117649 Despondent Pyre

07-117649 Despondent Pyre was a forerunner ancilla, monitor and the caretaker of Installation 07.

Biography
After the firing of the Halo Array, and the subsequent survival of the Xalanyn, the Grand Edict charged Despondent Pyre with guarding the Xalanyn's prison, and informed her that Offensive Bias had been deployed to aid her in this assignment. Although Despondent Pyre carried out her orders, she was burdened with tremendous guilt over this injustice. Over the many years that followed, she explored the Ring and contemplated its secrets which had been withheld from her. In particular, she pondered the nature of the Ring artifacts scattered across the installation's surface. During this time, she created Adjutant Resolution to serve as both a Sub-Monitor and a friend.

Eventually, Despondent Pyre became so overwhelmed by guilt over the Xalanyn's imprisonment, she ceased communicating with the Monitors on the other Rings and sealed herself inside Zeta Halo's Conservatory.

After the United Nations Space Command established a presence on Installation 07 in 2555, around three hundred researchers were contracted by the Office of Naval Intelligence to study the ring as part of the Zeta Halo project. However, monitor 117649 had not yet been discovered by any research detachment. Doctor Luther Mann theorized that it was possible that the monitor had heard about humanity's and the Covenant's presence on other installations—which led to the destruction of Installation 04, the partial glassing of Installation 05, and the destruction of Installation 04's replacement—and decided to remain hidden from the researchers.

By March 3, 2558 it was noted by Catalog that 343 Guilty Spark had filed several minor reports on 117649.

Around December 2559, Cortana, leader of the Created, went to Installation 07 for unlock its secrets. Although Despondent Pyre accepted Cortana's control over Zeta Halo's weapons, she denied her access to the ring's secrets, fearing the human AI could release the Flood. When Cortana revealed she knew there were more dangerous things than the Flood on the ring, 117649 again refused Cortana's requests. When the arrived into the installation, Cortana dismissed the Monitor.

Six months later, during the Battle for Zeta Halo, 117649 Despondent Pyre was terrified by the return of an individual called the Harbinger and moved to protect the Conservatory. The monitor sought the Reclaimer's help. However, she was ambushed immediately by the Harbinger and her skimmers being destroyed afterwards despite resisting. After killing the monitor, the Harbinger extracted Despondent Pyre's encephalon in order to start the Reformation that would rebuild the Silent Auditorium.

Personality
As Zeta Halo's Monitor, Despondent Pyre carried out her duties without hesitation, though not without question. She wondered why the Forerunners had entrusted her with the Ring yet withheld its secrets from her. As she explored the Ring, she felt that its history was constantly being rewritten but didn't understand why. In particular, she pondered the true nature of the Ring artifacts, which she discovered were potentially older than the Forerunners themselves.

Despondent Pyre was also burdened by guilt over the Xalanyn's imprisonment and was especially troubled that Forerunners had used the pretense of a parley to lure them to Zeta Halo in the first place. Nevertheless, she viewed the Xalanyn as such a dangerous threat that she refused, even under torture, to reveal their location.

Trivia

 * Following in line with the pattern of exponential numbers of base 7 as the names for the Halo's monitors, 117649 is equal to 7 raised to 6th power.
 * Despondent Pyre's chassis differs considerably from all previously seen monitors. Instead of the design seen on other Halo installation monitors such as 049 Abject Testament, 343 Guilty Spark, or 2401 Penitent Tangent, Despondent Pyre's chassis seems to consist of four curved plates surrounding her central eye that move whenever she speaks. Her associate sub-monitor, Adjutant Resolution, shares with her a very similar chassis design (although more spherical overall and more prominent protrusions around the eye).
 * Despondent Pyre is voiced by Sarah Elmaleh in Halo Infinite.
 * Despondent Pyre is the only monitor to not have complete knowledge about the installation they maintain.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
 * Terminals
 * Halo: Hunters in the Dark
 * Halo: Point of Light
 * Halo Infinite
 * Halo: The Rubicon Protocol