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Skirmish on Mona Lisa: Difference between revisions
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Forerunner (talk | contribs) (I'm agreeing with the IP; First Strike confirms that High Charity was on its way during the Battle of Installation 04 and a scout unit was sent ahead.) |
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|image=[[File:TML - entry.png|300px]] | |image=[[File:TML - entry.png|300px]] | ||
|conflict=Independent | |conflict=Independent | ||
|date= | |date=October 2552 (exact date unknown)<ref name="tml223">'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 223''</ref><ref group="note">According to a summary on Halo Waypoint, ''The Mona Lisa'' is set [http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/Universe/Detail/the-mona-lisa-1/1f69c960-2eb1-42e0-89b4-89a58fa153b8 "between the events of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2"], which would limit the possible timeframe for the skirmish between October 1 and October 20. However, in ''Halo: First Strike'', it is suggested that ''High Charity'' is already on its way to the Soell system by September 22, having sent a smaller scouting party in advance. In ''Halo 2'', it is seen that ''High Charity'' and its fleet were present in the system until October 20, when they departed for Installation 05. ''The Mona Lisa'' makes a reference to a large Covenant fleet having left the system recently, which would coincide with ''High Charity'' and its fleet leaving on October 20th; no other large Covenant fleet is known to have left the system between September and October.</ref> | ||
|place=''Mona Lisa'', Soell system, Installation 04 debris field<ref name="tml223"/> | |place=''Mona Lisa'', Soell system, Installation 04 debris field<ref name="tml223"/> | ||
|result=Flood outbreak successfully contained | |result=Flood outbreak successfully contained | ||
|side1=[[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] | |side1=[[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] expeditionary force | ||
|side2= | |side2=''Mona Lisa'' occupants | ||
|side3=[[The Flood]] | |side3=[[The Flood]] | ||
|side4= | |side4= | ||
|commanders1=*[[Commander]] [[Tobias Foucault]] | |commanders1=*[[Commander]] [[Tobias Foucault]] | ||
*[[Artificial intelligence|AI]] [[Rebecca]] | *[[Artificial intelligence|AI]] [[Rebecca]] | ||
*[[ | *[[Sergeant]] [[Zhao Heng Lopez]] | ||
|commanders2= | |commanders2=[[Major]] [[John Smith]] | ||
|commanders3=[[Proto-Gravemind]] | |commanders3=[[Proto-Gravemind]] | ||
|commanders4= | |commanders4= | ||
|forces1=*{{UNSCShip|Red Horse}} | |forces1=*{{UNSCShip|Red Horse}} | ||
**18 Marines | **18 Marines | ||
|forces2= | |forces2=ONI personnel, security guards and prisoners | ||
|forces3= | |forces3=Most ''Mona Lisa'' occupants repurposed as Flood forms | ||
|forces4= | |forces4= | ||
|casual1=16 Marines confirmed KIA | |casual1=16 Marines confirmed KIA | ||
|casual2=All | |casual2=All original occupants | ||
|casual3=All Flood | |casual3=All Flood | ||
|casual4= | |casual4= | ||
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Smith began to conduct tests on both Covenant and human prisoners; he may or may not have exceeded his operational parameters when doing so.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 323''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 330-331''</ref> However, sufficient security measures were not taken and the parasite escaped containment. Though the specifics of the outbreak are unclear, prisoner [[Patrick Rimmer]] suspected that the Covenant attempted to escape and the Flood broke out in the chaos. Some of the Covenant would also let human prisoners out of their cells in order to enlist their aid in combating the common threat of the Flood. One of the Covenant sympathetic to the human prisoners was a Sangheili who Patrick Rimmer called "[[Henry]]".<ref name="prelude"/> | Smith began to conduct tests on both Covenant and human prisoners; he may or may not have exceeded his operational parameters when doing so.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 323''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 330-331''</ref> However, sufficient security measures were not taken and the parasite escaped containment. Though the specifics of the outbreak are unclear, prisoner [[Patrick Rimmer]] suspected that the Covenant attempted to escape and the Flood broke out in the chaos. Some of the Covenant would also let human prisoners out of their cells in order to enlist their aid in combating the common threat of the Flood. One of the Covenant sympathetic to the human prisoners was a Sangheili who Patrick Rimmer called "[[Henry]]".<ref name="prelude"/> | ||
