Data Hive

Data Hive is the second-to-last mission in Halo 3: ODST. It is set in the immense data facility below the city of New Mombasa, where the Covenant are trying to gain access to the Superintendent's data core. It is the first linear level in the game after the hub.

Summary
The level begins as the Rookie, having followed Dare's distress signal, descends down a subway elevator shaft, into the Superintendent's Data Center deep under the city. He ends up on sub-level 7 of the complex, and has to fight his way down to sub-level 9 where Dare is currently holding out. Upon arriving there, they fight their way through a Drone hive to the core of the Superintendent to secure its core data. Inside the data core, they meet a Huragok who has combined the Superintendent's data with its own, making it extremely valuable. Buck then arrives at the complex, and they escape to the surface through heavy Covenant resistance.

Opening Cutscene
''{View of a dimly-lit room in the Superintendent's Data Center is shown, with an elevator car on the bottom of its shaft. The Rookie descends from the elevator shaft, and drops to the top of the elevator car.}''

Dare (Radio): They've got me cornered! I'm low on ammo! If you can hear me, I'm on sub-level nine, near station t-

{As Dare is cut off by static interference, The Rookie clicks his comlink with his fingers, and glances at the wall to his right, where the text "SUBLEVEL 07" is written, accompanied by the Superintendent's avatar.}

Gameplay
{After going down the first service corridor for some time, the The Rookie can overhear a brief conversation between two Grunts before they spot him}

Grunt #1: Why Yanme'e yet not seal this entrance?

Grunt #2: Too busy building fancy spit house!

Grunt #1: Nah, if traitor escape, it their fault, not ours.

''{The Rookie traverses through the facility, encountering small amounts of Covenant resistance. He then starts to pick up a conversation between Superintendent and a lone survivor.}''

Survivor: Do it Vergil, now!

Superintendent: Construction ahead! Expect delays.

Survivor: I'm gonna die, you hear me!

{As the Rookie pushes through small amounts of Covenant, he rescues the survivor, who turns out to be an NMPD Officer.}

NMPD Officer: Thanks Trooper, they almost had me. I'm trying to get down to the next level checking my team, this staff is locked down tight.

{The Data-Stack opens.}

Superintendent: Welcome! Access granted.

NMPD Officer: (whispering) Well, guess you have something I don't.

or

NMPD Officer: (whispering) Well, looks like you got the magic touch.

{Drones appear.}

NMPD Officer: Buggers, look out!

{After the Drones are killed.}

NMPD Officer: What's wrong with you, Vergil! You trying to get me killed?

Superintendent: Warning, hitchhikers may be escaped convicts!

''{The two descend down into the stack. They drop into a circular room. The Rookie heads through a door}''

NMPD Officer: Can't see a damn thing. You go first.

{You can see Drones eating some bodies.}

NMPD Officer: Son of a bitch! These are my guys. Buggers got all of them.

{The two continue through many locked data stacks filled with Covenant.}

NMPD Officer: You going down to level 9 too? Guess I could use some backup...

Superintendent: Welcome! Access granted.

NMPD Officer: Go ahead trooper, raise the stack.

{If the player doesn't have 29 of the Audio Logs, the officer will stay up as Drones appear.}

NMPD Officer: You hear that? Buggers! Down at your level. Oh no! They're up here too! Coming out of the damn vents! Get back! No! Ahh!

{The stack closes as the officer is killed by the Drones.}

Superintendent: Crime doesn't pay!

{Alternatively, if the player does have 29 audio logs, the officer jumps in with you.}

''{After heading through the door, the two emerge into a icy hallway, with Covenant patrols ahead. The two defeat all of them..}''

NMPD Officer: Trooper, hold up a sec. I got to check on a... personal issue.

{The officer walks up to a door on the left side of the frozen room.}

Superintendent: Crime scene, restricted entry.

NMPD Officer: Shut up, Vergil! You hear me?

Superintendent: Acid condition, change required.

NMPD Officer: Freaking machine! The whole city's gone to hell. Wait here, watch for hostiles! I'll be back.

{If the player follows him}

NMPD Officer: What are you, stupid?! I told you wait outside!

{In front of him, a body crouched against the wall.}

NMPD Officer: Step away from there. This ain't none of you business! Kinsler gave me real specific instructions: Make sure the Doc's dead and make double sure no one knows about it.

Superintendent: Caution, traveler! Caution!

NMPD Officer: Sorry friend, you know way too much.

''{The Officer fires on the player. The Rookie kills the traitor.}''

Superintendent: Crime doesn't pay! Good citizens do their part!

