New Phoenix

New Phoenix is a metropolitan area of Arizona, a state in the United Republic of North America on Earth. It was the fourth most populated city of URNA, after New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

History
The city of New Phoenix was originally two separate cities, Flagstaff and Phoenix. As the populations of both cities grew, they agreed to become one large metropolis.

Battle of Earth
During his swift attack on Earth in July 2557, the Didact was able to position his flagship, Mantle's Approach, in a high geosynchronous orbit above the city. Despite resistance from the UNSC Home Fleet, he activated the Composer, converting New Phoenix's population of seven million into virtual form and disintegrating their bodies. Spartan John-117 soon destroyed the Composer, however, some of the harvested minds were sent to Requiem via the Composer's slipspace portal.

Quarantine
Due to the nature of the Composer, the city's infrastructure remained completely intact. New Phoenix was quarantined after the holocaust and remained off-limits. The UNSC hid the details of the attack from the public, concealing it as a attack by the Covenant remnants. Six months later, however, John Sullivan, an Office of Naval Intelligence public relations officer, released a statement that the attack was not of Covenant origin.

On March 24, 2558, eight months after the attack, the city's quarantine was lifted. Doctor Ruth Charet, President of the Unified Earth Government, presided over New Phoenix's rebirth ceremony. Spartan Tedra Grant accompanied Gabriel Thorne as he return to the city and visited his family's home.

Trivia

 * New Phoenix is the second North American city to be depicted in a Halo game, the first being Chicago in the Halo 2 multiplayer map Foundation.
 * Spartan Gabriel Thorne had family and friends who were killed in New Phoenix, most notably his maternal grandmother.

List of appearances

 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo: Escalation