The Oracle (Level)

Were you looking for the Battle of the Gas Mine, 343 Guilty Spark or a Monitor in general?

The Oracle is a Halo 2 campaign level, where the player plays as Thel 'Vadamee. Starting directly after you land the Banshee you were flying in the previous level, the opening cutscene has Rtas 'Vadumee comment on smelling a familiar stench. You will again have Specops Elites and Grunts as allies and possibly an Ultra Grunt.

This is the first level in Halo 2 where you encounter the Flood and some of their new abilities, most notably the ability of Infection Forms to revive fallen Combat Forms and the shielding on some Combat Forms.

The player goes down an elevator and up to the top of the Gas Mine to cut three cables. He or she then must backtrack to the hangar of the previous structure, complete with another Banshee-flying section, where he engages in combat with the Heretic Leader to prevent him escaping Threshold in a Seraph. In the cutscene directly before the fight, it is shown that 343 Guilty Spark had survived the destruction of Installation 04 and was responsible for the "heresy" through his teachings.

Part 01: Oracle
(A door slides open. Two Special Ops Elites cover the entrance with Plasma Rifles while Special Ops Grunts file in. The Elites cautiously advance, followed by Rtas 'Vadumee and Thel 'Vadamee. Rtas 'Vadumee pauses and sniffs the air.

Thel 'Vadamee: What is it?

Rtas 'Vadumee: That stench...I've smelled it before.

Part 02: Juggernaut
(The assault team proceeds through a small room, where a large tank containing some small,floating, fleshy lifeforms can be seen. The team approaches a doorway, and through the transparent floor of the next room, they can see the shadows of Heretics and strange creatures battling. Eventually, all of the Heretics are killed. The victorious creatures have familiar screams...)

SpecOps Elite 1: By the Rings. What is that?

SpecOps Grunt 1 or 2: (whimpers)

SpecOps Elite 1: Quiet...

(The creatures all leave through another doorway.)

SpecOps Elite 1: It's moved on. Quickly, before it returns, let's find the Heretic Leader and finish him off.

(The team moves into a laboratory, strewn with deformed corpses.)

SpecOps Elite 2: What happened here?

SpecOps Grunt 1: Me have bad feeling about this.

SpecOps Grunt 2: You always have bad feeling! You had bad feeling about morning food nipple!


 * Note: This is a reference to Halo: Combat Evolved, when the Marines encounter the Flood for the first time in the level 343 Guilty Spark. They say the same thing, only with better grammar and no mention of the "food nipple".

SpecOps Elite 2: Close your jaws, or I shall bind them shut!

(A floating orb enters the room, and the image of the Heretic Leader appears in the air.)

SpecOps Grunt 1: See! Heretic!

(The team fires on the image, which quickly becomes apparent as a hologram and nothing more.)

Rtas 'Vadumee: Hold your fire. Hold your fire!

Sesa 'Refumee: I wondered who the Prophets would send to silence me. An Arbiter... I'm flattered.

Rtas 'Vadumee: He's using a holodrone. He must be close. Come out, so we may kill you.

Sesa 'Refumee: (laughs) Get in line.

(The Heretic Leader vanishes, and moments later, familiar tiny bulbous creatures start to appear.)

SpecOps Elite 1: Leader!

Rtas 'Vadumee: Stand firm! The Flood is upon us!

(The team battles the oncoming Flood Infection Forms. Unless the corpses are destroyed, the Flood begin reanimating them)

SpecOps Elite 2: Heretic fools! What have they done!

(The Flood assault subsides, and a doorway opens out of the labs.)

Rtas 'Vadumee: Go, Arbiter! I'll follow when our reinforcements arrive.

SpecOps Elite 1 or 2: (whispers) This place is filled with the parasite, not even Heretics deserve this!

('Vadamee and the survivors ride an elevator down to the lower levels of the labs, fighting the Flood and Sentinels. They enter a hallway strewn with corpses.)

SpecOps Elite 1 or 2: We should have brought weapons to burn these bodies. Every one is a potential vessel for the Flood.

(The team advances into a lab filled with battling Heretics and Flood.)

SpecOps Elite 1: Heretics! Above!

