Halo: Ghosts of Onyx: Difference between revisions

{{Title|''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''}}

{{Status|RealWorld}}

{{Novel infobox

|name=''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''

|image=[[File:Onyx cover.jpg|300px]]

|author=[[Eric Nylund]]

|cover artist=[[Lorraine McLees]] and [[Isaac Hannaford]]

|publisher=[[Tor Books]]

|publication=October 31, 2006 (original)<br>April 9, 2019 (2019 edition)

|media=Print (Paperback), Audiobook

|length=383 pages (original)<br>432 pages (2019 edition)

|ISBN=[[Special:BookSources/0765315688|0765315688]], [[Special:BookSources/978-0765315687|978-0765315687]], [[Special:BookSources/978-1982111670|978-1982111670]]

|series=[[The Original Series]]

|preceded=''[[Halo: First Strike]]

|followed=

|multiseries=

|notable=

The announcement of ''Ghosts of Onyx'' included a confirmation that two more novels would be released as part of the same contract; ''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'', and ''[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]''. Chronologically, ''Ghosts of Onyx'' is followed by ''[[Halo: Glasslands]]'', the first novel in a [[Kilo-Five Trilogy|new series]] set after the conclusion of the [[Human-Covenant War]].<ref name="bulletin">[http://halo.bungie.org/halobulletins/3 '''halo.bungie.org''': ''Halo Bulletin Archive - The Halo Bulletin: 6/22/11'']</ref>

{{Article quote|The [[SPARTAN-II program]] has gone public. Tales of super-soldiers fending off thousands of [[Covenant]] attacks has become the stuff of legend.<br>But just how many Spartans are left?<br>While the Master Chief defends a besieged Earth, and the myriad factions of the Covenant continue their crusade to eliminate humanity, an ultra-secret cell of the Office of Naval Intelligence known as "Section Three" devises a plan to buy the [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] vital time. They're going to need hundreds of willing soldiers, though… and one more Spartan to get the job done.<br>Planet [[Onyx]] is virtually abandoned and therefore the perfect place to set this new plan in motion. When the Master Chief destroys Halo, however, something is triggered deep within Onyx. Action begins to boil and the Ancient [[Forerunner]] technology stirs. Armadas of UNSC and Covenant race to claim the Forerunner secrets in order to change the course of the Human-Covenant war.<br><br>But this reawakened and ancient force may have plans of its own…}}

==Plot synopsis==

{{Spoiler/begin}}

===Prologue: Beta Company's Victory at Pegasi Delta===

The prologue begins with the 300 SPARTAN-IIIs of [[SPARTAN-III Beta Company|Beta Company]] being deployed to the Covenant-controlled planet, [[Pegasi Delta]] in [[2545]]. Out of the 300, 291 hit the ground and proceed towards their target, a Covenant refinery. The Spartans manage to destroy the facility, but due to unexpected heavy Covenant resistance in the form of seven large [[Covenant cruiser]]s, misidentified as part of the factory by the orbiting [[Stealth Tactical Aerial Reconnaissance Satellite|STARS satellite]], only two; SPARTANS [[Tom-B292]] and [[Lucy-B091]], survive. Tom and Lucy are revealed to be only twelve years old, and Lucy is severely traumatized and rendered mute, being diagnosed with [[post-traumatic vocal disarticulation]] after the deaths of the other Spartans and several of her companions from [[Team Foxtrot]], [[Adam-B004]] and [[Min-B174]].

The narrative then moves back to [[2531]] to a [[Operation: SMOKING ACES|raid]] by [[SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II]] [[Blue Team]] against [[Insurrectionist]]s on planet [[Victoria]] to recover stolen [[FENRIS nuclear warhead]]s. Though the team is captured by [[General]] [[Howard Graves]] and the rebels, the timely intervention of [[Kurt-051]] allows the team to complete their mission without any other serious problems, but Graves is killed during the course of events, preventing the team from learning valuable secrets the General held about the rebels' command and intelligence structure.