{If the player approaches the telephone next to Sadie's father, they can press the action button, revealing the last part of Sadie's Story.}

''{The Rookie leaves the room and continues to a cross road. To the left is a dead end with a Flamethrower in corner. Up ahead is a path. The hall starts to go from frozen to normal temperature.}''

Dare(Radio): Buck? Who knows if he can hear me but... I'm sorry, I should have told you more about this mission, more about anything.

''{At the end of the hallway is a Covenant group. The Rookie kills them. The door at the end of the hallway opens.}''

Superintendent: Welcome! Access granted.

''{The door leads to a narrower hallway, with a locked door at the end. The Rookie knocks on the door.}''

Second Cutscene
''{The Rookie approaches the door cautiously, watching the hallway, SMG at the ready. He lowers it and knocks on the door two times. He readies his SMG again. The door opens and Dare pulls the lever on her pistol. Seeing the Rookie there, she looks surprised.}''

Dare: It's you! I thought...

{Dare stops herself.}

Dare: Never mind... What was your name again?

{The two hear a noise coming from the hallway.}

Dare: Inside! Now!

''{The Rookie enters the room. Dare hits a button and the door closes and locks. Cut to the Superintendent. It looks over the room that Dare and the Rookie are in.}''

Dare(from the Superintendent): This way and stay quiet!

{The view cuts from the Superintendent to a view of the window in which Dare and the Rookie can be seen walking towards the window.}

Dare: Some idiots blew the building at the top of the shaft, woke the whole hive.

''{A Drone crawls on the wall above the window. The view goes inside the room. The Rookie walks up to the window.}''

Dare: Down there. That's the Superintendent. The AI that runs every system in the city. My mission, our mission, is to secure the Superintendents data.

{The view goes to the Superintendent's camera, showing the Rookie and Dare.}

Dare(from the Superintendent): Problem is, there's only one way in from here: right through the hive. It would've been suicide to go alone and I was hoping for more backup. I guess you're it.

''{View returns to the room. Dare walks up to the exit.}''

Dare: You've been solo since we dropped. Fighting on the surface?

{The Rookie nods his head.}

Dare: Unless you spent all night hiding in your pod...you must know your stuff.

{Dare readies her pistol.}

Dare: Show me.

Trivia

 * At one point in the level, the player will encounter an NMPD officer. The Superintendent is seen acting strange towards him, such as not opening data stacks for him to allow access or saying phrases like "Warning: hitchhikers may be escaped convicts." (A reference to the final segment of the level The Maw in Halo: Combat Evolved).
 * If 29 of the Audio Logs haven't been found, the cop will be killed by Drones, but if the player has found them, he will lead him to a normally-locked room; he will tell the player to wait outside, but if followed, he reveals he was under orders from Commissioner Kinsler to make sure Dr. Endesha was dead and that no one knew about it, this also reveals the true purpose of the teams mission of killing the Huragok in the Superintendent's core and recover the core data. He then tells the Rookie that he knows too much and that he must be eliminated by the death loop, making this character the first human enemy in a Halo game besides the marine in Halo: Combat Evolved in the level 343 Guilty Spark. After the player kills him, the Superintendent will say "Crime doesn't pay. Good citizens do their part".
 * It is interesting to point out the speed of which the Drones can create a suitable Hive to breed and live in, considering the short timeframe between the Covenant attack and the setting of this level. This is partially explained by two Grunts seen conversing in the level, who point out that the Yanme'e spent most of the time building their hive and not sealing the entrance to the tunnel.
 * Around the level, there are multiple monitors which show data of the Superintendent's status. If the player goes too close to these screens, the Superintendent will interrupt the displays, labeling the information as classified.
 * There are two different cutscenes that can be played when Dare and the Rookie meet the Huragok, Vergil. The normal cutscene is viewable if the player has not collected all 30 audio logs, and shows the Rookie arming his gun and aiming at Vergil, with Dare telling him to stand down. If all 30 audio logs are recovered, it is Dare that aims at Vergil, with the Rookie motioning for her to stand down, then whistling to Vergil to come over, reflecting the information gained from the logs.


 * During the level, you can see Drones feasting on the deceased NMPD bodies.
 * During the level, there are some "corrupted screens" and sometimes they show binary code which after translation, it says "BARRETT", a reference to level designer Chris Barrett.
 * The design of the chamber holding the Huragok and the Superintendent has almost the exact same design as the Pfhor power core chambers encountered throughout Marathon (Video Game Series).
 * You start the level on Sublevel 07, another 7 reference.