343 Guilty Spark (level)

Looking for 343 Guilty Spark, the Monitor of Installations 04 and 04 (II)?

343 Guilty Spark is the sixth campaign level in Halo: Combat Evolved.

In the swamps near a Flood Containment Facility on the surface of Installation 04, John-117 is dropped from Echo 419 to search for Captain Jacob Keyes who has been out of contact for over 12 hours. Soon, the Master Chief stumbles upon a structure and ventures within it, only to find out that the Marines accompanying the Captain have been slaughtered by an unknown force. After realizing the fate of the Marines, John fights his way out to the swamp and encounters a questionable ally.

Well Enough Alone
{Cutscene}

''View flies over a group of Kig-Yar and Unggoy running through a swamp, panicky and obviously in retreat. As it pans over them, the outline of a dropship can be seen through the fog and rain, which further materializes as the view draws closer.''


 * Flight Captain Carol Rawley (COM): "The last transmission from the Captain's dropship was from this area. That was over twelve hours ago. When you locate Captain Keyes, radio in, and I'll come pick you up."

{Gameplay}

''In certain parts of the level, the player can hear a radio transmission coming from a crashed human dropship and a Covenant communications terminal. As it repeats, it seems that this is some sort of distress beacon. Static pervades the transmission, and the signal fades in and out of clarity.''


 * Dropship Victor 933's Pilot: "Dropship Victor 933-(static)-Pillar of Autumn-(static)-need assistance. We are under att-(static)-attack by some new kind of hostile-(static)-isn't Covenant. (Static) Captain Keyes has been captured by hostiles. (static) -dug in at a large structure in a swamp-(static)-We need to pull out. Please-(static)-I will set this message to repeat at-(static)-regular intervals. Dropship Victor 933, clear."

''John-117 quickly finds the crashed dropship sending the message. There are weapons and supplies piled nearby, but no signs of life. He passes by a crashed Covenant Spirit, deals with a small group of Unggoy and Kig-Yar, and crosses a log bridge. As he moves across the bridge, he sees several shadowy figures running around on the top of the cliff to the right. Also, his motion tracker shows seemingly friendly units in the swamp not too far from his location, but they suddenly disappear off radar.''

''When he reaches the other side, he hears Assault Rifle fire nearby. He investigates and sees a mob of Unggoy and Kig-Yar fleeing from an A-shaped structure. A frag grenade explosion throws a Shade turret around. The fleeing Covenant attack him out of fear.''

''John-117, thinking Marines are attacking the Covenant, hurries to the entrance, but finds no one there. A lift arrives for him. He takes the lift down into the depths of the structure.''

''John-117 passes through several large rooms and many smaller ones inside the structure, filled with Grunts, Jackals, empty Shade turrets, discarded weapons, and dead bodies - both Marine and Covenant. In some rooms, Jackals and Grunts gather at the doorways as if expecting an attack. In one room, the Chief discovers a strange green-yellow substance falling from the ceiling.''

''As the Chief comes into an area blasted with gunfire and scorch marks, there is the sound of shattering glass. A lone Marine sits leaning against a wall, M6D Pistol pointed at him. The Marine shoots at the Spartan if the Chief comes too close, while screaming at the top of his lungs the following phrases. He also fiddles around with his pistol a lot, checking to see if the magazine is full.''

AWOL Marine:
 * "Stay back! Stay back, you're not turning me into one of those things!"
 * "I'll blow your brains out! Get away from me!"
 * "GAAAAAHH! AAAAAAHH! Don't touch me, you freaks, I won't be like you, I'll die first!"
 * "Find your own hiding place, the monsters are everywhere!"
 * "Play dead! That's what I did... played dead. They took the live ones... oh God, I can still hear them!"
 * (Sobbing) "Monsters..."
 * "Ahhhhhh! Ahhhhaaahhh...
 * "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"
 * "Sarge? Mendoza? Bisenti? Oh, God... the things took them, oh God, I can still hear them... (mumbles and cries) They're gone! Get it? GONE!"
 * "They won't get me! Oh God... oh God I don't want to be like them, please, please no, nooo..."

