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Human-Covenant War: Difference between revisions
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|side1='''[[Unified Earth Government]]''' | |side1='''[[Unified Earth Government]]''' | ||
*[[United Nations Space Command]] | *[[United Nations Space Command]] | ||
<br>[[Covenant | <br>[[Thel 'Vadam's Covenant faction]] | ||
<br>[[Forerunner]] constructs | <br>[[Forerunner]] constructs | ||
|side2=[[Covenant]] | |side2=[[Covenant]] | ||
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The conflict was also the cause of the [[Great Schism]] within the Covenant. Forced to fight a war on two fronts, the formerly monolithic empire was torn apart. While the [[Battle of Installation 00|deciding battle]] of the war was fought on [[2552#December|December 11, 2552]],<ref name="fortitude">[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/featured/video/herofortitude/bfe5038b-314a-4f17-a6be-f7613e0e3788 '''Halo Waypoint''', ''Hero-Fortitude'']</ref> an informal ceasefire was not agreed upon until [[2553#February|February 2553]].<ref name="ceasefire">'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''pages 358-361''</ref> The official cessation of hostilities was declared on [[2553#March|March 3, 2553]].<ref name="Dr. Iqbal"/> The war was incredibly costly to both sides, with over twenty-three billion humans and billions of Covenant individuals killed during the hostilities. An outbreak of the virulent parasite known as the Flood almost consumed both factions near the war's end. The conflict lasted for a total of twenty-eight years. | The conflict was also the cause of the [[Great Schism]] within the Covenant. Forced to fight a war on two fronts, the formerly monolithic empire was torn apart. While the [[Battle of Installation 00|deciding battle]] of the war was fought on [[2552#December|December 11, 2552]],<ref name="fortitude">[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/featured/video/herofortitude/bfe5038b-314a-4f17-a6be-f7613e0e3788 '''Halo Waypoint''', ''Hero-Fortitude'']</ref> an informal ceasefire was not agreed upon until [[2553#February|February 2553]].<ref name="ceasefire">'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''pages 358-361''</ref> The official cessation of hostilities was declared on [[2553#March|March 3, 2553]].<ref name="Dr. Iqbal"/> The war was incredibly costly to both sides, with over twenty-three billion humans and billions of Covenant individuals killed during the hostilities. An outbreak of the virulent parasite known as the Flood almost consumed both factions near the war's end. The conflict lasted for a total of twenty-eight years. | ||
After the ceasefire was declared, the Great Schism continued as late as [[2559]], albeit with a greatly diminished scope and scale.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions''', ''The Return''</ref> Concurrent to this, the Sangheili species fell into [[Sangheili civil war|civil war]], as did the Jiralhanae. [[Shipmaster]] [[Jul 'Mdama]] manipulated the disarray following the war to [[Covenant | After the ceasefire was declared, the Great Schism continued as late as [[2559]], albeit with a greatly diminished scope and scale.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions''', ''The Return''</ref> Concurrent to this, the Sangheili species fell into [[Sangheili civil war|civil war]], as did the Jiralhanae. [[Shipmaster]] [[Jul 'Mdama]] manipulated the disarray following the war to [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction|reform the Covenant]] in 2553. This reborn Covenant would eventually spark a [[Reclamation conflict|new conflict with humanity]] that would be fought at least through [[2558|February 2558]].<ref name="Reed">[http://blogs.halowaypoint.com/Headlines/post/2013/06/03/Halo-Initiation-Writer-Interview.aspx '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Halo Initiation Writer Interview''] ''("Experience a new war with the Covenant ...")''</ref> | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
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[[File:War.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The Great Schism begins.]] | [[File:War.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The Great Schism begins.]] | ||
