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{{Era|Forerunner|UNSC|HCW}}
{{Status|Canon}}
{{Center|This article is about the human colony world. Were you looking for the multiplayer map [[Harvest (level)|Harvest]] from [[Halo 4]]?}}
{{Center|This article is about the human colony world. Were you looking for the multiplayer map [[Harvest (map)|Harvest]] from [[Halo 4]]?}}
{{Planet infobox
{{Planet infobox
|name=Harvest
|name=Harvest
|image=[[File:Harvest pre-glassing.png|300px]]
|image=[[File:Harvest pre-glassing.png|300px]]
|system=[[Epsilon Indi system]]<ref name="vis">'''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 91''</ref><ref name="universe">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/locations/harvest '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Harvest'']</ref>
|system=[[Epsilon Indi system]]{{Ref/Book|Id=vis|EVG|Page=91}}{{Ref/Site|Id=universe|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/locations/harvest|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Harvest|D=01|M=6|Y=2020}}
|body=[[Epsilon Indi]]<ref name="vis"/><ref name="universe"/>
|body=[[Epsilon Indi]]{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|position=Fourth planet<ref name="vis"/><ref name="universe"/>
|position=Fourth planet{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|moon(s)=None<ref name="universe"/>
|moon(s)=None{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|diameter={{Convert|4012|km|mi}}<ref name="vis"/><ref name="universe"/>
|diameter={{Convert|4012|km|mi}}{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|gravity=0.998 G<ref name="vis"/><ref name="universe"/>
|gravity=0.998 G{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|daylength=17.5 hours<ref name="universe"/>
|daylength=17.5 hours{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|yearlength=
|yearlength=
|atmosphere=1.02 ([[Wikipedia:Nitrogen|N<sub>2</sub>]], [[Oxygen|O<sub>2</sub>]])<ref name="vis"/><ref name="universe"/>
|atmosphere=1.02 ([[Wikipedia:Nitrogen|N<sub>2</sub>]], [[Oxygen|O<sub>2</sub>]]){{Ref/Reuse|vis}}{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|temperature=-19°C to 42°C (-2°F to 108°F)<ref name="vis"/><ref name="universe"/>
|temperature=-19°C to 42°C (-2°F to 108°F){{Ref/Reuse|vis}}{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|demonym=
|demonym=
|species=[[Human]]
|species=[[Human]]
|population=Approximately 3,000,000<ref group="note" name="population">According to ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'', ''Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp'', and ''Halo: The Essential Visual Guide'', Harvest had a population of approximately three million. However, ''Halo: Contact Harvest'' consistently states that Harvest had a population of around 300,000, and that roughly 250,000 civilians, who constituted most of the planet's population, escaped before the planet was glassed.</ref>
|population=*Approximately 3,000,000{{Ref/Note|Id=population|According to ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'', ''Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp'', and ''Halo: The Essential Visual Guide'', Harvest had a population of approximately three million. However, ''Halo: Contact Harvest'' consistently states that Harvest had a population of around 300,000, and that roughly 250,000 civilians, who constituted most of the planet's population, escaped before the planet was glassed.}}
|colonized=[[2468]]<ref name="vis"/><ref name="universe"/>
*0 (modern)
|colonized=[[2468]]{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|government=*[[Unified Earth Government]]
|government=*[[Unified Earth Government]]
*[[Parliament of Harvest]]
*[[Parliament of Harvest]]
}}
}}
'''Harvest''', also known as '''Epsilon Indi IV''',<ref name="Halo Channel">'''[[Halo Channel]]''': ''Encyclopedia''</ref> designated '''CE-309-8 d''' by the [[Forerunner]]s,<ref name="universe"/><ref name="catalog">[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2969315_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2969315 '''Waypoint''': ''Catalog Interaction'' page 14]</ref> was a [[human]] [[Outer Colonies|Outer Colony]] world founded as a [[agriculture world|"breadbasket" world]]. Founded in [[2468]] by the {{UNSCShip|Skidbladnir}}, the colony was the most remote at the time of its founding.<ref>[http://halowars.com/GameInfo/Timeline.aspx '''Official Halo Wars Community Site''': ''Game Info - Timeline'']</ref><ref group="note" name="17th">According to ''Halo: Contact Harvest'', Harvest was the latest of humanity's seventeen colonies to be settled. The claim of humanity having a mere seventeen colony worlds has been ignored in later material, which instead appear to adhere to the more lenient figure of 800 worlds presented in the [[Xbox.com/Halo|original ''Halo'' timeline]]. Given that the timeline also states that 210 [[Inner Colonies]] had been settled before 2390, it is unlikely that the notion of Harvest being the seventeenth colony is considered canonical. This is further evidenced by the "Story So Far" documentary on the Halo: Legends DVD giving the number of human worlds the same as the original timeline.</ref> Located in the [[Epsilon Indi system]],<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 32''</ref> the planet had the unfortunate distinction of being the first human planet discovered and destroyed by the [[Covenant]]. After [[First Battle of Harvest|a disastrous first contact]], the planet was subsequently [[glassing|glassed]] by the Covenant, but most of its population managed to escape in [[DCS light freighter|freighters]].<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 387''</ref>
'''Harvest''', also known as '''Epsilon Indi IV''',<ref name="Halo Channel">''[[Halo Channel]]'': Encyclopedia</ref> designated '''CE-309-8 d''' by the [[Forerunner]]s,{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}{{Ref/Site|Id=catalog|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2969315_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2969315|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Catalog Interaction page 14}} was a [[human]] [[Outer Colonies|Outer]] [[Human colonies|Colony]] [[planet|world]] founded as a [[agriculture world|"breadbasket" world]]. Founded in [[2468]] by the {{UNSCShip|Skidbladnir}}, the colony was the most remote at the time of its founding.<ref>[http://www.halowars.com/GameInfo/Timeline.aspx ''Official Halo Wars Community Site'' - Timeline] (defunct, [[Archive:Halowars.com/Timeline|Archive]])</ref>{{Ref/Note|Id=17th|According to ''Halo: Contact Harvest'', Harvest was the latest of humanity's seventeen colonies to be settled. The claim of humanity having a mere seventeen colony worlds has been ignored in later material, which instead appear to adhere to the more lenient figure of 800 worlds presented in the [[Archive:Xbox.com/Halo/Timeline|original ''Halo'' timeline]]. Given that the timeline also states that 210 [[Inner Colonies]] had been settled before 2390, it is unlikely that the notion of Harvest being the seventeenth colony is considered canonical. This is further evidenced by the "Story So Far" documentary on the Halo: Legends DVD giving the number of human worlds the same as the original timeline.}} Located in the [[Epsilon Indi system]],{{Ref/Novel|HCH|Page=32}} the planet had the unfortunate distinction of being the first human planet discovered and destroyed by the [[Covenant]]. After [[First Battle of Harvest|a disastrous first contact]], the planet was subsequently [[glassing|glassed]] by the Covenant, but most of its population managed to escape in [[DCS light freighter|freighters]].{{Ref/Novel|HCH|Page=387}}


==History==
==Overview==
===Prehistory===
===Topography===
Harvest was known to the [[Forerunner]]s approximately 100,000 years [[97,445 BCE|prior]] to the Human-Covenant War. The planet was a relatively minor asset in the Forerunners' vast [[Ecumene|empire]] and was utilized as a [[conservation sphere]] waystation. The [[Relic|waystation facility]] included a subsidiary [[Flood]] [[Flood research facility|research]] and [[Flood containment facility|containment]] center,<ref name="catalog"/> as well as administrative nodes that directed Forerunner defenses in the surrounding systems.<ref name="universe"/> The structure housed a [[holography|holographic]] stellar [[cartographer]] that pointed the way to another star system, [[Procyon system|Procyon]].
[[File:HW HarvestIce MattePainting 2.jpg|thumb|300px|Panorama of Harvest's landscape.]]
 
