * ODST #1: "Alright! Are we bad or what?"


 * ODST #2: "Mother of God...I'd never thought I'd get close to one of these things. How the hell are we suppose to get inside that monster?"

or


 * ODST #2: "If we're gonna board that thing, we need a plan."


 * Cortana: "The Covenant use a Gravity Lift to ferry troops and supplies between the ship and the surface. We need to ambush them at the Grav Lift's loading zone, and use the lift to enter the ship."


 * ODST #2: "Oh, is that all! That's us, the few, the proud, the expendable."

If three or more ODSTs from the team are killed:


 * Cortana (COM): "Cortana to Echo 419, requesting reinforcements from our position."


 * Flight Captain Carol Rawley (COM): "Roger, Cortana, Echo 419 on approach."

The team engages the Covenant defense, while Echo 419 enters the landing zone and drops another team of marines.


 * ODST #1: "Crap, those stationary guns are gonna tear us to pieces!"

or


 * ODST #2: "Sir, those freakin' guns have us pinned down!"

Another Spirit approaches, dropping a group of Unggoy


 * Cortana: "Alert! Covenant Dropships are inbound!"


 * ODST #1: "Man, there's always something..."

Numerous Covenant troops soon drop from the cruiser's Gravity Lift, engaging the team.


 * ODST #1: "Contact, enemy in sight!"

or


 * Parker: "Covenant forces sighted! Let's hit 'em, Charlie Team!"

The team eliminates all Covenant resistance, including a pair of Mgalekgolo.


 * Parker: "We've secured the area. Let's square away the grav lift. Marines! Prepare for boarding action."

or


 * Parker: "This area's clear. No hostiles present. Marines, secure the grav lift and prepare for boarding!"


 * ODSTs: "Yes, sir!"

The ODSTs gather under the grav lift.

If any of the Marines are KIA:


 * Cortana (COM): "Cortana to Echo 419. We've reached the Gravity Lift and are ready for reinforcements."


 * Rawley (COM): "Copy that, Cortana. Hang tight, gentlemen. Foe Hammer out."


 * Cortana: "Once we're inside the ship, I can home in on the Captain's command-neural interface. He'll probably be in or near the ship's brig, which should narrow our search."


 * Rawley (COM): "Echo 419 inbound, clear the drop zone."

Marines exiting the Pelican greet the Chief before taking position around the lift.

Into the Belly of the Beast
{Cutscene}


 * ODST #1: "Whoa!"

The Master Chief looks around as the Marine begins to hover into the air.


 * ODST #3: "Yee-haw!"

After all the Marines ascended into the ship, the Chief looks up and begins to hover upwards.

Fades to white.

{Gameplay}

''The team find themselves at the cruiser's cargo bay. No Covenant troops are present.''


 * Cortana: "We're in. I've got a good lock on the Captain's CNI transponder. No Covenant defenses detected."


 * Marine #1: "What, there's no Covenant here? Maybe nobody's home..."

The bay doors open and Covenant troops begin to attack the squad.


 * Marine #2: "Contacts! Lots of contacts!"


 * Marine #3: (sarcastically) "No Covenant! Ya had to open your mouth!"

''The Chief and the Marines fight off multiple waves of Covenant reinforcements attacking from all sides. After the last wave has been defeated, a pair of massive blast doors open to reveal a few Kig-Yar (and a pair of Mgalekgolo on higher difficulties). The team eliminates them.''


 * Marine #2: "Area secure, Sir. We'd better keep moving. How about that door?"

''The team exits the cargo bay through the open doors the Kig-yar came through. They head down the corridor but are stopped by a second set of blast doors:''


 * Marine #2: "The door's locked, sir. I can't bypass it. We can't get through here."

or


 * Marine #3: "The door's locked, sir. No way through."


 * Cortana (COM): "We can use the side passages to find a way around."


 * Parker: "We'd be sitting ducks in that narrow space. We can hold this position if you can find your way around and open the door from the other side, Chief."


 * Cortana: "Chief, let's see if we can find a way to open this door."

The Chief goes alone and makes his way through corridors, eventually reaching a balcony overlooking another cargo bay.


 * Cortana: "Wait. That's the locked door down there. The Marines are waiting on the other side. The controls to open it must be somewhere in this room."

The Chief makes it to the ground level and opens the door, letting the rest of the team inside.

Covenant troops enter the cargo bay, attempting to fend off the boarders, but are soon eliminated.


 * Marine #3: "All clear, sir!"


