Catherine Halsey: Difference between revisions
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===Xenoarchaeology and other investigations=== | ===Xenoarchaeology and other investigations=== | ||
{{Quote|It's interesting that you should bring up Halsey. I know she'll likely be involved in anything we do with RED FLAG, but she's been on the end of a very long leash for a while now and my patience is wearing thin. Since she stumbled onto that artifact in Visegrád, she's been rummaging around in the wrong file cabinets—mine, and more specifically: the data we collected from [[Onyx]]. At this point, I'd be shocked if she hadn't pieced together what we believe the planet actually is, but I'm keeping her in [[Viery Territory|Viery]] with half a dozen eyes watching her every move.|[[Margaret Parangosky]], [[Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence|Commander-in-Chief]] of ONI, bristles at Halsey's voracious unsanctioned investigations in a message to Vice Admiral Stanforth.}}<ref name="DD3">[[Data Drop]] [[Data Drop/Three|#3]]</ref> | {{Quote|It's interesting that you should bring up Halsey. I know she'll likely be involved in anything we do with RED FLAG, but she's been on the end of a very long leash for a while now and my patience is wearing thin. Since she stumbled onto that artifact in Visegrád, she's been rummaging around in the wrong file cabinets—mine, and more specifically: the data we collected from [[Onyx]]. At this point, I'd be shocked if she hadn't pieced together what we believe the planet actually is, but I'm keeping her in [[Viery Territory|Viery]] with half a dozen eyes watching her every move.|[[Margaret Parangosky]], [[Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence|Commander-in-Chief]] of ONI, bristles at Halsey's voracious unsanctioned investigations in a message to Vice Admiral Stanforth.}}<ref name="DD3">[[Data Drop]] [[Data Drop/Three|#3]]</ref> | ||
[[File:Halsey'sJournalSite.PNG|thumb|300px|left|By June of [[2550]] Doctor Halsey had begun to link disparate locations of interest throughout space to one another, still at that point being kept in the dark regarding their [[Xenoarchaeology|xenoarchaeological significance]].<ref name="HJ6350"/>]] | [[File:Halsey'sJournalSite.PNG|thumb|300px|left|By June of [[2550]] Doctor Halsey had begun to link disparate locations of interest throughout space to one another, still at that point being kept in the dark regarding their [[Xenoarchaeology|xenoarchaeological significance]].<ref name="HJ6350"/> These included [[Hyperion Station]], [[Onyx]], and [[Jazz-9]].<ref name="HJ6350"/>]] | ||
On [[2550#April|April 6, 2550]] Halsey reflected on her history as a mother, regretting her inability to dissuade Miranda from joining the military and her personally having arranged for Miranda's assignment to the {{UNSCShip|Hilbert}}.<ref name="HJ4650">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''April 6, 2550''</ref> Miranda had recently been one of only two people to make it off the ''Hilbert'' alive after she'd given the order to sacrifice it to take out a [[Covenant]] [[Covenant destroyer|destroyer]] threatening three UNSC [[UNSC corvette|corvette]]s. As such, Keyes was presented with a [[Silver Star]], the new commander's insignia, and command of the {{Class|Stalwart|light frigate}} {{UNSCShip|In Amber Clad}}. She'd invited her mother to the ceremony after years of not speaking to her, but Halsey hadn't gone. In her journal she noted that while she could explain her refusal by pointing to the fact that [[Jacob Keyes|Jacob]] would be there or the half-dozen projects she was neck-deep in the final stages of, she knew the real reason but didn't want to put it to paper.<ref name="HJ4650"/> By [[2550#June|June 3 of that year]] Professor [[Laszlo Sorvad]] had begun an archaeological study of the debris field near the village of [[Visegrád]].<ref name="HJ6350">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''June 3, 2550''</ref> With his help and without Halsey's authority, [[ONI Section Two|Section Two]] "leaked" that the site may contain a precolonization meteorite metallurgical and astrophysical scientific value. Halsey wondered why ONI didn't just say the location was a dumpsite for toxins and other radiologicals, but she noted that this leak gave her more insight into how Section Two thought—bolstering her knowledge of what to watch for in the future.<ref name="HJ6350"/> | On [[2550#April|April 6, 2550]] Halsey reflected on her history as a mother, regretting her inability to dissuade Miranda from joining the military and her personally having arranged for Miranda's assignment to the {{UNSCShip|Hilbert}}.