Dawn

Dawn is the second level of Halo 4's campaign. It involves John-117 awaking from cryo sleep and fighting the Covenant remnant in the remains of the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn. Accessing John's service record during the level grants the player the Digging up the Past achievement, while completing the level on any difficulty unlocks the Dawn achievement.

Transcript

Panoramic view of large room filled with individual chambers with beds in it. The beds are all filled with children, most of them sleeping. However, one chamber is lit, with the child inside sitting up. Fade away to another view of a row of the chambers as the camera slides down. The lit chamber is on the left side. The camera switches to a first-person view of a person walking up the row. The camera arrives at the lit chamber. The shirt the child is wearing has a visible name: John. The camera cuts to a zoomed in view of John's face as it stares at the camera. The camera then switches to a close-up shot of two bright-blue eyes and gray hair.

• Interrogator: "Tell me about the children."

The camera then cuts to a side-view of the person, clearly a female. A shadowy figure straightens in the background.

• Interrogator: "Doctor Halsey?"

Doctor Halsey raises her head and looks at the interrogator.

• Catherine Halsey: "You already know everything."

The interrogator gesticulates for a moment.

• Interrogator: "You kidnapped them."

A teenager, bare-chested and wearing an oxygen mask, lies down on an operating table. A medical tech stands nearby as scans begin running on the body of the teenager.

• Catherine Halsey: "Children's minds are more easily accepting of indoctrination. Their bodies are more adaptive to augmentation."

The camera moves to a panoramic view of the teenager. As more scan lines move up and down his body, the machines on the operating table automatically move into position to begin the operation. The camera moves behind one of the machines. When it comes out, the boy is replaced with a large figure in MJOLNIR armor. The camera zooms out to show four med techs surrounding the SPARTAN, making examinations.

• Catherine Halsey: "The result was the ultimate soldier."

Camera cuts to the underside of a Covenant ship as it flies over a city.

• Catherine Halsey: "And because of our success, when the Covenant invaded, we were ready."

The Covenant ship moves over the city as tiny transports begin flying and spreading out over the city. Camera cuts to a side view of the Covenant ship's bow as more transports flood out. The scene shifts back to the interrogation.

• Interrogator: "Doctor Halsey, you're bending history to your own favor and you know it. You developed the Spartans to crush human rebellion, not to fight the Covenant."

The interrogator sits back and stands up.

Scene shifts to the Covenant attacking a human city. Civilians run away as Banshees strafe and fire at them.

• Catherine Halsey: "When one human world after another fell..."

Close-up shot of a civilian as he runs away. He doesn't get far however when an Elite stabs him from the behind with an Energy Sword, killing him instantly.

• Catherine Halsey: "When my Spartans were all that stood between humanity and extinction..."

Several Spartans are shown skydiving to the surface. The leader draws out his assault rifle as he activates his jetpack to slow his fall. The Spartans drop to the ground in the midst of the chaos. They face toward a group of Sangheili warriors.

• Catherine Halsey: "Nobody was concerned about why they were originally built."

The leader roars and the groups join in combat. As plasma rifle fire hits one of the Spartans, flaring up his shield, two other Spartans emerge from cover with their assault rifles and fire back. As Elites fall from the fire, the leader of the pack stands strong with his energy sword and plasma rifle, firing back at the Spartans.

• Interrogator: "So you feel that, in the end, your actions were justified."

The Spartans move in, jumping over rubble and firing at the Elites. The scene shifts back to the interrogation. Doctor Halsey leans in on the table, looking up at the interrogator.

• Catherine Halsey: "My work saved the human race."

• Interrogator: "Do you think the Spartans' lack of basic humanity helped?"

Halsey looks at him in curiosity.

• Catherine Halsey: "What are you after? The others before you were Naval Intelligence, but you... You're something else."

Trivia

Several cases resembling the Halo 4 Limited Edition can be found floating in the ship's airlocks. One can also be found in the ship's observation deck.

Gallery

• 

  A first-person view of the cryo bay of the Forward Unto Dawn.

• 

  John-117 encountering a Covenant lance.

• 

  John combating an Elite with an MA5D ICWS.

• 

  John fighting boarders with an M6H PDWS.

• MC fighting against Storm.jpg

  The Master Chief encountering enemy forces. A CCS-class battlecruiser can be seen out the window.