Harvest was a small planet, approximately one-third the size of [[Earth]] with an equatorial diameter of slightly more than 4,000 kilometers (2,484 miles), making Harvest slightly smaller than the [[Sol system|Sol]] planet [[Mercury]].{{Ref/Novel|Id=pg33|HCH|Page=33}} In terms of surface area, Harvest possessed ~50 million km², roughly one-tenth the surface area of Earth. Harvest orbited [[Epsilon Indi system|Epsilon Indi]] extremely quickly, much faster than most other UNSC colonies, at roughly 150,000&nbsp;km/h, or ~41&nbsp;km/sec (by comparison, Earth orbits Sol at roughly 30&nbsp;km/sec). Harvest had no natural satellites. Harvest also has a day/night cycle only 17.5 Earth hours long. Out of a total of five planets in the Epsilon Indi system, Harvest was the only habitable planet, as well as being fertile for farming. The super-continent [[Edda]] dominated the planet, taking up roughly 67% of its surface. Two low-salinity seas covered the remainder of the planet, [[Hugin Sea|Hugin]] to the north, and [[Munin Sea|Munin]] to the south.{{Ref/Novel|HCH|Page=74}} Almost 86% of Edda is within 500 meters of sea level, the only major change in elevation is the [[Bifrost]], an escarpment that "cuts" Edda in half.
===Human colonization===
[[File:Harvest2.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Harvest before the Covenant assault.]]
Harvest was founded in [[2468]] when the {{UNSCShip|Skidbladnir}} arrived transporting colonists, then dismantled to form the core of Utgard. One of the furthest and most isolated colonies to be founded by the UEG,<ref group="note" name="17th"/> the population was still small when Sergeant [[Avery Johnson|Avery J. Johnson]] engaged in his first mission on the planet. By the time he returned in 2525, the population of Utgard alone had doubled. Most of the population of Harvest was of American descent, specifically the Midwestern states of the [[United States of America]]. Most locations on Harvest were named for elements of Norse mythology, as were its primary AIs, [[Sif]] and [[Loki]]/Mack this is because many of Harvest's settlers were of [[Scandinavia]]n ancestry.
 
===UNSC breadbasket===
In [[2502]], various secessionist and [[Insurrectionist]] groups were active on Harvest, including the [[People's Occupation Government]], [[Harvest for Harvesters]] and the [[Secessionist Union]], whose leader, [[Jerald Mulkey Ander]], was assassinated by [[Avery Junior Johnson]] as part of the [[ORION Project]]'s [[Operation: KALEIDOSCOPE]].<ref>[[Halo Graphic Novel, Page 122|'''Halo Graphic Novel''', ''page 122'']]</ref>
 
Harvest was the first colony to be attacked by the Covenant and the first [[human]] world to be [[glassing|glassed]]. It was also the first place humanity officially made contact with the Covenant, after the incidents on ''[[This End Up]]'' and ''[[Minor Transgression]]''.
 
In [[2524]], Staff Sergeant Johnson returned to Harvest along with [[Nolan Byrne|Staff Sergeant Byrne]] and [[Ponder|Captain Ponder]], all survivors of [[Operation: TREBUCHET]]. They were to train a [[Colonial Militia]] and, unbeknownst to them, fend off what UNSC had believed to be Insurrectionist attacks on ships in the system.
 
On [[2525#February|February 3, 2525]], the Harvest orbital platform, the [[Tiara]], made long-range radar and spectroscopic contact with ''[[Rapid Conversion]]''. Contact with Harvest was lost thereafter.
 
===Escape from Harvest===
[[File:Harvest Plasma Glassed.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Harvest, partially [[glassed]] by the Covenant.]]
{{Main|First Battle of Harvest}}
The citizens of Harvest soon found themselves in the middle of the first battle between the [[Covenant]] and [[human]]ity, using their newly trained Militia to herd hundreds of thousands of civilian survivors from [[Gladsheim]], Vigrond and other locations to the [[Utgard]] [[space elevator]]s to escape the planet. During the first Covenant attack on Harvest about 250,000+ humans managed to escape the planet by packing into 236 freight containers which were then loaded into seven elevator depots in Utgard. Every five to [[seven]] minutes, seven pairs of freight containers were loaded into the space elevator. Loaded ahead of these freight containers were seven "grease buckets", maintenance containers, two which were loaded with Johnson's men and [[Jilan al-Cygni]]. The other five were decoys rigged with claymore mines which were used to soften the Brutes, Grunts and Drones which had boarded and taken control of ''[[Tiara]]''.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''pages 351-352''</ref> While the other two "grease buckets" holding Johnson and Co. stopped and they were fighting off the Covenant, the number seven strand of the space elevator snapped a few thousand kilometers above its anchor due to the stress caused by the load becoming unbalanced. There were 11 pairs of freight containers on the strand when it snapped, killing around 20,000 people.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 372''</ref> The remaining freight containers carrying the survivors of Harvest continued up the elevator, out into space, where they met up with [[propulsion pod]]s that [[Sif]] had placed previously. Once Johnson and Co. finished fighting the Covenant on the ''Tiara'', they joined the survivors and used the propulsion pods to enter Slipspace.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 352''</ref>
 
At the time of these occurrences, the first prototypes of the [[Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle|Brute Chopper]] was made by a ''[[Huragok]]'' named [[Lighter Than Some]]. However, these were destroyed by [[Jotun Heavy Industries|JOTUNs]] commanded by the AI Mack.
 
After the destruction of the Tiara, the now rampant AI [[Mack]] buried its strands in a form of a funerary ritual for the AI [[Sif]].
 
The discovery of humans on Harvest was the catalyst for the attempted Covenant genocide of the human race, due to a mistranslation of Forerunner glyphs by the [[San'Shyuum|Prophets]], as seen on many writs and machines amid Covenant technologies.
 
===The Battle of Harvest===
[[File:Outcome of Second Battle of Harvest.png|right|thumb|250px|Cole's victory in the [[Second Battle of Harvest]].]]
By April 20th, [[2525]], the [[Colonial Military Administration]] sent the scout ship ''[[CMA Argo|Argo]]'' to investigate. Other then confirming its arrival at Epsilon Indi no other transmissions were sent, and the ''Argo'' was presumed MIA.


