Battle of Installation 05
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The Battle of Installation 05, also known as the Battle of Delta Halo, was a major engagement between the United Nations Space Command, Covenant, Sentinels, and the Flood on the Forerunner ringworld Installation 05, otherwise known as "Delta Halo".
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[edit] Introduction
During the First Battle of Earth, the Prophet of Regret led a small fleet of two Assault Carriers and thirteen CCS-class Battlecruisers on an expeditionary raid that stumbled upon Earth, the strongest UNSC stronghold planet, as well as the home world for humanity. After substantial ground, air, and space losses, Regret fled in an Assault Carrier over New Mombasa, opening a Slipspace rift and destroying the city in a devastating Slipspace cataclysm as it initiated an emergency jump, inside atmosphere, to Installation 05, although how the Covenant obtained the coordinates to Installation 05 is unknown.
However, upon Fleet Admiral Hood's order, five United Nations Space Command warships nearby New Mombasa were close enough to catch onto the Assault Carrier's rift before it terminated: three UNSC Frigates, the UNSC In Amber Clad, UNSC Paris, and the UNSC Redoubtable, one UNSC Corvette, the UNSC Coral Sea, and one UNSC Prowler, the UNSC Dusk, were able to enter the Slipspace field, trailing the Assault Carrier.
Their shadowing, however, was not exactingly precise. Only the frigate In Amber Clad successfully trailed the Assault Carrier to Installation 05. The prowler Dusk arrived days later near the Covenant homeworld ship High Charity, and the Coral Sea, Paris, and Redoubtable was no anywhere near the engagement, likely due to the imprecise physics of Slipspace and the UNSC's rather limited technology in that field.
[edit] Regret
[edit] UNSC Offensive
While Regret's assault carrier hovered over the installation, deploying Wraiths, Ghosts, Banshees, and also companies of Elites, Jackals, Drones, and Grunts by means of Phantom dropships. The Covenant ground forces fortified themselves in a series of Forerunner ruins and temple structures, even establishing Shielded Plasma Cannons for further defense.
Meanwhile, the In Amber Clad trailed behind, and after the Assault Carrier moved off, Commander Miranda Keyes, captain of the In Amber Clad, ordered a platoon of Orbital Drop Shock Trooper special forces commandos and SPARTAN-117 to establish a landing zone near a series of ruins and temples on Installation 05 to allow Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson to bring in two flights of Pelicans and further expand the UNSC presence. The frigate made a quick pass-over of a segment of the ringworld, deploying a dozen Human Entry Vehicles. Six survived into the atmosphere of the ring, and only four personnel eventually survived - SPARTAN-117 and three "Helljumpers". However, before they could land in the small ruins, they were detected by the Covenant, and SPARTAN-117 led the commandos in eliminating Covenant plasma turrets and holding their position against waves of Covenant troops until a Pelican could drop off an M12 Warthog LRV and a pair of Marines.
While the immediate objective for SPARTAN-117 and his Marines were to push through the Covenant-held Forerunner ruins and capture the Prophet of Regret, the overall UNSC objective for Installation 05 was to ensure that the Covenant would not activate the ring and extinguish all sentient life in the galaxy. To do this, the UNSC had to infiltrate the Library, retrieve the Index, and safeguard it, thereby preventing the Covenant from using the Index to fire the ring.
After SPARTAN-117 and his men pushed through two Forerunner ruins, another Pelican air-dropped Resupply Canisters and a small number of Marines, refueling the UNSC offensive as they advanced through a ravine defended by Jackal Snipers and Drones, and as they proceeded to another temple - this one with a hologram of the Prophet of Regret, who was sermonizing in a main Forerunner temple, preparing for the activation of the ring and the sublimation event of the "Great Journey". After learning all of the information the Prophet could provide, his elimination became the primary objective for SPARTAN-117, as his death would destabilize the Covenant politically and religiously. After Cortana deciphered the hologram, SPARTAN-117 and a pair of Marines battled through a pair of Covenant-held temples before reaching an open platform. At the time, the Covenant became aware of UNSC activity, and began becoming aggressive, so Commander Keyes sent several Pelicans towards the Master Chief, which air-dropped more Resupply Canisters on the platform.