Meanwhile, the majority of the human forces on ''In Amber Clad'' had traveled to Delta Halo's [[Library]] to obtain the [[Index]], which is the key to firing Halo. Originally, the Covenant had been unaware of the Index's importance, but luckily for them, Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee had obtained [[343 Guilty Spark]], the monitor of [[Installation 04]], while destroying the Heretic base.<ref name="oracle">'''Halo 2''', campaign level, ''[[The Oracle]]''</ref> The monitor, known to the Covenant as an Oracle, told the Prophets of the Index and the Arbiter was sent to retrieve the "Sacred Icon". The mission was complicated though by the unexpected release of the Flood. Despite this, the Arbiter successfully reached the Library and prevented the humans from claiming the Index. Just as [[Miranda Keyes]] claimed the index, the Arbiter stole it from her, kidnapping her and [[Sgt. Johnson]]. However, then Index was stolen from the Arbiter by the [[Jiralhanae Chieftain]] [[Tartarus]], who was under the Prophets' orders to retrieve the Index and kill the Arbiter, whom Tartarus knocked down an apparently bottomless shaft.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Quarantine Zone (level)|Quarantine Zone]]''</ref> With the Index secure, the Prophets then ordered the Jiralhanae to begin eradicating the Sangheili, thus starting the [[Great Schism]]. Ultimately this led to the death of Tartarus at the hands of 'Vadamee and Johnson and a temporary alliance between the Sangheili | Meanwhile, the majority of the human forces on ''In Amber Clad'' had traveled to Delta Halo's [[Library]] to obtain the [[Index]], which is the key to firing Halo. Originally, the Covenant had been unaware of the Index's importance, but luckily for them, Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee had obtained [[343 Guilty Spark]], the monitor of [[Installation 04]], while destroying the Heretic base.<ref name="oracle">'''Halo 2''', campaign level, ''[[The Oracle]]''</ref> The monitor, known to the Covenant as an Oracle, told the Prophets of the Index and the Arbiter was sent to retrieve the "Sacred Icon". The mission was complicated though by the unexpected release of the Flood. Despite this, the Arbiter successfully reached the Library and prevented the humans from claiming the Index. Just as [[Miranda Keyes]] claimed the index, the Arbiter stole it from her, kidnapping her and [[Sgt. Johnson]]. However, then Index was stolen from the Arbiter by the [[Jiralhanae Chieftain]] [[Tartarus]], who was under the Prophets' orders to retrieve the Index and kill the Arbiter, whom Tartarus knocked down an apparently bottomless shaft.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Quarantine Zone (level)|Quarantine Zone]]''</ref> With the Index secure, the Prophets then ordered the Jiralhanae to begin eradicating the Sangheili, thus starting the [[Great Schism]]. Ultimately this led to the death of Tartarus at the hands of 'Vadamee and Johnson and a temporary alliance between the Sangheili separatists and the human forces. Delta Halo was prevented from firing by Miranda Keyes while the Flood infected and absorbed the [[Prophet of Mercy]], leaving the Prophet of Truth firmly in control over the Covenant Empire.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[The Great Journey (level)|The Great Journey]]''</ref> | ||
====Battle of Onyx==== | ====Battle of Onyx==== | ||
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Long before the events around Halo, the classified UNSC colony of [[Onyx]] had been designated the headquarters and training ground for the SPARTAN-III Program. However, the UNSC had no idea that the planet was in fact a huge [[Forerunner]] construct, integral to the [[Halo Array]], and containing trillions of [[Onyx Sentinel|Sentinels]].<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''pages 377-378''</ref> After John-117's destruction of Alpha Halo, the Sentinels were roused by the disruption of the Halo network and the portal leading into the [[Sharpened Shield|Shield World]] at the planet's core began to close. At this time, a small group of SPARTAN-IIIs were training in a top honors exercise on the surface. After the humans failed to exchange the proper counter-responses, the Sentinels relabelled the [[Reclaimer]]s as an "aboriginal subspecies" and began to exterminate them.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 133''</ref> Led by [[Kurt-051]], the SPARTAN-IIIs fought a guerrilla war against the Sentinels until Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] arrived on Onyx and explained the wider situation. Knowing that the Forerunner technology buried in Onyx's core could turn the tide of the war for humanity, Halsey used Forerunner technology to send a message to [[Fleet Admiral]] [[Terrence Hood|Sir Terrence Hood]], requesting reinforcements. Hood deployed [[Blue Team]] to Onyx, who stole [[Bloodied Spirit|a Covenant destroyer]] to reach the planet in time.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 221''</ref> | Long before the events around Halo, the classified UNSC colony of [[Onyx]] had been designated the headquarters and training ground for the SPARTAN-III Program. However, the UNSC had no idea that the planet was in fact a huge [[Forerunner]] construct, integral to the [[Halo Array]], and containing trillions of [[Onyx Sentinel|Sentinels]].