Etalan: Difference between revisions

{{Era|UNSC|HCW}}

|system=[[Igdras system]]<ref name="ss74">''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]'', p. 74</ref>

|body=[[Igdras system|Igdras]]<ref name="ss74"/>

|species=[[Human]]s<ref name="ss74"/>

|population=Ten million<ref name="ss74"/>

|colonized=

|government=[[Unified Earth Government]]<ref name="ss74"/>

|hideb=yes

{{Quote|It's ten million nomads living in a hundred thousand camps. The place is so poor they share underwear.|Avery Johnson<ref name="ss74"/>}}

'''Etalan''', known to the [[Covenant]] as '''E'gini''',<ref name="ss126">''Halo: Silent Storm'', p. 126-130</ref> was a planet of the [[Igdras system]] and an underdeveloped [[human]] [[Outer Colony]] of the [[Unified Earth Government]], located in the [[Polona sector]].<ref name="ss74"/> Etalan was once home to ten million humans who lived a nomadic lifestyle, inhabiting a hundred thousand small settlements, such as camps, villages, and pastures. The people of Etalan were poor and primitive,<ref name="ss74"/> as well as thinly populated. The planet was only host to a single [[spaceport]].<ref name="ss126"/>

In [[2526#March|March 2526]], during the [[Human-Covenant War]], Etalan was attacked and [[Glassing|glassed]] by the [[Covenant]]'s [[Fleet of Inexorable Obedience]].<ref name="ss74"/>

At some point during the [[Insurrection]], [[Avery Johnson]] of the [[UNSC Marine Corps]] participated in a reconnaissance [[operation]] on Etalan.<ref name="ss74"/>

 

On or before [[2526#March|March 8, 2526]],<ref name="ss74"/> Etalan was attacked by the [[Fleet of Inexorable Obedience]], the [[Covenant]]'s primary invasion [[fleet]] commanded by [[Fleetmaster]] [[Nizat 'Kvarosee]]. Ten days later, the [[Covenant fleet]] was still in the process of [[glassing]] the planet, having destroyed nearly half of Etalan's settlements and the colony's only [[spaceport]]. However, the [[Minor Minister of Artifact Survey]] grew impatient with the lengthy glassing process. To ensure the deaths of Etalan's inhabitants without spending another [[cycle]] glassing the planet, 'Kvarosee [[Orbital bombardment|bombarded]] Etalan's shield volcano with [[plasma]] fire, triggering an eruption that filled the sky with ash. With the destruction of Etalan's biosphere ensured, the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience moved on to [[Biko]] in the nearby [[Kolaqoa system]],<ref name="ss126"/> though the fleet left its logistical elements at Etalan until victory at Biko was assured.<ref name="ss252">''Halo: Silent Storm'', p. 252-254</ref>

With the [[Battle of Biko]] ongoing, the {{Class|Point Blank|stealth cruiser}} {{UNSCShip|Vanishing Point}} and two [[prowler]]s traveled to the Igdras system to attack the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience logistics vessels, hoping to stall the fleet's advance into human space.<ref name="ss252"/> Upon arriving over Etalan, the stealth ships deployed [[Spartan-IIs]] to infiltrate the Covenant ships and destroy them from within using [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon]]s. The Spartans ultimately succeeded, destroying most of the logistical ships, aside from the [[DSC-class support ship|agricultural ships]] and a handful of [[Hospital ship|medical vessels]].<ref name="ss272">''Halo: Silent Storm'', p. 272-282</ref> 'Kvarosee called for a new logistics flotilla to collect the surviving vessels at Etalan and rendezvous with his fleet at Biko.<ref name="ss286">''Halo: Silent Storm'', p. 286</ref> After witnessing the flotilla's arrival five days later, Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] deduced the location of the Covenant colony of [[Zhoist]], based on its distance from Etalan.<ref>''Halo: Silent Storm'', p. 295</ref>

Etalan was a planet dotted with green pastures. On the equator, there was a massive shield volcano that could be observed venting ash and steam from orbit.<ref name="ss126"/> After the [[Fleet of Inexorable Obedience]] [[Glassing|glassed]] the planet and destroyed the shield volcano, an eruption was triggered that suffocated Etalan in ash, with slate-gray bands of ground showing between pearl-colored ribbons of smoke and ash. The volcano became a massive orange lake of lava, flooding Etalan's atmosphere with smoke.<ref name="ss263">''Halo: Silent Storm'', p. 263</ref>

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