Battle of Installation 04: Difference between revisions

*[[Soha 'Rolamee]] †

*[[Field Master]] [[Noga 'Putumee]] †

|commanders3    =  

*[[343 Guilty Spark]]

===Operation: RED FLAG===

{{Main|Operation: RED FLAG}}

To undertake this task, the old {{Class|Halcyon|light cruiser}} {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} was chosen and given an [[UNSC Pillar of Autumn#Specifications|extensive series of refits]] to improve its combat potential against Covenant ships. The plan would additionally call for the use of all remaining active-duty [[SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II]] personnel and a "mission specialist" [[Artificial intelligence|AI]]. Additionally, a [[battalion]] of [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]] commanded by Major [[Antonio Silva]] were assigned to the vessel for additional support.<ref>''[[Data Drop]]s'', Data Drop #6</ref> Following his performance at the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]], Captain [[Jacob Keyes]] was chosen to lead the mission.

While the Covenant fleet was initially hesistant to open fire on the ''Autumn'', the humans had no such qualms and Cortana was able to estimate three or four kills on Covenant ships before the ''Autumn'' could be taken out.{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}} The ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'' was one such vessel, forced to retreat to ground to make repairs, later becoming the new HQ for the Covenant ground forces. Meanwhile, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was sent wave after wave of [[Elsedda-pattern Banshee|Banshees]], [[Morsam-pattern Seraph|''Morsam''-pattern Seraphs]]{{Ref/Reuse|FT:E}} and {{Pattern|Brhi Xur|Leech}} boarding craft{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}} to force the humans out of their shell.{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}}

During the battle, installation [[Monitor]] [[343 Guilty Spark]] prepared the defensive {{Class|Confidence|weapon array}}, preparing to fire on all vessels who did not return to a minimum one light-year safe distance. Unfortunately, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was not able to receive this transmission. Luckily, the Monitor accessed the ship's databases and upon learning of the humans' status as [[reclaimer]]s, took the weapons offline and granted them safe passage onto the ring.<ref>''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'', [[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal #1]]</ref>

===Evacuating ship===

{{Quote|I’m initiating Cole Protocol, Article Two. We’re abandoning the ''Autumn''.|Captain Jacob Keyes to Cortana.}}{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}}{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}}

Given the loss of their [[MAC|magnetic accelerator cannon]], Captain Keyes made the decision to initiate Article Two of the [[Cole Protocol]].{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}}{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}} He made the determination that it had become necessary to abandon the cruiser, and in accordance with the protocol, that meant someone would need to be entrusted with the protection of Cortana during the retreat. The captain planned to stay behind to attempt put the ship down himself on the surface of the ring. Cortana protested what she saw as a suicidal decision on Keyes' part, but he simply ordered that she locked in a selection of emergency landing zones and upload them to his [[Neural interface|neural lace]]. As for guardianship of the [[A.I.]], the job naturally fell to the Master Chief. Her [[data crystal chip]] was transferred from a pedestal on the ''Autumn's'' bridge to the housing within the Spartan's MJOLNIR armor. Keyes offered his own [[M6D magnum]] to John and wished him good luck just before the Spartan took his leave.{{Ref/Level|Id=CE:TPOA|CE|The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|The Pillar of Autumn}}{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}}

By the time John, with Cortana now in tow, left the bridge, the Covenant boarders had pushed beyond the areas adjacent to the airlocks they had entered by and had encroached toward the ship's command deck.{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}} A wave had been repulsed by the ''Autumn's'' defenders, but it had come close to reaching the bridge. Ammunition for the captain's sidearm was provided in the form of that which John collected from a fallen ensign. The first to fall to its 12.7x40mm [[M225 Semi-Armor-Piercing High-Explosive]] rounds was a group of [[Unggoy]].{{Ref/Reuse|CE:TPOA}}{{Ref/Reuse|flood1}}

===Rescue of stranded survivors===

{{Main|Landing on Installation 04#Rounding up survivors|l1=Rescuing the survivors}}

In a state of disarray, several evacuating UNSC personnel eventually landed on the Forerunner construct. Some were killed in the landing while others attempted to get hold of one another and survive the Covenant patrols.