 * Cortana: "We should get moving."


 * Marine #1: "Alright, everybody stay cool. Yell if you see anything."

The team soon enters a large docking bay just in time to witness a Spirit dropship taking off.

If three or more Marines are dead:


 * Cortana (COM): "Cortana to Echo 419, requesting reinforcements at our position."


 * Rawley (COM): "Foe Hammer here, Cortana... I read you, but you're inside the Covenant ship. I'm not sure I can — "


 * Cortana (COM): "Lock onto my signal and approach fast and low. There's a shuttle bay on the ship's starboard side."


 * Rawley (COM): "Roger, Cortana - Echo 419 on approach."

The Chief and the rest of the team go around the docking bay, battling multiple waves of Covenant.

The team reaches the door on the other side, the door is locked, however.


 * Marine #3: "Hey, which way should we go now? All the doors on this level are locked!"


 * Cortana (COM): "Wait a moment. I'm going to access the Covenant Battlenet and locate an override code to open a door."


 * Marine #2: "You'd better hurry Cortana, we can't hold them off all day."


 * Cortana (COM): "Working on it." (To the Master Chief) "I'd like to see you crack a 128,000-bit modulating encryption key."

Move Covenant, including another pair of Mgalekgolo, enter the shuttle bay, but are eliminated soon.


 * Cortana: "Got it. The door is open. Everyone should move through now. I can't guarantee that it won't lock again when it closes."

The Chief leads the team up to the second level.

If every Marine in the team is dead:


 * Cortana: "I'm going to call for reinforcements. There's no sense going in with anything less than full strength."


 * Cortana (COM): "Cortana to Foe Hammer. We need additional support troops. We're going to open the shuttle bay door again. Move in and drop off reserve troops on my signal."


 * Rawley (COM): "I copy, Cortana. Echo 419 standing by for your signal."

The Chief disengages the energy shield over the bay doors.


 * Cortana (COM): "Cortana to Echo 419. The shuttle bay door is open. You can start your approach."


 * Rawley (COM): "Roger. Echo 419 inbound."

''The Chief leads the Marines up to the third level. The team eventually reaches the ship's bridge and kills all the Covenant forces inside, including the shipmaster Lat 'Ravamee.''


 * Cortana: "This looks like the ship's command center. The Captain's transponder signal is strong, he must be close."

or
 * Marine #1: "This is a good spot, Chief. We'll mind the store here while you go find the Captain. Good luck, sir."
 * Sergeant Parker: "This looks like a good spot. We'll mind the store here while you go after the Captain. Good luck."

''The Chief heads off alone to rescue the Captain. He makes his way through corridors, and comes across an empty brig. Some of the holding cells have dead Marines in them.''


 * Cortana : "We must be in the brig. These look like holding cells. There are probably multiple detention stations. The Captain must be in one of them. We need to keep looking for him."

The Chief exits and comes across an occupied detention center:


 * Marine POW #1: "It's the Chief!"


 * Marine POW #2: "Chief! Chief! Let me out, man!"


 * Captain Jacob Keyes: "Watch out Chief, the Covenant guards are using some sort of stealth armor."

The Chief kills all the Covenant guards, including two Stealth Sangheili and another Zealot.


 * Keyes: "Good work, Chief."


 * Marine POW #3: "That was amazing, sir, you really kicked the shi—"


 * Captain Keyes: "Stow it, Corporal! Chief, open these cells, and let's get the hell out of here. The power control's along the back wall."

The Chief opens all the cells.

{Cutscene}

The Chief helps Keyes to his feet.


 * Keyes: "Coming here was reckless. You two know better than this....thanks."

''Keyes and the Chief leave the cell. Keyes addresses the freed Marines.''


 * Captain Keyes: "Marines! Lock and load your weapons, let's be ready to move."


 * Marine POW #1: "Okay, Sir."


 * Marine POW #2: "Yes, Sir."

The three freed Marines, each armed with a Plasma Rifle, assemble in front of the Captain.


 * Keyes: "While the Covenant had us locked up in here, I overheard the guards talking about this ring world. They call it... "Halo"."


 * Cortana (COM): "One moment, sir. Accessing the Covenant Battlenet. (Pause) According to the data in their networks, the ring has some kind of deep religious significance. If I'm analyzing this correctly, they believe that Halo is some kind of weapon. One with vast, unimaginable power."


 * Keyes: "And it's true... The Covenant kept saying that whoever controls Halo controls the fate of the universe."


