Template:New Content 2553 was the first year that saw relative peace for humanity as the Covenant ceased to exist[1] following its collapse during the Great Schism and its defeat at the end of the Human-Covenant War. The war formally came to an end in March of 2553 with a treaty agreed upon between the Unified Earth Government and the Swords of Sanghelios. Despite the end of large-scale hostilities and the absence of humanity being threatened with extinction, new factions sprung up in the power vacuum left behind by the ancient empire and new battles followed. 2553 was a year that saw the United Nations Space Command make major advances in terms of its technological prowess and military capability, despite a lesser reach over the galaxy incurred by the loss of so many colonies and assets during the decades of war. Ex-Covenant societies were faced with the challenge of redefining their purpose in a galaxy that no longer provided them with the rigid structure the hegemony had. Some sought revenge on humans and some on others from the Covenant. Some sought to be left alone and others made grabs for power. And some, such as Thel 'Vadam's Swords of Sanghelios, made in-roads with their former enemies for the mutual benefit of all parties.

Events

January

 
January 2553: Ilsa Zane announces her intention to steal the Infinity.

February

 
February 2553: The survivors of the Onyx Conflict within the shield world

March

 
March 2553: The Servants of the Abiding Truth launch an attack on Kolaar Mountain.

April

  • April 1: Jul 'Mdama escapes captivity on Trevelyan via a slipspace portal. He is transported to Hesduros, where he is welcomed by the local Sangheili as a messenger of the gods. Jul uses the locals' religious devotion to his own advantage and the result is the start of a new faction devoted to Covenant ideals.[23]
  • April 5: Kilo-Five returns to Venezia in order to track down the Kig-Yar pirate, Sav Fel, and the insurrectionist, Staffan Sentzke. Serin Osman is promoted to Rear Admiral and a small party is held aboard Port Stanley in her honor by Kilo-Five.
  • April 14: Sav Fel sells the CCS-class battlecruiser Pious Inquisitor to Staffan Sentzke, who intends to use the ship to force UEG authorities to provide answers about the disappearance of his daughter many years earlier. Fel demonstrates the ship's capabilities by using its energy projector to glass Forerunner ruins on Shaps III.[24] This causes Line Installation 444-447 to send an automated distress signal to Covert Support Base 4276, located on planet Gao in the nearby Cordoba system. The distress call awakens the support base's archeon-class ancilla, Intrepid Eye, from stasis. After her requests for a status report, Intrepid Eye attempts to launch a reconnaissance drone, triggering a cave-in which cripples Support Base 4276 almost entirely.[25]
  • Vasily Beloi and Malcolm Geffen infiltrate the Venezian militia in order to gather information about Sentzke and Pious Inquisitor. Following a series of suspicious incidents, Sentzke begins to doubt their cover story and has them detained and tortured. Naomi-010 and Lian Devereaux eventually arrive and successfully extract Mal and Vaz. During the rescue, Sentzke is also taken captive aboard Port Stanley.
  • A Kig-Yar crew led by Shipmistress Chol Von tracks down and boards Pious Inquisitor with the intent of seizing the ship for itself. Kilo-Five boards Pious Inquisitor and a skirmish occurs between it and the Kig-Yar. Chol Von eventually has her crew destroy the ship. Staffan Sentzke is presumed dead in the ensuing explosion, but he actually had managed to escape.
  • Several tourists exploring Gao's Montero Cave System find themselves miraculously cured of various illnesses and the caves quickly see an influx of sick people hoping for similar miracle cures.[26] The cures are actually the work of the Lifeworker Huragok Roams Alone, attached to Gao's Support Base 4276.[25]
  • Commander Murtag Nelson, a field analyst at an ONI listening post, takes note of strange transmissions emanating from the Montero Cave System on Gao. Nelson correctly hypothesizes that a Forerunner ancilla is responding to the bombardment on Shaps III. Admiral Parangosky subsequently gives Nelson command of the 717th Xeno-Materials Exploitation Battalion and tasks them with retrieving the Forerunner AI.[24]

May

  • ONI's Materials Group forms the Damascus Ordnance Commission, headed by major defense companies and sponsored by ONI.[27] The commission places several conditions on the use of MJOLNIR GEN2 variants.[28]
  • May 6: ONI learns the Banished had raided an air base formerly belonging to the Covenant, and that its leader, Atriox, had been captured and taken aboard the assault carrier Enduring Conviction. Twelve hours later, the Enduring Conviction broke formation and contact with the rest of its fleet. The Conviction was hailed, warned, and then fired upon when it ignored orders. The ship performed evasive maneuvers, returned fire and escaped. Shortly after this, the ship and its crew, led by Let 'Volir, swore fealty to the Banished.[29]
  • May 7: The research and development vessel Argent Moon is commissioned by ONI.[30]
  • May 14 (approximately): A UNSC task force enters the Cordoba system and requests permission to conduct research in Gao's Montero Cave System. While Gao's planetary government initially denies the requests, President Aponte eventually allows a small research team to land. The UNSC subsequently deploys the 717th Xeno-Materials Exploitation Battalion, along with the attached Blue Team, to the Montero region and declares the caverns off-limits to anyone else.[26]
  • After the UNSC battalion's arrival, several people are found brutally murdered in the Montero Cave System. The murders are the work of the Forerunner ancilla Intrepid Eye, who seeks to generate conflict among the humans in order to force the UNSC to cease its efforts to capture her.[25]