On October 7th, [[2525]], [[UNSC Fleet Command|Fleet Command]] assembled [[Battle Group 4]] to investigate, due to the fact that the Harvest situation was deemed to have become serious. The battle group consisted of the destroyer ''[[CMA Heracles|Heracles]]'', commanded by Captain [[Maribeau Veredi|Veredi]], as well as the frigates ''[[CMA Arabia|Arabia]]'' and ''[[CMA Vostok|Vostok]]''. They entered the Harvest system only to find the planet's surface almost entirely melted down to [[Glassing|glass]]. While there, the battle group encountered a [[Covenant super-destroyer]]. This vessel immediately fired on the inferior human vessels, and the ''Vostok'' and ''Arabia'' were lost with all hands. The ''Heracles'' managed to jump out of the system, but took several weeks to return to Reach due to damage sustained in the battle. Upon hearing Veredi's report and realizing the scale of the threat, the UNSC was placed on full alert and a fleet was assembled to meet the threat.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]] - Definitive Edition''', ''page 113''</ref>
Harvest's surface was once beautiful, covered in grassland and forests, lush fields and rolling hills, and a thousand lakes swarming with fish. The orchards were filled with luscious crops. [[Starling]]s and [[bat]]s were among the introduced species.{{Ref/Novel|GOO|Page=75}}


[[Vice Admiral]] [[Preston J. Cole]] fought and barely won the [[Second Battle of Harvest]] in [[2526]]. The [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] was able to retake the planet but with the loss of 2/3 of their fleet, even when they had outnumbered the single Covenant ship in Harvest orbit.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars]]''', ''[[Halo Wars Timeline Events|Timeline]]''</ref> Harvest would continue to be contested in the following years, as not long after, the Covenant attacked again. The [[Harvest campaign|battle for control of the planet]] lasted for five years until 2531, when Admiral Cole led a group of ships, including the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} into the system and neutralized the Covenant force. They later discovered that the Covenant had established a presence on the planet's surface, and more shockingly, had uncovered the previously unknown [[Forerunner]] relic which lead the ''Spirit'' to [[Arcadia]],<ref>'''[[Halo Wars]]''', campaign level, ''[[Relic Interior]]''</ref> where the Covenant then led them to a [[Shield World 0459|shield world]] where they were able to stop a major Covenant threat.
After being glassed, however, the surface was reduced to a layer of melted glass, the destruction visible from orbit.{{Ref/Novel|HFoR|Chapter=??}} The environment suffered a catastrophic blow as a result, the once glorious landscape turning into a nearly frozen tundra, causing most species to quickly go extinct. Soon, all that remained of Harvest's original ecosystem were the scavengers, feeding off the rotting remains of the planet's once abundant wildlife, and even they perished before long. Now, the planet is submerged in nuclear winter, with no life on the surface. But, even after all of this, there are still several Forerunner complexes, surviving deep in the planet's mantle.{{Ref/Book|HWF|Page=22}} [[Harvest bird|One species of bird]] was known to survive the glassing to [[2531]].{{Ref/Level|HW|Alpha Base (Halo Wars level)|Alpha Base}}


==Geography==
====Locations====
[[File:Halo_wars_Ice_02_by_JJasso-1-.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Panorama of Harvest's landscape.]]
[[File:HW HarvestIce MattePainting 1.jpg|thumb|250px|The ice sheets of Harvest's northern pole.]]
Harvest was a small planet, approximately one-third the size of [[Earth]] with an equatorial diameter of slightly more than 4,000 kilometers (2,484 miles), making Harvest slightly smaller than the [[Sol system|Sol]] planet [[Wikipedia:Mercury (planet)|Mercury]].<ref name="pg33">'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 33''</ref> In terms of surface area, Harvest possessed ~50 million km², roughly one-tenth the surface area of Earth. Harvest orbited [[Epsilon Indi system|Epsilon Indi]] extremely quickly, much faster than most other UNSC colonies, at roughly 150,000 km/h, or ~41km/sec (by comparison, Earth orbits Sol at roughly 30 km/sec). Harvest had no natural satellites. Harvest also has a day/night cycle only 17.5 Earth hours long. Out of a total of five planets in the Epsilon Indi system, Harvest was the only habitable planet, as well as being fertile for farming. The super-continent [[Edda]] dominated the planet, taking up roughly 67% of its surface. Two low-salinity seas covered the remainder of the planet, [[Hugin Sea|Hugin]] to the north, and [[Munin Sea|Munin]] to the south.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 74''</ref> Almost 86% of Edda is within 500 meters of sea level, the only major change in elevation is the [[Bifrost]], an escarpment that "cuts" Edda in half.
 
Harvest's surface was once beautiful, covered in grassland and forests, lush fields and rolling hills, and a thousand lakes swarming with fish. The orchards were filled with luscious crops. [[Starling]]s and [[bat]]s were among the introduced species.<ref>'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''', ''page 75''</ref> After being glassed, however, the surface was reduced to a layer of melted glass, the destruction visible from orbit.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page ??''</ref> The environment suffered a catastrophic blow as a result, the once glorious landscape turning into a nearly frozen tundra, causing most species to quickly go extinct. Soon, all that remained of Harvest's original ecosystem were the scavengers, feeding off the rotting remains of the planet's once abundant wildlife, and even they perished before long.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
===Locations===
*[[Edda]]
*[[Edda]]
**[[Bifrost]]
**[[Bifrost]]
Line 90: Line 58:
**[[Munin Sea]]
**[[Munin Sea]]
**[[Alpha Base (Harvest)|Alpha Base]]
**[[Alpha Base (Harvest)|Alpha Base]]
**[[Epsilon Base]]
**[[Rally Point Baker]]
**[[Rally Point Baker]]
**[[Quadrant 4]]
**[[Quadrant 4]]
**[[Relic|Forerunner Relic]]
**[[Relic (location)|Forerunner Relic]]
*[[Newton Armory]]
*[[Newton Armory]]


==Economy and society==
===Known residents===
*[[Orenski family]]
**[[April Orenski]] - Surviving cadet of [[Corbulo Academy of Military Science]]
*[[Wallace Jenkins]] - [[UNSC Marine Corps]] [[Private]]
*[[Nils Thune]] - Last [[Governor]] of the planet's government (Immigrated from [[Earth]])
*[[Rol Pedersen]] - Last [[Attorney General]] of the planet's government
*[[Critchley]] - Colonial militiaman
*[[Gage Yevgenny]] - [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]]
*[[Dass]] - Colonial militiaman
 
==History==
===Ancient history===
Harvest was known to the [[Forerunner]]s approximately 100,000 years [[97,445 BCE|prior]] to the Human-Covenant War. The planet was a relatively minor asset in the Forerunners' vast [[Ecumene|empire]] and was utilized as a [[conservation sphere]] waystation. The [[Relic (location)|waystation facility]] included a subsidiary [[Flood]] [[Flood research facility|research]] and [[Flood containment facility|containment]] center,{{Ref/Reuse|catalog}} as well as administrative nodes that directed Forerunner defenses in the surrounding systems.{{Ref/Reuse|universe}} The structure housed a [[holography|holographic]] stellar [[cartographer]] that pointed the way to another star system, [[Procyon system|Procyon]].
 