<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''pages 377-378''</ref> After John-117's destruction of Alpha Halo, the Sentinels were roused by the disruption of the Halo network and the portal leading into the [[Sharpened Shield|Shield World]] at the planet's core began to close. At this time, a small group of SPARTAN-IIIs were training in a top honors exercise on the surface. After the humans failed to exchange the proper counter-responses, the Sentinels relabelled the [[Reclaimer]]s as an "aboriginal subspecies" and began to exterminate them.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 133''</ref> Led by [[Kurt-051]], the SPARTAN-IIIs fought a guerrilla war against the Sentinels until Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] arrived on Onyx and explained the wider situation. Knowing that the Forerunner technology buried in Onyx's core could turn the tide of the war for humanity, Halsey used Forerunner technology to send a message to [[Fleet Admiral]] [[Terrence Hood|Sir Terrence Hood]], requesting reinforcements. Hood deployed [[Blue Team]] to Onyx, who stole [[Bloodied Spirit|a Covenant destroyer]] to reach the planet in time.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 221''</ref> | ||
Meanwhile, the [[Covenant separatists]] under the leadership of [[Imperial Admiral]] [[Xytan 'Jar Wattinree]] had deployed a fleet to Onyx to claim the "sacred relics" for their fight against the Jiralhanae and the other loyalists. Xytan would not live to hear of the results of this mission, as he and the majority of his fleet were annihilated by a UNSC Nova bomb recovered from Reach.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''pages 244-245''</ref> After Blue Team made landfall, [[Fleet Master]] [[Voro Nar 'Mantakree]]'s fleet arrived at Onyx, taking down hundreds of orbiting Sentinels before discovering the UNSC forces in the recently-uncovered Forerunner city below. 'Mantakree personally led the Covenant forces on the surface, before a [[Patterson's battle group|UNSC battlegroup]] arrived and used tactical skill and indirect help from the Sentinels to destroy the majority of the separatist fleet before being wiped out by reinforcements from [[Joyous Exultation]], with only [[UNSC Dusk|one ship]] escaping.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 333''</ref> | Meanwhile, the [[Thel 'Vadam's Covenant faction|Covenant separatists]] under the leadership of [[Imperial Admiral]] [[Xytan 'Jar Wattinree]] had deployed a fleet to Onyx to claim the "sacred relics" for their fight against the Jiralhanae and the other loyalists. Xytan would not live to hear of the results of this mission, as he and the majority of his fleet were annihilated by a UNSC Nova bomb recovered from Reach.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''pages 244-245''</ref> After Blue Team made landfall, [[Fleet Master]] [[Voro Nar 'Mantakree]]'s fleet arrived at Onyx, taking down hundreds of orbiting Sentinels before discovering the UNSC forces in the recently-uncovered Forerunner city below. 'Mantakree personally led the Covenant forces on the surface, before a [[Patterson's battle group|UNSC battlegroup]] arrived and used tactical skill and indirect help from the Sentinels to destroy the majority of the separatist fleet before being wiped out by reinforcements from [[Joyous Exultation]], with only [[UNSC Dusk|one ship]] escaping.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 333''</ref> | ||
Underneath Onyx, the Spartans had discovered the [[core room antechamber]] and were preparing to enter the Shield World. They managed to hold off hundreds of Covenant troops before being forced to retreat into the core, while Kurt-051 sacrificed himself by detonating two [[FENRIS nuclear warhead]]s, killing the entire separatist force.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 371''</ref> Following the core being sealed, Onyx broke up into trillions of Sentinels, guarding the construct. With the Covenant separatists dangerously depleted, the warlike Sangheili were finally forced to ally with their enemy, humanity. | Underneath Onyx, the Spartans had discovered the [[core room antechamber]] and were preparing to enter the Shield World. They managed to hold off hundreds of Covenant troops before being forced to retreat into the core, while Kurt-051 sacrificed himself by detonating two [[FENRIS nuclear warhead]]s, killing the entire separatist force.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 371''</ref> Following the core being sealed, Onyx broke up into trillions of Sentinels, guarding the construct. With the Covenant separatists dangerously depleted, the warlike Sangheili were finally forced to ally with their enemy, humanity. | ||
