Installation 00: Difference between revisions

In [[2555]], the Ark was partially restored and Tragic Solitude enacted its plan. Using Kodiak to activate the process, Tragic Solitude initiated a countdown to the rings' firing in several weeks. This was so that someone within the Milky Way galaxy would open a portal to the Ark in an attempt to stop the countdown, allowing the monitor to dispatch its [[Retriever Sentinel]]s to kill all sentient species and mine their planets to repair the Ark. The countdown was discovered on the intact Halo rings soon after and a human-Sangheili joint task force departed to the Ark through the [[Portal at Voi]]. The expedition's ship was intercepted and brought down above the Ark by Tragic Solitude's Retrievers, but the crew survived and managed to reach the Array's control center and stop the countdown. However, the portal was still open and Tragic Solitude deployed a fleet of Retrievers to Earth in an attempt to mine the [[Sol system]]'s worlds, causing heavy damage to the region surrounding the portal as well as the [[UNSC Home Fleet]]. However, the UNSC-Sangheili crew managed to thwart the monitor's plan and the Retrievers were recalled, with the monitor ending up destroyed. UNSC reinforcements were deployed through the portal to the Ark soon after and rescued the expeditionary crew. With Solitude destroyed and the Retrievers now dormant, the UNSC began to establish research facilities on the Ark and study the Sentinels in hopes that they could be commanded to continue repairing the Installation.<ref name="Hunters"/>

Installation 00 resembled a massive flattened dish with a series of eight curved arms, known as spires, four large and four small, arranged around its rim, similar to the petals of a flower. The entire upper surface was [[Terraforming|terraformed]], with oceans, forests and deserts.<ref name="The Ark"/><ref name="Covenant"/> Installation 00 was {{Convert|127530|km|mi|sigfig=5}} in diameter and thus one of the largest known Forerunner constructs.<ref name="vis"/> Spread throughout the installation are hundreds of refugia, artificial biomes designed to sustain diverse flora and fauna as part of the Conservation Measure, each of these refugia are separated by massive quarantine walls.<ref>'''[[Halo Mythos]]''', ''page 123''</ref>  

At the center of the installation was the [[Foundry]], an enormous circular facility used to construct Halos. The core of the 10,000-kilometer-wide Foundry was a hollow space, home to a stripped remnant of a material-rich celestial body used to obtain the vast amounts of resources required for the construction of a Halo ring. The Foundry generated so much heat that the Ark required multiple cooling stations. At least two such systems spanned a snowy gorge; it is possible that the massive cooling systems caused this icy climate.<ref>'''Halo 3''' level ''[[Narrows]]'': ''"Without cooling systems such as these, excess heat from the Ark's forges would render the construct uninhabitable."''</ref>

Like the [[shield world]]s, Installation 00 possessed an [[Astroengineering#Stars|artificial sun]].<ref name="The Ark"/><ref name="Covenant"/><ref name="Halo"/>

Like the Halos, Installation 00 featured a [[Cartographer]] facility, a map room that could pinpoint any location on the installation.<ref name="The Ark"/> Similarly to the Halos, the Ark featured a control room from which the array could be activated. This [[Installation 00 Citadel|citadel]] was protected by a system of [[Barrier tower|energy shield barriers]] that circled the center of the disk. These barriers were controlled by towers that circumscribed the center of the installation.<ref name="Covenant"/>

The Ark's small defenses were [[Aggressor Sentinel]]s created by numerous [[Sentinel manufacturing facility|Sentinel factories]] just like at the rings. The Retriever Sentinels could also be used offensively, though they were not usually outfitted with weapons until Solitude began arming them. The Ark was also guarded by [[armigers]], humanoid defense droids that were capable of attacking with energy rifles and staves. Tragic Solitude could also take control of the Ark's wildlife and even people through manipulating their brain waves.<ref name="Hunters"/>

The Ark had a habitable surface on each of its spokes and on the majority of the inner circle, apart from the foundry. This terrain was intended to support cataloged life forms prior to being reseeded throughout the galaxy.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 334-336''</ref> These landscapes and biomes were as diverse as those of Earth and of the Halos, consisting of deserts,<ref name="The Ark"/> taiga,<ref name="Covenant"/> and deciduous forests.<ref>'''Halo 3''', level ''[[Isolation]]''</ref> Several bodies of water occur across the installation. As such, the Ark can sustain its own ecosystem, providing a variety of habitation for many kinds of life.

As the Ark was located outside the galaxy, isolated in a black void of space, there were no nearby natural sources of light to power the installation and facilitate the survival of biological organisms on its surface. To counter this problem, the Ark was equipped with an artificial structure consisting of a bright, sun-like light, with several metal arms jutting from its center. The light source "scanned" over certain areas to generate day/night cycles, further contributing to the growth of vegetation and controlling weather patterns.<ref>[http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=32604077&postRepeater1-p=1 '''Bungie.net''': ''What IS this thing?!'']</ref>