After successfully rescuing the survivors from all three lifepods, Cortana informed everyone of her findings after hacking into the [[proselytization network|Covenant battlenet]]; Captain Keyes and a number of personnel survived the landing on the Installation, but have been captured by Covenant forces. The survivors eventually returned to [[Alpha Base (Installation 04)|Alpha Base]] to devise a rescue plan for the Captain.{{Ref/Reuse|flood2}}{{Ref/Reuse|CEHalo}}

At least three UNSC Marines would later be captured by the Covenant and taken to the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', locked in the same brig as Captain Keyes.{{Ref/Level|Id=CET&R|CE|The Truth and Reconciliation}}

===Battle of the Silent Cartographer===

{{Main|Battle of the Silent Cartographer}}

Using the intelligence gathered by Captain Keyes and Cortana, the human forces amassed a squadron for an assault on the [[Silent Cartographer]] island, in their attempt to uncover more information of the Installation. John-117 and a handful of Marines, supported by ''Echo 419'' and ''[[Bravo 022]]'', penetrated the Covenant defenses, journeyed deep within the island's chambers and access-ways, and discovered the location of the Installation's control room.

===Assault on the Control Room===

{{Main|Assault on the Control Room (conflict)}}

After the Battle of the Silent Cartographer, Cortana instructed Foe Hammer to deploy them using navigations she gathered from the discovery of the control room. Alone, John-117 was inserted into a network of tunnels occupied by Covenant forces. The Spartan then received a radio transmission from [[Fireteam Zulu]], who were pinned down in a valley, as he fought his way through the network of tunnels. John-117 assisted Fireteam Zulu in eliminating local Covenant forces and their armor support, then journeyed through a system of adjacent canyons until reaching a dead end, where Fireteam Zulu requested to be evacuated.{{Ref/Novel|TF|Page=201 (2010 edition)}}

==The Flood escapes==

{{Main|Outbreak at the Containment Facility}}

At the same time of the Battle of the Silent Cartographer, Captain Keyes, supported by [[Second squad (Pillar of Autumn)|2nd Squad]] and Pelican dropship [[Victor 933]], devised a plan to infiltrate a [[Flood containment facility|presumed weapon cache]] within a swamp, as per intelligence gathered from [['Qualomee|a captured Sangheili]]. They later met up with [[Fire Team Charlie]], led by Staff Sergeant Johnson, which had proceeded to the structure and engaged the few scattered Covenant forces they encountered in the upper levels of the facility.

[[File:H2A Terminals - Fleet waiting for Autumn.jpg|thumb|left|''Seeker of Truth'' and the Covenant fleet in orbit of Installation 04.]]

What would follow was a great deal of bickering and arguing between the two commanders, with the Prophet appropriating fleet military resources for his own personal goals. He would secretly order the ''[[Undiminished Entelechy]]'' and sister ship ''[[Purity of Spirit]]'' to perform close-range surveys of the ring<ref name="CFbeta">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/canon-fodder-beta-late-than-never ''Halo Waypoint'': Canon Fodder - Beta Late Than Never]</ref> The Prophet would later order an expeditionary force led by [[Sesa 'Refumee]] and [[Loka 'Bandolee]] to investigate the [[Threshold gas mine]]s, leading to 'Vadamee ordering all military forces be concentrated on the human threat. The Prophet would ignore this decree, and order secondary and tertiary artifact recovery groups to investigate the Flood containment facility, believed a weapons cache. The two groups fell silent, leading a fourth group to be dispatched. 'Vadamee would once again order a cease and desist of these actions, with no response given by the Prophet. The Supreme Commander would then dispatch an infantry unit to ''Ascendant Justice'' to relieve the Prophet of command, leading to the boarding party being shot down and 'Vadamee warned that repeated actions would result in further lethality.{{Ref/Reuse|priority}}

===The Last Voyage of the ''Infinite Succor''===

{{Main|Skirmish on Infinite Succor}}

===Battle for the Control Room===

Following the Master Chief and Fireteam Zulu's capture of the control room, the Covenant returned in force to retake the structure and heavily fortified the ice canyons surrounding the region, with numerous Banshee air patrols and heavy vehicles. However, they were unable to breach the facility and were locked out. The Flood began to pour into the region to combat the Covenant and Sentinels there, likely intending to take the control room offline and prevent the activation of the ring. By the time 343 Guilty Spark was able to teleport the Spartan back to the control room to prepare for firing, the Flood and Covenant were heavily entrenched.{{Ref/Reuse|2B}}