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After the war, [[Codename: SURGEON]] authored [[Eleventh Hour reports|a series of reports]] detailing the impact of the Covenant War and the postwar status quo. In light of predicted resurgences of the Covenant and the Insurrection, as well as new discoveries regarding the Forerunners and their complex relationship with humanity, SURGEON hoped that future historians would view the war as an experience which served to strengthen the resolve of humanity as a whole and prepared them for even worse struggles yet to come.<ref name="EH"/> This view echoes SURGEON's own conclusions regarding the Insurrection's impact on humanity's survival in the Covenant War in ''[[Historical/Psychological Analysis of Cole, Preston J.]]''<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole'', ''page 457''</ref> | After the war, [[Codename: SURGEON]] authored [[Eleventh Hour reports|a series of reports]] detailing the impact of the Covenant War and the postwar status quo. In light of predicted resurgences of the Covenant and the Insurrection, as well as new discoveries regarding the Forerunners and their complex relationship with humanity, SURGEON hoped that future historians would view the war as an experience which served to strengthen the resolve of humanity as a whole and prepared them for even worse struggles yet to come.<ref name="EH"/> This view echoes SURGEON's own conclusions regarding the Insurrection's impact on humanity's survival in the Covenant War in ''[[Historical/Psychological Analysis of Cole, Preston J.]]''<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole'', ''page 457''</ref> | ||
The end of the war only provided a short period of calm for humanity and the former-Covenant species, before new threats began to emerge. The end of the war had had a profound effect on Thel 'Vadam, whose human-sympathetic policies were ultimately a factor in the beginning of the Sangheili civil war and the rise of the [[Servants of the Abiding Truth]]. [[Shipmaster]] [[Jul 'Mdama]] eventually reunited some of the disparate factions which had surfaced in the wake of the Great Schism and [[Covenant | The end of the war only provided a short period of calm for humanity and the former-Covenant species, before new threats began to emerge. The end of the war had had a profound effect on Thel 'Vadam, whose human-sympathetic policies were ultimately a factor in the beginning of the Sangheili civil war and the rise of the [[Servants of the Abiding Truth]]. [[Shipmaster]] [[Jul 'Mdama]] eventually reunited some of the disparate factions which had surfaced in the wake of the Great Schism and [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction|reformed the Covenant]]. At some point after early 2553, this new Covenant started a [[Reclamation conflict|second war with humanity]], which later saw the involvement of reawakened [[Forerunner]] [[Promethean]]s led by the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]]. This war would be fought as late as [[2558|February 2558]].<ref name="Reed"/><ref>'''Halo 4'',' ''Spartan Ops''</ref> | ||
{{Clear}} | {{Clear}} | ||
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*[[Battle of Onyx]]. The destruction of [[Installation 04]] wakes dormant Forerunner installations, including the Sentinels on Onyx which then threaten the UNSC base there. The SPARTAN-IIs of Blue Team fight their way off of [[Earth]] and commandeer a [[Covenant Destroyer]], the ''[[Bloodied Spirit]]'', to relieve [[Onyx]]. Covenant and UNSC ships converge on Onyx but ultimately all are destroyed except for the {{UNSCship|Dusk}}. UNSC survivors retreat within the Onyx [[Shield World]]. | *[[Battle of Onyx]]. The destruction of [[Installation 04]] wakes dormant Forerunner installations, including the Sentinels on Onyx which then threaten the UNSC base there. The SPARTAN-IIs of Blue Team fight their way off of [[Earth]] and commandeer a [[Covenant Destroyer]], the ''[[Bloodied Spirit]]'', to relieve [[Onyx]]. Covenant and UNSC ships converge on Onyx but ultimately all are destroyed except for the {{UNSCship|Dusk}}. UNSC survivors retreat within the Onyx [[Shield World]]. | ||
*The Battle of Earth continues. The Covenant, led by the Prophet of Truth, arrive at Earth in force, to reinforce the Covenant forces already present. During the following week, [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marines]], with help of the [[Covenant | *The Battle of Earth continues. The Covenant, led by the Prophet of Truth, arrive at Earth in force, to reinforce the Covenant forces already present. During the following week, [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marines]], with help of the [[Thel 'Vadam's Covenant faction|separatists]], pushes back the Covenant invaders. | ||
====December==== | ====December==== | ||