Floodgate (Level)

Floodgate is the sixth campaign mission of Halo 3 and the first Halo 3 level in which the Flood appears.

Background
It takes place in Voi, Kenya on the continent of Africa on Earth during the Battle of Earth. Floodgate is the first campaign mission where the non-playable Elites are encountered in Halo 3. It is also one of the shortest levels in the game (in terms of distance traveled).

Shortly after John-117 disabled the Covenant Anti-Air Gun in the previous level, The Storm, UNSC Frigates under the command of Lord Terrence Hood attacked the Covenant controlled Forerunner Dreadnought. This attempt failed, and it appeared the Dreadnought survived unscathed. The Covenant Loyalists activated a Portal to the Ark, temporarily disabling the UNSC's nearby ships. The remainder of the Covenant Loyalist fleet followed the Dreadnought into the portal. With the UNSC fleet disabled, and the Anti-Air gun out of commission; a Flood-controlled Covenant CCS-class Battlecruiser came out of Slipspace nearby and crashed into Traxus Factory Complex 09.

In order to eliminate the infestation, John-117 and the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam must overload the crashed cruiser's engines, wiping out the entire city and the Flood with it. To do this, they push back through the factory where they just came from, fighting many Flood Combat Forms, including a new Flood evolution, the Pure Forms. They are then aided by the arrival of Rtas 'Vadum and a Covenant Separatist fleet. 'Vadam and John, along with some Elites, push forward to the crashed ship, and 'Vadam holds position while SPARTAN-117 extracts what is believed to be Cortana, stored in a Covenant Storage Device. This eventually turns out to be only a recording.

Once on the Covenant Separatist ship, Shadow of Intent, 343 Guilty Spark extracts Cortana's recorded message from the Covenant Storage Device. The UNSC and Covenant Separatists then begin to prepare for the voyage to The Ark. While doing so, Separatist warships begin to glass Voi and the immediate vicinity to prevent further contamination by the Flood.

Upon completing the level on Normal, Heroic, or Legendary difficulties, the player will earn the "Cleansing" achievement and 30 Gamerscore. Earning over 15,000 points in the Campaign meta-game will give the player the Exterminator achievement and 10 Gamerscore.

Cutscenes

 * 1) "Shadow Of Intent"
 * 2) "Closing"

Transcript
{Gameplay}

It Followed Me Home
'Hot zone. Weapons free.'


 * Miranda Keyes (COM): "The Flood - it's spreading all over the city."


 * Lord Hood (COM): "How do we contain it?"


 * Commander Keyes (COM): "Find the crashed Flood ship; overload its engine core. We either destroy this city, or risk losing the entire planet."


 * Lord Hood (COM): "Do it."


 * Miranda Keyes (COM): "Chief, make your way to the crash site."

''To the right of a couple of Marines are seen on the cliff edge fighting off several Flood Combat forms. They typically are overrun and mutate into more Combat forms. Occasionally, however, the Marines survive, and run out of view (the Flood 'mist' obscures them)''

Sometime later, when the Chief and Thel 'Vadam re-enter the city.


 * Marine Officer or NCO (COM): "All squads, report!"

At this time, a human Flood combat form jumps from the building on the right: killing it will result in the dropped Fog Skull.


 * Marine Sergeant (COM): "Multiple contacts, unknown hostiles."
 * Thel 'Vadam: (May vary upon difficulty setting) "There are some powerful weapons we've not yet used..."

You find a group of Marines in a loading ramp.


 * Marine (COM): "There! Over there! We are surrounded, Sergeant!"


 * Marine (COM): "Aaaaah!"


 * Marine Sergeant (COM): "Fall back, fall back!"


 * Female Marine: "Sergeant, come on!"

Infection Forms and Combat Forms descend and swarm on the Marines at the ramp, killing then infecting them, forcing the other Marines, the Chief, and 'Vadam to kill them.


 * Marine Sergeant: "Ahh!"

The sergeant becomes mutated by an Infection Form.


 * Sergeant: "No! No! No!"


 * Female Marine: "What are you doing?! That's the sergeant!"


 * Marine: "That was the sergeant!"

They fight off the current wave of Flood.


 * Thel 'Vadam: "Quickly! Let us find their ship. Make short work of this abomination!"

The Marines accompany the Chief and 'Vadam into a building, where a lone Marine fights off a horde of infection forms. (It is possible to save him, but more often than not he will be mutated before your eyes).


