Utgard

Utgard was the capital and the largest city on the human Outer Colony world Harvest, located on the planet's equator. It had approximately 200,000 full-time residents prior to the Covenant attack. The city's primary law enforcement agency was the Utgard Constabulary. The city was glassed by the Covenant ship Rapid Conversion in 2525.

History
In 2468, the, a , was used to colonize Harvest. After Harvest's colonization, the Skidbladnir remaining in orbit for another year to assist in the construction of the basic infrastructure for the Tiara and its seven space elevators. Once the task was completed, the ship landed on the planet's surface and was scrapped for materials. The ship's power plant was then used to power the newly created capital city of Utgard.

In February 2525, the attempted peace negotiations between the humans and the Covenant were held at the Harvest Botanical Gardens, just outside of Utgard. After the peace negotiations failed, and the First Battle of Harvest began, Governor Nils Thune made an order stating that any civilian of Harvest must relocate to Utgard for safety. In an attempt to evacuate all of the colony's citizens via the space elevators, Harvest's Colonial Militia began packing civilians into 236 freight containers which were then loaded into Utgard's seven elevator depots.

A mortally wounded Captain Ponder used a fabricated "Oracle" to lure the Covenant cruiser Rapid Conversion into the sights of the city's mass driver. The ship was disabled after two rounds and crashed. In the ensuing confusion and lifting of Covenant air superiority, a militia strike team secured the Tiara. The cargo freighters carrying Harvest's evacuees ascended the space elevators to the station and fled into slipspace, but only 215 freighters managed to escape.

During the following months, the Rapid Conversion's crew repaired the ship and steadily continued the glassing of Harvest, gradually destroying the JOTUN automatons in which the remnants of the AI Mack were housed. Utgard was later a location of several engagements during the Harvest campaign in 2531. A UNSC Marine Corps unit, including Edward Buck, was posted to the ruins of the city for six months.

Description
Utgard was located on the continent of Edda, at Harvest's equator. The Bifrost escarpment was west of Utgard and visible from the city. The Mimir River went through Utgard and exited south of the city. The Vigrond Highlands and the Plains of Ida were located nearby. Several small settlements were scattered around the city.

The city was surrounded by Harvest's seven space elevators. The buildings in Utgard were relatively small, with only several dozen skyscrapers that were no taller than twenty stories. Regardless, the buildings were still of modern designs, with most of them being glass-shrouded. A floodlit, well-landscaped trail was found alongside the Mimir River, along with numerous scattered bars. The Harvest Parliament Building was found near the river as well, with a large wall separating the Parliament Building from the river. At the time of Operation: KALEIDOSCOPE in 2502, Utgard had a small population of at least fifty thousand and the entire city was made of polycrete pre-fabs.

Locations

 * Harvest Botanical Gardens (outskirts)
 * Harvest Parliament Building
 * Mimir River
 * Utgard Highway
 * Utgard Mall
 * Utgard Memorial Hospital
 * Utgard Spaceport

Trivia
Utgard, like many of Harvest's cities, rivers, seas, and other locations, comes from Norse mythology. It literally means "Outyard" and was the abode of the giants, enemy of the Gods.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Contact Harvest
 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * Dirt
 * Halo 4
 * Halo Mythos