===Rise of humanity===
[[File:Harvest2.jpg|thumb|250px|Harvest before the Covenant assault.]]
Harvest was founded in [[2468]] when the {{UNSCShip|Skidbladnir}} arrived transporting colonists, then dismantled to form the core of Utgard. One of the furthest and most isolated colonies to be founded by the UEG,{{Ref/NoteReuse|17th}} the population was still small when Sergeant [[Avery Johnson|Avery J. Johnson]] engaged in his first mission on the planet. Harvest was settled by [[Religion|Lutheran]] [[United States of America|Americans]] of [[Germany|Germanic]] descent.{{Ref/Book|Enc09|Page=286-287}}{{Ref/Book|Enc11|Page=298-299}} Most locations on Harvest were named for elements of Norse mythology, as were its primary AIs, [[Sif]] and [[Loki]]/Mack. This is because many of Harvest's settlers were of [[Scandinavia]]n ancestry.
 
By the time he returned in 2525, the population of Utgard alone had doubled.{{Citation needed}}
 
====Insurrection====
In [[2502]], various secessionist and [[Insurrectionist]] groups were active on Harvest, including the [[People's Occupation Government]], [[Harvest for Harvesters]] and the [[Secessionist Union]], whose leader, [[Jerald Mulkey Ander]], was assassinated by [[Avery Johnson]] as part of the [[ORION Project]]'s [[Operation: KALEIDOSCOPE]].{{Ref/Comic|HGN|Page=[[Halo Graphic Novel, Page 122|122]]}}
 
Harvest was the first colony to be attacked by the Covenant and the first [[human]] world to be [[glassing|glassed]]. It was also the first place humanity officially made contact with the Covenant, after the incidents on ''[[This End Up]]'' and ''[[Minor Transgression]]''.
 
In [[2524]], Staff Sergeant Johnson returned to Harvest along with [[Nolan Byrne|Staff Sergeant Byrne]] and [[Ponder|Captain Ponder]], all survivors of [[Operation: TREBUCHET]]. They were to train a [[Colonial Militia]] and, unbeknownst to them, fend off what UNSC had believed to be Insurrectionist attacks on ships in the system.
 
On [[2525#February|February 3, 2525]], the Harvest orbital platform, the [[Tiara]], made long-range radar and spectroscopic contact with ''[[Rapid Conversion]]''. Contact with Harvest was lost thereafter.
 
===Human-Covenant War===
The citizens of Harvest soon found themselves in the middle of the first battle between the [[Covenant]] and [[human]]ity, using their newly trained Militia to herd hundreds of thousands of civilian survivors from [[Gladsheim]], Vigrond and other locations to the [[Utgard]] [[space elevator]]s to escape the planet.
 
=====First Battle of Harvest=====
[[File:Harvest Plasma Glassed.jpg|thumb|250px|Harvest, partially [[glassed]] by the Covenant.]]
{{Main|First Battle of Harvest}}
During the first Covenant attack on Harvest about 250,000+ humans managed to escape the planet by packing into 236 freight containers which were then loaded into seven elevator depots in Utgard. Every five to [[seven]] minutes, seven pairs of freight containers were loaded into the space elevator. Loaded ahead of these freight containers were seven "grease buckets", maintenance containers, two which were loaded with Johnson's men and [[Jilan al-Cygni]]. The other five were decoys rigged with claymore mines which were used to soften the Brutes, Grunts and Drones which had boarded and taken control of ''[[Tiara]]''.{{Ref/Novel|HCH|Page=351-352}} While the other two "grease buckets" holding Johnson and Co. stopped and they were fighting off the Covenant, the number seven strand of the space elevator snapped a few thousand kilometers above its anchor due to the stress caused by the load becoming unbalanced. There were 11 pairs of freight containers on the strand when it snapped, killing around 20,000 people.{{Ref/Novel|HCH|Page=372}} The remaining freight containers carrying the survivors of Harvest continued up the elevator, out into space, where they met up with [[propulsion pod]]s that [[Sif]] had placed previously. Once Johnson and Co. finished fighting the Covenant on the ''Tiara'', they joined the survivors and used the propulsion pods to enter Slipspace.{{Ref/Novel|HCH|Page=352}}
 
At the time of these occurrences, the first prototypes of the [[Barukaza Workshop Chopper|Brute Chopper]] was made by a [[Huragok]] named [[Lighter Than Some]]. However, these were destroyed by [[Jotun Heavy Industries|JOTUNs]] commanded by the AI Mack.
 
After the destruction of the Tiara, the now rampant AI [[Mack]] buried its strands in a form of a funerary ritual for the AI [[Sif]].
 
The discovery of humans on Harvest was the catalyst for the attempted Covenant genocide of the human race, due to a mistranslation of the Forerunner glyph for "Reclaimer", for "Reclamation".
 
[[File:HWG SecondBattleOfHarvest.png|left|thumb|250px|Cole's victory in the [[Second Battle of Harvest]].]]
By April 20, the [[Colonial Military Authority]] sent the scout ship {{CMAShip|Argo}} to investigate. Other then confirming its arrival at Epsilon Indi no other transmissions were sent, and the ''Argo'' was presumed MIA.
 
On October 7, [[UNSC Fleet Command|Fleet Command]] assembled [[Battle Group 4]] to investigate, due to the fact that the Harvest situation was deemed to have become serious. The battle group consisted of the destroyer {{CMAShip|Heracles}}, commanded by Captain [[Maribeau Veredi|Veredi]], as well as the frigates {{CMAShip|Arabia}} and {{CMAShip|Vostok}}. They entered the Harvest system only to find the planet's surface almost entirely melted down to [[Glassing|glass]]. While there, the battle group encountered a {{Pattern|Rasus|interdictor}}. This vessel immediately fired on the inferior human vessels, and the ''Vostok'' and ''Arabia'' were lost with all hands. The ''Heracles'' managed to jump out of the system, but took several weeks to return to Reach due to damage sustained in the battle. Upon hearing Veredi's report and realizing the scale of the threat, the UNSC was placed on full alert and a fleet was assembled to meet the threat.{{Ref/Novel|HFOR|Page=113|Detail=Definitive Edition}}{{clear}}
 
=====Harvest campaign=====
[[File:HW Trailer Battle.jpg|250px|thumb|Marine forces battle the Covenant in the frozen remnants of the formerly-lush planet.]]
[[Vice Admiral]] [[Preston J. Cole]] fought and barely won the [[Battle of Harvest]] in [[2526]]. The [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] was able to retake the planet but with the loss of 2/3 of their fleet, even when they had outnumbered the single [[Covenant starship|Covenant ship]] in Harvest orbit.<ref>''[[Halo Wars]]'', [[Halo Wars Timeline Events|Timeline]]</ref> Harvest would continue to be contested in the following years, as not long after, the Covenant attacked again. The [[Harvest campaign|battle for control of the planet]] lasted for five years until 2531, when Admiral Cole led a group of ships, including the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} into the system and neutralized the Covenant force. They later discovered that the Covenant had established a presence on the planet's surface, and more shockingly, had uncovered the previously unknown [[Forerunner]] relic which lead the ''Spirit of Fire'' to [[Arcadia]],{{Ref/Level|HW|Relic Interior}} where the Covenant then led them to [[Trove|a]] [[shield world]] where they were able to stop a major Covenant threat.
 