 * Infected Marine: "Uhh! Get off me!"

or


 * Infected Marine: "Get it off! Get it off!"

''If the Marine is not saved, the Infection Form dives into his chest, gruesomely transforming him into a Flood Combat Form. This forces the Master Chief and 'Vadam to kill him immediately.''

''Marines are pinned down behind sandbags with more Flood surrounding the area. The Chief and 'Vadam clear this section of the warehouse.''

If the Marines are saved from being killed or infected.


 * Female Marine : "It gets inside you, chews you up."


 * Marine: "We gotta get outta here."

Reaching the other end of the warehouses, the surviving Marines who joined the Chief and 'Vadam hold position after clearing the area.


 * Thel 'Vadam: (with anger and disgust) "Wretched parasite! Rise up and I will kill you! Again and again!" (He will sometimes replace "Wretched" with "Accursed")

Upstairs, some Marines, one wielding the Flamethrower, try to combat the Flood as well, but they soon die, leaving the Flamethrower for the Chief or 'Vadam to pick up as they head up there and down a hole in the floor into the office areas.


 * Cortana (Cortana Moment): "Chief! (connection drops) I can't tell you everything... it's not safe. The Gravemind... it knows I'm in the sys-(connection drops)."

''The Chief and 'Vadam force their way through another wave of Flood, and find a marine huddling in a corner of the large room previously used as an Aid Station, surrounded by three dead marines. The Marine is holding a pistol, and will occasionally aim it at his own head, before lowering it and burying his face in his hands.''


 * Traumatized Marine: "I... I didn't have a choice...(pause) The L.T...the Sergeant...they were all infected! (pause) I could see it crawling...sliding around beneath their skin! (sobs) (pause) A-and then they got up...they s-started to talk! Oh, God! Their voices! Oh, God! No, make them stop! (pause, his speech turns maniacal) I did them a favor...y-yeah that's it; I helped them! (sobs) (pause, as his tone becomes quieter) Maybe... maybe I need to help myself... (Breaks out into sobs)"

With no time to spare, the Chief and 'Vadam continue on ahead to the lake bed.

Shadow of Intent
'The Flood. It has Evolved.'

The Master Chief and Thel 'Vadam enter the lake bed of Voi where the Scarab was previously fought and destroyed.

Ship Master Rtas 'Vadum (COM): "Hail, humans, and take heed."

{Cutscene}

Rtas 'Vadum (COM): "This is the carrier Shadow of Intent."

The Chief and the 'Vadam pause to see three Elite-controlled CCS-class Battlecruisers fly in formation as an Assault Carrier slices overhead from Slipspace.

Rtas 'Vadum (COM): "Clear this sector, while we deal with the Flood."

A Major and four Special Operation Elites leap out of landed Orbital Insertion Pods ahead of the Chief and 'Vadam, fighting against the Flood.

{Gameplay}


 * Thel 'Vadam: "My brothers, I fear you bring bad news."


 * Major Domo Elite: "High Charity has fallen, become a dreaded hive!


 * Thel 'Vadam: "And The Fleet? Has quarantine been broken?"


 * Major Domo Elite: "A single ship broke through our line, and we gave chase."


 * Thel 'Vadam: "But we had a fleet of hundreds!"


 * Major Domo Elite: "Alas brother, the Flood... It has evolved!"

The Chief, 'Vadam, and Elites fight their way through the infestation and arrive at the crash site.


 * Commander Keyes (COM): "Chief, the Elites are looking for something. We didn't believe them when they told us."


 * Johnson (COM): "It's Cortana, Chief! She's on that ship! Find her - get her out!"

Once outside again, a couple of Separatists Phantoms arrive, dropping off more Elite reinforcements to combat the Flood.


 * Major Domo Elite or SpecOps Elite: "Hurry, Demon! We seek the same prize. But our Ship Master will sacrifice all to stop the Flood."

''The Master Chief, 'Vadam, and the remaining Elites fight past dozens of Pure Forms, Combat Forms, and Infection Forms to the massive, burning hulk of the crashed Flood battle cruiser. Up an incline, an ominous hole resides in the ship's hull, leading to the interior.''


 * Thel 'Vadam: "I shall remain here. We will let nothing pass."

Master Chief drops in alone.

Infinite Devil Machine

 * Gravemind (Gravemind Moment): "Do not be afraid. I am peace...I am salvation."

