Human-Covenant War: Difference between revisions

[[Post-Covenant War conflicts]]

|image=[[File:Human-Covenant War composite.png|400px]]^{Clockwise from top left: the UNSC responds to a Covenant invasion of a UEG colony world; [[Fleet of Righteous Vigilance|a Covenant fleet]] glasses [[Kholo]]; the UNSC, Covenant and the [[Flood]] battle on [[Installation 04]]; the [[Battle of Installation 00|war's final battle at the Ark]]; the [[Battle of Earth]]; and the ''Pillar of Autumn'' fleeing from the [[Fall of Reach]].}

|place=The [[Orion Arm]] of the [[Milky Way]]<ref group="notes">The Human-Covenant War briefly extended outside the Milky Way galaxy for the [[Battle of Installation 00]]</ref>

*Widespread [[Flood]] infection of the galaxy averted

*Activation of the [[Halo Array]] averted

|side1='''[[Unified Earth Government]]'''

|side2='''[[Covenant]]'''

|side3='''[[Flood]]'''

*[[Chieftain of the Jiralhanae]] [[Tartarus]]†

*[[Rtas 'Vadum|Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee]] <small>''(pre-Great Schism)''</small>

|commanders3=[[Gravemind]]†

|forces1=

*Approximately 23 billion civilian and military casualties by October 20, 2552;<ref name=HE:PH>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe|Halo: Evolutions]]''', "[[Palace Hotel (short story)|Palace Hotel]]", ''page 351''</ref> billions more during invasion of Earth<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands'''. ''page 151''</ref>

*Widespread infrastructure, structural, and environmental damage to UEG colonies

; Heavy casualties for Forerunner constructs

*Destruction of [[Installation 04]] and its replacement [[Installation 04B]]

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.

==History==

Humanity and the Covenant first came into direct contact on February 3rd, 2525, when a [[Kig-Yar]] [[missionary ship]], the ''[[Minor Transgression]]'', discovered [[Horn of Plenty|a human ship]] transitioning out of [[Slipstream space|slipspace]] and subsequently raided the vessel.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 27''</ref> The raid continued to [[This End Up|another]] unfortunate human ship.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''pages 97-100''</ref> Some time after, [[Sif]], Harvest shipping operations AI, investigated the raids and reported her findings to an undercover [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] agent, [[Jilan al-Cygni]], believing that the attacks were Insurrectionist activity. The ONI agent devised a trap for the raiding parties, which resulted in a [[Skirmish Over Harvest|minor skirmish]] between [[Staff Sergeant]]s [[Nolan Byrne]] and [[Avery Johnson|Avery Johnson]], and the Kig-Yar privateers.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''pages 128-134''</ref> When the Covenant returned with [[Rapid Conversion|another ship]] and a contingent of [[Jiralhanae]] and [[Yanme'e]], the UNSC proposed a meeting (via pictogram) with the intention to make amends and to trade with the alien species.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 229''</ref> The Covenant met the UNSC on Harvest, but were only interested in claiming the relics that the [[Luminary]] had detected on Harvest, completely oblivious that the humans were the "relics" in question. The meeting was botched after [[Osmo]], a member of the [[Harvest militia|Colonial Militia]], was attacked by a nervous [[Unggoy]] who was part of a second Covenant force sent to look for the relics. As a result, a firefight erupted between the two groups and the Covenant promptly retreated back to their ship.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 213''</ref>

The first battle of the war was the extended, albeit one-sided, engagement which took place on Harvest. The UNSC managed to delay the Covenant long enough to evacuate many of Harvest's civilians.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 352''</ref> Eventually, the Covenant ship responsible for the attack [[Glassing|glassed]] the planet's surface.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 387''</ref>

====The tide turns====

The Covenant suffered a costly defeat on and around [[Installation 04]]. Here, the human survivors from the [[Halcyon-class cruiser|''Halcyon''-class cruiser]], the ''Pillar of Autumn'', managed to form an effective and surprising resistance to the Covenant. Unwilling to risk damaging the [[Halo|sacred ring]], the Covenant was forced to fight the humans on Halo's surface rather than using their usual bombardment tactics.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', ''page 187''</ref> The Covenant found the UNSC very adept at fighting on the ring's surface, employing their firearms and vehicles in classic guerrilla raids. The Covenant was soundly defeated in numerous raids led by SPARTAN [[John-117]], including an attack on a grounded cruiser, the ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'', successfully escaping with the captain of the ''Pillar of Autumn'', Captain Jacob Keyes.<ref>'''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''', campaign level, ''[[The Truth and Reconciliation]]''</ref> The battle on Halo then suddenly took a turn for the worst for both sides when the Covenant accidentally released an ancient and deadly parasitic race called [[the Flood]]. The Flood, having been imprisoned within Halo for many thousands of years, instinctively spread quickly throughout the ring, killing or assimilating every unsuspecting human and Covenant in their path.<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved''', campaign level, ''[[343 Guilty Spark (level)|343 Guilty Spark]]''</ref>