''John-117 leaves him, and finds a way to the second floor. An Assault Rifle lies on the ground, pointing like an arrow towards the entrance of a room marked with ominous red Forerunner glyphs. The door appears to have been forced open. The Chief goes in, passes a dead Marine, and walks down a ramp.''

As the Chief comes down one of two ramps on either side of a door which has been recently opened by a UNSC spoofer.

{Cutscene}

''John-117 approaches the door cautiously and listens for any movement inside. Just as he was going to type a command into the spoofer, there is a noise behind him. He turns around, gun ready to shoot, but sees nothing. After a moment, he turns back to the door, places his gun on his shoulder and opens the door. When it opens, a dead Marine falls into his arms. He advances a few paces, places the body on the floor gently while making sure nobody follows him through. He sweeps his Assault Rifle about the room. The floor is covered in blood. Discarded UNSC weapons lie all about. John-117 also notices a helmet lying on the floor, and, crouching, moves swiftly towards it. Once he's there, he surveys the room one more time, places his rifle on the floor, and picks up the helmet. The name JENKINS is stamped across it. There is a large, jagged hole punched through the top of it. The Master Chief shakes his head. He then examines the helmet more closely and notices that the Helmet Recorder, near the Heads-up display, is still intact. He retrieves the Recorder Chip and inserts it into a socket in his helmet (where Cortana was previously stored).''

Recording starts playing:

Open Record View (2552.5.27.5:52:56 L).

Pvt. Jenkins, Wallace A.

>Play>

''Helmet cam view (night vision enabled). A Marine (Jenkins) looks around the inside of Dropship V-933. There are several other Marines seated in the dropship with him. Johnson's favorite music (flip music) blares over the cabin speakers.''


 * Private Manuel Mendoza: "Why do we always have to listen to this old stuff, Sarge?"


 * Staff Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson: "Watch your mouth, son. This "stuff" is your history. It should remind you grunts what we're fightin' to protect."


 * Private Mendoza: "Hey... if the Covenant wanna wipe out this particular part of my history, that's fine by me."


 * Private Bisenti: "Yeah... better it than us."


 *  Sergeant Johnson: "You ask 'em real nice next time you see 'em, Bisenti. I'm sure they'll be happy to oblige."


 * Pelican Dropship Pilot (COM): "LZ looks clear! I'm bringing us down!"


 * Sergeant Johnson: "Go, go, go!"

>FFW>>

>PLAY>

The Squad advances through the swamp towards the same structure the Chief is in.


 * Sergeant Johnson: "Stay close, Jenkins!"

They reach the entrance and sweep their weapons across it, wary.


 * Sergeant Johnson: "Mendoza! Move it up!"

Mendoza advances in a crouch, gun at the ready.


 * Sergeant Johnson: (to Jenkins) "Wait here for the Captain and his squad, and get your ass inside."


 * Private Wallace A. Jenkins: "Sir!"


 * Sergeant Johnson: "Okay, let's move!"

The team heads into the structure.

>FFW>>

>PLAY>

''The squad stands around an Sangheili carcass. Its chest is torn wide open. Private Mendoza is examining a similar carcass on the left hand side of the screen.''


 * Private Kappus: "--which is weird, right? I mean... look at it." (Prods the Sangheili with his foot.) "Something... scrambled the insides."


 * Sergeant Johnson: "What's that? Plasma scarring?"


 * Private Kappus: "Yeah... I dunno. Maybe there was an accident. You know, friendly fire or something?"

Captain Keyes approaches the squad.


 * Captain Jacob Keyes: "What do we have here, Sergeant?"


 * Sergeant Johnson: "Looks like a Covenant patrol. Badass Elite units, all KIA."


 * Captain Keyes: "Real pretty. Friend of yours?"


 * Private Kappus: (sounds slightly apprehensive) "Naw, we just met."

>FFW>>

>Play>

The squad, along with Captain Jacob Keyes and his own squad, stand outside a locked door - the one you have just come through.


 * Captain Keyes: "Right. Well, let's get this door open."


 * Private Kappus: "I'll try, sir. But it looks like these Covenant worked pretty hard to lock it down."


 * Captain Keyes: (impatiently) "Just do it, son."


 * Private Kappus: "Yes, sir."