Ultimately, the Covenant once again returned to Harvest in [[2534]], glassing the planetary surface for a second and decisively final time.{{Ref/Book|Enc22|Page=51}} After this event, Harvest was effectively abandoned by humanity.
 
===Post-War===
In the [[Post-Covenant War conflicts|post-war era]], Harvest has yet to see any formal effort at reclamation or rehabitation by humanity, due in part to sorrow at the conflict which consumed the world and impracticality due to the planet's location in deep-space.{{Ref/Book|Enc22|Page=44}} Software simulations of Harvest's [[space elevator]] base have been created by the UNSC for use in their [[War Games]] training exercises, with [[Harvest (map)|Map_Set/: 309-8]] used by [[Spartan Operations]] for such purposes.{{Ref/Map|H4|Harvest (map)|Harvest}}{{Ref/Book|Id=VIS|H4EVG|Page=219}}{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
 
==Government and society==
[[File:FoRBootCamp - HarvestTown.png|thumb|250px|A settlement on Harvest.]]
[[File:FoRBootCamp - HarvestTown.png|thumb|250px|A settlement on Harvest.]]
Harvest was one of the [[Unified Earth Government]]'s more productive and peaceful colonies. Within two decades of its founding, it had the highest per capita agricultural manufacture of any outer colony. Major crops, such as [[list of food and drinks|corn]]; [[list of food and drinks|wheat]]; [[list of food and drinks|watermelons]]; [[list of food and drinks|peaches]]; [[list of food and drinks|apples]]; [[list of food and drinks|grapes]], and numerous other foodstuffs nourished the inhabitants of more than half a dozen other colonies.
Harvest was one of the [[Unified Earth Government]]'s more productive and peaceful colonies.  
 
The senior government official on Harvest was the [[Governor]]. The position was held by [[Nils Thune]] at the time of the planet's fall.{{Ref/Novel|HCH|Page=115}} The [[Parliament of Harvest]] was also involved in the planet's governance. It met in a [[Harvest Parliament Building|Parliament Building]] in [[Utgard]].{{Ref/Novel|HCH|Page=79}} One of its positions was the [[Wikipedia:Attorney general|Attorney General]], which was held by [[Rol Pedersen]] when the planet fell.
 
By 2524 the population of Harvest was 3,000,000,{{Ref/NoteReuse|population}} some of whom escaped during the initial Covenant attack. The [[city|capital city]] and its largest population center was [[Utgard]], also home to Harvest's [[seven]] [[harvest space elevators|space elevators]] connected to the orbital space station, [[Tiara]].
 
===Defenses===
The only functional defensive force on Harvest at the time of the Covenant attack was [[Harvest militia|its planetary branch]] of [[Colonial Militia]], consisting of two [[platoon]]s.{{Ref/Novel|HCH|Page=121}} Utgard also had its own [[law enforcement]] agency, the [[Utgard Constabulary]].{{Ref/Novel|HCH|Page=168}}
 
===Economy===
Within two decades of its founding, it had the highest per capita agricultural manufacture of any outer colony. Major crops, such as [[list of food and drinks|corn]]; [[list of food and drinks|wheat]]; [[list of food and drinks|watermelons]]; [[list of food and drinks|peaches]]; [[list of food and drinks|apples]]; [[list of food and drinks|grapes]], and numerous other foodstuffs nourished the inhabitants of more than half a dozen other colonies.


By 2524 the population of Harvest was 3,000,000,<ref group="note" name="population"/> some of whom escaped during the initial Covenant attack. The capital city and its largest population center was [[Utgard]], also home to Harvest's [[seven]] [[harvest space elevators|space elevators]] connected to the orbital space station, [[Tiara]].
===Culture===
Harvest had its own [[Planetary anthem of Harvest|planetary anthem]] and an official planetary introduction narrated by the agricultural operations AI Mack. This introduction was played to visitors travelling to the planet via the Tiara's space elevators.{{Ref/Novel|HCH|Page=73-74}}


The senior government official on Harvest was the [[Governor]]. The position was held by [[Nils Thune]] at the time of the planet's fall.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 115''</ref> The [[Parliament of Harvest]] was also involved in the planet's governance. It met in a [[Harvest Parliament Building|Parliament Building]] in [[Utgard]].<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 79''</ref> One of its positions was the [[Wikipedia:Attorney general|Attorney General]], which was held by [[Rol Pedersen]] when the planet fell.
Residents of Harvest were known to partake in the [[Solstice Celebration]].{{Ref/Novel|HCH|Page=117}}


Harvest had its own [[Planetary anthem of Harvest|planetary anthem]] and an official planetary introduction narrated by the agricultural operations AI Mack. This introduction was played to visitors travelling to the planet via the Tiara's space elevators.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''pages 73-74''</ref>
==Gameplay==
===''Halo Wars''===
{{Main|Halo Wars}}
Several [[campaign]] levels in ''Halo Wars'' take place on Harvest, including ''[[Alpha Base (Halo Wars level)|Alpha Base]]'', ''[[Relic Approach]]'', and ''[[Relic Interior]]''.
<gallery widths=115px heights=115px mode=packed-hover>
File:HW-1 Alpha Base.jpg|link=Alpha Base (Halo Wars level)|Alpha Base
File:HW-2 Relic Approach.jpg|link=Relic Approach|Relic Approach
File:HW-3 Relic Interior.jpg|link=Relic Interior|Relic Interior
</gallery>


The only functional defensive force on Harvest at the time of the Covenant attack was [[Harvest militia|its planetary branch]] of [[Colonial Militia]], consisting of two [[platoon]]s.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 121''</ref> Utgard also had its own [[law enforcement]] agency, the [[Utgard Constabulary]].<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 168''</ref>
===''Halo 4''===
{{Main|Halo 4}}
Only one [[multiplayer]] map in ''Halo 4'' takes place on the planet, ''[[Harvest (map)|Harvest]]''.
<gallery widths=200px heights=150px mode=packed-hover>
File:H4 Harvest Farmland.png|link=Harvest (map)|Harvest
</gallery>
==Non-canon and dubious canon appearances==
===Silver Timeline===
{{Main|Silver Timeline}}
Harvest was a human colony glassed by the Covenant prior to [[2540]].{{Ref/Site|URL=https://halotheseries.tv/|Site=Halo: The Series|Page=Dr. Catherine Halsey's Computer|D=25|M=3|Y=2022|LocalArchive=Dr. Catherine Halsey's Computer‎}}