Five months later, [[James Ackerson|Colonel James Ackerson]] of Section Three of the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]], meets with three ONI officers: [[Ned Rich|Rear Admiral Rich]], [[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[Aaron G. Gibson|Gibson]] and [[Vice Admiral]] [[Margaret Parangosky|Parangosky]]. During the meeting, Ackerson moves forward a proposal for a new SPARTAN program which retains most of the effectiveness of the SPARTAN-II program without the high costs of the previous project. This becomes the SPARTAN-III program, a more streamlined, "disposable," as well as more numerous, group of Spartans that must be trained for high-risk operations. Ackerson is given the classified, UNSC-controlled world Onyx with the purpose of training the SPARTAN-IIIs, and is promised one of the SPARTAN-II to train them.

The next month, Kurt, Kelly and Fred are sent to investigate "suspicious activity" at [[Station Delphi]]. When Kurt approaches a ruptured [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]] for closer inspection, his [[thruster pack]] malfunctions and sends him spinning away into deep space. Kurt awakes a month later and meets Ackerson, who informs him that the events as Station Delphi were staged in order to recruit him. Kurt is told of the SPARTAN-III project and is given orders to train the volunteers of the SPARTAN-III program. Ackerson promotes him to [[Lieutenant, Junior Grade]] and assigns him the surname Ambrose to hide his previous service as a Spartan.

At [[Camp Currahee]] on Onyx, Kurt reduces the four hundred ninety-seven volunteers for the [[SPARTAN-III program]] to three hundred trainees by ordering a nighttime high-altitude aerial drop from Pelicans, in order to assess who among the volunteers truly wants to be a Spartan. One of the volunteers, [[Shane-A112]], is frightened by the prospect of a drop and is taunted by another recruit, [[Robert-A057]]. Upon reaching the ground, Shane attacks Robert for teasing him and the two are separated by Navy personnel. They comment on the aggressiveness of the two, hoping "the rest of them are like this."

Several years later, Kurt returns to the {{UNSCShip|Point of No Return}} to be briefed on [[SPARTAN-III Alpha Company|Alpha Company]]'s performance and to proceed with training for Beta Company, where he learns of the complete destruction of Alpha Company during [[Operation: PROMETHEUS]]. Devastated by the images of the battle and the loss of his soldiers, Kurt improves the training regime for [[SPARTAN-III Beta Company|Beta Company]], and presses for upgrades to their [[Semi-Powered Infiltration armor|SPI armor]] systems. Regardless, most are killed in action during [[Operation: TORPEDO]], with the exceptions of [[Tom-B292]] and [[Lucy-B091]], who, through Kurt's efforts, are assigned to Onyx to assist Kurt in training [[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company|Gamma Company]], despite Ackerson's protests. In a further effort to reduce casualties, Kurt then institutes an illegal procedure during [[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company|Gamma Company]]'s [[Project CHRYSANTHEMUM|augmentations]], designed to alter the Spartans' brain chemistry and make them resistant to pain and shock. The [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] [[Deep Winter]] notices this, but unaware of the perpetrator, tells Kurt, who takes it upon himself to ensure that the files regarding the augmentations are purged.

===Section 3: Intruders===

On October 31, 2552, the top three teams of the SPARTAN-III [[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company|Gamma Company]]—Teams [[Team Saber|Saber]], [[Team Katana|Katana]], and [[Team Gladius|Gladius]]—conduct a training exercise near a restricted area on Onyx deemed [[Zone 67]], only to find themselves and other [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] personnel under attack by an unidentified class of [[Onyx Sentinel|alien drones]]. Very quickly, the few humans on the planet are either wiped out or struggling to survive against this new, unexpected threat.

===Section 4: Dr. Catherine Halsey===

[[Catherine Halsey|Doctor Catherine Halsey]] and [[Kelly-087]] arrive in the [[Zeta Doradus system]] aboard the stolen rebel ship ''[[Beatrice]]''. As they get closer to Onyx they are attacked by the drones and crash-land. Once on the planet, they meet up with the [[human]] survivors of the attacks, including S-III Team Saber, Kurt, and Chief Mendez. Halsey identifies the drones as [[Onyx Sentinel|Sentinels]] based on [[Cortana]]'s logs of the events of ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''. Halsey proceeds to call for reinforcements, piggybacking her transmission on another transmission made by Cortana after the events of ''[[Halo 2]]''. On the message she calls out for caution about the danger coming from the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] that includes SPARTAN-117, as well as the grave threat of the Flood, which was trying to escape from Delta Halo at the time.