The UNSC continued attacking, proceeding from the platform to a gondola which took SPARTAN-117 and his remaining Marines to a heavily-defended Forerunner underwater temple which was guarded by Hunters, Stealth Elites, and Honor Guard Elites, Stealth Grunts amongst other Covenant forces. After emerging from the submerged temple, they emerged at a hilly Forerunner ruin, where Drones, Elites, and Grunts attempted to halt the UNSC advance, and Phantoms arrived with additional Covenant reinforcements.
[edit] Assassination
However, the Covenant were ultimately unsuccessful: the UNSC, after clearing out the last ruins, were able to secure an LZ for a Pelican to air-drop Resupply Canisters and a team of Marines, who would aid SPARTAN-117 in the final push towards the main temple. They took a gondola towards the temple, which was attacked by Banshee fighters and Rangers, but the Covenant were still unable to prevent SPARTAN-117 and whatever remaining Marines from docking with the heavily-guarded Main Temple, destroy the Covenant turrets guarding it, and then proceeding to enter it, where the Prophet of Regret was finishing his final sermons regarding the activation of Installation 05.
After docking, High Charity reverted from Slipspace over Installation 05, with hundreds of warships, including those of the Second Fleet of Homogeneous Clarity. Responding to a distress signal from Regret, Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee planned to storm the temple by Phantom dropships in an urgent measure to kill SPARTAN-117 and defend the Prophet leader. However, the treacherous Prophet of Truth diverted the Phantoms, deliberately allowing the SPARTAN-II to kill Regret as part of his socio-political plans for the Covenant.
- "How dare you interrupt my sermon? Guards, remove him! Your very existence offends me, Demon!"
- —Prophet of Regret
There was a large contingent of Honor Guards and Grunts that defended the Prophet, but SPARTAN-117 was able to board the Prophet's levitating gravity chair and beat the Prophet to death, although during the fray, whatever remaining Marines that were left were killed. Shortly afterwards, a Covenant Assault Carrier repositioned over the main temple, and destroyed the temple with a weaponized gravity beam, but SPARTAN-117 jumped into the lake with seconds to spare and was grasped by the tentacles of the Gravemind, a Flood overlord creature, and taken prisoner.
[edit] Race for the Index
[edit] Introduction
- "You will journey to the surface of the ring, and retrieve this Sacred Icon. With it, we shall fulfill our promise, and begin the Great Journey."
- —Prophet of Truth to the Arbiter
While Regret had been murdered, with significant consequences to the Covenant, the UNSC and the Covenant both raced to reach the Library and seize the Index - the UNSC wanted to safe-keep it and prevent the installation's activation, but the Covenant desired to use the "Sacred Icon" (the Covenant name of the Index) and bring it to the Control Room of the ring and activate the Halos.
[edit] Changing of the Guard
- Main Article: Changing of the Guard
- "Recommissioning the guard was a radical step, but recent events have made it abundantly clear that the Elites can no longer guarantee our safety."
- —Prophet of Truth to Rtas 'Vadumee
After the death of Regret at the hands of the Demon. Rtas 'Vadumee was furious at the Prophet of Truth for withdrawing his men, which could have saved Regret. However, Truth deliberately and wrongfully framed the Elites for their incompetence, which had led to the death of Regret. The Honor Guards of the Covenant were re-commissioned, and the Brutes took over as the guardians of the Prophet hierarchs, a move that infuriated the Elites and drove an even deeper rift between the Brutes and the Elites, who already hated each other with their lives.
[edit] Containment Shield
- "Once the shield is down, we'll head straight to the Library. I do not wish to keep the Hierarchs waiting."
