Editing 2531

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Infobox/Timeline/CE
|image=File:UNSC_Spirit_of_Fire_(CFV-88).png
|caption=The {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} played a pivotal role in the events of early 2531.
|other=
}}
'''2531''' was a year in the 2530s in the 26th century.

==Events==
===January===
'''January 3'''
*Admiral [[Preston Cole]] orders the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} to help the {{UNSCShip|Prophecy}} around Harvest.{{Ref/Game|HW|Part=Halo Wars Limited Edition|PartText=Limited Edition|Halo Wars: Genesis}}
*The [[Planetary Operations Manual#Spirit of Fire January 3rd 2531 Version|Planetary Operations Manual]] for the Spirit of Fire was amended on this date.<ref>'''[[Planetary Operations Manual#Spirit of Fire January 3rd 2531 Version|Halo Wars Manual]]'''</ref>
'''January 30'''
*[[Ellen Anders|Professor Ellen Anders]] is recruited by the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]].

===February===
'''February'''
*The [[Harvest campaign#Final Liberation of Harvest|final battle]] of the [[Harvest campaign]] is won in space: [[Admiral]] [[Preston Cole]]'s fleet engages the alien warships that have again returned to the [[Harvest]] colony. Six years after the planet was attacked, UNSC forces emerge victorious at great cost.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars]]'''</ref>
'''February 4'''
*The {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} enters the [[Epsilon Indi system]] and arrives back at a glassed and partially frozen [[Harvest]], encountering the Covenant troops of the [[Fleet of Glorious Interdiction]], led by [[Arbiter]] [[Ripa 'Moramee]], that are in the process of uncovering a [[Forerunner]] [[Relic (location)|relic]] on the planet.<ref>http://www.gametrailers.com/player/40831.html</ref>
*The ''Spirit of Fire'' discovers the damaged {{UNSCShip|Prophecy}}, which has been previously attacked by the Covenant and suffered a critical reactor failure. Sergeant Forge and a team of [[Extra-vehicular activity|EVA]] Marines squad rescue the ''Prophecy''' survivors and destroy the ship to prevent its NAV data from falling into Covenant hands.
*[[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[James Cutter]] of the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} makes an entry in his log, reflecting on the five years leading up to this point in the war against the Covenant.<ref name = "Five Years">2008-14-07. [http://www.halowars.com/Dwnloads/Movies.aspx E3 2008: Five Long Years Cinematic]. ''[[Ensemble Studios]]. Accessed on 2008-14-07</ref>
*[[Serina]] instructs that production of [[M41 LAAG]] weaponry cease on Harvest, [[Warthog]]s instead to be upgraded with the [[M68 Gauss Cannon]]. Not that it makes much difference as drivers continue to 'splatter' their Covenant enemies, much to the frustration of their maintenance teams.<ref name = "Viral">[http://halo.xbox.com/halowars/index.html?fbid=DJFJt_O2sq7 Xbox-Halo Wars]. Accessed on 2009-02-02</ref>
*[[Helena Roman]] is [[KIA]] against the Covenant. [[Captain Cutter]] sends a message to her family in regards to her death.
*Professor Anders joins the ''Spirit of Fire'''s crew.
*Prof. Anders receives some unexpected readings on an EM band and asks a [[AV-14 Attack VTOL|Hornet]] squadron en route to [[Rally Point Baker]] to investigate. They end up sighting a battalion of [[Sangheili]]. [[Sergeant Forge]] is assigned to [[Quadrant 4]] to investigate.<ref name = "Viral"/>
'''February 6'''
*Anders writes her father a message detailing her mission to Harvest and the result of her discoveries on the planet, and encodes it as a detailed analysis of Homer's Odyssey. ONI censors miss the cipher completely and the message passes unaltered to her father.
'''February 7'''
*''Spirit of Fire'' holds service for the crew of the UNSC ''Prophecy''. The crew roster is read despite objections from ONI personnel.
'''February 9'''
*''Spirit of Fire'' arrives at the planet of [[Arcadia]] [[Battle of Arcadia|during battle]], where they meet SPARTAN [[Red Team]]. 
'''February 10'''
*While investigating the [[Arcadia Forerunner ruins]], Anders is captured by the [[Arbiter]] [[Ripa 'Moramee]], forcing the ''Spirit of Fire'' to pursue her captors into unknown space. Serina projects an arrival at [[Trove|their destination]] in 312 hours. The ship remains on high alert for the duration, though nonessential crew members are briefly placed in [[cryo|cryo sleep]].<ref name="HWTE">[[Halo Wars Timeline Events]]</ref> 
'''February 11'''
*During the Slipspace voyage, Sergeant Forge confronts [[Jerome-092]] over his recommendation to destroy the Covenant ship carrying Professor Anders. The altercation results in a broken chair, a seal malfunction on a bulkhead door, and a stern interruption by Serina.{{Ref/Reuse|HWTE}}{{Ref/Note|The in-game timeline states that [[Douglas-042]] made the suggestion to destroy 'Moramee's vessel, that he fought Sergeant Forge over the suggestion, and that the two later bonded over meals. However, Red Team's leader, Jerome-092, clearly makes the suggestion in the game proper. Jerome is also the only Spartan seen to interact directly with Forge during the campaign. More importantly, Forge later takes Jerome's place in the suicidal attempt to destroy the shield world's star, suggesting the camaraderie said to have developed between Forge and the Spartan in question.}}
'''February 14'''
*Serina, knowing that the crew may be on a one way trip, manufactures and delivers fake emails from family members to the crew celebrating Valentine's Day. She uses previous correspondence as a basis for the letters.
'''February 23'''
*[[Battle of Trove]]. Medical officers aboard the ''Spirit of Fire'' mistake the [[Flood]] for a virus.<ref name="hwtime">'''[[Halo Wars Timeline Events]]'''</ref>
'''February 25'''
*''Spirit of Fire'' escapes [[Trove]] thanks to the sacrifice of [[John Forge]].{{Ref/Reuse|hwtime}}
'''February 26'''
*The ''Spirit of Fire'' crew burn Flood-infected bodies to prevent the virus from spreading in the ship. [[O'Neil|Chief Medical Officer O'Neil]] also decides to cancel any study of the Flood.{{Ref/Reuse|hwtime}}