('Vadamee manages to press outside to the exterior of the station. He sees Flood battling more Heretics, and a Phantom swoops in to provide reinforcements and covering fire.)

Phantom Pilot (O.S.): Leader, the storm is about to hit! We cannot maintain our position!

Rtas 'Vadumee (O.S.): Bring the Phantoms closer to the mine. We're not leaving until the leader of these Heretics is dead. Arbiter, the Flood have spread throughout the station! We don't have enough troops to manage such a large infestation. Find the leader of these Heretics, kill him now!

('Vadamee and his troops advance into the heart of the installation. They encounter the Heretic Leader fleeing.)

SpecOps Grunt 1: Heretic boss! You see, you see!

(Sesa 'Refumee takes cover behind a shielded door before 'Vadamee can catch him.)

Sesa 'Refumee: This will save me from the storm, but you will be consumed.

('Vadamee pounds angrily on the portal, but cannot break through as the doors seal. The SpecOps Commander and his troops arrive.)

Rtas 'Vadumee: Arbiter, where is he? Stinking Floodbait boxed himself in tight. We'll never break through this.

('Vadamee notices a hologram of the station, and watches it thoughtfully.)

Thel 'Vadamee:Then we shall force him out.

Rtas 'Vadumee: How?

Thel 'Vadamee: The cable. I'm going to cut it. Get everyone back to the ships!

Gameplay

Rtas 'Vadumee: Warriors, return to the landing zone! The Arbiter is going to continue upward, cut this station loose, and scare the Heretic from his hole!

SpecOps Elite 1: May our Lords guide you.

SpecOps Elite 2: We shall not forget your sacrifice.

(if you have an Energy Sword already)

Rtas 'Vadumee: Keep your blade handy. I doubt the cable can withstand its bite.

(if you do not have an Energy sword)

Rtas 'Vadumee: Take my blade. I doubt the cable can withstand its bite.

Part 03: Hey, Watch This!
('Vadamee rides the elevator to the upper level where the cable is located.)

Rtas 'Vadumee (O.S.): Phantoms are in the air, Arbiter. Go ahead, cut that cable!

''(If you spend too much time fighting)

Rtas 'Vadumee (O.S.): Sever the cable at the points where it connects to the structure!

(after cutting the first cable)

Rtas 'Vadumee (O.S.): That's one! By the Prophets, look at the station list!

(after cutting the second cable)

Rtas 'Vadumee (O.S.): One final cable, Arbiter!

('Vadamee cuts the final cable, and the entire station groans with the stress. All the Flood and Sentinels present stop their fighting and look upward towards the cable. The top of the station tears away, and it plummets into the atmosphere. The remaining sentinels, if any, disappear into the sky.)

Rtas 'Vadumee (O.S.): That did it! The station is in free fall! The Heretic Leader is on the move, do not let him escape! We'll stay with you as long as we can!

(Thel 'Vadamee drops back down into the station and advances past Heretics protecting the Heretic Leader's rear.)

Heretic Elite: Our lives for the truth, the truth and the Covenant!

('Vadamee enters what looks like the main power generator for the station.)

Rtas 'Vadumee (O.S.) Are you still alive, Arbiter? We're keeping pace as best we can.

(The Heretic Leader escapes via a Banshee and cuts across the station. Thel 'Vadamee pursues in one of his own.)

Rtas 'Vadumee (O.S.):What lunacy! He'll never escape this maelstrom in a Banshee! Wait! The hangar, there was a Seraph fighter inside! Arbiter, you know what to do!

Part 04: Dead Or Alive . . . Actually, Just Dead
('Vadamee fights through the first portion of the station back toward the hangar. There, he confronts the Heretic Leader as he is boarding the Seraph.)

Thel 'Vadamee: Turn, heretic.

Sesa 'Refumee: Arbiter. I would rather die by your hands than let the Prophets lead me to slaughter.

Thel 'Vadamee: Who has taught you these lies?

(At this, 343 Guilty Spark descends, humming to himself.)

Thel 'Vadamee: (Shocked) The Oracle!

343 Guilty Spark: Hello! I am 343 Guilty Spark. I am the Monitor of Installation 04.

Sesa 'Refumee: Ask the Oracle about Halo. How they would sacrifice us all for nothing!