===Chaos spreads===

During their extraction, Fireteam Raven's Falcon would be shot down, crashlanding on a remote part of the ring. In this region, the Covenant had made fortification inside another Forerunner structure, with dozens of infantry including [[Evocati]] and [[Mgalekgolo]]. By the time Raven arrived, the Flood were besieging the outpost. Retreating into the structure, Raven would fend off hordes of Flood and Covenant including [[Flood Juggernaut]]s. A Pelican was dispatched to rescue the ODSTs, but constant Banshee attacks made landing difficult, though they were eventually able to reunite with UNSC forces and make an assault on the crash site of the ''Autumn''.{{Ref/Reuse|That's So Raven}}{{Ref/Level|Id=HFR Raven Down|FTR|Raven Down}}

===Battle for the  ''Truth and Reconciliation''===

{{Main|Battle for the Truth and Reconciliation}}

Following the fleet-wide order to evacuate, the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was beset upon by the Flood, attempting to capture the cruiser and use it to escape the ring. The Covenant deployed a strike team to cleanse the ship and ready it for departure, but the security forces would remain bogged down in the fight on the surface against a tidal wave of the parasite.{{Ref/Reuse|flood11}} After getting teleported by Cortana into the halls of the ''Truth and Reconciliation'', John-117 continued with his objective in rescuing Captain Keyes and having him authorize the self-destruction of the ''Autumn''. The pair found themselves in the middle of an ongoing battle between Covenant forces and the Flood forms for the control of the damaged battlecruiser. The SPARTAN fought his way through waves of Covenant and Flood forces and arrived at the bridge where Keyes was located. The pair soon discovered that the captain had been turned into one of the Flood, a [[Proto-Gravemind]]. With no other choice, John-117 forcefully obtained the captain's [[command neural interface]] from his skull and quickly retreated for the hangars, stealing a Banshee to make haste for the ''Autumn''.{{Ref/Level|CE|Keyes}}

During the battle aboard the ''Autumn'', the few remaining UNSC survivors rallied for a final defensive action around the crash site to prevent the Covenant or the Flood from interfering with the Chief's mission, having learned of his intentions to destroy the ring. The Covenant sent a {{Pattern|Deutoros|Scarab}} to destroy the UNSC forces and then to ambush the Chief aboard the cruiser, but this assault was thwarted by the ODSTs of [[Fireteam Raven]]. The remaining Marine forces were then overrun and all survivors in the immediate vicinity were left at the mercy of the ''Autumn's'' imminent detonation.{{Ref/Reuse|That's So Raven}}{{Ref/Level|Id=HFR Last Stand|FTR|Last Stand (Halo Wars 2 level)|Last Stand}}

The Spartan fought his way through Cryo B to reach Engineering. Following Cortana's instructions, he destroyed each of the four engines by launching explosives into the open shafts, destabilizing the containment fields. Cortana calculated that the pair had 15 minutes to evacuate the ship before the engines detonated. The Spartan headed for the shaft of elevator V-1269, where he was ambushed by [[Zuka 'Zamamee]]. The trap almost succeeded, but with Cortana's help, the Chief killed Zuka 'Zamamee by knocking the Sangheili to the bottom of the shaft. He then rode the elevator to a Class-7 Service Corridor located along the ship's dorsal structure. Using a Warthog, he drove along the length of the Corridor to External Access Junction 4C, where Echo 419 was to pick the Chief up one last time. However, two Banshees shot down the Pelican, killing Foe Hammer. John-117 was then forced to drive to Launch Bay 7, where a single [[GA-TL1 Longsword|Longsword]] fighter was still docked. The Spartan successfully boarded the ship and escaped Halo. Moments later, the ''Autumn's'' engines detonated, blowing a five-kilometer hole in the region around the ship and destroying Halo - bringing the battle to an end.{{Ref/Novel|Id=flood12|TF|Chapter=12}}

{{Quote|multi=yes|q1=Just dust and echoes... we're all that's left... We did what we had to do! For Earth! An entire Covenant armada obliterated and the Flood! We had no choice! Halo... it's finished.|[[Cortana]]|q2=No. I think we're just getting started.|[[John-117]]|Conversation between Cortana and the Master Chief following their escape.{{Ref/Reuse|themaw}}}}