The Flood would soon overwhelm the ship, with prisoners and guards desperately attempting to hinder the parasite's progress by building makeshift barricades.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 264-265''</ref> Meanwhile, Smith launched most of the ship's escape pods to prevent the Flood from escaping, and subsequently locked himself in a sealed safe room.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 301''</ref> Eventually, the Flood would claim most of the people aboard the ship, with only a handful of uninfected survivors remaining.<ref name="prelude"/> Shortly after breaking out, the Flood would begin to accumulate biomass to form a [[proto-Gravemind]] around its [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine|slipspace drive]] in the engine room, with the intent of | The Flood would soon overwhelm the ship, with prisoners and guards desperately attempting to hinder the parasite's progress by building makeshift barricades.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 264-265''</ref> Meanwhile, Smith launched most of the ship's escape pods to prevent the Flood from escaping, and subsequently locked himself in a sealed safe room.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 301''</ref> Eventually, the Flood would claim most of the people aboard the ship, with only a handful of uninfected survivors remaining.<ref name="prelude"/> Shortly after breaking out, the Flood would begin to accumulate biomass to form a [[proto-Gravemind]] around its [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine|slipspace drive]] in the engine room, with the intent of absorbing a sufficient amount of knowledge to allow them to escape the system.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 321-322''</ref> | ||
===UNSC investigation=== | ===UNSC investigation=== | ||
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Shortly later, the Office of Naval Intelligence dispatched a [[UNSC prowler|prowler]], the {{UNSCShip|Red Horse}}, to the Soell system, with the apparent mission to "jump to coordinates classified higher than top secret, retrieve samples of an alien artifact for study, conduct basic recon, expect Covenant trouble."<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 237''</ref> However, none of the crew, including the ship's [[Commanding officer|CO]] [[Commander]] [[Tobias Foucault]], were informed of the Flood. ONI also had the ship's old AI, [[Chauncey]], removed and replaced by the secretive ONI AI [[Rebecca]].<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 225''</ref> | Shortly later, the Office of Naval Intelligence dispatched a [[UNSC prowler|prowler]], the {{UNSCShip|Red Horse}}, to the Soell system, with the apparent mission to "jump to coordinates classified higher than top secret, retrieve samples of an alien artifact for study, conduct basic recon, expect Covenant trouble."<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 237''</ref> However, none of the crew, including the ship's [[Commanding officer|CO]] [[Commander]] [[Tobias Foucault]], were informed of the Flood. ONI also had the ship's old AI, [[Chauncey]], removed and replaced by the secretive ONI AI [[Rebecca]].<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 225''</ref> | ||
By the time the ''Red Horse'' arrived, the Covenant fleet that had been present in the system had left in pursuit of what UNSC intelligence assumed was a "higher value target".<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 236''</ref> After sifting through Installation 04's debris field for three days, occasionally conducting reconnaissance missions via [[D77-TC Pelican|Pelicans]],<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 223-224''</ref> the crew of the ''Red Horse'' discovered an escape pod launched six hours earlier from the ''Mona Lisa''. Rebecca then revealed Foucault the "extended" mission parameters; they were to assess the status of the ''Mona Lisa'', with the orders to destroy the ship if it had been "compromised beyond retrieval".<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 237-238''</ref> | By the time the ''Red Horse'' arrived, the [[High Charity defense fleet|Covenant fleet]] that had been present in the system had left in pursuit of what UNSC intelligence assumed was a "[[Installation 05|higher value target]]".<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 236''</ref> After sifting through Installation 04's debris field for three days, occasionally conducting reconnaissance missions via [[D77-TC Pelican|Pelicans]],<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 223-224''</ref> the crew of the ''Red Horse'' discovered an escape pod launched six hours earlier from the ''Mona Lisa''. Rebecca then revealed Foucault the "extended" mission parameters; they were to assess the status of the ''Mona Lisa'', with the orders to destroy the ship if it had been "compromised beyond retrieval".<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 237-238''</ref> | ||