''Kappus removes a Spoofer from his pocket and sticks it to the door. He punches a few keys, and the door opens. He waves the squad through. Bisenti takes point through the door, Jenkins close behind him, and the rest of the squad fans out around him. An odd rumbling sound is heard.''


 * Private Mendoza: "I've got a bad feeling about this..."


 * Sergeant Johnson: "Boy, you always got a bad feelin' about something--"


 * Corporal Lovik (COM): "--Captain, Sarge (static) can you hear me?!"


 * Captain Keyes: "What's going on, soldier?"


 * Corporal Lovik (COM): (panicked) "We've got contacts...lots of 'em...but they're not Covenant...they're just tearing through us...what the?!...ooooohhh...nooooo!!" (Flood noises can be heard in background)


 * Sergeant Johnson: "Corporal? Do you copy, over?"

No response.


 * Sergeant Johnson: "Mendoza, get your ass back up to Second Squad's position, and find out what the hell is goin' on."


 * Private Mendoza: "But, si--"


 * Sergeant Johnson: "I don't have time for your lip, soldier! I gave you an order!"

The same noise that John-117 heard before entering the room is heard.


 * Private Kappus: "Sarge! Listen!"

The odd hissing noise grows louder and louder.

Everyone scans the room, trying to find the source of the strange sounds.


 * Private Bisenti: "What is that?"


 * Sergeant Johnson: "Where's that coming from, Mendoza?"


 * Private Mendoza: "Everywhere... I don't--there! ¡Mira!"

''Mendoza points to a nearby door, which has just exploded outwards. Small squid-like creatures swarm from it.''


 * Private Riley: "Ahh... augh! Get it off! Get it off-- augh!"

''Riley lies on the ground, one of the Infection Forms attached to his chest. Kappus tries to pull it off him.''


 * Private Kappus: "Hold still, hold still!"

''Kappus pulls the creature off of Riley, who goes limp. Kappus struggles with creature which is now trying to infect him.''


 * Sergeant Johnson: "Let 'em have it!"

''The Marines and Captain Jacob Keyes open fire, to little effect. Infection Forms are now all around them.''


 * Captain Keyes: "Sergeant, we're surrounded!"


 * Sergeant Johnson: "God dammit, Jenkins! Fire your weapon!"


 * Private Mendoza: "There are too many, Sarge!"


 * Sergeant Johnson: "Don't even think about it, Marine!"


 * Private Mendoza: (Staggers for the door, several Infection Forms on his back.) "Yo, this is loco!"


 * Captain Jacob Keyes: (through clenched teeth) "Get back here, Marine! That's an order!"

The Marine squad is overtaken, still firing, while their blood sprays as Infection Forms continue to crawl onto them.


 * Sergeant Johnson: "Jenkins!"

''Several Infection Forms attack Jenkins and block his helmet cam. After a moment the screen blacks out. Words flash''.

>Unexpected Halt X (WND/INCAP/KIA? Ref.a4 3d.3) (WND stands for Wounded, INCAP stands for Incapacitated, KIA stands for Killed In Action; the question mark indicates the status is unknown.)

>End Record View (2552.5.27.6:39:23 L)

''John-117 removes the chip from his helmet, shakes his head, and tosses the chip to the ground. The noises begin again. He stands quickly, gun ready.''


 * NOTE: Even though Sergeant Johnson is attacked by Infection Forms, he survives because the Flood cannot infect him due to his alleged Boren's Syndrome (actually the side effects of his SPARTAN-I augmentation).
 * NOTE 2: The date listed on Jenkins' camera is incorrect. The events on Alpha Halo took place in September of 2552, not May.

The Flood
{Gameplay}

''The door John-117 came through is now locked. Three doors holding dozens of Infection Forms break open one at a time, their inhabitants attacking him.''

''The entrance breaks open. Massive amounts of Infection Forms skitter inside, followed by unarmed Sangheili Combat Forms.''

John-117 escapes the facility, encountering Flood forms and some Covenant infantry struggling to survive.



John-117 tries to take the elevator he entered with, but while he waits for it to come down, it suddenly falls down and crashes down to the bottom of the facility.