 * Cortana (COM): "Now I see... I have intercepted a number of messages about a Covenant search team, scouting for a "control room". I thought they were looking for the bridge of a cruiser that I damaged during the battle above the ring. But they must be looking for Halo's control room."


 * Keyes: "That's bad news. If Halo is a weapon, and the Covenant gain control of it, they'll use it against us and wipe out the entire human race." (Pause) "Chief, Cortana. I have a new mission for you. We need to beat the Covenant to Halo's control room. Marines! (points to the exit) Let's move!"


 * Marine POW #1: "Yes, Sir."


 * Marine POW #2: "Okay, Sir."

The Captain picks up a fallen Needler.


 * Keyes: "Chief, you have the point."

Shut Up and Get Behind me... Sir
{Gameplay}


 * Cortana: "We should head back to the shuttle bay and call for evac."

A pair of Stealth Sangheili armed with Plasma Rifles charge into the brig and the fighting resumes.

If Keyes dies at some point:


 * Cortana: "No! Without the Captain... (sad and slow) the Covenant have already won..."

or


 * Cortana: "No! We lost the Captain..."

The game then reverts to the last checkpoint.

''After fighting their way back to the bridge, the Chief and the others discover that Sergeant Parker and his squad have been killed by two Stealth Sangheili with Energy Swords. The Chief and the rescued UNSC survivors kills the two Sangheili.''


 * Cortana: "We made it!"


 * Cortana (COM) "Cortana to Echo 419 - We have the Captain and need extraction on the double."


 * Rawley (COM): "Negative, Cortana. I've been engaged by Covenant air patrols, and I'm havin' a tough time shakin' 'em. You'll be better off findin' your own ride... sorry."


 * Cortana (COM): "Acknowledged, Foe Hammer. Cortana out.


 * Cortana: Air support is cut off, Captain. We need to hold here until she can move in."


 * Marine POW #1: "Aw, man! We're trapped in here! We're screwed! We're screwed, man!"

or


 * Marine POW #2: "Oh great! Now we're trapped here. We're screwed!"


 * Keyes "Stow the bellyaching, soldier. Remember you're a leatherneck. Cortana, if you and the Chief can get us into one of those Covenant dropships, I can fly us outta here."


 * Cortana (COM): "Yes, Captain. There's a Covenant dropship still docked."

''The doors to the bridge open and a horde of Unggoy attack from all sides. The Chief and the others repel the attackers. The Chief then takes the Captain and the Marines back to the hangar.''

''They return to the shuttle bay, encountering a lance of Covenant, who are quickly dealt with. The Chief releases the dropship from the clamps or open the shuttle bay doors on the floor below.''

{Cutscene}

''The Chief presses the holographic buttons. The Spirit dropship shakes a bit.''


 * Cortana: "That's it. The dropship is loose."

The Spirit dropship shifts and open on of its troop bay doors for the Marines.


 * Keyes: "Everybody, mount up. Let's get onboard."


 * Cortana (COM): "Give me a minute to interface with the ship's controls."


 * Keyes: "No, no need. I'll take this bird out myself."

A pair of Mgalekgolo exits the doors in front of the Spirit dropship and aims at the dropship.


 * Cortana (COM): "Captain! Hunters!"


 * Keyes: "Hang on!"

Keyes rams the two Mgalekgolo with the dropship.


 * Marine POW #3: "Nice one, sir!"


 * Keyes: "Time for a little payback."

''The Spirit flies out of the hangar. Fade to black.''

Level ends.

Glitches

 * Right before the player goes into the valley where the Gravity Lift is, if the player moves fast enough the checkpoint will be reached before any of the Marines, Cortana will call for more men to be dropped while the player's Marines will follow up behind. If careful, there will be ten Marines to fight against the reaction force that is sent to battle. The same glitch can be performed when the player first enters the hangar, meaning Echo 419 can say (scripted) “Roger Cortana, Echo 419 inbound” three times.
 * Before reaching the second level of the shuttle bay, there is a dead Unggoy lying on the ground with a fully charged weapon and two grenades. If the player walks out the door and walks back in, he will disappear.
 * In the brig where Captain Keyes is being held, the player can actually kill him and the three Marines while the energy shields are still up just by aiming in a precise location while standing up against the shields. If the player kills Keyes and the Marines and then de-activates the shield doors, after the cutscene, not only Keyes and the Marines will be still alive, they will also turn against the player and open fire.
 * It is possible to keep Sergeant Parker and his men alive by getting them stuck outside the bridge.