The Chief reaches a large room after passing several dead Ultra Elites.


 * Gravemind (Gravemind moment): "I am a timeless chorus; join your voice with mine and sing victory everlasting!"

{Cutscene}

''Inside the central chamber of the Flood-infested crashed cruiser. The Chief finds 'Cortana' in a small Covenant hand held memory unit.''


 * Cortana (recorded): "Chief!"


 * Master Chief: "Cortana?"


 * Cortana (recorded): "High Charity, the Prophets' holy city, it's on its way-"

Cortana's projection above the holographic unit flickers and then disappears.


 * Master Chief: "Cortana!"

''Suddenly, the humming of a Phantom's gravity drives are heard, and a Phantom appears over the open chamber. The Chief turns and readies his Assault Rifle at it while 343 Guilty Spark floats down from the Phantom, which continues to hover overhead.''


 * 343 Guilty Spark: (surprised) "Reclaimer!"

''A Flood Combat Form appears to the right, and 343 Guilty Spark turns and uses a powerful energy beam on it, destroying it in a single glancing hit. 343 Guilty Spark turns back to the Covenant device where Cortana supposedly is, and begins to interface it with a beam projected from his central eye.''


 * 343 Guilty Spark: "I must act quickly before your construct suffers any further trauma!"

The Chief grabs 343 Guilty Spark and pulls him away from Cortana's storage unit.


 * Master Chief: "Wait. Leave her alone!"


 * 343 Guilty Spark: "If we do not take this device to a safe location, somewhere I can make repairs..."

343 Guilty Spark continues to try to project his multicolored energy beam into Cortana's storage unit.


 * Master Chief: "On Halo, you tried to kill Cortana. You tried to kill me!"


 * 343 Guilty Spark: "Protocol dictated my response! She had the Activation Index and you were going to destroy my installation. You DID destroy my installation. Now, I only have one function: to help you, Reclaimer, as I always should have done."

''The Master Chief stares wordlessly at 343 Guilty Spark, then slightly motions with Cortana's storage device. 343 Guilty Spark takes Cortana's device away, shooting his beam into it, while the Phantom projects a Gravity Lift. 343 Guilty Spark enters it first and the Master Chief reluctantly follows.''

''The view cuts to an aerial one over the whole town of Voi at a high altitude. Clouds completely obscure the surface of Earth, but part of the crashed Flood-controlled battle cruiser is visible in the distance. The Phantom flies away from the surface while two CCS-class Battle cruisers of the Fleet of Retribution Glass the town of Voi with plasma beams.''

''The view then cuts to an aerial one above the Forerunner Portal. Its 'fins' are open and blue energy streams from their tips to the open Slipspace portal drifting ominously above the construct. The scene is quiet, and the moon is in the background. Fighting on Earth has ceased, and the Battle of Earth has ended with the departure of the Prophet of Truth's fleet through the Portal hours earlier. Four vessels of the Sangheilian Fleet are gathered above the Portal, and 343 Guilty Spark's Phantom arches to the largest of them: the Assault Carrier Shadow of Intent.''

Inside the bridge of the Shadow of Intent''. Elites and humans are gathered around a long holographic table, with Ship Master Rtas 'Vadum floating on a gravity throne at one end with his Elite attendants, Master Chief and Thel 'Vadam in the middle, and Fleet Admiral Hood and Commander Miranda Keyes at the far side of the table. All are silent except 343 Guilty Spark, who is bobbing at the center of the table and interfacing with Cortana's memory unit with his projector beam.''


 * Rtas 'Vadum: "Will it live, Oracle? Can it be saved?"


 * 343 Guilty Spark: "Uncertain. This storage device has suffered considerable trauma. Its matrices are highly unstable."

343 Guilty Spark glances at 'Vadum and Lord Hood


 * Lord Hood: "Perhaps one of our technicians-"


 * Rtas 'Vadum: "That will not be necessary."

Coincidentally, the storage device works again, and a holographic projection of Cortana springs up.


 * Cortana (recorded): "Chief!"


 * 343 Guilty Spark: "Success!"


 * Cortana (recorded): "High Charity... the Prophets' Holy City, is on its way to Earth, with an army of Flood. I can't tell you everything. It's not safe. The Gravemind... it knows I'm in the system."

Cortana's image flickers, and the Chief turns to Rtas 'Vadum.


 * Master Chief: "It's just a message."