===March===
'''March 1'''
*Chief Engineer [[Andrew Prescott]] finishes his assessment of damage to ''Spirit of Fire'' and repairs continue to the hull. The FTL core reactor cannot be replaced and plans to manufacture a spare from base reactor units are deemed unworkable. The decision is made to run the ship on a skeleton crew and place the rest in suspended animation.{{Ref/Reuse|hwtime}}
'''March 3'''
*Captain Cutter files a report in his log, wondering what Anders experienced as a prisoner of the Covenant.{{Ref/Reuse|hwtime}}
'''March 4'''
*Anders analyzes the events in the shield world and concludes that [[Forerunner|the beings]] who built it knew humans.{{Ref/Reuse|hwtime}}
'''March 11'''
*Anders is put into cryosleep by Captain Cutter.{{Ref/Reuse|hwtime}}
'''March 12'''
*Captain Cutter writes five commendations, fourteen family condolence letters, and a note to his wife.{{Ref/Reuse|hwtime}}

===April===
'''April 9'''
*[[Vedrana Makovich]] is born in [[Andesia]].{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22P102|Enc22|Page=102}}

===May===
'''May 1'''
*[[Operation: SMOKING ACES]]. [[Spartan-II]] [[Blue Team]] infiltrates [[Camp New Hope]], on planet [[Victoria]], in the [[111 Tauri System]]. [[General]] [[Howard Graves]] of the [[United Rebel Front]] is killed and three [[FENRIS nuclear warhead]]s are recovered.<ref name = "GoO">'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'''</ref>
'''May 24'''
*The movie [[Lost Colony 3]] was due to play on the UNSC ''Spirit of Fire''.{{Ref/Level|Id=HWLAC|HW|Arcadia City}}
'''May 25'''
*UNSC News Programming was due to play on the UNSC ''Spirit of Fire''.{{Ref/Reuse|HWLAC}}
'''May 26'''
*The movie [[Desperate Planet 2]] was due to play on the UNSC ''Spirit of Fire''.{{Ref/Reuse|HWLAC}}
*Vice Admiral Cole sends [[UNSC Transmission 102482-02]] to Admiral [[Michael Stanforth|Harold Stanforth]], explaining his thoughts about the importance of protecting [[Astrogation|navigation]] data. Included are the [[Cole Protocol|draft directives]] Cole previously sent to ONI for review, which he plans to implement within his fleet immediately.<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''', ''[[The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole]]'' pages 317-320 (2010 Edition, Vol. I)</ref>