Mistakes

 * The actual Truth and Reconciliation is only a few meters above the map as when fired at with an explosive weapon, the projectile impacts on the ship are very close to the ground.
 * There was a bug earlier in the development of the game in which Keyes had AI behavior which was "taunt enemy corpse" and when he picked up a Needler, he would fire it into a dead Covenant soldier, which would explode and kill himself. This bug was described by Joseph Staten on the Halo 3 Legendary Edition Bonus Disc.
 * Somewhere within the hallways of the vessel, there is a small patch of Flood blood on the ground. This is odd as the Flood were not released until later in the game. There is only one patch, and it is the same sickly green as the player encounters from the levels 343 Guilty Spark onward.

Miscellaneous

 * This is the only level in the entire game/trilogy that the player starts with a Sniper Rifle with a total of 68 rounds. When the player's ammo is less than 28 rounds and the player collects ammo, you can only get up to 28 rounds like a normal sniper rifle. When modding the game it is found that replacing the starting pistol with another weapon leaves the weapon with the same amount of rounds the pistol would have had. This may have been a late development glitch and Bungie may have decided to not fix it and instead use the glitch to their advantage as this would leave the sniper with a higher initial capacity without creating new scripts.


 * This level may include the largest grenade jump possible. The jump includes four grenades and will skip the second floor completely. A video is here: ; the jump occurs after about 13 minutes. A video is also available on youtube: ; the jump is at around 2:47. This jump includes 3 plasma grenades and 1 frag. Three plasma grenades are thrown near the Overshield, each one is lower than the other. Then, a frag is thrown at the ground. Grab the Overshield before jumping, so no damage occurs.


 * If the player pays attention while searching for Captain Keyes throughout the level, the player will find random groups of marines lying dead in the hallways of the Truth and Reconciliation. This is odd considering that all the marines that were with Captain Keyes went to the brig with him and the only other marines to enter the ship were with the Master Chief. It is also possible that they were a reconnaissance force sent in before the strike team. It is reinforced by the fact that in Halo: The Flood, it says that reconnaissance had confirmed Keyes was captured and there are also dead Sangheili below the ship and in the launch bay. However, it was also mentioned that Chief passed several groups of dead marines when traveling through the ships corridors. It may also be that these Marines were captured along with Keyes and killed on the way to their holding cells, perhaps for trying to escape.


 * When the player is just outside the bridge after rescuing Captain Keyes, it is possible that the player can sometimes hear the Stealth Sangheili attacking and killing Sergeant Parker's squad.


 * The Marines that help the player find Captain Keyes on this level are "standard-programmed", which means they fire weapons in semi-automatic bursts; only shoot in short to medium range, and climb onto a Warthog's gunner seat first rather than passenger seat, if both are empty. However, the Marines the player rescues from the brig are "sniper-programmed", which means they fire weapons in full burst, fire at long-range targets (even if they're holding a short-range weapon like a Shotgun), and climb onto a Warthog's passenger seat first rather than gunner seat, if both are empty. There are also two other Marines that are sniper-programmed on the level Assault on the Control Room (the Marine Sergeants with the Sniper Rifles). Although this level has no drivable vehicles and has a lot of close-quarters combat, the Marines were most likely given this feature to protect Captain Keyes more easily (Keyes also has the sniper-programmed feature).


 * After clearing the entire area outside the ship, if one returns to the entrance of the second area, there is a small alcove where a Sangheili was hiding. It is covered by two thin rocks forming a ceiling. If one turns their volume up and walks in and out of the cave lightly, several different "ghost" noises can be heard including hissing, distant "birds" and wolves sounds. The bird sounds seem very similar to the ones from Halo 2 on High Charity. This place is just one of multiple locations where these sounds can be heard on the map.


 * If the Stealth Elite manages to successfully kill at least one marine upon entering the ship, there is a possibly that a pair of Hunters will enter through the blast doors instead of a pair of Jackals. But if the Elite is killed before managing to kill any of the marines, the Hunters will be replaced with the said pair of Jackals.


 * According to Halo: The Flood, Master Chief was accompanied by a squad of ODSTs. However, in-game, he squad is a group of marines. It is also somewhat odd that the marines were not replaced with ODSTs in the Anniversary version. Despite this visual detail, other elements such as the Keyes terminal was added to make the game more faithful to the book.

Internal

 * Truth and Reconciliation