<ref name="HJ4650">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''April 6, 2550''</ref> Miranda had recently been one of only two people to make it off the ''Hilbert'' alive after she'd given the order to sacrifice it to take out a [[Covenant]] [[Covenant destroyer|destroyer]] threatening three UNSC [[UNSC corvette|corvette]]s. As such, Keyes was presented with a [[Silver Star]], the new commander's insignia, and command of the {{Class|Stalwart|light frigate}} {{UNSCShip|In Amber Clad}}. She'd invited her mother to the ceremony after years of not speaking to her, but Halsey hadn't gone. In her journal she noted that while she could explain her refusal by pointing to the fact that [[Jacob Keyes|Jacob]] would be there or the half-dozen projects she was neck-deep in the final stages of, she knew the real reason but didn't want to put it to paper.<ref name="HJ4650"/> By [[2550#June|June 3 of that year]] Professor [[Laszlo Sorvad]] had begun an archaeological study of the debris field near the village of [[Visegrád]].<ref name="HJ6350">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''June 3, 2550''</ref> With his help and without Halsey's authority, [[ONI Section Two|Section Two]] "leaked" that the site may contain a precolonization meteorite metallurgical and astrophysical scientific value. Halsey wondered why ONI didn't just say the location was a dumpsite for toxins and other radiologicals, but she noted that this leak gave her more insight into how Section Two thought—bolstering her knowledge of what to watch for in the future.<ref name="HJ6350"/> She also began urging Sorvad to migrate the local population elsewhere but he did not heed her advice.<ref name="HJ51051">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''May 10, 2551''</ref> It was around this time that Catherine then began to investigate files under the purview of [[CINCONI]] [[Margaret Parangosky]] without permission, especially those related to the planet [[Onyx]] in the [[Zeta Doradus system]].<ref name="DD3"/> | ||
On [[2550#November|November 23]] the [[Official Secrets Act of 2550]] was handed down, regulating the confidentiality and nondisclosure of any official [[messenger satchel]].<ref name="HJ112350"/> This additional measure struck Halsey as onerous and when she made inquiries regarding it to [[Michael Stanforth|Stanforth]] he uncharacteristicallt deflected them. Catherine speculated in her journal that the new regulation might relate to [[Visegrád]] or some of the other rumored [[Forerunner|sites]] she'd been collecting data on, and while she did appreciate the need for secrecy she did not appreciate relevant data being kept from her. If indeed Visegrád was [[Forerunner|what]] she and others all thought it might be, she reasoned—and if there were other such sites, she wondered who could be positioning themselves to assay the larger picture.<ref name="HJ112350">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''November 23, 2550''</ref> By [[2551#February|February 20, 2551]] the {{UNSCShip|Hopeful}}, the UNSC's largest medical facility, had departed Reach with a minimal escort.<ref name="HJ22051">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''February 20, 2551''</ref> According to Halsey's own sources, it was accompanied by one ONI prowler in addition to a single destroyer. The ''Hopeful'''s A.I. was unusually tight-lipped when [[Kalmiya]] asked about its destination. This, plus the late addition of carcinogenic, mutagenic, and experimental chemicals to its manifest among other oddities, piqued the doctor's curiosity. She questioned in her journal why Stanforth would keep any clandestine [[ONI Section Three|Section Three]] medical experiments from her. To her irritation, inquiries she made on the matter were met with dead ends.<ref name="HJ22051"/> The facility returned by February 27 and Vice Admiral [[Ysionris Jeromi|Jeromi]] even invited Halsey to come aboard for a look at its new [[Flash cloning|flash-clone organ]] facility.<ref name="HJ22751">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''February 27, 2551''</ref> Once they were together he abruptly steered their conversation to tell her he knew she was "fishing" before she could even ask him anything related to the ship's short absence. He also claimed that he knew very little himself and couldn't tell her what he did know, under threat of death.<ref name="HJ22751"/> | On [[2550#November|November 23]] the [[Official Secrets Act of 2550]] was handed down, regulating the confidentiality and nondisclosure of any official [[messenger satchel]].<ref name="HJ112350"/> This additional measure struck Halsey as onerous and when she made inquiries regarding it to [[Michael Stanforth|Stanforth]] he uncharacteristicallt deflected them. Catherine speculated in her journal that the new regulation might relate to [[Visegrád]] or some of the other rumored [[Forerunner|sites]] she'd been collecting data on, and while she did appreciate the need for secrecy she did not appreciate relevant data being kept from her. If indeed Visegrád was [[Forerunner|what]] she and others all thought it might be, she reasoned—and if there were other such sites, she wondered who could be positioning themselves to assay the larger picture.<ref name="HJ112350">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''November 23, 2550''</ref> By [[2551#February|February 20, 2551]] the {{UNSCShip|Hopeful}}, the UNSC's largest medical facility, had departed Reach with a minimal escort.