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
Line 111: Line 165:
File:Concept-HW-Harvest.jpg|Concept art of Harvest for ''Halo Wars''.
File:Concept-HW-Harvest.jpg|Concept art of Harvest for ''Halo Wars''.
File:Concept-HW-Harvest-Glassing.jpg|Concept art of a half-melted surface of Harvest for ''Halo Wars''.
File:Concept-HW-Harvest-Glassing.jpg|Concept art of a half-melted surface of Harvest for ''Halo Wars''.
File:Harvest.png|One side of a glassed Harvest, with frozen poles as a result of the "nuclear winter" effect caused by the Covenant's glassing.
File:HWDE_Concept_Gallery_6.png|''Halo Wars'' concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.
File:HWDE_Concept_Gallery_7.png|''Halo Wars'' concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.
File:HWDE_Concept_Gallery_9.png|''Halo Wars'' concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.
File:HWDE_Concept_Gallery_10.png|''Halo Wars'' concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.
File:HWDE_Concept_Gallery_11.png|''Halo Wars'' concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.
File:HWDE_Concept_Gallery_12.png|''Halo Wars'' concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.
File:HWLS Harvest.png|One side of a glassed Harvest, with frozen poles as a result of the "nuclear winter" effect caused by the Covenant's glassing.
File:Post-Glassing Harvest.png|Another side of glassed Harvest as seen on the ''[[Halo Wars Launch Site]]''.
File:Post-Glassing Harvest.png|Another side of glassed Harvest as seen on the ''[[Halo Wars Launch Site]]''.
File:Harvest Northern polar region map.png|Map of Harvest's northern polar region with key Covenant locations on it on the ''Halo Wars Launch site''.
File:Harvest Northern polar region map.png|Map of Harvest's northern polar region with key Covenant locations on it on the ''Halo Wars Launch site''.
File:Harvest_Space_Elevators.jpg|Six of the [[seven]] [[space elevator]]s linking the planet Harvest to the Tiara.
File:Harvest_Space_Elevators.jpg|Six of the [[seven]] [[space elevator]]s linking the planet Harvest to the Tiara.
File:H4-Harvest.png|Harvest as depicted in the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}'s [[War Games]] simulator.
File:HW-Planet-Harvest.jpg|Planet Harvest before its glassing.
File:HW-Planet-Harvest.jpg|Planet Harvest before its glassing.
File:TFoR AS - Harvest glassed.jpg|The glassed surface of Harvest.
File:TFoR AS - Harvest glassed.jpg|The glassed surface of Harvest.
File:TFoR AS - Harvest city.jpg|A glassed city on Harvest.
File:TFoR AS - Harvest city.jpg|A glassed city on Harvest.
File:HaloPlanets.jpg|Harvest (Third from top row) compared in size to other planets in the known galaxy.  
File:HaloPlanets.jpg|Harvest (third from top row) compared in size to other planets in the known galaxy.
File:WFHarvest.png|Harvest after its glassing.
File:H2A FiveLongYears Sign.png|A [[UNSC Marine Corps]] ad in [[2552]] featuring Marines on the planet.
</gallery>
</gallery>
 
{{Linkbox|gallery=yes}}
==List of appearances==
==List of appearances==
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]''
*''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]''
Line 132: Line 195:
*''[[Halo Legends]]''
*''[[Halo Legends]]''
**''[[Origins]]''
**''[[Origins]]''
**''[[Homecoming]]''
*''[[Halo: Evolutions]]''
*''[[Halo: Evolutions]]''
**''[[Dirt]]''
**''[[Dirt]]''
Line 140: Line 202:
*''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]''
*''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]''
**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp|Boot Camp]]''
**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp|Boot Camp]]''
{{Col-2}}
*''[[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo 4]]''
*''[[Halo 4]]''
Line 146: Line 209:
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series]]''
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series]]''
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''
**''[[Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition|Limited Edition]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition dossiers|Limited Edition dossiers]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Ground Command]]''
*''[[Halo: Ground Command]]''
*''[[Halo Mythos]]''
*''[[Halo Mythos]]''
*''[[Halo: Smoke and Shadow]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Smoke and Shadow]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Warfleet]]''
*''[[Halo Wars 2]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Wars 2]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Collateral Damage]]''
*''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Oblivion]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: The Television Series Season Two]]''
**''[[Sanctuary (TV Series)|Sanctuary]]'' {{Mo}}
{{Col-end}}


==Note==
==Notes==
<references group="note"/>
{{Ref/Notes}}


==Sources==
==Sources==
{{reflist|2}}
{{Ref/Sources|2}}


[[Category:Human colonies]]
[[Category:Human colonies]]
[[Category:Planets]]
[[Category:Planets]]
[[Category:Harvest locations| ]]
[[Category:Harvest locations| ]]

Latest revision as of 06:16, February 8, 2024

This article is about the human colony world. Were you looking for the multiplayer map Harvest from Halo 4?
Harvest
Harvest pre-glassing.png
Astrographical

System:

Epsilon Indi system[1][2]

Orbiting:

Epsilon Indi[1][2]

Orbital position:

Fourth planet[1][2]

Moon(s):

None[2]

Physical

Diameter:

4,012 kilometres (2,493 mi)[1][2]

Gravity:

0.998 G[1][2]

Length of day:

17.5 hours[2]

Atmosphere:

1.02 (N2, O2)[1][2]

Surface temperature:

-19°C to 42°C (-2°F to 108°F)[1][2]

Societal

Species:

Human

Population:

  • Approximately 3,000,000[Note 1]
  • 0 (modern)

Colonized:

2468[1][2]

Government:

 

Harvest, also known as Epsilon Indi IV,[3] designated CE-309-8 d by the Forerunners,[2][4] was a human Outer Colony world founded as a "breadbasket" world. Founded in 2468 by the UNSC Skidbladnir, the colony was the most remote at the time of its founding.[5][Note 2] Located in the Epsilon Indi system,[6] the planet had the unfortunate distinction of being the first human planet discovered and destroyed by the Covenant. After a disastrous first contact, the planet was subsequently glassed by the Covenant, but most of its population managed to escape in freighters.[7]

Overview[edit]

Topography[edit]

Matte painting of Harvest's surface.
Panorama of Harvest's landscape.

Harvest was a small planet, approximately one-third the size of Earth with an equatorial diameter of slightly more than 4,000 kilometers (2,484 miles), making Harvest slightly smaller than the Sol planet Mercury.[8] In terms of surface area, Harvest possessed ~50 million km², roughly one-tenth the surface area of Earth. Harvest orbited Epsilon Indi extremely quickly, much faster than most other UNSC colonies, at roughly 150,000 km/h, or ~41 km/sec (by comparison, Earth orbits Sol at roughly 30 km/sec). Harvest had no natural satellites. Harvest also has a day/night cycle only 17.5 Earth hours long. Out of a total of five planets in the Epsilon Indi system, Harvest was the only habitable planet, as well as being fertile for farming. The super-continent Edda dominated the planet, taking up roughly 67% of its surface. Two low-salinity seas covered the remainder of the planet, Hugin to the north, and Munin to the south.[9] Almost 86% of Edda is within 500 meters of sea level, the only major change in elevation is the Bifrost, an escarpment that "cuts" Edda in half.