June

July

 
July 4, 2553: The Battle of Wendosa.

August

September

 
September 2553: Tem'Bhetek engages Rtas 'Vadum and Tul 'Juran aboard the Shadow of Intent.

October

November

  • A pioneer group arrives at Reach to prepare for the planet's eventual reterraforming.[37]
  • The ONI probe delivery drone dispatched in March arrives at Installation 00 and deploys its probes. After initial transmissions confirm the Ark's survival, all of the probes go offline.[22]
  • November 28: Luther Mann, while exploring Trevelyan, discovers the location of Installation 07.[38]

December

  • The UNSC commissions the UNSC Rubicon, a ship equipped with state-of-the-art Forerunner slipspace drive technology, remote contact teams and survey drones, for a manned mission to the Ark.[22]
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Unknown date

Sources

  1. ^ Halo Wars 2 GAMEPLAY - E3 2016 Interview (Interview with Kevin Grace) - "The Covenant are dead"
  2. ^ Halo: Envoy, Chapter 12
  3. ^ Halo: Initiation, Issue #1
  4. ^ Halo Waypoint - Spartans
  5. ^ Halo Waypoint: Catalog Interaction (Query Answer: Human records indicate transition to noncombatant administrative control [ref: UEG] [January 8, 2553]. No notable adjustment in military [bureaucratic tactical] behavior and scope of authority.)
  6. ^ Halo Waypoint - Halo: Glasslands excerpt, Chapter 2
  7. ^ Jessica Shea Twitter Today in Halo - 1/8/2553
  8. ^ Halo Legendary Crate, Data Drop #8
  9. ^ Halo: Glasslands, page 79
  10. ^ a b Halo: Initiation, Issue #3
  11. ^ Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, From the Office of Dr. William Arthur Iqbal
  12. ^ Jessica Shea Twitter Today in Halo - 2/1/2553
  13. ^ Halo: New Blood, pages 49-55 (Google Play edition)
  14. ^ Twitter: Today in Halo 2/15/2553
  15. ^ Halo Wars 2, Phoenix Logs — An Uncomfortable Truth Part 1
  16. ^ Halo Waypoint: Catalog Interaction - Page 14
  17. ^ a b Halo: The Thursday War
  18. ^ Halo 3, campaign level Halo
  19. ^ Halo Legendary Crate, Data Drop #2
  20. ^ Jessica Shea's Twitter - Today in Halo: 3/16/2553
  21. ^ Halo: The Thursday War, page 28
  22. ^ a b c Halo: Hunters in the Dark, Chapter 2
  23. ^ Twitter: Today in Halo 4/1/2553
  24. ^ a b Halo: Last Light, pages 22-23 (Google Play edition)
  25. ^ a b c Halo: Last Light, pages 36-39 (Google Play edition)
  26. ^ a b Halo: Last Light, pages 8-10 (Google Play edition)
  27. ^ Halo Mythos, page 128
  28. ^ Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide
  29. ^ Halo Wars 2, Phoenix Logs — Rise of Atriox III
  30. ^ Halo Waypoint: Argent Moon
  31. ^ Halo: Last Light, pages 5-6 (Google Play edition)
  32. ^ Halo: Last Light, Chapter 28
  33. ^ a b Halo: Last Light, Chapter 28, pages 330-331 (Google Play edition)
  34. ^ a b Halo Waypoint: Catalog Interaction - Page 38
  35. ^ Halo: Shadow of Intent, pages 79-80 (Google Play edition)
  36. ^ Halo: Fractures, "A Necessary Truth"
  37. ^ Halo Waypoint - Catalog Interaction (Page 43)
  38. ^ https://twitter.com/bsangel/status/670658429149540352, Today in Halo
  39. ^ Halo: Retribution Chapter 1
  40. ^ Halo Wars 2 - Phoenix Logs: Rise of Atriox IV
  41. ^ Halo: Escalation - Issue #7
  42. ^ Halo: Reach Legendary Edition - Noble team Statue Instructions
  43. ^ Halo: Escalation - Issue #17
  44. ^ Halo Mythos, p. 132
  45. ^ Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide - Page 152