===Immediate aftermath===

Although the ringworld was destroyed, it did not mark the end of conflict in the Soell system. After the destruction of Installation 04 and John-117's successful escape, Cortana scanned the installation's debris field for survivors. Soon, multiple Covenant capital ships entered the system. Cortana discovered several cryo pods jettisoned from the ''Pillar of Autumn'' during the initial battle, one of which contained [[Linda-058]], and a Pelican dropship with several survivors. John-117 picked up the survivors in the Longsword, and with their help, boarded and hijacked the Covenant flagship ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' and [[Raid on Reach|headed for Reach]].{{Ref/Novel|Id=First Strike|FS}} The ''Seeker of Truth'' and Supreme Commander 'Vadamee would soon depart for ''High Charity''. During the interim, 'Vadamee would write a [[Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Manual#Report on the Atrocity at Halo|''Report on the Atrocity at Halo'']], detailing his failure to protect the ring and combining the intelligence on John-117 and the UNSC taken from his engagements at Reach and Installation 04<ref name="H2C Manual">''[[Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Manual]]''</ref> as well as send a copy of a [[Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit|Priority Broadcast Log]] taken from transmissions detailing the conflict between 'Vadamee and the Prophet to [[Lak 'Vadamee]], wishing for Lak to know the truth of events before his hearing.{{Ref/Reuse|priority}} The commander was tried in front of the [[High Council]] and stripped of rank,{{Ref/Level|H2|The Heretic}} ultimately only spared a public execution due to the machinations of the [[Prophet of Truth]], who esteemed the title of [[Arbiter]] on the disgraced Sangheili. 'Vadamee was given a new mission; eliminate the group of heretics led by Sesa 'Refumee now holed up in the gas mines of Threshold.{{Ref/Level|Id=H2Arbiter|H2|The Arbiter}}

Only six known members of the ''Pillar of Autumn's'' crew survived the Halo event. A Pelican hiding in the debris field carried four survivors, [[Shiela Polaski|Warrant Officer Shiela Polaski]], Sergeant Avery Johnson, Shock Trooper [[Locklear|Corporal Locklear]], and an [[Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI]] [[Lieutenant]], [[Elias Haverson]].{{Ref/Reuse|First Strike}} John-117 had managed to retrieve three cryo-tubes, one of which contained his fellow Spartan team member, [[Linda-058]]. Linda, who had been clinically dead since the Fall of Reach, was resuscitated at a later time. The people in the other two tubes had died in sleep due to malfunctions. It is not known whether this was a malfunction in one of the cryo storage rooms, or if it happened to almost every tube. Every other person at the battle presumably died when Installation 04 was destroyed.{{Ref/Note|Marines such as [[Gunnery Sergeant]] [[Marcus Stacker]] and [[Private]] [[Chips Dubbo]], were seen again in later battles throughout the trilogy, however their canonical statuses remain in limbo; as they are never mentioned in any of the novels nor does any canonical source explain their fates.}} The [[Museum of Humanity]] would later list a Sergeant [[Thomas Chang]] as having survived the battle.{{Ref/Game|H3|Detail=[[Believe]] - [[Diorama]]}}{{Ref/Note|Thomas Chang's status is uncertain, and it is likely the character was made up by the Museum of Humanity for their display.}}

Following the battle, this group of UNSC survivors led by John-117 would proceed to [[Skirmish over Threshold|board and capture]] the ''Ascendant Justice'' and use it to make their way [[Raid on Reach|back to Reach]]. This sequence of events would lead the group to commencing [[Operation: FIRST STRIKE]], ultimately destroying a [[Truth's fleet|fleet of over 500 Covenant warships]] assembled by the Prophet of Truth in preparation to assault Earth. The survivors would return back to Earth by October 19, leading the UNSC to deploy several recovery convoys of [[Prowler]]s.<ref>''[[Eleventh Hour reports]]'': Part 5 - Subject: Heirlooms</ref> One such Prowler, the {{UNSCShip|Red Horse}}, would be sent to investigate the ONI vessel ''[[Mona Lisa]]'' and Operations: RED CLOUD and WHITE SAND.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/db05ce78845f4120b062c50816008e5d/topics/catalog-interaction/4c3e1c6f-6519-4ee0-83a4-4bac13bf07a3/posts?page=11#post105 ''Halo Waypoint'': Catalog Interaction (post 2963929)] (defunct, [[Catalog/Archive/2014#Post .233|Archive]])</ref> During the operations, the ''Mona Lisa'' would take aboard several samples of the Flood, eventually experimenting with the Flood on Covenant and human prisoners alike, leading to an outbreak on the ship. The ''Red Horse'' would investigate shortly following the departure of the Covenant fleet from the system on October 25, leading to a brief [[Skirmish on Mona Lisa|skirmish]] between the Marine survivors and infected Flood, resulting in the deaths of nearly all involved.{{Ref/Novel|Evo|[[The Mona Lisa]]}} The ''Red Horse'' was able to gather data on several outlying installations such as one structure similar to the Threshold gas mines employed by Sesa 'Refumee, later employed in the War Games as "[[Colossus (map)|Colossus]]".{{Ref/Reuse|WPThreshold}}

