Halo: Contact Harvest: Difference between revisions

On the [[UNSC]] colony [[Harvest]], there is only peace and prosperity. Watched by two [[A.I.]], [[Sif]] and [[Mack]], the colony produces much of Humanity's food. This peace is interrupted when a [[Covenant]] controlled vessel, ''[[Minor Transgression]]'', discovers a malfunctioning unmanned human cargo ship. The coordinates registered in the cargo ship's navigation computer lead the aliens to Harvest. A [[Covenant]] [[Unggoy]], [[Deacon]] [[Dadab]], is alarmed when the ship's [[Luminary]] seems to register thousands of [[Forerunner]] artifacts and an [[Oracle]] (Forerunner A.I.). The opportunistic Kig-Yar's plan to take some artifacts for themselves before reporting the discovery to the [[Hierarchs]], and begin surreptitiously raiding human freighters. Unfortunately for the Kig-Yars, [[ONI]] had recently organized a strike team to counteract what they believed to be a growing [[Insurrectionist]] group, including one [[Staff Sergeant Avery J. Johnson]]. They successfully deceived ''Minor Transgression'' into boarding a freighter where they were immediately attacked by Staff Sergeant Johnson and [[Staff Sergeant Byrne]]. Staff Sergeant Johnson received a cracked skull from their meeting and Staff Sergeant Byrne was stabbed in the leg with an energy cutlass. This raid marked the first meeting of the humans and Covenant forces, and makes the humans aware of a brand new threat they may be facing. Jilan destroys the vessel, with only the Deacon Dadab and his [[Huragok|Engineer]] friend [[Lighter Than Some]] escaping in an escape pod. While the UNSC prepares the [[Colonial Militia]] for a possible alien invasion, two ambitious [[San 'Shyuum]]s, the [[Minister of Fortitude]] and the [[Prophet of Regret|Vice Minister of Tranquility]] learn of the large amount of "relics" found on Harvest and begin to plan a coup of the current Hierarchs using this as a fulcrum. To keep the [[Sangheili]] from using this discovery as a way to upset the balance of power, they utilize a Jiralhanae-controlled ship, ''[[Rapid Conversion]]'', captained by [[Maccabeus]], the [[Brute Chieftan]] at that time, and crewed by his pack of Jiralhanae (including a youthful [[Tartarus]]). The two began a secret attempt to seize the planet. This marks the beginning of the powerful alliance between the [[Jiralhanae]] and the San 'Shyuum, and the key to their eventual betrayal of the [[Sangheili]] leading to the [[Covenant Civil War]] later in the war.  

Meanwhile, the ambitious San 'Shyuums begin their mutiny of sorts by invoking the [[Prophet of Restraint]] in a conspiracy that will lead to his removal if revealed. They seek a blessing by the long silent Oracle present on the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]]. They visit an old, supposedly senile Philologist, for blessings and advice. When they input the discovery of Harvest and the Luminary's data, the Oracle, which is in fact a fragment of the Forerunner ''Contender''-class A.I. Mendicant Bias, a Forerunner construct, but more advanced than 343 Guilty Spark, suddenly awakens from eons of dormancy and reveals that they've been misinterpreting their findings. What the Kig-Yar thought were artifacts were actually registering the presence of the Humans on Harvest, which it claims are [[Reclaimers]], and refers to them as his makers, or living Forerunners. Realizing that the discovery of living [[Forerunners]] would tear the Covenant apart, the San 'Shyuums swear to secrecy, induct the Philologist into their conspiracy and accelerate their plans for takeover.