343 Guilty Spark: More questions? Splendid! I would be happy to assist you.

(Any questions are cut off as the Heretic opens fire on 'Vadamee with twin plasma rifles. 'Vadamee falls back, taking cover while his shield generator recharges. As he does so, the Heretic Leader floats back toward the Seraph and pulls out two holodrones.)

Sesa 'Refumee: The Elites are blind, Arbiter ... but I (holds up two Holodrones) ... will make them see.

(The Heretic Leader releases the drones, which become copies of him. 'Vadamee battles the Heretic Leader. During the battle, he will continue to taunt Thel 'Vadamee.)

Sesa 'Refumee: How did the Prophets buy your loyalty Arbiter? With a new command, a new fleet,...or was it the promise ... their "Great Journey"?

Sesa 'Refumee: Look around you, Arbiter. This facility and dozens like it resulted in the study of the parasite, but where are the weapons, Arbiter? What was the result? All that time and effort and the best the Forerunners could do was put these foul creatures on ice.

Sesa 'Refumee: And now where are these "Gods" the Prophets would have us worship! Transcended? (laughs) ... Hardly. (intending on killing the Arbiter) Come, Arbiter, let me show you where they went.

(343 Guilty Spark will also talk to Thel 'Vadamee throughout the battle.)

343 Guilty Spark: This mining facility predates Installation Alpha by several hundred years. It was retrofitted to research possible offensive and defensive measures against the Flood. Indeed, I designed and oversaw the construction of this facility's various outbreak management systems.

(If you continue the fight long enough)

343 Guilty Spark: The cable on top of this mine was designed as a fail safe in case an outbreak took place. I am glad someone had the foresight to cut it!

343 Guilty Spark: Fortunately, all the Flood on this installation will perish once this facility enters the planet's nitrogen core.

(If you miss Sesa 'Refumee with your shots)

Sesa 'Refumee: I see the Prophets have chosen poorly, Arbiter!

(If Sesa 'Refumee kills you)

Sesa 'Refumee: Come, Oracle, we have much work to do.

('Vadamee kills the Heretic Leader, and begins to drag his corpse to the hangar door.)

343 Guilty Spark: Unfortunate. His edification was most enjoyable.

Thel 'Vadamee: I had no choice, Holy Oracle. This Heretic imperiled the Great Journey.

343 Guilty Spark: Oracle? Great Journey? Why do you meddlers insist on using such inaccurate verbiage-ohhhhh myyyyy!!!!!

(343 Guilty Spark is snatched by an unseen force and pulled away. He is dragged through the air, directly to the top of the Fist of Rukt: the gravity hammer of Tartarus. Tartarus, standing beneath a Phantom, pulls 343 Guilty Spark off the end of his hammer.)

Thel 'Vadamee: (disbelievingly) That... is the Oracle!

(Tartarus tosses 343 Guilty Spark into the Gravity Lift casually.)

Tartarus: (indifferently) So it is. Come, we are leaving this system.

Glitches

 * When the Phantom drops off surplus reinforcements, you move inside the structure and see the Heretic Leader starting to run away. If you stick him with a grenade, he will drop the Plasma Rifle in his right hand, allowing you to pick it up. A handy tip for the chase.
 * If you melee the Heretic leader in a certain position with a Carbine or a sword you can pass through the holo-door but you will die as soon you go through.
 * If you attack the hologram of the Heretic Leader, it will make sounds as if it has been hurt.
 * If you follow the Spec-Ops Commander and the remaining Elites and Grunts after the Arbiter announces his plan to cut the station's cable you can see them get back on their Phantom. If the two Grunts are still alive they will try to board the Phantom at the same time usually. One of them will enter the ship but the other will get stuck and the Phantom will stay there but if you kill the Grunt or stop them from going in at the same time it will fly away.
 * It is possible (with some practice) to reach the very bottom of the level by hopping on a Sentinel and slowly glide down while staying on it. Before you go inside the building where the Heretic leader runs and hides in the energy shield protected room, there will be some Sentinels off the edge of the building make sure you kill all enemies and allies around so they don't screw anything up. Now use your camo and jump on one of the Sentinels, and keep your eyes on your feet and stay on top of it. Once you hit the bottom of the level you will slip off but you will still be alive walking on the air with the facility high above you.
 * If you try to push ’Vadumee when the elevator is down so you can take him in other places it won't work, If you push him down to the elevator, he will automatically disappear and reappear to the room he stayed at.
 * In co-op, play until the Arbiter says he's going to cut the cable. Move up to the elevator and have one person go up it. Right before the loading scene have the other player push the button to bring it back down. If done correctly, you will be standing on the elevator platform and you'll be outside. NOTE: there is no way to escape so you must restart from checkpoint if you wish to continue.

