Catherine Halsey: Difference between revisions

Over the course of the engagement that ensued on the surface, Blue Team followed a group of Covenant within the mines beneath Black Reef and contact was eventually lost with them.<ref name="HCD2">''[[Halo: Collateral Damage]]'', ''[[Halo: Collateral Damage Issue 2|Issue #2]]''</ref> Yao was anxious to know what the Spartans were doing and was also overly concerned that they wouldn't be able to escape back to the surface, seeing as the mine entrance they'd entered through had been blown up. Halsey confidently asserted, however, that they were just following their orders and that their resourcefulness should not be underestimated. As the fighting wore on, both planetside and in orbit, the probabilities of both tactical victory and survival of the UNSC fleet began to decrease sharply. At the recommendation of Nora, Yao ordered a general evacuation order for all UNSC personnel on the surface and also ordered for Blue Team to be located so they could provide extraction coordinates. Halsey asked that one Pelican be set aside specifically for her Spartans but Yao just told her to ask again once they reestablished comm contact.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD2}} Blue Team was able to exit the mine by moving underwater toward the shore of the island Black Reef sat on.<ref name="HCD3">''[[Halo: Collateral Damage]]'', ''[[Halo: Collateral Damage Issue 3|Issue #3]]''</ref> Yao, worried, inquired as to whether Mjolnir was designed for submarine operations, to which Halsey admitted it wasn't but surmised that her Spartans must be improvising. The Pelican ''[[Tango 807]]'' collected the team and ferried it back to the ''Persian Gate'' and Halsey met the four of them as they exited. John was incensed that members of the [[United Rebel Front]] who had aided them against the Covenant were being left behind to die, but Halsey tried to make him understand that every fight will always involve some collateral damage and that the most important thing was that he got his team out. She then pushed to find out if he had been able to ascertain what the Covenant had been looking for in the mines. The ''Persian Gate'' jumped from the system a short time later, leaving Alpha Corvi II to the aliens.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD3}}

[[File:HJ Drawing.PNG|thumb|300px|left|Blue Team had encountered [[Sangheili]] on [[Alpha Corvi II]] so it is likely Doctor Halsey also knew of the saurian race when she [[Dr. Halsey's personal journal|drew]] these representations of Covenant species.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD1}}{{Ref/Reuse|HJ22426}}]]

On [[2526#February|February 24, 2526]], Halsey puzzled in her journal over the meaning of the term "Covenant", specifically wondering whether it referred to an agreement between the various species or to a bond believed to be shared between them and a higher power they worshiped.<ref name="HJ22426">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''February 24, 2526''</ref> She believed that finding the answer was necessary in order to better understand and exploit the aliens' psychology. In addition, she questioned how many races might belong to the collective that yet remained unknown to humans.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ22426}} On [[2526|March 5 of 2526]] twelve Spartans of [[Gold Team|Gold]], [[Green Team|Green]], and [[Blue Team|Blue]] teams [[Skirmish over Netherop|boarded]] a [[Covenant]] [[Covenant frigate|frigate]] above the uninhabited planet of [[Netherop]] in the [[Ephyra system]].<ref name="HSS2">''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]'', ''Chapter 2''</ref> During the boarding action a sensor operator on a nearby [[prowler]] activated SQUADCOM and gave away the Spartans' presence.<ref name="HSS3">''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]'', ''Chapter 3''</ref> Following the ship's destruction, Halsey shared a portion of their [[TEAMCOM]] download with the responsible crewman and his commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander [[Hector Nyeto]], so that they could hear how the Spartans had reacted to being compromised.<ref name="HSS7">''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]'', ''Chapter 7''</ref> Nyeto later claimed that Halsey had yelled at the operator and by the time she let them both go he was so sick about the mistake that he was volunteering to find [[Daisy-023]] to introduce himself.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS7}} Unknown to Halsey then, the activation had actually been intentional, as Nyeto and those loyal to him wanted the Spartans killed on behalf of the [[Insurrection]].{{Ref/Reuse|HSS23}}

By [[2526#March|March 7]] she was aboard the {{Class|Valiant|super-heavy cruiser}} {{UNSCShip|Everest}} within a deep space transitional zone of the [[Dynizi system]].<ref name="HSS4">''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]'', ''Chapter 4''</ref> At shortly after 0840 hours, in a compartment located within the Flag Deck's secure conference suite, Halsey met with vice admirals Stanforth and [[Preston Cole]], who commanded the ''Everest''. The three of them had met to plan a means by which the Navy could feasibly fight back against the Covenant. Catherine had also concluded that [[Staff Sergeant]] [[Avery Johnson]] of the [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] would also be a valuable asset to have at their disposal, so he soon joined the meeting as well. When Johnson entered the room he found Halsey forcefully arguing the necessity of another attempt at capturing a [[Covenant]] ship, [[Skirmish over Netherop|such a mission]] having been recently tried and failed by twelve of her Spartans. She argued that it was of paramount importance that they gathered as much of the aliens' technology as they could, since she believed the only way to beat the aggressors was through reverse-engineering it. She also was of the opinion that the best strategy at that moment would involve massing fleets at strong points, leaving most colonies undefended while she and others within ONI's [[Materials Group]] worked over the next year or two to deliver the ability to fight back. Halsey implored Stanforth to make FLEETCOM understand this, but ultimately backed down and admitted that she had been making assumptions about the aliens' strategy that were unjustified with what little they knew about them. In the face of this admission, however, she stressed once more the importance of capturing an enemy vessel. As far as she was concerned the recent try had not been a total failure thanks to the capture of a few [[Type-26 Banshee]]s and the destruction of [[Radiant Arrow|the ship]]. It was with reluctance that Halsey finally agreed such an acquisition couldn't be the prime objective of the [[Operation: SILENT STORM|upcoming operation]]—it would need to be secondary to blunting the enemy's advance against their worlds. When the conversation eventually turned to why Avery had been handpicked to assist with this op Halsey reminded him of his experience [[First Battle of Harvest|fighting]] the Covenant just a little over a year prior and his history as an [[ORION Project]] volunteer. She had hoped his [[Special operations]] background and creativity exhibited at [[Harvest]] would lend themselves to the creation of new infiltration tactics for each ship they targeted. Additionally, the doctor pointed out that his experiences with ORION made him able to relate to the Spartans, introducing the sergeant to what they were and how they had been trained. Stanforth described Johnson's role to be a sort of "big brother" to the Spartans during the mission, with Halsey making sure he understood he'd never be able to replace [[John-117|their squad leader]].{{Ref/Reuse|HSS4}}

===Etalan===

{{Main|Battle over Etalan}}

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===Naraka===

===Total War===