Palace Hotel

The cover of Palace Hotel by Michael James Chua

Palace Hotel is one of the stories in Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe. Written by Robert McLees, it is a loose retelling of the events of the level Metropolis in Halo 2 with major differences in events and locales.

The story, which is set during the Battle of Mombasa, follows John-117 as he makes his way to the heart of the city on a mission to board the Solemn Penance, from the other end of the bridge to a Marine outpost in the city where he meets a childhood friend.

Summary

John makes his way towards the carrier after his Pelican has been shot down by a Scarab, but finds that the Mtangwe Underpass, the tunnel leading towards the carrier, is blocked. He finds a group of Marines led by Corporal Palmer and helps them escape from a Covenant attack supported by Wraiths. They escape into the city's old sewer system, and resurface near the parking lot of the Kilindini Park Cultural Center. They come across a battlefield with Covenant troops still in the area, but also serviceable Warthogs among the bodies of several Army troopers. Despite Palmer's reluctance to make a run across the open for the Warthogs, John manages to convince her squad to take the chance. The Marines eliminate several Jackal snipers to get to the Warthogs, and escape through the Kilindini Park with John, Palmer and PFC Sullivan on a M12G1 Light Anti-Armor Vehicle, and the rest of the Marines following on a M831 Troop Transport.

After traversing the city's industrial zone via the Mwatate Street Transit Center and Shimanzi Road, the Master Chief reunites the Marines with the rest of their unit at their command post in the Palace Hotel at Beria Plaza, and goes to meet with their commanding officer. John discovers that the lieutenant is Parisa, a childhood friend from Eridanus II, who believed that he had died when in fact he was abducted for the SPARTAN-II Program. John briefly considers revealing his identity to her, but realizes that doing so would show that the UNSC was willing to kidnap and experiment on children to ensure its survival. Instead, he and Parisa begin to plan for the upcoming battle against the remaining Covenant forces, including the Scarab.

Appearances

Characters Carlos Wambua (First appearance) Catherine Halsey (Mentioned only) Cortana Davis (First appearance) Emerson (First appearance) Galliard (First appearance) Private Jemison (First appearance) John-117 Locke (First appearance) Morton (First appearance) Palmer Parisa (First appearance) Pineada (First appearance) Sullivan (First appearance) Species Human Kig-Yar Sangheili Unggoy Organizations Covenant Covenant military Unified Earth Government New Mombasa Police Department (Mentioned only) United Nations Space Command UNSC Army UNSC Marine Corps E2-BAG/1/7 UNSC Navy Naval Special Weapons SPARTAN-II program Locations Eridanus system (Mentioned only) Eridanus II (Mentioned only) Lake Gusev (First mentioned) Epsilon Eridani system (Mentioned only) Reach (Mentioned only) Miridem (Mentioned only) Minister (Mentioned only) Sol system Earth Africa Kenya New Mombasa Beria Plaza (First appearance) Palace Hotel (First mentioned) Kilindini Kilindini Underpass (First mentioned) Mwatate Street Transit Center (First appearance) Moi Avenue (First appearance) Mombasa Quays (Mentioned only) Mombasa Tether New Mombasa 105 East New Mombasa industrial zone Shimanzi Road (First appearance)

Events Human-Covenant War Battle of Earth Battle of Mombasa Vehicles CAS-class assault carrier (Mentioned only) D77-TC Pelican M12 Warthog M831 Warthog M12G1 Warthog Type-26 Wraith Type-32 Ghost Type-47 Scarab Weapons BR55 battle rifle Class-2 directed energy cannon M68 Asynchronous Linear-Induction Motor MA5 series assault rifle Plasma mortar Type-42 plasma cannon Technology Artificial intelligence Smart AI Blast door Boosted gravity propulsion drive CH252 helmet Data pad TACPAD (First appearance) Energy shielding MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VI Personal computer Portable computer Space elevator VZG7 armored boots Weapon attachments Flashlight Telescopic sight