Mistakes

 * In the cutscene at the beginning of the boss fight, the Seraph faces the hangar door instead of the elevator.
 * Throughout the level, all Flood Combat Forms seem to be Minor Elites, despite the fact the majority of the Elites in the station are heretics and only a handful of Covenant Elites are seen in the level. Even then, the Elites are spec ops Elites and Elite Minors don't even show up in the level. However, it could be argued or speculated that Truth had ordered Covenant strike teams to take out the Heretics prior to this event, and after having lost all contact with them because they were taken out by the Flood, decided the Arbiter and a spec ops team were a more appropriate solution. Another explanation for the numerous Minor Elites could simply be due to graphic limitations since all of the Elite Combat Forms in the game are of Elite Minors.

Easter Eggs

 * The Famine | Skull is found on this level.

Miscellaneous

 * In the first room you encounter the infectious Flood, if you kill the entire raiding party rather than the Flood, and allow them to cover Rtas' hologram, then they will float up into the air with him and move into a pipe jutting from the wall. This will not stop Rtas from appearing in any cutscenes.
 * Also, when you cut the cables, the Flood will stop what they're doing and look up, as if they are wondering what just happened. The Sentinels will do the same.
 * Additionally, if you cut all three cables and quickly make it back to the elevator, the 'Hold X to activate elevator' text will not appear until the station is in free-fall. This gives you time to have some fun. The player will fly up, caused by the reaction of the station suddenly breaking loose from the cable; this effect will happen to all AI and the player regardless of location, but if done at the elevator while jumping, the player will continue to fly upwards, eventually exiting the station. This must be timed correctly to work, otherwise you will simply make a normal jump. You are afforded a nice vista before dying. Your body and weapons will continue to fly upwards.
 * Also when you cut the cables, when you jump to float in the air, you will see broken parts of the facility in the sky floating and getting blown away.
 * If you kill all of the enemies then ride the elevator up to the cable, cut it. Then in the room where Sesa 'Refumee was hiding you can find a Heretic Elite with a Needler fighting the Flood.
 * In the room with the Heretic hologram, you can jump back on to the second level (out of the way of the Flood). To do this you need to jump onto a little ledge on the side of the pillars near the corners of the elevated walkways. From there, crouch-jump onto the walkways. Be careful not to fall through the glass when you jump up. Just stay up there and let ‘Vadumee fight the flood and take out the stragglers.
 * This is the first level where Rtas' Vadumee appears during gameplay.
 * This is the first level in Halo 2 that you encounter the Flood.
 * This is the first level where Infection Forms can revive dead Combat Forms.
 * This is the last Arbiter level where you are not on Delta Halo.
 * When flying your Banshee outside, you can get hit by the debris floating rushing upwards and either get your shields taken out or get destroyed, though it holds true for the enemy Banshees.
 * You can still cut the cables if your sword is out of energy; this is unwise as you will likely be attacked by a Flood Combat Form wielding a fresh energy sword.
 * The cables holding up the facility will not cut if the Commander is talking.
 * The cable will always cut in the same place no matter where you attack it.
 * At the part of the level where you fly a Banshee, destroyed enemies (and you) will go up instead of down, because of the storm. You will also die instantly after getting out.
 * At the beginning of the level, you can see a sealed aquarium in the middle of the room with small Flood Infection forms swimming freely in an unknown liquid.
 * Judging by the design of the large circular room entered prior to confronting the Heretic Leader, it appears that the turbines in the room's center are actually the complex's heating and cooling systems since structures similar of similar design to the one encountered can be found in other real-world facilities.