During the return journey home, Cortana would write a [[Halo 2 Manual#Secret Transmission .2B Master Chief Section|report]] on the conflict,<ref>''[[Halo 2 Manual]]''</ref> while also using the downtime to begin collating the data recovered from being in the Forerunner and Covenant networks.{{Ref/Reuse|First Strike}} The AI kept control of the Installation's [[Activation index]], unbeknownst to everyone including John-117.<ref name="LC9">''Halo Legendary Crate'', [[Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #9]]</ref> This experience would be one of the major factors later assuring the AI's descent into [[rampancy]], and attributed to as the cause of a number of [[Character interludes|believed-software glitches]] that would later display in John-117's MJOLNIR armor during the later Battle of Earth.{{Ref/Reuse|LC9}} Nonetheless, the data recovered by Cortana and the Master Chief - including his recording of the mysterious [[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals]] - would become later known to [[ONI Section Three]], and later used to assist in unlocking further Forerunner mysteries.<ref name="ARG-1">[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postst135464_CLASSIFIED---HYDRAI-THREAD---GLYPH-CODES.aspx ''Halo Waypoint forums'': CLASSIFIED - HYDRAI THREAD - GLYPH CODES] - ''" PREVIOUSLY, SPARTAN 117 CAME ACROSS A SET OF CURIOUS TERMINALS WHEN FIGHTING HIS WAY THROUGH ALPHA HALO. EACH TERMINAL CONTAINED A VIDEO TRANSMISSION WITH INCREDIBLY VALUABLE INTEL."'' (defunct, [http://web.archive.org/web/20141013002126/https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postst135464_CLASSIFIED---HYDRAI-THREAD---GLYPH-CODES.aspx Archive.org] )</ref><ref name="ARG-2">[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postst151938p15_--CLASSIFIED--SECTION-3-DECODING-CENTER.aspx ''Halo Waypoint forums'': //CLASSIFIED//SECTION 3 DECODING CENTER//] - ''" OVER FOUR YEARS AGO, ONI RESEARCHERS DISCOVERED A NEW WAY TO UNLOCK HIGHLY ENCRYPTED DATA, USING A SUBSET OF ARCANE FORERUNNER SYMBOLS. THIS DISCOVERY CAME AFTER ANALYSIS OF VIDEO TRANSMISSIONS UNCOVERED ON ALPHA HALO BY SPARTAN 117."'' (defunct, [http://web.archive.org/web/20141014023353/https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postst151938p15_--CLASSIFIED--SECTION-3-DECODING-CENTER.aspx Archive.org] )</ref> By October 20, news of the destruction of Installation 04 had reached the civilian populace of Earth, and a ceremony was held to honor the Spartan.<ref>''[[I love bees]]'', [[Axon Clips]], [[Axon Clips Chapter 12|Chapter 12]] - "Explanation"</ref> Naval intelligence AIs continued to disagree on the Covenant's motives on the ring, with some falsely believing that the Covenant had already found the ring and wanted to prevent humanity from find it also.{{Ref/Reuse|jason}} As part of public awareness campaigns conducted by the [[ONI Section Two]] including initiatives like [[Outpost Discovery]], the Battle of Installation 04 was one of many subjects covered by Director [[Schaefer]] in [[File CHELAN 20200303]].<ref>''[[ONI Archive – Conflict Evolved - Halo: CE Anniversary]]''</ref> A recount of the battle was later included in the UNSC's [[Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual|Official Spartan Field Manual]].{{Ref/Reuse|OSFM}}

*''[[Halo: Divine Wind]]'' {{Mo}}

*''[[Halo Infinite: Memory Agent]]'' {{Mo}}

==Notes==