Harvest's surface was once beautiful, covered in grassland and forests, lush fields and rolling hills, and a thousand lakes swarming with fish. The orchards were filled with luscious crops. Starlings and bats were among the introduced species.[10]

After being glassed, however, the surface was reduced to a layer of melted glass, the destruction visible from orbit.[11] The environment suffered a catastrophic blow as a result, the once glorious landscape turning into a nearly frozen tundra, causing most species to quickly go extinct. Soon, all that remained of Harvest's original ecosystem were the scavengers, feeding off the rotting remains of the planet's once abundant wildlife, and even they perished before long. Now, the planet is submerged in nuclear winter, with no life on the surface. But, even after all of this, there are still several Forerunner complexes, surviving deep in the planet's mantle.[12] One species of bird was known to survive the glassing to 2531.[13]

Locations[edit]

Matte painting of Harvest's surface.
The ice sheets of Harvest's northern pole.

Known residents[edit]

History[edit]

Ancient history[edit]

Harvest was known to the Forerunners approximately 100,000 years prior to the Human-Covenant War. The planet was a relatively minor asset in the Forerunners' vast empire and was utilized as a conservation sphere waystation. The waystation facility included a subsidiary Flood research and containment center,[4] as well as administrative nodes that directed Forerunner defenses in the surrounding systems.[2] The structure housed a holographic stellar cartographer that pointed the way to another star system, Procyon.

Rise of humanity[edit]

Harvest before the Covenant assault.

Harvest was founded in 2468 when the UNSC Skidbladnir arrived transporting colonists, then dismantled to form the core of Utgard. One of the furthest and most isolated colonies to be founded by the UEG,[Note 2] the population was still small when Sergeant Avery J. Johnson engaged in his first mission on the planet. Harvest was settled by Lutheran Americans of Germanic descent.[14][15] Most locations on Harvest were named for elements of Norse mythology, as were its primary AIs, Sif and Loki/Mack. This is because many of Harvest's settlers were of Scandinavian ancestry.

By the time he returned in 2525, the population of Utgard alone had doubled.[citation needed]

Insurrection[edit]

In 2502, various secessionist and Insurrectionist groups were active on Harvest, including the People's Occupation Government, Harvest for Harvesters and the Secessionist Union, whose leader, Jerald Mulkey Ander, was assassinated by Avery Johnson as part of the ORION Project's Operation: KALEIDOSCOPE.[16]

Harvest was the first colony to be attacked by the Covenant and the first human world to be glassed. It was also the first place humanity officially made contact with the Covenant, after the incidents on This End Up and Minor Transgression.

In 2524, Staff Sergeant Johnson returned to Harvest along with Staff Sergeant Byrne and Captain Ponder, all survivors of Operation: TREBUCHET. They were to train a Colonial Militia and, unbeknownst to them, fend off what UNSC had believed to be Insurrectionist attacks on ships in the system.

On February 3, 2525, the Harvest orbital platform, the Tiara, made long-range radar and spectroscopic contact with Rapid Conversion. Contact with Harvest was lost thereafter.

Human-Covenant War[edit]

The citizens of Harvest soon found themselves in the middle of the first battle between the Covenant and humanity, using their newly trained Militia to herd hundreds of thousands of civilian survivors from Gladsheim, Vigrond and other locations to the Utgard space elevators to escape the planet.

First Battle of Harvest[edit]
Harvest, partially glassed by the Covenant.
Main article: First Battle of Harvest

During the first Covenant attack on Harvest about 250,000+ humans managed to escape the planet by packing into 236 freight containers which were then loaded into seven elevator depots in Utgard. Every five to seven minutes, seven pairs of freight containers were loaded into the space elevator. Loaded ahead of these freight containers were seven "grease buckets", maintenance containers, two which were loaded with Johnson's men and Jilan al-Cygni. The other five were decoys rigged with claymore mines which were used to soften the Brutes, Grunts and Drones which had boarded and taken control of Tiara.[17] While the other two "grease buckets" holding Johnson and Co. stopped and they were fighting off the Covenant, the number seven strand of the space elevator snapped a few thousand kilometers above its anchor due to the stress caused by the load becoming unbalanced. There were 11 pairs of freight containers on the strand when it snapped, killing around 20,000 people.[18] The remaining freight containers carrying the survivors of Harvest continued up the elevator, out into space, where they met up with propulsion pods that Sif had placed previously. Once Johnson and Co. finished fighting the Covenant on the Tiara, they joined the survivors and used the propulsion pods to enter Slipspace.[19]

At the time of these occurrences, the first prototypes of the Brute Chopper was made by a Huragok named Lighter Than Some. However, these were destroyed by JOTUNs commanded by the AI Mack.

After the destruction of the Tiara, the now rampant AI Mack buried its strands in a form of a funerary ritual for the AI Sif.

The discovery of humans on Harvest was the catalyst for the attempted Covenant genocide of the human race, due to a mistranslation of the Forerunner glyph for "Reclaimer", for "Reclamation".

Preston Cole reviews the events of the Battle of Harvest.
Cole's victory in the Second Battle of Harvest.

By April 20, the Colonial Military Authority sent the scout ship CMA Argo to investigate. Other then confirming its arrival at Epsilon Indi no other transmissions were sent, and the Argo was presumed MIA.

On October 7, Fleet Command assembled Battle Group 4 to investigate, due to the fact that the Harvest situation was deemed to have become serious. The battle group consisted of the destroyer CMA Heracles, commanded by Captain Veredi, as well as the frigates CMA Arabia and CMA Vostok. They entered the Harvest system only to find the planet's surface almost entirely melted down to glass. While there, the battle group encountered a Rasus-pattern interdictor. This vessel immediately fired on the inferior human vessels, and the Vostok and Arabia were lost with all hands. The Heracles managed to jump out of the system, but took several weeks to return to Reach due to damage sustained in the battle. Upon hearing Veredi's report and realizing the scale of the threat, the UNSC was placed on full alert and a fleet was assembled to meet the threat.[20]

Harvest campaign[edit]
Marine forces battle the Covenant in the frozen remnants of the formerly-lush planet.

Vice Admiral Preston J. Cole fought and barely won the Battle of Harvest in 2526. The UNSC was able to retake the planet but with the loss of 2/3 of their fleet, even when they had outnumbered the single Covenant ship in Harvest orbit.[21] Harvest would continue to be contested in the following years, as not long after, the Covenant attacked again. The battle for control of the planet lasted for five years until 2531, when Admiral Cole led a group of ships, including the UNSC Spirit of Fire into the system and neutralized the Covenant force. They later discovered that the Covenant had established a presence on the planet's surface, and more shockingly, had uncovered the previously unknown Forerunner relic which lead the Spirit of Fire to Arcadia,[22] where the Covenant then led them to a shield world where they were able to stop a major Covenant threat.