===Section 5: Blue Team===

On Earth, two weeks after the [[Battle of Mombasa|New Mombasa slipspace event]], the planet remains under siege by Covenant forces. [[Frederic-104]], [[William-043]], and [[Linda-058]] are pulled out of the line of fire by [[Terrence Hood|Fleet Admiral Hood]], who responds to Halsey's call for reinforcements by dispatching the Spartans to Onyx. After hijacking a [[Covenant destroyer]] called ''[[Bloodied Spirit]]'' and killing all Covenant on board by suffocation, the Spartans head for Onyx, only to be caught in the middle of a battle between [[Jiralhanae|Brute]] and [[Sangheili|Elite]] ships on the way. The Spartans barely escape and arrive at Onyx only to be attacked by the Sentinels. They escape using a [[Dextro Xur-pattern Spirit|Covenant dropship]] and link up with the survivors, and then make their way toward the restricted area of Onyx after shaking Sentinel pursuit.

 

Within this section, the story takes place on [[Installation 05|Delta Halo]], where the Covenant are in the midst of a [[Great Schism|civil war]]. The Elites intercept Halsey's message, learn of the existence of Onyx and its Forerunner artifacts then regroup at a Covenant world called [[Joyous Exultation]]. There, the Sangheili [[Imperial Admiral]] [[Xytan 'Jar Wattinree]] rallies the Elites together and discuss the apparent treachery of the Brutes and Prophets, and how to go about handling the situation. Ship Master [[Voro Nar 'Mantakree|Voro 'Mantakree]] speaks to his fellow ship masters and suggests that they go to Onyx, as well as be vigilant of the [[Flood]] threat. He is promoted to the rank of [[Fleet Master]] and is given command of a fleet of eighteen [[Covenant destroyer|destroyers]], two cruisers, and one [[Covenant carrier|carrier]]. They then prepare to go to Onyx to retrieve the [[Forerunner]] technology.

 

Meanwhile, on the Covenant supercarrier called ''[[Sublime Transcendence]]'', a [[Unggoy|Grunt]] named [[Kwassass]] stumbles upon the [[Huragok]] who are busy examining what is revealed to be [[Danforth Whitcomb|Admiral Whitcomb]]'s [[NOVA bomb]]. The Huragok unknowingly arm it after Kwassass messes with the arming device. Shortly after 'Mantakree's fleet departs for Onyx, the NOVA detonates, devastating the surface of the Covenant world, shattering its nearby moon, [[Malhiem]], into a billion fragments, and disintegrating the Covenant armada.

 

===Section 7: Reclaimers===

The Covenant fleet and a [[Patterson's battle group|UNSC battle group]] arrive at Onyx, where they encounter one another and the Sentinel defenders, which attack anything approaching the system. In the ensuing battle, the entire UNSC fleet is destroyed except the [[prowler]] ''[[UNSC Dusk|Dusk]]'', which stays hidden and observes events unfolding. The humans on Onyx head for Zone 67, where they discover an ancient Forerunner city. Pursued by the Covenant, the humans head underground, where Dr. Halsey determines that the entire planet is actually an artificial construct concealing a Forerunner "[[Shield World]]", which was constructed by the Forerunners to protect themselves from the firing of the Halo Array, which are designed to eradicate all sentient life should the [[Flood]] escape.