==Reconnaissance mission== | ==Reconnaissance mission== | ||
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On the ''Red Horse'', Commander Foucault, still unaware of the threat aboard the ''Mona Lisa'', prepared to have Sergeant [[Fugazi]] and two squads sent to the ''Mona Lisa'' in order to reinforce Lopez's squad, which had dropped out of contact. Rebecca, however, pointed out that their orders were to destroy the ''Mona Lisa'' immediately if contact with the recon team aboard was lost. The AI then showed the Commander the true nature of the Flood in order to convince him.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 297-299''</ref> Upon seeing recordings of the Flood from Installation 04, Foucault withdrew his order to send more Marines, but would still remain reluctant to fire upon the ''Mona Lisa'' with Lopez's squad on board.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 316-317''</ref> | On the ''Red Horse'', Commander Foucault, still unaware of the threat aboard the ''Mona Lisa'', prepared to have Sergeant [[Fugazi]] and two squads sent to the ''Mona Lisa'' in order to reinforce Lopez's squad, which had dropped out of contact. Rebecca, however, pointed out that their orders were to destroy the ''Mona Lisa'' immediately if contact with the recon team aboard was lost. The AI then showed the Commander the true nature of the Flood in order to convince him.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 297-299''</ref> Upon seeing recordings of the Flood from Installation 04, Foucault withdrew his order to send more Marines, but would still remain reluctant to fire upon the ''Mona Lisa'' with Lopez's squad on board.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 316-317''</ref> | ||
After finding a Flood growth in a recreation room, Lopez began questioning Smith, who first claimed that the Flood was a Covenant virus that had transmitted into human prisoners. Shortly later, Rakesh was killed in | After finding a Flood growth in a recreation room, Lopez began questioning Smith, who first claimed that the Flood was a Covenant virus that had transmitted into human prisoners. Shortly later, Rakesh was killed in a sudden Flood attack. Lopez, having grown agitated of Smith's reluctance to cooperate, hit him and had one of her Marines search him, soon discovering his true identity and rank. As Lopez still refused to leave the ship, Smith unexpectedly killed Mahmoud and made his escape,<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 306-307''</ref> eventually making it to the Marines' Pelican and escaping the ship.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 324''</ref> | ||
{{Clear}} | {{Clear}} | ||
===Finale=== | ===Finale=== | ||
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*[[Tsardikos]] | *[[Tsardikos]] | ||
''' | '''''Mona Lisa'' prisoners and security personnel''' | ||
*[[Murray]] | *[[Murray]] | ||
*[[Patrick Rimmer]] | *[[Patrick Rimmer]] | ||
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File:TML - Benti n Henry.png|Benti prepares to destroy the proto-Gravemind with grenades. | File:TML - Benti n Henry.png|Benti prepares to destroy the proto-Gravemind with grenades. | ||
File:TMl - pre destruction.png|''Mona Lisa'', shortly before its destruction. | File:TMl - pre destruction.png|''Mona Lisa'', shortly before its destruction. | ||
File:TML - MacCraw & Lopez.png|MacCraw and Lopez fire upon a | File:TML - MacCraw & Lopez.png|MacCraw and Lopez fire upon a group of Flood as they make a run for the escape pods. | ||
File:TML - push.png|Benti shoves herself and Clarence into a horde of Flood. | File:TML - push.png|Benti shoves herself and Clarence into a horde of Flood while "Henry" retreats into the airlock. | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
==Notes== | |||
<references group="note"/> | |||
==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
[[Category:Battle]] | [[Category:Battle]] | ||