===July===
'''July 12'''
*Feeling she cannot provide her daughter the care she deserves, [[Catherine Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey]] sends [[Miranda Keyes|Miranda]] to live with her father, [[Lieutenant]] [[Jacob Keyes]].<ref>''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''</ref>

===October===
'''October 24'''
*[[Colonel]] [[James Ackerson]] proposes the [[SPARTAN-III program]] to leading members of [[Office of Naval Intelligence]].<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/HaloWaypoint/posts/10151985325652679 '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Today in Halo'']</ref> The project is approved and implemented immediately.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''pages 47-49''</ref>

===November===
'''November 7'''
*[[SPARTAN-II program|Spartans]] [[Kurt Ambrose|Kurt-051]], [[Kelly-087]] and [[Frederic-104]] are dispatched to investigate [[Construction Platform 966A]] for suspected rebel activity.<ref name = "GoO"/> Kurt-051 experiences a [[thruster pack]] malfunction and is sent into interplanetary space. The [[UNSC prowler|prowler]] {{UNSCShip|Circumference}} and the [[UNSC frigate|frigate]] {{UNSCShip|Tannenberg}} start immediate rescue operations; however, after over 5 hours of searching, nearby Covenant activity forces the search to be terminated, and Kurt-051 is 'officially' declared [[Missing in action|MIA]] per [[ONI Directive 930]]. In actuality the operation was a ruse: Kurt is picked up by Colonel James Ackerson and recruited to train his SPARTAN-IIIs.

===December===
'''December 14'''
*After being extracted by Colonel James Ackerson, Kurt-051 is briefed on the SPARTAN-III project and given leadership over its implementation, as well as a new identity as "Kurt Ambrose".<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/HaloWaypoint/posts/10152119534552679 '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Today in Halo: 12/14/2531'']</ref>

===Unknown===
*The {{Pattern|Pez'tk|fuel rod gun}} is first encountered by [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] forces.<ref>[http://halo.bungie.net/projects/halo3/content.aspx?link=h3fuelrod '''Bungie.net:''' ''Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon'']</ref>
*Spartan-II [[Blue Team]] disrupts Insurrectionist activity in [[wikipedia:Micronesia|Micronesia]] and breaks up a saboteur ring on [[Reach]] between November [[2530]] and May of this year.<ref name = "GoO"/>
*Rear Admiral Cole is promoted to [[admiral]] upon his return to [[Earth]] and learns that a number of outlying colonies have been destroyed, leaving behind no survivors. He begins to move his fleet around, trying to intercept the invaders. Ground and ship-to-ship battles begin in earnest, raging throughout the [[Outer Colonies]].<ref>[http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/h/halo/storyline.htm Halo Storyline]. Accessed on 2008-03-12</ref>
*The [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/EOD variant]] enters service.<ref>[http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/14276699/halo-project/videos/halor_armory_montage_072210.html IGN Video: ''Halo: Reach Xbox 360 Video - The Armory Video]''</ref>
*The [[The Assembly|Assembly]] takes note of a "[[Flood|third participant]]" mentioned in the [[proselytization network]] during the battle for the Shield World, one which caused "irrational terror" for the Covenant. While presenting the possibility of contacting this third faction, they decide not to, due to the risks involved.<ref>'''[[Halo: Reach]]''', ''[[Data pads#Data pad 15|Data pad 15]]''</ref>
*The [[Design pattern|Ket-pattern]] {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}} ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'' enters service around this year.<ref name="Warfleet">'''[[Halo: Warfleet]]''', ''pgs. 63''</ref>

==Notes==
{{Ref/Notes}}

==Sources==
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