 

Fighting off determined Covenant pursuers, they press on into the heart of the planet to find its secrets, but not before the ONI [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] [[Endless Summer]] communicates to Dr. Halsey the importance of shutting down a Forerunner [[Sentinel manufacturing facility]] which is producing new Sentinels at a rapid rate. After disabling the factory, the group proceeds to the location of [[Team Katana]]. They find eight [[slipspace field pod]]s, five of which contain members of Katana, with the rest housing unidentified individuals. They then press on to Onyx's [[Core room antechamber|core]], where they discover a Slipspace rift supposedly leading into the "shield world". Will-043 and Holly-G003 fall fighting off the Covenant forces, Will-043 engaging several Hunters in hand-to-hand combat before meeting his demise. Halsey, Mendez, Tom, Lucy, and the other Spartans escape, while Kurt remains behind in order to stop the Covenant from following the humans into the slipspace rift. He waits for the portal to fully close and then he lists Kurt Ambrose as MIA under SPARTAN-051 along with the other Spartans, adhering to the [[ONI Directive 930|tradition]] of never listing a fallen Spartan as KIA. He ends his life responding to the Elite Fleet Master, "''Die? Didn't you know?... Spartans never die,''" he detonates the two [[FENRIS nuclear warhead]]s that the team had taken with them.

 

From outside Onyx, the surviving UNSC prowler ''Dusk'' watches on as the planet's surface rips apart, to reveal that the entire world is constructed of literally trillions of Sentinels, all connected together to provide an impenetrable defense around [[Trevelyan|the shield world]] at the heart of the planet. The story is concluded on the other side of the slipspace rift, which is revealed to house an immense [[Dyson sphere]], which features terrain similar to that of Earth and is separated from normal space-time inside a compressed [[slipspace bubble]]. The survivors hold a memorial service to the fallen, and Fred-104 takes command of the remaining survivors, ordering them to move out and complete their mission of finding Forerunner artifacts and searching for a method of escape. Kelly then welcomes the Spartan-IIIs to the Blue Team, stating that they are "going to make a great team."

 

{{Featurelist|secondcolumn=title-5|title-1=Characters|

*[[Catherine Halsey]]

*[[Franklin Mendez]]

*[[Tom-B292]] {{1st}}

*[[Lucy-B091]] {{1st}}

****[[Office of Naval Intelligence]]

*******[[SPARTAN-III Beta Company|Beta Company]] {{1st}}

*[[K7-49]] {{1st}}

*[[Sector B-042]] {{1st}}

*[[Sector K-009]] {{1st}}

****[[Wikipedia:Cuba|Cuba]] {{1st}}

|title-6=Vehicles|

*{{Class|Chiroptera|subprowler}}

*[[Class-3 Bumblebee]] {{Mo}}

*[[Covenant frigate]]

**''[[Revenant (ship)|Revenant]]'' {{1st}}

*[[GA-TL1 Longsword]]

**''[[Cairo Station (station)|Cairo Station]]''

**[[UNSC Agincourt (Onyx)|UNSC ''Agincourt'']] {{1st}}

*[[MA5B assault rifle]]

*[[Motion tracker]]

*[[Neural-inhibitor collar]] {{1st}}

*[[Combat harness|Sangheili combat harness]]

**[[Muzzle brake]]

**[[Oracle scope|Oracle N-variant scope]] {{1st}}

*[[File EHY-97]] {{1st}}

 

Critical reception to ''Ghosts of Onyx'' was mostly positive. IGN stated that it did some "pretty nifty things" and that it was "an interesting and very sneaky way to conclude a story without spoiling ''Halo 3''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s story".<ref>http://xbox.ign.com/articles/749/749402p1.html</ref> Arbiter's Judgment stated that it was "a grand continuation of Nylund's previous work, and if you enjoyed it then you will enjoy Ghosts of Onyx, plain and simple".<ref>http://arbitersjudgement.blogspot.com/2006/11/halo-ghosts-of-onyx-review.html</ref>

 

However, Subnova had reviews that were less than positive, stating that "it introduces a new character...well, 300 new characters, while incorporating no old ones, and it dizzies the reader with new facts and information". It also noted how the Master Chief and Cortana were "ignored", and only appeared in one section, rather than in the past books.<ref>http://www.subnova.com/books/</ref>

 