''After some fighting, John-117 arrives at another elevator, but it goes deeper underground and Unggoy blood is seen painted on the elevator's shaft. At the bottom of the shaft, he's attacked by armed Combat Forms - both Sangheili and Human. This detour forces him to fight his way back up.''

John-117 eventually sees two or three Marines armed with Shotguns or Assault Rifles fighting the Flood.

Although their weapons give them a distinct advantage, a single Infection Form or a single Combat Form attack can kill them.

If they survive, they hold their position inside the room

As John-117 reaches the final elevator and rises to an exit from the structure.


 * Carol Rawley (COM): "This is Echo 419. Chief, is that you? I lost your signal when you disappeared inside the structure. What's going on down there? I'm tracking movement all over the place!"

John-117 reaches the top where a group of trapped Marines is holding out.

''It is obvious they used a lot of ammo to escape, and it is all stacked in a pile. Most Marines hold Shotguns and Assault Rifles, one or two have Plasma Rifles.''




 * PFC Chips Dubbo: (Desperate and afraid) "Sir! Thank God you're here! We've been lost out here for hours. After we lost contact with the rest of the mission, we, we headed for the RV point, and then these....these things...they ambushed us. We've gotta get out of here!"


 * Carol Rawley (COM): "There's a large tower a few hundred meters from your current position. Find a way above the fog and foliage canopy and I can move in and pick you up."

''The Marine squad eagerly follows John-117 outside, where the Flood close in from all sides. Some Marines are attacked by Infection Forms, and their allies are forced to shoot them.''

''As John-117 comes near the tower Foehammer was speaking of, an odd blue object and a flotilla of floating robots descends from the mist. The robots begin to slice away at any nearby Flood, avoiding the Marines. After a few seconds of fighting around the base of the tower, the screen fades to white.''

{Cutscene}

343 Guilty Spark
''The Master Chief suddenly finds himself enveloped in a bright gold light, and then appears on top of one of the legs of the tower. The blue object hovers in front of him. The Chief instinctively points his weapon at it.''


 * 343 Guilty Spark: "Greetings. I am the Monitor of Installation 04. I am 343 Guilty Spark."

''The Chief slowly lowers his Assault Rifle. Gunfire is still heard below, and bright beams slice through the dark swamp. The Chief and the Monitor ignore the commotion''


 * 343 Guilty Spark: "Someone has released the Flood. My function is to prevent it from leaving this installation. But I require your assistance. Come. This way."

John-117 and the Monitor vanish in another series of gold flashes.


 * Carol Rawley (COM): "Chief, I've lost your signal! Where'd you go? Chief? Chief!"

Fades to black.

Level ends.

Glitches

 * If the players play in co-op and use the stay on Pelican glitch, then leave one player in the upper swamp and the other player walks along the tree trunk, then the player that is above can see the Flood up close and kill them easier.
 * When the Covenant run away from the structure early in the level, there are Assault Rifle shots coming from the structure. To see this fully, use the "Stay in Pelican Trick" to get to the higher level of the swamp. Walk towards the entrance and slide down. They will see three MA5Bs floating in the air pointing at different angles firing wildly for a few seconds before disappearing.
 * If look closely at the dead Marine before Master Chief lays him on the floor in the cutscene, one can see that the Marine will blink about two to four times despite the fact that he's supposed to be dead.
 * If the player pushes the Shade turret in the way of Jenkins's scripted walk path prior to entering structure beforehand, he will get stuck in the spot where the turret was placed but continue his scripted movement while the rest of the squad moves ahead of him into the structure due to the fact that the recording takes place in the exact same places that the player previously traveled. This is because the game doesn't "clear out" the room and return it to the state that it was in when Jenkins and his companions were in it.

