Distress beacon: Difference between revisions

{{Era|HCW|Post}}

A '''distress beacon''' is an automated signal device used in the event of an emergency in space. Various forms of distress beacons exist, including '''emergency locator beacons''',<ref name="fs">'''[[Halo: First Strike|Halo: First Strike (2010)]]''', "[[Tug o' War]]"</ref> while a particular type of beacon that utilizes [[slipstream space]] is colloquially referred to as the '''slipbeacon'''.<ref name="blood">'''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''', ''[[Halo: Blood Line Issue 1|Issue 1]]''</ref> Distress beacons are mounted on most [[human]] starships, and are compact enough to fit in a [[cryo chamber|cryo-tube]].<ref name="fs"/>

In [[2526]], during the [[Battle of Circinius IV]], Cadet [[Thomas Lasky]] used a distress beacon in an attempt to get help for [[Hastati Squad]], but believed that that the beacon was broken when he got no response. After the [[John-117|Master Chief]] showed up, he explained he found the cadets due to the distress beacon.<ref>'''[[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn]]'''</ref>

In [[2552]], a distress beacon was activated by Army fireteams in [[Visegrád]] after [[Battle of Visegrád|encountering]] the Covenant. The beacon was detected by [[NOBLE Team]] who landed nearby and investigated. However, they only found the beacon hidden under a broken wooden pallet, a wrecked Warthog, blood smears and some plasma burns, but no sign of whoever had set off the beacon or any bodies. After briefly examining it, [[Kat-B320]] discarded the distress beacon on the ground.<ref>'''[[Halo: Reach]]''', campaign level ''[[Winter Contingency (level)|Winter Contingency]]''</ref>

Later that year, a distress beacon was used by [[Cortana]] when the rear half of the {{UNSCShip|Forward Unto Dawn}} was left stranded in space after the [[Battle of Installation 00]].<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]]''</ref> In [[2557]], it was pulled into [[Requiem]] along with the remains of the ''Forward Unto Dawn'' by Requiem's [[gravity well]] and was detected by the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} which attempted to locate the source of the distress beacon.<ref>'''[[Halo 4]]''', campaign level ''[[Requiem (level)|Requiem]]''</ref> Unable to reach ''Infinity'' and warn them of the danger, the Master Chief and Cortana attempted to use the satellite at Requiem's core to reach ''Infinity'', inadvertently releasing the [[Ur-Didact]] in the process.<ref>'''[[Halo 4]]''', campaign level ''[[Forerunner (level)|Forerunner]]''</ref>

In [[2553#December|December 2553]], [[Veta Lopis]]' [[Ferret]] team used a slipbeacon to signal their location to the {{Class|Sahara|prowler}} {{UNSCShip|Silent Joe}} during [[Operation: RETRIBUTION]]. The slipbeacon was disguised as one of ten [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon]]s that the team claimed to have stolen from the {{UNSCShip|Taulanti}} as part of their cover story to gunrunner [[Ross Nyeto]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Retribution]]'''</ref>

When [[Operation: BLOWBACK]] went awry, [[Team Black]] used a slipbeacon to send a distress signal to [[UNSC Fleet Command|FLEETCOM]].<ref name="blood"/>

The [[Fetching|fetcher]] [[Oliver Birch]] used one after he and his [[List of animals|dog]] [[Mabel]] became stranded in deep space in a cryo-tube.<ref name="fs"/>

After the [[Attack on Installation 00]], the smart-AI [[Isabel]] activated the [[Henry Lamb Research Outpost]]'s distress beacon. Upon the arrival of the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} in [[2559#March|March 2559]], the long-lost ship detected the distress signal. However, the UNSC's encryption had changed in the twenty-eight years the ship had been lost and the crew was unable to decipher the signal. [[Spartan-II]] [[Red Team]] and some of the ''Spirit of Fire's'' Marines were deployed to investigate. Upon reaching the outpost, [[Jerome-092]] activated the holotable which brought up Isabel and the message Distress Beacon Activated. Under attack by [[Banished]] forces, the UNSC forces rescued Isabel, the only survivor of the attack and retreated to the ''Spirit of Fire'' where she explained what happened.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', campaign level ''[[The Signal]]''</ref>

During the [[Second Ark Conflict]] in [[2559]], Captain [[James Cutter]] devised a plan to plant a distress beacon on [[Installation 09]] and dispatch it to the [[Soell system]], the former home of [[Installation 04]]. There, the beacon would be within range of [[Reach]] to contact the UNSC and have them send the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} help on the Ark.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Hold the Line]]''</ref> However, while Professor [[Ellen Anders]] succeeded in planting the beacon and launching the Halo ring into slipspace, it was intercepted in mid-transit by a [[Guardian]], keeping the message from being received.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Last Stand (Halo Wars 2 level|Last Stand]]''</ref>