- —Tartarus to the Arbiter
However, before either faction could reach the Library, it was shielded by the Containment Shield - a recognized impenetrable energy shield denying anyone access to the Library. The shield was projected by a Forerunner power generator buried within the Sentinel Wall, a large underground Forerunner complex heavily defended by Sentinels, Sentinel Majors, and even Enforcers. Numbers of Brutes, Jackals, and Grunts had already attempted to penetrate the Sentinel Wall, with pockets scattered all over the facility, all being overwhelmed by Sentinel defenders. However, the Arbiter was air-dropped by Tartarus's Phantom at the periphery of the wall in the beginning phase of a Covenant offensive to deactivate the Containment Shield, enter the Library, and seize the Sacred Icon.
- "You've reached the power source. Overload the locks holding it in place. Release the power source. Now, find a way to remove it from its cradle."
- —Tartarus to the Arbiter
After battling through the forward section of the Sentinel Wall and moving even deeper through the facility, the Arbiter was able to destroy an Enforcer, and disengage the plug locks of the generator, and then physically disengage the generator out of its "cradle", powering off the Containment Shield. While the shield had been disengaged, the path to the Library was far from clear. There was a rampant Flood infestation: the second half of the Sentinel Wall was heavily saturated with Flood, and there were icy canyons heavily entrenched by Flood battling against outnumbered Sentinel defenders that lay between the perimeter of the Containment Shield and the Library, which was accessible only by an underground gondola.
- "Blasted machines! Make your own a way through the wall, Arbiter!"
- —Tartarus to the Arbiter
Tartarus attempted to pick up the Arbiter and head directly for the Library, but his Phantom was engaged by an Enforcer, forcing the Arbiter to battle through through the warring Flood and Sentinels that resided in the Flood-Infested Wall[1] by himself. However, the Arbiter was not alone - the UNSC had dispatched a squad of Marines to also fight through the facility, but they were overwhelmed by the Flood, leaving a trail of crumpled bodies throughout the facility and feuling the Flood's ever-growing army. The Covenant apparently sent a small team of three Special Operations Elites to clear out the lower levels of the complex, but these too were killed. Finally, the Arbiter jumped down a series of plummeting vertical tunnels, exiting from the Sentinel Wall and entering the battle-torn icy plains of the Quarantine Zone.
[edit] Battle of the Quarantine Zone
- Main Article: Battle of the Quarantine Zone
- "The Flood are upon us!"
- —Special Operations Elite
- "We must hold this camp until reinforcements arrive."
- —Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee
The Quarantine Zone was supposed to be a location where during times of war, the Sentinel custodians of the installation could herd the Flood, and prevent them from entering the Library. Two Sentinel Constructor Factory ships[2] hung in the air, deploying Sentinel reinforcements. However, the Quarantine Zone was compromised by the Flood, and the Flood managed to crash one of the floating factories, sending it plummeting down to the ringworld.
The Covenant shortly established a "camp"[3], air-dropping seven drop pods that contained Rtas 'Vadumee and six Special Operations Elites, along with several plasma turrets and a deployable gravity lift tower.
- "We shall cut into the heart of this infestation, retrieve the icon, and burn any Flood that stand in our way! Forward, warriors, and fear not pain or death. Go, Arbiter, I'll follow when our reinforcements arrive."
- —Rtas 'Vadumee
The Arbiter met with three of the Elites just outside of the Sentinel Wall, and together, they defended a small hill from the Flood before pushing inwards, where the Special Operations Commander had landed and established a small outpost, complete with turrets and the gravity lift tower, where the Special Operations force held out against waves of Flood attacks from the cliffs before they were reinforced by a pair of Phantoms that dropped off a Spectre and a pair of Ghosts. The Covenant were able to use these vehicles to advance through a large indoor Forerunner facility before entering the first of a series of expansive outdoor arctic canyons. Despite the prowess of the Special Operations Elites and the Arbiter, the UNSC were swifter to advance through the Quarantine Zone - the In Amber Clad deployed a Pelican dropship that cruised above the battling Flood and Sentinels, cutting directly towards the Library while the Arbiter and his men were forced to fight through waves of Flood, including Flood-commandeered Ghosts, Warthogs, Wraiths, and Scorpions, while all the while, Enforcers rained heavy fire.
- "Arbiter, I'm sending some of my best fighters to assist you. Do not squander their talents."
- —Rtas 'Vadumee
The small Covenant task fo