Mistakes

 * During the Private Jenkins' helmet cam cutscene, when the Pelican dropship lands, crashed Pelican can be seen in the background. It is odd that the Marines do not inspect the downed Pelican. Though, an explanation could be that V933 is one of the other Pelicans that landed to drop off troops for the mission but, probably crashed. In addition, the Chief probably fast forwarded the recording before the player could see the squad inspect the crash site. Another sign of evidence supporting why the V933 is different from Johnson's Pelican would be that the voice of the repeating recording left by the pilot of V933 was male but, the voice of the pilot in the other dropship was female. One additional explanation would be that in the "Jenkin's recording" cutscene, Johnson orders several Marines to wait at the structure's entrance for when Captain Keyes and a "second squad" arrive. Another theory is that either Victor 933 was Second Squad's Pelican or Johnson's Pelican's wingmate.
 * It is impossible for V933 to be Johnson and Keyes' Pelican because the voice in the distress signal was male. However, in Halo: The Flood, the pilot of their Pelican was female. Therefore, the Pelican could have crashed when attempting to takeoff and was later attacked by already escaped Flood since it was also stated that Johnson's squad found evidence of combat before they even arrived. In conclusion, it is more than likely that the V933 was attacked by the Flood before Johnson and Keyes even arrived and was later overlooked by them due to the possibility that the swamps fog was probably thicker when they arrived.
 * The date on the timestamp of Private Jenkins' footage is May 27, 2552; months before the game actually takes place. This is due to the Private not calibrating his helmet cam.
 * During the ending cutscene, the Monitor can be seen flying around the tower as well as talking to the Chief. Similar to the previous error, this is because the Monitor is in the level before the cutscene, but isn't removed when the cutscene starts.
 * After encountering the Crazed Marine, there is a Plasma Rifle laying on the ground. There was supposed to be a dead Elite beside in but, oddly it only appears in Jenkins' recording despite that same Elite being encountered by John in Halo: The Flood as well. Another theory is that the Sangheili Warrior was infected by the Flood before John arrived on the scene.
 * Sometimes Sgt. Johnson will be in the surviving second squad, even though he escaped the structure by himself, according to the Halo Graphic Novel.
 * According to Halo: The Flood, Jenkins was the one who tried to run, instead of Mendoza. Also, it is unknown how Jenkins helmet got damaged as according to the book, an Infection Form got Jenkins on the back.
 * It is odd that the dead Marine in the recording cutscene is still there as the Flood infect anything they find. Of course, Bungie may have just put it there to increase the tense atmosphere that started at the beginning of the level.
 * In Jenkins' helmet cam, the Marines exit the Pelican from at least 10 ft off the ground.
 * Sometimes, after the Master Chief has left Dropship V933's crash site, the emergency distress call will start again prematurely, causing the message to overlap on itself.
 * The Spoofer, which the Master Chief uses to open the door, only appears in the cut-scene and not during actual gameplay.
 * The dead marine who falls on the Master Chief has a hat on during the Cutscene, though during gameplay he doesn't.

Easter Eggs

 * During the first chapter of the level, corpses will spawn in the swamp when the player is at some point of the inside of the installation. Walk back outside before the Private Jenkins helmet cam cutscene and bodies of Marines will be scattered through the lower level of the swamp. If one can make it to the upper level of the swamp (around Mendoza and such), one will find corpses of Covenant and Human Flood forms.
 * There is a hidden Active Camouflage in this level. After killing the Jackals on the tree trunk that goes to the next part of the level, get onto the tree trunk. Once in the middle, stop and turn right. Jump down. There is a pipe leading up to a small ledge that is too high to jump to. There is a ramp. Go up it. Go as far back as one can on the ledge, and inside a bush there is an Active Camouflage power-up.
 * Private Jenkin's chip says "Do Not Eat". However it is only visible if the map is opened with HMT and look at the Bitmaps tab.
 * Occasionally a Elite Combat Form will jot across the player's path if he/she walks off the tree trunk.
 * After seeing the fallen Spirit dropship, keep moving forward and advance to the fallen tree. Look up and use the pistol scope and a Flood Combat form can be seen. The Combat form can be shot and have pieces blown off, but it cannot be killed, as so not to spoil the surprise of the Flood.
 * This level makes several references to the movie Aliens, such as the banter between the marines witnessed by observing Jenkin's recording.