 * Rtas 'Vadum: "Let it play."

343 Guilty Spark jolts the device with another beam.


 * Cortana (recorded): "But it doesn't know about the Portal, where it leads. On the other side, there's a solution. A way to stop the Flood, without firing the remaining Halo rings-"

''Suddenly, Cortana's skin lights with lightning. She clutches her head, gasps in sudden pain and collapses onto the "floor".''


 * Cortana (recorded): (softly, her voice filled with agony) "Hurry, Chief... the Ark... there isn't much time."

Cortana's recording ends, she is left staring with desperation at the Chief.


 * 343 Guilty Spark: "I'm sorry..."


 * Rtas 'Vadum: "No matter, Oracle. We've heard enough. Our fight is through the Portal, with the Brutes and the bastard Truth!"

 Elites around the room raise their forearms and roar in agreement.


 * Lord Hood: (Wearily) "Fine. We'll remain here... hold out as long as we can."


 * Ship Master Rtas 'Vadum: "Did you not hear? Your world is doomed." (descends from his seat) "A Flood army, a Gravemind, has you in its sights! You barely survived a small contamination."


 * Lord Hood: "And you, Ship Master, just glassed half a continent! Maybe the Flood isn't all I should be worried about..."


 * Rtas 'Vadum: "One single Flood Spore can destroy a species. Were it not for the Arbiter's counsel, I would have glassed your entire planet!"

Lord Hood angrily raises his fist at 'Vadum, but Miranda Keyes places a hand on his shoulder.


 * Commander Keyes: "Sir, with respect, Cortana has a solution."


 * Lord Hood: "Cortana? Did you see her condition? How damaged she is?"

While Hood and Keyes argue, the Master Chief bends down and observes Cortana's pained, frozen figure, still collapsed on the holographic table.


 * Lord Hood: "She could be corrupted for all we know. Her "solution" could be a Flood trap!"


 * Commander Keyes: "We should go through the Portal, find out for sure."


 * Lord Hood: "What we should do Commander, is understand - clearly - that this is humanity's final stand - here - at Earth. We go, we risk everything; every last man, woman and child. If we stand our ground, we might just have a chance."


 * Thel 'Vadam: "No. If your construct is wrong, then the Flood has already won."


 * Master Chief: "I'll find Cortana's solution. And I'll bring it back."


 * Lord Hood: "Earth... is all we have left. You trust Cortana that much?"


 * Master Chief: "Sir. Yes sir."


 * Lord Hood: "Then this is either the best decision you've ever made or the worst. Hell if it is, Chief? I doubt I'll live long enough to find out which."

Lord Hood turns, looks wordlessly at Miranda Keyes, and then exits the bridge.

Inside the Shadow of Intent'''s hangar bay, both the Elites and the UNSC are getting ready for battle; the battle through the Portal. While a Separatist Phantom drifts into the hangar on the far side, two M12 Warthog LRVs race to the loading elevator, drawing near a group of Marines clustered around some UNSC crates. At uneasy rest opposing the Marines are a Major Elite sitting on a Ghost and a few SpecOps Elites. The Major Elite's Particle Beam Rifle is resting on the floor. Sergeant Major Johnson, with his arm full of 'stolen' Covenant Carbines brushes past the wordless Elites, scooping to pick up the Major Elite's rifle. The Elites, resentful at this non-permitted weapon collection, rise challengingly around Johnson.''

''Nearby, a pair of ODSTs are joking with each other as 'Vadam passes by, with an acquired M41 Rocket Launcher over his shoulder and carried a Flamethrower underhand. The ODSTs and a pair of nearby Marines observe 'Vadam in half-awe, half-disappointment over the loss of their heavy weapons, when 343 Guilty Spark drifts through the Marines in tow behind 'Vadam, leaving a Marine speechless. Johnson rejoins the Marines, beginning to hand out Carbines, the scene cuts to the fore of the hangar, where a Pelican Dropship lays before the hangar's energy field.''

''The Chief and Miranda Keyes stand at attention before Lord Hood, who looks at them grimly from the rear of the Pelican as the troop bay door shuts and the Pelican takes off. Keyes glances at the Chief wordlessly, and the two leave, going off to their own businesses.''

Hood's Pelican arcs away from the gathered Sangheilian Fleet as the Shadow of Intent powers its engines and thrusts into the Portal, followed by eight Cruisers, a Carrier, and the UNSC Frigates Forward Unto Dawn and Aegis Fate.