<ref name="HJ22051">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''February 20, 2551''</ref> According to Halsey's own sources, it was accompanied by one ONI prowler in addition to a single destroyer. The ''Hopeful'''s A.I. was unusually tight-lipped when [[Kalmiya]] asked about its destination. This, plus the late addition of carcinogenic, mutagenic, and experimental chemicals to its manifest among other oddities, piqued the doctor's curiosity. She questioned in her journal why Stanforth would keep any clandestine [[ONI Section Three|Section Three]] medical experiments from her. To her irritation, inquiries she made on the matter were met with dead ends.<ref name="HJ22051"/> The facility returned by February 27 and Vice Admiral [[Ysionris Jeromi|Jeromi]] even invited Halsey to come aboard for a look at its new [[Flash cloning|flash-clone organ]] facility.<ref name="HJ22751">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''February 27, 2551''</ref> Once they were together he abruptly steered their conversation to tell her he knew she was "fishing" before she could even ask him anything related to the ship's short absence. He also claimed that he knew very little himself and couldn't tell her what he did know, under threat of death.<ref name="HJ22751"/> | ||
[[File:Babd catha forerunner complex.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Forerunner ship]] | [[File:Babd catha forerunner complex.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Forerunner ship]] | ||
By [[2551#May|May of 2551]] Catherine had begun to lead the excavation of an ancient [[Forerunner]] [[Babd Catha Forerunner vessel|vessel]] that lay [[Babd Catha Forerunner complex|buried]] beneath ONI's [[SWORD Base]] within the [[Babd Catha Ice Shelf]] in northern [[Eposz]].<ref name="DD2">[[Data Drop]] [[Data Drop/Two|#2]]</ref><ref name="DD3" | By [[2551#May|May of 2551]] Catherine had begun to lead the excavation of an ancient [[Forerunner]] [[Babd Catha Forerunner vessel|vessel]] that lay [[Babd Catha Forerunner complex|buried]] beneath ONI's [[SWORD Base]] within the [[Babd Catha Ice Shelf]] in northern [[Eposz]].<ref name="DD2">[[Data Drop]] [[Data Drop/Two|#2]]</ref><ref name="DD3"/><ref name="HRTP">''[[Halo: Reach]]'', ''[[The Package (level)|The Package]]''</ref> Even so, her residence remained in [[Csongrád]] where she also continued to work with Doctor Sorvad on the Visegrád findings.<ref name="DD3"/> On May 8 she was interviewed by analyst [[B.M. Parkes]] so that they might conduct a [[Hemley and Aubourn Behavior Analysis|Hemley and Aubourn behavior analysis]] of her.<ref name="DD3"/> Following the encounter Parkes recorded that she had not been terribly forthcoming and ultimately recommended assigning two to three handlers to her at both sites where she was working. Parkes also was confident she needed to be surveilled were she to be called off-planet, though her leaving Reach was something they and their colleagues strongly discouraged at that time.<ref name="DD3"/> Two days later Halsey noted in her journal that a security issue which she blamed Sorvad for had caused her to begin keeping an eye on the inhabitants of [[Visegrád]] to ensure they didn't disappear thanks to Section Three.<ref name="HJ51051"/> As an insurance policy, she told Stanforth that the people there for valuable for being the only ones with extended exposure to the site under study and as such may need to be studied. She met with Sorvad and he assured her that only certain members of the dig team and a few other "necessary parties" on her side had seen the items recovered from the site. He insisted on continuing the work with only a skeleton crew of his most trusted people and promised he would not tolerate "another [[Farragut Station]]", referring to the communications outpost. Halsey simply nodded but was displeased, wondering if Sorvad might actually know what had happened at Farragut Station in the past and the reason for its relocation.<ref name="HJ51051"/> On [[2551#May|May 15]] Kalmiya caught a glimpse of several documents in Vice Admiral Stanforth's [[Beta-5 Division|Beta-5]] server which ranged from service order transfers of existing Spartan-IIs to highly-classified non-Spartan-II detachments.<ref name="HJ51551">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''May 15, 2551''</ref> This had evidently been going on for years, and Halsey was incensed at having been kept in the dark about it. She resolved to not let this go, and as she had a list of names with [[James Ackerson|one man]] she considered particularly obscene at the top, she planned to send Kalmiya back in as soon as she got a handle on the affairs with Sorvad.<ref name="HJ51551"/> | ||
