Human-Covenant War: Difference between revisions

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. 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.  

{{Clear}}

[[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 Elite and Brute factions, further depleting their now crumbling infrastructure. Their blind reliance upon the sciences and technology of the Forerunners, while neglecting their own, proved a fatal weakness. The fate of the Prophets proved especially ironic, as the infestation of High Charity resulted in the near-extinction of their race, while the survivors fled to unknown space. The most destructive conflict in human history had ended in victory, 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.

The end of the war only provided a short period of calm for humanity, before new threats began to emerge. [[Shipmaster]] [[Jul 'Mdama]] eventually reunited some of the disparate factions which had surfaced in the wake of the Great Schism and [[Covenant remnant|reformed the Covenant]]. At some point after early 2553, this new Covenant started a [[Second human-Covenant war|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>