Ultimately, the Covenant once again returned to Harvest in 2534, glassing the planetary surface for a second and decisively final time.[23] After this event, Harvest was effectively abandoned by humanity.

Post-War[edit]

In the post-war era, Harvest has yet to see any formal effort at reclamation or rehabitation by humanity, due in part to sorrow at the conflict which consumed the world and impracticality due to the planet's location in deep-space.[24] Software simulations of Harvest's space elevator base have been created by the UNSC for use in their War Games training exercises, with Map_Set/: 309-8 used by Spartan Operations for such purposes.[25][26][2]

Government and society[edit]

A settlement on Harvest.

Harvest was one of the Unified Earth Government's more productive and peaceful colonies.

The senior government official on Harvest was the Governor. The position was held by Nils Thune at the time of the planet's fall.[27] The Parliament of Harvest was also involved in the planet's governance. It met in a Parliament Building in Utgard.[28] One of its positions was the Attorney General, which was held by Rol Pedersen when the planet fell.

By 2524 the population of Harvest was 3,000,000,[Note 1] some of whom escaped during the initial Covenant attack. The capital city and its largest population center was Utgard, also home to Harvest's seven space elevators connected to the orbital space station, Tiara.

Defenses[edit]

The only functional defensive force on Harvest at the time of the Covenant attack was its planetary branch of Colonial Militia, consisting of two platoons.[29] Utgard also had its own law enforcement agency, the Utgard Constabulary.[30]

Economy[edit]

Within two decades of its founding, it had the highest per capita agricultural manufacture of any outer colony. Major crops, such as corn; wheat; watermelons; peaches; apples; grapes, and numerous other foodstuffs nourished the inhabitants of more than half a dozen other colonies.

Culture[edit]

Harvest had its own planetary anthem and an official planetary introduction narrated by the agricultural operations AI Mack. This introduction was played to visitors travelling to the planet via the Tiara's space elevators.[31]

Residents of Harvest were known to partake in the Solstice Celebration.[32]

Gameplay[edit]

Halo Wars[edit]

Main article: Halo Wars

Several campaign levels in Halo Wars take place on Harvest, including Alpha Base, Relic Approach, and Relic Interior.

  • Alpha Base

    Alpha Base

  • Relic Approach

    Relic Approach

  • Relic Interior

    Relic Interior

Halo 4[edit]

Main article: Halo 4

Only one multiplayer map in Halo 4 takes place on the planet, Harvest.

  • Harvest

    Harvest

Non-canon and dubious canon appearances[edit]

Silver Timeline[edit]

Main article: Silver Timeline

Harvest was a human colony glassed by the Covenant prior to 2540.[33]

Gallery[edit]

  • Concept art of Harvest for Halo Wars.

    Concept art of Harvest for Halo Wars.

  • Concept art of a half-melted surface of Harvest for Halo Wars.

    Concept art of a half-melted surface of Harvest for Halo Wars.

  • Halo Wars concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.

    Halo Wars concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.

  • Halo Wars concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.

    Halo Wars concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.

  • Halo Wars concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.

    Halo Wars concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.

  • Halo Wars concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.

    Halo Wars concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.

  • Halo Wars concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.

    Halo Wars concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.

  • Halo Wars concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.

    Halo Wars concept art for Harvest's surface, now in nuclear winter.

  • One side of a glassed Harvest, with frozen poles as a result of the "nuclear winter" effect caused by the Covenant's glassing.

    One side of a glassed Harvest, with frozen poles as a result of the "nuclear winter" effect caused by the Covenant's glassing.

  • Another side of glassed Harvest as seen on the Halo Wars Launch Site.

    Another side of glassed Harvest as seen on the Halo Wars Launch Site.

  • Map of Harvest's northern polar region with key Covenant locations on it on the Halo Wars Launch site.

    Map of Harvest's northern polar region with key Covenant locations on it on the Halo Wars Launch site.

  • Six of the seven space elevators linking the planet Harvest to the Tiara.

    Six of the seven space elevators linking the planet Harvest to the Tiara.

  • Planet Harvest before its glassing.

    Planet Harvest before its glassing.

  • The glassed surface of Harvest.

    The glassed surface of Harvest.

  • A glassed city on Harvest.

    A glassed city on Harvest.

  • Harvest (third from top row) compared in size to other planets in the known galaxy.

    Harvest (third from top row) compared in size to other planets in the known galaxy.

  • Harvest after its glassing.

    Harvest after its glassing.

  • A UNSC Marine Corps ad in 2552 featuring Marines on the planet.

    A UNSC Marine Corps ad in 2552 featuring Marines on the planet.

Main-Superintendent.png Browse more images in this article's gallery page.

List of appearances[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b According to Halo: The Fall of Reach, Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp, and Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, Harvest had a population of approximately three million. However, Halo: Contact Harvest consistently states that Harvest had a population of around 300,000, and that roughly 250,000 civilians, who constituted most of the planet's population, escaped before the planet was glassed.
  2. ^ a b According to Halo: Contact Harvest, Harvest was the latest of humanity's seventeen colonies to be settled. The claim of humanity having a mere seventeen colony worlds has been ignored in later material, which instead appear to adhere to the more lenient figure of 800 worlds presented in the original Halo timeline. Given that the timeline also states that 210 Inner Colonies had been settled before 2390, it is unlikely that the notion of Harvest being the seventeenth colony is considered canonical. This is further evidenced by the "Story So Far" documentary on the Halo: Legends DVD giving the number of human worlds the same as the original timeline.

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, page 91
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Halo Waypoint, Harvest (Retrieved on Jun 1, 2020) [archive]
  3. ^ Halo Channel: Encyclopedia
  4. ^ a b Halo Waypoint, Catalog Interaction page 14 (Retrieved on Jun 1, 2020) [archive]
  5. ^ Official Halo Wars Community Site - Timeline (defunct, Archive)
  6. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 32
  7. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 387
  8. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 33
  9. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 74
  10. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 75
  11. ^ Halo: The Fall of Reach, ??
  12. ^ Halo: Warfleet, page 22
  13. ^ Halo Wars, campaign level Alpha Base
  14. ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition), page 286-287
  15. ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2011 edition), page 298-299
  16. ^ Halo Graphic Novel, page 122
  17. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 351-352
  18. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 372
  19. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 352
  20. ^ Halo: The Fall of Reach, page 113: Definitive Edition
  21. ^ Halo Wars, Timeline
  22. ^ Halo Wars, campaign level Relic Interior
  23. ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 51
  24. ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 44
  25. ^ Halo 4, multiplayer map Harvest
  26. ^ Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide, page 219
  27. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 115
  28. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 79
  29. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 121
  30. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 168
  31. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 73-74
  32. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 117
  33. ^ Halo: The Series, Dr. Catherine Halsey's Computer (Retrieved on Mar 25, 2022) [local archive] [external archive]
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