During the course of the battle, John 117 discovered the true nature of Halo and proceeded to detonate the crashed ''Pillar of Autumn's'' engines, destroying the ring, and escaped, much to the Covenant's horrified dismay.<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved''', campaign level, ''[[The Maw]]''</ref> The destruction of the holy Halo construct and the later loss of the [[flagship]] ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' to the surviving UNSC forces led to [[Supreme Commander]] [[Thel 'Vadamee]] being disgraced and demoted before being branded with the [[Mark of Shame]], leaving him dead in the eyes of the [[Sangheili]]. Only the intervention of the [[Prophet of Truth]] prevented 'Vadamee's certain execution. He was instead given the title of [[Arbiter]] and sent to quell a [[Heretic]] uprising that had taken root on the [[Threshold gas mine|Forerunner gas mine]] over [[Threshold]].<ref name="thearbiter">'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[The Arbiter]]''</ref>

The Covenant discovered Earth as a result of an accident after the ''[[Pious Flea]]'' had been intercepted by the UNSC stealth ship ''[[Apocalypso]]''. After retrieving a Forerunner artifact, the ''Apocalypso'' made a [[Slipspace]] jump directly to Earth. When the ship tumbled into real space and crashed on [[Luna]], the ''Pious Flea'' sent a message to the heart of the Covenant military, containing reconnaissance data, photos, star maps, and the coordinates of the Forerunner artifact, which was now on Earth.<ref>'''i love bees'''</ref> This information was first relayed to the High Prophet of Truth, who, due to his personal socio-political machinations, kept it secret from his fellow Hierarchs.<ref name="tentwenty">'''[[Halo Waypoint]]''', [http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/Universe/Detail/ten-twenty/f4adbef8-e9bc-44f8-aefa-d8e9b69f7139|''"Ten Twenty"'']</ref> Instead, he began to amass [[Truth's fleet|a massive fleet]] of approximately 500 ships to the command-and-control station ''[[Unyielding Hierophant]]''. The surviving humans from the battles of Installation 04 and Reach, however, discovered the fleet and the direct threat it posed to Earth. Using the captured Covenant [[flagship]] ''Ascendant Justice'', the small group of soldiers lured the fleet into a trap and destroyed it.<ref name="Alamo">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 328-333''</ref>

Unfortunately for Regret, four human ships, the ''[[UNSC In Amber Clad|In Amber Clad]]'' among them, had followed them through their own slipspace rupture to [[Installation 05|Delta Halo]]. With the orders "Find out why he came to Earth; why he came here," John-117 was hard-dropped with a complement of [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper|ODSTs]] to Delta Halo's surface.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level, ''[[Delta Halo (level)|Delta Halo]]''</ref> Led by John-117, the humans forced their way through Regret's forces until they had reached the Prophet himself. At that moment, ''High Charity'', having learned of Delta Halo, arrived and launched multiple waves of [[Phantom]] dropships to aid Regret. These forces were withdrawn by the Prophet of Truth as part of his plan to remove the Sangheili from power in the Covenant. However, Truth ultimately underestimated the full impact his 'reforms' would have on the Covenant's chances for military victory. The Master Chief assassinated Regret, dealing a heavy blow to the Covenant's political structure. The Prophet of Truth then gave the order to glass the temple in which Regret resided. John-117 narrowly survived only to be captured by the [[Gravemind]], who had already formed a plan to prevent the Covenant from completing their Great Journey.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Regret (level)|Regret]]''</ref>

====Battle of Onyx====

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>

====Arrival of the Flood and Sangheili/human victory====

{{Quote|In memory of those fallen in the defense of Earth and her colonies - March 3, 2553|[[Voi Memorial]]}}