For several years, ''Ghosts of Onyx'' was one of the most popular ''Halo'' novels to have a sequel made. [[Frank O'Connor]] had hinted at the possibility of a follow-up to ''Ghosts of Onyx'', authored by Eric Nylund. The sequel was already in talks by early 2010.<ref>[http://forums.bungie.org/halo/archive32.pl?read=968949 '''halo.bungie.org:''' ''Re: Frankie, Frankie, Frankie...'' #1]</ref><ref>[http://forums.bungie.org/halo/archive32.pl?read=969038 '''halo.bungie.org:''' ''Re: Frankie, Frankie, Frankie...'' #2]</ref> The follow-up to the novel was announced on July 20, 2010, and despite the earlier talks with Nylund, it was confirmed to be written by [[Karen Traviss]], award-winning novelist and author of the ''[[Human Weakness]]'' short story in ''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''. The novel, titled ''Halo: Glasslands'', is a direct follow-up to the story of ''Ghosts of Onyx'', and is the first of a new series to explore the ''Halo'' universe after the events of ''[[Halo 3]]''.{{Ref/Reuse|bulletin}}<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/transmissions/article/2010-07-20-Bestselling-Author-Karen-Traviss-Set-To-Explore-The-Halo-Universe Bestselling Author Karen Traviss Set To Explore The Halo Universe]</ref> It was released on [[2011|October 25, 2011]] on hardcover, paperback and audiobook.<ref name = "Amazon">[http://www.amazon.com/Halo-Glasslands-Karen-Traviss/dp/0765323931/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308338967&sr=8-1 '''Amazon.com''': ''Halo: Glasslands (hardcover)'']</ref>

*The name ''Ghosts of Onyx'' is reminiscent of the track ''[[Ghosts of Reach]]'' from the ''[[Halo 2: Original Soundtrack]]''.

*Before the confirmation of the book itself, the book's placeholder and showcase online name was ''"Ghosts of Coral"''. This raised much speculation about [[i love bees]]' significance to the ''Halo'' series, as [[Coral]] is a planet featured in the alternate reality game. During that stage, two chapters were cut from the novel for "pacing reasons," though Nylund expressed a desire to release them.<ref>http://www.ericnylund.net/2008/02/foul.html</ref>

*There are two different back cover variants; one with a SPARTAN in [[Semi-Powered Infiltration Armor|SPI armor]] and another with a SPARTAN-II in [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VI|Mark VI MJOLNIR armor]].

*On his blog, Eric Nylund has confirmed that there will be a reprint some time in the future, fixing many errors in the book. The time for this reprint is not yet known.<ref>http://www.ericnylund.net/2006/11/quick-fix.html</ref>

*Camp Currahee is most likely a reference to the real-world [[wikipedia:Camp Toccoa|Camp Toccoa]], a training area for the [[wikipedia:101st Airborne Division|101st Airborne Division]] during World War II, which was located near Currahee Mountain in Georgia. It was popularized by the HBO miniseries [[wikipedia:Band of Brothers (TV miniseries)|''Band of Brothers'']]. Kurt-051's pseudonym, "Ambrose", is likely a reference to [[wikipedia:Steven Ambrose|Steven E. Ambrose]], the author of the book upon which the miniseries was based.

*This book, along with ''[[Halo: Contact Harvest|Contact Harvest]]'' and ''[[Halo: The Cole Protocol|The Cole Protocol]]'' , is included in the [[Halo Boxed Set|''Halo'' Boxed Set]].

*The cover of the novel depicts what has since been established as the [[Eld]], the Forerunner glyph for the [[Mantle]], under the title ''Ghosts of Onyx''.

*The book erroneously refers to the [[UNSC]] [[frigate]] ''[[In Amber Clad]]'' as a destroyer.

 

File:Ih_onyx_cover.jpg|2006 cover art of the novel.

 

File:Onyx cover.jpg|2006 edition.

File:GoO cover 2019.jpg|2019 edition.

 

File:Notfinal Onyx back.jpg|An early version of ''Onyx''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s back cover.

File:HGOO Cover with spine.jpg|The Cover with the spine of the book.

File:GoO cover back 2019.jpg|Cover back of 2019 edition.

{{Ref/Sources}}

*[[wikipedia:Halo: Ghosts of Onyx|Wikipedia's article on Ghosts of Onyx]]

{{Navbox/Media/Novels}}

[[Category:Novels|Ghosts of Onyx]]