On the morning of [[2552#July|July 18, 2552]] Catherine got to have a brief talk with Admiral Stanforth concerning the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV|protracted battle]] that had just concluded at [[Sigma Octanus IV]].<ref name="HJ71852">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''July 18, 2552''</ref> This followed the normal reporting on it and by the end of the day she had also read through both the admiral's after-action report on the battle (given to her by him) and the press releases put out by [[ONI Section Two|Section Two]].<ref name="HJ71852"/><ref name="HJ72052"/> Halsey's interest was piqued when she saw [[Jacob Keyes]]' name and that of his ship, the {{UNSCShip|Iroquois}}, featured prominently in the reporting, so she found herself skipping ahead to confirm he had survived.<ref name="HJ71852"/> In her journal she surmised that the maneuver being dubbed "the [[Keyes Loop]]" had been inspired by one of Admiral [[Preston Cole|Cole]]'s. A heavily redacted section of the after-action report that detailed, as far as Halsey could tell, a groundside mission involving [[Blue Team]], was of the most pressing concern to her. She was unsure why Spartans would have been committed there, seeing as the planet was in all probability about to be glassed at the time, but even [[Kalmiya]] was unable to break the section's encryption. The Covenant's return to the planet following its first repulsion led her to conclude it must have wanted something on it, so she resolved to follow up on this line of inquiry.<ref name="HJ71852"/> Two days later Stanforth pretended to have never given Halsey access to the files he had, which made her think others must have been listening in on their conversation.<ref name="HJ72052">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''July 20, 2552''</ref> She had noticed a recent intensification of paranoia and security around her, after all. She was certain she was missing something in the reporting which he wanted her to see that should be glaringly obvious.<ref name="HJ72052"/> The next day, [[2552#July|July 21]], [[Laszlo Sorvad|Sorvad]] sent her a brief, cryptic message on his Theta channel.<ref name="HJ72152">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''July 21, 2552''</ref> He claimed to have made a latchkey discovery that was too important to send through the data link he had with him, and since he could neither leave the field to deliver the information in person, he said he would send it through the [[Visegrád]] [[Visegrád Relay|communication relay hub]]. After more than six hours since his message Halsey had still received nothing, but she decided against second-guessing him and elected to simply continue waiting.<ref name="HJ72152"/> | On the morning of [[2552#July|July 18, 2552]] Catherine got to have a brief talk with Admiral Stanforth concerning the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV|protracted battle]] that had just concluded at [[Sigma Octanus IV]].<ref name="HJ71852">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''July 18, 2552''</ref> This followed the normal reporting on it and by the end of the day she had also read through both the admiral's after-action report on the battle (given to her by him) and the press releases put out by [[ONI Section Two|Section Two]].<ref name="HJ71852"/><ref name="HJ72052"/> Halsey's interest was piqued when she saw [[Jacob Keyes]]' name and that of his ship, the {{UNSCShip|Iroquois}}, featured prominently in the reporting, so she found herself skipping ahead to confirm he had survived.<ref name="HJ71852"/> In her journal she surmised that the maneuver being dubbed "the [[Keyes Loop]]" had been inspired by one of Admiral [[Preston Cole|Cole]]'s. A heavily redacted section of the after-action report that detailed, as far as Halsey could tell, a groundside mission involving [[Blue Team]], was of the most pressing concern to her. She was unsure why Spartans would have been committed there, seeing as the planet was in all probability about to be glassed at the time, but even [[Kalmiya]] was unable to break the section's encryption. The Covenant's return to the planet following its first repulsion led her to conclude it must have wanted something on it, so she resolved to follow up on this line of inquiry.<ref name="HJ71852"/> Two days later Stanforth pretended to have never given Halsey access to the files he had, which made her think others must have been listening in on their conversation.<ref name="HJ72052">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''July 20, 2552''</ref> She had noticed a recent intensification of paranoia and security around her, after all. She was certain she was missing something in the reporting which he wanted her to see that should be glaringly obvious.<ref name="HJ72052"/> The next day, [[2552#July|July 21]], [[Laszlo Sorvad|Sorvad]] sent her a brief, cryptic message on his Theta channel.<ref name="HJ72152">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''July 21, 2552''</ref> He claimed to have made a latchkey discovery that was too important to send through the data link he had with him, and since he could neither leave the field to deliver the information in person, he said he would send it through the [[Visegrád]] [[Visegrád Relay|communication relay hub]]. After more than six hours since his message Halsey had still received nothing, but she decided against second-guessing him and elected to simply continue waiting.<ref name="HJ72152"/> | ||