Led by the Master Chief, the UNSC forces smashed through the remaining Covenant resistance on the ground. The battle was complicated by the arrival of ''High Charity''. As the Flood began to spread, the Chief and the [[Thel 'Vadamee|Arbiter]] went on to thwart Truth, who died in mid-Flood-infection at the Arbiter's hand with the Flood helping to reach him. John-117 deactivated the Halo Array, preserving all life within its firing pattern. With the Covenant forces completely shattered, Truth's death marked the effective end to the war.<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level, ''[[The Covenant (level)|The Covenant]]''</ref>  The Flood still remained a threat, but were eliminated by John-117, the Arbiter, Cortana and Sergeant Johnson by firing the isolated replacement Halo over the Ark itself, destroying both installations. Although ''Forward Unto Dawn'' managed an emergency slipspace jump, the portal collapsed splitting the vessel in half. Trapped in the rear section of the frigate, John-117 placed himself into cryosleep until he could be retrieved, eventually drifting to the Forerunner shield world of [[Requiem]]. The UNSC's greatest soldier, and humanity's champion, was presumed dead.<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level, ''[[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]]''</ref>  

[[File:Attend2.PNG|thumb|right|250px|The ceremony held to honor the fallen.]]

{{Quote|Decades from now, when historians evaluate the war, what will they say about us? Will they claim that our victory was ultimately fruitless? That it failed to secure a lasting peace, or worse, that it was only a prelude to far greater horrors that now lay ahead? My hope -- OUR HOPE -- is that history would instead view this war as a catalyst. That the last thirty years were a crucible, a threshing floor for our species, sifting out our fears and frailties. And that ultimately it made us stronger and more vigilant in the end, fully prepared for whatever will come next. After all, what good is struggle if there is no change? What good is a fire if the sword is not made stronger?|[[Codename: SURGEON]] prefacing the first [[Eleventh Hour reports|Eleventh Hour report]].<ref name="EH">'''[[Eleventh Hour reports]]''': ''Aftermath (1/5)''</ref>}}

The Great Schism would continue for at least another six years between Sangheili and Jiralhanae factions, further depleting their now crumbling infrastructure. Their reliance upon the sciences and technology of the Forerunners, while neglecting their own, proved a weakness. The fate of the Prophets, after the infestation of ''High Charity'' resulted in the near-extinction of their race, now hangs in the balance, with little more than a thousand survivors able to flee to unknown space. The most destructive conflict in human history had ended in the survival of humanity, but at a staggering cost. Both the UNSC and the former members of the now-broken Covenant then turned to the enormous task of rebuilding their once great societies.

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>

{{Clear}}

==Timeline==

*[[Battle of Shield 0459]]

*[[Kurt-051]] is kidnapped by Section III of ONI to train the classified [[SPARTAN-III]]s, in a need for more supersoldiers to fight the Covenant.

===2535===

====September====

*[[Battle of New Jerusalem]]. Following an attack on the UNSC colony of [[New Jerusalem]], the [[26th Marine Expeditionary Force]] is sent to reinforce the UNSC forces already present. The colony is eventually lost to the Covenant and the survivors fall back to Earth.

*[[Battle of Installation 04]]. The ''Pillar of Autumn'' engages the Covenant Fleet of Particular Justice at Halo Installation 04. After four days the battle degenerates into a four-way melee as the Flood organisms are released and Forerunner constructs, Sentinels seek to contain the outbreak. The crew of the ''Pillar of Autumn'' are instrumental in preventing the Flood from escaping and the installation from firing by destroying the installation. There are only a handful of survivors.

*[[Raid of Reach]]. John-117 and some of the survivors of the Battle of Installation 04 raid Reach to rescue a [[SPARTAN]]-II team trapped on Reach by a Covenant fleet. They rescue the Spartan squad leaving a great deal of damage to the Covenant fleet ships and the ground forces.

====October====

*[[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]].

====December====

====March====

==Trivia==

**''[[The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor]]''

*''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''

*''[[Halo: Landfall]]''

**''[[Halo: Combat]]''

*''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''

*''[[Remember Reach]]''

**''[[Deliver Hope]]''

*''[[Halo: Reach]]''

**''[[Data pads]]''

*''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]''

**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp|Boot Camp]]''

**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Covenant|Covenant]]''

**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Invasion|Invasion]]''

*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''

**''[[Terminal/Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary|Terminals]]''

*''[[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn]]''

*''[[Halo 4]]'' <small>([[Prologue]] Only)</small>

*''[[Halo: Initiation]]''

*''[[Halo: Escalation]]'' {{Mo}}

*''[[Halo 2 Anniversary]]''

{{col-end}}

==Sources==

{{Human-Covenant War}}

{{Humanwars}}

{{Covenantwars}}