Miscellaneous

 * The song playing during the Pelican ride with Sergeant Johnson and the Marines is titled Shreddin', from the game Marathon: Durandal as "flip music", another Bungie creation rather than their previously planned licensed song which was going to be "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones. Marty O'Donnell stated this on the Halo 3 Legendary Edition bonus disk.
 * This is one of three levels in the entire Halo trilogy where Needler ammo magazines can be seen and used, the others being the Halo 2 multiplayer map Uplift, and the mission Quarantine Zone.
 * The Flood, despite being at the feral stage, does possess considerable intelligence; for example, they deliberately leave some bodies uninfected to lure others into an ambush. This befalls the Marine Squad who investigate dead Elites and Master Chief who investigates the Marines.
 * The Flood do not reload and can somehow fire endlessly.
 * The swamp area in the end of the level was later re-used for the map Backwash in Halo 2.
 * The Pelican, Victor 933, is stated in Halo: The Flood, to have been only one of the many UNSC forces sent to investigate the alleged "weapons cache," thus explaining the reason for the large numbers of human Combat Forms.
 * Playing the level on "Easy" is the only way to play the level according to events from Halo: The Flood due to the fact that the player can only obtain a shotgun at V933's crash site as mentioned in the book on "easy" where in comparison to higher difficulties the shotgun won't be encountered until the events that occur after the "Jenkins' recording" cutscene.
 * At the start of the level, the Flood that run into the mist at the big tree and the hill will appear as yellow blips, indicating that they are allies. This may be an error by the motion sensor, as later on in the game, they become enemies. Another possible explanation is that the Friend-Or-Foe tags that are still embedded inside the Flood forms, which could possibly be mutated Marines, however on closer inspection, all of the Flood forms encountered are Elite Combat Forms. This adds to the mystery and tension of the setting, creating an atmosphere of fear in the player. Of course, it could also have been made that way so they would not attack the player.
 * A Flash Parody was made about this level, titled "TISAH: Flood", it features almost each notable aspect of this level. In the part where the Master Chief first makes contact with the Flood, a reference is made about the survival horror game series Resident Evil.
 * If players examine the floor to the right of the unlocked containment door, the player can find the neural chip that the Master Chief tossed aside after the "last recording" cutscene. However, it will disappear as if it was a particle over a short period of time.
 * Before entering the unlocked Flood containment room, there is an object that resembles a vault or door of some type. Its purpose and function is completely unknown though, it is most likely another more advanced lock containing more Flood captives. In addition, on both sides of the "door" there are four mechanisms inserted into the walls. The four mechanisms are believed to be earlier versions of the Forerunner energy cells that appear in Halo 2 and Halo 3 though these variants are indestructible due to graphic limitations.
 * The dead Sangheili seen in the "recording" was specifically made for the cutscene due to it having its own file and model.
 * If the player doesn't enter the installation in this level and choose to linger in the swamps, he/she can hear in the background Flood gurgles and howls.
 * This level is one of the few rare mission levels with red team and blue team symbols. They can be found near the first Flood encounter area and at any similar areas In the levels.
 * Above the passage way to the first player encounter with the Flood, there are red team symbols, indicating danger.
 * Inside the building, one will see a Flood containment room blocked off by supply cases. Inside are dead Grunts and Jackals. They were probably there because the Floods couldn't infect them as they didn't have enough calcium so they tossed them aside. There is also the possibility that the Jackals encountered moments before finding the containment room barricaded the gored Grunts and Jackals to prevent the risk of them becoming infected or because they were showing signs of progression towards becoming Flood. The weapons they had, that are now on the ground, are also fully charged.
 * While cutting through the waves of Flood, one may notice that sometimes a skull will fall out of a Human form's head. This is best demonstrated from close-range shotgun blasts. However, the skull will disappear if melee.
 * This is the only campaign level that starts with a number.
 * If the player returns to the elevator he/she entered the structure with after meeting the Flood, looking up to where the elevator is, the player can clearly observe that it is on fire and damaged. Activating it will result in debris of it falling down to the shaft, and the Halo soundtrack Lament for Pvt. Jenkins will play again.
 * This is the final level of Halo: Combat Evolved in which Marines are seen alive (with the exception of the non-canon Legendary ending on The Maw featuring Johnson and an Elite).
 * The player will not be able to enter the room the lone marine used to be after encountering the Flood, as the door wil be jammed.
 * There is an unique Flood infection form used for Jenkins recording cutscene, in the modding code it is called a "nopop" and is specifically designed not to pop in the cutscene.