Glitches

 * The Elite Helmet Glitch occurs on this level.
 * If an Elite becomes infected, the Elite will emit a Gravity Hammer-like hit, and continue his transformation (confirmed inside the infected ship).
 * Occasionally, when the player shoots the Infection Form off the Marine in the first building, he will turn into a Combat Form regardless.

Easter Eggs

 * If you melee the Suicidal Marine, he may get up and help you. At times though, he may disappear as he is scripted to vanish when you trigger the cutscene of the arrival of the Covenant Separatists.
 * The Missing Person Poster can be seen in this level.
 * There are two Plasma Rifles and a fully charged Energy Sword on the deck of the undamaged crane lift. However, those weapons were there seconds before the Sangheili Drop pods are deployed.
 * There are sometimes Elites within the Flood ship with both Combat Harness and Assault Harness shoulder pads.
 * After the part where the Elites drop from the ship in pods, before you go into the hallway, face it then straf to the right, when you see a wall that looks crumbled (with all the pieces in place) you'll see a face in the crumble design.
 * The Fog Skull is found on this level.

Miscellaneous

 * This was the first and only known time the Flood have been on Earth. It also is the first mission that no live Covenant Loyalists are encountered, as well as the Elite's first appearance in Halo 3 with the exception of Thel 'Vadam, Usze 'Taham, and N'tho 'Sraom.
 * Very oddly, this mission does not have a carry-on stats from the previous level, The Storm, meaning that you will start out with a Battle Rifle and an Assault Rifle, no matter what weapons you had from the previous level. Additionally, any surviving Voi factory workers and Marines that helped you take down the Covenant AA will not appear, despite appearing in the cutscenes before this mission starts. There is a small possibility that the shockwave from the Portal's activation blew them away. Despite, in Co-op, only one of the players can carry their weapons that is not either a Fuel Rod Gun or a Rocket Launcher.
 * Some of the Flood noises heard on this level are not sound effects, but part of the track Dread Intrusion, from the Halo 3 Original Soundtrack.
 * At the very beginning, when the chapter name (It Followed Me Home) appears, walk forward until you reach the large crack separating the land. If you zoom in, you will see two Marines, one with an SMG and one with a Pistol, running. They will be followed by four Flood Combat Forms. If the Marines survive this wave, six more will come. Amazingly, in some cases they will survive this attack. If they do, they will run back the way they came. If they lose, the surviving Flood will either stay where they stand, or they will run back to where they came from.
 * Pan Cam can be used to bypass the invisible walls and observe this battle firsthand. As it turns out, the Combat Forms suddenly drop dead and break apart after they run behind the building that obscures them from the player's view.
 * When you enter the city, keep going forward to the metal fences. If you look across, you can see the Marines that are talking over the radio (one of whom says, "We're surrounded, Sergeant!"). There are two of them. They will be pursued and killed by three Flood Combat Forms. These Marines are not the two Marines mentioned above.
 * Pan Cam can be used to bypass the fence and observe this battle firsthand. As it turns out, the two Marines suddenly drop dead as the Flood Combat Forms, who never even attempt to actually hit the Marines, run past them. The Combat Forms break apart in a similar manner.
 * At the part when your Marines will not follow you anymore, you can push them onto the stairway leading into the next part of the level to have them help you through the rest of the level. They will go upstairs and to the hole where you are supposed to go through. Let them go first since they will stop at the Cortana Moment. Next, push them into the door to make them follow you through the rest of the level.
 * Even if Lord Hood says that humanity's last stand is at Earth, the UNSC still has other planets that aren't glassed, like Sigma Octanus IV. Earth was, however, their home planet and the center of all of their actions. If Earth fell, it is unlikely that the Covenant could have been stopped anywhere else.
 * At the first checkpoint, the Marine on the radio that says, "We're surrounded, Sergeant!" is in fact Gus Sorola, the voice actor of Private Simmons from the web series, Red vs. Blue.
 * This is the only level that you will see a Marine using a Flamethrower or any detached support weapon.
 * There is a point where you can crouch and see that the white liquid inside the infected ship is blue-green beneath the surface. This is probably because when the camera is submerged, a blue-green effect occurs regardless of the liquid's actual color.
 * At the beginning of the level, the Sergeant that says "Fall back, fall back!" has the same voice and model as Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds.